Applesauce is not good!

Hardly a title for a Christmas post but it makes me smile. We were out to eat the other day and as a side dish for Caroline ordered applesauce. After eating almost half of the applesauce she proudly states that "applesauce is not good" and has been repeating it at random times over the past couple of days.

We have really enjoyed Christmas this year and despite buying our presents a little late Christmas seemed more relaxed this year. I did not want to be in a rush always on the go and forget to enjoy the season. Caroline was very interested in everything this year except Santa. I would like to say that it is because she knows the real reason for the season but despite playing/chewing on the Little People Nativity and saying "Jesus loves me" I don't think that is the case. She does know it is Jesus' birthday and every cake we eat is called birthday cake. This will be our first year of no picture with Santa. We just couldn't make it happen and didn't see the point in paying for a picture of her having a meltdown.

A couple of pictures--I hope to post more later especially with my new year's resolution for more posts. The one of the family was our Christmas card this year. Looking forward to the picture next year with a family of 4.

Mandy

Doctor Update!

Ok I am very behind with making a post. I will make blogging my New Year's resolution! I have missed reporting on 2 OB visits since my last post. The first visit I missed was on 10/31/08. The heartbeat was a strong 161. It is so reassuring to hear that every visit. I may regret saying this but I typically only have some nausea while pregnant but none that is severe and it only lasts until I get up and moving. So I haven't really felt pregnant other than being tired all the time but not sure I can attribute all of that to the baby.

I went back today for my 16 week visit (I am currently 17 1/2 weeks) and the heartbeat was 147. They said everything looked good. I have begun to notice the quickening movements which I love. I can't wait till I can feel the baby move more consistently and actually see those kicks. I go back on 1/8/09 and we will find out what we are having. I can't wait!

We are in the process of moving Caroline to her big girl bed. She seems excited about it at times but I think she really loves her crib. We are going to paint the room pink and she goes around saying "pink room". I don't know if I can take the paci away and move to the big girl bed at the same time. We have to do what we can to still get some sleep right??? Don't know why I am saying that when in May my sleeping days are over for a while. I don't miss those days but I know how soon they pass and then the get bigger and don't need Mommy as much.

She is growing so much and has quite a vocabulary. She is using small sentences. Daddy is mostly her interpretor. He seems to get what she is saying faster than I can. She knows all the characters on Sesame Street. She loves to play puzzles. She still loves her "naky's" and apple bars.

We are getting ready for Christmas and she seems like she will really be into it this year. She looks at the tree and says "pretty".

Hope everyone is having a great Christmas season!

Mandy

Bun in the Oven!

Today I had my second OB appointment. We had an ultrasound today that confirmed that we have an 8 week 4 day old little one growing in my belly. The heartbeat is 170. We saw the nurse practitioner afterwards and she made the comment that our baby is "plump" already. I think this time we will have a 9 pounder. Ha! Our due date is May 10th, 2009 but we will go a week early since I am going to have another C-section. We are so excited and the only person we have told is Caroline. I am not sure how good she is at keeping a secret because at dinner tonight she said baby and starting rubbing her belly. We don't plan to tell anyone till 12 weeks again so we may end up bribing Caroline with nakys. Next appointment is on Halloween.

Caroline continues to grow like a weed. She is full tilt all the time. She is learning lots of new words and is even practicing going potty--although we have yet to let anything out into the potty. She loves to go through the motions. She is still in love with Elm@ but shares that affection now with Cookie and Abby. She has several falls recently and had some of her first big injuries. She is definitely a little more daring.

We are excited to see what the next 9 (well 7 now) months hold until we meet our next little one.

I'm a big girl!

Today we had Caroline's 2 year old doctors appointment. She was very good during the visit. She sat on Daddy's lap the whole time and enjoyed her "naky" I think hearing the other kids crying made her apprehensive. She weighs 31lbs and is 34 inches long. She is such a big girl and even has a big girl walk. She is getting her molars top and bottom. The doctor did notice a heart murmur on this visit that he said we would monitor and hopefully this would improve as she grows otherwise we will do some further testing.

I did ask about getting rid of her paci and he recommends doing it around this age. I am not sure we are ready for sleepless nights of crying for the paci but he did give us some good recommendations of how to get rid of it. We'll see when we start that.

I'm so proud of our little girl!

Happy 2nd Birthday!

Dear Caroline,

Happy Birthday! I can't believe how fast these past 2 years have gone. Right at this moment two years ago you were 31 minutes old. I know your Dad and I didn't know what in the world we were getting into when you were born. You certainly changed our lives for the better. I remember telling your Dad in the hospital that you are the best thing we have ever done. I still feel that way today. I was meant to have and love you. Never doubt that. As I write this I am smiling thinking about you. You are a ray of sunshine.

You wake up each day happy and ready to face the day...well mostly...some days I wake you up and you give me a smile and lay back down teasing me. I call you lazy bones and you just laugh. Tomorrow you move up to your big girl room at daycare. I remember the day I dropped you off at daycare and cried before I even left your room. Your teacher this past year Ms Elizabeth said she was going to take your birthday away so you wouldn't have to move up. They all love you and say you are the best!

Here are just a few things about you: just today we found out you are getting 2 of your top molars. You are asking to go potty. No success yet with actually going but encouraging that you are wanting to try. You are making short sentences. You love Elm@! You can go up and down stairs by yourself (with me standing close behind). You love to pass out your toys and will even clean them up. You are a Daddy's girl!

I can't wait to see where the next year leads us. I am filled with joy at watching you grow into the little lady you will become. Always remember I love you.

Mommy

Sweet Caroline!

Here are just a few of the things I love about Caroline...when I start singing Sweet Caroline she adds in the ba ba ba. When she wants something to eat she calls it a "naky" shortened for snack. Here are just a few of her other words: wa wa=water, bak=black, lellow=yellow (and all colors), dooce=juice. She has quite the vocabulary although we can't always understand what she is saying. She loves to read books and will even kiss the pictures.

She is in love with El*mo, Monk (Cur*ious George), and Baby (a Bar*bie). She carries these around (well actually she has us carry them around most of the time). She loves the La La which always play El*mo DVD's.

It is hard to believe that she will be 2 in a few short weeks. These past two years sure have flown by. Although she seems to learn something new each day she certainly teaches her Daddy and I something new everyday too. We are constantly amazed by her!