The Good News Keeps Rolling In!

As if a healthy pregnancy wasn't good enough news for us, Matt received awesome news yesterday that the job he applied for at the library was his!! He had his first interview last week and was asked back for the second on Tuesday and they wanted him so he found out yesterday, so it was a fast decision.

Some background: about a month ago his current company did big time layoffs/shutting down divisions etc, luckily he wasn't effected and was told he was safe, but really for how long is what we were saying since he was now the last one hired after they got rid of the editor they hired after Matt. So the same day that the layoffs happened, Matt went to his part time job at the library and was called into his boss's office (you can imagine what he was thinking) So she tells Matt that she is taking a new position at the library and that Matt is her first recommendation to take over her job. To say the least Matt was a little shocked that this all happened on the same day. He was walking around this the same expression that he has whenever I tell him I am pregnant haha.

Matt had been talking about trying to get into a library career which is hard to do without a Masters in Library Science. Well this was his in and now with this job opportunity he will be able to go back to school with tuition reimbursement and get his Masters which will hopefully lead to moving up in the library world. This job was such a blessing to us both. He will be making so much more than at his previous job, enough that he will only be working 1 job now!!! With baby #2 on the way we couldn't have gotten better news. To put it in perspective, Matt would have had to work at his current job 8 years (assuming they are giving raises each year which they didn't last year and most likely this year) to be making what he is now going to be making at just one job. Oh and he gets another week of vacation, so now he has 3 weeks each year instead of 2 which is also awesome with the baby coming. He will be able to get into the IMRF, which is great for retirement, he is somewhere now that he could stay forever and move up and all that kind of stuff. I am so proud of him, getting this job was big time and of course he did it, because he is great at everything he does.

So Matt will now be the manager of the biggest department at the library (circulation), he even gets his OWN office, good bye cubical life haha. This job will offer so much more stability. As the economy gets worse, the libraries are booming, it's really a recession proof job and after going through two rounds of layoff's at his old company (both while I have been pregnant just to add to the stress) he is ready for something more stable. I just can't say enough what a blessing this is to our family.

So congrats to my wonderful husband for always doing his best to support our family. I know you will do awesome in your new career.

Life is good right now, and we are way over due for good.

Baby #2 is on the way!

Matt and I would like to FINALLY announce that we are having another baby! I am 12 weeks and 1 day along and due September 30, 2009. Baby is doing very well, after a rocky start again, but this little one kept fighting and we are so happy to be able to finally let everyone know our wonderful news! It has been really hard keeping it a secret this long, but with our loss this summer we were and still are very nervous, but there is no hiding it any longer being my third pregnancy now, I am showing!

We had a rocky start again which made us even more apprehensive to tell people. I was diagnosed with a uterine bleed during my sixth week, however the bleeding started during the fifth week. Basically they think the baby implanted and then detached found a better spot and attached on again causing the bleed. So this issue had no relationship with what we dealt with this summer. I was put on limited activity bed rest which wasn't too bad, but annoying enough and since I was on progesterone I was at the advantage of having the bleed heal up quicker, which it did by the ninth week. This baby is sure a fighter. I am feeling very tired, but now in the second trimester that should ease up, I am also off my progesterone starting today so that should bring me out of zombie land and back to the living.

The details so far:

When I first found out I was pregnant I spent two weeks going in and having blood draws again, to check my progesterone and my hcg level, my numbers started out much higher than with the last pregnancy so we were very hopeful. I have had 4 ultrasounds so far, but I only have pictures of 3 of them. When I first started having problems we assumed I was miscarrying again, so I called and went in for a blood test. If my hormone numbers were going down from the last time they checked we were going to try to let things happen naturally and not do another D&C, but to our wonderful surprise my numbers had gone up and I went in the next day for a very early ultrasound I was only 5 weeks 6 days. Everything looked good during the ultrasound, she didn't see a baby yet, but all other things that should be there were (fetal pole, yolk sac) and then right before she was done she found this little line that was pulsating and she said it's too early to put it in the report, but that's your baby. It was truly amazing to see a baby that early on. Unfortunately, Matt had to skip that appointment since Logan was sick with the stomach flu, going to that appointment by myself expecting the worse was one of the hardest things I ever had to do.

I went in again at 6 weeks and 4 days and we saw the baby 100% for sure and we heard it's beautiful heartbeat for the first time, this ultrasound was the one in which she found the uterine bleed. It wasn't to big of one which was good, it was close to the baby though and the worry was that if it got bigger faster then the baby did, it would cause the baby to detach and thus a m/c. So I was put on limited activity bed rest, full pelvic rest and we hoped for the best. At 9 weeks 1 day I went in for my official first ob and another ultrasound which showed the bleed had healed. We were pretty relieved, baby looked great and we heard the heartbeat again, such a reassuring sound.

Today I am 12 weeks and 1 day, we went in for my NT Scan which is an ultrasound that measures the folds in the baby's neck and that measurement along with a blood test can tell if you are at risk for genetic abnormalities and if so you can then decided if you want to do a CVS test or an amino to know for sure. My measurements were low which is good and we will get the full report in a few days. My ob appointment went well and we go back in three weeks for another genetic screen blood test and my 16 week appointment although I will only be 15 weeks, not a big deal though.

We are going to attempt a VBAC (vaginal birth after Cesarean) so it could be a September baby or another October baby for us. If for some medical reason I need a repeat c-section and we know ahead of time, I will for sure be having the baby in the last two weeks for September. Either way I foresee Logan and his new sibling sharing a birthday party or two haha.

I think that's about it for now!

Here are some pictures of our journey so far!

Found out on January 17, 2009

Yes we have been keeping it a secret longer than I thought possible!

6 weeks 4 days. The arrow is pointed to the baby, the circle next to the baby is the yolk sac which is what feeds the baby in early pregnancy.

9 weeks and 2 day, everything looking good! Matt said it looks like a jellybean and so this baby is now our jellybean!

12 weeks and 1 day! Kicking around like crazy for us. Heartbeat was heard and was at 160 BPM.

March 13, 2009

Yesterday was Peanut's due date, it was truly a sad day knowing we should be holding a tiny healthy beautiful bundle of joy around now.


Our Dear Angel,


Mommy and Daddy miss you very much and love you with all our hearts. We think about you often and you are never far from our hearts. Thank you for watching over us and your big brother from heaven. Your short life left a big imprint on ours and held special meaning to us. We know you are whole and healthy and not in need of anything where you are. We will never forget you.


Loving & Missing You Always,
Mommy and Daddy

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all our family and friends! We hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Years! We have been so busy we didn't have time to blog around Christmas so we are getting to it now.

Logan was more into Christmas this year than last, but still not full blown Christmas craziness, we think that will start next year once he is 3. We read him lots of books about Santa though and he really liked all the Christmas trees he saw, and he really noticed that the tree was gone when he got up the morning after Matt and I took it down. We look forward to seeing his Christmas reaction next year.

We made the usual rounds to all our family and Logan held up pretty well, opening gifts for the most part and not too many melt downs, which was great for a sleep deprived two year old. Matt and I went to the midnight candlelight service at our Church which was nice (We went to the earlier one last year with Logan and it didn't work with Mr. Logan). Christmas morning was fun, Logan would open a present and then want it out right away and then he wanted to play with it, so he only opened a few presents . I opened the rest for him and each one I would show him and he would say "WOW" and then go back to playing with the one he liked the best. Logan has enjoyed playing with his new toys and reading his new books and Matt and I have been having fun with our new Wii Fit!

We capped our holiday celebrations off with going to Holiday Magic and Brookfield zoo, something I have been doing forever, and Matt and I have been doing since we started dating. We went this year my Mom and Aunt Jackie so we had a big group of us and Logan enjoyed being with his cousins and aunt and uncles again. Logan made himself a little girlfriend while at the zoo watching the dolphins. First he went towards her and she backed away, then she came up to him and stole his binky, then Logan gave her a big hug, it was love at first sight. They watched the dolphins together and followed each other around a bit, but then it was time to go, it was the cutest thing ever! Holiday magic was a nice end to a wonderful holiday. We hope you all had as much fun as we did!

Logan hanging out with cousin Kyle.

The Pable side of the family (minus Grandma & Grandpa who stayed down in warm Arkansas)

Matt and Logan on Christmas Eve at the Blumes

Matt and I Christmas Eve
Matt reading Logan "The Night Before Christmas" a tradition since he was born, and he is using my book from when I was little.

Christmas morning at our house!

Logan getting right into it!

Me with the beautiful diamond journey necklace that my wonderful husband gave me.

Christmas morning at Mom's with our new Wii Fit!
The after Christmas toy explosion in our living room!

Having fun at Holiday Magic!

Matt and his wonderful mother-in-law

Logan trying to get Aunt Katie to take him outside.
Our little duck lover!

Logan and his girlfriend watching the dolphins together.

Happy Anniversary, Brandi

Ten years ago today, a very nerdy boy swung for the fences and asked out a girl that was pretty well out of his league. After she said yes, the (clueless) nerdy boy in question then proceeded to join his friends for lunch. Trust me, that was not the last time I (erm...I mean the nerdy boy) would do something stupid. I managed to not screw up too much, however, and have held on to her for the ten years since.

We've been through quite a bit for a couple of kids who are still about two years shy of their ten-year high school reunion (at least to me we have): ilness, getting married, having a child, losing a child, etc., etc.

We've both grown, but have been fortunate enough to have grown together, instead of growing apart as many couples are want to do today. We've also grown as people and are happy and still in love with other, despite any differences from when we were in our middle teens. Sure, we still have our share of fights, but they don't result in much, and are resolved quickly. And we still enjoy being around each other, even when one of us, most often me, is being a total pain in the ass.

I try to imagine what my life would be like now if we hadn't started dating ten years ago, or if we had broken up at some point (and trust me, there were a couple of times that I was on thin ice in the beginning), and it's never good. In the worst imaginings I'm an assistant manager at OfficeMax. *shudder* She really has pushed me to achieve the modest accomplishments that I've earned in my adult life.

I remember when we used to celebrate each month, making a point to go out to dinner or a movie, or both. I would have roses for her and we'd meet in the mall after work or go out after school. While we're more apt to do something around our wedding anniversary, we're going to go out and have a nice dinner this evening.

So happy anniversary Brandi. I love you and am looking forward to many more years.

Cookies Cookies!

This year marked the first time I attempted to make Christmas cookies, and I have to say they turned out pretty darn good. I even used my awesome Kitchen Aid stand mixer for the first time, so that was fun as well. We are now a couple of weeks past Christmas and no one has had any adverse reactions to my cooking, so that speaks for its self I think (I'm just kidding of course).

When it came time to do the sugar cookie cut outs, Logan got to experience his first Christmas cookie baking. He had fun pushing the cookie cutters in, and also his hand... He even tried to roll some dough, and then when we were finished he helped me put on the sprinkles. We had fun, and of course Logan loved eating the cookies most of all.

Daddy showing Logan how it's done.

A Very Special Ornament

This very special ornament arrived the other day. We just wanted to share it with everyone.


To remember our little angel always.