It's a Girl!

Well, for those who may not have heard yet, we just found out last week that we are having a girl. We've already taught Vanessa to say "baby sister" and she's almost as excited as we are.
In case you're interested here are some pictures from the ultrasounds:


The first is her profile. She looks like a little carbon copy of her big sister!

This next one is her right foot. If the position looks weird, that's actually because it's clubbed (as well as her left). An explanation will be given below the pictures.



A little harder to see, but this is her left foot (with the heel at the top of the picture).

This last picture is part of our proof that it is indeed a little girl (note the little arrows off to the side). Since we've had two ultrasounds in the past week and will continue to have more (explanation to follow), we're pretty sure it's a she. Now if we can settle on a name!




Now, here's the story. I put in as much detail and information as I could think of, so feel free to skim if you've already heard it or just wanted the basics.

At our ultrasound appointment last Wednesday, the sonographer noticed that our baby's feet were turned (clubbed) and that her limbs were measuring a little short. She took a couple measurements, and then explained to us what she saw, informing us that she would refer us to specialists for a better look.

We had an appointment with a perinatalogist and a geneticist on Friday. The perinatalogist did another ultrasound to confirm the presence of clubbed feet (not hard to do, they're pretty visible) and to get some good measurements of her limbs and body.

As far as the feet are concerned, it sounds like they will do a series of casts after she is born to help the feet turn and form the way they need to so she can have full use of them. Catching it this early is great as we can correct it without surgery (most likely).

After she measured the baby, she told us that the head and brain were measuring normal (everything seemed to be present and looked fine) and the chest also measured normal. The organs were all present and look normal as well. This is important because low or abnormal measurements in these areas can mean that the life of the baby may be shortened or not even last past birth. Thank goodness she's healthy there!

Her limbs are slightly below the 5th percentile, which indicates a nonlethal form of skeletal dsyplasia (which sounds like it is basically another way of saying minor dwarfism). We also noticed and the specialist confirmed that the baby's hands are turned out (similar to the way Vanessa's were) and that the baby's general proportions may be a lot like Vanessa's have been. This is encouraging since we have seen how well Vanessa is doing, but also discouraging because it implies we may be dealing with something genetic which may not only affect our two girls, but any other children we have.

We will be seeing another geneticist in Salt Lake for Vanessa to see if we can find out if these physical traits have a name, if they are, in fact, the same thing in both girls, and what genetic implications they might have. We're mainly hoping it will provide some useful answers. If that proves unhelpful, we may need to look into possible tests (the most likely being amniocentesis, which I'm not sure I'm very comfortable with).

We will also continue to see the same perinatalogist every month to do ultrasounds to check that our little girl's limbs continue to grow proportional to what they are now (or better), or not.

On a lighter note, this baby has the same cute profile as Vanessa and was a true baby during the appointment...all wiggles. She is quite active each day (and is moving even as I type), and I feel very strongly that she is a valiant spirit, one that is strong enough to take on the challenges that lie ahead. I also feel that she will fill our home with a tremendous amount of joy as our Vanessa already does daily. Heavenly Father has blessed us with two wonderful, sweet girls!

Thanks to all who have offered prayers and helpful information on our behalf. We feel calm, for the most part, that the baby will be okay and that hopefully her physical challenges/discomfort will be minor. We will continue to post any new information we find.

Christmas (Part 3--Washington)

We took a train from Salem to Lacey. Although she doesn't look it in this picture, Vanessa loved it, and talked about the train the rest of the day.


One of the many sweet moments with Grandma, and I finally remembered to take a picture!

Since the girls were being so cute, we had to capture their "picnic." This is what happens when we tell Vanessa to "look up."

Our adorable water baby washing her face.


I realized there were a few pictures I forgot to put in the last post, but they're too fun to leave out.

Vanessa trying to ride her "horsey." I don't think she got very far!

Christmas (Part 2--Oregon)

And we're off! This is on the plane heading out to Oregon. Vanessa has become a "seasoned traveler."

Oops...looks like we forgot to wrap one. Vanessa loved this spot under the tree.

Helping Uncle Hayden open his present.

Our little Afghan beauty

Okay, so I had to put this one on because Bean's face was so funny (they didn't know I was going to take a picture right then).

Two guesses...Cars or Nemo!

The joy of Christmas toys...trying to figure out how all the pieces fit together.

So Vanessa is actually taller than some of her cousins...but they're a lot younger and it's not by much! Aren't the three of them cute?

Christmas (Part 1--Utah)

We had a very fun and relaxing Christmas this year, and although I could explain it all in words, I think the pictures are more fun. Stay tuned each day for more posts:

New Christmas dress...I never could get her to give a "normal" smile.

Discovery Academy--Matt's (now former) second job. Think Harry Potter.

Mmm, snowball!

The "first Christmas" at our apartment. Bet you can't guess which one Daddy picked out!

Yes, we are still alive!

As you may have noticed, we have been neglecting our blog lately. I can't believe I've let a whole month go by. That means I have a few entries to catch up on.


The biggest and funnest thing we had going on recently was, of course, our Thanksgiving weekend. Since we knew we couldn't leave Provo this time, we were fortunate to have some family come to us (I think it was Megan's great idea...Thank you, Megan!). Mom and Dad Brown and Mark came out from Washington (State) and Angelene came out from Maryland. It was so much fun being able to have them around, and very much a godsend as well.

Matt has taken on a second job in the past couple months as a mentor for troubled teens. He likes it fairly well, but the hours are a bit demanding. Vanessa and I only get to see him Monday and Friday nights, Saturday mornings and a variable amount on Sunday. Despite not seeing each other much, it has been a blessing to us. It is, however, a bit more lonely these days here at home.

I mention this to show how wonderful it was to get to be around so much family while we've still been adjusting to this new schedule. I realized how lonely I had been. It was wonderful to have my sister to hang out with each day as well as my wonderful in-laws who have become as dear to me as my own family. And, despite his schedule, Matt did get to enjoy being around the family a bit, too. Thank goodness for holidays!


So, to catch up on our holidays, I put a few pictures up. Some are just Vanessa, but some are from our Thanksgiving dinner. (By the way, the first one is just typical Vanessa. She has shifted from just being a thumb-sucker, to one who plays with her belly button and sucks her thumb).




During the holiday weekend, Vanessa got sick with a viral infection which gave her pretty bad stomach cramps. Again it was nice to have family around when Matt had to work, because Vanessa needed a blessing, and her "Ma-ga" and "Uncle J" were able to give her a blessing, and everyone came with us to urgent care that night. Thank you for being there!


Grandpa also did a good job being Vanessa's cuddle buddy when Daddy had to be gone. Don't they look so sweet snuggled up together?



Right after everyone hopped back on their planes for home, we got our first snow. Since last year Vanessa was too little, this was her first real experience with "no" (She always leaves off the "s"). I was so excited to show her so I bundled her up and we went outside. She thought it was pretty neat, but kept walking around the snow and never touching it (they had just shoveled the walkways). So I had this bright idea to hold her hand and "lead" her into the snow...





...but one step and she fell right in it, face first. (I wiped the snow off her face before taking this picture). Needless to say, that was the end of our snow excursion. I keep hoping it will snow again so I can get second chance to convince her it really is fun. At least she still likes looking at snow.

Walk to the park

Well, I had part of a post draft saved and I have a little bit of free time, so I thought I'd complete what I could. I've been babysitting for a friend because she had her third child today (Nov. 13th). The dad has just come to pick up his girls, so I'm free to go, except Vanessa is fast asleep. So, I hope you enjoy these pictures from a month ago.

The pictures are fairly self-explanatory. Until just a few days ago we've been having sunny, warm weather. So, while Alena was here, we decided to take Vanessa to the park to enjoy the sun. Enjoy!

Garbage disposal

That's how I feel as I sit down to eat chicken and dumpling soup for the third day in a row. Men with pregnant wives can sympathize with me. Everything that gets cooked and then looks unappetizing to Lisa or Vanessa (which pretty much encompasses every item in the fridge over 2 hours old) either goes to me or the trash can. I can't stand wasting food, so of course, I end up eating it. I keep getting fatter while my girls keep getting skinnier. Hopefully the bun in the oven will be like Mikey the Life cereal kid so he can help me with all these left-overs when he comes out.