BACK ON BED REST AGAIN

When I was pregnant with Kate we found out that I have an incompenent cervex and that I don't hold my babies past week 13. So, I got a cerclage (a stitch) to keep me closed and I got to spend the next 6 months on bed rest. Well, we are on round two now and things are progressing well. I am 25 weeks, in my 6th month and have been on bed rest for 3 months. So, I only have 3 more to go!!!!!!!!! This time around is a bit different, actually A LOT different. Last time I just took care of myself and kept myself occupied with different things. But this time I have Kate and she keeps me busy. I have wonderful family that help me every day to take care of Kate and keeps her occupied. It is going a lot smoother than I thought it would and that is due to all the wonderful help we receive every day!! I am so blessed to have so much family around to help but even if they weren't around I have the best neighbors that take such good care of me also. They are constantly checking in and doing things for us. I am blown away by all of their Christ-like service. Thank you to all of you for your help and examples!!!

Kate has adapted so well and whenever people ask where her mom is she says "inside on chair." She is my best helper and really helps the time fly by. She loves playing "horsey" with me because I can crawl around, so I spend a lot of time on my hands and knees. Which I have come to understand again how kids feel being short. You just can't see things so well from down here and by the time you get to a higher level to see what's so special, it's all over.

Bradley is AMAZING. He amazed me last time with how happy and how well he could handle everything and is amazing me now even more. Brad needs no help running the house. He does it with ease and does it better than I can with his help. His positive attitude really helps me out on those days when I am just tired of laying. You really start to miss the little things like preparing food, shopping, driving, cleaning. So much so that I dream about them. I have very vivid dreams when I am pregnant. I have been grocery shopping, flying in the mall (yes everyone around me was jealous!), swimming (which I can do if I can get to the pool and when I get there I LOVE IT) and a few scary ones where Brad wakes me up because I am wrestless and moaning, yelling or hitting the pillow. I'm glad I wasn't hitting him!

So here's to 3 more months!

KATE THE ELF

You like sugar, huh? .... ........ .....

........... Is there sugar in syrup?

Yes. ................................ .... ........

...........Then YES!

KATE

Kate is our beautiful 23 month old daughter. She is such a fun girl and has brought such fun into our lives. She is growing so fast. She is talking so much lately and is getting easier to understand. She is my little helper now that I am on bed rest and she really does help me a lot. Not only does she make the time fly by, she can get anything for me as long as it is within reach. (which will be changing soon now that she is learning to climb onto counters!) She has learned that if she wants some thing that we don't want her to have all she has to do is steal it away to a hidden corner and then it is all hers. Candy, toothpaste, stickers, pens. So if the house is quiet we know that we need to go investigate.

Kate loves her doll and stroller. She could push it around all day. It is usually filled to the brim with things. She is very particular about her things and how they are positioned in the stroller. For example her baby has to be able to see out without anything in the way.

She has many faces and makes me laugh all the time with all of them. She's always made lots of faces and I realized one day that she was copying the faces that I was making. I guess we both have too many.Kate loves dancing, running and playing hide and go seek. Some of her favorite hiding places are: hiding behind the towels in the bathroom (with her legs very visable), behind the shower curtain, behind the door in her room and our closets. Actually I should say those are her only hiding spots because she will be in any one of those spots. She keeps us hopping and we love having her in our lives.