Fun, Fun!

This past week went by extremely fast. This week we filled our days with play dates, McDonald's, swimming, park visits, reading and much more. Gwynn is continuing to love her new friend Cami. On Tuesday we colored, danced and took long naps. Thursday it was nice and sunny we packed a picnic and went to the park. This turned out to be a horrible idea it was so cold both girls started crying and I had to walk home carrying Gwynn and pushing Cami in the stroller. I was a little disappointed I thought they would love it (turns out its still a little to cold for picnics and park visits no matter how many layers your wearing). Gwynn and Cami both also seem to be coming down with colds so on Friday I disinfected our entire house and shampooed the carpets hoping this would get rid of any germs.

On Saturday we went to the Gym, shopping and then to Carters birthday party where Gwynn played and eat lots of chocolate cake. She always asks me if she can play with kids and then asks for Carter and Jackson. She loves them like brothers its adorable how well they all play together.

Our little boy has been so busy in my belly. He keeps me up at night or sometimes wakes me up by kicking so hard (something Gwynn never did). He is way more mobile then Gwynn ever was. Last night I was laying on the couch with Charlie he could see him moving all around and felt him kicking very hard he didn't stop for a good hour. I have a feeling he is going to be bigger and more busy then Gwynn was as a baby. I also picked Gwynn up on Friday and he kicked her as to say "Mommy can't pick you up anymore"!!!

Today we did home projects and decided our nursery would be dark cherry furniture with earth tones for our little boy. Our color scheme includes pale green, brown, cream and some pale red & blue accents. We found a nursery on Pottery Barn we really like so we are trying to copy it at a fraction of the price. We plan to do a wall mural in our sons room (we also found this on Pottery Barn). We then went to Target and registered for some basics for our baby shower now that we have a theme. We also realize how much we need and don't need this time around. It really hit home today that in a little over three months we will have a new born baby boy. We are all getting so excited!!!

IT'S A BOY!!

It's a boy! Today we had our ultra sound and it was so much fun. It took two and a half hours because the little guy was moving around so much. The baby boy is completely healthy and growing very well. We did get some good pictures of him but he wouldn't let the tech get a good facial picture. He would move his hands up over his face so we couldn't see it. The whole ultra sound he was running around and making the job hard for the technician but she was such a good sport. I was in the room by myself most of the time while the technician got all the basic measurements of the heart, kidneys, stomach and the rest of the internal organs. Then she went and got Charlie and Gwynn and told us all as a family the sex! A BOY! Gwynn was such a good girl for the whole event when she was told she was having a baby brother she kept saying baby brother. It was so cute! Charlie and I feel so happy and blessed. I know we both would have been extremely happy with a boy or a girl but it will be great fun to have one of each. The technician also informed us that according to her measurements of head circumference and bone the baby appears to be older then my doctors prediction. According to her measurements the baby is 22 or 23 weeks old which would make me a week or two shy of six months. This also could move the due date up as soon as May 19Th. We will have to wait to hear from our doctor to get the final due date. We are so excited and feel its so real and coming so fast that there will be two little ones running around very soon.

This weekend we had a fun packed weekend. Friday night Charlie and I went to dinner at a new Mexican restaurant in Sherwood for our anniversary. It was nice to have a dinner alone. Charlie and I had a wonderful meal talking about Gwynn and the new baby ninety percent of the time. It was a much needed alone time for the both of us. Aunt Rachel came over to play with Gwynn while we were out. They had fun eating pizza, coloring and watching Cars.

On Saturday I had to work in the morning with a bride and Charlie and Gwynn went to the park and played. Later in the evening we went over to our dear friends Matt & Bri's home for a wonderful steak dinner. Gwynn had a blast playing with Jackson and Carter. They are such a fun age, they jumped and ran all around the house like a bunch of crazy but very happy little monkeys!

On Sunday Gwynn and I went to the gym, target and then cleaned like a crazy person while Charlie got in some much needed rest. Charlie was feeling a little under the weather due to his own infliction.

We are all really looking forward to tomorrow the BIG DAY! For anyone who doesn't know we find out the sex of our little one at two! It feels like it has been for ever. This weekend the baby kicked for the first time so Charlie could see it. Gwynn also wanted to get in on the action so she put her hand on my belly to feel the little one kick she then proceeded to try to hug my belly as if it was not a part of my body and said oh baby...and made kissing noise and gave my belly two really big kisses. I have a good feeling she is going to be a great big sister.

The newest additon to our family!

About two weeks ago I started looking for a little one to watch in our home a couple days a week. I thought it would be fun to have the extra money as well as a playmate for Gwynn. I interviewed three families and settled on a sweet little girl who is fourteen months her mother is also really great. We will be watching our newest addition on Tuesdays and Thursdays from nine to three. Today was our first day and it went very, very well! The day started out with some discipline on sharing but three hours later they were sharing everything cheerios, milk and trying to share clothes. They had a blast playing together laughing and hugging it was more then I could have ever imagined. They were being so good and quite in Gwynn's room I went to check on them Gwynn was sitting in her chair and Cami was reading to her...pointing to letters and babbling and Gwynn seemed to understand every word. I am so happy that we have a new little one to spend our days with. I am hoping to get some cute pictures of the two of them on Thursday to post!

Weekend

The past couple weekends have been very relaxing. Its always nice to spend some time at home after the busy holiday season. We have been doing a lot of work around the house. I have been working on my business, "Posh Bride", doing marketing and some much needed paper work. Gwynn and I also found a sweet little girl Cami who is a bit younger then Gwynn to watch two days a week. Gwynn is having some serious only child syndrome and this will be great helping her prepare for the new little one. Charlie has been busy at work and studying for his exam and has a hard time studying with miss Penny running around. Gwynn is very into Charlie and I playing with her at all times. She is having a hard time playing alone she always wants Charlie or I to come back to her room to stack blocks or color in her color books. Other than the normal not much is new with the MacDonalds just enjoying each others company. I think it may be the calm before the storm(the new baby, Gwynn turning two and so on).

FIVE MONTH CHECK UP!

So...today we had our five month check up on our baby. The heart beat was great and the baby seems to be growing perfect. We find out on the twenty first our baby's sex and we are excited. This is where it gets fun....so we can go shopping for the proper gender. I do have to admit this pregnancy has been anything but fun. I was really sick at first and couldn't eat much, and had heartburn when I did and feeling as if I had a constant hang over. At the first ultra sound there was a blood clot behind the baby and the doctor was very cold and said I might lose the baby and acted annoyed when I teared up. I was put on pelvic rest. Needless to say we changed doctors after two more bad, cold visits. I then found a doctor who seemed very nice until today. Since the beginning of this pregnancy I have been so cautious and scared for every appointment. I worry about the baby's health constantly and can't wait just to hold it tight and safe in my arms. Well today at our visit the nurse weighed me and I thought to myself good job steady weight gain. I then of course gave a sample of my pee and it was off to hear the heart beat. After the heart beat was heard the doctor let me know everything looked perfect and then he looked at the chart on the computer and said WOW YOU HAVE GAINED A LOT OF WEIGHT....To me this was a total shock. I looked at the doctor shocked and then he asked me if I work out as if to suggest I should try it. I got a little mad with my crazy hormones and told him yes I work out five days a week and last I checked 15 pounds at five months isn't horrible. I also informed him that I don't just sit on my butt and eat all day. I kept thinking this is why males should not be obgyn's..this would never happen with a women doctor. I then think the doctor wanted to put his foot in his mouth and said he would tell a fat or skinny person the same thing. He then proceeded to tell me I should only gain 10 pounds in the first half and 20 in the second half. I wish I could just tell my body to gain ten pounds or twenty..think of how easy it would be to lose your baby weight if it was that easy to control your gain. I did a lot of fretting over this because I felt horrible like I was doing something bad to my baby and then realized..if he was a woman who had been pregnant before or had the crazy pregnant women hormones he would have never made the comment considering I am only five pounds over his recommendations. I also called my mom who works in labor in delivery as well as my friends who had been pregnant in the past and they all assured me that this was hardly any weight and that it was normal if not under normal. It did make me feel better but I can't get my doctors annoying little comment out of my head...I also decided to be fair he gets one more chance and then on to doctor number three if need be...... a women will be a must!!!!!

On a different note..Gwynn is doing very well. She is using new words everyday. She also is very into being my baby. In the morning she likes me to rock her like a baby and tells me she is a sleepy baby shhhhhhh. I think she is getting ready for the new little one. She also says baby..belly. Gwynn also loves eating her crayons on a daily basis. I am not even sure where she finds them but its her new favorite thing to eat. Gwynn is getting really good at identify colors with her crayons she knows black, pink and yellow. She can also count from six to ten. I start counting and she finishes. There are so many new and amazing things she does daily its hard to keep up. I know Charlie and I both feel she is the most amazing and wonderful thing to happen to the both of us! She keeps life fun and fresh!

Prune Hands

Gwynn has been extremely funny lately about her hands. She wants to wash them all the time and can't handle if she has the smallest amount of food or dirt on them. She is constantly asking me for baby wipes she loves hand sanitation and refers to it as soap(anyone who knows me well knows I am as anal as they come in this departments so can't help but wonder if its my fault). The other day after a long bath her hands were all pruned and it freaked her out she kept saying wash.. wash and wiping her hands on her legs. She was very troubled by her prune fingers and almost cried. She showed me her hands and said help, help and since I didn't help her she found her Dad and cried to him for help. She kept staring at her hands in confusion and was very distraught. Charlie and I think it is so very amusing except how sad it seems to make her that we can't fix it. This has happened several times since the first instance and it is absolutely hysterical except for how much it bothers her. I hope her prune fingers don't scar her for life!!

Busy Holiday Season!

The MacDonalds had a very busy holiday season. We enjoyed four Christmas celebrations with our family members. Gwynn was very spoiled she received many wonderful and thoughtful gifts..to name a few a kitchen set, a bike, tickle me Elmo (a new favorite of Gwynn's), a year long pass to the Zoo (we used for the first time this weekend), and many books, baby dolls, toys and clothes. Gwynn received a little bit of everything she could ever want or need.

It defiantly was interesting traveling with a toddler. Gwynn let it be known her favorite place is home. Gwynn had a very hard time eating, sleeping or just plain behaving. I felt very badly she seemed frazzled, extremely overwhelmed and over stimulated. She seemed pissed off that we were making her travel and not letting her sleep in her own bed or eat her normal meals. We actually cut our trip a little short due to this. We had been gone for about six days and decided it was in our whole family's best interest to go home and spend some good quality time together. Prior to our decision we had spent two days with Charlie's mom and step father, two days with my family and the rest of the time out at the MacDonald ranch (Charlie's Dad & Gail's Home). It turned out to be a very good choice to return home. Gwynn immediately went back to her old self and was eating her regular meals, sleeping very well and taking her scheduled nap. She also was so happy running around the house laughing as if to say... yea!!! were home! I was honestly worried while we were away that she had hit the terrible twos early but as soon as we returned home our little angle was back. It made it very clear to Charlie and I for the first time since having Gwynn that our lives are drastically changeing especially with one on the way.

While at home we had a great time. We found a new hiking trail in Estacada and went to the Zoo. We also finished up a bunch of chores around the house Charlie put in a new door in our kitchen, finished up some painting and many other chores that had been neglected. We cooked together as a family, watched movies, read lots of books and relaxed.

All in all we had such a wonderful holiday season. We truly are blessed to have so many people who care and love our family. It was so nice to catch up with all the family whom we get to see so seldom and the ones we do see frequently. We love you all and wish you the best in the year to come!