Happy Valentine's Day!

Liam would like to ask everyone a question:

You have to say yes now! How can you refuse that face?

I promise, as pitiful sad as he looks in this, he's upset over animal crackers, not that nobody loves him. This child gets more love then he knows what to do with!

I had an appt today (2/14) for Ms. Molly. Everything is look fabulous! She's measuring right where she should, her heart rate is perfect (although she's very much like her big brother and kept kicking off the doppler to get away) and as of this moment, my midwife thinks she's going to be a little smaller then Liam, which will *hopefully* aid in my VBAC attempt. 

Here's our 23 week picture!

Doctors visits part 5

Yes really. Part 5.

Less then a week after getting strep, we noticed that Liam had developed a bad sounding cough and was breathing a little more labored then usual. We chalked it up to the fact that a lot of people end up with cold-like symptoms following a bout of strep and decided to just keep an eye on it. A few days later, it had seemed like the cough was lessening, but after running around outside with daddy for only a few minutes, he was really struggling to breathe and had started wheezing. I immediately called his doctor and we took him in. His doctor checked him out, listened to him breath and ordered a few tests. They took his pulse ox and he was running around a 94. They swabbed him for RSV and then gave him a breathing treatment. Let me tell you, that was one of the most difficult things I've had to do. He hated the mask. He screamed and kicked and fought us with all his might. Thankfully the treatment worked and he went up to a 98. His test came back positive, so now, less then a week after having been diagnosed with strep throat, he has RSV.

After a few days of breathing treatments at home every 4-12 hrs, he's doing much much better! He's now back to himself and can run around like crazy and no longer be panting after. I'm so thankful that while his case wasn't mild (since he needed the treatments, not every child does), it wasn't severe enough to need hospitalization, like a few friends of ours. Now, over a week later, he's very much on the mend!

Doctors visits part 4

I was hoping to NOT have a "Part 4" but then Liam started running a high fever that wouldn't really come down with motrin or tylenol and he was completely miserable. Turns out my poor little one had strep throat! I have no idea how he contracted it, but we quickly got him on antibiotics to help fight it. After about 2.5 days, he's finally starting to act like himself again. Which is good, because I missed my happy boy!

What's in a name?

On occasion someone will ask us the meaning behind our name choices. M and I put a lot of thought into the names we've chosen for our children, so I thought I'd share our reasoning.

Liam Michael

Liam is a shortened form of the Irish name, William. In its Germanic translation, Liam means "will, desire, and protection." In its Hebrew translation, "My people."

Michael's origins are Hebrew and are translated as "Who is like God?"

We chose the name Liam based on its Irish roots. M's family is very proud of their Irish heritage, and we loved the name, so it seemed fitting. Michael was chosen based off its beginning letter; M. M's great grandmother, May, passed away a few years ago and we wanted to honor her with naming our son.

Molly Elizabeth

Molly means "uncertain, maybe bitter" in Hebrew and is considered a pet name of "Mary" in English. Mary means "bitter" in both Hebrew and English.

Elizabeth is considered to have roots in both Hebrew and Greek, both with the same meaning: "My God is a vow."

By choosing Molly for our daughter, we're bringing in M's Irish roots again. The song "Molly Malone" is the unofficial national anthem of Ireland. Molly is another name that M and I both really liked. It's not used to necessarily honor anyone in specific, but growing up I was very influenced by a very special woman named Molly. Elizabeth, like Michael, was chosen for its starting letter, E. My grandfather, Ernest, passed away a few years back and we wanted to honor him with our little girl. 

Taking the names one step further, they all have origins in Hebrew, and our middle names were influenced from those who are no longer with us. Both of these honor my family's Jewish traditions, as our first names honor M's family.

There ya have it. Our names and how we came to use them!

Drum roll please.....

We had our anatomy scan yesterday for T2 and not only are they absolutely perfect and measuring right on schedule, but IT'S A GIRL!!!

M and I are over the moon! We just wanted a healthy baby, we didn't care about the sex, although we both thought it'd be fun to have a girl, since we already have an amazing little boy. 

After some discussion, we've agreed on the name Molly Elizabeth. We've also agreed on the theme for the kids room. Liam never really had a nursery because for his first year, we lived in a one bedroom apt. Now that we have a house and he has his own room (for the next few months that is) we're going to be decorating his room in a Sock Monkey theme. I love the colors of the original/classic sock monkey and it'll be easy to transition from infant-toddler-big kid rooms. We've picked out fabrics and such, just need to order and sew, and we'll be underway! I'll be sure to share pictures of the progress.

Doctors visits part 3

I had my appt with my midwife on Thursday. Everything is looking good for T2! I've finally started gaining weight, which really made my MW happy. Gaining weight also means that I can continue nursing Liam, as long as my supply maintains! T2 is definitely like their big brother. When the MW went to listen to their heart rate, we were able to to hear it for about 3 seconds before T2 kicked off and ran away. She tried to follow them, so she could get an accurate reading, but every time she found the heart rate again, T2 swatted or kicked and moved away. In the end, we left without knowing the heart rate, but we knew they had one!

In about a week and a half we'll be finding out if we're Team Pink or Team Blue! I've got a guess, but I'll let you know if I was right after we find out :)

As far as the rest of the family, Liam is continuing his run as the most energetic toddler in the world. M starts physical therapy on Tuesday, plus his rental car is going back. We need to do some hardcore car shopping and soon!  

First Snow of 2012

Yup! The first real snow of 2012 hit today. Nothing serious, just a light, pretty snowfall all afternoon. The yard is covered but the roads are just wet, thank fully! Liam and I went out for some play time and he had an absolute blast playing in the snow. He wasn't too happy when we came inside, but he was soaked because he kept slipping on the deck.