More than Half Way

Well...this pregnancy is flying by! Which is good and bad. Good because I know my discomfort will end in 15 weeks! And then our fella will be here. Bad because that just increases my anxiety about preparing for a baby and the thoughts of raising two children barely 2 years apart. *Deep breath*

I'm feeling rather well this time around. I haven't been nauseous or thrown up in over a month. Praise the Lord! With Molly I was sick almost every day until she graced us with her presence. My sciatic nerve doesn't give me too much trouble until the end of the day or if I do too much...like take care of a 21 month old! I'm just so thankful our little boy is growing healthy and strong..and let me tell you. He's strong! For a little 25 weeker..a little over a pound he has some strong movements. It's odd now that I'm so far along I can compare him to my patients at work. It's wonderful to have an idea what he looks like right now, but also I just thank God that he's staying put and growing until full term...all snug and comfy..painfree.

I haven't taken too many belly pics this time around...as much as I said I would. Here's one at 22 weeks. Man..this belly is growing and stretching! I really don't know HOW it can get any bigger over the next 15 weeks!

Summer Fun in the Sun

Oooh! It's hot down in the Georgia! Fall...you can come anytime. Until then we are getting creative on how to stay cool.

This sweet thing is what I woke up to one afternoon before work. A semi naked baby chomping on an apple. Then she stole my spot! Love her Love her!

Oh Boy!

Here's some pictures of our little guy. He's pretty laid back and all cozy in there...during the ultrasound he was sound asleep and didn't want to move. The doctor said he is healthy and growing normally

Our sweet fella...his profile looks just like Molly's did

Opening and closing his sweet little mouth

Someone's very flexible (unlike his Daddy!) He kept putting his foot behind his head.

Not sure if you can make this one out but he was stretching his leg straight and holding his foot with his little hand...I thought it was so cool. ;)

And it's a BOY!! Woo hoo!

We're so thankful for this wonderful blessing God has given us. We can't wait to meet him and this pregnant Momma is already getting impatient for her comfort level to be back to normal! Hee Hee.

It's a baby....

Our newest addition will be here sometime around Thanksgiving. And we couldn't be more thankful for A.....BABY...

Yep! Molly will have a little brother!! Everything looks strong and healthy and we just can't stop thinking about this new little guy.

A New Time...

Well...times are a changin'. I've officially had the same blog since 2005! When the new blogger came out I just couldn't change our design. Casey created our faces in photoshop and worked so hard to get it just right. I'm not sure if you even remember what it looked like so.....


Do you see how creative he is! Wow! At least I copied it to have forever. I love our eyes and the outline of Casey's hair. It actually used to have our dog Chloe and her fur right in the middle. Of course that was BM....(Before Molly). He took Chloe out which at the time was just because the baby came along there was no room for all 4 in the picture. Little did we know there was some foreshadowing going on there. Several months later we had to delete (if you will) Chloe from our home due to irreconcilable differences between her and Molly. Molly wanting to play and squeeze and pester the poor dog all day long and Chloe being snooty and snippy and not wanting ANY of the squeezin'. But don't worry folks...all is well and she now lives with my mom. We still see her and Molly jumps up and down every time the dog enters the room and Chloe leaving the room immediately after the first high-pitched squeal. Everyone's happy!

So...now the blog needed a bit of freshening up. And with this new ever changing look, I hope to be a little more consistent with the updates! Ahem...we'll see. :)


And for a smile...

Did my oh so faithful readers think I dropped off the face of the earth?? No worries! I'm back in hopes that I will learn consistency. Here's what we've been up to. Molly, of course, is growing WAY too fast. She's running around everywhere. And can now say Mama, Dada, Bye bye (her fav), Moo, baby, and book. She can also sign please, eat, more, milk, and all done....and is so stinkin' cute doing it. It's so helpful to know what she wants and to ease Molly's frustration when she can't tell us. We're weaning her from the bottle...which she is not a big fan of. We're down to just her bedtime bottle...which I just can't give up. She doesn't like drinking milk out of a cup unless she's distracted into it. :) That's the appropriate way right? She's sleeping 12 hours at night and taking two 2-hour naps during the day. Although the past week or so she's not been sleeping during the day much. I guess it's time for 1 nap a day. :( Hopefully it will be a LONG one!

As for Casey...he's living his dream as an art teacher and just got a head coaching position for the Varsity girls soccer team at Fayette County High School...(MY alma mater) Weird huh? He'll call me every now and then and say "hey babe...I'm walking through your cafeteria or I'm going down the hall past your drama room." Crazy! That place brings back so many wonderful memories.

And for moi...well I'm working 3 nights a week doing 12 hour shifts at the hospital. I'm hoping to go part-time weekends soon, which would be only 2 nights a week. I'm chomping at the bit. I'm enjoying 4 days off a week teaching Molly new things, cuddling with her, and working to make our house a better home.

So here's what you've all been waiting for....Pictures! We've been up to....

A photoshoot...we had a family photo shoot around Molly's birthday so I could get some pictures of the 3 of us as well as some 4 generations photos. My cousin, Lisa, just opened a photography business so she likes to get practice on even us! I'm giving her a shout out...

http://atlanta-clearlensphotography.blogspot.com

Pretending to be cool... :)

We enjoyed the holidays with our families and had such a great time relaxing together.

And most recently...we've been hanging out at the park with Murphy (on the warm days of course), enjoying the snow...even though I got snowed in at the hospital for 3 days, and making Valentine cookies!

The girls weren't really into smiling that day. Hee Hee.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Go spend some time with the ones you love!

The All Famous Cake Smash

During all the birthday festivities, I forgot to post the famous cake smashing picture. Of course she was very dainty at first but then dug RIGHT in once she realized it was cake! The girl LOVES her some carbs.

My little squirt!

One Year Ago...

If you haven't figured it out yet...I'm big on anniversaries, numbers, and how they intertwine. For instance...how cool would it have been to have THIS birthday (10/10/10 at 10:10)???

We've had a BIG anniversary around here. Our sweet Molly was born one year ago on the 23rd. How fast time flies. I have to remind myself to stop with the busy things in life and enjoy her now while she's still a baby. The dishes can wait for a minute. Sitting her on my lap and watching her learn new things like how to say book, moo like a cow can't and will be missed out on if I distract myself. She truly is such a joy and so happy. The moment she came into this world will be one I will never forget. That dark brown curly hair, the squished up face, her popeye look every time she ate. She ate and slept and snuggled...all 7 lbs 7 oz.

Now...12 months later...she's:

18 lbs 7 oz and 27 3/4 inches long--a little bitty but a loud personality

Walking

Saying: Momma, Da Da, Book, Ba Ba, Baby, Moo, and Ruff Ruff

Sleeping 2 2-hour naps and 12 hours at night

Loves books, singing (pretty well if I may brag a little), her baby, Mickey Mouse, giraffes, and Abby (from Sesame Street), and emptying out EVERTHING she can get her hands on.

Doesn't like to be cuddled-would rather explore the world freely but will sit in your lap if there's a book around (or a computer!)

Loves to eat: CARBS! Waffles and muffins are her fav as well as bananas, sweet potatos, green beans, and spinach.

What a perfect little blessing you are in our lives Molly.

Picture Perfect

We've been having tons of fun lately. Most of it has been here at home, but playing and relaxing with our little one is the best. Casey and I took Molly to the pumpkin farm near our house with my sister, Ginger and her kids Zack and Murphy. We rode on a hayride, petted a calf, cheered on a pig race, got lost in a corn maze, and picked a pumpkin of course! Molls had the best time.

We're also busy planning her 1st birthday already! How did this little lady grow up so fast??This time last year was a whole wide range of emotions.

Grief, sadness, and shock over my Dad passing away.

Nervousness and anxiety about delivering my first child and the unknowns that come with that.

Relief that Molly was delivered healthy and safe and perfect.

Excitement and joy about becoming a mother and the unconditional loving bond that brings.

This year has been a whirlwind. God has shown me how to trust in Him and give everything I have for His glory. What a comforting, peaceful, merciful, gracious God we serve.

And now a gaze into our lives this past month with our crazy girl.....

Molly and her dog bones! As I was preparing her Halloween costume (can't tell ya yet!) she grabbed these and off she went...just like a pet I used to know!

SOMEBODY'S ready to go skiing!

Little Missy's SO proud of herself....she's starting to walk more and more these days. And I'm sure by her birthday I'll be chasing her everywhere.

One of our favorite things. Reading and feeding is pretty much the only time she'll cuddle with me...that girl's gotta move! So it's nice to have relaxing moments like this.

Yup....learned how to crawl in the dishwasher! I was washing dishes and normally she's laying flat across (a video I MUST post) and finger painting with water but today I looked down and in 2 seconds she went from finger painting to sitting in the dishwasher. Too cute!

Somebody has 2 teeth!

Here's our Pumpkin Farm pics.

My big hunk of a man!

This next one is such a precious moment for me. It's amazing how much changes in a year. Molly was in my belly the last time I was here. She was moving all over while I was looking at the flowers on my dad's and grandparents graves and taking pictures (of course) when Molly stopped to look at the flowers. I'm curious if Daddy was talking to her or singing to her. I don't know if it's possible, but I'd like to think sweet, innocent children can hear our angels above.