Baby's First Christmas

Hayden had her first Christmas this week. She very much enjoyed all the activity, and the paper. She got lots of fun toys and very cute clothes. Here are a few pictures.

7 months

This past month has been quite eventful! About three weeks ago, Hayden changed her night routine from falling asleep at 7:30/8 to 9:30. We are pretty sure she has started the teething process. By now, they still have a bit more gum until they break, and we are all looking forward to that. Hayden has understandably been fussy especially at night but the teething tablets help calm her down. Hayden has continued eating vegetables, and we finally found a fruit she liked - bananas. Since then, she is better about applesauce, but seems to favor veggies over fruits. Yum! Hayden also is able to move herself backwards on the floor and often ends up under the couch at daycare. She is starting to try to figure out how to crawl but has not succeeded yet.
Uncle Bryan came to visit, too, so Hayden got to meet him for the first time. Here they are hanging out before bed.

Of course, Hayden also experienced her first Thanksgiving. We are sure next year will mean more when she can actually eat the food, though.

6 months old!

Hayden is now 1/2 year old! Hayden is doing great. At her six month checkup, we were told she weighs 14 lbs. 14 oz. and is 25 1/4 inches long. Still very consistent in the 25th percentile. She had four shots and took them like a trooper. She seemed a little warm the morning after but beyond that she really did not have a reaction.
Hayden is rolling both ways now and has been for a few weeks. Sometimes she is just a rolly polly, rolling along to move around. She also maneuvers pretty well on her stomach to turn positions or sort of scoot. She reminds us of swimming on land because she will be on her tummy and get so excited that she puts her head down and her legs just wiggle and her arms and body go, too! Hayden really enjoys being on her tummy to play and loves the exersaucer. She is getting pretty strong at sitting up, too. Hayden also has been communicating with her babbling - she loves to talk, especially to Jordyn. She blows rasberries quite often, and even makes kissy noises! We don't remember mentioning this in the last post, but Hayden very much enjoys kicking and splashing in her tub. So much so that we have had to put the tub into the big bathtub to avoid having to clean massive amounts of water off the mirror, floor and toilet. Plus, Jordyn gets a little worried when the water starts cascading over the tub and getting her wet (she is of course right there helping :) ).
No sign of teeth yet aside from major chewing, but Hayden did all of a sudden stop taking cereal, vegetables and fruit for a few days. We finally let her hold the spoon and WOOSH! right into her mouth. She chewed on it (probably felt good if she is teething), and Lauren was able to swipe it every few seconds to load it up with more food. Hopefully we have cracked the no-food-mood!
Hayden's eyes are still blue. They are a sapphire blue, very bright and darker than Jordyn's are (although Jordyn's were this color at one point so we will see if they lighten up like hers). Her eyelashes look as though they have been curled with an eyelash curler - they look like Lauren's when she is wearing mascara! You can kind of see them in the photo above, especially her right eye. Hayden's hair, including her eyebrows (what we can see) and eyelashes are still light reddish. When the light hits her eyelashes just right they glow a beautiful golden.
Lastly, we have begun transitioning Hayden to her own room. She has been in the pack and play bassinet since she was born, just like we did with Jordyn. We vowed to move Hayden sooner than we did with Jordyn, but here Hayden is, 6 months old and almost 15 pounds (the weight limit is 15 pounds) and we are still having a hard time letting her go. She has spent two nights in her crib and done great.

5 months

Hayden is 5 months! Since our last post, Hayden has added vegetables to her cereal. She LOVES vegetables. Her appetite has really increased and she absolutely loves cereal and vegetables. She has had green beans and squash and really likes them. She has also really started talking in her sleep. Every morning around 5:30 am Hayden starts talking. We keep thinking she is awake but her eyes are closed. She will do this for about 20 minutes and then stop, still sleeping. Speaking of sleep, Hayden has slept through the night 3 nights in a row!!! She is also moving a lot in her sleep. She ends up with her neck all the way back and her back arched as if she were trying to roll over and stopped in the middle. We keep trying to get a photo but we don't want to wake her up. Hayden is a very happy baby. She loves to smile, especially if her big sister is paying attention to her. She is having a lot of fun in the exersaucer and her toys. When we put her on her tummy with toys in front of her she tries to move up to get to them. She will sometimes go in circles, and sometimes buck with her tush and legs. Its so cute, we can tell she can't wait to become mobile! She is even starting to talk a little more, and gurgle, coo and explore sounds. Hayden has also started showing us she when she is excited by sticking out her tongue and smiling! Not sure where she learned that one, but it cracks us up!

Cereal!

Hayden has started cereal. She has only tried it a few times and is still not sure she likes it or what to do with the spoon. She usually just tries to suck on the spoon. Here is Hayden after some cereal. Yum!

While she is still not rolling consistently, she is scooting like crazy on her back. She can go in circles or push herself backward. She also seems like she wants to roll from her back to her tummy so maybe it won't be long before she is doing it.

4 months!

Hayden is now 17 weeks (4 months old). According to the doctor she now weighs 12 pounds 5 ounces and is about 23 inches long. She is still consistent in the 25th percentile for both height and weight. She got four shots today plus an oral vaccine but she sure has handled it like a trooper! About a week or so ago she was diagnosed with pink eye, too, but the eye drops cured it and her eyes are clear.
She has continued to roll over sporadically, and now she is pretty quick when she chooses to do it. It also looks like she is trying to go from her back to her front. Hayden is "talking" up a storm these days. She just coos and goos. She is also chewing on her hands and clothes like crazy. We don't see any teeth but she sure is drooling and chewing a lot. She also really likes when we stand her up on our legs when we are holding her. Her legs are getting very strong from holding her like this and letting her stand or bounce a bit. She is not strong enough yet for the exersaucer but we think it will be time soon. Hayden's hair has stayed pretty red with some brown in it, and her eyes are still blue but are lightening a bit, they are like a clearblue or grayish blue.

Earthquake!

Hayden has now experienced her first earthquake! Yesterday morning a 5.4 earthquake hit Southern California. We didn't feel it too bad, but boy did we shake and roll. Lauren and Aaron both called daycare but the kids had all been outside playing and they didn't even feel it!
Hayden has adjusted well to daycare. The first day she didn't eat too much, so she has been up around 2 am every night since then to get that last feeding. Today she is taking much more so maybe we will get her to sleep through the night.

3 Months Old

We cannot believe Hayden is already 3 months old! She is getting so big. The day before she turned 10 weeks, Hayden rolled over from her tummy to her back. At 11 weeks she did it again. She is now 12 weeks and has not done it since so maybe it was a fluke. Hayden absolutely loves her mobile. We put her under it and she laughs and laughs. She smiles a lot still and laughs and tries to talk a bit. She is still a pretty sensitive sleeper but latey we have been getting about 7 hours in a row because Hayden is almost sleeping through the night. Even though it is summer-time, Hayden is quite finicky about being cold so she wears long-sleeved, pant pajamas for bed and still needs to be swaddled.
Lauren will go back to work Monday and Hayden will go to daycare with Jordyn. Hayden has been introduced to daycare already and there are already two girls that are 2 months older than her there so she will have friends.

Hayden sure loves her sister. This weekend we have all been sitting down to play together and the more Jordyn talks the more excited Hayden gets. She has tried "talking" a bit to Jordyn and laughing. Hayden really wants playtime now and enjoys looking up at the gyms and mobiles she has.

8 weeks

Hayden is already 8 weeks old! We took her for her 2 month checkup today. She had 4 shots plus an oral vaccine. She was a real trooper. We were unlucky with the nurse who took her sweet time administering each shot individually and painstakingly slowly. But, Hayden was a real trooper and got over it pretty quickly. No sign of a fever yet, she is snoozing it off. Hopefully this does not disrupt her routine too much. As for her stats, she measured 21 3/4 inches which is a 1 3/4 inch growth. She weighed in at 9 pounds 10 ounces. She is still in the 25th percentile for height and weight which is consistent with where she has been. Her birthmarks look good and the rest of her looks great as well.

In other news, Hayden has been smiling as you can see from the picture below. She is beginning to coo a bit as well. She also makes a face as if she is laughing but so far no sound. All in all, Hayden is a pretty laid back kid who does not fuss too much. She pretty much cries only when she is bored or hungry. Usually around 7:30 she becomes inconsolable with her crying which means she wants to be swaddled. She is often awake until around 10 pm and then goes down. She is waking up once per night which is great because Lauren will go back to work in 4 more weeks and we are hoping to get enough sleep.
We also had a 'Sip and See' 2 weeks ago to welcome Hayden. Thank you to everyone who helped organize and who attended. We are glad you were able to meet her and look forward to having her out more soon. That is about all for now, check back soon!

Hayden has another birthmark! On Saturday we noticed what looked like a bruise or blood blister on the bottom of the middle toe on her right foot. It didn't bother her and we racked our brains trying to figure out if we caught her foot on something or not. By Monday it didn't look any better so Lauren took her to the doctor where we were told that it is a birthmark. Apparently birthmarks don't necessarily only show up at birth. The doctor said it will probably go away like the one on her back. At the doctor's we also found out she is almost 9 pounds, and she looks great.

In other Hayden news, she is getting a bit of a pattern to her sleep and letting us get 3 hour blocks. She often goes to bed around 10 pm and then is up around 1:30 am and then around 6 am.

One Month Old?!

We know kids grow up fast, but man, time literally flies with the second baby! Hayden is already one month old. She is starting to eat more at one sitting and sleeping a little better at night. She has got some baby acne mainly on her cheeks. She has had more sporadic smiles lately, too.

We are having a hard time getting great photos of Hayden but here are a few. She looks exactly like Jordyn except for her coloring, Hayden's hair is much lighter and redder. And Hayden totally makes the same faces as her daddy!

Yesterday Hayden had another check up at the doctor. She is now 20 inches according to the doctor, which means about 1.25 inches of growth since the last visit. She is also just under 8 pounds, meaning a weight gain of 15 ounces. Hayden is staying consistent and measuring in the 25th percentile for height and weight. The doctor says she is doing great. Her birthmark has reddened a lot and the doctor said again it may also grow as she grows but eventually will go away. Now we will not go back to the doctor until she is 2 months old.
We are still adjusting but doing very well. Hayden does like to stay up very late at night but we are hoping she is gradually changing her schedule to daytime hours.

Houston, we have a belly button! After almost three weeks, Hayden's umbilical cord has finally fallen off. Yay! Her appetite has been increasing and we can tell she is growing. We will find out how much she has grown next week at the doctor's. Hayden is a great baby. She sleeps a lot. Her fussy time is usually somewhere between 9:30 and 10:30 but other than that she rarely cries - only if we haven't brought out food fast enough. We have been sort of muddling through a schedule, she is a little flipped and sleeps during the day and then is up from about 8 or so until midnight, but after that she sleeps well. We have been taking pictures but none really do her justice and her coloring doesn't quite show up the way it does in reality. Hayden's color is quite red, there is light brown as well so it will be exciting to see how it grows out.


We also want to thank everyone who helped out and sent us things that first week we were home. Lauren's parents helped out a lot with food, and a beautiful Edible Arrangement. Aaron's parents gave us a lovely flower and balloon at the hospital. Also thank you so much to Qualstar for the yummy Mrs. Fields box, and Nevers Palazzo Maddux & Packard for the Mrs. Beasley's basket. So cute!

First doctor visit

Hayden had her first doctor visit yesterday. The doctor said she looks perfect. She has lost about 5 ounces but the doctor is not worried. Everything else checked out great, though she measured quite a bit shorter than in the hospital which we expected because Jordyn did, too. Hayden does have a birthmark on her back. It looked like a bruise in the hospital but has since faded to a whitish mark. We forget the official name for it (hemo something), but the doctor said it could get bigger, could get redder, but will most likely go away with time.
We also wanted to address Hayden's name. As you know, Hayden was not a choice in her name poll, and many of you remember this was the original name for Jordyn. Up until the final week of Lauren's pregnancy, we were still perusing the baby name book for possibilities. We knew we would wait to meet her to make a decision, though. Even at the hospital we tried throwing around names. Once Hayden was born, we spent at least an hour and a half just holding her, staring at her, trying out different names. Lauren still liked Daphne, Aaron really liked Samantha. We didn't think she looked like either of those names though. So we tried Hayden and decided that we could agree on it, and that she did look like a Hayden. So Hayden it is!

Hayden's Birth Story

At 5:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 3, Lauren woke up to find that her water had broken. Once Grandma arrived to stay with Jordyn, we went to the hospital per the doctor's instructions. After being admitted, the paper they use to test whether the membranes had ruptured was not turning the correct color and they were going to send us home. Lauren was sure, however, that it had been her water. We had to be on the monitor for one hour and with four mintues left Lauren felt another gush which they tested and confirmed that her water had indeed broken. They immediately started Pitocin because they want a delivery within 24 hours of breaking the water and the sooner the better to avoid infection. We watched some tv and waited. Lauren held out as long as she could and then had an epidural. After that she was feeling better and was about 5-6 cm dilated. After about an hour, around 3:00 p.m. Lauren began to feel pressure and pain again. She tried to wait it out but it was getting more intense and we called for the nurse who after checking Lauren had them call the doctor. The doctor was about 20 minutes away and they made sure the ER doc was standing by just in case. Lauren's contractions got more and more intense and she was feeling more and more, and after about 15 minutes real pushing Hayden Isobella was born, delivered by one of the nurses because she came too fast for them to call the ER doc and our doc had not arrived yet. Our doctor actually came in just after Hayden was born. As it turns out, Lauren only had the initial shot from the epidural, it was not on the rest of the time, so Lauren did deliver pain-med free. Our little girl, born on May 3 at 3:50 p.m. weighing 7 lbs 3 oz and 20.5 inches long, is beautiful. Her eyebrows are so light you can barely see them, she has thin eyelashes and hair on the light side. Jordyn is thrilled with her baby sister.

Welcome Hayden Isobella Miller

Yes you read the title correctly. Lauren, Aaron, and Jordyn would like to annouce Hayden Isobella Miller 7lbs 3oz 20.5 inches long. Hayden was born at 3:50pm on Saturday May 3, 2008.

Yesterday we had what should be our last prenatal doctor appointment. Everything is looking good. Lauren is about 2 cm dilated now so at least she is making slight progress. Induction is scheduled for Monday. Lauren's belly seems huge to her and we will try to get a photo up here. Aaron is ready to take a few days off work. We hope to have more news soon!

We are still here

This weekend we tried various methods to help coax McMiller out. Funnily, our doctor predicted this would happen back when she put Lauren on bed rest back a few weeks ago. She told us 'watch you will be one of those people who has this scare and ends up going until your due date.' Yup, thanks, Dr. Kim! We are relieved that we have made it this far so McMiller could continue to grow and develop. And granted, we are not overdue yet, but we are ready to meet our girl and now that it is getting hot, Lauren's belly just makes it harder to move around.
This weekend we tried fried pickles from Hooters and a Dodger game. No baby. Then Sunday we went to the LA Times Bookfair at UCLA. It was sooooo hot. No baby. We also completed two household projects - we planted some flowers and plants in the front yard, and painted the kitchen. You can see a few photos on our family blog, but still no baby :)
There is a sort of pregnancy urban legend in Southern California (actually we are not sure how far it reaches) that a restaurant called Caiote in Studio City has a salad that will get you to go into labor. One of the books Lauren read with Jordyn said yeah, the salad is 100% effective because obviously the baby is eventually going to come. But we thought, hey, why not give it a try? If nothing else, its a new restaurant to try and it makes for a fun blog update. There was one other pregnant woman there. The salad was good - but no baby yet! :) They keep a book and have all the pregnant women write in it and we were amazed that 1 1/2 books that are good sized have been completed since October! This place is popular! Here's hoping that sometime soon "the salad" works for us!

Baby Name Poll Now Closed

Lauren and Aaron would like to thank everyone that voted in the McMiller name poll. As you can see Isobel Mae won with 37% of the votes. Rest assured your votes are being taken into consideration for the naming of McMiller. Here's the breakdown:

Isobel Mae - 37%
Daphne Erynn - 25%
Tinkerbell Harmony (joking!) - 12%
Apple Carmel (we weren't serious about this one either) - 3%
Savannah Autumn - 21%

38 weeks

Well, tomorrow we are 38 weeks. We went to the doctor today and Lauren is 1+ cm dilated. We know this really does not mean much but its nice to know there is a bit of progress. We talked about the possibility of induction and we will go see the doctor again next Tuesday the 29th because she will be out of town the end of next week. Then if the baby has not arrived we will induce May 5. Its very exciting but also a bit scary. Yes we have been through this before but a big change is about to occur :) Lauren will be a little disappointed if we induce because she really wants the experience of "going into labor" but maybe with making arrangements for Jordyn its better to know ahead of time. Either which way, McMiller will be arriving soon and we are looking forward to meeting her. We are so ready to meet her!

We are 37 weeks tomorrow and went to the doctor's today. We were not checked so we don't know if Lauren is dilated or effaced. McMiller has definitely dropped - Lauren's belly is much lower and she can breathe better now. Lauren has been having sporadic contractions but there is no pattern and they don't get more intese, so pretty much they mean nothing. The doctor said the baby seemed to be "large" or at least growing nicely when he measured the belly, and she is still head down.
Since coming off bed rest Lauren has spent some of her days preparing for the baby by getting the last items we need to have before McMiller comes and doing lots of laundry so Aaron will not have to worry about that the first few days. We are so excited to meet McMiller and see what its like with two little ones! Jordyn still doesn't understand that a baby will be here in our home soon but she is seeing us prepare the room so it won't be a total surprise (we do a little every day or so, we don't want to overwhelm her), and she has taken to wanting to pat Lauren's belly and say "Hi, baby" or put lotion on "the baby" (Lauren's belly). We don't think she understands more than that yet, but McMiller, your big sister loves you already!

We are off bedrest! Woohoo! We saw the doctor today and since we have had no more scares and tomorrow Lauren is 36 weeks she is off bedrest! Ideally McMiller will stay a few more weeks but the doctor said if Lauren were to go into labor tomorrow she wouldn't stop it. We don't think McMiller will come this early but Lauren (and Aaron) are so relieved that she can now do more. We also got the results of the Group B Strep test taken last week, and Lauren does not have it, so that is wonderful news. We will go back next week for another checkup.
Many of you have asked about a baby shower for us. We decided that since this is not our first and the two are so close together that we were uncomfortable having a shower thrown for us. But we thank everyone for the sentiment. We have decided, instead, to allow a "shower" of sorts to be thrown after the baby comes so that everyone can come and meet McMiller. Yet another reason to look forward to her debut!

Adventures in Pregnancy

It has been one exciting week! Tuesday afternoon before Lauren left work she went to the bathroom and saw blood. She immediately called the doctor's office and was told to go to the hospital. Scary! Lauren did end up having mild, regular contractions. After some testing it was discovered that Lauren had a urinary tract infection, causing bleeding and contractions. This can be caused by the bladder not emptying itself all the way since pregnant people, especially at this stage, are going so often. The leftovers just stay in the bladder and can breed infection. So Lauren was given meds and ordered to be on bedrest until the follow up on Friday. Now, bedrest may sound fun, but the instructions are: bedrest - you can get up to go to the bathroom, take a shower, and for meals. No laundry, no shopping, no heavy lifting. Which means no picking up Jordyn, either. We saw the doctor for a follow up today. Lauren actually seems to have a different kind of infection, again very common in women. She has been given new meds and is now officially off work until McMiller arrives. We heard the heartbeat which still sounds great. The baby is head down, the cervix is still closed, and she is growing great. The doctor joked that Lauren hides her babies well - since no one thought Jordyn would be as big as she was and Lauren's tummy is still not huge. Lauren is now on bedrest for another week and a half. At that point we are hoping she will be on modified bedrest until 37 weeks, when the doctor wants Lauren up and about to get this baby out!
Poor Aaron is now doing double, triple duty. Lucky for him, though, Lauren has had two great pregnancies up until this point but boy is he getting it now! Unfortunately Aaron cannot go on his golfing trip next week because Lauren will still be on bedrest. We'll make it up to you, Aaron/Daddy!

33 Weeks

Today was our 33 week appointment. Lauren was sure that McMiller had a growth spurt and she seems to have been right! The doctor made a comment about the big measurement. McMiller seems to be head down so we will see in two weeks if she still is. It is getting harder for Lauren to breathe and McMiller's movements are much more powerful - she's strong! Two more weeks and we will be back for another checkup.

Names and 31 Weeks

We are getting closer to Lauren's due date which means its time for another poll! Here are a few choices for McMiller's name (read below - the funky ones are our attempt at weird celebrity baby naming. We are not rich or famous enough to actually name our kid those). Just like when we did this for Jordyn, your votes don't mean squat, but its fun to see what people like. And this way you all feel involved :) We have been leaning toward one name the entire pregnancy but you just never know what we will choose in the end. And no, we are not going to tell you yet which one it is. As we mentioned last time as well, we want to try to come up with a unique name for our McMiller since "Miller" has moved from #7 (1990 census) of the most popular/common last names to #6 (2000 census). So we have taken great care to check the name possibilities against the Social Security ranking of popular baby names over the last few years so we avoid the chance of having 14 Jennifers, and 5 Jennifer Millers, that McMiller will have to contend with. We have also done a little research and tried to draw some inspiration from celebrity parents. Below is a list of some favorites - and yes they are real.

Lauren and Aaron's List of The Best Weird Celebrity Baby Names (note: these are not ranked according to our favorites, and we have pared this list down greatly)
1. Camera (daughter of Arthur Ashe)
2. Free (son of Barbara Hershey/David Carradine)
3. Spec Wildhorse (son) and Hud (son) (John Cougar Mellencamp)
4. Seven Sirius (Erykah Badu)
5. Rainbow Joan of Arc (Arlyn & John Phoenix)
6. Fifi Trixibelle (daughter), Peaches Honeyblossom (daughter), Little Pixie (daughter) (Bob Geldof/Paula Yates)
7. Reignbeau (daughter) and Freedom (son) (Ving Rhames)
8. Alcamy (daughter of Lance Henriksen/Mary Jane Henriksen)
9. Audio Science (son of Shannyn Sossamon/Dallas Clayton)
10. Tu Simone Ayer (Note: As in, Tu Morrow, daughter of Rob Morrow)
11. Pilot Inspektor (Jason Lee and Beth Riesgraf)
12. Zolten Jillette (son) and Moxie Crimefighter (daughter) (Penn Jillette)
13. Hopper (Sean Penn and Robin Wright)
14. Everly Bear (son of Anthony Kiedis)
15. Shia LaBeouf (Named by grandfather: name means "thank God for beef")
16. Banjo Patrick (son of Rachel Griffiths/Andrew Taylor)
17. Kal-el (son of Nicholas Cage Note: Kal-el is Superman's birth name.)
18. Rocket Valentin (son), Racer Maximilliano (son), Rebel Antonio (son), Rogue (son), Rhiannon (daughter) (Robert Rodriguez/Elizabeth Avellan)
19. Diva Muffin (daughter of Frank Zappa/Gail Zappa Other Children: Dweezil (son), Ahmet Emuukha Rodan (son), Moon Unit (daughter))
20. Nell Marmalade (Helen Baxendale & David Eliot)
21. Puma (daughter of Erykah Badu/Tracy Curry (The D.O.C.))
22. Denim Cole (son) and Diezel Ky (son) (Toni Braxton/Keri Lewis)

Today we also saw the doctor. Everything is looking good and now we start going every two weeks. The heart sounds good and since Lauren has been walking recently there was not too much weight gain which is good since McMiller loves sweets so the exercise seems to be counteracting some of that! ;) McMiller is getting big enough now that when she moves it feels like a ball with pressure slowly moving under Lauren's muscles. She has even gotten Lauren a few times in between muscles or something, and it has hurt! Jordyn is also excited for McMiller, she pats Lauren's belly and says baby and even will give it a kiss sometimes! Aw! We are looking forward to meeting McMiller though there is still lots to be done.

27 Weeks

We just had our 27 week appointment last Friday. Things still look good and on track. We will go back in 4 weeks and then start seeing the doctor every 2 weeks. The doctor mentioned again that as the time gets closer we can talk about early induction as long as Lauren's cervix is favorable. Other than that, not a whole lot to report. McMiller is still moving quite a bit and Lauren is feeling big. As promised, below are two photos from McMiller's bedroom. Since there is no furniture really in there yet, and Jordyn is sort of using this room as a playroom for the moment we are not posting the entire room yet but we wanted to show the wall color and ceiling fan.

Woo-hoo!

Last week Lauren took her glucose test which checks mainly for gestational diabetes. If you remember from Jordyn, Lauren did not "pass" the first test and had to go back for the 3-hour (and 4 separate blood draw) test. She was very nervous that she would have to go back this time, and even started eating "healthy cereal" in the mornings leading up to the test to lower her sugar. Well, whatever it was, it worked! Lauren found out today that she 'passed' the glucose test and does not have to go back for the 3-hour! Hallelulujah!
Aside from that, McMiller's room has been painted (thank you Aaron), and we have the bedding set for whenever we get the crib. We also installed a ceiling fan since we have no air conditioning and there was no overhead light. We are slowly arranging the room and planning what we need, and Lauren has bought a few items already. Pretty soon we will have to go through the clothes we boxed from Jordyn to see what we will re-use for this baby. Lauren is getting very anxious and is counting the weeks until her due date. We will post photos of the room soon.

23 Weeks and Happy New Year

We cannot believe we are more than halfway there! Not sure what it is about Lauren being pregnant and us going on tropical vacations, but we spent New Years in Cozumel, Mexico (see our other blogs for a few pics). Lauren was brave enough to wear a bikini but will not subject you all to those tummy pics. McMiller is growing and moving like crazy. Lauren thinks this kid is more active than Jordyn was! Aaron actually got to feel her kicking last night which was neat. Lauren will have to do the sugar test in about 2 weeks which checks for gestational diabetes. We have about 4 months until this little one's due date!
We have also started planning McMiller's room, and the things we are picking are completely girlie, unlike Jordyn where we tried to keep things neutral. We don't need very many things, though, since most of Jordyn's we can re-use. Hopefully this weekend we will be able to paint both girls' rooms since we bought paint. McMiller's walls will be a sea foam green, and Lauren has chosen a pink/brown bedding set with white furniture. Hope it all looks okay!