If you don't care why I haven't posted all summer, you can skip this paragraph. If you're nosey, read on. I went back to find my last real post (not counting my Causes posts, which are definitely real, but you know what I mean) and it seems I was a bit of a blog failure this spring, too. When I sat down to write this, I didn't intend to start out with this big explanation, but here it is. I found out the day after Easter that I was pregnant. I had some weird tests (really light, slightly darker, light again, darker, etc.) for a week and finally went in for blood work a week after my first positive test. My HCG and progesterone were low (HCG 34 and progesterone almost 0) which was definitely not a good sign for a pregnancy. I went back 48 hours later for a repeat; ideally, HCG would have at least doubled in that time and HCG was 1. So, no baby (a very early miscarriage, or might even call it a chemical pregnancy). Because of the weird tests, neither of us totally got our hopes up and definitely never had a "woo! we're having a baby!" moment. My body didn't care and I still felt pregnant that whole time (sick, tired, blah). Luckily, I got pregnant again a few weeks later and I'm now 17 weeks and feeling baby kicks every day. Because of my history (two losses), my doctor ordered an ultrasound and blood work at my 8 week appointment. Baby looked good but my progesterone was low. I never had it checked with Myra and she was totally fine, but my doctor wanted to put me on progesterone just to help support the pregnancy until I hit 12 weeks. So, I got two rounds of two shots in the butt followed by a month of suppositories and all was well. ANYWAY, what that all really means is I've been tired and sick then extra tired and extra sick (progesterone side effects) for most of the summer. It's only been the last few weeks I have been feeling pretty darn good, but I still love naps. Again, I didn't exactly mean to get into the specifics of all that, but there it is-my legitimate excuse for failing at the blog. I believe I had a similar lapse when I was pregnant with Myra.
17 weeks with Baby 2, a bit bigger than 17 weeks with Myra! (Also, not in Hawaii this time, sad face)
Trevor just started his final year of undergrad (Biology-Biomedical Science/Pre-Dentistry) and is busy, busy, busy studying for the DAT, filling out dental school applications, shadowing, etc., on top of being a student, husband, dad, First Sergeant... That all leaves us both pretty busy. We somehow make time for him to play softball/bowl (depending on season), so we agreed we need to make time for me to go do something on my own, too. Until I come up with a better idea, I will be spending my Sunday mornings at a coffee shop while blogging and/or wasting time.
I helped run a booth for my babywearing group at a Baby Expo...and Myra got to meet a couple of the Vikings Cheerleaders.
Myra and I survived without Trevor for two and a half weeks in June while he was at Camp Ripley playing GI Joe (normally these 2-3 weeks are no big deal, but early pregnancy made it suuuuuper fun). I felt like crap and slept every second I could, but survival was the goal. Trevor was gone for Father's Day, but Myra and I went to my great-aunt and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary party then to my dad's for a cookout.
Myra and I went to the Minnesota Zoo with Grandma Christy and my nephews. I was curious if she would turn into a zoo animal herself without a nap, but she found a way to squeeze one in.
Thunder of Drums is an annual Drum Corps International competition Trevor and his family attend every year. It's actually where I met half his family for the very first time many years ago. This year was Myra's first time and she did very well!
Most of Trevor's softball games were late games this summer, but we did get to watch him play at least once!
Every summer I/we go visit my aunt/uncle/cousins in Wisconsin. For the last several years, they have lived in the Madison area, but since our last visit they moved to Green Bay. It was fun to visit their new home and see some new places with them. We went to Bay Beach Amusement Park and took Myra on a couple rides. Trevor got to go on the doozies on behalf of our family. As he was boarding the scrambler he sent me a text, "I am not looking forward to this." haha, what a good sport!
A week after our return from Green Bay, we went to the North Shore for a long weekend mini vacation. I spent a week every summer "up north" with my grandparents and cousins, but I haven't been back in about 14 years. It was fun to see the area again and share that with Trevor. He lived in Duluth for a while, but never made it up that far (crazy, I know!). Myra LOVED the rock beach in Grand Marais; she would have been content to just play there the whole trip.
We spent over 30 hours in the car in July and Myra was a total champ. Zero crying and less than 5 minutes of whining total. Before we even got out of town on the first trip, she said, "out! out!" and we were pretty nervous about how it would go, but she was fine. I probably whined more than she did (I was feeling okay-ish, but not wonderful, in July).
In August, my dad and I saw Paul McCartney live at Target Field. Never in a million years did I think I'd get to see one of The Beatles live, and wow he still sounds amazing! He played for three hours straight. I can cross that off my bucket list now.
Myra and Rowdy have become quite the buddies this summer. She loves to throw the ball for him, go on walks with him, pat him and say, "buh boyyyyyyy (good boy)!" We recently got a dog park in town and I can't tell who has the most fun there, Myra or Rowdy. She loves just running around, petting the dogs, throwing the ball, playing in dirt, all of it. The first time we went, we saw a Great Dane and she kept pointing at him and saying, "horse!"
Our county fair was great this year. Trevor was gone for it last year and I was dairy-free, so that was kind of a bust. Myra really liked checking out the animals, people, and tractors. We briefly went through the tractors the first time we went. The next morning I told Myra we were going to the fair again and she kept saying what I thought was "doctor." When we parked at the fair, I realized she had been saying, "tractor!"
Myra has gotten to be so much fun--lots of talking, walking, running, doing. This child is OBSESSED with bubbles. She loves playing with real bubbles and will make anything around the house into "bubbles" (a toy drum stick and a cup is pretend bubbles to her). Grandpa spoils her with his mission to find the best bubbles on the planet and recently bought a pretty fabulous bubble gun for her to use.
Food trials are going well, we have taken a couple breaks due to me feeling like garbage, Myra being sick (she had Hand, Foot, and Mouth last month), that sort of thing. We usually take a break any time she has something going on that might cause confusing symptoms. Our last "pass" was corn which has been huge! Corn syrup is in so many things, plus she can now have Kix, Corn Chex, Fritos, Quinoa/Corn pasta, corn on the cob... Sometime in the last month, we dropped her morning nap so she just takes one in the afternoon now. It's not always super long (always at least an hour), but planning things around just one nap has made life much easier. She doesn't really have a clue what's going on as far as my pregnancy/future big sister, but the other day she did pat my belly and say, "ball!" At my 12 week appointment, it took the doctor a little bit to find baby's heartbeat, but as soon as we heard it Myra said, "HI!" But really, I think she's pretty clueless.
That, in a nutshell, was our summer! We got to spend time with friends (some we hardly see--two even moved back to town!), lots of trips to the waterpark and different parks in town. Myra could spend all day playing with sand, swinging, and sliding. She is also a fan of bike rides. She climbs into the Burley and puts on her helmet.
I promise to write a little more regularly now--if for no other reason than for us to read in the future. Writing it publicly means I have no excuse, right? Also, the Causes posts have been slacking because July was a tough month (not much for awareness stuff that I could find, and no one to write on the topics I could find) and the two I had for August fell through (life happens, it's all good!). So, hopefully, no more blog crickets, okay? OK!
And well, who doesn't love a random photo of a sleeping toddler?
