Our baby

And the verdict is... It's a girl! I'm always a little unsure about the girl findings, thinking maybe they just missed something, but we basically had the ultrasound done twice yesterday, once with the tech and again with the radiologist, and both agreed that it seemed to be a girl (plus they got two different views of that telling region). Everything else on the ultrasound looked great, and I am still set to be due November 12. We took Tjabe, who seemed interested while it was happening ("I see baby on TV?"). He liked looking at the pictures afterward too. We didn't explain the pictures too much to him, but just told him that this was the baby. Sam thought he might have nightmares if we tried to explain the pictures to him, especially the face one, thinking he was going to have some kind of monster sibling. They are all pasted below for your viewing pleasure. It always amazes me how strange the baby looks in ultrasound, especially the face shots. Kind of creepy if you don't know what you're looking at... Anyway, we are excited to have a daughter, and Tjabe still doesn't really have comprehension of boys vs. girls, so he was just excited that we let him watch the baby on TV (poor kid doesn't get to watch much TV).

View of the arm making a fist on the left ("You talkin' to me?"), the knee/shin on the right

Baby's face on the left, rib cage on the right

Baby's right leg and foot(upside down)

Sayings

Some of the random things Tjabe has been saying lately:
"I'll be back." This is usually used appropriately.
"Woody, no bite." We walk a puppy named Woody who, as a puppy, is constantly nipping at Tjabe, mainly because he is at the perfect height to get a hand in his mouth. Tjabe has learned how to tell him no, but sometimes he will just randomly say this - at the dinner table, driving in the car, etc. No Woody necessary.
"You stay there." Usually told to Mama or Daddy
"Tjabe do it." No explanation needed here, usually coupled with the phrase above.

More Pictures

Sam and our adorable nephew! He got a kick out of Uncle Sam - I think it was the beard, but he always had a big smile for him.

See "Water" post below. This was after the head dunking.

Tjabe sitting on the turtle sculpture in Great Falls.

Tjabe and his cousin Micaiah

Not sure what Tjabe is doing here...

Giving his cuz a kiss

Water

Last weekend Tjabe was playing in a little backyard pool that was full of water. He wasn't wearing a swimsuit and I didn't really want him to get wet, but he was throwing the basketball into the pool and then fishing it out from the side, only getting his hands and shirt cuffs wet. It seemed dry enough for me. Then I saw him look at this water-filled pool and I could almost see the wheels turning in his head - "I wonder what would happen if I ...". The next moment he went up to the edge of the pool, bent over at the waist, and dipped his head in the water. He immediately straightened up, looked at me, patted his sopping hair, and said, with a slight note of dismay, "Mommy, wet!" Live and learn, buddy.

Soap

So during one of Tjabe's screaming fits today we tried putting soap in his mouth. (In case you're wondering, we did try hot sauce a few days ago and he seemed to like that too. So far we have struck out with vinegar, mustard, and hot sauce - apparently, he has some unusual tastes.)
Anyway, I bought some bars of Ivory at the store the other day and today one was put to work. That's right, Tjabe opened his mouth and Sam scraped some of the bar off right onto his teeth. Bleh - I almost gagged watching it. Fortunately, Tjabe didn't like it either. He stopped crying but was clearly not enjoying the experience. Success! Of course we don't enjoy putting our child through misery, but my hope is that this may be the solution to his screaming temper tantrums. And a relatively harmless one at that.

Avocado

Tjabe loves avocados - no surprise for a kid. He also has to declare one every time he sees it, as he does with most things. However, for some reason he always adds a few extra syllables to the word when he says it. In the grocery store, at the dinner table, or wherever he sees one, he loudly proclaims, "Acadodododo." Last night during dinner Sam was trying to help him pronounce it correctly - it went something like this:
Sam: "Tjabe, A-vo-ca-do. Can you say that?"
Tjabe: "A-ca-do-do."
Then he turned back to his plate and added quietly under his breath, "Do-do."
Geez Dad, get it right.