Halloween

Dearest Joshua David~

Hello precious!  Happy Halloween!  This time last year you were still in the hospital and we came to see you with candy for the nurses!  Do you remember that?  Your Mimi also brought little ghost bags of candy for them.  They all appreciated the candy!  :-)

So, you have figured out that you can take apart your alphabet mat.  You keep pulling the letter "A" out and try to chew on it.  :-P  I put it back though.  

We went to bed really late last night (since we were out at Chapel Hill with friends), but you slept until 8am!  I wish I could say the same for me, but, as usual, my allergies kicked in again and I was awake at 2:50am sneezing, blowing my nose, walking around, and getting something to drink.  :-P  I wish I could breath better, and I do have really good moments .... but generally speaking I stay congested. 

Daddy and I did a lot of chores this morning .... and then Stephanie and Kevin came over on their way back to Hope Mills, NC.  They both held and played with you .... and .... we saw our deer friends in the backyard!  We haven't seen them in a long time!  I saw at least two in the backyard.  :-)  Stephanie and Kevin liked your play area.  And, I'm pretty sure you wanted them to stay so they would play in there with you.  ;-)

Afterward, we made a quick trip to Target for some groceries, and I threw in a few things for you in the cart.  ;-)  They had some cute strap covers for car seats with monkeys and doggies on them.  I got one for your new car seat and one for the baby carrier, since you like to suck on the straps when I carry you around in it.  

This afternoon, Uncle Brennan and Aunt Katie came over.  They were heading out for dinner and a movie tonight to avoid the treat-or-treaters.  We're actually planning on avoiding them too since it'll interfere with your bath time and getting you ready for bed.  We dressed you in your orange shirt that says, "I'm so cute it scary" but we didn't go out.  Since we went to bed so late late night, we wanted to get you back on a normal schedule this evening. 

So, after we ate dinner together as a family, you had your normal evening bath and then we played in the bonus room.  Daddy put on the Charlie Brown special, "The Great Pumpkin" and we all watched it on the couch.  :-)

Oh, one more thing .... you had a really hard time with your poopy diapers today .... you were in pain, cried, and the poopy appeared to be harder than you were use to (yes, I'm your mother so I will talk about anything).  You were in so much pain that I called the 'on call' nurse at your pediatrician's office.  She recommended a few things to try to ease the pain.  So, we're going to try to increase the fiber and fruits in your diet.  If that doesn't work, we might need to give you a little medication.  After you had a big poopy this evening, you were fine the rest of the day.  Daddy and I just held you, rubbed your little tummy, and placed some ointment on your bottom since it was red.  I hope you feel better tomorrow.  I hate it when you cry.  

We all fell asleep pretty early this evening after our late night yesterday.  :-)  You had another head scan at Level Four Pediatrics tomorrow, but no physical therapy.  

Sleep tight little miracle!

I love you so much!  :-)

~Mommy

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Dearest 'Peanut'~

Today we are 23 weeks gestation!  I read somewhere that at 23 weeks, you should write a letter to your unborn child .... well, since I'm already in that habit of writing letters, I figured I would go ahead and let you know a few things.  :-)

First off, I can't tell you how excited daddy and I are to be having you!  At the same time, I can't tell you how scary it is since we don't know how this pregnancy will go.  Daddy and I still pray everyday for your health (in addition to praying for your brother's continued health).  

We still don't have a name yet for you, but we have some ideas.  For your brother, we knew his middle name would be 'David', since that's your daddy's name.  On daddy's side of the family, the first born son gets his father's name as his middle name.  So, we just needed to find a nice first name.  ;-)

On my side of the family, the girls have the name 'Grace' .... it started with my Great-Grandmother from Italy .... Graciela Criscoula (though Uncle James and I called her Gigi).  Most people in America called her 'Grace.'  So, my mommy was named Cynthia Grace and I was named Crystal Grace, to keep the name going.  Therefore, one thing that daddy and I have decided on is that 'Grace' will be somewhere in your name .... though we're still toying with it either being your first or middle name.  Once we've decided .... you'll be the first to know!  ;-)  

Oh, do you know what 'Grace' means?  ....

God's

Riches

At

Christ's

Expense

Daddy and I love you so much, even though you're still in the womb.  And, I know your brother is excited too, even though he may not say it yet.  ;-)

Keep growing strong!

I love you very much!  :-)

~Mommy