10 wks & 5 days!!!

Praise the Lord for a continued, healthy pregnancy! We are now 10 wks & 5 days. We have been able to see baby Green many times during this pregnancy so far which allows me to remain calm (well, more calm than I would have been). There have been 6 ultrasounds already! On Monday, March 26th, we were able to successfully hear baby's heartbeat. What an amazing sound! A strong 186 beats/min. Go baby Green! I treasured the sound of Stryker's heartbeat but making it far enough in this pregnancy to hear the heartbeat made me heart melt. It's been an emotional pregnancy to say the least. After hearing the heartbeat (which thankfully allowed me to avoid another vaginal ultrasound), the nurse immediately informed us that the chances of a miscarriage decrease to almost 0% once the heartbeat is audible. All I could do is look at Logan with a big smile of relief & praise God for this blessing. This was definitely the quickest, most uncomplicated doctor's appointment we've had in a very long time. Adcock recommended we return on April 24th. We'll be stopping the progesterone next Saturday. Our next visit will also allow us to learn about the shots that I will be receiving at home weekly (beginning at 16 wks). Baby Green's gender will be revealed in less than 2 months!

Every man's favorite place...

Lowe's!!

Wild child even at night

This is why it's hard to get our child to bed!

Physical Therapist

Long anticipated announcement!

Our family would love to announce we'll be expecting another baby in October!! After our 2 miscarriages, we decided it was best to wait to announce our pregnancy after the most critical stage was over. 9 wks & 2 days today!!!! There are not any words to best describe the gratitude we have right now during this pregnancy. It has been a long 8 months with a variety of emotions. Since August, we've experienced 3 pregnancies, 2 miscarriages, & numerous ups/downs along the way. Some special people in my life deserve a huge thank you for supporting our family (especially me) during this time.

1. Logan - You have been my rock throughout this whole process. You have truly shown how to be a supportive, Christian husband. We're now able to celebrate this new life that we'll welcome towards the end of the year. Can't wait for our family of 3 to be a family of 4!

2. Stryker - Even though you're only 2 years old, you never missed a chance to make me smile or laugh. You would brighten anyone's day!

3. Coco - You have been extremely helpful for encouraging me & now with housework or keeping Stryker during my time of restrictions with this pregnancy. With Logan working long hours, he's better knowing someone is with me.

4. Dr. Adcock - Anyone can tell in previous posts how much our doctor means to our family. Your persistence, knowledge, faith/prayers, encouragement, & guidance are appreciated more than you will ever know. Thank you for all of your continued hard work for this blessing, even though I may not be the easiest patient sometimes!

5. Dr. Saunders - Many people do not realize that I went to counseling (after much hesitation) after our 2 miscarriages. Dr. Adcock & Logan suggested (more like insisted) I attend at least a few sessions. I thought going to a counselor made you weak & I absolutely hate talking to someone about my feelings. Counseling is the total opposite. Dr. Saunders is at a Christian clinic which makes it faith-based. Thank you for all your guidance, prayers, & analogies over the last several months. I definitely know that I was not an easy patient but I can, without a doubt, say I would not be where I am now if it were not for you.

6. Friends - You know who you are. You have prayed continuously for our family. God is good! Prayers are powerful.

Baby Green is due October 20, 2012! We, of course, found out very early along that we were pregnant. Yes, it makes for a long pregnancy. I was placed on progesterone hormones 2x/day which will continue until we're 12 wks. With Stryker, I was only a little nauseated at night during my first trimester. With this baby, I am nauseated all day & all night. The nurses contribute my intense sickness (could be a lot worse) to the extra hormones. Logan has been shocked that I'm not complaining, but I look at it this way...if I'm sick, then things are progressing as they should. I'm just happy to be pregnant! At 16 wks, we'll begin progesterone (mixed with 2 other drugs) shots weekly. This will be to help prevent premature labor since I was 30 wks along with Stryker when I went into labor. I was also placed on restrictions that are still in place - no heavy lifting, no strenuous activity. Therefore, I haven't been exercising, carrying Stryker. Well, not much of anything. This is okay with me. We just want to do everything that we can possibly do for this baby. Now that the word is out, I'll be keeping you updated!

Adcock performed this ultrasound at 8 wks & 2 days (he always types something on the screen). He typed "Hi momma and daddy" on this one. With Stryker, he typed "Fore" because of golf.

This was our most recent ultrasound (March 13th) at 8 wks & 3 days! He/she has a very strong heartbeat! God is great!!! We see the doctor again on Monday, March 26th (10 wks & 2 days). Can't wait to see our baby again. Logan & I don't care what this baby is as long as it's healthy. But Stryker has his mind made up that it's a girl. When we ask him if baby will be a boy, he says no. When we ask him if baby will be a girl, he says yeah. Whenever I'm sick, he'll give me a hug & pat on my back while saying baby girl. Maybe he knows something we don't.

Early warm weather + pollen = allergies

A short winter followed by early summer...gotta love Alabama weather! We took advantage of the recent beautiful weather by playing as much as we could outside. With all the extra pollen, Stryker ended up with a sinus infection. Poor guy. He always acts tough even when sick.

eating & playing in his fort

playing outside with Coco (Coco bought a new toy - a bubble blower)

sick little man

Ski trip 2012

For Christmas, Logan's mom gave us (Logan, me, Stryker, grandmomma, Uncle Cody, & Laura) a ski trip to North Carolina. We left Thursday morning returning on Sunday afternoon. For specific reasons, I wasn't able to ski or tube so I spent the weekend watching my guys in the snow. The weather was great. It snowed Saturday night & Sunday.

On the way up, Stryker kept throwing his blanket on daddy's shoulder!

As soon as Stryker got to the condo (located on the ski slopes), he found the phone to call Coco!

so cute in his ski overalls

ready to play in the "Snooooowwwww" (how Stryker always pronounced snow)

heading down to the slopes

He loved the snow!

Snow, yummy!

like father, like son

love my little snow buddy

telling me all about the snow

throwing a snowball at mom

playing hard in the snow

how handsome is this?!

making the short hike back to the condo

Stryker's ticket for tubing

Stryker absolutely went crazy tubing!!! He wanted to go fast down the slope & then enjoyed riding the belt back to the top!

Go faster, daddy!

smiles all day

love my guys

He thought if he sat down with mom, then he wouldn't be able to tube anymore!

snuggling in for a nap

Green family of 3! Best looking family, even after a day in the snow!

Exhausted :)

After a bath, Stryker decided to take off running around the room/closet to avoid daddy drying him off & putting lotion on him! He ended up hiding behind this mini ironing board from the closet.

daddy sliding Stryker across the snow

1st tubing ride - loved it from the beginning!

Stryker goes to the dentist

It's that time! Stryker had his first dentist appt on Feb. 28th. Our pediatrician recommended several dentists all around Jefferson County that specialized in pediatrics. We chose one close to home in Gardendale (Dr. Nicrosi). Unfortunately, I was not able to take off from work for this "first". It devastated me that I missed it but Logan was able to make it. I made sure he sent me lots of pictures!

In the mail, we received a packet of information regarding the dentist appt along with papers to fill out prior to the visit. They even send a reservation ticket for the child to have for his/her dentist appt!

Logan said the waiting room was all about kids! This dentist office is for pediatrics only. We would definitely recommend this dentist to anyone.

Having fun in the waiting room (notice all smiles)

And the screaming begins! Logan said it broke his heart having to hold his arms down while she checked his teeth. The dentist informed us that Stryker had all of his teeth except 2 molars (top) that were coming through now. She said everything looked good & to start brushing his teeth daily. We return in August for another check-up.