Merry Spring!

It only seemed like it! 

I couldn't handle baring my heart for awhile. 

Ok, it was a long while this time. 

I left you here mid 2013. So what's happened?

SO MANY THINGS. 

Not too long after my last post, things became dicey with our Dane girls. Kira was almost 8 years old, which is toward the higher end of average for Great Danes. We had been managing her discospondylosis, hip problems, and knee conditions for about two years. She was not only taking supplements, but Rimadyl and Tramadol for pain control. But she became more touchy, and was lashing out at Misha. There were a couple of fights, a couple of trips to be patched up. In the end, we had to make the heartbreaking decision to let Kira cross the Rainbow Bridge. She was our first 'baby,' a comfort while we were trying for a human baby. She was my very first dog to boot! It colored the rest of the year. 

We also made the decision for Monkey to attend public school, since we are in one of the best districts in our state. I couldn't keep up with his appetite for learning! We'd finish his work in just a couple of hours, and I had no idea how to fill our days so that he was learning and moving forward. He's had amazing teachers who helped him, pushed him, and let him keep progressing. This year that has changed, and we are reconsidering our decision if this trend continues. For now though, it works. 

2014

It was a good year! Monkey did well in school, Kevin and I were both very involved in the class room and I went on a couple of field trips. We just lived a normal life, whatever normal is. 

At some point, we decided to try a few more rounds of fertility treatment. Two rounds with my regular OB/GYN (while working with a Reproductive Endocrinologist) led to two extremely early pregnancy losses. We followed through with more intensive testing, which didn't reveal a lot, but did leave us taking a few months off of trying to conceive. 

Sometime in there, I started attending a FitSkate class with a local roller derby team! Tons of fun, even if it ended in a bruised tail bone a few times! I hadn't been on skates since I was a teenager, so there was a definite learning curve. However, I started having super strange symptoms at the end of the year (numbness, a foot drop, falls, weakness...just a host of weirdness). I saw my primary care physician for a work up, and a referral to a neurologist. I needed to see one anyway for following my migraines, so this wasn't cause for alarm at all. 

We had a good holiday season, my mom came near Thanksgiving and Christmas was great! 

2015

While following these issues, I ended up in the hospital for a few days in January. They found an ischemic event in my brain (either a stroke no one knew about, or tiny bleed from a concussion during a car wreck in 2012). It was old when found, so not a giant concern but it sounded scary! I was evaluated for Multiple Sclerosis. Since this is a diagnosis mostly made by exclusion, it involved lots of testing. At the same time, we working on another round of fertility treatment. We had to stop right when I was to start Femara again, so the cycle was interrupted.

To make things just slightly more fun, we knew Kevin was soon to leave for pre-deployment training and then for deployment to the Middle East. We decided then we'd try once more with the doctors help after he returned. I started occupational therapy to strengthen my left side, and kept up with that while Kevin was away for training. He left just after our wedding anniversary. I had a few tests with results that were only *slightly* out of normal, but my symptoms slowly faded, and it was determined I wouldn't need to come back for several months. A couple of weeks later, I noticed I hadn't had a cycle since the medicine I used to induce it for our aborted fertility cycle in January/February. Nothing unusual, especially considering my PCOS and endometriosis. I took a pregnancy test before I called the doctor. 

Imagine my shock when it was *POSITIVE.*

I'm sure I almost fell over. Talk about pins and needles! My first ultrasound was inconclusive, showing only an amniotic sac and yolk sac. Since we had no idea when I'd conceived, we weren't sure if this was a problem or not. The next week though, there was a tiny flicker of a heartbeat! Monkey found the pregnancy tests I'd inadvertently left on my bathroom counter, and me forgetting how smart he was, demanded to know "does dad know about this?!" He was fairly excited though. He got to come to the 13 week ultrasound, where baby looked like a baby instead of a blob. He announced this big news to my mom via video chat. Kevin was home for a few weeks between training and deploying, and got to see an ultrasound as well.

Kevin left just as school got out, and Monkey and I spent the summer playing at the splash pad downtown and took a trip to Colorado with Kevin's sister. We found out baby's gender, and used pictures of Monkey to announce our little girl! Monkey started 2nd grade in August, and Kevin returned home in October. I spent most of the summer and fall craving cheeseburgers and grapes, and watching my active belly bounce around. She was due Dec 10, but after a concerning biophysical profile on my birthday, we induced labor.

My little Owl was born on 20 Nov at 1018am. She was 6lbs, 15 oz and 19 inches long. (I'll be back soon with a proper birth story post and many pictures.)

Thanksgiving and Christmas were spent at home with our tiny new baby! In January, Kevin attended two weeks of training (and I survived my first TDY with 2 kids!).

2016

 

On this day in 2004,

(which was also the first day of Spring)

Kevin and I were married. 

Twelve years! 

Two babies! 

An almost 8 year old Monkey,

 and as of today, 

a 4 month old Owlet.

Life is awesome.