Gender Announcement

So on Monday we had our 20 week ultrasound. we told the US tech that we didn't want to know the gender, but instead wanted her to do something for us. i brought a bag that had one pair of boy shoes and one pair of girl shoes- after she did the gender part of the US she left the room and put the right gender shoes in the bag. i told her to just donate the others. here's photos from the US:

the bag all ready to go!!
The shoes

4 chambers of the heart...MORE important than fingers and toes to a perfusionist :)


3-D... saying no pictures please!
so cute! it was sleeping the whole ultrasound

i'm such a nerd, but how cool is this shot-- LVOT and aorta!!
yawning

We planned on going out to eat at dave's fav: PF Chang's, BUT the electronic leash wouldn't let me be free-- AKA i got called in for a liver transplant, so we had the babysitter on call incase i got out in time, but it didn't work out that way. Dave and I couldn't wait, so we decided take out would work just fine- as long as we had each other :) So i picked up PF Changs on my way home and when i got home Dave had a cute little candle and the table cleared. We ate part of our dinner and had to stop and open it b/c we were dying! I made Dave open it b/c i couldnt do it! haha as you can see by the pics we're just elated its another little BOY!!!







We told the grandparents we weren't going to find out, so we wanted to make it a surprise to them too! So on Tuesday am i called and ordered pink and blue flower bouquets with baby's breath that had a poem on them that lead them to pick up a cake at the local bakery. I ordered a cake with yellow frosting all the way around and a white question mark on top. the cake was chocolate with blue frosting inbetween the layers, so they would have to cut into the cake to find out the gender. We told them they had to wait until that evening to skype with us...little did we know i would end up working AGAIN doing another emergency :( sooo we had to postpone the cake cutting until late at night :( thankfully they waited until i got home, but as you can see on the video it was late...here's the debut on Hodge Baby #2 to the grandparents :)



Mimi and Grandfather Announcement:

Nana and Pops announcement

soooo--- ITS A BOY!!!
and so far he looks just like his big brother, Noah and his daddy :)



We are so happy and blessed to bring another little boy into this world...can't wait to meet him and learn all about him :)
love,
Mommy, Daddy and Noah

Belly Pics/ update

So- i can't believe it, BUT we're over half way!! 20 weeks and 1 day! wow has it flown by this time!

We have our ultrasound tomorrow to look at all the anatomy and we still aren't decided if we are going to find out the gender..ekk!! i bought two shoes to give the US tech if we decide to find out- we will have her put one pair in the bag for us and donate the other pair--then we are going to dinner tomorrow night to open it together. i just felt like it was so impersonal and we were unable to really react when i m laying on the table with gel all over my belly with the US tech inbetween us! haha so we thought this would be a more intimate way to share it :) that all is IF we decide to find out! we'll keep everyone posted :)

We have Noah's big boy room all ready to go- he isn't sleeping in it yet, we are waiting till he get a month or so older, just to be sure we have good first time obedience from him. we took the outside rail off his crib today and he is napping in it right now without any problems. we just want to be sure he will stay in his bed when we ask him to. he is incredibly obedient now, but i dont want to push him beyond what he is developmentally able to handle...so next month or couple of weeks we will transition him... on the other hand... he is READY to potty train...we just have to find a weekend to do it-- this weekend is a birthday party and next weekend i'm on call, so possibly the next weekend we will dive in. he's gone on the potty a few time and tells me when he's going other times---like inteh car on the way to target- when i clearly cannot pull over! haha soo...we have pull-ups, a teddy bear, training pants and a book called 1-2-3 potty training, by our favorite christian authors...the Ezzo's that attend our church...so we'll let you know how it goes!

below are pics of noah's new room- they are inthe wrong order and i can't get them to drag :( i'm not a blog expert- sorry- so start from the bottom and work up ;) we have letters on the wall and a bunch of other things in there now- including his twin bed...we'll take more pics soon to show :)

here's Noah doing a puzzle- one of his favorite things- while mommy was painting

daddy's helper- with a tape measure ;)

OH-IO!


these are the stripes on teh Buckeye helmets that we painted on his wall...BUT for those of you who know Dave know...we had to drive across Charleston to get THE OFFICIAL scarlet and gray of Ohio State--and i had to tell him we didn't have to have the official black and white-- geesh! haha but he did look up the exact dimensions so it is EXACTLY as the helmets are! haha


Noah found my cowboy hat and was wearing it around while playing with dad's tools

painting THE OFFICIAL scarlet- that required a special/ official primer



his fan pulls :)
Bella always helps out painting

taping off the lines
THE OFFICIAL OSU grey
cutie patootie



BELLY pics you've all been asking for :)








this video is of Noah forcing me to sing his favorite song...twinkle twinkle-- he does his hands and knows the words its soo funny- so please ignore my TERRIBLE singing :) i didn't say i was good at it! ha

Noah Sicky Pants

So about a month ago Noah got sick with a high fever and vommitted, so we took him into the pediatrician, they said he had a double ear infection and a sinus infection :( i felt terrible b/c we had no idea he was even sick until he spiked the fever. he is almost 22 months and hasn't been sick ONCE --YES i'm a HUGE believer in breastfeeding :) some of it probably has to do with his daddies impeccable immune system as well :)
so we decided to start an antibiotic b/c he was completely lethargic, etc, etc-- i'm VERY anti-antibiotics, so he was sick if i decided to go with them :) did 10 days of antibiotic, Noah was better-- we all got sick AGAIN! he fevered again, went back to pedi who decided to do the rocephin injections...they are Im injections in his thigh- for 3 days...he was a complete champ! he said to come back in a week to check that the right ear infection was gone, if not we shoudl probably do an ENT consult...which was totally frustrating to me considering this was his first ear infection. tubes are typically used for kids with recurrent infections, not their first! BUT he wanted to consult with them since we tried 2 different antibiotics and neither were able to kick it...so a week later--and TONS of chiropractic visits later...PS-- did you know Chriopractors are able to adjust their ear? they do it to me when i have sinus infections and it is AMAZING the relief i get immediately- so they have told me before they were able to prevent kids from getting tubes...so i figured it was worth trying- on top of the other herbal immune boosting support we were giving him. the day i took him to chiro he spiked a fever again (last wednesday) and he said i should take him back to pedi after he looked in his ear he said it was REAL bad...so went to pedi as soon as we left chiro's office- and he said we needed an URGENT ENT visit the next day (it was 5pm at this point) and the office would call b/c he said his ear was pussing, raging red with infection and buldging from pressure"...so i was worried sick for my little baby...we prayed over him that night that God would heal his ear. after 2 physicians looking at it telling us it was bad--it would be obvious that it was God if it were healed...long story short- all the ENT's were in surgery that day adn didn't have any clinic appointments...sooo i walked down a couple OR's to ask him his thoughts--HUGE perk to working in the OR- haha Dr White is one of our fantastic ENT guys at MUSC- he said to bring him in as soon as we could and he would look at him in the PACU between surgeries...so dave brought him down and Dr White took a look and said hsi right side was perfect, and the left had some fluid, but wasn't infected!!! woowhooo he said hes fine and everything looked structurally fine :) sooo.. PTL for healing our sweet babies ear and preventing him from getting tubes :)

just wanted to give a shout out to Jesus from the Hodge Family :)

New videos!

New fun videos of Noah to share with everyone! He loves to dance and now loves to play catch. He just started catching the football....he has caught about 7 so far :)

One Thousand Gifts

So

Dave got me a book called "One Thousand Gifts" (you can click there and read her blog) for Christmas. I was a little apprehensive at first, having never heard of the book before...and let me say-- i'm forever changed! If you haven't read this book...order it now :)

It is about a whole mindset of thankfulness. The author shares her story of heartache and grief she has encountered and WOW- talk about some REAL heartache...and how she coped through it knowing that God knows more than we do and there is a reason and a purpose for all of it. i was initially inspired by her ability to survive through these terrible tragedies...The author then teaches everything biblical came from a place of thankfulness... what she called Eucharisteo

"And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them..." Luke 22:19 how thanksgiving ALWAYS precedes the miracle...how the fall of Adam and Eve began from a place of ingratitude- humanity's discontent with all that God freely gives--how Eden was in paradise, and because she came from a place of ingratitude caused the fall... wow-- how truly eye-opening.

When i began to examine my own life and realize the areas of frustration or unhappiness were truly areas of ingratitude of my own... in Luke 17- God heals the one Samaritan who GAVE THANKS...can healing really come from a thankful heart?

"Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world" - Sarah Ban Breathnach

The other verse that struck me was:" I have learned how to be content with whatever i have. i know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. i have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little" Phil 4:11-12

--wow...have i really? i think i have, but when i take a moment to examine my life...i stomp my feet and internally throw a fit when I can't buy whatever I want and still tithe...am I thankful in times of need as much as i am thankful in times of plenty?!

The author then talks about how to become thankful- that its something we have to PRACTICE- just like everything else in life- if you really want change, you have to practice and make it a new lifestyle, so she writes out 1,000 Blessings or gifts...to put her heart in a place of thankfulness...so, if you will join with me in this- i would like to end each of my posting with a few things i am thankful for, until we have this sweet baby growing in my belly :)

join me in this activity- i really think it will change my vantage point and ultimately change the place of my heart :)

I am thankful for:

1. My amazing Father in Heaven who loves me no matter how many times I fall

2. My also amazing husband who loves God with his whole heart

3. My healthy, happy bundle of joy, Noah

4. The life He has created inside of me-what a miracle!

5. Our home

6. My job...yes, i am thankful ;)

7. Our church

8. Amazing weather that allows me to open all the windows in the house and let the breeze and fresh air in

9. Our family - gosh, how lucky are we?!

10. the sound of the waves at the beach that are so peaceful

11. Morgan Porter- our little heart patient that has forever changed my world (story and more to come in another post)

17 weeks (2/3/2012)

We went to our CNM appointment yesterday and here's the stats:

HR: 150's *Noah's were constantly 130-140's

still feeling sick at night :( its gotten better for sure, but still is yucky probably 3 nights a week on average-- they say it should stop by 17 weeks-- oh wait, they first said it should stop by 12 weeks, then 14, now 17...basically i've learned to cope, so i'm not sure what i would do without it ;) i might turn into superwoman! haha

weight gain: 0!!! wooowhoo...of course i get the typical "are you eating" "what are you eating" "are you so sick you are vomiting everything you eat" all of which questions totally FREAKED me out with Noah... i was so worried something was wrong since i wasn't gaining weight- they had me start eating 80 grams (YES 80 GRAMS) of protein a day and having a milkshake every night.... this time, not so freaked out- i looked back and i had the same weight trend...lost 4, gained 2, gained 2- back to net 0 and then slowly gained until the end in spurts-- and everything was fine, so i'm not freaking out this time- i think its just how my body works pregnant :)

so...all is well...and we have the anatomy/ gender ultrasound scheduled..!!! now, we just need to decide if we are going to find out or not ;/ any thoughts...?!

and sorry--we're lacking photos for this post- maybe we'll take them tomorrow :)

The Hodge's