Like Mother Like Daughter

Comparing Bellies

9 Month Doctor Apointment

Today I had my nine month doctor appointment. Nothing major to report, didn't gain any weight so I'm holding at 15 pounds gained. Her heartbeat was 154 bpm, doctor said everything looked fine. I'll start going every week now until she is born. Here is a picture for your enjoyment:

Happy Halloween!

Kylie and I had lots of fun today. We started off going to her preschool halloween party:This is her preschool class, they all looked so cute in their costumes and they had so much fun. They played games, had a small brunch with lots of goodies, and then they trick or treated all around the school.

Then I took her to Toy 'R' Us for a Halloween parade. They followed Geoffry around the store stopping at 3 tables to get suprises and treats. Kylie doesn't really like charaters in costume but decided to be brave so I could get a picture of her with Geoffry:

Look! it's batman the ballerina! This is one of the treats they gave out.

After the parade at Toys 'R' Us we went to the mall where Kylie did more Trick or Treating and then she was ready to go home...and so was I!

Kylie and Daddy swimming!

Kylie and Daddy were having lots of fun swimming. Kylie has really taken to the water this year and loves every opportunity she gets to go swimming. Jumping in all by herself is her newest advancement, up until last month she would jump in but had to hold your hand when she did it. Now she thinks its really fun to jump in all by herself. It gives Daddy and Mommy a little bit of a heartattack each time but she loves it!

Chili

Kylie and Daddy made Chili last night for dinner. When they were preparing it Kylie told Greg "I don't really like the beans, but I'll try them." After her bite she said "Mmmmm, good, I never had a bean from a chili before!"

After the first bite and her deciding that kidney beans and chili are good, Greg said he could hardly keep her out of the chili until I got home. They did a great job, it tasted great and best of all I didn't have to make dinner!

Fell Down Today

This morning after I was finished cleaning off the snow off the car and I decided that I would put the brush in the back instead of in the backseat. As I was walking to the back apparently my shoe caught the driveway (its a little uneven) and I lost my balance and proceeded to fall down in the driveway. Thankfully I landed on my side and not on my belly. However in doing so I managed to scrape both of my hands and my right knee which is also bruised. This all happened before 6:30 in the morning - not a good way to start the day. I went back into the house to change my pants because of course I was wearing khaki pants and they were full of dirt and pine needles from the driveway from my hip to my ankles. It's a wonder I didn't end up bruising more for as hard as I fell.

I called the doctor after I got to work and was told I had to go to the hospital to be monitored for a couple of hours to make sure the baby was fine. I felt this was really not necessary because almost as soon as I fell I felt her move, I was told by the nurse it was NOT NEGOTIABLE. After I got to the hospital they put the monitors on me and after two hours they were satisfied she was fine and even told me by the way her heartbeat was charting she is a happy baby. That made me really happy to hear, hopefully she will be a happy baby when she is born!

All in all it was quite an eventful day.

Truck or Treat

Today Kylie did her trick or treating early at our churchs annual 'Trunk or Treat'. Some of the parishoners decorate their cars and park them around the perimiter of the church parking lot and give out treats to the kids. It is a nice safe way for them to do their trick or treating. Kylie made it about half way though before she got tired and and cold and was ready to go home. She was a trooper and finished with a little persuading from Mommy! This is her ballerina costume:

The crown and the wand were added at the last minute because she wanted to be a princess ballerina.

8 1/2 Month Appointment

I went to my 8 1/2 month prenatal appointment yesterday. I gained 2 pounds in the last 2 weeks for a grand total of 15 so far Baby girls heartbeat was 150 today. Dr. Meekhof was pleased and said it was very strong. This is the start of my 2 week appoinments now, my next appointment is on Nov 3. This is the beginning of my weekly visits. I only did one weekly visit with Kylie and that was the day she was born! When I told Dr. Meekhof that, he said he didn't think baby girl would be born that early. I told him I really don't want a Thanksgiving baby but of course whenever she decides to make her arrival is fine with me. He agreed, he said mid-November would be nice. So I'm not sure if he's telling me that is his guess because of course no one really knows except God. I told him Greg has 14 days off in November it would be nice if she could at least make her arrival on one of those days. I guess we'll just have to see if she's going to be that accomodating.

Going Swimming with Kylie

Yesterday I decided I would take Kylie to the open swim at the YMCA for something different to do. This is the conversation I had with her regarding going swimming:

Kylie do you want to go swimming with Mommy

Where at?

At the same place you take your swimming lessons, so do you want to go?

Well, your kind of fat and you could sink.

Your right I am getting fat but I don't think I'll sink, do you want to go

Yes! Yayyyy (Jumping up and down) I'm going swimming, I'm going swimming!

As you can tell she absoulty loves going swimming and the fact that Mommy was willing to get in the water with her (something she has been asking for for months) really made her happy. We had a good time, she was a little upset when it was time to leave though. I guess an hour and a half isn't quite long enough. Although as soon as I told her we were going to go to McDonalds and eat and she could play that made everything better. All in all it was a very nice evening.

Vote your conscience

Kylie Singing

All of these videos are of Kylie singing. She really got her Daddy's genes when it comes to singing. She loves to sing and is always singing.



Kylie singing Shook Me All Night Long, not the best choice for a 4 year old to sing but she loves the song and of course has no idea what she is even singing. (Sorry the video is sideways, I always forget that when taking a video with your camera to not turn it - someday I'll remember.)



Here she is singing Row, Row, Your Boat with her Karaoke machine she got from Nana and Papa for Christmas.



And last but not least, Old MacDonald had a Farm. She obviously was tired of just sitting and singing and me videoing her. This is what she does on a typical day, play and sing, there are many days I pick her up from Daycare and she is playing by herself (doing a puzzle or something) and singing the whole time.

Going to heaven

"Mommy, I'm ready to go to heaven now.

"Kylie you can't go to heaven now, I would miss you."

"Well Mommy I would miss you too but I would smile on you."

"But who would Mommy and Daddy hug and kiss on?"

"Fine, I'll stay" Said with the tone that says, I'm going to agree with you because I can see I'm not going to win this conversation.

Bible Book

Conversation at Church this morning:

"Mommy, Jesus said I could take one of the Bible books home with me after church"

"No, you need to leave them here "

"But Mommy Jesus said I could "

"I didn't hear him "

"You couldn't hear him because he told me when I was praying to him "

(How do you argue with that?!) "Well you need to leave them here so other people know what words to sing when they come to church."

After that I left it alone assuming that she understood what I was telling her. There were only 5-10 minutes left of church so I told her to pick up her toys she brought because Church was almost over. I helped her put her backpack on her back when we left. As I was taking her backpack off her when we got to the car I noticed how heavy the bag was. I asked her what was in her bag that was so heavy because I didn't remember it being that heavy when we came into church. That's when she told me, "Mommy, I told you Jesus said I could take one of the bible books home with me" I told her again we needed to leave them there so other people could sing praises to God when they came to church. She looked at me very innocently and said, "Well now we can sing Jesus songs at home!"

At that point I just left it alone because we were already at the car and I didn't want to go back in. I also figured she had such good intentions that we will just bring the hymnal back next week.

At the Pumpkin Patch

Today Kylie and her friends from preschool went to the pumpkin patch. These are some of the pictures from the trip. She had a lot of fun with her friends and playing on the playground at the pumpkin patch.

Playing on the playground

Petting the bunnies, that is her favorite part...all the animals!

Trying to decide which pumpkin to pick, I guess she was checking their weight??

Riding on the moo train. Both she and Carli (the little girl she was riding with) got out and said it was no fun because they had to hold on because it was bumpy :( It actually was quite funny to hear them both say it at the same time.

Afraid of the dark

This morning Kylie stayed home with Daddy instead of going to school. She loves to stay home with him, they play together and sometimes go to movies. She has her Daddy's passion for movies.

When they got up Kylie said, "Daddy your going to have to turn on the light, I'm a little afraid of the dark and I think there is monsters." Greg said she it in a very solmn tone.

She very afraid of the dark, she will not turn on the bathroom light because she is afraid to even reach her arm in to turn on the light. Or if she is in our half bath she won't go in because our bedroom is dark and she doesn't want to be able to see the dark room. The door to the room has to be shut or the light turned on in the bedroom for her to be satisfied. I believe this is a phase she is going through.

Swimming Update

Kylie had swimming at the YMCA last night. It was the testing night to see which ones move up to the next level. I was so proud of her she has made such improvement over the last 6 weeks. This is Kylie doing what they call 'flying', this is the part she most enjoys and is very comfortable and confident doing:



Here she is doing the backfloat. This is what has given her the most greif since she has started swimming. Here confidence level is the highest it has ever been since she started, we are so proud of her. I'm so glad I was able to catch this on video! Enjoy...

8 Month Appointment

I went to my 8 month prenatal appointment yesterday. I gained 4 pounds this month for a grand total of 13 so far (9 of which were gained in the last 2 months)! Baby girls heartbeat was 148 today. Dr. Meekhof was pleased and said it was very strong. I start my 2 week appoinments now, my first two week appointment is on Oct 20. It's amazing how fast the time has gone, our little girl is due to make her appearance in 2 months! Kylie is predicting she will be born on November 28. I'm not sure where or how she got that date but it will be amazing if she is right!

Spider Cookies!!

Today is Kylie's treat day and I thought since it is October it would be fun to make so Halloween themed cookies. So yesterday this is what Kylie and I made:

We had lots of fun making these cookies. However, Kylie did get upset with me a one point because I had to roll the dough into balls and then dip them in chocolate sprinkles. I decided that it would be easier if I did the rolling and she put the eyes on the spiders. When she asked if she could roll the balls I told her no and that Mommy would do this part and she could put the sprinkles on the balls and the eyes on. Apparently that was not the answer she wanted and very matter-of-factly said to me "I thought we were doing teamwork and working together! This is not teamwork if I can't roll the balls too!" I tried to tell her that sometime Mommies have to do some of the work themselves. She was happy to put on the M&M eyes, but decieded that after doing 9 spiders it was more fun to eat the M&Ms and told me I could do the rest myself.

You can get the recipe here.

Dave Ramsey's Take on the Bailout

I try to listen to Dave Ramsey daily, here is his take on the bailout...

THREE STEPS TO CHANGE THE NATION'S FUTURE

Please read it and take it for what its worth to you.

Plane Ride

On Friday Greg took Kylie out for an airplane ride in the Warrior. He asked her is she wanted to see the airplane and she said yes. When they got there she was looking at the airplane and then looked at the door they came through and asked "How did you get it in here?" Then she asked "Can we fly it?!"

Greg was doing some touch-n-gos to see how she handled flying and after the first landing he noticed that she was getting upset and asked her, "Do you want to go back to the airport?"

Her answer, "No I'm tired of landing I just want to fly!"

Then he took her over Nana and Papas house and asked her, "Are you ready to go back?"

She said, "I just want to fly all the time, but not all the night."

So he flew her over the city of Petersburg and back to the airport, all in all it was about 45 minutes of flying. She loved it and had lots of fun.

Slumber My Darling (Alison Kraus & Yo Yo Ma)

This absolutely beautiful, enjoy...

Here are the lyrics:

Yo Yo Ma Slumber My Darling Lyrics
Featuring: Alison Krauss Lyrics

Slumber my darling
Thy mother is near
Guarding they dreams
From all terror and fear

Sunlight has past
And the twilight has gone
Slumber my darling
The night's coming on

Sweet visions attend they sleep
Fondest dearest to me
While others their revels keep
I will watch over thee

Slumber my darling
The birds are at rest
Wandering dews
By the flowers are caressed

Slumber my darling
I'll wrap thee up warm
Pray that the angels
Will shield thee from harm

Slumber my darling
Til morn's blushing ray
Brings to the world
The glad tidings of day

Fill the dark void
With thy dreaming delight
Slumber thy mother
Will guard thee tonight

Thy pillow shall sacred be
From all outward alarm
Thou thou art the world to me
In thy innocent charms

Slumber my darling
The birds are at rest
Wandering dews
By the flowers are caressed

Slumber my darling
I'll wrap thee up warm
Pray that the angels
Will shield thee from harm

Sisterly Love

 

Kylie is so excited about her baby sister coming in a couple of months. She gives her sister kisses daily and tells her she loves her. She wishes she would get her soon! This takes too long.

Devestating Obama Abortion ad -- BornAliveTruth.org's new commercial featuring abortion survivor Gianna Jesson

I don't generally post anything political, but this got my attention, everyone needs to see this ad.

From another posting of the ad:

"In this powerful ad sponsored by BornAliveTruth.org, abortion survivor Gianna Jesson questions Barack Obama for his active opposition as state senator to IL's Born Alive Infants Protection Act.

Born Alive was introduced to stop IL hospitals from leaving babies who survived their abortions in soiled utility rooms to die.

Gianna was aborted 31 years ago by a saline abortion procedure.

Gianna testified for the federal Born Alive Infants Protection Act in 2001 and attended the presidential bill signing in 2002.

Born Alive passed on the federal level overwhelmingly. The abortion group NARAL even expressed neutrality on the bill, which passed unanimously in the U.S. Senate 98-0.

Barack Obama is such an abortion extremist, he has positioned himself to the left of the entire U.S. Senate and NARAL.

If it were up to Obama, Gianna would not be here today."

E-Mail

This morning Kylie suprised me when she told me she had to write her e-mail. So I was curious how she was going to do this because obviously she doesn't type on the computer yet. So I watched what she was doing and she promptly got out her paper and markers and wrote her e-mail. After she wrote all the letters she knew and then the words she knows hows to spell, Cat, Kylie, and No she said she was all finished with her e-mail! So now I know what 4 year old e-mail looks like.

Baby Girl #2 Doctor Appt (7Months)

Greg, Kylie and I went to my doctors appt last Friday. It was a routine visit, check the heartbeat (154 bpm), blood pressure, measurements and weight. I gained 5 pounds last month, I am up a total of 9 pounds total for the pregnancy.

I had to do my glucose test this time and I'm happy to say I passed it. I'm really not suprised but still happy. Greg got his blood typed becuase my doctor needed proof of his blood type otherwise I was going to have to have a RhoGam shot this week since my blood type is O-. Since Greg's blood type is negative also I do not need the shot since it isn't possible to have a baby with a positive blood type.

Kylie was mad that she didn't get a shot too since Mommy and Daddy each got one. I told Greg that I almost wished I had asked her doctor to order 2 of the shots to be done that day. That way there would only be 2 more to go for Kindergarten!

Just a couple more months to go and our new precious baby will be here! We are all so excited!!

Kylie's 4 Year Old Well Child Visit

Today I took Kylie to the doctor for her 4 year old well child visit. Her doctor was very pleased with her, she has met all of her developmental milestones up to 5 years old! He said there wasn't anything I really need to work on with her since she has met everything she needs to be doing at this point.

She was such a big girl at this appointment. She let them weigh her , which for some reason has been a problem in the past, she would not stand on the scale herself I had to hold her and then weigh myself without her and subtract - don't know what the deal was with that. She let the nurse measure her, which was an issue in the past because it required her to take off her shoes! Then once in the doctors office she sat up on the table all by herself and let the nurse take her blood pressure (she has never had this done before) and check her tempature.

When the doctor came in she did the same thing, sat up on the table all by herself. He looked in her ears, checked her heartbeat, and then had her stand and bend over so her could check her spine. She did everything herself. I sat in the chair and watched everything, totally amazed at how much she has matured in the last year. She answered most of his questions by herself too, which I was really impressed the her doctor made an attempt to talk to her and ask her the questions rather than me. She really liked that too!

She weighs 46.2 pounds putting her in the 97th percentile, this is the first time since she was 4 months old that she hasn't been in the 100th percentile! She gained 6 pounds from last year. She is 40 inches tall putting her in the 50th percentile, she has been in the 50th percentile since she was 4 months old. She has been very consistant. She grew 3 inches from last year!

I knew she had done some stretching out but didn't realize it was that much! All in all it was a good appointment. I found out though that next years appointment won't as much fun since she will have to have 4 shots just to go to kindergarten! That is crazy.

If you can breave, then you can See!

This is an orignal by Kylie. She sang me this song in the car on the way to swimming. She loves to sing and makes up songs all the time, this was one time I was glad I actually caught it on video!

CVS Deals 8/18

I'm so excited about the deals I got this week at CVS, the cashier even commented "that's some good shopping!" This is the best I've done so far - even beats lasts weeks Walgreens deal. Here is my deal:

Crest Toothpaste - 1.99 (3) -Earn $3 ECBs
Wet Ones (BOGO) - 2.99
Slim Fast Bars - 5.99 (2) - Earn $4 ECBs on the purchase of 2
Sunsilk Hair Care - $4.29
Airheads Candy (for Kylie) - $.79
Tic Tacs (for me) - $.89
Total $25.44 + tax

Coupons Used
Crest $1/2
Crest $.75
Slim Fast Bars $1.25 (2)
Sunsilk $1.5 (2)
ECB's 13.79
CVS Coupon $2/10

Total $2.37 including tax
Earned $7 ECBs
Total Saved including sale prices: $35.62 or 93.5%!

24 Weeks

Baby belly as of 24 weeks.

Baby Girl #2 Doctors Appt (6 Months)

Kylie and went to my doctors appt last Friday. It was a routine visit, check the heartbeat, blood pressure, measurements and weight. I gained 1 whole pound last month, I am up a total of 4 pounds total for the pregnancy. I asked my doctor if this was OK since I know I was much heavier with Kylie by this stage and he said he is happy; the baby seems to be doing fine, shes growing where he wants here to be, she's active (very active) and has a strong heartbeat. With all of that and as long as I'm eating and drinking enough water he's happy.

Speaking of her heartbeat while he was listening to it she kicked really hard. It even supprised him, he had just finished telling me her rate 146 bpm and as soon as she kicked her heartbeat just sped up. Kylie thought that was so funny, she ended up getting the giggles over it. Kylie laughing so hard made me start laughing which then my doctor thought was pretty funny so in the end all 3 of us were laughing over baby girls kick!

Next month is the glucose test which should go just fine, it did with Kylie anyway. I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going it seems like I just found out and now we are only a few short months away!

My Walgreens Deal

I'm so excited on the deal I got a Walgreens today! I've been reading a couple of different websites on how to use coupons effectively to get the best deal and these ladies are really good.

Here's my deal that I'm so proud of:

Prices before coupons:
Bic Pens Ultra Round Pens - 2/$1 (bought 4)
Scott Toilet Paper - $3.99
Extra Gum B1G1 - $1.19
Pepsi B1G1 - $1.49
Kleenex - $1.19

Coupons used, and price after coupons:
Bic Pens - 2 coupons for $1 off 2 (FREE!)
Scott Toilet Paper - 1 Mfg coupon for $1 off, 1 Walgrees coupon making it $1.99 ($.99)
Extra Gum - 1 Walgreeen coupon making the price $.59, and a B1G1 coupon ($.59 for 2!)
Pepsi - 1 bottle top B1G1 Free ($1.49)
Kleenex - 1 Walgreens coupon makinf the price $.89 ($.89)

Total before coupons: $12.54
Total after coupons & in-store sales: $3.99 including tax
Total Savings (including advertised specials): $15.14, 74% off!

I've always been a coupon shopper, tried to get the best deal I knew how but now that I'm armed with some really good information I can be a lot better!

Happy 4th Birthday Kylie!!!!!!!

My personal favorite!

Kylie you are 4 already! Where does the time go?! We love you so much and you bring so many joys to our life. You are going to be a big sister in a few months, and you are so excited (so are we).

You are going to go far in your life. You are a smart and beautiful little girl. Always know that Daddy and Mommy will love you forever. You are always going to be our best (we know what that means).

I found this poem at FamilyPoems.com about a father's love for his daughter:

I Am Yours To Keep
© Mike
You are a princess in my heart,

and I care for you so much.

I love the fondness in you eyes and your tender little touch.

I looked at you when you were born,

and knew then straight away,

that I would be forever here

to watch you grow and play.

You bring to me a heart of joy,

and memories so great,

and a powerful sense of fatherhood that no one can debate.

I watch you sleep and dream of things that I can only wonder.

That innocent look upon your face just makes my heart grow fonder.

I see you run and jump and shout and calling out my name.

No love that I have ever known could ever feel the same.

No suffering or tragedy nor deeply seated pain

could ever over shadow the bond that we retain.

And so my little princess before you go to sleep,

Remember I am your daddy and I am yours to keep.

I hope you have a very happy birthday, and remember you will always be our baby girl!

Love, Daddy & Mommy

Wordless Wednsday - Her Face

For more Wordless Wednesday pictures, click here!

Moving Baby

Lately I've been feeling out little one move quite a bit. She seems to be on the move, every so ofter during the day but mostly in the evening and especially when I lay down in bed. She is just as active as Kylie was, this may be an indication of things to come.

Last night when Kylie and were laying down in bed she got to feel her sister move. Baby girl was moving so much, she kicked/punched/bumped the same spot 3 times in a row. Kylie said she sure is a busy girl! Kylie was absolutely elated, she had to call Daddy and tell him what just happened! She was talking so fast to Daddy because she was so excited that he could hardly understand her.

She just cannot wait until her little sister is here. While she had her had on my belly she said, "This is just like holding my sister, I'm going to hold her when she is is out of your tummy too!" I had my had on top of hers so I could move it to here baby was moving and she said, 'Were holding her together, we're doing teamwork." All the while beaming from ear to ear.

It was so cute, she feel asleep with her had on my belly waiting for her little sister to move again...so precious.

Relaxing Weekend

This past weekend Kylie and I stayed home and did nothing! That is very unusual because usually I like to take Kylie somewhere to some kind of activity or at the very least go to the store. But on Saturday it was raining and I didn't feel like dealing with the rain and didn't have any real need to even go to the store. So we stayed home, I had a lot of things that needed to get done, the usual - laundry, dishes, normal household cleaning. Kylie was in such a great mood all weekend, I think she needed some down time too! She kept asking me what we were going to do or where we were going and everytime I told her we were staying home she just looked at me so puzzled - she's used to going SOMEWERE on the weekends.

On Sunday we went to church and home. Church service was nice, it's been a long time since Kylie has actually had to sit through the whole Mass. Our church has been doing Liturgy of the Word for Children since last April so she and I go to her Liturgy and then come back right before communion. So she has only had to sit for 15 minutes on either side of Children's Liturgy. She did wonderfully, she was quiet and played with her toys and colored pictures. She knelt when it was time and tried to sing some of the chants, I was so proud of her.

Thanks for the nice weekend Kylie!

3 year old knock knock joke

Knock Knock

Who's there?

Tooty

Tooty who?

Tooty fruity!

This is the joke Kylie made up today, I thought it was quite cute.

Broken Heart

On the way to Vacation Bible School yesterday Kylie and I had a very interesting conversation, it went something like this:

Mommy sometime mean people will break your heart

Your right

And sometimes mean strangers will break your heart too and thats not very nice

No it's not

But Daddy never breaks my heart and you never break my heart

Well that's good because Mommy and Daddy only want you to be happy and we never want to break your heart

When mean strangers break my heart that makes me sad and I don't like to be sad

I don't like when you are sad either

And someday mean boys are going to break my heart and that's beary mean!

Yes it is

And mean girls too!

Yep you are right, but Daddy and Mommy will be there for you when that happens

Thank you Mommy.

Apparently she's been really thinking about this subject and had to get this information off her chest.
__________________________________
Then this morning when I was taking Kylie to school we had to stop on the road to wait for some geese to cross the road and let me tell you - they were taking there time! Kylie thought it was neat to see all the geese and I told her we had to wait for them so we don't run them over. This is the conversation that followed:

We have to wait so we don't run them over, because that would be mean and we are not mean people

No were not

We are nice to other people and animals

Yeah because that would make them sad and hurt their hearts, you know geese have hearts too

Yes they do

I'm still a little bit sad about the squiral and the turtle that you runned over yesterday (that actually happened in the same day only it was about 3 weeks ago! - what are the chances she'd still remember it)

Yeah that's sad isn't it (said with a slight smirk and chuckle over the fact that she still remembers it)

Why you laughing?

I'm not, I'm smiling

Why you smiling then

Because I love you (I've just been called out by a 3 year old!)

Well that don't make a point!

Ahhh and she's only 3!

5 Months Along Doctors Appt

Today Kylie accompanied me to me and the baby's doctors appt. It was just a belly check, her heartbeat was 144 bpm. What was so funny about the appt was when the Doctor first found her heartbeat it was very loud, just as he was going to tell me her heartbeat rate she moved, then again, and again...she proceeded to 4 times before he finally was able to get her heartbeat rate! I told him that is exactly what she did during the ultrasound. He said that was normal because the intrument they use to get the image (I don't know what it is called) pushes into their territory and they don't like it. But usually the doppler doesn't bother them. I told him she is always moving doesn't seem to take too many breaks, of course that is a good thing that she is so active.

I asked Kylie if she heard the baby's heartbeat and she said "Yeah, but it was a little bit different because she kept moving so much." I think that is so cute how she really listens to the doctors comments. At one point he was asking me if I had any questions and Kylie shook her head no, I guess she thought he was talking to her.

He also said based on the ultrasound that the due date of December 2nd would stay the same. I was really hoping he would move it up and I tried to convince him to do it but he would not budge. He just said "it will stay the same but we'll hope for a November baby, which I kinda think its going to be." I took that to mean he really believes this one will be early too, just like Kylie. I hope I am and getting my hopes up and then it turns out she decides to be late, that would make me crazy especially since Kylie was 3 1/2 weeks early!

Playing Football

This past weekednd we went to visit Nana and Papa. It was Nana's birthday on Saturday (and Auntie Shawna's too!) so we celebrated all of our birthday's and our anniversary together with Nana and Papa. Nana made French Dip Sandwiches for us, they were very good! While we were there Greg and Brandon were playing Football. Kylie decided that football looked like a fun game to play so Daddy asked her if she wanted to play too. She could not miss out in the fun and joined them. They had so much fun, here is a video of her playing football and doing her touchdown dance at the end - too funny!

Ultrasound

Her Spine

Yesterday Greg and Kylie went with me to my Ultrasound appointment. It was just to check size and make sure the baby had all of it's organs it's supposed to have (which it does) and to see what the due date is. Well our due date when we walked in was December 2 and according to the Ultrasound it should be November 26, which is the day before Thanksgiving. I haven't talked to the doctor to see if he is going to change it on my file or not because he said if it was a week or more he would change it, and its barely a week so we'll have to see. We were asked if we wanted to know the sex of the baby when we got there and we told the technician only if she could really tell, if not we were fine with not knowing. I was absolutely convinced that it was a boy, I've had three dreams that said it was! However I am wrong we are expecting another little girl. Kylie is very excited that she is going to have a sister.

Then after the ultrasound was all done she said she wanted a brother too! I told her only one at a time but that maybe if Mommy and Daddy decide to have another baby it would be a baby brother, but she said "I don't want to wait again!"

She was so cute during the ultrasound she just kept watching the monitor. At one point the baby yawned and moved her hand and I told Kylie she was saying "Hi Kylie I Love You" Kylie's eyes sparkled and she grinned from ear to ear.

Saying Hi to Kylie and Daddy!

We are very happy with the outcome, she looks healthy and that is really all we asked for. We really didn't have a preference either way - just healthy. And Greg has called both kids now before we found out, I have been wrong both times!

Playing Games

Last night when Kylie and I were getting ready for bed it started thundering outside. Kylie asked me what the noise was and I told her it was thunder. She asked me what thunder was and I told her it was just Jesus playing games in heaven. This is the exchange between us that followed:

I think Jesus is playing with his friend Mary.

Is Mary is friend or his Mother?

She's his Mom but I think he's playing games with her because sometimes you play games with your Mom.

That thunder sure is loud.

I wish he would just stop playing games because I'm trying to sleep. (this was said just before she fell asleep)

I never heard it thunder again after she made the above statement. When I was telling Greg about what she said, he said "Well at least she knows how to get through!"

The Dentist - A Proud Mommy Moment!!

Today Kylie had a cleaning at the dentist. The last time we went was in November, she sat on my lap and only allowed them to clean one tooth. That's right - only one!

I have been telling her for a couple of days that she would be going to the dentist to get her teeth cleaned and checked. She seemed OK with in, maybe even somewhat excited. So today was the big day, I woke her up this morning and told her she was going to school and then I would pick her up and take her to the dentist and then back to school again. I told her she didn't even have to take a nap (which she was beyond excited about). When she heard the dentist she told me very matter of factly that she was going to sit in the chair like a big girl and I could just wait for her to be done!

And she did exactly what she said she was going to do. She sat in the chair alone, let them count her teeth, use the metal scratching device, brush her teeth with the electric toothbrush, even floss, and put fluoride on them! Then she let the dentist come in at look at her teeth through his funny glasses. I was so proud of Kylie. She was such a trooper. They gave her a prize and she has told everyone that would listen what a big girl she was, she is very proud of herself - and so am I.

Helping Jesus

Today as Kylie and were driving to school this was the conversation we had:

"Mommy, when you die you go to heaven and you get to help Jesus with all of his work."

"Your right"

"Then when all the Mommies, Daddies, Grandpas, Grandmas and the Kylies die they all get to be together again and they are so happpy to see each other!"

"Your not going to die anytime soon are you????"

"No only old people die, and I'm not old."

I guess in her mind since she's only 3 anyone that an adult must be old. I was quite taken aback by this conversation because it seemed like it came from no where. She was just sitting in her booster seat eating muffins and looking out then window. Apparently I was unaware that when she was looking out the window she must have been doing some thinking.

This is Kylie's first legible copy of her writing her name. She has been trying to write it for a while and it as never very legible, we are so proud of her! She has known how to spell it out loud it seems like forever. I believe she was about 2 when she learned how to spell it. I used to sing the song BINGO to her and change the name to KYLIE and it seemed to be really effective.

We are the Winners!!!

At Kylie's preschool they participated in Pizza Hut's Book It program for beginners. We (parents) were supposed to read to our children as often as possible throughout the months of March and April. We recorded the books we read to our children on little cutouts in the shape of the characters from the childrens show Maisy.

Every night Kylie and I read books before we went to bed. I would read the book to her and then she would "read" it back to me with amazing acurateness - even on books she had never heard before!

Well today when I dropped Kylie off, Mrs Cindy told me we were the winners! We read the most books in the 2 months that we participated in the program - a total of 120 books! I didn't realize how many we had read, I just knew it was quite a few. Kylie makes reading books easy because she loves to have them read to her, she will listen to as many as you are willing to read to her. I hope she keeps her love of reading as she grows up.

Fredrick Meijer Gardens

Kylie and I went to the Fredrick Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park on Saturday. They had a butterfly exhibt that I knew Kylie would like to see. She has been asking me all winter when she could go see the butterflies again - she saw them at a different exhibit last year and loved it! So when I told her we were going to see the butterflies she was so excited, little did she know it was going to be more than a 10 minute ride like last time. I wished we could have been outside more but it was so windy and cold that it made it somewhat miserable to be outside. Here are some pictures of our time at the park:

One of the many butterflies we got to see. They were in a large terrarium which was set at 85 degrees. I didn't get any pictures but they even had quails running around, they were just too fast for me!

Here is Kylie with the butterfly mascot, "Flutter". I am amazed she let me take this picture, she normally does not like costumes where the face is covered. She was very proud of herself after she took the picture!

This chandalier is even more amazing in person. Kylie even noticed it and thought it was 'cool'!

Kylie standing in front of the sculpture of Leonardi da Vinci's horse. She was amazed at how big the horse was!

The story about the sculputre.

She thought the gate to the childrens gardens was so neat, it was just her size.

She is looking at butterfly wings. They had a childrens activity center which had a sorts of different activities that they could try relating to the butterfly since that was the theme at the time. Everytime I see this picture I think she looks like she is older than 3!

She loves puppets!

More buildings in the childrens section of the gardens. They had lots of activites for outside and I feel bad she didn't get to do very many of them since it was so cold. But we are planning on going back when it is warmer.

A sampling of the exotic plants that were in the butterfly exhibit. By the way did you know a butterfly only lives for 2 weeks! I had know idea, I thought they lived longer than that.

April is Autism Awareness Month!

My family and I have been personally affected by this disease, my brother is affected by it. There is a lot of information about this disease at the following sites. I would encourage everyone to educate themselves about this disease so we can all be empowered. Knowledge is power.

Autism Society of America (ASA)
http://www.autism-society.org/

Autism Speaks
http://www.autismspeaks.org/

AutismLink
http://www.autismlink.com/

Autism Awareness Puzzle and Ribbon Clip Art
http://www.designbycher.com/autism_art.htm

ABA Resources for Recovery from Autism/PDD/Hyperlexia
http://http://rsaffran.tripod.com/aba.html

Guidelines: Identifying, Serving, and Educating Children and Youth with Autism
http://http://www.dpi.state.nd.us/speced/guide/autism.pdf

Mark Leland's Missing Pieces, a song for Autism
http://www.96seconds.com/frinkfest.html

The Charity Guide
http://www.charity-charities.org/

North Dakota Autism Center, Inc.
http://ndautismcenter.org/

Daddy you are Soooo wrong

Converstation between Daddy and Kylie:

Daddy yesterday you were sooo silly

Why was I so silly yesterday?

Because you said bees live in a nest but they don't, they live in a hive. You are soooo wrong!

The story behind the conversation is that two weeks ago we were in the backyard and heard a very loud bumble bee. Greg looked up and said that there must a big nest up near the roof somewhere. The fact that she thought about that for two weeks amazes me because we didn't even know she was paying attention - she was busy playing when he said it.

Wordless Wednesday - Playing at the Park

For more Wordless Wednesday pictures, click here!

Due Date

Well I went for my first appointment since finding out that we are expecting a new baby. Our official due date is December 2, 2008! We are so excited for this baby.

Kylie keeps saying there is a brother and a sister in Mommy's tummy. I hope her ESP is not working this time, this is one of those times I hope she is wrong. Twins are nice, but I just think we would be better with just one at a time. Almost everyday she asks if "the babies" are done yet and how big "they" are now? Notice all the plurals she has in her sentences....scary.

Anyway that is all the update I have for now. I'm so thankful that I really haven't been that sick, a couple of days but nothing to complain about that's for sure!

Enjoying Spring

Kylie was so excited to wear her skirt outside. She is posing for a picture for Daddy. She absolutely would wear a dress or skirt everyday if I would let her. Shew

Thinking about which flower she should pick next! As soon as the flower blooms, she is picking it.

Modeling her very cute skirt. She told Daddy when she was putting on "Now I'm going to be beautiful" And of course we agree with her!

Autism Awareness Video

Very moving video, with a lot of Autism facts.

Wordless Wednesday - Ag Days

See more Wordless Wednesday pictures here!