Sunday, March 13, 2011

My Sweet Little Booger Butt












It's been far too long since I've uploaded some pictures of Em, so here you go. She's just the sweetest thing lately. We have SO much fun together. I told Brad the other night, I was expecting to have a holy terror on my hands by this age. She just seems to get more affectionate, better behaved, and more fun as the days go by. This week she's started to ask "where it go?" with her hands in the air. It's the cutest thing EVER!!

The other day we went to Trader Joe's. The cashier said "hey, cutie!" to Emma. Her response? "Hey, cutie!" We just about died. She's talking SO much these days. Every day she comes up with new words and puts together more words. Right now she's combining 3 or so. Her favorite song is Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. She gets us to sing it by saying "up above the....." Precious. She loves to say "come on, Lucy." She sounds so country with that one though - it usually sounds like "come own, Lucy." She also learned how to knock on doors, thanks to her Mimi. There's nothing like being in the restroom and hearing what sounds like an adult knocking on the door, only to find out it's Emma!

She's quite the little eater too. If it's spicy, she wants it. Her favorite meal of all time is jambalaya with turkey smoked sausage. She will eat TONS of it. She also likes white bean chicken chili, spaghetti (well, she hates spaghetti noodles, but loves penne, ziti, or whatever else with marinara sauce). She adores beans or peas of any kind. She hates green beans these days, but loves corn, green peas, sweet potatoes, baked potatoes (with plenty of butter, salt, pepper, and cheese!). She eats waffles just about every morning. They're easy, and I'm guaranteed that she'll eat them. She also loves cheese eggs, but only if mommy cooks them. Daddy found that one out the hard way!

She's an excellent sleeper. She goes to bed around 8:30 or so, and we don't hear a peep until 7:30-8:30 the next morning. She has to sleep with Brobee and Muno (from Yo Gabba Gabba.) I've tried taking one out, but she notices and asks for him. She's a mess. I'm not going to complain though!

We're getting her big girl room ready. Brad is still in the very slow process of cleaning out what WAS our guest bedroom/office/dumping ground for all of Brad's......well, let's be honest. Crap. We're going to paint the walls a pale pink and she's getting black and ivory toile bedding. Her furniture will also be white. I can't wait to see it come together! We plan to transition her well before Abby comes, so that it's not all new. We're going to borrow the white crib that my parents have and aren't using, and let her use that until she is really ready for a toddler bed. Why mess with 12 hours of uninterrupted sleep?? We have a toddler bed that I got off of Craigslist for $20, waiting to go. We ALSO have a twin bed and mattress that she can use next. We're all set!

I am so happy that she's getting a sister. A brother would have been a blessing too, but I've always dreamed of a sister and am SO glad that Emma will get to experience that. She'll never be alone. Never have to make decisions alone. The older I get, the more I wish I had that. I'm so blessed that Emma will. I can't wait to see the two together. Emma will be the bossy "Angelica" sister (from Rugrats, if anyone remembers that!). I can see it now. I can't wait!!

26 Weeks


So that was 26 weeks pregnant with Emma, followed by 26 weeks pregnant with Abby. I'm cracking up. Why is it that I had a full-time job, was tired all the time, and going through my first pregnancy, and I looked 100 times better than I do now?? Hysterical. I guess this is more of a picture to show you what chasing around a 20 month old all day can do to a girl. In reality, I think I was better about getting right up on Saturday mornings, getting makeup on, and having Brad snap pictures, than I am now. Now it usually occurs to me to have him take them at night, after a full day of exhaustion! I think the belly looks a little bigger with Abby though!

I'm doing pretty well. Feeling good, other than a lot of back pain and being tired all the time. Emma's started to point to my belly and say "baby," which is funny because we really don't talk about it too much. I don't want to confuse her and don't know how much she has the capability to understand. We DO read several books about babies in mommy's belly and she loves them. Maybe that's where it came from.

I have my monthly OB visit tomorrow. Things, medically speaking, have been going very well. At my last Perinatology visit, the doctor even dismissed me! She said that my doctor's office was doing a very capable job of managing my GD and that I was doing great. My blood pressure was excellent, and, pending no further complications, I don't have to go back! I'm thrilled. It was more than a notion to make it to 2 appointments a month. I will still have to have 2 per WEEK later on in my pregnancy, but I'll cross that bridge when it comes. Besides, Brad will be out for the summer for most of that time.

I've been really enjoying Abby this week. She's just so sweet - even on the inside. She NEVER keeps me up at night like Emma did. She will occasionally let me know that she doesn't like the position I'm in, but she's very nice about it. :) She has some BIG kicks that I was even able to catch on video the other night. It creeps Brad out beyond belief. I think he's watched to many science fiction movies.

Can't wait until tomorrow to hear her precious heartbeat again!

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

1st Haircut!

Miss Emma's hair. What can I say? There hasn't ever been much of it, but lately it's been weird. The front isn't really growing. I can get a tiny clip to stay in it, if she doesn't notice me putting it in. The back is a different story. The hair on the back of her head, in the center, grows. The underneath doesn't. So she's had a bit of a rat-tail. It was getting out of control, so Mommy decided it had to go. Daddy wasn't too happy with me, but maybe he should have been paying attention during the conversation where I told him what I was going to do and he said "ok." He'll learn!

Before:

She was an angel. She sat in her Mimi's lap eating a banana. She only freaked out a little towards the end when she realized that something weird was going on, but she never cried. She only shook for a minute! ;) I'm pretty darn sure her hair is going to be my color. It's exactly the same shade as mine was at her age. Brad's was WHITE when he was tiny. Not sure about any curls though. Mine didn't curl until high school, so we'll have to wait and see.


After:



Sometimes I think he must love her as much as I do.



The Dreaded "C" Word

I haven't posted any updates on my Dad in quite awhile, and there have been some pretty recent developments, so I thought I should. He was diagnosed with lung cancer about 2 years ago (I think it may have even been longer, because I don't think I was pregnant with Emma yet.) He had it surgically removed and all of his scans showed no signs of cancer. Several months ago, after having regular PET scans to detect it, we learned that his cancer was back, and in his "healthy" lung. The doctors felt pretty positive about his prognosis and prescribed chemotherapy.

He has undergone several months of chemo treatments and hasn't felt great through them, as was to be expected. He hasn't lost any hair, or vomited. However, he's got no energy, has had a terrible upset stomach, and has lost a ton of weight because of his lack of appetite and nausea. Throughout the chemo he would undergo scans to determine how well the chemo was working. The doctors felt fairly good about his treatment. After his last "big" chemo treatment, the doctors said that, while his tumors had not gotten any smaller, they were not growing either. This was good news and the doctors hoped that maintenance chemo treatments would keep the cancer stable.

Unfortunately, we found out on February 18th that this wasn't the case. His tumors had grown and had somewhat spread. The doctors don't feel that the chemo worked as well as they had hoped for because, if it did, this wouldn't have happened. Therefore, chemo was not another viable option. At this point there is only one possible treatment that may give him some more time. It's a very expensive pill regimen which has some nasty side effects. Many insurance companies will not cover it, so we were told to expect it to take weeks to be approved, if it would be at all. Luckily, my mom got a call the next day that the prescription was approved and he could start taking it the following day.

That little bottle of 30 pills would have cost over $4000 without insurance. Incredible. Dad started taking the pills a few days ago and has since had a lot of nausea, dizziness, and stomach cramps. He's a bit of a baby when it comes to stomach issues, so he's certain it's the end of the world. Men..... Because of the nausea, he's not been eating.

This morning, after speaking to his doctor, the doctor wanted to see him. They are taking him off of the pills for the next few days to see what happens. He's also got a new prescription (he's got more than I can count) for nausea. He also got to go sit through an hour and a half round of IV fluids, and gets to do the same tomorrow for dehydration. If he would quit being stubborn and drink something, we wouldn't be in this position. But, being the stubborn, hardheaded (Brad says he knows now where I get it from!) man that he is, he's still refusing to eat or drink anything.

Please keep him in your prayers right now. If you talk to him, please try to stay positive. He's well aware of how serious this is, and needs to have something to live for. We need him to get some energy back, start eating and drinking, and back on those pills so that he has a fighting chance of seeing his grand babies grow up some more. We have no clue as to where things will go from here, or of an exact prognosis or timeline. I'm devastated to think that there's a possibility that he may never get to meet Abby on this earth. Pregnancy is difficult. But trying to stay positive and enjoy this pregnancy as I know I should, is nearly impossible. I'm overjoyed that God has decided to entrust Brad and I with another blessing, but I wish he wasn't taking one away at the same time. Please pray.