The unveiling...

Before E and I left for the holidays we had one last visit to the doctor. We had an ultrasound, and check out our little guy now! He's weighing in at 8 oz. (at least he was on the 19th) and he's looking healthy and (apparently) happy. And that's right - I'm saying he. Check out picture number 2 for the nitty gritty there - the sonographer even circled the goods for us!
Otherwise things look good and he looks healthy. All his organs are developing as expected. They are concerned that my placenta is too low, so they've put me on reduced duty - no running, no heavy lifting, no straining. Oh, and that means FULL pelvic rest too. We've got another appointment on the 6th and hopefully things have shifted around at that point and I'll be able to resume... Jogging.

Enjoy the pictures!

A Rube Goldberg mess

This little thing is a Jeep Liberty water pump and gasket. Apparently, this is the source of my inability to drive, the terrible noise E first heard, and all car problems to date. What happened, seemingly, is that this device, which keeps the engine from overheating (I've learned - why don't they call it a coolant pump?) stopped functioning in my Jeep. When this happened, a pulley seized up, which caused the belt turning on the pulley to spin and wear out (the high pitched whirring and the loud thunking). When the belt wore out, the pretty much all electrical in the Jeep stopped working, killing the battery in the process. This all rendered the car non-functional. Who would have thought such a small thing would cause such a huge mess? Like when an animal sneezes in the Serengeti, we never can be sure what repercussions our actions will have - including you, Jeep Liberty water pump.

The good news? The nice man at Rockwall Jeep/Dodge/Crystler was able to not only diagnose all of these problems in the early morning, but he was also able to repair them in a single day! Not only that, but he flushed the coolant and changed the oil while he was at it. I can't tell you how impressed I was with the customer service. Not only can you tell me exactly what the problem was but you can also have it to me by 4 pm? Fabulous! The fee? Not so fabulous, but hey, water pumps don't come cheap.

Thanks to all for your concern. I promise to listen to E next time about the noise. Oh, and if I hear a noise and lose power steering in the parking lot, I promise to call someone for a ride. No more driving home. That clearly doesn't work.

A thing I am particularly bad at

On a Sunday drive:
E: Has your car always made that noise?
A: What noise?
E: That high pitched squealing noise.
A: Er, I don't think so.
E: You don't think so, or you're sure.
A: Uh, yes.

Today:
After work I walked out to the car and started it up. The high pitched noise was still there. Before we all freak out, I had planned on taking it in on Friday to get it fixed, whatever it was. That was, until, instead of the high pitched noise I hear a loud pop and then a bunch of clunking. Then the noise was gone. The battery light came on, but otherwise, everything seemed to be running okay. I figured as long as I could get home, I could bring the car in to the dealership tomorrow. As I backed out of the parking space, I quickly realized that cars are much easier to drive when they have power steering, as mine didn't any longer. Oh well, I think. People drove for years without power steering. Surely I can drive home. That is, until about a mile from work when the radio shut off. Weird, but doesn't prevent driving. Until the lights started to dim. Then the speedometer quit working. Then, worst of all, the gas quit. I was the ridiculous person on the road whose car won't work, but apparently because all electrical stuff wasn't working I couldn't even turn on my hazards. I coasted onto a side street, sort of, and sat for a second weighing my options, which were few. I looked up the police non-emergency number on my phone and called them, because, well, I needed assistance. The police came and blocked the road so I wouldn't be crashed into by crazy frustrated commuters, and they also called a tow truck for me. The tow truck came and loaded up the Jeep and drove both me and it all the way to Rockwall where we left the Jeep at the dealership (for a fee).

Firsts for me: Calling the police to block traffic. Getting a car towed. Riding in a tow truck.

Lessons learned: Listen to E when he says to take the car in on Tuesday and not wait until Friday because that noise might actually be something serious and not something that can wait.

At least I learned a lesson.

Booked the babymoon

There's a trend (apparently) among expecting couples to take a babymoon, which apparently one last hurrah before the baby comes. Supposedly this is like a honeymoon, but seeing as how our honeymoon consisted of bikinis, champagne, tequila, and lots and lots of lounging on tropical beaches, I just don't see that as a fitting thing to do whilst preggers.

Instead, we're going to visit our friends in Denver! I know I've mentioned this before, but we actually booked tickets now. (What an amazing deal. Southwest, what did I do without you? Oh yeah, enjoy my flight more but pay more than twice as much for it.) We'll be in Denver from January 22nd until January 25th, which is, I realize, one of the coldest times of year to visit Denver. Maybe it will make me appreciate my Texas humidity more. I know it will give me a chance to appreciate my friends more. That, and visit all the resturants we miss so terribly since we've moved. You know, lots of our travel revolves around food...

Plus, this is right after our anniversary, so we're trying to bill it as a anniversary present to ourselves. Seems to be working.

Keeping up with the Joneses...

Pretty good for a first stab at holiday home decoration (outside).