We're having.....

A GIRL! We are very happy and excited! Of course, we would have been happy and excited if we were having a boy, too. But, I've had a girl and sort of know how to "do" girl. Plus- our girls will be exactly three years apart. So- I have girl clothes, toys, and decor galore! The only thing we'll need for this little one is diapers and wipes. We haven't completely settled on a name yet, so I'll hold off on that for now.

We got several pictures, but this one is our favorite.

Look carefully and you'll see her tiny fingers on her forehead! :)

Our doctor was very pleased with the baby's development. She said that everything looked beautiful. She's also happy with my weight gain this time around. It's less than where I was with Gracie at this time in the pregnancy. I'm not sure how that's possible given all of the fudge I've consumed since Christmas!!! But- we won't talk about that!!!

I was so looking forward to telling Gracie that she's having a baby sister. This is pretty much how the conversation went, however.

Me: Gracie, are you excited? Our baby is a little girl. You're going to have baby sister.

Gracie: No, our baby is a boy baby.

Me: No, she's a girl. You are going to have a sister.

Gracie: Maybe we could get a cat.

Oh My!!!!

Flutter, flutter

Well, my suspicions were correct the other day. I definitely am feeling this baby move. I love it! It feels like a little fluttering feeling in my tummy. It's nice to just be sitting quietly at the end of the day and feel this little life moving around. So sweet!

One of my pregnancy books says that 'generally, the baby will be born about 147 days-plus or minus 15 days- from the time the mother first feels the baby move.' (I love how they couched that time frame with two weeks before or after!) Nonetheless, for Gracie it was spot on. She was born 146 days after I first felt her flutter. If my calculations are correct, that would put us at May 28th for this baby. Pretty close to the actual June 4th due date, anyway, but interesting to think about!

We go for our BIG ultrasound one week from today. I'm hoping that the baby cooperates so that we can find out the sex. For the past several days, Gracie has predicted a boy. But, before that, she has always said "girl". So, she really isn't helping us figure out what we're having at all!

I've included a 'lovely' belly picture. I've been horrible this time around and haven't taken any pictures up until this past weekend when I hit the 18 week mark. When I'm pregnant, I sort of just get big all over. I don't really have that cute little bump. But, I love how my body is changing. It's very exciting and amazing to be able to experience pregnancy, ONCE MORE. I may have said this before, but when I was pregnant the first time, I was just as amazed with how God created my body, as I was with the new life that was being weaved inside of me. I was 41, had never been pregnant, and yet my body did exactly what it was designed to do to carry a baby. It was incredible to me. ---You are fearfully and wonderfully made---- had whole new meaning.

The life and times of Gracie and Me....

Hi everyone! Sorry it's been so long since I've blogged. I've been a bit overwhelmed lately. All is well with our littlest lovee. In fact, each time I've been to the doctor recently, both physicians have commented that "that's one happy camper" in there. Speaking of appointments, I have to tell you this story. Gracie went with me to my appointment this past Tuesday. As I was about to step onto the scale (she's not too keen on getting weighed at the dr's office), she patted me on the back and said, "It'll be alright, Mama." Then, after the nurse had finished taking my blood pressure, and we were waiting for the doctor to arrive, Gracie looked up at me and said, "Mommy, you're a brave girl!" Well, I may be brave, but I'm also worn out after working all day. Perhaps that would explain why we still had pumpkins on our stoop and a fall wreath on our front door, at noon on Christmas Eve!

I hope all of you had a fabulous Christmas celebration. We went to our former church for their Christmas Eve service. God's presence and love was definitely experienced. Plus, it was wonderful to hug the necks of old friends. Gracie tried her best to sing 'Joy to the World' and all the other songs sung that night. We loved seeing her 'enter in' to the service. They ended with a 5 year old, little boy singing, 'Happy Birthday Jesus.' It was absolutely precious!

Christmas morning was so much fun. Gracie is old enough now to open her own gifts. She was a little worried when she tore into the first package. She thought she had 'broken' the wrapping paper. She took more than an hour to open her gifts because she stopped to play after she opened each one. Overall, we think her favorite gift was a fake, plastic slinky. :) It doesn't take much to please our girl!

As most of you know, I'm a kindergarten teacher. Which means, I'm on Christmas Break this week! So far, I can't figure out how I ever get out the door by 8 AM each day, as Gracie and I have both been in our pj's until at least 11:00 each day! I really didn't feel well yesterday morning. So, by the time I was ready to run errands at the bright and early hour of 3:45 in the afternoon, my girl was needing some Monday afternoon loving. We tickled and kissed each other over and over again for about 45 minutes. It was a tremendous treat that neither of us get at that hour on a weekday.

Today, has been quite nice. I'm conquering loads of laundry and taking lots of kiss/hug breaks throughout the day. I put Gracie down for a nap around 1:00. I kept hearing her talking and singing, but then she got kind of quiet. I crept upstairs to prepare a bubble bath for myself. (I love bubble baths!) Just then, she started jumping up and down in her crib and broke into a rousing chorus of "Shoo Fly don't Bother Me!" I started to laugh! She remained in her room for the duration of her nap time, although she never napped. When I felt she had 'rested' long enough, I went into her room and found a funny sight. She had leaned outside of her crib, grabbed several stuffed animals out of a basket and wiggled them between the slats of her crib. She had also grabbed a little puppy dog backpack, somehow put it on her back the correct way, and buckled the thing. Wide-eyed, hair going everywhere, she was a sight to behold. I had to take a picture. The child cracks me up sometimes!

I love being mommy to this vivacious two year old! I can't wait to see what God has in store for us with this next little embie baby! BTW, I think I felt the baby move last night. Hmmmm....more on that later! Happy New Year everyone!

The Latest

On Monday, I had my 12 week ultrasound (even though I was actually 13 weeks this past Saturday). Once again, everything looked great! Our littlest lovie is measuring a few days ahead of schedule this time and had a strong, healthy heartrate. Apparently, the baby's spleen and bladder looked good too. My dr. did an additional, "freebie" peek and was describing these beautiful organs to me. I honestly had no idea what I was looking at! Our Creator is so amazing!!! We are fearfully and wonderfully made.... Ps. 139.
We showed Gracie the picture of the baby, Monday afternoon. She was so funny. She said, "I have a baby in my tummy too." We tried to correct that misconception, but she hung fast to it. She also grabbed the neck of my sweater, poked her head in my shirt because she wanted to see the baby! She's my silly girl. :)
As of yesterday, I have been shot free for two weeks. Awwww! Such a blessing! But I wasn't assured that I could stay off my medications until Monday. That was the 'cherry on top' of my good news day. Why did it take two weeks to make this determination? Let me just say, "Oh the drama of bloodwork being delivered STAT." Apparently, my results have a tendency to get lost in cyberspace!
I felt pretty good yesterday. I actually ate Italian food last night, with little consequence. The very thought of garlic has made me want to pass out for the past several weeks, and I love garlic! So- I'm hoping that I have turned a corner as I enter the 2nd Trimester!

Sympathy Pains

Warning! It's the middle of the night, so I hope this makes sense!!!

I just wanted to write a little about my sweet husband and the sympathy pains he's been having for me since I've been pregnant. The other morning, I heard him in the bathroom just gagging and heaving away! He came out and said, "I sure will be glad when our morning sickness is over!" This has happened pretty regularly over the past two months. He even had to come home from work early one day because he was so nauseated- for no apparent reason other than he was feeling my pain!

Fortunately, Gracie hasn't had nausea, but she has also been very supportive of her mommy. A few weeks ago, when I was feeling really poorly, she brought a boatload of toys to my bed. Thanks baby! The other day, she wanted me to dance with her or something rather active, and I told her that I just didn't feel very well. We'd have to do it later. She looked at me and said, "You don't feel well mommy? I hold your hand." And she did! Awwww- that made me feel better! We really try to keep her otherwise occupied when we're doing the injections, but she has popped in on us a few times. So occasionally, when she can tell I don't feel well, she'll say, "Mommy, you don't feel well? Want daddy give you a sot?" That's what she calls shots. :)
When she hears me gagging in the morning, she'll stop what she's doing and ask, "Mommy? You ok?" Yesterday, she went with me to have blood drawn. After the needle was pulled out, she patted my arm gently. It was too sweet!
Thank you Lord, for the love and support of my dear family!!!

Our Littlest Lovie

Hi Everyone! Sorry to have been so absent recently. It's been a rough 3 weeks or so. I've really felt cruddy, and have been quite drawn to my bed or comfy chair at the end of each day! I've felt better this past week, although this weekend has been yucky. (I'm referring to how I feel physically and not life in general.) But, I don't won't to talk about me. Look at our precious little lovie! I cried when the tech handed me this picture. It amazes me that less than 7 weeks ago, this little person was a mass of cells. We are fearfully and wonderfully made!!!

Check out the little arms and legs that are beginning to form. So amazing!!! When my doctor came in, we caught up on Gracie and talked about our new donor family. (This time around has been much less confusing doctor wise than our first pregnancy. With Gracie, the nurses and doctors seemed completely baffled by the idea of embryo adoption. Now, they're pros and act like they have people coming in all the time that have had FET with adopted embryos.) Anyway, once we chatted, she said, "Well, I have nothing brilliant to say!" Meaning, she thought everything looked great and that we were off to great start. Because of the busy holiday season coming up, we went ahead and scheduled my next two appointments and the BIG 18-20 week u/s. It will take place the second week of January. That's when she'll check out every facet of the baby's anatomy and hopefully tell us the sex. Yes- I want to find out!!!

On a whiny note- I am really ready for PIO shots to be over. Last night, my muscle spasmed while Byron was giving the injection. Tears were shed! Thankfully the past two shots have been nearly pain free. I'm glad~ for me and for Byron. He feels horrible when he inflicts pain on his rather fragile wife! However, this thing I know...God is the strength of my life. And with His strength, we will be able to do what we have to do!

With hopes of posting more frequently in the coming weeks.....I'm signing off for now!

The First Glimpse

Today we saw the first glimpse of our little one. Our technician wasn't too talkative, but he did say the sac was exactly where it should be, and said,"See that? That's the heart beating." It was so tiny, beautiful, and amazing.
I was tearful to see just one, and at the same time relieved. I hope you understand that statement. I don't know why I was worried about the possibility of multiples. Last week, I felt God was reminding me that He would be my strength. Simple, I know, but when you're almost 45, pregnant, work full time, and have a two year old....it comes as a wonderful comfort. This past weekend, in the midst of nausea and total exhaustion, I heard Him say, "Trust me. Just trust me." Again, so simple, but those words surrounded me like a cozy blanket. Our God is good, and I am thankful for His presence.