A Special Appointment: 28 weeks

Today was my 28 week ultrasound and Doctor's appointment. It was also the first time Sophia was able to see her brother through an ultrasound. She did not say much during the ultrasound, but she could probably tell you more than I could now. You could see her intently listening to every word and the "wheels" churning in her head. The only concern she had was prior to the ultrasound she was worried they would have to cut her mommy's tummy to be able to see the baby and get a picture. Later, she held the pictures of her brother and wanted mommy to take a picture of her and her brother (as she held up an ultrasound picture). It was pretty cool.

As for the appointment, everything looks good. I will now be going to the doctor every two weeks so that my progress can be monitored. Our baby boy weighs over 2.5 pounds and is already a few ounces heavier than his sister. The goal is to make it into the first week of February if not longer. My braxton hicks contractions are making their daily appearances, but I have become pretty good at controlling them.

Days like today make us realize how close we are to another life changing event...the birth of our son and Sophia's brother. We are excited and feel so blessed. Life is good.

Simply magical...

I have always loved Christmas. It's such a special time of year. So many of my favorite memories revolve around the Christmas season and everything it brings. So far this year has not disappointed. In fact, having a three year old to share it with has only increased the Christmas magic around our house and we are loving it!

Those of you that know me know that I love to let Sophia help me and be "hands on" with many of our daily projects. At times it means lots of patience and things may not always turn out the way I would have expected, but the joy and pride she has in our creations makes it completely worth it! This year Christmas decorating took on a whole new meaning. I wish I could have captured her face each time she opened a box that Kris brought from the attic. We heard things such as "Oh cute...I really like this...Baby Jesus, daddy...Mommy, look at this snowman, can I put him on my bed?...Ooooo, I better be careful...Santa Claus and he sings pretty songs!...etc." The facial expressions on their own were magical!

Her face lights up when we plug in the lights to the tree and her "Elf On The Shelf" has been moving all around the living room/kitchen watching her so that it can report to Santa if she has been good or bad each day. There are the expressions of Joy when she sees Santa (the inflatable ones) when we are out somewhere. She frantically waves to hollar to him "Hey Santa, I've been good, please bring me some presents."

The most amazing part is how pure her excitement is for this time of the year. While so many of us run around looking for gifts, or trying to determine menus, she is running around simply capturing the beauty. She loves the Baby Jesus sitting on our entertainment center, she sees the beauty in five ornaments being placed on one branch because they are the same kind and she thinks singing the first words to Jingle Bells over and over are just fine.

We are blessed to have her to remind us of so many of the things Christmas is all about! Sometimes looking at the world from a three year olds viewpoint is pretty magical in itself! ;-)

We are thankful...

Thankful for:

~ A family that loves us.~
~ Friends that will always be there for us.~
~ Our great health that should never be taken for granted.~
~ Work which allows us to provide and live.~
~ A home when so many do not have one.~
~ A growing and kicking baby that will soon be a huge part of our lives.~
~ Hugs and kisses from a little girl who makes us laugh each day.~
~ Our military family who serve to protect us so that we can live freely.~
~ Our faith in God.~
~ Each day God gives us on this Earth.~

May God Bless each of you during this season of thanks. May we never take a single day for granted and cherish the blessings that we have been given!

Sophia-Kris Birthday Gift.wmv

Uncle Jason did an awesome job on this video he made for Sophia and Kris. It has so many of our favorite memories. It's hard to believe one will be 3 and the other 30! Thank you for a job well done, Jason. (make sure your volume is turned up)

Our Fun Little Girl

Thanks Uncle Jason (aka Trunk Monkey) for capturing these cute shots of our fun little girl! She puts so many smiles on our faces each day!

24 week update

Time is flying by and today was my 24 week appointment already! At this appointment, I also had my 1 hour gestational diabetes screen. Thankfully, I passed my diabetes screen and the baby sounded great. I am measuring a little ahead of where I should be, but my doctor is happy with the progress thus far. Our next appointment will be at the end of November and after that I will be going every two weeks!