Family Living: Abbott Style

Long story short.  5 days ago, we went in for an ultrasound.  We found a heart beat, but the thing was tiny.  So he wanted a second looks by the ultrasound specialist. * Sprinkle some miracle grow.... * And today, only 5 days later: A baby!!!!!! I saw a head and little tiny arms and little tiny eggs.  And the most beautiful heart beating.  Oh it was such a magical moment.  And all the stress and the worry just washed away from me.  You can see that it is still attached to the little yolk sac which is making sure it has plenty to eat and grow.  It was beautiful.  There is a HUGE difference between those two pictures. HUGE.   So. She measured my little person and it is putting me right about 9 weeks.  +/- 5 days.   According to my cycle I am 9w5d.  So that is perfect.  Going into the appointment, I thought the best I could hope for was 7w almost 8w.  But 9 weeks is amazing....

Sometimes too much information is a bad thing.  Thanks to the internet, I know way more about pregnancy than any pregnant woman ought to.  And now I wish I didn't.  I wish I could take a doctor 'at his word' and take things at face value and ignorantly go on in a blissful pregnant state of being.   Let me rewind.  Running two blogs gets me a little messed up sometimes.  If this is the first you have heard of my pregnancy, you might want to start here:  Pregnancy: Take 2 Alright, so here is where we are at today.  There are many different ways you can guess how far a long you are. The most common being based on your cycle.  According to my cycle I am 9 weeks.  Right of the bat, I can say--no way is that possible.  I know, almost for a fact that I ovulated late.  I didn't get a positive pregnancy test until 8 or 9 days after my missed period.  And it was REALLY faint.  So that puts me at most, maybe 8 w...

A new session has arrived.  A few nights ago, I converted the crib to a toddler day bed.  Toddler.  Because I have one of those.  Not a baby, but a toddler. This is nothing new, but it just seems official now.  She isn't a baby anymore. She is handling it fairly well.  The first night was a rough start, but since then she has gotten the hang of it.  I'm actually kind of shocked that she stays in bed and calls for me when she wakes up rather than just get up.  Actually, I take that back, she did get up on her own this afternoon after nap time.  She pulled out all her shoes and was sitting in the middle of her room surrounded by shoes. Esh.....now potty training is a whole different challenge.  I don't want to think about it right now.

Recently, we were lucky enough to escape the cold snowy weather in exchange for some family time with my grandparents down in South Padre, Tx.   This is the type of weather we left behind (and came home too) Heated pool, steps away from our condo back door.   We used VRBO to find our condo at a great deal.  It was beautiful.  Two bedroom, two bath, full kitchen and two living areas.  AND cheaper than a hotel.  It was perfect and truly felt at home.  Haley and great-grandma were great buddies.   Played at the park Played in the sand Played in the water.  Brrr it was COLD Tried to SWIM in the ocean.  Girl was trying to strip naked. Ate a lot of delicious food Enjoyed the beach Went for a beautiful walk and saw what the island had to offer Entertained everyone Went to the zoo, hands down the BEST zoo I have ever been to! With her newborn I have soo many p...

At some point in the last month, I looked over and saw my baby girl for what she is. A toddler.  Obviously I get reminders daily.  I think  they call it something like the "terrible twos" maybe.  I joke.  Because she really isn't that bad.  She is spirited, and I have learned to embrace it.  She is vocal, and I love it--even if she is screaming and screeching  I say this with caution:  I am hitting my stride here. I am finally feeling like a mom.  I am finally feeling like I know what I am doing.  I finally feel like I have SOME control   The newborn stuff is cute and all--but this toddler stuff is where it's at for me. The thing for me, is that I work better with little humans that have some form of reasoning.  She is starting to understand cause and effect in a bigger way.  She is starting to understand "choices".  Don't get me wrong.  She tests daily.  But I don't find ...

You know what drove me nuts before I had a kid?  When people referred to their toddlers as XX amount of months.  Anything over a year really.  In my mind, a 1-year-old is a 1-year-old & a 2 year-old was a 2-year-old.  Everything in-between was all the same. But here I am, I have a 20-month-old daughter.  Because when they are this little, every month matters.  There is a big difference between 12 months, 18-months, 20-months, and 24-months.  There just is.  I decided after she turns two I will probably stop counting by months.  I will just say, I have a 2-year-old.  But then again, I am not there yet.  Number 1 rule in parenting: All bets are off. But today marks Haley's 20th month of life.  She is a third of a year away from being 2.  I say it that way, because 4 months seems like such a short amount of time and I am having difficulties comprehending that I will be having a 2-year-old soon. ...

I am emotionally and physically drained.  It stands to reason as my body's attempt to bring us child number two ended in  miscarriage .  I am doing well and am at peace with this loss that occurs frequently in the whole baby making process.  Despite my best attempts to talk myself out of the emotions, I still find myself feeling that sense of loss.  But again, rationally, I understand these things happen.  And often.  And probably for a good reason. But we move forward.  Regrettably, Ian has been so busy at work we haven't had time to really process together.  And then my mom has been in Texas attending to my grandfather who is also having some health issues.  I miss my mommy and I want my grandpa to be better!!!  So my broken heart, is being healed by this face here: Haley had been fighting the worse cold and respiratory problems; therefor, she has been in a funk for awhile.  But suddenly--my healt...