Add another thing to the list

On top of everything else going on, today I got a call from my midwife that I have gestational diabetes.

 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001898/

It is one of the most common pregnancy problems/complications, and it is easily managed.  My midwife said it looks like I have a fairly mild case that should be able to be managed by watching my diet carefully.  But I'm still frustrated that I have so much to worry about with this pregnancy. 

I will be meeting with another doctor and a nutritionist in the next week.  In the meantime, it looks like my Girl Scout cookies will be finding a home in the freezer for the next few months...

Playing Catch Up

We've been through a lot of transitions lately, so it has been hard for me to get on the computer to post!  I'm going to do my best to do a quick summery of what has been going on.

- Christmas was great!  Josie was thoroughly spoiled by Santa, family and friends.  She is still enjoying playing with all of her new toys and treats.

- We all came down with colds and the stomach flu over the holidays.  NOT FUN!

- We have had 2 additional ultrasounds at the Perinatal Care Clinic to check on our baby boy.  Aside from the cleft lip and palate, all other measurements are normal.  That is good news!  We have an appointment at the Cleft Lip and Palate Clinic at Denver Children's Hospital later this week, but generally we will have to wait until the baby is born to start making plans for surgery and such.  Once he is born, they will be able to determine what type of care he needs.

- Josie started asking for "big bed" so we bought her a big girl bed.  She is now sleeping in it for naps and overnight.  Some days are easier than others...  :)

- We received over 2 feet of snow at our house on Friday/Saturday.  It was a big snow, but as soon as the snow stopped the sun came out...so we were far from snowed in.  There is still a lot of snow on the ground, but we are out and about in it.

Here are a few pictures from the past few months:

Christmas Eve 2011

Enjoying presents on Christmas morning

Worn out!

Addy and Josie

Playing in the snow

Nothing's better than hot chocolate with mini marshmallows after playing in the snow

It's a....

BOY!  We are 21 weeks pregnant with a baby boy.  We had our ultrasound yesterday, and Josie came along.  Ryan, Josie and I are so excited to expand our family and welcome this little boy in April.  Josie even pointed to the television showing the ultrasound and said "brother."  She has been talking about her baby brother and even helped pick out a little sleeper outfit for him in size Newborn.

However, the ultrasound did not come without some surprises.  After the ultrasound was over, the doctor came in to tell us that all of the measurements look normal except it appears that our baby has a cleft lip and will probably have a cleft palate.  Of course, this news was shocking to Ryan and me so we have been taking the last 24 hours to think, pray and let everything sink in.  We have another appointment with the perinatal care center on Monday to confirm, find out if there are any other unexpected concerns with this pregnancy, and find out more about our next steps.

As we process this and prepare, we ask for your thoughts and prayers.  We are so excited to welcome our baby boy, but we are also preparing for a difficult journey as parents.  We know that there are so many parents and children who have gone through similar journeys with unexpected difficulties, some much more trying than what we are facing.

Halloween and First Snow

Over the course of a week, we had our first snow of the season, then it all melted in time for Halloween, then it snowed again!  Josie enjoys the snow, but her clothes keep her a little too bundled up to get too crazy in it.  In fact, when she is dressed in her snow clothes she can barely move her arms and her legs!  But she definitely wants to be outside in the snow, so we've been getting some quality play time in.

Here are some pictures from our recent adventures:

First snow!

First snowman

Oliva the pig went Trick or Treating at

Highlands Ranch Trick or Treat Street

Mmm, candy

Addy and Erin

Trick or Treating in our new neighborhood

On our front patio with Daddy

Getting ready to go out in the 2nd snow

We're still getting used to it...it was deep!

Having fun

OK, I think we're done!

Finally blogging again

Now that it's fall, I will try to get back into blogging.  Our summer was very busy since we decided to rent out our townhome and buy a house!  We are still trying to get settled in, but I wanted to share some new pictures of Josie.  I will share some pictures of the house once we feel like we are more unpacked and settled.

We went to the pumpkin patch, and Josie had a great time picking out pumpkins!

Finally!

Finally, an update!  We are having a very busy summer as I'm sure most of you out there are...so hopefully you can sympathize with me.  We traveled to North and South Carolina in May/June for a wedding and a beach week, and it was a great trip!  We got to see lots of friends and family, and Josie was a pretty good traveler (although it is harder to keep her seated on the plane now that she's walking)!

Since we've been home, we've been filling our days with trips to the pools and parks in our area, frozen yogurt dates, and all kinds of summer errands.  Nothing too exciting, but it has still been a fun summer.  Here are some pictures from our adventures!

Josie and Mommy at the beach

Josie on the beach with Grandma and Grandpa Lindsay

She liked it!

Getting ready to swim in the pool

Josie and Addy on Mother's Day with Grandma Fugler

Father's Day with Daddy

4th of July

Walking Outside

It was brought to my attention that I haven't shared any videos of Josie walking since she took her first steps.  Since then she has gotten very good at it!  Here are a couple videos of her walking outside today.  Our across the courtyard neighbors have a talking parrot that was talking to Josie through the open window, so she was really enjoying herself.