Lily & Emma's Pad

We Have Moved!

2011-05-23T18:06:00.000-07:00

We decided to move to a new and improved blogging platform. No new post will be made here. Please visit us at http://lastingerfamily.com/

Let us know what you think of the new blog.

Thanks!

Jen

Lily's Swim Lessons (video)

2011-05-21T15:36:00.000-07:00

Lily has had her swimming lessons all this week. This is her 2nd year taking lessons w/ Ms. Angela and she is doing so good. She did great last year for not even being 2 yrs old, but this year since she is so much bigger and stronger she is just doing wonderful. She looks forward to her lessons each day and has a great time during them. Here is a video that I took on Wednesday.

Lily's Swimming Lessons from Jim Lastinger on Vimeo.

Lily's 2nd year of swim lessons

Disney World

2011-05-20T06:47:00.000-07:00

On May 17th we took our 2nd trip to Disney. We decided to go back to the Magic Kingdom since there were still alot of attractions that we did not have time to do the first time. We also met up with some friends of ours from SC that were spending the week in Orlando. We had a fun time, it was alot cooler than when we went a few weeks ago, so that made for a more enjoyable time. I think Jim and I have decided that we only want to go in the winter months, otherwise it is just too hot! After our day at the Magic Kingdom we went to Downtown and had dinner with Matt, Christi and Eli at The Rainforest Cafe, followed by dessert at the Ghiradelli shop. It was a fun day.

On the Merry Go Round w/ Jim.

Emma did so good!

Holding hands w/ Eli while we were waiting in line.

She had so much fun meeting Mickey and Minnie.

Emma and the Bouncy Seat (video) 5-6 weeks old

2011-05-19T13:05:00.000-07:00

Pics from the past week (Emma 5 weeks)

2011-05-13T13:11:00.000-07:00

Grammy came and spent the week with us. We all enjoyed having her!

Lily loves being on the play mat w/ her sister.

Happy Emma!

Stretching it out!

Pretty blue eyes!

Emma's 5 Week Photo Shoot

2011-05-13T13:02:00.000-07:00

We wish Lily would have joined us in the photo shoot, but she adamantly refused to have her picture taken. So it's just the 3 of us for these.

Emma's One Month Birthday!!!

2011-05-07T09:11:00.000-07:00

Today Emma is One Month Old! This month has gone by so fast. She is still so little, but I can definitely tell she is getting bigger. Clothes that I had put on her a few weeks that fell off of her now fit. She is a little cutie! She has been doing really good at night. Her bedtime feeding is somewhere around 10 or 11 and then alot times she will sleep 4 hrs and sometimes almost 5 hrs before waking up. Then I will feed her and she will usually sleep another 3 hrs before waking. When she gets up for her first morning feeding she will usually go back down for a 3 hr nap. Alot times I have to wake her at the 3 hr mark. Her other naps throughout the day usually are not as good as that first one.

She has already had so many changes and started doing all kinds of little things during this first month. She will follow us w/ her eyes and when she is upset if she hears one of our voices it will usually help her to calm down. She does have a good set of lungs on her when she gets upset. She will smile at us sometimes when we talk to her, which is so cute. Lily likes to help Emma to feel better when she is crying by getting one of Emma's rattles and shaking it for her. :) Lily has been so sweet w/ Emma.

Emma took her first breast milk bottle at 3 weeks. Jim gave it to her while I was at book club. He said at first she did not want to take it, but once she realized what was in there she gobbled it up. We've been giving her a bottle several times a week, b/c I would like her to be comfortable w/ both. Right now she nurses about 8 - 9 times a day. It was more in the beginning, but getting a little more spread out now. She is such a little sweetheart!

Here are some pictures I took of her this morning.

This one is my favorite! I was talking to her and she was so happy.

Pictures From This Week

2011-05-05T16:01:00.000-07:00

Lily's First Haircut!!!

2011-05-02T13:18:00.000-07:00

Lily had her very first haircut this morning! It went so good. She had about 2 1/2 inches taken off. When the cut was over she got a glitter heart on her face and glitter in her hair. She also picked out a lollipop. She was such a big girl!!

Before

After

Walt Disney World!!!!!!!!

2011-04-30T04:41:00.000-07:00

On April 28th Lily and Emma had their first trips to The Magic Kingdom. It was a long busy day w/ an almost 3 yr old and a 3 week old, but worth it to see Lily have so much fun. She was so excited to get there and see the castle and all the characters. While there we saw the parade twice, we rode Dumbo the Flying Elephant which she loved, It's a Small World, The Haunted Mansion, and she was able to meet Pooh and Tigger, and also the Princesses. She told us she was going to dance for each of the princesses and she did. It was so cute. She had so much fun. We plan on going back a few times in the next month. Here are some pics from our day.......

Emma's First Bath (April 25, 2011)

2011-04-27T13:23:00.000-07:00

Happy while getting ready for her bath!

Not quite as happy after first getting in bath.

Little better now! :)

Such a cutie!!

Just precious!

Ready to be dressed and all warm and snuggily!

More Easter Pics

2011-04-25T18:19:00.001-07:00

Easter Pics!

2011-04-25T18:03:00.000-07:00

We had such a fun Easter. On Saturday Jim's Mom, Dad, and brother came to spend the day with us. Jim grilled and we had a wonderful lunch. Afterward Lily got to color and decorate eggs, then we hid the eggs for her. She did a great job of finding them. She had such a fun day with everyone as did Jim and I. It was Miss Emma's very first Easter, she spent most of day sleeping! :)

Matt, Lisa, and Ashley's Visit (April 15-17th)

2011-04-25T07:12:00.000-07:00

We are so happy that Matt and Lisa were able to come visit and meet Emma. It was great to see Ashley again too. She has gotten so big in the past 3 months since we have seen her. Here are a few pics from their visit with us.

Happy Easter!!!

2011-04-23T14:34:00.001-07:00

Emma's 2 week appt

2011-04-23T10:46:00.000-07:00

Emma had her 2 week appt on April 21st. Dr. Spearman said that she looked great. She weighed in at 7lbs, 7 oz, just one oounce shy of her birth weight. Her next appt will be at 2 months old.

Photo Shoot #2 (April 20, 2011) 13 days old

2011-04-22T13:08:00.000-07:00

Emma's First Photo Shoot!

2011-04-19T13:32:00.000-07:00

We were really hoping she would have stayed asleep, but as soon as I started trying to position her she woke up. We hope to do more soon. 11 days old in these pics.

2011-04-15T15:20:00.000-07:00

Emma - 1 week old

Lily - 1 week old

More Pics from Emma's First Week

2011-04-15T14:41:00.000-07:00

I love this one of her and Jim.

Lily is such a sweet big sister.

Our friends Laurie and Bob came for a visit.

One week old! We have a pic just like this of Lily at a week old. I will have to post it soon.

awe

Emma's Firsts

2011-04-14T14:20:00.001-07:00

Emma's first Dr.'s appt on April 11th, 2011 (she weighed 6lbs 13oz) same as what she did when leaving the hospital.

Emma's First Stroller Walk-- April 13, 2011

Emma Victoria Lastinger

2011-04-13T14:33:00.000-07:00

Emma arrived via C-Section on April 7, 2011 at 9:52am, weighing 7lbs, 8 oz and was 21 inches long. She shocked all of us with how much she weighed and how long she was. I had a feeling that she would be bigger than Lily, but I wasn't expecting that much. Although she is still so itty bitty. She is just an absolute sweetheart. I have had such a wonderful time bonding with her.

Our stay in the hospital went well. I only had to stay 48 hrs so that was great. There is definitely no place like home, although I will say that all the staff and doctors were really great. It was alot better experience than the first time around. The lactation consultants were awesome and one was in w/ me just a few minutes after I was given Emma in recovery. So, we got started w/ breastfeeding right away, and so far it is going great! When we left the hospital Emma weighed 6lbs 13 oz. She is doing great!

My second day in the hospital I developed this horrible headache, that was probably a result from the spinal. It lasted for several days here at the house, but as of yesterday it was gone and I feel sooooo much better. I've been getting around good with the incision. We all went for a walk to the park this afternoon.

Lily has done so good with Emma. She loves her and loves helping out and checking on Emma. She asks to hold her and touch her. She can't wait until Emma is able to walk and talk.

We had Emma on Thursday and came home on Saturday. Emma had her first Doctor's appt on Monday. She still weighed 6lbs 13 oz, so it was good that she hadn't lost any more weight. All is looking good and we are all enjoying our time together.

This was a couple of hours before surgery. Labor contractions had begun and were getting stronger. Looks like Emma was ready to come one way or another.
She's here!!!

A very happy moment!!

In recovery with Dr. Hyler and Emma

Granny Faye and Emma

Aunt April w/ Emma

Grammy w/ Emma
So happy to finally meet her!

Such a sweetie

Lily meeting Emma for the first time.

Lily's present from Emma

All ready to go home!

So snuggly!

Lily holding Emma for the first time.

Lily, not feeling so good :(

2011-04-01T19:39:00.000-07:00

Here is a pic I took from earlier this evening. I hope she starts feeling better soon!

38 Weeks!

2011-03-31T10:32:00.000-07:00

I just had my last doctor's appt before the big day! Everything is looking good. My blood pressure was 98/60 and Emma's heart rate was in the 140's and 150's. I gained almost a pound since my last visit. Making my total weight gain almost 27 lbs. She said my cervix has thinned out some, but I'm not dilated.

It's a little surreal that we are at the end and that this time next week we should be holding our little Emma!

Please say a little prayer for Lily she has had the sniffles since Monday, and this morning she was running a low grade fever. I'm thinking it is a cold. It is just coming at a horrible time. Please pray that she gets over this very, very soon and that Jim and I stay well. I'm so afraid now that we are going to be sick for Emma's arrival and that would just be awful. Hopefully this will not be the case.

Daddy's Little Buddy!

2011-03-26T11:52:00.001-07:00

Emma Progression Picture!

2011-03-26T06:46:00.001-07:00

(click the picture to see it larger)

Emma Update

2011-03-25T13:00:00.001-07:00

All day yesterday I just wasn't feeling right. Between 11pm and midnight I was having contractions 7 minutes apart. After that they went away and I was able to go to sleep. Nothing else happened the rest of the night. Today I have felt better. Who knows Emma might be joining us sooner than our April 7th date! Will keep you posted!

Ants In My Pants (video)

2011-03-24T16:32:00.000-07:00

Today Lily is 2 yr and 7 months old! Here is a little video from today.

37 Weeks!

2011-03-24T12:48:00.000-07:00

We'll here we are at 37 weeks. Just 14 days til my c-section date! It seems so close now, but still in a way so far. Today I haven't been feeling quite as good. I've been feeling alot of pain and pressure low in my abdomen if I am up standing for more than a few minutes. It eases up after I sit down and relax. I had my Dr.'s appt this afternoon and everything is looking good. I measured 37 weeks. I haven't gained any weight since my appt last week. My blood pressure was 100/60 and Emma's heart rate was in the 140's. They checked me and I'm not dilated, but she could feel Emma's head. She is very low down, which is probably why I am so uncomfortable. My next and last appt is next Thursday March 31, unless she surprises us and comes sooner than that!

Little Talbot Island

2011-03-20T18:48:00.000-07:00

We went to the beach yesterday with some friends of ours. Here are a few pics of Lily with her good friend Tessa. They are so cute together!

This is Jillian, Lily and Tessa

Lily and Tessa (they love to play chase)

awwww....

Look at that face...she did not want Jim to take her picture! :-)

Emma's Nursery

2011-03-18T17:38:00.000-07:00

I think we are finished with the nursery, or at least all we can do before she gets here. I know we will probably be hanging some photos of her and her and Lily together once she arrives. But for now it is all done! Now we just need a baby! :)

36 Week Photos

2011-03-17T18:30:00.000-07:00

36 Weeks!!!

2011-03-17T09:21:00.000-07:00

Only 21 days left til my C-section! 3 weeks! wow!!! We are very excited, cannot wait to meet our little Emma, but I am also reminding myself that I need to savor and enjoy these last few weeks of just the 3 of us! Things are about to change forever!

I had a Dr.'s appt this morning, everything looked good. Stomach measured 36 weeks and my blood pressure was 100/62. Emma's heart rate was in the 140's. They also did the Group Strep B test. They went ahead and set up my pre-op time at the hospital the day before the c-section to get some blood work done and to go over what will be happening the next day.

My next appt is March 24th.

So Mad.....

2011-03-16T03:12:00.000-07:00

I seriously do not know if we are going to survive living in this neighborhood. Yesterday was such a beautiful day, so yesterday evening we decided to go for a family walk (I was pushing Lily in the stroller). On our way back home we were walking back into our neighborhood, we have to cross the street to get to the sidewalk. A car on our side of the street was stopped at the stop sign at the entrance of our neighborhood to wait for us to cross over, well we are all 3 right in front of the car when all of sudden she hits the gas and hits all of us. I was pushing the stroller, Jim was walking along by the stroller (closest to the car). The car hits him first, he tries to stop the car and get out of the way before he is pushed over onto Lily and the stroller. Then the car hits me and is pushing the stroller while I am trying my best to get the stroller out of the way, but it all happens within seconds. The lady in the car was probably in her 30 or 40's and was on the phone not even paying attention. She wasn't stopped at the stop sign waiting for us to cross she was just busy on the phone and didn't even see us. So stupid! I was so upset. I am just so thankful that Lily wasn't walking along w/ us or I know the car would have knocked her down. I kept asking her if she was alright and she said "I'm alright Momma." It knocked her water out of her stroller so Lily was concerned about that. I will be so glad when our lease is up here and we can move. If we can survive that long. About the only good that has come from us living in this community is some wonderful lifelong friendships we have made, for which I am thankful.

Sleeping Lily

2011-03-15T12:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning I had to wake Lily up so that I could get her ready to drop off at a friends house while Jim and I went to the ultrasound. This is how I found her. She loves her Dora sleeping bag and sleeps w/ it every night.

Update on my Appt

2011-03-14T12:04:00.000-07:00

I had my appt this morning at the Regional Obstertics Consultants. They did my ultrasound and everything checked out great. They said everything looked perfect. She measured right where she needs to be. Weighing about 5lbs 5oz give or take a few ounces and measured at 35 weeks. Her head measured a little smaller, but they said that is probably because it is already so low down in my pelvis and so it is squished some. :) All of her organs looked good. We could see her practicing breathing, she was breathing in the amniotic fluid. She was also sucking on her feet and hands. :-) So, it looks like Emma will be staying inside a few more weeks. We are down to 24 days now! We can't wait to meet her, but we are glad that everything checked out good and that she will get to stay inside so her lungs can mature more! My OB appt is this Thursday.

Bunko Baby Shower for Emma

2011-03-12T18:07:00.000-08:00

Last night at Bunko my friends had a Baby Shower for me. We all had a fun time! Emma received some very cute things! It won't be long now before we meet her.

Update

2011-03-11T09:31:00.001-08:00

Found out my Level 2 ultrasound will be Monday morning. I also forgot to mention in my last post that the amniotic fluid looked good and Emma has dropped and is head down. Will update again after my appt on Monday.

35 Week Ultrasound

2011-03-09T11:10:00.000-08:00

Today I went in so that they could do an ultrasound to check the growth and size of baby. Everything looked good, except that by their measurements she is measuring small. She was measuring about 31 weeks. She said it could have been just the way she was laying or something like that throwing them off, but that to make sure that everything was alright they wanted to send me to over to Regional Obstetric Consultants to get a Level 2 ultrasound. She said that if she truly is measuring 31 weeks then they will most likely want to go ahead and take her. But she felt like everything really was fine, but just to be on the safe side wanted to have this done. I am waiting to hear back from them to see when my level 2 ultrasound has been scheduled.

Here are a couple of pics from the ultrasound today.

More Progress in Emma's Room!

2011-03-05T11:50:00.000-08:00

Jim wanted to do something personal for Emma's room, so he designed and painted these letters. I think they look so good!

I did this painting of the bear for her room.

Flowers My Sweet Husband Bought Me!

2011-03-05T11:32:00.000-08:00

I've had a really bad week of not feeling good at all. Jim has helped so much around the house and taking care of Lily, he also did the grocery shopping and brought these pretty flowers for me. Thank you Sweetie! I love you so much!!!!

34 weeks!

2011-03-04T12:41:00.000-08:00

I had my 34 week appointment yesterday. Everything checked out good for Emma. Her heart rate was in the 140's. My blood pressure was 100/60, I lost 1/2 a pound this week which makes my total weight gain 21 1/2 lbs so far.

I have not had a very good week. I have been sick w/ allergies and a cold. I have not been able breathe, my back has been hurting and I have had a low grade fever off and on for several days. Because of all of these things I have not slept much at all in 5 nights which has left me feeling even worse. I am so hoping I can get this cleared up soon so that I can feel somewhat normal again and get back to doing all the things I need to do. Jim's Mom came to stay w/ us for a few days to help out. It has been a great help having her here to help w/ Lily.

I have my ultrasound appt next week and then I will have my next OB appt on March 17th.

Lily's 1st trip to the Dentist!

2011-03-02T13:50:00.000-08:00

Lily had her first trip to the dentist this morning. She did great and was such a big girl. She left the nurse and the dentist look at her teeth and seem to really enjoying the cleaning. She picked out bubble gum flavor toothpaste. Here are some pics that I took.

A Beautiful Morning at the Jax Zoo!

2011-02-22T14:29:00.000-08:00

Beautiful Florida Weather!!!

2011-02-19T11:51:00.000-08:00

Okay the weather the last several days has just been wonderful. We've had the windows open and have been spending most of our time either on the lanai or outside. Lily loves. loves, loves this. After lunch on Thursday we took Lily over to the park to play for a little while. Here are some pics from our little outing.

32 Weeks!!! A Date has been set!!!

2011-02-17T13:36:00.000-08:00

I am 32 weeks today and I had my Dr.'s appt. this afternoon. Everything is looking good. We found out the date for Emma's Arrival! My c-section is scheduled for April 7th at 9am. It is exciting to know the date. Only 49 days left!!! Everything checked out good w/ me today too. My BP was 96/58 and Emma's heartrate was in the 140's and 150's. My stomach measured 32cm. I'm getting very excited as it is getting closer and closer. I can't wait to meet her! My next appt will be in 2 weeks, March 3, 2011.

Lily Performing ABC's - Video

2011-02-17T13:04:00.000-08:00

Emma's Bedding

2011-02-12T17:37:00.000-08:00

Emma's bedding came in a few days ago. Last night we bought her mattress and today I got her bed set up. It looks great with the green on the walls.

31 Week Photos

2011-02-09T18:54:00.000-08:00

Our new camera has arrived and we have been waiting on it to take some fun pictures. I love how they came out! Jim did an awesome job!

Lily's Manicure and Pedicure :-)

2011-02-06T13:25:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I painted Lily's fingernails and toenails for the first time, with some Piggy Paint (polish for little ones). She was very excited about it and sat so still while I did it and then let it dry. She couldn't wait to show it off to her Daddy.

Cute Bathtime pic!

2011-02-05T18:19:00.001-08:00

30 Weeks!!!!

2011-02-03T16:57:00.000-08:00

Yay!!! I've made it to 30 weeks. I had my Dr.'s appt today, and it went great! I got my results back from my 3 hr glucose test and they were good. I passed!!! My blood pressure was good 112/64 and I only gained 1 lb this past month, so that is great since a couple of months back when the baby was in a growth spurt I gained more than I had anticipated. Emma's heart rate was a healthy 147 beats per minute. They are setting up my C-section date, so when I go back in 2 weeks I should know the date we will be having Emma! It is getting so close now.

For about a month now I've noticed the veins in my legs have gotten really bad, especially my right leg. The front and back of it looks really bad and in the past week they are have started getting painful. Behind my knee of that leg I think I am developing a varicose vain. So, I may start wearing support hose for part of the time to help w/ that. I can definitely tell that this pregnancy has been tougher on my body. I think part of it is having a 2 year to take care of. I am up on my feet way to much. Some days I feel like I barely sit down and it is catching up w/ me. Now that I am close to end, my back is hurting some and of course my legs w/ the vein damage. The last few days I've been trying to make an effort to make sure I sit and put my feet up when possible.

My next appt is February 17th. I also have a routine ultrasound scheduled for March 9th where they will check and get an estimate on how big Emma is.

Update on Lily's Sleeping Situation

2011-02-01T12:20:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to do a little update. Since Lily has been sleeping in her "big girl" bed she was done great at night. She's excited that she can climb into her own bed. Then I will read her a story, and we say our good nights. It's so cute and sweet! Her nap times have been a little rockier. Some days she would just play in her room the entire time (we have the door gated so she can't get out), the first few days she made a big mess in her room. Taking out clothes and hairbows and diapers and anything she could get her hands on. But after a few times of explaining to her that she needs to leave all that stuff alone she has gotten much better and doesn't seem to mess w/ it any more. The last few days she has been napping each day. So, she seems to be getting used to it and I am so happy about that! She keeps collecting new things she wants to put in her bed to sleep with. She has so many blankets in there now. She definitely likes being all snuggly. But as long as she is safe I don't mind.

Napping in her "Big Girl" Bed

2011-01-25T18:12:00.000-08:00

Today Lily napped in her big girl bed. The rail we ordered for it came in so we were actually able to put the mattress in her converted crib. For the last few days we have just had it on the floor. She has been doing great at night, but nap time has been tricky. She has been excited by this new found freedom and has been playing in her room and seeing what all she can get into instead of napping. On Sunday she did finally take a nap after being in her room for an 1 1/2 hrs, she had taken all of her blankets off her mattress and was asleep on the floor. Today she played up there for a little while, then I went back up there and got her back in her bed and she went to sleep!! Yay! Hopefully it will continue to get better. Here is a picture of her napping a few minutes before I had to get her up.

As you can see she has acquired a few new things in her bed :-)

On a side note, tonight while I was putting Lily to bed she was telling baby Emma goodnight and then she asked me if Emma was going to go to her room (Lily knows we have been working on Emma's room). I told her that's right, when Emma is born that she will go to her room. Lily thought for a second and then said, but baby Emma can't walk. I told her that's right, that me and Daddy will have to carry her until she gets older and learns how to walk. Then Lily said that when Emma is born that she is going to help her learn to walk. She said she would hold her hand and teach her to walk. :) So sweet!

Ultrasound Pics at 26 weeks!

2011-01-25T12:43:00.000-08:00

Here are the ultrasound pics that I had done a few weeks ago at 26 weeks. These are scanned from the original so they may look a little grainy.

Here she was sucking on her hand!

Girl shot

This was nap time today.....

2011-01-22T14:28:00.000-08:00

New Sleeping Arrangements

2011-01-22T04:49:00.000-08:00

I forgot to mention this on my last post, but on the 20th Lily decided to climb out of her crib at nap time. It was more of a climb/fall. Jim and I were in the office and we heard a loud crash followed by crying. So we ran upstairs, I was so afraid that she may of gotten hurt. Thankfully she was just mostly scared, she did bite her tongue so that hurt her, but otherwise she was fine. We decided for bedtime that day we would let her go ahead and sleep in her crib since she almost always goes right to sleep when we put her to bed, we just made sure to get her out of the crib right when she woke up yesterday morning instead of letting her play. Then yesterday for nap time we put her mattress on the floor and let her sleep there since we haven't had a chance to convert her crib to a toddler bed. Needless to say she did not take a nap, she played the entire she was up there, and took almost everything out of the bottom of her closet which I was not happy about. Last night actually went great. She went right to sleep and we didn't hear anything out of her until 7 this morning when she started waking up. I went up to get her out of her room about 7:30 which is about 45 mins earlier than usual, but I can live w/ that as long as she sleeps good at night.

28 Weeks!

2011-01-20T17:46:00.000-08:00

Well, today I had my one hour Glucose Tolerance Test and I failed. Not just failed, but failed miserably. The cutoff score is 140 and mine was 189. So, either the test was way way off or I have a problem. I will be taking the 3hr test Monday, January 31, so we will wait and see what happens. I hope that it goes well, but not so sure after that score. When I was pregnant w/ Lily I did not have this problem at all. I wasn't expecting it to be a problem this time either, but looks like it could be.

Emma's First Presents

2011-01-18T12:08:00.000-08:00

While we were in Greenville we did a little shopping for Emma. We had fun buying her a few things...she got a piggy bank that has her initial on it, Sophie the Giraffe chew toy that has rave reviews and is supposed to be like the best thing ever...so we will see, and we got her a soft little security blanket. Also her crib was delivered today. Jim plans on painting her room this weekend and then we will get her crib all set up. Her dresser should be here sometime in the next week or two. I am excited for her room to start coming together. Just 11 weeks to go!!! Here is a pic of things we bought for her.

Snow!!!!!

2011-01-13T06:58:00.000-08:00

While we were in Greenville visiting the Shohen's we were also surprised by snow!!!! I'm glad that it worked out that way, it was so fun to see Lily get excited about it and to get to enjoy playing in it. I know she had to be freezing, but she didn't seem to mind she just wanted to play and play. We got between 7-8 inches!! Thankfully we did not have any problems driving around in the snow and gettting to where we needed to go.

Throwing a snowball at us!

She didn't really like sledding at all!

She loved eating the ice. She kept asking Jim to take a picture of her eating the ice!

Helping Matt make a snowman

All done!

Lily also had a playdate with Eli while we were in Greenville. She liked his very life like dinosaur!

We enjoyed getting to catch up with the Wagner's!

Meeting Ashley Grace Shohen!

2011-01-13T06:44:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to say Congratulations to our good friends Matt and Lisa on the birth of their daughter. We were able to go spend several days with them and were able to meet her. It definitely brought back memories from when Lily was born. It is so easy to forget just how small they are! She was adorable. We are so happy for the new family!

26 weeks!

2011-01-06T12:43:00.000-08:00

Well I have made it to 26 weeks! I'll be starting my 3rd trimester in about a week. I had a Dr.'s appt this morning and all went good. My blood pressure was good at 110/62. Emma's heart rate was 145 and I measured at 25cm which is right on. The nurse said they like for you to be within 2cm of your week. I also got a fun surprise. I was able to have an ultrasound. When I had my ultrasound at 18 weeks the technician was not able to get a good profile, but she told me when I come back sometime just to ask and see if she was there and if she didn't have anyone she would sneak me in. So, I asked the nurse and she said that ultrasound technician was not there but that she would take me in for an ultrasound. We got some cute pics of Emma. It was exciting for me b/c I never got to see Lily on ultrasound at this age, so it was alot of fun. Emma was awake and sucking on her hand and arm. I was able to see her little tongue. It was just great! She also did another gender shot and she is definitely still a girl! :-)

My next appt is January 20 and I will be taking the glucose test.

Below are some shots from my 26 week photoshoot...

New Year's Eve 2010!

2011-01-05T15:36:00.001-08:00

Our friends were having a New Year's Eve party. At around 8:30 the kids all got into to bed to watch a movie. It was cute.

Get together in Waycross

2011-01-02T15:03:00.000-08:00

The Monday after Christmas we went back to Waycross to get together w/ some very special friends of ours. Ken hosted our get together at his house and we had a great time catching up with everyone! I wish we did it more often! Here are some pics from our evening.....

Christmas 2010

2011-01-01T13:22:00.001-08:00

We had a fun Christmas. Lily woke up about 8:15 that morning. We got her up and told her it was Christmas morning. She was so exited when she came downstairs. She opened up her first present and wanted to just stop there and play with it. We convinced her to open a few more, but then she told us she didn't want to open up any more presents she just wanted to play with the ones she had already opened. So, it took her pretty much all day to get around to opening all her presents. :-) We were hosting Christmas brunch, so all of the grandparents arrived around 10:30. We had so much yummy food. Below are a few pics:

Lily and I on Christmas Eve

2011-01-01T13:19:00.001-08:00

Sea World December 2010

2011-01-01T12:51:00.000-08:00

It has been a very busy few weeks with so many things going on. I'm hoping to get things updated now before I get too far behind. We took our last trip to Sea World for the year on December 17, 2010. We always have so much fun when we go. It is such a highlight for Lily. There is barely a day that passes that she doesn't mention going to Sea World and seeing Elmo, Abby, and Zoe and of course the Dolphin show. We had so much fun that day. Here are a few pics....

Her excitement as the Dolphin show was beginning!

So many fun memories that day!
Unfortunately the very next night Jim was mugged by 2 guys w/ guns in our driveway. It was such a horrible and frightening experience. Thankfully Jim came out of it physically alright except for where one of the guys hit him in the face w/ the gun. His eye and around it was very bloody and nasty looking for a couple of weeks, but seems to be healing nicely now. We are just so thankful that God was watching over us and protecting us and that the picture above wasn't our last family picture.

Fun With My Sweeties!

2010-12-18T12:48:00.001-08:00

Lily and Santa

2010-12-13T11:45:00.001-08:00

Today we took Lily to see Santa. She was so excited this morning when we told her where we were going. She couldn't wait to sit in his lap and talk to him. She told him how old she was and then talked about all the decorations she saw around her. After they took pictures she led Santa around by the hand and looked at all the decorations. She had a fun morning!

22 Weeks Maternity Photos

2010-12-10T18:04:00.000-08:00

Here are my 22 week pictures. You will notice in some of my shots where you can see my right hand, that it looks a little strange and for those of you that do not know already that is because I got a pretty nasty 2nd degree burn on it about 3 1/2 weeks ago. It looks alot better than it did a few weeks ago, but still isn't pretty to look at. Doctor said that it will most likely leave a scar and I believe it.

22 weeks!

2010-12-09T11:25:00.000-08:00

Today I am 22 weeks and I had my Dr.'s appt this morning and everything is looking good with baby. Her heartrate was a strong 156. My blood pressure was 110/60. My weight well let's not talk about that. With Lily my goal was to gain between 25 and 30 lbs and I gained 26lbs. My goal is the same this time, but well I'm not sure if I will make it or not. Of course they reassured me that around week 20 - 22 the baby is in a big growth spurt so it is completely normal to gain more weight during this time, and of course I went through it during the holidays. But I tried to do good and to keep up w/ my exercising. They said it would even out in the upcoming weeks. We will see. My next appt is on January 6th. We took my 22 week pictures last night, but we haven't had a chance to upload them yet. As soon as I get a chance I will post them.

On another fun note Jim was able to feel Emma kick for the first time yesterday!!!! She is definitely getting bigger and stronger!

Myrtle Beach, SC

2010-12-04T11:28:00.000-08:00

We spent the week after the Thanksgiving with my parents in Myrtle Beach, SC. We had a wonderful time relaxing and spending time w/ them. The Oceanfront Villas at the Grand Dunes Marriott were great. I loved the resort. They had a fun Activity room for children and had several things planned for them each day. Lily had a great time. Mom and Dad watched Lily a couple of evenings so that Jim and I could go out and do things. It was a little chilly for most of the time we were there and very windy several of the days, but we still walked out on the beach and let Lily play. It was a fun week. Here are a few photos.....

Lily The Cookie Monster :-)

2010-11-22T17:47:00.000-08:00

This evening we went to Publix while at Publix Lily got her free cookie from the bakery like always. We also bought a pack of 13 cookies from the bakery and Jim left those out on our island (sealed and unopened) when we got home. Well, I went in to our bedroom and Jim went into his office. I heard some strange sounds a few minutes later, but I thought she was just playing in her playroom. Then it got very quiet so I decided I better go check on her. I looked in her playroom and she wasn't there. I didn't call out for her but just kept looking and I spotted her on the floor of the kitchen, and sitting between her legs was an opened container of cookies and Lily had 2 cookies in her hand just eating away! It was too funny she was taking a bite of every cookie she could. Before she spotted me I went into the office and got Jim so he could see her too. We both went in their and she started explaining right away that she got the cookies off the counter and opened them. I was kind of impressed that she was able to break the seal and open them. We were also surprised that she was able to reach them. She was so cute, I had to take a few pictures of her. We did tell her that from now on that she needs to tell us before taking things off the counter. We let her finish eating one of the cookies that she had been nibbling on. Jim put Lily to bed tonight and before he laid her down he asked if she was going to sleep good and she said "I'm going to sleep good so I can have more cookies tomorrow! " I think someone likes cookies!

Lily singing the ABC Song! (26 months) Video

2010-11-21T14:10:00.000-08:00

Some Random Pics of Lily from the last week or two!

2010-11-18T04:04:00.000-08:00

All of the pictures were below were taken w/ my phone so please excuse any blurriness.

Lily and Grandad on our walk home from the park.

She is so good at almost all of the playground equipment now. I remember when I used to be so afraid for her to be up there.

Eating a yummy cookie at Publix.

Lily went to a Dora Birthday party last weekend. She had so much fun. All the kids were so cute.

Little Explorer's!

Showing off their backpacks! :)

18 Week Maternity Photos

2010-11-13T11:16:00.000-08:00

These pics were taken on November 11, 2010 when I was 18 weeks pregnant.

We Are Having A GIRL!!!!!!!!!

2010-11-11T18:03:00.000-08:00

Today I am 18 weeks and I had my ultrasound appointment. Jennifer the technician said that everything looked great and that we are having another little girl!!! She also said that she measured at 18 weeks so looks like we are right on track! We are very excited about having another little girl and for Lily having a sister. Now that we know what we are having we can start doing some planning! Fun, Fun!! The rest of my visit went well too, I had blood drawn... 5 vials!
The baby's heart rate was 161 and weighs about 7ozs. My blood pressure was 110/62, and I have gained about 8 pounds at this point. I've been feeling her move around a good bit lately. My next appt is December 9th.

Lily stayed with friends while we went to the appt and when we saw here we told her that she was going to have a little sister. Later on she was playing outside and she was off by herself and I heard her singing "I'm a big sister" over and over again. :-) We are just so thankful that everything looked good and that it seems we are right on track.

Our little girl was moving all around so we were not able to get a good profile picture but here are the photos we did get.

A good picture of her spine.

My Sweet Little Dora Princess!

2010-11-01T12:13:00.000-07:00

Lily had so much fun trick or treating and I enjoyed taking her. Some of our friends invited us to go w/ them, so we met them at their house and she went trick or treating w/ her friends Glenn and Alexander. She would go up to the doors and say "trick or treat" she also entertained us w/ some singing along the way. Then we came back to our house and took her down our street. She also enjoyed handing candy out when we got back to the house. It was a fun night!

Getting ready to go trick or treating w/ Alexander. He looked so cute in his frog costume!

Waiting patiently! :)

Glenn was dressed as a Fireman.

Sea World Spooktacular

2010-11-01T11:15:00.000-07:00

We took Lily to the Halloween Spooktacular at Sea World. They had some of the Sesame Street characters there and they put on a show, they also had trick or treating and a maze set up for the kids to help Abby Cadabby find her magic wand. Lily had so much fun. We also saw the Dolphin show since it is one of her favorites. She loves the shows and she loved meeting all of the characters and gave them big hugs and did not want to leave. It was a great day w/ lots of fun memories for us all!

16 weeks today!!!!

2010-10-28T12:12:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe that I am already 16 weeks along. In just 2 short weeks I will be getting my ultrasound. Yay! Things have been going very good w/ the pregnancy so far. For the past couple of weeks I am pretty sure that I have felt the baby move off and on, but it has been very brief and hard to tell for sure. Last Thursday we took a trip to Greenville, SC and Flat Rock, NC to do some see some friends, do some fall activities and also I was helping to host a baby shower for my good friend Lisa. It was a wonderful trip. The shower was so much fun and it was great catching up w/ everyone. Lily had a blast the entire trip. While I was at the shower Jim took Lily to the children's museum and she had so much fun. On Sunday we had brunch at Soby's and then went to to NC to Sky Top Apple Orchard. Below are some pics from our weekend....

Lisa's shower at Brick Street Cafe

Sky Top Apple Orchard in Flat Rock, NC

14 Weeks!!!

2010-10-14T10:50:00.000-07:00

Today I am 14 weeks! The time is going so fast. In the last couple of weeks I have seen an improvement in how I feel. I have more energy and I don't feel as sick. I still have to be careful not to eat to much in one sitting. This usually gets me in trouble when we go out for meals. I had a Doctor's appt this morning. Everything went good. The baby's heart rate was 154 this time and my blood pressure was 110/66. My next appt is November 11 and I will have my ultrasound as well as some routine blood work. So hopefully little ovenbun will be positioned so that we can find out what we are having!

Lily playing the Guitar and Singing (Video)

2010-10-11T05:27:00.000-07:00

Lily has started making up songs and singing them. Yesterday I heard her playing Jim's guitar so I grabbed the video camera and started filming without her knowing. She was singing a song about Granny and Papa. Jim had left that morning to go to Atlanta to the ballgame so she sang a little about that too! :-)

Update from the last couple of weeks!

2010-10-10T06:02:00.000-07:00

We have been having so much fun these last few weeks. October is just the best. The weather here has just been perfect! We have been spending lots of fun time outside. Lily loves riding on her Daddy's back! One other thing I need to add before I forget is how polite Lily has become. She tells us and anyone else "thank you" all the time. Like when we help her w/ something or get something for her she always makes sure she thanks us for what we did for her. It is just the sweetest thing. She also loves to sing. She sings for everyone. She sings for her playgroup friends, at the grocery store, for family, pretty much anyone who will listen. Her favorite song to sing is Itsy Bitsy Spider, but she also likes Row, Row, Row your boat, Old MacDonald, If Your Happy and You Know It, Happy Birthday, and Head Shoulder Knees and Toes.

We also bought a firepit and have enjoyed making some very yummy smores!

Lily enjoyed her first smore! It did get quite messy. Her favorite part of it was the chocolate!

We also went to the Jacksonville Zoo earlier this week. We got there at 9am right as they opened and they were not busy and the weather was gorgeous! Since they were not busy we let Lily walk along beside us. We all had a great time. Before we even got to the zoo she was talking about most wanting to see the Kangeroos, you can tell from one of the pics below that they were really putting on a show for us! We had a nice picnic lunch after we were finished at the zoo! A great way to spend the morning!

She was running through the mist!

She found my panda slippers and wanted to wear them!

Lily is such a little adventurer. She loves being outside and she loves, loves, loves all bugs. We have started going on bug hunts! We bought her a net and her Granny got her a bug magnifying glass so she makes sure she has all of her gear and then off we go. For weeks now she has wanted us to catch a butterfly. A couple of days ago I was able to catch one for her and she had fun investigating it before we let it go. She also loves to go outside and "listen to the sounds" as she says. Our next door neighbors have a wooden fence and she says "lets listen to the sounds of the fence" they have some older boys they are out there playing alot and she likes to listen for them.

Maternity Pics! 11 weeks, 2 days

2010-09-27T11:38:00.000-07:00

Our good friends Lisa and Matt were visiting us from SC and we took this opportunity to get some pregnancy pics of the both of us. Lisa was 26 weeks pregnant and I was 11 weeks. We had such a fun weekend. Here are just a few of our photos that Jim took.

A Baby On The Way!!!!!!

2010-09-22T11:16:00.000-07:00

Lily is going to be a Big Sister!!!!!!! We found out on August 8th that I was pregnant! We are super excited. I had my first ultrasound appointment on September 9th and I measured at 9 weeks, 0 days. The baby looked good and his/her heart rate was 170. My EDD is April 14, 2011. So it looks like we will be having a spring baby!!

I went back for my second appt on September 16th. I was able to hear the heart rate again and it was a strong 163 beats per minute. My blood pressure was good 108/68.

My morning sickness with Lily got started around 8 weeks, but with this one it hit me at 6 weeks and is still around 24/7. Of course I know that this is a good sign, but I will be glad when it is over. I know w/ Lily it stopped as soon as I hit the 2nd trimester so I hope it will be the same with this one. I am 11 weeks now and I have noticed the morning sickness is not as bad and I also seem to be getting my energy back which is great!

We went to Waycross this past weekend to tell everyone the great news! We bought a shirt for Lily that had "Only Child" crossed out and underneath it said "Big Sister" so Lily was able to break the news to everyone! Everyone was very excited and happy for us. We are so happy to share our news with everyone and are so excited to be expanding our family. We are looking forward to our new little blessing.

My next appointment is October 14, 2010.

In this pic you can see where the eyes are. He/she was looking at us.

Lily looked so cute in her little shirt! I think she will make a great Big Sister!

Itsy Bitsy Spider!

2010-09-15T12:50:00.000-07:00

Lily's 2 Year Checkup

2010-08-28T13:06:00.000-07:00

On Monday Lily went in for her 2 yr checkup. She now weighs 26 lbs - 45th percentile (she wasn't too fond of standing on the scale) I think it is a little scary for her since it wobbles. But she stood there long enough to get a weight. Her height is 33 1/2 inches which puts her in the 50th percentile. Her head circumference was 19 inches which puts her in the 80th percentile. She did great during her visit. She received the flu mist and one vaccination. Her next checkup will be at 3 years old and she will not have any more vaccinations til 5!!!! Can't believe my baby is 2!

These 2 pics were taken on Lily's actual Birthday August 24, 2010. She was looking at her singing Dora card we got for her.

This is her BIG Cheeser smile!

Cute Lily Videos

2010-08-25T18:03:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Lily!!!!

2010-08-24T02:00:00.000-07:00

Today my sweet sweet Lily turns TWO!!!! It's hard to believe that 2 years have gone by since we were blessed with the most precious gift. These last 2 years have been a wonderful time for us. We have had so many new experiences. We celebrated Lily's birthday on Saturday with close family and friends. Since she adores Dora it was only fitting that she have a Dora themed party. Leading up to the big day she was so excited and couldn't wait. She had a great time on Saturday and particularly liked it when we all sang Happy Birthday to her. She said that was fun! Below are some photos from her big day!

Lily was so excited about her party!

Grandad and Lily

Waiting on her guest to arrive.

Enjoying some quesadillas!

Group shot of most of the people that were there, minus a 2 or 3.

This is when we were all singing Happy Birthday!

Blowing out her candle

Enjoying a cupcake

Present time!
Group shot of the kiddies

Atlanta Trip

2010-08-17T11:16:00.000-07:00

We spent most of last week in Atlanta with a short stay over in Greenville before coming back home. We had a great time! We all enjoyed going to the Georgia Aquarium and visiting The World of Coca-Cola! We stayed in Midtown at the Georgian Terrace, right across from the Fox Theatre, so a great location. The weather was so nice in the mornings that we ate outdoors 2 of the mornings for breakfast. On Thursday we arrived at Matt and Lisa's. Lisa had baked a cake to have an early celebration of mine and Lily's birthday's. We had a great time seeing them, even if it was for a short time. We made our way back to Florida on Friday. Below are some pics from our trip.

Lily and I outside of our Hotel

Me enjoying a yummy mocha!

World of Coke in the background

Lily loved the Coca-Cola bear, he spent probably 10 mins w/ her. I think he liked her too!

Sharing Cheerios

Leaning in for a Lily hug!

Awwww......

Lisa almost 20 weeks pregnant! (Lily decided she wanted in the pic too) :)

The yummy Birthday cake that Lisa made to celebrate our birthdays!

Lily loved the cake. I had to stop her because she was going to bite into the entire cake!

Fun times!

Sea World August 2010

2010-08-05T13:57:00.000-07:00

We visited Sea World again on Monday, August 2nd to let Lily watch the Elmo and Abby show one more time before it leaves for the summer. She had so much fun, after that we saw the Dolphin Show (Blue Horizons) and it was great as well. She loved watching the dolphins jump out of the water. Then we had lunch and took Lily over to the water area and let her play for a little while. It was so hot so I know it was a nice little break for her. Below are some pics....

Nickelodeon presents Storytime Live

2010-07-29T10:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Jim and I took Lily to see Storytime Live at the Times Union Center here in Jax. We are so glad we did, b/c she had a wonderful time and has been talking about it ever since. STORYTIME LIVE, is a musical adventure featuring four of the top-rated preschool shows: “Dora the Explorer,” “The Backyardigans,” “Ni Hao, Kai-lan,” and “Wonder Pets!” Hosted by Moose & Zee. The only show that Lily has watched out of the 4 is Dora, which of course she loves, but she enjoyed the entire show, but her favorites were Ni Hao, Kai-lan and Dora. It was cute seeing her face light up and watch her dance to the music. We got there early for the pre-party show where the kids could decorate cookies, color and have their face painted. It was a very fun way to spend the morning! Below are a few pics.

Last Day of Swimming Lessons!

2010-07-25T14:14:00.000-07:00

Lily is all done w/ her week of swimming lessons. She had (5) 30 min private lessons. We are very happy with what she accomplished in that week. Lily was so brave each day, even though she didn't practically like them she did her best each day. It is just amazing what they can do at such a young age. At this age you are mainly teaching safety, in case she were to fall into a pool she knows how to turn around under water and swim back to the side and pull herself up. She did so good! Jim and I will continue to practice with her the rest of the summer and early fall. We will definitely be sending her back to Mrs. Angela next summer. Here are a couple of video clips from her last day.

Day 3 of Swimming Lessons

2010-07-21T16:31:00.000-07:00

Lily has been taking lessons all this week and she is doing a great job!!! We are so proud of her! Today was her third lesson and below are some short video clips.

How Cute Is This!!!!!!!!

2010-07-10T12:30:00.001-07:00

This is about as cute as it gets! Lily was staying at her friend Bailey's house while Jim and I went out for our anniversary and they dressed up like princesses! They had so much fun together!