Hello, February!

Whoa! What happened to January?! I can hardly believe it's already passed us by!

So February it is! I like February...Valentine's Day... my dad's birthday... a short month....the soon-to-be ushering in of spring! :) Its a good month! :)

Hmmm....what's happenin'??? We had a nice weekend...seemed pretty busy though! Luke had his first tumbling class on Friday afternoon! He was SO excited before we left! He kept walking around the house saying "Tumble? Tumble???" Here's a cute little snapshot of how excited he was right before we left:


There were only two kids (including him) in the class, and the other little girl was about a year older and much more adept, but it turned out okay. As with most new things, Luke was a little slow-to-warm at first, and really didn't want to interact or follow any of Ms. Cheryl's directions, but by the end of the class, he was running and playing with the best of 'em. They had lots of different activities out to work on various skills (fine motor, gross motor, following directions, etc) but Luke's favorite was scooping up the plastic balls and placing them into the buckets and then this:


He was pretty fluent on the beam by the end of the session! And at the closing of the class, he sat quietly on his star next to Ms. Cheryl and listened attentively to her goodbye song. And THEN he threw a bit of a tantrum because he didn't want to leave! Next week, buddy....we'll be back next week! Actually, Ty will be taking him this Friday, since I will be headed out of town for my friend Heidi's baby shower in Northern California. It will be a boys-only weekend 'round here!

Anyway, back to this weekend....I worked on Saturday and then Ty and I headed out to a yummy dinner with some friends for the evening while Mamaw watched the Lukester. It was a late night for him...he didn't get to bed until 10:30 since Mamaw didn't have a pack-n-play at her house and we didn't expect that dinner would take THAT long! Whoops! Oh well...he did great! On Sunday, since it had been such a late night, we opted to stay home instead of heading to church. Luke 'helped' me tape off the hallway for some more painting that I am planning for tomorrow and Ty worked in the baby's room awhile. After that, we headed up to Krystal and Will's house for the Super Bowl! There were several kiddos there for Luke to interact with and even he was interested in "floopa" (remember, that's Luke-ese for football). He played well with the other kids and had fun bringing toys to the twins! Too bad the Bears lost! :( I was the only one rooting for them...everyone else was going for the Colts. But hey...most of my family are Chicago native and my sister lives there now, so Chicago was the only choice for me! It was a good game either way though, and we had fun watching it together!

We stuck around home this morning for the twins and Krystal to come down for their 9 month little photo shoot. They are growing SO much! It's hard to believe that they are nine months already, but then again, I say that about every child! They really are just little for a Moment! This afternoon, since the weather is so warm and sunny (it's 75 and clear today....absolutely gorgeous!) we are heading over to a different friend's house for a nice, long stroller walk with the kids. I'm in some desperate need of exercise and I'm really looking forward to some time outdoors! Yay for sunshine!

BTW, thanks Kristin and Taylor for your comments on my last post! :) Guess the rest of ya'll are either to shy to speak up or just not checking in like I had hoped. :(


Well, before I sign off for today, I thought I'd share a cute story with you....every night before dinner we usually pray. We all hold hands and say grace over our meal before we begin. Well....the last week or so, we've slacked off a bit :( but the other night, as we started to eat, Luke just sat there and looked at Ty and I. He sits in between us, with his highchair pulled up to the table, so he's at eye level with us as we eat. So here Ty and I are, digging into our meal like hungry animals, and Luke quietly looks at us and tells us "Pay?"
Puzzled, I looked at him for a moment...not sure what he was saying. "Pay? Pay, what,
honey?"
"Pay!" he insisted again, looking at ME like I was crazy.
"Pay? What's 'pay'?" I asked.
Looking a little annoyed, he thrusts a hand out to each of us and says firmly "Pay, Mommy.
Pay!"

PRAY! I finally got it! (duh!) Ahhh...to be humbled by such a little child! He melted my heart right there on the spot! What a blessing to have your child usher in prayer! We thanked God for that reminder that night and every one since!

Alrighty, that's it for me today! Happy Monday!

Bronchitis, Pneumonia AND and ear infection!

So you know how Luke's been sick with that mysterious fever that transformed into a cough and cold last week? Well, on Sunday, his little cough became pretty nasty and his poor little congestion was terrible, with yucky, really green boogies. On Monday, I almost called the doctor for a sick-child appointment, but decided against it when Luke seemed a little better mid-day and was still active and playful. But by Monday evening around dinner time, Luke had hardly eaten a bite of food ALL day, was reluctant to drink even his favorite juice and at dinner, started touching his right ear and telling us "owies". His lungs sounded horrible and gunky and by bath time, his fever had returned. :( My poor kiddo. I was pretty certain he had an ear infection. I gave him some Motrin and some decongestant for bedtime and he slept pretty well until about 12:30am when the Motrin had worn off. He awoke crying, thrashing around in his crib and when I came to him and asked if he wanted me to hold him, he climbed up into my arms so quickly, as if he was telling me "Take it away, Momma!" He cried a bit as we rocked there in the dark and he asked for more "med-cin" for his ear. Once the Motrin kicked in again, he slept through until morning, but he awoke again crabby, although not tugging at his ear anymore. I called for a same-day-sick-child visit and we were seen right before lunch. And thank goodness! Upon listening to his chest, the doctor said that he definitely has bronchitis and a slight pneumonia on the right side. She also said that his right ear looked "horrible"....retracted, inflamed and just "nasty". Poor child! The crazy thing is that you really wouldn't know it by lookin' at him! Yes, he was coughing, and snotty nosed, and yes, his cheeks were very pink with fever and from hacking. But he continued to be playful and active...he spent the morning playing with his toys and even running around my bedroom as I got ready. The only thing that he ever does to let on that he feels stinky is that he pretty much refuses to eat. Yesterday for breakfast he refused the bowl of oatmeal he had requested and ate maybe a half of a yogurt. For lunch, he only played with his chicken and applesauce, and then for snack ate maybe 2 tablespoons of peanut butter and 1 cracker. Same with dinner. :( BUT MAN! This kid is tough as nails! If you've ever had an ear infection, you know how incredibly painful they are, and I know that bronchitis and pneumonia make you feel terrible. My kiddo must just have an incredibly high pain tolerance!! He's one tough cookie! Here are a couple of pics from Monday and Tuesday, when he was at his worst! Looks like a sick kiddo, huh!

Playing in his firetruck:


Goofing off with Daddy(who's inside the truck) before bed...this was the night his ear started hurting! They were throwing toys (gently, of-course) in and out of the firetruck at each other:


And last....wearing Daddy's underwear around his head before our trip to the doctor (like the bed-head???):

Looks like a kid with brochitis, right?!


The doctor placed him on Zithromax (all cillin's are banned now since we had that fun allergic reaction last winter!Remember this?



And today, Luke is on the mend. When he woke up this morning and I asked him how his ear felt he said "bedder". Awww....so cute! The brightness in his eyes seems to be back and he just seems more himself. I'm so glad! We headed out this morning to pass the good news of my pregnancy on to my boss and coworkers and hung around the hospital a bit visiting. Then it was on to Target for diapers and some necessities and now we are home for the afternoon! It's gloomy and drizzly today, so it's a perfect afternoon for some lounging around! I think I'm finally going to be brave enough to bust out the finger paints Luke got for Christmas! I know he'll enjoy that! We tested out the Play-doh last week and it was a BIG hit! Maybe he can make an artistic creation for Daddy! We'll see! It's Ty's late night (he won't get home until 9 or 9:30!) so we have to keep ourselves busy this afternoon! The day DRAGS on if we don't!

Tomorrow is our three-time rescheduled play date with Luke's new friend Rachel and Friday is our first Parent-Child movement class at the Yucaipa community center, so we're looking forward to those! Gotta make sure we're all healthy! Not sure what to expect from the class, but it supposed to be kind-of focused on toddler tumbling, so that should be fun!

I'm off now to prepare for our finger-painting session! Until next time.....

Oh, that reminds me....just outta curiosity....how are ya'll liking the new blog? Are you checking in more often now that I'm posting more? Did you know that you can add comments or just say hello by hitting the "Comments" button at the bottom of the blog???? (hint...hint!) :) The only two people I KNOW are checking in fairly regularly are my mom and Kristin.....(thanks, guys!) Send me some 'lovin' via the comment page, would ya??? :)

A few extra minutes....

Luke's been nappin' for 1 hour and 50 minutes so far! Whoohooo! That may not seem like a big deal to you, but for me, it's close to miraculous! My kiddo, much like his mommy, has an keen internal clock that seems to strictly regulate his sleep cycles and wake times. It's kinda crazy. He almost never naps longer than precisely an hour and a half (usually to the minute!) and every single morning, I usually wake to hear him playing or pounding on his crib and as I look at the clock, it's 6:54! Strange, I know, but its true. At-least I can count on him to be consistent! But today, the story is a little different. He's sleeping longer, which leads me to believe he's not feeling his best. After our mysterious fever of two days last week, he developed a slight cough, which then became a nasty one, along with a goobery, runny nose. Did someone say it's cold season???? Have I ever told you how much I hate colds??? Luke is such a crank when he's got one. Everything makes him fuss or whine and it's just simply NO fun! Not to mention, we've already had to cancel or reschedule 2 play dates last week due to illness and I'm thinking I'm going to have to reschedule our rescheduled one for tomorrow AGAIN! Grrr! Sorry to rant...just a slight irritation of mine! But whatcha gonna do? Not much.

On to other things....

The long nap has had it's benefits though! I was able to nearly complete the first coat of paint in the downstairs bathroom in just under an hour flat! Pretty impressive, huh! ;P We painted to kitchen about 2 weeks ago and still had half a gallon of paint leftover, so we decided to use the same color in the guest bathroom. It actually looks pretty nice! I'm pleased with how it's turning out. I purchased some fabric on Thursday for the new shower curtain that will go in there too, so hopefully that room will be completed before the end of the week! Hooray! (Yes....I'm actually going to sew my own shower curtain....with the help of my mom, of-course. They don't make shower curtains that are long enough for what I want in there, so it had to be a do-it-yourself kind of thing!) Are you doubly-impressed now???!! Hehehe. :) I'll post a pic. when it's all done...just for fun!

Well....nap time has now lasted 2 hours and 4 minutes! I expect him anytime now, I'm I'm just going to sign off while I'm still ahead! As soon as Luke wakes, we'll be heading down to Ty's mom's house so that Ty can change the oil in my car and Luke, Tess and I will head to the nearby park for some playing. Hope you're enjoying your Sunday too!

TGIF!

It's Friday! Hooray! That means that we can look forward to some family time with Daddy! :) We love the weekends solely for that reason. Unfortunately though, I am scheduled to work tomorrow all day, so Luke will get some special one-on-one time with his Daddy. I think its good that they get that time. Its important to them both!

Speaking of Daddy, as we speak, Luke is standing on the chair looking out the window as Daddy takes the trash cans out for trash day. My little pajama-clad, bed-head boy is just so stinkin' cute standing there right now, silhouetted by the bright morning sun, and knocking on the window to capture Daddy's attention! Cute picture...too bad the camera isn't handy!

Anyways.....So what's on the agenda for today? Hmmm...let's see. We plan to just get ourselves ready this morning and head out around 10 to drop off the photos I took on Saturday to my 'client'. (Kinda funny to say it that way...she's really a friend of a friend, but technically she is my client now that I'm officially a little business. Silly.) After that, Luke and I will pick up some sandwiches from our favorite little deli and meet Auntie Krystal and the babies for an impromptu picnic in the park. It's been beautifully sunny and warm the last few days, so we thought we could ALL benefit from a little fresh air. Looking forward to seeing them AND enjoying one of my most favorite sandwiches! BLT! Mmmmm! Yes...I am most certainly pregnant! Absolutely EVERYTHING sparks my interest in food! No sickness for me! I'm still eating like a horse! But even that seems to have tapered off a bit in the last week or so. Things are starting to normalize in that department! I am nine weeks today. (9 1/2 if you're going by the computer, but the OB says nine, so I'm going with that one.) A random thought from yesterday...I was thinking how crazy it is that I am nine weeks along and that is just about how early Luke was. Nine weeks is a LONG time.....at-least these last nine have been. They've gone by slowly. I'm looking forward to time picking up the pace just a bit and anxious for this belly to pop out so I can enjoy it! I'm one of those who LOVES a pregnant belly! I can't wait to more obviously show!

Sorry...kinda got off track there! Let's see....oh yeah....after our picnic, we'll head home for a nap and wait for the the window covering guy to come for our design and estimate appointment at 3:30. We've been in this house exactly 1 month and 10 days and we STILL have not put permanent window coverings up! That's one thing that I need serious help with....window coverings are NOT my thing. So hopefully, this guy will have some good ideas for us.

Guess that's 'bout it for today! Time to grab some breakfast and 'shake a tower' (that's McLaughlin-ese for take a shower, by the way!). Hope ya'll enjoy your weekend!

Better, but still mysterious...

Luke is doing better today, but still is hanging onto this lingering fever. It's been running about 101 all day, but was finally down to 99.8 right before his bath tonight. Still no sign of illness, aside from a vary sporadic cough. He's got some kind of bug. But, the blessing of it all is that he's been acting pretty normal...still interested in playing and eating, so that's good. Since we kept ourselves pajama clad and at home all day yesterday, I needed a little fresh air today, so we decided to head out for Luke's MUCH NEEDED 3rd haircut and a little grocery shopping. I'm always surprised at his reaction to our hair lady. He goes immediately into her arms and up into that big chair for her, like he's known her for ages. He sat quietly watching her the entire time, and was as good as can be. He was excited 'bout the promised sucker after the cut, and again went right into Tracy's arms to go pick out his prize. He's only met her twice now, but apparently she's made an impression. :) So here is what my little Mullet Man looked like before the cut:


And here is my handsome devil afterwards:


He really did have a bit of a mullet thing going on. It was pretty bad! Anyway, the rest of our day was spent here at home, playing in the playroom
cleaning up, organizing and catching up on chores. :) Looking forward to another, hopefully not ill-struck day tomorrow!

Sick Boy...

My Lukie is sick today. :( Every night before I head to bed, I always pop into his room to tuck him under his covers and make sure all is well. Well...last night, I walked into his room and I saw that he had his Snuggie (his little blanket) up over his face. The second he heard a noise, he pulled the Snuggie off and was wide awake. His little face was tomato red and upon feeling his forehead, he was burning up! Sure enough....102.0! He WAS pretty cranky and irritable all day, especially during our errands where he threw a little fit at each place we stopped. He napped for a long time yesterday too....all signs he's fighting something. The question is WHAT? I unwrapped him from his covers and carried him downstairs last night for some Motrin and half of a pedialyte popsicle to help cool him. Then, it was back to bed. At 3am, when I woke up to check on him, he felt cool and normal to the touch, but when he woke up this morning, his temp. was back up to 102.7! He's still acting pretty normally...asking to read books right from the start this morning, and interested in watching his precious Elmo on Sesame Street. :) So, I'm a little baffled. No runny nose, no coughing, no tummy troubles. Just a fever. Weird. I expect that something else will surface later today. We'll see. We had plans to stop by the hospital and talk to my boss and then take Laura to lunch, but I'm thinking that will have to be rescheduled for tomorrow. Bummer. Hoping he's feeling better soon and that WE all don't catch whatever it is!

A Full Day Ahead....

It's still early....Luke is still in bed, although I hear him kicking around up there and playing quietly. Just thought I would pop online real quick and say hello. We have a busy day ahead, so I have to get moving this morning...just lots of errands to run...the bank, the lab for my bloodwork that I couldn't get completed on Friday (it was lunchtime by the time we left the OB's office and the lab was closed!), and then it's off to Costco and home for lunch and naptime. Sometimes its tough packing everything into just the few short hours before lunch, but I hate to have to make another trip out later. There still plenty to keep me busy here too!

Before I start in with my day, I just wanted to say THANK YOU to all of you who emailed well-wishes and congratulations! I was so much fun to hear your reactions! Thanks for filling my inbox with so much love and support!

The weekend was such a good one...filled mostly with hanging around home, working on projects. Friday was, of-course, my OB appointment. I was so anxious for it that I woke up when Ty's alarm went off at 4am and couldn't get myself back to sleep! I had been feeling pretty uneasy about this pregnancy all along and that OB appointment was, in my mind, going to be the key to letting my worries go or a nightmare! I had really convinced myself that something was terribly wrong. I guess in some ways, I was preparing myself for the absolute worst scenario and WHAT a relief it was that all was well (more on that later)! In my humble, little psychological opinion (yeah...like I know much about that! ha!) I think that since I had been so oblivious to any possibility that something could go wrong in my pregnancy with Luke (ignorance REALLY is bliss!) and then something DID, I swung the opposite direction the last few weeks with this pregnancy. I EXPECTED that something was wrong and needed confirmation that it wasn't. Weird, I know, but who understands the mind????

Anyway, back to the OB. We ended up arriving 'bout 15 minutes early for my appointment...just as the receptionist had asked me to do when I made the appointment. And being the good, chronically on-time person that I am, I did just that. Well, we should've come 15 min. LATE, because we waited nearly an hour to be seen! Grr! I hate lateness! Come to find out as I was speaking to the nurse as she was taking my BP(more on that too later) and info, according to them, I was scheduled with the nurse practitioner that day instead of Dr. Hage. Double grrrr! I had specifically rescheduled the appointment to be sure to see Dr. Hage. It all worked out though, and Debbie (the NP) did my exam and ultrasound and Dr. Hage popped in for several minutes to see how I was and answer my questions.

So the ultrasound and the BP....the ultrasound was short and sweet...no measurements were taken, but we got to see the little bambino wiggling 'round in there :) and his or her little heart fluttering away! I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED that moment! Confirmation that I really AM pregnant and there really IS a baby! :) Yay! As for my blood pressure (BP for all you non-medically minded souls out there) it was 110/72! Just for reference, when I became pregnant with Luke, my usual BP's were 110/60 or 98/58...LOW. But since all my pre-e issues, and after his birth, my BP has never been that low again. 110/72 is kinda normal for me now. Weird. And when the nurse took my pressure and I asked for her to tell me what it was (no....she didn't offer the information right off the bat) she said, "Oh, well I know blood pressure goes up in pregnancy, so that's probably why." Yeah...whatever silly lady...I'm only EIGHT weeks and you're talking to someone who had blood pressure problems in her last pregnancy...I probably know more about it all that YOU do! I was feeling a little testy. I didn't say anything to her, of-course. Ty agreed it was high for me but Dr. Hage still insisted that it was still a healthy normal. We'll just keep a good, close eye on it throughout, I guess.

So...how's that for rambling today?? Was I going to tell you about the rest of the weekend? Saturday, the boys helped me with my photo shoot in the morning and we (err..mostly Ty) worked in the garage in the afternoon, while Luke, Tess and I played in the grass and nearby. My parents brought Gourmet Pizza (mmmmmm!) over for dinner to get in a much needed Luke-fix. They miss that kid a lot more now that we lived with them! He IS pretty stinkin' cute, if I must say, so I totally understand their missing him! Hehehe :)

Sunday we slept in until 7:05 rather than our usual 6:50 (no sleeping in with a toddler in the house!) and pulled Luke into bed with us for a bit. He's usually too awake and playful to lay down for any length of time, but that day, Daddy offered to read "Goodnight Moon" and he happily obliged. So we snuggled up together and read. LOVE those moments. The rest of the day was spent installing a new ceiling fan in the family room while watching "flew-pa" (that's Luke-ese for football). Luke was more than happy to help daddy do his work. Here is a picture of him with all this tools out, ready to get to work!

We trekked down to Mamaw's house around 4 for the Colts game on Uncle Rod's big screen and then it was home for bath and bedtime as usual.

So that was our weekend! It always goes by too fast with Ty around! Now it's back to the weekly grid! I'm off to get my little man up outta bed! Adios!

Welcome to the blog!

Alas, the Luke-blog has transformed into the family blog. Yes...things are a-growing and a-changing 'round here! We are happy to officially announce that we are expecting our second child in August! And yes...for all of you who are wondering, we WILL be finding out the sex this time! But you'll have to wait until mid-April for that news. We ( err....I should say its more ME) are admittedly hoping for a girl this time, but I must say that even a TERM baby would be just fine with me. No preemies this time around, thank you!

So with all these changes, life has certainly been interesting for us! We are THRILLED beyond words to know that a new baby is on the way! When we first found out, Ty and I were both feeling a bit nervous and worried as we thought of what this time around might bring for us, but we are certain that God is watching over us and taking wonderful care of the situation. A dear friend reminded me recently that God is not a God of worry and fear...He is a God of love and provision. How true! I take those words to heart these days.

As for the medical side of this pregnancy, so many of you have asked about my risk of developing pre-eclampsia again and what my OB is doing to keep tabs on things. Well, for starters, several months ago I was tested for any underlying conditions that may predispose me to have a greater propensity for pre-e. There are several genetic disorders, namely clotting problems, that put women at a higher risk. However, I thankfully did not test positive for any of them! Yay! :) With no predisposing factors, it remains a guessing game as to how this pregnancy will turn out. The truth is, we just don't know. IF pre-e develops again, it will most likely develop EARLIER than it did with Luke (31 weeks) and IF it happens again, it will just depend on the severity as to how I will be managed. Some moms develop mild pre-e and can remain at home with regular monitoring by their OB's. Others can be managed in the hospital on bedrest and medications. And still others, like me the first time around, progress so rapidly and severely that the ONLY option is for delivery. So, the plan at this point is to just keep a very close eye on things and PRAY for a term pregnancy! In terms of prevention, there are several studies out that show some positive results (i.e. less occurrence of pre-e) with low-dose aspirin therapy and/or calcium supplementation. From the things I have read, there is more support for the aspirin therapy than the calcium, however, both can be taken with very minimal to no negative side effects, so my OB placed me on both since before we conceived, along with, of-course my regular pre-natal vitamins. Keeping our fingers crossed that it helps!

And then there is Luke. We talk about 'the baby in mommy's tummy' all the time and I've been showing him pictures of me pregnant with him, as well as those from when he was born, but I know that he still doesn't quite get it. When he see's pregnant women out and about, he always says "bee-bee", so he obviously gets that part of it, but since there is hardly a belly to speak of in our house, it hasn't all fit together. It will....in time. And speaking of belly.....there actually IS a bit of a belly to speak of....but I KNOW it's not baby yet, since the baby is only measuring in at 1/2 an inch right now! I seriously look like I'm already 4 months along though, and for my 8 weeks, that's pretty funny to us! Not sure if it's muscle-memory from before, the effects of the relaxing hormones that run rampant in pregnancy or just good 'ol bloating, but whatever it is, it's pretty obvious to me! I can still wear my regular clothes (thank goodness!) but I'm starting to feel a little self-conscious about my poochy. I'm looking forward to the obvious belly, instead of just looking pudgy! :)

As far as OUR plans for our family go, this will be our last baby, so I am relishing each and every moment of this pregnancy. I really do not take any part of it for granted now after Luke's birth, for I know that at any moment, things can change. We will count it our blessing if you would remember us and a healthy, TERM pregnancy in your prayers over the next several months. We were witness to the miracles that happened when you all prayed for Luke and we know that prayer really does work, so if you wouldn't mind, we covet your prayers!

So stay tuned to the blog....I will be attempting to update here much more often that I did Luke's old website, since now it is more of a family affair than just one focused on Luke. Our pictures can still be found over the the right, but I will be starting a new 2007 album soon. I'm off for now! Thanks for peeking in on us and sharing in our multiplying joy! :)