Memorial Weekend

We just spent a wonderful weekend in Star Valley with Chris' parents and Maggie had such a blast! Besides playing a lot we FINALLY got a new family picture taken and also some pictures taken by Dan's gravesite. It was wonderful putting flowers on Dan's grave - we haven't been there in a while. We decided to always have the little white teddy bear in our family pictures in remembrance of our son Dan, so we were excited to get our first "real" family picture, I guess you could say.




Maggie loved seeing the horses, playing hide-and-seek with Grandma, and exploring a big house with lots of new toys! We got some cute pictures.


Oh, and very good news! We just found out that the NBICU declared that RSV season is officially over TODAY! Yeah, FREEDOM! We are very excited, and Maggie is now free of public restrictions!

So far, so good!

Hi Everyone! I had another appointment today and everything still looks good. Yeah! I also started some exams that I've volunteered to participate in for a study on preterm labor & delivery patients. My doctor said I'm an ideal patient for the study so I hope they learn good things from it. They're studying the role of genetics and environment on women going into preterm labor.

Anyway, Maggie and I had a great weekend just over a week ago. Chris' mom and sister came down and we got the three granddaughters together (Daniel's girl, Maggie, and Holly's girl) and had such a fun time! Maggie absolutely loved having visitors, especially girls her age to play with and she was so excited! Unfortunately Maggie and I both got nasty colds the two days later that kept us out of commission for a full week with sore throats, coughing, sneezing, runny noses, and sleepless nights. Oh well, I guess a little exposure at a time will strengthen both of our immune systems so we won't get sick so easily next time!

Maggie is so much fun I can hardly stand it. She loves to put her own shoes on now and is so thrilled to walk down the sidewalk with me or Chris. She's definitely experiencing a little freedom and she loves it.

Oh! One great thing about my pregnancy is that my fingernails are growing like mad and they're beautiful! Any of you who really know me know that I've always had short stubby fingernails (because of violin playing, or just from bad biting or ripping habits). Right now they're long and beautiful and strong. It's one of my greatest joys!

A Short Update

Hi everyone! So far everything is going well with my pregnancy. I have been pretty sick off and on but most of the time I feel pretty good. I have aversions to almost all foods and get sick easily but I have luckily been able to avoid most things that make me feel sick. My aversions to smells are so bad that I have a very hard time cooking because the smell of the stove being on and the smell of things cooking or baking makes me nauseous. Poor Chris, I haven't cooked in weeks. We've had to change all the soaps in our showers and at our sinks to unscented, and I've changed to unscented deodorant, too, because anything scented - especially any flowery scents - make me very sick. Chris can't wear cologne around me and I've only let him keep his regular deodorant because he goes to work before I'm up most mornings so I don't have to smell him. Most toothpastes make me sick and I've been through a number of them, finally settling on the most mild I could find. The hardest things for me to do are to find something to eat for lunch and dinner that won't make me sick (I'm getting pretty tired of cold cereal - and I've been through bags of frozen french fries & hash browns already) and to feed Maggie. PHEW! So, I've been able to avoid most things, which is good. Also, I've been sooooooo tired. I can't wait for the second trimester! Things will get a little better then.

Chris has been amazingly supportive and helpful around the house. I'm so blessed to have married such a great man. He usually has to feed Maggie dinner and find his own meals. Maggie has been just wonderful. Now that the weather is getting so warm we go outside and play on the grass and she is so thrilled. We're working on getting her more comfortable around other people, and I'm working on being okay leaving her with a babysitter. We both get separation anxiety! But her quarantine should be over some time next month and it will be so good for both of us to spend more time around other people. After 8 months of isolation I'm about ready to jump out of my skin!

Maggie is adorable and she gets smarter every day and more adventurous. She babbles all the time and runs around the house laughing at herself and hiding behind chairs & doors when we go looking for her. She's so much fun!

An Outing at the Park!

Chris and Maggie and I finally went outside together! It was a beautiful day and Maggie got to play on the grass and explore leaves and twigs and dirt and it was so refreshing to get out. Here are a few pictures of our outing.