I'm so excited!

I am trying to contain my excitment. In just a few short days, we'll be taking Cate to a Sesame Street Live performance at the new Sprint Center in Kansas City! The show is all about Elmo and it's titled, "When Elmo Grows Up."


I've learned that when I get such high expectations for something like it, it doesn't usually come through. So I'm really trying to temper my enthusiasm on this one. But I have scripted out our entire day on Saturday :) I've mostly focused on wearing Cate out here in Topeka in the morning so we can get her down for a good nap before we leave for Kansas City. Nap time has become a real battle for us and she is usually a complete monster by about 6 in the evening if she doesn't get an afternoon nap. Yes, I know, it's hard to imagine someone so cute being so difficult, but I am not exaggerating.

I plan to take the camera along on Saturday, so hopefully I'll snap a few good pictures. We have relatively good seats. I'm hoping it will be easy for Cate to see everything.

Everything else is going well except that we continue to battle the usual round of winter illness. Cate was sick the week before last, I wasn't feeling good the end of last week and Steve stayed home sick from work yesterday. I began the day today with a visit to the friendly dentist to get some cavities worked on -- yuck. Other than that, I think we're doing well. My belly is growing and the baby is kicking around every day. We are starting to work on some baby names too. Work is super busy for both of us now because the Legislature is back in session until early May. I'm already looking forward to summer!

24 Hours of Cuteness

Well, it has been one busy week! It seems like we have had a lot going on this week. The Legislature comes back to Topeka full-time next week and that's usually when our busiest time around the Martino household occurs. But I guess our busy time started a week early.

For starters, I had two doctor's appointments this week. We had our first sonogram on Wednesday morning. Aside from the fact that I had to drink 32 ounces of water beforehand (that's a lot of water for a pregnant gal), it was absolutely terrific. Not only did we verify the baby is a boy, but he is also very healthy and very active. He didn't sit still for a moment of the half-hour we were there. He flipped from one side of my belly to the other, semi-waved at the camera, gave us lots of good shots of his arms, legs, face, belly, etc and just generally made mom and dad very happy. I also went back to the ear, nose and throat doctor this week to see if there is anything more they can do for my coughing and congestion. I am still very congested, coughing quite a bit and I have an awful pain in my side as a result of the coughing. Unfortunately, there aren't many more options for treating these problems but the doctor did prescribe one last medication that might offer some relief. Unfortunately, it takes a while to show any results, so I've got at least another week or two before I'll be able to tell if I'm getting any better.

On the Cate front, she has been absolutely adorable for the last 24 hours. I will admit I think she's cute almost all the time, but she has been on a roll the last day. Apparently she was putting on quite the show at day care yesterday. She climbed up the stairs to the top of the slide in her room and asked one of her teachers to stand by. She then said, "I sing for you" and proceeded to sing an original number for her teacher. When she was done, she said, "Good?" and her teacher told her it was. Cate then said, "You clap for me." Once the clapping was complete, she climbed down the stairs and took a bow for the class. What a performer.

Then last night, after we had done her bath and read her story before bedtime, I sat down with her in the rocking chair. She put her arms around my neck and gave me a big hug. She said, "I love you." I told her that I loved her too and gave her some kisses. She kept her arms around my neck and said, "Mommy - my best friend." I have no idea where she heard that, but it was pretty sweet.

To cap it all off, this morning she decided she was a chicken. She was making clucking noises like a chicken and insisted that I address her as chicken. I got a good laugh out of that one.

Finally, if you want to know what Stephen is up to these days, there is a story about his work in the Lawrence Journal World today. You can read it online and there is also a short video on the left-hand side, about mid-way down the page. He's very busy at work these days.

It's a boy!

Christmas 2007

Christmas was definitely memorable this year. Cate had wonderful time with family and opening gifts. Stephen and I got her a kitchen set, which we set up in the living room for her to find on Christmas Eve morning. She loves it and has been playing with it nonstop at home. We also got her some books, a Cabbage Patch baby and a few new clothing items. She got many wonderful gifts from Mimi and PopPop (Stephen's parents) and from her cousin Quentin and aunt KB. She has been having a great time playing with all her new toys and reading her new books.

I spent the entire holiday season sick. And I'm still sick. I'm currently on week six or seven (I've lost count) of a horrible sinus/cold thing. I am beginning to think that I won't get better until the baby is born. I've exhausted most of the medicinal remedies available to a pregnant person. To whine just a bit more, I've got either a broken rib or a severely pulled muscle in my side from all the coughing. My nose is either running or completely stuffy all the time. In addition to several other pregnancy-related ailments, I have not been in very good shape for this holiday. I'm sure I'll always remember this Christmas, but I am really looking forward to getting past all this.

Cate went to the ear, nose and throat doctor yesterday for a regular check-up. She had tubes put in her ears when she was just over a year old. At the check-up, she failed her hearing test and they said she needs new tubes as well as her adenoids removed. We'll be going in for that minor surgery on January 22. Needless to say, Stephen and I were shocked that she failed the hearing test and we're a bit worried about doing general anethesia for this surgery. But it sounds like it's something she needs, so we'll be doing it.

I have spent just a bit of time playing around with Flickr, so here is a link to a slideshow of pictures from Christmas. If you move your mouse to the middle of the page, an "i" comes up and you can click for my creative photo captions.