11-1/2 weeks!

We are almost through the 1st Trimester, and I am so excited to get over this hill!

My belly is definitely expanding MUCH faster than it did in my first pregnancy, and I look like I'm more so 18 weeks instead of 11! Yup, I've had to start pulling out the maternity clothes already.

I had a sonogram and check-up on Friday and everything went well for the most part. There's good and bad news. Let's start with the good news:

GREAT news is that the baby is measuring completely normal at this stage and is looking healthy so far. Very strong heartbeat at 170 (!) and we even got to see 5 little fingers attached to each hand. It was so great. My mom went with me and we were trying to show Jacob the baby on the screen, and he scrunched his little face up and looked so confused! It was precious.

Also, the sonographer thinks we're having another boy. She said it's still a little too early to tell, but she thinks it's a boy. However, the doc thinks it's a girl. It's anybody's guess. We'd be happy with either one!

Okay, now for the not-so-good news. According to the sonogram there is still a blood clot or something in there. It has been there since the beginning of the pregnancy, and I have had to go for check-ups every 2 weeks because of this. The doctor said she's a little concerned that it's not going away, but she will give me 4 weeks to come back to see if it goes away. If it hasn't gone away by then, I have to go to a high-risk doctor to make sure it's not a piece of placenta that has become detached. She told me not to worry about it, but she gave me full permission to be very lazy over the next 4 weeks. She wants me to rest as much as possible and not to exercise or even go walking.

So it's not terrible news. After all, I got permission to be lazy! On a more serious note, though, I really feel like the Lord is exercising my faith and trust in Him. I know He will take care of this little one and He is knitting him or her together in my womb, fearfully and wonderfully made!

Mother's Day!

This Mother's Day Derek really outdid himself. I thought he did a wonderful job last year, but he did absolutely terrific this year!

He took our little son to take pictures of him at a beautiful park in Frisco. For those of you who don't know, Derek has been getting extremely good at his hobby. He's always loved taking pictures, but he is really perfecting this hobby lately and all I can say is these pictures are breathtaking.

Anyways, he went and bought Jacob an outfit at Baby Gap. Yes, my husband, who does not like to buy Jacob new clothes, much less from the Gap, bought him an entire outfit including the most adorable hat. Then he bought some sunflowers and enlisted the help from my in-laws to go to the park with him to help pose Jacob while he was shooting photos.

Then, he took 5 of his favorite shots and had them printed in black and white and framed them. Jacob brought the finished product to me with a big ol' smile on his face. It was precious!

It was a very memorable Mother's Day. I love this man God has blessed me with. I could never have asked for a better husband or father to our children. I love you, hunny!

Learning to Swim AND Potty Train!

Well....we still have a lot of work to do on potty training! Jacob has gone in the potty several times now (I think 6 times now!), but no bowel movement yet. We've also had a couple of accidents on the bathroom floor. He doesn't really understand that he's going, but he sure loves the praise we give him and the stickers he gets afterwards, and the little horn that goes off from his construction truck potty chair!

As for swimming, he just finished up his 3rd week of swimming lessons. He is doing swimming lessons through Infant Aquatics (similar to ISR). The lessons are survival-based, and he is learning to swim-float-swim.

He did so well the first 2 weeks, but this past week we had sort of a setback. He just got so fearful all of a sudden and his fear was hindering his learning. It was starting to affect what he's learned so far, so his teacher and I decided it might be best for me to get back in the water with him so he can rest his anxieties.

Sure enough, when I got back in the water with him yesterday he was swimming like a superstar! It's incredible to watch! His little feet are kicking up behind him as he swims underwater. He's also able to turn himself over onto his back and then again back to his belly, but we're trying to get him to float longer on his back. So far he's not really loving the floating on the back thing too much. He gets so nervous and starts crying and ends up swallowing tons of water.

Here are some pictures of him and his buddy, Malakai, who is also taking lessons at the same place as Jacob. Their lessons are one-on-one, but Malakai goes right before Jacob. They are loving their suckers they got as a reward for swimming so good!