Simply Real: Chloe Turns 9 Months Old + (Almost) 11 Weeks Pregnant

Not even joking... this was the first time she ever did this!!  To commemorate turning 9 months old, Chloe discovered that the toilet paper goes a bit further than she had originally anticipated.  Such a curious baby...

I know I'm late on this blog post *-_- I haven't exactly been feeling too good (more on that later...) but on to the good stuff!

On the fifth, the Chloe turned 9 months old.  I know I probably say this every month but she just gets keeps growing leaps and bounds and she never ceases to amaze Thomas and me.  This past month she's learned how to (safely) get off the bed without someone reminding her what to do, she constantly wants to feed herself (both with her hands and she tries to take the utensils from us), she can pull herself to a standing position and is practicing how to keep her balance without holding on to anything.

She has five teeth that have completely broken through, and she currently is dealing with the sixth one making its appearance (she's been really fussy the past few nights... and extra drooly).  For the first few teeth, she didn't seem too bothered by them coming through.  But these last few have made her extra fussy (especially when she's tired) and clingy.  We use the Hyland's Teething Tablets when her gums seem to really be bothering her.  We also started brushing her teeth with the Orajel Tooth/Gum Cleanser.  My dentist said that a lot of irritation comes from the plaque build up on their gums, and burshing regularly has seemed to help her.  She really enjoys it.

The first night Chloe got her teeth/gums brushed!

Chloe will still eat pretty much anything.  She seems to love spicy food and juicy fruits.  Thomas is perfecting his signature fried rice recipe... which is a bit on the spicy side and she absolutely loves it.  She doesn't even bat an eye.  I think it probably has something to do with all the vermicelli noodles with grilled pork & spring rolls topped with sriracha and chili oil I ate while I was pregnant... yuuuuum I could really go for some of that right now... Anyway!  Costco had some gorgeous mangos on sale so we bought a box and well... Chloe loved them!

In fact...

She loved them so much...

Daddy went back to buy her more =P No... but she really does love them.  She loves them more than peaches.

Aside from eating, Chloe loves reading and talking.  She loves to look at the pictures in the books and turning the pages.  She loves to imitate sounds that she likes... especially when she hears songs and singing.  Her little personality just keeps blossoming more and more everyday...

Along with Chloe being 9 months old now, I am also (almost) 11 weeks pregnant.  It really is amazing how different this pregnancy is (so far) compared to when I was pregnant with Chloe.  I barely had any nausea or headaches when I was pregnant with Chloe.  The only real problem was I was tired a lot.  My energy level seems to be pretty good this time around (probably since it has to be with all the running around we do with Chloe), but I have never had so much nausea in my life!  Once simple tasks such as brushing my teeth are enough to make me gag (or worse...) and when the nausea is coupled with migraines (which by the way run in my family) it's almost unbearable.  It was the worse the last week Thomas was gone and his first week back.  If I was lucky I would have a migraine or some nausea... when I was unluckily... I'd have both.  When you're pregnant a lot of the medicine a person would take to relieve their headaches... are kinda off limits to you now.  It was a lot of trying to just take it easy and rest.  My stomach was pretty unpredictable as well... somedays eating a little bit of something would be enough to make me feel better... other days nothing at all would make my stomach stop turning.  Luckily... this past week has gotten a little bit better.  I think we're finding a new routine that works for us as a family and we're slowly getting back in to the swing of everything (which allows me to sneak in a nap).  I'm hoping that once we pass the first trimester mark, the nausea will subside.  Keeping my fingers crossed...

Oh, I'm also breaking out like crazy.  That kinda happened when I was pregnant with Chloe, but not this early on.

Food cravings (which amazingly will be the only things that don't make my stomach ever turn): Pizza... Steaks... Salads (of all sorts: potato, macaroni, caesar, asian, cole slaw, you name it, I'll probably wanna eat it)... Vermicelli noodles... Spicy food... Ugh... I love spicy food... Korean food... Garlic... Thomas' breakfast omelets...

I also have a super nose which sometimes turn me off of food.  For example, we make sure the kitchen is clean (aside from Chloe's last bottle of the night).  I hate waking up in the morning to find dishes in the sink and a dirty kitchen.  So we've been making it a habit to make sure all the dishes are washed, the stove, counters, and sink are wiped down every single night.  But the past few days I've been smelling eggs.  Not even rotten eggs... just eggs.  And it was disgusting.  Of course, Thomas couldn't smell it... but finally by the third morning he said he possibly smelled a whiff of it.  I think we may have finally gotten rid of the source... but every morning I did not want to eat eggs until that smell stopped bothering me.

Other than the tummy and migraine problems things have been great.  I'm just so glad that Thomas is finally back home!  Chloe and I were getting tired of staying cooped up at home all day.  I hope everyone has a great work week!

Simply Real: We've Got Some Big News!

So... About a month ago Chloe kinda decided to wean herself off of breast milk.  She started to give me a hard time when it came to feeding her and I eventually realized that she was barely even nursing and more just messing around (I think she was just trying to humor me since I wanted to breastfeed her til she was one soo badly...).  Anyway... Since I stopped breastfeeding I knew I had to change my birth control from the mini pill to a regular dosage.  Breastfeeding and taking the mini pill (religiously) is usually enough to prevent someone from getting pregnant... But like they say... If you wanna hear God laugh just tell him what you've got planned!  So I went to the doctor to change my pill... only to walk out with some exciting news!

Surprise!

Anywho... Unfortunately at the time it wasn't all good news.  Because of the date of my last period and how the amniotic sac was measuring... Our doctor was slightly concerned that she couldn't see the baby.  She said that there was a chance that it was still just too early to see the baby... OR there was a chance that it was an ectopic pregnancy (basically a complication in our pregnancy).  If that was the case... It would be life threatening for me and we wouldn't be able to keep the baby.

Thomas and I have gotten into the habit of trying to really connect with God; to see and appreciate His presence in our everyday lives.  I don't think many people know this... But we almost didn't get the apartment that we're living in right now.  We got a phone call from the property manager saying that our application was approved... but with a cosigner (since we're first time renters).  And this cosigner had to already be a resident in the state of WA.  Thomas and I were doing this big move to finally spread our wings and give our shot at truly being independent.  We didn't want to start this new chapter off having to be such a heavy burden on someone.  So, I asked if she could see if we could get approved with first and last months rent.  That phone call was on a Friday afternoon, so she said she wouldn't be able to have an answer for me until Monday.  So... we waited.  Over the weekend we prayed that God would do what was right for us (we try say those types of prayers... rather than asking for what we want specifically).  If this was the right time for us to make this transition... It would all work itself out.  If not... We wouldn't get approved.

Well... I guess you know the outcome of the phone call that following Monday considering we're now here in the beautiful Pacific North West.  Anyway... The reason for my digression... Later Monday night Thomas asked me, "Why did God scare us like that?"

After thinking about it for a bit I told thomas, "To keep us in check... To remind us "Hey! I'm helping you guys out by making all these pieces fall into place! But don't forget that you need to do your part too!"  He knows we can do it... We have it in us... And He will give us everything we need to do it: the opportunities, the ideas, the strength, and support.  But we need to keep putting in the work too... And stay grateful and humble."

That's how we feel right now.  The past three weeks were pretty agonizing for us... It was a constant emotional roller coaster.  One minute we're talking about our future with this baby, how Chloe would be such a great big sister, things we can't wait to do as a family.  Only to be brought back to reality by the fact that... If we don't see the baby at the next ultrasound, or if baby isn't where he/she needs to be... Well... You know.  Thomas and I prepared ourselves for the worse... while hoping and praying for the best.  We knew that if we were able to keep this baby, God did it because we are ready and it's what we need in our lives.

When we really think about it, all of this couldn't have happened at a better time.  It's still early enough in the pregnancy where I'm not completely useless during this move (not that Thomas really let's me do any heavy lifting anyway... I just tend to get in the way =P).  So we have lots of time to settle in.  Not to mention the fact that we just moved almost 3,000 miles away from practically everything and everyone we know.  When baby is born (oh! by the way the due date as of now is jan. 8!  Two days before Nana's birthday!)  Chloe will be 16 months old.  She will be old enough to kind of understand and appreciate a little sibling and they can grow up together and hopefully be really close.

We know what some people must be thinking "they have a baby already... plus they just moved... now they're going to have another one?!"  But Thomas and I aren't letting ourselves be bothered by those thoughts.  All we can do is run with the blessings that God has given us.  We know that this means we probably won't get a good night's rest for probably the next few years (not to mention how expensive kids are) but hey!  No one said being a parent was easy.  What every parent does say, however, is how rewarding and what a wonderful gift parenthood is.  Thomas and I are beyond grateful for all the support and encouraging words from our friends and family.  And we're even more grateful for all the advice that you parents of two little kiddies have for us!  We knew this was going to be an exciting new chapter... but we had no idea what God had in store for us.  But then again... when do you ever really know. <3