The Munchies

Yes, I have had a serious case of the munchies lately. I want everything from chips and queso to rainbow sherbet. Hmm... wonder if those would be good together? LOL. I've done so well with holding myself back from snacking too much, but this week has been a struggle! Where's a personal chef when you need one?

Prayers

Often times we reach out to others for prayers for our family and friends. The prayers of many around the world can mean so much in times of need. Today, I ask that you lift up little Eli Ryan Wedehase. He was born Wednesday, the 18th, at 4:01 pm to a sweet young family that attends church with my mom. Jason and Tanya also have a young daughter, Paige, that you can include in your prayers.

At a regular scheduled ultrasound part-way through Tanya's pregnancy, it was discovered that little Eli had some issues with his heart and would require surgery shortly after birth and again multiple times as a small child. Eli was born Wednesday and yesterday went through a 12-hour surgery to repair his tiny heart. This battle is not yet over as he now faces recovering in the weeks and months to come. I'm including the link to their blog so you can read their story and share it with others as we join together in lifting the entire Wedehase family up in our prayers.

http://wedehase.blogspot.com

Thank you for taking the time to read this and more importantly, for blessing them by praying for them.

Snowboarding

I mentioned that we got Bryan all new snowboarding equipment so I thought that I would show it off for him. We got such a steal with all of the end-of-winter and President's Day sales. Bryan complained about his old boots especially, so it was nice to find some that worked well.

And of course, he was itching to try it all out. Luckily we've been having random storms for the last week or two that keep producing a little rain and plenty of snow in our nearby mountains. Yesterday Bryan and a friend left early and headed to Sierra Summit for a day of snowboarding. He had a blast and raved about how wonderful all of his new stuff felt and worked on the runs.

Bryan told Evan a few days ago that when he gets bigger (7 or 8 years old to be specific) that he would teach him to snowboard. So Evan has gone on and on about how when he gets to be "7 or 8 or 9 or 10" that he can go. Yesterday morning, he came to my bedroom and I told him to crawl in bed with me. "But where's Daddy?", he asked. I told him that he'd gone snowboarding. "But I'm not 7 or 8 yet and I can't go!". I had to convince him that there would be other chances for him to tag along. All day he proceeded to talk about snowboarding and even listed all of the gear he was going to have to get. Later, at my sister's house, my nephew (Noah is three months older than Evan and potty-trained) mentioned that he wore underwear and Evan wore diapers because he was still too little. Evan's quick response was, "Well maybe when you get bigger you can go snowboarding too." I thought it was hilarious. And I guarantee you that when Evan turns 7, he will indeed be on a snowboard because he will not forget.

My Sweet Valentines

We did something a bit different this Valentine's Day. Bryan and I already went out about a week early so we got to spend our whole Valentine's Day as a family.

First, we gave each other our special cards and treats. Evan was very excited about his and continued to tell us "Happy Valentine's Day" all day. He especially loved his chocolates :)

After we shared gifts, we headed to Fresno for the day. We did tons of shopping and took advantage of the President's Day sales. Our main goal was finding new snowboarding equipment to replace Bryan's old and uncomfortable stuff. We managed to eat Chick-fil-A for lunch (thank you to whomever built the one in Fresno, this pregnant lady is forever grateful!), and I got to check out some scrapbooking stuff at Joann's. Evan and I loved looking through the fish store and pets store, where I fell in love with the tiny aquatic turtles. We made a few more stops before heading home.

Once home, we ordered a heart-shaped pizza and enjoyed a tasty meal together. While we had planned to make and decorate sugar cookies too, our day was just too long and busy. We did get to those the next evening though.

Name Calling

Many of you have begun to ask what name we have in mind for the little one on the way. Well, I will start by saying that I like many names and Bryan is the much pickier one regarding this subject. He came up with Evan's name and I agreed. This time, this name was on a long list of about 25 girls names I liked, and one of only four that Bryan liked on my list. Others eventually got pushed to the bottom for one reason or another and this was the one Bryan liked most and we decided to go with it. So her name will be...

Kaylee Marie Reich.

For those into name meanings, I will admit that it's taken some time to find a meaning worth sharing. LOL. My middle name is Marie and I never knew that one of the most common meanings is "bitter" or "sea of bitterness". Well, with Kaylee being a form of Katherine, meaning "pure", I dreaded a name meaning "pure bitterness" :)

BUT... in searching more, I have found that Marie can also mean "wished-for child".

So her name means "pure wished-for child"

The closest runner-ups: Elliana, Paige, and Avielle (pronounced awe-vee-el)

Disclaimer: In case our little one has tricked us and somehow comes out a boy, lol, his name will be Brady Christian Reich.

Movin' And A Groovin'

This little one inside of me has decided to finally kick and squirm in such a way that I actually know she exists. Since about Wednesday evening she has been very active, almost always kicking in the exact same spot on my left side or just below my belly button. She's not such a charmer with the constant squirms between 5am-7am every morning though :)

And another exciting note, Bryan finally got to feel a kick last night. Seems the timing had never been quite right before and he always missed them. But last night in the car, in the parking lot at church, he finally caught one! It was very exciting. I think the Applebee's and Chocolate Malted Krunch ice cream for dessert helped it along. I just love feeling her move. It's one of my favorite parts of pregnancy.

Just Another Day At The Doctor

Today I had my 21-week check-up. I am pleased to announce that all looks well. I was down another half pound and I'm feeling good. The results of the ultrasound a week ago were all normal, so the official due date is still June 18th. The doctor mentioned today that we will probably schedule me for a c-section on either June 12th or June 10th, depending on her busy schedule and how things progress for me, etc.

With Evan I had an emergency c-section, after laboring 16 hours and having a contraction that would not stop, and the hospital here as a No VBAC policy (vaginal birth after cesarean) so my doctor is required to schedule a repeat c-section. BUT... if I go into labor on my own before that, she said she doesn't believe in stopping me unless there is a medical safety reason. So I am hoping to go in labor before my c-section date!

Anyhoo, just some background information :) I feel great and heard the sweet music of her little heartbeat today. It's always such a relief and such a joy to hear.

Thanks for your continued prayers and encourage. We all appreciate it.