Birds, Bellies, & Bassinets

This last week has been all about babies! First, a little bird baby found its way to our garden chirping loudly about his hunger. I think it's a baby red-vented bulbul, but I'm not sure. What I am sure of is that we spent the better part of two days witnessing bird-parenting at its best. The little one (who was actually bigger than its parent with so much fuzz!) would chirp chirp, then try to pull some berries off the tree unsuccessfully, then chirp chirp some more. By that time, mom or dad bird would be near to pull off a berry and put it in the baby's mouth.

Later, they found the tomato plants where seed-picking was much easier. Below you can see the parent bird keeping a careful watch over the baby's feeding. It was very cool to see natural parenting at its best when I'm thinking a lot about what kind of parent I'm going to be.

The next piece of big news is, well, my belly! Though against my better judgement, I thought I should include a couple of before and after shots of the belly. The first one was taken BEFORE my trip to the mainland and my now-infamous inability to eat responsibly! Here's me at about 23 weeks...

And here's me AFTER the yummy vacation! I'm at about 28 weeks in this next picture...

In an effort to exercise, and calm my delivery anxiety, I spent Memorial Day weekend getting the nursery more ready for Butter Bean. My favorite part of the nursery is the bassinet. Jeff and I are so lucky to have the bassinet that Jeff's mother, Susan, slept in when she was a baby. It has cradled all of her children, including Jeff, and all of her grandchildren. Now Butter Bean will be part of a Bogdanovich tradition.

You Tube Favorites.

I realize that I have not posted anything about two of my new favorite web-finds: Nora the Cat and Knut the Polar Bear. My mother, who is a talented pianist, told me about Nora and I think she's fantastic. She plays the piano quite well, and even does duets. Knut, as many of you may know is a rescued baby polar bear who now resides at the Berlin zoo. Everyone in Germany, and arguably around the world, has gone so crazy for cute Knut that a pop song was written in his honor. I'll warn you, though, it will have you singing "Knuuuut, Knuuuut" for weeks! Click on the links to the right for the sights and sounds of Nora and Knut!

Big Momma.

Jeff and I went to our monthly check-up today and I am officially a Big Momma. I gained 10 pounds on vacation - twice as much as my doctor told me I should gain. Good work, buffets! Well done, desserts! Along with my lack of impulse control and a new-found obsession with sweet things, the multiple buffets and seemingly endless supply of desserts have successfully turned me into a waddling sugar-crazed monster.

Yesterday I went to the bookstore and ended up with a package of jelly beans. I mean, hello? I'm now more convinced than ever before that this baby is Jeff's because he is our resident sugar-hound. Non-pregnant Sarah always chooses veggies over fruit, cottage cheese over yogurt, or a boullion cube over a sugar cube. Pregnant Sarah couldn't care less about her once-beloved savory foods - all I want is SWEET, SUGARY, COLD treats like slurpees, ice cream, and fruit!

Of course, the problem with this is that now I am both bigger than I'm supposed to be at this point in pregnancy (not too big a deal) and I'm probably at risk for gestational diabetes (a VERY big deal). Today I had to take the sugar test - results due back Friday - which is a cruel joke since they make you drink something that looks and tastes suspiciously like Orangina before taking the test. Of course, that only whet my appetite for sugar and I spent the next few hours trying not to think about orange jelly beans.

The good thing is that Butter Bean is fine and I am holding up well, too. I have definitely entered another phase of pregnancy because I'm more uncomfortable these days and I get fatigued more easily. The next thing to tackle is the delivery: to epidural or not to epidural? Is labor better for baby and momma done naturally, albeit painfully, or is it better to ease momma and baby into their new roles with as little pain as possible? Does it make sense to be so careful for nine months about everything I put into my body only to pump it full of pain meds at the final hour? Lots to think about...

Birthday Party!

To top off the two weeks of activities during our trip home, Jeff and I were able to share in my dad's birthday! Jeff and I offered to cook dinner for my dad, our good friend Patty, whose birthday was the day before, and Patty's husband and sons. We made kabobs and pasta salad, and Patty's husband Denis brought some of his famous homemade bread!


Jeff gave my dad a In-and-Out Burger t-shirt from Southern California - which you can see from the picture above that he loved! Then I gave him a painting I did for him. He's so into fishing that I thought he needed a painting for a fish shrine, just in cash the fish aren't biting. He calls it the "Angel Fish"!

Happy Birthday, Dad & Patty! It was so nice to share in your celebration!

Happy Mothers' Day!

Have you ever seen a more beautiful collection of ladies?! What a treat it was to be home for Mothers' Day for the first time in years. We went to brunch at the Grand Hotel, which is one of the many South Alabama institutions that I have never experienced until this trip. The food was great, and Butter Bean & I made the most of the dessert bar!

I have felt great for the last three months or so - lots of energy and no discomfort to speak of. All of that changed at some point during the last three weeks. I'm still feeling great, but I'm much more tired than before. I'm also getting a lot bigger as you can see from the above shot of Jeff, me, and Butter Bean! The best part about the vacation was that I was just showered with compliments the whole time - Thanks for making me feel so special!

This is one of my all-time favorite shots of my mom and Granny! We were all so happy to be together and it really comes through in their smiles. Being a mom to a daughter is such a special thing. I wonder if Butter Bean will be another in a long line of strong, beautiful women...

Wedding Luau.

A couple of weekends ago, I my friend Ragan got married! We have known each other since third grade at Leinkauf Elementary School in Mobile, Alabama. It's hard to believe that we are now married ladies. In honor of her wedding, we hosted a Southern Luau at Felix's Fish Camp. I brought leis from Hawaii for all the guests, and we had great Southern-meets-Hawaiian pupus thanks to our buddy George. My favorite part was sharing hosting duties with my parents, who have watched Ragan and I grow up over these past 18 or so years!

Below is a shot of Ragan's fiance, Liam, with his best man, Wes, and Wes's wife, Lisa. Wes and I have known each other since high school and I love that we still get the chance to hang out!


I gave Ragan a hand-painted sarong for her Mexican honeymoon. Here we are posing with it. She looked so great all week and managed the stress of bride-hood MUCH better than I did. I've never seen her more beautiful than on her wedding day! What an honor it was to be there to share it with her.

Baby Shower!

On Sunday, my mother's neighbors, Sheila Palmer and Abby Panayiotou, hosted the most wonderful baby shower for me at Sheila's home on Perdido Key in Florida. It was lovely! Butter Bean and I were showered with gifts from friends and family. Below are pictures of the gift-opening extravaganza. One of the crowd-pleasers was the momma duck I'm holding in the last picture that my Aunt Rose gave to Butter Bean.