Their Big World

It Is Finished (but still in the works)

2009-08-27T07:51:00.000-05:00

I am a silly one. I maintain 3 blogs and they're all about our family! My intention was to have a separate blog for separate subjects; one blog for family updates with monthly summaries of the going ons in our home, one blog for capturing precious moments with my children, and one blog for me to just release all other thoughts running in my head pertaining to life, faith, childrearing, marriage, the home, etc...

Well, I've been trying to simplify life by sorting, purging, and organizing and it became apparent that maintaining 3 blogs is unnecessary. I have merged all 3 blogs into 1. There is an export and import option available here on Blogger. It's under the Settings tab. I exported 2 of my blogs, the one about my children and the one for my own personal thoughts, and have imported them into a new blog, In Pursuit of His Call. I am now in the process of organizing previous posts under main categories like Faith, Ministry as a Wife, Ministry as a Mom, Ministry in the Home, Recipes, Tips, and Other Home Life Ramblings.

When you enter the site, you will see the going ons of our day through pictures and some comments about our day; this is content that would have been posted on my children's blog. All other topics will be posted in their appropriate categories. The merging of the blogs is finished, but what's still in the works is the organizing of posts.

I am excited for this new blog! Come and visit me there:
In Pursuit of His Call

Pictures of the Day...

2009-08-24T21:59:00.003-05:00

We had quite a busy morning, grocery shopping. Well, at least, it's a busy morning for Mommy, as it is quite a challenge taking 3 little ones on a grocery run. I have tried so many different times and days for grocery runs, from after DearHubby comes home from work, to getting up at 5am on Saturdays, but Monday mornings seem to always be the best time for me to do the groceries. So, I just persevere through the challenge :) Now, to motivate the girls to behave, I do buy them a special treat for their obedience to behave (for the most part). Their normal treat is chocolate covered sticks (forgot the name) found in the Asian Food section. Well, it was nearing lunch when we got all the grocery shopping done, so I promised to take the girls to Chick-Fil-A. I did save us some money as I only ordered our main meals, an original chicken sandwich for me and an 8 piece chicken nuggets for the girls. We brought our own drinks and chips. Since I have 3 girls, unloading and reloading the car is very time consuming. What I do to save time is I go through the drive thru and eat lunch in the car. If there's time and we don't need to go anywhere, I then unload the girls and take them to the indoor playground. Today we had time to go to the indoor playground.

I didn't give the girls their special treat immediately after shopping because it was too close to lunch. I took advantage of the special treat and used that as an incentive to leave the playground when it was time to go. I mentioned the special treat and they were down the play area and putting on their shoes. DearDaughter2 ate hers so fast that she got cleaned up well before DearDaughter1 was even finished.

Daddy came home early and we took advantage of that by going to our (my) favorite park. I take the girls to the park regularly, but going to the park as a family with Daddy is rare, so this was a fun treat for them. We then came home and ate hamburgers and hot dogs, another rarity for us at OurHome. Yeah, we were living it up today :)

Random park pictures:

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Pictures of the Day...

2009-08-24T05:41:00.003-05:00

DearDaughter3's been experimenting with what she likes better, the thumb or fingers. This week she's been settling on the fingers, both awake and asleep. I tried to stop the finger/thumb sucking. It was a lost cause.

Daddy was gone this weekend and we were invited to a birthday party at the park. I hadn't responded to the invite and decided that we were not going because it would be too difficult for me to watch over the 3 girls by myself. So, after church, I took the girls to Osaka, a little Japanese eat out express, for lunch to enjoy a nice chicken teriyaki bowl. I had also promised the girls a special treat after lunch, so I got them a Cinnabon, their very first one. This picture was taken right before DearDaughter2 decided to misbehave. At that point, I packed the girls up and went home. If we were out in that yucky humid weather, I just know DearDaughter2 would have misbehaved even sooner. DearDaughter2 was wound up from church and lunch and refused to go down for a nap, but I knew what was best for her and made her take a nap. It was good because Daddy called around 9pm and said he would be home soon. We weren't expecting him back until 2am. So, I kept the girls up because they missed their Daddy and were so excited to see him!

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Pictures of the Day...

2009-08-22T21:38:00.011-05:00

On DearDaughter2:

The highlight of our day was going to Chick-Fil-A for lunch.

We had a rough morning :( It started out with DearDaughter2 running out of diapers in the morning. It was raining hard and I got overwhelmed with the idea of going out with the 3 girls in the rain, just to get diapers (DearHubby is in South Carolina this weekend for a wedding). Blessedly, it stopped, and when it did, that's when I got the idea to go to Chick-Fil-A for lunch and then to Target to get the diapers, a gallon of milk, and juice for tomorrow. I did find 2 more diapers in my diaper bag, so I was able to keep DearDaughter2 dry until our outing. Then, DearDaughter2 found an old antihistamine prescription and managed to open the bottle and drank a little of it. I grew hysterical as I had no clue how much she drank and if she was going to get sick and again, the thought of spending all day at the ER with 3 girls just overwhelmed me. I called Poison Control, the number is found in the front of the yellow pages, and gave them all the details about the size of the bottle and how much medication was left. The specialist didn't seem too worried and told me to just keep an eye out on DearDaughter2, but it didn't seem like the amount she swallowed would cause her any harm. I was just instructed to give her lots of fluid. In this picture at Chick-Fil-A, you would never know that she even took any sort of medication.

DearDaughter2 is becoming quite the "artist", following after her big sister's footsteps! Within the past several weeks, her scribbles are becoming more "controlled." Previously to this picture, DearDaughter2 was actually drawing on the floor. She got disciplined for it and had to "clean" it up.

I am amazed at how brave DearDaughter2 is at trying new flavors. We had chicken and rice tonight and I like to add a little filipino Banana sauce to my chicken. DearDaughter2 wanted to try some and she liked it. I usually have a hard time feeding her chicken, but she liked it with the Banana sauce and kept asking for more. Who knew?

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Pictures of the Day...

2009-08-21T20:43:00.004-05:00

On DearDaughter1:

DearDaughter1's imagination has taken off within this past year even year and half. Here she is creating a play for her Little People.

Another activity DearDaughter1 likes to do is taking pictures. Here's her taking a picture of herself.

Video Fun:
"There were 10 on the bed and the little one said, 'Roll over!'"

Within this video you will see the last part of DearDaughter3's bedtime routine, it is actually a "tradition" we have implemented with all our girls, singing a hymn before sleepy time. DearDaughter3's song is "Jesus is All the World to Me."

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Pictures of the Day...

2009-08-20T23:58:00.000-05:00

Sucking on their fingers together.

"I'm a rock rock star!"
Here we are in the car on the way to our DearFriends' house. We were bringing over a meal to extend our condolences to them as DearFriendHubby's Dad passed away. In addition, they are expecting another one due in 3 weeks! Just wanted to help lift a little burden there too.

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Pictures of the Day...

2009-08-20T10:34:00.003-05:00

So, the highlight of our day was dinnertime with prospect missionaries to Ethiopia. It's so encouraging spending time with other brothers and sisters so on fire for the Lord and it's such a reminder of God's steadfast love and His bountiful saving grace!!!

Their little boy is from Ethiopia and boy is he naturally athletic. He kept our girls quite entertained with them chasing him everywhere. They had so much fun though and they were DRENCHED with sweat after they left. It was a great time!

Their little girl was such an encouragement to us too as she wants to become a missionary to China. She even brought along her chopsticks to eat her dinner with :) It's a good thing I served rice.

She even taught us something new. In the insect world, insects with eyes on the front are considered predatory and insects with eyes on the side are considered prey. It makes sense, as if SOME ONE designed it that way ;)

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Pictures of the Day...

2009-08-18T23:59:00.004-05:00

We started off our day playing Horton Hear a Who. It is a wonderful pre-school game and we modified it for DearDaughter2, who is only 2, so that she could play too! We had a lot of fun!

Here is a description of the game from www.icandothatgames.com
"The jump-up-and-go silly search game!

Go on a wild adventure to save the Whos! Put on the Horton hat and race around the house to find the clovers where the tiny Whos live. Pick them up with your trunk—then hurry back before time runs out! The player who rescues the most Whos is the winner!"

The girls then had their own time working on age appropriate toys/puzzles.

After lunch, the girls were going a little stir crazy, so I decided to look on Mapquest for a new park that we hadn't gone to before. I found one that isn't too far away, and off we went. Well, I didn't realize how hot it was outside, 91 degrees, and I was the only crazy mom who brought her kids to the park because we had it all to ourselve. It was so hot that even the playground was too hot to play on. We stayed for a little while, but it got too hard monitoring the 2 girls and keeping an eye on DearDaughter3, so I suggested going to a waterice place just a few minutes away from our house.

I initially bought 1 chocolate waterice for the girls to share and 1 mango for myself. Surprising, DearDaughter2 didn't want the chocolate, but she wanted the mango instead, so I ended sharing my mango waterice with her. It was so hot out that the girls' heads were soaked!

One thing I want to note/remember:
Today DearHubby and I got word that our refinancing loan was not approved. It's so funny because we had a final inspector come in today to give us approval for all of our addition work to help with the approval of our loan and as he's driving in, I'm drenched in tears from the bad news about our loan. It was a quick wipe of the face and a pasted smile on...Anyway, so, here I am crying, and the girls come up to me and ask, "Are you sad, Mommy?" So I say, "Yes, Mommy is sad, but Jesus can help me be happy again. Let's pray." I couldn't hold back my tears, so it was a good teaching moment.

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Pictures of the Day...

2009-08-17T21:11:00.004-05:00

It's so neat how the older girls just love hanging out with their Baby sister. Here's DearDaughter1 hanging out with DearDaughter3 after lunch. DearDaughter2 had just woken up from her morning nap and was still at the table eating her lunch when this picture was taken. DearDaughter2 was so upset that she couldn't hang out with the other girls. I wasn't about to let her down as we had leftover spaghetti for lunch...

If this is DearDaughter2's chair after lunch, can you imagine what she looked like?

This is what I look like working on the computer during the day. I was writing an email to someone at church because I didn't have their phone number. However, email is still my preferred mode of communication at this point because every single time I pick up the phone, one of my girls just happen to need me at that moment, no fail. I'm still working on that one; training the girls, that is, how not to interrupt Mommy when I'm on the phone.

The girls helping Daddy install the wainscoting in our hallway.

Wish I had some pictures of the girls with GrandmaR (that's what they call her). She's a DearFriend of ours who is carrying a big load on her shoulders and we made her a meal today just to help carry a little of her load. At bedtime when I asked DearDaughter1 what the highlight of her day was, she said, "Seeing Grandma R!!!!" They love her like she was their grandma.

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Pictures of the Day...

2009-08-16T23:58:00.003-05:00

DearHubby will not be with us next weekend and it will be our 10th wedding anniversary. So, I decided to cook dinner early and then head to the beach for some family time. However, by the time we were done eating dinner, it was already close to 6:30pm and we thought driving an hour to the beach and back would get us home very late. We decided to get waterice and go to the park. Unfortunately, the waterice place we went to took cash only and we ended up getting ice cream. The girls got a free chocolate kids cone each! We then decided to stop by our friends' house and stayed until about 10pm. It was late when we got home, what I didn't want to do, but it was a nice time.

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Pictures of the Day...

2009-08-15T20:57:00.002-05:00

Today was a good work day at OurHome. Daddy worked on the detail work to our new addition and hallway while Mommy and the girls went grocery shopping and did other tasks at home.

Here we are enjoying a nice, refreshing, popsicle, to help us cool down and get refreshed before returning back to work...

Big Kid #1

Big Kid #2

DearDaughter1's 2nd popsicle in her whole life. Her first was about a year ago, a red, white, and blue one.

This was DearDaughter2's very 1st popsicle. "I like it Mommy!!!"

Daddy kept insisting that I not give DearDaughter3 a taste because it was really cold and all she's ever had is Mommy's warm milk. Do you think she liked it?

Had to get a shot of DearDaughter3 with her thumb in her mouth. DearHubby and I kept wondering why she hadn't woke from her nap yet, so we went in to check on her and here she was, wide awake, sucking on her thumb. She had probably sucked on it for quite awhile because when I got her up, her thumb was all wrinkly.

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Pictures of the Day...

2009-08-14T21:44:00.003-05:00

We went back to the mall today to get DearDaughter2's 2 year old pictures redone.

After pictures, I took the girls to the mall's indoor playground.

Here's DearDaughter1, tired after climbing this snail. This is her first successful attempt at climbing this snail all by herself. It was a GREAT accomplishment. She spent the rest of the time practicing her newly acquired skill...Had great fun jumping too :)

Here's DearDaughter2 looking suspicious. She was watching her older sister jump off the slide, so here she is, thinking about doing the same thing. I later caught her jumping just like her bigger sister, but not as gracefully. I needed to keep a closer eye on DearDaughter2 afterwards.

Random pictures of the indoor playground:

We got some soft pretzels and cherry lemonade for a snack after playtime.

We went home for awhile and when DearDaughter2 woke from her nap we joined the V Family at the park. We watched them kayak down the lake for a little while.

Then we headed to the playground:

This would have been a good picture of 4 of the V Kids, but the railing's in the way :(

OK, so we can't forget about DearDaughter3. Today, we've had several firsts. DearDaughter3 also got update pictures taken at the photo studio and while she was on her belly, she rolled over for the first time on her own! After the first time, she kept doing it over and over and over again! Another first, which actually happened last night, she found her thumb, and I kept finding it in her mouth today. Lastly, DearDaughter3 discovered her feet! She hadn't realized they were there until today. Isn't that funny?

This is what happens to our house when I don't pick up after it. Today is Funday Friday ;)

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Pictures of the Day...

2009-08-13T23:09:00.002-05:00

I found DearDaughter2 without a diaper on this morning. Is that a sign that she's ready for potty training or her just wanting to be funny...

DearDaughter3 has been swaddled since she was born. She has lately been showing signs of not wanting to be swaddled (at least have her hands free) and last night I put her to bed without being swaddled. She did great. This is her tonight, again with hands free. Now we gotta watch the thumbs and fingers in the mouth. I caught her sucking her thumb tonight while I was holding her during our Small Group meeting and I caught her sucking her fingers while trying to put herself to sleep in the afternoon. I quickly took the fingers and thumb out.

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Pictures of the Day...

2009-08-12T21:01:00.003-05:00

We needed to run to Target today and the best time to go out with the girls is after breakfast when they're still fresh and awake. Well, Thursdays is usually free breakfast days at Chick-Fil-A, but I still took the girls there today anyway because Target is right next to it. They were training new associates and we got 4 boxes of free Chicken Minis and a free milkshake! Wow, even when we don't go for free breakfast day we still get free breakfast! How awesome is that!!!

So, I put the melted milkshake in the freezer when we got home and the girls and I had it for a snack after our play time.

Took the family to JC Penny to get a few family portraits done. They had a "special" beach scene, that didn't even look like a beach scene. Well, here's a tip... Do not go on "special" scene days because they do not accept your coupons. They didn't tell me about that when I signed up and so I chose all the pictures I wanted. When I reminded the photographer that I had my free sheet coupon and my $3.99/sheet coupon, she told me that coupons didn't count on the "special" scene and I either had to pay for a collection or $9.99/sheet. The cheapest collection they had was $89.99. After talking to DearHubby, we only got 3 sheets. Still, we could have taken family pictures on a regular white background and have gotten 8 sheets for the same price. I am so bummed and I kept asking DearHubby for his forgiveness as this was not the wisest way to spend $30+ because we are already so TIGHT on our budget :(

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Pictures of the Day...

2009-08-11T21:05:00.005-05:00

Capturing DearDaughter2 putting on a pair of shorts for the 1st time.

Here are the 2 older girls after DearDaughter2 got dressed.

Trying out a new position with the baby gym using the Bumbo seat. Trying to encourage DearDaughter3's grasping skills. The doctor was concerned that her hands were always in mittens and so I've been trying to stimulate this skill.

A little far, but I wanted to capture DearDaughter1 playing without her noticing me.

Trying out Daddy and Mommy's new sheets. I think they like it :)

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Pictures of the Day...

2009-08-10T21:47:00.004-05:00

Even in this hot and humid weather, the girls and I went out for a walk on a bike trail. Here DearDaughter2 is excited because she can walk freely without holding onto Mommy's hand.

I brought DearDaughter1's tricycle. It was the cutest thing because she had to pedal really fast just to go my walking pace. She worked really hard.

These are the toys that kept DearDaughter3 occupied while on this walk.

It was so hot out that ALL the girls' cheeks were flushed and their heads were wet with sweat, even Mommy's. DearDaughter3 had her first drink of water today. I just felt so sorry for her because she seemed so hot and I didn't want her to get dehydrated.

How can 1 little girl make so much mess? DearDaughter2, the culprit, is hiding behind the piano. I was trying to fold the laundry and in such a short amount of time, our house looked like a tornado had come through it.

This is how I like to see my house. In the background, you can still see beach bags on the floor waiting to be put away and dishes on the counter still to be washed.

The girls were excited to play when they saw all their toys were picked up. Here, DearDaughter2 just dumped out all the toys from the toy bin. I don't quite remember if it was the Third Law of Entropy, but one of those 3 laws state that "a system in order tends to move towards disorder." That law is 100% correct :D

Even with our new addition, the girls still get into one another's space. So, we created a "fence line" with blocks to distinguish DearDaughter1's space over DearDaughter2's space. It worked...for a little while.

The joys of being a mom :)

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Pictures of the Day...

2009-08-09T21:37:00.005-05:00

We went swimming again today. This time it was to enjoy some fellowship time with our Small Group from church. Here, DearDaughter1 decided to take advantage of having the pool all to herself. Every one else had cleared the way for Little E to make a back dive. DearDaughter1 eventually got out of the way. She jumped off the diving board too. Once by herself and once holding on to Daddy.

DearDaughter2 wanted to swim like every one else, but she had a huge life jacket on that kept getting water into her ears. She didn't like the life jacket, but it's a good thing she did have it on because while Mommy was in the pool, she decided to just jump in. What a brave girl...She even dove off the diving board twice. She was relieved to get out of that life jacket and while every one else was enjoying the pool, she loved the fact that she had the playground all to herself (for a short time).

DearDaughter3 went in the pool and even went in the floatie, but got no pictures of it. Instead, here's a video of her laughing at her older sisters. Too cute :)

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Pictures of the Day...

2009-08-08T22:56:00.002-05:00

Painting with water for the 1st time...

These are just 2 of the sheets that were covered in melted crayons from the dryer. I've decided to make "yarn" out of them and crochet a nice rug.

"Mommy, I can't find a pink G!"

On the run again...This time, DearDaughter3 turned herself around too :D

"Owe! Some one's doing some thing to my foot!" (Her foot was asleep.)

DearDaughter2 washing up after a spaghetti dinner. We strip her down to her diapers on spaghetti night.

This is why DearDaughter3 needs to wear mittens. She's always scratching her head.

So, I trimmed DearDaughter3's nails today, but in the process, I accidentally trimmed off a little of the tip of her finger too. She bled a little and complained a little, but she was fine :)

DearHubby and I think that DearDaughter3 looks identical to what DearDaughter1 did when she was a baby. Here's what DearDaughter3 will look like in 3 years :D

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Pictures of the Day...

2009-08-07T21:32:00.005-05:00

It was such a beautiful day today! Very low humidity and the temperature was very tolerable :) My DearFriend, Mrs. K, invited us to go swimming and so we went!

The water was 77 degrees(F) and initially DearDaughter1 wasn't too into that, but when she saw DearDaughter2 in her floatie, she, once again, did not want to be shown up by her younger sister.

However, DearDaughter2 did not stay in the water very long. This is our first time in the pool this year and DearDaughter2 was only used to swimming in the bathtub or in her splash pool. Though she was in a very safe floatie, I think she was still intimidated by the BIGNESS of the pool. Here's DearDaughter2 making her own swimming pool! She sure is a creative one!

This was DearDaughter3's first time in a big pool and she was SHOCKED by the coldness of the water. I think because she is still so young, she couldn't get comfortable, and Mommy needed to really hold on to her really tight. I wasn't able to put her in her floatie. Maybe next time.

The progression of DearDaughter1's comfort in the water:

Just starting out...Lots of hesitation...

Getting a little more comfortable to where there's a real smile on her face...

Whoa! She's in the deep end!!!

It was more play time in the water as the girls needed baths again! The girls all have sensitive skin and if the chlorinated/treated water is not washed off, they'll all break out in rashes. In fact, DearDaughter2 is just getting over a skin rash, which was in the outline of her bathing suit :D

Here's all the gear I had to lug with me just for a 30 minute swim...It took 1 1/2 hours just to get the girls ready for the swim, another 15 minutes to get to my friend's house and another 15 minutes to get back home, and then another 4 hours afterwards to recuperate from the whole venture with giving the girls baths, lunches, and naps...CRAZY! That's why a mom of 3 under 3 doesn't get anything done at home. It takes the whole day just to do 1 thing! Aye ya ya!

Thanks Mrs. K for inviting us over for a swim!

Mrs. K gave Mommy zucchinis from her garden. When Daddy got home, he pretended to have a phone conversation with the girls on the zucchinis.

Believe it or not, we still had time to go home improvement shopping too! DearDaughter2 is such an active little girl...Here she is swinging on the shopping cart...

We even had time to catch up on some "school work"...

And read books...See the mess around the floor...I just happened to find the one empty spot :)

Another full day...

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Picture of the Day...

2009-08-06T19:27:00.003-05:00

So the girls and I had a busy day today. I got the girls up and out the door by 8:30am. It was POURING out, but we had to get to Chick-Fil-A for our free breakfast. After going through the drive-thru we headed to Wal-Mart, where this picture was shot of the girls with their umbrellas, to buy some ingredients for a meal I was delivering today. Mommy spent the rest of the day preparing the meal and cleaning up after last night's dinner. When we went to deliver the meal, Mapquest took us the wrong way and it took us about an hour to get to the house. We then drove another 45 minutes and returned to Wal-Mart to get replacement sheets for all the sheets that were ruined in the dryer yesterday; a crayon was "accidentally" placed in there. We got home and got ready for dinner...No time for more pictures as the girls then needed baths afterwards...Oh yeah, DearDaughter1 and DearDaughter2 were being really mischeivous at Wal-Mart. They poured their juice box all over DearDaughter2's hair, which is why they really needed baths tonight.

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Pictures of the Day...

2009-08-05T22:23:00.003-05:00

An electric crew came by our house to replace a bulb on our street light and DearDaughter1 was in awe by the bucket lift on their truck.

Apparently the TV had an owee, so DearDaughter1 put a Hello Kitty band aid on it.

Here, DearDaughter3 falls asleep during dinner. She wasn't feeling so well because of her shots from yesterday. She got 4 of them and was running a fever throughout the day.

Today was Mommy's birthday and all the kiddos were excited to see what Mommy got for her presents; a birthday book with verses, a post it note holder, and 2 Jeremy Camp CDs.

After dinner, we went to the Water Ice Factory. Apparently they serve the best water ice in the area. The girls got Chocolate, Daddy got Cherry, and Mommy got Cherry Coca-Cola!

Yummy!!!

Check out the walls at this place! Aren't they cool? Looks like somebody had fun painting!!!

Happy Birthday Mommy!

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Pictures of the Day...

2009-08-04T19:48:00.003-05:00

DearDaughter2 and DearDaughter3 had a doctor's appointment today and the appointment was during their normal naptime. So, Mommy took the girls out for lunch, hoping the drive would give them a nap before the appointment and Mommy's strategy worked.

DearDaughter2 is now a BIG GIRL, even at the doctor's office, now being able to hop on the BIG GIRL scale. She was even a BIG GIRL when she got her shot. She didn't cry a peep!!!

The girls love their daddy and even if he's asleep, they still like to just be with him.

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Snippet from the Day...

2009-08-04T10:01:00.000-05:00

I am feeling so blessed. I just overheard DearDaughter2, age 2, sing the whole 1st verse and chorus to "It Is Well (With My Soul)" and DearDaughter1, age 3, sing 2 verses of "Amazing Grace" during their playtime. Wow, God is good ALL THE TIME!!!

Pictures of the Day...

2009-08-03T19:58:00.004-05:00

I just love how DearDaughter2 likes being with her younger sister. Here she is just keeping DearDaughter3 company.

She's a silly one...Here she is in the trash can...

DearDaughter1 working on her school work while DearDaughter2 tries to learn from her older sister.

"Huh, did I do that?"

Going to the park. This one's become my favorite to go to because it's by a pretty lake and it's easy to maneuver a stroller around the playground to keep my eyes on the 2 older ones.

Canadian geese joined us at the playground.

The 2 older ones having fun on the swing. Well, DearDaughter1 is waiting for Mommy to come and push her.

DearDaughter1 a little frustrated that she can't find the coordination to push herself on the swing.

DearDaughter3 wishing she could join in on the fun.

Candid shots!

This amazes me, how DearDaughter3 criss-crosses her fingers so well!

Good night little ones!

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Pictures of the Day...

2009-08-02T20:44:00.003-05:00

I didn't think I'd be chasing after DearDaughter3 at 4 months old. I set her on her baby gym thinking I could lay down and take a short 10 minute nap. After closing my eyes for only a couple of minutes, DearDaughter1 tapped on my shoulder and said, "Mommy look at Baby!" She had scooted away from her baby gym. I put her back and watched her scoot away again...Oh my!

DearHubby wanted to take me out for dinner to complete my birthday weekend. We started towards Old Country Buffet because we had a coupon, but as we read the fine print, the coupon said it wasn't valid on Sundays. We turned around and went to a Chinese Buffet instead. Dinner was good.

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Pictures of the Day...

2009-08-01T20:46:00.005-05:00

The girls woke up this morning not knowing what laid ahead of them for the day...

We had pancakes and eggs for breakfast. Here, DearDaughter1 actually tried some eggs because she didn't want her younger sister to show her up, who was really enjoying her eggs and kept asking for more...

After breakfast, we got dressed and packed up, ready to go to the beach. We left our house around 10:30am and didn't get to Sunset Beach until about 2pm. It was longer than a 3 hour ride, but all worth it :)

DearHubby chose this particular beach to take all his girls hunting for "diamonds", Cape May diamonds, for Mommy's birthday. While we were there, a photographer of a travel magazine saw us hunting for diamonds and requested our permission to take a few shots of us. Mommy was nursing DearDaughter3 at the time, so just the 2 older girls and DearHubby were photographed.

Here are random shots from our day...

It was an enjoyable day with the family and Mommy enjoyed her birthday celebration!

After the beach we had dinner at Sonic...Had the best milkshake ever, Peanut Butter Fudge! Yummy!!!

It was a wonderful day! Good night :)

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Pictures of the Day...

2009-07-31T22:53:00.002-05:00

I wanted to make pancakes for breakfast this morning, but all of our eggs cracked so that was a good excuse to go out to breakfast at Chick-Fil-A. On the way home, DearDaughter1 spotted the Chick-Fil-A car.

At bedtime I asked DearDaughter1 what her favorite part of the day was and she said, "Wearing my new dress from NaNa." Here she is dancing to Polly-Wolly-Doodle. In the Cedarmont video, the girls are dancing with their country dresses and DearDaughter1 was excited that she had a dress on like them.

The letter of the day on Sesame Street was the letter "G." Of course DearDaughter1 was so excited because her name begins with the letter "G." I took this picture because it just shows how well she can color inside the lines, and she's only 3 years old!

DearDaughter2 loves hanging out with DearDaughter3, even if it is just laying on the couch.

DearDaughter3 and her "mittens" on. They're actually a pair of socks because we have no clean ones. DearDaughter3 is a scratcher and without the "mittens" her face would have scabs all over.

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Thank You PaPa and NaNa

2009-07-31T10:10:00.003-05:00

DearDaughter1 was so excited to get a package in the mail today and was even more excited to see that it was a pretty dress and she wanted to wear it right away. So, I dressed up the 2 older girls today.

Here is DearDaughter2 playing with her cow bowling set that she got for her birthday.

It's a strike!!!

DearDaughter3 just says "Hi!" Actually, she's saying that she's been praying for you all :)

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Pictures of the Day...

2009-07-30T19:50:00.002-05:00

On DearDaughter1...

We made "flying" fish today. It's a piece of paper we shaped into a fish and you put it up as high as you can and just watch the fish swirl down to the ground. Really neat.

Here, DearDaughter1 is watching her fish.

We had a pretend birthday party today, one of DearDaughter1's favorite pretend themes.

Spaghetti is one of DearDaughter1's favorite meals.

Here are the 2 older girls relaxing, watching a Cedarmont video, while Mommy prepares dinner. Because of our new addition, our window unit just can't keep up and the girls were hot because I had dinner cooking in the oven.

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Pictures of the Day...

2009-07-29T20:26:00.003-05:00

On DearDaughter2...

DearDaughter2 is getting pretty good at using her imagination. Because of our new addition and all the personal space the girls can have for themselves, DearDaughter2 can actually play by herself and explore her imagination without bigger sister squashing her fun.

More playtime :)

Pretending to be Baby.

Showing Baby how to play with her baby gym.

"Look mom, I ate my eggs, I promise!"
(She did! Big sister doesn't like eggs.)

What she looks like before bed.

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Pictures of the Day...

2009-07-28T15:20:00.006-05:00

On DearDaughter3...

DearDaughter3 being her laid back self...

DearDaughter3 spending time on the floor without getting beat up by her older sisters...They spent time in the new addition today.

The olders girls just cannot resist DearDaughter3...

Mommy cannot resist DearDaughter3 either...

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On the Potty

2009-07-26T21:00:00.000-05:00

This was the second time DearDaughter2 has gone potty. Way to go little one, oh, I mean Big Girl!!!

2nd Birthday Party

2009-07-18T22:11:00.006-05:00

DearDaughter3 Laughs

2009-06-22T10:55:00.002-05:00

DearDaughter3 chuckled for the first time last week and really laughed on Saturday, June 20th.

I was talking to her and she enjoyed hearing my voice and just started laughing :D

Snippet from the Day

2009-06-04T09:29:00.001-05:00

We have waited 9 weeks for this day to come...DearDaughter3 slept for 8 1/2 hours last night, from 11:15 to 7:45 this morning!!! We like sleep :)

Snippet from the Day...Out of the Minds of Babes

2009-06-03T20:24:00.000-05:00

So DearDaughter2 was talking to my mom today and as they said their good-byes, Grandma said "I love you" to her. In response DearDaughter2 said "I love you" too and gave the phone a hug. Awwww, only out of the minds of babes.

Catching Up With The Girls

2009-05-20T12:00:00.001-05:00

Catching Up With DearDaughter3

2009-05-20T10:52:00.002-05:00

March & April Milestones:
- Latched on to Mommy's breast really well and was fed constantly on the first day. As a result, Mommy's milk came in on the second day!

- Was slightly jaundiced when released from the hospital and returned to the hospital 2 times to repeat blood tests. No longer jaundiced by the 2nd blood test.

- Umbilical chord fell off by the 13th day.

- For the first 4 weeks, slept most of the time and woke up just to feed and to Mommy's surprise gave her much rest. Started to become more alert by the 4th week and mixed up days and nights. Currently working on an Eat-Wake-Sleep routine to help establish a good sleeping routine to help sleep through the night. Likes to be swaddled.

- Started following Mommy's face between the 3rd and 4th week.

- Feeds between 3 to 4 hours. Not yet interested in the pacifier.

- Started cooing at Mommy about the 4th week and can recognize Mommy's voice and settles down when held by Mommy.

Catching Up With DearDaughter2

2009-05-15T11:08:00.002-05:00

March & April Milestones:
- Is well mannered and most of the time when DearDaughter2 wants something she will say "please" and "thank you" without being reminded.

- Started speaking in phrases: "Wook Mommy!", "I want a waffle too!", "Gwacewyn hurt me!", "Where's my shoes?". Understands better than her older sister that words make a bigger influence in convincing Mommy and Daddy and expresses herself using words better than DearDaughter1.

- Still loves shoes and can now put them on herself.

- Can now play in the playground with confidence, like going up the slide ladder and going down the slide alone. Is now able to play with her bigger sister in the Chick-Fil-A playground. DearDaughter2 loves to move, run, and climb, and keeps Mommy busy. Wants to learn how to jump and has been practicing the action of jumping.

- Can count to 10 with a little help. "One, two, fee (sometimes get mixed up and says firteen?), fo, five, six, sewen, eight, nine, ten."

- Can recognize A, B, C, but not really interested in letters as she is numbers. Though her favorite book used to be Dr. Seuss' ABC book, she liked it more for the identification of objects than learning the letters.

- Continues to love "reading" and her favorite activity is still sitting on Mommy's lap paging through book after book after book after book after book. Does not currently have a favorite book. Likes "reading" all kinds of books. Still not as interested in the TV as big sister is. The only thing that still gets her attention on TV are hand action songs or kids' songs and animals.

- Still is very independant and does not like to take help from anyone. Will finally ask and take help when she's finally frustrated and can't do it herself. She doesn't like to be taught either and likes to discover things on her own.

- Still very ambidextrous but is starting to show her right hand as the stronger hand.

- Continues to develop an imagination and likes to push cars around and make little doll figures walk and jump.

- Continues to be our little clown. She has a great and fun personality and loves to make others laugh. She often has a smile on her face (when she's not grumpy).

- Since the birth of our new little one DearDaughter2 has started hitting and biting and expressing her frustrations more through disobedience. DearHubby and I have implemented discipline with DearDaughter2.

- Continues to be so much like her Big Sister and wants to keep up so much that it's difficult recognizing new skills in DearDaughter2. This list is just a short list of things I can remember. The second child has a lot to fend for and DearDaughter2 is doing a wonderful job!

Catching Up With DearDaughter1

2009-05-15T09:52:00.004-05:00

March & April Milestones:
- Toddler Bed and Sleeping Issues: DearDaughter1 and DearDaughter2 are now sharing a room. When this happened, we were still struggling with DearDaughter1 prolonging bedtime with excuses. This prolonging of bedtime disturbed DearDaughter2's sleep and we struggled with putting both girls down. We tried putting DearDaughter2 down first, but when we'd put DearDaughter1 down, she'd continue to call out for Mommy which would wake DearDaughter2 up. We have resorted to disciplining DearDaughter1 after 1 warning. Though this process is long and tedious, it got better. Both girls got used to sleeping together after about a month and the prolonging of bedtime by DearDaughter1 has shortened. Anothr struggle we dealt with and are still dealing with is a waking by DearDaughter1 between 12am and 2am to go potty or to have her blanket put back on her. She wakes up very grumpy and only wants Mommy. However, most of the times Daddy gets up because Mommy is dealing with DearDaughter3 and despite how often Daddy gets up for DearDaughter1, she still insists on Mommy and almost always throws a fit where she is yelling, screaming, and crying at the top of her lungs. One suggestion that was given to us was to wake DearDaughter1 up before we go to bed to go potty and that might hold her off to use the potty again until the morning. We will try this.

- Working on couting up to 20...Counts up to 10 perfectly..."Eleven, Twelve, Firteen, (forgets 14 because her 13 sounds like 14), Fifteen, Sixteen, Eleventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty..."

- Is a wonderful helper with DearDaughter2 and DearDaughter3. Though the older 2 fight a lot, DearDaughter1 does care much for her younger sisters and if Mommy needs help DearDaughter1, for the most part, is willing to help Mommy.

- Can fully dress herself when she wants to.

- Reasons with Daddy and Mommy when she disagrees on something.

- Is beginning to learn phonics...Understands that letters have sounds to them.

- Understands that letters make up words.

- Is a great photographer!

- Very creative and loves to play pretend. Sometimes Mommy wonders if DearDaughter1 is confused between playing pretend and lying.

- Has a great memory! If DearDaughter1 wants to learn something she will ask Mommy or Daddy to repeat a process several times until she is confident that she remembers how it's done and then will try to do it herself; like learning the lyrics to a song.

- Has shown use of logic. "The sun makes shadows. I don't have a shadow today because the sun is not out.", "The toy is not working because the batteries are dead.", "Put my chocolate snack in the pantry so it stays soft. If you put it in the refrigerator my chocolate snack will get hard because the refrigerator is cold.", etc... We are amazed at this logic!

Struggles:
- Since the birth of our new little one DearDaughter1 has struggled sharing with DearDaughter2.

- Since the birth of our new little one DearDaughter1 has reverted back to a lot of whining and crying and we have had to deal with more fits lately.

- Since the birth of our new little one DearDaughter1 has become more demanding and has "forgotten" good manners and just demands her wants and needs rather than respectfully asking.

- Since the birth of our new little one DearDaughter1 has lied more to stay out of trouble.

- Since the birth of our new little one DearDaughter1's disobedience has grown.

- etc...There are probably more milestones DearDaughter1 has reached that aren't listed here. Yes...once again, we must say that our little girl is growing up...SO QUICKLY!

Formal Birth Announcement

2009-05-12T06:56:00.002-05:00

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Our Little One arrived on March 31, 2009 @ 12:31am.

I started feeling consistent contractions on Monday, March 30th, @ 5pm. They were coming every 8-10 minutes and lasting between 60-90 seconds. We called the doctor and he said to go to the hospital immediately because he didn't want me to labor at home.

We arrived at the hospital @ 9:30pm and an ultrasound of Little One was taken. She was still in a transverse (side lying) position and her back was towards my cervix. At this point, I was already 4.75cm dilated, already in active labor. When we inquired about turning the baby, the OB said that it was too late to turn the baby as I was already in active labor and a baby cannot be turned while the uterus is contracting. This was a medical condition for a C-section delivery.

I was prepared for a C-section at 11:30pm, brought into the Operating Room at 12am, and our Little One was born at 12:31am.

I initially said to DearHubby that this was like preparing for a race and not being able to even start it, but later realized that God just wanted to remind us that He is in complete control. Therefore, rather than us not being able to finish the race, we consider this situation as God finishing the race for us :)

We are very blessed with a beautiful and healthy baby, even at only 37 weeks :) She was 8lbs 6oz and 19.5 inches long!!!

Snippet from the Day

2009-04-15T13:00:00.001-05:00

I wonder how DearDaughter2 comes up with all her mischief. Every time I leave the room for a second DearDaughter2's already executed her misconduct. Yesterday her face was covered with marker scribbles and so was the couch (I'm sad there's no pictures of the face). Today it was chocolate frosting on her face, couch, camera, and whatever else she touched... What will she come up with next?

37th Week Ultrasound

2009-04-08T07:18:00.003-05:00

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I went to a 37th week non-stress test and ultrasound on March 30th.

Once again the Little One did well! When she moved her heart rate increased, which is what the test is looking for.

The non-stress test also keeps track of contractions and as the technician looked at the graphs, she noticed a few contractions and asked me if I was feeling any contractions. I told her I just felt tightening but no pain.

For the amniotic fluid test, I don't know what the actual level of the amniotic fluid was and did not get the opportunity to hear the test results.

The technician also checked the position of the baby and our Little One was still in a transverse position. She then called up to Labor and Delivery about my external version. No one had delivered over the weekend and so my appointment was bumped to Thursday @ 11am.

36 Weeks

2009-04-08T06:57:00.002-05:00

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I went to my 36th week OB appointment on March 26th. I weighed in at 162 pounds, gaining 2 pounds from my last visit. The baby's heart rate was in the 135s bpm range.

The sugar level blood test I took the previous week once again turned out normal. I did not have gestational diabetes.

The Group B Strep culture also turned out negative.

Everything looked great, I gave the midwife our birth plan, and the appointment was almost over. The midwife checked the size of my uterus and I finally measured normal, 36 weeks! I wondered if she would catch the position of the baby, but when she said "Everything seems good!", that's when I mentioned the position of the baby. They had an antiquated ultrasound machine at the office and the midwife did a check on it and found that the baby was still in a transverse position. At that point, she suggested getting an external version done as soon as possible. The secretary scheduled an external version for Monday, March 30th at 10am, but needed to confirm with the hospital. I received a call about the appointment on Friday, March 27th. The secretary said that there were already 3 C-sections scheduled for Monday and unless someone went into labor that weekend, the external version would be bumped to Thursday. I was due in for a non-stress test and ultrasound at the hospital at 9am, so after my appointment, I needed to call in to see if the version could be performed.

For the external version, a doctor uses an ultrasound to aid him in manually turning the baby. The risk for this procedure is an immediate C-section if the baby goes in distress. The midwife assured me that the doctor who does this procedure will not force the baby to move if he doesn't think the baby will and he has never had to do a C-section during this procedure. If the external version is successful and the baby is turned, then an expectant mom would be set to go into labor. If the external version is not successful and the baby is still in a transverse position, fully laying sideways, when a mom goes into labor, a C-section is required. There is no way to vaginally deliver a transverse baby.

In the meantime, the midwife gave us some things to do to encourage the baby to move into position. One is the get on all 4s and rub the baby towards the direction she needs to go. Another is to get myself upside down or at least my bottom higher to encourage the Little One's head to float up, which might encourage her to move in the right direction. Another is to shine a flash light where her head should be because Little Ones are inquisitive and she may want to see what the light is all about. Another is to just lean forward over the counter to give enough room for the Little One to move.

36th Week Ultrasound

2009-04-08T06:48:00.002-05:00

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I went to a 36th week non-stress test and ultrasound on March 23rd.

The Little One did well! When she moved her heart rate increased, which is what the test is looking for.

I don't know what the actual level of the amniotic fluid was, but it was in the normal range.

The only concerning issue found was that the baby was in a transverse position. Initially, the technician thought our Little One's head was already deep down into my pelvis because she could not find her head. After looking around for quite some time, the technician finally found her head. Our Little One's head was on my right side and her bottom was on my left. When I got home, I did a little research on a transverse positioned baby and found that if the baby does not turn, then this would be a medically necessary C-section.

35 Weeks

2009-03-18T08:30:00.006-05:00

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I went to my 35th week OB appointment yesterday. I weighed in at 160 pounds, losing 2 pounds from my last visit. The baby's heart rate was in the 145s bpm range.

I took another sugar level blood test to once again confirm whether or not I have gestational diabetes. I have not yet heard the results.

The midwife took a Group B Strep culture and I should hear about those results at my next visit next week.

The midwife also did an internal and found that I am already 2cm dilated and the cervix has thinned. One thing she knows for sure is that I will not go past my due date.

We then discussed what would happen if I did go past my due date. I was relieved that the midwife did not even mention a C-section. At my other practice, a C-section would have already been scheduled the day after my due date.

One thing the midwife has me doing is returning to a weekly non-stress test and ultrasound because she is still concerned with the extra fluid issue and size issue of the baby. Now that I am so close to my due date I have no objections to this weekly testing.

I start my weekly visits, both the non-stress & ultrasound and OB appointments, next week.

The time is near!

Catching Up With the Girls

2009-03-17T09:31:00.001-05:00

Catching Up With DearDaughter2

2009-03-17T05:47:00.004-05:00

November, December, January, & February Milestones:
- Truly mastered the art of running and climbing and can outrun and outclimb Mommy

- Throws tantrums when she doesn't get her way

- Pronounces words really well and is trying to speak in phrases: "elfant" versus big sister's "efelant", "bubbles" her favorite word. Expresses herself well to make others understand what she wants.

- Understands possession and will use the proper term when describing an object: "mine", "Mommy's", "Daddy's", "my crib"

- Continues to love "reading" and her favorite activity is sitting on Mommy's lap paging through book after book after book after book after book. Her favorite book is currently Dr. Seuss' ABC book. She can recognize A, B, and C. Not as interested in the TV as big sister is. The only thing that gets her attention on TV are hand action songs or kids' songs and animals.

- Is very independant and does not like to take help from anyone. Will finally ask and take help when she's finally frustrated and can't do it herself. She doesn't like to be taught either and likes to discover things on her own.

- Can somewhat put on her own socks and shoes, especially the right foot. Still has trouble with the left foot?

- Still very ambidextrous and we can't decide if she's right handed or left handed. We, of course, encourage her right hand.

- Finally figured out her riding toys.

- Likes to scribble, but not as much as big sister, but does it because big sister does it.

- Is starting to develop an imagination and likes to push cars around and make little doll figures walk and jump.

- This little girl is our little clown. She has a great and fun personality and loves to make others laugh. She often has a smile on her face (when she's not grumpy).

- This little girl is also very affectionate and will hug anyone who needs one or doesn't need one.

- This little girl is so hard to keep track of. She wants to be so much like her Big Sister and wants to keep up so much that it's difficult recognizing new skills in DearDaughter2. This list is just a short list of things I can remember. The second child has a lot to fend for and DearDaughter2 is doing a wonderful job!

Catching Up With DearDaughter1

2009-03-13T10:24:00.003-05:00

November, December, January, & February Milestones:
- Toddler Bed and Sleeping Issues: DearDaughter1 stopped napping maybe about 2 1/2 years old. We tried quiet time in her room, but because she also had time outs in her room, she thought quiet time was punishment. As a result, she is up, mostly all day long without a nap. Unfortunately, sometimes, when we go out in the afternoons or early evenings, she will nap in the car and then will have a hard time going to bed in the evening. Therefore, the current issue with DearDaughter1, which began, maybe in December, are the excuses she makes to prolong bedtime.
.....- I want a glass of milk
.....- I'm too hot or cold
.....- Pull my blanket up or pull my blanket down
.....- etc.

- Can spell and write her name and she taught herself (ok, with Mommy's help) - February

- Recognizes 95% of all the lower case letters

- Knows how to lie, especially to stay out of trouble

- Has a soft heart: shares fairly well with her younger sister, is very helpful and sometimes can sense where help is needed

- Is learning self-control fairly well and is learning to control whining and crying: understands that she is not to retaliate if her younger sister does something bad to her and most of the time she will not, can wait and be patient sometimes

- Is learning to practice good manners consistently with "please" and "thank you"

- Has a huge imagination and keeps herself entertained for a long time with her toys...Makes up her own conversations...but she also likes TV

- Is very self-motivated to learn and teaches herself how to write

- Loves to draw and because of her good imagination will draw objects like castles, bikes, cars, etc. They don't necessarily look like the objects, but once you look closely at the drawing, you can say, "Oh yes, I see it!"

- Likes to play dress up...I don't know how or why, but she likes to dress up as a princess...Where does that come from?

- Likes board games

- etc...The list is extensive and the above list is not all inclusive as there are probably lots more things DearDaughter1 can and loves to do. Yes...once again, we must say that our little girl is growing up...SO QUICKLY!

3rd Birthday Party

2009-03-13T10:20:00.000-05:00

Funday Friday...The Philadelphia Zoo

2009-03-12T09:47:00.004-05:00

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On Friday, February 27th, the girls and I went to the zoo with Mrs. L and Little A. The Philly Zoo has a special in February where you "pay the weather". So, on days that are 40 degrees, you would pay $4, on days that are 50 degrees, you would pay $5, and so on. It beats the regular winter price of $12.95 per person. On this day, the temperature high, I guess, was in the 60s because I paid $6 for me and DearDaughter1. The biggest expenditure was parking, $12, YIKES!

We met Mrs. L and Little A near the entrance and had corn chicken soup for lunch accompanied with some sandwiches, apples, and ginger snaps!

After lunch we walked around for a couple of hours. The girls all loved naming the animals and Little A was the fearless one on this outing as she chased after whatever animal she could, especially at the petting zoo. DearDaughter2 came a close second for most fearless as she didn't mind chasing after the goats at the petting zoo, but she was still too shy to pet them. DearDaughter1 wasn't at all interested in petting any animal. She was ok being a mere spectator.

It was scheduled to rain at 3pm and the girls and I made it back to the car just in time, before the hard rain hit us!

The Consult Meeting and 33 Weeks

2009-03-03T06:25:00.005-05:00

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I went to my 33rd week OB appointment yesterday. I weighed in at 162 pounds, gaining 4 pounds from my last visit. I didn't ask for the baby's heart rate.

On Monday, February 23rd, I had a consult meeting with a mid-wife at the potential practice I was looking at. I addressed these concerns:

- Was it too late for me to switch practices since I was 32 weeks along? No.

- Does she have any problems with me doing a VBAC since the baby was measuring big and I was carrying too much amniotic fluid? No. She will do everything she can to deliver this baby vaginally.

- I would rather be delivered by a mid-wife. The practice has 2 mid-wives, whom I will see for the rest of my pregnancy, and if they are not on call, then there are several other mid-wives who moonlight that would be there.

- What happens if there is a complication during labor? There will be a doctor at the hospital on stand-by just in case an emergency C-section is needed.

- What does she think about induction? Not in favor of it and would rather wait for spontaneous labor.

I was pleased with the consult and switched practices immediately by signing the record of release form and scheduled my first visit.

As I saw the new mid-wife yesterday, we briefly discussed the ultrasound results. She was still concerned about the size of the baby and the amount of fluid present, but did not think a weekly screening is necessary. I was relieved about that. I cancelled my appointment for this week's screening immediately. However, she was still concerned that I may still have gestational diabetes and has me taking another blood sugar level test the next time. My appointment is set for 1:15pm. I am supposed to eat at noon and take a blood test at 2pm, which I'm assuming will be after my appointment. She also suggested that I change some of my eating habits. For example, she wants me to eliminate processed foods such as white bread, white rice, and sugar and increase my fiber and protein intake.

I went grocery shopping last night to purchase some healthier foods for me. I purchased whole wheat bread, whole wheat bagels, Khashi cereal that was high in protein and fiber, strawberries, peaches, bananas, cottage cheese, raspberry preserves that is sweetened with fruit and fruit juices only, roasted tomato and olive oil Triscuits, neuftatel cheese, and cheddar cheese. These foods were mainly purchased for breakfast, lunch, and snack time. My friend gave me brown rice and I already had salad ingredients at home. I'll just make normal dinners, just substituting the white rice I normally use with the brown rice. This was how I used to eat, but it just got too expensive as we've added 2 more people to our home. I spent $30 on just my food alone. My whole family should be eating like this, but is there a cheaper way?

32nd Week Ultrasound

2009-03-03T06:18:00.003-05:00

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I went to a 32nd week non-stress test and ultrasound on February 26th.

I was hooked up to the external fetal monitor for 30 minutes for the non-stress test. Since I did not hear any results from that, I am assuming that the baby was ok.

The Little One measured over 5 pounds, putting it in the 81st percentile.

My amniotic fluid level was about 20 cc (? - still unsure of the unit measurement), which the doctor said is borderline high, but much better than last time.

The consult doctor recommended a weekly screen (non-stress test and ultrasound).

31 Weeks

2009-02-19T08:03:00.003-05:00

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I went to my 31st week OB appointment last night. I weighed in at 158 pounds, gaining 0 pounds from my last visit. The baby's heart rate was in the 130s - 140s bpm range.

I waited over an hour for literally a 2 minute visit, and I only saw the nurse practitioner, again, the one who recommended the 28th week ultrasound. She measured my uterus, which was measuring only 32 weeks now, and then the heart rate. Other than than, she said, "You look good, it sound's like you're doing well, see you in 2 weeks, unless you have any questions."

I really didn't have any questions for her, but to make my wait worth it, I brought up the same question to the nurse practitioner as I did to the perinatologist, "Were those ultrasounds really necessary?" Like the doctor, she could not give me a definite yes or no. The one thing she did say was that she would continue to follow up with more tests just to be able to give me a definite no. Then, she went on to talk about a possible amniosynthesis if the fluid levels seemed really high, just to drain the fluid and to test the fluid to see if there is anything wrong with the baby...At that point, I just zoned her out until she stopped talking. If all this is uncertain, then why even bring up a life-threatening procedure? At the end of her spiel, I asked her, "Could I decline these tests?" And she looked at me and said, "Oh yeah, you can decline any test you don't want to take." Oh, that really frustrated me as these doctors don't really present these options as choices, but as something "we need to do" to rule out any possibilities.

So, as I was making my appointment, I asked the receptionist if I could meet with my primary OB next week for a personal issue. I really didn't want to announce to the whole world that I was thinking about switching practices. I wanted to meet with my doctor in her private office to have a nice private talk with her. I wanted to tell her that it's been a hard decision, but unfortunately DearHubby and I are thinking about switching practices. I wanted to let her know how much I really appreciated the care she's provided to me for the past 5 years. I wanted to let her know that this would be a hard parting since she was with me through my miscarriage and with me as we delivered both my girls. The receptionist had no sympathy to my request and said, "You're not scheduled to come in for another 2 weeks. You need to wait the 2 weeks. That doctor is not available anyway until 2 weeks." I pleaded with the receptionist and said, "I really need to meet with this doctor next week. It's really an urgent issue and I need to talk to her." She looked around the room at the other receptionist and had to consult them about it and they all said that because I was scheduled to come in in 2 weeks anyway, then I would need to wait the 2 weeks. As I was in the middle of this conversation, this doctor walked in and I asked the receptionist if I could speak to her now. She was really hesitant to give the doctor a holler and so I called the doctor over. It wasn't the way I wanted to say all the things I wanted to say and I didn't even get to say all the things I wanted to say. I just informed my doctor of our desire to switch practices, all the while everyone around us is trying to hear our conversation. The doctor was disappointed in this decision, but since we were out in public, we could not talk in detail about this decision. All my doctor could do was say, "You will need to sign a record release form to take your records." It was an awkward parting and though I made an appointment to see her in 2 weeks, if all goes well with my consult with this new practice, this might have been the last time for me to see this doctor.

I have a consult meeting with a midwife at the new practice on Monday, February 23rd.

30th Week Ultrasound

2009-02-19T07:15:00.005-05:00

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I went to a 30th week ultrasound on February 12th.

Their main concern for this scan was the amount of amniotic fluid present and not really the size of the baby. The scan was very quick. They didn't even measure the baby. According to their calculations, my fluid level had gone up. I don't really know what the numbers mean, but the ultrasound 2 weeks prior showed I had 25cc (I'm assuming "cc" is the correct unit because the technician kept saying centimeters) of fluid and this ultrasound showed I had 30cc.

The perinatologist still seemed concerned about the fluid level and size of the baby and has me returning for another ultrasound and a non-stress test for the baby next week. I asked her if the ultrasounds were necessary and she really couldn't give a definite yes or no. She explained that 80% of the time extra fluid is inexplicable, of the 20%, 80% of that is usually gestational diabetes, and the rest would be a virus, infection, or a birth defect with the baby. She wants to rule out any problems with the baby, which is why they prescribed a non-stress test on the baby to test if she's under any distress in the womb.

If, at the next ultrasound, I don't have gestational diabetes and the fluid level has still risen, then they want to do one more ultrasound and one more non-stress test. The perinatologist also recommended a weekly scan thereafter, but I asked one more time..."If I don't have gestational diabetes and the baby's heart rate seems normal and she seems to be moving around as much as she has been, are the weekly scans necessary?" Once again she could not give a definite yes or no.

I didn't ask if I could decline the weekly scans, but I think I will.

I called about my sugar blood test results on Monday, February 16th. They came out negative for high sugar levels, which means...I DO NOT HAVE GESTATIONAL DIABETES!

So, we'll see what the ultrasound and non-stress test "says" next week. I'm going to predict, at least, that the baby is "normal" and not under distress.

I have been so discouraged with these tests. I truly think they were unnecessary, unnecessary waste of time and of money. Every ultrasound took a total of at least 4 hours of my day, of DearHubby's day, and of those who watched the girls (including drive time and wait time, but excluding the time for unnecessary blood work and time spent doing that) and a $20 copay each time and for what? To hear the doctors say that they don't know?

It's for this reason that I was really pushed to the edge this time in changing practices.

The new hospital my practice chose to deliver at has the best maternity facilities and I don't doubt it at all. I expect that if there's any one who has a high risk pregnancy and NEEDS all this medical attention, that they WILL get the best care possible. I am also thankful that the doctors followed up with their "concerns" with my ultrasound results, but were they truly necessary? If not, then, why couldn't they just let me be and allow me to enjoy my pregnancy instead of putting unnecessary burdens upon me, DearHubby, and the others who have had to sacrifice their time to watch the girls?

Funday Friday...Kid Junction

2009-02-16T16:41:00.000-05:00

We had a play date at Kid Junction. It was a good place to hang out for a windy winter's day.

The admission price for children under 2 are $6.95 and children older than 2 are $8.95. Adults are FREE!

As you enter, there is a kids' arcade area, which you pay tokens for. We didn't have money to pay for the tokens so we went straight into the play area.

There's a playground/slide set for older kids and then next to it in the "Jail" area is a playground/slide set for the little toddlers. It was great because the gate at the door kept the little toddlers in and they could run and play around as much they wanted.

What makes Kid Junction a great place is that it stimulates the imaginations of children from age 1 and up! There's a little Post Office, a Vet's Office, a Pizza Parlor, a Grocery Store, and a theatrical stage with costumes ready for use.

We had a little play date with the girls' almost 2 year old friend. I thought 2 hours would be enough time to play, but that time went by so fast and when we finally looked down at our watches, 3 hours had already gone by. The girls were having so much fun that they didn't even notice it was past lunch time. Well, DearDaughter2 got fussy in the end which is why I finally looked down at my watch. She was hungry and tired as she didn't get her morning nap or snack. Yet, if she was held over for 3 hours without a fuss, that's how fun the place truly was. The girls were thoroughly occupied that it even gave time for DearFriend J and I to catch up a little.

There's a little cafe there for food purchase. Since I had spent about $16 on admission I didn't want to spend any more money and decided to just go home. On the way home, DearDaughter1 had asked for pizza and had actually been asking for pizza since she was sick with the stomach flu. I hadn't planned on going to Pizza Hut, but I felt sorry for DearDaughter1 who was craving pizza and we did stop by Pizza Hut where I spent another $13.

It was a pricey Funday Friday, more than I usually spend, but it was worth spending the time with my girls and our friends.

29 Weeks

2009-02-13T06:18:00.007-05:00

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I went to my 29th week OB appointment on February 4th. I weighed in at 158 pounds, gaining 2 pounds from my last visit. The baby's heart rate was in the 140s bpm range.

As the OB read over my ultrasound results she noticed the size of the baby and the extra amniotic fluid levels. Although I passed the 3 hour glucose test, she was still concerned that I may still have gestational diabetes because the combination of extra fluid and a big baby are signs of gestational diabetes. Therefore, I was prescribed with another blood test where I would go into the lab having fasted all night to get blood drawn, eat breakfast, and then return 2 hours later to get the second vile of blood drawn. This blood test was taken yesterday on February 12th.

As we talked about the size of the baby, she "predicted" that at this growth rate, Little One #3 will be close to a 10 pound baby and one of the options she offered was being induced at week 39, if I haven't gone into labor yet. On a side note, this OB is the OB that I started off with at her private practice. She is the reason I stayed with the current practice when she closed her private practice and joined this group. She knows my history and she delivered both my girls. Therefore, as she proposed the option of induction, my initial thought was, "I might want to consider being induced just so I can have this OB deliver Little One #3 and I don't have to worry about the timing of getting to the hospital." Because this is a group practice, I don't know what doctor will be delivering Little One #3. It was just providential with DearDaughter1 and DearDaughter2 that I went into labor while this particular OB was on call. So, as I mentioned this option to DearHubby, he even seemed interested in it too. However, as I think about God's timing, I wonder if the option of being induced is a selfish option and that we'd be getting in the way of His plans for Little One #3.

As I think about waiting for labor to come naturally, I begin to think of the planning and coordinating involved of delivering at this new hospital which is 40 minutes away and I begin to wonder if I should switch practices just to stay at our local hospital which is only about 15 to 20 minutes away which would "minimize" our planning and coordinating. Without traffic and driving a little fast, the drive to the hospital is about 40 minutes long. With traffic, the drive to the hospital took about an hour. That's just the drive alone. Then, there's the drive to our friends' house, who will be watching the girls, and depending on who is watching our girls, the drive time from their houses will be different. In addition, there's the possibility that I will go into labor while DearHubby is at work. When I was pregnant with DearDaughter1, that was the situation, and I waited for about an hour before he got home. Lastly, by waiting for labor to come naturally, I would not know what doctor would be on call the day I go into labor. The only doctor I've ever felt comfortable with at this practice is the OB who delivered both my girls. She is like a cross between a mid-wife and an OB. She is so caring and she listens to my concerns and allows DearHubby and I to give input and even allows us to make and follow through with our decisions. She gives her input as an OB, but doesn't force her opinions on us and only asserts them when she sees something is wrong. Aside from her, I've kind of dreaded the thought of another doctor at this practice delivering my Little Ones because it doesn't seem like any of the other doctors are on my side and that they want to do things their way and be the one in control.

The practice I would switch to is one with mid-wives, which my current practice does not have. This potential practice I am looking at has been highly recommended by several of my friends who have gone through natural child birth and it is the one I considered going to when I received a lot of trouble about having a VBAC with DearDaughter2. Just the fact that there are mid-wives in this practice makes me comfortable because I already feel like I have more than 1 advocate for our desire to go through natural child birth.

The hospital that is 40 minutes away is considered the best maternity facility in South Jersey. The hospital that is 15 minutes away just built a new labor and delivery wing. I've heard many horror story rumors, but not actual horror stories about our local hospital, but when I stayed there for both my girls, our experience was nice. All the nurses were very good at following our birthing plan and I received good care. In addition, I had a private room and DearHubby was able to stay with me to care for my girls because we never sent them to the nursery. At this other hospital, I am not assured a private room and I don't know if I'm allowed to keep our Little One with us at all times or if they require the babies to be in the nursery, which I don't like.

These are the things to consider:

1. Do we stay with the current practice and wait for labor to come naturally and work through all the planning and coordinating for the hospital trip, not knowing which doctor will deliver Little One #3 or not knowing whether we will have a private room or not?

2. Do we stay with the current practice and consider induction to "assure" that we get the OB we want and to better plan the trip to the hospital?

3. Do we change practices to increase the possiblity of natural child birth advocates while "minimizing" the planning and coordinating for the hospital trip and to "assure" a private room?

Things that need to be done to help with our decision making:

1. Pray.

2. Take a tour of the labor and delivery wing of the new hospital.

3. Interview with an OB and/or mid-wife at this potential practice.

Funday Saturday...A Family Day at the Mall

2009-02-07T22:49:00.007-05:00

Today Daddy and Mommy took the girls to a local Westfield Mall. Instead of shopping, we enjoyed all the activities they have set up for the kids...

In the playground area...

Then, we went to the pet store...

DearDaughter1 rode on the Merry Go Round...

Since DearDaughter2 was too small to ride on the Merry Go Round, she and her big sister got to ride on the Mickey Car ride...

It was great spending this time with the family and we didn't spend an outrageous amount of money...We bought an Auntie Ann's pretzel for a snack with a cup of water, we paid $2 for the Merry Go Round ride, and $0.75 for the Mickey car ride, and of course the pet store was FREE...In addition, at the end of the night, our bellies were full because we ate at Outback with a $25 gift card (but we still spent $12+ over).

It was truly a Funday Saturday!

Funday Saturday...Snow Much Fun

2009-02-07T12:50:00.002-05:00

Funday Friday...

2009-02-07T12:30:00.013-05:00

With all the hustle and bustle of the holidays, it's been awhile since Mommy has purposely set aside Fridays just for the girls. Well, after being in the house all week, we were all feeling cabin fever by Friday and were ready to have some fun!

Mommy had a few errands to run in the morning, but after lunch and DearDaughter2's morning nap, we headed to the mall...

Here, the girls are walking themselves to the car. I asked them to wait by the house door while I locked up, but DearDaughter2 took DearDaughter1's hand and they walked themselves to the car. They were just too excited to get out of the house.

Mommy needed to pick up the girls' monthly pictures from JC Penny's.

Afterwards, we bought a large Ice Dream Cone from Chick-Fil-A and enjoyed sharing it together...

Here is DearDaughter2 enjoying her turn...

After eating our Ice Dream Cone, DearDaughter1 asked where else we were going. I responded, "Home." DearDaughter1 was not ready to go home and just wanted to walk through the mall. We went into the Disney Store just to look at all the cool Disney "stuff". Then, we went to The Children's Place to see if there were any good deals. DearDaughter1 was intrigued by The Place's door handle and wanted her picture next to it.

We came home afterwards and just had a laid back afternoon at home. Both girls took a nap while Mommy had some time to get the house straightened up before Daddy got home.

A Double Whammy!!!

2009-02-04T13:31:00.006-05:00

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We've had it rough here at home lately with a stomach bug.

It actually started with DearDaughter2 last Thursday when she threw up in the middle of our ultra-sound consult. She threw up 3 times and she was done with the bug.

Mommy also got the stomach bug on Monday. That's the most sick Mommy's ever been and for the first time Mommy was not able to get out of bed at all except to make bathroom runs. The worse was over for Mommy on Tuesday morning. Though Mommy's been able to keep down foods, Mommy is still a little weak.

The one who has suffered the most is DearDaughter1. She came down with a fever on Friday, but then was fine on Saturday, then got another fever on Saturday evening which kept rising even after taking a dose of Tylenol, so we alternated Tylenol with Motrin. The height of her fever was 104.8 degrees (F) on Sunday morning, which went away with a dose of Motrin and she was fine for the rest of the day until she threw up once in the evening. She had a little bit of diarrhea on Monday, but otherwise she was ok. Felt fine on Tuesday until the afternoon and since then, it's been downhill with a fever and this morning, Wednesday, she's been throwing up as often as Mommy was running to the bathroom. She hasn't been able to keep anything down.

We visited the doctor and discovered that DearDaughter1 has been hit with a Double Whammy! Her fevers were a result of an ear infection in her right ear AND she has the stomach bug. Poor Little One! This is the most sick DearDaughter1's ever been and seeing her so uninterested in everything makes Mommy very sad.

Your prayers for DearDaughter1 are much needed and appreciated!!! Also, Daddy has not come down with the bug yet. We hope and pray that he will be protected from it.

28th Week Ultrasound

2009-02-03T14:18:00.003-05:00

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I went to a 28th week ultrasound on January 29th.

The baby's heartbeat was 145 bpm.

She weighed 3 pounds 13 ounces, at the 97th percentile.

As we had our consult with the doctor, he was concerned with the size of the baby, especially since I do want another VBAC. He's concerned that if the baby continues to grow at this rate, then she would be a big baby.

Another concern he had was the extra amount of amniotic fluid. Though he doesn't think it's a major problem he did give us a spiel about the possibilites of why there is the extra fluid, particularly that there is something wrong with the baby, like a birth defect or an infection of her kidneys. He has me going back for another ultrasound next Thursday just to monitor the fluid. If there is more concern, then he mentioned a weekly ultrasound.

I was a little disheartened as I think the doctor was being a little overly cautious. My husband says he has to be overly cautious to prevent being sued. I am thankful for the doctor's concern, but I just feel like unnecessary appointments are like an invasion to my privacy in this pregnancy and a waste of time and money. All I kept thinking about after the appointment was, "Why can't I just be left alone and just let me enjoy what I can with this pregnancy?!"

Another thing for us to consider is if we should change practices or not (again). My practice changed the hospital where they deliver babies and now we have to drive 40 minutes to get to this new hospital. Driving to the ultrasound appointment took 40 minutes without traffic and driving a little fast. When it's the real thing, it will probably be over an hour before I'd get to the hospital if we consider dropping the girls off at our friends' and if DearHubby is still at work, that would mean waiting an additional hour for him to get home. Is it worth switching OB practices if it means delivering at our local hospital, which is only 15 minutes away? Decisions, decisions, decision...

Tooth Tracker...

2009-01-29T11:14:00.004-05:00

DearDaughter2's upper right and left cuspids have cut through the gums.

DearDaughter2's lower left cuspid has cut through the gums.

I am concerned because her lower right first molar sits right next to her lateral incisor, leaving no room for the lower right first molar to come in. Hmmm...I wonder if it's time to consult a dentist.

In addition, I think it's because DearDaughter2 sucks her thumb, that she has an overbight.

27 Weeks

2009-01-29T11:03:00.007-05:00

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I went to my 27th week OB appointment on January 20th. I weighed in at 156 pounds, gaining 5 pounds from my last visit. I forgot to ask for Little One #3's heartrate as the nurse practitioner was a little concerned about my weight gain and that I was measuring big, measuring at 32 weeks rather than 27...I didn't think it was a concern as I just thought I was really stretched out with this being my third child. However, since I told the nurse practitioner that I just went to my 3 hour glucose test that morning, she seemed concerned enough to send me for an ultrasound to measure the Little One's size.

Well, that Friday, January 23rd, I received the results for the glucose test and I DO NOT have gestational diabetes! Hooray!

The only "troubles" I've had with this pregnancy is some spotting which started at the end of November and some troubles with my back. The spotting comes and goes and so with this upcoming ultrasound, they will check my uterus and placenta to make sure they are in tact, and to see the condition of my cervix. With regards to my back, my legs give out on me, sometimes, without warning and sends a pain up my back. I'm contributing this to the laxing up of my joints. Overall, though, my back's been doing better than it was with my pregnancy with DearDaughter2.

Lastly, we've been seeing Little One #3 move around in my belly. I'm guessing we could see her moving about 2 weeks ago and now we can even start to feel body parts. It's just so amazing!

23 Weeks

2008-12-30T13:46:00.003-05:00

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I went to my 23rd week OB appointment on December 23rd. I weighed in at 151 pounds, gaining 7 pounds from my last visit. Little One #2's heartrate was in the mid-140's. The OB was a little concerned about my big weight gain and encouraged me to gain only 2 pounds in the next month...the holidays...

I was prescribed the 3 hour glucose test for my next visit. They are having me take the 3 hour glucose test right away since I failed it the first time with my last pregnancy :(

Feeling Little One #3 Move

2008-12-18T22:29:00.002-05:00

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I felt little butterflies in my tummy (Little One #3 moving) right at 17 weeks. DearHubby and I both SAW Little One #3 move this Sunday, December 14th! It's really amazing knowing there's a little one in there growing! She is a mover...just like DearDaughter2 was.

Guess Little One #3's Name

2008-12-14T22:37:00.006-05:00

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"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." (Matthew 28:19)

Through prayer and wisdom from the Lord, He gave us a name for Little One #3 the same time we determined DearDaughter2's name. Above is a verse to help you guess this precious one's name. In addition, here is another clue:

You are saved by God's GRACE(lyn) and not by works.

When you are saved, you become a follower of Christ or a CHRISTIAN (Christyann).

When you become a Christian you are commissioned to make disciples of all nations or to _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (Little One #3's name comes from this word).

20 Weeks

2008-12-14T22:22:00.005-05:00

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I went to my 20th week OB appointment on December 1st. I weighed in at 144 pounds, gaining 3 pounds from my last visit. Little One #2's heartrate was in the 150's. The prenatal blood tests were negative, the quad screen blood tests were negative, and the ultra sound showed that the baby is right where she's supposed to be developmentally. The placenta and cervix showed up normal.

I wasn't scheduled to go in until my 21st week, but I passed a blood clot that weekend. It turned out that my cervix is just really sensitive.

Tooth Tracker

2008-12-08T14:34:00.001-05:00

DearDaughter2's lower right and left first molars have cut through the gums. DearHubby noticed them 2 Sundays ago. Not sure when they started cutting through.

Catching Up With DearDaughter2

2008-11-26T07:01:00.004-05:00

August, September, & October Milestones:
- Biggest milestone...Started walking a couple of weeks after her 1st birthday, around the 2nd or 3rd week of August!

- 2nd biggest milestone...Being weaned out of the sleep sack!

- Understands where neck, cheeks, tongue, teeth, hair, fingers, knees, and belly are (in addition to head, toes, ears, mouth, and eyes). One of her favorite games is Simon Says!

- Loves to sing hand motion songs. One of her favorite songs is "The Itsy Bitsy Spider." She also likes "Old McDonald Had a Farm", "I've Got a Roof Up Above Me", "The Wheels on the Bus", "If You're Happy and You Know It", etc...

- Loves imitating her older sister. One example is of going to the potty...When Big Sister has to go to the potty, DearDaughter2 holds her shirt up and says "pee pee."

- Tells mommy when she goes "poo poo."

- Has discovered the power of the word "NO!" and uses it...Mommy has instructed DearDaughter2 that if she understands how to use "NO" then she should also understand how to be corrected.

- Loves to run around and play chase with Big Sister or mommy.

- Loves to play with buckels and she's very proficient at buckling herself in her booster seat.

- Helps mommy when getting dressed. For a time, DearDaughter2 enjoyed standing up and putting her feet in her pants one at a time, just like her Big Sister. Then, she discovered that it was easier to just lift her feet up in the air while laying on her back while mommy just slips the pants on. She loves playing peek-a-boo with her hands while getting dressed and also peek-a-boo while poking her head through the neck of the shirt.

- Is very independent and stubborn about feeding herself. Even when DearDaughter2 didn't know how to use a spoon yet, she refused to eat from mommy because she wanted to feed herself, like Big Sister. Although she is still not good at using the spoon, she has gotten better and she's still very stubborn about feeding herself and will not take food if mommy tries to feed her.

- Is a good helper to mommy. Will help set the table with the plates. Will help pick up toys. Will help mommy put away groceries. etc...

- Loves climbing.

- Loves baby dolls and feeds them.

- Loves bling.

- Has a good vocabulary, mostly words to identify objects, and understands many commands.

- Can imitate animal sounds, but still mixes them up. She's very consistent with duck and it saying "quack".

- Loves books and sits down to "read" them.

- LOVES shoes! & Loves taking them off too!

- This little girl is so hard to keep track of. She wants to be so much like her Big Sister and wants to keep up so much that it's difficult recognizing new skills in DearDaughter2. This list is just a short list of things I can remember. We did a trial class at The Little Gym for DearDaughter1 and the teacher was impressed that DearDaughter2 was holding her own so well with the bigger kids. The second child has a lot to fend for and DearDaughter2 is doing a wonderful job!

DearDaughter1 is 3 and other news

2008-11-25T06:38:00.003-05:00

DearDaughter1 turned 3 yesterday. It was a fun day despite our sicknesses...

Little R, DearDaughter1's best friend, goes to The Little Gym every monday and one monday back in September, DearDaughter1 was invited as Little R's guest. Little R's mom reported that DearDaughter1 smiled from ear to ear the moment she walked in to the moment she walked out. Since that day, DearDaughter1 has talked about The Little Gym over and over again. Therefore, for her 3rd birthday, I decided to do a trial class during the same hour as Little R's class. DearDaughter1 started off a little shy because mommy was in there with her, but it didn't take her long to warm up and she had a blast! It was like DearDaugher1 was in dream land. As I thought about how we are to nurture the gifts that God has given our children, I saw skills in DearDaughter1 that just came so naturally to her while she was at The Little Gym and she really seemed so comfortable on everything there! It was awesome to see DearDaughter1 have so much fun on her birthday.

We then went to Friendly's afterwards for lunch. I didn't tell DearDaughter1 that it was her birthday and so when the waitress came back with her ice cream and we all started singing "Happy Birthday" to her, DearDaughter1 just had the biggest smile of surprise on her face. Unfortunately, things were just so crazy that I didn't have the opportunity to pull out the camera and capture any of these special moments.

Well, DearDaughter1 ended the night sick in bed. I must have had a stomach virus that I passed on to her because DearDaughter1 started throwing up at 8pm and didn't stop until about midnight. She was such a trooper, though. She didn't freak out, but took the whole thing with such composure (thanks to Daddy's calmness).

We praise God that DearDaughter1 has provided us with much joy to this family for 3 years...Wow, 3 years!!!

August, September, & October Milestones:
-Potty Training Update:
DearDaughter1 in now in full time undies. I was talking to my sister one day about how she night trained her children and she informed me that she immediately night trained her children after day training them. Well, I was always so skeptical about putting DearDaughter1 in undies because her Pull-Ups were always soaked when she got up. However, one evening we caught DearDaughter1 not wanting to use the potty even when she knew she had to. We were getting her ready for bed and told her to use the potty. She said, "I don't need to, I'll be wearing my Pull-Up". So, the day I talked to my sister about night training, I got DearDaughter1 excited about wearing undies at night. She got to pick out her own pajamas and her own underwear. I told her that she's a big girl now and big girls use underwear to bed. Well, she was so hyped up about wearing underwear that she took the responsibility very seriously and she woke up the next day dry. She did have 1 accident the next day, but has not had one since. DearDaughter1 was switched to undies on October 30th! We can officially say, NO MORE DIAPERS!!!

- Toddler Bed Transition:
It was difficult transitioning DearDaughter1 into a toddler bed. For the longest time she was getting up at least 4 or 5 times a night needing mommy's comfort. It took, maybe, 2 months for DearDaughter1 to get comfortable in a toddler bed. Today, late November, she gets up in the middle of the night to go potty, sometimes not even, and is now comfortable in her big girl bed.

- Gave up her security pillow by replacing it with a big girl pillow. She now does not need to carry around a security object to give her comfort. Made the switch on November 4th.

- Can write "A", "B", "C". DearDaughter1 loves to draw and to take advantage of that, I taught her how to "draw" the first 3 letters in the alphabet. Aside from drawing "A", "B", and "C", DearDaughter1 already knew how to draw happy faces and "+"s. She is now into drawing faces and stick figures.

- Likes tracing.

- Loves storytelling, especially listening to stories told to her.

- Protects her little sister. I once dropped a bottle of Tobasco and DearDaughter2 ran over to see what happened. DearDaughter1 ran after her little sister and said, "No, baby! Come here!" and held her little sister back.

- Understands conversations very well.

- Can identify an object and describe its use.

- Stays in her room in the morning until mommy gets her. DearDaughter1 has woken up early since the time change and to keep her in her room until 7:20, I set up a digital clock and told her to stay in there until it says "7", "2", "0". Well, the time didn't seem to really matter to DearDaughter1 and so I changed it to "stay in your room until mommy comes in and gets you." This concept was difficult for DearDaughter1 to learn, but eventually she's gotten it and stays in her room and waits for mommy. In that time, DearDaughter1 "reads" book or plays with her bears.

- Loves jumping and hopping and can jump off furniture with no fear.

- Has been able to do 9 piece and 12 piece puzzles and has now graduated to 24/25 piece puzzles.

- Loves singing and sings whole songs.

- Started a night time routine of going potty, washing hands, brushing teeth, and washing face, before bed.

- etc...The list is extensive and there are probably lots more things DearDaughter1 can and loves to do. Yes...our little girl is growing up...SO QUICKLY!

Bye Bye Sleep Sack

2008-10-17T05:31:00.002-05:00

DearDaughter2 has slept in a sleep sack since she was just a little newborn. DearHubby was getting concerned that she might become addicted to it and that I should wean her out of it. Well, DearDaughter2 said "bye bye" to her sleep sack all by herself on Tuesday, October 14th. She was running a fever and was sweating in her sleep sack. We asked her if she wanted the sleep sack off. She nodded her head up and down. As soon as the sleep sack came off, she fell right asleep. I continued to not put her in her sleep sack for her naps the next day and she did wonderful! She hasn't looked for it since. Aww, our little one is growing up :(

Getting Math

2008-10-17T05:27:00.002-05:00

Last night DearDaughter1 had a small Twix bar for dessert after dinner. She had chocolate all over her fingers and we encouraged her to lick them. She exclaimed that she wanted us all to each lick a finger. So, DearHubby asked her how many fingers were covered in chocolate. "One, two, fee (three), fo (four), fy (five)!" Then, DearHubby asked her how many people were there. "One, two, fee, fo!" She then exclaimed, "We need 1 more person!" Our eyes just opened wide in amazement! She just did math! She figured out, logically, that there was 1 less person than chocolate covered fingers. AMAZING, truly AMAZING!!!

Out of the Mouth...

2008-10-17T05:26:00.000-05:00

We have been teaching DearDaughter1 that God is the creator of everything.

One day, DearDaughter1 asked if she could watch her favorite show, Word World, on TV. I explained to her that Word World only comes on at 11am and it was only 8am. She insisted on watching Word World and I told her, "Little One, I don't control what comes on TV."

She paused for a moment and thought...

"God made TV?" she wondered aloud....

Funday Thursdays and Fridays

2008-10-13T18:59:00.000-05:00

The past couple of weeks have been filled with many activities for the little ones, especially the past 2 Thursdays and Fridays.

2 Thursdays ago, the girls and I, along with 5 other mommies and their little ones went to a local farm to go on a hayride and pumpkin picking. Since the girls and I had been apple and pumpkin picking already, we just went along for the hayride and fun!

The fun didn't stop there...We then had a short play date with another one of DearDaughter's friends...

Then, last Thursday, the girls and I went to our local Chic-Fil-A because they've been serving free breakfasts on Thursdays for the past month now. Last Thursday they served sausage, egg, and cheese bisquit sandwiches. It was yummy. Drinks are not free, so I brought my own from Dunkin Donuts :) Oh, and each person gets a free sandwich!

After our free breakfast, DearDaughter1 and I went to story time at the library for the first time. She learned all about her colors and even made a very colorful crown.

And the fun didn't stop there...We then had another short play date at the dinosaur park. We could have played all day, but I had some chores to do at home.

2 Fridays ago, DearHubby and I had our first date ever since the girls were born and so I spent most of the day preparing for my friend who was babysitting. However, in between my preparations, the girls and I were still able to make a quick Wal-Mart run to get us some food for dinner AND spend a nice afternoon at the mall.

Then, last Friday, we were scheduled to have a play date at our house, but our electricity went out. It was an interesting morning as I had to give the girls a bath in the dark (our bathroom does not have a window to it) with a pot of water each. Though our play date was planned for the outdoors on our play set, everything was wet from the morning dew and so I requested to go over our friends' house instead. What a fun morning the girls had with their friends playing play dough and riding around on their little tricycles and taking turns pulling each other in the trailor. Even DearDaughter2 got to participate. Usually, I need to hold DearDaughter2 down because she is just too small to participate, but we were on my friend's patio which was enclosed and DearDaughter2 was able to roam around as she pleased without me worrying too much about her safety.

I always look forward to the end of the week as I know that time is set apart just for the girls. It's given me the opportunity to enjoy and savor the time with these little ones, especially when the time flies by so quickly!

Funday Friday

2008-09-29T05:58:00.000-05:00

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The girls and I were scheduled to go on a hayride and pumpkin picking with DearDaughter1's best friend on Friday. However, it rained and I decided to have DearDaughter1's best friend and Mommy over for lunch and a play date.

The girls had a wonderful time! DearDaughter1 and Little R hadn't really played with each other since we got back from California. They were really excited to see each other. Yet, despite their excitement, DearDaughter1 still had some problems with sharing her toys so about 40% of the time the girls had to be refereed about this toy or that.

At the end of the day, when Little R and her Mommy needed to leave, both girls got really sad. They hadn't even left yet and DearDaughter1 said, "I miss R." Little R said, "I want to stay here forever. I love G." It was the cutest thing.

DearDaugher2 felt loved too. DearDaughter1 and Little R tried to include Baby into their play.

Tooth Tracker

2008-09-28T14:24:00.000-05:00

DearDaughter2's upper right and left first molars are cutting through the gums.

A Day on the Farm

2008-09-23T20:30:00.000-05:00

An Evening at the Beach

2008-09-22T21:17:00.000-05:00

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Daddy's been working really hard on the house, trying to get the siding on the addition up before winter comes. So, on Sunday Mommy thought it would be nice to get away for an evening and she suggested a stroll on the beach boardwalk. There was a beautiful sunset that turned the sky a bright pink color. It was a good time. My only complaint was that the ocean breeze was too cold for me. Baby didn't mind though. She just wanted food to eat.

Funday Friday

2008-09-22T14:50:00.000-05:00

DearDaughter1 was playing with the animals in our Noah's Ark set on Friday morning and I asked her if she wanted to see some of those animals in real life. She exclaimed, "YES!"

It was a spontaneous idea, but I was all for going to the zoo. It's only an hour drive from us and it's free.

Unfortunately, I forgot my camera so I have no pictures of the day. Nonetheless it was still a lot of fun. The neatest part about going through the zoo was seeing DearDaughter1's face light up when she saw animals she normally only sees in books or as figures.

I also put DearDaughter1 in charge of the zoo map and at the age of only 2, she navigated us through the zoo really well. She basically looked at the animals on the map and said, "OK mom, we didn't see the ---- yet. That's where we're going next..." The animals on the map were place in a circle and so it was very easy to take direction from my little 2 year old.

DearDaughter2 didn't get as excited as DearDaughter1, but she still enjoyed finding the animals in their cages, pointing at them, and identifying them as either cat, bird, or bear. At least she was about 70% correct in her identification.

It was a long day, but definitely a fun one!

Funday Friday

2008-09-18T05:21:00.000-05:00

For our last Funday Friday the girls and I had a scavenger hunt.

DearDaughter1 has been having trouble sleeping in her toddler bed. She's been waking me at least twice a night but sometimes up to 4 or 5 times a night just to tuck her back in. So, my sister suggested a sleeping bag because it stays zipped up. I thought it was a great idea!

One would think that the kids' sleeping bags would be in the sleeping bag section, but they don't have kids' sleeping bags at Wal-Mart, only slumber sacks, which are in the toy section. We did finally find kids' sleeping bags in the sleeping bag section at Target, but they only had neon red and neon green, none of which DearDaughter1 liked because her favorite color is pink. We finally found the perfect sleeping bag in the toy section. It's pink with white butterflies on the front, it also has a cool darker pink pocket for a flashlight, and the top of the bag is lined with pink polka dots. DearDaughter1 was very excited about it and when we got home, she immediately rested in it.

Unfortunately, when DearHubby came home he told me that I should have found a sleeping bag lined with cloth rather than the nylon because the nylon lined bags get really hot. He was right. After a few days of use DearDaughter1 lost her excitement about the sleeping bag because it was too hot. In addition, the sleeping bag idea worked as far as keeping DearDaughter1 tucked in, but she was still getting up and getting me up out of bed in the middle of the night. So, the idea didn't quite work out so well after all. Well, at least we'll be ready for a sleepover or a camping trip.

Our item for DearDaughter2 was a hand print set. When DearDaughter1 turned 1 we saved a pair of hand prints for her along with her 1 year picture. We found the hand print set at Wal-Mart in the crafts section. I like this one because it's clay and not plaster so you can mold the print as many times as you want if you don't like how it turns out. With plaster, you have to work fast and get it right the first time before it dries and hardens. This clay set only gets hard after baking. We only had to make the prints once and they turned out perfect!

Our Trip to California (8-25 to 9-5)

2008-09-13T05:04:00.000-05:00

You Add the Caption...

2008-08-24T20:13:00.000-05:00

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Happy 9th Anniversary Daddy and Mommy!

2008-08-21T20:07:00.000-05:00

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Happy 9th Anniversary Daddy and Mommy!

Snippet from the Day

2008-08-18T20:27:00.002-05:00

Mommy is proud of DearDaughter2 because she said "poo" and pointed to her diaper before going and then a minute later went. DearDaughter2 was letting Mommy know that she needed to go.

Snippet from the Day

2008-08-17T21:06:00.000-05:00

Mommy is glad that DearDaughter1 did not do her business on the big potty before falling into it today.

Funday Friday?

2008-08-15T21:07:00.001-05:00

I have to admit that this Funday Friday was not the most fun day we've had.

I had plans to go to Pizza Hut for lunch, but DearDaughter1 kept misbehaving and to discipline her, I took away the privilege of going out to lunch.

After lunch at home we went to Red Bank Battlefield Park where DearDaughter1 continued in disobedience. The hot and muggy weather didn't make it any better either. Nonetheless, I tried to make the best of the day as I could and salvaged our fun with our walk along the river and a playtime at the playground.

We rushed out of the park to meet DearHubby at the mall. They were having a promotional training session at JC Penny because they were switching over to digital. We decided to take advantage of the promotional and do our family pictures. The girls were tired and cranky and the studio was crowded and DearDaughter1 pooped in her pants right before our pictures were taken.

I actually couldn't wait until this day was over :(

Funday Saturday - Longwood Gardens

2008-08-09T21:31:00.001-05:00

First Steps

2008-08-09T21:20:00.003-05:00

DearDaughter2 took her first 4-5 steps last night. She was sitting on Daddy's tummy and saw Mommy walking towards her. She was excited to see Mommy and stood up and took 4-5 steps.

We tried to recreate the scenario to video her first steps, but DearDaughter2 didn't want to do it again.

Tonight, DearDaughter2 did the same exact thing, but we didn't have the video camera ready. Again, trying to recreate the scenario, DearDaughter2 chose not to walk anymore.

Playing Dolly

2008-08-07T19:27:00.003-05:00

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DearDaughter2 usually follows DearDaughter1 and I to the bathroom when DearDaughter1 needs to use the potty. She didn't today and so I wondered why. Apparently, when DearDaughter1 put down her dolly to go to the potty, DearDaughter2 quickly picked it up so that she could feed baby dolly too!

What a good imitator!

Taking It Literally

2008-08-07T19:25:00.003-05:00

DearDaughter1 was helping me pour my Coke in my mug and I told her to put the whole can in. She picked up the can and really put it in my mug.

Snippet from the Day

2008-08-07T08:11:00.003-05:00

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Mommy just disciplined DearDaughter1 for throwing half the box of Cheerios on to the kitchen table and floor. DearDaughter1 committed the "crime" just to make DearDaughter2 laugh.

Snippet from the Day

2008-08-06T13:21:00.001-05:00

Mommy just cleaned DearDaughter2's hands because she stuck them in DearDaughter1's potty while Mommy was helping DearDaughter1 pull up her pants.

I Miss My Crib

2008-08-04T11:00:00.004-05:00

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Daddy and Mommy moved me up to a toddler bed last night. It's very pretty. I got to pick out my own sheets! However, I'm sad that I have to give up my crib to my little sister. I really like my crib a lot and I'm having a hard time getting used to this big girl bed. I've also given Mommy a hard time about it. I just miss how safe and comfortable my crib felt.

Funday Friday

2008-08-01T21:52:00.001-05:00

The pictures say it all! Need I say more?

Catching Up with The Girls

2008-08-01T20:20:00.000-05:00

Catching Up With DearDaughter2

2008-08-01T20:06:00.000-05:00

June and July Milestones:
- Signs "more" (left hand open & right hand in a fist), "thank you", "please", and "all done"

- Understands where ears, mouth, and eyes are

- Understands instructions like "Get your milk"

- Understands "no"

- Points to what she wants or where she wants to go

- Is a good imitator
.....- Will put a purse on her arm
.....- Will pretend to talk on the phone
.....- Will pretend to take pictures with a camera

Catching Up With DearDaughter1

2008-08-01T06:02:00.000-05:00

June & July Milestones:
- Potty Training Update:
DearDaughter1 is now in undies all day long. It wasn't without a lot of difficult challenges, though. For a time, DearDaughter1 lost interest in the potty and decided that she didn't want to use it anymore, even when she was in undies. When she wet herself every single time in undies, Mommy decided to put her back to full time Pull-Ups. This lasted for a couple of weeks and then Mommy reintroduced the potty again. To ease the pressure off of DearDaughter1, she was in undies for half a day and the other half she was in Pull-Ups. Even after using the potty while in Pull-Ups, DearDaughter1 didn't go to full time undies until July 23rd, when Mommy learned that DearDaughter1's best-friend switched over to full time undies. DearDaughter1 is still in NightTime Pull-Ups.

DearDaughter1 can go to the potty by herself and wash her hands too.

- DearDaughter1 started asking the question "Why?". At first it was because her best friend did it all the time, but eventually DearDaughter1 started asking the question because she truly wants to know.

- DearDaughter1 learned to reason...
Mommy: "Why do you want to do this?"
DearDaughter1: "Because..."

Mommy: "Sit on the floor please..."
DearDaughter1: "I will sit on the couch because I don't want baby to take the toy I'm playing with..."

- Can draw her hand

- Can carry on a simple conversation

- Can follow a multi-part instruction

Funday Friday

2008-07-25T21:55:00.000-05:00

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When DearDaughter1 was born, my MotherInLaw offered to pay for monthly update pictures done at a studio. Today was picture day so we spent a good part of our day at the mall. Since DearDaughter2 turned 1 this Tuesday, we did her 1 year old photos today. I brought a birthday cupcake for her to just dig into while the photographer snapped those picture perfect moments, but DearDaughter2 was distracted by all that was going on that she wasn't too interested in the cake. I ultimately just smeared frosting on her face and body. Unfortunately the grocery store's bakery only had cupcakes in blue and green frosting, so DearDaughter2, in her diapers, looked like a boy with the frosting smeared all over her. If she weren't sitting on a pink blanket, no one would have been able to tell she is a girl.

After our photo sitting, we had lunch at the food court. We had BBQ chicken and white rice from a Chinese place.

I normally would let DearDaughter1 run around the digital play area after lunch, but I wanted to get to Old Navy before DearDaughter2's naptime. I had a coupon for 4 free photo sheets from the photo studio and I decided that we would do family pictures at that time. I was thinking of doing all black tops and I saw black tanks on sale at Old Navy the other day. The Old Navy I knew that had those tops was the one near my house, which meant I needed to pack the girls up and leave the mall.

A Lesson in Stealing. As I was packing the girls in the car, I found a mini photo album in our stroller that we did not purchase. DearDaughter1 took the photo album while I was paying. So, I had to pack the girls back up into the stroller and walk back to the photo studio in the mall. As we walked back, I explained to DearDaughter1 that taking the photo album without paying for it is stealing. She took something that did not belong to her and that is not good. When we got to the photo studio, I made DearDaughter1 hand back the photo album and apologize for stealing. I was very proud of DearDaughter1 for being so good about returning the photo album. I could see that she really felt bad for taking the photo album.

A Great Deal! We did get to Old Navy and I did get the black tops, however, the best deal I got was a knit sweater on sale for $4.50 from $19.50. That's 77% off the original price! Sweet! So, I got matching sweaters for both girls, ready for fall!

A Lesson in One Anothering. Later in the day, we went to deliver a meal for a family at church. This was a good opportunity to teach DearDaughter1 about "one anothering" in the church body. While I was preparing the food, DearDaughter1 kept asking me who the food was for and why. So, I kept explaining that there is a family who is not able to cook their food right now and since we are able to cook, we are helping this family by cooking for them. DearDaughter1 enthusiastically helped me pack the food up!

On the way to delivering this meal, we passed by a lake and I stopped at its parking lot and asked one of the ladies getting out of her car if the lake was open to the public for swimming. She said it was and the nice thing is that it is actually FREE!!! She then told me of a nicer free lake. I think the girls and I will check it out next week!

Our last outing was with Daddy. We got ice cream at Baskin Robbins. We are part of the birthday club and had a coupon for a free scoop. We gave that one to DearDaughter1. Well, we learned a good lesson for next time...I will share with DearDaughter1 because the scoop is too big for her. My birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks, so we'll have a do over on the ice cream stop and apply our lesson learned tonight.

Today's Funday Friday was a potpourri of different events...I must also admit that I did have to do some house chores today. I was so disoriented yesterday by the change of plans that I didn't get anything done. I spent this morning replanning my weekend and part of the plans included house chores for today. Well, we'll make up for that next week when DearFriend Y is with us!

Happy 1st Birthday!!!

2008-07-22T21:42:00.001-05:00