Merry Christmas!

We had a really nice Christmas yesterday! We went to Christmas Eve service at 7:30, which ended up being a lot longer than I remember and was definitely too late for our little Meredith, but she was still a trooper. (I especially like the later service over the earlier kids service...I guess because there are just so many kids at the early service- haha!) Next year we'll have to reconsider which service we attend. Chris' Grandmother spent the night with us, which was nice and Meredith was really excited to have her Grandma here. After we got home from church, Meredith woke up long enough to put out some cookies for Santa and some carrots for the reindeer, then without any fuss went straight to bed. We stayed up a bit longer to get her haul downstairs by the tree, but it really wasn't too bad. I slept terribly though, guess I kept thinking Meredith would wake up early, then I'd wonder if grandma was warm enough, then the baby would kick, then I'd start listing things in my head to be sure I did in the morning, etc etc. I was still the first one up to do important things like retrieve the carrots from the patio and start the coffee! Meredith slept until about 8am and then it was present time! She was so sweet while opening her gifts- her favorite was her Barbie house that Chris found for a steal on craigslist (it's a little dated, but it was super cheap and she is still thrilled with it!). Chris and I had fully agreed that we would not exchange gifts, mostly because we don't need to add any additonal stress to a pretty stressful season and we didn't need to spend any more money. Well, Meredith was super sweet and asked where our presents were because we could take turns opening them :) Aw, at least it wasn't ALL about her! I think we did go a little overboard this year, but we also know it's her last Christmas as an only child and she's at the age where we can buy a lot of not too expensive stuff. Not sure how long that will last, but it was still fun!

Then we packed up and headed over to Chris' step-sister's house for the Elliott Christmas. It is fun, but pretty chaotic since there are lots of kids. I also got a nice Christmas present while we were over there- a phone call from Hillary & Joey! It was so great to talk with them and sounds like they were able to celebrate Christmas with some of the other Azerbaijan Peace Corps volunteers. I was totally fine until Meredith got on the phone with them and then the emotions took over!! Miss them a lot!

Then we headed over to my Mom & Dad's house in the evening. My Aunt Marcia & Uncle Les were actually in town on their way back to Michigan from a trip to New Orleans, so that was a nice treat too! Allison & Matt were there too and we had a nice dinner and just enjoyed eachothers company. We'll do our big Christmas when Elizabeth, Chris, Abby & Jessie get here on Tuesday. We actually left when it started to snow last night and it basically snowed all night until today around noon or so. I think we ended up with a good 6" of snow, so of course we are basically snowed in! It's the first time Raleigh has had snow on Christmas in over 60 years! We've enjoyed a lazy snow day!

27 weeks and all good

Had a big doctor's appointment today. Glucose test, hemoglobin, thyroid check and an extra ultrasound to be sure baby girl is growing like she should (I'm on blood pressure meds, so sometimes growth can be an issue). I passed the glucose test and based on the ultrasound our little girl is a little over 2 lbs right now which puts her in the 72nd percentile, which isn't too shabby! We still can't get a good look at her little face because of the placenta placement, so she's really going to keep her little face a secret! It was another 'boring' appointment and I hope they continue that way!

Funny

So, Meredith is my church buddy since her daddy doesn't much care for going to church (that makes me sad, but is a different topic). Honestly, Meredith is my inspiration for getting to church a lot of the time when lounging around on a Sunday morning seems more appealing! Now that she is old enough, I know it is important to take her even when it seems that nothing is sinking in. Well, the other day she was saying something I had to ask her to repeat..."The body of Christ given for you" (while motioning that she is handing something to you), as in what they pastor says when he gives you the bread during communion! She is too young to actually take communion, but she always goes up with me and gets a blessing. I never really thought about her listening to that, but it made me so happy to hear!
Tonight after our little Christmas program at church, she put on a show at home. She sang two of her original songs about the baby Jesus and Mary and Joseph (and the donkey!) she even got all the way to Jesus dying on the cross for us. Wow, the kid is getting it!

I've learned...

I've learned that talking to Meredith while she is watching the Frosty special is just like talking to Chris while he's watching a Carolina sporting event... a brick wall!
Like father like daughter!
I shall try to refrain from talking until commercials :)

Super cool!

Tonight the baby was moving quite a bit after I ate dinner, so I had Meredith put her hand on my belly and sure enough the baby gave her a nice kick! She says she felt it and I know I sure did, so that was a pretty awesome big sister moment :)

Ding Dong!

Chris and Meredith had a fun first last weekend. We got a call from a friend with last minute tickets to the UNC vs. College of Charleston basketball game. Obviously not a big game, but they were still super excited to go and it was a probably a little easier to navigate the smaller crowd. UNC has not had a stellar season so far, but Chris is still a huge fan and has passed that along to Miss Meredith who loves the 'Go Heels' :) They got all dressed up in their Carolina gear and had a special daddy-daughter day. (Also, very ironically they sat in the same section as our neighbor who was bringing her son to his first game too!)

Chris wanted to mark the special event with a little souvenier and he admitted he probably would have bought her the most expensive thing in the store if she had asked for it. She decided on a cute little bear with a UNC sweater. They were on their way home and I talked to Meredith on Chris' cell phone and she was going on and on about the game and she told me she got a bear, so I asked what she decided to name it. She replied that she had named the bear 'Ding Dong', to which I said, 'Why did you name your bear Ding Dong?', she said, 'You know, after the building, the Ding Dong'. I about fell out of the chair when I realized she meant the Dean Dome!! I think Chris had suggested it as a name for her bear and she understood it as Ding Dong! Then again, why would a 4 yr old understand the name Dean Dome?
This one was just to priceless not to document!

25 weeks!

What have we been up to? We spent the weekend of Nov 12th in Tennessee. We both ended up taking the day off on Friday, so we'd have a little more time. We had a nice trip and Chris and I ended up getting a lot of shopping done in Knoxville & Pigeon Forge. Meredith got lots of time with her grandparents on the farm.
We had a nice low key Thanksgiving. Allison hosted this year since she has her own house this year and Mom's kitchen was still torn apart from their renovation (it is now basically done and looks awesome!). We didn't eat until late in the day, so the three of us just had a lazy day at home before heading to Allison's. We definitely had a smaller crowd this year since Hillary & Joey are gone, but it was still really nice and festive :)
I had another good doctor's appointment right before Thanksgiving and everything looks great! She even said my weight is 'perfect'! Never have I heard those words in my life! Next month I'll have the glucose test and they'll do another ultrasound, so maybe we'll get a better peak at our little pumpkin :) I'm 25 weeks already tomorrow!
Meredith has been sick this week. She has had a nasty croupy cough that came on faster than anything like it before. She's been in pretty good spirits, just sounds terrible. We kept her home for 2 days this week and sent her to school today. Night time is the hardest time because she is lying down, but I think she's improving and should be back to herself in no time. We have a busy weekend ahead of us, so I hope she's feeling better!

The kicking!

So, last night I had my first experience of having two children kicking me at once! The little one decided it was party time in my belly at just about the same time Meredith came in for a slumber party in our bed at 4:15. Little one kicking on the inside and big, long legs kicking me on the outside. Guess my girls wanted to party together for awhile :)
I'm taking today off, but since I didn't sleep so hot, thankful for my new bag of yummy Larry's Beans- even if it is decaf!

Good 23 week checkup!

I had another really good checkup today. Everything seems to be right on track, so we are super happy. Next month is the glucose test and they will do another ultrasound. We have a lot to be thankful for this year :)

Thanksgiving is at Allison's this year! Looking forward to it!

Craving!

Ok, I think I have found my craving. Peppermint Oreos!! It could very well be that they are just so darn good and has nothing to do with being pregnant, but WOW they are good :) Honestly, I haven't had any major cravings- trying to be as good as I can since the whole weight gain thing needs to be as minimal as possible. I did indulge on the Halloween candy, so hope that doesn't show up too much on the scale at my appointment tomorrow! Not to mention that Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner- Oh boy!

On another note- we got the first bin of baby clothes down from the attic this weekend. Right on top was the sweet little outfit Meredith wore home from the hospital. I remember buying the 3 month size because the newborn stuff seemed ridiculously small, but it was big on her even at 8lbs 5 oz. I suppose we will probably try to use the same outfit again this time. I just showed it to Meredith and she thought it was pretty amazing that she was ever that small- I have to agree :)

Allison & Matt!

I'm really excited to say that my sister Allison and her boyfriend of over 3 years, Matt, just got engaged last week!! He proposed just in time for them to spend their trip to Paris as an engaged couple! They are already thinking of an October 2011 wedding, which is also exciting since Hillary and Joey should be able to come home for the big festivities!! Yeah! That also means they will be able to meet their new niece before she is almost 2 years old and see Meredith before she is almost 7!

21 weeks!

I feel like I shouldn't say this, but I've been feeling incredibly well the past few weeks and I'm so grateful! I feel like I have more energy, I rarely have the ickies and I'm really just starting to show at all. I do have to keep in mind that I can't do quite as much as before. I hosted a birthday dinner for my sister Allison and spent a lot of the day cooking and cleaning and I was totally wiped out by that night. It was still fun though!
I've also been feeling more movement lately. Apparently, the placenta is anterior this time, which means that it's on the front side. It also means that it will take longer for me to feel lots of movement. I've been semi-anxious about feeling movement because that's just what makes it feel more real, but I've also been reminding myself to be patient since there will be a time very soon where it is uncomfortable. I'm sleeping ok, but that is starting to be interesting since I have about 5 pillows around me! Good thing we have a king size bed!!

Big Sis' Meredith

Meredith has said some really cute things about the baby lately, but I had to capture this one. A few weeks ago at school, they had been focusing on diversity. They talked about sports, music, food, languages etc around the world, which isn't a new topic for Meredith since between my family and me, we try to expose her to lots of different things. Anyway, it must have been on her mind this particular day. We were actually looking at a picture of Meredith as a baby and she was wondering aloud if the baby would look like her. She pointed to her nose, her eyes, her hair etc and asked if I thought the baby would have any of those features like hers. Then she said, "The baby might have darker skin than me, but that would be ok. Right Mommy?" I about fell over because it was so sweet and innocent and so comical at the same time. I agreed with her and then had a secret laugh that her daddy might not be too thrilled if that was the case! So funny!

Half way!

Holy cow, my little ticker just reminded me that I am officially over half way through this pregnancy!?! How is that possible! Actually, chances are that I will deliver at about 39 weeks this time due to a few medical issues (nothing major) my doctors are keeping an eye on. Considering I was almost 42 week with Meredith, this will seem super early!!

Hillary

I was thrilled to get ahold of my sister Hillary on Wednesday of this week to let her know our exciting news. She and her husband, Joey, are currently in Azerbaijan with the Peace Corps. They have only been gone for a little over a month and this was the first time I've spoken with her. Cell phones are amazing things because she sounded like she was just across town rather than across the world! It sounds like they are doing well. Immersed in intense training sessions right now before they learn their official placment for the remainder of their 2+ year service. We miss them like crazy and hope there will be a reason for them to come visit mid-way through their time away (i.e. a family wedding maybe???)

We're having a little...

GIRL! It's a girl!!

I had really talked myself into believing we are having a boy, but the strong Pergler/Smith female gene (Yes, I know the male determines the gender) came through again!! Meredith wasn't phased at all when we told her. It was kinda like, "Yeah, I knew that all along!". Many of my family members have had similar comments...I believe my Aunt said ,"No sh*t"!! My uncle calculated that since 1947, there have been 21 girls and 3 boys!! It totally makes me think of when we found out Meredith was a girl and told my grandma and her response was very similar to Meredith's, "Well, Yeah. Of course you're having a girl". I know she's looking down at us with a big smile :)

We had an ultrasound at about 14 weeks and the lady said she thought she saw 'something', but it was really too early to tell. Well, when we had the ultrasound on Tuesday, the lady was able to identify the girl parts really quickly. Then we reminded her of what she said last time and I think she just wanted to be sure one more time, but by then the baby had crossed her legs and didn't want to share anymore! So, she told us to go to the Dr appointment and if she was still here afterwards, she'd check again. Well, we were relieved to be able to confirm one more time that we are definitely having a girl :) Chris was absolutely ecstatic because he REALLY wanted another little girl. I am pretty darn happy too. It just feels right for us!

Another really cute thing happened today. At Meredith's school, they have a question of the day that they answer first thing in the morning. Today's question was, "Do you have a sister?" and she was able to answer YES! Chris said she was really excited about it :)

Boy or Girl??

So, tomorrow is the big day. We have the ultrasound to find out if we're having a boy or girl!! Of course there are lots of other important reasons for the ultrasound other than finding out if it's a boy pea or a girl pea :) We just pray for a good report on a healthy little one and whether it's a boy or girl, he or she will be the final piece to the Elliott Family puzzle!

Elliott update!

Well, there is one other pretty big thing that I left out of my last post....

We're having a baby!

We found out in mid-July that our family will be expanding! The baby is due March 18th, 2011, which means Meredith will turn 5 on February 2nd and about a month later, we'll have a newborn! Chris and I are slowly getting used to the idea, but were actually a little surprised at how quickly we got the news! It's been a long time since we've done the baby thing, so I'm just hoping it all comes back :)
Overall, I've felt pretty good. I think I was a little more cruddy feeling in the first trimsester than I remember with Meredith, but I am also older and have a 4 year old at home to deal with! Now that I'm into the 2nd trimester, I much better, just tired.
We find out next week if it's a boy or girl. It would be very convenient if it's a girl since we have all of the clothes and they would be in the same season and everything, but a boy would also be great too :)

Hello out there!

Hello! Not sure if anyone out there still checks this thing since it has been AGES since I posted anything, but thought it was time to post- more for my own memory purposes than anything!

We have been busy, just trucking along and feeling like time is going way too fast. Meredith will be 5 in February and has really been making leaps and bound recently with learning her letters, numbers and even writing her name. I will definitely credit her new preschool program for a lot of her new interest. She had shown zero interest in learning anything past the M in her name up until August when she started at Primrose. There really is something to a structed environment, kids her own age and a dedicated teacher with LOTS of patience :) After Chris got out of school in early June, we decided it was time to take Meredith out of the in-home daycare she'd been in since before she was a year old! Miss Prissila has played a huge part in Meredith's life and we dearly love her, but we all knew it was time for Meredith to have a change in environment that would better prepare her for Kindergarten. I was a blubbering mess on that final day when we picked her up since Prissila has seen her (and us) through so many major milestones and has had such a massive influence. We also knew that this move would be a sacrifice in the sense that is costs A LOT more than her previous daycare, but it is really proving to be well worth it. We are investing in our wonderful child afterall :) She has two great teachers in her PreK class and they have indicated that Meredith is a natural leader- well, the actual word was that she's bossy, but I'll try to interpret it another way :) Seriously, she's been used to being the big fish in a little pond for a long time, so I'm glad to know that she hasn't been too overwhelmed by this new, much larger environment. We are working on her being a little less bossy, but hey, at least she's not a little wall flower like her momma was!
Meredith also started off her summer with a big dance recital. The whole story was Snow White and there were lots of woodland animals- Meredith's class were tap dancing chipmunks to the song 'Shake your Groove Thing' - in Chipmunk :) This thing was a huge production at one of the local high schools- totally sold out and kind of a crazy event in general, but Meredith absolutely ate it up. Now I know that I'm a biased mother, but that girl stole the show! I was a little worried that once she heard and saw the audience, she would kinda freak out. She did the total opposite and seemed to shake her groove thing even more when she heard the audience laughing. Too cute! Needless to say, she is continuing with her dance class again this year.
We had a really fun summer and took several trips. The biggest thing was that Chris turned 40 in June! His favorite place in the world is Scottsdale, Arizona, so we went with our friends Randy & Katy and spent a week out there. Chris' goal was to play as much golf as possible and I think he succeeded in that mission! My only goal was to relax by the pool pretty much all week- I also succeeded :) Meredith stayed with Chris' mom in Tennessee while we were gone and she rode a horse for the first time while she was there! When we got back, we had a big 40th birthday party for Chris and had a really fun time. We also spent a week in Myrtle Beach in July with Chris' mom, step-dad, sister and brother-in-law. The weather was great and we had a really fun time.
Another major event for our family is that my sister, Hillary, and her husband, Joey, finally got their official placement with the Peace Corps. They have been in the application process for what seems like forever and have now been in Azerbaijan (I had to look it up too!) for about a month now. We were able to spend a long weekend in Carolina Beach with them right before they left and we also threw them a rather large going away party at our house. They are going to be gone for over 2 years and we're really going to miss them!
Ok, I think this post has gotten long enough and I will really try to be better about posting more often.

Family

The other night between terrible screaming protests about taking a bath and going to bed, Meredith looked up at Chris and I and while smiling and hugging our necks said, "We're a Family".
She about melted me....thank goodness for those moments of clarity that come from this precocious child!

Happy New Year!

So, there are no good excuses for not posting in so long. Life just gets away from me!
I will try to be better this year about posting.
We had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. Meredith was really into the whole Christmas thing this year. She was a snowflake in the church Christmas program and she did surprisingly well with 'performing'. Guess those dance classes may be worth it afterall!
She continues with her ballet/tap class and I'm thinking she's leaning more toward the jazz/tap world since she isn't quite the delicate ballerina!
Chris and I were able to both be home for two whole weeks, which was just wonderful. I've done that for a few years now by saving up my extra vacation time (thanks to my generous company!) so we can just have lots of uninterrupted family time. I think we're all ready to get back to normalcy by the end, but it's so nice to pretend that I don't have to work :)
Meredith's birthday is in just under a month. Hard to believe she'll be 4! She's still struggling with potty training, but has stretches of greatness, just not consistent. She had several accidents over vacation. It's interesting because she hasn't had an accident in public in a long time, but when she's at home or a very familiar place is when it happens. Guess she's not too worried about it. There's no way she's coming out of a pullup at night any time soon. She does wake up dry now and then, but mostly it's soaked even with going potty before bed. She has also taken to being terrible about going to bed at night. I'll get her in bed by 8:30 or so and she is awake until at least 10:30 most nights! She has also started coming into our room at 3am almost every night lately. She used to be willing to sleep on our floor, but not anymore...she must be in our bed. So, there isn't much good sleep for me since she's jammed up next to me and she has actually wet through her pullup twice in our bed!! Something has to change because I'm not getting a plastic sheet for a king size bed! Hopefully getting back into a more normal routine will help.
Well, that was just a short and sweet update. Hope everyone is well (if anyone even checks this anymore!)