Baby Dois* Sneak Peek

I went to my first pre-natal appointment yesterday. I was so nervous -- odd, I know, since this is my second pregnancy. But it is my first time to have an OB as my primary care provider, and my first time to give birth in the United States. More thoughts on all that to come... for now, here are the ultrasound pictures:

I have no idea what you are looking at, so don't ask! Perhaps someone more adept at deciphering ultrasound photos can enlighten us all.

4-D picture. This one is easy. Baby's face on the right, arm and little hand on the left.

The doctor said everything looks great (hopefully, I'll start to feel great soon!), and gave me an "official" due-date of April 10, 2009. If this little one comes nine days early like Alex did, I may end up sharing a birthday with him/her! April Fool's babies do run in my family, after all.

* "Dois" is Portuguese for "two" (I know, we are so original!) and is pronounced "dosh" with a long O sound.

Adventures in Potty Training... and an Announcement!

Alex has been wearing big-boy underwear now for almost three weeks. I must confess that I approached potty-training with a fair amount of dread and trepidation (never having done it before), but so far, it seems to be going well. We have had our fair share of accidents, of course, and we are still using pull-ups for naps, night-time, and when we go out, but he seems to be "getting it" and keeps himself dry pretty consistently at home. I have noticed lately that he does a pretty good job about keeping his pull-up dry when we go out, also. Last week, he came home from Parents' Day Out wearing the same pull-up I had sent him in, and it was dry! So we are making progress. Maybe one day soon, I will be brave enough to attempt an outing in big-boy underwear rather than a pull-up.

I am anxious to complete potty-training with Alex so that I can enjoy a precious few diaper-free months.

I'll just let that sink in for a minute...

Figured out where this is going yet?

Yes, for those who haven't heard the news, we are expecting our second child! He or she will be joining our family in late March or early April next year. I am 11 weeks today (almost past the first trimester, yippee!) and my first doctor's appointment is scheduled for next week.

We are blessed. And we rejoice.

Survey Trip Report

Click below to view our most recent newsletter, which is basically a report of our survey trip. If you contributed financially to our cause, you should have received a paper copy in the mail. This is for everyone else who encouraged us and offered up prayers for us during our journey. Thank you!

http://rustyandlaura.googlepages.com/SurveyTripReport.pdf