Sensitivity

I ran to the Dr.'s office yesterday worried because I hadn't felt the baby move and wanted them to check the heartbeat, just in case. Everything is fine! :-) The Dr. was able to pick up baby's heart beat loud and clear with the doppler.

Sawyer was with me and he was so sweet the entire time. He could sense I was worried and kept reassuring me saying, "Everything's going to be ok, Mama. The Dr. will fix you." I couldn't get over how protective and caring he was toward me. My real life little 3 year old angel. His capacity to sense my feelings, even if he doesn't completely understand what's going on, never ceases to amaze me.

Also, while we were in the room waiting for the Dr. to come in, Sawyer told me to sit on the examining table so that the Dr. can check my belly. lol...

I am so proud of you Sawyer.

Love,

Mama

We're having a...

GIRL!!! Cliff and I found out Friday morning at our level 2 ultrasound. We are sooo excited about our new daughter, I can hardly stand it! The minute I saw my baby's face on the screen, I knew immediately she was a girl. Minutes later, it was confirmed! I am still in shock and won't totally believe it until she pops out. We're already 1/2 way there!

School Christmas Program

Sawyer's class had their Christmas program this past Tuesday, December 14th. It was so much fun to see him up on stage singing and performing! Cliff and I were beaming with pride the whole time. Before the show, we weren't sure how he was going to be on stage, whether he'd get stage fright, walk off stage, etc. But, he was fantastic! Sawyer was up front and center in the first row so we got a really good view of him. He sang all of the songs and moved his little arms and hands in tune. He wasn't shy at all and seemed to love having an audience. The entire show was hilarious! All of the kids were absolutely adorable and you could tell that they were all so proud of their performance!

Before the show started, the Director announced that everyone should stay seated in their seats during the performance and not stand up to take pictures so as to not block the people behind them. However, as soon as the kids started marching in to the tune of Jingle Bells, everyone stood up and cameras were flashing everywhere. lol

During the show several kids tried to walk away (as expected with 2-3 year olds), but the teachers quickly guided them back to their positions. You could tell they really enjoyed themselves and seemed to have fun.

The songs they sang were: Christmas Present, Away in a Manger, The Best Present of All, and We Wish You a Merry Christmas.

We decided to cut Sawyer's hair short. I liked the long hair on him, but I think I love the short hair even more!

Here they are marching in single file with hands on shoulders. They were so incredibly cute! The entire audience broke out in laughter.

Still sick, YMCA, Christmas Special

So I thought I was in the clear with the sickness, but apparently, it refuses to leave me. I'm still experiencing nausea, although mild and definitely nothing as intense as I experienced in the 1st trimester. It comes and goes throughout the day, mostly at night. It's manageable though and at least I can get things done now.

Cliff and I are dying to find out the sex of our baby. They can tell now, but since I have no medical need for an ultrasound, we have to wait several more weeks.

I did something I thought I would never do this morning. I canceled my YMCA membership! :-( I haven't gone in 2 months due to being sick, so I figured I'd cancel now and renew at a later time. The girls there were very sad to see me go and were shocked since they now how much I love going there. I also stopped by the Child Watch room and said my good byes to the ladies there. They asked about Sawyer and wondered why he hadn't come in so long. The Y has been so wonderful, a home away from home. I will miss them, but hopefully not for long.

Sawyer will be singing and performing on stage with his class next month at his school's Christmas Special! We can't wait to see this! He's been singing the songs at home and really getting into it. I'm going to try and catch it on video, if possible.

Big News

There's a good reason why I haven't updated this blog in so long. I'm pregnant!! I will be 14 weeks as of tomorrow.

The 1st trimester was horrendous. I was sick all day with full blown nausea, vomiting, and acid reflux so intense I was convinced my stomach and esophagus was going to get eaten up by the acid. I barely got out of bed and for awhile there, I didn't think I was going to make it. I never experienced this level of sickness during my pregnancy with Sawyer so it caught me completely off guard. The sickness finally ended all of a sudden, just like that this past Monday. I finally feel normal again. Thank God the 1st trimester is over and done with!

Cliff has been an absolute lifesaver through this entire ordeal! He has spent the last few months taking care of both me and Sawyer. He's been doing everything from cooking and cleaning to waiting on us hand and foot without complaining even once or making me feel guilty. The level of patience and wherewithal he has shown absolutely amazes me. I am so lucky and proud to have him as my husband. My mother-in-law, Judy also flew down for a week to take care of us so that Cliff could get a break. Thank God for Moms!

In other news, Sawyer started preschool this past September. It took him a couple of weeks to adjust, but now he's loving it! He goes 3 times a week, which is perfect. His favorite activity in school is circle time. He loves to sing and dance during circle time and really gets into playing instruments. He has always shown a high level of interest in music and I'm so excited to encourage this as he grows. His favorite toy for the longest time was plastic violin. He played that thing for months and would really get into it.

For Halloween this year, Sawyer dressed up as a cowboy. The costume belonged to Cliff when he was 3! It's full on 1970's vintage leather with chaps and all. lol

At first Sawyer didn't want to get into his costume, but then he saw kids coming to our door with their costumes on getting candy. He figured it out real quick and wanted to get dressed immediately after that. We had so much fun trick or treating around the neighborhood. There were a ton of kids out of all ages and a lot of our neighbors really went all out with decorating. We had so many trick or treaters come to our door that night!

We took Sawyer to get pumpkins 2 weeks before Halloween. Cliff and Sawyer carved them up once we got them home.

Memory, Grandparents, Good Times

We were at Publix today when Sawyer recognized a little boy from the Y. He kept yelling out, "Owen, Owen" and pointing to a little blond haired boy walking in with his Mom as we were walking out. He is so good at recognizing faces and names it surprises me sometimes.

Sawyer also seems like have a memory like an elephant. He remembers things that I've long forgotten that happened months before. We had a cobweb on the ceiling in the living room. When Cliff pointed it out, Sawyer told him to go to the garage to get a broom and clean it. lol.. He saw Cliff do this once 6 months ago. He also remembers events that happened a year ago. His brain is like a sponge right now soaking up everything around him. It's so exciting to see him grow into his own little person.

Grandparents were here visiting this past week. We really enjoyed having them here and Sawyer LOVED playing with Nani (his nickname for Grandma)! Every morning he would jump out of bed at 7:30AM and rush into the kitchen to find her. He loves Nani so much and was extremely upset when he discovered she'd left Tuesday morning. He asked me, "Where's Nani?" when he couldn't find her. I told him I drove her to the airport early that morning (5:45AM!) because she had to go home. He cried and said, "Please brush my hair and make me handsome. I want to go to the airport!" It broke my heart to see how sad he was.


While they were here, Cliff and I went out for the 1st time by ourselves without Sawyer! First time in almost 3 years! We went out to celebrate our friends Jen and John's last week in Florida. They moved to Indiana this past weekend. It felt good to be out like old times without having to worry about Sawyer because I knew he was in good hands! This is reason #2 out of 575 why living near family is so important!

Passports

Sawyer and I both got our passports in the mail last week! I decided to apply for them last month because I want to do some traveling. It's a little silly, but I am SO EXCITED about finally getting a passport. To most people, this means nothing. To me, it's a big deal for various reasons. Cliff already had a passport. As you can see from his picture, he has had his for a very long time! lol... He looks so young! Passports have changed a lot over the years because ours looks completely different than his.

Baby Weight

One year ago yesterday, I started on a weight loss journey. I had just stopped breastfeeding and decided it was finally time to reclaim my body. It took me a full year, but I finally did it! I am proud to say that I have lost all of my baby weight and then some. I am 12 pounds lighter than before pregnancy and more fit now at 38 than I ever was in my 20's! I am so proud of what I have accomplished! Total weight loss: 45 pounds!

I love cooking!

Dinner tonight was so delicious! I had an intense craving for bell peppers so I went to the Farmer's Market and bought yellow, orange, red, and green bell peppers. I only used orange and green in this dish along w/ asparagus, shrimp, onions, and garlic. Summer is my favorite season for veggies and fruit....just can't get enough!

Tar balls found at our beach!

Perfect beach weather today in South Florida! We decided to drive a bit farther today and spend the day at Delray Beach, a much bigger beach than our local one. Delray is about 10 miles from our house. The beach we usually go to is about 5. Here's the bad news. We discovered tar balls! :-( Cliff and I each had 1 stuck to our foot. I had a hell of a time washing it off!

Click here for more pictures from today.

Hair cut by Mom

I gave Sawyer a haircut today. It's not perfect, but I think it came out pretty good! Cliff says he has the same hairstyle as Dora the Explorer. hehe...

Box House

Cliff made this little clubhouse for Sawyer a couple months ago. So creative! lol... He even made room for Sawyer to stand up and look out the window.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all my wonderful Daddy friends! We spent our special day at the beach, our favorite thing to do! The beach is by far, the best thing about living in Florida! It makes us feel like we're on a permanent vacation.

Click here to see more pictures from today.