Lots of Rainy Days + Bored Kids + Daddy out of town= Mommy buying a puppy

Yes, as a matter of fact, I have lost my mind.  I blame it on the pregnancy hormones.  We went to the grocery store yesterday to buy cream cheese and whipping cream to make cheesecake for home group.  On the way out, Amelia wanted to go look at the puppies.  It has been raining since Tuesday (this was Friday).  So I thought, sure, we'll go look, it'll give us something to do... I should have known better.  I thought that by going to an actual pet store instead of the humane society, I would be able to resist Amelia's pleadings of "I want to take this one home with me."  I was wrong.  So now we have a puppy.  Amelia promptly named her Princess and picked out a pink collar, pink leash, pink bones, pink toys, and a leopard print bed for her crate.  Amelia is in love.  And James is pretty fascinated, too.  Princess is a "teddy bear" (yes, that's one of those "designer" dogs).  She's basically half Bichon Frise and half Shih-Tzu.  She looks like a little bear cub and is incredibly soft.  My favorite trait?  No shedding.  She has been great with the kids.  She lets Amelia tote her all over the house and didn't even protest when James had her by the tail and was "walking" her.  Her favorite place to nap in on Amelia's lap or right beside her.  I think we found a good doggy this time.  I hope so, anyway.  

The Great Bambino and the Forgotten Coast

We are back from a wonderful vacation to the "Forgotten Coast" in Florida.  Kelsey, my sister, came with us and it was wonderful.  We literally had the beach to ourselves!  Warm weather...warm water...very little waves...thousands of shells everywhere you look.  We rented a little cottage that wasn't so little- 3 bedrooms, each with its own full bathroom, fully equipped kitchen, washer/dryer...it was fantastic.  It was the first time we've been away without traveling to see family.

On another note, we had another doctor's appointment yesterday.  I don't know what I was thinking scheduling an appointment for 8:30 in the morning the day after we get back from Florida!  But anyway...I digress.  I had another ultrasound and Baby was measuring larger than they expected, so I'm probably more like 11 weeks than 9.  Yippee!  I was very excited at that!  We also could already see Bambino moving all over...kicking arms and legs...and heard a good, strong heartbeat.  It will never cease to amaze me.  Growing a life is truly amazing and humbling.  Thank you, Lord, for entrusting us humans with this!  If I ever find the power cord for our scanner (buried in a box, still, after almost a year), then I will upload some pictures!

4 X 4 Challenge

I've been challenged by Christine to post the fourth picture from the fourth folder, so here it is!  James is probably about 6 weeks old here and it is his first trip to the beach.  How we miss going to the beach!  Robert's parents came out to visit us in California just a few weeks before we moved, so we had to take them to the ocean.  :)

I tag Jodi, Jen, Jayme, and Lindsay.

Randomness from the Past Week

Just a few random things from the past week.

1. James started walking all over the place.  He's been taking 6-7 steps at a time for months, but just resorts to crawling when he falls over.  The day after his birthday, he just took off and has been all over the place ever since!

2. James has also discovered Snickers.  He pulled one off the shelf at the store and started chewing on it, so I thought I should probably buy it.  On the way home, I thought he had fallen asleep.  Ha ha.  He had found said Snickers and was happily munching away.  It was half gone by the time we got home.

3.  Amelia had her first bout with Strep throat last week.  Not fun at all.   You know when MY kid is laying on the couch and sleeping off and on all day for three days, she does not feel well.  Thankfully, she is almost back to normal.

4. James has finally slept through the night the past 4 nights.  Maybe it has something to do with walking, maybe not, but I'll take it!

5.  Pregnancy is going fine.  We are not as far along as we initially thought, so we are just six weeks today, making us due October 21st.  We've got a ways to go!  Amelia wants a girl.  Very badly.  :)

That's it for now!  

A Birthday Donut for the Birthday Boy

We're having a party for James tomorrow night, so for his birthday, we just had donuts.  I think he liked them.  :)

Happy Birthday, James!

Happy Birthday, my sweet boy!  You bring us so much joy.  We love you so much!  We love your scrunchy face when Amelia's pushing you around on your car.  We love that you are such a cuddly baby.  Mommy secretly loves that you're a Mama's Boy.  :)  Amelia loves you, too...even if she shows it by coloring you green or plastering you with stickers!  She's so proud to tell people, "This is MY James."  We love you little man, and pray that you will grow up knowing we love you and that you will love the Lord!

So Now We Wait...

We had our first OB appointment yesterday (Thursday) and came away with more questions than answers.  I did not see the doctor I was expecting to see, however, I really liked who I did see.  She was unable to see Baby on the ultrasound, but did see the sac for Baby.  She thinks we're just not as far along as we thought.  So, we had some blood work done and will go back on Monday for the results.  The pregnancy test I took there was also positive, so we're waiting to see what the hormone levels look like.  As much as this pregnancy was unplanned and unexpected, it was never, not even for a second, unwanted.  Now that we've accepted the fact, we've been excited and truly hope that Baby is ok.  We are trusting in our Sovereign Lord no matter the outcome on Monday.  If anything, it affirms to us that we do want a third!  I have been excessively tired and hungry and sensitive to smells, so I guess those are all good signs!  We'll keep you posted!