Micah, Elijah and Libby

Micah and Elijah

Christmas With My Family

YUMMY....Cookies!

Making cookies with Mimi and Pappy

Micah and My Brother's Children

Christmas Day at Our House

My Big Boy Bed!

Christmas Day at Granny and Granpa's House

Charlie's Brother's Children

Boy # 2

Well, I have not officially announced yet on my blog the sex of the child that I am carrying. It was in part due to the fact that I just had to get over a little disappointment before letting others know and partly due to the fact that we have procrastinated putting the pictures on the computer.

I have known the sex of this child since 16 weeks of pregnancy. Most people do not find out that early, but I had to see the at risk Maternal Fetal Specialist at that time in my pregnancy due to some bleeding and carrying the baby low. I did not realize that I would receive an ultrasound that day. Not only did I receive a typical ultrasound, but this one was 4-D. It was pretty neat and it lasted about 30 minutes. We found out that the baby is as healthy as can be at this point. They checked all different parts or the baby's heart and of the brain. It was pretty incredible. The best part of it was that it was free, since I was considered "high risk." The last thing that she did was tell me the sex of the child. I was so hopeful that she would say that I was carrying a little girl, but then I heard the word "boy." I have to admit that I cried on the way home from the doctor. I just knew that this one would be a girl, because I have had so many difficulties that I did not have with Micah. What was the hardest to deal with was the fact that this would be my last child, so there was not a chance for a natural girl. Pregnancy has been hard on my body, so it would not be wise for us to go through this process again. I was sad about it for about 2 days, but then I began to count my blessings and thank the Lord that this baby was healthy. I also know that the Lord knows best and knows what we need. I am beginning to get excited about the fact that Micah will have a best friend that sleeps in the room right next to him and then one day in the same room. They will be buddies for life. They will share the same room, same toys, same clothes, etc.

Charlie and I both know that there will not be another pregnancy, but we are both still pretty certain that we will one day, Lord willing,be the parents of a beautiful baby girl. We have talked about adoption since we first got married and this may just be the Lords way of telling us that adoption is what He has in mind for our family. We are both praying and seeking the Lord in this decision. It will be a financial burden as well as a change to the dynamics of the family. It will be a decision that we will both have to be 100% certain about and one that we know the Lord is leading us to.

There are pictures posted below of my sweet little baby boy. We are still deciding on a name for the little guy.

4-D Ultrasound pictures

Sucking Thumb

Its a Boy!

Christmas and Such

Well, Christmas is over and the fun of playing with all the new toys begins. I will have pictures to post in the next couple of days. We have been extremely busy with visiting family and friends. We have spent the last several days traveling. We are in Birmingham Alabama right now visiting a college buddy. They have a little boy Micah's age and a one-year-old little baby girl. Micah is having the time of his life playing with his friend and learning how to do new things, such as, jumping off of furniture. Two-year-old little boys are such a joy!

Well, back to the subject of Christmas. Charlie and Micah were showered with new toys. I got a few nice things as well, but that really doesn't matter to me. I just like for them to be happy. Most of what I got was things that we needed for the house and a couple of maternity tops. I need a few more maternity tops that I really enjoy wearing and I will be set. I get tired of wearing the same thing day after day, but that is the way it goes. I have a hard time finding ones that fit me really good and that I enjoy wearing. I really need XS and that size is really hard to find in Maternity.

Speaking of maternity...I visited the OB on Wednesday. So far so good. I am now a couple of days shy of 24 weeks and my blood pressure is great. I just pray that it stays this way and I continue to feel better day by day. The only thing that bothers me now is that I can't be on my feet for a long period of time, because I am carrying the baby really low and he is putting a lot of pressure on my bladder, back and pelvis. The OB has me wearing a maternity belt now to relieve some of that pressure. I just hope that it does the trick. So far I am not noticing a big difference. Charlie and I are both a little anxious at the fact that this baby may come a little early.

A quick update on Micah...he is now in speech therapy and I am learning new things to do to increase his vocabulary. The whole process is pretty complicated, but I think we will start to see some improvement soon. This morning, I think that he said please. At least it was close to that. I have not been able to get him to say it since, but we are making progress and that is the big thing. The goal is that Micah will have 20 words over the next 6 months. I am keeping up with a journal of his progress for myself and the therapist.

That is all for now...more pictures and such later.

The Virus Has Hit!!!

Well, I have spent the last 24 hours now in the bathroom. This is one of those viruses that really humble you. You are sitting on the toilet and holding a trash can at the same time. I can't keep the smallest sip of water in at this point. I was up most the night last night with stomach cramps and a back ache. I thought that maybe I was going into preterm labor and came really close to calling the hospital. I am overdue for my OB appointment. I was scheduled for this morning, but had to call and cancel. Micah also has his appointment with the ENT specialist today to look at his tongue. It was a blessing that I was able to call and get an appointment that quickly. When I called, they had just had a cancellation and I jump on that quick. I just hope that I can pull it together in time, so that I can make it. If not, it will be the beginning of February before we can get in. I just pray that I am over this before the weekend and that I don't give it to anyone else.

Christmas Plans

Well, Charlie is out of school, I am done with preschool and the break officially begins. All the presents, but one have been purchased and wrapped. The countdown to the Christmas festivities has begun! My whole family will be at my house this year. This is a first since Charlie and I have been married. I am busy getting the house clean and the last finishing touches done on the meal plans. I just hope and pray that everyone is well, so that we can all be together. Charlie has been sick with a virus the last couple of days and Micah has had an eye infection due to allergies and a blocked tear-duct. I so far am well, except for the normal pregnancy stuff. I just hope that I don't come down with anything this weekend.

We have a busy week ahead of us. Tomorrow I visit a friend, who has just had her baby. I will also put the finishing touches on the holiday shopping. Thursday I have my OB check-up in the morning and then we take Micah to the ENT that afternoon to check on the status of his tongue. The news that we could possibly hear from this appointment could make my Christmas a very merry one indeed. My parents will be here on Friday. Hopefully Charlie and I can catch a movie while they enjoy Micah. Saturday I will be busily preparing the meal for the family and cleaning the house. That night my brother and his family of five will come over to celebrate the Hooks' Christmas. Sunday we will attend church as normal, rest and put together Micah's toddler bed and wrap his other presents. Monday, we will do Christmas here for Micah and then travel to The Kelly's for Christmas lunch and more fun with the family.

This time of year is always busy, but I love it! The part that I enjoy most is spending time with family and creating special memories and traditions for Micah.

Do you notice anything weird about this picture? Look at this toddlers tongue...it is "tied." After speaking on the phone with Micah's doctor yesterday, I decided to investigate tongue-tied. I told her what the therapist said about the retrictive moments of his tongue and she suspected that he could be tongue-tied. When Charlie got home, we held him down and both examined his tongue. We both agreed that his tongue looked stranged (some what like the toddler in the picture) and strongly feel that he might be tongue-tied. Neither one of us are an expert in this area, so we are just going on his tongue compared to ours. We will have to take him to the doctor to know for sure. Well, come to find out it runs in families and my dad is also tongue-tied and required speech when he was younger. So what does all this mean??? If we are right, then it is great news!!! It means that Micah's speech problem is not anything serious like we thought before, but it is just because he can't move his tongue. This would also explain why he cannot eat meat. If this is the case, then they do a simple surgical procedure and we will probably see the effects of it immediatly. He will be freed!!!! I can't help but get excited about the possibility that we may not have a long road of speech therapy, just a quick trip to the operating room and DONE! I will try and contain myself for now though, because we could be completely wrong, but for now we will be hopeful.

Speech Therapy

It has been a little while since I have posted an update on Micah. He is doing well with his gross motor skills now. He has almost caught-up. The therapist still comes, to keep an eye on him and make sure that he doesn't regress. She is now working with him on his fine motor skills (Occupational Therapy) more then anything else. For so long, we focused so much on the gross motor skills that he has fallen a bit behind on the fine motor skills. I am sure that he will catch-up with this soon as well. Both areas of his development are just something that I am going to have to remember to stay on top of. I just thank the Lord for therapist that are trained in these areas and that Micah is able to benefit from their services.

Micah's Physical Therapist has been keeping a close watch on his language development for several months now. His development in this area has been some what of a concern to her, so we have been in the process of getting a speech evaluation. We have been trying to get the evaluation now for a couple of months and finally yesterday the Speech Therapist met with us. The therapist shared tons of information with me and I should say that we have our work cut out for us. It was all a little overwhelming. The therapist said that he is pretty sure that Micah has some sort of speech problem (which may be related to his other delays) but he just could not diagnose it until he has worked with him more. He is pretty certain that he is not a "late talker," but that there is some other issue. He noticed something different about the way Micah uses his tongue. He showed me some exercises to do with Micah to try and get him to have full use of his tongue. This, he said is also the reason why Micah will not eat meat. It is going to be a lot of work and I am a bit discouraged. He could not tell me for sure that Micah would have full language development. Yesterday, I had a bit of a pity party. I just kept thinking about how hard things might be for him as he goes through school. But I am also thankful, because I know that it could be a lot worse. The Lord has chosen for us to travel down this road with our precious son. It would not have been the one that I would have chosen for Micah, but I realize that the Lord knows what is best for us and Charlie and I both want to be in His Will. Besides, nothing will change the way that we love and care for him. Just keep him in your prayers and pray that the Lord give me patience.

The house is all decorated for Christmas now and Micah is excited about the new look our living room has. He has been very good not to bother the decorations. Friday morning, I dressed him up in his Santa outfit and we took pictures in front of the tree. Several of them are posted below. Just so you know...I got the outfit at Walmart after Christmas last year for $1.50!!

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Merry Christmas!

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Thursday night we decorated the Christmas tree. Micah helped by hanging his rocking horse ornament. He is going to have so much fun at Christmas this year!

Ebay Pays Off Again!

Every once in a while I will get on an Ebay kick and sell things to make a little extra cash. It has proven itself successful many times. Right now I am interested in making a little extra cash for Christmas. The item I am saving for is a surprise, so I can't spill the beans quite yet.

Well, the day after Thanksgiving my mom and I hit the "early bird specials." As I mentioned in my prior post, we usually make out very well by doing this. We got some really great deals at Target. One of the things that I picked up was the complete four seasons of the hit show "24." They were all four priced at $54.99, but the early bird caught the worm and I got them for $16 each. Now Charlie or I neither one are interested in that show. We love "Lost!" But my wheels started spinning and I just knew that I could not pass up a good deal...I would sale them on Ebay!! Well, the auction ended last night and overall I made a $50 profit. I should say that is pretty good for just picking them up at the store, listing them on Ebay and shipping them.

This gets me in the Ebay selling mood, so I think I will look for some more things to sale while Micah naps!

Could NOT Resist!

Every year for the past 6 or so years, my mom and I have hit the "early bird" specials the day after Thanksgiving. We have always enjoyed the rush and the great deals that we get by getting up early. We both said that this year we would not do it. I have not been shopping in forever, because I have just not felt up to it and I thought for sure I did not want to fight that crazy crowd of Christmas shoppers. Well, we sat down to a wonderful meal Thursday at noon and then all sat back and relaxed. I was bored and decided to go get a paper. Curiosity was killing me!!! I had to go two different places to get a paper, because they were a hot item. The paper was so big, that they put it in a bag for me. I was so excited when I walked back in the door and dumped it in my mom's lap. We both frantically took out the sales papers and put the rest to the side. We circled the good deals and pondered what we could buy for each person on our list. It would require us to get up at 4:20am and be at Toysrus before 5:00am. We were not too excited about that idea, but could not turn down the bargains. So we set our alarm and went to bed early. I woke up at 6:00am and realized that the alarm did not go off. I rushed into my mom's room and told her what had happened. We were both disappointed, because we knew that all the sales that we wanted would be gone. I convinced her to get ready anyway and see if we could still get any of the doorbusters. We got to Toysrus over and hour late. We were not very hopeful that we would get what we wanted, but wanted to check it out anyway. To our surprise, we were able to get everything that we marked on our list, get out the door within 30 minutes and head to the next store. From there we proceeded to Walgreens, Burger King, K-Mart and Target. We got what we wanted at each of the places, so the venture out in the cold was well worth it. We got to sleep a whole extra hour and did not even have to stand in a line waiting for the doors to open.

My Christmas shopping is pretty much done and all that is left is the wrapping. I am trying to sweet talk Charlie to get the tree up for me tonight, so that we can decorate and have somewhere to put the presents after I wrap them. I can't wait to see the excitement on Micah's face this year when he sees the tree, decorations and presents!

To Grandma's House We Go!

Well, we are headed down south for the Thanksgiving Break. Charlie is off work today and we are getting last minute things done around here before we leave. Micah had therapy this morning. Charlie is getting ready to go workout, I have a OB appointment after lunch and then we will be headed on our way to the big W.R. We have not been out of town in over 3 months. I have really felt too sick to go anywhere. It will be nice to get away and relax. My mom will do most of the Thanksgiving cooking, my dad will entertain Micah and I can REST!!! I will try to do a little Christmas shopping. My mom and I usually get up around 4:30 am the day after Thanksgiving and hit to early bird specials. I'm not sure if we will do that this year, since I am not feeling a 100%. There will have to be some pretty darn good deals to get me up that early.

WHAT A BLAST!!!

I always thought that parents that spent tons of money for their children to see childhood celebrities were crazy, but now I have a bright eyed Wiggle loving toddler. Micah has had a crazy obsession with The Wiggles since his 1st birthday. He has a couple of Wiggles shirts, several Wiggles videos and even more Wiggles toys. Most of his Christmas presents this year have to do with Wiggles and his 2nd birthday party will be done in Wiggles.

When I realized how excited my sweet little boy got over The Wiggles, I knew that I had to some how, some way get him to a concert to meet them. We have had our tickets for over a month now and I have prayed that nothing happen to keep us from going. Well, we made it to the big day. No major illnesses, but the weather was awful. There were several tornado watches throughout the area, but we had come to far to miss this concert. We braved the weather and made our way to Atlanta.

When we got there, we bought Micah a Big Red Car light-up wand. He loved it and held onto it the entire time. When we walked through the auditorium doors, Micah began to realize what was going on. They had The Wiggles singing on the big screen. There were hundreds of kids all around us, all waiting for one thing...TO SEE THE WIGGLES!!!

Micah thoroughly enjoyed himself at the concert. At times he was a bit overwhelmed at it all and all that he could do was just sit and stare at the stage. I think his favorite part was seeing them come out in The Big Red Car. His least favorite part was when they brought a huge blow-up Murray out on the stage. They had to Murray deflate several times and come down on Jeff and then Jeff would fall to the ground. Most of the kids got a kick out of this, but not tender-hearted Micah. He began to get upset and had to go sit in his dada's lap.

Everyone there had a great time, even the adults. The Wiggles really know how to put on a concert. When we left, Charlie said that he really enjoyed it and that is coming from a guy who never really wanted to go in the first place. Way to go Wiggles!!

We are here! Mama has been telling me about this forever. Today I get to see The Wiggles!!!!

This is going to be so much fun!!!

Just waiting to see the Wiggles!

Here come the Wiggles! I love "The Big Red Car!" It is my favorite song.

Wake up Jeff!!! If you look at the big screen at the back of the stage you can see that Jeff is alreay asleep.

Anthony Wiggle walked right by me. This is my mom's favorite Wiggle, but silly her did not have her camera ready to get a face shot of him.

Play your guitar with Muarry! Do you see the huge Murray blow-up on stage. This scared me, so I had to go sit with my dada.

Murray Wiggle walked right by me. I was sitting on the end, so I got a good chance to see what he really looked like. He looks just like he does on t.v.

Dorothy the Dinosaur is on stage dancing now. I brought roses for her. One of the Wiggles Dancers is going to come get them from me. They sure smell good!

Here he comes!!!

Giving my roses to Dorothy. The Wiggles Dancer told me that he would make sure she got them.

Mama can't keep up with me.

Doing the "Twist!"

I love to Wiggle!!!

Dancing with mama! She loved singing the songs with me.

I brought a bone to give to Wags the Dog and got to meet one of the Wiggle Dancers. He told me that he would make sure Wags got the bone I gave him.

This has been so much fun, but I am pooped. Thanks for bringing me mama and dada.

We had a blast! Even dada enjoyed it!!!

Bye Bye Wiggles!!! See you next year!

We'll be Wiggling!!!!

WE ARE GOING TO THE WIGGLES CONCERT TOMORROW!!!! We have waited for this day for several months now and have been pumping Micah up about it. I spent a lot of money to get my little man into that concert. I never would have never dreamed I would have spent that much money to see a few childhood celebrities. I realize now that a mama will do anything for her children...even if it is crazy! Micah absolutely loves them and I am probably more excited about seeing his reaction when he sees them live for the first time. Micah, you are in for a huge treat tomorrow!!!!! I will post pictures when we get back, so stay tuned.

No MRI for Now

I had my long awaited visit with the Neurologist yesterday. Let me give you a quick update of why I went in the first place. I have been having headaches everyday for about two months. Along with the headaches, I have blurred vision and numbness in my hands and arms. I have also had stiffness in my neck and a few other crazy symptoms. My OB did not think my headaches were normal at this point in my pregnancy and referred me to see the Neurologist. That brings us to yesterday's visit.

I really liked the doctor. He was an older guy. I was expecting a young nerdy looking guy with glasses, but I am glad that I got someone with lots of experience. He asked me lots of questions and then did a long neurological exam. I thought that was interesting. I did weird things from sticking my tongue out to pretending to walk a tight rope. He said that is the test that he used to diagnose things such as brain tumors before the MRI came about. After examination, he concluded that from his experience, he believed that my headaches were related to the pregnancy. Praise the Lord...nothing serious. He said that I was just that unlucky percentage of pregnant women that get them. I hope he is right and if so, that is the good news. The bad news is that he said I could have these headaches for another 6 weeks and even until the end of the pregnancy. That is a little discouraging, because they have gotten to the point now where they are ruling my life. They are daily and there is really nothing they can give me to prevent them at this point, so I must press on and try to keep from going crazy in the meantime. One day this little one will hear the story of what it put it's mama through. If Micah could speak and understand, he would probably give his little sibling an earful too, because he doesn't understand why his mama doesn't feel like playing with him right now. Sorry little Micah, I'll make it up to you when I'm feeling better.

Too Tired to Eat!

Micah has had a runny nose and cough and the medicine I am giving him is making him sleepy. Yesterday, he took a 3 1/2 hour nap and today...well, he could not wait for nap time. He was eating his bannana sandwhich and the next thing I know, it is in his lap and he is fast asleep.

STUPID FLU SHOT!!!!

Well, as you read in my previous post, I got the flu shot today. I did not think any thing about it...just knew that I needed it to keep from getting sick on top of being pregnant this season. Well, here I am up at midnight with the worst body aches and pains that I have ever had! I tried to sleep, but every time I moved, I woke in pain. I also have the chills and a fever of 101. Sounds like a case of the flu to me. That is just my luck right now! I have never had a reaction to a flu shot, but now when I am pregnant and already feeling awful, this happens! I ask myself this question..."What is the Lord trying to teach me through this pregnancy?" It is a daily struggle, but I know that beautiful baby will all be worth it in the end. So, keep me in your prayers, as well as my dear family as they put up with me. This too will pass, but in the meantime, I hope that you don't mind that I vent occasionally.

Flu Be Gone!!

Last Thursday, Micah got his flu shot. Today, he saw me get mine. He got his at his doctor's office. I had to get mine at the health department. I was shocked by the price of them. It was $25 for one shot! They are making a killing off of those things. But we had to have them, so the price really did not matter. When they called me back to the room, Micah saw the shot sitting on the table and started to cry and run the other way. I assurred him that it was not for him, pulled him onto my lap and let him watch. When I was done, he got a whole sheet of car stickers. What was wrong with that picture...I got the shot, but he got the prize!!!!????? Well, at any rate maybe we will both miss the nasty flu bug this year.

Recent Posts

I have not posted in a while due to complications with pregnancy, so I have posted three updates below. They are from things that have happened within the past week or so. Enjoy!

It was Veggie Tale Day at Preschool today. We had the Veggie Tales make a guest appearance in all of the classes. Who do you think was Larry the Cucumber...you guessed it - ME!

We did a corn maze with our Sunday School Class over the weekend. Micah loved it, because he got to walk the entire maze. What a big boy!

My Little Cowboy on Halloween night at a fall festival in the area. His favorite game was the duck pond, because he got suckers!

You Call That a Hearing Test

Micah had his hearing screening on Tuesday. I am convinced that is was a waste of time. The only way he would have failed the test is if he would have had pretty moderate to severe hearing loss. I knew that this was not the case to begin with. When we were done with the test, the Audiologist said, "he did great, he is very responsive and alert." I knew that too. I asked if this ruled out the fact that he had any hearing lost and she said not really. I was thinking to myself, "so what did we really accomplish????" She said that he needed to start speech therapy. We are in the process of getting that started for him. He will have a speech evaluation some time in November and then they will start it after that. The speech therapist will let us know if we need to do the sleep study after working with him for a while.