Pink or blue?

Ahhh, I just love my trips to my doctor, where I feel loved, appreciated, and celebrated.  And no, I'm not kidding.  I was more than delighted to hear how adorable I look pregnant, and how it's about time I started showing because I'm just so cute.  And I was ecstatic to hear multiple times how tiny I am (nobody will say no to that, right?).  But most of all, I couldn't help smiling when it took not one but two nurses to find the heartbeat on my little peanut, because that baby is a tumbler and a tease.  One of them kept saying, "How is this baby hiding?  She's so tiny, there's nowhere to go!"

The best part of my day, though, was when Nate pulled some strings at the hospital to get me in for my ultrasound appointment today.  He called a friend, who called a friend, so as soon as I had the order in my hand from my doctor, I marched myself straight into the hospital and to the admissions window.  It felt oh-so-good, although I did have to pee almost immediately because the nurses at the office gave me tons of cold water to make the baby extra active.  I think they were as excited for me as I was!

Nate and I were as giddy as kids, excited beyond belief to find out whether this wiggly little peanut in my tummy is a girl or a boy.  Are we doing a nursery in airplanes or polka dots?  Should we look forward to yellow or green?  What's the verdict?

And the ultrasound was amazing.  I saw our precious little baby's face... well, that is, when the peanut was still enough to see the face.  I marveled at each little part of the spine, and the incredibly large and healthy brain (HECK yes), and the fact that the peanut was waving at Nate and moving and squirming all over the place.  And then we found out the absolutely fabulous news that this little peanut is...

...a BOY!!!!  Bring on the mohawks and messes, the bugs and the boogers, the rough and tumble wrestling matches in our living room.  We're having a wiggly, cuddly, big-cheeked (yes, I could tell in the ultrasound), busy little boy!

And thank goodness, because my mom's self-esteem has shot up a ton today.  She predicted a boy, and this was the first time she's been right.  I could, in fact, hear her screaming that as I held the phone out as far as my arm could reach.  "A boy!  A boy!  I knew it!  This is the first time I've ever guessed right!!!"

I didn't actually sniff it...

So it was another eventful evening at the Dant home.  We stopped by for a few minutes after church to say hi, and we weren't there more than five minutes when Chloe crept up behind Nate and hovered around him.  She was apparently trying to be a puppy, and you may know what that means...  But apparently Nate didn't.

Nate: "Chloe, what are you doing?"

Chloe: "I'm trying to smell your butt.  You know, like puppies do."

Now I didn't hear any of this exchange.  All I saw was Nate, stifling laughter, saying, "But Chloe, we're humans, not puppies."  Somehow I knew exactly what had happened, as did Jen and Mike, who were both mortified and sent her off to her room.

Chloe came back, quite penitent, after a long conversation with her daddy.  She beckoned to Nate to squat down so she could whisper to him.

Chloe: "Pippin, I'm sorry I tried to smell your bottom.  I didn't actually sniff it.  But I was trying."

As soon as the word "bottom" left her mouth, Nate almost didn't make it through the rest of the apology. She and her extra-satiny pajama bottoms sauntered off into the other room, and the rest of us were left to our own hysterical laughter.

Oh, and I didn't mention that while all this was going on, Conner was drinking orange juice straight from a pitcher and Alex was playing air guitar, and later telling us that he hoped he found a friend at school this year who "also has dreams of becoming a genius."

Got to love those Dantlets.

So you think you can...

It never fails.  Every time we watch So You Think You Can Dance, I do...  And more importantly, our kitchen turns into So You Think You Can Hip-Hop... But it's been a long time since high school and the early years of college, and it is no longer happening for me.

Last night I tried to surprise Nate when he turned around from throwing something away.  It seemed like a great idea to quickly drop and come up with a fabulous booty pop.  Until all of a sudden, my gigantic booty could no longer make up for the fact that I'm growing a gigantic tummy.  I almost keeled over forward, and then had such a hard time getting back up it probably took 15 seconds to get myself unstuck from that intense squat.  Nate couldn't even hold back a laugh...

He later tried to make me feel better (after doing several exaggerated impressions).  "Baby, it's okay.  Nobody should drop it like it's hot when she's pregnant.  Don't you think that's how lots of people get in to that situation to begin with?"

Okay, today I'm hosting show and tell time, because I have so many cute shots of my nieces and nephews from the last few days.  So here we go...

First of all, the Dantlets already have some school kids, and lucky for me, I'm not the only school nerd in the family!  Check them out - modeling their brand new stuff.  And it's only July!  Love the enthusiasm they have, and I'm remembering how much I used to adore getting new school clothes.  I would lay them out on my bed, gazing at the different outfits and planning which one would be for the first day...  I'm remembering a pair of gorgeous LA Gear high-tops, white, lime green and hot pink with not one, but two sets of laces.  Oh yes, I lived dangerously and laced them up with both pairs.




Now check out Baby Kaylee, Sar's recent contribution to the flock.  I babysat her today and had a heck of a time trying to keep that girl awake after she ate.  All she wanted to do was take a nap, and she seemed very offended that I wouldn't let her!  But yay for me (and Ann), I kept her up for at least an hour and a half after, and she slept extra soundly as a result.  I told Nate he's going to have to help me keep the peanut awake when he/she is born... after all, Nate is an expert tickler.



Lucky for Kaylee, she also has some cousins who are quite enamored with her.  And just because I only caught shots of Alex and Chloe holding her, don't think that Conner doesn't love holding her as well.  He's just so quick I can't catch him.  All the Dantlets are prepared for the peanut as well.  They've taken to talking to the peanut, just to let him/her know that we are the nicest parents in the whole world and he/she is going to love being in our family.  Conner even likes to pat my stomach (or whatever else is in reach) to say hi.  Babies are pretty lucky in this family!

And last of all, I have to include a shot of Lily, our resident diva-in-training.  We took her to the park for some swinging, and she had the time of her life.  Too bad it started pouring about five minutes after this photo!  Considering that Lily is the spitting image of Sarah as a girl, I can't wait to see how much she continues to look like her as she grows... And to see if she turns out as sassy (love you, Sar!).

So there you go... Hope you enjoyed my nieces and nephews.  I know I do!  

A Jackson Bible lesson

Scene from my house:

Me:  "Hey Nate, do you think we get the word 'bath' from the story of David and Bathsheba in the Bible?  I mean, she was kind of known for catching his eye while bathing on her roof."

Nate:  "Hmmmm, I don't know.  I think that word was already around, from the Roman baths."

Me:  "Oh.  Good call.  Well don't you think it's ironic, then, that her name included the word 'bath'?  That's really funny!"

Nate:  "Maybe her name was just Sheba, and people described her that way."

Me:  "What do you mean?"

Nate:  "You know how sometimes we'll be talking and say something about someone, and then you have to use a characteristic to describe them?  Like 'crazy so-and-so,' or 'blonde Lauren' or whatever?"

Me:  "Oh yeah."

Nate:  "So maybe people around the palace were busy talking about her and saying, 'Sheba who?'  'Oh, you know, BATH-Sheba.  Haha.'"

Me:  "That's brilliant!  You're totally right!  And HO-Sheba was probably already taken!"

Oh, don't we think we're so clever...

Might I just add that, although today was horrible and I spent a good deal of the afternoon crying (Nate's blaming pregnancy hormones), my hubby did indeed move heaven and earth to get me my medicine.  That's right, he sweet talked not one but two pharmacies and made it happen with his employee prescription discount.  I'm pretty darn lucky to have such a fabulous man.

Ferocious Friday

Student loans, oh student loans, why won't you leave me alone?

Somehow I feel that, because I deal with rowdy teenagers and the future of our country on a daily basis, I should be given some sort of break.  And because I was young and dumb and had absolutely no one to counsel me on lending, plus I had to pay for school on my own, I should be given some grace.  And because Sallie Mae and AES call me more than my own mother, I really could use a Xanax... I suppose everyone has their own reason for why their students loans should be forgiven, right?

I'm fussing with all the mess of trying to consolidate, and it's not just federal loans, but there are some crazy private loans in there as well.

On top of all of that, my insurance has decided NOT to cover any more of my magic medicine, so all the worry is giving me a bad case of the pukes (Wait, is that the worry or the peanut? There's no telling.).

In other words, I am just plain cranky right now, and using my poor little blog to vent for a second before I go sit on the couch, sulk, and watch tv.  Aren't you glad you tuned in today?

For the sake of some discussion, let me mention that I completely skipped every day of my Texas History class at SFA (remind me to tell you why sometime) except test days, so I don't know much about the lone star state.  Last night Nate and I were trying to figure out how many different states were represented at the Alamo.  Does anyone know off the top of your head?  I googled for a while in the car on the way home from Houston, but never came up with anything.  And the only people we could think of who were there were Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett (way to go, Texas - you killed two of our national heroes on the same day).  Care to weigh in on this one?

I may go google it some more.  Or I may find myself some ice cream and a re-run of According to Jim.  Wish me luck.  I've got a nasty attitude to tame.