February 1-8

We went to Bryan's parents' house last Sunday and left the girls in Grandma's loving care while we traveled onward to a Superbowl party.  I watched three commercials (maybe) and half the replays of the last two minutes of the game.  Most dedicated fan, right here.  :)  Bryan watched the game with Scott, though, while Steph and I worked on a puzzle.  Side note: I brought interesting desserts and if you haven't discovered the website Chocolate-Covered Katie yet, you're missing out.

We stayed in Sidney for a few days so that Bryan could make his monthly trip to Springfield from a shorter distance.  The girls danced and played games (Hungry, Hungry Hippos is a new favorite) and discovered an exciting new musical instrument in the basement.  Pictures below.  I read a book on personality and learning types and relayed more intriguing tidbits to Bryan than he probably cared to hear.

Wednesday we came home at lunch, just beating the surprise snowstorm that dropped almost as many inches on us as the anticipated "winter storm" of the previous weekend.  Lima was caught unawares this time, and roads were bad for the evening.  Our snow is nothing compared to that of Boston (or even Allen Park), but we did get enough icy cover to freeze Bryan's basement door closed.  Nine pots full of boiling water took care of that.

Friday was an extra ultrasound for Hippo because of a two-vessel cord.  I guess most umbilical cords have three vessels -- two arteries and one vein -- carrying blood, food, and nutrients back and forth between mother and child.  Two vessel cords are not problematic or even uncommon, but they are not the middle of the bell curve, so they warrant extra attention.  The midwife explained to me that a two vessel cord is the umbilical equivalent of having only one kidney.  However, they do like to do a third trimester ultrasound to make sure everything is getting through okay and the baby is growing appropriately.  Since I've been accused of measuring small before, this ultrasound was a foregone conclusion.  Everything is fine, though, and we seem to be on pace for another 8-ish pound baby.

Verbal things:
-Olivia uses the phrase "morning day" in place of both "morning" and "day."  She also says things like "unzip me up" and "can you undo me?" when she wants things to be fastened.  She can count to twenty, so long as she is occasionally permitted to skip fifteen.
-Gretchen has been trying her hand at the word "solution" as in "No, crying is not the best solution."  She's working on saying "Gretchen" instead of "Kiki" and can count, kind of: 1, 2, 3, 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, ready, here, come!  Ever ready to contribute to conversation, she recently proclaimed that "Kiki heavy, too!" after Bryan complained about Olivia's weightiness.

Next week I'm abandoning my family and going to a conference in Texas.  Unless Bryan gets inspired to update my blog for me (unlikely), the post will be late.  :)

Pictures:

The girls found an accordion at Grandma's house:

They're like cats...