Visiting Great Papa in Arizona

Cooper and Ashley went to go visit Great Papa Don in Arizona.   

Day 1.
Cooper did amazing on the flight. He got a little antsy towards the end, but overall pretty awesome. We got to the airport in Phoenix and he came around the corner, saw Don Ebbinga, and screamed "Great Papa!" and started running towards him. Everyone in the crowd giggled.
We went back to Papas place, put our shorts on, and played in the rocks. Then off to Culvers for supper. On our way back, we picked up some sand. Great Papa made Cooper a make-shift sandbox.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 2.
Cooper woke up at 5:30am. Wow. This momma wasn't ready for that! 
We spent most of the day at the zoo with Donna Bertrand and Don Ebbinga. We walked over 3.5 miles and saw most of the animals at the zoo. Cooper said his favorite animal was the elephant named Reba.
We ordered a pizza, and relaxed for the rest of the evening.
Cooper had to play in his sandbox one more time. Then it was bath time, and after laying down for 10 minutes, someone crashed!
Grandpa Don and I then stayed up, watched Mrs. Doubtfire and of course, had some ice cream.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Day 3. 
We woke up and Coop got a buffet for breakfast. Rice Krispies, Ranch Pringles, and chex mix.
We then headed off to Eloy to watch the "boys jump out of airplanes" while having a snack.
Cooper and Mommy spent the afternoon in the pool. ...
After supper, we played Zilch. Cooper won the first game. We said Great Grandma Arlene helped him win.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 4.

Time to relax before we head out early tomorrow.  We took Cooper to the park in Maricopa.  We fed the ducks and turtles in the pond.   We then came back and he played in the sandbox pretty much the rest of the afternoon.   For supper, we headed out to a Mexican restaurant that was DELICIOUS!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Day 5.
Our flight for the way home left at 7:30am.  We were up very early and on the plane by 6:45am.   Cooper didn't do as well on the way home.  He was overly tired and sick of sitting around.  On the flight home, Cooper asked the flight attendant if he could try the dentist bag.  She let him play with one.  I would totally do this trip all over again.  I would just bring daddy along.
 

 

Blood Draw #2

I had my blood draw again today to try to determine a due date.  My HCG level came back at 8346.  
Dr. Sebata said that my level came up nicely, just as was hoped for.   We will now follow up as planned for my ultrasound and visit on March 12.

We are estimating at being around 5-6 weeks currently.  I am still very nervous.  I don't think my nerves will subside until we see this peanut's heartbeat and get past the three month mark to be safe. 

We told my parents last night.   We told them this early so that if something happens again, we aren't telling them as I'm miscarrying again.  Here is how we told them... 

Cooper gave this to Grandma and Papa last night.

They were just as excited and surprised as we were.   Only God knows if this will pan out or not.  We'll just leave it up to him. 

Ashley

March Menu 2014

1. Cheeseburgers
2. Slower Cooker Creamy Chicken
3. Chili (Frozen)
4. Homemade Mac N Cheese
5. Slow Cooker Beef Stew
6. Turkey Tacos
7. Leftovers
8.  
9. Brats
10. Au Gratin Pork Chops
11. Homemade Pizza
12. Scrambled Eggs & Ham
13. Chicken Nachos
14. Leftovers
15.  
16. Spaghetti
17. Hot Ham & Cheese
18. Waffles
19. Hamburger Gravy
20. Walking Taco Salads
21. Famous Bowls
22. Cheesy Pork Chops
23. Garlic Lemon Double Stuffed Chicken
24. Pizza Rollup
25. Corn Dogs & Fries
26. Frozen Pizza
27. Apple BBQ Pulled Pork
28. Leftovers
29. Ranch Burgers
30. Chicken on the Grill

God has plans for all of us...

On December 24th, 2013, we got the greatest news.  We were expecting baby #2!  We were so thrilled.  After 9 months of trying, we finally got it right.   Only a few days later, our world came crashing down.  (See the blog post, Confessions)

Doctor Sebata told us to wait 3 months before trying again.   We decided to "not try" but "not prevent".  We thought if God wanted us to get pregnant again, he would make it happen.

Never in a million years did I think I would be writing this so soon.  We're pregnant, AGAIN!

Since Monday, February 17th, I had been going to bed around 8:30-9pm because I was so tired.  I couldn't understand why I was so exhausted.  I just thought it was because Cooper got up in the middle of the night and came up to our room.  He just interrupted my deep sleep, right?  I've been on the go every weekend for the past 4-5 weeks and was just finally settling down.  

Brad got home from his snowmobile trip late on Tuesday night.  On Wednesday night, I said I was tired at 8:30 and went up to bed.  Brad made the joke once he got up there that I must be pregnant.   I assured him that that was impossible since I hadn't even gotten my period from this miscarriage.   I shook it off, rolled over, and fell asleep.  The next morning I woke up and thought... "Maybe I could be?"

I got out of bed, went downstairs and found one test left from December.   Needless to say, I was surprised by the results!

 

 

At this point, I have no idea how far along I am.   I called the clinic later in the morning to schedule an appointment for the next day.

 

Friday is here.   I go to the clinic and sit down with Dr. Sebata.   He doesn't seem too thrilled that we didn't take the necessary precautions, but wants to make sure this pregnancy is a healthy one.   After sitting with him, we determine that the only way to find out how far along I am, was to do an ultrasound. 

 

 

During the ultrasound, Dr. Sebata believes we are only 4-5 weeks along.  They are not yet able to see a beating heart or the form of a baby.  They are able to see the sac, and a thickly-lined uterus.  These are both good signs! 

 

After the ultrasound, we schedule lab work for today and Tuesday.  This is to see how fast my hCG level is changing.  We also schedule an ultrasound again for Monday, March 10th.  They are hoping by that point to see a baby.  They will then be able to take measurements and determine a due date. 

 

I got my hCG levels back a few hours later, and they were at 2561.   From what I remember from my pregnancy with Cooper, they need to be over 5000 to do an ultrasound.

 

Wish us luck this time around! 

 

Weekend in the Twin Cities

I had originally planned to go to the Twin Cities to meet up with my Wells Fargo Financial co-workers.   My aunt Kim planned a baby shower for my cousin Scott and his wife Laura for their daughter Emma.  Since it was only another hour north, I decided I would go to both. 

Brad backed out and decided to go snowmobiling out west instead.  So, Cooper and I asked if Chelsea and Tank wanted to join in our fun.   They came along and we headed out!

Naptime is not a bad thing.

 

All Three Great Grand Kiddos.

Cooper, Camden & Emma

This little boy is such a fish.

We were missing Abbey.  So we included her.

Our old WFF crew, just missing Abbey.

Cooper and Parker - buddies for sure!

Oh, Grandma Arlene...

My uncle Al shared this on facebook this morning.  It made me chuckle.

"This reminded me of the day Mom told me Ashley was getting married.

I asked "Fischer? With a C?"

She said "No, with an F"."

Thanks Uncle Al!


Ashley

February 2014 Menu

1. Out  of Town
2. Tacos
3. Frozen Pizza (Mommy gone)
4. Corn Dogs & French Fries (Mommy gone)
5. Baked Ham & Cheese Sliders
6. Sloppy Joe Enchiladas
7. Frozen Mini Tacos (Mommy gone)
8. Hot Ham & Cheese (Mommy gone)
9. Chicken Alfredo Biscuit Bake
10. White Trash Casserole
11. Crockpot Chicken Parmesan
12. Leftovers
13. Walking Taco Salads
14. Homemade Pizza
15. Eat out - Out of Tow
16. Crockpot Cheesy Checken Spaghetti
17. French Dip Crescents
18. Roast, Potatoes, Carrots in Crockpot
19. Leftovers
20.  Chicken Fried Steak
21. Chicken Nachos
22. Meatloaf in cupcake pan
23. Lasgana Roll Ups
24. Ham & Cheese Crescent Rolls
25. Pulled Pork in Crockpot
26. Pancakes
27. Spaghetti
28. Hamburger Gravy