HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESSICA .....who turns double digits! 10!!

First Television Appearance!

These pictures were taken about three weeks ago when Olivia made her TV debut with Grandpa - they were presenting a check on the Helen DeVos Children's Hospital telethon. Olivia was a ham that day and was all smiles as she waited for her big moment. She was being so cute that the photographer from the hospital, Mary, kept snapping some pictures of her...and these are some of them! Isn't she a "natural?" A few nights ago I was reading my blog - starting with my first entry and I have to say that I need to give equal props to baby number 2 or this kid is going to have a complex! Baby number 2 is moving all around and kicking - I love that feeling! I am starting to get a bit uncomfortable and my stomach is starting to feel VERY heavy! I sleep great and thankfully this time around my hips don't hurt - thanks to the memory foam mattress that Jose and I bought over the winter! Pregnancy the second time around has been so much easier for me - minus the placenta previa thing! Speaking of placenta previa - Jose did all the housework this weekend.....well he vacuumed and did one load of laundry and he was very proud of himself! Hey - at least he did that! Enjoy your day!

Another Lazy Sunday.....

Yesterday was Father's Day and boy was it HOT! So - we opted for yet another day of fun in the sun and swam...well -I floated and others swam! It's going to be a hot one out there today as well - nearly 95!

New Digs....

I've been a little concerned about Olivia "adapting" to her new room and sleeping in her new crib - but judging from the smiles - I think she'll be okay!

Happy Father's Day....

to the best Olivia daddy and the best Bryan and Riley daddy in the world!!

Splish - Splash - I was taking a bath!!

Olivia....last night in the pool. It was so hot here yesterday - nearly 90 - so after dinner we all put our feet in the water, which felt refreshing at 82 degrees! This weekend it should be nice as well - very hot - so I am anticipating both days floating in the pool.
I had a check up with my Doctor yesterday and everything is the same....no housework, no grocery shopping, and no going to the mall! Basically - just taking it VERY easy! I have an ultrasound scheduled in a few weeks to see if there has been any progress - but looks like I will be scheduled for a c-section the week of August 20th. I will most likely be unable to have Olivia's first birthday party on her birthday - so I am thinking of the weekend before. Anyway - feeling good - looking like a cow - but that's okay. Judging by my calculations I only have about 9 weeks left of pregnancy...that is if they take the baby the week of the 20th.
Hope you have a great weekend -
Hugs!

Happy Anniversary Blog!

I started this blog last June and wow - has life changed! If you had told me a year ago that I was going to have a little girl (because I thought for sure it was going to be a boy) and that I would be pregnant again - I would have laughed at you! But - such is life - things rarely go the way you expect them to and that's what makes life - life! I put together a montage of the past year - many pictures including Miss O and even one of her new brother/sister! Time flies when you're having fun!

 


This is Olivia doing what she does best - eating! She LOVES to eat! I took her in this week for her 9 month check up and she is doing great - 70 percentile for weight and 80th percentile for height. So she is growing like a weed -her pediatrician walked into the room and said - "Wow - she's grown - she needs a training bra!" Which is very true!!
She has very "advanced" motor skills - she can clap - wave bye-bye - pick up food with two fingers as opposed to using her entire hand - and she can give you a "five." Her Doctor said that these are all 12 month skills - still no crawling but he said that will come any day. I should count my blessings that she is not crawling at this point.

A few weeks ago I was diagnosed with having placenta previa - which is a not-so-common pregnancy complication. Basically my placenta is "blocking" where the baby would come out of - you get my drift. Because of the placement of the placenta - active movement - such as basic walking could cause either early labor or internal bleeding. So, I have been given Doctor's orders to really take it easy - no additional walking - no traveling - no housework - (even no sex) - it's almost like I am on unoffical bed rest. The good news is that the baby is completely healthy and that's all that matters - I just need to make sure that I take care of myself so I don't go into early labor. I most likely will have to have a c-section, which I am really sad about because I LOVED giving birth - I must be a freak or something - but I loved it! I pray that the placenta will "move" back to normal position - but at this point it is doubtful. I will go to my Doctor more frequently to get things checked out and I am sure there are more ultrasounds on the way.

Olivia's new room is 99% ready for her arrival..just a few tweaks here and there and we'll be good to go! I LOVE that little room - pictures coming soon!

Hope you are enjoying your week - it's been nice here - near 90 today. Miss O and mommy may need a dip in the pool before bed!

Hugs!

Olivia and her friends....Brendan and Kelcey

 

.....and as you can see from these pictures it is nearly impossible for anyone to capture a good photo of three children! We tried and tried - but this is what we got! Hope you are enjoying your weekend - ours has been really nice!

 

Olivia and her jumper...she loves this thing...too bad she will grow out of it so soon!
I am so tired today......

Bringing Joy.......



This is why I love what I do! Yesterday was Make-A-Wish, Bring Joy Day.
Here is a note that I sent to our staff about it -

Hi Everyone –
The Grand Rapids Staff had a wonderful experience bringing joy at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital. Merry G, Anne, our two wonderful interns Angela and Kristy and myself were all on hand to deliver the goodies! When we arrived we were met by Jodi Bowers from the hospital – who seemed really excited to have us there. We were also greeted by our good Make-A-Wish friend, photographer Jeff Dykehouse and city commissioner Rosalynn Bliss (who stood in for the mayor to read the proclamation.)

We started on the 7th floor of the hospital in the playroom and did have a few children stop down and see us – but decided it would be better to go from room to room.

Each room we walked into we were greeted with a smile from a child and tired-smiles from the parents. Joy Jr. was VERY well received but to be honest – I think the kids were more excited to pick a beanie baby for their siblings. They would say – everyone always brings me stuff in the hospital so it’ll be nice to give my brother/sister a present. I think the parents were touched by this as well.

We saw children of all ages – from 5 week old newborns to teenagers who still seemed really touched to have a new furry friend!

Once we completed our visits on the 7th floor – we made our way to the 9th floor – and Dr. Fahner welcomed us. It was fun to go from room to room – I was wearing a princess crown so the girls thought that was cool – and the boys basically cringed if they had to get too close to me to take a picture! It was a WONDERFUL experience and I hope we can Bring Joy every year on June 5th.

We had kids stopping us in the hall telling us their wishes – which was very cute. We had parents looking for us – just so we wouldn’t forget to come visit their child – which we wouldn’t miss anyone! Of course we saw some very sick children going through their chemo treatments and it took all we had to hold it together– but I will say that some of these children had more energy than all of us combined!

We saw a few wish kids including Lisa who was recently sponsored through the GR Gala – she was happy to see us. We also saw a new wish family – Damon is 5 and just arrived at the hospital on Monday for a round of treatments – his mom said it was nice to see friendly faces.

Jeff took many photos as did the hospital staff photographer, Mary. We certainly had an entourage with us! After our room visits we were gathered in Reese’s office (who is a child life specialist) and he was showing us pictures that he has received of all the wish kids on their wishes – which was very cool. Right before we left a young nurse walked in and told us that she was a former wish child and had a Disney Wish– it was her experience as a kid that made her want to go into nursing – just another example of things coming about full circle!

It was awesome and I know that the GR staff really enjoyed this day and of course when we left – we all counted our blessings.