Baby Bump #2

Mounds

Nora during snack time at her playgroup.

At the sandbox, her favorite playgroup station.

Blasting her magic microphone as Willow in Willow's Whispers does.

Sledding after a smaller snow storm last month.

The snow blizzard that nearly buried our mailbox.

In our backyard.

Eskimos

You'll be happy to know that we have resurfaced from the frigid and powdery depths of this week's snow blizzard. The volume of snow made shoveling futile. A fellow congregant rescued us by plowing our drive way with his adequately equipped truck. We took Nora sledding in our backyard and attempted to build a snowman only to abandon our efforts after shaping the foundational mound. Numbed fingers, leaky noses and a hollering tot prevailed.

Speaking of mounds, I am 21 weeks along - just over the half-way mark. A doppler device revealed today that #2 is strong and active. If you're curious, we are delaying our surprise (of the baby's sex, that is) until delivery. Nausea no longer plagues me. Throughout my first trimester, I felt mildly nauseous...I mean nauseated. Does one feel nauseous or nauseated? Such was the question Nathan posed to me one night after I complained of nausea. Although I dismissed his question, barking "nauseous" with lightning speed, slight doubt drove me to our enthroned OED. The lexical entry for "nauseous" read, "1 causing nausea. 2 offensive to the taste or smell. 3 disgusting; loathsome." The entry for "nauseate" read "1 affect with nausea. 2 loathe food, an occupation, etc.; feel sick." My face burned as I read these condemning words to my beloved. Desperate for justification, I turned to Merriam Webster online (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nauseous). The American dictionary's entry described the modern use of these words and offered me some relief. But now I found myself in a quandary: adhere to the timeless prescription of my much revered OED or accept Webster's defense of modern usage? An OED loyalist, I decided to train myself to say, "I feel nauseated." Thankfully, with my first trimester woes behind, I've had little opportunity to deliberate over these word choices, but I have caught myself reverting to "I feel nauseous" a few times since.

Nora continues to grow and learn. She is an excellent helper, drying dishes, placing loads of fabric softener sheets in the dryer, following the broom that sweeps our floor, rearranging freshly folded laundry, reorganizing the tupperware cabinet, willfully brushing her own teeth, lotioning her own body, etc. At this stage in her life, she exhibits a developing bilingualism, although her current dominant language is Spanish. These days, she points to my belly and says, "bebe." One day she pointed to her own belly and said the same.

Time to sign off. The temperature reads 9 degrees F. Until next time...