Big sister photo shoot

I need a drink before I can digest this huge news!


WHAT?!? I don't have to share any of my toys, right?
And I won't be sharing my Elmo book.


The only shot I could semi get of the shirt.
I'm such a big girl and going to be the best big sister!!
This is MY chair.

I plan on talking to the pediatrician at Paige's 15 month well-child visit on anything we can do to help prepare her. I suspect that she is too young to understand at all, and we will just have to jump in the deep end and learn as we go. My hope is that Paige will never remember a time being the only child, so it will be a natural transition.

We shall see! 2011 will be an interesting year in our house, for sure!!

Pregnancy week: 10

Everything was great at my first prenatal appointment.

BP: 110/60

Weight gain: none yet

We got our plan for the pregnancy - ultrasound schedule, etc. It was strange to be back there. It had been a year. I actually forgot what floor to go to. It was nice to see all the nurses, although they were sad I didn't bring Paige. I am sure in the 6-7 months I will be going there, she will make an appearance!

Something I love about being pregnant again: I felt no guilt when I hired back my housecleaner! I was so exhausted taking care of Paige all day and trying to keep up with the housework. Let alone dealing with normal first-tri exhaustion! David thought about arguing with me about it, I could tell - but he quickly realized that was a battle he would not win!

Paige is great...she has a precious 'big sister' shirt that I need to try and get some cute pics of her in. She is going to love being a big sister!

Food cravings: Not really. I just have to eat all.the.time. I keep goldfish with me in the car, and a bag of popcorn by my bed. When I feel sick, I just eat a little, and that normally helps me feel better. I have felt a lot worse this time than I did with Paige. But other than that, no real cravings.

Some funny things about food: if you know me well, you know I LOVE hamburgers and french fries. I haven't touched it since I found out I was pregnant (MARCH!) It just sounds awful to me. The other thing I can't go near is ice cream. Yuck!!

I already have a belly, and the OB even told me my uterus is already popping out! Yikes! I'll get some pics in the next few weeks. I feel too silly taking a 10 week picture! Maybe by week 12.

Yes, I ordered a Doppler again. Did you expect anything else? If you followed my blog during my pregnancy with Paige, you certainly won't be surprised : )

Big changes in our house

David and I are slowly getting the word out that we are expecting again.

Paige will be a big sister late fall : )

More details to come!!

Happy Mother's Day to every single woman out there. The one who is a mother. The one who is pregnant. The one who is trying to get pregnant. And the one who might one day decide to try.

May continued - I'm not an interesting blogger

Can't shove food in fast enough these days.
Little bitty bug
Here I go again with my high chair pictures...
This morning, Paige and I had to chill at the Lexus dealership for an hour while I got my car serviced and cleaned. She had fun causing all kinds of trouble! I thought it might make them go faster if I let her destroy the place.
And then we passed the time by taking pictures and emailing them to daddy! He love his girls : )

How is it already May?

I can't wrap my mind around the fact that it is May. May 5th was my first due date given to me by my IVF doctor. I had some fun looking back at my blog from the first few weeks of Paige's life this morning. What a blur that time is!

I vividly remember my first "bad" night with her. David was working on earnings release (which is this time every year...I curse it daily), so I felt like he needed his sleep. He was working 12 hour days, weekends, etc. I let him sleep in the guest room one particular night. He hadn't even gotten home from work until 10, and knew he had to get up early and get back to the office. Paige decided to pick this night to be up every hour. Around 2, she wouldn't even go back to sleep. I nursed, gave her a bottle, rocked, swaddled...did everything I could think of! She wasn't crying - her eyes were just wide open and would.not.shut. Finally, I got to the point where I literally wanted to throw her across the room. I KNOW every mom has been there at one point. I knew I needed to go wake up David. I couldn't handle being alone with this little thing anymore. So I woke him up, and he of course got her to sleep immediately. Thankfully, she slept until 8 after that!

I am lucky to say that is really my only memory of an awful night with her. For the most part, she really only woke up once in the night. What a blessing my wonderful little sleeper is : )

Sad to say that Paige had a little reaction to her vaccines on Tuesday. Thursday brought a runny nose and a very lethargic baby who only wanted to be held. It broke my heart! Thankfully she was feeling better for the weekend.

David and me at the Thunder game. Such a great series! We had a fun night.
My sick buggy. Broke my heart. We spent pretty much all day up in bed. She just wanted to lay there.
Bless her little heart.
It was all smiles the next day!!
My little goofball!

12 month well-baby visit

Grapes and turkey rock!

You might notice that I take a lot of pictures in the high chair. It is easy to get a bug to smile when she has a blueberry muffin in front of her!

Today was our 12 month check-up. It went great! We got a new pediatrician - and I love her. I just didn't love my old one. We never really clicked right. Plus, she was 30 minutes away, and my new one is about 1 minute away! No brainer!

Weight: 19.5 pounds (25%)

Height: 30 inches (75%)

Head: 90%!!! Big ole' head!!

She had to get 3 shots. The chicken pox, MMR, and a booster from one of her 6 months shots. The MMR shot was awful. It was the thickest one yet.

Paige in on track with all milestones, and I couldn't be happier!!

April so far in pictures

Fun play date at the Art's Festival of OKC! I have always loved the Art's Festival. Last year, I went with my mom. It was so hot outside and I felt awful. I kept having to sit down and find shady spots...like a dog. Not surprising, considering the fact that I gave birth to Paige Madeline the next day!
They had this fun little play area for the little kids. Paige had so much fun crawling around in there.

And now - a preview of some birthday pics : ) My mom took these and just emailed them to me! Yay!! It isn't much...but it will hold me over! Above: outfit #2. She had her '1' shirt and tutu on, and we took a bath and changed after cake.
CAKE!!!
LOL! Giving baby Evyn her bottle. Paige lOVES babies! It is so funny!
Outfit 1.
Taken yesterday. This girl lives for grapes.

Our new trick: crawling out of the bath tub. It drives me nuts! I am constantly trying to get her to sit back down so she doesn't slip! She already has slipped once : ( But I had to grab my camera and snap her attempting to get out.
With my cute hubby after the Redbud Classic.

The actual birthday is tomorrow. I can't believe it has been a year. It is amazing to me how fast the time has gone. I remember driving home from Mercy a few days after she was born. I had packed a diaper bag. As if I might need to pull over and use anything on the 15 minute drive. We had no idea what we were doing. I remember saying, "are they really letting us take her?" I am far from a parenting pro, but I feel like I am getting it down. What I know for sure: one year ago my life changed forever. I am so in love with my baby girl.

Paige's birthday party

Went so well! Starting at the beginning: David's parents decided to take half-days and get in to town Friday early evening. This was great, except for the fact that David and I were supposed to attend a couple's shower that night. I was able to run by and drop off their present, so all wasn't lost!

We had my parents and his parents over for dinner. David grilled tenderloin, we had mashed potatoes, cooked carrots, and ice cream!

Saturday, we woke up, made breakfast, and hung at the house. We went down to a new restaurant in town called Republic, and that was pretty good.

I thought I had all this time to get ready for the party that started at 5. Well, I was wrong. I ran out and picked up the cake and went to Hobby Lobby. I decided that I wanted to make a sign for the dessert and party favor table that said "So sweet of you to come!" It was harder than I thought!! That took me a good hour. Then, I had to rut out and get flowers. I settled on some hydrangeas, roses, and a few spring-y bouquets. I thought the flowers turned out nicely. I put everyone in my house to work...wrapping tule around things that you never knew tule could be wrapped around, arranging flowers, setting out the cupcakes and cakes, arranging tables and chairs, etc. At 4:30, I was like, CRAP!! DAVID! Go pick up the food!! The party was starting at 5 and we had no food or drink. So David peeled out and came to my rescue : ) I was still putting the food out when our guests started arriving. Everyone was so nice and was like - what can I do to help? Anyone who offered help, I took then up on it : )

After the hectic start, things settled down. I really think everyone had a nice time. There were 32 adults and about 10 kids. It was pretty much in line with what I thought. We had too much food, but I have already had leftover for breakfast and lunch today. YUM!

I was so thankful to have Allison there taking pictures. I knew I didn't have to worry about getting the shots I wanted because Allison was there doing all the work! I am so excited to see them, and will post them here when I get them. I didn't take a single picture with my camera!

Paige did so well. I was worried that I would have to be holding her all night, but she was such a social butterfly. She loved playing with all the kids and her new toys! She shared very well! Some popular gifts she got: golf clubs! All the kids were wanting those. Bubbles!! Unfortunately, I didn't have batteries so we couldn't get the bubble machine going. She got several fun new toys and precious outfits. She is a blessed little lady, that is for sure! I think the highlight for her was the CAKE! That girl went to town on her cake. We had to take a party break to get a bath! This is another reason I was happy to have the party at our home. I got to bathe her and get her ready for party phase 2 : )

My house is a mess but I am exhausted today and I am putting it off until tomorrow. I am laying in bed watching the basketball game while Paige naps.

Hope everyone had a nice weekend!!

Birth Choice

David and I had the privilege of attending the Birth Choice auction on Saturday night. Birth choice is a non-profit whose main goal is to help pregnant women. The women who come to them are scared. Often times they are teenagers who, in their mind, see no other choice than abortion. Birth Choice councils these women with compassion, understanding and love. Their first priority is to listen and not judge. When a girl comes in and gets a positive pregnancy test, if she is far enough along, they give her an ultrasound. The purpose of this is to get this girl to look at the screen and actually see her baby. All you mothers out there know how the sight of your baby's beating heart changes your life forever. I know it did mine.

The workers and volunteers at birth choice approach the young women with love. They are never pressured to make decisions, and if they do choose abortion, they are still treated with love and compassion. They offer post-abortion counseling. This is so important, as something like that will change a girl forever. They will help the young woman make an adoption plan, if she chooses that route. They have an OB come in and offer prenatal care.

I am not trying to start a pro-choice/pro-life debate...but I'll come out and say it: I am pro-life. I believe in choosing life. I believe that EVERY pregnancy is special and a gift from God. Every pregnancy is a miracle. God blesses every woman who chooses life. I believe that.

I was so moved by the speakers at this event. It was a wonderful night and a celebration of life.

I believe in Birth Choice and was happy to be a part of that special night!

The rest of our weekend was great as well! We went to the Thunder game on Friday. Saturday before the auction, I got my hair and nails done. Then Sunday, we worked in the yard, cleaned the house, and David ran in the Redbud.Classic. Paige and I walked all around Nichils Hills and enjoyed the nice weather.

I hope everyone's weekend was nice! Ready to take on the week. Paige's party is less than a week away and I haven't done much! Better get cracking...

Happy Easter! A week late!

Easter was so much fun this year. I can't describe the joy I have in my heart being surrounded by my family. David is such a wonderful husband and dad. I feel so lucky to have found him. I have an amazing family. My daughter is a light in my life that I didn't know existed. A love that I couldn't imagine. I wanted to be a mom for so long and it seemed out of my reach. It WAS out of my reach for a long time. Those years that we were trying and trying - I knew being a mom must be great. I had no idea.

David and I have so much to be thankful for. We never forget how lucky we are.

Easter weekend started with Good Friday. David was off work! Of course, he got in a round of golf in the morning :) When he got home, we went for a nice walk as a family, then got dinner out. Saturday, we woke up and went to an Easter egg hunt and brunch. We went with my parents, brother and sis-in-law, my niece Ava, and grandparents.

Paige and Ava.
They sat still looking at the camera for exactly 3 seconds! I love these girls! So precious!
Our family.
Bug liked the egg.
She couldn't figure out what to do. She got down on the ground with the other kids and crawled, but not much else.


She did like the petting zoo there.

We had a nice time at church and brunch on Sunday.

Things are on track for Paige's party on Saturday! We are excited to celebrate one year of life with all our friends (and a few of Paige's!!) : ) I am thankful to David's folks who are coming up for the weekend from College Station. And SO excited that Allison is going to be there to take pictures!!

Enjoy the weekend!!

Paige's party progress

Plates and napkins! Also, a bug that came in Paige's Easter basket. Now momma has a bug, and bug has her own bug.
Plates and napkins without the bug. Why are these plates special? Since the day I found out my bug was a girl, everything in our lives has been pink and brown. Her nursery, bedding, glider, car seat (infant and convertible), stroller, and many an outfit. I decided the theme to her first birthday party was cupcakes. Of course, everyone was like - oh, pink and brown cupcakes? NO! I am not doing pink and brown this time! Any other color combo would have been fine. Of course, the only decorations I could find were pink and brown. The third paper store I went to (Paper 'N More - on May and Wilshire), had these. I snatched them right up!

I am doing a photo table with pictures of her first year. The table will have pink tule and pink roses on it. That is pretty much it for decorations, though. I'll probably have vases of pink roses outside and on the food table as well.

Edited: I had my invitation in here, but I see that it wasn't showing up. Oh well. If you know me IRL - you probably got one in the mail!

More zoo fun...and new sleep schedule woes

Pre-zoo snack! Paige is very in to turkey and cheese right now. I love that she feeds herself pretty much for every meal now. I get to sit down and eat too!
Looking at the animals at the zoo.
Ethan lets Paige take a ride in his wagon. Even if she does try to take his sippy.
With momma in the petting zoo! She liked the goats.
I snapped this pic in church. She sure does like to kick back and enjoy her bottle. We still feed her all of her bottles.

She is down to a bottle before nap time, then one big one after her nap, then a few sips before bedtime. I have no idea how we are going to wean her off those bottles before her nap and bed time. This is certainly not something I am not worried about right now, though. Maybe closer to 18 months. She is still my baby : )

We are also trying to navigate through the complicated world of one nap a day. She seems so adamant on napping once a day and sleeping longer at night. Which is great, except our evenings are certainly not what they used to be. We are "those" parents now, who want to meet for dinner at 6 so we can be home for bedtime.

Paige's schedule looks something like this:

Wake: 8

Nap: 12-2

Bedtime: 7 or 7:30

David and I LOVE having a few hours to ourselves in the evenings. But we have noticed we get invited a lot less places now lol. I guess not everyone wants to eat dinner at 5:30!

Happy Easter to everyone who celebrates it. My bug's first : ) We hunted for eggs this morning with my family, are going to church tomorrow, and dinner at my parent's house tomorrow afternoon.

Be at Peace

I love this little prayer so much. I read this, and I get a wonderful sense of calm. The thing is - there are so many things in life that we have little to no control over. Worrying about them is not going to change them. So this is me - attempting to be at peace.

Yes - this a repeater post from a year or so ago. Sorry.

"Be at Peace," by Saint Francis de Sales

Do not look forward in fear to the changes in life;
rather, look to them with full hope that as they arise,
God will lead you safely through all things; and when you cannot stand it, God will carry you in His Arms.

Do not fear what may happen tomorrow;
the same understanding Father who cares for you today will take care of you tomorrow and every day.
He will either shield you from suffering or will give you the unfailing strength to bear it.
Be at peace then, and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations.

I feel like I am planning a wedding

I have ordered invitations (after agonizing over layout, colors, and wording).

I have flipped through magazines and scoured the webs looking at floral arrangements.

I have priced out a few different cake options.

I have picked a caterer.

Now trying to decide what beverages to provide.

Oh yeah, this is my daughters first birthday party.

We are doing dinner from Ted's! YAY!!! Everyone loves Ted's, so I know that will be a hit. My invitations came in the mail today, and I am hoping that somehow they will stamp and address themselves. I am going with pink roses with votive candles - simple but classic.

We built a guest bedroom on our upstairs, and it will be ready in time for the party so David's parents can stay up there.

Everything seems to be coming together! I swear, the last time I was this wrapped up in a party I was getting married!

Bug's one year photo shoot (a few weeks early)

I had to do her photo shoot now because I wanted to use the pictures for her invitations! I am very pleased with the way the invitations turned out! All my local friends - you should get your invitations in the mail by next week. April 17th 5 PM - save the date : ) It is going to be a lot of fun! It is mostly an adult party, but the kiddos will have fun too.

Her party is cupcake themed, and Paige loves them!
It was such a mess! But worth it!

LOVE the way these turned out. Allison had the best ideas!

Loving mommas pearls!

Love this sweet face.
Mommas beautiful girl!
This is the shirt she is wearing for phase one of her party. Phase two outfit has yet to be determined.
I love this girl so much!

Thank you so much, Allison, for these fantastic pictures!! Allison is so creative and great at capturing wonderful pictures!

Happy Monday! I hope everyone enjoys the week ahead.