Halley & the fire pit

Halley discovered a new pre-dinner activity last night.  Pictures are worth a thousand words, right? 

 

Why we made her put on a rain coat, I have no idea.  She was drenched from head to toe when she was done.  And, for the record, the splashing session ended once she refused to stop lapping up the rain water.  The two of us, laughing hysterically while she did it and saying "No, stop it" the whole time, may or may not have sent mixed signals.  

Updates

Hello sweet people who come to check in on our not-so-exciting life,

Here's what's going on in our world.
 
The baby update:

When I went in for my 20 week ultrasound, not only did we find out we were NOT having a boy, but we were told that there are some slight complications with the umbilical cord.  Most women have a 'three vessel cord' consisting of two arteries and one vein.  In less than 1% of women, there is only one artery and one vein.  (It's called a Single Umbilical Artery.)  I fall into that 1%.  My doctor is not overly concerned but there are some increased risks involved so I'm now seeing a perinatalogist as well. Without boring you with all the details, it basically means I will start seeing doctors weekly at 34 weeks for a non-stress test and ultrasound.  They'll be monitoring my blood pressure and the baby's growth to make sure that she is continuing to grow on track.  With only one artery feeding her blood & nutrients, the doctors need to monitor weekly progress so we don't get into a precarious situation.  We also found out that my uterine artery is more constricted (it should be loose & free-flowing, I think?) which resulted in my blood pressure getting dangerously high when pregnant with Halley.  Some reassurances from the doctor: kidney & brain defects are among the risk and the ultrasound shows Baby Girl does NOT have these issues (praise Jesus) and this has nothing to do with the miscarriage I had earlier in the pregnancy.  I really haven't been very pre-occupied about this (except selfishly when I think about juggling two different doctors on a weekly basis) but I have heard the word "stillborn" a few times since this conversation started so we definitely covet your prayers if you think about us.  

If you're sitting at your computer bored and want to know more about SUA, click here. 

Okay, enough medical talk.


Here's our sweet girl:

Halley had her first haircut this week. She doesn't look very happy in this picture but she was so good and didn't want to leave!  No one else except her mama would be able to tell the difference but she was way overdue.

Daddy & Daughter date night at Chick-Fil-A (makes my heart melt!)

A few of my favorite Halley moments:

• At night, she says to me "Mommy hold you" so that I wrap my arms around her while we sing. 
• She loves to say "It just right" meaning the temperature (of her bath, food) isn't too hot or cold.
• Dozens of times a day, I hear "I do it" usually in terms of getting dressed.  She also coaches herself "Writing in back" so she knows which way her clothes go on. 
• For my wriggly baby who was never very cuddly, she is seriously making up for lost time over the past few months.  Every once in a while it's a little frustrating but I adore it 99.99% of the time. 
• Halley heard a little girl crying in a restaurant last night and her immediate comment was "She sad.  She fell out of the chair."...why she assumed that, I have no idea but it was really funny.
• Potty training is getting better.  Not perfect but at least better.  And after I used the bathroom a few days ago, Halley said to me "Good job Mommy!"  Haha.  At least she listens to me.

 Thanks for checking in on us!

"Smiling's my favorite"

Well, hello friends!  I found a stash of pictures I never shared so here's a random mess of things over the past few months.  Apparently, it's easy for Halley to get excited....

in the bathtub.....

 seeing a train...

 wearing purple pajamas....

 

 

 eating donuts for the first time on her 2nd birthday.....

 

wearing sunglasses in the car....

 dressed as Wilma Flintstone driving a tractor...

{Well, they're not really happy here.  

This is Halley with her friend, Luke, at Halloween and his cute mama, Haley.

(Note: felt Halloween costumes make for itchy skin & grouchy 2 year olds)}

 

 and watching her favorite movie, Doe a Deer (aka The Sound of Music).

 

Merry Christmas to me!  I just found this picture and it may be my new favorite.  All three of us are smiling-what a miracle!

And for you, Lorrie, here I am at 24 weeks.  I think I look bigger than this picture shows--maybe I'm just storing it all in my cheeks.  Haha!  Pregnant face is baaaaaaccckk.  At least I know that it eventually returns to normal. 

Happy weekend! 

D-Day

Since I have been pregnant, the big question up for debate has been will we find out the sex of the baby.  We were surprised with Halley--which was Randy's idea but I'm so glad we were--but this pregnancy has been different from the beginning.  I had complications in the beginning so everything was unsettled for my first trimester.  Since then, all has been well but I've felt more queasy and out-of-sorts.  Plus I'm carrying this baby broader and lower which has completely convinced us that we were having a boy. 

So the question was still up in the air when I went in for my 16 week appointment.  The doctor suggested we do an ultrasound to find out the sex.  But we weren't sure we wanted to know! And Randy wasn't there!  Yikes, what to do?  The tech wrote it on the back of the ultrasound and stuck it in an envelope for us to open if we wanted.  It sat on our mantel for two weeks until Christmas morning when Randy gave it to me for Christmas to open. 

Here's the video of us on Christmas morning:

(Obviously, this is the edited version.) Well, let's just say we were surprised at my 20 week appointment!  I had finally wrapped my brain around having a little boy and now we're totally switching gears.  I am thrilled that Halley will have a sister.  Plus, we have what we need AND Randy is a great girl's dad.  And after all of my soul searching on giving in to the "What's it gonna be?" pressure, we were are still totally surprised.  Like pinching ourselves, mouth hanging open, surprised.

I absolutely love how God orchestrated it all.  

Surprise! (well, not really)

I figure it's time to make this little announcement, especially since this year's Christmas cards gave away our secret. 

Randy was taking this picture and I guess Halley was feeling a little left out!  Too cute.  Anyway, this was about two weeks ago and I'm on my way to 18 weeks now.  I've felt different, I look different, yada yada yada.  Needless to say, we're thinking it may be a boy this time.  I would love for Halley to have a sister but I'd be surprised if it's a girl.  And the eternal debate...to find out or not?  We didn't with Halley but I'm not sure I can do that this time around.  We'll see.  Sooooo, yay for babies!  Coming sooner than I realize...May 23.

Children's Museum

This week Randy got the chance to take Halley to the Children's Museum in Atlanta.  Halley had so much fun! I wish had been able to go but I think we'll be getting a family pass after their experience on Monday.

And these are just a few of my recent favorites!

Big Girl Halley

Well it only took me four months but we're baaaaccckk! We might as well come back with a birthday celebration, right?

As always, life has been busy. Summer came and went, work kicked into high gear for me, and Halley started the not-so-lovable two year old tantrums early. Randy was running a race in Savannah the first week of November so we decided to have her 2nd birthday party there and make it easy for all (most) of the extended family. There were some others runners so we decided to have a pasta party, let the kids run around in the backyard, fill them with sugar, and send them home.

 

 

I know all parents love their children but man, I could just eat this little girl up.  Thankfully, her "My playground" "My elbow" "My shoes" phase has lessened so I can like her a little more too.  ;)

Some updates on Miss HJ....

-she weighs 26 lbs and is 33 3/4 inches tall (looks like she'll be pushing 5'8"!)
-she is learning to sing her ABC's (they go like this "A B C R L O P...")
-her favorite movie is Sound of Music which she calls "Doe a Deer" (which is also her favorite song)
-we moved her to a "big girl bed" about two weeks ago and she's adjusted like a champ (she's also sleeping in my bed as a child which is a real circle-of-life moment)

-she loves to get dizzy and fall down
-she's big on leaving the room and announcing "see ya yater....ha save trip"
-she is obsessed with coloring with markers (including her hands, face, and legs)
-when I tell her "I love you" she responds with "I yuv you moooore"

What can top that?!?!  I actually have some more pictures to post so check back...maybe even as soon as next week!  Shocking, I know.

Happy Hump Day.