Final Trimester? Really?

Well, despite the fact that I can’t seem to keep up with the weeks flying by, it appears we have arrived at the third trimester!  I thought I was a week or two away, but apparently I can’t count. 

My visit with Dr. Million went well.  The baby’s heartrate was strong and in the 140’s, as it has been all along, I’m gaining weight (yay), and my labs look good, though I’m mildly anemic.

I’ll go back in a month, then the next visit will be my final ultrasound.  At this stage she often starts to see patients every 3 weeks, but apparently I’m “so experienced” that she’s not concerned that I won’t notice if things aren’t going well :)  I’m an old hag!

It looks like we better get on top of a few things.  I want to decorate the bedroom a bit, sew a few things,  purchase a few key items, dig out the baby items we already have, and finish moving kids to the appropriate rooms along with all their clothing.  One thing at a time!  Oh, we should probably also solidify the name!

Springtime Swarming

Tis the season for swarming in the life of a beekeeper.  This time of year as the hives get stronger, they tend to want to split themselves and if the beekeeper doesn’t stay on top of them they can lose a large number of bees.  Some loss is to be expected, but as part of the husbandry, efforts are made to make conditions prime in the hives.

Swarming happens when the bees take the queen and they all congregate in a clump on a tree (or somewhere) and prepare to take flight to find a new home.  These bees are so focused on their task at hand that they aren’t aggressive or dangerous, so you can get close without issue, but I personally still use some caution!  Jacob does not.

Jacob has taken most of his hives to the orange groves where they have done really well in honey production this year.  That flow is almost over now, but in the meantime he left several weaker hives that were recently split and nuk boxes in our pasture.  As they have strengthened, some of them have begun to swarm.  It’s not uncommon for us to be outside and happen to find one in a tree.  That was the case today when Josiah, Jacob, and I were hanging out in the pasture talking and enjoying the gorgeous day and Jacob noted 2 swarms gathering in the nearby trees.  I’ve watched Jacob catch swarms before, but I think this is the first time I took the time to get the camera to document it.

First swarm:Jacob uses his bobcat to do all kinds of things.

Second swarm:Josiah always loves to help and he’s actually really useful!

Yes, he is in fact a nut.

Triple A Farm

Lee Albritton started mentoring Jacob in beekeeping several years ago.  (Jacob says its been about 7 years, but I find that hard to believe!) Since then he’s become a family friend and part time boss as he and Jacob have developed a good relationship.  Jacob often goes out to Mr. Lee’s farm for various reasons and he’s taken the boys a number of times, but this particular time I went along and took some pictures.  They aren’t the greatest because it was such a bright clear winter day, but I think the boys will probably go there from time to time as they age, so I figured they’d like to see the pictures of them playing there later.

Playing on top of the round bales:Sigh, he’s running and jumping between bales with Joshua in his arms fully confident that he won’t fall.  I think I only watched long enough to get a picture.

The boys greeting Tall Man.  He’s also an old man and is no longer a working horse, but the boys enjoyed greeting him:

Tall Man was hanging out in the cow pens.  I’m not sure why I didn’t take pictures of it, but the boys’ favorite part was running through the chute and head catch.  They did it for the longest time and we finally had to drag them away.

Feeding the cows.  Elijah was poised and ready to help as though he could manage on his own:

Hot wire!One of these days these boys will learn to NOT  do everything their Daddy tells them to do.  It turns out touching wet grass to a hotwire will pop your fingers!  No worries….it was mild and they liked it enough to repeat it and experiment further.

I’ve Got The Jitters!

Last week I went for my 16 week OB appointment.  They asked the routine question of if I feel movement yet and of course said I’m not supposed to feel anything at this point, but the next day I started thinking I was feeling a little flutter.  It was a pretty definite feeling and quite a surprise  After a few days I’ve become convinced that it’s our little GIRL I’m feeling!  This is the earliest I’ve felt movement in a pregnancy and I thought I’d make note of it.  Pretty cool!

16 Week OB Visit

We went to see Dr. Million today for our 16 week (almost) OB appointment.  Everything checked out ok.  I measured just fine and the heartbeat sounded good, though low at 120bpm.  Dr. Million figured it was just nap time which proved true when she did an ultrasound.  Our little girl(?) wasn’t moving at all and seemed to be fast asleep, but she stretched a bit and rolled after a rude awakening (a giggle).  At the last appointment, Dr. Million thought she appeared to be a girl, but wouldn’t commit so she wanted to take another peek this time.  At first she was pretty uncooperative in a sitting position, but we eventually got a peek.  In the end, Dr. Million still thinks she’s a girl, but still leaves room to doubt.

So……..we appear to be having a girl!  Easing into the idea of a girl is kind of a teaser, but it’s been a good mental transition time for us since it’s also kind of a shocker.  I’m getting kind of used to the idea of bouncing pigtails, hair in the eyes, and cutesy clothing!

A Big Boy Laugh

Joshua has always had a fantastic giggle, particularly when Jacob was involved, but lately he’s matured into a very hearty big boy laugh related to things he instigates all by himself.  He interacts in funny ways with all of us, particularly Josiah, and it makes him and us laugh.  He no longer just giggles, he flat out laughs.  I love to watch it!

First OB Appointment

We had our first appointment with Dr. Million today.  We thought I might be about 9 weeks along, but were unsure.  Turns out I’ll be 12 weeks tomorrow!  Additionally, the ultrasound looked completely normal and she thinks (but won’t commit) it’s a girl!  It’s hard to imagine a girl in the ranks of these boys, but each of them (well, at least the two that can talk well) hopes it’s a girl.  Life is about to get more interesting!