Your job here is done.....

Dear Uterus;

Although you have been a warm and cozy home for my two babies, I am going to have to have you close up shop sometime around the end of February. I appreciate all your hard work and dedication, but it has come time for you to retire. Yes, this is a forced retirement, but believe me- it is for the best. If I am to remain sane, you are to remain baby free for the rest of my life. This may require a semi unpleasant experience at some point, but if everything goes as planned- you will remain "intact" after the birth of our second and last child. Phil will have to have some modifications if I am able to deliver naturally again. I feel that is only fair after housing two babies for a year and 1/2 of my life. I am very fortunate to be able to experience being pregnant and having two of my own children, but pregnancy and me do not get along very well. So again, I thank you for doing such a wonderful job in housing and caring for my babies while they grew.

Sincerely,

Michelle

Macie-13 Months and Mommy- 21 Weeks

Happy 13 months Macie. Mommy is a slacker and is going to be doing your letters/updates every 3 months now. You are growing fast, but there is just not as much to report every month.
We did find out that you are going to have a little sister. We couldn't be more excited, you two will be so close (I hope). We have already had visions of you two fighting over bathroom time and our bathrooms are just WAY too small. We need to move!!!

I had a Dr. appt. today, all is well. Heartbeat was 146, my BP was 124/70 (woo hoo), and I am only up 5 pounds total so far (I swear it's all in the girls- 2.5lbs gained in each-hate it). What a difference from my pregnancy with Macie. I know.....just wait!!!

Here is another headless belly pic of 21 weeks.

Sidenote: I have no idea what is going on with this blog. I am no longer able to move pictures around so they all end up on top. Very frustrating. If anyone knows how to fix it....please tell me. When I download the pictures, they come up in text format until I actually publish the post. Also the menu bar at the top is different....hmmmmm.

1 Year Pictures

Here are some of Macie's 1 year pictures.
As usual, Kim did an awesome job with a tough subject!!!

We are making progress

More self feeding options:

Funny of the day!!!

Phil came home from work today and told me that he had a funny incident at the gym. He left the house in a hurry this morning and grabbed a pair of work out pants out of the dryer and stuffed them in his bag. He got to the gym, got dressed, and headed out of the locker room when a rather large burly man tapped him on the shoulder and said "you dropped something out of your pants when you were putting them on", and he hands him a pink and white bib that says "I love my mommy".
Don't know why, but I can not stop laughing about it.
I was sick to my stomach while he was telling me since I figured it was a pair of my most unattractive underwear the man handed him!!!

I am amazed

at the things people say.....
I am not referring to anyone who reads this blog. The person that said this to me does not know that I "blog".
My conversation with this person (I will call them "X")Keep in mind that "X" has two boys....I thought of so many things to say AFTER this conversation! Dang it!

X- How are you feeling? How far along are you?
Me- I feel great and I am 5 months along.
X- Oh, do you know what you are having?
Me- Yes, we just found out we are having another girl.
X- Oh, sorry about that.
Me- Why are you sorry?
X- I'm sure you were hoping for a boy.
Me- No, actually we kinda wanted another girl since they will be so close in age.
X- Oh, well I'm sure Phil is really bummed.
Me- Nope, he's not at all. Have a great day!!! Jack ASS!!!

This is one of those people that does not have that mechanism in their pea brain to filter out the moronic things that you just shouldn't say out loud.

I just feel the need to say something about it since it really kind of bugged me. Phil and I have said since the moment we found out we were having another baby that it would be really cool if Macie had a sister. They will be 17-18 months apart and hopefully be great friends/playmates. Don't get me wrong, it's great having a brother, but it's not the same as having a sister. I guess maybe we don't fall into the "norm" in desperately wanting a boy AND a girl. I am not insulting anyone by saying that...promise.

The first thing that crossed our minds when we got the positive pregnancy test was...wow, another baby....what a miracle. We are so blessed to be able to have one child, let alone TWO. I know way too many people who never got that chance, some that never even got one! We never thought "oh wow, hope it's a boy".

So all in all, we are more than excited to be having a healthy baby girl, that Macie is getting a little sister, and not at all "bummed" that we aren't having a boy. We have 4 nephews....it's about time for more girls, right???!!!

FINALLY!!!!

Macie is almost 13 months old and she REFUSES to hold her own bottle. I have tried letting it dangle from her mouth, just sitting it in front of her (she just turns it upside down and chews on the bottom), laying her down (she just wants to get up and play) and begging....nothing has worked. Tonight Phil gave her a bath and was getting her in her jammies and I walked in with her bottle and she was clearly wanting the bottle bad so.....I handed it to her, and she popped it right into her mouth and drank the WHOLE thing with no assistance!!!!! I guess we shouldn't get too excited since she was on her changing table, or she was just extremely tired from her Dr's visit. It may never happen again, but I got a picture to prove that she really can hold her own bottle. Next stop.....sippy cup (having same issues with those)!!!

It's a.......................

GIRL!!!!!!!!
We went for our Level II Ultrasound today and got the "money shot" right away! She's definitely not a shy one.
Everything is great, she's very healthy and right on track. They estimated her weight to be about 14 ounces right now. They check everything; the umbilical cord, the brain, the four chambers of the heart, measure the head, bones, etc. Everything measured around 20 weeks.
We are over the top with excitement that Macie is going to have a little sister. Many of us (including myself) were sure it was a boy since this pregnancy is so different.
Here are some new pics of our little girl (at the top obviously....blogger is giving me some trouble tonight).

Pumpkin Farm/Petting Zoo Visit

Despite the not so great weather today, we went to a Pumpkin Farm/Petting Zoo near our house. We missed out on the annual apple picking/pumpkin patch trip this year so we wanted to take Macie to pick out a pumpkin. They have a huge petting zoo at this place, it was really cute. The weather wasn't that great, but we still had fun. The goats apparently don't get fed enough since they were head butting Kate and Ryan, not so fun!!!

03.jpg">Macie picking the perfect pumpkin

Papa brought over a chick for Macie to pet, she LOVED it.

Grandma took a silly picture of us! CHEESE!

A ride on the train.

Oh....just a few more things

12 more days until we find out PINK or BLUE!!!!
Get your predictions in now!!!
We will be so excited if it's a girl since Macie will only be about 18 months old when #2 is born, but will also be excited for a boy and having one of each. I just feel like we can't plan anything until we know. I will be having my Level II Ultrasound on the 13th and just praying for healthy baby news!!!
During Macie's tough week, she got her first molar too! Poor thing. She now has 7 teeth. We think she is pretty close to walking too. She has been sliding her feet from one item to another instead of sitting and then crawling to the next destination. She is also standing alone for quite a while....think it surprises her too every time she does it!

What a week!

The song "Burning Ring of Fire" has been playing in my head all week and it's dedicated to Macie's buttocks........

After days of antibiotics and the poops, we had to take Macie back to the Dr. because she had a horrible rash. It looked like she was put in scalding hot water, like 1st degree burns- ouchie! They prescribed her something that has the feel of sand mixed in Vaseline. I felt like I was rubbing sandpaper on her raw skin, but it's working. This lovely rash appeared the same day she fell and must have bit her lip. I picked her up and there was blood coming from her little mouth. She had a little bruise/red mark on the outside of her mouth from the incident and also had a small bruise on her forehead from a minor bump a few days prior. When we took her to the Dr. she had leaked poop through her PJ's and we left the house in such a hurry that I didn't pack an extra change of clothes (of course). The Mother of the Year was in the waiting room with her two very well behaved children, and she felt the need to inform me that her diaper leaked. I was already worked up since Macie was in so much pain and she was still screaming from the pain, I just looked at the lady and said "that's why we're here, thank you" and proceeded to take Macie to change her and try to clean her up. I was sure DCFS was going to be knocking on our door that night!!!

Anyway, it seems her rough week is coming to an end (I hope) and we're all going to make it. It was just tough since this was her first REAL illness and I just felt helpless through it!!

Here are a few pictures I took of our little trooper!

Very odd looking picture (bad angle) but she was yelling at me while I took it so I had to post it!