Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Don't just take my word for it (Miss C, May 2016)

5/2/16: Charlotte loved playing Ring Around the Rosie today while we were outside! 


5/3/16: Charlotte loved painting on a coffee filter today. What a beautiful piece of artwork!


5/9/16: Charlotte had a blast learning to play the game 'I Spy'. She did an awesome job of finding the red items in our room.


5/12/16: Charlotte had so much fun playing Ring-Around-the-Rosie with her classmates. So cute to watch.


5/16/16: Charlotte had a bowl in her hand and she said " Ms. Heather this is Bunga’s tomato soup.”


5/20/16: Charlotte had a blast participating in the movement song. When the song told us to jump Charlotte jumped as high as she could, and when it said tip toe, Charlotte tiptoed around the room saying "shhhh." Super cute.


5/31/16: Charlotte had a super first day in Starfish with Ms. Liz! :-) She also enjoyed the petting zoo that stopped by our class!




Monday, May 30, 2016

Baby Bump: 27 Weeks

Here I am again, behind on documenting much related to this pregnancy, such is life with it's #3 : ) As far as pregnancies go, I feel like I'm pretty average in hindsight (which is always 20/20, ha), but in my personal medical-mystery style, something always seems to pop up and I usually don't feel "normal" and "average" when in the throws of it. With Anna and Charlotte I was borderline pre-eclamptic with both toward the end, which got me extra visits, ultrasounds, and plenty of non-stress tests; and with Charlotte, an induction. This time around I've been tracking protein in my urine since my first check-up and am now seeing a nephrologist in addition to my OB and oncologist. I have extremely elevated levels of protein, and they don't know why and can't test or biopsy, but my kidney and liver function are holding their own for now, so all we can do is monitor and plan to biopsy about 6 weeks post-partum (if needed). I'm doing my best to keep my blood pressure in check and monitor swelling, but man do I feel like a hot, sweaty mess most days. My maternity wardrobe had to expand to include summer selections and I'm pretty much living in dresses and shorts and my goal on the weekend is to spend as much time at the pool as possible.

How Far Along: 27 weeks

Size of Baby: Approximately 2 pounds, about the size of a head of cauliflower, and approximately  14 1/2  inches long; I haven’t had an ultrasound since 20 weeks, so these are just estimates based on the fact that I’m measuring right on track both belly-wise and with weight-gain. 

Movement: This baby girl is a just like her sisters, active mostly in the afternoon and evening and I'm starting to feel bigger kicks and have been able to get Mike and Anna over in time to feel as well. 

Sleep:  I'd say pregnancy average. Summer heat is hard to adjust to, especially when pregnant, and I'm more restless in the middle of the night earlier in this pregnancy because of it. 

Cravings:  Nothing super specific and it depends on the day and what has popped into my head. I'm trying to watch weight gain and stay more active this pregnancy, but am definitely enjoying some indulgences and often times justify because it's a swap for the glass of wine I'm not enjoying :  ) 

Symptoms: Fatigue, swelling in my ankles and feet, and an umbilical hernia that hurts like the dickens.  An occasional headache that lingers, and a couple of migraines, but nothing like what I had with Charlotte. 

Best Moment This Week: Surviving hot days at Disney World and Sea World and rewarding myself with dips in the pool the days in between : ) 

Charlotte obviously wasn't as excited to pose with me as Anna : ) 
No pictures with Charlotte at 27 weeks and the one at 26 weeks with her is horrendous

Saturday, May 14, 2016

Letter to Anna: Month sixty

Dear Anna,

Well, I blinked and you turned five years old. My life hasn’t been the same since the day we met you and I don’t remember what life was like without your smile, hugs, laughter and love. You’ve always been, and still are, one of the sweetest, kindest, and most caring souls I know. You love hard, wear your heart on your sleeve, and don’t hide your emotions; I wonder where that comes from, ha.

This year you excelled in pre-K, love to learn, and are SO ready to start kindergarten in the fall. Your school routinely performs computerized tests and you pass with flying colors each time and easily marked off all the requirements to attend Kindergarten during the enrolment process. Although you’ll always take an extra “stay home” day, you love learning, love sharing what you learned, and I know you’re going to love school when you start in the fall. You write and color A LOT and most of your drawings include pictures of you, your friends, and your family, and a combination of our names. Mommy and Audrey are definitely your favorites and I cherish anything you make for me.

Your mind is a steel trap and you ask A LOT of questions. I have to be careful with how I answer your questions because you will remember. You have a way of making me laugh even when I’m trying to be the most serious and convey a strict tone; case in point when I told you one evening that “if you don’t stop acting like that, you’re going straight to bed!” ; you replied “no, I’ll act better, I want to go to bed curvy!!” I don’t remember if you straighted up or not, but I do remember I laughed about your response for a long time.

You love to sing, dance and move around. Whoever decided that girls love to sit and read and work on puzzles has never been to our house or met you and your sister. You went through over 10 pairs of pants this past winter crawling around playing versions of your favorite TV shows, namely Lion Guard, and are routinely running, jumping, diving off a couch, or rolling around. You just have to move! You love to dance and we have dance parties often in the evenings. When cheering your Dad on during the half marathon he ran a few weeks ago, you were a total “woo girl” cheering on the crowds, and could hardly sit still watching everyone run past, “I just need to move with them!” you told me. As shy as you can be, surprisingly, you aren’t usually afraid of the spotlight and love to show off your moves and dances.

You’re as sensitive and sweet as you are sassy. Your feelings are hurt somewhat easily and you have one of the biggest hearts around. You always seem to know when I need an extra hug and can sense the same about others. You cry when I cry (sadly, a little more often than usual lately with these pregnancy hormones) and always want to please. We work on not letting your best friend, Audrey, boss you around too much and also want to make sure you stand up for yourself in tough situations and I think you do. I don’t want you to ever lose your sense of wonder or caring nature, but want it to be balanced enough that you aren’t pushed over throughout life.

You’re a girly girl that loves to dress up, all things pink, and still like princesses, but you can hold your own with the boys too and know plenty about super heroes and aren’t afraid to burp and toot with pride. You told your dad a while ago that you wanted to “make bubbles in the bathtub from my toots.” Your Dad has been doing baths for a while with you girls, so I don’t remember if this happened, but am sure it gave us all a good laugh.

You’re getting more independent and are helping around the house often (when asked, mostly), but still love a good snuggle with your Mommy or Daddy. You’ve enjoyed a few weekends alone with Gigi in Lexington and love the special adventure; and I love hearing about the special time and the conversations you two have. I’m so happy that you have a special relationship with all of your grandparents and love that you are comfortable enough to go away with my Mom for a few days of special fun.

You and your sister have a relationship that’s built on so much love I can’t even begin to put it into words. You play well together (most of the time), are excited to see each other, have stories to share at the end of the day and love each other something fierce. Not growing up with a sister, or a sibling so close in age, I wasn’t sure when to expect the sort of relationship you have with each other, but now I can’t imagine either of your as only children or without your sidekicks.

The year ahead is going to be full of change and transition for all of us; you’ll start kindergarten, you’ll have a new baby sister, and as scared as all of this makes me, I look at you and know that you’ll excel at every change that comes your way and prove that I was worried for no good reason. Thank you for showing me the wonder of life through your eyes, for giving me the best perspective around, challenging me like I never though I’d be challenged, and ultimately making me a better person. You’re growing up, but will always be my (first) little girl.

Love,

Mom

Saturday, May 7, 2016

Sick daze

Although I wasn't nostalgic about having a sick kiddo when she started throwing up in the middle of the night, looking back at these pictures, and once her stomach was settled, sure does make me want to give her all the cuddles in the world if it'd make her better immediately. Unfortunately our family shared the bug and I knew exactly how horrible she felt, but thank goodness it was short lived for everyone. (And a HUGE thank you to Gigi who came up to help out so that I could make a doctor appt on this day since Daddy was out of town)




Friday, May 6, 2016

Friday funny