Aidan in 4D !

April had her 29 week OB checkup yesterday, and everything is progressing nicely. The most recent visits have been pretty routine; they collect a urine sample, then it’s off to the exam room, Dr. M enters, asks if we have any questions, measures April’s stomach, and off we go. But, we had some added excitement to yesterday’s appointment because we had the 4D Ultrasound performed! It was amazing to be able to see what Aidan is actually going to look like. Feeling his kicks and movements are going to take on a whole new perspective now that we know the faces he makes while moving around and doing his exercises :)

The tech who performed the ultrasound was one we had not met before, but she was extremely nice. We knew from previous visits that our little guy doesn’t much care for the ultrasound process; he has a habit of curling up with his hands in front of his face once the ultrasound begins. We were hoping he would be more cooperative this time, but he’s definitely consistent, because he did the same thing yesterday. The tech got some good views and pictures when she first began, but after a couple of minutes, Aidan decided that he no longer wished to cooperate. He pulled his hands up to his face and decided to be camera shy for several minutes. But, the ultrasound tech was persistent, and managed to get some pretty good shots toward the end of the session.

Some of our favorite pictures are posted below. Not that we are biased or anything, but we think he’s a handsome little guy!



Showing off those chubby cheeks.

We can't tell for sure, but it looks to us like he is sucking his thumb.

Aidan is tired of having his picture made, and is ready to rumble!

How cute are those toes?

Kasey's Celebration of Festivus

There’s an episode of Seinfeld in which Frank Costanza creates his own holiday, called Festivus. If you, like us, are fans of the show, you no doubt remember the episode. Well, part of the celebration of Festivus involves the ‘Airing of Grievances’. During this ‘Airing of Grievances’, family members are supposed to let everyone in attendance know what each has done to anger, disappoint, or frustrate them over the past year. (Kind of a twisted version of the ‘What I am Thankful For’ Thanksgiving tradition)

Well, Kasey has expanded on this practice and chooses instead to air her grievances on a daily basis. As we mentioned in our first posting, Kasey is the most vocal and critical of our three cats, never hesitant to voice her displeasure to the humans who occupy her house. Particularly offensive to her are those occasions when we allow the food dish to empty. When this occurs, she generally begins with a few ‘warning meows’ to inform us that there is a problem. If an extended amount of time elapses without a resolution of the situation, she implements the second phase of her battle plan, which is a ruthless combination of psychology, aesthetics, and an assault on the auditory nerves.

She runs into the utility room (where the food is stored), jumps onto the washing machine (what we call her ‘grievance stump’), and meows incessantly until the dish is refilled. And, to her credit, the jump onto the washing machine is a bold psychological move; most likely honed by thousands of years of instinct, and the ability of a species to adapt and survive. Evidently this is done in an attempt to intimidate us, and assert her authority by bombarding us with meows while at an elevated position, putting her at more of an eye level with ‘the enemy’. Her final weapon is that she is just so cute, that it is extremely difficult to stay mad at her (as seen below) for an extended period of time.

Anyway, below is a great picture April took of Kasey last week during one of her grievance sessions.


See.....you can't stay mad when this face is looking back at you :)