One week

I thought I'd be blogging a lot more this week, I've had the time but I've just been using it to relax and snuggle with my new little one. Exactly what I should be doing, I know. Ava is an amazing baby. I know we're only a week into this but so far she seems unbelievably calm. She has had 3 good nights in a row and even when she's awake during the day she's relaxed and happy - hardly ever crying at all! I know from experience that things change and there are many phases but I think her demeanor is overall calm and happy. Her sister is doing pretty well adjusting so far - I think it's harder on me than it is her. I worry about her - constantly wanting her to feel secure, loved and happy. She's currently being spoiled rotten by her Nana. Splash parks after school, ice cream, she's having quite a week! I've been taking pictures but haven't had time to do anything with them, hopefully within the next couple of days I'll be posting but for now I am savoring this time of rest and love.

Crazy Betty Going Rogue

While I was in the hospital enjoying Ava, Crazy Betty spent some time at my house with my mother and sister who were taking care of Addison. Apparently she decided to try to undo some of my good parenting (no, I'm actually serious!). I think she likes to defy us sometimes, just because she can. My sister had a full report when she came to see us that night. First, Addison was running through the house squealing. Betty told my sister, "Jessica doesn't really like that but it's ok, she's not here." When my sister tried to correct Addsion and ask her to use an inside voice, Betty reiterated, "she's not here, go ahead and let her do what she wants!"

Then she pulled out a stool for Addison to use that I had just told her didn't belong in a certain room and told my sister "Jessica would kill me if she saw this!"

Then there was naptime. Apparently Addison woke up really early from her nap. While my sister was in the room patting her back and getting her settled back in, Betty walked in and loudly said "do you want to get up?" And then proceeded to stand over the crib and stare at her until she got up. (sigh)

The most shocking of all, she tried to teach Addison how to say "idiot"! My sister was talking about something and said the word and then Betty looked at Addison and said "Can you say idiot?" I have no idea what she is thinking sometimes ...  Oh Betty!

And of course a picture!

The Most Beautiful Baby

Introducing the other most beautiful girl in the world...
(first beauty found here)

Ava Grace

Born on Good Friday - April 22, 2011 at 6:27 pm

Weighing 8 lbs 1 oz

Beautiful, sweet, tiny and perfect!

Good Friday was a blessed day indeed, we are overjoyed!

Sprinkles

My co-workers had a sprinkle for me (well, the baby) today. It was very unexpected and I was honestly surprised at how happy it made me! I really don't like being the center of attention and was pretty embarassed at first. It's funny because I have no fear of public speaking or leadership roles, but when people make a fuss over me personally, I tend to get really embarassed. Anyway, after I turned red and tried to divert everyone's attention from me to things like cake and presents, it was much better. We got some cute clothes, lots of diapers and wipes, and some other goodies. I didn't have my camera but someone took a few pics for me ...

I also had to share this hilarious (and irreverent) mother's prayer written by Tina Fey - funny stuff!

Confessions

1. Every time I call someone on the phone I feel like they think I'm in labor. It kind of makes me want to call them at weird times just to mess with them.

2. If I didn't have such bad heartburn (I mean horrible!), I would be eating everything bad I could think of. Everything looks good - brownies, fast food, chips. But it's just not worth the pain right now (which I guess is a good thing)

3. The suspense is killing me!

4. Sometimes I wish I could blog about work. One of my staff gave notice last week, good timing huh?! The whole situation would make good blog material but the world is too small.

5. There was an Easter luncheon at Addison's school yesterday. It was bedlam! Imagine a huge room filled with children under 5 years old. Then add parents and a couple of crazy Bettys into the mix. When it was time for the parents to leave, almost all of the kids started crying. I needed to go back to work to rest!

6. Addison's early arrival spoiled me, I really want this baby to come soon ...

On the hunt

Saturday afternoon we had a little Easter egg hunt at Crazy Betty's house, followed by dinner with friends. It's early for an egg hunt but just in case we don't get a chance to do it next weekend I wanted a chance to go out and watch Addison's first one. I brought her Easter dress with me but couldn't bring myself to make her change, it was SO hot out and she was having so much fun running around with the twins. Either way, she'll be wearing it next weekend, even if we're just staying home!

Cheesy tourist picture thing but I thought it was too cute with all three of their little heads poking through!

Leaving the alligator after dinner was the heartbreak of Addison's life, she cried about it all the way home...

My happy little egg hunter

Very focused on gathering her eggs!

Checking out the loot, she didn't know there was more fun after picking them all up!

She found a marshmallow, which she spit back out. I have no idea who's child she is sometimes, she doesn't really care about sweets! I gave her a couple of M&Ms yesterday and she gave one back and said "don't want it." 

Lounging

We had a wonderful weekend! On Saturday we had an Easter egg hunt with the twins (pics tomorrow) and went out to dinner. Today we kicked the nesting into high gear and knocked out a bunch of projects that have been on the list forever (well, my husband did - I mostly just played with Addison). We ended the afternoon by planting flowers and going for a swim, it was great! We've gradually been pulling out baby stuff not only to be ready but also to get Addison used to the idea. The only problem is that she thinks it's all hers and lets us know it (everything new that comes out, she says "mine" emphatically, it's like she knows we intend to give it to someone else, lol). Today, she embraced the baby seat with open arms and decided it was a new recliner. Here she is eating vanilla wafers and watching Sesame Street. It's a rough life that little girl leads ...

Gifts of Love

We've received some wonderful gifts for the new baby over the past couple of weeks. I've been meaning to share some of these things but in the marathon to get everything else done, it just keeps slipping my mind. I did have my camera out this weekend for something else and remembered to snap a couple of pics of a few things.

This beautiful quilt was made by a beautiful person that I know through blogging. She made one of these for Addison and it's truly a treasure. I was thrilled when she emailed me that she had one for this baby as well, she doesn't do these for everyone so I felt very blessed to be the recipient of yet another one of these gifts of love. She also made a soft lovey blanket (top left corner) and a monogrammed tote bag, and she brought a book for the big sister. So thoughtful! The picture doesn't even begin to do it justice (apologies for not spreading it out, I was in a hurry)

My amazing sister gave me a new Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bag. This was an unexpected treat! I wanted one but couldn't justify buying another since Addison's was still technically fine. I say "technically" because the design on my old one was bad and the velcro ruined a couple of my outfits and it has a burn mark on the cover (Uncommon husband was inadvertently testing it's flame resistance one morning by setting it too close to a hot burner)

My bestie sent us a box of fabulous soft monogrammed goodies for our new little one (I LOVE all things monogrammed). They were all monogrammed with her name and a sweet little lamb. She remembered the big sister too!

Fear Factor

God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7

That is my mantra today but so far it's not working. I have anxiety when I should be feeling relieved. We finished all of our baby preparations last night. Floors have been cleaned, furniture rearranged, swing setup, baby clothes washed, bags are packed. And now it feels REAL. I woke up feeling nauseous this morning. My first thought was "maybe I'm going to go into labor!" but then I realized it was accompanied by an anxious feeling. We are 2 weeks and 2 days away from my due date and since Addison was early, I feel like there's no telling when I'll actually go into labor. I hate not being in control!!! I know, I need to learn to let go of control sometimes (or all of the time) but it's so hard. I can't make an exact plan, know exactly what will happen, etc. and it makes me nuts. I wanted to blog about a couple of fun gifts I've received recently but I keep forgetting to take pictures of them so today I'm keeping it real. It's an exciting and wonderful time, but any little thing also sends me into a fit of anxiety. Last night my husband told me the dates his parents are coming to visit and I immediately got anxious about that. Will it be overwhelming to have them here? What if she comes late and they arrive when we've only been home a few days? (having my mom and sister here does not count as company - they are more like relief workers and sanity keepers, lol) Anyway, this is what's going on in my crazy mind today...

Added at 8 pm - Apparently I'm not crazy, Blue Eyed Bride posted about the same thing today and she's about to have baby #2 as well. I blame hormones mostly, within a few hours of typing this I was feeling 100% better. There's nothing a smoothie, fries and some prayers can't fix ;)

I Survived ...

I survived last week. The event on Saturday night was a success and I didn't go into labor - victory! I thought my relief would be immediate but instead, I woke up at 3 am Saturday night and spent over an hour feeling anxious about everything I have left to do. Plus, I was aching everywhere - my calves hurt, my back, my feet ... not fun. Luckily I had a massage and a pedicure scheduled at my favorite spa on Sunday and when I left there, I felt like a different person. I think both my body and mind needed time to unwind and relax. I spent the rest of the day completely unplugged - no phone, no email, just hanging out with my very entertaining child who kept me laughing with her dancing and playing. We picked up some of our baby stuff from Crazy Betty's and then stayed there for dinner. Uncommon husband got to watch the Masters, Addison got to play with her Gigi, and I got to sit on the couch and put my feet up without any guilt. It was great! I'm still a bit brain dead today but I have no guilt about it - I worked around 56 hours last week and I'm 9 months pregnant. This picture sums up how I feel right now ... peaceful. (I figured I better blog that now because with the way my moods have been shifting this past week, I might be back to anxious within the hour, lol)

Too Much

This week has been a little much. We have a big event on Saturday for work and I've been in crazy event planning mode. I felt like I definitely overdid it today. Tonight after I got home, I got all achy and started having lower back pains - I was put on couch restrictions and have been here ever since. It freaked me out because although we're almost ready, I still have a few important things to do before the baby comes! I finished our taxes from the couch tonight so that's one big thing off of my list. I feel like I have a bunch of blog posts to write but so many other things keep distracting me. My list is getting smaller and smaller though ... Now if I can just get through the weekend - event, followed by a massage and pedicure on Sunday. Three weeks to go (or less if I keep going at this rate).

Since no post is any good without a photo, here's my favorite girl going "fimming" on Sunday.