Gavin's Birthday

 For Gavin's 2nd Birthday, we met my family in Springfield for lunch and then went to an Open House at a Children's Ranch that some friends of ours have started. At the recommendation of a friend from Springfield, we made a reservation at "The Pizza Machine," really unsure what to expect. It was kind of like a chuck e. cheese, with an arcade, but not as crowded or noisy, and fun for bigger kids too. Here are some pictures from our day...

 

 Gavin opening presents. Addie helped a lot.












The giant alligator that was across from our table; Gavin thought it was great!!











 Cousin Avery squashing the "spiders" with gamaw.

Gavin on the swirly slide.










  Addie feeding the goats at the ranch, she wouldn't stop talking long enough to smile. She was determined that the goat was trying to eat her jacket after he took a little nibble of it.

 Gavin petting the horses, and pointing out all the poop that was yucky.










The week after Gavin's Birthday, we decided to finally have his birthday cake. He helped make it, and then ate most of it. He got to use his new birthday plate for the first time. This was his first time helping cook, and he thought he was such a big boy!

Gavin in mommy's old pampered chef apron....

 Helping mommy stir the battter.

 Can't keep his fingers out of the icing...

  Gavin & Daddy

Gavin's Favorite

I have just learned that I am no longer Gavin's favorite person in the world. In a recent conversation, Gavin informed me that he would rather go see Jeff, Drew, Lizzy, and Nate than stay in and watch Nemo with mommy. I guess this is just the beginning, but the feelings of rejection are already there. He will blow me an air kiss, but doesn't like real kisses anymore. Daddy has always been more exciting than me, but now he is falling for CSC students (probably because they hang him upside down and wrestle with him more than I have the energy for. On a brighter note, he still likes me more than the daycare lady, although he did say she was "Koote" (Cute). 

Last Sunday, Gavin pulled a dresser over that had a TV on top of it, which just barely missed hitting his head. I think we've underestimated his strength.  Guess who was the favorite then???

We recently converted his room to a "big boy" room, taking down all the animals and putting up Cars and Thomas things. This was a big deal for him, and he is still carrying on about everything on the walls. He knows most of the trains and the cars by name.

I have also had several "proud mama" moments for our CSC students recently. They have worked so long & hard to get CSC's name out there during all the homecoming events, and have represented CSC in a positive light in everything they do!! What a privilege to get to watch them grow as individuals and carry on the tradition of CSC and impacting WIU for Christ!

Hearing the heartbeat

Today, we went in for a 2nd sonogram to determine if we have a tiny lil' baby who likes to hide from us or if we have no baby at all. Prior to the sonogram, we spent a few minutes talking about what would follow if the baby was no more. Deciding how soon we would need to have the D&C performed, and whether or not we would need my mom to come up for a few days to help around the house with Barry gone next week. Funny, how every shred of confidence disappears when the moment of truth comes, and I instead turn to thinking the worst is happening.
When the sonogram was performed, we were amazed to not only see a dash, but a full-grown peanut with a heartbeat even. The nurse said we probably caught the little booger on the first or second day he/she had a heartbeat. What a change in one week; going from nothing visible to hearing & seeing the heart, and the baby that appears to be 3-4 days older than we had anticipated (at least based on size).
How funny, that this week's bible study was all about having joy no matter the circumstances, and I was dreading completing each lesson with the possibility of losing this baby hanging over us. I suppose I was reserving my joy until the anxiety was resolved, but then that's not how Paul & Silas approached it while singing praises from prison or Stephen when being attacked & stoned. Gosh, I have so much to learn about being filled with joy no matter the circumstances, but for now I have every reason to be joyful. It's a baby! A real, blood-bumping peanut baby!
My next hurdle is remaining joyful through the AM puking that has just started to rear it's ugly head, but man it feels to be feeling all of it again!!
I love you baby peanut!!

Oct. 5th Appt.

So, today was my first ultrasound, which is much earlier than most women have one, because I am still considered a "high-risk" pregnancy. I think the term "high-anxiety" would probably describe it better.
Barry was out of town at a Campus Minister's meeting that he really couldn't get out of without everyone knowing something serious was going on. Since we aren't really sure if this pregnancy will work out, we are very hesitant to share the news with anyone.

So, I went into the office & sat in that cold, dark sono-room for close to 20 minutes (felt like 3 hours)  a nervous wreck. It was in a room just like this, when I was all alone, that I found out we lost our first baby. Although time & God have healed that pain, I was amazed at how quickly the memories came back. When my Nurse Practitioner finally came in, she said "we are looking for a sac with a little dash in it." After a few minutes of  glancing around in there, she said, "well, the sac is there, but I don't see the dash (the baby)." She reassured me that it may be just too small to see at this point, and we will try again next week. So, now we sit and wait a week to see if there is or isn't a baby. While waiting makes me anxious, I am determined that God has destined this little "oops" baby to be. Either way, we will trust Him to continue to provide for the health and growth of our family.

Women's Bible Study & Grad. School

This semester Liz, Kristen and I are team-leading a Beth Moore Women's study on the Fruits of the Spirit. It includes watching a one-hour video of Beth, and then we split into three groups to discuss the week's homework and the video. Having never done a Beth Moore study before, I was unsure what to expect. Here are a few things I have come to appreciate....

• Her videos are not only keeping my attention, but she is a very moving speaker. Not sure that I've ever been moved to tears by watching a speaker on tape.
• I have an awesome group of young ladies, who are so different from one another, but we are slowly getting to know each other and I am LOVING getting to know them.
• As much as I was warned, I have to say that I haven't found any of her outfits to be that outrageous at all. If my 50 year old mother dressed like her, I wouldn't be embarrassed.
• I didn't realize how badly I needed to have a night away from Gavin & Barry to hang with some girls!! How did I ever survive without some me-time with God and other women?

On another note, I have been accepted into the RPTA Grad. program, and will start classes this spring. Not sure how I'll balance everything, but I am convinced that this is a great opportunity for me, and will pay off in the future.

To tell or not to Tell

I've been debating inside my own mind, when to start telling people that we are expecting. For many couples on their first pregnancy, the news is leaked the moment the stick turns pink, but somehow I am just too cautious for that. 

We have told Gavin, but of course he doesn't understand anything about it. Barry swears he will leak the news by pointing to my stomach and saying "mommy baby," but he still thinks he has a baby in his belly button too. 

We are anxious for the pregnancy to seem real, which doesn't happen until you get that first sonogram and everyone knows the news. I have a sonogram next week, which is earlier than most as a precaution due to my previous miscarriage, but still can't decide if once that appt. has past if we should feel at ease with sharing our news or go ahead and wait the entire first 12 weeks. It feels like forever to wait this time around. With Gavin, I LOVED having the secret just between the two of us, but can't stand it this time!!!

If I can convince Barry to let me spill it, we will probably start with my parents in a few weeks. But may still wait to let all of CSC know, and announce it to the world of facebook.

Also, I bought Gavin a package of goldfish crackers last week, and they expire on June 6, 2010, which got me really excited as that is our suspected due date.

My first Blog Post!!

So, here it is the long-awaited inaugural post on my new blog. 

To begin, I feel an update on the happenings of the last month is in order...

Barry bought me a cricut in early September, so I have had a renewed excitement for scrapbooking! Next project to complete is the book of Gavin's first year of life (he turns 2 this weekend).

Barry turned 30 this month, and I surprised (or should I say didn't surprise him) with a little party with some of our family and friends. Because his laptop has been on the fritz, we bought him a new on the week before his birthday, and then were also able to buy him a motorized scooter, which he has been wanting ever since we moved back to Macomb. It was in great condition, and pretty sharp looking for a scooter, that is until I drove it into the garage on my first ride. Needless to say, I have decided that I won't be driving it to work, at least not until I can learn how to squeeze a handlebar to make the brakes work. (In my defense, I had not ridden a bicycle in almost 3 years). Apparently, you can forget how to ride a bike. I am determined to at the very least stay of the scooter until the golf-ball sized bruise on my shin is gone. 

Gavin is getting so big, and although he is not climbing out of his crib yet (very surprising) I am thinking it's time for a big-boy bed because mommy is straining to pick him up out of his crib. 

He turns 2 this saturday, and we will be taking him to Springfield for a Pim Family pizza party, and a trip to see some horses at our friends' children's ranch. He has no idea how excited he should be to get to see Gamma (Nancy), Papa (Randy), Nahnah (Renee), Uncle Mack (Matt), Daddie (Addie), Baby Abry (Avery), Missa (Melissa), Doron (yah, go figure that's the only one he can say right!) as well as a ton of kids and horses!

It has been so fun to see our family grow, and we always love getting together so the kids can play.