Ft Myers for Spring Break

This is the first time in 10 years that Jeremy has been able to join my family for a spring break vacation to Florida. We haven't gone every year, but we have done so most years and Jeremy could never get the time off during medical school and residency (his years of slave labor). We had plenty of good times during the trip, and it was actually quite relaxing (if you can use the words "relaxing" and "family vacation" in the same sentence).

Our first stop was the Clearwater Aquarium where Winter the dolphin lives (she's the dolphin with the prosthetic tail on the movie The Dolphin Tale). This was an interesting detour. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see Winter with her prosthetic - she was just floating around her pool with her stub. We also saw 3 paralyzed sea turtles - their back fins were paralyzed, so all they could do was move their front fins which made them swim aimlessly in circles toward the bottom of the pool. It was like the aquarium for the handicapped. Don't get me wrong - I'm the biggest animal lover I know and I have great respect for these guys for what they do for those poor animals. It just wasn't the most exciting aquarium to visit. :-) It was worth it though because for days the boys talked about seeing Winter, and it brought the movie to life for them.

Next stop was the beach - where we spent the majority of our time during this vacation.

My little surf dudes - check out the muscles on these guys! ;) The boys LOVED boogie boarding in the waves. The surf was calm enough that they could pretty much do it on their own.

Jordan was so freakin' cute about "surfing". We bought them rash guards and he said, "Is this the kind of shirt that real surfers wear?" And, "Do real surfers wrap the string around their arm like this?" He also insisted on carrying his board under his arm like a real surfer. SO funny!!

We also had plenty of pool time, which was especially fun this year because the boys can swim on their own. They've turned into quite the little fish!

Playtime at the water park... I'm pretty sure the boys' favorite part was the ice cream.

Date night - the nice thing about taking a family vacation with Grandma and Grandpa is that Mom and Dad get to have some alone time. :)

Saying good-bye to the Ft. Myers pier. See you next year!

Baby Update

First of all, some belly pics...

 24 weeks - all dressed up

 Jeremy and I got to go to a gala for the opening of a new wing at the hospital. Here's my Sweetie looking sharp in his black tie attire. ;)

28 weeks - belly pic at the beach!

I'm now 31 weeks and everything is still going smoothly, considering. I had another fetal echo a few weeks ago and the cardiologist confirmed that little Amelia's heart defect is indeed Truncus Arteriosus. ...And now a lesson in cardiology - if you don't care, then feel free to take a nap at this time... :-) Amelia has a single blood vessel coming out of the right and left ventricles instead of the normal two vessels, the pulmonary artery and the aorta. In addition, she has a ventricular septal defect (a large hole between her ventricles), resulting in the mixing of oxygenated and un-oxygenated blood. Because Amelia has only a single large vessel, some if this mixed blood goes to the lungs, some to the coronary arteries and the rest goes to the body. Usually too much blood is sent to the lungs. The positive thing is that her heart is strong - it is the vessels and the hole between her ventricles that need repairing. Due to the seriousness of the defect, she'll undergo surgery soon after birth, likely within a few days, and she'll remain in the hospital for 4-6 weeks. The surgery creates two separate arteries. The large vessel that she already has will be kept as the aorta. The pulmonary artery will be created using some other tissue and the branch pulmonary arteries will be sewn into the new artery. Holy cow - isn't it amazing what medicine can do for a teeny little heart?! I'm in awe and so grateful that she is being born at a time when doctors have the knowledge and tools to fix this kind of thing.

Isn't learning more fun with visual aids??

That's about it. Amelia is growing and kicking and killing my ribs, and I'm still running around faster than most people can keep up with me. 9 more weeks!