A photo of Emily and one of her new favorite foods. The popcorn bowl started off on Robby’s lap and Emily took it from him. Popcorn is yummy!

Emily went for her two year doctor checkup. We read our ‘Corduroy Goes to the Doctor’ book before we went to remind her of what was going to happen. She was weighed on the big girl standing scale! That was a fun change for her. Also, no more shots for her until she enters kindergarten—nobody in this household is complaining about that. The doctor spotted two more teeth coming in. And he had a willing assistant in positioning the stethoscope.

The doctor was very pleased with the growth spurt she has had. She has bounded from the 10th to the 50th percentile in weight and from the 50th to the 75th percentile in height. Which translates to about 5 lbs in 6 months and also 2 inches taller in 6 months. I have noticed that she is growing through clothing sizes a little faster. At 2 years, she is 26 lbs and 34-1/2 inches long. Her head measures 18-1/4 inches round. We are not scheduled for another well visit until she turns three years old.

Julia had her 2 month checkup today at 10 weeks. She weighed 9 lbs – 6.5 oz. and measured 21 3/4 inches long. This is an increase of 1 lb – 3 oz. and 1 1/4 inches in 4 weeks. The doctor was pleased with her size and felt that she was growing well. She received two shots which she disliked and received one vaccination orally. The doctor heard a heart murmur at this visit that he hasn’t heard before. He said that it could be a small hole that has formed between the chambers that will heal on it’s own, but he wants a heart doctor to listen to the heart and give an opinion. I wondered if something was wrong because he spent a lot of time listening to her heart. He told me what to watch for in the meantime. She should return for her next checkup at 4 months.

Emily joined us at this appointment and I was curious how she would be at the visit, given that it wasn’t for her. She was very curious about what the nurse and doctor did to Julia and wanted to watch. She enjoyed reading a book to Julia while we waited. And let me successfully ‘bribe’ her with her uneaten lunch to sit in the chair like a big girl. The doctor gave her some stickers at the end of his exam and while we waited for Julia’s shots Emily decorated herself, her doll, and Julia with stickers.

I took Julia for her 6 week checkup. We had postponed the one month appointment because of insurance issues. It all worked out because at the time of the appointment Julia was just getting over a stomach virus and we could combine a well visit and a sick visit. Julia had just run her course with the illness and had no additional complications. Her weight at the visit was 8 lbs. 3 oz., height of 20 1/2 inches, and head size of 14 1/8 inches. I was pleased with her weight especially considering that she had a day of illness where she hadn’t eaten much. Over the 6 weeks she has increase her weight by 1 lb. 6 oz. and grown an inch longer. The doctor was pleased with where she was at. She balances out between the 15th and 25th percentile. Julia didn’t appreciate the shot that she got or having to lie on the cold table. Her next checkup will be at 2 months.

I just love the photos of sleeping babies! Maybe it is because they are at peace and so sweet while they are asleep.

Today was Robby’s first day back at work. We all seem to have survived! We pushed the date back because Emily got a stomach virus and I was really not comfortable being left alone with a sick kid and an infant. Emily is doing much better now and we were able to keep Julia sheltered enough to not be exposed to the virus. I took Emily to the doctor to see if we could head anything off for Julia’s sake. While we were there she weighed in at 22 lbs. She has gained two pounds in almost three months.

Today was our 38 week checkup for the baby. Everything still looks good. The doctor’s estimation of the weight of the baby today is 6 lbs. It appears that she is on the same track as Emily in size. Because I will not be able to see my doctor next week for my visit, we went ahead and discussed having an induction. While I want to wait for the baby to come on her own, it is wise to plan ahead. We have an induction scheduled for October 21st as a backup plan in case the baby doesn’t come ‘on-time’. We are trusting God to work out all the little details surrounding taking care of the baby and Emily. He does such a good job whether or not I am practicing my trust in Him to provide. It just seems that God was with us today to work out some simple details of our day and it is a good reminder of His sufficient provision.

We had a surprise today when we went to our appointment. Granddaddy came to the appointment with us to watch Emily in the waiting room. When we arrived we found our friend Ashley in the waiting room. She was having a test and had to wait for a while in the waiting room. She hung out with Granddaddy and Emily while they waited for Mommy’s appointment. We are so grateful for the people that God has put in Emily’s life that love her. Today was just another reminder of that! It will be such a joy to see God do the same for the new baby.

We were blessed with an ultrasound at 37 weeks with our newest baby. It was such a joy to get a ‘sneak preview’ and see her just a few weeks before her arrival. She wanted some things to remain a surprise and took a nap. She wouldn’t turn and show us her face so we will just have to wait a little longer to see her face. Other than our inability to see her face everything else on the ultrasound was great. She is practicing using her lungs, her heartbeat is good, the amount of fluid for her to swim in is good, her size was appropriate, and the blood flow from me to her was great. Our special surprise was that we were able to see her hair. That is something that I would never imagine that we would be able to see on an ultrasound. Her sister had a head full of hair when she came out, and it appears that this one will too. Her size measured at 6 lbs 7 oz (+/- 1 lb).