Eleven Months!

Our sweet baby girl was eleven months yesterday! That means just one more month until she is blowing out the candles on her first birthday cake (okay, I am sure BIG SISTER will be helping her with that part!). It has been an eventful month for Serena as she is trying to perfect her toddling skills. Just recently in the last few days she has learned how to get to a standing position on her own. Before she was having to crawl over to something and pull herself up. This is quite a good skill to have mastered when you are falling on your bottom a lot! Now she just picks herself up and keeps walking to where ever she was going. It is still so much fun to see her taking those steps and amazing at the same time. A few months ago she couldn't do much more than lie on the floor and stare at her toys and now she is walking all over it and getting her toys herself.

She is becoming quite vocal lately with her sister. Just as I thought, now that Serena is older, Calli is having trouble with it. She actually really loves her baby sister and is always giving her hugs and kisses and telling her that. But she doesn't like to share her things and she will take toys away from her sister. Serena has started putting up a fight when Calli does this and will just yell at her. It is really funny because usually it causes Calli to give back whatever she took.

It is nearly time to give up the bottles and formula too, which will actually be really nice. I hope the transition will be easy like it was with Calli. Serena is down to just her morning and night bottles anyway and so I'm not too worried. She can fall asleep on her own, she doesn't need the bottle in her mouth. And when she wakes up in the morning I will just need to feed her breakfast ASAP instead of the bottle. I tried Calli will whole milk at about 11.5 months so I will probably do the same here. Speaking of eating, Serena pretty much eats everything in sight. She eats more than Calli does usually! It is crazy! I don't know where she puts it all and I'm thinking we'll go to the doctor in a month and she will weigh thirty pounds (okay maybe not that much!). I think her absolute favorite foods are oranges and peas, but she really loves almost anything you put in front of her.

I am just in awe that pretty soon we will have made it through her first year of life. It seemed to go by so quickly, much faster than Calli's first year did. She has been an easier baby though. She still sleeps so well, going to bed at 7:30pm each night and not waking until about 7:30-8 the next morning. She takes one nap a day, at 11am and that's all I have been able to get her to take the last few months. That is fine with me though, I'd rather have her taking one big nap than two short ones so I can get more done. I hope the next baby adapts to a schedule so well like Serena did!

Anyhow, Happy Eleven Months Serena!! We love you!

A Video

This was taken on our Valentine's Day morning (last Saturday). As you can see, Serena is quite the walker now! She gets better every day too and is walking so much! It is just incredible to me to be able to watch her and be a witness to such a huge development in her life. Calli was her usual self; she received some glitter glue pens for her present and had to start using them right away!

Tired. Just tired.

You think you are tired with the second pregnancy. Well, let me start over; you think you are tired with the first pregnancy. All that sleeping in, napping whenever you want or need, taking hot relaxing baths and vegging on the couch can really get to you! Okay, so pregnancy in itself just makes you tired even if you aren't doing anything. But you have to admit, a first time pregnancy seems pretty easy in retrospect.

So then you decide that it really wasnt that bad and hey, let's do it again! So you get to cooking Baby #2 and realize that it is not quite so easy. As I said, you think you are tired. Toward the end of it, I knew I was tired! And maybe it depends on the age gaps you have with your kids. If you wait a long time and have a child who is in school all day, I would think it would be a bit easier than chasing after a toddler all day, which is what I did. I had this rambunctious two-year-old who had started to give up her daily naps and sometimes it was hard to get through the day. At the end of my pregnancy I was so tired I had no idea how in the world I was going to manage two children! I thought I would drop from being so tired all the time. But this amazing thing happened; when Serena was born I suddenly had all this energy! I didn't really realize or think about the fact that I was pregnant and that alone was eating all my energy. I just thought I was going to feel like that forever! But I was wrong. Once she came out it was a brand new world for me! Even getting up several times a night with her was much less tiring than being pregnant with her was, how crazy is that!? Like I said, I thought I was tired.

But I am here to tell you that it is really the THIRD pregnancy that does you in. Oh. My. Gosh! Am I ever tired. Now this may have something to do with the fact that that two-year-old has turned into a sassy, spunky three-year-old who wears me out. She is now more emotionally exhausting than physically. She still likes to run and be crazy, but she is three (nearly four!) and doesn't get into things she shouldn't be getting into and doesn't need such a constant watchful eye. She'll sit still to watch a show (or ten if I let her!!) and I'll have a few minutes of peace. But now she is older and able to back talk and give me attitude and drive me crazy! So she takes care of my emotional well-being, while my ten-month-old makes sure I am physically exhausted from chasing after her new walking legs each day. The nice thing about said ten-month-old is that she actually naps during the day. There is a brief two to three hour break that I get from her and I wish I could convince Calli to follow suit. But no.

I am *almost* in the third trimester and by the time you hit the third pregnancy, the myth about the second trimester being the best and the time when you get all your energy back is complete crap. I have been worn down for about two months now I would say and May cannot come soon enough. Of course I know it will be tiring caring for three children under the age of four, but as I remember last time, I will get my energy back when I have this baby in my arms instead of in my belly.

Oops! New Blog!

I have been neglecting this blog! So here is my update.

Calli is on the downhill slide to four years old. How did that happen? I would say her favorite thing to do right now is art. So that is why I signed her up for an art class. It is every Monday from 12:30-2 and I can just drop her off and come get her when the class is over. The last two weeks I have spent running errands during that time. It is SO much easier to do the grocery shopping with just one child in tow. And Calli loves her time in the class. Every week they do a new project. Yesterday they traced what were supposed to be slices of bread onto their paper and drew on all different toppings for them. I am sure when her class ends in a few months we will have accumulated all kinds of art projects and I don't know what we will do with them all! I hate throwing away anything that my kids do. I save way too many of Calli's drawings she makes at home, but I can't bear to part with them.

I recently had a funny moment with Calli, a definite "MOM Moment", when she asked me "Mommy, how did the baby get in your tummy?" I didn't quite know how to respond and am sure my answer wasn't sufficient, but she did stop asking. I don't know what I will say the next time she asks. She is only three, she is not supposed to be saying these things already!! When I was pregnant with Serena she was very interested in how the baby was going to come OUT. Now she wants to know how it got IN. Kids!

Serena is growing every day and learning new things. She is taking steps all the time now and getting braver and braver. She is becoming unafraid to let go and walk on her own. She'll walk from couch to couch, toy to toy, person to person. Her record is about seven or eight steps now. It is so amazing to watch. I really really love this milestone. It is just so adorable to see her let go of the safety net she is holding onto and venture out on her own. She takes a few shakey steps, stops to balance herself and takes a few more before either reaching her destination or falling on her bottom. Just a few weeks and she will be running alongside Calli!

One of the really cute things she has been doing lately is opening her mouth really wide when she is happy. It's so cute! It's like her face is too small to contain all the happiness and joy inside, but she is trying to express it anyhow. She has given up her old wave (to herself) already and started the big sweeping side to side wave. She dances to music, responds to her name (sometimes) and loves on the kitties, her favorite animal. This is my favorite baby age, the time they just start walking and their little personalities really start to shine through.

Our baby boy (who is yet to be named) is doing great as well. I had a doctor's appointment on Friday and his heartbeat is strong. My due date was also changed from May 12th to May 25th. I am so relieved about this because I have known from the beginning that my due date was off and now I feel vindicated.

I have been doing okay myself. I have been having sinus problems for the last month and haven't been sleeping well. Last night I finally took some benadryl and was able to sleep much better. I just hate taking medicine while I'm pregnant, no matter if the doctor tells me it's "safe". If you will notice, nothing is really 100% safe that they know of because it's all under Catergory B, not Catergory A. I just really hate that I've had to take so much. But I am miserable! I hope I don't have to suffer this the rest of the pregnancy.

Well here are some much needed pics!

The kids and me on my birthday

Calli in her pretty, new dress
This is Serena walking. It is very hard to capture a photo of a person walking!!

My two princesses! We were getting ready to go out to a Princess Breakfast at Chick-Fil-A

This is Serena's super happy face

My ballerinas

She decided to pop a squat on the diaper box

Playing outside

My beautiful model in my shoes

Five months pregnant. Calli wanted to show off her belly too :)

This picture is so sweet!

And one more of course because I didn't want Serena to be left out. I love her facial expression!

Milestones

For the most part I enjoy this baby age. I don't enjoy the constant teething. I am one that blames everything on teething. I hate it. I hate when people do that. Oh, the baby is cranky, must be teething. Drooling everywhere, yup teething for sure! Hands in the mouth, trying to relieve the teething pain. I don't know about other babies, but mine both did that all the time. Serena does seem a bit extra cranky when one tooth is going to poke through soon. She got a tooth on the top recently and I am waiting for it's partner to come in, so I have no doubt she is truely teething right now.

Anyhow, aside from that annoyance, this age is pretty darn fun. Even though Calli and Serena are only 2.5 years apart, it's easy to forget everything in that amount of time. (I don't think I'm going to have that problem between the next two kids). I love seeing all the new things that Serena learns every day. Yesterday she drank out of a straw for the first time, which was pretty neat. I really like that since it makes it so much easier when we are out. If we forget a sippy cup, it's not a huge deal. She loves climbing up the stairs. We can't leave the gate down or she is on the bottom step in no time. She makes sure to look over at one of us and make sure she has our attention before she squeals in delight and starts booking it up the stairs. She can climb all the way to the top without breaking a sweat. She loves to wave now, always to herself. It's adorable watching her little fingers move back and forth as she waves toward her face. She loves kitty cats. We have two and each grandma and grandpa had two cats in California so she has had a lot of exposure. When she sees a cat or a picture of one, her face lights up with joy. Her hair is growing longer and is fun to put in a ponytail sticking on the top of her head (Cindy Lou Who!). She has attempted a few steps on her own, but nothing too serious yet.

These are just a few of my favorite things that have happened over the last few days, weeks and months. The really great milestones coming up are walking and talking. I can't wait for those to happen. My kids amaze me every day with the things they know and can do.

I will have to do a post later of the great things that have been coming out of Calli's mouth lately. She is just as amazing and wonderful.

Happy Birthday to Me!

That's right, it is January 14th and it is my birthday. The big 2-4, wahoo! Being 24 feels fantastic. Okay, so it doesn't really feel any different from being 23. Does it ever feel different turning a year older? I think it feels different when I look back and think, "wow, I am 24! It feels like I was just 18". I am sure I will have some kind of epiphany around my 30th birthday about feeling old. But for now, I just feel like me. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ME!

My Birthday is Tomorrow!

My birthday is tomorrow, my birthday is tomorrow!! I am kind of like a kid when it comes to my birthday. I am still at that point in my life where getting older is not too much of a big deal yet. After all, even though I am *only* going to be 24 I think having three kids at this age would make anyone feel older! So I know that I am young still. But I can already feel this is only going to last a few more years before I start getting depressed about the day. I just loving having the one day out of the year that is MINE, my special day. I am not sure what we'll do yet, go out for dinner somewhere so I don't have to cook. And I got a grasshopper pie from Baskin Robbins, yum! Can't wait to eat that, I know Calli is looking forward to it too.

So Serena has been taking a few steps. I don't know if they really count, but she is getting closer to walking. We have two couches, about two feet apart from each other in one spot. She wanted to get from one to the other so she let go of the first couch, took a step and flung herself toward the opposite couch and managed to stay on her feet. Here and there she has been taking a step unassisted and yesterday while I was cooking dinner Richard said she took three. We are getting closer!

Yesterday was a pretty nice day, around 60 degrees. Not too hot and not too cold. So I took the kids to the park. Calli has learned how to ride her "big girl bike". She finally mastered her tricycle about a month or two ago and went straight from that to being able to ride her two wheel bike with training wheels. She does really well with it and I can't believe how grown up she looks on it. Yesterday we also went to the DMV because my California license is set to expire tomorrow. I remember going to get that particular license when I was 18 in 2003. I had to take a written test over because I had been in an accident two years before. I passed of course and received this license that was good for six years. 2009 seemed SO far away. When we moved to Texas in 2005 I didn't want to give up my California license. It was all I had left of my "home" and I wasn't ready to give it up. Four years seemed still so far away. But here it is, 2009 and I had no choice but to give up my expiring license for a Texas one. I will receive it in the mail in a few weeks I guess and I didn't even get to keep my CA one. I guess they have to mail them back in. How depressing. I won't ever call myself a Texan, but I am stripped of my last possession that made me a Californian.

My birthday is tomorrow, my birthday is tomorrow!

Our Healthy Baby

It never fails; when you go to a doctor's appointment you are going to have to wait. This is probably some law we all don't know about. I have never seen a doctor at my actual scheduled appointment. Even if you get taken back at your appointment time, you still sit in the exam room waiting for the doctor past your scheduled time. Why is this? Yes, as the day goes on things get backed up, it makes sense. But even having the first appointment of the day I've found doesn't really matter. You still won't have contact with the doctor until 10-15 minutes later.

These last few years I have had A LOT of doctor's appointments, so I have become pretty familiar with the waiting process. Yesterday at my appointment I was the only one in the waiting room for a 2:00pm appointment. Yet, I didn't get back there until fifteen minutes after the hour. I was by myself and had some time to think and that is what I hate. When you are waiting for an appointment where you could potentially get bad news, your mind goes a mile a minute. You can't help but think all these bad thoughts and all the time you are waiting your stomach gets more twisted up in knots. By the time I finally do get to go see the doctor my stomach is a ball of sore nerves and I've envisioned all the worst case scenarios.

Luckily yesterday turned out to be a best case scenario. The doctor said that the baby's heart looks fine and I can now continue on and have an uneventful pregnancy (something that you wouldn't think would be such a huge blessing!). The white spots on the baby's heart are gone and the doctor was able to locate a nasal bone right away when we were looking at the baby's profile. He is still measuring two weeks behind and at this point it looks like my due date is off (which probably threw the quad-screen results in the first place). So instead of having a mid-May baby I suspect it will be more like an end-of-May baby. This means I have to "redo" two weeks of my pregnancy and instead of being twenty-two weeks along I'm more like twenty. But that is really okay, it gives us an extra two weeks to prepare right!?

So I now feel like I know so much about this baby. I know that his DNA is fine. And I know that he doesn't have any heart problems. About the only things I knew about Calli and Serena were that they were babies in there. I didn't even know their sex! This time is different. I feel grateful for our blessings and that everything turned out fine. I can't even begin to express that in words. In a way, going through this has made us stronger and taught us A LOT. I know I would never opt for the quad screening again, that is for sure.

Oh and in case we had any doubts, in case the first ultrasound and the 100% amnio confirmation wasn't enough, this is definitely a boy. He is not shy. It's funny because both my girls crossed their legs during their ultrasounds (Calli did it for two!) and so I said if this one crosses it's legs it is a girl. But low and behold, here is the boy proudly showing us his parts.

Ultrasound

Today I have another ultrasound to check on the baby. At the last one the doctor was concerned he may have seen a hole in the baby's heart. This is not uncommon and they can close before birth or be operated on after birth (scary). Then again, my hope is he didn't really see anything and the baby will be 100% fine. But this is also the kind of hopeful attitude I went into the last ultrasound with and I was devestated coming out. So I am trying to be positive, but remembering to give myself a reality check. I am so tempted to google everything I can about this condition, but I did that last time with my ultrasound and ultimately discovered that sometimes, knowledge is not power. I know you would think it would be helpful to know everything you possibly can, but all it really does is freak me out. There is just too much information out there and too much focusing on the bad. Google should implement some kind of filter for "positive" and "negative" information. I like to have things fed to me in a positive manor and hear the good in it so looking at all the terrible things out there that could be wrong with my baby is hard. I can also sit on the computer for hours and hours and do research and still not be done. I have learned to rely a lot on my doctors for information and know that they will give me what I need to know. After all, I am trusting them with my life, with my baby's life, and if I can't trust them to give me information then what am I doing as their patient?

This blog is a lot of rambling, but this is kind of a hard day. The last time I went to this office and had an ultrasound there the news was not good. It took a week to find out everything was actually okay and even now I am still trying to come to terms with it. I am up some nights worrying about things. What if the test results are wrong? What if they switched mine with someone else's? What if something else is wrong with the baby? It is so hard not to let these thoughts dominate my mind. All I can do is wait until May comes and my baby gets here.

So today I am hoping for good news. I am hoping to leave the office with a smile instead of tears running down my face. I am hoping today will be different.

Buying Blue

Now that we know Baby #3 is a boy that means I get to start doing some shopping! Since the girls were both surprises at the delivery, I have a whole bunch of gender neutral 0-3 month clothing. And it seems the yellow/green/white tends to suit baby boys more than girls, so we are all set for the first few months. Of course, that hasn't stopped me from buying a few blue onsies for that age. Mostly though I have been trying to do a bit of shopping for the 3+ month age since that is when all of our clothes turn to pink and frills. I have a friend who has offered to set aside some clothes as her baby boy outgrows them to pass on to me. My sister also nannies for a little boy whose mother offered his outgrown clothes to me. I am grateful to have some hand-me-downs, but that is not going to stop me from purchasing some of my own things. I think that is a new mother's right! We pretty much have pink baby clothes coming out of our ears. We pulled out all the pink after Serena was born and she has also been accumulating new clothes as well from relatives and sometimes from me. She was a spring baby and Calli was born in the summer, so their seasons didn't really sync up all that well. Plus with Serena being a bigger baby than Calli was she could pretty much be wearing Calli's one-year-old summer dresses now in winter.

Anyhow, I've started to do a bit of boy shopping, although where I will put these blue things I have no idea! The first place I looked was Kohls where I found a really cute set of five onsies. That was my first blue purchase. Looking around the rest of the store, I found a couple other things, but nothing to go crazy over. Meanwhile I am drooling over all the cute girl clothes and wishing for a tiny second this was another sweet girl to dress up again! I have briefly looked around Target and found nothing. Then came Babies R Us. I have always noticed that the girls' section of clothing is larger than the boys but I never noticed exactly how much larger until I actually went in it. There is almost nothing!

Here is my plea for the manufacturers of baby clothes: please make them as cute as little girl clothes! Is there a reason that blue can't be cute too? What is with all the trucks? I am tired of seeing trucks! And the dinosaurs; ugly! Puppies are the only animal that seem to dominate the blue clothing. About the only theme I like is the sports, but even that can get old. I know, pants and jeans are not as cute and dresses and skirts. I mean, who can walk through the girls clothing section and not see ten thousand cute items they would like to add to their daughter's closet? But I want my little boy to be well dressed too. So please come up with better clothing options for those of us having to shop for the blue!

My Serena Girl!

She had her nine month check-up yesterday. She weighs less than I would have thought, but is still perfect according to the doctor. She is 18 pounds, 5 ounces (50th percentile) and 28 inches (75th percentile). I think she is starting to thin out and will be like her sister. And now that she is on the move more that burns calories. She also has started not liking her bottles. I am actually not too upset to be having this problem since I have to stop the bottles in three months anyway. I would much rather have her rejecting them now than wanting them six times a day. She is lucky if she gets three six ounce bottles a day, yesterday it was two. She just likes to be a big girl and eat her meals at the table. She is completely on table foods and I think just enjoys eating real food instead of formula now. She is a really good eater and the doctor was not concerned so I'm not really either. I think I may start giving her an infant vitamin, just in case! But like I said, I would rather have this problem than the opposite.

I also noticed yesterday when we got home from the doctor that she cut her top left tooth. Yay Serena!

Nine Months!

Serena is nine months old today! Hard to believe just three more months before she turns ONE. And not long after that we'll be adding another little one to the family. There is going to be so much going on for us this year and it will be crazy and wonderful. I am sure we are in for a tough second half of the year trying to adjust to and juggle three small children, but I have faith that we can do it. We don't really have a choice. We just do it and get through it and hopefully enjoy some of it :).

We are back from our trip to CA. They always go by so fast and this time is especially hard because we don't know when we'll be returning. Traveling with three kids on an airplane won't be as easy as two (which wasn't all that easy either!). We are just settling back into our life here in Texas again and it feels like we've never really left. We got home around 1am on Friday morning and I was off to the doctor's for my 10am appointment. Everything went well and hearing the baby's heartbeat was really great. I haven't had an appointment with my OB since the whole mess with the ultrasound and amnio and then I went out of town for three weeks so I was a little worried. I have felt small movements I think, but with the third it is hard. I have two very young kids, one who is only nine months old and constantly crawling all over me so I am just not as in tune with my body and pregnancy as I was with the other two. My doctor reassured me that this was normal though and she often hears third time mothers say the same thing about the movement.

Anyhow, things are good on this end. I am just trying to adjust to the "winter" here again with the temperature all over the place. Yesterday was 85 and tomorrow will be 48. Nice. Should help me get rid of this cold for sure! I miss the constant weather patterns, what I really miss is a winter. I got a taste of it and am hungry for more.

Calli and Serena are enjoying all their new toys that Santa and all their other relatives spoiled them with. Serena is getting so smart and BIG. When we were in California she learned how to clap. It is so cute! We say "yaaaaay" and clap our hands together and she gets this big smile on her face and makes the "yay" noise and claps. She also started to point a lot. This just cracks me up because you pick her up and she points at something like she wants you to take her to it. So then she gets to see that and will point to something else she wants to go to. I think she has also started to wave, but it's the backwards wave to herself. Calli did this too and I think a lot of babies do it, where they wave to themselves instead of the opposite. She also cruises like a pro and is very daring, moving from one object to the next. Sometimes she will be holding onto the couch, let go and kind of throw herself towards me to hold on to. Calli was 9.5 months when she took her first steps so perhaps I will writing about that later on this month??? We'll see. She is a very fun baby with an awesome personality and so happy most of the time. She is just getting over her third cold though, which she generously passed onto me.

Calli is Calli. She is hyper and energetic with her little attitude and lots of love. Now that her baby sister is getting bigger and into all her things, she is not wanting to share quite so much. I knew this would happen though, it is just how it goes when you have two spaced pretty close.

No pictures because we left our camera cable in CA so we're waiting on my parents to send it. Oops!

Christmas 2008

These last few days have been a whirlwind. I can hardly believe it is the day after Christmas and all the festivities are over. It is probably the saddest day of the year for me because I love Christmas and the anticipation for the holiday so much. I hate waking up on the 26th knowing I have 364 days until next Christmas, when my kids are a year older and growing so much. I do love that I have a January birthday though because it gives me something to look forward to. It is after that is over that I really hate!

Anyhow, we woke up Christmas Eve to a cold morning. We all got ready; I dressed the girls in their adorable Christmas dresses and they looked so beautiful. I put a ponytail in Serena's hair for the first time. It stood straight up on her head and she looked so much like Cindy Lou Who from How The Grinch Stole Christmas that we called her that all day. We headed out into the rain that had started to fall and in the direction of the mall to meet SANTA and do some extremely last minute Christmas shopping. My dad was nice enough to wait in the Santa line for the first half hour and my sister and her friend for the next. We were able to walk around and get our last minute presents bought in this time and when we returned to the line we only had to wait about twenty minutes before it was our turn. We found that the third time was a charm for Serena meeting Santa because she didn't cry! I was so thrilled. She didn't smile still, but SHE DIDN'T CRY and so I was happy. I have an adorable picture that I will have to scan online for everyone to see.

After the mall we headed back home and gave Serena a nap and I finished wrapping Christmas presents. That evening we went to Romano's Macaroni Grill for our traditional Christmas Eve dinner. We missed my aunt and uncle this year, but enjoyed the evening with both sets of parents, my sister and the kids of course. Both the girls did so well at the table and we were able to stay until about 8:30pm. I am looking forward to next Christmas when I am not pregnant and can have a drink again!

Calli went to bed that night so excited for Santa to come in the morning. He made a visit during the night and she couldn't believe her eyes when she woke up the next morning. She was so anxious to unwrap the two presents that Santa left for her and open her stocking. We had to wait for everyone to get downstairs first and Calli was just beside herself trying to contain her excitement. She got lots of little goodies in her stocking and then it was finally on to the presents. Santa had indeed brought her that (princess) fishing pole she asked for and she was SO excited about that. He also brought a Hannah Montana barbie doll for her. For Serena, Santa brought a basketball hoop and balls.

Shortly after that, Richard's parents came over to watch the gift opening and we moved into the living room where the Christmas tree was for the family gifts. Calli got so spoiled with dress up clothes and shoes, a baby doll, a Tinkerbell doll, dresses, Tinkerbell boots, a My Little Pony house, books, a computer (a kids keyboard that hooks up to the real computer and she can learn and play games with) and I can't even remember what else. Serena got a few things, but I didn't go all out like I did with Calli on her first Christmas. With the first, you do everything because they are the first! By the time you are on the second you have all those toys already stored up and know that the baby doesn't even understand what is going on. So she got a few cute things and had a lot of fun. I also enjoyed everyone opening the presents we got them. I got a Sharks watch from my parents which is so cute and I love!

My mom cooked a big breakfast after the present opening and we all got stuffed. After that we got ready and headed down the street to Richard's parents' house for the rest of the celebration. Calli got more fun presents, including the Tinkerbell movie, bath toys and a Sleeping Beauty brush. Serena got a few little baby toys. I think my favorite presents were what I got for everyone else though. Richard's parents are very excited about moving to Texas in a few years so we ordered a Texas gift basket online. It came in a Texas shaped basket with Texas wine and other Texas things. We also ordered Texas wine charms online and stuck those in as well as two bottles of wine with personalized labels with pictures of the kids. My other favorite present was a blanket we made online for Grandma Molly with pictures of the kids.

We spent a lazy rest of the day over there and my parents came over as well. Before I knew it, night had come and we were going to bed and the holiday was over all too soon. Christmas is so special when you have children to share it with.

Calli helping Grandma decorate the Christmas tree

Calli being a goofball with the Hannah Montana wrapping paper
Calli and my little Cindy Lou Who before heading out to the mall on Christmas Eve

The place that Santa meets all the kids is so wonderful. Some of the great things they have are all these windows looking in on the elves. Calli loved them.

Cindy Lou, Grandma Molly and Richard at Christmas Eve dinner

My mom and dad at dinner

Me, Mom and Brittany

Calli and her two grandpas

When we got home from Christmas Eve dinner we got to open our PJs. Calli's had sparkley ballerinas on them and Serena's were PINK with "My First Christmas" on them

Calli waking up Christmas morning and having to wait for everyone to come downstairs

Calli opening her Cinderella stocking

Daddy helping Serena open her stocking

I love this picture of Calli opening her fishing pole. You can really see the excitement on her face and it's priceless!

Calli and her Hannah Montana doll

Serena sitting on top of her present

Grandpa James and Serena

Grandma Keri, Serena and Grandpa James playing with Serena's new basketball toy

Serena and Calli in front of the Christmas tree waiting to open the gifts

Calli in her beautiful Belle dress from Grandma and Grandpa

Serena was Cindy Lou Who times TWO (two ponytails) on Christmas. It was adorable.

Our family Christmas picture. Can you believe next year there will be another little one squeezed in?

California Dreamin'

Well here the girls and I are in California. Northern California. El Dorado Hills to be exact! We arrived a little over a week ago and the time has really flown by. I was very, very nervous to take both kids by myself on an airplane. I have done it many, many times with just Calli and it got easier as she got older. Well now she is a dream on the flights. All I have to do is pop a movie in the DVD player or get out her coloring book and she is happy. She also likes a snack once in awhile (thanks Southwest for the great peanuts you provide on a three hour flight, they really fill us up!) and has to use the bathroom a couple times, but she is really easy. She was not the one I was worried about. I was worried about having an eight-month-old on a crowded airplane. And it really was crowded! Our flight out of San Antonio was completely full. And me, not knowing the ins and outs of the stupid new Southwest boarding system that caters to the business class and could care less about families, thought I would get to preboard with my kids like every other airline allows. But no. They have changed it so familes board between their A and B levels (I believe A goes up to 60 people). Well stupid me had an A18 boarding pass, but by the time I got on the plane there were people in every row. So I felt terrible as I made my way to the back and had to sit next to someone who was probably thinking "I hope she doesn't choose these seats". The flight was about three-and-a-half hours long to LAX. Serena ended up falling asleep in my arms for a good forty-five minutes while Calli watched a movie, so that was nice. She started to get very antsy toward the end, but overall never cried and did very well. I was relieved that our next flight was only an hour or so, but at the same time I didn't really want to get on another plane; I just wanted to be there! I went to the desk to get a tag for our stroller and after helping with that, the very helpful gentleman asked if I was pregnant. I told him yes and he handed me a special preboard pass reserved for disabled people. Apparently being pregnant makes you "temporarily disabled" in the eyes of the airlines and I was so glad to receive one of the passes! It is so much easier to get on the plane first and get my kids settled without holding up a long line of people. Plus this flight was not completely full so we got a whole row of three seats to ourselves, score! It took about an hour and we finally made it into the Sacramento airport. I survived my first flight alone with two kids! I am so glad that I will have Richard to help on the flights back because it wasn't easy. I also have learned that I will not be flying alone with three kids when this new little one gets here. No way no how!

So our last week has been filled with a few adventures and lots of Christmas shopping. I actually got 99.9% of my shopping done the other day and will finish up the rest when we head to the mall to meet Santa on Christmas Eve (it's tradition!).

My family cuts down a Christmas tree every year. We go to a farm and spend forever walking around trying to find that perfect tree and then finally cut it down ourselves. I have many childhood photos of me holding a saw or us looking at trees. It doesn't feel like Christmas unless we do it ourselves. What is a fake tree?? Anti-Christmas of course! So on Monday we decided to head east to get ourselves a tree. We were all prepared for lots of mud as usual and for it to be very cold. Since we've been here it has yet to get out of the 40s during the day, which is the coldest visit I can remember. Don't get me wrong though, I have been loving it! It doesn't really feel like the holidays to me until it is cold out and the back and forth weather I had been witnessing and now seeing in Texas makes me glad I am not there (helllllllo headaches and colds!). Anyhow, we set off on our journey to pick out the perfect Christmas tree, Serena's first. As we were heading just outside Placerville, about thirty minutes from my parents' house, we started to see bits of snow lining the roads. As we made our way into Camino, the city we were going to get our tree, the yards and houses were filled with snow! These places are on the way up to Lake Tahoe, but I had never seen that amount of snow so close to us. The driveway we wanted to go in was covered in snow and we soon realized all the farms were closed because of the weather. We made the best of it though and pulled over to the side of the road so Calli could play in her FIRST snow. She had a blast throwing snowballs with Grandpa James and Auntie Brittany and building her first (small) snowman. When it was time to go because our toes were starting to fall off, she protested and didn't want to leave. We are heading up to the REAL snow next week in Tahoe so we assured her she would be back and build BIGGER and BETTER snowmen. Since we weren't able to get our tree at a farm we had to stop at a lot (the horror!) and pick out a pre-cut one. We figured we had such a great adventure trying to get a tree that it more than made up for the fact that we had to buy one off a lot.

So that was our amazing Christmas tree adventure! Unfortunately, stupid STUPID person that I am, I forgot my camera, so we only have our memories of this trip. We decorated our tree two nights later and Calli loved hanging a few ornaments toward the bottom. With our angel on the top, it looks so beautiful!

On Wednesday my mom and I went out for our Christmas shopping adventure. My dad so nicely volunteered to watch the kids so we could go out. Our first stop was the big Galleria Mall to go to the Disney Store. They were having tons of sales and lots of things at 50% off and I pretty much finished Calli in just one shot. We also went to a few more stores at the mall before getting hungry and having to go to my FAVORITE restaurant, Chevys, for lunch. They have the BEST and FRESHEST chips and salsa anywhere. Even living in south Texas I have yet to find a place that rivals Chevys for the best chips and salsa. I can fill up on just those for my meal and often do before the food comes out. So after a big lunch we headed to another mall not far away and continued our shopping. I got a few things for Serena and completely finished Calli. In fact, I finished almost all of my shopping that day and it was a great feeling. Being pregnant with two kids this year has not made Christmas shopping all that fun for me. Usually I love it. I've also found people not quite as in the Christmas spirit this year and perhaps it is because of the floundering economy. I am still in it though so MERRY CHRISTMAS!

So now it is Monday, we have been here for ten days and are awaiting Richard's flight getting in today. Calli is so looking forward to seeing her daddy. We all are of course, but she is the most excited. I am happy to get a little help at night because Serena has not been sleeping the best. She has caught a cold and so her sleeping patterns are a little messed up. It's hard to be the only one here to get up with her all night and then have to wake up really early to care for her as well.

So that has been what is going on with us. We are just enjoying spending time with family and getting ready for the holidays. I am so excited for Serena's first Christmas and for the kids to open their presents on Christmas morning. I am sure there will be lots of pictures to come of all of that :)

Eight Months!

Dear Serena,

With everything that has been going on the last two weeks I haven't been able to get around wishing you a happy eight month birthday! You turned eight months old last Thursday, the 4th. I can hardly believe that in just four short months we will be lighting one candle on your birthday cake. You have grown so much in the short time you have been on this earth.

In the last month you have become a much happier baby. Why? Because you finally cut those two bottom teeth! Everyone had been saying to me for months that you must be teething and sure, I suppose you were. But aren't all babies always teething? I am not sure when it started exactly, but we felt those first pearly whites pop through on Thanksgiving. What a difference! After that you stopped being such a crankpot all the time and started smiling and laughing more. You are a much happier baby and I can't blame you! I just wonder what we are in store for when the rest of your teeth come in. Calli never seemed to make a peep when she got her teeth, but you are the opposite of her in every way so far (which is fun!) so I'm sure you will be different.

We celebrated your first Thanksgiving two weeks ago. We had Grandma and Grandpa Ratcliff, Great-Grandma Bev and Auntie Allison all here with us to celebrate. You tried some turkey and thought it was okay. I am not sure what else you ate because frankly, after working so hard and cooking so much, I didn't pay much attention to what Grandma was giving you. But you certainly enjoyed yourself.

You have mastered the art of pulling up on everything, which is so much fun to watch. You can walk as long as you are gripping tightly onto something to keep your balance. In just a few short months you will be walking on your own! I look forward to it, but at the same time am kind of sad. It will be that last big milestone for you as a baby. After that I suppose technically you will be a toddler, since you will be toddling around. You'll always be my little baby though!

Your favorite thing to eat is, hands down, cheerios. You can sit and eat those for an hour, no joke! In fact, I have been having trouble getting you to eat much else! On Tuesday you were in your high chair eating those cheerios (and I was trying to get you to eat some pieces of bananas I snuck in there!) and were content for a long time. I turned my back for a minute to wash your bottles and when I looked again you had your eyes closed and head tilted to the side. It scared me for a minute, but when I ran over and called to you, you stirred and fell back asleep. You were so precious! I picked you up and carried you to your crib; I had no idea you had been so tired!

Well, we have had an up and down month with everything going on, but you are certainly always a bright spot in our day. I see your smile and can't help but smile myself because you are just too cute. And I love to tickle you just to hear that adorable giggle; it makes my day.

We found out you will be having a baby brother in May. I am sure you will be the best of friends as you grow up. And hopefully since he will be a boy you won't fight over toys so much (maybe? I hope??). But who am I kidding; with two big sisters I am sure this boy will love to play dress up and barbies.

Happy Eight Months baby girl! I love you!

Love, Momma

The Roller Coaster Ride

To say that last week was a roller coaster would be an understatement. I cannot even adequately describe all the emotions, feelings, and worry we went through. I think the best way to describe it is just to recap from the beginning.


Monday

I get a call from my doctor. At first, I thought maybe she was calling to tell me I had an infection or something stupid like that. I had been to the doctor for a check-up the previous week and since I had a cold, she took a throat culture. I stupidly assumed something had come back positive from that. Unfortunately, the news she had was much worse, which I should have figured out from the fact that she was calling me herself instead of a receptionist or her nurse practitioner. My quad screening blood test I had done the previous week had come back positive for down syndrome. At first I don't know if I really comprehended what she said, but it quickly sank in and I could barely hold back the tears on the phone. An ultrasound would have to be set up at a later date to determine more she told me. After hanging up, I just sobbed. I collected myself briefly to call Richard at work, but of course he didn't answer. After the third try I left a message. I had to tell someone so I called my sister, who said she immediately knew something was wrong when she saw my phone number pop up. I don't think either of us really knew what to say or think, but it definitely helped me just to talk to her and get my feelings out. Richard finally called back and he was in shock just as I was. After talking to him I made another call to my dad, similar to the one I had with my sister. By the time I spoke with my mom, I had calmed down a lot and was able to be more level headed about everything. That afternoon I hopped on the internet to do some research about these tests and found out that there were a lot of false positive cases. I began to feel hopeful, but tried to expect the worst none the less.


Tuesday

After not hearing from anyone the previous day to set up an appointment for the ultrasound and not really knowing if I had understood her correctly (after hearing the words "test came back positive for down syndrome" I couldn't focus on much else), I decided to call the office myself. Luckily someone returned my phone call quickly to let me know that an appointment would be set up later that day. I was able to tell them that it had to happen either this week or the next because we would be going out of town for the holidays on the 13th. I feel very grateful for this because there would be a very good chance we would still be waiting on the ultrasound for another week! As it was, I got a call back later that day to set up an appointment for the very next day at 4pm. Despite my best intentions to the contrary, I had began to feel hopeful that this was all just a mistake, another false positive to go with the list I had collected from all my friends. It seemed that everyone knew someone or WAS the someone who had a false positive test. I had lots of stories of my friends and their moms/friends/sisters-in-law/whomever else this had happened to and their babies turned out to be fine. I wanted to keep a level head and not go in thinking everything would be okay because I knew if I did that I would be shattered all over again if the results were not good.


Wednesday

It was hard to wait around all day for the doctor's appointment at the end of the day, but I had no choice. I just tried to busy myself doing chores and running to the store. Finally it was time to leave and Richard would meet us at the office from work. The girls and I arrived there first and there was a big sign on the door that said "no children allowed". I was more than peeved because my doctor had never mentioned this to me (they do allow children in the office, but this high risk specialist doctor did not). And to go off on this a little bit, it always annoys me when offices don't allow children. They make up some lame excuse about diseases! My children are 100% vaccinated and I would feel much more comfortable being around them than some random woman's husband in the waiting room who may have just gotten back from a trip to who knows where! Meanwhile my children have lived in the US their whole short lives and they are the ones with these awful diseases? If you don't want children in the office, at least be honest and say it's because it's annoying when parents can't control them and they run wild. Don't pretend it's about diseases. The pregnant woman sitting next to me could have had a disease as well.

So back to the real matter at hand, although that really did affect us negatively I think. Richard had to wait out in the car with the kids while I went through this ultrasound all by myself. No one should have to go through something like that alone, it was a terrifying experience. They called me back, put me in the room and the ultrasound tech came in just a minute later. She took all the measurements and chatted a bit with me and I asked her if she would be able to tell the sex. A few minutes later she said she was trying to look and something flashed on the screen. Was that what I thought it was? Yes, she was pretty sure it was a boy. Then he showed us again and she was able to get a screen shot and print it. And there it was. We were having a little boy. I felt excited for a few minutes and then tried to just focus on hoping the baby would be healthy. That was what I wanted more than anything; penis or no penis, it mattered not to me. After this technician took her measurements she switched with another one who took more measurements. The doctor also came in to introduce himself during her scanning and he was very nice. I prefer female OB/GYNs, but he put me at ease and I liked him. After the second technician was done with her scans, the doctor took a look and did his own measurements. This was the longest ultrasound I have ever had! It was nice to be able to see my baby for such an extended period of time, but honestly I was getting anxious to know what was going on. When the doctor was finally done, I was able to sit up and find out what was going on. The news he had for me was not good. The baby's nuchal fold, which is a collection of fluid all babies have behind their necks, was measuring at 6mm. Now, this is actually not a huge measurement from what I have researched, it is borderline. It is 6mm and greater that the doctors begin to worry, so of course this was cause for concern. The doctor also could not locate a nasal bone, something that is very common with down syndrome babies. In addition to that, the baby had white spots on his heart (another symptom), was measuring two weeks behind (stunted growth is another sign) and should I even mention the positive quad screening blood test result that brought me to the office in the first place? All these markers were not good. The doctor told me in no uncertain terms that he was very, very concerned. He did the math for me and the nuchal fold measurement alone gave me a 1/3 chance of having a down syndrome baby. Add to that all the other markers they found and you would think it was a slam dunk right? This is what I knew for certain. The doctor could not make a diagnosis based on an ultrasound, but he didn't have to confirm anything for me; through his actions and words and the results, I knew.

I was devestated, to say the least. The doctor offered to do an amniocentesis right there so we could know for sure. Termination was never an option, it was just more that I wanted to be 100% sure and have no doubts. I knew I could spend the next five months convincing myself that everything would be fine and then be totally shattered again when our down syndrome baby arrived. So really, it was for my own peace of mind and so we could prepare ourselves for this child. I went outside to find Richard to come to an agreement about the amnio. Of course I was scared about the risk of miscarriage (anywhere from 1/400 to 1/1,600) and knowing that I had already defied the odds of having a downs baby (1/1,300 for my age) these statistics meant nothing to me. After a lot of discussion, we finally decided to go ahead with it. I went back in alone and was brought the consent forms to sign and broke down again. The doctor came back in to answer my questions. I became concerned for myself, for the risks to my health. Infection and blood clots were on the list of things that could go wrong for me. I was of course concerned for my baby, but I had two daughters sitting in the car waiting for the their mommy and after the week we had been having how could I be sure everything would be okay? I finally declined the amnio, saying I just couldn't do it. After all, the markers were pretty telling, I already knew it would come back positive, this was really just a technicality, confirmation. However, I changed my mind yet again and decided to go ahead with the amnio.

This was an interesting experience itself. Some women say it hurts a lot and that was just not true. I never even looked at the needle and to this day I have no clue how big it is or what it looks like (that same thing is true of the epidurals I received during childbirth twice). They stuck it in and it feels like a very small bee sting piercing the skin and then when it enters the uterus it feels like the mildest menstrual cramp (I was told it would feel like the worst). I watched as he withdrew the amniotic fluid into the tubes and found it fascinating that this was the liquid inside my uterus, floating around with my baby. I don't know why, but for some reason that sounds so sureal to me. After about 2-3 minutes it was all over. I was a little sore for the next day, but other than that I thank God that everything was fine.

I left the office feeling pretty numb. I tried to keep it together for the kids, mostly for Calli because I didn't want her to worry. When we got home I told her that the baby was a little boy. I will never forget her reaction. She held onto my belly and looking up at me said "nooooo. It's my other little sister". I had to tell her a few times that I was sorry, it was actually a baby brother. It took her a day or two, but she finally came around to the idea. She was just so stoked to have another girl in the house, another little sister. She is not as excited about a little brother, but I am sure when he gets here she will love him like she loves her little sister.

When the kids went to bed we set out calling our parents and telling them the devestating news. I basically said that our baby has down syndrome and we were just awaiting the amnio results, but they were pretty much just a formality. It was hard to deny the truth in the ultrasound.

Thursday

The next day was hard for me. I had to take it easy because of the amnio the day before and I was still reeling from the news. By the end of the day I felt like I was in a better place. I knew we would love our baby (OUR SON) no matter what. It was just a hard thing to come to terms with. There were so many questions going through my head. And I have found that although the internet can be great for research, there really is too much information on it. My mind boggled taking everything in and a lot of the time it really didn't help. What I did love reading were stories from moms whose children actually had down syndrome. I began to see that these children were not so different than a healthy child. They develop a bit slower and look a bit different, but are capable of so many things! And we are so lucky to live in a time where there is so much available to these children in terms of programs, schooling and support. I knew it would be a long road, but eventually I felt that if these other moms could be okay with everything, then why couldn't I? Eventually I would get there.

Friday

The doctor had told me the full results of the amnio would take about two weeks, however there are the FISH results, which are basically just the results from measuring the five chromosomes 13, 18, 21, X and Y. Those results would take just three business days, but since I had the test done so late on Wednesday he speculated they wouldn't be back until Monday. So I had never even thought I could hear anything on Friday. However, around 4:30PM my cell phone rang (why they called that number, I have no idea!) and a number I didn't recognize with a 210 area code popped up. The wrong numbers that I get are always in the 916 (Sacramento) area code since that is what my phone is in. So I just decided to answer this one and it turned out to be the receptionist from the doctor's office. My heart sank a little when she identified herself and then it started to beat faster. The next few minutes of conversation are a blur to me, but I remember the basic gist. She said they had my initial FISH results back from my amnio. At this point I expected her to tell me they needed to set up an appointment to come in to see the doctor (because they won't tell you bad news over the phone). Instead, the words I heard were "your results came back negative". At this point I just started shaking. How could that even be possible? Then she asked me if I wanted to know the sex of the baby and I said yes. She said "it is a boy". Then I questioned how the results could be negative, there were so many markers at the ultrasound. Could he still have downs? The receptionist didn't know anything other than amnio results are 99.9% accurate and it would be very unusual to still have a down syndrome baby after it and I couldn't put together a coherent thought or sentence so I just thanked her and hung up.

I was in shock. I still am, although it has subsided a bit. I tell everyone, if you had been in the ultrasound room with me, you would understand why I had every belief that this baby would have down syndrome. But instead I was in there alone so no one can commiserate with me. Instead it just seems like I blew the whole thing out of proportion and made a whole lot of drama. When in fact, this is not the case. I am still not one hundred percent convinced that my baby is fine. And I don't even know if this is the case. Maybe the markers indicate something else. I pray this is not the case and all just a big misunderstanding, a nightmare I will wake up from in May. I don't think at this point anything will reassure me any differently until the day he makes his entrance into this world. I have to go back for an ultrasound in January when we get home from California because the doctor was concerned there may be a hole in his heart. So I still have a lot of prayers to be answered and am far from this roller coaster coming to an end.

So what about the name Parker?

Worried

I debated blogging about this, but have decided that it's better to get my feelings out. I am the type of person that thrives on support. And I figure more thoughts and prayers can only help.

Yesterday I got a call from my doctor that the blood test I had taken last week (the triple screen or quad screen - I'm not sure which I had) came back positive for down syndrome. I spent the next few hours in tears and worry. I called Richard crying. I called my sister crying. I called my dad crying. After hours of thoughts (and crying) I felt more at peace. I began doing research a little bit online, but the internet is so massive and there is so much information out there it is hard to narrow it down. Basically what I found is that I tested positive for the risk of down syndrome, which doesn't necessarily mean that the baby has it. I will go for an ultrasound (to be scheduled today) within the next week to see. So all we can do is wait.

I think that is the worst part, the not knowing. I am growing this baby inside of me, it is existing as part of me, taking nutrients and vitamins from me, depending on me for survival, and I know nothing about it! I don't know if it's a girl or a boy, I don't know if it's even healthy now. All I know is that it will be loved and I think that's all that matters now. This would be a life changing thing, but the world would not come to an end. We would deal with it, we would love the baby and nothing would ever change that.

I feel so stupid now looking back on the last month. I was so excited for my ultrasound to find out the gender next week. Now all I can think is how selfish and stupid that was. Who gives a crap if this is a boy or a girl? I mean seriously, the thought of being disappointed in one or the other makes me sick. All I wish is for this baby to be healthy, that is all anyone should want. I am so annoyed with the people who "have to have" one gender over the other. Whose first thought when they are pregnant is that the baby better be one or the other. Now all I can think about is if my baby is even healthy. I hope I don't hear any more insensitive, stupid comments about us hoping this one is a boy because we have two girls. I just want my baby to be okay.

So now we just wait for the ultrasound. This is something I am not good at. I am a fairly impatient person so the not knowing is killing me. I have already began to prepare myself for the worst. I think that is the smartest thing to do at this point, to go in thinking there is something wrong with the baby. That way if there is, I won't go through being shattered all over again. I will just expect it.

It is a scary thing to hear that your baby might not be healthy. It's as if every other problem in your life is suddenly so trivial and unimportant and you wonder how you could really have cared about anything else besides the health and happiness of your family. This is definitely an experience I will never forget, no matter how it turns out. I am praying for the best of course, but expecting the worst. I am not a pessimist, just a realist.

Thanksgiving!

Well we had another terrific Thanksgiving at our house. It has been a super busy few weeks leading up to it, but it is over and everyone is gone and I am able to get some rest again :). Don't get me wrong though, I loved every minute of it!

My sister came to visit for the holiday and arrived last Wednesday. We did a little bit of everything and I think she enjoyed her visit. On Saturday she got to watch Calli play in her last soccer game and score her first goal! It was very exciting and so fun to see how much she has improved from the first game to the last. She loved playing and got a trophy at the end of the season. On Sunday we decided to go to a minor league hockey game. It turned out to be really fun. For $12 each we got a game ticket, a hot dog, chips, drink and pre-game skate. We got to go ice skating before the game! This was Calli's first time skating and she loved it. Daddy had to hold her hands and keep her up the whole time, but she had so much fun. After that we just enjoyed the game. Funny enough, it was the Sharks' (my favorite team!) minor league affiliate team come to town to play. So of course Allison and I (and even Calli) had worn our Sharks gear (we won too).

Monday was spent doing all my Thanksgiving shopping and planning everything I would have to do the next few days. Richard's parents and grandmother also arrived that afternoon to spend the holiday with us. Allison and I had discovered something really exciting earlier in the day: there is a BJs Brewhouse in town! Apparently it had quietly opened it's doors in July and I couldn't believe we hadn't known this whole time. This is one of our favorite restaurants and one we always frequent when we go back home to California for a visit. So now we have our very own BJs here. It was yummy of course.

Tuesday my in-laws spent some time with the kids while Allison and I went to my doctor's appointment. I was sixteen weeks along and we got to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time. I have my BIG ultrasound on December 12th and we decided we will be finding out the baby's sex this time (if she cooperates that is!). We are very excited for that in just two weeks. So after the appointment Allison and I went out to lunch and did a bit of shopping. We decided we might have enjoyed ourselves a bit more if we weren't so sick. See, we have been passing this cold around the house for almost a month now. It started with Serena and she was very sick with a cough and stuffed up nose. It was a horrible experience and we didn't get much sleep for a few nights. After she started to get over it, Calli caught it and then gave it to me. I have been fighting this sickness for nearly two weeks now. It seems to change though, I developed a cough a few days ago that is really annoying me. I just can't seem to shake this. Calli and Richard are all well for the moment and Serena seems to be almost better, aside from her runny nose (yes she picked up the cold a second time). I will just be happy when we can all be healthy. I know it is that season for getting sick, but I could use a break. It didn't help that Calli had been sleeping in our room so Allison could have her bed. Calli would wake up coughing every night and therefore, wake us up too. I was glad to have her back in her own room last night and she didn't wake up at all (and I got some much needed sleep!).

On Wednesday we went and saw a Thanksgiving play that the Backyard Theatre puts on for kids. It is a really cute place and Calli attended Princess Camp there last summer. We had also seen two other plays and loved them. Calli loved this one as well. We got some lunch on the way home and Richard got off early and all spent a great day together.

Thanksgiving came and went quickly and it is always bittersweet. I spend so much time cooking and preparing only to have the food gobbled up in about fifteen minutes! I started cooking on Tuesday (cranberry sauce and sweet potato casserole), continued on Wednesday (jello mold, Ladyfinger cake and french onion dip) and finished the rest on Thursday. We had a little bit of everything you could imagine and it all turned out pretty good. My stuffing was a little dry, which I am still mad about. But everything else was great and all so yummy. We have lots of leftovers of course so we will be eating turkey for the next two nights. Yum!

Anyhow, we had a great time celebrating with everyone and had to say goodbye yesterday. I took my sister to the airport yesterday morning and then we were able to spend the day with Richard's family before they left that evening. We ended up going to Bass Pro Shops, which is this huge store that sells things for outdoors. Calli and Serena got to meet Santa; Calli loved it, Serena not so much! But I got a cute photo out of it. We also got a great GPS yesterday, our Christmas present from Richard's parents. That was very nice of them and I love it!

So here are some pictures from our Thanksgiving!

Allison and Richard cleaning the turkey the night before Thanksgiving

Serena's first Thanksgiving!
Calli, Serena and Grandpa Bob
Daddy and Calli

Serena enjoying the ads from the paper

Calli eating the appetizers

Auntie giving Serena big kisses

Allison and me cooking in the kitchen

Ta-da!

I couldn't have done it without her!

Calli enjoying her Thanksgiving food (ta-da!)

Serena eating turkey for the first time

Everybody enjoying their Thanksgiving food

Grandpa doing Calli's hair

Calli toppled out of the chair and took the cushion with her (she landed under it). I thought I would snap a cute picture with her head poking out, but this is what we got when Richard lifted it up.

Calli and Serena in their matching outfits

The girls meeting Santa Claus