24 weeks update on Luke

Luke is literally rocking and rolling inside and having a great time in my tummy. On Monday, we went to the pediatric cardiologist, Dr Joshi, to check to see if there was a chance Luke would have an ASD. This was basically a precautionary visit due to the increased risk of him having one because Will had an ASD. We got good news from Dr Joshi. All the blood vessels, valves and everything else in the heart were perfect. He couldn't get a good look at what could be an ASD because Luke's shoulder was in the way. He just told us to get an ECHO done when he is born and ask them to check and then follow up with the pediatrician at his check up to see if an ASD is evident. So until then we shall just pray and wait for that time.

Waving

Just chilling

Today we had our check up with our doctor and he was pleased with everything. Luke looked great and was literally kicking me and flipping and showing out on the ultrasound. His feet are kicking me in the stomach and it feels like a knot is there but I don't care. I just have to adjust the way I sit and he moves. We didn't get measurements today but my belly is growing and measuring around 24 weeks so here we go to the critical part of the pregnancy where we all get scared and nervous because I delivered early at 24 weeks and 5 days. So from now on we are going to be on pins and needles. The Lord has his hand in this pregnancy and we are looking to him for guidance and strength to make it to 40 weeks. We have been given signs to look for as far as preterm delivery contractions and such. So please be in prayer for us as we go forth and prepare for the arrival of Baby Luke.

24 weeks pregnant 

Visiting Drew's grave

On Sunday which was the 3 year anniversary of the day we buried Drew, we went to place fresh flowers on his grave. We had a good sunny day to do this and even the train came through which reminded us of the little things that Drew is okay in Heaven with Jesus.

Helping Daddy put the flowers in the vase

 

Will posing on Drew's grave

Mommy and Will

Daddy and Will

 

While we were taking pictures and enjoying the day, Will kept going to the other tombstones and squatting down to say "cheese." He wanted his picture taken with the other tombstones around. It's the little things in this little guys heart and life that make you smile! 

Will's 3 year old check-up

Will had his 3 year old check up with the pediatrician. He weighs 24.5 lbs and is 36 inches tall. He is 2% on the growth chart in weight and 17% on the chart for height. Oh well, he is tall and skinny compared to where he has come from. He eats everything in the world but must have an extremely high metabolism. At least he's not fat and limiting what he eats. We are thankful for that. We just have to beef him up and slow him down. Good luck to us! He was pleased with Will's potty training performance because we have gone a solid week at daycare of NO accidents at all. Yeah Will! Overall we had a great visit with our favorite pediatrician! 

Cheesing for momma

The floor air vent intrigued Will and provided us great entertainment as we waited

Playing with the stool while waiting on the doctor

Will's birthday party

Due to my grandmother's funeral on Will's birthday we had to move his party back one day. We had a family party at Chick-Fil-A and it was wonderful. I ordered chicken nuggets, fries and drinks for everyone and we had cake and ice cream. The Chick-Fil-A staff was so nice to us. Thank goodness we were the only ones in the back part of the restaurant because we were loud. Will had a great time and the best part was this pregnant momma didn't have to clean up her house or do alot of party planning either.

The birthday boy

Party guests

Good family time

After we ate, we let the kids run wild in the play area. It was nice and relaxing because they went to go play and we had a little of an adult and quiet conversation. 

After Will, Peyton and Anna Grace ran some energy off it was time for cake and presents. Will loved us singing Happy Birthday to him and blowing out his candles. He also got alot of awesome toys and cute clothes too! 

His train cake

Singing Happy Birthday

Blowing out his candles

More blocks to play with

Mickey Mouse suitcase

His own personal powder blue Ole Miss helmet

A motorized car

More race cars

Motorized air plane

Loved opening his presents

After we opened presents and had cake we let the kids play again while we all cleaned up and got ready to go. Overall it was a successful party and I'm so glad we had it at Chick-Fil-A! 

Happy 3rd Birthday Party my sweet Will! 

Happy 3rd Birthday Will

Will turned 3 today. How is this possible???? I remember every moment of January 19, 2012 and all that happened that day. I just can't believe my 1lb 1oz miracle sweet baby is 3 today. We let him pick his school outfit and of course he had to wear his cowboy boots.

Will is full of life and never meets a stranger. He loves to play trains, kick balls, play with blocks, play his guitar, and read books. He could play from sun up to sun down if we let him. He still takes about an hour to 2 hour nap each day. He's got the funniest little personality that I have no idea where it comes from. He loves Mac n cheese, corn, pancakes, hot dogs, chicken, burgers, bacon, eggs, bread of all kinds, and just about anything you will give him to eat he loves. He loves going to school and playing and learning with his friends. He has about 3 girls that he can't leave without giving them a kiss or hug at school. It's absolutely adorable!! He basically loves life and is soaking up so much these days! 

I can't imagine life without him in my life. I'm so glad God put this little miracle in my life. He inspires me to be a better mom and person every single day. I can't wait to see what kind of Big Brother he is going to be to Baby Luke and of course what all the mischief they are going to get in as brothers. 

Unfortunately the events of this day had to be rescheduled due to my grandmothers funeral today. We lost Mamaw Smothers on Friday and she was 95 years old. She lived a great life and was a dedicated Godly woman. We will miss her very much. 

With Mamaw's passing and the funeral today we had to reschedule Will's birthday party to tomorrow night. Unfortunately that wasn't a problem because it is going to be a low key party at Chickfila because this preggo momma can't handle a full blown birthday party. So instead we celebrated for a bit at Mary's house with my family and when we got home we had cupcakes and ice cream. Nana and Papaw Penny came over later and played for a bit with Will. It was a great day despite the circumstances. 

Again we are so blessed to be the parents of our little miracle Will. 

Update on Luke

I turned 20 weeks pregnant with Luke on January 8th. Yeah HALF WAY!!!!

I'm feeling good and eating a lot. I have an extremely active baby on my hands. I feel flutters day in and day out. All the time I'm getting jabbed and kicked by this little guy. He's going to be active and a complete mess probably like Will. 

We went to see the maternal fetal specialist today and everything checked out great. He weighs currently about 13 ounces and is measuring 20 weeks and 5 days. His heart rate was 156 which has been about the same everytime we have checked. He's right on schedule and having no growth restrictions at all. We saw all his sweet little features and checked the heart valves, the brain, the kidneys, the spine, his lips for a cleft lip, and everything else they could possibly check. All in all he is perfect! 

We were referred, as precautionary reasons, to see a pediatric cardiologist in 2 weeks just to check further on the heart. Will had a hole in his heart which they called ASD. Will's hole in his heart closed on its own about a year ago. They said that if your first child had ASD then your 2nd child could be at an increased risk of having an ASD. As I said we are just going for precautionary reasons and they just wanted a new set of eyes to look and see. The doctor saw what could possibly be ASD but he wanted the pediatric cardiologist to take a look. He said ASD is hard to detect in prenatal care but it wouldn't hurt us if we met with him. So please pray for that appointment in 2 weeks. 

The doctor said that with all that I'm doing he expects me to have a full term and most of all healthy baby boy. 

All in all Luke is a wonderful creation of God! 

Please pray for peace of mind as we get closer to 24 weeks because that's when everything went crazy with the twins back in 2012. I'm not going to lie to you and say everything is okay when I will be a nervous wreck from 24 weeks to 40 weeks. 

Also pray for our upcoming cardiologist appointment in 2 weeks. 

But most of all please pray for this precious baby boy of ours we call Luke! 

Potty Training Day 1

We decided to take the time and start potty training Will before Baby Luke arrives. He will be 3 years old on the 19th and we decided to take a dip and see what would happen. He has been showing us the signs and telling us he peed and pooped in his diaper so we thought it was time to try. We loaded up on M&Ms and Skittles for his reward.

We started this morning after breakfast and started wearing our big boy underwear. I was reminded by Doug that boys don't wear panties after I kept calling them panties. Sorry!! 

We started off with trips to the bathroom every 15-20 minutes just to get him used to it. We loaded him up on orange juice and water and made him drink sips every few minutes. After about 5 trips to the potty every 15-20 minutes and nothing happening I decided to make some tea because that usually runs right through him. After about waiting another 20 minutes and drinking some tea we didn't make it to the potty and had our first accident in the floor. So we decided to do every 10 minutes to the potty. Again we didn't make it 10 minutes and had another accident on the floor. After 5 accidents total on the floor, 5 pairs of undies and lots of tea, we FINALLY got our FIRST pee pee in the potty and Will was rewarded with 5 M&Ms and we sang and did the happy dance and acted like fools because we were so excited!!!

And then we thought wearing undies on our head would be fun! 

He took a nap in a pull-up this afternoon for about 2 hours and the pull up was dry after nap time and then when he got up had a great pee pee in the toilet. 

Potty Training Day 1 has been good. After our first pee pee in the potty we have had NO accidents since then. He even tried to poop in the potty tonight but didn't quite make it happen so thats a work in progress. All in all it has been better than I thought it would go! We will see what tomorrow brings. 

Good job sweet Will we are SO proud of you today! 

Tucker Rice Stewart

My baby sister and her husband had their first baby this morning by C-Section. Tucker was being stubborn and didn't want to turn so he stayed breached and they decided to do a C-Section and cause his momma alot of pain. We are so thankful for a healthy baby Mary and John had. We are so excited to share this day with them and welcome Tucker into the family. Momma and Daddy are doing well and are excited about this new step in their lives. Our prayer is for Tucker to have a life full of joy but mostly to follow Jesus as his Savior when the time is right! We love you sweet Tucker and we can't wait to watch you grow in Christ as your parents have already shown and set forth the example for you to follow.

Tucker Rice Stewart
January 8, 2015
7:43am
7lbs 0.3 oz
19 inches long
Proud Parents: Mary and John

Nana Karen and Tucker

Poppa Bill and Tucker

This picture melts my heart

Aunt Kara and Tucker's first selfie

Tucker wants Aunt Kara to quit taking pictures. Sorry buddy it won't happen!