Doctor's update

Heard from the doctor - the placenta is only partially blocking my cervix, so the doctor is hopeful that it will completely move out of the way. Yay! We'll do another ultrasound to check in 8 weeks.

She also told me that they noticed a choroid plexus cyst (CPC) on the baby's brain. She said these are very common and usually go away on their own with no issues or complications. She said that in 0.2% (that's 0.002) of cases it could be linked to chromosomal abnormalities. But generally nothing to worry about is what we've been told. I am not very concerned about this, but would love you to join us in praying that it goes away with no problems.

You can read more about CPCs here and here.

Some highlights:

• Between 1 and 3 percent of all fetuses will manifest a CPC at 16 to 24 weeks of pregnancy
• Regardless of their number, shape or size, choroid plexus cysts are not harmful to the baby
• Nearly always go away by the third trimester of pregnancy
• The fetal brain may create these cysts as a normal part of development

Praying for a healthy rest of this pregnancy with no more ER visits or abnormal ultrasound discoveries!

It's a boy!!

Meet baby Regehr #2! Despite what I thought were accurate calculations, they tell me based upon the 2 ultrasounds I have had now, that we are 20 weeks into our pregnancy (we thought it was week 18). They confirmed the due date of July 12 (original due date was July 22). Half way there! It is hard to believe. The little guy keeps kicking me to remind me that it's true. They tell us he weighs about 12 oz. right now, and that must be all leg muscle. :)

That makes 2 strapping boys to work on Jason's future farm! Since he found out about the baby, Josiah has been telling us it's a boy, or that he really wants a boy. The first thing he said when the ultrasound tech said "it's a boy" was "I wanted it to be a girl!". Little stinker. He also has been saying he wants the baby's name to be either Watson or Jackrabbit. But in the ultrasound room, he thought Alien would be a better name. I guess the pics do look extra-terrestrial, but I think most of that influence came from the Toy Story movies.
When I was in the ER about 3 weeks ago, they said that my placenta was low. So that is something they checked again yesterday at the ultrasound. I won't get the official results until tomorrow, but if the placenta is too low, they will plan on doing a c-section to deliver this baby. Placenta previa I believe is the medical term, although no one has told us that yet. I asked the tech if the placenta could still move...she said it is possible but unlikely. I have mixed feelings about c-section. Mostly I'd rather not do surgery and just naturally have the baby when he is ready. But, there is something very alluring about scheduling your delivery, with no contractions or pushing involved. I'm sure God will work things out either way. I'll keep you posted on the outcome!

Baby R2 says hi!

Was it the beard?

Just had to post this video that my brother made to congratulate Jason on his new job!

Enjoy!

Springfield

Due to the weather, we have not done much in our new city. Josiah and I did venture out to the library one day, which has a really cool train in it. And then on Saturday Jason's parents came to visit and brought us some yummy ginger snaps and brownies! While they were here we took Josiah for the 1st time to the BIG Bass Pro store. He loved it!

This is what happened when we told Josiah to put his HAND on the boar for a picture.
In front of one of the fish tanks which you can't really tell because of the glare from the flash. I just liked the little mischievous grin I caught.
This bear is insanely big. Not even sure if the picture does it justice.
Poor Mi Mi had to hobble around the store on her broken ankle. At least now the cast is gone and it's just in a boot.
Here are a couple of pics of our apartment in case you were curious.

This is the master. The room is huge with a desk at the other side and a walk-in closet that is about the size of Josiah's room in our house.

Josiah's room...
Kitchen...
Nothing too exciting, just thought I would share!

Nostalgia

In no particular order...to enhance my long-winded Feb 1st post with pictures...

The fun kiddos from our KC couples group. So sorry that Casey & Luke (and Tim & Crystal) weren't there! They had a send-off lunch for us on the day that Jason left town.

Some great friends (Kirsti, Stephanie, and Janna) from a small group I used to be in - we did brunch the weekend before I left and it was great to catch up with them.
Jen, Karen, Julie, and I at the going away party they threw for us and the Hardins.
With spouses and kiddos (and a large stuffed dog):

Us with Joe & Sydney at the going away party.
Joe & Jason hard at work on the kitchen floor:
We miss you all!!!

Unwelcome excitement

Yesterday we spent 4 hours in the ER. I had some spotting which made me nervous for the baby. So I did some research online and then called my doctor in KC to see if I should go to the ER. They said yes. So I had to call Jason at work to come pick us up - there is no way we could have gotten the car out of the snow drifts.

Long story short they said the baby is fine. They did all sorts of tests and the doctor said that I have a slight bacterial infection which they are treating with antibiotics. The ultrasound looked great and the baby is actually measuring more like 16-17 weeks (we thought we were in week 15), so they gave me a new due date of July 12th. The whole ordeal was scary, but it was reassuring to see the baby on ultrasound. The little one was moving a lot and I could see the heart beating. I felt much better after that.

Josiah was such a trooper through the 4 hour wait! Especially considering that he had to skip his nap to hang out in a waiting room. While we were waiting for test results to come back so we could see the doctor, Jason and Josiah were playing doctor. It was hilarious. Josiah wanted Jason to check out the baby in his tummy. And logically, he used the TV remote to do so.
"I don't believe that man's ever been to medical school." -Buzz Lightyear

A few minor life changes

Going back to the foreshadowing in my Dec post, if you couldn't guess or haven't already heard by now, Jason got the job with Bass Pro Shops (BPS). Within about a month, we went from not having moving or job change on our radar at all, to changing jobs and moving almost 165 miles away.

Here's a timeline of events:

Dec 20 - Jason has a phone interview with BPS

Dec 22 - Jason has an in-person interview with BPS in Springfield, MO

Jan 04 - BPS offers Jason the job

Jan 05 - Jason tells YRC he is leaving

Jan 16 - Drive a u-haul full of stuff down to Springfield to put in storage (to de-clutter the house)

Jan 19 - Jason's last day at YRC

Jan 23 - Jason moves to Springfield

Jan 24 - Jason's first day at BPS

Jan 25 - Get the house listed

Jan 26 - Danita & Josiah join Jason in Springfield

In the time between Dec 22nd and Jan 4th, Jason was sure he had been passed over for the job. I told him that it was the holidays and he should just follow up with HR to see where they were in the process of filling the job. I got a text from him later that day that said something like "you should never kick a sleeping dog". Well I didn't know the dog was going to get up a maul me!

On Jan 6th I had our realtor at the house. I had a list of projects that we had been meaning to do and asked him which ones we needed to do to sell the house. After getting his advice, Jason and I spent the next 3 weeks scrambling to get the house ready to sell. My parents were such a huge help in the process - we could not have done it without their help. They helped with a ton of the painting, cleaning, lots of other random work, and they took Josiah home with them for several days so we could have uninterrupted work time. We also owe a huge debt of gratitude to our friends who helped us along the way - by watching Josiah as we worked (Charlotte, Jen, Michelle, & Adrianne), by painting for us (Adrianne & Greg - you are awesome!), by helping us put the kitchen floor in (thanks Joe!), disconnecting our water softener system so we could take it with us, and doing some heavy lifting (thanks Matt!!), helping unload the Uhaul (thanks Ryan!) - plus all the people who offered to help, and for the fun send-off lunch and the going-away dinner party - we have some super amazing and giving friends and we are so thankful for each of you!!! Hope I didn't leave anyone out - as you can see it has been a whirlwind! Here's the house listing in case you know anyone who might be interested!

http://portal.heartlandmls.com/de.asp?k=145908X94QD&p=DE-4381552-110

So if all of this weren't enough, God in his infinite wisdom and humor, has blessed us with another pregnancy. This is something we had been hoping for and praying about for almost 1.5 years. We found out we were pregnant on Nov 17th. I was super happy but feeling pretty sickly for the first month and a half. So through the crazy 3 a.m. black Friday shopping (I really thought I was going to puke but couldn't tell anyone), the planning and celebrating of Josiah's birthday, Christmas shopping and wrapping, Christmas celebrations (when we had the joy of telling our families)...I was really just wanting to lay down and sleep! But when you wait that long to get pregnant, really you are even happy about the morning sickness. It reminds you that your prayers have been answered. And you have to keep telling yourself, "no really, this is what I asked for!". We got to hear the baby's heartbeat at our Dec 20th (9 week) prenatal appointment, and then again at our 13 week appointment in Jan. What a wonderful sound. Josiah was with me both times. The first time he heard the heartbeat, he put a ball up his shirt, pulled it out and said "this is my baby Watson". Who knows? Maybe that name will stick!

So now we are 15 weeks into the pregnancy, and I want to apologize in advance to the 3 inch baby in my abdomen. Sorry for all the painting, the sanding, the late nights, the poor diet, the forgetting to take the prenatal vitamins, the stress. I pray that you are well and that the mask I wore while painting and the respirator I wore while sanding kept you from most of the chemicals and airborne junk. I know that God knew before He created you what I would be doing while you were developing, so I have to trust that He is keeping you safe. Now stay in there and grow for as long as you can, or at least longer than your brother did.

I also owe an apology to all three of my bookkeeping clients. I really did not plan to move at year-end close. Thank you all for your patience as I have been dealing with "just a few minor life changes", and haven't always been available when you needed me. Again, God must know what He is doing with His timing, right?

Now we are in Springfield, surrounded by 6+ inches of snow and ice, and trying to acclimate. We are temporarily living in an apartment provided by Bass Pro. That is a huge blessing - not as much pressure or stress to get the house sold right away. And it is nice - it is a fully furnished 2 bedroom apartment with our own washer & dryer. Josiah is doing pretty well with the new apartment. The first night he did not want to sleep in his new room, but it didn't take him long to get comfortable with his surroundings. He really does not understand the concept of an apartment though. He keeps asking me where our basement is. And the other day he told me that he wants to move to "a new Springfield that has a basement". Luckily there are over 30 cities/towns in the U.S. named Springfield, so maybe one of them will have a basement.

We want to ask you guys for your prayers. That our house would sell at the right time for a fair price, that everyone would stay safe in this crazy blizzard weather, that Josiah and I can figure out how to get around in Springfield and find fun stuff for a 3 year old to do, that Jason will continue to acclimate to his new job, that I can find a good OB, and that our new baby (due July 22nd by the way) will continue to grow and be healthy. Only 3 more weeks until we find out if it's a boy or girl!

Exciting and crazy times for us. Thank you all for your continuing support and love!

Dec 2010 Family pics

Some of our favorites. Enjoy!

December = birthdays

December kicked off with Josiah's 3rd birthday. This year we did a fire station tour with just a few friends and family (any more and our little house would have maxed out). Josiah loves anything to do with fire officials, police officers, etc. Here he is holding a helmet - those things are heavy.

With some of his friends next to the fire truck...
AND - bonus - got to check out an ambulance too.
My mom and I spent WAY too much time making this fire truck cake. Just a tip, if you're thinking of trying to make red icing from scratch - DON'T. Just buy it.

He had fun at his party! Thank you to everyone who was there to help us celebrate!

December of course represents the birth of Jesus (hence 'birthdays' in the post title). The next weekend was our 1st Christmas of the season. Here's Josiah with his cousins on my side:
And here he is before the church Christmas service. There are little dogs on his clip-on tie. Can I get an AWWWWW?
The next weekend (the 18th), we had some family pictures made. More on that in the next post.

Then Christmas weekend we went to see our family in SW MO. Jason had an interview in that area, so we went down a day earlier than originally planned. A little background - he wasn't even looking for a job. Last year he had applied with Bass Pro Shops in Springfield (his dream company), but they kept telling him the position was on hold. Then he got a phone call the week before Christmas saying that the position was still on hold, but another position had opened up. They wanted to do a phone interview on Monday the 20th, and then they scheduled an in-person interview a couple days later. Driving down I told him that I do not want to move to Springfield. He told me "it's just an interview". I told him "yes, but they are going to love you and beg you to stay". More on this later.

Back to Christmas...here's Grandma Mary with most of her great-grandkids:
Here's Josiah opening his stocking gifts on Christmas morning:
We had a great Christmas and loved seeing all of our family throughout the month. We are so very blessed! We ushered in the New Year with lots of sleeping and movies because we had a sick 3 year old. Poor guy. Ear infections are no fun. Here's to a healthy 2011!

p.s. If you sent us a Christmas card and did not get one in return, that is because we completely failed to send any Christmas cards this year. Sorry. Please don't take us off your list - we will be sending them in future years!