1st of a Million Smiles

I love gas bubbles! They give you a glimpse of what their cute little smiles are going to look like.

Gratefulness

I am so grateful for everyone that has helped us out the last two weeks. Our family that watched Abby, drove long distances to visit us, and friends that brought us amazing dinners and gifts for the baby. Everything has been wonderful! I thought I would share a pic of a really cool gift we got from the people I work with on our HOA board. It's from a company called Edible Arrangements and mmm! was it good! Fruit and chocolate covered bananas! Isn't that cool?

I am especially grateful to Brian for being such an awesome husband and father. He took off three weeks to be at home with me to help me recover and take care of the kids and I cannot express how wonderful it is to have his help. He's so cute with Carter! I can tell they are going to be great buddies. I love Brian and our little family and am so grateful for the wonderful life we have together.

Carter's Dimple

Carter has the cutest little dimple on his left cheek. It's hard to capture cause he doesn't smile yet, but it is SO cute! Although it's blurry, I did get one picture of the elusive dimple. I'm sure there will be many more to come. :)


Watch out, Mario Lopez!

And Then There Were Four...

Friday morning I was getting ready to take Abby to get her fitted for ear plugs. I picked her up and woosh... my water broke. So there I was standing there holding Abby.... and well, I'll spare you the details. (My water broke before labor with Abby too, so when it happened I was a little shocked.) So I put Abby down, fed her a bottle, and called Brian at work and said, 'You'll never guess what happened..." So he headed for the hospital and I dropped Abby off at Carrie's house and she took me to the hospital. I was having SOME contractions but they weren't intense, and when the doctor checked me I was only dialated to a 1. I was planning on having a c-section, but when my water broke I thought just maybe I could try a VBAC. But since I was only dialated to a 1 and I really didn't want to labor for 12 hours and nothing happen like last time, we decided to stick to the original plan. So around 1pm they took me in to surgery and at 1:39 Carter was born. He was a strappin' 8 lbs 1 oz, 20 in. long, and sweet as can be.

Today is our first full day home from the hospital, which is going really well, but last night was expectedly long. He woke up every two hours to eat but I was okay with that cause he needs to get some meat on his bones. He refused to eat hardly at all the first 24 hours so he lost like 8% of his body weight. Abby seems to have taken to him really well. She doesn't seem too jealous yet, just very curious. She signs baby all the time and points to him and we also gave Carter his own sign (a "C" to the heart with the right hand) and she signs that all the time too. So cute!

He looks like Abby sometimes, and other times he looks like a little old man. He's really good at furrowing his eyebrows and when he opens his eyes he gives this really quizzical, bewildered look which reveals a large set of wrinkles on his forehead. He's going to be a fun baby, just for his facial expressions alone!

Proud Daddy!

His first car ride!

Momma and her babies. Mmmmm! Yummy!
It's never too early to start tummy time!
He looks pretty long here, huh?
I think babies are so cute when they cry!

Woah!

My water just broke, so I'm on my way to the hospital. Yay! We'll keep you posted!

Under Construction

Our blog will be under construction for a while so don't be suprised if it's different every time you go to it. Also, we will be changing the name of our blog including the URL after the baby is born so we'll let you know before it happens.

Six days and counting....

Well, the big day is next Monday and I am SO ready to have this baby. The miracle of pregnancy is amazing, but honestly, I don't like it much. Sure, it has it's moments of wonderfulness, and I get a sweet little baby out of it, but I'm not the kinda girl that loves being pregnant. I'm all about the destination, not the journey. So in honor of the upcoming day, I'm going to list all of the things that I will NOT miss when all is said and done. Feel free to add yours.

* Puffy feet and hands
* Constant need to pee
* Not being able to bend over
* Not being able to breathe
* Headaches
* Braxton Hicks
* The baby sitting on the bladdar (not to mention the occasional jab with his foot)
* Nausea
* Not being able to jog
* Food aversions
* Forgetting I have this huge lump in front of me and running into things
* Utter exhaustion
* Maternity clothes
* Not being able to find a comfortable sleeping position
* Restless Leg Syndrome
* Not being able to care for Abby the way I want to
* Not being able to paint my toe nails
* My super-clumsiness

By the way, I'm sorry I haven't posted a picture of my belly. The camera is still in the shop. :(

"He maketh the deaf to hear"

Abby's surgery went very well this morning. The doctor said the fluid in her ears was the consistency of airplane glue (?!?!?) and so he said she should be able to immediately hear better now that it's all cleared out. The fact that is was so thick is wonderful news. It means that most of her hearing loss was due to that blockage. So we met her in the recovery room and although she was still pretty loopy from the anesthesia, she looked my direction when I called her name, which she hasn't done in a while. It's amazing how the simplest of things can bring tears to your eyes.

There's still a chance that she could have some additional hearing loss, but she won't be tested for that for a few more weeks. Until then, we will celebrate her hearing and thank the Lord for helping her to hear better.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. Although it was a very simple procedure, the outcome really meant a lot to us. We are so grateful to have the support of friends and family during times like this.

Abby's Ears

About 2 months ago Brian expressed concern that Abby didn't respond to him when he called her and he wondered if she was hearing well. I didn't think much of it because she seemed to respond to me. Besides, she had passed her birth hearing test and she is very verbal and social and I know for a fact that she has heard us clearly in the past. But at her 15 month appointment last month, the doctor started asking about her speech and we discovered that she was behind her peers. BUT he never mentioned that hearing might be an issue. I talked to my sister Ginny, who is a speech pathologist, about Abby's speech delays and she asked if we had her hearing checked recently. We hadn't, but it got me thinking, and for the next week or two I started noticing that she didn't respond when I called to her, and that maybe she wasn't hearing as well as we thought.

So today we took Abby to an ENT and they did several tests and discovered a great amount of fluid in her ears, along with a significant hearing loss of 55 decibles. Most people speak at about 40-45 decibles, so she wasn't even picking up normal conversation. (Oh! That makes me so sad!) It's common practice for doctors to wait for children to have six or more ear infections or fluid in the ear for more than 6 weeks before they consider putting tubes in their ears. But considering that this is affecting her speech development, the doctor suggested we do the procedure now. And since we're having a baby on the 21st, they scheduled her surgery for Friday morning. I am SO grateful for that!

So *hopefully* once all the fluid is cleared, she should be able to hear 100% again. However, because she has such a significant hearing loss, the doctor says its possible that she might also have minimal hearing loss due to an inner ear problem. We won't be able to determine that until we get the tubes in.

It makes me so sad that she hasn't been able to hear us and that she's gone for months with this problem and we didn't do anything about it. But according to many people we've talked to, we picked up on it pretty fast. Most people don't notice it until they are 2 or three years old and then they're really developmentally delayed. I just hope and pray that everything will be okay. I would like to wish that her full hearing will be restored, but we can handle a little hearing loss. Abby's a trooper and no matter what, she'll be a successful, normal, happy child.

Tragic News

Our camera is broken. Okay, I know, I know. For most of you that wouldn't be "tragic," but I LOVE my camera, my camera is my friend, I love taking pictures, and we're having a baby in three weeks and my camera is DEAD! I don't know what happened to it. I turned it on yesterday and all the screen showed was black. The camera store said the computer chip must be dead, which is a $150 fix. I'll do anything to be able to take pictures again!

Mourn for me.

BITES of the Round Table

Ha ha! This picture didn't turn out very well but I had to shoot quick to get it. Sheena and I were at Scott and Carrie's house watching the kids when we heard a strange sound in the front room. We walked in to find Tyler, Mikayla and Abby all biting and chomping at the coffee table. Kids.....

Uh-Oh

Since college, Brian's friends, and some family, have called him BMac, and he's rather proud of his nickname. So today at dinner we were talking about baby names and Brian all the sudden shot up in his chair with an ohmygoshyou'renotgonnabelievethis-look and he said "B-M-A-C!!! Brian-Mandie-Abby-Carter! It's a sign!"

So I guess we're going to have to name our son Carter. And then when Brian wants to have another baby I'll tell him we can't cause his nickname doesn't allow it. Sweet deal.

But nothing's set in stone.

Baby Update

It's been a while since we've given a baby update, so here goes. I just went for my 34 week appointment and everything looks good. He'll probably be a normal sized baby, maybe a little bigger than Abby (6lb12oz) but I'm having a caesarean so size doesn't matter. We've set our c-section date for May 21st. That's only FIVE weeks away! Aagh!

I've been feeling good, although having an active 15 month old and being pregnant is very tiring. I know they say it's easier when the baby is still inside, but I'm kinda looking forward to getting him out.

We have two names that we keep coming back to: Andrew and Carter, but we can't seem to commit to one or the other. But I know when we see him we'll know what to call him.

I'll try to post a picture later.

Sneaky, Sneaky Sir

We have been trying to break Abby of the habit of investigating the trash can. Besides the toilet, that's the most fascinating place in the house. Why do they have to like the gross stuff? Well, despite our dilligent efforts to keep her away, she somehow managed to sneak a whole, uneaten piece of corn on the cob out of the trash can and into the clothes dryer across the house. I think it's time to give in and hide the trashcan under the sink.

It's Posessed!

So Melinda let us borrow this toy for Abby to play with for a while. It's the one where you stack stars and it lights up and plays music. Well a couple of weeks ago it just died. The lights still flickered but it went silent... that is until Abby dropped it in the water this morning and it came out sounding like this. Sorry the picture is sideways. I wasn't thinking. Just makes it even more creepy... :)

There's a First Time for Everything

Had a couple of "firsts" this week. I went to the store to buy a brush and found this really cool brush with a gel handle that conforms to your grip. So I put it in the buggy even though I wasn't sure I wanted to get it or not. So then Abby got a hold of it and BIT a huge hole in the handle and gel started seeping out. Well, I couldn't very well put it back on the rack and pretend like it never happened. I'd have a hard time living with myself... so I bought it. That was the first time I've bought something that Abby has ruined. I'm sure there will be many more of those experiences to come. *sigh*

Abby also suprised me a few night ago with a "suprise" in the bathtub. That was the first time she ever pooped in the tub. And I hope it's the last.

For some reason I have a really hard time getting homemade bread and rolls to rise. I follow the directions exactly and for some reason they never seem to get big and fluffy. I tried again this week and they rose! Triumph! Brian came home and saw the big beautiful rolls, cheered for me, and then proceeded to eat three of them in a row. Now maybe my flat bread curse is gone.

Cuteness

What a little imp!

Hunting

The Easter Bunny came to our house and left lots of eggs for Abby to hunt. She totally caught on to the concept of finding the eggs and had a lot of fun doing it. However, she didn't quite know what to do with herself when we went to Grandma's and hunted outsite for the eggs. She found two eggs she liked and didn't care about the rest. It was still fun though!

Big Girl

Yesterday Abby woke up from her nap and kept giving me this cheesy grown-up smile. It's like she aged in two hours or something. She's getting to be such a big girl and it's so exciting!

A Tight Spot

Having a stomach virus doesn't seem to stop Abby

from getting into mischief.

Disney on Ice

So my mom treated all of the girls in the family to Disney on Ice this Thursday and we had a lot of fun!

It was so cute to see all the little girls dressed as Disney Princesses and to hear them squeal in the audience every time a new princess skated on.

The best part was watching my neice, Anna, during the exciting parts of the show.

Of course we had to sing with Aeriel. Ah Ah Ahhhh......

and we laughed at the dancing spoons, and all the princes that couldn't land their jumps.

And then their was the finale, complete with fireworks. But mostly, it was just great being with all the cool girls in my family.

True Confessions

Our daughter eats dirt, and loves it.

*sigh*

Two Idiots, a pair of keys and a window

So the air conditioning in the Jeep went out again and so as we were on our way home from choir practice last night, we decided we'd drop it off at our friendly repair shop so they could look at it on Monday.

So went to pick up Brian's mom's SUV to borrow while it's in the shop and we left the Jeep in the shop parking lot and put the keys in the over night drop box. Well we get into our neighborhood when I started to think and I stopped the car dead in the middle of the road and said, "Brian, we don't have a way into the house." You see, Brian only took the car key with him, so the house key was in the house. Our garage door opener is programmed into his Jeep, and the key to the Jeep was in the lock box at the shop. No problem, Brian said, I'm sure there's a window open. Nuh-uh. When Brian first started going out of town I made sure the house was completely secure. Go me. All the doors and windows were locked, We didn't have a way in, both of our wallets were in the house, but luckily Brian's brother lives down the street.

So we went to Scott and Carries to try to call a locksmith, which is virtually impossibly on a Sunday evening. Don't people want our business? Good grief! Meanwhile, Dad and Eric and Sheena head to our house to have cake to celebrate Kevin's birthday (He's on a mission but we thought we'd celebrate anyway. ) and see that we're not there. So they go to Scott and Carries and after much deliberation, all the men went to our house to try to "break in" while the girls hung out with the babies.

So this is how it all went down. Cue "Mission: Impossible" theme song please...They take a hammer and after a couple of tries, Scott broke an apparently hard-to-break small picture window. They said it was so loud and our neighborhood is SO quiet, they were afraid someone was going to come out and call the cops. Then the three other guys hoisted him up (he's the smallest) into the very high window and he unlocked the door. They cleaned it up and that was that. Now we have a patched up window we've to to get fixed but I hope since it's small that it's cheap. ugh. At least it's good to know that it's hard to break into our house.

You'd think that two college graduates like Brian and me could have thought through the process before doing something so stupid, but no. So that was our crazy evening, and it will NEVER happen again.

Abby and Brian on the Plane

Aren't these sweet?

Fun in Utah

Okay. I'm having major issues with Blogger and it's making me mad. This is like the 4th time I've had to re-write everything.

Some of us have never been to "This is the Place" monument, so we took a little side trip after we went and saw Music and the Spoken Word Sunday morning.

The preggo girls sat and relaxed while Brian and Mark took off exploring.

As for Abby....she spent her time inspecting every crack, rock, stick and blade of grass she could find. I love kids at this age!

Aside from spending some great quality time with the family, we got to do some pretty fun things.

Monday afternoon we went bowling at the Wilk at BYU. We practically had the place to ourselves so Abby got to do some exploring.

She got some sun earlier that morning and her cheeks were rosy-red all day. Isn't she a cutie?

I bowled a 64 which is the the WORST score of my life! But I think I can rightfully blame it on pregnancy, don't you? Michelle, who is 8 months even bowled a frame.

Brian, Carrie and Dad all scored over 100, Mom tied with me and Scott blew us all out of the water with a 148. Great form, Dad!

Grandpa McMurdie

We found out Thursday morning that Brian's grandfather, Chatley Neil McMurdie, passed away in the night. Both grandparents have not been doing well for a long time so we knew it could be any day when we would get the call. So we all picked up and flew to Utah on Friday morning. This picture of Abby and Grandpa was taken in September. He was such a loving, charitable man and I know everyone will miss him.

My Crazy Daughter

I love Abby. I mean, not just cause she's my daughter, but because she is a really cool kid. I love her quirkiness, her melodramatic antics and her zest for life. And I love this picture because it kinda sums up how she takes on the world...she attacks it one huge, yummy bite at a time.

Speed Blossoms

I'm suprised at how fast blooms come and disappear! It happened so fast I didn't have time to take pictures of our little Bradford Pear tree in it's first full bloom, but I did manage to find a few lone blossoms.

Quiz Answers

1. Abby's middle name is Reese.
2. I'm older than Brian by four months.
3. I played trombone in high school and college.
4. My favorite TV show is "So You Think You Can Dance?" I think most people thought American Idol, but there's a point where the singers on AI drive me crazy. Plus I don't know much about dancing and so it's fascinating to me.
5. Brian and I met on a blind date (set up by my now sister-in-law Carrie.) We didn't hook up then, but that's how we met.
6. There are so many things I want to do when my kids are all grown. Music Therapy, Realty and Photography are three of my favorites. Luckily I have a long time to decide. :)
7. This one was close, but my favorite movie is Singin' In The Rain. That's even the ringtone on my phone.
8. I am the primary music leader for Jr. Primary, and the pianist for Sr. Primary. Another girl and I trade off. It's really fun!
9. I hate the word MOIST. ugh.
10. I'm 30, but don't feel it.