The "truth" about baby belly?

Hear, hear to the author of this article.

I happened upon it on msn.com and decided to click on it.

Loved it.
Sharing it.

Enjoy.

Turkey Day dance girl

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We had plenty of reason to be thankful this Thanksgiving

One of our Number 1 reasons: Keifer Lynn, our angel miracle girl.

So big at 19 months. This is the first time she allowed me to give her piggies and she actually KEPT them in! Keifer is a total daddy's girl -can you tell? She loves to kiss and hug everyone- and makes sure nobody is left out! Helping feed the puppies Playing "Night night" with daddy *shhhh* - then she'd break into "Are you Sleeping"
Great Auntie Wanda is so much fun! *while Uncle "Car" looks on *Carl**

Sassy needed a break from all the good timesMama & K passed out on the drive home (5+ hours with her in the backseat- Oye)

We truly have a lot to be thankful for this year- our family, our health, our friends, our dogs, and especially, the miracle of having Soup baby #2 inside me, growing each and every day! We spent 3 days up north at CJ's parents house, where we overindulged in food and shared many good times. Keifer was not lacking for attention, being the only child there, and she was sooooo good! She was her hambone self, and loved entertaining and sharing kisses and hugs with her family!
Hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving! We are blessed to know you are out there sharing our story and giving us the support and love we cherish! :)

"I helper"

This AM, before leaving to go to work and Elaine's, Keifer decided to feed the puppies their treats after going outside, as well as a few bites of their food.

She called upstairs to me:
"Mama!"
Me: "Yes, baby?"
Keifer: "I helper!" *beaming as she told me*.

How do you not wanna love that! Oye. My heart.

Happy 5 years, to my sweet CJ

Happy 5 Year Wedding Anniversary, to my sweet CJ! The best husband and daddy (to kids human and fur) of all! I love you so much! Thanks for putting up with me! *LOL*

A few pics of our wedding 5 years ago to the DAY (a MONDAY!) on Captiva Island, Florida! *sigh* What a beautiful day it was.

Here's the recap I put together a few years back. Click here to read and enjoy!

So are the days of Keifer's life

Our girl has been SO busy these days, playing with her toys, jumping around in her ball pool, rocking her baby dolls in her rocking chairs (singing "rock a bye baby" in her own way), and insisting on feeding the dogs their food, piece by piece, one by one. She goes around calling them at the top of her lungs, as if they aren't just right next to her: "Sa-her, Sa-her! Tweble, Tweble!". She gets very upset with daddy or mommy if we take the food bowls away and tell her the doggies want to eat their food on their own time.

She loves to play with her tent, and screams with joy when Daddy joins her in the tent. Of course, she is allowed to come and go in and out of the tent, but not daddy. He is supposed to sit there.

This AM, after dumping her food on the floor and having both parents strictly tell her "no", she said "sorry". Um, where did she get this? I know she has learned to say "sorry" after her biting episodes at Elaine's. WOW. Good memory. She also tells us "welcome" after we say "thank you" to her. Fun girl.

I also overheard her this AM in her crib, after not taking her AM nap. She was clearly singing 'Are you Sleeping", as well as the "ABC" song. I could her her singing the tunes of each song, and the "now I know my ABC's" part of the "ABC" song. It doesn't surprise me. She insists that we listen to Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away" every.damn.day. when we get into mommy's car. Sometimes mommy goes along with it, but sometimes mommy can't take any more "bop bop bop bop's". I think that's the reason K loves the song: the "bops". That's also how she tells me she wants to hear the song: "mommy, bop bop! Pease? Mommy, bop bop!" How do I say no to a girl who knows her musical tastes and says "please?".

Her latest hoarding adventures include her coloring. We've been working hard on not eating the crayons (although Treble has taken care of a few crayons for us lately). We've had a few step backs with the biting and eating of the crayon, but so far, she has loved it. We keep her "markers" (crayons, my dear) in a fruit jar with a lid, and she loves to dump them out, put them in, lather and repeat. I encourage her to "rub rub' the crayon across the paper, and she's getting the hang of it. She switches hands like nobodies business but that's OK. As long as she keeps the scribbles to the paper, it's all good. This latest adventure has kept our girl entertained for hours this past weekend. She also enjoys showing us the crayons, and in her own way, requesting the color names. She especially seems to enjoy the color "purple!" - as she sat and screamed the word last night for about 30 minutes straight.
Ahh, Keifer, we love you so much!

Coloring in her Elmo color book while mama cooks this AM

See? Red!
Putting the crayons back in her jar (and notice the puppy backback she INSISTED on wearing all night last night?)Hanging out in the window: all 3 "kids"

Getting ready to go shopping with mommy

Future model in the making: once again, she sat on the steps and said "cheese" - telling us to take her picture! *sigh*

Our big girl also insists on using the Nebulizer every night on her own: no help for this big 19 month old!

Keifer goes to a movie

Last Sunday, Papa & Nana brought all their grandchildren to see Madagascar 2. Keifer has never been to a movie, and really, the only thing she pays attention to on TV is her beloved Elmo, so we weren't sure how it would go. Well, our girl was a bit shell-shocked for the first 10 minutes or so, but after getting adjusted to sitting near her cousins Abby & Mason, and continually providing her with the popcorn bucket, she did pretty well for a 19 month old!

K lasted a whole 45 or so before she started wanting to walk around, up and down the steps, and then Nana took her to the lobby for about 10 minutes. Attempts to bring her back into the theater didn't go so well, so mommy packed her up, and Mason decided HE wanted to go home, as well. I don't really think Keifer watched the movie, per say, but it was an exciting new adventure for her. And because mommy is such a movie buff, it was an exhilarating day for me! :)

Not sure what to think in her seat (that didn't allow her to sit, for the flipping of the bottom kept her all twisted up, so she sat on mommy' s lap after this) I'm not sure why, but this picture continues to want to upload sideways for me, although it's not sideways in the file. Hmmm....anyways.....here's a closer shot of our girl with Abby beaming on the side

10 weeks and counting

Although the sickies have invaded my body, the pregnancy is still going and baby is still growing (thank God), as far as I know.

I know it's probably insane to even think I'm feeling anything, but maybe gas bubbles?, but I swear, sometimes I feel like I am feeling Soupbaby #2 flutter around, right under my pubic bone area. Hmmm. Maybe my body is more "in tune" this PG? I'd say it's just gas, but it makes me excited all the same.

This pregnancy is different than my pregnancy with Keifer in the fact that I'm not gaining the weight immediately like I did with her. And, I'm terribly (TERRIBLY! I REPEAT!) terribly constipated this time. Oye. It is awful. It is not fun. I was thankful I DID not have this with Keifer. Not so much this time.

The morning sickness is unfortunately the SAME as when I was growing Keifer inside me, but so far, nothing else has matched up to the first one (as in bloatedness and carpel tunnel). Let's cross our fingers, shall we?

Oh, and we haven't really talked to Keifer much about baby, because whenever we tell her mama is having a baby or ask her if she wants a baby, she says "no" very dramatically, so really, there is no use. *LOL*.

Babycenter.com tells us: Though he's barely the size of a kumquat — a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, your baby has now completed the most critical portion of his development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in his body rapidly grow and mature.He's swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including his kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy.If you could take a peek inside your womb, you'd spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin.

In other developments: Your baby's limbs can bend now. His hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over his heart, and his feet may be long enough to meet in front of his body. The outline of his spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from his spinal cord. Your baby's forehead temporarily bulges with his developing brain and sits very high on his head, which measures half the length of his body. From crown to rump, he's about 1 1/4 inches long. In the coming weeks, your baby will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches.

Seriously? Seriously. *sigh*

This month has got to end and it has got to end with some HEALTH in our house. I missed 3 days of work last week due to sickies, and 1/2 day due to my OB appointment (previously scheduled).

Two days ago (Wednesday), I started feeling VERY sick to my stomach at work, and although I had plans to go grocery shopping with Keifer after work, I nixed that idea and found I could barely drive home without dry heaving in the car. This wasn't baby sickness. This was stomach bug sickness. The same bug that Keifer had last week and her entire daycare + family members have experienced. Ugg. As soon as CJ came home to help with Keifer, I was able to "let go" and finally vomit for the rest of the night. Uggg. I felt like death.

So, I spent yesterday at home, alternating between chills and sweating, but thankfully, not vomiting any more. I am back at work today, but feel very lightheaded, weak, and "woozy" overall. Just counting the minutes until bedtime tonight (in fresh sheets, as I HATE going to bed when we've been sick).
We need a respite from the sickies!

Wordless Wednesday: Papa & Puppy Kisses

Christmas came early for Keifer

Christmas came a bit early this past weekend for Keifer. Papa Jim and Nana Marge splurged and got her the new Elmo Live doll. This Elmo is insane: he can sing, dance, tell jokes, cross his legs, and gets our girl smiling and dancing. When she first saw him at Target a few weeks back, I literally got tears in my eyes at her look of pure AWE (hormones, anyone?).
So thank you, Papa & Nana, for the gift that Keifer loves and loves each day. She hugs Elmo everytime she plays with it.

big hugs
Mama! It's ELMO!

Here's a video of Elmo and Keifer getting to know each other:



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Please pray for Emilie

Emilie just keeps getting dealt the cards that aren't fair in life.
Please go wish her well and pray for her and her family as they deal with the latest in her ordeal with cancer. Thank you.

9 weeks PG

Nine weeks PG. Nine weeks! Where did the time go? It seems as though when I was PG with Keifer, I counted the seconds of the day and imagined every little change that was occurring within her. Now, she keeps me too busy to stop to think about what exactly is going on with Soup baby #2. Sometimes I feel guilty, but then I realize I'm too busy to even feel guilt!

Babycenter.com tells me:

How your baby's growing:Your new resident is nearly an inch long — about the size of a grape — and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. She's starting to look more and more human. Her essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Other changes abound: Your baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form — as do her tiny teeth. The embryonic "tail" is completely gone. Your baby's organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. The external sex organs are there but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks. Her eyes are fully formed, but her eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. She has tiny earlobes, and her mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The placenta is developed enough now to take over most of the critical job of producing hormones. Now that your baby's basic physiology is in place, she's poised for rapid weight gain.

I had my first official OB appointment with my beloved Addie yesterday. She gave me not one, but two hugs within the long visit. She was thrilled for CJ and I. We went over all the specifics of the PG, and because they saw a blood clot in our last ultrasound, she wheeled in the portable ultrasound machine, and we got to see Soup baby #2, swimming around inside me. Addie had a hard time getting an accurate measure of the baby,which was a tich nerve wracking, but all looked OK. The blood clot is diminishing in size, thank goodness.

Addie also prescribed some Zofran for me, to help with the sick feeling that seems to be my forever friend. I just hate feeling sick. Tired: I can handle. Sick, not so much.

As for weight, I'd only gained one pound since my last scale check, which made me feel good, especially since my big plans to work out have fallen to the wayside the past few weeks. I'm hoping to get back in the saddle soon here.

As for my delivery plans, because Keifer was such an involved birth process that ended up in a C-section, we discussed my options. Most likely, at this point in time, I will elect for a repeat C-section, just because of my extreme fear of going through what I did with her (getting stuck after laboring all morning, throwing up every time I moved, the pain the pain oh yes, the pain). She thought that sounded reasonable, and said most of the time, C-sections can be scheduled a week prior to the due date, which would be perfect for me. I end my job (teaching) the end of the first week of June, and our soup baby would be arriving the second week. Let's hope and pray for a remaining healthy PG.

On to the pictures........ I took my first few early last PG, but here is a 10 week picture comparison

Me doing "the pose" with my belly (this time, it'll be pink PJ pants; with Keifer, it was my blue pants) Keifer sees mommy doing some funny things and wants to investigate, then sees mom has her belly button out! Keifer decides (on her own, mind you, we have a ham girl, you know) to show us HER belly, too
What a funny girl! Two bellies: one with a baby, one that resembles a Buddha
Mama loves her sweet girl SOOOOO much! *smooch*

Worst week ever?

Sunday: Keifer wakes up with her congestion: start neb treatments, etc. etc.

Monday: Mama stays home with her sick girl and takes her to the doctor. Get another prescription for Primacort, and start that on top of the Albuteral.
Come home after doctor to find Treble having a seizure. This is his second that we have witnessed. Mama is a mess with hormones and fears.

Monday night: Mama starts to get a fever and chills, aches, and pains. Hard to focus. Uh oh.

Tuesday: Mama stays home sick and sleeps ALL day long. Keifer goes to daycare and has a good day.

Wednesday: All are apparently healthy in the Soupy home. After work, Daddy takes Treble to the vet. He appears OK at his check up. Waiting for blood test results.

Thursday: Enter K's nursery and find her covered head to toe in vomit. Smelly vomit that has mommy dry heaving the minute she steps foot in the door. Daddy plunks K in the tub for mama to wash. It takes three hair washings to get completely clean. Daddy plunks the laundry in the washer and we Lysol the room. It stinks.
Mama is apparently staying home again. *sigh*.

Please send us healthy vibes. This has just been a really awful week.

Wordless Wednesday: Papa, Papa, Papa!

Silly Monkey girl

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Sickies - again *sigh*

Keifer woke up last night congested, coughing, and crying because she couldn't sleep. Oye. Here we go again. She has been feverish off and on, coughing, and her nose is a faucet. Looks like mommy is taking Monday as a sick day and her girl to the doctor. We have to get this under control. My poor girl :(
And it doesn't help that I am nothing but a slug bug lately- poor CJ has been a trooper. I'm either whining about being sick to my stomach (that hung over feeling all.the.time) or dying for a nap- which he has been kind enough to let me indulge in, even on "his" Football Sundays.
So, Doc for Keifer on Monday, and I'll have my first "regular" OB appointment with my Addie on Friday.

Say "cheese"

We took K last night to get her a passport- as we are traveling to Mexico over Christmas with my parents and brother. Keifer needed to get a passport, so we did the paperwork ahead of time, but she needed her picture taken. She posed for it, sitting on a wooden stool, like a little supermodel. She was adorable. She passed the time waiting for mommy and daddy by reading Motorcycle bookmarks and reading up on the state regulations for boating in the handout manual. LOL.

Then, we came home and shared chicken and potatoes among the three of us- I swear, sometimes she'll eat better for us if she isn't IN her highchair - if she's up walking about and coming up to us for bites, she's a little piggie. The minute she knows we have food and are eating, there she is, like glue to our legs, "more, pease?".

After dinner, CJ and I quickly power cleaned the house, as Nana and Papa are coming down. Keifer assisted mommy with her dusting again, and following daddy around when he was vacuuming. I told CJ that we should get her a real life child sized vacuum so she can REALLY get into the helping mode!

LOVE LOVE LOVE this book

Last week, the Elementary school I work in had their book fair. I picked up this book for both my classes and Keifer, and am in love.

It's The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett, and once again, she has amazed me. Her illustrations are always over the top with beauty and detail, and the story itself is a timeless classic retold in an Alaskan theme. This is the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, but it's about Aloo-ki visiting the bears home while they are off on a walk, letting their soup cool. Aloo-ki goes through the bears' things, and just like Goldilocks, leaves her experiences out for the bears to find upon their return home. It is a wonderful book to add to your collection! And, I especially like the fact that it teaches children about some of the Alaskan cultures (ie diversity!), which is important for me when teaching Keifer about life.

Dismissed! Ultrasound #2 update:

Whew. Yesterday afternoon, I had my "final' ultrasound with our clinic. All is looking well for Soupbaby #2 - the measurements are all within a day of it's conception (yea!), and we could clearly see the flickering heartbeat inside it's little chest. It is a miracle. The measurement of the heartbeat rate came in around 180 or so, which is perfect for the little bugger right now. It will calm down some in a few weeks, but right now, it's right on target.
When the ultrasound wand first started looking around, we could immediately see the sac and the baby inside, but we also saw ANOTHER sac right next to the baby's. Um, what was that? Upon further investigation, the doctor declared it to be a blood clot, and not an empty sac that might've been another baby. It's amazing how they can even figure these things out. Anyhow, she pointed out the area that was blood, and said it shouldn't be an issue to have. That might explain the reason I've been spotting for a few weeks, though, which is a relief (in a way).
So all is well, my due date is still estimated to be around June 18, 2009, and I have been OKed to leave to my regular OB. I have my first appointment already set up for next Friday, the 14th, and we'll see from there what my OB wants me to do about the progesterone and estrogen supplements. Usually, my clinic wants me to be on them until around 11 or 12 weeks, but depending on the levels, it might be OK to go off them sooner. We'll see next week.

And in other PG news, although I had commented I wasn't gaining weight yet, and feeling not that hungry, well, that has changed. Suddenly, I have this immense hunger deep in my stomach ALL the time, and eating or not eating isn't helping the morning sickness, either. In the last week, I've noticed my "spare tire" roll of fat has returned and that suddenly, my bum isn't as small as it was a few weeks ago. Dammit, here comes the PG fat. LOL. I'm happy for it, but why does it go to the bum and legs first? I would've been at the gym more often this week, but sleep overruled exercise. I've been ready to pass out upon return home after work, and last night, was in bed by 7:30 sleeping (out cold!) until the AM alarm rings.

Yes, We Can

I am just an emotional mess lately - I was on pins and needles all day yesterday, especially up until the moment CJ and I took Keifer to our voting precinct. We voted in an extremely speedy amount of time, and from then on, I was waiting with baited breath to see the results. I will tell you, I was in tears whenever I talked about the election with anyone all day: in tears because just 40 years ago, black people weren't even allowed to share the same equal rights as white people, and today, we now have a black President. Even writing this makes me tear up. I get goosebumps whenever I see clips of Obama's acceptance speech.
This is truly a momentous day and makes me feel such hope and excitement about the status of our future, especially for the children of our future. I'm thrilled that Keifer and Soup baby #2 are able to live in a society that for once, isn't about color or race. *crying again*. We are officially in the history books, ladies and gentlemen.

And if you haven't seen this wonderful video, please go and watch this for 4 minutes!

Poo Poo Party and other weekend tales

Sunday AM: Keifer looks at mama, (daddy is out of town) , and grabs her bum.
"Poop, poop", she says.
"You have to poop? Should we go up in the potty chair?" I ask.
She immediately runs to the stairs and climbs up them to her potty chair in the bathroom. She's been sitting on this thing for weeks, usually fully clothed,but she is obsessed with Mama and Daddy going potty.
She strips down (well, I strip her down) out of her PJ's, and she sits on the toilet for about 5-10 minutes. Suddenly, her little face screws up in concentration and voila: we have poo in the potty chair. Hurray!! She was so proud!!!! Of course, mama wanted to throw up from the smell and our girl's pride didn't want her to STOP sitting on the chair. We had a battle for her to get off the chair, and mama finally won. Whew. Hurray for a poo in the potty.
Of course, she later woke up from a nap with a full load in her drawers, but she is getting it!

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Saturday night, I gave Keifer a bath and she has lately started scratching at her bum; we think the warm water might make her itch (dry skin). As I was getting her dressed for the night, she looked at me, and scratched her bum, telling me "bum itch, bum itch". Yes, sweet girl, your bum must ITCH. Amazing.

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Sunday was beautiful here in MN. It was close to 70 degrees, clear blue sky, and just perfect outside. Since daddy was gone, I decided I'd brave the terrible tantrum possibility and take our girl to the zoo. It was a beautiful afternoon.
I had to use the potty, and as I sat there, tinkling, telling Keifer "tinkle, tinkle" she started singing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star". LOL. Yes, tinkle = twinkle to her. It's better than her saying "toot, toot" every time mommy sits down to potty. She has learned what "toots" are, and associates "toots" with potty now.

We looked at fish, sharks and dolphins, but K preferred the sharks over all the fish in the inside exhibit. "Where Shark go?" she'd ask me, every time the shark swam out of view. "Here he comes," I'd tell her and sure enough, there he would be. She loved it.

She also loved watching the monkeys play. I told her one monkey was drinking water,so the rest of the time we watched the dozen or so monkeys, she kept saying "monkey water, monkey water".

After the monkeys, as we sat in the bathroom while I tinkled and was washing up, Keifer kept asking "where monkey go?". I told her the monkeys were outside and we'd see them later. "Why?", she asked. "WHY? WHY?". Wow. My girl is asking me WHY already? Crazy. I tried to explain we had other animals to see,but was in bewilderment that she even asked WHY?

Outside, she wanted "down" of her stroller, so I hooked up her puppy backpack and off she went. I had some amused grins and looks, and a couple comments about how cute it was to have our girl on a leash. One man made a comment to me, but I wasn't sure if he was serious or mocking me. Oh well. Anyhoo,our girl did great on the leash, and then we stopped for about 30 minutes to play on the playground. Such joy on her face, such pride when she was able to slide on her own, free of mommy's help.

Then, it was time to stop the playground fun and re-hook up to her backpack. "Puppy OFF, puppy OFF" , she screamed, and threw herself down on the sidewalk, screaming and flailing and putting her face on the pavement. More amused looks and grins of "been there, done that", from people.

Fine. Puppy off, you go in stroller, because an 18 month old on the loose just isn't productive when trying to leave the zoo. Oh no. Not happy. Slides OUT of the stroller onto the pavement, screaming. Mommy had to finally carry the child out of the zoo, huffing and puffing, but at least I had a "helper" pushing the stroller from my arms. Oh, the joy, especially when mommy is huffing and puffing trying to keep her lunch in her stomach, too. Hee hee.

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I have noticed that Keifer not only associates Mommy with Daddy and Papa with Nana,but she also now needs to know where everything has gone. "Where ___ go?" is a common question we here on a daily basis. We may see an airplane in the sky, and suddenly, all I'll here is "Where airplane go?". I have to explain then, that ______ is bye bye. That seems to placate her. She is putting things together - that things go bye bye, and that people belong together. I love to see and learn about how her little mind is working. It is a cool, cool thing to watch grow.

Belated Happy Halloween Pictures!

Here's the Itsy Bitsy Spider, Mama! Right HERE, on my shirt!

BOO!
Pre-Halloween Party at Elaine's house

Chilling like the cool girl she is

With her beloved Magna Doodle and Sass doing what she does best: giving kisses while Tboy watches on

We probably sound like Scrooges, but we kept our lights off and didn't give out Halloween candy this year. I know, I know. Meanies. But, Keifer's bedtime is around 7Pm and we start getting her ready about 6:30. Every time the doorbell rings, the dogs go BERSERK, so we decided the household of chaos just was too much for this year. Plus, I'm a mean mama, but I don't want her to eat all the candy, so we'll save the trick or treat fun until next year! :)