It's A... TORNADO!

On Wednesday, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to get a first glimpse at my little parasite through ultrasound. It was amazing how clear and perfect this little person is already and I'm only 11 weeks pregnant. When I was pregnant with Hayley, I only received one ultrasound at 18 weeks so seeing our babe this early on was a great new experience. It certainly makes all the (exhausting, never-ending, gut wrenching, did I mention exhausting?) nausea "almost" tolerable to have the proof that there is actually a baby causing it. The good news is that the baby looked healthy and active... very active. So active that the nurses asked me TWICE if I'd had caffeine that morning. Are you kidding me? I ended up with a "Hurricane" my first go round and I was caffeine free the entire pregnancy. I shudder to think how much more hyped up Hayley would be had I been on caffeine during her development. So at 11 early weeks, I'm already a nervous wreck that this time I'm growing a "Tornado." I'm.In.Trouble.

So of course Hayley thinks her Daddy is just the coolest. So cool that she's turned into quite the little copy cat. I've tried to explain to Brian that this unique power is something that needs be used wisely. I was hoping I'd get the point across that he should get Hayley to copy him doing something useful... like oh, say, cleaning the house or cooking dinner. Instead? THIS is what he teaches her. I'm doomed!

American Idol 2025?

Daddy and Hayley have a nightly routine. It goes a little something like this:

6:00pm - Daddy returns home from work to a frazzled Mommy and a VERY HUNGRY Hayley.
6:01pm - After giving Daddy a hug, Hayley yells at Daddy to change so she can EAT!
6:15pm - Mommy, Daddy, and Hayley sit down for family dinner.
6:25pm - Hayley is done eating and spends the next 5 minutes mashing spaghetti into her hair while Mommy and Daddy attempt to have what almost resembles an adult conversation.
6:30pm - Daddy wrangles Hayley from her highchair and whisks her off to the bathtub while Mommy begins dishes.
6:40pm - Daddy proceeds to nursery with American Idol Wanna-be wrapped in hooded towel.
6:41pm - Hayley begins her tryouts for American Idol (this is Mommy's cue to pour the milk, we don't want our songbird to be parched)
6:45pm - Tryouts are over and Hayley's pajamas are on. Our diva proceeds to the couch where she demands her milk, quality time with Daddy, and the opportunity to watch Wheel of Fortune while she "unwinds." Mommy begins scrubbing the red spaghetti ring out of bathtub.
7:30pm - Lights our for our little star.

Below is an outtake from one of Hayley's latest recording sessions. Keep in mind, this happens EVERY night!

Here We Grow Again

Perhaps it's time for me to confess that there is a better explanation to my lack of blogging besides just being busy. If we combine my (somewhat sudden) increase in business with relentless, all day nausea, followed by an unwelcome head cold it may explain a bit better why I've refrained from burning up the keyboard. Fortunately, the life altering nausea that I'm suffering from is not the result of a terminal disease (although most days I do feel terminal), but rather the result of what I like to call my own personal parasite. "Somehow," I've managed to turn up pregnant. My new status comes as a bit of a surprise for us. We had factored another child into our life spreadsheet (yes, Brian has created a spreadsheet which maps out our future) but Baby #2 was not scheduled to appear on the spreadsheet until year 2009. Of course we realize that sometimes God's plans are different (and better) than our own and Brian's spreadsheet hasn't imploded, so I think we'll be okay!

At this point I'm nine weeks along and looking forward to weeks 13 and 14 as that is when the nausea I suffered while pregnant with Hayley ceased. My due date is April 17th which will make Hayley and the new baby approximately 23 months apart. We've definitely become exicted about the aspect of our two children being closer in age then we had ever anticipated. We think this will be a great opportunity for them to be close friends, and after being an only child I'm anxious to see the relationship that will develop.

Now, if we can just figure out how to break the news to Chloe...

"I'm Done"

So Hayley and I have been dutifully attending 10 minutes of swim lesson everyday for two and a half weeks now. It's been a lot of work... for both of us, BUT Hayley is making good progress. Today the skills that she has been learning seemed to "click" for her and she did a great job of back floating all by herself. Her swim is getting much better as well. We've had some head orientation issues to overcome. All of Hayley's previous experience in the water caused her to develope a habit of pulling her head back, as if to keep her head from going under water. When she pulls her head back, it makes her body go vertical in the water when we need her to be completely horizontal in order to swim and rollover into a float. The progress is slow, just a little bit everyday so having a day like we had today is VERY rewarding and encouraging.

Hayley's swim instructor, Miss Amy, has been very consistent about telling Hayley "All done" when the lesson is over. Yesterday at the end of the lesson, Hayley began telling Miss Amy "All done." This is definitely Hayley's new buzz phrase.

Are you ready for some football?

Hayley is, but only if it's good 'ol Denver Bronco football! We may live in Florida, but don't worry, her Momma intends to raise her properly. Courtesy of Grandpa, Hayley was able to start NFL season off right!

Hayley is 15 Months

It's been a while since our last update as we have been a busy, busy family! Mommy has been working with clients a lot lately, Daddy has had some out of town travel, and Hayley has had some busy days since ISR swimming started last week. Hayley's first swim lesson was last Monday. The class is a big committment as we have to attend a private lesson every weekday for 10 minutes. Of course Hayley was none to happy about being put in the pool and not being allowed to do exactly what SHE wanted. She's cried through just about every lesson (which apparently is normal for the first week or two). By Friday, the cry was pretty fake and she was actually smiling and laughing in between remembering that she was supposed to be mad. In just a short week though she's learned to hold her breath, open her eyes under water, and pull up on the side of the pool for air. We're excited to see Hayley progress through the lessons and are even more excited about the end result. We think Hayley will be thrilled to be so independent in the water.

Last Monday, before her first lesson, Hayley had her 15 month doctor checkup. The Dr. reaffirmed that she's still a little peanut. Hayley is STILL not even 20 pounds! She came in at 19 pounds, 12 ounces and 31 inches long. Luckily, the Dr. didn't seem at all concerned about her weight and she got a clean bill of health.

We got Hayley her own chair last week. So far she loves it! A fitting throne for our little princess!