Pregnancy Update - 24 Weeks

How far along: 24 weeks!!  :D

Due date: May 9, 2014

Next doctor's appointment: Feb. 12th

Our baby is the size of a veggie/fruit/food: Grapefruit, Ear of Corn, Canteloupe

Our baby in man terms: Over-inflated football

Total weight gain/loss: +9 lbs

News: We had a doctor's appointment this week, everything looked good!  Connor's heartrate was 135bpm.  He was also kicking the doppler as the nurse was getting his heartrate.  My doctor said that my weight and blood pressure are great!  At our next appointment I'll do my glucose screening for gestational diabetes and get my rhogam shot.  Should be very exciting.  :)  4 more weeks!

Best moments this week: Datenight with my hubby!!  We don't go out very often anymore, but Mama agreed to babysit Avery from the time of our appointment into the evening so we could go see a movie (The Hobbit) for Michael's birthday.  :)  Connor LOVED datenight!  I don't know if it was the Pepsi, the cheese fries, or the loud, action packed, exciting movie, but he was bouncing ALL OVER the place!  :P  It was fun!  I had Michael's hand on my stomach most of the night, constantly moving it around because Connor would kick one direction (not the band) then punch in another!  Like I said, he was all over the place!  :P  We had soooo much fun!!  Thanks, Mama, for watching Avery!  We enjoyed our evening very much!

Milestones: We reached the 24 weeks mark, the age of viability!!  That means that if Connor were to arrive far to early he would have a chance of living at this point.  Each week those chances get better and better!  But of course, as the March of Dimes say, healthy babies are worth the wait, so we are hoping for at least 39 weeks.  :)

Symptoms: Fatigue, heartburn, back aches

Maternity clothes? Yup

Stretch marks? No new ones

Belly Button in or out? In

Movement: Yup

Gender: Boy

Sleep: Oh, my poor sleeping patterns.  :(  Sleeping is getting tougher and tougher.  Rolling around in bed is getting tough too.  I don't remember feeling so large at only 6 months last time, but maybe I was.  I'm tired a lot of days, and I think it's because I'm not sleeping so well.  But then again, this last week I was working a lot, so that could be contributing as well.

Food cravings: Fresh and homemade food, I've been eating a lot of frozen meals and ramen because it's quick and easy while I'm watching the babies and I'm tired of it.

Food aversions: Cooking and processed foods

What I miss: Being able to get right up, instead of rolling out of bed, lol

What I'm loving: Movement!  Connor is a very active boy.  :)

What I'm looking forward to: Meeting my little man!  We are only a few weeks away from the 3rd trimester, that's exciting!  I'm also looking forward to my doctor's appointments getting closer together.  :)

Thoughts and feelings about Michael: I appreciate all of Michael's help around the house, especially with meals.  I have no desire what-so-ever to cook.  Michael takes good care of me.  :)

Thoughts and feelings about Avery: Avery is such a sweet and happy baby.  She has her grumpy moments and days, but so do I.  I love her so very much!  :)

Labor signs: Nope

Goals: Not to be so stressed this week.

Weekly Wisdom: Be happy.  :)

Pictures of Avery!!

It's been a while since I posted pictures on here.  Since some of you who read my blog don't have facebook to see them there, here are some pictures of my beautiful baby girl from the last month.  :)

First, some pictures from just the other day, playing in the bathtub.  Avery got some bath crayons for Christmas from Grandma and Granpa Henrie and she loves them!  I expected them to melt in the bath, but they held up really well!  She had so much fun!!  :D

Next there's a picture of Avery and Dayton going up the stairs.  My doctor told me not to carry both of them at once (50-60lbs), so this is how the babies go up the stairs for nap time.  They really seem to enjoy the freedom of being permitted to climb.  ;)  And I don't have to carry heavy babies up the stairs!  Win-win!!  Going down is not nearly as easy though.

After that I have a few family pictures, our last ones of 2013.  We took a few pictures together before we put Avery down for bed that night.  Those are our family saying goodbye to 2013 and welcoming what 2014 has to offer.  :)

As many of you may know, Avery is sleeping in her big girl toddler bed now!  We'll start napping there next week, so for now it's just for bedtime.  She is doing great!  We waited until just before she turned 15 months old (for safety reasons) to put her in it and haven't looked back!  She's a trooper and doing an amazing job with her bed! 

Next, we have some pictures of Avery, Madison, Harlee, and Gabby out at Glenn and Linda's land.  We went out there while we were visiting for Christmas.  Believe it or not, I think it was the first time Avery's been out there!  The puppies enjoyed going out and checking out all the new smells.  Then, to keep the babies out of the cold, we opened up the back of my car where they and the dogs played a little.  :)

Towards the end I have included pictures from Avery's second annual basketball game!  This year she came to the Troy game.  :)  And while it wasn't perfect, I think she did as good as could be expected from a 1 year old.  :)  Love my little Wildcat fan!!

Last, I have a picture of Avery and Michael.  Now, Michael will probably not be too thrilled that I posted this picture, but he reads our blog so seldom, he may not even notice, lol!  One morning Michael and Avery were laying in bed watching TV and I caught them laying the exact same way, lol!  It was just too cute!  Michael does not post pictures of himself without a shirt on, not because he has anything to be self-conscious about, but because no one really wants to see those kinds of pictures, we see enough of that from others on facebook (not attractive).  But with him and Avery sitting there together, I just couldn't help it.  This pic is a blog exclusive because I won't put it on facebook.  :P

Hope you've enjoyed some recent pics of our family!  We love you and look forward to posting more pictures soon!  :D

Doctor!

Today we see the doctor again at 4:30pm.  Should be a fairly normal appointment.  Today we're at 23 weeks and 5 days.  2 more days until we get to the viability point (which is the age in which the baby has a chance of survival outside the womb).  I don't think this is going to be any sort of an issue, because I've had no signs of pre-term labor or anything, just another one of those little milestones to be excited about hitting.  I think the next little milestone we'll have to look forward to is reaching the 3rd trimester, which is the 27 week mark.  So we'll only have a little over 3 more weeks until we get there.  :)  I believe at our next appointment (4 weeks from today) we'll have our glucose tolerance test to check for gestational diabetes.  I didn't have any issues with gd or this test when I was pregnant with Avery, and my urine dips have always come back without sugar in them, so again, I don't think I'll have any problems with this test or issue.  Beyond the 27 week mark what will we be looking forward to?  Well, at 32 weeks we'll begin seeing the doctor every 2 weeks instead of every 4 weeks!  Hooray!!  That means we're getting close to being finished!!  At 36 weeks we'll see the doctor weekly!  Even better!!  Then, hopefully, sometime around the 40 week mark our little man will make his appearence!!  :D  We'll see where my platelet levels lay in another month.  That could have a great deal of an effect on how the appointments go for the last several weeks of the pregnancy.  With Avery, my platelets were dropping throughout the pregnancy and I had to get regular blood draws.  Hopefully my numbers are a little more stable this time and we don't have to go through as much of that.  All that being said, I requested that I be induced on Avery's due date (because I was mentally and physically done being pregnant), and my doctor agreed to schedule the induction because of my falling platelets.  However, as you may remember, Miss Avery decided on her own timing to enter the world and I went into labor the day before she was due, having her in the morning/afternoon on her due date without having to be induced.  :)  I was glad she came on her own, but would have had no problem being induced.  The same thing goes for Connor.  I want him to come when he's ready, but if he's not here by his due date of the 9th, he has until the 12th to come or I'll schedule another induction.  And as much as I want to have him at the Birthcare Center, if getting him out means going to the hospital, I'll do that.  Although, since my first delivery went well, I think they'll let me go to the Birthcare Center even if I'm induced.  I guess we'll just wait and see.  :)  Only 16 weeks and 2 days left to go!!  Time is flying by!  I'll try to update you more after the appointment, but I'm not sure that there will be much to tell.  :P  Just excited that our boy is growing and we're getting closer every day to meeting him!  :)

Pregnancy Update - 23 Weeks

I almost forgot that we gained another week yesterday until I got on my phone and my pregnancy widget was showing a pomegranite instead of a papaya.  It's kind of funny all the random fruits they use to show you how big your baby is week by week, but I enjoy it.  :)  I like seeing that my baby is growing and having some new fruit to look forward to each week.  :)

How far along: 23 weeks 1 day

Due date: May 9, 2014

Next doctor's appointment: Jan. 15, less than a week away!!

Our baby is the size of a veggie/fruit/food: Pomegranate, Large Mango, or Grapefruit

Our baby in man terms: Over-inflated Football

Total weight gain/loss: +7.6 lbs, nice to see the weight gain leveling out for a moment.  I know I gain a good deal of my weight in the 3rd trimester, so I need the 2nd to stop trying to do me in, lol!  Speaking of which, only 4 more weeks until we hit the 3rd trimester!!  Since we shared ours news it seems like the pregnancy has been going by sooo fast!!

News: Almost to the viability point, only 6 more days!

Best moments this week: Lots of movement!  The anterior placenta doesn't seem to be much of a problem anymore.  :)  Michael and I can both feel Connor moving a lot!  :)

Milestones: We hit 23 weeks!  Baby boy continues to grow!!

Symptoms: Nausea, fatigue, heartburn, and Braxton Hicks

Maternity clothes? Yup, just got some new jeans!!  Love them!!

Stretch marks? Nothing from Connor, just from Avery

Belly Button in or out? In

Movement: Yes!!  Loving every tiny little kick!!

Gender: A wonderful baby boy!!

Sleep: Getting tougher, between the ever growing belly and the cold the last couple days have stunk.  :(

Food cravings: Sweets!  Chocolate everything!

Food aversions: Cooking.  I like eating and most things sound good, but cooking sounds terrible.  :\

What I miss: Wine, especially around the holidays and New Years.  But it's all worth it!  Can't wait to meet our little man!!

What I'm loving: Growing, movement, preparing the nursery, and planning our hospital bags

What I'm looking forward to: Delivery!!  I know, crazy, right!?!  I'm actually looking forward to going to the birthcare center and meeting our little man.  I'm also looking forward to some bonding between Michael, Connor, and I before we go back home to Avery.

Thoughts and feelings about Michael: Michael is always so wonderful to me, here are some of the amazing things he's done, just in the last week: gone to Metro Grill in Waterfront to get me my favorite dish (Pasta Mia) because they don't sell it at the mall anymore, and brought it to me at work, vaccumed the living room, rearranged the furniture, took down the Christmas tree, unloaded and loaded the dishwasher, ran a cycle of diapers, and made the bed!  Isn't he awesome?!  All the little things that he does help me out so very much and show me how much he loves and cares about me.  :)  He's so special to me.  I had a mini emotional meltdown earlier this week from feeling overwhelmed and underappreciated by other people in my life, and Michael was comforting me through that time, making sure I was ok.  I love him sooooo much!!!

Thoughts and feelings about Avery: Miss Avery is such a blessing to our lives!  Every time she smiles and giggles it fills my heart with joy!  This week she was particularly interested in her baby dolls.  I would swaddle them into her baby blankets and she would carry them around the house.  I think "baby" is one of her favorite words to say.  :)  She's going to make such a wonderful big sister!!  I can't wait to introduce her to Connor.  She has such a loving and caring heart.  She loves companionship, and I know that a sibling will do her so much good.  :)  It will be amazing to see the ways that she grows and begins to help out more when Connor gets here.  I have BIG hopes and dreams for her!  I love her sooooo much!!

Labor signs: Nope, just Braxton Hicks every now and then, mostly at night and in the early morning.

Goals: Continue working on cleaning the house and finish putting away the Christmas decor before our friends come over for game night a week from tomorrow.  :)

Weekly Wisdom: Make a list.  Lists help me so much in my life.  Whether it be a grocery list to keep me focused at the store or a cleaning list to keep me focused during the week, they are incredibly helpful.  I got a pad of paper for Christmas that has a to-do list and a to-buy list on it.  I intend to write a household cleaning to-do list each week to try to keep myself organized and the house clean.  We'll see how long I keep up with it.  So far I'm liking it a lot, although my first week might have been a little too ambitious.  ;)

Rants and Raves

Some days being a stay at home mom/aunt is the best job there is.  The babies mind and get along with each other, they play and eat all their lunch, everyone is happy and the day runs smoothly.  Yesterday we had so much fun playing in the "fort" (pack and play turned sideways with a blanket over the top.  They went in and out of it for over an hour.  It's still a big hit this morning with Avery.  :)  They also got along well when Avery climbed into the office chair (which was a little high, so she sort of got stuck there) and Dayton pushed and spun the chair, sending Avery into a fit of giggles.  :)  They both ate their peanut butter sandwiches well for lunch, Avery also ate her apple and cereal snack!  Dayton didn't want the snack (even though he loves that cereal), but since he ate the sandwich, I was a happy camper.  Those are the moments I love being home with these two all day.  But there are other moments that aren't so glorious.  :/  Sometimes a baby gets into the nice, new applied stickers on the wall and removes important pieces, only to crush them into the carpet so they'll never be usable again.  Sometimes a baby doesn't want the other baby around him or her and their toy or food and will push or hit to keep their cousin away.  Sometimes a baby is just mad for one reason or another and screams non-stop for 30 minutes or so.  Those moments are not my favorite.  They start or end my day on the wrong foot and they don't make me the fun mom/aunt that I want to be.  I try to be patient, but it runs thin after 30 minutes of screaming.  I try to let things be, but it breaks my heart to have the new decor in Avery's room ruined already.  I try to be firm and educate them that hitting and pushing isn't acceptable, but sometimes I worry that there's a communication gap and that a swift smack to the backside would get the message through a little clearer.  *sigh*  I want to only have the happy moments, but those rough moments seem to creep into so many days to discourage me.  :(  This probably will not get easier with another baby, but I refuse to let the behavior of 2 one year olds dictate the time frame in which I will have children/continue my family.  I'm much more stubborn than the 2 of them are.  So I'm sure this is the way things will continue.  Until they understand more, until they listen better, until they can hear and obey simple commands like "play nicely", "share toys", or "just look", we will continue to have days like this.  It doesn't help that they are raised in 2 different households with different rules, but we're trying and we'll get by.  I'm anxious for Connor to get here and give me a happy distraction from some of these more trying days.  The babies will have to learn even more, then, that they have to share my time and attention, but I'm looking forward to him.  On rough days or moments I don't feel much like cuddling with these 2, I'm excited for Connor's sweet, fleeting infant stage when all he'll want is to cuddle with me and sleep.  I think he'll bring sanity and a little more unconditional loving patience to my days.  If you haven't figured it out yet, today hasn't started so well and I'm sad and frustrated.  I'm trying to look to the positives so I don't overreact towards the babies.  *sigh*  I'm ready for this day to be over already.  :(  Here's hoping things turn around and Grumpy Pants over there gets it together.  Crazy how someone so small can make me feel so crappy.  Keep me in your prayers today.  This Mama needs a mental wellness day and a summer vacation with her only kiddo.  :/  Maybe I'll go get my Christmas massage soon, that could help.  We'll see...  One day at a time...

Relaxing!

I won't post it on facebook, becausd no one else wants to read that.  ;)  But this is my blog, so if you came here and you're stilll reading, then you get what you get.  ;)  I have to admit, I don't think there's anything more relaxing than a nice warm bubble bath with my hubby (ok, maybe a glass of wine with it would have been nice, sigh).  :)  And then it's cold when you get out, and that sucks, but I jump into a warm hoodie and a pair of Michael's sweatpants (because they have a pregnancy forgiving wasteband) and into bed and I'm almost instantly warm again.  :)  It was just a really nice evening with my hubs, and that makes me happy.  :)  I'm pretty crazy about him.  :)  Goodnight, all!!

Bummed. :(

If you've been keeping up with our blog, you know that last week I posted about having a photographer with us during Connor's birth to capture all the precious moments so we can enjoy the birth of our son.  Well I'm still very excited about having her there, but less excited because we have to cut out our maternity photos.  :(  Courtney just posted her new prices for the 2014 season and things have gone up significantly.  I want to continue using her because I know her, trust her, and she's done great work for us in the past.  But the fact is, we can't spend $700 in pictures when we're going to have medical bills to pay as well.  :(  I don't remember exactly, but I think when Avery was born we paid around $250, which included our maternity session, our newborn session, 2 cd's with all the edited prints, and the copyright release to all the pictures.  Now we want to add a birth session and the cost is just too high.  She has now seperated all her sessions, so the maternity and newborn sessions are seperate each with a hefty pricetag, and the birth session is alone as well with a pricetag even bigger than the first two.  *sigh*  We'll pay for the birth and newborn session, and it will be tight, but those are what we 'need'.  (I know we don't actually 'need' any, but we want to try to do for Connor what we did for Avery.  So we're welcoming recommendations for friends and family who like photography and would enjoy taking some maternity photos.  Thanks for listening to my pity party.  :P

Pregnancy Update - 22 Weeks

How far along:  22 weeks, 1 day

Due date:  May 9, 2014

Next doctor's appointment:  Jan. 15

Our baby is the size of a veggie/fruit/food:  Papaya/Spaghetti Squash

Our baby in man terms:  Over-inflated football

Total weight gain/loss:  +7.4 lbs

News:  Not much to report this week.

Best moments this week:  Laying in bed doing kick counts and feeling Connor kicking up a storm!  :)  I'm feeling a lot more of his activity lately and I love it!

Milestones:  Nothing special, we are almost done with month 5, meaning we're only got a little over 4 months to go until we meet our little man!  I should really get his room ready and get all the girl stuff out, lol!

Symptoms:  Heartburn!  Hopefully he'll be born with a full head of hair!  ;)  I'm also stiff and sore in the morning from all the growing that Connor insists on doing in the middle of the night.  :D

Maternity clothes?  Yup, still need some new maternity jeans that don't cut me right in the middle of the belly.  I'll have to use some of my Christmas gift cards!

Stretch marks?  Just from Avery.  ;)

Belly Button in or out?  In

Movement:  Oh yes!  He's moving and shaking now!  Can't wait until we can SEE it from the outside!  ;)

Gender:  We're having a handsome baby BOY!!

Sleep:  I toss and turn a lot these days trying to find a comfortable position.  I also wake up with heartburn, which is no fun.  But overall, sleep isn't too bad yet.

Food cravings:  I want Asian Zing wings from BDubs, Art's and Mary's jalepeño chips, Bunny Tracks ice cream, and Pepsi.  ;)  A warm, creamy, sweet cup of coffee might be nice every now and then too.  ;)

Food aversions:  Not much, just everything we have here at home.  :P  I guess I'm more averted to cooking than anything else.  Luckily I have an amazing husband who helps me out in that area and makes sure that Avery and I have something to eat.

What I miss:  Finding a comfortable spot when I'm sleeping or laying in bed.

What I'm loving:  Movement and quiet time with Connor.  When I'm alone in a quiet place and I start to feel him move, I like to talk to him.  :)  It's fun.  I remember doing the same thing when I was pregnant with Avery.  :)

What I'm looking forward to:  Being able to see his movements from the outside of my stomach, hitting the 3rd trimester, meeting our little man, and having Courtney, our photographer, there for Connor's birth.  :)

Thoughts and feelings about Michael:  Michael is so incredibly wonderful to me, both when I'm pregnant and when I'm not.  He cares for me so dearly.  He gets me food when I'm hungry and rubs my back when I'm sore.  He truly cares about me and he shows it.  I'm absolutely crazy about him!  :)  Did you know we've been in a relationship together for nearly 7 years now?  I can hardly believe it!  I look forward to many more years at his side.

Thoughts and feelings about Avery:  Little Miss Avery is having her moments lately.  ;)  Michael and I joke that she's going through her terrible two's early.  :P  She gets upset easily if she doesn't get what she wants.  I can't tell you how many times I've told her, I'm sorry you feel that way.  I'm sure she's getting incredibly tired of hearing it, lol!  But she's my baby girl and I love her dearly!  This morning she got all cuddly and was giving me lots of hugs!  It was so sweet!  As I said, she's having some moments lately, but I love her soooo much!  She's my big girl and she's turning out amazing!!

Labor signs:  Nope, maybe a few Braxton Hicks, but nothing I can't handle.  ;)

Goals:  Put away the Christmas stuff this week...  We'll see how that goes...

Weekly Wisdom:  Put your best foot, face, and attitude forward.  Even when you're frustrated, tired, or angry, don't take it out on others.  Things may be as you perceive, or they may be something you never saw coming.  Don't be the jerk.

Photographer!

Well, call me crazy, but I decided to let 1 more person into the delivery room when Connor is born, our photographer!  ;)  No, she will not be getting any graphic shots so that we may share the miracle of life with our children.  We fully intend to allow public school to break that news to them.  :P  We will have Courtney, of Zao Photography, in the delivery room with us to capture all the sweet moments when he first arrives.  I know many of you are thinking this is a little crazy, so let me explain.  ;)

First off, yes, I have always been of the thought that if you didn't make the baby, and you're not a medical professional helping to deliver the baby, you have no business in my delivery room.  ;)  I still feel that way.  :P  I don't need any cheerleaders in there with me but my amazing husband, who I hardly let speak anyways.  :)  I certainly don't want anyone but the medical professionals seeing the graphic birth of my child, even my hubby doesn't need those graphic images in his mind, lol.  But I do want our photographer in the room.

You see, I've been trying to enjoy life's moments more lately.  I'm trying to live instead of capturing everything on film (or my camera).  So for Avery's birthday and for Christmas I relied on others to take pictures and get them to me.  I'm still collecting Christmas pictures, but Avery's birthday turned out great without Michael or me behind the camera.  ;)  That didn't keep me from worrying about whether or not we were getting good shots and all the ones I wanted.  So, when I saw Courtney post a recent birth session on facebook, I took a look.

Like I said, the pictures aren't graphic or anything.  In fact, I have most of the same pictures from when Avery was born.  But Michael and I had to take all of those pictures.  So I don't have any pictures of all 3 of us together when she arrived.  (If you have some, I would LOVE digital copies!!!)  So we have decided to eliminate the stress of getting all the right shots, and allow ourselves to enjoy the first moments of our son's life with someone else behind the camera to capture those moments.  :)

I'm excited about this because we'll get some pictures of Michael and I together before Connor arrives that aren't just selfies.  ;)  We'll get some pictures of him holding my hand as we get ready to push.  And she'll be able to capture the looks on our faces when we see our handsome son for the first time.  :)  Those aren't pictures we have from Avery's birth.  I'm looking forward to seeing Connor's birth from that perspective.  Then, she'll capture those moments when we're holding and bonding with him right away.  And more importantly, she'll capture Avery's first reaction to meeting her little brother.  :)  (She'll be in the waiting room with family for the birth, but she'll get to be Connor's first official visitor.)  She'll also capture our first family photos of four.  :)  Then, finally, she'll get the candid shots when our friends and family get to come in and meet our little guy for the first time.  It's going to be great!!

So call me crazy, but I'm going to have someone else in the delivery room with me.  I'm excited that I won't have to worry about getting all the pictures.  I fully trust Courtney to take care of that.  She's taken maternity, newborn, family, and 1 year old photos for us and I haven't been disappointed yet!  :D  If you'd like to see the photo shoot I've been talking about, the one that inspired us, it's on her blog.  Check it out!  :)  I'm sure I'll talk about it more before he gets here, but having made this decision only makes me more excited for Connor's arrival!  :D

http://www.zaophotographyblog.com/archives/2014/01/01/elliana-gracebirth/

2013

Wow, I can't believe another year is coming to an end!  What a year it's been!  Our sweet baby girl has grown up so much this year!  She's hardly a baby anymore!  She's more like a tiny kid.  *sigh*  Time sure does go by fast.  :)

So much of this year has been about Avery.  :)  She was almost 3 months old when 2013 started, just an itty bitty little thing.  She's grown so much!  She's learned to hold her head up, crawl, and walk.  She's learned some sign language to help us understand what she wants and needs.  She's developed into a beautiful and incredibly smart little lady.  She is fiercely independent and displays many of the characteristics of a firstborn child.  :)  She's perfect, our angel, and our year was made better because she was a part of it.  :)

Then, a few months into the year, I got the bug again, the baby bug.  Even though our little one was still very small, I was anxious for her to have a sibling.  So as soon as I got off the pill again, we got pregnant again, without even actively trying.  It was a blessing and a curse, because it was short lived and ended in miscarriage.  I think it's one of the bigger things I'm going to take away from this year.  It was one of those defining moments.  I wish it didn't have to happen the way it did, but some things are beyond your control.

However, that's not where the story ended.  When our doctor gave us the ok, we got pregnant again.  We kept it a secret for much long since we didn't know if it would end in heartache again.  Nothing is worse than having to untell a pregnancy announcement.  But, our baby proved us wrong and stayed healthy.  :)  So eventually, we finally told the world we had a little one on the way.  Not long after that we had our sonogram and found out our little one was a little boy.  :)  So now we anxiously await the arrival of 2014 and our own Connor.  :)

In 2013 Michael got a raise that helped stabilize us financially.  I also got a raise at work, and while my income doesn't mean much, it made me feel good to be appreciated by my boss and to have her fight for my raise.  :)  We spent our first FULL year in our house, which quickly filled with more baby stuff than we know what to do with.  We paid off Avery's medical bills and my car this year!  No small feet if you ask me!  I have now been babysitting Dayton for a full year now, as I began right at the beginning of 2013.  He has been a great friend for Avery and it's been fun, challenging, rewarding, and stressful watching them grow together.  ;)  I've made some new friends this year and helped some people out.  I'm looking forward to what 2014 has to offer.

Finally, what cannot be said enough, I got to spend another blissful year with the man of my dreams, my knight in shiny platinum armour, my best friend, Michael.  :)  He has been my rock and shoulder during the tough times this year.  He has added to my joy tenfold during the times when things were going well.  He loves our daughter, our son, and me so very much, and he shows it in everything he does.  He also tells me he loves me many times each and every day, and it's something I never get tired of hearing.  :)  He's all I could ask for and so much more.  It's hard for me to believe sometimes that I'm living this fairytale, but it's true.  I live a charmed life with the man of my dreams.  I am an incredibly lucky woman.  :)

Happy New Years, to my friends and family.  May you be blessed in 2014.  :)  We love you!  See you next year!

With Love,
Michael, Jen, Avery, and Connor

Pregnancy Update - 21 weeks

Well, being sick has definitely taken it's toll on my weight.  Sorry if this update isn't super peppy, I'm still sick.  :(

How far along:  21 weeks, 2 days

Due date:  May 9th, 2014

Next doctor's appointment:  Jan. 15th, 2014

Our baby is the size of a veggie/fruit/food:  Carrot/Banana/Pomegranite

Our baby in man terms:  Beer bottle

Total weight gain/loss:  +3.6 lbs (down 2.8 lbs since the beginning of this stomach bug)  :(

News:  We're having a BOY!!!!!

Best moments this week:  Michael got to feel Connor kick about half a dozen times, for the first time!  :)

Milestones:  We're over halfway done, we know what we're having, we've told the gender and name, not much left now but waiting until he arrives.  :)

Symptoms:  Right now all I can think of is stomach flu symptoms...

Maternity clothes?  Yes, and I need new maternity jeans, because these ones won't last another 19 weeks...

Stretch marks?  Nope

Belly Button in or out?  In

Movement:  Yes!  :)

Gender:  It's a BOY!!!

Sleep:  Getting rough

Food cravings:  Ech.

Food aversions:  All of it.

What I miss:  Being well. 

What I'm loving:  At the moment, not much.

What I'm looking forward to:  Getting better.

Thoughts and feelings about Michael:  I appreciate him taking me and picking me up from work and taking care of me yesterday and today.

Thoughts and feelings about Avery:  She's so sweet!  She came and gave me kisses and cuddles yesterday and this morning when I felt bad.  Made my day.  ;)

Labor signs:  Nope

Goals:  Get well, clean house

Weekly Wisdom:  Don't get sick.  The flu shot is useless.

Sick

I'll do my 21 week update after this sickness has passed and we'll see how much weight I end up losing...  Yesterday morning I was up 7.4 pounds.  This morning I was up 6.8 pounds.  And I haven't kept anything down all day, so tomorrow's weigh in should be interesting.  Just like around 1 month, when we found out we were pregnant, I got a stomach bug (NOT morning sickness) and managed to lose about 5 pounds over the next several days.  Hopefully this sickness won't last as long, but we'll see.  I expect the weight loss to look similar when it's all said and done.

Well, apparently Linda was sick Thursday and Friday last week, then Glenn was sick on Saturday and Sunday.  We went to visit on Wednesday and spent a day and a half in their home.  Wednesday night/Thursday morning Avery got sick in the pack and play where she was sleeping.  Avery was also sick last night (Friday) forcing Michael to get her up out of bed and giving her another bath (when he had just given her one before laying her down).  I got up at 2am with heartburn, again at 4am with heartburn, and by 5am I was throwing up too (Saturday morning).  I threw up again around 9am and took a zofran, hoping it would help before I left for work.  Michael drove me to work because I was afraid of puking, and by noon he was driving back because I simply could not work.  We got home a little before 1pm and I was throwing up as soon as I walked in the door (I had a bowl, thank goodness).  I had a waffle, hoping the bread-like substance would help settle my stomach.  Then I slept until 4:30.  When I woke up I went to the bathroom and threw up again, all my water and the waffle.  Desperate to keep something in my stomach, I ate half of a banana and drank some more water.  Now I'm blogging, then sleep.  I hate being sick.  I hate when my kid is sick.  This sucks.  Ugh.

And that's my happy blog for today.  Goodnight.

Picking 'Connor' and Kicks!

Well, the news is out!  We're having a little boy in May!  We now anxiously await the arrival of Mr. Connor Michael Voss.  :)

I know I titled this particular post "Kicks" so you assumed you would be reading about Connor's recent movements, and I'll get to that.  But first, I'd like to talk a little about his name and the process of picking it.  :)

When we were pregnant with Avery, before we had our anatomy scan, I worried that maybe my gut was wrong and that we were having a boy instead of a girl.  So Michael and I scrambled to come up with a name in case we found out Avery was a boy.  The name we picked back then was Luke James Voss (biblical, right?).  I loved the name Luke, but had a strong distaste for the name Lucas.  After we found out Avery was a girl, like I thought, we put Luke on the backburner for the next baby.

Between the time that we found out Avery was a girl and the time we got pregnant with Connor a couple things happened.  A friend of mine, who had been dating a guy named Luke, broke up with him, and a friend from Cru had a baby boy and named him Luke (surprisingly enough, I didn't know any other baby Luke's before).  So for me, that was enough to put the name out of the running.

As for a middle name, I've always wanted to use my husband's first or middle name (even before I had a husband) as my son's middle name.  Michael and James are both good, solid, and traditional names, so I knew either would work for my son.  But as we began looking for boy names, I took inventory around me and noticed A LOT of boys and men with the middle name of James.  My husband (Michael James), my brother-in-law (Adam James), my cousin's husband (Josh James), my nephew (Dayton James), my cousin's son (Hudson James), and my other nephew (Payden James) all have James as a middle name.  And while they name is awesome, obviously, that was A LOT!  So we began leaning towards Michael as a middle name.  Then there would be no mistaking who he would be named for.  ;)

It took us a while to find the name Connor.  I really liked Nolan and held onto it for a long time.  We tossed around some traditional names and some non-traditional ones.  We looked through a lot of lists and discussed names frequently and at length.  When we came to Connor we liked it, but decided to roll it around for a while to see if we loved it, and it stuck.  :)  So Connor Michael was chosen, and we had our boy name FINALLY picked!  Of course, the girl name came easy, and if we'd found out we were having a girl Kennedy Mae would have been her name.  :)  But we went and had our anatomy scan and found out, to our delight, that a baby Connor was on the way.  :)

Ok, I'm going to have to change the title of this blog, because waaaaaaay more of it is about Connor's name than is going to be about him kicking me, lol!

Today I felt Connor moving a lot more.  Actually, not moving so much as actually kicking me.  And, to make it even better, he was kicking me hard enough that I could feel it on the outside of my stomach!  :)  I was sooooo excited!  I waited until he'd kicked me 4 or 5 times before I called Michael in and asked him to feel.  And while Connor did kick right into his Daddy's hand a couple of times, the movements are still very small and delicate, so Michael couldn't feel it.  But the movement I felt today give me hope that in the next week or so Michael should be feeling his son move for the first time!  :D 

This begins a very exciting stage of the pregnancy for us!  It makes things so much more real when we can feel the baby moving.  It makes it easier to believe and more exciting.  It also reminds me that there is a living person inside of me, which is just plain weird, if you think about it.  ;)  Things are going to be so much more fun from here on out!  I'm going to worry so much less from here on out!  Praise the Lord!!  I am just so thrilled!!

Thank you again to those of you who have been thinking of and praying for Michael and I as we've been going through our pregnancy.  We appreciate it very much!  Please continue to pray with us as we complete the 2nd half of our pregnancy and embark on our new journey parenting two little children.  :)  It should be an adventure (to say the least).  :)  We love you very much and look forward to hearing from you and updating you more as the pregnancy progresses.  :)

Love you!!  And have a blessed remainder of 2013!  :)

It's a.....

BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!  Woooooohoooooo!!!!!!  :D

We will be having a baby boy (sometime around) May 9th, 2014!

Our little man will be named Connor Michael Voss after his Daddy.  :)

He is growing well and is very healthy!

Please continue to pray with us throughout the rest of our pregnancy.  :)  Thanks!

With Love,
Michael, Jen, Avery, and Connor

Visits with Friends, Christmas Eve, and Growing Up

It's only Tuesday and it's already been a busy week for Michael, Avery, and me!  We had friends in Wichita from out of state, so we made sure to find time to see them!  But around the holidays, everyone is busy with family, us included.  So lunchtime was the most convenient time for us to get together with people.

Monday we met with John and Meredith for lunch at Town and Country on the west side of town.  Michael took a nice long lunch break off of work, and I brought Avery and Dayton with me, and we caught up with our old friends.  :)  John and Mere are living in Colorado, but John's family is in Andale, so they are in the Wichita(ish) area around holidays occassionally.  :)  We appreciate them finding time to see us!  It's always great to see friends you've been away from for a while.  :)  Thanks for getting together with us, guys!  We love you!  Merry Christmas!

Monday night we went to Grandma Heorman's house for Christmas.  We had some delicious corn chowder and chili!  Avery had a great time running around the house and playing!  Even without an afternoon nap, she made it to 10pm before we got home and got her to bed!  She was QUITE the trooper!  And boy, the later it got, the more delerious and silly she got!  :P  She's such a silly girl!  ;)  Avery got a sand and water table from Grandma and Grandpa Heorman for Christmas!  It should be a lot of fun in the spring and summer.  I'm sure Dayton will enjoy it as well.  ;)

Today we got together with Tuzy (Michael) and Amaia for lunch.  :)  They are in Newton for the holidays, back from Minnesota!  Brrrr!!  We were so pleased that they came to Wichita to visit with us a little!  :)  And I was even more excited when I asked them what sounded good for lunch and they said Mexican!  Sold!!!  That's what I wanted too!!  The first place we tried was closed.  We called a second place that was closed, and finally ended up at Carlos O'Kelley's.  :)  It was delicious!  It warms my heart to meet up with these two when they're in town!  Wish they were closer!  Merry Christmas to two wonderful people!  :)

Tonight was the Candlelight service at church.  My parents joined us, and so did (my former and Michael's current collegue) Jil and her son William.  They are looking for a church home and thought they'd try ours!  We were thrilled to have them!  Tonight was a wild and crazy night for them to see and experience our church for the first time, but it was a fun night!  Michael, Avery, and I got some pictures taken; Michael played in the worship band, and we had a lovely service.  :)  We also gave my parents their last Christmas gift: a picture frame with a sono picture of the baby and his or her name on it!  (Glenn and Linda find out tomorrow, so mum's still the word here on the blog.)  It was a blessed evening.  :)

Finally, my little girl is growing up, and took one more step towards big-girl-dom tonight.  I had been working a lot of the day on turning her toyroom into her "Big Girl Bedroom!"  I put the sticker decals on the wall, made her bed with her new pink sheets and quilt, added her owl ottoman and chair to her room, and moved most of the toys to the basement living room where we'll be doing most of our playing from here on out.  So after church tonight we got her bathed and in her jammies, then, we gave her bed a try.  Instead of putting her in her crib like we've done every night for the past 1 year, 2 months, 2 weeks, and 5 days, we put her in her toddler bed to go to sleep.  Michael asked if we were going to try tonight, so I thought we'd try (not expecting it to go well).  But I was wrong.  She passed right out and now my big girl is sound asleep, in her big girl bed, in her big girl room.  *sob*  I love her so very much and am so proud of her.  I just can't believe it's happening so fast.  :)  Seems like just yesterday she was a teenie tiny little thing falling asleep on her Daddy's chest.  *sigh*  :)

I am sooooo looking forward to our new baby!  Especially with Avery growing up so much lately!  It will be nice to have another tiny baby in the house.  It will be fun to start over with that completely dependent baby, a change from our very independent toddler!  ;)  Only 4.5 more months!!  Woot woot!

Our life is going so very good right now.  :)  Avery is happy, healthy, smart as a whip, and getting more and more fun each and every day!  Michael has a job that he enjoys, he's challenged and appreciated there, and he just got a sizable raise for the great work he's been doing for the company.  I have a great job and awesome colleagues who are loving, kind, funny, and dependable both on the job and off, they are a great group of friends.  We have a warm home that keeps the snow off on these bitter winter nights, and we have had the priviledge of calling this place home for almost 2 years now.  Our dogs are happy and healthy, they add joy and companionship to our lives, and they are EXTREMELY patient with our not-so-gentle daughter.  ;)  And what we're especially thankful for this holiday season is our healthy baby on the way!  The Lord gave me peace, and then was kind enough to give us a glowing mid-pregnancy appointment where everything measured well and healthy.  We are so incredibly blessed!  2014 will be a wonderful year in the Voss household!  Looking forward to the many blessings the Lord has in store for us!

Thank you, for those of you who have read all of this!  You're troopers!  ;)  We hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  You might not hear as much from me for the next few days, please enjoy your holiday celebrations, and we'll talk again after.

With Love,
The Vosses

Pregnancy Update - 20 weeks

Sorry it's taken me so long to get this week's update up on the blog.  I had a busy weekend at work and just rested when I was home, so it slipped my mind.  ;)  Back to a normal weekday with the babies and time to blog.  :)  Here's this week's update!

How far along:  20 weeks, 3 days

Due date:  May 9, 2014 (although the baby was measuring a little larger during the sonogram this week, so I'm hoping for the 7th)

Next doctor's appointment:  January 15, 2014

Our baby is the size of a veggie/fruit/food:  Banana/Small Canalope

Our baby in man terms:  A nice sized boob (the website said it, not me, lol!)

Total weight gain/loss:  +5.2 lbs (I think the holidays are getting to me)  ;)

News:  We know if we're having a boy or a girl, but we aren't telling until Christmas!  :)  But everything looked great on the sonogram!  So we should be in for a quiet few months before the baby gets here.  :)

Best moments this week:  Finding out the gender of the baby!  Michael and I are both very happy!  It was also WONDERFUL to see the baby moving all over and knowing that he or she is safe and healthy.  :)

Milestones:  We're over halfway done!!  :D  We reached the halfway point of 20 weeks!  Woot woot!!

Symptoms:  Fatigue, Round Ligament Pain, Nausea, General Discomfort (especially when sleeping and laying down)

Maternity clothes?  Yup!

Stretch marks?  Not yet!  But they didn't come with Avery until around 34 weeks, so we'll see.  ;)

Belly Button in or out?  In

Movement:  Yup!  Mostly internal, I've felt a couple of things that felt more external, but by the time I got my hand down to feel, the baby had stopped.  It will keep getting better though!  ;)

Gender:  Michael and I know, but we're keeping it from our parents, so nothing on here yet.  ;)

Sleep:  Getting a little uncomfortable.  My pillows are too flat.  I told Michael to talk to Santa about new ones.

Food cravings:  Nothing in particular, just real food, not junk.  I think I'm about done with Christmas treats.

Food aversions:  I've been getting away from the holiday sweets like cookies and candies.

What I miss:  Good, comfortable sleep, without an early morning or middle of the night bathroom break; and energy

What I'm loving:  Growing!  Feeling the baby move!  Counting down the weeks!  Making plans for the baby's arrival!

What I'm looking forward to:  Having a brand new tiny baby!  :)  It will be strange going back to a small baby after having Avery and her getting so big!  :)

Thoughts and feelings about Michael:  Michael is such a wonderful husband.  He wants me to be safe and happy and healthy.  This week he was concerned about the weather and me driving, so he paid extra close attention to me and my car.  He also make sure Avery stays safe when we're out and about.  He took her to church with him yesterday (really early) because I had to be at work early.  He was a SuperDaddy!  (And Avery happened to be dressed as a superhero, Batgirl!)  ;)  He showed me how much and how deeply he loves me each and every day through his actions.  He is such an amazing and unique man!  I love him and respect him so dearly.  I am blessed to have him in my life.

Thoughts and feelings about Avery:  Avery is going to be SUCH a GREAT big sister!!!!!  Michael was telling me how she was doing at church yesterday and it confirmed my suspicions that she's ready for this new life change, and that she's going to do great with it!  So yesterday Michael took Avery to church early because he needed to practice with the band.  He put her in a chair in the santuary, and she sat quietly, listening and eating her waffle the entire time...  Until it was time to pray.  ;)  While everyone was quiet, Avery noticed the Winds of Worship conductor's new, 6 week old son, Ryan, and proceeded to say, "baby" over and over until they brought Ryan over for Avery to have a closer look.  ;)  When they brought him over, Avery leaned down very gently, and kissed Ryan.  :D  How sweet is that?!?!  She's amazing!  She makes me so happy each an every day!  And I know she's going to make an incredible big sister!  Can't wait to see how she takes to her new little brother or sister!  :D

Labor signs:  Nope.  I've had some Braxton Hicks contractions, but that, in no way, indicates actual labor.  ;)  We still have a long way to go, but at least we're on the downhill side now!

Goals:  Get the house cleaned from the last Christmas so we have room for stuff from the next Christmas (which happens to be tonight), and finish getting gifts wrapped!

Weekly Wisdom:  Soak up the moments, little as they may be, because they are changing quickly.  One day you turn around and your newborn baby is walking and talking.  So while she's struggling to pull herself up onto the couch with you, take a moment and enjoy that time, because she's growing up way too fast.  ;)  I know many people who read my blog are adults with kids and grandkids, so they've been through this and are long passed the 1 year old stage, so maybe this is advice for myself or friends my age with little ones.  Either way, drink in, even the small moments.  You'll be glad you did.  :)

Last Day!

Today is my last day of work until after Christmas!!  Hoooooray!!  Work has really worn me out the last few days, so I'm looking forward to a break.  :)  However, today I have an 8 hour shift at work.  :(  For the most part I've only had 5 hour shifts most of the holiday season.  I'm worried about how exhausted I'm going to be by the end of the day.  I was pretty worn out yesterday, but still had enough energy to play with my adorable Batgirl when I got home and we got home from dinner!  Sis and Adam gave Avery a Batman shirt, black pants with a tutu, and a handmade Batman hat for Christmas!  She looks ADORABLE in it!!  I even sent her to church wearing it this morning!  :)  (She'll wear her new dress for Christmas Eve church and Christmas Day.)  Maybe it's not the most holiday appropriate outfit, but she looks so darn cute in it, I couldn't resist!  :)  Well, I better finish getting ready!  Wish me luck today!

Backstory

Well, since we waited until around 17 weeks to tell people that we were pregnant, there was a lot going on in Michael's and my lives that I didn't blog about.  I didn't want to leak the news too early and have something go wrong and then have to untell people.  So today I think I'll share the backstory to this baby.  :)  I've mentioned parts of our baby backstory in previous posts, but I'll try to make this post a little more comprehensive.  :)

Miscarriage
I'm not going to say too much about this, because there's already a long, detailed post on it from back when it happened in June.  Long story short, we went in for our first appointment and there was no heartbeat.  We were devistated, but we survived.  We had a D&C a few days after we found out.  Michael was great through this whole process.  We had a lot of people praying for us and we leaned on each other.  We made it through one of the worst situations of our lives.

Waiting
We weren't allowed to start trying again until after my body had gone through at least 1 normal cycle.  I got really impatient when it was taking over 6 weeks for my cycle to come back.  I tried to be patient, but at that point I was wondering if it was going to come back at all.  Finally, 7 weeks and 1 day after the D&C my cycle returned.

Trying
Michael and I have never had any problem getting pregnant when we decided we were ready to try.  However, after the time lost on the miscarriage and waiting for my cycle to normalize, I didn't want to waste any time.  I used an ovulation prediction kit anyway, just to make sure we had the timing right.  I got very excited when I finally got the smiley face, saying that I was ovulating.  After that we just had to wait a couple more weeks to take a pregnancy test.

Testing
Anyone actively trying to get pregnant knows it's hard to wait the appropriate amound of time to take that pregnancy test.  We want to take the test early so we can know and be excited, or know and prepare ourselves for trying again another month.  However, pregnancy tests run between $7 and $15 each!  So testing when it may be too early can get expensive.  Lucky for me, I had two left over, and they were off brand.  So when I started testing early, I used them first.  The first one was negative (a few days before I should have tried testing).  The second one, I thought I saw something, but couldn't be sure, if the line was there, it was veeeeeery light (a day before I should have tried testing).  I sent Michael to the store for tests, and he got fancy digital ones.  I was a little irritated, because they were expensive and I didn't pee on one (of the three in the box) for long enough, and it showed me an error message.  That meant I just wasted the money on that test for an inconclusive result.  I took another one immediately after, still a little grumpy, but only for the briefest of time, because I did the test right and had waited an appropriate amount of time, so the test showed me exactly what I wanted, "Pregnant".  :)  I used my last test again almost 2 weeks later (to see if the week indicator changed), it showed me that my hormone levels were rising.  :)  A moment of relief.   :)

Pregnant
Well it was hard to stay mad about the expensive tests with such wonderful news.  ;)  Michael and I were very happy!  We took lots of pictures to remember that exciting moment when we found out.  :)  It was September 1st when we found out we were going to be parents again.  :)

Worry
If you've been following my posts the last couple of weeks, you know that I've been worried about something going wrong, and not finding out about it until our doctor's appointment.  That was at almost 20 weeks!!  To say that I was worried before our first appointment at almost 8 weeks, would be a complete understatement.  Every time my brain went blank for a minute, I was praying.  If I wasn't actively thinking about something else, I was praying.  Sometimes it was out loud, sometimes in my mind, sometimes is was in the car, a lot of times it was laying in bed, sometimes I would write my prayers out or type them, sometimes I just sang the words, "I need You, Lord, I need You.  Every hour I need You.  My one defense, my righteousness, oh God, how I need You."  I was petrified to go to the doctor and receive terrible news again.  It made it difficult for me to be excited about the pregnancy early on.

7 weeks, 5 days
We finally had our first doctor's appointment.  To my surprise and excitement, there was a blob, with a heartbeat, doing great.  :)  I had been calculating the days and thought the doctor would change my due date from my cycle date of May 9th to my ovulation date of May 14th.  However, the blob was measuring ahead a little bit, at May 12th.  My doctor decided to keep my due date the same as my cycle date with the understanding that the baby may need an extra few days.  It was such a relief to see that everything was going well.  :)  But I was still worried.  I asked for our next appointment to be 3 weeks later instead of 4.  My doctor is great, so he had no problem with that.  :)  But he let me know that when I came back, the baby might not be big enough to hear the heartbeat with the doppler, and we may need another sono.  I assured him it was fine by me.  ;)

10 weeks, 5 days
Our next appointment was right before Michael and I left for Vegas.  I had already asked my doctor if it was ok to fly and he had cleared me.  This appointment would give me peace of mind before the trip.  As expected, the nurse couldn't find the heartbeat with the doppler.  The same thing happened when I came in early with Avery.  At that time, I didn't worry much, just happily moved to the sonogram room to see my baby again.  This time, I worried.  To make matters worse, the sonogram room was backed up and several other people were ahead of me in line, so I had to wait a while.  Luckily I had my amazing hubby with me to keep me calm and assure me that everything was fine.  We got into the sonogram room and took a look.  Our baby was tiny, but you could see the arms and legs moving all around.  :)  It was a relief to see everything doing well again.  :)

First Trimester
After that appointment there were only a couple more weeks until we finished the first trimester.  It was a relief to hit that milestone.  After the first trimester your risk of miscarriage greatly reduces.  It helped me to worry a little less, but didn't eliminate my fears.  But every successful appointment after that made things a little easier.

Second Trimester
I have had 2 appointments since hitting the 2nd trimester.  One appointment was at 14 weeks, the other at 19 weeks.  At the last appointment we saw the baby wiggling around again, the baby was measuring perfectly, and we found out if we're having a baby boy or a baby girl.  :)  We'll enter the third trimester at the beginning of February, only a little over a month away.  :)  We're halfway done now.  And I'm more confindent each and every day.  :)

So that's the backstory.  :)  I'll include some pictures in this post.  Hopefully they've been explained well enough.  ;)  Maybe I'll revisit the backstory again later.  For now, I hope this helps you understand how much this baby means to us, and the emotions we've felt throughout the process.  :)  Love you all!

Christmas 1.0

Well, yesterday was our first Christmas celebration of the year!  My parents, Sis, Adam, and Dayton all came over to our house to celebrate!  We had a very good time!  :)  We had junk food for dinner (as has been our family tradition for many years) and we enjoyed watching the babies play with their presents!  They were MUCH more interested this year than they were last year!  ;)  Michael, Sis, Adam, and I did pretty well also!  Mama is always soooo generous with her Christmas shopping!  Here are a few of my favorite gifts from the evening: KSU yoga pants, jacket, and t-shirts, I am Malala book, Slash (yes, the hairband rocker) biography, a Bath and Body car air freshener, lots of yummy treats like pistachios and mint m&ms, KSU stone coasters, and a woodwick candle!  Just to name a few!  Avery got some great stuff too!  She got lots of new clothes and jammies, all absolutely adorable, my mom has great taste!  She also got a Veggietales book and movie, a Tinkerbell movie, the Monsters U movie, new sheets for her toddler bed (to match the quilt from Grandma Voss for her birthday), a polka dot blanket to match her toddler room, an owl ottoman, and an owl chair!  Again, just to name a few!  ;)  She was well spoiled this holiday season!  :)  And we still have a couple more Christmases to go!!  I don't know where we're going to put all her stuff by the time everything's over!  :P  Michael got some great stuff as well!  I'm currently cuddled up on the couch in his new Dr. Who blanket, for example.  ;)  He also got new jeans and sweaters, the latest season of Big Bang Theory, snacks, the movie Argo, and a gift card (to Lowes, I think).  The new baby got some diapers, wipes, and bath supplies.  :)  My mom wanted me to go ahead and tell her the sex of the baby so she could buy something specific for him or her, but I didn't give in, lol!  She'll still have plenty of time to shop from Christmas to May when he or she arrives.  ;)  Anyway, it was a very nice Christmas celebration.  :)  Looking forward to several more over the holiday season.  :)  Merry Christmas to all of you!!

PS, we hit 20 weeks today!!  Halfway done!!  I'm already feeling very large, so we'll see how this second half goes...  I'm a little worried...  ;)

It's a........ Baby!!

If you've been reading along, then you know that yesterday Michael and I had our mid-pregnancy sonogram.  :)  During this appointment the sonographer measured various parts of the baby including around the middle, the head size, and lengths of arm and leg bones.  Yesterday we were 19 weeks and 5 days along.  We also found out the gender of the baby.  :)  There is still time to make your guesses before the news goes public on Christmas.  ;)  So here's how the appointment went!

First off, the baby is doing GREAT!  Even though we are at 19 weeks and 5 days, the baby was measuring closer to 20 weeks.  I was pretty shocked by this!  Here's a little history on why: when Michael and I were trying to get pregnant again, I used an ovulation predicter kit to know when the best time to try was.  According to when I ovulated, the baby should only be measuring about 19 weeks yesterday.  But every time we've seen the baby and taken measurements, the measurements have shown 3 days later, 19 weeks, 3 days.  So my doctor left my due date at the gestational age according to my last period, 19 weeks, 5 days.  And now the baby is measuring even bigger!  20 weeks!  Did you get all of that?  Haha!  Here's a simpler way of looking at in:
Baby's gestational age based on:
Ovulation - 19 weeks
Early Measurments - 19 weeks, 3 days
Last Period - 19 weeks, 5 days
Mid Pregnancy Measurements - 20 weeks
I know that might not seem like much to you, but in that last week of pregnancy, I will take every day I can get!!  Based on ALL of that information, the baby should come somewhere between May 7th and 14th.  ;)  I'm actually hoping for the 5th!  Then Michael, Avery, and the new baby's birthdays would all be on the 5th.  Although the 7th would be cool too, because then Michael and Avery would have the 5th and the new baby and I would have the 7th.  ;)  All that being said, the baby is measuring right on track and growing at a perfect rate!  :)  Everything looked good on the sono.  All of the baby's organs are working and meauring appropriately.  The baby was veeeeeeeery active during the sono, just like our 10 week sono!  That may have been my fault.  ;)  I was told to drink 8-10 oz before going to my sono, so I made it 8 oz of very sugary and carbonated grape juice!!  :D  I wanted the baby to move if we needed it to, and boy, did that baby move!!  We even got a video of it!  I'll try to get it posted to youtube soon.  :)  The baby's heartrate was 133 beats per minute.  Quite a bit lower than the last couple of times we've been in, but still nice and healthy!!  :)  The other thing we found out was that the baby's placenta is laying between the baby and the outside of my stomach.  This means that movement will take longer to feel from the outside.  This also explains why I've been feeling internal movement, like rolling, but not as much with my hands on the outside of my stomach.  I'm sure there's a medical term (either anterior or posterior) but neither our doctor nor the sonographer used the phrase, so I'll have to look it up.  The baby was also measuring at about 11 ounces right now (which happens to be the same weight Avery was measuring at this point in the pregnancy).  At 20 weeks the baby is expected to weight around 10.5 ounces, and we're not at the 20 week mark until tomorrow, so the baby is gaining weight and growing like a weed!  :D  I estimated with Avery that she would be over 8 pounds based on all the information I had before she arrived.  She only ended up being 7 pounds, 6 ounces, so I was wrong on that one.  But I'm going to go ahead and make the same prediction for this one.  Based on what I know, this baby should be smaller, but continues to grow at a great pace!  So I'm going to guess that at birth, this baby will be right around 8 pounds.  :)  We will just have to wait and see!  Almost halfway done!!  Thanks for reading along, especially if you made it to the end of this!  :)  Remember, the gender and name will be posted on Christmas (or shortly thereafter, as it will probably be frowned upon if I'm blogging too much on Christmas day).  ;)  So stay tuned for the gender and name of the final member of the Voss Clan!  :)

Finally, I would like to say thank you to all of you who prayed (and continue to pray) for Michael, the baby, and me.  We appreciate those prayers so much and felt peace as we entered our sonogram yesterday thanks to you.  :)  I was so happy to find out that the baby was healthy and that everything is going well.  So thank you for standing by us and lifting us up in prayer.  We greatly appreciate it.  :)  Continue to pray for us, as we still have 20 more weeks to go, and then a lifetime of learning how to be parents.  ;)  Thank you!

We love you all so much!  Hope your holiday season is going well!  Stay warm, stay safe, and have a very Merry Christmas!
With Love,
Michael, Jen, Avery, and the Vossling  ;)