I had my first appointment with my midwife on Thursday, and since we weren't able to hear the heartbeat at the office we decided to send me for an ultrasound. Not hearing the heartbeat at 10 weeks is not unusual, but I was glad to be able to check on the baby.

So we all went in for the ultrasound, and everything is looking good. Baby has a strong heartbeat and measured the right size for how far along we are. Even though it is only 3.18 cm from "crown to rump", it was moving it's little body all over the place. Feeling Noelle moving around was one of my favorite parts of pregnancy, and I look forward to that again.

Still feeling sick, but I am not sick to the degree I was with Noelle. It does sometimes last all day, but it isn't debilitating like last time, at least not very often. I've had some cravings (last night I wanted hot dogs for dinner) and some food has made me want to vomit. I can't brush my tongue anymore without gagging.

It's all part of the package, though, and it's all worth it in the end. Of course, I say that while my daughter who should be napping is in her crib doing everything but, and her daddy and I have no desire to entertain her for one more minute today. Earlier I suggested we go to the park, and then said "I don't want to go either, but I also don't want to sit here and try to entertain her until dinner." To which Andy said he just didn't want to do ANYTHING. And I said I agreed, but we've got a 15 month old so what can you do. I won't say what he suggested next, but it involved the fact that we're starting over anyway. We really love being parents, honest.

On March 23rd, Noelle hit the 15 month mark. We had her doctor's appointment this week, and everything is looking good. She weighs 24 lbs, 13 oz and is 32 inches tall. She's in the 75th and 90th percentiles, respectively, making her thin for her height. That thought made Andy laugh because she has such a big belly, but ALL babies do! Of course, with the curse of the women in my family, Noelle's big belly will probably last way into adulthood.

She was even less of a fan of the shots than she normally is. She laid down on the table no problem, but as soon as the first needle hit her she looked SO offended and started wailing. That didn't stop until we left the doctor's office. We got to the car and she was signing that she wanted to eat, so I offered her everything I had but she wanted none of it. So I said okay, we'll just go home then and got in the front seat. That just made her freak out all over again. I offered her a granola bar again and she took it that time, only to freak out again when we got to the last piece. By the time we got moving in the car, though, she was just fine.

This is both a fun and challenging time to be Noelle's mom. Her personality is really developing, which at times just cracks me up. She really is a funny kid. Yesterday she was starting to pull her bib off at lunchtime, but instead of taking it off she held it over her face, then dropped it and said, "Boo!"

The challenging part, and I know each age will have a challenging part, is that she's so verbal that I think I sometimes expect her to know more than she does. Sometime she'll be signing please and I have no idea what she wants, or she'll just grunt and I'll say "use your words!" but although she has a ton of words, she still doesn't know how to express herself all the time. Also, she is very independent and keeping her from wandering everywhere is pretty impossible. I let her wander when I can, but sometimes we just need to go in one direction! And with me feeling sick, I'd much rather walk with her holding my hand than have to carry her. We're working on that.

The other day we went to the park and Andy was walking with Noelle holding his hand while I walked on the other side of her. She reached her little hand up to grab my finger so she could walk holding both of our hands. Moments like that make up for a multitude of frustrations.

Our add a photo technology is not working currently, but you can see new pictures at the links below.

February Pictures

March Pictures

Tomorrow I am going on an overnight Women's Retreat with our church. My first night without Noelle. Ever. Even Andy couldn't believe it, and thought surely I've had at least one night before this, before she was 14 months old. But no. I haven't been without her for more than 12 hours in a row (and that was just once, other than that it's been less than 6) since April 2005 when she was first conceived. To say I'm looking forward to it is an understatement.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my little girl. In fact, part of the reason I'm writing this post is to tell a few cute stories about her. But every mama needs a BREAK every now and then. Plus, I'm excited for Andy to have this concentrated time with Noelle and do the "single parent" thing that I do every day, and have done for a few overnights as well.

So on to the stories. Today I got Noelle up from a nap and brought her out to the living room. The high chair was out there because we bring it out on Monday nights for our Lost party with the Daugherty's, and I hadn't put it back yet. I stood her on top of the tray to be silly, and she worked her way to sitting down in the seat where she promptly said, "naa???" which is the way she says "snack???" And lately, every time she says snack, she begins to slowly nod her head yes right after, as if to try and hypnotize me into agreeing that it is in fact snack time.

Later we were having lunch and in between bites we were practicing some letter sounds. We were working on "t," and although I thought she had finished her bite of applesauce I guess she still had some in her mouth. So when she said "tuh", she spit applesauce all over her tray. She threw her body back in her seat and looked so surprised, and then just giggled uncontrollably. Crack me up. We have a good time together, me and Noelle. Not all the time, but enough to say that we generally enjoy each other's company. I'm sure I'll miss her more than I think tomorrow night.

Being a SAHM (Stay At Home Mom) isn't all that thrilling sometimes. Today, for instance, time is moving as slowly as it ever has in my entire life. Worse than waiting in line at the DMV, which to me is one of the slowest procedures in the world. It is absolutely beyond me how it is only 4:00 right now. We've played with every toy we own, read most of our books several times, watched a video, played out in the yard, took a bath, went to the grocery store, took a nap, played with the dogs, had several snacks, ate lunch, and many other activities that apparently only take 1 minute each.

It doesn't help that I feel sick and that it's Friday, but seriously, what in the world? Normally we don't take a bath until right before bed, but I thought it'd be a good activity. I thought we had been playing in there FOREVER, and by the time I got us out and dried off, it hadn't even been fifteen minutes! I had to check my watch to make sure it hadn't stopped. Most days I really do enjoy this job, but like any job, there are days that I'd rather be doing anything else. Especially at the age Noelle is, there just aren't a whole lot of activities we can do.

One of our friends just started letting her daughter color, but I'm very sure Noelle would just eat the crayons. Have we mentioned how she has chewed up her crib to oblivion? We did finger painting around Christmas for an art project and Noelle just cried, so I think we should wait a while to do that one again. It's a little too chilly to go for a walk still. She won't sit and watch a video for more than 5 minutes. Pretty much any art or craft project, I'm still afraid she would eat all the supplies. There are only so many times you can go to the store. So what's a mom to do?

Thank goodness it's the weekend and we'll have some daddy help.

The Sickness has come again, and I can only hope that it doesn't end up as bad as last time. So far I've just been very nauseated, not able to stand up for long periods of time, and disgusted by the thought of most food. And that's not for the entire day, it's so far only been from morning until around 2, and then maybe a little bit in the evening. I just can't deal with the same stuff I had last time, because I have to take care of Noelle! Thankfully she is walking now, getting better every day, so I don't need to carry her as much. It's also a blessing that she is a pretty independent little girl if I need her to be.

I know that sickness is a relatively small price to pay for the joy that a baby brings to my life, and that sickness can give me some comfort that things are working as they should. It still stinks, though!

Yesterday I went to the grocery store to buy a bunch of "convenience foods." Last pregnancy, I went through several months where if there wasn't something in the house that I could eat quickly and without any real prep time, I would just skip lunch. I couldn't think about food long enough to prepare it. Obviously not good for me or the baby, but it was how I had to deal. So I bought some quick things like pre-cut apples, bananas, grapes, Lunchables, meal replacement bars, and string cheese that might help keep me going. Hopefully it works!