it gets me every time...

Please tell me I'm not the only one who gets teary-eyed during this commercial.
I'm sure it's just my pregnancy hormones... but it really tugs on my heartstrings.


And then I see pictures like these and I get super excited to have a tiny newborn again...

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8 weeks tommorrow!

doctor doctor

Today was my very first OB appointment for baby #2, and things are already a little chaotic.
Before I explain, let me tell you this:
I am 7 weeks and 3 days pregnant, and my official due date is June 10th, 2012


Our first glimpse at Elliot's little brother or sister! ♥

Now, onto the drama.
Our first OB appointment, which normally lasts only fifteen minutes or so, quickly turned into an hour and a half. Why? Well, my new OB had to go over my medical records, which takes awhile in itself, and then it came to her attention that Elliot was born with gastroschisis. Mind you, the fact that I had a birth defect baby was clearly stated on my paperwork, but apparently she skipped over that little detail. Well, because the cause of gastroschisis is unknown, there is a chance I could have another baby with a birth defect. For example, if it were caused by a hormone imbalance, that same hormone imbalance could make something else go wrong this time, too. They really don't know.
Suddenly, my seemingly "normal" pregnancy was turned over to perinatology, maternal-fetal medicine, and genetic counseling. Things I am all too familiar with.
So. 9 vials of blood, a pap smear, ultrasound, and flu shot later... I headed down to pharmacy to pick up my new prescriptions feeling pretty defeated. I guess I was just hoping for a smooth, stress-free pregnancy this time around.
I have a two hour appointment with a geneticist tomorrow to discuss which tests I will be having to screen for possible birth defects.

The good news?
Everything looks normal so far.
Let's pray for a healthy baby and pregnancy!

winner, winner, chicken dinner!

Like I said in my previous post, this drawing is way way wayyy overdue. Sorry!


Congratulations Sarah from Nurse Loves Farmer! You won!
I'll be emailing you :)

and the worst blogger award goes to...

ME!
I've really been dropping the ball lately when it comes to blogging. I know- and I'm sorry for that. I've had some great posts in my head for days now and some equally great reviews/giveaways to put up... PLUS I just realized today that I {still} haven't drawn the winner for that fleece soaker giveaway from weeks ago. Ooops. I'm drawing it tomorrow- I swear.
I haven't been blogging as much lately because, to be honest, I've felt like poop. Don't get me wrong- I am absolutely thrilled to be pregnant again and I know plenty of my readers would LOVE to have morning sickness because they'd just love to be pregnant. But, happiness aside, I've been super super nauseous and super, super tired. No, make that exhausted. All. The. Time. Elliot has a giant tooth coming in... I think it may be a molar, so he's been fussier than usual. Poor kid. He also hasn't been sleeping well lately. I'm just praying he'll start sleeping through the night sometime before this baby is born... because there is no way I can get up with TWO babies every night!
I also started school again recently, so if I'm not using my extra time and energy to study, fix myself something to eat, or clean... you can bet your bottom dollar that I'm sleeping. Or trying to, at least. I've been having crazy crazy vivid/scary dreams lately. Seriously. You should see me tiptoe into Elliot's room in the middle of the night to get him and jump at every tiny noise.

It's really starting to sink in that I'm pregnant and I am getting more and more excited! We've been talking about names, what we need to buy, and how life will be different with 2 under 2 and I just love it all.
My first OB appointment is on MONDAY!

Well, this is the lamest blog post ever.
Can I make it up to you with some pictures?


This just reminds me of Lady and the Tramp!!


Guess who FINALLY learned how to hold his own sippy?


Big, CHEESY smile :D


annnnd another.

water baby

Now that we're finally pretty much settled in Texas, we're finally making friends and {gasp} actually going out and exploring this great state!
On Saturday, which just so happened to also be Sweetest Day, we explored the Lampasas river with our friends Jay and Susan. The guys had a blast trying to spear fish with homemade spears, climbing trees and rocks, and jumping into the water. Boys will be boys, at any age!
It made me excited for when Elliot will be old enough to explore and get dirty. For now, though, Elliot enjoyed being carried around in the bjorn and then sitting in a shallow part of the river where he could feel the current on his back and bum. Even though the water was a little chilly, he was right at home!


If that's not a cute face, then I don't know what is.




He thought this was absolutely HILARIOUS!


Elliot and mama


Hanging out with Daddy in the water.


There's a monkey on your shoulder...


Silly face!


Give a boy a stone, and he's happy!





He was leaning forward to get some stones of his own...




The minute we took him out of the water, Elliot started shivering, poor baby. So we promptly dried him off, put him in some clean clothes, wrapped him up in a towel, and headed home. We grabbed a bite to eat, put Elliot to bed, and then Jay and Susan babysat Elliot so that Aaron and I could go out by ourselves for the first time in a LONG time. It was only the second date we've been on together in over two years! We were both tired (hey, it was a long day!) so we decided just to go to the movies. We both had a good time, and at one point, Aaron whispered, "this is a really good movie... but I miss Elliot!" That pretty much melted my heart. Of course, this pregnancy has my hormones all out of whack so it doesn't take much these days.

Before I forget: Elliot turned TEN MONTHS old yesterday!
I promise to do his monthly post tomorrow.

Oh, and one other thing. We want to get another baby carrier, one that is somewhat similar to the bjorn but for older/larger babies, because even though Elliot is nowhere near the weight limit of the bjorn, I've read it doesn't support heavier babies correctly and soon enough the new baby will be using it! If you have any suggestions, please leave me a comment or email me! I'd really appreciate it! Thanks!

love for Daddy

As you all know, my husband was gone for months 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of Elliot's life. When Aaron came home, he was {understandably} disappointed and sad because Elliot seemed to want nothing to do with him. Sure, he would let Aaron hold him, but I was the one he really wanted. If he was hungry, fussy, sleepy, or scared, he only wanted mama. He screamed every time I left the room. It really crushed my husband, who claimed that Elliot "didn't like him," even though I knew that he did.
Recently, things have finally started to turn around. When Aaron comes home from work, Elliot's whole face lights up in a smile. Before he can even get his boots off, Elliot literally launches himself at him. He knows that there are certain things that he can only get away with when mama's not around, and he knows that Daddy is the one who "roughhouses" with him while playing. Elliot absolutely LOVES when his daddy throws him up in the air, spins him around, hangs him upside down by his feet, etc. It used to nearly give me a heart attack, but now I've gotten so used to it that I just sit back and watch Elliot squeal and laugh. Aaron is definitely WAY stronger than I am and he actually has hand-eye-coordination, while I pretty much don't. So, for that reason, I never try to do these things with Elliot, and he knows that Daddy is the one to go to if he wants to play like that.
Elliot is definitely still a mama's boy- he snuggles more with me, and I'm the only one who can put him to sleep. He still clings to me at times or cries randomly when I leave the room, but it's different now because it's obvious that he loves his Daddy, too- and Aaron knows that. It just makes me a little sad to think that Aaron will be deploying again not too long from now, and Elliot won't have anyone to swing him around or hold him by his ankles. Even worse- he's going to miss even more of baby #2's first year of life than he did with Elliot.
I've learned you can't dwell on those things, though. That's just military life. All you can do is treasure the time you do have together and {in my case} take lots and lots of pictures!

hungry?

Let me share my first craving {this pregnancy} with you:
PIE!

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Oh, and I completely missed the fact that the votes were reset! Could you vote for us? Pretty please?

He's sick, I'm sick, we're all sick.

Although Elliot has been out of the NICU for seven months now, his immune system is still really low. So, surprise, surprise- he's sick again. It's been cold and rainy here, and I've been horribly nauseous and exhausted anyways, so we've been hanging out in our PJs together lately. It's quite glamorous. ;) Okay, maybe not. But I love cuddling with my baby boy and I also love being pregnant, so I can't complain too much!
I'm hoping all this nausea means that this little peanut will be as strong as his/her big brother was in the belly. I've been spotting a little but not too much. I can't wait to go to the doctor next week to find out my beta levels, see our little bean on an ultrasound, and make sure everything is okay (so far).

The medicine must be working. Look at this silly boy!









I think he'd rather be outside-



But he'll have to wait awhile!

Thank you so much for all of the congratulations and support on this new pregnancy! I can't wait to share this journey with you all. Let's keep our fingers crossed for a healthy baby and a much less stressful pregnancy this time!
PS: I promise to catch up on all your blogs soon!

Big News!

I realized today that, until now, I hadn't blogged in over two weeks. THAT, my friends, is the longest I've ever gone without blogging. I blame it mostly on the fact that my camera battery charger broke so I couldn't take pictures, and I was also sick and just plain exhausted.
Well, I'm back and with some super exciting news:

I'm pregnant!
or, as my husband would say- "my eggo is preggo!"

That's right. We're expecting baby #2 in early June 2012.
I don't go to the doctor until next week, but since my period was a few days late and I was suddenly feeling very sick to my stomach, I took a bunch of pregnancy tests and guess what? They ALL came up positive.

And what's more? The positive line is WAY darker than the control line. My test results when I was pregnant with Elliot were never this dark, even when I was 6 weeks pregnant!
See?

We are SO excited!!

Now I just need Elliot to sleep through the night again so I can figure out how to juggle an 18 month old and a newborn while my husband is deployed...
Oh boy!