12 weeks

After 4 agonizingly long weeks of bed rest I ventured back to the doctor. I had spent too much time googling. Asked everyone who knew about the pregnancy to be in prayer for the SCH to heal, and lost too much sleep stressing about it. All while attempting to talk Jared through getting the house ready for us to move.

First thing I had my early glucose test.
I had gestational diabetes with Addiston and for each subsequent pregnancy they like to test me at 12 weeks that way if I do test positive for Gestational Diabetes I can start a special diet early and insulin if needed. It was 8 am I had been too nervous to eat breakfast and that sugary orange drink tasted nothing like the coffee I wanted. I completed my task and settled into reading the new Harper Lee novel. Finished my bloodwork and was passed off to Ultrasound.

I was able to spot the heartbeat myself, it was strong at 167. (old wives tales predict thats a girl)
Little one was bouncing around all over the place. Probably from that pure sugar drink I had just chugged.

After a thorough search and a few tears of joy the nurse practitioner (my OB had been called in to deliver a baby) confirmed that the SCH was nowhere to be found. I was released from bed rest and told as all pregnant women are "take it easy"

The next day we traveled to Cincinnati for my sweet grandmothers 93rd Birthday, at which we announced to my side of the family that we were going to round out the grandkids and make it an even dozen.


(Oh, and I passed my glucose test. No finger pricking for me this time!)

Two

Exactly two years ago at this moment I held my precious baby girl in my arms, feeding her as her daddy slept on a plasticy fold out bed, it was our first moments alone. Just the two of us, locked in a gaze that I know now as her fighting sleep, dazed trance. She was long awaited and a miracle that I wasn't sure I'd ever get to see but in that moment I felt complete and so in love!

I can't believe two whole years have past. She's growing up so fast it's unbelievable. I feel as If I blinked and now I can hold a conversation with my daughter. She is tiny, but full of personality, she weighs in at barely 24 pounds-triple her birth weight! She knows all of her colors, shapes and can count to 14-that's how many steps we have, she can sing her ABC's and recognize all of the letters and most numbers. She knows days of the week, and can sign enough to get by although we've really dropped off on that since she started talking so well. She loves to pray and some meals insists we do so between every bite. We spend about two hours a day reading and she has a growing love of coloring. She's a daddy's girl if I've ever seen one and mimics everything he does. She's a grazer, eating small snacks constantly and rarely eating a whole meal in one sitting, however if it's a peanut butter sandwich she'll lick the plate!

We had her party saturday and she had a blast!

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

We had a brunch party-an idea I stole from a mom experienced mom, and it turned out great. Breakfast food is easy and I had friends and family who were willing to pitch in and help me get everything together.


(tot & cheese kabobs, quiche, bacon, and fruit kabobs)


(coffee station)


(DIY Yogurt Parfaits and juice bar)

We are so blessed to have found amazing friends and those that we call family in Nashville and Addiston got more toys than she knows what to do with!



She was so excited for her friends to be at her house. And did pretty well with their help opening presents till about halfway through when she realized that they were in fact all "mine"



I felt so blessed to have my grandmother here the week before the party and put her to work helping with the cake. She's an old pro and having her make my daughters birthday cake was so special.








(and yes that is her instantly sticking her finger in the icing-she's my kid)


After cake Addy and her friends watched some Little Mermaid, before the party wrapped up.






4 generations at my girl's 2nd Birthday!

For her birthday dinner we took her to Rainforest Cafe.







After dinner we took her to ride the carousel, I swear she was excited but in all of the pictures I got she was nervous. Clenching the little bar awkwardly jutting from the horses neck yelling "mommy I riding a horse"



We came home well past bed time and after calming an excited sugar crazed toddler, she finally crashed.  But not until after she kissed my belly "all better" when I had a contraction, and squeezed my neck with all her might telling me "I love you too much mommy"

lately

Sorry for the long absence. We’ve been here and there and had family here so my time to blog has been minimal. Not to mention a little one who rarely naps.

Addiston will be 15 months on Sunday. I can’t believe how much she is growing and how much less she is acting like a baby and how she seems more like a little girl.

We decided to take a little break from Gymboree. We had our last class last week. But Addy has pretty much mastered all the skills for her age group and so we decided to take a break for the next 3 months till she’s in the next level and save some money. We are still members so we can go to open play, which is great for days when she needs to get some energy out.

She is at such a fun age right now. We are in a pretty decent routine and she is getting super fun to play with. I bought a little tykes basketball hoop for $5 and the girl can slam dunk with the best of ‘em. But you better believe she cheers for her self afterwards-she just can’t decide who she wants to be more like, her dad or her mom.

We spent Labor day weekend in Cincinnati visiting with my family. My grandmother turned 89 on Friday and we were able to make it to her surprise birthday dinner. The rest of the weekend we just made our rounds visiting my siblings and watching our girl get loved on by her family.

We came home on Monday and Jared’s parents were already here. It was their 30th wedding anniversary so they came down to stay at the famous Opryland hotel. They loved it and we loved having them the rest of the week. They got to play with our girl, and see how much she is growing, and my amazing mother in law helped me clean my whole house and do six loads of laundry. I LOVE HER!

We are going on a trip for Jared’s work this weekend and I am so excited, I love to travel and I love even more that we get to travel as a family. Wish us luck!


Oh and p.s. apparently our neighborhood has wild turkeys roaming about!

It's official

Our girl is 1

Her birth-day was June 11th, which held party #1 but we didn't get to celebrate with family till this past weekend so I didn't count it as official till then (tryin to keep her a baby as long as possible)


Both parties were fun filled and the girl got showered with more stuff than I'm sure she ever needed.




Her first taste of real sugar. she smeared the icing all over the place not really putting it in her mouth till the daddy showed her what the stuff was for and then it was all over.




I tried to clean up the leftovers and she made it abuntently clear that she didn't approve and had seconds.


At the family party she knew what was up and made a much bigger mess.


Notice the tiara? My dad bought it for her when she was only a day old, we (all three of us) wore it in the hospital and we've dubbed it the birthday tiara. Much to my surprise she wore it at both parties with minimal tampering.


I know it sounds cliche but I seriously can't believe that she's one. I'm sure there were times in the past 365 days that felt as if they drug on but for the most part I enjoyed every second, loved holding her and watching her grow. She's changed us, so much so that the thought of a family of two sounds foreign. This song was playing when she came into the world and I only whip it out for special occasions. I know that I'm not suppose to and people always say that you'll forget, that the excitement and the hormones and the drugs will get to ya but I can close my eyes and go back to that hospital room where magic happened, where we waited with anticipation, waited through pain and fatigue, waited for twenty eight long hours before they decided they were going in after her. It seemed like an eternity for her to get to me, I lost all sense of time in the operating room (and never got it back) but then I got to hear her little cries and kiss her face, smell her sweet new baby smell, which 10x1 any mom would say trumps a new car smell! Her daddy got to spend the first few hours with her and as much as I hate to say it I'm glad he did because he needed that time, and she's had him wrapped around her little finger ever since. It did however seem like torture to know that she was here she was just on the other side of a wall and I couldn't hold her. After what seemed like an eternity I got ahold of my girl and it's been pure love ever since!

24 while 24

We do Birthday's up right in this house, hype, week long celebrations, friends, elaborate plans and fancy dinners. Monday was my birthday and it was a success. I felt so special and was able to relax, and was overwhelmed with love and excitement.

We started the celebrating Saturday night with a dinner out with friends.


Sunday my friend Lindsey took me to a precious little cafe/bar where I had, brace yourself: cookie dough egg rolls! They were in fact as amazing as they sound and yes they did rock my world! Apparently they are Carrie Underwood's favorite so who knows maybe next time I need to indulge in something insanely unhealthy I'll see her and we'll chat over coffee about how on earth someone would think to make an egg roll with cookie dough. Hey, it could happen.

Monday was B day and Jared brought me breakfast in bed, (we'll neglect to mention that it was a slice of quiche that I had made the day before) We went out to dinner that night while some friends had a lil party at our house to watch the babe. Dinner was romantic and delectable, so relaxing and a much needed time of just us! Before dinner the cheerleading squad I coach hi-jacked practice and had a little party for me, I have a half dozen crayon colored cards to prove it. Jared got me a kindle, we both love to read, so I'm pretty sure he'll get just as much use out of it as I do and sooner rather than later Addiston will sample how it tastes.



So my friend Nate has done this thing the last two years where instead of making new years resolutions he makes sort of birthday resolutions or lists of goals to accomplish during the next year. I've decided to use his practice as an inspiration for a sort of annual bucket list. So here it is: my list of 24 things to do while I am 24.

1. Go on a vacation with our family of 3!
2. Be slow to speak.
3. Join a choir.
4. Pick up the tab of a random family in a restaurant with me.
5. Skydive.
6. Fast.
7. Meet a celebrity.
8. Read at least 1 book a month.
9. Send birthday card's to every member of my family.
10. Learn how to do something new.
11. Play the piano sitting in my living room.
12. Go on more date's with my husband.
13. Purge my wardrobe down to the minimum.
14. Get involved in a charity.
15. Create a recipe from scratch.
16. Go camping.
17. Build something.
18. Learn Dutch.
19. Help someone achieve their dream.
20. Complete P90x.
21. Plant a garden.
22. Try at least 24 new recipes.
23. Surprise someone-successfully.
24. Don't sweat the small stuff.

Last night 2 of my closest girl friends took me out to dinner and then we went down town for dessert and a little tourist like fun. We didn't get home till after midnight and Yes I am still in my pajama's and drinking coffee at 1 pm on a Wednesday, but it was my birthday, I can wear pj's if I want to-they should totally change the song to that.

I don't write any of this to brag about how much I did this week, but more to revel in how much "family" we have grown down here and how blessed I feel to have had an amazing birthday. That even though I didn't get to see any of my family and I miss them desperately I felt loved and special and am so very thankful!

Oh and one last thing.

Her first pony-tail.

In the words of her father, "it's like a fountain coming out of her head."