It's the end of the first trimester! We still haven't done much besides names and talking. We got a bib, it says "I love my daddy." We also got a little sailor cap and matching little booties. Dan's mom bought us a book called, "The Twelve Gifts of Birth," and she says it's a book to read to Poppy. I'll probably read it a million times before s/he is even born.

November 18th: I couldn't help myself. I bought the baby a little yellow one piece outfit with a chicken popping out of the pocket. I also bought him/her a pair of black sweats. Gotta grab any black baby clothes you can find, you know?

November 22nd: I'm dragging Dan around the baby stores; he is less than thrilled at this point. He wants to wait until after the baby shower to shop, which makes sense.

We decided on the baby's room theme: Baby Farm Animals. Moo Moo Quack Quack!

November 25th: Happy Thanksgiving! Our very last Thanksgiving without Poppy in our world. Dan and I have been out furniture shopping and we found a dresser that we want. We are going to ask grandma and grandpa today (well, mom and dad for now but they will be gma and gpa soon!) if they will help us pick up the dresser tomorrow. It is so cute, it is light colored wood "natural" with three drawers and a changing table on the top. On the side, it has a tall cabinet where the baby powder, diapers, etc. will go. I like the changing table, but Dan thinks we're going to end up using the floor to change diapers! We'll see!

December 1: I found out yesterday that one of my classmates became a grandma on Thanksgiving. Guess what they named the baby boy? CHASE! See, Chase is a great name. :) We've definitely ruled out Chasey for a girl name. Right now, we're content with Makayla Dawn. However, this name is extremely close to the name of one of my clients' kids. Oh well. It's a great name.

December 4th: Nothing really new baby-wise. Things are starting to get hectic around here what with Christmas coming. Lots of parties to attend and things to do, so the baby planning stuff is on hold at this time. However, I have an 11-day vacation at the end of December. We are going to paint Poppy's room and set up the crib! People keep asking me whether or not I know if it's a boy or a girl. When I tell them we don't know yet, *everyone* always says, "I think it's a girl." I wonder why people do this? I mean, you can barely even see my belly popping out, so they can't use the carrying high/low myth. Maybe people can just tell. Or maybe they're all wrong. Even one of the three year olds was asked by his mom, "Do you think Joanna is having a boy or a girl?" and he said, "GIRL!!!" Wacky, no?

December 11, 1999: Ok, I'm starting to feel *fat*. I am definitely showing if you know me and know what my stomach looked like pre-Poppy. To the unobservant eye, I just look like I've porked out on too many chocolates. ;). I have such a strong suspicion now that Poppy is a girl. Even Dan slipped and called Poppy a "she" when talking about her (or him?) He's trying to fight it, but he has a feeling it's a girl, too. I have a few presents for Poppy for Christmas. Of course, s/he won't be able to open them, but I'll open them and put them in her/his room until s/he shows up. :) I'm always craving different foods, and once I eat that food, I'm done craving it. This week, it was French Toast. I had French toast twice this week. Now I'm bored of it. One week, it was grilled cheese sandwiches. I wonder what I will crave this week? Oatmeal cookies? I did seem to be attracted to the oatmeal cookies at the store this morning.

December 15th Doctor appointment: WE HEARD THE HEARTBEAT!!! The doctor said we're going to have to watch this one, he or she is a real troublemaker. She kept finding the heartbeat, and as soon as she'd say, "there it is" the baby would wiggle out. Lil Brat Already! hehehe She finally caught him, and we heard that little, "thump thump thump," it was adorable.

I lost 1 and a half pounds since my last appointment, so that's a 3.5 pound loss since the beginning of this thing. She is not concerned, but she wants me to have gained six pounds by the next appointment (!) I don't know if I'm going to be able to swing that. I don't go back for six weeks, so I guess if you see me at the local KFC chowing down, you know why.

Speaking of meat, she said that I'm slightly anemic. I'm not surprised, because it was a month ago that I had the blood tests, and back then I was really having a hard time getting meat down. I'm doing a little better now (in fact, after the dr. appt we stopped at Togo's and I got a Turkey and Cranberry sammie, YUM!) so I think I'll be OK as long as I concentrate on eating at least one meat a day. That's probably why I've been craving things like peanut butter, toffee peanuts, and pistachios, eh?

December 18th: Since my grandmother died this week, we decided to name our baby after her if we have a girl. Daisy Mikayla is our name of the moment. And like my mom says, we'll probably change our minds (or have a boy) but I just know that this is the right name (if it's a girl!) Dan got a gift certificate to Borders books from his work and guess what he wants to buy with it? A baby book! How to take care of baby, as in, what to do with collic, diaper rash, diarreah, etc. I am so proud of him for wanting to start learning about our huge job that is forthcoming. :)

By the way, my current food craving is not a food but those frozen drinks from Burger King (or Icees or Slurpees). I used to get worried when my sister-in-law told me that she craved ice chips. I thought that meant she had some kind of deficiency. Now I need to go see if it means that, because I want frozen drinks in the middle of winter!!!

December 25, 1999: Merry Christmas, Poppy! You were certainly spoiled. You got a chicken beanie baby, two outfits, and a lot of love from your mommy and daddy. Your great-grandma got you a little rainbow ball. Grandma and grandpa's poodles thought that the ball was for them, so I had to sit on it to keep them from trying to grab it! I can feel you swimming around every once in a while. One time, when I was driving, you gave me a nice little kick that made me go, "ahk!" But it didn't hurt. Just surprised me a little. Are you going to be a soccer player??? This week, your dad and I are getting your own little bedroom ready for you. We are going to paint (hope you like brownish/pinkish...even though you might be a boy, nobody will laugh at you for having a slightly pink room, I promise!) and we are going to set up your crib. Then, all we have to do is wait for you to show up! :) Only three more weeks until we find out if you are a girl or a boy. Mommy really feels strongly that you are a girl...but I've been known to make mistakes before, so forgive me if I am wrong. We'll see you on January 13th! Love, Mommy

DAD'S WORDS

Poppy is my son. I like string.

Dec 1 from Daniel: (laughing) "I like string" is a powerful statement. stasi's body is pretty sexy with Poppy and she definitely seems to have a glow. And even though she thinks she is waddling, I dont' think she is waddling yet. Oh, and "SAC HIGH RULES!" hahha I don't know.