15 pounds and growing!

Ella Beth finally weighs 15 pounds!!! Hip Hip Hooray!!! We are so excited. :) The doctor has decided not to do lab tests on her "for now" but wants to reevaluate Ella Beth's weight progress at her 15 month appointment. Scott and I are 100% convinced that there is nothing "wrong" with Ella Beth - she is just petite. I mean the girl is built just like her mama. She's destined to be short and small...but hey, that just means we can share shoes and clothes when she gets older.

It's official...we have a chatter-box on our hands. Ella Beth is the most talkative little thing. The doctor says that she almost has the vocabulary of a 2 year old. That's awesome! We love listening to her talk, and we're not tired of it at all! My favorite things that she says right now are, "Up please," "Hey Mandy" (our dog), "bye, bye, Kitty," "kiss," and of course, "Mama." She has about 50-60 words in her vocabulary, and has learned at least two words a day in the past week. It's just amazing how fast she learns. I am sure she will be teaching her little brother or sister lots when he/she gets here! That will be fun to watch.

Well, Scott has sucessfully worked this week. He still says he feels "fine," but when I press him, he will admit that he doesn't feel "normal." He doesn't want to go to his appointment with the specialist next Tuesday, but I am not giving him a choice. Why are men so stubborn when it comes to going to the doctor? I mean, it's not my favorite thing either, but I'll go when I need to.

Okay...thats' all for now. Here's a picture that I took of Ella Beth yesterday morning when it was cool out. I love her new Fall clothes, and can't wait until she can wear them every day! I don't really know what it is about this picture that I love. I think it's knowing that someday I'll look back at it and remember this look she's got on her face.

Givin' up the ol caffeine...again

So, this pregnancy I have allowed myself 5 caffeinated beverages. Not many, I'll agree. However, each time I've had one, I've felt really guilty b/c I didn't have any during my pregnancy with Ella Beth, and I only had one caffeinated beverage that I can remember while I was nursing. So...despite the research that "limited amounts" of caffeine are okay, and "research suggests that there are no serious side-effects to limited caffeine consumption," I'm still givin' it up. Partly b/c I feel that I need to give this baby the same treatment that I gave Ella Beth, and partly because "research suggests" just doesn't make me feel 100% convinced. So, here I go...I suppose for a year and a half without caffeine. Oh, how I am going to miss COKE. Now, I'll buy caffeine-free COKE every once in a while, but I can't find a single restaurant that serves up a fountain caffeine-free COKE - and believe me I ask every where I go. So think of me as you indulge in your Dr. Pepper and COKE. I'll smile for you on the outside, but on the inside... ;)

Well, the pain in Scott's side/abdomen has returned. He says that it's not "as bad" as it was almost two weeks ago now. However, it upsets me that it has returned at all. It also frustrates both of us that his appointment with the specialist is still 9 days away. I mean, the poor guy has pollops all over his small intestine and is in pain from this infection. Why can't they squeeze him in, say, YESTERDAY??? I am going to make sure that the doctor understands our frustration - in the nicest way possible, of course.

Something strange happened this morning. First, last night I went to bed around 10 and I was a little hungry. But I just don't like eating that late, so I decided that I could manage. WRONG! I was so sick this morning. I had a black-out spell in the shower which was scary. I knew that my eyes were open, but I couldn't see anything. I just held on to the sides of the shower and carefully lowered myself down so as not to fall. It took all of my energy to finish my shower. When I got out, I demanded that Scott fix a "substantial breakfast" - of course, he had already poured milk for his cereal - oops. He promptly turned it into chocolate milk. Thank goodness I have a sweet hubby who (even when sick himself) can still fix a "substantial breakfast" of bacon, eggs, and toast. Yum-o! Now, don't go thinking that I'm some psycho when prego - this was my first demand of the pregnancy. Since I'm now 12 weeks, I think I'm allowed at least one "demand" per trimester. :) However, I won't be feeling bad about eating no matter what time of the night!

Prego update

Scott and I went for my doctor's appointment this morning. I am so thankful that he felt up to going b/c they did a surprise ultrasound, and we got to see the baby up close and personal. I can finally say, with 100% assurance, that I am super excited that we have another baby on the way. I still get overwhelemed thinking how tough the first 6 months will be, but I know that we'll make it!

It's hard to believe that in the last month I have only gained 1 pound. Yes, 1. I am having a really tough time finding things to wear each day b/c my shirts all cling to the pooch and my pants are getting uncomfortably snug. I swear that I thought I had gained about 8 pounds b/c I can really tell that my body has changed. I guess things are just "shifting" as they say. With Ella Beth I gained 11 pounds in the first trimester, so it really was a shock this morning to find I had gained so little.

Anyway...my due date has been moved up (yeah!) to March 15th, which makes me 12 weeks prego. Can you believe that means my first timester is almost over??? Crazy! The ultrasound tech also told us that she thinks the baby is a ......, but can't give us a guarantee for a few more weeks. Of course, now I'm all hyped up, but could get totally different news in a few weeks. Scott won't let me say what the tech thinks the baby is, but feel free to guess! Oh, and the heartbeat was 159 beats/minute.

Okay, that's all for now. Scott is better, but not great. He feels worse today than yesterday, but still better than a few days ago. I guess that's good. We go to the specialist on Sept. 11 - which seems like forever away, but the doctor assured us that is "very soon" for this specialist. Again, the waiting game continues. Thanks again for your prayers!

Update

Well, miraculously the doctor called today. We were told that the results wouldn't be in until Tuesday (due to the holiday weekend), but our doctor ROCKS! Okay...Scott has an infection in his small intestine. It's not a "good" thing to have, but it's obviously much better than some of the things that were going through our minds. Our doctor has sent Scott's CAT scan to an intestinal expert (I wonder who wakes up one day and says, "Gee I think I want to be an intestine expert"? I digress...). We are now waiting on those results to come back to see what the next step is. Scott is still in pain, is still weak and now having dizzy spells, but swears to me that he feels better. His white blood cell count is increasing, which is a huge blessing. I promise to keep you updated, but as with most medical things it's a bit of a waiting game.

Anyway, thank you to all of you for your prayers and calls and offers to do anything and everything to help us. We would still appreciate your prayers until we get word that Scott is officially well and will be back to normal soon. Hopefully, I'll be able to report that soon. Love to you all.

Just so much...

So life's been busier and more hectic than usual. Last week was interesting. Scott got sick last Sunday. We thought he had a virus of some sort, but when he was still sick on Wednesday he decided to go to the doctor. Well, the doctor sent him for x-rays, blood work, and an ultra sound. His blood work came back very disconcerning. His white blood cell count is extremely low. Hmmm. He went back to the doctor today to have his blood drawn again, but we won't get those results until tomorrow. Scott is, however, scheduled for a CT scan on Wednesday at 1:00 PM, so if you think of him, say a prayer. The doctor hasn't been really specific as to what could be wrong. That only leaves my mind to wander and worry. Is it leukemia? Aplastic anemia? Some other blood or bone disease? We are praying that it's nothing as serious, but right now we just don't know. It's hard b/c Scott can't describe exactly what's wrong other than being "sore and not feeling right." Again, only leaving my mind to worry.

It's been extra hard on me being prego. Thankfully, the good Lord has decided that my all-day-sickness can subside some now. I'm still battling nausea when I don't have enough on my stomach, but it's not all-day every day any more. That has shortened my sickness by two weeks in comparison to my first pregnancy. I must say that it has been a blessing. I reckon God just knew that it was more than I could take. Thank goodness for His promises! However, with Scott being down-n-out, it's left me with a lot of the work load with Ella Beth in the evening and around the house. I thought I was coming down with something last Thursday, and Scott even took Ella Beth to his mom's b/c I just felt awful when I woke up Friday morning. Turns out I had just run myself ragged and needed a little time to rest. I am so thankful to have Kathy, my mom-in-law, close by b/c she sure does make things easier. She'll be keeping Ella Beth on Wednesday while Scott and I go to the hospital for his CT scan.

Anyway, that's all for right now. I'll keep you posted with the latest. Hopefully, there will be nothing considerate to report. Thanks for your prayers.

I told myself so...

Last night was our last small group meeting, and it was our turn to take dinner. I had bought the stuff to make enchilladas (sp?) two weeks ago. That was before my aversion to Mexican food hit. I knew better than to eat any of what I had made; I was even getting sick just smelling it while it was cooking. I took a peanut butter sandwich with me to group. But did I eat it??? Of course not. I ate one enchillada, and I've been paying the price all morning. I may never eat Mexican food again...ever. It's so hard being very sick with a tiny one year old pulling at your leg while you're heaving over saying, "Up please. Up please." Bless her.

So far this pregnancy has been identical to the pregnancy that I had with Ella Beth. I could not eat Mexican food while I was prego with her, and it took about 5 months after she was born for me to dare to try it. I am also sick all day long, and very tired around 1:30 each afternoon. Thankfully, Ella Beth usually naps from 2:30 'til 4'ish. It has become my nap time too. Sometimes I feel lazy, but I'm worthless if I try to get anything done. Oh well. At least I know that "this, too, shall pass." I'm counting down the weeks. If it's the same as with Ella Beth, I have about 5 weeks to go.

Well, here is my first belly shot. I can't believe that I'm already showing, but I am. I just have a pooch that can't be sucked in. Whatever. I'm trying not to let it eat at me, but it's kinda annoying. Looking back at pictures with Ella Beth, I look the same now as I did at about 14 weeks. Sigh. (The picture quality isn't great. Scott was using my new camera, and he's not familiar with it. Also, don't mind the wet hair. I should probably take a new picture...but between prego brain and mommy brain, I'm sure I'll never remember to do it.)

Where does time go?

This last year has been the best year of my life. Ella Beth has been such a wonderful addition to our tiny family, and I love her more than I ever thought possible. I love watching Scott be her daddy. I love watching Ella Beth learn and do new things. I love hearing her say, "Up please"; it's honestly the cutest thing in the whole wide world! I love every little thing about Ella Beth, and watching her grow this past year has been the most amazing experience of my life.

Ella Beth's first birthday went off tremendously well. She had such a good time!

This picture shows how much Ella Beth liked her cake. Ummm...she wasn't too sure about it. In fact, this picture shows the extent of how messy she got. She didn't like the icing on her hands at all. I tried giving her a bite of cake, but she just spat it right back out. That's my girl! All of the healthy eating habits we've tried to encourage are paying off! She did like her daddy's homemade strawberry ice cream though. :)

Well, now that I've survived the birthday bash, my website should be "live" tomorrow. (It should have actually been live on Wednesday, but my hosting site is a little behind. That's okay...) Anyway, make sure you check out www.ambercastleberryphotography.com when you get a chance. Any business you can send my way will be appreciated! Oh, and make sure you check out my "ABOUT" page for some fun information. Don't worry...you won't have to read far to find out. :)