To Swine, or Not To Swine...

I have gone back and forth with whether I feel comfortable getting the swine flu shot. As a pregnant chica, I am considered high risk and high priority for getting the shot....... or that's what they say. With all the hype about pregnant women being one of the first groups to get the shot, why can my OB/GYN not get the doses she needs? She finally got some yesterday and they were gone by the end of the day. Part of me is SO MAD! I am being bombarded my media telling me that I NEED to get the shot and that if I don't and I get sick, I will likely be hospitalized and possibly die from complications, and at the same time, I have NO WAY of getting the shot!

Another part of me is relieved. I don't really want the shot, I can't decide whether I feel ok about it, and the total lack of opportunity for me to get the shot has allowed me to not have to make a decision either way. I didn't feel 100% comfortable with getting the regular seasonal flu shot and this one makes me more nervous. Anyhoo, consider this my H1N1 rant~ If you are going to establish "high priority" groups, make sure they actually get the doses FIRST. Do not hold public clinics where doses go to non high priority groups as long as they are willing to wait in an impossibly long line. Oh, and stop using the media to try to scare the mess out of people who don't even have the shot available to them!

And now, back to our regularly scheduled program :)

Dear Lord,

Thank you for helping Micah to sleep until 8:35 today....it was the best :)

Love,
Abby

p.s.- You rock!

Where's Baby Lizzie?

Recently we have been trying to teach Micah that Baby Lizzie is in mommy's tummy. I was hoping he would be as cute as my niece was the last time my sister-in-law was pregnant and point sweetly at my stomach when we asked him "Where's Baby Lizzie?". Well..... sometimes you have to take what you get :)

Micah figured out that Baby Lizzie was in Mommy's tummy, but he has a unique way of answering you when you ask him where she is. First, he gives you a BIG smile. Second, he walks over to Mommy. Third, he lifts up my shirt and pats my bare tummy. Hmmmm, maybe not a trick to demonstrate in public ;-) Still, I love it. Nate also has Micah give Lizzie kisses at night before he goes to bed.... he'll lower his face to my baby bump and Micah makes a kissy noise... it's pretty awesome :)

24 Weeks

.... and no picture :) What can I say, it just doesn't happen every week this time :P

Elizabeth's brain is growing rapidly at this time. Taste buds are also developing, and the lungs are becoming more developed and complex. The branches of the main lung are beginning to form as well as special cells that will produce surfactant. Which, if you are wondering, helps the air sacs inflate easily. As of now, Lizzie is around the size of an ear of corn! For my Grandma's sake, this is defined by the tracker I use as around 12 inches long ;-) Also, she is 1.25-1.5 pounds!

Swinging With Micah

Micah is a fan of swinging :)



He likes to go crazy high~

And he always lets you know when he's had enough~

Some Cravings are TOO weird

Well, apparently I have one of those cravings. In my pregnancies, I don't crave weird combinations (like pickles and ice cream) or anything like that, but I do have very strong desires for certain products, some of which I may not have even eaten in a long time. During both pregnancies I have craved IBC root beer, Reeses Puffs cereal and a variety of desserts.

Well, during this pregnancy I have had a strange craving.... Spree. As in the candy. As in crunchy, fruity, slightly tart yumminess. Not really weird, right? WRONG! They are really hard to find in the store! I had no luck with Wal Mart, Target, Kroger, or HEB. checked by the registers, I checked the candy aisles and I even checked the Halloween sections.... NADA. I have been looking for weeks and could only find them at the Exxon by our house where I paid double the normal cost for a little relief from my constant craving.

Well, not anymore my friends! I found them while looking for another obscure grocery item (Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers...still haven't found these) at Big Lots! I NEVER go to Big Lots, but it was worth it to walk in and see beautiful boxes of Spree lining the shelf.... SCORE!! Well, I thought I would show you guys a visual representation of what happens when you finally find something that you've been looking for and you aren't sure when you'll find it again~

That's right, you buy EVERY SINGLE BOX THEY ARE SELLING! (Plus two rolls for good measure ;-) These are the movie theater sized boxes, so they are quite large.... but still I couldn't resist stocking up while I had the chance. So I wanted to share this with you so that we could all learn an important lesson.... Never give up on your dreams. Keep pursuing what you are looking for and you will eventually find it. And when you do find it, buy a ton so that you don't have to search for it again :P

San Antonio

This weekend we went to San Antonio and saw my brother's family and met up with playgroup friends for a day at Sea World! Ben and Amy were moving to their new house this weekend, so we spent Saturday trying to do our best to help out with the process.... for Nate this meant lifting heavy things and for me it meant joining Amy in getting the kids and preggos out of the way. It was great to see the new house.. I think it is going to be such a great fit for them and it has much more room to stretch out! I wish I had pictures of the cousins playing together... they got along so well and seem genuinely happy to see each other! I'll have to make sure to take pictures at Christmas... and by then we'll have a fourth cousin in the mix!

On Sunday, we met up with the playgroup at Sea World in San Antonio and had a great time! Nate helped Micah feed the dolphins~


Here is a pic with lovely aquarium lighting.... yes, I know better, but the faces he makes in there are so cute that I have to at least try to capture them~

For about 15 seconds we got the kids to all sit still for a picture.... not a bad result considering that 5 toddlers were involved~

Family shot~

Chris, Kelli and Caroline

Matt, Lindy and Cade~

Trey, Kimberly and Campbell~

Steven, Devon and Abby~

A Caroline smile captured on film... not an easy thing to get!

Micah LOVES the Macaws~

and yes.... his 6-12 months shorts ARE pinned to fit him... he's THAT skinny :P

23 Weeks

Elizabeth is continuing to gain weight, but the next several weeks will be when she really begins to fill out. Lanugo, or the fine hair that covers her body, may darken at this point allowing it to be seen on an ultrasound. Lizzie is also beginning to look more like she will at birth.

As of now, Elizabeth is the size of a Papaya and weighs somewhere around 1 pound! I have to say, I can feel the third trimester coming on.... I am exhausted all of the time, I'm uncomfortable and it's really hard for me to carry Micah even from the car into Target where I put him in a cart.... and he's not even a heavy kid! I am having a heck of a time falling asleep and perhaps an even harder time staying asleep. I have a weird pinched nerve type thing going on in my back that kicks in a couple of times a day and makes it very painful and difficult to walk until it goes away. All this and I still have FOUR weeks until I enter the third trimester! Elizabeth sure is proving to be a more physically demanding pregnancy than Micah was.... although Micah's presence now could definitely be a contributing factor :)

DONE!!

My Christmas shopping is done! Well, pretty much :P I have a few things left for Micah and Nate's stockings, but that is it! I haven't wrapped anything yet, but since I bought my wrapping paper on clearance last January, I may start working on that when I get bored :P For those of you that think I'm crazy, this can't be a new idea to you! Of course I'm crazy! Getting things done early allows me to relax and enjoy the holiday season and all of the events associated with it. If that makes me crazy, then so be it.

If you need more evidence of my craziness, I have also bought all of the gifts for the Bunco night I am hosting in January... and I'm starting to look for decorations and recipes :P You see, it's a never ending cycle.... when you plan things early, say a December vacation is totally planned by October, then what do you occupy yourself with? That's right! Your January and February planning! I'm glad we are all in agreement on this ;-)

What I've Been Up To - Part 2

I've been in a bit of a crafting frenzy the past couple of months, but I haven't been able to post about it since alot of it has been part of Christmas presents. This, however, was for me so I figured I'd show you guys a little of what I've been up to~

These blocks are going to go up on the shelf in my kitchen when Christmas rolls around and I'm excited! I've been trying to figure out what to put on my above the doors, 6 ft long shelf for about a year. I have a really cute pumpkin/fall leaves/ berries thing going on up there right now, and I think I'll change it out seasonally including some blocks I'm going to make for those times when a holiday is a distant memory.

What I've Been Up To

I have been working on new wall art for Elizabeth to take our gender neutral nursery from slightly more boy to slightly more girl. Well, as we all know, it is a requirement now a days to have your child's name spelled out in wooden letters on their wall. I'm not sure when this became a nursery staple, but it's cute so I've chosen not to worry about it. That being said, everything in me rebels against paying the exorbitant prices that people want to charge for these letters, I buy cheapo Hobby Lobby letters and do my best with them to make them something I like. Micah's are painted, so I decided to cover Lizzie's with paper. Here is what I started with~

Her letters are smaller than Micah's were since those extra 4 letters add A LOT of length! I got them for 50 cents a piece! And here is the end result~

I'm starting with close ups cause the natural light recently has been less than stellar and so the full name picture is a bit washed out by flash :P

What did I tell you? Washed out :P Anyways, they are MUCH cuter in person and I now just have to decide how I want to hang them... I am currently debating options... we'll see :P

22 Weeks

Wow, so I felt like I got to 20 weeks SO QUICKLY and then life just threw on the brakes! I feel like I should be at 25 or something by now :P Anyways, Lizzie is 22 weeks along as of today and is the size of a spaghetti squash. What a weird word.... Spaghetti. Anyways.....

Elizabeth has pretty much taken on the form of a newborn baby, but is incredibly small. Much development will continue to occur over the next 18 weeks. Her skin appears wrinkly, but this is because she has not yet gained enough weight to fill the skin out. The lips are becoming more distinct. The eyes have completely formed, but the iris (the colored portion of the eye) still lacks pigment. The eyelids and eyebrows are in place, and the pancreas is continuing to mature.

Pumpkin Patch

Between the weather and our schedule, I figured I better take the first dry chance I had to get some pictures of Micah with the pumpkins. It was a bit of an ordeal trying to get him to pose (Could be interesting Amy :P) or play with the pumpkins. Micah was MUCH more interested in the power cords running to the lights than he was with all the gorgeous orange pumpkins... go figure. I did manage to get a few I was happy with though!

My mom posted this on her facebook page and I have to say, Love It!! You teachers out there will especially appreciate it :)

Brainwashing has commenced

Micah may have unknowingly been forced to support a heartbreaking team this weekend, but at least he looked good doing it :)

21 Weeks!

Hey guys! No pic this week as I forgot to take it until the sun went down and I have enough issues right now without adding flash photography to the list :P

Lizzie is 21 weeks along today! Elizabeth's eyelids have finished forming this week, and she is very busy moving around and swallowing amniotic fluid. As Lizzie swallows amniotic fluid, her digestive tract is continuing to mature. She is also receiving some of the caloric intake from the amniotic fluid. (I am doing my part to help that caloric intake by partaking in nightly mini ice cream sandwiches... 100 calories and oh so worth it :)

Cool beans :) At my last appointment I had another ultrasound to do measurements and Elizabeth is measuring perfectly on schedule. She did refuse to work with us on the money shot though.... I just wanted to check again that's it's a girl, but she would have none of it. I'm over it now and I'm confident in what I see in her 16 week pics as well as the confidence displayed by the ultrasound tech... who needs a second opinion? ;-) My little lady is now the size of a cantaloupe and is tipping the scales at around 12 oz..... I am... well, heavier than that :)