21 Weeks - Father's Day!

Hey Little Guy!  It is our 21 week mark and thought I would jot a couple details down for you.  Plus, it's Father's Day today, so it was a fun day for your Daddy with all his girls (and boy) around loving on him.  Here's what's new with you and my body this week:

• Starting to swell...that's just swell.  =) This is about the time it happened with your Big Sis Avery, so I'm ready for it.  Not the worst thing that could ever happen, but not fun either.  If I work out in the morning, drink lots of water and use my magnesium lotion, it really does help...but not every day is like that, so then my ankles and feet get a little puffy.
• My blood sugars are starting to run a little high (like mid-high 100's) and for no reason.  If I ate a high carb meal, I would expect it....but today and a little of yesterday have been baffling to me...so I'm wondering if we are starting the rise and will have to adjust my basal rates up 5-10%.  Again, this is just about the time it happened with Avery, so really no surprise.  Just not looking forward to it!  
• On the fun side, you have been quite the wiggly worm inside my belly!  I really started feeling you around 18 weeks, which is about three weeks earlier than Avery, so I have loved that!  And there are some days where you are chill and and feel you some...and days like yesterday and today where you are punching and kicking away!  I have an anterior placenta with you (just like your sis), so wasn't expecting to feel you so early, but completely loving it that I am!  Right now, you are kicking away in there!

I am leaving you with a little picture from today!  These are four of the five goobers you are getting yourself involved with in just a few months!  =)

Anatomy Scan - 19.5 Weeks

Hi baby BOY!  We just got back from your anatomy scan today.  BEST NEWS EVER - you are measuring out perfectly!  The doc is so happy and so are we!  He said if there is one test that matters, it's this one...and we came out with flying colors! Such a relief for your Mommy and Daddy!  All your Sisters went with us today.  Avery Jo did awesome the whole time...we had to wait for a while at first and then she did great during the scan too.  She was asking all kinds of questions as she watched you on the screen.  It was cute!

You are measuring a week or so ahead, which is fine with me and the doctor.  Since we are having a scheduled c-section and you measured perfect today...he said he could care less how big you are!  The biggest hurdles have already happened and are over.  Makes a Mama's heart happy to hear that!  I was hoping to schedule your c-section date about a week and a half earlier than you due date (Oct 27)...BUT, with government getting involved in healthcare more and more, they won't let hospitals go a second before a week before the due date.  Which means, unless you come earlier on your own, your birthday will be Oct. 20!

Here's your profile shot from today...you are so cute! Love you so much!

Here we are again! Better late than never!

I am going to blog a bit again, because I have a new little bundle in my belly!  Typical second child syndrome here...I didn't start your blog until I am almost 19 weeks along (tomorrow).  But, I promise we are just as in love with you as the other three!  I probably won't be quite as on top of blogging, but want to capture some stuff for you too, little boy!  We are so excited to have a little guy with all these girls in the house!  Especially your Daddy...he has been outnumbered forever!

A few things about you and this pregnancy:

• I knew immediately I was pregnant with you.  I don't see how this is logically possible and never believe it when others say that...but I did with you.  A little crampy, emotional...just a little different.
• You were very much wanted, but kind of a surprise at the same time.  I had a couple miscarriages last year, so we had kind of settled on the fact that Avery would be the last one in the family (if that is what God wanted)...but lo and behold, here you are little guy!
• We found out we were pregnant with you and got out of debt on the same day - February 10, 2014!
• Your hcg and progesterone numbers in those beginning weeks were THROUGH THE ROOF!  So much so that we were wondering if there were two or three babies in there!  Nope, just one.  =)
• We are at a different OB than with Avery (insurance issues with Avery's docs).  At first, I was pretty annoyed and upset about this, but just like in all things that God does, this has been a blessing!  We love Dr. F!  He has a wife that has had miscarriages and has been so tenderhearted about this pregnancy.  Extremely reassuring and encouraging me to come in for a scan any time I feel worry coming on.  He'd rather me get scanned than worry.  Truly a great move that I would have never made on my own if the insurance issue hadn't happened.  Gotta love God!  And we get to deliver at Arrowhead Hospital, which is only a few minutes away!
• I will be scheduled for a c-section with you.  After what happened with Avery's birth (long induction, labor, pushing....just to end in a c-section), Dr. F is all about just scheduling.  Especially since we seem to create big babies!
• Saw your heart beat for the first time around 6 weeks.  It was 127 bpm.  Came in at 8 weeks and it was 179 bpm!  
• I was much more nauseous with you than with Avery.  Never threw up though!  Also had a couple weeks of bad heart burn, headaches and then a few weeks of being extremely tired at the end of the first trimester.  Now, I really feel back to normal except for this big belly on the front of me!
• I looked pregnant a lot earlier with you than with Avery.  Probably by 12 weeks people were wondering if I was pregnant (but would never ask).  By 15-16 weeks, there was no doubting it though!
• At the end of the 1st trimester, we got an NT Scan (didn't with Avery).  You looked super cute in there...measurements were great (neck measurements were like 1.9 I think?!).  My bloodwork attached to this scan came back normal and good too.  Oh, and the tech in there GUESSED that you looked boy-ish.
• Had a tummy bug with you around 15 weeks.  Mommy was sick in bed for a couple days and your rockstar Daddy took over the house and Avery!
• Had a doctor's appointment a few days after getting sick and wasn't supposed to get a scan, but asked if we could because of the sickness (and to see if we could see if you were a girl or boy!).  Guess what?!  You are a boy!  We literally couldn't believe it.  So surreal!  First boy in our family and first boy on Pa and Mimi's side of grandkids too!  You are going to be spoiled!
• We have your anatomy scan in about four days.  Mommy is always a little nervous for these scans, but very excited to see you again too!
• We already know your name - Josiah Hinck Marin.  Hinck is Mommy's maiden name...and your Pa is the last Hinck of his family.  We are super excited to keep the Hinck name alive through you.  =)
• As much as I am hooked on Josiah...your littlest sister has tried to encourage the name Joshua.  She loves that name from the Joshua Bibile Story of the walls of Jericho.  All your other Sisters and your Daddy love that name too....but Mommy has had her heart on Josiah forever (was going to be Avery's middle name if she was a boy!)...so I think it's sticking to Josiah.  For now.  =)
• Oh, and one more fun thing!  Mommy's best friend Shelly is also pregnant at the same time!  Yay!  She is about eight weeks behind you, so we don't know boy or girl yet...but it's been a blast going through pregnancy with someone close!
• I have felt you move already!  Avery took a while (21-ish weeks).  You also have an anterior placenta, like I had with her...so I wasn't expecting to feel you for a bit longer.  But, around 17.5 weeks I thought I MAYBE had felt you...but now that we are almost 19 weeks, I am pretty certain it's you in there!  You like to dance on my bladder a lot more than your sister did!

Here are your sonograms from 12.5 weeks and 15.5 weeks.  Can't wait to show you more of your anatomy scan next week!

12.5 weeks

12.5 weeks - This is the one where the tech thought you looked like a boy already!

15.5 weeks - Little foot!

15.5 weeks - 3D shot

15.5 weeks - profile shot

15.5 weeks - no mistaking! Potty shot - all boy!

15.5 weeks - again, all boy!  The round circle is your bladder full of liquid!

That's it for now!  We are so excited to have you with us!  Can't believe we are already about halfway through!

14, 15 and 16 Months!

Can you say your Mama is a slacker?  Geesh...I truly don't know what is wrong with me these past few months.  I just have not updated like I should've.  Plain and simple.  But...I am here today to try and record what I missed these past few months.  Here we go, Avery Jo!

14th month

• Starting to put words together - like "Hi Dad"
• Words you can say - Mama, Dad, Sissy, Up, Hop, What's this, What's that, This, I la la love you, All done, Uh Oh, Amen, Oh Boy, Hi, Bye
• Loves your blankie
• Starting to be more lovey-dovey
• You are psycho about playing outside!
• Your "Hi's" are crazy!  You say them constantly to anything - alive or not!
• I think you are starting to dream - you have started waking up in the night again, but put yourself back to sleep.
• More teeth!  Molars popped through around 13 3/4 months!
• Your hair is becoming curly in the back - love it!
• We started sitting on a little potty, just one or two times a day to get your comfortable with it - and you have successes at times!
• We love going to the library during the day - you love to play with all the fun toys there and I love getting books for you when you are on the potty!
• You are standing all on your own - in fact you can stand up from the ground not holding on to anything.
• You are a very, VERY vocal little girl - you have a scream that will make anyone's hair stand up!  And it's not always a bad scream, sometimes you are happy!
• You are a climber - you have easily figured out how to climb up the stairs a couple months ago, but not you are on to attempting to boost your leg up to climb just about anything.

15th -16th month

• You love lids and caps - you love to attempt to screw them on and off - and get really frustrated when you can figure it out!
• You have started walking 8-10 steps at a time, and could walk farther, but you sit your buns down once you get going too far!
• You are doing much better at playing by yourself - I attribute this to your independent play time (which we moved to your room this month so you have more room to play).
• You can point out people whenever we ask who they are - like, "Where is Kyndall...Megan?" and you point to your Sisters!
• Mimi and Pa were here and they got you a bike seat for the back of their bikes - you went riding for the first time and loved it!
• You have learned how to pray - so whenever we sit down to dinner, you just sit there and look at us with your hands together until we look at you and are reminded to pray!  We also pray before bedtime too.
• Your Aunt Soila and Cousin Andrew came to visit at the beginning of March.  You warmed up to them pretty quickly and soon got used to your Cousin sleeping on the couch in the morning when we came downstairs to eat breakfast.  The first day he wasn't there anymore, you put  your hands up like you were wondering where he went.  
• You have started finishing phrases.  We say, "ready, set..." and you say, "GO!".  Or, I will say, "One...." and you say, "TWO!".  
• Right around 15 months, you started REALLY walking everywhere and choosing to walk over crawl.  It took just a week or so of falling down here and there to be really good at it and now you are a champ!
• You are still taking two 1.5 hour naps a day.
• I can't even begin to count how many words you say now!  You attempt to say anything and everything that we say.  Right now, my favorite word is cracker.  The way you say it is so stinkin' cute!
• And your all time favorite word?  HI.  In fact, sometimes you probably say it 50-75 times a day!  We go to the grocery store and you make sure and hit everyone in that store with a "hi".  At least one...sometimes you go on for a few even if they already answered you back!  We joke that you are going to be a Walmart greeter when you get older!

Sweet baby girl, I can't tell you how much fun you have been the last few months.  You are a treat.  Every so often (if I am being honest) you get a little needy/screamy/whiney and there are a few rough days...but most of the days are smooth sailing with you and you are just my little sidekick.  We do everything together!  And you make everything that much more fun - especially since you say hi to everyone five times!  You are not afraid of strangers and love to be the life of the party.  You definitely already know how to show off...and that just boggles my mind.  How does this little girl that is just a one-year-old know how to put on a show and get laughs?  Well, I don't know how, but you do.  You love little kids too.  When we go to the library, you just walk over to the kids and start playing with them...whether they want you to or not!  

Your Sisters and Daddy love you so very much.  I can't even express to you what we would do without you.  You are the glue that unites us all together.  Your smile and laugh can make any of us forget that we had a bad day in a millisecond.  You are simply the best.  We love you!

13 Months - Social Butterfly

Here we are at 13 months already!  You are your own little person...tons of personality and are feisty for sure!  You love people!  In fact, you aren't scared of anyone....you smile at strangers and get so many "ooh's" and "aaah's".  I can't take you shopping with me without you reeling in at least a few people with your big smile and "Hi!".

You still sleep very good - morning and afternoon nap and around 12 hours at night.  You love all kinds of food...you are not picky at all.  You love your veggies almost as much as a cookie, believe it or not!  We switched you over to whole milk in a sippy cup with relative ease.  You didn't have much to do with milk for the first 3 weeks and then one day, you just started chugging away.  You love water too.  Here are some more highlights from this month with you:

Like I said above, you say "hi" and "bye" to everyone!  Especially when we leave the house and other people are there.  And you are very, very loud when you are talking too!

You can whistle.  You blow in and out with your mouth in an "O".  And when you suck in, you make a whistle noise.  So cute.

We just discovered that you love to blow bubbles!

You love to go outside.  In fact, we can't even say "outside" anymore because you go crazy when we say it!  We are starting to have to spell stuff out instead.

Speaking of spelling everything, you understand EVERYTHING we say...it's like all of a sudden, you get everything I say to you.  Stuff like, "put your cup on the tray", "stand up", "where's your toy?"...you understand it all!

You are not walking yet...but it is coming very soon.  You are cruising around things and have even stood up for several seconds on your own.  We just bought you a little walker toy and can walk when you hold that...so the real thing is coming soon!

You are a bit impatient.  I know it's the age, so I'm not worried about it.  You just want what you want and if Mommy or someone else doesn't get it or take you over to it....or if you can't hold on to it like you want....or whatever it is....Miss Impatient comes out big time!  You are still a screamer when it comes to the impatience thing!  It's really your only negative though!  We are working on the word "wait."  =)

You are also Curious Avery.  Whew!  Everything is "What's this?" "What's that?  "Who's this?"  And you point to whatever it is that you are curious about.  And then, Miss Impatient comes out if you don't get your way.

Pa, Mimi, Aunt Nikki, Uncle Ryan, Kiara and Vera all visiting over Christmas and New Year's.  You loved having them here!  Your Mimi takes awesome care of you and you love her for it.  Pa is your buddy that you love to play with.  You have a little pointing thing with him that you like to do.  So cute.  Aunt Nikki can't get enough of your cheeks...and she taught you how to blow bubbles!  Uncle Ryan really loves you too...he can make you smile for sure.  And Kiara - she loves you to pieces!  She loved to chase you around and "get you"...and you would crawl away and laugh so hard.  Vera is your favorite though...but she didn't really want much to do with you unfortunately...she's just at that age where she wants to be the baby and doesn't like it that you are.  =)  You would light up when she came around!  And smack your lips because you wanted kisses from her!  Soon...she will give you love right back, I promise!

We all got sick this past month too...and we are slowly getting over it (I hope).  Megan had a cold, then Mommy did...then you...then Kyndall.  But it has stuck around in the form of thick snot still in our noses...so I'm hoping this all goes away soon!

You really are a huge mimic at this point.  We have to REALLY make if we are saying something out loud that it may get repeated and we are okay with that.  =)

You love to be funny.  In fact, if I ask you if you are funny, you give a little laugh.  Or if you realize that something you did got you a lot of laughs, you will keep doing it over and over.

I know there is so much more, but that is all I can think of right now.  It's like you really took off this month with developing into a cute little person.  You grew with your development so much!  Here are some of my favorite pictures from this month!

Goofy Goofy Girl

Hi baby cakes.  I just wanted to write a little bit more after your birthday party.  And that you are a goofy one.  Just in the last couple weeks, you have really started realizing that you can get laughs from us.  And so you make funny noises or you just plain start laughing.  And not like a real laugh...but like a "I'm trying to make my self laugh" kind of laugh.  And you do it at the best times too.  I can't tell you how many times your Daddy says something funny to me or your Sissies do...and you shouldn't have a clue what they are saying...but then you give that little goofy laugh.  Which, of course, makes us laugh at you...and then you love it that you got a good reaction from us, so you do even more.  =)

I have also realized in the last week or two that you know almost EVERYTHING that I am saying to you.  For example tonight you had an apple that you just kept playing with in your mouth and I wanted to eat your eggs on your tray instead, so I say, "take a bite of your eggs" and you take the apple out of your mouth and pick up the eggs and eat them.  It's crazy...like, all of a sudden, you know everything that's going on...you just can't really talk yet.  But you do love to still ask, "Wassis?", or "Whooosis?" to just about everything you see!

We went to the doctor last week and had your 1-year check up and got your shots.  We are majorly changing your formula/milk regime.  I had started mixing in whole milk with your bottles of formula...and now, there are no bottles and we don't have to worry about getting 20-24 oz. of formula anymore.  So, I am now (per doc) to offer your milk at meals in a sippy, but no bottle at all.  Truly, you haven't gotten too much milk...you love water, but you don't drink milk too well yet.  And the Doc said not to worry about that either...that sometimes it takes weeks to get adjusted.  I feed you as much dairy foods as possible and put milk in everything that makes sense...and then just let it be after that.  You drink a ton of water, so I am grateful for that...and probably get about 6-8 oz of milk out of your sippy per day right now.  I hope that increases!

Also, your measurements are:

22 lbs, 3 oz (81st percentile)
30.5 inches  (89th percentile)
18 1/2 inches head circumference (93rd percentile)

Now...on to your party!  You had a blast...we had our house full of family and friends!  I don't think you quite got it that these people were all there for you, but you sure loved having them there!  You are little social thing.  And your first cake experience was so cute - you loved the cake, but the icing wasn't your favorite!  You even gagged a little and made a face when you at the icing.  Definitely NOT like your Mama in this department!

Here are some good pictures from your big day...enjoy!  Love you!

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!!!!

It's your big day...well, it was a couple days ago, but today is your party.  I don't know if I am a weirdo or what...but it doesn't put me into a fit of tears to think that you are a year old like other mommies.  I am excited by it.  I will miss you being this age, somewhat...but there is so much to come with you that's even more exciting!  And as much as others will say, "Can you believe it's been a year already...it's sad how time flies, isn't it?", I don't really feel that way.  I have drank in every moment of this last year with you and have loved it all so much.  So, now I am ready for your next year!

You are a spunky little girl.  Pretty independent...which is usually awesome...but I'd like to put in a request that you cuddle just a little bit more sometimes!  =)  You are enthralled with everything.  So much so, that it's hard for you to sit still and even drink your bottle or get your diaper changed.  You have just learned to pull yourself up (you are a late bloomer on the crawling/walking thing!) and now, a whole new world has opened up to you.  Which makes sitting still even harder for you!

You love doors, opening them and closing them.  You love cell phones, especially when they light up.  You love you Sissies and Daddy for sure!  You love new people lately too...you give them big smiles, which melts their hearts!  You love when I sing "The Wheels on the Bus"...and love to mimic the "Shhhh, Shhhh, Shhhh!" that the bus driver does in one verse of that song.  You love to point to things and say, "Waaasssis?" to ask what something is.  You love to look at family pictures and point and ask, "Whoooosis?".  You love Backyardigans on TV and VeggieTales, your whole body goes into a spaz mode when you hear the theme songs on the shows!  You love to do somersaults and puts your head on the floor and butt up in the air when you want to do one.  You love blowing out a candle...and we can't wait for you to do that today with your cake at your party!

Baby girl...you are my sweet girl.  Life has been so much fun in the last year with you in it.  Our whole family puzzle has found it's missing piece and you pulled us all together even closer.  You are the glue to all of us baby girl.  I love you so much, and it's been so much fun watching you discover more and more of your little world each day.  Thanks for making this a fun trip for your Mommy.  I can't wait to see how pretty and smart you continue to get over the next year!  I love you!

I will post some pictures of your party later - it's all VeggieTales - so lots of red, green and Larry and Bob!  Can't wait to see you eat your first piece of cake too!  I will definitely post pictures of that!  In the meantime, here are some of our family that we took last weekend.  We love them!