Alright! We had the anatomy ultrasound today. Everything looks good and healthy so far.
Now, show of hands for those who voted boy! (2 people, according to the first poll. 13 people, according to the second poll. And one vote via Facebook.)
Now, show of hands for those who voted girl! (6 people, according to the first poll. 4 people, according to the second poll. And two votes via Facebook.)
This little face profile belongs to.....
Our next daughter!!! Everyone, meet Amelia 😍
We are super excited to be having another girl. (Oh, hey there saving money via hand-me-downs. No, that isn't the only reason we're excited.)
Even Rin seems to be somewhat understanding what's going on and has always answered "yes" when we ask if she's ready to be a big sister.
A few times, she has even tried to feed and diaper her stuffed animals (with no prompting from anyone).
For those of you who would like to use "bump" pictures to try to guess (just ignore the lack of happiness in my face....I'm sleepy this morning):
For those who would like to use other wive's tales:
- The heartbeat has been over 140 mph
- Yes, boobs have grown.
- Lots of morning sickness in first trimester
- I've craved mostly salty foods
- My face has been breaking out more
- The ring on a string goes back and forth?
- I've been very moody
- Andrew hasn't gained weight, that I'm aware
Hello all! Next Wednesday (in 10 days), I have my anatomy ultrasound! That means, hopefully, we will be finding out if we're having a boy or a girl this time around!
We're super excited (this is, like, the only doctor's appointment I look forward to as a pregnant lady)! And I thought I'd have a little fun and ask you all to vote.....
Do you think I'm having a boy or a girl?
Now, if you want you can keep reading for some fun preggo lady and toddler updates. I also have a few questions for those of you with kiddos of your own. If not, no hard feelings! I'm glad you joined in for my fun little game 😄
So first update would be to let you all know that I am feeling MUCH better! I stopped taking my sicko meds the week we got home from Christmas. I didn't want to say anything until some time had passed (for fear of speaking too soon), but my nausea is gone (WOOHOO!) and I'm not tossing my cookies except for the occasional morning when I don't eat within thirty minutes of waking up.
Another update: I have felt the little nugget moving. Not much, and not strongly, but it's still really cool.
As for the toddler, she's doing well. This past Wednesday, she apparently decided she was ready to potty train. We had a bad day since then, and a rough afternoon or two, but it seems to be going well. For someone who knows nothing about this stuff, I'm okay with how it's going...
Which brings me to question number one: When do you change over to pull-ups? Do you wait until they are more consistent about not peeing in the diaper? Cause Rin goes in the potty (most days) during all of the morning. And taking off and putting on the same diaper a thousand times is kinda frustrating. 😏
Secondary toddler update: she just put three words together yesterday! For some reason, I was saying that they "feed the chickens to make them bigger," and Rin looked at me and said "Feed the bak-bak!" (her word for chicken). Today, she was shoving gold fish in my shirt pocket and saying "Feed the pocket!" Sigh......
That's really all for updates, except to say that student teaching really starts getting underway this week. If Andrew or I (or both) drop off the face of the planet more often, it's just from the work load. We're not ignoring you!
Now, for another question for those with more than one kid: What did your older child(ren) do when you were giving birth? It's something I've been thinking about, and (truth be told) worrying about. Is it okay for them to be with you? Is it too hectic with them there? Does it help to have them there?
Also, Is there anything you did to prepare your oldest to no longer being an only child? I've been trying to talk to Rin about there being a baby, but you never know what all (or how well) their little brains comprehend.
I think that's all for today! I tried to keep it short and sweet. There's more I could talk about, but, well, I'm sleepy 😊
Oh, this week. I'm glad this week is over. And I'm glad it ended on such a high note. "Hellooooooo, Snow!" (Please be sure to hear that with the voices of the Yakko and Wakko from Animaniacs.)
To explain this week, I'm only backing up to Wednesday. Why? I don't remember anything that happened further back (I'd say blame pregnancy brain, but I don't think it can be faulted this time).
Wednesday, this family had to get back on a schedule because Andrew was starting his student teaching! I like schedules, but it was still an adjustment.
Rin got a lot of coloring time in while I sang to music and did dishes and drank coffee. After that, she was already so tired that we just chilled on the couch until an early lunch.
Thursday, I decided to take Rin to find some warmer shoes that fit (apparently, she's a size 7!).
I quickly learned that taking a toddler (especially one who loves shoes) shopping is NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART!!! Please pardon my language, but this momma about lost her shit by the end of the morning.
It's not that Rin was BAD. It's just that she was too excited to listen to me, so it took forever. But we ended up with some awesome boots that were less than $20.
Fortunately, Andrew was awesome and let me rest that evening because I was exhausted. He even took over reading duty.
Then came Friday (yesterday). I was still exhausted from Thursday. I had a plan of attach for the day that included picking up a few things from the store after my checkup, cleaning up the kitchen, and cooking a good dinner. HA!
This checkup should have taken 45 minutes (and that's if they were running 30 minutes late). HA!
We were there 2 hours. When we left, it was past lunch AND the beginning of nap time. So no store run. And I was exhausted from occupying a toddler with minimal toys/books for two hours, so no cleaning.
Time to pick Andrew up. It takes 40 minutes to get to his school. Crap, it's snowing. Well, Boone roads will be fine, Ashe should be fine too. HA!
I was almost in tears from stress and frustration by the time I got to the school. Andrew calmed me down and we left for home.
Hold on, it gets better...
And got in a minor, no-fault fender bender. Person in oncoming traffic started to brake because the person in front of her slowed down. She tail spinned. I lightly braked so I wouldn't hit her. I started to tailspin. Remembered at least to turn my wheel opposite the way I was spinning so I wouldn't completely lose control, but we were already too close and...bumper cars.
No one was hurt and there was just a little paint swap, so we all decided to just be on our way (after Andrew made sure that lady was okay and her car wasn't damaged).
Dinner plans changed because we didn't reach town until after 5. Dinner was still good, but stress levels were high and the night didn't end well.
But today!! Much better day. First off, "Helloooooo, Snow!" We had nowhere to be, amends had been made, and it was time for some lifted spirits!
We decided to bundle up and go play before the temperature started plummeting and the wind picked up. That story will be told in pictures:
Ummm....what is this stuff?
Hey, this is cool!
Running to Mama!
She fell down. A lot. On purpose.
Checking out Mama's snow angel
Making her own snow angel!
She laughed a lot
She started burying herself in her blankets
Reading with Daddy
As you can see, she LOVED the snow! She fell down on purpose multiple times, and laughed and smiled the entire time. We were surprised she went inside without a fuss when we were only out there for maybe 20 minutes.
We spent the rest of the day under blankets and relaxing. I got to make the dinner I had planned to make yesterday and it was quite delicious!
Overall, this snow day was a much-needed light hearted day that was the perfect end to a crazy, exhausting week.
There are many years that I make resolutions, but still more that I don't even bother to. I can, however, say that on the years I've made resolutions, I've kept at least one of them.
So this year, I made a few.
Some of them are necessities to make life easier when we move (less loose material floating around):
1) Finish Rin's baby book.
2) Finish my own scrap book project.
3) Finish any other projects that need finishing.
Some are necessary for the sanity or health of my family:
4) Keep the apartment clean and organized. I'm not talking Martha Stewart style here...I'm talking about dusting and vacuuming at least once a week, keeping the dishes clean or in the dishwasher and the countertops clear, and keeping my own clutter that magically piles up on my side of the bed picked up and put away.
5) Plan something to do with Rin every weekday. Even if it's "today, we're going to color," have some kind of plan.
And some things are for my own health, be it emotional, spiritual, or physical.
6) Take care of my body. Obviously, I'm not aiming to lose any weight until July at the earliest (oh hi, baby bump). But I do aim to stay better hydrated, especially as I get "more pregmant" and the weather eventually warms (is winter ever going to actually hit here?!). If anyone has any tips on drinking water, please share!!
I also aim to get some form of light exercise a day while preggers. That can take the form of dance, yoga, walking, etc. On that note, I plan to make a post-baby "ease back into exercise" plan. And do my best to stick to it. I was overweight (no, I'm not exaggerating...that's according to the BMI charts in the doctor's office) when I got pregnant and I would like to be well on my way back to a healthy weight by this time next year.
7) I'm going to take a little time each day to get back in touch with my "spiritual side." I'm going to read at least my Bible a little every day. I may do more. But I'm okay with starting with some reading every day and seeing what happens from there.
8) I'm going to take a little time every day to do something just because it's something I'd like to do. I've gotten better at this lately, but would like to keep it up, especially after baby number two comes.
And finally, a few for fun:
9) Finish Pokemon Sun.
10) Keep up with my lovely page-a-day mindful coloring calendar my mother-in-law gave me for Christmas.
I'm aware that this is a fairly long, detailed list. But I figure that it's easier to keep a resolution if you make a lot. And goals are easier to reach if they are detailed.
Overall, I just aim to make this the best year I can and I hope you all have a wonderful year as well!
Man, the last two weeks have been such a whirlwind of people, emotions, places, driving, and general craziness.
Let's begin where I left off. Of course, immediately after I wrote my last blog, Rin decided to misbehave the entire evening! As a parent, I was hoping this wouldn't happen, but still fully expected it.
To be quite honest, I don't remember much of anything that happened that Wednesday or Thursday. Thursday, I got the news that my Aunt Laura was in the hospital again. She had been battling cancer for 22 years, so this was nothing new. What was new was that she went to the hospital because she had become unresponsive and couldn't recognize her family as the day went on.
The doctors did a chest x-ray and a CT scan. Which is when we found out she had a brain bleed. The brain bleed had little to do with her condition, however. Her unresponsiveness was due to her carbon dioxide levels being extremely high and her body was retaining fluid.
Early Friday, we found out that all the fluid around Laura's lungs was actually straight cancer. And that there was no longer anything to be done. She was already on a ventilator. They decided to wait until after her sons' birthdays to do anything, though.
Right after I found all this out, we drove down to Gaston County for a job fair/interview for Andrew. I won't give out a lot of details, but I can say that it went really well. (If you are familiar with that area, I'd love if you could email me or message me on facebook about it! We've been trying to learn more about the potential areas we could eventually move to.)
Saturday was a day of a lot of sleep for this lady. And I honestly don't remember much about Sunday.
Monday was the day that it was planned for Aunt Laura to be taken off the ventilator and feeding tubes. It was planned to happen around 10 am. Andrew and I had to get a little Christmas shopping done, so at least I was distracted.
We had a rather entertaining moment while we were out. We were letting Rin walk around a bit to get her energy out since it had been rather yucky outside for a while. She started to wander in the store, so Andrew called out her name. A little girl, who had to be about four years old, turned around, eyes wide, and either said "I know Rin!" or "Hi, new friend!" (Andrew heard the first, I heard the second) and proceeded to hug her. You guys, Andrew and I were laughing. Rin had a look on her face of "What in the world is happening right now?!"
The little girl's mom apologized to us and explained that her daughter has "never known a stranger." She then told the girl that she is supposed to ask before hugging people. So she asks Rin if she can hug her, then hugged her again when Rin didn't answer. So the mom told the little girl that she has to wait on a 'yes' first.
The interaction went on a bit longer, but Andrew was laughing the whole time while I was trying not to split a rib from NOT laughing. It was fantastic.
However, around noon is when I got the news that Aunt Laura had passed. That day was when I discovered that as long as I keep busy, I don't cry. And that my husband is an excellent comforter when I stop being busy.
I'll skip the specifics of the rest of the day, other than to say that an excellent book to read is Brightly Burning by Mercedes Lackey. It is wonderfully written. Just be prepared to cry.
Tuesday was packing and cleaning day to go out of town. We were planning to hang out with a friend for a game night, but he unfortunately had to cancel due to not feeling so great. So Andrew and I made our own game night. And it turned out to be kinda crazy and a lot of fun.
Game night!
Wednesday was a crazy long day. We left to go home around 10 am. We met with the wonderful CJ and had lunch before heading to a secondary family's house. We hung out over there for a few hours before heading back to CJ's house (thank you again to her family for hosting us for a few days!) for dinner.
Thursday, I dropped Andrew and Rin off at my in-laws house and drove down to Charlotte for my aunt's funeral. I didn't get back until much later than originally expected, so we went and got refreshed quickly before heading back out to dinner with some friends from high school. It was delicious and a lot of fun!
Friday, we all went down to Charotte again, this time to have a little bit of a Christmas celebration. When we got back, we checked into a hotel, then went and had dinner with a friend of ours. Afterwards, Andrew went to hang out with the guys while I took Rin to the hotel to put her down and have some much needed alone time.
Rin plopped down on the pillow after looking at me and saying "Night night!"
Saturday morning, we went back to our original host family's house for some present opening. I feel so lucky to have friends (really another secondary family) like these. Even though they knew we couldn't really give in the way of gifts, they still gave generously to us. Andrew and I have music and books galore, plus hats and other stuff. Rin got a barn that makes the noises of the animals it came with, and she has played with it basically every day since.
After lunch, we went and all took an excellent long nap before heading to my extended family's, where we were blessed yet again. Rin got SO many toys, some of which we haven't even opened yet. I think we might have hidden them away for when she gets older (hehe). She also got a much needed coat!
Christmas day was super long. We got up and got ready and got festive! Then we headed to my brother and sister-in-law's for some breakfast, fun, and gift giving! And, of course, some yummy (mostly decaf) coffee for this mommy.
Pawpaw reading a book to the littles.
The Rosemans and Moffitts!
Rin, of course, decided to not play with anything she got and that she wanted to play with all of her cousins' things. Sigh. We all had plenty of fun, though. And we got the above picture in one try
Around noon, we headed over to my in-laws for some lunch, naps, and gift giving! Mommy had to sing Rin to sleep, but it didn't take long at all. Her little eyes were rolling up in the back of her head and she was still fighting it. Mommy sat down on the couch soon afterwards and fell asleep on the couch for a bit as well.
After naps, Andrew's brother and sister-in-law got there. Around 4, Rin started in on presents. There was one in particular that she just kept going back to in between each present. After she finished, the adults started while she played with anything she could get her hands on.
Again, we were overwhelmed by the generosity. We got things we wanted, things we needed, and things we definitely would have never guessed or dreamed of asking for (in a good way). Let's just say that our minds were blown.
And that we had to recruit help to get everything back home.
Monday, we checked out of the hotel, had breakfast with my mom and dad, loaded up and headed home. By the time we got back, we went to get some lunch. We were all exhausted, so after lunch, mom and dad headed back while we went home and passed out for a while.
When we woke up, it was time to unload the car and sort out Rin toys from adult toys from clothes. The first thing we did was get some of Rin's toys out of their packages so she could play. Then we went through our "toys."
After sorting and dinner, it was bed time. Andrew and I didn't stay up much later than Rin! All we did was open up the presents to ourselves (hey new slippers!). We were all still so tired.
Tuesday was when we finally got to give Miss Thang her presents. She got socks in her stocking (not very exciting, but she was excited), a book, some slippers, and a tricycle and stuffed bear.
The rest of that day was full of playing and relaxing for us all. The only productive things we did were try on and de-tag clothes.
And did I mention play?
Yesterday, we did a lot of catching up. We got groceries, did a ton of laundry, and did some general cleaning. Then bundled up and went for a lovely evening walk around campus before heading back and getting ready for bed.
It has been a long, crazy, full holiday season for this family. I hope others had a wonderful holiday as well!
As I've promised before, I'm here to write not just about the good or the bad, but both. Last week, it was about the bad.
This week, it's aaaaaaaallllllllll good.
It really has been a wonderful week for us. Andrew took his last exam last Tuesday, which marks THE LAST UNDERGRADUATE EXAM FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE!!!!
Thursday, I had a checkup at the doctor's. Everything is looking and sounding just right, which is always good news (prego brain alert....it just took me at least 10 seconds to remember how to spell news).
Thursday afternoon, we all drove down to Ashe County and met Andrew's cooperating teacher for next semester. Which took a load of stress off all of us, as she has a lot of experience, but still seems passionate about her job. Plus she seems really nice!
Friday, we got Christmas shopping done for the three of us. We got Rin a tricycle (here's hoping she likes it!). And some slippers....cause that girl will not leave socks on and her feet feel like ice!
For ourselves, we took the easy way out this year. We each needed/wanted a few specific things, so we picked our things out together.Which means we know what we're getting from each other this year, but I do believe we are perfectly okay with that!
We did some other odds and ends over the weekend, but those days are all blurring together. Andrew let me sleep in quite a bit, which was lovely and much needed.
Yesterday was a pretty close to perfect day. We all stayed in our pajamas most of the morning and were just lazy. Which was made even better by the fact that it was cold and rainy in Boone yesterday. We went and got "cheap" Japanese food for lunch (and I have leftovers..score!) to celebrate a straight A semester. When we got home, we all passed out in food comas. Rin was in her crib while Andrew and I were snuggled on the couch. After we all woke up, we just kept taking it easy!
It's been an excellent week for Rin as well. She's still as stubborn as can be, but she's been much better behaved this week.
She's been almost consistently pooping only in the potty (woohoooooo!).
She used a spoon the best we've ever seen her use one last night.
She's been repeating the alphabet back to us and has even started recognizing some of the letters on paper.
This morning, she counted to ten almost on her own. Say WHAT?!
And she's been overall very happy and snuggly.
Snuggling with Daddy to watch him play Pokemon
Now, if things take a turn for the grumpy, here's hoping it doesn't happen while we're home for the holidays!!
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