15 weeks down, ~25 more to go

Wow, this pregnancy is going by so much faster than Ezzie's. I definitely have noticed a difference in my obsession with reading up on every development and week of the baby's life. I also have not taken any preggo pics until now. I hope we will atleast do great at taking lots of pics of baby pi when s/he arrives!

I think we will find out in May whether we are having a boy or girl. At this stage, I can see the pro's of having either. Regardless of the gender, our hope is for a healthy baby and a better experience during labor and delivery. So far we have loved our midwife. The more I read up on her background and meet with her, the more I sense I can trust her. See, we trusted my last doctor, but in the labor/delivery process found her to be untrustworthy. It really put a damper on a lot of things surrounding my labor with Ezzie. Thankfully God blessed us with amazing nurses who were so attentive and encouraging.

Well, here is my preggo pic with Ezzie on the left at about 15 weeks, and my preggo pic with Baby Pi at about 15 weeks. Can you see any difference???

Zoo!

Our cutie on the way home :)

One thing I love about Jon's job is the flexibility. He worked on Saturday, and got to take today (Monday) off. We both have needed to get out of Longview. Originally, we planned to take a small overnight trip Sunday. Thankfully we nixed the plan last week. Had we made the reservations, we would have had to cancel due to Ezzie being sick. This morning he was well enough to do something - so we took a family trip to the zoo. This was Ezzie's first visit.

Ezzie is now starting to distinguish people and animals from the surroundings. If an object is moving, he can easily distinguish it, but if the item is not moving, he doesn't do too well. It is neat to see him develop this skills. He often brings me a book, and we look at the animals on each page. I can tell he still is not quite distinguishing the animals from the backgrounds, but he is getting better! We saw this skill come out at the zoo today. Ezzie loved watching the birds and other animals that moved a lot, but he surprisingly loved this green lizard that just sat in his cubby. I tell you, his little squeals and laughs just make my day :)

We got a membership to the zoo. We are excited at how this opens up opportunities to visit other zoos around the country for free of a 50% off discount. Zoos are so much fun. Here's to more trips!

Petting the goats! Here little birdie!!


Looking at the birdies with Mommy, Checking out the birds in the water

A Haircut - It can be revolutionary!

So, we cut Ezzie's hair for the 2nd time. This time we pulled out Jon's clippers and gave little man a shave. I was not prepared for my gut reaction. I knew he would look different. Knew he'd probably look more grown up, and even wondered if he would look more like he did when his hair was that short at about 3 months. Wow - my reaction was so much more.

I felt like my son had grown from a 15-month sweetie into a possible punk kid. I immediately found myself unsure of his temperament and wondered if he was going to stop smiling and giving my those grins that delight my heart. I have no idea why a haircut spurred these feelings and gut reactions, but as soon as I vocalized my feelings I was grateful for Jon reminding me that Ezzie had not changed.

I feel there is a great lesson to learn from this for the future. I have no idea what may cause me to stop and question who my son is, and even other people in my life again. I hope that when I do, I will remember this haircut - something so small and completely unconnected to who my son is and remember the truth that I know about him, others, myself, and even God.

Sometimes that truth is hard for me to hold onto. Last night I had a very rough night, and Jon spent a good portion of it just holding me as I cried and hurt over questioning my worth, value and significance. His comfort, and God's peace finally lulled me into a sleep where I woke up with peace in my heart. See, nothing had changed my worth or value to anyone, except for my own perception... my haircut.

I wish everything could be as simple as "that haircut didn't change who he is," but it is not. Things are more complicated, but in essence, perception is not always truth. I know Ezzie will have more haircuts, and possibly make other choices that are really out there. I am so grateful for Jon in my life. It is amazing to have him as my partner in life.

So, my thoughts for today. And, a cute pic to leave you with.

Another Miracle

Every time I see a baby being born or cared for, I tear up. Whenever I see a picture of a baby in-utero I get so excited, and also tear up. The whole process from conception to birth is amazing. A process that no human, in all of his/her intellect or strength could recreate.

Today we were met with worrisome news when we visited our midwife (atleast more to me than Jon :)). Our midwife couldn't find the heartbeat. She told us she wasn't too worried because my uterus was developing just fine. However, she did not want us to go home without hearing or seeing our baby's heartbeat. So, off to make an appt with the ultrasound technicians. At 2:30 today we had out appt. I was so excited when I saw a flicker of movement as the technician was measuring one of my ovaries - and of course, I teared up. Baby pi is so cute already. Pi was moving like crazy, and every time I laughed Pi would bounce to the top of my uterus, and then settle down to kick again.

Our original due date of September 28th has been moved up to the 20th based on growth. We'll see how little Pi develops. Who knows if Pi has a long torso like Ezzie, and simply is measuring big.

On another great note, before pics, I found out that my gestational diabetes tests came back clear! I am sure I will develop it at some point, but it is nice to know this is not the time :)

Picture 1: Profile

Picture 2: Head and hand. The hand is on the right of the head (as you are looking at the pic). Can't tell if the baby is waving or sucking his/her thumb - but the hands by the head thing is the same thing Ezzie used to do :)

The sequel...

We are really excited for our family to grow. It is crazy how the timing of this has worked out, and how perfect things are lining up. Our little one should arrive around September 28th. That allows us to fly to Oregon to participate in the Scandinavian Festival (50th anniversary!), and Jon's 10 year reunion. Jon grew up dancing in the festival, and every year that we have not been able to go, he has been a bit bummed. I will be around 34 weeks - safe, though barely, to fly :)

We also will be able to visit my family for Christmas this year! The baby will be around 3 months old... perfect for traveling! I think my stress level will go down too after having that time to adjust to 2 little ones :)

Right now I am just making it through the pregnancy. I have been hit hard by nausea, sugar level issues, and a perpetual cold that has a pretty strong crush on me. I am hoping the cold gets the hint, and leaves soon for good.

One of the main issues Jon and I have struggled with (and it has been me who has felt the most stress :)) is our plans for the labor and birth of this child. We did not want the same hospital/doctor experience as last. We both had never considered a home birth until we met a fabulous midwife. However, after thinking through the details of the situation (she is having her first child in July, and there are no other midwives close enough to us), we found that option just to not be the one for this birth. After making some calls, and talking with people, we discovered a doctor who has midwives under him. We would give birth at the same hospital as Ezzie, but not be confined to the bed, or have pitocin pushed on us from the get-go. I am very excited about this option, and meet with one of the midwives in 2 weeks!

It has been hard to keep my spirits up - I just feel so bad. But, I am trying. I told myself I would embrace my second pregnancy even more than my first... and this is a struggle, but it is worth the work to try to keep my mind and heart focused where it needs to be, rather than wallowing in feeling blah.

Looking forward to good news in 2 weeks... hopefully all is well, and the baby's heartbeat is strong and pumping!

Our walker!!!

I know it has been a while since I last wrote. I know, Ezzie's birthday has come and gone. From Nov 18-Jan 10th our life has been crazy. All of the major special dates for our immediate family fall between those dates, not to mention Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and Annette's wedding!

I wanted to share with you Ezzie's latest endeavor: walking. He began to make real strides (haha :)) on Jan 7th, and is now walking like crazy. He is definitely not a total walker, but he is taking more risks and going farther than before. Hope you enjoy this video. I had to bribe him with keys. When I first began trying to get him on film he resorted back to crawling. Even when we would pick him up to attempt to get him on his feet, he would go limp like a noodle.

It's been a while!!!

10 Months

11 Months!!!

You can barely see him! He's so fast!

These last few months have flown by! I can't believe Ezzie is 11 months today, and we are only 1 month away from him being a year old - where did the time go? Our little baby boy is turning into a big boy before our eyes!

My attempt to capture his 2 teeth! (With Jon's help, I'll get a better show later :))

Has grown 2 in the last couple of weeks, and is cruising and crawling around at warp speed. Chuck Norris can't keep up! Opening and closing doors is a common past-time of his, and I am proud to say he actually understands the words "open" and "close"! He is now eating a lot of the foods we eat, and gabs up a storm. He's at a stage right now where he stands by himself for a while and looks like he is contemplating his first step, and then he squats down and crawls instead... I imagine walking isn't too far in the future for him.

We took our very first family photos, and professional photos of Ezzie a month ago... I don't have them just yet, but if you visit my facebook account, you can see them there! Ezzie is so stinkin' cute!

One of my favorite expressions of Ezzie's is when he tilts his head to the side and smiles. When I tilt my head, Ezzie will then move his head again, and I will copy him, and we continue this little game. He has this smile, that I cannot seem to capture, that gets me everytime - and the head tilting just adds a million times more cuteness!

These few months have been fun clothing-wise, because Ezzie is able to wear a few of Jon's
outfits from when he was younger. The retro clothes sure are cute on Ezzie!

Speaking of Jon, we captured Ezzie looking at an airplane as it was flying in the air - just like his daddy :) Jon used to hear airplanes and then look for them and point, and I believe he would say "go-go" (Marla, correct me if I am off!)... Ezzie isn't quite at that level of talking yet, but this picture is priceless!

We had our traditional Halloween celebration and made family pumpkins. Last year Ezzie was in the womb, and this year he got to hold his own pumpkin - wow (atleast for me!). Ezzie was a pumpkin this year, courtesy of his Nana making him a pumpkin hat, and his auntie sending him a cute Halloween onesie! We went to a pumpkin patch with him dressed up - can you find him???

Grandma came for a visit less than a week ago. She and Ezzie had a great time together. It is so wonderful when we get visits from family! Marla (Ezzie's grandma) got him this awesome playset, called Mambo Combo... we had to convince Ezzie to crawl through the tube :) He, and his friend Sam, kept wanting to push it around, rather than crawl through and play in it!

Finally, a video to send you off!