the latest... and, oh- Merry Christmas!!!

so, Lexi had a Gastrografin Enema yesterday. it's very similar to a Barium Enema... they put some liquid stuff into her large intestine and took x-rays of her belly while it was in there so they could make sure there were no problems with her intestines. it was awful, but it didn't last too long (from start to finish the awful part was about 20 minutes, plus there was about 10-15 minutes of prep). the reason her dr. ordered that particular test is not only because he could get a good look at her insides that way, but it would also clean out her intestines so she could kinda start fresh.
we got good news that her intestines are completely normal! no problems whatsoever. and since then, she hasn't had any of the issues she had been having for the past few weeks... good news all around.
we've had a good couple of days worth of Christmas celebrations. we're not quite through with all of our planned festivities, but everything we've done so far has been quite fun. yesterday we were with scott's family. we had lunch, went to the candlelight service at church, opened presents, and played some games. today, we spent the entire day at home. it was uh-maz-ing! it's something we haven't done in a lonnnnng time and i thoroughly enjoyed it. we opened presents first thing this morning (i got a KitchenAid mixer [!!!]), then proceeded to play with all the new toys for a couple of hours, then had a big delicious meal, and played some more. now we're all winding down and preparing for the next couple of days worth of fun.
i have more about which to blog, but lexi is grumpy and in need of her next meal so i guess i'll have to finish up later.

a tiny update

i took Lexi to the doctor today. we don't know anything else yet, but she's having some tests run tomorrow. it doesn't look like scott will be able to go with me (he has a job that HAS to get finished. it was supposed to be finished today, but it is going into tomorrow now. go figure!) so my mom will go with my for moral support.
her dr. just wants to make sure that there isn't anything wrong with her intestines. he didn't seem too concerned but noted that it was something he really had to do even though he wasn't that worried since it's been 18 DAYS!
btw, he said he thinks she's currently got the record of any patient he's ever had (that's this young). not one contest we were aiming to win!
so we should know something for sure tomorrow. well, we'll at least know if there is a problem with her intestines. if there's nothing wrong, i don't really know WHY she hasn't pooped in almost 3 weeks.
thanks everyone for your prayers.
anyway, i will update again tomorrow assuming i get the opportunity!

that's just not right.

sooo Lexi hasn't pooped in almost 18 days. we've used every home method possible (suppository, enema, juice, prunes, water, karo syrup- you name it, we've probably tried it) and i took her to the doctor last wednesday. they did an x-ray and didn't find anything wrong. so, we were given a prescription laxative and told that if she hadn't gone in 2 or 3 days to bring her back in. i called on saturday and they told me to wait till the weekend was over. she's been on the med more than 4 days and still hasn't gone. tomorrow we have to go back to the doctor and she is going to have another x-ray and probably have more tests done.
she seems to feel pretty well most of the time, though she's not super happy as often as she was a few weeks ago.
anyway, i don't know what kind of tests (if any) she'll have to go through tomorrow and it makes me sick just thinking about having to see her in pain and not being able to comfort her (there's no way those tests could be pleasant!).
i haven't been really worried about her until today. i'm starting to worry that maybe it's not just a weird freak of nature thing but that something might actually be wrong with her. never in my life have i WANTED to change a poopy diaper, but right now it would make me downright excited.
please pray for her (and me) tomorrow and in the days to come. i mean- she can't go without pooping forever!!! i certainly wouldn't have thought that she could go almost 3 weeks without pooping, though!
i will update when we know more. or if she just plain poops :)

Tagged

i was tagged by candace to post a picture from a past Christmas.
these are from 2004...

Lincoln's first Christmas. he was 4 months old in these pictures.

i tag michelle... hopefully she will get time to do this. she's a pretty busy lady.

baby it's cold outside.

i guess i need to learn the words to that song pretty quickly since matt and i will be singing it at my sister's wedding reception in just a few weeks. and i probably should also learn the song that we're singing during the ceremony. i suppose i could be doing that instead of piddling around on the internet... but alas, here i sit, wasting some of the precious quiet time that i rarely get.
lincoln is sooo excited about Christmas. he is keeping up with what date it is (every day: "mommy, is today december 5th?" or whatever day it happens to be). and then he proceeds to ask me what day Christmas is on and then how many days are left. we haven't been to Christmas Lane to see lights and visit Santa yet, but we will get to that within a week or so.
lexi had cereal for the first time last night. we skipped over rice cereal and went straight to oatmeal. lincoln hated rice cereal and then it was difficult to get him to want any other solids, so i figured i would just go straight to baby oatmeal with lexi since lincoln loved it so much. well, she LOVED it! she ate about half of what i prepared for her and i was pretty impressed by that. she took itsy bitsy bites for about 10-15 minutes before she finally got impatient and angry and wanted to nurse. it was a pretty great first solid food experience. we're going to start giving her cereal every day for a couple of weeks before we start introducing vegetables. i can't believe she's ready for that already!
she seems younger than she is... i suppose it's because she's so tiny. a week and a half ago, she was 12 lbs & 23.5 inches. i know of babies who were born at about that size! she's growing well, though, so that's good. she's in the 20th percentile for weight and the 25th for length. it's weird having a little one since lincoln was always in the 75th for length and 80-90th for weight. he's still taller and bigger than most kids his age. he's the youngest kid in his pre-k class and he's one of the tallest.
so today i am running a million errands (having my phone fixed or replaced is one of them. the earpiece totally stopped working, so people can hear me but i can't hear them [or anything else for that matter]), then i have rehearsal, cast party dinner for the musical, getting the last of my things together and packing up for my trip tomorrow. lexi and i are going to the austin area tomorrow for my sister's lingerie shower. we'll be in austin all of about 16 hours before we head home. i have to be in clyde by 1:30 on sunday to get ready for the last musical (HOORAY!) so it'll be a seriously hectic weekend. i will be SO glad when it's over!
my dirty house is calling my name (though i wish it was calling the name of a maid or anyone but me for that matter!)
and i have to go put lincoln in his room to watch a dvd on the computer so i can wrap some Christmas presents in the living room!

i should be doing other things...

i have several things i really should be doing instead of this (finishing the blanket i started making for Lexi, straightening my hair, baking 3 pies, making cranberry sauce, and preparing snacks for tomorrow) especially since Lexi's taking a nap right now! but here i sit, blogging. so i guess i'll dig right in and try to get this over with as quickly as possible.
sleep training- something we NEVER had to do with Lincoln. he was always so easy and such a great sleeper. Lexi, however, has been quite difficult. she slept through the night until about a month ago and has been a real pain since then. even when she was "asleep", i would have to hop up several times and stick her pacifier back in her mouth so she wouldn't completely wake up. so this past sunday night, we started using the ferber method. so far it's working reeeeally well.
the first night, we put her to bed at 10pm and she cried for 2 hours (i went in about every 10 minutes to reassure her and let her know she hadn't been abandoned) and then she woke up twice (maybe three times- i was sleeping so i don't remember) and took about 20-30 minutes to go back to sleep each time. the second night, we put her in her bed at 10:30pm and she cried for 30 minutes. she woke up once during the middle of the night and only cried for about 10 minutes. she then didn't wake up till 7am. LAST night, she went to bed at 9:30pm. she cried for about 20 minutes and then fell asleep. she fell asleep on her belly, so i had to go m ove her to her side. usually that would wake her up (she's such a light sleeper but is getting better thanks to this!) and she slept through it. she didn't wake up until 6am! i was SOOO HAPPY! at 6, we got up, i fed her (didn't talk to her, of course- wouldn't want her thinking it was time to get up), put her back in bed, and she slept until 9am. it was the best sleep i've gotten in almost 4 1/2 months. anyway, i'm pretty encouraged about how well it's going. it's really great cause we're not having to swaddle her anymore or worry about a pacifier at night. she only has one during the day, and usually when we're out in public and she's reeeally grumpy.
Lincoln watched Tarzan for the first time the other day. he was in the living room watching it and i was in the dining room talking on the phone. the next thing i knew, i looked to my left and there was Link, stripped down to just his undies. "why are you naked??" i asked. "i'm not naked! i'm Tarzan!" ...i thought that was pretty hilarious.
i've got all my Christmas shopping done for Scott and our kids. i've got a lot of shopping done for Scott's family as well. and we're not doing presents this year for my family (which i'm really excited about, actually) except we ARE buying for Lincoln and my nephew Layton...
until this week, my brain had totally skipped over Thanksgiving and was in Christmas mode. the tree's up, our stockings are up, lots of my shopping is done. yesss.
this is the first Christmas that i really don't want anything. i never understood when my mom would tell us "don't get me anything! save your money!" and now i totally understand. i don't need anything. i would really people rather spend their money on things that they need. does that mean i'm getting old? i just want to make sure my kids (well- mostly Lincoln, since he's old enough to enoy it) to have a great Christmas.
the musical is almost over. i'm sooo glad. we've done 2 of our 3 shows and won't be able to do the next one till Dec 7th. we can't do it this weekend since it's a holiday weekend, and we can't do it the 6th because i will be out of town for my sister's lingerie shower (which i am hostessing, so i really can't miss it). so i'll have to wake up bright and early on Dec 7th, drive home from Austin, get myself ready, and have a show at 3pm. that day is going to SUUUUUCK!!!
it's really weird that Scott and i are the only "kids" who live here now. his siblings have both moved away, and now both of mine are gone. of course, Mitsi's been gone since i was in 7th grade, so that's no biggie. i'm used to her being gone. but now that Matt's gone- well- it's weird. and Scott and i are still here. i think we'll stay here forever. i know people hate this place, but we really love it. ...maybe we're crazy.
ok, ok... i really have to go take advantage of the fact that Lexi's napping. i'm making 2 caramel apple pecan streussel pies and one coconut cream (NOT coconut meringue) pie. yummmmmm....
happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Family Pictures 2008

Stan West took our pictures yesterday and they turned out great! I posted my favorites on Facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=70833&l=ec8d9&id=500533383

Lexi's newest tricks.

Lexi has so many new tricks!
She really likes to blow bubbles and "talk" so she can hear the spit blowing between her lips. If there's no drool already on her lips, she will force some spit onto them and blow bubbles and then make noises. it's pretty cute!
She's been laughing more, and it's reeeeally cute. It is a totally girly sounding squeal. LOVE IT!
She's also learned to grab things (though it takes a lot of concentration and doesn't go very quickly) and get them to her mouth (which is even more challenging!) it makes her reallly angry when she can't get something into her mouth like she wants it! It's also hard to figure out how to let go of things once she's managed to grab them.


She has gotten really good at holding her head up for several minutes. She's even rolled over a few times. The first time she did it was at 14 weeks (which was about 3 weeks ago). Lincoln did it when he was only 10 weeks, but we were on the go a whole lot less with him and he spent more time playing as a result. She has now rolled over about 5 times. I've seen two, Scott's seen two, and Lincoln claimed to have seen one.


She'd been holding her head up for probably 5 or 6 minutes and I had been taking pictures of her the whole time. ...This look lets you know that she'd had enough!!!


This picture has nothing to do with a new trick, but it's just funny to me. She has to be swaddled to sleep, but she HATES it when Daddy is in the process of swaddling her! This is her sad/angry face as he was just beginning the "hog tie".

There is a lot more going on in our lives right now... my father-in-law is home, so hopefully Scott's work load will lighten a bit. Scott took Lincoln on his first deer hunt yesterday (during which they saw NO DEER! how bad does that suck!?). The holidays are rapidly approaching and I am itching to shop.... a lot.

There is even more than all of this, but it's almost midnight. Lexi's finally gone to sleep. I'm the only one awake and right now i'm wondering why i'm doing this instead of sleeping. NO MORE!

Halloween and other things

we have been so incredibly busy lately.
scott's dad has been doing insurance adjusting the past couple of months (thanks to hurricane ike) so scott has been working over-overtime. he's doing the work his dad usually does PLUS the work he usually does, so needless to say- he's been exhausted. he doesn't sleep enough and we don't see him enough. i've been told, though, that my father-in-law is coming home in about a week. it will be good for scott to not have to do quite so much work! it will also be good for the kids and me to get to see him more!
my aunt christi is doing well in the hospital, but is still not out of the woods yet. she now needs a bone marrow transplant, and they're having a hard time finding a donor for her. noone in the whole country (who is actually on the marrow donor registry) matches her completely. isn't that bizarre? so some family members are trying to organize a bone marrow drive to see if someone can match her. if not- maybe the people who get tested could match someone else in the USA and help them!
i'm working with the clyde hs theatre department, doing vocal direction of the fall musical. lincoln would describe my job as "teaching those kids how to sing". it's lots of fun, but it's much harder this year since i'm trying to fit it AND two kids into my schedule. there have not been many home-cooked meals lately (and usually i cook 6 times a week!). i'm ready for it to be over, though, so one aspect of my life can go back to normal.
Halloween week has been fun. Lincoln is having a total of SIX Halloween festivities this year! Sugar took him to "Boo at the Zoo" and to a fall festival in San Antonio. we went to the Halloween festival in clyde last night, he had 2 different events (pumpkin festival and a costume parade) at school, and then we're going to a Halloween party tomorrow night at some friends' house and he will get to trick-or-treat a little. it's ridiculous!
we had fun at the festival last night... Lincoln's a bat:

...a bat who looooooves hot dogs!

a silly bat!

and Lexi didn't wear her costume to the festival (it's too big) but she's a super-cute daisy! (seriously, does it get any cuter than this?)

i feel like there's a lot more i need to fill you in about, but it's 11pm. that means it's time to fill lexi's belly up one last time before i'm allowed to go to sleep. and sleep sounds really amazing right now.

so i'm going to go get to work and GO TO BED!

HAVE A GOOD DAY!

"Hi, I'm cute!"

life's going crazy

things are just insane lately. i'm working a few days a week, doing music direction of the clyde hs musical. my kids are insane (mostly the 4-yr-old. 4 is an innnnteresting age!). we found out last thursday that my aunt (my mom's youngest sister) had leukemia (please add christi to your prayer list. she's undergoing very aggressive chemotherapy for the next 3-4 weeks). scott's business is booming and his partner (his dad) is currently working out town so scott's working A LOT. my brother, sister-in-law, and sweet nephew are moving 6 hours away in just 4 days (WAH!). all sorts of crazy busy stuff going on these days. we haven't gotten a "weekend" in weeks. my gas tank is starting to run low (not the one in my car, the one in my body). i'm just beat. and there's no sign of anything slowing anytime soon. i suppose that's life, eh?

lincoln's still loving school. i can't believe he's in pre-k. he came home one day telling me all about his pupils and how they get big when it's dark and little when it's light. he loves to learn so much. i love it.

he pretends like he's spiderman alllll the time! he even goes as far as making everyone call hiim spiderman ("i'm not lincoln! i'm spiderman!") and he "shoots webs" on everything and everyone. i guess he could like something a lot less cool, like the power rangers or spongebob. spiderman is pretty cool.

lexi is giving real, big, appreciative laughs (mostly to her daddy) now. daddy is absolutely hilarious! she gets so happy when he comes home from work.

she slept 7 consecutive hours last night. it was amazing! i can't believe that she'll be 3 months old on thursday!

the last time we went to the dr. (10 days ago), lexi was 11lbs 3oz. that's almost 5 lbs in 11 weeks! wow!

my hectic life calls, i must be going.

Lexi and me at the pumpkin patch, 10/10

the wind was right in our faces

Nana and her grandbabies

he's saying "cheese!"

cuteness.

life is hard sometimes.

well i'll start with the short(er) things before i get to the main point on this blog... let's see...
i've been really sick. thought i had the flu and was going to wait it out, but when my fever got to 103.5, my mom made me go to the dr. i found out that i have a really bad kidney infection- there is e. coli in my kidneys! so that's pretty scary and yes, i suppose my mom was right about making me go. you might never hear (or read) me say that again :)
i'm on some serious antibiotics and am feeling much better. i'll know on monday if the antibiotic i'm on will actually kill the infection that i have (that's when my dr will have the results from all his labwork). but for now i feel better- so if the medicine isn't working, something is.
lexi has kind of found her hands. she still hasn't seen them, but she can get them to her mouth. she loooooves to suck on her fingers. it's so cute- she'll talk and suck on her fingers and giggle and suck on them some more. she's such a sweet girl.
so, on monday, one of my parents' dogs died. she was 10 years old and had just suddenly gone way downhill (like the week before she died). of course that's a little sad for everyone (we got her when i was 14!) but all of the adults were just fine.
lincoln overheard me talking on the phone to my dad about it (even though i wasn't even in the same room he was in), and he came in and asked me, "did nana die?" i said, "no, baby! nana didn't die!" ......"mommy, did cricket die?" i thought for a minute about how the heck i was going to approach this subject. lincoln has never had to deal with death before and i knew this was going to be really difficult.... there was no way for me to sugar coat it. "yes. yes, baby. she did."
"NO! i want her to come back!". so i told him that she had been really sick and that she was in dog heaven now and that she's not in pain anymore and that it would be ok. well, that's not good enough for a 4-yr-old. he told me how much he wanted her to come back, speculated that maybe she had just run away and that she would come back, and told me that he was so very sad. i told him it was ok to be sad, and he just collapsed into my arms and bawled. it was awful.
later that day, we went out to my parents house because i had things that needed to be done out there (these plans had been made days before the dog died). when we got out there, he wanted my mom to show him where my dad had buried cricket, so they got on the golf cart and drove off to go look. i don't know exactly what was said (other than the fact that they discussed that she was buried in the dirt), but i know that when they got back, he was totally at peace with the whole thing. (one funny moment: he told my mom that when he gets old, that i will have to bury him. she told him that it was different for people and he said "good. people have a better choice!")
he tells me that he still misses her but that's ok for him to miss her. ...it was quite a tragic ordeal.
guess that's all for this go 'round.
ttfn

sweetness

i am better now, but Lexi is still sick. she's feeling better, but is still super snotty.
today, Lincoln was holding Lexi and he looked up at me and said, "when i didn't have a baby, my heart felt like i wanted to have a baby". sweet boy!
tomorrow Lexi will be 2 months old. i can't even get that into my head! she is such a beautiful, sweet girl and she's changed our lives so much in so little time. she smiles all the time (especially when daddy comes home- she LOOOVES her daddy [even though i would still say she's a mommy's girl- so far]) and she's starting to laugh more and more.
her newest discovery is how much she loves baths! she used to haaate them, but now she really enjoys just sitting in the warm water and having us pour it all over her. she actually bathing part, she's not a huge fan of- but the soaking part is great!
she hasn't found her hands yet, but i'm expecting her to any day. she can get them to her mouth pretty well, but she's never seen them (or at least focused on them). she did see her feet while she was taking a bath the other day, but i don't think she realized that they belong to her. she kept staring at them and watching them move like "what the heck are those things!?". it was quite adorable.
Lincoln has a new obsession with decay. haha, i know that sounds sooo weird but let me make sense of it for you. he loves playing games and watching videos on pbskids.org... there's a show called Sid the Science Kid (or something like that) and he talks about all sorts of cool stuff. in one video, he talks about how things decay and shows a decaying apple (and squishes it and it's gross). so, Lincoln suddenly became fascinated with it. while he was visiting Pops and Nana's house, he got to see some bananas that were starting to decay. then he went out into their garden and found a couple of veggies that were decaying. my mom then told him that our teeth decay if we don't brush them really well. that sort of freaked him out, but really got him to want to brush him teeth (thanks mom!). so now he's obsessed with decay and the fact that things don't just "get yucky", but that there's actually a reason they're gross.
i feel like there are a lot of new things going on but when i try to transfer them from my brain onto my blog, i can't think of anything...
i suppose they will come out eventually and result in new blog posts.

pass the kleenex. no, i'm not sad.

i'm officially sick. i've been fighting it off for a couple of days but have been unsuccessful. i'm not deathly ill, just obnoxiously so. stuffy nose that is also runny (why could it be one or the other??), cough, sore throat, painful swollen lymph nodes... fun. and as of yesterday, Lexi's got it. at least the stuffy nose with some nice green snot. so we're in for a pretty fun weekend.
last night wasn't as miserable as we had expected, however. Lexi only woke up once during the night, and that was because she was sleeping on her back in her bed and you all know that's not helpful when there's a stuffy nose involved. so i had to get up with her, suction out her nose (which is always fun!), and make space in our bedroom to bring in her swing. she spent the rest of the night sleeping very well in her swing, even if she did sound pretty snotty.
i can't say i'm exactly looking forward to the weekend. with both of us sick, sleep is something i won't be able to get enough of. even if she sleeps well, my body needs lots of sleep so i can get better. i have to rest a looot when i'm sick. seriously- my immune system sucks. i'm now praying that Lincoln won't get it. i'm hoping grandparents will keep him both nights this weekend (A) so he doesn't catch this crud and (B) so Lexi and i can get plenty of rest and work on getting better.

we got Lincoln's Halloween costume yesterday. he's going to be a bat. he really wanted to be the dragon that we saw, but it was mostly red and looked pretty much like the devil, so we had to go with the bat. he initially didn't like the idea of the bat, because he reeeally wanted to be the dragon- but when i told him that he could be like Batman, that was all he needed to hear. he tried it on in the store and proceeded to run and jump around the dressing rooms, flapping his arms and pretending to fly. pretty dang cute.

i had one of those fun mom moments the other day. Lexi and i were at a little lunch place waiting for our food (well, not Lexi's and mine, but Matt's, Candace's, and mine). i could tell she was going poop because of the lovely expression and red face. i didn't think anything of it- heck- babies poop all the dang time. but when i picked up her carrier off the chair it was sitting on, there was a PUDDLE IN THE SEAT! i was mortified. thankfully, noone saw and i was able to grab some paper napkins that were right by the table and soak it up. and, being the mom that i am, i always have anti-bacterial wipes in my purse- so i got it all cleaned up. now i'm wondering what kind of mess she's got going on inside that carrier. ...so i finally got my food, got out the door, and went to drop off M&C's food, thinking that instead of visiting with them for a while that i needed to rush home to bathe and change my child before the other child got out of school. thankfully, Candace offered to let me come in and bathe Lexi at their house (even though a realtor was coming over to look at their house very shortly). it was nice having Candace's help (thanks Candace!). i was glad to discover that most of the mess in the carseat was pee. her diaper was full of poop, and i think the pee just didn't have any place to soak into the diaper, so it just went all out the sides. (btw, we were then using some diapers that were a gift and are not too awesome) Lexi was soaked from her knees to halfway up her back and she only had a little leaky poop right by her butt. and of course it was the one day that i didn't have a change of clothes in her diaper bag, so i had to borrow a little blue outfit of Layton's (Lexi was very gender confused that day- as i made sure to put a bow on her before we went to pick up Lincoln from school so noone would mistake her for a boy). it was definitely one of those awesome mom moments.

i think Lexi has gone back to sleep finally, so i am going to go do the same thing.

time is going by way too quickly

i can't believe that it's already more than a week into September.
Lincoln is back in school and loves his new class and new teachers. He's in the pre-k class and is learning about math and science and all sorts of stuff. it's crazy that my boy is big enough to come home and tell me about what he learned about science. of course, it's simple stuff- but still. they also have a marble rewards system like we have at home so that's pretty awesome. it's nice that what we're working on at home is carrying over to school.
Lexi will be 8 weeks old in just 2 days. she has gotten so big. i bet she's 10 lbs now. she's quite rolly. she's smiling a lot and has even started laughing some. scott and i really enjoy our quiet time that we get with her after Lincoln goes to sleep. when he's awake, there's so much going on that Lexi can't seem to focus long enough to give us smiles and laughs. she does tolerate her brother well, though, which is nice since he's not always super gentle!
he looooooves her so much. more and more every day. whenever she's awake, he wants her on a blanket on the floor so he can get down to her level and get a few smiles out of her. she loves her brother, too! she always smiles at him.
i get so happy when she reaches new milestones, but then i instantly get sad when i think about the fact that every milestone she reaches means she's getting bigger and simply growing up too fast. WAH! especially since we're not planning on having any more kids- the little things seems sweeter this go 'round. i think i learned with Lincoln that time does indeed fly by entirely too fast so i'm trying to savor every tiny moment. i'm doing that with him, too. it won't be long before he's "too big" to snuggle with me or to kiss me (heaven forbid an older boy kiss his mommy!)
here are the newest pics of my beautiful children... the one of Lexi was taken just last Friday (9/5) and the one of Lincoln is from Tues (9/2)

he is so silly! he would not pose normally.

she is so beautiful in this picture. she looks so much like her brother, but much more feminine. i love that you can see her eyelashes. ...absolutely gorgeous.

another update- already!

i know i just posted an update, but i have new information already so you lucked out.
today was a busy and eventful day.
first, we went to Lincoln's yearly dr. appt. i didn't think he was going to have to get any shots, but when the dr. told me that he would, i figured "hey- he'll have to get one. no big deal." then i asked what he was getting. uh, how about FIVE SHOTS!? yes. five separate needles. five different sticks. awesome. if you didn't know it already, Lincoln is freakishly strong. when he was 2 1/2, three people had to hold him down for shots. so i told the dr. that we would need an extra person to come help hold him down. "no," said the doc, "the nurse is really good and fast." i insisted on having another person in the room- and i'm glad i did! the nurse giving the shots was at Lincoln's feet, holding his legs down. i was in the middle, holding up the legs of his shorts (so we didn't have to take them all the way off) and holding down his middle so he couldn't hunch his back. the male physician's assistant was at Link's head, holding his arms against his chest with one hand and holding his head down with the other hand. it definitely took all of our strength to keep him still enough for all 5 shots. it was absolutely AWFUL. he criiied and criiied. we even had to stay in the exam room for an extra 5 minutes or so. he just leaned his head on my shoulder and cried and i continuously told him how brave he was. wah! not fun!
it was also the day of my post-partum checkup. nothing exciting going on there. i did weigh Lexi while i was there, and she's right at 9 lbs.
it was "meet the teacher" night at Lincoln's school this evening. he's in the pre-K class and he's pretty excited about it. he'll be learning some math, science, etc. awesome. his girlfriend from last schoolyear is in the 4-yr-olds class instead of the pre-k class. he wasn't very excited about that. but at least they will be able to see each other during recess.
i am SO ready for him to go back to school. it will be good for him to have something to do during the day and kids to play with. it will also be good for me to get a little time to clean my house or just rest. my house has been a distaster since Lexi's arrival, simply because one of my children always needs me. so it will be nice to have a cleaner, more peaceful home... at least twice a week.
almost bedtime. more soon.

Lots going on...

Lexi is 6 weeks old today. Lincoln turned 4 this past sunday. time is going by entirely too quickly.
Link's party was really fun. we had it at The Jump Around (an indoor air castle place) and i think all the kids left exhausted. he got away with some pretty great gifts and he was pretty happy about the whole day.
Lexi had her first bottle a couple of days ago- so that means that Scott and i are going on a date this weekend! the last time we went on a real date was about 2 months ago, so i'm pumped! the kids will be going out to Pops and Nana's house for the evening.
Lincoln is still sooo helful with Lexi. he loves her so much. one evening, i was making dinner in the kitchen and the kids were in the living room. i peeked through the door and Lincoln was sitting beside Lexi's bouncer. then he said "oh, Lexi. i love you sooo much! but you don't talk to me." he is so ready for her to be able to socialize more with him. he is, however, loving the smiles and coos that she gives him.
Lexi actually slept through the night for the first time last night. she slept 6 consecutive hours and probably would've slept longer if i hadn't touched her chest to make sure she was still breathing! when i realized she had been asleep 6 hours, first i was excited, and then of course there was the moment of freakout when i thought, "is she breathing!? she's never slept this long before!" anyway, i'm sure it won't be an every night thing, but it's nice to know that she'll be doing it every once in a while!
so this is longer than what i originally planned and i have lots of more important things to be doing. ttfn!

going for the gold

ok, anyone else ridiculously addicted to the olympics and getting less sleep than usual because of this sad addiction? ...thought so. as sad as i will be when they are over next week, i will be glad to be able to go to sleep earlier at night!
so apparently Lexi was trying to break the world record for longest stay of an umbilical stump. she is 4 weeks and 2 days old and just lost her stump TODAY! how ridiculous is that?! ...i thought she would be going to high school with that thing still attached. we are so glad it's gone, but that doesn't mean we can stop cleaning her belly button or give her a normal bath yet. the actual belly button underneath the stump still hasn't completely closed up, so it looks like we'll be waiting another week or so before she can have a real bath. i will be glad to get some soap on her stinky neck! -wipes just don't keep the stink off the neck for very long!
she HAS had 2 real baths, actually. during both, we were super careful not to get her belly button wet, but it did end up getting wet during the second bath (which is the reason she hasn't had another one since then). that's probably a major contributing factor to the fact that her stump took so long to fall off and that it's still not normal, so i'd rather deal with a stinky necked baby than one that's going to have a deformed belly button forever.
so i can't believe that she's going to be a month old tomorrow. she's still too small for her 0-3 month clothes and only fitting into some of her newborn stuff. i can't believe that i've been semi- sleep deprived for a whole month now. although, she does sleep pretty well and actually slept 5 1/2 consecutive hours last night! i'd say that's pretty dang impressive for a 1-month-old!
lincoln's 4th birthday is rapidly approaching. his party is a week from tomorrow and his actual bday is the day after his party. we've ordered a pretty awesome spiderman cake and have everything all ready to go. we're all pretty excited about it. i just can't believe that he's going to be 4. where has the time gone!?
lincoln is so ready for school to start (i am too!). he starts back in just a couple of weeks. i am looking forward to him getting to spend some time playing with other kids. i'm also looking foward to having a little more time for myself to think, among other things. we've been driving each other a bit crazy the past week or two. he's going through some crazy stage and actually told me 2 days ago that i've "ruined his life". ha, that sure didn't take me long!
link is sooooo helpful with lexi. he's my official gopher. it seems like every time i sit down to nurse lexi, i think of something i need. he is more than happy to run and grab things for me.
the other day, i was trying to cook dinner, but was having a bit of trouble getting things done thanks to a sleepy/fussy baby. so i just put lexi down on her baby gym, on her belly, for a bit of tummy time so i could get stuff done. usually she enjoys being on her tummy- but not that day. any time she would start crying, lincoln would run from the kitchen into the living room, pat lexi on the back, and say "SHH SHH SHH SHH" like he always hears me do. ...about half an hour later, i had moved lexi into the kitchen and put her in her bouncer, and lincoln was making sure it kept bouncing and that lexi's pacifier wouldn't fall out of her mouth; all the time saying, "SHH SHH SHH". he is such a great big brother. i knew he would be, but he has by far exceeded my expectations.
ok, this is plenty long and i am going to go use my little bit of peace and quiet to go get something more productive done.

the latest

Lexi is now 3 weeks and 2 days old. we had to go to the dr. today because i thought she might have thrush (turns out it's just milk on her tongue- thank goodness!). she is now 7lbs 13oz. that's what i weighed when i was born! it's LESS than what Lincoln weighed when he was born! tiny tiny girl. ...no wonder she's just now barely fitting into some of her "newborn" sized clothes. the "preemie" clothes still fit her quite well, though.
Lincoln will be 4 in less than 2 weeks. i can't believe it. we're planning a really fun party at one of his favorite play places. and he wants a Spiderman cake. apparently next year he has to have a Batman cake. guess we're going through all the superheroes?
i'm still not used to being home all day! it's weird not having things to do, aside from grocery shopping and other various errand-running...
well, i must go be on milk truck duty now. it seems like that's all i do these days! that, and diaper changes...
ah, motherhood.

2 weeks old already!

it's hard to believe that Lexi is already 2 weeks old! it certainly doesn't seem like that long since we were in the hospital... it CERTAINLY doesn't seem like that long since i was lying on the operating table, being cut open... crazy.
i think she's about 7 lbs now- maybe a little over... i only get a rough estimate since i just weigh myself before holding her and then again while i'm holding her. it only shows that i'm 7 lbs heavier when she's in my arms, so we'll stick with that.
Lincoln continues to be a huge help with Lexi. he simply cannot kiss her enough- i think he would probably kiss her every minute of every day if i would let him. the rules for kissing are: do not kiss Lexi when she has just fallen asleep... and, do not kiss Lexi when she is unhappy. pretty simple- but Lincoln struggles with the rules :) -he just loves her.
she is still sleeping really well and being pretty dang easy when she's awake. she gives us smiles when she's sleeping, but we are sooo ready to start getting real smiles. it's about to drive scott crazy.
Lincoln's 4th birthday is rapidly approaching. we're planning a super fun birthday party. i can't believe i don't have all the details worked out and most of the stuff purchased yet... every other year i was set by this point. of course, every other year didn't include a newborn baby. plus i still have plenty of time to get everything done for the big day, so i'm not stressing out yet.
just a short update today, since i had a free moment.

catching up

hey there. i know i haven't updated since right after lexi was born, but hey- i have a newborn- so i have a very legitimate excuse.

so, miss lexi suzanne was born on july 16... i had to have a c-section after attempts to turn her into a head-down position were unsuccessful. when my dr. pulled her out, he discovered that the reason he was unable to turn her was because her umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck and had kind of a leash effect on her, not allowing her to move very far... she came out perfect and healthy and TINY. (she was 6 lbs 6.8 oz at birth and only 6 lbs even when we left the hospital! she is now up to almost 7 lbs.) we both made it through surgery very well and are both doing great.

i tell you what- having a c-section is no walk in the park- the first few days afterward are NOT fun (but hey- neither are the first few days after giving birth naturally, although they're a bit more tolerable- minus the need for a hemorrhoid pillow) but it sure was a piece of cake not having to have even one contraction, not having to push, heck- not having to put forth any effort at all... i'd say the overall recovery period (pain wise, at least) is only about 3 or 4 days longer than having a baby the other way- but it's a pretty even trade-off when you consider all that i DIDN'T have to go through. i DID have to be careful about using my arms more (getting up from sitting, lying down, using scott as support to step into the shower, etc) so i wouldn't be using my ab muscles.

i am doing really well. stopped having to take my pain meds about 4 days ago (which was right at a week after giving birth), but today have started taking them again because of some soreness in my belly... my incision doesn't hurt at all, but my lower abs are just sooore. my incision looks awesome- you can hardly tell it's there unless you know what you're looking for.

lexi is doing awesome. she eats well, she sleeps well, she doesn't cry unless she's hungry, uncomfortable, or reeeally reeeally sleepy... she only wakes up once a night to eat. i'm serious. she's great. when she's awake (which is a rareity), she just stares and soaks everything in.

i can't believe she's almost 2 weeks old. it seems like so much less time than that. at the same time, it's hard to believe that our lives have been changed so much by someone in so little time. she has a daddy who is completely wrapped around each of her fingers. she has a brother who adores her and kisses her each and every time the thought pops into his head (which is quite often, btw). she has a mommy who can't believe how something so tiny could be such a huge blessing to everyone's lives. she has extended family who can't get enough of her.

i am so blessed to have such amazing children. my boy is going through quite an interesting stage where sometimes he's barely even tolerable... but there are moments that shine through in which he is the most amazing boy on the planet. he is loving and gentle and funny and smart. he is also difficult and stubborn and rough and whiney, but i'd go through every bad part just for the little moments of greatness. my girl is beautiful and snuggly and perfect. i do miss getting to sleep through the night- and i certainly hadn't missed changing so many diapers, but it is all worth it.

God has blessed out family so much. i feel blessed to have a husband and kids who love me the way they do- and for me to love.

thanks to all of you who have kept us in your thoughts and prayers. i will post pictures on kodakgallery eventually- i promise! for now, continue to check http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=48305&l=4f88e&id=500533383 for lots of pics. they're not all of them, but they're my favorites. i hate to spend time uploading pics to kodakgallery when i know i'll be taking so many more in the days to come.

well, my free time is up. i will blog the next time i have a peaceful moment- so don't hold your breath! :)

Lexi is here!

Lexi Suzanne arrived at 8:37am on Wednesday, July 16 via c-section. she was 6 lbs 7 oz and 19.5 inches long.
will have more details soon. don't have many pics uploaded (been kind of busy, y'know) but here is the link to the few that have made their way online:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=48305&l=4f88e&id=500533383
thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers! Lexi and i both made it through surgery perfectly and we're both doing great.
<3

good news and bad news.

so, the good news is that Lexi will be here TOMORROW!!!! yes, ladies and gentlemen- i will officially NOT be pregnant as of tomorrow. praise the Lord!
now for the bad news. little miss difficult (i think she has definitely earned that title after the placenta previa scare, the being much too little scare, and the latest fun fiasco...) is now BREECH. yes, it's true. last week she was head down. heck- 2 days ago she was head down! i had noticed that within the past 2 days, i have felt most of her movements really low, like down in my hips- and not up high (right under my ribs) like usual... i told scott yesterday that i really thought she was breech, and he reassured me that i was just being paranoid and we decided that since it's so rare for a baby to switch positions this late that she was just fine. today at the dr, i was LESS effaced than i have been. i told my dr. that i thought Lexi was breech, so he decided to do an ultrasound on the spot. sure enough, head up, in my ribs (which, btw, i NEVER want to hear anyone complain about having feet in their ribs- try having a HEAD in your ribs. it's 10 times worse!). she is completely folded in half. her toes are touching her nose. apparently she's going to be a cheerleader or a diver. but thankfully, she's not completely straight up-and-down and is pretty much diagonal in my belly.
my dr. thinks there's a decent chance of being able to turn her by doing what is called an External Cephalic Version (from here on, we'll just call it a "version"). a version is where my dr. will try to turn her by putting pressure on the outside of my belly. there is about a 50-60% chance that it will be successful in turning her head down. the procedure has to be done in the OR at the hospital because of the possible risks. it could cause distress to the baby, it could tangle her umbilical cord around her neck, and worse, it could result in a platena abruption... in those cases, i would have to have an emergency c-section. if the version (which begins at 7am tomorrow) is successful, i will be immediately induced and could deliver naturally. if it is NOT successful, well, i am scheduled for a c-section at 8am. either way, there will be a baby tomorrow! (if somehow i go into labor before then, i will be given a c-section on the spot.)
i am so mad that this has not turned out the way i planned. as you should know, i planned on waiting as long as possible (NO induction) and going without pain meds (except possibly some demerol) like i did with Lincoln... i am so upset that things are happening in a much more difficult manner than we would like. but, the most important thing is that Lexi and i are both healthy and a c-section might very well be the way to do that.
i am praying that we will get to the hopital in the morning (at 5:30am- yuk!) and that she will have turned on her own... then i would just be induced and could have her naturally. i am also praying that if i have to have the version, that it will be successful. we all know that with God, all things are possible- so He ultimately has control over whether the version works out or not. i also know that things are going to work out either way, and that we often can't see His plan in the grand scheme of things... it sure would be nice if His way was also the way i'm hoping it will be :)
Please add Lexi and me to your prayers today and tomorrow and know that the next time i blog, i will have TWO children!
Love to you all!

still pregnant

YES, i'm STILL pregnant! 6 days to go! i have been having lots of contractions, but none that will get any stronger or any closer together. i wish they would just go away since they're causing me pain but not seeming to be doing much good. either go away or be painful enough for me to have to go to the hospital!
apparently people think Lexi's going to be born on the 15th. i'm just praying that she's not late like her brother!!!
more soon, hopefully it will be news that something has actually happened...

8 days to go!

it's CRAZY to think that there are only 8 days to go until Lexi's due date. on one hand, i feel like this pregnancy has absolutely flown by... on the other hand, i feel like i've been pregnant for-ev-er! i am definitely ready to NOT be pregnant anymore! i have lost several hours of sleep over the past couple of nights because of miserable indigestion. i slept about 3 hours in our bed last night, was awake (in pain) for over an hour, then slept almost 3 hours in the LA-Z-BOY. seriously- earlier today i had part of a cherry coke and got indigestion. ridiculous!!! i think pregnancy is as tired of me as i am of it. i had to go get a pedicure yesterday because i can't bend down and reach my toes. hahaha, pathetic, but true. (i was, however, hopeful that the pedicure would help induce labor- my sister-in-law has a theory that pedicures will do that... it worked for her!)
i went to the dr. today and was glad to find out that there was SOME change, but disappointed that it wasn't much. he said we would "call me a 2" as in dilated to 2... i asked if we were going to call me a 2 or if i was actually a 2... he said i'm indeed a 2. so i was glad to hear that i'm no longer stuck at 1 like i have been for a month. i'm only 30-40% effaced, so Lexi seems to be in no hurry whatsoever. my dr. did offer to induce me this week since i did a nice amount of complaining about still being pregnant, but i said "no thanks" since i'm planning on going through labor sans-epidural like i did with Lincoln. i am very ANTI- being induced! i am praying that Lexi will come on her own, but not as late as her brother did. i REALLY don't want to be pregnant till July 27!!!
so, my prayers have offically started that God will help my cervix get moving. it would be really convenient for her to be born within the next 8 days because my sister and her fiance will be passing through town twice before the 20th... and it would be nice for this dang indigestion to go away. it is making me miserable.
if you all feel like joining in on prayers to hurry Lexi along, please feel free. i'm hoping this will be the last entry i have to post until she is born, but i'm doubting that will happen.
hopefully i will have more good news soon!

17 days to go!

...had another dr. appt. today. found out that i'm not dilated any more than i was last week, which is a REALLY good thing since we're right in the middle of fireworks season. we will be through with fireworks by probably about 2am on the 5th, so any time after that is good for Lexi to decide to join us. hopefully she will let me get some rest before she shows up, though!
i found out that she's only between the 25th and 20th percentile for weight. i suppose she'll be petite like my mom (who is only 5'2").
no new news about anything else, really...
i'd better get off the computer, i have some fireworks stuff i really should be doing.

the latest on Lexi

as of today, we have 21 days left till Lexi's due...
we went in for my sonogram today and everything looks PERFECT. apparently i'm carrying Lexi low in my hips and she is a bit small, so that is why i'm measuring so small. there is no problem with Lexi or with the placenta so everything looks just dandy. now hopefully she'll hang on until at least july 5 so we can get finished with fireworks!
the dr. estimated that Lexi weighs about 5.75 lbs... still small, but not as small as the last estimate i had gotten (which was approx. 4 lbs, 15 oz- yikes!). and she has lots of hair, which is funny because Lincoln only had a tiny bit of peach fuzz and spend the first 18 months of his life as a baldy.
the dr. told me he thought she would come at 39 weeks (i guess he had a crystal ball beside all his computers?) and he would be surprised if she came late.
we are glad to know that our baby girl is healthy and that she doesn't seem to be in too big of a hurry to get here.
thank you all for prayers. God is good!

24 more days!

well, i had a dr. appt today and expected to be more dilated than i was last week... i have been having contractions (painful but not yet regular) for a few days, so i was surprised to find out that there had been no change in that category. there also has been no change in the "Lexi's growth category", which is of slight concern. my dr. said that Lexi's probably just fine and that she'll just be a little baby, but he's sending me to have a sonogram on thursday just to make sure that she's growing like she should be. if there IS something wrong and she's not growing like she should be, it would most likely be the fault of the placenta and not something wrong with the baby, which is slightly reassuring. still, if there WAS a problem (my placenta not getting Lexi enough nourishment), then i would have to be induced within a day or two so that she could start getting nourishment outside the womb. it could also be an issue with amniotic fluid, which would also require me being induced... scarier options are that there could be a partial placenta abruption which could be keeping her from getting oxygen and nurtients and, well, the list of scary things really goes on and on and thinking about them and talking about them just plain freaks me out. i wish my sonogram was sooner than thursday! i'm praying that there's nothing wrong... hopefully the situation is actually nothing and she can continue to cook in there for at LEAST another 12 days.
Lexi has actually been measuring small consistently from the beginning, so we've always known she was going to be a bit on the little side... the only concern this week is that there had been no change in her size since LAST week and that she is now measuring 3-4 weeks smaller than she should be. when i asked just how big my dr. thought Lexi was, he said that the average baby is about 6.25-6.5 lbs at this stage and that she's not even 6 lbs. itsy bitsy girl! heck- maybe i'll just have an itsy bitsy baby. anyway, your continued prayers are appreciated! i'm sure she's just fine and that God will help her to grow a lot before our appt on thursday and continually until she's ready to be born. Lincoln and i sure are ready for her to get here, but daddy isn't! he wasn't "ready" for Lincoln, either, but sure didn't take long to adjust :) ...seriously, if you've never seen him have any good quality time with Lincoln, let me just tell you that he is an unbelievable father. he makes my job as a mom a LOT easier!
a bit about Lincoln now. he is spending most of the week with his Nana because her church is having Vacation Bible School and she is actually teaching the 3-yr-olds class. so i have a lot of time this week to get house cleaning and organizing done before the insanity of fireworks begins on friday. i have gotten the house "presentable" at least 4 times already for the guests i know we'll be having when Lexi's born, but having an almost-4-yr-old certainly doesn't make the job of keeping the house clean very easy!
Lincoln has decided that it's "too hard" to clean up his messes. my solution to that problem was that we get rid of all his toys so he didn't have anything to clean up anymore... he didn't like that idea and said that he could try harder, even though he still thinks it's "pretty hard" to clean up. ...what a tragedy!
love to all of you and i will blog on thursday after my sonogram!

4 weeks to go...

as of Monday, i'm dilated to 1 and 10% effaced... so i'm 10% of the way there! i'm now going in to the dr. once a week (every monday until Lexi's born) to see how things are progressing and when it looks like she's going to decide to make her debut.
Lincoln has been REALLY helpful in putting together all of the baby stuff. he's helped me put together Lexi's pack'n'play/bassinet, bouncer, etc. he's just as excited as anyone about the arrival of his sister. he kisses my belly every day and asks me how many weeks are left until she gets here. i also (quite often) get the question, "mommy, what is Lexi doing? is she sleeping or is she kicking you?". whenever i tell him that she's sleeping, he says she sleeps too much. i think he will be disappointed when he sees that that's just about all she'll do when she gets here!
we've started a new reward program at home for Lincoln that has already greatly improved his daily behavior. we have recently encountered major issues with obedience and talking back. this fun little trend really got bad when Scott started working such long hours (about a month ago). most days, Scott leaves home before Lincoln wakes up and doesn't get home until after he's already asleep. needless to say, Link's had issues adjusting to it (we all have!).
So anyway, the new system is simple- it's actually something i got an idea for after being forced to watch Super Nanny with Scott (he loves that dang show). Lincoln has a bowl full of marbles. any time he's really good, he gets another marble added to the bowl. when he doesn't mind or is otherwise "naughty", he gets a marble taken OUT of the bowl. the goal is to have ALL the marbles in the bowl. when such feat is accomplished, he will be rewarded with a trip to Mr. Gatti's. we've only been doing it a few days, but any time he's misbehaving and i mention losing a marble, he immediately fixes the problem... i have heard, "i'm minding you, mommy!" more in the past 3 days than i had throughout his entire life. ..."i'm minding you! i promise!" :) so far, so good.
will definitely have more to post by monday, when we find out the latest info about Lexi.

the faith of a child

lincoln has been so sweet talking about God and Jesus a lot lately. last sunday, we were getting ready to leave our house for church and i said, "ok, lincoln, it's time to go to church!" to which he replied, "so we can praise God?" "...yes," i said, "so we can praise God." it was pretty dang cute.
on monday, we were driving home from a day full of running errands... here is our conversation that we had on that drive
L: "mommy- i really love God and Jesus."
me: "well that's good! why do you love God and Jesus?"
L: "because God made us!"
me: "yes He did. and why do you love Jesus? ...what did he die on?"
L: "a cross!"
me: "that's right! he died on the cross for us so we can go to Heaven"
L: "but, but i don't want Jesus to die on the cross!"
me: "well why not? it's good that he did. he did it for us"
L: "i don't want Jesus to die on the cross because that's too sad!"
me: "it WAS sad, but it's a happy thing because it means we get to go to Heaven even though sometimes we're mean or naughty"
L: "He doesn't need to die on the cross for me. that's just too sad!"

i suppose the sacrifice of our Savior's life is quite a concept when you're not quite 4 years old...

37 days till Lexi's due! i've got pretty much everything i need for her arrival- or if i don't already have it, it's been ordered and will be here within a week or so... i seriously don't remember having this much to do when i was pregnant with Lincoln... i also don't remember having so much STUFF! but i've figured out that it's because i didn't already have stuff for another child when i was preparing for Lincoln! it makes a world of difference having another person's stuff to add to.

i will have more the next time there is something worthy of blogging...

let's begin.

so, i have my own blog, but have decided i should have one simply for updates on my kids... this way i can keep all of you updated on the goings-on of the two cutest children that God ever created (might i be biased?). for now, i'm just setting up, but will have a new REAL post later with some pictures and things.