And our slogan came to life...

The 13th man makes all the difference.

That is the Saskatchewan Roughriders slogan. And tonight it has come true. But instead of referring to the fans it was unfortunately an extra player on the field that ended up costing SK the game. We are big Rider fans in our house. We are 2nd year season ticket holders. We are jersey owners (all of us - including Sommer). We have the flag flying on the side of our truck on game day. And although I have been a season ticket holder for 2 years it wasn't until this year that I actually got into the action! But now I love it!

My "friend" Tina's (and I say friend loosely because we have never hung out, but we met at Baby Signs classes and we talk on facebook... does that count as a friend???) husband is the Offensive Co-ordinator for the Riders, Paul LaPolice. They showed him at the end of the game and it pretty much broke my heart... his face showed defeat, shock, and sadness. I know to many of us this is only a game but to the players and the coaches this is their job, their career, their LIFE! My heart goes out to them.

The Riders had a great season and they should be proud. We are the Western Final Champs and we were the underdogs in the Grey Cup and gave Montreal a run for their money! The Riders worked hard and played hard all season, so I am not mad at them, just mad at an unfortunate mistake that should have been avoided. So, congrats Riders! Thanks for a great season! I am looking forward to next year!

Every good and perfect gift comes from above.

Maybe it's the fact that I am celebrating another Thanksgiving with my family or maybe it's that I have been sharing more lately about the difficulty we're having getting pregnant but I am realizing more and more what a specially little girl I have been blessed with already. Lately I have been just overwhelmed with the amount of love I have for her and how special she is to me. I notice every little thing about her - how she smiles, laughs, jokes and how her baby teeth on the bottom are a little crooked. I watch her while she plays and I am overcome with this feeling of pride - I am proud of the little girl I am raising! She does have her moments, like every 2 year old has, but when those moments are gone she is an angel.

I loved being the one she ran to tonight when her baby feel off the chair, tears in her eyes, because things were not going the way she wanted. I loved being the one she said "bless you Mommy" to after I sneezed. And I loved it when she said, "Mommy, you're funny!" after I said a joke and everyone laughed. I love her indepent spirit and how she wants to try things on her own. I love her little tickles she gives me on my back. I love her sweet little voice and her big brown eyes.

I love holding her hand while walking down the sidewalk. I love that today we dressed the same - a sweater dress, tights, and we both had our new suede dress boots on. I love hearing her say my name first thing in the morning, her little arms wrapped around me neck while I carry her to snuggle in our bed. I love hearing her say "I 'oooove you Mommy" while I tuck her in at night after a hard day of playing. I love that she has her Daddy's face and she is a true "little McCullough".

Sommer completes me. She completes us. She is what makes us a family. I look forward to the years to come: watching her grow up, discover new things and eventually discover new things apart from us. But right now I am honored to be the one to teach her new things and have her rely on us for protection. I can't imagine my life without her, my baby, my angel. I know now that if for some reason my "life plan" doesn't work out the way I intend it to then I will be okay. Because God has given me Sommer, and every good and perfect gift come from Him.

The Road To A Baby

Thought I would give another little update on the process of trying for another baby. We still are trying but I am finally more at peace with how things are progressing. I have been doing a lot of research lately which has helped me understand why it might be taking us longer for a second child.

This marks the 10th month of trying so I finally made the phone call into the doctors office. I was putting off doing this as it would mean that I might have to admit that something is wrong, haha. I have an appointment booked for Feb. 1 with my family doctor, who will then refer us off to a OB/GYN for fertility options. The referral appointment I expect can take a while. But in the mean time I just got this AMAZING book called "Taking Charge of your Fertility" which I have found to be so helpful. This book teaches women what happens before, during, and after ovulation and what changes your body does so you can recognize when ovulation is occuring. In my next cycles I am going to chart my basal body tempeture, check cervical fluids, and cervix positioning, all of which will show a pattern (or lack of pattern) that I & a fertility specialist will review to see what might be wrong. I have been avoiding doing this because it seems like so much work but I am at the point where I need some answers.

One reason why I think I might not be conceiving is because I think I have a too short Luteal Phase of my cycle. A women's cycle is divided into 3 phases, the follicular phase, ovulatory phase and the last being the luteal phase. The follicular phase is where an egg matures and the body "prepares to release an egg", the ovulatory phase is where the egg is actually released and when you are most fertile/fertilization can take place, and the luteal phase is the last phase and in the case your egg was fertilized this is the stage where the egg is developing and your body is going to send off a hormone so that you don't get your period: in other words it is saying "We're pregnant!! Don't reject this baby!" A healthy woman would ovulate around her 12-16th day which would allow for the minimum of 12 days of a luteal phase. 12 days is said to be the minimum amount of days that the phase can be for a pregnancy to survive, any less and the hormone wouldn't necessarily be strong enough and the cycle would come to an end. IN MY CASE I am thinking that I ovulate late, possibly around the 20th day of a cycle, which means my luteal phase is possibly less than 10 days and is not long enough for my body to recognize a pregnancy.

By charting my basal body tempeture I can find out if this is actually the case. Before you ovulate your body temp is around 2 degrees (or more) lower than after your ovulate. I know this doesn't seem like a huge difference but by using a basal thermometer and checking my tempeture at the same time first thing in the morning (after a minimum 4 hours sleep) and charting it I will see a significant rise once ovulation has occured. Then I chart my tempeture for the days after ovulation and until I get my next period which will show how long my luteal phase is. Again, it seems like a lot of work but it does give answers to some frustrating questions! One thing that helps lengthen a luteal phase is taking Vitamin B6, which I am now on!

Another thing that the book re-taught me is just how much a miracle becoming pregnant really is! It takes so many things lining up, going right, and working together to become pregnant that I am so so so so blessed that I got pregnant once before. I knew this all along, but reading it and really learning how your body works just took me by surprise! Sommer REALLY is a miracle and a gift from God and if for some reason I am not able to have more children I will cherish the one I have forever.

What a month!

What a month!!! I feel like October just flew bye! I don't even know where to start the update! Well, let's start with Sommer turning 2! AHH!! I have a 2 year old - does that make me old? Because all of a sudden I feel OLD! I know, I am young, but I feel like my baby is gone and now I have a little girl! She had a really fun birthday weekend and was of course spoiled as ever. She had a family party on Friday AND Saturday and then had some little friends over to celebrate on Sunday. She got lots of colouring stuff (a new favorite activity), some play-doh (another favorite activity), clothes, books, a new wagon, and the list could go on!

Here is the birthday girl with Mommy! I love the shirt she wore - my mom bought it for her! I don't think Sommer understood what it meant to be "the birthday girl" but when you ask her how her birthday was she "blew candles" out. Okay, fair enough, you did blow candles out! Turning 2 was not a huge deal to her because ever since she turned 1 she told people she was 2. So now maybe she will tell people she is 3?

Daddy and the birthday girl - what a special bond these two have! For those of you who know James you know he is "all boy!" But this little monkey has Daddy wrapped around her little finger! He will do anything for her! It's a good thing that Sommer loves all his toys. When she sees a motorcycle she will say "Daddy see! Motorcycle! Vrrroooom!" She is a girl after his own heart!

This month we spent some time at the family farm. Papa Sam took us for a hayride (minus the hay) one warm Saturday afternoon. We had such a fun time and Sommer really loved it!

Here is Sommer on the hayride (minus the hay...). She is getting so big! She likes the tractor when it is not running but is afraid of it when it makes noise. If only we could have had horses to pull the hayride....

Here is my little Tigger! She had so much fun at our church carnival! There was a dino bouncer, which she was scared of, but love the face painting and of course the food! I love seeing her with her church friends - seriously, it makes the hard decision of switching churches worth it!

I already know that November will be a BUSY month in our household! I look forward to sharing and keeping you in the loop of what's going on in our house!