Lemon

At 14 weeks (last week) our growing babe is the size of a Lemon!! It is still so hard to believe that this our adorable little fetus is already busy with thumb sucking, toe wiggling, and (not so cute but equally amazing) making urine and breathing amniotic fluid as the liver, kidneys and spleen continue to develop. Lanugo (thin, downy hair) is growing all over the precious babe to help keep him/her warm!!! 

Simply Amazing!!!

Our precious boys "holding" our growing little babe!!!

Just a few Pictures

I just wanted to post a few pictures to document our growing little family!

Here is a picture Brad took this evening to document our growing little bundle at 14 weeks!

Here are my other 3 bundles of Joy. Seriously, I am beyond blessed!!! Such goof balls!

One more sweet picture of the silly boys. Oh Paxton, your smile cracks me up!!

14 Weeks

14 weeks pregnant with Baby Voda #3

How Far Along: 14 weeks

Size of baby: almost 3 1/2 inches long and weighs about 1 ounce

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 0 

Maternity Clothes: yes, they are much more comfy! I have one pair of maternity jeans that actually fit and I LOVE them.

Gender: We aren't sure yet. At the ultrasound today, they could not say for sure either way but they said they would lean more towards a GIRL!!!

Name: will decide when we know the gender

Movement: YES!! Such a beautiful feeling

Sleep: I have horrible insomnia. I just lay in bed for hours at night unable to fall asleep. yuck.

What I miss: Nothing really...sleep I guess

Cravings: nothing lately

Symptoms: bleeding and cramping.

Best Moment this week: Seeing this little miracle at our ultrasound today and hearing that everything looks great!! I also LOVE feeling this tiny babe flutter in my tummy.

We had an ultrasound today to monitor my bleeding and cramping. Everything looks perfect. The baby is right on track and is moving and developing beautifully. They still cannot determine why I continue to bleed, but everything is looking so good that they are not too concerned about it. They were unable to locate any blood clots or anything that could cause any possible problems.

 I was anxious to see if they could determine the gender of our blessed babe; however, they could not give us a definitive answer. The nice lady preforming the sonogram did say if she had to guess she would lean more towards a baby GIRL. Oh sweet music to my ears. We are blessed either way and this baby is already loved; however, the thought of having a daughter makes me excited. 

You would think with this being our 3rd pregnancy that the miracle of watching a baby develop in my tummy could possibly loose it's awe factor. That is definitely NOT the case. I am in constant awe at the fact that this tiny, 3 1/2 inch growing babe has ALL of it's fully functioning body parts. A fluttering, fully pumping heart. Kidneys that function. A brain that is developed enough to allow the baby to make various facial expressions. The ability to drink amniotic fluid and pee said fluid out. The ability to suck it's thumb. This miracle of life growing within me already brings me such joy!!

Brothers

These two precious boys are starting to form a very special bond. While Maddox can be less than thrilled at his baby brother's constant shadow, he is turning into an amazing BIG brother. He can make Paxton laugh the most and Paxton is starting to mimic everything Maddox does. (This is extremely helpful with Paxton's speech therapy. Tonight Madd was able to get Paxton to say "night night").

Sweet brothers playing together

Sure, there are plenty of moments throughout the day where I have to remind the boys to play nicely, to please stop arguing and to find a way to get along with one another; however, when they do play nicely, it is such sweet music to my ears and my heart swells with joy as I watch them interact together. I continue to pray they grow to be the best of friends and share a bond that is unbreakable!

Maddox "reading" to Paxton. So sweet

Today

Today I pulled down the tub of clothes containing Maddox's old size 2T shirts, pants, shorts and swimming trunks.
Today, while hanging up said clothes for our (currently) youngest boy, I was reminded of so many memories of the Madd-man wearing each piece of clothing.
Today I am excited for all the memories we will make watching Paxton in the same clothes as his big brother.
Today I am reminded of just how BIG Maddox was as a baby. (Those size 2T clothes fit Maddox rather snuggly when he was 12 months old. Paxton is 21 months old and most of the clothes still swallow him whole).
Today I am even more curious and anxious to find out if baby #3 is another boy who will follow in his brothers footsteps and wear the same clothes (and if the babe is a boy, what on earth will he look and act like...the 2 boys we have are SO polar opposite).
Today, while cruising around Target, I got super excited at the thought of adding super cute, frilly, pink, baby girl clothes to the mix of our laundry extravaganza. I do believe a little pink would spice up things some.  :)
Today Paxton has talked more and more and it is music to my ears.
Today I moved a lot of clothes from Paxton's closet to the boys soon to be shared closet in Maddox's room
Today I am even more excited at the thought of adding another sweet bundle of joy to our family
Today I am also a little overwhelmed at the thought of adding another sweet bundle of joy to our family
Today I have felt our littlest, growing babe move and kick and swim around in my belly. What a beautiful feeling. Oh how blessed.
Today the boys have played really well together
Today I am reminded at how extremely blessed we are!!!

Paxton's Speech

I just wanted to give an update on sweet little Paxton. Paxton has started his speech therapy (we have now seen the therapist 3 times) and is making great progress. This past week he has taken off with his vocal abilities and he is making more and more noises everyday. The main goal for him at this point is to get his little mouth moving. We have fun tongue tricks and random noises that we try to get him to make throughout the day to simply get his tongue used to moving and making noises. He is much better at mimicking Maddox than he is anyone else and luckily Maddox NEVER stops talking, so we are able to use him a lot to help Paxton (Maddox loves it).
The other evening while I was getting Paxton ready for bed I was trying to get him to repeat words after me (he NEVER repeats anything I say to him), he repeated several words and it almost blew me away. I was so proud of him!
He now can say:
dog
cat
monkey
ribbit
juice
ice
milk
momma
daddy
maddox "bubba"
paci

I would like to mention that these words that he is "saying" are not all that clear to anyone else, but I know his new language and it is just such a huge step that he is attempting to say anything at all and we are so very proud of him!!!

Also this week Paxton has been SO much happier and content. He has played well, laughed and adapted  well to his surroundings. My Aunt Kay and cousin Konni were in town this weekend and normally it takes Mr. P several hours to warm up to someone (if he ever warms up); however, he was never freaked out and enjoyed the company!! YIPPEEE!!!

I realize all of these new changes this week many not be permanent and we more than likely have a lot of work ahead of us, but I am so thankful for the progress with our sweet little boy!! Great job Paxton!!

Surprise

Surprise! We are pleased to announce that the Kalivoda family will be growing from 4 to 5! Little baby Voda is due July 25, 2012. We are super excited and anxious to watch our little family grow some more.
Maddox is SO excited that we are having another baby and is certain that we are having a baby girl and he really wants a sister (which I think is simply adorable). Paxton is unaware of the fact that his little world is going to change in the near future, but I am sure he too will be a great big brother

Interestingly, Maddox and Paxton are 27 months apart in age. Paxton and this baby will also be 27 months apart. Crazy!

So far this pregnancy has been a little intense. I am currently 12 weeks and this first trimester has made me feel icky icky. I have been super nauseous most of the day, everyday. (Although, thankfully, I have recently started feeling better more frequently). We have had a few scares with random bleeding and cramping, but each ultrasound looks great and the baby is developing right on track. They just can't seem to locate where I am bleeding from and the current consensus is that I might just bleed throughout the pregnancy. EEK. It's just so unnerving because I am not sure when to be concerned and when to just chalk it up to another strange pregnancy.
We have an ultrasound the last week in January to simply make sure everything is looking okay and see if they can locate the source of the bleeding.

While adding a new baby to the family seems a little overwhelming at times, I am already falling in love with this little being growing inside of me. We are beyond blessed and we are praying for guidance as we prepare our boys for a new little one!!

Pregnancy Stats with Baby Voda #3

How far along? 12 weeks

Size of baby: 1.75-2.4 inches

Total Weight Gain/Loss: -1 lb

Maternity Clothes: No, not yet, but soon I am sure

Gender: We have no idea (Maddox is certain its a girl)

Name: We will name it when we know the gender (I already have names picked out, its simply convincing Brad)

Movement: still too soon

Sleep: Pretty restless at night. I always have insomnia with my pregnancies

What I miss: Not feeling sick to my stomach

Cravings: Oranges

Symptoms: Bleeding, cramping, light contractions

Best moment this week: Seeing our little miracle on an ultrasound

Our littlest one is the size of a large lime and weighs about 8 grams!

Our oldest holding our youngest

Happy 4th Birthday Maddox

I cannot believe you are already 4 years old and it is even harder for me to believe that our lives, at one point, did not have you in it! At 4 years old you are turning into such a kind, compassionate, energetic, curious little boy. You NEVER stop asking complex questions and you love to learn new things.
Anyone who is around you for very long knows you are completely fixated on Batman right now and you LOVE all things Batman. Grandma and Grandpa Voda along with the rest of the Kalivoda family did a fantastic job of creating a Batman Christmas for you and I swear you now have every  kid friendly batman toy that exists!!! You are in heaven and play more with these new batman toys than you even have with any of your other toys! In fact, you often ask that we address you as "Batman" rather than "Maddox" and you jump off the fireplace in your attempt to save the world!!! It is so much fun to watch your little imagination take over as you play and play! (While you LOVE all things Batman right now, you are NOT a fan of any cartoon show with Batman in it. It freaks you out a little and I am a little glad that it does because that means you are staying little for a while longer!!)
You continue to push every boundary and question any rule that is placed in your way. You are NOT a fan of playing by yourself and you would much rather have an adult play with you ALL the time. However, you are gradually getting where you will go play by yourself or with Paxton for longer periods of time. Our current "battle" with you is getting you to not talk when other people are talking. You are such a social little guy and you love to have someone to talk to; however, we are teaching you that it is okay to not talk from time to time. (Oh how sad with the day be when we are begging you to talk to us and fill us in on what is going on in your little head).
You are such a joy and a fun loving kid. You are a great big brother and not necessarily because you care all that much about your baby brother, but you are responsible, we can trust you to do or NOT do certain things. You certainly are the oldest child and you make my job as a mom of two little boys easier because you can help me out so much and we are rarely afraid that you are getting into something that you shouldn't be. You truly love your family and you would do anything to help one of us out (although there are plenty of times when you get super annoyed at Paxton, but you are learning how to play with him better and better everyday).
Oh Maddox, my life is so much more complete with you in it. I love you more everyday and I am so thankful for you and all that you bring to our family. I am so excited to see the little boy you are going to turn into. I know for a fact you are going to change the world someday and I can't wait to be a part of that!! Keep asking questions little man and change the world!!

Maddox and Aunt Kim with his super awesome Batman cake that Grandma Voda made for him!

My little batmen!!

Maddox and his best Batman Face!!

Another picture of that awesome cake. Thanks again Grandma Voda for working so hard on such a great cake for Maddox

We have decided to ask a group of questions to the boys every year on their birthday. It will be so much fun to look back over the years and see how their answers change!!

Questions asked to Maddox at the age of 4:

What is your favorite color? Blue and Black
What is your favorite toy? Batman, my Bat-cave with a toy batman
What is your favorite fruit? A lot of different fruits
What is your favorite TV show? Bernsten bears
What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Peanut butter sandwich
What is your favorite outfit? My batman costume
What is your favorite game? Hide n Seek
What is your favorite snack? Fruit Snacks
What is your favorite animal? Giraffe
What is your favorite song? All of the songs we sing at school. But, I do NOT like the "Whole World" song.
What is your favorite book? "The Shaggy Little Pony"
Who is your best friend? Spencer at school
What is your favorite cereal? I don't know. I like all the cereals
What is your favorite thing to do outside? Help Daddy
What is your favorite thing to drink? Water and Orange juice
What is your favorite Holiday? Christmas
What do you like to take to bed at night? Raffie
What is your favorite breakfast food? Pancakes
What would you like for your birthday dinner? A Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich
What do you want to be when you grow up? Batman