My little avacado!

I am 17wks and just had an appointment yesterday. The heartbeat is 140bpm which is exactly what Lyla's was when I was pregnant before. I am not necessarily predicting another little girl, though I do find the similarities between these two pregnancies really interesting. They are almost spot on the same. All in all the doctor said everything looked great. I will be having an ultrasound in the next few weeks to determine whether it's a boy or girl. I of course will find out- how else would I be able to plan the nursery and get all those cute little outfits I have been eyeing?

Sister Update.

Things are moving forward slowly but surely with my sister Jennifer. She is just on pain medicine at this point and they have removed all monitoring devices from her head. They did discover that she has a staph infection in her blood but they have a pretty good handle on that with antibiotics and continual testing. She moved her hands and feet on the left side by command only once. She only has pain responses on her right side which essentially means that if they pinch her she pulls back. She has opened her eyes here and there but still is tracking very little. This is how they can tell whether she is starting to become more aware. As one nurse said, "The lights still haven't come on upstairs yet." They are going to start to lower some of the medications so that she can begin to hopefully wake up a little more. That really is the next step in order to determine functioning levels. She is still on a ventilator but she is initiating the breaths rather than it breathing for her. This step forward will more than likely prevent her from getting a tracheotomy but we will know more in a few days. Each day is another tiny step forward and we have been told that based on the severity of her injury she is right on track and showing all signs they are expecting at this point. More to come...

Saturday at the Park

We just discovered that the park we normally go to has a splash pad. This was just about the best discovery ever. Lyla was very unsure at first but slowly warmed up to the place. We will be back for sure.

I love you!

Matt and I were saying our usual goodnight to Lyla two nights ago and saying "I love you" about a million times like we always do and out of the blue she said it back! We stopped, looked and one another and both walked right back to her crib and sure enough, she said "I love you" for the first time. Talk about an amazing feeling.

I thought we were busy before.

Matt started school full time at the Northwest Renewable Energy Institute last Monday. They have an amazing program that is a perfect fit for Matt and I haven't seen him this focused and excited about something in awhile. When Matt first signed up for the program they had the option to take night classes. He was going to attend class from 2:30pm - 9:00pm Monday through Friday. My mom was going to watch Lyla for a couple of hours and then I would be home at night for her dinner, bath and bedtime. The perfectly choreographed plan... until Matt went to school the first day and they announced that they would not have night classes anymore. WHAT? Plan foiled. We were 100% committed to Matt still going to school. We quickly started the process to find childcare for Lyla and in our search found the perfect program. A retired couple, both of whom used to teach preschool, now run an in home daycare about five minutes from my work. There are only 8 kids and all the kids are pretty young. We really feel lucky to have found this place and I really feel like Lyla is going to love it. Needless to say, our days are packed right now.

In an instant life can change.

On June 14th my older sister Jennifer was in a motorcycle accident in Ohio that has left her with a traumatic brain injury. She is still in the Intensive Care Unit and has been there for the last two weeks. She was in a medically induce coma for a bit and is now just sedated and slowly moving towards hopefully waking up. This has been a really intense time for our family as one never expects something like this to happen. She is making the tiniest baby steps forward each day and I have learned to celebrate the tiniest of accomplishments. One of the largest things I have taken away from this thus far is to truly appreciate the time you have. Don't wait to do the things you dream of because in an instant everything can change. I will certainly keep you posted as we move forward on this journey but please keep Jennifer in your thoughts.

It's Official!

We are expecting another little darling!!!! I am 12w5d which means I am due December 15th. We couldn't be more excited! We just heard the heartbeat today which is 160. Lyla will have just turned 2 when we have our next little one. I have been feeling pretty good though very tired, but that doesn't surprise me as life hasn't slowed down any. We should know whether we are having a girl or boy towards the end of July. Our little family is growing and it just pleases us to no end.