Sweet Adelyn

My brother had a baby back in June and luckily even though they live a good distance away we've been able to see his little girl Adelyn more than we expected. But normally when we get to see her the family comes along as well. We get good time with her but there is always something different about taking care of a child when their parents are not around. Well we got this special opportunity! It was actually the first night away for the parents!!!

My brother had an awards ceremony for his accomplishments at work this past weekend. Congrats again Ryan!! So the couple left Miss Adelyn with us for the afternoon/night/overnight till morning. We had a great time spending some quality time with her. She did great except for being a little stinker and not wanting to eat her bottles. But despite her resistance to eating the bottles she still did amazing. Normally you don't love getting woke up in the middle of the night but I didn't mind since I got a 50 minute cuddle session with the little one. It is a rare experience for me so I totally soaked it up!! Sevea loved spending time with her cousin as well. Although she insists her name is Anna. She now likes to call other babies Anna :)

Addy adjusted to our life well. Watching Sevea keep food from Lily :)

Isn't she just adorable! I may be biased though

Addy just loves to walk around, she was entertained almost the whole time this way

I love so many of her cute expressions!

Grayson Leo Zimmer

He's here!! Almost 3 weeks early so a little surprising but Carissa and Andrew welcomed their little bundle of joy today. He is doing great. He weighed 6 lbs 8 oz and was 20 inches long. The whole experience was such an amazing thing for me to experience. It truly ranks right up there with the birth of my own daughter. It was just so incredible to watch him being born and to be there for support for Carissa. I can't even describe the emotions and the moment. I cried and it was such an amazing moment. (could have to do with the pregnancy hormones..haha) I think having my own child and especially seeing Carissa with Sevea just took the whole situation to a new level. I just can't thank God enough for allowing me to be apart of it....well and Troy for being great and watching the daycare kids!!

On to the good stuff...pictures of the little one. Here is the newest addition to the Pearcy family....Grayson Leo Zimmer. We love you so much!

Week 19 Update

About time for a pregnancy update as I haven't really shared much about the pregnancy besides the story of before and finding out and telling everyone. I'm not sure that I'll do this weekly but I look forward to using the blog to remember the pregnancy and to keep everyone informed.

How I feel: I feel great right now. This pregnancy is definitely different than Sevea but many things are different as well (I am not working, I already have a child to chase, I weighed less to begin with, etc.) With Sevea I had to eat snacks in order to feel better. I had morning sickness pretty early on but only lasted till the beginning of the second trimester. This time however eating often made me feel worse. I often felt the worst at night after supper time. The sickness started later, around 10 weeks and lasted till around 15-16 weeks. With both Sevea and this one I can't complain. It really wasn't all that bad and I took being sick as a sign that things were going well.

Currently my only irritation is I get the onset of heartburn. Luckily it hasn't kicked in yet. With Sevea I remember having it almost the whole 2nd trimester and here and there for the 3rd. So far it just seems like I will get it and then goes away. So I haven't dug into the stash of tums yet! Thank goodness because I am not a fan. Thankfully I only experience heartburn while pregnant!! I have some additional tips and tricks from the recent pregnant girls so at least I have more options if it gets worse.

Weight Gain: For me I am thankful for this category. With Sevea the constant snacking really started me off on a bad foot. I was really hoping to keep my weight gain in check this time and the morning sickness I had this time surely seems to have helped. We'll see how well the rest of the pregnancy goes considering it will be summer and I may have one to ten more smore's than normal thinking it is okay :)

Baby bump: I am growing! I feel fat in a lot of things and can just tell that my stomach is getting bigger. But right now it still looks a lot like I am fat versus pregnant. (Or so I think..hehe) I'm still wearing all of my normal clothes although some of the shirts just don't feel as comfortable. Thankfully losing the 13 lbs before getting pregnant this time should allow me to wear my normal jeans for a little while longer. Not to mention I do have some "fat" pants from after I had Sevea. But we'll see what ends up being comfortable....I loved maternity clothes so I am sure they will win out soon enough :)

Baby Center: I love the website babycenter.com. I always love reading the weekly updates and I know many other moms feel the same way. Here is what my email had to say for the week:
Your baby's sensory development is exploding! Her brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that she may be able to hear your voice now, so don't be shy about reading aloud, talking to her, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you.
Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now. Her kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on her skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.

Movement: I love this part of pregnancy! I swear I felt movement before 16 weeks when they say you typically can first feel it, some even say between 18-22 weeks. I felt movement with Sevea at 16 weeks but performed my stomach crunching technique to first feel her. That did not work this time around. But I still felt pretty sure around 15 weeks that the movements I was feeling were indeed not gas or anything else. The movements have been even more apparent lately. Last night was the first time where I felt a ton of little kicks in a row. I am taking the time to cherish each movement I feel and to remember how blessed I am to be carrying this child. I can't wait to feel the bigger kicks soon and compare how much this child moves in comparison to Sevea.

Well that is my long update for the week! My next appointment is on Monday March 28th. I look forward to knowing everything is going well and we'll schedule the ultrasound for very soon. We aren't going to find out the gender of this baby ahead of time but we very much look forward to seeing how the baby is doing.

Sevea - Big Sister?

So we told Sevea a while ago that she was going to be a big sister. I am not quite sure she gets it though. She knows that Auntie Cissa has a baby in her tummy and when we ask what is in mommy's tummy she says a baby. But I don't think she truly gets what is about to happen. For Christmas I purchased her a big sister, little sister doll set. She has loved playing with them and will talk about playing with sister. This morning Troy asked her if she wanted a baby sister or baby brother and she talked about a baby sister but we realized it was just the dolls she was talking about. (She had put them in the swing to hang out!) So I don't think she quite gets that there will be a baby around all the time but I am pretty sure she will be a great big sister. It was cute yesterday afternoon when the infant was waking up from nap. Sevea came into the room with me and took along the tool bucket. You remember the one she uses as a step stool! She took the bucket and put it next to the pack n play. She proceeded to say "Reach baby Bre, reach!" She was trying to get the infant up from her nap. I think this is a good sign that when the time comes she'll be a good big sister...we can only hope!!

Shower Fun & Babies

With babies on the way we had a great time celebrating with baby showers. First was my friend Keeley who was due with twins on May 1st. Michelle and Erin Claire did a great job of hosting a brunch shower with a pea pod theme. Keeley had a great turnout and received many wonderful gifts. Those babies are surely blessed and loved. We enjoyed some egg bake, sausage & apple meatballs, fresh fruit, and punch. Unfortunately I concentrated on the event and not the pictures so I don't have any. But trust me it was all delicious and we had a great time. Learned that Target makes some cute cupcake "cake" creations as well even though they don't follow your orders. It was soooo good I had to eat two and bring home Sevea one. I "had" to!! :)

Next up we celebrated Carissa's upcoming arrival due April 16th. When Carissa first found out she was pregnant I thought of doing a bee theme and it turned out great. Michelle suggested a very fitting meal for the couple, pasta! It was perfect considering every big moment in their relationship has pretty much centered around pasta...I can't account for the actual baby making :) Not only was the meal a good idea but it proved to make all of our jobs easier. The food could just sit in the crock pots. Michelle did an excellent job with three different kinds of pasta including a choice of butter, marinara, and sun-dried tomato pasta. There was a choice of veggies, chicken, and tiny meatballs to top your selections. We had garlic bread made by Michelle and two large trays of veggies and dip. Keeley's husband Matt also brought some life party mix that everyone enjoyed. Then there was desserts!!! Keeley made cupcakes in yellow and black. Angie contributed fruity pebble bars and special k bars. I made some bee cookies and then a bee hive cake. I was so happy with the cake. It was a favorite of Carissa's and that says a lot since she doesn't love cake. It was lemon with a raspberry whipped filling with a buttercream frosting. She raved about it so I knew I did something right. My job was a success!! We played some games and of course Carissa opened some great gifts. All of this happened while the boys enjoyed some poker, beer pong, and watching some guy tv. It was a great time for the boys to be boys especially before the baby comes.

Sevea and I were both festive in our black and yellow!

The shower went well and now the excitement of the birth of the babies comes next!!

You may have noticed I said Keeley was due May 1st not is due. The due date no longer matters since the babies are here!! Regan and Weston were born on March 16th at 7:26 and 7:27 to the happy parents. They were born a little earlier than planned but both babies are breathing on their own and doing well. Keeley is recovering and surely not going to miss the swollen ankles/feet she developed. The babies have some time to spend in the hospital but it is such a blessing to have them as healthy as they are. God and so many people love them so much already. They have bright futures ahead of them and I can't wait to watch them grow!! Sevea did something really cute the other day and I thought of Keeley and how she will get to experience these moments. I am so happy for both Keeley and Matt that they get to enjoy all that parenthood will bring.

Done!

I can't believe it...I just turned in my last assignments of the quarter, of the year, of my bachelor's degree program! I am done. I am done with worrying about homework every single day. I am done with sacrifices made for the past 15 months. I made it happen. I earned my bachelor's degree! I always knew I could put the work in and was smart enough to do it. But that didn't make it real. I always thought I would go back and finish but life tends to get in the way and honestly school isn't exactly something people tend to look forward to. I am glad my desire was strong enough and that life worked in my favor to make this happen. Many people earn bachelor's degrees but for me I couldn't be more proud. It was a goal and I accomplished it. I struggled trying to make it work with having a family, at one point a full-time job, staying connected with my friends, and trying to still stay sane and happy with things in my life. I am excited for the free time I have available. I am excited about being more emotionally and mentally and physically involved in my life. Sevea and Troy deserve it! It was definitely worth the extra effort the last six months taking on such high course loads so that I have time with Sevea before another distraction enters our lives. I still can't believe that in two weeks I won't have to pick up a school book to do an assignment....I very much look forward to picking up that book my brother bought me for Christmas in 2009. It is the simple things and they are all worth it!

More to share continued...

For me sharing the news with friends and family is so much easier by doing something special than just blurting it out. I have a hard time finding the appropriate time to say something or what to say. Yes it should be as easy as....I'm pregnant...but for me it isn't :) So let's dive into more sharing of the news.

Two of our friends, Michelle and Chris, recently purchased a townhome and have done some remodeling. They boys were planning to complete the hardwood flooring project so I thought this would be a great time to share the news. However I expected all the girls to hang out while the boys worked. Not all the girls got to share in this sweet treat but they enjoyed seeing the picture.

This was the desert plate I presented to the girls!

Troy brought this plate over for the boys to enjoy!

If you were wondering these little nests are made with chocolate chips and peanut butter melted with chow mein noodles stirred in. Simple but I really enjoyed the crunchy texture and of course the flavor. Perfect simple little treat for Easter time!

Carissa, Katie, and I share a love for scrapbooking and try to take two weekends out of the year to scrapbook together (most often the only time we do it..oops!) I used my idea of when I was pregnant with Sevea to tell Carissa for Katie this time around.

I made this as she sat there but since I was working on Sevea's book she didn't think anything of it. We often ask for advice on our pages and Katie had nothing to change about this page :)

Since my both of my brother's live out of town, I needed to think of something that could be sent in the mail. My brother Andy recently had a baby boy in January and a friend threw them a welcome baby shower. We received burp cloths in the mail to decorate and send back. I knew this would be a great way to share the news so I held on to mine until I was ready to share the news. They may have gotten it late but I am sure they loved the design!

My other brother has some different favorites when you consider candy. I was thinking about things he liked and thought about circus peanuts (these are not as easy to find as they once were). I thought this would be a great choice for Ryan and in the end a funny story will be remembered along with it.

I love my sister-in-law Leslie even more now! Ryan isn't easily surprised and so she took an opportunity to play a little trick on him. He was at work when the package arrived but Leslie opened the mail and discovered the great news. Instead of leaving the mailing package (and the pregnancy announcement) for him to see she just left this package only. The two of them have a daughter, Adelyn, who was born in June. So when Ryan saw this package he assumed it was Leslie who was pregnant. She let him stir with this thought for about an hour. She then showed him the pregnancy announcement and he assumed not only was Leslie pregnant but I was as well. I can say she really did surprise him...I just hope he has recovered :)

Finally the announcement that we sent to all our other family and friends.

The news is out and we definitely look forward to sharing the rest of our journey!

More to share

Up next to learn of our news was the Buchert's and my mom/Gary. It was Brezlyn's birthday at the beginning of February so we decided this was the time to share the news. Carissa helped with the idea for Angie and it was very fitting!

I filled a basket full of mini items that Angie loves. A small bottle of coke, small cookies, and mini candy bars. What a sweet way to announce the news :) She loved it and was excited for the growing family.

Next up were the grandparents. We knew the timing to tell Troy's parents would work out well for early birthday gifts. We gave them each t-shirts that we weren't able to get in time for Christmas and included a card. The front had the following:

Then the middle said: 

We know you aren't 2 years old but 2 special people wanted to say Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday from Sevea and Baby #2

For my side we thought sharing the news would be fun with a cute Valentine. We had made these when I worked at the daycare and I thought they were too cute not to share.

The funny thing is my mom read the card twice and still just thought it was a cute Valentine. Finally Carissa told my mom to read it again and notice the bottom part. It was cute when she finally saw the real reason for the Valentine :)

Finally sharing the news

After finding out we were expecting again, I thought it would be so hard to wait and not share the news. But after the first couple days passed it turned out to be quite easy. It was actually a relief for Troy and I to not tell our family and friends right away. It allowed time for us to be excited but also to share our fears with each other. It seemed like the day would never come but finally we had our first appointment at 10 weeks and 3 days on January 24th. Our doctor was aware of the miscarriage and rather than talk a bunch we got to the ultrasound right away. This is standard practice for our doctor and we were super excited to be able to see how things were going. It was such a relief to see the little peanut moving around and to hear that it had a good heartbeat. The best words the doctor muttered were "It looks to be very much a viable pregnancy. Yeah Congrats!" I was able to breathe a little more.

Although I still wasn't super ready to tell people the news I knew I needed to take the opportunities that presented themselves. My friend Vicky was nice enough to come watch the daycare kids while Troy and I went to the appointment. Since we used to work together at the daycare center and she also had her own daycare at one point, I requested some assistance in figuring out art projects for the month. Eventually we got to Valentine's week and I showed her a sample of what the kids could make. It really was just a card announcing the news.

Sevea wanted to be in the picture too...turned out so cute!

One person down and many others to go! Next on the list was Carissa. I thought she would be the most difficult to keep the secret from since I see her so often. But when I did tell her I knew it was the right timing and it was nice to share in just her pregnancy for longer! I planned to make a lemon cake for Carissa's baby shower. So I told her I made a sample cake to see if the cake was what I wanted. I wanted her to try the cake so I took a piece out and brought it over to her house. After putting some paint on the walls in the baby's room it was time for lunch. I thought Carissa would never want to eat the cake! She wasn't really into eating the taco salad she made so I quickly suggested she eat the cake instead :)

I hid a little note under her piece of cake

I thought for sure finding a piece of paper under cake would have given it away but she actually needed to read the note

Although our bellies won't be huge together, we are still thankful for this dream to be true again

Carissa was super excited and even more excited to hear that I had been to the doctor and things were good. For Carissa the miscarriage was a loss she needed to process herself. So we knew it would be easier for her to have true excitement with having a little less to fear knowing there was a heartbeat and things looked good. Her reaction was definitely worth waiting those 6 1/2 weeks for!! There is still more to come....

The story continues

So we did what we needed to do :) Then you wait. In any situation waiting is the worst. The waiting ended on December 11th when I took a test with a negative result. Of course a little bummed but we didn't expect much. Well a few more days passed and still no new cycle. So I figured with our dating anniversary on the 15th I better take another test just in case so I could surprise Troy. I took a test on the morning of Tuesday December 14th and could not believe the digital test that resulted in pregnant. When I found out I was pregnant with Sevea I didn't trust the normal tests so I went and got a digital one. Well this time I just couldn't believe the digital test so went and bought the cheapest normal one. I just needed to see two lines for some reason. So it finally sunk in!
If you look back to around December 15th you'll see my post about our anniversary dinner. But there was a part you didn't get to see. Before heading to dinner I gave Troy the exciting news that he didn't see coming. (I had told him about the negative test but also tried to fool him by putting feminine wrappers in the trash to throw him off) For Christmas Troy always gets me and Sevea an ornament for the tree. So I thought I would give him one to share the news.

Since Sevea made him a card for the last pregnancy he sort of thought this was more than just a coloring sheet

The blog is a great excuse to take pictures without it being weird or suspicious!!

You tricked me! After the sheet was just a coloring sheet he thought I was indeed NOT pregnant.

The blue doesn't mean we are having a boy or hope for a boy...just the only color I had available to me

We both were very excited and felt really blessed to have it happen so quick. But we weren't ready to share our news for quite some time. We wanted to get to the doctor first!

Blog Info

So I have had questions on how to receive email updates and make comments on the blog posts I make. I know not everyone uses google reader like I do so I found a way to add a subscription to email feature. If you look under the About Me section on the right of the blog you should be able to type in your email and you will receive an email informing you that I have updated the blog.

In order to post a comment (which please do, I love hearing from anyone who reads!) look at the bottom of any post and you will see 0 comments (or 1 or 2 or 3...however many comments have been made). Click on that link and it will bring you to a post comment section. You can select and account that you already have or the last two options are available for an anonymous comment or just your name can be used for Name/URL.

Hope this helps! Thanks for reading!

Lost but not forgotten

We have lost. A loss no one wishes for and no one wants to experience. But it happened. We lost but we cannot forget. Our circumstances definitely made it more difficult. We were ready for baby #2 and were excited to share this experience with friends and family. Carissa announced her pregnancy the second month we were trying so it was an exciting month hoping it would happen for us too. Then my good friend Keeley shared her excitement of pregnancy a couple weeks after Carissa. That weekend turned into even more excitement when I learned I would join the pack. 3 friends all pregnant 2 weeks apart. How exciting and crazy! For Carissa and I it was a dream come true. One month apart, we did it, we made our dream come true. Moments created are still worth sharing.

Sevea got to help surprise daddy!

Blurry picture but he was surprised!

She thought I needed help with homework. Really it announced the pregnancy!

Our excitement turned into sadness a month later. We were losing the baby. I had to let the dream go. The loss was difficult but the circumstances made it incredibly hard. It was more than just losing a baby. It was so much more. I don't dwell on the negative for long so we picked ourselves up pretty quickly and were forced to wait. The waiting was the difficult part. We were told 3 months was best but after a lot of research and emotional digging we decided one month after the miscarriage that we felt in our hearts it was better to move on and that meant quit waiting. Even through heartache we knew to keep positive since we had experienced short periods of trying for a baby. We hoped for the best and did what we had to do. And like they say, the rest is history :)

Bumpy Road to Excitement

When I started this blog back in September I thought what an exciting way to share news about our little family with our friends and family. This blog has been great for me. It is a great way to feel more connected with the daily activities and fun things that I am blessed to experience with Sevea. I truly reflect on how lucky I am with each post. It is a way to remember that my family is special in its own way without comparing it to anyone else. Because we know it can be hard to not compare or to not want what others have or even to feel some form of jealousy. This blog has been great for keeping me in my life and truly loving what I have.
I didn't realize in September that the blog would provide this for me. But I am thankful because it reminds me of great things in my life even when I have lost. My true thoughts behind starting the blog were sharing exciting news about a family of 4 (or 5 including Lily). It was going to be a great way to document a pregnancy we were so excited about. A way to share our excitement with those we love. But the blog is 6 months old and there was no news shared. A pregnancy was lost and never discussed on here. It was a difficult time. We dealt with it and have accepted it as part of the bumpy road to excitement. Because now we can feel even more blessed and even more thankful and even more happy to share the news of our second baby due in August 2011. Stay tuned for more baby talk :)

Favorite moment of the day

It is moments like this that remind me that every minute of every single day I am truly blessed. Sevea was so sweet this morning. She was definitely in a different mood this morning. She only wanted to sit on my lap. Which is always nice. But when she said she wanted to rock at 8:30 in the morning my heart melted. We went into her room and got her blanket and baby, snuggled up in the chair and rocked. Okay so this all happened in a matter of minutes so the rocking didn't last long but boy did I enjoy it while it lasted. Soon enough she'll be too old for rocking and want nothing to do with me. I hope for many more moments like this and will try to remember to cherish each and every one of them.

New fashion statement

Sevea is sure to be a little fashionista when she grows up. She loves to wear this towel as a hat and just thinks it looks great on anyone. She also thought it would be great to take a picture of me while I took one of her :)

Cupcake turned cookie

Turning funfetti cake into cookies was genius! (The recipe is right on the box) The simpleness of a funfetti cake batter works perfectly for making cookies. You get a sugar cookie type result and the frosting just takes it over the top. I loved how simple these were to make as well. Yum! Perfect for a baby shower or Easter since the sprinkles were pastel colors too.