our ivf story

three months after jack was born i felt ready to start trying for baby number two, but my doctor had very sternly instructed me to wait for a year. i'm still not sure if it's overdramatic to say she saved my life, but since the delivery had been extra eventful we followed the rules and waited. when the time came i expected to get pregnant quickly and was hoping for a christmas baby, but after six unsuccessful months we were referred to a fertility doctor.at this point we were not expecting to entertain...

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the day that archie was born

while not everything was the same this time around, because i am evidently skilled at coming up with new and different ways to create drama in the delivery room, our second birth experience had some notable similarities to the first. to start off, we were once again caught off guard at a routine appointment where we expected to discuss an induction date that was still a few days away, but due to some extra amniotic fluid that showed up on the ultrasound that morning, ended up being induced the same...

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pep pep

we lost our beloved pep pep suddenly and unexpectedly. he was the quiet and humble leader of our family, who lived his life with an obvious awareness that everything he had was a gift from God, and he was grateful for each and every blessing. his favorite thing was Jesus, but his family was a very close second. he enjoyed the simple pleasures in life, and there was no earthly thing that gave him more joy than having his whole family together in one place. no matter the holiday or occasion,...

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things jack says

it is still so fun to hear jack talk and to giggle at the funny things he says. here are some entries in the dictionary according to jack: pecutor = computer noculars/super owl eyes = binoculars/hand binoculars no please = no thank you sticky splat = when dad throws the tay-tay blanket at him mean flamingos = the swans at gaga dub's house swimming pool costume = swimsuit clipper nails = finger nail clippers purple thing = yogurt tube birdie leaf = feather coconuts...

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jack is three

these are ten of the things we love about you:  1. you aren't quite the stellar sleeper you were in your younger days, but we can never turn down your requests for a pre-nap or bedtime "hug kiss" and always giggle at the "excuse me mom, my light turned green!" announcement when it's time to get up  2. you are genuinely delighted by so many things [christmas lights were a real treat this year]  3. when you pull on our hands to get us to tickle you under your chin  4....

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anniversary number nine

in an unusual turn of events we ended up with two downtown date nights in the same week. the weekend before our anniversary our little third wheel tagged along with us to dinner for jack stack with jack jack. then he headed off for a few hours with gaga bisc and pep pep while we went to see nate bargatze at the midland. the show was just as hilarious as i had hoped, and i even talked donald into an after show streetcar ride before we headed home.the night before our actual anniversary donald had...

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