It's all downhill from here?

Hi! i just wanted to say thanks to all the friends and folks who called in the past few days to check up on me and Schwartz baby #2. I tell you, I am feeling the love! I know everyone was secretly hoping to get the boy or girl scoop, but still, it was really nice to be remembered and get to catch up with so many of you, near and far.

For the (very, very few) of you that I haven't talked to recently, everything is hunky dory over here. I had my 20 week ultrasound yesterday, which is a momentous occasion for several reasons. First and foremost, the closer look let us know that the baby is totally healthy, 61st percentile for size, and with all the required arms and legs. Everything looks PERFECT. Usually this ultrasound is where you find out the sex of the baby, too, (thus all my phone calls recently...).

BUT.

We have decided, though it's just killing me now, NOT to find out the sex of the baby this time. Kurt and I are opting for the more dramatic surprise at the end. I have to say that watching the baby on the ultrasound screen, I was really trying to make sense of the images and see if I could find out for myself, but no dice. Then the technician said that she knew what we were having, though she wouldn't tell us, of course. Kurt restrained me from wringing it out of her and we managed to leave the appointment with our dignity intact. This 20 week point is nice for me, personally, because it means that I'm halfway there. Woohoo! So I guess it's all downhill from here, right?

So, no pink or blue this time around, but I'm happy to keep a running poll. So far, more than half of those that have an opinion think it's a boy. Monica and Chad in D.C. think it's a girl. And Opa, down in Brazil, is just relieved that we're doing it "right" this time! *grin* This one's for you, Opa!

Anna was fascinated with the ultrasound, she was fixated on the screen and kept talking about the baby and pointing, both at my tummy and at the screen. So far, she seems to like the idea of a baby, but that's probably because there's not one messing up her schedule and stealing her mommy yet. She pats my tummy and says there's a baby inside, then pulls down my shirt and says, "bye bye baby, bye bye tummy".

In other news, walking has taken over as Anna's preferred mode of getting around, and she's pretty darn cute at it, especially when she tries to "run"- she speeds up her steps and puts her arms in the air as if she's holding two invisible hands, and giggles madly the whole time.

The downside of finally conquering the walking demon is that she launched herself into the terrible two's at the exact same time. Somehow the new freedom and independance of walking has clicked in her head with the tantrums. If she can't go RIGHT NOW where she wants to go, if she can't turn left instead of right, the world falls apart and the screaming begins. Last week was bad and by Friday I was a complete wreck with one nerve precariously dangling. Kurt was able to bear the brunt of a lot of the screaming for me this weekend, and yesterday she was actually very good. She only threw one minor tantrum and we just ignored her, so she gave up and went to play with her dolly.

Hopefully the rest of this week the novelty will wear off a bit and she'll be able to control her mad walking impulses, at least a little. At least until I've had my coffee and can put my shoes on. Because I have learned, yes I've learned...

Always have your shoes on. You never know what expeditions may require your IMMEDIATE attention.