Perhaps the most exciting news of the month was the arrival of our 4th niece!  Andy and Rianna welcomed their second daughter October 26 and she is the spitting image of Elena.  She weighed in at 7 lbs, 10 ounces and was 19.75 inches long.  Lindsay was able to fly down to Atlanta with Addie the first weekend of the month to meet her!  Elena and her sister were also great hosts to Addie!  (John was not able to make the trip due to playing a dream golf course with his father!)

The next two weeks were filled with college football for the Day family!  We hosted our annual John’s Day of College Football the second weekend of the month!  Several friends and neighbors were able to make it over for the event and a good time was had by all.  We were given tickets the next weekend to the NC State / UNC game and made it a family affair!  Addie loved the people watching on what turned out to be a perfect weather day!

The grandest adventure of the month was our trip to Gulf Shores, AL for Thanksgiving!  Lindsay’s father and Nancy served as incredible hosts for the event.  We also stayed beachfront with Alan, Robin and Ava for 4 nights.  The first two days saw sunny skies and perfect temperatures!  However, Mother Nature showed her funny side by sending the temps below freezing for some parts of the end of the week.  Regardless, the family time was abundant and it was easy to see all around us everything that we are thankful for.

December promises to be just as fun with Christmas decorating (Addie swears that she will help), Addie’s first birthday party and an extended stay in Atlanta for Christmas!  Please check out the pictures below and we promise to have new updates soon!  Perhaps, pictures of Addie taking some steps will be in the next update!!!!!!!!!

Addie has been incredible for us over this same time period and has played a large part in keeping us sane over this busy period!  She allows us to have a period of fun and levity after work each day and then all of each weekend.  She continues to be such a happy child and so eager to grow up into a big girl (though mommy is not so happy about this)!  With all of the above said, here is a recap of our last two months….

We started out October with our Tour de Georgia as we call it.  We spent a long weekend in Douglas with Nana, Joe and Jonathan.  Addie loved seeing her grandparents and even got to see cousin Jonathan actively at work at the Dairy Queen (where she sampled ice cream for the first time)!  She spent time in the nursery at First Baptist Church (where daddy spent a lot of time 30+ years ago) under the guidance of her 4th cousin!  The time spent in Douglas was very relaxing and only too short!

From Douglas we headed up to Atlanta to stay in Uncle Alan, Aunt Robin and cousin Ava’s AWESOME new house!  They recently moved out of their home of almost 10 years into a great home in the Morningside area of Atlanta.  Mommy had to go to work during the day, but John was able to stay with Addie along with Mimi (grandmother Donna) and Ava during the days.  We thoroughly enjoyed our daily play time, visits to the park and practicing walking with Ava’s old walker!

The time spent in Atlanta was VERY action packed!  We were able to spend time with new baby Libby Clay (Will and Jenny’s first child!) and tailgate prior to the Ga Tech Homecoming football game against UVA.  We also had a close call with a new cousin potentially coming early and having to baby sit Elena while Andy and Rianna had everything checked out at the hospital (more to come on this).  All ended up being OK that night and Addie spent time with Elena some later in the week!  On the way out of town, we had a quick visit with the Harris family, meeting Hayden for the first time and seeing Houston for the first time in a LONG time.

Once settled back in Chapel Hill, we were happy to take Addie back to Day Care, where they informed us that every child had been through a stomach bug over the previous week (so we picked a good week for a vacation).  Well, they called us that Tuesday afternoon saying that she was sick and we needed to come get her.  And sick she was!!!!!!  She kept the remnants of that bug for the next two weeks and was kind enough to pass along the nasty little thing to both Momma and Daddy!  However, we were proud of her to be able to fight it off and return to her happy self after about a week!

Addie attended her first 1 year old birthday party soon after being given a clean bill of health.  One of her best friends, Bryson, was kind enough to host a part at his house and she played ALL DAY with other children.  She had a blast and was anxiously talking about hosting her own party in December.

It was also right around this time that Addie starting eating on her own!  This was a HUGE day for Mommy and Daddy.  While it started off with only a small amount of a graham cracker, it was now turned into many other small foods and is really making our life a little easier.  Aside from allaying some worries about her lack of placing items in her mouth, it was also huge as it gives us some time to do other things while she eats!  Just a great new development on her part!

The last item that we will discuss in this post is Addie’s first Halloween.  She dressed as Snow White and was the the Belle of the Hall(oween)!  Our neighborhood had a block party where all the children played ahead of Trick or Treating.  After the party, Addie loaded up into her wagon and stayed SUPER excited about the act of visiting each home and getting candy!  She held on to her first piece she received the rest of the night and was simply a hit at each house we visited.

Please see the pictures below for the October portion of our trip!  More to come with our November and the new additions in our lives (literally in one case, from Atlanta)….

There’s a lot more we need to share and will do so shortly- we had a great trip to Douglas and Altanta and are having a blast with our first Halloween.  Most importantly though, we couldn’t be happier to have a new niece- Clara Drew who joined us this week.  She looks just like Elena did and we cannot wait to meet her!  At this point we will have a girl in every grade in high school (Ava, Elena, Addie and Clara).  They are going to be so much trouble!

41 Weeks- I can't be almost 1 year old already!

That says 42

Our little pumpkin

We had a great visit with Pop for the Bama v Duke game.  John threw a stellar tailgate and the weekend was a blast.  Then we spent the weekend in Charlotte for a football bonanza weekend of college and NFL viewing.  Is the football season over with yet?  Seems like it’s about that time…

We’re heading to Atlanta for the week and looking forward to seeing lots of friends, new babies and getting in some good cousin time with Ava and Elena.  Addie is taking the travel in stride and smiling through it all.  At daycare they have been commenting that Addie Day is suddenly a handful.  She’s busy busy busy and into everything.  Seems like she never stops til the end of the day when she just crashes- then we get up and do it all over again!  I still can’t believe she’s 9 months.  She weighed in at 19 lbs last week and she’s still measuring pretty tall.  Now if we can just get her to sit still long enough to eat some real foods…

Nick and The O'Haras at the tailgate

38 Weeks!

Family photo in our porch swings

Pop and Nancy too!

We love it when Pop comes to NC

Tailgatin' (before the babysitter came to get me)

Don't forget about The Bear

Mommy got me some new toys and all I cared about was the plastic wrap and the box

39 Weeks (the cheerleading uni did not bring good luck)

Outgrowing my jumper but it's still fun

Please take note of my mohawk

Mommy gives me the sweetest 'do's

Addie is busy busy busy.  We both think she’s going to be walking in no time- she’s gone from crawling, to pulling up, to cruising, to standing up all in a matter of weeks.  We haven’t even had time to baby proof so maybe she will just master things before we have a chance.

Here’s some fun pictures from the last few weeks.  Between Bama football, grandparents and friends we just can’t be havin’ more fun  :)

Our lives are changed forever.  She still delights us in a hundred ways every day   Pictures to come!

My mom (Mimi) and Addie and I had a great time going to the beach and Wilmington for a night.  It was a quick trip but we had great weather, had a full day on the beach and ate lots of crab.  Doesn’t get any better than that!

This is why we think teeth...

Checkin out The Mimi

This was right before I pooped in the baby pool

The Coast Guard was at our hotel

There was a little concern about Addie’s hearing (they noticed it at daycare and then the test at the pediatrician was inconclusive).  So John took her for a special test that he said was totally weird but she passed.  I think Bear’s howls have made her immune to startling and loud noises which was confused for not being able to hear.  So after she passed her test she decided to show us that we shouldn’t worry and started saying ‘Bababababababa’, ‘Dadadadadada’ and ’Vavavavavava.’  I say to her 10 times a day ‘Can you say Mamamamamama?’ and she always replies with a smile…’Dadadadadadada!’  So unfair.

We will be home sweet home a lot less in the coming months.  There’s football to see, family to visit and some work trips as well.  We’re already making plans for the holidays too to head to Orange Beach for turkey and visit the newest Day baby for Christmas (I am getting REALLY excited about that baby…think I am feeling niece # 4!!).

At Bull City Gymnastics for the McGrath birthdays

Lindsay says I look like Alexis in this picture but John says he doesn't see it...

Photoshoot with Bear for 33 weeks (with outtakes).

We are going to stay close to home this month which is very exciting to me.  We have a pretty busy September through December planned so I plan to make the most of our time at home.  Here’s the latest Addie photo collage!  BTW- everyone continues to be amazed with our smiley girl.  Lately, if she sees the camera she looks straight at it and grins and squeals.  It is totally hilarious so we’re taking lots of pictures because I know it probably won’t last.

30 Weeks!

Addie and Pop!

With Bo and Uncle Jimmy

Mimi was there too!

All the 'greats' (minus Christian)

With Glenn's boys- Matt and Danny

We also squeezed in a visit with the Crotwells

Gammie Helen came over from Tuscaloosa

Ava is the BEST helper with Baby Addie

Stayed at the Pfaudler's with Jack- Addie was a big fan

Tim and John Thomas (born the same day as Addie) stopped by the picnic too

31 Weeks!

Today we head to Birmingham for Gammie Boren’s 90th birthday party.  It will be a family reunion where I will see all my dad’s brothers and their kids which is a rare event.  We are looking forward to showing off our little girl to those who we don’t see often enough.  It will be a whirlwind weekend I know but a ton of fun.

August is a stick close to home kinda month which will be nice.  We have to rest up for football season of course…We will get to see Alabama in Tuscaloosa and our hometown of Durham.  As we get closer to September I think John will be up all night with excitement.

Our fun news for Bear is that we had some work done in our yard and moved our fence back so that she has room to roam our full property.  It gives her a ton more space with lots of great trees.  It’s almost finished and we can’t wait to let her loose in her new and improved yard!

This one was too sweet to not capture

I went to Atlanta to start my new job- get my computer and meet the team.  So far so good.  I was able to get in a little time with the Shaws and Chandlers as well.  I met Eden- the newest addition to the Shaw family who is sweet as can be.  She makes me realize how fast they grow because she seemed like the tiniest little thing at 10 lbs.  Becky, Brandon and the boys are doing great and really enjoying her.

We have a busy next couple of weeks with a beach weekend and then the Boren family reunion for my grandmother’s 90th birthday.  Looking forward to seeing lots of family and showing off our Addie girl.

28 weeks!

Addie and Bryson at Friday's on the Front Porch (it was really hot)

Anna and Andrew in town from Cincy

Serious pose with Bear

Brady and Cooper (the new big brothers)

Eden...a sweet girl for the Shaw family YEA!

On to solids...sort of

29 weeks and sitting up!

Addie is doing so much fun stuff now- she rolls over, sits up (for a little bit until she topples over), babbles, sleeps on her belly, sucks on her toes, and is starting to stick her butt in the air and try to scoot a little.  I think our immobile days are numbered.  I have to say I have really enjoyed the fact that I can put Addie in one place and she stays there…

I am heading back to work Monday which will be good.  I have made the most of the two weeks off and had a lot of fun with Addie.  She went to daycare most days but we were able to get in some pool time and playtime as well.  I did tons around the house- cleaning out closets, sorting clothes, touched up the paint (aka: Project Bear Slobber Removal), cleaned out the garage, cleaned out our cars, and hung some things involving toggle bolts.  I think John has been very impressed by my productivity and will hopefully not be disappointed when we have to do all those things on the weekends again.

Here are some photos from our trip!

At the Memorial- a pic for my Grandad

Georgetown- the Potomac

Dan ordered the Chocolate Covered Bacon Lollipops- Tiff says yum

Our fireworks view- not too shabby!

This one is adorable

Maureen's baby girl Shea- two days younger than Addie

Chillin at Tiff's

In other news, Bear got into some ants or ate a wasp or something.  She had hives and then by the end of the day her head was so swollen she no longer looked like a bloodhound- she looked like a puffy mastiff.  She seems to be doing much better but it was the saddest thing you ever saw.

26 Weeks- Yo yo yo!

Feeling much better thank you

We weren’t back for long before I headed to Atlanta for Ava’s 2nd birthday party.  John headed to Augusta for a golf weekend with Joe, Andy and friends.  It was a quick and action packed weekend but we had a great visit and Ava turned 2 with a huge smile on her face all weekend.  She too has a pretty big Addie obsession which is beyond hilarious.  I have been dubbed ‘Addie Mommy’ and I have to say I kinda like it.

In the last few weeks, Addie has started to show us some exciting new tricks.  She’s rolling over, grabbing whatever she wants, squealing, laughing, and making every day new and fun.  I think it’s probably bad karma to brag about your baby so I won’t.  But I will tell you that the teachers at daycare brag about her constantly and have said that Addie is the happiest baby they have had in a long time.  She usually wears a smile as big as her face and is pretty agreeable to just about anything.  We are soaking up this time because I think it must mean that either our next baby is going to be hell or Addie as a teenager is going to send us to the loony bin.  So we’re just dragging happy Addie everywhere we go and enjoying every minute with her…til she tells us she wants to date or wear a prom dress we don’t approve of.

Last weekend we went camping- with babies.  WHAT???  Yes- seriously we did.  3 couples, 3 babies plus a 3 year old, 4 dogs, 3 tents, 1 pop-up trailer, 2 kayaks and 1 canoe.  Oh, and it was 100 degrees.  But I have to say we had a damn good time.  I don’t think anyone got much sleep but we had a great time and I think we might even attempt it again someday.  We always love spending time with the O’Haras and Colemans and it’s really fun that we all have little ones the same age.

In other news, I have a new job and will start back at Hewitt on the 12th.  Things in my group at work were deteriorating pretty quickly and it has been a difficult transition (to put it nicely).  I will miss a lot of things about Fidelity but am ok to skip out on the growing pains they are going through now.  Without question I have a new number one job and I jumped at an opportunity that should provide some better balance.  I’ll be full time from home and out of the Implementation business which should make things a little more predictable.  Hopefully John and I can share the house without issue…though I am confident we can and am looking forward to it.

Apologies for taking such a long break- but here’s a ton of photos to make up for it.  Heading to DC to see Tiffers and Dan for the 4th with my mom in tow so check back for those updates

Weekly pictures…

Highlights from the beach…

Atlanta weekend…

Addie had spirit week at school (tacky day, hat day and team spirit day) so her 21 week picture shows off her school pride.  We really need to get her some Yellow Jacket gear.  Stay tuned for beach pictures- probably some exciting things like Addie sleeping on the beach and trying to eat sand.

21 Weeks! Roooollllll Tide!

Happy gal

20 Week Happy Birthday Photo

Happy Birthday Nana and Gammie!!

Here’s a few other pictures of John and I celebrating 4 years together, Addie and John looking OH SO cute and Addie with her buddies this weekend.

Belated anniversary dinner- fun night out

My new favorite picture- the two cutest people I know

Addie and her boyfriends- Jack and Bryson (she's very popular)

John took us to a very nice picnic at Duke Gardens and then we had a nice walk with Paige and the dogs.  Addie was a trooper all day but was so pooped she went to bed at 5:15.  I am very happy to say that Addie’s hair can now hold a bow- yea!  They hang on by maybe 5 hairs but I think it’s really exciting.  Addie is actually 20 weeks as of yesterday so we are a week behind on the pictures.  We’ll get caught up this weekend.  Love to all!

We are a week behind...but here's 19 weeks!

Happy mom on Mother's Day

Mother's Day Picnic at Duke Gardens

Look how long I am getting!

Bear came to picnic too

Alliums- BEEEEUUUTEEFULL

I look so cute in a bow!

John is happy to be back at work and using his brain again- though I know he really enjoyed his month with her.  My job is the opposite of fun but we won’t get into that.  It’s hard to find time to post lots of updates so here’s some photo highlights of the past week or so

Real Food Day 1- Not so sure...

Real Food Day 2- Sweet potatoes are yum

Day 3- Peas are fun!!!

Addie and Ms Cameron

The Bubblers Classroom

Addie's First Artwork- is that awesome or what??

18 week photo- bedtime so stingy with the smiles

The Day Girls

Daddy and Addie at Fridays on the Front Porch

This jumper rocks

The other big point of the week is that Addie turned 4 months!  We went to the doctor for her routine 4 month checkup and she measured in 75th percentile in height and 25th percentile in weight.  So, she appears that she will continue to be a string bean.  That kind of makes me jealous as I remember the days when I used to be one.  (On a side note, Addie’s mother is once again back to being a string bean.)  Addie is also continuing to work on the arts of grabbing, baby talk, jumping (in her jumper) and moving around.  She still does lots of play walking when being held and routinely runs a mile when laying on her back for extended periods of time.

We are looking forward to a great weekend.  Today, Addie and I will partake in a Tour of Kitchens in historic Hope Valley.  Mommy will be working at the Tour and we hope that she will be able to be our tour guide! We also have Addie’s first ever trip to Outback Steakhouse lined up for tonight.  I am trying to go ahead and get her taste buds accustomed to a blooming onion and red meat (thus ensuring many future visits to the restaurant for daddy).

We hope that all are well and wanted to pass along some pictures for everyone to see.  Take care!

Addie starting to grab things and place in her mouth!

Our girls enjoying each other's company!

17 weeks! Check out my big blue eyes that I got from Mommy!

Because sometimes two beds is simply not enough....

My first necklace! Thanks everyone at McCrary Daniels! And yes, I do have some clothes on....

The first week was really just a chance for me to get back to knowing Addie’s routines during the day. For instance, Addie generally wakes around 7:15 and then will take down about 5 ounces of milk. Within the first 30 minutes of this feeding, she will have shared about 1 ounce of said milk with me and various garments and throw blankets. During this time after feeding, she does some vigorous playing (anyone that has spent time with Addie knows that she can kick a mile in about 10 minutes) and talking. She generally does this playing until about 9, which then leads to an hour long nap. This same schedule is starting to show trends of semi-repeating itself throughout the day. Lindsay did an excellent job during Addie’s first three months of preparing our daughter (and myself) for this month with me. It was because of her that Addie is off to such a great start.

Of course, all of the above only happens when Addie WANTS them to happen. This is what I am learning during my month. Addie is incredibly sweet and happy child, but she is also developing a personality, which means that she spends a lot of time simply taking everything in. She also seems to now want to only sleep 6 hours at a time at night (Lindsay had this up to 8 at one point) and is trending towards dropping one of her afternoon naps. All of this means that she is seriously messing with my semi-OCD world of loving perfect schedules. However, I am steadily learning (as all parents do, I am sure) that simply watching her look at the world with such fascinating eyes makes everything worth it.

Some of the stuff that Addie is doing brand new this month are: 1) playing in her jumper, 2) laughing (which is a trip), 3) grabbing items and bringing them to her mouth, 4) placing more weight on legs than ever before and 5) taking big girl baths (without the plastic mold she previously used). She seems to take all of this in stride and really enjoys each new item/process in which she is presented. Lindsay and I both feel really blessed to have such a happy baby who, by all appearances, appears to be a child that simply loves new items and being around other people.

We also enjoyed playing host to Andy, Rianna and Elena the second weekend of April. Elena and Addie spent some great cousin time together and even enjoyed a dual bath, though each seemed to wonder why the other one was doing what they were doing! Elena gave Addie many nice hugs and kisses during the weekend, which always seemed to make Addie smile, though this always seems impossible to catch with a camera. The highlights of the trip were all of us having a picnic (hard to beat Carolina bbq sandwiches) at the Farrington house with the belted cows and Lindsay and myself paying off our losing NCAA basketball tournament bracket bet to Rianna with a night out at Nantucket!

The final HUGE item that has happened in the first two weeks is that Lindsay and I went out to a friend’s house last night and left Addie home with a babysitter! Lindsay handled this very well and, from what we heard, Addie did as well. We were going to call it a success if we simply came home to a babysitter who seemed to have all of her senses. Erica (babysitter) said that everything went well and even had Addie dead asleep for us when we came in the door, which was an incredible treat!

I hope to be a little more diligent with updates for the remaining two weeks. I am still optimistic that we will have Addie being a meaningful contributor to society by that point, but am willing to settle for her simply sleeping through the night again!

We hope that all are well. Take a look at the pictures below from the month to this point…

15 weeks and starting to semi-hold things!

Addie already enjoying the looks of herself!

Day Family, Baby Bjorn style....

Good shot of us (minus Rianna) in front of the belties...

Day Family Portrait

I am 16 weeks!!! Where is my car?

Elena and Bear strike a pose

So happy in my outfit from Pop

John logged off on Friday at 5 pm and won’t be heard from at Hewitt until May 3rd.  I am so excited for him and Addie- they are going to have a blast.  And John so deserves some time off as he’s put in 60 hour weeks for as long as I have known him.

We had a lovely Easter with Addie.  She did great in church and we had a lot of nice cookouts to attend throughout the weekend and she seemed to have fun at those too.  Some new pictures of the past week are below.  Love to all!

I call this The Land of Overstimulation

Grillin out with Lila

14 weeks!!

My Easter basket! And my cute ears from the neighbors

Mommy and Addie after church

My favorite pic- our happy bunny

My real birthday was spent in the car going back to Chapel Hill but that’s ok.  We’re home now safe and sound and getting ready for next week when I go back to work.  UGH.  Margaret is coming to spend the week to fill in the gap for us until John starts his time off so we’re looking forward to some good Nana and Addie time.  Addie was 3 months on Monday (13 weeks on Tuesday) and she just gets more fun every day.  She really is a happy, smiling baby most of the time which is going to make it miserable to go back to work.  Oh well- John says I have to go bring home some more bacon.

Diaper change party

Elena loves to hang with Addie

Cousins

Family photos at Alan's

Ava pulls up her chair to help rock Addie

My AWESOME cake!

Birthday Thai night

Addie wakes up and joins us for dinner

31...yikes

A quick visit with Dan, Alyssa and Charlie on the way out

John is back in Atlanta this week for work so Addie and I are having some good quality girl time at home.  It has been fun and I am trying to make the most of it since the countdown is now on for going back to work.  I have less than 2 weeks left- I have no idea where the time went.  Part of me is excited to get back to work and another part is really dreading it because she’s such a joy to be around these days.  I am THRILLED that daddy is taking over though for the month of April so we don’t have to worry about starting daycare just yet.  Daycare is a whole other issue since we found out that our spot isn’t going to be available when we need it- ugh.

Thursday I am taking Addie on her first flight to Atlanta to meet up with John and our fams.  We’ll spend the weekend there and I will turn 31 and celebrate with some Thai food and cake- yipee!!  Here’s a few new pictures too- Bear and Addie playtime; our neighborhood girlfriends and our little girls (Addie, Lila and Helen); Addie with Izzy (Anna and Andrews dog that Bear tried to eat when she came over- ugh again); and our little shamrock girl

Bear and Addie

Southpoint Manor girl gang

Izzy is so sweet

Happy St Pattie's Day!

- A night out with friends in Atlanta and Hans and Katie’s wedding (Addie was good and fussy for our first babysitter Gammie Donna…ugh)

- We got to see all the Atlanta girls who we miss so so much

- In Douglas we caught up with lots of friends and met Holley Ryan who is TOO cute

- A night in Bainbridge at Aunt Janet’s which is always a pleasure because we get to see tons of cousins too

- Special time in Birmingham where Addie met her 4 great-grandparents.  Addie was christened in the same church where I was christened 30 years ago.

- A day in Tuscaloosa where we got to see the National Championship trophy and the Heisman thanks to Kirby.  We also got to see Kirby and Mary Beth and their cutie twins.

Such a special trip since we will likely not have that kind of time to take off again in the near future.

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In other news- Addie is 11 weeks!  She’s doing great and we are having so much fun with her now.  Since she’s been the queen of spit up we visited the pediatrician and got some baby zantac.  It appears that this is a miracle cure and our sweet girl no longer has to wear a bib at all times.  Yea!

My new shades from Ms Peggy

Cozy with Joe

Matt and Lori's little girl- Holley Ryan

I love to visit Aunt Janet's awesome trees

Addie on a placemat at lunch with Janet and cousin Mike

DQ and bottle break on the way to B'ham

Sleepin great in the car

Bear watches the world go by

Happy girl at Gammie Boren's

So happy to meet Pop

Great Gammie Boren

The boys- Tim, Corey and the newest John Thomas

Ahhh- John's happy place

With Kirby and the Heisman

4 generations of Curtis gals

Family portrait before the christening

Elena!

Mom and Ava

My sisters-in-law and our girls

Our happy girl

Here’s a few pictures of our trip so far and a few others that needed posting.  More to come!!

Addie and Lilly when John A came to visit. Lilly even held Addie's hand

PHS reunion!

Olivia came to visit from Philly and we had the bestest time

Addie turns 9 weeks!!

Our first new baby visit in Atlanta. The adorable Charlie Kopp!!

Bonnie's cutie Cate (also made for a stellar flower girl at the wedding)

Addie chillin on Gammie's bed. In perfect spirits before deciding to be fussypants when we left.

Finally we meet Aunt Becky!!

Aunt Kelly is a pro

Holy redheadedness. So stinkin cute.

While shopping for her christening dress I discovered this sweet headband that allows you to add bows…genius!  Now she can wear her bows even though she’s baldy.  We also had a fun outing today and went to visit the Duke Fertility Clinic.  She got to see Dr Price and Dr Woodward and all the reception ladies.  They all said visitors like Addie really make their day- little miracles like her are what it’s all about over there!

8 Weeks!

We got a video camera but haven’t figured out how to post videos yet…tune in for those later!

Addie picked out the shirt for John for Valentine’s Day and John bought Addie some bows because I have been dying to girlie her up a bit but she doesn’t have enough hair for them yet.  In this picture we taped it to her head.  Ha.  I have been out a few times and people will say- ‘Oh he’s so cute!’ Oh, how old is he?’; so I was really hoping the bows would work.  In the meantime, I have found that adding the pink blanket Becky sent to her car seat works nicely to give strangers a clue that she is NOT a boy.

On Friday we took Addie to have some pictures made.  We found out that John’s friend April from high school lives here in Raleigh and is a photographer.  We had no idea there was a little piece of Douglas so close by!  April took some great pictures of us and even let us bring Bear (who sort of cooperated).  Some of the highlight photos were of Addie spitting up, Addie peeing on me when we got her naked and John shirtless with Addie.  Stay tuned for these photos  No actually, the few we saw on her camera looked beautiful and we had a great time visiting with her and her family.  Anyone looking to have some family photos made should check out her site- http://aprilmaness.com/

Other than that, we are just getting ready for our big trip around the South- can’t wait to see everyone!

Daddy and his Valentine

'If you think I'm cute you should see my daddy'

We think she has passed the 10 pound mark which should mean we might start getting some more sleep in the evenings.  Apparently hitting 10-12 pounds gives them enough fat stores to go longer at night.  I will report back on that later…hopefully this rumor is true.  Otherwise all is well in the Day house.  John is busy with work and Lindsay is busy with Addie.  John is a huge help in the evenings and also gives me a little help in the mornings so I can catch a bit more sleep until his work day gets too crazy.  This has been such a relief and I think I have been very lucky to avoid the severe sleep deprivation.  If he was gone from 8-6 everyday it would be a different story.  I am definitely spoiled with him here and for that I say- thank you John!

Hope everyone is looking forward to the weekend!  Here’s a couple pictures of our smiley girl.  When we put her on the floor Bear thinks it’s playtime for her and Addie- it’s pretty funny.

Cheese!!

Superbowl shot- Touchdown!!

Playtime with Bear

BFFs

We think we are coaxing some smiles out of her here and there but nothing caught on camera yet.  I am excited that she should be all smiles by the time we start making our tour of the South to show her off.  I will warn those that we are staying with though- if she’s not smiley she can be pretty loud!

Here’s our sweet girl at 6 weeks- posing in this cute outfit from Aunt Robin.  She’s fitting in her 0-3 month clothes now which is fun.  It was a sad day for mommy though when I had to make an ‘Addie Outgrown’ box and put all of her newborn clothes in it

6 Weeks!

We also had a fun playdate with Ben and Suzy’s cutie- Bryson.  It’s fun to watch him to see what Addie will be up to a couple months from now!

5 weeks!

Mommy and Addie- 5 weeks

Note: Bryson does not have an oversized head- it’s the way I took the picture.  :)

Bryson and Addie's playdate

Sushi night

Me and the Kelly's take Addie and Bear for a hike

Addie's first trip in the Bjorn

The Day Family

I am posting this picture for Tiffy who gave us this lovely Moses Basket.  I thought she would enjoy seeing that Bear also likes the Moses Basket.  It is very similar to her little round doggie bed.  Good thing Addie doesn’t seem to be allergic to dogs since Bear lays on (or in) all of her things and gets dog hair on everything.

Bear in the Moses basket

I WAS sleeping

I also took a picture of Addie in this adorable onesie from Aunt Rianna.  I love the turtle- so dang cute.  Addie loves turtles and she also loves her Mary Jane socks from Bonnie.  She’s filling out and getting to wear some of her super cute clothes.  I love it.  Also, Addie has been doing the ‘one eye open’ thing since she was born.  She’s always sleeping with her left eye just a little open.  It makes us laugh- like she’s always checkin’ up on us

Daddy and Addie

Turtle onesie is too cute

In other news, her very stubborn cord finally came off so we got to have a first real bath.  She seemed to enjoy it- not one scream…until it was time to get out of course.  I had an exciting day yesterday with my first run and first outing for sushi.  Two things I have missed terribly and they were both as great as I remembered.  The rain is back so I guess I will be ease back into the running (no complaints there) and just enjoy the weekend.  I miss Gammie being here already but we are excited to have Kelly and Kelly coming in for a quick visit this weekend to meet Addie.

Hope everyone is staying warm and dry!

Showing off my BIG eyes

First bath

All clean!

A couple new pictures for everyone!

Family snuggle

4 Weeks!!

The 4 Week Picture Outake- we had to break for poop

We were happy to have John home and sounds like things went well in Douglas.  Many people were disappointed that Addie didn’t make the trip but we look forward to taking her on a tour of the South in February so she can meet everyone.  John will be hitting the road again on Friday to head to Tom’s wedding in Charlottesville.  I wish we were going as well but there was no way to know at the time if Addie might be 3 weeks old or 2 days old.  I am sure he will have a great time seeing all the guys and my mom is coming to hang with Addie and me which will be fun as well.

Here’s our 3 week pic.  She still has no pants that fit but is racking up some ridiculously cute clothes.  We have a bunch of dresses now and I CANNOT WAIT until she can wear them.  I hope she gets invited to lots of parties in the coming months because she has quite the wardrobe for hitting the town.

3 weeks!

Still a munchkin but growing fast

Naked time!

A shot of my belly that's growing fast

Being a trooper with a yucky left eye

So we miss you daddy and most of all we will miss you Grandmother Maggie.  Here’s a picture from October of all of us at her 100th b-day.  Addie is there too…in my belly.

Grandmother's 100th Bday

Otherwise things are good.  Addie continues to be a sweet baby and lots of fun to be around.  She is sleeping pretty well at night- giving us 3-4 hour stretches to get a little sleep.  I’ve turned into a pro at falling back asleep in no time at all so the sleep deprivation isn’t as bad as I was expecting.  She’s almost 3 weeks now so she’s awake a little more during the days and her lungs are maturing so that she can really let out a good yell when she has something to say  She’s easy to calm though with a diaper change, something to eat or a little snuggle.  The weather has been SO cold but today we were finally able to get back outside a little which makes us both feel good.

A few other pictures posted below.  The Tide National Championship win was just icing on the cake for John to a pretty perfect holiday season.  Addie finally got to meet Henry- my friend Ashley’s baby boy.  Ashley and I were due on the exact same day but Henry wasn’t in quite as big a hurry to get here as Addie was.  We took some pics in their matching hats for our own selfish entertainment.  We visited the O’Haras and Emily was so sweet to Addie and we got all kinds of sweet gifts and hand-me-downs thanks to Em!  Lastly, we had a family outing to see Paige’s art opening at a little gallery in Carrboro.  It was so great and we are so proud of Paige for already having a big debut since coming to NC- yea!

Lucky feet- yea Bama!!

Addie meets Henry!

Emily and Addie

Paige's Art Opening in Carrboro

She turned 2 weeks the day of the Orange Bowl but was unable to pull us through to a victory.  That’s ok though- she has on her Roll Tide outfit today for the much more important game.  We have our fingers crossed and hope Saban has the boys ready ready ready!

Arun also came by with his kick a$$ camera to take some pictures for Addie’s announcement.  They turned out great- a sneak peek at a few is below. Donna and Arun continue to be so great to us- we can’t thank them enough.  A bunch of our neighbors have started a meal parade for us too which is so wonderful.  It’s amazing how it’s 9 am at one point and then I look at the clock and it’s 5 pm.  So the meals are such a huge help.

Addie continues to be a very sweet and chill baby.  The doc says she will likely start being more awake now and could get fussier now that she’s past 2 weeks.  We haven’t seen much fussing- but when she does have something to say she’s getting a little louder that’s for sure

2 weeks! We cheered on the Jackets- despite the loss

Hat buddies

Nick says- ok you can take the baby back now

John comes to visit and gives me a cool hat

My new snowsuit from Gammie

Daddy is ginormous compared to me

Sweet Girl

Announcement photoshoot

Announcement photoshoot

Announcement photoshoot

Life with Addie is great.  I always knew I would love being a parent but the past week and a half has been something truly special and so much more than I even imagined.  Maybe it’s because we hoped for this for so long and so hard that it’s extra special- but probably every new parent just feels this way.  Addie is sweet, fun and hard not to just stare at 24 hours a day.  She’s eating like a little pig and filling out nicely and she’s sleeping pretty well too.  I’ll be sure to post later when I am going out of my mind for one reason or another, but this newborn stage has been fun so far.  Granted, she’s still supposed to be in-utero so maybe that’s why she’s been so easy.

John has been a great help so far and really catching on like a pro.  Our parents’ help around the house and the kitchen has been wonderful.  We will be on our own starting tomorrow but have a freezer full of meals which will be great- and will keep John from having to eat a bowl of cereal for dinner in the coming weeks   Tonight we are taking advantage of Nana and Joe’s last night in town and going out on a little date.  It will probably be the shortest date we’ve ever had- but also one of the best since we have something so exciting to celebrate.

PS- Addie and Bear are becoming fast friends.  Hoping to get some more really good photos of the two of them in the coming weeks…

Addie and Bear

Addie 1 week

Day 1

The delivery progressed nicely for us from 1 PM (time that we were admitted and IV’s and antibiotics started pumping (more on this later)) through 3:00 PM (at which point all hell broke loose).  Lindsay had yet to receive an epidural and immediately went into intense pain (much more than anything seen prior to that).  At the same time, the heart beat monitor lost its reading.  Immediately, 6 nurses came flying into the room and started working on Lindsay and the baby.  The monitor continued to fail, which led the mid-wife (doctor was not there yet) to place a monitor directly on Addie’s head (while still in the womb).  Once again, we were provided with some reassurance as the heart beat went back to the normal range.  No one was sure what happened to Lindsay and/or the equipment, but the one thing that they were sure of was the delivery was going to happen in the near future.  The anesthesiologist and on call doctor were paged STAT to come to our room.  Each had appeared by 4:30 and started doing their thing.  By 5:00, we were set and just in the nick of time, as they each confirmed that Lindsay was fully dilated.

Lindsay, no longer enjoying this thing called labor. Where are the drugs?

Now that we know Lindsay was in active labor, Donna (Lindsay’s mother) and I started working with Lindsay to help the labor progress in a timely fashion.  We did receive one final surprise though when our normal doctor (and also one of our neighbor’s) appeared.  She was planing to come on call later that night, but sped up to the hospital when she heard that the birth was close.  She was such a relief to have with us as she instantly brought along a sense of familiarity and calmness to the room.  The next hour she spent giving us directions and feedback on how everything was progressing mixed with normal conversations between neighbors.  I swear that had someone been in the corner strumming a guitar and signing Kumbaya in front of a campfire, it would not have been more relaxing.  She did a perfect job of helping ease Addie into the world and then introducing us to our daughter.  Even after finishing with everything for us, she said that could go back to the neighborhood and walk Bear for us.  Just an awesome doctor and neighbor!

Addie, Lindsay and Dr. Miller (Ann). Ann was awesome for the whole thing!

As for the stats….  Adelaide Elise Day was born at 6:00 PM on December 22, 2009.  She weighed in at 6 lb. 1 ounce and was 19 inches long.  Her weight was especially good news to us as we had spent the last 7 weeks hearing that she was losing abdominal size when compared to the normal fetal size at her age.  She did look a little skinny but there was no concern from any of the medical staff in the room. Her apgar’s were determined to be 8/9 and we were allowed to leave labor/delivery and proceed to our normal room.  After a quick bath and heel prick in the nursery, Addie was brought into the room around 10:00 PM.  She then spent the rest of the evening/night with two people that had absolutely no idea what they were doing, but were determined to learn it, sleep be damned….

Addie with her big foot. Only big thing on her right now!

Day 2

Lindsay and I spent the entire night prior watching our daughter breathe and getting very little (if any) sleep, but this was only due to our own excitement as she was an excellent sleeper.  She woke every 3 hours to let us know that it was time to feed and then would nod off to la-la land again.  We were fortunate enough to have several visitors come up to the hospital to visit us this day.  Each of them have had children in the past and it was a relief to see them with her and then hear of their stories.  It sort of made us feel that perhaps every one had the same emotions as us that first night in the hospital!  Addie was also checked out by several doctors and nurses this day. There were some slight concerns about her faster than expected breathing, but this was initially thought to be just related to being less than 24 hours old.  Even with all of the activity, Addie continued to be a wonderful acting baby who was only fussy when it was feeding time.

We had our first big parent scare that night when her breathing was checked again by a new nurse on duty.  Around 10:00, this nurse still thought that it was above the expected range and wanted the resident doctor on call to check her out.  After about an hour, the resident came back to let us know that she thought the elevated breathing was something that should be checked out in greater detail and wanted to have a chest x-ray.  She told us that we could go back to be with her for feeding while/after the x-ray was completed.  About midnight, she let us know that the x-ray showed a small spot in her lungs that was hard to clarify as to what it was.  She told us that it could be anything from extra fluid left over from the delivery (not a big concern) to something as serious as early onset of pneumonia or a bacterial infection.  The reason that this was a concerned possibility was because Lindsay tested positive for Group B Strep prior to the delivery.  This was the cause of the antibiotics that were administrated for the birth.  Normally, the doctors prefer that 2 rounds of this occur prior to delivery, but due to Addie’s desire to enter this world, Lindsay only received one round.  Needless to say, we were incredibly concerned and told the doctor’s to do whatever they thought was in the best interest of Addie.  They decided to start giving her an IV and antibiotics of her own in order to start combating any bacteria that would be present in her system.  She would then be reevaluated in the morning.

Lindsay holding Addie upon her admittance to the NICU

Day 3

We spent the night going between our room and Addie’s bedside in the NICU.  It was incredibly hard to see her hooked to the various machines, but it was also reassuring in a way as her heart rate, breathing rate and O2 levels were constantly monitored by several highly trained nurses.  It was also beneficial to us as these nurses would spend time with us while in there giving us tips and pointers.  By the next morning, it did seem to be apparent that her breathing had stabilized (great sign) and her eating had increased some.  However, in this roller coaster lifestyle that provided to us for the last 9 months, there was a new concern about jaundice now appearing.  Now, in addition to the IV and antibiotics that were being administered, she would hang out below the bili-light that is designed to decrease the severity of jaundice in her system.

Addie getting her suntan in the NICU. That thing she is laying on is her right arm!

The remainder of the day was spent hanging out with her in the NICU and catching small cat naps in our room.  Lindsay’s health was also to the point where was released at 4:30 PM that day.  We were very lucky though that the hospital has an extra room for mothers with children in the NICU that allow them to stay overnight for nursing purposes.  Unfortunately, that meant that I would no longer have a place to stay and would have to spend the night at home.  I stayed through midnight that night and helped with the last feeding of the day and then headed off home.  I can honestly say that was probably the loneliest night of my life and not the way that I had envisioned spending Christmas Eve.  Little did I know that I would receive the greatest Christmas present ever the next day.

Day 4 – Christmas Day

I arrived at the hospital just after sunrise (though it could not be seen through the rain) to find Lindsay already at Addie’s bed side starting her feeding.  She had spent the night prior with her for two feedings, which Addie took like a champion.  It was such a relief to see her and to continue to see that her vitals were remaining normal.  It was also at this time, that they retaken the x-rays of her chest and we learned that they had come back clear!  We also learned that her blood culture contained no bacteria at her 48 hour check.  These were VERY promising signs that her problems were not related to bacteria!  It was the greatest Christmas news that we have ever received!  The only so-so news was that her jaundice check showed that she should probably stay under the lights for an extra night in order to keep the levels at an acceptable level.  While bummed that we could not bring her home, we could hardly complain as she was getting an extra night with some of the most highly trained medical personnel that one could ask for.  Even better, Lindsay’s roommate had moved out of the nursing mother’s room and I was allowed to stay overnight with her!  This turned out to be a great Christmas after all!

Addie celebrating that the wires and IV's will soon be coming out!

Day 5

The doctor’s greeted us that morning to news that we would indeed be going home!  Her antibiotic had been removed the night prior and the IV was removed that morning.  She was given a clean bill of health and would be leaving the hospital weighing in at 5 lb. 11 ounces (lost 6 ounces from her birth weight) and showing signs that was on the increase.  After another thorough check up from the attending, resident and intern doctor’s, Addie was strapped into our car at 12:30 PM and we were off to see if we could do this ourself!

Lindsay getting Addie ready for her first car ride!

We arrived home to balloons and a sign greeting us at our home and a wonderful Christmas dinner, all of which was provided by our wonderful neighbors!  Lindsay’s mother had kept our house in wonderful condition and even spent a lot of time with Bear (when she was not at the hospital).  Her help was instrumental in keeping us grounded and sane during the previous 4 days and for that, “thank you” is simply not enough.  That afternoon was spent simply getting adjusted to being parents and learning if we can do this thing.  We even had our first Christmas picture with Addie that afternoon.

Lindsay showing Addie off prior to introducing her to Bear!

The first Day family picture. In a related note, John is now 4th in importance...

Day 6 – 7

Addie has proven to be a wonderful sleeper and feeder.  She only cries when hungry and then basically goes back into her coma.  There are periods of 30-45 minutes (generally during the night) in which she does show signs of life with her beautiful, big eyes and an occasional smile (some say that it is gas, but we think otherwise).  Regardless, we could not have asked for a better daughter, both in terms of her spirit and in terms of the impact she has made on our life!

Once again, all of you reading this have given us the spirit to get through the past 2 years with an end result that truly trumps anything we could have ever imagined.  A lot of you knew our troubles with getting pregnant and provided us with prayers that we know were answered.  Thank you all for everything that you did and we look forward to showing off little Addie to you at some point in the near future!  Please continue to check this blog for updates on Addie as turns from a newborn to a toddler to a child to a teenager (god help us).  Also, if you are interested in seeing her, the door to our house is always open.  She will be performing nightly here for the next 18 years….

Addie saying, "I don't want no stinking pacifier...."

Again, thank you to everyone for thinking about us during this time.  Our time in the NICU was relatively short compared to many of the kids that were around Addie, but it was still very hard to walk out of the area each time to come back to the room.  We have been very fortunate though that the hospital has an extra room for mothers with children in the NICU that has allowed Lindsay to stay extra and even myself last night.  We have been treated so well from all doctors, nurses and staff at the hospital and know that all have been in good hands.

Here are a couple of pictures that we have taken since coming to the hospital.  Hopefully, we will be able to get the entire album online once we return home later today.

My doctor/neighbor rocks!!!!!!!

Lindsay/Addie after a late night feeding.

We hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

The doctors did their rounds at 11:00 gave us even better news that they were comfortable removing her IV’s (one for fluid and one for antibiotics).  However, they still had to do another bilirubin count from her blood.  This measures the level of jaundice, which has been a small concern since yesterday afternoon.  Unfortunately, this count just came back and has increased slightly from yesterday.  The count is not at a dangerous point yet, but they checked several places for tanning blankets (not sure the correct term) that we rent/take home and the Christmas holiday/weekend have made it hard to find any.  So, we will be staying here another night and using the hospital’s super duper bed to work the mess out of her blood.  That is why we are now wanting Addie to continue giving us the nasty poops more than anything!

So, Christmas is still going to be great for the Day family, just that it will be observed on Dec 26!  We are very confident that we will be leaving the hospital tomorrow morning, which in our eyes is a huge miracle compared to some of possibilities that we were hearing just 36 hours ago.  Please continue to keep Addie in your thoughts and prayers (lots of encouragement for eating!).  She certainly appreciates them and you have no idea how much they continue to mean to Lindsay and I.

Everyone have a Merry Christmas!

Addie continues to be in the NICU unit.  However, she seems to have steadied at least in her measurables.  Her breathing has leveled out in the normal range and her heart rate, O2 count continue to be normal.  She has even started eating more food and having consistent pees and poops.  However, she did show some initial counts that would lead to jaundice, so they decided to go ahead and place her under the blue light to hopefully reverse the trend (she really never had a high number though, so this was not a large concern).

She is receiving another chest chest x-ray this morning, that will hopefully come back all clear!  The doctor’s conferred last night and are thinking that it is less likely that the spot is pneumonia, but there is really no way to tell.  We do know that her blood cultures from just after birth came back negative at the 48 hour level and that gives us a lot of hope!  With a little luck, we will have the reports from the x-ray prior to her 1:00 PM feeding.  At that point, the doctor’s will give us their suggestion for continued treatment (which we hope will be to “go home”).

Addie continues to be the biggest fighter that I have ever seen (been fighting through various “diagnoses”, “thoughts” and “concerns” for the last nine months) and we are positive that she will make it through this with no concerns!  However, I wanted to mention how much of a trooper that Lindsay is!  She has handled this stay in the hospital with such resolve, confidence and determination!  I know that Addie is drawing from this strength, which only makes me more proud of the two women that I dearly love (also love a female Bloodhound named Bear, but she slobbers too much to mention in the same breath as these two)!  A mother’s love is truly a wonderful thing!

I also wanted to take a minute to thank our neighbor’s for all that they have done for us during our stay here.  From taking care of Bear, to bringing food to placing Addie’s name on a prayer list, to providing garage codes for borrowing items, you guy’s are making a huge difference in our lives this week and certainly making this stay much easier!  We hope to be able to show off our little angel sometime soon to you all!

I hope to be able to provide another update around noon.  Keep your fingers crossed for good news!

Lindsay and I sat with her from 12:30 – 2 and watched/fed  her.  She continues to be a peaceful little angel and rarely shows any fuss.  After the initial feeding session ended, we got some much needed rest (almost 2 hours) and came back for the 4:30 feeding.  She showed more stable breaths per minute at this check-in and took part in her best meal to this point.  We then left her around 6:00 and have now returned for the start of her 7:30 feeding.  She greeted us with pooping in her bassinet while the nurse was changing her.  Her breathing seems to have stayed better than what we were seeing last night and she is also still a polite little angel (as long as there is not a wet diaper on her)

As of now, we do not really know any more about what is causing her fast breathing, or if it is even pneumonia.  The radiologist will be rounding this morning and we will consult with them at that point.  However, we do know that she will not able to go home with us today due to the continuing need for antibiotics.  We are upset that she will not be sitting in her car seat for the first time today, but are hoping that will indeed be a coming home Christmas baby.

We continue to appreciate your thoughts and prayers for her.  I will provide some more updates this morning once we have more information.  As always, thanks to everyone for being such great friends and pillars of strength for us!

6-7:30 – Bonding time with mother (father got some) and really just taking everything in.  She was simply looking all around her room and seemed to just be enjoying the moment!

7:30 – 8:30 – Warning time in the heater to increase her temp by 2 degrees.  I was also in the room when she got her first needle prick and she took it like a champion.

8:30 – 9:30 – Bath time.  Apparently, she was a big fan of this.

9:30 – 10:00 – Getting ready to come to the room.  I believe that this involved a 20 minute swaddling session as she seemed to have the blanket attached to her body under lock and key.

10:00 – 2:00 am – In the room with Lindsay and I.  There were multiple feeding sessions and some long cat naps.  We even watched a movie while all of this was going on.  around 2:00, Addie finally graced us with a showing of her love, in that loud and smelly way that only children can do.

2:00 – 5:00 – Addie went to the nursery, while Lindsay and I attempted sleep.  My bed is roughly 5 feet long and on a 15% incline, so sleep was not easy to find for me.  I believe that Lindsay slept some of the time.  Word from the nursery was that Addie was a rock star and slept the entire time away.  Also learned that she really enjoys pacifiers during this three hour stretch.

5:00 – now – She came back into our room for another round of feeding (I am kind of envious of this eating schedule, by the way) and bonding.  However, this time the bonding came with our first dose of some unexplained screaming.  Guess that it is time that we start learning how to be parents…

Thanks to everyone for all of the well wishes.  They certainly mean the world to the three of us!

Adelaide (Addie) Elise Day

We are blessed with a little girl that appears to be 100% healthy!  She came out with a nice scream and then started simply looking at Lindsay and I.  Lindsay has even already had plenty of mom-daughter time with her!  Look for more information to come out as the night goes along!

P.S. Lindsay and I want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers along this journey!  It meant the world to us!

1. Your super sensitive bloodhound wakes up at 5:30 in the morning and has some serious stomach issues in the bathroom.  This after being perfectly normal for the last couple of weeks.  This just happens to coincide with your waking to stomach pains.  However, the dog seems to be taking priority in your mind.  It does seem odd as Bear really enjoys her sleep and normally is comatose until I (John) wakes her around 7:30 am.  Even then, she is very reluctant to leave her undersized bed….

2. You husband (the author) wakes up at the exact same time (even though sleeping in a different room) with his super sensitive “gameday” feeling that only occurs on Alabama football games and those rare occasions when he was handed the baseball to hit opposing batters in high school games.

3. You still go to your two previously scheduled appointments with the ultrasound doctor at UNC and your normal OB.  Each of them give you a through checkup (along with two nurses) and each of them look at you as if they are questioning your pain reflex.  I believe that the eye position of all 4 was the non-verbal equivalent of “honey, did you really not know that you were in labor?”  At this point, you accept the fact that the random stomach pains which started at the EXACT same time as the bloodhound and husband’s symptoms are actually the beginning stages of labor.  For those interested, the bloodhound and I are available for hire at any point in the future…

We are now settled in our hospital room (4208) and Lindsay is hooked to every machine known to man.  She could not tell a lie to the nurse when asked the dreaded pain question and stated that it was only a 3.  Once the nurse left the room, she looked at me with that look of, “why did I not lie?”  Odds are, that George Washington would not approve of what she says when the next visit occurs…

I hope to be able to continue to provide updates throughout the day.  However, here is a picture of us upon our arrival and getting settled in…

The Happy Couple - It is all about to start!

If this process doesn’t have everyone feeling completely certain about niece, nephew, granddaughter, grandson, future girlfriend, future boyfriend then you will be happy to know that it looks like no one has to wait much longer to find out.  We go back to the doctor on Tuesday morning and they will decide if we should check into the hospital Tuesday night or Wednesday morning for induction.  Just depends on how I am progressing I guess.  I am going for lots of walks and having some sporadic contractions but nothing too promising.  Ideally I will go into labor on my own, but we’re not holding our breath for that. 

We are really excited and feeling great about everything because baby has been growing well the last month.  I think he/she is as ready to meet us as we are to meet him or her.  We will keep everyone posted and wish you all a wonderful holiday!

All the neighborhood kids love John so he was happy to do it and seemed to have a good time.  He did say the outfit was a little itchy and the beard seems to have gotten his sinuses going- but he made a great Santa for the ‘hood  

I think next year since we will have our OWN child that will want to visit Santa they will find a replacement but we’ll see.  It’s also possible that he gave such a stellar performance that he will be stuck with the duty. 

Santa John

Candy Canes for the Kiddos

Also, our sweet puppy Bear turned 4 yesterday.  She got some extra treats and leftover steak and a couple new toys.  After posing perfectly for this photo she proceeded to take the birthday hat off and eat it.  She loves cardboard almost as much as tissues and dirty napkins (and soon enough diapers)!  We do love her- more and more every day as she seems to get sweeter and more chill with each passing year.  Happy Birthday Bear! 

Bear is 4!

I can’t believe it’s almost Christmas and hope everyone is looking forward to the holiday and will be able to spend some time with special family and friends.  We will miss seeing a large crowd of family this Christmas but hope to make a trip to Atlanta, Birmingham  and S. Ga in early 2010 to see everyone.  Here are a few recent pics too!

The Biltmore

In other updates, we are headed back to the doc the next 2 Wednesdays to make sure that all is going well.  Assuming that it is, we are scheduled to check into the hospital on December 22nd for induction.  That is about 38 weeks and will hopefully be the ideal time to meet a healthy and happy Baby Day.  Assuming all goes well, we’ll come home Christmas Eve or Christmas Day with baby in a stocking

We have continued to go in every week to monitor the baby’s growth and have tests on the bloodflow through the cord and placenta.  Last week they remeasured the baby and we were SO hoping that baby was going to get a great report.  I thought maybe our little stringbean would have packed on some pounds and they would tell us we were in the clear.  Unfortunately that didn’t happen and the baby’s growth is still not on track.  The baby is growing, just not as much as they typically do in the last weeks.  Their best guess is that my placenta is ‘pooping out’ (yes, this was the medical explanation we received).  It could be tiring early due to the first trimester strain of a twin pregnancy.

The good news is that baby is healthy and moving around and doing well.  But at this point, he/she is behind in overall weight.  The ultrasound measurements aren’t exact but it looks like we’ve fallen below the 10th percentile in the last weeks (we were in the 40th at one point).  So we have a little peanut on our hands and they want to continue to monitor the growth very closely.  We have been told that the most likely scenario is that it will be time to induce at 37 weeks so we can get our peanut out and start to fatten him/her up in the nursery.  37 weeks is full term so we hope that means healthy lungs and not too much else to worry about.  The CRAZY thing is that’s 2 weeks away   I didn’t think I might have a baby before Christmas so this is all very exciting.  We’ll find out more at our appointment on the 16th- I guess they will tell us to go home and pack our bags or sit and wait a little longer.

Otherwise things are going really well.  We had a wonderful weekend in Asheville- sleeping and eating and touring the house which was decorated for Christmas.  It was a perfect last getaway.  Thanksgiving was also lovely- though we missed spending it with family.  It was very nice to not spend 2 days in the car and John and I both did a lot of relaxing.  We also got decorated for Christmas and have a great tree up for our SEC/ACC Championship party this weekend!

We talked to our OB as well and she said that this may have been something that we wouldn’t have even known about if we weren’t already having regular ultrasounds so we can assume it’s nothing too alarming.  However, since we were already being monitored and they’ve seen something new to keep an eye on…we’ll probably be on watch til Baby Day makes an appearance.  Every week they will just assess the situation and decide if Baby should be in…or out!  We’ll be ready whenever but of course we’d like him or her to keep growing and get nice and fat over the next 7 weeks   Besides, we don’t have names yet so technically we aren’t ready!

Oh!  And just for fun today the ultrasound tech measured the foot for us.  It was 2 and a half inches long.  I don’t know how long baby feet are supposed to be, but that sounds really big to me…

The Arteest!

Nursery tree

The room is coming along!

Hanging Rock State Park

Leaf viewing at Hanging Rock State Park

Last Thursday we had our follow-up ultrasound at UNC and were planning to hear all good news and thought that it would be our last baby viewing.  Well, in our never dull pregnancy journey, that wasn’t exactly the case.  At the appt 4 weeks prior, the doc was finally happy with the way everything was looking so we fully expected all good news last week, but one of our baby’s measurements was a little concerning so we’re still on the watch list.  Now we will go weekly to check the blood flow and that everything is moving along ok.  At the level II ultrasounds they measure the head, the abdomen and the femur.  Our baby has been tracking at 40th percentile in all measurements all along which was great.  But at our last appointment, the abdomen measurement had dropped down to the 7th percentile.  When there is a potential growth restriction problem, the abdomen is the first to show it- baby knows it’s ok to not fatten up and keep growing the more important areas I think.  The blood flow looked perfect last week so she wasn’t too concerned, but it’s something they have to watch closely over the next few weeks to make sure the baby starts to catch back up.

We aren’t too worried at this point- thank God for an active belly to always keep us reassured.  We have been calling him/her our little bean and I guess now we are just praying for and looking forward to meeting our little stringbean… 

I’ll post an update Thursday after they recheck the blood flow and redo some measurements.  I think we’ll see that with all the check-ups we’re having, we may have just caught the baby in a growth spurt or something and now our stringbean is getting nice and fat!

Not cooperating for pics today- face in placenta

OMG- that's a big foot

Thanks to everyone for checking in and thinking of us

After the excitement had died down, I noticed I was getting some very consistent little kicks and then I was worried because they were too consistent.  No Day baby could have this kind of rhythm so I didn’t know what was going on.  After a few more minutes I decided it was the hiccups   They lasted about 20 minutes… I hope baby didn’t think they were as annoying as I do when I get them.

John carved a fantastic punkin!  He’s so crafty.  He pointed out that I apparently carve the same jack-o-lantern every year so next year I will need to get more creative.  Maybe a GT or something.

A Roll Tide Halloween!

And here’s a couple more pictures from the 100th birthday party.  Very nice to have been able to get a picture of everyone in John’s back yard…

Check back next week for some ultrasound photos.  Maybe they will turn the 3D on again and we can see what he or she is lookin like these days!

Grandmother Maggie turns 100!

Just a few of the cute kids (our cousins and nieces) at the party…

Cute nieces and cousins

Making myself at home

Our trip to Douglas took us 8 hours- we really wish we were closer to everyone!  John gave my bladder an A+ on the way home though cause we made it in 7 and a half hours and 2 fewer potty breaks.  I took this picture of Bear on the ride back.  We now have an enormous car so that Bear can have all the room in the world to stretch out and enjoy the ride.  She spent the entire trip on top of our luggage instead of on her bed.   Crazy dog.

Bear's ride home

Ben and Suzy had their baby on Sunday- I really appreciated them waiting for us to head home   Bryson James is doing great and was almost 8 lbs.  He’s a cutie and we can’t wait to introduce him to either his future BFF or future girlfriend. 

Welcome Bryson!

Shield your eyes…here’s my 30 week photo.  It’s been awhile since I posted one.  I feel like I am as big as I can get but my baby still has to at least double in size.  Yikes.  My belly button is now flat.  It’s not sticking out yet and I really don’t want it to, but I think it’s going to happen in the next couple of weeks. 

30 week belly

And one last photo…things that make you go hmmmm?  John and an accordion.  We went to visit Paige and Rob and you just never know what kind of fun you are going to have over there.  You have to admit, this is pretty darn funny looking.

Eh????

It has good parts too though- it’s fun to feel the baby so much and I can almost make out body parts as they poke out.  Everyone continues to have their opinions on boy v. girl…most leaning toward boy these days.  John and I are still thinking girl though.  At our last appointment the doctor didn’t tell us to look away because she said we wouldn’t be able to see anything with our ‘untrained’ eye.  I took that to mean- there is no penis to see so don’t worry about it.

Dad is coming up next week to add some personal touches to the nursery.  Probably a tree and some birds or something.  I’ll post pictures when he’s done- I am sure it will turn out great but I think it’s the biggest canvas he’s had to tackle

Here are a few other updates and pictures I hadn’t posted yet.  My sweet friends in NC- Anna, Jen and Suzy threw me a Baby Sprinkle and we all had pedicures.  It was great girly fun and then they all contributed lots of books for baby’s library and tons of diapers.  What a great idea!!

Pedi Baby Sprinkle

Hostesses- Anna, Suzy and Jen

BTW- Suzy (in the black) just passed her due date by a day.  This is very discouraging information for me.  We are hoping Baby Coleman joins us any minute!!

Lots of books and diapers

My NC gang

Remember Paige????

Remember my best buddy Paige from High School?  Paige just moved from NYC to Chapel Hill!  We are so thrilled.  We have been trying to sell them on the area for years and sure enough- they are here!  Paige’s sister lives in Raleigh and I think Chapel Hill will be a great fit for my arteest pal Paige and her husband Rob.  We hope they love it cause we are so excited to have them!

Silly Bear

This is my parting funny pic.  We bought Bear this way-too-small doggie bed at the Junior League bargain sale for $3.  She likes to steal her friend Sally’s bed that is like this so we got her one.  She LOVES it.  She squeezes all 70 lbs into this little bed that’s meant for a 40 lb dog.  I really love it because it makes me laugh everytime I look at her.  We’re trying to spoil her a little before the baby comes and ruins everything

We’re under the 3 month mark and getting so excited to meet our little one.  The nursery is coming along and I just wish Baby Day was here with us now.  But I know we need to wait and let baby fatten up a bit so wait we will…

Here are a few pictures I have been meaning to post from our Atlanta shower.  We are truly blessed with so many nice friends and family members (both in GA and NC); Baby Day is already so loved.

Elena tries out one of the beautiful blankets made by Nana

Beach Trip- I had an awesome weekend visiting Bonnie’s beach house in Cape San Blas FL.  The Chandler’s have a gorgeous house and we had some really great girl time.  I have a few pictures to add from the trip which really felt like a special occasion since we had 3 pregnant gals, a bunch of others that needed a break from little kids and even LL from Seattle!

Quick Bainbridge Visit- John picked me up in Dothan so we could make a little detour for some time with Aunt Janet and John’s Grandmother.  We had a sweet little visit there and Janet hosted 19 for dinner (which was probably just like any other day at her house).  But it was so great to see everyone and have some time with Grandmother Maggie.  She has to be the most remarkable 99 year old to ever live…and she is back home in Douglas and we are thinking of her every day.

Atlanta Floats Away- While I was in sunny FL, Atlanta was drowning which was a total mess.  All our friends and family seem to have come out fairly unscathed with little flooding but what a disaster.  We got to town just as the interstate waters were receding so we were able to make it to Mom’s thank goodness.   Spent the week in Atlanta visiting with family and friends.  Watched Tech beat up on our hometown Heels (YEA!) and really enjoyed being back in the big city life for a week.   Saw a little of Ava and Elena who get cuter with every visit.

A Shower Farewell- On Sunday the girls all hosted my first baby shower before I headed back to Chapel Hill.  It was SOO nice with everyone I could have hoped to see and celebrate with.  And oh my at the loot!  Pictures to come on this too.  I think it finally hit me that we are going to have a baby soon and when I got home I decided I can hardly wait anymore.  Now that we have all this stuff I am ready for Baby No Name (this is an issue by the way) to join us now.  She/he isn’t fully cooked though so I’ll just have to wait 3 more months…

Baby Update- Baby is well according to my doctor’s appt this week.  Heartrate was way down to 135 so my doc was now guessing boy.  I have been thinking Pink for so long that I am having a hard time thinking we might be on Team Blue but who knows!!  We have ANOTHER ultrasound on Monday and I fully expect a perfect report.  My belly is like a jungle gym these days- it contorts and wiggles constantly which is quite entertaining.  There’s no doubt the baby is growing well with all that swimming around with gusto.

My Long Lost John- Final update on John is that he spent an extra week in Atlanta for work.  I picked him up late last night and he came home and re-packed for Tom’s bachelor party in Lexington KY.  He left again early this morning with 13 Bama tickets in hand and his game day jitters in full force.  I know they will have a great time but I can’t wait to have him home for good on Sunday.

Since John was going to be gone, I planned to have my mom up to stay the weekend and we are going to go rock it out with Bono and The Edge at the U2 concert tomorrow.  Yep- we are hip old/pregnant ladies like that.  Then starting Sunday I hope life slows to a screeching halt so we can get ready for our little munchkin  

Happy Friday to all!!

We are also hoping to get to Douglas or Bainbridge in the next few days for a visit with John’s grandmother.  Grandmother is about to celebrate her 100th birthday and is truly one of the most remarkable women I have ever met.  Unfortunately she is not feeling well and has been in and out of the hospital so we are sending lots of prayers her way and hope to see her very soon.  Thinking lots of the Day and Tanner families each day.

I’ll have a lot of good pictures to share when I get back; hope everyone is doing well and checks back soon.

The checkup was also for the Baby B sac/placenta which has not shrunk as much as they would like to see.  Sounds like all this means now is that we will continue with ultrasounds every 4 weeks to make sure that Baby A has all the room and fluid s/he needs just as a precaution.  But so far s/he certainly isn’t falling behind so we are not concerned.  It will be nice to see baby on a regular basis anyway.

I am still feeling great.  Certainly feeling bigger and am at the point now where people stop to ask when are you due?  And is it a boy or a girl?  I guess there’s no hiding it anymore!  But everyone is extra nice to pregnant girls so it’s not such a bad thing.  Starting to work on the nursery now too so that will be a fun project to keep us busy.  My favorite part is definitely the movement.  The kicks are so good now that I can see them which is a little freaky but mostly just amazes me.  I think she also likes music and I have started tapping my belly along with the beat at an attempt to teach her a little rhythm.  I don’t want her to have daddy’s affliction of not being able to hear the beat in a song which results is some horrific (albeit hilarious) dance moves.

Our good appointments and an active belly makes it all feel real and like I finally have some peace of mind.  I asked John if he felt the same and of course he does except that he was never really worried in the first place.  I said the other day ‘surely you worry sometimes about something right?’  His response was classic- ‘I worry that Alabama will make the national championship this year which is on January 7th.’  Our due date is January 8th so his devotion to fatherhood may be tested quite early.  Regardless, the Jackets and the Tide got off to a great start so we’ll just wait and see!

September is going to be a great month- traveling to Atlanta for a girls beach weekend, a long visit with family and friends and a shower.  It’s our busiest time at work but you know what…all this other stuff is just too good to miss out on.  So we can’t wait to see lots of you very soon!

22 1/2 weeks

22 1/2 weeks- Very Flexible!

But before the Civic is sold to some very grateful 16 year old I wanted to make note of the things I will miss the most (and the least) about her.

What I will miss:

1) The memories of course!  I will never forget when I got my car and drove it to school the first day.  Kelly Dadson came out to see it after track practice and said it was the coolest car she’d ever seen.  Ha- Kelly had a Tercel will no power steering so maybe it was.  The Civic also took us to the beach and to Mardis Gras in college and successfully obtained about 300 parking tickets on the GT campus.  They withheld my dimploma until I appealed or paid all the tickets- that was really fun.

2) I will miss its zippy spunk and all the teeny parking places it has let me take.

3) 30 MPG…of course I will miss that most of all!

There are a few things I won’t miss too:

1) 2 doors is the worst.  And certainly not baby friendly. 

2) The upholstery and how Bear’s hair gets stuck to it so bad that it will be there forever for the next proud owner.

3) Even though it’s zippy it kinda feels like it’s going to break apart like the Challenger on the highway at speeds over 70 mph.

And with that proper goodbye, I give you a couple photos to enjoy!

Goodbye Hug

The New Ride

In other news, baby seems to be happy and is bouncing about.  I had a good doctor’s appt last week and get to start going for more regular check-ups now.  We also have our follow-up ultrasound on Friday which I am sure will go well.  If they try to give us anything new to worry about, I am going to just tell them we don’t want to hear it! 

The second part of our trip was also great as we relaxed in Jackson Hole.  Jackson is a great little town and I enjoyed seeing Teton Village in the summer.  We hung out on on the mountain and hiked the ski trails.  Really neat to be in a ski town in the summer- wildflowers and sun is almost as fun as all the snow!

I hit the pregnancy midpoint while we were there.  20 weeks at 10,000+ feet!  Still feeling great and getting used to my growing belly.  Packing on the pounds and am a little frightened about what December is going to look like…but I am just along for the ride.  Baby moves around all the time now which I LOVE.  It really makes it easier to not worry so much.

All our trip pictures are here in our Picasa album- hope you enjoy looking at them.  Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the end of summer.  I can’t believe it’s almost over!

http://picasaweb.google.com/leboren/YellowstoneAndGrandTeton#

Final Wildlife Count:  2 Grizzlies, 6 Moose (my favorite because they remind me of Bear…all leg and a little dopey), 1 Pronghorn, 3 Marmot, Bald Eagles, Osprey, lots of Elk and tons of Bison.

Basically Grand Teton and Yellowstone are completely amazing.  This is a vacation for the history books for sure. 

As a little teaser here’s our wildlife count so far:

Elk: 3 dozen

Bison: Too many to count; including a number in the road staring us down.  Even though we’ve seen tons they are cool everytime you see them.  2000 lbs and can run up to 30 miles an hour.  Good to know since they look like they want a hug.

Marmot: Didn’t even know what this was before but they are CUTE and we have seen 3

Moose (Meese): 2; first one was going completely underwater in a lake.  The second was really close to the road and our camera was dead.  DANGIT! We are headed out again to find another that we can get a good picture of.

Grizzlies: 2.  2 grizzlies!!  How cool is that?????

Proghorn Antelope: 1; these guys are super cute too

Bald Eagles and Osprey:  Quite a few and some close enough for a photo

We’re happy to be out of the tent and in a nice hotel bed too.  Now the relaxing begins but we’re pretty addicted to the wildlife viewing so I am sure we’ll head out again to search for more amazing animals.

We get into Jackson Hole on Saturday and plan to chill for a couple days to adjust to the altitude and unwind.  We have a Snake River floating trip planned for Sunday (no white water for me on this trip I guess), but we’ll see what the weather is doing when we get there.  It SNOWED last week and although I think it’s warmed up into the 60′s, it is still getting into the 30′s at night.  Crap, I did not plan for this and should have looked up the weather a little earlier.  I have a few articles of warm clothing that will fit so I guess I will pack those and wear them the whole time!

We will see Grand Teton National Park and then head to Yellowstone for camping.  Just planning to camp 2 nights because not sure how awesome camping and pregnancy are…or how freezing and camping and pregnancy are for that matter. 

We’ll spend the rest of the week back in Jackson at our swanky eco-green spa that Clint and John picked out.  Clint and Ellie will meet us there with little Zoe and I am sure we will have the bestest time.  I am glad John will have a buddy to have some beers with on vacay; I am really fun and all but I know it’s just not the same.

So check back for updates on how the trip is going.  We’ll celebrate the ‘half way to baby’ milestone when we get there so that’s exciting!  Lots of growing left to do when I get back though

Been feeling the tiniest of movements for a couple weeks now but they were so teeny that they almost felt like I was making them up.  Now there’s no mistaking what I feel and I love it.  So reassuring- Baby A giving me a little thump every few minutes to say hello.  Doesn’t get any better than that!

Alan, Mom and Ava arrived Thursday night and Robin flew in Friday.  Ava is truly a hoot in a hundred and one ways.  She’s so outgoing, saying hello and smiling at everyone so that every stranger stops to talk to her.  She has a couple tricks too- see the pics and video posted.  She knows a few animal sounds and had fun doing ‘woof woof’ all weekend with Bear.  My favorite though is kitty which sounds like ‘Mow’ instead of ‘Meow.’  And occasionally she would look at Bear and say ‘Mow’…that’s a funny looking kitty.

Friday was our ultrasound and Mom got to attend.  It was our special-check everything in and out-ultrasound so we were there awhile and got to look at baby for 45 mins.  Everything with Baby A looked great; she seemed a little sleepy so she wasn’t always cooperating for the tech but they checked out all they needed to see with no concerns which was great news.  They completed all the gender checks with fair warning to turn our heads which we all did without peeking I swear!  Our chart now says Gender= Normal so I guess that’s all we’ll know until the big day.  BTW, my mom and I both thought it looked like a boy.  But then s/he was doing a little yap yapp yapping so we thought maybe it’s a chatty little girl.  The 3D and 4D views are a little crazy looking.

The twist came with some concerns over the amount of amniotic fluid still present around Baby B.  The info we got was limited because the concerns involve  chromosomal issues that are very unlikely, yet scary all the same.  I think the doctor didn’t want to freak us out (fat chance) over nothing so she didn’t say much.  So I had some STAT bloodwork which came back fine and they want to see us back in a few weeks for another ultrasound to check the progress of the other sac and it’s fluid.  Hopefully this turns out to be nothing more than another opportunity to peek in on Baby A+.  John and I both feel like the super-specialized ultrasounds provide opportunities to see a lot more things that need to be watched and we shouldn’t worry.  So we aren’t…just taking care of each other and sending positive thoughts to baby.   We will keep everyone posted and appreciate all the prayers- enjoy the pictures!

Baby- 18 Weeks

Crazy 3D Pic- Who do I look like???

Ava- ready for our picnic!

John is great and busy as always.  He’s working hard but I am always thankful he works from home so we can still spend time together even when he’s swamped.  John’s new softball team was off to a rough start but they’ve been on a bit of a streak and we have our fingers crossed that they can win (maybe at least 1 game) in the playoffs that start tomorrow.  I know he’s missed softball terribly since leaving Atlanta so I’m glad he’s found a team and enjoying it. 

That said, John is also showing some signs of aging.  He ‘tweaked’ his knee by going from a seated to a standing position at our house.  This is not a joke.  It actually swelled up and was really bothering him.  Of course he played softball anyway and had to make a game-saving catch in the outfield where he landed on his chest and is certain that he either broke or WE HOPE just bruised a couple ribs.  He winces in pain with every cough or sneeze.  I know Margaret will be calling after reading this to tell him to go to the doctor…she will get the same response I am getting.  There’s nothing you can do for ribs- and not until after playoffs.  Pregnant girls don’t argue; it takes too much energy.

My favorite John update is his case of what we call the ‘sympathy pregnancy stupids.’  I have them pretty good (ex. take someone else’s shopping cart at the grocery store and walk though half the store with it while a lady tries to flag me down).  But at the movies this weekend I went to the ladies room and John headed to the men’s room.  I came out and he had an embarrassing smile on his face.  He said that he had gone in the other ladies room instead of the men’s room.  He didn’t just go in and run out though.  He went it and thought it odd there were no urinals but still went into a stall to pee.  Mind you, he didn’t close the stall door and then when he finished his business he turned around and there was a lady looking at him.  They both were wondering who was in the wrong place but she was pretty sure it was him.  Oops.  I love it.  We then of course ended up sitting next to the lady in the theater.

So other than a little absentmindedness and a few aches John is great and has made pregnancy nothing but fun and enjoyable for me.  I am sure this comes as no surprise to everyone that knows Agreeable John

Next week is our Level 2 ultrasound.  Mom, Alan, Robin and Ava will be in town so I know mom will enjoy tagging along.  Really looking forward to seeing everyone!  Trying to think of some good Ava activities which is hard for us but no better time to learn.

The National Park found our cameras and put them in the mail yesterday.  Not sure if a ranger found them or if someone turned them in.   Pretty exciting!  We also don’t know how long they sat outside (potentially in the rain) but we shall see in a few days.  In the interim I took a couple pics with the iPhone.  Bump is growing for sure but I am still in that stage where people don’t want to say anything for fear of sticking their foot in their mouth   All the hand-me down maternity clothes have been AWESOME.  I got 3 bins full of stuff and it’s been so so helpful.  Mostly because I hate the mall and it keeps me from having to go there.

16 Week Belly

17 Week Belly

I think I am still so in awe of the fact that we ARE pregnant and finally going to have a baby that I haven’t really kicked into planning gear.  We are both still reveling in the fact that there’s a grapefruit-sized being in my belly that we have forgotten to think about anything else (child-care, furniture and the fact that we have 2 POS cars).

But everyone keeps telling us that we should really not wait to take some daycare tours and get on a list or two.  The plan is for me to be home for 3 months and then John to take a month off to be at home for month four of Baby Atticus’ life.  That puts us somewhere in the late April/early May timeframe which seems eons away.  However, this is what I have learned thus far…

1) To get into the best and most convenient daycares in our area, I should have signed our baby up approximately 6 months before said baby was conceived.  Logical?  I think not.

2) Chapel Hill is a lovely place to live.  Maybe the best place on Earth.  However, it’s also a pretty high-education, new age, crunchy, green, etc. etc. kind of place.  All of those things = expensive child care.  Our first tour was at a Co-op that was wonderful; our baby would probably be fed only local organic foods and be learning to meditate by age 1.  It would only set us back $1600 a month.  WHhhaawahhhahhwwhhaaaTTTT!!!  Ok then, thanks for the tour.

So the search continues.  Since I drive to neighboring Durham for work this gives us a lot of options.  Durham is convenient and has some wonderful, highly ranked child-care facilities at hopefully a more affordable price.  Our child would likely be a little less crunchy and more diverse…we are proponents of both.  

This morning we had a tour at a place right near the house.  A Christian based facility that’s also bilingual.  The kids end up teaching their parents a little Spanish which sounds pretty cool.  Who better to teach me Spanish than my 2 year old?  Maybe this place can get us in before baby’s 10 month bday.

Towards the end of the tour, we were asking some final questions and I suddenly didn’t feel great.  I decided I should sit down (excuse me Timmy, can I borrow your toddler chair?).  Shortly thereafter I was covered in sweat, ghost white and passing out.  I think this happens to pregnant ladies from time to time but geez…not cool.  Also a little embarrassing to be carried to the car by John and the tallest daycare worker they could find.  Doc says shouldn’t be a big deal.  My blood pressure stays pretty low and it’s been hot here.  More fluids and maybe a little food before walking the Bear.  Hopefully after my ‘incident’ they will still let us in

We ordered a replacement camera so maybe in a few days I can post a 17 week photo.  Hope everyone else is doing well- and staying hydrated in the heat!

Joe, Margaret and Jonathan came for a great visit to Chapel Hill.  We toured around as usual and had a great time visiting.  We went to the dairy farm and Pittsboro which is always fun to ride through the country and see the cool little towns near CH.  We also had some 5-speed driving lessons with Jonathan.  I think he did great, but apparently the jury is still out on whether or not he will be taking the civic for the big 16th birthday.

Last weekend we met Olivia (my maid of honor) and her boyfriend Ted (who we had never met) in Shenandoah National Park- VA.  It was gorgeous and we had a great time camping for the weekend.  It’s a huge and wonderful park and I am so glad we went to see it.  Bear also made the trip and did AWESOME in the tent.  We were a little skeptical but she did great.  On our hikes and in the campgroup at least 100 people (no exaggeration) stopped to say how beautiful Bear was and ask if they could pet her.  She really has a big head now.

On Sunday the plan was to do a short morning hike and then picnic for lunch before hitting the road.  Long story short, we read the map wrong and ended up on 7.5mile strenuous hike.  Olivia had to put her Scottie dog in her backpack, Bear trucked along just fine, but pregnant Lindsay was pretty wimpy about the situation.  We made it and it makes for a funny story now but at the time it was a lot more than any of us had bargained for.  O and I took a short cut to the road and the guys ran to the car to pick us up.  Somewhere in there as my brain had turned to mush I put our cameras down and am afraid they have been donated to the park.  UGH.  So I am in the market for a new camera before we head to Yellowstone in a few weeks.

On the baby front, I am feeling great and getting bigger all the time.  I am 16 weeks and not feeling movement yet (or when I think I do, I can’t be sure that’s what it is).  I can’t wait for that reassurance; though my growing belly should be validation enough that there’s something in there!  We go to the doc next week and then ultrasound on the 7th.

Check back soon and hopefully I’ll have a new camera to post some pictures!

Ava walking 20090711

Alan said ‘Ava started walking on Friday. This was taken Saturday morning. I think we’re going to have our hands full.’

You can also see pics and videos of our other niece Elena here -> http://babyday.wordpress.com/

We have a lot to live up to in the adorable baby department.

She was much bigger today and really looking like a little baby which was very fun.  I think she had the hiccups because she was pretty still except for a little jump every now and then.  They said everything looks so good we can wait a bit for the next ultrasound.  We’ll go in on August 7th for a level 2 u/s which is more of a 3-D view and they can do a final check on how things have progressed with both Baby A and Baby B.

Otherwise we had a great 4th at Caswell Beach, NC with friends.  We love making use of our close coastline here.  Though in not too many months we will be wishing our family was closer than the beach I am sure!   

A few pictures from today (14 weeks) will be posted tonight so check back!

They also wanted to check the heartbeat today and she (as we have decided to refer to mystery baby) was ripping along at 160 bpm.  Phew…feeling better every day.  They want to do 2 ultrasounds over the next 3 weeks and then we will feel in the clear.  At the same time that we lost Baby B, I hit trimester 2 and started feeling better.  While this would normally be a welcome change, it’s been a little hard for me because I feel like the nausea and fatigue were such welcome reminders of the incubating I was doing.  They also said my uterus has some adjusting to do back to singleton size so my bump that was on fast track has slowed a bit.  Still, our doctor’s visits lighten our spirits AND I am feeling great so we can’t complain.

Also posted a couple pictures of Baby A at our 12 week ultrasound.  We like the one where she looks like she’s sucking on her thumb though the doc said she probably wasn’t just yet.  Hey- I am sure she’s quite advanced since she’s a Day Baby

12 week u/s

Beach picnic- Gulf Shores

John caught a catfish and a white trout!

Hope all is well with everyone- thanks for your warm wishes and prayers as always.

Our hearts are broken of course and we just hope and pray that it happened for a reason unique to our lost little one…and Baby A will press on.  We will be nervous for the next few weeks I am sure, but get to go back each week to check on our singleton. 

Baby A had fingers and toes and was bouncing around.  S/he was even sucking on his/her thumb for a bit. 

As always, we are grateful for our friends and family.  Life is a gift and we are quietly reminded today that our tough journey may not quite be over.  So we are focusing all our positive thoughts and prayers on our little bean until s/he is finally here. 

Off to the beach to lay around for a while and relax.  Just what we need.

Here’s a picture of all our IVF ‘sharps’ as they are called.  This is only a taste…many more needles came before these.  All worth it though!

I have also had some pregnant belly picture requests.  To my dismay I sucked it up and took one.  This is 10 weeks.  A 12 week photo will be posted soon.  Doesn’t look like much but I can’t wear 95% of my pants without leaving the button undone.

Let’s see, what else???  We had a lovely little visit with Becky, Brandon, Brady and Cooper.  Becky and Brandon are model parents to say the least.  It was good practice for them to all be visiting (and by practice I mean watching them).

I then spent a week in Albuquerque NM for work and then went to Atlanta for Ava’s 1st birthday.  Those pictures will be posted soon- Ava was the PERFECT birthday girl.  She never fussed once   John and I have separate work trips to NJ this week and then we look forward to being home and chillin.  Hopefully all the way til December!

Hope everyone is well- check back soon!

I am feeling less sick, John likes poking my belly and I am down to about 1 week left of shots so all is well.  I will spend all next week in Albuquerque for work and then head to Atlanta for my niece Ava’s first birthday party (which I am sure will be a rip roaring good time).  I look forward to seeing some friends and family but will miss John after a long week away.  He has opted to golf with the boys instead of the birthday party.  Get it in now John!  That’s all I have to say!  Just kidding…

We go back for a 12 week u/s on June 22nd so hopefully I will have some less alien-like photos to share then!

Click on our TTC (trying to conceive) Story page for a little history on how we got here.  Or don’t…the good stuff starts here anyway!

Here’s a picture of our embryos in their little petri dish before they were transferred back to my uterus.  John and I kept this picture by the bed while we waited for the news.  How could we not love them both already???

The exciting news came on May 4th that our IVF had worked.  It was impossible to wait for the ultrasound and that first reassuance that everything looked ok.

Our first ultrasound on May 27th showed that we are expecting twins.  We can’t believe it!  I hope I can handle it.  John knows how great it is to be a twin so he’s over the moon.  Both babies were tracking at exactly 8 weeks as they should with strong heartbeats of 164 bpm and 165 bpm.  Our doctor that did the ultrasound has a Douglas GA connection and we’ve always liked seeing her.  I knew we would get good news when I saw her come in the room.  Good news we did get… times 2!

Babies A and B (aka Boomer and Konrad for now)

Pics of the 2 together

I’ll go back for another ultrasound in a few weeks but in the meantime we just enjoy and take care of my belly.  My belly that is already busting out of my pants BTW.

Thanks to everyone who thought of us and supported us over the past year or so.  It’s been quite a ride and we couldn’t have done it without you!