Our Conversation with Emma Catherine

When we pick Emma Catherine up from school, our first question is "Emma Catherine how was your day?" Today she had so much to tell us!

"I play friends" Oh you played with your friends? "Yes"

"I play markers" "I like green"

"I read Parker and Asher" Sometimes she and Parker read books to each other =)

Then I pulled out Bo's blackberry for a minute and she said "Catherine's turn. I hold daddy's phone. I call Grandma."

On the way to our car, I told her that mommy didn't feel good and I was going to nap in the car (which did not happen). Then on the way home she said "My knee hurts. Kiss it" So I did and then she said, "My knee hurts. I take a nap." It is amazing what they pick up on!

And look at the cool jump house they rented at school!

I have to say that all our talking about her day probably counts as our first real conversation and it was pretty awesome!! =) Now I'm off to study with Austin. I have to admit the kid has a great work ethic! He has been up until 10PM working on homework for two nights in a row and now we are going to study for three different tests; one tomorrow, two Friday. Wish us luck!

I'm crabby!

In case you didn't know, every pregnant lady needs one of these:

And in my case, I need two because of this sweet little girl.

Please excuse the quality of the picture. It was taken in the dark with Jessica's point and shoot canon since we are staying at my sister's this week.

So this all started when daddy placed "crabby" around his neck and started opening and closing the pillow like he had crab claws. This was very entertaining to Emma Catherine! Running from crabby kept her busy for a good half an hour - mommy was happy! Then Bo started saying "I'm crabby" and as you would expect, our sweet Emma Catherine now says "I'm crabby". Thank you Bo Lane! Actually it is kind of cute =) She fondly crawls up in crabby to read her bedtime stories and loves to sleep in crabby too. This does displace the preggo lady from her fav sleeping pillow, but she is just too cute!

So maybe you will think of our little crab the next time you are feeling a little "crabby" and hopefully she will put a smile on your face!

Yuck!

So most of you already know, but here is the story about what happened with my brother:
Mark had apparently been sick for a while. Then Monday night/Tuesday morning he started severely vomiting. He was in enough pain that my sister in law was able to talk him into going to the ER. At first the ER doctor decided to check for just normal issues like kidney stones, gallstones, etc. So they performed a CT scan without the dye injection. Well, his appendix was “leaking” so badly that even without the dye they were able to see the damage. They performed an appendectomy immediately and proceeded to clean out the leakage. A 30 minute procedure turned into a 2 hour ordeal. After the surgery, the doctor told our family he was amazed Mark actually walked himself into the ER.

While they were performing the surgery and saw how bad everything looked, the doctor decided to start Mark on an antibiotic. The one he chose made Mark breakout with hives. Also after the surgery, Mark was having difficulty breathing. They were not sure if this was due to the allergic reaction to the medicine, anesthesia, etc. So after more testing (another CT scan this time with the dye injection) they found the lower part of both of his lungs had collapsed due to the infection and pressure. They immediately started Mark on breathing treatments (to help prevent pneumonia), but would not release him from the hospital because his white blood cell count was too high. I was finally able to speak to him Thursday evening and he sounded like he was in good spirits, but they were having trouble controlling his pain. They also feed him solid food Thursday when he was supposed to be on a liquid diet. Then Thursday night his fever and vomiting returned and his pain increased substantially. Imagine trying go through all that after having abdominal surgery. Lets just say that night was one I would not wish on my worst enemy (if I had one).

It was pretty hard to visit with Mark on Friday. He was in CONSTANT pain. And I had the pleasure of seeing them flush his IV, which may not seem all that bad to most people, but it brought back some pretty terrible memories of my hospital stay back in 2009.

My sister said he is feeling better today, but his recovery is going to take several weeks. At least he did get to go home, so maybe he will get a little more rest than he did in the hospital! But with a 4 year old and 4 month old around who knows!

Baby Lane - What will her name be?

Yes, we are expecting another baby girl on December 31st!! What timing right? There is a little debate about the name. It will either be Annabelle Grace Lane or Anna Belle Lane. What is your vote? Either way, we plan to call her Annabelle.

Here are a few pictures of me along the way and the sonogram photos from our 19 week appointment:

8 weeks at Saint George Island.

14 weeks at Emma Catherine's 4th of July Parade.

16 weeks and my shirt no longer buttons!

20 weeks at Kimber's shower.

21 weeks and don't I look worried!

Actually, we are quite excited!

And here she is at 19 weeks!

I have always been told every pregnancy, labor, and delivery is different and now I can say from experience that is a true statement! This pregnancy has been very different from my first one. For one thing, I have not been nearly as sick. Can you say HOORAY!!! Thank God! I started getting nauseated around 6 weeks and it tapered off at 16 weeks (unlike last time when it only started to ease up at 20 weeks) But like I said, this nausea has been NOTHING like last time =) Also, at 16 weeks, I started feeling those fabulous little baby flips and kicks again! This was my favorite thing about being pregnant last time and it is even more incredible this time! Maybe I just appreciate them more now? Who knows, but I'm going to enjoy every single one while my baby girl is growing safely inside! For those who have not experienced these precious kicks, it may sound weird, but it is like having a sweet little buddy with you where ever you go =) Today, at a work meeting, I had to give the safety presentation before our VPs spoke. I was so excited to have these little baby kicks to privately enjoy and keep my mind off my nerves! Unfortunately, I have had lower back pain this time, but thanks to Kelly I have had the help of a fantastic chiropractor. I swear I stand taller after seeing him =) Plus, he has given me exercises to do in between visits, which have helped tremendously. I'm also ashamed to say that the preggo workout videos I complained about being "so easy" at 6 weeks now make me break a sweat. And I was in a deep depression for weeks and wouldn't speak to anyone after packing up my size 2, 4, and 6 pants. Well, not really =) but I am hoping I will see them again soon! All in all, things are going very well and I pray God will continue to bless us during the next 19 weeks!

Emma Catherine and Eric

We had such a great visit with Scott, Amelia, and Eric this weekend! Here are a few shots of our toddlers!

First they worked on Mr. Potato head.

Then they had a well deserved juice break - after swapping shoes of course. You know, Eric loves to wear pink. He is very in touch with his feminine side like his daddy! Haha!

Next, they had to practice piano for their big show!

Where is the music?

It goes right there...

Never mind, we don't need any! What naturals!!

Even meal time was fun because uncle Scott picked up these great hats from Firehouse Subs. Don't worry, the toddlers later stomped them to shreds - no rest for the weary!

Eric discovered the best way to get a turn in the chair was to help Emma Catherine out...

I'm sure this was Emma Catherine saying "No, no Ekic. I don't wike that." as Eric does his happy dance!

Uncle Scott handled story time for two.

Daddy/uncle Bo used child labor to get the laundry done.

Aunt Amelia rewarded them with a game of tickles!

And Emma Catherine was a huge help while I sorted the hand me ups. She had a great time trying on all the clothes and insisted on wearing these overalls for most of Sunday.

Hope you all had a great weekend too!

Honey Do

I have been a little crazy about cleaning and organizing our house lately. =) Also, I am very addicted to DIY blogs. So it should be no surprise that the gift I requested for our anniversary was for Bo to build me one of these. So convenient right?

I had also researched a few versions like this one online. But that was way more than this chica was willing to pay (and I didn't love the look either)! So I put in my request and Bo actually admitted he had fun fulfilling it (and said he is excited to do the next DIY project)! Sorry I do not have before or during the project pictures, but here are a couple of the finished product!

Before we started our project there was a second cabinet on the right that matched the one on the left. We weren't really utilizing the extra storage so, we took it down to find the wall needed to be repaired and painted to match the rest of the laundry closet. Therefore extending the time required for this project!

As you can see, it was well worth it. And for those of you who have seen what the laundry closet looked like before you can probably tell how much more light there is now!

Already in use! And my sweet hubby even hung the wire rack below to hold all my frequently used items and most loved cleaners! Maybe I can find something artsy to hang above the drying rack to dress up the closet and give me something interesting to look at during the hours I spend in front of these two machines. I'm just really glad I do not have to stumble around one of these any more (on what seemed like a daily basis).

We learned a lot about planning with this project =) like how to think out all the little things before going to Home Depot to shop! Also, if we were to redo this, we would probably use a piece of wainscoting for the backboard to dress it up a bit and make a frame for it if we wanted to really get fancy! Thank you my wonderful husband of almost three years for helping make this happen and having a lot of fun with me in the process!!

Preping to Move Upstairs and Staging

Opps! Slide out of the way Emma Catherine and while you are going please move that nightstand back in place and tuck those bloomers back into that dresser drawer =)

So most of you know we have been recruiting help to move all our furniture around. We are moving upstairs to make more space for us and all our stuff - a lot of Emma Catherine stuff. We have had an extremely productive and busy weekend! In an attempt to take pictures for the anticipated marketing of this house (again... one day) and to begin the decluttering for the move, here is what we got for the master and Emma Catherine's room/nursery/closet/craft room or whatever the future owner wants to make of this room located off the master bedroom.

Well, hopefully these will help mom and dad sale this house one day! Let me know if anyone has comments or suggestions since I'm really not a professional stager...obviously! Also, expect another post in a few minutes because Bo just came through to tell me the drying rack we have also been working on this weekend is now hanging and ready to use!!