The post that is NOT about Michael Jackson

I thought you might all enjoy an update on Baby James. I went for my most recent OBGYN appointment yesterday afternoon, and have (thus far) only gained eighteen pounds this pregnancy. My goal is twenty-five (what I gained with Gracie) so please pray that I will reach my goal. That said, I am totally okay with gaining thirty pounds. But I'm shooting for twenty-five.

I am scheduled for a c-section on August 10th. This was a decision my doctor and I discussed at great length. I know some people who have a c-section the first time around opt to do it for repeat pregnancies just because. I made my decision based on the unbelievable heat we've been experiencing lately, and some other medical problems I'm having. Speaking of....

So for the last week, my right foot has been bothering me. To the point that I'm limping and can't really bend my foot in certain directions. But because I was going to my OB appointment Thursday, I thought I'd just let him take a look. Well he did, and suggested that I see a podiatrist - for what might possibly be a stress fracture. Confused? Yeah, I don't know how I got a stress fracture either. My appointment is Tuesday and aside from some slightly bad pain from long periods of standing, I am alternating cold packs and hot soaks to help ease the pain.

And since this post is NOT about Michael Jackson, I wanted to share two of my favorite Michael Jackson related videos:

Jennifer Garner - 13 Going on 30 - "Thriller"

Jackson 5 - "I'll Be There" (acapella)

I am shocked by his death, and yet not shocked by the speculation about what might have really happened. What difference does that make? We have lost a musical legend just the same. Michael's music was timeless and awesome and his presence in the music industry will be missed.

Big News & Baby Anniston

Ahem. If you haven't noticed the Baby Ticker to the left side of my blog, please pay special attention to it today.

TWO MONTHS (or less) UNTIL BABY JAMES GETS HERE!!!

Not that we're excited about that or anything.

Moving on! Okay so I know I'm slacking in the blog department and I just keep apologizing for it. I noticed today on my camera that I have Mother's Day pictures, VBS pictures, and some random photos that haven't been posted here yet. But I thought you'd find new photos of my adorable niece way more fun!


I asked Bryan not to include me in the pictures. Men apparently don't listen well.


This is the only shot where Gracie's hand is not in front of Anniston's face.

Anniston's full name is actually Elizabeth Anniston. The story behind that is Bryan's Nanny (his mom's mom) was named Doris Elizabeth. Bryan's mom is Elizabeth Kay, and Tara is Tara Elizabeth. So in order to keep Elizabeth a family name, that is where the first name comes from. The second name has just as much sentiment as the first. Tara's father-in-law passed away suddenly not long after she found out she was pregnant, and Anniston would have been his first grandchild. They wanted to make part of her name somewhat of a tribute to him, but it was hard for them to relate something feminine to John. Apparently Mr. John grew up in Anniston, and it has a very nice ring to it so after some thought they decided on Elizabeth Anniston and will be calling her Anniston.Isn't she a cutie?

Happy News Abounds!

Okay so my last post about Preston? I have good news to share! Preston was returned to my cousin (the family who had him for the last two years plus) the day after he was surrendered back to DHR. Apparently my other cousin (his biological mother) has made her decision to surrender her rights. All we are waiting on is the lawyers to draw up the paperwork. Continue to pray for Preston and for his family, and for my family in general. This whole struggle with him and the custody situation has caused alot of tension and strain.

And in other exciting news...by the next time I post, I'LL BE AN AUNT!!! My mother-in-law called me this afternoon (around three) to let me know that Tara's water had broke and they were at the hospital. So we are patiently sitting on pins and needles waiting for Baby Anniston to make her arrival.

And speaking of babies arriving, I have eight weeks or less to go now! WOO HOO! Gracie tells me at least once a day that she is READY for Baby James to be here. She's not the only one!

Preston

Please be in prayer for a little boy named Preston, who I have posted about previously. To make a long story short, he is part of our extended family and was in Gracie's preschool class at Victory. To keep his story short and simple, his mother is one of my cousins. She has had five children since the age of 15 and is pregnant with her sixth. The courts will not make her surrender her maternal rights to Preston, and she will not voluntarily give them up - although she voluntarily gave up all but one of her children.
Another cousin within my family has had custody of Preston for over two years, and had to surrender him to the custody of DHR today. She has three other children and needless to say this family is absolutely heartbroken. Please be in prayer for them but especially for Preston.

Introducing....JAMES EDWARD!!!

In no particular order, here are the photo results from the 4D Ultrasound this morning. Apparently, James likes to put his hand up near his face and is a tad bit camera shy. I think he has Gracie's chin and nose (which would technically be MY chin and nose) but anyway. She had fun watching her brother on the screen, and "Up" actually turned out to be a pretty decent movie.
DID I MENTION I PASSED MY THREE HOUR GLUCOSE TEST?!?! Not that I'm excited. Enjoy the photos!

Straight from the Pregnancy Files

Just some random news I thought I'd share......

I go for my 4D Ultrasound appointment this Tuesday. My plan is to keep Gracie out of school and take her with me (so she can "see" her baby brother, as I've told her several times recently) and then after the appointment, take her to see Up at the Rave.

I have gained a total of 18 pounds so far during pregnancy. My goal is 25 (which is what I gained with Gracie) and my OBGYN seems to think that is pretty reasonable. I feel as if I'm in the home stretch now, considering there's only about 10 weeks left.

I failed my 1 hour glucose tolerance test. This morning, I got the sheer pleasure of having to take the 3 hour test. Somehow I managed to get through it with only a mild headache and no urges to chew off my arm in a fit of starvation. I did treat myself to an awesome lunch from Moe's afterwards, and can now say I'm just seconds away from a wonderful nap.

And the last bit of big (to me) news:

In ten weeks or sooner should I go into labor on my own, I am going to quit taking my stomach medication cold turkey. Please pray for me, that this will work out for us in the end. The issue I have been having is wanting to breastfeed, but the medication can be passed through breast milk and can cause breathing problems in nursing babies. So after my thought, prayer, and careful deliberation with my OBGYN we decided to test run this idea during my maternity leave.
I have been emailing back and forth with a lactation consultant in our local area who has proved to be very helpful in answering any and all questions I've thrown at her.
This medication has become a crutch for me in terms of the issues I have with my stomach, and I'm somewhat nervous about not taking it. But I also look forward to the benefits and bonding time I can expect with nursing baby James. My only regret with Gracie is that I couldn't breast feed for longer. So just keep us in your prayers that not taking this medication will be okay for me and that breast feeding will also be a success. I'm sure we'll still struggle with it, but that's to be expected - nothing in life is perfect!

We're Going to Disney World!!!

See this lovely photo of Cinderella's castle? Well, Gracie is in love with it. I don't mean the picture - I mean the castle. So much so that almost on a daily basis, she tells me she has to go and see this castle.

For those of you living under a rock, Cinderella's Castle can be found at Disneyworld in Orlando, Florida. And after several weeks of idle conversation between Bryan and myself, we made the final decision to plan our first ever, very official family vacation (to include Baby James who for all intents and purposes is still in utero right now!).

The plan is to start planning (I'm a little OCD when it comes to that, just ask the mister) and our goal is to aim for the first week of May 2010. We have already ordered the vacation planning video courtesy of the Disney website. I bought a book appropriately titled "The Idiot's Guide to Walt Disney World". I have looked over another highly recommended website and pulled four prospective hotel choices.

And to that end, our planning has come to a halt. I tried to do the Disney vacation website, but it only lets you reserve/make travel plans through December 2009. Bryan and I are planning to use some of our income tax return next spring to pay for the trip. And several of our friends have informed us that you are permitted to make payments on your trip, which is a bonus for us since we won't have most of the funds until the spring anyway.

When I asked Bryan if he was excited about our trip, he answered that he was more excited about Baby James' impending arrival. While I'm also excited about that, I'm looking forward to our first family vacation and letting Gracie see Cinderella's castle in person. And I'm hoping we can snag one of those character meals with Cinderella so Gracie can tell her how awesome her castle is.