Pregnancy Update - 26 weeks

Baby is the size of: a (hothouse?) cucumber

Symptoms: Still just the pressure the belly puts on everything. ouch!!!

Maternity clothes? I wear the same pants like every day, but at least I like them?!

Sleep: Didn't do so well this week on sleep. One or two children being sick will do that to you. Friday night, Farrah was up every hour! Um, do I have a newborn?! Naps didn't happen well. But we are back on track and I'm already really really looking forward to a nap today in this weather!

Fun moment(s) this past week: Chris & I went to a fun wedding Sunday afternoon. It was cool & different in a neat art gallery downtown. The bride was BEAUTIFUL!! Oh my goodness. I had not met her before, but you could see her glowing!

Movement: Lots!

Food cravings: This week I passed my gluecose test. I may have celebrated by eating way too many donuts earlier this week and a bag of cotton candy at the fair last night.

Gender & Name: Hallie :) 

Weight gained: Seriously, do I have to answer this? :)

Belly Button in or out? Still in, but I can see all of it. Flattening out.

What I am looking forward to: The announcement of Rachael's baby today! She just gave birth and I'm waiting to hear girl or boy!


Today is also our 8 year wedding anniversary. I'm married to the best person I've ever met. And I mean that. I like to think we were made for each other. But I'm pretty sure any girl would be most honored to be Mrs. Chris Green. I'm so happy I'm her, and that he is the best father my girls could ask for. I love Chris more than I can express.

Reflections on the past week: It was a hard, hard week. I'd like to write more, later. But right now... I need a nap! So check back.

Last night/ this morning

Bella has had a cough for a couple of weeks. Just when she wakes up in the morning and at nap. But Monday, it got a little worse and "seal-like" (aka - I knew that meant croup). And she had a fever. By Tuesday at lunch, Farrah had the fever and woke up from nap with the seal cough. They slept well Tuesday night, so Wednesday we had to get out of the house as to not go stir crazy!

Bella's fever was getting better, but Farrah was still hot and I could tell coughing hurt her (Bella never complained of it hurting). And we had plenty of moments where they seemed fine... this is the new "silly" face and it CRACKS me up every time I look at it!


So last night (Wednesday) I put them in the hot steamy shower with me until the hot water ran out. They went to sleep so fast - at 7:30! Which is early these days. I was relieved b/c a couple of days with under the weather kids can make you very weary...... but then Farrah woke up crying hard at 8:30 and trying to catch her breath. Even dry heaving once. Um, that will scare you. Her voice was so soft so there is no telling if she'd been crying for a while?? I felt terrible and just held her. She was wheezing in & out. The nurse felt with her symptoms I should take her in that night! AHHHHHH! I won't go into every detail, but of all nights... it was already a long day and Chris was leaving town this morning.... ahhhhhhhh.

But in the end, I am so glad we went. She has croup and stridor, so they gave her a steroid and a breathing treatment. But the catch was we had to stay around 2 hrs after the breathing treatment so they could check her again. It worked like a charm. And she was asleep in the big Children's Healthcare Bed. But it was 3am and I was tired & hungry! And COLD! It had to be 60 degrees in there. Internet didn't work well either. I should have brought food, a book and a jacket. Note to self for next time. Hopefully that won't be anytime soon. I hadn't been to the ER since Bella was 3 days old.

Farrah slept until 11am today! And she's still sick, but a HUGE difference. And she is taking a nap, which I didn't expect. If we had not gone as recommended, it probably would have been a much harder night of sleep and a hard day - managing 2 at the Dr. office. So it all worked out.

Yesterday, last night in particular, was so trying. So trying. All this, plus Bella jumping on the bed (which she's told 100 times a day she can't do) and getting a stinger or something in her neck. Scared me to death. Then going to the ER with Farrah. I am really not trying to complain or be dramatic, but geez... I was at my limit! But I was so happy that Farrah improved so much. (She just seemed to get sick so fast!) And I was driving home thinking, "Lord, please let tomorrow be nice to me."

And it has been. Girls slept in, Farrah until 11!, and we went out for BBQ to quench a pregnancy craving. Then doughnuts. Because if one can ever "deserve" food for a hard day, we did. And now naps... And we're gonna make it :)

In the waiting room:


Waiting for the Dr:


After the steroid, she felt lots better. Entertaining with a plastic glove.


Sound asleep:

Zoo lately

With the recent good weather, we've been enjoying to zoo more again! Our current favorite thing is the parakeet exhibit. We spend at least 20 minutes in there each time (that is a lot on one exhibit, if you ask this mom!). There are sticks with birdseed on them you can buy for $1. Tip: don't buy them. Many times, people will give you theirs when they are done because it would take forever for all the birdseed to get eaten OR they are just laying randomly on the ground.

These pics are from last Friday. Look at these sweet sisters.



To be honest, this is how a lot of our pics are. Bella being sassy and Farrah won't make eye contact. Or the other way around. :)


Then we alternate visits to either the train or the carousel. Farrah loves to yell "TRAIN!" every time she hears it throughout the zoo. But as soon as it's time to get on, she does NOT like it (specifically the tunnel). But that is getting better.

We love this picture. She saw Bella swinging, and had to do it, too. I just love her hair!!



And we rode the carousel that day...



We love the zoo!

OH wait... I just found some more pics on my phone from a previous visit:

I told ya... they love these birds!


And... we get on the train and everything is fine...

Then the engine starts up and she loses it...

Pregnancy Update - 25 weeks

Baby is the size of: 13.5 in rutabaga. What??

Symptoms: getting a bit uncomfortable.

Maternity clothes? yep.

Sleep: sleeping pretty well! Grateful for that.

Fun moment(s) this past week: Celebrating Rachael's baby and then Kelly & Bobby's baby boy. Both coming VERY soon!!

Movement: She moves a lot these days. Chris gets to feel a good bit of her kicks, too.

Food cravings: none in particular.

Gender & Name: Hallie

Weight gained: ?

What I am looking forward to: Fall & fall weather. And the girls' birthdays will be here soon, too!

Reflections on the past week: auuuuuuuuuggggg. Overall, fine. But a few teary times this week. Something about realizing this week that I'm "25" weeks" and have less than more weeks left has kinda hit me.We had a talk about things parents shouldn't have to talk about - decisions that need to be made now and not when Hallie is born. I was able to (somehow) research and talk about this stuff with Chris objectively. It of course is heavy stuff, but I was able to think about it because we NEED to, not because I wanted to. Then the little things are what can bring me to tears.

Like Saturday, we were loading the kids up to go run errands and my maternity jeans had to be pulled up for the 500th time already that morning (they drive me nuts!) and I got in the car and just cried. Because I have to wear maternity pants, act like a normal pregnant woman, and may not get the same results as a normal pregnant woman. It's not fair. I sometimes mourn that my body is going through all the usual motions of being pregnant, and it's just a reminder to me of what I am going through. What is to come. As much as I try to just think about all the good things and how I know it will all be worth it, it's just hard sometimes. And although I would never change my decision to carry to term this precious girl, the situation just sucks. But I knew it would. I knew it wouldn't be easy. But it's not the little things that make me upset, it's just a compilation of all these little things.

I try to not worry about the future, because there is nothing I can do to change it. I know God has me in his hands. But that doesn't always keep me for actually worrying and just being scared and sad.

I've also noticed how worship music affects me. We have a CD in the car of all the music played in Waumba land. (Yes, preschool music.) But it's not typical kid music. It's many of our musicians from church and they are just good. They of course are positive and "happy" songs. But also really catchy and my girls LOVE it. They have motions to every song. And I can sing right along with them, and I can claim every word they say. It's sounds cheesy, but I like it.

Then, at church - our music is soooo wonderful. And I don't say that just because Chris works there. I mean, yall know if you go there... it's just good. But man, lyrics can just cut to the heart when you are going through stuff, you know? Sometimes I cry, other times I feel like I could have a really good cry, but hold the tears back harder so that people won't look at me. Either way, I could cry every time. Nothing wrong with it of course. But I don't want stares or people worrying about me, etc. I guess I should get over that.

Wow... that was some rambling.

Thank again for all the prayers, sweet notes, books, even gifts and more prayers. They mean so much. I'm reading one that was given to me called "I Will Carry You" by Angie Smith and it is great.

Wedding weekend

Last weekend, as I had mentioned, Chris was in his cousin Brad's wedding and Bella was the flower girl. Maggie, the bride, was sweet and included Bella and I in the bridesmaid festivities that weekend!
First, we went to the Bridesmaid Luncheon at the Swan House. Maggie gave Bella a beautiful pearl necklace to wear in the wedding.

Then, she pampered us. Bella had her finger & toes painted (big girl!) and I was treated to a pedicure (Thank you, Maggie!) It was such a fun day with my little Bella.

That night, we had rehearsal. And I had "Double Trouble" on my hands. They were loving running ALL over the huge Catholic Church. I have to say they looked adorable, though.

Bella did great as the flower girl. The reception was at the Atlanta History Museum. It was super nice and I just knew we were going to break something. My mother-in-law was awesome in helping wrangle during dinner.

Then we all had a great time dancing together! We partied until 10:30! Farrah was a dancing fool!
I was nervous about having them up so late, but it worked out well. And Chris loved having the girls there. He made the comment that "It's crazy to think I only have a few weddings like this to dance with the girls before I'm the father of the bride and dancing a Father/Daughter dance." So true.

Shower for Baby Copponex

Last night I went to a dinner/shower for Rachael and Baby Copponex (who will be arriving ANY day now!! Yay!!!) I was honored to be invited. Rachael (whether she knows it or not) has been a inspiration to me over the past year+. Our sisters are long time best friends, but we've just recently in the past couple of years became friends through our blogs :)

Kelly wrote a great post with tons of pictures (check it out, because I didn't take any pictures!) She sums up the night so well!

I am so excited to hear the news of Rachael's baby... and to find out the sex of him/her!!

Toot-Taste

Ha! What a title!

I can't get enough of this voice. There isn't much she doesn't try to say these days. Toot-taste = toothpaste. She still LOVES brushing her teeth since this earlier video and now demands floss. (I think she likes the mint flavor?) She has to be first ("My TURN!") and it's hard to get her off the step to go to bed. I trick her by saying, "Go show Daddy your pretty teeth!"

Ahhh I love this age!

Wordless Wednesday: Rain Gear

pregnancy Update - 24 weeks (6 months!)

Baby is the size of: about as long as an ear of corn or banana

Symptoms: about the same

Maternity clothes? yep! i like my new skinny jeans, i just wish maternity pants didn't have to be pulled up every 1.5 seconds. maybe i should try suspenders. ha!

Sleep: overall, sleeping pretty well. last night - not so much. i have no idea why, but i had so many dreams that kept waking me up. some bad, some just strange. i had a dream (it was a good dream) that we had Hallie and she looked just like Farrah.

Fun moment(s) this past week: the wedding this weekend was fun. the reception was super nice and we kept the girls there until like 10:30? dancing! i will never forget Farrah dancing. Girl has some rhythm!! Bella did great as the flower girl. Chris looked super nice in his bow tie tux. And I did a reading in the wedding and didn't mess up. And the girls stayed pretty quiet during the ceremony. So all was well. :)

Movement: Still mostly at night and morning is when i notice the most. i don't think i sit still long enough to notice other times. oh my goodness these two girls at home keep me ON MY FEET!!

Food cravings: nothing specific.

Gender & Name: Hallie (not to be confused with the name Haley)

Weight gained: i don't know! guess i'll find out before my glucose test on the 16th. i could probably afford to run a couple of laps. if i ran.

Belly Button in or out? i noticed today that it's getting pretty flat.

What I am looking forward to: celebrating a couple of friends with baby showers this week and weekend. 

Reflections on the past week: I am doing ok emotionally. It's just a HARD waiting game right now. I feel like we are in a good place (emotionally) after knowing the news for over 10 weeks. But I know it will be a different and more challenging ballgame when she gets here. And ... we don't know when that will be. So I'm trying to find the line between preparing and over preparing. Between wanting control and giving up control to God. Because there is only so much we can do to prepare. We don't know what road God will take us down. We can't know every little thing wrong with her and have a set plan for proceeding. So I am just trying to prepare and learn what I can, then rely on God and asking for clarity for the rest. 

Farrah counting to 10

This is in the car on our way to the beach. We just discovered she can count to 10, I didn't even know she could! ha! I guess a a combination of school on Thursdays and playing countless hide-and-seeks with Bella has taught her! I love her little voice.

Abigail's Party

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, we went to Abigail's 2nd birthday party at my aunt's B&B "The Social Goat."

Allison did so great with her theme and decorations. My favorite thing was the farm animal cake pops!

Allison is a long time friend. We danced in the fifth grade talent show together to "Boggie Woggie Bugle Boy" and are still looking for a recording of that... :) haha!

My parents were also there. Farrah loves her G'daddy!

The kids had a great time, despite the crazy heat, and Allison threw a cute, cute party!!

Pregnancy Update - 23 weeks & ultrasound

Oh, sweet girl.


We had an ultrasound today. Crazy how 4 weeks between each ultrasound can seem like both forever ago & like I just had one simultaneously. I was soooo eager to get news on Hallie today. Growth wise, we felt like we'd be able to see so much more and learn more about her. As much as I would like a doctor to tell me the future, it's not going to happen. They can only give their best educated guesses. And that is what we want. The more we know, the more research we can do and the more we can be prepared. We met with a new doctor. The past 3 ultrasounds have been with the same specialist, but we wanted to try someone new within the group. No one reason, we just felt like we wanted to hear from someone else.

So the new doctor was an older gentleman, and it was a good experience. He was great about answering our questions and we felt pretty at ease with him. Hallie was mover again today :). Basically we could see the hole in the heart and her cleft palate a little better. Her other organs look good and so does the fluid around her. He said that at this point, he doesn't see a reason for "demise in-utero" in the near future. That in his opinion, and I am paraphrasing to make this as simple as possible, that Hallie could very well make it to birth, or get very close. Time will only tell as she grows- and hopefully the fluid around her and the placenta cooperates to keep her comfortable. It's not that he is saying, "yes! she will make it to birth!" but he is saying that Hallie is doing well and he doesn't see any reason right now that concerns him.

I'm not sure how much I have explained about Trisomy 13 in my posts, so I hope all of this makes sense. T13 effects every cell in the body. It's not the heart or the cleft palate or anything ONE thing that is the problem- it's her whole body that is affected. She is special - and has an extra 13th chromosome in every cell. So this creates problems everywhere - her ability to breathe, eat, etc. Right now, my placenta is her life source. The outside world is where the problem is. I wish I could keep her safe forever inside of me. Until we meet her, I will enjoy every kick and know this is our special time together. And just pray that we get to meet her.


Baby is the size of: a large mango (Hallie is specifically estimated to be measuring about 1.1 lbs and about 1.5 weeks behind in size, which is a normal characteristic of Trisomy 13.)

Symptoms: Sore feet after standing/walking all day. Other than than some minor things, I love pregnancy in general.

Maternity clothes? yes, although this week I was almost exclusively in a bathing suit getting my white belly a tan :)

Sleep: I love sleep. I love naps.

Fun moment(s) this past week: The whole week was fun at the beach! I really enjoyed our night of "crab hunting" with the girls. They had little nets and we all had our own flashlights. The girls had never seen so many stars!

Movement: Yes, more and more. It's funny how much a little "mango" can move!

Food cravings: I've been craving/drinking more water lately, which is good, finally.

Gender & Name: Hallie! We haven't talked about middle names yet.

Weight gained: I don't even want to know after that vacation.

Belly Button in or out? I think it's ever so slowly starting to flatten out.

What I am looking forward to: Chris' cousin Brad is getting married to a wonderful girl named Maggie this weekend. It already feels like she's been part of the family forever. Chris, Brian & Bella are part of the wedding party and we are so honored. The wedding & whole weekend should be a blast!

Reflections on the past week: Doing well this week. It's hard for me to say that because at the beginning of all of this, I didn't think I could make it all the way through this pregnancy (and especially joyfully!) I think going on 10+ weeks of knowing our news, and letting it sink in (as much as it can), I am getting to a place of being ok. I know I can't change anything. Like any big trial in life, this makes me appreciate the blessings I do have in life. My goodness, I have a great little family. I don't go without. I have more than I deserve. And I know, as hard as this IS and WILL be, that Hallie is a blessing, too. She's taught us more, stretched us more, and made us rely on God more than ever. And I have a feeling that we're not the only ones that will learn from her.

I'm not 100% doing awesome, I don't mean to act like nothing is the matter. I have my times. I still kinda want to go unnoticed and not as a pregnant girl that strangers want to rub her belly & ask "when are you due?" And I really hurt for people going through this same thing, too. I am still scared of the future. I am scared to meet her and fall in love, but I'm also scared not to meet her. But I keep reminding myself that God has carried us this far, and He'll be there during even worse times.


Thank you for praying for us. It's kinda overwhelming, really. I am just blown away by the people that are praying for us & for Hallie. It's so cool to see, you have no idea.