And the Results....

My girl has been practicing a new version of one of our favorite songs, to sing for our new friend:

 

(the volume is a bit low, and the pictures I'm holding may be hard to see.  One is Logan, me, and our girl, and the top one is our ultrasound picture.  And at the end of the video, my girl says, "toot," because some of her favorite dinosaurs make music by hooting and tooting with their crests...so she is adding to the music!)

My Grown Up Girl Figures It Out

My girl is such a smart cookie!  Over the last several weeks we have been talking about babies in a general sort of way.  Back in February, our girl saw a Blue's Clues episode where one of the characters had a new baby in their family.  She was fascinated with this, and acted it out repeatedly, taking trips to the pretend baby hospital to pick out a baby to bring home.  Usually the baby ended up being one of her dolls, and she would take care of it, or ask me to take care of it.  I asked her at one point if she would like a real baby, and she told me, "No, I'm just fine.  I don't want a real baby, just pretend ones."  I asked her why she didn't want a real baby, and she told me she didn't want to share.  OK.....

Well, for the last several years as we've had lessons and discussions about families and siblings (like in church when they talk about being nice to your siblings), we explained to our girl that it was ok to be just her, that there are all kinds of families, some with lots of kids, some with one, and some with just parents, and that each is ok and special.  We would tell her that it was ok to not have brothers or sisters, and that it made her special to be the only kid in our family.  So, I guess this being okay without a real baby wasn't a real shock.  However, now that things are changing a bit, we have started talking more about babies, still in a general way.  We tell stories about what it was like when we had our girl, how it was to have her in my tummy, and how things were when she was a little baby.  We pulled out her baby book and showed her pictures.  She started warming up to the idea of babies in general, but we still wanted to wait to talk about bringing home a specific baby to be part of our family until things were a little farther along and hopeful.  All she really knew is that Mama has been sick a lot lately.  She is so helpful and great at playing on her own, or getting me a drink of water at the right time, or reading me stories, or reminding me to take a deep breath...all very helpful things.  Still, it has been a challenge, since we aren't able to do many of the things she has been used to doing, and it has been hard on Logan as well.  They both have amazing amounts of patience and are wonderful!

So, on Monday, my girl wanted to make a floor poster.  She was insisting that I needed to get down on the floor to color with her, and I was trying to explain that it wasn't really comfortable on the floor for Mama.  She kept insisting, and I finally asked her to look at my tummy.  I asked her if she thought it was getting a bit big.  She looked at it, and said, "Mama!  Your tummy is getting SO BIG!  Maybe there's a baby in it!"

I was a bit surprised that she had made that logical jump, but asked her how we would know?  She responded that she didn't know.  I suggested we could go to the doctor's and they could tell us if there was a baby inside, that they could listen and maybe feel the baby move.  I had already been feeling little movements for about a week, and thought it wouldn't be too long before my girl would be able to feel them too, and we had a doctor's appointment the next day.  My girl was so excited.  She thought having the doctor find out if there was a baby inside Mama was a great idea.  I then told her we could even go to the hospital and have a picture taken with a big machine, and they might see if the baby was a sister or a brother.  She was really excited about that prospect.  I asked her if she would like a brother or a sister, and she quickly and enthusiastically replied, "Mama, I've always wanted a little sister!!!!"  I was a bit surprised by that, and asked, "But what if it is a brother instead?"  She replied, "Well, then I'll change my mind and want a little brother instead!"  So, I felt a bit relieved that she would be ok with whatever the outcome was.  When we went to the doctor the next day, they did all the normal check up stuff, and found the heartbeat with the little doppler.  My girl was so excited!  She also recognized the little machine as being like the one we have at home, and realized that we could listen to the baby heartbeat at home (Logan got me a little handheld fetal doppler for Valentine's day, and I had been able to hear the heartbeat once or twice a week from week 10, which was a huge reassurance for me).  So, my girl was WAY excited and looking forward to the next day when we could go for an ultrasound, or go to the hospital to take a picture with the big machine.  I was glad that she had figured out the whole baby thing, to an extent at least, and was happy about it, and looking forward to being the grown up big sister.  What a great girl!!!!

So, the next day, we went for our ultrasound.  Our girl was so excited to see pictures and to see the baby moving around.  We were hoping for a 3D picture of our little one's face, but first one and then both arms ended up in front of the face, and weren't budging, so we didn't get a very good view.  They were, however, able to see that everything looked good, and that baby was healthy and a good size for 19 weeks.  Logan told me he know right off from seeing the first images, but it took me a bit to figure out what was what, and it took the tech a bit to make sure about gender.  Or course our grown up girl was really excited, and kept asking about when she was in my tummy.  After we got a couple pictures, we came home and our girl put them on the fridge and then requested to see the pictures of her in my tummy.  She also started announcing the news to everyone she could, "We are going to have a new baby soon!"  It was pretty neat that our big girl can be part of this whole thing, and is old enough to understand parts of it, and to be interested in her own story as well!  What great memories, and what fun to share with her and feel her enthusiasm!

And, since my girl has so many questions about when she was in my tummy, I want to do better at documenting this one, so I can have stories to tell this next one....so here is our progress at 19 weeks, 4 days (the day of our ultrasound):

Latest Project

We have been working on something special for the last few months, and it has become time to share with our family and loved ones.  We wanted to involve our grown up girl, who agreed that we could make a special shirt for her.  She was very excited about wearing it, even though she did not understand what it meant at first.  So here she is, in her new shirt:

My Little Planner

My girl is a planner.  She has started making pictures as her 'plans' for how she wants you to make things.  She is certain that her parents can make whatever it is she has drawn out.  She has made plans and instructions for clothes she wants me to make for her.  She included the colors and designs on fabric choices as well:

After seeing a cool play set at Costco, she decided her Daddy could make one for her.  She came home and drew up the plans.  She included all the things she would want, including a slide, swing, sand box, and water table.  When Daddy told her it might be too much to make, she drew another picture that was a little scaled down (there was no water table).

She also wants to be a helper for Daddy.  She loves that he builds houses, and decided he needed some plans.  She drew several pictures of houses, and had me staple them together to make a book so Daddy would know what kinds of houses to build.  She even told me she hadn't colored the insides of the houses, so he could choose the colors himself.  The houses included a rainbow house, kitty house, doll house, slide house, balloon house, ice cream cone house, and many more.  After she gave it to him, she asked him which house he was working on.  When he told her he wanted to do the rainbow house, she asked when she could come see it.

She has also made a lot of books lately, some with ideas for things she would like to do, like parts of a party, or sometimes with letters she knows and numbers and shapes.  Sometimes she draws the pictures for a story and has some help from Mama to write captions, and sometimes she writes the captions herself.  I love seeing her writing.  She has been really brave about sounding things out and trying to spell them phonetically.  At first it was a bit hard to figure out what the words actually were, but we are starting to get better at reading them.  And she has been learning to leave spaces between words, which really helps out.

She also really loves to write notes.  She writes notes for her friends, family, and teachers.  She writes notes to welcome Daddy home from work.  She writes notes to tell me she loves me.  She writes notes to say thank you.  She puts her notes in envelopes. writes the names on the front, and then puts a sticker in the corner for a stamp.  She goes through a LOT of envelopes, and since most of the notes are invitations to pretend parties, they don't get mailed, but she certainly has a lot of fun writing them!  We got a huge stack of paper on craigslist and it has made it possible for her to practice writing, drawing, cutting, pasting, and use LOTS of paper, without my feeling like it is all the printer paper getting used up.  

She is a great girl and we love to see how grown up she is getting.  Even if we as the parents can't always do all the things she has planned, it is fun to see all the creative things she comes up with plans for!  

Easter Extravaganza!!!!

Ok, so it may not have been an extravaganza exactly, but we did try to do somethings that were fun all together as a family.  We got together with some friends on Saturday, April 7 out at Sunshine Cove (WAY out towards the end of the road), and roasted hot dogs and had an egg hunt on the beach.  This was the first time we've done an egg hunt for our girl, and she had a great time.

 She also had a great time digging in the sand, making sand castles, and 'fishing' with rocks (this is where she picks up a rock and throws it into the water).  We had a lot of fun, and were glad to enjoy some sunshine and be together.  As I sat in a folding chair near the sand, my girl decided she needed to share with me.  She brought me a bucket of sand, which she dumped near my feet, and told me she wanted to share with me, and explained that she "brought me some sand, and love!  The bucket holds sand and love for you, because I love you!"  How cute!!!  She did this three times, and was great at sharing!

On Sunday, my girl got to wear her new special Easter dress that Grandma Parker made for her.  She looks so grown up in this dress!!!!  I love the length, and my girl loves the twirly factor!  She also loves the little purse and found it to be a good place to carry her scriptures on Sunday, and all kinds of things every other day of the week.  Many thanks go to Grandma for making the dress and sharing her talents with our little family! 

The forecast for the day was 'plentiful sunshine,' which is a rare thing here, and we enjoyed it!  Much better than the 'occasional sunshine' or 'moments of sun.'  And one of the funniest parts of the day:  Logan got some pink peeps for us to share.  My girl took me over to them and said, "Look mama!  Aren't they cute little chickens?"  Now she asks if we can have 'chicken time' when she thinks it is time to eat one.  Admittedly, that is not the kind of chicken that first comes to mind when she says this, but it is cute!  She even drew me a picture of one:

Valentine's Visitor!!!

We had a great visit from Grandma Parker for Valentine's.  We love to have her come all the way up North to see us!  My girl especially was in need of some grandma time, and took full advantage of having a play mate to do lots of fun things.  The girls got to make great treats for the big day, which also included a special breakfast and dinner by Daddy, a balloon chandelier and streamers (left up from our girl's birthday, also by Daddy), and a skirt made by Mama (the only thing I've been able to sew in the last several months!).  The girls even made hearts, cut them out and put them up around the house.  My girl will latch on to any excuse to party, but really we love to celebrate love!!!

They played dress up and did lots of coloring (my girl used her stickers for heads and then drew bodies for each friend, so cute!):

 And of course there was lots of pretending, singing, and playing games.  She even brought an extra train and more tracks for all the dinosaurs!!!!  

We had a great visit, and would love to be closer so we could visit more often!  Hooray for Grandma!!! 

Grown Up Birthday Girl

 My girl is SO grown up!!!!!  She turned five in January and had a great time planning her wonderful celebration.  She chose to make a great birthday shirt, very cute with rainbow and balloons.  She colored a picture and we ironed it onto a t-shirt.  

Then, she chose some special cereal for breakfast.  She chose LIFE cereal, not because the cereal looked good, but because it had a celebration with balloons on it of course!

She got to go swimming with Daddy, and took a walk at the airport too! 

Then we took her for a special lunch at a restaurant, and had her favorite pizza for dinner. 

She drew a picture of the cake she wanted, with the Blue's Clues house on it:

and her Daddy, the awesome builder that he is, did it exactly according to her specifications:

She loved it!  In order to help with the waiting until the big day, we made a countdown calendar, where she put a candle on the cake everyday, and then on her birthday she hung the banner.

We also put cupcakes up on our thankful tree wall.  We like to write things we love about our birthday person on the cupcakes and tell how much we love her! 

She is so grown up and such a great helper.  We are so blessed to have our special grown up girl in our family!  

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!  We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday.  We got to enjoy some quiet time at home all together.  Logan was able to take a bit of time off work, which is a rarer thing these days.  (He has been helping his boss build a house after hours for the last several months.)  I was able to try out the embroidery functions on my new sewing machine, and make our girl a Christmas dress, that I totally love and am way excited for all the cute options modern sewing technology offers.  Of course my girl was upset that I had chosen the options for this dress, but once she tried it on, she agreed that it was a good swirling dress and has asked to wear it almost every week.  Hooray!!!

Then it was my birthday.  It is advantageous that in the year my girl turned four, I also had a birthday with a four in the number.  So this next year, since she turned 5, I will also turn an age with a 5.  This is convenient because we can use the same candle for my birthday that we have used for hers earlier in the year.  The fun story from this year is that Logan took my girl to the store and had her help figure out some fun gifts.  My girl picked some interesting pairs of fuzzy socks, which of course she wants to borrow (the funniest are the knee high red and white stripes).  And she decided that I really needed a notebook and pencils for drawing.  She had me unwrap them, and of course wanted to immediately sit down and draw together.  She even offered to let me borrow her notebook and pencils for drawing.  And of course if I was using hers, she would go ahead and borrow mine, so they were both getting used.  Then everyday she asked if I wanted to draw in our notebooks, or if I wanted to let her draw me a picture in my notebook.  What a great friend she is!!!

And I finally got a picture of my girl wearing the cowboy costume my mom made for her.  Back in April of last year, my mom and sister got me a skirt and suit coat for an Easter surprise.  The skirt was black with brownish flowers and the suit coat was a way soft brown.  When I pulled it out of the box and put it on, my girl exclaimed excitedly, "Mama!  You're a cowboy!!!!  You have a cowboy costume!"  I had not foreseen that response to this particular outfit.  So, my mom decided to make my girl her own cowboy outfit, of course in brown.  She has now gotten quite a collection of costumes and accessories in our dress up box, and I don't always remember to get pictures of her as she sometimes changes costumes quite quickly.  Nevertheless, she makes a great cowgirl!

And the holiday was loads of fun!  Merry Christmas to everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving!

  

These were our November activities, which we are belatedly sharing.  We got pumpkins and painted them after the October rush was over.  Our girl always loves painting projects.  

Then I made a jumper for our girl, which she decided was a wonderful twirling outfit and loves to wear.  She is at an interesting stage where she wants to decide all the fabric and trimming choices, but we don't always agree on those choices.  This was fabric Grandma Parker had sent and we found worked perfectly for a great jumper.  Our girl sure is a cutie and so grown up in this! 

And then we had a bit of snow, and our girl was always ready to run outside and play in it, even if Mama is more of an indoor girl.  Se loves to dig in the snow and do some tracking as well.

And at the end of the month, of course, we got to pick our tree!  Our girl is so excited for picking a tree and helping put lights and ornaments on it.  What a great helper!!!  We have so much to be thankful for, and really enjoyed having some quiet time at home just the three of us.  Logan made some great turkey, and then used the left overs to make the most awesome turkey noodle soup ever.  We've ended up making it several times since then because it was so good!  We sure love Logan's cooking!

Happy Halloween

We know it is way past, but we hope your Halloween was full of dress up fun!  We went to the Glacier visitor center for their fun activities, and then for Halloween night we took some pumpkin roll to different friends houses and had our girl 'trick or treat', in the traditional Underwood way (where you take a treat to someone and say, "trick or treat, here's your treat").  She had a great time!!!!

Hacked Email

Hey there everyone!  My email was hacked, and since I have no idea who all is receiving random emails, thought I'd post it on here so you would all know that I know, and that you should just delete the emails, don't open or respond to them, and just get rid of them. I'm working on changing the security info for my account, so hopefully that solves the problem.  Thanks for all the people who let me know so quickly!  And hopefully this gets figured out soon and won't be any further issue!