Photos Finally!

Well, I figured out my camera, so here are some more recent photos for you all! The close ups of Mia are of her various stages of smiling at me. Her latest things are to smile and stick out her tongue. She also licks her bottle when she's full. The one of Luke - well, I have no idea why it was taken, but had to include my boy on here.

Back to Reality

Today I headed back to work. Augh. I am exhausted! It really wasn't too bad, becuase most of my trouble makers are gone. Can you believe that my third grade class alone has lost 4 boys to alternative school (behavior school) this year? We maybe have had an average of 1 each year, if that. 17 and a half more days of kids left! Mia stayed home with Marc due to some daycare issues - she'll start next week - so that made it much easier to head back, and then they visited at lunch today!

I apologize for being a bad blogger, but things have been crazy lately. And, I still can't get photos on my blog from my new camera, so those will come soon when I get a clue how to do it.

Please continue to keep Amy's sister-in-law Becca in your thoughts and prayers. This past week has been so hard on her and her family, and I can't imagine being them and going through the ups and downs of the days since her surgery.

I feel very blessed to have my children right now, healthy and safe with me. It's so easy to get distracted in life by the little things that truly don't matter, and seeing Amy and Chris and their family going through what they've been through this past week makes me remember how important family is, and how I need to be grateful daily for our health and happiness. That's what matters.

Hello!

I am writing just to prove a point to my Aunt Nancy that I am alive and blogging! And if she'd look, I did post 2 times after Amy was here! There hasn't been many exciting things going on, so I'll just post the most interesting highlights of the week:
1. Mia is doing great. She's recovering from her baby acne spell, and now is just really dry with some red spots. Yet, she's still a cutie! She went 7 hours between feedings the other night which was great, until last night when she was up most of the night. Not crying really, but just "talking" very noisily for a long time! She's a talker already. She's so alert, holds her head up, and smiles a lot at us!
2. Today some pottery people came to the house to make a clay plaque with Mia's hand/foot print in it. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed talking with the couple, and learning about their life. It's nice to run into neat people unexpectedly. I was a little sad to see them leave! The man commented on how strong Mia is too, as he was trying hard to unclench her fist to make a hand print.
3. I shopped at IKEA yesterday for quite a while, and came out with some Orange curtains for my bedroom. Way cool.
4. I got a new camera! Part of the reason I haven't put photos on is because I have to figure it out still. It's red too - very neat. I had a pale purple version first, but that color wasn't manly enough for Marc I guess.
5. Mia had her first real bath the other night because her cord finally fell off!
6. Bunnies - that's the saga of the day. I heard Molly and the neighbor dogs going nuts earlier this afternoon so I went outside and found Molly with a baby bunny in her mouth, and another laying off to the side. She and the other dogs had found a nest and Molly was able to reach it. So, being the crazy animal lover that I am (anyone remember the Klein Ave. bunny-that-I-hit incident earlier in life??) I felt the need to rescue them. Now, they weren't fuzzy little bunnies - they were brand new, mouse-looking, no fur, umbilical cords still hanging off - bunnies. I have a feeling they were just born today and that's why the dogs took notice. So I loaded them and Mia up and took those 2 to the vet. One didn't make it. Then after explaining all this to Marc, and not finding any more bunnies, we put bricks up around it and ate dinner. But, I look out and Molly moved the brick and found two more! So we enlisted the help of the internet and our neighbors and made a new nest for those two and hope they survive! The neighbor boy said he'll check on them in the morning and we'll see if they are still alive. And a little known bunny fact... mom bunnies feed their babies for 5 minutes, twice a day, and are gone the rest of the time. Boy, what I wouldn't give for Mia to only want to eat 10 minutes a day right now! :)

One month old

Today Mia is one month old. I can't believe how much she's changed and grown in just this little time! This week she's decided to cry/fuss any time she's not being held with a pacifier in her mouth, and is sleeping very little. That's been fun. She's also experiencing a bit of baby acne... not so cool, but I know she's not the first baby to have it! Here are a few more photos from the past week. We were glad to have snow, because then we got to see the Easter bunny's footprints!

Is it April in Texas, or January in Ohio??

I remember years ago having a snow day on mom's birthday - April 6th - in Ohio, and even that was a little rare. However, snow in Texas, in April? Not heard of. Snow in January in Texas isn't even a usual occurrence! Today we left Marc's parents' house in Bryan, TX, where it was 41 degrees and sleeting/raining. As we drove the 2 hours home to Killeen, the temp kept dropping and the rain gradually turned to snow. By the time we reached Killeen, it was 33 degrees and snowing - hard! It was big, wet snow. So, as soon as we got home, we all changed and went out to play! I was pretty surprised that noone else was out playing in the snow too. It reminded me of Ohio winters... not Texas springs! Just Tuesday it was almost 90, and I got a slight sunburn. I wanted to capture the bluebonnets covered in snow, but don't have any right by the house. Here are some photos from our little blizzard. Not the best photos - hard to capture good shots when the snow is huge and your 3 year old won't stand still since he's rarely gotten to play in snow! I love Marc's expression in the photo of him laughing, so had to add that one. And yes, we put our one month old baby in the snow. I promise she was wrapped well and only out there for a minute! We had to have a photo of her in her first snow. The only problem with playing in the snow for us is that we have no gloves, so our poor hands were very red and freezing!

Mia, 3 weeks

Happy Friday!

This week is finally over thankfully! It's been a long week. Luke woke up late Sunday night and was so hot - a fever over 102. So he was up most of the night, Mia was up most of the night fussy, so that meant I was up ALL night! At one point Sunday night both kids were just screaming, and Marc just looked at me and said "We have two kids now!" At that point, I was about to start screaming! Luke stayed home with me Monday but seemed to get better. Then Monday night at the exact time he got a fever Sunday night, he had the same high fever. So we went in to the doctor Tuesday and he had Strep. He was home Monday-Wednesday and I had to keep him and Mia apart as much as possible. Wednesday Mia went for her 2 week appointment. She's very healthy, weighs 8lb 12.5 oz and is 21" long. She's in the 90th %ile, so she's a big girl, but the doctor thinks it's because she was a week late, so she's not THAT big! Now that Luke's healthy and Mia's sleeping a little better, I have been able to get a few things done the past two days.

Tomorrow Luke and I are going to see "Meet the Robinson's" just to give us some time together. Then we'll just get ready for Amy, Jacob, and Jenna's visit next week.

I have some cute photos to post, but I'm way too tired to battle that now, so I'll get to it this weekend. I think I put comments on everyone's blogs that I just ran some updates on my computer, and realized that everyone has been blogging this week, but my computer wasn't showing me the latest, so sorry for being silent all week on your blogs... but I didn't know you had written anything new!

Favorite moment

I forgot to post my favorite photos when I added more the other day. This was taken on one of Mia's first days home. Luke was asleep in his bed, and I laid Mia next to him, so they both were really asleep at this time. I love how protective Luke looks of her, even while sleeping!

More Mia!

Ok, by popular demand, here's more Mia (and Luke) photos! She's had a busy week... I've exposed her to some of the finer things in life, like IHOP (ok, so maybe IHOP isn't one of the finer things in life, but it's good!), outlet mall shopping, and Starbucks. She seems to be enjoying life. And I want to take a minute to give a shout out to Aunt Barb, who gets the "coolest person around" award for the week. Thanks for the gifts for the kids - and you did so good with Luke's gift - Curious George UNO! He thinks it's the greatest thing, and I appreciate when you all think of him now too, not just Mia. As for Mia's new tricks, she can pick up her head, and flip it from side to side, and sucks on her fist. Yesterday morning she had somehow moved her whole upper body off of her wedge that she sleeps on, and then after I put her back, she was on her side a few seconds later. She's way too little to be moving that much!

The first photo is Mia today, in her new bunny outfit from Jenn. The next one was Thursday, when she was hanging onto her paci. The one where she's with mom was too cute - she layed with her mouth open like that for so long, I had to get a photo! Then there's Mia with grandma and grandpa, and then finally Luke feeding Mia (notice her bib?). I must say, I have two good looking kids! :)

Life with two kids

I am not about to battle the photo issue right now (it's not been working right at all!), but I'll put more photos of Mia and Luke on later when I have some patience. I did want to update everyone on how things are going now that we've been home for a while. Mia is doing well. The past 2 days she's been very fussy, and last night she didn't want to sleep. But once she fell asleep at midnight, I had to wake her after 5 hours to eat! She wants to be held alot, and that's just something that is okay by me right now. It's hard to resist holding her at this little age. She's so squishy - she still is all balled up and rarely stretches her legs out. She reminds us so much of Luke and looks more like him each day to me. She is way more alert than Luke was at this point. Luke would eat then go right back to sleep - a perfect little baby. Mia is awake and looking around a lot during the day and even at night.

Luke is being a great big brother. He tells me several times a day still "I'm glad the baby's out now" and "She's so cute!" and "I love the baby." He is good at squishing her head with his face while giving her love too!

I'm doing good, and enjoying seeing my kids across the street out at recess but not having to be there with them! I've had very little time away from these kids this year, and it's so nice to get this long break. I had decided to go back to work after 6 weeks, but then yesterday I found out Luke's daycare doesn't have a spot for Mia. I was not happy with them, because I'd been told it wouldn't be a problem, and they weren't very nice about it. But things are falling into place today. I called a lady whose daughter I taught 3 years ago and who lives 2 streets away and has an in-home daycare, and it turns out she'll have room for Mia at the end of April and then in May if I want to send her. I can't believe how that worked out. I think I'll take off all of April then just go back for May. How hard is May for an elementary teacher anyhow, besides all the end of year paperwork? Who really teaches at that point in the year still? (Be honest teachers...) So now I just decide if I even want to go back!

And one more thing to say before I end... I had a moment of triumph today as a post-pregnant mom. I am wearing all REAL clothes - nothing maternity, and not even pants with elastic! I actually zipped and snapped a pair of real jeans today, and they aren't a ridiculously large size either! I felt so normal, and so not pregnant. What a good feeling.

First Photo

Mia was supposed to get her first baby photo taken at the hospital on Monday, but her clothes hadn't arrived yet, so we opted to wait until Wednesday, when we had to bring her back for a follow-up appointment, to have her first photo taken. You can go to the website and see her first "official" baby photo.
www.growingfamily.com/webnursery/default.asp
Her birthday is March 11, and the password is "Minatrea".

Last ones... for now!

There will be more added daily I'm sure, but here are the last of the photos that I want to share now! Luke has been so good with Mia - he keeps saying how cute she is! These are all from today - Tuesday. In the second one she's wearing her bear slippers from my friend Jenn - they were Mia's first baby gift!

Still more...

Here are some more photos - Mia in her first outfit, coming home from the hospital (Luke gave her the giraffe that keeps appearing in photos), meeting Molly, and napping with big brother.

More Photos!

Photos!

Technical Difficulties

My computer and camera system decided for the first time ever to have some serious problems and not let me get to my photos on the computer. Nice timing, huh? I have so many great photos I want to share, so don't think I'm just slacking and not getting them on my blog! I'm about to try the laptop and see if I can make it work there, so keep checking back for those photos I promised! Mia just keeps getting cuter in each photo too!

Mia Isabella

We just got home, so this will be short. I've slept about 6 hours since Friday night, so it's time to rest! But here are the basics... Photos will follow later today. Mia Isabella was born at 9:39 AM Sunday, March 11. She weighs 8 lbs and is 20 and a half inches long. She has some hair, and blue grey eyes. She's very pink and I think very perfect! She is also very quiet - barely cried so far, so I'm hoping she'll be as great as Luke was as a baby. I'm also doing very well. I'm a big fan of the 8 hour natural labor, versus 20+ hours of induced labor! Check back later tonight for lots of photos.

This Just In...

The TAKS scores came in yesterday for our students, and in third grade, we had 93% of our kids pass the test the first time, and 41% got commended, which means out of 36 questions, they missed 2 or less! I only had 2 not pass, and I knew they wouldn't - both have already been retained a grade and one came to me just 2 weeks before the test. And just to brag on my grade level a bit, the fifth grade students also have to take the test, and they only had 78% passing the first time, and 25% commended. Yay for us!

In baby news, Marc and I went to my appointment today, and the doctor once again pointed out that our family has stubborn cervixes, because nothing is happening. Unless a miracle happens the next few days, we will go in Sunday night at 10:00 to get induced, so we're looking at a March 12 birthday.

And yes, I'm still at work. Notice I said that "I'm at work", not "I'm still working." I'm here, but am questioning how much I'm actually working! :) Hey, it's the week before spring break, so even those not pregnant aren't doing that much work right now!

Just waiting...

That about sums up my life right now. Just waiting... I should say waiting, while very tired! I'm trying to use up time as much as possible. Last week I had an appointment and the doctor said this baby doesn't look like it wants to come out, and there's no more room in my belly. Cool. I'm still working, although each day gets a little longer and harder to make it through. Luckily, our big TAKS time is over with so teaching is more relaxed and fun these weeks anyhow. I'm not sure if I'm going this week still or not. I will probably go tomorrow, so I don't sit around all day thinking about how it's my due date and yes, I'm still pregnant. After that, who knows. This is a 3 and a half day work week, with a day and a half of inservice before Spring Break, so maybe I'll just grin and bear it and keep showing up each day! Yesterday Brenda and Carsyn met Luke and I at the mall (Marc had some training all day for work), and I managed to stay distracted with shopping and a pedicure for a few hours. Today mom and dad are arriving, so that'll add something new to my daily monotony! I go back Tuesday morning to the doctor, and he'll set up my inducement then if need be. So that's what is happening here. We are all ready to get this whole labor/hospital stuff over with and just be home with our family!

Thanks, Uncle Scott

Luke stayed at Carsyn's house last night, and had a great time from what he says. However, since he's come home today, all I keep hearing about is the new baby name Uncle Scott helped to think up... Poo Poo Head. So we have been discussing baby poo poo head all day. Awesome. At least Luke thinks it's a silly name, and didn't take it too seriously!

Happy Weekend!

I'm thrilled to have Monday off. I haven't had a day off pretty much all year, and each day at work is getting harder as I get bigger and closer to having this baby! My class has been very "trying" this year (teachers reading this, you can interpret my real feelings about my class I'm sure!) and they are just wearing me out! Tuesday is the much anticipated TAKS test day -the day my third graders take their big reading test that they have to pass to go to 4th grade. So lots of stress on me for that too. After Tuesday, I'll be ready any day to start maternity leave. This weekend has been fairly relaxing so far. Friday was Marc's birthday but he didn't feel well, so we just stayed home and everyone went to bed early. Yesterday I went to get my hair done - shorter, darker - and then we ate at Red Lobster for his birthday. I hate seafood, so that's my sacrifice once a year for his birthday. This afternoon is all about cleaning and doing little things, like I hung up some stuff in the nursery, cleaned baby bottles, wrote thank yous, etc. Nothing too exciting, but things that have to get done. I'm determined to fit a pedicure in my plans too!

Today I woke up and my whole face is puffy, not just the usual eyes. Nice. I have a photo of me that Marc just took, but don't be too critical! My belly has blown up the past weeks too. You may not be able to tell in the photo, but Amy, you need my shirt - it says "Rock Star" since you claim to be one with the guitar these days!

I feel like my cousin Jessica now -the photos I just added have a mind of their own, and I can't move them around like I usually can. So, here's what they are about... you are hopefully smart enough to figure which caption goes with which photo! Me, very pregnant, with 2 weeks to go. Luke sitting in a baby bathtub with his "cuter" - the day we pulled the tub down from the attic he sat like that for about an hour playing! Luke in the car watching a movie with his big headphones. And the one of Luke on the bench was just taken when Marc took my photo - he said he wanted his too, so there it is!

Have a great long weekend everyone!

Still going...

I'm still alive and trying to make it through each day! Three weeks to go. I've had so many comments from coworkers this week about how my belly just popped out. I thought it was already out! I'm glad people think I look like I'm ready to pop, because I'm really feeling it. I'm a bit jealous today because Marc's basketball assistant's wife had her baby this morning, two weeks early. I still think the 21st would be the perfect day - basketball should be over, and it's the day after the big TAKS test. And now that I think about it, the day before parent conferences. Who wouldn't love to miss those?? And I will say that we are very close to have a name for this baby, so stay tuned for that. I won't say anything for sure yet, but I think this weekend we're making our decision. Marc and I also are putting our bets down for the day of the actual birth... He says March 7, and I say March 8. It's sad that we don't even consider anything BEFORE the 5th, but hey, look at the history of babies in my family! I'll be sure to put another photo on soon, but not right now. Currently I'm squeezing myself into my Trimmier Elementary shirt, which is so not meant for a 9 month pregnant lady, but it's the only way I can wear jeans on Friday. Not the outfit I want to capture this stage of pregnancy in! I'm off to the 2nd to last basketball game.

Baby Shower

Today my third grade team had a baby shower for me after school. I feel very blessed by these great friends, and by all the things I was given at this shower. Even Luke got a few gifts! Here are some photos. A special thanks to my friend Katricia for taking the photos, but I must say, most of them qualify as the most unflattering photos of me ever! :) I've included a photo of my team that had the shower for me, and a shot of all the "stuff". I even ended up with $175 of Target gift cards, and most of you know how much I love Target! I will give $50 to the first person who can accurately name every gift in the photo... :) (Somehow I see Nancy as the one who would try!)