Beach Vacation

3 days. 3 vehicles. 3 different last names. That sums up the Wade family vacation '08. The Wades (Jim, Sally, and Jordan), the Swartzentrubers (Tim, Krista, Sydney, and Addison), and the Rusts (Matt and Victoria) traveled to Emerald Isle, NC for a beach trip. Highlights included:

• Baby Addison smiling and being happy 95% of the time (we hope our baby is at least half as happy)
• The greatest beach game ever: Mario Kart on Jordan's Nintendo Wii
• 9pm dinners
• Big Tent flying away at the beach (we caught it)
• Matt seeing the baby move in Victoria's belly (very sci-fi-esque...)
• Sand everywhere
• Jim napping everywhere
• Sydney in her blue sunglasses
• Sunburn
• Sandburn (very windy at the beach this time)
• Lots o' fun

Pictures are linked from the photo galleries section.

Pinard Horn, Anyone?

Have you ever heard of a pinard horn? Well, I hadn't until my doctor's appointment yesterday. My midwife and I were speaking about my ultrasound results from Friday, and she mentioned that technology has changed quite a bit since she had her children. Neither ultrasound nor the small doppler units used to listen to the baby's heartbeat were available to her. Instead, they listened to the baby's heartbeat with a pinard horn. It is a wooden horn that the doctor would hold up to his ear and place on her stomach in an attempt to hear the heartbeat. I was so curious about this horn that I had to google it to find an image:Overall, the appointment went well. Baby gave us a nice strong heartbeat to listen to, and my midwife is confident everything is just fine. If you're curious about the midwifery practice I'm visiting, more information can be found here: http://www.uncmidwives.org/. The practice is established through the UNC Hospital. My appointments are all at the hospital, and I will deliver (with an epidural!) at the hospital in the labor/delivery rooms with doctors available in the event of an emergency. So far, the personalized care of the midwives has been wonderful, and I look forward to having them take care of me during the birth of our little girl.

Welcome and FAQ

Welcome! We look forward to using this website and blog as a means to share our lives with friends and family near and far. Until recently, Matt and I were not interesting enough to require a website. However, with the addition of a new family member, we think we're a whole lot more interesting, and we hope you do too. :) In light of our pregnancy, we have noticed a few recurring questions that we get, and I thought I'd take this opportunity to share the answers. (Feel free to ask if I leave something out you're dying to know.)

FAQ:

Q. When are you due?
A. November 3, 2008

Q. Was this pregnancy expected?
A. Yes, but I don't like that question.

Q. Do you know what you're having?
A. Yes- a baby. And it's a girl. :)

Q. Where are you delivering?
A. UNC Chapel Hill Women's Hospital

Q. Have you decided on a name?
A. Yes- but it's top secret until the little one arrives. We'll just say the last name begins with a "R".

Q. Have you registered anywhere?
A. We started a basic registry at Babies R Us, but it will become more complete as the time draws near.

Q. Have you started on the nursery yet?
A. No- see current state of nursery below.

Well, that's it for now. Things on the website will probably start off pretty slow, but we expect a little more action as the pregnancy progresses. Thanks for visiting!

The Site is Up!

We now have our website up and running, complete with a matching blog!