Blessings From Above

Happy Birthday Wawa!

2011-12-31T16:07:00.003-06:00

I cannot believe it's been 2 years since we welcomed Miss Casey into our arms. What a joyous evening that was.

Here we are 2 years later and we now have a big little girl full of spunk and opinion running circles around us wearing one of her tutus (aka "pretties") and sunglasses while we change her "babies" clothes for her. She is truly a ray of sunshine in our days. Yesterday she decided on her own that it's time to start potty training. Maybe not for every time she goes, but in the past 24 hours she's peed on the potty 4+ times! Today I bought her some pull-ups (I call them "big girl diapers" to help encourage C) and even a pack of Minnie Mouse undies. She has no interest (thus far) in the pull-ups and her Bitty Baby is using a pair of the undies as a blanket. Hm......

Happy Birthday, my sweet baby girl! I will love you always and forever!

~Mommy

Fall Fun

2011-10-23T21:58:00.006-05:00

Happy Fall to everyone (a month late... I know). It's been one wild 6-7 weeks since I last posted. School started back up for me, pre-school started,

the marathon came and went (and went great, might I add), and, most recently, Daddy went - to China! Yes, the kiddos and I have been pretty much on our own the past 2+ weeks. We are surviving and have actually settled into a new and temporary "norm" but we are all missing Daddy lots and lots. Tegan now asks daily how many more "sleeps" until B returns - we are down to one hand (5) sleeps counting tonight.

I've done my best to try and get the kids out and doing something different each weekend that B has been gone. The first weekend we went to a park in Chaska and a friend of mine did a mini one-hour photo shoot. So far the 7 pictures I've seen are amazing, in spite of the fact that C hardly smiled throughout the whole thing (little stinker!). On the way home we stopped at a local doughnut shop and each had a doughnut and beverage (juice for the kids, coffee for me). (I'll post pics when I have them)

Last weekend we spent most of the weekend up at my folks house on the north side of the Cities. I can't even remember much of what we did there other than the unfortunate ending when T threw the fit of a lifetime in the middle of Target and I literally had to carry him out to the car kicking and screaming "You're the meanest mommy in the whole world". It was one for the record books, that's for sure!

This weekend was a "long" one for us as it was Fall/MEA Break here in MN for students and teachers. I had Thursday and Friday off in addition but since the kids were paid for at daycare on Thursday they still went and I took that day to get loads done around the house. My mom came down Thursday evening and spend the night and much of the day Friday with us here at home. Tegan and I got out for some Mommy and T time... nothing fancy, he helped me run errands but he was excited for the 1-on-1 attention nonetheless. That afternoon I got a call from Brendan's coworker who also has a 4 year old and invited T over for the evening to play with his little guy. SO, at 4:45 T got picked-up and it was time for C and I to have some 1-on-1 time.

After a quick bite for the wee-one, we loaded up and we headed over to the MOA (Mall of America). I first had a quick return to do and then we trekked across Nickelodeon Universe to the American Girl store. There we picked out 2 new outfits for C's Bitty Baby (appropriately named "Baby" by Miss C herself) and then we checked out the B&N where we found a few new books and CD's to grow our brains with. Before we knew it, it was time to go pick-up T and head home for bed. Little did I know, but T's friend Brody has one exciting house with lots of toys we don't have (including a 1/2 or 1/3 size trampoline in his basement!!!). An hour after arriving at Brody's house I was able to convince T we really needed to get home and get C to bed (us all, for that matter). That's when my one truly difficult time alone with the kids - I was already jittery from an Excedrin Migraine I'd taken earlier (it has caffeine in it and apparently I hadn't eaten enough to counteract the jitters it can cause). Once the kids were in bed I started to get real anxious... nervous... whatever you want to call it. I finally decided to call my mom around 10 to have someone to talk to and just take my mind off things and being the amazing woman and mom and grandma that she is, she offered to come back down to our house and stay the night. Sure enough, less and an hour later she AND my dad got here and I was able to relax.

Saturday brought more fun - my mom and T played together for a good hour or longer while C, my dad and I hung out upstairs reading, talking and playing, too. Around 11 my mom, C and I headed over to The General Store in Minnetonka while T stayed home with Papa. We all had out own fun (T and Papa went to the park while C enjoyed eyeing up all the unique children's stuff the General Store has to offer). C and I even had a quick lunch, including the biggest and most frosting and sprinkle covered sugar cookie I've ever seen, and us girls headed back.

Almost forgot to mention that across the 3 days of Thurs-Saturday I painted the master bathroom & basement hallway, installed 3 new sink faucets in the master and main floor guest bathrooms, and applied a frosted window film to the master bathroom windows to allow us to leave the blinds open while maintaining privacy.

Today I wanted to get out of the house, so I took the kiddos over to Sever's Corn Maze in Shakopee where we had an absolute blast. T LOVED bouncing on the "jumping pillows" (Casey did NOT like them!!!).

After the "pillows" it was onto the Corn Pit (yes, a massive pit surrounded by hay bales and filled with 3 feet or so deep of dried corn kernels). It was very soothing to play in there, even for me.

T made corn angels (think snow angels but with corn)

while C just loved lightly tossing (no throwing per the rules) corn.

Then it was onto the tall slide, which after climbing to the stairs and getting onto this sliding mat decided he wasn't ready for that big of a slide yet. C fussed but I took her down and she was smiling by the end (sorry, no pics of that as I had the camera in my pocket and 2 hands on C). The hay bale maze was next. It was just 1 bale tall, so you could walk between the bales or on top of them. The 3 of us enjoyed doing both.

Before leaving we took a quick stroll through the exotic animal tent and petting zoo. You'd never believe the animals we saw. Many of them I'd never heard of. Did you know there's such a thing as a Ze-donk? Google it :) Needless to say we all took rests (naps for C and I and quiet time on the couch with The Lion King for T). What a day!!!

What a weekend!!! OH, and today, I planted some of my new bulbs for next spring (allium and crocus for those wondering).

Well, that catches you up, at least for what we've been doing the past few weeks and a brief overview of the past 2 months... and I mean brief.

Hope all's well with you and yours. Take care and love to all!

A Beautiful Day to Fly (by Grandpa Gary)

2011-09-04T18:00:00.001-05:00

Sep 4, 2011 2:42 PM

As the sun came up early this morning and the air was crisp and
clear, Andrew decided today would be a wonderful day to fly. He took one
last breath and went to meet Jesus at 7:03 AM. When he left us he was comfortable
in his bed, resting in Mommy's and Daddy's arms, with Hamma and Hampa close by.
His bedroom window was open, the fresh air was pouring in, and the song "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" was
playing in the background. Andrew left peacefully and quietly, consistent with
his inner nature.

Early Friday morning at around 3:00 AM, Andrew cried out in
pain, but quickly settled down after an extra blast of morphine. Since then he
was unresponsive and just slept, comfortably propped up on his Woody pillow,
wrapped up in a "Queen car" blanket. Yesterday as Aubrey played dolls
with one of her friends, she aptly explained to her playmate, "When Andrew
goes to Heaven, Jesus will take away all his lumps and help him feel good again."

Why at the time of 7:03? It could just be coincidence, but
Bri and Joe's wedding anniversary is 7/03....and Great Grandma Moore's birthday
is 7/03.

"Goodbye little buddy. We love you and we're really sorry
to see you go. It stinks that you had to suffer with all those bad owies, but that's
all over, and now you can spend every day playing outside in the sunshine with
your cousin, Ty. You guys will have a lot of fun in Heaven! Don't forget to
look down on Mommy, Daddy, Aubrey and the rest of us. We might ask you for help
sometimes too. Though your struggle is over, we're still really sad here, and it might
take us awhile to feel happy again. We don't really know what else to say right
now, but thanks for spending an awesome couple of years with us, and we all
look forward to seeing you again someday. We will always remember you as
"Awesome Andrew". So long Andrew, we love you and we will miss you."

Grandpa Gary

Benefit for Andrew and Family at Buck Hill

2011-08-05T09:01:00.003-05:00

We are speechless! The turnout at the Benefit for Andrew and the Morris Family at Buck Hill last night was amazing! The generosity of everyone there is something that words cannot describe! The closest we can come to showing our appreciation is a big THANK YOU!!!!! WOW!

To view photos of the even please click the link attached above (or here)

God always provides!

~jenn

Our Summer (so far) in Pictures

2011-08-03T09:24:00.009-05:00

In no random order (because our browser makes it hard to rearrange the placement of photos in blogger), here is some of what we've done this summer...

Praying for a Miracle

2011-07-19T20:50:00.005-05:00

On Friday (July 15) my 2 1/2 year-old nephew (Brendan's sister's and brother-in-law's son) was diagnosed with stage 4 terminal Sarcoma (cancer). The tumors continue to grow and multiply at such an alarming rate that after being given about a month to live on Friday, today the oncologist now gives little Andrew just a few weeks left here on Earth. To put into perspective how aggressive this cancer is, just 3 weeks ago the only symptom Andrew had was a bump on his head which his family believed to be an "egg" from a fall he took being a typical 2 year-old boy. Less than 2 weeks later a 2nd bump appeared, this time on his leg. We now know that these were/are sarcoma tumors. There are now 25+ tumors throughout his body... Some of you may be doing the math in your head ... a little flag is going up... yes, Andrew was born the day after Ty was delivered. He has been the little guy I look at and smile (often through tears) knowing where my 2nd son would be at developmentally. Selfishly we pray that God will intervene. That He will take this cancer away and heal Andrew. We also pray for God to wrap His arms around Andrew, his mom Brianne, his dad Joe and his sister Aubrey. To grant them peace in their hearts, comfort in their souls and strength in mind, body and spirit. We pray, too, that God does the same for us as a family but more specifically that He gives us all the strength to be as supportive, loving and caring as we can be for Bri, Joe and Aubrey as well as each other.

I have gone through a horrific loss - no parent should ever experience the death of their child. However, I also recognize that my loss was/is nearly uncomparable to the loss that my family may soon face. My prayer for Brendan and myself is that God can use our loss and use us to be supportive to Bri and Joe in ways that those who have not gone through the loss of a child simply cannot be. Please pray these things with me and for me.

You may be wondering how else you can help. A non-profit account has been set-up to help cover any medical bills not covered by insurance as well as funeral expenses. Please, by no means, feel obligated, but for those interested here are 3 ways to donate:
1) Checks made out to "Andrew Morris Fund" (please contact me personally for an address to mail these to.)
2) Donate via PayPal
3) Stop by any Associated Bank and let the teller know you would like to make a donation to the Andrew Morris Fund

Thank you, again, for all of your support! Hug your children a little longer and tighter and cherish each moment with those that you love.

Take care and God bless!
~jenn

Easter in July

2011-07-11T13:24:00.001-05:00

So I remembered that I never posted about Easter - big surprise... There are days I half wonder if I've got early onset Alzheimer's but I know that it's really just motherhood and having too many things to keep track of. OK - so not sure how long this post will be. Sadly at this point my pictures will remind me of what happened. What I do remember of Easter is that T still LOVES to get his hands dirty (literally) and use them instead of spoons when dying eggs, thinking C was the most beautiful little girl in the world (which she is anyway, but especially so in her Easter outfit) and that T could have hunted for Easter eggs for a week.

The day started off like any other Sunday in our family - C wanted to wear her tutu over her pj's. So stinkin' cute if you ask me :) "Julie Grandma" (as T calls her) had the house decorated up and festive for the holiday. I can't remember if it was before or after church, but we attempted our annual family picture - at least the grown-ups were smiling, right?
Following church we did the egg huntS (yes, plural). I think T handed his basket over to one of us adults a minimum of 6 times to re-hide the eggs. It was a hoot watching him run around and be SO surprised to find the eggs hidden in plain sight. C wasn't much interested in finding the eggs themselves but more-so getting them open to see if there was chocolate inside. The girl takes after her mother in that department, that's for sure!
When it was all said and done, I think all the yet-to-be-eaten candy got thrown away. The eggs containing the candy ended up getting hidden among some rabbit droppings (I'm sure it wasn't Mr. E Rabbit, he'd never poo in Julie Grandma's garden. Must have been Peter or his cousin Benjamin Bunny - hehehe) and that just grossed us all out.

OK - all for now. Stay tuned for another installment of the Moore family. :)

God Bless and Love to all!
~j

Forgotten Vacation

2011-05-04T20:58:00.000-05:00

About a month ago we embarked on a weekend trip to the Wisconsin Dells with the hopes of a fun-filled family vacation... Casey had fun. The rest of us - not so much (though I would be lying if I said none was had). In July of 2009 T, B and I took a similar trip - a weekend at the Polynesian Resort in the WI Dells. We all had a great time despite the unseasonably cool temperatures and a rainy weekend that forced us to take advantage of the indoor water features of the resort. This time, we just wanted a weekend away. Brendan had just returned from a week in Colorado engaging in work and play.

We arrived on a Friday night and Tegan and Brendan headed down to the pool while I put Casey to bed. It was a hit - despite wanting to stay at the pool T came back to the room with minimal complaints. Saturday brought an experience we had not had with Tegan in quite a while - kicking, screaming, laying on the floor tantrums when any sort of transition was proposed.
At some point we tried to lighten the mood by heading down to the Arcade. Fun was had by all - Casey had her first ride on one of those cheesy arcade "rides". She didn't really seem to care one way or the other if the ride was moving. It was still fun to watch her reactions nonetheless. Tego and Brendan played at least one game together and I think T won a few pieces of candy from another game. Then it happened - we ran out of quarters. "Playing" games without coins doesn't last very long for a smart 4 year old... surprisingly one of the arcade games as spitting out tickets every now and then despite none of us really playing it. After T got tired of pretending to play games we grabbed the tickets and headed to the gift shop hoping we had enough to "buy" something fun. Let's just say it wasn't pretty when T realized that 35 tickets wouldn't buy the fake Transformer. Instead he could buy a couple little crayon shaped erasers. The floodgates and Tegan's lungs quickly opened and the erasers were thrown across the hotel lobby... and T had to be carried kicking and screaming back up to the room.

After the display in the lobby we decided to order in pizza and eat in our room as we were too scared to take our self-proclaimed big boy out in public. At one point I told Brendan if there was one more tantrum I wanted to pack our bags and go home on Saturday night. To me it just wasn't worth it. At least at home we could send Tegan to his room to let off his steam and cool down. Not really an option when you're staying in a several hundred room resort and there are other guests on either side and above and below you. UGH!

By the time T realized we weren't going back to the pool after dinner he decided to make fun of his own... "hiding" in the closet. I just prayed he wouldn't slam his fingers in the sliding door.Following in T's footsteps, Casey had to join in the fun and play hide-and-seek, too.
Thankfully, though, T did pretty good Saturday night once we got some food in him and he went to bed with minimal fights.

On Sunday, the kids woke up happy and seemingly ready for a fun morning at the pool. C wanted her suit on as soon as she got up. After repeatedly bringing her swim top to B he finally put it on... over her pj's. We headed down to the pool and had a nice hour or so of fun. Then came the time to transition from the pool back to our room. All we needed to do was move our things out of the room and to our car - check out, really. We were still allowed to continue to use the pools for the rest of the day, just the not the hotel room. As we feared, though, this brought yet another round of tantrums. Looking back, we should have gone with out guts and just checked out first thing in the morning and just not even gone to the pool to tempt fat... you live and learn.

I'll finish on a positive note - Casey really enjoyed herself. Like last summer, she thoroughly enjoyed the pools (which didn't surprise me since she loves bath time, too).She loved walking all over the baby pool as long as she had a hand to hold. The minute we'd let go and she'd try to take a step or 2 she'd tumble down and go under. True to her nature, though, Casey would get right back up and keep on going :) That's our girl!
Love to all! ~j

Warp Speed

2011-04-30T20:20:00.000-05:00

Seriously, I swear that is how fast time goes these days - a warp speed! Just shy of 2 months since the last post. Seriously, there are days it seems like that was just yesterday.

The kiddos continue to amaze us. T's behavior continues to slowly, but steadily mature. He definitely tries harder to "listen" and "follow directions" (as he says) but sometimes it's just too hard and he lets his emotions get the better of him. I've explained to him that when he's able to control his emotions and do what he knows is right and not do what he knows is wrong he will earn rewards and privileges. Sometimes reminding him of this fact when he's on the verge of throwing a fit helps him realize that he needs to calm down or go to his room to let off some steam safely and respectfully... hopefully this trend will increase and will be the case most of the time. I'll just keep praying for that.

He is still in love with being 4 and tells everyone - friends, family, younger kids, older kids and, of course, complete strangers. Usually he gets a sweet smile and the informed one shows interest (may not be genuine, but still friendly) but occasionally, especially with kids, he'll get the, "well, I'm __" and somehow an age coolness competition ensues. We took T to a Shakopee Varsity Boys baseball game a few weeks back and he confidently marched up to a 13 year old boy and announced to him, very proudly, "I'm 4!" The kid looked at T with a look on his face expressing that he though T was the craziest kid on the planet and, hesitantly, responded, "Uh... I'm 13." He then laughed and T, satisfied, ran off. A moment later, some other teens joined the above mentioned 13 year-old who then shared and reenacted the exchange that had just happened between T and himself, of course with sarcasm in his voice. T watched from afar and I just sat there, watching above from the bleachers, praying that my little boy did not understand what was truly happening - that he was being made fun of. Thankfully, the smile stayed on his face and he marched up the stairs and rejoined B, C and I. I'll be honest, watching the teenagers laugh at my little boy and his excitement surrounding all that entails being 4 made the mom side of me hurt a bit. How could it not? What a comfort to my soul, though, that T was oblivious to the mocking.

C, now 16 months old (yes, really!) is a full fledged walker. In a matter of a few days she went from hesitant walking between furniture and family to toddling all over creation. Within a week of that milestone she was able to stand up after a tumble without having to crawl to a wall or other object to aide in the stand. Again, growth at warp speed.

I don't have the stats in front of me but at her 15 mo appointment we learned that C's growth has grown closer to the "norm" and her height (around 31") and weight (just shy of 24 pounds) are in the 63rd and 64th percentiles, respectively. Her head circumference (h.c.), though, continues to be nearly off the charts - now at the 94th %ile (if I'm remembering correctly... above the 90th %ile for sure). After hearing what C's vocabulary is the doc laughed and attributed the h.c. to being so smart. When looking at C I don't notice that she has an abnormally large head, so that's good. In the same respect, T's head was always at or below the 40th %ile (again, if I'm remembering correctly) and his never looked small to me.

Speaking of C's vocabulary, I s'pose I could make a quick list of her words. She still speaks in 1 word phrases and if she doesn't know the word she will scream or show us what she wants. Ok, here they are, in no random order:
1) Mama
2) Da-ddy (yes, she pauses between the "da" and the "dee) and Da-da (always loud for both!)
3) Tee-tee (Tegan)
4) kitty
5) Papa
6) na-na (n'night)
7) baba (bottle)
8) bee-bee (baby)
9) peez (please)
10) hi
11) baah-baah (bye-bye)
12) socks
13) sooz (shoes)
14) piddy (pretty)
15) Bee-bee-bee (Bumblebee - no, not the bug... the Transformer)
16) aah-daah (all done)
17) baah (ball)
18) Uh-oh

I think that's it. She can show you her nose consistently and, on occasion, will show you her tongue and eye(s). When she sees a picture of a fish she'll make a "fish sound" (as we call it) with her mouth - super cute! Same goes for a chicken or rooster("caah-koo" making the "caa" go up in her voice - high pitched) and a kitty/cat ("maow"). She's very good at making airplane and car sounds, too.

To put it plainly - she keeps us smiling!

Have I mentioned that Wawa is ALL GIRL (aside from playing with trucks, trains, cars, planes and Transformers)? The child is obsessed with shoes and l-o-v-e-s wearing "piddies" (pretties, a.k.a. skirts, socks belonging to anyone and everyone in the family, my watch and jewelery and hair barrettes and bows). She now has 3 tutu-skirts and several hair bows/ribbons (which she is just now starting to leave in her hair). If she doesn't have shoes on she will bring you some and tap or rub them on her feet until you put them on her. She then prances around the house declaring that she is "PIddy" and giving everyone her sneaky, shy eyes. Such a sight to see!

Now that what we refer to as Spring is here (at least according to the calendar) T has been doing his best to ride his bike around as much as he can. He's got a new green helmet, his favorite color. There was no option in his mind of what color helmet he'd get - green was it. The old red strider bike from when he was "little, you know - like 3" (pronounced 'free' still) is no longer an option for the kid. The tires are just too bald and he's just too big... I swear the kid has grown 3 inches just in the past 3 months! I'm tempted to measure him and compare it to his 3 year check-up height.

OK - I s'pose that's enough for tonight... Sorry for minimal pics. The rest are still on the cameras. Look for an Easter post soon...
Love to all!
~j

49 Month Old!!!

2011-03-09T19:32:00.000-06:00

Yes... my big boy is now 49 months (and 4 days) old and yesterday was his 4 year well-check at the doctors' office.
Tegan continues to be one of the most personality filled, strong-willed children on the face of the earth - and we love just about every part of what that entails... well, except the tantrums and defiance and all that. But, it's a package deal so we'll take it :)

Knowing how much T would protest a shot I checked ahead of time to see if he would be receiving any immunizations and was told "no, not until he's 5." Well, I was misinformed and Mr. T did, indeed, have to get a SHOT! (here he is pointing to where he got his shot) Poor guy didn't even see it coming, the nurse was fabulous and totally distracted him. He cried, there's no hiding that fact, but he stopped quickly and was very excited to get a prize out of the bucket, in addition to the 2 stickers he had already earned for cooperating so well during the vision and hearing screening. It was great to see him chat with Dr. J, do exactly as he was told and check-out great.

For those of you wondering where Tego stands amongst the general population of 4 year-olds here ya go:
Weight - 42 pounds = 87%ile
Height - 41.6 inches = 74%ile

Yes, that means our little man continues to be a dense one, but let me tell you - there ain't much fat on that body of his. Mommy is envious, but I'm sure if I ate like him and had the activity level and energy level that T has I'd be a skinny-minny too :)

No more pictures, Mommy!

I'm sure you're wondering what fancy things you get to do when you are 4 and no longer 3? Well, in the Moore household you get to watch Transformers 2: Revenge of The Fallen. Yes, that's a PG-13 movie, so don't tell T because I'm sure when he's older and more aware of all that stuff that made the movie PG-13 he'll want to watch other PG-13 movies and we'll say no. We'll have to figure out how to explain that one to him then... Anyway - watching him watch the movie was SO funny! Tegan lined up all 24 of his Transformers guys on the couch before we could start the movie. Then, he spent most of the movie either trying to narrate what was going on in the action scenes or (thankfully) playing with his Transformers during the more PG-13 scenes. The funniest part was when he'd play with his Transformers, because not only were they fighting each other, but they were mimicking what they had just "watched" in the movie and reenacting the action scenes. Needless to say there were a lot of sound effects and such coming out of T's mouth (you know, the sounds that the Transformers make when they transform and fight and "pew" and such. Oh, and if you don't know what "pew" is, it's not the smell, it's an action that some refer to as "shoot". T calls it "pewing" because that's the sound it makes when it happens. So there's "pewers" and "pews" and "pewing" and "pewed". Got it all? Ok, good!)

OK - getting close to T's bedtime... gotta somehow pry him away from the Cars movie B suggested he watch to wind down for the night. Praying for minimal tears as Tegan promised not to cry when we said it's bedtime. I'll believe that when I see it.

Love to all!
~j

Birthdays, Birthdays, Birthdays!

2011-02-23T20:35:00.000-06:00

In the past 2 months we have celebrated our fair share of birthdays. A week before Christmas we celebrated Brendan's - to flatter him we'll say that he still has a few years where his age will be closer to 30 than 40 - ha!. Then a week after Christmas "Wawa" , as Tegan calls her now, turned the big O-N-E! (Don't ask me where he came up with that nickname, but it's stuck and we all use it now. The a's are pronounced the say way you pronounce the a in wall) Then, 3 weeks later we celebrated Ty's heavenly birth with a family meal out at a restaurant (it may have just been at Chili's but we were out as a family). There's another 2 years that have flown by. Finally, on Feb. 5 we celebrated T's 4th birthday, complete with a houseful of 9 boys and the most amazing Transformers cake you have ever seen.

Now to each one:

Brendan: Ok, so not really Brendan, but we did hold our annual holiday potluck party on B's birthday so I had to mention what a great time we had spending time with so many of our great friends. To those of you who didn't come, your loss ;) Seriously, though, the hardest part is getting time to chat with everyone who comes. We are truly blessed to have such a large group of friends who, although we have met them through the various avenues of our lives, seem to really get along well when they are all together. Does that make sense? It's neat to see friends that we have through one activity that meet friends that we have through another part of our life and they develop friendships beyond just seeing each other at our parties. How fun to be a part of the development of new friendships!

Casey: Now I know I already said this in a past post but seriously, where has the last year (well, almost 14 months now) gone?! My little itty bitty is no longer that at all - she's tipping the scales at over 22 pounds and is nearly 30 inches tall (if I'm remembering correctly. Don't have the stats right by me). As Brendan says, she's in the "short and fat" category (sorry C, Daddy said it, not me). Her weight is around the 75th %ile while her height is only in the 55th. Oh, and then there's her head circumference that's above the 80th %ile. I can definitely attest to the fact that there are a few shirts hanging in Casey's closet that are quite difficult to get over her head and we've virtually given up on wearing them anymore. You'd think it'd be a great excuse to go shopping but if you were to see this girl's closet you would understand when I say that's not necessary. Instead, I'm spending those dollars on pillows, paint and curtains/draperies to help updated and finish off the "simple" updates to the house that we still haven't taken care of. As far as when the painting will be getting done... that's a good question. With C being outrageously mobile and into EVERYTHING I don't anticipate getting much done when she (or Tegan for that matter) are home.

I'm sure you're wondering what that "everything" is that Casey is getting into. Well, aside from that fact that Casey's favorite place to be when upstairs is sitting in the left-hand drawer under the TV while at the same time digging through the right-hand drawer, emptying its contents onto the floor and her I'll give you a taste from just one day: eating dirt from a potted plant in the kitchen, pulling the coffee filter with used grounds out of the trash, playing in the toilet and emptying the contents of both drawers under the TV in the family room. Oh, and that was in a time period of about an hour. Yes, she's one wild woman! After saying this you probably think we just let her roam and don't stop her - let me tell you, the girl is fast! She's one that I can foresee needing one of those toddler leashes for (though I'm not sure if I can let myself do that...) We (at least I) are hoping this whole walking thing will start soon because usually those mobility transitions slow them down for a period (albeit a short period, but still).

As mentioned in my last post, C is definitely doing the "pre-walking" thing where she cruises around everywhere using everything she can get her hands on: furniture, walls, chairs, toys, laundry baskets, boxes, legs, curtains... you get the idea. It's comical to see her trying to figure out what she needs to do so that she can do the cruise instead of crawl. I can definitely see that she is excited about this skill and would much rather walk than crawl if she could, though when we walk with her (her holding onto our fingers) she will sit down almost immediately after we let go of her fingers. Only once has she continued to try to walk after we did just that.

12 Months

13 Months

Tegan: Mr. 4 year-old is, thankfully, starting to show signs of exiting the part of life that made the past 2 years VERY emotionally stressful when it comes to emotions and behavior. It's no secret that Mr. T wears his emotions on his sleeve, or should I say sleeves? Because there are a lot of emotions there! He's still extremely strong-willed and has a really difficult time when he doesn't get his way and by no means am I hinting at the fact that he's no longer throwing tantrums because that is NOT the case at all - but they are definitely fewer and farther between. Maybe it's just that we have finally found things (privileges, if you will) that we can take away that he does not want taken away and will, and does, seriously consider altering his behavior to avoid the loss. Specifically, anything he has related to Transformers. This week, B and T even built a large "fortress" or "base" or whatever you want to call it (T changes it's title each day). The thing is big - I mean several feet wide. Not massive, they used a bike box to build it, so nothing refrigerator box size or anything, but still, it's big enough to very comfortably house all 24 of his Transformers. So, as soon as T starts to show signs of misbehaving, almost as soon as we remind him that he will lose the option of playing with his Transformers and/or "base" he generally shapes up pretty quickly. It may only work for a few months or weeks, at best, but still. It definitely feels good to find something that he responds to.

I'm sure I've mentioned that Tegan was adamant that he was NOT going to "pretty school" (most of us call it preschool, just to clarify... not beauty school) and was NOT going to be 4 - he was going to be "free (3) forever!" Well, I don't know what the Devin Grandma said, but there was something that flipped a switch in his little mind and shortly before Tegan's birthday the big man decided that he was SO excited to be 4 and go to pretty school. It's amazing how much he's already changed developmentally since he turned 4. The kid is SO excited and interested in learning about letters and letter sounds as well as how things are spelled. He walks around saying words and then telling us what they begin with, though he phrases it as, for example, "Daddy. /D/, /d/, D begins with Daddy". Last weekend he started really caring about the letters following the "T" in his name. He wants to know "what's the next letter that I start with after T?" HA! It's just so darn cute to hear him.

Enough for tonight. Thanks for reading & love to all!
~j

2 Years

2011-01-26T12:49:00.001-06:00

inhale - exhale - inhale - exhale

REALLY?!

2011-01-22T13:24:00.000-06:00

Received an email with this title yesterday:

Your toddler at 24 months

Let's just say it made me break down into tears over my lunch break. I've called and emailed this company multiple times to take me off their email list. I've even spoken to a real person and explained why I want to be off the mailing. What do I have to do?!

4 days until his heavenly birthday... my left eye has been twitching off and on for nearly a week now - you could say I'm feeling some emotional pain and stress.......

Priorities

2011-01-18T20:15:00.000-06:00

So being the new year it is time for me to take stock of where my priorities currently lie and how they need to be adjusted/rearranged. One priority that needs to be bumped up higher on the list is - you guessed it - this blog. 2010 was not a good year for me and keeping up with the blog. Shame on me. Not only is it not fair to everyone who reads this but more importantly it wasn't fair to my children. After having Tegan I decided to use my blog as a means to record exciting events and milestones in my children's lives instead of keeping up with baby books. I did pretty darn good for Tegan's first 3 years or so, but this past year has been not so great. So - here's to a new year and better blogging!

I left off with updates on Tegan (though that was over a month ago)... time for some Casey updates:

Miss Casey is officially 12 months old (actually, closing in on 13 months old) - yes, that is 1 year! Where did the time go? I feel like I just had her and my maternity leave should just be getting started. No, I really feel like I just had Ty. It's still so weird not being pregnant - yes, even 12 months after giving birth it's weird. I suppose it makes sense - I was pregnant with Ty for 34 weeks and nearly 37 weeks with Casey, only having 3 months "off" (approx 12 weeks) between the 2 pregnancies. That's approx. 71 weeks spent being pregnant in a 83 week period. WOW!

OK, back to "Casey Lou", as we all call her (especially Tegan). Crawling began around Thanksgiving though at that point it was really more of the "army crawl" than what most people think of as crawling. She did that consistently for several weeks (much longer than Tegan did) and then it seemed like overnight she decided it was time to do the "regular" or "normal" crawl and she's been doing that ever since - and truly, that really happened right around Christmastime.

Now we are to now. At a full 12.5 months old Casey is in full-fledged furniture cruising mode. She pulls up and cruises all along the couches, chairs, high chair, coffee table, walls... you name it, as long as it helps her stay standing she'll use it as a support to cruise (or "prewalk" if you want to call it that). She has even let go a few times, that I've observed, and stayed standing for a few seconds before getting that "OH CRAP" look on her face. You know, the look a baby gets when they realize they are standing and not holding onto anything and then lose all balance. Love that look! Let's just say that even though she's a pretty darn quick crawler, I'm enjoying this time before she's literally "up and running"!

C has also become a very, very, VERY smiley and verbal child while at the same time being one of those super quiet babies who always seems to be taking everything in with a straight face. It still amazes me how much of a unique and intriguing child C is in her very own way. Or there's this face - it was a favorite of hers to make for several weeks. Always put a smile on my face :) That's my little "gril" (Have I mentioned on here that Tegan says "gril" for "girl"? It's hilarious to hear... Oh, and that he calls "preschool" "pretty school") Poor Casey, her brother is forever going to be interrupting her even it is through me on this blog.

Talking - I was talking about Casey talking. She's got a few "words" that she says. One that's pretty consistent is "nana" or "nigh-nigh" though she uses it to mean just about anything other than may me, Brendan or Tegan so it really has no meaning - though, when I use it in the evening to tell her that it's bedtime (which is the only way I use the term, to refer to bedtime and going n'night) she does seem to truly understand what it means. The other 2 words that she does use appropriately are "dada" and "mama" although I am sometimes referred to as "dada" by her. Sure shows you who her favorite, huh? I do hear her trying to practices saying "Tngn". She somehow says it without vowels. It's sweet.

When it comes to receptive language (I think that's the proper term) Case (yes, we call her Case sometimes - it wasn't a typo) is able to physically respond to questions we pose. Specifically, we'll ask her where her baby is (she got a Bitty Baby and several accessories from the Devin Gram'ma for Christmas and/or birthday) C will go over to her baby, assuming "Baby" is in the same room, and usually give her a kiss. If we ask or suggest that she "feeds" her baby or gives Baby her "baba", C will crawl over and "feed" the baby her bottle, though not necessarily putting the bottle to the doll's mouth. She does always get the bottle to feed some part of the doll's face, though. Yesterday it was the forehead. This is an improvement, as you can see, since initially she wanted the "baba" for herself to chew on - obviously a baby who prefers the breast over the bottle for eating. Over the weekend she even began to take the baby out of her cradle post-bottle and burp her by placing the baby on her lap (face-up or face-down - doesn't seem to matter to C) and patting whatever part of the torso is facing up. Whatever the interaction is with Baby, C always gives her baby a kiss (or a few kisses) at some point before she is done playing with her. Miss C has even gotten really good at making the kiss sound and, unlike most babies, will give closed-mouth puckered-up kisses! LOVE IT!

Here's her monthly pics from 9-11 months (1 year is still in the camera - does that surprise you?!)

9 months
10 months
(I promise this wasn't her full outfit for the day.
It's what she wore under her Halloween costume)
11 months
(thought you'd enjoy the sequence and appreciate how much work these monthly shots/pics have become)

OK - How's that for a post? I don't want to overwhelm you all with too much info ;)

Hope you enjoyed the updates and pics. Take care and love to all!
~j

SICK!

2010-12-15T01:34:00.001-06:00

All I have to say is I'm sick of being sick. I will be home, again, today sick (2nd time in 10 days with the pukes) so I'll try to blog a bit between my naps.Yay for you all, boo for me!
~j

I Should Win An Award...

2010-11-13T10:12:00.000-06:00

for being the worst blogger ever! Sorry to my faithful readers for the horrible blogging I've been doing this year. I think I've said it before, but whenever I have time to sit and blog I just feel like sitting and doing nothing. Work is pretty stressful for me this year (teaching 2 programs is hard!), Tegan is still pretty darn naughty (independent might be a better/nicer word for it) and C is still up once a night to nurse (even 2x the past few nights - I think my milk supply is quickly diminishing). Needless to say I'm mentally and physically exhausted - despite no longer being in training for a marathon (which I now only get a good run in once a week. Dang daylight savings time and it being nearly dark by the time I get home.)

Tegan getting his turn at the firehose at the Savage Fire Dept. Open House in Oct.

OK - what to update you all on? EVERYTHING - I know! I think I'll post in small installments so check back for more throughout the weekend. :)

Sitting on the front of a fire truck - SO excited! :)

Tegan is still very much 3 (even though I've tried to teach him to say that he's 3 and a 1/2).

Lifting the heavy Fireman tool

He has decided that he wants to stop growing and getting bigger and be "free" (aka 3) forever. That's a story in itself. We were in the car on the way to or from daycare (can't remember which at this point):
Tegan - Mom, can I tell you someping?
Me - Sure, sweetie.
Tegan - I wanna stay free forever.
Me (thinking "Stay free"? How does he know about the maxipads?!) - Why is that, buddy?
Tegan - because I don't wanna go to pretty school (have I mentioned on here that he calls preschool "pretty school"?)
Me (light bulb goes on above head) - oh sweetie! Don't worry, preschool is so much fun! You'll love it! All of your friends in preschool love it and have so much fun.
Tegan - I don't like it. It isn't fun. I wanna stay free forever. It's scary!
Me - You know what? You don't need to worry about that because you won't be going to preschool for almost a year anyway. So let's just not worry about that.
Tegan - well I just don't wanna grow any more.

Ready for trick-or-treating - arrr, Matey!

Poor guy is scared, scared, scared! He brings up daily how he just doesn't want to go to pretty school and needs to be "free" forever. I try to just change the subject but that tactic is only occasionally successful. When it doesn't work I try to remind Tegan of all the fun things he wouldn't be able to do if he stopped growing and getting older - aside from the fact that we can't stop time. I don't know what brought on this fear - especially since all of his friends that are in preschool LOVE it.

At the pumpkin patch - poor T wasn't feeling well that day, though :(

OK - all for now. I'm cold and tired and want to veg out on the couch (it's going to be along week next week - conferences. Ugh!)

I'll work on getting some pictures posted soon. Love to all!
~j

Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T22:26:00.000-05:00

I'm not even going to make excuses for my lack of blogging other than the fact that I'm behind on EVERYTHING in my life right now...

Here's a few pics of my little love-bugs from this evening. T was SO excited to go trick-or-treating and C enjoyed riding along in the wagon and being outside (despite the cold).

OH - and C turned 10 months old today... this is the most decent picture I got of her on the red chair. May have to try these again tomorrow with some help. She kept trying to crawl over the side and at one point crawled off the front. Needless to say she's rarely sitting still. :)

OK - it's late...

Love to all!!!
~j

8 Month Spread

2010-09-13T21:20:00.000-05:00

Long overdue view of how my little girl has grown to be so big! 8 months old! Nearly 8 1/2 months, actually - where has the time gone?!

More details in the latest T and C news to come... I'll give a hint - think of an inchworm...
Take care and love to all!
~jenn

All Good Things Must Come to an End

2010-08-28T08:33:00.000-05:00

It's official - I no longer get to spend my days with my kiddos. My 2 love bugs started daycare on Monday... last Monday actually. Even though I didn't go back to work until this past Monday (8/23) I decided to start the kiddos a week early to give C some extra adjustment time and give myself a week to get some last projects done around the house and at school.

The adjustment hasn't been too horrible on C, though she still cries daily at drop-off. The first night she was up hourly wanting to nurse - really just spend time with me, I'm sure, but it was still tiring. Tuesday night was a bit better, though she was up at 10:04 and I let her cry that one out. She had barely gone 3 hours since her last feeding so I knew she wasn't truly hungry. She gave it her all, though, and cried for nearly an hour (even with me going in 2 times to soothe her). Wednesday night was GREAT! My little girl was only up once. YAY, Casey! She even continued that trend (up once a night) until this Wednesday night when I had Open House at school and got home just in time to put her to bed (after she'd spent the evening with neighbors as B had a bike race). Needless to say I don't think I got to sleep myself until nearly 1, then T appeared sometime shortly after 2, I think, and then C was up again at 3 or 4. I don't even know. All I know is that I didn't get more than a few hours of true sleep - it did not make for a good day for me mentally yesterday. Last night she was up 3 times again but they were more spread out and I was able to get some decent sleep in. Still woke up tired but not quite as tired as yesterday...

T enjoying an ice cream cone

Here's a peek at an added reason why I think C's been extra cranky (even for us at home). Can you see them? Yes, Miss C has cut 3 teeth in the past DAY and the 4th cut a few weeks back while on vaca. OUCH!

The 3 most important people in my life.

I can't believe how big Casey is getting. Seriously - look at her! (She's gonna be so mad at me someday for posting this isn't she?! hehehe)Developmentally Casey continues to grow and mature daily. She now will roll wherever she wants to go/be. She sits alone well and will now usually use her hands and arms to correct her position if she starts to tip over. She is still VERY much a Mommy's girl - but I am fine with that as it says a lot about our relationship.

Brendan thinks this towel is awfully strange. I think it's so cute! ;)

She will let others hold her if she can't see me while it's happening otherwise there's tears and crying - and she's got quite a voice! She L-O-V-E-S to go "swimming" and wade around the pool with Brendan or myself holding her. She just loves the water and doesn't mind getting splashed in the face and, in fact, is usually causing the splashing :) Need to get some pics of this activity - her smile when swimming is priceless.

She adores Tegan! It's so sweet watching the 2 of the interact...

If Tegan could hold and carry C around he would be in heaven, though he knows she's too heavy so he doesn't try (thank GOD!).

He and Brendan are the 2 people who can really get her giggling... she smiles and gets excited with me but rarely giggles unless it's something B or T is doing.

C getting frustrated with T going nuts on her exersaucer toys - I don't blame her.

As far as Tegan goes - the everyday daycare schedule (well M-Th) has already done wonders for him. Rarely are there tears in the morning now whereas when it was just the 1 day a week (his summer schedule) it was always rough for us all as there was a tantrum every Wednesday morning. So I'm glad the tantrums are done and the smiles at drop off are back!!!
I just finished downloading the pictures off of the memory cards from both cameras covering who knows how long! (too long, that's for sure!) I'll start with the most recent and work my way back as I continue to post (no promises on how often I post, though. Sorry - this week has been crazy for me back at school.)

Doesn't C look like T here?!

A few nights ago Brendan decided it was time to take the training wheels off of T's bike. Note that I said that Brendan decided it was time, not Tegan... needless to say there were tears... so B decided to try it out. Ha!!!
I think I already mentioned a post or 2 ago that we spent a week in the WI Dells. Needless to say we all had a fabulous time! It was truly one of those vacations where the week was up and we could have easily stayed another several days and not been homesick - it was that fun! We enjoyed activities ranging from a winery tour and wine tasting (adults only) to a tour on the Original Wisconsin Ducks (former Army vehicles that are amphibious), "speed cars" (as T called them) and a mini-rollercoaster We even went to the Ringling Brothers' Circus Museum.There was lots and lots of pool time which I don't have any pictures of! (How did that happen?!) I also got most of my training runs in for the week and B got in several bike rides including one that lasted over 5 hours! Yes, we were getting pretty worried about the guys that day. OH - and at the Circus Museum they had a Thomas train table. Really?! So what did T want to play with? The Thomas trains (that were really circus train cars). Seriously, Kid. We've got a train table at home. Silliness I tell you!
As my summer vacation/break started to wind down I made it a point to make it to as many of the playdates organized by my coworkers as possible as we had missed nearly all of them due to naps, vacations, daycare and other scheduling conflicts. I think the year Tegan was born was the first year they started and there were about 5 or 6 kids in the play group at that point. Now there's at least twice that many kids, if not more, as there are now siblings and a whole new set of mommies and kiddos. I think we ended up making it to 3 playdates in 3 weeks (YAY!) and they included the MN Zoo, MN Children's Museum and well... maybe it was just 2. Ha! Anyway - fun was had by all and my only regret is not making it out to more as Tegan always really enjoyed himself - Casey, too, for that matter.

Gettin' close to bedtime but still cute as a button!

At the zoo Tegan had one goal - see the bears. Lately Tegan has been what some might call "obsessed" with bears. He always wants to know/be reminded where the bears "that eat people" live. He believes that those are the polar bears and they live at the north pole near Santa (maybe that's why Santa only ventures out once a year???). In his eyes the rest of the bears only eat berries and fish, just like the Berenstain Bears. However, he does understand that you should always leave bears alone and you never want to get between a mother bear and her cubs because she wants to keep them safe and gets very angry and mean if there are people near her babies. Interestingly, though, I found some super cute pj's that had an applique grizzly bear on them but Tegan absolutely did NOT want them because the grizzly bears are "very really mean and scare me a lot, Mommy!" --- Back to the zoo - Once Tegan saw the bears (3 that had been abandoned by their moms and then rescued in Alaska) he started to notice the other animals and exhibits. Unfortunately Casey's attention and patience for sitting in the stroller were running short so we didn't go back through and see all the animals, though we did stop at the water fountains on the way out. T loved them! We did peek at a few including the sea otters, penguins (I think) and others from the Grizzly Coast exhibit (interesting name as the bears there were Brown Bears, not Grizzlies...). I think other than the bears T's favorite was the "boiling mud". Doubt it was actually boiling at the zoo but along the Grizzly Coast it does exist. We did also visit the Farm animals but that was actually before the bears and was OK'd by T as there was a real tractor that he was able to climb up on and "drive."
The MN Children's Museum was pretty darn fun, too. Even though C had a good time and was even able to interact with a few of the activities I think this would have been more fun for T and I if we would have left C with Grandma or a 'sitter. Between nursing C and working around her naps we only were able to spend 2 hours or so there and I'm pretty sure T had the stamina to see more. Another time, right?! I was very impressed with how well Tegan played and shared with other children, even those that he'd never met before! He truly had a blast and I had one watching them both (especially T demonstrating his maturing personality).

OK - enough for now...

Love to all!
~j

Vaca

2010-08-11T16:10:00.000-05:00

I haven't forgotten about the blog. No worries. We are on vacation this week with B's family. Just picture - "speed cars" (a.k.a. mini-race cars), The Original Wisconsin Ducks Tour, Outlet Mall, swimming pool, bumper cars, Wolersheim Winery Tour and wine tasting (adults only), and lots, lots more. We're all having a blast and there will be plenty of pictures to post - kids go back to daycare next week so I'll have time to do it then.

Love to all!
~j

Heaven

2010-07-14T14:57:00.000-05:00

I recently read a birth story written by a mother who was unaware that her 2nd child had downs syndrome until the baby was born. In the story the mother shared all of her thoughts and emotions before, during and after her daughter's birth - the good, the bad and the ugly.

Since Ty's delivery, his physical birth, I've thought about writing his birth story, though I guess only he and God truly know what that was like since he was born into Heaven and the arms of Jesus. I still wish I could have known the moment my sweet baby boy met Jesus. I guess my thought is that since God got to have him I at least wanted to be there when he took him. No mother wants her child to meet the Lord before she does, but I'm guessing that if it's going to happen then just about any mother would want to be with her child when his time on Earth was finished. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's definitely how I feel. I guess I was there, but I just didn't know it - I wish I knew it.

OK - here we go - deep breath - another deep breath... you may want to grab a kleenex or 2.

This is part 1 of Ty's birth story:

On Monday, January 26th, 2009 my 2nd child, Ty, met his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Monday, January 26th wasn't like any other day. It was the day I was to help interview for my long term substitute for my maternity leave. I was SO excited as it was just one step closer to meeting my 2nd child, a boy, who was either going to be named Camden Gary or Ty Gary - we were going to wait to meet him before we made the final decision. All morning I sat in on interviews, asking questions, scribbling down answers, thinking about which prospective teacher would mesh best with my students. I think it was the last candidate that we chose, but I knew right away that she was the one I wanted in my classroom, teaching my students. We chatted a bit before the interview in the office and she had that cool confidence. After her interview I told my principal that she was the one - no question about it.

Upon returning to my classroom at lunch-time I found that my morning had not gone too well. I had a feeling that might happen - when I checked in on my sub before school she was confused by my lesson plans (despite them being excessively detailed). Whatever, what was done was done and the kids would be fine. The full-time paraprofessional in my classroom was out for the day so there was a sub in for her, too. My students, I knew, were going to be "off" since over the noon-time hour the para sub was with them. Nothing she did wrong, having a sub just throws schedules and such off...

The afternoon went well, seemed rushed but went well. The read aloud for the day was, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" by Iza Tripani. It meant nothing to me then, but looking back now it has more meaning - sometimes I do wonder if a star is born whenever someone dies... After school I had a feeling like I should plan out my week a bit more than I already had - I had a feeling my entire pregnancy that my baby would be born before his due date, even from the moment I learned I was pregnant.

Walking from the car into our daycare provider's house I briefly noted to myself that I hadn't really felt the baby move much, if at all, that day. Odd since he had always been a busy guy, but I brushed it off as nothing big - Tegan had days where he was exceptionally quiet in my belly. I just made sure to pay a bit more attention for movement on the drive home.

Brendan must have gotten home early that day because when I got home with Tegan he was already there, suiting up to go out for a bike ride (yes, in January). I mentioned to him that Baby had been quiet all day so I was going to go lay down for a bit since that usually got him up and moving and then T and I would be at church as it was the first night of a new session of our Parents and Me music class. Brendan said "OK" and reminded me that he had his cell if I needed to get a hold of him for anything. Brendan left and Tegan and I went downstairs so that he could play and I could lay on the couch.

Around 5:00 (maybe it was 5:03, that time is sticking out in my mind) I laid down. Tegan kept trying to crawl all over me and I kept pushing him off telling him that Mommy needed some quiet time. Baby Boy #2 (now known as Ty) always started moving and grooving after just a few minutes of my laying quietly.

5 minutes passed - no movement

10 minutes passed - no movement

15 minutes passed - no movement

For a brief moment I thought about going to music class to see if that got Baby moving but I decided it was time to call the midwife. I remember exactly what I said:

"I'm sure it's nothing, but I haven't felt Baby move much today."

She agreed that he was probably just being quiet but being that I had already laid down and wasn't getting movement I should go in. She also suggested that I eat something before I go in and maybe my blood sugar was just low and that would get him moving - I ate a bowl of clam chowder that wasn't very good.

I called Brendan and told him what was going on and that I didn't need him to come with me, I'd be fine. I took Tegan across the street thinking I'd be home in an hour. I carried him up the driveway being extra careful not to fall since it was icy. I then got in the car and drove the 10 min to the hospital. As I passed the Home Depot I called my mother-in-law and left her a message:

"Hi, Devin, it's Jenn. I'm sure it's nothing but I just wanted to call and let you know what's going on. I haven't felt Baby move much today so they want me to come in and be monitored for a bit."

I don't remember how I ended the message...

It was about 6:15 or 6:30 when I got to the hospital. I parked on the opposite side of the parking lot than I normally parked on, near a street light to be safe.

I forgot my cell phone in my car.

The nurses on at the Family Birth Place/Center (whatever the official name is) were expecting me. I was taken to room 305 and told that a nurse would be in shortly. While I waited I turned on HGTV and began watching House Hunters.

When the nurse arrived I recognized her. I don't remember the nurse's name but she was the same nurse who lead/taught the baby class Brendan and I took when I was pregnant with Tegan. I commented on the memory to her and asked if she'd had a boy or a girl as she was pregnant when she taught the class. She had a boy.

Note: From here on out for some reason I feel like "Baby" became "Ty"... not sure why I feel like it should change here, but I do (you'll read in the next post about how "Baby" became "Ty"). Just a FYI.

For a good 5 minutes she tried to find Ty's heartbeat. She asked if I'd felt any movement since I arrived and I casually said, "No." She talked to Ty, jiggled my belly and tried to find the heartbeat again and again with no success. She concluded that she just must not have had the touch that night and was going to have another nurse come in and give it a try. I'm sure she knew what had happened at that point. At 1 day shy of 34 weeks it should have been no problem finding a baby's heartbeat. The thought of how serious the situation really was had not even crossed my mind.

It had been just a week since my last appointment where Ty's heartbeat was good and strong.

I think this was the point that I called Brendan and updated him on what was going on. He was at the furthest point out on the trail, about 2 hours away. I can't remember if I asked him to or if it was his decision, but at that point he turned around and was going to come to the hospital. After talking to him hours or days or weeks later (I can't remember when he told me) Brendan says it was at that moment, when I told him that there was still no movement and they couldn't find a heartbeat, that he knew what had happened. He has since put up a small cross at that very spot that he was at when I called him. Last he checked it was still there.

Shortly after I talked to Brendan my midwife came in with a really old looking ultrasound machine. She said she'd see what she could see. After a few minutes of her "looking" around she explained that she was "no ultrasound tech" and since it was such an old machine it gave pretty messy pictures so she couldn't tell what she was seeing. She said she'd call ultrasound downstairs and have them come up with one of their machines that were state of the art. I'm sure she was just stalling things at that point. Me, I was still completely unaware of what was going on - I now view my ignorance as a blessing.

Brendan arrived right around 8:45 as I was about 1/2 way though another House Hunters episode. The couple was from the Twin Cities - I want to say Plymouth, but I can't be for sure on that. Right after Brendan arrived so did the ultrasound tech with her big, fancy u/s machine. It was the same u/s tech that had performed the 20 week ultrasound on me and told us how beautiful our baby's organs were and that our baby was, very clearly, a boy.

Someone turned the lights off just before the ultrasound began. The tech was talking up a storm, explaining that she was taking pictures to show the midwife. Then she stopped talking.

That's when I briefly thought of what could have caused her to stop talking but quickly brushed it off as her focusing on her work.

She then took a few more pictures and quickly cleaned the gel off my belly and said very plainly that she was done. As she left the room I jokingly asked her, "dare I ask?"

Her response: "I'll let Dawn tell you."

It was then I knew but tried to brush it off again. I looked at Brendan but I don't remember his face.

Dawn, our midwife, came in and just shook her head holding back tears and said 2 words I'll never forget.

"I'm sorry."

I lost it.

I screamed.

"NO! NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!" "WHY?!"

"I don't know," she said.

"When?"

"The ultrasound tech said that based on the level of clotting around his heart it's been about 4 hours."

4 hours would have put Ty's death at just around 5pm. Right when I was laying down to get him moving. I was aware of him when he died, probably, but not aware of what was truly happening.

It was around 5pm on Monday, January 26th, 2009 that my child was born - born into the arms of his Father. His heavenly birth.

Heaven - the home that my child was born into.

6 Months and Then Some

2010-07-13T11:15:00.000-05:00

Today was Casey's official 6-month well baby check-up. Technically, though, she is 6 months and 13 days old, so almost 6.5 months (where has the time gone?!). Here are her measurements:
Weight: 18.5 pounds - 86 %ile
Height: 26.6 inches - 73 %ile
Head Circumference: 17.6 inches - 93 %ile

Aunt Amanda & Casey

I can't get over how big my little girl is getting! She has more than tripled her birth weight by gaining nearly 13 pounds since she was born. She has grown 8.1 inches in length and I don't even remember her head circumference at birth, I'd have to check, but it was tiny (I'm thinking 12 inches???).

We also learned today that Casey is old enough to start baby yogurt (whole milk yogurt). So, we stopped at the store on the way home and got that along with lots of other stuff we needed (mostly fruit, cereal and something to make for dinner). As soon as we got home I got the cold stuff in the fridge, snapped off a strawberry-banana w/cereal yogurt for Miss C and she L-O-V-E-D it! Ate the entire container (less 3 bites that T had to "try" it). She then played for a few minutes in her Jumperoo and was then ready for her morning nap. Couldn't go down without nursing, too, so the girl nursed AND ate an entire container of yogurt! No wonder she's 18.5 pounds! Oh, and did I mention she was up to eat 5 times last night?! SERIOUSLY, Casey! I need some sleep!

Tegan is also making some great gains in his development. The boy is getting closer and closer to sleeping through the night (have I mentioned that he hasn't done that consistently yet? Ever!) AND he now goes poop on the potty!!! Hallelujah! The only thing we have left to do as far as potty training goes is to get him to wake up and go in the potty during the night. No clue on how to do that as the kid sleeps like a rock (when he's asleep) and the need to pee does not wake him up. I now put him in Good Night's (the step above pull-ups for older kids who have bed-wetting troubles) because he was peeing through his nighttime diaper every night.

Hope this finds you all happy and healthy! Take care and...

Love to all!
~j

Pearly Whites

2010-07-07T11:43:00.000-05:00

It's true - Casey has teeth. Over Father's Day weekend Miss C cut her first 2 teeth and she let us (and anyone within ear-shot) know that she did not enjoy the experience. We were actually at a friend's wedding when the first tooth finally broke through the gums.

About an hour or so before the 1st tooth broke through the gums.

Casey was doing her high-pitched "singing" (as B calls it) and then she just stopped. When she suddenly got quiet I knew one of two things: 1) the tooth cut or 2) she gave up and was just super tired.

For several nights leading up to that day Casey had veered away from her normal sleep pattern of only getting up 1-2x a night and instead was waking anywhere between every 45 min - 2 hours wanting nothing but to nurse but then would be asleep within just a few minutes at the breast. It was exhausting, to say the least. Then, that night Casey went down around 8pm in my arms at the wedding and after waking for a brief period when we got to Brendan's sister's apartment (where we stayed the night) she slept until 5am (if I remember correctly). It was heavenly! The next day, I believe, is when the 2nd tooth broke through and I could tell life was going to be "normal" again (at least until the next set of teeth started bothering her).

Can you see the teeth?

How about now?

So what did I learn through this whole experience? Teething really does hurt! It never really bothered Tegan except for when he was getting his eye-teeth and molars and even then it was very quick and didn't effect his sleep and attitude towards life. All he needed was a little Tylenol and he was back to his normal self. Casey is the opposite, aside from drooling like MAD when teething. She voices her discomfort to the entire world, does not respond much to Tylenol and, as mentioned above, does not sleep well that last week or so before the teeth cut. She also cut her first tooth/teeth long before T did. I haven't checked, but I'm pretty sure T didn't cut his first tooth until he was close to a year old... C, as you know, is just 6 months and being that she cut her tooth a few weeks ago was really only 5 1/2 months when hers made their appearance. I was hoping that maybe I'd get a reprieve from the night-time sleep disturbances due to teething, and I have to a point, but I have a feeling that the upper 2 front teeth are already bothering C as after a week or so break from the droolfest Casey is back to being a drool monster and her nighttime sleep is unpredictable. So, I'll keep you updated on how that goes and when the uppers make their grand appearance. UPDATE: so I started writing this a few days ago and she's still back to her up 2x/night routine. So hopefully it'll stay that way for a while. I'm still surprised that she's not sleeping longer. Casey used to sleep until almost 2 or 3am before waking for her first nighttime feeding and now is on a schedule of waking around 11:30 and again at 3:30 (so every 4 hours). Her 6 month appointment is next week, so we'll learn her official weight then, but I'd guess she's around 17 pounds. SO, as far as size goes, she's definitely big enough to sleep for a longer period of time at night than she is...

T (3 yrs 5 mo) & C (6 mo)

Oh, and how could I forget? Here are her 5 and 6 month pictures on the red chair. :)

5 months

6 months

All for now, love to all!
~j

Yes, We're Alive

2010-07-05T17:20:00.000-05:00

I know you may think that we fell off the face of the earth being that it's been 5 or 6 weeks since my last post, but we are still alive and doing well. Even Brendan got on my case for a lack of blogging the other day. Having 2 kids requires so much more attention than one, and the funny thing is that it's actually Tegan that's requiring more energy than Casey. HA! Additionally, we have been quite busy, especially with the official start of Brendan's race season and all the commitments that come with summer (weddings, playdates, yard/garden work, housekeeping, etc.)

I don't even know where to begin (do I say that every time I blog now?)

Hm... well, over the 2nd weekend in May I packed the kids up and the 3 of us headed over to the Madison, WI area for a long weekend of visiting friends and a wedding shower I was co-hosting. We stayed with my dear friend Jessica, her husband and 2 children, Eli & Celia (C.C.). Eli was just 10 days shy of 5 when we were visiting and C.C. is 2 1/2 and as sweet as can be. Despite Tegan and Eli having twin personalities and butting heads quite a bit (they are both strong willed little boys!) they did have some good playtime together and were sad when it was time for us to say goodbye. C.C. strikes me much like what I anticipate Casey to be like when she gets older - a little girl who adores her big brother, follows his lead but also likes to stand back and quietly observe a lot, too. However, after saying this I also must mention that a few weeks ago Casey discovered how to control the pitch and volume of her voice. For a while there she truly enjoyed practicing this skill as much as she could, especially exercising the ability to control the volume. Brendan refers to it as singing - if it's her singing, then sorry sweetie, but you are not going to be the next Christina Aguilera.

A few weeks ago T got to spend the weekend with my parents while B, C and I headed over to Milwaukee to attend the wedding of Brendan's college roommate. We just decided that 12 hours in the car over a 24 hour period would be a lot for Tegan and he'd have more fun with Gramma and Papa - we were right! The wedding was beautiful - outside overlooking Lake Michigan with the reception just a few hundred feet away from the ceremony site in a nice little restaurant. Here's a few pics of B and C keeping cool.
Tegan continues to grow and mature (socially, emotionally, cognitively and physically) with each day. He is acutely aware of Casey and her needs at all times. If she's crying, he lets me know, even if I'm holding Miss C. However, in saying that he's also becoming more and more independent and opinionated (though I didn't think it was possible for him to do that as he was already quite a strong willed and opinionated little guy). His rude attitude and stubbornness are hitting (what I hope) is an all time high. The kid just doesn't understand that when Mommy and Daddy say "no" or "stop" we mean it and when we say "if you ____ one more time we will take away ___" we WILL follow through. Whenever he asks me for something and I don't answer in the way that he wants I get quite the attitude from him and he won't back down without a fight, which has been happening a lot (the "fight" a.k.a. him using a rude tone of voice with me and after stomping and yelling landing himself in timeout with toys taken away for the day). I hate seeing him get so upset, but I'm also SO frustrated with his lack of following rules and directions and blatantly disobeying me with a smirk on his face while he does it. Needless to say the other day the kid went to bed with 75% of his toys put away in garbage bags or out of reach on a tall counter and without bedtime books or story. It was a rough day on T and I - I even cried in front of him (which I didn't want to do) but I think him seeing that got to him and he realized how upset I was. The kid is, and has always been for that matter,very aware of the emotions of others and does not ever intend to hurt anyone's feelings. As soon as he saw me crying he stopped his screaming and kicking and all that (tantrum) and immediately hugged me, apologized and we had a serious heart to heart about how much his bad behavior and lack of following directions hurts Momma and Daddy makes us very sad. I have to say, in the days since then I have had to remind T to follow directions much less. Maybe that was the trick. Not saying he's done a 180 and is a perfect angel now. The kid did start to throw a fit yesterday when it was time to leave the beach (we went down to Lake Calhoun with my long-term substitute and the kids she's nannying this summer), but the fit was very short lived and he settled down much more quickly than it's taken in recent weeks/months. I'm sure it's all part of being a 3 year-old but I'm still allowed to NOT like it one bit.

Totally switching subjects: For over a year I've been talking about getting a big blank canvas (or a few smaller ones) and letting T go wild on them with paint. A few weeks ago I finally did it. I went and got four 16x20" canvases from Micheal's (craft store) along with some Crayola washable paint and ooh-gobs of kids paint brushes. I put those foam workout/kids' play mats on the garage floor (since I could just hose them off afterward) and gave T 7 colors to use: red, orange, yellow, blue, green, brown & white (T insisted on white even though the canvas was already white - but I knew he might mix it with some colors and it would probably turn out cool). I then put the canvases together so that it could be one big piece of art and then I'd then separate and hang them a few inches from each other. There were definitely a few times when I began to regret the project but I made myself (or at least tried) to relax and remember that I needed to just let T be 3. At one point I caught him pouring the green bottle into the brown bottle and I nearly called the whole thing off but I didn't, again reminding myself that it was all part of the experience and it' just paint. :) After drying in the garage overnight and, of course more procrastination on my part, I hung T's first masterpiece(s) in his room and I think it turned out pretty darn cool! What do you think? I also hung his framed train poster, which I've been meaning to do for several months, too. HA!

Before I forget, here are a few of the things T has said recently that are either really sweet or cute or just plain need to be remembered as well as some of his favorite things:)
- "Look, Mom, it's the TVS truck!" -- it took me a while to figure out that he was talking about the UPS truck.
- T: "You're lucky, Mom!"
Me: "Why am I lucky?"
T: "Because I love you!"
- "Not anyfang!" (meaning "anything") This phrase follows when we ask him what he wants for breakfast, lunch or dinner. The only thing he wants to eat lately are snacks like Popsicles (his FAVORITE thing int he world. Especially green and orange ones). He's still a big fan of fruit nuggets (like fruit snacks but 70% or so real fruit and occasionally marshmallows, too). Favorite meal foods are the typical kids favorites: hot dogs & mac 'n cheese. I made spinach and cheese ravioli the other night and he really liked that. He's a fruit and juice-aholic. The kid refuses to eat veggies (knowingly that is) so I've resorted buying juice that has veggie juice in it mixed with the fruit juice. I thought w had a break through the other night as he wanted to eat Casey's squash, ate almost an entire baby container of it... but he's refused to do so since.
- The kid is addicted to the Backyardigans show from Nick Jr. We've got a DVD with 4 episodes on it and he L-O-V-E-S it. I love it because it really encourages imagination, imaginative play and working together. The kid walks around singing the songs and reciting phrases from it every daily.
- T is now into "exercising". This consists of him getting in semi-push-up position but with butt up in the air and then pushing up and down with his arms and legs. It's pretty naughty looking, actually. HA! He'll also jump around, jump on one leg... stuff like that and say he's exercising.
- The pool is still the "cool" according to Tegan. We've had it out a lot this summer as it's been pretty darn warm and humid. Even a several days where it's been down right HOT! A great excuse for the neighbor kids (including T's girlfriend, Lilly, remember her?) to come over and play. :)
- T's been adding "y" or "ey" to the end of a lot of his words, especially when he's whiney. So he'll say things like, "I need my beddy" or "I need my bikey". It's so frustrating at this point because it usually means he's getting overstimulated or just plain tired/worn-out and a tantrum (large or small) is potentially on the horizon.

Then there's Miss Casey. The little lady continues to grow more and more each day. Her hair has even noticeably gotten longer and thicker just over the past week. The girls gonna have dark hair like her mommy and daddy. :) She's also basically sitting on her own, though I don't let her do so for long as her little belly is so big that if she's eaten anything within the last 2-3 hours she's very susceptible to spitting it up if she's sitting. She still leans over quite a bit when trying to sit so her belly gets super squished. She'll usually just sit there and grunt - makes me laugh, that's for sure.

Casey's hair has really started to grow over the past few weeks. I was looking through pictures I've taken and was just astonished by how long and thick it's gotten! She's also growing as an individual and gaining so much personality. I just love all the cute faces she makes a us. She's now content to lay and talk to herself after she wakes from a nap and even in the morning when she's gotten up for the day. I enjoy standing outside of her room and listening to the conversations she has with herself. It's truly cute.
She is also rolling over and seems to prefer to sleep on her belly, so no more swaddling. She sleeps better when her lower half is swaddled, even from the armpits down, but I worry about leaving her in her bed with a large blanket as she frequently wiggles herself out of the blanket and then pulls it around with her has she moves around the crib.

Enough for now - I'll post this so that there's something new and will begin working on another post soon (I promise). I'll make sure to post C's 5 and 6-month pics (the ones I take in the red chair) in that one.

Take care and love to all!
~j

Post in the Works

2010-06-18T00:29:00.000-05:00

I've got a blog post that I've been working on for a few weeks now (seriously, I'll sit down and get about 5 min of work in on it and something will come up and I'll have to step away... such is my life now that I've got 2 little ones to keep track of).

I will leave you with a cute mental image (hope it's not too much info for some). I was pumping tonight after putting C down for the night when the phone rang. I put my bottles down, covered up and got up to answer it. When I returned no more than 30 seconds later I found Tegan with one of the flanges (the part that cups the breast while pumping) held up to his own chest/breast. I guess the kid wanted to see a) what it felt like and b) if he could get some milk out of himself because when I asked him what he was doing he replied with something along the lines of "trying to make milk like you." I explained that only mommies can make milk and he insisted on trying again but I said "no". It was so hard not to just break out in tears from how hard I was laughing (and trying to hide my laughter from T - he was experiencing a serious learning moment). To be honest, I'm surprised it has taken this long for the kid to try to milk himself :)

Hope that leaves you with a grin and/or a chuckle (maybe even a good belly laugh - did me!)

Love to all!
~j

One Third

2010-05-10T08:14:00.001-05:00

Just over a week ago our little sunshine baby girl turned 4 months old! Yes, 1/3 of a year has passed since her much anticipated and prayed about birth... actually it's been 4 months 1 week and 3 days if I'm doing my math correctly.

Where did the time go and what happened to the tiny baby we brought home from the hospital??? I know times goes quickly when you have children, but I didn't anticipate it going by faster and faster with each child. You live and learn, that's for sure!

Here's a little collage I've made of how she's grown (beginning at 1 month as I forgot to do the newborn pic in the chair - still mad about that):I even got a picture with my newest baby on Mother's Day - a first as I've never gotten to have my pic taken with any of my babies (they'll always be my babies, even when they are parents themselves). Not too bad if you want my opinion :)

As far as stats go, here they are as of 1 week ago (5/3/10):
Weight: 14 lbs 11 oz - 74 %ile
Height/Length: 24.5 in - 60 %ile
Head Circumference: Can't remember measurement but it was the 63 %ile

Here's even a few pics from the doctors' office while we were waiting:

"Dancing" (as we call it) on the examining table

Eating her fists

(one of her favorite things to do these days & YES she can fit her entire fist into her mouth)

Flirting with and showing off for the camera :)

So as you can tell (based on the numbers and the pictures) my little love-bug is growing quickly! She even started eating baby oatmeal cereal last week. Seriously, like I said, where has the time gone?! As you can imagine, C wasn't sure what to think of the whole first "real food" experience, as some call it.

Preparing for 1st "solid" food...

This might be good...
The girl didn't want to open her mouth.
Mommy giving some encouragement and Tegan showing Miss C how it's done.

I'm not exactly sure how much even made it into her mouth let alone her stomach, but since then the girl has become a oatmeal cereal eating champion! Today she even "asked" for some cereal at lunch time. When I say she "asked" i mean she got super cranky even after nursing, specifically the same kind of cranky she gets now if I don't feed her her dinner-time cereal... so it's not yet a very fun or nice way of asking, but I seemed to know what she was asking for once I realized it wasn't from being overly tired. SO, she got cereal at lunch and did pretty darn well. She didn't eat quite as much as she tends to at dinner, but a fair amount. I just wish she'd go longer between nursing feedings now that she's getting extra calories between a few of those feedings... eventually, I'm sure.

Developmentally Casey is right where she should be if not even a bit advanced. She not only brings her hands together but she is getting them to her mouth and even starting to grab for objects. She is rolling from tummy to back on a fairly consistent basis (did a handful of times today alone, plus several times yesterday and last week). She is pushing up with her arms and thus holding her chest up off the floor for "extended" periods of time when lying on her tummy. She is "talking" with us (not sure what on God's green earth she's saying most of the time, if at all... but she seems to). She is smiling SO much and favors especially Mommy but also Daddy. She LOVES standing up and often times even locks her knees and hips and doesn't want to bend/sit. It's really funny to see us try to sit her down when she's this way - despite her extra padding/pudge she's one strong girl!

The little stinker is even starting to show interest in TV...
though I'm sure it's more the bright moving colors than anything.Doing 3 of her favorite things:

1) Standing 2) Sucking on a fist & 3) spending time with Daddy

At night C generally sleeps from 7-2 or 3 before she wakes, though the past week or so has been much more unpredictable and she'll wake at 11 or midnight wanting her pacifier and then fall back asleep until anywhere from 2 to 4am. On Saturday she pulled a fast one on us and seemed to go to bed for the night at 6pm after throwing a nearly hour long crying fit. Then, at 9pm she woke up hungry. After a little socialization and some food she fell back asleep around 9:45 and slept until 5am! Happy Mother's Day to me, that's for sure! Thank you C for that one! During the day, though, she's still hungry about ever 3-3.5 hours. Occasionally she'll go 4 hours between feedings, but that happens maybe 1-2x a week, so not much.

As far as Tegan goes, Casey thinks he's the bees-knees! The way she smiles at him is priceless and when Tegan sees her smiling at him he melts just a much as we all do. He'll often say, "Mama, Casey is smiling at me. I think she loves me." So sweet!!!

T and C exploring the exersaucer

That pretty much catches you all up on all things Casey... Hope you enjoyed all of the pics and that this finds you and your loved ones happy & healthy!

Love to all!!!
~j

Mr. Thirsty Straw

2010-05-07T09:10:00.001-05:00

Yesterday marked the beginning of a now life-long experience for Tegan - he had his first trip to the dentist! I'll admit that I was not only nervous about him freaking out and refusing to open his mouth but also that he would have a cavity (or more than one). He hasn't been complaining of any tooth pain but the kid is a juiceaholic and his favorite snacks are Florida's Natural brand fruit nuggets (like fruit snacks but not as squishy and made from like 90% real fruit and juice) and fruit bars (similar to fruit leather). Thankfully, though, neither one of my fears came to fruition! YAY!

The visit began by Tegan playing in the toy room while we waited for his appointment to begin. After a few minutes Heidi, the hygienist, came in and introduced herself to me and Tegan. Then she got right down on the floor to play with him and gain his trust. After a few minutes of talking and searching for the balls that go to a toy Heidi invited T back to the room and off we went.

I'm not going to lie, though, Tegan did not want to sit in the special chair despite seeing Mommy do it and with the bribe of watching Dora while in the chair but Heidi, the hygienist, was A-MAZING! She invited T over to her little work are to meet the dental tools including the water & air squirter, Mr. Thirsty Straw (the suction straw), and Mr. Zebra who wasn't working and then was switched to Mr. Tiger Tooth Cleaner (tooth polisher). He even got to hold and use Mr. Thirsty straw to drink up the water that Heidi squirted into a cup. It was too cute and Tegan was very excited to be allowed to touch the tools. Go figure, the kid figured out in a matter of seconds how to turn Mr. Thirsty Straw on and off. HA!
After "working" with Mr. Thirsty Straw Heidi invited T to hold Mr. Tiger. She explained that if T said "Spin Please" Mr. Tiger's mouth would spin and "eat" up the toothpaste (strawberry, just like at home but after a taste T decided it was better than ours). So after a few "gobbles" of the toothpaste Heidi asked T if she could help Mr. Tiger help her count T's teeth and, to my pleasant surprise, T thought that was a fun idea. So standing there (with one shoe on and one shoe off no less) Miss Heidi polished T's teeth. HA! It was definitely quite a sight. I wish I took some pics of that, but I was more focused on keeping T calm. After a few shor minutes we "learned" that Tegan has 20 beautiful, healthy & big teeth (yes, she commented that he has big teeth - he got that one from me. Hopefully he won't have big adult teeth, too, but I'm sure if he does he'll still be a beautifully handsome boy!)

After the cleaning T decided he wanted to sit in the dental chair so up he went and Miss Heidi let him go for a "ride" up and down and back and forth.

Then he wanted to watch Dora so on the headphones went and he was zoned-in before we knew it. A minute or two later and Dr. Jeff was in to say "hi" and take a look. T thought it was cool that Dr. Jeff had on Crocs just like he did, but Dr. Jeff's were army green and T's were/are red. Tegan even got to try on Dr. Jeff's fancy glasses (no pics of that one, it was a fast experience!).

Again Tegan opened wide and his teeth were counted and checked and confirmed Miss Heidi's observation that T has a mouth full of strong and healthy teeth. YAY TEGAN!!!

While Dr. Jeff was examining T's teeth Miss Heidi took some pictures with the office camera. As I was leaving she offered to email them to me and the following was in my in-box before I even got home!

If you're looking for a dentist in the Shakopee/Savage area I'd highly recommend Crossings Dental Care! The entire staff is SO friendly and I was beyond impressed with how positive they made Tegan's first visit!

Love to all and Happy Friday!
~jenn

Young Love

2010-05-06T20:54:00.000-05:00

So I'm not sure if I've mentioned it on here or not but Tegan has his "official" first girlfriend. He tells everyone about her now. OK, so not everyone but lots of people, especially his friends at daycare. When I picked T up from daycare on Wednesday I was informed by our daycare provider "Rolie" (really, her name is Laurie, but that's how Tegan says it) that Tegan asked several of his daycare friends if they knew what his girlfriend's name is and then quickly and very enthusiastically shared that her name is Lilly.

Yes, her name is Lilly (Lillian, really, but she goes by Lilly) and she is a true southern belle. Born in Dallas, I believe, and her family is mostly from Alabama and with her mom and dad both having the awesome southern accent little Lilly has one too - it's SOOOO cute!!! It's a rare occasion if you see her without her rhinestone sunglasses and I don't think I've ever seen her without her hair "done" whether up in a ponytail or curled or something. Seriously, the girl is precious!

Anyway, we had Lilly and her family (Mom, Dad and baby brother) over for s'mores and a bonfire a few weeks ago and the two (T & L) decided to play Ring-Around-The-Rosie. Not sure where they learned this version...

If that's not cute enough then here's another display of T's fondness for Miss Lilly. On our front porch we have 2 chairs and a small table (not a bistro set, but similar). Generally the table is located between the chairs. Let's just say that when Lilly wanted to sit on the porch it was decided by a certain 3 year old boy that the chairs should be located immediately next to each other. As it's true southern style, Lilly also goes along with what her "man" says/does, so when T didn't want his picture taken, neither did she. The following is a series of pictures demonstrating just that:

Tegan: No, I DON'T want my picture taken!

Lilly: [giggling] No, don't take my picture.

Lilly peeking to see if T was still "blocking" the camera (that's what he calls it, "blocking")

Tegan post offering Lilly some of her water
(and yes, he holds the bottle for her as she drinks, ha!)

This is (obviously) from another day when the 2 love birds were blowing bubbles together.

I'll stop there for tonight. Hope all's well with you and yours...
Love to all!
~jenn

Rollin' Over!

2010-04-22T21:07:00.000-05:00

She did it!

Casey rolled over for the first time this week and I saw it!

Here's C shortly after the event - I turned her back over in hopes that she'd repeat the acrobatics but she was too tired. Rolling over is hard work!

You might not think that's too exciting but I think it is as I was not there to see when T first rolled over - I was back at work and my mom was the one to get to witness that milestone experience. It was such a shock, too (Casey's rolling over, that is). Even though she used to l-o-v-e tummy time (when she was still a tiny little pun'kin) Miss C now generally does not like it. Tegan extremely disliked tummy time, too. The doc said it was probably because he was such a big baby and there was so much weight on his tum-tum during tummy time that it was not comfortable. I think C has gotten to that point - the point of being a bit on the rolie-polie side :) (I weighed her the other day and she was 14+ pounds!)

Look at those eyes - wow! As with Tegan, we're in trouble!

Anyway, back to why it was a surprise. Like I was saying, C doesn't generally like tummy time and when I do put her on her tummy she usually arches her back, stiffens her arms and keeps them at her sides and cries. After a few minutes she gives up on the arching her back and just lets her head rest on the floor, sometimes even face flat down. Plus, she frequently spits up during TT (tummy time) and then gets it all over her face... So, like I said, not a fun time for her. Well, on this day (I already forget but I think it was on Tuesday) instead of doing all of the above described she put her arms out in front of herself and pushed her chest up off the ground using them [her arms] and even smiled! Then after a minute or so she started pushing more with her left arm and then she slowly rolled over!

Trust me, it was SO neat to see! Though, at the same time it was a bit sad because it is just another sign that Casey is growing up. Yes, I know. She's not even 4 months old yet, but I still picture her as my little sub 6 pound preterm blessing.

Alright - that's all for tonight. I've hardly seen my hubby tonight so I'm gonna go lounge on the couch with him before we go n'night.

Take care & Love to all!
~j

Big Fat Tears

2010-04-20T10:26:00.000-05:00

Well, I did it.

I don't know the last time I truly let myself do it... but in the wee hours of the morning I let it happen.

I cried for Ty.

Big, fat, soak your pillow alligator tears.

My body shook, I could hardly catch my breath at times...

You might have even called it weeping.

Thankfully Brendan was there and woke up and held me and just let me cry. Thank you, Sweetie! You don't know how important that embrace was!

I was up feeding Casey and after putting her back down and while waiting for her to return to her slumber I decided to catch up on friends' blogs and then...

BAM!

It hit me - hard.

MY baby is in heaven and I am not. My child went to his eternal home before me. That's not supposed to happen!

I am now living a life that I describe as bittersweet...
It's bitter - my baby died and I don't even know why.
My 3 year old questions death and why things die on almost a daily basis. He always asks why someone or something died (like Ty, Brendan's grandpa, an animal on the side of the road, etc.) He understands, I think, that it means that whoever died is not living like we do and will be that way forever. Whenever he hears that someone or something died or is dead he explains how Daddy's (Brendan's) papa died and went to heaven to live with Jesus just like Ty. In his eyes everyone and everything that dies is goes to be with Jesus - oh my dear Tegan, how I wish that was the case. Someday you will better understand.

Then there's the sweet - I've got a beautiful, precious, amazing little baby girl that I probably wouldn't have if Ty had not gone to be with Jesus. My daughter, Casey Devin, is a girl whose smile lights up the room, who is such a mama's girl but truly gives her biggest smiles to her daddy and big brother... the brother that is here on this side of heaven. There's that bitter again, the fact that Casey will grow up with only one of her big brother's here to protect her and play with her and fight with her and tease her and do all the things that big brothers do. Tegan will live up to the challenge of having to do it all himself - that I'm sure of. And there's the sweet again - Tegan. He is a stink-pot (as Brendan said about him just yesterday) but he has the most tender, loving soul.

And that's where I will stop... with the sweet - as it makes my heart fill with joy and love and all the good things that God gives us through our children.

Love to all!
~j

Where to Begin???

2010-04-08T20:26:00.000-05:00

As has become habit it's been a long time between "real" posts other than Teganisms and random pics. So in looking back have I really not posted much other than the above mentioned since the beginning of March?! WOW! I guess I'll briefly update on Tegan today so as to not make this a novel of a post and include a nice amount of pics for you visual learners. :)

Tegan... The kid has definitely moved from the Terrible Two's into the... what would you call them... Thrashing Threes? Whatever you call them they are like the 2's but worse. UGH! I mean look at those eyes - you can just see him plotting his next mischievous adventure. Hopefully it's a boy thing, that's all I have to say. HA! I'll stop there - at least as far as negative posting goes because T really is a sweetheart. Yes, he can really be a handful and wears my patience thin daily but he also does so much that warms my heart to its very core and beyond. The kid is just so aware of his feelings and emotions and wears them all on his sleeve letting them rub off on all around him (in a good way, of course). I don't know how many times he tells me that he loves me every day. I hear the phrase, "Mom, I just want you!" daily, too, and even though it's usually when I'm busy with dinner or cleaning or nursing or diapering or something it still means so much. The same goes for T's love for his daddy, too. He cries when Brendan leaves for work most days... especially lately with how early B has to leave and how late he gets home due to his extra long commute from the 101 and 41 bridges across the MN River being closed. Hopefully they'll open soon and we can all get more Daddy/Brendan time.

For Easter we spent the weekend in Rochester. My parents and sister also joined us all for dinner on Saturday (worked better for us all to do our big meal on Saturday rather than Sunday). The kids did great (aside from Tegan being overwhelmed at first and throwing a fit) - and the Easter bunny even caught wind of our early celebration and hid the Easter eggs a day early for us. Well, at least that's what we wanted the kids to think, but when we asked Tegan who hid all the eggs he quickly replied with, "Daddy and Uncle Joe!" However, it was the Easter bunny who delivered T's Easter present (yes, he got an Easter present - the kid is spoiled, I know!) We (B and T) decided that it was time that T get a bike with "pedals and brakes" (as Tegan calls it). He also wanted it to be red like Daddy's, so Daddy put in a call to the "Easter Bunny" (who the general public knows as Rochester Cycling and Fitness) regarding a red bike with pedals and brakes and E.B. reserved a red and black Trek 16" boys bike. I had to laugh, though. T was super excited when he saw the bike and then within 5 min it was no longer exciting and he was back to playing with the Barbie Jeep. HA!!!

Following church on Sunday I insisted that we get a family picture... well, these are what we got. I'm sure that if we somehow meshed the 3 together we'd have a pretty decent pic (other than T pouting throughout all 3).
Sunday also brought egg coloring (yeah, we did it kinda backwards this year). And boy-oh-boy did Tegan ever get into that! I'll just let the pictures do the explaining on this one. :)

The past 2 days have been not quite as fun. T has been battling a nasty fever that has proven to require Tylenol AND Motrin to cool it down. The highest so far has been 102.8. We finally went into the pediatrician's office today because an hour after Tylenol his temp had gone up and not down. Countless tears, a few books and some real life reenactments of "The Berenstain Bears Go to the Doctor" later a strep test showed that T probably just has a no fun virus that just needs to run its course. For his braveness in getting his throat swabbed Tegan got an Arctic Blast from Dairy Queen and a sprinkle doughnut from the "Doughnut Store" a.k.a. Kwik Trip. OK, so the kid was really clueless what it meant to have his throat tickled so maybe he wasn't so brave in that area, but he did take it like a man until the test was done and then he was upset about how it felt - who wouldn't get upset. Strep throat tests SUCK! So the doughnut was definitely deserved and the Arctic Blast (basically a slushy) was my attempt to get some more hydration into the kid. Here's hoping and praying that he's able to settle down and actually get some good sleep tonight. He was cashed out on the couch snoring like a grandpa by 6:30 last night and didn't get a nap today due to the time of his doc appointment.

OK - how's that for an update? I know it basically only covers the past week or so, but it's better than nothing. I do have pics from one of our library visits I can share another time, too.

Love to all!!!
~j

1st Run

2010-03-31T13:32:00.001-05:00

Well, the B.O.B. guidelines say 8 months before you take your baby
running in the stroller. I say that's horse... Well, you know what
comes next.

Look Mom, No Feet!

2010-03-30T21:20:00.000-05:00

Yes, he's only 3 :)

Flying - Horses

2010-03-30T21:11:00.000-05:00

Here's a quick conversation T and I had the other day - I thought his logic was just too cute:
Me: Tegan, can you show Miss Michelle (our neighbor) how you can glide down the hill on your bike with no feet?
Tegan: Fly?
Me: Well, sure. It's kind of like flying I guess.
Tegan: (in a voice so genuine and sincere) Mommy, I can't fly - I don't have rockets on my bike!

OH - and when I asked T to tell Brendan about what the hay bales are for he said the same thing he'd told me and this followed:
Brendan: Oh?! We're going to have horses? Where are they going to live?
Tegan: In our backyard!

He said something else the other day and now I can't remember what, but I'm sure it'll come to me.

I've got pictures downloaded off the camera and waiting for me to blog about them (for C and T) so now I've just got to find the energy (I've got the time after the kiddos go to bed, just not the energy, ha!)

Love to all!
~j

Horses and Hay

2010-03-12T16:15:00.001-06:00

Here's the latest Tegan quote:

Tegan: Mama, what's those?
Me: You know what those are, remember? They start with hhhhhhh [making the 'h' sound]
Tegan: Oh yeah, Hay bales.
Me: Yup! Good job.
Tegan: Ya, and ya know when we have horses some day we can borrow it [the bales, he still has trouble with singular & plural pronouns]
Me: Honey, I don't foresee us ever having horses :)

Happy Friday!
Love to all...
~jenn

Just like Mommy?

2010-03-11T08:20:00.000-06:00

So my MIL (Mother-In-Law) says that Casey looks just like me as a baby... I can see it a little bit, but I think that Casey is WAY prettier and has a much cuter nose (I hate my nose). What do you think? (about our baby pictures, not my nose - silly you!)
Love to all...
~jenn

Wednesday Morning Laugh

2010-03-10T09:04:00.001-06:00

Me: "Tegan, you're full of bologna!"
Tegan: "Bologna?"
Me: "yes, that means that I think that you're lyin'."
Tegan: "I'm not a lion, I'm a BOY."

Love to all...

~Jenn

Quote of the Day

2010-03-07T13:29:00.001-06:00

Tegan: "I love you, Mommy, 'cause you go poop in the potty lots of
times!" (following tegan going poop in the potty)

Runner-up: (picture Vana White arm motions as Tegan presents me with
the potty with his poop) "Ta-da!!!!"

Love to all!
~Jenn

Monthly Pics

2010-03-05T08:38:00.001-06:00

1 month

2 months

3 - 1 - 6 Focusing on 6 (which is now 9)

2010-03-04T08:25:00.000-06:00

So did I get to my post last week? I guess not (just checked). My apologies.

Well, the little one that in the title was once the 6 is now actually 9. Yes that number referred to Casey and her age at the time of the first post with the 3 - 1 - 6 title.

So as I posted yesterday, as of Monday Casey weighs approx 10.5 pounds and is 22 inches long. That's a 5 pound weight gain since leaving the hospital the first time and a 3.5 inch growth in height/length! Can you believe it?! I sure can't - I still see my little girl as the 5.5 pound baby I brought home with skin wrinkled legs and arms due to low body fat... those days are definitely no more. Casey has plumped up nicely and even has a few rolls :)

At her doctor appointment C's pediatrician, Dr. Judy, showed me Casey's length and weight from birth to now on a graph compared to the various percentiles and it's just amazing to see how (compared to full term babies) Casey has gone from below the 10%ile to nearly the 41%ile (if averaging the length, weight and head circumference %ile values).

I looked up Tegans 1 month stats (so that I am comparing them at the same ages based on due dates) and Casey's weight is 1 ounce more than Tegan's (but Casey had a very full diaper when weighed, so that makes up the difference and then some). WOW! I laugh because a coworker of mine told me that all of her kids got big fast as babies and she decided she must have made whipping cream for breastmilk - well, it looks like I do, too! And, Casey is a good eater. I guess Tegan didn't get to the 90%ile from us bottle feeding him (and offering too much)... C is on the same track with almost exclusively breastfeeding.

Another interesting thing I learned was that it is totally normal for Casey to be developmentally a few weeks "behind" (compared to full term babies) until she's anywhere between 6-9 months old, though she's already doing most of what a 2 month old is expected to do. She smiles, coos, gurgles, kicks, focuses on people (though like most babies is also intrigued by lights and the light from windows), lifts her head off the ground (when doing tummy time) for a few seconds at a time... all those kinds of things. She doesn't smile as much as a full term baby does at 2 months/8 weeks, but I've noticed that most things C is "supposed" to be doing at a certain age usually happens about 2 weeks later, so I expect a lot more smiles within a week or so.

In addition to being weighed and measured and looked over Miss C also got 2 shots and one oral vaccine. The oral (for rotovirus) went great. It's flavored and super sugared up so that the kids will take it. However, the shots didn't go as well. Unlike her brother (will I ever stop comparing them?) Casey cried, well, like a baby the moment the needle touched her little leg and it definitely took some soothing to quiet her down. I felt so bad, but at the same time I would much rather wish a few moments of pain on my little girl than the pain and suffering of any of the viruses these vaccines will prevent. I also can't say that I mind the extra time to blog and get stuff done around the house on Monday due to the fact that the vaccines made C extra sleepy. So sleepy that my little girl who generally goes 3 hours between feedings during the day went 5 hours between her breakfast and mid-day feeding (which became her lunchtime feeding) on Monday morning. Unfortunately, the past 2 days have brought some pretty not-so-fun fussiness, which is uncommon for my little girl, who is generally a pretty darn happy and content baby. Hopefully, though, she'll turn the corner soon and all will return to normal.

Hm... what else to share about Miss Casey? She generally sleeps really well at night, going about 4-5 hours between feedings now and sleeping well in her pack'n'play. I think she'd probably do well in her crib, but the nursery is one of the colder rooms in the house and I don't feel comfortable getting a space heater for her room because I could see Tegan wanting to play with it.

I plan to take a few pics of Casey today in Tegan's chair. I've decided to do a monthly picture in Tegan's "Anywhere Chair" from Pottery Barn Kids that I got him for Christmas. It'll give us a good reference for how big she's getting as we can compare her size to the chair's for at least the next 4 or 5 years. I've got one from when she was 1 month old and I have a few from when she was a newborn, but Tegan was holding her in those. Still, you can see the chair and her size compared it its [the chair's] size.

Well, I think that's about it for today. Hope you enjoyed the pictures - most are from when Casey was 2 weeks old and I did a little photoshoot of my own with her (and Tegan).

Love to all!
~jenn

Quick Stats for Miss C

2010-03-02T15:06:00.000-06:00

My little girl is growing so quickly, in age and size. Yesterday Miss C had her 2 month well-baby check and here are her stats (remember that her birth stats were 5 lbs 12 oz and 18.5 inches):
Weight - 10 lbs 8 oz (so 10.5 lbs) 41%ile
Length/Height - 22 inches 32%ile
Head Circumference - 15.3 inches 49%ile

A more in-depth post is in the works... should have it up tonight or tomorrow.
Love to all!
~j

3 -1- 6 Focusing on 1

2010-02-17T08:57:00.000-06:00

So... I never wrote a "Remembering - Part 2" (regarding Ty). I... I don't even know what to post. It's now been over a year since our little man was called home to live with his Lord and Savior. I look at his photos daily as they are right by where I do my workouts (which I do daily now, too.) I feel like the worst mom, though. I didn't even shed one tear on his heavenly birthday - not one. I almost just feel more numb to emotions these days than anything. Maybe it's because I am so very thankful for our gift and blessing of Casey. Maybe it's that I'm so busy doing my best to keep Tegan in line and out of trouble (which I'm not good at, for the record). Maybe it's that it was just too overwhelming to believe that it's truly been a year since his passing. Who knows, but I've just been numb when it comes to emotions regarding Ty.

Tegan and I have been talking about Ty and heaven a lot lately. He is such an amazing brother and never forgets anything. One night at "per" time (he calls prayers "pers") he became concerned after we said "amen" and he realized that he "hadn't asked God to say goodnight to Ty." We never ask God to say goodnight to Ty. We always ask God to "send big hugs to Ty and tell him we love him and miss him" but never have we asked him to say goodnight. I was so surprised by his comment. So, with no hesitation, we re-entered into "per" and asked God to say goodnight to Ty from Tegan. Now that brought tears to my eyes.

Following that "per" Tegan asked a little about Ty and wanted to reconfirm where he is. I explained that he's in heaven with God and Jesus and is always happy now. I asked if he remembered when Ty went to heaven and he wasn't sure. I explained that Ty just had his 1 year heaven birthday. He followed by saying, "yeah, you know that Daddy's papa went to heaven, too. Yeah, rember?" He then wanted to know what we did when Ty went to heaven and I explained that everyone was "vreally" (as Tegan would say) sad and cried a lot. He added, "yeah, I cried a lot too, didn't I Mommy?" Yes, Tegan did cry a lot, but I explained that I think it was because he saw Mommy and Daddy and all of his Gram'mas and Papas and family and friends crying too. He then wanted to know why we cried and I explained that we were sad because we weren't ready for Ty to go to heaven because usually people go to heaven when they are very old and their bodies are very tired and don't work well anymore. That satisfied his question.

I could tell, though that Tegan was feeling my emotions that night as his tone of voice was very sympathetic and even sad. I then explained to Tegan that one reason I stopped crying was because of him and his loving hugs and kisses - that he is just so good at loving people that I was happy again and not too super sad. Upon hearing that Tegan smiled about as big as I have seen him smile... not just a smile, but an "oh WOW! I'm SO special and I helped Mommy feel happy and not cry" smile. It was truly precious!
We did get a beautiful bouquet in the mail from our parents in honor/memory of Ty (of course I didn't think to take a picture, though. Darn!) It had purple carnations and roses with some really pretty greenery. Similar to this one:It was truly beautiful. Brendan and I also went out for a nice dinner the day before Ty's heavenly birthday. We reminisced about what Ty might be doing now and how he would probably have had us on our toes making sure he wasn't getting into too much trouble. After having Casey and seeing how much she looks like Tegan and Ty we knew that all our kids would/do look alike. We wondered how much Ty would have grown to look like Tegan and how they would get along - would Tegan have been as loving to Ty as he is to Casey? I have almost no doubt about it... he's such an amazing big brother to Casey I don't know how he could have been any different with Ty other than he was just younger and less mature a year ago than he is now.

I took a few of Ty's pictures down the other day. I ordered prints of Casey's pictures that I took (some were in the last post) and I needed frames. It felt weird to take them down and replace the photos with those of Casey. I only took down 2 photos, but still. I figured that if Ty were here I'd be doing the same thing as I also replaced a few pics of Tegan with those of Casey, too. Still... it felt like I was doing something wrong, like I was starting to forget...

Well... that's all for today. All this is exhausting me emotionally in addition to the physical exhaustion I already am experiencing (due to obvious reasons).

Take care and God bless!!!
Love to all!
~jenn

3 -1- 6 Focusing on 3

2010-02-14T14:41:00.000-06:00

Well - I am officially the mother of a 3 year old rambunctious, opinionated, independent mommy's boy (you know him as Tegan), a little boy who has been in the arms of our Savior for 1 year but that I also miss oh-so-much (you know him as Ty), and a 6 week old little girl who looks so much like her brothers did as infants but is also so unique and beautiful in her own feminine way and is so cuddly and easy to love on (you know her as Casey). Yes, those are my babes - 3 of the most important people in my life.

Here's the 3 of us that are still on this side of heaven.

I'll focus on my first baby today...
Tegan continues to have the most beautifully captivating eyes in the world... even when he is in the midst of a horrible tantrum, his beautiful blue eyes can still shine through the anger and frustration he is feeling and grab hold of my heart and just want to grab him and hug him and love on him... but he won't let me do that until he's had a chance to just be 3 and scream (heartbreaking screams) and yell (so hard and loud that even my throat hurts for him) and pout (until I think he really is going to trip over his own lip) and cry (great big alligator tears) and throw himself on the floor. Yes, these tantrums are beyond exhausting for all involved, but this month's Parents magazine (and every other mom I've talked to) remind me that they are completely normal and that we "grown-ups" just need to keep our wits and patience and, well, somehow that will help. AND - eventually the tantrums will decrease in quantity and severity and we will forget about how frustrating they really were. I compare this to childbirth (or at least labor) because I was reminded when I was laboring with Casey how much it really did/does hurt. You truly forget how bad it is and I think that's God's way of ensuring reproduction. You forget how much labor and birth hurt and then you forget how tired you are during those first few months when you're up nursing every 3 hours and then you forget how frustrating the tantrums of 2 and 3 year-olds really are...

So what HAS my 3 year old been up to other than throwing tantrums?

* Tegan had his first "real" birthday party - with a big fancy cake (that I made, might I add), and invitations (ok, so they were evites, not paper invites, but still) and friends and games and the whole sh-bang. He even smiled during the Happy Birthday song this year instead of crying (remember???). The boys did parallel play most of the party, but that's fine and Tegan truly does enjoy playing with all his presents, and he even did a pretty good job sharing them with his friends at the party, too. All reports from the moms and dad that were there are that the party was a hit and the kids all had fun.

* We are in the midst of potty training. Tegan is the proud owner of 6 pairs of Disney's Cars "big boy" underpants and (though he hasn't seen them yet) 6 pairs of Mickey Mouse underpants. We started the underpants on Wednesday when he was home from daycare (so that he could go to the Valentine's party there on Friday - he typically goes to daycare M-W). I convinced him to wear underpants and I set the timer on my iPhone for 30 minutes and everytime Tegan heard the duck start quacking (that's the sound he chose) we went tried to go potty (I say "we" meaning Tegan tried and I sat on the edge of the tub and encouraged). When T did make some pee he got to put a sticker on the chart I made and when he got 10 stickers he got a prize.

Surprisingly (and much to my excitement and answer to prayers) T only had 2 accidents between the 2 days. On Wed he realized while playing that he'd started to go so he stopped himself (WOW!) and we ran to the bathroom where he finished going "potty" (potty=pee, so you are aware of our potty terms here, ha!). The 2nd accident made me laugh... it was on Brendan. Ok, so not totally ON Brendan, Tegan had peed and then sat on Brendan's lap, but still. Made me chuckle.

Tegan had another relatively successful day of training on Friday at daycare, but this weekend has been anything but... T has been in Pull-Ups all weekend and I think that's why - he knows that if he pees in the Pull-Up it will not get on him and his clothes. My hope is to put him back in underpants after his nap and see if that doesn't help remedy the situation. I found myself saying "Tegan, you went potty in your Pull-up. I asked you if you needed to go potty, why didn't you say yes?" and then I got the response "I went in my Pull-Up, Mommy, so I didn't need to go on the potty. The Pull-Up holds my pee." UGH, the kid is just too smart!

* Tegan has now begun to "learn" how to ice skate. Tegan and Brendan went out and bought Tegan his first pair of hockey skates a few weeks ago and since then T and Daddy have gone to the rink at least 2, maybe even 3 times. Casey and I even joined them on one occasion. Tegan will either "skate" holding onto Brendan's or my hands or he'll push the hockey goal around the ice (after we've tipped it over). He seems to enjoy it, though there were a few outbursts of frustration and/or nervousness when I went with them.
* Tegan L-O-V-E-S his little sister. It is SO precious to watch him love on her, though he's a little rougher/stronger than he realizes. Our new rule is that he can't touch her face or head...ha! But in all seriousness, Tegan would do just about anything for his lil' sis. He sings to her when she cries, he put her pacifier back into her mouth when she spits it out, he calmly tells her "it's OK" when she fusses, he shares his coveted kitty. He even suggested the other day that we should put some money from his piggy bank into hers so that her piggy bank isn't empty. How sweet or maybe it's just that he doesn't truly understand the concept of money yet, either way it's CUTE!
OK - This post has gotten long enough for now. Look for the next post "3-1-6 Focusing on 1" next time :) Have you figured out what I'm talking about with that? If not, reread the first paragraph of this post.
Love to all!
~j

Ketsup

2010-01-31T10:25:00.000-06:00

Can you believe that Casey is already 4 weeks old?! Where has the time gone? I swear it goes by faster with each child - here we are, 4 days past Ty's first heavenly birthday! But that's a whole other post, so I won't go any further on that subject now...

Hm... well, where do I even begin? I don't think I even had a very significant Thanksgiving or Christmas post. I really need to get back into posting every week, hopefully that'll be easier now that I'm at home full time until the 2010-2011 school year - yes, if I haven't already mentioned it, I am taking the remainder of the school year off to spend with Casey and Tegan (T is still in daycare 3 days a week, but with me the other 2 - gives me good time to bond with C but also get special time with T).

OK - back to Thanksgiving and Christmas. Both of those holidays were spent in Rochester with Brendan's family, though we also had a Christmas with the 3 of us (+Casey in belly) and another with my family. Thanksgiving went well - MN weather was still pretty mild for that time of year so Tegan and his cousin Aubrey got to spend some fun time together outside in Gramma and Papa's big yard driving the pink Barbie Jeep, riding on the big wheel, and pushing around, filling and dumping all of the various dump truck toys.

At Thanksgiving, we also celebrated Aubrey's 3rd birthday. One of her gifts was a toy kitchen mixer - well, Tegan thought that was the COOLEST thing in the world, so there were definitely some tears shed when we explained to him that it was Aubrey's toy and not his and that she got to play with it first. Thankfully, though, Aubrey also got a new refrigerator (built by Papa himself) so she was completely content with playing with that and her pretend cupcakes while Tegan fulfilled his need to play with the mixer.

Well, I'm sure you can guess what one of the gifts was that Gramma and Papa Moore got for Mr. T for Christmas. Yes, a mixer! BUT it wasn't just a mixer, it was a whole set of a [toy] mixer, blender and coffee maker (all that "really" work - specifically, they have moving parts and the coffee maker even pumps water from the tank to the pot!)

Daddy and Tegan playing with T's new submarine (from Santa)

Speaking of Christmas, we were really glad that we were actually able to travel to Rochester as the entire week leading up to Christmas I was having some pretty regular contractions and had already dilated to 2-3 cm AND the weather people were predicting a pretty significant winter storm to begin on Christmas eve (or Christmas day, I can't remember which now). But, as I said, we did end up going as my contractions stopped and the storm wasn't quite as bad as had been predicted.

My big regret with regard to Christmas this year is that we didn't take many pictures - almost none, actually. We instead got down on our hands and knees and bottoms and played and engaged with T while he opened his presents... so even though we got some good, fun time with him, I wish we had more pictures to look back on and share our fun with others...

On the 27th Brendan and I (along with Tegan) went to Chili's to celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary - yes we've been married for 6 years (together almost 11 1/2 total)! Even though it wasn't the most romantic meal, we enjoyed our last dinner out as a family before Casey's arrival and, best of all, Tegan behaved SO well (not been the case lately as far as when we go out to eat) so we were truly able to enjoy each others' company.

OK... will stop there because the next post will be all about Miss C and her arrival :)
Thank you for your patience with the long pause between posts. BTW - did you get the title of the post? Say it out loud... now think of what the post is doing... Now you get it? Ketsup = Catch-up :)

Love to all!
~j

Remembering (part 1)

2010-01-26T12:20:00.001-06:00

http://wallofangels.blogspot.com/2010/01/today-tuesday-january-26th-2010-we.html

Proud Big Brother

2010-01-08T09:25:00.000-06:00

No words are needed for this post - just pictures of Tegan's excitement when Casey first came home from the hospital (haven't downloaded the ones from the 2nd time we came home).

Teaching Casey how to pick her nose... nice T, real nice :)

Love to all!
~j

Cuddles part 2

2010-01-07T05:42:00.001-06:00

Yes, all tests are in and Casey is clean. No growth on the cultures, her IV has been taken out (well, it had clotted and the doc said to just take it out and there was no need for a new one) and she is maintaining a great temp anywhere between 97.8 and 98.5. If I had more energy I'd do a happy dance :)

What does this all really mean then you ask? It means we will soon be, as our doc said, OTD - out the door! Yes, we all think this has just been due to Casey's slight prematurity - that she got a bit chilled and wasn't able to bring her temp back up on her own. To help prevent this from happening again I have reprogrammed our thermostat at home to keep the house at a balmy 72 degrees. We'd much rather have a high heating/gas bill than have Casey back in the hospital.

Thank you, again, for all of your prayers during this difficult time. God is good and we are so thankful that our hopes and wishes were the same as His!

Take care and love to all,
~Jenn

P. S. The pic below this post is one that I took of Casey and Brendan the night before she was readmitted. Daddy and daughter cuddling before bedtime. I'm pretty sure Brendan is smitten ;).

Cuddles Comin'

2010-01-07T05:37:00.001-06:00

So Far So Good

2010-01-06T02:42:00.001-06:00

The 24 hour read of the cultures shows no sign of bacterial growth, so
that's great. I think the next look at them will be at the 48 hour
mark, but I'm not certain. There might be a 36 hour read as they did
do a 12 hour read this morning.

Casey also continues to do well. Her warmer had been turned off and
we're hoping she's able to self-regulate her temp now. So far so good.
Last temp was 98.0 which is good/acceptable. She had also been
uncovered for a while before that one because I had changed her diaper
3 times (in about 15 min... Little stinker kept poopin') and I also
had her uncovered while I burped her after feeding. So hopefully she
warms back up a bit now that she's covered again. The room is drafty
and even I get chilled with only one layer on.

I leave you with my new favorite pic of Miss C. She was sleeping when
I took it, bit she was smiling so big and even laughing! Wonder what
she was dreaming......

Praying and Hoping part 2

2010-01-05T15:24:00.001-06:00

Well... Yesterday afternoon was a whirlwind and we're still in the midst of it a bit. I had a sense that Casey's temp was a bit low as she felt really cool, but when our thermometer said 95.8 I got really worried. So, in to the Pediatritian's office we went. From there it's a bit of a blur. Basically she was admitted to the adjoining hospital immediately with the fears that C had developed an infection. She has since had blood, urine and spinal fluid (!) drawn as well as 3 rounds of broad spectrum antibotics and iv fluids. Cultures of all 3 above mentioned fluids are "cooking" as the doc said and so far all looks good. The only blood test that was out of normal ranges was the white blood cell count which was slightly low, but not significantly so. The test that indicates inflammation came back normal, so that was a big relief (as inflammation is a symptom of infection in the brain or spine, including meningitis). We will be in the hospital until tomorrow evening at the earliest (lab cultures take 48 hours for final readings) and until Casey can maintain/self-regulate her temperature within normal ranges
without outside support (ie assistence from the warming bed).

Please pray that all is normal and that this is "simply" due to Casey being a bit of a premie and just is having trouble self-regulating her temp. Thx!!!
Love to all...
~Jenn

BTW - that's a nuk in C's mouth not an oxygen mask... Some people
weren't sure :)

Praying & Hoping

2010-01-05T15:11:00.001-06:00

A Little More of Miss Moore

2010-01-01T04:57:00.001-06:00

Casey Devin
Born 12/31/09 @ 6:40 pm
5 pounds 12 ounces
18.5 inches long

Casey

2009-12-31T19:03:00.001-06:00

Epidural in

2009-12-31T16:53:00.001-06:00

Love pain meds!

~Jenn

Water is broken

2009-12-31T12:50:00.001-06:00

So far contractions seem stronger and more regular. Hoping that's the
trend.

~Jenn

8:55 am update

2009-12-31T08:54:00.001-06:00

Well, it's induction day. I'm all hooked up to my IV for fluids and
antibiotics. Will have water broken around noon. All for now.

Love to all,
~Jenn

Induction

2009-12-30T22:18:00.001-06:00

Well, test results show that there's a 90% chance that Casey is ready
to be here, so we were given the option of going ahead with the
induction tomorrow or waiting and testing again next Monday. We
decided that if the doc is comfortable moving forward with the
induction then we are too. So at 7:30am tomorrow (Thursday) I'll be
heading in to the birth center to start the long induction process
(including 3-4 hours of antibiotics before inducing). Will explain the
antibiotics later...

Pray all goes well, please and that we made a good decision. Thx
Love to all...

~Jenn

Anxious & Exhausted

2009-12-30T14:42:00.000-06:00

As always, I've waited WAY too long between my last blog post and now and I'll be honest that I don't have any pics to share today, or at least am too lazy to upload any for now (some are on my phone and some are on my camera... not many have been transferred to the computer lately), sorry.

This morning I had an amniocentesis to test the lung maturity of Miss Casey. The preliminary results came back inconclusive or as they say "equivocal". So, a sample has been sent off to the U of M for further testing. I have an appointment for induction set up for tomorrow morning but if the test shows that C isn't ready, then we'll have to reschedule it (tentatively) for next week and do another amnio next Monday. Needless to say I'm beyond anxious to find out the results and get things rolling with meeting my sweet girl.

Tegan is in the throws of another phase of the terrible 2's... I don't know if it's because he is almost 3 and needs to go out [of the 2's] with a bang (as they say), or senses my stress, or if it's just an age appropriate phase, or if he's going through a growth spurt or what, but it's AWFUL! It's probably a combination of the above and more. Regardless, the kid can scream and yell and throw a tantrum like no other. It's beyond exhausting to not only witness these episodes but also try and get him to settle down. We are back to the point of putting him in his room and holding the door closed (as opposed to just time-out in the corner or something like that) - only to then listen to him scream (with a horrible rage and anger in his voice) and bang on the door. I try to keep my cool and not raise my voice and I do everything I can not to respond by yelling myself - but the truth is that I do sometimes get to the point of raising my voice. I haven't yelled or cried in front of him, so I think that's good, right? When he calms down he can always tell me why he had to go to his room and what he needs to do to not have it happen again, but I guess he's just not to the age/maturity of following through on putting that knowledge into action.

Any and all suggestions on how to deal with the anxiety of waiting are welcomed (I already went grocery shopping with the anticipation of cooking some meals to freeze, but haven't gotten to the cooking part yet). Same thing goes with getting T to behave/listen better... or at least minimize the tantrums.

Not sure what I'm gonna do now, but need to do something... I'm due to blog about Thanksgiving and Christmas (we were horrible parents, by the way - hardly took any pictures of gift opening and such. I guess we were just too caught up in taking in the experience ourselves and enjoying the moment).

For more up-to-the-minute info on the status of Casey's impending arrival, you can check facebook (if you're on there). We learned this morning that for some reason I can't blog from my iPhone, so we'll do our best to email, text and facebook any updates.

Love to all!
~j

Thumb Sucker

2009-12-17T16:22:00.000-06:00

SO going to plug that mouth with a nuk immediately after birth! ;)

(yes, I know I'm WAY overdue for a post... just been crazy busy with the holidays and conferences and all that... soon, I promise!)

Love to all!

Quick Update

2009-12-03T13:01:00.001-06:00

I know it's been nearly 2 weeks and I"m due for an update. I've got 2 more min left of my lunch break and just wanted to update everyone on Miss C. This morning was my last growth ultrasound and she is tipping the scales at approx. 4 lbs 3 oz (based on measurements of her thigh & humerus bones and the circumference of her head and abdomen).

Lots of typos in there, I know, sorry. Gotta go get my kiddos :) Love to all!
~j

31 Weeks

2009-11-23T21:10:00.000-06:00

Here's a quick pic of me (and Miss Casey in belly) at 31 weeks pregnant. The shirt makes me look like I'm carrying her much higher than I feel like I am... it's just a really long shirt :) The little stinker will NOT leave my right hip alone, I think she thinks that her shoulder or arms or something belong in it and against it ALL the time. HA! More updates to come on the Big T - so many sayings and stories lately... he is one bundle of love, energy and lots, lots more!

Love to all!!!
~j

Button Nose and Hair

2009-11-12T20:35:00.001-06:00

Tonight I had my first Biophysical Profile (BPP). Casey did perfect and scored 8 out of 8. She was doing nice practice breathing movements (they watch for her to do them consistently over a 30 second time period). She did one big movement during the u/s (and of course is doing them repeatedly as I sit here now) and even "waved" for the "camera" as she opened and closed one of her hands a few times. I also got to see her yawn or swallow a few times (can't really tell the difference) so that was cool. Ty did that once during the last u/s I had with him while he was alive.

Check out this cute 3D image - my little girl has a sweet little button nose...
now we just gotta get her to smile for the camera :)

In other Casey news, she has flipped and is now head down, so the above image is actually upside-down. Based on my memory from Tegan and Ty's pregnancies she will probably stay that way now (head down, that is). I want to say Ty was head down at 30 weeks and the midwife at that appointment said by that point they usually don't flip back once they've gone head down... I'll keep my fingers crossed. That explains all the big movements I've felt over the past week - her flipping and having her feet up in my ribs as opposed to her head.

Speaking of her head, I also learned that my little C has hair - enough to be detected by ultrasound at least. You can see it in the image below - it's the spiky stuff near the "hair" label. I wonder what color it is and if it'll be straight like my and Tegan's hair or curly/wavy like Brendan and Ty's... hmmm :)

Well, that's all for now. I've got another BPP scheduled for next Wednesday, so I'll probably have another pic or 2 for ya then. Got a whole bunch tonight, but the others are the profile (which I just got a pic of last week) and then her arms and a foot.

Praying all is well with you and your loved ones! Love to all!
~j

Published

2009-11-07T07:20:00.000-06:00

So I got a message from a friend last night that she saw a picture of me in the Eden Prairie magazine while she was at the dentist's office. After looking through the magazine website I remembered it was probably a picture from when Tegan and I went to the Tuesday morning music at the park this summer - we went ONCE and our picture made it into the EP Magazine. HA! Anyway, here it is. I'll have to see if I can get a copy of the magazine so that I can keep it as a keepsake for Tegan. :)
Love to all!
~j

28 Week Ultrasound

2009-11-06T15:19:00.000-06:00

Well, today was my 28 week ultrasound. Casey looked great, as always, and even cooperated and slept through the u/s with just a short bout of the hiccups (of course during the time they were trying to record the heartbeat and the blood flow through the cord). :) She is measuring a little small, but within 5 days of her due date so totally "normal" I'm told. At this point in pregnancy babies are truly beginning to be individual and unique in their size, so I'm just thinking we might have a little pipsqueak on our hands. Her weight estimate is 2 lbs 7oz, so right on target for what all my books and such tell me for what a 28 week old baby in belly weighs.

As far as position, she's still got her little face nuzzled in the placenta and her butt is down (so she's breech) but the perinatologist wasn't worried as there's still plenty of time and room for her to turn. I was a bit bummed - only got 2 u/s images to take home and the 3D image u/s machine wasn't cooperating, so no 3D images of her face. I do go back for another growth assessment ultrasound in 4 weeks, though, so maybe we'll get one then. Based on the below image, though, it looks like she's got a pretty cute nose... just like her brothers, Ty especially - I was/am in love with how cute his nose was!

Take care and love to all!
~jenn

What Can I Say???

2009-11-02T19:59:00.000-06:00

So I was in tucking Tegan in for the 2nd time tonight and I noticed him poking at (almost picking, but not quite) his nose. Here's our brief conversation:

Me/Mommy: "Tegan, do you need me to get a tissue? We don't pick our noses, that's yucky."
Tegan: said as seriously and innocently as can be said, "No, Mommy, my finger works good."

How do you not laugh at that?! I just quickly and quietly kissed him goodnight and left the room to laugh. HA!

Arrrr, Matey!

2009-11-02T07:09:00.000-06:00

Well, here are the best pics from Halloween. Our little pirate was just too busy to pose for many and too fast to take any "action" shots. HA! (that and action shots in the dark don't really come out well)

Checking out the blinky necklace

(well, blinky ring we attached to a necklace because it was too big for his finger).

Gram'ma Moore, "Tegan, what does a pirate say?"
Tegan, "Arrrr, Matey!"

Tegan's typical eyes closed smile :)

Update on Tegan & Me

2009-10-29T11:55:00.001-05:00

Well - after much deliberation I decided to call Tegan's pediatrician's office and see if I could have him tested for H1N1. I figured if he was positive I'd take the Tamiflu, if he was negative I wouldn't. I explained the situation (that I'm pregnant and want to avoid taking Tamiflu if I can and I'd like to have him tested) and the doc was happy to do so. The test was simple, just a nasal swab and 10 min later we knew that he DOES NOT have H1N1! YAY! What a relief that was and is!

Today the little guy is still "off". He slept most of the night, only up 2x with some grunts which often are predecessors of a bad dream/night terror (so I went in to comfort him before they escalated) and he was up right around his normal time at 7:15 (a little later than normal, but no much). His cough is still pretty yucky, but it's nice and productive (phlegmy for those of you who like specifics) and he's not running a temp. He still doesn't have his appetite back, but who would when you had yuck (a.k.a. boogers/snot/mucus/phlegm/etc) running down your throat into your tummy all night? My mom is home with him (typical Thursday daycare routine - my parents spend Thursdays and Fridays with him at our house) and reports that he's drinking plenty of juice, so he IS at least getting some healthy calories (and I buy the Bolthouse Farms juice/smoothies, so they are loaded with 100% real fruit and tons of vitamins and antioxidants).

OK - time for Casey and I to eat :)

OH, before I forget - I think I updated you all on here, but if not I was unofficially diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes for this pregnancy. I had passed my first 1 hour glucose tolerance test at 20 weeks (with a "score" of 93... not sure on the units) but at my 26 week test my "score" was 193 after just an hour which is quite high and would have generally required a follow-up 3 hour fasting glucose tolerance test. Being that I've already had GD (with Tegan's pregnancy) I had the option to just assume that I had GD and to move forward OR take the 3-hour test. To make things easiest on everyone we/I decided to just assume that I have GD and move forward with testing and restricting my carbohydrate intake. Things are going great with that and with my testing. My glucose readings are right where they should be (staying under 120) and I'm not overly hungry at all :) YAY!

OK, now it's really time to eat.
Love to all!
~j

H1N1 Hits Home: Updated

2009-10-27T19:57:00.000-05:00

Brendan took Tegan into the peds office today. The kid slept until 9:30 this morning and when he did wake up his eyes were all crusty - again. Didn't we just deal with pink eye 2 weeks ago?! Maybe it was 3 - regardless, recently. Well, since he's been running a fever and had a cough they wanted to see him to rule out an ear infection. The ear infection was ruled out, but this was then added "he probably has a mild case of H1N1". The doc explained that right now everyone they see who is sick is exhibiting the H1N1 symptoms and he (the doc) also speculated that when Brendan was sick a few weeks ago with aches and nasty cough/sore throat he probably had H1N1 as well.

I called my midwife's office and explained the situation and they want me to start taking Tamiflu for 10 days as a preventative measure as there are such great risks to the babies/fetuses of pregnant women that it's much safer to just take the Tamiflu. In one respect I'm hesitant given our history (stillbirth) and the fact that there hasn't been an official diagnosis of Tegan or Brendan of actually having H1N1... but the last thing I want to do is follow in the footsteps of my husband and son and get sick and risk getting Casey sick and the horrible results that could have. I just keep going back and forth on what I should do, especially since I have had exposure to H1N1 at school (just not as direct as the exposure I have had at home if T or Brendan really do/did have H1N1). I ask that you pray that I am able to decide what is best for me and Casey and that whatever decision I make truly is the one that is best for us both. Thank you!
Love to all!
~j

Photo Update

2009-10-27T07:42:00.000-05:00

Well - Casey and I are officially 27 weeks along today... my weekly update tells me that she is approx 15 in head to heel and weighs just over 2 pounds. At this point she is about 1/2 the weight of Ty when he was born and only 3 inches or so shorter. WOW! Crazy to realize how far along we really are. We could potentially be meeting this little girl in 9 weeks! I'm SO very excited.

I thought I was looking OK, but I guess the face is finally filling out like the belly. BOO! Oh well, part of pregnancy, I guess. Otherwise, though, I'm feelin' good and Casey is one busy little girl - doing her best to keep up with the activity level of her brothers (sorry Brendan, I guess girls don't necessarily make for calmer babies). HA! Most of her strong kicks and movements are during the day, so hopefully that's a good sign that she'll be a great night time sleeper! (One can hope, right?!)

Tegan is officially not feeling well. It's 7:45am and I just snapped this pic. Doesn't he look peaceful? Too bad he's usually awake by 6:45 begging to watch cartoons and play legos and choo-choos. Poor guy had a temp of 102.9 (ear thermometer) when he got home from daycare yesterday. Our daycare provider took his temp (under arm) earlier in the day and it was 100.8, so she kept him until I got off work. She said that he laid of the floor all afternoon and didn't want to play - as you know, that's NOT what my child is normally like. He nearly fell asleep on the 10 min drive home, too. Hopefully it's just a 24 hour thing and he's back to himself today. Thanks to Brendan for staying home with him today so that I didn't have to go in and make sub plans and such... such a hassle, especially if the sub doesn't do anything I leave for him/her, which usually happens unless it's one of my few reliable subs.

Gotta head to work. Love to all!
~j

Daddy Would Be So Proud

2009-10-20T17:17:00.000-05:00

Oh boy!

BOOO!

2009-10-19T16:07:00.000-05:00

Nope, it's not a ghost scaring you - it's me whining. I got the call today that I failed my 1 hour glucose tolerance test - MISERABLY! My blood glucose was at 193 - CRAZY high! So, I had 2 options - go in for the 3 hour fasting test OR just assume I've got it and meet with the diabetes nurse and get my testing supplies. I knew immediately what my decision was - that 3 hour test is a killer, so we're just going to assume I've got GD again and move on from there. It's just a bummer because the season of eating is just starting (Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas). Oh well - I'm just happy that my sweet Casey is still doing well :)

I should have known it was coming when I've been craving baked goods like crazy the past few weeks...

Love to all!
~j

Already Spoiled!

2009-10-18T19:20:00.001-05:00

My sweet little girl isn't even born yet and she's got a closet full of clothes... don't worry, they are in multiple sizes - mostly newborn and 0-3 months with a few 3-6 mo. They are already so cute, I can't even begin to imagine how much cuter they'll be on my baby girl :)

(this first pic is of the comforter for her crib set, a super soft blanket and a bunny rattle... not clothes, obviously)

Casey, you are SO loved!!! OH, and don't think T got the shaft, he got some new "train conductor" pants (as we call them) from the Gap, too (on ultra clearance of course - you know me).

I'll finish with a cute story - last night we had friends over for dinner and afterward we were sitting on the couch talking (B & I, our friends Josh and his girlfriend Erika, and Tegan). Josh and Erika asked Tegan if he has a girlfriend yet and he quickly replied with "Yeah!" When asked who she is, T then replied with something along the lines of, "It's Casey, my sister. She's growing in my mommy's tummy." We all had a good laugh :)

Take care and love to all!
~j

... In the Whole Wide World

2009-10-16T13:12:00.000-05:00

Yes, T's been using that phrase a lot lately. On Monday he announced (very excitedly in the car on the way to daycare), "Daddy is my favorite daddy in the whole wide world!" (Apparently T has several daddies of his own?). Yesterday while helping me bake muffins I was "the nicest most nice mommy in the whole wide world." And today fruit snacks are his "most favoritest food in the whole wide world." Love my boy! I'll post some pics of T from the past month or so... none really apply to any of the following stories, but thought you'd all enjoy seeing our little 'punkin! :)

I know it's been 2 weeks since I last really posted but I'm seriously at a loss for what to say... T's arm is 95% healed based on the x-rays at his follow-up appointment with the orthopedist on Wednesday - YAY! He still calls his right arm his "owie arm" and tries to get out of stuff at home (like cleaning up his toys) by using the "owie arm" as an excuse - doesn't work with me, though... now we just have to make sure he takes it "easy" on the arm for another 3 weeks while the last 5% of the healing occurs. Specifically, no bikes, parks/play-sets, high speed running, etc. Thank GOD it's fall and been really cold outside or else that'd be much harder to stick to!

Tegan is the best big brother to Casey already - it's truly SO sweet to watch him! He remembers to say hi to her daily - does so by lifting up my shirt, talking at my belly while "holding her" (my belly really) and then tells her to "have fun in Mommy's tummy!" and quickly pulls my shirt back down. Some days he just wants to sit and "hold her" (like I said, just put his arms around the sticking out part of my belly). I even caught him whispering to her one day to, "hurry up and come out soon!" Really?!
How did I get such a loving child? I mean, he does drive me nuts a lot (like today when it took nearly an hour to get him down for nap and yesterday when it was tantrum after tantrum over crazy stuff - he was SO upset that I wouldn't let him have marshmallows and chips for breakfast) but he's still my sweet little boy. At our staff development workshop on Wednesday we had to make a "Decalogue" of someone we love (basically a list of 10 things/qualities that describe them most in our mind). I chose Tegan and only made it to 3 things before I had to leave the room in tears - he just fills my heart that much that I become overwhelmed emotionally... mostly because I hurt so badly that he didn't get to carry out his excitement for being Ty's big brother beyond talking about it before Ty was born... and now the love that he already expresses for his sister is just amazing and mature beyond words! WOW!

I recently rented a fetal heart rate monitor to help calm/ease my fears whenever I am worried that Casey isn't moving enough or when I just want to listen to her body/heart working. Every day, when we get home from school/daycare, Tegan remembers that we need to "listen to Casey" and he promptly takes me to the kitchen where we keep the monitor. Maybe it's just because he loves pushing the power button for me, but regardless of his motivation, the sight of his eyes lighting up when her heartbeat begins to pulse from the speaker is indescribable.

Finally, I'd like to thank everyone that lit a candle in Ty's honor yesterday (October 15 - Miscarriage, Stillbirth and Infant Loss awareness day). The pic below is of the one our neighbor lit for Ty and posted on her facebook account :)I kept candles burning at our house all day and evening and several of you sent me notes that you had one lit for him as well. Even though it wasn't the anniversary of anything it still was a bit of an emotional day thinking about not only Ty but all the children/babies lost to these "causes" and their families... It's hard to believe that it's been nearly 9 months since I last heard my baby boy's heart beating. The healing, support and comfort that God has provided me in that time is amazing!

Take care & love to all!!!
~j

Mr. Personality

2009-10-16T06:56:00.001-05:00

Just a quick update for now - the plan is to do a "real" update during nap-time today... I know you're itchin' for some good T stories. I'll give you one to tide you over.

The only thing that would make this story better would be to have a picture to go with it, unfortunately there wasn't a camera near Brendan when it happened... OK - to preface this you must know that Tegan is not much of a fan of any sort of nudity. Every once in a while he'll want to get naked... even not having his shirt on is not something he enjoys. Strange for a toddler, I know. Well, my sister was over last night and she and I were talking while T went between talking with us, playing on the floor and watching his new "Harold and the Purple Crayon and other stories" video. Suddenly, he stood up and announced that he wanted to take his shirt off and "be like Daddy" (which was funny because Brendan doesn't normally walk around w/o a shirt unless he's just finished a workout or it's near bedtime and he's in his "pj's"). I gladly helped Tegan take off his shirt and he was SO excited to be "naked Tegan". HA!

Now that alone is a cute story, but there's more. I invited T to go downstairs to the bike room and show Daddy/Brendan how he was dressed like him. A few minutes later Brendan came up the stairs laughing and shared that Tegan had put on one of his [Brendan's] medals from a bike race and stood up, looked at the medal and pretended to read "To George, the first space monkey" (the last line of one of his favorite books - have I mentioned he LOVES Curious George?!). So just picture a shirtless Tegan with a bike medal around his neck reciting a line from a Curious George book. It was just too cute! Like I said, the only thing that would make the story better would be a picture of T with no shirt and the medal... I may just have to recreate the situation today just to get a picture ;)

More later... love to all!
~j

My Little Brendan...

2009-10-03T16:09:00.001-05:00

So when T woke up from his nap... OK, I should rephrase that, after I woke T up from his closing in on 3 hour nap, he was not too happy. What did the boy ask for me to turn on the TV for him to watch? Sponge Bob? Thomas? Nemo? Nope, the kid asked for football. REALLY?! So he is now sprawled out on the family room floor 1/2 watching the Wake Forest v. Notre Dame game and 1/2 playing with the array of toys he's got on the floor with him.

... like father like son :)

Love to all...
~j

As Promised

2009-09-25T20:52:00.001-05:00

Here you go, belly update at 22 weeks. She's growing quickly. Compared to just 4 weeks ago I feel like the belly has gotten a lot bigger! Enjoy!

Love to all!
~j

Trusting a 2 Year-Old

2009-09-25T08:26:00.000-05:00

Why did we trust a 2 year-old on where his arm hurt when we took him into the ER on Tuesday? That's a good question! Given the area around his elbow (where he was complaining of pain) was the bruised and somewhat swollen area, but still... As it turns out, Tegan DID break his arm... but not by his elbow - by his shoulder. Therefore, the X-ray take on Tuesday didn't cover the shoulder and thus didn't show the "very clean" break that is straight across his 'Proximal Humerus' (or upper arm).

After a very quiet day at daycare on Wednesday and still not using his arm and crying every time he did tried to use it Brendan an I knew that something still wasn't right. We call the Twin Cities Orthopedic Specialists (the number the ER gave us in case T was still in severe pain after 24 hours) and spoke with a very nice doctor (who was on call, given it was nearly 8pm) who told us that there was no need to go back into the ER that night but to call the office again in the morning and they'd get T in first thing. So, that's what we (well Brendan, since I was working) did and the doc saw him at 9:45 yesterday (Thursday) morning. After a few x-rays the break was confirmed and we had to laugh because the orthopedist thought we already knew about it given we'd been to the ER. Brendan explained the situation and an hour or so later I got a text from B that the arm IS broken and that T's been put in a sling (the smallest they could find) and then wrapped with an ace bandage to keep the sling close to his body to prevent movement. For being such a good boy (T didn't want to LEAVE the doctors office, ha!) the docs gave him a sucker and Brendan and T stopped for a sprinkle donut (T's new favorite) on the way home.

So - here is is, our bandaged but now happy and comfortable big-little boy!

Take care and love to all!!!

~jenn :)

Playset Ladd & the ER

2009-09-23T06:54:00.000-05:00

Well, he did it. T made his first injury ER visit last night - I'm sure it was just the first of many knowing him and his adventurous personality. I was inside putting laundry away and when I went outside I found Brendan carrying a very upset Tegan. Apparently he fell backwards off the ladder to our play set (about a 4-foot fall, Brendan said) and after landing he didn't want anyone to touch his right arm nor would he really use it... thankfully there was no sign of a head injury, so that was my main concern. When a bruise near his elbow began to form right away we knew it was time to go in.

Upon arriving Tegan announced that he didn't want to see the doctors and that he didn't want them to make his arm better... poor guy. We assured him that all they would do was give him some medicine (like Tylenol, which he likes), take some special pictures of his arm, and if it was really hurt, he'd get a fancy "band-aid" (aka cast). He was still nervous, but with Daddy carrying him he settled down a bit. We thankfully were seen right away (I guess because of T's lack of wanting to use his arm). We learned our big boy is now approx. 36 pounds (WHOA! What a strong dude!). When the nurses asked him where his owie was he promptly told and pointed to his elbow and when they asked if it was on his hand or shoulder he answered with a "No, here" and pointed again to his elbow. What a cooperative little guy!

Well, thankfully the x-ray showed no sign of break or dislocation (and they even had a pediatric radiologist take a look at it over at another hospital) so after some Tylenol laced Vicadin and an orange popsicle, we made our way home. The whole ordeal took less than 2 hours, so that was nice, too. The funniest part, I think, was when it was time to leave to come back home Tegan got upset again and announced that he wanted to say the night at the hospitals. HA! The nurse, Jen, explained that she had a special treat for him, but he could only have it if he came home with Brendan and I... upon learning it was a popsicle Tegan promptly decided he wanted to come home. ;)

OK, time to get ready for work... sorry there were no pics, we didn't have the camera with us and we also knew that if we did pull out our phones and use them to take a pic T would throw a fit (since he was already so upset... though I bet he would have cooperated when he had his popsicle).

Love to all...
~j

Quick Updates

2009-09-18T07:13:00.000-05:00

I am now officially 21 weeks and a few days pregnant with little..... Casey. Yes, we've named out little girl. Casey Devin Moore :) Things continue to go well - I'm tired all the time (but that's to be expected) but Casey is following in the "footsteps" of her brothers and is an active baby in belly. I am SO thankful that I'm able to feel so much movement despite having an anterior placenta (where it's on the front of my uterus) which can often limit maternal sensation of fetal movement (to put it in more technical terms). I have been having a lot of headaches again, which is frustrating to say the least, but am glad that they are not due to elevated levels of blood glucose - Yes, my first glucose tolerance test came back normal (92), so as of now there's no sign of Gestational Diabetes. My hemoglobin test also came back normal (12.1) so I'm glad that's not why I'm getting tired, either.

OK - for the fun stuff. At this week's check-up Casey decided that she didn't want Dawn (my midwife) to find her heart rate. We had no problems getting her heartbeat, but she was so active and was kicking at the doppler probe/wand that it was tough to get the rate... she/it sounded great, though!

I found some bedding I really liked for her, too. The nursery is already a light blue with red curtains (from our preparations for Ty) and we don't want to paint and get new curtains (again) so I have been searching for girl bedding that I like that has those 2 colors in it but is also at a great price. I knew it'd be hard to find something at the price I got Ty's bedding at (if you remember, it was $20). Well, as I said, I found a bedding set I really like but it was still over $100... then when I went to order it (because I decided just to bite the bullet) it had dropped to $82 but was then out of stock. SO bummed! Well, this morning I got an email from the company that it was back in stock AND it was still on extra sale for $82 (it originally retailed for $135+). So I decided to just order it. An extra bonus is that shipping is just $1! Woohoo! Here's a pic for ya.
That's it for now. Casey is not happy with the computer on my lap invading her space and I've gotta get ready for work - already running late. I'll get a belly pic soon to share as well as updates on our favorite little 2 1/2 year-old dude, Tegan. Take care & love to all!
~j

More of our little Lady

2009-09-04T06:54:00.001-05:00

Isn't she lovely?!

Our Little Girl (a peak)

2009-09-03T12:41:00.000-05:00

I'll post more images once I'm home, but got these scanned in yesterday so thought I'd post one... this is a 3D image. My latest little sweet is facing the left with her hand up by her face. It's not a super great image as at just shy of 19 weeks Babe is mostly skin, bones and organs but we'll have more at 28 weeks, so they should be more accurate as far as what she'll look like.

Love to all!

Time to Go Shopping!

2009-08-28T13:22:00.001-05:00

That's right, ladies and gentlemen, we are having a GIRL (or as Tegan say "grill"). HA! This morning we got to see just about as much of our baby as one can see via ultrasound at this point... and all looks fabulous. What an answer to prayers! Yes, I'm elated to be having a little girl to dress and pretty-up and stuff, but we were most concerned that all was physically well with our latest "addition" so we are singing praises to God that all is well. Based on measurements our little princess is approx. 8 oz (or half a pound) and measuring a day smaller than what the due date is. Isn't it amazing how they can tell all this?!

One bummer is that the placenta has "decided" to grow on the front wall of my uterus, which makes it much more difficult for me to feel her movement, which will cause further worry down the road I'm sure, since that's what clued me in that something wasn't right with Ty. I have still been feeling movement, but not as much as I did a few weeks ago, so I should have figured that this was the case. I may just have to convince Brendan that we need to rent a fetal heart monitor for the last few months of pregnancy just to help ease my mind on days that I don't feel as much movement. We'll see...

All along when we ask Tegan if he's having a sister or brother he'll immediately respond with "sister." When I told Tegan today that there's a little girl in Mommy's tummy he said, "No Mommy, it's a boy. I'm having a sister." HA! I won't go into detail, but we then had a short discussion about how girls have different parts than boys and the new little baby will have different parts than him [Tegan] which is what makes her a girl... Maybe my mom should bring the girl baby doll down next time so that T can take a look (he already disrobes our boy baby doll to check out his parts whenever he has the chance). ;)

OK - I'll do my best to scan in the U/S pics, but that won't get done until next week when I'm back at work and have access to the scanner there.

Love to all!
~jenn

Poll & Pics

2009-08-26T13:52:00.001-05:00

First off - on the right you will see a poll. Please vote, but only ONCE. What do you think, boy or girl for this next babe in my belly? "The Ultrasound" is on Friday at 10:30, so I'll update the blog and facebook as soon as I'm able to (facebook first since I know how to do that from my cell). Voting ends at noon Friday.

2nd, a few people have requested belly pics... I'm pretty proud of myself as I'm right on track for weight gain based on my "normal" pre-pregnancy weight (not the 8-10 lbs I was above it when we found out I was pregnant again). This equates to only a 4 or 5 pound weight gain so far for this pregnancy. YAY! Enjoy the pics:

4 weeks (just found out)

6 weeks

12 weeks

18 weeks

Love to all!

Due... for an Update :)

2009-08-17T20:50:00.000-05:00

As always (do I always start my posts like this now?) it's been way too long since my last post. I honestly don't even remember when it was without checking... 2 weeks ago, geez. Well, we've had a busy 2 weeks. Let's see, so much I think I'll just do a list:

- T taking the bottle to feed the baby [doll] and filling it with water from his water bottle and drinking it from the baby bottle

- another trip to the St. Louis Park splash pad (with a friend this time)

- a long visit up to G'ma and Papa Eastwood's house (stayed 2 nights, just T and I)

- running through the sprinklers with Papa

- T eating a dog biscuit at G'ma and Papa's house (at least it was organic and had people food ingredients, I guess)

- lots of trips to parks (neighborhood park and a few others nearby)

- discovering another water pad/play area thanks to a coworker/friend

- swimming with out-of-town friends at their hotel pool

- lunch out with a long time friend

- picnics in the front yard (just T and I, so fun!)

- 2 more MN series bike races for Daddy, T and I only made it to 1 of them, though

- Tegan booty-dancing to Britney Spears (was on the ipod) in his booster chair while eating his snack/lunch one day. SO funny!

- a breakthrough with playdoh (T used to hate to touch the "snakes" aka long skinny snakey creations we'd make, but today I showed him how they could also be bracelets and he was thrilled to wear one and be "beautiful" HAHAHA!

- feeling Baby kick more frequently, even a few times through the belly and felt it with my hand!

- nearing 17 weeks pregnant... closing in on the 1/2 way point. We get to find out the sex of the baby in less than 2 weeks, SO excited!

- geez, I'm drawing a blank already but I know there's more to share.

Funny story: T and I were driving to our playdate yesterday...

T: Mommy, that truck is going the wrong way. Where is it going?

Me: It's is driving on another busy road (that's what T calls freeways/highways). It's on the road called 494 and we are on the busy road called 169.

T: Oh yeah, we are on the 6-pack road. :)

No CLUE where he learned about 6-packs. I never talk about them and I haven't heard Brendan talk about them either. Tegan does think that everything that comes in a bottle that you drink is beer, though. Thankfully the kid took a swig once when we weren't looking and hated it, so he won't drink it. He'll smell it, though, and then tell you with a big grin like he did something silly and wrong, "I smellt your beer!" HA!

Sweet story: Another conversation we had in the car (I think that's where T does his thinking... in the car and stroller)

T: Mommy, where is Ty?

Me: You tell me, where is Ty?
T: He's in Heaven. We should go there - on a vacation and visit him, Mommy.

Thank God we were pulling into our neighborhood because it was hard not to burst into tears, my Tegan is so darn sweet!

Almost peed my pants laughing from this experience today: Tegan disappeared into my bathroom and I then heard him go into our shower (which he often does and then squeegees the walls... I'm fine with that). A few minutes later he emerges with (guys you might want to stop here) a travel-sized tampon (in it's wrapper, which has no markings, just a yellow wrapper) and tells me he wants it.

Me: Tegan, why do you want this? What do you think it is?

T: CANDY! I wanna eat it!

Me: Tegan, sweetie, that's not candy. Um... (trying to think how to explain without really explaining that it's not only not candy but definitely not something you put anywhere near your mouth?!) that's something special for grown up girls. I'm sorry, but it's really not candy.

T: I want the candy!

I finally opened the wrapper to show Tegan enough to see that it's not candy. I thought I had put all that stuff away, but I guess not.

OK, switching gears - - - I know I didn't post anything at the time, but I'm sure many of you were thinking about it (I got a few emails) and I know I did/do... it's hard to believe it's been over 6 months since Ty... (I always struggle with wording this) went to heaven. I guess that's the most simple and truthful way of putting it. I think of him CONSTANTLY and have even cried a few times in the past few weeks, which I hadn't in months. I now go and look at our pictures of him often because it's come to the point that I have to remind myself that he really did "happen" he existed and wasn't just a bad dream (not that Ty was a bad dream, but the whole experience of "losing" him. Hope you know/understand what I'm trying to say). It just almost seems like I was never pregnant with him and the last year almost just never happened... it's hard to explain I guess. I wouldn't call it denial by any means, but it's just weird. Tegan talking about him often helps.

OK - all for tonight. If I think of any more Tegan quotes or stories I'll post them. Hope you enjoyed the stories and pics. Love to all!

Splash Pad + Tegan = Free Fun!

2009-08-03T13:19:00.000-05:00

I took Tegan to the Splash Pad in St. Louis Park today. A coworker had told me about it and that it's free so I thought T and I'd check it out. I've felt like a pretty bum mom all summer being sick and tired from the pregnancy so I thought I'd try to make this last month of summer vacation fun for Tegan now that I feel pretty good most days.

Well, T wanted to play at the neighboring park first, so we did that. It had several bridges (which he LOVES) so he played there for about 30 min or so and then I convinced him to go sit in the water park area and just watch (he was hesitant because of all the spraying and splashing... my little neat freak who doesn't like getting wet/dirty most days).

After about 5 min of sitting he decided we should "go try it". I quickly changed him into his swim diaper and trunks and away we went.

It took about 15 min or so for him to warm up to doing anything other than touching the water with his feet or hands but once he saw the other kiddos running through it and having a blast he decided to bite the bullet and go for it. Before I knew it he was running back and forth through the sprayers that spray from the floor/ground and then he was going over and "dunking" his head into the ones that spray from above - this from my little boy who screams ever night at bath time when we have to wash his hair and face. HA! For some reason the audio on the movie isn't uploading right, but it's not important... just don't be surprised when all you hear is weird clicking. :)

I only had my phone with me since our camera battery was dead, so I got limited photos and a low quality video, but still - you can see the fun he's having :)

Hope you all had a great weekend and it's sunny and warm by you like it is by us :)

Love to all!
~j

A Peak at a Pike

2009-08-01T16:00:00.003-05:00

Here's a peak into what we're up to this weekend. Enjoy & Love to all!

"The Plan"

2009-07-27T13:59:00.001-05:00

Today I met with a perinatologist to hear what "The Plan" is for monitoring for this pregnancy. Drum-roll please.......
+ Level II Ultrasounds (45+ minute 4D ultrasounds) at 19 and 28 weeks
+ Screening for Gestational Diabetes starting at 20 weeks (same as it was with Ty)
+ Weekly Biophysical profiles and Non-Stress Tests (ultrasound to monitor breathing movements of baby, bloodflow through umbilical cord, amniotic fluid levels & more along with fetal heart rate monitoring) starting at 28 weeks through delivery
+ Amniocentesis (testing of amniotic fluid) starting at 36 weeks to test for fetal/baby's lung maturity. Once lungs are mature I will be induced.

SO, basically this means that the remainder of my 2nd trimester will be treated relatively the same as a "normal" pregnancy would be (except for the 20ish week ultrasound being a level II instead of level I) and then a SUPER busy 3rd trimester. I got 2 more ultrasound photos/images today, but Baby was SO active that they are a bit blurry. HA! He/She looks to have the activity level of his/her older siblings (at least the activity level they had in the womb).

Off to rest. T was up with nightmares much of the night so I didn't sleep much and when I did it wasn't good sleep. OH, and feeling horribly nauseaus and even puking today hasn't helped. Love to all!!!
~j

An Afternoon at the "Cool"

2009-07-24T21:54:00.000-05:00

The cool? What? OH - you don't understand Tegan lingo? Well, the "cool" is known by most as the "pool". How's that? :) Enjoy!

Love to all!

~jenn

Breathe

2009-07-23T14:28:00.001-05:00

That is what I have had to tell myself to do a lot lately... at least more than any mom should have to do. I'll start off with the most dramatic story since I'm sure my brief post yesterday sparked the interest of those that have not already heard what happened.

On Tuesday evening Tegan went outside... I knew this and I thought Brendan knew this but he thought Tegan had decided to stay inside with me. SO, we each thought Tegan was with the other parent. About 15 minutes later Brendan walked into the house and asked where Tegan was - I said "isn't he with you?" and Brendan says, "I thought he stayed with you. He's not with me." Immediately we started searching. Tegan wasn't in the house, or our yard or our neighbors yards or on our street.

Brendan hopped on his bike and started searching our block, even going the 4 blocks to the park. After 5 min or so I decided to call 911. The operator/dispatcher I spoke with was wonderful and assured me that the police were on their way and that I needed to stay at my house in case he came home. I then called my mom and asked her to pray and after hanging up I did just that myself, and continued to do so as I continued to search.

Our neighbors then heard me yelling Tegan's name so they came out and started searching the patch of woods behind our house that leads to a creek (my fear was we'd find him face down in the creek). Brendan soon returned and searched the house again and my level of panic continued to rise as we still couldn't find Tegan. He then left on his bike for another round of searching the block and park.

Approx. 5 min after the 911 call a police officer arrived and told me that she just received a call that Tegan had been found. Shaking and in tears I jumped into the squad car and we slowly made our way down an adjacent street trying to find the address of where Tegan was apparently located. Nearly half a mile away we encounter a small group of people (including recently arrived Brendan) surrounding Tegan. What is my child sitting on? HIS BIKE! When we asked Tegan what he did wrong he replied with, "I don't have my helmet. It was stuck and I couldn't get it on."

Yes, turns out my little man wanted to go to the park. So he tried to put on his helmet, was unsuccessful and decided to go anyways. Once he was at the park (who knows how long he was there for) 2 adolescent boys saw him by himself, "corralled him" (as they put it) and then started down the sidewalk (in the opposite direction of our house) looking for an adult. Once they found one, the adult called the police and because Tegan's name was on his race number on his bike (from last week's Buck Hill kids' race) they got immediate confirmation that he was the 2-year old white male with light brown hair wearing dark brown shorts and a light blue shirt that had been reported missing.

OH-MY-GOSH! Needless to say we had a long talk with Tegan who still has no clue how seriously dangerous and wrong his excursion was. Oh, and the bike now hangs 6 feet off the ground in the garage. If you ask Tegan why it's hanging up he'll explain to you it's because he was naughty and went to the park all by himself... then he'll smile. UGH!

I'm still rattled (2 days later). It took me several hours after the incident to finally stop crying and another 24 hours or so for the adrenaline rush to ease up enough for me to eat much more than pasta or crackers. Praise God that Tegan turned up safe and sound, but I'm sure you can imagine all of the horrific scenarios that were speeding through my mind while we were searching for him.

The moral of this true story: Always accompany your child to wherever he/she is going to meet whoever he/she is going to be with. Never assume anything.

So I'm tired just from posting this... so you'll have to wait until tomorrow for pics.
Love to all!
~j

Apology

2009-07-22T19:30:00.000-05:00

I know I said I'd update today, but we had a rough evening yesterday - let's just say it involved Tegan, his bike, parental miscommunication and 911... everyone is safe and fine but I was pretty shaken up and needed today to just do nothing. More tomorrow...
~j

Tomorrow, I promise

2009-07-21T14:25:00.000-05:00

As usual, it's been way too long since I last posted. I've got quite a few pics to upload from all our adventures over the last few weeks, so I'll be doing that tomorrow since it's Tegan's daycare day... but here's a sneak peak (well, read) as to what's to come:
1) Breezy Point Family Vacation
2) Veally (like really and very) Loud
3) Rapid (pronounced rap-ee-d)
4) Code Yellow
5) 1/10,000
6) 160
7) Glubs & shobels
8) 7 seconds+
9) Home grown tomatoes
10) Veggie vs. Quick
11) Lugs
13) T.O. (not the football player)
14) Aquaphor
15) I don't like that

Did I get your gears goin? Your brian gears that is... I'll let that work on ya for 24 hours. Until then...
Love to all
~j

You Can Stop Whispering About My Belly

2009-07-09T08:49:00.000-05:00

Yes, we are expecting our 3rd little bundle (I'm currently 11 1/2 weeks along). Baby Moore #3 has a pretty special due date - January 26, 2010:the 1 year anniversary of Ty's heavenly birthday. And we're OK with that, for several reasons. 1) what an amazing way to celebrate life?! 2) Baby's lung maturity will begin being tested at 37 weeks gestation and as soon as they are deemed mature I can be induced... so (assuming all continues to go well) Baby will more likely be born in early-mid January. Based on today's ultrasound all seems to look good. Heart rate is at 153bpm, he/she has 2 arms and 2 legs (even though they aren't really visible in this image), and he/she also has a nasal bone. What's the significance of the nasal bone you ask? Apparently it is often absent in children/babies with Downs Syndrome (at least at this point) based on what the US tech explained to me so that was comforting to know. Another comfort (even though physically it's not comforting) is that I've been feeling pretty darn sick - which is a good indicator that all is well with Baby.

Hope this finds all happy and healthy. Please add our new bundle to your prayers and that he/she continues to grow and develop properly and that this pregnancy will end with the fabulous miracle of us having a healthy baby in our arms in January. Thank you in advance!

Love to all!
~jenn