Spa Like Sonograms

Tyler and I had the opportunity to do a sonogram package at Stork Vision in Abilene. What an awesome experience! You walk into the room to have your sonogram done and you feel like you are walking into a spa room where you get a hot stone massage.

You could take as many people in with you as you wanted to be there.
You laid on a table that faced the wall (where the big screen TV was mounted)
Your husband reclines next to you.
Your friends and family sit behind you (to be modest to mommy) on a love seat and couch.

Everyone has a clear view of the big screen to watch baby!

We went at 19 weeks for GENDER DETERMINATION! Thats right! This part of the package was just your regular 2D sono to look to see if you have pink or blue growing inside. The second part of the package will be the 4D live motion sonogram at 28 weeks. That is when the baby is big enough to move about, do fun tricks, but not too big that they can't hardly move. We are going back 1st week of November for that part and can't wait!

This is what Tyler and I got to share with both of our parents, and my sweet and precious Cousin, Marla.







We do have a sonogram shot that does in fact verify that the sweet baby is a GIRL! We are teaching her modesty, and so just believe us when we say GIRL it is! Thats right, Anslee will be a big sister to her LITTLE sister. What great friends they will be at just 2 years apart. Our family could not feel more blessed. We think that having these two girls is exactly what the Lord has in store for our growing family. My prayer is that they will love each other unconditionally and that they will share a lifetime of memories together and cherish each one. Neither Tyler or I share a same sex sibling, so watching these two together will be a new experience for the both of us, and one that we already feel will be just as special to us as it will be for them.

During our sonogram this is what neat things we watched happen:

She turned a complete flip right in front of us.
She stuck out her tongue.
She sucked her thumb.
She had a bad case of the hiccups that caused her whole body to flail.
She crossed her feet at the ankles.
She kicked and stretched her legs the entire time.

You can tell how much she moved during the sonogram just by looking at the 1st picture that was taken pretty quick into the sonogram and then comparing to the one of the last still shots taken, which is the 3rd picture shown.

We absolutely had a blast at Stork Vision and we are so excited to go back for the live motion 4D session. They told us that we will probably be able to see distinct physical features. We could when we had them done with Anslee. I can't help but wonder if they will look just alike!

Look to your right!

Hey Everyone!

Connecting Caring Communities out of Abilene, Texas has been accepted as a Pepsi Refresh Challenge potential winner!

"Connecting Caring Communities, a comprehensive community initiative, works to restore the foundation of safe and caring communities by rebuilding the system of caring relationships. Why? Because we believe true community renewal changes the world, one neighbor at a time."

The Goals of The CCC are:
* Open Friendship Houses in the vulnerable neighborhoods of our city
* Build sustainable, energy-efficient homes for low-income families
* Foster safe, caring, and whole communities one neighbor at a time

All it takes is a couple of clicks to help The CCC become the winners of $250,000 grand prize to even better what the CCC is already doing in the neighborhoods of Abilene, Texas.


VOTING ENDS AUGUST 31st!

As of today, the CCC stands in 21st place! Two weeks ago, they were at 65!

You can vote straight off of my blog (look at the widget to your right!)
You can vote here: http://www.refresheverything.com/abilene
You can vote straight from facebook!

Please vote :)

So Far Today...

With Anslee:


tried new (low) piggie tails


put on her own socks. then put on her sandal shoes over them.


walked around in sandals all morning. on the wrong foot. but was so proud that she did it all by herself


put together a puzzle.



spent 8 minutes loading the washer. one piece of clothing at a time.



worked out with mommy.


read the same book 4 times.


told mommy all done after eating two peach slices at lunch. then asked for a cookie.


called her daddy at work to say "hi daddy"


came in for a kiss to mommy, then backed away and laughed hysterically.


became completely unglued when mommy took away a bag of chips from her.



told her mommy she loved her 3 times.



Its just a little past noon. I do not have to wait until the end of the day to say today I am blessed.

Pardon our Progress in early preperation!

Tyler, Anslee, and I spent an afternoon this week getting things put together for new baby.

We found a great deal that we could NOT pass up on this lovely baby furniture. We were so excited to find it, and decided not to wait around on changing our once guest room into a nursery. This is all we have done so far!







We clearly have not taken down all the guest room decor from the new nursery now, but its a work in prgoress...so please pardon.

On the topic of Rooms:

We had to unexpectedly somewhat re-do Anslee's room. One day, I notice that Anslee's bedding was past due for a wash. I knew that normally these items needed to be washed on the delicate cycle. I thought for some strange reason that washing them on the sanitary setting would be better (if you had seen them, you would have thought so too). That was a big mistake.

What a crazy coincidence! My friend Amanda Finn from High School put on Facebook cute baby bedding for sale! It was a steal of a deal, and would you believe the bedding was all the exact same colors that we had used in her room?

Here is her room with a mini makeover!







We obviously still have plenty of time to work on the new nursery, and as we do, I will update :)

Muscle Memory

Here is me at 23 weeks along. Pregnant with Anslee (October 2008)



Here is me at 15.5 weeks along with #2



When I talk about comparing, let me just say, the 23 week photo was the first belly shot we ever took with Anslee. At 15.5 weeks with her, It would have just been a picture of nothing.

I feel like muscle memory is good when speaking in terms of exercise. Not in terms of pregnancy!

Good Grief!

Follow Up

Well,

Today was good. Honestly, I prayed so much that I would just relax and take a step back. I got so much good feedback, all of which I am more than thankful. It was calming to me, to just hear from other moms. To be reminded I am clearly not the only one who has gone through this. I took everything that was said into serious consideration....as most of the comments I received had a similar message.

Today Anslee went down at the same time for nap. Since I am a stickler to the routine, I decided to keep up with what I was doing...but just not stress out about it. She had lunch at 11:15, and at 12:30 it was time to go down, so she did. I did not hear from her until I went into her room to get her at 3 pm.

Tonight, she had dinner at 6 pm, and then was put to bed by 7:30. She was finally asleep before 8 pm. I was happy with that. Very happy with that.

Here is what I changed for today. I am almost embarrassed to admit it.

I am a TV junkie. Mostly reality TV. None the less...the TV lately has been on a whole lot. Even though I usually am just getting bits and pieces of my shows (hello 18 month old) its still on. More than it should be.

Today. There was no TV. I had read an article mentioning that TV can be SUPER stimulating.

She got to watch her 20 minute show, Yo Gabba Gabba, in the afternoon. That was it.

I really believe this could be the culprit, because, The last few months the TV has really been on more, and I have let her watch more of the age appropriate shows off of Nick Jr.

I just decided last night, what would it hurt to see if the TV played any part. It may just have ironic that it worked today. I will see again after tomorrow if I get the same outcome!

Again, Thanks to everyone who offered help. It felt good today, to just relax...to know that our routine is good for her, and that she is not really being hurt in any major way by the little less sleep she was getting.

I am one lucky Mom!

HELP!

Moms:

I might very well be loosing my mind. I need/welcome all suggestions about what to do.

Here is our problem.

Anslee, 18 months old, used to sleep at nap time and at bedtime like a little champ. Seriously. I worked so hard to make sure that she got 12+ hours of sleep at night and 2+ hours of sleep during the day. It was like clockwork. A science even! I laid her down at between 7:15-7:30 every night and within seconds she was sound asleep until sometimes 8:15 am. When we went to 1 nap during the day, I was laying her down right after lunch, at 12:30. 2:45-3 pm was when she was up and ready. The girl woke up happy, energized and ready for whatever we had planned.

A little over a month ago, Anslee started waking up during her nap at 1.5 hours into it. I never went and got her, making her "rest" until nap time was over. I remember the line "mom decides when nap begins and when it ends" and stuck to it. Come to find out, 7 out of 10 times the culprit was a stinky diaper. UGHHH. Also come to find, that when waking early from nap started, so did not going down easily for bedtime. She was never really fussy or cranky...just would not fall asleep. I would seriously hear her in her crib talking for over an hour.

This is still happening. I tried it all. Pushing the nap back some (thinking she was not tired enough at nap time) Then when that totally backfired, I tried putting her down earlier for nap (thinking maybe she had been overtired). That didn't work either. Then I tried calming down with morning activities, (thinking she was getting too much stimulation) That did not seem to help us any either.

I made sure her room temp was good
I made sure her diaper was clean and dry
I checked for more teeth even (like she can even get any more at this point)
I thought about her diet. No changes there (except maybe she eats better now)

I tried putting her down earlier for bedtime. Nope. Still up for over an hour, and the nap issues continued.

Nothing in our routine has changed. People, I have been dealing with this Since the last week and a half of June. Its August 1st, and I everything I used to try to tweak when this would happen before has not helped us.

I know 18 months is a developmental leap time.

I want to pull my hair out, because I have worked way too hard to give her what she needs to sleep enough for proper brain development. She was a total success story from 6 weeks on. Phases would happen every now and again, lasting a day or two. Not a month or two.

I have no idea where to go next. So here is my desperate plea via the blog. Any suggestions, references, ideas would be SOOOOOO appreciated!