14 wk. check-up

I had another check-up today...and we finally got a great heartbeat!! Yay!!! She found it right away & it was good & steady. She thinks it's a girl b/c it was beating quite fast. I guess baby girls have a consistently faster heartbeat than boys in the womb. We shall see! I would love another girl, but would be very happy with a boy too. Of course Daddy prefers a boy next. We'll see who wins out! I'm def. starting to show now & have had to start wearing maternity clothes. Thankfully the nausea is beginning to taper off. Hooray!!! It's not completely gone yet, but I already feel like a new person. What a relief. We plan to get an ultrasound by week 20...just before Christmas. At that point we should know the gender. Can't wait!!

Nana & Papa's Visit

My parents (Lisa's) just left this morning after a fun-filled week at our house! It was sad to see them go, but we will see them again for Christmas. Below is a slide-show of our week. We went to a "Storytelling Festival" at a mill not too far from here. Brianna had a blast playing in the old-fashioned water pump. My wonderful mom spent many hours at her sewing machine while she was here & made me custom drapes for my dining room. Thanks a million mom!! You're the best!! She has made many of the rooms in our house beautiful with her handiwork! Brianna enjoyed having Nana come to Kindermusik with her. She will definitely miss not having Nana & Papa around anymore. They spoil her rotten! What are grandparents for?! We also had a good time with Laurie & Rich (my sister & her hubby) throughout the week. We celebrated Rich's b-day our last night together. My dad enjoyed going to work several days with Machen. Machen loves having Dad help him out whenever he's down here. Brianna accomplished several "firsts" while her grandparents were here. She can now walk down our carpeted stairs all by herself like a big-girl holding onto the railing. I still hold my breath watching her, but she loves doing it all by herself. We had a near accident when she decided to attempt coming down in Nana's high heel shoes. Thankfully she grabbed the railings with both hands & hung on for dear life (crying) until Papa quickly rescued her. Phew! She also just about mastered feeding herself with a spoon/fork this week. She can actually get food onto the utensil now & usually gets it into her mouth! :) She said many new words this week too. Enjoy the slide show!

Check out my Slide Show!

12 Wk. Check-up

Just wanted to let you all know that my check-up went fine today. I got all the lab work done which is never fun for me...but at least I didn't have any fainting spells this time! :) It was still too early to get a really good heart tone on the baby. She thinks the placenta is in front, hiding the baby right now. So, I'm going back in 2 weeks for another heart tone check. At that point the uterus should be in a better position to hear the baby. She was able to hear a lot of uterine activity which is good. Also, the fact that I've had so much nausea is a good sign. I had to bring Brianna with me cause my sitter fell through & she was such a good girl! She sat in her stroller for an hour without a complaint! I was so proud of her. She's already learning to be a good big sister! :)

18 mo. check-up

Yesterday Brianna had her 18 mo. wellness check-up. The doctor confirmed our suspicions that she is a VERY healthy girl who's development is right on track. The nurse was amazed that we've never had to take her in for sickness...just routine wellness check-ups (knock on wood!) We praise the Lord for good health for all of us. The doc said her heart sounds very strong. Her height is still in the 93rd percentile, but her weight has dropped down into the 63rd percentile. Meaning...she's thinning out & is going to be quite tall! I go in for my 12 wk. check-up on Monday. I'll be sure to give you an update on how that goes! Only a couple more weeks until I start the second trimester. Yay! I can't wait to be done with all this nausea & sickness. The sickness has been much better the last 2 weeks, but the nausea is almost always there. Ugh!

Fun with cousins!

Reading with Uncle Wade & new baby cousin Elizabeth ("Lizzy") Joy.

A couple nights ago we had dinner with Machen's side of the family. Brianna had already eaten at the "adult table" when I found her here! She had managed to climb up onto the table where her cousins were eating & like a scavenger just started eating all the leftover scraps on their plates. It was too funny. I call her my little "mooch." She loves to eat & will beg food off of us whenever she sees us eating something.

She laughed harder that night than ever before with her cousins. She LOVES her cousins!

Kyle (2 1/2), Sarah (5 1/2), Katie (4), Brianna (18 mo.)

"I finally get it all to myself!" :)

"Hill Jillies!"

Ok, let me explain lest you think I've lost my mind! :) (Although, that does happen more often these days in my life with an 18 mo. old who's into EVERYTHING!) Machen & I work with the kids at our church on Wednesday's Nights. A couple weeks ago we had a "Hill Billy/Hill Jilly" theme & everyone had to come dressed up. Due to a stomach virus going through the nursery, Brianna lucked out & got to stay with us for the evening. It was quite the project trying to get freckles on her face. She kept turning her head, thus making brown lines all over her face instead of dots! :) We made a fun memory.

A New Cousin!

Ok, it's been over a week since my last post & it's time for some more news! We decided to have our baby early...NO, JUST KIDDING!! :) Last Thursday my sister-in-law, Becca, had her 4th baby. She was a big girl weighing over 9 lbs! Baby "Lizzy" is a sweetheart & we are very excited about her arrival. Brianna enjoyed seeing her new baby cousin at the hospital. This was good practice for getting ready to be a big sister! She's making her "shy smile" in this pic....a new look that is quite characteristic these days. She wasn't too sure what to think about mommy holding another baby. I don't think she was too happy about it. She's in for a big adjustment!