Whoa!

Where has the time gone? I guess we've been sitting around a lot like this...


At least that's what it seems like. I'm sure we've been keeping ourselves busy, but I am having a hard time remembering the things we've done. So, let's see if I can remember any...

We planned a trip to Disneyland for the end of March. We (yes, myself included) are very excited! I've never been to Disneyland... I've only been to Disney World once, and I was three or four so I don't remember any of it. Lindsay and Heather are beyond thrilled. They ask every day, "Are we going to Disney today?" I wonder when they'll start understanding the concept of time... a month and a half away is not tomorrow. We'll be going with my parents, grandpa, my sister Lisa and her four girls, and my sister Olivia and her husband and baby. It should be a lot of fun!

My ultrasound to determine the baby's sex (as well as all those other important things) is scheduled for March 1. I am so excited to *hopefully* find out the sex of the baby! I love planning and then I'll be able to narrow down my name search. My next appointment with the doctor (18 weeks) is scheduled for next Friday.

I'm planning on taking my sister Lisa out as my Valentine's Date sometime soon. Pathetic, I know, but she will have to do as my substitute. We'll still have a fun time even if there is no making out! Ha ha! We're hoping to see "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" in the theater. I read the series last year and really enjoyed it. Hopefully the movie is as good.

Other than that... I'm out of things to say. Here's a cute video of the girls singing their new favorite song, "Naturally" by Selena Gomez (a Disney channel star). Seriously, they are obsessed with Disney. "Spy Kids" was on one day during lunch time, and since they had never seen it before I let them watch it while we had a "picnic" lunch of pizza rolls on the floor. Exciting, I know, but they loved it! Anyway, the song came on during one of the commercial breaks and every time they hear it, Lindsay and Heather break into song. They crack me up!

Update

Things have been a little rough around here lately. This pregnancy has been more difficult than either of the girls was. Add to that my husband is not around so I have to deal with everything by myself.... it's been hard. The girls have been acting up a little lately (probably because I spend part of the day lounging on the couch trying to deal with pregnancy drama) and it has been very stressful for me around here. I am really missing my hubby...

On another note, even though the girls drive me insane, they are still so cute!

Thanks to Uncle Daniel and Aunt Stacey for the fun Christmas presents we got in the mail last week! The girls have been playing dress-up with their Pretty, Pretty Princess game jewelery every day since then. Aren't they just beautiful?

Where's The Baby?

There he is!

Well, I'm not really sure yet if it's a boy or girl, since this was taken at 13 weeks. That's Lindsay and Heather's favorite part in Ice Age - when Diego is playing peek-a-boo with the baby. I thought it fit the ultrasound picture pretty good, seeing as how I wasn't sure what we'd find with the ultrasound since I was having all those problems. Anyway, the baby was floating upside down when the doctor took this picture and the girls loved looking at the baby "standing on it's head" as they thought. I love the early ultrasound pictures when the head is so much bigger than everything else!

I know it's kind of fuzzy, but you get the picture!

Pregnancy Scare

Sorry about lack of posts! I have been trying to "take it easy" this past week. Last Saturday I started spotting and cramping. I went to the ER and had everything checked out. I got to see the baby in the ultrasound and it was jumping and moving like crazy. That helped to calm my fears a little. I've had a miscarriage that started just like this, but that was during week 6 or 7 of the pregnancy, and I was almost 13 weeks with this one. So I wasn't sure what to think. The doctor told me everything looked okay, but to "take it easy" and schedule a follow-up. Since then, the spotting and cramping have disappeared. Everything seems to be going well (fingers crossed). When the OB nurse who scheduled my follow-up appointment asked if I was keeping off my feet and relaxing, I told her, "Ma'am, my husband is deployed and I have two small children to take care of. There is no such thing as keeping off my feet." My next appointment is Wednesday, so hopefully everything will continue to look good.

Christmas and other things

We had a great Christmas this year! After initially thinking Ben wouldn't be able to visit us, so when it turned out he was able to come, we were so excited! The girls were thrilled when Daddy walked through the door!

On Christmas Eve, Ben and the girls decorated a gingerbread house. We did this last year and the girls loved it, so we decided to do it again. Since Christmas they have slowly been snacking on it... it looks pretty sad now.

Lindsay got this awesome Barbie car from Grandma and Grandpa Avis. However, Heather has claimed it for herself and never lets it out of her sight.

Heather got these cute little additions to her Little People's Noah's Ark set from "Santa".

Both girls got Disney princess/princes for Christmas from their Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Camille.

For the last couple of months Lindsay has been begging for a toy kitchen. She was so excited when they unwrapped this! It took me four hours to put it together the next day, but they girls love it!

And yet, Lindsay was bummed after we opened all the presents at our house. The only two things she asked for were a toy kitchen and a toy vacuum. And there was no toy vacuum at our house. That's because it was over at Grandma and Papa's house! She was so happy when she opened her present and saw what it was. Now she's a vacuuming machine!

My sister, her husband and their girls, my parents, my grandpa, Ben the girls and I were all at my parent's house for Christmas brunch. It was so nice to share the holiday with family. Here's a picture of the girls with their cousins.

Our little family Christmas morning.

Yesterday was our 6 year anniversary. It was a pretty crappy day. Ben left Christmas night so I was all by myself and lying sick on the couch. Why was I lying sick on the couch you might ask? Well, the reason is we are expecting little Avis #3 next July! We are so thrilled to be having another child. We have been trying for a while, but I have been dealing with PCOS and it has been very difficult for us. After a visit to the doctor and some prescription drugs... voila! Yes, Ben will be gone for most of the pregnancy and the birth, but we are just happy for the chance to have another baby!

So that's how our Christmas went. We had a wonderful day and hope you all did, too! And now you all know why I've been a horrible blogger lately - morning sickness. It's kicking my butt. But hopefully it will pass soon... doubt it, but hopefully.

And thanks for 6 great years, Ben! I love you!

My Christmas Present

Yesterday I found out that Ben will be able to fly out and visit us for a few days over Christmas. I am so excited! I guess he was trying to make it a surprise (he and my mom were in cahoots), but he just couldn't keep it a secret any longer. I'm the only one who knows he is coming, though. We're keeping it a secret from the girls - they are going to be so excited when they see their daddy!

Blah

Yep, I'm feeling the "blahs". I just haven't been motivated to get on here. There's really nothing exciting going on. Most days just pass by in a blur and I wonder, "Where did the day go?"

We've been spending a lot of time with family. My sister and her daughters were over yesterday. Apparently they love coming over to my house... not sure why, I guess it's because I'm super cool. Ha ha! Lindsay and Heather love having their cousins over. They always get upset when they leave and beg the next couple of days to see them again. We also see my parents and grandpa a lot. Every now and then we'll head over to their house to watch a Red Wing game (although the games aren't very entertaining because the Wings are losing all the time). My mom and I usually go shopping at the Commissary together. Fun times. It helps me keep my head on, going shopping with someone else while my kids are crazy. Any time we go to the Commissary my kids act horribly. I don't get it, but I appreciate my mom being there all the same.

Speaking of missing people... Lindsay has a HUGE fear of goodbyes. Ever since Ben left, she flips out whenever she has to say goodbye to someone. Especially me - the second night we were here she woke up in the middle of the night crying. I asked her what was wrong, and she said, "I don't know when I'm going to see you again." Almost broke my heart! She's getting better talking to Ben on the phone. The first few weeks she cried every day because she missed him. Now it's every couple days before she has a meltdown and needs to call Daddy before she goes to bed. Last week I tried to go to a church activity with my mom, leaving the girls with my dad to babysit. I knew it would go horribly, and sure enough, it did. Lindsay would not calm down at all to say goodbye to me and that set Heather off. Apparently after we left Heather opened the door and walked right out of the house, quickly followed by Papa. Literally 10 minutes after we left, my dad called my mom and said, "I want you to hear this" and it was the girls screaming their heads off. So we left right away to get back to the house. We walked in and both girls were sitting in front of the door with their shoes and jackets on and their backpack, ready to go home. Poor Papa! Thanks for trying, but it's too soon for them. Saying goodbye to Daddy was really rough, especially now that Lindsay is older.

So... sorry for the lack of posts. What can I say? I'm just trying to survive here. But it's getting better.