Baby Shower for Baby Girl #2

My Wednesday morning mom's group surprised me with a baby shower. We were scheduled to have a playdate, but when I arrived I found out we were celebrating the arrival of our baby girl. What a sweet surprise! We had a great breakfast spread, we hung out, I opened gifts and they prayed for our family.

Joy (our table leader) and Karis

The breakfast spread

Lots of kiddos playing

The whole gang (except for Chaundel, our mentor mom)

WANTED: One Little Bath Buddy

Karis loves her baths, but I know she would love them even more if she had a bath buddy. Maybe then, she'll do something else besides try to drink the bath water with her little toy tug boat. I can't wait until her little sister is old enough to join her in the tub. She's going to love it!

Five more weeks until Karis' baby sister arrives!

Wet Kisses

We finally found a renter to rent the downstairs room. He is a friend from church and it's been working out well. He brought his dog with him. The dog's name is Sierra and she is a very well-behaved Vizsla. Now Karis gets to live with a dog without us having to take care of it.

Karis of course loves to see the dog. Every time she hears her tag rattle, she gets excited. She enjoys watching Sierra from the baby gate (the dog doesn't come into our living area). Now that she's gotten used to the dog, she hangs out at the gate and lets Sierra lick her face. Bleck! I keep telling her, "Karis, dogs lick their butts," but it just doesn't seem to phase her.

Here are a couple of photos of the first time she let Sierra lick her face.

Cheap Thrills

One place I like to take Karis to that is free and close by is Petsmart. It's always nice to have a place to go to when you need to get out of the house for a little bit -- or feeling guilty b/c you're dragging your daughter around on a bunch of errands.

The Petsmart in our neighborhood has a Doggie DayCamp (a daycare for dogs). They have two large rooms, with floor to ceiling glass windows, where the dogs run around and play. Karis loves to watch them, especially when they interact with her through the window.

The dog area is usually the first spot we go to. Afterwards, we explore the aisles and then go look at the cats, birds and fish. We also try to find some dogs to pet since customers always bring their pups to the store.

Today was different. Karis went straight to the toy aisle to first pick out a couple balls she thought the dogs would like.

She grabbed two of them and took them to the dogs.

And then, she was off to explore (by herself) the rest of the store.

Lucky or Well Beyond Her Year?

Lately, Karis has been enjoying her favorite video called "Treehouse." The video was made by a local church, and it has some good lessons and catchy songs. There are three segments to the video. Karis and I watched one of them as a way to keep quiet while Derek slept in. When Derek came downstairs, I turned the DVD player off and told Karis, "No more, all done."

Since she couldn't watch her video, she wanted to play with the remote control. She's never played with this particular remote, but I let her have it since the DVD player was off. Little did I know that in less a minute, she turned the DVD on, scrolled down to "Scene Selection," and then picked a scene to play (that had to have been 4 or 5 buttons). Derek and I looked at each other in complete shock, while our content daughter continued watching the DVD.

We don't know how she managed to press just the right combination of buttons to get the DVD to play. It could have been an accident, but it sure did look like she knew just what she was doing!

Prayer Request

Last week I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes (GD). I wasn't too surprised, since it runs in our family, but I was bummed to hear the news. I've read that the cause of GD is uncertain, but they think that the increase in hormones causes the insulin to be ineffective in breaking down the sugars in the body. As a result, I have to go on a strict diet (eat certain combinations of foods at certain times) and exercise daily.

I tried it for a week and my numbers were still pretty high but they were getting better towards the latter part of the week. I wasn't too worried because I was told that it takes about 1-2 weeks to get used to the diet and to figure out what works for you. In addition, the doctors and nurses I had spoken to up to that point did not make it seem like GD resulted in anything too dangerous or risky for myself or the baby.

However, I met with a specialist last Friday and that was the first time I was informed about the severity of the condition. It definitely made me worry because there are a lot of complications if I can't get my blood sugar levels under control -- the most severe being stillbirth. I was diagnosed with GD pretty late so I don't have a lot of time to "figure things out." The doctor put me on medication which I started last night. Today I took a long walk and tried to keep moving most of the day. Most of my numbers were good.

Please pray that my blood sugar levels will be under control and that the baby will stay healthy and not grow too big. Please also pray for me that I would have peace and not stress about this. This has been all-consuming for me as I spend a large part of the day thinking about what I am allowed to eat, and then trying to figure out what in my fridge fits those criteria. I'm constantly watching the clock because I have to test my blood an hour after each meal and also eat every 2 1/2 - 3 hours. The stress has made me even more tired and yet I need to go on at least one walk per day. I now have to go to the hospital two times every week so that they can monitor the baby's heart rate. This is in addition to my regular visits with my ob/gyn.

The doctor does not want me to go full-term in case the baby gets too big and to prevent stillbirth. I will be induced 7-10 days before my due date (March 26).

Here is a picture from the ultrasound last Friday. This is Baby#2 at 32 weeks. The doctor took more measurements and said that she's looking great!

Someone's first bloody nose

No, it wasn't me for taking 2 months to post again. But it was about that long ago that Karis was obeying daddy by playing with one of her toys when she lost her balance and her face hit the toy. =(

It makes me sad to watch this. I'm not sure why I'm posting now that I think about it. More posts to come....

The Second Time Around

I haven’t really reflected much about this second pregnancy. With little Karis and life in general, it’s been tough to do so. I can’t say I love being pregnant, but I am thankful that I’ve had relatively easy pregnancies with no complications. I am grateful for that, and I am still amazed that there is a little person growing inside of me. What a miracle!

The 1st trimester was definitely more challenging since I couldn’t take naps and rest when I wanted to or needed to. The 2nd trimester was fairly easy and quick -- no time to sit around and just daydream about having a baby! The third trimester has been a lot tougher. My body has been super tired with the extra weight while caring for Karis. My 22 lb baby has been the exception of the “no heavy lifting” rule. I’ve been having back pains which have made doing daily things pretty tough. I've been trying to be good about not doing too much around the house and asking Derek for help as much as possible. He's been great about bringing down the laundry, vacuuming, and carrying Karis up/down the stairs for me.

Since the holidays, things have been pretty quiet. I’m trying to enjoy the “calm before the storm” and not do too much. I have the tendency to make myself busy, but I’m trying hard to resist that. Plenty of sleep and individual attention to Karis have been my main focus lately.

I am 30-weeks along, and with only 10 short weeks to go, I am excited and nervous at the same time. Life will definitely be different!

I'm excited to meet this little baby. She is so active and has some pretty powerful kicks and jabs. I wonder how she’ll differ in looks, personality and temperament from Karis. I also can’t wait to see how Karis responds and treats her little sister. I think she’s going to be great!

Whenever Derek tells Karis to "kiss baby sister," she kisses my belly. She does it EVERY single time. It's really sweet. But... I'm wondering if she thinks a belly is called a "baby sister." =)

My Separation Anxiety, Not Hers

(by Lena) Like most first time parents, I try to do things by the book as much as possible. Karis is at the age where separation anxiety sets in. I have learned that there are certain things we as parents can do to try to ease the anxiety. While Karis doesn't really exhibit much, if any, separation anxiety, I still try to do what I can to follow certain steps so that she knows when I'm leaving and that I will be back to get her.

When saying good-bye to your child, whether leaving them at home with a sitter or dropping them off in nursery, I learned that you're supposed to give them a little time to get comfortable, kiss and hug them, tell them you're going to be right back (keeping it light), and then leaving and not coming back to comfort them.

Well, last Sunday, I dropped Karis off at the church nursery. I took her out of her stroller and before I even had time to stand up straight, she had dashed into the room and the door shut behind her. "Bye Karis..." I said (to myself) as she was long gone... I kinda wanted a hug and kiss good-bye. I signed her in and filled out the name tag for her, thinking I could go in the room and put it on her. The nursery volunteer stood at the door and said, "I'll take that for you. Enjoy the service!" and he took the name tag and went inside... again, the door shut.

It was funny and sad at the same time... I know Karis enjoys her time there and evidently didn't care much for a proper good-bye but I sure could have used one! I wonder is there is anything in the "book" about parent separation anxiety. =)

p.s. The smile, kiss and mad dash to me when I walked in the room to pick her up was enough to make up for the lack of proper good-bye.

A New Kind of Play

(by Lena) It's been so much fun watching Karis learn new things. We're constantly amazed at the things she does and understands. She's becoming a little girl!

Her play time has definitely been different lately. She will sit and try to figure things out. For example, she'll put pegs in holes (all eight of them) and then pull them out. It's fun to watch her stay focused and be patient. We're used to seeing her pick up toys, stick them in her mouth, maybe shake it, and then move on to the next thing.

On Christmas day, Karis received a picture book of everyday things. Yesterday morning, she pointed to objects when I asked her where they are. I asked her, "Where is the kitty?" and she pointed to the cat on the page with about five different things. She also identified the banana, pear, baby, ball, and of course, the dog. I pointed a few times to the swan and taught her what it was. She had never seen a picture of one before. Later that day, I brought the book to Karis so that Derek could see her point to the pictures. She pointed to the same objects, and surprisingly she remembered which one was the swan!

When she plays with her friends, she is definitely more aware of them and tries to interact with them (as opposed to parallel play). The other day, a friend of mine came over. Karis put a toy on her lap and pushed the button to show her what it could do. I expected Karis to watch the toy, but instead, she was watching my friend's face to see her reaction. She was so happy to see that my friend was amazed at her toy.

It's also been nice that she understands more of the things I'm saying to her. She understands when I tell her we're going "outside," or when it's time for a "bath." She'll come when I ask her -- except when I have a diaper in hand -- but she'll get me a diaper if I ask.

Seeing her leave the baby stage and become a toddler could be a sad thing, but with another baby on the way, it's a welcomed thing for me. The more she can understand and do by herself, the easier it will be to have two under the age of 16 months!

Oh, and one fun thing she does -- when she sees a football game on TV, she'll raise both hands and we'll say "touchdown!" She'll keep doing that every time she looks back at the TV.