Happy Fouth of July (just a little late)

I hope everyone had a fantastic Fourth of July, we spent ours at the beach doing absolutely nothing! It was awesome! We took Chase down to the beach and he loved it. We must have picked up a zillion sea shells and even though they all looked so much alike, Chase loved each one we picked up even more than the last. He is so full of wonder, he makes me feel so lucky. Jeff and his Dad took Chase into the ocean and let him jump the waves. I think he would have done that all day. Even swallowing a mouth full of saltwater and promptly puking it back up didn't deter him! We flew his kite, we splashed in the water, and we dug in the sand. We watched the waves roll in and out and the seagulls fly over us. We saw lots of fireworks, which Chase was thrilled about. But even better than the fireworks was the sunset on the Fourth, Chase pointed out how beautiful it was and I agreed. Yesterday before we headed home we went fishing. I got the best picture of Chase with his very own fish, you can see the joy on his face. I'll have to get it uploaded and posted, so check back soon!

On our way home we stopped so that MeMaw and PawPaw could let Chase pick out a hermit crab. He chose on that has a shell painted like Nemo and decided that in there was only one name that would fit.... Nemo. So Nemo came home with us. We had read that they were not aggressive and did not pinch. Turns out they if your hand smells like popcorn (which apparently they like) and your palm is not tight, they will pinch. We found that out the hard way. Chase was holding Nemo and told us, "I'm so happy!" Then about 30 seconds later he started screaming. Nemo had him and he had him good. I liked to have never got his claw open. Poor Chase was devastated that Nemo "bit" him, but did not want to get rid of him. I on the other hand wanted to throw him on the ground and stomp the crap out of him! We decided that maybe Nemo was stressed out, thought Chase's had was popcorn, and needed a friend. So Duchess went with us to Pet.Smart and let Chase pick out a friend for Nemo and a wonderful habitat. Chase is very excited and has named the new hermit crab, "My Little Crab... or MLC for short." Hopefully we won't have anymore pinching, anytime soon!

On the IVF front I went in on Friday and saw my RE, which was a nice surprise. He was pleased with what he saw, which was a relief after the previous appointment. I'm always so scared that something will happen and cancel our cycle! On Friday my largest follicle was a 14, which is what my nurse had wanted to see on Wednesday. I went in the morning and my follicles must have had a growth spurt over the weekend! We measured 14 that ranged in size from 12-21, with 6 of them being a 17 or 18. That is awesome! We also measured one that was a 10 and then there were more we didn't measure. It looks like my retrieval will be either Wed or Thursday and my transfer will be on Saturday or Sunday. I've said it before, but Sunday is my birthday, so in my book, that's kinda cool. Physically I'm getting pretty bloated and miserable, but I just tell myself that when I'm pg, this will sooooo be worth it!

I am grateful for:
1) my mother
2) a wonderful beach trip
3) good friends
4) summer
5) an excellent IVF appointment!