the holly & the ivy

Well, the Christmas season is upon us. I've been Christmas shopping (mostly online) & Christmas crafting for a few weeks, but this weekend we did a bunch of FUN Christmas things, like put up our tree & our little village, hang the stockings, and watch Kate enjoy it all! There is simply nothing like seeing old traditions through new little eyes. Kate actually went out to pick up the tree with Josh. She came back home with a little branch & proudly informed me that this was HER Christmas tree. In a bit we saw another branch on the floor which I was informed was Momma's Christmas tree, and then when Dad brought in the *real* one. . . well, that was Dad's Christmas tree. What a cutie! She LOVED trimming the tree & wanted to play with each ornament. Josh has an ornament for each year of his growing up years, and many of them are really cute -- Snoopy, the Pokey Little Puppy, airplanes, firetrucks with mouse firemen. Kate got a real kick out of getting them out of their boxes & playing with each one before picking out a place on the tree for it. We're continuing the tradition of an ornament for Kate each year, and I had a lot of fun showing her the two ornaments that belong to her.

Saturday began with a bit of Christmas portrait taking. Our smiley, sweet little girl turned into Miss Sourpuss just in time for us to have the camera pointed at us. The whole morning she was so excited about taking pictures with "Lya, Lawren, Ben, Auntie Jen. . run out of breath. . continue the litany of family members." But, somehow, the unfamiliar surroundings & the chilly weather combined to make her ill at ease. Finally, some brilliant lady (Jen) remembered the candy she had brought & after scads of Smarties, Kate became a bit better performer. Oh well. Se la vie. We did get some good shots, thankfully! In fact, it was not just the smarties that affected our smiles, but some kerrazy antics by Auntie Jen & a moose. I think she had Josh & I giggling, too.

So, this is how the morning started off. . . mom & dad looking pretty nice, Kate looking inscrutably at the camera.

Post-smarties

One of the better shots -- all three of us actually smiling!

Also post smarties, but if you look carefully, the smartie actually showed up IN the picture!

Later that afternoon, Kate helping Dad fix the lights.

The Finished Product! Do you think I could have a tree up all year?

A little bonus footage: my belly. I'll admit, most of that bump is actually made up of unbuttoned pants, a bella band folded over twice, a T-shirt, and a wooly sweater! But, hey!

around the bend (almost 15 weeks)

Just wanted everyone to know that I think I've rounded a corner! As soon as I hit 14 weeks, there was a really big difference in the way I felt. I still may not feel perky the entire day, and I've had some nausea, but the feeling I have when I wake up in the morning is SOOO different. I feel that I can take on the day. I have energy. I no longer require a 3 hour nap in the afternoon. I have a little baby bump. I can't wear my pre-pregnancy button/zip pants anymore.

I'm so happy that my little "plan" worked. I feel better much earlier than I did last time through, and I think it's because I took those meds! Praise the Lord! I'm also MUCH more interested in food in general, and also have some REAL dislikes. I am still not up for cooking my meals, but I'm hoping to make it through next week & maybe be running at least half of my ship by then. (The food half).

Don't want to see or touch or smell: fish, apples (smell), gas from the grill being turned on, Soy Delicious ice cream, Frosted Mini-Wheats, several of the staple meals from "The Josh Meals" -- they are tasty, but my first trimester experience of them has tainted them for me.

Love and wish all my food tasted so good: fries, soups (I could eat soup every day, and almost have!), lemonade or limeade, Hershey's dark chocolate, coke (bad, I know!), chili, saltines (with soup, not really stand alone)

is she ready or what?

per request, an update!

Although Kate showed a lot of interest at a young age in potty training, her momma took a complete break when she got pregnant, so Kate has made 0 progress on the potty. Never to this day has she peed in it (or anything else for that matter) & only twice in her life has she peed anywhere else. Both times she peeped on the bathroom floor after taking a shower. Talk about easy cleanup! For a number of reasons PLUS my own inability to do "training" of any sort, I concluded that although Kate's mind was interested in potty training, her body wasn't ready.

Fast forward to last week. I walked into her room to get her up from a nap & I found her totally naked from the waist down -- sleeping! I could NOT believe my eyes. She had taken off her pants & her soggy diaper during her usual downtime before she actually falls asleep & then fallen asleep buns up in the air! And, no accidents, either. Of course, I quickly woke her up & plunked a diaper on her.

Then, two days ago, I was in the shower when Kate decided that she wanted a shower too. So, she starts disrobing herself -- pants & diaper. These days just getting into the shower is a real feat, so I made a dumb-mommy decision to finish up my shower "in a hurry" & hope nothing bad happened. I told her, "Don't poop or pee on the floor." She was so delighted w/ the phrase "poop or pee," repeating it over & over again. She then informed me that she didn't want to pee (no comfort to me!). But, she survived until I finished shaving my legs & hopped out of the shower whisking her straight to the room for a fresh diaper! So, I think she might be ready, what do you think? Well, at least she can take off her clothes & diaper. That's supposed to be one of those "signs" you look for.

Me: I'm doing ok. I've started a regimen of powerful nausea blocking drugs, but am trying to keep it as low profile as possible. So, I try to take one per day, and skip any days where I feel reasonably well or don't NEED to feel well. I have another (cheaper) medicine to take in the evenings that makes me loooooooppyyy (so I don't like to take it) but has helped me out of a few rough nights. If all goes well, I have just enough of the daytime pills to make it up through Thanksgiving, when I can get a refill. I don't want to have to refill, mind you, but I've got to plan ahead. I feel very conflicted about taking these drugs, because as a mommy, I'm always worrying about how this might affect the baby, but I've tried to make a balanced choice. The thing is, even on these drugs, I still am not 100% better either, so it's a tangle! Signs for encouragement: I went grocery shopping on Saturday & I have made dinner twice this week. A-mazing! I also discovered at my last OBGYN visit that I may be B12 & Folate deficient which has as symptoms fatigue & nausea -- combined w/ pregnancy symptoms -- let's just say YOUCH. I never thought fatigue would be a "problem" for me. All you have to do is sleep it off, right? Wrong! It's that no amount of sleep is ever enough! And THAT can be a problem when you have an almost 2 year old who expects a non-somnolent human being to be her playmate or mommy.

So, to sum up: Kate (cute, trying on 2's for size, loves to play repetitive games, is REALLY getting into pretend, still is hit or miss on her colors, is thinking about her birthday a lot these days) Mom (tired, has cravings for lemonade/limeade (preferably from ChickfilA), also craves soup from Atlanta Bread Company, more tiredness, teaching still, watches Dancing w/ the Stars, throw in a few moments of hugging the toilet & watching the laundry pile up into mountains and you've got it!)

On the Josh front -- if you think of it, please pray about his job. This time period is pretty stressful for him. His company is in one of the hardest hit sectors in this "soft" economy & relies substantially on the banks for flow of capital (not so "flowy" since the credit crisis). The two factors combined make for a very unsure environment for him. This has really caused both of us to realize & state daily that it is God that's providing for us, not his company & not Josh's talent/hard work, so we can look at the past & know that he HAS provided for us & will continue providing for us in His own way!

dress up

Friday evening started off inauspiciously -- Kate did not want to wear her bunny costume. She had tried it on the night before & even shown everybody at school earlier that day. I felt like a horrible mom bribing her child to wear a costume she didn't want to wear. I'm glad I did though, because the evening ended up being quite chilly & her bunny outfit certainly did the trick! It took her awhile before she warmed up to the crowds. Her favorite things were jumping with Lydia & the cupcake she won at the cake walk. All the girls looked adorable in their costumes, of course.

A shy bunny

The proud princess

One of the funniest pics of the night -- Laurie is giving the best smile! (Note the cupcake)

Not so great of Gracie, but I had to let you see Kate doing her "bunny face."

Bunny got into the jumping when she caught up with her big cousin! It's amazing how much braver she is around Lydia.

Kate saw this & said, "Laurie-boo!" She was a precious ladybug!

3 out of 4 and that ain't bad!

I took some meds that morning & amazingly felt well enough to go & participate. Praise the Lord!

cute Kate

The other night she picked up the phone. . .
K: Hello neighborhood. Where are you? Mom, talk to neighborhood?
Mom: Um, it's kind of hard to talk to a whole neighborhood. But, ok.

We call Josh everyday after naps to inquire when he might be returning home. Kate has caught on swiftly that HE is in charge of dinner these days.

K: Hi, Daddy!
D: Hi, Kate! How are you?
K: I'm fine. I want hamberhers!
D: You want hamburgers? What about pork chops?
K: Hamberhers, daddy!
D: Well, ask mom if she wants hamburgers.
K: Mom, want hamberhers?
M: NO, yuck, that doesn't sound good to me.
K: I ask her. Mom say no.

Her other fav thing to request is sgetti.

Papa taught her a joke about laughing animals.

M: What does the laughing sheep say, Kate?
K: Baa-haa.
M: What does the laughing horse say?
K: Neigh-hay
M: (Things she's clever & asks a new question) What does the laughing owl say?
K: I don't know dat.

The most hilarious thing is that she actually thinks this is funny. She'll probably be the only grandchild to get her Papa's jokes (he's an infamous punner).

She is also trying on the "terrible two's" on for size a bit early by being contradictory when the mood strikes.
Mom (this morning at breakfast): You're too distracted, Kate. You need to eat.
Kate: I NOT dis-tact (fumbles over new word but is convinced that whatever it is, she is NOT it)-ed.

Of course, most hilarious is when she is contradictory about positive qualities.
Mom: You're so cute.
Kate: I NOT so cute.
Mom: Well, not any more!

Mom: You're my daughter.
Kate: I NOT my daughter.
Mom (happy that this one doesn't have to be a fight): You're right!

Due to my "condition," I spend a lot of time on the chouch. Kate likes to cuddle with me and watch. She's pretty willing to watch whatever I'm watching (news, Dancing with the Stars, some show on PBS). The other night we watched a Nature show about animals in the Alps. We had a lot of fun identifying the animals we knew (cows, birds, dogs), but she had a hard time learning "deer." At first, when she heard them call the baby red deer a "calf" she assumed they must be cows. Then, she settled that they looked like giraffes because the baby calf (star of the show) was all spotty. Several times she mentioned that the calf was "too toot" (too cute) or "adorable." Typed words fail to communicate how adorable it is when Kate actually says it.

We watched a little bit of Dancing with the Stars the other night & she is very into dancing. If Josh is around she'll get him to dance with her -- very sweet. But, the other night it was just she and I, so she figured that we could dance in the chouch. We were lying side by side & she asked me to hold her hand. Then she started kicking her legs back & forth, and ta-tarn, we were dancing!

Sorry, no pictures. Maybe someone will take a few at the Fall Festival next weekend and you'll get to see her in her adorable bunny costume.

Oh, a few comments about the other cute one growing these days. The baby is now the size of a small strawberry and has FINGERPRINTS! How amazing!

ob -- 8 week

Hello. . .greetings from pregnancy. Although my last word to you was on a pretty cheerful note, about 6 weeks I began to descend into yuckiness. Not as bad as last time, but not very pleasant. Each day would hold any number of ups & downs. I was predominately VERY tired, and had nausea around mealtimes & difficulty digesting. I feel uncomfortable and as though I need to lay down after meal times to avoid throwing up. I've had a couple of great days (which never happened last time), and so have been trying to see the bright sides. This week, Monday was great, Tuesday was horrible. The nausea seemed to have racheted up to *all the time*. I haven't been throwing up as much (once or twice a week, instead of once or twice a day), and have been eating normal & healthy meals. Unfortunately, I've still lost weight -- approx 8 lbs at my lowest & I've gained 3 or so back. Baby making must take more calories than I realize. I've tried to keep a lot of protein by my side in the form of Kashi Granola bars and they seem to work very well. Typically, the days I go to school, I'm able to perform the tasks required of me, and then on my break days (Wednesday & Saturday), I crash all day long.
Kate has been so sweet! She's quickly learning mommy is "resting, lay down, and sick" a lot. She eats in her high chair alone these days, while mommy rests on the couch, so she knows that if mommy gets up to clean her up, she's really done -- none of this changing your mind business! She loves to be with me, whether its in the bed or on the couch, and some of our most precious times have occurred when daddy isn't home yet and she brings her notebook & pencil to do some drawing with mom on the 'chouch,' as she calls it. Daddy has been the real star of the show. He's already taken over all of the grocery shopping, meal planning, and preparation. I'm convinced that my better eating habits this time 'round are due to him! If I don't have to think about, touch, or smell the food before I eat -- I have a much greater chance of eating more of it!
Today I went for my first OB appointment. Thankfully, I felt pretty good while I was there. I met this new doctor for the first time today & he was really nice. This new doc has an infinitely smaller practice than the last one I was with, and everything felt more personal. He actually did an ultra sound from which I have pics & a dvd recording (how nice!), especially since Josh wasn't able to come w/ me to the appointment. He was EXTREMELEY open to VBAC & didn't seem to have a problem w/natural childbirth. So, I'm happy. Also, his office is literally a 2 minute walk to the hospital through a skywalk -- how cool is that? That doesn't really make him a better doctor, but I really want to walk through that skywalk one time. :-)