Life in Transition: 2nd Trimester

2^nd Trimester

Turkey Trot

The whirlwind of the holidays started off with Thanksgiving in Walla Walla. The weather turning a bitter cold with Jo working outside in -2 degree temps. The Turkey Trot, which is a 5 K run/fundraiser for the Red Cross on Thanksgiving morning, found “the brave and the crazy” bundled up to gain absolution for an afternoon of gluttony. Whether running or walking, we all had a blast, though the best part about this event was definitely drinking hot cocoa at the finish line. Join us next year and maybe it won’t be quite so cold!

The next event was our 20 week ultrasound. From the beginning of this pregnancy I was SURE that I was carrying a boy, but I still needed proof. We had the privilege of having John and Pat with us during the ultrasound. Pat had never seen an ultrasound before and it was fun to see her reactions. The baby was in a perfect position for cute pictures… except the legs were nicely crossed, keeping the gender question open. Thankfully, the ultrasound tech took lots of extra time, waiting for the modesty to pass. Frankly, being Johannes’ child, we found the modesty a bit surprising, but our child did not move. In the end, the tech could only give a determination with 75%certainty…A GIRL!

Pepper waving

Our child had a 75% chance of being Pepper Ricia Em Fackenthall. Ricia is after Jo’s mom, Patricia, and Em is after my mom, Emily. Back at work and in the middle of my busy afternoon I got the call from Radiology that no pregnant woman wants to get, “… we need to get a few more pictures”. My ability to concentrate on my patient’s evaporated. I finished up and rushed over to ultrasound trying not to panic. The ultrasound tech went right to the baby’s brain to get a better look. NOT reassuring. The brain is one of those VITAL organs that can NOT be fixed. The radiologist poked his head and said, “That’s the one (picture) I wanted. Its fine.” and disappeared. (Radiologists reading this blog, please do better than that and explain to your poor panicked pregnant patients what’s going on.) In the end, nothing was wrong. The tech spent another 30 minutes printing off more awesome pictures of our little girl, who had decided NOT to be as modest this time. A couple days later Pepper announced herself physically with distinct kicks. The pregnancy was beginning to feel real!

Christmas was Houston with the ENTIRE Fackenthall clan, of which Pepper will be the 10^th grandchild. Did we mention that she will also be the 47^th great-grandchild on the Craik side? Fertile family. New Years was in Walla Walla with the Canwell/Wyman clan and an unexpected addition to our family, a puppy! We had planned on getting another dog, once we were nicely settled out back at our new place but fortunately, life does not always go as planned. My parents couldn’t resist a poor little dirty puppy by the side of the highway. Zoe, named by my family, has ended up being just what we (Jack) needed. At first, Jo and I felt like we were getting an early taste of our upcoming parenting challenges, getting up in shifts to let the little one outside, cleaning up messes, and listening to pitiful crying at all hours of the night. Then we put her outside so we could sleep. Lets hope Pepper is that easy…he he.