That's My Man

24 weeks

Before I start I have to include a couple more of Ava's sayings:

• When she wakes up in the morning she yells "mommy I awake!  mommy come get Ava out of my crate!"
• Yesterday Steve gave her a mint from a restaurant and she gave it back to him and said "Daddy I need piece, Ava can choke on that"    (good to know she listens to mommy :)

I had my 24 week check up yesterday.  Baby's heart rate was 146 bpm and she was measuring exactly 24 weeks so we are right on target.  I was concerned I had gained too much weight, but they weren't concerned and said I was fine.  With the holidays and all of the candy that is being brought in from work, I just knew I was going to get a lecture.  I also had several questions and concerns that I wanted to run by them.  They checked everything out and I was all clear.  Such a relief!!  My next appointment is in 4 weeks and it's my glucose diabetes test.  After that I start going every two weeks.

In other news Steve was at the Grocery store yesterday and saw his picture on the cover of Bow and Arrow hunting magazine!  We didn't even know!  There is a picture of him inside with a story on giant mule deer.  I will post it soon.  I asked him when we are going to start making money on this expensive hobby of his.  haha!

We are all off and Ava is out of school for 2.5 weeks!  yay!!!  Couldn't be happier.  We got a call that our baby furniture is in so we should go pick it up soon.  I can't wait to see it all set up.

More Ava-isms

Some funny stuff Ava says:

All of belts are called Seat belts. "Daddy put his seat belt on his pants"
Shrek is Train Tracks
Oranges are Earnest
The bobcat daddy shot is a kitty bob
Fruit snacks or gummi bears are bear gums
Burt from sesame street is Burp
Sesame Street is Musha Street
Diego is Dewaygo
When we say it's time to go to bed she says "no I already take a nap"
When I go to change her night diaper in the morning she tells me "no mommy it's not loaded, it's dry"
When I ask her if she wants something she now says "uuuuuummmm I don't tink so"

Granddad ordered onion rings last night and Ava reached over and took a bite of it.  She gave it back to him and said "I don't yike that donut granddad"

Ava told Granddad she needed to go poopie so he ran her to the potty but she didn't make it.  When she saw it in her pull up she said "oh crap"

Asked Ava where daddy was and she said "he's huntin" when asked what he was going to do while "huntin" she said "shoot a big butt" and "he's gonna kill a big snake!"

When we got new drapes in the bedroom Ava said "oh I yike those grapes"

When her nose is all stopped up she says "mommy I need a wipey, I have boogers"  snort snort.

Playing with Biscuit and Magnum, Biscuit was being uncooperative as usual so Ava pointed her finger and shook it at her saying "Be nice Biskit!  You need a spankin on your hiney!"

Today when we left the movies she said "mommy you yook so cute"

Ava's Message from Santa

A Message to Ava from Santa

Click on the link above to watch what Santa sent to Ava today!

Want his Autograph?

Steve made a hunting magazine spread for his prize winning monster mule deer he shot last year in Colorado!

Seriously when he sent this photo to me after he shot it, I thought it was a joke.  I was sure he had photo shopped this!

 

 

 

Deep Thoughts

 

22 Weeks

I am feeling a ton of movement now from the baby and Ava is noticing mommy has a belly.  Tonight we were sitting in her room and the baby was kicking and Ava said "Mommy!! Your belly is moving!!"  She was so excited.  When people ask her where her baby sister is, she picks up her shirt and shows them her belly button.

We have started the Elf on the Shelf with her.  We named him Henry after my dad and each morning Ava goes looking for him.  The elf sits somewhere in the house and watches Ava to observe her behavior and then each night when she goes to bed he flies to the north pole and gives Santa a naughty or nice report.  He is always back by morning when she awakes and is sitting in a new spot.  She loves to go looking for him and screams when she finds him.  It's just precious!

Black Friday..Love it!!

Well the baby now has furniture!  Everyone keeps asking me why we need a new crib and why we don't just use Ava's.  4 Reasons:

1. She's still in her crib and likely will be until after the baby arrives.
2. She chewed it up like a little Beaver and although we love Ava's teething artwork, we would hate to give the baby a chewed up nub of a crib.
3. We came from a two bedroom house, therefore we don't have extra furniture and would have to buy a new set for Ava anyway so either way we were buying furniture.
4. Ava's furniture set is convertible and was purchased to grow with her.  It converts to a toddler bed and then a full-size bed.  She is set and will have that furniture until she moves out (which hopefully is never :)

So with that being said...Steve and I shopped a while for Ava's and have done quite a bit of window shopping for this one so we know what is a deal and what isn't.  Today I walked into Babie's first furniture with the hopes that I might find a good convertible crib and dresser for the baby for a good price.  I not only found a crib and a dresser for a GREAT price (I'm talking over 50% off people!), but it also came with the hutch that goes over the dresser AND a mini chest with changing table on top!  Woo hoo!!!  I couldn't buy furniture at Target or Wal-mart for the deal I got today.  Not only did I get a lot of furniture but I got a set made by one of the top of the line manufacturers and I got the last one in stock!!  The mommy behind me had to buy the floor model.  I walked out of that store with a smile on my face and knew Steve would be proud.  Called him immediately and he was pumped!    This set is also convertible and will grow with her.  I got it in Vanilla color.  

Like I said....I love black friday!

Fun with Ava

This past weekend little Trent turned 2!  He had a fun cowboy party at a local restaurant that also has a play area and a petting zoo for kids.  Courtney also had a jump house for all of the kids to play in. They had a blast!  The party was at a great time in the evening and as soon as we got home Ava conked out for the night.

wearing her cowboy hat and eating with cousin Tyler

 Walking the pups with Dad

 Riding her "new bicycle" that Steve's work buddy gave us

 Feeding the very aggressive horse at Trent's party

 me and my preggo cousin Christine :)  She's due in late January.

 jumping with cousin Tyler

 Ava and Ethan being shy- You have cooties..no you have cooties

 The Birthday Boy!!

Belly Shots

12.5 weeks

20 weeks

20 weeks

Steve, Ava and I went in on Friday for my 20 week ultrasound.  We were excited and nervous as this is the the most important ultrasound!  They checked all of her anatomy/organs to make sure everything was developed and functioning properly.  We are happy to report that everything looked beautiful!  She was extremely active during the scan and kept crossing her feet at the ankles.  I don't think she liked the sound of the ultrasound waves because she also kept covering her ears with her hands.  She was measuring 13 oz and about 20 wks and 5days.

I made the news!

Our firm was named the #1 Top Workplace among small companies in Houston! The article was in yesterday's Sunday paper. Of course the office is all a buzz and we are super excited and proud of our firm.
The rest of the Article can be found here: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/topworkplaces/7260578.html

In other important news....Baby girl is doing great!  I have felt regular thumping from her for several days now and I'm so happy.  Feeling a baby move in your tummy is the best feeling on earth.  We have our big ultrasound next Friday and I can't wait!  Yesterday Courtney asked Ava if she was having a baby sisser and Ava said "no" but then I asked her where her baby sister was and she said "it's in your belly button"  LOL, Courtney and I were laughing at that response.  We are just working on what to name this precious child.  It must be equally as beautiful as Ava's name so that's tough!

or a future fly girl?

What cracks me up the most is now when she dances she says "I shakin what mommy gave!"

The future Carrie Underwood...

Pebbles Flintstone

Ava starts shaking her booty anytime she hears a tune, but she really loves her new nursery rhymes DVD.  Here's a sample of some of her moves...

Movement :)

I am now feeling movement.  If had not experienced this once before with Ava, I would not even realize it's movement I feel, but I do!  I know it's her because it's right where they found her heartbeat on Wednesday.  It's not even the butterfly feeling but the rolling feeling I would feel with Ava.

When Steve picked Ava up on Wednesday from School, her teacher said that Ava has been very fussy and sensitive the last week or so and it is unusual for her.  She said that Ava will get upset at the smallest thing and then asked Steve "Is your wife by any chance expecting?"  and Steve said "yeah she is!" and her teacher said "I knew it!  I was telling the other teacher Miss. Nicole that her mother must be expecting.  She said as long as she's been doing this, she can always tell when the mother is expecting because the children start acting different. She doesn't know what it is, but it's like the sense something is coming.  She suggested we be sure to involve Ava in everything that we can.  Yesterday I went and bought her a big sister book and we read it last night and talked more about the baby coming.

16 Week Check-Up

Well baby girl is doing just great!  I went in today and her heartbeat was 165 bpm, her down syndrome and Trisomy results came back and we are very low risk of any of those..yipee!  Today I had my flu shot and more blood work.  I get poked every time!!  Supposedly my thyroid levels were a little low last time so they are checking it again just for precaution.  No big concerns though.  I’m still not feeling movement, although the last few days I think I may have felt some flutters, so maybe soon!

Next appointment is Friday November 19th and it’s the big 20 week anatomy ultrasound J  So we will confirm that we do indeed have a hot dog bun and no wiener J  ha-ha. 

As for mommy, I am so so so happy to report that I am feeling much much better!  I think we have finally made it through the morning sickness phase of pregnancy and I’m feeling great.  In other good news, my doc said I could stop the lovenox injections and start the baby aspirin.  Another annoying thing I don’t have to worry about, no more nightly shots in the tummy.

I am now in the stage where I’m showing and my regular clothes don’t fit, but most of my maternity clothes that I had before are still too big.  So today I’m looking a little ridiculous in my overly baggy clothes, but what can ya do.

Dewberry Farm -Picking Pumpkins!

Yesterday we took the doodle to Dewberry Farms and we had so much fun! The weather was great, not too hot and Ava had a blast. She got to run around, dance, feed the goats, get too close for comfort to some very nosy Geese, and pick her pumpkin. On the way home she said "I have fun! I pick punkin, I feed go-eets!" It was a fun little family day and I can't wait to go back next year with our two girls :)

This slide was literally a pain in the rear!

Ava and Daddy on her very own computer

reading on the potty

she loves putting daddy's socks on

Ava's Halloween Costume

I just ordered Ava’s Halloween Costume, I’m so excited! She and Trent are going to dress up as Pebbles Flintstone and Bam Bam Rubble J I got her the hot pink and purple version. I can’t wait to see her all dressed up, she is going to look so precious!

Because I feel like I need to document all of the cute stuff she says, as I know I will one day forget…

Ava stayed with Grandmother and Granddad for a few hours on Saturday while I went to the Scarecrow Festival with my mom and Step sister. While she was there Granddad was digging holes for a fence. When I got there Grandmother pointed to the big machine “hole digger” and said Ava tell mommy what that is and Ava said “ a digger hole. It won’t hurt Ava” While I was there Granddad was hammering away on the fence and Ava was giving him orders and interrupting him to open the gate for her over and over again so she could transport her “baby pumpkins” in and out. Of course being the sweet granddad that he is, he obliged every single time and never got frustrated with her. When we got home I had Ava in the tub and she picked up one of her toys and started banging it loudly on the side of the tub and said “look I working on sumting like Granddad!”

Grandmother also asked Ava if mommy was having a baby and Ava said “yes she is” and when Grandmother asked her what mommy was having Ava said “a baby sisser”. So she is way more perceptive than we give her credit for!

Last week I put broccoli on her plate and said “Ava eat your trees” and she said “no, that’s not tree that’s broccowi” like get it right mom! Then that night we went to put her to bed and she stopped me before I could get into her room, gave me the hand and said “no not you mom, it’s daddy turn”

As for me, I seem to be feeling much better! The last two Monday’s have been a little rough but all of the other days and today have been pretty easy. I’m so happy when I’m feeling better. Now I’m at that stage where I’m analyzing every detail and worrying to death. My tummy hasn’t grown since last week, I don’t feel movement, I feel better…I’m nervous!

I have an OB appointment next week and can hardly wait to hear her heartbeat.

Updates

My doctors office called yesterday to tell me that my 1^st trimester scan from last week looked good. All of my results for Downs Syndrome and Trisomy 18 etc were normal. Great news! The only concerning thing was that they said I have a low lying placenta and we’ll have to watch it. Most of the time it corrects itself as the pregnancy progresses so I’m praying that it does. Other than that, my nausea is still there but has decreased a little bit which is great news! I’m still super tired and not feeling 100% but I think I may be on my way to that 2^nd trimester energy I keep hearing about!

As for my little doodlebug, she just continues to make us laugh and amuse us with her little personality. She absolutely loves watching Clifford the big red Dog in the evenings after bath time. It’s her new favorite thing. Every evening it’s “I watch Clifford!” When we drive to school in the mornings she’s now started requesting I put Bye Bye on so that she can dance (NSync’s Bye Bye Bye). She gets so excited and dances her little hiney off while yelling bye bye bye and waving her hand.

A few new Ava-isms:

This morning she saw a motorcycle on the road and she said “Look mommy it’s bicycle motor!”

This afternoon on the way home she told me "mommy my pickle hurts" I said "your pickle hurts?" She said "yes my pickle hurts" I said "show mommy where your pickle hurts" and she held up her foot and pointed to her ankle! I said "oh your ankle hurts" and she said "yes my ankle hurts" as if that is what she was saying all along.

Every evening I watch her on the baby monitor and she’s laying in her bed singing her ABC’s but we crack up because at the end of her ABC’s instead of singing “now I’ve sung my ABC’s next time won’t you sing with me” she says “Now I wonder what you are, up above the world so high” LOL since twinkle little star and the ABC’s are the same tune she gets the two confused.

When we are on the way home we get to a certain landmark, it's a restaurant on a corner and when we get close to the restaurant she says "Almost home!" She did the same on the way to grandmother and grandad's even though she hadn't been there in a few months. Smart girl!

Pictures to come soon!

The Results Are In...

Baby Hendrickson #2 - In the making!!

12 week profile pic- already pouting about something. Little hand over face.

my little legs and feet

That's right we are expecting our 2nd child due April 6, 2011!! Ava is going to be a big sister!! I'm 12 weeks today and had a great ultrasound this morning so we are excited to finally tell the world the good news. Start placing your bets on the sex, because we find out next week if what we are having!


Here is a journal I kept for the 1st trimester of pregnancy:


4 weeks- Found out the day after Ava's 2nd birthday that we are indeed expecting another baby! I started my lovenox (blood thinner) injections immediately. We decided that after 3 previous miscarriages, we were going to wait until 8 weeks to schedule our first appointment this time. We just couldn't take another go round like the those times where we went in at 6 weeks and the heart beat was slow and they would say "oh well it just started beating, let's give it a week" or "maybe your dates are off, come back in 2 weeks" and then we suffered through a week or two of not knowing if the baby was healthy or not. So this time we decided that I'm doing everything I possibly can to keep this baby healthy and we should know for sure at 8 weeks if the hear beat looks good and if the baby is growing adequately. 5 weeks- nothing new, feeling fine, just have a very bruised sore tummy from the injections.
6 weeks- either I've had way too many cheeseburgers or something because I'm already looking a little porky. Vow to eat much healthier! No morning sickness yet, just a little nausea and a nasty cold.
7 weeks - my dad passed away and it's all I can think about, I'm completely consumed with grief. I never even got a chance to tell him I was pregnant. We were waiting until after our first ultrasound at 8 weeks to tell family. I'm feeling nausea but I don't know if it's nausea or overwhelming sadness. Family does not know I'm expecting, but probably better as they would all just worry to death.
8 weeks- Great ultrasound!! The little gummy bear had a 161 bpm heart rate and looked GREAT! We are so relieved. Nice to have some good news after last week.
9 weeks- Absolutely miserable with all day morning sickness. Can barely function I feel so terrible. Nausea medicine isn't even making a dent. Starting to share the news with family members. Thanks to stupid facebook, it got leaked before we could get to everyone personally. NOT happy about that!!! I seriously thought about deleting my account after that.
10 weeks- Still sick as a dog and absolutely miserable.
11 weeks- Another rough week with sickness. Imagine being hungover all day every single day for 5 freaking weeks!!! Bright Side: Must mean my body is working in overdrive to keep this baby healthy and happy.
12 weeks- GREAT ultrasound!!!!!!! Baby looks great and I am one relieved mother. HB was 166 bpm.

Gigi and Papi's visit

Ava's Gigi and Papi came down over labor day weekend to visit for several days. Now that we have more space they were able to stay with us and get to see Ava in action all day every day. They got to read her bed time stories and put her to bed, play with her, and do all kinds of fun activities with her. It was a great weekend and lots of fun had by all. We were sad to see them go home. :(

After lunch at Spaghetti Warehouse

Butterfly Museum

Ava's grossed out by the hissing cockroaches at the museum

Lunch at the Aquarium

Checking out all of the cool fish at the aquarium with Gigi and Papi

Fish!

With Gigi and Papi after lunch

At Spaghetti Warehouse

Bedtime Stories with Gigi and Papi