Saturday I Love Thee

Ok, so can my day start any better waking up to the most beautiful little girl who was so hyper and cute. I brought her in bed with me as I hadn't fully woken up yet. She just laid on her side and pointed to my eye, ear, mouth, nose and hair then hers. Then she would look at Jon who was trying to continue to sleep/ignore us, "Daddy nigh-nigh".
I text'd Courtney to see if they were up, and they were and then we decided to go to the store and get stuff to make pancakes, scrambled eggs and turkey bacon, YUM!
Breakfast was DELIGHTFUL! Even was better was that the Watkins made everything (though we did contribute to the food purchase). Gotta love a fantastic breakfast that you don't have to make :)

Then we came home and Jon mowed the lawn and I cleaned out my car, which was pretty bad. I had so many clothes/blankets, toys and about 800 sippy cups. So now the car is all cleaned out! Then Lyric and I pulled weeds in the flower bed (that has no flowers). She was really getting into it. It was so cute:


Then I watched SVU and Jon watched a movie. Lyric took a nap. I ate PB&J for lunch. All the while swapping loads of laundry. I took a short nap... I was sooo relaxed!

When Lyric woke up, Jon and I kicked it into high gear and cleaned 2/3 of the house. Jon once again rearranged the bedroom. More power to him. I continued to do laundry. Cleaned the bathrooms, our bedroom. Did the dishes. Jon cleaned the counter tops. We cleaned/dusted the living room. Vacuumed the rugs. Basically everything but we didn't sweep/mop the floors because Jon said there is no point when Lyric is awake. And we didn't clean Lyric's room or the guest bedroom. I will work on that tomorrow.

But 2/3 of the house is better than nothing!
Plus I have like 8 loads of laundry that I am going to fold and put up later, after Lyric goes to bed.
If I fold laundry when she is awake, I feel like I spend the entire time trying to thwart her from "helping" me out.

So now Jon started on dinner and Lyric is watching Backyardigans.

We are going to eat and take baths and get ready for bed. I'm still undecided on whether I am going to church tomorrow. I was really thinking about having a major relaxation weekend... but who knows.

I am just really enjoying life as of now. I really like this stage of pregnancy, I really love this stage that my daughter is in. I really love my husband! I really love all of my friends... I am just feeling super blessed.

Well I hope everyone had a good Saturday and continues to enjoy the fantastic holiday weekend!

PS. I think my dad is coming home tomorrow! Yippee! He's been in Belgium/France for the last 10 days, and so we've all been really missing him.

Good friends

So I've mentioned frequently what great friends I have. Well the past few days have just re-emphasized that for me. I just really love all of my friends!
Wednesday night Abby called me and invited me to go to the park with her and Brad. Jonathan was playing drums at church, so I quickly accepted.
I love hanging out with Abby and just chillin'. We always have more than enough to talk about and not to mention our kids are adorable :)
Here are a few pics:
Korb and Lyric on the swings (note my horrible posture)


The lovely Sophia who is one of the best/relaxed babies of all times.

And my dearest friends:


After the park we went over to the Shulls house and ordered pizza. I ate like 19 pieces I think :) We gave the kiddos a bath and then we watched Project Runway and the season finale of Final Cut. Jon met us over there after awhile and we all had a great time.

Thursday night we went over to the newlyweds Frederick house. Tiff and Ry made a FANTASTIC dinner for us. Even though I poured rock salt all over my baked potato and totally ruined it. Thankfully we were in the home of a vegetarian, where potatoes are plentiful :) I'm still sad about it though, because I had it PERFECT and I had been craving a baked potato. And she had rolled them in spices and such... BUT that's ok. We looked at honeymoon and wedding pics and just had a great night. Lyric was kind of in a bad mood for most of the night, but oh well. What do you do? They just need to hurry up and have kids since Lyric only wants to be in a good mood when there are other children around. Though she did end up getting in a good mood towards the end of the night.
Here she is at her makeshift table eating mac-n-cheese

And here she is when she discovered how much fun it was to jump off the coffee table:

Here is a short video of it:

While we were eating dessert, she totally crashed on me:

Jon and Ry

We had a great time with them and we are glad they are back from their honeymoon and are married! Yeah!

Then Friday morning I drove over to Las Colinas to have a playdate with Embry and her son Zealan. Embry has moved to California and was in town and our kids have never met, so of course we had to introduce them! Lyric thought Zealan was so cute and gave him lots of kisses and hugs:

He is 8 months, but almost the same size as her. My daughter is a shrimp :)


Friday afternoon we just relaxed and both of us napped. I of course woke up late. Court came over and hung for a bit, but then had to get home to get ready for the Ward wedding. Ry and Tiff came over early and I was not even showered yet. Then Abby and the kids came over. So I scrambled and got ready and we all went to Lacey Ward's wedding. I loved her dress! It was so pretty!
Here are the trouble makers of the wedding:

Of course all they wanted to do all night was dance, and so they did:



Jon, Shiloh and I at the wedding:

Abby and Korb

The kids were super hungry so we all left and went to Mariano's to eat. I just love hanging out with my friends... it makes me happy to be alive. Not that many people are blessed to be surrounded by the caliber of friends that I have. We are just always there for eachother and I could not be more honored to have them in my life.

So to all my friends...

I LOVE YOU!

Belgium Here We Come!

We just bought our plane tickets for our trip to Belgium today!

Ahh! I'm so excited! I haven't traveled AT ALL in the last year, except for a friend's wedding in Pennsyvania in February. And for someone who loves to travel, that is so not fun. I guess that's what having babies is all about.
But I am breaking this trend come October 23rd! Yippee! It's not a very long trip, just 9 days, but it should be so much fun. We are going to spend time with family, as well as attend Convention de Jeunesse 2008.
But guess what??
My sister and brother-in-law, plus the Lowries are coming with us! It should be a blast! AHH! I'm just so excited! This will be the first time my sister and I have ever been on an international trip together (well not including Caribbean trips)
It makes it so much more real when the tickets are purchased. Now I just got to make it through the next 2 months. I am SO excited people!
So yeah for traveling to see my family!


Myspace Countdown or Myspace Layouts

UGH!

Que heart burn.
It's not that bad actually, I think it's more along the lines of eating waaaayyyy too fast.
I was at work early today, so I skipped breakfast, which led to me eating my ENTIRE lunch, down to the last crumb in under 6 minutes.
OMG, now i feel like I'm going to upchuck.
AND my stomach is so tight. Any time I have to reach across the desk or anything it feels like my skin is about to burst.
Is that enough complaining for you?

But you know what does make me in a good mood? Seeing this:


And I also bought Shiloh his first Star Wars related thing:

Speaking of Shiloh and Star Wars, Pottery Barn has this cute Star Wars collection out. I am for sure getting the pillow, but I really like the pattern of the sheets and was thinking maybe I could buy the sheets and make a crib skirt and bumper... but the sheets are pretty expensive. I think I am definitely going to buy the blanket though. It only comes in a twin size bed, so he'll be able to use it when we move him up to a big boy bed.
Jonathan moved his office out of the guest bedroom already. Totally his idea. I told him he didn't have to do it for a few more months, but he wanted to. I'll post a picture later of where we put his office, which is technically in the dining room. But I think it really works. I mean, it's not ideal obviously, but it is functional and not too much an eye sore.
Jon is really excited about decorating Shi's room. He's brought it up quite a few times, as opposed to with Lyric he was doing everything he could to get out of working her room :) Oh men and their sons :)

So I'm really excited about yet another long weekend ahead of me. This one though I don't have to juggle vacation time to take. Yeah for work holidays!

Anyways, I need to get back to work, but decided to take a short interlude.

Later peoples!

19 Weeks Pregnant

We've made it to 19 weeks people! Aren't you so excited!!

Well even if you aren't, I sure am!

When I got to work on Monday of this week, everyone started commenting on how my belly had popped, and I must agree if I do say so myself.

I do have a bit of a belly. Though sleeping has begun to be a little strange. I freaked myself out because yesterday morning when I woke up, I was flat on my stomach. I don't know how I managed that, but right when I got to work I started googling it to see if I smooshed my baby to death. Don't worry, I didn't. But the point of the story is that I am getting bigger. 

 Here are a few belly shots for your viewing pleasure to prove that I'm growing.:

Good times huh?

Well I went to the doctor today and in one month I've gained 4 pounds... ya. I know, seriously.

HOWEVER, the only thing good is that in almost 20 weeks, I have only gained 8 pounds. I looked at my book and I had gained almost 16 pounds with Lyric by 20 weeks. So good times people! 

The only bad thing is that I am really getting my appetite back... I have to start really watching what I eat, which we all know I won't. 

Other than that, everything looks great! I have another appointment in a month, so hopefully I won't have gained more than 5 pounds. That's my goal, just keep it under 5 pounds a month.

Here are the weekly updates from 0-40.

And more about Shiloh:

This week your baby starts bulking up and packing on the grossly named "brown fat" he'll need to keep warm when he gets evicted from his comfortable uterine home. Other highlights this week:

Vernix, a milky white coating that protects your baby's skin, appears all over your baby's body to keep his skin from getting pickled in the amniotic fluid. Think of it as if your baby has been dipped in yogurt, like those delicious but fake-healthy yogurt-covered raisins and pretzels. Ooh, we feel another craving comin' on. ... Under the vernix, a fuzzy layer of hair called lanugo now covers baby's body. Don't worry, your Mini won't look like Cousin It when he's born. Most of the fuzz will fall off before baby makes his grand entrance.

Good news: Your baby's kidneys are fully functioning and producing urine this week. Bad news: That means there will be lots of diapers in your future. But so far you're safe—at the moment the pee just passes into the amniotic fluid.

He or she now weighs about 8½ ounces and measures 6 inches, as long as a turkey sub from Subway on warm, delicious Italian Herbs and Cheese bread (or Honey Oat bread, or Oregano bread or ...)

I wish I had more to say, but seriously, we are both just growing. I'm enjoying life though!

Ashlyn Rose

And there she was.
She was tiny and perfect. She had what looked to be two perfect little dimples on either side of her face that had to have been carefully etched by God himself. Beautiful blue eyes, perfect complexion...
She was the first baby I ever really held. The first baby I ever loved. Before then, kids were these little creatures whom I wanted nothing really to do with. I never was one of those people who saw a baby and wanted to hold it. I was the one that when a little kid would come up to them, I would search around the room in panic looking for someone to make them go away.
She taught me how to be a mom. She gave me the security that I was totally capable of caring for someone other than myself.
She was my princess and still is.

And yesterday was her first day of school.

Ashlyn has exceeded all my expectations for her. She is absolutely beautiful, which I always knew she would be. However she always has such a beauty that radiates out from inside. She is caring, and sweet. Smarter than any 5 year old I've ever met. She learned how to read this past summer and is already advanced into 2nd grade reading levels.
And what's even better is that her favorite presents are books! That used to be (still is) my favorite presents when I was younger! Yeah she's a nerd like me! She reads all the time. Yesterday she got a bookmark in her new student packet and started jumping up and down yelling, "Just what I've always wanted" and ran and got her Bible which she has been reading and replaced the paper receipt which has been marking her place with her new bookmark. She was so thrilled.
Last week I got her four different chapter books that are on a 2nd grade reading level and she's already read two of them, totally comprehending everything.
She is such a wonderful sister and cousin. She mothers Lyric in the sweetest ways possible. She is Lyric's favorite person as Lyric always wants to go see "Ash".

My sister Courtney said she was so nervous yesterday morning. Nervous to make new friends, nervous to meet her teacher, nervous just to be growing up if you ask me.
But boy should you have seen her when she got home. The first thing she did when I saw her was she ran to me yelling, "Dee I LOVE school!" That just made my heart soar a bit.

So now she has started the track I know all of my nieces/nephews/daughter/son will follow... it's exciting and scary all at the same time. Exciting that they are expanding their minds. Learning and taking in the world around them. They will start developing opinions about society, history, theories and music. I love that.
But then it's scary as you hope that you have raised them right. That when they experience new ideas and thoughts that differ from how they were raised, that they will stand true. That they will be open and dialogue with you if they have questions. That they will know right from wrong and always stand up for the person who is being wronged.

I'm proud of my little girl Ashlyn Rose. She is now in Kindergarten. She's amazing.

18 weeks Pregnant

Ok, so I'm late posting this 18 week blog because technically I'm 19 weeks now... but oh well!
First off, let's just talk about cravings.
I want queso from Chili's,lemonade to drink and lemon popsicles. OH Lemon popsicles... they have these Dryers ones that are to die for! I swear I could eat like a hundred of them a day! I'm just really into the tart thing.

18 weeks was awesome because I'm sure you all read... IT'S A BOY!!!!

We are naming him Shiloh Na'vee (pronounced how it's spelled).
Na'vee is Hebrew for Prophet meaning "To Call or Speak Forth". I'm sure native Hebrew speakers can give more on the connotation and such, but I just think Shiloh Na'vee is a beautiful name. "Sent by God as a Prophet" is the meaning of his name that I like to go with. Although the meanings of Shiloh are many, Na'vee fits in perfectly with them all.
I think we are still going to come up with a 2nd middle name just for tradition sake, but legally the first middle name is the most important. So we have that :)
I love his name! I love talking to my belly and calling him by his name.
Speaking of the belly, it sure is growing! I'll take a picture and post it in the 19 week blog, because I'm popping even more!
I also feel him move a lot more and can tell that he also enjoys my lemon Popsicles! :) That sugar kick makes him kick! :)
Well that's basically it for week 18. Nothing new and exciting besides the fact that, "IT'S A BOY!"
Um, let's think.
OH yes, how could I forget. I now officially can't sleep on my belly anymore, which SUCKS! I hate it! I toss and turn all night now. I try to shove a pillow underneath me and sort of sleep on my belly/side and put most of the pressure on my hip, which helps me at least fall asleep. But that will only work for a few more weeks.
I want THIS or better yet THIS... my birthday is coming up :)

Anyways, week 18 was absolutely fantastic! We are getting closer and closer to week 20, the half way mark! Yippee! I found with Lyric that once you get into the 20's weeks just go by at a much quicker pace. Love that! Because I can't wait to see this baby boy. I already love him so much... aww!

HERE is the 0-40 week 18.

And here is more about Shiloh:
Your baby's ears are now facing forward and are completely formed so she can actually hear you talking now. You don't need to abandon your potty mouth just yet, but you might want to start thinking about it! Other highlights this week:

This week is also the beginning of ossification. And while that sounds like some long and involved paperwork you'll have to fill out, it's really a fancy medical term for the hardening of your baby's miniature bones. And that's a good thing.

Your baby's nerves are making more and more complex connections. Her sense of smell, taste, sight and hearing are all developing. A substance called myelin, which makes nerve connections travel faster, is now coating your baby's nerves.

Your baby now weighs between 5 and 7 ounces and is about 5½ inches long—about the size of a pickle from the corner deli. (You're familiar with pickles, right? Your regular accompaniment to a big bowl of ice cream?)

Yeah for gestation!

Weekends

This past work week has been pretty low impact for me.
I only worked a few hours on Monday because Lyric was sick. Then Wednesday I came in late because of my sonogram appointment. Then Thursday I left around 1pm because I just have been feeling ick.
All this extra time at home though hasn't really given me any extra energy for some reason.I'm still ridiculously tired all the time. I just want to sleep.
Yesterday I had a good day with Lyric. We went to the park and then ran some errands. As we were playing and she was sliding down the slide I thought, well that's stupid that I didn't bring my camera. But then I was too lazy to go and get it out of the car.

Lyric has started this new vegetarian thing. She doesn't want to eat meat. She'll eat basically everything that is in front of her, minus the meat. The only time she'll eat meat is if it's in the sauce of pasta.
Right now she is on this grilled cheese kick. She LOVES grilled cheese. I'm not too worried about the lack of meat though. She was on this kick not too long ago where all she wanted was the meat. So it will work itself back out.

Speaking of Lyric, she needs to get cleaned up from breakfast so I best get to it.

I hope everyone has a glorious Saturday!

And His Name Shall Be:

Shiloh Vandeput

Obviously that is not his entire name. Jonathan is in charge of the middle names and just doesn't feel like he "knows" them yet.

But we are for sure in knowing that his first name is Shiloh.

So why Shiloh? you may be thinking.

Yes it's unusual, but normally first mention of the name will bring thoughts of Brangelina. Well Jon and I both feel really strongly that this is our little boy's name, and if you care to know our reasoning in detail, please continue on.

Not too long ago, I was reading in Samuel and I came across this passage in 1 Samuel 3. It was talking about how Samuel was serving at the Temple in Shiloh and the story of how he first heard the voice of the Lord. He was lying in his bed and heard someone call his name. He thought the first few times it was Eli the priest, but after being awoken a few times, Eli recognizing who it was, told him that if it happened again to say "speak Lord for your servant is listening". So when Samuel heard his name being called again, out of obedience, he answered directly to the Lord. That's when the Lord gave him a powerful word. "Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle..." He then gives a pretty direct word about the current priesthood. We all know this story, but what struck me the most was the last few verses.
"Thus Samuel grew and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fail. All Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord. And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, because the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord."

I was sitting in Church when I read this, and I immediately started crying. I don't know why, but I just knew that his name was going to be Shiloh.

That he was going to be known as a man who was visited by the Lord, just as the place Shiloh was.
That prophetic words were going to come out of him and spread across Israel and the nations, just like they did from Shiloh.

I handed the Bible over to Jonathan and he looked at me strangely as I was crying and I whispered what the Lord had just spoken to me. From then on in my mind, if this was a boy, his name was going to be Shiloh.

When reading further about Shiloh, I read this verse that just emphasized its significance even more: "But go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I made My name dwell at the first..." Jeremiah 7:12 I just feel like it's who he is.

To back it up even further, before I even was pregnant, I feel like the Lord gave me words about my first daughter and my first son.

When I was in Cyprus I had a dream where Jonathan and I were sitting in a living room in a foreign country with a little girl with blonde hair sitting with us. A year or so later I was asking the Lord about this little girl and I felt that he spoke to me some of Lyric's prophetic destiny.
I felt like the Lord told me that Lyric would have a gift of words. That things that she would write would touch the hearts of people in dynamic way. I wrote this song about her that you can read at the end of this blog.

The words about my first son actually began in Cyprus too after I had dedicated my life to the Lord in 2004. One night in Cyprus when I was praying the Lord showed me this picture. In this picture I saw this young man who was speaking with an older man who I just knew was very high up in politics. Then I heard the Lord say that one of the reasons there has been such a fight over my life, was that I was going to have a son who would have incredible impact on key figures. I immediately was drawn to Jeremiah 1 where the Lord calls Jeremiah as a young boy to be a prophet to the nations. Because of this, I had always thought I was going to name my first son Jeremiah. Well that's until I read about Shiloh and I felt that even more the name Shiloh depicted what I feel his prophetic destiny is.

Anyways, here was the song I wrote about him about 2 years ago and his name fits perfectly into it now, gotta love how that works out :)

"Shiloh, listen to the voice of your Beloved,
listen to the Love that will never fail you,
learn to know His voice as He's singing, over you.
Shiloh because you will listen,
at a young age, you'll be empowered with wisdom,
and the Lord will appoint you to speak with kings and the nations.
And you will be known as a man who can hear the voice of God.
And you will be known as a man whom the Lord calls friend."

There are a few different meanings of Shiloh.

From what I've read, translated literally it means "His Gift". Other meanings are resting place, or sent by God. Yet another translation is peace. Click HERE for some more info about the meaning.

You can also read more about Shiloh the place HERE. It's really interesting all the historical/biblical significance that place carries.

So that is our little boy's first name. Hopefully before he gets here he'll have his 2 middle names, but for now it's just Shiloh or "eye" as Lyric calls him. :)

Also, he has his own Israeli wine named after him

New Moon Discussion Questions

So last night we had the 2nd installment of our Team Edward Book Club where we discussed New Moon by Stephenie Meyer. We had a blast as usual! I think I ate like a dozen tortillas :) We even had vampire cupcakes thanks to Nikki.

It was just a fantastic time! The conversation/discussion went great and flowed really well. Except I am the one that kept giving away future book details! Even after I told everyone else not to! Oh well! I like when everyone gets so into it that they are talking over eachother and disagreeing with one another... it's just so fun!

Thanks to everyone who came! Our next meeting is on Thursday, September 4th at 7pm. We will be discussing both Eclipse and Breaking Dawn because we find it is way too hard not to talk about them.




Here are a few pictures of the night:
Abby with the wine:


Michelle and Stephanie (their famous)


Courtney and Linda


Jodie and I


Nikki and Michelle


And here are the yummy vampire cupcakes!


Next time we are having a red/black theme. Everyone is dressing in either red or black and all the food has to be red or black. It's going to be so much fun! Also, we've decided to all go to the midnight showing of the movie when it comes out in November and we are going to dress up like characters from the book! :) YES we are so dorky! But that's why we have eachother, we understand! Right ladies! :)

So last night was great, and if you weren't able to go, here are the discussion questions. We also took a quiz :) I don't remember who won, I think it was more of an ice breaker than anything else. It also started some debates where people were flipping through their books. It's so much fun! :)

I didn't write our answers, as I just don't want to spend the time.

New Moon Discussion Questions:

1. Why is it important that vampires can’t use their powers on Bella? Do you feel that this will hold true if she is bitten?

2. Discuss the dilemma that Bella now faces by having strong feelings for two very distinct enemies.

3. If Bella were to join Edward in the vampire world, what role might Charlie play in her life? Would he be in more danger or would the Cullens feel a stronger obligation to protect him? And how will his role as “Chief” Swan be affected by her decisions?

4. Compare and contrast the traits of Jacob’s pack versus the Cullens and even the “Nomads.” How do those differences help and hurt them when they are up against each other?

5. Edward believes that there is no afterlife for vampires because they have lost their souls. Carlisle believes that his life can have purpose and has faith that there is a reason for it. What do you believe based on what you have read? What about the vampires that hunt humans versus the ones that abstain?

6. Throughout the novel, Bella often puts herself and those around her in danger. Would you characterize these actions as selfish? Why or why not? What impact is she having on
Charlie? Jacob? Her friends?

7. Despite his pack’s disapproval, Jacob still finds ways to help Bella. How will this affect his relationship and status in the pack? Will he ever be able to convince them of the reasons why he needs to be around her?

8. Was Edward’s decision to leave the right one? And how do you feel about how he handled the situation— especially convincing Bella that he didn’t love her? What else could he have done?

9. Do you think Bella forgave Edward too quickly for the “break up”

10. Bella and Jacob become fast friends, and while Bella needs him emotionally, she also discovers that being with Jacob helps her hear Edward’s voice again. Has Jake been able to help her heal or does he stand in the way, even without knowing? What will become of their relationship? Will being a sworn enemy to her and Edward affect that?

11. Stephenie Meyer has noted that each of the novels in the Twilight Saga pays homage to other literary classics. For New Moon, she has said Romeo & Juliet was the key inspiration. Beyond the main characters and the theme of forbidden love, what other similarities did you notice between the stories? What are the differences and how are they handled?

If anyone wants to catch up and read the entire series and be at the discussion group, you are more than welcome!

I think after this series is over, we are reading The Host.

Look-A-Likes

Here is Baby Boy:


And here is a picture of Lyric when she was the same age:


Don't they looks so much alike! I mean, yes I know it's blurry sonogram pics, but their profiles look very similar!
Guys, I'm just so excited! I did not think I would be this excited as I really wanted another girl, but now that I'm thinking about it, I just am so giddy!
I just feel so blessed!
I have a husband who places me as his #1 priority and loves me so much.
I have a beautiful little girl who lights up my life
and now I am carrying my first son who from all reports is healthy and growing fabulously.
I am just so blessed! AHHH!

Here is a pic from us girls this morning. This is a horrible picture of me. I swear my face is not that fat normally, I don't know why it looks so huge. But here it is:


And then on my lunch break I just had to go buy something boyish, so I went and got these:

So cute! Though no one can tell me that boys clothes are cuter than girls clothes, it just isn't true, HOWEVER, it's different and different in a good way.
It's going to be weird not putting bows in his hair :)

Just to take a stroll down memory lane, here are my two blogs from when I found out that Lyric was a girl.
HERE and HERE

Well anyways, I just can't stop thinking about the baby today and decided to write another blog about him! Ahh!

It's A Boy!

I can't believe it! I'm SOOOOO excited!
As you all know, I was FOR SURE it was a girl. I just knew it.
Obviously I am like the worst gender selector of all times as I just knew Lyric was a boy.

So we are sitting in the sonogram room and my sister, mom, Abby, Mabrie, Jon and Lyric are in there. We are all chatting and looking at him move his legs and such and then she says,
"Well, it's a boy!"
and a cheer went up!

I couldn't believe it. She said she had seen it almost immediately and then she shows us, and it was VERY obvious he was indeed a boy.

Actually, to put it nicely, he was standing at attention :)

I honestly was in shock, but soooo happy! I wanted a girl, but having a boy is amazing! I now have my 'set'!

For future babies I won't be wishing for a particular gender (yes, I'm already thinking about more babies).

I am just SO stinkin' excited!!

We've decided on the boy's first name, however Jonathan wants to think a little more about the full name, so I am going to wait to announce the name till we have his FULL NAME so I can give you the full meaning and why we picked it. (I know, I know... blame Jonathan not me)

AHHH! I just can't believe it! I can't get this smile off of my face!

We are going to decorate the entire room in original trilogy star wars paraphernalia! It's going to be awesome!! Though Jon now has to give up his office, but I think he is happy to do it.

Speaking of Jonathan, he is ridiculously excited! When I was leaving for work he told me to be very careful driving because I was carrying his boy "in there". He just knew it was a boy the entire time and always referred to the baby as a he. Even when he was praying over me and the baby this morning on the way to the doctor, he called him a he. I kept interrupting his prayer saying, "Or she", but indeed Jon was right! It's a he!!!

AHHH!

I am so not going to be able to concentrate on work today. I want to be out there shopping!

So here is my baby boy! (I can't believe I can say MY baby boy!)



And here is his "stuff"
I'm having a boy!!!!!!!
AHHH!!!!!!!!!!

And she slept

And so did I.
Life is so much more rosey when you sleep don't you think?

It took her forever to get to sleep. We started trying around 9 and she didn't actually fall asleep till close to 11, but she did and didn't wake up once all night.

Now Jon and I weren't exactly so lucky as I heard a bug and it turned out to be a roach in our room and Jon spent 15 minutes chasing it out from under things moving the bed and end tables around till he got it... ICK!

But besides that, sleep I did :)

She is with Christina today and though she is still fussy, she at least isn't running a fever. I haven't heard yet how nap time went... here's hoping for the best!

I'm so excited about tonight! It's the 2nd installment of our Book Club! We will be talking about New Moon tonight. It should be a blast as we have more people coming this time around. Someone is even bringing vampire cupcakes :)
I got all the discussion questions together and even found a short quiz for us all to take! Food, girls, wine (diet coke), books... can it get any better? I think not.

AND tomorrow! DUM-DA-DA-DUUUMMMM!!!
I have a sonogram tomorrow and HOPEFULLY we will find out if BabyVDP is a girl or a boy! I'm SOOOOOOO excited! I am going to have a full house for spectators as usual. Even my dearest Mabes will be there! I'm so excited! I can't wait to tell everyone... though if it's a boy, I won't be able to announce the name because we still haven't decided on one. But that's okay. Maybe we could have a poll on which name you think it should be. I think we are now between 2 names... but not anywhere close on middle names... sigh.

Anyways, so I have an exciting next 24 hours planned! Good times people.

Thanks for all the well wishes and encouragement on my last blog. Motherhood can be so trying at times... but I think we all know how worth it is.

Tough Weekend

Man this was a tough weekend for me.
It's those types of weekends that moms don't like to talk about. The ones where if they were very honest, they would say, 'I don't want to be a mom anymore'. Although those moments are fleeting, it's still true on certain days when it just seems too hard and too overwhelming.

I've had one of those weekends unfortunately.

Lyric is teething hardcore. Her gums are swollen and red, but those dang suckers won't poke through.

She's run a consistent fever since Friday afternoon and if I say she's been fussy/whiney that would be the largest understatement ever given to man.

Just the slightest thing incites a meltdown. Like she can't get her little person to sit in the car right, meltdown. She trips and falls, meltdown. She wants to grab something she's not suposed to and I say no, meltdown.

Then add on the fact that she won't sleep. You would think if your mouth hurts, sleep would be a happy relief... oh no, she won't sleep more than 30 minutes during the day.

And then when she wakes up screaming, even when you pick her up, she just cries and cries.

Last night was the worst night... she even got choked up and threw up all over me, right after I had taken a shower.

Today I only went into work for a few hours, and then came home with her.

It's just been soooo hard for both of us. Me because I'm trying to be there and be a good mom and love her and comfort her, but all the while my patience is wearing thinner and thinner. Her, as she just doesn't feel good and is in pain.
It's not even like Jonathan can help. She literally won't go to anyone. She just screams and cries. I broke down on Sunday and Jon tried to take her in the other room and she just had a meltdown and wouldn't get off my lap. Jon even went and got a popsicle which she loves and tried to bribe her and she still refused. She just doesn't want anyone but me. I'm her comfort, which is nice normally... but seriously... even comforts need a break.

So, ya, it's been one of those weekends. It's not that I want to be away from her. I'm exhausted, I don't want to be anywhere but home. I just want her to not be so fussy! I want her to nap! I want a good night's sleep!

I did get out of the house once this weekend though. Jon had to go to the Apple Store so we went with him, feverish baby and all. Though she was out of it:


But I was happy to be out of the house. Plus we ate at Uncle Julio's in Grapevine and I have wanted to eat there for awhile. I really liked it. Their queso is YUMMY!


Friday night, Jonathan had gone to Danny McCoy's birthday party and they started "fighting" like Jon and Danny do best. They get twigs and start beating eachother. I don't see the interest in it, but they think it's hilarious.
Here are Jon's wounds:




Then we babysat Ash and Maddy that night when Courtney and Nathan went to a birthday party.
Here they are in my room watching a movie


Then after, Ashlyn fell asleep with Uncle Jon


Lyric did learn how to sing the B-I-B-L-E though (baby style) and I caught it on video :)



So that was my long extended weekend full of more crying and whining than I would care to think about.

Everyone pray that tonight is better... or I may go insane.

A Real Day of Rest

Today has been really relaxing and I'm so excited about it.

I just have chilled. I haven't cleaned (well I picked up a little), I haven't done laundry, I've honestly just chilled.

Jon got up this morning and made Lyric and I breakfast of fresh strawberries and bananas.. yum!

Then he had to go downtown to an immigration appointment, and around this time Lyric should be going down for her first nap. Well she hasn't been taking a very long afternoon nap, so Christina and I decided to cut out the morning nap and make her just have one nap a day. Well she gets so tired in the morning still, so around 10:30-11:00 she was fussy and crying and wanted her pappy (Passy). So I called my sister and she sent down the troops to keep her occupied :) My nieces Ashlyn, Madysen and Kadyn came over and kept Lyric up till 1pm :) We ate lunch together and they played with the Little People, and colored and we watched Princess Bride. Parents of only children totally understand the fabulousness of having other kids over to occupy your child. You just havd no idea.

I just now put Lyric to bed and hopefully she'll have a good long nap that will coincide with my good long nap :)

No shabbat meal tonight as my parents are in DC, so I am hoping that we literally don't do anything all day and all night. I would be fine not even leaving the house :) I feel like I just need a major recoop time and life will become peachy.

Last night I literally woke up 4 times to pee. I am having some major constipation problems and I think it's making my bladder hold even less pee than normal. That was SO annoying! But then I keep reminding myself it's only going to get worse from here... :)

My dearest me (dear meat) friend Missie is having her baby boy today! She went in this morning and I can't wait to hear all the details, and yes she will dish all those details because she's cool like that :) Her blog always makes me laugh :)
So good luck and congrats Missie!

So off to watch more Law and Order SVU. I'm in season 3 now, and I've already seen season 6 and 7, so only 2 more seasons to go :)

I hope everyone has a relaxing/productive/fun day today!

Shabbat Shalom!

The Birth Dance

All I know is when I go into labor with this little one, Preston better do another interpretive dance in my hospital room... I swear laughing at that dance made me dialate 3 cm :)




and on a sentimental note, here is the first prayer that was prayed over Lyric and you can hear her first tiny cries... SO cute!

Anxiety Attack

So last night, in the middle of the night I woke up suddenly.
Jon said I started gasping and saying "something's wrong, something's wrong."
I don't remember saying that, but I do remember waking up and knowing that I was in the middle of an anxiety attack.
I couldn't breathe and it felt like sharp stabbing pains in my chest. I knew what was happening, although it has never happened to me before. My family has a history of these things, so I just sat still and took deep breaths. It took about 5 minutes for me to be able to breathe normally and for the stabbing pains to go away.

It was really strange. I of course didn't sleep well the rest of the night.

I think I'm just kind of stressed. Mainly it's just money stress. I wish I knew how we were going to be able to work everything out that needs to be worked out in the coming months. We are trying to adjust our lifestyle to make it rely solely on Jonathan's income and I just don't see how that is going to happen. I mean, I can see to an extent, but it just makes me feel panicky. It's not that we don't have money right now, we are doing perfectly fine. I just know that in the coming months we have some huge bills that need to be paid (Europe trip, $2000 deductible, holidays, etc.) and the whole time we are trying to adjust to living on a smaller income as I know inevitably it's going to have to happen at least for a time after the baby is born. I don't think 6 weeks maternity is going to cut it, on any level, so we are going to have to figure out a way to live on one income for a time.
I just wish I had a plan. I don't, and that's what's stressing me out.

Ok, so I just wanted to write about my funky anxiety attack as I've never had one before.

On a positive note!

We went by Kristina Hippman's toy extravaganza last night and picked up some awesome Little People sets. Lyric is having SO much fun with them. I love seeing her happy and playing, it's such a peaceful thing, when your kid is just happy :) She also loves a Belle doll we picked up from them and carried it around, even to bed last night.

Here is her Little People collection thus far:


I was talking to Jon this morning and Lyric was playing with the castle. Normally she jumps at the chance to talk to me on the phone, especially when it entails holding Jon's iPhone. But this time, Jon couldn't even get her to hold the phone. All she would do was yell hi and not even turn to look at him as she was too busy playing.
I've been replaced by Little People.

Just for fun, let's talk about my belly button for a minute. Normally I have a very deep, innie belly button. When I was pregnant with Lyric, it took quite a while for it to flatten out and it only popped at the very end.
But this time around, my belly button is almost completely flat and the top is already starting to pop out... how strange is that.
For your viewing pleasure, my belly button

I guess it just has sensory recall and decided not to fight it, but seriously, it's kind of nuts.

Finally, my parents left today for DC. They are with the Hogans and are touring around DC today and then tomorrow going to be attending The Call. They are going to have a BLAST! I am so jealous and I wish I was with them. Have fun mom and dad!

Well today is my Friday as I don't work tomorrow. I am wishing the hours to pass quicker as I'm exhausted after last night... pass quickly time!

PRINCESS BUTTERCUP

I have no idea why I always call her that... or actually I do as it's from Princess Bride... but I don't know why I refer to Lyric as that... anyways. Here is a picture Christina sent me of Lyric playing dress up today... can she get any more adorable?! If she does I might die.

17 Weeks Pregnant

I've made it to week 17! Yippee!

I was going to officially announce my 5th month of pregnancy, but after reading Joanna's confusing blog about human gestation... I'm no longer talking about months- only weeks :)
So with that said, 1 week from today and I *hopefully* will know if Baby VDP is a boy or a girl.
I'm still thinking it's a girl, and the reason why is that around my "conception" date, there wouldn't have been a possible way that I could have gotten pregnant. So as I've done the research I have found that if you did the deed a few days before you ovulated, that the swimmers can live for a few days, but normally the boy ones die off quicker and the girl ones live longer. So that means I'm having a girl due to the fact that I did not do the deed without contraception on or near the approximate "conception" date... but then again, that is just based on average ovulation... I guess I could have ovulated earlier, but regardless, that's my logic for thinking I'm having a girl.
I always have a theory people.
So this week has kind of sucked due to Ryffani. However, I am happy to announce that Ryffani is gone and I can continue life as normal, or at least until a close cousin rears its ugly head.
The baby's movements are getting stronger and more pronounced... last night when getting Lyric out of the car, I felt him/her kick for the first time while I was standing up. That's kind of cool :) Jon tries every night to feel the baby move to no avail. Well he swears he feels something and I'm like, the baby didn't just move and he was, "yes it did" and I was like, "I don't think it's possible for you to feel the baby move and me not." But he still continues in his own belief. Gotta love him :)
This week at work has been pretty tiring because I've been so busy, but the week is almost over and I can have a nice long relaxing weekend of doing NOTHING! Yeah!

Here are the belly shots:



Here is week 17 over at 0-40

And here is more info about BabyVDP:
Speaking of packing on the pounds, that what it's all about for baby this week. He's adding fat stores that will keep him warm and cozy after he's born. Your baby's weight will increase approximately six times over the next four weeks. Good to know you're not the only one tipping the scale. Also this week:
Your baby is hard at work honing his sucking and swallowing reflexes—all the better for eating that 2 AM (and 5 AM, and 8 AM ...) meal in a few months! The finger- and toenails are beginning to grow from their nail beds, which would explain why he'll need them trimmed almost as soon as he's born!
Your baby weighs nearly 5 ounces and is a little over 5 inches long—about the size of a baked potato (load on the butter and sour cream, please).

I am really excited about next week and so happy that the next time I post a pregnancy blog, it *hopefully* will have a special announcement and name to go with it! Yeah!!!

Happy Birthday Abby

Abby, Abby, Abby...

Isn't it crazy how much we've grown up together?
Not that we are old by any means, but when you add 20+ years of friendship into the mix, it's pretty nuts.

Although Abby and I didn't become best buds till Jr. High, we used to play together when we were still in diapers. She is a year older than me (11 months and 5 days to be exact) and a year younger than my sister, so she was the perfect age for us both... although she favored my sister at the time but has since seen the error of her ways :)

When looking back on my life, there isn't really a major event that she wasn't a part of. Going to school for the first time after being homeschooled, first parties, first crushes, first heart breaks, first time to sneak out, first time to drink alcohol... ok, we won't keep going, my mom reads this :) But seriously, Abby's always there and we basically experienced everything together, good and bad.

We lived together right after we graduated highschool (though that didn't exactly work out favorably- but we still made it- friendship intact), we were bridesmaids in eachothers weddings, attended the birth of eachother's kids... we have dinner together at least once a week, make tv show watching parties out of nothing, we both have an undying love of blonde hair, we are there for eachother through thick and thin... it's just the way we roll. :) She's the veggies and I'm the hamburger :)

Now we are both in our mid-twenties, with 2 kids under our belt and great husbands... but we still dance like crazy fools when "drop it like it's hot" comes on the radio. I don't like to go anywhere where there will be music, dancing and drinks without Abby as she is my counterpart to craziness. Always has been, always will be. I swear we will be 90 years old, our husbands will be dead and gone and Abby and I will be living in the same old folks home, talking about Alanis Morissette and drinking martinis while she highlights my hair blonde :)

If you have never been around Abby when she gets in her "mood", oh my, you are missing out on some quality time. You will never laugh like you laugh with her. I swear she is the funniest person I know. Not like, haha Chris Farley funny... more like laugh till you cry while she tells you a story of Brad sleep talking funny... When we get together, by the end of the night, I have no more eye makeup on as I cried it all off laughing.

I love my Abby and last night we went out to Bucca de Beppo's to celebrate her 26th birthday.
here are some pics:

The birthday girl and her hubby Brad


Lyric and Korbin

Abby and Morgan

Courtney and Christina

Brad, Jon and Aaron

Me and LyLy

Mom, Dad, Preston and Jodie

Little Judah!

Abby blowing out her birthday candle

At the end of dinner, all the kids got up and were dancing pretty hard core to music that wasn't playing. Who needs a radio when you have Korbin to sing! :)

Me and the birthday girl!

Happy Birthday my dearest friend! We will have many more together! One of these days we can actually go out for drinks without one of us being pregnant! :)

Lyric Hallel

Ok, Lyric has to be one of my favorite people. Bar none. 

She just makes me laugh.

Here she is in the midst of toys, just hanging out. I love when she does this, crawls onto her belly to play with toys. She looks like such a big girl!

And here she is being a little mommy. She does this all by herself. She gets her baby, puts it in the highchair, then pulls up her Elmo chair and gets a spoon and bowl and feeds the baby. It's SO cute!


She looks so much like a Vandeput


Here is a video of her doing one of her favorite things, DANCING! She loves to watch So You Think You Can Dance and here she is getting her groove on



And here she is "crying", it makes me laugh :)

So as you can see, Lyric is fantastic :)

Techincal Difficulties

Ok, the basic template I was using decided to crap out on me, so I just have this blank one up for the time being.

I am going to do a total overhaul and change my URL and everything, I just haven't decided on a name yet... so until then, I'm sticking with the plain one!

So just in case you were wondering, that's what's up! :)

Our Love- The Unabridged Version

Three years ago today, I remember waking up so excited. Not nervous, not scared, just filled with such anticipation, this was the day that I had been waiting for.

For those of you who don't know, I'll tell you Jon and I's love affair.

It started years before when Jonathan (who is from Belgium) came to Dallas to record a few songs with the worship band from Gateways Beyond. He came to Shady Grove and the Lord started doing a work in his heart. He felt connected here for some reason and vowed to come back and spend some time here. I vaguely remember the band coming, I remember my dad introducing me to everyone, but I don't remember Jonathan and he doesn't remember me.

Fast forward a few years and the picture will have changed. I had continued on my own path, not walking with the Lord at all. I was a hurting and angry young woman... when I think back on the years of 2002 and 2003 all I remember was anger. I don't know what I was so angry about, but I was really angry at anyone and everything. I did things I'm not proud of, experimented with things I should never have done, got involved with people who I shouldn't have, but in the end, nothing was different and I was still a vacant shell of the person I knew I was supposed to be.

That's when, after a series of events, I ended up on the island of Cyprus in January of 2004 to try to