The Armstrongs: July 2011

Sunday, July 24, 2011

A Weekend In Dallas

We've been in Oklahoma for about a week & this weekend we went to Dallas to watch Odie's team play in their last regular season game before playoffs. My parents went & Diva of course & it was so much fun! We arrived Friday afternoon & went shopping! I got a phone case, but Paytyn got all kinds of stuff! Bracelets, a new purse, wallet, watch & new custom made juice cup :) & hats! Every store mom & I went too, Paytyn got something! She's so spoiled, but is such a little lady & refuses to play or act like a "baby"! I absolutely LOVE this age! Three is the perfect age & sometimes the stuff she says is HYSTERICAL. I just love that little girl so much.

Friday we went & Picked up Odie at his hotel & took him out to eat & he stayed the night with us. Saturday, he had meetings & football stuff all day, so we shopped some MORE!

Saturday evening we headed to American Airlines Center (where the Mavs play) to watch our Rattlers take on the Dallas Vigilantes. We won & finished the regular season 16-2. What an amazing season we are having & this Friday starts the playoffs. I'm so excited that we play in Phoenix, b/c this big momma doesn't know how much longer she can fly!! :)

We are headed back to Phoenix in the morning to see daddy! Paytyn has been having a really hard time when he leaves to go play, or when we're apart. It breaks my heart when she is sad, but is so sweet to see just how much that little girl loves him. This weekend everytime she saw him he was covered in kisses & hugs. I swear this little girl has our hearts in her hands...

Monday, July 18, 2011

Payzlyn Danielle Armstrong

I can't believe that I haven't posted about little Diva in so long. I am 27 weeks along now & am hitting the "uncomfortable" stage already. It's amazing how much different this pregnancy is then my pregnancy with Paytyn. My first one was so "easy" compared to this one. At my 20 week U/S they discovered that we were having another girl, but also discovered that she had an EIF on her Papillary Muscle in her left ventricle of her heart. I was shocked & so worried about what exactly that meant for my baby girl. We were referred to a specialist in Oklahoma City, but since we live in Arizona I had to wait a total of five weeks before we could get the level II U/S!

The last five weeks have been filled with moments of: Okay I can handle whatever comes my way & then the next minute filled with my just freaking out! I cant lie & say it wasn't on my mind the entire five weeks because it was all I could think about. I know GOD never gives you more than you can handle & I have a great support system in my husband & the rest of my family. I have been blessed with many many prayers for my health & the health of my new miracle.

I guess I should explain what exactly an EIF is...it stands for Ecogenic Intracardiac Focus. That is a fancy word for "calcium deposit" it causes no heart defects & is found in 3-5% of normal pregnancies. However, it is a "weak" marker for Downs Syndrome. I was referred to a specialist & last week finally got to have my level II U/S. I was a nervous wreck, but new prayers were coming fast & strong. Bottom line is: I wanted her to be healthy!!

Well, the EIF was still there, but the doctor said that because of how much advancement there has been over the last decade, they are finding things on U/S that they couldn't see before. He measured her entire body & checked for other signs of DS, but found no other markers for it. Praise GOD! My chances are 1 in 3000 that she will have DS & the doctor said that he thought I had nothing to worry about. She looked perfect in every way & I could tell by the 4D U/S that she has Odie's nose!! :)

GOD answers prayers & no matter what, "normal" or with DS, we are going to love this little one all the same. But, he said since that was the only "soft marker" found that he thought my chances increased less than 1%. So, to say I was relieved was a complete understatement. I go tomorrow to get my gestational diabetes test, so that means I'm getting closer!

Sorry this post is SO long, but I wanted to keep everyone posted! She is going to be perfect & I am getting excited about her arrival in October! We also decided on the name Payzlyn. We wanted to keep it a "P" name & after LOTS & LOTS of "discussions" came up with this one! We love it & are getting so excited.

Independence Day 2011

GiGi & PaPas visit also included Independence Day! We spent the day swimming, cooking out & later lit some fireworks then went to watch the city fireworks! We had a great time & this was Paytyns first year to actually ENJOY them.

Sparkler Time with Daddy

GiGi took her pictures...if I would have known I would have fixed her hair! :)

She said she was trying to make a heart

On a walk with her favorite PaPa

Playing in PaPa & Daddys Fourth of July box :)

GiGi & PaPas Trip to AZ

My mom & dad flew to AZ for a few days to come & spend some time with us. We love love having them come visit & Paytyn gets spoiled rotten! While they were here, we did a lot of swimming & eating! We had not had a home cooked meal in awhile, so mom did a lot of cooking...yummy! We went shopping, to a pool party for Odies team & then they got to go watch one of Odie's games. They also got to experience there first EVER Arizona dust storm & boy was it a doozy!! Overall, we had a wonderful time & are so thankful to have them in our lives!!