Our First Glimpses of Baby Craig #2

Last week, Jason, Margaret Mary and I went in for my five month ultrasound. We were so excited as we had not seen our baby yet on ultrasound. (Because MM came after our battle with infertility, we had an ultrasound at 6 weeks, 8 weeks, 10 weeks, 20 weeks, etc.) The experience was very disappointing. When the ultrasound tech called my name in the waiting room, she looked really nervous and seemed to be scolding the receptionist. She explained to us that kids under 10 aren't allowed to go back, and that no one on staff was allowed to watch our daughter; aka, Jason had to stay in the waiting room with Margaret Mary while I went back by myself. Jason and I were frustrated, but I went in by myself and had a very impersonal experience with the ultrasound technician. "Here is the kidney, check, here is the hand, check." There was no awing over my babies fingers or toes or sweet exchanges between Jason and I as we got the first glimpse of our baby. The ultrasound tech allowed Jason and Margaret Mary to come in the last five minutes of the ultrasound, but it wasn't the same. She gave us a disk of the images and sent us home.

When we got home, I popped in the disk to discover the HORRIBLE quality of the ultrasound photos. They are very grainy and there are NO good pics of the baby's profile (the classic ultrasound shot). We have GREAT shots of MM in my womb via ultrasound photos, so it makes the experience all the more frustrating!

Among all the frustration and chaos, one sweet thing did happen. Margaret Mary, when she came in with Jason, started waving to the image of our baby on the ultrasound monitor, and right as she did this, the baby lifted up his/her hand and "waved" back. Jason and I pray daily that our little babies will be good friends and so it was very sweet to see this little exchange between them. Margaret Mary has really taken to baby Alyssa (Eryn's baby) and loves to watch her, grab/scratch her hand, and help burb her (aka, hit her back). She found a babydoll the other day at a friends house and started hugging it and swaying back and forth; I thought by heart was going to burst out of my chest! Margaret Mary is going to be such a sweet and loving big sister!


(Baby waving to MM!)

Spaghetti and Carrots...

...make for a happy Margaret Mary, and one MESSY kitchen floor!

Just Another Day in Paradise...

Potato Chips

On one of our many trips to visit Eryn in the hospital after she had her baby, Margaret Mary found a bag of Tammy's (her Granny)potato chips in the corner of the room. We were so busy with Eryn that we didn't notice for a couple of minutes that she wasn't just playing with the bag, she was reaching her little hand inside and EATING ALL THE POTATO CHIPS out of it! We have been trying to steer her clear of unhealthy, salty foods, but now she is hooked; I can't say I blame her. Here she is, greasy hands and everything...

Making A Mess in The Kitchen-part 2

Margaret Mary has discovered the two bottom shelves of the pantry. While it does create a HUGE mess, I can't complain for it gives me a good 5-10 minutes of time to get stuff done in the kitchen before its back to chasing MM around the house. She really can get around...fast. Yesterday I was trying to unload the dishwasher and couldn't do it because she kept on crawling from our kitchen to her bedroom. I would pick her up and bring her back, only to repeat this process over and over. I hear this is just the beginning!

How we keep MM entertained when TRYING to eat out...

MM just wants to play!!! It is so hard to keep her entertained, and not reaching, trying to eat, crawling around, pulling things off the table. This little trick has been a life savor! It gives me a minute or two to down my food!

PLAYDATE

A few weeks ago we went to visit Renee (Jason's older sister)in Daytona. A bunch of her kids are getting baptized this Easter, and so Jason and I went down to be a part of the preparations. It was so great to see her and all her kids, and esp to see Margaret Mary loving on her cousins. She has major separation anxiety so Jason and I were shocked to see how she let her cousins hold her, play with her, etc. I LOVE that Margaret Mary has cousins her ago; I can't wait for them to grow up together! Check out the pic of Margaret Mary and Su-anna looking at Su-anna's shoes; MM is def a shoe girl!

A few stories for you...

My camera is full of pics and videos to post online, but until I find time to unload them I thought I'd share a few stories of things Margaret Mary is doing.

Margaret Mary still isn't a fan of her carseat. Things are definatly getting better but she still fusses a lot in it, esp when I'm driving and can't sit in the back seat to entertain her. Recently when I have come to her door to get her out of the carseat, she has started clapping for me. She has also started clapping for me when I get her out of her highchair when she is done eating, and when I start the bedtime routine when she seems sleepy. Its kinda like "Good job MOM, you figured out what I was trying to tell you!Yay for you!"

Today Margaret Mary started throwing a fit while I was holding her. She arched her back and threw her head back about to cry but then froze; she seemed facinated by the view of holding her head upside down. I try to ignore her little tantrums so I just kept walking around the house, doing what I was doing, and she just kept her her little head and back arched back, not crying at all, simply studying the house from this new viewpoint. Very funny.

We have really enjoyed co-sleeping with Margaret Mary the past couple of weeks. (I never thought I would co-sleep, but it happened out of survival when MM started waking up lots at night). When we wake up in the morning, I pretend to still be asleep, and she crawls over to my face, puts her face right in mine and says "ta, or ba," with a huge smile on her face. She will continue to do this until I open my eyes, much to her satisfaction, and tell her good morning. I love our little wake up routine.

More to come soon, thanks for your patience!

FYI- I am now 15 weeks pregnant! Being pregnant FLIES by with your second child... I'm doing well but seem to be more nausous in my second trimester then I was in my first. Oh well, it still has been a very easy pregnancy!

My little girl is growing up!

I am amazed at how fast Margaret Mary is growing up. I know that she technically isn't a toddler, but she is acting like one! Her little face looks so un-babylike now, she is always on the move and talks ALL the time. She is very busy, but VERY happy and laughs at almost everything. She loves standing in the pantry and pulling everything off the shelves, standing in front of the fridge and doing the same, waving at people, saying "papa" and "ball," and exploring. She is crawling now, cruising around on furniture and taking one or two steps when you hold her hands. I love her so much and am so sad at how fast she is growing up. It seems like it happened overnight!

* I don't know why the first pic is cropped weird. Click on the pic to see the rest of the picture.

Making a Mess in the Kitchen

Turkey Stealer

What can I say? She LOVES turkey!!! At least she tries to give it back...

Playing Around the House

So much fun! Her little personality is really starting to come out!

Getting to Know Eachother...

The relationship between Mac and Margaret Mary is becoming more and more intense! She LOVES him! She bounces up and down and makes meowing sounds when she sees him, and then tries to chase him all over the house doing her army crawl thing. Mac, on the other hand, likes Margaret Mary's toys but isn't so crazy about her. He has tried to scratch her a couple of times but she just laughs and keeps on going for him. When MM has gone to sleep at night, Mac chases her toys all over the house. Pretty funny...

Our Big News!

So, when I was late for my last period I felt like an idiot taking a pregnancy test. All the feelings of infertility came back as I watched the little stick to see what it would say. Jason and I weren't trying to get pregnant, but we weren't preventing it either (once you go through infertility, you never think of trying to prevent pregnancy again!). I felt so stupid looking at the stick and KNEW that it was going to say negative. I would then kick myself for jumping to conclusions, throw the stick in the trash and vow not to get my hopes up next time my period came late. I was completely shocked when the plus came up on the test, which means positive. It was like it wasn't for me. I was thinking "is this what it is like for normal people who get pregnant easily who never experience fertility problems?!?!" and "this is crazy, does it really say positive?!?!" Pregnancy is a completely normal thing, but I still think about it from an infertility standpoint, that it is a rare, miracle blessing. I called Jason and he what like "what?!?!;" he was so excited! He announced it to his office staff and then went out to smoke some celebratory cigars with them (he is a such a guy!). We can't believe that God has blessed us with a little baby so soon and are so thankful that we don't have to go through infertility again! I can't believe that God is so good! That he gives us the desires of our hearts when he doesn't have to. It would be perfectly just and good if God never blessed us with children, but he loves us so much that he fulfilled the desire in our hearts for kids. What a great God! So baby number 2 is due mid September and we are planning for a homebirth. Pray for our second little miracle baby! These pics are from the morning of the second pregnancy test (I wanted Jason to see it fresh). Margaret Mary doesnt know what she's in for!

Cutie Pa-tutie!

Playing with Margaret Mary is becoming so much fun. She is so interactive and tells you what she likes and doesn't like. Some of her favorite things to play with are tags, paper, wooden blocks, her animal toy from Granny and anything she can stand up on. I can't believe she is getting so big!

My Mom

This Christmas, we finally got a sweet pic of my mom and Margaret Mary. Again, here she is with her giant pig. :)Margaret Mary is so blessed to have so many people who love her.

P.S

The top pic below is of a dress that Margaret Mary's godparents passed down to her. Isn't it cute! I love the little candy canes!

Godparents

Margaret Mary finally met her Godparents, Pete and AnnMarie Hynes. We love their family so much; they were our sponsers when we joined the Catholic Church. We can't wait for Margaret Mary to grow to love them as we do, and to learn from them the goodness of our God.

Meeting The Greats!

This Christmas vacation, we couldn't wait to introduce Margaret Mary to her Great Grandmothers. The bottom picture is of Jason's Grandmother, and I think it is sweet how seriously Margaret Mary is studying her necklace. The top is my Memaw. My Memaw got Margaret Mary a HUGE stuffed pig for Christmas, as shown in the pic, and Margaret Mary still cracks up whenever she sees it! Unfortunately, I didn't get a pic of Margaret Mary with Jason's Granny; if anybody took one at the Christmas party please send it to me!

Family Picture

So I know I'm still posting pics from 2009, but we've been busy! Here is our little, but fast growing family. :)

First Playdate with Piper and CJ!

I am so happy that Margaret Mary has cousins her age! While we were in Wilmington this Christmas, we took our baby to go see Jason's cousin Tonia's new baby (Piper) and her older son CJ. The kids had so much fun playing together! CJ was all about Margaret Mary, putting his arm around her, talking to her, sharing his toys. The funniest part of all was when CJ wanted Margaret Mary to walk, and when she didn't, he threw a huge fit. When his mom, in an effort to distract him, told him she liked his shirt, he took it off and threw it on the floor! I can wait for those days with Margaret Mary! I love the picture of Margaret Mary and Piper, it looks like they are holding hands!

Margaret Mary's First Trip to Big Boys!

It's a Cincinnati thing...

Night of Lights

Every year, the city decorates downtown with tons of Christmas lights. It is so beautiful and this year we were so excited for Margaret Mary to see them. It's hard to take pictures in that kind of light, but I really liked this one of Jason and MM. Over the Christmas break, they have really bonded and it has been so sweet to watch her fall even more in love with her papa.

Fraternus Christmas Party!

We had a great time at the Fraternus Christmas Party. We were a little worried because it was going to be a late party and Margaret Mary had had a rough day, but she did great! The two other kids there belong to Jason's boss, who has another baby on the way due in a couple of weeks. You could see his kids taking in Margaret Mary and studying her. I like the picture where Monroe, the boy, is holding Margaret Mary's hand. He is so excited about having a new baby! As you can see, we tried to get a picture of all the kids, but it turned out to be a much harder task then we had planned. Jason had a great time hanging out with all his missionaries and it was a great start to his Christmas vacation.

Ugly Christmas Sweater Party

Eryn was invited to an Ugly Christmas Sweater party with the youth group but we didn't have time to take her out shopping for an ugly sweater. So we dug into our Christmas decoration box and made one! Check out Eryn's cute pregnant belly!

Nap Time!

Check out these two! How sweet!

Maggie's Baptism

Welcome to the body of Christ Maggie Anderson! We had the privilege of witnessing Maggie's baptism this December on the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe. In Jason's words "There is nothing like seeing an infant writhing in original sin and then set free...it was awesome!" Father Ligouri baptized Maggie (the same one who baptized Margaret Mary) and surprisingly, but not shockingly, added a Christian name to her already packed out Christian name. Magdalen Marie Anderson became Madgalen Marie Guadalupe Anderson! That's almost as awesome as Margaret Mary Elizabeth Fatima Craig! Ha! Margaret Mary had a great time being held by all her adult friends and Jason had a great time reading a book about Jesus to Sam. Nothing beats a good baptism and the great fellowship that follows!

Christmas Parade

Margaret Mary had an okay time at the Christmas Parade. It was one of the first (and only) chilly days in St. Augustine and there was a slight drizzle. I had to take her in the church for part of it because a pirate float kept on shooting off real cannons and they were sooo loud. It made me think of how blessed we are to live in a relatively peaceful country; we don't wake up to gunshots and aren't used to loud exploding noises. I had a lot of fun pointing things out to Margaret Mary and waving at all the the floats. I can't wait until next year when she will really be able to get into it.

"I freakin LOVE grapefruits!"

Playing with them that is...

Helping Mom in the Kitchen

I love my Mya Wrap!