The big reveal

Normally, most pregnant women have to wait until about 20 weeks along before their anatomy scan (ultra sound), which will likely reveal if the baby is a boy or a girl.  With Christina and Gwen, that is when I found out.  This time, I'm seeing a high risk doctor, since Gwen came early and we want to make sure this baby does not.  At my first appointment with the high risk doctor a couple of days ago, we were able to get a good look at the baby.  This baby was very active, wiggling all over and even waving to us.

Although everyone has been coming out of the woodworks telling me how much they want me to have a boy, I actually didn't care either way.  I can't really imagine having a boy, although I guess it would make sense to add one to our family.  Whichever way it goes (Baby Olivia or Baby Nik), waiting to find out was the hardest part! 

So . . . . .



I was THRILLED to be able to find out more than four weeks early this time. 


We are expecting another little Princess!! 



Yep, we are having another girl!  It is kind of amuzing to me actually.  I can only imagine what life is going to be like with a house full of girls.  Luckily, we have two great ones already, so I am very much looking forward to getting to know our new little one.

Now that we know we have Baby Olivia in my belly (not just a "baby"), it is time to tell Christina and Gwen.  My belly is growing faster than it ever did before and I think this is perfect timing to talk to the girls.  My Mom had a great idea that we should record ourselves telling the girls.  I didn't actually expect much of a reaction from them, but I was wrong.  Of course Gwen didn't understand or seem to care, but Christina was adorable.  I had my teenage sister, Mackenzie, record the reveal.  Take a look and make sure not to miss the ending.

Happy 2nd Birthday Gwen!!

Happy birthday to my darling Gwendolyn Eve!!  My two year old has changed so much in the last few months, but I haven't had a chance to share.  My little/big girl:

-Asks where CC is dozens of times each day, although now she mostly calls her "stina" since she is working more towards pronouncing "Christina" and only occasionally calls her "CC".  She loves her sister so much that she always wants to know where she is and what she is up to. 


-For awhile there, she would constantly say "I want this", but we never had any idea what "this" was referring too.  Now she seems to be even more verbal than before, so I haven't heard this one in awhile.  She does such a great job of telling us what she wants or just talking to us about what she is interested in.

-Is always saying she has to go potty and/or convince people to take her to the potty. She has been doing this for over four months now, but the funny thing is that she isn't potty trained.  Now she is in a new class at daycare though and they practice using the potty several times a day.  She loves it!  I can't wait until I'm 100% feeling better so that I can focus on potty training her.

-Is so polite!  She says bless you when someone sneezes and she says please and thank you.  We still have to remind her to say please on her own, but she says bless you and thank you completely on her own.

-Sings twinkle twinkle and says her ABCs

-Usually refuses to smile for pictures, hence the reason I haven't posted any new ones in a very long time. Although I did get a few good ones just the other day that I put up here immediately :-)

-Loves beer and alcohol unfortunately.  Do you remember "the game" that we played for Christina's first birthday and then again for Gwen's?  We put out a few items across the room from the birthday girl, we put her down and waited to see which one she would go to.  It is suppose to signify something about her future.  The items we put out were a bible (religion and/or literature), a cell phone (technology), money (success) and a small bottle of alcohol (not sure exactly what that one is for since it doesn't exactly send a positive message).  Anyway . . . on Gwen's first birthday, she didn't hesitate whatsoever and went straight for the bottle of alcohol and then proceeded to try to drink it!!  Then, this year in April at my nephew Cael's first birthday, Gwen completely interupted the birthday boy when it was his time for the game.  As soon as she got a look at the bottle of alcohol, she started yelling "Aahhhh, mine!" She wormed her way out of my arms and ran straight over to the liquor bottle, claiming it for her own!  I don't know what is up with this child, but boy oh boy are we going to have to keep our eyes on her.  As it is, we've all known from a young age that we can't put down alcoholic drinks where she can reach because she has some sort of radar for it.  She will immediately grab your drink the second you turn your head.  I've never heard of such a thing in a baby/toddler!  Totally crazy!


-Is so sweet. She loves to give hugs and kisses and even tells me randomly that she loves me (she got that one from CC).


-Gets really proud of herself when she accomplishes something.  Whether it is a small or large accomplishment, you can usually hear her saying "I did it!" when she is finished.  She loves to try new things, especially if she sees CC doing it first.  She isn't afraid to try something that Christina does just because she is so much smaller.

-Is so curious and is always asking "why?".  She also started asking "where" people or things are and the most common one I hear is "Where's Daddy?".  She always has to keep tabs on him.

Strike a pose

When I got home from work yesterday, I found a box waiting for us from Grandma and Granddad.    Although the occassion was Gwen's birthday, there were a few things gifts for CC as well.  My Mom wanted the girls to open the presents right away rather than wait for Gwen's birthday. 

As expected, the girls were super excited to open the presents.  The second the wrapping paper was off, the girls had to start putting everything on.  They got matching bathing suits with matching accessories (shoes and sunglasses).  They were dancing around the room in excitement.  I actually got a few pictures with a smile on Gwen's face (which NEVER happens lately!)

In case you missed it on Facebook . . . .

Surprise! I've got a bun in the oven!

My due date is 12/12/12 which means that as of tomorrow, I am 14 weeks pregnant.  I have been home with morning sickness for the last two months, just as I was with my two little girls.  This time it hasn't been complete, non-stop hell like the girls put me through (5 weeks for CC and 10 weeks for Gwen), but the really bad nausea comes in waves and the rest of the time leaves me feeling just sick instead of - oh my god, I think I'm going to die!!  I remember my first trimester with Christina and also with Gwen was pure HELL.  This time, with a prescription of Zofran from my doctor and the ability to work from my bed (and maybe a little luck), I have been managing this time around without a huge fuss.  I have actually managed to get the girls ready for school every morning and get them ready for bed every night.  Of course I have been going to sleep at 8pm every night when they do, but hey, you do what you have to do.

In addition to morning sickness, this time around I have tons of aches and pains.  Much of the time I am super uncomfortable and have difficultly moving in bed or getting out of bed.  Hopefully that is just because I have not been up and about.  I'm sure spending 90% of your day in bed will do that to a person.  Yesterday was my first day back in the office and although I'm here in bed again today, I think it went well.

Instead of the morning sickness turning off like a light switch (which is what it did with the girls), it is slowly starting later and later in the day.  Now, I can pretty much expect that I won't feel sick until at least lunch time, maybe even as late as 5pm.  This is awesome except I have absolutely no energy to function normally even when I do feel ok.  I need to get back into my regular routine.

I can't wait until I can start enjoying summer with the girls.  I want to take them to the pool, to Six Flags, and start going back to storytime every other Saturday.  I want the girls to ride bikes outside and play with the water table from Grandma and Granddad.  Oh yes, and I want to potty train Gwen.  Can't wait!  . . . Yes, seriously.  :-)