Getting Out

Winter, as I've always said, is hard for me with the littles. I don't know what to do with them, and after we've read books for an hour, I'm often left wondering what we'll do for the 6 hours left in the day until Daddy gets home. They got a slew of new toys for Christmas, which keeps them occupied for a bit, but then they start asking for T.V., and I really don't want to cave into that too early in the day!

Our go to outings are the mall (for the play place and carousel) and Chick Fil A. The kids have been sick for the past week (Jonah is still battling a cough, and Noelle woke up with a snot fountain over the weekend) so we've barely left the house. Most winters, I'm willing to risk getting sick because I can't stand being cooped up for long, but with this bout of sickness, and with friends sharing that their families are getting struck by the norovirus, I'm nervous to go anywhere!

But all that being said, we have been doing some fun things, and I know that sickness is a part of childhood. We're just building up their immunities for later, right? At the end of last week, I left sick Jonah at home with Luke working in the basement to go celebrate Noelle's birthday at school. She chose oreos as her snack to share, and My Little Pony napkins. It was so fun seeing her in her school environment, and singing happy birthday to her with all her little school friends. And I loved how excited she got when she saw me walk through the door!

We also like to venture out to Dunkin Donuts, but that was more fun when my body could handle caffeine and I could get free coffee after the Ravens won. And it was more fun when Heather wasn't working and could meet us there. BUT I did get a Dunkin Donuts gift card for Christmas, so since Luke is limiting me on our Chick Fil A visits (it was needed!), I figure we'll go spend gift card money at Dunkin Donuts. Plus these two love their strawberry sprinkle donuts.

And after getting a good amount of money to Starbucks for Christmas, Jonah and I have been doing the drive thru, or going in more than once a week over the last few weeks (decaf skinny cinnamon dolce latte for the win!) I do enjoy the one on one time with him, and it's good to be out of the house, even for just a short bit.

coffee for me, cake pop for J

Only a little over two months left of winter, right? It will fly by and be spring before we know it, and I'm going to try to enjoy it as much as we can!

Finding Out

I originally wrote this post on Wednesday, September 19th, the day I went in for my blood test at Shady Grove!

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Yesterday I peed on a stick. I knew I was going in today for a blood test to find out if I was pregnant or not after our IUI at the beginning of the month. I wanted to know- to at least know if it was negative. I wanted to be a little more mentally prepared, and be able to mourn if we weren't pregnant, and start gearing myself up for another cycle.

My alarm went off at 5:00 so that I could workout (a.k.a walk on the treadmill) before the craziness of the day started. I grabbed the pregnancy test that I had secretly stuck in the medicine cabinet the night before and sat down to do the deed. Immediately the test line filled and remained blank. No second line. The test was negative.

Even though I had geared myself up expecting it to be negative, the sinking feeling of sadness crept over me that I've felt over almost every pregnancy announcement in the last two years. But I pep talked myself into finishing getting ready, and as I was brushing my teeth, I glanced down and saw a faint second line.

Wait, what??

There was a barely there line, but just enough to give me hope and make my heart skip a beat. It was positive!! I went from feeling down, to elated. I couldn't stop smiling.

I decided to wait until the blood test confirmed it today before telling Luke. I knew that if it was a really low number, it could mean an early miscarriage. But our number was 306 (measuring hCG, which is made from the cells in the placenta), and our nurse told me they like to see a minimum of 100. So a great number, and such an answer to prayer! When my nurse called and told me, I squeezed Noelle and told her we were having a baby, and we would have to celebrate with daddy tonight (aka, I got sushi- nothing raw for me!)

What a blessing that our first IUI worked! Even though the last few months have included setbacks, and doing things I never thought I would have to do, it has been such a sweet time of seeing and feeling God at work in my life. Learning again and again to lay down my dreams for His bigger and better dreams.

This IUI did not "help" God get us pregnant, but rather it shed even more light on the fact that God is the giver of life.

He chose the right time.

He chose the right way.

He chose life for this baby- however brief or long that may be. God is good, all the time!

Our Week So Far

Poor Jonah woke up with a fever this morning after coughing for most of the day and through the night last night. He woke up earlier than usual and after feeling how hot he was, I knew there was no way I'd be taking him anywhere today. I know that RSV is going around and all his symptoms match it, but I'm praying it passes quickly.

Today was also the day that Noelle was supposed to be celebrating her (half) birthday at school, and parents and siblings are allowed to come. I told Luke I would be sad to miss it since I wouldn't be able to take Jonah, and thankfully he said he'd work from home so I could still go. Yay!

As Noelle and I were getting ready to walk out the door to get her to school, I saw an email come through on my phone from her school. I quickly opened it and found out school was cancelled because the county schools were closed. The weather wasn't bad, but I guess certain areas had some icy roads. So we all stayed home, and while Luke worked, me the littles watched T.V. and napped. It was slow and lazy, but hopefully it helps Jonah feel better!

Monday and yesterday we had my nephew Holden with us for a few hours. Yesterday he ended up napping for most of the time he was here, but Monday I ventured out with all three to the library and to pick up a few things at Walmart. Holden was not happy when we first got to the library and I was a little worried I'd have to cut our visit short, but I had him in the ergo and once I moved and bounced him for awhile, he was out! I read a few books to Noelle and tried to make sure Jonah was being nice to the other kids!

At Walmart I walked past two women talking to each other and after I passed by, the one looked at me and said, "oh honey, are you getting any sleep?" I laughed and told her the one in the car seat was my sister's and that she wasn't getting any sleep. I'm just waiting for the comments when I'm out with all three and noticeably pregnant! They really just make me laugh. :)

Here's hoping our house has less sickness by the end of the week!

4.5

We are officially less than 6 months away from having a 5 year old! I mean, I was just pregnant with Noelle, right??

This girl is growing up way too fast and keeps insisting that she's going to first grade next year- nope, just kindergarten! She almost always picks out what she's going to wear for the day (99% of the time it's a dress), but I at least try to make sure she's wearing shoes that mostly match her outfit. Thankfully she's at least branched out and is willing to wear long sleeve dresses this winter, unlike a year ago.

She is little miss bossy when it comes to her brother. If Jonah is asking for something, she'll often tell me "it's okay mom, I don't mind if he has that." If he is trying to go off and do his own thing, she'll grab his shirt or hood so that he can't wander away. And in their pretend play, she usually tells him what to do, and most of the time he's willing to go along with it.

Noelle is so excited about the baby, which she is really hoping is a girl. She'll wave to my stomach and say "hi baby!", and if I tell her a fact about how things are progressing, like the baby can now hear us talking, she'll continually tell me that the baby can hear us now. She loves seeing her nephew and bringing him things, so hopefully she'll be my little helper come June!

She loves books, and I started reading the Laura Ingalls Wilder books out loud to her, which takes me back to when my mom read them out loud to my me and my sister. Whenever we go to the library she picks out a bunch of books she wants, which lately includes My Little Pony, Lalaloopsy, Fancy Nancy. and Thomas the Train. She also of course loves t.v., which I try to limit to a bit in the afternoon and lately they've been watching My Little Pony, Octonauts, Barbie, and Hi-5.

Her favorite thing to ask me is "what are we doing tomorrow?" And then first thing in the morning, "what are we doing today?" All. day. long. she asks me this. And of course Jonah has picked up on it and asks me as well. It drives me bananas, those little stinkers!

She loves school, her teachers, her school friends (especially her buddy Ryan), and she's really excited that I signed her up for ballet again. She still has a reserved personality and takes awhile to warm up to new situations or people, but she can also have quite the attitude and be stubborn when she wants to be. She also has a "pose" that she does for when we take pictures where she leans one should forward and tilts her chin down. It's hilarious, but we usually at least get a smile out of it! 

her "pose"

I love this little girl so much, and it's been so fun watching her develop into the person she's becoming. I'm praying lots that God would take hold of her heart and give her a passion to know Him!

Christmas 2016

Christmas celebrations for us always start on Christmas Eve when we head to my parent's house for the Perrault family tradition of a spaghetti dinner and opening some presents. Growing up we always opened gifts from our west coast relatives on Christmas Eve, and now we open gifts from my parents and siblings since we don't see them on Christmas day.

The cousins in front of Nana's tree

As usual, my family was joined by some family friends of my mom's who have been doing holidays with us as far back as I can remember. One son is married, and the other son's girlfriend has started to join us so it's always a house full of people. This year we started what I hope is a  new tradition of wearing pajamas for the evening. Perfect for filling up on spaghetti and dessert!

We've also been doing a white elephant gift exchange for the past few years and I ended up with what I wanted (thanks to Luke stealing it for me twice): a big fleecy blanket and a cat wine glass (mostly I wanted the blanket!) Lots of fun, and we decided the gift "theme" for next year would be getting something from Goodwill- should be hilarious!

We ate dessert and then the kids tore through opening their gifts. I know they're only 2 and 4, but we really need to work on being thankful! All they wanted was the next gift. They got some good loot- lots of Paw Patrol stuff, clothing, fire trucks, books, and so much more. We left around 9 to get them to bed so we would be ready for church in the morning.

Even though Noelle wanted to start opening gifts the moment she came downstairs, we decided to wait till after church to do the opening. They were allowed to open their stockings, which Luke filled with little flashlights, coloring books, playdough, a My Little Pony for Noelle, cars for Jonah, and candy for both. Church was abbreviated, but it was so wonderful being able to worship with other believers on Christmas morning. I chatted with a friend who is also due in June, and we got to see everyone in my family, which was nice since we don't normally all see each other on Christmas.

After church we headed home and I put the cinnamon rolls (made from scratch for the first time!) in the oven, we ate lunch, and then the kids opened gifts from us. They were of course excited over everything (a doll for Noelle, Lego train for Jonah, a book for each, and something to wear), but disappointed when they ran out of presents. We let them watch a movie they got for Christmas, while Luke and I enjoyed the cinammon rolls, which Noelle refused to try and Jonah said he didn't want either. Goofballs- just means more for mom and dad!

After that we headed to the Wiedemans and opened more gifts, and then ate a delicious Chinese dinner of duck, pot stickers, cabbage, green beans, and more. Ruth and Max were in town so it was good to catch up with them, and it's always fun being at Grandma and Grandpa's house!

All in all a very fun filled Christmas with lots of family!

PREGNANT

We are praising the Lord for this sweet little babe estimated to arrive at the end of June!

The above picture does not include many other pill bottles from the various prescriptions taken over the last 16 months. So many hormones, so many disappointments and frustrations, feeling like it would never be my turn. BUT also moments of looking to God, and FULLY trusting that it was in His hands, in His timing. I know without a doubt that God was with me throughout it all. I didn't always feel that way in the moment, but looking back, I can see it.

The amount of needles in this picture is also nothing compared to what many others go through to get to their little blessings. It was hard for me, but I am counting my blessings that God answered our prayers and created life on our first IUI, and that we did not have to go through more meds for subsequent IUIs or make a decision about IVF.

One of the things that has weighed heaviest on my heart since getting pregnant, are the friends I have who are still waiting for their baby. I've been praying through a list of names that God would hear their prayers and answer with a resounding yes! The heartache of waiting is hard to understand unless you're in it, and I'm all too familiar with the sinking feeling of sadness when someone else announces their happy news. And especially around the holidays when it seems like a time filled with experiences and traditions that are often centered on children, it can be SO hard.

We are 14 weeks along as of yesterday, and the last four weeks or so have been a lot better. Weeks 6-10 were a bit rough- nausea, all day sickness, and exhaustion. I've puked probably close to 20 times with this baby, whereas with the other two, I only puked once or twice. The all day sickness was the worst in the morning and evening, and combined with how tired I felt, I crawled into bed by 7 most nights just to let my body rest. There's been some lovely nausea on and off in the last week, but not nearly as consistent as it was earlier on.

Baby at 8 weeks 3 days- also the day of my last visit to Shady Grove

I am so thankful to be in this place, growing a little human to add to the crazy and chaos of our family. I might also be a tad more paranoid about what's going on with baby and use our fetal doppler to listen to the heartbeat every other day or so. It will be wonderful when I can start feeling baby move around! We can't wait to meet you, sweet baby!

Recent Adventures

The Saturday after Thanksgiving we headed out to Cumberland, MD for a train ride on the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad. My mom bought us tickets as an early Christmas present, and Noelle and Jonah were excited about being able to ride on a train!

It was about a 2.5 hour drive out to the railroad, but the kids did really well, and were excited when we got parked and walked into the railroad station. There were Christmas decorations, and that combined with the historic waiting area, made everything seem kind of magical. We got there just in time to grab our tickets and board the train. We packed our lunch and ate our PB sandwiches while we watched the scenery change from city to country.

It was about an hour ride out, and on the way, Santa came through and brought candy canes for all the kids. When the train stopped, passengers were able to disembark and walk around for a bit. We took some pictures in front of the train and wandered around to get some energy out before getting back on and buying a snack from the snack bar.

On the ride back, Noelle and Jonah got a bit antsy, but we walked down the line of train cars and explored for a bit. And even though they were a bit cranky on the way back, as soon as we got in the car to drive home, Noelle asked when we could go on a train again.

December started off with a weekend full of birthday parties (3!), as well as a trip to a local farm for our Christmas tree! We went with our friends Megan and Joe, who had also come with us when we went to a tree farm three years ago- basically it's a sometimes tradition (ha!). Noelle and Jonah ran from tree to tree asking if that one was going to be our tree, but we finally all settled on one and Luke cut it down. Thankfully the weather cooperated and it was just cold enough to feel like the Christmas season without feeling like we were freezing.

This past weekend, we did pizza with Santa at a local fire station. The kids were free, and we were able to take free pictures with Santa- win/win! My sister met us there with my nephew, and we had all three littles in their matching Christmas pajamas for the pictures. Jonah, of course, managed to hurt himself moments before it was our turn to visit Santa, and so he was quite unhappy and wanted nothing to do with Santa. But we made it work and got some pictures for posterity's sake!