Teenagers stress me out (duh. . . mull that one over for a minute).  Kylie has known for weeks that she was going to the Dominican Republic.  We were supposed to leave the house around 3:00 heading to the airport.  She started packing around 1:30 (is it just me??).  Then, on the way to pick up another traveler, we uncovered that not only had she forgotten to pack her passport, but she wasn’t sure where it was (mind you, I had just given it to her that morning. . . if she can’t keep up with it for a few hours at home, what will happen in the DR??…I sure hope she can get back into the country).  It got a little ugly, but we eventually made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare.  It was fun (and a little scary) to watch her leave.  I am comforted by the fact that I know almost all of the people going.  They went through security as a group.  We stood there and watched until she was out of sight.  She kept turning around and waving and blowing kisses (it’s a thing we do. . . and I like it).

With Kylie gone this week, it has been a little quiet around the house.  We have spent a lot of “together time”.  We have gone to hear our songwriter friends sing a couple of times (Lindsey even got to feel Tater kick. . . she had said that would make her night. . . ask and you shall receive).  We watched Monty Python (I remember that being so much funnier in college. . . wonder why).  And we registered!!!  Woo hoo!  That was fun.  It took us 3 hours, including 3 bathroom stops and a trip to the snack bar.  Comparing strollers, high chairs, swings, pack –n- plays, bouncy seats, tubs, bottles (how the heck do I know if we need fast or slow flow???), diapers (did you know that there are different sizes for newborns?), diaper bags, wipes, breast pads (washable or disposable???), milk storage bags, pacifiers (not the one that is beaded and says “BLING”). . . arrrrgghhh..  The word “overwhelming” comes to mind.  Leigh sent me a starter list months ago that came in so handy.  I spent a lot of time sitting on the floor looking at the back of the packages trying to decide “is the Baby Bjorn better than the Snuggli?. . . is it worth 3 times as much?”  And my feet. . . we’ll talk about those in a minute. . . but I’m convinced that they hate me.  I kept taking my shoes off and leaving them in the middle of the aisle.  Through all of that, somehow, some way, we survived.  Now, if I could just get the address list together for the shower. . . but that’s another story.

It has been a great week of bonding for Johnathan and Tater.  I started noticing that when I get into bed, and lie on my left side, the baby starts moving. . . a lot.  I feel all kinds of movement on my left side.  It’s like s/he slides down and doesn’t like.  I feel a lot of pushing and feet (or something) moving back and forth.  Sometimes it’s so strong it tickles.  One night, it was happening, so I told Johnathan to slide his hand under my belly.  He got so excited just feeling all that movement.  Then yesterday, I got an email from one of my websites saying that he should be able to hear the heartbeat by just putting his ear to my belly.  He wanted to try it last night so I rolled over onto my back.  Almost as soon as he put his ear to my stomach, he got a swift kick to the head.  Lol  Tater just went nuts.  There was tons of movement.  He kept kicking right where Johnathan’s head was.  Johnathan kept telling him to stop, but it just kept happening.  We had a really good laugh.  Still in the womb and already not listening to us.  ;)  He did get to hear the heartbeat though.

And finally…I am swelling now.  It’s in my ankles mostly.  But my feet are starting to hurt a lot.  I have boxes stacked under my desk to prop my feet on.  It doesn’t seem to make the swelling go away, but it probably helps it to not get worse (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it).  For the past couple of days, my fingers have been swelling.  As a matter of fact, last night my rings actually broke the skin on the side of my finger.  So today, I resorted to wearing the simple silver band we bought for our trip to Haiti last year.  It’s slightly larger than my rings.  So we’ll see how this goes.  I don’t go back to the doctor for about 4 more weeks (timing issues).  On the upside, I get to go buy new shoes. . . and Johnathan can’t get upset.  ;)