A year and a half!!!!

Well, I have been quite remiss about blogging, haven't I?! Can't believe I haven't posted anything since June. I knew it had been a while but sheesh! Sorry... =) This little lovey has just been such a joy to hang out with I guess I just haven't even thought to take the time to share her with everyone else! I will try to be better, but honestly, I've only got 3 more months 'till the baby comes ("the baby" is actually now officially a girl, if you hadn't heard! Cadence Rose will be joining our family soon soon soon!) so I know that's just gonna throw us for a loop and I probably won't be great about it until getting adjusted to being a Mommy of two.

Anyways, we went to the Dr. for her 18 month old check up and she is 28 lbs. exactly, 33.19" tall, and has a head circumference of 18.54". That puts her in the 91st percentile for height and weight (finally they've evened out! =) and 68th percentile for her head, which they said is normal. After filling out a huge questionnaire about all the things she can and cannot do or say or comprehend, we were told she is well above the curve and is doing great for her age!! (I knew I had a smart baby! ;) She cried during her initial evaluations for blood pressure and such, as well as during her two shots, but she just sat there and let them do what they needed to do. She didn't kick and fight or anything. Just sad submission, poor thing. She was yelling "Owwie Mommy! Owwie!!" which made me feel horrible, but also proud she was communicating so effectively haha. When she gets hurt I have her tell me where her owie is and then I kiss it and make it all better. So for the rest of the next week or so she would point to her little thighs and say "Owwie Mommy. Owwie." and want me to kiss them. Also, Bear got owwies on her feet (cuz she doesn't really have defined legs) and I am still kissing away Bear's owwies. =)

We have started letting her watch some TV since we've moved to WA. I know technically you're not "supposed to" let them watch until they're 2, but it happened at a friend's house and just kinda went from there. So anyways, we use Netflix so she can watch upstairs on my laptop where everything is baby proofed, and she can watch whatever she wants, whenever we want to let her watch. Love it. So her two favorite shows are Dora the Explorer ("Dodo"), Sesame Street ("Elmo") and Winnie the Pooh ("Pooh"). She love love LOVES her some Dora, Elmo, Cookie Monster, Pooh and Eeyore. =) So if you need any gift ideas for Christmas, something with any of them in it would be a super huge hit.

I've decided I need to start a list of all the words she can say. I hadn't done that yet and I'm curious to know just how many she knows by now, because it is quite a lot!! We have regular conversations throughout the day - it's so cool!! My baby is soooooooo not a baby anymore. I felt like she still was when we were in MD for Christmas, but it's amazing what 9 months will do...guess I shouldn't be surprised since 9 months is what it takes to go from a cell to a baby. But somehow it still amazes me...

When we were leaving church on Sunday, she was walking and we were holding hands (so Mommy doesn't have to carry her AND her sister ;) and she waved and said "Bye bye!" to every single person we passed. She also always waves to cars when they pass us on our walks in the neighborhood, and to people in the grocery store. She is such a polite and friendly child. I am so in Mommy-love with her. =)

xoxox

(Hopefully) Final Update!

Well I went to the Dr. on Tuesday and got another ultrasound done. The last time we looked you could see the hemorrhage as this big dark circle in between the uterus and the placenta, a little smaller than the baby. This time, the only darkness was a small line in between the uterus and the placenta - the hemorrhage had just about completely disappeared within a week!!

I asked the Dr. if she thought I helped alleviate the bleeding by resting so much over the weekend and if I should continue doing so, but she said with the intense bleeding I'd had right before I began to really take it easy, it seemed like I'd already bled it all out, so I can go back to pretty much normal life. I do have a few restrictions, but nothing I can't easily handle.

Also, I can't remember if I explained why this happens, so I will again, just in case. Basically for whatever reason, when my egg implanted into the uterus it tore away a little bit and started a bleed, and that just continued and built up over time. There's no known reason why that happens, and there's nothing I did to cause it or could've done differently to avoid it. So that was comforting, that at least it wasn't my fault. Though scary that there's no way to avoid it either...

Thank you all so so so so so much for your prayers and support throughout this whole affair. It has been a seriously emotional time for us but I am so glad it seems to be over and has ended in the best way possible. God is so good...xoxox

Another Update

Well, I hadn't had any bleeding, besides spotting, since Wednesday, though I was still cramping. The cramps are coming more often and are more painful. Still not very painful, just like regular period cramps, but more painful than they were in the beginning of all of this. I told Joe I was afraid to hope it was all over since the bleeding stopped, but I was really hoping that it was. Then I woke up at 0400 this morning bleeding. It was dark red again and there was more this time than any of the other times. I tried telling myself that if I'm bleeding it out that means it's not by the baby and therefore endangering it, so this is a good thing. Still laid awake in bed for at least another hour though...

I did more yesterday than I had been doing all week, dishes and laundry and such, and I took a 3 hour trip to the mall, so I'm wondering if maybe I was too ambitious once I thought the bleeding had stopped for good. Soooo, today I am just sitting with my feet up and drinking lots of water, just spending the day with Kathy and taking it super easy.

On a lighter note, Kathy has grown up to the point of helping me put away her books and toys at the end of the day!!! She is learning to pick things up and bring them to me to put away, and sometimes she is actually putting things away herself, right where they belong! So that's exciting.

Please keep us all in your prayers. xoxox

Update

In a nutshell, mostly good news, still a little graphic. Keep praying, please.

Well, I had more cramping Monday night and then Tuesday woke up with my panties covered in blood. Went to the OBGYN and they did another pelvic exam and an ultrasound. Got to see our precious baby again and it is still doing fine - great heartbeat and moving all around. They did find out that my cervix is still closed, so that's a good sign, but I do have a subchorionic hemorrhage, which means I am bleeding in between my placenta and uterus. I don't remember how big they said the clot was. But they said to just take it easy and come back in a week and they'll do another ultrasound to see how it's doing, because usually these things resolve on their own. I will either bleed it out or my body will reabsorb it. I had more cramping and bleeding last night and again this morning. I'm not bleeding as much as I was on Sunday or Monday though, so I'm guessing that's a good thing.

From the research I've done it seems like this is fairly common, and only about 30% of SCH end in miscarriage. So I guess those are good odds. Though they did say that that risk increases with the increase in maternal age, size of the clot, and gestational length. They said it is worse to have this happen late in the first trimester and early in the second (which is right where I am - just passed into the second trimester this week) as opposed to early in the first. They said when it happens at that point in the pregnancy, the risk of the clot causing the placenta to detach from the uterus and therefore cause a spontaneous abortion is much greater. So that was not very comforting, but what can you do? I've been reading a lot of baby sites too, finding encouragement from lots of comments from other moms who have gone through this. Most of them did not have a miscarriage and said bed rest and staying hydrated was what got them through, so that is what I am going to do. I obviously can't go on full bed rest, but I am not going to be doing anything extra that isn't absolutely necessary.

So please continue praying that everything will work out and that the baby and I will stay healthy and strong. Please also pray for continued peace. I have felt more at peace than I expected, and I am assuming that is because of all of your prayers, so thank you for those. I really appreciate them.
xoxox

Please Pray

First off, this post is graphic so skip it if you've got a weak stomach. Just pray for me and the baby.

Secondly, everything is fine.

However, last night I had a pregnancy scare and went to the ER. I had a whoosh of dark red blood with a clot about the size of my thumb nail accompanied by cramping. A big no-no in pregnancy. During the 5 hours I spent in the ER, they ran urine and blood tests, did a pelvic exam and an ultrasound and the baby (yep, only one =) looked fine and I was fine, so they sent me home. They couldn't find a cause for it, and said sometimes this just happens. Sometimes this can result in a miscarriage and sometimes this can result in a full term live birth. There's no way to tell at this point, there are no guarantees either way, but as of last night, everything looked great, so that is good news.

It all started at 5:30pm and I didn't see the ultrasound - and therefore know everything was okay - until 11:30pm. A very stressful, emotional roller-coaster of 6 hours, to say the least. But during that time, I had plenty of time to think and yes, worry and cry, but also pray and receive strength and comfort from God. So I ask that you would all please pray that 1.) my pregnancy will continue without any problems or complications, 2.) that we will be filled with peace, strength, and comfort during the duration of my pregnancy, and 3.) that God's will be done.

As a side note, it was so amazing to see our little baby after all of that worry and fear. It is still too early to know the sex, as I am only 12 weeks today (we won't find out until I'm 20 weeks, and that's if the baby cooperates). But that little one was so active! It was moving around and doing all kinds of flips and wiggling it's little legs and rubbing it's head with it's arms, and I could actually see it's little heart beating away at 157 bpm...just so beautiful. We had heard the heartbeat 2 weeks ago (it was 160 bpm then, so everything's still the same) and I felt it move 3 days before that. (It's very early to feel that, but it was the same way with Kathy. We heard the heartbeat and then on the ride home from the Dr.'s office I felt her move. =)

Also, I am so thankful to have the Johnson's close to us. Thank God for such good friends! I dropped Kathy off at Tracy's since it was her bed time, and she spent the night there. (First overnight away from Mommy!! Broke my heart more than hers. =) It was such a relief to know that she was in good hands and I had nothing to worry about as far as she was concerned. I don't know how I would've handled 5 hours in an ER room with her...so glad I don't have to know how that would've gone down. =)

After everything last night I was just struck with such thankfulness. Such appreciation for my sweet Kathy and for the baby growing inside me. Such respect for Joe and for how his hard work and sacrifices over the years have provided me with a great life and free health care! Not even having to give the ER costs a second thought was a luxury I realized not many people have. All I had to worry about was me and my baby, not how the heck are we gonna pay for all of this??! That in itself was such a gift. I was reminded not to take anything for granted and to really appreciate everything you have right now, right in this very moment. Because none of us are guaranteed tomorrow. So remember to count your blessings today. And please pray that we get to keep all of ours.

xoxox

And Baby Makes 4...

Yep, you read that right - Kathy's going to be a big sister!! We are thrilled with the news. Found out this morning. All prayers for another happy, healthy pregnancy and baby are welcomed, encouraged, and appreciated. =) Love you all. xoxox

12 months old a.k.a. 1 YEAR!!!

Here's the highlight reel from Kathy's birthday. We have tons more pics and videos to boot, but this is as much as I've got time to get up right now. Sorry folks, this'll have to do for now. =) xoxox

our little ballerina with jeffrey and panda

ms. one-derful does not think bibs are...

that's as messy as we got.

the birthday girl with her Mama!

It's her party and she'll cry if she wants to...esp. if it means extra hugs from Dada.

Amber, Kathy and Tracy



Austin and Gillens (we missed Johnson but he was sick)

First bites

Where's Kathy??

There she is!!

Ooooooh Grandma I LOVE bubbles!!!

Her shirt says "Owl always love you" and it's true, Grandma. Thanks for coming for a visit!!!