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.