little brown jug

This title has nothing whatsoever to do with this blog except that it happened to be queued up in the drop down menu for no apparant reason, and I use this tune with my trumpet students all the time. So, I like it.

Anyhoo, just to keep everyone on the up and up…

Mommy: I had a great day yesterday. Something shifted in my belly and I could actually eat more than a few bites before feeling full! I ended up eating an entire Bonzai Burger from Red Robin, plus a bunch of fries!!! And I didn’t feel overstuffed or anything. It was a great day. Today is different, of course, back to the usual very small meals which is better anyway, just not as gratifying. Not really craving anything in particular. Just trying to eat food that is good for me before feeling full.

Daddy: Been feeling very chipper these days. Looking forward to a new season of Angel on tv with his old Buffy pals. He is feeling sad there is no more Buffy. Wanting to get back into Thursday night gaming with his greenronin buddies. Saturday night gaming is starting to wind up for being a pretty regular event with summer vacations coming to a close.

Baby: She is kicking and squirming around in there these days. She kicks a lot especially when I am driving in my car. hmmmmm. From askdrsears.com (more interesting than americanbaby.com) By the end of the 5th month (YAY – 20 weeks is the end of the 5th month!!!) you can feel your cantaloupe-sized uterus at the level of your navel. Other growth milestones include:

1. Your baby weighs around three-quarters of a pound, and measures between 8-10 inches long. This is about half the length baby will be at birth.
2. Baby’s legs, now around the size of your little finger, continue growing, become more muscular, and make their presence felt as tiny flutter kicks.
3. He waves his growing, but still tiny, arms. On ultrasound, you may see him sucking his thumb and making a fist.
4. Baby hair is beginning to appear on his upper lid, eyebrows, and head.
5. His skin, previously thin and transparent, now begins to accumulate fat deposits.
6. Baby’s oil glands start to secrete a waxy substance that mixes with his dead skin cells to form a cheesy coating, called the Vernix caseosa, which acts like a sort of wetsuit protecting the little swimmer’s skin from chapping.
7. Fine, temporary hair called lanugo (meaning "wool") covers most of his body and helps to hold the vernix on the skin.
8. Baby’s digestive system functions better now, and he regularly swallows amniotic fluid and urinates into it.
9. By this month, baby’s middle ear structures have formed, enabling baby to hear sound.
10. Still, baby cannot yet survive outside the womb at this stage because his lungs are still undeveloped.

Murphee: For some strange reason she likes to hang out on the deck in the full, hot sunshine for a while in the afternoons. Very silly for a black doggie. She is also still playing ball with my students’ siblings — she has her eye on a good 4 of them, now. She gets the ball ready for them when they arrive. We have stocked on up her treats and gave her a new one made with charcoal (and other really good stuff) from Crown Hill Pet Supply She really likes it. This is a wonderful store, too, if you are in the neighborhood. Check it out. They have great frozen buffalo bones, too! (Which these days, Murphee has decided to lick for a few minutes then promptly bury in the yard.)

That’s the latest news. Our trip to NY will commence on Wednesday, Sept. 17 and we will be returning on Monday, the 22. (Happy Birthday, Bonnie!) Then, it will be Sir Evan’s birthday on the 23rd! Hmmm, gotta figure out something cool for the newly 34 year old.