One adventure at a time!

Most of the people who read this page probably already know this, but Ava Renee is here!! She arrived on September 17th at 11:22 am weighing 7 lbs 15.8 oz and 21 inches long...and screaming. The first thing I thought was... "well, she's not quite as loud as her sister!!" It was so exciting to hear that first cry...since it was a c-section and I was laying down, I had pools of tears in my ears!

The morning of surgery was a great one for me. I woke up with an incredible peace and excitement that I know could only come from God. I had been so anxious and emotional at times that it was just so exciting to wake up with such a sense of calmness. Ryan and I had a fun morning getting everything into the car and spending our last few moments with Audrey. We drove her to her sitter's house (which worked out perfectly as it was part of her normal routine) and then headed to the hospital with a stop at Target along the way (Ryan kept telling me that it figured that I'd need to go to Target when I was supposed to be at the hospital in 10 minutes....)

We had a truly great nurse when we checked in and the process got started. My mom, his mom and Clay were there for a few minutes before they had to do my epidural so I got to spend a few minutes with them and take some fun pictures of Ryan eating his breakfast....while I was STARVING! nice....

The best news was that I loved my anesthetist and apparently he was incredibly skilled at his job! My epidural worked like a dream and his personality was exactly what I needed. I was anticipating that the epidural would hurt...I've had one before but I was in labor and begging for it... so I was told that this one might be more "memorable" but I didn't think it hurt at all. Soon I was wheeling down the hall and into the OR. I could see the clock on the wall and we entered the room at exactly 11:00am and they were wheeling me out right as the clock rolled over to 12:00.

The surgery itself was uncomfortable at times b/c of the pressure (felt like they dropped an elephant on my ribcage) but it was so much better than my previous one because I was so awake! With Audrey they had to give me additional drugs because my epidural wasn't working 100% so I was pretty groggy. Not this time!! Ryan was fabulous through the entire morning. He kept me laughing and even took pictures of all the gory stuff that he knew I'd like to see later (the epidural needles, the c-section incision, etc.)

What an amazing moment it was when Ava was born. It was such a blessing to be fully awake and aware! I was able listen to Ryan as he watched her being born. I could hear the emotion in his voice and I just burst into tears as I heard her cry! Our biggest surprise of the day was when ryan said "Jenny!! She has brown hair!" They got her cleaned up and Ryan brought her over to me and I got to meet her face to face for the first time. She looked so much like Audrey...but yet like her own little person.

We spent 3 nights in the hospital and have been happy to be home since. Recovery certainly hasn't been a breeze, but it hasn't been too terribly bad either. Audrey has been incredible!! She is so excited about her sister and exclaims to anyone she sees, "That's my SISTER!!" She loves to touch her hair and her toes and is learning how to "assist" with diaper changes.

I'm starting to feel a little overwhelmed as I wonder how in the world I'm going to manage being a mom to 2. We have had SO much help so far that all I've had to do is feed Ava and heal. My mom and Ryan's mom each spent one night here and we've had plenty of help in between.

I'm still not able to drive but have managed to get out the door a few times. We went to the doctors office once, on a walk around the neighborhood, down to see Aunt Nicole in the hospital (she had baby Walker exactly one week after Ava was born!!!!) and a fun trip to Target.

All these outings have been an adventure. It is complicated getting out of the house...mostly because of Ava's feeding schedule. She is breastfeeding incredibly well...almost too well at times. She is a slow, lazy feeder and wants to feed for an hour (sometimes hours...) at a time. We're working out the timing though...and the benefit of being 2nd time parents is that we know that the sleepless nights and the stress is only temporary.

Well, I feel like this is getting more and more scattered so I'm going to go ahead and post it...and then hunt for the pictures that I want to add!!

Ava's Birthday

I can't believe it, but I slept so incredibly great. I was so anxious yesterday that I didn't even know what to think or how to pray but somebody must have been praying for me to have peace...and I woke up feeling excited and peaceful. Praise the Lord!!

Who knows when the next time I'll get on here will be...hopefully sooner than later. Hopefully Ryan can update it with pictures for me :)

Please pray for Ava's safe arrival and for a safe surgery & recovery for me as well.

At first I was surprised to make it this far in my pregnancy since I am now 39 weeks and 2 days and Audrey was born at 38 weeks on her own....but I've been predicting that Ava will be my more calm, patient child so maybe I shouldn't be surprised. We'll see :)

48 hours!

I am very excited to meet Ava on Monday, but I'm bummed that it looks like I'm going to make it until then. Oh well....the good news is that I *should* have everything lined up and in order and we won't be worried about throwing things in the car b/c we're rushing out the door.

Audrey is spending the morning with grandmommy and Grandpa Clay, Ryan is at a volleyball tournament and I'm at home doing some last minute laundry and general preparation.

Tomorrow we're going to try to have a special day with Audrey....I'd really like to take her somewhere special if I feel up to it. Hopefully we'll be able to do that. I just can't imagine what it's going to be like trying to sleep the night before my surgery.

Here is a picture of Audrey showing off her new necklace that her Daddy bought her on their "super-date" last week and a picture of her this morning before they left for the fair. She was playing with the band-aids which is a favorite past-time of hers.

(insert Jeopardy theme song here)

Well... I'm still here and still pregnant. We are down to 5 nights of sleep left without a newborn in the house :)

There is a sign in our neighborhood that says our water is going to be shut off from 10pm until 6am on September 13th. We are assuming they mean "starting" on September 13th because it's a little unclear....either way.... we have been joking that I'll most likely go into labor right in the middle of that when neither one of us will be able to take a shower which is the first thing I wanted to do when I went into labor with Audrey. figures. :) of course if I do, I'll be thrilled (except for the pain part...)

I'm trying to think of what else we have going on...this baby-waiting thing has kind of taken over... Audrey is as cute as ever. She makes us laugh so much.

Yesterday she was so excited when she woke up from her nap because "the rain was turned on" outside.

Let's see....she has a new found obsession with Dora the Explorer which goes against every grain in my body.... and everything I said I would and wouldn't do when she was born. It's funny how desperate times call for desperate measures..... When I'm exhausted and having contractions and she says "mommy...can I watch Dora again?" it is really hard to say "No honey...let's play play-doh instead" Dora has become a much closer friend than I ever anticipated.

She seems to grow more and more aware of Ava every day. She talks about how mommy and daddy are going to bring her home from the hospital and that she's going to cry a lot and that Audrey is going to "rock-a-bye baby her" and play toys with her. She's also fascinated by Ava's bed situation...from the crib in Ava's room to the pack n' plays set up both in our bedroom and downstairs.... We'll see how this transition goes...

Oh...and my favorite story of the week. She was demonstrating to Ryan how she was going to help change Ava's diaper. She slung one of her dolls up on the changing table, grabbed a diaper and proceeded to attempt to climb up the side. Ryan stopped her and suggested that wasn't such a good idea...so she pulled the doll back down and grabbed a wipe and started rubbing at her nose. She then said, "I'll get her gold" (which is what we call Audrey's boogers so she'll let us clean them...)

Oh...and the other morning she woke up and told me that she had an elephant in her ear and she wanted me to clean it out....and last night my stomach was growling so loudly that it scared her and she kept asking if it was going to "get her."

OK.... off to watch the Braves....

The final countdown!

10 days (or less) until delivery!! Tomorrow I will be 38 weeks pregnant which is exactly when Audrey was born. It feels like a milestone of sorts. We can't wait to meet Ava and I'm SO incredibly curious as to what she's going to look like. I had a doctors appointment this week and a quick ultrasound and everything looks ready to go. I have one more doctor's appointment next week, then a pre-op appointment and delivery the next Monday!

In the meantime, I'm trying to be a good mommy to Audrey. This is such an emotional time for me with her....I feel like things are going to change so much. Ultimately, I wouldn't have it any other way but I feel like I'm saying "good-bye" to things as they are.... I really wanted to cherish this time and enjoy it since I will soon be sleep deprived and exhausted from a new baby....the problem is....I'm currently sleep deprived and cranky from being pregnant. I'm trying to do my best...I guess that's all I can do. Bedtime with Audrey tonight was a special time. She was so incredibly sweet and we read lots of books...she kept asking for "one more" and normally I cut her off but I just didn't want to say "no" tonight. If you know me, you know how much I love to read. It used to break my heart that she used books more for destruction than anything else. Now that she is wanting to read to us, I LOVE it! She makes up all kinds of stories to go with the pictures and i love her creativity. Finally, I told her it was time to crawl in bed and when I asked her if she was ready to say her prayers, she said..."no...it's your turn" so we prayed for our family and that Ava would be healthy. (Ryan called during bedtime from the football game to say goodnight to her....she could hear noises in the background and she asked him if all his friends were there :)

She told me today that she is ready for her date with Daddy. They usually go on some type of one-on-one date on Saturdays. Today she said that she wanted to go on a "super-date to the movie store." I don't know where she got the term "super-date" but it sounded so funny.... and I think it's hilarious that she thinks a trip to Blockbuster is such a great date! She'll make a good girlfriend one day I suppose :) Anyway, Ryan has grad school tomorrow so i guess they will have to take their "super-date" in the evening!

Here are a few pictures of Audrey's first day of preschool ! A few people have asked why she's standing in the corner for a lot of these....but that is the only possible way to keep my child even remotely still. I have to trap her somewhere :)

Labor Day....my foot....

Well, I am honestly bummed that I didn't live up to the name of the day and go into labor today! I was really hoping to...if for no other reason but the cheesiness of it all. I will say that I was pretty close though :)

We took Audrey up to spend the day with Ryan's mom (grandmommy) and grandpa clay. She was so excited to be there and I was excited to have a day with Ryan since those will be a little hard to come by for a while after Ava gets here. We went to breakfast at Chick-fil-A and then headed to the mall to shop for some pants for Ryan (and I was hoping the walking would send me into labor..)

Sure enough, just as we found some great deals on some pants...my contractions started picking up speed and intensity. This kept up for a while and they were close enough together that I didn't really even feel the need to time them. They were getting very uncomfortable and I was excited about it!! I called my mom just to make sure that she was in the general vicinity of the hospital "just in case" and just kept on walking hoping to encourage the process along. Then....we stopped to make a few other phone calls about something unrelated and my feet were tired so I sat down....and the STUPID contractions stopped. I was SO frustrated....but I know that if any change of pace affects the contractions then they just aren't real...so I got cranky and irritable. (poor Ryan) We decided to go to a movie and I had a few contractions but they were the basic Braxton Hicks variety...nothing out of the ordinary. They have picked up a few other times today but here it is....almost 11:00pm on labor day...and no labor. oh well.... there's always tomorrow!!

While we were shopping, Audrey had a blast! She played in her pool in their backyard and got to slide on the new slide they bought her. I'm so glad she was able to run around and get some of that energy out! I just don't have the energy to keep up with her these days and I'm not willing to sit in the heat like a beached whale at this point.... They must have really worn her out because she marched up to her grandmommy and asked to go down for her nap. (lately it hasn't been quite that easy since she now knows that playing is more fun than sleeping!!) She slept for over 3 hours and woke up in a great mood. We packed up and headed back to our neck of the woods to go out to eat with Ryan's dad (grandpa ted) and Nin and the rest of the family for Ted's birthday. We had a great time and Audrey entertained us all (as usual)

Tomorrow is her 1st day back to preschool and she's SO excited!! Hopefully the morning will be a smooth one for us and we'll get out the door without too many issues and a few cute pictures!!

Ryan just told me that he doesn't want to go to work tomorrow so he requested that I have the baby tonight....but to let him get a few hours of sleep first! ha ha! If only it were that easy!