Everyone has been sick lately. Hayden is still trying to get over his cold - this is day 12. My Mom was very, very sick and had to be rushed to the hospital by ambulance. Twice. But, she is doing better now. And now, I am sick with some kind of cold / sinus infection / can't sleep / can't breathe thing. I just want to feel normal. Being sick when you're pregnant is the worst because you can't take anything strong enough to fix the symptoms. Sudafed takes the edge off, but I would give anything right now to be able to breath through both nostrils. And for some reason, ever since I had my wisdom teeth pulled, every time I get a sinus infection, it feels like a toothache where those teeth used to be.

We're all just trying to get well and gear up for next couple of weeks. A quick preview of the busy days ahead:

• Hayden's first school field trip (Disney's Nemo on Ice)
• 24 week doctor appointment
• Jeff Tweedy concert (yay!)
• Two day trip to Disneyland and California Adventure for Hayden's birthday
• Hayden's birthday party
• Our 3D/4D ultrasound

It's a...........

















girl!!!!

We are so excited. The ultrasound went very well. She was moving around a lot, and everything looked great. The technician started off by taking a quick look at the whole baby, then a more detailed look, starting with the brain, then the heart, etc. When she was looking at the abdomen and kidneys, I was just staring between the legs. I didn't see anything, so I looked even harder. Then, she moved down a little lower. They can identify a baby girl by the three lines that are visible between the legs on the ultrasound. As soon as she mentioned the number three, I yelled "I know what that means!!!" After she confirmed it, Hayden said "No, no - it is supposed to be a brother." He was disappointed for about ten minutes, but now he is over it and excited.

We are going to name her Violet. At the end of the ultrasound, when the technician was ready to get some pictures for us, the baby was lying on her tummy, so we didn't get any great shots. But, here she is...

And we're back....

La Quinta was beautiful. I didn't go to the spa since I just did a full spa day a couple weeks ago for my birthday. It wasn't quite warm enough to lay out, but we did some hiking, some shopping, went to the gym, and ate at a few good restaurants. It was a really relaxing weekend, and now things are busy again, as usual.

I am back to work after almost three weeks off. It was so nice not having to think about it, but I keep forgetting that I only have about four months left. I know I can handle that. We really did have a great Christmas. Hayden still hasn't even played with a lot of his new toys because there are just so many. He loves his bike and his ATM machine and his fake money. We have been playing grocery store with his play food and he likes the game of Life a lot right now too. It's just a bummer that now that I'm back to work, I don't have as much time to play with him during the day.

Here are some pictures from Chirstmas day, Hayden on his bike, and my huge belly in all its glory (I'm 19 1/2 weeks now).

We're still here. Holidays were great. Things are settling down a little. We're heading out of town this weekend to La Quinta resort in Palm Springs. I can't wait.

I'm now almost 19 weeks pregnant and doing fine. I'm feeling much better, and love being able to continue with yoga and cycling, and the gym. I haven't gained that much weight yet (about 6 pounds), but my belly is gigantic. I will try to post a picture after we get back from our trip. The baby is moving around a lot, and we have our appointment to determine the sex on Wednesday. Neil is convinced it's another boy. I'm thinking girl, but we'll find out soon enough.

I'll write a better post with lots of pictures when we get home...