Potty success!

Riley has had two successful times that she has peed in the potty today! Most kids want a piece of candy, a cookie, or some sort of sweet as a treat for a reward. My child wants her Grandma to push her on the swing. Honestly, I will do whatever it takes to get her potty trained.

Heck I think I am having wishful thinking but maybe...MAYBE we can get Bree potty trained too by the time Derrick comes. :)

Boy oh boy!

I tried to post an ultrasound picture on here from my phone, but it didn't work. I can just tell you what was on it....little boy parts! Woo hooooooooo!!! We couldn't be happier! My heart just about burst with happiness when those little parts came up on the screen.

His name will be Derrick Jason. Adam and I just really like the name Derrick. It is a very strong name. The middle name of Jason is after Adam's brother who's name is Jason. His brother is a wonderful man who would do anything for his family and friends. I hope that Derrick grows up to be like his namesake...it would make me so proud.

He will born at 36-37 weeks so he'll be born anywhere from February 6th to the 20th. We can't wait to hold our baby boy in our arms. Now onto looking for the perfect coming home outfit...

Oh no! My teeth are all gone!

We have a picture up on the refrigerator of when Riley had turned one year old. (Our friend Carrie Fay took it!) Riley has a big cheesy grin on her face and she was so happy and giggling the time the picture was taken. However, Riley only had her two bottom teeth when she turned one an din the picture you can see that quite clearly.

Tonight when I was putting away dinner Riley was laying on her stomach looking at the pictures that were on the fridge. (Don't ask why she was laying on her stomach...I have no idea).  She saw the picture of herself when she was little and she exclaimed "MAMA!!! Oh no! My teeth are all gone!!!" I just busted up laughing and told her "I don't know, where'd they go?" She Said "I don't know Mama...I just don't know!" I just chuckled at her. She cracks me up.

She proceeded to carry around the picture for the next ten minutes looking at it and muttering to herself about her teeth.

Tasting

Bree has been into 'tasting' new things. This is FANTABULOUS! It is one step closer to her wanting to eat. So far in the past few days we've successfully tried peanut butter toast, peaches, a bean burrito from Taco Bell, a hard taco from Taco Bell, peach yogurt, mac and cheese, ritz cracker, hamburger patty, chocolate teddy grahams, and few other things I can't remember. So far the most successful has been the peach yogurt, and the bean burrito.

I am so stoked for her new willingness and I really hope it continues. Fingers are crossed and hopes are up!

In which I talk to (about) my sister.

I don't remember which blog it was I was reading (actually I do now, it was Pioneer Woman), but she said that when blogging you should act like you are talking to your sister. Now, my sister lives in Oregon and growing up I only saw her every other weekend. We have the same Dad, but different Moms...but she is my sister and that is all that matters. She is younger than me (she's 18) and we are both in different seasons of life. She is just starting college (ohhh I remember those days!), and has very busy days between friends, college, and trying to find a job.

I wish that we both had more time to talk to one another. However, every time I seem to get on the phone my children have this unrelenting urge to run around screaming, climb on counters or beat each other with baby dolls. So when we do talk it is mostly me hollering at the kids to "not do such and such" or "what are you THINKING?".  If we ever do get to talk uninterrupted we do talk well with one another. We can talk about just about anything. Like how much we love our Grandma's marshmallow/kix/ricekrispie/whitechocolate cookies, or her updating me on how our little brother's love life is going, or me telling her about the crazy things the girls have been doing.

So, since we don't get to talk very often, I will heed Pioneer Woman's advice and act as though I am telling my sister about the latest news with our family. So forgive me if I seem to rattle on forever...or tell about little random tidbits of information that don't seem to matter.

Happy Birthday Bree!

My beautiful little daughter turned two today. I cannot believe it. She is developing into a caring, kind, loving, and playful little girl. She is quick to smile, and quick to give kisses.  She is not without a two year old attitude however. She has recently started throwing fits, and being very stubborn. Developmentally it is appropiate for her to be doing all this so it is wonderful for us to see her rolling on the floor flailing her arms and screeching.

Since Bree isn't a fan of cake, and she does like yogurt we decided to give her some chocolate pudding as a birthday treat. She loved it! She ate 3/4's of a container..which a good bit for her.

I hope the next year brings her much happiness, progress, and love. More love than her little self knows what to do with. :)

Slacker

*raises hand* That's me. I am a slacker.

I have kind of stunk at this blogging thing lately. I am going to try and start doing better at this. Blogging when I think of a cute story of the girls, or when I take a picture of something that I want to share.

Here's a run down of our past week.

This past Thursday Adam and I went to a Cardinals football game. It was a preseason game again the Washington Redskins. Adam's mom flew in to watch the girls for us. The game was nice to go to, and I know that Adam really enjoyed it. I don't know too much about football (nor do I care to), but it was fun to be a part of the crowd and the excitement. Heck, the tickets were free from Adam's work so I can't complain!

Saturday we had the girls' birthday party. Princess party mania! The girls looked so cute dressed up in their princess dresses. Riley was Cinderella, and Bree had her Belle dress on. Bree's dress was a little big on her (it fit length wise but not width wise...if that makes sense) so I had to doctor it up with some medical tape. What would we do without medical tape?

We had so many guests that came over and it made it a great time! We had some good food, great company, and even better cake! I was immensely proud of both girls because they both were able to blow out their own candles this year!! (HUGE thing for Bree!) Riley ate the frosting off of her cake, then pushed her plate forward saying she was done. Bree grabbed Riley's plate and pulled it towards her and started stabbing both pieces of cake with a fork in each hand. Pretty awesome for a kid who doesn't even like food. I was a nerd and forgot to charge the batteries on the big camera so I have to pull the pictures off of our little camera from the party. (Yes, we have a "big" camera and a "little" camera...and that's what I call them. Ha ha)

On Saturday my acid reflux was bugging me, which had affected my voice to where it sounded like I was sick. Many people at the party had asked if I was sick and I denied it many times. I didn't feel sick at all (besides normal pregnancy blah), but I think I jinxed myself. Sunday I woke up feeling pretty yucky and Monday morning I went to urgent care. I do not recommend going to urgent care on a holiday. I waited 2.5 hours before being seen. I was diagnosed with a sinus infection, double ear infection and aggravation of my asthma symptoms from acid reflux. I left with three prescriptions (zantac, augmentin, and an inhaler). 

That night I had a really rough night with my asthma and Adam even came rushing home because it was so bad. I returned back to urgent care and was diagnosed with early pnuemonia. I was given a steroid shot, and was given albuterol treatments to take home. I also got some prescription strength cough medicine. Woooo-eeeee. I hadn't been that sick in a really long time. Even this morning I was completely exhausted and the girls got to watch a lot of cartoons. However, I am feeling more like myself tonight. Hopefully tomorrow is an even better day.

That's us in a nutshell right now!

Noodles

Noodles can be so tricky to eat.

Caved.

So I caved and had Adam give Bree a tube feeding for dinner. The best feeding we had was the one I blogged about. All of the others she refused to feed herself, and it was a struggle to get her to open up for us to put a spoonful in her mouth. We would struggle to get her to eat a whole container of baby food for one meal. That alone would take take one hour and is only 80 to 110 calories. Multiply that by 3 meals and two to three snacks and you've got 300 to 400 calories. She needs 1,000 calories a day.

That doesn't even count the fluid intake she needs. That's more the reason why I caved. No wet diapers today. So, we decided to resume our normal g tube feeding schedule for her. I wish that we could find someone (who is a professional) that knows more about tube weaning. All the doctors we have either don't support it, or don't know much about the process and what is normal. I'm going to have to do more research.

Getting Bree off of this g tube seems like a daunting impossible task. How are we supposed to get her off of it with her maintaining her calories, her fluid intake, and some amount of our sanity?

Success, if only for a moment!

I don't know if this is pretty common with other preemies, or if it just how Bree is, but she is a one trick wonder. She will say something once, only to not say it again for months. Or she'll eat really good for one meal, then will refuse to even look at a spoon the next meal.

Every so often, (every couple of months) we try to wean Bree. This means that we do not offer any foods or liquids by tube during the day. At night we try to "pump" as much formula into her as we can to offset any calories that she missed during the day. We follow her cues with telling us if she is ready for this huge step of weaning off of the tube in some form.

In the past we've only gotten about three days into it before Bree cries uncontrollably from hunger, but refuses to eat anything at all. I can't stand to see her in such distress so I cave and take that as a sign that she is not ready. Usually it takes until the second day of not eating before Bree will respond to hunger.

This is the fourth (??third??) time we've tried this. Lately when we go to feed Bree by tube she lifts up her shirt and plays with her tube. I'm not a fan of that behavior because I want her to associate hunger and eating with her mouth. So I decided to try weaning her again this "weekend". So for Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday we are buckling down and remaining positive.

This morning I gave Bree some toast and bananas on her tray. I made her some chocolate milk to drink, and got some yogurt to spoon feed her. She ate about half the container of yogurt with much encouragement, silly noises, and funny faces on my part. She tried two drinks of chocolate milk and then did not want more. At that point she pulled up her shirt and started playing with her tube, while refusing to eat anymore by mouth. I told her that we were not using our tube today, and only our mouths. She adamantanly signed "All done" so I honored her request.

About three hours later she was getting to be really whiny. She came up to me and lifted her shirt up, pointed to her tube, and stared at me. I told her we're not using your tube today, we're eating with our mouths to fill our bellies. She just stared at me with a blank expression. I told her if you're hungry, sit in your chair. She sat.

I went and got the yogurt she didn't finish for breakfast, but she was refusing to allow me to feed her. On a whim, I gave her the spoon and I held the yogurt container. She loved dipping the spoon into the container then smearing the yogurt on her mouth and nose. I allowed her to do that for five minutes, then I held her hand over her spoon and showed her how to put it in her mouth. I then encouraged her to take bites herself. Every bite I would remind her, and soon she started to comply every time.

Soon she had finished the half a yogurt container so I went and got a new one. It was slow going, but an hour later it was gone!!!! Yes, she made a mess but she ATE!! I was bursting with pride (and still am!). When that container was gone, she threw her spoon on the floor and signed "All done". 5.25 ounces of mixed berry yogrut!! Impressive!!!

Now after naptime, we are trying out spaghetti o's. I can't wait to see that mess! (Really...I can't...seeing Bree with a messy face is so rewarding!)

Surprise!

At the beginning of July, approximately 6 weeks ago, Adam and I got a big surprise. A big fat positive pregnancy test. We weren't even trying...in fact we were actively not trying. So to say we were surprised was an understatement. The day that I told Adam, all he could say was "All righty then".

Our family at that time was preparing for Adam to leave in September for Korea to be gone for  a year. We had plans of Adam's parents watching the girls on his midtour so him and I could meet in Japan for a romantic vacation. As of right now, Adam has put in a humanitarian package to see if they will defer his orders until after the baby is born. With my problem pregnancy with Bree, we are both concerned that the same things will happen with this pregnancy.

Speaking of problems, this pregnancy has had a small issue so far. I have had a bleed with the placenta of this baby already. So I am taking it easy, not lifting heavy stuff (aside from the kids when necessary), and resting up. We had an ultrasound today and found out I still have a small bleed which is measuring one centimeter and it is on the edge of the placenta instead of behind it like it used to be. So it's smaller and is in a less dangerous place. (thank goodness) We would appreciate any prayers, good thoughts, and healing vibes about the safety and well being of the pregnancy.


During the ultrasound we had the baby looked great! The heartbeat was amazing to hear, and it was beating strong at 167. The baby even measured three days ahead of it's due date...made a Mama proud to know it's growing great! It was a little bugger and wouldn't move for the ultrasound tech no matter how much he jiggled and pushed on my belly. It took a half an hour to get the measurements that were needed because the baby wouldn't move. Right when the tech said that he just had to scan the rest of my uterus and ovaries the baby started moving. He was a great tech and let us just watch the baby move for a few minutes.


The official due date is March 6, 2011. The baby will however, be born at 36 - 37 weeks due to the "T cut" I have from previous c sections. Going any farther than that would be putting the baby's life, and my life in danger due to the risk of uterine rupture. My doctor will be keeping a close eye on me and it will be closer than most pregnant women get. I will get to go into the doctor twice a week for monitoring once I hit 25 weeks (when Bree was born). 

We are praying and hoping for a 37 week, 6 - 7 pound healthy little baby to hold in our arms in February. In the meantime, I will take care of myself in order to help this baby grow, Adam will support and help me as much as he can (which he's been great at!), and Riley will teach Bree all the tricks of the trade of being a great big sister. We welcome and appreciate any and all prayers, good thoughts, and well wishes!

Oh the things Riley says!

Not to toot my own kids horn, but Riley is pretty advanced in her speech. She always has been. I think she got it from me and all my incessant talking. Ha ha! Lately she has been really inquisitive about everything, asking questions and adding her own opinions. Lately here's some of the things she's been saying.

Right now I am wearing a ruby and diamond necklace that my Grandma gave me when I had Riley. It was a necklace that my Grandpa gave her for their tenth wedding anniversary. It is beautiful. Riley thinks so too. Everyday she comes up to me, gently takes the necklace part in her fingers and says "I like your jewel Mama. Who give it to you?" I tell her Nana gave it to me.Then she tells me "It is so pretty. I like it." She does this every day. Today she went and got one of her bracelets that I got her for Christmas this last year. She proceeded to put it on, put it up in my face, and say "Nana got me this. You like it?"

Riley likes to come into the bathroom when I am getting my makeup on, and do my hair in the morning. About two weeks ago I was putting my mascara on and Riley comes walking in. She asks me what I was doing and I told her I was putting on my mascara. She scrunches up her face, thinking for a moment. She then says "My eyes make scary??" I laughed so hard.

Just today while I was curling my hair Riley watched me for a few minutes. She suddenly blurts out "Why you cooking your hair Mama?"

Oh the mind of a two (almost three!) year old. So innocent and unique.

That familiar ache

The last time I had to leave Bree somewhere without either of her parents was when she was in the NICU. I always felt like I was leaving a piece of my heart behind, and I swear my heart would physically ache until I was by her side again.

Today that ache came back when I took her to daycare this morning. She is trying out her new daycare for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday this week. It allows her time to get used to the new environment, and for them to get used to her. I go in at lunch time to show them how to feed her. Today Bree had a puke saved up for them, so I feel a little bad about it. However, it is a part of who she is. It's not pleasant, but it is what it is.

There have been some good signs today though. When I took her in this morning she clung to me for a few minutes, but then wandered over to the table and tried to take someone elses cheerios. The teacher got her set up with her own cheerios (which she spilt all over the table and floor). However, she sat down and ate some cheerios. I left with her happy and content.

When I showed back up around lunch time to pick her up (so I could show them how to feed her), she was sitting at the table by herself drinking a sippy cup! She whined when she saw me, but after a few moments of cuddle she saw that the other kids were playing with bubbles and she wanted to go. I put her down and she went right over in the middle of all the kids and shrieked with happiness.

I think she is going to fit right in, and do just great. Now if only this ache in my heart would go away.

Livin' it up

Here in our household I'd like to say we've been living it up and taking every opportunity to get out and enjoy having our family here. However, I cannot say that. It has been too darn hot! Temps in the 110 to 115's make it near to impossible to do anything.

So, we have been at home everyday. Mom needs to work during the day, and Adam is at work from 7-4. So that leaves me, Dad and the kids. We have a little routine though, the big kids go to the park around 9 in the morning and they stay there for 30 to 45 minutes. They come back soaked either from the sprinklers, or from the water feature that is at our local park. Then they get out a board game and play that for while. Both of the big kids do really well with taking the time to play with my kids so it is great to see them interacting with one another.

I have been slacking on taking pictures, but need to start being the sneaky paparazzi in the house to get some good shots of them all playing together.

This weekend we plan on going to the Anthem Outlet malls (early in the morning!), and possibly hit up a Dave and Busters to get outta the house and have some fun!

Indoor Jump Rope Contest

Hey, you gotta have fun every once in a while and just break the rules. We did just that with our indoor jump rope contest. I did jump, but I was the photographer so no photos were taken of me....really...I did!

Even Grandma got in on the fun!

Specs

She is adjusting quite nicely to her specs. She does take them off about 5 to 10 times a day right now, but that's pretty normal. I think she looks beautiful in them!

Family

I love our family. I especially love it when they come to visit us. It makes our house a busier, more energetic, happier place. Today we will be having many visitors coming to the house. Adam's parents are driving down with our neice (Bailey, 9) and nephew (Hunter, 10). Also, our neice (Daphne, 9) will be flying in this afternoon to stay with us for a while.

I am excited for our house to be overrun with kids. Bree is going to be sleeping in our room in a pack and play because she was ever so nice to offer up her room to the big kids. Okay, so I really decided they would be using her room, but she is still sharing. We have broken down her crib (whew those get dirty quickly!) and are going to move it out tonight and move in the futon. The girls will be sharing the futon and we are going to get Hunter a twin blow up bed to sleep on.

We were going to put our girls together in the same room, but they have such different sleeping schedules we decided against it. However, the past two days Bree has spent in our room she has made a point to be waking up at 530. So, they may be sharing a room here soon if that continues.

We have a few adventures planned while they are here. Mama wants to visit a ghost town, a western town, some local splash pads, the zoo, and possibly a water park. I look forward to the time that will be spent with family. It is nice to share our time, our love, and our happiness with them!

Every time I turn around...

...Bree is walking.

She is now choosing (about 50% of the time) to walk instead of crawl. It is so odd and wonderful to see her in an upright walking position. She is such a big girl now. It is hard to imagine that she was the floppy little 5 pound 2 ounce baby we brought home 18 months ago. What a difference.

The rest of the week...and some of this week.

Last week was full of many surprises. Most of which  caught us off guard (that's the funny thing about surprises!). Thursday we found out I have to go to a gum specialist to have a surgical procedure done. Our insurance does not have good dental coverage at all.

We spent Saturday at my Aunt and Uncle's house out in Queen Creek and it was a welcome change from the stressful week that we had. Lounging in the pool helped to relax my cares away. Both girls LOVED the pool. Bree does not like being in a baby floater toy, she prefers someone holding her. Riley kicked herself all around the pool in her floater, splashing water on Daddy and laughing up a storm.

On Monday I took Bree to the eye doctor and found out she needs glasses. Our insurance doesn't cover them so we will be paying for them. Thankfully, Adam's parents are going to help us out with them in light of our money situation. We are looking at getting her these frames: click here to see her frames!. We are going to get them in the light rose color. The cool thing about these frames is that they are virtually indestructible. Bree does enjoy sporting her sunglasses every so often so I am hopeful that glasses will not be too hard of a transition.

Please be praying for our family this week. We have had a rough go of it lately and we are determined to keep our heads up. Thanks in advance.

The ugly

Usually I try and keep the blog upbeat and happy, but unfortunately life isn't always that way. The past two days have been horrible.

To start, Riley has ran a fever the last three days. She hovers around 101 in the evenings. Just the evenings. Weird. Bree started with a fever tonight too.

Yesterday we got a letter from Social Security saying the benefits that we have been getting for Bree are being changed. Instead of the $674 we were getting a month they are saying we only get $55.64. We rely upon that money to help pay for her expenses and to cover bills.

This morning I called to ask about why that change had occurred since our money situation had not changed. Come to find out we never should have qualified in the first place and they expect us to pay back all the money they had overpaid us. All $7, 420.32.

Talk about stressful. We are going to be appealing the repayment since it was their mistake that we received the money in the first place. I am sure this is a process that is going to take a long while.

To offset the money that we are no longer receiving we filed for food stamps today, and are going to re qualify for WIC tomorrow morning.

Here's hoping for a better tomorrow.