Baby Update

I had another prenatal check and ultrasound this week. Everything continues to look good. The baby's about 4 lb. 10 oz. and still has a hand up by the face. The ultrasound tech is very good about asking if I know if it's a boy or girl, and since I don't, she tells me when to look away so I don't accidentally see something that would give it away.
I'll go to the clinic in Two Harbors in two weeks, then back to Duluth 2 weeks after that. When I made the Duluth appointment, the date will be December 2nd--just a little over two weeks until the due date! That's coming very quickly.
In case you need some interpretation: you're seeing the side of the baby's face, one eye clearly, and the nose, with the arm/hand in front of the face.

Kiblin

The other night before bed Remy and Raina were playing with the play food and kitchen. I noticed Remy unzip his jammies and put a piece of the play food down the leg of the PJs. I didn't think much of it until I picked him up and felt lumpy legs. I unzipped the pajamas and proceeded to pull out no less than 20 pieces of play food, a crayon, and a fast food bobble head toy. I can't imagine he would have slept well with all that stuff in there.
And Kiblin? That's Raina's second name for Remy.

Parmesan Drumsticks

Now, I don't really like chicken dark meat, but sometimes legs and thighs go on sale, and it's hard to pass up a good deal. I found a really good recipe for Parmesan Drumsticks in my Saving Dinner cookbook (by Leanne Ely of Flylady fame) that the whole family likes.
1 cup Parmesan cheese
2 tsp. oregano
2 tsp. paprika
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup butter
1 T. olive oil
12 chicken drumsticks, no skin (I usually leave the skin on as it's too time consuming and tedious to remove)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a bowl, combine Parmesan cheese, oregano, paprika and salt and pepper.
Line shallow baking pan with foil.
In a small frying pan, melt butter and oil together (I do this in the microwave). Dip each drumstick in the butter mixture, then in the cheese mixture, and place on the foil-lined pan.
Bake drumsticks for one hour or until chicken is completely cooked.
The outside comes out nice and crispy while it's moist on the inside.
We usually have mashed potatoes and a veggie with this.

Family Movie Night

This weekend we had a family movie night. Since most of us were either coming down with or getting over a cold, it was a good night to stay in together. The kids watched some episodes of Curious George while we got the "Nacho Bar" ready. Our toppings included taco meat, refried beans, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, guacamole dip, black olives and sour cream. While we were eating, we watched Bee Movie. Then the kids went to bed and Barry and I watched Cleaner (well, I tried, but kept falling asleep).

Fall

Fall is definitely in the air. Highs have been been in the 60's, Jackson started school last week, the trees are beginning to change color. We dug out the long sleeves and sweatshirts. Today, Raina started preschool. Here are their "First Day of School" pictures:
I'm not sure about the look on Jackson's face. I think he just wanted to get going.


After I took Raina's picture, I asked Remy if I could take his picture, and he ran over to the same spot Raina had been standing in. Funny boy.


This picture is on my September calendar--the kids (especially Remy, of course) have changed in the last year!


One more: Do you think he enjoyed the pudding? At least he didn't smear it in his hair.

Check Ups

Raina and Remy both had well child check-ups this week. Remy is 23.5 pounds and 32 inches; Raina is 37 pounds and 40 inches. Both are healthy and right on track. Remy had 3 shots and needed a little extra TLC for a day or so, but is doing fine now.

Ultrasound

I had my 20 week ultrasound yesterday--my first one that used the 4D technology, so we can see the baby's features without it looking like an alien. True to form, we're waiting to find out if it's a boy or girl. Everything looks good, although they want to do another ultrasound in a month because they didn't get all the views of the heart and cord insertion they wanted because of the position the baby was in. Raina came with me, and when the nurse called my name (Jennifer), Raina said, "That's not Jennifer! It's mommy--mommy Jenny!" The nurse got a chuckle out of that.
Since they put some ultrasound pictures on a CD for me, it's easy for me to share.
Profile (head on the left):

The face, with hand by the nose:

Side view of the face, with hand and arm:

Front view of the face, with the hand still there (the ultrasound tech said it would be interesting to see if the baby likes to sleep with his/her hand up by the face):