My silly little monkey

AKA from the mouths of babes....
The older Brian gets, the more I am floored by the things that come out of his mouth and the things he knows and is aware of. It just amazes me. And the pure, innocent place that his questions and commentary come from. Ignorance is truly bliss....
Here are some topics that Brian has broached in the past week or so...

Where do babies come from?

Ah how we moms quietly shiver in fear of this question. Brian didn't so much as ask me the question but more gave me his own commentary as to how babies end up in Mommies' bellies...To set up the scene, we were on the way to the zoo and as we passed Norfolk General I pointed it out as the hospital Brian was born at and where the new baby would be born. A few minutes later this conversation transpires:

B: Mommy, I don't want you to eat me, your teeth would hurt me.
Me: Bri why on earth would you think I would ever eat you? Mommy eats food not people.
B: The baby in your belly Mommy. You have a baby in your belly and you can't eat me and put me in your belly because I'm too big.
Me: Is that how you think babies end up in Mommy's belly Brian? Because Mommies eat a baby to put it there?
B: Yes. I can't go in your belly now because I'm too big. When I get little, then I can fit in your belly Mommy.
Me: Brian I promise Mommy does not eat any babies. I will never eat you, nor will you ever get smaller, you will only grow bigger.
B: And then I can ride on the roller coaster, when I'm bigger?
Me: Yes love. Oh look there's the zoo. (sigh of relief)

I told my mother this story, who as always enjoyed the antics of her grandson, but noted that life was so much easier when the storks brought babies. I still wonder how women explained the large bellies...my mom said everyone wore tents back then and kids just chalked up the big bellies to weight gain. At least they had storks in Sinnersdorf, Austria Mom! Not so much in Hampton Roads, Virginia.

As funny as this conversation was, it still blew my mind how logical this was for him. He was probably thinking "I'm hungry, my belly hurts. I eat food, the food goes to my belly and my belly is full." OK so we know where things end up when they are consumed through the mouth- into the belly. "Mommy has a baby in her belly. Mommy must have eaten the baby." I know it's a bit deceiving but it really is much easier to say that the baby is in the belly vs. the uterus. Because THAT would be a whole other conversation to blog....

Brian and Politics

I am sure I am not the only one in Virginia (or in any other "battleground" state) who will be relieved come November 5th. We are ABSOLUTELY bombarded with campaign ads, from the DNC, the RNC, people who have the truth, people seeking the truth, Swift Boat Captains for truth (ooops, wrong election), people for families, people for aliens, oh the list goes on and on. So, once again to set the scene, I was watching the news yesterday evening waiting for my chicken to finish in the oven and the media's favorite darling Obama (sorry folks, I am a Democrat, but I still think it should have been Hilary~and am still half tempted to write her name in on the ballot, just as a final show of solidarity to Hil) was on the screen and the reporter was talking the election...

B: Mommy who's Oh-BAH-Ma?
Me: He's one of two men running for president Brian.
B: What's a president Mommy? (OK, should have expected that one)
Me: A president is the leader of our country. (Yeah because a 3 year old is going to get that)
B: What's a country? Where's the country?
Me: We live in a country honey, the United States of America.
B: We don't live in Portsmouth Mommy? We live in the country?
Me: Well Portsmouth IS in the country Brian.
B: Oh. (pause as he digests this) What's a president?
Me: Brian you know how Daddy runs our house? How he is the head of our family? (Yeah Steve is going to LOOOOOVE this answer)
B: Yes.
Me: Well the president is like the Daddy of the whole country, instead of running just the house, he runs the United States.
B: Mommy, who's that lady (pointing to Palin on TV- at this point TV is muted and he is unable to hear her name)
Me: That's Palin, she's running for Vice President.
B: (looks at Mommy blankly)
Fortunately here is where Mommy was saved by the oven timer. I am not at the top of my game at 6:45 in the evening to give a Political Science 101 class to a three year old!!!!

Brian and kindness towards strangers

I love that my son is so outgoing. I admire his ability to walk up to any child and become their friend within minutes (as we so quickly outgrow this skill into adulthood). I am so proud that he sees people for people and doesn't point out their differences and wants to talk to everyone the same. He says hi to everyone when we are in a store, the mall, the park, or out for a walk, and really gets a little hurt if people don't say hi back. This lack of apprehension for others and his willingness to talk to anyone who will talk back to him, while endearing also scares me to death. He is so much more likely to walk off with someone because he trusts everyone. He is more likely to fall victim to a predator because he isn't scared of anyone. So as a parent, I have to balance teaching him that strangers are not always friendly, and that he has to learn to be a little more wary of others, without leading him to fear the world. Hard job, but then again no one said parenting was easy. I just don't want him to lose his carefree, fearless attitude. Especially given how Mommy trusts very few people. There is now this famous story of me as a small child, my parents having warned me not to open the front door to strangers as it could be a murderer at the door. And a boss or work colleague of my Dad's, that I didn't know at the age of 4, knocked at our door and I yelled "Mommy, Daddy there's a murderer at the door!"
We met up with a friend tonight at the mall and Brian befriends this little boy his age at the mall playarea. He and the little boy start talking to his new friend's Daddy. Brian is close enough that I can get to him quickly, but still far enough away that I felt a little uneasy because I don't know this man. Next thing I know Brian yells to me, "Mommy, do we live in Norfolk?" Blast my child being obsessed with cities right now. I beckoned for him to come to me, which he started to and then said "Oh no, we live in Portsmouth, that's right." Great let's just give this guy directions to our house Brian. Oh and tell him that Daddy's working right now (because he likes to share that information too). Ugh we have some work to do in this area, before Brian gives Mommy a heart attack.

OK, I admit it. I am long-winded. It takes me a million years to get my point across. I know this. But this IS the second day in a row I have blogged. Yay me :)
And now off to get things ready for tomorrow. Another long drive to Richmond. And a long day as we have a Board/Staff Retreat from 5-7p. Did I mention in Richmond? Ugh, I won't be home until 9pm. At least we are getting served Maggiano's for dinner. Mmmmm, yummy. I guess you can find the silver lining if you look for it....

A Recap in pictures

Well, what do you know....playing catch-up again. This time I have a great excuse- it's been a busy busy week and the Yarbrough family has been on the move!! Which is how Brian likes it I might add, his favorite sayings~ "I want to get out of the house" (sometimes varies with "I HAVE to get out of the house"), and "Let's go have fun" say it all! Brian does NOT equate being at home with having fun. So the last two weekends have been bliss for my little monkey as we have not really stopped moving...This weekend will likely be the same, but after that, I get at least two weekends of vegging on the couch. It's only fair.
So here is my recap of the last week or so in pictures....

Last Sunday, we took part in the Va. Beach ALS walk. We walked with JTwalk which was organized by the family of a guy that Steve went to junior high school and high school with. Absolutely amazing- over 3,000 people came out to walk in his name. He was diagnosed with ALS a year ago and is already confined to a wheelchair. 33 years old and the father of 2 young children. Such an absolutely devastating illness. I walked in the first ALS walk in Hampton Roads 5 years ago with an old friend. We walked with a dear friend of hers who also had ALS. There were under 100 people at that walk. So to see the walk grow to nearly 4,000 people, absolutely amazing.

Brian not happy waiting in very windy, cold Oceanfront air for the walk to start. He has truly perfected his scowl. Practice makes perfect...

Wow. I do not make a cute Smurf. It was cold and windy, my warmth was much more important than style and vanity.

Later on in the week, Brian decided to surprise Daddy by painting him a picture. As I told my best friend tonight, when little boys get in trouble, usually a huge mess or injury is involved. Fortunately this was just a lot of green paint. Brian poses in time out.

Here's another shot- love the paint moustache Bri!

Brian as Buzz Lightyear!!! Oma and Grandpa spent the weekend with their favorite grandson and went with us to take Brian to the Olde Towne Portsmouth Trick or Treat Event.

Brian had a wonderful time, though on Halloween, the candy goes directly into the bag and not into his hand first. We had to battle over every single piece of candy to get it in the bag and convince him that he could eat it later and not this very second. It got to where he would say "Trick or Treat" and after handing him the candy he would ask the person, "I can eat this LATER?" What a nut. The funniest part was when he would refer to himself in character AND in third person. "Buzz Lightyear will carry the bag Mommy" "Buzz Lightyear said thank you for the candy Mommy" "Buzz Lightyear wants to eat a sucker Mommy." And I repeat, what a nut....

Brian and his buddy Hunter at the Hunt Club Halloween Kids Party on Sunday.

On a hayride! Brian's favorite thing about Fall...After the hayride he HAD to thank the hayride driver. We had to hunt the guy down so he could say "thank you for my hayride." The guy told him that no one ever thanks him and thanked Brian for thanking him. Brian just smiled.

Ahhh, the moon bounces. Always a good time. Is it me or does Brian look like a knight in this picture with the little hoodie?


Yesterday was windy and rainy. So when we got home from work, we built a tent for Brian. Apparently our tent making skills went out with our childhood. But after a few attempts, we had a tent. Brian loved it and ran back and forth from the den to the living room for about 15 minutes bringing as many toys and books as he could into his tent. We had dinner in the tent, and Brian had breakfast in the tent. I am expecting a full mutiny tomorrow morning as the tent came down when Brian went to bed tonight. Tents have a 24 hour life span when they are in the middle of my living room and it's darn well lucky it lasted that long. It was fun though and Brian loved it.

And now I am done and off to bed. I have quite the headache and think I may becoming down with a head cold. Fantastic!!! 'Tis the season I suppose....

Baby on the way update

Every time I get on here to update my blog, I feel like there is so much to write, as I just don't have ample opportunity to write and upload pictures. This blog entry is dedicated to our baby on the way, an update on how this pregnancy is progressing...
I am right at the beginning of my 14th week, which means...yay! end of the 1st trimester!! I am still feeling pretty exhausted but I am starting to feel a return of energy and motivation, and a little less nausea, though the heartburn continues and is kicking my butt! But overall I can not complain.
About 2 weeks ago we opted to have the first trimester triple "Nuchal Translucency" screen. This test assesses your risk for having a baby with Down Syndrome or Trisomy 18. I will be completely honest, I opted to take this test for selfish reasons, recognizing an opportunity to get an additional ultrasound, but in hindsight am thankful that my selfishness and attempt to pull one over on my insurance company resulted in me getting this test. I got the dreaded phone call as I was driving home from Richmond on Wednesday- when you hear "Hi this is _________, genetic counselor" you may as well hang up if you were hoping for good news. There was good news....my risk assessment for the Trisomy 18 was 1 in 10,000. The counselor assured me you can't get any better than that. However, my risk for Down Syndrome was not so hot. To help put it in perspective, a woman 31 years young as myself- looking at age alone- has a 1 in 522 risk in having a baby with Down Syndrome. Well, when they factored in my Nuchal Translucency, ultrasound and blood results, my chances for having a baby with Down Syndrome went from 1 in 522 to 1 in 58. Basically, according to one of the Down Syndrome Association websites I visited, I have the same "risk" as a 44 year old woman. I was blessed to have a lovely genetic counselor, who answered every question I had, and pleasantly took a phone call the next day to take more questions. Long story short, the reason my risk was assessed higher were for the following reasons: 1. Babies with Down Syndrome have a larger than average clear space in the tissue at the back of the baby's developing neck, due to an accumulation of more fluid. They do not like to see this space measure more than 2 mm. Our baby's was 1.7 and although that is within normal, they consider it to be high normal. 2. In the blood test they test for Inhibin-A and HCG levels. In a normally developing pregnancy, these levels should be at 1.0. My HCG is at 3.1 and my Inhibin-A is at 5.0. What does all this mean, if not Down Syndrome, and where are we going from here? I asked the genetic counselor what else the high hormone levels could indicate, given that the 1 in 58 assessment really means- out of 58 women who have the same test results as me, only 1 has a baby with Down Syndrome. This would indicate, at least to me, that there must be other factors that can contribute to higher than normal levels. Well, this was also not happy news. They are linking high hormone levels in the first trimester to a greater likelihood for preterm labor, specifically preeclampsia. Super! So hear we go again! In my second trimester screen with Brian, I also screened at higher risk for Down Syndrome, also due to elevated hormone levels. Could it have been indicator with him?
There is a silver lining to all of this (oh yes, really there is), anytime levels are over 3.5 women get two extra ultrasounds at 28 and 34 weeks...there are those ultrasounds again, lol...and we will keep a closer eye out for the signs that preeclampsia may be developing. The genetic counselor also noted that she would be recommending that they consider transferring me over to the Maternal-Fetal Medicine doctors (high-risk pregnancy specialists) from the General Obstetrics, though I already get all my testing and ultrasounds through them so they will likely not transfer me until I start showing signs of problems. I am relieved to feel that I will be listened to this time, unlike when I was pregnant with Brian and starting to swell up like a balloon by 28/29 weeks and the doctor's office told me that some swelling was normal, ignoring that my blood pressure was high for me. Or when I went to the ER and they sent me home, with very high blood pressure, proteins in my urine, and ankles the size of tree trunks, on a Friday night of Labor Day weekend telling me I should probably see my doctor ASAP, yet didn't bother to page said doctor. My current doctor was very reassuring, I am happy to have switched to her, she calmed my nerves and said not to worry about the risk of preeclampsia right now, as it doesn't typically develop until the third trimester and there is essentially absolutely nothing that can be done to prevent it. Fabulous! As for the original issue, we have an amniocentisis scheduled for November 13th, immediately following an ultrasound~ which will also be the U/S that tells us the sex of the baby (girl, girl, girl, girl)~ but feel that if the ultrasound does not give us those "markers" for Down Syndrome (heart defect, stomach and intestinal issues, etc), we will likely opt out of the amniocentisis. Frankly that test scares the heck out of me, in that there is always a risk for miscarriage, infection, complications. Oh yeah, and sticking a very long needle in through my stomach into my uterus to pull out a sampling of amniotic fluid just doesn't really sound like my idea of a good time....
On a lighter note, and much needed after this week, I woke up today with a baby bump! The growing belly is my favorite part of pregnancy and I can't wait to feel her (or him) start to move and kick. We got some really good ultrasound pictures and if I can figure out how to work the scanner, I will post them on here for your viewing pleasure. :)
Thanks for making it to the end of this blog post and for staying updated with the Yarbrough's! I can't wait to announce the sex of the baby!!!

I am a Civitan!

Tonight I was inducted as a member of Civitan International. I was approached by a member that was interested in having me as a member from our agency to be able to establish a closer tie with this community service organization. I am so excited about becoming a member! I think finding ways to give back to our community is so important, especially in volunteering our time and doing it without payment.
In case you are not familiar with them, their mission statement is as follows:
The mission of Civitan worldwide is to build good citizenship by providing a volunteer organization of clubs dedicated to serving individual and community needs with an emphasis on helping people with developmental disabilities.
I can't wait to get involved in their service projects and become active in the group.
If you are interested in more information, here is the link to the Civitan website....
Civitan

Vacations, Beaches, and Nor'Easters

Steve and I never take vacations. Since we started dating over 9 years ago, we have been to Atlantic City, Myrtle Beach, Kings Mill in Williamsburg, OBX, and Charlotte, North Carolina. We travel up to D.C. frequently to see my parents and friends and when we take time off from work it's usually because family is visiting from out of town or we are traveling up to West Virginia for my family reunion (no jokes please, I have heard them all! My family tree branches out appropriately, thank you!), but very rarely do we manage to get out of town as a family to just relax and have fun. So when provided with the opportunity, we jumped at the chance to turn a weekend trip to the Outer Banks for a wedding into an excuse for a vacation. Over the course of the last month, in which the Atlantic was very active in churning up storms, our mantra became "please let our trip be hurricane free." We forgot to add, "...and please no Nor'Easters." When we arrived on Saturday, it was already pretty windy. By Sunday, we spent a total of 10 minutes on the beach because the wind was so strong, the no swimming signs were up, and the sea was churning. Little did we know that this would be the only 10 minutes we would spend on the beach for our whole trip!!!! We ended up leaving on Tuesday to avoid getting stuck in the rapidly approaching coastal storm. We drove along the beachfront road in Nags Head before we left and the waves were already coming up under some of the houses that were built directly on the beach. So we finished off our vacation by taking Brian up to visit his Oma and Grandpa in D.C. We were a little disappointed with our beach vacation (as the vacation really did not include much of the beach...) but we were able to spend wonderful quality time together as a family, Steve and I didn't have to work for 6 days straight (AWESOME feeling!!!), and Steve was able to hang with (i.e. get intoxicated with...) all his college fraternity buddies at the very beautiful wedding we went to. So I would say, off time well spent! I feel energized and refreshed and ready to tackle the.....weekend! ;) Next weekend- off to Jessica's wedding in New York! Wow, I am feeling like quite the traveler.....
I am posting some pictures of our vacation below, enjoy!

Steve and I at Damien's wedding posing in front of the well stocked bar that I was unable to indulge in. I am determined to allow pictures of me to be taken during this pregnancy. I was adamantly against it with Brian, in fact I only have pregnancy pictures during two events- family reunion and my baby shower. I prefer to refer to them as fat and fatter. This will probably the last picture I have of myself pregnant that I actually LIKE....

I loved the centerpieces so much, I had to take a picture of one (check out the coozy wedding favors- made out of Coast Guard grade life preserver material! Very cool...Brian spent the 5 hour drive up to D.C. with one on each arm and told us they were his floaties for the pool)

Another shot of me and my honey (such a hottie! And not aging at all! 4 years older than me, and I will soon look older than him...)
The reception was overlooking the Sound and this picture was an attempt to capture the beautiful sunset.

The beer boat. Best idea ever. So glad we were toddler free for this wedding. Brian would have been IN the boat (or underneath it, depending on its perch's stability....)


Dreaded no swimming sign with Day 1 waves (not yet Nor'Easter waves)

Brian and me FREEZING our tushies off and trying not
to let the wind blow us away

Brian and Daddy BEFORE the long trek up to the Wright Brothers Memorial
I'm King of the World!

Brian is seriously the cutest boy ever. Yeah, totally biased but look at that face!

Another one of my cutie-patootie
Brian playing his new favorite game, "Go Lily Pad, Stop Lily Pad" Basically when he says Stop Lily Pad, you stop until he says Go Lily Pad. Theoretically. In practice, everyone BUT Brian has to stop on Stop Lily Pad. Kids. Where do they come up with this stuff?
Brian, do we have to pay you for a smile?? Mommy and Daddy are still in good spirits as this was before we decided to take the trail that claimed to be a mile and a half long that was, in reality, much longer than a mile and a half....

Ugh, I hate how long it takes to post pictures on this blog, arrange them in correct order, etc. I am so uncreative with this blog because I don't get it half the time.....
Tomorrow...D.C. pictures!!!

Overcoming the fear to fly

For those that do not know me as well as others, about 10 years ago I developed a fear of flying. Me, afraid to fly? Made about as much sense as fish fearing water, birds fearing heights, a child fearing play. Having taken my first flight in 1979 and having been bitten by the traveling bug at an early age, the idea of being afraid to get on an airplane was just ludicrous. And to pinpoint that exact moment....for the last 10 years, believe me, I have tried. I have asked myself a number of questions- was it the flight where the landing gear wouldn't come out and we got 20 feet from the runway and had to take back off into the air only to have firetrucks waiting for us alongside the runway once the landing gear finally worked and we were able to land? Or was it the severe thunderstorm we flew into upon landing during another flight, one that led the plane to erupt in applause when the plane had safely landed on the ground? Or perhaps it was all the ridiculously long flights I had to weather across the Pacific to visit my parents? Whatever situation it was that triggered my fear, I have since done silly things like delaying getting on an international flight, stranding myself in LAX overnight (did you know that airlines can get you a "passenger in distress" rate for airport hotels? Yup, learned that one that trip!), refusing to take a plane back across country once I got to my destination forcing me to take the Greyhound bus from San Diego, California back to Norfolk, Virginia (for those wondering, it took 4 days and it was absolutely the most refreshing shower I have EVER taken in my life when I returned home), and generally avoiding any trip or reason that would require me to board an airplane (how does one satisfy the love and NEED to travel when one will not board a plane?).
But I am happy to report that after 3 and a half years, I got on an airplane last week. Better yet, I also utilized my return ticket and flew home at the end of my trip! I have to say that the experience was absolutely EXHILARATING!!!! It was liberating, it was freeing, it was exactly what I needed to do to release myself from the restricting chains of this fear, and to begin the process of facing other fears that may be hindering me in my life. A wise man told me that our fears are rarely actually a fear of that specific circumstance or event, but a fear of being exposed. Let me elaborate. When one has a fear of flying, it's not actually the flight or the plane that is causing that fear. It's the fear of your reaction to this event, the fear of not having control and being exposed for all to see. So do I fear being exposed? Mmmm, not sure how to answer this, I feel like I am pretty much a "what you see is what you get" kind of gal, but the not being in control TERRIFIES me. Some may go so far as to call me a control freak, and I probably wouldn't argue.
To avoid the long process of self psycho-analyzing myself, I will stop here and give myself credit (and do the little celebratory dance) for (hopefully) overcoming this fear of flying. I have gotten my wings back and can not wait for the next opportunity to fly, no, SOAR!

Weekend, Sweet Weekend....

I love a good relaxing weekend. I am happily content today, after morning errand running, a baby shower (OK, truthfully the errand running was buying the baby shower gift- I am seriously the world's worst procrastinator), a little bit of cleaning, a little bit of chatting on the phone, wonderful quality time with my favorite two boys, and celebrating that one of those little boys made it the WHOLE day with no pee accidents (well the other one made it through with no accidents as well, but at 35 it's more of an expectation than at just under 3), I smile upon our relaxing day and on our happy life! I have had my moments of sadness/frustration today- no fault of anyone- but am ending my day with an attitude of acceptance that there are certain things in life over which I have no control and I just have to believe that the Big Guy upstairs has a plan for me and our family. Whatever happens (or doesn't happen), happens (or doesn't) for a reason, even though the reason may not be explicitly clear right away. But I digress.

Sights/Pics/Thoughts from the week....
Work and Wildlife
This picture of a cute, little bunny was taken with my cell next to our garden at work. As you probably can gauge from the trees and brush our program is located on the edge of the wild. And this is where I prefer to see wildlife. In the wild. Not scurrying down the hallway, seeking refuge behind the file cabinet in my office, as occurred on Thursday. After about 10 minutes, 4 of us managed to catch the petrified field mouse and return him to the wild you see above. If only these were the only two critters we have seen. Thanks to the four birdfeeders located near the garden (and the OCD birdseed tendencies of one or two folks), it often looks like a scene from Hitchcock's The Birds out back; we have a handful of ferral cats that lay in wait for those unsuspecting birds, and some creature that looked to be a cross between a wombat and a beaver (we never figured out that one, but I am not crazy, I think it was you Alex, that saw it too, waddling through the garden...). Then there was the mountain lion, and the pterodactyl. But that's a whole other story......


The above picture was taken on morning this week, I thought it was a beautiful scene and wanted to capture it. This is how I prefer to experience my commute vs. this.....

Not sure which is worse, the ominous clouds or the miles of brake lights....

And finally, here is a shot of my babooshka at the beach, he's my happy little lark.