Visual and Other Pleasures

Hi all!  We're back from a fantastic vacation in Austin, and I'm working on a post about our trip.  In the meantime, though, Aunt Carrie requested photos of the new baby-related developments here in Millersville, so I thought I'd share a few with everyone.

Every time I think people are done telling me "You don't even look pregnant," someone says it again.  In the past week or so, though, I must've crossed some kind of imaginary threshold of pregnancy, because strangers have begun taking my pregnancy for granted.  They ask me when I'm due, if it's our first baby, and the like.  A Southwest employee told me I could have preboarded and the usher at the tennis match asked me if I have "a little Roddick in there."  I suspect that the difference in peoples' reactions relates to the angle from which they see me and what I'm wearing.  I think I tend to look more visibly pregnant in tighter tops with ruching on the sides, like this one, though they give me a bit of a lumpy profile from the front.

The baby's crib shipped a few weeks early and arrived while we were gone, so Patti and Chuck were nice enough to stop by the house and bring it inside for us.  We put it together yesterday and the mattress arrived today, so the baby's room is really coming together!  The recently painted walls look completely different in these photos, but hopefully they give you an idea of what the room looks like.  The crib is supposed to have a "walnut" finish, but the best way to describe it is to say it's almost the exact same color as Oscar. : )

As of this evening, we are also the proud new owners of a 2008 Honda CR-V!  I spent about a month narrowing my search down to the CR-V and the Ford Edge before we test drove both.  After we decided that the CR-V was the most practical fit for our growing family, we were able to find a used one that met our specifications.  I have never gotten to pick out a car for myself, and each car I've had has been between 5 and 13 years old, so I was pretty nervous pulling our new ride out of the lot.  My past two cars have been an Acura Integra and a Honda Civic, though, so being in a Honda helps me feel more comfortable with making the transition from compact car to compact SUV.  Billy pointed out that my preference for navy blue will fit right in at the Navy tailgate, and we could tell from the original title that the only previous owner lived in Salem, Oregon, so we feel pretty confident that this was the right car for us. : )

Billy thinks I have begun the "nesting" stage of pregnancy.  I don't know if this is accurate, because though I am trying to get everything ready, I certainly haven't been doing any additional cleaning around the house. : )  But I suppose it is nicer for him to say I'm nesting than for him to call it "spending money while under employed," so I'll take it!  Speaking of pregnancy itself, we had our most recent doctor's visit yesterday, and Baby D and I are both growing and progressing healthily.  She weighs about two pounds now, and I can feel her moving around all the time!  The main reason for yesterday's visit, besides the periodic check-up, was to give blood to be tested for gestational diabetes.  Aside from the discomfort of getting bigger, I've been feeling better all the time, so I feel like I have no reason to be worried about those results.

And so he doesn't feel left out, here are some gratuitous shots of Oscar celebrating our return from vacation with some nesting of his own.  It always takes him a week or so to rest up and recover from all the excitement and attention he gets at Camp Nancy while we are away!

I can't wait to share details and photos from our vacation, but as you can see, we've been plenty busy in the two days since we returned!  I have a feeling this baby is going to be here before we know it.  26 weeks down, 14 weeks to go!

While you're waiting for that Austin post, please pop over to Vickie's blog to read her very eloquent thoughts about facing the six month mark since Dad passed away.  You can view that here.  I also wanted say a quick thank-you to Catherine, Sarah D, and Kelsey for reading the blog and commenting recently.  I write the blog mostly as a way of sorting out my own thoughts and because it helps me keep my family members posted on what I'm doing.  To know that any of what I'm working through here resonates with other thoughtful women is an unexpected but delightful fringe benefit of blogging. : )

(Visual and Other Pleasures is a collection of Laura Mulvey's essays, including the one that completely changed the way I view and think about cinema.)