18 months and growing....

Audrey had her 18 month check up today, and apparently she is well ahead of the curve. The pediatrician actually recommended doing as many activities that range in the 2 year old category as possible. He says she will decide if it's too difficult or not, and what is acceptable for her in terms of development. He was quite impressed with her vocabulary and dexterity. That made me laugh a little, because I was worried her speech would be a little delayed in lieu of the million ear infections and tubes, apparently that worry was for no reason. Looks like she is going to be a brainiac, and that is more than ok with this momma!!! I also found it ironic, considering we just moved her up to the 2 year old room at dayccare, and she LOVES it. Originally we were trying to avoid several biters in the toddler room, and decided to try it to see if it helped with the boredom....Viola! It did!

She weighs in at 23 lbs and 31 inches tall. She doesn't break the 30th percentile in either category, and her head circumference is even smaller. At 45 and a half centimeters she is only in the 18th percentile. Like I have said before, she is apparently just going to be a little petite.

At this point, Audrey is a handful in her own little way. It isn't that she misbehaves a lot, or doesn't listen; although she does have her moments, she is just in to EVERYTHING! She wants to see how things work, what they do, or how to operate them. Keeping her entertained is proving to be our biggest challenge at the moment. Boredom strikes this kid fairly easily. Books are currently our refuge...She LOVES books. It is, at this point, the only way to keep her still for 20 minutes. She still loves her Mickey mouse, but we try to limit T.V. to 30 minutes a day. I do not want her to be one of those kids who sits and stares at the television for hours on end. We color, draw, play outside, create fun "activities", etc to keep her busy so I am always looking for fun ideas and stuff to do with her. She is VERY close to being ready to potty train, but I don't want her to endure too much change at once, considering we will be bringing her baby sister home soon. So I am probably going to wait until we have a decent family routine in place, and go from there.
I can't wait to see how she interacts with her new little sister. She is GREAT with other kids, so I am hoping she doesn't act out alot when we bring the baby home. Hopefully....it will be a fairly easy transition.

The waiting game.......

That's where we stand right now with baby girl #2.... We wait!

The doctor has threatened to induce me. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of modern medicine and will definitely follow doc's orders, but the thought of being induced is not something I am ok with at this point. At my appointment Friday he offered (or "strongly suggested") to go ahead and schedule it this week, but also gave me the option of waiting one more week, until my "actual" due date. I opted to wait, thinking mother nature knows best. I went into labor on my own last time, so hopefully that will happen again. Induction creates more stress on the  baby so I am trying to wait it out....I hope it's the right decision.  If there are no signs of active labor this week, I have no other choice, as he told me. He will not let me go any closer to 41 weeks than possible. When I go back to the doctor this Friday, I will leave with an induction date, and it will most likely be ASAP. BLAH! Don't get me wrong, I am beyond. ready. to. have. this. baby., I just want to do it in the best way possible for her. After this Friday, I know induction will be best, but I really hope it doesn't come to that.

As much as I love being pregnant, this pregnancy has been quite a bit more difficult than the last. The low iron, whacked out blood sugar, work schedule and chasing a toddler has prettly much left me exhausted. all. the. time. That's the secondary reason the doctor started talking about induction. He is worried that my blood sugar will crash, and I will not have the energy to endure a long labor, and the low iron may prevent a speedy recovery.  So, we compromised... "light duty" from here on out, no more working for me, and induction before 41 weeks.. I am perfectly fine with that!!!

I am so ready to meet our little girl and see what she's like. I can't help but wonder if she's going to be the complete opposite of Audrey or if we will have 2 peas in a pod. I constantly wonder how the heck I am going to pull off taking care of 2 kids under 2 and maintain the house, work schedule etc. The best advice I have received so far was simply "you always find a way". I am trying not to stress out about it, I am just going to figure it out as I go I guess. Hopefully it works ;)

Procrastination panic!

I had another follow up with the ol' doc today and all looks well!! Yay! We will meet our wonderful addition in roughly 6 weeks. I am getting super excited!

The thought of bringing a baby home in 6 weeks set me into a panic last night! We have been procrastinating, not on purpose, but we are getting down to the wire in terms of getting ready for baby girl #2. We did bring out the bassinet and pack -n- play and got it all set up this weekend. I also managed to do a little shopping to make sure she isn't going to be naked when we bring her home. Unfortunately, that's about all I have managed to do in preparation for baby #2. Between my work schedule, Jeremy changing jobs, my absolute exhaustion,  and chasing Audrey around, we just honestly lost track of time. I had a minor melt down about it last night, and am determined to get this show on the road. Our nephew's 1st birthday is this weekend (which I cannot believe) so after all the celebrating we are getting down to business!

By this point in my pregnancy with Audrey we were 90% ready for her. Everything was finished except a few details in the nursery. 90% complete with pregnancy #2 and we don't even have a newborn diaper n the house! Sad right?  I do not want to make a difference between our two girls, EVER! I have 1st hand experience with that, and I always promised myself it would NEVER happen with my own kids....hence the panic! I feel like we should have prepared  for #2 the way we prepared with Audrey.  Realistically I know it's not exactly making a difference, and I know now more of what to expect with bringing home a newborn, but I never want this little girl to feel like she isn't just as special as her sister!

After the festivities this weekend, this momma will be starting Operation Get It Together!!

MD Part II

After a day of running errands, and an hour wait at the M.D. office, I finally made it to the follow up appointment! So far, my blood sugar is no worse! Thank God! It's not better, but at least it's not worse. The problem right now, is my blood sugar is fluctuating, causing my dizzy spells and exhaustion. That combined with my low iron levels makes for a very crappy feeling momma! I have also lost some weight, which earned me the "eye" from the doctor. At 32 weeks pregnant, I have gained 7.5 lbs. That number freaked me out! The doc said it wasn't a huge concern, but in order to kill 2 birds with one stone persay, I have to eat something at least every 2 hours during the day. This should not only keep my blood sugar stable, it will keep me from losing more weight. Whew!! That, I can definitely do!! I was seriously worried that the doc was going to put me on medication, or something was going to be horribly wrong, but considering the situation, I got the best news possible today!! Talk about stress relief! I still have that nagging worry in the back of my head, but that will not go away until our little girl is here! Now I just need to focus on taking care of myself and prepared to meet our baby!!!

In other news, Audrey has hit a growth spurt! I woke her up to get her ready Monday, and it took 15 minutes to find her some clothes that fit... Oy!! I guess it's long overdue, but it makes me a little sad ;) My little girl is growing too fast, and momma isn't quite ready for it. I guess I just need to brace myself and accept it. She is already acting so much older than her 17 months. I do not want to force her to "grow up too fast" with the introduction of baby #2... but I am afraid she is going to anyway! It's just in her personality I suppose. I have also noticed that she is getting bored with her "little" girl toys, so we will be shopping for "big" girl toys too!! I guess there are worse things I could do than go shopping for "our girls" this weekend!! (Love the sound of that!)

Blah...

I am currently 30 weeks preggo, with a child with no name! We are getting closer though...

I had this particular blog all planned out in my head, until a phone call from the MD office threw me for the proverbial loop.

Apparently, my iron levels are "drastically" low, and I am a mere 2 points away from being diagnosed with gestational diabetes.... WHAT?!?! I feel really bad for the poor nurse who called me with this wonderful revelation, because I kind of freaked out when she told me! I have been ridiculously tired this pregnancy, but chalked it up to chasing a toddler and the double work load. That excuse sounded completely logical to me, and when I brought up the exhaustion to the MD he said the same thing. So, I went into "suck it up momma" mode. Push, push, push, get through the day! I am going to have 2 kids under 2 so, I kept telling myself "it's not going to get any easier, suck it up."
Fast forward a few weeks... I go to the MD appointment, drink the nasty glucola crap, and didn't think twice about it. 4 days later, I get the phone call from the nurse. 1 day later, I was calling the office back to ask if they made a mistake.
After I calmed down and gathered my rational thoughts, things didn't add up at all. I have no excessive weight gain (9 pounds to date), I am not a fan of sweet foods/snacks, I eat mostly whole grains..none of this was a recipe for gestational diabetes. The doc called back and we talked about just that, and he agreed that I am not a "common" gestational diabetes patient. I guess it's just "luck of the draw".  That's actually what he said.... WHAT?!?! I do NOT do well with vague answers... but, it is what it is at this point. His other view point was simply that 2 pregnancies in 3 years is rough on my body, and most of the time trouble conceiving results in some sort of complication. I am not comfortable taking medication to control my blood sugar at this point, so we decided to try a "diabetic, high iron" diet of my doctor's concoction for 2 weeks and see where we are. The only issue with this is he mailed it to me 4 days ago, and I still do not have it! STRESS! So for the past 4 days I have eaten veggies, fruit, chicken,  whole grains and water. The plan is not to stray from this until I get his version of my "diet". He also instructed me to "take it easy" since my body is "doing a lot of work" at the moment.....easier said than done with a toddler. Thankfully Jeremy has been picking up some slack the past 2 days and I have been able to put my feet up, but I hope I don't have to do it the rest of the pregnancy. I have a very cute nursery to create!

I go back in 2 weeks and see if my numbers are any better, and I am praying they are. I do not want to put this sweet girl in any danger.So if medication is necessary, that's what I will do. Gestational diabetes is freaking me out a little at the moment. At least with the low iron levels I just take a supplement, and worst case scenario, blood transfusion for momma. Gestational diabetes has many more consequences... lung development issues, extremely high birth weight, unstable blood sugar in the baby after birth, etc. etc. Freaking out!! For now I am just trying to follow the doc's orders and wait patiently on the mail man. But, if he's not here with my info Monday, this momma is going to the bookstore to buy everything she can get her hands on!!!!!!!!

Ramblings of a Preggo....

I have been thinking about this blog post for 2 weeks. I have 4 million thoughts running through my head at any given moment, so I am afraid I couldn't come up with anything cohesive.

Finish reading this blog at your own risk: You will be subjected to the ramblings of a pregnant lady.

My fore most thought is always baby #2, who still doesn't have a name, crib, or nursery to sleep in. We still haven't made any significant decisions in any way, and we still haven't started on the nursery. I already feel like a neglectful mother.. and I am 1 and a half weeks away from my 7 month appointment. YIKES!!!!!

Secondly, I have to go on a business trip. A management seminar for 5 days! 5 whole days! 5 days away from Audrey!! I have NEVER left her for that amount of time. Leaving her for one night makes me uneasy, and usual only happens with some prodding from Jeremy. 5 days may just give me a panic attack! I do feel some relief that Jeremy will be with her, it's just not the same. At this point, she is literally learning something new every day, and I don't want to miss one second. Alas, the real world is calling for me, and I do have 2 kids to send to college, so I guess I will begrudgingly get on the plane...blah!

Thirdly, Audrey is growing so fast, I can't keep up. She learns so fast, and is just an absolute happy little girl. She looked at me this morning, and said "morning momma". My heart absolutely melted. She has a fairly extensive vocabulary and is constantly traipsing around at a steady run. She is starting to show a little more of a toddler personality, telling the dog, "no, no, no" with her hands on her hips. She loves to carry any type of bag, like a purse. She will throw her purse over her shoulder, walk to the door and say "bye bye", and grab my car keys. I think we may have our hands full in a year or so!!

I have more to ramble about, but it is getting close to bedtime. I have to go to bed a little early to compensate for getting up every 2 hours to pee..... Mommas you know what I mean ;)

Estrogen x 2!!

It's a girl!!

 That's right...two teenage girls in the house at the same time! YIKES! Or of course, as Jeremy put it, "We have two weddings to pay for!"  I think he was in shock for a solid 30 minutes after the ultrasound technician told us, it was quite funny!! Then of course, he thought about the bathroom situation, which will luckily will work out in our house...I am telling you the Man upstairs planned this one well :) Then of course, as he often does, he made me so proud, when he looked at me and said "I get to have 2 daddy's girls! Is it bad that I don't want them to get married, because I don't want to give either of them away?" Seriously, how sweet was that?!? I Love that man!

I braced him before the appointment, and told him I thought it was a girl. When I first found out I was pregnant I really thought it was a boy, but I think that was mostly "wishful" thinking. I really wanted Jeremy to have a boy, as he is the last one to carry on the family name. Over the past month, I have had that voice in the back of my head screaming "GIRL", and wouldn't you know it... My gut was right!

I am super excited, although a little overwhelmed to have two girls! My sister and I are close, and I can only hope Audrey and her sister are extremely close! I am very overwhelmed at the thought of two teenage girls. Those of you that know me, know the girly girl stuff is not me. I think I am mostly overwhelmed because I have 2 little girls who will be looking to me as a role model, and I want to be the best/most positive role model I can be.... No pressure!. Luckily, we have plenty of females in our family who I think are going to be wonderfully positive influences. I just don't want to pass on my negative personality traits to "my girls" ( I like the sound of that!!)  STRESS!

I was a little upset/disappointed at most people's reaction when we told them we were having another girl. I can't even count the number of people who not only asked us if we were disappointed, but voiced their "disappointment." Disappointment is not the right word I guess, I really don't know what the word would be. They were obviously happy that we were having another baby, but I felt like people were kind of  "let down"' that it wasn't a boy. I know most people just wanted us to have one of each, especially since Jeremy is the last of his family to be able to carry  on the family name, so I tried to keep that in mind. I was just frustrated because I prayed so hard for a healthy baby, not a penis! I just see things differently because of our past, and maybe I am a little oversensitive. My mental checklist consisted of , kidneys are ok, heart beat is good, spine looks fine, etc. When my checklist was complete, and everything was fine, she could have told me it was twins and I would have been just as happy (after I passed out ;)) We are so blessed to have 2 healthy girls, considering we weren't sure we would have any children at one time. Again, maybe I am just super sensitive, I don't know...hormones are currently messing with my head :)  Besides all that, my sister in law is probably going to have a house full of boys, so we can "trade" occasionally, because I am sure she needs little girls to spoil! I know my sister is looking forward to it too, after all , she can help me with the "girly" stuff I am no good at!! Again, I believe the Man has a plan for us!

We still haven't decided on a name! Even if we were going to tell everyone her name, we would have nothing to tell. We agreed on Audrey fairly quickly, and it seems perfect for her (of course,I think so). I think we are having such a hard time because we want a name with meaning. Audrey means noble strength, and her middle name. Leigh, is her great grandmother's middle name. We both absolutely adore her great grandmother, she is one helluva lady!! I want Audrey to inherit her strength, compassion, and acceptance of others. Now, where does that leave #2?? Nameless for now. I have tried to combine Jeremy's sister and my sister's middle name... and it just didn't work. Back to the drawing board. I think we are going to try to go with a classic name...maybe. At this point I am open to all suggestions :)

19 weeks in...

19 weeks into this pregnancy, and I am already hot and tired!! I am actually showing a bit now, so that is at least a little visible reminder that it is all worth it!
At my last doctor's appointment, I got the "eye" because I had not gained any weight, I actually lost a few more pounds, so I have been trying to remind myself to eat 3 meals and 2 snacks a day. For some reason, that is no easy feat. I am not "starving" all the time, and some days, I just forget to eat. Yes, I know how stupid that sounds. It's almost as if I have no appetite with this pregnancy.. it's very weird!  We also talked about my headaches again. Apparently, those brain squeezing headaches I have been experiencing are tension headaches. (I didn't even realize I was stressed!) He gave me some medication to take when the headache becomes unbearable, which was my compromise since I hate taking medication while pregnant. This is a much milder medication than what he originally suggested, and now that I think about it, I think that this medication was his intention all along. Apparently, he knows me pretty well. After a fairly long discussion, he finally persuaded me that the benefit of the medication far out weighed the risk to the baby. After I thought about it I realized I stopped taking the fertility drugs because they made me feel horrible.  I didn't want to be unfair to Audrey. Well, it was pretty unfair of me not to think about her in this process, because a mom with a wicked headache is no fun! So far I have only had to take 2 pills, so I don't think that's too awful!

My next appointment is next week. Yes, it is THAT appointment. We have the choice of finding out if we are having a girl or boy. I knew it was a girl before we walked into the doctor's office when we found out Ms. Audrey was on the way, so I am betting my instinct is right this time. I still haven't decided if I want to know, and according to Jeremy it doesn't matter to him either this time.  Looks like we will be making a spur of the moment decision.

We are having a really hard time with names, which surprised me. Last time we had it narrowed down to 2 names by 20 weeks. This time, we aren't even close to narrowing it down. We are toying with the idea of keeping the name a secret if we find out if it's a girl or boy. We really enjoyed keeping Audrey's sex a secret. Knowing what no one else did, gave us a little more time to bond with her before we shared her with the world.  We haven't decided for sure if we are going to "let the cat out of the bag" or not. We have to be able to at least decide on a name before we make any more decisions.....

Life afer tubes...

Everyone told me how different Audrey would be after her tubes were put in, but I could not imagine a happier, more content baby. I was wrong! Not only is she happier, she eats better (we are hoping to break the 20 pound mark soon), she sleeps better, and obviously, she FEELS better! The past 10 days have been remarkable.

In the past 10 days, she has started walking, given up her night time bottle, picked up a few more words, and has become a very expressive child who wants to explore EVERYTHING! It is pretty impressive, if you ask me, but I am kind of biased :)

Most importantly, I can tell a HUGE difference in how she feels. She laughs more, and is constantly on the move. When dealing with all of her ear infections, sometimes she would just want to sit and play with her books, or want me to hold her all the time. She was a happy baby, but she didn't laugh unless she deemed something hilarious. Now, she is exploring and getting into everything, and constantly laughing.

The doctor removed fluid and infection from both of her ears. When we originally went in for the consultation he told us her hearing was "impaired" and the fluid was throwing off her balance. I didn't realized how much that alone was affecting her. The day we brought her home, she seemed to be able to hear better, and her balance improved instantly. Every single second of being anxious and worried about the surgery was worth it. It is such a relief to know how much better our baby feels.

Ear infections....

..oh, how I HATE them. Let me explain... We know an ear infection is brewing when Audrey's nose starts running. That is usually followed by 2 days of "crankiness" (sporadic fussiness), two nights of waking up every 3 hours, then a trip to the pediatrician, the antibiotics start, one more night of waking every few hours, diaper rash, then we finally have a happy baby. Repeat every 2 to 3 weeks.
So far, we have completed this cycle 18 times!!! The ear infections have gotten progressively worse since January. The last few have required several different antibiotics, but the last time, Rocephin shots were required; 3 of them to be exact. 6 days later we were back in the pediatrician's office... she is currently fighting her 18th ear infection. RIDICULOUS! It is a terrible feeling to know your kid is in pain and discomfort and know there isn't a thing you can do to help. There are not enough expletive words to describe how I feel about ear infections. If this "ear infection" was a person, "it" would have already suffered a catastrophic beat down from this momma! But, I digress....
Our pediatrician referred us to a Ear, Nose and Throat doctor who ran, what felt like 300 tests. (But everything seems 3 times longer when you are dealing with a fussy baby) Final evaluation: "significant" fluid in the left ear, "moderate" amount in the right ear, mild/moderate hearing "difficulty" and pain. Final recommendation: Tubes.  The doctor was wonderful. He explained the entire procedure to me, showed me the tubes and answered all my questions.

Once we made the E.N.T appointment, we were both hesitant about Audrey having surgery so young.  It was terrifying on so many levels. She is so small, I was worried about anesthesia, and was very concerned that if we started the process so early, she would be plagued with ear problems for years. After the 3 Rocephin shots, I was ready to cave. I just want her to feel better, my fears and concerns do not matter. It took a little while longer for Jeremy, but when ear infection 18 was diagnosed, we were both exhausted, and desperate for her to feel better. She is never tremendously fussy, but we know she isn't herself when she has an ear infection. I refuse to watch her be in pain or discomfort anymore. After the ENT appointment, I called Jeremy, told him what the doctor said, and we decided to schedule the appointment. May 18th  my baby girl will have her 1st "major" medical procedure. She will be 14 months old. That makes me terribly sad, and worried, but I refuse to let her suffer because of my fears or concerns. So, I will suck it up, and hope this makes my baby feel better!! Everyone I have talked to about tubes, says they will help, and the procedure isn't nearly as long or complicated as it sounds. That makes me a little more comfortable signing the consent forms. I am just hoping we can keep her ears clear until then.

Nausea Purgatory

That's where I am at the moment, nausea purgatory! Morning, noon and night... NO fun! This pregnancy is a little different than the last, which I find odd, because it was just last year; but it is different, none the less. I seem to be more tired this time, I assume because I am chasing a 13 month old. The nausea level is about the same as I remember with Audrey maybe a little worse, but not much. If history repeats its self I will be feeling better next week (15 weeks). But, the headaches, oh my, the headaches are awful! I have experienced the occasional migraine in my life, but they pale in comparison to pregnancy headaches (that's my term for them). I have talked to the MD, and blames the hormones and  offered me some fairly strong meds , but I am not comfortable taking them. So far, the only way they have been remotely tolerable, is to make sure I have some sort of caffeine on a daily basis. I don't drink alot of it, a few sips seem to make the headache tolerable, and according to the MD anything less than 300 milligrams is acceptable. I don't even come close to hitting that number, so I am ok with it for now, but am hoping to quit drinking it completely in a few weeks.

Other than those "few" complaints, I am starting to get some of my energy back.... YAY!!! I am trying to push myself through these last few weeks until I feel better,  telling myself that "mom's don't get days off". And let's be realistic, with two kids under two, I will have zero time to be "sick", so I am looking at this as preparation for the future ;)

SURPRISE!!

.....Well, we were surprised anyway! I am currently 11 weeks along with baby #2!!!!!!!!! I cannot explain the joy and utter excitement we feel! Another blessing/miracle coming our way seems almost surreal.

I was a day later than usual, no big deal, I didn't even think twice about it honestly. A few days later I was cleaning the house, and found some Kotex coupons, and realized I was pretty late. I still waited 3 more days to take the test, because, let's be honest, our track record isn't very good in the "fertility" realm. I bought the test at Kroger while I was grocery shopping. Ironically, as soon as I pulled into the drive way, the urge to pee hit. So... I took the test while Jeremy brought in the groceries. Let me tell you, when I looked down and saw that "+" sign, I almost fainted. Then I freaked out for a minute, half excited, half terrified. I walked into the kitchen, apparently quite pale, and Jeremy looked at me and said "What's wrong?" I couldn't even muster the words to tell him, I just held the stick out. ( I put the cap on so it wasn't too gross) He looked at it, looked at me and said "Huh! That's positive right?" Yep. We both sat on the couch for about 10 minutes before each of us could say anything. He broke the silence, looked at me and said "2 kids under 2, holy crap". All I could do was shake my head in agreement.  Considering our "history" and past struggles we were honestly just shooting for another baby in the next 2 years, neither of us expected it to happen so soon.

Don't misunderstand me, we are both ELATED with this pregnancy! I cannot wait to have a house full of noise, and toys, and to be able to watch Audrey be a big sister, and experience the bond that only siblings have! I do have to be honest, I spent close to 2 and a half or 3 weeks feeling utterly overwhelmed. It's hard enough to keep up with Ms. Busybody Audrey, how can I keep up with 2?? The laundry is going to be ridiculous... I have to get 100 % organized... I need a label maker.... All of these thoughts and more kept running through my head. I mean, seriously, there was ALOT to think about!

Of course we were both beyond nervous at that 1st prenatal appointment. I don't think I actually spoke to the doctor until we saw that little heartbeat flutter on the ultrasound screen. Then I cried, of course. Unfortunately I had a huge 5 hour presentation at work that day, so off I went. It didn't leave much time for me to settle my thoughts. That weekend, I sat down, and looked at my sweet baby girl, and realized it didn't really matter if the laundry got out of hand, or if we are not 100 % organized, every baby is a blessing, and we are lucky enough to have 2!!

After that I felt better, for the most part, besides the nausea and fatigue. I went to the 2nd appointment by myself, Jeremy had to work. I was ridiculously nervous, but thank goodness I have a great physician. He knew right away that I was freaked out, so he sent me back to the nurse 1st thing to check on the heartbeat so I could relax... He's pretty awesome ;)

So here we are 2 doctor's visits in, and we are looking pretty good. We haven't decided if we are going to find out the sex. I have mixed feelings about it, so we are going to wait a bit to decide.

I am having a hard time feeling like I am "bonding" with this baby. Mostly because Ms. Audrey takes so much of my time, and work takes the other. When I was pregnant with her, I would spend hours of my day daydreaming about what she would be like, or look like, and constantly thinking of how to raise our little miracle. I approached Jeremy about how I was feeling and he looked at me and grinned, like he usually does when he is about to say something profound, and patted my leg and said " You need to relax. The fact that you are already worried about it, means you are already bonding. We already love this baby ,trust me you are already in momma hen mode." Sometimes I hate the fact that he makes things make sense, when I over complicate things, but it's also the reason we make an amazing team.

So here we are... #2 is in the "oven". I thank God every time I look at our little girl, for blessing us with her. Words cannot express the absolute awe I have that he is blessing us again! It's almost too good to be true. I truly believe our "struggles" were for a reason, and we will not take these miracles for granted, and I will thank Him every single day for the blessings we have received.

I am thinking about starting another blog to detail our journey with number 2, but I haven't decided quite yet.

Catching up....

So... I have been on quite a haitus from the blog, for a reason I will post later...

But in the meantime, let's catch up...

My sweet baby girl is now ONE!!!! Oh how the time has flown by! It seems like yesterday we brought her home, and were oohhing an aahhing over every one of her features. Now she's ONE! Yikes! We celebrated Wed. night (her actual b-day) with several family members and homemade cupcakes. The following Saturday she had a party surrounded by her family and friends! It was quite an event! I was so proud of how well she did! Pics to come later....

She shakes her head "no-no" every chance she gets, it's quite cute (for now!) She is on the verge of walking. She is quite capable and has taken up to 3 steps at a time, but for some reason she is afraid to let go and take off. She is quite a thinker, this one.  She will look all the way around the room, and figure out how to get where she wants to go without taking her hand off anything. Oy!

At her one year check-up my little twerp weighed in at 19 lbs and 14 ouces. She is almost 28 inches long. Both of her "stats" are under the 30th percentile. She's just going to be petite! Her hemoglobin level was a little low, so they are going to check it the next time we are there just to be sure it's ok. So I have been trying extremely hard to give her an abundance of iron fortified food. She also showed the nurse quite a bit of her personality  when she pricked her finger. The nurse pricked her finger, and Audrey looked at her, shook her head, pointed her finger and shook her finger and said "uh-uh"!  Then she turned around and reached for me....It was quite adorable.

We have also had our 1st experience with the "biter" at daycare. Ironically, that's when I experienced my first momma rage. I was infuriated that some other kid, bit my child while being supervised by 3 adults... Really?!? How exactly does that happen? After a phone call, which was quite calm, I assure you, I got over it. I know she can't live in a protective bubble, but I will never be ok with my child getting hurt. I will understand that "it" happens, but if I could, I would protect her forever.  Of course, Jeremy's response was , well. "at least she's not the biter". He has a point ;)

Her vocabulary is getting larger and larger. So far she can say "bite, momma, dad, daddy, book, dog, woof woof, bubble, bye bye"  She says some other words, but none very consistently!!

That's all I have tonight.... I will continue to catch up in the next few days!

Fresh Food.... Duh!

I have been making Audrey's baby and finger food since she started eating them. I want my child to develop healthy eating habits, and make sure she is getting all the vitamins and minerals she needs. Sounds good, right?? The pediatrician LOVES the fact that I use all fresh food, and my sweet girl is healthy as can be.
In my "quest" for all things healthy, I convinced Jeremy to get a physical. Well.... Reality check! My husband has high blood pressure and cholesterol. He is currently on medication for both. He is only 30 years old. We were talking about his follow up appointment last week and I had a minor meltdown. I am "cooking" healthy meals for Audrey and feeding him garbage.(not that he complains). Yay me! So we came up with a plan.

Our plan is a budget/diet decision. Here's the scoop..
I LOVE to coupon, but in reality, there are no coupons for fresh food. Most of the coupons I find are for processed food, cleaning supplies, and personal care. I will continue couponing for cleaning supplies, personal care items, and anything else I can ( I saved $25 Sunday). I will NOT force myself into a corner couponing at the grocery store from this point on! I decided to compromise on the budget like so : I spend $50 a week on groceries, by planning our meals. I look at the sale ads, decide which fresh veggies, etc. are a good price, and plan meals accordingly. I do not shop in the "middle" of the grocery store, avoiding most processed foods. I am the primary cook (well, only cook) in our house, and I will not put my child or husband in danger by contributing to poor health. I also need to be a positive role model in our daughter's life. I will not parent by the "do as I say not as I do" philosophy, so I must lead by example and take better care of myself!! When I was pregnant I was super careful about EVERYTHING I ate, so since we are "trying" I am going to make myself go back into "prep" mode. It seems easier for me to think of it that way, as opposed to thinking of "dieting".

So, basically this is not a "diet"; it is a complete lifestyle change in the Moreland house. I am sure there will be a few "slip ups" after all, I am a true country girl and do enjoy my fried foods, but I am going to give it my best shot!!

Is that an earthquake?

Nope, it's my 9 month old shaking her crib. Recently, little Ms. Audrey discovered she could stand up in her crib. No big deal, we just lowered the mattress to the lowest spot. Shortly after she discovered she could stand up, she discovered she could shake the entire crib! Well apparently, that is great fun when you are 9 months old..who knew? It kind of freaked me out at first, and I had no clue what to do. I would go upstairs, she would look at me, smile, wave, and say "hi", then reach for me. Every single time! Well tonight, I decided to try my own version of bed time manners, and picked her up, laid her down and said "bed time". It was darn near close to impossible not to pick her up and rock her, but she has been putting herself to sleep for the longest time now, and I don't want to give her a crutch at this point. But, oh how I wanted to cuddle that sweet baby girl. So far, that has seemed to work. I went up twice tonight, and that's it.

Progress!

9 month stats

This little girl of ours is just going to be petite!

Weight: 18 pounds 12 ounces.
Height: 27 inches

There were no shots this time, thank goodness!! The poor little twerp had a terrible cold, and a double ear infection, so I was relieved she wouldn't experience more discomfort! It never ceases to amaze me how happy this kid is, ALL the time. Unless you really know her personality and demeanor, you can't tell when she is really sick! That alone, is a blessing and "curse". I rarely have to deal with a fussy baby, blessing. The day care workers not being able to tell she "doesn't feel good", curse. She is always happy, blessing! I guess it's just frustrating when I want to make sure she's comfortable, gets plenty of sleep, and isn't overstimulated, and people look at me and say she doesn't act like she's sick. I know she doesn't act like she's sick, but I don't want to take advantage of her good/happy demeanor. I know, I know, I am a paranoid momma!!

Hopefully, I will get over the paranoia one day. I think every momma experiences some degree of paranoia in some aspect of their kid's lives, mine just happens to be a little elevated when my sweet baby girl is sick... I am sure I will get over it....maybe.... I hope! ;)

Juggling life in january...

Well, Ms. Audrey is 9.5 months old... and is developing quite the "personality". She has learned she can throw things, cruise along the furniture, fake cough, crawl away from mommy when she says no, stand up and shake her crib, smile when daddy says no, and he will cave in, give hugs, and throw tantrums.. Fun stuff!! Have I mentioned how much I LOVE being a mom.. it's better than I ever imagined!

In the mean time, I am in the beginning stages of planning her 1st birthday party (sniff, sniff).

Oh, yeah, I also received a job transfer!!! WOO HOO!! I am going to be 40 minutes from home as opposed to 1 hour and 20 minutes from home. I can work with that!!

So, here's what I have decided so far....

Discipline must begin for Ms. Audrey! I don't want to do it, but I will not raise a brat or one of "those" kids. But, more importantly, kids thrive better with boundaries and consequences. My biggest obstacle right now is...drum roll please... Daddy!! He thinks everything Ms. Audrey does is funny, so of course, she repeats the bad behavior. In his defense, he is working on it, and trying to contain himself. We shall see!

I am looking forward to have 2.5 more hours in my life that are not dedicated to driving. I actually have time to do one of my favorite things, COOK! I also have more time with my little twerp! Life is definitely getting better!

Audrey's 1st birthday party is going to be at home, surrounded by the most important people in her life. I want to keep it relatively small so she doesn't get overwhelmed, but I want to make it special,yet reasonable! Decisions, Decisions....

In addition to my crazy January (it's only the 10th, in case you didn't read the date stamp), we are going ahead with the "plan" to have baby #2. (I forgot how horrible prenatal vitamins are!) Honestly, this time around, it's pretty stress free! If it happens, FANTASTIC, if not, that's ok too. I have been looking around at some adoption agencies (again) and we are leaning heavily to a few specific countries, but haven't decided yet. Jeremy, says the baby will pick us long before we pick him/her, if adoption is the way we go. I really think he is absolutely right. Everything in our lives has worked out better than either of us could have planned (and believe me, I am a planner) so I am sure when we are ready to adopt, some little guy/gal will know pull on our heart strings, and be ours!!!

Well, that's my ramble for tonight! Hopefully I will get back in the swing of blogging more consistently~

The 5 days of Christmas...

yes, that's right! 5 days of Christmas!!
Audrey's first Christmas was phenomenal!! We had such a wonderful time! I can hardly wiat until next year. Unfortunately, I felt like we over exhausted her. We had 5 Christmases, 5 days in a row and ended up with an overtired, screaming baby. Next year, my goal is to plan MUCH better.

Thursday night, we had Christmas with my sister. Friday night we had Christmas with Jeremy's Granny and family, Saturday, santa stopped by, we went to Nana's then back home for dinner. Sunday we had Christmas with Jeremy's other granny, Jeremy's dad, and then immediately went to have Christmas with his step-dad's family. Monday night we had Christmas with my dad. Of course, in between all this I was working 9 hour days, driving 3 hours a day and only had Christmas day off... Sound like it was out of control?? Well, it kind of was!
Obviously, Jeremy and I knew Audrey was tired, but since she's NEVER fussy, very few people understood our concern. Then by 8:30 or 9pm, we had an exhausted, screaming baby. Like I said, next year we will definitely plan better!

With that said, Christmas was wonderful!! Obviously, Ms. Audrey is ridiculously spoiled by EVERYONE! My favorite part of the whole season, was sitting her in front of the Christmas tree, Christmas morning and just looking at her little face. She was in AWE! She just looked at the tree, then the gifts, then looked at us, back to the gifts, and the cutest little smile came across her face. Obiously, she was just excited to be able to tear into the gifts (which I wrapped in adorable, sparkly paper for her), and be around the tree, but it was still adorable!! I can hardly wait until next year. I am sure it will go down in the books as an awesome Christmas, expecially since Kayden will be up and active. I have a feeling the two of them will wreak havoc on Nana's house next year, and I cannot wait.

I have a ton of pics to post later, but I wanted to make sure I put a "little" blog up about Christmas. It is my absolute favorite time of the year, and I was able to record some of Audrey's 1st Christmas. I feel Christmas takes on a whole new meaning when you are a mommy. It truly does become about someone else....hence the selflessness of the season.....