Madilyn's 2 yr well-visit

Well, I FINALLY picked a new pediatrician on this end of town and took Madilyn in for her 2 year well visit... about a month and a half late, but hey... I did it! :)

She is officially 24 lbs. and they say she's 32 1/2'' tall... she seems a little hunched when the nurse measured her though because she was scared of whatever was measuring her... I think she's a tiny bit taller, but it's all good.

I asked the doctor if I should be concerned that she's only 24 lbs @ 2years old, and she said definitely not because she's perfectly proportioned. She's between 15 and 25% in all of her measurements, so it's just that she's petite! I always was as a little girl too, so she gets it from me! :) I think I was only slightly concerned because her 1 year old cousin is 23lbs... but he's gonna be a big guy! :) I was told she's advanced (of course she is....in my opinion...slighly biased) in her verbal skills, she showed the nurse how she can show you on her fingers how old she is and also told him. She sang him her ABC's and a couple of other songs quite loudly... :) She perfectly demonstrated her climbing skills on the tables and stools for the nurse and running skills by running around the room. She checked out perfectly! I was also thankful she was potty trained because we had to get a urine sample... can't imagine how that would have gone w/out the potty training... wring it from a diaper? Sit on the toilet till she tinkles? Not sure! She made it easy on her momma! THEN came the finger prick. She had not met the doctor yet at this point... a different nurse came in, I told her precisely what was going to happen (didn't want to lie!) and she got her finger pricked, watched the whole collecting process (crying the whole time) and then got a pink sparkly bandaid. She was furious... by the time the doctor came in she was about inconsolable. She just clung to me and didn't want the doctor to touch her, even though I reassured her that the doctor was not going to poke her, just check her heart and tummy. The doctor asked her her name, how old she was, etc... Madilyn just looked at her with a curiously angry look and shouted "NO!"... I told her to be polite, but told the doctor that she wasn't going to be cooperating after that finger prick... oh well! At least the nurse got to see her happy cute self before the crabby part came out! So, she was perfectly healthy in every way (no shots at this visit, yay!) and she got to have tacos at Moes with mommy and her Uncle Mark as a treat, which she was quite happy about! We even got to see our friends Chase, Jacob and Luke there with their mommy and daddy! :) She did pretty good overall!

I went to my 20 week appointment like I mentioned in the previous post... our little man is growing perfectly. We have a couple names in mind... working them out. I should have known it was a boy with how different this pregnancy has gone, but I guess I was in denial. With this pregnancy I have been soooo sick. I still get nauseas at times, I am sore so much earlier than I was with Madilyn, I am still 1/2 pound under my starting weight... and at this point with Madilyn I had gained over 10 pounds! He stays really low in my pelvis, rarely moving out to help mommy be a bit more comfortable... he doesn't move as much as Madilyn does, but when he does I definitely am aware. It's like he's more purposeful about it. I am not as hungry all the time as I was with Madilyn either. I constantly felt starving and could eat large meals. With him I get a little hungry, eat a little and then can't quite finish my meal. I eat probably 5 or 6 small meals a day. I also have way more food aversions. Things just look or smell gross. For example: I have ALWAYS loved peanut butter, I could sit down with a jar and a spoon and be completely content... now, just the smell grosses me out. Can't go near it. It's getting a bit better to where I can make Madilyn a PB&J w/out gagging... but it was bad! I am getting excited to meet him! I can't wait to find out the differences between little boys and girls, and just sit and enjoy watching him grow. It will be fun to see how Madilyn interacts with him also. I can't wait to see her be nurturing and sweet (hopefully!) and all motherly to him.

Well, that's it for now! Thanks for reading, and God bless!!

New blog name?

I guess I'm gonna have to change our blog name... just not the web address... it's 3 Cains becoming 4! :)

We had our 20 week ultrasound today and got wonderful news! #1, the baby is perfect... 10 fingers and 10 toes and beautifully growing with no abnormalities... squirming and kicking the whole time. And.... we are going to have a BOY! For some reason I was so shocked! Not sure why, that's what they predicted at 12 weeks, but I was just so sure I was going to have another girl. I don't even know what I am going to do with a cute little rowdy boy, but I look forward to it! We now have to decide on a name... we have like 4 that we like... at least there's only 2 middle names to pick from! LOL!

Well... that's about it for now. I'll have to post some pictures of the ultrasound in a bit.

God bless!

Better post before May is over!

Ok, it's been like a month, so I thought I'd better go ahead and post a few things before more stuff happens and I forget! I am quite forgetful lately! It's so crazy, I will be in the middle of a sentence and completely forget what I was talking about. I was talking to John yesterday and I guess I stopped mid-sentence... he asked me to finish and I had no idea what he was talking about! hahaha! Pregnancy brain I guess! I have to put every day tasks and reminders on my phone that alert me throughout the day or I will forget even the littlest things.

I am 18 weeks, will be 19 weeks pregnant this coming Monday! I cannot believe this pregnancy is almost half over! I feel like I just found out I was pregnant. Thankfully I am feeling so much better. My energy is still only partially there, and I can only do so much, and then it's just like my body says "ok, I'm done... so you better sit or lay down or I will just do it for you". :) I have been feeling the baby move quite a bit, and John has even felt it a couple of times! I asked Madilyn if she wanted to feel the baby move in mommy's tummy, and she looked at me like I was an alien... like "what on earth are you talking about?". HA! Maybe I'll see what happens when I am further along and the baby kicks her while she is in my lap... we'll see how she looks at me then! HA! ;) We will be finding out the sex of the baby on June 7th, and I am so ecstatic. I begged them to tell me @ 18 weeks because my mom's birthday was this past Monday, precisely when I turned 18 weeks... well, needless to say, they didn't agree to it. So, I will be bringing my mom and sweet husband to the appointment. Madi will have to stay with a friend since the last time she came to an ultrasound, she was hysterically crying the whole time telling the lady to stop touching mommy's tummy... so, since this one will take a while, I decided she wasn't going to be able to come... We have names picked out, tentatively... I may change my mind another 2 or 3 times like I have over the past month. But we'll see! :) Ok....

Here's some pictures to catch up on the last month and a half with the Cains:

Madilyn and I were waiting for daddy to get off work, so we had a treat... a cake "pop" and a vanilla bean frap... yummy! :)

playing play-do at the kitchen table... Madilyn loves play-do, especially when it's pink!

Mommy and Madi swimming... she got a puddle jumper, but she's still too little for it, so mommy still helps a lot.

Madilyn with her Larry and Bob that mommy and daddy got her for her birthday... she totes them around just about everywhere now... so cute! :)

Grama and Papa on a walk with us, and Madi doing her favorite thing "hold hands" with them... :) She's so sweet!!!

Madilyn playing in the sprinkler on the back patio in her pink princess swimsuit. She has three, but this one is her favorite!

Her first birthday party at Cici's with Grama, Papa, mommy, daddy and Uncle. She wore her hat and had her favorite food : PIZZA! :)

Party #2 @ San Jose's after church with our family, and the all important cousin Preston! :)

3rd and final party with her friends: Daddy and his friend decided to join in on the fun on the see-saw

baby Luke Smoak had fun too! :)

Had to ride the chipmunk!

Run, run, running in the back

playing with her friends Jacob and Chase in her "little" house

The birthday snacks and the yummy birthday cupcakes my mom made for Madilyn. She got pink cupcakes for her 2nd birthday, she was so excited. They were pink inside, with sprinkles on top! Her dream cake! :)

Madilyn trying to get the other little girl Piper to come into her house... she wasn't successful. Piper was smart and realized the house was already a bit crowded...

Just a random sweet picture

This is what happens when you allow her to have a snack in the car. I don't even remember what it was, but this is the result!

"Ky Ky" as she calls Kyle, his mommy and baby sister came to visit the other week... Halle even got a ride in the shopping cart! Mommy protectively walked alongside... :) You never know with those boys and their sisters!!

Madilyn's easter egg hunt, had to take a break to eat some candy!

"What are you doing? It's mine, stop eyeing it, you can't have it!"

Are there more eggs mommy?

Stealing a bite from daddy of her first taste of a "peep"

Needs to open another egg!

Sweet girl in her dress and hat!

Having a tea party on the back screened in porch :)

Madilyn on her birthday present from Uncle Mark, and wearing the present from Auntie Julie and Uncle Ry-Ry... :)

Being too quick and showing mommy how she can "climb" up on anything! HA!

Her current favorite evening activity: Run, run, running in the grass with daddy!

And last, but not least, a pregnancy shot of me at about 17 weeks. I'll have to try to get more as I go! :)

Sorry so long! I didn't realize how behind I was! My next post will be the house pictures. I just gotta hang up the rest of the pictures. Hopefully I'll do it soon! :)

God bless!

Lyme Disease Awareness Month!

Ok... I will get to posting pictures of Easter and Madilyn's "egg hunt" and our new home (once we have couches and a kitchen table), but today I want to focus on something quite close to my heart.

Within the last year my aunt was diagnosed with Lyme's disease after a very long struggle with an "unknown" disease and issues so great they thought she may have a brain tumor, or MS. All along it was Lyme's Disease. The month of May is Lyme Disease awareness month. I know it's not quite May, but I wanted to post this now before I forgot. Down here in the south, ticks are not quite as prevalent as in the northeast and midwest, but they are still here! It's spring, it's warm and they are out there!

Here's some unknown facts:

1). You are more than 10 times more likely to get Lyme Disease than West Nile Virus. Ticks are everywhere and you are most likely to be bitten in your own yard.

2). Lyme Disease has surpassed AIDS as the #1 infectious disease in the U.S.

3). Testing for Lyme Disease is UNRELIABLE. To be tested correctly you must have your blood tested through a tick borne specialty labe such as Igenex Lab in Palo Alto.

4). The average primary Md knows NOTHING about Lyme Disease even though they believe they do.

5). Lyme Disease, if not caught right after the bite can become chronic with multiple systemic (body-wide) symptoms that is extremely hard to treat and patients only hope is long term antibiotics, sometimes YEARS and hope for remission.

6). You know someone with Lyme Disease and they likely don't know it. It is the "great imitator" If you know someone with pain, back problems, knee problems, Fibro, anxiety, migraines - you know someone with Lyme. There are 100 symptoms of Lyme Disease.

7). Only Lyme literate Md's treat Lyme Disease effectively, not found in your local phone book either. Contact The Lyme Disease Association for more information Lyme doctor referral.

8). Lyme Disease enters the central nervous system almost immediately and even if "cured" you can relapse many years later.

9). The symptoms of LD are so devastating it can be completely disabling with symptoms similar to Parkinsons, Alzheimer's, MS or minor as migraines and insomnia and may be the cause of these diseases!

10). Lyme Disease may be responsible for all psychiatric illness and the number one cause of LD death is suicide.

11). Lyme Disease can kill.

These are not all necessarily approved and noted by doctors, but something to think about! The best Lyme disease treatment is still controversial! My aunt went to one of the best hospitals in the country and was told she had psychiatric problems... when she was tested properly (almost 2 years later), she was informed she had Lyme's disease. It goes unnoticed and improperly diagnosed SO often!

For more information you can go to my aunt's blog mylifeinthelymelight.blogspot.com and she has links and videos for more information.

The more people are educated, the more we can spread the word and hopefully there will be more accurate ways to test and diagnose in the future... hopefully the near future!

Thanks for listening! :)

We close on Thursday!

AAAAAAH!

I really think I am still in denial, cuz seriously... I don't think I'm as excited as I should be! I can't believe we are going to have this house!

Anyways, we get to close on Thursday at 3pm! I have my 12 week ultrasound the same day @ 10:50am, so please be praying everything goes well! We will be cleaning on Friday, and officially moving our stuff in on Saturday! Whew! SO excited! :)

I was giving Madilyn a bath the other night... seems like I had her take one every night... I was feeling so rotten the past couple of weeks that the only way I could contain her was in the bathtub ;)... so she got at least 1 a day... sometimes 2! lol! Hey, she was clean! With her eczema she hasn't had a bath that often in a while! Anywho... her hair is really starting to get long, so I took the "cliche" soap in the hair picture...

I had a hard time getting her to sit still in order to take the picture, but I got it! :)

Thanks for your prayers! We can't wait to be homeowners again!!!

Monday's Inspection

So,

On Monday we had our home inspection and the termite inspection and everything went WONDERFUL! We got a signature from the bank saying the house will not be sold to anyone else, and our agreement is good.... so we are just waiting on the lawyers to tell us exactly when they can get the paperwork together. It will be no later than the 14th of April. AAHH! I just can't wait to be in my own home again, and this one is gonna be wonderful! ;)

:)

Ok.... so, the bank countered back to us last night, and they countered $3,000 more than our offer was. We then decided... they are willing to pay our closing costs, and close when WE want, AND we get all of the appliances including the refrigerator... SO............. We are officially accepting their counter offer this morning! WOOHOO!!! :)

We will be homeowners again very soon! We hope to close by April 8th, so we will have to see if the lawyers can get their act together to get all of that drawn up for us by then. We shall see! :)

Until then, this is a sneak peek of part of my new kitchen! :)

:) LOVE IT!