It's a... and other news

Seeing as it's been nearly a month since my last post, I better have lots to share, right? Fortunately, I do... as usual, we've been rockin' & rollin' in the Westy house. Since I know I'll never get around to individual posts, here's a quick run-down of what we've been up to. I'll do my best to do some individual posts, but no promises -

A Celiac Disease diagnosis knocks me down for about 2 weeks
So, the bummer news first. I can probably blame 1-2 weeks of my blogging silence on a diagnosis of Celiac Disease. For those unfamiliar (as I was until about 3 months ago), this is an autoimmune condition where the presence of gluten in the digestive tract causes the immune system to attack the small intestine's lining. I'll stop there at trying to sound like a doctor and send you here to learn more. Though I present no symptoms, this was detected through a routine blood test conducted by my diabetes MD. Evidentally autoimmune issues run in packs and since I have Type 1 Diabetes, it's not crazy that I'd also have Celiac. Bummer. Yeah. More details can be saved for another post... but the short summary is since late August I've:
- Visited 2 GI docs (both of whom think it's likely I have it but can't confirm anything until
after the pregnancy),
- Started following a gluten-free diet (fun times... at least I can still have most ice cream,
peanut butter, and wine/sushi in February),
- Spent many days mourning the loss of such gluten-filled treats as pizza, cupcakes, licorice,
and donuts (probably won't hurt me to eliminate these in the long-run, huh?),
- Spent several more days just crying and feeling sorry for myself (elynor learned to quickly
recognize/say 'mama sad...' and bring kleenexes),
- Finally got out of the pit and started figuring out how to make the best of this new reality
(including downloading an 'is that gluten free?' ap on my iphone), and
- Still praying this is all a false positive, to be further tested in the spring. Our God is a BIG God
- it's possible!

We celebrate Labor Day with house projects fun!
Does this house adventure feel like the song that never ends to anyone else? The good news is it's slowing down... after a month hiatus we hit it again over Labor Day weekend - Rye with the spackle & caulk gun and me with some beautiful, bright paint! That's right, with fumes mask to protect the growing babe inside I tackled painting the back porch play room. I think my nesting instinct kicked in a little early...


Elynor rings in her 3rd year with a low-key Sunday
Similar to last year (when we were homeless), we celebrated E's 2nd b'day (Sept. 13) with a low-key day of time together. We started the day with a very special breakfast on the front porch. Since we'd never done this before, getting to sit on the porch and eat/read comics (a new fave activity) in our PJ's was very exciting to E! I just love the simple things that make a toddler happy. Late afternoon several friends came over to help with a front yard project, so E ended the day digging in the dirt w/ buddy Keegan (another fave activity), trying out a yardsale-find b'day gift fairy wings (see pic below), and sharing a Mexican feast with Mr. Paul & Miss Lauren.



We cap off the season with a rockin' summer soireé
Don't let the low-key Sept. 13 fool you... we celebrated E's b'day (and her 1st b'day, since we were then homeless, and Rye's & my 30th b'days, and housewarming...) with a major party last weekend! We called it the Westy's Summer Soireé and could not have imagined a more awesome evening with dear friends & family. Since so many friends with toddlers were coming we decided to rent a bouncy house for the kiddos. Though at first I struggled a bit with us being "one of those families", I have to say it was an awesome decision. The excitement the kiddos shared (and the babysitting services the parents enjoyed) was priceless. This, along with great food, decorations, company, weather, etc. created a truly memorable night. Beyond the bouncy house I think E's highlights were the balloons (she's still playing with them) and the birthday song/getting to blow out candles. Immediately following she asked for more and I assumed she meant the cupcake. She quickly clarified that she wanted more "happy birthday" song! Thanks to Miss Heather & my mom for all the prep help and all who joined us. Pictures will come soon (waiting to get them from our dear friend & photog, Miss Natalie).

E graduates to a big girl bed & other current faves
Looking forward to the arrival of #2 in Feb. and a timely hand-me-down from friends caused us to make the step up this past Monday. We'd set the bed up in E's room a few weeks back and had been talking up the transition, but I'll admit that I was a little hesitant to potentially sacrifice our sleep-filled nights and afternoons (or possibly more, hesitant to give her some freedom). Rye was ready, though... so with little fanfare, we covered it with sheets and tucked her in on Monday night. She was so excited that she didn't even want to read books! Thankfully, though the initial excitement has worn off a bit, we have still enjoyed sleep-filled nights & afternoons. We'll see how long she observes my "rule" to not get out.

A couple of E's other current obsessions include hide & seek (even in the pitch black... this is now part of our bedtime routine), more imaginative play, more independent reading, digging in the dirt, and learning to count (supported by hide & seek, i think). She's also shown her fair share of "terrible 2's" bossiness, strong will & tantrums. All signs that she's growing, right? :)

And about that baby inside me -
The baby's really moving & shaking and my tummy has really "popped". We had our big 1/2-way ultrasound on Sept. 14 (I can't believe we're already 1/2 way)... and the biggest praise is the baby looks healthy. Let's all give a collective, YAY! God!

And oh, yea, it's also quite clear it's a little GIRL!

That's right, we'll apparently add another emotion-filled lady to this house next year (good luck, Rye, right?). I wasn't really pulling for one sex or the other, but I'll admit that I like the practical side of this news - few changes to the kiddos' bedroom (since they'll share) and added incentive to keep scrubbing all of E's stained clothes with OxyClean. Now onto the job of naming...