Toasted ravs and other thoughts

1. I would probably give my left arm for some toasted ravioli right now. (For those of you not from the St. Louis area, you don't know what you are missing.)

2. I took a first step to transform Noah's room into a room for the new baby on Saturday. His room has remained virtually untouched since last August... except for being used for additional storage when the flood displaced many of our belongings. I started by sorting clothes, trying to decide what to keep, what to give away, and what to save as just for memories of our little Noah man. It is going to be a long, emotional process.

3. This is the beginning of a long month of sad anniversaries. One year ago Saturday we took Noah to the emergency room because he stopped breathing. We never got a chance to bring him home again. Extra prayers would be appreciated as we remember and celebrate Noah's life during these next few weeks.

4. Is it possible that this little boy inside me is already strong-willed? I made an unscheduled trip to the doctor's office yesterday to hear his heartbeat because he hadn't been moving as much as usual on Sunday... after kicking me hard enough on Saturday morning for Josh to feel. His heartbeat was strong and clear... and I was relieved. Today, of course, he has been kicking me like crazy. Silly boy - you shouldn't scare your mama like that!

5. Did I mention that I really want some toasted ravioli?

Ten Summer Favorites

Not much exciting to post about since our ultrasound... so I thought I would share with you a few of the things that have been favorites of mine this summer.

1. Lego Indiana Jones for the Wii - I love our Wii. Love it. I bought the Lego Star Wars game for Josh for his birthday back in May and decided I needed to treat myself to the Indiana Jones version after watching him play. Really fun and addicting. The game follows the plot of each of the Indiana Jones movies and includes some of the really classic scenes.

2. DeLonghi Indoor Grill - I have had this for a few years but just recently recognized its true worth. It does an amazing job of giving food a grilled flavor and keeping meat juicy. And I don't worry about blowing anything up when I use it (unlike the outdoor grill). Yum.

3. The Closer - Let's face it... summer TV pickings are pretty slim. Which is why I LOVE the fact that "The Closer" runs its new episodes during this drought. Not to mention that the show is awesome.

4. Albert Pujols & the St. Louis Cardinals - I never realized how attached I had gotten to the Cardinals until we moved to Alabama. There is just something about the Redbirds that makes you love them. I had a hard time forgiving the front office when they traded David Eckstein... but I guess that is the nature of MLB. And Pujols? What a classy guy. One of my favorite professional athletes of all time.

5. Asiago Cheese Bagels from Panera - (Ahem. I mean Bread Co. Except no one in T-town knows where I am talking about when I call it that.) These have been my pregnancy addiction. I have always enjoyed them but my enjoyment is at a whole new level since having a bun in the oven. The staff at Panera in Midtown Village is starting to recognize me...

6. Neutrogena Fresh Cooling Sunblock Spray - Hands down one of the best sunscreens I have ever used. Sprays on in a light layer that is not greasy and it works! A must have.
7. Skin Milk Body Lotion - I use Skin Milk body lotion and body wash and love them. Smells good and the lotion goes on without a greasy or heavy feeling. Sometimes hard to find, but worth the search.

8. Novels by Jodi Picoult - I have been devouring Jodi Picoult's novels this summer. She is a prolific writer, so I have not been lacking for reading material, and one of her books, My Sister's Keeper, recently hit the big screen. An excellent writer.

9. Eric Hutchinson "Sounds Like This" - This is my summer soundtrack. I haven't listened to the entire album yet, but so far have liked everything I have heard. My favorite? "Rock and Roll" ... it gets me tapping my feet and singing along everytime.

10. Bejeweled - Okay, okay. I know this is not a new game. But it is new to me. And its emergence on Facebook and as an iPhone app has gotten me A-D-D-I-C-T-E-D. My brother gets ridiculously high scores on the 1 minute facebook version... I will beat him. Eventually.

Here he is!

Yep. You read that correctly - we are having another boy!

This came as no real surprise to us as Josh comes from a long tradition of boys (the first born son of a first born son who only had sons...) and the girls are few and far between. One of his good friends commented upon hearing the news... "Does Josh even have any X chromosomes?"

More importantly, little Lauer got a clean bill of health from the ultrasound tech... a relief and blessing to us. At this stage, there is no way to identify the degenerative brain disorder that affected Noah... but that condition is so rare it would be highly unlikely for our second son have the same DNA mutation. My concerns focused more on the myriad of other disorders and problems that can affect babies... and once you have experienced the loss of a child, it is hard to imagine everything going smoothly and being "normal". So the sight of our little guy eased our worries and made us even more excited for December to come.

I know all ultrasound look the same (for the most part) but I couldn't resist posting these shots. I mean, isn't he as cute as can be?

Profile

Spine

Foot

Proof positive!

(I'm sure he'll be mad at me one day for posting this pic!)

Belly Shot

After many requests (Lindy!), here a recent "belly shot" of me at about 16 weeks. We go in for an ultrasound on Wednesday (7/8) and hopefully will find out if our little nugget is a boy or girl!

That hot ride behind me was our rental car in Miami... seriously. It was the only midsize car left in the National lot when we arrived, so what are you gonna do?

Miami in pictures

This was the view out of one of our hotel room windows... the buildings beyond are on Miami Beach and if you look really closely you can see one of the huge cruise ships docked at the Port of Miami.

This is also a view from our hotel room... I was amazed at the size of the boats that were tugged along this river. The process of opening and closing the bridge was not fast, as we discovered when we were trying to drive across the bridge to get to our hotel!

On our last night in Miami, we found our way to the U. of Miami campus to watch the US Women's National team play against Puerto Rico. It was a great match!

Things I've learned in Miami

We have been in Miami since last Thursday. Josh is recruiting at the Junior Olympic Championships which is being held at the Miami Beach Convention Center. My list of observations are by no means comprehensive, but just a few of the things I have noticed while I have been here.

1. Miami is HOT and HUMID. I know people in St. Louis and Alabama think they have a corner on humidity, but Miami wins hands down. It is usually in the mid-80s by 7:00am with a heat index in the mid-90s. I literally feel sweaty the moment I walk outside. The forecast for the summer months is pretty much identical from day to day... hot with a chance of thunderstorms.

2. Miami is very international. There have been times over the last week where I have felt in the minority as an English speaker. I have heard Spanish, French, and Italian spoken with regularity as I have ventured around the city and Miami Beach. The fashion, food, and lifestyle has an international flavor unlike any metropolitan area I have been in before.

3. Miami reflects East Coast attitudes. By this I mean that most people in Miami drive aggressively (I've heard more horns in the last week than I have in the last year) and they don't go out of their way to be nice or pleasant.

4. The people watching in Miami and Miami Beach is second to none. Seriously. I can't communicate this point effectively without pictures, so you just have to trust me.

5. Women who choose to sunbathe topless may NOT stick to the nude beaches. Enough said.

6. Vacation is a misnomer when Josh is recruiting, even when it is in a place like Miami. This is really not a new revelation to me, but I have been perpetuating a myth by referring to this trip as a vacation. Josh usually recruits for 12+ hours a day at these tournaments... all inside a convention center. And my plans to hang at the pool while he is pounding the tournament floor has been foiled by overcast, rainy weather as well as a nasty cold that struck me on Saturday afternoon. Oh well.

Happy Father's Day

Noah was a lucky little boy to have such a great Daddy.

His little brother or sister will be, too.

Happy Father's Day, Josh! I love you!

The nitty gritty

My intent was to start with the BIG announcement and then begin to post a little more regularly. That hasn't exactly happened.

I have tons of thoughts floating around in my head... but I can't seem to get them out in a post. So let me start with the nitty gritty and see where that leads me.

We found out we were pregnant on April 12... Easter Sunday. In some sense, this was the arbitrary day I decided to pee on a stick. But, in other ways, it was the perfect day for us to find out about the life inside me. We had been walking in the valley of the shadow of death for the previous 8 months, grieving and aching the loss of Noah. This discovery brought a little respite from that valley... as though we were able to stand in the sunshine on a hilltop for a little while and see beyond the valley.

We are due on December 10... this is cutting it a little close to the end of Josh's season for my comfort, but what are you going to do? If Alabama makes it to the NCAA tournament, they will be traveling to play in the first round on December 4. That is only 6 days before my due date. Yikes. I would LOVE for the team to make the tournament... I would HATE for Josh to be out of town when I go into labor. The tentative plan is for my family to come into town for Thanksgiving and then my mom will just stay until the baby is born. Other than Josh's potential absence, I am thrilled to be delivering during the Alabama "winter" - the heat index today was 105 degrees and it is only June!

Our next ultrasound will be July 8... I would love prayers for this ultrasound as well as for my peace of mind in the next few weeks. We have decided to forgo any of the genetic testing... the quad screen that is offered to all pregnant women (we also opted out of this test done during our pregnancy with Noah) and the amniocentesis that is offered to me due to my "advanced maternal age" (aka 35). The risks simply outweigh the benefits. We are trusting God with the life of this child... or at least doing our best to do so. But the ultrasound will definitely reveal any major abnormalities and will potentially reveal indicators of Down's Syndrome. I don't think either Josh or I are particularly worried about having another child with leukodystrophy... but there are so many more common disorders that I worry about, especially because of my age. So, I am anxious to see a picture of a beautiful, healthy baby on the 8th... and, of course, to find out if it is a boy or a girl.