Family Vacation

We are heading out on our very first family vacation tomorrow!  I am so super excited I can hardly stand it.  We are going to Gulf Shores, AL and meeting my parents there.  This is such a huge deal to me for several reasons:

1. It will be our first family vacation since Adeline has arrived.
2. It will be my first family vacation with my family in my life (besides long weekends).
3. It is Jon's first vacation at a beach.
4. My dad will be wearing shorts & sandals for the first time in his life! (& you better believe I will be posting pictures of this for all to see)

Adeline is already ready to go!

Another Rough Week

Well I guess if your child is going to get sick once a month, you'd rather it be in their second year of life rather than their first.  All weekend long I just had that mother's intuition that something wasn't right with Adeline.  She wasn't eating as much as normal, she kept putting her fingers in her ears, and her temp was running around 99.5.  I know that's not a fever, but it's higher than normal for her.  Anyway, I made an appointment first thing Monday morning so I could try to nip whatever it was in the bud before work started on Tuesday.  The doctor couldn't find a thing wrong with her.

Since she got a clean bill of health, we decided to go to gymnastics like we'd planned.  Adeline loved it!  I really thought it was great, too.  I think she's really going to learn a lot about being around other children, waiting her turn, and following directions....not to mention some great gymnast skills as well.  :)  The only complaint I had was another little girl her age was in there and was just plain MEAN to Adeline.  Once she didn't wait her turn & flipped right on top of A, kicking her in the nose.  Then at the end, Adeline went to sit on the little balance beam like the teacher asked and the other girl came up to her & just pushed her off!  It just broke my heart because I was so proud of Adeline for listening & doing what the other, older kids were doing, then that child just had to go & make her cry.  Anyway, enough about that.

We came home and played and played until nap time and all was well the rest of the day.

Tuesday I went to work and Jon and Adeline had their father/daughter time that evening and she was still acting fine.  

Sometimes I ask Jon to send me a picture while I'm at work.

Wednesday was a beautiful day so Adeline and her nanny and her little boy spent the morning outside swimming & playing.  Jon went home at lunch and sent me this picture:

With a text saying, "She's worn out.  They've been playing outside all morning."

I responded with, "She looks more than worn out.  She looks pitiful.  Check her temp."  Mother's intuition again....100.5.  Just barely a fever, but still a fever.  Jon thought maybe she was just dehydrated & got her to drink a lot of juice.  He told our nanny to check her temp again before nap and call me if it went up.  She called me 45 minutes later to tell me it was now 102.9.  I jumped in the car.  On the way home I called the pediatrician.  They told me to get in the car & bring her right then.  Ears were fine, strep & flu test negative, so then came the dreaded blood test to check for infection....negative too.  They sent me home with a diagnosis of a virus and instructions to bring her back in Friday if she hadn't gotten better.  

I stayed home with her the rest of the day and again on Thursday until 1:30 when Jon came home.  Thursday she woke up at 5:30 crying with a fever, but went back to sleep after Tylenol and never ran a fever the rest of the day.  However, she was very fussy and clingy & would hardly eat or drink anything.  

She wanted to wear Mommy's gloves :)

Today she was even worse, but still no fever.  She woke up at 6:30 crying uncontrollably.  Jon had to come home from work so I could take a shower & get dressed so that I'd be ready to take her to the doctor.  When Jon left I tried to get her to take some ibuprofen for the pain, but when it hit the back of her throat she cried so hard she threw up.  She wasn't happy unless I was holding her & rocking.  It was awful.  Our pediatrician made a special trip to the clinic to see us...we are so blessed with great doctors in our lives.  She discovered blisters all in the back of Adeline's throat.  She has 2 little red bumps on one of her fingers, so the doctor says it's viral and similar to hand/foot/mouth disease.  She told us to mix benadryl & maalox for the pain.  I tried giving it to her right before lunch and she had a meltdown again.  Finally after we got her calmed down, she took some of it and ate 2 popsicles, some applesauce, noodles, & a cheese stick and even took a few sips of ice water.  I'm so glad she ate something!  I think we're in for a long weekend, but my husband is a saint so I know we'll manage.  

Please pray for Adeline's quick recovery!

20 Weeks

I am now 20 weeks pregnant with baby girl #2, Annabel Brynn.  I would say I'm half-way through this pregnancy, but I'm actually closer than that since I'll be having a scheduled c-section somewhere around 39 weeks.

Size of baby: Annabel is the size of a cantaloupe (12 oz & 6.5 inches long)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 10lbs

Maternity Clothes:  I'm in all maternity clothes now except for some dresses.  I can wear my old t-shirts, but am not comfortable in anything else pre-pregnancy.

Gender:   Sweet baby girl

Movement: Kicking & stretching more & more every day.  Every flutter makes me smile.

Sleep: I'm sleeping a lot better.  I'm in that glorious 2nd trimester where I pretty much feel great the majority of the time.  

What I miss: Full lung capacity.  I know I have a long way to go, but I'm already getting winded every time I bend over.

Cravings: Caffeine..haha.  I don't know if it's because Adeline just wears me out, or I've just gotten in a bad habit, but I feel like I NEED a diet coke every day.  The other night I had a total pregnancy moment.  I ate about half a container of hummus with kettle cooked BBQ chips.  What a combination, I know, but it was DELICIOUS.  I'm buying more hummus today.  :)

Symptoms: I'm already swelling!  I hardly swelled at all with Adeline.  When we went to Texas for Easter, my rings got stuck on my fingers.  I'm nervous about what the summer holds for me.  I'm also experiencing the rapid heart rate after meals like I did with Adeline.  Sometimes my heart rate will get up to 120bpm just sitting down.  It's kind of scary, but I'll manage.

Best Moment this week: Finding out that we're having a girl!  Adeline & Annabel are going to be the best of friends!

Mother's Day & 18 Months

We have 2 reasons to celebrate today.  It's Mother's Day & Adeline is 18 months old today!  We had a little bit of a celebration last night with both the moms in my life.  Jon's parents, Shane & Juliet, Jarrod, and my parents all went out to eat, for yogurt, & to the park.  My mom and Jon's mom got me a sewing machine for Mother's Day.  I can't wait to start using it!

This morning, my parents and us went to church then out for lunch.

Adeline was a little fussy during picture-taking, so she had to hold Ace & suck her thumb.  :)

After everyone left, Adeline & Annabel gave me their Mother's Day gift....gift-cards for a facial & pedicure.  Oh I can't wait!

I have so many things to be thankful for on this Mother's Day.  

• First of all I'm thankful for my beautiful momma.  She is so selfless, caring, loving, and genuine.  She taught me how to be a mom by being the best mother a girl could have.  I just hope I can pass on her wisdom to my children.  She is also a fantastic Nana.  The light & love in her eyes when she is with Adeline is a beautiful thing.
• Next, I am thankful for my mother-in-law.  I truly believe I hit the jackpot as far as MILs go.  I don't know anyone who loves theirs more than I do.  She raised a man who knows how to treat a lady.  She is also a wonderful Tiny.  I love the way she loves my girl with her whole being.  
• Finally I am so very thankful that God has allowed me to be a mom.  It is the most rewarding, exciting, amazing thing I've ever done.  I am overcome with the blessings it brings me daily.  

And...happy 1.5 years, Adeline!  

Your future is so bright!

I could list all the great things she is now doing, but she learns so much every day that it would take forever.  Let's just say she has a new word almost every day.  The way she makes associations and connections with things is incredible.  The mind of a child is so much like a sponge and is such a great thing to watch soak up that knowledge.  Jon and I could listen to her sweet voice all day long.  We love her more than words can express!

Gender Reveal

We decided to have a gender reveal party with our families & closest friends this time around.  When the doctor couldn't tell what we were having at our 15 week appointment and we had to schedule our 20 week appointment on a Friday, I felt like it just worked out perfectly for a gender reveal.  I think gender reveal parties are so much fun and a great idea, but I had never thought of doing one myself.  I just didn't think I could go to "the big ultrasound" and not look at the screen during the pivotal moment when she says, "yep, there's boy parts there" and I didn't think I could wait the rest of the day after that to find out either, but I felt like the timing worked out perfectly, so that's what we did.

I ordered these cute little invitations & we sent them out to 20 of our family & friends.

My appointment was at 11:15.

Here's a little interesting side-note that I want to be recorded for this baby when he/she wants to know why Adeline has a DVD of her 20 week ultrasound & they don't.  I took my $2 they asked me to bring for my DVD.  I asked the receptionist who I needed to give it to.  She said, "This sounds really weird and you're probably going to be upset, but because of the earthquake in Japan, we can't get the DVDs that our machine takes.  We've tried a lot of other places, but that's the only place we can get the right ones."  I was upset and I almost let it escalate to tears, but I took a deep breath and thought to myself, "So many people lost their lives in that earthquake.  I have no right getting upset because of a DVD."  My only thought is that I don't want this baby to feel gipped, but I know everything will be ok.  :)

So we told the ultrasound tech our plan and I gave her our 2 envelopes (one for the bakery, one for us).  When I spoke with the bakery, the teenage guy who took my order didn't really act like he knew what I was trying to do, so I wanted to make sure we had a back-up plan.  The ultrasound tech wrote on a card the gender for the bakery, and put the "money shot" picture in another envelope for Jon and me.  She did a GREAT job of not giving the sex away at all.  I was afraid she might accidentally let a "he" or a "she" slip, but she was very professional and handled it beautifully.  I'm sure she does that at least once a day.

So after she told us that we had a healthy baby that was measuring about 6 days early and weighing 12 ounces, I saw the doctor then headed to the bakery.  I told them I wanted the outside neutral, they could do whatever they wanted as long as I couldn't tell the sex from the outside.  I think he understand by this point.  I then came home to get everything ready and begin the stomach ache that lasted the rest of the day.  I don't think it was nerves, just excitement.

We displayed both the names we had picked for everyone to see.

We got dinner from Whole Hog BBQ to save us the headache from preparing a meal for everyone.  It was delicious, but I could hardly eat any.  As soon as the last plate was cleared, it was time to cut the cake!

It's a GIRL!

The cake was delicious and they did just what I wanted.  Thanks, Shelby Lynn's!  

We weren't expecting this, but some people brought us gifts.  They brought pink & blue gifts, but we only opened the pink ones.  So much fun!

We feel so blessed to have so many family & friends who love us so much to help us celebrate this time together.

 The happy grandmas

 My friend/co-worker, Katie with my friend Stacy's daughter

 Shannon, her mom Trish, & Westin

 Shannon & me

  A group shot

Payton

We had several other guests, but managed to not get pictures of everyone.  I want to make a note of them all for sweet baby Annabel.

Big T & Tiny Richey

Aunt Juliet Richey

Pappy & Nana Whittington

Uncle Jarrod Wiggins

Cody, Shannon, & Westin Davis

Davin, Stacy, Payton, & Parker Hicks

Jason & Katie Rowe

Mr. Cam & Mrs. Trish Rowe

Katie Gehrki

I told Jon the night before the party that when I start to think, "I really hope it's this or that" and I get caught up in imagining our lives with a boy or a girl, then the thought just hits me that there's no need to even wish or hope anything.  A baby's gender is one thing that can't be decided by humans.  It is totally and completely up to God, which is exactly what makes it so great.  You can rest assured knowing that whatever addition you have to your family is EXACTLY what gender God wanted it to be, therefore it is EXACTLY what is right for your family.  Knowing this just makes us so excited to see what life will be like with two little sisters 22 months apart.  We just can't wait!

And Adeline is just head over heels about it, too!

We all love you so much already, Annabel Brynn!

Accident-Prone or Just Toddlerhood?

It seems like all Adeline has done this weekend is get hurt.  Friday she fell and scraped both her knees.  Saturday the dogs knocked her down & she bumped her head (you saw that bruise).  Sunday she fell off our bed & bloodied her lip.  Monday she flipped over head first in the slide at Chick-fil-a and bruised her cheek.  So do they all go through this at some point or are we just bad parents?  I'm hoping for the former!

We've been doing a lot of this lately...

But she's pretty resilient and hasn't let it get her down for long.

My 2 favorite faces

Staying Home

We didn't have to be anywhere this weekend and it was fantastic.  It seems like we've been traveling so much lately.  It was so nice to just enjoy being at home.  Friday night we had a picnic at Wilson Park with our friends the Davises.

Adeline refused to nap Friday afternoon for some reason.  She passed out as soon as we got in the car to head to the park.  Yes, she did scrape her knee right before we left.

Adeline was picking up handfuls of sand and throwing them everywhere.  She's going to love the beach next month!

Saturday we spent the whole day doing things around the house.  Jon mowed first thing since they were calling for rain that afternoon and for pretty much the rest of the week.  Then he came in to help me with the big playroom re-do!  Nesting has already hit me hard, and since I don't know the sex therefore can't decorate a nursery, I had to do something.  Our plan is if we have a girl, she and Adeline will share a room since we only have one guest room.  In order to make room for another crib, I decided to move the bookshelf that was in Adeline's room into the playroom.  I decided that even if it is a boy, the bookshelf should be a common "toy" so it needed to be out of Adeline's room anyway.

BEFORE

So before moving anything, I moved everything out of the playroom.  It needed a massive cleaning.  I pulled up every one of the foam tiles & vacuumed each individual one with a handheld vacuum.  I went through all her toys and packed away the ones she's either too old for, or doesn't really play with anymore.  Then, I got every single book out of the bookshelf so it would be light enough to for Jon to carry by himself.  Finally, Jon and I both reorganized everything.  We stacked the two little shelves on top of each other (& bolted them together).  Planning a playroom out for an 18 month old takes a lot of foresight.  I want her to be able to play in there unsupervised.  Therefore, nothing she can tear up or hurt herself with can be in her reach.  Therefore all the books with paper pages had to be moved out of reach.  I'm also a bit OCD, so the books have to be put together logically.  All the Sesame Street, Berenstain Bears, Dr. Seuss, etc have to be together.  There's even a religious/holiday shelf!  I realize that most kids just go to the library and check out books.  That way you don't have to find storage space for so many books, kids learn how to take care of something that's not theirs & turn them back in on time, etc, but I grew up in a very small town with a very small public library.  My parents and grandparents bought A LOT of books.  This is only about half of my collection.  The other half is in the attic waiting for Adeline to be ready to read chapter books.  Plus, I was a big nerd and read constantly as a child.  That being said, I'm so happy with how the playroom turned out and I think Adeline is too!

AFTER

Then we rewarded all our hard work with a nap & dinner at MiMi's with TCBY to follow.  We came home in time to take the dogs for a walk and when we let them out of the garage they were so excited that they ran over Adeline and knocked her down.  

She cried for a little bit, but was then fine.  Notice her necklace.  She's a girl through and through.  I really need to find her some necklaces made for kids.  :)

She likes to feel like she's in charge.  She "walked" all 3 dogs the whole way.

Today we went to church and worked in the nursery.  Adeline had a screaming fit when we tried to leave her in her room to go to our Sunday School class, so we just left and came home.  She never does that and I could not leave her in there screaming hysterically for us.  It broke my heart.  

Now it's raining again and Adeline has taken a 3.5 hour nap.  I guess I should go get her up before she sleeps through supper!