Expecting!

For the few of you who don't know by now, we're having another one! Mostly family knows, so don't feel left out.

We're hoping for a timely arrival on January 24th exactly, but as my mother-in-law encouragingly pointed out, due dates can be way off. Annika was very cooperative, so we'll just assume #2 will be too.

We'll have an ultrasound at the fancy shmancy hospital that has the perinatal unit and thus the higher resolution machinery, so that they can rule out a cleft palate. The seizure medicine that i have to take has a very slight risk of cleft palate. Of the possible concerns, this really is fairly mild and easily corrected, but its still worrisome. Unfortunately, the risk of seizure is potentially much more dangerous, so...

Anyone wanting to visit in January and February and eager to do laundry and cook and entertain an almost 2-year-old is VERY welcome! We can't recommend the Oregon weather in that particular season, but we can offer the company of a very cute and very grateful family.

On other topics, namely Annika, we went to the Tuesday night farmer's market last week. They have live music, booths with fresh flowers (incredibly affordable!), produce, fresh salsa, cookies, arts and crafts, etc. There are people on blankets on the courthouse grounds listening to the music and as we walked through on the path, Annika stopped at EVERY group. She waved, said hi, flirted and moved on. Every group! Some, she would grace with a second visit. She is really confused when someone doesn't look and smile and gush a tiny bit. She'll keep trying for their attention until we pull her away. She was confused by the 2 14-yr-old girls who showed no interest and I tried to explain that they were currently of a different species, and that if she cared to disguise herself as a teenage boy, she would surely get their notice.
Then we went across the street to the civic center which has a open square with fountains. They aren't a pool for coin throwing, they are for running through. There were LOTS of kids in bathing suits or just their regular clothes and they were running and jumping and manipulating the flow of water to spray all in their path. Annika shook with excitement and I gracefully offered to be the one to follow her. (Ha-ha. As though I really would have stayed out of the water!) Annika would walk up until she had her first spray, shake with surprise and dismay, turn and run with delight, come back and start over. We were both soaked after 20 minutes of this and had a great time. Wish we had our camera! Some friends and we are going back this week and I'll be prepared with flip-flops and a towel.

Here are some cute pictures from our visit to the Rose Garden this weekend.