.:Doctor's Appointment & Gender Day:.

I had a doctor's appointment today. It wasn't really anything eventful, but my doctor was able to get a good read on the baby's heartbeat. Obviously, I was happy to hear that! It never gets old. She was pushing it into my stomach and baby reacted like with the ultrasound. Apparently baby doesn't appreciate having space invaded! I talked with her a little bit about how awful my restless legs have been this pregnancy, but she didn't really have any suggestions. She said my initial blood work (taken this month) came back great, otherwise she might have suspected I was getting anemic. Which could still be a possibility, but we didn't do any blood work today. I remember from previous pregnancies there wasn't really anything I could do about it. So I suppose the sleepless nites are just coming a bit early this time around! 

After my appointment, we went over to Josh's office and his friend that is the ultrasound tech said he would do an ultrasound for us today to see if we could check for baby's gender. I'd say he got a pretty clear shot!

Do you see that? Boy parts! I've thought this baby was a boy the entire pregnancy, and have caught myself calling him 'he' so many times. But I also thought each of the girls were boys, so I don't put much stock in my intuition. This pregnancy has definitely been different - not in any big major ways, but for sure different, so I guess it makes sense. We would have been thrilled with a boy or a girl, but we are definitely so excited to experience having a boy! This little guy is going to get mothered to death in this house full of girls! 

The girls are super excited, too. Reece has really been wanting a baby brother, and I know Remi and Harper are going to be darling with him, too. Him! I still can't get used to saying it!

We'll have our official anatomy ultrasound in a few weeks, so they'll confirm this of course, but I don't think we'll be getting any surprises! 

So in love with this little guy already!

.:Loose Tooth:.

Reece has her first loose tooth! I was flossing her teeth tonite, and I wasn't sure I was seeing right when I saw her tooth move. I wasn't expecting this for another year or so at least. But sure enough, it is loose! She is beyond excited, and keeps asking what she can do to make it more loose so it comes out. 

Remi, of course, was a bit sad that she didn't have a loose tooth, too. Sometimes it stinks being younger.

.:15 Weeks:.

Well, so far the start of the second trimester is turning out to be my grumpiest time yet. I don't know what's going on, but I feel so on edge all the time. I normally love this part of being pregnant, so I'm hoping that the moodiness goes away soon. I'm thinking that when the weather starts finally staying nice that will help. But aside from that, feeling pretty good. Trying to do better about snacking and junk food since that's what I lived on the first part of this pregnancy. I have an appointment next week, so I'm sure we'll get to hear the heartbeat. I'm also hoping we can get in for a sneak peek ultrasound to see if we can see any parts! So excited to know what this baby is! 

15 weeks

.:14 Weeks:.

Second trimester! Finally! I seriously feel like it has taken forever to get here. But I really can't complain too much. I've been feeling pretty good, and have basically lost most of the fatigue. I've definitely been eating more, and I think it's time to go off the candy for awhile or I'm going to gain 90 pounds with this baby. My belly is definitely there, and getting bigger by the day it seems like. The girls are obsessed with my growing belly, and they all probably tell me at least 20 times a day (no joke), "Mom, your belly is getting bigger." They are excited for this baby to join our family, and I love that they are enjoying this experience so much! They are all going to be the best big sisters! 

14 weeks

.:Ultrasounds are my favorite:.

Getting ultrasounds never gets old. One of the techs at Josh's work needed to record a fetal heartbeat on an ultrasound, so of course, I was more than happy to help. At our last ultrasound, the baby was measuring ahead, and this ultrasound it increased even more! Baby was measuring about a week and two days ahead! I also got to feel baby move for the first time. It was only because the tech was pushing the wand into my belly a bit harder, and baby reacted. I'm sure it will be a couple more weeks at least before I feel it on my own. Sadly, we weren't able to get a peek at the parts, so we still don't know the gender (wasn't expecting that early). I imagine we'll be back in two or three weeks to see if we can see what this baby is! 

13 weeks 4 days

Baby leg!

.:Baby Four:.

It's baby time!

02.11.14: I took a test this morning after suspecting I was pregnant for a few days. I honestly thought that my cycle was going to start on our last day in Hawaii; my usual signs were there, but when Saturday came and went with no sign of it, I pretty much figured I was pregnant. I'm never late; if anything, I'm usually a day early. I had wondered if some of the pains I'd felt on our drive down to Phoenix and the day we traveled to Hawaii were implantation pains, but then I dismissed those thoughts when I thought my cycle was going to start. Surprise! We weren't trying, but the IUD has been out since August so obviously not preventing. Harper will be almost three when this baby comes. I think it will be nice to have three semi-older kids that are all hopefully potty trained by the time this one comes. Here we go for the last time! 

02.18.14: Finally figured out a doctor to see since our insurance won't allow me to see my old doctor (sad!) She is at Josh's clinic, and seems nice. We did an ultrasound today to make sure that the baby isn't in my tube - which it's not! It's too early to see much more than the yolk sac. I'm going back in two weeks for a follow up ultrasound to check for a heartbeat. The ultrasound tech is Josh's friend at work and he said that he will give us free ultrasounds whenever we want! I told him he might regret offering that. :) Can't wait to go back again and see this baby! So far I'm feeling just fine, other than being pretty tired a lot of the time. It seems to have come on earlier and hit me harder this time than the last three pregnancies. I've been struggling to get up in the mornings, and am exhausted by nine thirty every nite, and falling asleep easily - which never happens! Still keeping up with exercising, I really don't want to lose that.

02.22.14: 6 weeks today! Sooooooo tired. And a little moody. But really, really tired.

6 weeks

02.26.14: Ugh, I have been so nauseous lately. I thought it was worse than it's been in my past pregnancies, but after looking back through the journals I kept with each one, this seems to just be how my pregnancies go. I guess it's been awhile and I forgot. Eating sounds gross, but not eating sounds gross, too. In other news, I ate an entire thing of Tic Tacs for breakfast this morning and am now snacking on a bag of chips. Wish something healthier sounded better!

03.01.14: 7 weeks today! The combination of nausea and fatigue is killing me. I'm super nauseous in the morning and evenings, but it seems to linger throughout the day. I've been eating so horribly! But at least I'm still exercising. It actually seems to help with the nausea; distracts me or something? I can't complain too much though because I don't get half as sick as most people do. Excited for my ultrasound this week!

7 weeks

03.04.14: We had our ultrasound today - saw baby's heart beating away in there! Baby is measuring exactly on, and our due date is October 18th. Hoping to tell our families in a couple of weeks when my mom and sister come down. I've got an appointment that week, so I'm thinking I'll cash in on the offer for free ultrasounds at that appointment. Yay baby!

03.08.14: 8 weeks! The nausea is still sticking around, but I've found that if I force myself to eat something small within an hour of getting up in the morning, it seems to be way more manageable throughout the day. But I still feel like all I think about is food; what sounds good, what doesn't sound good, what am I going to fix my kids, what am I going to fix myself? It's ridiculous. Then something will sound good, but once I've eaten it once, I'm pretty much done with it. Diet Coke has gone away now, and I can drink water but prefer to have something with flavor. Apple juice and orange juice are what I've been drinking a lot of. I'm definitely tired, and don't feel like doing a whole lot. Sometimes I can muscle through, but other times I just can't. But overall, doing okay and just feeling so super thrilled about this baby! I can't wait to start sharing the news!

8 weeks

03.15.14: 9 weeks! Still feeling pretty nauseous a lot of the time. I threw up for the first time last weekend, and spent my entire Sunday feeling completely miserable and eating nothing. The rest of the week has been a bit better, but the problem is only certain things sound good, and more often than not, those things are super unhealthy. I also don't remember having to use the bathroom so much this early on, but I am already having to get up during the nite. I'm starting to think that my body is just feeling old and is just letting loose already. :) The last couple of days I feel like a little pooch has started - not cute baby bump pooch, but just looks like I'm getting chubby. Or maybe it's a food baby from the junk I've eaten this week. But either way, I feel a little excited that my body is starting to change. I'm sure the sickness will really start to ease up in the next few weeks, and that also makes me excited. I love being pregnant!

9 weeks

03.22.14: 10 weeks today! Finally double digits! The nausea has really mellowed out this week, which has me feeling a bit nervous. It's silly, but you know how the mind works sometimes! I'm taking comfort in the fact that I am definitely pooching out and I'm still super moody (ask Josh and the girls!) so I figure those are good signs that all is well. My mom and Dani are coming into town tonite, so we'll probably share the news with the fam tomorrow! Can't wait! 

10 weeks

03.27.14: The ultrasound tech at Josh's clinic let my mom and I come in so we could do an ultrasound while she was here. Baby looked like an actual baby now! It was so fun to see the difference, and to be reassured. We saw two arms and two legs, so that is obviously great. He measured the baby and I was measuring almost a week ahead! At my previous two ultrasounds I was measuring right on to the day. Guess we'll see if baby stays measuring big or if it was just a one time thing. I am thinking that baby is getting bigger because I've been feeling better and eating more. Yikes! Baby's heartbeat was 171 and he turned on the sound so we could hear it. It never gets old. I can't wait to hear it on the doppler (hopefully!) at my appointment next week! Yay for babies!

Ultrasound 03.27.14

03.29.14: 11 weeks! Getting close to the end of the first trimester. It has kind of dragged, so I'm looking forward to feeling better and not just looking chubby but actually pregnant. We told my mom and sister last weekend; we had Reece come out and tell everyone that there was a baby in my tummy. We took a video to send to my dad, and to some people in Josh's family as well. It is exciting to finally be able to talk about it with everyone! I am for sure getting a little bit of a belly now, so it's probably a good thing that we finally told. I think we'll wait a couple more weeks before we make it super public. This week I came down with a nasty cold; of course, when we have company in town and after not even having a single cold all winter long. It's definitely made me more exhausted. But feeling better overall, so I'll take it! 

11 weeks

04.01.14: I had a doctor's appointment today. There wasn't much to it. My doctor tried to find the heartbeat but wasn't really able to. She said she caught it for a second or two, but nothing really measurable. I'm not really worried about it since we saw and heard the baby last week. I'm thinking I might see if we can have another ultrasound in a week or two before we make the news public, just to make sure things are going alright in there. We aren't really sharing the news, but our girls know so I found out today that Reece was talking about it at school. So that may be spreading a bit early now, but that's okay. 

04.02.14: Remi was rubbing my belly tonite and she said, "The baby got in your tummy when you ate the food at Jay and Evie's house." Apparently since we told them over at their house, that's how and when she figures I got pregnant. I was seriously dying!

04.05.14: 12 weeks! There's nothing really new to say this week. Still feeling better for the most part, and the fatigue seems to be letting up as well. It is nice to feel better! Hoping to get in for another free ultrasound next week or the week after, before we make the news public. 

12 weeks

04.12.14: 13 weeks! What I wouldn't give for a good nites sleep. My restless legs always are worse when I am pregnant, but it is borderline ridiculous how bad they already are. It's every nite, and I'm not generally able to get past my legs being restless until about 3 a.m. Between that and having to use the bathroom during the nite already, it makes for long nites of not sleeping. But what do you do? Other than that, feeling pretty good. People are definitely starting to notice my belly; I've had two separate people come up to me this week asking me about it. I guess that it must actually look like a pregnant belly instead of me just chunking up or else I wouldn't think people would feel confident enough to say anything. Harper insists that the baby is a boy, Reece wants it to be a boy, and Remi wants it to be a girl. Hopefully we'll find out in a few weeks! Hoping time starts going a little faster with the nicer weather starting now. I feel like I've been pregnant forever already and I'm not even out of the first trimester. 

13 weeks

.:Overheard:.

If you ever hear any of our girls saying, "I'm beating you up" that actually just means "I'm beating you at....." Reece and Remi are always saying how they are beating each other up at finishing their food first. Makes me laugh.

I had a rough day with the girls the other day and definitely said some things that I shouldn't have out of frustration. It came back to get me the next day when I heard Reece yelling at Remi, "You're really pissing me off!" Oops. Mommy needs to watch her mouth!

.:Remi - Four Years Old:.

Remi turned four a couple of weeks ago, and I am a little bit in denial! How can she be four? But she definitely looks it, and is for sure starting to act like it, too. Remi has really been doing some growing up lately. Totally bittersweet.

Remi has always been a bit stubborn. She does what she wants, when she wants and there's often not much you can do about it. (Like how it's taken over a year of potty training and we're still not all the way there yet!) But I do love that she is confident in herself, and confident in what she likes. I think it's great that she can't be easily swayed (most of the time, unless I need her to sway!) Sometimes I worry that she might feel left out or something like that, but she really is just so fine with her decisions and what she is comfortable with and that is awesome.

Rem is seriously girly. She loves skirts, dresses, princesses, and pink. Frozen has been a huge hit at our house, and she adores Elsa and Anna. She loves dolls, Barbies, or anything of the likes and she is often found in tow with at least three buddies, but usually more. When I check on her before I go to bed at nite, I'm often surprised by how many more things she has added to her collection in bed with her. She loves to sing and dance, and she actually has a pretty impressive vibrato! 

Remi has really started growing up lately. I was shocked in the difference between last year's doctor's appointment and this year's. Last year, it was pulling teeth to get her to do anything the MA or doctor wanted her to do. Remi isn't one for interacting a ton with strangers in general, and that totally confirmed it. But this year she was more than happy to have her weight and height taken, do the eye test, and let the doctor check her out. I was shocked! She also took her shot like a champ, again, unexpected! It has been fun to see her become more grown up and comfortable in new situations. 

Rem is our cautious girl. She goes on slides now, but that hasn't always been the case. She is very cautious with anything that involves motion. She won't even sit on the bar stools in our kitchen because they are higher and have no backs on them. But again, I think it is great that she knows her limits and she is okay with it. She'll know when she's ready to do more and that's okay with me! 

We just adore this beautiful, stubborn, sassy, smart red headed girl of ours, and can't imagine not having our Rem in our family! 

At FOUR, Remi likes:

- singing

- dancing

- dressing up

- princesses

- Frozen anything

- playing on tablet

- watching t.v./movies

- coloring

- books

- tubs

- playing with Reece and Harper

- lips

- painting toes and fingers

- fruit

- snacks

- treats

- pretending

- playdough

- bubbles

At FOUR, Remi does not like:

- wind

- trying new foods

- being forced to use the potty (which is basically every time)

- being cold

- time out

- having her picture taken (this is only about 50% of the time now - improvement!)

- Primary/sharing time (she'll often lay down on the floor and go to sleep)

Love you so much Rem-a-lem!

Four year old stats:

Weight: 36.82 lbs (66%)

Height: 41.42 in (84%

BMI: 15.1 (43%)