Best Buddies

Brody and Mason are in the same class together and are best buddies. His momma was sweet enough to take some pictures of them at the park. We didn't think we got any cute ones because they wouldn't sit still, or shall I say Mason wouldn't keep still. But we got tons of cute ones! I love these two boys, enjoy:

Brody DID NOT like the grass, he's a texture kid and anything new or different he hates! Mason was trying to calm him down and show him it wouldn't hurt him but nothing worked until I moved Brody over to the sidewalk.

Lil Mac: 14 Weeks

This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells.

Wow, I'm in the 2nd trimester...where is the time going? Still feeling great! I'm definitely blessed and have not had any morning sickness with Lil Mac. I'm feeling very light flutters at night when I'm getting ready to go to bed which is a great feeling. I definitely see how a first time mom misses these feelings so early. But I suppose because it's my second time I'm more aware of what those feelings are.

Other than that I'm just busying chasing Brody around the house. This week he was not feeling well due to allergies and had a terrible diaper rash that has required around the clock care. I've been getting up every 2-3 hours at night to doctor it up but this morning it was almost completely gone! My poor baby, it was awful for him.

This week is TAKS week here in the good ole state of Texas so its been extremely hectic. Then we have a field trip tomorrow to the Fort Worth Zoo with my PreAP students. I'm really excited to get outta here for the day.

Our dog Molly is going through a rough time. We lost her brother, Haus in March and she just hasn't been the same. She has never been alone before so I think it's getting to her. She isn't eating well and will got 2-3 days without eating and on Tuesday I had a message when I got done testing from the Animal control saying they had her at the pound because she had dug under our fence and gotten out. So she's spending a few days at her Nana's and Poppy's to get some TLC because of our crazy, busy schedule.

Once this week is over I will be money and have only 5 weeks left of school! One of which is just reviewing for finals :) I can taste summer break!

Lil Mac: 13 Weeks

It's been a crazy busy week around here and I'm just now able to slow down a little to catch up on my blogging. It won't last long because next week is TAKS week and that's going to be a killer. I also have a field trip on Thursday to the Fort Worth Zoo! But I've decided if I can survive this next week then I will be in the home stretch with 5 weeks left of school.

We went to the doctor yesterday and it was a short and sweet visit. Dr. B was on her way to deliver so nothing exciting happened. We got to hear Lil Mac's heartbeat. It was strong and steady at 160 bmp. My blood pressure was great and I haven't gained any weight!! Whoa...I was surprised because I've definitely grown in the waist line. I think at this point with Brody I had already gained 3-4 pounds.

We go see the PA in 4 weeks, the high risk OB Dr. Tabor in 5-6 weeks(whenever they can get us an appointment) and then back to Dr. B in 8 weeks. At one of those appointments we should find the gender of this baby, I'm just not sure which one. I'm going to see Dr. Tabor again to make sure the baby is healthy and to take a look at my placenta and umbilical cord to see if we have any blood clots going on. My shots have been ok, I'm having a lot more bruising this time around and getting a lot more hard spots under the skin which is actually bruises under the skin. This makes my belly extremely sore and last between 7-10 days. She said I just need to keep my eye on those. I've had about 4 of them already and I can't figure out if its the way I'm giving the shots or if it's just because. Dr. B said there really isn't anything I can do to stop it unless I want to ice the area first but I don't have time for that.

Other than that life is good and busy. Brody is growing like a weed and really becoming a character.

Lil Mac: 12 Weeks

Your baby's crown-to-rump length is almost 2.5 inches and she now weighs between 8 and 14 grams! In just three weeks, your baby's size has more than doubled and begins to look a lot more human. Even though you won't be able to feel your baby moving at this time, you can stimulate him and he will squint, open his mouth and move his fingers or toes. Because most of the structures are already formed at this point, few will be formed after this time. The structures will continue to grow and develop throughout the remainder of your pregnancy. Your baby's skeletal system now has centers if bone formation in most of the bones. The digestive system is capable of making contractions that push food through the bowels and it is also able to absorb sugar. The pituitary gland beginning to make hormones.
Here's 12 week belly bump:


I've had severe allergy/cold problems this week and at night cannot catch my breath when I lay down. I ended up taking a breathing treatment last night and it did wonders! It was instant relief. I'm so ready to get some rain to knock some of this pollen out of the air!!

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Love Me Some Oreos!

Brody has recently discovered that he likes cheese. So I got him some lunchables this week because they are the perfect size. One of the lunchables has oreos in them so I decided to let him try one and he LOVED it. I know that probably doesn't surprise most that a kid likes a cookie but Brody isn't really a sweets eater. He doesn't care too much about cake, ice cream or cookies. BUT oreos, he loves!

We went to the botanical gardens a few weeks ago which turned out to be a big mistake with Brody's allergies as he was sick the whole rest of the week and we only managed to get a few good shots. We've discovered Brody doesn't like to sit, stand or be near grass therefore no pics with pretty flowers! I love this last pic because it really shows off his natural blue eyes that at times can be stunningly beautiful :)

Look Alikes?

I'm going to get a picture of my dad at Brody's age but I bet he looks more like him than he does me because all I hear is how much Brody looks like his Papa. At times it's scary how much he looks like me. I usually see Brandon in him when he's sleeping or serious

Lil Mac: 11 Weeks

Your baby, just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a lime, is now almost fully formed. Her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under her gums, and some of her bones are beginning to harden.She's already busy kicking and stretching, and her tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as her body grows and becomes more developed and functional. You won't feel your baby's acrobatics for another month or two — nor will you notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that her diaphragm is forming.

I keep trying to get belly pics but just haven't had the time or don't think about it since I'm not really showing a whole lot. I will try again tonight to get one.
I'm still feeling great and not pregnant. It's definitely a weird feeling vs how I felt with Brody. I've been wondering if the difference of sick and not sick has to do with my thyroid being controlled vs it being all over the place when pregnant with Brody. I'm not nearly as tired this time around compared to how tired I was with Brody.

Here's a cool pic of an 11 week old fetus. Crazy how small they are yet all major body parts are formed, developed and growing.

I'm just trucking right along and ready to head into the 2nd trimester. My favorite trimester out of them all! 2nd trimester is the most exciting because you begin to look pregnant, you start feeling the baby and you find out the sex of the baby! Then you get to start thinking of names! We definitely have a few picked out for both a boy and girl but I keep going back and forth on the names. So I guess we will narrow it down once we find out the gender.

Til next time,
LeAnn

Tugging at your heart strings!

There's something about a sick kid that makes a mother's tummy just ache. And it makes a working mother ache even more to be a stay at home mom.

Brody has not been feeling well since Saturday and is extremely clingy to his momma.
He's had a bad cold/upper respir. infection, cold in his eyes and is cutting FOUR upper teeth, yes 4!
Which is fine with me, I love rubbing his back, wiping his nose and hugging on him a little extra when he is feeling down. But it also makes it so much harder to go to work when they are like that. I feel guilty! Really guilty leaving him when he's sick. I know he will be fine with whomever he is with but there's just something about those sad, sick eyes and that pathetic sound of "momma" that makes you want to throw your hands up and say I quit!

I feel very fortunate and blessed that both Brandon and I have good, secure jobs and therefore 98% of the time I can just call in sick and stay home with my baby when he's ill. I'm also very blessed in the fact that I have all summer off, many breaks during the school year plus 10 sick days on top of all the other breaks.

I have 8 more Monday's left and then I can stay home with my sweet husband and precious baby for 8 weeks. I cannot imagine working knowing there was no summer break to look forward to or 2 week Christmas break. But at the same time I feel a constant, internal battle to say can we work it out so that I can stay at home! I suppose every mother goes through this and some days I'm so thankful I work and B gets the interaction that he so needs with other children at daycare.

I've also been battling that he will get a new teacher next year. What?! Wait one sec, I am very comfortable with his teacher's now, why can't they move up with him!! I'm very anal about the care that Brody receives at daycare. I can't help it, when it comes to my child and protecting him I have to feel comfortable with the people he's with and feel assured they are doing everything to eliminate the germs that manifest in a daycare setting. Then I started thinking about it and I better get use to it because that's the way it's going to go now until high school. I don't know how I'm going to survive middle school years!

Til next time,
LeAnn