GIRL!!!! But more importantly, she is healthy and looks perfect! This ultrasound experience was no less amazing than with my other two pregnancies. Josh and I just sat there in awe of the little tiny person on the screen who looks just absolutely precious! I had tears trickling down my cheek throughout most of the 45 minute experience. Every time the tech got to a new body part and all the bones were there or everything looked just right, another tear would trickle down. I think I was squeezing all the feeling out of Josh's hand, especially when the big organs like the heart and brain were being measured. It is such an amazing relief to hear that from everything they can know at this point, she is healthy!
The ultrasound tech was even able to get some great close-up shots of her face and we could make out some of her little face. Josh said his reaction right away was "that definitely looks like a Budke girl!" She had her little hands curled up by her face for most of the ultrasound. She was moving around most of the time and quite energetic. She had her little butt up in the air for a little while and even had her legs crossed like a little lady. We had to laugh at this because both of these are traits that our two other daughters possess!
For some of the technical info, everything was consistently measuring over one week ahead of my current due date. When they got done measuring everything, my new due date according to the ultrasound moves me up 8 days (to February 11th). She was weighing in at 15 ounces at approximately 20 (or 21 weeks).
We couldn't wait to get home to share the news with Makenna and Maryn. Makenna opened an envelope that we told her was from the doctor and it said "Girl!" really big on the piece of paper inside. It took her a moment after she opened it but as soon as she figured out it said girl she put her hands all the way down on the ground and then started jumping up and down yelling "It's a girl. There's a girl baby in mommy's tummy!" Then she came over to give the baby in kiss on my belly and she said "Hi baby! Did you know you were a girl?!" She ran outside to tell all of her friends right afterwards. It is so funny because she is really the only person that consistently thought I was having a girl. Everyone else kept telling me it was a boy because this pregnancy has been so different from the others. Guess I just need to listen to my 4 year old more often!
And even though Maryn may act oblivious sometimes, I think she finally gets it! Tonight when I was putting her to bed, right in the middle of reading a book she turned around and was ferociously trying to pull my shirt up over my belly. Once she got it up she pointed at my belly and very clearly said "Sissy! Hi Sissy." And then continued to wave at and pat my belly. I about had tears in my eyes I was so touched. So then I told her to give her baby sister a kiss and she leaned down and kissed my belly and said "Hi Sissy!" one more time. She's going to be a great big sister just like Makenna!
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Cute Little Stories Catch-Up
I feel like I'm so far behind on recording all of the "cute little stories" that happen everyday in our life. The girls give me more than enough material, it's just a matter of having enough time to record it all (and remember it all!). I've tried to remember some of the more recent moments that have in some way, shape or form left a smile on our hearts. Hope you enjoy them like we do :)
Maryn's speech has skyrocketed lately. She is putting two, three and even four words together to form little sentences. She is picking up new words at such a rapid pace that I'm not even sure if I know everything that she is able to say. She surprises me daily. With her new found confidence in her speaking abilities, also comes some character (imagine that in our family!). She has hand and arm motions that are just a scream. She is so dramatic! Her favorite is to point her finger and shake it at you when she's trying to make a stern point. Makes us smile every time!
Monday Maryn and I were on our way to pick up some cookies from a downtown bakery so we could drop them off to Josh's office for his birthday. We had to drive by his office first and Maryn was just losing it "Daddy! Daddy!" She couldn't understand why I wasn't stopping at his office. So I explained to her that we had to go get some cookies first and then we could go to Daddy's office. This seemed to calm her down and she got quiet for a few moments. Then after driving a few more blocks she says to me "Cookie, Elmo, Big Bird, Mommy! Yeah Cookie!" I just started laughing. The child's first reaction when I say the word "cookie" is to think Cookie Monster from all of her books (since she has very rarely even seen the actual show)! I think she was disappointed to see the three dozen cookies instead of her big blue furry friend!
Makenna is as busy as a bee. She loves her new schedule (as it allows her to see her friends a lot) but it definitely has taken it's toll. During the first few weeks of school, she was falling asleep in the afternoon on a fairly regular basis. This prompted me to start a mandated quiet time every afternoon for an hour in hopes that she will fall asleep. Of course she has yet to actually fall asleep during the quiet time, but it has cut back on the amount of random naps she was having.
One thing that has helped ease her schedule is that she didn't like dance class at all (which was shocking to us) and after three weeks of making her go, we decided that she could quit. No use in paying the money if she didn't like it. Finally on the last day I think the truth may have slipped out... she made some comment about wanting to go to a dance class with "older kids." Her class had a lot of younger, quieter kids which doesn't flow with her personality very well.
Now soccer on the other hand, she LOVES. She never wants to leave. Much faster pace (compared to dance) and she never stops moving. She is the only girl on her team, but it only seemed to bug her once so far. Otherwise she's right in there with the boys. She's not overly aggressive, but I'm not sure if that's her personality or just a comparison to all the boys she's playing with. At her first practice a bunch of kids were all kicking their balls into the goal at the same time and they all ended up in a heap by the goal. Here is my sweet little girl saying "Excuse me, excuse me" while trying to get her ball out from the bottom of the heap. Josh and I just smile! She has taken a number of good biffs so far but doesn't seem to mind at all. She just shakes it off and keeps going. And the other best part of soccer is watching Maryn on the sidelines... she stands there clapping and yelling "Go Nenny! Kick the ball!" Over and over and over! I think she likes to watch almost as much as we do!
As Makenna matures we try to give her more responsibilities that we feel she can handle. One of the big steps for her recently is that she can cross the street by herself to go to her friend's house (only if mommy or daddy are standing in the yard watching). Well to say the least, the kids in our neighborhood are oblivious to the street or looking for cars. We have hounded Makenna about this hoping that she doesn't follow their bad behaviors. Well a few weeks ago, she went across the street like typical (giving me her two thumbs up after she successfully made it across!) to ask her friend to play at our house. I was watching them come back and sure enough her friend just bolts in the street without looking. Makenna stood at the curb, yelled for her friend to come back and I hear her tell her "You have to stop here and look both ways otherwise you could get hurt by a car." I was SO INCREDIBLY proud of her at this moment! When she got back to our yard I took her aside to tell her just how proud I was of her - she was beaming ear to ear!
A few weeks ago I had a party to go to, so Daddy took the girls out to eat. I told the girls to milk it for all it was worth but they picked (yet once again) the gross playstation at McDonald's. Josh said the girls had fun, and Makenna was in big sister mode that night :) Josh could hear the girls up in the tubes and apparently some of the older kids must have been yelling at Maryn to move. Josh hears Makenna yell back "Hey don't you yell at her. She's my sister." Yes my heart is melting, but it gets even better. They were getting ready to leave and Josh asked Makenna if she knew where Maryn was up in the tubes. Makenna got a panicked look on her face, rounded up all her friends (that she just made while she was there) and says "Come on, you gotta help me find my sister!" And sends all these little kids in different directions in the tubes to find Maryn! I'm so proud of the protective big sister she has become. Can't wait to see what she does when she has two little siblings to protect!
Maryn is on a Dora kick. It's so extreme that Josh has mentioned renaming her Dora. She loves this character so much. She got the DVD for her birthday and is absolutely glued to the screen when we let her watch it and cries when it is over. She sings all the songs and yells all the phrases. It's so endearing. Part of me thinks she likes it so much because it's her own thing and doesn't have to share it with Makenna (Makenna doesn't care for Dora all that much).
And two random funny quotes from Makenna. One day last week when Josh was out of town for business, totally unprompted any time I asked Makenna to do something she replied with "As you wish!" I thought it was a joke the first time and almost started laughing but then watched her do some foo-foo thing with her hands and kind of dance away. The "As you wish" continued all day long and made me smile every time. Then last night as she was getting sick and in the middle of throwing up, the dear child looks up at me and says "I think I got your cold mommy." Poor thing. She's feeling much better now.
I'll end with a moment that absolutely melted my heart. It was one of those moments I always dreamed I'd have with my family. Usually Josh and I put the girls to bed separately (I'll take one, he'll take the other and we'll switch off every night to get equal time with the girls). Well last night for some reason everyone was mingling around in Makenna's room reading books and we were waiting for Josh to come upstairs with all the stuffed animals. Well the girls and I all crawled into Makenna's bed and laid there waiting for Daddy. As soon as Josh walked in and told Maryn it was time for her to go to bed with him, she laid her head to the side and started making snoring noises like she was sleeping! She wanted to stay with Nenny! So Daddy hopped in bed with us and decided to tell bedtime stories all together in Makenna's room. I know I can't put into words the sweet interactions between the girls and Josh as he was telling one of his famous made-up stories, but it was absolutely priceless. Maryn had a comment for everything he had to say. For moments like these, I thank God with all my heart.
Maryn's speech has skyrocketed lately. She is putting two, three and even four words together to form little sentences. She is picking up new words at such a rapid pace that I'm not even sure if I know everything that she is able to say. She surprises me daily. With her new found confidence in her speaking abilities, also comes some character (imagine that in our family!). She has hand and arm motions that are just a scream. She is so dramatic! Her favorite is to point her finger and shake it at you when she's trying to make a stern point. Makes us smile every time!
Monday Maryn and I were on our way to pick up some cookies from a downtown bakery so we could drop them off to Josh's office for his birthday. We had to drive by his office first and Maryn was just losing it "Daddy! Daddy!" She couldn't understand why I wasn't stopping at his office. So I explained to her that we had to go get some cookies first and then we could go to Daddy's office. This seemed to calm her down and she got quiet for a few moments. Then after driving a few more blocks she says to me "Cookie, Elmo, Big Bird, Mommy! Yeah Cookie!" I just started laughing. The child's first reaction when I say the word "cookie" is to think Cookie Monster from all of her books (since she has very rarely even seen the actual show)! I think she was disappointed to see the three dozen cookies instead of her big blue furry friend!
Makenna is as busy as a bee. She loves her new schedule (as it allows her to see her friends a lot) but it definitely has taken it's toll. During the first few weeks of school, she was falling asleep in the afternoon on a fairly regular basis. This prompted me to start a mandated quiet time every afternoon for an hour in hopes that she will fall asleep. Of course she has yet to actually fall asleep during the quiet time, but it has cut back on the amount of random naps she was having.
One thing that has helped ease her schedule is that she didn't like dance class at all (which was shocking to us) and after three weeks of making her go, we decided that she could quit. No use in paying the money if she didn't like it. Finally on the last day I think the truth may have slipped out... she made some comment about wanting to go to a dance class with "older kids." Her class had a lot of younger, quieter kids which doesn't flow with her personality very well.
Now soccer on the other hand, she LOVES. She never wants to leave. Much faster pace (compared to dance) and she never stops moving. She is the only girl on her team, but it only seemed to bug her once so far. Otherwise she's right in there with the boys. She's not overly aggressive, but I'm not sure if that's her personality or just a comparison to all the boys she's playing with. At her first practice a bunch of kids were all kicking their balls into the goal at the same time and they all ended up in a heap by the goal. Here is my sweet little girl saying "Excuse me, excuse me" while trying to get her ball out from the bottom of the heap. Josh and I just smile! She has taken a number of good biffs so far but doesn't seem to mind at all. She just shakes it off and keeps going. And the other best part of soccer is watching Maryn on the sidelines... she stands there clapping and yelling "Go Nenny! Kick the ball!" Over and over and over! I think she likes to watch almost as much as we do!
As Makenna matures we try to give her more responsibilities that we feel she can handle. One of the big steps for her recently is that she can cross the street by herself to go to her friend's house (only if mommy or daddy are standing in the yard watching). Well to say the least, the kids in our neighborhood are oblivious to the street or looking for cars. We have hounded Makenna about this hoping that she doesn't follow their bad behaviors. Well a few weeks ago, she went across the street like typical (giving me her two thumbs up after she successfully made it across!) to ask her friend to play at our house. I was watching them come back and sure enough her friend just bolts in the street without looking. Makenna stood at the curb, yelled for her friend to come back and I hear her tell her "You have to stop here and look both ways otherwise you could get hurt by a car." I was SO INCREDIBLY proud of her at this moment! When she got back to our yard I took her aside to tell her just how proud I was of her - she was beaming ear to ear!
A few weeks ago I had a party to go to, so Daddy took the girls out to eat. I told the girls to milk it for all it was worth but they picked (yet once again) the gross playstation at McDonald's. Josh said the girls had fun, and Makenna was in big sister mode that night :) Josh could hear the girls up in the tubes and apparently some of the older kids must have been yelling at Maryn to move. Josh hears Makenna yell back "Hey don't you yell at her. She's my sister." Yes my heart is melting, but it gets even better. They were getting ready to leave and Josh asked Makenna if she knew where Maryn was up in the tubes. Makenna got a panicked look on her face, rounded up all her friends (that she just made while she was there) and says "Come on, you gotta help me find my sister!" And sends all these little kids in different directions in the tubes to find Maryn! I'm so proud of the protective big sister she has become. Can't wait to see what she does when she has two little siblings to protect!
Maryn is on a Dora kick. It's so extreme that Josh has mentioned renaming her Dora. She loves this character so much. She got the DVD for her birthday and is absolutely glued to the screen when we let her watch it and cries when it is over. She sings all the songs and yells all the phrases. It's so endearing. Part of me thinks she likes it so much because it's her own thing and doesn't have to share it with Makenna (Makenna doesn't care for Dora all that much).
And two random funny quotes from Makenna. One day last week when Josh was out of town for business, totally unprompted any time I asked Makenna to do something she replied with "As you wish!" I thought it was a joke the first time and almost started laughing but then watched her do some foo-foo thing with her hands and kind of dance away. The "As you wish" continued all day long and made me smile every time. Then last night as she was getting sick and in the middle of throwing up, the dear child looks up at me and says "I think I got your cold mommy." Poor thing. She's feeling much better now.
I'll end with a moment that absolutely melted my heart. It was one of those moments I always dreamed I'd have with my family. Usually Josh and I put the girls to bed separately (I'll take one, he'll take the other and we'll switch off every night to get equal time with the girls). Well last night for some reason everyone was mingling around in Makenna's room reading books and we were waiting for Josh to come upstairs with all the stuffed animals. Well the girls and I all crawled into Makenna's bed and laid there waiting for Daddy. As soon as Josh walked in and told Maryn it was time for her to go to bed with him, she laid her head to the side and started making snoring noises like she was sleeping! She wanted to stay with Nenny! So Daddy hopped in bed with us and decided to tell bedtime stories all together in Makenna's room. I know I can't put into words the sweet interactions between the girls and Josh as he was telling one of his famous made-up stories, but it was absolutely priceless. Maryn had a comment for everything he had to say. For moments like these, I thank God with all my heart.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Dancing With Daddy
Josh and the girls LOVE to listen to music and dance together! They all have their favorite songs and Makenna's even old enough to request specific songs! But over the past few months a very cute little habit has been established... whenever Josh plays the song Times Like These (acoustic version) by Foo Fighters Maryn will run over to him, ask to be picked up, hug him tight and nuzzle her little head into his neck and insist on a slow dance with Daddy for a good portion of the song. This has been happening so consistently that I think Josh has started to purposely play this song to get a little extra snuggle time with his youngest sweetheart :) This daddy is a softie when it comes to his girls and we love him for it!
I was able to capture Daddy and MarBear enjoying their little moment together last night :)
I was able to capture Daddy and MarBear enjoying their little moment together last night :)
Apple Orchard
One of the fun family things we did on Saturday to celebrate Josh's birthday was go to the apple orchard. We went last fall as well, but the girls were just enough older to really enjoy it this year. Makenna had also been to the apple orchard with her preschool class a few weeks prior to this and was a certified pro on how to properly pick the apples and apple orchard etiquette! Josh and I were downright astonished at how much of the information she had retained from her field trip! She was showing us the correct way to twist the apple off the tree so you don't hurt the tree or the apple!
Makenna exhibiting her apple orchard wisdom!
Maryn proudly showing off her first apple of the day!
Daddy and Makenna hunting for the best apples on the tree
The birthday Daddy with his girls at the apple orchard! Fun was had by all! This is definitely another Budke family tradition :)
Makenna exhibiting her apple orchard wisdom!
Maryn proudly showing off her first apple of the day!
Daddy and Makenna hunting for the best apples on the tree
The birthday Daddy with his girls at the apple orchard! Fun was had by all! This is definitely another Budke family tradition :)
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Happy 30th Birthday Joshua!
The girls and I are so excited to celebrate Josh's 30th birthday with him! He's actually not taking the whole "30" thing too hard, he just keeps making old comments :) The only thing actually old about him is the grey hair he is starting to get (which I of course have to point out all the time!). But turning 30 can't be too bad when we have SO much to be thankful for... two kids going on three, happily married, good health, successful career, beautiful home. We have been so blessed! I feel so lucky to spend everyday of my life with this man and that we have been blessed with a family together. He continues to amaze me each and every day and somehow still manages to keep life lively and entertaining after 12 years together! He is my best friend and soul mate and I am so thankful to have him in my life. I saw a quote the other day and I think it sums up exactly how I feel about Josh - "When I count my blessings, I count you twice." I couldn't agree more.
His favorite activity that helps keep him feeling young (and looking great too if I may add!).
And the two little girls that keep him young at heart :)
His favorite activity that helps keep him feeling young (and looking great too if I may add!).
And the two little girls that keep him young at heart :)
All About Josh - 30 Years Old
Josh is probably going to kill me, but I decided in all fairness, I better do an "All About Josh" blog for him too since it's such a big birthday! I think I probably know him better than he knows himself so let's see how I do! Love you sweetheart!
Nicknames: Daddy
Weight & Height: Holding steady at 5'7 1/2, but sometimes tries to claim 5'8! He has lost a ton of weight due to training for triathlons and is typically somewhere around high 150s, low 160s nowadays.
Hair: The good news is that he still has LOTS of it! Thick, medium blond/light brown hair (depends on time of year) that grows faster than anything I've ever seen! He has strands of black and grey hairs in his head as well. I figured the grey would come with age, but the black has really thrown me for a loop.
Favorite foods: Josh is a very adventurous eater and loves to try new things. That is actually one of our favorite activities to do together (try out new restaurants and new foods). He is horrible about eating breakfast and I have to harp at him about that, he typically eats out for lunch and then eats dinner at home with us. Overall I would say he is a very health conscious eater minus his lunches every once in awhile :) As for his favorite food, there are probably a lot. He loves a good tuna steak. Any sushi. Claims the best hamburger in town is a Frog Burger at Al's Red Frog. Cheesecake. And any warm, hearty homemade meal that I make for him. He always loves what I cook and is always appreciative (minus a few weeks ago when I was in a hurry and made Hamburger Helper - he was not so thrilled about that)
Favorite Drink: Probably a good glass of red wine or a dark or amber beer. He also typically drinks at least one Diet Coke every day and a cup of coffee. He definitely needs his caffeine in the morning.
Favorite toys: Easy - His Felt B2 triathlon bike! He's really not into material things at all and could care less what he "has", but he LOVES his bike!
Favorite books: The Bible and probably anything to do with triathlons.
Favorite Game: Anything he can play with the girls.
Favorite stuffed animal: By default I would have to say Duckie and Puppy... those little animals now mean a lot to mommy and daddy as well! Heck, they help our children sleep through the night every night! What's not to love about them?!
Favorite Person: Can't be just one - Makenna, Maryn, baby and of course me!
Bedtime: He typically is ready to crash between 10:00 and 10:30 every night.
Wake-up time: There is a huge variation in this category... he could be up at 5:30 or sleep in until 9:00 (on the weekends). Depends on the time of year and how much he has to get done that day.
Naps: If he's getting to take a nap than the two of us need to have a little conversation :)
Latest Accomplishment: Completing 4 triathlons this past summer (7 in the past 2 years), including a 5 hour 20 minute finish on a half-Ironman triathlon in August!
Likes: fall, playing with the girls, Pearl Jam, reading anything and everything about triathlons, a good sermon at church on Sunday, comfy clothes, talk radio, having short, clean-shaven hair, being outside
Dislikes: when I don't take the garbage out and it starts to overflow, some of the neighbor kids, when his yard doesn't look perfect, public speaking/cold calls for work, bad drivers (especially those that aren't courteous to bike riders), and rude, ignorant people
What gets said about Josh most often: That he is the jokester at work and constantly causing trouble, comments about how young he looks (ie. people assume he is the intern at work :), that he is a great Dad and loves to have fun with the kids (he was even crowned Best Jedi Knight on our block last summer!)
Health: Due to triathlons and all of his training, he is in great health. He used to struggle with high blood pressure, but has managed to control it through exercise. The doctors were talking about blood pressure meds with him and that was enough to scare him into a serious exercise routine which lowered it almost immediately. He recently had a health work-up (for a new life insurance policy) and everything looked great. Even his cholesterol was in the good category (which I was skeptical beforehand due to the amount he eats out). He is in great physical shape and this past summer claimed that he was in the best cardiovascular shape of his life while training for the half-Ironman. That's a pretty impressive statement for someone who used to be a DI athlete!
Life's Aspirations: to raise healthy, strong, independent-thinking Christian children, to own and live on a large piece of land (30-40 acres would be great for him!), to complete a full Ironman triathlon (2 mile swim, 120 mile bike, 26.2 mile run), to continue growing his successful career at TrueNorth and hopefully retire at a moderately young age :)
So honey, how'd I do?! Did I miss anything? :)
Happy 30th Birthday Joshua!
Nicknames: Daddy
Weight & Height: Holding steady at 5'7 1/2, but sometimes tries to claim 5'8! He has lost a ton of weight due to training for triathlons and is typically somewhere around high 150s, low 160s nowadays.
Hair: The good news is that he still has LOTS of it! Thick, medium blond/light brown hair (depends on time of year) that grows faster than anything I've ever seen! He has strands of black and grey hairs in his head as well. I figured the grey would come with age, but the black has really thrown me for a loop.
Favorite foods: Josh is a very adventurous eater and loves to try new things. That is actually one of our favorite activities to do together (try out new restaurants and new foods). He is horrible about eating breakfast and I have to harp at him about that, he typically eats out for lunch and then eats dinner at home with us. Overall I would say he is a very health conscious eater minus his lunches every once in awhile :) As for his favorite food, there are probably a lot. He loves a good tuna steak. Any sushi. Claims the best hamburger in town is a Frog Burger at Al's Red Frog. Cheesecake. And any warm, hearty homemade meal that I make for him. He always loves what I cook and is always appreciative (minus a few weeks ago when I was in a hurry and made Hamburger Helper - he was not so thrilled about that)
Favorite Drink: Probably a good glass of red wine or a dark or amber beer. He also typically drinks at least one Diet Coke every day and a cup of coffee. He definitely needs his caffeine in the morning.
Favorite toys: Easy - His Felt B2 triathlon bike! He's really not into material things at all and could care less what he "has", but he LOVES his bike!
Favorite books: The Bible and probably anything to do with triathlons.
Favorite Game: Anything he can play with the girls.
Favorite stuffed animal: By default I would have to say Duckie and Puppy... those little animals now mean a lot to mommy and daddy as well! Heck, they help our children sleep through the night every night! What's not to love about them?!
Favorite Person: Can't be just one - Makenna, Maryn, baby and of course me!
Bedtime: He typically is ready to crash between 10:00 and 10:30 every night.
Wake-up time: There is a huge variation in this category... he could be up at 5:30 or sleep in until 9:00 (on the weekends). Depends on the time of year and how much he has to get done that day.
Naps: If he's getting to take a nap than the two of us need to have a little conversation :)
Latest Accomplishment: Completing 4 triathlons this past summer (7 in the past 2 years), including a 5 hour 20 minute finish on a half-Ironman triathlon in August!
Likes: fall, playing with the girls, Pearl Jam, reading anything and everything about triathlons, a good sermon at church on Sunday, comfy clothes, talk radio, having short, clean-shaven hair, being outside
Dislikes: when I don't take the garbage out and it starts to overflow, some of the neighbor kids, when his yard doesn't look perfect, public speaking/cold calls for work, bad drivers (especially those that aren't courteous to bike riders), and rude, ignorant people
What gets said about Josh most often: That he is the jokester at work and constantly causing trouble, comments about how young he looks (ie. people assume he is the intern at work :), that he is a great Dad and loves to have fun with the kids (he was even crowned Best Jedi Knight on our block last summer!)
Health: Due to triathlons and all of his training, he is in great health. He used to struggle with high blood pressure, but has managed to control it through exercise. The doctors were talking about blood pressure meds with him and that was enough to scare him into a serious exercise routine which lowered it almost immediately. He recently had a health work-up (for a new life insurance policy) and everything looked great. Even his cholesterol was in the good category (which I was skeptical beforehand due to the amount he eats out). He is in great physical shape and this past summer claimed that he was in the best cardiovascular shape of his life while training for the half-Ironman. That's a pretty impressive statement for someone who used to be a DI athlete!
Life's Aspirations: to raise healthy, strong, independent-thinking Christian children, to own and live on a large piece of land (30-40 acres would be great for him!), to complete a full Ironman triathlon (2 mile swim, 120 mile bike, 26.2 mile run), to continue growing his successful career at TrueNorth and hopefully retire at a moderately young age :)
So honey, how'd I do?! Did I miss anything? :)
Happy 30th Birthday Joshua!
Thursday, September 25, 2008
19 Weeks 2 Days
So here you have it... my belly at 19 weeks and 2 days (picture taken by my 4 year old!). I would definitely say that the size of my belly is finally evening out. I felt so incredibly huge for so long and now I feel more appropriate for how far along I am. As you can tell from the picture above, somehow I am still in my regular jeans. I have numerous pairs of pre-pregnancy jeans that still fit me. The only reason I mention this is because it is so different from Makenna and Maryn - with Makenna I was in maternity pants by 15/16 weeks and with Maryn I was in maternity pants by 11 weeks. I am carrying so differently this time... definitely more up in my belly than in my hips (at least up until this point!).
I continue to feel good and am incredibly thankful for that. Honestly the only issues I can think of that I'm dealing with right now are occasional heartburn/indigestion and exhaustion. Oh yeah and the fact that I have to go to the bathroom every 20 minutes and my skin finally seems to be getting better (I typically have bad skin at the beginning of my pregnancies). Luckily though I've been able to sleep better lately so that helps in the exhaustion area.
Baby is an active one :) I can actually feel him/her moving around in my belly as I type this! I have been feeling movement since around 14 weeks but experienced my first good solid kicks last week (18 weeks 2 days). Josh and I were laying in bed talking and the baby just walloped me in the belly. Since Josh was right there he got to feel probably 6 kicks over a 2 minute period of time! It was so great to have him experience the first kicks with me :) He was impressed by how noticeable and hard they were! Our baby is feisty for a little peanut! But I guess that's not surprising given the personalities of our first two :)
Still no ultrasound but I should hopefully have a date for that next week. We pray that the baby is healthy and can't wait to get confirmation of that in an ultrasound.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Health Updates On The Girls
There have been numerous health issues regarding the girls that I have written about over the months so I just wanted to give some updates.
Makenna had all of her allergy testing done mid-August. She did exceptionally well with the blood test. We were mainly testing to figure out if she was allergic to antibiotics and if so, which ones. She has only been on antibiotics twice so far (thank God!) but has reacted with a rash each time. We were surprised and relieved to have all the tests come back negative. This means that she won't have a more severe reaction to the antibiotics than a rash, which is the main thing we wanted to find out. We can deal with a rash, it was the other more serious side effects that we were concerned about. We were not able to test for one of the specific drugs she reacted to (Cephalexin), so the doctors decided we would just avoid that one from here on out. We are so relieved because this gives us plenty of options for treating her in the future if need be. Right now in the allergy department it just looks like she will be dealing with some skin sensitivity issues and some mild seasonal allergies.
Last week Makenna also met with an ENT (Dr. Carpenter) to discuss the possibility of getting her tonsils removed. We have been told by three different doctors on three different occasions that she needs her tonsils removed based on their shear size, so I finally broke down and made an appointment. First of all, I have to say that this doctor was the best doctor I think I've ever seen in my life. He was SO good at dealing with kids. He talked directly to Makenna (not over her like most) and told her she has ears that look just like Belle and Aurora (trust me to a 4 year old, this made a HUGE impression). He even tried to race her down the hall to the check out when we were done. So on to her tonsils... he was in agreement that her tonsils are huge. On a scale up to 4, her tonsils are a 2 1/2 to 3 in size, with a 4 meaning that they touch. But he said outside of their size, she has had no issues with them whatsoever (sleep apnea, tonsillitis, etc) so the benefit of surgery would be close to nothing at this point. He said his daughter's tonsils look almost exactly the same and they are still in her throat. He was very thorough and answered all of our questions as for what to look for in the future in case they do become a problem. Overall, we are so thankful that she doesn't have to go through any surgery at this point. Thank you God!
Maryn had her 2 year check-up yesterday. Maryn has been as healthy as can be ever since we had her ear tubes put in back in April. It was an answer to our prayers. She feels so much better now. Maryn shocked us all yesterday and weighed in at 26 pounds and was 34 3/4 inches tall! She has grown a ton! We have always called her our little peanut but we might have to change that now - she is in the 80% for height (as she was last time) and she finally broke out of the 7-8% and jumped to the 44% for weight! Since her 18 month appointment she grew close to 2 inches and gained over 4 pounds!! The doctor said she is going to be a tall, skinny kid. It is so weird for us to hear that she is tall for her age because we obviously compare her to Makenna at that age, who seemed SO much bigger. Well yesterday I decided to pull my journals out to check Makenna's size at her two year check-up... it wasn't our imagination, she was a lot bigger. Well over 2 inches taller and 3 pounds heavier at the exact same age. That's a huge difference on a 2 year old - no wonder everyone thought Makenna was so much older than she was.
As has been mentioned on here before, Maryn has numerous birthmarks on her body. Three are cafe au lait spots (including a very large one on her ankle) and she also has a mongolian spot on her lower back/upper buttocks area. The doctors have always told us to watch them closely and report any change. I have noticed that the mongolian spot seemed to have been growing larger so the doctor took a look yesterday. He said that her spot is very light for a mongolian spot (thankfully) and that he can almost guarantee that it will fade away completely as she gets older. He also wasn't the tiniest bit concerned about it growing a little bit. He said it all looked fine.
In talking about development at Maryn's 2 year check, the doctor asked if we had concerns and I just mentioned that her speech seemed delayed to us due to her ears but that we've noticed a significant improvement ever since she had the ear tubes put in. He decided to check her with a typical 2 year old speech test (asking her about various pictures) and she knew them all and was able to say everything out loud. The doctor said that only about half of 2 year olds are able to do that at their 2 year check-up so she is very normal in her speaking, in fact probably ahead of the game (since she actually knows probably 10 times more than what he tested her for). Maryn's appointment ended with a shot (she missed one somewhere along the way so we had to make it up) and she did really well. A short mad scream, a few big tears and hug for mommy and then she was fine by the time I opened the door.
We continue to thank God everyday for the good health of our little girls.
Makenna had all of her allergy testing done mid-August. She did exceptionally well with the blood test. We were mainly testing to figure out if she was allergic to antibiotics and if so, which ones. She has only been on antibiotics twice so far (thank God!) but has reacted with a rash each time. We were surprised and relieved to have all the tests come back negative. This means that she won't have a more severe reaction to the antibiotics than a rash, which is the main thing we wanted to find out. We can deal with a rash, it was the other more serious side effects that we were concerned about. We were not able to test for one of the specific drugs she reacted to (Cephalexin), so the doctors decided we would just avoid that one from here on out. We are so relieved because this gives us plenty of options for treating her in the future if need be. Right now in the allergy department it just looks like she will be dealing with some skin sensitivity issues and some mild seasonal allergies.
Last week Makenna also met with an ENT (Dr. Carpenter) to discuss the possibility of getting her tonsils removed. We have been told by three different doctors on three different occasions that she needs her tonsils removed based on their shear size, so I finally broke down and made an appointment. First of all, I have to say that this doctor was the best doctor I think I've ever seen in my life. He was SO good at dealing with kids. He talked directly to Makenna (not over her like most) and told her she has ears that look just like Belle and Aurora (trust me to a 4 year old, this made a HUGE impression). He even tried to race her down the hall to the check out when we were done. So on to her tonsils... he was in agreement that her tonsils are huge. On a scale up to 4, her tonsils are a 2 1/2 to 3 in size, with a 4 meaning that they touch. But he said outside of their size, she has had no issues with them whatsoever (sleep apnea, tonsillitis, etc) so the benefit of surgery would be close to nothing at this point. He said his daughter's tonsils look almost exactly the same and they are still in her throat. He was very thorough and answered all of our questions as for what to look for in the future in case they do become a problem. Overall, we are so thankful that she doesn't have to go through any surgery at this point. Thank you God!
Maryn had her 2 year check-up yesterday. Maryn has been as healthy as can be ever since we had her ear tubes put in back in April. It was an answer to our prayers. She feels so much better now. Maryn shocked us all yesterday and weighed in at 26 pounds and was 34 3/4 inches tall! She has grown a ton! We have always called her our little peanut but we might have to change that now - she is in the 80% for height (as she was last time) and she finally broke out of the 7-8% and jumped to the 44% for weight! Since her 18 month appointment she grew close to 2 inches and gained over 4 pounds!! The doctor said she is going to be a tall, skinny kid. It is so weird for us to hear that she is tall for her age because we obviously compare her to Makenna at that age, who seemed SO much bigger. Well yesterday I decided to pull my journals out to check Makenna's size at her two year check-up... it wasn't our imagination, she was a lot bigger. Well over 2 inches taller and 3 pounds heavier at the exact same age. That's a huge difference on a 2 year old - no wonder everyone thought Makenna was so much older than she was.
As has been mentioned on here before, Maryn has numerous birthmarks on her body. Three are cafe au lait spots (including a very large one on her ankle) and she also has a mongolian spot on her lower back/upper buttocks area. The doctors have always told us to watch them closely and report any change. I have noticed that the mongolian spot seemed to have been growing larger so the doctor took a look yesterday. He said that her spot is very light for a mongolian spot (thankfully) and that he can almost guarantee that it will fade away completely as she gets older. He also wasn't the tiniest bit concerned about it growing a little bit. He said it all looked fine.
In talking about development at Maryn's 2 year check, the doctor asked if we had concerns and I just mentioned that her speech seemed delayed to us due to her ears but that we've noticed a significant improvement ever since she had the ear tubes put in. He decided to check her with a typical 2 year old speech test (asking her about various pictures) and she knew them all and was able to say everything out loud. The doctor said that only about half of 2 year olds are able to do that at their 2 year check-up so she is very normal in her speaking, in fact probably ahead of the game (since she actually knows probably 10 times more than what he tested her for). Maryn's appointment ended with a shot (she missed one somewhere along the way so we had to make it up) and she did really well. A short mad scream, a few big tears and hug for mommy and then she was fine by the time I opened the door.
We continue to thank God everyday for the good health of our little girls.
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