Look at Us!

We are having a great time being a brother and a sister! It gets more fun everyday! Look at all of the things we are doing together!




Giving Adelyn a stroller ride in the backyard!


Teaching Adelyn how to sit at the table and eat!


Showing Adelyn toys and eating the toys Zachary shares!


"Mommy, I want to read her a book!"


Sitting together! Isn't this a Mommy and Daddy's dream picture?

My New Chair!

My Great Aunt Jan gave me this really cool chair! It's pink and I can sit in it all by myself! It was kind of hard when I first got it, but now I can hold my head real still and I can watch all of the things going on around me, like the train set and Zachary with all of his adventures! It won't be long before I can sit up on my own!! Thanks for the Bumbo chair Aunt Jan. You really are a "great" aunt.

4th of July

Happy Birthday America!

We enjoyed a fun forth of July with family and friends. We had a great day with Scott's brother Kevin who came to visit for the weekend while taking a break from his summer job in Houston. I know Zachary enjoyed his company. Who wouldn't with an uncle who does science experiments with you and makes peanut butter play doah?! We also got to spend time at the Sebastian's house. It was the perfect day for Zachary's newest present from his Pop2...a slip n slide!!

Below you can see how thoroughly he and his friends enjoyed this fabulous water invention.

The 2nd Edition of The "No Milk, No Soy" diet

"Excuse me, would you mind telling me what you cook your food in?", "can I get that without cheese?", and "do you know if your salad dressing contains any soy or milk?" are now common phrases I use whenever we go out to eat now. I grill the waiters/waitresses (no pun intended), to find out every detail I can about what goes into their dishes.

Both of my children have had me on this "no milk, no soy" diet while nursing. We didn't discover Zachary's until he was 4 months old and it seemed that starting solid foods too early had all of a sudden triggered this issue with irregular composition of bowel movements. We discovered Adelyn's allergy when she was 3 weeks. They both were very grunty upon the time we discovered it, but as time went on and we had it under control with this diet, the grunting went away.

The actual allergy is to the PROTEIN in milk and possibly soy, not the lactose. I've heard that maybe it's the way my body processes the protein and I've heard that maybe both of my kids just have this allergy. It's actually a really good thing for me. I am forced to eat healthy. It's so much easier to do knowing that what I eat affects the comfort and health of my children. Pretty much every dessert out there has milk and/or soy in it so I can't eat much of that! Talk about a drop in calories.

So I thought I would post this to share info with all of the other moms who are experiencing this new diet for the health of their children. Even since Zachary was a baby I've discovered more things I can eat. My friend and I have decided that food companies are beginning to make a lot more products that are "natural" and not made with the soy and/or milk.

Although I do feel like I cook the same things over and over again, there are quite a few meals that I am able to eat. Here are a few meals and foods that are safe to eat.

• Tacos- hard shell, ground beef, refried beans (some brands, check labels), guacamole, tomatoes, lettuce, other veggies, and own spices (not packets).
  
• Sloppy joes- meat, red wine vinegar, onions, brown sugar, ketchup (no worchestershire)
• Chili- use your own spices, not packett.
  
• Chicken stew/meat stew- Chicken, potatoes, carrots, onion tops, add flour to make it thicker (no cream of mushroom soup).
• Red Beans and Rice with Sausage- Onion, olive oil, sausage, dark red kidney beans, bay leaf, Tony Chacherie.
  
• Meats marrinated in red wine or balsamic vinegar and spices
• Steamed or roasted vegetables- can use olive oil, etc
• Bruchetta- Tomatoes, basil, garlic powder, choppped, mixed- put on chibata bread
• Eggs
• Pork chops or meats cooked in whole grain bread crumbs
  
• Tyson's NATURAL chicken nuggets
• Chick Fil A chicken STRIPS, not the nuggets. (nuggets dipped in non fat dry milk, but the strips are not).
  
• Salad with oil and vinegar
• Spaghetti with regular tomatoe sauce. Add your own spices
• Hamburgers made from pure ground beef
• Bar S Hotdogs
  

Bread/cereals

• Chibata bread- found at HEB in the bakery- square loaf
• Rudy's Organic Bread- some HEBs, definitely central markets
• Home made bread- (will post recipe)
• Some grits- check labels
• Malt o Meal
• Some raisin brand, Total, Life (regular flavor), some Cheerios, Lucky Charms, Oatmeal Squares, Corn Chex, Wheat Chex, Rice Chex.
  

Desserts

• Coconut milk ice cream (just look out, it has 7 grams of saturated fat)
• Fruit chillers- found in the canned fruit section. Put them in the freezer.
• Honey
• Angel Food Cake

Other

• Rice Milk
  
• Olive Oil
• Peanut Oil
• Canola Oil
  
• (Not Vegetable oil-made with soybeans)
• Fritos
• Lays Natural Potato Chips
• Popcorn with out butter/cheese (home made cooked in olive oil with lemon pepper is good)
• Nuts and dried fruit. Can make your own trail mix.
• Skippy Natural peanut butter or Peter Pan Peanut butter
  

Foods to avoid

• Ingrediants with soy, soybean oil, caramel color (milk).
• Worchestershire sauce- caramel color
• Bar B Que sauce- check labels
• Rice Dream Ice Cream- contains soy
• Frozen Waffles
• Instant oatmeal
• Tortillas
• Coke and dark colored sodas (caramel color)
• Most bread crumbs except for whole grain.
  

And I wanted to end with a shout out to the Food and Drug Administration. Thank you for requiring labels!!

• JIF peanut butter
  

Random Kindness

We all have one of those days. Or one of those moments. When you are struggling to achieve a task/s and one thing just keeps going wrong or you just plain feel like you are never going to get there.

We all have our moments also when we step in and give random kindness to our family, friends or strangers. And what a wonderful surprise it can be.

Today I took the kids to Wal Mart to do our grocery shopping. I had a good friend join me also with her own two kids (and also of course her new baby on the way! yay!). We've had company at our house off and on for the past two weeks and quite a bit of company the week of the 11th for the baptism. My mom and cousin just left yesterday. The kitchen needed to be restocked so I had a nice hefty list. I didn't realize it's capacity until I got to the store and was shopping with Zachary chattering about this item and that while I was trying to make decisions, and with Adelyn strapped to me in the sling which gave me the idea that my shoulder was going to fall off any second. Zachary, trying hard to help me, threw items into the shopping cart when I would hand them to him. The chicken had a dent in it and the strawberry container flew open all over the bottom of the basket. And what joy it brought me to have to use one hand to support Adelyn and another arm to reach over and down into the basket to slowly clean up the strawberries. And then there was the lady who I'm sure thought she had given ever such detailed and superb assistance when I asked her where the industrial cd cleaner was by saying, "oh that? yeah it's there" and fluttering her arm vaguely towards some isle for about .3 seconds. Though my friend and I walked slowly with puzzled expressions as we glanced here and there we did end up finding a small kit for purchase among other random objects at the end of the isle. So we ended up asking the photo department who told me they don't have one that they do themselves. Thankfully this shopping trip did not require jumbo sized bags of dog food or dirt for the garden. At the end of the trips on the way to the check out and even out to the car turtles have the opportunity to boast about how much more fast they can go comparatively. We each reached our car and I opened the trunk to put stuff in. I handed Zachary his gummy bears, pulled out my keys and began unlocking the car when Zachary INSISTED that he be the one to unlock the car while I'm longing to take Adelyn out of the sling and put her in the car. He's yelling and grabbing them out of my hand and car and I threaten to take the snack in the car. I see a gentleman walk by to his car on the other side of mine and I'm sure he's seen the whole catastrophe while he's quickly putting his stuff into his trunk. I return to my own trunk and begin unloading the groceries. Of course I forgot my large HEB reusable bags that can fit a large amount of items so instead had about 89 plastic bags to reach down and grab, lift and relocate in the trunk. But much to my surprise, the gentlemen who parked next to us was returning his cart and said, "here let me give you a hand" and proceeded to put my groceries in the trunk for me. And returned my cart. Wow, I appreciated that so much. I thanked him a few times and he said it was no problem.

Little things like that sure make a big difference. Circumstances can prevent us from doing some, but there are others that maybe we can when someone else can't.

Overall the shopping trip wasn't terrible and we did enjoy ourselves. We found pretty much everything we wanted, the line was very short, I had good company with my friend and her children and I was delighted to see Zachary pick out his first item that he paid for with his own money. Although he had a hole in the ziplock bag he put it in, I made sure I carried it in my pocket and he got to put it all up on the counter for the lady to take. He had chosen gummy bears and was so proud.

Who is adopted?

Most people are aware that our dog Sandy became our dog unintentionally. Sandy followed me around the entire neighborhood while out running when Zachary was about 11 months old. We tried to find his original home but obviously did not. We even tried to have him adopted, but that was unsuccessful as well. Finally we decided that we could keep a dog and as Zachary understands, we adopted him.

We do seem to be notorious for bringing home dogs or having dogs end up in our yard. Throughout time we found owned dogs in our yard or outside in the front and had them returned. In September though, when I arrived at a client's apartment, my client's provider and several neighbors presented a dog with a hurt leg who had been hanging out for several days without a collar. So I of course could not leave her there and much to my husbands dismay, brought her home. With the help of SNIPSA, we found the dog whom I called Belle, a fabulous home with a loving family with five kids. So when Zachary asked where she was we of course said, "She lives with another family now. They adopted her".

So we have these family members, the Sibley's. They are very much dog people. They have Sabrina who is getting up there in age. They recently found a small puppy, Drue Breeze. And then one new puppy found them. "Tails" they call him. Aunt Amaryllis said, "yeah, he followed Cody home and then adopted Blaise. That dog follows Blaise everywhere". My cousin Blaise stays active with the latest ways to have fun so twas no surprise.

So I put Zachary to bed at my grandparent's house. They live next door to them Sibleys. After we read books, sang songs, and said prayers he asked for Gramsie to come sit with him. So my mom went in there. He told her all kinds of facts.

"Tails was adopted"

He sure was. He had caught on to the term for finding and keeping a dog.

"Sandy was adopted. Belle was adopted. Blaise was adopted".

New Braunfels Children's Museum

Getting practice in so I can be ready for the lake!


Cooking the fish that Meredith and I caught at the campfire. You don't really eat it. It's just pretend.


This was one of my favorite stations at the museum!


The ATM gave me some money! I gave it some money too which confused Daddy and I don't know why.


Checking vitals.


I was pretty good at this one because I help Mommy every week at HEB.


Mommy checked my groceries.


I explored my artistic side.


I think Adelyn had a good time. She stayed awake some and slept some too.

The Children's Museum was a great experience. I did lots of exploring and stimulated both hemispheres of my brain.


Even Mommy and Daddy had a good time!

Time for a Cool Down

I was at the rest stop on the way home from Aunt Michelle's wedding in Dallas. I just couldn't help myself. At the end of May it was already scorching hot. This was SO worth it!

I have two kids now!

At the rest stop on the way to Dallas. I'm amazed that I have two kids now! I'm praying that we are always a close family, despite any differences we have or will have. I love it!

Funny Words From Zachary

• This morning Scott made a comment about wanting to understand why the train puzzle that lights up and makes noise, does so when the puzzle is not complete and we flip light switches at that time. So I said, "howstuffworks.com or wiki how?"

Zachary says, "A wiki cow?"

• Zachary- "I have a beautiful joke!"

Just Lion Around

Adelyn can't build castles yet but Zachary sure likes kissing her head, singing to her, patting her back, pulling her fingers, and just hanging out near her. I'm so excited about watching them interact together over the years.

1st Gum Chewing

I told Zachary for some strange reason every time he asked for gum, that he could have some when he turned 3. I don't know why I picked 3. I guess it still sounded very far off. So of course he remembered. He brought it up all the time. "When I turn 3 I can have gum". Yes yes the time is approaching. So it happened. Zachary turned 3 and as I promised, he got gum. Here is his first attempt. He did pretty well! Much better than I expected!

Happy 3rd Birthday Zachary!

I had a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse birthday party this year. We had Mickey Mouse decorations and a cake too! All of my friends got Mickey Mouse frisbees as a party favor. I'm really happy I got to spend the day with my family and friends. I told Mommy that I had a great time.



I also brought banana bread muffins to my class at school. Evan wasn't there that day but I got to share them with Sophia, Abby and Oscar. And my teacher Mrs. Angela.

Adelyn's First Trip to Sea World

Mommy and Daddy took Zachary and me to this place with lots of water and marine life. They call it Sea World. I don't remember any of it. I was asleep in the sling the whole time. Apparently I'm going to like it later on when I get bigger. Zachary showed us the map so we knew where to go :)

Biking With Daddy

Ride Your Bike- to the tune of Row Your Boat
Ride ride ride your bike safely down the street.
Wear a helmet, use the brakes and pedal with your feet.


I'm getting pretty good at my tricycle. Soon I will be like Daddy and go on long bike rides with him. And Mommy too even though her bike is more than half her age. Watch us ride!

1st Time Fishing

I've been asking Mommy if we can go fishing since last summer when we went to the lake. Well, Mommy, Adelyn, and I went and stayed at Gramsie and Paw Paw's house in April while Daddy was on a work trip and Paw Paw took me fishing!

I was a little bit afraid when the fish would bite my line, but Paw Paw showed me how to hook them and reel them in. Actually he helped me a lot. It was a lot of fun though and I've been asking to go again! I have a new pole that I got for my birthday and I can't wait to use it.

Adelyn's First bath at Home

Since I don't play in the dirt yet and I'm always hidden in the sling that Mommy wears, I didn't have a bath for a couple of weeks. I think Mommy was waiting for that cord to come off too. Gramsie and Mommy gave me a bath while Zachary had his own bath. I didn't like getting my tummy washed but I was happy to have the comfy outfit afterward. Zachary really wanted me to go in the big bathtub but I'm definitely not ready for that one yet!

Learning a Language

While stopping at Babies R Us in Katy on our way to The Woodlands, we looked at the toy section. Zachary stopped at every other toy and said,

"Oh How cute is this!". Even at the large refil pack of bubbles.

When arriving at Gramsie and Pawpaw's house and seeing his new room...

"Oh what a nice new room" (with drama in his voice) and seeing a toy bus he remembered...

"Oh a bus, how wonderful" (still with drama).

And while visiting Gramsie's classroom (otherwise known as Mrs. Sylvester's classroom) of boys and girls in second grade who were not following directions very well...

"Guys, wisten to Gwamsie", but upon no response marches to the front of the room and says again, "wisten to Gwamsie!!".

And while staying in the house found a point to blame a toy mess or something broken on his friends about 200 miles away back at home in San Antonio.

"Did you take this out?"
"No, Meredif (Meredith) did that".
"Here's your snack"
"Um, Awelwia (Aurelia) is not going to take it?"

Chanting 5 Little Monkeys

5 Little Monkeys jumpin on de bed. He fell off and bumped his head. Zachary called the doctor and the doctor said, "no more monkeys jumpin on de bed". And 5 Little Monkeys jumpin on de bed...

And singing "Splish Splash"

"Spwish spwash I was takin a baff. All on a Sa day night! Rub dub wewaxing in de tub. Finking evewyfing was awwight. Well I stepped a de tub and put my feet on de floor. Wapped towl na na na na na opened de door. And spwish spwash. I fogot about my baff. I went and put my dancin soes on!"

Firsts for Adelyn

I didn't do the best job of remembering "firsts" for Zachary for the first two months...sorry Buddy. I'm sure you win with pictures though...so I'm trying to keep up with Adelyn's.

On Sunday March 28th (day before the actual due date :), Adelyn went to the Olive Garden for her first outing at a restaurant. She rode in the zolo sling but didn't stay in the whole time. It was easier for Mommy to eat while Pop2 and Granna held her.

After the meal we went and had pictures taken in the bluebonnets next to autozone! The amount of rain in the fall sure paid off! San Antonio has beautiful wildflowers this year!

She had her second restaurant trip to the same restaurant for Gramsie's birthday on April 2 which also happened to be Good Friday and the weekend she came to visit for Easter.

Adelyn's first trip to church happened to be Easter Sunday on April 4 in La Coste at Fr. Paul's church. Gramsie and Marilyn also accompanied and it sure was nice to have all of those loving hands to help entertain our beautiful children :)

Her first trip to The Woodlands happened yesterday, April 12! Scott is in New York all week doing testing on software for his work trip. I was not intrigued with the idea of staying by myself all week so I made the trip with the two kids. I never would have even dreamed of traveling by myself when Zachary was born. We didn't make the trip without Scott until he was 7 months....ah, first born. I thought about also bringing Sandy, but then decided against it for a few reasons, one of them being I would have been crazy to think that I could do my first trip with two kids also with a dog sticking his nose in my face in the front seat. We stopped in the nice rest area with a playground just outside of Seguin and then again in Katy at the Babies R Us. Adelyn slept almost the whole time. Zachary listened and danced to music with me and read books for the first half of the trip. The second half he was playing restaurant with himself, his toys, and the imaginary animals and friends back there. Apparently his two close friends Aurelia and Meredith were with him back there as well. I love kids' imaginations.

More "firsts" to come :)

2 Week Update for Adelyn

Adelyn was two weeks on Tuesday the 30.

For the first week she pretty much slept. I had to wake her to eat and try to get her to eat for at least 10 minutes during a feeding.

She saw the pediatrician exactly at 1 week. She weighed 5 lb 9 oz which was one oz over her birth weight. We did find out through a second biliruben test that she had mild jaundice but the Dr. said the best thing was to feed her often to get the breast milk flowing through her system.

We took her in over the weekend b/c she had been stuffy sounding for a few days. No RSV or ear infection. Wasn't much we could do except give her the Little Noses saline. 6 lbs 2 oz!

We were back for her 2 week check up on Tuesday. 6 lbs 6 oz! Good growing! The Dr. thinks that since I'm not able to get any mucus out of her nose with the syringe and with a few other symptoms showing he thinks she has reflux. I've thought that too. She spits up on her back if we don't burp her. He wanted to try a few things before giving medicine. One I was already doing which is inclining her bed. We'll see... She goes back in 3 weeks. Other than reflux she's doing great!

Baby Adelyn's Arrival

Adelyn Sophia Miller
5 lbs 8 oz 19 in
March 16, 2010

Adelyn has finally arrived! We have a new sweetheart (or sweet pea as Zachary says) to love and enjoy.

The Labor Story
Labor did not go as expected and was actually kindof abnormal. I had been 2.5 cm since I was 25 weeks. I stayed at that for many more weeks. I know for sure up to 31. As I progressed through the later part of the 3rd trimester I noticed a lot more soreness. As it turned out, I was 5 cm dialated at 37 weeks. I remembered contracting on walks just a little bit, but it had not been anything to put me into active progressing labor. I knew from my good friend that there are some women who walk around for a couple of weeks like this so I was only half way concerned about getting to the hospital on time when I did actually go into labor. The Dr. and I decided I should go into the hospital, but on the way I did some thinking (like a 2 minute drive) and decided it wasn't the right day for this and I wanted her to grow another week. Dr. was fine with this. Scott and I talked before my appointment the following week. If I was at a 7 or 8 we would go ahead and have the baby that day. I didn't think I had dialated any more although looking back I should have thought otherwise because I did experience more soreness especially after walking on the riverwalk that Saturday. So when I got to my appointment at 10:30 AM on March 16th, 2010 I found out I was almost 8 cm. I called Scott and drove myself to the hospital. Dr. has time to deliver babies in between morning and afternoon patients.

My mom was with Zachary which worked out nicely. She was on her spring break. Dad had driven in on his way home from Laredo the previous week but had taken off the day before to get some things done at his house which was quite understandable after not being home for 3 weeks.

At the hospital I had to park on the roof of the parking garage. Busy day in labor and delivery. That gave me time to start contracting some more. Dr.'s exam and the walking was enough to stimulate the contractions to put me into that active labor (finally). I buzzed into labor and delivery and they opened the doors for me to come in. I was assigned a nurse and immediately taken into a room. There were 2 nurses and one student nurse. One seemed to be in a hurry. I guess being nervous that I was almost to a 10?? I was given my hospital clothes. Afterward the hurried nurse anxiously tried to get me to sit down in the bed. I first, feeling a bit anxious myself, asked her if I could just walk around to progress a little more. She kept telling me no and that the best thing to do was sit down so they could get the IV going. When I finally got through to her that I didn't know what exactly the procedure was and that I would be a lot more comfortable knowing, she stopped and explained to me. So I grabbed my IPOD and while I was getting hooked up I started to feel frustrated because labor had not gone how I expected it thus far. My Dr. came in to check on me as I was tearing up. She rubbed my shoulders and told me it would be okay and thankfully the baby was 38 weeks. I've always been thankful for her encouraging words when I do need them. She stepped out to go next door to deliver another baby while I progressed. I knew it would be fine. I think I was getting more nervous about the pain getting suddenly bad after not experiencing any. The nurse told me to ask questions for anything.

Scott wasn't long before he arrived. I was very glad he was there to listen to me vent feelings. He was also encouraging with words and held my hand as the contractions progressed. He was also very excited because there was a monitor with data for the contractions! A computer with data. His second language. So he enjoyed himself saying, "that one was a 6! or that one was a 9!". It was also nice for me to have numbers to compare to pain. So good teamwork there. He and my IPOD were the best comforters. And the ice chips were nice to avoid that dry mouth which was definitely there.

The nurse asked if I wanted any drugs or epidural and let me know that it was the final offer. I was hoping to avoid a catheter. That was the main motivation for going natural however ridiculous some people may think that is. Last time I had the epidural and of course a catheter. Unfortunately I couldn't urinate for 6 hours afterward b/c of muscles spasms. That was extremely annoying. And I had three close friends who went natural and had very good experiences which was also another motivation. "So just so you know, if you're screaming at me later to give you something I can't" the nurse said. Yes yes...

Getting to a 9 was not so awful. Contractions to me feel like extreme gas pains X 10 that almost seem never ending but soon subside. I was able to bear it but going from that 9 to a 10 is the real questioner of why I thought natural might be a good idea. Pains change to jabbing sharp feelings that are almost constant. So I ask what I'm suppose to do as I move my head from side to side. It's at that point that you're like, "oh wait....how do those breathing techniques go? I think I'm suppose to be breathing". Next time I will request a reminder ahead of time. The deep breaths actually help. I guess they relax your muscle tension. I wish I would have remembered that when I first arrived. The nurse said I could push at a 9 1/2. "Do you want to push?" Did I want to? I didn't want to do much of anything at that point. "Am I suppose to?" "Tell me when you want to". "I don't know when I want to". "When you have a contraction" Well everything just hurt."Was that one?" "No" "Okay tell me when I have one". And none of my words were calm at this point so you can picture them more angry or frustrated. So the nurse gave me instructions. Over time pushing helped the pain slightly subside for a few seconds. I guess Adelyn was coming faster than she though b/c then at one point she said, "English don't push" which makes you want to kick them in the face. I'm sorry but at some point after you progress with pushing your muscles feel the contraction and automatically go. So the second time she told me not to push (b/c the doctor was not there yet!) I yelled "I can't help it!". And in my head thinking, I'm in a labor and deliver room in a hospital. Someone here has to be able to catch the baby. From what I understand my Dr. was finishing up and was running down the hall to come deliver Adelyn. She gave very good instructions to Scott and the nurse to help me push and also to me. When she was out the pain completely left and I could hear her beautiful little cry. And Proud Daddy Scott cut the cord this time. I was impressed. We had signed up for cord blood donation. There wasn't a lot but it hopefully will still be used for research.

The whole thing started at 12:00 and she was here at 1:52 PM.

We got to enjoy her for an hour before the nurse had to take her to the nursery. Scott asked to hold her before she had to go. He comforted Adelyn by singing to her and carrying her around the room. Mom and Zachary missed seeing her by about a minute. They looked through the nursery window. I got to spend time with Zachary briefly in the delivery room and then in our recover room upstairs. On our way upstairs the nurse grabbed my tray for lunch. It was pizza! "Oh yeah, it's pizza Tuesday isn't it?" I said. She laughed remembering that I had been here for 3 weeks in December.

Zachary had his new "Big Brother" shirt on. He was very anxious to see Adelyn. He also was very excited about his new "Big Brother present" he got. Harold the helicopter to add to his Thomas the train collection. I knew he wouldn't make it in my hospital room for 3-4 hours while Adelyn was in the nursery. Zachary shared my pizza lunch with me. Scott took him home in the evening and later the plan was when my mom got home he would come back for a bit.

I had 3 great nurses for recovery the whole time I was there. Kristan, Rachel, and Jennifer. It's especially necessary to have a good night shift nurse. Mom took lots of pictures while she was there after they brought Adelyn back. They had given her the first bath in the nursery. She looked very comfy swaddled in her hat. I thought she looked like Scott. My very good friends Mollie and Sally came by after their own children were in bed. It was great to have good company during recovery. It was especially helpful to ask all of those questions I had forgotten since I had Zachary. Scott came back while they were still there, but they left shortly afterward. It was nice for the three of us to have some quiet bonding time. Part of me wanted him to stay but part of me wanted him to go home and get a good nights sleep to help me the next day. Who can sleep well in a hospital bed let alone the fabulous pull out couch for the husbands/family?

That was the first day of Adelyn's life. We've begun our new journey as a new family.

Sling Practice

Words from Zachary's World

My friend Meredith came over to my house in January. Her mommy, Ms. Mowee (Mollie) brought over a sling for us to practice holding babies and amiales. I'm practicing for when Baby Adelyn comes out. What do you think? Am I doing a good job?

Scooter Practice

Words from Zachary's World

Watch my scooter riding. It's really fun! I'll tell you how I felt about it.

Come Back Bear!

Words from Zachary's World

In January my Mommy, my Granna, my two friends Aurelia and Meredith and their mommies came to the zoo with us. One of the first amiales we decided to see was the bear. He didn't seem very social that morning so we tried to coax him into coming back.




Come Back Bear!

37 Weeks

Looks like I haven't updated the pregnancy in a while!

We are 37 weeks! Great job little baby! Good growing!

As of 37 weeks and 1 day Adelyn weighed on average, 5 lbs 11 oz. Which means she gained one oz more than a lb in two weeks! Better than she had been. She's still moving and pushing on my hips to make herself more comfortable in there. I also found out at the doctor that I'm dialated to 5 cm now. I'm not contracting so there is no telling when the rest of the active labor process will begin. My round ligaments are definitely sore, especially in the morning.

It's all very exciting! I'm looking forward to meeting her face to face.

Zachary's Memory

Toddlers sure remember more than we would ever think. I have a couple of updated stories.

About a week and two days ago we were driving on Loop 1604 to someone's house for playgroup and we rarely ever go that far up the loop. I missed my exit for Bitters and had to make a U-turn. Zachary was asking if we were almost there so I told him that I had made a mistake and missed my exit. We got there though.

Two days later we coincidentally happened to be driving up that part of the loop again on our way to New Braunfels. Scott was with us this time. "You missed your exit" Zachary said when we passed the Bitters exit. I was impressed. Scott didn't have a clue what he was talking about.

"He's right" I told Scott. "We were driving up here Friday and I missed the exit and had to make a U-turn. "Great job Zachary" I told my son. I was proud and impressed that they can remember landmarks so well. Little ones are so observant.


Tonight Zachary was playing with two whales in the bathtub. One was a Shamu style whale that we got at Sea World. The other was a beluga whale.

"Where did we get this?" Zachary asked me holding up the beluga whale.
"We got that at a toy store in Austin" I told him. That was about a year ago.
"With Brian and Kevin?" (Scott's brothers)
"Yes" I told him. Well, actually Kevin wasn't there but now we always see them together so it's assumed.
"And then we got ice cream afterward?"
"Oh....yeah....yeah we did" I told him remembering.

He was two or barely two....yeah, I'm impressed. I'm learning a lot about little kids.

Isn't this the Cutest Thing?

Well since we're preparing to have a baby and all, I put a lot of emphasis on how Zachary was once my baby and was inside my tummy and had "Mommy Milk" and all of that so he knows that I once did all of these things for him too. And then I always say, "and now you're a big boy so you can help and do big boy things like play with trains, ride scooters, etc".

Zachary found a picture of him from when he was about 1 or 2 weeks old. He's sleeping in the bassinet in a sleeper and a blanket pulled up half way with his arms above his head. He very excitedly said, "Look Mommy! I was a baby once! I slept in that bed! And I drank Mommy milk! And now I'm a big boy!". He said it all with so much enthusiasm.

And to conclude his sweet acknowledgment he then pointed to his picture and said, "Isn't this the cutest thing?"

Rockwall You're Making a Mess!

Maybe we should consider writing all of the Rockwall stories down to compile into a children's book :) I'm continuing to enjoy Zachary's imagination with his brown kitty.

Yesterday morning Zachary got up and came into our room. We asked him what Rockwall was doing this morning. He said, "Um, he's in the kitchen". He then sprung to his feet and said, "And he's making a mess!". Zachary ran out of our room and shouted, "Rockwall, stop that! You are making a mess! Oh no!". When he returned to our room a few moments later he explained to us the kitchen dilemma. Rockwall made a mess and was throwing food from the cabinets.

He also seems to be an outdoorsy kitty. We are often told that he is outside in the backyard. Sometimes even playing with Sandy. I'm glad. Everyone knows how I feel about animals shedding around the house :)

Stay tuned in for more adventures with Rockwall and Zachary.

34 Weeks!

My bedrest has been lifted to a new level. I'm allowed to get out a lot more and do some walking around. My legs and ligaments have been very sore from all of the lack of exercise. So I'm walking around the block a few times a week starting this week of course. I feel so much better. I've been stretching every day throughout the pregnancy and I would probably have felt awful if I had not been. The walking is really helping a lot. And it's not making me contract either :)

Adelyn will be weighed again next week. If you ask me, she's had her own exercise routines down for a while.

3 weeks till full term! 3 more weeks after that till the due date! If we make it to the due date :)

Zachary's Kitty

My 2 1/2 year old now has his own kitty. No, it's not a living one and no it's not stuffed either. One day out of the blue he told Scott and I that he has a kitty. We didn't see one. We knew he didn't have a stuffed one either. We then realized after looking at his empty yet opened hand, that his kitty was imaginary.

So I asked him what it's name was. "Rockwall", he said as if he'd known for ages. Very creative name. You would expect him to say "Kitty" or something. My only guess as to where he came up with that name is from gymnastics. They have a mini rock wall that they climb there.

I've also learned that Rockwall is brown, very soft and likes to play with our real dog Sandy in the backyard. He also prefers to sleep on the couch as opposed to Zachary's bed. Some nights I am even asked if I can put Rockwall on the couch with me after I tuck Zachary in bed.

Zachary also allows me to pet his little kitty which I am delighted to do because as many know, I'm highly allergic to cats. I'm one of those people who can walk into someone's house and know they have a cat without seeing it. I start to itch all over, get a stuffy nose, sometimes a headache, and itchy throat and sometimes sneezing also. Depends on how hairy and how much dander is hanging out in the house. So perhaps Zachary, knowing that we will never own a real kitty, has come up with his own way to enjoy cats.

I'm not sure about all of Zachary's imaginary origins but I sure enjoy hearing about them and participating in them. :) I would post a picture, but well, yeah don't have one of this kitty.

Who Dat!?????

I've been waiting to see the Saints make it/win the super bowl since I was about 4 years old. I remember Dad watching on TV and saying, "they lost again". Nice job boys. We're proud and glad for the city of New Orleans. It just makes gumbo taste so much better. Hope to see you there again next year.

33 Weeks!

We are now 33 weeks and 7 weeks left till the due date!

Today the appointment went great. I ate all morning long and Adelyn kicked and turned during her non stress test so they could get good readings while I relaxed in the recliner with the monitors strapped to my stomach.

I next got to relax and watch her on the sonogram with the technician who herself was quite amused at Adelyn's constant movements which included her waving her hands in front of her face. It actually looked like she was trying to get them in her mouth.

I'm getting a lot of sono pictures since we are doing these things once a week! Zachary is getting more excited by the day. He says, "I miss Adelyn. I love her". We put the infant seat in my car and he's thrilled that she gets to sit next to him :)

Mommy You Leaved!!

Saturday night, Scott and I went to a friend's wedding here in town. It worked out well that my mother was still here b/c Zachary wasn't feeling that great. He preferred to play with her anyhow.
So I ask him if it's okay if we go to a wedding while he stays to play with Gramsie. He says "yes".

We leave at 4:00 PM, attend the wedding and a good chunk of the reception, and arrive home again at 9:00. It was a nice date for us.

Zachary was still awake when we got home. He was sitting with my mom. When we got him settled into bed, sang a song, and was about to do prayers he said, "Mommy I was mad at you. You leaved".

As content as he had been with my mom I guess he still missed me. And that makes my heart melt. I'm so glad he is learning to verbally express his feelings. He told me another time. We discussed me leaving after I told him I was leaving. We also talked about how I always came back. Just like at Mom's Day Out and after I used to work. He was eventually satisfied and went to sleep.

Getting the Most out of Winter

Mommy found this cap in a box of my old baby clothes. My Uncle Brian and my Paran (Uncle Berchman) wear caps like this too sometimes so I thought it would be good to wear it. Especially now because it's still cold in San Antonio. We usually don't have much winter but this year we are having a lot of rainy and cold days. Cold being relative...all of those people that live north of the Panhandle seem to think we've never seen winter here.

Don't I look good?

I Think I Can!

If you are turned off my stories about nostril mucous and such, this blog entry is not for you.

The other day Zachary wanted to read "The Little Engine that Could". We've had this book since he was about two months old, but he's never picked it up much to read which is surprising considering his love of trains.

This past week while my mother in law and I were sitting with him in the game room he decided that it was time to read the story. We have a regular sized copy, but my mother gave us one of those large books that are half our size. Zachary sat through the whole story and we emphasized the line "I think I can, I think I can" as a good lesson in self-esteem.

After we were finished Zachary was playing on the floor and decided that he needed to remove a few things from his nose. He also decided to relocate them in his mouth.

I looked at him, made a face and said, "Zachary that's not healthy and it's not polite. It's yucky to do that. Please don't put boogers in your mouth".

He looked at me and said, "I think I can I think I can".

I guess it's nice to have children with confidence.

While Mommy is on Bedrest

My sister Adelyn is coming out soon, but not yet. It's too early and she needs to grow more.

While Mommy is on bedrest I've had my grandparents to come and play with me. Mommy has a wheelchair to be with me outside and still does things with me while sitting, usually on the couch but I have someone to help me do big things.

Gramsie (Mommy's Mommy) taught me about a new set of books. Llama Llama Red Pajama and Llama Llama Mad at Momma. We learned how to act out scenes from the book. We also built a zoo with blocks.

Granna (Daddy's Mommy) took me to the zoo with my friends. She pushed us all around and up and down. We saw an elephant presentation there.



Pa-pa (Mommy's Daddy) taught me to play tennis in the garage with the parking ball on a string. He also let me help him garden and taught me to ride a scooter.




Pop2 (Daddy's Daddy) talks to me on the computer and web cam. I was asking if he is coming, but he will get to come later when Adelyn comes!

Even 2 yr olds Tease!

The other day I was sitting on the couch (of course, what else am I doing these days) and Zachary picked up my cell phone.

"Who are you calling?" I asked.
"Gramsie"
"Do you want me to help you call her for real?"
"yes"

So we dialed the number, I put the phone to his ear and she answered. He told her hi and she was of course excited to hear him. She very enthusiastically told him hello and asked him what he was doing. I figured he would have picked something we did this afternoon like, "we watched football" (saints and cardinals) or "I played my computer game".

Instead he proceeds to tell her, "We went to the store to get snakes!". Snakes! I have an extreme dislike towards snakes and my mother does too.

My mother says, "What?!"
"Do you like snakes Gramsie?"
"Oh gross no!" she says. "Snakes are yucky".

I was a little floored myself that he had come up with such a tale.
I know we've discussed this with him. He knows he shouldn't touch them and that we DO NOT like them. He remembers back in October when a baby copperhead came in my parents house when Mom opened the door one morning. He remembers I guess what a big deal that was and he also told all of the teachers at my mother's school about it.

So somehow that was in his head during this random phone call one evening in January. 2 yr olds understand so much more than I realize sometimes. He definitely knows how to tease.

30 Weeks!

Well my Dr. was way excited at my apt since I've now reached 30 weeks. She is breathing much easier. I am too for that matter. I think I'll be even better at 34 weeks. Well, like I said before, every day is less stress. At 34 weeks my Dr. thinks that although I need to still take it easy I won't need anyone at the house to take care of Zachary and all. I will still be sitting to cook and do other chores.

Can't wait to have my sciatic nerves not hurt anymore! Stretching, specifically the yoga "pigeon" stretch, helps a whole lot. If I do this stretch a few times a day they hurt a lot less. It's amazing what 60 seconds on each leg can do.

I'm a little nervous as I start to think about getting a new baby to nurse. I had a tough time with Zachary. I didn't enjoy it at all until he was at least over a month old. Maybe even a little older. He couldn't suck well. He needed to develop the muscle more. He was able to take a bottle and use the nipple shield though so that worked for a while. He got better at it over 1-2 weeks. Although it took him four months to nurse without the shield. At that point I enjoyed it much more. Hopefully we won't have too many problems with Adelyn. At least this time I know what to look for and I know how to pump and all of that jazz. I'm glad I will not be learning all of these extra things that I was at a first time Mom like all first time moms.

Dad helped put up the changing table today that I had taken apart a few months ago upon realizing that we weren't using it and it was taking up space! But today Dad set it up in our room and I got a few baskets of clothing items on there. Zachary put his babies up there and used a step ladder to reach. I think he'll be a great big brother :)

Could be 8 weeks...could be 10 weeks! We're getting ready.

30

29 Weeks!

Adelyn has stayed in for another week! Every day counts! I'm so thankful. I'm at the stage where I wonder how we can stretch any more than we already are. Especially after eating....I ate twice tonight. We had my family over this evening- Brian, Kevin, and Chrystal. And then I just couldn't pass up food at bunco.

When I walked back in the doctor's office this week at my weekly check up, my doctor saw me and said "29 weeks!!" Apparently I'm the only patient she currently has memorized right now on number of weeks, meds, etc. I know she put a lot of thought into my situation. I'm glad she has her heart in her job.

I know that every day she stays in is important and that I should not take one day for granted. I really try to stay sitting/lying down throughout the day. It still is a little harder than when I was at the hospital, but I think I'm doing a fairly good job.

I do come to the table to eat meals with the family. I still do yoga/stretching which makes a huge difference in how my legs and arms feel throughout the day. It also helps my circulation at night while sleeping. I do sit on the floor to play with Zachary. I do try to keep our activities to me on the couch and him with me or at the little table we pulled up to the couch. We read stories, make crafts, do puzzles, play potato heads, tools, music, and more. At night I play the piano after Zachary is asleep and also when he is at MDO. I'm loving the piano time that I ignored while working. I'll need to pull the guitar back out more consistently. Now that I've been home I've gravitated to the piano instead.

The wheelchair passed around Scott's family has been wonderful. Priscilla took us on a stroll around the neighborhood when the weather was nice one afternoon. I could sit and watch Zachary play outside for a little while too.

Our small church community was so generous in bringing us meals this week. I just began getting to know them in October and they were so generous to treat me like they've known me for years. They took time to cook and drive down here for our family and I really appreciated that. We have plenty of left overs for the weekend. Which is nice because Priscilla is leaving tomorrow pretty early.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us throughout this time. I have so much to be thankful for. I'll pray that we continue to grow and do well throughout the pregnancy.

Home for Belle

Well we found Belle a great home. Actually SNIPSA found Belle a great home. Thank you Ginny for telling me about SNIPSA. They were a great organization. They got a good picture online, gave us food, heart worm meds, got her shots, and spayed, etc. It was a great deal. We just had to pay a small amount to get her into their organization.

The family taking her is a very sweet family, perfect for Belle's personality. There are five adorable children and the very friendly and very easy to talk to parents. The dad has had a dog most of his life with the exception of a few months here and there in between dogs. They lost their previous dog recently. The children are very exited and even the girl who is cautious when meeting dogs voted in favor of Belle. I think the dad is a pastor. I really enjoyed meeting their family.

I will miss my Belle very much. She captured my heart but I know she will be in wonderful hands. I'll need to take a few pictures before she goes on Tuesday. I'll miss her but I know having one dog will be easier to handle especially when the Baby Adelyn comes. We did discuss keeping Belle and giving away Sandy (don't tell him), but I'm attached to him despite his difficulties and he wouldn't be adopted easily anyhow :)

If you want a dog SNIPSA is a great place to go.

Home at Last

I'm home and it's amazing. I had made the hospital my temporary home and I miss the good company of the great nurses I had but it's so wonderful to be back with family. Zachary apparently has been doing better following directions and just seems back to his normal self. He is still enjoying the company of his Granna and probably more so now that I'm home and he feels his comfort zone return.

I'm glad that my life is slower right now. I loved work but I was tired. I love the activities I do with mom's group, ASL, grocery shopping, etc but now I don't have to drive somewhere all the time and I'm happy to feel like I'm free to do what I want right now.

I'm loving my time on the couch doing crafts with Zachary. We've pulled his table up to the couch so we can sit together and work on them. I'm about to run downstairs and play a few songs on the piano that I've missed before I go to bed. I love the break from cooking even though I enjoy that too. Life is full of many things to do and love. A break sometimes is very necessary.

Love you Adelyn. Can't wait to see you. Love you Zachary, you're going to be a great big brother and I'm glad we are still doing all kinds of fun things. Love you Husband dear. thanks for your support through the times.

Tomorrow is the Big Day

I can hardly believe Monday is a few hours away. I knew I would make it through mentally. I had stuff to entertain myself and I knew that the time was working for me. The clock kept ticking and Monday Jan 4 had to come. I hope I can sleep tonight. Test at 5:00 AM. Looking back, the day I came seems like so long ago, but time went by.

Keep Going Until Monday the 4th

Well, it's Tuesday December 29. 29th right?? I keep a calendar near but I haven't looked at it today. At least I know what day of the week it is. I guess when you're counting down you can't forget the week day.

I'm enjoying my free time to sleep in (although I am awakened at 6:30 to put the baby on the monitor), read, eat quietly, watch movies, play Rush Hour, play guitar, work on the blogs, and geez what else? That makes for a full day! I've learned to enjoy my hobbies and interests while I'm here since obviously I don't have control over going home or running the house. It has been hard to not be in control of those things and I really miss being with my family. I'm so glad Zachary is and will continue to be in good hands over the next couple of months.

I've not contracted except for those normal braxton hicks. If my test comes back negative next Monday I can go home to bed rest. I am allowed to sit up, stretch, shower, all that. So I do plan to have meals at the table with my family again, fold laundry sitting on the couch, do crafts with Zachary, play music, and enjoy being at home without being a crazy Mommy as I was turning into before entering the hospital.

I just had too much on the schedule for both Zachary and I. Not that I didn't enjoy the schedule. I was loving it. But I will definitely enjoy the time at home relaxing. Whomever is with Zachary will still have to help him do his baking projects, pick him up for anything he needs, help him go potty, take him to gymnastics and such. Mom's day out will still happen two days a week so they can have a break.

On another positive note, my glucose test came back fine so I don't have gestational diabetes and I got the rogam shot because of my negative blood type. So I'm getting things accomplished while being here. Might as well while I'm lying around!

Christmas Eve!

I didn't picture myself having such a fun time at the hospital on Christmas Eve. Having the family here for food and presents made the evening very exciting. The nurses were very accomodating, loaning us a cart to bring things inside the room. There's not a lot of patients on antepartum and they allowed them to stay as long as they wanted. It is still a memorable Christmas Eve celebrating family, love and life.

Christmas Eve at the Hospital

It's Christmas Eve and today was a very peaceful and relaxing day. Acceptance really makes all the difference in the world. I took my time eating/listening to music, praying and getting myself ready for the day. I did yoga and relaxed with a good book and was plenty entertained until lunch arrived. It's nice also knowing how to take myself on and off the monitor. I enjoyed my guitar for a couple of hours this afternoon. I'm going to make a lot of progress if I keep practicing this much. Something I've not made time for between my home duties and work. There were some carolers who came by today too. It was nice to hear the cheerful sounds of "Hark the Harold" in the hallway which is one of my favorite Christmas carols.

I was grateful that my dad's plane from Lafayette/Houston made it in this afternoon. There was some rainy weather and a delayed plane coming in to take him. But even though the flight was late he made it to the hospital by 5:15 or so. He arrived safe and sound without many problems and he got to spend time with his family there. Mom, Scott, Zachary and Marilyn made it here about 6:30 and we had a wonderful meal that they brought and opened our presents while listening to Christmas music. The atmosphere was beautiful and the nurse loaned us a cart to help bring things in. I didn't know I would enjoy my Christmas Eve this much at the hospital.

My nursing staff has been wonderful to me and I'm thankful for their positive spirits each day, especially on Christmas Eve.

The Best Gift to Adelyn

I'm reading the book "Day's In Waiting" by Mary Ann Mccann. This is an excellent resource for anyone who is on bedrest. She offers her story, questions, things to consider, emotional support, exercises and more. A great friend loaned it to me.

It brings up a point that a good friend of the family, Trisha (a tertiary nurse) and a nurse practictioner from the nicu told me too.

Every day you buy your baby one more day. Right now you are doing all of the development work for the baby. If she is born she will have to learn to do it herself. Every day in the womb is a gift to our baby and every day I need to do everything I can to keep her growing in there.

It puts into perspective that nothing else is a priority. My son and my husband are important but I have family at home to help love and care for them too.

Coming to Acceptance Every Day

Every day here at the hospital presents challenges but also has moments of me being okay and finding many positive things.

I've created a schedule for myself. Wake up when they put the baby on the monitor at about my usual home wake up time. Wait until they take her off while I pray and think. Listen to music while eating breakfast. Shower, yoga, read, project for the day, parents visit with Zachary, lunch, read, etc. I played my guitar after dinner tonight for two hours. It's good practice and I was entertained. I need to watch my sign language dvds too while I'm here. Husband visits at night currently to fit his work schedule. It gives us time to ourselves too even though I love Zachary with all my heart and want to be with him all the time.

Some moments I think the next two weeks will be very long and I just wish my doctor would tell me she's changing her mind. But it's okay. I have a lot to do here and I have wireless, wow! That's amazing to me and I feel so much more connected to everyone with my phone and computer.

I also have access to the daily readings to prepare myself for Christmas and thinking about a real meaning of the season. I remember that Mary didn't have the comfortable Inn she probably wanted to give birth in. She made it work (not that I'm giving birth but you know, being in this place I don't want to be in). I think of the attitude she would take.

Today's readings were helpful to me also. Hannah presented her son Samuel to the Lord after the Lord gave him to her. I prayed for this child, and the LORD granted my request.
Now I, in turn, give him to the LORD;
as long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the LORD.”
I hope to be grateful to the Lord that I am here, healthy, with a healthy baby girl still in my womb. He gave her to me when I so wanted a child.

I want to teach my children the symbols of advent- hope, peace, joy, and love just as the Lord is those things and gives me those things.

The magnificat is also in the reading of today's Gospel. And at the end it says that Mary remained with Elizabeth for three months. This reminds me again of myself today. I have three months left to remain and wait for our baby Adelyn Sophia. A perfect fit for the season of advent when we are waiting for Jesus and I must learn to wait.

I know now when they happened

I'm in the hospital now for pre term labor. I'm dialated 2.5 cm. My fetal fiber nectan test came back negative which means I'm not delivering in the next two weeks. I've had no contractions. I've been pondering here for the past 5 days how I contracted and what it felt like and I tied it to one event.

I've just discovered that I'm wrong. I remember now. I had the stomach bug the first weekend of December. I threw up 6 times and was feeling very dehydrated telling Scott that maybe I needed to go to urgent care. I started holding down the fluids and we didn't go. I was so sore afterward and I noticed in the bathtub. That was it. I know it was.

For now, I'm suppose to be here during Christmas for two more weeks. My doctor wants the very best for me. And she's made her decision. But maybe this piece of info can change things. I don't want to hurt the baby and I want a full term baby. But I know that was it....I can't believe I put it out of my mind.

Stay in there Baby Adelyn Sophia. I'm excited about you but we want a full term baby. Can't wait to meet you outside the womb in March.

I'm Pretending Mommy! I'm Pretending Daddy!

Last week sometime on a weekday morning, I was delighted to find out from Zachary that Cookie Monster spent the night in our guest room. I had not expected this. I didn't even know he was coming, otherwise I would have fixed up the room and left him a midnight cookie snack by the bed.
And wouldn't you know, when I finally did find out this information, Cookie Monster had already gone downstairs to the garage to help us fix the cars. I'll have to tell Zachary to invite him over more often. I'm sure if I keep enough cookies in the house it shouldn't be a problem.

Zachary's imagination has really grown in the past few months. Sometimes it's a problem when he's scared at night. Like when there are monkeys and airplanes in his room at bedtime, but most of the time it's delightful to hear about and participate in. He even told both Scott and I today that he was pretending by saying, "I'm pretending Mommy! I'm pretending Daddy!".
It's nice to know that he has learned to understand the concept.

About two weeks ago on a Thursday or Friday morning, Zachary took me to see the Wiggles at SeaWorld in our kitchen. We got the front row chairs closest to the refrigerator. Zachary was a star performer! He rode his tricycle and requested an audience member to sing some of the Wiggles' songs for him. And I was the lucky winner of course! So we delighted in singing, "Big Red Car", "Fruit Salad", "Hot Potato", and "Do the Monkey". I can't wait to find out what else our kitchen might have in store for us.

There are other moments that he's informed me of his outings or adventures in his mind.

Riding his tricycle he says "I'm going to the Zoo!" or "I'm going to Sea World!"

It's also nice to hear him singing songs. I'm excited to know that he is coming along in his development of audidation of pitch and rhythm. It's not perfect of course, but I can see the progress. Favorite songs that I hear him singing are:
"Do You Know the Colors of the Rainbow"
"The Rainbow Song"
"Itsy Bitsy Spider"
"Wheels on the Bus"
"Bob the Builder"
"5 Little Monkeys"

Tonight after we finished singing "Do You Know the Colors of the Rainbow" and saying prayers, I began to pull the sheets up for Zachary and he began singing, "Daddy's gonna take me to the zoo tomorrow. Zoo tomorrow. Zoo tomorrow".
Well, I'm going to have to talk to Scott about this! I certainly didn't know he was taking off of work to go to the zoo! And if he is, I'd like an invitation!

One of each!

We are having a baby girl!

We will now have one of each! From everything visible on the ultrasound, she is healthy and in the 52 percentile as far as weight. She's currently 15 oz. That is amazing that they can figure out weight! She was a little stubborn as far as trying to get her to flip over on her back so we could get a good look at her face. She went as far as her side and no more. Maybe she's going to be a tummy sleeper :) She's also active like her brother was in the womb. She won't have any problem keeping up with him!

Zachary is very excited about the baby coming and is still asking a few times a week if "the baby is coming out yet?" 4 more months. I know the Christmas holidays will fly by but it might feel really slow in January. Now we just have to pick out a name.

Cute and Funny Sayings

I'm trying to recall all of the cute and funny things Zachary has said in the past 3 days. There were several "I need to write that one down moments". So here's my list.

As we're eating lunch on Friday, Nov. 6 and Zachary is trying to get a baked bean on his fork.
"C'mon bean".
He finally gets it.
"There you go bean".

On our campout he is running through the sand and falling over with his friend Meredith.
He falls down and says "That's amazing!".

As we are on a hike during the camp out he points to the trees and says
"That's the chicka boom boom tree".


As I think of more I'll add to the list.

Is the Baby Coming Out?

I love that Zachary is excited about the baby and that he understands. He asks me quite often, "the baby is coming out now?"

I tell him that it still needs to grow but that he can talk to the baby and pat my tummy. He likes to do that. Sometimes he then tells me that Theodore came out (my friend's adorable baby) who we see pretty often.

So I'm pretty sure he gets it! Well, as much as a two and 1/2 year old can.

I feel Baby kicking quite a bit now. More than tiny twitches now. I'm not really sure how to describe this feeling of more than just little butterfly kicks, but not quite whale movements. It makes the experience very real.

I am much less tired than before but still going to bed pretty early. I hope that continues to improve. In two weeks we find out what the baby is!

Jesus' Birthday is Coming Down

A Perspective From Zachary

I saw these boxes wrapped in this very colorful and pretty paper. It felt smooth and I really wanted to rip it open like I did for my birthday. I had a feeling there might be a nice surprise in there. There sure was! Some trains! James the train! So I went to find Mommy.

"Mommy you open this?"

She didn't seem very happy. She was not smiling.

"Zachary, you're not suppose to open that yet. It's for Christmas".

"Open it!" I told her. "My trains!". I guess that wasn't the best thing to say because she didn't change her mind. In fact, she went and put it somewhere else where I could not reach it.

"You can have it at Christmas time when we open presents together as a family".

At Christmas time. Christmas is Jesus' birthday party time. His birthday is coming. It's coming down soon!

So just to be sure Mommy remembers, I ask her every day or sometimes just every other day,
"When Jesus' birthday comes down I can have my trains".

Mommy smiles at me and says, "yes, at Christmas, Jesus' birthday, you can have your trains".