this is what relief feels like: a baby update

We have been a little on the quiet side over here.

Not much chit and chat about what curve balls and blessings life has thrown at us.

So here is an update, just for you, all of my favorite people!

Just over a week ago, we went in for our much anticipated ultrasound to find out the baby's gender and to make sure things are growing the way they should.

We found out we were having a boy, and we were over the moon!

After the ultrasound, I had an appointment to meet with my doctor for just the routine stuff.

She seemed happy and talked about all the great things from the ultrasound {good heartbeat, good shot of the "manhood", measuring well, etc}.

"Everything looks great..."

But then she slipped in this word:

"except..."

In true Tyrel and Vandy Murri fashion, nothing comes terribly easy for us {which we are not complaining about...there are just always big hiccups when we are on the path to a big life event. We had big hiccups with getting married {had to postpone for surgery}, grad school {lots of rejection almost two years in a row}, home buying {goodness, lets not talk about that one}}.

And for my baby-making tally-sheet:

-With Kemry, we had a great pregnancy, but she ended up in the NICU after birth.

-We lost our second baby after a minor round of secondary infertility.

-And with this little boy, we had a single umbilical artery.

In a nutshell, instead of three vessels in the umbilical cord, there are two.

Usually, there is no problem with it, so normally we wouldn't sweat it.

If there is a problem, it usually manifests in the kidneys and the heart.

And, just our luck, they could only find one kidney and couldn't measure the outflows on the heart.

My doctor downplayed it, telling me not to worry, but she did set up a level 2 ultrasound with a specialist, just to be sure.

So, for the past week, we have been stressing out a little.

Babies are born all the time with one kidney.

No big deal.
But the heart?

What if there was something wrong with the heart?

I was a mess.

 Fast forward to today, where we sat super anxiously in the perinatal office, getting ready for 90 minutes of in-depth ultrasound work.

Right away, she confirmed that there was no kidney where one should be on the left side.

Oh, but wait.

There it was.

Tucked in the pelvis.

Functioning and just fine.

{Just not where it should be}.

Baby boy looked adorable, had all his fingers and toes, no cleft lip, and was proudly waving his man-parts for us to see.

She then started to look at the heart, which we knew would take up most of the ultrasound.

But she kept making comments like, 

"I'm just not seeing what I need to see."

"It should be right in here...."

"Hmm. This part right here is confusing me."

Tyrel and I got exceptionally nervous at that point.

And then the doctor came in to give us our results.

-Two kidneys, although the silly one might cause more frequent UTIs/bladder infections/kidney infections {and there is a double collecting system in there, too, just upping those risks as well}.

-Confirmed single uterine artery

-NO heart defects.

NO HEART DEFECTS.

Cue huge sigh of relief.

There is some increased thickness to the muscle in one chamber, which could raise the chances of Down Syndrome by 1.5%, but since I am a very low risk for Down Syndrome, she said it shouldn't be a concern.

It won't affect our little champ at all.

So, while he isn't perfect, a few quirks that shouldn't affect the pregnancy or how he lives his life are the worst from today.

We will gladly take 3 tiny abnormalities over a heart problem.

As for the single uterine artery, we now just have to monitor his growth to make sure he keeps adding on the pounds. 

He was measuring a day over now in growth, so we are not worried about it.

I will have these same level 2 ultrasounds at 28 weeks, 34 weeks, and have a quick profile and non-stress test every week from number 32 until baby boy makes his amazing appearance into the world.

Earlier in the pregnancy, we had a little complication with my placenta lying low, which could cause very serious problems toward the end of preganacy/delivery.

We found out that that corrected itself, too.

No {planned} c-sections for this girl ;)

We are so very lucky and feel so very blessed.

It has just been a reminder that although things don't always work out how they "should," they usually work out regardless.

And thanks to you guys, too.

Many of you sensed something was wrong and reached out to us right away.

Y'all are keepers.

Seriously.

it's a...

boy or girl?

Tomorrow is the day! 

What will we be having?

Boy?

Girl?

Narwhal?

I think we are pretty neutral at this point.

First, we thought girl, but then Tyrel's dad said boy, and he has been 100% on the dot for 9 kids. 

Now we just don't know!

If this gives you any help in your guess, here are what the Old Wives Tales say:

We are terribly excited and still feel overwhelmingly blessed.

I'll be back to post what the results are, but due to some unexpected events, I may have to jet back to South Dakota for the week to take care of some other business.

So hold on tight!

We will be back!!

potty mouth

As of yesterday, we have jumped back on the potty training wagon with Kemry.

This is hard stuff.

But seriously hilarious and kind of cute at the same time.

She really wants to do it, but. like anything, its going to take time.

And we are fine with that.

So far, we have just been spending a few hours out of the day to focus on it and then moving back to regular life.

Although we had zero successes with going #1 in the potty, she did pee in my shoes, and today she peed on our "cuddle" {big fuzzy blanket}, so at least she is aiming at objects?

{But, wait, isn't that for little boys?}

She is really good at telling me she has to go potty, but unfortuately it is after she goes all over her stinking cute itsy-bitsy panties.

Just as I was about to call it a day yesterday, I hear this little voice from the mini-throne...

"Mama. 

Mama? 

Mama, what's that? 

What IS that?"

I run back to find a big ole #2, just stinking up her little potty.

So, of course, I dance and sing, feeling like a million bucks because I was just hoping for pee!
{note: this is what motherhood does to a person...dreams of pee and self-esteem boosts from poops}

And she just looks at me like I am a manic.

That is, until I let her pick a big prize.

And then she danced and sang.

{And started getting a little sassy as well.

Princess Kemry is a little more demanding than regular Kemry}.

And now, just for you, since you read a whole post about poop and pee, here are some sweet pictures of my little bossy-pants.

Totally my daughter.

Just ask my parents.

a quick post on arizona

Arizona killed me in many ways.

I think the biggest was that I really REALLY didn't want to come back to snowy, sun-less Minnesota.

It was so beautiful out, and we almost got tans :)

Poor Kemry took a beating while we were there, too.

First she stubbed her toe which caused her poor little toenail to fall off.

Then, right after we wrapped up the lovely wedding and reception of Jason and Devin, she barfed.

And barfed.

And barfed.

10 times through the night, if I do recall.

It was miserable.

Every kid threw up at one point on the trip, as well as two other adults.

Bile-fest.

But it was still the greatest time.

Who doesn't love weddings?

I would cry at a complete strangers wedding, for goodness sakes.

We are so so so very happy that Jason got hitched to his sweetheart Devin.

And we kind of like her a lot, so if he treats her badly, we are disowning him and adopting her ;)

He was the last Murri to get married, so it was an extra special family get-together.

Who knows when we will all be back together?

We will soon span through Minnesota, Idaho, Arizona, Nebraska, and Colorado.

We tried to take as many pictures as we could {since I've hardly touched my camera since we got pregnant}, but we also wanted to take a break and relax with great family, too.

I think this is at least the fourth Murri Family picture in the last four years...I guess we keep adding family members too quickly?

Brandon and Kristen had some family shots taken earlier in the week, so we didn't torture them with more :) I did, however, make them take our little family picture for us.

I also found this little outtake, and it made me smile.

I think it depicts us perfectly, especially Tyrel as the handsome, debonair one.

----------------------------------------------------

I told you. Adorable.

----------------------------------------------------

This depicts EXACTLY how Kemry acted the whole trip...

Do you see what kind of competition it is in this family for the cutest kid?

Cutthroat, I tell you.

Aww gee.

You guys are all so sweet.

Do you know that?

You truly are :)

Thanks  for all the kind and excited comments in regards to our exciting announcement!

It should come as no surprise to you that we are beyond thrilled and feel so blessed.

So, here is all the stuff you want to know:

-We are just over 17 weeks along. It was super hard to contain our excitement at first, but we knew we also wanted to protect our hearts a little just in case things worked out like they did last time.

--We found out we were pregnant almost 1 year to-the-day since we started trying. It has certainly been the most difficult year of my life, but we have learned so much and are so thankful for the lessons we have been taught. There may or may not have been lots of crying when  I saw that positive pregnancy test.

--The morning sickness was BRUTAL. It wasn't horrible with Kemry, so I thought I might luck out. Unfortunately, I threw up least two times a day from weeks 6-11. I dropped 6 pounds and was so exhausted all the time. Poor Kemry watched a lot  of movies for a few weeks. It also made Christmas dinner and our flights to Idaho very interesting and stressful. This also explains why I only blogged a handful of times during the last 4 months.

-- I have only had an appetite for the last 2 or 3 weeks. But now, I can't stop eating. Seriously. ALL THE TIME.

-- Around 13 weeks we had a miscarriage scare, making us extra cautious about who we told and what we did. My doctor doesn't really know what caused my bleeding, but the baby looked amazing and the heartbeats have been wonderful.

-- We are due August 12th. 

-- I have been feeling the baby move for the past week.  It is really bizarre, even though I have been through it before.

-- We find out what we are having a week from Monday. Ty and I feel like it might be a girl {and all of the quirky Old Wives Tales point to a girl as well}, but my father-in-law predicts a boy. He was right about all four of his kids and all five grandkids, so we will see if he goes 10 for 10.

I think that sums it up.
We love love love you all.
Thanks for all the love, support, and prayers over the last year.
They worked :)

10 {+1} things you don't know about me

Guys.
Our Arizona vacation has come to an end, and we don't know how we feel about it.
Glad to come home from stomach bugs, stubbed toes, and general fatigue.
Terribly sad to be missing family, warm weather {or maybe even just seeing the sun}, and to be back with three new inches of snow from last night.
Regardless, we had a wonderful time, and I have lots of pictures and stories to tell.

I have had this little post typed up for quite some time, so I figured I would share it along with a little picture from Arizona at the end.
You know, until I can get all organized again in this crazy house.

For your enjoyment, here are 10 (+1) things you don't know about me:

1. Although I think they are some of the yummiest foods, I am mildly allergic to avocados, honeydew, and cantaloup.

2. I have lots of bad habits, including swallowing my gum, popping my knuckles, and not washing off my makeup every night.

3. Tyrel and I have hated about 90% of the recipes I have found on Pintrest and made. Maybe we are just hard to impress? I get really picky about recipes I add to my collection of "good ones."

4. Even though I worked in {and was even a manager in} a bookstore, I still haven't read the last two Harry Potter books. Both endings were spoiled for me right after they came out by overenthusiastic readers, and I have never gotten around to reading the whole series again so I can get through the last two.

5. I listen to jazz music when I cook and am convinced that it makes food taste better. I especially love the Ella Fitzgerald Pandora station. It is one of the few that I hardly ever skip songs on.

6. My favorite movie is Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Maybe because it is every kid's {and adult's} dream to set foot in the Chocolate Room. That and I just love a little Gene Wilder.

7. Creme brulee is my favorite food on the face of the earth.

8. Going into college, I chose psychology for my degree right away, knowing for sure I wanted to be a therapist. When I finally got to a counseling class my senior year, however, I realized that I hated it and feared that I had wasted my whole college career. Thankfully, I found my niche in biological and neurological psychology that same year and owe so much to the professor that helped me develop a love for the human brain. I still read books in the subject for my "fun reading."

9. I was the only member of my family not born in April. I married an April-born, too {who has three other family members that also celebrate birthdays in April...that makes 8 people total. Ridiculous}. Luckily, Kemry is January baby so we can share winter birthdays together.

10.  It grosses me out when someone's toenails are longer than their toes. It stems from a major foot phobia growing up. I have just never been able to get over that aspect of it.

{And don't you dare try to touch me with your feet because I will throw up.}

And the +1:

I think we forgot to tell you:

I'm pregnant.

 :)