18 months, and summer is finally here!

Waiting for summer this year was tough. Last week it FINALLY pushed into the high 70's! Warm enough to run around in the fountains at the park, which is probably Naomi's favorite part of the park - except for maybe the swings.

The past month has been a little stressful, to be honest, but we are taking things as they come and we are hoping for a better July.

Naomi took a nasty spill out of a shopping card on Monday, the 21st, scaring the crap out of everyone. I had placed her in the basket of the cart because she was a little antsy on the last of our errands (bad mommy...). She sat there for a while taking things out of my bag and destroying the contents of my wallet, as per normal. All of a sudden, jumpin' jack flash stood up lunged forward for something outside of the cart. Her top-heavy little body just tumbled out of this standard-sized shopping cart and she fell right on top of her head. The paramedics came. They suggested I take her to the local children's hospital to get checked out.

To make matters worse, as I was was carrying her in, I fell! To prevent Naomi from hitting the ground again, I took the brunt of the fall on my elbow and knee, then twisted around to my back to protect both the baby in my arms and the baby in my belly. Owie. That left me sore for a few days...

Naomi checked out fine and was released after an hour or so of observation. I have never been so grateful.

We continue to have complications with the 2nd pregnancy. If you hadn't heard, we already fought off low amniotic fluid levels (due to dehydration),  concerning head growth (which has righted itself), and now we have found out that there is an Intra-Abdominal Umbilical Vein Varix (essentially a varicose vein in the cord). It is a rare thing to have, and there is nothing we can do about it, but we are being watched very closely as it could be very dangerous for little sister.

Starting the week of July 18 we'll be monitored with a weekly ultrasound and semi-weekly non-stress tests. That's a lot of testing. Should we find any potential threat to the baby's blood supply (poor flow, clotting, etc.), we'll have to deliver immediately. Seeing that we are only at 29 weeks, this is a scary thought. Every day we can keep her in the womb is two less NICU days we may be facing. I am crossing my fingers that I can make it to at least 38 weeks, but more than likely we will be welcoming our newest addition by the end of August. WOW - that is just around the corner!

Also, my mom was here for a visit the past two weeks to spend time with us before she starts chemotherapy next week. Wish her good luck, mild side effects, and a full recovery!

PS. Still undecided about starting a second blog or making this a family blog... will keep you posted!

17 months, and a visit to "Gamma"

For those of you who have not heard, my mother has recently become ill with pancreatic cancer. A nasty disease, that one is. After her diagnosis, Naomi and Aunty Em (my sister) and I took a little trip down to Florida to visit with her. We were glad to be able to spend most of our time with her pre-surgery (the Whipple procedure), then were able to stay with her for a day or so post-surgery. While the reason for our visit loomed overhead and was hard to forget about, I think we were able to keep things fun and keep "Gamma's" mind off of the heavy stuff a least a little bit. We spent a day driving around South Beach, did lots of pool swimming, and even spent one morning taking Naomi on her first beach excursion, resulting in this month's photos.

She LOVED both sand and water, and sat mesmerized by the vast ocean.

As a short update, mom is home from the hospital as of last night and working on getting herself recovered and strong so she can tackle the big treatments ahead: A course of chemo, followed by radiation treatment, followed by another course of chemo. The road ahead would be daunting to any of us. Please keep her in your thoughts...

Current Stats

Weight: 25lbs, 13.5oz

Height: 31"

Head Circumference: 18.5"

16 Months

Forgot to post this one! Sorry, folks...

15 months, and a poll!

A trip to see the tulips in bloom in La Conner!

Again, time has gotten away from us. Naomi is 15 months already. Milestones seem to be mixed in with some typical (crappy) toddler behavior - read hitting and whining. But on the positive side, her vocabulary has skyrocketed ("Auntie" and "Uncle" are the new exciting ones as she refers to Emily and Chad), her mouth is full of teeth (which she LOVES brushing!) and all-in-all she is a pretty happy, easy kid. Its a little sad seeing her become such a big kid so quickly, but I suppose Naomi is scrambling to learn as much as possible in the next 5 months so she can share the info with her new brother or sister!

Which brings me to our next topic...

The countdown is on to finding out the sex sex of our beloved second child, currently known as "Knock Knock" since Naomi likes to knock on my belly like it is a door to say hi to the baby. Comment below if you feel like taking a guess! We'll announce the results on April 27th after our ultrasound - provided the baby cooperates.

Good luck - the prize is bragging rights and the privilege of claiming to be psychic.

Month 14 pics...

Just realized these never got up on the blog! Oh, mommy, you're slacking...

Today was a good day...

Not only did Naomi get to eat chicken nuggets for the first time, but she also got to see the little person she'll be big sister to in about 7 months via ultrasound.

Yes, you read that right! We're due September 16.

13 months, or just "one?"

I am torn about still using "months" to answer the question of how old my child is. It just seems weird. It made sense the first year but now that she's past that 1 year mark, counting off the months sounds more like baby obsession than accuracy. What do you all think?

By the way, Naomi is walking like a pro - almost running. We'll post a new video soon... in the meantime, enjoy these pictures!