Avery's 8 year pictures (a month late)

Finally got around to getting Avery's pictures taken. Then, it took me over a week to get them posted...oh well.


I think (and of course, I'm biased) that she looks so cute and grown up. It has all happened way too fast.


Currently, she participates in basketball, indoor soccer for the winter, and swimming. We may be starting gymnastics as well.


She's a smart thing if she wants to be. School work has lost it's novelty for her already....so the remaining 15 years of elementary, high school, college should be loads of fun for her.


Being the oldest, we (myself especially) expect a lot from her...I have to continually remind myself that she is only 8 and a kid. Teaching her responsibility has been an experience with a great learning curve.


She's not really "girly" in a sense, but she does like dresses (long skirts) and braiding her hair, but she doesn't really care about her appearance at this point. (I'm guessing it won't be long though)


She has, by far, the absolute worst table manners of anyone I know. We have to remind her numerous times at EACH meal to chew with her mouth closed, use a napkin, don't get food in your hair, or on your forehead (how does that happen?) She makes the biggest mess of her table and floor space as well. I'm at a loss on how to rectify this situation.


Trying to find chores for her to do has proved difficult as well. She's not responsible enough to just do the things she needs to do, and I, in all honesty, don't have the time to remind her constantly of things that need to be done. This is a work in progress as well.


She has tons of friends and there is forever someone playing at our house or ringing the doorbell to play. So thankful for our neighborhood.


We tease her about the boy that lives across the street. They are in the same class, and her teacher, Mrs. Ruelle, says that she and this boy are always talking, giggling, laughing together at school, but they don't even look at each other outside of school.


Amazingly, she has never had a cavity. (I say amazingly, b/c she is the worst with taking care of her teeth. We have to check her teeth nightly to make sure she has brushed adequately...and if she hasn't, she does it again.) Unfortunately, after being at the dentist yesterday, we found out that she is in for a long road of dental procedures due to missing some permanent teeth...they just aren't there..I'm just a wreck over this. I know that things could be much worse, no one is sick or hurt, but I hate that she'll have to face these things for many years to come.


She's a very fussy eater. She really doesn't like too much of anything these days. If we go out to eat, she normally eats off of the adult menu, ordering a salad or a chicken sandwich. (She also loves steak, but that is not something we go out to eat for:)



I know that there is more, and I'll be adding more as I think of it. Can't off the top of my head remember her stats from her doctor appt. in January, so I'll have to go look that up.

20 Week Ultrasound

I had my 20 week ultrasound today. Everything looks great. The baby's anatomy all looks perfect. Heartbeat was a bit slower at 138bpm, but completely in the normal range. The little stinkers growth has slowed down as well, measuring 20w4d, (today is 20w2d)so my due date remains the same, June 24th. (I was really hoping for it to be moved up a week or two..oh well) Doctor was able to find the heartbeat on the doppler today, so that was nice. I gained 1/2 pd from my last appt. to this one, with a total weight gain of 1 lb....still under starting weight, but Doctor not terribly concerned considering the baby is still measuring ahead or right on, and since I"m still not feeling great, it's better than weight loss.

The only minor concern is the placenta. While not covering the cervix, it is in the "too close" range at this point, so I'll have another ultrasound at 28 weeks, and hopefully it will have moved out of the way. Doctor is fairly certain it will move and won't be an issue, especially since my placenta is on the back side and not the front side. Once there is more baby growth, that will pull the placenta farther away. If by some chance it doesn't move adequately, then we'll talk about the next step...c-section.

The baby is estimated to weigh 13 oz....right on target with where I am in the pregnancy.

Talked a bit about not sleeping well on my side, due to my neck bothering me (I wake up with terrible awful headaches when I sleep on my sides, as I think I need a neck adjustment.) The doctor suggested I get a massage to see if that helps the situation, but said that she would write me a note to a chiropractor, as long as the only adjustments are done on my neck...no back adjustments. She said that in about 3-4 weeks, she does not want me on my back sleeping, so I have to get this problem fixed soon. So, David, if you are reading this...a massage gift certificate would be great right now:-)

It was fun to see the little thing wiggling around on the screen....very active. There was very little temptation to find out the gender...I figure since David wasn't there, I'd better not..he might be upset:-)

Glad that everything looks good...now to get feeling better, sleeping better and have a dose of energy. That's not too much to ask, right?

20 weeks down, +/- 20 to go

The first half of this pregnancy has past. Incredible. I used to think that time just stood still, those awful days and nights that I spent feeling very miserable, but looking back, time went faster than normal. How can it be the beginning of February already? How can I be 20 weeks pregnant? How can, in 20 weeks, it be June? Seems impossible to me.

I'm still not feeling great. UGH! I was sick until about 20 weeks with the other kids as well, but I was hoping that this time would be different. Guess not. I thought I was kicking the sickness a few weeks back, but then the last 3-5 days have been rough again. And, I'm still soooo tired.

I did lose a bit of weight in the beginning, which is normal for me. The doctor did give me Zofran, which I took every once in awhile when the sickness was just bad enough. Thankfully, it really worked for me....almost instantly. At first, my sickness was multiplied by my vitamins, which made me sick, so I took the Zofran to help with the sickness, the Zofran would give me a terrible headache, so I'd have to take a Tylenol...it was a vicious cycle. My vitamins still make me sick, so I've been taking Flintstones, but I think I may just try changing the brand of vitamins the next time I'm at the store.

I'm just now starting to show a little. I don't feel like I'm as big as I was with Connor at this same point, but the last ultrasounds I've had are showing a larger baby than my dates, so who knows. I've had to have an ultrasound at every appointment so far. I had one at my first ultrasound at 9 weeks, then again at 12 weeks, b/c the doctor couldn't find the heartbeat on the doppler (that was not stressful at all), then again at 16 weeks to have my cervical length checked due to a leep procedure I had many years ago. At 9 weeks, the baby was measuring, 9 weeks 5 days, at 12wks 3d, the baby was measuring 13w 4d, and at 16 weeks, she didn't take that measurement for some reason, but everything looked great. Heartbeat has been between 150 and 160. Even at 16 weeks, after having the ultrasound, the doctor couldn't find the heartbeat with the doppler..makes me crazy. I guess the position of the baby is far back, and the uterus is tilted slightly, with the placenta sort of in the way, so there is a lot between the baby and the doppler. I sure hope we don't have this trouble going forward, as I prefer things to be easy:-) Thankfully, this is a very active baby. I started feeling kicks (actual kicks) at 14 weeks, and this child is always moving around.

I go on Thursday for the big 20 week ultrasound, and I am praying that we see a healthy baby. We will not be finding out the gender, but my guess is on a girl. (yep, I'm putting that out there, I think it's a girl.) Avery and Alivia both want another brother, and Connor is still in denial:-)

I'm not sleeping too great, but I think it's mostly b/c I haven't found a comfortable way to lay on my side...I sleep the best flat on my back, and that won't work for too much longer. As much as I would love to take a nap during the day, I've been forcing myself to do something else, so that when bedtime rolls around, I'm super exhausted....then at least until I have to get up to go to the bathroom, I sleep decently.

Other than that, things are good. I think I'll be full of anxiety until that baby is here and healthy, but I'm trying to push that all out of my mind....it's out of my hands.

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