Elfie named Marshmallow

I am NOT a fan of Elf on a Shelf. We tried it 2 years ago and MG could have cared less. I was into it at first, but got over it fast! Last year we didn't even bring it out. This year I wasn't even sure where the thing was! Last night we were sitting on the couch and MG said she wished we had an elf because all of her friends (and named them all by name!) had their own elf. Guilt trip! So I dug up the elf and put her out. Oh my goodness was my child excited this morning! And she has been the happiest little girl all day long! She was so excited to tell her Daddy about Marshmallow and every time she passes the elf, she tells it that she loves her! So sweet! We are going to play the elf game a little differently this year. Our elf is going to encourage good behavior by leaving small little tasks for MG. I'm actually excited!

EARS...GRRR!

Here we go again! That's all I can think. It's a vicious cycle with those stinkin' ears of hers. I hate it for her. She had 10 days of amoxicillan, 10 days of Augmentin and now she's on 7 days of Omnicef and drops. We saw the ENT today and it wasn't good. Here's the highlights: *"I can't believe she can even hear" *Right tube is out *Right ear is extremely infected way back behind the ear drum *Left tube might still be in, there's a big lump of goopy infection blocking the view *Let's do allergy testing...Holy crap, I can only imagine how that's going to go! *If medicine doesn't clear those ears up, we may be looking at a 5th set of tubes. I wouldn't rule it out yet. I feel so bad for my poor little munchkin. I know in the grand scheme of things, ears are a tiny issue. There are so many more things that could be wrong. I KNOW how incredibly blessed I am to have such an overall healthy and perfect child. But dang! It still sucks to try everything and not be able to get your kid well.

She's a Big Girl

Let's see...

MG lost her 2nd tooth!

She had her first sleepover somewhere other than the grandparents' houses. She wanted to sleep over at her cousins house last weekend when we were in visiting. I really thought we'd have to go get her in the middle of the night, but her aunt said she never missed a beat and went straight to sleep with no troubles!

MG sat on Santa's lap not once, but twice! She hasn't sat on his lap since she was a baby and couldn't refuse!

I'm just astonished at how much she's grown and changed. She's becoming such a BIG little girl.

Thornton, Party of 4!

MG had some big news to share over Thanksgiving! She's so excited to be a big sister, finally! She's wanted a baby for so long, but I'm pretty sure she had given up on us!

I was exactly 4 weeks along when I found out! I nearly passed out. I'm almost 11 weeks now and I still don't think it's fully sunk in yet. If it weren't for the constant sick feeling, extreme fatigue, crazy sense of smell, and overall feeling of BLEH, I might doubt what I saw on that ultrasound! Ha!

Back to the beginning, I found out at 4 weeks and we didn't tell anyone! My dr. wanted to see me at 8 weeks so we didn't want to tell anyone until we had seen a real live baby on that ultrasound! Those 4 weeks could not have gone any slower. I felt like walking death and really just needed that confirmation. The day finally came, though, and it was well worth the wait. Jamey and I got to see our little miracle on the big screen! Heartrate was 178, we saw the spine, arms and legs and a great big brain! It was great.

We still kept it a secret for another week. We wanted to spill the beans at Thanksgiving while everyone was together. MG wore a cute little shirt that said "Big Sis" and we were just going to wait and see how long it took for anyone to notice. We barely got in the door before my aunt noticed! And then came the screams, the hugs and the tears! It was great!

I didn't tell my work until last week, I was actually planning on waiting until 12 weeks, right before Christmas Break, but the opportunity presented itself so I took it! A few of us were talking and someone said no one should be an only child so I very casually said "well mine won't be in July". The looks I got were priceless! No one believed me at first, then came the screams and hugs again! The news spread through the school like a wildfire and we ended the day with an announcement over the intercom congratulating me! What a great celebration of our happy time!

As for MG, she really is excited. She talks about the baby all the time and what we're going to do when it gets here. She makes funny little remarks to the baby (as she sticks her face to my belly!). She's convinced it's a girl and will not even consider otherwise. She says she told God she wanted a girl so after her sister comes out she'll ask God for a brother next. Uh, NO! This is a one shot opportunity! She did tell me yesterday that if it was a boy she was still going to dress it up, style it's hair and make it talk like a girl so maybe she is coming to terms with the possibility! I can't wait to see what goes on between these 2! I love my MG more than anything and I'm so thankful for every little personality trait she has, but I'm hoping for a little less sass and will this go-round!

Maternity clothes? I'm not ashamed to say I've broken out the maternity jeans a couple times and man do they feel good! The bloating is ridiculous this time around! Stretch marks? Nope, I got lucky the first time I'm hoping to continue that streak! Sleep: Terrible, awful, horrible! All I want to do is sleep, but it's not happening. Most evenings I fall asleep on the couch before supper! I wake up all the time to pee and once I wake up I have trouble going back to sleep. I'm sick at night, too, which just makes me miserable. Best moment this week: Finally telling the girls at work and seeing their excitement for me Movement: Not yet Food cravings: Mt. Dew (not something I usually drink!) and Doritoes Gender: we find out in 6 weeks What I miss: Sleep. Being able to pop a sinus pill as needed. What I am looking forward to: Christmas Break...naps!! Biggest complaint: Fatigue, nausea all day long, sinuses Milestones: 10 Weeks!

your baby's the size of a prune! Now, she's about 1.2 inches long and weighs about .14 ounces. Her body length will almost double in the next three weeks.

your baby at 10 weeks Baby has working arm joints, and her cartilage and bones are forming. Her vital organs are fully developed and they're starting to function. Her fingernails and hair are starting to appear, too. Plus, she's swallowing and kicking in there. (Can you believe it?!)