Things I am loving right now...



1. All three of us in one house! Our week is coming to an end now but it has been nothing short of wonderful.

2. Peppermint chocolate chip milkshakes from Chick Fil A. Well I've really only had one, but I loved it and I plan to get another one very soon, before they go away until next

Christmas!

3. The excitement of some new Christmas gifts that I will be using very soon - my new Color Nook from Wes, and a stand up mixer I got from my family in Florida! (I am finishing up reading Water for Elephants ((thanks Amy Bazley!)) and then I plan to start using my Nook.)

4. Feeling our little boy kick more and more!

5. This cute little butt running around everywhere - because we are potty training in full force! It's going great, I might add!

6. And one more to add to the list - my new MAC make up! Oh I highly recommend it if you are looking for a new line or just a new look - whatever it is.

I wrote this post a few days ago in hopes of being able to get my computer to upload pictures from my camera but it's still not happening, so this is a pictureless post.

Happy New Year everyone!!

Family

We just got back from a busy and fun weekend in Pigeon Forge – my whole Mom’s side of the family (minus my Mom basically) got together at a cabin up there again this year to celebrate Christmas. As always we had a great time, and the kids had a blast too! We had 21 people, and 17 of us stayed in one cabin, so needless to say we had a full house!

It’s so fun to watch each of the kids because everyone’s personality is so different –

First there is Troy and Michelle- they have two boys, Joshua is almost 4 and Brennan is about 6 months. They are both so sweet. Joshua is still pretty quiet compared to Abbie – he is all boy though and loves sports and the Wii! Brennan is the sweetest little baby and so content. He just smiles all the time.

Stefanie and Jay (Jay wasn’t there because he is the one I’ve told you about that is in Iraq) have three kids, so they were all there with Stefanie. The two older kids, Kaylee and Zachary, are wonderful and they are not shy by any means, but mostly you have to engage in conversation with them. But they are so sweet. Then there is Andrew. He is the jokester of the three, for sure, and the youngest of them at 8. He is such a ham, but more on him later…

Then there is Kristen and Ryan, who have Evan. He just turned 2 in November and is sweet as can be too. He talks and about half the time you get what he is saying, but he has the cutest jibber-jabber I’ve ever heard! He and Abbie had a lot of fun going up and down the stairs about a million times! They chased each other around and played really well together!

Last but not least, there is Marc and Kendra. They don’t have children just yet – but they have plenty of others to play with and are so great and patient with all the kids!

So anyways, talking about personalities, Saturday night after opening presents Andrew wanted to sing everyone a song. It was basically about the 12 days of Christmas, but it was about Jesus’ salvation and really had a great message. Still there was this one part, on the fifth day of Christmas, where the regular song goes “Five Golden Rings” real loud and pronounced, he said something else and was really animated and I can’t remember it now but seriously, he was a ham. As he got to about the 7th day, I think Abbie grew tired of watching and wanted to join in, so up she went, stood next to him, and looked at him and said “Let’s sing our song, Andrew.” She started dancing next to him and singing as much as she could, and then at the end she did her famous “Clap Mom!” to me, and I clapped and she bowed her head, her blonde hair flinging over, and said “thank you, thank you!” Oh if it wasn’t the funniest thing I’ve ever seen, I’m not sure what is. I’m telling you, those two could be on stage.

Now we are off to Florida for a few days to enjoy some hopefully warmer weather! Merry Christmas!!

Trains, Trucks, and well....it's a BOY!!!

In case you haven't heard by way of other social media or our big mouths, we found out Friday we are having a BOY!!

The ultrasound went really well and everything looked great, which was a huge relief. Then came the moment of truth - would our baby cooperate? "It" was all squished up and laying low so I wasn't sure, but as soon as the ultrasound tech got to that part she pretty much said - it's a boy! And Wes, well Wes had been sort of relaxed and just sitting back in the chair, but when those words came out of her mouth, he leaned forward and said "Really? You're sure about that??" And she said I'm pretty sure, and then went on to show us more and said yea, I can say with almost 100% certainty that it's a boy!

So I do have to go back in 4 weeks because the way he was positioned they couldn't get a good look at all 4 chambers of the heart - fine by me! I am excited already to see him again! And I'm actually measuring ahead of schedule although they didn't change my due date.

I am truly so excited that Abbie will have a baby brother next spring!

Belly Pic

Here is your 17 week belly pic! I'll be posting after Friday's ultrasound appt to let everyone know all the details! Have a great week!

Holy Moly, Spicy Guacamole

Sorry, that's one of Abbie's favorite phrases lately, thanks to Moose, I think it is.

It's been a while so I felt like maybe I need to blog. There is so much going on, yet so little at the same time. Wes and I are still living apart, and so far nothing has really opened up with our house or a job for me - but we are remaining hopefuly, or trying anyways! I have good days and then not so good days. Thankfully Wes is pretty wonderful and stays positive practically all the time. I've learned through this that I'm not a pessimist by any means, or an optimist, but a realist. It's so boring, I know. The good in all this is that Atlanta is close enough to where Wes and I can see each other every weekend. He comes home on Thursdays and stays through Sunday, then with the holidays coming up we'll be able to see each other more.

Abbie is doing great - we are working on potty training - she is not catching on as quickly as I had hoped, she freaks out sometimes when I ask her to go on the potty - and the whole #2 thing is challenging, because she is far from regular. I know, TMI, but I think that sort of contributes to the fear of it all for her. But now her babysitter is working with her and some of the other kids too, so I think that will help. I can't remember if I've shared her theory about the baby yet, but she says that she has a baby brother in her belly and I have a baby sister in mine. It's pretty cute!

I will be 17 weeks pregnant on Friday. I am really starting to pop out and I have started feeling little kicks, mostly at night. And next Friday we go for our big ultrasound! I have no predictions whatsoever on what we will have. I really truly just want a healthy baby more than anything. I am feeling good for the most part. I had a nasty stomach bug a couple weeks ago, which was awful. But other than that, I feel pretty normal. I eat a lot at breakfast and lunch but I don't have much of an appetite at dinner, which has worked pretty well because I haven't really had to cook much with Wes being gone during the week. Abbie and I just eat whatever is around and I don't worry about it too much. It is nice that she can just eat a pb&j and be totally happy!

We are getting family pics taken on Saturday with Sunday Grant! I'm very excited to have her do our pictures again, because I loved them last time! I will share those soon hopefully! And I'll try to have Wes take a belly pic of me to post too -

Until next time!

Introducing baby Laura!

Last weekend on our way back from Peachtree City we had the privilege of meeting my newest cousin, Laura Marion Lowe. Her Mom is my first cousin, Hillary. Hillary and I are 2 months apart in age and have always been really close. We got married a week apart, over 10 years ago! Laura is their first child, so we are very excited for Hill and Brandon! Laura was born on October 18th and she was teeny tiny but she is doing great and gaining weight now. What a sweetheart. Abbie and I so enjoyed getting to meet her....

12 weeks and some Abbie pics

I'm a few days late on this but somehow every night Facebook seems to suck me in and then I'm too tired to post. I had Wes take some pictures of me last weekend - the belly pics begin... I probably won't be posting these on FB so only here will you see them! I seriously can't believe how much I am poking out already. I promise you I was this big at like 16 weeks the first time around. It's funny how my body just seems to be like, oh yea, I remember this, let's go ahead and be round! Oh and I was trying to link up to the post I did in 2007 with my 12 week belly pic but I forget how to do that. But you can check it out on the sidebar. It's pretty funny how I posted my 13 week belly pic on November 4th and I will be 13 weeks this time on November 5th!

I could not resist getting this picture, saggy diaper and all. She was digging for her fishing pole here. We are working on potty training by the way, but if I push too hard she completely has a meltdown so I have to just go at her pace, I suppose!

This next one is for you, Mommom. Thank you for the gorgeous pea coat and hat! Despite the face, she really does love it!

And here is my sweet litte "Tink" last Saturday. This was about the best picture I got of her. And don't judge me on the shoes. I looked all over the place for something to match this costume with no luck, so it had to be white sandals with white tights. It made me cringe too, but other than that, I thought she was pretty darn cute!

90 mph...or maybe not

Lately I feel like we are going 90 mph around here...or not. So many things are happening, and all at once. Wes just got promoted, we are moving to Georgia, and we are expecting a baby in May! Yes, another May baby! So we are facing a lot of changes over the next few months. Some I am totally thrilled about, and others I could live without. I know all of this is happening for a reason though, and I have Hope that it will all work out as it's supposed to.

So those are the reasons I feel like we are going about 90 mph around here these days. The reason I don't feel that way is some days I don't really think I have the energy to get out of bed. Thankfully the fatigue from this pregnancy has drastically subsided, but there for a while I felt like life was moving in slow motion! I was sleeping in my car on my lunch break, closing my eyes for a minute or two at my desk, or just laying on Abbie's bedroom floor while she played hop scotch over me or some other crazy game. I imagine a toddler jumping on your stomach over and over won't hurt your unborn baby? I really hope not. I do try to limit this as much as I can but it seems that the day I got pregnant she started using me as a trampoline! We told Abbie the other day I was going to have another baby. She thinks it's a boy. We'll find out December 15th if her prediction is true!

So back to the promotion and move. First of all, I am so incredibly proud of Wes. He has worked so hard and truly deserves this! He is under a lot of stress since taking this new job and I hate to see him like this, but he's only in the second week and I'm sure it will get better. It's a big step for him in his career - he's going from being an outside sales person to managing 8 outside sales people himself! I know he will be a great manager!

As far as the move goes, we are still in the preliminary stages and there is a lot to figure out. We are trying to rent our house because we are pretty sure we won't be able to sell it. And I still have to work everything out with my job. I don't have any guarantees at this point that I will stay with Eaton, which is ok, but I'd like to of course if I can. Then there's childcare. This is by far the most important to me. I truly pray that we can find someone as good as the sitter we have now for Abbie. She has been such a blessing to us!

Well that made me tired just typing all of this. It is 8:15 on Saturday evening and I am spent! I'll try to do a better job at keeping the blog updated. I don't want to lose sight of this precious child inside of me with all of this other stuff going on. We truly are ecstatic and I can say in all honesty that I really did not expect this pregnancy to be a healthy one in the beginning. So far we've had nothing but good reports and I am so thankful.

Just a few pics...

I promise to do a better update soon!

28 Months!

We are almost halfway to 3, folks! It's hard to believe!

Abbie continues to light up our lives in ways we never imagined, with a few tests of our patience thrown in every now and then!

We are still having gorgeous weather here so we've been trying to enjoy it before it starts getting cold again. I've been running a lot more and I'm really enjoying it again, and Wes has been mountain biking a lot, as always. We've also got a bike trailer now that one of Wes's customers gave him for free, so we've been taking Abbie out in it too! She is good as long as she's got her juice, snacks, and her paci!

We are headed to Hilton Head on Friday and are so excited! I can't wait to see Abbie at the beach. She hasn't been yet this year and I know she is going to love it!

Before I put it off any longer, I've got to update this blog. So the first and foremost thing on my mind is sleep. And the lack of it. Yep folks, my child has regressed to a pattern of waking at night again, usually right at 1:30 am on the nose, and some nights staying awake for an hour or more. What???!! I thought, naively I suppose, that I would never be doing a post on sleep, at least Abbie's sleep, again! I am pretty positive she is waking up because she is scared, because she's always telling me when I go in there that there are alligators, or bears, or some sort of animal like that in her bed. So letting her cry it out just doesn't work this time in my opinion, until or unless I get to the point where I think she is pulling my chain. But for now, I don't have it in me. So I go in there and sit in the recliner in her room while she goes back to sleep. Sometimes it only takes once, other times it might take two or three times. But I'm praying this is just a phase, oh someone please tell me it's just a phase, and if anyone out there has advice for what I can do to help this be over soon, please let me know!

My Dad and Eileen have been visiting us this weekend and we've had a great time with them, along with some absolutely gorgeous fall-like weather! I'll post more pics later, but here are a few from yesterday when she was helping Dad plant some flowers.

Here's a pic for you - Abbie was 27 months last Friday. Wow, when I put it like that she sounds pretty old! This week has been SO busy and I'm ready for a little break from it all! I'll try to post another update soon.

If something were to happen to me tomorrow I would want to leave the following lyrics to Abbie-

"Be strong in the Lord and,

Never give up hope,

You're gonna do great things,

I already know.

God's got His hand on you so,

Don't live life in fear,

Forgive and forget,

And don't forget why you're here.

Take your time and pray.

These are the words I would say"

I just love this song by Sidewalk Prophets, and it always makes me think of Abbie and the words I would want her to never forget throughout her life. There is honestly nothing in the world I want more for her than to love God and love others. Of course I want her to be happy too, but that's not always what life is about. We can't always have everything we want and sometimes we are dealt things that we may not like. So let's be real with our kids. Teach them to pray and trust and have faith in God, not in the things of this world.

Stepping off the soapbox now. ( :

Stream of Consciousness

I'm stealing that title from MckMama - this is really how I like to blog anyways.

It's Saturday and so far we've been very productive - working in the yard, cleaning inside, getting ready for Wes's brother Brett and his girlfriend to come stay with us tonight. Our neighbors had a garage sale this morning and Wes bought a Little Tikes play gym with a slide for Abbie, and a sandbox. I'm not really sure why he bought the sandbox, considering we already have one, but oh well. Abbie definitely likes the slide, but she's a little apprehensive about going down it without holding our hand. It's nice to be home this weekend. We've been gone the last two, with the 4th of July over in Murphy, then Boston last weekend. We spent most of the 4th on the lake, and had a great time. And then our trip to Boston really couldn't have been better either. I really just loved meeting my grandfather's family, and seeing the house and the town where he grew up - my grandmother is always telling me stories about everyone but they all kind of run together when you don't know the people. And it was very special to get to be with my cousin Jay, who is in the Air Force and is being deployed to Iraq in a few weeks. He and his family live in Delaware, so we don't get to see them that often anyways, but it was just nice to spend the time with him. If you are a praying person, please keep him in your prayers. He will be on a big base over there but it's still scary, plus he has a wife and 3 kids, and I know they will miss him. He will be gone about 6 months.

So Abbie is napping(I think), and Wes is mountain biking, and I'm just enjoying some peace and quiet. Life is good right now. We have been trying for another baby for a while, but have had some difficulty so I think we are going to take a step back and just be content with what we have. It will happen when and if it's supposed to. I'm not getting any younger though, and I have a lot of friends right now that are expecting... but we also have an amazing child that has brought us so much happiness, and it just keeps getting better. So we'll see what happens with everything!

I'll post a few pics of Abbie for you now - I've posted most of our Boston pics on Facebook and Shutterfly, but here are a few others taken recently. She is so much fun these days. She talks non-stop, that is no exaggeration, and we are constantly laughing at the things she says. Example: The other day I made us spaghetti. It's a go to dinner for the two of us when Wes is riding his bike in the evenings. I put it on her tray, and she said "I've never tried your pasgetti before." I think it was the way she said it too that just made me laugh.

I'll close now - I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer so far! Until next time.

Ponytails!!

Finally, the proof that Abbie actually wore a ponytail in her hair for more than a second!! I guess by the third picture (or maybe it was the sixth) she was done with the camera!

So, Charleston was gorgeous, as always. And we had a great time. Literally all we did was eat, float around in the ocean, and eat some more. But it was perfect.

Of course we missed this little girl....

How could you not, right?! She has had a rough week - we found out Thursday that she has a Staph infection, of all things. We thought they were chicken pox but they were only getting worse. So she is on her 2nd day of antibiotics and the boils on her chest are looking better. I've learned a lot about this kind of stuff this week, unfortunately. I've learned we need to be a little more diligent with her hand washing, and just really watching when she has open cuts or scrapes because germs can get in that way. The good news is other than the pain associated with these sores, she has had no other symptoms. It still amazes me the things we all go through as parents though, and how each step and experience hopefully teaches us a little more and prepares us for the next stage!!

This evening we looked and saw Joseph riding his John Deer around the culdesac, so I asked Abbie if she wanted to go outside and see him. She dropped everything literally and ran out with me. This is how the conversation went:

A (walking down the driveway): Joooophaaahhh!!

J (seeing us and stopping in front of the driveway): Hi Abbie.

A: Hi Jophah.

J: Is that a butterfly on your dress, Baby Aggie? And flowers?

A: Yea (looking down at her dress)....(then looking up at him) Do you like it?

My two work trips have come and gone. The one to Pittsburgh was pretty uneventful, and I mean that in every sense. Here I thought I might actually enjoy the peace and quiet, the nice meals, having a glass of wine...Nope. I missed Abbie terribly. And I missed the commotion. Every time I saw a child with their Mom and Dad, which by the way are all over airports, my heart just ached. But I made it. Then came my second trip, which was supposed to be last week. Abbie came down with a virus though and so I cancelled it and stayed home with her for two days. I was so thankful I was here and not already down in South Carolina. Next up is Wes and I's anniversary trip this weekend! We are SO excited. I"ll post more about that when we come back.

THIS weekend, however, we got to hang out with Misty and Macie, Amanda, Chloe and Caden, and Rachel, Ava and Jack. It was so great to be able to hang out with them, as it always is. I can't help but think back to what our get togethers used to be like. They've certainly changed a little, but I just love that we can incorporate the kids into our visits now and they can play while we catch up!

And then today, we got to go to the Land Rover driving experience - what a fun time that was! We basically were on a 4-wheel trail for about an hour and we climbed up big ole hills, went on a teeter-totter for cars...it was a BLAST and I'm so glad we went. It's a perk you get when you buy a Land Rover so it was all free and even Abbie got to come. She enjoyed herself, but she did have to throw in a few "Be careful, Daddy" warnings here and there. We can't wait to go again!

June

It's hard to imagine a plane ride without a diaper bag overflowing with toys, a couple meltdowns, my sweet girl standing up touching the air vents, then wanting to touch every magazine, barf bag, and seat tray....

I will be travelling for work twice this month, and considering I haven't travelled once since having Abbie, two times, back to back like this, might be a little tough. Thankfully I have complete confidence in Wes. He didn't even flinch when I asked him about the trips. And given the fact that Abbie is completely smitten with her Daddy...

Well, that makes it much easier too. So then, after my work travels, it gets really exciting...First, we are having a mini-reunion with my best gals and our kiddos, and then....Wes and I are going on our first trip alone since having Abbie, for our 10-year anniversary!! So anyways, that's what's getting ready to go down over here. Happy Memorial Day everyone!!

TWO!

It's hard to write a post for the two year milestone, so I will start with her stats from her appointment:

Weight 24 lbs (15%), Height 33 3/4" (50%)

Dr. Morgan told me she had no concerns whatsoever about Abbie, and I told her I felt the same. But it's always good to hear from a professional. Just for the record, I'll go through a quick list of what my sweet girl is up to these days:

She is sleeping from 8pm until around 6:30-7. This is great considering there for a LONG while she was waking up at 5:30. Now we are actually up before her on most mornings and it's just very pleasant and nice to get some more sleep!! She is also still taking an afternoon nap for 2 hours.

She can say her ABC's, knows her colors, can count pretty high, and can even count some in spanish (thanks Dora!)

She loves to be outside and pretty much every day when we get home, she doesn't want to go in our house. The only reason I ever say no is if I want to get dinner started and Wes isn't home yet, but she is so obsessed with our neighbor that she just wants to see him and asks about him constantly. They play pretty well together and Abbie just adores him. It's very cute. And we also have a sandbox now so she could play in that for hours.

She is definitely exercising her right to being a 2-year old. If I say no or even something that resembles no, about 75% of the time these days it's not a pretty picture. She is very expressive and will tell me flat out that she is mad!

She goes on the potty a lot more now and also asks me to change her if she goes in her diaper. I haven't gotten her to do #2 on the potty yet but I don't think it will be long. A few more months and I'm thinking about getting serious with the potty training. We'll see though.

So despite the "high emotions" as I like to call them, we really are enjoying this age with Abbie. I just love her personality. She is spunky and outgoing and rarely meets a stranger. She is talkative, imaginative, and very energetic. She basically runs and goes non stop until bedtime.

Oh yea, and I almost forgot to tell you guys about her Sesame Street party. Probably most of you that read this were there, but it was a lot of fun. It started raining about 15 minutes into it, so as you can from the pictures above, we set up outside, then moved to the garage, but the rain didn't last long, which was good because I didn't have many indoor activities planned! Outside we had the bounce house, the water table, the sandbox, sidewalk chalk, etc. Abbie had a great time and I think the rest of the kids had fun too. And it was SO nice to have our families here! They helped out with everything and just were nothing but awesome the whole weekend!

I owe you

I know, I know, you've been on pins and needles to see pictures and hear all about Abbie's 2nd bday party (insert loud laughter here). Well I'm not quite ready yet, but here are just a few pictures to wet your whistle. It's been a tiring last few days and we are still recovering from her party and having our families with us! I should have more time later this week to post her 2-year stats and the fun details of our weekend.

Stay Tuned!

Ok, let me try this again. Blogger isn't cooperating, and Wes is eyeing me for the computer, but I just wanted to say hi, and that today is my sweet pea's 2nd bday! 2 years ago, about this time, I was giving birth to the little munchkin. We are having a big party for her here on Saturday, so stay tuned for lots of pictures, but for now, these were a few taken on Mother's Day.

Just like her Momma...

I had to laugh yesterday and again last night as I recounted this story to Wes...

Abbie and our 3-year old neighbor Joseph were playing in our yard. Joseph had brought over his soccer ball. Abbie wanted to dig in the dirt, so he dug with her for a few minutes, but then he wanted to kick and throw the ball.

He kept saying "Baby Aggie, play ball with me!" (Baby Aggie is what he has called her since we moved in about 18 months ago so even though she's not really a baby and her name is Abbie, I don't say anything!) Anyways, I encouraged Abbie "Throw the ball with Joseph, Abbie! Kick it!" She looked up at me and started to run towards the ball, and then, well, and then she ran off and started smelling the flowers.

I was laughing inside, not at Abbie being distracted or not wanting to kick or throw the ball with Joseph, but because I can't tell you how many times Wes has picked on me for getting distracted, or "chasing butterflies" as he so affectionately calls it. I used to get mad, and sometimes I still do, but I know it's true. I get distracted very easily and can be right in the middle of a task and realize I need to do something else and not even finish what I'm doing then. So my sweet little girl, it seems, might take after me in that aspect. Or more likely she is just a typical 2-year old who wants to do what she wants to do and that is ok too!

Monday

I have a confession to make.

I wore these shoes to work today.

Ok, I feel better now. Thanks for listening. Now, on to my evening activities with Abbie. Hide and seek.....

Bee Happy!

Hardy har har - I just thought you might "bee" happy, first of all that I changed my blog background from that dreary old winter theme to spring "bee" theme, but more importantly that I am actually putting some pics on here before I share them on Facebook!

Abbie and I just returned from Florida on Tuesday. It was a very relaxing trip and it was great to be with my Dad's side of the family, as always! I am so thankful that we live close enough to fly down there in a little over an hour. Here she is enjoying the pool at Mommom's, and with my Dad (whom she affectionately calls Abo). Have I told you why before? I can't remember. Well anyways, my step-Mom is from Puerto Rico, and in spanish Grandfather is Abuelo and Grandmother is Abuela. So they are Abo and Aba to her. Sweet huh?

One More

One more month until my sweet Abbie turns 2!! I can't even begin to list all the things this child is doing these days, but I'll try. We have conversations, she asks Why? all the time, she has her little fits every now and then, she loves sugar and chocolate and this has been very evident at Easter egg hunts and birthday parties. She loves to be outside and is not afraid to get dirty. Tonight she picked petals off my tulips while Wes was "watching" her. She can almost spell her name right - A-B-I-E. And she can count at least to 12 or 13. She says "Vamanos" and runs through the house. She talks back to the TV. She loves Sesame Street and Dora and The Wonder Pets. She is a meat eater through and through. She won't eat potatoes, unless they are french fries. She has the biggest heart and is such a lover. She hugs your neck, tells us to have a good day, says she missed us today, says please and thank you and "xcuse me". She has a baby doll that she now calls her baby brother. (I promise I have nothing to do with this!)

She LOVES babies and loved hanging out with Becca Ruth at the Easter egg hunt.

Ok, that's all I have for now.