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Sunday, October 30, 2011

I know the sex of the baby....

Well MAYBE anyway. :) Rachel here. So... basically... my curiosity got the best of me, and I decided to do some research. We went in Friday for my first trimester screening... they test for Down Syndrome, amongst other things, through blood work and an ultrasound. The technician is taking all these pictures... blah blah blah... I ask him if he can tell the sex this early? He says that this particular machine doesn't give that big of details... blah blah blah... so I gave up on him pretty quickly and took matters into my own hands. I found this site... basically this is what I learned: at this phase in development (12-13 weeks) all genitalia is external. All dem babays look like boys. EXCEPT... their little "dangles" as this site referred to them as... point in different directions... causing a different angle. Like... so...

(NOTE... NEITHER OF THESE PHOTOS ARE OF OUR BABY BOO!)
The "dangle"... the pointy thing all the way to the left that looks like a penis is parallel to the baby's spine... it points straight out. This is apparently a baby girl.In this photo the "dangle" is pointed straight up... apparently creating a 30 or so degree angle... this is a boy.After looking at our photos, our baby DEFINITELY matches one of these models... which one... I will not say until there is some confirmation so as to not look like a total schmuck. :)

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Un... deux... trois...

Rachel here. Our family of 4 will morph into a family of 5 come May! Holy Shenanigans!We're currently faced with a flood of emotions. Excitement... hello! ANOTHER PEANUT! Nervous... 3 kids? OMG! Scared... I can't wrap my mind around having enough love inside for 3... I feel like Reese and Emma Grace already drain all the love out of me just by looking at me. I know once Baby Boo (Boo is from Monster's Inc... the girls have been asking for a baby, but only if it's like B00!) arrives, everything will fall into place.

Logistics. Today I'm officially 12 weeks. We found out only two days before the App St. game (see how events in our lives are related to VT events?), which made for some awkwardly sneaky moments during tailgating and venturing downtown for various festivities. Poor Bryan... he consumed enough alcohol for 3... and did so semi gracefully... while I put various bottles of beer to my lips... such a tease. That puts me due May 8th... while Bryan is still finishing up with shenanigans in Abingdon. It's going to be a LONG winter... that's for sure.

Unfortunately I'm battling Rhinitis once again. It's an increase of mucus production due to estrogen levels. I wake up in the morning with a throat/nose filled... which causes me to get sick. Lovely huh? I successfully puked everyday during both pregnancies with the girls... I can only imagine this will be the same. I'm having a hard time managing my hunger. I'm hungry all the time, which is a real pain... and often find myself too hungry. It's hard to keep up with the two girls and myself! I'm used to catering to them first and then doing what I need to do for myself, but I'm trying to learn I can't do that right now. It's hard.

We're still planning on listing the house according to schedule. We were absolutely NOT willing to put our family on hold based on whether or not our house would sell in a timely manner. The girls will be bunking up, Baby Boo will have his/her own room, and we'll move on from there.

We are all unbelievably excited! When we told Reese, she had the most disgusted look on her face "well, I guess I'm exciting (that's how she says excited), as long as it's a girl, and I can teach her how to share." When we asked EG if she wanted to be a big sister, she said "no, my (I) a witch!" Luckily we have some time to get them semi used to the idea before Boo comes.

One last tidbit... this is our FINAL child... I'm really feeling this one and just can't seem to get enough rest. That Michelle Dugger is off her rocker... for reals!

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Up and Downs...

Yesterday Daddy took me to the BC vs. VT football game! It was so fun! I managed to eat popcorn, a milkshake, a snow cone, and a pretzel... there may have been more... and then when I came home, I wanted more food. Egads! Here I am all dolled up with Daddy:... and then at the game (thanks for the pix Auntie Lu and Kara!)...
Daddy even allowed me to partake in one of the Hokie traditions... thank god Mommy wasn't there... she would have totally nixed this one, but look at the pure joy written all over my face.

Parent's Night

Last week was Parent's week at dance class. That means all the parents were allowed to come in and take a peek at us "in our element." It was awesome! My class is actually a tad bigger than this, but some children were missing, and others wouldn't leave their parents' laps. Oy. I was definitely pleased as punch to show what I was made of. In fact each time I performed, I demanded that Mommy clap for me. Classy. ;)In our hour long class we do ballet, tap, and some gymnastics. It's uber fun, and we all look ridiculously cute.We also have a "free expressive" dance of sorts. It seems to be everyone's favorite time.And for your viewing pleasure... ;)

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Surgeries 2 and 3?

Rachel here. We just returned from Reese's 4 year well checkup. She's as healthy as they come. Our ped was shocked to notice that she hadn't been in since her 3 year well! I think our kids must be abnormally healthy... neither of them has ever even had an ear infection! She's completely up to par on everything she should be doing... average weight and ridiculously tall... we're ecstatic to have such a sweet healthy girl! There, however, are two causes for concern.

First... her umbilical hernia. Both our girls were born with them. Reese's is exponentially worse than EG's, and we'd hoped it would have closed on it's own before she turned 2. It's just as big today as it was when she was born, so we've come to the time where it's time for surgery. Our ped sent the referral in today, and we should hear back in the next 48 hours as to what our first plan of action is. I'm pretty freaked out, but she's been through one minor surgery before, and I know she's a fighter... so we're optimistic.

Second... her frenulum is still attached and starting to cause some speech issues. She has difficulty pronouncing words that begin with the letter 'l' and with the 'th' sound... both of which require your tongue to touch the roof of your mouth. We never had it clipped when she was younger because we were hopeful that it would rip on it's own... womp womp. Now it has a blood vessel running through it, which causes a bit more of a predicament. What could have been a quick snip in the ped's office is now another contender for surgery. Our ped suggested meeting with a speech specialist to begin working with her... in an attempt to see if the sounds were something she could master on her own with practice, or if they thought a clip would be the better option. After a quick conversation, our ped thought he would try to combine the frenulum surgery along with the umbilical hernia surgery. We would have to meet with a general surgeon... preferably a pediatric surgeon... and see if this would be an option... if so... we'd jump on it in a heartbeat. Of course that's assuming it would be safe. I'd much rather have her under once and with one short period of recovery than 2. She was pretty yucky after coming out of anesthesia for her sty surgery.

There is a third and minor concern with our tot. She's been grinding her teeth in her sleep. We only notice it when she's shuffling about... like if we go to check on her and shift her a bit. Reasons for this could be not enough sleep, stress, or the alignment of her teeth. She has a dentist appointment Thursday, so that will be a major discussion. It could be something she outgrows or something she'll need a mouth guard for. Our ped said they rarely have a child with baby teeth wear a mouth guard, so we'll see what happens.

Poor girl is healthy as an ox but may soon be a surgery veteran!

Monday, October 17, 2011

A hunting we will go...

The Pumpkin Patch 2011 in pictures.

Yodelaheehoo!

Howdy. ;) Saturday was my 4th birthday bash. We had a cowgirl/Jessie/Toy Story theme. I wanted toy story, and Mommy didn't want it to be TOO Toy Story, so she got to work researching. When it comes time for birthday parties, Mommy's best friends are Google and Etsy. :) She found a really sweet invitation on Beth Kruse's blog and tweaked it a bit.The setup was cowboy style food. Hot dogs, cole slaw, baked beans, barbecue chips... it was yummy.Jackson's Mommy had these adorable cupcake toppers at his party, and Mommy fell in love. She'd seen them before but just wasn't sure how she felt about them. Mere makes everything look good. :) Etsy was a gold mine when it came to these, so Mommy got a little inspiration from hollycatedesigns and came up with these:The applesauce covers and s'mores pops were ideas from BK as well... she's a genius. :)Some of the decor.Favors were cowboy hats filled with a snake (There's a snake in my boot!), army men, a sheriff's badge, Reese's pb cups, a slinky, and Toy Story fruit snacks wrapped in a red bandanna.The bounce house made an appearance with an ungodly number of children playing in it. This thing has paid for itself 10 fold.Western do-a-dots.CUPCAKES! Mommy tried the new Fundamiddle cupcakes... REALLY GOOD!We've officially entered the phase where all the kids get all up in the present opening business... hilarious.Happy Birthday to me! Thank you so much to all of my friends and family that helped me celebrate!

On a bittersweet note... this may have been the last party to be thrown in this house... assuming we sell the bad boy before June. :)

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

A quaint little celebration

Yesterday I turned 4. My birthday bash is this Saturday, so yesterday we had a mini celebration at home. I got to pick dinner... homemade mac and cheese, popcorn chicken, green beans, and yams. It was scrumptious! After dinner, it was time to open presents from Mommy, Daddy, and Emma Grace... once I was able to pry the gifts out of the little's hands that is.EG got me the playdoh cake maker that I wanted and a Fancy Nancy dress up bookFrom the parentals I got a Trunki, which I promptly filled with the books, The Incredibles movie, and Slinky Dog that they also got me.We finished the evening off with some of Daddy's yummy cake... reincarnated just for me. :)It was a super fun birthday, and I can't wait to really get down and celebrate this weekend!

Here is my birthday interview for this year... I was preoccupied during said interview... perhaps next year Mommy will learn to sit in a quiet room and conduct such business... moms.

What is your name? Reese
How old are you? Four

What is your favorite food? Chocolate milk
Fruit? Grapes
Vegetable? Peas
Color? "Well, we take turns with colors. My favorite color is purple now."
Number? 34
Toy? Sprinkly Bunny... which she's been asking for since she turned 2... oy.
Book? Shrek
Holiday? Halloween
Animal? Donkey (we were watching Shrek)
Song? Happy Birthday
Show? Wow Wow Wubbzy... which we haven't watched in months and month and months.
Movie? "Shrek" "Is it really?" "Or maybe it's Snow White."

What do you want for your birthday? "A dinosaur that can move his feet and make sounds like 'roaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar!' "

If you could change your name, what would you change it to? Musha

What do you want to be when you grow up? A grown up. Why? "Well, because I growed up."

Who are your friends? "Ty... that's it."

What is something you like about Mommy? "I like about you... singing songs."
Daddy? "At swimming lessons, he sits down on the chair with me."
Emma Grace? "Watching movies with her."

What is something that you would like to do this year? "I want to play with toys."