From Our Home To Yours. . . .

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Baby In The Belly

Well, here's one for you! Apparently, when Elijah woke up from his nap, this was the conversation he had with Vince:

Elijah - "Is your name Daddy?"

Vince - "Yes, what's your name?"

Elijah - "Eli"

Vince - "What's your brother's name?"

Elijah - "Baby in the Belly."

Vince - "What's the baby in belly's name?"

Elijah - "JESUS!"

WOW! Guess he's really listening when we talk about the whole Christmas story with him! But still, I wasn't expecting that kind of responsibility, ya know, carrying the Messiah and all!! Gotta love kids!

Christmas Decorations

Well, we finally got the Christmas decorations up. We were going to do it a few weeks ago, but then Eli got sick, and that kind of put a kink in our plans. That's ok - we were all exhausted at that point, so up they went this past weekend. Eli had a blast helping us decorate the tree and see all the decorations we put up. We didn't do as much this year as we have in years past, but that's simply because they won't be up for long. As soon as January 1 hits, the decorations are coming down, in preparation for the arrival of Ethan!

Anyway, as I was saying, Eli is LOVING all the decorations this year. He helped us put ornaments on the tree and was naming what they all were. He even went to one of the ornaments that depicts the nativity and pointed out Jesus. It was so cute. He loves to see the lights flicker, and asks for the Christmas tree lights every morning as soon as he wakes up. We have to turn the lights out on the tree when he goes to bed so he knows that the lights are going to sleep too.

He also loves seeing all the decorations out and about as we drive places. He always says, "Look - Christmas Stuff!" It's so cute. He loves to say "Merry Christmas" and see all the lights.

Here's some pictures of our decorated house!


ELI HELPING TO HANG ORNAMENTS



A SECTION OF CLUSTERED ORNAMENTS, PLACED BY ELI



THE FINISHED TREE



ELI LOVES SITTING IN HIS CHAIR AND WATCHING THE TREE - IT'S SO CUTE!



MY LITTLE REINDEER



ELI'S MANGER SCENE - HE LOVES PLAYING WITH IT



THE DINING ROOM



BUFFET



MY SNOWMEN



MANGER SCENE

Hotsling Giveaway!

11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven is giving away a gorgeous Hotslings baby carrier!

To enter click HERE.

32 Weeks

I'm still shocked that I'm already at this point in my pregnancy! It has flown by SO fast, and before I know it, Ethan will be here!

Here's the latest and greatest:

* I have a C-Section scheduled for Thursday, February 4 at 10:30am. I am praying that I make it to that date! Eli was almost 2 1/2 weeks early, so I don't have high hopes for a full-term (i.e. 40 weeks) pregnancy with Ethan! I also hope I make it to February 4th, because that will ensure that I have MY doctor doing the C-Section, and will have him taking care of us.

* I haven't had nearly as much swelling with this pregnancy, so I'm sure that's helped me not gain as much weight this time around. I think being pregnant in the winter helps that too.

* I've started to make my lists! If you know me, you know that I am a list girl through and through. I have lists started for MY hospital bag (including items for Vince and Ethan, a list for Eli's bag, a grocery list for Eli, and have to start my actual BEFORE C-SECTION TO-DO LIST.

* I'm waddling a lot more these days, which is par for the course. Waking up several times in the night, and getting more and more uncomfortable as the days go on. I no longer can see my feet when I look down, and even just attempting to put socks on every day is a task in and of itself!!

* I took down from the attic all of Eli's Newborn, 0-3, and 3-6 month clothing and started sorting through it with the help of my mother when she was here at Thanksgiving. I have a lot of stuff that can be used again, but noticed that I needed some more items. With Eli being born in June, I have a lot of summer, one-piece rompers that aren't going to work with Ethan being born in February. So, some shopping has been done, and that's always fun! We should be set for a little while at least.

Other than that, I am just more than ready to meet this little guy. Eli is starting to show more interest in it, so that's definitely good! I'm excited and nervous all at the same time. The transition and recovery is what scares me the most. I had my first anxiety dream last night where I dreamt that I had nothing ready for the baby and had no clothes and no burp clothes, nothing! HA! So, I guess it's all starting to hit me now. But, after the holidays, the time is going to FLY! Even now, I can't believe I'm saying I'm 8 months pregnant! WHAT?! Crazy!

Merry Christmas!

Elijah-Isms

Here's your next installment of Elijah-isms!!

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While Eli and Vince were waiting for Nanna to come visit, Vince asked Eli if he was excited. His response? He raised his hands in the air and with a loud voice proclaimed, "EXCITED!!



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We had adjusted Eli's high chair during Thanksgiving so that he could slide right under the dining room table while we were eating. Well, I tried to adjust it back one morning (not knowing how to do it), and I noticed that Eli had left the room and was running into the living room. So, I went in there and asked what he was doing. He went into his tool box and got one of his screwdrivers, and brought it into the kitchen and went right to the chair and told me he was going to "Fix the Chair." What a great handy man I have!

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After Eli was at the hospital, I was bringing him to bed, and when I was carrying him up the stairs, Vince told Eli that he rocked! Eli then pointed to Vince and said, "You Rock!" This went on for a few times, then he went to bed. Well, the next night as I was bringing Eli up to bed, he looked through the slats on the stairs, and pointed at Vince and said, "You Rock!" He sure does love his daddy!

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The other night Eli had a bad dream and came running into my room at 2am telling me that he was scared. He crawled into bed with me and didn't want to let go. I let him hang out with me for a while and then I got him back to sleep in his own bed. The next night, Vince asked him why he was scared. Eli told him he was scared of a birdie. And it was a little birdie that scared him. Vince then asked him what the birdie looked like and what the birdie said. Eli furled his forehead, squinted his eyes and got a mean look to his face, and in a gruff voice said, "Tweeeet, Tweeeet, Tweeeet!" It was hilarious! If only we had a camera running all the time on this boy!

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Last night again, I was taking Eli up to bed, and he squeezed through the opening in the french doors leading out to the hallway from our living room. He was all excited and said, "I fit!" Then he looked at me, and said, "Fit? No, You're Too Big!" HA HA HA! Out of the mouth of babes I suppose!

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Turner Family Updates

Instead of posting a bunch of blog entries all with the newest pictures, you will now be on PICTURE OVERLOAD with our recent happenings. So much has been going on and so many pictures to update. Enjoy!

THANKSGIVING
My mom and grandmother came to visit over Thanksgiving. We had a great time hanging out, cooking, eating, shopping, you know, all the usuals! Eli had a great time with his Nanna and Grammy! Everytime he sees a plane, he says, "Hi Grammy!" I hardly got any pictures we were so busy - oops!


The Spread - I made the whole meal - SO yummy! Even pulled out the nice dishes!


Hanging out with our cousin Sarah.


He was SO beat! Sarah wore him out!


After Thanksgiving, I made Turkey and Dumplings - YUM! Eli was very eager to help me make the dumplings. He was such a great helper!

























Eli and I went shopping and stopped at Once Upon a Child. We found some GREAT things for Ethan and picked up this great suitcase for Eli! He's going to use it when he stays at his Aunt and Uncle's house when Ethan is born. He loves that it was Spiderman and that it's all his!


























I love just watching Eli chill out in the living room. I think he's claimed the ottoman as his own!!


























We went to 5 Guys Burgers and Fries last week and it was SO good! It's a newer in
our area and boy was it busy! It's been in several months, and it was full of people. Their menu is very simple: Burgers, Fries, and Hot Dogs. Great burgers and fries, and it was very budget friendly too. Eli loved the shelled peanuts that you can eat while you're waiting for the food to be cooked. We had a great time hanging out as a family and just spending time together.

My Poor Sick Boy!

Sorry for the lack of updates on the blog recently. Things have been so hectic and busy and life has been running non-stop! So, here's some updates!

Last week, Eli started having some spots on his body. It started with just one or two on his thigh on a Tuesday afternoon. By that evening, he had probably 20-30 spots. I ended up taking him to our after-hours clinic just to make sure nothing horrible was going on. He was also running a low-grade fever and just not acting himself. Of course, this was all going on after 8:30pm!


(We were MISERABLE!)

We got to our clinic, only to find out that they decided to close an hour early! We had to get back in the car (at which point both Eli and I were crying) and head to the other clinic our office has, about 15 minutes away. We got there around 9:30 (they close at 10) and obviously got right in and saw a doctor within minutes. He told us that he thought Eli just had a viral infection that was manifesting itself as a rash. He told us it would probably get worse, and then he would be fine.


(The 2nd day of the rash)


(His Puffy Red Hands)


(Where the rash got pretty bad)

Well, the next morning Eli woke up with the rash EVERYWHERE. And to think it still wasn't at it's worse! He went to our sister-in-law's house that day and was ok. He wasn't totally himself, and was still running the low-grade fever. The spots were everywhere, and it got to the point that he was so puffy and swollen that he could barely walk because it was hurting. His fever got worse and I ended up staying home from work the next day. He slept with me in my bed (well, attempted to sleep), and we had a rough night. He was running a high fever most of the night (over 103) and was just miserable. You could tell that he was hurting and not feeling well at all. First thing in the morning I called our doctor's office and he got in with our family doctor that afternoon. The day was pretty miserable for us. He was hurting, he was feverish, and we were tired.


(His whole face got so red)


(Arms)


(Belly - where the purple spots showed up first)


(Legs)


(Back of his thighs - where it all started)


(His back was almost all one big red spot by the time we got to the hospital)

While we were at the doctor's office, the rash got worse! We were all perplexed about what he might have. During these 3 days, Eli had hardly eaten or drank anything, so dehydration was a concern at this point as well. Our doctor did a strep test (to rule out Scarlet Fever). That came back negative, but it was just the rapid test, so they aren't always accurate right away. Eli then got a shot of penicillin to get some strong antibiotics in him. While we were at the office, the spots got bigger and redder, and then there started to be brusing (purplish/blue) spots showing up between the red spots.

Our family doctor's wife is a Hospitalist at our Children's Hospital, so he had her on the phone reviewing Eli's symptoms and our concerns. Thank the Lord for such a great family doctor and his "connections" at the hospital. After talking to his wife and noting his concerns, he had us go immediately to the Children's Hospital ER. I picked up my boy, drove home rather quickly, got Vince, and we headed out the door. When we got there, they already had our information as our doctor called ahead for us.

While we were waiting (for what seemed liked forever!) Eli started to eat and drink a little bit - Praise the Lord! This was his first substance in many days/hours. We finally got back to a treatment room and saw a slew of dotors and nurses, all of them perplexed at what was plaguing our poor little guy! Through all of this, Eli was such a trooper! As Vince said a few days ago, Eli is our HERO! He was amazing and went through so much.



After an initial diagnosis of HSP (Henoch-Schonlein Purpura - Henoch-Schonlein purpura (HSP) is a form of blood vessel inflammation or vasculitis. There are many different conditions that feature vasculitis. Each of the forms of vasculitis tends to involve certain characteristic blood vessels. HSP affects the small vessels called capillaries in the skin and frequently the kidneys. HSP results in skin rash (most prominent over the buttocks and behind the lower extremities) associated with joint inflammation (arthritis) and sometimes cramping pain in the abdomen. Henoch-Schonlein purpura is also referred to as anaphylactoid purpura), the doctor's decided that they needed to get a urine sample to test the proteins in his urine to see if there had been any kidney involvement. Well, Eli isn't potty trained yet, and he hasn't been eating and drinking much at this point of the visit, so they had to do a catheter on him. MY POOR BABY!! That was awful - I was in the corner crying as Vince had to help hold him down for the procedure.

Well, the urine came back positive for protein and blood (which could have come from being catherized - they aren't sure), so they decided to do lab work and see if there was truly any kidney involvement. They decided to give Eli an IV and take the blood from there, just in case they needed to give him fluids or medication, etc. Well, that was sure a fun experience (note the WONDERFUL sarcasm!). They had to put an arm board on Eli to make sure he didn't disturb the IV. He was not liking that one bit. Everytime he tried to play with the dinosaurs they brought him, he couldn't bend his arm, and started crying and said, "OUCH, It Hurts!" Poor kiddo!



The blood work came back fine and his kidney function was perfect. So, at this point, they RULED OUT the H.S.P. because of the lab findings. They then determined in their best thoughts, it was Erythema Multiforme (Erythema multiforme is a type of allergic reaction that occurs in response to medications, infections, or illness. Most erythema multiforme is associated with herpes simplex or mycoplasma infections. The exact cause is unknown. The disorder is believed to involve damage to the blood vessels of the skin, followed by damage to skin tissues). The difficult thing is that he has symptoms of both, but not ALL the symptoms. So, unfortunately, it was only their best GUESS as that is what he had. They still didn't rule out H.S.P. entirely. So, it's still a MYSTERY, but with some conclusion (make any sense?).

We finally got home around 11:00 and had some much needed McDonalds (which Eli actually ate some food!) and got to bed. Eli slept with us again, and not much sleep was had, but we got through the night.

We had a follow-up appointment with our doctor the next day. He called us at home before his office opened to check on Eli. How many doctors would do that? Have I mentioned that we LOVE our family doctor! Vince is actually going to switch to him as well, and then our whole family will be under his care! God is so good to us! Anyway, that was my rabbit trail - sorry! We saw our doctor that afternoon and got another urine culture, and there was still some protein, but not as much, and Eli was already feeling and looking much better at this point. The swelling had gone down in his feet and he was starting to walk on his own again.

Eli went back to the doctor yesterday and got another urine culture, and no protein was present. PRAISE THE LORD! He's starting to feel SO much better, and LOOK much better, and his rash is virtually gone. He's getting back to his ornry little self again!

Thank you SO much for all your prayers. We had so many people praying for us, and we could feel those prayers. I've had so many of my friends tell me how even their kids were praying for us and for Eli, and that just warms my heart SO much. We are so thankful for our praying friends, and most of all for our Lord, the Great Physician!


(Hanging out with Daddy just a few days after being at the hospital)

Third Trimester!!

Can it be? 3rd Trimester already? Time has gone so fast, but as Vince so kindly reminded me the other day, it went fast with Eli as well UNTIL the 3rd trimester, and then it dragged! Gee, thanks for reminding me honey! Anyway, here's our third trimester update!

At this point, I'm 29 weeks and a few days. My baby ticker said I only have 77 days left - WHAT?! Craziness! I'm feeling pretty good these days - just TIRED and worn out all the time. I'm starting to show the signs of some swelling, but thankfully not to the extent I had with Eli. My "normal" rings don't fit on my right hand, but thankfully my wedding rings still do! The migraines/headaches aren't as frequent, so I'm very happy about that. My newest "complaint" is the lightheadedness/diziness/almost fainting spells I have several times a day. The doctor doesn't seem too concerned at this point, and all my levels came back fine from bloodwork, so we're just keeping an eye on it!

Here's my picture from about 2 weeks ago - feeling MONDO pregnant as Vince so lovingly refers to it!



I failed my first one-hour glucose test by 12 points - ugh! I'm convinced it was because I had a few sweet tarts on the way to the doctor's appointment (I didn't know I was going to have the glucose test that day). I then had to have the 3 hour fasting glucose test. I think that has to be one of the worse things ever! I went almost 17 hours without eating anything and just felt awful overall. I have HORRIBLE veins for bloodwork, so I left that place being stuck 5 times with needles and sore, and then days later had AWFUL bruises. Looked like I went a few rounds with Rocky! Thankfully, I passed that test no problem! See - I think it WAS the sweet tarts afterall!

About 2 weeks ago we had a fetal echo/ultrasound to see Ethan in more detail and check to see if he had any heart defects. Vince has a genetic heart valve defect, so they do this detailed ultrasound as a precaution. Well, Ethan is "fit as a fiddle" and has no apparent defects. He was perfect! The "only" thing the doctor stated was that he was FAT! Ha! He's measuring about 2 weeks big at this point. Eli did as well most of his pregnancy. AND, he came 2 weeks early, so it looks like Ethan is leaning that direction as well. He might be a January baby afterall!

We got some AMAZING pictures of Ethan with the 4D ultrasound. It's so great to see all the details already there in his face and hands and little feet. God's creation is PERFECT! Like the David said in Psalm 139:13-16, "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Here's some pictures of our little man!



HIS CUTE LITTLE FOOT



ANKLES CROSSED AND A VIEW OF HIS CUTE LITTLE BUM! HE'S GOING TO LOVE THIS PICTURE SOMEDAY!



TRYING TO HAVE A SEAT - ANKLES CROSSED



MY BEAUTIFUL SON! EITHER HE'S SALUTING US OR FINALLY LIFTING UP HIS HAND AND PLAY PEEK-A-BOO WITH US!

Eli is still getting used to the fact that there is going to be another baby in the house before he knows it! Some days he'll talk to my belly and say hi to Ethan, and other days, it seems like he runs screaming from it all. Once Ethan is here in the flesh, and the dust has settled, that will be the true test. That's why there are 2 of use to watch over the boys. They will never lack attention and LOVE!

We are so thankful that God has allowed this baby to come to our lives! With all our past fertility problems and losses, God has given us SO much! We have a healthy, active (sometimes overly active) 2 year old full of life and humor. I can't wait to see what Ethan's personality will be and how he will grow up and bless our family even more than it already is!!

Eli's Tattoo

I guess Eli wants to be just like us and have a tattoo :-) I got him a bunch of these temporary tattoos as potty training rewards. This weekend, however, he was SO good as we were toting him around what seemed like all of kingdom come! He behaved so great and did such a good job. So, he got to pick out a new tattoo! (We put it up high enough to make sure our family pictures wouldn't show it this week). He just thinks it's the best thing to have his dinosaur tattoo!

PF Chang's

We went to PF Chang's for Vince's birthday a few weeks ago - I have to say that PF Chang's is one of our FAVORITE restaurants (especially Vince's!) and many special occasions are celebrated there. Well, Eli LOVES the horses that are outside the restaurant and always remembers that they are there when we pull into the area of the restaurant! So smart!


SO ESTUTE!



HAVING A SEAT



MY BOYS!

Love This Boy!

Yesterday I was really missing my boys! So, Vince took some pictures for me to get me through the day (like he usually does)! Gotta love my boys!

Happy Birthday Vince!!!

Today is my wonderful husband's 35th birthday!!! Of course he had to work last night and tonight, so he's now home sleeping for the morning, but we'll get to really celebrate this weekend.

But I just wanted to say how much that I love Vince and how much that he means to me. He is my best friend and my support system. He has stuck by me through all the rough patches in life and has been such an amazing person. He is so patient and kind and deals with all my "moments" :-) I am so thankful that God brought us together, albeit a very unconventional way! He is such a fantastic father to Eli and will be to Ethan when he's born as well! Eli is so much like his father, it's scary, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

I love you Vince! I hope that you have a wonderful birthday! You deserve all the best baby!!!