Emily Noelle

Our baby girl is here! Emily Noelle was born at 8:03 am on December 4th and measured at 19 inches and 8.1 oz. Oh my goodness, we are so in love with this little girl! I am going to try my best to enjoy every single midnight feeding, dirty diaper, and sleepless night since this is our last baby. Eve and Cole are adjusting so much better than I anticipated, and Emily has fit right into our family. Life is good!

25 Days to Go!

Until we meet baby #3! Not that I'm counting or anything...ha! Yes I have reached that final stretch of pregnancy where I am just so ready to have my baby girl in my arms and out of my belly! I am ready to be done with waddling, getting kicked in the ribs all day long, and just the general discomfort that comes along with having a nearly full-grown baby inside me. I have gained about 33 lbs so far at nearly 36 weeks pregnant. I gained 40 lbs each while pregnant with Eve and Cole so I should stay right under that this time around. Can't wait to get back on a healthy diet/exercise plan and be back into my old clothes again!

Thankfully, since I am keeping busy with the kids' school schedules and preparing for the upcoming holidays, the weeks seem to just be flying by. Thanksgiving will be here in less than 2 weeks, and my c-section is less than 2 weeks after that. I am trying to soak in this time with Eve and Cole, and to give them as much attention as I can before the chaos that comes along with having a new baby in the house gets here. Eve is so excited to have a little sister and I think she will be such a great helper. I am a little more worried about how Cole will react to not being the baby anymore. I dote on him so much (some may say too much!) and it may be a hard adjustment for him. Only time will tell, but I am so excited for what the future holds and to be blessed with 3 beautiful kids!

We Have a Birthday!

I had my 27 week checkup today and was finally able to schedule my c-section. Baby girl will be born on December 4th! I am so excited to have a date set! Surgery is scheduled at 7:30 am that day. I absolutely cannot wait to hold my sweet girl in my arms for the first time. 11 weeks to go!!

School Time and Baby Stuff

The past few weeks have been an utter whirlwind as both kids have started school. Eve started kindergarten this past Monday, August 13th. I had long been dreading that day for me, but looking forward to it for her. She is on a full day schedule from 8:00am-2:45pm. I can't even begin to explain how much I miss my little sidekick during the days. Eve never attended preschool so she has pretty much always been by my side everywhere I go. To not have her with me for a good chunk of the day feels like I'm missing a part of myself. I was able to hold it together on her first day, but will admit that I ugly cried the whole way home from dropping her off on her second day. The good news is that she is absolutely loving school! I just knew she would, and I know it is so good for her to be around lots of other little kids her age. Now mister Cole started back up to preschool last Wednesday. His starting up was a little bit easier for me since he has the same teacher this year, and he is only gone from 8:00am-10:30am. He is also right back in his groove and loving school. I am so fortunate that both Eve and Cole actually look forward to waking up in the mornings and heading to class. I can't wait to see how they grow and what they learn this year.

On another note, time for a baby update! I am now 24 weeks pregnant and it has been smooth sailing lately. I had an ultrasound a few days ago and was relieved to see that everything looks great. Baby girl's measurements are right on track and she is weighing in at around 1 lb 5 oz in there. I have my next appoinment in 3 weeks, and then I will start going in every 2 weeks for my checkups. It is flying by! Of course, that is fine by me! I can't wait to have this little one in my arms and begin our lives as a family of five.

It's A....

Girl!!!! I had my 20 week ultrasound yesterday afternoon, and we are thrilled to be expecting a baby girl. I had no hunches whatsoever as to the sex of this baby, so I knew I was going to be shocked either way. But I am so excited to be having another girl! Eve wanted a sister so badly, and now Cole can remain my one and only mama's boy! I do have another ultrasound scheduled in 4 weeks to get some better measurements of the baby, and also to keep an eye on things since I have complete placenta previa with this pregnancy. I had partial previa with Cole's pregnancy and it resolved itself before it became an issue. So we are praying that is what happens with this one as well! Either way, I will update again after that and let everyone know how things are going.

Cole Update

I have no idea what has happened or changed in the last few days and weeks, but it seems like my little guy is finally having a real language explosion! My heart is practically bursting on a daily basis lately as I am hearing Cole piece together real phrases, and using them properly and meaningfully. Its like he is truly communicating with us like a "typical" toddler for the first time ever. He has also started (just this week!) answering yes/no questions properly for the first time ever! Like I said, I have no idea what changed in him, but I am so thankful and feeling so blessed to be experiencing this. It really gives me so much hope for the future, and I know it is only going to get better.

Happy Early Birthday to Me!

I am turning 31 this Friday, but Chris gave me my gifts early this year. Thought I'd show off what he got me...loved everything! I have been wanting one of the cupcake makers forever and can't wait to put it to use. Also, I just recently pointed the watch out to him and was thrilled that he remembered and bought it for me. And I can never have enough Philosophy bubble bath!

In other news, I am now 17 weeks pregnant! It is just flying by this time around, and I know I will be wondering where the last 9 months went come this December. I am definitely feeling the baby move now, which is just the best feeling ever! I can't wait to schedule my next ultrasound so we can finally find out whether we are going to be blessed with another boy or another girl!

Party of Five

So as everyone probably now knows, we are expecting baby #3!! I am due December 11th, but will have another scheduled caesarian section sometime during the week before that. We are so excited! This is absolutely our last baby (I will be getting a tubal ligation during my c-section) and I intend to do my best to enjoy this pregnancy and everything that is to come. I've already had my first ultrasound and it was so amazing to see our little baby and its heartbeat flickering away. I was surprisingly emotional at the sight...it is just such a miracle and I know not to take it for granted. Many updates to come!

Eve's 5 Year Checkup

Somehow my sweet baby girl is suddenly 5 years old...how did this happen!? Its frightening to think the next 5 years may go by as fast and before I know it, she'll be 10. Can't even think about it! We had a quiet birthday party here at home. Eve was thrilled with her presents, especially her new walkie-talkies! Not sure why, but she has been wanting them forever. Now she makes Chris take one of them to work so that when he is within a few miles of getting home in the evenings, she can chat with him. A few days after her birthday, she had her 5 year checkup! Here are her current stats:

Height: 44 inches (75th percentile)
Weight: 42 lbs. (50th percentile)

She also had to get 3 shots at the end of her appointment. I think this always worries and scares me more than it does her. Eve barely flinched and didn't cry at all! She is tough like her dad. I still can't believe my baby girl will be going to school in less than 6 months. I'm sad for me, but excited for her...she can't wait!

Embracing Being Different

It has been a few months now since we've gotten Cole's autism diagnosis, and I think it is safe to say that I've went through the entire emotional process of coming to accept it. I had another one of many turning points yesterday afternoon.

I was pushing Cole in a shopping cart at Target and just walking around browsing when he started what I like to call his "frenzy". This is what happens when I give him a new toy or something to hold while we are walking around, and he gets super excited. His eyes squeeze shut tight, a big smile appears on his face, he starts yelling a bunch of loud gibberish, and his arms and head start flailing around. It is quite a sight! People stare and laugh, and I used to get so, so embarrassed while trying to settle him down. But yesterday was different. All I did was hand him a bottle of shampoo...yes, shampoo. Something about the shampoo bottle must have made him a very happy boy because he started his frenzy. But this time, instead of getting embarrassed, I looked at my son and saw his pure and unfiltered joy. And I started to laugh with him. Which got him going even more! I'm sure people thought we were both nuts, but it felt so good to just not care anymore. To accept my baby boy exactly how he is at this moment.

Cole doesn't know that he is different, and I'm certainly not going to treat him like he is. I've been giving lots of thanks and praise to God lately for blessing us with a special needs child. Not only for entrusing us with the job of guiding him in this world and raising him, but also for all that it has changed us for the better. Everything has always come so easy for my beautiful girl, Eve, that I think I took so much for granted. She hit every milestone so early and so easily that I just assumed thats how it always worked. Boy was I wrong! But the beauty in Cole hitting milestones at his own pace is that each new word is a cause for celebration and another reason to be so thankful for what we have. Today his occupational therapist told me that she thought there was a great chance that Cole could possibly lose his autism diagnosis by the time he started school. While that would be the most amazing thing ever, I also realize that it truly doesn't matter if he doesn't. He is so perfect the way he is.

Chris

Want to take a moment to brag on Chris, since he is so modest about this kind of stuff. He found out yesterday that he was awarded the best account representative (his position)in the midwest division of his company! He gets a $2000 award! I am so happy for him and proud of him as he is truly the hardest worker I've ever known.