Random Happenings...

Yesterday I baked mini-muffins. A lot of mini-muffins. I baked blueberry muffins and cinnamon carrot muffins. By the end of the night, the smell (and thought) of muffins was making me very nauseous. Unfortunately, I already thawed out bananas for banana muffins which I'll have to bake at some point today. Bleh.

It's interesting to me how sick I often feel with this pregnancy. With Tiernan, the only symptoms I ever had this early on were sinus problems, extreme tiredness, and running to the restroom every 5 minutes. This time around, I have sinus problems, frequent bathroom breaks, nausea, exhaustion, lower back and hip pain, shortness of breath, and I am always hot. It's insane how different this pregnancy already is. I am ecstatic to be pregnant, but honestly, I could do without feeling sick all the time! Also, when I was pregnant with Tiernan I craved healthy foods. I craved cucumbers, carrots, and watermelon the most. I would eat a salad, especially caeser, any time of day. This time, I crave junk food. Greasy hamburgers, fast food, giant steaks, chocolate milk, brownies, and french fries are among some of the things I yen for. Oh, and everything smells weird. I keep smelling stinky feet and cigarette smoke...both of which make me want to heave.

Sometimes the cravings are so strong I can't resist indulging in them. Last night, I did a late night Taco Bell run. I was starving and really needed something fattening and greasy. While waiting to order in the drive thru, the car in front of me ran out of gas. There were three people in the car, yet the driver decided it was more appropriate to get out and ask me if I would push their car because it just ran out of gas. I assumed he meant push with my car...so I politely told him that my car had been backed into and the bumper wasn't on as securely as it should be. He gave me a somewhat confused and annoyed look. Certainly, he wasn't asking me to get out and physically push the car with my body?!? Just then, I heard the voice from inside the little "Order Here" box say, "One of our guys is going to come out and push you. He'll push you to the first window so you can pay, then the second window so you can get your food, then out of the drive-thru." I was certainly impressed that this employee was going way above the fast food call of duty! As I was leaving the drive thru (after getting my three soft supreme tacos) I saw that this employee was actually pushing the car down to the gas station which is a good quarter of a mile away. Crazy. Two things about this incident shocked me. First, how awesome it is that I live in a town where people will do things like that for others. Second, there were three people in the car. The driver was not a small man and he appeared perfectly capable of doing what the Taco Bell employee did. When I explained that I could not push his truck, he got back in and sat down. Like he had absolutely no idea what to do. The other two passengers never budged from their seats. Am I the only one that thinks it's weird that nobody in the car attempted to rectify the situation on their own? Well, anyway, kudos to the awesome Taco Bell employee.

I keep watching the video of the baby's heartbeat...just to make sure I didn't dream it, I guess. I am still a little anxious about something going wrong. I try to rest as much as possible and not push myself. It's very hard not to think about what could happen. Every day that I feel good and don't seem to have a lot of symptoms, that worry comes out. I'm thinking of renting a fetal doppler to try and help me accept that there really is a sweet little baby growing healthy and strong. I had one with Tiernan and it was wonderful to hear his little heartbeat whenever I wanted.

Being pregnant with Tiernan around is a lot of fun. If you ask him where mommy's baby is, he'll kiss my stomach. We're still trying to help him understand that he can't jump on mommy's tummy like he used to, but I really think he's going to be an amazing big brother. When Tiernan was born, I cried for months because I didn't think I'd ever have any more kids. Not because of physical problems, but I couldn't imagine that it was possible to love another baby as much as I love him. Sometimes I still wonder if it really is possible. Even after working in childcare with kids his age, I am still amazed by the things he does every single day. There is definitely no way to describe the powerful love a mother feels for her child.

Since getting his tubes, his speech has really blossomed. He had a good vocabulary before the surgery, but he's saying 2-3 new words everyday now. His articulation is also improving. He is starting to say, "wawer" instead of, "ba" for water and is starting to differentiate between the "b" and "d" sounds, as well as, the "m" and "n" sounds. In fact, he just walked up to me with a packet of parmasean cheese (he loves exploring the refrigerator) and I told him it was for spaghetti...and he goes, "dighetti?" Then he grabbed my hand and said, "eat?" and led me to the kitchen. He climbed up in his booster chair and said, "Eat? Dighetti?" He is now happily chowing down on his very own dish of "dighetti".

Another new experience is the exiting of the Terrible Two's. There have barely been any temper tantrums for weeks now. Tiernan doesn't seem to get as frustrated as he once used to and the banging his head on the floor/walls/doors/etc has pretty much ceased. I'm really hoping the Terrible Two's don't show their ugly faces again, but I know, that may be an unrealistic hope.

Life as a family is nothing short of amazing. I love my husband and my son so much. I know there's room in there for at least one more child. I can't wait to continue to see our family grow.

Next week we leave for Montana and I could not be more excited. Don't get me wrong, I hate packing for trips. I am the worst over-packer ever, but I am in dire need of some rest and relaxation. Sure, I can lounge on the couch and not clean the house here in AZ, but I still have to tend to Tiernan which is exhausting! I am excited to see my family and for them to finally meet Tiernan! This is definitely a year full of blessings!

Oh baby!

I had my first ultrasound today and not only did we see a tiny little baby (smaller than a grain of rice!), we saw and heard the heartbeat! AMAZING! I was so anxious sitting in the waiting room...after being in that office so many times and hearing, "We don't see anything." or "We did see something, but it's a mass in your tube." I was petrified that I'd hear those words again. I haven't been having any abnormal symptoms or reasons for concern, but it's still been on my mind that something could go wrong.

As soon as the tech started the ultrasound I saw the black bubble and knew there was something in my uterus...but was it viable? 6 weeks is sometimes too early to see or hear the heartbeat on ultrasound, but there it was! A little flicker that made me hold my breath so we could get a better look.

I know it is still early, so it's not really safe to assume that everything will be a-okay, but the chances of miscarriage drastically decrease once you see the heartbeat. We are so excited to welcome another Baby Durkee into our family in early winter.

Here is a quick clip of the baby's heartbeat. I guess there isn't sound on the video, but you can see a little flicker right in the middle and that's the beating heart!!

March Happenings

March has been a very busy month for the Durkee family. We started the month off by going to Disneyland to celebrate my grandmother's birthday. She hadn't been to the park in about 40 years so it was really exciting to be able to share such a fun experience with her. Tiernan had a blast playing with Grandma Melodie and GG Rachel and showing them all his favorite rides. We expected very large crowds, but it wasn't bad...in fact, we got to go on Small World two times in a row without even getting off the boat! I promise I will post pics, unfortunately, my laptop doesn't have a place to put my memory card.

Tiernan also had tubes put in his ears this month. He was a champ! I was very worried that when the nurse came to take him to the surgery room he'd scream the whole way...but he didn't even bat an eye! Apparently, while he was in the surgery room he gave all of the Dr's and nurses high fives. Coming out of sleep is usually a bit traumatic for kids, but he did just fine. We are so blessed to have such a sweet little boy.

This month Tiernan decided he was ready to start potty training. We don't really push it, if he wants to go he tells us. He really likes feeling like he's a big boy and we are just amazed that he started it all on his own!

He also decided he was done with his crib. So, we went along with it...for a few days. Two nights in a row he decided he wanted to sleep on a pile of stuffed animals on the floor. We decided to put his crib mattress on the floor and see how he slept. He did really well, except normally if he wakes up in the wee hours of the morning and he's in his crib, he'll go right back to sleep...not so much outside of the crib. We decided that his 5 a.m. wake up routine and shortened naps were depriving us all of sleep, so back into the crib he went and he appears to be very happy there now.

Earlier this week Tiernan went on his first Easter egg hunt. Once he understood he was supposed to be looking for eggs and not playing in the rocks, he did really well! Thanks to the Yi family for hosting the hunt.

Our family also celebrated Passover with the Zaragoza family. It's a tradition Steve has shared with their family for almost two decades! It is by far, one of our favorite traditions. Unfortunately, Tiernan didn't have a very good nap that day, so he wasn't as excited about it as we were...but it was still a lot of fun! Thank you so much to Carl and Antje for putting together such a wonderful get-together. We love being included year after year.

As pretty much everyone knows, March was a big month because Steve and I decided to start trying for baby #2 again. Many of you have asked me how it's going...I am in fact pregnant! It is very, very early and we didn't plan on sharing the information for at least another month, but I've had so many people ask about it, I figured I may as well share. I am only 4 weeks pregnant so anything could happen at this point, but we're thinking positive and praying a lot and I'm making sure to rest and take good care of my body. I would certainly appreciate prayers from my family and friends for the health of this pregnancy. Being pregnant after losing a pregnancy is much different than when I was pregnant with Tiernan. I never worried about the "what ifs" the first time around...this time, I am much more aware of how delicate an early pregnancy is. I have decided not to do an ultrasound until we should be able to see a heartbeat, but I can't wait much past 6 weeks in case this pregnancy is also tubal. Please keep our family in your prayers as we wait patiently for good news.

April is going to be another busy, exciting month! Grandpa Dave will be here next weekend and will stay for a whole week! Then, at the end of April we will be going to Montana to stay with the Wilson family for two weeks...I AM SO EXCITED! I haven't seen the Wilsons in almost three years! For those who don't know, the Wilson family (Mommy Gail, Daddy Bud, Melissa, and Jeff) started watching me soon after I was born and have been a very important part of my life. I call them mom and dad and consider Jeff and Melissa to be my brother and sister. This will be the first time they get to meet Tiernan and I know he will love running around their property and playing with Melissa's son Tristan.

I hope that the month of March has treated all of you and your families well. Please know that our family is so thankful to have you in our lives...our family and friends are a true blessing.

Peace and Love,
Alyssa