Yay Christmas!!!!

Well, Christmas came again! Connor was sooo much fun this year. He comprehended much of what was happening and the anticipation was so cool! As you can see from the pictures, his "big" present was a bike....which he was greatly anticipating!!! (Thanks Mimi and Grandpa ;). It was so wonderful to spend time with family--all of the clan was in town and it was awesome to spend Christmas together. Connor had a blast with the "big boys" a.k.a. Tim and Andy--they were so good to play with him!!! He also got a ton of attention from his cool Aunt Marce and hilarious Uncle Ross, and of course, his beloved Auntie Anna! ;) We spent the afternoon at Grandma and Grandpa Smith's house, and the kids had a blast playing with their toys. All in all a wonderful celebration with family and friends! We got to see Auntie Teah, too....who quickly became a favorite after letting Connor jump all over her AND bringing him leggos--woohoo!
Love and blessings to all, and a happy and blessed New Year!!!

Wonderful News!

I had my appointment with the Perinatologist at Riverside this morning. I had a very, very thorough ultrasound done, during which everything with the baby looked "perfect" (praise God!!!). During the consult after the ultrasound, my regular OB called my cell phone with my updated test results (he had me re-take the 24 hour urine test on Wednesday to see what was going on), anyway, everything came back perfectly NORMAL!!! Only 100 mgs. of protein vs. the 2,500 mgs. that showed in the test last week. Once again I've managed to totally perplex these poor doctors!! ;) They are working with the lab to try to determine whether or not this was a lab error...but at this point, we're in the clear!!!!!!! YAY!!!! I was soooo, soooo elated this morning (and all day long)! I'm so thankful to the Lord for good health and so many blessings. The specialist also told me quite a few times to, "relax, and not worry." And, that this would be a "great pregnancy". So, I'm going with those words!!!!

I did find out on Wednesday that they are eliminating my position at The Works at the end of March. We have mixed emotions about this, but are trying to look at the positives. I will be home indefinitely with the babies, and at this point plan to try to build my custom artwork business from home, once things settle down a bit. :) I'm sure God will provide, we just have to remain faithful and try not to be anxious (easier said than done sometimes :). So far we are doing well in that department, though!

Above are a couple recent pics of the Con Man! ;) He looooves his airplane hat, and likes to wear it.....a lot! ;) Sorry--too lazy to go to photoshop and rotate them....I guess you have to turn your heads?! One of these days I'll remember not to turn the camera when I'm shooting pics! ;)

Just a quick update!

Sorry, haven't updated in awhile! We've been having fun, enjoying the start of the holiday season with our excited and animated little guy!!! Connor looooves the Christmas tree. In fact, he constantly says "I wuv it....I wuuuuuv Mis-mis tree!" And, he says this while literally hugging the tree.....pretty comical! :)

Things have been going pretty well with this pregnancy, although I did have to do a 24-hour urine collection (gross :) the other day, and found out that I have 2,500 mgs. of protein in my urine--anything over 300 is considered high. Sooo, my OB is working with a Perinatologist who is going to squeeze me in sometime on Monday or Tuesday. I was instructed "not to worry this weekend", so I'm really trying not to....and doing a pretty good job of it so far! (Surprisingly enough, for me).

We would appreciate prayers for a conclusive and good appointment with the Perinatologist this week....we're trusting God and know that all of this is in His hands, and that's always our comfort during stressful times! We'll be sure to update after we get the results!!!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend and enjoying this joyful season!!!! Only 17 more days until Christmas....eeeks....I haven't even started to shop yet!!! Better get busy! ;)

Love to all!

We're having a.........

BABY GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We had our 20 week ultrasound yesterday, and got to see a beautiful, healthy little GIRL who is developing just wonderfully....thank the Lord. We are soooo thrilled and can't wait to meet this little one!!!! :) Yay!!!! Now to go shopping........ :)

Connor, etc.! :)

We had our first trip to the ER with Connor on Tuesday. My poor baby! We were walking out the garage door to leave for the day, and he went ahead of me while I shut the door behind us. His little hands were full of toys to bring to "Bam-mom Mits" (Grandmom Smith's :) and was unable to use the wall as a guide. I realized this a mili-second too late as he went flying down the stairs, only to land on the hard concrete ground, below. Unfortunately, there is also a concrete perimeter around the garage wall, which initally broke Connor's fall--right between the eyes. It was awful--lots of blood. :( Thank God for family close by--Mimi and Grandpa came with us to the ER, where they were able to GLUE the little guy's head right back together again!!! We later went to Grandmom and Grandpop Smith's to show off the war-scars! Seeing all of his loving Grandparents, along with Sierra and Hunter brought Connor back to his old self in no time!!! ;) He's doing wonderfully, and we're soooo thankful that this was a quick fix and not more serious. Mama definitely learned a lesson about making sure to carefully walk Connor out the door in the mornings.....we pray this is the last incident for a good long while!!!

Yesterday, I went to the OB for my 16 week apt. My poor doctor could not find the baby's heartbeat with the doppler--too much static. I knew everything was most likely okay, since I felt movement the whole drive over--just moments before. He said apparently the baby wanted an ultrasound, and made a comment that obviously it was a girl since it was not cooperating with the doppler.....ha! I told him about our incident with Connor on Tuesday and said I begged to differ! ;) Anyway, we got a sneak peak at the little one who was busy, busy, busy in there! No wonder I've been able to feel movement! ;) The baby ALMOST revealed itself to us, but crossed his/her little legs before we could get a glimpse! Oh well....I want Tommy to be a part of that revelation, anyway, and as long as all goes well, and this little one cooperates, we'll find out at 20 weeks!!! Yay!

Hope everyone is well, and we'll update again, soon! ;)

Quick Update....

Got a call from my OB today (you know your doctor is wonderful when he calls you HIMSELF, instead of having the nurses call ;), and all is well! Like I thought, I had previously been exposed to the virus that causes fifth's disease so am immune!!! Good news!!!

Hope everyone is doing well!!!! BTW-the weather finally broke--it's supposed to be in the 60's tomorrow!!!!! YAY!!!! ; )

Pumpkin Patch in AUGUST??????

That is certainly what it felt like today....my goodness....visiting the Pumpkin patch in October with a high today of 91 degrees seems pretty crazy. Actually, pretty miserable...yikes! We went with Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Laura, and Sierra and Hunter...the kids had a great time...the adults (especially HOT, pregnant me) were just sweltering. I never thought I'd look forward to COOL weather, but this year, I've been excited for FALL since August....I've been waiting patiently (well, most days at least ;) ever since! Hopefully an expected front will come through this week and give us a break! I think we're all ready!!!! At least I'm getting use of my maternity clothes from last time! ;)

What a week!!!! ;)

Hello all!

Just a quick update! I finally have a little time on my hands after a CRAZY last week! We opened Paul Hamilton's exhibit in the gallery at the end of September and had many, many events surrounding the opening. All went well, but I am very tired...still catching up! ;)

Connor had croup during the opening weekend--poor kiddo was so sick. He's better now, though we think he might have had Fifth disease during that time, as well. No real symptoms except red cheeks and a lacy rash--the typical characteristics of Fifth's. This wasn't really an issue for him, but it could be for me. This is one of those diseases that you're supposed to avoid during pregnancy (though I've learned that with a toddler, it's almost impossible to avoid anything ;). I called my OB yesterday and they wanted me to go to the lab for blood work yesterday afternoon, just to make sure I wasn't infected recently. I had to take Connor with me, and he kept saying "deck Mama's bud" (check Mama's blood)....pretty funny! He was very sad that I had a boo-boo after the needle stick, and was kissing me incessantly--my sensitive little guy! :)

Well, he wasn't kidding about the boo-boo...yikes! I don't know who this girl was that stuck me with the needle, but my goodness....not only do I have a 1 1/2 inch scratch from where she drug the needle down my arm, but I'm thinking she collapsed the vein as well. It swelled considerably yesterday, and is all nasty today--blue and purple speckles!!!! Yuck! I've had a lot of blood taken over the past couple of years, and never have I had an experience like this! I think I'll request the other lady next time I go in for blood work!!!! Can you imagine if I had to do the 3 hour gluclose intolerance test again this time.....yikes! My whole arm would be purple! ;)

Anyway, I should find out the results on Monday. I'm not worried about it...this is all in God's hands, and He has the final say!!!! I'm praying that we get good results, though! :)

Well, I better get Mr. Connor moving so we can make it down to the Farmer's market! We love going down there on Saturday mornings...all sorts of fun stuff!!!! It's supposed to be in the 90's again this weekend--so much for cooler fall weather...being pregnant and irritable, I'm ready to lose the heat and humidity. I guess we'll wear our bathing suits to the Pumpkin Patch tomorrow! Ha! ;)

Love to all, and we'll keep everyone updated as things progress!!!!

EEEEKS! CONNOR IS TWO!!!

Okay, I'm a tad late in posting this, but our BABY turned TWO on September 7th!!!! Can you believe it? We're having a hard time....

With this new "age" milestone comes lots of new skill-sets--most importantly, Connor is TALKING--in mini sentences!!!! ;) And, he's singing, too!!! His favorite song to sing is "baht-day to oooh" over and over again. It's so darn cute!!! He LOVES to yell, "Do Buckeyes" very loudly, as well. He can finish my sentences as we read "Goodnight Moon" each night, i.e., In the great green room there was a telephone (or "pone") and a red balloon (or "boon"). We looove this age, and find it so fun to watch this amazing little person develop and become such a little character.

For those of you who we may not talk to on a regular basis, but read our blog, we are happy to announce that we're having another one of these AMAZING little creatures this spring! ;) I am 13 weeks along, with a due date of April 2nd. When we ask Connor if he's having a brother or a sister, he automatically says "broder" (or something to that affect ;), so it will be interesting to see when he/she is revealed at our 20 week ultrasound. I wish we had the patience to wait and find out the gender at the time of delivery, but Tommy and I are not the most patient people, and we're dying to find out what this little one will be!!! And, for the record, will be THRILLED either way (even though Tommy is absolutely convinced it is a boy). All I can say, is if we do have another boy, Mama is going to be in sorry shape, as I'm already surrounded by "mo-mo's" (aka motorcycles), cars, and am being over-ruled when it comes to watching TV at night as Connor and Daddy are all about the Speed Channel.....oye!!!! :) Oh, but the joys these little boys bring.....the Speed Channel is totally worth it!

I'll post a few pics from Connor's party--he loves balloons, as you can see!

VACATION!

We spent another wonderful week at the cabin on the lake in Oscoda, Michigan, our long-time family vacation home! It was sooo relaxing and rejuvenating. The weather was perfect, and we spent many days at the beach (which has a huge playground that Connor LOVED)!

Above are a few pictures....Mom and Dad are still up there, and their camera took most of the shots, so we'll post more later!

It's HOT!!!!

It has been HOT here this week...in the 90's and steamy, muggy, and sticky! ;) Okay, all the Florida readers are rolling their eyes right now, but really--it is hot! I'm sure come November we'll be looking longingly back at this post, wishing for anything that even resembles a heatwave.

Connor has found his own ways to beat the heat....here are some pics to illustrate his new-found source of cool! ;)

STIR CRAZY!!!

Well, since Mommy had her Wisdom teeth taken out on Thursday, poor Connor has had to find some new ways to entertain himself...going to the closet to pull out a new pair of shoes every hour or so seems to be working!!! :) Poor kid--he needs to get outside!

In Our World.... :)

Connor eating OREOS!!!

Funny neighbors, and a gorgeous June sunset!

Well, it's summer in "our world" (and most everyone else's ;). We are loving the sunshine, swimming and the feeling of running around in our diaper..(well, some of us are, at least!!!)

Before my big Wisdom tooth extraction tomorrow (eewww), I figured I'd post a quick update with some new pictures....Connor eating some of Daddy's oreo icecream treat....the neighbor across the street staging a scene from "Deliverance" (or something to that affect :), and the gorgeous sunset from last night!

Love ya'll!!!!

First Pee Pee.......

ON THE POTTY!!!! Woohoo!!! We'll post pix later!!! ;) Now, if we could just get him to do his poopies there! We're working on it!!

Connor and the Puppies!!!!

Last weekend, we took Connor to a dog breeder's to see lab puppies (and King Charles Cavalier Spaniels--the dogs that Grammy and Grandpa have). Anna and Brad were with us, as Brad was interested in checking out the pups. Well, as you can tell from the pics, we were able to skip the "petting zoo" later on--Connor got all of his "pets" in, here! ;)

Happy Mother's Day!

The following is a story I received on-line....too funny! ;)


HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

So, we had this great 10 year old cat named Jack. Jack was a great cat and the kids would carry him around and sit on him and nothing ever bothered him. He used to hang out and nap all day long on this mat in our bathroom.Well we have 3 kids and at the time of this story they were 4 years old, 3 years old and 1 year old. The middle one is Eli. Eli really loves chapstick. LOVES it. He kept asking to use my chapstick and then losing it. So finally one day I showed him where in the bathroom I keep my chapstick and how he could use it whenever he wanted to but he needed to put it right back in the drawer when he was done. Last year on Mother's Day, we were having the typical rush around and try to get ready for Church with everyone crying and carrying on. My two boys are fighting over the toy in the cereal box. I am trying to nurse my little one at the same time I am putting on my make-up. Everything is a mess and everyone has long forgotten that this is a wonderful day to honor me and the joys of motherhood. We finally have the older one and the baby loaded in the car andI am looking for Eli. I have searched everywhere and I finally round the corner to go into the bathroom. And there was Eli. He was applying my chapstick very carefully to Jack's . . . rear end. Eli looked right into my eyes and said "chapped." Now, if you have a cat, you know that he is right---their little butts do look pretty chapped. And, frankly, Jack didn't seem to mind. And the only question to really ask at that point was whether it was the FIRST time Eli had done that to the cat's behind or the hundredth. And THAT is my favorite Mother's Day moment ever because it reminds us that no matter how hard we try to civilize these glorious little creatures, there will always be that day when you realize they've been using your chapstick on the cat's behind.

Hope you all had a wonderful day--we love all of the mama's and grandma's in our life--especially our own! ;)

Lyndsay's Wedding!

My beautiful friend Lyndsay got married last weekend in Asheville, NC, where she and Teah (my other beautiful friend :) are now living! It was a GORGEOUS wedding, and it was so great to spend time with my ladies! Connor and Tommy stayed home so I was without them for three days, but being in the wedding made things extremely busy, so thank you to Grammy and Grandpa for helping out with Connor so we could all have a good time! ;) Congrats Lynds and Stephen--we know your marriage will be full of love, joy, and happiness!!!! Thanks again Teah, for being such a fabulous date!!!! (De and Jess, too! ;) I missed my boys, and was very glad to see them on Sunday evening!

Why Cleaning the House is Not Always a Good Idea...

Well, once again we've proven today why it's not a good idea to attempt to clean the house with a toddler underfoot! Poor Connor--I was changing the sheets in the guest bedroom--he thought it was so much fun to jump on the comforters and pillows--until he bounced right into the nightstand by the bed. Look at the goose egg on this little guy--OUCH! He's somehow still smiling though!!!

Goodbye, Baba Soph--We Love You!

Connor's Great Baba Soph passed away on Wednesday, March 29th. We celebrated her life and cried over her death at calling hours and a funeral service this weekend. The entire family plus many friends and extended family went back to "Baba Soph and Papa Oc's" house after the service, and it was like old times--we talked and laughed, and remembered how many wonderful years and events took place at 331 Pierson Blvd. We were so blessed to have such amazing grandparents and will miss Baba Soph, just like we do Papa Oc., and make sure to appreciate the blessing of Grandma and Grandpa Hauck (Nana and Papa) who live right down the road!

He's No Dummy!

Forget Sledding in the cold winter snow...playing outside on a 70 degree day is a much better choice!!! :) Connor had soooo much fun playing today. He dug in the dirt, played in the sand, ran all around...he had a blast!

We also visited Great Baba Soph this morning and took her outside in the nursing home's courtyard. Connor had a great time entertaining us out there, too...what a day!

Midnight Snack!

Well, we figured out how to open the fridge last night...just hangin' out, thinkin' about havin' a dew....

First *REAL* Haircut!!!

Oh my goodness, my baby's long blonde locks are gone!!! We had uncle Michael come over and give Connor his first hair cut today. Talk about breaking a Mommy's heart! I didn't think it would bother me, but I really had a hard time with it. I know Connor's hair was getting too long and shaggy, but still...what happened to my baby? Here are some pics...I do think it's cute, just will take some getting used to! ;)

Happy Valentine's Day (A Day Late...but just one day :)

(A pic from last year on V-Day, and this year....wow! :)

Happy V-Day to all! Hope everyone got flowers, chocolates, and lots of hugs and kisses! ;) Connor and I got another snow day--so that was fun! His new thing is coloring with markers and colored pencils, so we had lots of fun making Valentines for our family! It's so neat that we can actually do activities together now, and PLAY! I love the baby stage, and I do miss parts of it, but I've been waiting for this kind of interaction!

Love to all!

Snow, Snow, Snow!!!!!

We are getting pelted with snow today! Because it's finally a little bit warmer, I bundled up the boy thinking he might have *fun* sledding today. Connor HATES being bundled up--as you can see from the pictures below! His mittens last on his hands for about 30 seconds! Here he is crying while sledding.....needless to say, we didn't last outside very long! There is so much snow, I was having a hard time pulling him in the sled......maybe we'll try again later, after Daddy gets home! ;)

Out of order, but here are some Halloween pics!

See, this is what happens when you get lazy about updating a blog--I'm just now posting Halloween pics in February! Ha! I promise I"ll post Valentine's Day pics before the 4th of July! :) Here are a few "duckie" pictures. Grandma (Nana) Hauck and Aunt Penny came to visit during Trick-or-Treat...I'll include one of them, too! Jill brought over her kids and they helped pass out candy and walk the neighborhood with us. It was a rainy night, so we didn't last too long!

Sorry for the delay...yikes! I promise I'll be better about this!