Taylor's First Birthday Party!

Thank you for everyone who came to Taylor’s party! It was fun… Sick kids and all! And Taylor loves her gifts. Grandma and Grandpa gave her $20 and she got some Mega Blocks with it! Matt and Candace gave her a bubble machine, and all she can say is “WOW” whenever we turn it on… a BIG hit guys! John and Krystin gave her some real cute sunglasses and a hand made headband with changeable flowers! They’re so stinking cute. I need to wash all her dresses so she has something to wear with them. Oh, and a purse… Which should be a BIG hit too… cause she’s always trying to put my purse over her shoulder! Now she has her own. She also got a swimsuit and cover up from her future Aunt LeeAnn (OH THAT”S RIGHT!!! Michael’s ENGAGED!) She got some books my Mamie and Papa which she loves. A ball pit and pool from me and Chris among some other stuff…

All in all, I think it was a great party! The best part was just hanging around with everyone. But that’s always my favorite part. So below are the pictures with a few comments… ENJOY!

Poor will felt sick :(
Here's Isaac

Can I look any more gross?
Isaac caught taylor with the fishing pole!
lily eating snacks from her daddy
LeeAnn and Chelsea
Grandma and grandpa caught a taylor too!

Taylor and lily playing
Chris caught a taylor also!
Chris and taylor, john and isaac
taylor's glasses!
her glasses from LeeAnn

This was her birthday dress!
Eating her cake
about 1/2 gone!
saying she's 1!!!

and lastly, here's the cake I made... tried to make it look like her piano!

Book Club

We had our first book club meeting on Tuesday. It was way fun. Got my brain going like it hasn’t done in a long time! It’s nice to be a part of something like that. And our new book is going to be Little Women. I had a hard time finding it in the library… all the versions I found were little kid versions that were only like 200 pages long with HUGE type! But I finally found the REAL version… I’m hoping it’s the same one everyone else has, cause I’m a bit nervous about Carrie’s questions at the next meeting!!! J I hope I past the quiz! I may rent the movie too! Just for fun. Anyways. I’m real excited and trying to find a GREAT book to suggest when my month rolls around. Anyone have any good suggestions? Let me know!

Attachment Parenting

My husband will tell you that I spoil our daughter. I baby her too much I guess. I give in when he wouldn’t. But let me tell you what. I may be a little bit of an “attachment” style parent, but he’s just as big a spoiler of our daughter as I am!

Yes, she may have slept in our room a bit longer than her cousins slept with their parents… but I was breast feeding. It was a bit more convenient for me to reach over the edge of the bed and pick her up to nurse her in the middle of the night, than it would have been to walk across our apartment and sit in a chair for 30 minutes in the middle of the night. And she did nurse a lot more in the middle of the night compared to her cousins (these are all comments Christopher has made) but breast milk doesn’t take as long for a baby stomach to process, so they wake up hungry sooner than a formula fed baby would. Anyways… There are more things he’s said, but I’m not trying to bash him or anything… he just doesn’t understand my reasoning behind the way I do things sometimes. Anyways… on with my story.

Taylor has slept in bed with us since Monday night. At first Chris’s excuse was that he had so much fun spending the weekend with me and Taylor, he didn’t want it to be over. He couldn’t bare to just put her back in her bed on Monday night and go to work on Tuesday morning without seeing her. So she slept with us. Or rather, she slept with him, and I was shoved to the edge of the bed. Not that I really mind. It’s kind of nice having her there to cuddle with. I miss her being teeny tiny and I really miss nursing her and the closeness I felt during those times. So it was nice.

Then Tuesday night… He didn’t want to put her in bed cause she was starting to get sick. So she slept with us again. Again, it was more “on Chris” than on our bed! She sure does love her daddy and he was soaking it up. It was nice to see though. I wanted to take a picture, but my battery is dead… oh well.

Then last night… She slept with us again. Her fever was at 101.5 WITH Motrin! I was getting pretty nervous, but we made it through the night okay. I’m very glad she slept with us last night so I was able to keep a watch on her fever… but I didn’t get much sleep at all. I was also feeling pretty bad and had a fever of my own. But I was surprised by how much Chris was up last night with me and Taylor. It was nice. Even though it was weird to all be awake at 3 in the morning… it was a family bonding moment… It’s hard to explain. It was just one of those moments when me and Chris both wanted nothing more than for Taylor to feel better and relax, and because of that, it was a bonding moment. It’s strange how different your relationship changes when a baby comes into the pictures.

My whole point to this is that I am not the only “attachment” style parent in this relationship. Chris may like to believe that I baby Taylor more, but he’s just as bad as me, if not worse. He doesn’t see what I DON’T let her get away with during the day. But I like our way of doing things. They work for us. They may not work for the next baby… the circumstances will be so different… Maddie’s personality will be different, my time and energy will be different… But I think that we’ve kind of figured part of it out for us for now. It’s a bit of a relief!

Sick, Sick, and more Sick

Okay, So I’m starting with the most current postings and going backwards. Let me start with the past few days. I had fully intended on writing all sorts of blog stuff the other day. And that’s when I got sick. I knew Taylor was coming down with it. And then it hit me… HARD! Between the throwing up, pooping, and general sicky-ness… it was hard to get motivated to sign on and write. So I didn’t. Taylor’s fever finally got bad enough last night to really worry me, and it’s stayed pretty much like that all day. So I’ve been fighting the illness myself, and trying to take care of her. Now we’re both puking and pooping (sorry if that’s TMI… That’s just mommy hood!) And when she throws up, it makes me throw up, and then I get to clean double! It’s real fun. Let me tell you what. So more exciting news… Chris came home sick today. I think from the moment he came home until the present moment, he’s been OUT of bed a total of 5 minutes… to change clothes and to use the bathroom!

Part of me really feels bad for myself. After all, I’m just as sick as Christopher or Taylor, yet, I have to take care of everyone. Add on top of that being pregnant. I think my “backstage pass” as my family likes to call it is getting pretty large! But then again… How many women before me have had it much worse… have been too sick to move, and still had to take care of their families. I’m such a baby. I need to suck it up and get over it. Heck… my own mom taught the last two months of seminary with a broken leg… waking up every morning and getting my own 3 youngest brothers and sisters up and making them get ready for school, going and teaching, planning her lessons all week, getting ready for graduations, parties… That’s when I feel pretty pathetic. So no more complaining.

No, it’s not fun to be sick and pregnant and have to take care of my sick baby and hubby at the same time, but I will do it the happiest heart I can manage. After all… I love them very much and want them to get the best care. Who can do that better than me? So there it is, why I haven’t posted all I said I would. But they’re coming now, cause I’m up and can’t sleep. Might as well spend my time in some way right? So get ready to read! Enjoy!

So much to write about

Well, Taylor had a wonderful birthday party this past weekend. Then we had a good rest of the weekend with a great day on monday at my in-laws. And then yesterday was good and crazy, with another trip to my in-laws and our first book club meeting! An old good friend of mine is engaged and getting married next week. And I had no idea! Taylor has slept in bed with me and chris for the past 2 nights. I have so much stuff in my brain to write that I can't get it out right now. So those posts are probably coming at some point today... but not just yet. Right now I'm in pain... my stomach is cramping up badly (not enough to worry me... just enough to aggravate and make me sick.) Taylor woke up this morning at 6:30 when chris left, but fell back to sleep and got up at 9:30, so I'm WAY thrown off. She's usually laying down for a nap right about now, and yet, she's going to be up for another couple hours... It's just weird. Like I said I'm thrown off. And I think she's sick. Yup... got it from one of her cousins! I knew it would come. I'm not upset about it. I'm glad that after them all being gone in utah, she's had time to play with them again. And sleeping in was nice... but now I'm weirded out. I can't even think about what I need to get done today. I need to sit down and make a list, update my calendar, and clean my room... anyways. Later, when I've got it more together, there will be some good posts with lots of pictures to look at. I don't know how much later that will be. We'll see. But I promise they're coming. Promise!

Dyed my hair!

So, Yesterday I bought a hair dye at walmart on a whim. I've been complaining to chris for a while that I hated my hair. It wasn't blonde, it wasn't brown... I didn't like it. So I bought a golden medium brown hair color... and thought maybe one day in the next few weeks, I'd dye it. Well... I was up last night at like 10... chris and taylor had BOTH gone to bed at 8! So i was like, what the hay! Now's as good a time as any. So I dyed it! I love it. I think I'm a better brunette than blonde-ish... whatever I was. Chris had no idea I'd even bought the dye, so he was suprised this morning. Though I had to tell him. It's a drastic change I think. But he didn't really notice. Neither did my dad, chelsea, kyle, avery, or michael! Kinda made me wonder if anyone ever really pays any attention to me. LOL. My mom said it's just cause it looks so natural. She said if it looked bad, people would notice. I guess she's got a point. And I had it dark brown for so long, I guess people are still kinda used to seeing me that way. Anyways. There will be pictures posted up tomorrow (of taylor's party) so I'm sure you'll see it!

Gosh, i've got a million things to do. Better get cracking/baking/cleaning/planning/decorating! I didn't know a birthday party could be so much work!

My Reviews

So... All my shows are over now. I could cry! I'm an addict to American Idol, The Office, and The Hills. And now they are all over. Guess it's time to start renting movies again. Speaking of movies, me and chris saw indiana Jones last night/this morning at midnight. So I'm going to let you know what I'm thinking about all these things!!! Not that you really care, but I'm bored.

AMERICAN IDOL!!! What The Heck! So... I think David Cook will definately be a better artist than Archuleta, But I could has SWORN that Archuleta would win. I mean, he has every mormon is the united states voting for him! But Cook won by 12 MILLION VOTES!!! I wish it would have been the other way around. I really do think that both david's would have been better off that way. I think David Cook's First cd he puts out will not do all that great. I think that's the way most Idol's careers have gone. That first CD done by Idol is nothing compared with all they do after. Anyways. I felt bad for Archuleta. Poor kid. My dad swears he'll be a bigger success than Cook. He says he reaches more people and only people my age are into David Cook. Oh well... We'll see dad!

THE HILLS! So, It was definately losing my attention there at the end a bit. I think I was cleaning my room while the finale was on, which I don't do when I'm totally into a show. But I stuck with it. We'll see where next season goes. it's getting a little repetitive with all the Heidi hates Lauren, Lauren hates Heidi drama. And WHAT THE HECK! Heidi, what are you freaking thinking getting back with spencer? He is SATAN! He's conceited, rude, obnoxious... WHY? I don't get it. He's done this how many times now? I hope you do lose your job over all this mess! Okay, so maybe I'm a little too into that show. Moving on...

INDIANA JONES AND THE CRYSTAL SKULL!!! Me and chris talked about his extensively this morning/last night. It's like Indiana Jones meets The X Files. Pretty odd. A lot more far fetched than any of the other Jones'. But I really enjoyed it! REALLY! I was falling asleep when we went into the theater. But it kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. That might have had something to do also with the mountain dew i drank and nerds and junior mints I ate. Yeah... not good for a pregnant woman who's borderline diabetic! We had to stop and buy me some REAL food afterwards... Anyways! It was really good. Harrison Ford is getting OLD. He's not really old... just looked old in the movie. That was the only thing that really bugged me. Didn't seem like a man his age should be doing all that stuff! Shia Lebouf did really good. The more movies I see him in, the more I like him. I can't decide if I think there will be more Indiana Jones movies. I've thought all this time leading up to seeing it, that they would do more. And I thought Shia Lebouf would be the new Indiana! They still might, but it's not one of those things where you're positive they will... ya know? Anyways. I'd say go see it. Maybe not at Midnight on a wednesday night (not that I regret our decision) ... But definately go see it!

THE OFFICE! I LOVE THIS SHOW! It's one of the Best TV shows I've ever seen in my life. It cracks me up. I'm kinda afraid to say alot about it... don't want to give stuff away for people who haven't seen it. But that finale did not really go how I thought it would. I wasn't disappointed by any means, but it just wasn't quite how I pictured it. Still great and I can't wait to watch next season. Which I guess is their main job, making it so it's simply agonizing to wait 3 months or however long til the season starts up again. I've heard something about summer webisodes!!! Anyone know any details. I will watch if I can figure that one out. I'll google it later. Anyways... I LOVED IT!

So there you have it. My reviews. Probably not all that helpful. I hope I didn't give anything away for anyone. I tried not to. Well, I'm off to go shopping! Time to blow all that wonderful money chris makes :)

It's late and I"m drugged

That sounds kinda bad, so let me explain. I woke up this morning with a crazy tooth ache. I have bad teeth. I inherited them from my mom. Anyways, It is the WORST pain I've ever been in my life... including having a c-section and the recovery, and a broken nose!!! It's so "in your head" that you can't think straight. I don't know how to explain how PAINFUL a tooth ache can be to someone who has perfect teeth (by the way, I want to punch you in the mouth and knock those great teeth right out :) ) I went to the dentist and yet again, a year later, they won't touch my teeth cause, duh da da duh!!! I'm PREGNANT! So they put me on a pain pill and gave me some antibiotics. The pain pill works... for about an hour and then i'm in the excruciating pain all over again!!! And I can't take another one til 6 hours after the first!!! So, I took a tylenol! Horrible I know. I"m terrified I"m drugging my baby, but I can't handle my responsibilities that are here already with this jack-hammer in my head! Luckily both of those responsibilities are asleep right now and I took a long bubble bath to try and relax and ease the pain a bit (it was a luke warm bath though :( Not worried about drugging the baby, but hot water? OH NO!)
Anyways, Chris, my mom, and my dad have been making fun of me all night cause I'm apparently acting funny. Well, I'm on a drugs! Hello! I think it's just kinda mean of them to be laughing at me in my condition. So poo on them! Not really. But anyways. That's my latest saga! Maybe one day, I'll have perfect teeth and people with bad teeth will want to punch my teeth out! Again... a dream of mine!

Broken Camera, Broken Heart

My camera fell off the bed today. It wasn't any one's fault necessarily. Could have been mine, or Taylor's, or Cayce's... (as badly as I would like to blame it on cayce, it was purely an accident.) So it's kinda broken right now. It makes me want to cry (there's those good ole reliable pregnancy hormones kicking in for ya!) I think it's just the lens. So I call Chris to tell him... It is still workable... It just takes longer cause allot of the auto-ish stuff doesn't work now. But a new lens is only $300-ish dollars... that's not bad right? I could hear his jaw drop over the phone!

"But babe, a new digital SLR camera would be well over $2000... $300 for a new lens is nothing compared to that!"
"..."

Okay, so I know a new lens right now is out of the question. A new camera... I'm simply dreaming. But I can dream right? I feel like having a memorial service for the camera. It's not actually dead... It's still kicking, but I think it's mostly reflex. Give it another few months (or one more fall from the bed) and it's done! Kaput!

And what will I do then?!? Life as I know it will be over. My outlet, my hobby, my release, my freedom will be gone! I might be acting a bit dramatic... But this is one of my major loves. Besides chris, taylor, family, church, and friends,I have my camera!

*Sigh* I suppose I will simply wish that one day me and chris will be able to afford a nice new camera for me... Maybe even a special room to keep it in (Not solely for the camera... just photography-esque stuff!) Maybe i should find a hobby/passion not quite so expensive.

Taylor's First Birthday

Taylor had her first birthday Last Friday. There's been too much going on so it's taken me a couple days to post this. But here's how our day went! Just a warning... This blog will be FULL of Pictures! And it may be kinda boring, but it's kinda like a journal entry for me I guess... I want to be able to remember all that happened that day.

We woke up early and I usually sleep in a bit while she watches tv but I stayed up with her and played... then we went down for breakfast and then we got taylor dressed and ready for her BIG DAY! She wore a new little pink dress and her "Birthday Princess" Crown that Carol Sudekum got for her before she was even born. She was too stinkin cute!
After we got dressed and ready, Taylor, My sister Cayce, her boyfriend Joey, and I all went and had lunch with Christopher at CiCi's Pizza! It was yummy! We did have one little mishap while we were there though. Taylor's diaper was full (just wet) and so I took her into the bathroom to change her. But there was no changing station so I just went into a stall and stood her on the floor and started to change her diaper with her standing up. The second I took her wet diaper off... she started peeing... on the floor. I didn't know what to do... I was frozen! So, I went on a put the new diaper on, then washed her legs and feet off... it was gross... but funny too. That's never happened to me before.

After lunch we came home for taylor to take a nap. She laid down with some of her favorite "babies" and slept for a good while. She woke up a little before christopher got home from work. That evening was also Avery's Graduation Party so, we went to that and hung out for a while. She of course wore her princess crown all day! After we left the party, Chris and I took her to Chuck E. Cheese, for just a little bit of playing. They gave her a BIRTHDAY STAR sticker and I got a VERY IMPORTANT PARENT sticker. We had her picture taken riding with Chuck E. and also had a drawing done of me and her. She loves to ride those little cars and buses and stuff. She squealed the whole time! After she had some fun, me and chris played a couple games too. We won some tokens for her and went and got her a couple sticker sheets and lollipops. She ate a lollipop on the way home. It got everywhere, so when we got home we had to give her a little bath. Chris watched her while I went and got a couple little presents set up. We didn't want anything big, since her party is not til next week, but we had to celebrate just a little bit on her actual birthday!
We waited til my parents were home from Avery's Party (they had gotten her just a couple little things) and when they got there, we started a little celebration for her! This was at like almost 9 at night though... so it was a little late for her... but she stayed up and happy like a champ. After opening a few gifts with help from daddy, she got the idea and had fun ripping the paper. Some of her gifts were in bags and after chris showed her how to pull out what was inside, she had no problem doing it on her own. Most of what she got was clothes (the toys will come next week) and we found out that our daughter is all about the tags!!! Every outfit she pulled out, she immediately found the tag and had to look at it. My little material girl! She had us cracking up. She would even hold up some of her gifts to show us what she got. :) It was too funny.

After we opened a few gifts, we decided to give her a little cake. :) A prelude to next week at her party! We had gotten her a small little cake at kroger, and put a candle on it. :) We had to sing to her twice cause the first time, I was carrying the cake to her and blew the candle out while I was singing. Oops. The 2nd time around, I think the flame scared her, so me and chris blew it out for her. Then we let her go at it. At first she was a little timid about it. And I think it weirded her out too that we were all sitting there staring at her (I know it'd weird me out to have 8 people just watching me eat.) But she loosened up and got into it. Chris and Joey helped her out a little by shoving her hands into the cake. She thought it felt funny. She kept just squishing it all in her hands.








When she got done (she kept trying to give it to chris) we started to clean her up. The poor sleepy girl tried to rub her eyes, with all that cake on her hands, and it got all over her face. We cracked up laughing! It was so funny to see her covered in cake like that. :) Chris gave her ANOTHER bath while I washed off the table and stuff and got her presents put up. Then we gave her a sippy cup (NO MORE BOTTLES!!!) and then put her to bed!

All in all I think it was a GREAT first birthday! I know she won't remember it at all, but I really wanted to make sure she had a good day. She was the "Birthday Princess" for the day! And I tried to treat her like one! Now I can't wait til next week when she gets her toys and such. And ALL of our family can be there to celebrate our little girl.

These other pictures were taken last night at Avery's Graduation. I thought they were too cute not to share! Well, of taylor anyways. The dress is one from my mom and dad.

Happy Anniversary Babe

Christopher and Keaven

May 2004

Chris,

Happy anniversary babe. I love you and the past 4 years have been the greatest of my life. I adore the time I spend with you, being your wife and the mother of your child(ren.)

This past year has been different, to say the least. Our little family grew from the two of us, to us and Taylor, and now another one on the way. There hasn't been as much time for just us... yet you make sure to let me know that I'm still at the top of your list. You make me feel beautiful, smart, funny, elegant... All the things I want to be. You have blessed me so much by simply being you.

You are an amazing father. Taylor adores you ALMOST as much as I do. She just shows it more. :) I'm jumping up and down and squealing just as much on the inside as she does when you get home from work. I love to watch you play with her. To see her eyes light up when she looks at you. It is such a blessing to be able to see this other side of you, this daddy side I always dreamed about til last year. You truly are the best dad to our little girl, and I can't wait to have our other kids and see how you interact with all their personalities. I am so grateful to be able to go through this whole parenting thing with you. I can't wait to figure it all out together.

Thank you for understanding my need to just be Keaven for a bit, not mom, not wife... and letting me go off by myself. I think I'm a better wife and mom because of those times and I'm so grateful to you for letting me have them.

Thank you for always remembering to say "I love you." I know most mornings you're in a rush to get out the door for work, but you always remember to kiss me bye, whether I realize it or not. And at the end of every phone conversation... Even when I'm aggravated as heck and don't feel like saying it... Thank you for making me say it and remember that I do love you, though we may not always see eye to eye.

Thank you for noticing the little things. It's hard for me sometimes to be motivated enough to do the things I need to do during the day. My ADD or whatever it is! But thank you for noticing I made the bed, even if ALL our dirty clothes are on the floor. Thank you for understanding that the room may be a mess alot of the time, but that I take care of the important stuff. :)

Thank you for working so hard. Very few men have the work ethic you do. Or the drive. The desire to provide for their family... but you do. I'm so proud to be your wife. To be the one who stands beside you. You are one of the most hard working guys I've ever seen in my life. You will do what it takes to provide for your family. Your honesty, morality, integrity, etc. are rare now-a-days. If you mess up, you admit it and do what it takes to fix it. And I know you'll succeed in any career you choose. You're amazing.

I look up to you (and not only because you're over a foot taller than me.) You are an extraordinary man. Like something taken out of a book or story. I love everything about you. I love your eyes, hair, smile, arms... everything. I love your sense of humor, your teasing, your voices :), your smart aleck? comments. You always make me laugh. You are too special.

I am the most blessed woman in the world because you're mine. And I can't wait to spend forever with you. You are my Handsome and I love being your Sweetheart! Sorry if this was mushy babe. I'm hormonal. :) I do love you. With every bit of my heart, I love you. And I always will. Thank you for the past 4 years babe. And thank you for the years to come.

Happy Anniversary,
K-ROD!

Keaven and Chris

2006

Lost Keys!!!

So last night, I ran a couple errands, and when I got back home, chris was playing x-box and taylor was watching/playing. She loves to untie chris's shoes and had done that... she got a hold of his car keys and played with those. She was just getting into alot of stuff... my purse and such... Then it was bed-time so we went and laid her down with her bottle and we cleaned our room. Not like thorough vaccuming and dusting... but just a general pick stuff up and put it where it goes. So our room was looking pretty good. Then Chris realized, he didn't have his keys. Taylor had them last... so we start looking around the floor, in front of the tv, under the tv, behind the dvd shelf, under my desk, under the bed, under our mini-fridge, under our pillows, under our comforter, in taylor's toys, under the chair, in the trash, in the dog's bed, in the desk drawers... You get the point. We looked, and looked, and looked for those keys. Chris was getting pretty aggravated, which he doesn't do often... maybe like once every few months. I told him they had to be here somewhere... I honestly thought that maybe he had picked them up and put them somewhere since we couldn't find them in our room anywhere... and Taylor had stayed pretty much in a 6 foot radius all night til bed time. I even went to check her and see if she'd stuck it down her onesie! Nope... Not in her bed either... Where the heck could the keys have gone? Chris was getting a little angry now. "She's never playing with my keys again. She's never playing with anything that I NEED again." He kept saying stuff like that. And he doesn't get mad... really... so this is strange behavior for him. I was getting nervous that we wouldn't find them... and I was trying to keep him calm while secretly thinking he had done something with them... after all... where else could Taylor have put them? After seriously about like 45 + minutes of us tearing our clean room apart looking for those keys chris said... LET ME CHECK MY SHOES!!! Now taylor has a shoe/foot fetish. She loves feet and shoes. She won't wear them often, but she loves them. She always gets in our closet and unties all of chris's shoes. If she ever see's him with his shoes tied, she has to untie them. So, because she had been playing with/untying his shoes beore bed, he finally thought to check them. And there, Shoved down into the toe of his shoe, were his keys. :) I busted out laughing. I couldn't help it. It was just too weird/silly/random/funny. :) Chris even started chuckling... :) How can you be mad at a sweet little girl like Taylor? It's too hard sometimes. I guess that's a good thing. I think chris may stick with his refusal to give taylor his keys... atleast for a day or two :) But he's wrapped around her finger.
So... Lesson learned... Don't let taylor play with your keys and your shoes at the same time or you'll wind up looking for them for a while :)

Precious Sleep

Sometimes I really hate being pregnant. Monday Night was kinda rough, cause me and chris were babysitting the little girl I used to nanny (both her parents were out of town) and Chris had a softball game (WHICH THEY WON... Before that, they were 0 and 8! So it was nice to win a couple!!!! The first game was like 19 to 0 and the 2nd game was like 30-2) They play double headers. The first game starts at 8 and the 2nd game at 9. So it was a late night... even though me and the girls only stayed for the first game. Both were pretty cranky when we got back to the house and I had to set up a blow up bed for elizabeth and then a portacrib for taylor. Needless to say, I didn't get them into bed til about 10:30, and I myself stayed up til about 11:30. Then I didn't sleep too well that night. it's hard for me when I'm not in my own bed.

So I was tired last night and ready for a good night's sleep. I woke up this morning at 3 cause I had to pee (not unusual... since I've got a baby that likes to lay on my bladder.) SO I went pee and laid back down. I usually have no problem going right back to sleep... but last night i layed there for about 5 minutes and was wide awake. Then I got so thirsty, I could have drank an entire lake. I had a fruit juice thing in the fridge so I got it out and downed it. And I laid back down. I tried to snuggle up to chris, but I started suffocating (I do that alot at night if my face is buried or on something) and I had an asthma attack. So i used my inhaler and laid back down. I have tackacardia (sp?) and so my heart started racing really bad. It's not that easy to fall asleep when your heart is pounding in your chest 10 times faster than usual (the 10 times faster thing is an exaggeration, but you get the point!) So I got up and got on the computer. I had a ton of editing to do on some photos. By now, it was about 3:45. I stayed on the computer for about an hour and a half. I finally at 5:15 or so, decided I needed to fight my insomnia and get some more sleep or I'd be useless today. So I Laid down... and finally fell asleep at like 5:30 ish... I think. So then Chris's alarm goes off at 6! It doesn't usually even wake me up (after 4 years of sleeping through his alarm clock, they don't wake me up anymore!) But it woke taylor up and taylor's fussing wakes me up pretty dang fast. So I rolled over and asked him to go make her a breakfast bottle. He said okay... and laid there. I waited a few minutes, and his alarm went off again (he always hits the snooze like 4 times!) Taylor was still fussing (which I CAN"T sleep through) and So I got up and went and made the bottle myself. I was a little aggravated... But this isn't a complaint on my husband. He's usually really good about doing things when/if I ask him to. He was just sleepy too (but, he isn't pregnant and insomnia-ic!) But I gave her the bottle and laid back down. Chris got up after another 2 snooze buttons, and got ready for work and I fell gladly back to sleep... Til he was ready to leave and he always kisses me goodbye before he leaves. It's sweet! I usually sleep through it :) I didn't today though... I woke up... and it took me another 15-20 minutes to get back to sleep. And then 30 minutes later... Taylor was up for the day. So I'm up now... a complete zombie, and the rainy, dreary day outside doesn't make it any better.

It is Wednesday though... and CANDACE"S BIRTHDAY!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! and tomorrow is my anniversary (4 yrs!!!) And friday is taylor's birthday. And Saturday avery graduates. So there's lots to look forward to. I just have to make it through the day without passing out!

This is just something I put together last night/this morning... If/When I start my own photography business, I'll offer these precious parts collages. I think they're so sweet! Anyways.

Precious Parts!

Taylor's Funny face!

Another plus...

to having a girl... no circumcision to worry about :)

It's a.....

We're having...

Drum Roll Please!!!

A Baby!!!

Girl, that is :)

She will be Madison (Maddie) Emmarie Neely. She's doing good, right along schedule as far as growin and such. Very active little girl. Just as bad as Taylor. Which I'm glad for, she'll need to be to keep up with Taylor.

So, I was off. Oh well. I'm very excited it's a girl, since it will be a few years before we have anymore. Now Taylor will have someone to play barbie's and dress up with. They can always share a room! The room can be a girl room instead of a Neutral room. :) So I'm excited.

At my next appt we will be scheduling the rest of my appts til my c-section, so I'm excited about that... that's when the appts start every 2 weeks i think. And we'll go on and really schedule the c-section.

My uterus looks good they said. That may sound weird but for anyone else who has had a c-section and wants more kids you'll understand. It can be dangerous to have numerous c-sections and so for them to tell me mine looks very good and strong made me very happy. Maybe I will be able to have my 5 Kids! :)

My weight is still a little bit of an issue. So far total with this pregnancy I've gained... 1 pound. That's from my first appt til now. I did lose and then gained that back... but it still makes me nervous. They usually say if you're on the smaller side, you need to gain more. We'll see. I barely gained the recommended amount with Taylor and I guess that's what I'm going to do again. Anyways.

Everything is good. Taylor is doing good (she waved to her little sister, and Maddie waved back :) ) Chris is excited!!! I'm excited, the baby is healthy and moving and growing... So life is grand!

New BLOG!

I made a new blog for my photography. Please check it out and leave comments. :) I'll be posting on there all the time hopefully... I want to work on my photography more.



http://neelyphotography.blogspot.com/



Let me know what you think



Also, if anyone would like too... I would love to do some pictures for you! Let me know!

27 hours and counting

Til me and chris and taylor find out whether the new little member of our family is male or female. Have I blogged about our names yet? Well here goes.

If this little one is a boy, it will be Dylan James. I've been toying with the idea of calling him Dyl for short... maybe even Pickle :) LOL... Now there's C-note (Chris), K-rod (me), T-bone (Taylor), and D-pickle :) Well, That's if it's a boy.

If it's a girl, the name is Madison Emmarie. I might change the spelling to Maddison... any opinions? We'll call her Maddie though... Not quite sure how we're gonna spell it... but I might stick with what I've got above... I don't want to use T's in it though... Cause it makes me think of Matted, like the fur on my parent's dog's butt!

So there you have it. We'll find out tomorrow if we're having a Pickle or a Maddie! And I can't wait! It's almost meeting the baby for the first time. Or spying on the baby. I think he/she can tell I'm excited though... cause he's/she's doing somersaults in my belly right now :)

mama, baby!

So every morning, taylor does the cutest thing. She has this canopy of stuffed animals over her bed. They used to be all cute up there, but now they're just thrown all over. Well, every morning when I go to get taylor out of her bed, She points up to her canopy and says baby. I get a different one down for her everytime and she hugs her baby. She sits there and holds it, she learned how to rock one this weekend, and she kisses it. They she lays in my bed and watches her morning cartoons til I'm ready to go downstairs for breakfast! I love it. I love that she's attatched to these "Babies" we've gotten her, or others have gotten her. There are a few favorites in the bunch. The little stuffed Boston Terrier Dog that chris got her for Valentine's day is a favorite. And the teddy bear chris got me/her when she was born. And her carebear she got for easter. She also sleeps with a "baby" but wants a new one in the morning. It's too stinkin cute!

Here's her canopy... It's not reall big, so it's filled to the brim already. I think I need to make a bigger one.

Loungin on my bed with her green elephant. She loves to kiss this one on the end of his trunk :) It's funny.

Pigtails

Taylor wore pigtails to church for the first time today. It was actually only the 2nd time I've ever put her hair in pigtails. The first time (I think it was will's birthday maybe) They were a bit more forward on her head and chris said they looked like horns. So what if they did? it was still cute. But this time, i did try to set them a bit further back on her head. Here's my cutie.

My belly: 20 Weeks, 2 Days

So here it is... My fatness! Enjoy!

Only 135 days left til baby Neely 2 is here!

By the way... we find out what it is on thursday this week! I'll post it up ASAP after our appt.

This one's for you Mom

My mom is a painter and an amazing one. She's always after me to take landscape pictures and flower pictures and such for her to paint. And I don't always do it. But her irises bloomed sometime last night/this morning (seriously, only one out of the 8 that are there was there yesterday) and it's misting outside right now, so I decided it'd be a good time to go take some pictures... here's what came out of it.