No More Secrets

Oh Hi!

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth...life became a little chaotic for most of August. My Mom fell while visiting us and broke the humerus in her right arm (and scraped her head) just four days prior to her scheduled return. I became her nurse for three plus weeks until we could get her returned home (we traveled with her as she was so limited with arm mobility). We're back now and trying to catch up with work and life.

The Little Miss was a bit out of sorts during this time. I had so little time with her spending much of my day helping my Mom with everyday tasks she could no longer do. The Little Miss' language is exploding and she's such a sensitive little person and SO observant. For days after my Mom's fall she'd pretend play she fell and "Bumped my head and broked my arm. I need to go to the doctor." She would find something to wrap around her arm then locate a pillow to prop her arm up to rest. She also quickly learned to "fill me in" (and anyone within earshot) on all the happenings while I was busy with Grandma.

For example:

• "Daddy's not happy with me cause I'm not listening."
• "Daddy is a little frustrated."

• "We played puzzles and Legos and had a picnic on the floor and I spilled my water but Daddy wasn't mad."
• To her dance teacher: "Grandma broked her arm and bonked her head and Mommy has to wash her hair."

• "Friend-Friend (our greyhound) peed on the floor! Doggies don't pee on the carpet. Doggies poop and pee outside. Maybe I can go poop outside. Maybe"

• To her Aunt: "Mommy's stressed out."

Needless to say, we can no longer have any secrets in this house. She's a sponge...even if we think she's not listening. If we say anything in front of The Little Miss, we need to be prepared for it to be repeated. Good or bad.

A little catch-up

Wow. As much as I hope to be completely on top of this blog it. just. doesn't. happen. There are a few things to catch up on:

Speech Therapy: The Little Miss is currently on a "service coordination" plan. This means she's improved so much that she no longer needs bi-weekly play therapy. This worked out well as her therapist is on maternity leave and she's to be tested in another week to see if she needs/qualifies for continued therapies with the school district. Her vocabulary is pretty huge at this point. The biggest issue we have is proper enunciation. Essentially, if we make her slow down and we demonstrate proper, exaggerated enunciation, she'll speak the word perfectly.  I'm wavering on the pre-school idea. While I really do wish to have her in that type of setting, I'm not sure I'm ready for her to be there at age 2 1/2 for four days a week.

Potty Training: Well, she mastered this long ago. The end of May had us traveling to Missouri for my niece's graduation from high school. The Little Miss had been doing extremely well. She rarely peed in her pull-up and was wearing underwear more and more at night (from the time she woke from her nap until bath time).  The week prior to our trip she decided she was DONE with the pull-ups. We had planned to really work on potty training when we got back but she decided for us. She wanted her underwear on and she wanted it on from the time she woke until she went to bed at night. I was fully prepared for our trip, putting her in pull-ups on the flights and she never once needed them. She went on the plane (that's fun, let me tell ya!) multiple times and even held it once when she had to go and we were mid descent and couldn't get out of our seats. This continued the entire time we were in Missouri and she's been going strong since. We still put a pull-up on at night, not wanting to risk a solid-night's sleep for accidents, but she's been completely dry for weeks now at night.

When did she turn into such a little girl!?

Gymnast or Dancer?: We received some really sad news that our local The Little Gym is closing it's doors for good the first week of August. The Little Miss LOVES her classes there and has been talking, non-stop, about taking the dance/tumble combo class when she turns 3 with her teacher, Mrs. C. Very few dance studios allow toddlers under 3 to take classes. There are two studios in town we're looking at, but we're also trying to decide if we want to abandon gymnastics all together or do some sort of combo class (which is difficult to find). She really seems to want to go for dance. In fact, we discussed the fact that if she took dance I couldn't be in the class with her. She smiled and said "I a big girl Mommy! You watch me!" She may change her mindset when the time comes but, for now, she seems to be okay with the fact I'd have to watch from the lobby and not be in the class with her. We don't want her to have so many activities she doesn't have time to just be a kid but we'd like to expose her to activities and give her a chance to socialize outside of her comfort zone of home. Decisions, decisions.

The Rings. A perpetual favorite!

Ta-Da!

So, life here continues its usual amount of crazy. We had one of The Little Miss' older cousins out for two weeks and soon, Grandma will be out for a few weeks. In between our travels and company we had landscapers performing a total make-over of the backyard. We now have GRASS! A complete novelty here in the desert and something we're really enjoying. I make no guarantees with the blog. I'm currently trying to focus on quality time with The Little Miss than just quantity of time. I admit to work preoccupying my time and, in turn, I'm distracted by email or the latest assignment that needs to be finished. In doing so I may be with The Little Miss physically, but I'm not fully being with her.

A List....

Since my mind is all over the place lately, this will be a post of lists....

1. We were astonished with The Little Miss' progress speech-wise. The past week has brought some kind of scary regression. She's back to her rambling, melodic jargon that she was doing prior to therapy. Words that had been incredibly clear are now becoming unintelligible. Personally, I'm trying not to panic...some regression is normal as kids develop new skills but even her therapist was a little worried. We're meeting with another specialist in a couple of weeks to see if there might be some other reason for the regression. In the meantime we can just hope it's either a confidence issue or a natural regression that will resolve itself.

2. Our mountains are on fire. This happens from time to time in the desert when things get really dry in the spring.  But this is the closest the actual fire has been to our house. We can't see flames yet so I'm feeling okay but winds could change at any moment.

3. This has been the year of huge expenses. We've had plumbing issues, had to replace a dishwasher, replace a large window in the house due to a stray golf ball, speech therapy, and just this past week we had to replace our router (the fourth one in recent years), the DVD/CD ROM in my laptop is dead and needs to be replaced, and buy a new camera (can't run a photography business when your camera is no longer functioning!). I'm complaining a wee bit but mostly I feel blessed that we've been able to handle most of these expenses. Granted our savings account is getting smaller by the minute but hopefully we can rebuild it soon.

4. I really want to bake. I can't seem to find the spare minutes it requires and I really don't need to eat whatever I bake. But that cookie dough? It's calling my name.

5. Sophie loves to help in the kitchen and I LOVE it. My mom never really liked us "helping" her cook so anything I can cook now was mostly self-taught. I want my daughter to know her way around a kitchen and have a love for cooking.

6. We need a vacation. A real vacation. A not-visiting-family vacation. We'd really like to go to Disney World but it's a LONG trip and expensive. So we thought, "We're closer to Disneyland, let's try there." WRONG. Unless we plan to rob a bank anytime soon I think we're going to have to nix Disney from the list. Planning a vacation with a toddler in tow is not as easy as it used to be when it was just Y and I!

7. I'm having a custom photo case made for my iPhone. I received notification it shipped today. I am SO excited to get it. It's like my own little Mother's Day gift to myself.

8. Speaking of Mother's Day. I nearly forgot it's THIS coming Sunday. For some reason I kept thinking it's next week. Nope. What do I want for Mother's Day? A nap, a massage, and time to watch a good romantic comedy...not necessarily in that order. I wouldn't mind a pedicure either.

9. I have an obsession with kid shoes. The Little Miss has WAY more shoes than she needs. I blame those deal-a-day and discount sites. Yeah, that's it. ;)

10. I'm ashamed of my weight. I really feel like I'm losing control and need to do something. I CANNOT even THINK about getting pregnant at my current weight. It would be horribly unhealthy for myself and a potential child. My eating habits haven't really changed for the worse - I'm not eating more than I used to in fact I'm making an effort to eat smaller portions. Tea and water have replaced sodas and I'm squeezing in a little exercise when I have time. I know I need to do more but I'm so completely frustrated that I'm still gaining despite the small changes I have made.

That's all my rambling for now. Hug your children. Hug your parents. Hug your spouse or significant other. Most importantly, be kind to yourself and one another.

View From the iPhone (photo intense)

I always seem to forget about photos taken with the iPhone when we're out and about, and even forget to download them frequently so months go by before I remember to sync my phone and pull the pictures from the it. Some fun activities were captured on the phone and some of my favorite snapshots, too! Enjoy a peek into those "brief" moments that were photo-worthy.

Waiting for Grandma....

Grandma's flight was delayed in November so we stopped at a park for some playtime.

Checking out the lake.

"I don't see any ducks!"

Birthday Girl!

A birthday trip to the zoo!

After Grandma's departure....

Aunt Niki would be so proud! Riding on a quad!

View from under the slide...

Whee!

Circles!

Her first real circles (you know, the ones that really look like circles)!

Leaving on a jet plane.....

Sending kisses to my family as we head back home.

Can't fly without some shades!

Grover!

Can't go anywhere without Grover!

More artwork and random fun:

"Trees, Flowers and Bees"

Baking with Nana.

"Red 'pider"

Ready to go fishing!

Making rectangles...

She is her cousin's twin! 

Elmo!

Let's Go Fly a Kite....

This past Thursday, The Little Miss was enjoying an episode of Sesame Street on Sprout while I was trying to get a grip on the migraine that was getting increasingly worse. As part of the episode, a little boy was flying a kite. The Little Miss was mesmerized. She asked me "That?" (this is her way of saying "What's that?"). I explained it was a kite and the wind makes it fly high in the air. She smiled, still mesmerized by the kite flying. When the kite segment was over, she looked at me and said "Have kite?" I laughed, telling her we'd have to buy one at the store figuring she'd forget about it and move on to something else.

Wrong. All she talked about for three days was "Tite." "Have tite?" "Tite up, up!"

Saturday we ran some errands and ended up at "The Big Red Ball" store (Target). The Little Miss insisted on "walk, walking" through the whole store and the entire time all I heard was "tite?".  She was on a mission and so excited once we found her kite!

Her Yeye came to visit today and it was a perfect time (ie: not too windy) to try out the kite. She'd cheer and applaud when the kite finally made it in the air but cracked up laughing every time it would come crashing down.

Still with me?

Hello dear readers!

My intent was not to abandon this blog but, well, I've been busy.

This has been occupying most of my time.

I hope to return soon. The holidays were excellent, though far too busy. There is some news to update you on regarding The Little Miss. Be patient....I will return.

In the meantime....

Can you believe how big she's gotten!?

Wherein I babble about our crazy life....

So.  Hi, Blog world!!

Life is just insane right now. Most days I feel like a chicken running around with its head cut off.

Let's see if I can summarize:

My in-laws are on a 70-day cruise (lucky them). We've been given the responsibility of watching their home, keeping up with their mail and making sure nothing burns down/explodes/leaks, etc. Last we checked everything was still standing and dry. That should count for something, right?

The Little Miss is taking pre-gymnastic classes at The Little Gym. She loves, loves, loves these classes. Most Wednesdays now go like this...wake, quickly shower, scarf down breakfast, prep the diaper bag (water, snacks, extra clothes, etc), clothe Sophie, fix her hair while she runs around excited for Little Gym, drive as fast as we can without breaking too many speed limits and catch our breath as we have 10 seconds to remove our shoes and run into the gym. Crazy much???

Potty training. What is there to say about this process? We're in the VERY early stages of potty training. We've had some successful tries as well as times where she just sits on the potty but doesn't do anything. She's asking to go more and more but still hasn't made the connection of when she needs to go, she should head to the potty rather than go in the diaper. We're not discouraged in the least as it's still early but as anyone who's potty trained knows - it's a process!

Dogs. I'm not sure how much I've written about our dogs here. We have two retired racing greyhounds. They're great dogs and Sophie adores them but man are they sucking us dry of money! Duncan has his fair share of issues - pain mixed with severe anxiety means lots of medications and resulting to labwork to insure his liver isn't damaged in the process. Friend is regressing because Duncan has received a lot of attention lately and has now decided the hallway is her personal toilet. It's a good thing we love them to pieces because some days I'm ready to pull my hair out!

Kid number two? No, that's not an announcement. It's me admitting I'm not ready to go through EVERYTHING I have to go through to get pregnant (if we can again) and successfully carry a child to term. Infertility and the resulting treatments are a HUGE stress on me physically, mentally, and emotionally. I'm struggling to find the time to exercise and lose the MANY pounds I need to lose. Some days I feel like I'm being pulled in two different directions. My heart says "I can't wait to share my love with another child." while my mind and body say "Are you kidding!? Do you know what we have to go through to get there? Have you FORGOTTEN!?" I haven't forgotten. It sucks and I really wish we were part of the lucky ones that could just try with no medical intervention.

New business venture. Well, not really new....let's say re-started business venture. In early 2008 I decided to start my own photography business. I did a few shoots, loved it, realized I still needed lots of practice especially with posing and getting the lighting/metering just right but was on my way. Anyway, 2008 brought some intense times with fertility treatments, the pregnancy, being told we miscarried when we didn't, on-again/off-again bleeding, falling on my belly during the second trimester and the resulting Little Miss. I did a few shoots through my pregnancy but then Sophie arrived and I focused my time and attention on her - not growing my business. With the economy so questionable my "real" job isn't the most stable position at the moment. With that in mind, I decided to take another leap and work on getting the photography business up and running again. The past several weeks have been devoted to compiling a portfolio, getting some advertisement going (and offering my services in a raffle at The Little Gym), and scheduling some portfolio building shoots.

I think I'm crazy. 

There's more but I'm positive you're bored out of your mind. One of these days I hope to get back to regular blogging. Sophie is a riot and also VERY trying. Gotta love the approaching twos and increased independence!

If I had a nickle for every "No!" I heard throughout the day.....

Funk

Funk [fuhngk] noun: a dejected mood

I'm in a funk. I can't quite describe it, maybe it's more of a rut but it's one I can't seem to get out of.

I'm behind on work deadlines. I can't seem to stay caught up with everyday household stuff. Stresses are mounting and I just can't seem to get my head above water. It's affecting every aspect of my life so, really, maybe it's more of a form of depression. Whatever it is, I'm tired of it.

I'd been so good for weeks. I was getting up early every morning to use the treadmill. Said treadmill is in our garage. Our non-air conditioned garage. Have I mentioned we live in Arizona where it's still above 100 degrees in late September?? That really took some devotion on my part - it's HOT out there and would be so easy for me to say "I'll wait until it cools down." One week came along where I had a massive amount of work and a multitude of appointments and I decided to skip the workouts in favor of spending that time on work. Apparently that was mistake #1 because I haven't been back out there for a few weeks. I am so disappointed in myself.

Then there are the stresses that almost everyone is going through now: the economy, personal finances, bills, etc. Our electric bills were becoming completely astronomical. After a month of being vigilant about turning things off we weren't using and keeping an eye on how much the A/C was running, we were still having huge bills - in fact they'd increased! We called a repair service to come do a tune-up on the A/C where we discovered the whole entire system (A/C, furnace, duct work, etc) really needed to be replaced and the condenser itself was on the verge of completely dying. This happened JUST after we'd sat down with our budget trying to figure out a way to live solely off Y's salary - mine had just become too unpredictable. Talk about a huge blow - a five-figured blow to the budget.

Some days it seems like the universe is taking one giant dump on my head.

The Little Miss has been doing what every nearly two year-old will do: testing boundaries. I love that kid - love her like crazy but I've been ready to pull my hair out with her some days. She is smart but oh so stubborn. A lot like me, really and there are days I have to hand her off to her Dad and escape for a few minutes. I wish so desperately we lived closer to family who could give Y and I a night out or just drop in for a few hours to play with her or take her to the playground - anything to offer up a break. I'm astonished at the lack of community in our neighborhood.

So, I apologize, dear readers, for the lack of content lately. There are just many things I need to work through right now and get my head above water. Hopefully, soon, I can get back to regular postings. There is much to share including The Little Miss' new weekly adventure of classes at The Little Gym and a move to a "big girl" bed!

Saving Cents

As is the case with the majority of families these days, we're on a mission to save our hard-earned money. Even more-so now that I've taken a pay-cut in order to keep my job.

I'm cute but expensive!

I'd like to share a few of the great resources I've found to help us save. While this isn't an exhaustive list, and it mainly focused on things for the Little Miss, these sites help us save.

Groupon: First step with Groupon is to confirm you live in or near one of their available cities. Groupon offers one-day coupon deals where you purchase a "Groupon" for the day's specific deal. The deals are usually based on local businesses but will occasionally offer nationwide deals. For example, one of their most recent deals was $50 worth of merchandise from The Gap for $25. I (as did MANY people) jumped on this deal. Combine this coupon with end-of-season sales or clearances and you can manage some really great finds! I've purchased Groupons for local restaurants, a book store, a zoo membership for half the price and of course the Gap deal. (Smart Phone users - check your apps. Groupon has an iPhone app and may have one available for other smart phones.)

Baby Steals: This is a daily deals site based in Utah. They post new daily deals for pregnant women and infants. You'll occasionally see deals for toddlers as well. I've gotten so many great finds through them! See Kai Run shoes, Baby Legs, Bumble Diaper bags, hair clips and the list goes on. Be sure to check their archives for deals you may have missed but can still take advantage of!

KidSteals: The sister site to Baby Steals that focuses on the older kids. Kid Steals started within the past year. I LOVE their deals on shoes...I've gotten many great deals (50%+ off original prices) on Umi, See Kai Run and other brands. More Baby Leg brand items including tights and socks. And one of my favorite finds the Lolly Chalkmat By Sam & Bellie*

Baby Half Off:  This was a recent discovery based in Arizona. It's similar to BabySteals and KidSteals in that it's a deal of the day site. I haven' t found too many great deals (for our needs anyway) but have made a purchase and they were great to deal with!

Gilt.com: Gilt is a members-only discount shopping site (follow the link for your invitation if you'd like to join). They've recently added a large Children's discount section. I've found some great discounted Christmas and birthday gifts from Gilt! Lots of major brand clothing sales, discounted books and toys. If you're looking for a great travel deal, check Gilt...there just might be something you're looking for! They have FANTASTIC customer service and will offer you site credit if they mess up.

Totsy: Totsy is similar to Gilt in that it's a members-only discount shopping site (follow the link for your invitation if you'd like to join) but Totsy focuses solely on kid stuff (and the occasional maternity gear). To be purely honest, I've had some recent issues with customer service (A mix-up on orders that they attempted to correct but would not respond to emails in a timely manner - or at all really. The situation has been resolved but left a not-so-great impression on me.). I'm willing to give them another chance because there have been some great deals.

As for all of these "deal" sites, do your research! There was something on one of the sites recently that I wanted to get for a gift but when I added in the shipping costs, it just didn't seem like that great of a deal. Before placing my order, I did a quick search (I tend to check Amazon first or just Google it) and found that Amazon actually offered the same item on a better sale with free shipping making the overall cost less with Amazon than with the deal site.

What ways do you help your family save? Any great sites you'd like to share?

*Affiliate link.

Unintended Hiatus

Hello dear readers! Thanks for sticking by through my unintended hiatus.

Mid-July we took a two-week vacation to spend some time with family in Missouri. While we didn't escape the desert heat (it was HOT and HUMID our entire stay) we did get some FANTASTIC quality family time.

Poor bug was SO sweaty!

 

My intent had been to schedule some posts for the time we were away but it just never happened. The Little Miss has been working on her four canine teeth for what seems like MONTHS. The top two finally popped through last week but she was all over the place sleep-wise. Add to that our usual work schedule and some other chaos thrown in and this poor blog was pushed to the back burner. Seems to happen more often than not despite my good intentions!

The Little Miss is really developing her pretend play lately and was such a riot with family. Makes me long to be closer to them as she just adores her Aunts, Uncles, Grandma and Cousins.

 Sophie cracking up at her Cousin.

On the home front I'm on a mission to simplify and PURGE our house of all the STUFF. Stuff is everywhere and we're running out of space. In the three days we had to purchase a home five years ago, we didn't consider the amount of storage we'd had in our NY home vs. what we would have in this home. Needless to say, storage space is very sparse in this house. While it had most everything we needed, storage was not one of them. A fact we begrudge a lot these days. I'm not the biggest pack-rat in the world but piles tend to collect when life gets busy. Those piles then get moved to a room we're not in 90% of the day. What I need is my sister who is so good at utilizing what space is available and purging unnecessary clutter from your life. Now to convince her to take a short leave from her job and family to come help me. What do you think, Internet, can I make it happen!?

In the meantime, if you'll stick with me, I promise not to disappear again for so long. I just have to get caught up with life!

Inhale....

And exhale.

Apparently I need to remember to breathe these days. There are many, many crazy things going on in our lives right now and I don't have enough brain power at the end of the day to make a legitimate post. So here's a quick run-down:

Family: driving us crazy.
Dogs: having some behavior issues that may result in making a seriously tough decision on whether or not to re-home one of them. Not a decision we're taking lightly.
Work: just as crazy. But we're employed.
The Little Miss: ornery as ever but she's the light of our life right now. She makes us laugh and amazes us with how much she learns each day.

::Deep breaths::

This too shall pass.

What I want for our daughter....

People are always making comments about all the pinks and purples that will soon be appearing in our house, all the Disney Princess items that she will fall in love with, or how our daughter will be the next great ballerina.

You know what? Our daughter can do anything she would like to do (outside of the sex industry that is. Although, I have to admit, I hear they make good money). If our daughter would like to be the first female kicker/punter for her high school football team, we'll support her 100%. If she wants to be a rocket scientist, we'll buy her rockets and try to help her with those advanced math and science classes. If our daughter wants to be a writer, we'll provide all the paper she could ask for. If she wants to be a ballerina, then by all means she'll be enrolled in the best dance studio we can find. If our daughter wants to be the next Jennie Finch playing softball, not only will her Dad be thrilled, but we'll be there to cheer her on at every game.

The point is, I want our daughter to be happy. I want her to love being who she is whether it be a rocket scientist or a ballerina. I want our daughter to be happy in her own skin, to be confident, and to know that no matter what path she chooses in life, we'll be there to support her. You can't ask for much more than that.

End of August Randomness Wrap-up

It seems my posts have just been weekly progress, belly pics, and the latest worries from the fall. Because of this I missed out on a few happenings in August.

First, Y and I celebrated our 4th anniversary. Sadly, with being gone on vacation, delayed a few days on the return trip, and then dealing with the aftermath of my fall we both kind of forgot. Before leaving on vacation I did remember to pick up a card but we hadn't discussed gifts or what, if anything, we were going to do this year. The 14th rolled around very quickly and neither of us were prepared (unless you count my card for Y). The only person who did remember was my Mom. She sent us a gorgeous bouquet of flowers. (Thanks, Mom!) Only later did I find out that we received the flowers because she too forgot until the day of. While we have a ton of things to celebrate this year, it was disappointing to see that such an important date in our lives was given last thought. We're definitely going to work on keeping those important dates important in the future! It's not about the gifts or the cards, it's taking the time to give the day some thought...none of which happened this year.

August 19th brought another tough day. The 19th was my Dad's birthday. This December will be 5 years since he passed. Each year I think the monumental "Dad" days will get easier. They don't. While it's likely a blessing he's not on this earth while we've dealt with some scares during this pregnancy I know he would have been our number 1 supporter. However, he also would have been worried sick. He would have called daily wanting updates, begging me to move back "home" so he can take care of us. While this is all endearing to a certain extent, it would have been more stress on me. I miss him dearly. While I know he's looking down on us and likely protecting us, I'm so sad our daughter will never know what a wonderful Grandpa she would have had in him. He loved and adored his kids and grandkids...no one could ever fault him for that.

August has also brought changes for Y. When we moved from NY almost three years ago, Y was supposed to be transferred to the local branch of his company. For 2 1/2 years, he continued to work remotely for the NY office. This really wasn't an issue since he worked with teams from China, Australia, and western NY so his physical location wasn't ever an issue. There were some recent management changes within the company and someone finally looked at the employee charts and realized that Y, living in AZ, was working for NY while employee K, living in NY, was working for AZ. Can we see where this is going? Management questioned these logistics (which we had been doing for 2+ years) and decided a change needed to be made. So Y is now working for the local office on a whole new project and an entirely new department. Previously, Y wrote documentation for software products. He's now jumped to the other side and is writing for hardware products. So, not only is he preparing for fatherhood but he now has to learn the methods of a new team, project, and manager. This also includes frequent trips into the local office for team meetings and poking and prodding the hardware he documents.

While the end of August brings us that much closer to the Little Miss' arrival and even less time to complete all those tasks we need to complete, we're glad to see it go. This month has been stressful, disappointing, busy, and just all around not a fun month. We're hoping September brings a more calm month...somehow I don't see that happening since September brings my Mom's arrival for a month, birthing classes, and us getting sole responsibility for Y's 96yo grandmother while his parents are away on a 5 week vacation.

September also brings us to our 10-year anniversary. Yes, folks, Y and I have been together for 10 years, married for 4 of those now. It's completely crazy to think we've been together for an entire decade of our lives and this decade is bringing one of the biggest changes life can bring! We can't wait to see what else this next decade brings!

Ahhhh!

I'm due to post the 17 week post but it's going to have to wait.

Life has been insanely busy. I spent much of last week and weekend working to get one of my projects done. Since Monday I've been splitting my time between work and completing my (huge) to-do lists for each day. Y and I are headed to visit my family in Missouri. As soon as we return we have our BIG ULTRASOUND!!

Things with us are going well. The belly is getting bigger, the movements are becoming more recognizable, and aside from the heartburn and hip pain I've been feeling pretty great.

I promise to update with belly pictures and Baby J's development as soon as I have a moment to sit down for more than 5 minutes!