Oh yeah...

Another point for God!

A friend at church goes to the same perniatologist as me. He told her that her baby had Down's. They opted to not do the amnio b/c of the risk for miscarriage and either way they weren't going to terminate the preganancy if they results said she (baby girl) did have downs. Instead, they waited several weeks and did another ultrasound to see if the "soft markers" were still there. Low and behold, the dr. that looked this time (a different one from before) said that if she had not seen the prior reports, she wouldn't have suspected a single problem with the baby!

Praise the Lord!

THE LIST

I am posting this mainly for my Type A neediness. Most of you know what I am talking about.... I make a list of things to do, cross them off with great satisfaction as I complete a task, AND (get ready, this part is wayyy Type A) add the things I accomplished that were on the list in my head, just NOT on paper. Also, if the list is here on my blog, I won't lose it, something that happens with my preggo brain.

Joshua's nursery list.

1. GeeGee - DONE

2. Curtains

3. Quilt

4. Dust Ruffle

5. Cute pillows (No bumper b/c why bother... I just stress they will get stuck under it anyway)

6. Letters (see below for a couple "manly" sets I have done for friends)

7. Stool (This is Addie's and I have no idea why blogger decided to upload it all topsy turvy)

8. CLOSET!! This one is a bigger chore b/c it involves scheduling my hubbie to work it in. He made the closet in the room that is going to be Joshua's an amazing craft/sewing closet for me when we first moved in. It is/has been heavenly. It's full of shelves, perfectly sized for what I planned to put on them. Well, that's all going to have to move out. Fortunately our master closet is totally under-utilized soooo... I have drawn plans to redesign a quarter of it to fit my craft/sewing love. It is on the calendar for the 3 weekend in February. Yes, I said on the calendar. That is how we operate in this insane life we lead.

9. Cradle: I have been working (ok, I worked on it one day and got overwhelmed) on refinishing our cradle. It is the same cradle my bro and I slept in. When Kailee came along, my mom painted it to be cutsie.... only a little too cutsie for a boy. So I am striping it and staining it. The hard part is the spindles. A pain in the behind!!! Maybe another Mike job. Right after the closet.

10. Sling: I found the cutest sling and want to make it. I even found the fabric.

11. Receiving blankets: Oversized made of flannel. Perfect for swadlling because they can't escape!! Already bought the fabric for 3, just need to sew them.

12. Cute picture hanger thing: found this idea on a blog and loved it. It will be super easy to make. Stay tuned for finished project pick.

13. Chair rail/paneling/???: Something woodsy around the already blue room. This will have to be scheduled of course being that I will need my handyman.

Basically, I have all supplies for EACH project, just need more hours in the day. Hmm... maybe I should quit working now and craft full time. Wish I could get paid for that.

I'm off to fold laundry now. Have to complete the list for the evening and all.

Joshua project #1 complete

So my list of projects to prepare for Baby Joshua is REALLY, REALLY long! Mainly because I have sooooo many ideas, I want to do them allll! (I'll post the list later)

The first project to be completed was his "GeeGee". Those of you who know my girls know the love they have for their "GeeGee's" - that is their security blankets they have had since they were teensy tiny. And yes, Kailee still has hers every night and each morning she wakes up.

Addie has a "tiny geegee" that she has to lay perfectly on her pillow satin side up, then has to be covered by her "big geegee".

That being said, it was very important for them to know what Joshua's geegee was going to be. We had a date night Friday night (date as in the girls and I b/c Mike was working) and we went to the fabric store so they cold pick the material for his geegee (satin and minkie is standard).

I did this one a little fancier, because why not??

For those of you who sew, a quick tutorial:

I cut the satin about 6" wider than the minkie and put the wrong sides together:

Then I wrapped the outer satin around and pinned the edge under with about a 1/4" hem. The corners are tricky, you have to "miter" them. Basically make it look pretty. Final product. Minky is the stripe and the dots are satin (not prom dress satin... super soft satin) Now the girls can rest easy and know their baby has a gee gee.

another thought to go with my venting

I really think Satan is using each negative report to bring me down. I ain't going down without a fight. One more reason to quit going.

Whose gonna knock you out??? God gonna knock you out! (said in a cheerleader like voice with a little bootie shake.)

And I'm done....

Done with doctors that is.

I went for the ultrasound today to make sure there wasn't anything weird on the brain since the cardiologist (who is NOT a brain guy) thought he may have seen something. I went to my regular perinatologist (ultrasound dr. for high risk pregnancies) to make sure. Before the exam even started, he and I discussed my being "done" coming and having ultrasounds. At this point we have ruled out all seriously life threatening issues, so really they are like constant check-ups. He said, well, lets see what we see today. Ok fine, whatever.

He looks and says, "Oh I see what he was talking about." Really??? You've looked at this kid 8 TIMES!!! He says the Nuchal Fold (back of neck) is thick - bloated if you want to talk in layman's terms. Normally this would indicate Downs, which we have rulled out by amniocentesis. So, he looks around all his other organs. That's when he says, "Hmm... there is more fluid." WHERE??? I ask. "That's the liver." SERIOUSLY!!!?? So what does that mean?? Dr. doesn't know. Says maybe his lymphatic system is not fully developed yet and that's why. Um, duh. God never said a baby would be fully developed after 23 weeks. He said it takes 40!! Of course he wants to see me back in 3 weeks. Mike and I have decided not to go.

We feel that continuing to lean on the doctors "opinions" is leaning away from fully trusting God and fully dedicating this baby to God and leaving him in God's hands. A friend told me that her friends didn't even do ultrasounds because "If God wanted us to peak He would have made a window." I really like that. God CLEARLY has proven He is in control by the amazing miracle He has performed in Joshua already, and for that we are so grateful. We have decided since all "life threatening" issues have been ruled out (less the possible "bottleneck" in one of his vessels in his heart) , we will not proceed with funding this perinatolgist's Ferrari fund. We will go back to LA Children's in April as that could be something that would need repair immediately after birth. We also thank God that those crazy dr.'s equip detected the possibility for us so we can take appropriate precautions in case Joshua does need that surgery at birth.

So, I am done, we are done. No more. 8 ultrasounds is enough. I'm over it. Tapped out. I am exhausted anticipating the next visit to see what is happening. I want to transfer the use of that energy to enjoying my 2 girls and my pregnancy. There is nothing I can do about it anyway. I am just a bus rider and God is driving.

Keep praying folks. It's definitely working. I just know it's all going be fine if we just let God finish cooking Joshua!!!

Baby Neigh Neigh

After the birthday party, we headed over to Fresno to see Mike's family. My sister-in-law's horse just had a baby Monday morning, so we spent some time playing with her. Baby O'Lee is her name.

Travis and Addie Ray Kailee and Trav

The girls and O'Lee

Momma Stoli and her baby.

We had a great visit with the neigh neighs and got to spend some time with Papa Jim and Nana.

Birthday Bash!

Addie and her best friend, Anabelle,who happens to be the daughter of my best friend Beth, have birthdays that are about a month apart. Beth and I had the fabulous idea to do a double party... split the work and the cost, girls have fun, it will be a win win for all! With our LA Children's appt Friday, I would have had zero time for food, so Beth did all the food, I did the decor (my fave!) and offered our house for the venue to be destroyed by the rugrats. After a couple evenings plotting and planning, this is what we came up with:

The theme was Tea Party. The vision was fancy finger food and fancy little ladies (and a gent) We let each girl pick 2 friends and had their siblings attend. It was the perfect amount of craziness!

We had chocolate covered strawberry marshmallows A BEEEUUUTEEEful Fruit Bouquet (Yes, Beth made it!)

Lollipop cutenessNot pictured: Deviled eggs and Heart shaped sandwiches.

I made little flower hair doo-dads for favors (along with bags of fancy sunglasses, etc.)

Being that Beth was doing all of the rest of the food and there was no way I was going to have time to make a cake between work and going to LA, we opted to buy a cake from Madonna Inn... It was amazing. Taste and Look. The little 4 year old mongrels did not appreciate it as they should have, to be expected of course. It sure was pretty though!

Addie Ray: Birthday girl

Anabelle Lee: Birthday Girl Birthday princesses and their "court". AKA sister and brother. Time to dive into that yummy cake!

We played musical chairs....

Pin the spout on the teapot...

Opened presents (of course!)

And just had fun!! I am sure this was the first of MANY double birthdays for these girls. Especially now that their moms know how much easier it is to do it as a team!!