Monday, October 31, 2011

Happy Halloween

Avery had a great time trick-or-treating with her little friend Kennedy.  They were so cute together, Avery was Pocahontas and Kennedy was Little Red Riding Hood.

Getting ready to go


Knocking on the first door

I think she had fun :)

Checking out their loot!


I still can't believe how much she has changed since this time last year.  My chubby little bunny, just six months old :)


Monday, October 24, 2011

Daddy's Little Helper


Avery wants to help us with everything we do... when I vacuum, she has to try, when I'm giving her a bath she wants to wash her feet again when I'm done, she wants to brush my hair, help Matt with his projects.  It is really cute, it amazes me how much she understands. Matt was mowing the yard on Sunday and Avery had to get her lawnmower and help out :)




So proud of herself!

Taking a little break

Of course when she was done she had to brush Cash, help mommy vacuum and catch up on a little reading.  This little girl is busy!!






Sunday, October 23, 2011

14 Weeks - Second Trimester!



Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 14 weeks
Size of baby:  3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon
Gender: Hoping to possible find out on Thursday! I still think it's a boy!!
Maternity Clothes: Not yet but I went shopping this weekend and bought some clothes for work.  I think I'll have to start using my belly band in the next week or two, it's tough to button most of my pants!
Weight gain: 3 pounds
Movement: I know it's too early but every once in a while I feel the slightest flutter.
Sleep: No problems!
Symptoms:Feeling good, still very tired in the evenings though.
Cravings: Dairy products.  Milk, ice cream, smoothies, cheese.  I can't get enough~
Best moment this week: I'm excited to be out of the first trimester and can't wait for my doctor's appointment and sonogram on Thursday! With any luck this little peanut will cooperate!

Monday, October 17, 2011

The Second Time Around

Matt and I have always wanted our kids to be close in age – ideally two to two and a half years apart. Knowing that this is often out of our control I thought if we started trying early we’d have a better chance of making it work. So we agreed that when Avery was about 15 months old we’d start trying for number two which would put them almost two years apart. I assumed it would take a few months and maybe after trying for a bit we’d get the good news we were hoping for. After the first month I read the directions on the EPT test and it said you could take it as soon as one day after your missed period. Even though I did not have any pregnancy symptoms and was certain it would come back negative I decided to give it a try. For the second time we both stared in shock and amazement when that little blue line appeared. I could not believe how fast it happened. It’s funny how even though we were trying this time it was still such a shock!




It was still so early, I figured I couldn’t be more than four weeks along, so we decided to wait a couple weeks to tell anyone – even our families. It just didn’t seem real. I felt normal. No nausea, no fatigue, no nothing. Well, I’m terrible at keeping secrets (when they’re mine) so I told a few people that I knew wouldn’t tell anyone. Phew, it felt good to share my news and made things seem a little more real.

I started planning fun and creative way to tell family and friends. I bought this cute little shirt for Avery to wear to “announce” her big news! I planned on taking her picture and sending it to our families to surprise them. Leave it to my mom to ruin my plans though (love you mom!)) I was talking to her on the phone and mentioned just once that I was tired and didn’t have much energy. Her first response – YOU’RE NOT PREGNANT, ARE YOU??. Well, I had already taken the picture of Avery, was ready to mail it out the next day. So I quickly said, “no!” About 30 seconds later I spilled the beans to her and my dad. After that the secret was definitely out but I wasn’t ready to ‘publicly’ announce it.

We had our first sonogram September 28th and confirmed that the baby was healthy and everything looked normal. It felt was so good to finally see the little peanut and hear the heartbeat.

My doctor also sat down with us and talked about precautions and preventative measures we will take this time around to try and prevent the complications I had last time. Starting at 15 weeks I will have a weekly injection called Step17. It is a modified hormone that has been shown to decrease preterm labor symptoms in women who experienced them with their first pregnancy. I was really concerned I’d have to be on blood thinners the whole time as well but thankfully I’m just taking baby Aspirin for now. I have an appointment coming up with the Hematologist to learn more about measures we will take to keep my blood from clotting.

Here I am at 10 weeks. Just barely starting to show. It amazes me how much earlier you show with the second. I don’t think I noticed any changes when I was pregnant with Avery until about 20 weeks. I guess I’ll get more use out of my maternity clothes this time around. Yay… :)  I am definitely working on a nice little baby bump now… I have a feeling I’ll be breaking out the belly band very soon.




Its funny how things can be so different, yet very much the same the second time around. My symptoms are similar to when I was pregnant with Avery (no morning sickness, decreased appetite, and fatigue in the evenings). Yet last time I was blissfully ignorant. I had no concerns of bed rest or blood clots or preterm labor. You never expect things to go wrong. This time though, I’d be lying if I said these concerns never cross my mind. I’m trying really hard to take it one day and a time and trust God’s plan but I catch myself constantly checking my ankles to make sure there is no swelling, worrying every time I have a stomach ache, worrying that I will overexert myself and cause the contractions to start again. Ugh, I hate worrying about it all but I am doing my best to drink lots of water, go for walks as often as possible, and just push it to the back of my mind.

The second time around is also different because I now truly understand how much we will love this little baby. With Avery, everyone told me how wonderful it would be, how she would change our lives forever. I thought I understood but until I held her in my arms for the first time I really didn’t get it. I didn’t understand the all-consuming love you feel for a helpless little baby you’ve just met. And how that love grows. Every time you think your heart just may burst right out of your chest a little giggle or smile and you find even more love in an already full heart.

We’re having fun picking out names. I think this little peanut is a boy. No real reason for this, just a gut feeling. We have a growing name list and I think it will be much harder to decide this time – whether it’s a girl or a boy!



Hope you had a fantastic weekend!

Monday, October 10, 2011

Big Changes for our Little Family of Three





 
 On August 22nd we found out our little family of three will soon be a family of four!!

Avery is so excited to be a big sister and Matt and I feel so blessed to have another little peanut on the way!! I am due April 23rd and am FINALLY almost out of the first trimester!!

I'm still having writer's block and my mind goes blank every time I sit down at the computer. We'll blame it on the pregnancy... :) 

I'll try to write some more details soon but for now, I'm off to bed early with a good book and decaf tea.

Routine

rou•tine

1. A prescribed, detailed course of action to be followed regularly; a standard procedure.

I knew this would happen. I had a strong suspicion that if I stopped blogging for a few weeks, okay, a month, I would feel overwhelmed and not have a clue as to how to catch up. This statement makes me smile as I reread it because I know I sound like our lives are so busy and exciting there is just no way I can describe all we’ve been up to. NOT TRUE. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Part of the reason I’ve been such a slacker lately is that we really haven’t been up to anything exciting. Just living life. And as life goes, there are sure to be unexpected surprises and challenges along the way.

New daycare

Two new jobs

A car accident

On-going illnesses


While these surprises aren’t necessarily bad things (except the car accident!) they all managed to throw us off our routine. Two years ago I would have thought ‘no biggie’!! Change is a good thing. And at times, it is. The only main problem is change is hard on toddlers. I feel like we haven’t had a consistent routine since June.


In June I started a new job (such a blessing)

In July we left for our wonderful vacation in in Colorado. (yay!!)

In August we found out Avery's home daycare provider (who we LOVED) was going back to her corporate job.

In September Matt left DBU and started a new job all in a week.

October has left us scrambling to again find a new daycare and reorganize schedules and routines while Matt’s car is in the shop for two weeks.


We are very lucky blessed that Avery handles change fairly well. She’s always been a great sleeper and not much can throw her off that routine. But during the day, I just worry that she doesn’t feel a sense of security that comes with a consistent routine.

She spent last Monday at daycare, Tuesday at home with me, Wednesday-Friday with her Grandmother and is at our neighbor’s house today. Thankfully all of these situations are good, safe places for her to be but I know each of us does things a little differently and I worry that it is hard on her. And if I’m being honest, it’s hard on me and Matt. This change requires juggling drop-off and pick-up, leaving work early or coming in late, frantically trying to find last minute care because taking off work just isn’t an option some days.

All this to say, I am truly am grateful for where we are in life. We are so blessed with a sweet, healthy little girl, wonderful family and happy marriage, good jobs, it goes on and on. I really can’t complain. But I can be honest and say some days require lots of prayer and lots of deep breaths.