Aiden's wish for the night

Aiden was getting out of the bath tonight and stood in front of my mirror flexing his muscles (naked of course... is this a guy thing??)  He turned to me and said "Mommy, I sure wish I had some purple pants, green skin and black hair because I am feeling a little bit like the Hulk!" 

 

I would have loved to have a picture but that of course that would have been inappropriate.  He does know how to end my night with a good laugh.  

Baseball season has begun...

We have now had a few weeks of baseball practices and so far, we have all survived.  I don't think we are ever at home now but the boys are having a blast and learning a lot.  Ethan is now in the minor league and his coach is very knowledgeable so we can already see progress.  We are excited to see how much he learns by the end of this season.  Aiden is learning the basics at this point since this is the first year for him.  It has definitely helped him by watching his brother for the last 2 years.  He does know where the bases are and the object of the game which is more than some of the other kids on his team (but that is what makes PeeWee so cute!).  However last night at practice, he was playing pitcher's helper and he caught the ball... his reaction was to (as we like to say/sing in our house) throw his hands in the air like he just dosen't care, then do a little victory dance and topped it off with a big thumbs up to Mommy and Daddy.  After a good laugh, we explained that the play isn't over just by getting the ball, he actually has to throw it to the base to try and get the other player out.  Gotta love that little guy!!

Ethan at practice

Ethan taking a hit

Aiden learning to hit  

Aiden playing 3rd base.  He wanted to make sure the base didn't go anywhere! 

Beach day

The weather was beautiful on Saturday so the boys and I headed to the beach.  This was our first beach day of 2011.  The weather felt great and the boys actually got in the water.  I thought they were crazy because the water was freezing and they thought I was just afraid.

Team work... 

Ethan chasing the seagulls... or some might think his "Baywatch" run

Trying out the water 

The boys had a blast and I was able to sit and relax.  Overall, this was a wonderful Saturday and hopefully we get to head to the beach more often in the coming weekends.

Isabelle's new outfit

This is Isabelle's first monogrammed outfit purchased by Mimi...

Isn't this the cutest?!?  I love all of this personalized stuff.  Monogramming wasn't around much when I had the boys (although I am not sure if boy's where monogrammed items?) so this is all new to me.  I love it!!

And yes... Aiden is still insisting on having a Mohawk each day for school (he says it is his new look!).  We will be visiting Papa really soon to get his haircut shorter if the Mohawk look is going to last.

Devotional

As stated in some of my previous few posts... I have struggled the last few days with some of the same emotions that I thought I had already dealt with and overcome.  I guess you can go through an emotion and get past it only to have it visit you once again.  These last few days, I have felt like I have been grieving all over again then worrying about our future which then turns into stress.  But I have also found that right in the middle of grieving and worrying, I have moments of happiness and longing to meet this little baby that has already changed our lives.
My mom reminded me to get back into my devotional (this book has seemed to relate to whatever I was going through at that particular moment.)  So, of course, I obeyed my Mom and read my devotional after work and it hit me square between the eyes and put me back in check

Jesus Calling- Sarah Young: February 15th
Come to me with all your weaknesses: physical, emotional, and spiritual.  Rest in the comfort of My Presence, remembering that nothing is impossible with Me.
Pry your mind away from  your problems so you can focus your attention on Me.  Recall that I am able to do immeasurably more than all you ask or imagine.  Instead of trying to direct Me to do this and that, seek to attune yourself to what I am already doing.
When anxiety attempts to wedge its way into your thoughts, remind yourself that I am your Shepard.  The bottom line is that I am taking care of you; therefore, you needn't be afraid of anything.

Week 24- High Risk appointment

Baby Isabelle @ 24 weeks

Today's appointment was quite an adventure to say the least!  We got in right away which was nice since these ultrasounds are very long.
We started off with the ultrasound to get Isabelle measured and of course she didn't want to cooperate again.  I wonder if this means that she is going to be stubborn.  We were able to see her move her mouth like she was trying to tell us something very important and then laying back with her hands behind her head just chilling.  She definitely is a character!
The Ultrasound tech tried many times to get all of the shots she felt the doctor would need to do his full assessment.  She would get all her shots, clean the gel off and then leave the room only to return a few minutes later and need to get "just one more shot". After the 5th time, I began to get nervous.  What was so important they needed to see that they couldn't have seen within the first hour of the ultrasound???
(Just to explain a bit...I have been an emotional basket case these last few days so at this point, I was hanging on by a thread, praying that I wouldn't lose it.)
At last, the doctor came into the room to look over all of the shots of Isabelle.  At first, we got a great report.  He felt that everything was looking good.  He did mention that the bowels show a little bright on the ultrasound and she does have some fluid in her abdominal area but it was nothing to worry about.  He said that these areas are looking better each time so he is confident that they will continue to correct themselves by the time she is born.  He requested (using his doctor terminology, of course) the Ultrasound tech get some additional shots of her brain.  Again... I questioned in my mind, what are they looking for???  So, after another 20 minutes, she pulled the doctor back in and he quickly told her to get us set up in the consultation room and make us comfortable.  What?!?  This is not something we want to hear at this point.   I can't handle any additional bad news!
Our initial appointment- week 16- came flooding back to me where we were told that Isabelle had a heart defect and possible DS and that she might not even make it through the pregnancy.  The doctor said that there were just too many things stacked against her at this point.  We felt like we weren't given much hope.  I vividly remember the nurse peaking around the doctor to see what my reaction was to this news.  The only thing was... that I don't think I had a visible reaction.  At that time, my world just stopped.  I couldn't grasp what he was telling me and I just wanted to run.  So today, those feelings came back.  I needed to get some fresh air but all I smelt was a hospital room and I couldn't breath.  Why was this happening to us again?  Why did we have to get more bad news?  Hadn't we heard enough?
To drag out the suspense of what the doctor had seen and possibly torture us just a bit longer... he wanted the tech to try and look one more time at her brain and get some additional measurements.  After much anticipation, we finally found out that they were trying to measure the blood flow to her brain.  During the first few shots, the blood flow showed very low but Isabelle was also laying head down and in an awkward position.  The tech was having a very difficult time getting an accurate shot of her entire head.  During that last ultrasound, the tech said "finally... Isabelle has moved to give me a better shot."  She took the new photos to the doctor and then came back and said "false alarm... Isabelle is fine." This was great news but at this point, I had gotten myself so worked up that I needed to just get out of there fast or I was going to breakdown in their office. 
All of the running around and additional ultrasounds were because the doctor thought that she was showing anemic and with that, we would have had to go through some additional testing which could have been invasive.  From our understanding, they would have had to go in and take blood directly from Isabelle and have it tested.   I am not sure what would have happened if she were truly anemic but thankfully, we will not have to find out.
I am going to have to give Isabelle a very stern talking to when I see her.  She needs to cooperate a little better for our doctor's appointments.  Mommy can't handle anymore scares like today.

Aiden's Valentine wish

So this is what Aiden wanted for Valentines...

A Mohawk!!
This is Daddy's creation and our boy went to school with a huge smile on his face.  Now... my question is, who is he trying to be cool for at school?  Is there a little girl that I need to have a little talk with???
At this point, I am enjoying the fact that I am my boy's Valentine.  I would like to keep it this way for a few more years!  I am not looking forward to the girlfriend stage and would think that we have quite a few more years before this starts. 
Happy Valentine's boys!! Mommy loves you!