March Prenatal Visit

Today was my monthly prenatal checkup to see how things were going. For all of you mommy's who have been through this before, these visits are very short and sweet in the beginning, assuming everything is allright. Blood pressure was good, 119/60. All my lab work from the previous visit came back fine. We got to listen to the baby's heartbeat! That is always my favorite part of these visits. The heartbeat was 140. I don't know why, but this was surprising. When I was 15/16 weeks with Savannah, her heartrate was 160, so I guess I was expecting it to be higher this go round. The old wives tale is, a slower heartbeat means the baby could be a boy. I am not a believer in the wives tales but, sometimes I can't help but wonder. My weight was good which was a huge relief! I won't post those numbers but I really feel like I have blown up this past week and was sure that I probably gained at least 5 or 6 pounds. I only gained two.
Overall it was a great visit and I can't wait until next month when we find out what the baby will be!

God Bless,
Emily

St. Patrick's Day Quick and Fun Facts

I always find these interesting. Maybe one day Savannah is a little bit older and starts to ask questions about certain holidays, I can share these fun facts with her. :)

• St. Patrick’s Day is observed on March 17 because that is the feast day of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. It is believed that he died on March 17 in the year 461 AD. It is also a worldwide celebration of Irish culture and history. St. Patrick’s Day is a national holiday in Ireland, and a provincial holiday in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
• In Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day, people traditionally wear a small bunch of shamrocks on their jackets or caps. Children wear orange, white and green badges, and women and girls wear green ribbons in their hair.
• Many cities have a St. Patrick’s Day parade. Dublin, the capital of Ireland, has a huge St. Patrick’s Day festival from March 15-19, that features a parade, family carnivals, treasure hunt, dance, theatre and more. In North American, parades are often held on the Sunday before March 17. Some paint the yellow street lines green for the day! In Chicago, the Chicago River is dyed green with a special dye that only lasts a few hours. There has been a St. Patrick’s Day parade in Boston, Massachusetts since 1737. Montreal is home to Canada’s longest running St. Patrick’s Day parade, which began in 1824.
• St. Patrick was born in 385 AD somewhere along the west coast of Britain, possibly in the Welsh town of Banwen. At age 16, he was captured and sold into slavery to a sheep farmer. He escaped when he was 22 and spent the next 12 years in a monastery. In his 30s he returned to Ireland as a Christian missionary. He died at Saul in 461 AD and is buried at Downpatrick.
• The harp is the symbol of Ireland. The color green is also commonly associated with Ireland, also known as “the Emerald Isle.”
• The name “lephrechaun” has several origins. It could be from the Irish Gaelic word “leipreachan,” which means “a kind of aqueous sprite.” Or, it could be from “leath bhrogan,” which means “shoemaker.”
• Legend says that each leaf of the clover means something: the first is for hope, the second for faith, the third for love and the fourth for luck.

Hello 2nd Trimester!

Last week was the official start of the 2nd trimester for me and I am SO relieved. With Savannah, the first trimester was hard because I felt sick and tired all the time but with this pregnancy, there was just something different about it. Maybe it was the upper respiratory infection, maybe it was the stomach bug, all on top of being pregnant, I don't know. Since last week, though, I have felt ALOT better and feel like a new person. I am going to enjoy every moment of this 2nd trimester and try and get as much done around the house as possible. I am also wanted to work out a lot more. I finished a 5K race this weekend and it felt great. Until I get too big to do anything that is going to be another goal of mine, run or walk as much as I can. I did not do anything in the way of exercise with Savannah. I still made it, but I firmly believe that it would have been a lot easier to get back into working out again, if I had already been working out before hand. I don't want to become some crazed work out person, I just want to be healthier. I am going to have two little munchkings to be looking after and I am going to need all the energy I can get! :)
So, this 2nd trimester is going to be good, fun, and productive. Wish me luck!

Emily

How He Loves

(David Crowder Band sings this song and I love it. It has really been on my heart lately and every time I hear it, I believe it is such a great reminder of God's love for us. It is truly amazing! I will update our media player so you can also listen. The words are really great.)

He is jealous for me, Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us oh
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all

He is jealous for me, Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us oh,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.

And we are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If His grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
And heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way…

That He loves us,
Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves. Yeah, He loves us, Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves. Yeah, He loves us, Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves.

Seaside Half-Marathon and 5k Race...

is this weekend! Eek!! At the beginning of the year, Aric set up a training schedule for me so I would be ready for this 5k race in March. I stuck to it for a couple of weeks then we found out we were going to have another baby and well, I slacked off, ALOT. First it was an upper respiratory infection, then morning sickness like you wouldn't believe, then the stomach flu and here we are, only days away from the race and I am NOT ready. I am very much a rookie when it comes to 5k races. I have only been in one other race, in Daphne, AL, when I went to visit my sister a few years ago. I did no training for that at all. I didn't even know I was going to race until the day of! I finished last in my age group of course, but had a good time! I am going to try and make it to the YMCA today and do some run/walking on the treadmill. My doctor said I am fine to race, but to stay comfortable and not push myself. I am not looking forward to finishing last but, I signed up for this race before we got pregnant and I intend to participate and at least finish! :)
Aric on the other hand is going a little bit further than me and doing the half-marathon. He ran the Hyundai half in October and finished better than he thought he would. Seeing as this course is going to be a lot flatter, I think he is going to do just fine.
We will be going to Seaside, FL with some sweet friends of ours, Will and Jennifer Barrett. They are brining their son Caleb and we will be bringing Savannah. Besides the race, I am really excited to be going down to the Gulf and enjoying a little R&R. It is supposed to be beautiful weather and that makes it even better.
Please say a short prayer for us as we travel and on race day. (by the way, race day will be on Sunday at 7AM)

God bless and enjoy this beautiful weather these next few days!!!

Emily

Baby #2!

Finally, here are the ultrasound pictures from our first doctor's visit for Baby #2!

Savannah's 15 month check-up (a few weeks late)

Hello everyone! These past few weeks have been crazy. Shortly after finding out we were pregnant, I really struggled with morning sickness and fatigue. I didn't want to do anything! Once that started to subside, I got a stomach virus which later sent me to the hospital because I got so dehydrated. Aric then got the stomach virus and we were both sick. Thank God for my parents being in town! They were able to watch Savannah for two nights and that helped us out, ALOT. Sad thing is, about a week later my parents got the stomach virus. :(
It always seems like it is one thing after another and it is exhausting!
I am going to back up just a little, when I first got the stomach virus, before Aric got it and before I had to go to the hospital, it was time for Savannah's 15 month check-up. I was totally bummed that I couldn't go because I have been to every appointment since she has been born. My sweet husband not only had been taking care of me (he had to take off work to do this) but at the last minute (a few hours before) I remembered her appointment and he had to rush her there so that he wouldn't be late!
Since I wasn't able to go to the appointment, this is going to be a very brief update.
Savannah's 15 month stats:
-29" inches long
-20 lbs 13 oz
-Head 48 cm
I was a little worried about her numbers because her percentiles went down. At her 12 month check up she seemed to be in the 20th percentile or so for height and weight. She is now in the 5th to 1oth percentile for height and weight. Now, it is no mystery that Aric and I are not tall people. Aric said the doctor did not seemed concerned about her height and weight so that was a little relief. She is just going to be a pretty, petite, little girl/young lady/woman. I am just thankful that she has a clean bill of health and developmentally she seems to be doing well. She is still NOT walking, for those of you who are wondering. She can stand by herself and take steps here and there but not enough to be considered walking. Her vocabulary has really expanded these past few months. Here is a list of words she can say:
"thank you"
"nye-nye" (night night)
"bye-bye"
"dog"
"milk"
"teeth"
"bath"
"eye"
"nose"
"please"
"nana" (banana)
"bite" (when she is hungry)
"dada"
"mama"
"bear"
"car"
"juice"
There are other small here and there if we say them to her, she can somewhat repeat them back. Savannah still plays very well by herself. I try to get her around other kids when I can with playgroups and church. From what I can tell she plays with other kids well. She is very observant. Before she steps in with another child, she will watch them closely to see what/how they are doing things and then she will play. I find it very cute. Napping is no problem with Savannah. She can still take up to 2 naps a day, both about an hour long, sometimes longer, if you can believe that!
Now, for the not so fun stuff. Savannah's stubborn personality has really come out. We have really had our patience tested with this. When it is dinner time she can get very demanding and whiny. I usually try go ahead and cook dinner before I know she will be starving but sometimes my timing is a little off. So, she will get fussy when hungry, I guess that is normal for babies. Her diet however is more interesting. My poor, pitiful starving child is such a picky eater!! I have really started to worry about what she will/will not eat. For breakfast, I give her instant oatmeal and a fruit cup, milk to drink. (sometimes juice) For lunch, it is usually a sandwich of some kind, pb & J, turkey and cheese with fruit or crackers. For a snack, it is teddy grahams or yogurt. Then for dinner, it is a mix between chicken nuggets, mac n cheese and a vegetable. She likes green beans and carrots. Then for dessert she gets a fruit cup. The foods I just listed are what she eats a majority of the time. I try and give her what Aric and I eat but 99% of the time she will not eat it. I noticed on Savannah's well child instruction sheet, the doctor circled Poly-Vi-Sol and Vi-Daylin. Hopefully, with these vitamin supplements she will get all the nutrients she needs.

When I think of this 15 month check up, it blows my mind. I can't believe my baby is 15 months old! Has it really been 15 months?

Time flies when your having fun!!

God Bless,
Emily