A LOT to post!!!

First of all, I will start with our milestone of 27 weeks! I had an appt with Dr Schwartz yesterday. My cervix is 3.8-4.1cm which is wonderful. Baby's heartrate was 158 and is still measuring perfect. The ultrasound tech even took some 3D pictures of her face, which turned out wonderful!!!! I almost had tears in my eye seeing her face so clearly (although I'm NOT ready to see her in person yet!) I will scan them in as soon as I can!

Next big item is we have been trying to potty train McKenna. We have out good days and bad days- she just isn't catching on. She has had more accidents than number of times we have made it to the potty but I guess it is a blessing that she is trying. We had to move the potty out to the living room for her to sit on it. She won't sit in the bathroom. Whatever works, right?

Now, on to Kenna's birthday party on Saturday. We started with lunch- hot dogs, chips, etc. The kids had a blast playing outside even though it was very windy. The temperature was 84 so I think the wind was a blessing- they would have been pretty hot without it!

After playing outside, we had cupcakes and Kenna opened her presents. The theme was Tinkerbell so we had chocolate, white, and strawberry cupcakes with "fairy dust" on them (aka sprinkles). Tony and I bought Kenna a new bike which she was pretty excited about, although we have yet to ride it outside!

Sunday we went to the zoo. Mom and dad got us season passes for Christmas so we thought we might as well start using them! We rented a wheelchair for me so I didn't have to walk all the way around. Kenna had a blast. She loved seeing the animals and riding the rides!! The weather was perfect. There was quite a few people there but it wasn't unbearable.

We brought Kenna's swimsuit so she could play in the fountains (we learned that lesson last summer going to the zoo with Ang and the girls last summer).

Yesterday after my good appt with Dr Schwartz, Kenna and I took a 2 hour drive to Grand Rapids to see Tony. He is working up here this week so we decided to pay him a visit. Kenna did fabulous on the way up (although only took a 30 min nap). The hotel has a great pool/splashpark/ waterslide area instead of just a pool and hot tub (although they have both of those too!). Daddy and Kenna had a blast while I sat on the outside and took pictures. I imagine we will head down there again today!

Kenna is 3!!!

It is so hard to believe that Kenna is 3 now. Where has the time gone?? Everyone says the time goes very fast and they aren't kidding!!! Tony was gone this week for business in Chicago so Kenna and I had a sleep over at mom and dads. For her birthday on Wednesday night we made homemade pizzas. Kenna had a great time pouring the ingredients into the bowl, helping me stir, and (most fun of all) pressing the dough on the cooking stone. She did a great job!

We had a few guests join us for dinner. Kari, Tim and Andrew came over. Aunt Di drove to Indianapolis to pick Granny up from the airport so they came on over and enjoyed the festivities with us. Kenna was happy to see her Granny! She hadn't seen her since Christmas!

Of course we also had cupcakes. McKenna was hilarious singing happy birthday to herself. "Happy birthday to ME" She got a little anxious and blew her candle out before we were done singing. Then of course she wanted to blow it out again so we had to re-light it.

Last but not least we had a few presents for her to open. I think her favorite may have been a Tinkerbell dress from Aunt Di, complete with wings. She danced around the living room with it on. She also got a princess and carriage set from Nana and Papa, clothes, a Sleeping Beauty Barbie and a Princess Easy Bake oven from Tony and I. Tomorrow we are having a birthday party at our house. Kenna is really excited and keeps talking about her "friends" coming over to play.

Kenna was BIG GIRL today. We decided today would be a NO PULL-UP day. It started with come kicking and screaming on Kenna's part but eventually we talked her into it. She only had 1 accident and wore big girl underwear all day. Greg even watched her for a short time this afternoon and she pooped on the big potty for him!! We are so proud~ I hope that tomorrow goes just as smoothly!!

Day of doctors

Today has certainly been a day of doctor appts. It started with my 26 week OB visit to see Dr Schwartz. He came in and did the ultrasound himself to check for cervical length. We were about 3.5cm today which is much better than the 2.7 of last week. He said he was concerned about the 2.7 measurement, as were the rest of us. 3.5 is in the normal range so we are still good. Of course he said his famous line of "We want to keep you pregnant as long as possible". Nothing really major, just wants to see us back next week.

Then off to Dr D's office to see Darcy for Kenna's 3 year check up. She weighed 26 pounds and was 38 inches tall. She was in te 24th percentile for weight and the 34th for her height. Darcy was very impressed with McKenna developmentally. She was doing most of the developmental milestones of a 4 year old!! Darcy was impressed at how advanced McKenna is for her age.

The last few weeks Kenna has been telling us that she has something in her ear. I just assumed it was her tube falling out so we didn't pay much attention to it. When Darcy looked in her R ear, she said it had a lot of fluid behind itand was very red. She was surprised Kenna was not acting like she was in pain. I guess I need to be more in tune to her. She has not complained to me at all about it, no fever, no runny nose, no sore throat, no problems eating, etc, yet has an ear infection. A few months ago when she had strep throat she acted perfectly fine too. I feel bad there are no signs I'm picking up from her.......

I forgot to mention in my last post that Friday was Kenna's first trip to the dentist. ( Of course I forgot my camera so the only picture I have is from my cell phone). She did beautifully. She hopped right up on the chair all by herself. I think she was pretty excited to have "sunglasses" to wear during the whole thing. They counted her teeth- 20. She has a dark spot on one of her front teeth, which our dentist thinks may be an enamel defect so he is sending us to a pediatric dentist to have it checked further

Today Tony and I worked some more on the baby's room. I think we finally have it about done. All clothes are washed and put away. I even packed a diaper bag to take to the hospital when we deliver. I had absolutely NOTHING prepared when Kenna was born so I wanted to at least have something ready for my own piece of mind.

Last Monday Andrew came over so we could watch him while Kari and Tim had meetings. Immediately Kenna though he needed to wear "glass slippers" too. He actually tried to ride on the Winnie the Pooh car wearing them. It was pretty funny!

Thursday night Tony and I went to the first Tin Caps game at the new Parkview field. It was a good time, but you could obviously tell that it was the FIRST game and they hadn't quite got all the bugs worked out.

When we first arrived, we had not had dinner so Tony went to the concession stand to get us something to eat while I went straight for the bathroom. There were 3-4 women standing outside the bathroom. I thought they were just standing talking but soon found out that they were waiting because the bathroom had not been unlocked yet. Of course them men's bathroom was open but not the women's. We finally got someone to open the door and when I was done, Tony handed me my corn dog. I went to go get ketchup on it and after touching the corn dog, I realized it was ice cold. I took it back to the concession stand for another one. The second one was cold. Again, back to the cashier. She notified the men in the kitchen that the corn dogs were not getting done. I waited a short while, then returned to my seat.

We began watching the opening festivities and a few times Tony and I took turns going back to the concession stand for more snack but the line was entirely too long so we chose to wait until the game started. After an F16 flyover and the start of the game, I went back up, saw Greg, Cathy, Julian, Taylor and Kenna. Of course Kenna latched on to me because she was still terrified from the fly over. I found Greg and waited in line with him. We waited 40 minutes in the line for food. Once I got back to my seat I realized the pretzel with cheese was HARD AS A ROCK! Needless to say, having food at the park left much to be desired.

Yesterday was a beautiful day. Tony took the afternoon off and we decided to have a fun afternoon as a family. We started off going to CJs for lunch (the corn dog I ate was fully cooked and hot unlike the previous bad corn dog experience at the ball park). Next we ventured to Morsches park for some fun time playing at the park. Kenna made a new friend, Reagan. they were so cute following each other around and going down the slides together. It was adorable.

How can I not feel bad.....

Lord, please give me peace today. I'm frustrated with myself and my body and need your comfort. Please keep this baby girl safe and growing in my belly. She means the world to me and I want to give her some place safe where she can grow and thrive. Lord, please calm my fears and decrease my anxiety. Amen

So, yesterday I had to go to Parkview North to pick up my free tickets to the Ft Wayne Tin Caps baseball game that I had won in a drawing. Deb, another educator, went up to my office for me to get them out of my mailbox so I didn't have to walk all the way up there. We went to lunch with Sue, another educator, at Bob Evans. We had a wonderful lunch but on the way out I slipped and fell on the wet pavement. Luckily I didn't land on my belly. I landed directly on my left knee. I have a pretty good bruise on it this morning and am a little sore.

I had some contractions in the afternoon/evening which can be normal for me. I tried to call Dr Schwartz's office to schedule an appt today just to be safe. After talking with a physicians, the phone nurse recommended taking a dose of brethine to decrease contractions and if no improvement in 1 hour, go to the hospital.

After talking to Tony, we decided to wait a little while on the brethine. The contractions were not painful and after laying on the couch a while longer, they seemed to subside. About 8:30 in the evening I ended up taking a dose of Brethine because the contractions had started again and were a little more painful and frequent than earlier. Of course, the brethine made me feel horrible so I went to bed.

This morning I knew I would not feel totally ok until I went to see Dr Schwartz just to make sure things were ok. The baby has been bouncing around all day in my belly so I was pretty confident she was ok, but still wanted that peace of mind for myself.

Dr Schwartz assured me that it is not abnormal to fall since during pregnancy your center of gravity has shifted, but was glad we came in to be checked out. We had a full ultrasound of the baby done. She is still measuring right where she should be for my dates and he heartrate is still in the 154-158 range, which is good.

My cervix however is a different story. We want the length to be in the high 3cm-4 range. Last week I was 3.7-4.2 cms. Today was 2.7-3.2 cm. Dr Schwartz and I have had previous conversations about cervical length eventually shortening just because that it what happens with my body. But once it does, we have to be careful and keep a close eye on it. Both cerclages are still in place and I'm not dilating at all, but the shortening is a little disheartening. Dr Schwartz also said that 2.7 is the lowest measurement we want without having to worry too much. If we get down to the 1.5 range, we may need to be admitted to the hospital.

Dr Schwartz obviously can't say one way or the other if the fall, contractions, or just baby growing is what caused the cervix to shorten. He didn't say I needed to go on strict bedrest, just be more aware of contractions and use brethine more if needed. I even asked if I could go the the Tin Caps game that I won tickets to and he said yes, just make sure I have my brethine with me.

I just feel so horrible. Mad at myself for falling. Mad a myself for contracting. I just don't understand why my body has to act this way. What is it about being pregnant that my body doesn't like? I want so bad to have a normal pregnancy. No problems, no contractions, nothing. I want a healthy baby. I want a full term pregnancy.

A funny conversation in the morning

As an Easter present yesterday Greg and Cathy got McKenna "glass slippers"- or dress up high heels that are pink with rhinestones. Of course she wore them all evening last night and the first thing she wanted when she got up this morning was glass slippers and a "dancing dress". I dressed her all up to her heart's delight, then she looked at me and said "Mommy, do you want me to go wake up the Prince (aka Daddy)".

She ran in the bedroom and hopped up on our bed to wake up daddy. I came in also and sat on the bed. Kenna began joking about her glass slippers and which foot they went on. I grabbed one and tried to put it on my foot. She looked at me and matter of factly said that they didn't fit me and I needed to get my own.

The conversation went like this:

Kenna: "No, mommy you need to go buy your own glass slippers"
Me: "Ok Kenna."
Kenna: "You will need a big dress like me too"
Me: "Yes, then I will be a princess?"
Kenna: "Maybe your mommy and papa will go buy you some."
Me (laughing- and Tony with his head under the covers laughing): "Ok, I should ask them then"
Kenna: "Yes, you need to say 'Papa, can I have some glass slippers please'."

I think if I don't get glass slippers out of this, at least she has caught on to saying please! Ha ha

Lots to talk about!

Yesterday we started off the morning cleaning out the baby's room. We are still in the process of trying to organize and rearrange things (well, I decide where things should go and Tony moves them!) From 12-6 was Parkview day at the new Parkview Field. All employees and their families got a sneak peak at the stadium. Tony and I had a lucky surprise and earlier in the week I was randomly selected from a drawing to win 2 tickets to the opening game this Thursday. I'm not the biggest baseball fan, but I'm looking forward to it as a good "date night"!

Then Saturday evening with got together with Ashley, Tony, Abbie, Holly and Greg. We ordered pizza and had a great chance to catch up. It has been a while since I have seen Holly and Greg so it was a time well deserved! We did quite a bit of laughing at the girls as the played. I got a few good pictures too!

And on to today! Easter Sunday (And a celebration of being 25 weeks pregnant!). We started out with a trip to church. When I got Kenna out of bed the first thing she wondered was if the Easter Bunny had come. Of course I explained to her that the Easter Bunny had to go to church so he wouldn't be bringing her basket until after we got home. (Which he did!) Kenna looked absolutely ADORBALE in her Easter dress.

For lunch we ventured to Kari and Tim's house and had a really great meal. They "hid" Easter eggs in the backyard and we let the kids go out to find them. Kenna had a great time. I was pretty disappointed, however with my camera. As we were taking pictures after church, the battery died and in that process about 6 of my pictures were randomly deleted. I have none of her and Andrew together at church, or of her with her Easter basket, or the egg hunt and the Brubakers. Oh well! It was fun anyway!

This afternoon I have not felt the best. I have had some contractions and terrible heartburn. I tried to lay down for a nap to rest but was violently awakened with terrible heartburn and ended up losing most of my lunch. Hopefully this evening will be a bit smoother as we go to visit the Dee's this evening