20 week doctors appt

I had my 20 week ultrasound today with a specialist to track the growth and development of the baby. I'm happy to report that despite all the complications we have had, our little guy seems to be growing beautifully. Everything is right on track and he was moving around so much that it was hard to get any good pics. Here are the few pics we were able to get.

Much to Dad's relief, the ultrasound tech confirmed, once again, that we are having a BOY! We can't wait to meet him.

Pregnancy Update

It's been over a month since I last posted news of our pregnancy and I wanted to give everyone a quick update on what's been going on. The wonderful news is that things have been moving along pretty smooth in the recent weeks.

While the complications aren't going away, we are pleased to see that nothing is getting any worse. We are blessed with wonderful friends and family who have been praying for us and this little guy. Thank you and keep it coming- we know it's working!

I am 20 weeks pregnant (halfway there!) and really started showing in the last few weeks. I've also been feeling kicking on a pretty regular basis. Yay! And the first trimester nausea and exhaustion is FINALLY over, which makes it a whole lot easier to chase around an active toddler.

We have a big ultrasound coming up on Wednesday and I'm sure I will have pictures and more news to post once we are done with that appointment. Thanks again for all the love and support!

Ella Swimming

Ella is barely even 2 years old and already and excellent swimmer. She must take after her Mom. :) Here is a short video with 2 clips of Ella in swim lessons this morning. She can swim from one platform to another without stopping or taking any breaths, although she does know how to stop and flip over on her back for a rest and a couple breaths if she wants to. It's hard to tell from the video, but the pool she is swimming in is about 25 meters and she is swimming a little over half the length of the pool on her own. WOW!

Ella singing

Ella showing off her singing chops earlier this week. She likes to make up her own songs and we frequently hear her up in her crib singing songs about various friends and family or events from the day. It's pretty funny. It's hard to catch her on video, so this is just a small sampling....

2nd Birthday Video

Here's a cute video of everyone singing Happy Birthday to Ella.

Santa Visit

Better late than never. He's a video of "Santa" visiting Ella on Christmas Day!

2 year checkup

New stats from Ella's 2 year doctor appt:

Weight- 30lbs 3oz (85%)

Height- 36 3/4in (>97%)

Head- 19 1/2in (95%)

Happy 2nd Birthday Ella!

Happy 2nd Birthday Ella! We can hardly believe it's been 2 years since you were born! It seems like yesterday and a million years ago all at the same time.

Ella really enjoyed her birthday and totally understood what was going on! It was so much fun! We practiced singing Happy Birthday and blowing out the candles for WEEKS leading up to the big day... and Ella didn't disappoint! (Video to follow...hopefully.)

We had a small party at the house on Saturday afternoon with a few of Ella's friends and our family. We had a blast and Ella can't stop talking about the balloons, birthday presents, and blowing out the candles.

We were blessed to have BOTH sets of Grandparents come into town to celebrate Ella's 2nd birthday. Ella is a very lucky girl!

It's a BOY!

Mark and I are happy to report that not only am I 13.5 weeks pregnant... but we found out last week that it's going to be a BOY .

We couldn't be more excited... especially Dad! :)

My due date is July 11th but we expect to deliver a bit earlier than that. We have experienced quite a few complications this time around and will be in the “high risk” category for the remainder of the pregnancy. We have been told to count on delivering early, so we just hope we can keep this baby from coming until at least May or June so he has a better chance of being as healthy as possible. Miracles happen every day and we know this little boy will be ours.

We’d appreciate all of you keeping us in your prayers and I will try to post regular updates.

Merry Christmas!

Mark, Ella and I spend Christmas in Florida with both my family and Mark's parents and Grandfather. We had a WONDERFUL vacation and didn't want to come home. Unfortunately I didn't take that many pictures.

But I did get a picture of Ella with "Santa." He made a surprise visit on Christmas day with some toys for Ella. See if you can tell who he is...

Another great picture from the vacation... my brother Tom, my Dad, and my cousin Sean in their new Snuggies (their gifts from our family White Elephant exchange).