Two Gates

Paul has been busy with house projects the last few days. Friday night he sprayed our apple trees which are being eaten alive by gypsy moths; Saturday he mowed the lawn and installed two gates I bought after I attended the monthly ladies breakfast that morning. It didn't seem feasible to put a gate at the bottom of our stairwell without drilling holes into the banister. So instead we put a gate from the kitchen to the foyer and the living room to the foyer. Nadia can explore the family room, kitchen, dining room, and living room, but she doesn't have access to the foyer, half-bathroom, and most importantly the staircase going upstairs. The one in the living room has a latch; the one in the kitchen we have to hop over.

It's amazing to see all the little ways she changes on a daily basis. Every day her walking skills continue to improve. She walks more and crawls a little less each day. The most recent addition to her vocabulary is the "L" sound. It's also the first consonant that she often combines with a vowel and a different consonant (D). In the past the same consonant would be on either side of the vowel (ex. dada). Thankfully she's also gone back to not crying when her diaper is being changed. I am glad that phase is over (at least for now anyhow).

I have a sort of love/hate attitude towards the symptoms of pregnancy. When I feel good, I get worried, and then when the nausea returns I feel relieved and encouraged that I'm still pregnant, but of course it's not exactly fun feeling sick to one's stomach, LOL. At those moments I wonder why I desire reassurance that I'm pregnant when I'm feeling fine. The one constant symptom has been exhaustion. The last two nights I went to bed around 8pm (whereas my usual bedtime is 9:30), and whenever possible I take a nap during one of Nadia's naps. Thankfully the heartburn hasn't been as bad thus far. I am very grateful. The next most frequent symptom has been hunger. So far I don't think I've gained any weight, but boy I am eating more than usual! Certain foods are totally unappealing (chicken is now 3 for 3 in terms of upsetting my stomach while pregnant), or the smell of it being cooked is revolting (like the bacon being fried at the breakfast yesterday morning). One thing that's different than the last pregnancy is my desire for ice cream went away, which shocked me as usually I like to have some every day. However, this time I am craving ice cream even more than usual. Friday night before Paul got home from school, I took Nadia to the "mom & pop" ice cream place that is about 1/2 mile from our home. We shared a cup of choc/van soft ice cream. Yum!!!