22 months and 13 weeks!

Madelyn at 22 months is a bundle of fun! Her vocabulary is exploding and it seems every day she is saying something new. It's so exciting to wake up every day and wonder what she will say today! I think my favorite new thing she is doing is how she says "Booboo". My hands are very dry this time of year from washing them so much, and I have a couple tiny cracks on my knuckles. When she notices them, so gets real quiet and points to them and almost whispers "booboo". The tone in her voice sounds so much like she is saying "Awww. Mommy has a booboo. Poor Mommy." You have to hear it to really appreciate it, but it is so precious. It's so hard to get a video of her doing or saying stuff on command, but if I happen to get that on video, I would definitely post it. She is really starting to show empathy, and it is soo cute! She also LOVES to squeal! She loves trucks or big vehicles of any kind. When she sees a bus, a tractor, or anything that resembles them, she goes nuts! Her favorite movie is Cars, and she can't even get through the first 5 minutes without squealing! She does the same thing every time she sees an airplane or helicopter. It's so awesome to see everything through her eyes while she experiences so many new things. I just love this age!!!

I am a little over 13 weeks pregnant now. Everything seems to be going just fine. I often think the nausea is gone to find in an hour that it's not. I haven't gained any weight yet, actually have lost about 5.5 lbs. I can't seem to get much of an appetite. Sometimes I have to force myself to eat. I go back to the doctor in another week and a half and I am hoping by then I have at least gained back the weight I lost. I know I should be eating better, but it's so hard!

We definitely want to find out the sex of this baby, and we are very anxious to know what we will be having. I will probably be having my ultrasound a week or so before Christmas. Our plan is to have the tech write the sex of the baby in a Christmas card, and then open it together on Christmas morning. That is if we can hold out that long! I think I will have to have Gregg put it in the safe and lock it up...I like to snoop!

A couple of times I thought I felt the baby moving. Nothing real strong yet, but very gentle kicks. I might just be hoping....but it is an awesome feeling, nonetheless. :) I should be feeling it soon anyway. I just cannot wait! That is what makes pregnancy so fun. I really enjoyed almost every minute of my pregnancy with Madelyn, and I can't wait to feel this baby too! How can you possibly not believe in God once you have experienced pregnancy?? I know he is doing amazing things in my body that I can't see, and every day I thank him for that.

I am on my second day of my three day work weekend, and then I have off for 11 days again! I live for my weekend off.

Lots of love to all our friends and family. xoxo

Pictures

Time to post some new pictures from the last week or two. Madelyn has just been so sweet the last few days. She says something new every day, and is just growing and learning so much. It's so awesome!

Here's Madi with my mom, who we call Grandma. A couple times we think we have heard Madi say "Nana", but we aren't sure if she was actually meaning Nana or just saying those syllables. She loves her "Nana"! Every time we pull into Nana and Grandpa's driveway, she squeals and squeals. She gets so excited to see them, just like they get excited to see her!



Last week I had just gotten Madi out of the tub and dried her off, and she was still naked when she sat on her potty and peed! I couldn't believe it, and I think I probably scared the heck out of her by screaming and going crazy! She hasn't done it again since then, but is very interested in her potty and sits on it all the time. It's so hard to get pictures of her because she is always on the move, but she had just been sitting next to the potty and clapping when I snapped this picture.

Friday night was supposed to be trick or treat in our township, but it rained all night, so we stayed in. But on Sunday I got up a little early and went up to Gregg's parents town and went trick or treating with his sister's kids and Mimi. It was a lot of fun, and Madelyn LOVED it! She knew just what to do, it seems. As you can see, she went as Pooh, and has learned to say Pooh, but it sounds more like "Boo". She got lots of yummy treats that we---- I mean SHE has been enjoying. ;) I kept telling her to pick the good stuff...like Kit Kat and Reese's, but she likes lolly pops. :) We had a blast and then we all went back to Gregg's parents house for lasagna! In Madelyn's words, "Num num"!!

I plan on taking more belly pictures tonight and hopefully will post some tomorrow.

New camera

We got a new camera last night, so I thought I would share some snapshots of our night with Madi. She was in such a good mood and had so much fun with daddy. She is the joy of our lives!

Here I am!

I had another doctor appointment on Tuesday, and here is what I saw! He (for this post, I am going to refer to the baby as he) looks great. His heartbeat is great and he is growing great. It is so exciting! We could see his little legs kicking, though it will be a few weeks until I will be able to feel it. He is 4.3 cm from head to butt. I always feel wonderful after a doctor appointment. At times it is hard to believe that I am pregnant again, but seeing him on the screen really makes it real. My nausea is just about completely gone. But the fatigue is still hanging around. I have been going to bed by about 9:30 every night, and even that feels late. The measurements she got indicated that he is ahead of what we thought, and that the due date would be May 6. But she said that they keep the due date at what the nurse documented at the OB education appointment, which was May 9-- Gregg's birthday! We think that is pretty cool, but I am hoping the baby doesn't go that long! I've been seeing so many babies lately, and I cannot wait to hold a tiny little one again!


Finding Nemo on Ice was a blast! It was so much fun. When Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy came out on the ice to do the intro, Madi started squealing and didn't stop for about 10 minutes. There was a teenage girl sitting next to me, and she kept looking over at her, and seemed to be thinking, "Make her be quiet!" Wait till she has a kid! When a fun song came on, Madi started doing a little dance, it was so cute. Gregg and I both loved it, too, and we both said we would definitely do it again. Here are some pictures from the night.

This is Madelyn squealing when they first came out. (Sorry, my hand got in the way)


Madi and her daddy before it started.

Most of the pictures I got were too dark, but this one was the best.

These last 21 months have gone so fast, and Madelyn is a big girl now! I was at Walmart the other day and was getting diapers and was in the baby section, and it hit me that there is not much in the baby section for Madi anymore! Only sippy cups and diapers. She doesn't eat any baby food at all. Not even Graduates. It made me sad that she is growing up but at the same time, excited for where we are going with her. She's discovered she loves to color and draw with a pencil. She does a bunch of animal sounds now and it just sounds so cute! When I am holding her, she pats my back. She is doing something new every day, and I am totally loving it. Oh yeah, I forgot a couple words she says. Hello, hi, byebye, and booboo can be added to the list. And she also LOVES raw green peppers. Green peppers and cucumbers are about the only veggies I can get her to eat without fighting with her.

I am back to work this weekend, so if I don't post, that's why. :(

Finally figured out how to post pictures!

Updates

Today I hit the big 10 weeks! The nausea seems to be letting up a bit. Today I am wearing a maternity outfit for the first time. I actually feel like I got bigger just today...maybe just wishful thinking. :) My appointment on Sept. 28 went very well. The baby is still measuring right on for May 8th. Wouldn't it be something if I delivered a day late, on Gregg's birthday? Madelyn was 19 days early, so I am not anticipating going late, but it still would be cool! We heard the heartbeat during the ultrasound, nice and strong at 172. At work this past weekend, I wanted to see if I could hear the heartbeat with the doppler we have on our unit. Low and behold, we could hear the wonderful sound. :) I had all the girls at work grinning from ear to ear. Even one girl who I barely ever see smile was smiling so big. It was awesome. It is really reassuring to be able to hear the little one every time I am at work.

I am enjoying having off from work now. The weekends tire me out. I haven't gotten much done in the way of housework, but it sure is wonderful to get caught up on some sleep.

I can't wait! Tomorrow night Gregg, me and Madi are going to see Finding Nemo on Ice!!!! It's in Reading. I have never been to anything "on ice" and I am sure it is going to be an experience. I will be sure to post some pictures of tomorrow night, as well as some belly pictures in the coming days.

Some updates on Madelyn:
Here are the words she says (I may forget some)
- No
- Momma
- Dadda
- "om" (home)
- "dis" (this)
- Oh no!
- Oh my!
- dirty
- bubble
- Bible (sounds a lot like bubble!)
- moe (more)
- ha (hat)
- yay!
- ball
- go

I know there are more, but I can't think of them right now. Some of her favorite foods are
cucumbers, spaghetti, pizza, raisins, milk, Cinnamon Life, Strawberry Frosted Mini Wheats, cheese. She does not like potatoes at all and will only eat french fries or tater tots. She doesn't like eggs either.

I am going to try to post a picture of her and then I have to go get some housework done!

Our big news

This is just a quick post. I just worked the weekend, and have been up for 24 hours with only a 2 hour nap. I am exhausted. But, we are ready to tell the world our big news, and I will be posting pictures soon. I am off work now for 11 days, so I hope to update you all on how things have been going. So long for now.