Big News!

I cannot believe it, but it has been two months since my last post. I promise we haven't fallen off the face of the Earth, but in some ways it does rather feel like we have! It has been an eventful couple of months to be sure.

Our biggest news is that we are having another baby! Jonathan is going to be a big brother and he is so very excited. Hopefully, he will continue to be this excited once the baby gets here!! Our new little one is due to arrive on April 24, 2010. Of course this date is fun to me as Jonathan was due on December 24th. Obviously the 24th is a good due date in our family! Jonathan came on the 21st, so we'll have to see if this little one comes then too. Mark and I are both very excited as well to have another little one and to have a little sister or brother for Jonathan.

Of course this pregnancy will tell you the reason I have been largely absent from my computer for the past three months. This pregnancy has been VERY different from the first one. Unfortunately, I have been very sick with lots of nausea and vomiting, all day, every day. We kept hoping it would subside by now, but unfortunately not so much. I am feeling better in the mornings, but afternoons and evenings are just not good. I just keep reminding myself that the end result will be well worth it!! Thankfully, Mark has been in town lately and has really stepped up to take care of me, Jonathan, the house, supper, and everything in between!! I am sure he will be glad when I do feel better. I have lost several pounds as of our last appointment. All you girls out there will understand when I say it was quite depressing -- The only time you get on a scale and DON'T want to have lost weight! Of course, I know I will as the nausea subsides, but still!! I wish this wasn't the diet that worked for me, ya know??

I am seeing the same OB as I did with Jonathan (Dr. Hubach) and we just love her. She is very calm and easy going, but very on top of things. As ya'll know, calm is not usually a word associated with me, so she evens out some of my craziness which is very nice. I am 14 weeks now and just so very thankful that things are going well. The first ultrasound at 9 weeks was just so precious as our little one was squirming around and you could see the little heart beating away. Jonathan never moved during that first ultrasound. Mark said we might be in trouble if this baby is a mover already!! We went back for another appt. at 13 weeks and got to hear the heartbeat at 154-158 beats per minute. We took Jonathan with us and he thought it was pretty neat to hear the heartbeat. Of course that was a little bit of an adventure for us trying to keep him still, so that may be his one and only visit with us!!

So much other stuff has gone on that it is hard to remember everything. Jonathan is really liking his new class at school. They sing fun songs in circle time and it is really fun to peak in the window and watch him doing all the hand signals and faces with the songs. He is also a BIG fan of being a 'helper.' They have a lunch helper, nap mat helper, line leader, weather helper, etc. He thinks it is pretty cool and loves to tell me all the helpers when he gets home.

We went on vacation over Labor Day and the next week. We spent the weekend in Gulf Shores with Mark's parents, sister, her boyfriend, and his little girl at the beach. Everyone had fun lying around the beach and being bums. The girls spent some time at the outlet mall but unfortunately we didn't come home with very much. (The joy/pain of being pregnant is that there is no point in looking at clothes for yourself). We left from there Monday and went to Pensacola for the rest of the week. We loved the condo we stayed at and had an absolute blast just hanging out as the three of us with no set agenda. We spent one day and saw the Blue Angels flight team due a practice set at their air base. It was fantastic and Jonathan absolutely LOVED it. They signed autographs afterwards which he thought was pretty cool as well. They have a wonderful naval air museum there that we spent the rest of the day at. The only down side of our vacation was how nauseous I was the entire trip. Did limit some of our dining out, but we still had a nice time. And Mark ended up with a sinus infection while we were gone as well. Luckily we were able to get him some drugs and he felt better after a few rounds.

The next weekend I flew to Dallas for one of my best friends from college, Liz's, baby shower. It was so much fun to catch up with her and be there as they get ready for their little one. Of course, I was sick most of the time, but that is just the underlying theme of everything right now. She and her husband have decorated this little girl's room so beautiful. I have to admit I have been thinking of copying some of it if this one of ours turns out to be a girl!! Little Madeline Grace was born this week and is just beautiful. Now I need to go back to Dallas to see her!!

The next Friday we took Jonathan to Alltel Arena to see Playhouse Disney. They had Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Little Einsteins, Tigger and Pooh, and Handy Manny there. Of course, that is ALL the kiddo watches on TV so he was in hog heaven. He had an absolutely great time and we bought him WAY too much stuff at the souvenir stands. We obviously need to go to Disney World!! I think half of Little Rock who has a child under five was there as well. It was hilarious how many people we ran into!!

I was supposed to scrapbook that weekend at Petit Jean but had to cancel as I felt so bad. I also canceled out the next weekend on my planned trip to New Orleans for Melissa's birthday. Being sick is no fun!!

We took Jonathan to the Johnston Pumpkin Patch in Greenbrier the second weekend in October. He LOVED it. Of course, it has done nothing but rain here for weeks on end, so the pumpkin patch was really more of a muddy mess. Thankfully, everyone was dressed for this so we just had a good time and didn't worry about it. They had a great petting zoo, a hay ride, jumpy houses, and of course...pumpkins!! Jonathan spent the entire time looking for Spookley the Square Pumpkin. If you have not read this book to your little ones, then BUY IT!! It is an awesome little story about a square pumpkin who is different from his friends but saves the day in the end. Jonathan loves this story and I love the underlying message. We didn't find a square pumpkin, but we did come home with a BIG pumpkin, a small pie pumpkin, a Cinderella pumpkin, several mini-pumpkins, and a few gourds as well. Can you tell that we get in to this whole holiday thing!! And that Mommy feels very guilty for having been so sick lately that she hasn't done much with her little man?

Mark spent last Saturday at the deer camp. He hunted with his muzzleloader but didn't have any luck. He saw quite a few turkeys, but of course AR canceled the turkey hunt this year. Poor Mark has the absolute WORST luck of any hunter I have EVER known.

Tuesday, the 20th, Jonathan had another outpatient surgery in OKC. This is all a continuation of the problems from when he was born. Hopefully, though, this will be the last surgery. This one was much shorter and less traumatic but still scary to watch someone put your child to sleep and know they are about to cut them open. He did very well though and they discharged him that afternoon. We spent the next day at the hotel in OKC and came home. Mark's Dad was able to come with us which was nice to have the extra help. I, of course, threw up the entire time, so we were very glad someone was there to help Mark out. Jonathan has done very well and is just a little tired and sore. We go back on Monday for a check up and to get the stitches out. We are so very thankful for God's healing of Jonathan's body now and over the past three years. God has been so infinitely good to our family. It has definitely been a test of patience and faith but it is nice to see the fulfillment of the promises He has given us. We are also so very thankful that God led us to Dr. Kropp and that God has guided him in how best to care for Jonathan. Thank you to everyone for praying for him. We know just how much each of those prayers mean to our family.

Next Saturday is Halloween and I hope we will be ready. Jonathan is going to be Handy Manny and I have pieced his costume together but he hasn't tried it on yet! I really need to work on that soon!! I do love this little boy and enjoying things like Halloween with him are just such a joy to me.

I know this post has no pictures. I will try to add some soon. Half of them are on my computer, half on the server, and half are still on the cameras. Just thought an update would be a good start. Thanks for checking in with us. I hope that each of your families are doing well.