Abigail's 5th Birthday

Friday, July 27, was Abigail's 5th birthday.  It's hard to believe that she is already five and will soon be starting Kindergarten!  For her birthday, she wanted to swim.  We invited some of her friends to join us for a swim party at the Petruccis.  (The Petruccis are a wonderful Italian family that have become very close and dear friends.)  The weather forecast didn't look great for the few days before Abby's birthday, but the thunderstorms waited until that night to roll in so we could have the perfect day!

 Everyone had a great time in the water!

 Robert was brave enough to jump off the diving board.

 Cecelia and Madeleine dry off in the sun for a few minutes.

 Michael had a great time in the pool with his daddy!

 Abigail wanted a pony cake for her birthday this year.

 Abby is ready to blow out the candles.

 Abby had a great time opening presents.  She received lots of art stuff (markers, pastels, paints, etc.)  She also received some fun doll clothes from Grandma Perry, shells for her purse from Aunt Elisa, and a Rapunzel doll from Mom and Dad.  She loved it all!

She was also excited about Angus (the horse from "Brave") from Nana.

We love you Abigail!  Happy birthday!

Abby's Wall Art

Sunday morning, as I was showering and getting ready for church, Abigail was keeping herself busy in her room.  I heard her telling her dolls scripture stories, but I didn't realize at the time that she was illustrating the story as she was telling it.  Here is the illustration she drew as she was telling the story of Jesus dying on the cross.  

She also told the story of Ammon.  I'm glad there was no illustration to accompany that one!

I told her that I love her artwork, but it needs to be on paper, not on the wall!

A Visit with the Becks

Last weekend, my mission president, his wife, and two youngest sons were in Palmyra.  President Beck is now the General Young Men President and was here on a church assignment.  They had a very busy schedule, but Abby, Michael, and I were able to meet them for lunch on Friday afternoon.   Abigail told me she had a secret question to ask President Beck.  When we got to the restaurant, Abby walked right up to President and said, "Have you met President Monson?"  She was excited to learn that he had.  During lunch, the Becks were able to see just how precocious Abby and Michael are.  They even got to hear Michael's deep, belly laugh!

We didn't have a lot of time together, but it was wonderful to visit with them!

An Afternoon at Home

Here are a couple of new pictures of Michael and Abigail.  We have had several afternoons just hanging out at home since it is so hot and humid outside.  These two can always keep themselves entertained without any trouble at all.

I love them so much!  They are lots of fun!

Another Little Twist

Since my toxemia scare at 25 weeks, my blood pressure has been really good at home.  I have been trying to follow doctor's orders and keep my feet up as much as possible.  I have been staying pretty close to home because it has been really hot and humid.  If I spend much time outside, I can tell that my feet start swelling.

While trying to behave to keep my blood pressure down, I received a phone call from the nurse at the doctor's office telling me that my glucose was high on the glucose screening.  I've never failed that test before, so of course, I was a little freaked out!  She helped me get things set up to do the 3 hour glucose tolerance test.  That stress, I'm sure, did not help the blood pressure situation!  I spent several days worried that, in addition to the concern of developing preeclampsia much too early, I might have gestational diabetes.  Monday morning I headed to the lab to do the dreaded 3 hour ordeal.  I wasn't thrilled about sitting in the lab all morning, but at least I had a good book to read.  The solution I had to drink was awful and it wasn't too much fun being a pin cushion, but the experience was not as bad as I had anticipated.  I was grateful for a fantastic phlebotomist!

That night, I didn't sleep much at all.  The next morning, the phone rang rather early.  When I saw it was the OB's office, I was pretty nervous about answering.  The nurse got right to the point.  As soon as she verified she was speaking to the right person, she said, "You passed!"  She sounded as excited as I felt!  I think my blood pressure lowered at that very moment!  The concern and risk of developing preeclampsia is still there, but at least I don't have to worry about having gestational diabetes.  Whew!  Happy day!

Coley's Birthday- A National Holiday

Happy birthday Coley!

Coley's birthday is July 4.  This year we attempted to explain to Abigail that the reason there are fireworks on July 4 is not because it's Daddy's birthday.

In any case, it was a fun day.  Coley had the day off work.  After Mom made some yummy french toast, we headed off for the movie theater.  We saw "Brave."  After lunch, Coley opened presents and we had cake.  Later that afternoon, we headed to the home of some friends for a pool party.  Everyone had a great time in the water.  Abby and Michael love the water as much as Daddy and Mommy!

We ended the night by watching fireworks.  By the time Abby and Michael were in bed, it was after 11:00 p.m.  (They didn't wake up until about 10:00 a.m. the next day!)

It was a very busy, but great day.  Happy birthday America and happy birthday to "meu amor." 

25 Weeks

Last week, at 25 weeks of pregnancy, I went to my regular OB appointment.  After being so ridiculously sick in the beginning of my pregnancy, I have finally enjoyed feeling relatively normal for the past couple of months.

In my pregnancies with Abigail and Michael, once I got through the hyperemesis, I did well until the very end of pregnancy.  I did develop preeclampsia with both Abby and Michael.  In both cases, I was full term, so I was sent to the hospital to be induced.  Delivering the baby is really the only "cure."  I was induced with Abigail on her due date; I was induced 4 days before Michael's due date.

Before we decided to have another baby, I talked to my doctor to ask his expert medical opinion on whether or not it would be wise for me to get pregnant again.  He told me that because I had developed preeclampsia in both of my pregnancies, I would almost surely have it a third time.  However, since I did not develop any problems until the very end of pregnancy, he thought I would probably be fine.

So, I was unpleasantly surprised last week at my routine checkup with a blood pressure reading that was already starting to rise.  I also had weight gain associated with water retention.  (I couldn't wear my ring!)  The doctor, hoping that my blood pressure would go down after sitting in the exam room, called the nurse back in to recheck it.  It was exactly the same.  That nurse, hoping she was wrong, called in another nurse to check her.  It was exactly the same.

The doctor didn't want to panic, but she was concerned.  My blood pressure was not high enough to technically be considered preeclampsia, but I normally run fairly low and there was a significant rise.  Since there was no protein in my urine and I was not showing other symptoms of toxemia, she said she wanted me to come back in a few days to have my blood pressure checked again.  She also went over all the symptoms I need to be watching for.  If I have any of them, I am supposed to call her right away.  If my blood pressure is still up when I go back on Tuesday, she will do lab work to check everything.  I am supposed to "take it easy," keep my feet up as much as possible, and hope the blood pressure goes down.  If it doesn't, she said I may be headed toward bed rest.

The news is unsettling because my due date is still so far away- 15 weeks until my due date, and 12 weeks until the baby is considered full term.  If I were to develop preeclampsia and it became too severe, the baby would have to be delivered.  It is much too early to even think about that. 

The good news is that Coley has been checking my blood pressure everyday at home.  So far, it looks pretty good.  I'm keeping a log to take to the doctor on Tuesday.  Hopefully, it will be as good when the nurse checks it in the clinic.

Until then, I'm just trying to keep my feet up and not stress! :)