January 10, 2013

*This is a long post. I started this post on January 10th (hence the title of this post :)), as I wanted to REALLY document this pregnancy, from start to finish. And even if it was God's plan for this baby to be called Home (at any point), I wanted he/she to be shown love from the VERY beginning!) .....

My sweet "poppy seed" (according to Baby Center, that is how big you are :) today I saw the two pink lines. Today we found out that, God willing, we will be parents again in September. Although we were trying, for some reason my initial reaction is always shock! :) This third time was no different. Daddy was surprised, but got a HUGE smile on his face when he read the card that said, "Believe it or not, you're going to be a Daddy again!" :) It is still SO SO SO early, and I know that it's too early to announce your arrival to anyone (other than Daddy), but I wanted to document this from the very beginning, because goodness knows you were wanted, hoped for, and loved already! :) We can't wait to tell your big brother and sister that you're going to be coming! :) It'll be a couple of weeks until that happens, but I surely can't wait!

We love you baby Poppy Seed! :)

January 11, 2013...Mommy and Daddy WEREN'T supposed to tell anyone since it's sooo early! We were going to wait until my first appointment on February 6th, but we were both just too excited! :) Daddy told some friends at work and Mommy told Mrs. Katie and Mrs. Tori (who I work with) and Linnie (the lady that will be watching you once your born). Everyone is very excited for us! :)

January 12, 2013...I'm pretty sure you don't have ears yet (after all, you are only the size of a poppy seed! ;)) but if you did, Mommy would be apologizing like crazy for all the yelling and screaming I did today....our beloved Baltimore Ravens had their second playoff game against the Denver Broncos and to say that the game was intense would be a TOTAL understatement. It was easily one of the best football games I've ever seen! Mommy was jumping around, screaming and basically acting like a total madwoman! :) What can I say, I love football!?!? :) AND since you'll be entering our family right when football season starts, it's something you'll have to get used to! :) Your big sisters first "phrase" was "go, go, go" while watching a football game with Mommy! :)

January 17, 2013....it started...the nausea! The only "real" symptoms I've felt lately was EXTREME fatigue (I could literally sleep for days at a time, but obviously that's not happening with an almost 7 and almost 3 year old running around, a full time job, dance class, Wednesday night church activities, etc! :)) and sore breasts. But today, I was working from home, and nothing seemed appetizing to me AT ALL (and lets just say, I love food! ;)) and then random smells would make my stomach turn! I don't remember ANY morning sickness with Manuel and I remember a bit of it with Mia, so we shall see how Baby #3 decides it should be! ;)

January 18, 2013...woah, woah, woah...is there 2 of you in there?!?!?! (Joking, sort of! ;)) but the nausea has hit full force. I even woke up in the middle of the night to pee and felt nauseous, UGH! I'm not complaining, trust me, I'm not, it's just that I don't remember ANY nausea with Manuel (which I know is rare) and I vaguely remember it with Mia, but I don't think it was this early. I'm only 5 weeks 4 days. Right now I'm surviving off of prenatal vitamins (and whatever I force down to take with the vitamin) and Ginger Ale :)

January 20, 2013...today was your big sisters 3rd birthday party. We told her and your big brother that if they were good all day, when we got home they would get a present. We hadn't intended on telling them about you yet, but Mommy has been SO sick and SO tired, that I wanted them to know why and not just think Mommy is a moody, miserable mess! ;) At 3 and 7 (almost) they have a very good grasp of Heaven, Jesus, etc. so, goodness forbid, it is not God's plan to have you join our family, we will be able to tell them that Jesus called you Home. OF COURSE we  pray that won't be the case, and we want you to join our family SO much in 8 months, but we know that Gods will is Gods will. Keep growing baby, keep growing! :)

January 22, 2013...today Daddy got an urge to tell close family! I wasn't sure how I felt about it, but I rolled with it! :) Daddy told your Mom-mom (his mom) and Buscia (his grandmother). They were both very excited! Your brother called Nonna (my mom) to tell her and Poppy. Then Mia called Zia (my sister and your aunt) but she didn't answer.

January 23, 2013...Zia called back and Mia was able to tell her that she's going to be a big sister. Zia (and your cousins) are very excited to welcome another baby into the family! :)

January 26, 2013...it was "Couples Night" with mommy, daddy and all of their friends. I hadn't plan to tell them this early either (do you see a pattern here?!?!?!? ;)) but as soon as they saw that I wasn't partaking in a glass of wine, they all knew! :) Everyone is VERY excited for us! They know how bad Mommy and Daddy wanted another baby, so they are all happy!

February 4, 2013...Mommy is 8 weeks pregnant today! I know, in the grand scheme of pregnancy, I'm ONLY 8 weeks ;) but what Mommy is surprised at is that it's already been 4 weeks since we found out about you!!!!! :)

February 5, 2013...tomorrow is our first prenatal appointment. I can't even remember what happens at that first appointment, but I know that I need to ask Dr. K one thing...."Remind me again, how often can I eat seafood?" Mommy could eat tilapia, salmon, tuna and shrimp 365 days a year, but I know that's not allowed during pregnancy so I need a refresher course! :) I THINK on Thursday Mommy will be able to go see Mrs. Kelli (one of Mommy's best friends from high school who is an u/s tech at Dr. K's office) and get to see you for the first time. Since this is Mommy's first pregnancy with Dr. K (the doctor who delivered your brother and sister retired!!!!!! :( I'm not sure how Dr. K does things, but I'm sure everything will be fine. She seems like a great lady (who also just had a baby! :)) I had a very bad dream last night that I lost you!!!!!! :( I was DEVASTATED in my dream and even when I woke up. I just keep telling myself, "This is all in God's hands" so I just need to keep reminding myself of that! I love you "kidney bean" :)

February 6, 2013...today was my first prenatal appointment with Dr. K. Nothing really exciting to report...everything feels as it should (whatever that means! ;)) I had my official "weigh in" :) Mommy gained 42 lbs with your brother and 24 lbs with your sister, so my goal is to keep it to 25 or less! I know the scale doesn't matter, but it was pretty easy to get back to my pregnancy weight after your sister, that's for sure! Unfortunately Mommy didn't go for my "viability scan" today because Mrs. Kelli was VERY sick! So, Mommy is going to be very patient (boo!! ;)) and I'll be going for my scan next Wednesday. I can't wait to see you for the very first time. I hope you are safe, happy and healthy in there and most importantly growing strong! Assuming all is well next Wednesday I plan on making you "Facebook official" (hahahahaa :)) shortly thereafter, incorporating a super cute picture of your u/s, your sister, your brother, and hearts (after all, Thursday is Valentines Day! :))

February 13, 2013....Mommy (and your big sister Mia) caught our first glimpses of you today, via ultrasound. The awesome thing about being besties with the u/s tech is that you get a ton of pics of your tiny "grape" and even get to see 3D pics of a 9week4day sweet baby! :) He/she is growing and thriving, everything looks good and is measuring right on target. Mia even got her very own pic! :) And for those of you wondering, no, Manny wasn't there and that is 100% okay. He was just off work for the last wee and a half with the flu AND pneumonia (yes, it was awful!!!!!!!!) so he couldn't take more time off of work. He wanted to be there, but I had Mia with me, which was equally as awesome!!!!!! :)

And for good measure, Baby Gomez #3 official blog debut...(sorry for the pic of a pic, but you get the idea of the level of adorableness below! ;))

Goooooooooo Ravens

Our beloved Baltimore Ravens are headed to the Superbowl on Sunday!!!!! :) No big plans for the game for the Gomez family, just relaxing, eating some delicious food and enjoying the game! (I wouldn't have it any other way! :)) Happy Friday and have a great weekend! :)

Happy 7th Birthday Manuel

7 years ago today I became a Mommy for the very first time! I had no clue what I was doing, but God knew what He was doing when he gave me, truly, one of the sweetest, most kind hearted, super smart, amazing little boys I have ever met! It's hard to think that it's been SEVEN years! Wow! Manuel, I love you more than life itself! I know I'm not a perfect Mommy, but I pray that Daddy and I raise you to be a good, strong, independent man with a solid faith in God! You are going to do great things in this world my sweet baby boy! Happy 7th Birthday! Love, Mommy


In Manuel's "old age" ;) he is opting to not have a big party but instead Manny is taking him and 3 of his best buddies out to lunch and then to the movies. The restaurant that they are going to for lunch is a local Italian place that Manny's best friend is the head chef at so they will get the royal treatment! :) They are even sitting in a special area where there is a "kings chair" for Manuel to sit in. He is VERY excited!!!! :)

I can't believe it was 7 years ago, I really can't!

Through the years...(I don't have many baby, baby pictures of Manuel (in digital form, I have millions in hard copy!) because he was pre-Facebook, pre-blog era! ;)

There are absolutely no words to describe the level of love I have for my sweet first born! :)

Mia's Princess Party

Yesterday was a fantastic day for our family (the fact that our beloved Ravens are Super Bowl bound certainly added to how awesome the day was! ;)) But it was mostly so great because it was Mia's 3rd birthday party! We had it a local bouncy house, and a great time was had by all!!!! Lots of friends came and we couldn't have been more blessed! :)

Here are just a FEW pictures I took from the day (and a few from Mia's actually birthday (Friday)...

 We started a tradition last year of doing a "Donut Picnic" on the morning of the kids actual birthday. This is Mia about 2 seconds after we woke her up singing Happy Birthday, blowing out her candles! :)

Dolled up for her birthday, getting ready to head to Linnie's :)

Mia's party at the bouncy house

Mia and her BFF from daycare, Riley

Manuel getting in on the fun! :)

The cake that Manny (my husband) and I made :)

The birthday princess enjoying some pizza :)

Daddy (and friends ;) helping Mia open her gifts

My beautiful sweet girl rockin' some of her gifts ;)

Happy 3rd Birthday Mia Grace

It's hard to believe that on this day, 3 years ago, at 9:11am my sweet baby girl entered this world. I never knew how amazing it would be to be the mother of a girl, but it is definitely so much different than parenting a boy! :) Mia is SO full of sass and personality! ;)

How did she go from this...

 To this..

My sweet Mia Grace,
   Where do I even begin? You are THREE today! Or as you say, "Free" :) You are equal parts sweet and spice, that's for sure! ;) You have been such an amazing addition to our family and I can't wait to see what God has in store for you. No doubt, it is going to be AWESOME! There really are no words to describe our relationship baby girl, because we are definitely inseparable! :) You bring so much joy, happiness and love to my heart I could sit here and type all day and I still wouldn't adequately describe! I love you more than life itself! Happy 3rd birthday my precious daughter! :)

Love,
Mommy

What are you up to at age 3...
~3T clothes for the most part but you have the teeniest hiney and skinniest legs that it's hard to keep your 3T pant up but your belly needs the 3T! ;)

~You are completely potty trained during the day. Overnight, it's hit or miss. You wear an overnight pull-up all the time, just to be safe.

~You weigh around 32 lbs (when you went to the ped at the beginning of January for a follow-up from your ER trip). Not sure about how tall you are. You have your 3 year check-up on February 15th for exact stats! :)

~You know your colors pretty much without error (except for yellow and green, sometimes you can't remember what they are! :)) And when you do say what color things are, you are SO proud of yourself! :)

~You know your ABC's

~You can count to 20 with consistency then you start making up numbers :)

~ You have the funniest, most adorable little accent with some words. We have no clue where it comes from, we can only assume that because Riley (your friend at Linnie's) says some words with an English accent (because her Mommy is from England) that you get it from her. HOWEVER, your accent isn't English sounding, so who the heck knows! :)

~You pronounce your "F's" as "T's" which is pretty cute too! :)

~You refer to Manuel as your "big bro"...it's hilarious! :)

~You LOVE going to Linnies! Sometimes you even ask to go on the weekends which makes mommys heart sad for a sec, until I realize how thankful I should be that you are going to a place you LOVE Monday-Friday! :)

~You have a huge chunk of Daddy/Manuel's personality when it comes to certain "inappropriate" (potty related) things! :)

~You LOVE baby dolls! You are going to be a great big sister one day! You LOVE helping Linnie take care of Keegan (a 5 month old little boy). Linnie says that she should just quit and you can be the babysitter! ;)

~You LOVE Jesus! I know you are only 3 but your passion for Jesus, church, worship music, etc. shines through. It is AWESOME!

I could go on and on for days about my sweet girl, but I'll stop! :)

HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY TO THE SWEEST, MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL I KNOW! :)

You Are My Sunshine...

When Manuel was little I got in the habit of singing, "You Are My Sunshine" to him. It wasn't everyday, but it was often. I'm not sure why it stopped, but eventually it did. Fast forward a few years, and I have started, once again, singing it to Manuel and Mia every night before bed (They share a bedroom, which they LOVE! I know, in most states, at a certain age, this becomes illegal, but for now, they LOVE it, and well, we live in a two bedroom townhouse, so there is no other option! ;)) But back to my lovely story :) after a few nights of singing it, Mia started to sing it too, and last night I videotaped it. It is SOOOO adorable! (but I'm partial, I know! ;)) She has started saying, "...sunshineS" because obviously that's why I say since it's directed towards both of them! :) There is A LOT going on in the Gomez household and lots of posts to share, hopefully soon! ;) I hope everyone out there is doing well and that 2013 is treating you good so far!

Without further ado, Mia's after bath (her hair is wet! :)) performance....(I hope this posts correctly! :))

Happy 2013!

I can't believe we are already 2 days into 2013...wasn't Christmas just yesterday? ;) Our New Years Eve have been pretty tame and uneventful since becoming parents (which is 100% okay by me! :)) but something happened this NYE that we will certainly never forget...

I had to work on New Years Eve, so I was taking Manuel and Mia to Linnie's house (the lady that watches Mia and watched Manuel when he was little) and Mia ended up getting sick in the car. I'm not sure about where you live, but around here, the sickies are going around EVERYWHERE! I just assumed that she had caught the stomach bug (that my husband had a few days prior), so I turned the car around and headed back home. Mia laid down on the sofa, Manuel started playing with toys, and I got to work. Mia wasn't really eating, but again, thought nothing of it, because I was thinking she had the stomach flu. Manuel ended up going to an early dinner (around 2pm) with his friend and his family. Mia was laying on the sofa and said her belly hurt, so I took her upstairs. She used the bathroom and I figured while she was already undressed, I'd give her a bath, just to see if it would make her feel better. I put her in the tub, and was pouring water on her, when she fell over and started seizing! :( Of course I was in a total panic, but the power of God took over and said, "Christina, it's a febrile seizure. Manuel had them all the time when he was little. Stay calm, get her out of the bath, wrap her in a towel and call 911." I was definitely talking to myself, silently freaking out, but knowing in the back of my head that it was a febrile seizure and she must have spiked a fever (even though I didn't even know she had a fever at all!) I took her downstairs, laid her on the floor on her side (in case she started vomiting) and called 911 while she continued to seize The EMT's arrived and took us by ambulance to the local ER. (In between 911 and the ambulance coming I called Manny at work to tell him what happened and to get to the restaurant to pick up Manuel because I didn't want him coming home and freaking out because Mia and I weren't there!) She was scared, I was scared, but we knew that everything would be okay, so I just kept praying! I got to sit in the back of the ambulance with her BUT the way the stretcher was, she couldn't see me, she could only hear me, so needless to say that wasn't easing her sadness, regardless of what "Ms. Rachel" (the EMT) was telling her! :) We got to the hospital and after blood work, urine work, RSV test, flu test, and a head CT scan. I was SO worried about the CT scan. I am EXTREMELY claustrophobic and although I knew it was necessary, I was scared because I knew the would have to strap her down (My husband was the one that went with Manuel when he had his first seizure and had to have a head CT, and the images STILL traumatize Manny 5+ years later, because Manuel FLIPPED out, and wouldn't stop screaming as they strapped him down, taped his head, etc!) So I was definitely prepared for the worst (at this point, Manny had taken Manuel to my moms house and was at the hospital with me, but I knew that I HAD to be the one to take Mia for her head CT. I couldn't have Manny go through that again!) Before they wheeled us to the radiology area, I text my good friend from church, Deb and asked her to please pray specifically for the CT scan because Mia had cried about EVERYTHING about to that point (whether it hurt or not, she just didn't want anyone touching her, UNDERSTANDABLY so!) Prayers are answered my friends, because Mia laid down on the table, they wrapped her like a little burrito, and did the scan (with me in the room) without a single solitary tear! Not one! Praise God! So, after all the tests came back, my sweet girl tested positive for the flu (even though she had a flu vaccine), which caused the fever, which caused the seizure. Some children only have one febrile seizure and then some have them regularly and outgrow them (like Manuel did). I pray that Mia DOESN'T follow in her brothers footsteps (in this regard! :)) but we know how to be EXTRA vigilant when it comes to fevers and sickness, so hopefully we can stay on top of them, when she gets sick. I pray that your New Year started out MUCH more uneventful! :) Prayers that you all have a wonderful 2013! I pray to start blogging regularly, but I can't make any promises! :) I still do follow along with all of my blogging buddies out there! :)

And for good measure (My sweet baby girl on Christmas Day :))