Surrounded by GIRLS!!!

This morning we had our ultrasound and it's definitely a GIRL!!!! At least that's what the ultrasound technician told me, so she better be right! Let's take a quick inventory here - me, Campbell, New Baby Girl, Lexi and Harley - all girls. Travis - he'll be the one and only male around here - surrounded by girls!!!

The appointment was at 8 a.m. Travis followed me and Campbell there so he could leave straight from there to head to work. When we had the ultrasound to determine the gender with Campbell, we wanted to find out in a more special way than the technician just saying, 'it's a girl.' So we had her write it down, put it in a sealed envelope, and we waited until we sat down to dinner at Ruths Chris to open it. It was a really neat moment for us and we had a perfect date night that night. Well...this was lesson #537 in things are different with baby #2! We totally wanted to do something similar and make it special. But Travis had to leave straight from the appointment to head to an out of town client with a possibility of staying the night. Therefore the whole dinner thing wouldn't work. Not to mention we have a sweet one year old who wouldn't exactly be welcome tossing green beans at Ruths Chris. So...we had to opt for the less exciting reveal and just let the technician tell us!

Well, even that plan went a bit awry. Campbell and I both developed terrible headcolds over the weekend. We are both miserable! She woke up a complete mess this morning. We felt so sorry for her and had a hard time consoling her. Once at the doctor's office, things were better for a short time. Unfortunately, New Baby wasn't cooperating and was being lazy and napping. Therefore the ultrasound took a little while because I had to lay on my side and move around a lot to try and wake her up. In this time, Campbell turned on us, was screaming bloody murder, and really causing a scene. Poor Travis had to step out of the room with her and walk her down the hall because she was being so disruptive. Of course, that is when our New Baby Girl woke up and gracefully gave us a glimpse of...well, you know what. So I was alone in the room when she made the 'it's a girl' declaration. I must admit I was a bit sad that Travis wasn't there. He admitted later he was pretty disappointed to miss the announcement too. But in the big scheme of things, that was just one tiny little moment. We have a very healthy baby girl who is growing normally and looking great and we couldn't be happier with that news!!! She's also a sassy little thing. Right when Campbell threw her fit and had to be escorted out by Travis, New Baby Girl threw up her hand with her middle finger sticking straight up. The technician cracked up, snapped a quick picture of it for us, and told me she is certain that gesture was for big sister. I love it!

So let's talk about this girl thing. I AM SO EXCITED!!!! I really didn't care - boy or girl. Honestly, I wanted each for different reasons. But now that I know it's a girl, it just makes perfect sense and feels so right for our family. I am so looking forward to having two girls only 21 months apart in age. Of course I hope they are best friends but that will be up to them. It's going to be so easy to welcome a girl into our family because that's what Travis and I know. We have girl stuff and girl clothes and dolls and the like...so it really will be pretty easy to add another girl to the mix! I wanted a girl because I wanted Campbell to have the experience of having a sister. My sister and I are so close and I just feel like every girl deserves to have a sister, so I'm excited that little dream is coming true. So how does Travis feel? He really is excited too. Honestly. At least he says he is! I'm sure there is a part of him that wants a boy, I think all men do. That's a no-brainer. But he has said a million times how he adores having a daughter and would be completely happy to have nothing but girls. He is so good with Campbell, and seeing how he relates to her, it just makes sense that God would give us another girl to raise! The only thing that's stressing him out is he keeps thinking about paying for two weddings.

I'm feeling little tiny, faint baby movements these days. It's very sporadic and I have to really be sitting still and concentrating to feel it, but it's there and it's amazing. It makes me erase all those memories of throwing up and feeling like death just a couple of months ago. It is all worth it!!!!!!!!

Pancakes-2, Campbell-0

If you've been around for a while, you know about Campbell's food allergies. You may even remember how on her first birthday, Travis and I took Campbell to IHOP for a special birthday treat of her first pancake and scrambled egg. Then you would of course remember how the poor birthday girl broke out in massive hives and we ended up racing to the doctor's office for bloodwork and massive doses of Benadryl to celebrate the big day!

That was our first run in with the pancake. This morning, we had our second. :( Allow me to set the scene for you. Travis is doing a triathlon as I type, his first of the season. His start time was 8:43 a.m. Campbell and I reluctantly decided not to go. The venue wasn't very kid-friendly (I could just see Campbell diving into the indoor pool), and the forecast was calling for temps in the 40's with rain and thunderstorms likely. So us girls stayed home. Me, being 17 weeks pregnant, and suffering from a headcold and a headache, and a little bit bummed to not be watching Travis, decided I would make us a special Sunday breakfast. I decided to make Campbell-friendly pancakes, with Bisquik, soymilk, and her special egg replacers (a powdery substance you mix with water to replace eggs in baking, designed for vegans or people with allergies). I threw in a little of Campbell's applesauce to moisten up the batter, fired up the griddle, and the end result was pretty normal-looking pancakes!

I gave Campbell a few small bites. She told me "mmmmm." So I tore up an entire pancake for her, and even dipped some of her bites into syrup (which had none of her allergens per the label). All was going well. I made myself a plate with 3 pancakes stacked up high once I finished cooking and was just sitting down next to Campbell to enjoy my breakfast when I saw it - her bottom lip was huge. OMG. Everything I've ever read about food allergies says not to worry until you have swelling of the face, lips, or tongue. I freaked. It was 8:39. Couldn't call Travis because he would be standing on the starting block, ready to dive into the pool in 4 minutes. Didn't know if I should stick her with the EpiPen and call 911 or not. I was so scared to make this call on my own! So I did what every grown woman would do...grabbed the children's benadryl and called my Mom. I'm also having the thought - great, I'm in my pj's, barefoot, pregnant, contacts aren't in yet, alone...and I'm going to have to ride in an ambulance like this. Call me vain, but yes, I thought of that.

Campbell's lip went down to normal in no time. Really, from the time I noticed it, it was only swollen for less than 30 seconds I'd say. Got some benadryl in her, ripped the pancakes off her tray, and let my Mom calm me down. We decided I needed to call the on-call nurse to make sure it was OK to quit worrying. The nurse walked me through a bunch a questions. I checked Campbell for hives (there were none), for a swollen tongue (nope), irritable or agitated (yes, but then again I'd just taken away her pancakes). The nurse was super sweet and we determined that Campbell had some reaction, but that she seemed to recover on her own and the benadryl in her system would help.

Who knows what happened? I feel kind of crazy, because her lip was DEFINITELY swollen, and then it was just fine again! My mom pointed out that maybe she bit it? Who knows??? It was swollen enough that I nearly dropped my plate of pancakes and ran for her bag with the benadryl and EpiPen in it. It was definitely scary. Campbell is now 0-2 versus the pancake. I guess she'll have to stick with bananas and dry wheat toast for breakfast from now on. So much for Mommy trying to make a Special Sunday Breakfast for the Girls! :( I'm not sure my heart can handle another incident with those darn pancakes!!! In the meantime, we'll wait patiently for the call from Travis from the finish line and I guess I'll have to fess up and tell him about the nonsense that went on around here this morning!!

Goodbye Normie

Meet Norman. (This is a funny picture of him, exactly how I'd like to remember him). Tonight my family said goodbye to Norman, the dog we got when I was in high school. Of course my sister and I had to say our goodbyes from afar, in our hearts. My parents had to make the heartbreaking decision that it was Norman's time to go be in Doggie Heaven. Norman was sixteen years old with failing health and some major dementia. He's really gone downhill pretty fast, which I guess is a blessing since we know he wasn't suffering for long. We all talked about it and agreed with my parents that they would be honoring and respecting Norman by letting him go be at peace. My heart truly aches for my parents and what a hard day they've had. I also know tonight and the coming days will be tough as they see reminders of him all over their house and miss the sounds of doggie footsteps and a jingling collar.

I was with my parents when we went to the SPCA and picked out Norman. He was an absolutely adorable puppy who didn't bark for the first couple of weeks we had him. He was some sort of terrier mix we think - ended up at about 35 pounds, mostly black and white, some resemblance to a cross between a jack russell and a beagle or something like that...and he learned how to bark. The first weekend we had him, we struggled with a name. Someone came up with Norman, from the movie Psycho. He had done something mildly psycho like running around or acting crazy, so it seemed appropriate. Norman Bates Reid was his full name. He earned that name in the next few years! As a puppy, Norman was quite the psycho dog. He ate EVERYTHING, including the TV cable that he chewed in half, the vinyl flooring that he ripped to shreds, and even $60 cash of mine from a paycheck I'd just cashed! Despite the wildness, we loved Norman to pieces. He was never the most cuddly dog. Just a cool dude. Always full of energy and just happy to be a dog and do doggie things, like run laps through the house. All of my friends have always known Norman and loved him. I can't really describe what was so cool about him. Just trust me, if you had known him, you would've called him cool too. Everybody loved Norm and Norm loved everybody!

Over the years, Norman has starred in the Roanoke Valley SPCA's calendar quite a few times since my Dad sat on the board there. He was quite the handsome fellow and Norman never forgot where he came from, and was happy to support the cause. In the 2010 calendar, my parents put in a picture of Campbell and Norman together. So that picture will be really special to look back on.

I know Norman is happy now, tail wagging, hiding a massive bone behind a huge cloud in heaven. He will be greatly missed but he will always live in our hearts. Goodbye Norman!!

Eavesdropping

One of my favorite things to do is to eavesdrop. On Travis and Campbell. Most nights, it's Travis' job to put Campbell to bed. If he is at work too late, or if she is pitching a Mommy-fit (which she does on rare occasions), I will. But otherwise, that is special time with Daddy and daughter. I am usually downstairs trying to find a place for all our dirty dinner dishes, or maybe in our room changing into comfy clothes. Either place, there is a monitor and I hear it all go down. And let me tell you, sweetest sound in the universe.

Just recently we started changing the routine a bit so that Campbell has her sippy cup of milk (soymilk of course) before bedtime. I've also started bathing her after dinner most nights. I find that she is much more cooperative in the bathtub if I don't wait until she's overtired to do it. And then her hair has time to dry and she can unwind for a little while in her pj's before Daddy gets home from work. So when bedtime finally rolls around about 7:30ish, it's just time for books and cuddling.

Campbell goes through phases with different books she's obsessed with. These days, it's "Pat the Bunny." (NOT a favorite for Travis and I, but we let her pick!) Any given night, I hear Travis read it at least 3 times in a row because it's so short. She'd rather hear it over and over again than switch to a new book. Hopefully next week it'll be something different! Then I hear a bunch of rustling around on the monitor. He tells me this is usually the point when she insists on getting down, takes a few laps around her room looking for something fun to do. Finding nothing, she always returns to Daddy's lap and that's when she snuggles up. I hear his gentle voice tell her it's time to get in her bed and go night-night, and that he loves her and will see her in the morning. I tell you, it gets me every time!!! It gives me the sweetest mental picture to know he's tucking her into bed. I just love eavesdropping on them.

Just for the record...she is usually great at bedtime. But she isn't without fault. So yes, some nights he does all the same things, and I hear wailing in her room because she just isn't ready to call it a night yet. But for the most part, bedtime is pretty easy these days and a time I just love to listen to Travis and Campbell together.

One final note - a week from today is our ultrasound where we hope to find out whether Campbell is getting a sister or a brother!!!

Fifteen Months and Fifteen Weeks!!

Campbell was fifteen months old on Thursday! Yes, I'm getting pretty slack about posting her monthly updates. Can you tell I have my hands full with a very active toddler and another baby in the works?? (Can you also tell I'm still learning on my new Mac? Travis figured out how to drag and move pictures, but I can't get it to work and I'm tired of fooling with it. So enjoy the few pictures above, and a few more down below). :)

This month, Campbell has been brightening our days just being herself. A happy little girl who

loves to dance, run, giggle, clap, climb and play. She signs 'more' and 'please' very appropriately now. She is trying to say new words everyday. She still requires a translator, really only Travis and I understand most of them. But she's getting very good at imitating speech and each try is a little closer to the real word! I think she's going to be a talker like her Mama, watch out world! The newest thing this month is the climbing. One day I walked in the living room and found her sitting on the couch. Um, OK, didn't know you could get up there! I wouldn't mind, if she understood the concept of edges. She does not! So it's been a bit treacherous as she is constantly scaling the furniture and dangling from whatever she can swing her leg over! I really think she's going to be athletic! Campbell is crazy about throwing a ball, that is probably her favorite thing to do right now. She also likes to sit on the low window sill in our breakfast nook and look out the back window which is just too cute for words. She absolutely hates riding in a stroller these days. Running errands is becoming increasingly difficult for me as my little angel does NOT want to be strapped into anything, yet can't be trusted on her own because she runs around like a crazy person. We've got to work on this whole stroller thing before September rolls around!!!! Yesterday morning we took her to the indoor pool at the gym. It was her first water experience since last summer. She fussed a little here and there, but overall was the same little fishy from last summer. Travis put her face all the way underwater three different times! She didn't choke, didn't cry, and came up frantically signing 'more'!!! Apparently she loves the water just like her Daddy and I do.

Campbell gives hugs on command, and blows kisses too (sort of, she kind of sucks on her palm but never lets go of the kiss). She is sweet and funny and even a little devious at times. It's really fun to watch her explore and climb and get into things, we just hope it doesn't land us in the emergency room anytime soon!! :) (I just knocked on wood).

Now onto the fifteen weeks part, happy fifteen weeks to New Baby! :) I am now fifteen weeks pregnant and cruising along happily in my second trimester. I hate to say it outloud (knocking on wood again), but I think the morning sickness is finally gone. The last couple weeks have been significantly easier on me. I still feel a little run down at times. But hey, why should I blame that on the New Baby? It's Campbell who makes me run around all the time! The New Baby is about the size of an apple now. I appear to be about six months pregnant, no lie. Just like last time, my stomach popped out into a baby bump pretty much the day we got two lines on the stick. Now that I'm feeling better, I'm enjoying being pregnant again and ready to start planning! I MIGHT have felt a few tiny baby kicks last night, and I'm so very anxious to feel the baby again. I adore that part of being pregnant. My latest obsession is bedding. The nursery willremain the nursery, and just be modified if we are having a boy. Campbell will move down the hall to a big girl room, so that is what I spend my time googling. I'm craving a ton of fresh fruit, which is great, but quite random for me. I was mildly allergic to fresh fruit most of my life, so have never really eaten a lot of it. Now I want to dive headfirst into a huge fruit salad. I also crave salads and other fresh, cold things. Weird...am I having a child who likes to eat healthy?? Whose baby is this, anyway??? That is not to say I don't have a Bojangle's chicken biscuit every now and then, and a little ice cream to wash down all that fruit... All is well and if I ever feel cute enough, I'll make Travis take a picture of me so I can show off the new bump. Two weeks from today we have our Level II ultrasound to determine whether we are having a girl or a boy! Can't wait!!

Enjoy just a few more pictures of Campbell from the recent weeks.

Happy Fifteen Months, Campbell!!

A Big Whole Much Prayers for Nanny

My niece Taylor uses the cutest phrase, "a big whole much." It is obviously used to describe anything you want a lot of. That's why it's so appropriate here, because I really want a lot of prayers for Nanny. A big whole much, to be exact.

Nanny is Travis' grandmother and a very important part of our lives. Travis has always been extremely close to Nanny. Growing up, she was ever-present and a huge influence on Travis and his brothers. In his adult life, Travis' relationship with his grandmother did not weaken. He talks to Nanny on his drive home from work every night. There's probably not a lot to talk about each day - the weather, something funny Campbell did, any upcoming plans - but still...they talk. They have a very special relationship. I too have become close to Nanny over the years, and now Campbell is too! Without going on and on any more, just trust me, she's part of the glue that holds our family together.

A few weeks ago, we found out that Nanny has bone cancer. Five years ago, she underwent chemo for breast cancer and has been doing well ever since. Over the last few months, she's had a nagging backache which turned into severe back pain. Apparently the doctors don't think the two cancers are related. In other words, bone cancer usually starts somewhere else and spreads to the bones. They haven't yet determined where this cancer started. The worst part of this terrible news is the amount of pain Nanny's in. She is in a tremendous amount of pain, and painkillers are not able to make her more comfortable. She is in week two of a two-week radiation treatment for her tumors. They continue to run all sorts of tests, scans, MRI's, etc. to learn more about her cancer and how to best treat her. Our prayer is simple - we just don't want her to be in this pain!! Of course part two is that we want her body to heal and strengthen and recover. But first and foremost, we just can't stand to see her hurt like this. She is such a strong woman and never quick to complain. If she says it hurts, boy, it really hurts.

We are trying to get to Marion often to spend time with her and to let Campbell brighten her day by saying her name, blowing her kisses and showing off her dancing skills. It may not cure the cancer, but it sure is good medicine! I'll update the blog with her progress as we learn more, but for now, we just really appreciate your big whole much prayers.

Meeting Baby Leif

Last week, Campbell and I journeyed to Virginia to meet my nephew, Baby Leif. (I will explain below why all these pictures are in no order and not moved to the bottom like I usually do). I took Campbell to the pediatrician on Monday and got a pretty clean bill of health. She just had a minor cold and my sister and brother-in-law told me to 'bring it'! Tuesday we drove to Roanoke and spent the night with my parents, giving Campbell another day to shake the cold before meeting the baby. Wednesday we headed up to Northern Virginia. Somehow I survived all these roadtrips, each leg being about 3-4 hours, with Campbell by myself. She did amazing in the car and I was so proud of her.

My sister and I thought Campbell would not even notice Baby Leif. Wrong! She was OBSESSED with him. She was constantly saying 'baby, baby' and would light up every time he made a noise or moved. We often caught her perched on the edge of his pack-n-play, trying to climb the side to see in and look for the baby. Knowing there's going to be a baby at our house this fall, it was interesting to see that she was already so into babies!

It was kind of a crash course for me in dealing with more than one child. I tried on several occasions to manage all three - Taylor, age 3, Campbell, age 14 months, and Baby Leif, age 2.5 weeks. It was far from easy, but not impossible. Campbell was definitely the most difficult of the three. Baby Leif just lays there and looks cute, and Taylor is old enough to follow directions and listen. And then there's Campbell - who just walks around and destroys things! :) Snuggling with Baby Leif was heavenly! You forget how tiny they are, you really do. Just to have a tiny baby laying on my chest, asleep most of the time, inching up higher and higher until his little warm head rested under my chin...ah...perfection!

Taylor and Campbell played REALLY well together. I was super impressed with Taylor. She not only has a new baby brother getting a lot of her parents' attention, but she then had to share all her toys with Campbell. She liked helping me "babysit." One of my favorite quotes of the week came when I asked Taylor to watch Campbell for a minute. They have bookshelves with a sharp corner and I was very paranoid Campbell would fall into the corner. I guess Campbell approached the shelves because I heard Taylor say, "Campbell...that's not a good idea! You are going to bust your head, get a bleed, and then you won't have a brain!" Well said, Taylor! Another favorite memory came one morning when Campbell had woken up early so I brought her into my bed. We were both dozing again when I heard the door to my room open. I kept my eyes closed pretending to be asleep so Taylor would maybe sneak back out and let us sleep some more. Wrong. First she started opening and closing the door, a little louder each time. Then she got on Campbell's side of the bed and started whispering, "Campbell, Campbell!" I was trying so hard not to laugh. I can see these two cousins getting into trouble together later on, and thought it was so cute that Taylor came to get Campbell up. I put Taylor to bed each night I was there and completely choked when it came time to say prayers. I thought, I can handle this, I pray. What I wasn't prepared for were the questions about who is God?!??!?!? Based on my terrible answers, Taylor probably thinks God is some man who lives in her room and "will never leave her." hahahaha I need to read up on teaching my own kids about God!! I realize Baby Leif isn't getting much airtime here, but it's a lot easier to tell stories about the ones who can talk! I truly enjoyed my time with both of them, and of course loved the time with my sister and Big Leif too.

We had a fantastic trip, complete with some great quality time with my parents in Roanoke. Campbell LOVED both of my parents, and was especially clingy with GrandDad. I was pleased she remembered them and was so fun at their house so they got to see my crazy baby!

We were so ready to get home, we drove 130 mph the whole way. No joke. Sort of. Leaving Northern Virginia, I looked down to see my speedometer say 130 mph. What? Traffic was flying past me, and I thought, man they really do drive fast up north! Then I stopped at a stoplight and it said 60 mph at a dead stop. Great, a broken speedometer! Thankfully, I have a GPS that I could use as my speedometer, but it sure is weird to look down when you're cruising through a residential area and it tells you that you are driving 90mph! The problem seems to be correcting itself, each day it gets a little closer to being accurate. This morning it was down to 2 mph when I was stopped, so maybe I won't have to pay to get it fixed?

Campbell and I were pumped to see Travis because we REALLY missed him. Little did I know he had a surprise waiting for me! He got me a new computer! This post is coming to you from my new MacBook Pro, which is why my pictures are at the top and unorganized. :) There is a bit of a learning curve when switching to a Mac, but I'm learning and will hopefully get better soon. I am so in love with this computer! Not only does it have a "k" key, but it does so many cool things with pictures and video. Travis wrote me a really sweet letter about why he got it for me. Let's just say I was reduced to a crying mess from all the sweet things he said. This blog may get fancier now that I have the capability to do so! I just have to make sure Campbell doesn't get a hold of this keyboard. Thanks, Travis, I really, really love my new toy. And the amazing man who bought it for me.

Justice, Party of...FOUR

It's time to make the official announcement! Sometime around September 5th, we will be growing from a party of three to a party of four! In case you didn't get that, yes, I am pregnant and we are expecting Baby #2. I will go ahead and answer the question that seems to be on most people's minds when we share the news. Yes, it was on purpose! Travis and I have always said we wanted our kids to be close together in age. There are many reasons for this. He grew up being only 15 months younger than his brother Alex. They were, and still are, the best of friends and I think he recognizes the special bond between siblings so close in age. Travis and I aren't old - but we aren't in our twenties anymore either. Considering we aren't sure how large of a family we want to have, we decided we wanted to go ahead and grow to a family of four and go from there! We were very blessed to find out on December 23rd that we were in fact expecting this New Baby!

We have been calling he/she just New Baby. Real creative, huh? We called Campbell "Baby J" until we met her. I kinda thought we'd call this baby the same thing, but it hasn't stuck! It's like Baby J was Campbell's name, so we needed a new nickname for this kiddo. New Baby is all that we came up with!

I am now 13 weeks along, happy to be finishing up the last week of my first trimester. I have been much sicker this go round, which is quite challenging when you are home with a 14 month old! Campbell has spent many mornings leaning over the toilet with me. It has also been very challenging NOT to blog about this! I am not the best secret keeper in the world. And this is BIG news! I have been sick and tired, literally, and wanted so badly to complain to all my blog readers. :) I also wanted to share when I went grocery shopping in a snowstorm and came home with $165 worth of groceries, consisting mostly of things like guacamole and Cocoa Pebbles.

Campbell and her new little brother or sister will be about 21 months apart. We will have 'two under two' for a short time. I am very excited to have a fall baby. The summer may be a bit miserable being so big when it's so hot outside. But it will be worth it to have a newborn in a mild season. It was no fun being trapped inside during the cold winter months when Campbell was itty bitty. Hoping that this fall, we'll be able to take walks or at least sit outside a little when New Baby joins us.

Last Monday was our first ultrasound and our first opportunity to hear the heartbeat. I was so nervous, going 12 weeks without any confirmation that my belly was in fact growing because of a baby, and not just because of the guacamole and Cocoa Pebbles! Travis and Campbell came to the appointment and we were all thrilled and amazed to see a perfect, tiny baby moving around. There was a perfect heartbeat at 162 beats per minute. We were shocked at the 4d pictures of the baby - even at 12 weeks, the features were so clear and we could see our sweet baby.

Life is going to be wild and crazy and wonderful at our house and Travis and I could not be more excited to become parents of two. Thanks for sharing in our excitement!

I spent last week in Virginia with my family so there will be a big post to come with many pictures of my new nephew and our trip!