Santa Baby

5 months old on Christmas Day! Our little girl brings so much joy to our lives! She is constantly changing and growing that little personality of hers. We absolutely love it and are having the time of our life watching her grow! 

We have celebrated her first Thanksgiving and Christmas. What sweet memories we have. And new traditions to begin as a family of 3! Collins got some good goodies for Christmas from Santa, Mommy and Daddy, her grands and KK. She got an anywhere chair from pottery barn that she will be able to use for years to come, a red wagon, some fun toys, clothes to grow into and a few other goodies. 

This past month she has found her feet and not letting them go. She takes off her socks as quick as we put them on. And if she can grab a hold of a pant leg, you best believe it's going in her mouth! We introduced rice cereal this month (at 19 weeks old). We wanted to try and wait til 5 months but missy began waking up some in the middle of the night so we thought we would give it a go. Boy, that was so funny! She did rice for a couple weeks and then on Christmas Day we progressed to some oatmeal. She seems to be doing ok with it. So I guess next step is veggies! Ahhh! ;) It's fun though! This month we went from size 1 to size 2 diapers. (Which we should've done probably sooner than we did.) ha! 

Collins began really sitting in the bumbo seat and bouncing in her bouncy seat too. She really likes bouncing while Mommy is working in the kitchen. She also has started grabbing ahold of her bottle with both hands. Not quite to holding it alone just yet, but I'm sure that will be next. Collins still LOVES bath time and is starting to splash around some while being in the tub ;) She isn't sleeping through the nights as well as she was-- not really sure why... Growth spurt, more movement, hungry... We don't know why. Still trying to work with her. 

We also had our first "ice storm" of the year/season. The weathermen really hyped it up! But just to be safe we were prepared! ;) 

We are excited about the new coming year... It's going to be fun with little priss by our side! Can't believe she will be half a year old next month! 

Happy 4 Months from our Little Turkey

4 months, really?! Oh goodness!! When they say time really flies by with little ones-- they are so right!! I can't believe it's November and we now have a 4 month old! It was this time/season last year that we had done our infertility procedure, IUI, to try and become pregnant. Little did we know, the first try would work! It was November 28 that we found out we were pregnant. That day happened to be Thanksgiving this year. Coincidence? I think not-- just a huge blessing from God is how we see it! 

Collins turned 4 months on 11/25. The same day we went for her 4mo check-up and shots. :( Always a sad day. She didn't do as well this time as she did with her 2mo shots. Initially, it wasn't too bad. But for about the 2 days following, she ran fever and was so fussy. Mommy and Daddy felt helpless at times. She eventually got over it and was back to her normal, happy little self! She weighed in at 15lbs 2oz. (75th%) and was 25" long. (75th%) head circumference was 40". (50th%). Dr. N said Collins is growing perfect! He said we could begin to introduce some rice cereal and solid foods if we wanted. Mommy thinks we are going to wait another month, til about 5 months. What a fun and perfect time-- Christmas Day! ;) hehe 

Collins is still sleeping mostly about 8 hours a night. Sometimes she will surprise us and do a little longer, which always makes us happy! She is still loving bath time too! Always loves being naked! ;) 

Collins has made a few milestones this month. I guess the biggest would be her rolling over from her back to her tummy at 15 weeks old. And boy, does she have it down pat! Anytime you place her on her back, instantly she's rolled over to her tummy! It's kind of funny! Collins is drooling more and more as the days go on and continuously has something in her mouth. She's really noticing figures and people more, smiling all the time! Boy, does that smile get me! We celebrated her first Halloween this month. We went to the scare on the square and to our church's fall festival too. Of course, we had the cutest little pumpkin ever! ;) 

Next month, Collins will be 5 months old and it will be Christmas! We can't wait to begin some new traditions as a family with our little sweet pea! 

Enjoy a few pics! (These are a few from 3-4months) 

Happy Halloween from the cutest pumpkin in the patch! 

LOVE bath time!! 

Daddy's little turkey

Daddy's biggest fan! 

Doctor visit for 4 month check up/shots 

Thanksgiving was a few days after Collins turning 4 months but with the title of this post I had to post this one! 

Happy 4 months little girl!!! 

Quarter of a year old

Well, 3 months has come so quickly! Friday, when Collins woke up for her morning feeding, around 5:30, I sat there looking into her precious face, thinking how am I so lucky to be her Mommy?! And thinking about what we were doing 3 months ago at that time... Waiting on the doctor to arrive, so I could start pushing! Crazy, how time flies! 

Collins is truly the biggest joy I have ever experienced in life! She makes my heart smile bigger than I could've ever imagined. She is now talking so much more... She's very vocal and happy right after eating. She's smiling more and more these days, which makes Mommy and Daddy smile! She is now drooling, really chewing on her fingers and hands. (She tries to fit her entire fist in her mouth sometimes) Ha! She likes to suck her thumb, once she finds it. But Mommy always tries to replace it with something else. She began sucking and playing with Sophie the Giraffe and really seems to like her. She still enjoys laying on her play mat and kicking away, while looking up at the mobile animals. She still loves her swing and just began really figuring out the TV. (Definitely her Daddy's girl!) ;) She's been watching a lot of baseball, considering our Cardinal team has made it to the World Series! She's going to know all about it! She's now sleeping about 8 hours a night (she really started getting the hang of it around 10-11 weeks old). Sometimes she will go longer, sometimes she won't make it but about 6 hours. It just depends. Collins LOVES bath time and being naked! She loves laying on her changing table. It brings a smile to her face just about every time she is on it. She has gone on 2 short road trips this past month. We went to Nashville for a mini weekend getaway with her boyfriend Cooper and his parents. We also made a day trip up to MO to visit with Eric's parents for the day one Saturday.  Mommy went back to work right before she turned 3 months old (the week before). Boy, was that hard! Luckily, Ive gone back PRN and we are working hard to make a flexible schedule where she is home with us most of the time. It's starting to get a little easier, but I'm sure it will never be easy saying goodbye to my baby. Ready to see what month 3 holds! ;)

So behind, yet again...

I guess this is my norm for blogging- to never be on time with my posts. But, maybe I'll try and do more of a monthly post these days. A lot has happened since my last post! ;) I now have a 2 month old baby! Yep, that's right. I went into labor at 37.5 weeks. My water broke at 9pm on July 24 and my precious little miracle girl was born the following morning of July 25 at 6:32. It was an amazing experience! Being on the opposite side of things was different too. The past 2 months have been some of the most difficult times in Eric and my lives; yet, some of the most rewarding. The night my water broke, I had gotten off working an 8 hour shift and Eric came to meet me at the hospital to go and visit my grandmother at another hospital. While we were visiting, all of a sudden, I knew the time had come! Talk about a nervous wreck! And, I'm a L&D nurse--- why was I so nervous?! Ha! I said good-bye to my Granny, not knowing it would be my last chance to tell her how much I loved her. I love knowing the last time I saw her, she was as excited as me about her new great-grand baby on the way. She got very sick, very quick and quickly fell downhill. I did have the opportunity to see her before the final measures were taken to end her life, but I chose not go because I wanted my last memory with her to be a sweet and happy one. 5 days after Collins arrived, Granny passed away. Talk about a God-thing! He allowed life into the world as he took one life away. She never got to meet my sweet little girl, but she did see her picture and I did talk to her the morning after delivery. At just 1 week old, Collins had already been to her first funeral celebration. Because that's what it was- a celebration of her life. Then, at 1.6 weeks old, Eric's dad was on business working about 9 hours from here and had to be rushed to the hospital with a massive heart attack. He had to leave us late that night to drive up and see him. Thank God, he made it! He had 2 major blockages that stents helped fix. We are so grateful that all went well and he is now recovered and feeling so much better. Then around 3.5 weeks old, my dad was admitted back into the hospital with different complications. This whole time was very difficult for me as a brand new mommy. I didn't know what I was doing, I wasn't sleeping and I didn't really have much help since Eric had gone back to work during the day. All I wanted was for life to be "normal" again, to enjoy my new baby and family of 3 and it just seemed like I wasn't able to do so. I'm so thankful for my Heavenly Father and his unending love, mercy and grace. Without him, I wouldn't have made it through that first tough month. Not only was my dad in the hospital for about a week or so, he then went on to an alcoholic rehabilitation center to seek help and treatment. This was a long awaited answered prayer. He is currently still there, but thankfully coming home this weekend. It was a 30 day program. He seems to be doing really well. We are just praying that he continues to do so. Now, an update on my little toot! She changes every single day. I just can't get enough of her! I could hold her and kiss her all day long! Currently, Collins loves her play may and swing. She does tummy time quite well, while holding her head up and really strengthening those neck muscles. She has rolled from her tummy to her back a couple different time; the first time at about 7-8 weeks. She is beginning to be quite "vocal," talking to Mommy and Daddy. She is smiling more and more, seeming to recognize objects and faces more. She loves bath time and being naked! Ha! She went to her own room and big girl bed all by herself at exactly 8 weeks old. Talk about difficulty for Mommy and Daddy! Since then though, she has been sleeping about 5-6 hours at night, making day time naps shorter. We have been to the doctor for a 2 month check-up and shots. That was not easy on Mommy at all! Overall, she's doing great! I go back to work in about a month... SOOO not looking forward to that. I am going back part-time though, which will hopefully make things a little easier. Crossing fingers that I can update in about another month! :)

33.6 week check-up on 6/27

I hate I didn't around to posting last week, but I had a dr. appt. last Thursday...just a regular check-up. Daddy got to go, again, so I was thankful. Everything is still looking good! We checked my weight, urine and BP... all is good. I hate seeing that number constantly rising on the scale, but I know it's for the best for my growing little girl! There hasn't been another "official" ultrasound done (although Mommy looks frequently at work), so I am not too sure what her estimated weight is at this point. Around 4-5 pounds probably at this point. We listened to hearttones... I sure LOVE hearing that fast, strong heartbeat! Although, this visit it seemed a little slower, maybe around 140's. Collins normally is about 150's. No major complaints from Mommy other than work getting more difficult, uncomfortable with contractions. Dr. M says we can cut my work hours back if needed, but I want to try and save my time for when little Miss arrives, so I am trying to deal with it as much as I can. Next appt is in 2 weeks, then we will begin weekly appointments! I scheduled all my appointments up to 39.0 weeks! Crazy to think this time has come... Bring it! :)

Happy Birthday Sweet Angel!

Well, June 23 has rolled around again. It seems just like yesterday last year that I made the post I did last year. I can't believe it's already been a year! It's hard to believe where we are now too. 

It's crazy to think we could have a little one year old right now. I never had dreams or anything, but I feel like our sweet angel in heaven is a little boy. I don't know, and it doesn't matter, that was just always my gut feeling. I know he or she is dancing and playing up in heaven now with all the other angel babies. Funny this morning... I turned on K-Love and first song I heard playing was Mercy Me's 'I can only Imagine.' It brought sweet tears to my eyes as I thought about what eternity will be like with our Heavenly Father and knowing I will get to see my sweet angel one day. Unimaginable! 

I know God's plans and timing is more perfect than we can ever think of. I sure am glad that he chose to give us another chance at becoming parents and that our sweet little Collins will be here very soon now! 

I rejoice in the promise that I will one day see my sweet angel baby one day. Until then... Happy 1st Birthday sweet angel! 

31.4 week check up

Today I went back to the doc for a check up on baby Collins. Daddy got to come which was nice, since he can't always. We had a pretty good check up. The doctor listened to hearttones. Collins has a very strong, fast heartbeat. As she was listening, Collins kicked a big kick! It was kind of funny! ;) 

She asked how I was feeling and I told her I had been feeling pretty good except that I knew I had been having some contractions, most of which are very uncomfortable in the standing position.  Of course, she didn't like me saying all that, so she performed a (FFN) fetal fibronectin, which tests for pre-term labor. It's a swab test that has to be sent to lab. I got a call back that the test was negative. She did check me and my cervix was closed and thick, which is 

good too. She told me to try and take it as easy as possible when working and to let Eric do all housework at home. He really liked hearing that one... But I told him it was the doctors order! ;) ha! 

Next appointment is in 2 more weeks! I have 2 showers this week and we are beginning to really get the room in order. It's all starting to seem a little more real finally. Next update soon! 

The last few months

Well, a lot has taken place since last post , but I'm going to do a quick update to get you up to speed. 

Since my belly began growing some, it was time to start finding some clothes that worked! My mom and I had fun shopping and trying on the "belly bump". I got a few things that would at least get me going for a couple weeks. 

March 14 came and that was the BIG ultrasound day! I had been waiting for that day for a while. I had gotten 2 different phone calls- one the day before and one the morning of trying to re-schedule my appointment because my doctor wasn't going to be able to be there. I was furious! Did they not realize this was HUGE and I had a gender party planned for the following day?! Thankfully, I ended up being able to keep my scheduled appointment just with a different doctor. We had the ultrasound and got to finally see our little baby together, it actually looked like a baby to us both! We were waiting for the party to find out the gender, which was so difficult. But we were happy to hear everything was looking healthy and normal with our little baby. We had about 32 hours of waiting. 

March 15 finally came and so did 7pm- the time of the party! We had just some desserts and punch for our friends and family. The pink and blue table was a hit! Everyone had to pick what they thought the gender was so we could take pictures. Majority went with boy. It was finally cake cutting time... I was so anxious and nervous!! Eric and I cut into the cake together and I couldn't believe my eyes... PINK! Was this really happening?! A little girl?! I was estatic! We were so happy either way though. We had fun opening some of Collins McKenzie's first little happy gifts from our sweet friends and family. 

A lot has happened since we found out we were having a little baby girl. We began shopping for nursery furniture, and of course, I have had to contain myself buying clothes and little girl things right away! ;) I found the perfect dresser/changing table the day after the revealment party. The crib was bought soon after and then the rocker/glider. I continued growing... ;) We celebrated 2 years of wedded bliss, made a trip to the beach for a vacation/babymoon before little Miss makes her appearance. We also went up to the Lake of the Ozarks, as we do every year as well. That was our last little shin-dig for sure. Enjoy some of our pictures and watching my belly grow through the weeks... 

(I will be better about posting now-- so sorry! ) ;) 

    

 

      

       

      

           

      

              

      

     

Just a sneak peak!

I may complain about my job sometimes, but I would say there are definitely some perks! I knew I hadn't got to see my sweet baby since we were 8 weeks and h/she still looked like a small peanut. I knew I wouldn't be able to see it again until the big 18-20 week ultrasound, so I had a friend at work scan my belly and this is what we saw! An actual baby! It was so crazy to see how much it had grown
Here is Baby S at 15.3 weeks.

Valentine's Day

Today was Valentine's Day. It was also another important day for us too-- baby check up at the doctor office! It was a great day! It was a beautiful, sunny day- the temp made it to about 60 degrees and it was a perfect day for running around town!
My day started off with my hubby waking me up with a sweet, sweet card and a dozen red roses. I then went on to see Dr. M. My sister met me there (Eric had to work and wasn't able to come). She was so excited! She got to hear the heartbeat of little Baby "S." Her face lit up! We recorded it on my phone so Daddy could hear it later on. Strong beat of 150's. My blood pressure and weight was right on track where it should be too. Everything checked out well, so we wait another 4 weeks for the next BIG appointment! This will be the big ultrasound to find out if our little blessing is a boy or girl! We are so excited and anxious! We plan on having a gender revealment party where our close friends and family can celebrate with us in the the excitement!
After the doctor, my sis and I headed out towards U of M to grab some lunch. I had been saying for a while I wanted to eat at this place called the Chinese Sub Shop. I use to eat there quite a bit when I was in school- but haven't been back since I graduated nearly 5 years ago! It was so yummy and brought back some great memories too! :) We then wasted a little time and did some running in and out of different shops- some baby shops ;) It was proabably a good thing that I don't know the sex yet, otherwise, I may have been broke today after browsing a shop called 'Cotton Tails.' We were killing time so I could head to Muddy's Bake Shop to pick up my pre-ordered cupcakes for dessert tonight. I came on home finally and Eric and I cooked some delicious steaks on the grill. I made homemade garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus. I set our kitchen table all nice. My flowers were in the middle with 2 candlesticks on each side. I even pulled out the fine china! It was a fun evening inside, not having to fight crowds at some restraunt.
Moving on....With today being Valentine's Day and everyone talking about love; I couldn't help but think of the love, the unconditional love that our Lord has for us. In my quiet time today, I did some reading in 1 Corinthians, chapter 13- the love chapter. I thought it was appropiate. It got me thinking... not only am I so thankful today for the amazing man God gave me and the marriage we share, thankful for the sweet gift of a baby and the amazing sound of it's heartbeat today, but mostly thankful for the gift of love that God gave us when he sent his son, Jesus as a sacrifice. That's the best love gift ever! Such a sweet reminder- and one I need daily!

We're PREGNANT!

Well, I figured I'd go ahead and make it blog official since I made it facebook official just about an hour ago. :) YES--- we are pregnant! After many, many months, heartache, tears, prayers, doctor visits, medications and an IUI procedure later... we are going to be parents!!!! We are beyond thrilled and so incredibly blessed. We have been to the doctor multiple times to be sure everything checks out good and that Baby "S" is growing as s/he shou;d... we've checked out all good and follow up again in a couple of more weeks. I have been feeling ok... VERY tired, nauseated quite a bit (at all times during the day/night), had some crazy cravings for orange juice ALL the time and my sense of smell has definitely heightened, unfortunately...lol
More details to come later... thank you all for sharing in this journey with us- continue to read as I am going to do my best as keeping this up to date. :)

Christmas 2012

Yes, it's late- as always, but not quite as bad as last year (post was like in June or something) Ha! But better late than never...

This year was different, as every year always be. We decided we would have our families over to our house for a Christmas get together... everyone- even though we don't have large families. I had to work Christmas Day again this year, so we knew we would have to celebrate another day. On the 22nd, we went to my Aunt and Uncle's house to fellowship with them. We had finger type foods, as we always do- we did a name exchange too for the first time. Normally, we only bought for the "kids", but decided this year everyone would exchange a gift with the name you got. It was different than our "normal" and fun too. It's always nice to see them and hang out- we don't do it often throughout the year... I know we should truly cherish those moments and try harder to have those "get togethers."

On the 23rd Eric's family got to town and we had everyone over for dinner and presents at our house (first time in our first new home together). We again had more finger foods, a change from our normal. We normally do the full out 10 course menu :) I kind of missed it a little, but it was a nice change... and we had a lot more foods than the night before :) We ate and fellowshiped, then opened our gifts. We too drew names this year and put a limit on what we spent. It was really better that way... we always would buy and spend way too much on everyone, when we all really don't NEED anything. It was nice- we will probably do it again. Eric's parents and brother stayed the night. I got up early and fixed my mom's traditional breakfast casserole (my new tradition now that I am growing up) :) along with a new recepie, cinnamon roll cake, They were super yummy! We just hung out most of the morning and afternoon and went to grab some pizza for a late lunch/early dinner before Christmas Eve service. We went to our church's service, which was very nice. His parents came and then they left to head back home.

I worked Christmas Day, but got to leave at 1! I came home and napped for a couple of hours... it was so stinkin' cold and rainy/sleeting outside- it was a perfect day to curl up on the couch! We then packed up and headed to my parents for an un-typical Christmas dinner of pork tenderloin. My Granny and Uncle Mike came over too- dinner was great and it was a nice change, once again. We all just hung out, low-key and then watched our traditional Christmas movie- Christmas Vacation!

We had a great Christmas! We are so blessed with such great family and friends- we can't wait til next Christmas... we will have the most precious gift we could ever recieve... watch for next post! :)

Here's a few pics of our Christmas holiday...

                    Me with my Granny and Uncle Mike

                                                                       Our families all together

                      My sweet family... so glad to have my dad home and doing well this holiday season!

                                       My sweet little Bell Bell 

                                    Bella loves her Mama and Aunt Kris

                                     Me and my Lovey

                                              Outside our front door

 Our little Christmas tree--- Can't wait til next year- we got a bigger one on sale day after Christmas! :)