Oh Christmas Tree!!!

We decided to set up the tree tonight (Austin declared he is too cool for this)!  Just one of those things I like to get out of the way before the girls' birthday party!  Plus, the longer it can be up, the more we can enjoy it!  I am sure I mentioned in an earlier post about getting this tree from Menards.  As you know, last year our tree fell over three times so it was definitely time to get a new one!  I love it!  It really energized me to get it up too!  Bring on the Holidays!!

Keziah is FOUR YEARS OLD!!!

Keziah is already four!  I can't believe how fast time goes by!  Look at how beautiful she is.  The top one was pictures I took 2 days before her birthday.  She got her hair cut and styled so I just had to take pictures!  The next group is of her on her birthday!  That morning we woke up and she got to open one gift-a dress up magnetic doll set.  She got to eat a special egg/toast breakfast, and later in the morning Grandma Uglum came and painted her nails a glittery silver and even used a nail dryer.  She felt pretty special to get her nails done!!  For lunch we went to McDonald's (her choice of course) and ate and played.  That night Grandma and Grandpa Uglum came over for some homemade pizzas (per Kezzie's request), sugar cookies, and of course a couple more presents!  Some clothes from g-ma and pa and her owl towel for her new owl bathroom!  She wore it everywhere the whole night!  She had a great birthday but I think she will be even more excited when she has more family and friends for her big birthday party!

Keziah has such a sweet personality but is really very sneaky in a lot of ways.  She is persuasive and kniving too!  I often have to remind her that Jesus doesn't like it when we lie!  She is such a love bug and still likes to cuddle me.  I hope that never ends!  She thrives on one on one attention and usually will request to read a book or do a craft during our alone time.  She loves her daddy a lot but I would say she still prefers her mom!  Keziah recently counted past 100 (with a little prompting on the next tens digit after 39-40, 50, 60, etc).  She knows how to spell her name and Adah's name and thinks she is spelling a lot of other things too.  Everything usually starts with a 'T' and ends in a 'Y'.  I just pretend like I don't know how to spell everything she knows how to spell and ask her what she is spelling.  I do correct her sometimes too so she can learn how things are really spelled.  She really has no interest in learning how to write things but does point out letters she has written while she is drawing.  She still has a very loud voice and has started talking a lot about cheer leading someday!  I guess she would be perfect for it!  She even spent some of her early birthday money on a megaphone and pom poms!!  I was never a cheerleader but we have had fun coming up with some fake cheers for the Chickasaws and Hawks!  She's really good at saying, "Go Red!"

Here is a picture of me at 4 years old...resemblance?  I don't think she looks like me too much, but I do see this look on her face sometimes!

Happy Birthday to my 'baby' girl!!!

UPDATE:  Keziah had her four year old well child visit today (12/8/11).  She weighed in at 36.7 lbs. and 41.5" tall.   She didn't have to have any shots today...whew!!!

34 weeks Pregnant!

Getting closer by the day!  I am so excited to meet our little one!  The girls are going to be so much fun to have around her.  I just love watching them with their dolls!  Even Kezzie has started to treat Adah like a little baby again...I think she is getting herself all practiced up!!  I had my doctor apt. today and everything is still going fine with the baby.  I have a lot of complaints as my body is getting weaker and the muscles are spreading out though.  I have been taking extra strength tylenol every night to help me sleep but some nights that isn't cutting it anymore.  I really don't have many complaints for during the day so I am thankful for that!  The baby's heart beat was running about the same as usual.  My uterus was measuring right on at 34 weeks so that is good.  And I am happy to say that I have only gained a couple pounds this last two weeks!  Yay for that!!  I see the doctor in another two weeks and then we start going every week.  Only two weeks (Dec. 7) until we see our specialist again!  I am so very excited!

Weekend to Remember!

God's timing is perfect!!  We have had tickets to go to the Weekend to Remember Marriage Conference for two years now and finally got to go this year.  I was devastated when I was desperate for a break, about to give birth to Adah, and Brian started having some pretty severe stomach issues.  We had to cancel our plans to go.  But God knew what was best and because I was still nursing Adah the next year, we opted out then too.  This was the year!  We could only transfer our tickets for up to two years so we knew we either had to go or give our tickets away!  This was the first time we had left our kids overnight and knowing now what we know (our kids can, in fact, survive without us!) we will definitely be doing this again!  We had such a great time together.  Not only was it nice to have two nights without any responsibility for kids, but we also got to hear some really wonderful speakers.  It was even just fun riding in the car with my husband to get there and actually being able to talk without the sound of a DVD playing or the fighting in the backseat!  Saturday we had date night and got to go out to eat and to a movie.  We even did a little shopping before all that!  It was such a wonderful time.  We learned a lot about oneness and that God is our top priority but that next in line is our spouse (even before our kids which is a tough one sometimes).  We got to write love letters to each other too and at the end of the conference on Sunday they had us recite our vows to each other (everyone at the same time in the meeting, so we weren't on the spot or anything!).  I HIGHLY recommend that everyone go to this at least once.  I can guarantee you won't go just once though.  We plan to go every 2 years at least!  God has blessed me with my perfect mate and I am soooo thankful for that!

It was kind of funny...when we got there the lady at the front desk told us she got us a king size bed but that it was in a presidential suite meaning it had a huge table in it!  Every time we opened the door to our room there was a huge room with a giant table and TV and then we had to go to the next room to get to our very large bed in our very tiny room.  It served its purpose but it was just funny!  The table came in handy too because Saturday morning we ordered room service for breakfast and it was nice to have a table to sit at!!

Very pregnant but still smiling!! 

Moments in time...

This morning I want to remember a couple things...Kezzie and Austin woke up with excitement to find there was snow on the ground.  Kezzie was pounding the bathroom door to get daddy's attention so she could tell  him about it.  Austin was at first frustrated to see that every school around here had a two hour delay except his.  Come to find out his did too but it just wasn't being posted online or on tv (we got a text on our phone instead).  So once he realized he had an extra two hours to kill he quickly fed himself and Kezzie (he was motivated) some cereal and they were headed outside.  I was left to eat breakfast with my little Adah and I began to reflect on how blessed I was to have time with Adah (even though she was protesting the fact that she didn't get to go out!) and on how fast time has gone by for the other two.  I found myself really enjoying the time alone with Adah, and realizing how quickly Kezzie and Austin have grown and become buddies.  What an exciting day to wake up to a ground full of wet snow (perfect for snow balls) and then to have the two of them go out and play together and to get to enjoy breakfast with only my youngest before the baby comes...I feel so blessed.  God has blessed me so much!  So, even though it's only 33 degrees outside, I am definitely thankful for this day!
A funny story...
I took Austin to school this morning since it was so slushy and wet out and I didn't want him walking in his shoes.  I had to run to the post office so I decided to do that at the same time.  I didn't bother dressing the girls since they didn't need to get out of the car.  I dropped Austin off and headed to the post office.  I was running in really quick and the girls are in full view the whole time so they just stayed in the car.  As I paid to have my package sent off I noticed Kezzie get out of her car seat.  No big deal, she does this and it's usually to help Adah get a book or something.  BUT, when I got back out to the car and came around the corner, I got quite the sight!  Kezzie was standing with her jammie pants pulled down, she was butt naked with the side door wide open declaring she had to pee (we travel with a little potty in our car so apparently she was going to pee in it but I have no idea why the door had to be open to do it).  Adah was looking at a book, so I was right about that part, but I was completely shocked to see Kezzie just standing there naked with the door open.  I quickly closed the door and told her never to open it when I am not there and explained to her how dangerous this was (I guess I know now that the doors open from the inside if the car is off, even when all the doors are locked) and then we also had to have a talk about how much older she is getting and how she needs to have a little modesty when we are out in public.  I really wonder how many people got to see that!

32 Weeks Pregnant!

We are getting closer!  I feel like I am physically ready already but I know the baby isn't so I am glad there is still time for her.  I had my check up today and her heart rate was where it usually is: between 150 and 160.  She was kicking every time the doctor would move the wand!  Kezzie really wanted to hear the heart beat for longer so while the doctor measured my belly, Kezzie got to hold the heart beat machine all by herself!  She thought that was pretty cool!  Everything looks great.  My uterus is measuring at 33 weeks but that's still normal.  I was shocked when the doctor asked me if I wanted to see the baby on ultrasound.  I said yes of course and she took us into a different room.  I finally got to see a profile view of the baby (they haven't ever been able to get one before).  She is so cute.  She has distinct cheek-bones like Kezzie and sweet little ears.  She looked scrunched in there too as her knees were right up there by her chin!  We didn't get any printouts because she couldn't get it to hold a still image.  I was just glad to see her again.  I did ask the doctor jokingly if she knew anything about ventricles.  She said she didn't confidently know anything and scrolled over the top of the head.  I, of course, had no idea how to tell if the ventricles looked bigger or not, but I was certainly curious.  I guess we will just have to wait another month to find out!  God is in control, right?  I continue to go every two weeks and since my women doctor started back to work yesterday, I get to see her for the rest of my regular appointments!  Yipee!  Here are some pictures for now...

Happy Halloween!!!

Today was Halloween!!!  HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!
The kids and Brian and I had a really good time going out trick-or-treating.  We met up with some friends to walk around and that always makes it more fun.  It was chilly outside but very tolerable.  We went door to door for about an hour and then headed over to the church's trunk or treat.  After that we walked across the street to the nursing home where Brian's grandpa Troyna lives.  He had just gotten back from a hip repair at the hospital so we didn't get to see him.  We got home in time for the girls to have a piece of candy and then go to bed.  Austin came home from school with a couple friends and I made a couple pizzas for us all.  The boys all dug in our costume box and found some masks then went out to get some candy!  It was a great night but I don't know if Adah would agree!  She was not a fan of anything that had a mask on.  It didn't matter if it was a nice mask or not.  She was shaking and just plain terrified.  We had a stroller and she wanted in it all the time.  It made her feel secure.  Daddy started carrying her and that made her even more happy!  Kezzie is already asking me if tomorrow is Halloween again!!

Adah is 23 MONTHS!!

Look at that sweet smile!  The pictures of her in the red are when I took Keziah's month pictures (four days ago).  Adah just can't resist having her picture taken when big sis is and I can't resist using them in her month pictures!  Kezzie snuck her way into some of Adah's pictures also!  They are just so cute together!

Adah has had some problems with sleep this month.  Something in her room has scared her or so it seems.  She will lay in her bed and cry and cry until one of us comforts her.  She is definitely scared.  For four nights in a row we (mostly Brian) would go up to her room and rock her or stand holding her for a little while until she calmed down.  She would usually do fine after that and go to sleep.  But the fifth night I think both Brian and I had decided that it couldn't continue and we needed to do something about it. Aside from rocking her I tried several different things over the course of that five days...I spent time in her room with her with the door closed, looking around and talking about the different shadows, etc. I talked to her about leaving the door open and she didn't want to. I talked to her about no night light so there weren't any shadows and she didn't like that and lastly, we moved her night light to a different outlet that created less shadows.  We were spending a good half hour calming her down.  So I decided to try something that I remember worked on Keziah (you will think I am harsh) when she went through this.  I just put her to bed as lovingly as usual, when she started crying I didn't wait more then a couple minutes and then I went in there and told her in a stern voice there was nothing to cry about and that she needed to go to sleep.  She said, 'okayy' in a whiny voice, but when I closed the door again she was quiet.  It worked.  I was worried it wouldn't because Adah's personality is a lot more sensitive then Kezzie's and I didn't want to make things worse, but she was a big girl about it.  For a couple nights she still whimpered after the initial closing of her door, but I would just peek my head in and remind her that she was alright and didn't have any reason to cry.  She would sweetly respond by saying, 'okayyy'.  It was around that same time that I discovered her two bottom 2 yr. molars coming in (October 7).  I felt bad because I am sure that was part of what was going on with her when she was having trouble sleeping.  I put orajel on for a couple nights but for the most part she was done having her crying spells so I just didn't worry about it.  She is so tough!

Adah really loves her daddy!  She loves to lay in our bed with us/him and cuddle.  She will rub his head, give him kisses and scoot as close to him as she can.  She will also continually say, 'Hi dad'.  It's the sweetest thing ever and I am so glad that they share those moments!

Adah also loves to color, count as best as she can saying, 'two, two. Two, two, twee'.  She loves playing independently too.  We will often find her off somewhere with a toy, sitting on the floor with her legs out-stretched, just playing contently.  It is fun to watch her enjoy being by herself sometimes! 

Adah and Austin also have a bond.  He loves to make her laugh and teach her things.  She loves to cuddle him and watch him do things that she can learn!

Adah does seem to have sensitive skin like Keziah.  Her skin around her mouth gets very irritated and red sometimes and although she is potty trained, she still wears a diaper at nap and bed which causes some redness on her bottom too.

My baby girl isn't such a baby anymore.  She talks so well and I can easily have a conversation with her.  I am amazed at how fast time has gone this year...she will be two next month!!!

Pumkin Carving Time!!!

Tonight we carved pumpkins.  Grandma Uglum got us a couple pumpkins from her sister so we didn't have to purchase any this year!  Keziah told me exactly what she wanted it to look like, Adah colored on the other side and Austin got to have a huge one to himself.  The girls had so much fun digging into all the gooey stuff and picking out the pumpkin seeds for baking.  Our pumpkin was green and very hard to carve, almost like a gourd but it still turned out nice.  Austin picked a ghost with some bats flying overhead.  I thought he did an awesome job.  I cut the top off but otherwise he got to do everything else!  I just love this time of year!

Happy 2nd Birthday Henry!

Mat and Steph's (Brian's sister) youngest, Henry turned two today!  They were in town for the weekend so we got to celebrate with them all weekend.  It was beautiful weather while they were here so we spent some time outside too.  The pictures are pretty self explanatory...the dog is Brian's parents' golden doodle.  There are a couple of all the kids hanging out together doing different things.  The one of Brady and Adah is Adah watching over Brady's shoulder while he plays a game.  I caught her rubbing his back a few times!  I love the golf cart picture with Mat.  They did a lot of golf rides over the course of the weekend.  It was actually better they were all crammed on there because it kept them all in place and from falling out.  He took them out on the course and rode around too.  Henry really likes cookies so we had a giant cookie to share and Steph made some caramel brownies too!  Grandma Uglum bought enough balloons so that we could take a couple home but right before we were going to leave, they got loose and floated to the ceiling of their really high living room ceiling.  Bummer.  We did manage to reach one of them which will bring great entertainment in this house for at least a week!  It's hard to believe it has been two years since Henry was born!  Happy Happy Birthday Henry!  We love  you to pieces! 

Keziah is 47 MONTHS!!

My sweet Keziah!!!  What else could you expect but a lot of silly faces?!  She is a character!  She will often make Adah laugh at the dinner table with all her silliness!
Keziah has become increasingly interested in letters.  She tries to put letters together and then ask me what it spells.  After supper Austin will sometimes ask if he can have a t-r-e-a-t.  She knows what he is asking so she tries to do the same.  She has caught on to the first three letters but everything after that doesn't make sense.  I love that she is trying though.  She is so smart!  We have a workbook that we do when I think about it and she loves to identify words that start with different letters but hates to try to write her letters.  I have successfully gotten her to write A!  That is seriously as far as we've gotten. A lot of times though she will be coloring/drawing and she will bring me her paper with excitement of a letter she has written.  She's funny!
We got her a new hat and belts this month.  She is pretty happy about both!  She wears her hat everywhere but the convenience of not wearing a belt (and letting her pants fall) takes priority over the style of it.  She wore one that coordinated with every outfit for about 2 weeks and then decided it wasn't worth it!  I agreed since she is so good about taking herself potty and a belt requires help!  Keziah has gotten really good about putting her hair behind her ears by herself.  This might seem silly to take note of, but as a girl who refuses to most of the time let me put anything in her hair to keep it out of her face, this is a big deal!
At night Keziah continues to suck her paci (oh the shame) and still needs a pull up.  She will wake dry some mornings but we wouldn't want to chance going without it.  We used to wake her at night and take her potty and she would have more dry pull-ups that way but it just wasn't worth waking her and it didn't seem like it was really training her to do it herself.  She will get there on her own someday!  She also requires quite the array of animals/blankies in her bed.  She has a row of small stuffed animals that sleep head to toe in a row down the side of her bed (opposite of the wall) and then they get covered up by a blanket so they don't fall out...then she has two little square taggie blankets.  One goes under her head (it is pink/green) and the other she rubs (red/blue).  She also has a chick and a horse (both small stuffed animals) that she holds onto while she sleeps.  She has the whole corner of her bed that is against the wall covered in other animals.  I have to clean it out every so often because she sneaks other ones in there.  When we go stay other places like in a hotel or at my parents or friends, she doesn't require all of that though (thank goodness).  She is happy to have the basics: her red blankie, pink blankie, horse and chick!  Another thing Keziah requires at night is pants.  She has several nightgowns that she loves but she refuses to wear them without pants.
I love my big girl so much and can't wait to see what this next month and year are going to bring for her.  Soon she will be a big FOUR years old!!!

Fall is Here!!

October 6, 2011  A great opportunity to get some fun fall shots.  The weather was beautiful so it was a nice day to spend outside.  Who can resist these sweeties?!  Can you find them in all those leaves?

October 16, 2011  Another great day!  It was a bit more chilly but we had to get outside while we can because it's going to get a lot colder then this!  The girls were thrilled to have their big brother outside with them!  He always comes up with fun ideas!  Like this first picture...he built a nest for them all to sit in like little birds!  He also put a huge pile at the end of our slide, which the girls thought was really fun!  Austin went and got his sled out too and used it to scoop up leaves and throw them into the air.  It looked pretty cool when they were coming down around us!  What great pictures of three of my favorite people!  We are incredibly blessed!!

And fall isn't complete without a very delicious squash pie!

Amniocentisis Results!

All good news!!  The tests were all normal.  It's nothing viral and nothing genetic.  God is so good!  The lady who called did want me to be aware that there is still such a wide spectrum of things that can be wrong because of this fluid in the brain.  She wanted me to rejoice, but also wanted me to be cautious.  I am thankful for that call today.  It came almost a week early!  Praise God for that in itself!  Keep praying, please!

28 Weeks Prego!

I had my 28 week check up today.  It's pretty uneventful when you compare it to the visits I have had lately!  Doc measured my uterus and it was measuring just a little over 28 weeks.  So that means my uterus slowed down a bit as I had grown a lot the last time I was in to see the doctor.  Here is the post about that if you missed it.  I didn't gain any weight either.  The baby's heart rate was where it usually is around 150/160.  I talked to the doctor about my hands being swollen in the morning when I get up.  She said that was from my wrists being bent all night.  It's really been a problem for me in the mornings!  I wake up and my hands feel like they are going to explode!  I guess I will try to keep my wrists straight more!  I also talked to her about the symptoms of RLS (restless leg syndrome).  I guess this is pretty common in pregnancy.  It sounds like I may be dealing with this some.  I always feel like there is something crawling on my legs!  I feel like I am constantly swiping at them to get something off.  Doc said it will go away after pregnancy!  Phew! 
My two women doctors that I see, one is on maternity leave and the other is about to go on maternity leave.  I start to see the doctor every two weeks now so time should really start flying!!  However, because of this I had to schedule my next apt. with a male doctor whom I have never met. I should only have to see him once and then the one women doctor who is on maternity leave will be back!  I definitely prefer a women!!  I'm sure if I have to deliver somewhere other than here with my regular doctors, I am going to have to get over this!  We will see! 
I never do a full body shot or ones from the front so I thought I would try to get that this month too.  Keziah did a really good job taking that middle picture of me.  Although it is at an angle, I kind of like it like that!!

It's been a week now since my Mason City apt., but I just want to make note of what it was like the days following my amnio.  I just never would have imagined such after effects.  They told me to take it easy for 24 hours after I had that done, but it was more like 48 hours before I even began to feel like doing anything.  All I can figure out is that the whole time I was laying on the table for both my ultrasounds (one with the tech and one with the doc.) and then again for the amnio, I must have been incredibly tense the whole time.  I tried to conciously relax my body but the way I felt over the next 48 hours was terrible.  I was incredibly crampy and my lower abdomin muscles were super weak all the way around to my lower back.  My legs were even sore.  And my neck was sore from being turned to see the monitor.  I get that my lower abs would be a little sore from the amnio, but I never imagined it would be that bad.  I couldn't do anything.  I felt like I had a horrible flu.  I especially felt like I couldn't do anything with my lower ab muscles.  I felt like I had a c-section...OK enough complaining...did I mention how thankful I was to have my husband by my side?!!  I love that man!  God blessed me when he gave me him!

Football Season!!

Now that Austin is in 7th grade, the football season doesn't last quite as long.  He only had 5 weeks of games!  He played every Tuesday for five weeks and his team would play one of two games on that day.  I didn't even realize it until it was all over and Brian explained to me that the 7th grade is split into two teams.  Austin's team always played the second game.  They only won 2 this year, but had a really good time.  We had a rough start to the season with  Austin's Osgood/Schlatter's Disease acting up, but after a couple weeks (during practice time, before games started) rest he didn't have anymore trouble.  We actually had an apt. set for him to start physical therapy and then he was feeling much better so we canceled it!  Praise the Lord!  I was really worried he was going to have to quit.  He even said several times that he wasn't sure he was going to be able to finish out the season!  It was so much fun watching him play.  He is getting better and better.  The girls enjoy watching him too.  I just tell Kezzie what number he is and she looks for him.  She gets excited when she finds it and tries to yell for him!  The girls have caught on from the crowd to yell, 'Go Red' so they yell that quite often!  They also spend a lot of time running the stands and bugging other spectators and playing with their kids!  The weather was absolutely awesome too!  Today was his last game :(  We will miss it but look forward to basketball in the winter months!

Sweet Baby Reid!

Here she is the day after delivering...he doesn't look very happy!  I think it's time for some milk!

A friend of mine (my OB doctor whom I have talked about before) just had her baby Sept. 21st!  They named him Reid Matthew.  He was a whopping 8 lbs. 14 oz.!  Big brother Beau and big sister Gracie are very proud of him and call him 'peanut'.  He is such a sweet addition to their clan!
Here he is about 3 weeks old:

Reid came down with pneumonia and had to be taken to Mason City to stay in the ICU for five days.  He is doing great now but they still need to try to keep him contained from people as much as possible.  He is such a sweetie!  I can't wait to meet our little bundle!

Keziah's drawings!

I was slightly impressed with this first photo.  Keziah brought it to me and declared that she had drawn a sea horse.  I haven't seen her draw much more than a circle child so this was pretty good!  Then she said, 'on the other side, I drew a pizza!'  I didn't get a picture of it, but she also recently drew a picture of a shark on her doodle pad.  It looked a lot like a shark!  I think she might be entering the artistic phase of her childhood!!  I love it!

 

A Before and After!

Earlier this week I went to Menards (a dangerous place to go by myself) to get some padding to put around our fireplace.  This has been something that has been on my mind since Keziah went face first into the stone.  It's been really hard for me to relax in our living room which is our main play area.  I am thankful to say that I was able to get some pipe insulation for really cheap and in the color black.  I had previously been looking at some actual fireplace padding on Amazon and it only came in white and cost much more.  It looks really nice.  That wasn't my only purchase that day though.  We have been in much need for some new lighting fixtures so I thought I would 'just look'.  I found the most perfect chandelier and it was on clearance!  It fits nicely in our house and matches our ceiling fans that hang in our living room which is right next to our dining area.  I was feeling much better this afternoon after my apt. wed. and I couldn't wait to get it up.  It took me about 2-3 hours to do by myself.  I could do it again in much less time but because this was my first time hanging something like this it took me a while.  Plus, by the time I got it up I realized I wanted it shorter so I had to take some links out of the chain and then that required me to rewire in the ceiling too!  The results were totally worth it!  I love it and almost every time we sit down for a meal, Keziah tells me how much she loves it too!  We have a dimmer on that light switch which makes it look even prettier!  I love that it is so much brighter than our other one.  And that it isn't brass and that it actually has light covers!
I don't have any pictures for the outdoor lights but I did end up buying 5 new outdoor lights too.  They look amazing as well!  One of them is a motion light for above our garage doors.  The others are porch lights.  The old ones were brass too (the previous owners really liked their brass!)  Oh, and I can't forget to mention my most exciting purchase of that day...a NEW CHRISTMAS TREE!!!  Let's not forget that my tree fell over 3 times last year because it is REALLY old!  I could totally justify this purchase, but just to be sure I got Brian's approval!  He fought me on a new tree all last year, even when they were on clearance!  I am sooooo excited to set it up...right after halloween passes!!  Just kidding!

Mason City Apt.

Well we were called last Friday with our apt. date of Oct. 5th at noon.  That was the next time Dr. Hwang was going to be in Mason City.  I am so thankful we only had a week to wait.  What a LONG ride there...I don't know if Brian and I said a word the whole way there.  We were very scared at what the apt. would hold and tell.  We got called back almost right away when we got there.  We had to go back downstairs into an overflow ultrasound room because they had basically just fit us in.  I was worried this could take a while but I didn't care...I just wanted answers.  The ultrasound tech got right to it.  She did everything the lady in New Hampton did but she just focused more on some of the areas of concern.  She really looked the brain over, of course and the heart, kidneys, backbone and bridge of nose.  She didn't say much the whole time to reassure us.  She at one point finally said all those things looked very good except the brain.  I was happy to hear she could see the whole spine this time.  The brain appeared to be of the same size as the week before.  I was sad to hear it hadn't completely resolved itself!!  Wishful thinking, I know!  We were told to wait there and she would get the doctor.  We knew he was going to come in and do his own evaluating also.  She spent probably an hour and he spent probably another half hour looking at the baby and talking to us.  He kept asking me if I have had some kind of infection. No-I have not.  He also asked about our family history.  I mentioned my sister that has her two youngest kids with dwarfism.  He didn't think there was a connection there.  He felt that an amniocentesis would better help him rule some things out.  I was really hesitant and asked if it would really make a difference anyway.  I told myself I wasn't going to do this if they wanted even before getting to the apt.  I had resolved myself for knowing it wasn't going to change the diagnosis whether we knew it or not but Dr Hwang really insisted and talked to us about how helpful it would be for him now for the rest of the pregnancy and any doctors that would be there delivering  her (YES, THEY CONFIRMED 100% SURE IT'S A GIRL).  I was super scared.  I am so thankful for Brian.  He held my hand through the whole thing and stroked my hair.  I bawled.  It was really uncomfortable but mostly I was just worried about the baby and if I took a wrong breath or if I made her move too fast.  The whole time they are doing it they have the ultrasound machine on and are watching her, but it didn't make me feel any better.  It was just too much to be honest.  I was incredibly tense for the few minutes it took.  When the needle was out they watched on ultrasound to see if it would seal up again.  It had a few bubbles and then it was fine.  She watched the baby for a bit and said she looked good too.  I was instructed to take it easy for a couple days and that was it.  We had the whole ride home to sit in silence.  I was very crampy and weak.  Brian held my hand the whole way home and at some point we just cried together.  It was really comforting to have him.  I am so thankful for him!  He even stayed with me that afternoon instead of going back to work.  The girls were sleeping when we got home (thank-you grandma Kathy for watching the girls) so I laid down too.  Dr. Hwang sent it out for a few tests.  He said he was testing for a couple different viruses.  He said if the baby has some kind of viral infection then it would be really really bad.  That she would have severe brain damage.  This is why he was checking and double checking if I have had any kind of infection.  He said as an adult we can fight off viruses really easily, but as a fetus it is very deadly because their bodies aren't capable of that yet.  He also sent out the fluid for a genetic test, to test for things like down syndrome, etc.  If there were 23 chromosomes from each of us (Brian and I) then it wouldn't be anything genetic.  The tests are supposed to come back in 10-14 days.  I don't know how we will get through it!!  God is good... and for now, I am resting in that!  Dr. Hwang did say that if these tests come back normal then he thinks it is Agenesis of Corpus Callosum (part of the brain is missing).  It just means that the fluid could be shifting the brain around so it develops in the wrong way, or that part of the brain isn't developing.  He said even if these tests come back normal there is still a wide range of things that could come of it.  From the least being not even being able to notice there was ever a problem with her brain, all the way to severe developmental delay,etc.  He also gave us some hope in saying that there have been autopsies done on people who died later in life and found their brains to be enlarged like this and you would have never known it about that person.  He said this isn't likely and actually even told Brian that 'this will not resolve itself.  It can get worse, but it won't get better this late in pregnancy.'  But I know that with God, all things are possible and I am going to pray for the best!!  We go back to see Dr. Hwang on Dec. 7th at 10:30.  Until then I just keep seeing my doctor here in New Hampton for all my regular visits.

Bad News...

My doctor called me this morning with some news about our ultrasound.  I was so engrossed in getting the ultrasound so that the baby could have that full evaluation, that I never thought or worried about anything actually being wrong.  It turns out that the baby has some extra fluid in the ventricles of the brain.  She called it Intercranial Ventriclomagley.  She told me not to worry and that she thought maybe the ultrasound tech was just distracted or mismeasured the fluid.  We all know from my post about our ultrasound that she was definitely distracted so I dismissed her call and tried not to worry.  After talking to Brian about it and not getting enough information for his liking, I called her back.  I had a lot more questions after Brian and I read up on some stuff online.  I asked her what the size of the fluid was and she told me 16mm.  I actually wrote down the name of it too since I didn't in our previous conversation,  along with the specialist she wanted me to see and what kind of specialist he was.  His name is Dr. Hwang and he comes from Des Moines twice a month to Mason City to see patients.  He is a Perinatologist.  According to everything I have read online there really isn't any way the tech 'mismeasured'.  16 mm is A LOT more then the normal range of 2-5mm.  There aren't enough distractions in the world to measure that much off if you ask me!  The doctor also mentioned to me that the didn't like that they couldn't see the lower lumbar spine (as I mentioned in my post about our ultrasound).  She threw the words spina bifida out there but quickly took it back as she said there are MANY possibilities that can come from this.  For now we wait to hear back about an apt. with the specialist.  They will call and tell us when to be in Mason City.  I am scared, but I know God has a plan.  We are going to love this little baby no matter what, I just worry about how she is feeling and what her life will be like.  God knows though and already has her life planned out, we just have to trust.  He loves her way more than I could ever understand.  A friend of mine sent me this verse that she just happened to read in her devotions this morning:  When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. . . This I know, that God is for me" (Psalm 56:3-4, 9b).  We have such a tremendous amount of support from our family and friends that I can't imagine we aren't going to be able to get through whatever God has planned for us!  Please pray for us as we start this unknown journey.

Adah is 22 Months!!

I have a quirky almost 2 year old.  It's hard to believe!  She has such a secretive funny personality.  I will often catch her making funny faces by herself.  And her expressions are almost always to make someone laugh!  She likes to look at you out of the corner of her eyes to see if you are paying attention!  She continues to copy EVERYTHING everyone else does and it is teaching her so much.  She is literally a sponge!  She is catching onto the idea of an alphabet and will recite many letters in various orders, she will do the same with counting.  She hasn't really ever gotten three numbers in a row but she will sometimes tell you what's coming next if you are the one counting.  If she is counting something in a book or something in front of her she will sometimes even repeat the same number over and over as if she is counting.  Adah is also learning her colors also.  She has been getting most of them right but gets in a habit of calling everything green.  I know she knows them better than that so I'm not sure why she does that.  It might be her secretive goofiness coming out because sometimes she smirks about it!

I thought maybe Adah was going to escape the whole rash problem we went through with Keziah on her face, but she didn't.  It just came a little later!  It turns out Adah has just as sensitive of skin as Keziah.  In fact, I think it is probably even more so because Adah actually itches hers where as Kez was never bothered by it.  I do have to put Elidel around Adah's mouth every few days.  Some days it is much worse then others.  She will itch it and say it hurts too.  I feel bad for her.  The elidel really seems to help though so that is a good thing.  And I know there will be an end to it if she is like Kezzie because Kezzie doesn't have too many problems with her skin anymore.

Life is so good!  Adah is such a great sleeper.  She takes a 2-3 hour nap every day and still sleeps close to 12 hours at night.  She isn't the greatest eater but that makes it easy to tell when she is growing because she will eat a ton more when she is having a growth spurt.  And this month Adah actually placed the boppy pillow on my lap upstairs in her room while I was sitting waiting to read her a book.  She climbed up on my lap and laid down on it and asked for some milk.  It was just weird.  We had a little talk about how there isn't any milk in there anymore and that when there is, it will be for the baby in mommy's belly!  She still insisted but I just got a book and put the boppy away.  She was fine with that!  I am so blessed every day by this girl.  She makes me feel loved with her hugs and kisses and I wuv yous!  She is precious and amazing.  I thank God for her every day!!

Almost 26 Weeks Prego!

And I finally got an ultrasound!!!  Here's how it happened with probably too much information...just ignore this post if you want to be spared the details!I called the doctor last week sometime thinking I might be leaking amniotic fluid.  It turned out they were going to squeeze me in that day and just have me come do a quick test to see if I was.  I got a call about 15 minutes before I was supposed to be there and they said my doctor was about to deliver somebody in labor (who happened to be my other women doctor) so I was going to need to come in the next day.  They said they had an actual appointment available at 8:45 that next morning so I took it.  I told her I felt better about having an appointment rather then taking up time they didn't have anyway so I was happy about that.  So, the next morning I got there and they said they decided to just go ahead and do a regular OB visit.  I did the urine test, weight and then came the fun part, she tested me to see if I was leaking and she also tested me for a yeast infection just to rule that out in the process (which required a full exam).  It turns out I was NOT leaking fluid but she thought I had enough symptoms to go ahead and treat me for a yeast infection even though it wasn't really positive (not a strong positive).  She also listened to the heart beat and measured my uterus...and that's what did it.  Last week, when I was 24 weeks pregnant, I mentioned I was measuring at 23 weeks.  This week my uterus measured at 27.5 weeks.  I grew 4.5 weeks worth in one week!  She said she didn't even have to check with the insurance company, she knew that would be approved!  So here it is!  We went this morning for our ultrasound (26 weeks tomorrow)! 

And that is a story in itself...we decided to take the girls so they could see the baby too!  Brian was in charge of keeping them occupied since I was laying on the table occupied and I remember looking over at him and I could tell he was pretty frustrated with them (they were far from on their best behavior) and a little bit later I looked over again and he was white as a ghost.  He got up and walked out, moments after that Kezzie said she needed to pee so the ultrasound tech had to take her!  At the same time she was trying to make sure Brian wasn't going to pass out in the hall!  I was just laying there on the table with gel all over my belly and trying to keep Adah contained while the door was wide open!  After the appointment Brian said he couldn't remember much from the whole hour we were there.  He never came down with the flu so I don't know what the deal was.  He doesn't get weirded out easily by stuff like that either.  It was just strange!  But we got through it and I have some cute pictures to prove it!!  I feel so good knowing everything has been measured and looked at.  She couldn't tell us if anything looked odd, but at least I know the baby has been evaluated and the doctor will look at the pictures soon.  She will be calling if anything looks concerning to her.  The tech still didn't want to tell us that we were having a girl for sure because the cord was between the legs and they were crossed, but she thought she was right in saying it was a girl!  There were a couple things she couldn't get a good angle on (the lower spine and bridge of nose) and that was frustrating but she thought she got enough!  With Brian not doing so hot, I was ready to call it good!  Here is our sweet baby 'girl' (I don't know if I will believe that until I see her!).

River Take 4!!

Well this was last and final call for the river...we have officially pulled our camper home for the winter :(  It doesn't seem possible that we have only gotten to the river four times, but it has been so much fun while it lasted!  This weekend we actually even got to spend it with Ethan and Bennett.  Mom decided that before the summer was over she wanted to get the two of them up to the river to do some fishing.  She didn't know how it would go with them since they aren't away from home very often so she only committed to one night.  I wanted to be in church tomorrow so we decided to do the same.  I felt really bad that Austin wasn't here with us on our last weekend but he might get to come up again with my mom and dad.  I guess the ride here wasn't too great with the two boys.  Ethan gets really car sick so he kept saying how he was never going fishing again.  Bennett kept asking to go home.  My mom wasn't sure if they were going to be ok but when it was time to go home today they were really ready to stay longer! 

Here is some explanation of the pictures:
Adah is the first one; then Bennett, Kez and Adah sitting on my parents' step; Bennett taking a walk; Kezzie, Ethan and Bennett burning sticks by the fire (we had a fire going pretty much the whole time we were there because it was pretty chilly); Leora, Ethan and Kezzie playing in Perry's boat; below that one is my Grandma Smith fishing with three of her great-grand kids (Ethan, Bennett and Kez); next row is Adah hanging with my uncle Perry; Kezzie on her bike (I brought enough bikes so all the kids could have one to ride if we went on a walk); Bennett in Perry's boat; Arianna sitting snug in a little lawn chair; Bennett, Kezzie and Ethan 'playing' with the fire and having so much fun; my little fishing girl Kez; next row is my Aunt Cindy and Uncle Perry kayaking with their new kayaks; my Grandma Smith fishing with Ethan off the dock; Rylan hanging out on his bike; Ethan with all of the fish he caught when Uncle Gary took him out in the boat fishing (his smallest was just a couple inches but he had some pretty big keepers too); Adah hanging out on her bike; and the last one is Gary and Ethan going out fishing in the boat!

I mentioned going on a walk with bikes.  When we got there yesterday it was pretty cold and we were already looking for something to do with all the kids.  I got out all our bikes and we decided to go on a short walk/ride.  We didn't get very far and Ethan got stuck on the bike he was riding so he got frustrated and abandoned the bike, Bennett decided he didn't want to ride since Ethan wasn't so my mom was trying to push/carry two bikes!  We weren't sure we were every doing that again!  We did end up trying it again today and they did great (aside from Keziah's chain coming off her bike).  We took a much longer walk and Ethan decided from the start that he was just going to walk.  Today the weather was much more manageable.  But both yesterday and today we had a fire going pretty much all the time.  It was super relaxing and the kids enjoyed gathering sticks to help keep it going.  Last night Ethan and Bennett and Keziah all snuggled in the living room of mom and dad's camper and watched The Bee Movie.  I tried to get a picture but my camera was completely dead.  Ethan was on the couch and Bennett and Kez were all snuggled in blankets on a cot on the floor.  It was so sweet!  After we got the three of them to bed we sat by the fire some more.  I am going to miss the river this year!  It was just too short!  I guess I will be more than ready when next year comes!!

There is a funny story to go with these pictures before I go...this isn't the first time Adah has done this so I had to share!  The picture to the right is a toy my mom got at a garage sale in a baggie with a bunch of other little toys.  Adah plays with it like it's a toy but has twice now all of the sudden set it on the floor, opened it up and started pulling her pants down as if she is actually going to use it as a potty.  This picture to the left is her urgently needing to pee and thinking she is going to go in this toy!  Silly silly girl!  I guess camping with porter-potties has made her think anything with a lid can hold pee!

Keziah is 46 months!!

Here is my Kezzie...so sweet and silly!
Keziah's current favorite color is back to blue and her favorite tv show is Wild Kratts.  Kezzie loves making silly faces (can you tell?)!  She loves to make her sister laugh.  She has a teaching personality so anytime she can tell Adah is learning something from her, it makes her do it more (sometimes good, sometimes not-so-good!).  I am sure I have said this before but Keziah really likes to organize/categorize things.  Recently we bought some beads that you can snap together to make jewelry.  There are several of each type of bead.  The container holds 500 beads and she sorted them all out by color and shape, etc.  We also recently got out a memory game we have.  She has had fun categorizing the different pictures into animals, food, etc.  She does this with her kitchen food also!  She puts them into fruits and veggies and sweets (she's not always right with this!).
Keziah is still doing a great job with her chores.  I have seen some great improvement with remembering to do them herself without being asked.  One of the chores she has trouble remembering is to make her bed.  It's hard when she is sleepy when she wakes up and is focused on coming downstairs to find me.  She gets two chances a day though since she still takes naps.  If she doesn't get it done in the morning then she can still do it after her nap is over.  I don't know if this is a good, bad or doesn't really matter idea!  It's working for now and I think that little bit of leniency is helping her work into that responsibility!  She gets it done on most days!  And those are the days she gets stickers!
As for the calendar I told you to hold me to...I haven't gotten that done.  I guess she heard me talking about it because she doesn't do it as bad anymore.  Either that or I am getting better at giving her a heads up of what is coming.  I think it helps that we are in a pretty good routine now with Austin in school too.
One personality problem we are having with Keziah is she secretly thinks she is the boss (pretty typical, I'm sure). Although if you ask her she will correctly respond saying, "mommy and daddy are the bosses", she thinks she can tell us 'no' when she doesn't want to do something we tell her to do. This gets her in so much trouble lately.  Usually she gets sent to time out to which she typically responds yelling 'NO' and then she has to go directly to her room.  I don't know how to better handle a child who is flat out choosing to disrespect/disobey by saying no.  Any pointers would be strongly considered!!
I went through a bunch of clothes, that used to be Austin's, for my nephew and found a few that were too small for him but actually would fit Keziah.  I didn't think she would care too much for all the boy clothes I found but when I showed them to her, she was ecstatic.  They are all pretty boyish.  Mostly just jammies.  But she loves them all.  She of course had to try everything on!  There is one pair in particular that has a bunch of different sports balls all over it.  She came running to me saying, 'look mom, this one has a pocket even.'  She was so excited.  When she got over to me she had her hand in the little boy hole in the FRONT of the pants!  Pretty funny stuff!!  I didn't know what else to tell her except the truth!

Well, not much else to write. It won't be too long and I will be planning a duel birthday party! My girls are getting so big!

'Painting' and playing!

The girls have a really good time doing this! I am not a huge fan of actual paint but these paint cups are also really good for water! Adah will pretty much do anything Keziah does so Kezzie is the brains behind this idea! They will often make it their goal to get the whole aquadoodle board wet before it starts to dry!  If they work as a team they are usually successful!

The girls love it when I clean my sheets...I don't know what it is about this white mattress cover but it must scream 'come play on me and roll around!'  They love it!  They like to sit on the foot board with the blankets draped over it and then push off for a nice somersault!  So sweet!

A day at Cattle Congress

It was a good day to not sit around the house and be bored so we decided to head to Waterloo and go to Cattle Congress!  We even had the pleasure of having Austin's company!  I always love it when we can do things like this as a family!  It was a little chilly but the sun was shinning!  We walked through the different barns that hold award winning cows, horses and pigs.  There were calves and foals and a batch of baby chicks that just hatched the day before.  Kezzie enjoyed letting one of the calves suck on her finger.  And she thought the baby chicks were adorable but they wouldn't let her hold one since they were so brand new!  We also checked out the petting zoo that is there all summer and is free.  The girls LOVED this since they were able to get up and close with the animals.  There were bunnies, guinea pigs, kittens, ducks, donkeys, a cow and a few others!  We got to feed the goats and that was interesting!  They pretty much attacked us trying to get the food.  They were pretty funny!  We took the kids back to mom and dad's house for lunch and a nap and then headed back to Cattle Congress for some more fun!  We made it in time for The Great Bear Show.  It was a long wait for it to get started but it was pretty neat!   I just felt bad for the bears but I guess they are rescued bears!  The guy had them doing different tricks like balancing on a board, a ball and moving around on a scooter.  He had three that did the different tricks and while the other two were waiting for their turn he had them sit in their chair.  There's a picture of two of the bears sitting and one of them has his tongue sticking way out.  The bear guy said he does that when there are smells in the air like all the food cooking around the cattle grounds.  I thought that was really funny!  That last picture is of a guy that was walking around in a tree costume.  He was up on stilts so he was super tall and walked really funny!  We ended the day with some Sub Sandwiches and then went home for bed.  It was a great day spent as a family!

Austin's Plants!

We got this awesome Carnivorous Planetarium for Austin for Christmas this last year and we have enjoyed watching everything grow.  We waited until spring to get them started just so they would have more sunlight and warmer temps.  Some of them we were able to plant right away, but there were several that we had to put in a baggie with some water and refrigerate for 6 weeks before planting.  They are all there now and doing really well.  They grow SUPER slow!  I have no idea what we will do with them when they are big enough to actually eat insects, etc. but for now we are just enjoying watching them grow and form into plants that we can recognize (ie: the Venus Fly Trap)!

24 weeks prego!

And still no ultrasound :(

I'm feeling kind of frustrated because we haven't been approved by the insurance to have another ultrasound.  I called and the nurse called and they said there has to be a medical reason for it.  At my apt. today there weren't any reasons.  In fact, everything was pretty perfect.  I measured at 23 weeks (just a week behind) and the heart rate was perfect.  I guess I will just have to suck it up and accept the fact that we won't have another ultrasound!  I wouldn't want there to be a medical reason anyway!  I feel worried that the baby won't have the proper measurements done on the heart and limbs and brain, but my doctor said that she would take a look and do the best she could if we couldn't 'make up' a reason to pass through the insurance!  She said she is capable of doing it but that she would be more comfortable having somebody else looking at the ventricles of the brain, etc. because she isn't confident in those areas.  It's frustrating that it wouldn't be normal to have that mid-pregnancy full ultrasound deal.  I have only had one ultrasound at 12 weeks.  It's just weird to me!

I am feeling really good.  Not having too many problems with my back but periodically it acts up.  I have noticed that sitting on hard surfaces makes it especially bad (ie: sitting on the floor to do laundry or read books with the girls, etc.).  I am very thank-ful for the health of myself and the health of the baby.  I can't wait until next month to do it all over again!

Visiting old and good friends!

Yesterday we left around 4 and headed to Cedar Rapids to visit some much missed friends!  I don't have any pictures...I don't know what happened that I didn't once get out my camera, but I don't want to forget that I got to visit them!  I got to Kristin's house just in time for pigs in a blanket.  My other friend (Jami and her daughter whom I hadn't even gotten to meet yet) that I used to work with was there too.  It was so great to see them both!  The last time I saw either of them was when Jami was very pregnant at her baby shower in February!  And Kristin was just a few weeks pregnant!  Now Kristin has a brand new sweet baby named Cohen.  It was such a blessing to meet this little guy!  Keziah had a lot of fun playing with Cohen's older brother Hunter and Adah just had fun playing!  We stayed overnight and left earlier today after nap time!  On our way home I couldn't resist stopping to see another old friend I used to work with when we lived in Marion.  Her name is Angie and she has three kids that I miss so much!  She fed my kids leftovers (so I wouldn't have to stop anywhere) and we headed for home.  We walked in the door in time for a few minutes of play and then bed.  It was such a great time and I look forward to the next time I get to see them all!!

A"maze"d by Grace Corn Maze!

We had a really good time today with some great friends.  I recently heard about a corn maze in Charles City that is in the shape of Noah's Ark.  Click here for their website if you are interested.  They had a petting zoo too!  It was pretty pricey for our family to get it ($8 each for Austin, Brian and myself) but would have been more worth that money if we had more time to stay.  There were three different mazes you could choose from and they gave you a map to help you find your way.  One maze took 1/2 hour, another 1.5 hours, and the other took 2 hours.  One of the longer ones actually had a 'farm scene investigation' that looked really cool.  We only did the half hour one since we had other plans later that evening.  The petting zoo wasn't to die for, but the girls liked it well enough!  There were a couple llamas, a horse, a mean turkey, a couple bunnies, and some mature baby chicks-none of which you could really even pet.  On our maze we let the kids lead mostly!  We were there with our friends the Epperlys and McQuillens.  Kezzie has friends from both families so she was in heaven!  Along the path of the maze the three kids (Beau, Abby and Kez) pretended they were on a lion hunt searching for a lion.  They actually thought they were going to find a lion because the maze we were in was in the shape of a lion!  They kept stopping along the path and pointing out lion prints.  It was really sweet!  Abby carried around a map as if she knew where to go!  The kids all had a blast with the exception of Austin as his allergies were going very crazy.  I think we spent the time we wanted to there and headed home after a long 2 hours!!! It was a good thing we were in the company of friends or else I think we all would have been miserable!