Wow, Wow, Wow!!

Sometimes it's amazing to me how quickly things can turn around. Things have been going along fine...we had a lovely and relaxing weekend, everyone is healthy, things are going as expected. But...I have still been feeling lousy, and dealing with a three day marathon of a migraine was the last thing on my list of "thing I want to deal with", but alas, I don't get to choose sometimes. So, while things have been good, I've still be waiting (rather impatiently) to feel myself again.
Today things just turned around for me... It actually started last night. I'd been feeling awful, and dinner was one disaster after another. Our front porch step broke off, so Ahren was outside trying to fix it and I was inside trying not to pass out while Lexi played with her toys. Suddenly she says, "Mama, I have to use the potty." It was a sound as sweet as angels singing from the heavens. Off we went to the potty where she successfully went peepee and earned herself two stickers for her chart (she gets one for telling us she has to go, and one for actually going). Since she was off to bed pretty soon, I suggested she not put a diaper on until she got upstairs. I told her she had to remember to tell me if she needed to go again. Not long after, Ahren came in and she said, "Dadddy, I have to go potty again." Off they went to the potty, and she did peepee again!! Fast forward to this morning - while I was in the shower, she and Ahren were getting ready to go to Yaya's and once again she asked to go to the potty, and was successful. Could it be? Could she finally be on her way to big girl underwear??? Oh how sweet life would be!!
The next amazing thing that happened is that I woke up without the feeling like I had to run to the bathroom to throw up! My headache was gone, along with that constant nagging feeling of not wanting to stray too far from the toilet. The nausea did come back, but the fact that I didn't wake up with it was pretty amazing. That's the first time in about 8 weeks that this has happened. It's a good sign that the end of morning (all day) sickness is just around the corner!!!
And finally, a very exciting and fun update! Ahren and I went to see Dr. Edwards this morning. He is just the sweetest man, and I am so lucky to have him for my doctor! It was a relatively uneventful visit. We scheduled the ultrasound for 6/26 (when we get to find out the sex of the baby!!), scheduled a time for the AFP test (yes, we're doing it again...but we're sure all will be fine this time!), found out Ahren's blood type (B+) which means that I'll have to have the Rhogam shot at 28 weeks, and the most important task of the day - we got the hear the heartbeat!!! She sounded strong and healthy and her heart rate was 156. We heard her kicking around, and I even felt one of the kicks that seemed to be aimed right at the doppler!! I was on cloud nine for a good hour after the visit. There is just nothing better than hearing that heart beating away.
So, today is one of those days that everything just feels right. What could be better? :)

Lexi's New Toy - And Some Good Pics

This morning there was absolutely nothing I wanted to eat that didn't involve milk...and, of course, we were out of milk. So I did what any pregnant Mom would do - I sent Ahren out to get some milk. When he came back he told me that he'd passed some people who were putting a rocking horse out on the street with a sign that said "free" and he wondered if he should go get it. I told him to rush back there before someone else grabbed it. So he did, and Lexi could not have been more thrilled with Daddy's find! She and I spent about 20 minutes cleaning him up, and while he's clearly pretty old (in that, "they don't make them like this anymore" kind of way), he's in fantastic shape. Lexi has spent quite a bit of time riding, and feeding her new friend. Ahren and I both tried to get some pictures with limited success, but here's what we did get...

She's saying "CHeese!"

Swinging with Grammy...Resting with Aunti Kae...Hangin' at Gigi and Poppy's...

"I can do it all by myself because I'm a big grrr"

Lexi is definitely in a "I can do it myself" phase, which is fantastic about 95% of the time, and miserable about 5% of the time when I'm either in a rush or standing in the rain. I've been reminded many times that I have to give her the opportunity to do things by herself, or I'll be doing them for her forever. This is very true, though difficult to work on when it is just SO much faster to do it myself. But, with baby #2 on the way, we have been working on getting Lexi to do a lot more on her own now. In just the last few weeks, here are the things she has either begun to do on her own, or completely mastered:

• Climbing into her car seat - this is a great thing for Mama's aching back, but on a rainy day it makes me want to cry when she pauses every five seconds to inspect a piece of sand on the seat.
• Going up and down the stairs - we've been working on it for awhile, but she has totally mastered it to the point where she now goes upstairs to play by herself, or comes down after a nap on her own.
• Getting out of bed and opening her own door - very cute as it's usually followed by her big brown eyes popping up at me in bed...less cute when it turns into, "Get up Mama. Now. Get up right now. Why aren't you getting up? Stand up!"
• Reading books - well, she doesn't actually read the words, but that girl knows every single book we own by heart - page by page. She especially loves to read them to her dolls.
• Riding her tricycle - she can steer and pedal, although she still needs some help getting over big bumps, or stopping when she's going too fast down the driveway. She also gets VERY mad if she even suspects that you might be touching the handle.
• Working the buttons on the blender - this morning she asked me how I would ever make the smoothies without her. I have no idea...those buttons are way to hard for me.
• Unlocking the door - I'm not sure who taught her this skill, and since the doors are actually hard for me to open, it's not too concerning...but what is concerning is that she can also lock them...and sometimes I run outside for a minute and she thinks it's funny to shut the door on me. I'm going to have to remember to always bring my keys from now on!

Well, I could go on and on...I know there are more that I'm missing, but those are the biggies. The *one* that we wish she would do??? Potty!!! She *can* do it, but only at the most inconvenient times - like when we're in the mall and I have ten shirts I'm carrying around to try on...or when we're in the car no where near a bathroom, and it's pouring rain outside - you know, those times when I swear she is just saying it to torture her poor mother. But, she did request the potty last night, and successfully use it, so we're still making progress.

The Bunny Goes Around The Tree...

Fadia must be teaching Lexi how to tie her shoes. She's sitting on the couch and her shoe has somehow come untied. As I walked by this was the conversation she was having with herself, all the while hold the two laces out straight and occassionally criss-crossing them back and forth...

Lexi: "The bunny goes around the tree...the bunny goes up to the tree...the bunny stands next to the tree...and now let's see how I can do this all by myself...the bunny climbs up the tree...and then this goes right through here...whoops...and then the bunny goes around the tree...hmmm...Mama, can I watch Barney?"

You have to give her credit for trying! :)

Mother's Day

I have the best daughter on this earth. I feel like all I ever talk about is how perfect she is, yet at the same time I feel like I could never say it enough. Yesterday I woke up to Lexi peeking up at me in my bed. She handed me my mints and my glasses so that we could go downstairs. After allowing me a little while to quietly drink my coffee, she and the best husband on earth happily made me pancakes while also smothering me in hugs and kisses. Later in the day Lexi and I made cookies together, and then even had the unexpected opportunity to help Daddy start our vegetable garden going. For dinner, my fantastic Mom made a wonderful dinner for us, and Grammy, Grampy and Auntie Kae. Lexi really enjoyed having the chance to play with both sets of grandparents and her Auntie Kae. Another great part of the day was that apparently the baby was on to the whole Mother's Day concept and gave me a few hours of feeling great in the middle of the day. I can't ask for much more than that from the little one. :)

Out-Witted Again

On Mondays, Lexi and I almost always take our trip to the grocery store right around nap time. After we've loaded the groceries in the car, we take a long, slow, relaxing ride around the lake. Lexi usually makes it about half way before she doses off and then when we get home, I quietly move her to her bed and enjoy nap time. But today I got so hungry at the store that I had to buy some peanut M&Ms to eat in the car. I, of course, could not share these with Lexi - especially in the car, but the fact that I was eating them became an enormous distraction. So, I suggested a little Elmo music thinking this was a sure fire way to take her mind off the M&Ms and drift her off to sleepy time. So, I start up the CD and she starts singing this silly gibberish song over the monsters of Sesame Street's lovely version of "Sing A Song". I tried to let it go for a minute, but finally said, "Lexi, I thought you wanted to hear Elmo sing?" Her reply? "I do Mama, but he is saying 'Sing A Song' so I have to sing along with him!" How can I argue with that? She was absolutely right. And she sang along to every single song on that CD...two times around the lake. How is it that she keeps out-witting me??

Welcome To The World, Sophie Rose!!

She's here! She's here! She's finally here!!!

Sophie Rose Lillis came charging into this world at 10:32 pm last night, April 30th.

I was sound asleep on the couch at 11:30 when the call came from Amy, who sounded fantastic. They made it to the hospital in plenty of time (phew!) and little baby Sophie was the biggest of the Lillis bunch weighing in at 7lbs 13 ozs and 19 inches long.

We are anxiously awaiting some pictures of our newest pride and joy, and I'll certainly share when they come in. Lexi and I will go down for the day on Sunday to meet her new cousin and visit with Big Brother Ben, and Big Sister Cassie.

Congratulations to Amy and Scott, and Ben and Cassie!!