The 50 yard line and the case of the tiny body snatcher!

The half way point of this pregnancy..woo hoo!! A little over a week ago I hit the half way point, the 20 week marker..and goodness was I happy to see this milestone. Not only do I get the satisfaction of knowing I am half way through (is that really possible, where did the time go) this second trimester also brought with it, a much needed sense of normalcy! A little over a month ago I woke up with a serious case of morning sickness...which was odd for me because I normally got sick at night vs the morning. Then that night I felt awful again. The next day was a Saturday and I remember feeling great the entire day and I was so relieved to feel better. Then the next day was another good day, and then the next, and the next and so on..and what do you know...a whole month of feeling good! Its incredibly odd to me that one day the nausea is a double dose of eww...and then the next day, nothing and its gone for good? The last 2 weeks I have felt GREAT! My energy levels are back up, I can sleep at night, Im not getting up 4 times a night to use the restroom...aside from the doctor reassuring us that baby Gage is fine and my pretty constant weight gain, I wouldnt even know I am pregnant...Well, let me take that back. I still have a serious case of food adversions...Gage is very clear still about what he will and will not eat and chicken is still a DEFINITE NO. So, that lets me know our lil Peanut is still very much in charge of momma's body for now, the lil body snatcher : ) But otherwise, we have quite the lil trooper in there. So much so that 2 weeks ago I decided I was up for a girls weekend in San Antonio. I met up with 5 of my closest girlfriends and we headed for the Riverwalk. Gage and I were champs on Friday night. We hung out with the best of them while we sipped on our club soda and lime or just plain old water. The next day we all got up went shopping, had a nice lunch and then laid out by the pool. While my friends were sunbathing Gage and I fell sound asleep in the sun. Im talking full on REM sleep, dreaming, drooling, the whole nine yards. That evening we all went to dinner and I felt brave. Chicken fajitas sounded absolutely fantastic. I went ahead and ordered them and as soon as they made their way to the table I knew I was mistaken. Gage was having no part of those fajitas. I paid my $24 tab and told the waiter he and the waitstaff could have dinner on me..I didnt even touch it. I felt terribly frustrated. I hate wasting food number one, and I hate having extra attention drawn to me...and my refusal to eat that night at dinner I know had all my friends worried and I hated that. After dinner we wrapped up and decided to go to a piano bar. We made our way through the crowds and inside the bar. Unfortunately San Antonio has not joined the rest of the world on the indoor smoking ban. The smoke, coupled with my growling stomach were no combination and I decided this pup had better pack it in and let the big dogs stay out. After assuring my friends I was fine and pleading with them to stay out and have a good time, I relinquished myself to the hotel where I took a hot shower and put on my favorite pair of stretchy pants. I was still hungry so I decided to order room service. This was a very nice hotel so everything was expensive..but hey, this girl had to eat. I accidentally flipped the room service menu to the kids section and there it was....the $10 Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich! I had to have it...right then!! I quickly ordered it on white bread even (I splurged) with a tall side of chocolate milk. The milk alone was $4. After I paid the room delivery charge, and tip, this PB&J with chocolate milk cost me $20...it was the BEST $20 I ever spent. The sandwich was warm but not toasted and the peanut butter and jelly were ooey gooey and oh so delish! Our tummies full, and stretchy pants on...Gage and I were happy campers. We found a good movie on TV and life was perfect! The girls came back around 11pm and we all giggled for a bit before going to sleep. Despite my inability to "hang" and turning in early on a girls night out (a FIRST for me, I am usually the dancing queen) I had a blast just hanging out with my PB&J and baby Gage.



I have had a lot of people ask me how we are doing the nursery so I am posting a pic below. I have a few tricks up my sleeve so I cant reveal everything yet...but..the nursery will look a lot like the pic below. The walls will be blue, the crib white, and I am on a mission to find those chocolate brown and orange curtains. This orange accent color is a huge hit with me right now? I dont know why...maybe its Gage's favorite color and he's subconsciously letting me know? Who knows..but this orange accent color is my new "thing" I am also going to take pictures of hammers and nails and construction type objects and have them printed in sephia print with big white mats. This will give the room a construction theme without it being too "baby-ish"







Dustin and I have been really busy these past few weeks, hence my lack of blogging (which I promise to get better about) but we do plan to spend the next couple weekends painting Gage's room and getting ready for our lil man's arrival. Dustin and I are still so excited!! Dustin sends me emails throughout the day to check in on me and see how I am doing..these emails often start with...how are my babies? I love it : ) I must admit though...it still hasnt really sunk in yet that we are going to be parents...I blame part of this on the fact that I am still not "showing" very much...so the reality of our lil man being in there is still hard to believe. But I know these next few months are going to fly by, especially with the holidays approaching and I know Gage will be here before we know it.



Finally...I hate to end this on a sad note...but I have been thinking and praying about this one little family for quite some time and have to mention them in here. I almost dedicated an entire "reflection" blog to this family but decided I couldnt put in words just how incredibly lucky I feel to be where I am. Before I say more, let me preface this by saying that D and I are blown away by how much our thought process has changed already...about EVERYTHING! For example, I saw a commercial on TV the other night for petfinder.com. The commerical starts with a little girl talking about how she finally got to spend the night in a tent in her backyard, her dad finally said yes...but only because Buddy was with her. The TV then pans over to a 100lb German Shepard...aka Buddy. I laughed, but then I couldnt help but think...oh Gage will never be allowed to sleep in the backyard. Then I laughed at myself..the backyard, really? Should be pretty safe, right? But the thought of my baby in a tent, in the backyard, where anyone could come and get him...I thought I was going to die. Let me also say that I dont leave Daisy in the backyard unattended either. So...I guess you could say I am doomed to be the worst mom ever...poor Gage will be locked in his room with me standing guard so no one can hurt him...EVER! But I am also logical enough to realize...doing things like camping in the backyard are a right of passage, and I have got to learn to let go a little. Im sure I will find the strength...gulp...heavy sigh...somehow..but for now...lets just say I am happy Gage is warm and in my tummy..he will never be safer! OK, so I got off track a bit. In thinking about how to protect your kids, your most precious thing in the world, and just how incredibly lucky I am...I found this blog about this little family. I went to high school with this girl and BOTH of her kids have mitochondrial disease. I wont go in to details but this is an awful, awful disease. Recently, the youngest boy lost his fight to this awful disease and at the age of 4 passed away. My heart breaks for this family. They fought so hard...they went through things no ONE should EVER have to go through. I have always wondered why God takes such little angels...but good things come in little packages and I know he needed a tiny angel and Samuel was just the kiddo. What a remarkable family, an amazing sense of faith, strength and spirit. I dont know what I would do if anything ever happened to my husband, or this tiny life we have created and grown to love (already) more than we ever thought our hearts could love! To make things worse, their older daughter is fighting her own battle with the disease and may not make it either. To lose one is something no parent should ever deal with...to lose both...is just...unimagineable. Or to fight this hard to keep your kids safe. You always think about protecting them from strangers, robbers and the like. But rarely do we think about protecting them from the unknown...and all to often in adults and children alike we take our health for granted until we are sick and then we remember just how valuable it is. Samuel's mother reflects back on his 4th birthday and how all they wanted was a day without needles, without IVs, no hospital visits, no pain....just normal! Having my renewed sense of normalcy back I can definitely appreciate what a gift a day without hospitals must be like. I will wrap this up now, I apologize for the length...BUT...I would like to take this moment to count my blessings (again) I have been blessed beyond words with good fortune, family, friends, health, and of course, you my angel..Gage Matthew Kelch.



If you are reading this, please do me a favor and pray for not only this tiny fallen angel..but for the peace and healing for his family, and to count your own blessings. Each day truly is a gift. Samuel Knight you are a hero and I thank you for putting up a good fight. May this blog be dedicated to you and your spirit, humor, and strength! God speed little one...may you finally find peace!!!

(To read more about this amazing family, click here http://www.missyknight.blogspot.com/)



Finally, I just want to say thank you..for each and every one of my many blessings...and thank you God, for our angel..may he always be happy and safe and trust in you.