A Blessed Life

The First Month in Pictures

2011-09-09T16:00:00.002-04:00

Well, Isaac is almost 4 months old now so I guess I better play catch up on on the last three months!

Meeting Brother

2011-08-05T15:15:00.000-04:00

I admit I was very nervous about how well S would do with the new baby, but she has been great and loves him dearly! She "loves him" a little too much so I have to stay in between them most of time:) I have loved watching the two of them interact especially now that he is getting older and is really interactive with her. All she has to do is talk and he immediately smiles. When she first saw him in the hospital she wasn't so sure, she walked in very timidly and wouldn't really look at him. We let her hold him and after a few minutes she kissed and hugged him and after that it was like he had always been here and she was completely comfortable around him.

Isaac William

2011-08-05T15:01:00.000-04:00

Wow, it has been a long time since my last post! I do believe that I have a pretty good excuse for my absence though:) We have welcomed a beautiful baby boy into our family and are completely in love, again. He was born on May 25th at 1:30ish in the a.m., yes for some reason I only seem to give birth in the middle of night. He weighed 8lbs. 12oz. and was 20 and 1/4 inches long. His birth was pretty fast and easy compared to my first birthing experience, which was fast also, but not anywhere close to easy! I had S naturally with no drugs and was only in labor about 6 hours. My fear with this one was that I would feel that first contraction and panic because it was such a painful experience last time. Well, that is exactly what happened! My contractions were strong and painful from the beginning so I told K pretty much right away that there is no way I could do it again because I knew exactly what was coming this time around. I begged them to get me an epidural as fast as possible, and from that point on it was a completely pain free experience! I went from watching HGTV to pushing in a matter of 30 minutes, and I felt nothing. I wouldn't trade either experience because they were both amazing in their own way. I am just so thankful that he is here and happy and healthy as he can be!

A Great Day

2011-05-23T16:08:00.000-04:00

This last weekend was our last weekend before the baby comes so we wanted to just enjoy being together. We went to breakfast and then went downtown to the farmer's market so that Sadie could ride the pony at the park. The pony ride didn't happen because she was too scared to ride, which is weird because she isn't ever afraid of anything. Thank goodness they had jump castles because she loves jumping and sliding. We didn't stay too long because it was so hot and humid so we just went to the Yogurt Mountain and had fruit sorbets. K wanted to see the water while we were there so we went to the Battery and watched all the sailboats. We had a backyard cookout later that night with friends, great way to end the day.

First Haircut and the Sprinkler Park

2011-05-15T19:39:00.000-04:00

S really needed to get a haircut because she had a definite mullet going on, curly yes, but still a mullet:) So we found this place by our house that is just for kids and has all sorts of fun stuff for them to do. There are flat screens at every chair playing Disney movies and a play area and all the lollipops your child can eat! You can see in the pictures that she is pretty nervous until she gets a lollipop, then she is all smiles:)

Our local county park has a sprinkler park for little ones that S loves! We went the other day with my sister and nephew, and a friend of ours met us there with her little girls. S always ends up with another child's beach toy or bucket. She found a little wagon this time and pulled it around the park the whole time. She was definitely more content to play this year than last year which is one of the things I love about this age. In one of the pictures I told her to go and sit by her cousin and she went and sat right ON him:)

Easter Weekend

2011-04-27T20:53:00.000-04:00

I hope everyone had a good Easter, such a wonderful day of reflection! We went on a little road trip to Greenville to spend Easter with K's parents and extended family. We had a wonderful time and loved seeing everyone again! I have always felt extremely blessed to not just love my in-laws, but like them too:) I have always felt that they are the "big" family I never had but always wanted. I am always blown away at how much effort they put into the holidays, and I love the southern cooking:) There was a big dinner and then an Easter egg hunt for all the kids.

She loved her Easter dress, she kept saying "princess".

On a completely different note, my girl loves a good chicken leg:)

The Nursery

2011-04-20T22:05:00.000-04:00

Well, I was kind of feeling like haven't blogged at all about this pregnancy yet, so here we go! I have to say this time around has been so different from my first pregnancy. The weeks go by so quickly when you are focused on and chasing a two year old:) I was over the moon when we found out we were going to have a boy. I would have been equally as excited to have another little girl because I really want S to have a sister. We just felt extremely blessed to be able to experience and raise a daughter and a son.

I loved putting his nursery together, and I think that I actually like it better than S's nursery. I got the bedding on Craigslist for 20 dollars before I even new it was a boy. I was able to get crazy deals on the crib and changing table at Target because they were on clearance and their credit card machines weren't working right so I they pretty much gave it away! We already had the glider and the day bead was in the guest room, which is now S's new room. I love to go in there and just sit and rock, it feels like I am at a beach house!

Our Weekend

2011-04-03T21:21:00.000-04:00

The Flowertown Festival was this weekend and S and I actually went twice:) We went on Friday with my mom and sister when it wasn't so crowded and then again on Saturday with K. Both days were beautiful but Saturday it was super crowded and we could hardly walk much less see anything because there were so many people! I think K even got a little claustrophobic so we left after we let S ride some rides and ate lunch.

Today after church K and S planted some veggies in the planter boxes that K made. She has been so excited about planting "seeds" with daddy, she has been talking about it all week! She has a gardening book that she loves so when K told her she could help plant with him she was one happy little girl. They planted some tomatoes, squash, zucchini, and green onions I think. Hopefully they grow right so she can watch them and we can have fresh veggies!

She's An Outdoor Girl

2011-04-03T21:01:00.000-04:00

I don't know about you but I have been so thankful for this beautiful weather we have been having lately. I have a little girl that would live outside if we let her. I think one of my favorite things about living in Charleston is the spring and fall seasons because they are so mild and generally very sunny.

S had her little friends over to play for the day last week and as you can see they had a great time!

We had our first little "movie night" last week too and S thought it was the greatest thing ever:) We watched Toy Story 3 but S only made it through about half of it before I thought it was a little too "scary" for her to watch right before bed. She is prone to having nightmares so I don't want anything she sees to encourage the bad dreams. We will definitely do it again though because she had so much fun sitting with daddy and eating popcorn!

Fun at the Zoo

2011-03-16T16:52:00.000-04:00

Last week S and I went to the Columbia zoo with my sister and a friend. We had a great time, but S wasn't quite as into the animals as I thought she would be. I think she had the most fun playing on the zoo playground:) She has definitely entered the terrible two's lately with an attitude that just makes me shutter! So when we got to the zoo she decided she did not want to ride in her stroller because she has to be "miss independent" so obviously there was a melt down. The first fifteen minutes of animals were not exactly appreciated by miss S so I didn't get a ton of pictures of her looking at animals, mostly because she was screaming, and that does not make for an attractive picture!

It looks like she is crying in this picture because she was:) But I am all for documenting real life, not just the "good stuff", because I know I will look back and miss those tantrums some day!

Yes, I gave in and let her walk:( She won, I lost, but look how happy she is now:) Just kidding, but not really, sometimes I just give in so that I feel like I didn't just spend my money for nothing, or if there isn't a bathroom near by:)

My adorable nephew Landon, can you believe those eyes!!

Kids are so funny, I think they actually enjoyed all the "other stuff" at the zoo more than the actual animals. I think that will probably change when they get a little older. Life is still pretty simple for them right now which I really do like, it doesn't take much to entertain them.

Our Last Trip Before Baby

2011-03-09T10:16:00.000-05:00

Last weekend we went on a trip to Asheville, NC to visit Biltmore Estate. We had a great time and were actually able to relax quite a bit! The trip started out great with breakfast at Cracker Barrel in Greenville with Kevin's dad who happened to be in town. We then headed up to Asheville for the next four days. We ate at some amazing restaurants and toured downtown Asheville.

Our condo was amazing, nicest place we have ever stayed in, but it was a studio so Sadie slept in her pack n play in the huge bathroom:) There is so much to see at Biltmore that we had to spread it out and take two days just to see it all.

Can you see Sadie? Walking away from us as usual!

The first day we were there it actually snowed while we were touring the house, so every time we walked by a window we got to look out and see a blizzard!

We almost didn't go because of the threat of rain, but I am so glad we did because it only rained for a short time. On our way home the last day we went to Ikea in Charlotte, which was definitely one of my favorite parts of the whole trip:)

A Day at the Park

2011-03-03T15:16:00.000-05:00

The weather was amazing again today so we went with our friends to the county park in Mount Pleasant. The kids love the park and would stay all day if we let them!

Sadie is getting so much more coordinated and is able to do most things on her own now which is nice. Keeping up with her is more of challenge the more "pregnant" I get:)

I made Sadie a new dress with a pattern I bought on Etsy and I love it! The pattern was so easy to use, it was probably the easiest sewing project I have ever done. I would definitely recommend buying patterns from Etsy rather than the patterns from the store. The patter I bought is like having five patterns in one because it can be a short sleeved dress, 3/4 length sleeves, a shirt, a dress with an empire waist and long sleeves.

A Little Gym Birthday Party

2011-02-23T21:20:00.000-05:00

What a busy weekend we had! On Saturday S was invited to a party at the Little Gym and had great time.

It always surprises how shy she can be when we do "group" things like that with a lot of people she doesn't know. She absolutely refuses to join in with the group when they are singing or dancing together.

She just kind of goes off and does her own thing until she warms up to everyone there.

I was very shy as a child until I was about 14, so I guess she comes by it honestly:)

I think her favorite thing in the room was the balance beam, she probably walked across it 50 times!

Gardening with Daddy and a Surprise Party

2011-02-23T20:56:00.000-05:00

The weather has been absolutely beautiful for the past week and we have been taking advantage of it by being outside as much as possible! S loves to help daddy in the yard (or anywhere else) when he is working on pruning and pulling weeds and such. I think she would play outside all day everyday if I let her!

On Friday night S and I went to a surprise party for our friend H. We all had a great time eating, talking and watching the kids play. S had a great time because her favorite cousin B was there too!

Valentine Party!

2011-02-16T09:26:00.001-05:00

On Monday I had a little party for the girls, they had a great time! We had heart shaped grilled cheese sandwiches, strawberry applesauce, and they decorated cupcakes. We also let them decorate their own Valentine cards for their daddy's. We all had a good time and can't wait to do it again next year! I love that my sister and friends all have little girls so that we can have fun girlie parties. My poor nephew Landon is a little outnumbered right now, but not for long!

We're Back!

2011-02-14T13:59:00.000-05:00

I know it has been forever, like years, since I posted last but I really want to keep up with it so I can document our lives. Sadie is now two years old and she has a baby brother coming in May! We are so excited about our growing family and can't wait to meet our little baby boy. Sadie turned two at the beginning of January and she still our little peanut. She is 23 pounds now and about 33 inches tall, I feed her as much as I can but she is just going to be a small girl, and that's okay:)
I am almost 26 weeks now so I only have a little over 3 months left. I am amazed how much faster this second pregnancy goes by when you have a toddler to chase after all day! K just finished painting S's new big girl room, which is our old guest room, so we will be moving her this weekend hopefully. We have all the new nursery furniture, which I found for a steal, so I can't wait to get started on his nursery. I am definitely in the mood to organize right now so I want to take advantage of that while I can.

We are going on a little trip soon, first trip since I was 8 weeks pregnant with S, so we are very excited about getting away for the last time as a family of three. Well, hopefully I will remember to post more often so that I don't let another two years go by without an update!

Almost 10 Months Old

2009-10-28T20:20:00.005-04:00

I cannot believe believe my little baby girl is almost ten months old now! She has changed so much in the lately and learning so many new things. She pretty much weened herself off baby food and eats and only table food which she loves. She loves everything so far and eats whatever I make for Kevin and I. She can give kisses and clap her hands. She has taken her first step multiple times now! She will be walking any day now, and is already climbing on everything! We are so going to have our hands full with this little girl. She weighs almost 17 pounds and and moved up from 5% to 7% on the growth charts:) She wears a size 3 diaper and size 6/9 or 6/12 clothes. We have been very busy lately....kind of nonstop right now. About a month ago all in one week I started a new job, our dog Mollie ran away, and Kevin had knee surgery. Needless to say it was a rough week! I like being busy most of the time but it is also nice to just spend time at home. We miss our dog terribly but life goes on I guess. Hopefully I won't wait so long before updating the blog again!

Sadie @ 6 and half months!

2009-07-23T09:53:00.001-04:00

It has been a while, but I will try and keep up with this blog better from now on! Sadie has changed so much lately. She is sitting, almost crawling and eating 3 meals a day!! I have truly enjoyed every minute of this journey with her and can't wait for next stages.

3 and half months!

2009-04-23T20:01:00.002-04:00

Sadie celebrated her first Easter with the whole family, including her great grandma from Philadelphia. We all went to church together, out to lunch, and then to the park to take pictures! Sadie is growing like a weed, she is soooo close to rolling from her back to her tummy! She is chewing on teethers and holding toys and putting them in her mouth. She has recently discovered that she has a voice and loves to squeal at the highest pitch you can imagine:)

3 Months Old!

2009-04-09T21:57:00.002-04:00

Sadie Mae is now 3 months old! I can't believe that my baby isn't really a newborn anymore, time is flying! She is a busy little bee, always wants to be on the move. Last night for the first time she actually touched the toys on her activity mat with her hands for about an hour! She has never really noticed them before, but now she loves to watch them move when she hits them:)

11 weeks old!

2009-03-29T20:38:00.003-04:00

Sadie is almost 3 months old, we can't believe it! She is doing great, especially at night. She eats last around 8:45 and then goes to bed and sleeps till 8 in the morning! This has lasted about a month and a half, so we're hoping it sticks:) She is starting to drool all the time and always wants something in her mouth to chew on, mostly her hands! She is going in the nursery now at church and is doing really well. She also just went to her first circus today!

9 Weeks and Two Month Doctor Appt.

2009-03-11T20:58:00.003-04:00

Sadie had her two month appt. today and she now weighs 10 lb.s 14 oz. and is 22 inches long. She is in between the 25th and 50th percentile for her size, so she is definitely still our "little" peanut! She is smiling and laughing all the time and is just a joy to be around.

7 weeks!

2009-03-01T19:56:00.001-05:00

1 month old today!

2009-02-04T15:06:00.003-05:00

Week 3

2009-02-02T21:49:00.006-05:00

Sadie had her first real bath this week and loved it. Sunday we returned to church for the first time and she slept through the service...so it went very well. Still eating well, sleeping almost through the night, and is a true joy.

2 Week Album

2009-01-25T20:07:00.000-05:00

One Week Old Today!

2009-01-14T12:40:00.002-05:00

Well, we all survived week one and enjoyed every minute of it! Sadie is doing well and I feel great, a little sleepy, but great:) Sadie is sleeping about 4 hour long stretches at night, so I have been able to get multiple hours of sleep a night.

First Walk

2009-01-10T21:00:00.002-05:00

We all took Sadie for her first walk today. She was pretty excited on the way out, but shortly fell asleep. She is eating well and sleeping a lot - even at night. We had to get up a couple of times but it was pretty painless and she went right back to sleep.

Sadie's here!

2009-01-07T20:40:00.003-05:00

Sadie was born at 3:22 am 1-7-09. She weighed in at 7lb 11oz and is 19.5" tall. Everything went very well and Sadie and Alyssa are doing great.

Making Progress

2009-01-02T14:17:00.000-05:00

I went to an appointment today and am about 2 and half centimeters dilated and my cervix is very soft.............so it should be any day now................we hope:)

Still Waiting........

2009-01-01T18:01:00.000-05:00

Well, today is my due date but nothing is happening yet....so I'm guessing she has other plans in mind:) Kevin and I are hoping that she doesn't take too much longer though, we are very ready to meet her!

Any day now.......39 weeks!

2008-12-24T21:41:00.000-05:00

Finally......an update:)

2008-10-29T18:16:00.000-04:00

Well, I am now 31 weeks and really beginning to "feel" pregnant. We have almost finished the nursery and just had a baby shower over the weekend! I honestly have never felt to so busy in my life!!

2008-08-03T11:36:00.000-04:00

The Twins

2008-06-09T20:46:00.000-04:00

Friends of ours just had twin girls a couple months ago so we kept them one night so Heather and Steve could go out. If you can't tell, Kevin thinks they are pretty cool:)

11 Weeks!

2008-06-09T19:51:00.000-04:00

We changed doctors, and really like the new one, so he wanted to check everything out so we were lucky enough to get another ultra sound! Not only did we see the heart beating, but the baby was moving like crazy! He or she now has fully formed arms and legs and was kicking and moving his arms and rolling from side to side! In the second pic you can see the baby kicking it's leg. The doctor said that that was a great sign of a healthy growing baby. The baby is now almost two inches long. Still feeling great, no morning sickness at all, praise the Lord:) (Kev is convinced were going to have a hyper kid now:)

2008-05-22T10:28:00.001-04:00

Kevin had his yearly review the other day and I am proud to say that it went really well. I am so proud of him and I don't think it could have gone any better!

2008-05-22T10:26:00.001-04:00

I forgot to add that I was able to hear the heart beat this time:) 164 bpm......the nurse said it's nice and strong:) I have another appointment on June 9th.

2008-05-22T10:14:00.001-04:00

FYI, if you click on the pics they will be much easier to see:)

8 Weeks!

2008-05-21T17:53:00.001-04:00

6 weeks 2 days

2008-05-19T20:01:00.000-04:00

A New Addition

2008-05-18T22:32:00.000-04:00

Well, we are very excited to say that we are expecting our first baby on New Years' Day, 2009! We're excited, nervous, scared......and I think we're still a little shocked:) I'm about to start my 8th week and I still feel great, no morning sickness yet, thankfully.