8 days...

We are 8 days away from meeting our little Sweet Pea. And planning is in full effect. This weekend my family came and we made freezer meals and cleaned the baby's room. Today, I had my last appointment before the big day. 2 centimeters dilated and baby is right there. Doesn't matter too much, but nice to know. It did light a fire under me to get my bags packed!

There is much more to think about this time, since Annabelle will be staying home with Papa Hintz for a few days. I want to be sure the house has food stocked and clean clothes and anything else that will help the 2 of them have a great couple of days. I am anxious to have her with us, but nervous about how she'll react to the hospital.

Since October (my last post), we have had 5 more ultrasounds! And in all of them, the baby has passed with flying colors...thank God. Growing right on schedule and moving tons. This baby has proven to be quite strong as the movements can sometimes lean on the painful side. Not sure if it has to do with scarring from the last C-section or gallbladder surgery. Nothing to be concerned about, but I'm sure it makes those areas more tender.

And as for Annabelle, she continues to make us fall head over heels in love with her. She is talking (even some two word phrases) and has some strong opinions. This morning she requested I put her shoes on before we even ate breakfast. (The funny part of the story is that I thought she was asking for juice until she stuck her foot out!) She is growing like a weed and for the most part, very happy.

She is currently getting her 2 year molars...at 19 months!!! Who knew this could happen so early. I just feel terrible for her when she's in so much pain.

She is also asserting her independence. We are working on listening to mom and doing what she is asked. These can be extremely challenging things, but I'm so grateful for who she is becoming.

Introducing...

Sweet Pea! Of course, again, we did not find out Sweet Pea's sex... we didn't really even consider it. But it is amazing that in their profile view, Sweet Pea and Annabelle look a lot alike :) Baby is growing well and developing properly. Only one small hiccup with the umbilical cord that they will check on again around 28 weeks. But the doctor made it seem like no big deal.

So, ta da!

And here I am at 20.5 weeks...

Annabelle did not take too kindly to the ultrasound procedure. She was very upset by the goo and that mommy had to lay on a table. I believe she thought they were hurting me. Daddy was there for comfort, but for most of the ultrasound, she had to sit on the table by me. As difficult as it was, it was rather charming.

Sweet Pea's got moves!

I have been feeling it for two or three weeks now, but Joel finally got to feel the kicks today.
Obviously Sweet Pea loves Door County Mint Meltaways!

Hot!

Lower your butt all the way to the floor, wait for Mom to say "Ready?!", and then try as hard as you can to get your feet off the floor while Mom yells "JUMP!".

If anyone tells her she actually needs to get air underneath her feet to consider it jumping, I will deny them at all costs.

My little charmer never ceases to amaze. When she dances, she rocks so hard, she typically falls over sideways. She is currently in to stomping her feet fast on the ground. She also reaches into anything that appears to hold objects, and pulls out make believe food and feeds herself.

But I will always store in my heart that scene that happened at Grandpa and Grandma Lullo's house last weekend. Annabelle had been napping and woke up to discover a fire in the fireplace. As she hasn't seen one since she was tiny, she was very curious. She inched her way closer to the fireplace, and when she got close enough, I said "hot!". She immediately got this concerned look on her face, and then puffed her cheeks out and blew! Between my mom and myself, you would think it was the funniest thing you had ever seen. She continued to do it for the next 20 minutes and will do it now if I show her a video of a fire. See, she connected hot things and blowing because when her food is hot, we blow on it to cool it off. Amazing!

She had her 15 month appointment on Friday (along with 4 shots!), and she is right on target in all areas. 70% for weight, 60% for height, and 38% for head circumference.

10 days from now we get to see Sweet Pea!

Squirt and Sweet Pea

Both are growing so much I can't believe it!

Last week, I got the joy of hearing Sweet Pea's heartbeat again! On the monitor, it sounds like galloping horses...150 bpm. Steady as could be....that was after the doctor had to hunt down that heartbeat due to lots of movement. The doctor also mentioned that in 3 months, we'll be able to schedule the c-section. Weird!! Seems like Sweet Peas will be here around the second week of February, unless there are plans we don't know about yet.

Squirt (aka Annabelle) is making major strides cognitively. She is now putting her toys back in baskets when asked and prompted...though I would stop far short of calling it cleaning up. She also gained at least 2 molars this weekend, and possibly more, though she has no interest in Mommy sticking her fingers in her mouth to find out.

Joel turned 31 this weekend! We celebrated with the Packer's (along with the Hintz boys), the Brewer's (Joel's Dad, Annabelle and I surprised him at work), and the Lullo's. We are sure a blessed family and remind each other of that as often as we can.

Mommy Heaven

I am in mommy heaven this morning.

Yesterday, I had my 12 week appointment for Sweet Pea. They have this new device that is basically a handheld ultrasound machine. I got to see the baby doing somersaults and waving its arms. I didn't get to hear the heartbeat, but I did get to see it. So clearly, we're all healthy! The appointments the second time around are so much faster. She must have asked me 3 times if I had any questions, and I racked my brain, but none came up.

Also, we got a new doc. And so far, we love her. We talked with her at the first appointment about the whole C-section/VBAC possibility. She was straight forward with her information. I really wanted to be able to try for a VBAC (vaginal birth after C-section) this time, and she made me feel that it is an option. But, through her wisdom and gentleness, she shared with us that if the babies were 18 months apart, the risk would be too high. If the were going to be 2 years apart, the choice would be completely ours (risks are fairly even for VBAC or C-section). But at 20 months (which Sweet Pea and Annabelle will be), its hard to know. Take into consideration that the doctors could not determine why Annabelle never dropped, the doctor found that to be concerning. We also have the wisdom of Joel's uncle (an anesthesiologist), who was very concerned for us to try for VBAC. Though the decision has yet to be made, we are definitely leaning towards a planned C-section.

As for Annabelle, she is wonderful! For the first time in weeks, Annabelle and I have no where to go today. This morning I just watched her walk up and down our block. My eyes filled with tears as I thought about what a blessing she is to me, to Joel, and to our family and friends. She is something special.

catching up...oops!

It has been a long time since I have posted here. We have been enjoying our summer to its fullest potential!

Annabelle is a toddler now. She is walking and jabbering and even doing sign language! She can say please (and how is it that even through sign language she can be demanding?!), more, milk, and all done. Joel and I love to watch her develop cognitively. She is just putting the pieces of the world together. She knows where her hair, nose, eyes, toes and belly button are. She still gives a cheesy smile when you bring the camera out and squints her eyes at the light from the video camera.

Her food repertoire is expanding. She loves bananas, toast with peanut butter, Mexican rice, and today she had Thai spring rolls! Unfortunately, she's not currently digging her vegetables.

She has two naps a day, and clearly still needs them both. She sleeps anywhere between 11 and 12 hours a night. We have the occasional wake up, which I always attribute to teeth pain.

This week, she is starting to love being in the water. If she peaks out the back door and sees her pool, I can't get her out there fast enough. She mostly likes to stand in it, bend down and splash, and play with her toys. I am trying to be intentional with laying her down on her back in the water and sprawling her out on her front... she just laughs at me!

Which is the other new thing about Annabelle...she's getting her "own personality". In so many ways, it's adorable. And then there are those moments when she's melting down over a book, a shirt, the way I took her out of her bed, etc... there is no way for me to decipher what it is she wants! From what I hear, its just the age and their frustration over not being able to communicate.

The personality trait that is most clear about Annabelle is that she loves people. She is the greeting committee no matter where we are, waving at any person that she can see... no matter how far away they are. Her smile charms even the most stubborn of people. And if they take the time to talk to her, she is in heaven.

We love her more and more all the time.

I decided to include this video. It will not win me the mom of the year award. I know she can seriously injure herself crawling and walking with an object in her mouth...she survived! :) But since then, I did put the kazoo in a hard to reach spot so she can only play while being supervised...and not while walking around! It is still one of the funniest videos of her that I have! :)