Such special visits

It was lovely to have Maureen (my midwife) come for a visit this afternoon. I did not get any photos while she was here but I can show you the puzzle that the girls were excited to show Maureen. Ruth got this in her last Correspondence School posting as her teacher knows I am pregnant. Hannah has just loved building and re-building this two layer puzzle and has even started giving my tummy kisses and putting her ear on my tummy to listen for baby. So it's been really special. It was also very special to hear baby's heart beat today. Maureen got it so quickly and it was lovely to listen to this strong beating. Ruth also got a stethoscope with her school stuff (a proper one - not plastic) and so they girls had that out through the visit listening to every one's heart beats. Maureen noted that our hearts beat a lot slower than babies in the womb and Rachel asked "why?" It was lovely to have Maureen ask her "why do you think?" Rachel said "it's the wrong way around, our bodies are bigger and so the heart should have to pump faster." So Maureen said "yes, but what is doing the pumping?" Then it clicked - baby's heart is so small that it has to pump so fast to get all the blood around the body. It's the heart that gets bigger and copes better - not the size of our body that changes the situation. I just love how relaxed Maureen is when she visits. Always so willing to chat to the children and listen to their stories as well as take time to teach them something. I really look forward to the monthly visits that we will now have.

This morning I got a call from Julia to let me know that a package had arrived. Sometimes TradeMe purchases need to be sent to a non-rural address and so Julia is always happy for us to use hers. So I asked if they would like to join us for dinner. That way we could get the girls music stand (yes - it's about time they had one) and Brian and Julia could get a look at the finished TV Cabinet that Brian has helped so much with. We had Nachos for dinner and Brian even had seconds. Something Julia says he hardly ever does. So I am glad the meal was a success. And they were very impressed with the completed cabinet too. :-) As normal with their visits we had such a wonderful time visiting that I forgot to get the camera out. It was really special for me to see Hannah give Brian a hug when they left. He is getting old now and I think the difficulty in walking and talking made her a bit uneasy to start with. Because we have seen them so much more often over the last month though, she has gotten to know him better and is much more relaxed now. She was pleased to tell me after they left that she likes Brian and that she gave him a hug.