Swimming

So we had every intention of going swimming for Liliana's birthday. Unfortunately, one thing after another kept coming up on Saturdays, making it hard to go! Finally this Saturday we were able to go. Normally I might have brought my camera so that I could overwhelm the grandparents with pictures, but I opted out this time. Why? Because I didn't want to risk myself being caught in a picture! It's one thing to take belly photos, its a whole other ballgame to have your pregnant self being photographed in a swimming suit!
The kids had a blast. I think the highlight was actually for Emmaline. She has a swimsuit with built in floaties. The pool has a lazy river so we went and played over there for awhile. Eventually she figured out that she could actually float on her own with that suit, and then she figured out the doggie paddle. Between that and the fast current of the lazy river, she really thought she was swimming as she went around and around and around! Idgie was happy to sit in her floaty intertube and Lil, though nervous, seemed to enjoy her time in the water as well.
Afterwards, we went to McDonalds and ate lunch and let them play, and then home for naps! Everyone was exhausted, though I think I was the most exhausted of them all. I did try to take a nap, but then I scared myself awake (have you ever done that???) with a dream about my pregnant belly getting me stuck in a waterslide.

Rating: 3 Gummy Sharks

Christmas is Over

The tree finally came down tonight. It's still January so I feel pretty good about that. In another 10 months we can put it back up again!

Rating: 5 stale candy canes

28 Weeks

Here I am at 28 weeks. The third trimester. The home stretch!

Today I had quite a long appointment. I had a laundry list of complaints for my doctor and she had a quite a list to go over with me as well! I've been experiencing a few bouts of dizziness, shortness of breath, and contractions. All separate from each other, but each one has happened a few times. We went over those issues, and while we had a long conversation about it, what it came down to is - it is all pretty normal - but make sure I rest and take care of myself. To which I kept my sarcastic thoughts to myself about having 3 kids!

On her end, she went over some bloodwork, glucose results, and my ultrasound.
Blood Work - She had my TSH levels rechecked, which were borderline at the beginning of my pregnancy. They came out just fine this time. She also had my Vitamin D levels rechecked. At the start of my pregnancy, it was a 23 and she considered that low and wanted it rechecked. On Saturday when they did the lab work, it was an 8.5. So that has dropped quite a bit. She wants me to take a Vitamin D supplement. Also my iron levels are technically fine - but at the low end. So she suggested I eat more steak. Now THAT'S a bummer ...
Glucose Test - I passed! Wahoo!!!
Ultrasound - They confirmed a three vessel cord. The baby's kidney's are still slightly enlarged (7mm each). There is really nothing the can do but keep an eye on it in the womb, so they know if it will be a problem out of the womb. So, I will have another ultrasound around 35 weeks to check that out.
Protein - I also spilled a bit of protein this time. My blood pressure was great though (steady with what it always is too) so she wasn't too concerned about that either.

The rest of the visit was a quick measure of my belly (spot on at 28 cm) and a listen to the baby's heartbeat which was also good - but I can't remember the number!

Rating: 1 Rib-eye!

Glucose Test

I just discovered that I never blogged about this! Shame on me!

On Saturday I went in and did the 3-hour Glucose Test. My OB allowed me to skip the 1 hour test since I always fail it anyway, and go straight to the 3-hour. Really it saved us all some time! I opted for the Fruit Punch flavor, which is, in my opinion, the best choice out of all the flavors I've tried. I spent the first hour feeling weak, shaky, and nauseated - all of which are normal for me. After that, I was fine for the next two hours. So I won't actually find out the results until my next OB appointment. I always come very close to failing - but haven't so far - so hopefully that remains the same!

Rating: 5 Sugar Free Treats (just in case)

Ultrasound

I went in today for a follow-up ultrasound to measure the baby's kidneys and double check how many vessels the cord has. I won't actually have the results until next week when I have my regular appointment. I made sure to have have the ultrasound tech double check the gender for me - still a boy!
Here is an extreme close up of his face. It is a profile shot with him laying on his back. The top of his head is to your right, and you can see that black spot is his eye socket, and then you can see the bump of his nose and his lips. He has a similar profile to Lil, so I suspect he is going to be a Model B!



Rating: 5 Pixie Dust

Milk-in-Baked-Goods

You may recall that back in September, Emmaline had a milk challenge that she failed instantly. Well today we tried a variation - and tested out what would happen if she had milk that was baked into something and guess what? SHE PASSED!!!!!

She had 1/4 cup of milk baked into 3 muffins. She consumed the muffins in increasing increments over the course of a few hours (starting with just 1/4 of a muffin and eventually ending in eating one whole muffin). This is great news because it means we are on our first baby steps to outgrowing the milk allergy.

She still can't have plain milk, cheese, sour cream, etc, etc. But she is approved to consume up to 1/4 cup of milk per day in baked goods *only* (no other types of foods). So that means we can do cakes, muffins, breads, pancakes, waffles, etc. After a couple months, the allergist said that we can start to push that limit and give her more than that in a day. Then when her next yearly appointment comes up (in July/August) then we will evaluate from there if we can try other forms of dairy like cheese or yogurt.

Rating: 3 milk-filled raspberry muffins!

18 months and 3 years

Lil and Idgie both had well child checks today. Too bad they were both sick with colds! Aside from being sick, they are both growing and doing well! Idgie came in at 20 lbs. and Lil came in at 32 lbs. Lil is just 2 lbs. behind what Emmaline is right now and catching up fast!

Rating: 4 Pixie Dust

Inevitable

Today Emmaline brought home a letter from the school: "To the Parents of Emmaline" I figured it was her report card and opened it right up - but, alas, it was not. Instead it was a letter informing me that she had failed an eye exam yesterday and they recommend I take her to the eye doctor for a full exam. AJ and I both wear glasses, so this isn't entirely unexpected, but I was kind of thinking I had a few more years before we had to worry about it. Most of my siblings didn't get their glasses until a least 3rd grade and I didn't get them until 8th grade. AJ got his at 21!

So her exam is scheduled in a week and then we will know what is happening from there!

Rating: 1 Fireball

The Terrible Threes

I don't know why people always talk about the Terrible Twos. Really I think the Terrible Threes are the best kept secret that nobody talks about. Today Lil gave a great example of what we can expect in the next year!

For dinner tonight we had dish that is basically rice with a sauce over it. As soon as Lil saw it she told us it was YUCKY and that NO she was not going to have it. I took a little in a spoon and put it in her mouth just for a small taste and that made her MAD. So when I loaded up her plate, I gave her rice, but I still put a little bit of the sauce on the side just in case she changed her mind. When she picked up her spoon to eat, it still had a bit of sauce on it. She proceeded to lick the sauce off to clean her spoon, and then dig into just her plain rice!!! She didn't even bat an eye! She ate up all her rice, declared she was done and left the table. About 5 minutes after that, AJ called her back to the table to put her dishes in the sink. She ran back saying, "No no! I finish!!!" and then sat down and finished her dinner - including the sauce - and declared it to be yummy.

Nice.

Rating: 1 Sour Patch Kid

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Remember the fox that showed up in our yard a couple of times in August?

Well it turns out that he must really like us, because he has made regular appearances since then! He is always in the same spot, under a pine tree in the backyard. He is usually there in the morning, and several times has slept the entire day right under that tree! It's pretty fun to check each morning to see if he is there or not.

The girls agreed that his name is most likely Fred - so that is what we call him.

Rating: 3 Lollipops

Happy Birthday Liliana!

and a Happy 9th Anniversary to us as well!


I tried really hard to get a good shot of Liliana today for her 3rd birthday, but the girl either will not sit still or not look at the camera. In the end I got this one - which I think reflects her personality very well:




We went to church today and in her nursery class, her teacher brought cupcakes and gave her the tiara to wear. She of course loved all of it!

We waited until this evening to open gifts. Here are a few shots of that:


She had been coveting this toddler-sized backpack of Emmaline's for quite awhile now. Unfortunately, it has Emmaline's name monogrammed on it, so we had to get her one of her own! She also scored a necklace and some more socks to wear - so here is a picture of her in all of her new gear.

Her big gift was a train set. She opened it and said, "My train! Cooooool! Wow!" It was a hoot. Having practiced at Christmas, she definitely knew exactly what to do with present opening today!

We also waited and did her cake after dinner tonight. (I should mention that YES she is already in her pj's in these pictures. I don't know about you, but after church, I like to get out of my dress and right into comfy clothes!) Several months ago I got a new cake pan - one of those giant cupcake ones. It cooks in two parts and then you put it together to create the giant cupcake. This was the first time I tried it out and something went terribly wrong.

It turned out the bottom part didn't cook all the way through. When it cooled, it created a hollow, gooey, center. That also made it quite unstable for supporting the top layer! So what you don't see from this picture, is that we literally assembled the cake right there at the table before we took pictures. It held form long enough to sing, snap some photos, and then we had to quickly pull the top off before the thing collapsed! Oh - and as it turns out, we also were out of birthday candles! I could only round up one candle for the cake! Oh well - Lil enjoyed having the cake so I guess that is all that matters!

See what I mean?

In a side note, it was also Idgie's first week going to nursery at church! She did spectacularly well. She was more than happy to just run off and play! I'm sure it helped having Lil in there as well. I even poked my head in there a few times and all she did was wave at me and continue playing. It was awesome!

Rating: 1 Giant Cupcake

Happy New Year!

We rang in the New Year quietly. AJ and I watched a movie (we went old school and watched Three Amigos!) and ordered pizza, Idgie was in bed, and Liliana was sitting quietly at the top of the stairs with panties full of poop waiting for us to come up and find her (that's always a nice surprise to start the new year with). Emmaline went to her first New Years Party. She went over to a friend's house to play and party. When I picked her up at 12:30am she was still wide awake but her friend had crashed awhile ago. Emmaline said she had a great time.

Last year we made some resolutions. Most of them were accomplished. Idgie learned to walk, Lil learned to use the potty, Emmaline went to school. AJ did do some work on his model railroad but mostly it involved ripping stuff up so he could do the track differently - so actually his railroad is less functional than it was a year ago. He also most definitely has more gray hairs. I can't recall that I slept in until 10am at all in the past year. Alas.

Time for new resolutions!

Emmaline - Wants to start learning to play the piano this year.

Liliana - Has decided to continue to work on her night-training and get super good at that.

Imogene - Wants to learn how to sleep in a big girl bed this year.

AJ - Decided to go traditional this year and do the weight loss thing.

Bethany - Mine is easy this year. I plan to have a baby! Then after that I thought I'd join AJ and do the weight loss thing too.

Rating: 5 Lollipops Happy New Year!