Six Months Later

Something amazing happened yesterday and I didn't even realize it.

 

Yesterday, April 7th, marked 6 months since the Charmer's open heart surgery.

 

 

He is amazing. He has healed so well and that's why I didn't think of it.

 

I love his scar. It has faded a lot over the past 6 months, but I still love it. It reminds me of what he's been through.

 

It reminds me how strong he is. It reminds me of how incredible modern medicine is. It reminds me of how amazing the power of prayer can be. It reminds me how fragile life is, and how we should treasure every moment. It reminds me of how much I love being a mother.

 

I love how he points to his "boo-boo". I love how he giggles when I kiss it.

 

I could never change this experience because of how much I have learned from it.

 

I love my little heart warrior.

Welcome, Warm Weather!

Spring is here and the sun is shining!

 

It has been a long winter for us here in eastern North Carolina. Mild compared to other places in the U.S., but we're not used to that sort of thing down here. I lost count of how many inches of snow we've received. But we are so thrilled for it to be warm enough to enjoy playing outside.

The kids live for the outdoors. They both enjoy it in their own way.

 

Bridget wants everyone to look at her and what she's doing, over and over and over again. She's a bit needy, but she's cute.

 

George on the other hand is very independent. He plays with a pinecone or a stick for a few minutes, then moves onto something else in the yard, like the garden. I think he's going to be our little gardener this year. We'll need to get that started soon.

 

On this particular day, I realized something about George. The kids had been outside playing for well over an hour, but he hadn't yet broken a sweat. The temperature was 86 degrees, so it was plenty warm, but he was still dry. His hair was dry, skin was dry, and his cheeks were just a little bit pink. This is significant for us because of all that he had been through last year. He used to sweat a lot because his heart was enlarged and not working properly. This year is different. It's great. We are so fortunate to have two healthy children.

This entire week has been beautiful. We might be in for a rainy weekend but the temperatures don't seem to be getting lower than the 60s. We've waited a long time for this. We hope everyone else is enjoying this lovely weather, too!

Family Photo Bloopers 2014

We did it!! We survived family photos. With the crazy year we had last year (with George's heart surgery), family photos kept getting put off. Then we found out we were having another baby and my tummy began growing. I needed to get photos of just our family of 4 before I got too big. I didn't want George to look back and think, "oh, they forgot about me" when it came to family pictures (our last family picture was with just our family of 3). So we finally got it done today!! Some of them turned out really great, and of course there are the "bloopers".

 

 

This little boy is just adorable, and I love that little tongue sticking out. But it didn't make the cut to send to our family. But it does show his silly personality!

 

Oh she is so sweet. And super shy. It totally shows in this photo. In fact, it shows it in a lot of photos with her looking down yet still trying to look at the camera. I hope she gets over her shyness one day because she really does know how to make a great picture.



I think hubby and I look fine (I do have some hair out of place) but of course the kids are looking just a little bit off.

My husband's family apparently carries a gene (or a curse?) where they automatically shut their eyes when the camera goes "click". Bridget may have been able to avoid that gene but poor George inherited it!

My sweet little Bridget again. This would have been a perfect photo, but I don't know what in the world she was doing holding up her fingers!

 

This photo captures George's thoughts (and actions) during each little setup of photos. "Okay mom, I'm done now!"

 

That's why I say we survived family photos. Bridget was great (other than her shyness) but George was all over the place, grabbing extra props and using them as building blocks and wanting them all in his pictures. Then of course he wouldn't sit for more than 2 seconds. So I am amazed by some of the really good shots they did get of him.

 

It feels good to finally have this over and done with, and to have some updated pictures of our family to put on the wall. I've been a bit of a slacker. Now I just need to buy more frames (or save money for frames and buy them in 2015? Ha!).

Here we go again!

We are very happy to announce that we are expecting!

I'm sure that face will look much cuter in July.

We found out back in December. So far, this pregnancy has been going great. While I did have some nausea (which occurred in the late afternoon/evening), I never actually threw up. This is also my very first vegan pregnancy. (The kids and I have been vegan for about a year. Even George spent a little bit of time drinking whole milk before we switched to soy). I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to do a vegan pregnancy because I want to make sure the baby is getting all the nutrients it needs, but so far everything is great. My blood work came back and baby and I are both healthy (and I got a bonus in good news along with this, which I’ll post about later). Even my iron was great, which was really good news because I had low iron when I was pregnant with George and had to take a supplement. And that was when I was still eating meat. Ha! So I’ll continue being vegan until I am told that I need to do something different. I won’t be happy about it, but a healthy baby is top priority.

Yesterday, we had the big ultrasound appointment where we learned what baby #3 will be!

The kids and I met Hubby at the doctor’s office and we all went in together. Bridget was not feeling her best (she caught the latest GI bug) but she so badly wanted to go. She has been so excited about having a new baby, and has even prayed that it would be a little girl for her to play with.

Very quickly into the ultrasound, we discovered that it is a BOY!

Bridget was heartbroken. She just stood there and I could tell that she wanted to cry, but her shyness prevents her from doing that in front of strangers. She’s the only one who was hoping for a specific gender… the rest of us just wanted a healthy baby. But seeing her so disappointed, I was almost wishing that it would have been a girl, just for her. But, we are still very happy to have another boy.

After coming home, I let Bridget know that with her and I being the only girls, we get to have our own special ‘girl time’ and that she’s still going to be daddy’s baby girl. This cheered her up a little bit. Throughout the rest of the afternoon, she’d come to me with questions like “Why does Heavenly Father think I need another little brother?” and comments like “I wish I was having a little sister so that I won’t be so lonely”. Way to break my heart, kid.

George's reaction was… nothing. He has no idea what’s going on. I think he finally got the concept that there is a baby in my tummy, but he’ll probably need reminding. I’m sure he’ll be a good big brother, as he is so loving towards Bridget's baby dolls. It’s sweet to watch him feed the babies and carry them around. Then of course being the boy that he is, he’ll whack the baby’s head on the floor a few times and laugh.

Now, back to the baby: He is due on July 17th, 2014. His heart rate was 148 (at 16 weeks, 5 days along). So far, I’ve gained just ONE pound (although I do feel like I’ve gained more). I was a bit alarmed by this and promised my OBGYN that I am eating a lot but she said that this is perfect considering the baby only weighs 6 ounces right now. She said most women gain way too much too early but that I’m on the right track. So yay! My next appointment is in 4 weeks, and sometime in March I also have a fetal echo scheduled with George's pediatric cardiologist to see if this new baby has any sort of heart defect. It’s rare for someone to have two CHD children, but it does still happen. I’m not worried about it and I think it will all be okay. Even if the new baby does have a congenital heart defect, at least we know what to expect with surgery, recovery, etc. But we’re hoping for the best, of course.