Grainy Black and White Pictures Can Be Beautiful

Yesterday, we got to see Baby Hammar #2 during our ultrasound. We took Erika, which I thought she would enjoy, but it turns out she doesn't like seeing her mommy laying on a table when she can't lay beside her. Matt was able to keep her entertained in the room for about 2/3 of the exam, but then they had to go play in the lobby. The baby looks good, at least to my untrained eye. The ultrasound technician said, tentatively, that things look good, but I don't think she can say with much assurance that everything is perfect without talking to a doctor first. But, we saw the heart, which looked like it was beating just perfectly. We could make out all four of the valves and chambers and things, which was pretty amazing! At one point, the baby's face was in view and it was talking! For a couple minutes while the monitor was picking up the baby's face, it was jabbering the entire time. Matt says that's just what we need, another talker in the family. I'm pretty sure our house will not be quiet for a long time! The exciting part of the visit, for me anyway, was that the technician was estimating the due date to be January 3 instead of January 5. I would much rather receive this news than news that I will be pregnant longer! Hopefully the baby will be born on New Year's Eve or Day. Then, we can keep up our holiday birthdays! So, things look good. I feel great...tired, but fortunately Erika is still taking two naps a day. Erika is doing wonderfully and talking all the time with much clearer words. Matt is busy at work and really enjoying his job. Things are great!

Side Note: Our digital camera is on the fritz or else you would be getting some pictures/videos. We're planning on getting that fixed soon.

A Night Away From Home

This weekend, Erika had her first slumber party away from home. Matt and I celebrated our anniversary a little early and my sister volunteered to watch Erika overnight for us. Isn't she amazing? I am so glad to be living so close by her...it is how I've always imagined we would be living. It's really fun to be able to have your sister pop by whenever or for me to go to her apartment when I need a break from here! I digress.

So, we dropped Erika off at Sarah's apartment on Friday night with her pack and play, two bags of essentials, and a basket full of toys. I was so nervous because Sarah just moved into this beautiful apartment with brand new carpet (white) and painted walls (white) and bought really pretty furniture from IKEA (also white). Erika doesn't quite have the concept of how to keep nice white things looking nice or staying white so I cleaned her very well before we went over and only sent along snacks that were not sticky, cheesy, or had the potential of becoming a lovely stain on a brand new couch. We left Erika there and then went back to our place for a night with no baby. This was only the second time in the last 17 months that we did not have Erika with us for the night, and it was great! Saturday morning, we got up early and drove to Lincoln City for the day. It was so beautiful on the coast! We really lucked out because it was grey and overcast in town, but as soon as we started the windy descent to the coast, it cleared up and the sun was shining. It had been quite a while since we had been to the beach so we enjoyed walking on the sand, listening to the waves, and sticking our feet in the freezing water. We were home Saturday night and listened to stories about Sarah and Erika's day and how Erika woke Sarah up at 4:45am with her recitation of all the words she knows...over and over again. I'm not sure that this will be a weekly habit of slumber parties, but I'm sure it's not the last one!

Here are some pictures from the party.

The polka dot sheet was wisely added to the couch in case of a snack accident.

Again, we find a towel on which Erika colored so as not to ruin the carpet.

Erika loves catalogs! In this one, she's checking out what she wants from IKEA.