Spring Has Sprung!

Spring has sprung at the school house. We were blessed with a very lovely couple of days of warmer weather over the weekend. It feels that winter has really head his grip this year with cold, wet, and gray days. The two trees at the front of our school house have finally fully expressed themselves which means that Spring is officially here!

We also want to make a shout out to fellow babies that have sprung in the past two months including Baby EB, Baby NR, Baby RD, Baby JB, and very soon Baby McK. The anticipation is building as in about 6 weeks plus-or-minus, Barack should be with us and we are very excited to meet him. Here's a recent picture of Mama and Barack:

At our visit to the OB, we had another check in with the ultrasound technician and Barack is looking good. The pictures are not so clear this time, so we won't post them. Mama was able to see Barack practice breathing. He is head down, but he likes to sit off to the side and kick her right ribs. His heart rate was 135 bpm (very appropriate for a boy, the old wives say...) He's measuring on time or a little ahead (a-"head" if you base it off his large noggin filled with all those smarts he got from his parents no doubt). His estimated weight is 5 lb and 11 oz. (but the ultrasound can be off by up to 2 lbs at birth.) We are not quite sure were he's getting his weight from. He is expected to gain a 1/2 pound a week from this point until birth as Mama gains a pound a week. The nursery should be finished in about 2 weeks or so, so pictures will be posted then. We are waiting on some odds and ends as well as decorations.

Happy Spring everyone from the Barrel!!!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Daddy turned 33 yesterday, so Mama took him on a trip to the Hofbrauhaus. Well, not the REAL one in Germany...but luck be have it, there's one outside of Cincinnati! Here's Daddy toasting with our good friend P.K. as they taste all the lovely beers offered by the brewery. We had a very fun time, and good beer was enjoyed by all... Prost!

In other news, the nursery is slowly taking shape. As we went to Cincinnati this weekend, Mama got to stop in at one of her favorite stores --IKEA. It's the closest one to us, so it was quite the treat. We were able to pick up some goods for Barack including a new rocking chair!

Party in the Belly

So we realized that we are long overdue for a bump shot. Barack is 31 weeks and everything is looking good. Barack is having his own little fetal party daily. His kick counts are off the chart. This week he decided that he does not like to be "strapped in"--that includes seat belts and Mama's manual therapy belts. He still has daily hiccups and gets quite uncomfortable when he has them. We are now able to see body parts and movements through Mama's belly. He LOVES to keep Mama awake around 3 or 4 am with a party in her belly. So Mama is a bit sleep deprived and Barack is right on track. That's all for now!

What a lovely weekend...

Barack is now in week 30. He even made a little growth spurt over the past weekend according to Oma. We all had a very busy weekend and enjoyed its lovely Spring sunshine. Both grandmothers and Uncle T's girlfriend were in town from out of state. Our good friend Ms. K threw us a shower in honor of Barack's soon arrival. We had a very lovely time (loved the red velvet cupcakes!) and got to visit with family and friends new and old. Here are a couple of pictures from the event. Thank you to everyone for making a wonderful weekend. And Barack thanks you for all his awesome new gear!

Oma, Mama (Barack), Grammy, and Gram...

Books galore! He's gonna be a reader :)

Some new threads...

We thought this is quite appropriate for the namesake.

Daddy's old rocking chair...

Great grandpa made this cradle when Daddy was born. Both Daddy and Uncle D used it and now it will continue on for another generation of Flora.

Mama's still working on the nursery, so hopefully in a week or two she'll post some pictures of its progress.

Kisses on St. Patty's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day from the Barrel! If you can make out today's ultrasound photo, Barack is giving some kisses out. Those are his nostrils and lips peaking through. We have also decided that after thorough studying, Barack may very well have his Mama's or Opa's nose--adding a little ethnic flare. He's doing well according to today's visit and is measuring in at 3 pounds and 9 ounces--still 1 week and 5 days ahead of schedule and very proportionate. So it is looking like he will more of a May baby than June. Let's hope he holds off until AFTER Dad's graduation from law school. We don't want too early.

The last two days here in Indy have heralded Spring's sweet days. The temperature is in the low 70s and the trees are brushed with tiny buds and green new leaves. After months of cold, dreary days we are excited and renewed by the cycle of birth in all ways including trees, birds, and the baby.

Happy green everyone if that's drinking green beers today or celebrating Spring.

Barack's profile with fist in mouth.

This is a sleeping position Dad frequents as well.

Things in Three

This week is the start of our 3rd trimester. In celebration, the barrel packed up and rolled off to Hampton, Virginia for Phish version 3.0 (as they are calling it.) We went for three nights of Phish in the mothership at the Hampton Coliseum and had a great time. Phish is Dad and Mama's favorite musical band. They are a group out of Vermont that Dad introduced to Mama over 10 years ago when they started dating. Since then, they have been to over 30 shows together (and many more alone) all over the country. Not to mention they had a Phish cover band at their wedding... They have met many new friends (or as we call phriends) on the way and converted their some of their friends to what is fondly called "Phisheads." Now you may have read much of the press about this band, and their comparisons to other bands that have droves of "hippies" that follow jambands while selling grilled cheeses from their VW vans and wear dreadlocks. The music is very different (much more rock and a fusion of many types of compositions and styles) but the crowd looks similar. However, there are many different levels of phans including the dirty loser "hippies" which we call the "wooks" who come along for the party scene to those of us that grew up and are outstanding members of society. In the end, we share a common bond of a love for music... Phish had broken up for good (or so we thought) almost 5 years ago until about the time we learned about Barack when on October 1st of 2008 the band announced that they were getting back together again. Needless to say we vowed at their final show we would make it to their return show, and we did. Even brought little Barack along. He slept most of the time, waking up during setbreaks and after the show. His Mama was busy dancing to the music, which probably helped the sleeping factor. He definitely was a little freaked out at first from the shear screaming before the start of the first show and the sound level, but by 3 songs in he relaxed and chilled the rest of the time. He tended to kick during the softer songs when Mama swayed and sang along. He got his song Bouncing Around the Room (or as we sing Womb) on the first night. We met three of our old friends from New England that we had not seen since our wedding or the last concert. The band sounded even better than before (most likely due to a new level of the band's sobriety) and the energy in the building of 13,000+ was amazing. However, we all felt our age as in 5 years, graduate school, parenthood-to-be and more, our bodies are exhausted!

Check out some pictures from our weekend...

The mothership. The coliseum is lighted in rainbow lights to make it look like s spaceship at night. So many bands love to come to this little hockey area to play.

The folks at the Phish organization sometimes has live performance art at its shows. Here there was a group of blockheads that constructed some floating blocks and rowed boats in the fountain underneath a giant white blockhead statue. There was also what looked like cotton candy in the trees for a boost of color.

Our view from our seats each night. we sat up top so Mama could have a seat and some safe dancing room than being down on the floor (where we stood last time we were here.) There were giant white balloons that were hung and lighted along with the light show. They were dropped during Bouncing Around the Room on the first night so that the crowd bounced them around the room and then again at the very end.

It was an amazing weekend. Mama and Dad were glad that they got to spend their last solo vacation seeing their favorite band. Now we just prepare for Barack's arrival in these last three months.

What a BIG boy!

We visited the OB again today and got another chance to peek inside. Some of you may be wondering, why so many ultrasounds? Well, it so happens that Mama has a benign growth called a fibroid which is very common in women (1 in 15). They tend to grow with all the blood supply and hormones, so the doctor wants to keep an eye on its size and position. We are happy to get lots of pictures of our little dude's progress. So far so good and it's not in the way of little Barack's growth or his future passage into the great world.

According to the measurements, Barack is measuring about 26 weeks and 5 days! That's ahead of his due date, which should put him at 25 weeks and 2 days--see the little monkey below to track Barack's calculated age. He's a lovely 2 lbs as well, which is about 1/2 pound ahead of schedule. His fat is filling in now and Mama's steadily gaining weight and tummy size. She officially cannot see her toes when looking down. She's still feeling good and packed with energy. Barack is a very active little bugger. He is awake more often now and packs a powerful punch (and kick for that matter!) He keeps Mama up at times at night and you can see him in action through her skin right before mealtimes when he's the most active. Should be interesting when he gets to attend his first Phish show in a couple of weeks. He loves basketball games and is a Butler Bulldog fan (we assume--however Dad will teach him to also love the Indiana Hoosiers.) Here's some pictures from today's visit:

That's his powerful right hook above his face. He was swallowing aminotic fluid (practicing for real feedings) and punching his Mama when this picture was taken.

His eyes (which have been sealed for the past few weeks) should open any day now and we can play flashlight wars.

Mama and Dad are awaiting Spring. Although we won't see her until after March Madness, we had some glimpses of her last week. All of the snow has melted and we have more rain than any nasty winter weather. Needless to say, this IS Indiana and it can snow in April. No other news from the barrel at this time.