17 Months & 20 Weeks!!!

that's right! yesterday my 2 babies turned 17 months and 20 weeks on the same day! they are both getting so big!.....

a little bit about Piper...

*the words she says are...mommy, daddy, ball, baby, bath, book, puppy, duckie, piper, diaper, pretty, bubble, cheese, apple, nannie, pa,papa, "t", night night, peepee, poopoo, stinkie, bible, cookie, uh-oh, please, up, yellow, blue, purple and a lot of "words" we are not sure about yet ;)

*she still signs for...water, hungry, bird, more, all done & cracker

*foods she loves...cheese, apples, veggie burgers, PB sandwiches, ice cream, eggs, green beans, goldfish crackers, any dried fruit, bagels & cream cheese...she has really gotten into wanting to "dip" her food, like pieces of bagel into cream cheese, or french fries into ketchup ;)

*she weaned, basically on her own, at 15 months, when i was 12 weeks pregnant...all i did was a lot of distraction, we stayed really busy, and if she would ask to nurse i would offer a snack or an activity, and eventually she just stopped asking for it!

*she is a champ at going to sleep in her own bed now....staying asleep in her own bed is a different story. we honestly at 8pm (after bedtime routine of bath, book, prayer and a minute or two of rocking) can just lay her down awake in her crib and she doesn't make a peep and goes right to sleep....but she is up by 1am and we just bring her to our bed then...not sure how that is going to work when #2 comes??

*she has her first "chore", that she started all herself, when we leave the house it is her job to "put the puppy in her room"....she have even got doing the latch down...and when we come home she goes straight to annabelles cage to let her out...she gets pretty frustrated if we forget to let her do it ;)

*the girl loves her sesame street and praise baby video.

*our favorite activities are, the 2 library programs we go to, our playgroup, the science museum, and the play area at quail springs mall!

*after about a month, a lot of crying, a lot of comforting from the teachers, and probably a lot of crackers, she FINALLY loves going to church nursery!!!

of course i could go on forever about all the little quirks of Miss. Piper, but I'll stop there :)

a little bit about #2...


*our first belly photo!! everyone keeps telling me that i don't even look pregnant...well that's because its winter people and i wear a lot of sweats and jackets...so here is the belly....see i told you it was there!!!

*i have only gained 2lbs...but that is on top of the 2lbs that i lost at the beginning...so i am back right where i was when i first found out...although i already feel SO much bigger then i felt with pipe...but i think that's typical for your 2nd.

*I made it to 20 weeks without one moment of sickness!!!!!!! but a lot of back pain.

*we had our ultrasound last week and everything looks perfect and healthy! he/she is 10oz and moves all the time! he/she is so cute and looks like piper did at her ultrasound :)

*EVERYONE thinks the baby is a boy, i guess because my 2 pregnancies have been night and day different.

*starting to remember the pain of labor and birth...trying to focus on the beauty of labor and birth.

*I have been craving tomato based foods....pizza, spaghetti, and salsa.

I absolutely can not WAIT to meet this little one and learn his or her quirks and get to know him or her like we know Piper!!!!
I love you my little ones!!!!!!

a few of Pipers quirks...

~she can say....daddy,momma,night-night,nana(for banana),nan-nan (although they are similar, we can distinctly tell the differences in the last 3 words :) and MANY other "words" that we have no idea what she is saying! ;)

~she can sign...more, eat, milk(nursing), drink, bird, fish and diaper

~they other day piper and kennedy were walking into her room for the both to be changed...when i asked "who's poopie"...piper raised her hand! I'm not kidding!...and she actually was poopie!!!

~She runs...thats right RUNS at 13 months!

~she does all the motions to "patty cake" like a champ!

~we were looking through her "baby words" book the other day...i was just going along, pointing to all the pictures and naming the objects...then i turned the page and immediately she points the the picture of the banana and says "nana" with all the

~she gives hugs like they are going out of style...she gives them as a greeting, if you are sad or hurt,if you tell her "i love you" if you ask for one...and sometimes just because :)

~her favorite foods are pinto/black beans, carrots, broccoli veggie burger patties, any kind of bread, scrambled eggs, blue berries, oranges, yogurt,cheese, applesauce and ice cream!

~she finally LOVES books...i have been checking out about 20 new books a week from the library. Her favorite book is a fisher price book called "how big?"...each page we say real loud "SOOOOOO BIG" she anticipates us saying it and flips out! its awesome.

I am thankful for....

1.my best friend and love...jacob
2.my heart outside of my body...piper
3.the grace and forgiveness of my savior
4.two paid for working cars
5.pipers nap time
6.e-mealz
7.my super cute and cozy home
8.my parents happiness
9.dave ramsey
10.the dr.sears book series
11.pipers smile
13.piper and i's playgroup (aka...adult conversation)
14.moby wraps and slings
15.redbox
16.cloth diapers, breast milk, hand me down clothes...and everything else that makes having a baby cost practically nothing!
17.my sweet doggy...annabelle
18.midwives
19.modern family, afv, the office, the middle, big bang theory...
20.the fact that i have wonderful in-laws (and sister-in-law!!)
21.james taylor
22.jacobs job
23.white noise application on jakes iphone (it has saved us from a lot of screaming car rides)
24.the fact that i can easily stay at home with piper.
25.blogger...having so much of piper life documented is so amazing!
and much more then i could ever list....i am very blessed...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FRIENDS!!!!

the many names of Piper...

so far we have...
Piper Doodle
Piper Pants
Pipie

any other cute suggestions?? :)

39 weeks!!!! & Baby Poll Update...

Your baby's waiting to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

Baby Poll Update...
I'm sorry to Jenice, Allyson, Stephanie, cousin Jennifer, Ashley, Aunt Cora and Casey...but your "date prediction" has come and gone...with no baby ;)

July 1st
Aunt Heather-Boy
Taylor-Girl

July 2nd
Erica-Girl
Bridget-Girl
Katie-Girl

July 3rd *actual due date*
Jamila-Girl
Emma-Boy

July 4th
Daddy-Boy
Nan-Nan Seaton-Boy

July 5th
Laura-Boy

July 6th
Liz-Girl

July 7th
Mommy-Girl
G'pa Shumaker-Boy
Lindsey-Boy

July 8th
G'ma Shumaker-Boy

July 10th
Carly-Girl

*again, its still not to late...add your prediction to the comments on this post if you want your guess in the poll ;)

Baby Poll Stats....

June 19th- sorry guys...no baby ;)
Jenice-Girl
Allyson-Boy

June 26th
Stephanie-Boy
Cousin Jennifer-Girl

June 27th
Ashley-Boy
Aunt Cora-Boy

June 28th
Casey-Girl

July 1st
Aunt Heather-Boy
Taylor-Girl

July 2nd
Erica-Girl
Bridget-Girl

July 3rd *actual due date*
Jamila-Girl
Emma-Boy

July 4th
Daddy-Boy

July 5th
Laura-Boy

July 6th
Liz-Girl

July 7th
Mommy-Girl
G'pa Shumaker-Boy
Lindsey-Boy

July 8th
G'ma Shumaker-Boy

July 10th
Carly-Girl

~ITS NOT TO LATE....if you want in on this fun guessing action...just put your prediction in the "comments" on this post and i will add you to the list :)~

First Trimester in Review....

*October 24th- did some continuing education (you know, continuing from that bachelors degree that i have) and went to an all day Childbirth Education Day and Doula Training at OSU-OKC...came home, having birth and babies on the brain, thought i would take a pregnancy test. It was POSITIVE (i truly had NO idea!). Called jake, told him to come home NOW!! Showed him the test!! cried, got crazy excited, prayed...and then went to a birthday dinner for my father-in-law... we could have burst at any point during dinner!!! I was (to the day) 4 weeks pregnant.

*October 26th- We could not wait any LONGER!!! Called my parents...told them the news!! then got iron on letters from michael's and made shirts. Mine said "baby" down at my belly, and jakes said "baby daddy"...wore them over to dinner at jake's parents...all parents were incredibly excited!! but we told them, not to tell anyone until i was 6 weeks along. No one liked that idea ;)

*October 24th~November 21st- lived day by day in fear that we would lose the baby like last time.

*November 2nd- none of us could wait any longer!! started "telling" people. I was 5weeks 2 days.

*November 7th- this is the day equivalent to when we miscarried our first baby. We slept in...stayed in our PJ's all day...rented the entire first season of the HBO series "big love"... did nothing all day!! made it through the day with baby still in tow :) I was 6 weeks.

*November 11th- first midwife appointment!! Very nervous that we would hear bad news, but excited to hear good news!! Gave 5 viles of blood, peed in a cup, meet our lovely midwife, fell in LOVE with her and had an ultrasound. Found a teeny tiny baby but no "for sure" heart beat :( no fun! Still not really having any symptoms and not feeling "pregnant" yet it all made me kinda sad....but still having faith in God's plan, we trekked on, baby and I :) I was 6 weeks 4 days.

*fast forward about 3 days after our first appointment....morning sickness....wait...ALL DAY sickness....

*thoughts on morning sickness....SUCKS...ohh and a LIE! right at about 7 weeks is when it hit and it went strong for 3 weeks straight... funny thing is...morning was the only time i felt ok. It would start at about 11am, continue the rest of the day, and be super super bad from about 5:30 on, until i woke up the next morning. for a good 2 weeks all I ate was Sprite, Saltines, Popsicles and Ramen Noodles, thank goodness for vitamins!

*November 21st- back to my midwife's office to confirm a heartbeat...we saw it "loud" and clear!! Jake said he could even see the different valves of the heart while beating! I cried, Ann(our midwife) gave me a big hug and told me to go enjoy thanksgiving knowing that we have a healthy baby! I was 8 weeks.

*November 27th- Thanksgiving!! First day in about 2 weeks that i felt like eating! ~side note, thank you baby for picking thanksgiving, the day you give be a break~
I was 8 weeks 6 days.

*Starting to feel a bit better, cravings started around 9.5 weeks (i cant remember exactly) list of cravings so far...biscuits and gravy, Reese's peanut butter cup cereal, mashed potato's, apple cobbler and ice cream, fazoli's spaghetti, olive gardens salad...

*December 4th~7th- went on a girls trip with my mom to branson.....3 momentous things happened on this trip...I did not feel sick once!!! I stopped being able to button my jeans!!! and extreme fatigue kicked in gear big time...i had hardly any energy, i was asleep by 8:30 every night, and needed a nap pretty much everyday...this continued on even after the trip. I was 10 weeks.

*Had a break from feeling sick from about week 10 to week 11. then starting sunday of week 11 i threw up for the first time....i threw up every day during week 11. it always happend between 11am and noon...yuk!!

*December 18th- our 4 year anniversary. Since we decided not to go anywhere for our anniversary (to save money and because i didn't want to be sick the whole time on a trip). We both took the day off just to spend with each other. Jake made me and baby french toast, we got massages, and just loved on each other all day, that evening was the Crossings Christmas staff party. So we pretended that Crossing threw us a big anniversary party :)

*December 19th- 12 WEEKS!!!! we made it to 12 WEEKS!!!! all the stress and worry can disappear and we can truly start getting so so excited! although i am still feeling sick through the day, we are just praying it wont last the whole pregnancy! We slept in, went out to breakfast then headed off to OU for my 12 week appointment(ohhh and threw up right when we got there, luckly i made it to the bathroom). I gained and lost weight all through the first trimester, but total from beginning to end i gained 2 pounds which is at the lower end of the average (2-5lbs is average). and we were able to hear the heart beat! At first when we were listening for the heart beat, you could hear mine right away, then about 20 seconds later....a much much much faster heart beat!! it was in the 150 bpm range. I can not explain to you how amazing it was to hear my heart beat and our baby's heart beat, beating simultaneously! AMAZING!! We chatted with Ann a bit, she told me that the reason i have been throwing up is most likely due to the fact that i am not eating enough between 7am (when i eat breakfast) and 12:45pm (when i eat lunch). that my blood sugar drops and i get sick. I eat almonds at work, but she told me to add string cheese or boiled eggs and that should help. She wished us a merry christmas and a happy new year and told me we will see her again at 16 weeks:)

TA-DA!!

why I married Jacob, 4 years ago today...

*we still miss each other while we are away at work.
*we still miss each other when we are in different rooms.
*he calls me all day just to see what i am doing.
*he loves me faithfully and unconditionally.
*he loves Jesus more then me!
*he doesn't mind that i don't like to snuggle when i sleep.
*he is a master of the grill/smoker.
*he looks good in his jeans.
*he looks even better without them.
*he completely supports (and sometimes is even more passionate them me) my crusades...natural birth, cloth diapering, recycling, living debt free, etc...
*he is a good provider.
*he loves his mother.
*he loves MY mother.
*he tells me that I'm beautiful.
*he makes me feel beautiful.
*he is my best friend.
*he not only puts up with it, but he loves my ever-changing mind.
*he is my baby daddy.
*he cooks for me....and he is good at it!
*and so many more to ever mention!!!!

my love, happy 4 year anniversary....i love you to the moon!!!!

4 years of loving each other....

i was tagged!!

8 things tag!


8 TV shows I love to watch
1. Lost
2. The Office
2. So you think you can dance
3. Fringe
4. Americas funnies videos
5. Law & Order SVU
6. NCIS
7. The today show
8. The Bonnie Hunt show


8 Favorite Restaurants (no order, it just depends on what sounds good)
1. Casa Perico
2. Olive Garden
3. Iron Star
4. Taco Bueno
5. Jason's Deli
6. Johnnies
7. Paseo Grill
8. Eskimo Joe's



8 Things that Happened This Weekend:
1. satisfied a biscuit and gravy craving
2. saw my mommy, daddy and brother
3. received a baby blanket my grandma made
4. ate 3 thanksgiving meals
5. watched "the business of being born"...again
6. fell asleep to the OU-OSU game
7. stained (because i cant color) my hair closer to my natural color
8. Put up Christmas decorations


8 Things I Look Forward To
1. our 4 year anniversary (12-18)
2. meeting this little person inside me!
3. Paying off our house
4. Jake coming home from work everyday
5. lost starting up again (1-21)
6. having a big pregnant belly :)
7. Jakes 28th birthday and new years (same day)
8. mom and I's trip to branson this weekend!



8 Things on my Wish List (For Xmas?)
1. video camera
2. my baby to be here (except not really...he/she needs to cook a lot longer ;)
3. boppy pregnancy pillow
4. no more lives torn apart
5. that wars would never start
6. time would heal all hearts
7. every man would have a friend
8. right would always win
9. that love would never end (i had to add a #9 to finish it ;)



8 People I Tag
1. Heather Seaton
2. Stephanie Kramer
3. Kim Hough
4. Lauren Schatzel
5. Emma Krueger
6. Lindsey Boyls
7. that's all I got ;)
8.

20 things you now know about me...

1.I have the most amazing worship experiences in my car, by my self, with my eyes open of course.
2.I'm not very career driven, never have been. I'm just not a "climb the ladder" kind of girl. I just want to be a mommy...if that makes me old fashion...so be it!
3.I hate making the bed
4.That show "Cheaters" that is on REAL late on Saturday nights is my guilty pleasure.
5.I worked at Target for 4 months my first semester of college and have been addicted ever since.
6.I watch "the business of being born" at least 3 times a month.
7.It took me 5 straight years to finish college...yes i said straight...i never stop...i took full time hours every summer too!! I guess that happens when you change your major 2 times and add a minor.
8.My job has nothing to do with my degree.
9.Jake and I lost a baby at 6 weeks in April.
10.I was diagnosed with dyslexia in the 3rd grade.
12.I lived in a barn until i was 4 years old...no lie...it was a barn converted into a house.
13.I struggle everyday to give control to God.
14.I am a republican and understand that even God says there is a time for peace and a time for war....but i wish we could just all get along...republicans-democrats, Muslims-Christians, Americans-Iranians, OSU fans-OU fans ;) you get the point.
15.My favorite movie of the moment is "the terminal"
16.I spend way too much time blog stocking.
17.A few years ago, i googled "average age of a first time mom in America". The answer was 25. Since then I have been obsessed with making it to 25. which is weird since in most circumstances i could'nt give a crap about being "average".
18.I will be 25 in March.
19.I wish i knew my mom, dad and brother more deeply.
20.I heart purses that go diagonal across my chest.