Evangeline in splendid 4D

What a wonderful thing technology is. Today Henrik and I were given our first real glimpse of what Evangeline looks like. The 4D scan was so amazing, we could see the shape of her nose and lips and see how she opened her mouth to yawn.
The lady doing the scan was very apologetic saying that she was sorry that the pictures weren't that good but I thought they were fantastic.
I just can't wait to hold her in my arms.
According to the measurements of her head and stuff I am in my 29th week now, with the EDD still at 10 June, give or take a few days.
Mum was saying she hopes Evangeline comes earlier rather than later so that she can spend more time with her and I before they leave in July.

Rachel's first Birthday Party

Yesterday was a very special day in our family. Rachel had her very first birthday party and all her Mum and Dad's friends and their children were invited to come and spend the day with her.
What excitement. I had the task of getting Aunty Bee to the party. Henrik and I picked her up in the BMW which caused a bit of confusion as she was waiting for the gold car and so didn't recognise us when we arrived.
We arrived at the house just in time, before everyone else so we had no problems finding parking. It will be so good when the driveway is built as then there will be more parking for when people go to visit them.
There were so many little people running around. Bradley's sister and sister in law were busy at work sticking little pictures onto the cups and preparing the cutlery for the lunch, while the men were hard at work braaing the sausages.
After lunch there were ice cream comes with smarties and chocolate sauce. Then came the cake.
Rachel had fun posing for pictures with her mother while we all sang happy birthday. The wind decided to help her by blowing out the candle at just the right time and she decided to stick her finger into the icing to get the first sample of her cake.
After presents and cards were opened the children all started playing in the sand with some of the toys.
Rachel's cousins went for a swim with their Aunty Vera and Rachel's Gran. They had a wonderful time. I'm sure they were worn out after their afternoon of activates. I know my Mum and Vera were.

Happy Birthday Rachel!

My niece is one today.
Here is a picture of her playing in her sand pit.
Happy Birthday Rachel!

Another day closer to Rachel's big day

Last night I had to attend a dealer function for Nikon. It was held at the Quarters in Florida Road. Henrik suggested I take the BMW so that I could have a chance to drive it and get used to it. Quick a nerve-wracking experience.
I wonder if I will ever get used to it. I'm so afraid someone is going to crash into me or something. Midnight saw the price of fuel rise again. This time going up by fifty cents a litre. It is crazy how fast prices are rising, but at least I have money for fuel which is more than can be said for some people.
Actually I am very blessed.
I saw in my Mums blog that she has posted a picture of Rachel at "school" wearing a little happy birthday hat and blowing out her candle.
I can't wait until Saturday when it will be her birthday party. I am keen to see how she plays in her sand pit, and if she likes the bucket and spade set I have bought for her. I have managed to get the photos from her blog to make some prints to go into the album I am making for Rachel. Also Rachel is now featured in a display frame in the store. Tanja asked me to print a picture of her to display in one of the frames we are promoting this week. So now Rachel can put "frame model" in her CV one day. I chose the one I did where I changed the picture to monochrome with just the colour in her outfit brought back. An interesting effect and very easy to do.
Today I was taking pictures of all the staff at the store for a flyer advertising our services that I am making. It was fun for me to use the Nikon I like so much. Just a pity I can't take it home with me.

Worries and wobblies

Today began on a bad note. Henrik took ill overnight and spent the better part of the morning vomiting. He decided to go to the doctor who said he has a bad case of food poisoning and told him to rest and make sure he drinks enough water.
Poor guy. First he gets poisoned at work last week and now he gets sick from something he ate on the weekend. He just can't seem to catch a break. It comes at a very bad time as he is so very busy at work. Also he has been trying to work some extra time to make extra money to help with all the expenses that lie ahead.
We had a bit of a discussion yesterday about what to do about where we are going to stay in the future. For now where we are is fine, but once Evangeline arrives and begins to get more mobile we are going to find it a bit cramped. Also Henrik is increasingly feeling that maybe we need to make a move somewhere else for the benefit of all our futures. He spoke about the States, a place I am not too happy with, and also perhaps Denmark.
Henrik is part Danish so maybe that would be a good spot to try.
In the meantime we are trying to figure out how we are going to make ends meet once I go on unpaid maternity leave. I am feeling very stressed about all of this and having to work hard to push aside my natural tendency to worry.
I have also felt a little down in the last two weeks, possibly due to the bout of 'flu that I picked up last week. I am trying very hard not to give in to feelings of depression, but I am so tired at times. I wonder how I will cope if I am so tired now, when Evangeline is around.

A Day Off!

Today I don't have to work so it's off to run some errands. We have to take the new car to the dealership for them to look at some paintwork things Henrik wants fixed, and maybe he will test drive another car whilst he is there. He said a 323 or some such thing. I said he can drive Nugget, he is a 323. But somehow I don't think it's the same thing.
After we finish with the car and stuff we will be going to get the clam shells for Rachel's birthday. I do hope they fit in the car. I'm a little worried about that, but Henrik seems to think they will fit fine. I hope he is right.
I managed to finish my first assignment for this year's studies this week. Two months early! I am rather pleased with my efforts. I am also quite confident that I will receive a good mark for it as I am pretty certain about my answers. Now I can begin on the next one.
I am trying to get through as much of my year's studies now before Evangeline is born so that when the wheels fall off later in the year I don't have assignment deadlines to worry about.
I don't know how busy I will be when I have a little one to look after, so this year I am only taking one big module. It is a heavy one though, but one I am enjoying immensely, Abnormal Psychology. Being a third year subject it has a lot of coursework and reading, but I am finding it stimulating and not too complicated. I think it probably helps that it is an area of interest for me to begin with. Abnormal behaviour has always fascinated me.
I see this blogger spell check has once again picked up an incorrect spelling error. I wish I knew how to set it so that it doesn't tell me to misspell words which should have a "U" in them like behaviour and favourite and colour. According to it I should leave the "U" out as that if how the American spelling works, but I refuse. My soap-box effort for the day!