36 weeks

I'm not exactly sure where I am, a little short of 36 weeks, but by date I have a month to go so thought I better take and post the latest belly picture! We are hanging in there, just trying to get our never ending to-do list and project list widdled down before Eleri makes her arrival. I feel stressed and overwhelmed at this point, but at the same time and relieved to know that if she comes she comes and she will be healthy! It is pretty clear I've gotten bigger (watch the slideshow if you have to see it to believe it!!), I'm wondering how big that will make me at 40 weeks!!!!

Christmas 2008

We survived, and no baby yet! I'm thankful to have made it through Christmas! Our Christmas was really great and a little less hectic than usual, besides packing up all of Mali's toys to go from house to house. Mali did great and was appreciative, for the most part. Mail's top gifts: Princess Aurora Vanity and Cash register from Mimi and Papa, Barbie guitar from Auntie Kisha, Amercian Girl doll and princess dolls from Grandpa and Nana, Tinkerbell DVD from Aunt Megan and Uncle Chris (and she was thrilled to have 2 easy bake ovens!!!), and babydoll from Uncle Jordan's family. Mali also enjoyed her Polly Pockets from Grammie (and a present to come later) and her laptop computer and plush ice cream set from us. We had a fun Family Christmas...eating Rosa's on the floor, watching Elf, warming by the fire, and opening our presents from each other. Mali only gets 3 presents from us just like Baby Jesus got three presents. Of course this is not an all inclusive list. Mali's was blessed and spoiled with many wonderful things. She got lots of cute cute clothes but has enjoyed the toys more! It was a good Christmas and we are thankful that Jesus was born so that we can celebrate this day...now on to the upcoming celebration of our baby's birth!

O Holy Night

After hearing this carol all Christmas season, I just had to post the lyrics. Even though it is often a joke (I still remember Justin Cofield singing this like the guy at Carol of Lights my first Ninethirty Christmas party), the words are so amazing and so true of what Christmas is really about. Enjoy reading them and Merry Christmas!

O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
'Til He appear'd and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! O, hear the angels' voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born;
O night divine, O night, O night Divine.
Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here come the wise men from Orient land.
The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friend.
He knows our need, to our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!
Behold your King, Behold your King.
Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,
His power and glory evermore proclaim.
His power and glory evermore proclaim.


O! Holy night! The stars, their gleams prolonging,
Watch o'er the Eve of our dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error, longing
For His appearance, then the Spirit felt its worth.
A thrill of hope; the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! O, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was Born;
O night, O holy night, O night divine!
Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts we stand by the Babe adored.
O'er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,
And come now, Shepherds, from your flocks unboard.
The Son of God lay thus w'thin lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our Lord.
He knows our need, our weakness never lasting,
Behold your King! By Him, let Earth accord!
Behold your King! By Him, let Earth accord!
Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Long live His truth, and may it last forever,
For in His name all discordant noise shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
His power and glory ever more proclaim!

Eleri's nursery

We spent yesterday getting Eleri's room ready and I just had to share how it turned out. Eric (with some "help" from Mali) painted and then we all put together the crib and bedding. It is not 100% ready, but it is there. I think Eric feels better and he did a great job, I'm very thankful that he cares so much and did all of this. I don't feel any relief, I guess I just have too many other projects to do around the house! But it does look great, and makes it some more of a reality! At any rate, she has a bed to sleep in (I still need to wash the sheets with Dreft though).:) Mali had a great time helping and even brought several of her stuffed animals into the room for baby Eleri. Watching her excitement was great and that was a relief! Eric wants to add Eleri's date of birth on the wall with painted numbers and we have a few pictures to hang and some arranging to do, but other than that it is done!:)

Breech, Bronchitis, Breathing Treatments, and Brownies

That alliteration sums up our day yesterday! I had my 34 week appointment and sonogram yesterday. Eleri is still breech (no surprise there) and the c-section is scheduled for 12pm on Thursday January 29th. Everything looked great with her and me. She is still measuring a little small, but only about a week behind, which is no big deal to the doctor. Maybe a small baby, maybe not, we will wait patiently to see. I'm again feeling overwhelmed with all that is needing to be done before her arrival and have lost silly amount of sleep thinking about how little time we have left! Eric is going to spend his break working on her room, so maybe that will help us feel more prepared!
After my appointment, we took Mali to her pediatrician. Wednesday night she told Eric her ear was hurting. After a miserable waiting room experience, we finally got in. I was almost sure that it was going to be one of those "nothing's wrong" diagnosis. She hasn't acted like she feels bad, hasn't run fever, or any other sign of anything besides a runny nose and cough. And after her Christmas preschool party, she looked just like every other kid sitting on the table with a red upper lip and scratchy voice. So, to cut to the chase, Diagnosis #1-Bronchitis and apparently her lungs sounded really bad to the doctor. The doctor said she typically only diagnosis 2 cases of bronchitis a year (meaning to her it is rare because the bronchi don't develop until age 4). Diagnosis #2-Very bad ear infection in her left ear!!! Diagnosis #3-UTI! So this girl is on two antibiotics and one steroid. We have to give her breathing treatments every three hours and had to do in three times last night (I guess another preparation for a new baby!) Eric and I did take turns though. I think tonight will be our last night of doing it in the middle of the night, but it has to happen every three hours. It breaks my heart, and I started crying last night because it wakes her up and it is just miserable for her! I know that many of you have had to go through this already, so I don't need sympathy, just to vent! I'm thankful that this is our first experience with breathing treatments. Other than all the treatments and meds, Mali is acting fine (if not a little ornery). Last night I took a video of her jumping on her mini trampoline and then onto the couch. (the video won't upload). She did that all night. She's also been riding her scooter around on the woods floors and just playing like nothing is wrong! Just wanted to update everyone on our crazy life. Oh, and she gets brownies after every day time treatment!:) I'm very thankful for Daddy's intuition that took us to the doctor to begin with!

Merry Christmas

With nine days to go until Christmas, the presents are all bought, wrapped and under the tree!! We are looking forward to our annual Christmas traditions and I'm anxious to make it through the holiday! Merry Christmas to Everyone!!!

God Made Good Things

Those of you that know Mali will laugh at this! On her birthday, Calyn and Zach Dallas went to church with Mali and they made these cards. I was cleaning up, and about to throw away Calyn's that I found, until I found Mali's and just started cracking up laughing! It is so funny to see their perspective on things. I can't comment much on Calyn's, but Mali is obsessed with candy/chocolate! It was funny to see them together that they really did get to choose what they thought was good that God made! I just had to share this! (Thanks Tim and Beth for letting me publish your daughter's Sunday School work!)

Nutcracker 2008

Mali and I were able to go see The Nutcracker again this year. It was really fun to watch Mali's excitement. She talked through the whole thing, I'm sure the people behind us loved that! She would ask where Clara was, where they disappeared the Nutcracker too, etc., etc., Afterwards they had a meet the dancers time for the children. Mali got hugs and pictures with Emma and Hanna Green (Emma is Clara and Hanna is a Tumbling baffoon) plus some other princesses/ballerinas! She was very excited. She wanted to see the Sugar Plum Fairy, but we didn't get a picture with her. We also ran into the Trooks, which was great, because Mali finally took a picture by a wooden Nutcracker with Meredith!

50 days

I thought today was a blog worthy occasion, being that it is now 50 days until Eleri's scheduled birthdate. I'm still processing (or ignoring) the idea of it all, so I don't have much to write. I feel so overwhelmed with simple little projects that need to be done; Christmas cards sent out, pictures put up in photo albums, linen closet organized, Mali's closet organized, DVD/video storage space organized/cleaned out, Eleri's bookcase organized and made to look nice, plus everything that needs to be done to Eleri's room. This is my list of silly little things that I want done before she comes. However, daily tasks like unloading the dishwasher, staying on Mali to clean her room (which is currently in major disaster mode and I obviously haven't stayed on her today or yesterday for that matter), nap time (have I mentioned I've been sick this week, uugh, nap has been a must to recover). I'm also counting my time with Mali as precious. I'm trying to be wise with the last (50) days that we have left, just her and I. I know life will change so unimaginably (both good and bad), but I want to be intentional with the time I have left. This has made me cry the past few days as the day approaches. I realize what we've had is special, and will change forever. On the flip side, I'm very excited to meet Eleri and see what she looks like. I look forward to seeing how this will shape Mali for the better. I'm thrilled at having two girls and watching a sister relationship develop. Eric is also very excited to meet Eleri. So, I ended writing more than I thought I could about this event. Here are some prayer requests I have as the day approaches:
Mali to adjust amazingly to Eleri's arrival and addition to our family.
My heart to be so close to God that I can react in the Spirit towards Mali and NOT in my own flesh.
I will not loose much blood in c-section.
C-section to go well
Spinal to go well, no spinal headache. Great anesthesiologist and that they will get my spine the FIRST time!
This may be a long shot, but anyway, that massaging my uterus WILL NOT be as painful!
I will be able to bond with Eleri
I will remember my first moments with Eleri
My time in recovery will be quick, without sickness or low blood pressure, or anything else that happened last time.
I would not have much of a need for pain meds.
I will be able to balance Eleri and Mali
Feeding to go well. That Eleri will be a good, efficient eater.
Eleri would be healthy and perfectly developed.
Mali will feel loved and have fun with whomever she will be with during those few days we are at the hospital.

I know there are so many more. But for now that is what I can think of for the delivery day as it approaches. Thanks for loving us and always praying for us! Here's to the 50 day count down!

Thanksgiving

This year we spent Thanksgiving at the cabin. It was so nice to be there and enjoy a dusting of snow. I love just relaxing and being with family! This year half of our family was with their in-laws, so it was just us and Brandon and Tina. We missed having a big group, but still made some memories. Eric and Brandon fried a turkey again this year, but it was a little more challenging in the snow and without the burner we forgot to bring.
There were several close calls whether or not we would have a fried turkey this year.
Terry made great sides and Tina brought great dessert. The guys also put up lights and the girls played with Mali and cooked. It snowed most of Thanksgiving day and then the day after Mali and I went outside and played in the snow. She loved eating the snow, making snow angels and being pulled on the sled by Grandpa. They even had a funny wreck that we all laughed about!
Afterwards, Mali made everyone snow ice cream. It was a great time. Thanksgiving is really one of my favorite holidays and I really enjoy celebrating it at the cabin!

32 weeks

Here I am at 32 weeks...it feels like I've had a growth spurt.

Eleri's (potential) birthdate

Today I had my regular OB appointment and it went great. I was in and out in 11 minutes!!! Those of you that shared the same OB as me in Lubbock understand how WONDERFUL that is!
Anyway, Eleri's heart rate and movement was great (HR: 164). The OB commented that she was excited today. She still feels breech as far as we can tell, but I will have another ultrasound in two weeks to confirm position, size, date, etc. I am measuring about 1 week behind. The OB also said that the last sonogram showed that Eleri seemed to be normally small! Mali was 7lbs 9oz, so I'm not sure how small Eleri will be. I was a 5lb baby, so who knows. Eric thinks that Eleri is going to have more of my genetics than his and is picturing a dark headed, small baby girl! It will be fun to see the differences and similarities of our two girls.
We also scheduled Eleri's birthday! It feels so weird to know when she is coming. The date, as long as she doesn't decide to come sooner, is January 29, 2009.
Mali seems to be getting more and more interested in baby Eleri too, which is great. She has been asking to feel her kick/move and tells all her little friends about it. In the past two weeks, when Mali has just been giggling and touching my belly, Eleri has really moved. I think that is just too cute that she is responding to her sister's laughter! I'm getting bigger and bigger and I think had a growth spurt, I think Thanksgiving helped! I will take a picture with Mali and post it soon!
Keep us in your prayers as we approach the c-section. I asked about what we could do about blood loss this time and my OB suggested that I get family members that have O type blood to donate. Eric has O but they will not take the father's blood because it could interfere with the baby. So, anyway want to donate some blood to me???:)
We are just hanging in there and going along with life, all the while her birthday quickly approaches! We are excited, but I'm a little nervous too about how life will change!

Mali's 4th Birthday...with a cherry on top!

On November 23rd, Mali turned 4 year's old! This year we were able to have her party on the same day as her birthday. It was pretty crazy, but turned out really great. She is really becoming a beautiful, sweet (mostly), big girl! I can't believe she is this old already, but does look grown up. I love holding her hand when we walk and watching her learn and grow. Some days are still really challenging, but I don't expect that to ever ease up. We love her so much and are so thankful for the blessings, laughs, tears, and wonderful moments that she adds to our lives!
Mali wanted to decorate cupcakes for her birthday party. So that is what we did...with 8 three and four year olds! It went really well. Mali's friends from Lubbock were able to come as well as her new friends from here. She is so social (maybe a little like me) and kept adding friends to her "list". I think being with her friends was what mattered to her the most. She was also blessed to have family come. Grammie, Aunt Zina and Gabe came from Colorado. Auntie Kisha and Josh came from Dennison. She also had the "locals"; Aunt Megan and Uncle Chris, Uncle Brandon, Mimi and Papa, and Nana and Grandpa. It was a good, but crazy, time!:) I'm thankful for our wonderful home to house everyone and our wonderful friends and family that helped us out to make the party possible. The moment that is going in the "books" this year, is that Mali did not want any one to sing Happy Birthday to her and started crying, and then proceeded to scream for shrill-ly at everyone for singing. Then she wouldn't blow out her candles, but had help from her little friends. We didn't even get to cutting the cake, because Mali was so ready for presents (it tasted great by the way...thanks to help from Beth and Melissa). Mali received lots of great presents and love from everyone. The hit with all of the kids had to be the karaoke machine that Uncle Brandon got her. The guys (Eric and Brandon) set it up in our room the the kids were already playing with it. Mali loved her flashlight and sleeping bag from Nana and Papa, her cupcake outfit for Snowflake, clothes, and dance cam from Grammie, her raincoat/hat from Aunt Zina, her Hello Kitty toothpase and toothbrush, light up candy sucker, and babydolls from Aunt Megan and Uncle Chris, her clothes from Auntie Kisha, and I can't not mention her giant Bubble gum machine from Mimi and Papa. I asked her what her favorite was, and she said "lipgloss, because I wanted make-up and that was all the make up I got". We got her the lip gloss, because every time we went to Wal-Mart she would grab it and make sure we knew to "put it on the list". We also got her the book Pinkalicous and a Kid Tough Camera that she seems to really be enjoying. It was definitely a successful birthday. She received so many great gifts from friends to, not including their presence at her party. Thanks for loving our big girl!

Blessings at Eleri's baby shower

This past Saturday, we were so privileged and blessed to be thrown a baby shower for Eleri Cate. I wasn't sure that it would even happen being in a new town, 2nd baby and 2nd girl! But we were blessed by one! Thank you to every one who came and showered us!:) I've realized that baby girls get lots of clothes, it is just too hard to resist, so she will have a ton of cute outfits to wear! My mom also made a full bedding set for Eleri. Mali enjoyed her role of big sister and opened all the presents for me. It was nice to not have the spotlight so much on me. We enjoyed talking with friends and seeing our friends from Lubbock that drove in for the shower. Unfortunately, most of the shower is a blur to me, I think I need to video tape my life at this point, because ALL my blood seems to be bypassing my brain and going to baby Eleri. Eleri seems to be doing good. Still breech, which is fine, but means I can't always feel her moving as much, which can create sudden panic, but I'm trusting God that she is okay and laid back, but I probably do need to give her some rest and slow down a bit. Although it is nice to be really "trucking" along at this stage of pregnancy because I don't think I was with Mali! This week marks 30 weeks! Wow! I can not believe it. We feel so much better prepared since this wonderful blessing of a shower though!

Answered prayer at 29 weeks

Today I had my regular OB appointment because next week is Thanksgiving and they weren't seeing patients. Everything looked great, I measured 29 to 30 weeks and heartbeat was 158 and great. We briefly discussed what to do about delivery, but I wasn't ready to commit to anything. Plus Mali was with me (she was pretending to be the wind behind the changing curtain, you can probably imagine that) while I was talking with the doctor so he said January 26th looked great but we could schedule it as early as January 23rd. So Eric and I have some dates to talk about. I did talk with my OB about Eleri not moving very much this week, so he ordered a sonogram. I couldn't get a hold of Eric, so Mali and I went together. Eleri wouldn't really move much for the sonographer even when she "buzzed" her but we finally got a little kick. After looking around at her, her heart, blood flow, and brain all looked great. The sonographer said "she's just lazy or laid back". The whole time Mali was trying to "help" by pushing on my stomach and trying to rip off the pictures from the machine, so it was pretty quick. I'm sure the sonographer wanted us out! Anyway, to get to the point, ever since we got into the clear, the big dilemma and question weighing on my mind has been how to have this baby. I would love a normal delivery but was worried about having another c-section after laboring again. I also had a difficult time recovering from my last c-section, so I just didn't know what to do. I've been praying that God would make it very clear to me what we should do (secretly hoping I would just go into labor and be a 6 and have her normally). So today, during the sonogram we feel like we got our answer...Eleri is breech! That is why she hasn't really been moving, because her feet are down and her head is up! (The kicks to the bladder have not gone unnoticed though). We know she could turn, but Eric pointed out that God still answered our prayer. We will be scheduling a c-section at my next OB appointment. Today my prayer request at bible study was that God would give us a clear answer, and we feel like this is the answer. How much more clear can it be? Thank you GOD!!! I'm a little sad, but confident that God always does what is best for His children.

Here is a picture of Miss Eleri at a whopping 2lbs

White Swan

Today at preschool, Mali learned about Thanksgiving and American Indians. They made a stick horse, feather book, and drum. Mali also had her face painted with war paint and they made a headdress. Her "Indian" name was White Swan. Here is a picture of her, she was very very proud of it all!

Fancy Nancy Syndrome

Mali has "officially" been diagnosed with "Fancy Nancy Syndrome". What is this? Well, according to Mali's preschool teacher it IS legit and occurs in 3 and 4 year old girls, where all they want to wear is tutus, dresses and skirts. The main criteria is that it must be mismatched (or matched in their young mind) and inappropriate for the current weather conditions! This is our Mali! The last few weeks have been a struggle every morning getting ready for the day. My requirements for her are that if she is going to wear a dress/skirt she has to wear tights and a sweater. It still turns out interesting. And, she strips down as soon as she gets home from wherever we've been and typically changes into dress up clothes. I think it bothers Eric more than me, but I do hate that she has so many nice, beautiful clothes that she won't wear!:( So, I was thrilled the other day when I got a Parent's magazine and there was a feature article on this issue. Finally I would know what to do! Their advice? Allow your child to wear whatever they want, childhood is short, let them enjoy it! So here are some pictures of her attire (actually in a fairly mild form) and a link to Fancy Nancy if you are curious about it!




http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Fancy-Nancy/Jane-OConnor/e/9780060542092

Rejection

It seems the larger my belly grows, the more Mali is pulling away from me, and to not put it so nicely (but honestly) rejecting me. Part of it is so good and appropriate. I'm thrilled that she is getting to do some fun things with her Daddy and spend more time with him. To be honest though, it has been really really sad. She makes ugly faces at me, sasses me, disobeys me, cuddles only with her daddy, showers with her daddy, only wants daddy to read to her and sing to her at bedtime...the list could go on. Some of it is nice and will be helpful as we make the transition to a baby that needs me to feed it, etc. but I guess I just didn't see it being done so hatefully! Needless to say, the last few weeks have been a little sad, and I've found myself crying more and just missing my baby girl! I'm sure the hormones play a part too, and once life settles down (does that happen?) we will re-establish a close, loving relationship. Change is always hard because it is new and different!

UNDEFEATED!!!!!

Tonight was Eric's team's last game! It was bittersweet...but they won and finished the season 10-0 and undefeated! I'm so proud of him as a coach and especially as a first year coach for the freshman! Way to go Coach Gomez! Blow Sand Blow!

27 weeks

Today I had my 27 week appointment, which is exactly 3 months from my due date! Yikes! The doctor had to be in surgery so I just saw the Nurse practitioner. The appointment went great. I've gained weight and am measuring on target. Eleri's heart beat was 158 and the nurse said she sounded great. On Sunday night, I had two REAL contractions. The Braxton Hicks have continued, but this was painful and the real thing. The nurse wasn't worried, but said to stay off my feet, don't pick up Mali if I can help it, drink lots of water, and rest as much as possible. We all know the reality of those things happening the 2nd time around. But Sunday night was sort of a wake up call for me that I need to be more careful because we don't want our baby girl coming this soon. I've really felt great and have been going, going, going...which I do enjoy. Mali is enjoying my "big, fat tummy" and loves to point it out to everyone and laugh hysterically at it. Mali is also calling Baby Sister "Eleri Cate Plus 8". Our favorite family show is Jon and Kate Plus 8, so Mali thinks that's what Eleri's name is. Mali loves to scream and laugh when she sees Kate's
"big, fat tummy" on the intro of the show and asks me if I'm going to get that big...we'll see, I'm not carrying 6!
I will go back in 2 weeks for a regular appointment and will probably make a decision about delivery at that point. We've had issues getting my medical records, which my OB needs before he will even let me consider a V-BAC. I'm still praying about what to do! I go back and forth. I'd love the normal experience of a VBAC and not being so out of it and being able to hold and bond with my baby girl, but I'm also concerned about having another emergency c-section. We'll see! I'm just praying God makes the decision VERY clear to us!
I'm still so thankful for this little girl and think that is why this part of pregnancy has been so much more enjoyable. I'm trying not to complain at the discomforts, but to focus on her moving and the miracle of it all! I'm so blessed to get to experience this again!
Here is a picture of my belly at 27 weeks. Mali is getting less and less cooperative for these pictures!

Texas Tech...Long Live the Matador!

Tech is ranked #2 in football...just had to post that. My mom, dad and I all graduated from Texas Tech...so it is in our blood and I'm proud. Plus I had some cute pictures to share that Terry took from our Red Raider weekend. I'm just sad Eric was on the golf course and we didn't get a family picture!

Pinkalicious

This year Mali dressed up as Pinkalicious. We just threw the costume together and went to Trunk or Treat at our church, but I was pretty proud of it. I'm not too big into the holiday so I hate to buy costumes. I felt like I had a successful mommy moment and that maybe some of my mom's creativity had seeped down to me. Here is a picture of her and a picture of the cover of Pinkalicous (not many people knew who she was, but she was proud of being Pink-delicious). The story is about a girl who loves pink and makes pink cupcakes with her mom and eats too many and turns pink. It is right up Mali's alley! This is also our theme for her birthday party so it worked out great!

9-0

Eric's team is now 9-0!!! I'm so proud of him and his record this year at AHS as the head freshman coach! Way to go Coach Gomez! This week is the beginning of the end and is bittersweet. I can't believe the last football games will be played this week, but look forward to our schedule being less hectic. Next football season I'll be juggling two little girls while we watch the games! Eric starts soccer (for the first time ever) the day after Thanksgiving break, which will be interesting. He plans on ref-ing basketball games in between seasons to stay busy. Anyway, we are hoping for the end of the season to be an undefeated record after Thursdays game!
Another team that is 9-0 is TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS! We had so much fun watching the game and then listening the win last night. It makes me so proud to be a Texas Tech Alum. This is pretty huge, and very exciting. It does make us miss being in Lubbock with all of our other die hard Tech fans around us!

Grandparents

Mali is so blessed with her grandparents. They have blessed her and loved her from birth (well, even before that!) I just wanted to quickly write a post about the fun she gets to have with her grandparents (although this is not all inclusive of the things they do for her).
This past Friday, Grandpa (My Dad) watched Mali while I went to a training. Mali had so much fun with him. They baked cookies and played. Her highlight though, was driving in a Cadillac convertible WITH THE TOP DOWN to a lunch date at Chick Fil A. She keeps talking about the day, and even said "mom do what Grandpa does", which meant put the top down. I had to explain to her that my car doesn't work like that. She informed me that she would help me buy one like Grandpa's! I think that is a special treat reserved solely for Grandpa! Mali loves her Nana too, who happened to be out of town for this Grandpa/Mali day. Nana buys Mali pretty clothes that she loves to wear. Nana and Grandpa spoil Mali too, but they also teach her manners, discipline and structure too. Mali has had fun staying the night with them in Dalhart at times. Mali enjoys posing for Nana's pictures too. She loves her Grandpa and Nana!
Mali has other great things that she gets from her relationship with her grandparents. MeeMee and Papa (Eric's parents) spoil her rotten, just like any grandparent should and give her all the things mommy and daddy stay away from. She loves the spoiling and attention. She also gets to go to the golf course and drive Papa's cart. Mali enjoys getting to see them frequently when they come to Amarillo. Mali enjoys being able to act really silly and be the center of attention with them. Mali loves her Papa and MeeMee.
Mali is also loved and loved by her Grammie (my mom). Grammie certainly treats Mali like a princess. Grammie always seems to find just the right clothes and costumes that Mali loves dressing in. Grammie has blessed Mali by giving her the gift of Ready, Set, Go and Ballet classes. Grammie is always sending packages that Mali loves to get. Mali likes to talk about Ouray (where Grammie lives) and Grammie's cats.
I know that I didn't even do justice to the wonderfulness of each grandparent's relationship with Mali,but I wanted to try to include just a little about the love and memories she gets from having grandparents! It is so neat to sit back and watch her at this age, as she develops memories and unique relationships with our parents! We are blessed by you guys!

Maternity Clothes Woes

Uugh...is really all I can say. I'm in yet another awkward stage of pregnancy. I'd really prefer not to get dressed in anything but pajamas at this point. I'm really not uncomfortable, but finding pants that fit and don't make me look huge on either end and then finding a shirt that covers the panel or all of my ever expanding belly, is becoming tiresome. I hate taking a long time to get ready, and daily I seem to be trying on several outfits until one works. I've finally discovered the problem though (which I encountered with my pregnancy with Mali as well, but MUCH closer to my due date)...the problem seems to be that I carry low, so the oh-so-attractive panel sticks out more and is not easily hidden by regular length maternity shirts. Eric has also made me promise to not wear the tent shirts, so it has become challenging to find something that fits. He does like to have input on how my maternity clothes look (FYI husbands this is NOT a good idea when your wife is pumped full of hormones!) Today another preschool mom informed me that I was getting bigger by the day. I think it is true, I really noticed last night. However, I'm thankful for this pregnancy and some what happy with my pregnant belly, although it causes some mild discomforts. Oh well if I wear jogging pants or the same pair of jeans every day...this is a blessing and just a season. And if you haven't noticed, I only have 97 more days of maternity clothes woes...and then it will be trying to find something that hides the left over baby fat and doesn't hurt my (possible) incision! Oh, life!
On a positive side of pregnancy, we have a dresser that Eric's parents gave us and have decided on bedding for her room. It is all starting to come together in our heads, but we won't start working on the room for a month or so. Eleri seems to be doing well. This last week she hasn't seemed to be moving as much, maybe because I've been running around so much and not resting. Eric says we have "mommy/Eleri" time at 10pm each night when I'm still and laying in bed. We are preparing, but waiting. I think Mali is preparing my sleep schedule too, to need less sleep. She's been up the last few nights, but I'm trying to be positive and think that I'm just getting used to less sleep!

6 months pregnant!

I can not believe I'm 6 months pregnant now (24 weeks). It is such a blessing and relief to be at this point. I'm really enjoying feeling Eleri move. She is very active, despite my first impressions. Pretty much any time I'm still, I feel her move. I'm really enjoying it and treasure it as a blessing!
I had my 6 month appointment today. Eleri's heart beat was at 158 and I measured on target. I've gained a few pounds and everything else was good. I have begun to have Braxton Hicks contractions and asked the doctor about them. He was so great and believed me!!! My ob in Lubbock never believed me that I was having them. It is always good to feel normal and not like I'm a crazy pregnant lady! He explained them to me and told me to rest and drink water when they are happening and if they don't go away in one hour after that to give him a call. He explained that he will probably send me to the hospital at that point to get a shot to stop them. But, I'm not worried. I had these with Mali starting at 7 months and never went into labor or progressed past a 5, so I doubt if anything happens this time. It is so nice the 2nd time around to not be so worried about everything! However, my OB did give me a quick sonogram to make sure my cervix was thick enough (3 cm which is good). I got excited (and a little giddy) thinking that I would get an extra peek at Eleri. BUT, I got to see the top of her head and that was it. I was a little sad, but I would have hated for Eric to miss seeing her.
Every thing with Eleri and me is really, really great. I'm just trying to be content and really enjoy these times before she is born, both enjoying pregnancy and life as we know it!

This isn't the best picture, but some how was the ONLY one that was in focus. It is good enough to see I've grown!:) To see the full effect, take a look at the slideshow at the bottom of the blog.

What we've been up to

Our lives are so busy right now, we've been up to a lot of things. When the day calms down, we like to spend time outside, we really love our neighborhood. Our trees and lawn are so pretty right now with the touch of fall. Plus the weather at night has been pretty great. Eric has been riding his bike and so has Mali. She really enjoys riding her bike and sometimes her new scooter too.


Mali also had her Fall Party at preschool. She had fun eating little cakes, but was confused if it was her birthday party or not. I think she finally figured it out. Mali is learning great things at preschool, like how funny it is to toot (all the time) and how to whine in different voices. Last night she explained to me that Girl A says "mommie mommie" and Boy A says "tooty tooty"...hmmm. Other than learning embarrassing social skills, she is enjoying cutting out shapes, making squirrel food and learning about shapes and colors at preschool.


Mali is also loving BSF this year. She really seems to be learning so much about baby Moses and different scripture. Earlier she was pretending to read Psalms. Her teachers say that she is their big helper and I think she really enjoys the role of helper/leader and not being the young one in her class!
On nights that Eric has out of town games, we try and do a "Girls night". Mali loves this. We paint our fingers and toes and watch a girly movie or take a super duper bubble bath. Sometimes we even put masks on. I can't believe in a short while, girls night will include a new sweet girl.

Homecoming 2008

Last weekend was Homecoming! It was a busy week for us with a home game for Eric, homecoming parade, homecoming pep rally, and then the game. Mali had a mum again this year. Eric didn't have time to make it, but picked out all of the accessories and handed the baton to me saying "you've seen me do it enough times now." Mali looked cute and even got her face painted! The game was great and one of the most exciting ones I've been to. So exciting that towards the end, Mali started crying every time we hollered or cheered because it was so loud! We won, I guess that is obvious. Eric's team is 6-0 as of right now, but hopefully in a few hours they will be 7-0.

A little bit freaking out

I tried and tried to come up with a better title for this post, but it just didn't happen, and this title fits. The other day it hit me that next week I will be 6 months pregnant, which means 3 months to go, which really means about 17 weeks left until Eleri is born. OH MY GOODNESS!!! I have been very content with this pregnancy and not felt the desire to rush it at all, so maybe that is why it has now snuck up on me. If it were up to me, I'd just hang out in the 2nd trimester for a little longer (it has been really great). I'm excited for her birth, don't get me wrong, but I'm feeling inadequate and unprepared. We haven't even come close to deciding on bedding thanks to my picky husband:) (just kidding honey, sort of). Her "room" is still be used as my office (no big deal really), we haven't figured out where to relocate all of the office items in our previously large house that has now shrunk with the addition coming, her "birth" hasn't been paid for yet, we have no crib,....anyway the list of my worries could go on and on. But on a much larger note, I'm wondering if I can do this...another baby, plus having Mali already. I'm scared of spending my moments with Mali yelling at her or frustrated with her not napping when I need a nap so bad or pulling a "I need water, I need...." at bedtime. I'm not sure I can do it. Actually, I know that in my own humanness I CAN NOT do it effectively and as wonderfully as I know it needs to be done. The encouragement though, is that we are studying the Life of Moses in BSF right now and God has reminded me that He needs my obedience and not my ability! Good thing, because I'm pretty sure I don't have the ability. Moses had a failure to start off his calling (I've had several "failures" in my calling as mother with Mali and I'm sure I'll add some to the list this next season.) Moses argued with God about his calling (I might be there right now, "God are you sure I can parent a girl well enough, are you sure I can parent two, no I can't do it God). Moses was scared that he didn't have the ability (I don't have the ability, even though God has brought me LEAPS and BOUNDS in the mothering department, I'm still not the perfect mother.) But, I know the end of Moses' story...that God used Moses despite all of this and that Moses is commended for his FAITH and not all of his FAILURES. I just sometimes wish I knew the end of my story...but then I'd miss all the amazing mothering moments I have before me! (Like Mali calling out last night "Good-night Baby Eleri.") We have sweet moments ahead, difficult moments ahead (as two moms in two days have decided they need to tell me all about how difficult having two is), and moments we can not even fathom. I pray that I'll make it, that I'll lean on God and rely on HIS abilities and focus on being obedient and selfless. Pray for us in the meantime, for my love and attitude towards Mali, that I treasure and am wise with all my moments with her, an easy transition (its worth praying for and hoping for), and that Mali loves and cherishes her baby sister and adapts well to the change in family. Pray for me and Eric too, that we will be a team as we head up our castle of princesses!:)
Well, I need to go wipe my hormonal eyes!

Gymnastics watch day

Monday was gymnastics watch day. It was a little hard to always see Mali and to get good pictures. She seems to enjoy gymnastics and getting her energy out. They worked on the bars but Mali seemed a little hesitant to flip over the bars. She was doing really well though and sat and obeyed her teacher. Here is a good gymnastics pose of her!

We love Fall!

One of the top perks of living in Amarillo is being so close to the cabin. It is only about 4.5 hours from Amarillo, compared to the 6.4 it was from Lubbock. So this past weekend we went up to the cabin for a family get away. It was so wonderful to see the beautiful leaves, relax in the hammock, do nothing but eat and breathe in the mountain air. It was great time for our family. We relaxed a lot and enjoyed each other. Mali played outside and collected gold leaves. We got to watch the deer eat grass in the yard and ride the four wheeler around to look at leaves. Mali and I also went on a little walk Saturday morning. These were my special moments with my dad and a great memory I have. When I would go to the cabin, we would always take a special morning walk together, just us two and enjoy the outdoors and sometimes talk. It was fun to pass this along to Mali. Sunday when we got ready to leave, we stopped at Bear and Blue Lake and had a picnic lunch by the stream and let Mali fish. Since we didn't have a permit, we let her use her fishing pole with her pretend fish. She had fun with it, but kept wanting to catch a real fish. Next time we are going to try and fish for real, but we aren't sure that she is quite ready for the patience it takes. Those fishing moments make me miss my Grandpa and wish that he could have passed on his passion for fly fishing to Mali, but there is a good chance it is in her blood anyway!:)

See the rest of our pictures at
www.flickr.com/briegomez

Baby Girl's name

We have finally decided on our second daughter's name. Her name is going to be ELERI CATE. This name fit the best with what we wanted and had meaning. Of all our other potentials, this name was the only one with meaning. Eleri means "cheerful" and Cate means "pure." Hopefully this name is a fit for her! I'm glad to have a name and be able to call her a name and not just baby or baby girl or baby sister!:)

5-0

Let me just brag about my husband....in his first year as the head freshman football coach at Amarillo High (a 5A school) his team is 5-0...yes undefeated and going strong. I wish I knew total points scored for every game, because not only have they won, but the last few games Amarillo High has scored at least 40 points against the other team. Way to go Coach Gomez!!!!!:)

Latest Video of Mali

Here is the latest video of Mali. I love that she is starting to grasp spiritual truths and is in a place where she loves going to "The Clubhouse" and BSF and learning about Jesus. Nothing makes me happier or filled with more joy than to see her beginning this relationship with Jesus.

p.s. I'm THRILLED I finally got a video to upload!

Half way there

I'm 20 weeks pregnant and half way there! I can not believe it. Part of me wants time to slow down, we still have so much to do, like name this baby girl!!!!! I'm also excited to meet her, but realize 4 months is still a ways away, we still have football season, Mali's 4th birthday and Christmas all in between now and then.
I had my regular OB appointment today and it went great. Baby Girl's heart rate was at 156 and I measured on target this time. I also managed to gain 6 lbs (yeah for breakfast tacos!!!:)) I discussed c-section versus VBAC a little with my OB but haven't made a definite decision. I think Eric prefers I just have the c-section, so we'll see what we decide in about 4 months.
Mali is still adjusting as well as I could expect or ask for. Last night she started crying because I took the diaper changing table out of her room (several months ago to make way for better big girl storage). She told me "now the baby doesn't have a place to sleep. Her baby bed needs to go there." Mali really wants to share a room with her sister! It makes me happy and I'm beginning to pray for their relationship and bond as sisters. I know it is such a privilege to have two daughters and watch this unique bond grow and form.
I'm doing well. I can tell I have more energy but still need an afternoon nap and early bedtime, but it is nice to have the energy to walk down the street with Mali while she rides her bike. I'm trying to be very intentional with the one on one time that I'm getting my Mali and Eric in these last few months. Our lives are pretty crazy though!
I'm also so thankful for how God has brought us to this point and how wonderfully gracious he has been to us. To be a "normal" OB patient is so wonderful!
Baby Girl is doing good and moving away. I think I have to take back what I said about her not being as active, because she is pretty active off and on. It is wonderful and I'm very blessed to experience her little movements.

Names

Most of you that know me, know that I'm not content to just sit back and wait, and so since we surprisingly found out we were having a girl, we've been tossing names around. So far we have two potential (for now until we hear another we like) and Eric wanted me to put a poll on our blog for votes on these names. BUT, I wanted to describe the names for everyone so that you would know how they are pronounced and give room for comments to be made about the names. So leave your comments here, and vote too!
I was also given instructions to not disclose whose name is whose, one is my choice and one is Eric's choice:

Name 1:
Curi Jane (or some form of that). Curi pronounced Curry (like the spice). This was our boy name but we are tossing it around as a girl name.

Name 2:
Eleri Cate (or some form of that) Eleri is pronounced like Mallory but with an E, or Ellory.
Eleri Jane

I'm not a huge fan of Jane as a middle name, but our first date we went to see G.I. Jane so we thought that would add some significance, cheesy as it may be.

Anyway, leave your comments (Tim Dallas I'm waiting for your very honest perspective that you promised me) and vote!

Two Princesses

Last night, we were de-briefing (finally) as a family and talking with Mali about having a girl. Eric told Mali "now I will have two princesses", which I think sums up pretty well what the composition of our household will be like.
I went into the sonogram prepared for them to say that it was a boy, Eric had thought it was a boy, and many other people thought so too. Really, the only one that was verbal about feeling otherwise was Mali. She has called it her baby sister from the beginning. So, we were a little shocked that it was a girl. There is absolutely nothing there, so 100% certain that it is NOT a boy, and that it will not change again. As soon as we could see her little bottom on the screen, I knew and Eric knew, that it was not a boy. We had a boy name and had not discussed girl names at all, so we will be keeping our ears open for the perfect name for our second princess. We don't have to buy hardly anything, just a crib for the baby, so that is a relief. Eric has described finding out it is a girl as being relieved. He said that there was already so much pressure if it was a boy, would it be a good athlete, would it look like a "White", etc., so he feels relief in that area. Also, we may not be done now, which is okay with me (even though my pregnancies are difficult). I've always thought the idea of three kids sounded right, but who knows what God has planned. I'm ready to find a name and pick out bedding/nursery theme, but it is football season and Eric has too many decisions on his plate already, so we may have to wait a few months. It might drive me crazy, but I'll survive. Its funny, because I don't feel like I can pick out bedding until I know her name!
Other than the surprise (side note: who says you aren't surprised when you find out before the delivery:)), the baby is doing great. She was very active. The sonographer asked "which one of you is so active?" We both said "the big sister". As if she couldn't tell, as Mali was crawling all over me, up and down from the chair, kissing me, getting in my face, etc., etc. So it doesn't seem as if we'll get any relief from an active baby. We are so thrilled that she is healthy. Everything looked great and measured perfect. She is currently 9 ounces. I'm curious how big she will be, bigger than Mali or smaller. Judging by my bulging belly (I was JUST showing with Mali at this point),I'm wondering if she will be bigger. We just feel so overwhelmingly blessed that this pregnancy is going so wonderfully right now and is so great. I'm feeling better and haven't been sick, really, since 15 weeks. I'm a little tired, but that is just life and we can deal with that!
Mali is still doing pretty good with the transition. I am praying for this and for a close bond between her and her sister. Right now she has become a little more clingy at bedtime, but she still talks about what she is going to teach her baby sister and what she is going to share with her. We'll see about the reality of it all.
My due date is still about the same, February 4th (I'm 19 weeks). But if we do a c-section, it will just be scheduled late January.
I know there are so many thoughts running through my head off and on about the reality that this is a baby girl, but for now this is all I can think of. We are excited, it is amazing to think that this is how God planned our family from the beginning. Two girls....two princesses!


Baby Girl at 19 weeks:


Belly at 19 weeks:




The sonographer also turned some pictures 3D but said that it wasn't really made for this age because the baby has no fat on it, so this is one of the best ones, but she doesn't look too cute.

We are having a....

Just quickly wanted to share what we found out at our sonogram today. I will blog/post pictures later when I'm done seeing clients (I'm waiting on one now).


64% of you that voted were wrong....


ITS A GIRL!!!!



And yes, Eric is okay, he is getting over the shock but we are both happy for a healthy, very active, baby girl and trust that God knows the best fit for our family.

Friends

We are so blessed by our friends. I couldn't have asked for a better set of friends for Mali. We took a quick, last minute trip to Lubbock to watch Eric's team play Coronado (It was a great game, and good win) and to visit our friends. Here are some pictures:

Zachy, Mali and Calyn at the football game. Grandma (Dallas) and Tim and Baby Abby Gray are in the background too.\
Just the girls left at the game cheering for the Sandies. After the game, Calyn took a nice little lap around the track and patiently waited for Mali to catch up.

Bowling! Look at these sweet friends holding hands. For those of you that don't know, in our church group there were five babies born all at about the same time. Jackson Hill (Angie and Graham's son) is on the left, he just turned 2 and wasn't born with the others, but fit right in. He is such a cutie! Then it is Mali, Zach, Calyn, and Tracen. Tracen is the oldest then Mali and then Zach and Calyn (born just 10 days apart) We also enjoyed a crazy, fun lunch at Chick Fil A before we had to come home to Amarillo.
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Unfortunately this is not the best picture, thanks to my lovely daughter. Angie and Jackson and Me and Mali. Angie and I have known each other about 10 years. She was so wonderful to me first in welcoming me in the Davis' Sunday School class, and then we shared our first apartment together before she married Graham. She is so amazing, sweet, laid back (everything I'm not) and was a wonderful roommate. God really used her to shape some gentle and quiet spirit and good qualities into me! Thanks for being a great roommate Angie, and a great friend the rest of these years. And we just love sweet Jackson!

And in case you can't tell, I'm having picture posting issues lately, sorry. Hope you follow along with the captions anyway.