A 2 Year Old Princess...

Two years ago Friday (December 21st), our pint size Princess came into our lives. What a wonderful two years it truly has been. She is the light of our lives and has taught us so much about the simple pleasures in life. Thank God for all little ones!

Thursday evening I wrapped her birthday gifts and Tom put together a Little Tike's Kitchen that we bought for her. We thought it would be fun to have it sitting in the family room for her to enjoy the moment she woke up. Of course it was a big hit and she immediately jumped into the role of cook and made some eggs! I went to go jump in the shower to be begin getting ready for her two year old doctor's appointment. As I was finishing us Noelle came in and loudly exclaimed, "Thank you Mommy, so much!". I looked out and there she was holding a present I had wrapped! She picked out the birthday wrapping from the Christmas wrapping under the tree and decided to open some presents! I asked her why she opened the presents and her response I couldn't argue with, "It's Noelle's Birthday!".

We went to her doctor appointment and it was very traumatic. For some reason she was very scared of the doctor and only wanted me to hold her. Of course, she was very healthy weighing in at over 21 pounds and 34 1/4 inches in height. While we were there I decide it would be best for her to get a flu shot especially since we will have a newborn in the house very soon and I would like to avoid getting a little baby sick. Surprisingly, the shot yielded the least amount of tears! Apparently, when her ears are checked it is causes more discomfort than a needle! Oh, the drama of a two year old!

Poor Noelle, no Birthday party was planned for her because we have no family to come. We did, however, have Tom's office party to attend. I dressed Noelle is a gorgeous pink and black dress and we headed there after a failed attempt at a nap. For the affair most of the office personnel and their family attended a wonderful catered dinner. It was great to see all the children running around enjoying themselves. We stayed past 7pm and decided without a nap it was time to head home.

I did get Noelle a birthday cake, but because we got home late on Friday we thought it best to wait until Saturday to dig in. After Saturday's dinner we lit some candles and sang to her. She was quick to enthusiastically blow out her candles, but had no concept of making a wish! She did enjoy the cake though and she dove face first into the "beautiful flowers". We also let her open some more presents from Grandpa Roehrig, which included some puzzles and art supplies. My parents also got her a tricycle that she has been riding around for the last couple of days. Despite not having a big party I think she made out very well and we all enjoyed celebrating her second birthday. I look forward to the upcoming year in which I know Noelle will continue to grow and flourish, especially since this year will be one that she will be able to see in!

Sugar Cookies!!

Since I was a little tot with glasses, sugar cookies have been pretty much synonymous with the Christmas season. I was determined to "bake" some this year no matter how pregnant I was feeling. Thanks to the wonderful people at Pillsbury I was able to get about three dozen done this weekend. I have heard that the pre-made dough is really good and because there was no way I was going to make some myself, I had to try it. Um, yeah, it's basically the same! I can't believe I hadn't tried it sooner.

I had Noelle up on a chair next to me. She was very helpful as I rolled out the dough and continued to have these paranormal, lighting quick hands that reached out and would pull off chunks of dough and shove them into her mouth before I could protest. A very triumphant little voice would then say "Yummy, Noelle eat dough!"

Once the cookies cooled we decided to include our little Princess in the frosting process. We set her up with a plastic bowl, and toddler knife with some frosting and let her go to town. It was very entertaining to say the least. Oh, by the way we started frosting around 3pm on Sunday and we were all still in our pajamas!! She quickly got the hang of dipping her knife in the frosting and putting a very, very little bit on the cookie and inserting the rest into the mouth! Soon frosting became "painting" and Noelle made stories about how she was painting Zeus in the snow and Mommy and Daddy too. We just let her go because large quantities of sugar is what every toddler needs on a snowed in Sunday!

Take notice in the picture of the perfectly decorated Christmas Tree and the little tongue darting out to savor the sweetness of the frosting from the knife. Well we finished our cookies and I will say the taste is awesome, but the visual isn't the best. Tom and I just slapped the frosting on knowing that we would be the only ones privy to their view.
Backtracking a bit, Saturday Noelle and Tom teamed up to make the dough for some chocolate crinkle cookies. Noelle was terrified of the mixer but "helped" with the measuring. The dough sat over night and those also made an appearance on Sunday. We didn't have to frost them and I easily rolled them into little balls as she took a nap.

Last Christmas Tom and I couldn't wait for Noelle to be of the age to help with cookies. This year she did not disappoint and it was truly joyful for us to experience this "coming of age" occasion!

What A Week...

I'm counting last weekend as part of this week because it was a high point in what was a very long week. It seems best to look for the bright spots and hold onto them.

So, last Saturday we got up and headed into Sturgis for the day. It would be our last time getting together with the Roehrig Clan before the baby comes. We were even able to see Tom's brother Don and his family, which we haven't seen since May!! Noelle loved being around her cousins and was instantly taken with baby Macy. Granpa Roehrig was also a big hit, as always! Noelle was able to open some presents and really made out well. For dinner we had a wonderful roast (Granpa Roehrig is a really great cook and makes wonderful meals when we come in) and all the extras, you can't beat that! We headed back to our house after dinner. We only stayed for the day but we had a wonderful time, and even without a nap Noelle was in good spirits.

Onto the first bad part of the week. Wednesday rolled around and we got up extra early to head over to the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center for Noelle's first appointment. I knew going in that there was a great possibility we would end the four hour appointment with depressing news, but I held my head high and said a lot of prayers that my genetics would not be passed along. Well it seems that my genes are very strong! Noelle not only needs glasses, but her prescription was so high that the doctor was surprised she hadn't suffered any developmental delays! Those of you that know Noelle are well aware of the fact she is a typical two year old and definitely doesn't have any developmental delays. To add insult to injury, she not only has a very high prescription, but her left eye crosses and most likely will have to be corrected with surgery and patching. We go back in March to see if the glasses alone have made the correction. The doctor was very honest and told me that it doesn't look promising and surgery will probably be our next course of action.

After getting Noelle's prescription we went to the store in the office and picked out some frames. The whole time we were at the appointment Noelle was an angel, she wanted to play with the toys and then while the doctor examined her she sat on my lap and did exactly as the he asked. When we went to pick out her frames, she had had enough and didn't want to try on any glasses. We settled on a frame, although there were not many to choose from because of the size of her small face. I really didn't want something that would stick out and draw more attention to the glasses. They will arrive in about a week and I'm sure as soon as she puts them on she will love them because she will be able to finally see things! I will post pictures when we get the glasses.

I'm not thrilled about this, as I had hoped and prayed she would not have the same problems as I had with glasses. I was teased a lot during school and because of my prescription I was not able to get contacts until seventh grade. The good news is that in today's world glasses are a lot more fashionable and they can do a lot of reduction to the lenses so they are not "coke bottles" that produce "bug eyes". Noelle is healthy and that is really all that matters. The tears I had shed over the disappointment of me causing this to her have dried and I now am trying to focus on the good, the fact she will be able to see.

That was my Wednesday, now onto Thursday. A day that I had high expectations for. I had a routine doctor's appointment scheduled. I dropped Noelle off at a friend's house because Tom was unable to get out of work to watch her. At the appointment I was give a quick ultrasound to see how the baby was doing. Unfortunately, a silence fell over the doctor's usual chatty exterior as she studied the monitor. She explained that at my point in pregnancy I was showing signs of some low levels of amniotic fluid, not too low that action had to be taken as soon as possible, but low enough to make her concerned. Also, while looking at Max and taking measurements he was showing signs of being on the small side, at only 3.5 lbs, where the average at this point is around 5 lbs. She ordered a more in depth ultrasound for Monday to check on Max's growth and my fluid levels. She did say that he looked very well developed and healthy, just a little small. I wanted to go in and for her to say something along the lines of "everything looks great, see you next week". The good news is that it is better error on the side of caution when it comes to his health and I'll do whatever the doctor says. More information will be had after the ultrasound, but for now I'm taking it easy and praying for the best.

That was our week. Next week better will be better, I can feel it. Monday is my ultrasound, Tuesday our 3rd Wedding Anniversary, Thursday I have another doctor's appointment and then on Friday our little Noelle Rose turns 2. We have her doctor's appointment and Tom's office party at 5pm. It will be a busy week filled with last minute shopping and many appointments and one dinner away from Noelle.

About A Month, Oh My!!

It's a strange feeling knowing the exact time and date of your child's birth. I'm having a hard time grasping that in less than a month we will have a new addition in our house. Maybe it's because of the whirlwind that the Holiday's bring, or the fact that Noelle just occupies most of my thoughts and time.

Tomorrow (December 12th) we head into a pediatric opthamologist to get get her eyes checked out. The constant crossing of her left eye is a good indication that I have passed on my horrible genes. I am praying that surgery is not on the menu for her as it was for me and my brother. Glasses are something that I don't want her to have, but can deal with.

Like I said Noelle occupies most of my thoughts! I was planning on having this post be all about how the pregnancy is going and my thoughts about the upcoming birth. Then, I can't help but put a paragraph in about her! I guess that is the great thing about having children, they are your life.

Anyways, I'm 34 weeks pregnant and have 29 days until Max comes along (minus 10 days from the countdown on the left hand side of this blog). A trip to the grocery store is tiring and causes some major soreness. It doesn't help that my ovarian cyst is a discomfort on a regular basis. Thankfully the cyst will come out along with the baby. The doctor has told me that traveling is now out of the picture and I need to stay around home. Of course, I can still do shopping and get out to just get out, but no traveling to visit family anymore because they are just too far away.

Surprisingly, I have more energy than I thought I would at this point. Noelle must be a big factor in this energy because I try to keep up with her and entertain her with different activities through out the day. Although, some days we watch A LOT more TV than we probably should because I just don't want to do anything! Household chores are not at the top of my list but my Wonderful Husband Tom has been helping pick up the slack there. For some odd reason cleaning products have the instantaneous reaction of me throwing up. That in turn makes a way bigger mess, so Tom does the bathrooms and I try to keep up of the other things. Emotions are another fun by-product of pregnancy and mine are in full swing!

I have a mile long list of things that need to get done as far as baby needs go that I getting together but not attempting until Christmas is over. We plan on taking down all the decorations, including the tree, the day after Christmas so that we can focus on preparing the house for the baby. I love the decorations and just want to sit back now and enjoy the Christmas Season without stressing too much about the other details right now.

One of my biggest fears while having this baby is being away from my other baby. We have never spent more than one night away from Noelle and we will have three of them to deal with. My Mom is coming down to stay with her and I know she is in very capable hands. I just have a hard time knowing that I will not be there when she wakes up in the morning and needs her "snuggle time", or the way she gives us "special kisses" through out the day. This is something that I'm sure all moms struggle with and can sympathize with me on. I am trying very hard to do a bunch of preparation with Noelle so that she is not blindsided. She understands that baby Max will be here soon and while Mommy is away Granma will stay with her. At least, I think she understands this after drilling in into her for the past few weeks. I can't wait for her to visit me in the hospital and see her face the first time she views her brother, priceless!

Well, that's it for now. Wish me luck at the doctor tomorrow!

Babcock Family Christmas

On December 1st, last Saturday, we attended the Babcock Family Christmas, which consists of my Mom's side of the family. It was held at my Aunt Shawn's beautiful house in New Baltimore, about a two hour drive for us.

When we arrived Noelle was dressed in comfy traveling clothes. My Grandma (unable to make the trip up from Florida because of the cold weather) had bought four beautiful dresses for Noelle. She eagerly tore through the wrapped boxes and exclaimed with bight eyes "WOW! Dresses SO petty!". We held them all up for her and let her pick one out. There was a gold one, a white one with gold snow flakes on it and a matching sweater (she chose this one), and two different pink and black dresses. She was very excited to put the white dress on, I on the other hand was a bit hesitant at the color and certainty of staining it!

Noelle did exhibit a bit of shyness but after a few minutes playing with the dogs and running around exploring the house, she felt right at home! People began arriving and she was happy to see family that we haven't seen in awhile. I, too, was thrilled to see some of my aunts, and cousins that I haven't been around. I try to keep in touch and visit, but like everyone else sometimes time passes by and soon it seems like forever since I've seen everyone.

Extremely yummy Chinese food was ordered, along with some cheesy potatoes (not the best pairing with Chinese food, but a family tradition nonetheless) and we all dug in. After the big group's stomachs were filled to the brim we gathered around the tree. Thanks to technology we called up Grandma and Grandpa Babcock and we were all able to tell them how much we wished they were with us!

Noelle was quick at digging into her presents and made out very well with lots of great gifts. The adult gift exchange was a big hit with everyone getting the chance to "steal" gifts and trade.

Due to a big storm moving in, we decided to hit the road around 7:30pm. Noelle did not want to leave, stating, "stay people's houses!" over and over. She just loved being around everyone and it didn't hurt that she had a gorgeous dress on, because everything is fun while you are dressed up!

When we left, the weather was atrocious. We saw many accidents throughout the drive home and thank God we didn't end up in the middle of any of them. It took us about three hours to get home, but we were safe and sound and everything was covered in a beautiful coat of snow and looked "so bu-ti-ful".

P.S. - 10:30am is the official time that I will be going in for my c-section on January 10th.

Mark Your Calendars!!!!

Friday I went to the doctor and it looks like Baby Boy Roehrig (tentatively named Max, unless he comes out looking like something entirely different!) will be born on January 10, 2008! They still have to confirm the time and unless something drastic changes that will be his eviction date!