23 Weeks...

...and not much to report. Brian felt her move for the first time on Saturday night (the 24th). I feel her move all the time...it's definitely a weird sensation. At the doctor's office on Tues I found out I've gained 13 lbs (almost all in my belly). It's no wonder my back hurts all the time :o)

My belly button continues to get more and more shallow, pretty soon I'll be rockin' the snooze button...one more of those weird things you're body does in pregnancy.



According to all the newsletters I get emailed everyday, she can hear and it's time to start reading and talking to her. I feel a little weird talking to my belly, but supposedly it's good for the baby to get used to your voice...makes me worry about raising my voice or yelling...not that I ever do that :o)

I've been fighting a viral infection since last Thursday...can't seem to kick it. My immune system is pretty weak, which according to everything I've read, is normal in pregnancy. Sucks though. I've been trying to hold out and not take the antibiotics prescribed to me (I don't want to take anything I don't HAVE to take) but it looks like I'm going to have to give in on this one...blegh. Stupid pills.

He Hate Me...

(reference to the XFL, if anyone remembers it)
...Lucy is getting so big...it seems she's doubled in size since we got her. She's still in the goofy puppy stage, but she's learning to use her size to get what she wants. She leans on Stanley (pushing him out of the way) to get toys, and she's getting bolder with Lefty. She does this thing where she licks his mouth anytime we're eating and he HATES it. He snarls and pulls his lips back, but he knows better than to snap while there's possible table scraps in the mix.


Lucy spending some time with her poppa.


This was her first pan she got to lick...she was a big fan.

Happy Birthday, Brian...

...Brian turned 1 today!!! I can't believe that it's been a year and I'm so proud of him. We were able to spend the evening with Gina, Adam, and Joey out at Iguana Grill on the lake. Definitely not the best food, but an amazing view and wonderful company.

Happy Birthday, Stanley...

...today Stanley turned 5 years old. In true brat-out-it's-my-party form, Stanley collected all the presents so no one else could play. We bought him a new nursing bed, 3 tennis balls, and 3 rawhide bones (the plan being that each dog would get one of each). Stanley went around the living room, gathered everything together, then laid in his treasure pile to nurse. What a guy...



We also bought bubble, thinking they would be a big hit with Stan, the ball junkie, but he seemed afraid of them. Regardless, I got some footage of Brian and Joey blowing bubbles in the living room, the seemed to be enjoying it regardless of how the dogs felt about it. Always fun!

22 Weeks...

...It seems like time is flying by. Maddie (we're thinking that's her name) is growing quickly and becoming quite the squirmer. It seems like every time I try to sit still, she wants to rock-n-roll. She's also found a vein or nerve or something in my lower left pelvis that she sits on and with every pulse there's a sharp, stinging pain. It only lasts for about 5 minutes, but its not comfortable.

Last night Lane and Aubrey put together a little dinner for Brian and me (to celebrate Maddie, as well as our one year sobriety). It was good times with good folks :o) Anyway, we all went to a meeting last night together after dinner where the topic was "fear." It was definitely a meeting I needed seeing as how I'm allowing so many fears (mostly related to my pregnancy) to hamper me lately. I heard some great things at the meeting, like "Fear is the absence of faith, and faith is the freedom from fear," or something along those lines.

My biggest fear is that Maddie will have to go through some of the nastier parts of life that I went through. I keep thinking to myself, "If my parents were ALWAYS around and I still had these things happen, how am I going to protect her?" A very wise friend, Kathryn, provided me with the slap-to-the-forehead-of-course answer that I needed. She said, "It's not your job to protect her, God will protect her."

Thank you, Kathryn, I needed that.

Things are going pretty good. The only complaint I have is excruciating back pain all the time. My back throbs constantly and I don't really know what to do about it. I've tried pretty much everything I can think of (Tylenol, heating pads, prenatal massage, belly bands, body pillows, shape-up shoes, belly wedges) and nothing seems to work. It's a pretty steady throb and it makes it painful to sit, lay down, or walk. Not sure what else I can do, but I'm at the point where I'm willing to try anything. The good news is that according to everything I've heard and/or read about it, it pretty much goes away with the birth of the baby. So here's looking forward to dirty diapers, sleepless nights, crying babies, and NO back pain...I can't wait :o)

For dinner, Debbie (Brian's mom), Joey, Gina, Brian, and I went out to eat at Macaroni Grill, which was excellent. Afterward, Gina and I got to work on a diaper cake for Tracy's baby shower tomorrow. Tracy and her husband have decided not to find out the sex of the baby (she's due in June, I think) so they're going with a Noah's Ark (animal) theme. The cake came out great, but since you can't eat it, we made animal shaped candies too. I love projects!!!

Lucy Versus....

...the door stopper...



...the fireplace tools...

Happiest Puppy...

...in the world!!!
Every morning since Lucy joined our family I find myself getting up about an hour earlier than usual so that I can walk her, feed her, and play with her before work.

And every morning this is what I walk in to see. It's the best and makes being tired all worth it.

Petco Pics...

While we were at Petco with the "kids" on Saturday there was a woman taking pictures of people's pets and offering a free 8x10 portrait. We figured with Lucy just getting a new dress (and being relatively new to the family) we needed a family portrait done. Here are the resulting pictures (because of course we couldn't pick just one).
The boys were pretty hard to control but Lucy was a little doped up from her shots at the vet so she was very compliant. We had to get copies of these pictures because we have such a hard time getting her to sit still for the camera. She always turns away at the last second. Anyway, here they are...enjoy!

Lucy's 1st Party Dress...

We took Lucy to the vet today and were given the green light. She's healthy and everything appears normal. We were both VERY relieved to hear that. (The boys went with us to the vet's office because they love visiting the people there-we have the BEST vet).

On the way home, Brian and I decided to stop in at Petco to get some toys because the boys were being good...when 'what to my wondering eyes should appear' but a pink and purple polka-dot party dress :o) (And just Lucy's size too). It was meant to be-and WAY to cute to pass up.



A little later in the afternoon, Gina called to tell me she was going to visit her friend Rose, who just had a little girl and whose husband was out of town. Rose was feeling a little down so Gina and I decided to take Lucy over to cheer her up...I mean, what's better than a puppy in a party dress?

Answer: Nothing.

While there, Lucy got to meet Marlo, Rose's amazingly calm, beautiful baby girl. They weren't really sure what to think of each other.

but Lucy decided to give Marlo a kiss anyway. :o)

1 YEAR...

...I can't believe it's been a year since I had a drink. Soooooo much has happened. God has really blessed my life and His abundance is amazing.

I was able to spend the evening surrounded by people who love me and who I love dearly. What a blessing my life has become. Who knew, all I had to do was stop drinking and hand over the reins???

I'm so grateful to everyone who has believed in and supported me throughout the last year...better things are yet to come and I can't wait!

21 Weeks...

...It's definitely a girl!!! We had a sonogram today (the big one). They did all the measuring and weights. She weighs 14 oz. and her measurements average her out to be 21 weeks 1 day. She's perfect. No health issues, no alarms. God is good.

The sonogram was partly done is 3D, but every time the sonographer tried to get a picture of her face, she put both her feet in the way. It's actually pretty cute (she's laying in there, folded in half).



She also got the hiccups during the exam (which we also have on tape). The sonogram video is about 25 minutes long and I don't know how to only upload parts, so it's not here for anyone to see.

As far as names, we're thinking Madelyn Elizabeth or Camryn McKenzie (but of course, that will probably change).



I'm feeling pretty good, but look like a house! Looking down my belly doesn't look that big, but then I saw this picture Brian took...Bad Brian (apparently he's not good at 'slimming' shots). They say the camera adds 10 pounds, right? Hopefully it's just the way I'm standing, or maybe it's the shirt I'm wearing...I never liked that shirt anyway (actually it WAS one of my favorites) :o)

Funny side note: My belly button is getting shallower. I had an itch the other day and when I went to scratch it, (gasp) "I can feel the bottom of my belly button!" I've never been able to do that. Even weirder, I can SEE the bottom of my belly button, I'm not sure which is worse. :o)

Lucy-Lu...

Lucy is a Nut!!! We got her Monday (4/12) and brought her home, then Tuesday she spent most of the day in our tiny bathroom (with me walking back and forth every 1 1/2-2 hours for pee/poop breaks). Then Tuesday night we spent some time with her and she's really come out of her shell. She's bubbly and crazy and all around hilarious.


We bought a couple of baby gates at target and gated her into the kitchen (which is now her "room") and she seems content to be there. She doesn't cry when she gets put in there (which is a huge plus). Also, she's been really good about pooping and peeing outside. We have the occasional pee overnight, but she uses her "pee towel" that's laid down for that purpose, and she's had a few pee accidents inside while playing, but that's our fault for not taking her out/watching her close enough.


All-in-all she's a real blessing...lots of fun and as Brian said, "Baxter will be missed, Lucy will be loved." She's a good addition.

Sad, Sad Day...

I stayed home from work to take Baxter to the vet. Since we first picked him up, he's been doing this weird thing where he humps to poop (it's like a thrust). This is how he's been peeing as well. It's pretty obvious that he's incontinent, so I took him to the doctor hoping for a cheap. easy fix, but willing to figure out how to deal with an expensive, difficult fix. But either way, we were going to get him fixed. Imagine my surprise and horror when I asked Dr. May what we had to do and he told me there wasn't anything we could do.

He said Baxter's spinal cord didn't develop all the way and it wasn't something that we could do anything about. He wasn't going to be able to control his poop or pee, ever. Immediately I hugged Baxter to me and started crying. Dr. May said that with the urinary incontinence, he would probably get constant bladder infections (due to not being able to ever fully empty it).

After getting home and talking (or rather, crying) it over with Brian we both came to the conclusion that it's just not practical for us to keep him, which sucks, because we are both already in love with him.

We contacted the breeder, who told us that the only thing she could do is give us the female. I didn't want the female, I didn't want any puppy, but we had to take Baxter back.

I cried the whole way there (and was inconsolable the next day too). The breeder said that she would keep Baxter, that she had a yard and it wouldn't matter if he couldn't hold it (so at least she's not going to have him put down, which was my biggest fear).

Anyway, we brought the female puppy home (she's nervous and shy), but I hope she'll come out of her shell. It's hard to look at Lucy, because she looks so much like Baxter.

I know that God has His reasons for everything, but it doesn't make it any easier. Hopefully Baxter will have an amazing life...he will be sorely missed.

Poop Explosion...

If only I could transmit smell through photos, then you'd get the full experience. Suffice it to say, it smelled AWFUL...and we couldn't stop laughing.






The solution...

...a baby diaper, under a puppy diaper.