One Crazy Niece!

I've got a few crazy nieces to love, but here's a picture of the oldest one being goofy!  There are so many captions I could write for the picture below, but she's just a sweet little 4 year old with a big imagination!  Love me some Kiks!

Baby Update!

Last week I went in to my regular OB for our 11 week appointment. I was kind of nervous before the appointment, but once I heard the baby's heartbeat, I felt much better. It was 172, which is nice and strong. Everything else looked good. The doctor asked me if I wanted another ultrasound. I don't know any pregnant momma who turns down an ultrasound. So I got another peek at Little Weaver. I even saw waving arms and a more defined body!  So special.

It's funny because everytime I talk about ultrasounds or appointments, I seem to subconsciously refer to the baby as "she". I think it's from my experience with Gracie. But when I visualize our little family after the baby is born, I imagine a little boy. So clearly I have no idea what's in store for us!  But either way, I'm super excited!

I've begun researching baby carriers because I assume I'll be wearing this little one a lot!  I've always loved baby wearing, but I think it's time to give myself more options than the Moby.  Right now I'm trying to decide between the Boba 4G and the Tula. I'll let you know what I decide!

Here's a picture of the ultrasound and video of the heartbeat.  I had to record it so Daddy could hear it from India.  Any gender predictions?!

Cookie Fun!

This year for Valentine's Day, Ryan hopped on a plane headed to India, but that didn't stop us girls from having fun!  Panera carry-out, Beauty and the Beast, and decorating cookies (all with Grandma) was a pretty good date for all of us!

Natalie enjoyed the fruits of our labor a couple days later!

Snow!

Snow fun while Daddy was out of town!  Her glove is off so she can eat the snow more easily. Makes sense, right?! 

A Zoo Kind of Day

As we sit inside watching the snow fall, I'm thinking of warmers days like this great Saturday in early February!

The 3 (almost 4) of us took advantage of the sunshine at the zoo!  

Having Daddy with us was a treat!  Gracie was dying to feed the goats, but just couldn't let them eat it out of her hand. So Daddy fed them instead!

Ladybug, as always!  She even went "no hands" for a whole millisecond!

But quickly grabbed on again!

A new fascination... flamingoes!

Another fun family day at the zoo!

Daddy's Home!

So I know I'm about 3 weeks behind on blogging, but I have to post the best thing that's happened in our house in 8 days!!  Daddy is back from India!  Gracie and I missed him terribly. But today the long week ended with snuggles, homemade chicken and noodles, and a pillow fight. 

G and I worked together last night to make a sign to take to the airport. Gracie did the cutting and gluing. I did the letters. We had a great time on our project and having a special surprise (it was almost a surprise, except big mouth couldn't help herself on our early morning FaceTime call) was fun for Gracie. 

Gracie snapped a shot of me holding the sign (sort of)!

Waving at Daddy's plane and worrying that the walkway tunnel was going to smash into the plane and hurt him. We've obviously never taken G on an airplane before. 

Poster-making. There's a certain way to hold your mouth when you cut or squeeze glue. So sweet!

And this is how you hold your mouth while placing the squares in the paper. 

I plan to catch up on the past few weeks of blog posts sometime this week or next. This round of classes is almost over... and my partner is back home to help out with things. 

We Graduated!

A little over a week ago, Ryan and I went to our 8 week appointment with Dr. Gehlbach. The purpose of the appointment was to make sure things are growing on schedule and to make decisions about the next steps in this process. The appointment well really well. Little Weaver's heart rate was 172 and the baby seems to be growing at the expected rate. With my third pregnancy, she was small from my first ultrasound at 8 weeks. At the time no one was alarmed, but now I wonder if that was a red flag. But thankfully, this one is right on track!  We were super happy to see a strong heartbeat, little arms and legs, and a big baby head!  Dr. Gehlbach showed us the amniotic sac and said there's absolutely nothing else he could hope for. All looks good right now!  Because of all the good news, we 'graduated' from the Reproductive Endocrinologist's office!

Now we're in the hands of Dr. Riojas, my regular OB. I've already seen him once, at 7.5 weeks and he will be sending me to a Perinatologist (high risk OB) toward the end of my first trimester. Then they'll make a decision about my prenatal care together. 

Lately God has continued to give me a sense of peace about everything. I'm mostly hopeful and only slightly nervous about things. I truly appreciate prayers for health, growth, and peace. 

Here's our most recent picture of Little Weaver. He/she is head down and if you look closely (and you know what to look for) you can see the amniotic sac. 

I'm still having typical first trimester symptoms. I'm exhausted all the time, have tender breasts, and am a little bit backed up (if you know what I mean).   It was really bad, but now I've been able to get on top of things with prunes and lots of veggies and water. Thank God. I seriously thought I was going to need surgery. Not kidding. 

I've found what people say has been true. You show much earlier with each pregnancy. I'm still keeping it quiet for all the kiddos in my life, at home and at school. I was hoping to keep it a secret till 20 weeks or so, but I have a feeling I'll be lucky to hide it for another month. Lots of big sweaters and scarves are in my future. 

Here's a picture from Thursday. I'm 9.5 weeks and can barely make regular pants work. I've opted for maternity clothes a few days because it's just too uncomfortable otherwise. 

I'm not upset about the growing belly. In fact, I've always loved my pregnant belly. I'm just struggling to figure out how to keep my secret!  I don't have another appointment until 11 weeks (just a week and half from now). At that time, Riojas will refer me to see the Perinatologist. I'll update more then. We still appreciate all your prayers for us and for our growing family!