12 Weeks

Yesterday we had our 12 week appointment. It was a big appointment because we finally got to hear the heartbeat, which was reassurance to us that Little Weaver is still growing.

After waiting for a while to be called back, the nurse used the doppler to listen to the heartbeat right away. It took her just a few seconds to locate our munchkin, but once she did, we listened to the heartbeat. It sounded so fast to us! I told the nurse that the baby needed to settle down, I thought he/she was over-working him/herself. Ryan jokingly wondered if we could get a blood pressure on the baby because we knew it would be through the roof!

The heart rate was 165 beats per minute, which really means nothing to me. All I know is that it's almost 3 beats per second, which is really, really quick! The nurse said that she thinks she can hear the difference between a boy's heartbeat and girl's. She described it as a gallop sound for boys, but not girls. If she were guessing, she said it sounds like a boy. But we all agreed that it's not an exact science. Boy or girl, it doesn't matter to us!

We recorded a little bit of the heartbeat for you to hear. What do you think, boy or girl?

So far the pregnancy has been fairly uneventful... which is a good thing! I'm feeling great and getting super-excited about all the surprises to come! I can't wait to begin work on the nursery! I'm even looking forward to getting a round belly! Most of all, I look forward to our expanding family and all the blessings that will bring!

I must say a big thank you to all our friends and family who have continued to pray for us. Your prayers for a healthy baby and peace of mind for Ryan and I have helped tremendously. For the mostpart, we've been able to take confidence in God's plan for our lives and trust that he knows best (Jeremiah 29:11).

Kianna Marie

Kianna Marie has arrived! My sister delivered Kianna via C-Section on Tuesday morning, November 9, at 8:44 AM. The Little Princess topped the scales at 7 lbs 8 oz and measured 21 inches long. She is very healthy and very pretty! Her mommy has already gotten up and begun to move around. Steph said the surgery this time wasn't as bad as last time, so that should help the transition from one child to two children easier to manage.

Kyle is adjusting well to having a baby sister. He wasn't too sure about everything at first, but I think his hestitation stemmed from seeing his mommy laid up from surgery. On the second visit to the hospital, after a good night's sleep and some quality time with daddy, his attitude temperment were much better. He was interested in Kianna (for as long as 3 year old can be) and had no problem with sharing his mommy with his new sister.

Our family is super-excited about our new addition and can't wait to see her grow up and become a bundle of energy like her big brother. I'm sure our Little Weaver will grow up to be really close to Cousin Kianna, as they will only be 7 months part.

Exciting News!

After much anticipation, we're happy to announce that we're having a baby! I'm 6 weeks 5 days along, and we saw the heartbeat on Thursday! Ryan and I are so excited and thankful as we embark on this new journey in our lives.

We realize that it's very early in the pregnancy to share the news, but we want the prayers and support of all of our friends and family. Please pray for a healthy baby and peace of mind for Ryan and I as we try not to worry about things that could go wrong. From what I hear, our lessons in trusting God are just beginning.

Here's a the first picture of Little Weaver... kind of looks like a tadpole at this point. The tiny baby is only about a quarter inch long. He/She is due on June 7th and we won't know whether it's a 'he' or 'she' until then!


I'll keep you posted as our journey continues. We go in again this week for another appointment.

Happy Birthday to Kyle!

Last night we celebrated Kyle 3rd birthday! It was a fun evening for our whole family! The kids seemed to have a great time and Kyle especially enjoyed the festivities! The highlights included:

• Eating as many Cheetohs (AKA: Fah-Ree-Tos), cupcakes (only the top), and Oreos that he wanted
• Opening some of the best toys ever : view-finder, Tonka dump truck, board games, Chuck Trucks, and a remote-control car
• Running all night to keep up with his cousin Brose and all the other friends that came to celebrate

We all had a great time! I only wish I'd had more time to visit with everyone that came... I never seem to get enough time to chat with all our friends and family!

Now that Kyle's big day is behind us, today begins the countdown to Kianna's arrival on November 9th. I'm so looking forward to having another baby in the family, but watching Kyle grow up is a blast, too! Check out this video from his party. His squeals over his remote-control racecar were hilarious! Aunt Nerned and Uncle Ry-Ry knew he'd love it! In fact, I'm pretty sure the batteries are already dead.

Sesame Street

Kyle's third birthday is tomorrow! I can't believe he's already three! Time has flown by... it seems like just yesterday he was a tiny baby and now he's a little man. He can do almost everything all by himself. Just ask him, "I do it all by myself!"

To help celebrate, I nominated myself to make his birthday cake again this year. The theme is Sesame Street and Kyle's only birthday wish for his Aunt Nerned was an Elmo cake. Easy enough, right?! Not quite so... do you know how hard Elmo Red icing is to make? Yeah, I didn't know either. Until now. Now, I know! Six gel colors and one tube of already-made red icing later, the icing is Elmo Red. My sister-in-law, Brandi, helped me out tonight... thank the Lord! I told her that I'd do it all over again because it wasn't that bad. But next time I might just buy the Elmo Red icing at HyVee.

Here are the pictures of the Elmo cake and his cupcake friends - Bert, Ernie, Cookie Monster, and Oscar. Several tubes of icing, a few M&Ms, and this is what you get!





Now I must head to bed and pray that when I clean the bathroom tomorrow, the Scrubbing Bubbles will take the red food coloring out from under my fingernails and cuticles!

Knock-Knock

Dinnertime conversation at our sleepover Thursday night! Aunt Nerned is obviously hilarious!

Back to Work

School's back in session and my summer days of relaxing and creativity are gone. Oh how they're gone! Last week, I'm pretty sure I didn't make it home before 6 o'clock even once and we ate out 4 times, I think (it's all a blur now!) I spent 4 or 5 hours doing school stuff over the weekend and still I didn't feel prepared for Monday morning.

Even though I felt sick this weekend, I managed to muster up enough motivation to make homemade spaghetti and meatballs on Sunday for dinner. I think maybe I was trying to make up for a whole week of eating garbage. I found the recipe on Gina's Weight Watcher blog... Spinach Meatballs. They were so good and a little bit healthy. I'd definitely make them again, although next time I'd just use a jar of Ragu. Her homemade sauce was a bit too acidic for me. I had to add 2 tbsp of sugar to even it out.

After a super-stressful week at work I've decided to make it a priority to maintain a better sense of balance in my life. I love the girls that I work with... they're the type of teacher I aspire to be, but gosh dang it, they work a lot! I roll in at 7:30 AM and I'm exhausted after only 8 hours of sleep (still not enough) and they're already at school and have been for at least an hour. When I ask how late they stayed last night, some of the girls say, "Till around 10 or so!"

Working till 10:00 PM is not even a possibility in my world. Seriously, that just cannot happen. Like I said, they're the type of teacher I aspire to be, but alas it will never happen.

So like I said, balance... that's my goal. Over the summer I cooked, baked, and was creative. I loved it! I feel like I'm the best version of myself when I take time to do the things I enjoy. That's not to say that I don't enjoy teaching, I just don't want it to overtake everything else. During the school year, I come home and feel so wiped out that it takes every ounce of energy just to walk up the stairs. My hope for this year is to try to do at least one enjoyable thing for myself each week. Try a new recipe or craft, maybe just take a fun picture, or even take a walk with my dog.

Lastly, I hope to live by my new motto, "Just unload the dishwasher" this school year. I'll explain more later, but my theory is that it'll save me time in the long run.

Now I'm off to hop onto my school blog and post for tomorrow's reading lesson. Balance...