Double Digits!!!

We hit Double Digits today! Only 99 days to go! Yeah! I thought this day was racing towards us like a dang turtle race but it's finally here. This may not be a big day for some people but it is for us. It means we're getting closer, and, knock on wood, Riley's still doing okay. Yeah!

We watched Tate yesterday afternoon so her Mommie's could go to a big girl movie. They saw "Music and Lyrics" which they said was okay. LB was miserable most of the time which made the movie not as enjoyable. I guess the chairs at movie theaters aren't really designed to keep a six month pregnant woman comfortable.

Playing with Tate was fun as always. She's getting so big. And talk, talk, talk. She loves to talk. I love hearing that adorable voice. Although I do have a hard time fully understanding her sometimes. She's got quite the vocabulary for a 2 1/2 year old. We read books, took turns throwing things into a bucket, ate pizza, and her favorite, played with colored paper clips. I showed her how to paper clip two pieces of paper together, we sorted the paper clips by color, we made paper clip necklaces, we counted paper clips, and then we but them back into their bucket one color at a time. It's amazing how something as simple, and cheap, as paper clips, kept her entertained for an entire hour! I love that little girl! We're going to dinner tonight for LB's birthday so I'll get to play with her again.

We got our bed this week and it's gorgeous. We love it! Yesterday we splurged again and bought a 32" LCD TV for the Master Bedroom. We also bought the wall mount package that allows you to pull the TV out on an arm in order to move it in multiple positions. Love it! This morning Shelly had to get up early for a hair appointment. I decided to lay in bed and enjoy the new bed and TV while she was getting ready. That way we could talk as she was prepping herself. She brought up coffee and Oatmeal Scotchies (my favorite cookie) for me to enjoy in bed this morning while we visited. What a great way to start a day!

On Thursday I got together with my family to make cards. It's girls craft night out once a month. I ended up holding my cousins six week old baby boy most of the night. He was adorable and such a good baby. He really didn't whimper or make a sound in the 2+ plus hours we were there. I love that new baby smell. I found myself just staring at all of his amazing little features. Tiny ears, nose, fingers, toes. I can't wait to do the same with our sweet Riley. I'm sure I'll spend hours just staring at her.

I'll post a Riley 26 week update tomorrow.

She's Finally Packing on the Pounds

Shelly's finally packin' on the pregnancy pounds. And she's not too happy about it. We had an OB appointment yesterday and she gained 6 pounds this month. That puts her up 2 1/2 pounds total for the pregnancy. Our Doctor says she usually sees people have a big jump around 24 to 26 weeks then it slows down a little again. Although the weight gain should start piling on during this last trimester.

Shelly had a touch of protein in her urine which she has had at every appointment since week 16. Our doctor hasn't been too worried about it but now that we're heading into the third trimester she wants to make sure it's not a problem. Shelly has to do a 24 urine sample. She has to catch her pee for 24 hours and then take it into the lab. She hates this kind of stuff but she'll do anything for Riley.

Although we're 25 weeks pregnant she's measuring 27 weeks. Maybe we've got a chubby little girl on our hands. We'll have more details about Riley on Tuesday. We have another Ultrasound appointment at Maternal Fetal Medicine to check on Riley and the status of the Hygroma.

We got an exciting Valentine surprise today. Riley's biological half sibling, Riley Elizabeth, was born today! Yeah!!! Congrats to Stacey and Angele who are home resting already with their little baby girl. Check them out at http://stacey-angele.blogspot.com/.

We had something very shocking happen in SLC this week. On Monday night an 18 year old male/boy went on a shooting spree in one of our downtown malls, Trolley Square. He killed 5 people and critically injured 4 others. We still don't know the motive behind his rampage. This one hits just way too close to home. The past couple of days my mind has been struggling with thoughts about how we are going to keep Riley safe in the current world we live in. I want to protect her and keep her as far away from harm as possible. But she's also got to live and experience life. A 16 year old girl was killed in the attack. She was at the mall with her mother who was critical injured. A father and son were also at the mall. The father was killed and the son critically injured. It's so damn sad and makes me angry, scared, confused, and terrified. Do we move to the middle of no where, never leave our house, and home school Riley. Absolutely not. That's not who we are. We must find a way to keep her as safe as possible in this crazy world we live in. It's just so damn scary.

I don't want to leave you all on such a sobering subject. So, don't forget to check out pictures of Riley's half siblings at the following blogs:

http://loeysbaby.blogspot.com/
http://stacey-angele.blogspot.com/

Happy Valentines Day to everyone!

25 Weeks!

Yesterday we hit 25 weeks!

We have an OB appointment tomorrow to check and see how Mama Shelly's doing. Then we're going out for Valentines Dinner at Ruth Chris. Next week we have another Ultrasound at Maternal Fetal Medicine to check on Riley as well as what is happening with the Hygroma.

Riley's been crazy today. She went through a couple days of being a little mellow. Then today she's gone nuts. Kicking, swimming, punching, and dancing. She must be back in training for her Triathlon.

Read on for Riley's 25 Week Update:

• The structures of the spine begins to form -- joints, ligaments and rings. These will protect the all important spinal cord which serves as the information transmitter for her body.
• Blood vessels of the lungs develop.
• Her nostrils begin to open. There is a study out of Belfast that suggests babies at this stage have the capability of scent preferences!
• The nerves around the mouth and lip area are showing more sensitivity now. When she is rooting for food later on, these will be valuable!
• Her swallowing reflexes are developing.
• Dexterity is improving. She can make a fist and would clasp objects placed in her palm.
• She has now obtained an approximate length of 13.6 inches (34.6cm) and weighs approximately 1.46 pound (660gm).