I am 34 weeks preggo this week. And feeling swell (not swollen, ha ha - just swell - similar to feeling lovely!)!

Little Ms. L has been sick-ish/teething the past few days. Well, actually, she has been teething for what feels like the entire last month. I can see at least 4 of her top teeth under the gums, but they are taking their blasted sweet time coming in, causing much pain for L and much angst for this mama. Plus, this weekend, she developed a runny nose and hacking cough, which has been nice enough to rob us of too-much (in my opinion!) of our sleep the past few nights. I am praying that those teeth pop through real soon, and that her cold-like symptoms end quickly.

I went to my first ever MOPS (Mothers of PreSchoolers) meeting today. Well, actually, I almost wasn't able to go. You see, I was quite concerned about taking L with and potentially infecting other little one's with her hacking cough and runny nose. I didn't realize how much I was looking forward to going, to being part of something, to meeting other moms, until I realized that I probably shouldn't take L, and therefore couldn't go, seeing as I couldn't just leave her home alone!!

{Sidenote: I have a really hard time asking for help. I have had this mentality/attitude/personality trait (whatever you want to call it) for as long as any of us can remember - and am caught saying it all the time. "I can do it myself". Ever since I was a little girl, I was the one, standing there with arms akimbo, telling whoever that "I could do it myself" - and I did! This can be a great thing - independence is something I value! But can also have it's negative sides - can be seen as stubborn-ness. Not only that, but I am sure that being a military wife and having a husband who is deployed only leads me to have more of this mentality, as I know that a lot of women tend to take on this mentality when their men are away!}

Anyways, I REALLY wanted to go to MOPS and knew that I could ask for help, even though it's not always one of my strong suits :) So I pulled on my "big girl" pants and called a friend. Thankfully I have amazing friends and family who are willing to help me out - seriously, where would I be without them?! So was able to leave L at home, carefully attended to (thanks Aimee!), while I ventured out for my first ever MOPS meeting! So glad I was able to go! It was awesome to meet other moms and I am already excited for the next meeting!

Last piece of share-worthy news for you. We have been incredibly blessed to have been able to skype with Max the last two days! It's been over two months since we have seen his face (via skype video) and although I am incredibly thankful for our mostly weekly phone calls and mostly weekly (sometimes bi-weekly) emails from him, I had been getting antsy to just SEE his face, however choppy the connection. It was fantastic. I think the best part, besides seeing my husband and being able to "chat" for a few minutes, was that he got to see L - she waved at him, chattered at him - it made me smile.

It's easy for me to forget that it's been almost 7 months since he has seen her, and that she has done so much changing in those 7 months! I am with her everyday, but I am sure that for him, the change is amazingly crazy!!! Last time he held her in his arms, she wasn't even rolling over or sitting up on her own! And last he saw her on video, she was just learning to crawl and eat solid food! Now she is standing on her own, chattering up a storm, making noises, can blow kisses, give smooches, loves to read books and can identify different people in her life! So, for me, it is a grand feeling to watch her "chat" with daddy and for him to "see" her. Makes my heart happy!

I am off to bake some delicious cupcakes for the Bake-N-Blog that Jessica Lynn at Jesstagirl and her Officer is hosting! Check back in tomorrow for the end results!!!