Abby and Zoë

Richard, Irene, Talita and Anabelle asked us to join them at the beach today.  They were taking a trip down the coast to some nice beaches out of town.  We had heard about Tabatinga beach [map] and the beautiful cliffs that are off the beach, and also that sometimes you could swim with friendly dolphins there, so we took them up on the offer.  The beach was absolutely deserted and beautiful.  We heard that It is ranked in the top 10 of Brazil's beaches.  No matter where we go in Brazil, it seems to be empty and beautiful.  There were some beautiful homes along the beach with incredible views.  We timed it just right, to be there at low tide, unfortunately there weren't any dolphins to swim with us this time.  The girls got to play in the sand, run around, and swim in the ocean.  Both Abby and Zoë took turns going out to bob in the waves and swim in.  They loved it, and playing with the girls was a special treat.

On the way back, we stopped off at the Cabo Branco lighthouse (Farol do Cabo Branco) [map] just before sunset at 5:30 PM.  This is billed as the eastern most point of Brazil and of all the americas.  The view is incredible from here, and there are paths down to the beach to the south, which is actually the most eastern point, instead of the overlook, it was getting dark, so we decided to head back into town.  Richard dropped us off and shared his camera photos with us.  I hope you enjoy the views.

We had a few issues with the apartment, mainly the phone and the shower in the master bathroom. 

I wrote an email to the owner, who is the daughter of the Divanda, whom we call the land lady.  The owner is in Germany, she works for the Brazilian consulate in Frankfort, and is married to a German.  He wrote me back on her behalf, stating that the land lady, would come by today and bring a new phone (the 4th one) and also bring a specialist to fix the shower.  The land lady showed up around 10:30 - 11 AM.  We tried the new phone with the same results.  The line is always busy, even when trying to call out.  And when someone can call in, the phone makes a very short single meep.  That meep is so soft, we wouldn't hear it in a completely quiet house, which this isn't.  So the phone will wait another week until a specialist can come to take a look, Wednesday. 

We were then waiting for the electrician from an engineering company to come and fix the shower.  I know, an electrician for the shower, keep reading.  Apparently the showers in Brazil are all heated on demand, with electricity.  Actually, they are heated in the shower head by massive amounts of electricity.  I know, water and electricity don't mix, but they have a ground wire in the water stream to make sure you don't get any of the 20 Amps at 220 Volts while getting squeeky clean.  The shower worked moderately well after we learned to only allow a slight amount of water to trickle, enough to activate the trigger, and put electricity through a coil that heats up the water flowing around it.  I tried the shower after Laura was in there on Wednesday or so, and it was completely luke warm, tap temperature.  We checked the circuit breaker, the switches, everything, no hot water in that bathroom.  It turns out, the coil was on it's way out, and finally snapped with her shower.  So he installed a new coil, super quick operation.  The engineer couldn't get the lid back on, for the shower to have enough pressure for the trigger, so he wrapped about a half mile of teflon tape around it, and said it was good to go.  I was going to leave well enough alone, not wanting to mess with the electrical aspect of this job, but while showering, it threw the breaker and I had cold water again.  So I took it apart, fixed the gap and applied the lid correctly.  The shower is now so hot, even on the lower setting we can finally get some higher water pressure.  It is a joy to shower now, but unfortunately, once you look behind the curtain, you can't pretend showering isn't a super dangerous event, not because of slipping in the shower, but because 20 AMPs will kill you, and between life and death is a small green ground wire in a water stream.  Thank god we can predict where the water flows. ;)  Now I know why nonno Ernie only wanted to shower in the maids quarters, no hot water and no risk of death.

Oh yeah, Lunch with the land lady.  So we are waiting and waiting for the phone company to open back up after noon.  So around 1 PM, we offered the land lady some rice with chili over it I made the night before.  She said it was good and ate it all up.  Maybe she was just being polite, I do not know.  But she got to see me clean the apartment once the girls went to nap, and commented to Laura how Brazilian men wouldn't be caught doing any domestic housework.  Laura just smilied at how lucky she has it, then ordered me back into the kitchen to do the dishes.  Anyhow, around 2 PM, she got ahold of the phone technician, that told her the earliest they would be here, is in 7 days, next Wednesday.  She tried to argue with them, was cut off, and then called back and said, sounds good, see you next Wednesday.  I hope one day soon, we will be able to call out with our phone, and hear the ringer when someone tries to call us.

After 'first breakfast' of oranges, and bananas in graviola yogurt, the girls and I got ready to walk to the beach.  I brought our paper of yoga sequences, the camera, and a bottle of water.  We walked the 1200 feet (366 meters) to the beach and found a good spot to begin our "waking up" sequence.  After the first couple of poses I could see that the girls were going to need some boundaries, so I drew them each a yoga mat in the sand.  After finishing all of the poses, we walked down to the water to get rinsed off.  Abby walked out and sat right down to let the waves wash over her.  Zoë on the other hand didn't think this was such a good idea.  When she finally sat down, in very shallow water, she clung to my leg and jumped up as soon as the first wave came over her, barely covering her legs.  So we all stood and I walked them out a little further so that I could splash some water up on them and get them rinsed a bit.  Afterwards we were all set to walk back to the apartment and get a shower and a yummy 'second breakfast' that Daddy prepared, of potatoes, onions, and garlic with a fried egg over top.

This morning we went down to the beach.  Abby and Zoë have tried the pool on the roof, and now they wanted to try the beach.  It wasn't overly warm out, almost 81 F / 26 C degrees.  With the wind it felt much cooler.  The water was not cold, but not lukewarm either, but once you got it, it was very nice and refreshing.  At certain points the water is warmer, and cooler in other spots.  So you can really feel how the water is being heated from the sun in the shallow parts.  I walked out quite a way with both Abby and Zoë, taking turns allowing them to swim with the waves.  It was tons of fun.  Mommy didn't go in this time, but thinks Monday morning will be her day to swim.  We were only out for about an hour this morning.  Zoë was hungry so we headed back to the apartment.  We need to try that little kiosk on the way back.  I saw a post on wikimapia that said the Açai there has no equal.

Laura's online pen pal friend called us tonight, and we met up for dinner.  Nonno Ernie treated us to a cab, instead of taking a bus, which we were prepared to do.  The cab ride of about 1 mile cost R$6.50 (about US$ 4).  The bus would have cost us half, so it wasn't too expensive, since the girls are free.  We exited the cab about 2 or 3 blocks south of the Hotel Tambau, which is a landmark here in João Pessoa. It sits right on the ocean, and is this large circular hotel, and very expensive.  We didn't have to wait long for Raissa to show up.  She introduced herself and we hugged and kissed like long lost friends, as is the custom here.  It was nice to meet and converse with someone local.  We walked across from the hotel to this very lively area.  Little kids were out running around and playing.  There were vendors selling little kids toys and cotton candy, and blowing bubbles.  It was a big party atmosphere.  Family friendly and safe, despite being completely dark out, the place was well lit.  Raissa recommended a place to eat Tapioca.  I wish I had taken a photo of it, but will in a future outing.  It was very delicious.  It is manioc flour, cooked into what is like a soft taco, but thicker, and they you choose the filling.  Everything comes with cheese in it of different types.  The girls had a Romeo and Julliet, which is the Gauva and Cheese flavor, tasted almost like a peanut butter and jelly.  I had the chicken and cheese, loved it, and so did Abby.  Zoë and mommy didn't prefer it.  Raissa and her friend Ana had banana and cheese.  Abby and Zoë ate most of Raissa's as well.  Raissa had an orange juice, and we got two grape juices, seemed fresh squeezed grape juice, not the clear juice we get at home.  After eating, Laura got some ice cream to share with the girls and then Ana offered to drive us home in her car, a very nice new VW Polo.  It was great to finally meet Raissa with whom we have been chatting online for several months.

My first impressions are really limited, since I spent so much of the first days in the apartment.  I will admit, that with the abrupt change from US to Brazil, getting on the plane in one country and off in another, I hadn't prepared myself for the transition.  All of a sudden I had to try and communicate with my limited Portuguese, and I did get discouraged with that part of it.

However, the people are very nice, and most of them will slow down and be helpful when it's explained that I only speak a little Portuguese.  I haven't been out enough to really see much of the customs and etiquette, but I hope to get out and about more today and the following days.

Brazil is full of cool surprises.  We are starting a wonderful journey discovering all the fresh fruits and vegetables that don't exist in the US, and there are so many.  Some we have to look up on wikipedia to figure out how to enjoy. 

We tried the Caju (cashew fruit) juice, it is very nice.  Who knew how those cashew nuts grow on the end of a very delicious fruit?  The girls also got to try some Graviola [Soursop] flavored yogurt, super yummy.  Even though there is a health warning, Daddy enjoyed a Graviola juice while out for dinner tonight, and it was tastey as well.  The waiter brought us tiny cups to sample other juices as well.  But without a container, we couldn't tell you exactly what they were. :)  But they were tastey...

Also, the shower is a surprise.  It is not common in this area to have hot water available at the sinks.  Only at the shower, and only if the shower has this electric heater that the water goes through.  Very dangerous with electricity and water, but that is how it is done here.  No central hot water heater/boiler running all the time.  The showers are cold/luke warm at best, with the heater on the winter setting and maximum output.  There is a safety off switch in the shower to turn off when done, to prevent further shocking incidents no doubt. :)  We are adjusting to the invigorating morning, afternoon and sometimes eventing showers.

We had quite the adventure on our first big family vacation.  Abby and Zoë got some good sleep last night, and didn't even have much of a problem with us getting them up at 4:20 to meet the taxi service that would take us to JFK International Airport.  Surprisingly the girls didn't go back to sleep at all once on the ride to the airport, they were all excited and wide eyed.  Getting into the airport, we ended up having to wait in line for a good while to check in and get our tickets printed out.  After we were all set with that, we went down and opened up the bag of goodies we brought along from Jonathan.  He had given some granola bars as well as two crazy cupcakes.  They were cupcakes with a hard chocolate shell frosting on top, then on top of that was a big mound of icing, and I mean big,  with sprinkles and decorations made to look like elmo and cookie monster.  I let the girls lick the sprinkles off of the icing then scraped that off and let them just eat the cupcake... breakfast of champions.

Once at the gate, we ended up having to wait longer than expected, as the plane didn't start boarding on time at all.  It was there plenty of time ahead, but there seemed to be some issue with a couple having got off the plane, with the customs police, apparently being sent back to Brazil.  We eventually got on the plane and found our seats.  The seating was two seats on each side and four in the middle.  The girls and I were in three of the four middle seats, and then Nonno Ernie and Daddy were in the two on the other side of the aisle.  The girls were thrilled to see screens on the back of each seat, while I was thrilled that they had foot stools and that the head rests could be bent forward to your liking.  Abby and Zoë watched some Disney channel cartoons, though they were voiced over in Portuguese because I couldn't get it to go to English.  After a while they came around with food.  It seemed that with the late start, they skipped the breakfast meal and just combined breakfast and lunch with a choice of eggs or a sandwich.  It came with fruit and stuff though, so it was nice.  I tried to have the girls rest, but it didn't happen.  We did some coloring (thanks Andrea for the groovy girl coloring pages, they were the first choice for coloring!) and played a game of Old Maid and before we knew it, just when the girls started asking, food came around again.  This time the choices were chicken, meat, or pasta.  We all got chicken, while Daddy got the meat dish. 

Finally, after about 10 hours in the air, it was time to land.  When we hit the runway, everyone cheered.  We got off and got through customs quickly and then went to find our gate for our next flight.  This is when the girls began to get cranky, having been up since 4:30 and not having a nap and it now being sometime around 8:00 NH time.  We got on our bus to take us to the plane to Recife and as soon as we got on the plane, the girls were disappointed.  This was a smaller plane than the first, with three seats on each side and one center aisle.  There were no tv screens, no footrests, and no comfy head rests.  Abby and Zoë's behavior started going downhill.  One would get to sleep and the other would be whining and cranky then as soon as she started to get to sleep, the other would wake uncomfortable and sit just crying for a while.  Towards the end of this flight, both girls had fallen asleep across the seats, blocking my seat in between them, which wasn't a good thing come landing time since I had to move their heads to get buckled in.  We just waited for everyone else to get off before trying to get off with our two tired and very cranky girls. 

After getting off the plane and into the airport, the girls perked up and waited for the taxi, though they were in their deliriously silly mood.  The taxi ride from Recife to our apartment was definitely out of my safety comfort zone.  It was over an hour ride, not only were there no booster seats, with Chris, myself, and the girls all squished in the back, no one could even buckle.  The roads were horribly bumpy and on top of that it began raining really hard.  Our driver was good though and very nice, accommodating with my lack of Portuguese knowledge.  He got us to our apartment where the next adventure of meeting the land lady and trying to communicate with her lay ahead.  Though I asked, she didn't really slow down for anything.  We got it all worked out though, and have finally arrived.

None of us got much sleep last night, but the girls woke up early nonetheless.  After Daddy took the girls down for an early morning beach run, we went down to have breakfast at the buffet with Nonna.  Once we were done, we headed over to Matt's and arrived about 9:00 a.m.  I started on the girls hair right away.  At 10:00 Caitlin's sister-in-law Sharon came over with her kids Dylan (the ring bearer) and Erin (another flower girl) so that I could follow them over the Caitlin's parents house.  I was just finishing up Abby's hair when they arrived, but hadn't done Zoë's curls yet, so I grabbed the curling Iron and finished over there.  Pretty soon hair-do's were done and 'Cinderella dresses' were on and it was time to head to the ceremony site.

There was only a few minutes to wait before Abby and Zoë were cued to head down the aisle.  There was some grass they had to walk through before getting to the actual aisle.  Both girls began to get nervous as they got closer.  They were holding hands, then letting go, then Zoë just stopped.  Abby kept trying to get ahold of Zoë to get her to walk, but then gave up and just went down herself.  Zoë walked a little ways, then threw back her head in laughter and turned and walked back towards me.  I walked closer and tried to urge her down, then I walked around to the front, but she wasn't budging.  Finally Matt went down and took her hand and walked with her down the aisle.  It was hot, but the girls sat very nicely and watched Caitlin and Matt get married.  We had a couple of pictures there, and then went to the Red Lion Inn for the reception.

We had hors d'oeuvres and milled around chatting, and then once Matt and Caitlin arrived and said their hello's, we went downstairs to begin the food.  In between courses we took some photos, then there was the cake cutting, and then some dancing.  Despite how tired the girls were, they didn't want to leave the dance floor.  Finally at about 4:00, we headed out to go back to the hotel.

The cinema in Newington is participating in the free family film festival, where every week during the summer, on Tuesdays and Wednesday mornings, they offer two children's film choices (old releases) and you pick one of them - one's g and one is pg - and watch it for free.  You have to get there early enough, as it is first come first serve, so once they fill up that's it.

We all piled in to the big rental and headed over to Newington to meet Reanna at the theater.  All the way over, and for the rest of the day, the girls couldn't get over how cool they thought this vehicle was.  They were sitting in the back, third row of seating, and kept saying it was so neat and that it looked like an airplane.  It was really funny.  We got to the movie theater and said at the box office that we were wanting to see the free movie, Surf's Up, and were pointed in the right direction.  I went to get some seats while the girls lured Papa Norm and Daddy to the concession stand.  Even with never having been to the movies before, these two couldn't miss the food stand.  After getting everyone seated, and then taking the girls out for a potty break before the movie, I noticed a woman grabbing these booster seat type things from a stack beside the door, so I grabbed a couple and went back to our seats.  They were just a hard plastic thing, with Velcro on the bottom, but it did help to get the girls view up over the seats in front of them.  They were sitting on either side of Papa Norm, who was holding the big tub of popcorn.  They were so mesmerized with the screen, even when it was just a little pre-movie cartoon, that when Chris and I held the popcorn for a couple of minutes, neither of them had noticed that we'd taken the bucket and they both reached over to Papa Norm's lap without looking, at the same time, to reach for more popcorn.  Their hands searched for a moment, then they looked and noticed that their beloved popcorn was missing.  It was hilarious.  The girls enjoyed the movie, and only got up once during it, to potty, and then sat and awed and giggled through the rest of it.

After the movie, we went over the Panera for lunch, and since it is such a nice day today, we sat at the tables outside.  Later we're due to go to Auntie's for dinner, so the girls will get plenty of more outside time when they are running around the back yard.

Abby and Zoë were so excited all morning long, waiting to be able to get ready for swim lessons.  I wasn't sure they would even be able to have them.  It was raining last night and this morning it looked like more rain would come any minute.  Their class is at 10:30 and at 10:00 the rain had still not shown up so we started getting suited up.

Both Zoë and Abby did such an awesome job today.  They weren't hesitant at all, even though they knew the water would be cold, and everything that was asked of them to do was met with excitement.  I can't say the same for everyone else in their class.  It was a good thing that they didn't do anything with actually going under water today, because I couldn't remember this morning where I'd put their face masks.  Also because when they were supposed to blow bubbles in the water or reach under to grab the sunken toys, the girls kept doing it with open mouths, especially Abby.  They had a great time and had great attitudes throughout the whole class.

Grampy and Daddy attended the service today, to watch Abby and Zoë perform in their first musical production, The Tale of Three Trees.  The Children's day service started off with a few words from Pastor Vivan, and then some presentations.  Kids of certain ages were presented with bibles, which Abby and Zoë each got to receive.  The bibles were different for the different age groups, and the girls really like theirs.  When Abby's name was called, the woman prounounced our last name incorrectly and Abby hesitated to go up and receive her bible, so the ended up just handing it to her.  Zoë hopped right up and went to get hers.

Next it was time for us to go up on stage and perform what we've been practicing and practicing.  Overall, it went well.  There was a moment, when I had to go off stage to act as Mary briefly, that I guess Zoë was not doing exactly as she was supposed to.  So when I got back, as we were singing the next song, Abby kept trying to tattle on her, meanwhile Zoë was complaining of being thirsty and asking for a drink.  Luckily this was all while there were other things going on, so it wasn't too noticeable... at least I don't think it was.  Abby and Zoë were trees just like the other kids, there was also a part where they were 'marching soldiers' with a few other of the younger kids and marched down the center aisle and then lined up on the front of the stage to finish out the song, complete with movements.  When the song was over, we hurriedly switched their hats back into their leaf halos.  The kids all really did do well, and I think it ended up being a very cute show.

After the show, there was a cook-out on the front lawn.  It was a very hot day, it ended up getting up to 100 degrees, so I had packed dresses for Abby and Zoë to change out of their long sleeves and long pants.  I was wishing I had done the same for myself, luckily I had short sleeves and capri's though.  Grampy left a little bit into the cook-out, and then we headed home for some much needed rest as well.

Today while at Walmart, we went fishing for a watermelon.  The girls have been asking for them since they were first $6.99 at the grocery store, for these little tiny round models.  During the latest round of food price increases, I noticed this week, those $6.99 melons were now $8.99.  I told Abby and Zoë that they are too expensive, and most likely flavorless, we would have to wait.  Then today, while browsing around the produce at the Super Walmart, I saw two huge bins of watermelons.  The round seedless tiny watermelons in one bin and the super large jumbo oblong seeded watermelons in the other, both $4.88.  It is hard to believe both these melons were priced the same.  Pound for pound, the large melons were probably 4 or 5 times the smaller ones.  I pushed aside the ones on top, and dug down deep.  It seemed the deeper I went the larger the melon.  At one point, Laura thought she would lose me in the bin, and asked if it I was going to turn out the whole bin right there and now.  I replied that I spotted a whaler, or at least a small dolphin sized melon near the bottom.  It was a struggle pulling it deckside, but like any difficult worth while task, I was finally rewarded, with a very nice catch.  This melon easily weighed more than Abby or Zoë, so more than 30 pounds.  I had them both try to carry it at the same time, and both of them couldn't muster it, even though they can pick each other up, bear hug style.  We got some pictures of them washing it in the sink. I cut it up, and they enjoyed some for evening snack.  I introduced a good chunk to the blender and set homemade watermelon popsicles for our next scorcher day (supposed to hit 90s), Thursday.

We went over to Anna Claire and Andrea's house this morning to play for a little bit before heading over to  Gymnastics so that Zoë and Abby could try a 45 minute class out with Anna Claire.

I got to watch from the observatory, and both girls did really well.  There were some neat games, and a neat 'obstacle course' of lifting their bodies, jumping over a roap, front rolls up a foam wedge, somersaulting on a padded beam, rolling down a big wedge, and then doing what looked like back flip practice over a big foam thing.  They also got to do some jumping stuff, both of the girls loved getting to jump off into the foam blocks.  When class was over, both Abby and Zoë were super excited and couldn't stop telling me how much fun they'd had.  They're really excited to be going back for Anna Claire's birthday party on Sunday, this time for an hour long class.

Today we had lunch at Jin Asian Restaurant on Route 1 in Saugus Mass.  It was an incredible experience.  We pass this restaurant every time we're coming back from the Boston area and have just never tried it.  It is this huge elaborate building up on the hill.  It was two different things before becoming Jin's, and coming up to the doors we didn't know what we'd find.  We got directed up an escalator to the dining room where we were seated and given menus.  As we were looking over the menus, a woman with a cart full of plated foods came by.  Someone else was with her and told us to try something, that the kids would like it, so we agreed.

Finally a woman speaking English came by to explain things to us, after we told her that we'd never been to the restaurant before and were new to this.  There was the option of ordering from the menu, but she said if we wanted authentic chinese food and and authentic experience, that we should go with the dim sum being pushed around on various carts.  We went ahead and gave our menus up and opted for the experience.  At $2 a plate for dim sum, why not try it out?  We decided that it was probably a good sign that everyone else, and I do mean everyone else in the place was Asian.  We tried some dumplings and shrimp rolls, fried squid, crunchy noodles, and also this rice dish that came with a chicken's foot on top.  We had this yummy pork triangle thing that seemed kind of like a dessert, and then the woman who had been helping us brought over some sesame balls 'on her' since we told her we hadn't tried them but that we were ready to close the check.  She was a very friendly and helpful lady and we really enjoyed the experience, as well as the gorgeous atmosphere.

We went to two state capitols today.  First was the capitol of NH, Concord.  We went to the state building and while I was inside Chris had the girls run through the grass and pose for some photos.  Inside I got to peek inside the House Chamber room, which was going to be used a little later in the day.

Next we drove down to Massachusett's capitol, Boston.  There were no exciting photo opportunities here, but the girls did wait nicely in the car with Daddy while I went inside the state building there.

After washing our clothes at home, we took them to the laundromat to dry them.  Chris got the load going and then we went to run some errands.  When we got back we all got out to watch the clothes finish tumbling 'round and 'round, which Zoë and Abby just thought was very cool.  Abby asked looked around the place, and then walked a few steps and looked a little more, then asked, "But, where's the mat?"  She thought we were going to see a 'laundry - mat'

Nonna paid for Zoë and Abby to take a six week yoga session.  The classes are once a week for about 45 minutes.  Abby and Zoë have been so excited that they're going to be going to yoga, we put in on their calendar and they've really been looking forward to it.  All day today they were asking when it was going to be time to get ready for yoga... and yoga didn't begin until 3:30. 

We got to the studio and the kids were ushered in with their mats to the large room where they'd be having practice.  It was a big open room with bright wooden floors, and two glass doors that were closed on us parents.  Chris and I, the newcomers that we are, were standing by the doors and were then told the rule that they ask the parents not to hang out in front of the doors because it distracts the kids.  So, we didn't even get any pictures this time... I plan to try and snap a few next time.  We could, however, hear the kids... mostly our kids.  They were apparently the only ones new to the yoga class and began the class by running all around and then talking and talking, just dying to hold a conversation with Ms. Amy, the instructor.  After they got the rules all explained, things went better.

They played down dog tag, did some movements to a song, and a couple of other things I didn't catch.  (I did manage to catch some peeks of some of the games.)  Then at the end Ms. Amy turned down the lights and put on some soft music for calm down time, Abby and Zoë seemed to enjoy that.  When it was time to roll up the mats and get a stamp on their hands, Zoë and Abby rolled their mats like a pro.  They were super excited when they came out of the room, they just loved yoga and can't wait to go back again.  Thanks Nonna!

We all went in for my first pre-natal appointment, with the nurse practitioner, Julia today.  After going over the blood work and all of the paper work type stuff, it was time for the exam.  As I was undressing to put on the gown, Abby and Zoë kept asking why I had to take my clothes off.  I explained that it was so that I could get checked out and make sure I'm all healthy, just like they do at their doctor appointments, except that I get a gown to put on.  Chris set the girls up with magazines on the floor and waited while Julia set to work trying to find the heart beat.  She found it for a second and then lost it and then found it again.  It was a really strong heart beat, which we love to hear.  It was also super fast, at a rate of 170.  Julia found the reason for the occasional spotting I was having (some blood vessels that hadn't tucked away where they're supposed to be yet, nothing to worry about) and also noted that my cervix, the trouble maker last time around, is just as it should be.  We'll be having a consult with a Dr. down in Boston soon about getting a cerclage.

We unexpectedly had our first ultrasound for this little bean today.  At lunch time, when I went to use the bathroom, I had some spotting...well, a little more than spotting.  I called the doctor's office, and they went ahead and said they'd call the hospital to get me in for an ultrasound.  The nurse I spoke with said that since it wasn't bright red, there could be other causes and that it's common to have some spotting in the first trimester.

We all piled in the car and waited for our turn in radiology.  I don't have the official results, but everything seemed to be looking alright.  We saw the itty bitty baby (who has little arm buds) and it's little heartbeat.  I got to hear the heartbeat too... it was at 150.  And yes, there was just one in there.  If I don't hear the official report today, hopefully we'll hear from them tomorrow.