Two peas in a pod

Sophie and Ella have recently become inseparable and they do everything together.  Ella is finally old enough to play and laugh along with Sophie and the girls are really enjoying each other's company.  I caught some sweet moments between them the other day.  

Music time in the morning...

And in the afternoon... Sophie was eating an ice cream treat on the back porch and Ella wanted to go out there too (of course).  So, she was banging on the door.  Sophie came over and placed her hand on the window and Ella put her hand right where Sophie's was.  They turned this into a game and wherever Sophie put her hand, Ella would follow it.  It was so cute and they were both giggling.  I love watching their friendship grow!

My sweet peas :)

Great Day for a Great Dad!

Clint has been such a great daddy!  He jumped right into parenthood when we got married and he is a natural!  He and Sophie have such a special relationship and I have loved watching the two of them become "parkners".  Sophie is Clint's shadow.  She loves to be with him and do everything that he is doing (except drink sweet tea, of course)!  This year he took her to a Father/Daughter dance at our church and Sophie had a ball!  

practicing...

getting in her "carriage" for the journey to the ball that night :)

Clint also adores his new baby girl, Elizabeth.  Even though he calls her "pooper-stink" most days, I know he loves her bunches.  He is the ultimate goofy dad who loves to make the girls laugh, but he also loves to give lots of kisses and hugs and snuggle with them too.  

This is still my favorite picture of daddy and baby.  It melts my heart every time I see it!

Clint and his girls...

We had a great time on Father's Day with our favorite daddy.  Clint wanted a day at home with his family so we made him a special breakfast and spent some time just relaxing.  Later, Clint and Sophie had a water balloon fight and played on the slip and slide and then we all took a Jeep ride to Sonic for treats.  It was a great day for a great dad!

We love you daddy!

Our little peanut

Last week we had our first ultrasound and we got a sneak peek at baby #3.  Everything looked great!  The baby measured to be about 8 1/2 weeks along instead of 10 weeks like we thought, but that's ok.  We'll have about 10 more days to prepare for his or her arrival.  The new due date is January 17, 2010.

This pregnancy will be a little different than my first two.  It will be a high risk pregnancy due to the fact that I was recently diagnosed with an autoimmune disease.  It is not life threatening, however, there are some annoying symptoms to deal with and some potentially serious risks with pregnancy.  My body is producing antibodies that are attacking my healthy cells and tissues.  Unfortunately, these antibodies can cross the placental barrier and attack the fetus as well.  It is unknown how long I have had the disease or if it has recently been triggered from this last pregnancy, but since we know it is currently active, baby #3 will be monitored much more closely and regularly.  I will have to stay under the care of an OB instead of a midwife this time.  

We are all staying positive and worry-free and trusting God with our little one!  Besides, my two other little ones are keeping me so busy that I don't have time to stop and worry!

It's time to get . . . the Minivan

... or some kind of larger vehicle that will fit a third car seat because I am pregnant again!!!  Another baby is on the way and I am due January 6th, 2010. Elizabeth will be 17 months old when her little sister or brother arrives so we will have our hands full!!  We were a bit surprised by the news, but of course overjoyed as well.  The story goes like this...

I had been sick with pneumonia for several weeks.  I was supposed to have a follow up chest X-ray done the first or second week in May to make sure my lungs had cleared completely.  The day I was planning to have the X-ray done, I felt very sick.   Clint made plans to take off work to watch the girls and I just could not go get the X-ray.  I had that thought in the back of my mind...I wonder if I could be pregnant.  Since you can not be exposed to radiation while you are pregnant, I decided to take a pregnancy test just to make sure that I wasn't.  Well, to my surprise and Clint's surprise, I am!  We knew that we wanted to have another child, but we weren't necessarily planning to have one so soon.  I am still breastfeeding Elizabeth and she is not showing any signs of weaning soon.  I was hoping to be done breastfeeding one before becoming pregnant with another, but I know that I am not the first woman to be in this situation and I know that God is taking great care of both babies and will make sure they both get what they need.

I am 9 weeks along today.  Next week we will have our first ultrasound and we are so excited to see our little peanut and hear his or her little heartbeat.