My oh my, where does the time go? We've been busy bees and Ali is keeping us on our toes! I'm not sure if I mentioned this in the last post, but Ali had her one year appointment. She's growing like a weed...only gained 2 pounds but grew almost 6 inches! She no longer looks like a baby at all. Even the chubbiness around her face is gone.
Ali is still doing her music classes except Nani will be taking her from now on. I've switched my work day to Wednesday so that I can join the moms group at church on Tuesday nights. I think I'll sign her up for a painting class at the end of October so I can still take her to something.
We had her little friend, Addalyn's, first birthday party yesterday. It was quite fun and Ali had her first pb & j. Definitely a hit. They say to wait until about 2 years old for peanut butter because of allergies, but I realized I eat pb ALL the time. I put it on my waffles, sandwiches, ice cream...so she's been exposed plenty.
Jennie took her 1 year photos this week. It was an absolutely beautiful fall day (although it was about 80 degrees, we dressed like it was fall!). The leaves had changed and the sky was perfectly blue . JM got out of his class that day early so we even got family photos, which we hadn't gotten yet. We started out at Forest Park in Noblesville on the train tracks then finished at Potters Bridge with the river and covered bridge. Ali tolerated the pictures pretty well...luckily she adores Jennie because she was in a bit of a grumpy mood, we have some teeth coming in. Plus, Jennie brought her son, Cam, who is just a few months older than Ali and she's fascinated with everything he does! It was hard to get JM to act natural and not so posed, but by the end he was getting the hang of it. I don't like pictures where your hand is placed exactly here and your head is tilted slightly left! The more natural the better!
I finished my cake decorating class. I absolutely loved it and have to say, I can do some cool things now! The instructor runs Flying Cupcake so you know she's good. They've cancelled the second class for October so I'm hoping to take it in either November or December, but it will depend on the day and if I can find anyone to watch Ali those nights. I'd like to get all 3 classes in before the baby comes but I don't see that happening.
I've picked up some extra shifts so things are a bit more hectic, but it should help a bit financially. I start Wednesdays this week which will be an adjustment. I think it will work out nicely because I often pick up Sundays and it stunk to only have Monday off before the next shift. Now I'll have a bit more time to accomplish things. We have our first outing Saturday with the families of the moms group. We're going to the pumpkin patch we actually went to last year for our anniversary. Ali should have much more fun this year!
I can't believe we're about to hit our 3 year anniversary. With JM's on-the-job training and our financial situation we couldn't really get away or plan anything bit. So Ali is having a sleep over at Nani's and we got a hotel at the new JW Marriott downtown. I think we'll have dinner out and maybe grab a play and then just enjoy a night away from home.
Ali received her first Halloween package in the mail from Aunt Judy the other day. She was so funny opening it. She saw the stuffed pumpkin as soon as I opened the box and she had to grab it and hug it. Then I opened the first book and she grabbed that and started reading it to the pumpkin. She's so stinking funny! It's seriously something new every day. Just this week she learned how big she is (so big!), where her nose is, how to point, how to ask 'What's that?' (although it comes out 'dat!'), and where her shoes and her hat go.
Time to get back to work, hope everyone is doing well!
What used to be known as The Wonderful World of Shan is now The Wonderful Life of Miss Ali Vi and family.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
20 weeks
We're officially at the halfway mark so I thought I'd finally post :-) It's going to be just a lot of random updates because I worked all day and I'm exhausted!
Ali is still wonderful. She had her first birthday and a big party, which was all amazing. 45 people came to her party!!! JM's dad and his wife flew in from Texas, my aunt drove all the way from NJ, our nieces and my sister-in-law (and her mom!) drove in from Iowa...it was great. We had a better percentage turnout than for our wedding!!! We felt so blessed knowing that our daughter means that much to so many people. Ali was a little overwhelmed but was the perfect birthday girl, she never even whined when she was overtired. Her actual birthday was fun, too. JM was working second shift that day so the 3 of us had breakfast together, then we went to lunch with Dale and Claudia. My parents came over for dinner and then Uncle Greggy and Auntie Dara joined us for mommy-made cake. Needless to say, it took us all a few days to recover from all of the festivities. I said she'll never have that big of a party again, and Uncle Greggy pointed out 'not until she's 17 and you guys are out of town'...ha ha ha!
Ali is sooo close to walking. I think it will be another bittersweet milestone. I'm so excited for her, but I love this stage. Although, I've loved every stage so I'm sure the next one will be great. She now gives these little hugs where she wraps her arms tightly around your neck, just precious. Nani gave her a little playground for the yard for her birthday and she'll stand at the backdoor and yell and pound till we go swing. We're figuring out a date with Jennie to take her one year photos. We were going to do a 'shoot', but some of the best pictures Jennie captures of her are when her and Cam are playing, so I think we'll just do playdates and see what happens. I'm much more of a 'candid' photo person instead of the studio pics.
JM is doing well with the new job. The last couple of weeks have been a tad rough on the family. Last week he started road jobs which wouldn't have been bad, but he left Monday expecting to be home Tuesday and didn't get in till late Wednesday. Then he left Friday planning to be back Saturday and it wasn't until Sunday afternoon. A lot of last minute begging for babysitters and such. Thank goodness for Nani and Miss Chelsea! This week it's just one night trips so it should be better, knowing when he'll be home at least.
My job is the same, nothing new on that front. Next month I'll be switching to Wednesdays instead of Tuesdays so I can go to a moms group at church which I'm very excited about.
Baby girl (oh, yes, for anyone who didn't know...it's a girl!) is doing great. We had been thinking it'd be a boy for a few reasons, but obviously thrilled it's a girl. We do such a good job with girls, why rock the boat? ;-) I must have finally popped a bit, people at work are noticing and Ali keeps trying to push my belly out of her way so she can hug closer. Honestly, if it weren't for the belly I wouldn't even notice I was pregnant this time. Not sure if it's an easier pregnancy or if Ali is just that time-consuming!
Of course, I have just about everything planned out for the arrival already (of course I do, you know me!). I think we're planning on making it a bit more private this time for a few reasons. One, it's a surgery so I want time to rest before people come in the room afterwards. And since it's surgery, although very routine, we'll have a bit more on our minds. And we'll want time with just Ali in the hospital introducing her to the baby. With Ali we invited anyone who wanted to be there to be, but this will be a little more low-key. We don't want it to be any more overwhelming for Ali than it already will be. JM's parents weren't able to make it out for Ali because there was only a couple of weeks notice to the date, so I'm sure it will be the same here. I think we had about 5 weeks heads up for Ali on what day she'd be born and this will be less. Last time our doctor knew what weekend she was on call and scheduled it then, whereas this will be whatever day her schedule looks lightest. Obviously, still not having anyone stay at our house. Ali will be with my mom while we're in the hospital. We want her to be where and with whom she'll be most at ease since she'll be too young to understand what's happening. It's not the time to have people she's not familiar with taking care of her.
I think we have it narrowed down name-wise. We originally had a name picked out then decided to try a few out. We like a few, but keep going back to the original. We'll tell when we decide. I don't think we're going to just publicly announce it. We had someone make fun of people who pick babies names ahead of time and we obviously aren't comfortable sharing with that person now. It's not to be negative or vengeful or anything like that, this is just something we enjoy and don't want someone else to bring it down for us.
Ok, really time for bed now. I have to be up bright and early for Ali's music class!!! She's hilarious, I'll try to get a video and post it. She dances the entire time!
Ali is still wonderful. She had her first birthday and a big party, which was all amazing. 45 people came to her party!!! JM's dad and his wife flew in from Texas, my aunt drove all the way from NJ, our nieces and my sister-in-law (and her mom!) drove in from Iowa...it was great. We had a better percentage turnout than for our wedding!!! We felt so blessed knowing that our daughter means that much to so many people. Ali was a little overwhelmed but was the perfect birthday girl, she never even whined when she was overtired. Her actual birthday was fun, too. JM was working second shift that day so the 3 of us had breakfast together, then we went to lunch with Dale and Claudia. My parents came over for dinner and then Uncle Greggy and Auntie Dara joined us for mommy-made cake. Needless to say, it took us all a few days to recover from all of the festivities. I said she'll never have that big of a party again, and Uncle Greggy pointed out 'not until she's 17 and you guys are out of town'...ha ha ha!
Ali is sooo close to walking. I think it will be another bittersweet milestone. I'm so excited for her, but I love this stage. Although, I've loved every stage so I'm sure the next one will be great. She now gives these little hugs where she wraps her arms tightly around your neck, just precious. Nani gave her a little playground for the yard for her birthday and she'll stand at the backdoor and yell and pound till we go swing. We're figuring out a date with Jennie to take her one year photos. We were going to do a 'shoot', but some of the best pictures Jennie captures of her are when her and Cam are playing, so I think we'll just do playdates and see what happens. I'm much more of a 'candid' photo person instead of the studio pics.
JM is doing well with the new job. The last couple of weeks have been a tad rough on the family. Last week he started road jobs which wouldn't have been bad, but he left Monday expecting to be home Tuesday and didn't get in till late Wednesday. Then he left Friday planning to be back Saturday and it wasn't until Sunday afternoon. A lot of last minute begging for babysitters and such. Thank goodness for Nani and Miss Chelsea! This week it's just one night trips so it should be better, knowing when he'll be home at least.
My job is the same, nothing new on that front. Next month I'll be switching to Wednesdays instead of Tuesdays so I can go to a moms group at church which I'm very excited about.
Baby girl (oh, yes, for anyone who didn't know...it's a girl!) is doing great. We had been thinking it'd be a boy for a few reasons, but obviously thrilled it's a girl. We do such a good job with girls, why rock the boat? ;-) I must have finally popped a bit, people at work are noticing and Ali keeps trying to push my belly out of her way so she can hug closer. Honestly, if it weren't for the belly I wouldn't even notice I was pregnant this time. Not sure if it's an easier pregnancy or if Ali is just that time-consuming!
Of course, I have just about everything planned out for the arrival already (of course I do, you know me!). I think we're planning on making it a bit more private this time for a few reasons. One, it's a surgery so I want time to rest before people come in the room afterwards. And since it's surgery, although very routine, we'll have a bit more on our minds. And we'll want time with just Ali in the hospital introducing her to the baby. With Ali we invited anyone who wanted to be there to be, but this will be a little more low-key. We don't want it to be any more overwhelming for Ali than it already will be. JM's parents weren't able to make it out for Ali because there was only a couple of weeks notice to the date, so I'm sure it will be the same here. I think we had about 5 weeks heads up for Ali on what day she'd be born and this will be less. Last time our doctor knew what weekend she was on call and scheduled it then, whereas this will be whatever day her schedule looks lightest. Obviously, still not having anyone stay at our house. Ali will be with my mom while we're in the hospital. We want her to be where and with whom she'll be most at ease since she'll be too young to understand what's happening. It's not the time to have people she's not familiar with taking care of her.
I think we have it narrowed down name-wise. We originally had a name picked out then decided to try a few out. We like a few, but keep going back to the original. We'll tell when we decide. I don't think we're going to just publicly announce it. We had someone make fun of people who pick babies names ahead of time and we obviously aren't comfortable sharing with that person now. It's not to be negative or vengeful or anything like that, this is just something we enjoy and don't want someone else to bring it down for us.
Ok, really time for bed now. I have to be up bright and early for Ali's music class!!! She's hilarious, I'll try to get a video and post it. She dances the entire time!
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
New Baby Doctor Appointment
I had a routine appointment for the 'new' baby today. The doctor and I talked a lot about the effects of having this baby and the damage that's been left from having Ali. The symptoms of the fistula seem to be increasing as this pregnancy progresses. I discussed this with my colorectal doctor the other day and he said the only thing he can do while I'm pregnant is a laparoscopic colectomy put in place during my pregnancy. But, he highly advised against it due to the risk the procedure would create to the fetus. My ob doesn't seem to think there's a risk and she's encouraging me to have it done. I put some thought into it, and I'm not doing it. I'm not going through the next 7 months with a bag of poop...plain and simple. My ob doesn't think the fistula should get any worse during the rest of the pregnancy because once the initial moving around of things during the first trimester, the baby shouldn't be resting on those muscles. But, she also said she didn't think the fistula should get worse as it already has.
We did get to hear the heartbeat outside my stomach...which she said really shouldn't happen this early on, so that was exciting. It took forever to find and she only caught it for a sec, but it was there. She's going by the ultrasound, so I'm currently 12 1/2 weeks along with a due date of 2/12/12. Again, I'll have a c-section so it will be scheduled somewhere around 2/5/12.
I thought the nausea was easing up a bit this week, but today has been pretty rough. I went to yoga and the first time in down dog I went straight to the bathroom...which just makes my stomach upset for the rest of the day.
Hopefully no new news on the baby front until the next appointment in 4 weeks!
We did get to hear the heartbeat outside my stomach...which she said really shouldn't happen this early on, so that was exciting. It took forever to find and she only caught it for a sec, but it was there. She's going by the ultrasound, so I'm currently 12 1/2 weeks along with a due date of 2/12/12. Again, I'll have a c-section so it will be scheduled somewhere around 2/5/12.
I thought the nausea was easing up a bit this week, but today has been pretty rough. I went to yoga and the first time in down dog I went straight to the bathroom...which just makes my stomach upset for the rest of the day.
Hopefully no new news on the baby front until the next appointment in 4 weeks!
Sunday, July 31, 2011
So much to do, so little time...
Having a toddler is a lot of work!!! Obviously, by the lack of posting I do! A lot has happened since the last time I posted...let's see...
We're pregnant again! Yep, surprises all around! I think I'm 12 weeks now, the ultrasound showed a few weeks different than the calculations. I go to the doctor this week and I'm going to ask what she's considering my due date as. It's either 1/31 or 2/12. I will have to have a c-section because the doctor said the fistula from having Ali is too weak to sustain labor. She's planning on performing the c-section at 39 weeks as of now. Which, if we go by 2/12, will be Superbowl Sunday in Indy! So far the pregnancy hasn't been too rough. No where near as rough as Ali, but I still have awhile. Nausea and vomiting hit about 2 weeks ago but I'm hoping we're at the tail end of that. Ali doesn't quite understand, "Hold on, Mommy doesn't feel good."
JM found a full-time job! Well, technically I found him a full-time job, but he has one! He's a freight conductor for CSX. He spent 6 weeks in Atlanta for training and came home 2 weeks ago. Now he does on-the-job training for 18 weeks and then will start working for real. He absolutely loves it. He's mentioned a few times that he can't believe he gets paid to play with trains.
Because of JM's full-time job, I've been able to drop down to 2 days a week at work, which is great. He watches Ali on the weekends and then my mom takes care of her on Tuesdays. It's been a blessing for Ali, myself, and my mom to have that time with her and not have to send her to daycare. She spends some of those mornings in childwatch at the Y while my mom puts in some hours, but I don't think she spends a whole lot of time 'in' childwatch. Everyone's passing her around and letting her have the run of the place! After summer camp ends they'll start back up some mommy and me type classes so Ali and I will enroll in those.
My work is fine, same old, same old. They're opening up a new hospital by our house so I'm toying with the idea of applying there. So far they haven't opened any supplemental positions yet, only full and part time. I would take a huge pay cut to switch to full or part time so I'm going to hold out for now. After JM gets through training I may be able to cut down even more on working so I need the supplemental flexibility.
We're about to do some re-grouping with our house. Obviously, we're going to have 4 people living in a 3 bedroom house...we have to do something! We're getting rid of our guest room, first of all. I think we've had people stay with us a total of 5 times since moving in, and that's in over 2 years! Definitely not a reason to have a guest room furnished anymore. So we're getting rid of the bed and I think most of the furniture in there. We'll move the computer into that room and make it into an 'office' type space for the time being. We figured the newborn will stay in our room for the first month or two anyways, so no need to change it now. Then the office, which is the open room in the back of our house that leads to the backyard, will be changed into the playroom. Mom, Ali and I are going to head to IKEA soon to get some storage systems and I already have the paint. Mom and I are hoping to get that finished before Ali's birthday party.
Which leads me to Miss Ali. She is absolutely wonderful. In every single way. She's pulling herself up to her feet and even 'cruising' within the last couple of days. She babbles all the time. The other night I swear she said Momma. JM was changing her on her table and I was picking up her room and she couldn't see me. She yelled out "Momma!" and I peeked around JM. As soon as she saw me she clapped, so I'm pretty sure she was calling me. We're trying to decide what to do for her one year photos which a friend of ours will do for us. So many neat ideas for the big 1! I could go on and on about her. She's mastered finger foods. Just hoping she'll get a few more teeth. There's not a whole lot more she can do with only the 2 bottom teeth. I'm starting to wean her from nursing. It breaks my heart and you can tell she's not happy with it, but my supply is diminishing because of the pregnancy. Right now we're replacing one feeding with a bottle and will gradually make the switch. I think it'll be for the best, then at least when she turns one we're not weaning her from the bottle AND me at the same time.
I'll post some new pictures on our picasa (which you can access to the left) when I get a chance. We haven't taken as many pictures lately...she just keeps us too busy!
I'm taking a stand and switching the blog back to public. I've been told by many people that the blogs about the miscarriage are helpful so I want that to be readily available. And the 'ex' friend that I hid it because of doesn't concern me anymore. She's completely removed from JM and I's life and I have to say, it's been nicer. Not seeing her negativity on fb is great. The family member that was the cause, well, I'm not going to let it get to me anymore. They've made their choices and well...you know. I know that's not very Christian-like, but sometimes it's just more than you can handle.
I think that's the update for now. Nothing major going on, but life is constant, wonderful and full!
We're pregnant again! Yep, surprises all around! I think I'm 12 weeks now, the ultrasound showed a few weeks different than the calculations. I go to the doctor this week and I'm going to ask what she's considering my due date as. It's either 1/31 or 2/12. I will have to have a c-section because the doctor said the fistula from having Ali is too weak to sustain labor. She's planning on performing the c-section at 39 weeks as of now. Which, if we go by 2/12, will be Superbowl Sunday in Indy! So far the pregnancy hasn't been too rough. No where near as rough as Ali, but I still have awhile. Nausea and vomiting hit about 2 weeks ago but I'm hoping we're at the tail end of that. Ali doesn't quite understand, "Hold on, Mommy doesn't feel good."
JM found a full-time job! Well, technically I found him a full-time job, but he has one! He's a freight conductor for CSX. He spent 6 weeks in Atlanta for training and came home 2 weeks ago. Now he does on-the-job training for 18 weeks and then will start working for real. He absolutely loves it. He's mentioned a few times that he can't believe he gets paid to play with trains.
Because of JM's full-time job, I've been able to drop down to 2 days a week at work, which is great. He watches Ali on the weekends and then my mom takes care of her on Tuesdays. It's been a blessing for Ali, myself, and my mom to have that time with her and not have to send her to daycare. She spends some of those mornings in childwatch at the Y while my mom puts in some hours, but I don't think she spends a whole lot of time 'in' childwatch. Everyone's passing her around and letting her have the run of the place! After summer camp ends they'll start back up some mommy and me type classes so Ali and I will enroll in those.
My work is fine, same old, same old. They're opening up a new hospital by our house so I'm toying with the idea of applying there. So far they haven't opened any supplemental positions yet, only full and part time. I would take a huge pay cut to switch to full or part time so I'm going to hold out for now. After JM gets through training I may be able to cut down even more on working so I need the supplemental flexibility.
We're about to do some re-grouping with our house. Obviously, we're going to have 4 people living in a 3 bedroom house...we have to do something! We're getting rid of our guest room, first of all. I think we've had people stay with us a total of 5 times since moving in, and that's in over 2 years! Definitely not a reason to have a guest room furnished anymore. So we're getting rid of the bed and I think most of the furniture in there. We'll move the computer into that room and make it into an 'office' type space for the time being. We figured the newborn will stay in our room for the first month or two anyways, so no need to change it now. Then the office, which is the open room in the back of our house that leads to the backyard, will be changed into the playroom. Mom, Ali and I are going to head to IKEA soon to get some storage systems and I already have the paint. Mom and I are hoping to get that finished before Ali's birthday party.
Which leads me to Miss Ali. She is absolutely wonderful. In every single way. She's pulling herself up to her feet and even 'cruising' within the last couple of days. She babbles all the time. The other night I swear she said Momma. JM was changing her on her table and I was picking up her room and she couldn't see me. She yelled out "Momma!" and I peeked around JM. As soon as she saw me she clapped, so I'm pretty sure she was calling me. We're trying to decide what to do for her one year photos which a friend of ours will do for us. So many neat ideas for the big 1! I could go on and on about her. She's mastered finger foods. Just hoping she'll get a few more teeth. There's not a whole lot more she can do with only the 2 bottom teeth. I'm starting to wean her from nursing. It breaks my heart and you can tell she's not happy with it, but my supply is diminishing because of the pregnancy. Right now we're replacing one feeding with a bottle and will gradually make the switch. I think it'll be for the best, then at least when she turns one we're not weaning her from the bottle AND me at the same time.
I'll post some new pictures on our picasa (which you can access to the left) when I get a chance. We haven't taken as many pictures lately...she just keeps us too busy!
I'm taking a stand and switching the blog back to public. I've been told by many people that the blogs about the miscarriage are helpful so I want that to be readily available. And the 'ex' friend that I hid it because of doesn't concern me anymore. She's completely removed from JM and I's life and I have to say, it's been nicer. Not seeing her negativity on fb is great. The family member that was the cause, well, I'm not going to let it get to me anymore. They've made their choices and well...you know. I know that's not very Christian-like, but sometimes it's just more than you can handle.
I think that's the update for now. Nothing major going on, but life is constant, wonderful and full!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Thank you
I wanted to send out a sincere thank you to all those who have sent out your support during the loss of our uncle. Uncle Mark was very dear to us and played a big part of our lives. Even our friends called him "Uncle Mark". But we appreciate all the emails, calls and help with Ali and our houses while we were in NJ.
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