She's a pro

Addison knows how to dunk. Her oreo, that is.

29 weeks

Just got back from my check up. The biggest shocker (which shouldn't be a shocker) was my weight gain. My appetite has been on the rise lately and I just want to snack. I'm trying to be good about it, but 4 pounds in two weeks just doesn't seem that good. The lattes are killing me and my wallet. I'm at 131 now, up 25 since my first appointment. Like usual, my doc said absolutely nothing. I had my Rhogam shot today which is always fun. I swear I am the biggest baby when it comes to needles. But that's it. No more blood work or needles until delivery day. I can rest easy for a little while. The doc did notice the pain I was in when I got up from the table so he checked my 'lower area' for varicose veins. All is good. It is now confirmed that the pain and pressure is just baby, whose heart rate was 146. Back in two weeks.

This girl

I LOVE this age! Everyday is something new. Just a couple of the things we encountered recently.

This was last week when I took Addison for her follow up at the doctor. She was SO excited to go. All she could talk about the whole way there was how she was going to stand on the scale, they were going to put the thing on her finger and she would look for the green light, it wouldn't hurt and then she would get a sticker and lollipop. She still isn't too fond of the ear and throat check, but she's understands the process so it's easier for me to tell her that the doctor is nice and doesn't hurt. Want to know the real reason for all of the blood work? Swollen gums like she had can be a sign of Leukemia. I'm so glad they didn't tell me that. I would have freaked! Now we know she's as healthy as can be.

Every Sunday Michael and Addison go grocery shopping at Walmart. I'm not allowed to go because I splurge too much. Addison knows that when she goes to Walmart that she gets ice cream. It's their thing and she loves it. When they got back, Addison helped me put the yogurt, pudding and biscuits away. She wants to be involved in everything lately. I love the randomness, yet the straight line, obsessive compulsiveness about it.

Things were quiet while Michael and I were in the kitchen Sunday night. Golf was on and Addison wasn't making a peep. This is how I found her. Just like her daddy. I think she was cheering on Phil at the time.

This has to be my favorite. She's been singing this song lately and I had no idea what it was. So I went to You Tube to look up "bumblebee". While we were watching it, Addison let me do her hair. She's getting more used to it and will actually keep it in for most of the day now.

Love you baby girl!

Friday nights

We go to Chick-fil-a. Nuggets, fries, grapes, milk, ice cream and playground. Addison eats great and then wears herself out playing. This Friday it was just me and her. And she freaked out at the top of the slide. I had to climb up there and get her, 6 months pregnant. Still a fun night. I took these with my cell phone.


Yeah, that's an ear thermometer in the picture. She's been attached to that thing lately. She goes around putting it under her arm and taking her temperature. And mine, Michael's, Olivia's and whatever else she can put it under.

A day to reflect

Today would have been my grandpa's 93rd birthday. I always use this day to reflect on all of the fun memories I have of him. The dances in the living room. Playing cards. Sneaking into his house and scaring him. Swimming and root beer floats. Picking blueberries. Bike rides to the mailbox.

I just hope that our children and grandchildren have all of these fun memories of us one day.

Happy Birthday Grandpa. I hope you're having fun today celebrating with Grandma. You are both missed and loved so much.

3rd Trimester

I'm officially in my third trimester. Actually, 11 weeks to go from today. Overall I feel great! I'm still having some of the pressure and pain in my pelvic area, but I've been doing some stretching exercises and squats lately and it seems to be helping. Some days are better than others. I think baby girl has started to move up and spread out a little which is helping. I now feel her little feet up near my belly button.

She's kicking around a lot in there and I love it! Addison felt a major kick the other night and wasn't quite sure what to think about it. She's still so interested in her baby sister. She's always wanting to pull up my shirt and talk to or feed the baby. I don't really have a problem with it, but I have a feeling that the people in Chick-fil-a don't want to see my belly. She no longer calls her "green one". Her new name is now Ian. Ian is Olivia's brother in the book so at least she gets that she is having a sibling. Wrong gender, but we'll go with it for now.

Michael and I are still working on names. We just recently starting talking about it again after taking a couple of months off. I'm pretty sure we'll come up with something before we head to the hospital. If not, we just might have to call her Ian after all.

Here's a belly shot taken on Monday when I was still 27 weeks. At times I feel huge, but I think all in all I am a little smaller than I was with Addison. It all just depends on the time of day and the color shirt I am wearing. I'm happy that my weight gain has been more gradual this time. I'm trying to eat smaller meals and healthy snacks, but sometime I just want sugar. And Addison keeps talking about cupcakes which isn't helping.

I got all of the old baby clothes out the other day and I am amazed by how much stuff Addison had. There is so much with the tags still on it. Good thing we're having another girl. We're almost done painting and organizing our guest bedroom for Addison to move into. Hopefully the transition to her big girl bed will go smoothly. Taking away the paci? Probably not as smooth.

Olivia

My friend Shannon was supposed to come and visit this past weekend, but because of wind her flights got all messed up and she wound up cancelling. We were all pretty bummed. But last night we were excited to get a fun package in the mail. Addison gets really excited about cards and packages. So Addison was SUPER excited to open her package last night and see Olivia the pig.

Addison loves her Olivia book. She has parts of it memorized and loves to read it with me. For those who don't know, there is a part in the book where Olivia paints on the wall and her mommy puts her in time out. Right after that she takes a bath, which is what you hear Addison saying. Addison doesn't go to time out much, but when she does, that is her spot. Right next to the bookcase.

It's a little hard to hear, so you may have to turn it up.



And thanks to everyone else who sent Valentine gifts. Addison loved them all.

Back in business

I purchased this pretty pink thing this weekend. I didn't really want the pink one, but Toys R Us had a great deal and so pink it is.

Now that Addison is feeling better and we'll be back in our routine, the TV and paci are being phased out. But because she's too cute (and a little spoiled when she's sick) I let her watch Calliou one last time in our bed last night. This is her brain on Calliou. She gets so zoned in that nothing can distract her.

And she has to have at least one stuffed animal and her blanket while she's watching. Such a diva.

I managed to get the paci out of her mouth for a minute while I was tickling her. She's in such better spirits now that she's eating and sleeping better. As you can see though, her gums are still swollen, red, and bleeding a little. We have a follow up tomorrow morning just to see how she is. I'm still a little concerned about the bleeding. I thought it would be healed by now.

Still the cutest smile you ever did see. It was so fun being home with her for the past couple of days. She's at such a fun age. She wants to play toys, sing songs, go outside and dance. At one point we spent 30 minutes doing each other's hair. I love how she pulls all of the chairs out around the table when it's time to eat. She's so independent that her favorite phrase right now is "no mommy, myself". I love my little bug.

Sugar binge

That's what I did when I left my doctor's appt yesterday. I passed my glucose test with flying colors. Then I headed straight to Panera for a souffle and a caramel latte. Heaven! Last night it was brownies. And today it was a coke and two cupcakes. I think I need to do some walking this weekend.

Everything went great at the doctor. I weighed in at 127 so that puts me up 21 pounds so far (only 3 this month, yeah!). Baby girl's heartbeat was 148 bpm. I have to have my blood drawn one more time to test for my Rh antibodies, but then I'm good to go. My appointments are every two weeks going forward so the time should start to fly by. We're still on for May 8th unless she happens to come early.

Pictures of me and my growing belly coming soon.

Update

I talked to the doc this afternoon and all of Addison's bloodwork came back normal. Her white counts, red counts, and maybe some purple counts were fine. She wasn't a bit dehydrated. Doc said she's perfect on the inside, just looks miserable on the outside. All in all, the antibiotics should clear up the infection a couple of days. I'm just glad that we found the source of her pain and it wasn't anything serious. Hopefully she'll only get better from here.

I'm off to the doc in the morning for my glucose test. I've tried to stay away from most sugar for the last two days so I will hopefully pass. The three hour test last time was miserable. I'll update on my appt, weigh in and status sometime tomorrow.

Stomatitis

Addison didn't turn that corner after all. This morning I looked in her mouth because her breath was so bad and saw swollen gums, puss pockets around her teeth and blood just from touching her. Michael took her to the doc and it appears that she has Stomatitis. In short, it's an infection in her mouth. The doc suggested some blood work to check for that and other infections so Michael then took her to Wolfson's Children's Hospital. They are both back home now and we're waiting on results. In the meantime they have her on antibiotics, probiotics and some other stuff. I just want my baby girl to feel better. My heart breaks to see her in pain. I'll update when I hear more from the doc.

Those dreaded molars

After wasting $20 at the doctor yesterday, my suspicion was confirmed last night when I brushed Addison's teeth and there was blood on the brush. A bad case of teething. Who knew that incoming molars would be so hard on a little girl. Addison really hasn't been affected much by teething in her short life. She tends to run a small fever for a day or two, but she normally goes about her day like nothing is wrong.

Until now. It's been a rough four days. She's had a fever, refused to eat, and I could barely get her to drink anything. The Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde mood swings have almost made me lose my mind. She's watched more Calliou than I'd like to admit. Her paci has been her best friend. She's slept in our bed a couple of times because the late night freak outs were wearing us down. And I think I should buy stock in Tylenol, Motrin and Anbesol.

But I think we're starting to turn the corner. Last night she ate some macaroni & cheese and drank some of her milkshake. And this morning she had an entire glass of milk. The Benadryl we gave her before bed (hey, you do what you have to do) must have helped some because she only woke up once last night. This morning she sat next to me and did her hair with her new hair tools. When she was done, she packed everything up and said "bye bye". I guess she was heading out on a date. I'm hoping that lucky fellow doesn't mind the bed head and no pants.

Singing

I finally got some of Addison's singing on video. Michael's parents came in to town yesterday and Addison was all about showing off her skills. I'm a Little Teapot was her song of choice last night. My favorite part is the shoulder shrug for the tip me over part. And normally she says "all done" at the end, but this time it's "all clean". I guess when you pour everything out it's all clean.

Those that make you smile

Grandma's death was bittersweet. I know she is in a better place, but it still hurts not having her here. I've been close to my grandparents my entire life, always living close by and spending a lot of time with them. They are both missed so much. I just hope that they had a good time looking down as the whole family got together to share stories and memories of their lives. It doesn't happen often with 5 children, 17 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren scattered all over the country.

Here's our attempt at a family picture (thanks Vivienne for the copy). I won't list everyone, but included are:
4 children
14 grandchildren
12 great-grandchildren
And of course spouses and significant others

*click on the pic to make it larger

We had such a great time seeing everyone. It truly was a celebration of my grandma's life.

Virginia "Bonnie" Wagner

Orange Heights, Fl - Virginia "Bonnie" Wagner, 91, passed away at her home, Sat. Jan. 31, 2009. She was a native of Bloomfield, NJ moving to Orange Heights in 1975. She was a member of Trinity Episcopal Church, Melrose, Fl where she was very active with Trinity Thrift Shop. Her husband William Emil Wagner preceded her in death in 2002. Her survivors include her daughters Karen Wacha, Keystone Heights, Fl, Pamela Ferris, Hawthorne, Fl And Yvonne Ludwig, Orange Heights, Fl. sons Colin Wagner, Florida, NY and Gregory Wagner, Toms River, NJ. 17 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. Funeral services were held 10.00 a.m. Tuesday, February 3, 2009 at Trinity Episcopal Church with the Rev. Jeffrey A. Mackey officiating. Burial was in Eliam Cemetery, Melrose, Fl with her care entrusted to Moring Funeral Home, Melrose, Fl. She will be missed by her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and her friends. In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to the Alzheimer's Association, 800-272-3900.

Angels

The angels came yesterday and returned my sweet grandmother to heaven.

"Big Grandma is sleeping" is what Addison said when she saw her shortly after she passed away. I held her, hugged her and loved her as I cried.

Grandma was surrounded by family who loved her when she took her last breath. I was able to be there to tell her how much I loved her. It was peaceful. She looked peaceful. And I am at peace knowing she is in heaven smiling down on us.

Heaven just got another angel.