Emma's New Room

Emma is now seating at her own table to eat her snacks and food. She has been learning how to do this at day care for the last month and we wanted to reinforce it at home. Now that I am no longer able to pick her up and place her in the highchair this has really come in handy.

Emma no longer sleeps in a crib, toddler bed, or anything so tiny. Emma now sleeps in a queen sized bed all by herself! She never liked the toddler bed, yet would sleep in our king sized bed with no problems. With her height being a steady growing issue we would be in a big kid's bed quickly anyway.

So to stop fighting the inevitable, we gave Emma the bed that was in our guest bedroom and have given Abigail all of the nursery furniture, thus saving at least $1000.00 dollars on furniture! To make Emma feel extra special we went to Target and picked out this adorable floral pattern quilt and have given her a toddler theme to enjoy for the next couple of years.

As you can see, Emma has of ton of toys to help keep her busy and growing. Emma has really developed a love of music and dancing, and the majority of her new toys bring out her dancing, singing, and rhythm. Thank God she takes after me and has my natural rhythm and not her Dada's!

Brandie

Today, based off of doctor's measurements, Brandie is 23 weeks and at this past Thursday's doctor appointment Brandie and Abigail looked wonderful. We had another ultrasound and Abby was active and healthy. Brandie looked great as well and they expect her to carry Abby to full term. This has been a roller coaster of a week, but we have been blessed and had the best possible outcome, defying the odds. Thanks again to everyone for you thoughts and prayers, God is Great!

Update on Abby

After being in the hospital for 3 days, we received some promising news today. Dr. Gayle examined Brandie and her cervix has closed completely! This means that out long-term prognosis is a bit more promising. The doctors are weening her off of the medications to see if the contractions stay away, and if they do Brandie may be able to rest at home instead of in the hospital, which would be a blessing. Please keep the prayers coming so we can keep Abby where she is until May!

Abby

For those who don't know, Brandie is in the hospital. There are complications with the pregnancy and Abigail is trying to come early. She has stabilized for now, but we are trying to keep Abigail from being born for another few weeks at minimum. We will be in the hospital until Abigail is born, so we can use all of the prayers we can get.

Emma is 18 Months Old

What can I say about our wonderful daughter that we have not already said. She is a joy to us and we have felt blessed to have her in our lives since we first found out we were expecting her in November of 2008. We have loved watching her grow, seeing her explore her surroundings, try new things, and develop her own personality. She is a very active little girl and really enjoys playing with Reggie, playing with her toys, going bye bye, being outside, and watching her favorite show, the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

As we prepare for Abigail this May some major changes have taken place for Emma. She knows that Momma is going to have a baby. Emma can say baby, Abby, Sister, and many other new and exciting words. Because of little sister coming, Emma is now enjoying a queen sized bed and her new toddler decorated room.

Emma's understanding of the Spanish language is increasing every day. We have her in a dual language day care so she is exposed to Spanish on a daily basis through books, music, art, and her teachers. She really enjoys going to day care every day and interacting with the teachers and fellow classmates.

At her checkup today she weighed 31.2lbs, so as of today she has only gained 2.2 lbs since her 1st birthday in July. Emma is now 34 1/4 inches tall and this is a growth of 3 1/4 inches since her 1st birthday. She is growing really fast and still remains in the high ninetieth percentile for all areas. Emma is now wearing a size 3t with room for growth; many items we find in 18 months or 2t shrink so fast she can only wear them a couple of times.

Happy Birthday Mom

Me and My Mom

We hope you have a wonderful day filled with love, laughter, and family! We wish we could be with you but look forward to seeing you as soon as possible ; ) Wanted to post this poem for you because when I think of you these words come to mind. With all that you do for everyone else, I want you to know that we love you, appreciate you, and think of you as our own super hero because you are and have always been a Super Mom!

Super Mom

Mom, you're a wonderful mother,
So gentle, yet so strong.
The many ways you show you care
Always make me feel I belong.You're patient when I'm foolish;
You give guidance when I ask;
It seems you can do most anything;
You're the master of every task.You're a dependable source of comfort;
You're my cushion when I fall.
You help in times of trouble;
You support me whenever I call.I love you more than you know;
You have my total respect.
If I had my choice of mothers,
You'd be the one I'd select!By Joanna Fuchs

21 Weeks Pregnant with Abigail

I am officially 21 weeks today based off of my LMP date, but the baby is still measuring a week ahead of schedule. The due date for now has not changed and is still May. We hesitate to put a specific date other than May due to her size and the rocky start that we had with the first trimester.

I am enjoying my second trimester now and I am beginning to relax into being 5 months pregnant. My nausea is down considerably since my first trimester, although I am still taking medication to prevent it from occurring. The nausea would hit throughout the day, most often right after I would eat something. I am able to sleep better on most days and I am still able to fit into most of my own clothing with the exception of pants from time to time. As of now I have only gained a total of 10 lbs, which is great. Since coming off of bed rest in November I have been really active and doing much more around the house and with Emma : ) The doctor loved how I did not gain any weight for the months of November and December.

As everyone knows by now we are having a GIRL! We are so excited and feel extremely blessed to be having Abigail Grace Pheris and know that Emma will enjoy having a little sister to play with. Many people believed we would be having a boy due to the extreme differences in my pregnancies. I was not open to that prediction and felt that it was a girl, then Ray confirmed it for us before going to our appointment in December.

We have moved all of Emma's baby furniture into the guest room, which Abigail will enjoy when she arrives in May. We believe that it is important for them both to be separate in their own rooms at this early age, but we do have the hope of the girls sharing a room at some point int the future. Emma now has a queen size bed that she loves and we have upgraded her room from a nursery look to a toddler room, we will post pictures of it soon. Sorry, but we will no longer have a place for people to stay when they come to visit, but we still welcome the company =).

Abigail has been a very active baby since the beginning, she moves and stretches all the time now. She shows signs of practicing her breathing, flexing her arms and legs, as well as giving her Daddy a high five when he puts his hands on my belly. Ray has been able to feel her move more and more over the past week. We were even able to feel her heartbeat through my belly the other night due to her position. From the previous measurements from our December appointment she looks to be right handed, loves to keep a beat, move constantly, is modest, and really likes her privacy. She tried tho shield her face from the ultrasound tech and it took a bit of maneuvering and bugging her in order to get her into a position to find out we were having a girl.

She moves around a lot if I tend to stay in one position to long or if the position is one that she does not care for. Her most common times of the day with increased movement are mid morning after I have eaten, after lunch, and when I go to lay down she moves the most!

We look forward to learning more about Abigail and sharing her with our loved ones as we gather to celebrate her coming birth. To be surrounded by such wonderful people and be comforted and guided by their love and thoughtfulness is a great blessing.

Brandie's 30th Birthday

The cake was made locally in Bryan. It was strawberry and chocolate. It was absolutely delicious. The flavors were perfect, the cake moist, and the icing was just right!

Getting ready to open the wonderful gifts from my husband and girls. The wrapping was exquisitely executed by my husband ; )

Emma helping me open my gifts, she is really getting into tearing the wrapping paper off of gifts. She also enjoys being the helper for cleanup duty after all the fun of opening gifts.

For those of you who watch the Big Bang Theory, you will total get this gift. It gave me a great laugh, and Ray had to keep an eye on this item because it was hard to get, it took him 2 months to find one.

Filled with rose petals that Ray hand picked off of roses to fill in the box to cover up my wonderful gifts from him and the girls. A truly romantic presentation by a wonderful man.

Inside I find the hidden treasure! Three pair of earrings, one each from the most special people in my life. Thank you very much Ray, Emma, and Abigail! I love all three pair and the wonderful birthday cards that each of you gave me.


A picture of all the wonderful things that I received on my 30th birthday! I am truly blessed to have such a loving and thoughtful family!


This romantic bouquet of flowers is from Ray. He selected the flowers and helped the florists design them. They are from here in Bryan.

This sweet bouquet of flowers with three balloons is from my girls! Emma and Abigail had them delivered to my work on Friday to help me kick off the celebration of my birthday weekend!

These flowers above hold Abigail's birth flower and the flowers below are Emma's birth flower. These are extra special and helped me celebrate turning 30th with a smile ; )

My own birth flowers are carnations, and these are sweet, romantic, and last longer than the most expensive flowers you can buy. Its nice to see them as I work in the kitchen making dinner or doing the dishes at the sink.

My wonderful cake! Getting ready to have breakfast on 1/9/11! We were so busy and had such a wonderful dinner at The Republic that we did not have time for cake before bed, so we started off our Sunday morning singing Happy Birthday and me making my birthday wish.

Making my wish and getting ready to start my day off with a bit more shopping and tea at the St. Regis Hotel in Houston!

I had such a wonderful day! I got to spend it with the most important people Ray, Emma, and Abigail. We redecorated Emma's room, moved Abigail's furniture into her room, and did many other things. Thank you Ray for making me feel so special on my birthday.

Love,
Brandie



I want to wish a Happy 30th Birthday to my wife, friend, love, and all of those other words that describe what Brandie means to me. We had a fun and busy day.

Ray

Facts About Abigail

Birthstone

Emerald is the Birthstone for May. I have always loved emeralds.

Birth Flower

Lily of the Valley is the Birth Flower for May. This is a very beautiful and delicate flower.

Taurus

Element: Earth

Ruling planets: Venus

Symbol: The Bull

Life Pursuit: Emotional and financial security

Vibration: Determined energy

Taurus Secret Desire: To have a secure, happy and wealthy life/marriage.


I already know that this child has a strong determination, loves to be moving at all hours, and has a spunky personality. We look forward to getting to know her as she grows and explores the world the Lord has made.

January Birthday Celebrations

Brandie Pheris - 8th
Michael Housley - 9th (Nephew)
Vickie Viator - 12th (I LOVE YOU MOM)
Delana Waddell - 12th (Aunt)
Rusty Hammer - 16th (Nephew)
Burl Savell - 26th - (Papaw)
Tyler Housley 30th - (Nephew)

We want to wish you a very special Happy Birthday filled with love, laughter, and family. We hope that all your dreams come true. No matter where you are know that we think of you on your very special day and send all our love your way.