My 4-year-old

Yesterday was Emma's 4th birthday.  My how the time has flown!  Every year I say I can't believe it's her ____ birthday, but this year has been especially weird.  She's completely out of the toddler years and into the preschool years.  Wow!  I think the strangest thing is knowing 4 is almost 5, which means Kindergarten is just around the corner.  Impossible!!

The details of many memories fade over time, but I still remember the day (& night leading up to) of Emma's birth as if it were just months ago, not years.  I think that's why it's so hard to realize 4 years have already passed.  What a sweet day it was!   

This year was a fun birthday.  It was the first year she anticipated it and asked every day for a week ahead of time if the current day was her birthday.  She was so excited as we put her to bed the night before her birthday and that was fun to watch.  She has preschool on Tuesdays, so I was able to take cupcakes to her class.  We had a good time with that.  Last year she wouldn't blow out her candles when it was just our family at home, but this year she couldn't wait to have her classmates sing to her and watch her blow out all 4 of those candles!
 

It was a great day of celebrating such a sweet little life!  I am so blessed to be the mama of this little girl and even though I may be a tiny bit sad as each birthday comes, I am also overjoyed at what we have to look forward to.  I am excited about this year and seeing her grow and learn in new ways. 

Baby #3 Update

We had another ultrasound yesterday to check on the status of the hematoma.  Nothing has changed with the position or size of the hematoma, but my doctor said that because there has been no additional bleeding and it hasn't increased in size, he thinks the place that was bleeding initially has healed.  Yay!

However, there is no way to know if the hematoma will go away or if it will stay with me through the rest of the pregnancy.  Again my doctor mentioned the possibility of preterm labor if the hematoma doesn't go away.  Because of that, I am still supposed to take it easy, but I can return to somewhat normal activity.  I can finally pick up Abby again, which means I can be home alone!!  It's been a little strange being by myself today because I haven't been able to fully take care of my children in almost 6 weeks.  I imagine we will quickly get back to normal, whatever that is around here. :-)  

I asked specifically about the location of the hematoma in relation to the placenta, and they are not close to one another.  So, I shouldn't experience any problems with the hematoma interfering with the placenta, which would cause problems with the growth and development of the baby.  That was a relief to hear!!

The baby is still growing well and is a couple of days ahead of my dates, which was encouraging.  The heart rate was great as were all the measurements.  Two weeks ago, it weighed 3 oz and yesterday it was 6 oz, so it doubled in size in just two weeks!  I am constantly amazed at the miracle of life.  The way God creates us in the womb is mind-blowing!  This tiny little baby, at only 6 oz is already so perfectly formed.  We were able to see so many body parts in detail and it looked like there was even a little thumb sucking going on.  Truly amazing!  Here's just one picture from yesterday--a side view, and you can see that hand up there by the mouth.

Oh, and we also found out... It's a BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy 4 Months, Eli!

Becoming an aunt was one of the greatest things life has given me! Today my sweet nephew is 4 months old. It's hard to believe that in just a few short months, he's gone from this:

just minutes old--4 lb, 14 oz

to this:

4 months old--12 lbs

His cousins ADORE him. And poor thing, he's got a lot more ahead of him than having a collapsible funnel put on his head. Emma actually put his first princess crown on him today... oops! :-) Don't tell his daddy!

I love this little boy, and I am so grateful that I get to see him on an almost daily basis.

Happy 4 months, Eli!

Still Learning

I'm still trying to figure this whole blog thing out. Thanks to some help, I'm hoping I can post a picture the way I've been trying.

While I didn't get to put up all the pictures from the end of 2010 that I wanted, I still want to share a couple of pictures of my sweet babies. They're growing up so fast! They keep us busy and they keep us laughing! Here are a couple of pictures from our Christmas holidays.

Emma before getting her cookies out for Santa

Abby on Christmas morning with her doggy from Santa

Parenting is absolutely not for the faint of heart, but I cannot imagine my life without these two precious little girls!

I plan to post more soon, but for now, I'll leave this as my tester for posting pictures. Happy Monday!

Moving On

I haven't been away from my blog as long as it seems. I just haven't posted the one really long post I've worked on trying to catch up on all I've missed. I can't seem to figure out how to put a picture in the middle of my text, and I've just overall been frustrated with this whole deal.

So, I'm moving on. I'm starting fresh in 2011, forgetting what I missed at the end of 2010. I think everything I was going to post is on my Facebook page, so most everyone has seen the pictures anyway.

I went to the doctor today and had an ultrasound to check on the hematoma and the baby. Baby is doing well. He or she was moving like crazy... great, another mover! :-) The hematoma is about the same size and nothing has really changed. My doctor still doesn't know how this thing is going to turn out, but he was encouraged that the baby is doing so well. It looks like the place that caused the hematoma has pretty much healed, which is also good. And the placenta looked good as well. So all outside appearances are positive, except for the fact that the hematoma is still there. He said that if the hematoma isn't reabsorbed, that later on it could cause preterm labor. So, we may be playing the waiting game until the end. We shall see...

He cleared me for moderate activity, but I'm not really sure what that means. I still can't pick up Abby, who only weighs 20 lbs, so it's not like I can do much if I can't even pick up that much weight. I guess that means I can unload the silverware and the cups from the dishwasher now. :-) But I still can't do most household chores.

I have been overwhelmed by the number of people who have been praying for us and have given us words of encouragement through calls, fb, text, email, etc. We are truly blessed to have so many people who care about us! Thank you!