It's A............Girl!!!!!

Guess the cat's out of the bag now!  Yup it's official...Emma's going to have a little sister!!!!  Nick had been saying "girl" for quite a while and I was saying "boy" just for the sake of argument, but had a feeling that it was a girl!  This pregnancy really hasn't been much different from when I was carrying Emma, but that's not a good indicator for most people as to the gender of the baby :P 

We went to the doctor this past Friday for our 20 week (yes, we are halfway there already!) ultrasound.  Hard to believe how quickly this pregnancy has gone, but I have to remember that I have a toddler that's been helping to speed it along :)  The ultrasound technician went through the paces looking at the heart, stomach, spine, umbilical cord (with a cool thing that let us see the bloodflow through the cord!), and multiple sweet little body parts :)  Then the moment of truth came to see what "it" actually was, and the little lady had her legs clamped together so tightly that it took 15 minutes and me switching positions a few times to get a peek!

Needless to say, we are thrilled that God is blessing us with another beautiful little girl.  I know it sounds cliche, but we really didn't care what "it" was, just as long as all of the important things looked right :)  However, Nick is convinced that someday he needs a boy dog to even out the numbers in the family!!!  Here are a few of our ultrasound photos of the little Miss!  It's nearly impossible to get a good photo of them, but I'm sure you can make out the images :)

                                          Her Legs

                                          Girl Parts!!!

                                          Look at that profile :)

                                          Love of our lives # 2!

Baby # 2 Update

My last post was about a hiatus from the blogging world, and unfortunately, I haven't made good on my promise to blog more frequently!  I am now 19 weeks along in this pregnancy, and can hardly believe that we are nearly halfway there this go around!  This coming Friday we go to the dr to have our 20 week ultrasound done and, hopefully, find out if Emma will have a little brother or little sister :)  My morning sickness finally subsided a few weeks ago, and so far I have gained about 4.5-5 pounds, which I think was pretty much where I was with Emma.  It's hard to say if I'm truly showing or not because I have some "leftovers" from baby # 1, but can tell that my clothes aren't as comfy as they used to be!!

We are still thinking about names, and have decided not to tell anyone what we have settled on until the little peanut arrives.  I think it is a common trend nowadays to take this route, especially when people are looking everywhere for baby name ideas.  All I can say is that we want something that goes well with "Emma" and "Spotanski", so are leaning towards more classical names :)  I have a feeling that this week is going to drag by, and Friday just can't come fast enough!!!

Hiatus

It has been a while since I've been on, and there's not really a good excuse as to why!  The pregnancy is going good (I think) minus the still-daily morning sickness.  We were supposed to go for our 11/12 week appointment this past Wednesday, but the dr was running behind and so we had to reschedule.  Now both Nick and I are sick with a cold or something of the like :(  I stayed home today because I have been coughing and hurting, and it was a good thing I did because the coughing made my morning sickness worse and I ended up throwing up :(   Anyhow, hopefully we all get over this crap soon because in two weeks we have Christmas with the Spotanski's coming up, and then the next week is Christmas at my house!!!  Better get cracking on Christmas shopping :)

Big News In the Making......

I have wanted to write this post for the past few weeks, but dared not until a few important people had been told in person!  So, the big news?  In June 2013 we will no longer be a family of 3, but rather a family of 4!!!  Yup you read it right….I am expecting J  Nick and I went to the OB/GYN on Thursday the 25^th to confirm what 6 or 7 pregnancy tests told us, and low and behold, there on the ultrasound screen was this little pumpkin with a heart just fluttering away!!!  It’s hard to believe that things happened so fast for us a second time, but I think it was God’s way of telling us that our thoughts are right in line with His J

        Our official due date is June 12, 2013, but Emma was a few weeks early, so we’ll see how it goes this time!  I guess my main concern, as I’m sure it is for many second-time parents, is about how to make Emma know she’s still the center of our world, along with this other new little person.  I’m trying not to dwell on it too much because I know that it will just happen, and the more we include her, the better!  I found this cute survey online to help document how things change weekly with the pregnancy, and thought it would be something fun to do and to look back on!

 

How far along? 7 weeks 1 day

Total weight gain/loss:  None

Sleep:  Good

Best moment this week: Getting to see the little pumpkin via ultrasound

Movement: None

Symptoms: Up at night to go to the bathroom, and lots during the day already :P

Food cravings: Nothing in particular.

Food aversions: None yet

Gender: Unknown

Labor Signs: None

Belly Button in or out?: Way in

What I miss: Nothing yet!

What I am looking forward to: Our next dr appt on November 28th

 

Busy Busy Busy

Well, the past few weeks have pretty busy in the Spotanski household!  Three weekends ago Mom and Dad came back for a visit to celebrate Dad's birthday a little late.  We were planning on spending the day at the zoo, but changed our mind and ended up going to the Amazing Pizza Machine, where we all pigged out, played games, and watched Emma ride rides :)  Then Saturday night we watched Jeff Dunham:  Controlled Chaos, which was great!

The weekend of Labor Day we went back to visit everyone in Grand Island and go to the State Fair!  It was a BLAST!!!  I never remember having gone to a state fair, and so this was a new thing for both Emma and myself :)  She had her first pony ride, which she wasn't to fond of at first, but once it started moving (and with some encouragement from Daddy!) she really go into it!  After the pony ride, we explored a petting zoo where some camels, goats, kangaroos, etc followed us around trying to get the food in our little cup!  We also took in a Sea Lion show while we were there and got kissed by Ariel, their star Sea Lion :) 

Then this weekend I had to go for an inservice class for work, which got me the last four hours I needed for the year.  Nick and Emma got to spend some quality time together while I was gone, and they ended up going to the park and playing together.  Last night when the Husker game started, the three of us went to Schramm State Park's archery range to practice shooting our bows so that we are ready for opening day for bow season this coming Saturday!  Emma had a blast carrying around an arrow of mine (no point attached, of course!), running to the target with us to pull our our arrows, and pretending to stick her's in! 

She is at such a fun age right now, and I am absolutely loving it!  She can be strong willed and a handful sometimes, but I wouldn't change it for the world!  It's hard to believe how much things can change in such a short amount of time!  In the past three years I have gotten married, gotten pregnant, had a beautiful baby girl, struggled through some of the toughest months of motherhood, and have watched a fussy baby become an endearing and amazing child, and watched a man become a husband become an amazing father!  Boy, God sure has blessed me, and I can only pray that we continue to earn his blessings!

New Family Member!

About two weeks ago we added a new member to our family.  He is a 1 year old Bengal Tabby cat mix :)  For a while we had been thinking about getting a pet, but haven't had the best luck with pets, as we had to get rid of our last dog, and Nick had one before we met that he had to get rid of.  Therefore, he was apprehensive to really consider it again, and I was too, a little.  We looked into getting a Boston Terrier because his brother has one that he likes, but decided that a dog would just be too high maintenance for this point in our lives.  So, we began to toss around the idea of a cat.  My folks had some kittens we thought were cute, and Emma really seemed taken with them. 

And so about two weeks ago after looking online, we found ourselves in our local Petsmart store looking at the cats that the Nebraska Humane Society had there.  We immediately fell in love with Bandit (whose name has since been changed to Jax), and when Emma proceeded to hug him and pick him up around the neck and he didn't react at all, we knew he was the one for us :)  Besides aquiring a neat and spunky pet, I really like the idea that we could have potentially saved his life!  Cats reproduce so quickly and there are so many strays needing good homes, plus, most people seem to want kittens, so that they get to raise them, and so the cats from 1 year on up don't have as good a chance at a second chance. 

So we are now the proud owners of a neutered, declawed, spotted/striped cat who likes to run around like a nut case and snuggle when he finally wears himself out.  Oh did I mention that Emma currently scares the Hell out of him!?  ;)

A Letter to My Daughter

Dear Emma,

I can't believe that you have been in our lives for two whole years now!!!  It's hard to remember what life was like without you, and I don't want to try :)  This past Monday we celebrated your 2nd birthday as a family.  Both sets of grandparents and your Godfather Ryan and his family were all able to come over to our house last Saturday for your Dora birthday party, and it was wonderful!  I especially got a kick out of you getting so excited to open your presents!  You would barely tear the paper off of one and you were running to grab another :)  I think it's just part of your destructive nature!

The past two years have been filled with highs and lows, but the ups sure outweight the downs.  I'm sorry that I don't always know what you want, but believe me sweetie, I'm trying my hardest!  I think I would give an arm and leg to be able to read your mind sometimes.  You have really begun to grow into a sweet little lady, and I'm so lucky that God chose me to be your Mom!  I love getting to see you grow and learn everyday, and think it's the best feeling ever when you plant a big slobbery kiss right on my lips!  Thank you for making me a mommy, and for teaching me patience, self-sacrifice, and the ability to love more than I ever thought possible!  I love you my little sweetie-pie, and look forward to a lifetime of slobbery kisses from you!

Love always,
Mimi