7 1/2 Months (29 weeks)

Your baby is growing rapidly now. This week she weighs about 2 1/2 pounds and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. Her muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and her head is getting bigger to accommodate her growing brain — which is busy developing billions of neurons. Every day, about 200 milligrams of calcium is deposited in your baby's skeleton, which is now hardening. With this rapid growth, it's no surprise that your baby's nutritional needs reach their peak during this trimester.

Current Craving: Chocolate, peanut butter, milk...basically anything NOT good for me!!!

Current Gripe: Feeling "squished," having very few clothes that "fit"

Current Joy: Knowing there's a beautiful baby living right within me and that I'm supplying everything she needs!!!

Current Weight Gain: 18 lbs. (they just keep "creeping on!")

I think this may be one of my favorite pictures of all time!!! The other day my mom made this sign for the little bike and she and Brady were walking it down our driveway so we could get rid of it!!! I couldn't pass up the opportunity and had her tape the sign on Brady's back (it had been a particularly EXHAUSTING day with him!!! I couldn't help thinking: "Baby for free!!!" No, really, I love Brady more than anything- but I think I'm not the only mother who can relate to the humor of this picture!!!!

SLAM DUNKIN" BABY!!!

Any son of Chris' would have to LOVE sports- and basketball is at the top of the list! Brady is in early training and even has his own basketball and hoop! This is him actually HANGING off the rim after having Daddy lay him up for a SLAM!

Brady "BUZZ" Graf

For the past two days I have been the mother to a super hero!!! Brady got this "light saber" at the Circus and has been having fun slaying me (the dragon) or me (the Evil Emporer Zerg!)

Life is a ... CIRCUS!!!!!

So, nothing can be simple right? Like trying to bring your little boy to the circus for the first time! We left EARLY to get GOOD seats and when we arrived at "the location" Chris noticed right away that there weren't any kids- just old people all dressed in suits!!! So we asked the nearest guy we saw if he was there for the circus! He laughed and said, "No! This is a convention! The Circus was here LAST weekend!"

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I then proceeded to look down at our tickets (that we'd purchased in advance) only to realize that I miss-read the date and place! Oops! Not to fear- we loaded back into the car and headed for the highway to try and make the show (which was about 45 mins. away at a different location!) Can't dissapoint an excited 3 year old, right?!

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Well, when we got there we couldn't find any parking and the show had just begun so, we opted to wait for the evening show (not for another 6 hours) and to let Brady continue his nice little nap! Well, the afternoon ended up being some nice "family bonding!" We ended up spending quite a bit more money than planned because we had to eat, and all there was to do was shop in the free time! But Brady came out of it with some slick new sneakers and a Red Sox hat!

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The Show Must Go On!!!! THE SHRINER'S CIRCUS

Brady's first pretzel- YUM!!!

First cotton candy- he was so excited to get it but upon first taste he decided that he didn't like it because it "felt like little hairs!" Oh well, Chris and I didn't have any problem finishing it off!!!

" The Wheel of Destiny"

One Lovely Circus Lady- there were enough "scantily clad" women there, that was for sure! Chris and I joked that it must be to keep the Dad's entertained!

What a CLOWN!!!

SAD because he missed his calling in life!!!

Clown in training!!!

My Favorite ACT: "Miss Victoria" Okay- at first this looks a little sketchy but what this women could do with 40 feet of red curtain was amazing!!!

These two were AWESOME!!!! They rollerskated on this platform and performed stunts like her wrapping her legs around his neck and being swung around blind-folded like figure skating)

The Circus Ring

At one point I guess Brady was tired of all of the noise- he stood there for like 10 minutes plugging his ears!!!! This was about the same time that he started asking for his "blankie" to snuggle with and was no longer interested in the show (it was getting late for a little guy!)

This was another AMAZING performer! He was on his back doing all kinds of tricks with his feet! Right here he's spinning a flaming steel ring with 6 rods sticking out of it!

I didn't get a good picture of this but there were a bunch of small dogs and poodles performing tricks with this ring of fire! Brave little things!!! Another dog jumped out of a "doggy elevator" into his "master's" arms!

"The Pork Chop Review" Complete with a singing pig named "Oink!"

It was a good show but was much smaller than other circus shows that Chris and I have been to. I think next year we'll try Barnum & Bailey's which has all the Circus animals like the lions, elephants etc. and the trapeze artists (which are my favorite)!! They have better clown acts too.

7 MONTHS 1 WEEK (28 weeks)

"By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can open and close her eyes, which now sport lashes. This movement is more of a reflexive blink than a deliberate opening and closing, but it won't be long before she's batting those beauties at you."
(www.babycenter.com)

Current Cravings: Cereal!!! Which is weird because I'm usually not a big cereal person. Honey Bunches of Oats w/ Almonds and Malt O' Meal "Cocoa Roos!"

Current Gripe: Still feeling VERY tired a lot but it's MUCH BETTER than it was- I can at least get out of bed by 8:30 in the morning and don't have to have a nap most days!

Current Joy: Feeling Olivia kick and swim around! Knowing that she is growing strong and healthy and that I will be able to hold and nurture her soon!

Total Weight Gained: 17 lbs. YIKES!!!

Wolfe's Neck Woods, Maine

This has been the first real nice weekend we've had that Chris hasn't had to work or we had other obligations so we went to a nearby State Park and had a little picnic. I was unprepared and forgot to check the tide chart though so when we got there we found out that it was high tide and we wouldn't be able to have our picnic on the beach and look for shells!

We found a staricase leading down to the rocks/water though and plunked down there with our little cooler and had a lovely picnis by the crashing waves! First real picnic of the season! We were also able to walk almost a mile through the trails in the woods and Brady had a great time crossing the bridges (he always says "Trip Trap, Trip Trap, Over the bridge!!!"

Chris has made a "real fine 'Yankee' (New Englander) transplant"-

can you tell he's a Red Sox fan?

After our pinic and tryst in the woods we went up into the village to L.L. Bean where Chris is still employed as an "Ocassional Worker" basically meaning he works about once a month and we still get the glorious discount! We went to the Bike, Boat & Ski shop to check out the kayaks that we'd like to buy (depending upon where we move) and had a great time "dreaming" anyway! Brady loved climbing in the different floor models and can't wait to get one too!

The Kayak Chris chose (for the future) includes a removable child seat for Brady and the one that I would most likely get would be big enough to have a small child in as well. We also found infant PDFs (lifejackets) for 8-30 lbs! Wow! I didn't know there were that many people crazy enough to bring their babies kayaking!

I see many fun times paddling in lakes and rivers ahead! Hold on Brady and Olivia!

We rounded out the afternoon with some free popcorn from the street vendor and a trip to the grocery store. When we got home Chris helped my dad build a new wall for the deck off of our apartment and I helped my mom clear out some of the winter debris and cut back the flowers in the garden! What a GREAT afternoon! Then we had our first BBQ of the year and I made a meal "Fit for a King!"

Grilled lemon pepper salmon, Caesar salad, corn on the cob and roasted red potatoes: Yeah, sometimes, I just think: "Dang, I'm a good wife!" (Hahahahaha)

And to top it off we tired Brady out so much that he fell right asleep!

They are the cutest when they're fast asleep!!!!!

Mackworth Island, Maine

This is a beautiful island with a walking path open to the public. The path encircles the perimeter of the island and is 1.5 miles. Brady, my mom and I went the other day for a nice walk in the afternoon and then Brady and I went back again yesterday (April 17,2008). Brady and I walked the whole island, found some pretty shells and had a picnic on the beach! It was a beautiful day and so much fun!!!

As you can see- Brady loves his little binoculars, and since I have such a hard time getting him to smile AND look at the camera, the binoculars served as a good prop for a lot of the pictures...too bad I didn't get more smiles without them though!!!

7 MONTHS!!!! (27 Weeks)

OKay, so for anyone that's been asking: here's some proof that I'm actually pregnant! I'm 7 months (27 weeks) today and both of these pics were taken today (just goes to show that the shirt makes a huge difference! The second shirt is really clingy, so of coarse it shows off the basketball belly really well!) Plus, in the first picture I wasn't standing sideways...

Olivia is healthy and growing strong. She's quite the kicker and "swimmer" and tends to think that play-time is from 9pm-1am!!! We'll have to work on her schedule once she makes the grand appearance! So...three months and counting!!!