I had my doctor’s appointment today. Neal worked from home that way he can go to the appointment with me since we’re having ultrasound today. I am 23 weeks now. I can’t believe that. The baby will be here before we know it. Everything is looking good and normal which we are very happy about. The baby’s heartbeat is strong. I told the doctor that I’ve been having dizzy spell and they said I need to drink lots of fluid but we also have to watch for it. They gave me a different iron pills samples than my prescription one since the one I’ve been taking has been making me a little bit sick. This iron sample is the same one as the first sample they gave me before I got the prescription and I know this one didn’t make me sick. I guess my placenta is low so they will have to watch for that. They will need to do another ultrasound for my next visit. They said a lot of time it will move up as the baby gets bigger. But if it does not move up, they will have to do a C-section which I really don’t want to do. So, we’ll have to keep praying.

Oh yeah, it will be a baby SISTER for Alexa. They will be partner in crime before we know it. Neal and I are just excited that the baby is healthy. Neal said he’ll be outnumbered. Yup, 3 against 1 Now we can focus on picking out a name too.Can’t wait to meet our little GIRL.

Neal and I and Alexa left Atlanta on July 30 and came back on August 5 to visit Neal’s family in Minnesota. We flew on Delta. It was a very nice visit and we had lots of fun. Allen and Judy picked us up at the airport and the drove us back to the airport. Alexa enjoyed meeting everybody. Last time we were there, Alexa was only 7 months old. Angie, Seth, Sarah and Adam also made it back. Alexa had lots of fun playing with her cousins. We also got a chance to meet up with Dustin, Pam and Logan half way between Fargo and Sauk Centre and we had dinner. We met up with them at Perkins in Fergus Falls. Logan is such a cute little boy. They also gave us the news that they are expecting their second child and the baby is due in March 2009. We are so happy and excited for them. Congratulations to Dustin and Pam. Neal and I also got a chance to visit the grave of Gary Quade (Neal’s uncle - Judy’s brother) who passed away on July 8. We wish he was here with us.  But we are glad we had the chance to visit his grave. Everybody was so nice and made us feel so comfortable. It was very hard to leave. Alexa did well with the plane ride except that she refused to sit with daddy.

Alexa did well until Saturday when I noticed she started having runny and stuffy nose problem again. She woke up in the middle of the night crying on Saturday night and Sunday night. On Sunday, she started coughing too. I’ve been giving her claritin kids since Sunday night. I am hoping that will clear it up. The doctor is not going to give her antibiotics anymore since she just finished hers not too long ago. I seriously hope it doesn’t get worst. Dealing with sick kid is not fun. I think the fact that we were so busy and she wasn’t following her schedule/routine made it so easy for her to catch cold. Alexa loves her routine. I remembered thinking to myself, this is just my luck.

Alexa did really well even though we’ve been busy. She did get sick though because of all the busy schedules I think. She threw up quite a bit. The cough that she got while we were in NY actually never really went away. Anyway, I took her to the doctor on July 2. They said she had a lot of mucus in her throat. No sinus infection yet so they wanted to try antihistamine for 10 days and see if it goes away. If it doesn’t, they’ll put her on antibiotics. Sure enough, it didn’t go away. She was coughing like crazy and would wake up in the middle of the night and cried. I took her back in to the doctor after the antihistamine. They gave her antibiotics for 2 weeks. They said it should clear up the sinus infection. If it doesn’t, that means she probably has seasonal allergy or dust allergy.  Anyway, the antibiotics cleared up everything. Thank goodness. Finally… no more sick child and cleaning up pukes.

We spent the day with Rina, Tito and Ken. They invited us for a cookout. It was a lot of fun. Alexa had fun playing with Ken. At the end of the day, we went to the Wills Park in Alpharetta to watch the fireworks. Alexa loved the fireworks but I think she didn’t like the loud noise. She was exhausted by the time we got home.

I had my doctor’s appointment today. Pregnancy is going good. They said my iron level is kind of low so they gave me prescription for iron pills. They also adjusted the dosage for my synthroid. The baby’s heartbeat was very strong. I asked about the dry skin and they said they can’t explain it but some woman has problem with dry skin and it will go away after the baby is born and I just have to deal with it I am so excited about that. Neal and I are excited about the baby. The iron pills have been making me a little sick lately. But I can deal with it as long as the baby is healthy.

When we came back from Dallas, we moved Alexa to the big bed. A week after my parents came, she decided no more crib. She was crying and puking and she actually slept with us for at least 3 weeks which wasn’t fun for me since I am pregnant. Alexa loves to roll around and that usually keeps me awake. I think Alexa felt confined and she also didn’t like the hard crib mattress. Yup, she is a spoiled girl. Since we’re not sure whether we should get a full size bed or a queen bed, Neal and I decided to move the queen mattress part of the bed from our guest room to her room for a trial run. We figured we’ll see how she does with the queen mattress. We also want her to adjust and train herself sleeping in the big bed before we buy her a new bed. With her rolling around, at least it will will not hurt her if she falls from the mattress to the carpeted floor. Once she gets control on the rolling, we can buy her the new bed (mattress and boxspring). Alexa loves the big bed so far. I think it makes her feel like a big girl

It’s been such a busy summer for Neal and I and Alexa. My parents came from Indonesia on May 29, 2008. They had to get into the States before the end of July to make sure they don’t lose the greencard. They stayed in Atlanta until June 21, 2008 then they went to Dallas, TX to visit Novie and Vivek. We had lots of fun. It took Alexa about 10 days to warm up to them though. Alexa liked having oma and opa because she got oma to cook her Indonesian/Asian food and she had oma and opa to buy her stuff My parents left the States to go back to Indonesia on July 3, 2008 from TX. One weekend (June 14, 2008), we took them to Madison, GA for a day trip. It was fun. Alexa and I also went to TX with my parents. We left on June 21, 2008 and came back on June 25, 2008. It was a short trip but it was great to spend more time with my parents and of course to see auntie Novie and uncle Vivek. Alexa had a blast. The trip coming back to Atlanta went well but the trip going to TX didn’t go so well. Delta lady couldn’t figure out how to check in the car seat. She took the luggage and put the tag on but didn’t put it on the belt. By the time they finally figured it out, they said it was too late to check in the luggage and I had to drag the luggage to the gate to check it in which didn’t make Neal happy since Neal couldn’t go with us because he just started his new job with Turner Broadcasting on June 2. They gave Neal a security pass to help me get the car seat and luggage to the gate. I had liquid stuff in the luggage since I didn’t plan to bring the luggage through security. Since I had some space, my mom put their stuff in my luggage and she locked it. Of course I forgot to ask her for the combination. Going through security wasn’t fun, they thought I didn’t want to give them the combination on purpose. TSA had to cut the lock and they took a bunch of liquid stuff. Oh well…. just one of those days. By the time we got to the gate, they were already boarding. Alexa and I were so happy and tired by the time we got to Dallas.

I also had my doctor’s appointment today (May 29, 2008). They took blood for a bunch of test but they said everything is looking good with the pregnancy. The baby’s heartbeat is strong. Thank God for that. A week after my doctor’s appointment, I started noticing my hands and feet started developing patches of dry skin. I remembered thinking to my self. Great…. this is probably not going to go away until the baby comes. Oh well, guess I have to wait until my next appointment to ask the doctor if they can give me something.

It’s been confirmed and it’s official! Neal and I are happy and excited to say that Alexa will be getting a baby brother or sister in Dec. Went to the doctor today and they confirmed my pregnancy. I am 8 weeks 2 days. The baby is due on Dec 3, 2008. Yeah

We left Atlanta on 4/12/08 and came back on 4/19/08. We went to Little Falls, NY to visit auntie Angie, uncle Seth, cousin Sarah and cousin Adam. Grandma and Grandpa Gamradt met up with us there. Alexa had a lot of fun. She liked riding the four wheeler and she liked dog too (oh oh for mommy). Everything went fine until we all got sore throat, runny nose and cough about the middle of the week. Alexa refused to eat for a couple days and she was pretty attached to mommy too. And she threw up two nights in a row.

Visit went too fast. Time for us to leave. It took about 2 1/2 hours to drive to the Newburgh’s airport. Alexa was tired and not feeling well. The airplane ride went well. She fell asleep when mommy was holding her. Mommy tried transferring her to daddy because she had to go to the bathroom and Alexa woke up and got mad. We got stucked in traffic because they were working on repaving the road and closed three left lanes. It took us 2 hours to get home. Alexa was so mad in the car and she had a meltdown. She threw up in the car 3 times. I had to take her out of the seat. She calmed down a little bit up to when I put her back in the car seat because traffic started moving again. What a day!!

Home sweet home! We’re finally home and Alexa was so happy. I think she was a bit homesick. I made her “miso soup” and she ate. Thank God. She hasn’t throw up at all since we came back home. She’s been eating better. She still has her runny nose and coughing though.

Time to take her for her 18 months checkup. We changed doctor and this is the first visit to the new doctor. I like them. She’s growing fast and everything is good. However, she does have an ear infection. The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics which I still have to pick up after she wakes up from her nap. Her height is 33″ @ 80%. Weight is 23 lbs 6 oz @ 40% and her head is 19 3/8″ @ 92%.