Cloud Nine

A few weeks ago Daniel yelled down the stairs, "Hey the OB interest group needs a pregnant woman to volunteer to let them learn how to do ultrasounds. You in?" So I said sure I'd do it. What pregnant woman wouldn't want another peek at her little one? So last night he came home and I slipped out the front door while the two of them went out the back to play in our backyard. (Turns out that play means Charlotte spilling water out of the watering can while Daddy picks up the loads of trash that the squirrels bring into the backyard.)

I had so much fun! The doctor teaching all the students about the ultrasound machine is actually the head of the OB department for the school. He is very knowledgable and I learned so much more about what the ultrasound tech is actually looking for when she says my baby is measuring just fine. The doctor kept saying, "Now find the heart. Do you see the heart? See how it's symmetric? That's exactly how it should be." "Do you see that long femur? That's precisely how it should look." "There's the bladder, the kidneys, the umbilical cord." I got to hear for a little over an hour last night about how healthy and normal and perfect my child is! Also, that he's clearly a he and proud to show everyone. It was really fun to have first, second and third year medical students practice on me too because they were as excited to find the different parts of my baby as I was to see them. You just don't see that excitement with someone that does it all day every day.

Riding on the joy from last night Charlotte and I went to the botanical gardens with some friends today. It is a beautifully sunny day with just a bit of chill left in the air. The kids ran and played and generally loved the whole experience. Also, when I looked in the flower beds I saw the bulb plants poking up through the dirt and they had planted a few early spring flowers. I don't know what it is about spring flowers, but they just fill me with a wonderful sense of life beginning anew. Leaving the gardens was hard, but then while walking in from the car I noticed that I too have flowers growing in my backyard! That's a double whammy of goodness because they are just coming all on their own. We have yet to have any time or resources to do anything but keep our yard clean so any flowers that come up are just that more enjoyable. Even if I did realize that they are coming up right where our "lawn" should be.

It's spring and the world and I are full of life! I feel so great today.