Happy Halloween!

Can't wait until next year when I get to do this with a 2.5 year old and 9 month old!

Failed Glucose Test

I took my one hour glucose test last Friday and got a phone call today saying my levels were slightly elevated. Boo! This means I have to go in and take a 3 hour test. I'm going to be stuck at the doctors office for 3-4 hours. Plus, I have to fast for 12 hours the night before, plus those 3-4 hours. I'm going to be starving! I really hope I don't fail again. I have no symptoms of Gestational Diabetes. I've only gained 13 lbs in 27 weeks. Ada is smaller, 16% at 25 weeks, but Brady was always small and I know she's likely to be even smaller than him. Wish me luck in my next test. I'm going to try and take it on Friday.

Another Fall Weekend (and a look forward)

I've missed a couple of days, so here's been our wonderful fall weekend.

I went to see the OB on Friday for my glucose test and a normal check-up.  Yuck!  It went alright and I start going every 2 weeks now.  Plus, I'm officially up 13 lbs and she's pretty happy with that.  I just need to keep gaining.

Yesterday, we went to a local parade.  We went last year, but Brady was only about half a year old.  This time, he LOVED it!  He danced to the marching bands, loved looking at the cars drive by (he said "Cah" so many times), pointed obsessively at the balloons and bubbles, and got lots of candy and a sticker from a clown that was a big Tigers fan.  They even had guys in little cars that gave him high-fives as they drove by.  After that, we went to a 50s diner for lunch and he loved that too, especially the strawberry milkshake we all shared.

Our friends/neighbors were there with us and I got to see Kalista, who is almost 2 weeks old.  She makes me so excited for January and getting to dress Ada in all her girly clothes!  I'm looking forward to seeing Brady with his little sister and watching them grow up so close in age.  Brady and Kooper, who is 3.5 months older, play so well together now.  I can remember when they used to play separately, but they've been chasing each other and sharing toys for the past couple of months.  I look forward to seeing Ada do this with Kalista and all her other friends.  These are all things I know I will have with Ada too.  It may be a little different, but I don't feel like I'm giving anything up by having a daughter with Down Syndrome.  If anything, I'll be gaining something.  I'm not sure what yet, but I look forward to finding out.

Another October Baby!!!

Another one of Brady's buddies became a big brother this morning.  Nicholas was born at 5 lbs 14 oz and 18.75"  Another early baby.  He wasn't due until Nov 3rd, I believe.  This means another friend for Ada!  It will be fun having playdates where every child has at least one other child close in age.  All these babies makes me wish January would hurry up and get here.  It seems so far away when there are so many holidays in between now and then, but at least it will go fast because of all those holidays.

Mini Breakdown

Nothing like trying to cook something new when your husband isn't home yet (he worked a little later today) and your 1.5 year old is super fussy and clingy to cause a mental breakdown.  I occasionally freak out about adding another child into this mix.  Sometimes it's hard enough doing it with one, that I am scared about how it will get done with two.  Hopefully, Brady will start to get a little more independent.  In his defense, he was pretty independent all day until I started trying to cook.  No amount of distraction worked either.  I put on his favorite movie. That lasted 5 minutes.  I pulled out a toy that I hide because it's annoying.  That also lasted only 5 minutes.  Even just being in the kitchen with me wasn't enough.  He wanted me to hold him.  So part of dinner did burn a little bit, but in the end it was successful.  It tasted good, at least, and we have tons of leftovers.  I guess I shouldn't freak out too much because no one was hurt, nothing caught on fire and we all still got fed (only 15 minutes later than usual, too).  Just a few tears shed by both Brady and me.  I'll just blame it all on pregnancy hormones.

In other news, I bought nutritional yeast flakes at the Vitamin store nearby and put some of that in our potato cheese soup.  Obviously, we aren't vegans since I definitely used cheese in the soup and half & half, but I got it for a vegan recipe I plan to try.  Plus, I read that it can really boost the nutritional value of your food and it came in a huge container (way more than I need for one recipe).  Either it didn't have enough flavor to overpower the rest of the meal or it just tastes good, but dinner was a huge hit, especially with Brady.  He always makes me feel like a great cook.

To Buddy Walk or not to Buddy Walk?

I've been back and forth on this.  At first, I really wanted to go.  Mainly to get information.  I figured there would be lots of information and there probably is.  However, now I'm starting to feel less excited to go because (a) it doesn't look like the Early Intervention program will be out there and (b) I'm not sure if I'm ready just yet.  Well, I do feel ready, but I feel kind of weird about going without Ada there.  I think in the future the main point will be for it to be a fun event for her to meet other children in the Down syndrome community in our area.

Another reason I'm weary of going is just exhaustion.  It's fall here and fall means weekends packed with things.  We have not had a weekend or even one day on the weekend free all month and I don't think we have any weekends free until after Thanksgiving.  I'm sure December weekends will start filling up too.  I have a long doctor's appointment (doing the standard Gestational Diabetes test) this Friday.  This Saturday, we are planning to go to a local parade and maybe our neighborhood's Night Out.  The buddy walk is this Sunday.  I get so tired after these weekends and it takes almost the whole next week for me to recover.  That's one of the joys of being pregnant and also of it still being so hot here.  I really hope the heat wave breaks before November.

Feel free to offer me advice, especially if you went to a Buddy Walk during your pregnancy.

Still Hot!

Man, at this rate I'll be lucky to get 21 for 21, but 21 is a pretty good number anyway.

We didn't even do anything that exciting yesterday.  I just forgot to blog.  I did go to Michael's to get some supplies for my next big craft project.  I'm going to make Kalista a nameplate/hairbow board.  If it goes well, then I'll make one for Ada too.  All the supplies are ready; I just need the motivation to actually start the project.  I still have a lot of scrapbooking to do for Brady's scrapbook, also.

I wish it would just cool off down here.  It's been a high of 90s all week.  We went to a pumpkin patch today and that was fun, but still too hot!  Brady loves being outside and that's when he's on his best behavior.  Pictures!!!

Farmer Brady!

I guess this is Happy Brady!

Sweet Brady (giving the pumpkin kisses)!