A Beating Heart

Wow.....what a relief to see a beating heart today on the ultra sound. I got a few pictures of Popcorn and he/she is doing great. I feel so much better now. It feels more real to me now that I have seen the heart beat (and the head and body and tiny legs and arms. Popcorn has his/her hand up by his/her face in the pics (cute as a button). I guess only a mother could think that a black and white ultra sound picture is cute, but I do! If you look closely you can see Pocporn's itty bitty fingers (baby is facing down with head to the right, hand is close to face). My next appointment will be February 28th. I will post some other belly pics before that date so you all can see the progress.

We are happy with our ob/gyn office. The people (office staff, nurses, and doctors) are nice and were friendly to Brian and Mili (which is very important to me). This is a family affair and we left a doctor back home in Arkansas for not introducing himself to Brian. I was quick to find another doctor after that. Enough for now. Gotta get Mili a bath and get ready to teach my middle schoolers at church tonight.

Hugs and Kisses!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!

Today is my 32nd birthday. So.....Happy, Happy Birthday to ME!!
Just thought you should know.

Belly Pics

Here are some belly pics for those of you wanting to see them. I am really not that big yet but all of my clothes are too tight (especially after I eat). I will be wearing maternity clothes during this pregnancy a lot sooner than during my last. It is all fine with me. I love being pregnant, minus the "morning" sickness (still don't know why they call it morning sickness when it seems to come in waves ALL day).

We have such good friends here (good thing since we have no family here). One of my very good friends (who also has had terrible "morning" sickness with her pregnancies) has told me that she would be happy to keep Mili any of the days I don't feel well enough to care for her. We are also trying to get Mili used to the family, and their home, that she will stay at when we have the baby. The family has three teenage girls and one teenage boy and they are such godly people. I have great respect for them. The mother stays home and would be able to take Mili day or night. It has all worked out thus far. Now what happens on the day of delivery is a different story. I thought it would never be possible to have a baby away from our home and have enough support. It just reminds me that God supplies ALL of our needs according to His riches in Heaven. Isn't it great to know that God cares enough about Mili that he wants her to have great care when we are not able to meet those needs for her.

Enough for now. Hugs and Kisses to ALL.

Mili as Mary

Just wanted to share a few pics of Mili in her Mary (Jesus' mother) get-up (sp?) She still plays with Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus from the Nativity set we bought after Christmas. I refuse to take them away from her. When we put them away in their individual boxes each night she kisses them all and tells them night-night and let's not forget the shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh that follows. Mili is such a joy that I can't imagine having two to love and share each day with. Wow....how lucky am I to be Mili and Popcorn's mommy.

Speaking of Popcorn. We have our first dr. visit on Wednesday. Can't wait. I will give an update after we return.

Hope you enjoy the sweet pics.

First here are few pics I wanted to share of the tiny bit of snow (Mili calls it snowman because she has been playing with some stuffed snowmen since before Christmas) and Mili with my heels on (surprisingly she can walk in them). Sorry they are totally unrelated.

We have had a horrible visitor lately. It is called the "Big Fat COLD"!!! Brian and I are tired of wiping a runny nose and listening to a horrific cough. Today has been the first day in a while that I am able to write because Mili has been on me or at my feet 24-7 for a couple of days. Crying every moment I am away or put her down. It has been emotionally exhausting for me (and Brian as well.....he kept Mili on Sunday while I went to church and a meeting following). I am trying to remember what I feel like when I am sick and be sympathetic but it is very hard when I am having waves of nausea (no vomiting.....thank goodness).

I think this may possibly be the worst cold Mili has ever had. The last couple of nights we have put her to bed like any other night and then around 1:00 AM she is up crying and can't go back to sleep so Brian has slept with her in the recliner to keep her upright so she can breath better resulting in all three of us getting better sleep. Unfortunately Brian is now coming down with something similar to Mili's cold and is not happy about it. However, last night was much better with Mili and she only woke up two times and went back to sleep both times. I feel more rested than I have in a very long time. I am not sure if it is the amount of continual sleep without a break or getting more use to the pregnancy thing again, maybe a little of both. These past few days have reminded us again how it feels to be woke up often during the night. We are not looking forward to that part of having a wonderful new life in our home. Even though we talk about the negatives a lot we would sacrifice anything and everything for Mili so we will obviously feel the same about Popcorn (the baby's name until gender is determined).

Speaking of Popcorn.....I get so excited about the new updates I get on email explaining what things are developing on and in the baby. Wow....I forgot how much I enjoyed following the development.

Mili's development is skyrocketing. She recognizes animals and foods in books and can name them or sign them or both. She calls her magnetic letters her "ABC's" and some days they are her "ABCD's". We are working on colors now and she has not quite mastered that yet. Her personality has become much more independent with her decisions to do what I say or not. I will tell her to do something like clean-up or put her cup on the table and I normally get a "NO" first and then I give her the "look" and say MILI very much different from my regular voice and she is usually on her way to doing whatever I asked. She feels very strongly these days about not wearing a bow in her hair while she plays at home. I guess the hair dangling in her eyes doesn't bother her.....It BOTHERS me very much. When we are getting ready to go out somewhere she wants a bow in her hair before we leave. WHATEVER....I have stopped trying to figure out a 19 month old and just try to take care of the things that matter.

I think Mili is going to play some kind of instrument when she gets older. She loves her drums and her xylophone. She prefers to bang the sticks on things other than the drums or xylophone (ie....walls, tv, entertainment center, couch, chairs, table, glass balcony doors, other toys ....you get the picture) and we have had more than words about this act. Many times she just gets her sticks (they are textured) and rubs them together in a very cute, organized fashion.

Well enough about us. Hope all of you are doing well and staying warm. Hugs and Kisses to all.

Mommy, is it COLD outside yet????

Here is our little trooper. She worked diligently to get these boots on. She is so proud of the outcome but soon finds out that she is unable to move from the position she is in. So she stands there and whines because she doesn't know what to do but she doesn't want out of them. I decided to take the opportunity to snap a photo of the experience (which is hard to get these days because she is always on the move). This was great for me because she was stationary for an extend amount of time.

It is finally getting cold here. By this time last year we probably already had about five snows. We hope to get snow on Sunday night but I will believe it when I see it (go figure, at night when Mili can't see it falling). Last year Mili didn't like the snow. We have pictures of her sitting in the snow on the balcony crying. I think she would like it this year if we ever get any. I thought when we moved here the "Arkansas" weather was no more. Boy, was I wrong. We seem to be getting the same strain of weather you all in Arkansas are getting just a few days later. It has been unseasonably warm here. Other than not getting snow yet, I don't mind it much since I hate to have to bundle up Mili and put on a bulky coat.

Ok, that is enough complaining. We have had an incredibly busy week but we are looking forward to some family time this weekend.

Hair Wars

I haven't posted pictures of Mili since Christmas and just wanted to update you all with her cute, sweet face. I think she is so cute with nothing but a towel on. There is something so innocent about those pictures. Nothing more beautiful than wet hair out of her face with wet eyelashes.

Each time I look at her I realize I love her even more (if that is possible). Speaking of hair out of her face. It is becoming a chore to find a way to do just that. We have hair wars (mostly on my part, she sits pretty still and doesn't really complain much) everyday. During the day when we have no place to go, I try to pin it back with a little bow or clip just to keep it out of her face. When we go out, I like to have it fixed like in the picture or in one ponytail on top of her head (although that is now too long and lays over to one side). It is not quite long enough for a full UP pony and so I guess I am stuck with the piggytails until it grows a bit more. If Mili's hair were not so much like mine (fine, fly-away, growing new hair around her hairline 24-7, so it is always sticking up somewhere) then I would not be writing this right now. I guess there are worse things she could have gotten from me.

I have had some nausea in the last few days. Smells are bothering me a little bit and cooking is becoming a tiny problem. Tuesday I was going to BBQ some left over pork roast for sandwiches and after cutting up all the meat I was feeling pretty sick. I managed to mix up the BBQ sauce (my special recipe) and Brian arrived home just in time to cook it. Needless to say I did not eat dinner that night and was doing a lot of fanning during the cooking process. Every time I get a little nausea I have flashbacks of my "morning sickness" (all day) with my first pregnancy. I don't wish that on my worst enemy (not that I have any...smile, I hope not many anyway).

Brian's back is better, thanks to all of you for your prayers and he is able to pick up Mili again. Boy am I thankful for his help when he is able (I don't know how single parents raise children).

We are counting down the days until we go to the doctor and get to hear or see the baby's heartbeat for the first time.

Hugs and kisses to all!

Comments please

I sometimes read blogs of individuals I don't know because they are linked to my friends blogs. Because I have been doing this and because I read a sweet, sweet comment on Leann's blog from Stephanie (thank you Stephanie but I am not worthy of the words you said about me and keep on reading). I wanted to know who is reading my blog. I was unaware that I could change my comment format so anyone (not just registered bloggers) could leave a comment easily.

Now, for those of you that barely know how to turn the computer on (I love you, Mrs. Mary) I will explain how to leave a comment. First you click on the comment word at the bottom of this entry. A box will come up and you type your message in the box, scroll down and where it says "blogger identity" you need to click on the "other" button. Then type your name and go down to the "word verification" type in the letters and then click on the publish comment button.
Not so hard, Right???

Please leave a comment and if I don't know you but you read my blog (which is perfectly ok) then please tell me how you found me and if you have a blog.

Thanks to everyone that views my blog regularly. I hope to start a series of pregnant pictures soon.

PS My first doctors appointment for the baby is Jan. 31st and it is killing me to wait that long.

Love to all and hope to hear from you soon.

Happenings in our Home

What's Happenin'? Well, my belly is excited to be doing this pregnancy thing again and has decided to explode in the last two or three days. What fun it is for me to realize there is a life in there and I can't wait to meet him or her (hopefully not them). We are already thinking of names. For those of you that don't know how we deal with a pregnancy in our home it is very name oriented. From the moment we find out we are expecting we have a name for the baby, a unisex name, usually a name of a food. Mili's name was Tater-Tot until we find out she was a girl and we went right home and looked for a name staying awake until we found one we both liked. From that time on we called her Mili.

This baby's name is Popcorn. Popcorn is growing and we can't wait to visit the doctor for the first time to hear or see the heartbeat. I will feel better about the whole thing after I see or hear some sign of life. Thank God for technology these days to help us connect with the real life growing inside of me.

I started a bible study (Beth Moore) this morning. It is a small group of three women who also have toddlers. One lady has a 12 month old girl, and the other lady has a 23 month old boy, and Mili is 19 months old. They all played very well today and I enjoyed my time with other women who understand what I go through everyday as a stay-at-home mom.

Mili has her mind set on Rarry and Boba from Veggietales from the time she wakes up in the morning until she lays her head down at night. I have limited her time to watch Larry and Bob to only 30 minutes a day. It is getting way out of hand for me. I did download some coloring pages of Larry and Bob for her tonight. She acted as if I had given her 10 potatoes are Mili's favorite food). Mili asks for potatoes at breakfast, lunch and dinner (she can not say it but she knows the sign for it and I wish I had never taught it to her now). When Mili eats anything else she will stop on her own and tell me that she is finished and then I stop feeding her but with potatoes there is no limit. She will keep eating and so I have to limit her intake of the starchy substance (I try to always load it with cheese and broccoli, sometimes chicken). We are still trying to get her to eat hard foods. No luck yet. I plan to continue trying until we are successful.

We also tried some potty training last week but have since decided to wait a little bit. When Mili finally went peepee in the potty it scared her. She said No, No, No the whole time and she would hold the rest of her urine and later empty it into her pull-up. Before, she loved to sit on the potty and now she cries so I am waiting for a month or so before we start that again. I donÂ’t want her to be scared of the potty. Any suggestions for me from you other moms out there. I am always ready to try anything that will help. I was just trying to get a head start on the training since I wanted Mili to be out of diapers before the new baby is born, not long after Mili's second birthday.

Sunday, Brian had some very strong back pain which has continued on through yesterday and today. He has not been well and I now realize how much he really helps me around the house and with Mili. It is amazing how much I take for granted with him. I am not happy that he is in pain but I am happy that it has made me realize how much help Brian is around here. He is such a great husband and father (a little protective with the pregnancy thing but he was that way when I was pregnant with Mili too).

Okay, enough babbling about our family. I have pregnant brain so it makes me tired to remember what we did last week.

Hugs and Kisses

Bye Bye 2006 Hello 2007

Wow, what a wonderful 2006!!!! We were blessed with the ability to visit Arkansas in the summer and at Christmas time. Brian has a great job that he enjoys going to and I was able to work from home through most of the year as well (other than being a mommy, which is a full time job in itself). Mili has grown and explored everything under, on top of (climbing), and around the house. We have a wonderful church family and have made eternal friends. Thank God these are friends that we can count on to help us with anything (since we have no family here). Everyone was healthy in 2006 and we are very grateful for that. Of course, the fact that we will have an addition to our family in the summer of 2007 is an awesome blessing. There are really too many blessings to list, these are just a few of the most important ones.

My New Year’s Resolutions are:

Read through the entire Bible in 2007

Encourage others more

Be more aware of peoples needs around me

Give God the glory for everything I do

Give thanks for everything…….good and bad


Not that you all really care about MY resolutions but it helps keep me honest when I know that others know about them. It also makes them more real to me if they are in writing.

Wishing all of you a wonderful 2007!