Savannah's excitement

Savannah cried her happy tears when she found out she was going to be a big sister. She opens her "body" book, which is an anatomy book I used for my high school students when I was teaching, to look at the size of "her baby" everyday. She was excited to see that her baby is developing elbows this week and is a size she can measure on her ruler. "When will my baby be big enough to hear music?" is what she really wants to know. I have yet to determine if this is because she wants her baby to listen to Mozart as she did in utero or because she wants to play her own music. If it's the latter, her baby won't be able to hear music for quite some time.

She also tells me that she loves my tummy "extra amounts" now that it's making her a baby and she wishes that my tummy would make her 97 babies. Then we'd have to have a dining room table like the Mayor in Whoville where each child gets 2 seconds to say hi in the morning to mom and dad before being whisked away by the automatic timed seat rotation.


Yesterday we took a trip to the Wildlife Experience before collecting Daddy from the airport. We went for one reason - Savannah wanted more pennies for her souvenir penny album. In their Great Hall they had a fine art exhibit adjacent to the indoor mini-golf course, with a large open entryway between. I was just thinking what a bad idea that was when Savannah knocked me off my feet with her golf club. She bonked me in the nose, which bled from the outside and inside, and am still recovering from the pain of it. Poor Savannah cried more than I did. I was pleased to have a bump and scab this morning instead of the black and blue bulge I was expecting.

Savannah makes up a play for me at the Wildlife Experience Playroom about a stingray and a clam.

Savannah builds a beaver dam.

Kevin returned from his trip to NY but we are still at square one looking for housing. We both really like the same small town, Altamont, but there's nothing suitable for us yet. We have a short list of houses that require major renovations on our part. One of them has a large pond, which I love, but the farmhouse is in need of some major renovations. Another is an historical home in town but the floor plan is odd and the home would need major energy-efficiency renovations. We also may build our dream energy-efficient green home since there are a few promising parcels of land we can afford. One of the things we like so much about this town is it's small size and location, the combination of intellectual and agricultural roots, and the fact that they actually have a town center where you can walk to everything. This gives the town a real sense of community as well as of intentional living. On my first day there I met the kindergarten teacher and the Mayor! Both fabulous people who love their town. We fell in love with it right away.

I've been really worried about my health the past few weeks since I've been so tired all the time, queasy in a gastrointestinal sense, and have not been feeling the same level of energy that I usually have throughout the day. My night owl ways have faded into wishing I could be tucked in before Savannah. I was frustrated that I had been losing weight but my waist line seemed as thick as an oak no matter how many salads I ate. I think I lost four pounds of cheek fat, which actually looked better before. I'm sure I won't be losing any more now, although the kitchen sink did swallow my breakfast this morning.