Adventures with the Grandparents

Today was a beautiful fall day and also a very eventful day, especially for Little Pea. Nannie and Big Daddy (Frank's parents) came to visit last night, so when Little Pea woke up this morning, the fun began. We first had breakfast, cooked by my loving husband, and then played and played until she wore herself out and took a 2 1/2 hour nap. When she woke up, we went to one of the favorite restaurants of local residents, Clark's, where they have wonderful chicken fingers and catfish among other things. After lunch, we headed outside the restaurant and walked around to enjoy the beautiful weather. This was Little's first discovery of pine cones. There was also a log cabin next door where we took some pictures.There is a little shop next to the log cabin where they sell handmade products made by local residents. They have photography, jewelry, crafts, pottery, quilts and all kinds of other things, and today just happened to be their Christmas open house. We stopped in to check it out and ended up with some really great buys, including two antique oil lamps for $3/each. I got a beautiful handmade piece of pottery, a serving tray, that would easily go for $60 or more but only paid $15 for it. I couldn't believe it. By the time we got home, we had just enough time to pick some vegetables from our garden before Little's second nap. We got some green tomatoes and quite a few carrots today. Impressive!Little took a second 2 1/2 hour nap and woke up just in time for her other grandparents, Momma J and Daddy J, to show up for supper and the big football game between LSU and Alabama. While Momma J and I were cooking supper, Little Pea came in the kitchen wearing my shoes.What a sweetie! It worked out great that she slept so long for her second nap because it allowed her to stay up extra late to make up for the time change. And of course it let her watch more of the football game, which by the way she loves football. But who doesn't?

Playdates...We are Back!

This week we had a playdate at our house, thanks to me feeling better with my RA. It's been a really long time since we've had one at our house. In fact, the last four were all at different people's houses. It's so nice to be feeling better and to have everybody over again. We had a really good crowd. It got really loud at times, but I loved it! I remember at one point noticing that every child here was playing with a different toy that made noise, all at the same time. Frank called from work and I could barely hear him on the phone. It was great! We tried to take a group picture, but this is what we ended up with.The other kids were on the couch at one point, but they all started crying one after the other until all we were left with was Easton and Little. If only you could've been a fly on the wall watching us try to get the kids to sit for a picture together. It was pretty hilarious.Thanks to some great friends for a wonderful playdate where I got some much needed girl time.

Happy Halloween!

Last night, we took Little to the Fall Festival at my parents' church for the second year in a row. I was actually surprised at how much fun she had. I didn't realize that she would be able to participate as much as she did. We were so proud of her for being such a big girl. She even rode a horse!She also rode the train with her cousin Ivey. She seemed so grown up, walking around to all of the booths to get candy. She would take the candy and stick it in her little pumpkin and then hold her daddy's hand to walk to the next booth. Can you tell that we are proud parents? We hope you all had a wonderful holiday. Happy Halloween!

Little's Stats

A couple of posts ago, I did a 15 month update on Little Pea but didn't have her stats. Today she had her check-up, so now we know just how much she has grown. I couldn't believe where she comes in on the charts. This Little Pea isn't so little anymore! She weighed 22 lbs, which puts her right between the 25th & 50th percentile, but the shocker was her height. She is 31 inches, landing her right between the 50th & 75th percentile! Wow! I think she just might have hopes for being taller than her short momma!

Health update

This may be a boring post (no pics) but many of you have been asking for updates on my and baby's health status.

Okay, so I am still failing in a major way at updating my blog. It's not because we haven't been busy. We actually took Little Pea to the Birmingham Zoo a couple of weeks ago and I've even been able to get out a couple of times since then. However, I am still battling the RA symptoms which doesn't make picking up the heavy computer seem very enticing. I'm still really sore in the mornings, especially with these cold mornings and nights, but the afternoons have actually been somewhat bearable, which is more than they have been for the past few months. We even walked down the block today, a MAJOR accomplishment for this prego with RA!

Baby #2 is doing great. We had our 12 week appointment last week, and though we weren't scheduled for an ultrasound we were able to get one. Normally, at 12 weeks, the doctor just listens for the baby's heartbeat on doppler (I think that's what it's called), but it's very hard to get the baby's heartbeat over the mother's when you're so early on in the pregnancy. So, after trying for a minute, my heartbeat was so loud that the doctor decided that we would just ultrasound to find the baby's heartbeat. And I was so glad! The baby has grown a lot and has a nice strong heartbeat. It was 164 at the appointment.

This pregnancy is definitely a lot different than my pregnancy with Little Pea. For one thing, I haven't gained any weight, probably because of the RA. You can't even tell that I'm pregnant, where with her you could tell I was pregnant at 10 weeks! Also, I've been a lot sicker with this pregnancy...lots more nausea and actual throwing up. Yuck!

Many of you have asked if I need anything. Thank you so much for your care and concern. It is definitely appreciated. The thing I could use most right now, other than prayer, is just encouragement. You can't even imagine how much I need it right now. Having this disease for 10 months now along with being pregnant for 3 months is really taking a toll on me. I know I must trust in God and that he has a plan for me in all of this. It's just hard and very lonely to go through when I can't really explain to anyone what it feels like. Not only does it take a toll physically, but also emotionally. Someday I hope to come out on top of all of this and be able to help other people that are in the same situation. Until then, keep praying!

I'll try to do better on updating my blog. My laptop is on its last leg, though, so it may be easier when I replace it. How long are these things supposed to last anyway?

15 month update

Today, our Sweet Little is 15 months old! I can't even believe it. She is looking older to me every day and is learning so many new things all the time. It's amazing how she just soaks up new information. She hasn't had her 15 month appointment yet, so I'm not sure what her stats are.

Her vocabulary is definitely expanding. She understands a lot of English, so communicating to her is pretty easy. Though she continues to prefer to speak in her own language, she is starting to say a few more words in English. Her newest words are "fish", "shoe", and "quack."

Lately, it has felt like school at our house in the mornings. One of Little's favorite books for the moment is a Mother Goose book. It's a long book (has 100 rhymes in it) and she wants to look through it over and over. She mostly likes to point at the children and animals and make the animal sounds. If we come to a page with a song, we have to stop and do the motions, like Pat-a-Cake and Row, Row, Row Your Boat. She also waves at the people on the pages if they are waving. It's really been a great teaching tool.

Little is really becoming a Daddy's girl, even though Frank won't admit it to me. She cries big crocodile tears when he leaves for work, and for those of you who know her best, you know this is a big deal because she doesn't cry much at all. Also, every night before we go upstairs for bedtime, she and Daddy dance. She'll even let us know if she's ready to dance by coming up to us and moving her shoulders back and forth. They dance to fast songs, slow songs, any kind of song. She occasionally sings while they are dancing. It's so sweet to see her just hold onto his head and look at him and smile. She LOVES her Daddy!

She refuses to eat any food that is attached to babies, even baby yogurt. She'll eat Frank's Greek yogurt, but will not eat her Gerber yogurt anymore. She also prefers to use big people utensils as opposed to her plastic ones. In fact, she'll eat anything if you put it on a fork and hand it to her, even brussel sprouts. She has a baby doll that she likes to carry around. It's so sweet. I'm trying to teach her to be soft with the baby, though, instead of just throwing her around. I want her to get some good practice before her baby brother or sister gets here.

Our Announcement...why I've been away

I've been gone for awhile...not from home but from the computer. Some of you may have already heard our announcement, and Little Pea was happy to share with the world that she is going to be a big sister. We actually found out on my birthday, the day after my surprise birthday party. We are so excited to be welcoming another addition to our little family.

The pregnancy, though, has come with many obstacles to this point. Because I'm pregnant, I cannot treat my rheumatoid arthritis. If you understand RA at all, you understand that to be unable to treat it is SERIOUS stuff. I have basically been incapacitated for the past month or so since we found out that I'm pregnant. Most of the time, I can't do anything that a normal person can do. For example, I can barely walk, can only stand for very short periods of time without getting winded or passing out, can't do much of anything that requires any amount of strength (squeezing toothpaste, opening sippy cups, twisting the milk carton top, etc.) With a toddler, this is very difficult. Thankfully I have a WONDERFUL mother who has sacrificed her time for us and comes over every morning to take care of my sweet child and to make sure that I am also taken care of. She has been selfless, and to say that I'm thankful just doesn't even seem like enough. Also, my sweet husband has been amazing beyond words. Not only does he get Little Pea up in the mornings to pass her off to my mom, but then he goes to work, comes home and does laundry and cleans, makes sure we're fed (which isn't easy with my pregnancy appetite) and does basically anything that needs to be done.

The good news about my RA is...everything should be getting better very soon. As soon as the first trimester is over, my RA symptoms are supposed to pretty much "go away" for the remainder of the pregnancy. There are so many things that are truly amazing about how a woman's body works, and this is just another one of those things. Most people that have auto-immune diseases experience a relief of symptoms during pregnancy. Since I'm 9 weeks now, I'm hoping that relief is just around the corner. And I know Frank and my mom will be glad for that day to come, too.

In the meantime, please pray for us. Continue to pray for complete healing of my RA. Pray for this sweet baby that is growing inside of me. And pray for my family that is having to pick up the slack while I'm down and out. We are so thankful and blessed and can't wait to meet our sweet little one. Getting there is a challenge, but we know it'll be worth it in a few short months.