Live, Laugh, Love

Matty is 5 Months

2012-02-10T20:12:00.001-08:00

My sweet boy turned 5 months yesterday. He is a happy little guy most of the time and love, love, loves his big sister! He is full of smiles for her every day. He is a pretty laid back little guy, but also highly sensitive. He is very jumpy and startled easily.
He has been slow to reach milestones and still is not reaching for toys or rolling from back to belly. As much as I try not to worry and realize that all kids are on their own timeline, it is pretty much impossible for the worry wort within :).
Our sleeping has GREATLY improved since getting the reflux under control a little more. Bedtime is between 6:30pm and 7:00pm and he sleeps until 5am, when, like clockwork, he wakes every morning. He gets a diaper change and a bottle and then I put him back to bed. He is such a good little guy and goes back to sleep with no complaints until sometime between 7am and 8am. He naps 3 times a day for anywhere from 30 minutes to 1.5 hours. He almost always (90 % of the time) wakes up after 30 minutes, but will sometimes go back to sleep for another 30-60 minutes.
He is wearing 12 month size clothes and size 3 diapers, drools like crazy, always has a hand in his mouth, likes to play with his feet, hates being on his tummy, likes to blow raspberries, doesn't "talk" much, HATES it when I sing to him, smiles and laughs all the time and I love him!

Our Battle

2012-02-10T19:00:00.000-08:00

After Matthew was born, it didn't take long to realize something was not right with his digestive system. In his first 24 hours he had over 10 bowel movements. He was nursing and also getting a formula supplement. Our first thought (as well as the nurse's) was that he has a milk sensitivity. Abby is milk protein intolerant so it wasn't a total shock. He was switched to soy formula and I stopped consuming dairy. Switching to the soy formula didn't seem to do the trick completely because after I got him home he was still having bowel movements 20+ times on some days. I continued to nurse him and supplement until he was a few weeks old and then gave up nursing because his poor little bottom was so horribly covered in bright red diaper rash from all the poopy diapers. I tried pumping until I could get him figured out and get all the dairy out of my system. It just proved to be way to difficult trying to manage a preschooler, a newborn and a pump. Giving up breastfeeding was, BY FAR, the hardest decision I have made as a mother. The guilt is so incredibly overwhelming when you feel like you are failing your child. It is still difficult for me to think about 5 months later. Every time he has been sick or hard to comfort I feel that guilt racing through my veins, even knowing what I know now (no matter how long I avoided dairy, he would not have tolerated breast milk)

When he was 2 weeks old I started noticing that he was choking every time I laid him down. He also began having trouble sleeping would only sleep 5-20 minutes before he would wake up, turn bright red, choke and gag. I recognized immediately that he was suffering from acid reflux. His pediatrician noticed the reflux was so bad that his throat was red and irritated from stomach acid coming up and burning it. She put him on Zantac. To my surprise it did nothing for him. Abby also had reflux but nothing even close to as severe as Matthew and she did wonderfully on Zantac, although she did need it until she was 13 months old. We moved him to Prevacid and continued to have problems. By the time he was 6 weeks old he was refusing to eat more than an ounce or two at a time and was beginning to fall off his weight curve quickly.

I won't put you through all the painful details of what my poor little man has been through. I will do my best to summarize....5 formulas, 3 medicines, 3 thickeners (for his formula), 1 upper GI, 1 swallow study and two pediatric GI appointments later we finally have things a little more under control. He ended up on an elemental formula, or as we like to refer to it, liquid gold. It is an extremely expensive amino acid based formula that contains no protein chains for his body to break down. He is finally getting some sleep and I rarely hear him swallowing his reflux anymore. We recently tried decreasing his medicine dose and he began having problems eating again immediately. So, our magic combo seems to be the right dose of PPI medicine (decreases the amount of acid in his stomach) and the formula along with a thickener that weighs it down in his stomach. I don't see him being able to go without the medicine until sometime between 12 and 18 months.

I am so relieved to be to the point we are. It has been incredibly difficult to see my baby suffering and in pain, not knowing when we would figure out what he needed to get some relief. Many prayers have been answered and for that I am grateful.

5 Months Late

2012-02-10T18:17:00.001-08:00

Announcing Matthew Leo Bryand....5 months late :) So, I am a little behind on my blogging. Would you expect anything else? Matthew (or Matty as he has come to be called) arrived via c-section on September 9, 2011. He weighed in at a healthy 9 lbs 6 oz and was 20 inches long.

I absolutely LOVE these pictures that my friend from high school, Natalie, took when he was a week old. She has such amazing talent and took these great shots right in the middle of my living room. I love remembering the time when Matthew would sleep like, um...well, a baby! So great that we could manipulate him for our photo pleasure for 2 hours and he slept right through it all. That kind of peaceful sleeping didn't last long, but that is a whole other post!

1st Dentist Appointment

2011-08-25T20:07:00.001-07:00

Abby had her very first appointment with the dentist this week. I know, I know, I put it off longer than I should have. Her pediatrician recommended her first visit to be right when she turned 3 and I am just lucky I got it in before she turned 4. Why must I put these things off? Well, I expected it to go much differently than it did, and perhaps 6 months ago it would have gone that way. However, my little sweet pea did AWESOME!!! No crying! No complaining! Did exactly what she was asked to do through the entire visit! Even the dentist made a comment about what an amazing patient she was. So proud! Oh yeah, and NO CAVITIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Getting those cute little teeth nice and clean!! Brought along her beloved blankies and kitty
All done!

Daddy's Birthday!

2011-08-25T11:51:00.000-07:00

Marc celebrated his 39th birthday on the 14th! Next year comes the big 4-0! Such a lucky guy to look about 10 years younger than he really is. Abby and I made had fun making him a birthday cake as usual.

Blowing out the candle!Enjoying some of our hard work (none for mommy though - darn gestational diabetes!) Chocolate face!

Matthew's Room

2011-08-21T19:32:00.000-07:00

We FINALLY finished Matthew's room! Wowsa, was it a lot of work!! Thank goodness I am pretty happy with how it turned out. Marc stained and hung hooks on this unfinished shelf I found on clearance at JoAnn's. We painted 2x2 blocks and then glued wood letters on them to make his name blocks. Then we hung the blocks from the hooks with ribbon.Stenciling.....Ahhhhhh! If I never see another stencil in my life it will be way too soon! After stenciling flowers above the chair rail in Abby's room , I swore I would never do it again. Well, I did, and I hated it even more this time around. Not sure if you have ever stenciled, but it is not like you can just run a roller over the stencil. Your brush has to be very dry and you literally have to tap the paint on to the wall so it doesn't bleed under the stencil. Each circle required about 5-10 coats of paint. I thought I would never finish! I think my total time spent stenciling was about 16 hours. Marc's biggest project for the room was this dresser I found on Craigslist for $40.00. It was a hideous beast, but I knew it had potential. Marc spent countless hours in the garage sanding all the nasty forest green paint off it and then staining it to match the crib. We finished it off with some pretty new knobs and then Marc stained the chair rail to match the crib and dresser.Here is the before picture of the hideous beast....ICK!! The sides were the most work because they were painted completely green. Lots and lots of sanding to get it all off.Although not ideal space wise, I really wanted to keep a full size bed in the room since this room used to be our guest room. Not sure how many guests will ever get to use it, but I am sure I will get a lot of use out of it until Matthew is sleeping through the night so I don't disturb Marc when he has to get up for work.These squares were originally intended to be hung as a headboard for the bed but I decided I liked the idea of using them for the whole wall instead. I took 12x12 Styrofoam squares and then covered them in this super cute dot material.
I had this comfy recliner in Abby's room for the last 3 1/2 years and it has been amazing. It was so nice for the countless hours I spent nursing her as a baby and then to read books in every night before bed ever since. She has grown quite attached to the chair and shed some tears when I told her I needed it in Matthew's room. It took some serious bribing to get the chair out of her room and she still keeps asking for it back, but I am hoping with time she will stop missing it so much :(.I love, love, love the words we put on the wall!And to finish the room off, we did a wall of stripes just like Abby's room.

35 Weeks

2011-08-14T19:33:00.001-07:00

Oh my....only 26 days to go before I meet my sweet little miracle boy. I have such mixed emotions.

A big part of me wants him out ASAP so I can hold him in my arms and know he is okay. For some reason that feeling of anxiety I felt during the first 20 weeks about losing him has reared its ugly head again. Maybe just because I am so close to getting what I prayed so hard for? Not sure I will ever really get over the loss of two sweet babies. I also am really starting to feel the physical toll of pregnancy. My back and hips are ready to be done carrying the extra weight and the pressure "down below" is well, INTENSE! His head is already very low and wow can I tell! Standing isn't exactly comfortable anymore. My favorite place to be? The pool! Now I see why women want water births! It is amazing how much pressure is relieved in the water. The lovely 1st trimester heartburn and nausea has also reared its ugly head again (bad but still not nearly the to the degree of what I experienced for the first 18 weeks). I also cannot wait to ditch this horrible diet I follow because of the gestational diabetes! I just want some carbs and sugar people!!!

Another part of me wishes that time would slow down its crazy passing. Knowing this will be the absolute last time I am pregnant really makes me cherish every hiccup (which the poor little guys gets about 7 times a day) and kick. It is so amazing to me that we can grow little humans inside us. I feel so blessed to have been given this gift from God that I prayed so hard for. I am so incredibly grateful that I was chosen to be Matthew's mommy. I have also started to feel that twinge of guilt already about how much Abby's life is about to change. She definitely knows she is getting a baby brother, but she has no concept of what that means for Mommy's time and attention. The other day she got very sad and told me she likes Matthew's room better than her room and I almost cried. I know these are all very real and normal emotions that all big brothers and sisters go through so I just keep reminding myself that I am giving her a friend for life, even though she may not understand that for many many years. I suppose I just have to do the best that I can to keep her involved in everything I have to do for Matthew. I know she is going to be a great big sister and will love helping take care of him.

Winnie the Pooh!

2011-08-14T19:11:00.001-07:00

A couple weeks ago we took Abby to see her first movie in a theater. I picked Winnie the Pooh because I thought it was a safe bet to not have a villain or anything else scary in it. She has always been a super scardy cat and does not like any of the Disney movies because they all have something scary ! Welllllllll....they managed to put something scary in Winnie the Pooh! Can you believe it!? Grrrrrr! Owl invents a creature called a "backson" and they spend the majority of the movie talking about the scary "backson" and how to catch it. She asked to leave the movie a couple times, but managed to be a trooper on Mommy's lap and made it though the whole thing. However, now she says she never wants to go to a movie theater again. Oh well...I still greatly enjoyed her first movie going experience! (and dinner at Johnny Rockets afterward)

Gift from God

2011-07-25T21:40:00.000-07:00

Grandpa and Grandma's Visit

2011-07-24T19:57:00.000-07:00

Marc's parents were recently here for a visit from Minnesota. They usually make it here twice a year. This trip was filled with lots of fun for Abby! She got to do lots of fun things with them including swimming every day (sometimes twice a day), a trip to the Children's Museum, and a Lowe's kids workshop with Daddy and Grandpa! I think she really enjoyed having constant entertainment from either Grandma or Grandpa for 10 days! ( And I am not gonna lie, I also greatly enjoyed her having constant entertainment. haha!)

Here's the gang on one of the many days they spent at the pool!

Abby LOVED listening to Grandpa read to her!

As is becoming tradition, Marc put his poor dad to work while they were visiting. They painted Matthew's room, put up the chair rail, and put together the crib! A huge shout out to Marc Sr. for all his help in that room while he was here on "vacation"!

Such a great picture of Abby and her "Munga and Parkie"

32 Weeks

2011-07-22T16:50:00.001-07:00

32 weeks today!!! Only 7 weeks to go and I feel crazy stressed that it is not nearly enough time to get stuff done. The nursery is coming along nicely, but I still have 4 projects to get done. One of those projects is stenciling and that, unfortunately, happens to be very time consuming. Yes, I know what you are thinking....this is my second baby and I should know better now than to think the nursery HAS to be completely done before the baby comes. Well, there are two reasons why it does need to be. #1) The one project I left unfinished before Abby was born, still sits in her room unfinished. #2) It will DRIVE ME NUTS if its not done :).
Next week life gets even crazier as I start going in to have the baby monitored twice a week. When you have gestational diabetes they watch the baby very closely. Part of this is twice weekly Non-Stress Tests and once weekly Biophysical Profiles. For the Non-Stress Test they will hook me up to a fetal monitor for a half hour and monitor his heart rate (which should accelerate during movement) and monitor any contractions. The Biophysical profile is essentially a high tech timed ultra sound where they check for five signs that the baby is thriving. It checks heart rate, breathing rate, muscle tone, movement, and the amount of amniotic fluid. So what that means for me is a lot of time in doctor's offices and a lot of driving time. And of course I will still have my normal OB appointments to go to which are every two weeks for the next 4 weeks and then every week after that.
Oh Boy! So much to do and so little time to do it in! Although if I didn't have a cute little 3 year old on my heels all day and I could actually find a nice burst of energy it would be a piece of cake!

30 Weeks

2011-07-14T19:40:00.000-07:00

Only 8 weeks to go from tomorrow! ( I am a little late posting this and will be 31 weeks tomorrow). Getting closer and closer to being cut open on that table. Yikes. I have never had a major surgery so I really have no idea what to expect. Hopefully the excitement of meeting my little boy will calm my nerves a little.

I am really starting to feel very pregnant now. I feel very large and heavy and some unknown force has magically sucked every ounce of energy right out of my body. Crazy to have such a desire to nest, nest, nest and not be able to convince my body to keep up with my mind! All in all I can't complain though. I just feel so blessed to have this little miracle in my belly regardless of the toll on my body. I seriously LOVE every minute of it and every little kick and punch. This little boy is so much more active than Abby was and I love it!

The gestational diabetes is still a huge battle. I am having so much more trouble controlling it this time around. I can eat something one day and my blood sugar is fine and then I will eat it again the next day at the exact same time and it will be super high! So frustrating for me because every time I get a high reading I just think of that sugar coursing through my baby's body. Grrrrrr! Very little carbs and NO sugar and I am still having issues. Seems there is very little I can get away with eating. I think if I ate all protein and zero carbs it might be better, but not sure I could stomach it and pretty sure I would start to lose weight. Still haven't gained a pound since 20 weeks. I need to gain a least another 4 lbs to get my total weight gain to 20 lbs, but it seems Matthew is growing just fine because my belly sure is :).

On the bright side, this last week has been sooooo exciting for me. I was so blessed to have amazing friends who threw a baby shower in celebration of my sweet boy. I am so thankful for the family and friends who were able to attend. (I will post more about this day and pictures soon). The other super exciting part of my week? Matthew's room was painted and the crib put together! It looks super cute and I will post more when it is complete!

25 Weeks

2011-06-03T11:49:00.000-07:00

Time is really starting to pass more quickly now. I am so close to the third trimester already. Things got very real yesterday when my OB said it was time to schedule my c-section. I will be having a c-section to avoid another broken tailbone. The big day is scheduled for 9/9/11 at 1:30pm. Funny that I wasn't nervous about a c-section, but now that it is scheduled I am a wee bit freaked out. I'm not gonna lie, it makes me a little nauseous to think about it.

In other news, I am battling the the dreaded gestational diabetes again. So frustrating. I knew my chances of avoiding it were slim since my risk was highly increased after having it with Abby. I was holding out hope though. So what does it mean for me? It means that I don't get to eat anything fun. I have to eat a very high protein, low carb, NO sugar diet of very small meals in order to keep my blood sugar on target. I have been following this diet for 4 weeks now and I pretty much want to barf just looking at an egg, which happens to be about my only choice for breakfast. It also makes it difficult to gain wait because it is hard to get enough calories every day. Haven't gained even a pound in the last 4 weeks. I think the Dr. is happy as long as I gain another 5 lbs or so before the end of the pregnancy.

BUT....In a nutshell, challenges of this pregnancy and all, IT IS ALL SOOOOO WORTH IT!!!! I get to meet my little man in 14 weeks or less!

No Regrets

2011-05-28T20:55:00.000-07:00

I ran across this the other day and it really tugged at my heart. One of my biggest fears is that my children will be all grown up and I will look back with some type, really any type of small regret. I am really striving to enjoy all the little moments that happen every single day.

"If I had my child to raise all over again,
I'd build self esteem first and the house later
I'd finger paint more and point the finger less
I'd do less correcting and more connecting
I'd take my eyes off my watch and watch with my eyes
I'd take more hikes and fly more kites
I'd stop playing serious and seriously play
I'd run through more fields and gaze at more stars
I'd do more hugging and less tugging"

I just love this little girl and all the joy she brings to life!

Half Way to My MIRACLE

2011-04-28T19:57:00.000-07:00

The last 20 weeks have been the longest and most uncertain of my life. So, where do I start? I suppose from the beginning...

After losing two precious babies, we were at a loss. Not sure what to do next or if there even was a next, I felt like I really might not ever get my miracle. Not only were the miscarriages extremely hard emotionally, pregnancy in itself is not easy for me. I feel sick 24/7 during the first trimester and to go through that again for it only to end in heartbreak was starting to become unimaginable.

I felt like I had to give it one more try though. Knowing this really would be our last attempt, I reached out to friends for support. Then I met the first step in getting my miracle; a new friend who had a daughter close to Abby's age and then went through two miscarriages before getting her little miracle in her son. She suggested I go and talk to a specialist she had seen for help, a reproductive endocrinologist who is willing to think outside the box and actually do something to try to keep pregnancies going instead of standing by while your baby dies inside you and then think it is a comfort to hear "it could just be a fluke or we may never know why this is happening."

Enter step #2 in getting my miracle, Dr. Couvaras. This Dr. believes that even women without a specific clotting disorder, may be helped by low dose heparin. Essentially, in easy to understand terms, he believes that some people's blood may be too "thick" to get enough to the growing fetus. To me this made perfect sense after my second miscarriage, where for the entire 9 weeks the baby seemed to be struggling and was a week behind where it should have been. He was very involved in every step of this pregnancy from ovulation through the end of the first trimester.

I took a trigger shot before we conceived to make sure the egg was mature and released properly. Everything went along according to plan. As with all our pregnancies, we were extremely blessed and conceived on the first try again. I immediately began giving myself injections of heparin in my stomach twice a day and giving blood weekly so that my heparin could be adjusted properly. I saw the Dr. every two weeks and then was released to a regular OB.

I had made it though the first trimester! In my first appointment with my OB, she said that my chances of miscarriage had now dropped to less than 2%. This should have given me some relief, yet somehow I felt none. I still wore waterproof makeup to all my appointments and just couldn't seem to find that peace that I was looking for. I reluctantly started telling family and friends the news, only because I couldn't hide my belly anymore. Every wait between appointments seemed to be an eternity as I feared the silence I might hear instead of a heartbeat. Both my miscarriages were what they call "missed miscarriage", meaning that there were no signs that the baby was in distress such as bleeding and cramping. My body never let go of either and both had to be removed via D&C.

At 12 weeks I had some bleeding and of course panicked. There wasn't much to it and it didn't last long, but of course I feared the worst. I tried not to worry, but it certainly didn't help all the anxiety I was already dealing with. After a call to the Dr., I was told to just rest for a couple days and call back if the bleeding got heavier. Not much to put my mind at ease...

At 13 weeks I went in for an ultra sound with a specialist that tested for chromosomal abnormalities such as Down Syndrome. I didn't really go in for this ultra sound with any thoughts other than a strong desire to just see my baby again (last ultra sound had been four weeks prior) and I wasn't scheduled for another appointment with the OB for 3 more weeks. I couldn't imagine waiting that long for reassurance so I saw this test as an opportunity to see that everything was okay.

A week later, my OB called with devastating news. "There is a strong possibility that your baby has Down Syndrome." I had markers in both the ultra sound and a blood test that was done. Needless to say we were in shock and devastated. How could this be happening after everything we had been through? The worst part...we wouldn't be able to find out for sure until an amniocentesis could be done 2 weeks later. So for two weeks I cried. We didn't share the news with anyone as we didn't know for sure yet and didn't want to force anyone on to our roller coaster ride. At 15 weeks I had the amnio done, which was a test in itself being that I had to sign a waiver stating I understood there was a slightly increased risk of miscarriage. Just what I didn't need.

During the amnio I very clearly saw on the screen that our little peanut was a boy. Then I waited 5 days for that phone call that had potential to drastically change our lives forever. But wait, it was GOOD news! I have never wished I could hug someone though the phone so much in my life. All chromosomes were right and our little boy did not have Down Syndrome!

At this point, the only thing I could really think was that for what remains to be an unknown reason, God REALLY wants to make sure that I appreciate this little miracle and know how lucky I am. Apparently two miscarriages weren't enough and I needed more of a reminder of just how much of a blessing a healthy baby is.

We then made a decision that we would name our baby whatever name meant "gift from God" so that we would always remember how blessed we are for being given this sweet gift of life. Matthew will be his first name and Leo will be his middle name, after his daddy, Marcos Leo Jr. and his Grandpa, Marcos Leo Sr. We won't be carrying on the Marcos name, but at least he will have the same initials.

I had a routine ultra sound at 19 weeks, and Matthew looks great! He is even measuring a little ahead, just like Abby did and everything looks as it should. He looks a lot like Abby already and had a lot of the same facial features. I can't wait to hold him in my arms.

I finally feel a little relief between appointments because I get that reassurance every time I feel him move. I still feel very nervous though. I thought for sure it would be better by now, but now it is hard to imagine how I would get through if something were happen at this point. It doesn't help that I know several people who have lost babies after 2o weeks, at which point you have to go through labor and the heartbreak of delivering a lifeless body. I try not to think about it, but it is a constant struggle and I think it will continue to be until I hold hear that cry and hold him in my arms.

My most current source of anxiety is the heparin. Dr. Couvaras' plan only calls for the the heparin injections until 20 weeks, which is today. I will continue them until my appointment with my OB next week and I assume she will have me stop. Not that I enjoy injecting a needle full of heparin into my stomach twice a day or what an ugly bruised battle ground it creates, but I am terrified to let go of what I believe has kept Matthew thriving up until this point. I think I will have to though and trust in the Lord's plan for our family.

Even with all the conflicting thoughts, I really am trying to enjoy every minute of this pregnancy, as it is the last time I will ever experience this miracle. Every kick is a reminder of how amazing it is that I have created and am carrying a human being in my womb. Maybe it is from the hormones, but at least once every day, I get tears in my eyes as I look at Abby and think what an amazing blessing she is.

I can't wait to meet this sweet baby boy inside me.

EASTER!!

2011-04-25T19:49:00.001-07:00

We had a very nice day as a family on Easter. When Abby woke up we asked her if she heard the Easter Bunny the night before and she said yes. When asked what the Easter Bunny sounded like, she said "hop, hop, hop".

This was waiting for her outside her bedroom door. Of course she can't read so I had to read the notes to her, but she was so excited that the Easter Bunny left her notes.She followed a trail of eggs to where she found this....Then she headed down the stairs to find this.... She found this on the back door.... Then the hunt in the great outdoors started...."I saved the best for last. Time to find your Easter Basket!"She is sooooo into pretty dresses and lipstick right now! The Easter Bunny brought her Disney Princesses lip gloss and she wanted to put it on every 5 minutes all day long! Later in the afternoon we headed to Grammie and Grandpa's house for dinner. She loves spending time with Grammie and loves it when Grammie reads to her!

Hope you all had a happy and blessed Easter as we did.

Pre-Easter Festivities

2011-04-25T19:06:00.000-07:00

The days leading up to Easter were so much fun this year. I just love the fact that Abby is 3 now and really gets into the fun of these holidays. She participated in 4 Easter egg hunts this year (if you include the one in our backyard :) ) I love seeing her so excited.

This picture is a favorite for sure! Last year she was still scared of the Easter Bunny. This year she just went right up to say hello. This bunny was part of the first egg hunt she went to.

She filled her bucket up on this one :)

This day was another fun one. We went to the park with some friends and she got to decorate cupcakes.

This was taken at egg hunt #2 at a friend's house. She has an amazing and giant backyard, just perfect for the kids to run around finding eggs!
A group shot of the little hunters

And here she is at egg hunt #3. This was such a fun morning. A friend's mom puts this together and it is always so fun for the kids. We spent the morning at the park playing games and hunting for eggs.

Here is Abby taking part in the sack race.
and the egg on the spoon walk
and finally the great hunt!!!
A family shotThis was the first year we attempted egg dying with her. She loved it! We decorated pretty glitter eggs.

Pat's Run

2011-04-17T20:33:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday Abby ran in her first "race". She did the Pat Tillman kids run. A good friend of mine did a great job putting together a super fun experience for the kids. She put a team together and they had practices every Friday for two months to get them ready and excited for the race. Their team name was "Lil Racers". All the kids did great in the .42 mile run.Living in Arizona, I feel like everyone must know who Pat Tillman is. But for those of you non-Zonies, I will fill you in just in case. Pat Tillman is a hero who died serving his country. Only it isn't even that simple. He started a promising football career as number 42 for the ASU Sundevils. After 9/11, this star NFL defensive back walked away from his $3.6 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals to enlist as a U.S. Army Ranger. He was sadly killed by friendly fire while serving in Afghaninstan. Not only did I want Abby to do this race for the fun and experience, but also because I couldn't think of a better person to honor, as the proud sister of a U.S. Marine who has been serving his country for more than 2 decades.

Abby was a bit overwhelmed by the massive crowds before the race started.
Gearing up for the run and cooling off a little with a pre-race smoothie (95 degrees this day)Once the race started she did so great! I thought it was such a neat experience. It is very important to me that she grows up with the attitude that being active is fun, so I love to do activities like this with her. She had a great time running with her best bud, Jaxson.
Crossing the finish line with her Daddy on the 42 yard line of Sun Devil Stadium!!

Princess Phase

2011-04-12T19:56:00.000-07:00

Abby has finally gotten really into "the princess phase". She loves to dress up. The first thing she does in the morning when she gets out of bed is put it on. Then she cries when I make her take it off when we have to go somewhere. Then the first thing she does when we walk back in the door is put it back on. I think the funniest part is that she is not content to just put one item on. She has to have it ALL on. Here she is in her Disney princess tiara, barbie dress, bumble bee skirt, tutu, and her Cinderella high heels. This is the getup she wears all day long at home. Oh how different it will be to have a boy....

My Lovely Baby Bump

2011-04-12T19:41:00.000-07:00

We are finally at the point in this pregnancy where we feel like it is okay to be so excited. Part of that excitement has been sharing it with Abby. She really seems to understand what is going on and that there is a baby growing in my belly that will be her little brother when he is big enough to live outside Mommy's belly. I have a shirt that says "I love my bump". One day she asked me what the shirt said, so I told her. Ever since then, she loves to refer to my evergrowing belly as my bump. She also learned a little tune from her Daddy that goes a little something like this..."my bump, my bump, my lovely baby bump." (sung to the tune of a Black Eyed Peas song). Last night Abby she sang it over and over again as she was in bed trying to fall asleep. She sure does love this little miracle already though. She loves to kiss my belly :). She also loves to stick her belly out or put a ball under her shirt and pretend she has a bump too. This day she was excited for us to both show off our bumps for the camera.

Cousins!

2011-04-12T15:37:00.001-07:00

I really do cherish the times that Abby gets to spend with my sister's kids. We so wish they were closer, but they live almost an hour and a half away, so we don't get to spend nearly as much time with them as I would like. I really want her to grow up close to her cousins though. Her cousins on Marc's side are in Minnesota and she has only met them once, so I really need to be better about making sure she gets to see her cousins on my side more often. Life just gets so busy sometimes that we have to remind ourselves of what really matters in life. I just really LOVE this picture (and I am sure my mom will too since it is one of the few of all her grandkids together). We spent a very long and fun day at the zoo with them a couple weeks ago. Xander is 18 months, Christoper is 5, Abby is 3 and Sammie is 6! (Notice Abby is just about as tall as her much older cousins.)

I'm back....blogging for me!

2011-04-12T15:03:00.000-07:00

Yes, it really has been 7 months since my last post. Wow! One of my major hang ups with blogging has always been, "Nobody else is going to care about that." There have been many times when I have wanted to blog about something and then I talk myself out of it thinking that nobody else would really be interested in what we did today, something Abby said, etc. Then it came to me! Who cares!!! Why do my posts have to be for someone else? Why can't they just be for me? I love to look back at things I posted when Abby was just a baby and now I am sad that I let such a silly thought slow me down. So here I sit, ready to blog away about things that matter to me. Those who find it boring don't have to read, right? Genius!!

Minnesota Trip

2010-09-04T13:02:00.000-07:00

We recently took a trip back to Minnesota. Marc is from Minnesota and all his family lives there. This trip was a big deal for us because it was the first time we have been back since I was pregnant with Abby. She had never met Marc's brother, Tony, and his family. He has three kids, so we were excited for her to meet her cousins. She also got to meet her great grandma Bryand for the first time.

Abby had her very first airplane ride on the way there. She had a great time at the airport while we were waiting for our flight. We took lots of escalator and elevator rides. She did so great on the plane. I brought a big "bag of tricks" to entertain her and I didn't even need 90% of it. She just colored for most of the flight. She never once tried to get out of her seat (other than to sit on my lap to see out the window). The flight went GREAT and then she got to meet Uncle Tony and her cousin Tony Jr. when they picked us up from the airport. She was a little confused by the fact that there were two Tonys. I tried to explain that one was Uncle Tony and the other was just Tony. For the rest of the trip she called cousin Tony "Justony". It was cute.

Here are some pics from the airport and airplane....

After arriving, we headed Marc's Mom and Dad's house, where we would be staying. Marc grew up in that house and Abby slept in his room while we were there. We then headed out to eat and Abby got to meet Aunt Heidi (Tony's wife) and her other cousins, Taylor and Cory. After eating we went to a great little park where Cory had football practice. Abby was soooooo excited to be able to play outside at a park again. She played for a long time with Grandma and Taylor. I soooo enjoyed all the nice green grass and trees! I just LOVE all the grass and big trees in Minnesota.

I won't bore you with the details of everyday we were there, but we did do some fun things, so I will share those with you. There is an awesome park and zoo in Minnesota that is FREE! It was fun because Abby is finally at the age where she is starting to enjoy looking at the animals more.

Here are some pics from Como Zoo....

Auntie Heidi bought Abby and Taylor new shirts while we were there. Such cute matching cousins! Thanks Heidi!
Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Tony, Cory, Abby and Taylor

We took a day to rest the next day and then headed to Valley Fair, a great amusement park in Minnesota. We had tons of fun and there was so much stuff for Abby to do, which was a nice bonus because I really wasn't sure what to expect. Once she went on her first kiddie ride, she didn't want to stop. I think she went on more rides than anyone else. The Minnesota State Fair was going on while we were there, so Valley Fair was not very busy. It was great because we didn't have to wait in very many lines. A BIG thanks to Grandma who took Abby on rides so that Marc and I could enjoy some big people rides!

This was one of Abby's favorite ridesThis was her other favorite!Looking at the hot air balloon ride we were about to go on
Here we go! Abby not looking too sure about what is about to happen!Grandma, Me, and Abby (who was not a fan at all)

Here's one of "Justony", Grandpa, and Marc...

The rest of the days we pretty much spent just hanging out with family. We enjoyed a great day at Marc's Grandma's house. It was very cool for Abby to meet her Great Grandma. We got to enjoy some her her fabulous cooking. I had the best Mexican feast ever! Homemade tortillas are the best.

Here is a picture of 4 generations of Bryands.

We enjoyed 8 days in Minnesota. The first few days were great because the weather was so nice. Then it got hot and humid. I was hoping we could escape the heat the whole time we were there, but it didn't quite work out that way. We still enjoyed a lot of time outside though, which was so nice. I know I already said it, but I seriously love all the grass and big green trees. If it weren't for the winters, Minnesota would be perfect! Can you tell I have lived in the desert all my life and am tired of it?
Abby did pretty well on our trip. She was very 2 and clingy while we were there, making some days hard, but I suppose it could have been much worse. She didn't have a nap for 5 days in a row, which certainly didn't help anything. I guess I was just hoping for a little more of a break with so much family around willing to help. Abby just had different ideas. She wanted all mommy all the time. She has been going through a separation anxiety phase all over again. I know, I know...I will look back someday fondly on the days when she wanted to hang out with me.

Enjoying the weather and grass in the back yard

Taylor and I

Grandpa and Grandma with all their grand kids

Thanks for reading. Posted lots more pictures from our trip on facebook :)

Birthday Baking

2010-08-17T20:43:00.000-07:00

Marc's 38th birthday was Saturday. We decided to just have a relaxing day spending time together as a family. We started the day off with a big breakfast made with love :). Pretty much the only time I cook a good breakfast is on special occasions. Of course Abby and I had to make Marc a cake. We enjoy baking together and he enjoys eating it! It was nice day.

Here are some pictures of Abby helping to make the cake (and eat the batter)....

The finished product.....

We added on 32 months for Abby since she shares the 14th as her b-day also (in December)..

Got a nice picture of Daddy and Abby with the cake.....

Then this happened......

The look on her face says it all....

Oh well, time to blow out the candles!!!

Enjoying the result of all her hard work...

Another Sad Loss

2010-08-13T20:31:00.000-07:00

Last month we went through another very sad loss. We lost another baby in a miscarriage. The time leading up to the miscarriage was without a doubt the most stressful 10 weeks I have had. I was so worried from the moment I got the positive on the home pregnancy test. I really tried to think positive, but there was always that nagging feeling that something was going to go wrong again. My first ultra sound was when I should have been 6 weeks and 6 days along. My heart sank right away as I watched the screen and saw nothing but a gestational sac and yolk sac. No heart beat, which you can usually find around 6 weeks. The Dr. basically told me to prepare for another miscarriage and that it didn't look good. He was expecting my hcg hormone levels to start dropping, so I went in every 2 days after that ultra sound to give blood. Then I nervously waited the incredibly long 24 hours each time to get the results. My numbers continued to go up each time and I suddenly had a little hope that maybe the baby was just a slow starter and maybe we were going to be okay. 12 days after the first ultra sound, with my hcg levels still rising, I went in for ultra sound number 2. By this point I had really started to feel sick from the pregnancy. I was incredibly nauseous and tired, so I was hopeful that this was a good sign. I had to remind myself to breath as I lay on the table waiting for the ultra sound. She started the ultra sound and there it was, the most beautiful thing - a baby with a heart beating 140 beats per minute. I cried out of joy. I was only measuring 7 weeks and should have been 8 1/2, but the Dr. said that was okay and nothing to worry about. I was so happy to have beat the odds. I left that appointment feeling so happy, but still had that nagging feeling that things were not right. I went in a week later for another ultra sound. This time was not a happy one. The baby had grown and was measuring 8 weeks, but no heartbeat. A week later, when my body still had not miscarried on its own, I had a D&C. It was hard to go through another D&C, but I felt relieved to get relief from the sickness. It was hard to be so sick for 5 weeks with nothing to show.
It has been a difficult time for us. I think the loss was harder this time in some ways, yet easier in others. It was easier in the respect that I wasn't necessarily blindsided this time. With the first miscarriage I wasn't expecting it at all and was caught so off guard. This time I was almost expecting it just because of the feeling I had that something just wasn't right. However, this miscarriage was much more difficult to deal with because now we are facing the real possibility that we may not have any more children. After one miscarriage, the Drs will tell you that there was probably just something chromosomally wrong with the baby, and your body knows. In my eyes, they can't say that anymore after two in a row. It is now much more likely that there is something wrong that is preventing me from carrying a baby to term. It could be anything from hormone deficiency to a clotting disorder. With each miscarriage, your risk of having another goes up. The horrible part is that the insurance companies will not pay for any sort of testing to try to find the problem until you have had 3 consecutive miscarriages. It is very hard to think about going through all of this a third time.
Despite all of it, I really do still believe that all of this is part of God's plan for us. I may never know why, but I have to trust my belief that everything happens for a reason. It is very sad for me to think about not having any more children, but I am so thankful for the miracle I do have in Abby. She could have been a total miracle and I didn't even know it. I am so blessed to have her will always be so grateful. She really is my heart. I would love to give her a sibling, but if that doesn't happen I have to focus on how VERY lucky I am to have her and my two angels in heaven.

No More Sleep Sack

2010-05-26T21:00:00.000-07:00

When I finally stopped swaddling Abby, I started putting her in a sleep sack for naps and at night. I figured I would just use them until she didn't want it anymore. I liked it because I never had to worry about her kicking off blankets and getting cold. Another perk was that she didn't like to stand in it so I never worried about her climbing out of her crib. (She has been tall enough to do so since she was 1) I never expected her to stay in it until she was 2 1/2!
Well, the day before yesterday she started taking it off in her crib. I went back in her room on Monday night after I put her in bed (saw on the video monitor that she had taken if off already)and asked her if she wanted it. She just said "no more sleep sack Mommy, take it out". Before that she has never even tried to take it off and never showed any objection to having it on. It is so weird to look at the video monitor and see her legs. I think she is going through a little bit of an adjustment to not having it because it is taking her longer to fall asleep. Hopefully she will get used to it. Of course she doesn't keep a blanket on....
She still isn't standing in her crib though. In fact, when she wakes up she usually doesn't even sit up. She just rolls around and talks to herself. She is such a good girl. We will see if she ever starts attempting to climb out of her crib... I really don't think she will because it is just not her personality. Hopefully she will stay put for another few months. I don't really want to make the switch to a bed until she is closer to 3. Ohhhhhh my, my baby is growing up. boohoo!

Abby's 2 Year Stats

2010-01-08T20:33:00.000-08:00

Abby's growth has not slowed down at all! At her 2 year check up she weighed in at 34 lbs (98th percentile) and she was 38 inches tall (off the charts, just above 100th percentile). The Dr. said she is the size of a 4 year old! Yikes. I think she is definitely going to be taller than me if she doesn't slow down at some point. Hopefully she will be able to use her height to her advantage....

Abby's Birthday

2010-01-08T19:57:00.000-08:00

Abby was lucky enough to have 2 celebrations for her birthday this year. On Monday, her actual birthday, we had some of our friends over from her playgroup for a pajama party. It was lots of fun and so cute to see all the kids still in their PJs. I am so lucky to have found this group of amazing moms and kids. Both Abby and I have made some great friends and we love having them over to play.

Waiting for her friends....

Enjoying being allowed to have a juice box (a rare treat)

Checking out her cupcake

Abby's friend, Ava, looking so cute in her PJs

One of Abby's boyfriends, Isaiah, enjoying a cupcake and some pumpkin bread

It wasn't easy, but we got 10 kids between the ages of 1 and 3 in one picture! As you can see, none of them were very happy about it!

Abby was pooped after everyone left, but not too tired to play with one of her favorite gifts! (Thanks Sarah and Isaiah!)

Later that day

End of the day with another favorite from Mommy and Daddy

Abby's Birthday Party

2010-01-08T13:08:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe that my baby is 2 already! She had an awesome birthday and lots of excitement. The Saturday before her birthday we had a small little party with family and some friends. I didn't see much of her during the party. She was so excited to have so many friends over and she stayed in the backyard where all the kids were playing on the swingset and in the sand. We all had so much fun!

Here are some pictures of friends/family that helped celebrate!

Abby's cousins....Sammie and Christopher

Sarah, Matt & Summer

Ashley, Alene & Jeremy

Abby hangin' tough with her 2 boyfriends, Jax and Isaiah

Abby and Jen

Marne and Kingston

Abby with her Grammie! Not sure what the face was all about.....maybe saying cheese isn't such a good idea! lol!

New Family Pictures

2010-01-07T12:12:00.000-08:00

We had these taken the day before Abby turned 2. It has definitely become a lot more challenging to get good pictures of her. She is not interested at all in smiling at the camera or standing still. However, Natalie (photosbynatalie.com) still managed to get some great pictures!

Our Loss

2009-12-28T18:08:00.000-08:00

Last Monday I went to the Dr. for my 12 week check up. I saw the nurse that day. Before I even got on the exam table she told me that they were going to try to hear the heartbeat of the baby with the doppler, but since it was still early in the pregnancy she wasn't sure we would be able to hear it. She tried and couldn't find it so she sent me into ultra sound saying it was just for kicks and so we could have the reassurance everything was okay. When I got into ultra sound I knew something was not right because the ultra sound tech said the machine was acting up and she needed to move me to another room with a better machine. The second room had a huge flat screen right above me where I could see the ultra sound pictures. As soon as I saw the baby my heart sank because I saw no little heartbeat flicker. She could not find a heartbeat and the baby was only measuring 10 weeks 3 days.
It came as a complete shock to me because I had no cramping or bleeding and I expected everything to be okay. I think I really had a false sense of security with the pregnancy because I had Abby. I did a lot more worrying about miscarriage when I was pregnant with her. I am not sure why, but I really never was worried this time. I guess I should have been.
The doctor scheduled me for a D&C the next day. During this procedure they remove the fetus and placenta. I had the D&C at 7pm on Tuesday the 22nd. I was put completely under for it, but was only out for a short time. I woke up in recovery at 7:30pm and was released at 7:45pm. I had no pain or cramping until Saturday. I am still having some cramping but haven't needed anything other than Motrin.
It has been an extremely sad time for us, but I have been so blessed with great friends who have been so supportive. I have never seen the power of prayer as strong as it has been through all this. I have felt a real sense of peace about the situation. It is very obvious that I have been comforted and had someone looking out for me. I know that this baby was not meant to be ours and that there is something else for us in the future. I truly believe that everything happens for a reason and that God had a good reason to take this baby. I find a lot of comfort in knowing that Abby has an angel in heaven watching over their big sister for the rest of her life.
Some days are better than others, but mostly I just feel so blessed for all the good things I have been given. I feel so lucky to have Abby and know now more than ever that she is an incredible gift.
My biggest fears now are just about our ability to conceive again and the possibility of having another miscarriage. I know that it will be a complete wreck for my entire pregnancy if we are lucky enough to conceive again. I am going to make poor Marc attend every little Dr. appt. just in case we get bad news again. I hope that we will have a wonderful healthy pregnancy in 2010. Right now I am still trying to adjust to not being pregnant anymore. It is just weird to have everything change unexpectedly in a split second.
We am so incredibly lucky to have such great friends who have been so amazing and supportive in helping us through this difficult time. We have so much to be thankful for and know that this is all part of the plan.
"Life ain't always beautiful, but it's a beautiful ride"

Smart Little Cookie

2009-12-07T14:22:00.000-08:00

Since it is my blog, I figure I am allowed to brag about my baby...right? Well, I am going to anyway. Abby still doesn't talk a whole lot but within the last few days we have realized that she can identify and say all the letters in the alphabet. She LOVES to look at letters and say what they are. She always gets in the bathtub (with no water) to play with her foam letters. She will hold it up for me, say the letter (and some numbers) and then throw them out of the tub. Then she will get out of the tub. It is crazy to me that she doesn't say much, yet knows all the letters. I guess it just goes to show that she comprehends a lot more than she lets on.
On another note, she has now figured out how to get her jammies unzipped and take her diaper off. It is a good thing she still sleeps in her sleep sack and can't do that at night. Although if she can get her jammies unzipped, I am sure it won't be long before the sleep sack comes off too!

Exciting News

2009-11-23T18:41:00.000-08:00

Abby is going to be a big sister!!! We are expecting baby #2. My due date is July 8, 2010. I am almost 8 weeks along. We went to the Dr. today for our second ultra sound. We got to see and hear the baby's heartbeat. The heart rate was 162, which is nice and high just like Abby's always was.
I have been feeling pretty lousy. Lots of nausea and really really bad heartburn. I am hoping to get a little relief though. The Dr. told me today that I can take Zantac since Tums are not helping at all. So, I will start taking the Zantac twice a day and hope for the best. The Dr. also said he can give me a prescription for the nausea but that it can cause some pretty horrible constipation and that is definitely not desirable. lol! But he also said that if I can get the heartburn under control, the nausea won't seem as bad.

I am going to a different Dr. this time around and I absolutely LOVE him! Yes, he is a him. I have always had a thing about not going to a male OBGYN but after having Abby and having everyone in the world see "down there" I pretty much got over it. Several times during my labor with Abby, I had a male Dr. help out. Once to break my water and once to place an internal monitor on Abby. So anyway, I got over it. I am seeing Dr. McKernan who was a recommendation from my bff, Jenny. Thanks again Skiz! He is great. He is just so awesome and has the best bedside manner I have ever seen in a Dr. Today at my appointment he took the time to go get Abby some gummy bears and a candy bracelet. She was thrilled!!!! I just can't rave enough about him. He really takes his time with his patients when answering questions and really explains everything. I really can't say enough good things about him! AND all of my appointments are with him, not a nurse practitioner. With Abby, I think I saw the nurse practitioner for 80% of my appointments.

Dr. McKernan was very positive about the possibility of me beating the gestational diabetes this time around so I am hopeful. I really don't want to go through that again. I have been a lot more active already than I was with Abby so that might help. Dr. McKernan said that a lot of it is luck of the draw but that he has seen plenty of GD moms not get it again the second time around. I read online that once you have it there is a 75% chance you will have it again with future pregnancies, but I remain hopeful. My goal is to only gain 20-25 lbs with this pregnancy. With Abby I gained 40 lbs and all of it was gained in the first 28 weeks. Fingers crossed!!!!

Marc thinks he is positive that we are having a boy and I think we are having another girl. We will see who is right in another 12 weeks!

We know for sure we are having a planned c-section this time around. After having my tailbone broken during Abby's birth it is not advisable to have another vaginal delivery. The chances that it would break again are pretty good since it has already been broken. I would much rather take a couple of weeks of recovery from a c-section than two years or more to recover from a broken tailbone again.

Bless You Mama

2009-11-04T18:11:00.000-08:00

So I just had to quickly share the cutest new thing Abby is doing. She has started to say bless you anytime anyone sneezes. It is so stinkin' cute the way she says it in her little voice. She even blesses the dog when she sneezes. She never just says bless you. She always attaches the name to the end. The other day I sneezed in the car and she said "bess you Mama" and then continued on to bless everyone else in our family in this order...."bess you Daddy, bess you Abba (funny that she even blesses herself), bess you Layla, bess you Mow " (she has always called kitties Mow, if you ask her to say doggy she will say doggy. If you ask her to say kitty, she will say mow :) ) Today I have had a cough all day and every time I cough she says bess you Mama. It is so cute I can barely stand it!!! I guess "Bless you Mama" is her first three word phrase. So much fun! I just love this age!

Gym Daycare Update

2009-10-03T19:35:00.000-07:00

Abby is doing pretty good now when I drop her off. She will start whining as soon as we are close in the car and then continue to say Mama, Mama, Mama until I leave. She doesn't cry much anymore though. Just acts sad and whines. By the time I get to the monitor to see her, she is off playing already. I have been able to go three days a week and I LOVE it. I am SO happy to be back in a gym again.

Day #3 at Gym Daycare

2009-09-12T12:54:00.000-07:00

I guess 3rd time is the charm. Abby flipped out when I left her in the daycare yesterday. She didn't want to let go of me. She cried and yelled "mama". I just had them pull her in and I left quickly. I immediately went to the monitor to watch her. All I could see was that the girl who took her in was holding her and then sitting on the floor with her. I couldn't tell if she was still crying or not. After about 10 minutes she got up and wandered out of the view of the camera. ( I assume she went to the little kitchen she likes to play with) I only left her in there about 45 minutes as I don't want to push my luck just yet since she will at least calm herself down. I don't want her to feel like she is in there very long until she is okay with being dropped off. When I picked her up she saw me and came running as fast as she could saying "mama mama". Before she saw me I was watching her and she was standing by the little slide they have, pushing trains down it, saying "go, go, go"! It was pretty cute. They said that she only cried for less than 5 minutes and then just sat there watching the other kids play dinosaurs. I hate that she cried when I dropped her off, but I am so glad she could at least calm herself down in less than 10 minutes so that they didn't call me to come pick her up. I know how good this time away from me is for her.

Day # 2 at Gym Daycare

2009-09-10T20:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday went just as well as Day #1!!!! However, this time she did at least get excited and run to me when she saw me come in to pick her up. It is so fun to watch her on the monitor. The only problem is that she LOVES the little play kitchen and it is out of sight of the camera. So, a lot of the time I can't see her. She has adopted a little baby doll both times she has been in. She carries it around with her the entire time she is in there. It is a good thing that I go at a slow time in the afternoon when there is only a few other kids in there. Otherwise, I don't think she would be able to hold on the baby very long before another child stole it away. We took today off, but will be back tomorrow. Keeping my fingers crossed that she continues to enjoy it in there!

Day #1 at Gym Daycare

2009-09-08T19:04:00.000-07:00

Abby did AMAZING today. She didn't cry when I dropped her off or even seem to miss me. When I went in to pick her up she just looked at me and went back to playing. I was sooooo incredibly relieved. They have cameras in the daycare so of course I was glued to the TVs the entire time I was there so I could see what she was doing. She seemed to have a great time playing with all the toys they have. I went at a slow time so there was only a couple other kids in there and it wasn't too overwhelming for her.
I am still not completely convinced that I can breathe easy. She could decide at anytime that she doesn't want to be dropped off there. Today she didn't know what was going to happen. Next time she will know what is coming. We will go again tomorrow and hope she does just as good!

Gym Daycare

2009-09-07T19:51:00.000-07:00

I got an early birthday present from Marc.....a 3 month membership to Mountainside Fitness. I have really been wanting to get back in the gym again. We have a nice home gym set up but it is hard to get a workout in when Abby is around. She is great about letting me do cardio on our elliptical, but that is it. If I am on the ground she is not having it! It is actually really cute because she will try to workout with me. Unfortunately, this usually means she is in the way or at risk of getting hurt. I also am looking forward to a larger variety of exercises I can do.

Soooooo....I will be leaving Abby for the very first time tomorrow. She has never been with a sitter other than my Mom or Marc's Mom and those times have been very few and far between. I have not left her outside of our house since she was 4 months old. I am super nervous. I don't think I will get much sleep tonight. I know it seems so silly but I am really freaked out about it. I am not worried for her safety or anything like that, I just feel horribly guilty because I know she will be very upset when I leave and cry like crazy. I keep reminding myself that a healthy and happy Mommy is what is best for her, but I still feel bad.

The plan is to give it two weeks of going every day before I give up. I am going to try to take her at the slowest time of the afternoon so she isn't too overwhelmed by everything going on in there and can get some one on one attention. I am not planning to even work out. The daycare will let her cry for 10 minutes before they call me in there. I am hoping that after a while she will realize I always come back and be able to handle being left in there. She is still super clingy and very weary of new people so I am not sure how long it will take. She freaks out when I just leave the room she is in at play dates. This will be very good for her if she learns that it is okay when Mommy leaves for a little while.

Wish me luck. It will probably be harder on me than it is on her. I hate to see my baby cry :(

Abby's New Words

2009-08-06T20:44:00.000-07:00

Abby has added quite a few new words to her vocabulary in the last few days. I have to admit I am a little relieved because I was starting to think she might never talk. Although, I am sure I will look back fondly on these days at some point when I can't get her to STOP talking.

The latest additions to her vocab are Abby (Abba), Layla, Elmo, bite, please, yellow, blue, hi, and bye bye. This is in addition to the words she was already saying...mama, dada, dog, duck, more, on, off, up, down, ball, blankie (baba), bath, banana, cracker, Grandpa (papa), shoes, love (lof), Night Night, hot, hat, and help.

It is so fun to see her talking more. My absolute favorite is when I ask her what her name is and she gets all excited and says ABBA!!!!

Summer Fun

2009-08-06T20:05:00.000-07:00

It has been extremely hot lately so we have been trying to spend as much time as possible in the water. We got a cheap little plastic pool for the backyard. Marc has been taking Abby out to the pool after dinner while I clean up. It is the best time of day for her to go out there because there is a little shade. She loves to get in and out of the pool and take water from the pool to dump on the patio. She calls any kind of water a bath. All day long she is grabbing my hand, pulling me to the back door and saying "bath" over and over again. It is these days over 100 degrees that really make me wish we had decided to have a pool put in when we built the house. Oh well, for sure in our next house!

Here are some pics of our recent adventures.....

Abby getting ready for some fun in the water

Playing in the pool at a play date

Hanging with Grandpa when he and Grandma were here in July

Swimming with Mommy

Mommy always makes me wear a hat in the sun!

Chillin' in my own little pool

Daddy likes my pool too!

Drinking out of the hose already!

Home Improvement

2009-06-28T20:11:00.000-07:00

We still have many projects going on in our house but we finally finished a couple rooms. The dining room and 1 of 3 bathrooms is complete. I am really happy with how they both turned out. So happy I married a man who is so handy around the house!

Here is a list of what Marc did in the dining room:

Painted (twice)
Ripped out carpet and put in wood floors
Installed blinds
Put up crown moulding

Here are some pics while the work was being completed...

and the finished product.....

I didn't take pictures of the bathroom before we did it but just picture the blank slate they provide with all new builds (unless you pay them to upgrade).

Here is the list of what Marc did in the bathroom...

Replaced all hardware (towel bars, toilet paper holder)
Took down mirror and added framed mirror
Replaced faucet
Replaced light fixture
Painted (twice)

Here is the finished product....

Abby is 18 Months

2009-06-25T13:00:00.000-07:00

Abby had her 18 month checkup over a week or so ago. She did really well. She only had to get one shot so they let me hold her this time. She just watched them stick it in her leg and did not cry at all. I was so proud of her.

So, here are the stats. She weighs 28 lbs 13 oz (94th percentile) and is 36 inches tall (99th percentile). I heard somewhere that if you double a child's height at age 2 it is a good indicator of how tall they will be. If that is the case then Abby is going to be over 6 feet tall! She is slowly starting to thin out. Her roll on her chubby little thighs is getting smaller and smaller.

We are beginning to experience some of the typical toddler stuff. She has stopped eating many of the foods she used to love (as if she wasn't picky enough already). She has decided that meat is not cool and she only wants to eat bananas, bread, or yogurt. Hopefully this doesn't last very long. :) She is also starting to express her feelings a little more. (okay, call it what it is, she is throwing tantrums). It is actually a little funny because when she is told no she will throw whatever is in her hand on the ground, even if it is something she wants, like her blankie. She still only says a handful of words but I know eventually I will look back fondly on the days when she was so quiet! She is walking (or running) everywhere now and greatly enjoys climbing on the furniture.

Despite the occasional tantrum, we are having so much fun. I just love this age. She is like a little sponge and absorbs so much. She is constantly imitating me by pretending to put on make up, deodorant, lotion, etc. She also enjoys "helping" me sweep and vacuum. She lOVES to throw stuff away for me too. Every day she amazes me with something she has learned. It is so fun to watch her grow up yet so sad at the same time because I am slowly watching my baby turn into a little girl.

Think She Likes To Swing?

2009-06-17T20:41:00.000-07:00

18 Month Pictures

2009-06-16T20:27:00.001-07:00

Sideways Sleeper

2009-06-11T13:34:00.000-07:00

Why does she sleep like this all the time when she would fit so much better sleeping the right way? This will never work when it is time to convert to a toddler bed :)

VIDEO: Abby Rides Thomas

2009-06-05T20:02:00.000-07:00

This is a video of Abby scooting along on her Thomas riding toy that was given to her by her cousins. (Thanks sis) She just started to get the hang of it recently but still finds it a lot easier to go backward than forward. I took this video the day before she got sick. As you can see, she seemed to be feeling just fine. Just mute your computer so you don't have to listen to my annoying voice talking to Abby.

Update on Sick Baby

2009-06-05T18:28:00.000-07:00

Abby seems to be feeling a little better. We got through the whole day today with no fever and only one dose of Motrin. She has only been willing to eat yogurt and applesauce the last couple days so I know her throat is still hurting her. I am pretty sure the fever was just from the virus that caused the blisters on her throat.
However, issue #2 (blood in urine) is still not resolved. The test came back negative for a UTI, so they need to test her urine again. We are going to wait about a week to see if whatever is causing it clears on its own. Then I have to take Abby to be "bagged" at a lab. Apparently they attach a little bag that sticks to her to catch her pee. Once it catches enough they will collect the urine and we are free to go. Using the bag instead of a catheter also ensures that the blood in the urine wasn't caused by trauma from the catheter. Hopefully, her urine will come back clear. If they find blood again they will begin running more tests to try to figure out why.

Sick Baby

2009-06-03T20:33:00.001-07:00

Abby woke up with a fever yesterday but it was only about 101 and I thought it was probably because she has all 4 of her canine teeth trying to break through. I continued with our plans for the day and when I touched her to get her out of the car when we got home she was on fire. I came inside and took her temp. It was 104.2! Yikes. I was able to get it down to 102 with some Motrin. She has had viral throat infections 5 times in the last 6 months so I assumed her throat was bad again.
I gave her Motrin again before bed. She basically fell asleep as soon as I laid her down and it was only 6pm. She woke up at 2:30am crying. I went in to check on her and she was SOOOO incredibly hot. She was shaking when I picked her up. This time her temp was up to 105. I gave her more Motrin and got her to drink some water. I rocked her for a while and then tried to get her to lay down in our bed with us. No luck. She still will not lay down anywhere but her crib. So she sat between Marc and I in the dark for a while. I did not want to put her back to bed unless her temp. came down. Otherwise we would have headed to the ER. Luckily her temp came down to 101 after a while and I was able to put her back to bed. She slept in until almost 8am (much later than her typical 6:15am, thank goodness). Her temp. was high again this morning so I called the Dr. and made an appointment.
When we were at the Dr. I mentioned that she has been acting like it hurts when I wipe her even though she has no rash. They mentioned that she may have a UTI, but wanted to still check her throat and ears. Sure enough, her throat has huge blisters on it. Not just puss, but actual blisters. The Dr. couldn't believe that she is still willing to eat with a throat like that. They still wanted to do a urine sample to check for UTI though. Well, a 17 month old can't exactly pee into a cup so they had to use a catheter. I asked to be in the room with her and they looked at me like I was nuts and said they didn't recommend it. So I went back to the exam room to wait and had to just listen to her scream. It was really hard. They brought her back to me and she just cried and cried. They found blood in her urine so they broke the news to me that they were going to have to give her a shot of antibiotics. Poor kid. Not sure I could have put her through much more in one day. After I got her calmed down the same 2 people that did the catheter came back into the room to give the shots. Lets just say she was not happy to see them again. She got one shot in each leg while I had to hold her down. :( We don't know for sure that she has a UTI, but the Dr. wanted to start antibiotics immediately just in case. The results will be back tomorrow and we will find out for sure. It it is not a UTI we will stop the oral antibiotics and run more tests.
My poor baby girl! She cried A LOT today. She was just miserable. Two separate issues at the same time....throat infection and something causing blood in her urine. After we got home from the Dr. she slept for 3 hours. She woke about every 20 min, cried for a minute and went back to sleep. Hopefully she can get though tonight without spiking a super high fever again. I will update when I know more.

Abby Loves Elmo, or Maybe Not :)

2009-05-20T20:04:00.000-07:00

First Trip to the Zoo

2009-05-15T18:43:00.000-07:00

I took Abby to the Zoo for the first time a couple weeks ago before it got too hot. We met my sister and her kids there. We didn't get a chance to see all that much because I only had a couple hours before Abby needed to be home for a nap and she is still a little too young to really enjoy it. She did enjoy the petting zoo though. Although we had a minor incident when one of her little goat friends peed and she bent right over and stuck both hands in it! Ewwww! Anyway, here are a few pics from our time at the zoo.

Kissing the "Little People" cow

Kissing the "Little People" sheep

Abby and her cousin, Sammie, making faces at each other

A little video footage of Abby checking out the goats in the petting zoo

Parker Charles Henderson

2009-05-10T19:44:00.000-07:00

One of my very best friends, Jen Henderson, got the best Mother's Day presents ever....a beautiful and healthy baby boy. Jen was very lucky and had a quick delivery with no complications. Parker weighed in at 8 lbs 14.9 oz and was 21.5 inches long. (Funny because this was Abby's EXACT weight and height) I was lucky enough to be able to visit the new baby at the hospital today. It brought back a lot of memories since she delivered at the same hospital I did. I have to admit that I have a slight case of baby fever now. Is it really possible that I have forgotten how hard the first year was already? Anyway, I am so excited for Jen and Tim and look forward to seeing Parker grow up. Here are a few pictures of the little guy...

Splash Pad Fun

2009-05-07T20:37:00.000-07:00

I took Abby to a splash pad a couple times this week. She LOVES the water. She had no hesitation at all and went right to the water. We will probably be doing a lot of water play this summer as it is too stinkin' hot to do anything else! Good thing she likes it.

Abby found this tractor when we got there and had a great time pushing it around.

Holy Moly...Look at those chubby legs!

Abby wanted to do what the big kids were doing and she kept following them around. It was cute. Here is a little glimpse in the video....

HOA Party

2009-05-02T13:38:00.000-07:00

Our HOA had a big block party last weekend. We took Abby down to have some fun. They had music, pizza, drinks, snow cones and lots of fun stuff for the kids. Abby was still a little too young to enjoy some of the stuff like the bounce house and face painting. She had a great time just running around in the grass though. She also enjoyed her first snow cone. I am so sad that it is so hot already and we won't be able to get outside as much :(

Yay for pigtails!!!

2009-04-27T20:24:00.000-07:00

Abby's hair is finally long enough in the back for pigtails! She looks so grown up :(

Pouty Face Perfected

2009-04-13T19:35:00.000-07:00

Abby was blessed/cursed with my full lips. Her bottom lip looks exactly like mine. She has always been great at really sticking it out when she pouts or is about to cry. I finally caught it on camera for your viewing pleasure. As you can see, she really gets it out there!

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T20:58:00.001-07:00

Excited about her Easter bucket!

Showing me the eggs in her basket

Having some fun after emptying the basket!

Outside in the grass before going to visit family

Finally Learning to use Photoshop

2009-04-03T20:52:00.000-07:00

I got Photoshop for Christmas over two year ago and I am finally starting to learn how to use it. I know it can do a lot of cool things I just don't know how to make it do them! I found a website that is helping me learn some cool stuff so I am making my way through it.

Here is my first "creation". This is a picture from when Abby was 4 months old. I did selective colorization so that the only thing that is in color is her dress. I am sure with more time I could find a picture that would create a better effect but this picture gave me some good practice.

I know that Photoshop 7.0 is already out. I have 5.0. By the time I learn how to use all the tools, version 20 will be out. At any rate, it is pretty fun to mess around with.

Do you see it?

2009-03-28T20:16:00.000-07:00

Several people have commented on how much Kris Allen from American Idol looks like Marc. I just don't see it. But others seem to think they could be twins. What do you think?

Abby is 15 Months

2009-03-24T19:26:00.000-07:00

Abby had her 15 month check up today. She is 34.25 inches long (99th percentile) and weighs 27 lbs 8 oz (96th percentile). The Dr. said that my 15 month old is the size of an average 3 year old! Crazy!! At least her weight and height are proportionate. Hopefully she doesn't end up being any taller than I am. Marc and I are both 5'11". If she does end up taller than me I just have to hope that she is more coordinated than me also so that she can put her height to good use playing volleyball. She was a real trooper for her shots today and only cried for a few seconds.

She is still crawling most of the time. Every now and then I see her walk between pieces of furniture but for the most part she doesn't walk unless I encourage her to walk from something to me. I think it is just a confidence issue. When she falls she freaks out even when she isn't hurt. The other day she would take a couple steps and then just squat down and start crying. Then she would crawl back to where she started stand up, take two steps and squat and cry again. She had fallen a couple times before that so I think she was just scared. Once I realized what why she was crying and that she wasn't hurt, it was a little funny. I considered grabbing the video camera :). She also tries to run all the time. She can't even walk well yet, but when she is excited to get to something she tries to run and it usually ends up in a tumble. She wants to walk all over the house holding my hand. She walks just fine holding my hand so I know she is capable. She already opens all our doors by herself so I am in big trouble once she starts walking everywhere.

Her favorite thing right now is books. She brings me books all day long to read to her. Her favorites are the ones with real pictures and not drawings. She likes to point at the pictures as I say them. She can identify most of the objects in her "Happy Baby Words" book. Another favorite activity right now is making animal sounds when I ask her what certain animals say. She knows dog, cow, sheep, dinosaur, fish, kitty, and horse. She also says vvvroom when asked what a car says. We also taught her that Mommies and Daddies say "love you". It sounds more like lof when she says love, but still so cute.

Taking Steps!

2009-03-08T20:03:00.000-07:00

Abby is now taking 5 or 6 steps on her own. She is still very wobbly and won't really walk without encouragement. We just keep helping her practice in hopes that one day she will just take off. I don't consider her a "walker" until she chooses that as her primary mode of transportation. She still crawls everywhere unless I sit down and encourage her to walk to me. It is so fun to watch her! Here is a video of her in action.

Dinner At My House

2009-03-03T18:26:00.000-08:00

If you have ever had the pleasure of having dinner at our house, you know that I am not exactly a gourmet chef. If it doesn't come in a box or cook in a crock pot you probably won't find it on my table. Luckily Marc is content with whatever I "cook" as long as he has food on the table. I thought I would share some of our staples....

Abby is enjoying spaghetti night...

Marc seems perfectly happy with mac-n-cheese night.

(He arranged the face on his plate himself)

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T18:48:00.001-08:00

Growing Up So Fast

2009-02-09T13:02:00.000-08:00

I just thought I would post a little update about what Abby is up to. First of all, she has been sick three times already this year which is no fun for anyone. She only got sick one time (ear infection) the entire first year so I guess she is making up for it now. This last virus hit her really good. Her temperature actually got all the way up to 105.8. Luckily after some Motrin and nap it came down to 102.3. Had it not come down we would have been on our way to the emergency room. Now that she has gotten over that I think she has her first molar working its way to the surface. I can feel it right under the surface of the gums and her gums are SOOO swollen. She was up at 5:30am this morning and while I was watching her on the video monitor she just kept putting her finger in her mouth and chewing on it.

On to more fun items....Abby can now identify every part of our faces. When we ask her where the part is she will point to it. Today she successfully did hair, ear, cheek, eye, nose, mouth and chin. She caught on so fast. We only had to show her a couple times before she got it. She also knows what a lot of her toys are and when we tell her to go get something specific she will. When asked for a hug she will just lay her head against us. Very cute and fun for Mommy since she has never been much of a cuddler.

She also has some words now. I count them as words because I know what she is saying but I am not sure anyone else would have any idea what she is saying. Does that count? Anyway, she says dog (goc), duck(guc), more(mo), and mama. She also signs more and eat.

She is very in to cause and effect toys and very interested in the way things work. One of her favorite things to do is to get the remote and turn the TV on and off. She also really enjoys putting lids on bottles. She plays with an empty mouthwash and shampoo bottle in the bathtub and likes to put the lids back on them. When she can't get it just right she gets frustrated and chucks the lid as hard as she can across the bathtub. Kinda reminds me of her Daddy when one of his household projects isn't going right :).

She still has quite a ways to go before walking on her own, but she sure does love to walk holding on to our hands. She has low muscle tone so she will be a late walker. Her ankles are weak and turn in when she walks so she walks on the inside of her feet. She cruises the furniture very well though.

I am just trying to enjoy every moment of it. They are only little once and it goes by so fast. I already miss my little newborn. Funny that I remember her first smiles and laughs perfectly but I can't remember what it felt like to be up every 2 hours all night long and the 2 hour crying sessions. I guess that is how nature intended it though. Selective amnesia so we will continue to have more children!

In this pictue Abby was looking out the window to the backyard trying to find Layla.

Grandma and Grandpa Bryand's Visit

2009-02-02T18:22:00.000-08:00

Marc's Mom and Dad came to visit in the beginning of January and I am just now getting around to posting. I know, I stink at this blogging thing. Anyway, they had not seen Abby since she was 6 months old so it was nice that they were able to come from Minnesota. Abby got sick the day after they got here so she was not her usual self for the first few days. Once she felt better she had a great time hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa.

Abby went hiking with Dad, Grandma and Grandpa.

Here she is hitching a ride on Grandpa's back
Grandma decided to go trailblazing and this is what happened to Grandpa when he tried to rescue her.....Oh well, what is a trip to AZ without getting attacked by a cactus?

Powdered Sugar Everywhere!

2009-01-29T09:30:00.000-08:00

One of Abby's favorite places is our pantry. She LOVES to take everything out of the areas she can reach. I keep a lot of baking items on the bottom shelf. Most of it is in plastic bags so she can't really get in to it. Well, yesterday she managed to get the powdered sugar open while I was making dinner and not paying attention. This is what I found when I looked at her....

VIDEOS: Getting Closer

2009-01-24T19:34:00.000-08:00

Abby is getting closer and closer to walking. She is cruising the furniture really well now and recently started pushing anything she can (barstools, highchair, toys, etc) around the house. It is so fun to watch. The first time mommy in me is always paranoid that she is going to fall flat on her face but I do my best to just let her learn! Here are a couple videos of her showing off her new skills.

Update Coming Soon

2009-01-19T19:23:00.000-08:00

I know I am way behind. We have a household of sickos right now. Marc, Abby and I are all sick. It is no fun for anyone. Tissues are like gold around here! I promise I will catch up soon.

Christmas

2008-12-26T19:32:00.000-08:00

We had a really nice Christmas this year. I baked (or attempted to bake) in the morning on Christmas Eve. Then we took some goodies with us and took Abby to see Grammie. We then had dinner at Panda Express. After Abby went to bed Marc and I watched The Polar Express, which we have made a Christmas Eve tradition. I can't wait until Abby is old enough to take interest in it and watch it with us!

Christmas morning we got up and opened presents before breakfast. After Abby's nap we headed out to my sister's house. It is a very long drive (usually about an hour and 15 minute drive). It was pouring rain the whole way there. Lynette and Dan cooked a very yummy dinner and Abby got to play with her cousins. The ride home was a little rough because Abby was tired and she HATES being in the car. She pretty much lost it about 20 minutes into the drive home, but I jumped into the backseat with her and was able to keep her calm for the rest of the ride home.

It was a great couple days. It was sad to see the decorations start coming down today!

Highlights of Abby's Day

2008-12-22T19:24:00.001-08:00

Hanging out in my jammies still

Getting into stuff as usual

BUSTED!!!

Finding leftovers from breakfast

BUSTED AGAIN!!

Checking out Layla's home

Pulling on mom's legs to be picked up (happens quite frequently these days)

Trying to look so sweet that Mom won't be able to resist picking me up

Pretty Christmas Dresses

2008-12-22T19:16:00.000-08:00

My Mom got Abby the cutest Christmas dresses. I had to share pictures of them since she won't get much wear out of them (she grows way too fast!).

One Year Stats

2008-12-20T15:53:00.000-08:00

Abby went to the Dr. yesterday for her 12 month check up. It went well. We went to a new Dr. and I like her a lot better than the Dr. we had been going to before. Abby got 3 shots...MMR, Chickenpox Vaccine, and a Flu Shot. She screamed as soon as the first shot touched her leg. I was able to calm her down quickly afterwards though. All I had to do was give her my cell phone. lol. She loves it.
She weighs 25 lbs 10 oz (96th percentile), is 31 inches tall (93rd percentile) and her head circumference in 45 1/2 cm (64th percentile). She hasn't gained or grown much since her 9 month check up. I suspect her weight gain slowed a lot because she is so active now. It is also nice to know she won't have an abnormally large head! :)
She is cruising the furniture pretty well now and pulls to standing on everything (including my legs). She likes to point a lot and has recently started waving bye bye. She is also doing the sign for more but I am still not sure if she is associating it with getting more food or not because she does it at random times. She still has not said her first word but she has many conversations with herself that I cannot understand. Hopefully she will be walking in the next couple months because my back could really use a break from carrying her everywhere!

Abby's 1 Year Pictures

2008-12-19T10:50:00.001-08:00

We had Abby's 1 year pictures taken a couple weeks ago. They turned out really cute. We took them at 8am and it was extremely cold and windy. Abby was a real trooper. She did great and never complained. I couldn't pick just a couple to post so I am posting a slideshow. The pictures were taken by a friend of mine from high school. She does beautiful photography. Her portfolio is posted on her blog. I highly recommend her! http://www.photosbynatalie.blogspot.com

Lunch with Auntie Brenda

2008-12-17T19:22:00.001-08:00

My brother's wife, Brenda, comes in to town every now and then for her job. We were lucky enough to meet up with her for lunch. It was great to see her as always. Abby was full of smiles for her throughout lunch and kept waving to her across the table. I couldn't get a big smile out of her for the picture but it still turned out great!

Party at 3:30am

2008-12-17T18:30:00.000-08:00

The night before last I was woken at 3:30am by the sounds of a 1 year old who was ready to party. She was in her room just yapping away. Not sure what she was discussing or who she was discussing it with but it seemed to be interesting. I rolled over and turned on the monitor of the video monitor. She was standing in her crib just chatting away, chewing on and hitting the railing of her crib. Even in the middle of the night I could not help but smile and chuckle a little. I mean what a good baby... awake in the middle of the night and happy as can be. Not sure how long she was up because I fell back to sleep fairly quickly. Two more teeth have cut though her gums in the last 2 days so that may have had something to do with her late night party. I just LOVE my little Muffin!

1st Birthday Pictures

2008-12-15T08:11:00.000-08:00

Here are some of my favorite pictures from yesterday...

This is Abby's present from Mommy and Daddy...

Abby is helping me put it together :)

Here she is enjoying all our hard work

The cake I made for her

Enjoying her cake

Happy Birthday Muffin!

2008-12-14T19:16:00.000-08:00

Today my little princess celebrated her first birthday. Wow, what an amazing year it has been. I am in shock that it has already been a year since we were given the most amazing gift of life. I have to admit that the thought crossed my mind more than once that there was no way I was ever going to make it through the first year. Somehow I survived :). Somehow I made it though the postpartum recovery after giving birth to a 9 lb baby, sleepless nights, gas, reflux, 3pm-10pm fussy time, 30 minute naps, numerous medical scares, refusal/inability to take a bottle after 5 weeks, etc. The best part is that it was all worth it. I can't even begin to describe how amazing the feeling is that I get every time Abby smiles or I hear that soooo cute hysterical giggle. Do I sometimes miss the freedom of my life before I was Mommy? Absolutely! Would I change a thing? Not a chance! I love that little girl more than words could ever describe. I always heard people say that you can't describe the love you have for your child and that you have to be a parent to "get it"! Well, it is so true. It is the hardest and most stressful job I will ever have. Being responsible for another human being's well being is intense, but wonderful. I love you so much Abigail and look forward to being your Mommy for the rest of my life. I can't wait to see what fun the next year brings!

1st Birthday Present

2008-12-09T13:15:00.000-08:00

Abby will be one on Sunday! Last week she got her first birthday present in the mail from Auntie Heidi and Uncle Tony. They sent 3 VERY cute dresses from Children's Place and a way cute pair of tights. Thanks Heidi and Tony!!!

Hitting the Trails

2008-12-09T12:59:00.000-08:00

We took Abby out hiking a few mornings the week of Thanksgiving. At first she is not sure what to think about being in the backpack and whines a bit but then she is fine. Marc and I have always really enjoyed hiking (okay I only enjoy it when I am in really good shape). Anyway, we used to do a lot of hiking, especially when we first started dating, so it was nice to get out there and see some resemblance of what life used to be like pre-baby! We had lots of fun. Big thanks to Chad and Terese for the backpack!

Oh Christmas Tree

2008-11-21T20:01:00.000-08:00

No, you are not seeing things. Our tree is up already. Actually, Marc was late putting it up this year. It usually goes up the day after Halloween. Our house is always turned into a Christmas wonderland this time of year. Marc LOVES Christmas. This year will be much more fun for me than last year when I had an 11 day old and was in a complete sleep deprived fog. Not to mention I was still in a lot of pain (see tailbone post below :) )

Abby's New Favorite Sleeping Position

2008-11-21T19:37:00.000-08:00

Abby has been sleeping on her tummy with her butt up in the air lately. I think it is so stinkin' cute. It doesn't look comfortable to me, but hey whatever works for her is fine with me. Sometimes she doesn't even bother to turn her head to the side and her face is just straight down into the mattress.

Here are some pictures I took of the video monitor while she was napping. She is all cozy in her sleep sack (One of the greatest inventions ever).

Pain in the Butt

2008-11-20T18:45:00.000-08:00

It is official. Giving birth to Abby was a huge pain in the butt, literally. After my epidural wore off I was in extreme pain in the tailbone region. I could barely move for about a month afterwards. At my 6 week check up my OB said that it was possible that my tailbone was broken or fractured during the birth.

It has been almost a year and I still have a lot of pain in tailbone, especially when sitting for more than a few minutes and when going from sitting to standing. I went to the Dr. this week and had x-rays done. It appears that my tailbone was broken and now a cyst has grown there from the trauma.

There is not a whole lot I can do about it. The Dr. recommended starting with some physical therapy to see if it helps. If not the next step would be an injection with a large needle. If that doesn't work surgery would be a possibility but they go in through the rectum and that doesn't sound like too much fun to me.

This is a picture of a tailbone. The very bottom part is where the break occurred. The end of my tailbone now curves the other way from the break. I guess that is what the 9 lbs of baby can do to you.....

I have dealt with the pain this long and I will probably continue to just deal with it. However, it does make me sad to know that if I were to get pregnant again I would probably have to opt for a c-section in order to avoid further injury to the tailbone.

We Have a Babbler

2008-11-01T11:46:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday Abby finally started babbling. Whew.....one less thing for me to worry about. I am telling you, this little girl is stubborn. She is on her own timeline and could care less what the "experts" think she should be doing when. I was driving to the store and out of nowhere she just started saying gaga gaga gaga gaga. It was pretty darn cute. The next morning when I went in to get her up she was just sitting in her crib smiling at me saying gaga gaga gaga.

Here is some video we got last night when she decided to be chatty. I didn't want to get in front of her because I figured as soon as she saw the camera she would stop...

Abby's First Halloween

2008-11-01T11:06:00.000-07:00

For the first year in a long time I actually didn't hate Halloween. It has never been one of my favorite holidays. However, I think as Abby gets older I will love it more and more. We had a little fun yesterday and put some little devil horns on Abby. We took her out for our usual evening walk but no trick or treating. She had fun watching some of the kids that were out early. We didn't trick or treat for 3 reasons....#1 She goes to bed at 6:45pm these days, #2 I think it is pretty obvious that she wouldn't be the one enjoying the candy, #3 She is too young to even know what the heck is going on. Hopefully next year she can enjoy her first trick or treating experience. Here are a few pics we took.....

Abby is the little devil and I dressed up as scary mommy with no makeup!

Before we went out for our walk

In front of our house

This was outside one of our neighbor's houses. Thought it was hilarious!

Getting dark....headed for home

No More 20s

2008-10-31T09:47:00.000-07:00

Well, I am officially out of my 20s. I turned 30 yesterday and I have to admit I feel pretty old. I can remember how old 30 seemed when I turned 20 and now I am already there. 40 still seems pretty old to me (no offense to all of my readers who have passed 40 long ago :) ). I am sure 40 will be here before I know it. I know the next 10 years will be amazing though. I will get the pleasure of watching Abby grow and change. I have a feeling the next 10 years will be some of the best years of my life.

We have a crawler!

2008-10-27T11:03:00.000-07:00

I thought it would never happen. Saturday Abby decided that she was going to give crawling a try. Of course she did it when I was in the shower. I am the one who is home with her all day long 7 days a week and she decides to crawl when she is hanging out with Daddy. Marc was on our bed reading and Abby was on the ground by the bed. She went after my breast pump of all things. Marc came in to tell me that Abby was crawling. I didn't quite believe him so I had to see for myself. I put my cell phone on the ground and sure enough she went after it. It took her over 10 months, but she finally figured it out.
Here is a little video I took yesterday. She will always go for the cell phone.....

3 Year Wedding Anniversary

2008-10-14T20:32:00.000-07:00

Wow, it has been 3 years since Marc and I were married. It has been amazing. Each year has been better than the last. I thought I would take a look back at what we were up to on October 14th the last 3 years.

In 2005 we were married at The Wright House in Mesa. It was a beautiful day that I will never forget. These are just some of my favorite pictures from the day...

My brother walked me down the aisle and I absolutely love this picture

This is a picture from the ceremony
Look at the way I just took control of that smooch

Another smooch

Ariel shot

Just hangin' with the boys

Surrounded by beauty

Ready for the reception

In 2006 we went to Kauai to celebrate our 1st anniversary. We had an amazing time and can't wait to go back again!

This was the view from the balcony of the condo we rented

This was at a sugar plantation

This was at Spouting Horn Blow Hole

This was on the North Shore somewhere

This was after an awesome helicopter tour of the island

Last year was our second anniversary and we were just excited to be expecting our sweet angel

Look at that belly! I still had 2 more months to go!!

This year we celebrated our anniversary with a dinner out as a family. It was really nice. Abby is getting to be a lot more social and had a great time squealing, fake coughing and smiling in an attempt to get the attention of the table next to us.

Here we are before going to eat

LOVE This Weather

2008-10-13T20:39:00.000-07:00

The last few days have been extremely nice outside. It is soooooo nice to finally be able to get the girls (Abby and Layla) out of the house. We have been going for walks at least once a day. I think the fresh air does all of us some good! It is supposed to be back in the 90s by the end of the week, but I think it will still be nice enough for us to go out in the mornings or evenings.

Here is a picture from one of our recent walks. The sun was right in Abby's face so she is a bit squinty....

VIDEO: Little Yapper

2008-10-09T20:01:00.000-07:00

Took this video of Abby today while she was in a very screechy mood. She has a real desire to be mobile these days and is getting closer to crawling. She will get to all fours, but can't figure out what to do after that. There has been a lot of whining involved. I am hoping that will subside once she can actually move.

A Second Tooth

2008-09-29T20:13:00.000-07:00

Abby isn't the one tooth wonder any longer. She sprouted the second tooth on the bottom today, 3 weeks and 2 days after getting her first tooth. This teething stuff is no fun!

2008-09-25T11:10:00.000-07:00

Thankful Thursday

2008-09-25T10:55:00.000-07:00

Today I am so thankful that I have my arms and legs. During a rare good nap by Abby yesterday I was able to watch Oprah. They had a mom on who gave birth to her daughter 13 months ago. After her daughter was born she (the mom) got an infection. The infection was basically from a flesh eating bacteria. She had to have her uterus, ovaries, gall bladder, and part of her bowels removed. The infection spread to her arms and legs and doctors made the decision to amputate the bottom half of both her arms and legs. It was so incredibly sad to watch and I balled though the whole show. This woman has never once asked why me. When the Dr. told her they needed to amputate she just said "OK, the sooner the better so I can get home to my girls". I just can't even imagine what a struggle everyday life must be for her, let alone with a 13 month old. It really helps put things into perspective.

Abby's 9 Month Stats

2008-09-22T14:15:00.000-07:00

Abby had her 9 month well check last week. Are you ready for this? Holy Moly, what a little chubbette. She weighed in at 24 lbs 6 oz and she is already 30.5 inches long. She has grown 9 inches in 9 months. That is crazy.
Not much has changed in the last month. Abby is sitting extremely well now and can reach very far to get things without hesitation. She is also pretty good at getting on to her belly from sitting. Crawling is still not in the near future. She has been practicing trying to lift her belly off the ground more though. (Can't be easy to lift that pot belly up :) ) She can scoot around a little on her butt or she can push herself backwards on her belly. She mostly just rolls to get where she wants to go. The Dr. didn't seem to be too concerned about her development even though she has hit all of her milestones late. He said the most important part is just that she continues to make progress and learn new things. But you know us Moms....always worried!

Thankful Thursday

2008-09-11T15:13:00.000-07:00

I have really been trying to focus on all the blessings that I have in my life lately. I thought it might be fun to share some of the things I am thankful for each week. So here goes....

Today I am so thankful for FRIENDS. You know someone is truly a friend when you can go for months without speaking and pick up where you left off like you have been in contact everyday! I don't know where I would be without my friends. It is nice to know that there are so many people in my life who would drop everything if I needed them.

Today I am also thankful for 2 NAPS THAT ARE MORE THAN AN HOUR!! Most of you have heard me complain about Abby's horrible napping habits by now. Well, right now she has been asleep for an hour and this morning she took an hour and a half long nap. It might have something to do with the fact that she was awake this morning at 4am. Not crying, just making enough noise every few minutes to keep me awake wondering if she was going to fall back to sleep. Well, she didn't and at 5:30 she finally started to cry a little so I fed her and she went back to sleep until 7:30. Thank goodness she is sleeping well for her naps today!

7 Years!

2008-09-10T15:40:00.001-07:00

Hard to believe, but it has been 7 years since Marc and I met. We both worked out at the same gym. I had my eye on him for a while. Long before we ever even spoke to each other I told someone that there was this hot guy at the gym and he might not know it yet, but I was going to marry him. Then Marc finally stepped up to bat and introduced himself and gave me some cheesy line like "I see you around here a lot". Now here we are 7 years later. Our little family wouldn't exist if it weren't for that day in the gym!

Finally, a tooth!!!

2008-09-08T10:36:00.000-07:00

Abby finally has her first tooth. The one on the bottom right broke through the gums on Saturday, 8 days before she turns 9 months. I cannot believe that she still doesn't have teeth on top. Her top gums have been SOOOO swollen for months now. You can even see one little white dot on the top where the tooth is trying to get through. So, needless to say, I was very surprised that she got one on the bottom first. She has been a little cranky, but not too bad. Tylenol and Hylands teething tablets have been her best friends for a couple days. Hopefully she doesn't start to bite mommy now that she has a sharp little tooth!

Patient Animals are a Must!

2008-09-02T15:03:00.000-07:00

Thought I would share some pictures of Abby and her sisters. Good thing they are patient!

Tagged

2008-08-28T14:29:00.000-07:00

I was tagged by skism.....

This is an easy and fun tag, it's one word answers.
1. Where is your cell phone? Couch
2. Your significant other? Marc
3. Your hair? Yuck
4. Your favorite thing? Food
5. Your dream last night? None
6. Your favorite drink? Pepsi
7. Your dream/goal? Travel
8. The room you're in? Family
9. Your hobby? Scrapbooking
10. Your fear? Failure
11. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Hawaii
12. Where were you last night? Home
13. What you're not? Sexy
14. Muffins? Yummy
15. One of your wish list items? Bottle
16. Where you grew up? Arizona
17. The last thing you did? Wal-Mart
18. What are you wearing? Grubbies
19. Your TV? Heavy
20. Your pets? Lazy
21. Your computer? Portable
22. Your life? Boring
23. Your mood? Anxious
24. Missing someone? Nope
25. Your car? SUV
26. Something you're not wearing? Shoes
27. Favorite store? Target
28. Your summer? Blah
29. Your favorite color? Pink
30. When is the last time you laughed? 1:30
31. Last time you cried? Recently

My FAVORITE Picture Ever!

2008-08-26T15:15:00.000-07:00

This picture really is my favorite ever taken. It so accurately shows the love between daddy and daughter. Most of you will probably not appreciate this as much as I do, but if you look at Abby's hand, she is doing the sign for "I love you". I didn't even realize she had done it until I was editing the pictures on the computer. Marc and I have always done this sign to each other but have not shown it to Abby yet. I am convinced that she was telling her daddy she loves him though!

Abby is 8 Months Old!

2008-08-14T15:11:00.000-07:00

Wow, where does the time go? It is hard to believe that my little angel is already 8 months old today. Before I know it we will be celebrating her first birthday.

The last month has been fun. Abby is finally sitting up a little better. We still have to put the boppy pillow around her because when she decides she is done sitting she will just hurl herself backwards. She is capable of sitting and playing on the living room floor for 10-15 minutes at a time though. I didn't sit well until I was 8 months old, so I guess it should be no surprise that she is a late bloomer. Not to mention all that extra weight that she has to support and balance. She is now up to almost 23 lbs, which is about what an 18 month old (50th percentile) would weigh. She is also wearing 18 month old size clothes already. She is has completely off the charts for both her height and weight. She will thin out as she gets older and starts moving around more. After all, she is the next Keri Walsh, and will be bringing home gold in the 2028 Olympics!

Another new development is the sippy cup. We have been working with Abby on drinking out of a sippy cup. She actually does the best with the straw. She loves to practice drinking out of a straw. We still only get about 2 ounces of water in her total throughout the day, but at least she is trying. As some of you know, Abby won't drink out of a bottle, so the possibility of her drinking proficiently out of something other than me is extremely exciting. I am hoping that with enough practice she will be downing the sippy cups full of milk in the next few months.

I finally figured out a nap routine that works for Abby. Now our days are somewhat predictable. Hurray! We really went through a rough patch there for about a month. Looking back on it now, I think she needed to transition to two naps a day and I was still trying to get three out of her. When I finally figured out that she was ready for two naps it still took a while before her body adjusted and she could handle being awake longer. I think we have it down for now. Her naps are still shorter than most babies, but hey, I will take what I can get! But, as we all know, babies are good as throwing you curve balls just when you think you have them down!

I can't wait to see what new developments the next month will bring.