12 Week Checkup

Ok, so the ticker at the top of my page says we are 13 weeks pregnant, that is incorrect. I have it set to my Delivery Date, not my Due Date (Delivery Date, 12/04...Due Date 12/10). I really think their tickers are the cutest and that is why I chose it. Sorry for the confusion, but I wanted to set the record straight.
I really wish that we had a Scanner so I could scan in my pictures from my second Ultrasound, but we don't. However, it went great. The baby actually looks like a baby. It is amazing how much the baby has changed in four weeks. When we first saw it, it looked like a big ball of mush and now it looks like a baby! The baby behaved very well for the Technician and she was able to get some good neck measurements within the first five minutes. After that, the baby woke up and was kicking and dancing all over the place. It was so weird to be able to see the baby kick and move but not be able to feel it. I think the baby is going to be shy like it's big sister; he/she kept putting their hands over their eyes and playing peek-a-boo with us...too cute! We also heard the heart beat...162 beats per minute (same as last time).
As for me, well, I have lost 10 pounds since I found out, which is normal. If I remember right, I lost about that much with Olivia and didn't really start gaining until around 16-20 weeks. Even though I have lost some weight, I am starting to show. I have a soft, squishy little pouch and I am in the in-between stage right now with clothes. My clothes are getting too tight but maternity clothes are still too big.
I am having trouble staying asleep at night. Going to sleep is no problem, but after about 4 or 5 hours, I am up, tossing and turning the rest of the night and feel pretty crummy the next morning and day. When I stay home with Olivia and on the weekends, I am able to take naps, which help, but I would just rather sleep through the night.
I don't really have any food aversions, but I can't eat as much as I used to. I have noticed though that I am always hungry every couple of hours and I eat until I am full, so I guess the baby is taking everything.
Olivia is doing great. She is going to make a fabulous big sister. She really loves to play with her babies and feed them their bottles and love on them.
She also really enjoys books. Her favorite right now is: "What Color is Your Underwear?" and loves to say the color purple. There is a page in the book that says: "What color is your underwear, Tommy Turtle?...Purple, purple, purple, purple." Every time you ask her to say purple, she says it four times, just like in the book...so cute! She is talking more, but really only says what I ask her to repeat; which I guess is a step in the right direction.
We are working on colors right now. She really likes to read about them, but if I point to something and ask her what color it is, she looks at me with a blank expression on her face until I tell her what it is and she repeats it. We have also been working on counting to five. We have been working on saying the number and showing the number with our fingers. Three seems to be the hardest one to say and show, which it really is. And, when I say five, she wants to give me a five instead of show me five.
She now says Mommy and Daddy, although I really prefer Mama. But, whenever she wants something, no matter who is around, they are mama. She can also say: "I love you; where are you; thank you; all gone--this also means all done; stop; shhh (she even puts her finger to her mouth when she says it); apple (although, she says app and then spits -le); baby; woof-woof; cat; meow; red; blue; yellow; one; hot; milk (says it and signs it)...and lots of other words, I just can't think of all of them right now.
She still takes two naps a day, and for a while, I was trying to cut out the morning nap, but since I have been so tired lately, it has really come in handy. She also sleeps about 10-11 hours at night, too. She has always been a good sleeper and I hope the next one is, too.
Let's see, what else is going on. Oh, tomorrow is mine and Jonathon's 5-year wedding anniversary. I have to work in the morning, boo, but afterwards, we are heading up to Whitesboro for a party at a ranch. Jonathon's boss and his family are hosting a family-style ranch party tomorrow afternoon and we are going to have a blast. They are going to have bounce houses, sprinklers and hay rides for the kiddos, and fishing and skeet shooting for the guys. Jonathon is so excited! He hasn't fished or shot skeets in a long time. At night, they are going to start a huge bonfire and cook hamburgers, hot dogs and smores :)
Oh, and my Grandpa is officially home as of Monday. I don't really know too much else, but it is great that he is home and able to walk with a cane instead of a walker. Thank you for all of your prayers.

Update on Grandpa!

Sorry for the delay in posting, but better late than never, right?
Anyway, my Grandpa was released from the hospital on Monday and they took him to a Rehabilitation Center not too far from my grandparent's house. The doctor told him he will be there for one week, visit his doctor, and could be release to go back home.
While in the hospital, tests revealed he has extra fluid on his spine and brain. They were able to relieve some of the fluid on his spine and he is doing so much better. He is able to walk around and has color back in his face (my dad said he was pretty pale). They also believe he is a good candidate to have a shunt placed in his brain to drain the excess fluid off of his brain. They do not know when and if they will be able to do the surgery, so once I know, you will know.
But, for now, he is doing and feeling so much better, which is great news. My grandma emailed me earlier today and said the Rehabilitation Center let her take him out to lunch and get his hair cut today. He was pretty tired after that, so she took him back, but that is such great improvement from last week.
So, I would like to say thank you to all of you for your prayers, thoughts and encouraging words; my family and I really appreciate it.
Last Thursday, my friend, Robin, came down for a four day girls weekend, and we had a blast. Thursday was our Spa Day. We went to the ZaSpa at the Hotel ZaZa in Uptown Dallas, and were spoiled. I have never been pampered or doted upon, and it was wonderful. I told Jonathon before this second baby is born, I would like to do it again. We started off with massages and facials. I have never had a massage before, but I am totally hooked now. The facial was wonderful and my skin felt so soft and rejuvenated. Then, we had lunch provided from the Dragonfly Restaurant. We shared Crab Cakes, Turkey Club Sandwich, a Fresh Fruit Plate, and French Fries. In my opinion, the fries were the best part. Even cold, they were more delicious than McDonald's fries hot. Then, we were off for our Manicures and Pedicures. The Zero Gravity chair was so awesome and I totally felt like a feather. I am sure when I am further along, and a lot bigger, it will feel even more incredible. It is supposed to make you feel like you aren't carrying a bunch of weight in your tummy.
Friday, our friend, Kristen, "The Unsinkable", came over and we ate lunch at Fogo De Chao. Fogo De Chao is a Brazilian Churrascaria. They have an amazing salad bar and then when you are ready for them to serve you meat, you flip over your card from red to green, and Gauchos will bombard you with about 10-15 different types of meats, chicken and pork. When you want to take a break, flip your card to red and they will stop. We absolutely stuffed ourselves, but of course, we had room for dessert. They have amazing desserts; we each got something different. Once we were finished with our meal, we dropped Kristen off and Robin and I went to Waco to visit her in-laws. We had such a great trip there and back.
Saturday, we did the girl thing, and went to the local mall and shopped, and shopped, and shopped some more. We both ended up getting tons of new maternity clothes and had a great time. Afterwards, we came home for a quick rest, and then it was off to Medieval Times. Medieval Times is a restaurant/entertainment center. While eating, we watched "The Knights of the Realm" compete in different sporting events. Even though our Knight didn't win, we still had a great time. Jonathon and I even had our 5 year Anniversary announced during the tournament...Lord Jonathon and Lady Brandy Simmons.
Sunday, we went to church and afterwards to Dickey's for some great BBQ. We go to Dickey's every Sunday after church because kids eat free, and we really enjoy it. Afterwards, Robin had to leave. I was sad to see her go, but I knew she had a great time and she was ready to go home and see her family.
I wish I had pictures to post, but silly me, even though I had my camera on me the whole entire time, I didn't take one single stinkin' picture! Can you believe that? Oh well, at least Robin and I have memories together.

Please, say a prayer!

Today, I received a phone call that I knew would one day come, but have always dreaded since I moved away from Indiana. Earlier this evening, my Dad called to tell me that Grandpa has been admitted to the hospital. They do not know what is necessarily wrong with him, but they are keeping him for a few days so they can run tests. Let me back up and give you the prequel.
In 2003, my Grandpa was diagnosed with diabetes. After his diagnosis, he lost a lot of weight, but was riding a stationary bike and was up to a couple of miles a day. Unfortunately, within the past couple of years, he has not been doing so well. As of lately, within the past couple of months, he has been falling down. Fortunately, my grandma has always been able to call somebody and they would come and help get him up. A couple of weeks ago, his doctor told my Grandma that my Grandpa has had a couple of mini-strokes, one of which we already knew about, which could be causing him to fall down. He has been going to Physical Therapy, but today was the straw that broke the camel's back.
I spoke with my Grandma earlier this evening and she said he fell down again this morning, but this time, he had no idea where he was, and still doesn't. His doctor told her that it could be either Dementia or Alzheimer's. He also recommended for her to put him in a nursing home when he is discharged from the hospital because he is too much for her to take care of all by herself.
So, at this point, we really don't know what is going on, and probably won't know for a few days. However, I am asking that you all pray for my Grandpa and his health; pray for my Grandma to make the right decisions and to do the best she can for him; and pray for my family and for us to have strength for the both of them to help them through this difficult time/transition.
As I learn more, I will post, but it might be a few days.

Here is a picture of my Grandpa with me and three of his great grandchildren this past Thanksgiving.



Here is a picture from Thanksgiving 2006--four generations!

Ok, so my math is a little off...

Jonathon and I had our first appointment today. It went really well. We started off with an Ultrasound and we are glad to report there is only one heartbeat. Both the Tech and our doctor said everything looks great so far. The Tech was able to get a heartbeat, 162 beats. She told me not to read too much into the high heartbeat because she has seen plenty of babies turn out to be boys with high heartbeats.

Anyway, we had a great talk/visit with my doctor. I was able to ask him all the questions I could think of and he took the time to answer each and every single one and didn't rush us. He really is a great doctor.

So, you are probably wondering why I titled the post the way I did. Well, the online calendars I have been using say my due date is around December 14/15th, but when the Ultrasound Tech measured the baby, I am actually measuring 5 days sooner, so that puts my due date December 10th. So, we talked with the doctor and since he doesn't like to do VBAC's, I am going to have a scheduled C-Section and the date is, drum roll please ...................December 4th!
Jonathon and I are very excited and can't wait to meet our new little bundle of joy in just 7 months.

We do have pictures from the Ultrasound, but since we do not have a scanner, I will have to wait until Monday to scan them in and post; I have one at my desk at work. We do have another Ultrasound scheduled in four weeks at our next appointment. Apparently they now test for Spina Bifida and Down Syndrome differently than when I had Olivia. Instead of drawing blood at 16 weeks and testing for both, they now do an Ultrasound at 12 weeks so they can measure the back of the baby's head and do blood work and then send those measurements and blood to the labs. They also do blood work at 16 weeks, too. So, yay, I get to have blood drawn three times in a row (today, my next appointment and the appointment afterwards). But, this is all worth it.

We are going to find out the sex of the baby. I have to know in order to plan and to bond with the baby. We do have a boy name picked out, but we are having a hard time picking a girl name. Once we have the names picked out, we will call the baby Little Boy Name or Little Girl Name, until we find out. We did that with Olivia. We would call her Little Connor or Little Olivia. Jonathon would say, "What does Little Connor or Little Olivia want to eat?" and other things; it really is cute. I guess for us, it is a way for us to feel closer to the baby.

Everything is going really well with the pregnancy so far and we are almost finished with the first trimester. Wow! Time flies by so fast. I still haven't had any morning sickness or severe nausea, like I had with Olivia, and no headaches, which is great because those were killer. I have an increased appetite and can't seem to get enough food, which is odd because since I found out I was pregnant, I have lost about 5 pounds...weird. When I was pregnant with Olivia, I was asleep every night about 7:00 p.m., and even though I have noticed I am a little bit more tired than usual, I still go to bed at my normal time, which is great! So keep those prayers coming for a complication free pregnancy; they are working.

Olivia and I are going to the zoo tomorrow so I will have new pictures to post of her tomorrow. She has changed so much since last night. I was looking at her when we got back from our appointment, and she no longer resembles a baby, she looks like a big girl. Oh goodness!

Speech Therapy?

I am happy to report that yesterday Jonathon and I had Olivia tested by an Early Intervention program for Speech Therapy, and she was denied. This is perfect! This means that she is a perfectly normal 21-month-old little girl; which as a first time mom, who frets about every little thing, I needed to hear this.
While at this meeting, they gave Olivia a puzzle to do--it had big knobs and it was colors and shapes--and she put it back together very easily. She did struggle with the orange rectangle, and she even did her straining voice, which they thought was very cute and funny, but with a little persistence from me, she was able to do it. So, now that I know she enjoyed putting the puzzle together, I need to go and get her some.
Also, at this meeting, the ladies were very impressed with how much sign language she uses and how fast she picks it up. They told me to continue to use the sign language, with the word, which I already do, and hopefully she will start saying it, too. All in all, with the sign language and regular vocabulary, she says about 25 words, which is normal for her age, or so they say.
As of recently, she has expressed and interest in dressing and undressing herself, mainly with her shoes. As I am typing right now, she is trying to put her flip flop on. When we are dressing her in the mornings, after we put her shirt over her head, she likes to pull it down over her belly. Also, when we are putting her pants on her, we ask for either her left or right leg and most of the time, she gets them right, which is impressive because I know she doesn't really know which one is which.
For a couple of months now, Olivia has been into pretend play. She has some of her baby blankets, which I let her play with because she now has lots of baby dolls, and she loves to spread out the blanket and wrap her babies up and carry them around the house. She also really loves her kitchen. I always set out a bowl of snacks--Cheerios, Cheez-Its, Grapes, Goldfish, whatever--and she likes to take her bowl of snacks and empty it out on to one of her plates and carry it around without spilling them. If she spills, she is immediately on the floor picking them up and saying, "Uh-Oh", and then of course I help her clean them up, too.
So all in all, Olivia is perfectly normal, and I am happy she is considered ineligible for the Early Intervention/Speech Therapy program.

Well, what can I say?

I think the pictures say it all. I tried several times to get a good shot, but it doesn't really come through until the last picture.









And this is how she really feels about a new baby :) No, I'm kidding. Olivia will be a terrific big sister.

Ok, if you can't read what the shirt says, it says: "December 2008, I will be a big sister!" I really wanted to wait for a couple of more weeks to spread the news, but I just couldn't hold it in any longer.
So, there you have it, our big news. Jonathon and I, plus a few others, have known for about three weeks. I haven't had an appointment with my doctor yet, that isn't scheduled until May 1st. At that appointment, I will have an Ultrasound and then talk with the doctor. So, I don't know my official due date, but the online calendars I have been using say the date is December 14/15, 2008. No official word yet, but I am thinking since I had a previous C-Section, I will have to have another, unless my doctor believes in VBAC's, which I am not sure I even want to attempt. Anyway, if I have to have another C-Section, I think the earliest he will schedule the surgery is two weeks from due date but no later than a week. So, that could put the baby arriving between December 1-8, and it can't be the 1st because that is Jonathon's brother, Jeremy, birthday.
We actually found out we were pregnant on April 1, April Fool's Day. The first test I took, I couldn't tell if the second line was actually on the test or not, but I figured since there was a faint second line it was positive. But at Jonathon's request, the next day I went to the store and picked up the kind that say, "pregnant or not pregnant" to clear up any confusion. Within a minute it came back as "pregnant".
Yes we are very very excited. Am I excited about the due date? Yes and no. I always said I didn't want any of my children's birthdays to compete with the holidays, but I guess God thought differently. It just means this year that I will not be able to travel to see my family, they will have to come to me, which isn't so bad :)
So far, I have not felt nauseas and have not had any morning sickness. I have already noticed an increase in my appetite, however. Just within the past couple of days, about 2 or 3 o'clock in the afternoon, I have noticed I am a little more tired and feel run down, but other than that, I feel really good.
Just a couple of things to ask all of you friends and family to pray for. Please pray for a healthy and complication-free pregnancy. This past November, we had a miscarriage and while pregnant with Olivia, I was diagnosed with Placenta Previa and had a couple of scary bleeding episodes. Due to the Previa, Olivia was born a month early. Even though my chance of having Previa again is about 5%, please pray that we will not have to go through it again. Especially pray for no miscarriage. This was the reason I didn't want to share the news since we had one at 7 weeks, but this pregnancy so far is much different than that one. Jonathon and I were bummed that we lost the baby, but we knew it was a blessing in disguise and knew that God was taking care and looking out for us. Also, please pray for a healthy baby. Even though Olivia was born a month early, we were VERY fortunate she was born healthy and did not have to spend any time in the NICU and we were able to all come home together after 4 days. And lastly, pray for Olivia to handle the transition from being an only child to a big sister smoothly. She gets very jealous if I hold another baby or if Jonathon and I hug in front of her.
So, with all of this new news, check back often as we will keep you all updated with posts and pictures.

Aaaah, Vacation...

So, we are officially back from Florida. We are all unpacked and most of the laundry is done. We had a great time while we were there and can't wait to do it again next year.
While in Florida, Jonathon and I got sunburned, me more than him. We are both peeling and itching/scratching our bodies like crazy.
Olivia loved Florida. Her favorite part was the pool and she finally warmed up to the ocean, at least long enough to take a walk on the beach and chase the birds.
Here are some of the pictures we took. The ones towards the end are at the Florida Aquarium. We were supposed to leave Tampa on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. but our flight was canceled due to the MD-80 inspections and we ended up leaving Tampa at 7:30 p.m. Now, keep in mind, we had to check out of the condo at 10:00 a.m. so we had to think of things to do for 9 hours. Even though the tour didn't last as long as we would have liked, we still had a great time.



Olivia really enjoyed walking on the beach and having the water rush over her feet. Although her favorite thing to do was chase the birds on the beach.


Not only did my immediate family go to Florida together, my extended family from Michigan stayed in Lakeland. We were able to get together a couple of times and it was so great to see all of them.


After dinner, we were all in the lobby taking family pictures. If you notice, we are looking the opposite direction from our camera, that is because I think there were a total of 5 different cameras and we didn't know which ones to look at.


Our little family!


Olivia loved swimming in the pool. We had to keep an eye on her at all times because she would have run and jumped in the pool on her own if we had let her.


Jumping with Daddy.


Coming up after going under the water. We didn't think she would like going under, but she loved it; she was so cute and laughed the whole time.


This is too cute!


We took my sister, Leigh, and her friend, Kelsey, snorkeling.


While snorkeling, Kelsey found this shell under water and had Jonathon retrieve it for her. When he brought it up to the surface, we discovered it had a real, live crab inside.


The island where we snorkeled. It was absolutely beautiful and breathtaking.


Another shot of the island.


You cannot go to Florida and not get a family picture on the beach when the sun is setting, that is like sinning. No, I'm kidding. It took all I had to get Jonathon to dress up and take this picture, but it turned out amazing.






I love this photo because it looks like she is actually touching the lobster.


She liked touching the coral.


We were at the Starfish/Coral touch exhibit and you can touch the creatures, but you are supposed to do it very lightly. Well, Olivia was having a hard time touching the creatures because they were all at the bottom of the exhibit and the water was ice cold. However, this Starfish was on the side of the exhibit close to the top and she took advantage of the opportunity. Before we knew what she was doing, she had grabbed one of the Starfish's legs and hoisted him up into the air. Jonathon immediately helped her put it back in the water, all the while we were both cracking up, but I don't think the aquarium employee was too happy.




She liked the Shark exhibit. We were able to watch a couple of divers swim with the Sharks, and one of the divers was an aquarium employee and talked to us while she was under water. It was really interesting and informative.