Ah pregnancy

Here's how it went last night:

Emily: Aleks, I'm going to lose weight after I have this baby right? I'm not going to be big forever.

Aleks: (rubs Emily's belly) Of course! You're not going to have a big belly for the rest of your life.

Emily: (exasperated) Well, I know that! I'm not worried about the belly, it's this part that's growing too (grabs butt and thighs).

Aleks: (laughs) Yes. You'll lose weight once you're done being pregnant.

(Emily goes to the bedroom to change into her gym clothes and comes back out)

Emily: Aleks, do I look fat in this?

Aleks: (glances up from cooking) No, you look great.

Emily: You always look at my face! Look at the rest of me!

Aleks: (amused, but getting frustrated) Fine, do a 360. Come on.

(Emily slowly turns and shakes her booty to combat the insecurity she feels at having her husband critically examine her)

Aleks: Do you want the truth?

Emily: Yes.

Aleks: Well, you definitely look pregnant.

Emily: What does that mean?

Aleks: You have a belly.

Emily: But does my butt look pregnant?

Aleks: (rolls his eyes) No. You don't look gigantic.

Emily: So, not gigantic, but big.

Aleks: (laughs in exasperation)

(Emily realized at this point how ridiculous she is being and leaves for the gym.)

Thank you God for my wonderful husband who puts up with his crazy pregnant wife.

Only 6 1/2 more weeks honey!

4th of July!

On the Wednesday before the 4th, Maia went to bed with a low grade fever. We gave her some medicine to bring it down. She woke up at 4 the next morning, crying with a fever. We gave her some water, more medicine and cuddled with her on the couch. Now "cuddling" is a loaded word in our house. It means snuggling with mommy or daddy on the couch with a pacifier (something she usually only gets if she's in bed or the car), her blanket, and watching tv. We limit her tv watching, so it's a treat that she loves. Needless to say, we kept an eye on her temperature kept encouraging her to drink fluids and cuddled all day.

Her favorite show is on PBS called "Sid the Science Kid". If you've never seen it, you're missing something special. We had DVR'd 3 episodes and so we watched them over and over all day. Now that Maia is feeling better, the tv has been off more than it has been on, but Aleks and I are still singing the hits, such as, "My Best Guess" (about estimation), "I Love Charts" (A chart is a handy dandy scientific tool...), and "I'm Looking for my Friends" among others. I must warn you: Teacher Susie appears to have had some "work" done, the kids run like their pants are full, and Gerald is something to behold.

Youtube it. You know you want to.

Anyway, Maia's fever never got over 100 that first day, so we didn't feel pressed to go to the doctor. However, that night, her temperature got up to 103 and we were concerned. We called the doctor and he said to keep an eye on it through the night and it if was still bad in the morning, to bring her in. The next morning it appeared that her fever had broken and we were so relieved. But by 10:30 it was back to Aleks took her in to see the doctor.

It turns out that she has a slight ear infection and we immediately put her on anti-biotics. Within 24 hours her fever was gone and each day she's feeling better and better. Poor thing is also cutting 4 of her molars. Growing up is hard!

All this to say, that by July 4 Maia was feeling better and we ventured out Sunday morning to Johnson to see their annual parade. It was a true taste of small town Americana.

A tractor had this cool contraption attached to it. The kids are riding toys horses that go up and down on the back of it. This was one of the highlights of the parade.

Maia's BFF Owen was there too. His mama, Chelsea is having her baby in 10 days!

Maia conked out that night early and I did too. Aleks had bought some fireworks, so he headed over to his friend's house to shoot them off. It was a good day.

Finally! Pictures of the new house

Finally! I've taken some photos of our new house and would like to share them with you!

Here is the amazing view from our back deck.

This is what we get to look at as we eat dinner al fresco.

The guest bedroom...just waiting for you to come stay in it!

The master bedroom.

The bathroom and closet in the master bedroom.

The guest/kids' bathroom.

The kids' bedroom. There is another crib in the garage waiting to be put together.

Maybe we'll summon the energy before she gets here!

The downstairs bathroom and laundry room.

The music room. If you follow the floor runner, it will lead you into the garage.

The office.

We're so grateful to be moved in. When the weather permits, we eat outside and are constantly reminded of how blessed we are.

Come and visit sometime!

Aleks is a doctor!

I'm finally catching up on the things that have been happening recently. First up is graduation. Aleks completed his doctorate in October, but couldn't participate in the graduation ceremony until May. We thought that it might be a bit anti-climatic for him to walk in the ceremony, but I felt that it was really important for him to do this.

We left early Saturday morning from Spokane and arrived in Hartford that evening. Graduation was from 10-2 on Sunday and then we flew back to Washington early Monday morning. Needless to say, with or without a 1 year old, it was a crazy trip.

Here's the outcome: it was so totally worth every bit of anxiety that we were facing. Aleks participating in graduation provided such a sense of pride and closure to all the hard work he did. I am so proud of the quality of his doctoral work and the timeliness in which he got it done, especially since he was in the first year of a new job and had a newborn at home.

There were two ceremonies that Aleks participated in. The first was the entire University of Hartford. It was outside and really long and really boring. We started out sitting in the sun, but quickly moved to the shade. Here's Maia before the ceremony began. She was learning to walk at this point and had run into the coffee table several times. Of course she would have to have bruises for all the pictures that would be taken!

Here is Aleks with his fellow Hartt School doctoral graduates walking in the first ceremony. I got choked up seeing him in his regalia.

Maia was such a trooper with her schedule being thrown off completely. She was so tired, but wouldn't/couldn't fall asleep. We spent a lot of time like this during the first ceremony.

The second ceremony was indoors and Maia finally fell asleep in my lap. I think this is first time that I can remember her doing this since she was 4 months old. I was so grateful that she was getting rest. There was a brass quintet that played and the audience clapped after every piece. You'll notice my hands covering her ears as they applauded.

Aleks got to sit on the stage for the entire second ceremony.

The woman who was hooding the doctoral candidates must have been just 5 feet tall. Aleks had to practically get on his knees in order for her to hood him. After the ceremony, Aleks told us that as he walked up, she whispered to herself "I can do this". Everyone was laughing, it was a really funny moment.

Aleks and his oldest daughter. What an accomplishment!

New baby pictures

We had an ultrasound appointment yesterday and got to see our precious little baby. We also found out what we're having... another girl!

I thought we were having a boy and Aleks thought we were having a girl, so we decided to make a deal. Whoever was correct would get to pick the name. Needless to say, Aleks is now threatening Shaniqua Laboufa Sternfeld-Dunn. Either that or a name with all consonants...

Maia's little sister was so cute during the ultrasound, chewing on her hand and moving a ton. Could it possible that we have a daughter that has more personality than Maia? Heaven help us. We are both thrilled and looking forward to Maia having a sister.

PS. I know I promised pictures of the new house and my belly... the hardwood floors and tile are still being installed, so the house is a bit of a mess right now. They will come soon... probably next week since we're headed to Hartford this weekend for Aleks' commencement ceremony at the Hartt School.

Catching Up

It's been awhile since I've blogged and a lot has happened in the last month. My trip to CT went really well. I could not have done it without the help of my parents and Aleks' mom, they were invaluable and Maia loved seeing all her family.

Here are some pictures from my time in CT

Flowers from Aleks for my birthday, they lasted the entire time I was in CT!

The composer of Tom Sawyer, Phillip Martin

Some rehearsal pictures:

Becky (Katie Yeager) and Tom (Tracey Bloser)

Our conductor, Joseph Hodge and rehearsal pianist, Stephen Scarlato

Becky and Susy Harper getting excited about the picnic

Huck Finn (Rachel Bianco) and Tom in the haunted house

The show went really well. The audiences loved the production and plans are being made to continue making Hartford Opera Theater a permanent company.

And what blog would be complete without pictures of Maia?

Her first pigtails

And a naked girl just out of the bath!

The other big news is that Aleks and I bought a house here in Pullman. We closed on April 28 and have already started painting. We are going to have hardwood and tile installed this month and hope to move in completely by the end of May. I promise that my next post will include pictures of the house.

We will be finding out the sex of our baby on May 12. I have a belly now and will post pictures of it next time as well.

Maia's birthday and Easter

What a great weekend! Easter and Maia's first birthday.

Maia woke up with a huge smile on her face, as if she knew she was one. While she ate her blueberries, we practiced holding up one finger to show how old she is. Now when I say "How old is Maia?" she'll vaguely hold up one finger, usually with her left hand.

After breakfast, Maia got to open the presents that Aleks and I had bought her.

Of course she was more interested in the box than the toys.

Maia also got her first Easter basket. Mom and Dad enjoyed the candy, but she loves opening and closing the plastic eggs.

After church and lunch, Maia got to have her first taste of chocolate! At first she was unsure...

but it quickly became apparent that she is my daughter after all. It was so yummy!

We were invited over to a friends' house for Easter lunch. It was a lovely time of eating, talking, and enjoying the kids that were there.

These are my friend Michelle's beautiful children. Maia adores them both.

Toward the end of the afternoon, all the kids were reading together, it was so sweet.

Aleks had to fly home Sunday night to teach on Monday, but my dad flew into Hartford on Monday night. Maia was super excited to see him and to open the birthday present he brought!

Maia in her new outfit from Grandma and Grandpa.

Hartford has been absolutely beautiful since I got here a week ago. The weather has been warm and I've seen the trees bloom in front of my eyes. Maia seems to be adjusting well to the time change and is having minimal anxiety with her new surroundings. Rehearsals for the opera are going well. The show opens next weekend and we're all feeling a little panicked at this point. I know it will all come together and be something wonderful. For me, I'm enjoying being a performer and taking a bit of a break from mommy land a couple of hours a day.

More updates to come in the next few days on my birthday (29!!!) and opera pics.