Grandpa Miller

We miss him so much. I miss my parents very much. My Mom would have loved these pictures.

20 Months Old!

Not sure what to update.... we went to Kansas for a week to visit Grandpa Miller, Uncle Chuck and Aunt Bobbie, Uncle Rich, and Cousins Heather and Lauren. Heather and Lauren came back to Ohio with us -- first plane ride! I'll post pictures of their trip later.

Emma is the same height and weight as she has been -- I've not noticed any changes in about 5-6 months. But she's meeting her developmental milestones, so that's a good thing. She has a vocabulary of over 100 words at this point, she's making 3-4 word sentences, and she's running, climbing and jumping. She's my amazing little miracle.

Summer Pictures

Just a few to share....

Daddy supervising Emma while she was "sorting" Mommy's crochet hooks.


Emma underneath the maple tree that we grew from a seed. We told her that it was "tickling" her when she passed under it (because the branches are so low and the leaves touched her head), so every time she ran under it, she started giggling.

We had a great time today with my friend Mary and her daughter Elyse, who is only 6 months older than Emma. The girls had a fantastic time, and I did take a few pictures. Emma definitely needs a playmate!

19 Months

Didn't I *just* post her 18-month update? It feels like I did, anyway. Not much has changed, her weight is staying stable but she seems to be getting taller (she can reach more things that she couldn't before). She's talking, talking, talking and every day can say more and more words. I can't even keep count anymore.

We're slowly but surely getting the sleep thing better. Last night she slept in her "big girl bed" (converted the crib into a day bed that's about 10 inches off the floor) from 8pm until 3:15am with not one peep. But at 3:15 she came into the room and wanted into bed with me, and then wanted to talk and play. I finally had to leave the room at 4:15 and let Joe take over so I could get a little more sleep. She went back to sleep and slept until 6:30 though. The night before she only made it until 1:15 until she was in our room. I'm not sure the difference, but who knows. I'm taking it one day at a time.

She's amazing, this little girl of mine. Not because she's "better" or "more special" than other kids, but just because she's amazing to ME. Every day I look at her with awe and wonder, and am grateful for the blessing she is in my life.

I'll try to post some new pictures once she goes to bed tonight.

Peaceful

It is the calm before the storm, in a way. Things have been going ok since my last post. I'm heading to DC tomorrow for a 2-day meeting, so Joe and Emma get 48 hours together (although she'll be at daycare on Friday). I hope they do ok -- they did my last meeting. Then there are 3 weeks of calm before our Kansas trip. I'm anxious about the trip, but looking forward to it.

I need to get pictures edited and uploaded, but here are a few videos from the 4th that I thought I'd share.

Fourth of July

We had a wonderful weekend that I will blog more about soon, but here are some pictures to enjoy in the short term.

Fun With Food

She's going to be so embarrassed when she sees all these "food on my face" pictures later on in her life. But for the moment, they're absolutely adorable.

Happy One and a Half Birthday!

As we promised her when she was born, we celebrated her half birthday today with cupcakes and a present. She got a little baking set (that you can really use to cook, but it's all toddler-size pieces) and a yellow cupcake with chocolate icing. She LOVES chocolate, as you can see.



At her 18-month appointment last week she was a little over 22 lbs and 33 inches tall. She has a vocabulary of 50+ words at this point, and is on to two-word sentences, like "Mommy help," "Feed Kitty," "Cracker Please," and so on. She's doing pretend play, which is very interesting and early.... she'll "feed" her stuffed animals and give them drinks, and then put them to bed. It's adorable.

She is the light at the end of every day, and my joy in the morning. Happy 18-month Birthday PeeWee.

For those readers of this blog, an update on our TTC journey. We did get a positive pregnancy test back in early May, and initially the bloodwork looked good. But subsequent ultrasounds revealed no heartbeat and no growth, and multiple attempts at initiating a natural miscarriage with medication failed. So today I had a D&C. This is my 6th pregnancy, my 5th miscarriage. We wait a cycle, and then possibly do a HSG to check for scar tissue since this is my 4th D&C. If all is clear, then we move back into TTC again. I don't know what we do if I miscarry again. I won't think about it unless we get there.

Rattleworm's Day at the Zoo

Rattleworm and Emma had a very nice time. He got to see all sorts of animals, and spent some face-to-face time with a long-lost cousin in the reptile house! It was a gorgeous day to go to the zoo.

We started at the Flamingos....

Then went to the Reptile House. She loves the interactive exhibit.


Turtles!!


Snake!

Rattleworm's long-lost cousin? What do you think?


One more turtle...

Off to see the Kangaroos!


Stopped for a snack by the Gibbons.... they weren't high up today.


Oh my... that's right. It's the World's Largest Stinkiest Flower!


Look Mom, I'm sitting on an Ape!

Bye-bye everyone!

Easter Pictures (Finally)

Thank You Uncle Dean!

She loves, loves, loves her new drawing table. :) Thank you so very, very much. I cannot tell you how wonderful this is going to be for her!

17 Month Videos

Emma has been such a joy.... she's growing so fast and doing so many cute things on her own! The first video is of her putting her teddy bear to bed. She did it before, and we just cued her to do certain things. Bedtime is much easier now, btw.... we read our story, say our prayers, sing a song, and she goes into the crib. No crying, no whining. She's asleep within 10-15 minutes. She still wakes up about 2 times a night on average though. (we're nursing once before bed and once when she wakes up for good in the morning).



This is a really sweet video of her "walking" in Daddy's shoes. She actually put her feet in them all by herself and walked all this way on her own. She's done it several times since and just gets a kick out of how big Daddy's shes are!

17 Month Videos

Emma has been such a joy.... she's growing so fast and doing so many cute things on her own! The first video is of her putting her teddy bear to bed. She did it before, and we just cued her to do certain things. Bedtime is much easier now, btw.... we read our story, say our prayers, sing a song, and she goes into the crib. No crying, no whining. She's asleep within 10-15 minutes. She still wakes up about 2 times a night on average though. (we're nursing once before bed and once when she wakes up for good in the morning).



This is a really sweet video of her "walking" in Daddy's shoes. She actually put her feet in them all by herself and walked all this way on her own. She's done it several times since and just gets a kick out of how big Daddy's shes are!

I Have Mint

Or rather, Emma does. We have an over-abundance of it (if any of our Columbus friends would like some, please just let me know).



Someone tell my baby it's NOT ok that she'll be 17 months old tomorrow. :(

Precious Moments

Is It May Already?

Not really sure where the time is going, but in 15 days, Emma will be 17 months old. What?! No way. Not my baby. Not that old already!

These were our hands in January of 2010, when she was just a month old.



Here are our hands again on April 30th, when she was 16 months and 6 days old.



Such a difference. Such a fast-growing little girl. I love her so much!

Thank you to Cousin Debbie, Momma Maurine, Grandma & Grandpa Lewis, and Ms. Steph for the wonderful, special gifts all of you sent. You are all so sweet!!

Busting Myths, One At a Time

April 24-30 is National Infertility Awareness Week

From RESOLVE.org's website -- Myth: If you already have one child, you know you are fertile and will have no problems conceiving again.

Yeah - I'm living proof that's a load of crap. I'm one of the "lucky" ones -- with primary infertility and then secondary infertility. It took us 3 years and 3 miscarriages to get our first living child (angel that she is), and we've been "officially" trying for a year to have our second child, with only one chemical pregnancy to show for it.

Infertility is isolating. Infertility is depressing. Infertility is stigmatizing. And Infertility can be life-consuming. Every day I have to remind myself to focus on the fact that I have beaten infertility once -- I can carry my child through the grocery store or the library, kiss her goodnight, and get to watch her grow up. But in my heart, I still am the bitter infertile, happy for others who get pregnant but sad for me.

Please use this week to bust myths and support the 1 in 8 couples who are struggling with infertility. Visit the RESOLVE.org website to learn more about myths of infertility and the truth about those myths.


From RESOLVE.org's website -- Busted!: Infertility does not discriminate and can strike anyone at anytime throughout the childbearing years. Secondary infertility — the inability to get pregnant naturally or carry a pregnancy to term after successfully conceiving one or more children — is very common.

Approximately 12 percent of women in the United States have secondary infertility, and it accounts for more than half of all infertility cases. Unlike those experiencing difficulty having their first child, people who are affected by secondary infertility are much less likely to seek infertility treatments. Many in this situation are told that they have nothing to worry about, to just keep trying. This can lead to much frustration and loss of precious time.

A number of things can cause secondary infertility including age, damage or blockage to the fallopian tubes, ovulation problems, endometriosis, and problems with sperm production. The testing and diagnosis process is the same as for primary infertility.

Don’t wait to see a fertility doctor (reproductive endocrinologist). If you are having difficulty getting pregnant, the rule of thumb on when to see a fertility specialist is if: You are under 35 and aren’t pregnant within a year of actively trying, or You are over 35 and haven’t conceived within six months of trying.

If you have experienced two or more miscarriages, have a history of sexually transmitted infections, have irregular periods or have especially painful periods, you should make that appointment even sooner.

Infertility 101

National Infertility Awareness Week

Family Weekend

Happy and Blessed Easter Everyone!

We had a wonderful weekend. Friday was my "work from home" day so I actually got all my work stuff done before noon, and then Joe and I put together our two new composters (yay for compost!). I finished some things for the garden, and got Emma early for the start of our weekend.

Saturday was the first day of Toddler Yoga, which she absolutely loves AND we went to one of my nursing homes for their Easter Egg hunt. She was a huge hit! She wore a lovely Easter dress and bonnet, and waved at all of the residents. I think she grabbed 20 eggs or more. And for the first time, she tasted chocolate. It started as an accident, but I let her have it. So far her bottom doesn't look too horrible, although tonight it was starting to get very raw looking. She did enjoy it very, very much though.



Today we started our day with our own egg hunt, and she kept signing for "more" eggs to find! Then we hopped in the car and went to the zoo. There were only 88 people there, according to the worker we talked to around 10am (they open at 9) and so it was a nice, peaceful morning. Emma had the petting zoo with the goats ALL to herself (and she loved it!). We also got to see Beco, the 2-year-old elephant calf nursing from Momma! Emma saw it and she turned around and started to sign "milk, milk". It was adorable.

She had a huge eating weekend, lots of fruits and veggies, and she decided she loves hard-boiled eggs. I'll do an Easter picture post later, but for the moment, here are a few to enjoy.

Big Helper Girl

Emma helped me make Raisin Bread last weekend, and this evening she "helped" with laundry. She absolutely LOVES helping! (for the moment, how long will it last?)

16 Months Already?

It doesn't seem possible. But here it is, 16 months old tomorrow. I don't have much to update because it just seems like we did a 15 month update! She's talking more, we're still catching the morning pee in the toilet, and she loves to read books with Mommy and Daddy.

Bedtime is easier, and last night she slept from 8-11pm with no rousing, then we nursed for the last time and went to bed together at 11, and she slept from 11:15 until 3am without a peep. 3am she screamed and cried for about 20 minutes (nightmare, perhaps?) and then went back to sleep, and at 5am we did our morning nursing, then back to sleep until I woke her up at 6:30am so we could get to daycare. She would have slept longer. If we can get that 3am waking out of the picture, I'll be a happy camper.

Easter pictures this weekend!