Beautiful Sunday

Last Sunday we finally had some gorgeous weather. The sky was clear and blue and the temperature outside could not have been more perfect for taking a walk to the park. Blair and I took the new camera out for a spin. On the way back to our apartment we found this giant pile of ants. Amazing, huh?

Pics

As Kate mentioned, I gave her an early birthday present last week--a new digital camera. Hilarity ensued:

Dream Come True

I have the best husband! He caught me off guard two days ago and completely surprised me. I’ll explain, but first here’s a little background.

There was a time in my life when I was a photographic purist. I didn’t really believe digital photography was the way to go. It’s too easy to manipulate images into something that never existed. Film was my choice. It captures real images; it records the truth of the moment and leaves little room for altering reality. I was dedicated to the cause. And then the money started talking. Digital cameras have become more affordable and with the technology there is no need to constantly buy film or pay for processing. So my idealist side quieted down and my practical side started dreaming of a digital SLR to call my very own.

Two days ago Blair made that dream come true. I left our family room for a few minutes and when I returned there was a beautiful little camera sitting on our coffee table with a ribbon tied around it. Blair was sitting there grinning and simply said, “happy early birthday!” I can’t lie and say I was surprised to get it; we had discussed buying a nicer camera before our baby comes and even decided it would count for my birthday present. What I didn’t expect was to get it so soon! I was completely surprised!

Blair spent hours questioning and researching to find just the right kind of camera to fit our needs. It’s nice enough to appeal to the photographer in me but affordable enough for our pocketbook. It can be fully automatic or fully manual or anything in between and it has tons of great features. The best part is how happy Blair looked when he gave it to me. He said he just couldn’t wait until my birthday and had to give it to me early. I got a little thrill when he said, “that looks right in your hands.” He is a better husband than I deserve. How did I get so lucky?

Halitosis of the Nose?

So pregnancy is great. Really. There are lots of things I love: feeling the baby kick and flip, an amazingly bigger appetite than I’ve ever had before, watching in wonder as my middle grows. Those things seem very magical to me. Then there are some less magical parts of pregnancy: Fatigue, nausea, heartburn, and an oddly acute sense of smell. These things slam me back into reality pretty often. Strange smells are especially good for a reality check.

A few weeks ago I was walking up the big hill south of campus and I smelled raw onions. This is one of my least favorite smells in the world and it just wouldn’t go away. I swear someone was weed-whacking some green onion plants nearby. Or maybe the food science lab had just thrown out a huge batch of chopped onion from some pungent project. No one else really seemed bothered by the putrid air.

I told Blair about it later and he helpfully told me about some tidbit he read on mentalfloss.com. It goes something like this­­­­–apparently some people smell things that really aren’t there. This little defect has a name: Phantosmia

My dear husband really thought he was being helpful. Here’s what he thought he said: “Don’t worry, some people just smell things that don’t exist—even when they’re not pregnant.” Here’s what I heard: “Your brain is malfunctioning and you’re crazy. Don’t even try to blame it on pregnancy.”

He really thinks this little brain defect is amusing. A few days after that conversation Blair noticed that I wouldn’t kiss him as much as usual (a big relief for those who know us). I tried to gently tell him that I couldn’t take his breath. So he brushed, flossed, and used mouthwash then came to me for assessment of his handiwork. “Well, it’s sort of better.” I swear I still smelled something putrid.

Not to be deterred from his quest for more kisses, the next night Blair bravely used some super bad breath busting toothpaste and mouthwash formulated for halitosis. It has been sitting in our bathroom closet for a long time and he finally busted it out. After a thorough cleaning, he again came to me for assessment. “Uhh….well…I still smell something weird.” I think he seriously thought I was nuts.

That night as we were getting ready for bed I noticed that I smelled that strange smell even when Blair’s mouth was closed. I asked him to close his mouth and breathe out through his nose. There it was! That strange smell wasn’t halitosis of the mouth—it was halitosis of the nose! Does that even exist? How do you freshen your nose? Now Blair is sure I’m certifiable. The good news is I finally stopped smelling it after a few days. Now I’ve moved on to smelling other strange things in unexpected places: stale cigarette smoke, mildew, rotten garbage—why can’t it be vanilla or lavender or baking bread or some other pleasant scent? Don’t worry. I don’t smell bad things all the time. Just every now and then something will tickle my olfactory center and remind me that pregnancy isn’t all peaches and cream. I just hope I’ll get back my normal sense of smell once our baby comes. 

Baby's First Home Movie

Okay, so it's not a home movie, more of a hospital movie, but it is still the first time our little girl is in a motion picture. :)

It's a Girl!

Yessiree, there are no Y chromosomes in sight. We went in for the ultrasound last Friday. Everything looks normal: She has the right number of limbs, her heart has four chambers beating together, she has a spine, stomach, kidneys, etc. As far as the doctors can tell, she is perfectly healthy.

Actually, most of that information was an afterthought for me. I had no doubt that she was healthy, I just wanted to find out that she was a she. After I learned that, the health information was just a special bonus.

I found the whole process fascinating. I stood there staring at the screen with my mouth open, looking in wonder at the perfect little person growing inside my lovely wife. I'm surprised an orderly didn't need to come in after us and wipe drool off of the floor where I was standing.

The whole experience really drove home the idea that we are having a baby. Before the ultrasound, I believed my wife when she said we were having a baby, but the only evidence I had was Kate's thickening middle and strange behavior. Neither of those things really did it for me. It shouldn't be surprising though. Being a film major during my undergrad, it is perfectly reasonable to assume that seeing something on a screen would be much more understandable to me. I saw it on TV, ergo it must be true.

As you can see, here are a couple of the pictures. Now you see the real reason we set up this blog. Our child isn't even born yet, and we are plastering up pictures for all to see.

We'll get full motion video up once I get the VHS tape digitized. The medical industry is so slow with technology. I mean, come on, VHS? A paper printout? Can't I get a digital copy? Can't you email me the pictures? If we can clone sheep, why can't we get some digital imaging in the hands of the people who really need it?

Goodbye and Hello

Blair and I have had a very busy and emotional month. On top of our (mostly my) insane school schedules, we fit in two weekend trips to Arizona to visit Blair's family. Unfortunately, the trips were not merely for pleasure. Blair's mom entered hospice care the third week of January so we went that weekend to be with her and the rest of the family. Her last request for her final days on earth was to be with family and "have fun" so we had a family party while everyone was there. She hung on to life until the morning of Tuesday, January 22. The following Saturday we found ourselves back in Arizona to celebrate and honor the life of Carolyn Larsen. It was a beautiful memorial service and we really enjoyed being together with Blair's family. While we will miss Carolyn and mourn her absence in our family's future, we are relieved that she no longer suffers from her physical ailments. 

The same day Blair's mom passed away, Blair and I went to the Dr. for our first prenatal visit. While we were there we heard our baby's heartbeat for the first time. We felt an interesting mix of emotions as we moved from saying goodbye to Blair's mom to hello to our little one. It really is possible to feel sadness and happiness at the same time. Blair's sister later suggested that mom left that morning so she could be with us in the afternoon when we heard the evidence of new life. Maybe she really was there. 

After this long and emotional month, we are moving on with good memories of Blair's mom and the hope of making good memories with our baby. Stay tuned and we'll let you know how things go.