More Tests

I went to the Gastroenterologist this past Friday, and he's running 10 new tests to see if they can finally figure out what's wrong with me. I'm going on week 5 of this, and it's pretty exhausting. I see him again this Friday, and most of the results won't be in by then. But hopefully the ones that do come back will tell us something. Meanwhile, I'm trying to stay hydrated and keep a positive attitude.

Harper is doing really well. Her vocabulary is expanding a lot, although she doesn't "use" her words on her own initiative. If we tell her to say something, she'll say it. It's really fun to hear her talk. She still has only 4 teeth and will be 18 months old on Friday...geez. When I ask her 'where's the baby?' she points to my belly and laughs...very cute! I've mentioned her dancing before, but now it's an even greater passion of hers. She doesn't just bounce like most toddlers, she has moves. She'll shake her hips, dance with her shoulders, shake her head, clap her hands, hold up a finger and shake it, stomp her foot...and she'll wait for the right song, too. If it doesn't have a good beat, she'll change it to one that works. She's hilarious. We love watching her grow and develop into herself!

Baby #2, previously known as Questington, is still nameless. It just doesn't seem right calling her Questington, but we just haven't agreed on her actual name yet. So some people have taken to calling her Questingtina...hmm. But you mothers out there will understand that for me, she doesn't have to have a name yet. She's my little baby girl, and for now that's enough. I don't have to address her because we just talk to each other...her with her kicks and squirms, and me with my sweet nothings. Being pregnant isn't always a walk in the park, but it is always worth it. I love my girls, and I can't wait to see who this one is going to be. Another dancer? Or is she going to be our sports lover? There's so many things she can be, and it's so exciting not knowing yet. 19 weeks to go!!!!

The Big Announcement!!!

We had our 20 week ultrasound yesterday, and everything looks great! The baby is weighing at about 12 oz. All the stats look good, and baby Q is developing nicely. We were going to do the whole gender reveal cupcake party, but being that we are in the middle of summer at a summer camp, there is no good time to do it. So we found out! And for those of you who don't know, we didn't find out with Harper until she was born. So this is definitely changing things up a bit. It was fun waiting the first time, but I have to say that after going through labor and delivery, I completely forgot to wonder what she was. They told me it was a girl, and I remember thinking, "Oh yeah!" We also felt it would be good to name the baby before it's here and use that name with Harper, to help all of this make a little more sense to her.

So now for the great blog reveal.....It's a girl!!!! Harper is getting a little sister, and we are getting another daughter! We are so blessed and excited! As for names, well...we're still working on that. We were both so convinced it was a boy that we focused much more on boy names. We actually had one picked out, so now it's back to the drawing board. Here are some pictures of our next little girl. She's incredibly squirmy and not very cooperative...a good sign, right? I'm pretty sure she's going to be our wild one! We didn't get a good profile shot, but here are the few that came out pretty good.

Two Great Men

My husband is one of the best men I know. He is loyal, loving, strong, smart, talented, and capable. Seeing him as a dad for the last year and a half has been amazing. We've watched each other grow over the years in so many ways, and getting to watch him grow as a father has been incredible. The love that he has for Harper is so beautiful. He takes his role very seriously, which I appreciate. Every girl needs her daddy. Yesterday Harper was dancing, and every few seconds, she would look behind her. She wanted to make sure that her daddy was watching. Mommy could watch if she likes, but daddy had to. I just love seeing Chris as daddy to Harper.

My dad is the other one. A great man whom I love very much. I remember how he used to hold us and pace back and forth when we couldn't sleep. How he would reach behind his seat and tickle our ankles at red lights, every time yelling out "Red Light!!!" And seeing him with my own daughter brings a whole new level of love that I didn't know was possible. I get to see him in 3 weeks, and I can't wait!! I love you daddy.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Harper and Hats

9 Years Ago Today...

...I married my best friend.

We have had an amazing and adventurous 9 years at that! We spent our honeymoom in Highlands, NC, and then went to UCYC for a week of camp the very next week. We traveled with some amazing friends in our sketch comedy group called Traveling Mercies for 3 years, crossing off almost every state. After that we moved to South Africa to work with our favorite performing arts ministry, 13th Floor. We bought our first house, our first dog, our second dog, and we grew together in ways we can't describe. On January 1, 2008, we landed back in the states to move out west to Prescott, AZ...back to UCYC. On December 31, 2009, Harper Grey was born at 1:42 in the afternoon. We waited a long time for her, and it was worth it! She is such a huge blessing to us, and we are absolutely smitten over her. Today, 9 years from our wedding day, we are in full swing at camp, tired but having a blast. We are expecting mystery baby #2. And we love each other more than we can express. We have shared so many amazing experiences together, and I'm excited to see what else is in store for us. We're currently getting the negatives from our wedding burned onto a disc (yes, 2002 was a long time ago!), so for today, I just had to take pictures of my pictures in order to post them. But here they are....

June 15, 2002
Savannah, Georgia

Baby Driver

A few weeks ago we went down to Phoenix to spend some time with our great friends Shaun and Melisa who were there on vacation. It was a short visit, but we had a blast as usual. The girls (Harper and Braelyn) are getting to the age where they can actually really play and interact together, which is really fun to see. One night we all went to REI for a big sale they were having, and it ended up being a really fun trip for the girls...

Harper loves pushing the stroller! And I'm pretty sure Braelyn enjoyed the ride, too! Luckily REI shoppers are also baby lovers, because the other shoppers thought Harper and Braelyn were pretty cute rather than being annoyed at the wild toddlers. And Harper needs all the practice she can get being a big sister and helping mommy with the stroller...

I Need Answers

I've been sick for over 3 weeks now. I haven't written about it, because it's not the kind of sick one likes to talk about. A week ago I went to my doctor, and she said it isn't the pregnancy, but they don't know what it is. So they sent me to the lab to have some tests done. This past Friday I went back, and not only have I lost 2 lbs in a week, all the tests were negative. It's very frustrating. And I am not in a position where I can lose any weight, since my baby is trying to gain some. They're sending me to a gastroenterologist this week. Always a specialist...when I was pregnant with Harper I had to see the cardiologist. What's with that? But my doctor also told me that Baby Q probably doesn't care about any of this. We heard the heartbeat right away at 160/bpm, and the kicks are getting reassuringly stronger. As long as Questington's okay, I'm okay. I don't know when my appointment with the GI specialist is, but our big ultrasound is one week from tomorrow!!! I'm so excited! Hopefully I'll get better soon so that I can go back to eating everything!

Our Little Musician

One of Harper's new favorite things is playing the piano. You've seen her dance moves...there's never been any question of her love of music. But she really likes tinkering on the keys.  She doesn't just bang, sometimes she plays lots of individual notes. Today, she got very interested in my music books. I think we may have a little Mozart on our hands!

True Love

Bieber Baby?

As I mentioned in a previous post, Harper loves the Justin Bieber song "Baby." My friend plays it in the dining hall, and Harper loves to dance, and sometimes sing, along. It's definitely not the favorite song I would have chosen for her, but when you see how happy she is, you wouldn't deny her either! Notice how she actually says "baby" along with the music.

 

Camp Days

As I've mentioned already, Harper and I don't see too much of Chris during the summer. We have two parts to our camp, and there are different ages having different camps at the same time...if that makes sense. This year Chris is in charge of both of them, which means he's even busier than he used to be. But he's started a great new summer tradition. Every evening he comes to get us before dinner. He puts Harper in her hiking pack, and we walk down to the dining hall together. (That is where we literally eat every meal during the summer. No grocery shopping for 2 months is definitely a perk of summer here!) We get to eat dinner together, and then we all walk back up before he leaves to go to the evening sessions. He is such a great husband and dad, and we are so lucky to have him. We're only in week 2 of summer, and I know he's already so tired from his 15 hour days, and yet he makes time for us every day. And man do we love him!

Baby Q...18 Weeks?

Baby is now the size of a sweet potato!

At my last doctor's appointment a few weeks ago, we couldn't hear the baby's heartbeat, which is always a scary feeling. So they did an ultrasound, and everything is great so far! The heartbeat was strong at 155/bpm, and little Questington was all over the place. I have never seen a baby move so much in an ultrasound. This baby was literally kicking off of the uterus wall, sucking it's thumb, swallowing, waving...it was so great. And I'm feeling kicks! That is of course my absolute favorite part about being pregnant.

But at this ultrasound, the baby seemed to be further along than they originally thought. My first due date was November 13th, but it looks as though they may be changing it to November 4th! That puts us at 18 weeks today. Almost to the half-way point!

My next routine visit is in one week, and I'm really hoping that my big ultrasound will follow shortly behind. I'm really excited about finding out if this little one is a girl or a boy. I really feel like it's a boy. It's big and extremely active, and it just feels a lot different than it did with Harper. But either way, we will be simply ecstatic! I would love to have a son. I also love having a little girl. It's really a win no matter what. I just pray that the ultrasound shows us a healthy baby...every parent's wish.

17 Months!

Harper is 17 months old now, and she is just full of personality! She is incredibly friendly and waves "hello" to everyone she sees. Even if we're in the living room, she'll wave if she hears a car drive by. She loves going outside any chance she gets, although she's a very cautious little girl. She is very careful with steps, even if we're talking about ground that's 2 inches higher than the ground she's on. She isn't afraid of stepping up and down, she actually enjoys the challenge, but she's cautious. Her words include: ball, dog, baby, mommy, cheese, banana, more, and a few of her own variations...up is "da", please is "meme", thank you is "deh", shoes is "bbbbbb", and kitty cat is...her tongue sticking out. What can I say, she's so smart she's created her own language. She still only has 4 teeth. And here are some of her favorite things:

• Dancing. She will dance to the slightest beat. And if the music stops, she says "more" over and over until it plays again.
• Balloons. But what kid doesn't?
• Dogs. Any and every dog makes her happy.
• Brushing her teeth. It is her favorite times of day! Her toothbrush has a picture of Eeyore on it, and she now stops brushing her teeth to give him hugs and kisses.
• Food. It pretty much always brings her joy...just like her momma. She especially LOVES bananas!
• Mickey and Minnie Mouse. She has Minnie Mouse pj's, and loves to point out where Minnie is.
• Playing chase with her dad. When Chris says he's gonna get her, she runs, and then he catches her and throws her in the air. She squeals with delight!
• Hugging her daddy. She's loving to me and other people as well, but she saves her strong neck hugs just for her dad.
• Sitting in my lap. She does this a lot now, and I love it. Even though my lap room is currently limited.
• Other kids and babies. She is going to be a great big sister!!
• Smelling flowers. She puts it to her nose and breathes in and out. Then it tickles her nose and she laughs.
• Justin Bieber. Yes, it's sad, but also true. She sang her first song yesterday, and it happened to be "Baby." In my defense...a friend of mine has that ring tone for her teenage daughter, and Harper has been dancing to it in the dining hall whenever we go down there for meals. That's where she learned it. I don't have it playing in my house!

I'm sure there's plenty more, but that's what I can recall at the moment with my lack of brain cells. She's pretty awesome! She's sweet, funny, smart, beautiful...the list goes on.

June Resolution

Well there went the month of May! Camp has officially started, which makes me a pregnant working single mom again. So life around here is pretty crazy. But it's good... it's always good to see all the kids get here and the excitement that they bring. To know that many of them will have their lives changed, that's worth all the effort and work we put in. Chris is working like crazy, hence his absence, but he's doing such a great job. I couldn't be more proud.

My summer plans?

1. Playing outside with Harper. She loves being outside, and I am in complete agreement! Still wish we had grass, but she seems content enough.
2. Blogging again. Last month was pretty bad. I was busy, but I was also highly unmotivated. Not that I didn't have plenty of inspiration from Harper, baby Q, my hubby and the dogs...I was just kind of drained. Excuses, excuses.
3. Gardening. Let me just say, I have a black thumb. Really, I can't grow anything green. But I'm gonna try! I seriously admire anyone who can grow plants. It's just not in my natural skill set. So I'm starting out small. We have a very long flower box in the front yard that I cleaned out, and tomorrow I'm buying some flowers and planting them. (I got some tips from my good friend Laura...hopefully I will make her proud!) Harper loves smelling flowers, so she is my inspiration.
4. I'm going to Georgia!!! I'm taking Harper and my expanding belly home to see my family in July, and I am super excited! I wish Chris could go with me, but for obvious reasons he cannot. But we'll be staying with my sister Lynnae in Alpharetta, and my other sister lives only 5 minutes away! My dad is coming up to visit, and hopefully my mom can make it back to the states to visit, too. 

I'm looking forward to the summer...watching Harper play while feeling little Questington squirming in my belly! What could be better?