And So I Thought It Was Over...

Apparently when I wrote on my pregnancy calendar last week, "nausea gone," someone was laughing because that definitely would not be the end of it. Yesterday was B.A.D. Maybe my body thought I had some toxins that needed to be purged. I'm pretty sure we accomplished that. I have a check-up today, so we'll see what the doctor says. At some point I need to start gaining weight; so far I have only lost (almost 20 pounds in the last 4 months). I know some women experience nausea throughout pregnancy and many have it much worse than I do, so it could be much worse.

I have medicine for nausea, but I don't take it often because I don't feel nauseous until there is food in front of me or in my mouth. I usually start eating normal meals and end up with a bowl of cereal, which is the only thing that always goes down well. The food aversions are still very strong. When I was pregnant with Caleb, I felt bad until about 13 weeks and then magically I had energy and could eat whatever I wanted without feeling sick.

Yesterday, thankfully, my dad was in town and was able to come over until Justin could get home from work. What a husband I have...he cancelled a meeting and came home mid-morning to take care of me! He also did all the dishes and took Caleb out to dinner so I could rest some more. I couldn't ask for anything more!

I'm ready to start feeling better so I can make the trip to see my niece. My sister reminded me that I haven't seen her since she was 5 weeks old, and she's 13 weeks now. I'm kind of a sorry excuse for an aunt right now!

Here's a picture we took on Saturday. It's not a great shot, but it's my first belly pic for this pregnancy.


If you compare that to this horrid picture we took in Hawaii in December (where I was showing off the souvenir mud from our lovely hike), you can tell how much weight I've lost, especially in my face.


My sister, who for at least the last ten years has weighed less than me, let me borrow some of her maternity clothes (the ones that were the right season) At the beginning of this pregnancy, I couldn't fit into a single pair of her pants because they were too small, but since I have this nifty weight-loss plan, they are fitting great.

Scheduling My Child

I am feeling better, if you couldn't tell by the increase in posting around here! :-) Thank you for your prayers and calls and emails. I'm still not where I was in my second trimester with Caleb, but things are definitely looking up! That is a GOOD thing.

I was reading an old post of Katherine's today, which she linked to in this current post. It's about scheduling toddlers. I have fought this so hard. I feel pressure to get Caleb involved in gymnastics and swim class already. Sure it would be fun and it would get us out of the house, but I really hesitate to start scheduling activities for him already. He's only 19 months old, for pete's sake. AND, we're about to add a baby to the family, which would curtail all scheduled activities while mommy recovers and we all adjust to the new addition.

Am I alone in thinking we can start too early with the scheduling? I know gymnastics classes are harmless, but when does it stop?

I just want to enjoy my baby while he's a baby. We can play gymnastics in the living room...Caleb does every single day. We can play soccer in the back yard and be creative at the kitchen table (eating play-doh is the new favorite thing around here). Hey, we can even go for a walk down to the pond and feed the ducks. (Now that mommy's feeling better!)

I know not everybody feels this way. We all have different approaches to parenting. I just want to enjoy this time that Caleb is young and not be stressed out from trying to make it to this or that activity. On time. With a toddler.

Thoughts, anyone? (I'll step down off my soap box now.)

A Few Recent Pictures

The snow at Easter. This was just the beginning, but I can't believe it was so cold!


Caleb in the bluebonnets the weekend before Easter. Something was really funny!

At Daddy's work egg hunt. Caleb was much more interested in the bsketball they gave him than the egg hunt.

Dad's Surgery *Updated*

My Dad is having surgery today. Back in August, he had surgery to remove a tumor from behind his ear drum for the second time in 4 years. The surgery was extensive and they had to remove his hearing bones(s) in the process. As a result, he has had no hearing in his left ear since then. Today he is having surgery to rebuild the ear canal and replace the hearing bone(s). After a lifetime of ear/hearing problems and several serious surgeries, our prayer is that Dad's hearing returns to better than his normal and the tumor never returns.

He sure would love to hear every word his grandson says.

Would you say a prayer for him today?

Update: Thanks for praying! Dad's surgery went well. They did not have to do the radical procedure since the tumor had not grown back, and they were able to rebuild part of one hearing bone and put in a prosthetic for the other one. His hearing should be better today and get progressively better over the next 4 weeks. We sure hope so!

Birthday Meme

I was tagged by Carol to do this fun birthday meme.

The rules are:

1) Go to Wikipedia
2) In the search box, type your birth month and day but not the year.
3) List three events that happened on your birthday
4) List two important birthdays and one death
5) One holiday or observance (if any)
6) Tag 5 other bloggers to complete

December 2

EVENTS:

1. 1942 - Manhattan Project: A team led by Enrico Fermi initiates the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction.
2. 1954 - Red Scare: The United States Senate votes 65 to 22 to condemn Joseph McCarthy for "conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute."
3. 1976 - Fidel Castro becomes President of Cuba replacing Osvaldo Dorticós Torrado.
4. 1982 - Michael Jackson's album, Thriller, is released.
5. 2001 - Enron files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

BIRTHDAYS:
1. 1973 - Monica Seles, Yugoslavian-born tennis player
2. 1978 - Nelly Furtado, Canadian singer and songwriter

DEATH:
1. 1986 - Desi Arnaz, Cuban-born actor, musician, band leader, and composer (b. 1917)

HOLIDAY:
International Day for the Abolition of Slavery - United Nations

I learned so many cool things that happened on my birthday.

I'm tagging:
My sister, because she needs more to do!
Lisa, and anyone else who wants to play along.

It's pretty interesting to see what has happened on the day of your birth!

A Sweet Friend

Yesterday I had the privilege of meeting with a sweet friend of mine for about an hour at my house. I asked her to come over and talk because I was in need of some encouragement. She's got about 12 years on me and 14+ years of parenting 3 kids, and I needed to hear from someone who's been in the "trenches" with small ones and has come out on the other side. I admire this friend so much because of her devotion to God's Word and her sweet spirit.

She cut right to the point and said, "How can I help you?" What a blessing. She listenened to me recount all I've been feeling lately (physical and otherwise), and offered great advice. Everything she said was something I already knew, but I needed to hear it all again. (Actually it's stuff you've all been saying, too, but it helps to have someone face-to-face saying, "It's OKAY! You're not SuperMom and Caleb will survive all of this!")

This morning that same friend emailed me and said she could go to the grocery store for me today if I needed that.

I love this friend because I know that she will always ask me if I've been in God's Word. She will always be encouraging to me and love on me and be straight with me.

Thank you all for your amazing support. God has been sending people to this blog to encourage me and pray for me, and I couldn't be more grateful for that. As much as I hate to ask for help, I've needed it lately.

I may be one of the last people to find out Beth Moore and her daughter, Amanda, have a blog, but I've been so blessed by what they've written there. Yesterday, Beth posted about being a young mom and the power of other moms in her life. It's worth a read.

Quick Update

Well, things here are about the same. Some days I feel pretty good, and other days, like yesterday, Justin has to come home early because I'm sick and laying on the couch all day. The sweet girls from our Life Group at church are bringing us dinner every other day this week and next, which is a HUGE blessing. Poor Caleb wants to be outside all the time but his mommy doesn't feel like it. He wants me to put on his shoes and then says, "bye bye," which means, "let's go outside now."

In other news, we spent Easter at my parent's house in central Texas where it snowed 2 inches and knocked the power out over night. I've never had an Easter quite like that! I'll post some pictures whenever my mom emails them to me from her camera (hint, hint). I have never seen so much snow in Texas; the flakes were enormous, and the next day the trees and fields were all covered. It was beautiful! (strange, but beautiful)

I'm trying to get back to doing a Bible study regularly. Now that Caleb only takes one nap a day, I have to decide what to do during his naptime...rest, take a shower, or do my Bible study. If I got up earlier, all this would take care of itself, but I can't seem to make that happen. We'll see.

In the meantime, if you have any super easy recipes, feel free to share. If and when I ever make it back to the grocery store, I'll start cooking for us again!

Sick Still

I thought my "morning" sickness was getting better, but instead it has gotten worse. I'm staying with my parents this week so they can help me with Caleb. Over the weekend I was pretty sick, so they came and picked us up. The doctor has called me in some medication, and I hope to be feeling better soon. The nurse said it makes you really sleepy, so they recommend that you have help...it's a good thing I do!

I hope to be back around soon.

A Must-Read!

Katherine at Raising Five has a great post today for moms who are dealing with the adjustment of adding another child to the mix! I'll be there in a few months and I know I'll need to remember her words!

Here's a sample of her wise advice: "If some things have to be put on the back burner for a while, they will eventually work their way to the front. You don't have to solve everything right here, right now. Let people help you, even if their "help" seems harder than doing it yourself. Take some naps. Deal with the big siblings as best you can, but don't stress. They're not leaving home any time soon. Some acting up is expected with a new baby around, so don't take it as a personal affront to your parenting ability."

Go over and see what other great things she has to say!

12-Week Check-Up

I went to the doctor this morning and everything looks good. The baby's heartbeat was strong (once they actually found it, and, no, I actually didn't freak out!). I lost 4 pounds since my last visit, which concerned the nurse until I told her that was totally normal for me in my first trimester (I lost 8 pounds in the first 3 months with Caleb). It's a bonus to feeling yucky for so long. ;-)

Once I feel better, my doctor wants me to start a walking program and eat as healthy as possible.

Resurrection

I've been in a "spiritual dry spell" and/or "funk" for some time now, which may or may not be due to the raging hormones of this pregnancy.

I've heard this song several times on the radio, and today I realized why I love it so much. Because this is how I'm feeling.

I'm at a loss for words, there's nothing to say
I sit in silence wondering what led me to this place
How did my heart become so lifeless and cold
Where did the passion go?

When all my efforts seem like chasing wind
I've used up all my strength and there's nothing left to give
I've lost the feeling and I'm numb to the core
I can't fake it anymore.

chorus:
Here I am at the end I'm in need of resurrection
Only You can take this empty shell and raise it from the dead
What I've lost to the world what seems far beyond redemption
You can take the pieces in Your hand and make me whole again, again

Resurrection by Nicol Sponberg

I've been in the car twice today, and both times this song was on. I don't think it's a coincidence.

Things I've Learned Recently

• A little boy who misses his daddy will become very clingy to his mommy.
• A second pregnancy can be much different emotionally than the first one.
• My Aggies are not as invincible in basketball as we'd all like them to be. *sigh*
• Having family around to help with Caleb and cooking is a wonderful rare treat!
• My body seems to like the look of being pregnant and has decided that at almost 3 months pregnant I should look like I'm 6 months pregnant. I'm leaning toward the fact that I'm carrying twins, but I'm pretty sure that's not true. :-)
• There's no joy like a toddler who says, "uh joo." (translation: love you)
• Taking care of said super cute toddler while growing another child inside my body is not an easy thing.
• If you have a septic tank (which my parents do) and it rains A LOT you might not be able to take a shower or flush the toilets for quite some time.
• Driving around my hometown where there are fields and cows and OPEN LAND is so refreshing...quite a break from the concrete jungle of the big city!
• If I forget to mention "GaGa" (Grandma) in Caleb's nightly prayer, he'll remind me.

Family Get-Together Pictures

We went to visit my sister this weekend, and it was the first time my grandmother (mom's mom) had seen Ava. My cousin, Melissa, her husband, Dan, and their daughter, Claire, also came for a visit. Claire and Ava are one week apart, but since Ava was born 4 weeks early and Claire was born on time, there's quite a difference. Claire looks so big next to Ava, but she's about the size Caleb was at that age.

Justin and I were able to go to a nice dinner Saturday night, sort of a belated Valentine's Day and an early "Justin's leaving the country for a while and we won't see each other" dinner. It was great. I actually didn't feel sick and was able to eat! :-) We took advantage of the fact that we had family that could watch Caleb for us...it sure is nice!

That's about all the time and energy I have to write today, so the pictures will have to do! :-)

Ava and her cousin, Claire

Caleb and Ava:

Caleb giving Ava a "kiss" (for some reason, he just put his head down right next to hers and smiled...I guess he knew she was fragile!):


Nana and Ava...their first meeting


Caleb and his cousin, Claire (6 weeks old)


Melissa and Claire, Caleb and me, Kimberly and Ava (with the big yawn!)

How am I doing?

A couple of you have called or emailed to see how I'm doing. Since I haven't posted much since the pregnancy announcement, you could probably tell things aren't going all that well. I've been pretty sick this last week. It just seems to be getting worse. Yesterday was probably the worst day yet as far as not feeling well, and it was the day Caleb chose to run like a madman around the house and get mad at me for not taking him outside. Fixing him lunch and dinner about made me lose mine. My sense of smell is incredibly heightened. We drove by a restaurant the other day and I had to cover my nose but hubby couldn't even smell anything.

My hormones have also been going CRAZY! I cry when cleaning commercials come on because my house is such a mess. Yesterday I was watching a commercial about how there are around 60,000 germs on your kitchen table and I cried because I feel so guilty that I haven't been cleaning.

And can I just say that being pregnant with a 17-month-old in the house is HARD. Those of you with more than one child already knew that...I welcome myself to the club.

I'm also not cooking much or doing anything remotely domestic...unless you count laying on the couch and ordering pizza domestic.

I try not to beat myself up because in a few weeks (5 or so if my pregnancy with Caleb is any indication) life will be back to some sort of "normal" and I'll be better at all the things I'm supposed to be doing right now. I thank God for a wonderful husband who does the dishes, gives Caleb a bath, brings home dinner, and doesn't complain. Oh, and also says things like, "if you need a break this weekend, you can go to your sister's house alone and I'll keep Caleb here." I don't deserve him. *happy sigh*

So, I don't know when I'll be back here regularly. Hopefully soon. Until then I'll be eating cereal for every meal and hoping to get down something resembling health food in the near future.

7 weeks, 5 days

That's how pregnant I am!!!!! :-)


We found out the day little Ava was born (how's that for drama!), but hubby wanted me to wait to make the announcement until our first prenatal appointment, which was today.

I'm due on September 26, which is one day after Caleb was due 2 years ago. I told Justin we're nothing if not consistent! We've decided to go the c-section route, so that will be done the week before the due date. As long as it's not on Caleb's actual birthday (September 19), I'll be happy.

So, there it is. I thought I might escape this pregnancy without the nausea, but about 5 days ago it showed up nice and strong. It's pretty constant, just enough to make me feel yucky and lose my appetite. Some weight loss program, huh?

My parents took Caleb for a few days to give me a break from running after a toddler while feeling nauseous, for which I'm very grateful! I do miss him dearly, though, and can't wait to see him again in a few days.

We're very excited about our new little munchkin growing inside me. When they did the ultrasound today, I was amazed again at how wonderful and creative our God is. Even at 7 weeks, the little heart was just beating like crazy. I don't know how people can say they aren't real live babies!

Well, it's late and I'm at my sister's house to help with holding little Ava and giving her bottles while her mommy gets some rest (I can handle sitting on the couch with a newborn...it's the running after a toddler who's stringing board game pieces all over the house that I'm having trouble with!), so I'm off to bed before it's time to get up and love on Ava again. Being an aunt is such a hard life! ;-)

A Recommendation

My blog friend, Stephanie, has a stationary business. She has such amazing talent! We've ordered Caleb's 1st birthday invites and my sister's baby shower invitations from her. We were so pleased with both. She's super sweet and worked with me until the invitations were just what I had in mind.

If you have a need for invitations, birth announcements, note cards, note pads, or anything of the like, check out Stephanie's website Punkin' Press.

Thanks, Steph, for always doing an awesome job! Your talent amazes me. :-)

Stephanie blogs at {Olive Tree}.

For Carol

Close-ups of Ava (none of these is very good, sorry!):

I wish I had taken some of her little legs...they are SO skinny! Putting fat on her is the goal. I also wish I had a picture of when she smiled at me (really, she did!). Justin told me she was probably just seeing a reflection in my glasses when I was holding her, so I took off my glasses and she smiled really big! :-) (And I know that picture on the top left looks like my mom is choking her, but she's just burping her. I love the scrunchy little face look!)

I'm An Aunt--Proof! *fixed*

I got to see and hold Miss Ava Grace this weekend. Here is me trying to burp her the first night we were there. I couldn't seem to do it right since she's so small. I thought I might break a few bones in the process, so her mommy had to take over. It took me a while to get used to her size!


Caleb trying to get a good look a the "beebee." I think if he could have found something to climb up on, he'd have been in there with her.


This is as close as we would let Caleb get, and only once, for the sole purpose of taking a picture of him with his cousin. Sitting still for pictures isn't really what he's good at. Now, throwing and catching a ball 10,000 times a day is right up his alley!

Caleb trying to get a good look a the "beebee." I think if he could have found something to climb up on, he'd have been in there with her.

Ava is doing well. Besides keeping her mommy and daddy awake a lot wanting to feed ALL.THE.TIME and really slowly, everything is going well at their house. It was so good to be able to hold her!

One-Year Blogoversary!

I started blogging one year ago today. My other blog was started as a way to keep our family informed on how Caleb was doing and share pictures of him. Reflecting Him started because I wanted a place to share my thoughts about life, what I was studying, and what was going through my head at the time. It's turned into much more than that, and I have made some wonderful friends through this process.

One year already? Hard to believe. It all started with this post.

Ava's Home!

Ava Grace is finally home with her mommy and daddy! We're heading to their house tonight so I can finally hold that little girl. :-)

The nurse practitioner said they don't normally let babies Ava's size go home, so they can't take her anywhere for two months. Caleb won't be able to hold her or touch her because, as you know, one-year-olds are germ vehicles waiting to share their germs with anyone in sight! When she gets older and a little bigger we'll get pictures of the two of them together.

Thank you all for your prayers for Kimberly, Kurt, and Ava. They are so excited to finally have their little girl home.