Doctor's Appointments...

Isabelle with her lollipop and stickers....

Today Isabelle had her 3 year well check up and I had my pre-op appointment.

Isabelle is over the 100th percentile in every category! She is 40lbs and is growing strong! She had to have shots today and she did GREAT! She was very distracted and focused on her lollipop that I brought for her for being brave. When the nurse gave her the shot she looked confused for a second until the Nurse quickly told her to go pick a sticker and she never thought a thing of it. The pediatrician let her pick a sticker too, so she got two stickers and she wore them proud all day!


My pre-op appointment went well. Surgery is still scheduled for August 6th. That is less than 8 days away!!

39 weeks

Isabelle's Special Day

We decided to take Isabelle out for a fun day on Saturday. She is starting to get that things are changing and we wanted to do some fun stuff with her, before all the chaos begins. We took her to the mall to Build A Bear Workshop and let her pick any animal she wanted. She picked a dog which surprised both Freddie and I, since she is afraid of dogs, but that is what she wanted. Then she got to stuff the dog and we let her pick out clothes for her dog, she had so much fun choosing, her first choice was a batman t-shirt, and we were fine with that, but then when she saw a Hello Kitty outfit and she had to have that. We washed the dog and named it, she picked the name all on her own. The dog's name is Hello Kitty Puppy. Then we sang it Happy Birthday which she loved and had us do again a few more times later in the day. She wanted to go to the Disney store so we let her wander through it and she didn't ask for anything. She got to ride the carousel ride and then we treated her to her favorite Starbucks drink, a Strawberries and Creme Frappuccino. On the way home from the mall we stopped at the movie store and she picked out a movie for us to watch together. We had dinner, (She even got to eat on the couch, which we don't let her do) we watched her movie and she crashed! A special day just for her!

Here are a few pics from our new point and shoot camera....

Stuffing her new dog...

Putting the heart on her nose...

Giving her dog a heart....
Isabelle and Hello Kitty Puppy.

Cliche

Freddie took this picture of me barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen, I thought it was funny so I am sharing it with you.

There isn't much to post. We have been hanging out at home, playing the waiting game... Isabelle and I have spent a lot of quality time together these last few days, which I am so grateful for! We have some fun things planned for her this weekend, other than that it seams that the days are dragging... I think it's just hard knowing we have a date we get to meet her and not having a ton planned up until then. I should be thankful for the down time, and I am, but I am excited to meet the newest member of our family!

Picture This

This morning didn't start out so well. It started with my alarm clock (Isabelle) waking me up before 6am. This is really early for her and way to early for me. Needless to say we were both pretty cranky.

I had a doctors appointment this morning, I got Isabelle off to a friends house and left with 45 minutes to spare. The hospital is doing some MAJOR renovations to the parking lot and it has been getting worse each time to find a parking space, so I left with plenty of time to spare, or so I thought. The drive to the hospital from my friends house is less than 5 minutes. it took me the remaining 40 minutes to actually park my car. It was a mess! I ended up parking 3 blocks away and having to run to my appointment. Not good for a nearly ready to pop pregnant woman. My blood pressure was up and the doctor kept me longer cause I was having minor braxton hicks contractions from all the running. I didn't see my regular doctor cause she is on vacation, and this doctor had no idea what my medical history was which was annoying and then when it came time to schedule me my next appointment we discovered a major glitch with my surgery. The glitch, I was scheduled for surgery on the 6th but my doctor who is doing the surgery has the day off. I wonder how that is going to work. After a very long time and several phone calls later, they figured out a plan, and then came the next problem, my doctor didn't schedule me for a pre-op appointment and has no time to do one. The appointment needs to be done 3 days before my surgery. She is only back 2 days before then and has ZERO time because she is overbooked as it is. Got to LOVE Kaiser! Long story short they had to bump some appointments, I can't go past the 6th for surgery because of risk I will go into labor on my own. The icing on the cake is when I was walking back to my car. I noticed I couldn't get into my car. Someone had parked so close to the drivers side of my car that our mirrors were touching. The door lock actuator wasn't working so I couldn't get in on the passenger side and there is not keyhole on the passenger side either, so I had to unlock the trunk and climb through the back of our van! Picture that! The good news in all of this is Calista is doing great! In position and ready to go!



We are ready for her too, Isabelle and I have been having many discussions about the baby everyday, mostly me trying to teach her what the baby can and can't have and how she can help as a big sister. We made a chart for a count down so that it seams more real to her. I let her help me pick out an outfit to bring Calista home in and she also helped me pack my bag for the hospital. She is such a good girl. I am really trying to spend extra time with her since I know her world will be rocked in just a few short weeks.



Here is Isabelle playing in Calista's room.

FAQ

Here are the answer to some frequently asked questions I have been getting lately....


Q: Are you going to change the name of the blog?
A: Not right now. I think I was convinced that it isn't a big deal.


Q: How did we pick the name Calista?
A: We get this question A LOT! Most people have never heard of the name. I first heard it when my friend Theresa from Virginia had her first daughter 8 years ago and she named her daughter Calysta (with a Y). I loved the name and so did Freddie! The only other Calista we have heard of is Calista Flockheart, she is an actress. When we had Isabelle, Isabelle was the ONLY name Freddie and I both agreed on, so that was easy. When we found out we were having another girl, I thought this is going to be hard, but one day while standing in line at the store Freddie said "What about Calista?" I loved the name but I felt weird about steeling my friends daughter's name, I know that is silly so I called Theresa and asked her what she thought and she was actually thrilled. So Calista it is!

Q: What does Calista's room look like?
A: It is painted a cream color with pink accents. There isn't really a theme to it. (See pictures below)


Q: How are you feeling?
A: I feel great! Much better than I thought I would be with only a couple weeks left to go. I am getting good sleep and I have more energy than I did last pregnancy.

Q: What is the situation with your platelets?

A: Last time I had them checked they were back in the normal range. I will have them checked again at my pre-op appointment just to make sure but it is looking good right now.


Q: When are you due?
A: I am having a scheduled C-section on August 6th. I am not eligible for a VBAC (Vaginal birth after c-section) for several reasons. Although I would love to try to give birth naturally, I am kind of excited about having a date that we will get to meet her for sure, rather than playing the wait and see game. It is kind of surreal at times, but it has made it so much more relaxing for both Freddie and I to know and we will enjoy these last few weeks until she arrives.

Here are pictures of Calista's room, It was hard to get the full view because of where the door is, but you get the idea.

Here are a couple pictures of the beautiful toy box my Dad made for Calista. It is a Treasure Chest!

7 Years!

Today is our 7 year Wedding Anniversary!

I can't believe it has already been 7 years!!

We got a babysitter and enjoyed a yummy dinner

and a fun evening out just the two of us!

I feel so blessed to be married to such an amazing man!

Celebrating Calista!!

Rose and I

Today my good friend Rose hosted a Celebration for Calista and I. I was feeling kind of guilty about having a baby shower when I am having another girl, but Rose convinced me that Calista needed a celebration of her own!

It was a beautiful shower and I feel so blessed by my friends and family. We received a ton of diapers and wipes and lots of other fun things for Calista including a new rocking chair!! (Our last one was old to begin with and didn't make it through the beginning toddler years with Isabelle.)

We played some fun games and enjoyed some of my favorite foods. All of the details were special, Rose even contacted my dear friend Theresa and had her make cookies for the favors, sent all the way from Virginia! (Thank you Theresa!!) They spent time praying over Calista and I and all of the details that come along with a newborn. It was a very fun afternoon!

Isabelle was great, she played the games and helped with the present opening, and even received some of her very own special gifts. One of her gifts was her very own set of burp clothes for when she gets to feed the baby, so cute!

THANK YOU to everyone who made this day so special for us!

My Mom and Freddie's Mom

My Grandma

My Awesome Friends!

(The only person not pictures is my sister in law Sarah, I am sorry I missed that Sarah!)

Isabelle and Kaya playing one of the games...

I thought this was cute, Isabelle writing down her answers to one of the games....

Isabelle posing for a picture, she lifted my shirt to pose with Calista....

The Proud Big Sister!

First Swim Lesson

Isabelle and Misha

Today Isabelle had her first swim lesson. I wasn't sure how she would do, she doesn't like getting her face wet and she doesn't like being in a big pool without Freddie or I holding her the entire time.

It is amazing what someone else can get your kid to do. Her teacher Misha, was GREAT! She was so sweet and so patient! Isabelle couldn't stop talking about her all afternoon. Misha taught her how to kick, make bubbles in the water to get use to the water on her face, use a kickboard to hold onto and kick her feet and she even had them jumping from the steps into her arms. By the end of the class she was teaching them how to hold their breath and go underwater. Isabelle didn't like that to much, but she will get use to it.

Here are some pictures from the lesson today...

I was so proud of her! She did a great job! On our way home we stopped at the store to buy her a kickboard and goggles for next weeks class and she convinced me to buy her a new swimsuit as a reward. (like it took a ton of convincing...Freddie said she milked me for being so proud of her.) She spent the rest of the evening in her new suit, with her new kickboard and her goggles.

Here is Isabelle in her new suit and goggles....

Maternity Pictures

Last Tuesday my friend and photography buddy Amy took some maternity pictures of me and some with Freddie and Isabelle too. Calista is due to arrive in less than a month. I have a scheduled C-Section on August 6th. I can't believe how fast this pregnancy has gone!

Here are a few of the pictures from our photoshoot....

I love this one of Isabelle and I

Isabelle's Birthday Party!

Isabelle's Birthday party was so much fun! We had just a few of her friends her age over for a princess tea party. They ate yummy finger foods and cake, we did a craft where they decorated crowns and magic wands and they played pin the glass slipper on Cinderella. And Isabelle opened lots of wonderful gifts from her friends. The girls all looked so precious in their princess dresses!

Here is a slide show of the party...

*A special Happy Birthday to Grandma G! It's her Birthday today!*

Happy Birthday Isabelle!!!

Today is Isabelle's 3rd Birthday!!!

( Click on the picture to see it bigger)

We have a very special day planned for our little girl. Yesterday we spent most of the day preparing for her party and she was so excited. She was following me around the kitchen as I made her Birthday cake. She would move her little stool all across the kitchen just to keep up with me. It cracked me up! When we were decorating she would thank us for everything we pulled out. We are having a small Birthday party just a few of her girl friends her age. It is a princess party and everyone is to come dressed as their favorite princess. Isabelle will be Cinderella of course. She is very excited!

Above are the pictures I took this week of her for her 3 year old pictures, and while I was taking those I remembered to take one of her with the yellow duck. If you don't remember I took pictures of Isabelle with that duck every month for the first year she was born and now we have her take pictures with it once a year to see how big she has gotten. I have attached this years picture and the picture of her with it when she was just born.

Stay tunned this week, I will update you on the party and the rest of this special day tomorrow.

Isabelle just born with her yellow duck.

Happy July!

Happy July! (As Isabelle says!)

Yesterday was a beautiful day! The weather was perfect here! We started our day off by doing some things around the house. Freddie and our friend Todd did some painting around the house. (Thanks Todd!) Then we headed to a BBQ with friends (Thanks Adamson's for hosting!) It was a great BBQ and we had so much fun! When it got dark we did fireworks in the front yard.

One of the best parts of the day was seeing the Himmelberger Family! They are our friends who I posted about earlier, who's son had open heart surgery and after weeks of being in the hospital they were finally sent home on Thursday! We are so glad to have them back! Drew their son was given a gigantic box of fireworks and that was our entertainment for the evening and boy was it fun! (Thanks Drew for sharing your fireworks!)

Isabelle has always LOVED fireworks, I think it is because she is born so close to the 4th of July! She cheered and was so excited, one time I looked over and saw her shout "THAT WAS AWESOME!" with her arms high in the sky! We gave her a sparkler for the first time this year and she LOVED it, especially because it was pink.

It was a great day! The only thing missing was my Grandma's rice crispy treats! She always makes them for the 4th of July and since I don't live by her anymore, I missed out. Yesterday also marked 8 years since Freddie and I got engaged! We have so many more fun things this month! I can't wait!

We hope that you all had a fun and safe 4th of July!

Isabelle watching the fireworks

Some of the fireworks we set off...

To Change Or Not To Change?

With Calista due to arrive in about a month, I was thinking about the blog. The address of the blog is http://www.isabelleupdates.blogspot.com/ Should I change the address name? Or do you think I should keep it the same? If I change it I will give you all plenty of notice. I was just thinking if it matters or should I be fair to Calista or am I over thinking this?

What's your vote?



Someone sent me this comic, I thought it was hilarious! I am totally addicted to reading blogs and writing this blog for our friends and family, so I got a good laugh out of this one! I stay connected with a lot of my friends through blogs....