September 19th

I know many of you are probably wondering why I came blogging about a date so long past. Well it is because the date September 19th will forever be a memorable date in our family. That is because on September 19, 2006 is when we first discovered that we were going to be parents. That day forever changed our lives for the better. Well.... again September 19th is a very important date because exactly 5 years later on September 19, 2011 we discovered.....

Yes folks, that's right. We are going to be parents again. Notice how bright that first line is and how faint the second line is. I was completely confused. So much so that I went out and bought three more tests. They all ended up with that VERY bright first line and faint second. Positive that we were going to be parents again!!!

We were VERY excited for this news as it has been a very long time coming. David and I always knew we wanted to have another child (our intention was always to have 2), but we just weren't sure due to Morgan's arthrogryposis and the fact that not a single doctor could tell us for sure what the cause was. As many of you know we have spoken with countless doctors, including the leading geneticist in Seattle, and everyone has been stumped. Many people, including the doctor in Seattle, have told us they feel it is genetic but could not identify the gene. We put Morgan through all kinds of tests to no avail. So a little over a year ago David and I met with my new OB (yes, I switched doctors immediately after Morgan was born). Our new OB is AMAZING and she took a good 30 minutes to sit down with us and discuss our options and concerns about having another child. She arranged for us to meet with a genetic counselor which we did about a year ago. Again, this doctor didn't have any new ideas. We were still told we were looking at a 0-25% chance of recurrence. There was one possible test they could run looking for a condition (that according to the doctor we saw in Seattle Morgan does not have), however, the test was not covered by insurance and there was only going to be a chance that they would find something. Even if Morgan did have this genetic condition there would be a very good chance that the test would be negative. We decided that it wasn't worth doing the test...and we kind of put things on hold for a while. We became busy with work and life in general with basketball season and the holidays. We would discuss the idea every once in a while, but we still hadn't reached a decision. That was until.....

Sometime in the spring when I was having lunch with Morgan and she stopped eating, put her food down, and said "Mommy, when am I going to have a brother or a sister?" Around this time one of my girlfriends was expecting and we were planning a baby shower for her so there was a lot of talk about how her son was going to become a big brother. Also, many of her friends at school were having babies or already had siblings. Well, that is all it took. David and I decided that night that it might be time to take a giant leap of faith, pray a lot, and to go for it. Within the month we began trying to make Morgan's dream of becoming a big sister come true.

So after a few months of trying September rolled around and I started to feel a little different. After waiting an extra week to test we decided we couldn't wait any longer. After getting several positive tests I immediately called my doctor as it was in our plans to start monitoring things from the get go. She had me go in the next day for a blood draw to check my hormone levels. That day they were over 2,200. Then I went back two days later for another draw and they had more than doubled to over 5,400. Things were looking good. At that point we scheduled our first ultrasound.

In the meantime we told Morgan our exciting news and she shouted with joy. She is so excited and is already being an amazing big sister. Every morning when I go in to get her up she tells me "Mommy, come closer, I can't reach the baby." She reaches out her little hand and places it on my belly and says "Hello, baby." She loves to spend time every day rubbing my belly and saying hi to her brother or sister.

On September 26th, at 5 weeks 2 days we went in to get our first glance at our little peanut. That day we were able to clearly see the yolk sac and even saw the heart beat. It was AMAZING! The doctor set our due date for May 26, 2011. That is just two days before Morgan's due date which was May 28th.

After that we set up appointments with the doctor to continue monitoring things, mostly just looking to make sure the baby is moving. We went in at 9 weeks 2 days.
At that time (it is hard to see in this pic) we were able to clearly see little arm and leg numbs. All four numbs appeared to be moving and the baby gave a couple of really good hops. All was looking well and we breathed a small sigh of relief (after of course balling our eyes out).

I realize now that you can barely see the sign that says 10 weeks, but here is a pic of me at 10 weeks. It is amazing how fast the baby bump comes on with baby #2. I guess when you never lose all the baby weight from #1 it makes it easier to pop.

On November 7th at 11 weeks 2 days we went back again for another ultrasound. It was amazing after just two weeks to see how much the baby had grown and changed. When the ultrasound began we right away saw good signs. The baby lifted its arms, we saw fingers stretched out wide, and the baby gave another couple of good jumps. We also noticed that the baby's legs were bent, something we never saw from Morgan. As we watched the baby though we began to hold our breath because while the legs were bent they weren't moving much. The doctor commented how the baby could be in sleep mode and we continued to watch nervously. Within a couple of minutes, a few prayers to God, and a couple of deep breaths the baby all of a sudden gave a huge jump and kicked it's legs straight. David and I instantly burst into tears of joy! We breathed another big sigh of relief for now.

11 wks 2 days. You can see the legs bent.

After this ultrasound we decided it was about time to start sharing the news with friends and co-workers. Especially, since as you will see below my bump was becoming harder to hide. Since Morgan was scheduled to be Star of the Day at preschool on Wednesday we decided to let her spread the news. Morgan wore a t-shirt to school that day that says "Big Sister in charge" I wish I had taken a picture of her in it, but I totally forgot. She was so excited to tell all her teachers and friends.

Here is a picture of me at 12 weeks.

Today at 12 weeks 2 days we went in for another ultrasound. This time we were having it done at St. Joe.s as they were doing a more detailed NT ultrasound. I barely slept last night feeling so anxious about what we would see today and praying that this baby would be moving up a storm. When we met with the ultrasound technician and discussed the ultrasound, what they would be looking for, etc... we also told her about Morgan's arthrogryposis and that we were hoping to see lots of movement. She said that she had seen arthrogryposis before, but never this early. It put as at ease to know that she, as well as David and I, knew what to be looking for. She also said that while she hoped we would see lots of movement she did need to baby to hold very still for a bit so she could get some good shots of the neck. Well, the baby did both. At first the baby was pretty still, moved his/her arms a few times, waved hi, and then seemed to fall asleep. Again, the legs were bent which the tech said is very common for 12 weeks, in fact she said you won't see many 12 week babies stretch out their legs all the way. Well, she was very patient with our little one and knew how desperately we wanted to see movement so she spent lots of time looking at more than just the neck. We were able to see the little one stretch it's legs completely (both) and then bend them back up!!!!!!! We also saw the little arms reaching way up high above it's head. And lots of big jumps and rolls with the back extending. Another huge sigh of relief and of course many more tears of joy were shed today!!!!!! We are just so excited!!!!!!!!

I have no idea why this one is sideways. It wasn't taken sideways and was not that way on my computer. Sorry.

It is amazing the profile you can already see at just 12 wk 2 d. Of course I do have to say though that they may be off on my due date. The baby has measured 5 days bigger each week so at 11 wk 2d the baby was measuring at 12 weeks and today at 12 wk 2d the baby measured at 13 wk 1d.

Giving a high 5 to big sister Morgan!

Another wave hello, this time with fingers closed.

We are just so excited to finally share our news! We could not be more excited to be welcoming a new little one into our family. Morgan is going to be the most AMAZING big sister EVER!!!! She is already practicing with her baby dolls how to rock her baby to sleep, feed, and burp the baby. The only thing she says she won't help with are the poopy diapers.

Next week we go in again on Monday for another ultrasound. In the meantime please help us with some prayers that this baby continues to move and be healthy!

Halloween 2011!

Again this year the week before Halloween Morgan went with her preschool on a field trip to the pumpkin patch. This year's trip fell on a Tuesday, so Grandma and Grandpa offered to take Morgan (a parent must attend in order for the child to go). She picked out a nice Morgan-sized pumpkin for us to carve and keeping with tradition we waited until the Saturday before to carve it with the Johnson Family.

Matt, Georgia, and Lucas all came down for a little dinner and pumpkin carving. This year both of the kids were more into it and enjoyed telling their dads what shapes to draw.

Morgan telling her daddy what kind of face she wanted.

Then it was time to dig out the "guts." Morgan did a great job with it this year.

While Morgan added more seeds to the bowl Lucas was busy "cook" ing.

Then Morgan decided she would help Lucas cook. She kept saying "let's make pumpkin pie!"

Once they were all complete we had to light them up.

On the actual day of Halloween we went down to the Johnson's house for a little dinner and then some trick or treating. Morgan was SO excited. This year she could finally very clearly say Trick or Treat and she practiced the whole way down to Aunt Georgia and Uncle Matt's house. In fact, by about half-way down the block Georgia could hear her coming because she was shouting so loud "Aunt Georgia, I'm coming! I go Trick or Treating!"

This year Morgan choose to be Ladybug Gir.l from one of her new favorite book series Ladybug Gir.l. She really loves the sequel to the original called Ladybug Gir.l and Bumble.bee Boy in which she meets a little boy at the park who becomes a member of the bug squad. She likes it so much that she convinced her daddy to dress-up that night as Bumble.bee Boy (he wore a collared yellow shirt with stripes). I meant to get a picture.

Morgan was very popular in our neighborhood that night. We ran into a few friends from preschool and two of the paraprofessionals who work at her preschool. We also made a special stop at Miss Mikelle's house (one of my co-workers).

Miss Mikelle of course had a very special treat for both Morgan and Lucas. Inside was a glow necklace which Morgan instantly decided had to be her magic wand.

One of Luke's new favorite games when he is hanging with his buddy Morgan is to grab on the back of her wheelchair and try to keep up when she is driving full speed. We keep telling him in another year or so we will teach him how to catch a ride on the back. When we (the parents) were all tuckered out from Trick or Treating we made one last stop at our house so Morgan could give Luke a treat.
They are the best of buds and we are so lucky to have such close friends nearby.
Morgan always calls Lucas her "best buddy."

Take a hike!

A couple of weeks ago I had to rearrange my work schedule because I was taking my students on a field trip. Since the trip was on a Friday I had arranged for Morgan to spend the day with her grandparents.

Morgan was of coursed thrilled to have yet another day hanging out with her grandparents, and as usual they had something fun planned for her. Donna and Charley love to be outdoors and have passed that passion for outdoors onto Morgan. When she is at their house she plays outside all day long. She takes walks, rides her bike, swings, helps water the plants, etc... With the weather being beautiful that day Donna and Charley had the idea of taking Morgan on a hike. They love to go down to Madera Canyon and found that there was a wheelchair accessible hike. Morgan was so excited to go on her first "official" hike in which she would get to "hike" and not just be carried.

Morgan and Grandma ready to hit the trail.

Leaving Grandpa in their dust.

I am not sure what they are talking about in these photos, but I am guessing Grandpa is educating Morgan about all the different plants and animals they are seeing along the trail. Thanks to her grandparents Morgan already knows more about botany than most adults.

Of course a hike wouldn't be complete without a picnic at the end of the trail.

Fall Break

Fall break was here and gone so fast. During the break though we did find time to relax and also to have some fun. After returning from Philly we spent most of the second week of break relaxing, leaving the house only for a few doctor's appointments and therapies. The third week was also pretty relaxing, but we found time to have some fun and head to the zoo with our best buddies: Aunt Georgia, Grandma Linda (Georgia's mom), and Lucas.

Morgan and Lucas had a blast at the zoo and we all had the chance to finally see the adorable lion cubs.

Morgan wanted to drive the tractor.

Then she invited her buddy to join her.

One of Morgan's favorite parts of the zoo is the frog fountain by the duck pond. Today she thought she would teach Luke how to work it.

Our final weekend of break was spent up in Phoenix visiting David's brother Brad. He just bought his first house in downtown Phoenix so we decided to go up for the night and check out his new place. Morgan was so excited to check out her uncle's new house. She also was excited to get to ride the "train." Brad's house is just off the light rail. We were able to ride it further into downtown to grab some dinner.

The next morning we decided to head to Encanto Park to play. When we pulled up we noticed the sign for "Enchanted Island." I had heard of it, but never been. Brad and David had been years ago when they were small with their grandparents, but didn't remember much about it. We decided to give it a try. Morgan had a blast! It was well worth the money (well for the kids bracelet). We bought two adult bracelets too not realizing that adults can really only go on like 2 rides. The rest have height limits of like 52 inches. Next time we will just buy a bracelet for Morgan and individual tickets for us. But, it was a really fun time. Morgan loved getting to be a big girl and go on rides all by herself. She felt like such big stuff. If you have little ones I would definitely recommend it.

Morgan's first stop was of course to "ride" the horses.

Driving her own car. I loved that most of the rides went slow, were small, and low to the ground.

Flying her own plane. We were nervous about this one, but the seat was pretty secure and low set in the plane so we knew she wasn't going anywhere.

Uncle Brad braved the "tea cups" with Morgan. Just watching them made me want to hurl.

Morgan went back for a second trip on the cars.

We didn't get pictures on my camera (I think they are on David's phone), but they even had bumper boats. Morgan got to drive her own boat. Again, we were nervous, but the water was more like a "pond." The guy working it was in with shorts and the water was only to his knees. You could also walk around all sides, so it would have been very easy to jump in if she needed us.

A Mini-Family Vacay

So over a month ago (I know, I am SO far behind with things) we went on a mini-family vacation to Philly. Morgan was due for another check-up and it is getting harder and harder each trip to travel solo. Along with Morgan getting bigger all her stuff is getting bigger too. It worked out perfectly though because Morgan and David had both earned free flights and I found a great deal on my tickets. So, during the first week of our fall break from school we took off as a family to spend a few days in Philly.

Morgan was a champ on the airplane and didn't have a single accident all day while we were traveling. As her reward she wanted to go to Target and pick out a new baby. So after landing late Tuesday night, having a late dinner, we headed to bed. In the morning we woke up late Philly time, found a place for breakfast, and then headed to Target to pick out her new baby. After that we decided to spend the day across the river in New Jersey at the Adventure Aquarium. It was really nice because by the time we arrived it was about 2:30 on a Wednesday. There was no one there so we had practically the whole place to ourselves. We could take it at our own pace and for once Morgan didn't have to fight to try to find a spot to see.




The aquarium was very nice with lots of fun things to see, including hippos. It was amazing how up close you were with them. David has some great shots on his phone as my camera died after just a few minutes of being there, but I haven't been able to get the pictures off the phone yet.

After the aquarium we decided we were all hungry for some dinner so we headed to David's all time favorite sandwich place Dinic's at the Reading Terminal Market. It truly is one of the best sandwiches I have ever had. Unfortunately that evening they were out of the "greens" that you add to the top of the sandwich and though it was still good, it just wasn't quite the same without the "greens." After eating we wandered the market for a bit, picked up some yummy chocolates for dessert, and then headed back to our hotel for an early bedtime. We were all exhausted still with making the time switch and Morgan had an 8:00am appointment scheduled the next morning at the hospital.

Thursday morning we were up bright and early and headed to the hospital. That morning Morgan had an appointment scheduled with their neurological surgeon. We scheduled the appointment after both the urologist here in Tucson and the scoliosis specialists we saw recommended that we see a neuro-surgeon to rule out tethered cord. This is something that we have been looking at/watching since very early on, but had never had her MRI reviewed by a surgeon only by a neurologist. Anyway, we met with him and he was very nice. He said what everyone else has said, that her spine does not appear tethered, but that it does end low and she has a narrow canal. He watched Morgan try to kick her legs while lying down and saw what little active movement she has. He also watched her walk in her walker. Then he recommended that we try to see a doctor at Barrow's in Phoenix for another opinion. He said that if Morgan was his daughter we would definitely keep looking at it and would consider doing "exploratory" surgery to see if it is tethered and just not showing up. The idea of doing "exploratory" surgery on the spine made us very nervous, however, he claims that there is very little risk. We are still working on trying to get scheduled with the dr. in Phoenix.

After leaving the hospital that morning we were all starving. We had not had breakfast and it was already almost 11. We decided to head back to the Reading Terminal Market so that we could get Dinics again, hopefully this time with the "greens." Thankfully they had the "greens" and we enjoyed a yummy lunch. We then headed to a park in downtown Philly that had a fully accessible playground. It was AMAZING!!!! I wish I had the pictures from David's phone to show you. It was huge, shaded, and had so much to do. Morgan loved the Tots Lot that had lots of those springy ride on toys. She also loved the swings and the giant wooden slide. It was one of those slides that you go down on a burlap sack. We hung out at the park for a good 2 hours and then headed back to the hotel to rest and clean-up for dinner.

Friday morning we were up early again. This time we planned ahead. David called the Denny's next door to our hotel and ordered breakfast take-out so we could eat breakfast while we got ready. It was a good thing he did because yet again we were at the hospital all morning with little break. When we first arrived we went for x-rays of Morgan's back in her brace. We then saw Dr. VB (the orthopedic surgeon) who checked Morgan out. He was excited to finally be able to see her walk in person (since we both went we were able to bring her walker), before he had only seen videos that we made. Anyway, as he watched Morgan walk he noticed what we have noticed, that she swings her left foot through and doesn't really seem to straighten the right all the way. I mentioned my concern that part of the problem with getting the left leg through was that I thought the right leg may be a bit shorter. He agreed and wanted to try a lift in her right shoe. With just that added bit we were able to see her take better steps with her left leg. We then discussed bracing. He said that her back is doing well....maintaining. The curve of her kyphosis has not gotten any worse, however, it hasn't really improved much. He did like how her spine looked in the brace and stated that it had definitely improved since the last x-ray. Overall I think her back is improving and I think she is getting a lot stronger. He still would like Morgan wearing the back brace 18 hours a day. He said that in regards to the KAFOs we can wear them at night still and if she wakes after 4-5hours (like to go potty) we can take them off and give her the rest of the night brace free on the legs. After meeting with Dr. VB we then headed over to orthotics to get her braces adjusted. Around 11:30 we were finally on our way out to enjoy the rest of our day in Philly.

Leaving the hospital we weren't sure what we were going to do with the rest of the day. We knew we needed some lunch, but then we didn't know what to do. We began tossing around ideas and Morgan instantly began shouting that she wanted to go back to the park from yesterday. We decided that that was a great plan. We spent another great afternoon enjoying the park and the beautiful fall weather. Then we headed back to the hotel for an early dinner and bedtime.

Saturday morning we were up at 3 am Philly time, that was midnight our time to get ready to leave for the airport. We had another great flight home with Morgan making it almost all the way. On the approach into Tucson when we were less than 10,000ft off the ground she needed to go potty. I asked her to try to hold it as there was no way we could get up. She tried so hard, but just couldn't make it. All-in-all though she did amazing on the trip and we were just so proud of her. We made it home to our house by 11 and I was ready for bed. We took a nice family nap that afternoon and just enjoyed being home again.

The best news of all during our trip was that we don't need to go back to Philly for at least 6 months. In fact, Dr. VB even said if we want to do x-rays here and mail them we could probably wait 1 year before going back! 1 year!!!!! That is amazing news.

I hit the jackpot!

No...unfortunately I didn't win the lottery, at least in terms of money. I mean I hit the jackpot when it comes to in-laws. I know many women out there that complain about their in-laws or stress about them, etc... but not me. I have the best in-laws a girl could ever hope for. They truly are two of the most amazing people I have ever met and from day one have treated me not like a daughter-in-law, but a daughter.

My in-laws constantly go out of their way to help out and make our lives easier. The biggest being that they completely changed their lives for us the moment Morgan was born. At the time of her birth in May of 2007 my in-laws lived in a beautiful new home in Phoenix close to their work, family, and friends. My father-in-law was "retired" and going back to work part-time for 6 extra months before official retirement and my mother-in-law was working as a nurse at a hospital that she had been at for as long as I had known her. All of that didn't matter. The moment Morgan was born and they saw how much help we were going to need they turned their lives upside down. Within no time they were working on selling their house and moving to Tucson to help take care of Morgan so I could continue working. In the beginning Donna lived at our house during the week helping me out while on maternity leave. She went to every doctors appointment, cooked for us nightly, cleaned our house, did our laundry, and would even sneak into our bedroom at midnight to take Morgan for a feeding so we could sleep. It was amazing.

Then when it was time for me to return to work Donna and Charley decided that they would rent an apartment in Tucson and live here during the week and drive back to Phoenix on the weekends so Donna could work and Charley would help prepare the house to be sold. They did this for over 6 months until they were finally able to sell their house and find a "dream home" (really it was all about the backyard) in Vail. Even then though Donna kept her job in Phoenix and for almost 5 more months continued driving to Phoenix every weekend to work sleeping at friends houses or getting a hotel. AMAZING right? All to help us out and make our lives a little easier.

Like I said before I hit the jackpot! Fast forward 4 years and they are still just as amazing today continuing to always go out of their way to make our lives easier. They are constantly on-call helping with getting Morgan picked up from preschool in time for doctors appointments and therapies. There to cover for us when she is sick and can't go to school and always offering us date-nights out.

Last weekend when we returned home from our mini- family vacay in Philly we came home to a sparkling clean house and a fridge filled with food. Yes, that's right, be jealous. While we were away my amazing mother-in-law came into our home and completely scrubbed it top to bottom. Things that probably have not been dusted in the 7 years that we have lived here were clean. Dinner was cooked and in the fridge for the night, laundry was done. I am spoiled! I can't even begin to tell you how much I appreciated it.

Then after talking with Donna yesterday she offered to take Morgan for a sleepover tonight (something they have been doing a lot for us lately now that she is officially retired!!!). She knew how badly we needed a night off tonight. Morgan has really been struggling with sleeping lately, most likely due to her new braces. On Wednesday night she was up every 45 minutes for most of the night and last night we were up every hour. It has been worse sleep than with a newborn. Knowing that David and I were desperate for a full night's sleep she and Charley offered up their own good night's sleep to have a sleepover tonight. Like I said, they are AMAZING!!!!

On top of all that they do for us they are the best grandparents a little girl could ever ask for. They do so many wonderful things with Morgan when she is at their house and they spoil her rotten. She adores spending time with them and never once has said she doesn't want a sleepover. Instead the moment I mention the idea to her she heads to her room to start packing. She always has a list of things she wants to pack and a whole plan for what she wants to do while she is with her grandparents. Often when we ask her who her favorite people in this whole wide world are she skips right over mom and dad and shouts "Grandma and Grandpa."

As you can see I may not have won the lottery but I definitely hit the jackpot in terms of in-laws. Thank you Donna and Charley for all you do for us everyday. You guys truly are the best. We love you!

Friday Night Lights

Well, it's that time of year again....football season is upon us. Since there isn't much to do in Vail on a Friday night with a four year old, we love to go to the Cienega football game and hang out with some friends.

This season started out a bit unique. The first home football game of the year was rain delayed, but not until after we were almost at the game. Morgan and I headed out with our friends Georgia and Lucas (David was flying home from DC and Matt was coaching). As we walked into the game (with Morgan's big wheelchair and all) a huge monsoon hit. We were closer to the stadium than the van so we decided to find shelter under an awning and wait it out. At first we were doing okay, it was raining hard, but there was little wind. Within a few minutes the wind picked up and the rain was coming in sideways completely soaking us, the kids, and Morgan's chair. Soon her chair was sitting in mud and both the kids were crying. One of the basketball coaches we know drove past us in a golf cart. As soon as he spotted us he put on the brakes and reversed to see if he could help. I told Georgia to go ahead and take Luke out of the rain and I would stay with Morgan's wheelchair. My plan was to just send Morgan along when he came back and I would stay with the chair. Well, by the time he made it back to help the rain had let up to a light drizzle. Morgan and I were soaked head to toe and my hair had gone completely curly. There was no way we were staying for the game. So I helped him load Georgia's stroller on the golf cart and Morgan and I ran to the van. That night we never made it to the game.

The following week the game was rained out completely due to another big monsoon. Since the game was canceled for the night they rescheduled it for Saturday morning at 9. It was fun going to a day game, however, Morgan was not a big fan. She can't stand having the sun in her face, but she still managed to have fun when she saw some of her friends and of course the Bobcat.

Morgan checking out the Lady Bobcat. She LOVES all three bobcats and is always on the look out for them so she can say hello.

The following week we finally made it to a night time game and for once it was totally rain free. As soon as we walked up to the gate by the field Morgan asked for her pom poms so she could cheer. At that same time one of the younger paras at Morgan's preschool who is a graduate from Cienega ran up to say hello. When she spotted Morgan's pom poms she decided that they just wouldn't do. She knows the cheer coach and went to ask her for a pair of pom poms for Morgan. (It happened to be Mini-Bobcat night when they have little girls that go out for a quarter and cheer with the big girls so they had pom poms). Anyway, she was able to get Morgan an official pair of Bobcat Pom Poms. Morgan was so excited!

Checking out her new pom poms.

Giving love to her best buddy Lucas.

And of course saying hi to the Lady Bobcat.