It's a GIRL!!!

Today I had an amniocentesis. It is a procedure done with a nice long needle that is inserted into my belly and draws out two viles of amniotic fluid. The fluid is then sent to the lab where the cells are grown up and eventually tested for genetic abnormalities. After my third miscarriage we had genetic testing done on myself and the miscarried baby. They discovered that I have what is called a Balanced Translocation. That means my eighth chromo is broken off and connected to my twenty second chormo. This meant that our chance of conception on our own was very small and if we did conceive, the survival rate was 50/50. The baby could possibly have the BT but might not either. If it does it can be completely healthy, like myself. The third option is that it could be unbalanced and in turn terminate itself or have some type of birth defect. All that to say, we won't find out the results for a couple of weeks.

However, we did find out that it was a girl, and the heart, brain, the fold of skin on the back of the brain, the spine, and the lip all looked as normal as can be. That put our minds at ease for any obvious birth defects at least. I am attaching pictures of the hand and the profile of our little girl. No name yet, that is still up for debate but we are open to suggestions.

I haven't laughed as hard as I laughed today in a long time. Hopefully you find this funny as well and not insensitive of me. My husband was a real trooper and did very well throughout the whole procedure. He is deathly afraid of needles and passed out just getting his finger pricked in HS when we were giving blood. He didn't make it to actually giving his blood. Anyhoo, like I said, he made it through the procedure just fine. The real fun came later. He faced away from the Dr. and the needle the whole time. However, as the Dr. was explaining some options and showing us the fluid he withdrew, I noticed that Charlie, who was still sitting was all of a sudden leaning on me. His eyes continued to stay open yet there was clearly no one home. Apparently upon seeing the tray containing the needle and viles of fluid, he started to feel a little light headed. Well, he was out for about 5 minutes and had the Dr. and several nurses very worried. Smelling salts didn't work and neither did his wife laughing hysterically at him. They finally laid him down and got him some OJ but I still had to drive home. I love my husband dearly but he knows his limitations and this is one of them. I will be taking applications on a delivery partner beginning in late August.

Baby Avocado- 16 Weeks!

At 4 1/2 inches long (head to bottom) and 3 1/2 ounces, our baby is about the size of an avocado. In the next three weeks, she'll go through a tremendous growth spurt, though, doubling her weight and adding inches to her length. Her lower limbs are much more developed now. Her head is more erect than it has been, and her eyes have moved toward the front of her head. Our baby's ears are close to their final position, too. Some of her more advanced body systems are working, including her circulatory system and urinary tract. Her heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, circulating her total blood volume through her body many times. The patterning of her scalp has begun, though her hair isn't recognizable yet. Although closed, her eyes are moving (slowly), and she's even started growing toenails.



Very fitting considering all I want to eat these days is homemade taco salad. Tonight we have homemade guacamole too! My whole family is here for the weekend. The boys are busy at work organizing my mom's tools, garage and anything else they can find that is manly. Today is also the girls birthday for 16 months. They are growing so fast! Here are some pics from our warm weather yesterday!

Our first time with the blue pool. Mom let us go in with our clothes on but not for long!

















Meg trying to make a get away!















Mulligan can't let the girls have all the fun, after all, this pool was hers originally. She is willing to take turns though!
















I tried to pick a modest picture. Next time we'll have bathing suits on. Charlie thought we might start getting complaints from the neighbors!

Two Little Monkeys

Hannah the Ham














Megan with her "sweet eyes"


Sorry about the absence of posting/pictures. There really hasn't been that much going on in the last week to post about. Unless of course you want to see my monkeys in packing boxes and sorting through of all grandma's special things. We've been very busy at my mom's in preparation for my sister and her family coming tomorrow. Hopefully, if we aren't too busy chasing all of our girls around we'll take some pictures of the weekend.

This week the girls got their 15 month immunizations, yuck. I hate those days! Weren't real happy campers and neither was mom, me that is. But they have since recovered. Well, mostly recovered. Meg has been a little bit of whiner and today I realized why. She is finally cutting her 3rd and 4th tooth on top. Her teeth take a long time to come in but once they do, she is back to her funny little ways. Miss Hannah is becoming a little mommy more and more these days. I have yet to do something that she hasn't tried to repeat. This might be too much info but they recently joined me in the bathroom for a potty break ( I am never alone these days) and Hannah decided she would get the toilet paper ready for me, just in case I forgot. Thanks doll!

My girls are full of hugs and kisses lately and Charlie and I can't get enough. We love our little monkeys and can't wait for their newest trick. Hannah has recently started saying the body parts that we have been working on. She loves to say "ear" and "eye". But they can point to numerous things including their toes, feet, hands, belly, teeth, mouth, nose, ears, eyes, and hair. They sometimes scare me how quickly they pick up on things. Megan's favorite thing to do is point out every ball. She is obsessed with balls!


Hannah feeding Rudy with her new dishes!













Megan dancing as DJ Hannah mixes it up in the playhouse.

Baby ? -15 Weeks

Ok, so this week we weren't given a comparison to a food. I will take any suggestions that would fit the following description.

At around 4 inches long, crown to rump, our baby now weighs about 2 1/2 ounces. He's busy inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid, which will help develop the air sacs in his lungs. His legs are growing longer than his arms now, and he can move all his joints and limbs. That means his hands are more functional, too. Sweat glands are appearing, and although his eyelids are fused shut, he can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, he's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but his taste buds are beginning to form.

I might go with a potato but that is because all I want to eat these days are potatoes in some form or another! Still haven't gained weight but chasing after my two little ladies keeps me movin'.

We've been very busy helping Grandma Kathy move in today. My guess is we will probably be there for a lot of days unpacking. There is a lot of stuff!!! But you know me and I love to ORGANIZE! Sick, I know. Bordering on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder probably!

Dr. Appt.

This morning I went in for just a routine preg checkup, wondering like I probably always will, if there was a heartbeat. Maybe once I feel the baby move, I will have more confidence going into these checkups.

But...everything looked good. The heartbeat was 140 beats/minute. That is much lower then before but that is still normal and more on track for this stage of pregnancy. I don't go in for four more weeks, so hopefully in that time I will begin to feel the baby move. It was moving quite a bit while she was trying to get the heartbeat, I just couldn't feel it yet.

Thanks for your prayers and encouragement. I have another round of tests and an ultrasound in two weeks that will tell us more. So far everything looks great!

Mother's Day

Well, not only has being a mom been more than I ever could have imagined, it has made me incredibly grateful for all the mom's I know. I now appreciate the little things, how my mom ever got through our "grumpy days", all our activities, how to discipline, the joy of your child's smile in the midst of a sticky situation. I am thankful for my Mother in Law and other single moms who do much of the day to day on their own. Who prayed her children through the bumps and bruises of toddling all the way up until their teen years. I know she still faithfully prays for us and now her grandchildren as well. I think of the mom that gave birth to my beautiful, sweet and precious little girls who spent mother's day without her girls. I am so grateful for all the mom's who choose to give their children life and continuously make selfless sacrifices in the best interest of their children. My heart breaks for mom's who have had to say goodbye to their children prematurely, and I pray that I never have to go through that.

All that to say, thank you moms for all you do, for all of your love, hard work and strength. You are showing your children day in and day out the example of Christ's love for us.

On a lighter note, my first mother's day was awesome, not only because we are finally together as a family but because I have the BEST husband in the whole world who makes me feel like the greatest mommy every. He started the day with his girls while I took my time getting ready (how quickly I forgot how to do that). They then presented me with the very thoughtful gift of a corsage to wear to church. We had lunch out, a nice afternoon, and fun at the park. The fun really started when we got home, Hannah thought it would be fun to start playing in the sprinklers at 6:30 pm and 63 degree weather outside, in her jeans and shirt. Didn't just do it once but continued until she was soaking and then Meg started enjoying the fun too. There is nothing better then ending a great Mother's Day laughing out loud at your darling little wet angels. What a blessing God has given me in the midst of a really tough year. His plan is perfect and His details are complete. Here are some pics from our day, none in the sprinkler though:

Mommy's idea of a slide for the yard. $15 at a garage sale!

Daddy's idea of a slide for the yard, right off the deck, he thought it might be too steep and is going to take it back. Maybe next year....

Thanks Malea for our new bike! We LOVE it!!!

My "little mommy" Hannah doesn't think she needs mommy to read her bedtime stories anymore, she can handle it now. They think they'll skip their bath tonight too. Wrong Song Girls!!!

Baby Lemon-14 Weeks

Head to bottom, our baby's 3 1/2 inches long — about the length of a lemon — and weighs about 1 1/2 ounces. Her body's growing faster than her head, which now sits upon a more well-defined neck. By the end of this week, her arms will have lengthened and will be in proportion to the rest of her body. (Her legs still have some growing to do, though.) She's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair all over her body (called lanugo). Her liver starts secreting bile this week, a sign that it's already functioning properly, and her spleen starts contributing to the production of red blood cells. She's also producing and discharging urine into the amniotic fluid, a normal process that she'll keep up until birth. Her hands and feet (which are now half an inch long) are more flexible and active. Thanks to brain impulses, her little facial muscles are getting a workout as she squints, frowns, and grimaces. She can grasp now, too, and she may be able to suck her thumb.

Feeling good. I have a Dr. appt on Wed and will let you know if anything comes up!

An afternoon with some family!!!

This afternoon we were very lucky to be able to visit my Aunt D and Uncle G's house. G is my dad's younger brother. Their daughter M is fabulous with the girls and shared her special Grandparent's Day with us as well. Great Grandpa and Grandma were there too as well as my dad's older brother D was in from CA. Even though it was only a short visit, it was so nice to be able to see them and catch up. It had been way too long.

The girls have terrible stranger anxiety right now but we weren't at their house 3 minutes when Hannah just ran up to my grandpa and wanted to sit on his lap. She wasn't up there very long but she kept going back for hugs from Great Grandpa.

Here are some pics from the afternoon...

M and Hannah playing with one of M's old favoirtes.

Hannah sitting on Great Grandpa's lap. Very content.

Aunt D and megan playing with wooden shapes.

Hannah cleaning up the wooden shapes that Meg dumped out. A girl after my own heart!

Megan sitting next to my Uncle D and my Grandma.

A shout our to our friends at WPC!

As my mom finalizes her move up here and says goodbye to all of our friends in the Chicago land area, I am sure it is very bittersweet. We are nearing the year anniversary of my dad's untimely death. Last night she went out to dinner with some very good friends of both her and my dad's from WPC and today she heads to his office to say goodbye there as well. My dad never got to meet my beautiful girls, but I was told their picture was hanging in their office on the "grandchild wall."

So...these pictures are for our "family" at WPC. I do truly mean family! My dad LOVED working there, the company and the people were great, that's why dad was there so long. I will forever remember the baseball games, company picnics, and the love people expressed for my dad at his visitation and funeral. WPC provided my dad with some dear friends and golfing buddies, but most of all he admired the men he worked with greatly. Thank you Walker for all you have done for my dad and our family!

Megan practicing how to park her bus. "Grandpa, make sure the parking garage is big enough for my bus."

Sharing a kiss on the fireplace!

WPC is #1!!!!

Our weekend with Grandma and Grandpa

Charlie's mom, L and her husband B, came up Saturday to spend some time with our little ladies. We enjoyed our time with them and were sorry to see them leave. We got to show them one of our favorite spots. Here are some pics from the weekend. Thanks for the fun kite and outfits guys!

Meg climbing the stairs on the playground, pauses for a picture.

Hannah, always ready for the camera with her biggest smile!

Meg taking a trip down the slide her favorite way, fearlessly head first!

Grandma L and Grandpa B pushing the girls, I think Hannah and B were having more fun then Grandma and Megan.

Sunday morning before church, Megan models a birthday outfit given to her by G & G. Do you see the war wound under her eye from the slide?

While the cat is away...

The mice will play. Charlie has been in Cleveland for the last couple of days, so we have been able to do whatever we wanted. We ate junk food, stayed up late, stayed in our PJ's late. Just kidding. Maybe all of that would happen if I went away!

The girls were great. We are sickness free and loving it. I haven't had one gross nose to wipe in days. We went for two long walks yesterday. It was that beautiful here. Then we came home and enjoyed some chalk on the driveway with our neighbor C. The girls love when she comes over to visit them.

My little nosy neighbors! Who did they learn that from!

No Rest For The Weary

Sorry to let you faithful Charlie's Angels fans down by not posting. I thought I would quickly post to make the phone calls stop. I have only had a very sick child (who is recovering quite nicely with a lot of help from Grandma K over the last few days) and a mother in town who was closing on her new house (eight down from her grandchildren).


Today was so beautiful that I decided to take the girls for a stroll on the pier.


We then met Charlie after work for a little bit of fun at the I S. The girls are a little too small to enjoy the park to it's fullest but they LOVE slides.


Megan enjoying the independence of walking on her own and climbing the infinite number of stairs at I S.


Hannah contemplating the steep slide. "Hmmmm, which way should I go down, face first?"


Megan and Daddy waiting for Hannah to make her decent down the slide.



My little Hannah is on the mend. We stopped the steroids early because she wasn't able to sleep on them. She only needed one dose of the inhaler today and her funny personality made its comeback.

We then took the dogs for a swim in Grandma's new pond and Mulligan and Rudy were more then thrilled at Grandma's new place. No pics of that though.


We look forward to Grandma L and Grandpa B coming up for a few days tomorrow. The weather is suppose to be great all weekend!

Jumbo Shrimp

Our baby is still tiny. In fact, he's only about 3 inches long crown to rump — roughly the size of a jumbo shrimp — and weighs just about an ounce. Despite the small proportions, there's a fully formed baby inside your womb now. Much more proportional than it was a few weeks ago, his head is now only about a third the size of his body. His tiny, unique fingerprints are already in place. His kidneys and urinary tract are functional, and he's starting to urinate out the amniotic fluid he's been swallowing. As you start your second trimester, most of your baby's critical development will be completed.

Hannah Update

Well, little Hannah seemed to be sicker then I thought. My little premie has a form of RSV. It all came on so quickly. What started with a runny nose and slight cough on Sunday turned into labored belly breathing. I ended up taking her back in to the Dr. office Tues morning (the day after we were there). She was breathing hard and quicker then I liked and she had a temp of 103 degrees.

He ended up putting her on an oral steroid and we continued the breathing treatments. She is much improved today and her little personality is making it's appearance again. Hopefully we are done with all of our sicknesses for the season now!