This baby was so active. It was like she was performing just for us. Here you can see her little arms and legs.
Friday, December 26, 2008
It's a Girl...Maybe...Probably
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Visiting Santa
Always willing to pose for a picture.
I am also very excited to share that Liberty spelled her very first word (not counting her name) all by herself yesterday. She wanted to make her list for Santa (she told me I could just buy the presents since Santa isn't real). On the list she wrote the word "ball." I couldn't believe it. I asked her how she had learned to spell ball and her reply was "I just knowed." She repeated it for Scott this morning so she really, truly knows it and it wasn't just a fluke. I can't believe she is about to be five and she is already beginning to read. Time really does fly, doesn't it?
Monday, December 15, 2008
Busy Weekend
After the ceremony we went ICE SKATING! Liberty has been looking forward to it all week and I decided she was finally old enough. Every Christmas downtown is turned into a Christmas paradise--full of fun, winter activities. The outdoor ice rink was really cool. When we got there we had to wait in a huge line and I was worried that the rink would be too crowed for 3 amateurs. Nonetheless, we all got our ice skates and headed to the rink. Scott was immediately hating me for thinking this was a good idea :)
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Haas Family Christmas Tree
Poor tired girl!
This was taken before it got so hot we had to get rid of the coats!
My manly husband cutting down our tree! You can see Libs doing her part--holding up the tree :)
There are already tons of presents under the tree. I must admit Scott and I both went a little crazy this year. Usually we keep things very small--just a couple of gifts for each of us. I don't know, this year we just felt like splurging a little! My family is coming to us this year for Christmas this year. I am so thankful for that. It will be nice for all of us to be together and us not have to drive.
Yesterday we were able to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time. It was racing along at 173 bpm. It was a glorious sound to my ears. In the coming weeks we will be doing a level 2 ultrasound. We will probably do at least 2 of these as a precaution. Please continue to pray for our little ones health. Pray that the baby will be healthy. But most of all the he or she will be exactly what God has planned and that our hearts will be prepared for what He has in store for us.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Visiting Lilly
She started to get sad once she finished decorating the tree and didn't have anything to distract her. She sat beside Lilly headstone and looked at her picture the rest of the time. Right before we left she said the most precious prayer. Even in her moment of sadness she was able to thank God for Lilly and praise Him because she is in Heaven. I think we can all relate. We are overjoyed that Lilly is with her Creator and that soon we will join her, but we miss having her here with us!
Right after we finished decorating the tree a little butterfly flew up and landed right on it. It was the craziest thing considering it is way to cold for butterflies. Nonetheless, the little thing couldn't get enough of Lilly's tree and hung around until we left. It was really sweet and a perfect reminder of our precious girl. It was beautiful day and we had a great time remembering our princess and all the joy she brought to our lives.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Thankgiving
We continue to be overjoyed with the prospect of our new little one. I cannot imagine what God has in store for this little life. Liberty remains convinced that she is getting a baby brother. She now has Scott hoping for a boy. I cannot imagine having a little boy, but I honestly don't care. I lean toward boy only because people tell me the morning sickness will not be so bad if its a boy. However, if we are going on that, I definitely feel like its a Girl! I have been so sick the past couple of weeks. I am hoping and praying that the end of my first trimester will also mean the end of morning sickness! I am also less than pleased with the fact that I now only have two pair of jeans that fit. What! I'm barely 8 weeks pregnant. How can my clothes already be too tight?! Hmmm...maybe it was all the cookies I ate the first month before I started feeling so bad.
Ok, I am off to pack for all of us and run errands before we head out of town. Have a blessed Thanksgiving!
--Amy
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Baby Pic
My official due date is July 6, 2009, which is Liberty's birthday. I was so surprised when the technician told me. Scott and I were already joking about how close all of our children's birthdays are. Now there is the potential of having 3 July babies all within days of one another. At very least, we are consistent!
Now we just have to wait about 3 more months to find out the sex of the baby. Yes, we definitely want to know! Liberty is convinced she is having a baby brother. The other day Scott asked her how she knew mommy was having a boy and she said "God told me." I definitely don't want to discourage a word from the Lord, so we will just wait and see :-).
--Amy
Monday, November 17, 2008
Bisphenol A (BPA)
Bisphenol A has been linked to early onset of puberty, obesity, diabetes, and behavior problems. The developing fetus and infants are most vulnerable to the effects of BPA and they also have the most exposure. Almost all infant bottles, plastic food containers and liquid formula contain BPA!
The FDA is maintains that these products are safe and the levels of BPA leached into these products is not significant enough to cause harm to developing babies. However, the studies mentioned above provide contradictory evidence.
I know we just one more thing to worry about, right. Honestly, if I hadn't already lost a child, it probably wouldn't even be on my radar. However, until someone can tell me why my baby died and why her body didn't work like everyone else's, I think I can take this minor precaution and not expose my other children to something that could possibly be poisoning them!
If you want more information on BPA visit the following websites:
http://www.ewg.org/chemindex/chemicals/23297
http://www.chej.org/BPA_Website.htm
http://www.enviroblog.org/2007/09/bisphenol-a-in-your-body.htm?gclid=CO7X9NGi_ZYCFQKJxgodExz9_g
--Amy
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Tired!
Today was the first day I have felt any nausea. I was still able to eat and at least there is no vomiting yet. I am praying its just a fluke and I will continue to nausea free! My biggest complaint is that I am SO tired. I really shouldn't complain. I know what it is to be exhuasted beyond my capacity to function and this isn't even close. It's just tired enough to be annoying. Like I would rather lay on the couch and watch tv rather than clean my house and getting up to get things for Liberty is highly annoying.
I can already tell this pregnancy is going to be different than my previous two. The biggest difference so far is that I am STARVING! With the girls I could barely eat at all and tended to lose weight rather than gain. This time I am predicting a much larger weight gain. My current craving is cookies. Not just any cookies, but Eileen's Cookies. Thanks to my dear friend Lydia for introducing us to the wonders that are these amazing creations. They make the most unbelieveable double lemon cookies and I'm perfectly willing to drive half way across town to get one (or a dozen). With Liberty I craved wierd things like soap. I would just imagine how great it would be to eat and entire bar of soap. Weird, I know, but totally true! With Lilly I craved lobster. I have know idea what lobster even tastes like. I refuse to eat anything that ever lived in the water. Nonetheless, in my mind, lobster seemed like it would be the best the ever. Pregnancy obviously makes me crazy!
Thanks for checking in on us and just keep praying for our precious baby's development and that the enemy would not use our past experiences to make us overly anxious and stressed!
Friday, November 7, 2008
More Drama
The big drama of the week is that my purse was stolen--apparently right out my car which was sitting in my driveway. I keep hopeing it will turn up, but so far no luck. Today I am busy canceling checks and getting a new drivers license. Thankfully we don't have credit cards. Unfortunately the whole ordeal is going to be quite expensive. Ugh...
Liberty had basketball evaluations last night. She was so cute. She is not very good at all, but she is really excited. We bought her a new basketball and she is very dedicated to practicing at home (which means in my kitchen since its too windy and cold to go outside). She starts practice next week and will even have games on Saturday. Its only for six weeks, but its going to be so cute.
We also had our first Hope Link meeting last night. Hope Link is a support group that myself and two other women founded for mother's who have children with rare disorders. We had one person showed up as well as someone from OGAC. We had some really great discussion and we are so excited about watching the group grow and ministering to these women.
I am looking forward to a stress-free weekend after all of our activites this week!
--Amy
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Happy Election Day!
Lots of people have been asking me if there is any way we can test the baby to find out if he/she is sick. The answer is no. There is nothing we can do now or after the baby is born. Lilly was 5 months old before we knew she was sick. It was five more months before we knew why. We literally did every test available to us (researchers have more, but aren't available to the general population) and we were not able to link a specific gene to Lilly's disorder. This makes genetic testing impossible. Unfortunately, there are still limits to genetic testing and so much doctors still don't know. We will just have to wait and see.
The good news is that science has its limits, but God's power is LIMITLESS! He is the author and creator of life and we trust that our baby will be perfect in every way JUST LIKE LILLY WAS!
--Amy
Monday, November 3, 2008
Vote!!
I'll post the pictures from my first Ultrasound as soon as I can. I am so excited and I know tomorrow is going to be the longest day ever since my appointment isn't until 3:30.
Liberty showed her very first signs of jealously the other day. We were all laying in bed playing and talking. Scott and I briefly took our attention off her to talk for a moment and she said "You and Daddy are really excited about the baby and your not excited about me anymore!" Oh boy! We are trying to avoid this as much as possible by including her in all the conversations and decisions. I guess some jealousy is inevitable though.
--Amy
Sunday, November 2, 2008
The Holidays
My first ultrasound is Tuesday afternoon and I cannot wait! For some reason I just can't quite wrap my mind around the whole pregnancy until I see that little blob that is our baby. I was the same way with both the girls. It just isn't "real" until I see that first picture.
Of course we are already tossing around names. Scott and I can never agree so this time I am enlisting the help of our friends. Click the button on the home page that says vote for our baby names and help us out. This is the initial list so keep checking back for more selections. I suppose it will be much easier once we know the sex of the baby, but it doesn't hurt to get started!
--Amy
Saturday, November 1, 2008
I'm Pregnant!
We are all very happy and already eagerly anticipating the arrival of our little one. We are holding tight to Jesus and believing that He will prepare us for what is to come. We know there is 25% chance that the baby will have the same disease Lilly had. We are not naieve nor do we pretend these odds do not exist. However, we believe God is ultimately in control and we will trust in His plan for our lives and that of our unborn child.
Please join in celebrating and praying for this precious new life.
--Amy