Full to Overflowing

Proverbs 31:10 ~ life verse

2012-01-30T11:44:00.003-05:00

I was inspired to pick a life verse a while back for Emma. I chose Proverbs 31:10....now that Molly is here, it applies to her as well. I hope to one day paint it on the wall in their room or print it out big for them and frame it. Something so they always see it when they wake up in the morning.

Molly : 9 months

2012-01-26T11:47:00.011-05:00

saying: "ma, ma, ma", "ba, ba, ba", "da, da, da", and "na, na, na"

eating: everything and anything. She prefers feeding herself table food but will sit and eat some pureed veggies/fruits if it's shoveled in fast enough. She still breast feeds 4-5 times a day and 1-2 times a night.
moving: she is not 100% mobile but is perfecting her scooch. It's not fast at all, but I will set her in one spot and a minute later she will have traveled several inches.
teeth: she has two on the bottom and is working on all 4 on the top. One has poked through and that is the one to the right of center. She makes the CUTEST face feeling it!

She has perfected the pincer grasp and moving an object from one hand to the other. She is waiving and clapping. She loves banging two things together to hear the sound they make. She likes to stay busy on the floor with toys. If you give her a basket, purse or anything with stuff in it, she likes to explore it and empty the whole thing one item at a time. It's a great way to entertain her if I need a couple minutes to do some things. She loves hearing anyone sing and will often "sing" along and clap her hands. Her Mooma and Doodad who watch her a couple times a week are very much music people--so she is exposed to it a lot! She has just started standing on her feet (with help). It only lasts a few seconds--but it's better than nothing. She does not "walk" with help but it will come. What I learned from Emma--and Molly is doing exactly what Emma did--is that a baby perfects either gross motor or fine motor sills first. Molly, just like Emma, is working on those fine motor skills before moving on to the gross motor. I say the longer she stays in one spot the better!

She is learning how to use her voice to get her way. She's a sassy stinker. She will protest by screaming if we take away a toy she is enjoying or set her down when clearly we were supposed to keep holding her! Silly us.....She is VERY vocal and loves to talk--just like Emma. She has started smiling more at strangers and not showing too much anxiety with people she doesn't know. Maybe we have turned a corner!

She wears some size 12m clothes but is mostly in 18m. She is in size 4 diapers.

Stats:
21.9 lbs.
28" tall
44 cm head circ.

Here are Emma's stats from 9 months. They're almost identical. Up 'till this point, Molly weighed more than Emma...but now at 9 months, Emma has 5 oz. on Molly. The tides have turned...

Molly is such a joy and delight to our family! She makes me want a third.... Oh...and her eyes...they're GREEN! I keep waiting for them to finally turn brown...but they haven't yet! I am hoping and praying they stay this color. They are beautiful. Her hair...it sticks up just like in this picture. LOVE! I believe it's coming in a little lighter than Emma's.

Happy 9 months my Molly-Bear...we love you more every day! You're a beautiful baby girl inside and out...

mild New Year's day

2012-01-03T14:21:00.006-05:00

New Year's day was pretty mild here in NC....the 60's. Knowing that the next few days were going to be cold, we went for a walk on the greenway right down the street from our house. Last minute I grabbed my camera....just in case.

I'm glad I did. I love my little family :)

Hi, Bella!

This picture of my #1 melts me...I love her "real" grin...not her "cheeeese" smile, her sunshine-highlighted hair, her happy eyes, the angle and the crisp-ness.....everything! and this is with no edits.....love it!

I mean really....COME ON! How can you look at these two girls and not fall instantly in love?
I know I do over and over every day...

Christmas 2011

2011-12-29T13:01:00.014-05:00

aahhhh.....Christmas 2011.....full of fun, family, food and firsts (for Molly at least) :)

Every year is the same...we start out Christmas Eve day with my mom and sisters and then finish off the day with Tim's mom and family. We headed over to Aunt Jess' in the morning for some cousin time. All that was missing was Aunt B and her crew. Jess' house has some great light for some great photos. Here is our morning in pictures...

Aunt Jess's tree

L to R: Jack, Molly, Emma, Matt and Lorelei....cousins!

The crew. Sweet bunch, huh?

Molly's first ever present...she didn't get it...but Emma was more than happy to help her little sister out.

Emma's doll from Aunt B!

You want to know what's fun? The post present opening playing with of all the toys...that's what's fun!

Gram (my mom) got Emma and Lorelei matching outfits. Aren't they cute?!

Molly snuggles for Gram! About the only way she will let anyone else hold her these days...when she's sleeping! I pray she grows out of that quickly.

Cookie making time. This is the first time we made cookies for Santa with the kids....I'm sure it will be a new tradition. They LOVED it!

After Jess' house we packed up our goodies and headed to Tim's mom's (Mooma) house. After singing happy birthday to Jesus, Uncle Bill read from Luke 2.

...and we opened presents there too...

oh...what's this...Santa came to Mooma's house a day early?....what could be under this sheet?

It's a pink pedal car!!!!!!!

~side story--we were in Tuesday Morning several weeks ago and there was this pedal car. Emma HAD to HAVE it! I have never seen her beg for something in a store like she begged for this...note to self. So...Christmas comes around and Emma decides to ask Santa for the pedal car...and wouldn't you know it but Tim's mom found one on Craigslist! Pretty cool, huh?

It's cute...not exactly the plasma car that all the other kids got this year for Christmas...but it's cute. I can picture a photo shoot using it as a prop right now, though :)

Then Christian took Emma on a ride in his Hummer....which went a little faster than the pedal car.

The kids played while the adults played Wheel of Fortune on the Wii :)

Then it was time to head home to tuck ourselves snugly in bed...and wait for Santa.

....who came!!!

Emma and Molly Christmas morning 2011

What a perfect Christmas all around. God's blessing and provision was seen in wonderful ways and I feel so blessed to be sharing this time with my sweet family and my two most favorite girls in the world.

I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas celebrating Jesus' birth!

...when Love came down...

Gram's Hot Fudge

2011-12-27T10:26:00.008-05:00

Gram, my mom, makes this hot fudge every Christmas. It is SO good! She got the recipe from her mom (Kitty Grandma) who got the recipe from Malley's Chocolates located in Cleveland, OH. From looking online it looks like it's a pretty top secret recipe.

I was finally smart enough to ask her for the recipe this year. I was surprised at how simple it is.

The ingredients are:

butter

Baker's un-sweet chocolate (although I used semi-sweet. Mom says un-sweet makes it more chewy and semi-sweet makes it more runny)

Karo syrup

sugar

evaporated milk

~melt one box of the chocolates and one stick of butter in a double boiler

~until smooth...

~add 1/4 C Karo syrup

~then slowly add 3 C sugar...emphasis on the SLOWLY...if you add it too fast it will get all clumpy and hard to stir

~after the sugar is all incorporated, add the can of evaporated milk

~stir until well blended and the sugar is all dissolved--this process takes a while. Go ahead and get your ice cream out and ready in the mean time

I recommend Edy's Peppermint ice cream...but really, anything will do.

This hot fudge makes a great gift OR a good staple to keep in the fridge to top your ice cream!

Enjoy!

Recipe:

1 box Baker's un-sweet chocolate squares for more chewy hot fudge or use the semi-sweet for more runny hot fudge

1 stick unsalted butter

1/4C white Karo syrup

3C granulated sugar

1 can evaporated milk

Melt the chocolate and the stick of butter until well blended. Add the Karo syrup until blended. Slowly add the 3 cups of sugar until it is all incorporated. Add the can of evaporated milk. Stir the fudge until the milk is all mixed in. Keep it on the double boiler until all the sugar is dissolved and it is smooth.

Top your favorite ice cream with it and store it in the fridge.

Look what I made...birds nest necklace!

2011-12-22T14:39:00.006-05:00

I am a part of a mommy group. We all met when we were pregnant with our November 2007 babies (although Emma was a December 2007 baby) and have been friends ever since. A group of us did a "12 days of Christmas" swap this year. There were so many ladies that wanted to participate we did 3 groups of 8 people...so for 8 days we got to open a special hand-made gift (except for our own day). I was day #7. Here is a link to the blog if you want to see what the other lades made (I made out!).

I had about a million ideas thanks to Pinterest--but decided on these sweet birds nest necklaces. I used this tutorial as my guide and went for it. I was surprised at how easy and fun they were! Here is the finished product. I shipped each of these off to 7 special mama friends--their own little birds nest to adorn their necks.

Aren't they just adorable?

...Really....the possibilities are endless when it comes to the color wire you use, the size wire, the color beads, the size beads, the number of beads....then the chain.....endless I say!

I especially loved how I packaged them up. Little tins with clear tops. I cut a brown lunch bag into strips and crinkled it up...looked like a little nest for a nest.

I'm working on some to give as Christmas gifts now...I could make these all day! You should try to make some.

They're sweet and simple. Have fun!

good lighting is hard to find

2011-12-19T12:03:00.004-05:00

We got amazing natural light in our old condo. We had two story tall windows and the light that poured in was wonderful. I never had to use my flash on the camera. I was sad to move and lose all that amazing natural light...but...

I am realizing that my house has GREAT lighting in the afternoon....check out these pictures I got the other day. These are straight out of the camera with no flash...pretty good, huh?

And aren't my "subjects" pretty cute?

Molly has my EXACT ears....like, it's sort of eerie...how exactly alike they are...I should do a comparison...

...and this picture is just one of my faves right now. I love the bokeh tree behind Molly, her paci face...the edit...I just love everything about it :)
...and here's a video: Molly clapping, Emma singing and Molly doing her rocking-head banging thing she likes to do on the sofa.

Ergo v. Beco Gemini

2011-12-15T12:29:00.008-05:00

Shortly after I had Emma I invested in an Ergo Baby Carrier. I remember the day I got it in the mail and immediately tried it on and put Emma in it. She loved it! I loved it!

...It was a match made in heaven! I used the Ergo up until I got pregnant with Molly and would often carry Emma in the back carry. She called it her "backpack". (Honestly, she would probably still fit in it if we let her--and had the muscles to do it).

Enter Molly...you can't just throw an infant into Ergo. Ergo sells an Infant Insert for the carrier which I eventually purchased after Molly was a couple months old. Before that, I would roll a blanket up and stick her in that way. She was never a fan. I did use a Moby-like wrap with her in the mean time which she liked, but eventually she got too heavy for that and would sag further and further down the longer I wore her in it.

So...I was reading a blog one day and this blogger mentioned how she loved her Beco Gemini...and one of the main reasons she liked it was that you could adjust the width at the seat of the carrier for the baby to face out.

ding, ding, ding....we have a winner

That is exactly what I needed for Molly. A width adjustable seat so she can face out when wanting to face out and face in when she wanted to face in. When she was still pretty little, every time I would face her in she would want to eat...so facing her out was a good option so I wasn't sitting there trying to convince her she wasn't that hungry. Also, with a smaller baby, adjusting the width of the seat is good when you face them in. An itty bitty can't straddle very well and the width of the base of the seat in most soft structured carriers is very wide (which is a good thing when facing in).

So what's the point of this post...I want to compare the two carriers and tell y'all what I like and dislike about each--just in case somebody googles and is trying to make up their mind on which carrier to get (although I will tell you right now--if you are rich--just buy both, m'kay?).

Here is my best attempt at trying to get my thoughts on paper:
~Gemini is cuter as far as fabric choices, etc.
~Ergo is better for a bigger baby. The Gemini is just more petite all around.
~Gemini is better for a smaller baby
~Ergo's straps are better for when you are wearing the carrier and not carrying the baby in it (which happens when the baby just needs to stretch, diaper change, etc.). When the straps of the Gemini are un-done, they drag on the ground--which is also not cool when strapping the baby on in a public place and you don't want the straps to touch the ground--say in a bathroom or something. Yuck!
~Ergo has a pocket attached to it for keys, pacis, etc.--the Gemini has no pockets
~Gemini has a flap to cover the baby's head when she is sleeping--it's okay--it just sort of covers the back of the head. Molly does like to use it has a head rest and sort of lounge--so that is cool. Ergo has a big hood cover that covers the baby's head completely--that is more practical--and very handy when you nurse the baby in the carrier.
~While I like Ergo's straps better when you are wearing the carrier but not the baby--I like the Gemini's straps better when you are wearing the baby. I really like how they cross in the back. With the Ergo, you put the straps on and then have to reach behind your back to secure the clip so the straps don't fall off your shoulders--that is very hard!
~The main reason I got the Gemini was for the option to face Molly out. She went through a period where she really liked facing out and seeing the world around her. What makes that possible are the width adjusting flaps on the seat of the carrier. You can flap them in and snap them to face out OR to carry an infant facing in (wish I had this in the early days with Molly since she didn't like the Ergo insert). But, the bigger Molly gets, those flaps are starting to be a slight disadvantage. When they are flapped out, the base still seems narrower than the Ergo. I believe proper babywearing calls for the carrier to support the baby's legs up to the back of their knee. The Ergo provides full coverage up to the back of her knee so her knees are raised up higher than her hiney.

I can already tell that the Ergo is going to serve us more long term than the Gemini will. I am keeping the Gemini in my arsenal of Molly-things just for the fact that it will let her face out--although she is starting to get so long that my legs hit her feet with every step I take. Oh...and the cuteness factor--the Gemini is cute!

Here is my snuggle-bug in the Gemini. See how the straps cross in the back? LOVE it! See the flap--it's not so much a hood. See how the base isn't so wide even with the flaps flapped out? She will probably outgrow this carrier pretty soon.

But see how excited she is to face out? :) And look at that cute print!

Ha! This is the only picture I have of Molly in the Ergo--you can barely see it. I will work on getting a full frontal of Molly in the Ergo and another better one of her in the Gemini and will put them side by side--so y'all can see what I'm talking about.

I hope this post was helpful to someone! Like I said....if money isn't an issue--get both! You won't be disappointed with either!

end Nov/ beginning Dec wrap up...

2011-12-12T12:47:00.008-05:00

Has it been a month since I blogged? Do I get any points for having some posts written in my head? Here is my best attempt at a Nov/Dec wrap up...

`Thanksgiving with family {heart}
`Emma's on stage performance for the Thanksgiving Feast at school

`Molly turning 7 months

you see how she is bouncing and rocking...that's all she does...no crawling. I have a feeling that crawling is quickly approaching, though.
`got THIS picture of Molly that I'm in love with
`got THIS picture of Emma that I'm in love with--sort of reminds me of a "senior portrait"...

`Molly has started to eat more solids and is doing great. For a while there, anything I put in her mouth that was pureed was gagged on. She really likes holding her own food and shoving it in her mouth. We are doing a mix of finger foods and purees.
`we went on an awesome play date with some fellow November 2007 friends. Emma had tons of fun playing with the girls and we can't wait to do it again! I think it's pretty fun that our Nov. 2007 babies are all our first kids and that we all three had second girls. That's a lot of girls right there...
`got an awesome deal on a Mountain Hardwear jacket at a thrift shop! I had been needing a winter jacket and got this one for $9.99...score!
`made some great recipes from Pinterest...and have since pinned lots more to make! Cooking is more fun in the winter time.
`I've gotten most of my Christmas shopping done :) Just need to get a few more things!
`got my flu shot
`both girls got colds and gave me a little one--not too bad though
`decorated for Christmas and found myself getting choked up over the fact that I get to hang 4 stockings this year instead of 3...God has been so good to us and delivered another little light to our family when He gave us Molly...
`Molly discovered the joys of sand in her toes
`Molly now says mama and dada...still not really in context though...although sometimes when she is fussing and goes "mama!" between the screams--I swear that's in context!
`got THIS picture of Tim holding Christian (Emma and Molly's cousin), Molly and Emma

`Discovered Molly is very tolerant if I can't get to her right away when she topples over...
`got THIS picture of my girls....
...along with this video

...and I'll leave you with this...the wonder, excitement and joy that Christmas brings to a child is contagious! I can't wait to celebrate Jesus' birthday this year with our family. My prayer is that Emma and Molly will learn to focus more on Jesus and less on Santa...I pray God guides me in teaching them the real reason we celebrate and to who we give all the glory!

Belly Laughs : Video

2011-11-18T16:37:00.002-05:00

So we were at the park today and Emma was piling sand on her leg....for some reason Molly thought it was the funniest thing ever.

How cute is she?!

4 year check up

2011-11-18T13:49:00.003-05:00

Today was Emma's 4 year check up. She was dramatic....

On the way to the doctor in the car she was talking regarding going to the doctor. She said that "her tummy and bottom say no"...I'm thinking she had butterflies in her tummy (not sure what was going on in her bottom though). She has a way with words!

She is looking good. I did talk to the doctor about her shyness/anxiety in social situations and we got a referral to a psychologist--we'll see how that goes. I just want her to enjoy life and thrive and right now I feel like that is getting in the way. They wanted to do a vision and hearing test--both of which Emma would not cooperate on...so we will do that next year. They did take blood and she did get one shot (the flu shot)...enter the drama. I wouldn't expect anything less...hahaha.

Here are her stats at 4 years:

43.5 lbs

41.5 "

Here are her stats in years past.

As far as 4 year old Emma--she's a delight. She is so smart, funny, outgoing, quirky, loves to draw/color, loves her sister (but not all the time), is so creative, enjoys playing by herself, still has a love for music and animals and has the biggest, brightest eyes first thing in the morning.

I love you Emma...you are a shining light in this world. Your family loves you so much!

Emma's 4th Birthday

2011-11-12T07:27:00.020-05:00

This past Saturday, November 12th, was Emma's 4th birthday. I can't believe my baby is 4...how is it that I'm old enough to have a 4 year old?!?! How is it that I can remember every detail of her birth DAY 4 years ago? A baby growing up to a mama is good...and bad. Good because of the smart, funny, beautiful, talented, sassy little girl that she is growing up to be...but bad because that squishy, small, cuddly, innocent baby is slipping away. It's HARD, people!

For now...I will dwell on the good...

So I'm pretty sure this is the first birthday of Emma's (besides the actual birth day) that I wasn't working...so I got to spend the whole day with her! She woke up to find a present, card, doll, mini doughnut with sprinkles and a Starbucks hot chocolate waiting for her. That alone made her day.

We got her this for her birthday and she LOVES it! I highly recommend it if your having trouble figuring out what to get your toddler/little kid for Christmas!

...and want to make a kid feel special on their day? Just get them a button similar to this one and WOW...all you spent was a dollar and some change and your kid feels so special!Lovin' the doughnut and hot chocolate delivered by daddy.

After an exciting morning we relaxed a bit...until the mail came. Emma received a card and a Toys R Us gift certificate from Tim's Aunt and Uncle. Once she understood that that little card=toy...she was ready to load up in the car and go shopping! This was maybe my third time ever setting foot in a Toys R Us...and I was reminded why when we got there. You would think it was the eve of Christmas or something! But...Emma happily went from aisle to aisle until she spotted these...and she HAD to have them! ...throw in some protective gear and we were good to go! The rest of the evening was spent with Mexican take-out and lots of roller skating in the house (and me getting the house ready and preparing food for the Birthday celebration we had planned for Sunday).

Her party was small and at our house. We invited immediate family--8 adults and 5 kids. It was the perfect amount of people to cook for and not get overwhelmed. Usually, I take the have-somebody-else-make-the-food route (Chick-fil-a catered Emma's first birthday party), but, thanks to Pinterest, I was armed with a few activities for the kids, awesome food ideas and even party favors! I have to admit...I was proud of myself for pulling it off...and it is such an awesome feeling when somebody compliments you on the food--when you made it yourself!

The spread:

These guys deserve a close-up:
The menu included:
Mississippi Sin Dip (not a bite was left)
Bacon wrapped pineapple bites (um...YUMMMMM)
Snicker Salad
Olive Penguins
Antipasto kabobs: pepperoni, salami, marinated mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, black olives and green olives
Caramel dipped green apples
Fruit kabobs: bananas, pineapple and grapes
Sliced cucumbers topped with herb cream cheese (easy!)
Ham Sandwiches (not a bite was left):
1. Kings Hawaiian Sweet Rolls

2. Sweet Slice Ham, very thinly sliced

3. Ken's Light Sweet Vidalia Onion Dressing

Sliced the whole pan of rolls in half, put dressing on the top and bottom half, stack the ham on individual rolls, and place the top back on. Wrap your rolls tightly in aluminum foil. From here you can either freeze your rolls for later or stick them in the oven at 350 until they are warmed through. Yum yum!

And finally...cupcakes

Emma looks thrilled, doesn't she? I have noticed when a group sings "happy birthday" to her she gets this worried look on her face...silly!

The food was WONDERFUL. I'm telling you...go out and get yourself some bacon and pineapple and make those bacon pineapple bites. They are UH-MAY-ZING!

I had several ideas for some activities for the kids--but only followed through with one of them. Fall trees painted with q-tips. Painting is always an activity that is loved my kids. Emma and Christian had fun!

After the painting and cupcakes I decided I had tortured Emma long enough and told her she could open her presents. She got some great stuff from everyone! She even got something from her Aunt B who lives all the way in Japan!

I am giving myself a pat on the back for Emma's birthday this year. This was actually the first time since her 1st birthday that we did a "formal" party. For my shy girl--I think the day was perfect. We had just the right amount of familiar faces at our home where she could be herself and relax, all while enjoying her special day. I would not have had it any other way.

Happy Birthday, my Emma Grace...
You are the special girl who made me a mama on November 12, 2007
I'm so glad God chose me to be yours
You are beautiful, inside and out with a heart that loves those who are special to you
I love you more than you will ever know!

....aaannndddd....if you feel like reading any more...haha
linky-links
link to First Birthday blog (including birth story)

link to Second Birthday blog

link here and here for my lack of an official Third Birthday blog...I'm lame! (can I claim pregnancy brain--was pregnant with Molly)

-photo dump randomness-

2011-11-10T15:18:00.003-05:00

On this day 4 years ago I was blissfully unaware I would go into labor at 35 weeks in 2 days...crazy. I have lots of my-first-baby-is-about-to-be-4-years-old thoughts swirling around in my head...BUT, since that isn't for another 2 days...here's some photos.

My second baby :)

My first baby :)

This is the chicken that lives a few houses down from us--she's sweet.

Molly is loving her floor time. Rolling, close to scooting...she would almost rather be on the floor then held sometimes. Love it!
Emma photo bomb...

I posted this picture on FB (I post most pictures on FB..haha) and my captions was, "Molly has a neck!"...but it's true. I don't think I have ever seen it before this picture was taken without smooshing up her chin to clean it. Ha!

Halloween...Emma was Bat Girl and Molly was a skeleton. Here they are with their cousins: Jack, Matt and Lorelei. Cute bunch, huh? All we are missing are cousins Noah and Amelia.

Molly cut her two bottom teeth...

Sweet sisters at the park on a pretty fall day. I love my girls and the time I get with them!

"ba ba ba ba"

2011-11-04T12:32:00.002-04:00

...well, It has begun...Molly has started babbling...

Last night out of the blue Molly started going "ba ba ba ba" over and over

It's pretty much the cutest thing ever! The shape her mouth makes, her cheeks getting all puffed up, her little lips curling in!

Here...see for yourself :)

MED...6 month tidbits

2011-10-27T11:15:00.005-04:00

Molly : 6 months

2011-10-27T10:30:00.005-04:00

Molly had her 6 month check up yesterday...she passed with flying colors :) 6 months is when the doctor starts those questionnaire things to evaluate your babies gross motor, fine motor, social skills, etc. Molly is average (to above average) in ever category. It's fun to see how different Molly is than Emma at this age--she is becoming her own person--just the way God made her.

Here are the girls stats at 4 months compared.

Breastfeeding at 6 months

2011-10-24T10:35:00.008-04:00

I feel like Molly and I have reached a milestone and I just have to talk about it.

Here we are, Molly is six months old...and she is still exclusively breastfed. To me--that's a BIG milestone.

I was over-the-moon happy when she latched on for the first time minutes after delivery...

...then when we left the hospital without having given her any formula...

...then when we made it a week breastfeeding...

...then a month, two months...

...and now, six months!

If somebody had told me I would breastfeed Molly this long while I was pregnant with her I would have had my doubts. You see--the breastfeeding road with Emma wasn't all unicorns and butterflies. It was hard...so I was going to take anything I could get when Molly arrived. I prepared myself as best I could before her arrival...and once she arrived, I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was for us.

...Six months in to it and we're still going strong. I see how natural it is--for a mother to provide for her baby. This is the way God intended it to be (I formula fed my first born--I know sometimes circumstances dictate a mother to not be able to breastfeed and I am completely cool with that). Molly is growing and thriving all because of what my body is providing for her. I can't help but be amazed by the whole process (and I can't help but think of all the money we're saving by not having to buy formula!).

At 6 months Molly nurses every 2-4 hours with breastfeeding sessions lasting anywhere from 10 minutes to 25+ minutes. She still nurses several times at night. I'm okay with that. Probably because after the first feeding I keep her in bed next to me and feeding her after that is easy. I don't feel like I'm lacking in sleep at all. I am working part time so I pump when I'm at work (I have an awesome employer who is very accommodating with my pumping needs) and I send bottles to Mooma's house on days she watches Molly. We have slowly started to introduce solids. She has had a bit of oatmeal which we mix with breast milk. She seems pretty neutral on the whole solids subject. Not overly excited but doesn't hate them--so--we go slow.

She isn't a tiny, still, newborn anymore. She fills up the Boppy pillow and moves her arms a legs while nursing. She loves to grab her feet--and nursing doesn't stop her! I have been kicked and slapped in the throat, chest and face--ha! If it wasn't for my nursing cover (which I wear around my neck), nursing in public would prove difficult. I don't see myself staying covered up with a blanket. She would throw that thing off of her in two seconds flat!

At night time we nurse in bed laying down. She is way more calm at night (thank goodness) and knows to get to business and go back to sleep. We do still have the occasional, quiet, nursing session during the day. Those are the ones that last 25+/- minutes. Those must be the times that she needs some extra mama snuggles and she knows that is a guaranteed way to get them. It's usually those ones where she will look up at me with her big eyes and smile so HUGE or stick her tongue out and go "aahhhh" or blow bubbles--and then quickly latch back on and keep nursing. A monkey I tell you! She's a silly monkey!

I love what our breastfeeding relationship has grown into. I am getting way more than I even hoped and prayed for and am so thankful we have made it 6 months. My goal is to make it a year--and we're halfway there!

Next up--teeth!

What a fun day : : Museum of Life and Science

2011-10-17T13:05:00.008-04:00

So yesterday, Tim's brother, (Uncle) Bill and his family ((Aunt) Debbie and Christian) invited us to join them at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham for the Pumpkin Express. We had never been to the Museum of Life and Science before and were really excited about taking Emma and Molly.

The pumpkin express was such a fun experience for the kids. Once you get to the museum you board a train that takes you to the pumpkin patch. The kids get to pick out their pumpkin and then the train takes you back to an area that has face painting, materials to decorate your own bag, paint to paint the pumpkins and a sling shot to shoot pumpkins at some targets. The sling shot was probably the most favorite activity of the bunch!

{seriously...don't you just love the family photos, the cousin photos, the out-takes...it melts me into a puddle to see and live moments like this}

After the pumpkin express we were free to explore the museum. Like I said, this was our first time at the museum--and boy oh boy--it is WAY more than just a boring old museum. It is interactive, outdoors, stimulating for the senses and so much more! We actually spent the rest of the afternoon outside and never even made it inside the museum!

This fun machine goes high up into the air. It has magnets in it that pull that twirly thing (so technical, I know) up, up, up to the top where it goes over the edge and twirls down! It is supposed to be like those twirly seeds that fall from the trees around here. Emma and Christian had fun sending them up and then running around to the other side to try to catch them.

um...and would you ever think of a museum having BEARS?! Well, this one does! I didn't take any pictures of the bears...but here are some of Aunt Debbie holding Molly, Emma and Christian (at the bear exhibit) and the cousins sitting on a huge dinosaur!

The museum even has a butterfly house! It was so fun walking in there seeing the fluttery butterfly's flying around. They also had a wall set up with cocoons upon cocoons that were close to hatching or had just hatched. Again--so cool!

We finished up our day at the area that houses the cow, pigs, sheep, goat, bunnies and owl. It was like a mini petting zoo. We got there right at feeding time and was able to help the keeper feed some of the animals.

Yesterday was one of those days that I didn't want to end. I love being able to do things like this with my family. I hope these are memories we can create for our girls that they look back upon when they are older and smile.

Thanks Bill and Debbie for such a wonderful, FUN day!!!

(next time maybe we can actually to IN the museum)

Hello fall...and pumpkin waffles!

2011-10-04T11:43:00.005-04:00

Wow--it's October...that's crazy. That means this month Molly will be 6 months old and shortly following that half year birthday, Emma will turn 4 in November.

I love this time of year! The heat is being chased away by the cool air, the evenings are shorter and I have discovered pumpkin waffles by Eggo. Life is good!

Lets see:
~Emma is in full on school mode and enjoying it (although she would tell you otherwise). She LOVES her teacher, Miss Sara, and comes home every day from school with a new song, something she learned, etc. I'm so proud of her! She even got an award from Miss Sara the other day and it was for no tears all day long. She continues to be a sweet, sassy, self-less, caring little girl. She is growing up to be a beautiful young lady inside and out. I can't believe she is standing at 4's doorstep! How in the world is she almost 4?!
~Molly just lights up a room when she is in it. She smiles whenever anybody looks at her--and even "talks". She is all about her hands right now. She will slowly bring them around and together in front of her face and then bring them to her mouth. If something is in the path of her hands, she will grab it and it will go in her mouth. She is a pro at rolling from back to tummy--and once on her tummy she is perfectly content for a long time! She has also started doing the sky-dive move during tummy time. I have a feeling crawling will come sooner rather than later. We are getting in a pretty good daily routine and she is a happier baby because of it. She is still exclusively breastfed. I pump while I'm at work and have a good flow (pun intended) going in that regard. Molly has been showing signs of teething for a long time now--but no teeth yet. She will soak through a shirt if I don't keep her chin wiped and chews on everything. I got her an amber teething necklace a while back and she wears it every day. All I know is she is never fussy (unless she's hungry or over tired) and very content--so--I will say it works.
~I'm enjoying watching the sister bond develop between Emma and Molly. Don't get me wrong--there are times when Emma wants nothing to do with Molly--but, for the most part there is some unconditional love going on there. Emma makes Molly smile like no other.

~I'm addicted to Pinterest.

~Eggo pumpkin waffles (previously mentioned)...do yourself a favor and go to Target and stock up! They are to die for!

~I'm getting the urge to go out and buy some mums for the front porch.

~I love fall....seriously....the leaves, pecan trees, hot coffee, the smell of a space heater, snuggly clothes for my girls!

~I'm participating in a Christmas swap with some mommy friends. This is my first time--but thanks to Pinterest I have a few great ideas! I can't wait to get started!

Well...I guess that is enough rambling for one post.
Happy fall! Enjoy the crisp air, beautiful scenery, pumpkin everything and snuggles from your babies (be that human or fur babies)!

why does Japan have to be so far away?

2011-09-16T14:53:00.008-04:00

I'm having a hard time here...you see, my sister left yesterday to go back home to Japan after being here for around 6 months. I am having an even harder time then I had after this visit. This most recent visit was so special because Bryn and I were literally right down the hall from one another in the same condo complex for the majority of the time. We were pregnant together and both added baby #2 to our families while they were here. We shared maternity clothes and took belly photos of each other. We complained to each other about this parasite in our bodies and what it was doing to us and then rejoiced with one another when that parasite came out as a perfect, sweet, bundle of joy. We both had the ups and downs of post partum hormones and were there to lift one another up when one of us needed it. We brought/made/ordered (thank you Raleigh Takeout.com) dinner for the other when the baby was nursing all evening/night and the toddler had not eaten or had a bath and it was 9:00 p.m. I can't count how many times Bryn would come down to my place, feed Emma and give her a bath (when I was busy with Molly)--that meant more to me than she knows! We were there for each other when the tears flowed because going from one to two kids is hard. Emma loved to be able to walk out our door without having to put on shoes, run down the hall and be at Aunt B's house to play with Noah. We spent so much time together when she was here. On days I didn't work we would hang out. On days I worked, we would call one another around dinner time to see what the other was having--usually I would walk down to her place and we would work it out. I got so use to it--seeing her, Noah and Amelia almost daily. Chatting with her on the computer once all the kids had gone to bed--even though we were just a few steps away from each other. Watching Noah for her when she had to run an errand.

She was a part of my every day life...

Now she is gone. She is in Japan. Emma's playmate is gone...

We can't just walk down to Aunt B's house (Japan is a little far). We can't go swimming together, go to the park together, eat dinner together. This is strange...and it will take a while to adjust.

Molly and Amelia are 14 weeks apart in age. The closest in age of all the cousins. Right now when you look at them it seems like a big difference--but in a few months, it won't seem that way. I'm going to miss them spending their first few years growing up together--becoming BFF's. But I have a feeling next time B comes in to town Molly and Amelia are going to have a great time getting to know one another.

But...

I will survive...

She is back with her husband (where she belongs) and Noah has his daddy back. Amelia has been introduced to her daddy and I'm sure it was sweet. I will miss my sister but I'm sure she was missed by her husband even more--and boy did she miss him!

I will cherish this time we spent together. This past visit we grew so close and I'm so thankful for that!

Here is a photo we took the night before she left. It's all the cousins:

Noah, Amelia, Emma, Molly, Lorelei, Jack and Matt

How cute are they?

Until next time....Aunt B!

We love you!

A day of firsts : September 7, 2011

2011-09-08T11:28:00.005-04:00

So yesterday Molly was quite the busy girl! She decided to start rolling from her back to her belly--over and over and over again! I am so excited about this. You see, I never had to deal with a roller in Emma. She is my cautious baby and she decided very early on that rolling was not her thing. I was okay with that--and since rolling was not considered a milestone anymore--neither was her doctor. Emma focused more on her fine motor skills and only perfected her gross motor skills when she absolutely had to!

But Molly....I have a feeling she is going to keep me on my toes! She was playing on her play mat while I was doing a few things. When I went to check on her she was on her tummy! That was not how I left her. So....I rolled her back over to see if it was a fluke. Immediately she goes back on to her belly! So....I had to run a get the camera, rolled her back over, turn on the camera and I get the dead battery message--shoot!...while I am messing with the camera she rolls back over AGAIN on to her belly! This trend continued the rest of the day. EVERY time I would lay her down she would get so mad at me, roll over and pop that little head up with her big eyes as proud as she could be. It was pretty much the cutest thing I had ever seen!!

Even when I changed her diaper, she would try to roll over. I have never had to deal with a squirmy baby during diaper changes. So fun!!

Yesterday she also discovered how to blow raspberries--she spit all over Tim while showing him that new skill. I got a video of both the rolling and the raspberries once I charged my battery. I'll post those next.

It's bitter sweet seeing Molly grow before my eyes--her newborn-ness is fading away but her interactive baby-ness is becoming more clear. I'm in love :)

First Day of Preschool : 2011

2011-09-06T10:07:00.005-04:00

So I just searched my blog for a "first day of school" post from last year and I never did one! I'm horrible!!! Well...here we are, September 2011 and Emma's first day of school is today. She is going back to the preschool she went to last year, First Baptist Weekday Preschool in downtown Raleigh. She is in the 3's class with Miss Sarah. Above you will see my comparison of Emma on her first day of school in 2010 and first day of school, today, 2011. Pretty cute, huh? Tim and I went together to drop her off this morning. She is still very shy and apprehensive--and "nervous"--her word, not mine. BUT...we walked in, she washed her hands, checked in to the classroom by tracing her name,

putting her back pack in her cubby and going to the table to play with play dough. She enjoyed seeing some familiar faces from her class last year--I think that helped with her anxiety level. Best of all...when it came time for a kiss and hug goodbye, she didn't cry! That is HUGE....now, I can't promise she didn't start crying when we walked out of the room--but as long as I was within ear shot--no tears :)

I'm so proud of my Emma Grace! I pray she has a wonderful first day of preschool!

Molly : 4 month stats

2011-08-28T08:29:00.003-04:00

I took Molly in for her 4 month check up the other day. She is perfect (docs words--not mine). She got two shots in her leg and one oral vaccine. I gave her Tylenol after the shots and she did okay for the first 4 hours after her appointment--but after the medicine got out of her system, boy was she unhappy. She did the same thing after her shots for her 2 month appointment. I guess my baby doesn't like shots--who does, really? I had to bring Emma with me and she asked me probably 352 times if she was going to get any shots and then would follow up that question with "are you sure"...the nurse got a kick out of that. Emma did not like how Molly cried when she got her shots--sweet big sister :) She was a big help.

Here are her official stats:

Weight~17 lbs

Height~25.5"

Head Circ~41 cm

And to compare, here are Emma's stats when she was 4 months:

Weight~16.10 lbs

Height~25"

Head Circ~39.5 cm

Molly is keeping up the trend of big babies in our house....LOVE it!

We started solids with Emma around 4 months but this time our doc told us to wait until 6-9 months. I'm so fine with that :) Next appointment is 6 months!

~rollin', rollin', rollin'~

2011-08-17T11:10:00.009-04:00

Molly will officially be 4 months old in a few days. I wanted to write some of this down because I am having the hardest time remembering these details about Emma. I think I started this blog when Emma was around 5/6 months...so before that I did not keep the best "records"...

Molly has started rolling from tummy to back in the last few days. She is doing GREAT during tummy time. She can get her head up really high and balances on her elbows.

It's adorable. When she gets over far enough on one of her elbows is when she ends up on her back. Her face, when that happens, is so cute! She is startled, surprised, happy, sad....she is just not sure how to react to what just happened--SO cute!! She is seriously the smiley-est baby I have EVER seen. She smiles so much and so big.

She has started coo'ing more and "talking" to us. She makes noises like "en-grrrr", "brrrr" and singing sounds (she really likes to hear herself). She even does this while nursing sometimes. Speaking of nursing--she has started to "mmmmm" (every time she exhales) while nursing. Talk about heart melting! She doesn't do it all the time but occasionally. She even pulls away to give me a quick smile and then gets back to eating. Eeekkk! :) She smiles and gets all giddy when she sees me, Tim or Emma walk in the room. She is also working really hard at sitting up when she is at an inclined position--she's doing little baby crunches. She has also started doing the beginning of raspberries (and spitting all over me). LOVE!

It's these little things I wish I remembered about Emma. I guess I made up for that when I started this blog. The other night I went back in my archives and read about my baby Emma and looked at a few videos. Oh my was she the cutest thing EVER (still is).

LOVE my girls!

Summer Evenings

2011-08-09T11:37:00.012-04:00

There is nothing better then a summer evening spent with family. It conjures up childhood memories for me--playing outside until it got dark, my mom yelling for us to come inside, not having school in the morning, drinking from the hose, catching fire-fly's...such good memories!

We spent this past Sunday evening at Tim's parents house (Mooma and Doodad is what they are affectionately called by the grand kids). They live on lots of land with a big garden and pond out back--with lots of space to run and play.

Emma and Christian had lots of fun playing. Emma, being my shy child, has a hard time playing with other kids. But Sunday--she played like a "normal" (I'm not saying she is NOT normal--in fact, I think she is perfect...but you know what I mean) kid. She ran around, got sweaty and red-cheeked, didn't listen to me when I told her to do something, followed Christian all around, went off places (WITHOUT me or Tim) to play, rode tricycles...everything I wish for her! And she survived and had a wonderful time. She didn't want to leave. She and Christian would have these little conversations without any adults interacting. It was SO cute! Christian is Emma's only cousin on Tim's side and my hope is that she and Christian develop a special bond and relationship to last them long after the ones before them are gone.

A good game of corn hole was played as I walked around with Molly strapped to me and snapped some photos. Tim and Bill were even able to "throw in a couple lines" and catch some fish in the pond. I love taking photos of people just living, doing their thing. Not posed or set up...just being. You can capture the most genuine emotions that way--the "real" smiles! I pray to be able to create more memories like this for Emma and Molly and to be able to document more days just like this one.

There was even a golf lesson or two

This is why God gave us family...this is how He created us. To live in community with each other. To love, support and lift each other up. I hope and pray for more days like this day. It pleases God and makes Him smile down on us...see:

And because I can't leave Molly out...here she is enjoying her summer evening too :)

Now...get out there and go drink from the hose and catch you a fire-fly! :)

~Molly~

2011-08-08T11:42:00.007-04:00

Here are two of my favorite photos of Molly...so far...

Both were taken by me but were edited by two friends of mine--I love the black and whites.

The first one is brand new-ish baby Molly and the second was taken last week (15 week old Molly)

*heart*

And here they are in color...because they're pretty that way too :)

Enjoy your Molly fix?

...it took long enough

2011-08-06T21:30:00.004-04:00

Here we are...over 3 months after Molly's arrival...and we just got our first family of 4 picture today! Wow...I can't believe it took me this long! So this morning we had just started our day. Tim and the girls were sitting on the sofa, I had just brushed my hair, Emma had on clothes--and actually had a bow in her hair, and although it was a rainy morning, the light coming in the window was perfect. So I grabbed my camera and went for it.

Not too bad considering I had to set the timer and run back to the sofa. Thank goodness for a good crop--otherwise this picture would not be on the internet for all to see!

I'll treasure this photo (now and not before the crop and the monster thighs--my sister said it was the angle).

...and the winner is...

2011-08-04T11:12:00.002-04:00

Thanks, everyone, for all your comments!

With the help of www.randomizer.org, I was able to select the winner of the UPrinting giveaway!

...and the winner is...

Comment #1!

Congratulations, Anna...and you said the first comment never wins! ;)

You should be contacted by Apryl at UPrinting shortly.

Hey hey hey---it's a Giveaway!!

2011-07-28T10:08:00.007-04:00

I am entering the realm of big time blogger.....why you ask?

Because I was contacted by UPrinting.com to host a giveaway! How cool is that?! I don't know how they found me or why they want me to do it...but I'm going with it. FUN! And the chances of YOU winning are greatly in your favor because I probably have 2 readers! So there you go...

Are you expecting a baby, just recently had a baby, getting married, hosting a special event/party/shower, have any reason to make any sort of announcement?? These would be perfect! (And I know in the photo the flyers are being used for a nightclub--I don't imagine any of you would use them for that--that is just the example).

Up for grabs today are a set of 250 flyers (You can chose between 2 sizes: 4.25" x 5.5" or 4" x 6") that come in thick, 14 pt., glossy card stock--front printing only. Also available on UPrinting.com are templates for download.

To enter--Just leave me a comment telling me what you would use these for if you win! I will randomly select a winner a week from today on Thursday, August 4, 2011 and will contact you via e-mail.

Best of luck to the two of you ;) ....but really! Good Luck!

This giveaway is sponsored by UPrinting, no monetary compensation was given and I will receive night club flyers for hosting. For more information about flyers, please visit UPrinting.com

~ My Girls ~

2011-07-28T09:28:00.000-04:00

heart

2011-07-26T15:05:00.002-04:00

Can y'all see why I'm so in love??

This picture was taken with my phone. I take so many pictures with my phone. Of all the pictures I have taken of Molly, I have NONE printed out. Pretty sad. I need to print some. Another crazy fact...I have absolutely NO pictures (printed or electronic) of Tim, me, Emma and Molly....NONE! of the 4 of us....now that is crazy!!! I'll get on that....

This one was taken with my camera...onsie courtesy of Maddie Bug Baby ...how CUTE, huh?! again, I have SO many photos on my camera. I really need to get on this printing thing. I NEED a few prints of this face looking at me all the time!

Molly 3 months : : Emma 3 (close to 4) years

2011-07-26T11:39:00.003-04:00

Here is a short to-preserve-in-my-memory glimpse at the girls (love saying, typing, etc. "the girls") right now. This is going to be just stream of thought so I apologize for the choppy-ness.

Emma:
What a joy she is!!! She is an awesome big sister, sweet, loving, caring, too big and growing too fast and not my baby anymore. Her face is longer and leaner. Her hair is just as curly--if not more curly. She is holding on to that last bit of baby fat which I think is so cute. She wears 5t clothes. She LOVES reading books with daddy. Ever since Molly's arrival, Emma and Daddy have become even closer. They are forming an amazing bond and Tim is an awesome daddy! Emma loves to sing, dance, perform for us--take a bow, playing with her dollies and taking care of them. She takes care of daddy, duke, bella or I if any of us get hurt. She has such a caring heart still--so sweet. She still goes to her Mooma's house 3 times a week when I work. She loves it there! She helps Doodad in his garden and reaps the rewards with yummy veggies and fruit! She eats so good over at their house--veggies all day long! She has spent the night over there once and I'm hoping she will more often. She will be starting preschool in the fall. She is still painfully shy and doesn't enjoy talking to kids or adults she doesn't know. This is something I thought preschool would help with--and it did a little while she was in it--but it is like pulling teeth getting her to play with other kids. She just doesn't like it. It is a good quality and I don't want to change HER--but she is starting to really miss out on some fun kids stuff as shy as she is. Maybe one day she will grow out of this...we will see. We are working on her manners and she is a fast learner. She still needs a lot of reminders--but she is our clay and we are working hard on forming her the right way. We want her to be a godly-woman who loves Jesus. So far we're not doing a bad job--in my opinion. I love you, my Emma Grace--you are growing into a wonderful, sweet, caring, outgoing--yet shy little girl!

Molly:
Oh my little Molly-Bear! You are one happy, sweet, funny, sassy little girl. You are a shining light in our little family. Molly is still exclusively breast feeding. She wears mostly 3-6 months clothes and is around 14 lbs. She is following in her sister's footsteps and is developing the best, most kissable, rolls and cheeks! She is rolling up on to her side from her back but can't get all the way over. She loves when we hold her hands while she is laying down and pull her up to the sitting position. She is even starting to try to sit up all by herself when she is laying down. She lifts her head up as far as she can trying to do a sit-up. She has a favorite bouncy chair with spiders hanging down. She is a pro and lifting her leg and kicking she spiders. It holds her attention for at least 10-15 minutes and she really enjoys it. She is drooling like crazy and likes to chew/suck on her hands. I can't imagine she is teething--but we will see. She smiles all the time! She smiles when I look at her, when I talk to her, when she looks at Emma, when Tim walks in the room....she is THIS CLOSE to giving us a belly laugh--it will happen any day now I'm sure of it. She has also found her voice. She pretty much just yells, but it is so cute!! She also goes to Mooma's house 3 days a week with big sis. She drinks my milk from bottles and does great. She has never been picky about her bottle which I am thankful of. She also is becoming quite a paci baby. She enjoys sucking on it right before she drifts off to sleep. She is up on average one time a night to eat. She is in the pack and play right next to my bed but after the feeding stays curled up next to me for the rest of the night. I love it--I'm not going to lie. Her crib is set up in Emma's room but I don't plan on putting her in there until she is consistently sleeping through the night. She takes 2 good solid naps during the day but those are hit and miss sometimes. She also does a "cat nap" in the morning before the big nap and one in the evening before bed time. Her bed time is around 9:00 right now. I can't say enough about this baby and how in love I am with her. I honestly didn't think I could love any other kid as much as I love my Emma...but I do. People were right--your heart just grows to make room for more love when you add another kiddo into the mix.

I just love my little family of 4 and feel so blessed to have them! I am so looking forward to the future with my amazing husband and two wonderful girls!

My thoughts on breast feeding...

2011-07-07T12:51:00.010-04:00

I swear I'm trying to get better about blogging--but the days go so fast!

I have had a blog post in my mind for a while now about my thoughts on breastfeeding.

My breastfeeding journey with Emma was very short lived--like just a few weeks. I went in to it assuming I was going to breastfeed her. I had seen my sister successfully breastfeed two babies--why would it be different for me? Emma was never exclusively breastfed. She had her first bottle of formula before even leaving the hospital. She was born 5 weeks early and tiny. The nurses and docs were concerned about her weight. She was a sleepy nurser. I would practically have to undress her every feeding just to keep her awake. Every attempt at nursing was a struggle from the beginning. Her pediatrician had me keep a chart of when she ate, how long, how many ounces. It was overwhelming. Why was breastfeeding not working for me? What was I doing wrong. By the time I went back to work (12 weeks), Emma was exclusively on formula. It took me a while to come to terms with that fact...and several tearful nights later...I was okay with it.

Jump ahead 3 years and I get pregnant with Molly. I was determined to make this go round work. I surrounded myself with friends who support breastfeeding. Who get it and could answer my questions--y'all know who you are and I LOVE you! I bought this bible--I mean book and connected myself on this web site. I did this all before little Molly was even born. I wrote a birth "plan" that included me having skin to skin contact with Molly immediately after birth along with nursing soon after that--for an hour or more (which did happen). Once Molly was here, I nursed her on demand. I have never looked at a clock when it comes to her eating. I follow her lead. When she shows any signs of being hungry, she gets fed. She also sleeps within arms reach of me--and nurses as much as she wants at night time.

Here we are 11 weeks later and going strong! Molly has never had a drop of formula and is in the 90th percentile for weight. She is putting herself on a nice little schedule and waking up 1, maybe 2 times at night to eat. I am working part time where I pump when I'm not with Molly. She gets about 3 bottles of pumped milk when I am at work. Pumping is great too--once you get the hang of it.

I attribute ALL my breastfeeding success to Molly, my dear friends and their support, the skin to skin contact and nursing right after delivery and that book listed above. Really--if you listen to your baby, (s)he will let you know what (s)he needs. (S)he knows when (s)he is hungry, how long (s)he wants to eat, how much (s)he wants to eat...God made this baby to know these things and designed mamas to fulfill all these needs! If you follow your babies lead, you will have an amazing breastfeeding relationship. I have no doubt.

I'm not sure how long I will breastfeed Molly--this is something else I will follow her lead on. Now, I don't plan on nursing her when she is walking in the door to kindergarten--but a year or so will do.

I love being a breastfeeding mom--the moments when Molly looks up at me and coos or smiles while nursing, when she sleepily pulls away with milk-drool coming out of her mouth, after a day at work when I get home and nurse her for the first time and she hugs my body with her whole body while nursing, when her sweet little hand rests so peacefully on my chest, when she looks at me in the eyes so adoringly when she sees me...I love it all :)

Game ON!

2011-06-13T11:42:00.002-04:00

I upgraded my storage....which means PICTURES!!!!

Oh happy day...

Molly will be 8 weeks on Friday.
Emma is an awesome big sis!
I'm back at work.
Life is good...

The first 4 weeks

2011-05-21T15:55:00.004-04:00

So our first 4 weeks have come to a close. Life as a family of 4 is amazing, challenging, fun, crazy, comforting and stressful. Molly is an amazing baby. I can see her little personality blooming already and I think she is going to be fun and silly. She has a very go-with-the-flow attitude and is pretty easy going. I am working on figuring out her schedule, but for the most part it looks something like this: wake up at 6 am (this NEVER changes--it's the one consistent thing), nurse, cat nap, awake time, nurse, cat nap, awake time, nurse....this continues until late morning when she takes a solid 2ish hour nap. After that we do the nurse, cat nap, awake time cycle until an afternoon nap around 3:00 or so. Then, repeat cycle until around 9 or 10 at night when she is down for a few hours. She wakes between 2 and 4 times at night to nurse and then usually goes right back to sleep. Some nights, though, she will decide to be awake for a while very bright eyed. It's pretty cute. She is a great eater, sleeper and pooper. She has had a few bouts with gas, but besides those, she is not really a fusser. Even when she is in her car seat she will fuss for a second but then stop. This is something I am not use to as Emma was a fusser. Molly also doesn't fuss when I undress her and put her in the bathtub (she LOVES bath time), when I put clothes over her head, when I don't feed her right when she is hungry, when I change her diaper and use a cold wipe--all of the above would have been something to set baby Emma off on a crying tangent. Molly is also pretty easy to soothe which is great. Her favorite thing to do is nurse. Emma wasn't ever exclusively breast fed--so to have an EBF baby is fun. I love not having to worry about formula and bottles when we go out AND not having to worry about making bottles in the middle of the night, heating to the right temperature, etc. I am starting to pump in anticipation of returning to work--so Molly will be trying her first EVER bottle here pretty soon. I am thinking Daddy and Emma will be in charge of giving that to her. I have started to offer Molly the paci when I know she isn't hungry and just wants to suck. She'll take it or leave it. That is exactly how Emma was--I like it that way. I don't really want a paci-dependent kid. Molly has some amazing head control already and is working those muscles so much. She loves being held looking over your shoulder, cradle hold, snuggled chest to chest and during very awake times she likes to be held facing out. Her eyes are starting to get lighter! I am wondering if I'm going to have a blue eyed girl? We'll see...

Emma is still adjusting. It has been difficult--I'm not going to lie. She LOVES Molly and has not shown any anger towards her (thank you Jesus!)...BUT, Emma is acting out a lot to try to get our attention. I hear this is totally normal but it is just hard for Tim and I because up until this point, Emma has been a stellar kid--never giving us any grief. Well...it's a learning experience for all of us, isn't it? I am confident that after a few more weeks we will be more back to"normal" and Emma will have adjusted even more. New sister aside--Emma is doing great. She has one week of preschool left. She has done great this year! She has grown so independent. It's great. She is still so sweet, shy, funny, sassy, snuggly, cute.....etc. She is a great big sister and a helper to me. She is my first love and will always be. She is sitting on the chair next to me as I type this--asleep--and I can still see my baby Emma. But she is so big now. It's crazy...

It goes so fast. Molly has made me realize how fast it does go. It seems like just yesterday when Emma was an infant--now she is going to be 4 and we have Molly. I cherish every day with my family--with my two girls. I love them so much and will not wish the bad days away. I will hold on to them with my heart and try my hardest to remember these days.

The story of Molly's arrival

2011-05-04T21:48:00.002-04:00

Well...here it is. It has taken me a while to type it up and actually post it. Life with two kiddos has given me a run for my money--but I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Here is Molly's amazing birth story.

Thursday, April 21^st, I went to bed like any other night. No sign of labor in sight. At 2:30 on Friday morning, April 22^nd I woke up with a little cramp and felt what I thought was a trickle of water. I got up and sat on the toilet and the water kept coming out. It took me a few minutes to determine if it was water or I was just using the bathroom. As I sat there I was having very mild contractions come and go. I decided to wake up Tim and let him know what I thought was happening. We were actually staying in a hotel room because the week before there was a tornado and we were displaced from our condo. I told him to go ahead and call his mom and tell her to start making her way to the hotel so we could go to the hospital. She lives almost an hour away so I wanted her on her way just in case and knew she would understand if we got to the hospital and, in fact, my water had not broken. The more I stood there, though, the more I became 100% sure that my water had broken. I decided it would be a good idea for me to go ahead and drive myself to the hospital while Tim waited for his mom. I grabbed a towel and hopped in the car. The 10 minute drive to the hospital took forever and I seemed to hit every red light on the way. Just as I was pulling in to the hospital parking lot, I saw the blue lights behind me (I guess I was driving pretty fast). Needless to say, I got out of that ticket and was actually escorted by the cop into the ER. By this time the contractions were around 3 minutes apart and pretty intense. I had to check in at the ER and then they wheeled me up to triage in the birth center. I was checked once in triage and I was 5 centimeters dilated. The contractions were one on top of the other. I’m pretty sure Tim called me while I was in triage and I also called my mom to tell her this was it. Mom was on her way and Tim was too. The nurses at Wake Med were awesome because they already had my chart and saw my birth plan which was pretty specific. I wanted to go med free. They never mentioned anything of pain meds to me and were so encouraging! They were awesome! When I was done in triage they walked me (and made me walk!) to the delivery room. When we got to the delivery room the nurse checked me and told me to push a few times (so by that I assume I was fully dilated). The pain was INTENSE….I pushed a few times and the nurse called the doctor. I am pretty sure I talked to Tim one more time between pushes and he was in the parking lot. He was on his way! Once the doctor walked in I know I pushed a few times and then I heard Tim and his mom walk in. I had my eyes closed pretty much the whole time once in the delivery room. Maybe that was my way of coping with the pain—not sure. After Tim walked in Molly was out in three more pushes…she was born at 4:33 a.m. They placed her on my chest and she stayed there for a good while. I was also able to breastfeed her right away and she latched on like a pro! I was able to walk from the delivery room to my postpartum room—the nurse commented on how they don’t see that often. After just one night in the hospital we were released to go home.

We are now home with Molly as a family of four. We are all trying to find our groove (especially Emma). Each day comes with its challenges—but the blessings far outweigh those. Tim and I are blessed to have two beautiful, healthy girls and I truly feel like our family is complete. God is good!

would you look at me

2011-04-20T12:00:00.002-04:00

New blog design, new title, new sub-title.....

Oh, and I got a new camera!!! Photos to come...

Oh...and we got hit by a tornado. We have been displaced from our home for 4 nights now (and counting). We are hoping to be home by the time Molly comes. That is what I'm praying for.

But if not...we will survive.

Like my new title says--God's love, provision, blessings, grace, etc. has been given to us "Full to Overflowing"...my life is wonderful, amazing, beautiful!

Thank you, Jesus...I'm humbled by Your love.

Trying to catch up...

2011-04-11T10:34:00.006-04:00

So I know I have been MIA for a while....and I apologize to my 3 readers out there ;) hee hee...
Who knew being pregnant along with having a 3 year old can keep a person so busy--and tired.

Let's see.....here is the Reader's Digest version:

~I am 35.3 weeks pregnant today.

~I have been pregnant with Molly 4 days longer now then I ever was with Emma--strange!

~I have started a new part time job and LOVE it.

~My sister, Bryna, and her family came back to the States after everything in Japan happened. She and Noah are our new neighbors and it's pretty awesome.

~Emma is amazing, sweet, funny, smart, sassy....and on and on. She is so excited about Molly coming. She even makes up songs about her and sings them. Heart melting moment right there. We'll see how much she loves her once Molly takes over Emma's "nest" of a home.

~Did I mention I got a new job and love it? That is totally all God's provision right there and I praise Him every day for it. It's evident the way God is moving in my family's life right now and I am so thankful for it.

~I can't wait to go in to labor! I am so excited for it...

~I am loving the spring weather. I'm glad I'm having Molly soon rather than later. I don't think I could survive a NC summer pregnant. (I feel sorry for my sister who is due in August).

~Emma is almost finished with her first year of preschool and it has done wonders for her shyness. She even tells me after having said "hi" to a stranger, "Mommy, I wasn't shy!". Wow...I can't get over how adorable she is. Her teacher, Miss Jill, is amazing! She has worked so well with Emma this year and has set a pretty high bar as far as my teacher standards go. Since starting preschool, Emma has learned so much. I notice things each and every day that I know she was taught at preschool such as great manners, knowledge of shapes, colors, numbers, etc.--the list goes on.

Ok--that's our life in a nut shell right now. Probably not so exciting to the outside reader...but busy, busy, busy for us. Hopefully I can get one more post in before Molly makes her grand entrance. If not, the next post will be all about Molly's arrival. WOW....I can't believe it's almost time. Here's to a fun, fast, memorable, med-free labor!

*I realize a blog post is no fun without pictures--but my Google storage has run out of space! I need to upgrade. I hope to do that soon...but until then, reading words will have to do*

29-ish weeks with both girls

2011-02-22T20:16:00.002-05:00

So I dug into my old photo files and found my 29 week photo with Emma...

Here it is--puffy face and all

And here I am at almost 29 weeks with Molly. Notice I'm covering up half my face with the phone ;) Although, according to my sister, I'm carrying Molly different than I carried Emma. She basically told me I was huge all over with Emma and with Molly I'm just gaining some junk in the trunk--which, when you start out with none, that is a good place for it to go :)

We will see what the coming weeks bring...

As far as how I'm feeling--I'm feeling good. Not much to complain about. If I were to complain, my list would look something like this:

running out of breath very quickly
braxton hicks contractions
never ending snotty nose
can't see my bikini line to shave it
unable to sleep
heart burn
swollen hands....I'll stop there.

BUT, that list is nothing when I think about the little miracle growing inside of me--and the entertainment I get from watching and feeling her move all the time! I'm already in love--again--with another girl :)

Inspiration

2011-01-24T16:27:00.005-05:00

So I was recently inspired by one of my friends in internet land, Hilary Mercer.

She is a photographer and due a week before me. I loved the silhouette of her pregnant body...so I tried my hand at it. I must admit, I love how this turned out. I had a hard time figuring out where to place my arms and hands...but this is the pose I ended up liking the most. I'm going to try to do these more frequently as we are starting to be in the home stretch of this pregnancy :)

Birthing options

2011-01-22T14:38:00.006-05:00

So I didn't have my blog when I was pregnant with Emma...I didn't have a Facebook account either. This time around it has been so fun documenting this pregnancy and updating FB. I started my blog as as way of keeping up with Emma's milestones, archiving pictures, a way to remember things, etc. My mind is so fuzzy about my pregnancy with Emma....so this is fun.

One of my first blog posts was Emma's birth story. It was the picture perfect, uneventful labor and delivery...besides her being 5 weeks early. No complaints here. So....some of you may wonder...why mess with a good thing. You see, my "plan" this time around is to go med-free for Molly's labor and delivery. With Emma I had the epidural and it was delightful. All I felt was the pressure of a contraction and knew I had to push because the nurse told me to. I guess when I was pregnant with Emma I never discussed my "birth plan" with my doctors (and they never brought up my options to me). I just did what they told me and that was that. Labor, hospital, epidural, peace, delivery....can't walk.....try to nurse a sleepy baby....you know, the norm. Maybe if Emma had cooked 5 more weeks I would have thought about it more, but I just went through the motions of a medicated hospital labor and delivery.

This time....maybe because med-free births are becoming more "popular", I have already started looking into my options and plan to go med free at the hospital. I am actually very excited about this and feel very empowered. I have lots of friends who are my "cheerleaders" and they are 95% of the reason I think I can actually do this. At my next OB appointment I will talk to my doctor about my options as far as laboring and pushing positions, i.e. walking, sitting on a ball, on my hands and knees, getting in the shower, sitting on the toilet, etc. I am also hoping to not have any sort of needle stuck into me....I guess I will deal with an "access" point in case of an emergency, but other than that I want to move around as I please. I also plan to talk to the doctor about how long I can keep Molly with me after her birth and before weigh-in, bath, etc. So...I will post on that after my next doctors appointment.

I'm so excited...ready for it to be here...but not ready at all.

I'm 24 weeks this week.

Molly had the hiccups for the first time :) Emma had them all the time and I have been waiting and waiting for the little rhythmic bump, bump, bump...and it finally happened the other night. She must be working on her swallowing. I can't wait to meet her...and I can't wait to see Emma with her.

Oh happy day!

Lovin' my couponing

2011-01-16T17:07:00.000-05:00

So here is my loot from our shopping trip this week. I tell you what, I am really loving this couponing thing. I actually went through our buildings recycle bin to get coupons that people threw in there. We also got the Sunday paper.

What I did to prepare for our shopping trip was first I clipped my coupons then I pulled up the weekly specials on the Harris Teeter web site. I compared the specials with my coupons and pulled out coupons that I had that matched up with the specials. We did get a few things that we didn't have coupons for BUT they were on special at the store.

Total before coupons and in store savings: $104.93
Total paid: $63.09

I note the London Broil and the Rotisserie Chicken :)

Molly : 23 weeks

2011-01-15T09:47:00.000-05:00

Our little Molly is moovin' and groovin'...I had a regular OB check up yesterday and everything looks great. I got to hear that sweet, sweet heart beat, the doc measured my belly (first time doing that), I got to weigh myself (oye) and talked to the doc about going med free for labor and delivery. I asked him how many of their patients go med free and his response was, "do you really want to know?"...so I said yes....he told me 10% of their patients.

WOW....just 10%...that is such a small number considering I go to a very popular OB practice in a big city. You know what though, that actually gave me MORE motivation to go med free :) The doc was funny...he was explaining to me that they support whatever decision I make and he said, "I'm not the one giving birth so it doesn't matter to me."...that made me giggle. Have I mentioned I LOVE where I go?

Emma's labor and delivery was FAST and she was EARLY. From the very first sign of labor (my water breaking) to Emma being born was just 6 hours. Plus, by the time we got to the hospital and I got my epidural I was already 8 cm dilated (10 to push)...another motivating factor in me going natural.

I'm not sure what to expect with this labor and delivery...I'm sort of banking on it being fast...but I'll take whatever is thrown my way. I feel so much more prepared and informed this time around so I am really looking forward to it!

17-ish more weeks!!

As far as how I'm feeling:
Feeling great
Running out of room to breathe
Eating for two ;) (oye to the weight gain)
Can barely pick Emma up anymore
I can sort of get Molly's schedule (awake times and sleep times)
I'm not sleeping the best, but that's okay

Here is my 23 week belly shot--fuzzy and all

And here's Emma....she insisted I take her picture too :)

Not exactly Extreme Couponing--but close

2011-01-10T13:58:00.004-05:00

So I'm not sure if any of y'all have seen that new show on TLC called Extreme Couponing...but it's fascinating to me! These people live and breathe coupons and save TONS of money. I would not say I'm extreme by any means...but just dipping my toes in and love it so far. I have always tried to clip coupons but they usually end up in my junk drawer and expired--good intentions but I never follow through. Well...I decided to just go for it and boy was it fun. We held on to the weekly ads we got in our mailbox which usually end up in the recycle bin and then we got the paper on Sunday for the coupons. I clipped them yesterday and we headed to the store today. I don't have any sort of fancy binder or anything but just kept my small stack of coupons organized in my hand. Tim and I tried to stick to only the stuff we had coupons for but did end up getting several things without coupons. We did get lots of stuff that we were able to use our in-store savings card for so that helped lots too. After our trip today, though, I have decided to try to never pay full retail for groceries. I did look online and there is lots and lots of web sites out there with free, printable coupons...so I will be diving into those too.

I'm so excited about this and can see how it can be addicting. There is nothing like seeing the total on your receipt and then seeing how much you saved in coupons, etc. Oh how fun!

Here is a picture of my loot from today...

Our total before coupons was around $140 and we paid around $70 for everything. Not too bad!

almost a white Christmas

2011-01-04T17:30:00.003-05:00

SNOW the day after Christmas....it was GLORIOUS!

The day after Christmas people are so quick to run out of the house and go, go, go....but not this year. Raleigh got 6-9 inches and it was beautiful--fluffy, soft and light and the pace of the day was slow and restful. Perfect day after Christmas.

...and Emma loved it!

Comparison

2011-01-04T17:20:00.002-05:00

Molly Elizabeth

Emma Grace
So Emma had a few additional weeks of plumping up on Molly in these two photos...but still fun to compare. I can't wait to see who/what Molly looks like!

Christmas

2011-01-04T16:22:00.005-05:00

It's not too late to do my Christmas post...is it? :)

Christmas this year was SO fun! Emma was a blast and made me very excited about it.

So our Christmas starts on Christmas Eve. We go to my moms house and spend the morning with our family on that side. After my moms we head to Tim's mom's for Christmas eve and have ham dinner. Both places were great!

Then we headed home on Christmas eve and Emma fell asleep in the car. So...we didn't get to do 'The Night Before Christmas' or leave cookies for Santa or anything like that. That's okay. Santa came and here we are on Christmas morning. Emma normally wakes up around 8:00 or so in the morning...but Christmas morning she woke up at 7:30! I heard her get up and popped out of bed and ran downstairs to see her reaction to the tree. It was so cute, she was half asleep still and looked at the tree. She paced back and forth in front of it about 6 times staring at it before I said something to her. I said, "Emma, who came last night?"...and she just stared at me. So I had to remind her that Santa came, etc....and boy did she get excited! She saw that her stocking was stuffed and a little mouse was peeking out the top at her. She HAD to check it out. BUT...being the horrible mother I am, I made her go up and get daddy out of bed. Luckily daddy didn't take too long getting ready and we got to check out the stocking. Emma LOVED every bit of it. After the stocking daddy needed coffee....so, poor Emma, had to sit and stare at her presents while we waited for the coffee.

FINALLY, Emma got the okay to dig in and boy did she! She had a blast Christmas morning and Tim and I had a blast watching her.

Here are a few photos from Christmas morning :)

Miss Sassy Pants

The aftermath...

One of her favorite gifts

This is what she asked Santa for--a "push and popper"...here she is testing it out :)

Pure joy

Emma and the tree :)

Santa came!!

Here are a few pictures from Mooma's house on Christmas eve

and here are some pictures from Gram's house Christmas even morning

Emma and Jack playing under the table

Aunt B got Emma her first Fancy Nancy book and doll!

The aftermath...

Gram has an electric train that is a hit with the kids

So there you have it...a quick recap of Christmas 2010. I can't even believe this time next year there will be a 7 month old baby Molly in the mix. I seriously can't wait!

One thing I will be focusing MORE on next year will be Jesus' birthday. We talked about it this year...but I would be embarrassed to say what the Jesus to Santa ratio as far as talking about it would be. I guess I talked up Santa a lot to Emma since the last two years she wanted NOTHING to do with him...and the fact that she sat on his lap this year and I got the Santa/kid picture I have always wanted was just icing on the cake. BUT not next year. Yeah, we will talk about Santa and play into some of the commercial part of Christmas, but our focus and the majority of our talk will be about our Savior being born! Jesus' birthday and why He came to the world!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Here's to a wonderful 2011....

It's almost Christmas--Thankful

2010-12-20T15:38:00.003-05:00

It's December 20th....that means there are 5 more days until Christmas. I can't believe it. I think I am more excited about Christmas this year than I have been in a long time. A lot of it comes from my little 3 year old Emma Grace who is so excited this year. The past three years she could care less.....not this year! She is all about it--which in turn makes me all about it! She is so adorable doing our advent calendar every morning...counting down the days until all the squares are empty. We got our tree the weekend after Thanksgiving and Emma helped decorate it. I'm usually pretty OCD about even ornament distribution--but not this year. Emma placed the majority of the ornaments within the bottom three feet of the tree and I think it's beautiful. She even put several ornaments on one branch, if it was sturdy enough. I love waking up every morning smelling the tree in the house.

Things I am thankful for this Christmas season:

~the birth of our Savior--to take our sin's away--Jesus Christ~

~a roof over my head~

~itty bitty baby kicks of a healthy baby girl on the way~

~a job~

~my husband and the way he loves us~

~the light of my life, Emma Grace~

~family who cares so much about me and my family~

~Christmas music~

~cinnamon candles~

~my crock pot~

~presents under the tree for Emma on Christmas morning~

~crafting with my mom~

~2011 to start anew~

Often times I dwell on my hardships--easily looking over my blessings...but for Christmas I will chose to ponder on all my blessings and be thankful for all I have. God has provided--and will provide. I'm so thankful for His new mercies every morning.

5 more days...I will soak in every second...after all, next year there will be a squishy 7 month old Molly in the mix!

BDNT=Molly Elizabeth

2010-12-13T18:03:00.003-05:00

Oh what a wonderful day we have had!!! Today was our BIG ultrasound....I can't stop smiling. I had been counting down the days for weeks and it was finally here!!

Tim and Emma came with me and it was a wonderful experience.

This baby MOVES! I knew SHE did starting around 14 weeks...and she proved her point in the ultrasound today. The ultrasound tech even commented on how feisty this little girl is :) She was constantly moving...and posed very nicely for the tech to get some great pictures.

So we were having the scan done and the tech got most of her measurements and we still didn't know if BDNT was a boy or girl. Well, SHE finally gave the tech the shot she wanted...she said, "do y'all want to know what you're having?"....so I looked at the screen and didn't see anything there--fully expecting to see a "third" leg....well....NOTHING....I exclaimed, "It's a GIRL!!".....OH that moment will forever be in my heart. The BEST feeling ever :)

I went in knowing this was a boy...name ready and everything....so much for the mother's intuition. What was right--and what was right for Emma too--was the old wives tale of the high heart rate. Emma and this little girl's HR's were both 169 at my 8 week ultrasound.

And to find out this was a girl brough tears to my eyes. I grew up with two sisters...and we are SO close now. I am so excited to be able to give Emma a sister. Eeekkkkk!

I am praising the Lord for a healthy, wiggly, baby girl........who will be called....Molly Elizabeth

Molly--I just love and Elizabeth--was my middle name before I got married.

She looks like a Molly, doesn't she?

Paw Paw

2010-12-10T16:26:00.000-05:00

Paw Paw, my Dad, came for a quick visit today. He lives in Maryland with his wife, Sandi. They are here this weekend to visit and dad came over for lunch today. It's so funny...and I probably say this every time Dad comes to visit, but Emma just loves him. Although I can probably count on two hands the number of times she has seen him in her 3 years of life...she just loves him. They have this connection. And anybody that knows Emma knows that if you don't see her every day then she usually takes some warm up time before she will even answer a question from you or make eye contact. So this is just a sweet relationship I get to see develop between my dad and my baby. My sister, Jessica, and her kiddos were able to make lunch so we had some good family time.

Here are two pictures we took right before dad left. The first is one I took while we were trying to convince Lorelei to take a picture with Paw Paw. This is such a sweet candid photo to me :)

The second picture is a group shot that one of my neighbors was kind enough to take for us. I rarely get in photos...so this was a treat!

We love you, Paw Paw! Thanks for the visit.

50 Free Holiday cards

2010-12-03T20:27:00.000-05:00

Free is good...here is a link :)
http://blog.shutterfly.com/5570/2010-holiday-card-collection6/

Thanksgiving::Emma::BDNT

2010-11-28T16:56:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving 2010 was great. While we are normally rushing from one house to another, this year we spent it relaxing at one house and not having to worry about going someplace else :) We went to Tim's parent's house. It was such a relaxing day. We had great food, good outside time and some fun Wii playing. It was so nice. Hard to believe this is our last Thanksgiving as a family of three and next year there will be a 6 month old in the mix. So fun!

Here are a few pics of Emma I snapped before we left for lunch...I just love this kid! and her smile...and her joy....she's amazing :)

And a quick update on BDNT...we had our appt. with the specialist and it went great. Basically, since the levels of the antibodies are too low to even titer (give a number to, i.e. 1:1, 1:2, 1:4, 1:8...and so on...they start to intervene around 1:32....maybe 1:16) we are just going to monitor with monthly blood level checks--and if the levels ever start to go up then we will re-evaluate the situation. They will most likely begin doing growth scans of the baby to make sure it does not become anemic. BUT....Praise the Lord that everything is so low now that extra blood draws is all that is required. So......we move on :) On another note--December 13th is the BIG ultrasound...we will find out if Emma will have a baby brother or baby sister. I am 100% decided on names (I think Tim is just going with it at this point)...but I will save that for another post.

BDNT blood issue update

2010-11-23T15:47:00.003-05:00

So I did get the call last week that my blood still has the antibodies in it....so it wasn't lab error.

No biggie....I have been referred to a specialist at UNC and my appointment is tomorrow morning. I will know more then. Honestly....I feel that the baby is just fine. I just need some extra monitoring. I will update tomorrow :)

Prayers are appreciated

xoxo

EGD videos

2010-11-23T15:25:00.002-05:00

Emma's preschool had a Thanksgiving feast and auction today. The food was great, the company was wonderful and the kiddos were adorable! Here is a video of Emma and her first on-stage appearance :) I'm so proud of her!

And here she is singing Jesus Loves Me--love, love, love this girl :)

BDNT~15 weeks

2010-11-20T20:17:00.000-05:00

Here is my end-of-the-day (which is a lot different from a beginning-of-the-day~any pregnant woman will tell you) belly shot of BDNT who is the size of a navel orange this week :)
15 glorious weeks
I'm getting my energy back and feelin' good...also feelin' the baby move too...just a hand full of times so far.

I go in this Wednesday to meet the specialist at UNC who is going to explain more to me about my blood issue, what the next steps are and what I can expect to happen. I feel good about it...and not worried about the baby. God has given me a peace.

More later...off to clean out Emma's closet :)

Yes...it's a computer pic...that's better than nothing :)

3 year check up~EGD

2010-11-19T17:12:00.002-05:00

Emma Grace had her 3 year well toddler check up today. She still hates going to the doctor....but, she didn't cry as much this time. We still love her doctor--the one that took over for Dr. A, Dr. S. She is GREAT with Emma and with me too :) Poor Emma had the works done today. She had her finger pricked (which she didn't cry for!), and had to give a pee sample (fun with a 3 year old!), two vaccines and one flu mist in the nose (which she HATED. I think next time I will just do the shot).....She also stood on the big girl scale for the first time, had her height checked the big girl way for the first time and had her blood pressure taken...such a cute little BP cuff they use :)

3 year stats:

38 lbs. (98%)

38" tall (75%)

she's a square ;)

Look HERE to see her 2 year and 1 year stats.....

As far as 3 year old Emma--she is a delight. She is smart, fun, funny, sweet, caring, kind...I could go on and on. She is very sassy and disobedient when she wants to be but with just a threat of time-out she shapes right up. To this date I can count on one had how many times she has been in time-out. She responds to discipline VERY well. She is doing great in preschool. I've just gotten great reports from her teacher.

She is 99% potty trained. She refuses to poop in the potty--Dr. S gave me a few suggestions on how to work with that. She pretty much skipped 3T clothes and has moved to 4T. She is wearing 8-9 size shoes and hates to wear jackets. She is pretty obsessed with leggings and is very picky about what she wears.

She is our joy and our delight. Our house is brightened with her in it.

We love you, Emma Grace...you are an amazing girl!

BDNT 14 week check up

2010-11-11T14:17:00.002-05:00

Today I had my 14 week check up. Everything is looking great. I actually had to bring Emma with me because she didn't have school...but that was fine. She got to hear the heart beat and got the biggest smile on her face when she heard it--it was so sweet. They did have to re-do some bloodwork so Emma got to see that too...but she did fine (I'm sure she was happy it was me getting poked with a needle and not her).

So I don't think I have gone into the blood issue on here. I apparently developed it when I gave birth to Emma. Some of her blood mixed with my blood which my blood didn't like. So...my blood developed this e-antigen as a result. So now with this pregnancy my e-antigen antibodies are elevated. They are re-checking my blood to see if either a: it was lab error (which I am praying it was!), b: to see if they are still elevated, or c: to see if they have gone up. If they have stayed the same or gone up they will be referring me to a specialist. I find out this Monday what the results are. I am praying they have completely gone away....God can make that happen :)

On another note...I have been feeling the baby move this week!!! I have always heard you can feel the 2nd one way sooner than the first....and...well, they're right! It is only when I'm sitting in a certain position and usually in the evening. It's just a little tap, tap, tap...but I KNOW it's the baby (and not gas). I think I first felt Emma around 19 weeks or so. I know it was for sure after we found out she was a girl at 18 weeks. Oh...speaking of....our big ultrasound to determine the sex of this baby is scheduled for December 13!! Oh happy day.

Maybe I will take a belly shot tomorrow and post it....maybe....

Preschool birthday celebration

2010-11-11T14:06:00.000-05:00

So this past Tuesday Tim and I got to bring cupcakes to Emma's school to celebrate her birthday with her class. The look on her face when Tim and I walked in, cupcakes in hand, was priceless. Emma got to wear the happy birthday hat and we all sang happy birthday to her. She was on cloud 9!
This was our first time celebrating Emma's birthday with her class...and I am so excited to do it for years to come.
Today is actually the eve of her real birthday. Tim and I have lots in store for our almost 3 year old tomorrow!

Halloween

2010-11-02T15:23:00.000-04:00

So this year was the first year Emma got a costume and went trick-or-treating for Halloween :)
She loved it!
She and her daddy went to Target a few weeks ago and picked out her ladybug costume. She got to wear it first to preschool on Thursday and then for our fun evening on Sunday. We went to Emma's cousin's Christian's house. They live in a great neighborhood for trick-or-treating. The houses are close together and everyone seemed to be handing out candy. At the first house when the person answered the door Emma immediately turned to Tim and said "Trick-or-treat!"...hee hee.....after telling her she had to say it to the people that answered the door she became a pro at the whole trick-or-treating thing. We ended the night making mud with worms at Aunt Debbie and Uncle Bill's house. It was a great way to spend Emma's first halloween getting in on the fun.

Here she is all dressed up and ready to go!

Impromptu family photo with the camera timer :)

Christian and Emma

The trick-or-treating pro, Emma Grace

BDNT~12 weeks

2010-10-29T15:33:00.004-04:00

So today marks the 12th week in my second pregnancy journey. Boy do I love being pregnant....but I don't love being tired all the time. Hopefully just a couple more weeks of the 24/7 tiredness and then I will get the alleged burst of energy in my second trimester (my house and husband need it!). According to my online baby web sites, BDNT (Baby Drew #2 if you didn't catch that in my previous post) is about the size of a plum or 2" long. I am getting bigger way faster this time around then I did with Emma. I guess that is a 2nd pregnancy for ya! I think with Emma I took a belly photo every 3-4 weeks. With this one I will take them more often. It's just so fun to see the progress.

So....I give you my first (in public) belly shot. BDNT at 12 weeks! I was convinced there were twins in there until the ultrasound proved otherwise...that was my explanation for getting so big so fast :)

And just for fun...here I am at 13 weeks with Emma...such a crazy difference!

And here is Emma's belly photo :)

I love her!

Chris Tomlin

2010-10-23T08:20:00.003-04:00

So last night Tim and I had the pleasure of seeing Chris Tomlin and his band perform for the 7th time. You can see pictures and read about a few of our previous experiences here and here. So what started my "love affair" with CT was seeing him in concert at the NC State Fair several years ago (I think it was in 2006). Honestly, before that, I knew who he was and knew his songs that were played on the radio...but other than that, he was like any other Contemporary Christian singer to me. After that first Fair experience I fell in love :) Well, the 5 other concerts between that first Fair experience and last night have all been out of town. Some in Florida, one in Virginia and a few in Western NC...so last night it was SO nice to be at home, hop in our car and 10 minutes later be at the concert venue. He came to the State Fair again!!! We were 9 rows back front and center. I can easily say last night was hands down the best concert of his I have ever been to!! He sang some amazing songs--and even two new songs from his album that is coming out in November (that album is going to be awesome if those two songs are any idication) (I already have it pre-ordered).....He did a mini-message which was just amazing! He talked about dancing and raising your hands in worship if The One True God....and dancing because you are SO in love with HIM! He also rattled off versus like nothing. And you know what, CT is funny! He had us cracking up talking about cows at the State Fair :)

One thing that amazes me about CT and his band...well two....the first one is how CT keeps his voice. When he is on tour he is singing pretty much every night! I was horse after last night--I could not imagine night after night of singing. He must do something to keep that throat going strong. Maybe honey or something? The second thing is (and it's like this every time I see him and the band)....they truly and with all their hearts worship the LORD....every song, every time. They close their eyes, raise their hands, jump up and down, cheer......this being something they do every night you would think it would get "old"...but you can see it in their actions and words that they love what they do and you can tell WHO they are doing it for. This is what makes me like and respect them even more as worship leaders.

I could go on and on....they're just an awesome band...

Here are a few cell phone pictures. I didn't bring my camera so I would not be focused on taking lots of pictures and more focused on the worship. It worked :) Enjoy!

This was the very last song. Chris sang "The Heart of Worship" by Matt Redman. It was the perfect way to end the evening. I guess you could say it was the theme of the evening :)

There were names of God scrolling on the screen during the song....again....amazing!

Farmers Market field trip

2010-10-19T18:47:00.000-04:00

So today Emma went on her first ever field trip. Her preschool went to the Farmers Market!
First there was the scavenger hunt. Emma was given a piece of paper with 4 colors written on it. She was to find two things in the FM for each color. She did great! Then we went to buy our $1 pumpkin which we gave to Miss Jill and Emma will do something with it in class on Thursday. After that we did class pictures and then a picnic. It was a great day and Emma had a blast!
I have noticed a huge improvement in her shyness since starting preschool. For example, below you will see a picture of Emma with her class. Before preschool there is no way she would let me put her in a group shot like that and step away! Baby steps..... :)

Here she is with some big pumpkins:

Sweet smile in the mums...with her $1 pumpkin:

Emma's sweet class:

The cousins--we were just missing Noah:

BDNT

2010-10-13T22:46:00.000-04:00

Oh happy day...Tim and I got to see BDNT again this past Tuesday :) My OB does a check up and ultrasound at 8 weeks and then another 2 weeks later. Probably just to make sure everything is progressing as it should. No matter how many times I have an ultrasound, every singe time it is so amazing. At our first appt. BDNT's heart rate was 169 and on Tuesday it was 171--nice and strong. While getting the ultrasound my doc switched the machine over to 3D and we got to see our little munchkin in 3D. Boy is that amazing! I had a 3D ultrasound done with Emma but it was way later in the pregnancy.

And have I mentioned how much I LOVE my doctor, Dr. Z? He is the one that delivered Emma so he holds a special place in my heart. Unfortunately, he is in practice with several other doctors so I will be rotating from now on...maybe I will luck out and he will be on-call to deliver this one as well.

We did get some news at the appointment that my blood work came back with something a little strange. I have developed an e-antigen antibody. This most likely happened when I was in labor/giving birth to Emma and some of her blood mixed with my blood. My blood doesn't have the "E" component so my body developed antobodies to it...so now my body has that all the time and is something to be monitored during pregnancy. They will just draw more blood (yippee! *eye roll*) and make sure the levels don't go up anymore than where they are at now. So....a little bump in the road but nothing we can't handle I'm sure. Dr. Z said on a scale of 1-10 of it being bad it is a 1--so that makes me feel good :)

Now...on the the fun part...here are a few of the very first pictures ever of BDNT...otherwise know as Emma's little bro/sis?!

Really...you can't get much cuter than that!

Emma and BDNT

2010-10-10T12:40:00.003-04:00

~Emma calls the sofa the "snofa"
~When Emma says something and you ask her "why?"...she always repeats the previous statement and then adds "because....." For example: "Emma's pants are itchy". When I say "why?", Emma will say, "Emma's pants are itchy because Emma wants to wear shorts."....It's so cute.
~Emma is 99.9% potty trained. She requests a diaper to poop in and she still sleeps in one...I consider that very good :)
~She will be 3 in a close to a month!
~She is a talker! She talks our ears off and is just so smart
~Preschool is helping with her shyness...she actually waved to a stranger in Lowe's this morning without me prompting her
~She loves: playing outside, dancing, coloring, when Tim and I are both together with her, going for walks, Tinker Bell movies, slides, helping Tim and/or I with whatever we are doing....just to name a few
~She eats very well and will pretty much try anything I give her....although she came home from Mooma's house the other day and said, "Emma no like fish. Fish is YUCKY!"....so I guess she tried fish
~She mostly talks about herself in the third person--it's cute

I am loving Fall.....although the next few days here are pretty warm....but, I'm loving pumpkins, pecan trees, crunchy leaves on the ground, the darker evenings, the thought of turkey in my tummy soon, mums, the Farmers Market.....and so much more.

This pregnancy is way tougher on me than Emma was. Some contributing factors are probably that I am 3 years older this time around and I have an almost 3 year old to keep up with. Emma has been very gracious in letting me lounge on the "snofa" and playing by herself for a while. Tim has been very gracious in running to the store when I have my craving for a BLT or apples...you name it! I am currently 9.2 weeks along with Baby Drew #2 (BDNT)...and I'm about the size now that I was with Emma at 18 weeks. Pretty crazy! I will start some belly shots soon...but not yet. Right now I just look bloated. I am ready for the 2nd trimester BURST of energy...my house needs it! I am so in love with this baby in my tummy already...I pray every night for God to protect the baby and help it grow big and strong. My mommy instincts are telling me that BDNT is a boy. I didn't have a feeling with Emma either way, ever...so it will be interesting to see what this baby is.

I pray you are having a wonderful fall season!
xoxo

a whole month?

2010-09-30T19:58:00.002-04:00

Has it really been a month since I blogged? That's pretty crazy.......BUT.....our September has been pretty crazy. We moved which as been a huge adjustment along with Emma starting preschool. She likes it--she just doesn't know it yet :) My shy, socially anxious girl is living up to her reputation--but I'm confident she will grow out of this and be better for it. We just need to press on. Oh, and her teacher is AWESOME!! If it wasn't for her and the other amazing teachers and director at her preschool, I'm not sure we would have made it a whole month.

Another recent development in our house is this (have your volume up to see what Emma has to say):

I am 8 weeks along and had my first OB appointment today. I got to see baby #2 and hear the beautiful heart beat (which was 169 bpm).....BEAUTIFUL! I am due on May 13--yay, a spring baby! Tim and I are just so excited, and Emma is too...we think. She doesn't quite get it but I think she will as she sees my belly begin to grow. I am praising the Lord for this baby--this baby was prayed about long before he/she was concieved. This baby is kicking my butt a little more than Emma did...but nothing too bad. I enjoy feeling something becuse that makes it a little more real.

Ok...that's enough news for one post. I will try to get better about posting....after all, I will have some good updates to do on baby #2 :)

xoxo

checking in

2010-08-29T19:25:00.002-04:00

Just a quick update from our house. August is coming to an end and fall is quickly approaching.

Emma starts preschool in a week...and I can't believe it! She is going to the same preschool that her cousins go to--First Baptist in downtown Raleigh. Emma is still very shy so I am really hoping preschool helps her come out of her shell a little bit. Will update on that in a week :)

We are moving....getting closer to downtown Raleigh. Our work is downtown and Emma's school is downtown. It just makes sense. We are moving to Caraleigh Mills. I'm pretty excited about this move--and the natural light and two story tall windows in the condo are amazing! I can't wait.

Speaking of natural light--my beloved camera is broken :( I have googled the error message it is giving me and I think I need to bring it in to get it fixed. So sad. I pray it's an easy fix.

BSF is starting in a few weeks. I stepped down from my position of leader and am just going to be a participant this year. I am very excited about that. I am looking forward to meeting everyone in my group and starting the study of Isaiah. I know there are three girls from my group last year in my group this year! So fun!!

Emma is amazing--smart, cute, beautiful, polite, sweet, humble,....really, I could go on and on....She is a pure delight to be around. She has blessed me as a mama. I love her! Here are a few photos of my love...

Knock off Wood........

2010-08-17T08:46:00.002-04:00

ummmm, I'm going to be keeping Tim's carpenters pretty busy.....here's why.

Pretty amazing stuff..huh?

Carowinds

2010-08-13T08:23:00.005-04:00

So here is my Carowinds post--we went to Carowinds for the Chris Tomlin concert. Our concert tickets included admission to the park! We had a blast--besides it being HOT. Tim's parents came with us. Their birthday present to me was paying for the hotel room and keeping Emma while Tim and I went to the concert. Thank you, Mooma and Doodad!!!!!

Emma LOVED the park. I think she is going to be a little thrill seeker when she gets older. As reserved a child as she is, she shocked me with her little living-on-the-edge attitude. She went on all the rides that she was tall enough to go on.

If I were to do it all over again I would either A: Go when it's not as hot, or B: Spend the whole day in the water.

All in all it was a great day! Enjoy the pics

Emma's first roller coaster:

One of my faves from the day:

aaahhh, time to cool off!

Chris Tomlin

2010-08-06T19:32:00.009-04:00

So....It's no secret...I really, really, really like Chris Tomlin. It all started when Tim and I saw him in concert for the first time at the North Carolina State Fair. I think it was in October of 2006. Since then I have dragged Tim.........ahem......I mean Tim and I have gone to several other concerts. One in Virginia, two in Florida and two here in North Carolina (Winston Salem and Carowinds). I actually had purchased tickets for us to see him in Charlotte back in November of 2007 but Emma decided to come 5 weeks early so we missed that concert since I had just given birth. That's actually one of the first things I mentioned to Tim after Emma was born--how bummed I was that I would be missing the CT concert. Two of the concerts we went to included messages by Louie Giglio which were amazing! He is such a wonderful speaker.

Our most recent adventure was to Carowinds which is right on the NC/SC border. It included a full day at Carowinds followed by the concert. (I'll do the Carowinds post separately). It was a Spirit-filled evening. The evening was opened by Kristian Stanfill. That was such a surprise because I didn't know anybody was opening for Chris. I know lots of Kristian's songs from the Passion CD's so it was so great hearing him live and sing along. Then Chris came out....and he did not disappoint. The most wonderful part of the evening was when Chris was singing Amazing Grace. There is a line in the chorus that sings, "...and like a flood Your mercy rains...". Right as Chris began to sing those words, the sky opened up and rain flooded down. It was beautiful. It's like God was putting on a show for us....showering us--literally--with his mercy. It never stopped raining until after the concert. There really are not words to describe the evening. I love when God meets me right where I am. He fills me up to overflowing with his presence and comforts me like no other. This is why I love seeing Chris Tomlin in concert. Every time I have seen him God arrives! EVERY TIME!

But one thing I have been convicted of is remembering to not take my focus off of where it needs to be. I tend to get star struck....I really would like to meet Chris one day. I found myself looking past the security last night. Glancing over at the tour bus behind the fence. Wondering if I could talk to a security guard to see if I could get backstage. I found myself focusing more on that and less on God. I was there and I was worshiping....but distracted at the same time. Chris Tomlin is not God--I was not there to "worship" him. Yes he sings amazing songs....but he (and other people) write those songs to connect people to God--not them.

So--the tickets have already been purchased for the next concert. He is coming back to the State Fair this year and Tim and I are 9 rows back center stage. You will find me there worshiping, eyes closed and hands raised. Worshiping the God who created the beautiful music and the people who wrote it.

I can't wait.....and maybe....just maybe.....I will meet Chris Tomlin one day. I will get to tell him in person what a wonderful gift God has given him--creating music to connect people with The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. Music that awakens souls....

Louie Giglio

"...and like a flood His mercy rains. Unending love, amazing grace..."

Chris Tomlin

I love how you see hands being held raised up.....

Kristian Stanfill--his love for the Lord is apparent when he sings...it's awesome!

Lake Norman 2010

2010-08-02T10:27:00.008-04:00

So my family on my mom's side rented a lake house at Lake Norman for the whole week this past week. We rented it to celebrate my 30th and my Uncle George's 50th birthdays. We were there from Friday-Friday and checked out Saturday morning. We had an amazing time. Tim was unable to go due to work....but Emma and I had a relaxing time with our wonderful family. I took over 900 photos but for now I will leave you with our group photo.

This picture has 4 generations in it:
FIRST
My Grandma and Grandpa
SECOND
My mom, her brother (Uncle George and his wife Aunt Robin) and her sister (Aunt Sheri and her husband Uncle Dave)
THIRD
Mom's kids: Me, Jess and Bryn
one of UG's kids (we were missing Taylor): Dan and his girlfriend, Kate
AS's kids: Charlie and Sam
FOURTH
me and my sisters kids: Matt, Jack, Emma, Noah and Lorelei

Our family has gotten together about once a year for the past several years for different occasions. I need to dig up all the group shots we have taken and post them together. I think our first group shot was at my mom's 50th birthday bash when Jessica was newly pregnant with Jack--my how things have changed!!

I love my family :)

Birthday Surprise

2010-07-19T13:57:00.004-04:00

So my mom and sisters surprised me last night with a girls night out pedicure and dinner for my birthday. We were trying to remember the last time we all went out sans kiddos and we could not remember. We had SO MUCH FUN! First we went for our pedicures and it was HEAVEN! We sat there, talked, laughed, smiled--all the while having our feet massaged and toes painted. It was wonderful!! After the pedicures we went to Daniels for dinner. We got a bottle of Riesling, ordered wonderful food and topped it off with some decadent desserts! The dinner conversation was wonderful--it was the perfect evening!

Thank you Mom, Jess and Bryn for such a wonderful birthday surprise! It will always be remembered....hopefully it will turn into a birthday tradition :)

Enjoy the photos!

The big 3-0

2010-07-17T15:45:00.001-04:00

Yep....so today I turned 30....and I love it! I have gotten the sweetest comments on Facebook and some great cards in the mial!
Tim, Emma and I are going out to dinner tonight to celebrate.

I started something that has sort of turned into a tradition around our house. A picture with Emma the morning of our birthdays.....so, here are me and Emma:

July 17, 2008

July 17, 2009

and today, July 17, 2010

Happy Birthday to me!

Kids Exchange

2010-07-17T15:32:00.001-04:00

So ever since I was 18 weeks pregnant with Emma I have attended the bi-annual Kids Exchange at the Fair Grounds in Raleigh. One year I found a rhomper with "Emma" embroidered on the front! Seriously!

I went today and, like always, it did not disappoint. Here is my loot:
1 bathingsuit
1 rhomper (Pottery Barn Kids)
1 "jogging" suit (carter's)
2 hoodie sweaters
4 long sleve shirts
3 vests
4 dresses
3 long sleve/pant outfits
1 pair of capris
1 short sleve/pant outfit

and the "find" of the day.....

A whole Patsy Aiken outfit....how CUTE is it!?

I got all this (plus two babydolls) for under $125.00--I consider that very good!!

I love a good second hand sale! It's like a drug :)

Zoo

2010-07-12T11:33:00.006-04:00

So Monday of last week we packed up two cars and headed to the zoo!

5 adults and 5 kiddos (4 of which are 3 and under)

It was fun, fun, fun....but I think next time we will not go when it is 100 degrees outside! I believe more fun would have been had if we were not avoiding the sun, trying to cool off and making sure to stay hydrated. The NC Zoo has lots to offer and is the perfect distance from Raleigh for an easy day trip. Here are just a few pictures from our day.

All the cousins: Jack Matt Lorelei Noah and Emma

Ice Cream was a MUST...since it was so hot and all!

The merry go round was a huge hit...

One of my faves from the day:

Emma decided to go with the lion

The otters were so cute!

Lunch

Don't you just want to HUG him?

Sea Lions

Emma just LOVED it! It is something I will keep on the short list of things to do with Emma on a pretty day. Can't wait to go back :)

Emma 32 months

2010-07-10T09:40:00.000-04:00

So my Emma is 32 months this month...2 years 8 months

She is:
amazing
happy
SO smart
sassy
fun
not potty trained
listens VERY well and obeys
very sensitive when she does get correction (makes a sad face)

loves:
to sing
to dance
to draw
to make us laugh
to swim!
animals
to wear her bathing suit
to have mommy and daddy together all to herself
going for walks
sweets (just like her daddy)
to help cook
strawberries
watermellon
shoes
to be around people she loves (Mooma, Doodad, Gram, Paw Paw, Aunt Jess, Aunt B and all her cousins!)

does not love:
to sit still to eat
strangers
unfamiliar places
to poop infront of us
go to bed when it's light outside
to be in the car for more than 30 minutes at a time

She is SUCH a nurturer and I love that about her. She has the sweetest, kindest spirit about her. She is just so special. She is a home-body and loves the predictability of our day to day activities. She always needs to know where we are going and what we are doing. I pray she stays this way. I see her as more unique in her personality type and that is so endearing to me. She actually reminds me so much of myself when I was little. I would do things like call my parents halfway through a sleep over at a friends house because I missed my home (I can so see Emma doing that when she is older). She starts preschool in September. I am so excited about this new adventure for her. I hope it compliments her sweet personality and grows it for the good--I'm sure it will.

God really gave me a treasure of a child and I thank Him every day for her.
She is my sweet, sweet Emma and I love her so much.

Beautiful...

2010-06-30T18:55:00.001-04:00

Pretty girl and a pretty flower...

2010-06-27T21:19:00.000-04:00

Easton

2010-06-25T20:05:00.003-04:00

So last weekend my sister and I decided to pack up the car and head up to Easton, Maryland where my dad lives for a last minute visit. Tim and I had been there several years ago but not since we had Emma. Bryn and I headed out Saturday morning at 5:00 a.m. to make the 6 hour drive. Emma and Noah did beautifully!! This was Emma's first longer-than-2-hours drive and she really impressed me with how content she stayed. (This little girl is not a fan of the car seat for over 30 minutes at a time....). We got to Easton just in time for lunch so Dad and Sandi took us into St. Michaels for lunch. The area where my dad lives is surrounded by water. It is BEAUTIFUL--a photographers dream!! I had tons of fun snapping pictures everywhere we went :) Like I said, we went to St. Michaels for lunch and explored there for a bit. Sunday we headed into Easton to play at an awesome playground, walk around a little and then went to Oxford for lunch. We followed that up with playing in the river on a tiny beach and then heading to the community pool in Easton since it was SO hot!! The kids did SO good the entire time--being in a new place and always on the go. Inbetween all the go, go, go we relaxed at dad's house which was perfect!

The drive home was another story (besides the kids being good!).....what was supposed to be a 6 hour drive turned into an 11 hour drive! There was a fatal accident on 95 south whiched caused the major interstate to be closed! Yes, you read that right.....I95 South was CLOSED on our way home--and tacked 5 hours onto our drive home. My sister brought her computer which was loaded with movies. I believe that was our saving grace for the drive. The kids were content. Thank you Jesus!!!! Seriously.

Here is just a sample of the photos I got and the amazing places we visited. Enjoy!!

At lunch on Saturday

Walking around St. Michaels....

Ice cream break!

Dad's backyard......it was a sanctuary!

Playing in the river.....I love sail boats!

Sweet Noah Chapman

At lunch on Sunday....Oxford, MD

*this restaurant was actually the location where one of the scenes from Failure to Launch was filmed..very cool!

Thank you, Dad and Sandi, for opening your home to us! We had such a good time and loved seeing where you live. We can't wait to do it again!

We love you!

I love pictures

2010-06-15T18:36:00.000-04:00

I bring my camera with me EVERYWHERE....and this is why...

yes I had my camera by the pool wrapped in a towel vicariously propped up on a chaise lounge--right by the edge....yes it could have fell in and yes I had to set the timer and run back for the photo....and it was OH so WORTH it :)

Left to right:
Emma, Aunt B, Noah, Aunt Jess, Lorelei, Jack and me

Neighborhood Cookout

2010-06-13T09:49:00.000-04:00

Tim and I have the best neighbors. They have lived on the street forever and took us in when we moved here over three years ago. They are just awesome. Yesterday they bought a pig, pulled out the cooker and invited the whole street over. If you don't know, cooking pig takes all day, so they started at 7 in the morning and kept going until dark. They told me not to bring anything...but, since my parents raised me right, I knew I could not go empty handed. I decided to (make for the first time) and bring fruit salsa. This is something I had at my Aunt's house a while ago and FELL.IN.LOVE with. It's SO yummy!! Here is the recipe I used as a "go by"....but did not follow exactly due to moldy raspberries when I got home.

Ingredients:
2 kiwis, peeled and diced
2 Golden Delicious apples - peeled, cored and diced
8 ounces raspberries
1 pound strawberries
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons fruit preserves, any flavor

basically you cut everything up (this takes FOREVER--you want it like chunky salsa) and mix it all up....it is divine!! (and croud pleaser). You serve it with cinnamon crusty bread or pita chips. Yum!

Here they are chopping up the pig...and see the corn on there? yum!

Did I mention how yummy the corn was?

The spread......yum

A day at the pool

2010-06-12T08:55:00.000-04:00

So on Memorial Day what else is there to do except hang at the pool? So--that is exactly what we did. My sisters and their kiddos came over. We did lunch and then hit the pool. All the kids had a blast and the moms did too. Here are just a few photos from our day.

Emma
(that kiddie pool in the back may have been more popular with the little ones than the big pool!)

Cousins!

Getting ready for a group shot (which is always difficult with 4 of the 5 cousins being 3 and under)

But give them some Capri Sun and we managed to squeeze out a keeper :)
L to R:
Emma, Noah, Lorelei, Matt and Jack

It's been a while

2010-06-10T12:10:00.000-04:00

the title says it all....it's been a while....since I've blogged that is......

we've been busy
I've been lazy
things have been happening
I've been slacking

so many pictures so little time

BSF ended a few weeks ago.....I don't think I have opened my Bible since.....I think I need to feed my soul....It's missing Jesus right now. Life seems to unravel before my eyes when my Bible gets dusty..................It's time to clean off the dust.

It's funny...I heard this song on my way to work this morning....I blogged about it before......God's timing is perfect....it's an amazing song.

Conversation with Emma

2010-05-28T09:02:00.000-04:00

So Tim called me from the car while he and Emma were waiting for drop off with Mooma. Here is the conversation he and Emma just had while waiting...

Emma pulls down the visor in the front seat and quickly flaps it back up
Emma: "Daddy, daddy, there's a surprise in there!!"
Tim: "What is it?"
Emma pulls the visor back down
Emma: "Daddy and Emma are in there!!!"
as they are looking at their reflections in the mirror...

Have I said lately how absolutely adorable my Emma is? Well, if not....she is the most adorable, creative, cute, smart little girl in the ENTIRE WORLD!!

Cousins

2010-05-27T21:07:00.000-04:00

I have two sisters, Jess and Bryn. Jess has three kiddos and Bryn has one. All the cousins are Matt, Jack, Emma, Noah and Lorelei. Aunt B and Noah live in Japan and Jess and her kiddos live here. Aunt B is here from Japan because she is going to have a pacemaker installed for her ticker (she has a heart condition which is to complicated for me to explain). We LOVE having Aunt B and Noah here!!! And the older all the cousins get the funner our get-togethers get!! Here are a few photos I took before Aunt B and Noah left for their Alaskan cruise...but they will be back in a few days to play agian :) Then....the first part of June Aunt B will turn right around and fly to Texas for her new heart. She's excited!

So...stay tuned for more cousin fun :)

Emma, Noah, Lorelei and Jack (Matt was in school) :(

Beautiful Aunt B and Noah

Lorelei just looks scared...she was really loving the strangle--I mean hug--from Emma :)

Emma

2010-05-25T13:01:00.000-04:00

Just a few pictures...

happy of her tower

sticking her tongue is a required skill in making towers

If Emma had straight hair....

But she doesn't...it's curly...and I love it!

VW

2010-05-22T11:34:00.000-04:00

We went on a walk today and passed by a place that works on VW's.....I couldn't resist the photo op :)

So fun!

Before the Morning by Josh Wilson

2010-05-21T11:36:00.001-04:00

Heard this song on the radio the other day for the first time--LOVE it!

Do you wonder why you have to
Feel the things that hurt you
If there’s a God who loves you where is He now

Maybe there are things you can’t see
And all those things are happening
To bring a better ending

Someday somehow you’ll see you’ll see

Would you dare would you dare to believe
That you still have a reason to sing
Cause the pain that you’ve been feeling
It can’t compare to the joy that’s coming
So hold on you gotta wait for the light
Press on and just fight the good fight
Cause the pain that you’ve been feeling
It’s just the dark before the morning

My friend you know how this all ends
You know where you’re going
You just don’t know how you’ll get there
So say a prayer

And hold on cause there’s good for those who love God
But life is not a snapshot
It might take a little time but you’ll see the bigger picture

Once you feel the weight of glory
All your pain will fade to memory

It’s just the hurt before the healing
Oh the pain that you’ve been feeling
It’s just the dark before the morning

Raddish Dance

2010-05-08T21:44:00.000-04:00

So the other day Tim, Emma and I were at Tim's moms's (Mooma's) house. We were out at the garden and Emma was eating raddishes straight out of the ground...after washing them off. After every crunchy bite she would run around in circles like a crazy girl. We started calling it the "raddish dance".....

Well tonight she started running in circles inside and chanting "raddish dance, raddish dance...". Here are two video's. I couldn't decide which was better. The first one she announces when "Emma burpied" and then she laughs at herself...and the second one she stops to count some. So...watch both if you like :)

Better Than a Hallelujah: Amy Grant

2010-05-04T18:11:00.000-04:00

So I remember listening to Amy Grant on tape via boom box in my driveway at my home growing up......

Listen to her new song....it's amazing!

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The Pool

2010-05-01T18:02:00.000-04:00

We spent the afternoon today playing by the pool...not exactly in the pool because it is still freezing...but by the pool.
Our leaf rake for the pool makes an awesome sprinkler/mister so we turned that on for Emma to run through a few times. She loves it!
Here are just two photos from our afternoon....my little girl is going to be a fish this summer, I have a feeling.

Enjoy!

Emma

2010-04-27T17:45:00.000-04:00

So I took this picture of Emma while we were out and about today running some errands....

...I'm in love

**this was taken in one of our houses we have for sale...a re-model project. The two bedrooms upstairs have THE BEST LIGHT ALL DAY LONG!! Oh boy if I lived here I would turn one of the rooms into a studio or something**

From our backyard

2010-04-26T11:50:00.000-04:00

Here are a few pictures I took while Emma and I were outside playing this morning.

I love God's creation!

Baby Cardinals *LOVE*

Purple Flowers *think the name of the plant is a Spider Wart*

A LIZARD!

Our first lilly pad flower!

The Field

2010-04-25T17:27:00.000-04:00

So every day I drive by this field and every day I think to myself, "I need to take some pictures of that field. It is so pretty". So today I grabbed my camera...and Emma...and we drove down to the field. It is huge and so pretty. Last spring I thought to myself how beautiful it was but never stopped for pictures. I thought I should take advantage now since the color of the grass seems to be at its peak. It is some sort of grass that turned red and there are these little purple flowers sprinkled throughout the field. It is beautiful! I managed to fill the memory card in my camera pretty quickly but did get several AMAZING photos of Emma (if I do say so myself).....here is just a tiny sampling of the photos I got. Enjoy!

*Love that face

*If you feel like it you can see the rest of the photos here :)

These two are quite the pair

2010-04-22T20:04:00.000-04:00

Jack, Emma and Gram

2010-04-22T19:52:00.000-04:00

Here is a photo I snapped while walking back from the playground with Emma, Jack and my mom--Gram. Isn't it so sweet :) I love their dirty hiney's.

*and I really love the old photo effect on photobucket

life

2010-04-22T19:42:00.000-04:00

So I started a post forever ago with photos from Easter...still getting around to that....

We have just been living life here in the Drew Household.....

spring cleaning (inside and outside)
opening the pool
playing at parks
working (yes, I'm still at my job--waiting to find a replacement)
Tim has been working like crazy

and trying to keep up with an amazing 2 year old.....I tell you what, Emma is such a joy these days :)

here are a few photos from one of our fave parks in Downtown Raleigh

The Mill

2010-04-09T19:23:00.000-04:00

Yates Mill circa 1756

Yates Mill

2010-04-09T19:10:00.000-04:00

So the other day Emma and I were on our way home and we were driving down Lake Wheeler Rd. Historic Yates Mill is located on Lake Wheeler Rd. so I decided to stop. Tim and I had been there before (before Emma) to walk the trail but I had never been down to the mill. I decided it would be fun for Emma to see the waterfall. WOW, what a beautiful place!!! I took so many pictures and Emma had fun looking at the waterfall! This place will be on my short list of great places to take pictures. I will post more photos but wanted to post my fave from the day.

My Emma :)

A couple videos

2010-03-29T18:10:00.000-04:00

Here is a video of Duke trying to get some bumble bees....I think the bees have a conspiracy against Duke and torture him on purpose. It is so funny to watch.

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Here is Emma just being Emma. I had rolled the are rug up to sweep and Emma thought it was the coolest thing!

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playing at the park

2010-03-28T21:28:00.000-04:00

I got these two photos today at the park....I'm in love