Picture from my hotel room in Morgantown, WV

My flights got cancelled, so to make my job interviews I talked the HR manager into letting me drive out.  I left on Tuesday around 4, by the time, I left and then came back for my dress clothes, and left again.  I drove about half way that night, to make it easier driving in case of weather.  I stopped the night in Morgantown, WV.  The drive was fairly easy, some slight rain for the first hour and a half, but the rest was clear skies.  The snow started about 10 mins out from Morgantown, and continued over night.



I stayed at Ramada Inn that had the best hot breakfast I've ever had at a hotel.  They had tons of food, and even real eggs.  I took my time getting up to allow road crews plenty of time to clear the roads, and any morning traffic to clear out.  I made even better time, due to the pending snow storm, because no one was on the road at all between there and Salisbury, Maryland.  There was no weather on the road either.  I drove alot on I-68, where you go 3 miles up a mountain, and then 3 miles down the mountain.  So you are bouncing back and forth from 60 uphill to 80 downhill, I also learned not to drive in steel toe boots... you tend to go faster than you intended.

Clear roads and driving

I had a breakfast interview on Thursday, at Bob Evans at 7 am with Mr. Bob.  Then I had an interview each hour with four more people until 11.  The interviews went well.  I had a good time, but the only problem when you interview with five people separately, you get some of the same questions over and over again.  "Why this company?"  "Tell me about yourself."  "How do you feel you fit in this position?" After 5 hours of interviews done, I was then given directions to Palmyra, Pennsylvania, right outside of Hershey.  It was only a 222 mile drive according to the GPS.  There I meet with the grain manager for that location.  I really enjoy meeting with Dick, and we ate at a GREAT restaurant.  The chef is Ukraine and his wife is Greek, but the food was awesome.  I had crab, fish, and shrimp meatballs, with a linguine with roasted tomatoes and pepper sauce.  It was large enough portions that I could have split it with Danielle and us both been full.  With that came a lobster shrimp bisque.  It was incredibly creamy.  It's hard to describe.  We also shared two appetizers of crab rolls - crab meat, cheese, and cream cheese rolled in panko bread crumbs and roasted - and Sliced mushrooms with crab meat on top, and slightly melted parmesan cheese, drizzled with a wine sauce.  I don't even like mushrooms, and that was great.  I might have liked the crab rolls best of all though.  This meal was not cheap, in fact my wife might never be allowed to eat here, if she is she might be blindfolded so that she can't find her way back.  It was worth every penny that the company spent on it. I had another really nice hotel that night.

On Friday, I then drove over to Elizabethville, Pa, where the position would be.  It's a real small place, about 1200 people, but it does have a Walmart.  It was probably a little less than 15 miles from my hotel, but there aren't many direct roads, so it was probably a 45 minute drive.  Coming into town was a beautiful, scenic drive.  You have to drive about 6 or 7 miles straight up hill, just to come back down the other side to get to it.  I met with the office manager and team there.  I got the nickle tour of the whole facility, the silos, old turkey barns, and fertilizer/chemical buildings.  Everyone was really nice and courteous seemed to be hard workers.  Everyone seemed to like the company, not much bad was reported.  It seems to be a company that takes care of people both employees and customers.  I also drove around the area a bit.  I couldn't tell you where all I went with Dick, but I enjoyed getting a feel for the area.  I think it's a company that I could enjoy working for, and a nice area to live.  After lunch with them, I hit the road to head home.

Now granted I might have seen "Tarzan" a few too many times lately (it and "Beauty and the Beast" are Britt's current favorite movies), but I'm thinking this child looks a little too much like two of the gorillas in the movie...





Especially when Daddy has been styling her hair...

So, I've finished reading Numbers early this week.  According my chronological reading chart, I read Numbers 1-14, Psalms 90, and then finished reading the rest of Numbers.  Psalm 90, written by Moses, is thought to be the oldest Psalm, most likely written after the Children of Israel refuse to enter the promise land.  Thinking about it in that light, made a few things jump out at me.

Up until this point the people have complained over and over and over again.  They have complained and failed to obey 10 times, about the army of Egypt behind them (Ex. 14:11), about the lack of water (Ex. 15:24 and 17:2), about the wilderness (Ex. 16:3), about the lack of food, about the lack of variety of food, and then not gathering it all the way they were told to (Ex. 16:20, 16:27, Num. 11:4), and on and on (Ex. 32:7, and Num. 11:1).  The final straw, the tenth time, is all their complaining about the promise land and refusing to enter it (Num. 14:22).  Moses has complained a few times up to this point too, but the difference is that he carries his complaints to the Lord, and the Lord provides answers.  The people on the other hand complain to each other in bitterness against the Lord.  I heard a preacher tell in a sermon one time, that there is nothing wrong with complaining and pouring out our heart in prayer.  He said that God is a loving Father, and He can change things when we go to Him, or He can comfort us and give us strength in our circumstances.  HOWEVER, the elder was quick to point out, that we never solve anything by complaining to each other about our situation.  Numbers proves this.

God has been telling the people for some time that this is a great land, and that it's going to be theirs.  The spies report back confirming how great the land is.  However, in their report they dwell on the negatives, the strong cities, the giants, the fierce men of war.  After seeing all of the miracles, they doubt God's ability, and insist that they cannot take the land.  Of course Caleb and Joshua insist that God will give them the land, but the people desire to stone them, and still refuse to enter the promise land.  God initially threatens to kill them all, and make a nation of Moses, but Moses intercedes for the people yet again, and God condemns them to wander in the wilderness for 40 years.  At this point some of the people decide they want to enter the promise land after all, and they go.  But, God doesn't go with them and they are defeated in battle.

The very night I read chapter 14, I saw a similar situation in our own house.  Britt gets to sit up a little longer than Ruth at night and play on his leap pad, to wind down before bed.  However, on that particular night, I told him that he needed to go and use the bathroom and be read for bed, before playing any more.  Rather than go, he pitched a fit and refused, and lost out on the opportunity to play on his leap pad that night.  As I put him to bed, he apologized and asked to play his leap pad after he finally went to use the bathroom.  I had to tell him no.  He wanted to fix it, but it was too late.  Likewise, sometimes we can't fix things, and the Lord still punishes us for our actions.

I found it interesting that much of Psalm 90 parallels the thoughts that Moses expresses in his prayer to the Lord, and to the Lord's answer to him in Numbers 14.  Psalm 90 starts out by establishing God is eternal, great, and that we cannot compare to him, as we are only here for a little time.  It talks of how the Lord sees all of our sins, like the complaining in the heart of the people, and in verses 12-17 seems to beg for forgiveness, that we might do better, "teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom."  He then asks that they might be made glad even in affliction.  It reminded me that even in discipline and hardship we are to learn to walk closer.  Daddy use to tell me that he was spanking me so that I would learn to not repeat my mistakes.  God is no different.  We can chose to become bitter when the Lord rebukes us or we can grow.

You would think that this would have taught the people a lesson, but they continue on to complain at least 4 more times.  About Moses and Aaron having all the power in the camp (Num. 16:3), that Moses and Aaron killed Korah and the people that rebelled (Num. 16:41), again about the lack of water (Num. 20:2), and finally blaming God and Moses for them still being in the wilderness (Num. 21:5).  How often do we do the exact same thing?  I'm grateful for a God that is long suffering and patient with my many faults.

Yesterday, the two oldest enjoyed a snow day.  We got 13 inches of snow courtesy of Winter Storm Saturn.  It's a shame that Gary wasn't here to enjoy it with us.  I thought about buddling up the littlest member in the carrier, and wearing her out under my coat, but decided that there was no way I could keep my balance and help the kids, with her in tow.  So, after I fed her, I wrapped her up in the swing for a little nap, and out we went.



Now, you all know I'm from Alabama, and if you add up all the snow I've seen in my life time, it wouldn't equal 13 inches.  Tramping around in it was fun, and it was really fun to laugh at Ruth falling in it, and Britt doing nose dives, and trying to explain to me how it is that his snow pants are like a swim suit.  (Don't ask, I'm still not sure what the connection is.)  I pulled the kids a little bit on the sled, it was easier than I thought it would be.  However, I'm still sore enough from birthing the last one, that I wasn't up for it long.  I was relieved when Britt said he was ready to go inside, get a cup, and play on his leap pad a bit.  (This decision might have been hastened along a little by his Momma putting her old batting gloves on him, instead of his mittens, so that Ruth could wear his mittens, since her's were in the car with Gary in Maryland.)


Kita of course is loving the weather.  She's either running in circles on her line, tossing sticks to herself, or circling up in the snow to nap with her nose tucked under her tail.  I wanted to hook her harness to the sled and then put her on her leash to let her do the work of pulling the kids, and burning some energy, but alas, she chewed through her harness last week and I've not replaced it yet.

"I a doctor.  I cut hair.  I give pokes.  I a doctor.  I doctor Momma and Ahna wiff Britt's doctor tools."

Gary has had several job interviews since Thanksgiving, a number of them in person.  He was able to meet with two agronomy coops in Iowa and Illinois.  He interviewed with Monsanto in California, and a strawberry farm in Florida.  There have been even more phone interviews.  We keep applying to anything with in a couple hours driving distance to a Primitive Baptist Church, and waiting to see what turns up.  We trust that as we continue to apply, and Gary continues to have good interviews, that the right position will turn up.  We just keep doing what we are able to do, and pray for guidance from the Lord, after all that's all we can do.  (Can you tell I'm handling this much better this go round?)

My family left Sunday afternoon, and Gary's is coming in on Friday.  However, Gary is going for a job interview in Pennsylvania Wednesday through Friday of this week.  I'm going to be on my own for the first time with the kiddos this week.  I'm not not sure that I'm up to it yet, but Gary is convinced that we'll be just fine.  And for some reason, he doesn't want me to call every time that Rebecca wakes up for a night time feeding.  Not sure why he wants to miss out on all that fun.  Please continue to keep us in your prayers.

Rebecca,

Today you are one week old.  It's been a pretty good week, thanks to all the good help from Ahna.  You still don't have much of a routine yet, we've had a couple of nights where you've had a good 3.5 to 4 hour stretch and only eat about 3 times between midnight and morning.  Then there have been a few nights where you are eating every hour and a half.  On average you have been more alert in the evening, and sleeping your longer stretches early in the morning.  I think your internal clock is off about 5 hours, since you seem to sleep better from 3 on to 7, and then another longer stretch from 7:30 on to 11.  You have slept alot with me or Ahna holding you.  We've had mixed success on getting you to sleep in the cradle at night, but that will come eventually.  You do seem to prefer to sleep on your side, and unlike your brother and sister, you seem to like being swaddled.  Britt never liked to be swaddled, and Ruth was only liked it as long as she could get her hands up and into her mouth.  You seem to like the whole tight burrito thing, especially when it's up around your face.  Even though you aren't sleeping when your Daddy wants you to, you are eating well.  At your check up yesterday you weighed in at 8 lbs, 7 oz.  We are suppose to come by next week or week after for a weight check, to be sure that you hit birth weight, but we don't have another regular appointment until we both go back when you are a month old.  You also passed your hearing test yesterday.

Your siblings are excited that you have finally arrived.  Britt asks daily if you "can talk, now?"  He has started your lessons on which dinosaur is which, and he is eager to show you how his leap pad works.  He wants to share his juice and food with you.  He asks to hold you, but fusses at you when you cry.  He sounds like Unca Benji complaining about your crying.  He tries to sing to you when you are sad, and you seem to enjoy it.  Ruth doesn't want to hold you, she says you are too heavy.  However, she does like to hold your hand, and help by bringing us new diapers, and throwing away the dirty ones.  She's very proud to be a big helper. She says that she is going to teach you to dance.

I sure do love to cuddle with you, while we are resting.  Daddy and I are all so thankful that you are here and healthy. You were a great surprise, little girl.

We love you,
Momma

"We have a new baby.  Her name is Bay-ya.  I like her, alot, alot.  I no hold her, she heavy. I hold her hand. I clean my baby up.  I good helper."

The new baby is a girl baby, but she needs to be a boy.  Her name is "Abecca."  The baby is still a girl, and she's never going to be a boy ever, ever again.  It will be a girl always.  I like her.  I take good care of it.  I can put her to bed, and I can get her in the bathtub, and I can probably I can help alot.  I can hold her hand when she cries, and she can walk.  But she can't talk or drink juice or eat candy.  Her just drink milk.  She looks like a girl, and a baby.  She looks like a dinosaur, or maybe a sea monster.  No, she has a little brown hair.  She is pretty.

She arrived February 22, 2013 at 1:37 pm without waiting for the doctor to arrive, even though I asked her nicely.  They broke my water this morning, to augment the 3 weeks of on again, off again contractions, but we didn't have to have anything else.  Labor went really well, up to the last hour where I went from almost a 5 to delivering while the nurses scrambled for gloves.  She weighed in at 8 lbs and 10 oz, and was 20 inches long.  In between Britt (20.5) and Ruth (19.5) in length, and outweighing them both.  She has dark hair, and what I think are dark blue eyes.  She nursed like a champ right off the bat.  She already "complains" more than the others, and always needs her fist in her mouth.  We've already discovered that she prefers to be held sideways  and doesn't particularly like to be up on your shoulder.  We are planning to leave the hospital just as soon as Gary and the kids get back from Church on Sunday.

This morning I finished up my reading in Leviticus, that puts me one day ahead of my reading schedule.  Which is probably a good thing, since I expect my reading to be a bit scattered post baby.  I will confess that I find Leviticus to be pretty heavy reading.  It's alot to slosh through, and try to make sense of, and I often have found my mind wandering while attempting to read it.  Back a few years ago, I took a notebook, and tried to break down the different sacrifices, their purpose, and what they pointed to in the work of Christ on the cross.    I know that all the law is given for our benefit.  That God gave it not only to glorify him, and not only to remind us that we can't live to the perfection that the law requires, but also, because it's good for us - for our physical health, for our peace of mind, for strong families and communities.  It's all good, after all He has never told us to do anything that isn't good for us.  However, we are no longer under the law, and most of the law no longer applies to us today.  For example, we aren't required to sacrifice (which takes up half of the book), we don't have to circumcised to follow Christ, and bacon is back on the menu.  The very fact that are no longer under the law is part of what makes Leviticus so hard to read.  I know all scripture is given by inspiration... and that it's all profitable, but Leviticus really is hard reading.

That said, there was something that really stuck out to me, reading it through this time around.  Have you ever noticed God's attention to detail?  I'm not sure that any book of the Bible points this out so thoroughly as Leviticus.  Throughout the book of Exodus, God is doing big, wondrous, majestic things.  But toward the end, he tells Moses, "...thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name." (Exodus 33:17)  It put me in mind for reading Leviticus.  After all, of those big and wondrous things he worked out, he still cares individually for each of us.  He didn't just lead the nation of Israel out of bondage, but He knew each of them by name.  God is powerful.  He is big.  His ways are above our ways.  We can't hope to understand Him or approach Him, He is so high above us.  But he doesn't only care for the big things.  He is a God with attention to detail.  And even this is very comforting.  He paid it all, leaving nothing undone.  He foresaw and took care of each minor detail.  All of the Old Testament prophesies were fulfilled, all of the law was upheld, in each small point, in spirit as well as in fact (Matthew 5:18).  He cares for each of us individually despite the fact that He is so great and we are so small.  He cares about our lives, and what we do.  He cares about our troubles, and is a High Priest touched with our infirmities (Hebrews 4:15).  His attention to detail is so clear in Leviticus.  The way beast are to be killed and where, the way the blood is to be poured or sprinkled, the direction east or west, the detail about how we are to act one toward another, the specifics of the feast.  It goes on and on.

God cares about even the small things, and as such we should remember that in everything we do, we should do it in a way that would be honoring to him.  In other words, we should do everything to the best of our ability, in the right way, no matter what.  I don't know that cleaning our bathroom is an act that is "honoring" to God.  However, if as a child I cut corners, and didn't do a thorough job, even when I knew what Mother expected.  When I didn't pay attention to the details, because no one was watching, and what did it matter any way.  Was that honoring?  When I didn't do my best, do you really think that was honoring to God.  I didn't do my best, I didn't do everything on the check list, and I lead Mother to believe I did a satisfactory job, when I knew she wouldn't agree if she had been watching me.  This may seem to be a silly example, but I think that if we are honest, we can all improve in this area.  I'm never going to get to  point that I get all the little things, or even sometimes all the big things right in life, AFTER ALL, the law points out our shortcomings not how good we are (Romans 7).  Despite the fact that I'm never going to get it all right, because I know that He is God and cares about the little stuff as well as the big stuff, I should never feel complacent like I'm good enough, and should always strive to do a better job, even in this little area.

Ruth had her evaluation through First Steps last Thursday.  Several have asked about it, and it's really way too much to write on facebook, and it's a long conversation to have 45,000 times so I thought I would just blog about it, instead of Ruth posting today.  While we learned alot, we won't know her exact scores and what all she will or won't qualify for until March 1st.  At that time they are going to come back out and talk to us, and let us know what options we have, and possibly set up a game plan if she is considered delayed enough.
They tested 6 areas - fine motor skills, gross motor skills, adaptive, cognition, social-communication, and social skills.  They told us that she was far ahead of her age for fine motor skills.  Britt got to test a little with her, since he wanted to play too, and she far out ranked him on fine motor skills, some of what she's doing they told me was at a 4+ year level.  For example, she managed to almost completely cut out a shape, and I've never even let her attempt something with sissors.  I still think that was a fluke.  She is spot on with gross motor skills (this is what her funny gait falls under), she can jump, gallop, kick a ball, etc.  With her adaptive skills, they looked at things like how she eats, just generally works with her environment, once again that was at her age level.  With cognition they were looking for how quickly she processes and figures things out.  She was ahead in this area as well, though they didn't tell me what level she was at.  Ruth's problem areas are particularly in the social-communication area and as a result of communications issues also a few problems in the social skills area.

Sprawling out is ok, in fact, it's perfectly normal for her to look a little knock kneed up to around 4.

Ruth had several red flags in her social-communication.  The first is that she uses almost no consonant sounds.  At this age they don't expect them to use the right consonants, but they do expect them to be using some consonants.  For example, I know that "uh-ey" means monkey, "ah-ul" means apple, and "uh ou" means love you, but none of those "words" have consonant sounds in them.  Secondary concern is that while she has a large vocabulary it is primarily nouns, she uses almost no adjectives, and very few action words.  Additionally when she uses action words, she doesn't attempt tenses.  For example, she would say "I run" not "I running," "I ran," or "I runned" all of which would be normal at this age.  She also never says things like I eat, but rather things like I hungry.  Which of course sounds more like "I uh-ey", and we only know the difference between monkey and hungry because we figure out from how she acts, or from asking several different things.  She had one additional flag in the social skills area.  In everything else, she rated above her age level, but since she is a social butterfly who has never met a stranger we aren't surprised.  Her one flag is her frustration level at trying to communicate.  She attempts to carry on a conversation, and she understands everything that is said to her, BUT when you don't understand her (which happens alot) she gets frustrated, and rather than showing you, or trying to rephrase what she wants, she just repeats the same thing over and over and over, until she's pitching a fit or you figure it out.

Ruth W-sitting.

As for her walk, best they can tell, short of doing xrays to confirm, there is nothing wrong with her walk.  Most kids walk a little pigeon toed before three, and the only reason that she's not growing out of it faster is that she does W-sit alot.  I didn't realize what that meant when someone asked me about it last week.  They were impressed with her ability to quickly get up from a squat, which is her favorite way to sit and play in the floor, and said that she had good strength and muscle tone.  W-sitting means that over time as her pelvis matures, that it might not line up quite like it should.  It's ok for them to do that, but she is doing it too much.  Additionally for Ruth she is not pointing her toes straight behind her when she sits but the foot that turns in, she points out perpendicular to her body.  They could verify that she sits this way too often, because they checked her flexibility.  When they laid her on her back and had her butterfly her legs (feet together, knees out) she couldn't put her legs flat to the floor, like kids under 3 should be able to do.  Additionally when they put her knees together and her feet out to the sides, she could not only lay them completely flat but she could actually pull her feet all the way up to her sides, making a V shape.  She was more flexible than she should be.  What that told them is that she keeps her hamstrings in the shortened position most of the time, and she's not working them enough (she has a little bit low muscle tone as a result, not much just a little low).

Ruth squatting.

While they couldn't tell us her actual score yet, I did overhear them discussing that she was borderline, and that they would recommend her for speech therapy.  Even if she doesn't qualify for the program, they gave us some stuff to do help her.  For the gait, we just encourage her to "sit like a big girl" and they gave us several ways to have her sit instead.  We won't completely eliminate W-sitting that's just her preference, and there's nothing wrong with that, just encourage her to not sit that way as often.  For the speech, play lots of singing-finger play songs (like itty-bitsy spider).  Most kids learn through singing to speak clearer, and since she loves to sing and dance, this one will be great for her.  Also, to pick a sound to work on so that when she drops it, we repeat it back to her, emphasizing the missing sound.  The key here is to do this often enough, that she begins to hear what she is dropping, and to encourage her to add it on her own.  She won't start doing it right way, it will take time.  The next milestone we are to be looking for is using more consonant sounds at the beginning and ending of words.  If she has had no improvement in 6 months, they recommend having a full hearing check at 3, just to be sure that's not an issue (initial test, showed that it's not though).  All in all, we got alot of information, and I'm glad we went ahead and had her tested.

Grumps taught Britt and Ruth a nursery rhyme while he was here.  He taught Britt "Hey Diddle, Diddle" back when he was Ruth's size, but he worked with Ruth on it, so that she can sing it too.

I had another non-stress test this morning, and everything looked good.  We appreciate everyone's thoughts and prayers, but I'm not going to be posting any more updates on the pregnancy, or answering questions about it.  Of course we will let everyone know after the baby arrives, but the 45,000 messages a day asking if we are in labor yet, have we had the baby, how do I feel, are really unnecessary.  If we had the baby, you would know, we aren't going to wait a week to announce it.  Right now, we just want to relax and enjoy our little family until baby decides to arrive.  I still plan to help the kids post this week, but you won't be hearing from me again until our little surprise arrives.  Have a great week everyone!

I've finished up reading in Exodus this week.  I think it might be one of the most exciting books in the Old Testament, maybe in the Bible, period.  Ruth is probably still my favorite book, but I really like Exodus.  I love history, and I have always felt like a good history is told like a great story, in a vivid way that you can picture what happened.  Exodus is that way, and boy do I love imagining the first 12 chapters in particular.  When I was a kid, Daddy and I use to love to rent or check out or watch "The Ten Commandments" all the time.  Charlton Heston as Moses was amazing.  It's a long movie, but I always thought that it was a great portral of the book of Exodus, and I'll confess, I still mostly see Heston, when I read about Moses.  When I was older and the "Prince of Egypt" came out, I liked that one too.  And I'll even confess when I was reading about the plagues in there this time through, I caught myself sort of humming the song from the movie.

Can you imagine what it must have been like to see the power and wonder of God on display in such an amazing way?  He proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that He Is God and that the Egyptian gods, were nothing.  He showed power over land and water, over the heavens, over beast and men, over health, over life and death.  Each plague showed His power over all areas of our lives.  How can we doubt that He can do any and all things that He so desires?  Then in the next several chapters, in less than 15 days, the Children of Isreal complain and grumble three separate times - first about the Egyptians coming to attack, then about the food, and finally about water.  I have thought before, how after seeing what they saw could they continue to doubt and complain.  But I have realized we are the same way.  How many times have we seen the Lord work providentially in our lives:  covering bills when we were unemployed and had nothing left, when we were sick and the outlook wasn't good, when we saw no hope in a situation?  Then how quickly do we forget, and begin to worry and fret and complain the next time we find ourselves in a situation that we don't have the answers too?  Why don't we skip the complaining phase, and go to our Heavenly Father?  As neat as it would be to have seen those things, I must confess I've seen him do great works in my life.  I hope to spend more time praising him like the Isrealites after they crossed over the Red Sea, and less time complaining by Marah's bitter stream.

Last week I finished reading Genesis.  I'm still behind schedule, but I'm telling myself that I don't want to rush through reading, and I want to only read when I can really focus on it.  One of the things that really struck me toward the end of Genesis, was the contrast between Job, and Joseph.  I already mentioned that I'm alot like Job, in that I spend way too much time over analysing and asking God why.  I'm trying to work on that.  I did notice that Joseph never seemed to complain and ask why all these horrible things happened to him - sold into slavery, thrown unjustly into prison, without his family in Egypt, and forgotten time and time again.  He just sought to do the best he could in every situation he found himself in.  Rather than spend time complaining and asking why (though I'm sure he did that at least once in the 13 years he spent as a slave and prisoner), he spent his time doing the best job he could, and trying to show the best character he could in each situation.  Both men were great and godly men, both endured great hardship, and we can learn alot from both men.

Baby Girl,

Today you are 2.5 years old. Last year I said, I was looking forward to the conversation where I can understand you, and I have to confess I'm still waiting.  There are so many times where you are trying to tell me something and I cannot interpret what you are saying.  Neither can your mother or Britt.  Then you get very upset with me, when I try to guess, and guess wrong.  I will say the one word that is clearest - is the word "No!"  In fact you seem to like sayingnNo better than you like to breath sometimes.  You will lean over to me, tilt your head, and with a smile say "Noooooooooo" as long as you can hold it before taking a breath, only to repeat it again, after getting that breath.  Your favorite saying right now is a toss up between "Uhhhh" and "Me too!"  Anytime I say no, or explain why something doesn't work, you say "uhhhh" not in an ugly way, but in a disappointed, I'm-breaking-your-heart sort of way.  It's some more of those feminine wiles in action, trying to get me to change my mind, or the laws of nature to make something work for you.  Whenever Britt asks for something the next thing that comes out of your mouth is "Me too!"  Whether he asks for a cup, cookie, toy, or something else.

I am Tarzan.  I like to sing, in nothing but my underwear.  For some reason, Momma insists that I leave at least my pants on though.  Momma still doesn't understand why I do everything that Tarzan does in the movie.  She says she would think I would just like to watch it instead of acting it out, but that has never been any fun.

Today marks 39 weeks.  I'm hoping to at least make it to the 14th.  I figure at worst Bro. Joe and Sis. Elin will only be on call for the one day until Mother and Daddy make it in around midnight - 2am on Friday night/Saturday morning.  There are tons of little things around the house that need doing, like cleaning out the fridge and the freezer, but the only big to do left on the list is to clean out the car, and put the baby's car seat in it.  We'll just probably throw it in the back for now, and not actually install it until the baby gets here.  After  all, as long as the baby isn't here, Mother can ride with us in our car, if we don't have the seat installed.  Besides, with as many times as we've had to put them in and take them out, and move them between cars, Gary is getting to be a pro at the car seat thing.  haha.

We are looking at a busy week, I need to do the laundry and clean house today.  It's Monday again after all.   We also, need to make a trip by the library, and probably do the grocery shopping again today.  Tomorrow, someone from First Steps is going to come out and do some paperwork and such so that we can get Ruth's "articulation and gait" evaluated.  On Friday I have my chiropractor appointment.  Mother and Daddy will be here by early on Saturday.  Busy, busy week.

Kita is 5 months old today.  It's amazing how much she's grown.  I put her on the scale with me the other day to weigh her.  She's up to roughly 25 lbs.  She's still a bit mouthy and nips a bit when she plays, but she's still a puppy.  She is getting a bit better about that.  The only other big problem we have is that she doesn't mind being crated, except at bedtime.  For a while she would howl.  She's mostly quit that, but she somehow is rattling the cage at night.  She doesn't do it every night, and even those that she does she doesn't usually go on all that long.  Sometimes though, she just keeps at it, until we have to move her crate into the garage, to keep from going crazy and get some sleep.
She's learned alot.  She's very reliable with sit and come.  She was making good progress with lay down too, but I didn't really work on it with her over the Christmas/New Year's break, so she's not doing so hot with that right now.  We've also been working on "go to bed" which we are having some mixed results with.  She listens to me most of the time, but I also reward her at bed time with a treat.  She doesn't listen to Gary so much, unless she just wants to go to bed.  I'm also needing to start work with her to sit when someone approaches.  She gets overly excited (especially when she's on her line in the yard), and begins bouncing.  She's getting some real height now to her jumping.  One of the training books I read, said it's alot easier to teach a dog what to do instead of a bad habit, rather than trying to teach them not to do a bad habit.  For example, teach a dog to sit when someone approaches, instead of trying to teach them to not jump.

View from my hotel room in LA

Thursday I flew out to LA for a job interview.  By the time I landed and picked up my Dodge Avenger it was already dark, so I didn't do much that day but eat supper and head to the hotel.  I was able to "enjoy" a 2 hour drive (covering just under 50 miles).  Traffic out there really is that bad during rush hour.  For the first  hour and a half, I only covered about 15 to 20 miles.  The most annoying part was the motorcycles, who were all driving on the dotted lines in between other cars, instead of in the lane.  Turns out in California, it's legal for them to do that.  I've always wanted to try out the Avenger, and the rental place let you pick any standard car, and they had two a white and a black.  The hotel was very nice.  What was great about the hotel, was the check out was at noon.  That meant I didn't have to check out before the interviews.  I was able to come back, change clothes and pack up for the day.

My cool car rental

On Friday I had my interviews.  I had a two part job interview.  The first interview was with three people.  It lasted about an hour and a half, with situational questions that I got to answer.  At the end, I was able to ask them a few questions as well, to get more of a feel for the company, and what they value.  The second session was another hour long with the HR and some of the US and Canadian salesmen.  Mostly it was the same sort of questions, but a little more HR specific.  While we were talking toward the end, I mentioned that I intended to do a little sight seeing down the coast before flying out, since this was my first trip to California.  The lead US/Canadian Salesman, told me I should try out Neptune's Net on CA-1.  I tried a sampler plate, and it was pretty good seafood.  It wasn't really a sit down, so much as a biker swing through place, where you grab it, eat outside, and go.

Neptune's Net

I can see why some people would enjoy moving to California.  The small area I saw was very beautiful, and unique to anything I had seen before.  On one side of the road you could see the beach and the ocean off to the right.  On the other side, off to the left, it almost immediately climbed up into the mountains.  I will say, the beaches still don't compare to Anna Maria Island, but then again, I don't think many do.  Some of the beaches had primitive campsites, which I think would be fun for a day or two.  At the beach I looked for seashells, and didn't find a single one.  I was planning to get Britt a rock anyway, because that boy loves rocks, so I got both Britt and Ruth one.

A California Strawberry Field

I did swing by and look at a strawberry field or two out of curiosity.  I noticed they were using clear plastic, instead of black.  They had alot of bloom coming on, and seemed to already be picking very strong.  There's nothing to stop them now.  The market will be strong through Valentine's Day or so for sure, but after that, it might trail off with California berries coming in.    I was tempted to try one from the field, but I refrained.  I hated it when people did it in Florida.  However, I'm still convinced that Plant City has the best berries.

Britt's rock

The last thing to report was the marathon trip back.  So, basically I spent 18 hours getting from LA to San Fran, to Chicago, to Fort Wayne, and about 10 of that was layovers.  It was ridiculous, but I did want to get back home as soon as possible, just in case the baby decided to come early.  The only fun part of the whole trip, was being stuck in San Francisco.  I ran into four other poor souls who were taking the red eye from there.  To help pass the time (nearly 5 hours), we sat in a Chinese seafood place talking.  Two Canadians had changed vacation plans from the Northeast to a cruise out of Fort Lauderdale.  Two others were heading home to Washington DC.  It was kinda fun, to have all five of us stuck there until midnight before our flights out.

Danielle's favorite picture from the trip.

"I like doctor.  She was nice.  She looked at my mouth, and my nose, and my hands, and I did talk to her.  I got markers and colored.  I don't like shots in my leg."




Ruth did pretty well with the doctor's office too yesterday.  Some things Britt did first like getting weighed and his height measured, so Ruth just did what he did.  She was 34 inches tall and 29.6 lbs.  For other things, she went first like getting her blood pressure checked, and letting the nurse check her pulse.  (She's had lots of practice with Britt doctoring her since Thanksgiving.)  The nurse gave the kids some markers to color with until the doctor came back.  Both kids got a few shots.  We let Britt go first, because I knew that I would never manage to pin him down after he saw Ruth get them.  So, when it was Ruth's turn she didn't want up on the table.  She did way better than Britt though.  She screamed way more, but was over it, by the time we got out to the car.  Britt was still complaining about getting poked and having to wear band-aids at McDonald's.  We also asked her about Ruth's speaking and walking.  At this age others should be able to understand 50-75% of what she's saying, and we don't think that people can understand anywhere near that much.  Since she has tons of words that I can understand (even if Gary can't), and since she understands what you say to her, she wasn't concerned.  Also, she said that her hip/knee/ankle was fine, and that her walking would continue to improve as she got bigger.  She said, if we wanted to look into it further we could talk with "First Steps" a program that would evaluate her to see how much, if any she was behind and do physical and speech therapy with her.  However, she said if she was her child she'd probably wait another 6 months and evaluate her again, before looking into that.  So, both kids got a clean bill of health, and we don't have to have them seen again, until next year for Britt, and for Ruth in 6 months when she turns 3.

This morning we went to see the doctor, but not for Momma.  I had my four year check up, and Ruth had her 2 year appointment (almost 6 months late).  Momma says Ruth can tell you all about her's tomorrow, but I get to tell you all about my appointment today.  I was 40.5 inches tall, and 36 lbs.  "At the doctor's they checked me.  They used a cuff for checking my arm.  Then when Dr. Hippensteel came in she checked me and Brontosaurs.  We listened to his heart beat and our lungs.  Then she looked at my eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.  Then she let me listen to her baby heart beat.  And she let me measure her belly like she measures Momma's belly.  She was a 6 and Momma was a 7 and Daddy was a 3.  Then we went to another place and they poked me.  I don't like shots.  It hurt, I don't want any more pokes."




Next we went to eat at McDonald's and played on the play place.  It was after breakfast time, but they had two biscuits so "Ruth and I both got to eat a biscuit, but not Momma and Daddy.  Then I got a haircut.  I sat on a bird, and I watched Dora.  She was a nice lady, and then we got a lollipop.  I picked brown (root beer).  Now I get to watch Jay-Jay the Jet Plane from the library.

My friend Miss. A who is newly pregnant with a long awaited little one, has been posting various Old Wives Tales on Wednesday for figuring out if you are carrying a boy or a girl.  I've been having a good time reading them and guessing.  I thought I might look check out and see what mine say.

The Chinese birth calender takes your age when you concieved to tell you what you will have.  It was wrong for Britt, but right for Ruth.  (There's proof of the 50/50 odds there.)  For this one it says girl.

The Mayan birth calender says to take your age at conception and the year you conceived and if both are even or odd then you are having a girl, if they are opposites then you are having a boy.  It was wrong on both accounts for us.  For this one it says boy.

Apparently when you ask a pregnant woman to show you her hands the way she hands them to you indicates boy or girl.  Palms up means girl and palms down means boy.  Similarly there is a test where you lay a key in front of a pregnant woman and ask her to pick it up.  If she reaches for the rounded end it's a girl, and if you reach for the narrow end it's a boy.  I don't know about these two, since I read it before I tried it.  :)

If your hands are always dry and need lotion then you are supposedly carrying a boy.  If that's true then this is definitely a boy.  However, I'm thinking the wind of an Indiana winter has way more to do with my dry hands, face, and chapped lips.  I don't recall dry hands being a problem with the last two.

There's another old wife tale where you dangle your wedding ring or a needle by a string and depending on if it swings in circle or back and forth it tells you boy or girl.  The only problem with this, is that it's almost impossible to tell how it's actually swinging.  So don't ask me what my results have been. haha.

If you're broken out then you are supposedly carrying a girl.  The story is that a girl steals all your beauty.  But like the morning sickness predictor it might be related to higher hormone levels that are usually seen with women pregnant with girls.  I wouldn't know about this one, since I'm broke out all the time anyway... it's one of the perks of being a red head.  But I guess we'll say girl.

The next one is based on the heart rate during pregnancy.  If the fetal heart rate is above 140 it's suppose to be a girl, and if it's less it's suppose to be a boy.  Of course as my mother will point out, my heart rate was in the 130s her entire pregnancy, and the doctors assured her several times I would be a boy - that was pre-ultrasounds.  Britt's heart rates were almost always in the 160s and Ruth's were always in the 150s and 160s as well.  So that one is another 50/50.  This one has been in mostly in the 130s and low 140s, so I guess it could go either way, but we'll say boy

There are two tales about how you are carrying baby that indicates gender.  One is if you are carrying low it's a boy, and high it's a girl.  Or if your weight is mostly in front it's a boy and if it's more in the middle or spread around (think hips, backside, etc) it's a girl.  That one was more spot on for our two.  With Britt he sat lower and the weight was all out front.  With Ruth it was more spread around, and much higher than Britt.  With this one all my weight is low and out front.

Another old wife tale relates to your cravings.  If you crave sweet food then it's a girl, if you crave salty or sour stuff it's a boy.  I craved sweets with both of the other kids, but want nothing but salty tortilla chips with this one.  So it's another 50/50 predictor, but says boy this time.

Then of course there is the old morning sickness predictor.  More sever morning sickness indicates a girl.  I can say that was true with both of mine.  Britt I was only sick for the first 20 weeks, with Ruth I was sick the day she was born.  Not sure what to think about that this time around.  I had morning sickness about 12 weeks, then it went away.  Then it came back the third trimester, and I've had it off and on since.  Maybe since it's not been so bad, it means boy?

Finally there's the Drano test that alot of people swear by, and is actually based in some science.  I'm not going into the details with that though.  My aunt told me about it with our first, and she had never heard of anyone doing it, and getting the "wrong answer" of course I got girl with it for Britt, and didn't try it the last time.  To be most accurate you have to do it after 4 months but before 25 or 30 weeks.  So I'm not doing it this go round either.

According to the tally our chances are 6 for boy 2 for girl.  Gary has been guessing boy most of this pregnancy. Britt has waffled back and forth, but is currently saying brother.  Even over the last month Ruth has insisted that it's a "boy baby."  As much as I would like another boy, I'm still thinking girl, but then I thought the last two were girls.  I guess I won't have to wait too much longer to see how many of these are right this time around, since we only have 2 more weeks to go.  At today's appointment the heart rate was 136, and I was only up a half a pound (go me).  No dilation or effacement, so I feel MUCH, MUCH better about Gary being gone over the weekend to his interview.