Being Human

We have had such a good week! Audrie has been such a trooper! Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday we were out the whole day doing various things. Shopping mostly. I didnt have money to shop so I shopped for my mom and my aunt :)  It was still really fun! On Saturday, we kind of had a Thanksgiving lunch and my parents house...it was so much fun. All the grandkids were together for the first time! I didnt get many pictures :(  But the few I did get, I will post soon. 

I have been thinking alot about life and being thankful in lieu of Thanksgiving. I really have so much to be thankful for in my life. Sometimes it is hard and I get very selfish thinking about the things I dont have or about the things I used to have. But the truth is, I have more than alot of people. There are so many people who dont know where their next meal will come from. I have been blessed with a wonderful Husband, a beautiful baby girl, a cute house, 2 silly puppys, good friends, awesome parents, caring in-laws, loving brothers and sister-n-laws, exciting nieces and nephews and so much more. I was reminded how blessed we were when so many people and family members loved on Audrie this week. AND my last thought...I know this is probably going to sound really cheesy. But tonight GT and I went and saw New Moon. I have read all the Twilight books. I understand why it is so popular. Not because of vampires. Because of Edward and his love for Bella. I was sitting in the theatre thinking how cheesy some of the things Edward says was. Then I thought, no earthly man is like that. I mean they might be some of the time, but not perfect like Edward. But God is. God loves us like that and even more than that. God wants to protect his children and love them unconditionally. That is why so many people love Twilight, we fantasize about this love that does and cant exist between humans because it is perfect love. The way God loves us. And for that I am SOOOOO thankful. Because I am so human. 

Fun DAY!

I feel like all of sudden Audrie has grown alot. She is starting to smile so much more and coo alot. She talks the most at night. We put her in her highchair seat and she just goes at it! It is sooo cute! I need to get it on film!

We had such a fun day today. Lynzie and I brought the girls to Randi's lovely house. We let the babies play together (although we dont think they really know each other are there!) Then we had some delicious sandwiches and made some Christmas ornaments. I made a pink house. And Lynzie made some christmas tree cookie ornaments. It is so good to get together with other moms and talk about mommy things. Remember in my last post when I said that woman had invited us to MOPS? It is the one Randi goes to! How crazy is that???? 

Here is what is coming up for us this week:

• Shreveport trip tomorrow--gonna help my mom clean to get ready for Thanksgiving and help her put up her Christmas tree
• Visit my grandma (nanny) in the hospital. I am sad I have been there yet!
• Thanksgiving of course! Lunch at my Aunt Peggy's, then to Aunt Charlottes!
• Visiting GT's grandparents, Mamaw and Papaw
• Saturday night--Jessica turns 25! AH! Party @ Macaroni Grill
• Then Sunday, a bridal shower! 

I cant wait! I am so excited about getting to spend some time with family and friends! I am sure there will be MANY pictures to come! 

Hope everyone has a SPLENDID Thanksgiving!

Need creative help...

I have decided to start selling the canvases I paint with scripture verses on them. Before I set up my etsy site...I need a name. I cant come up with anything. I dont want to do anything with "canvas" in it because I might eventually sell more than just canvases. Any ideas?

Also, I have to figure out the kinks of how much it will be per size of the canvas. I have been making some for Christmas presents and I forgot how much I loved it! And GT and I could really use the money right now.

I havent done it before now, because I didnt think I would have time due to having Audrie, but I have found out over the past few days, I do have the time. I just have to paint during naps. And sometimes she sits in her high chair and watches me paint. 

Anyway, if you can think of a name for my etsy site please HELP! 

Some more...

Some more firsts have been happening! Friday, when Lynzie came over to walk, Audrie was awake so I didnt want to wear her...so I tried putting her in her stroller without the car seat! She did great it in and liked it until towards then end of the walk. We walk 2 miles in about 45 minutes, so that is understandable. I didnt get a picture. Lynzie wouldnt let me because she said Audrie looked too grown up in it :) haha. 

And then Friday night...we gave Audrie a bath in her bathtub without the sling on it! She loved this too! She kept kicking and splashing in the water. All of these new things have started because she had good head control now, I cant imagine what new things we will experience when she is able to sit up! 

      

Yesterday, on our walk, this woman gave Lynzie and I a postcard for a MOPS group here in Longview. We are thinking about joining. We know our girls need some more socialization and need to be around different people. They are pretty attached to us. Moving Audrie in her room in her crib was my first step. Now, I need to put her in the church nursery. Then maybe leave her for a few hours at Mother's Day Out.  I need the break, thats for sure. But for almost 4 months, I have constantly been with her. I have left her four times since she was born. Twice with my mom while GT and I went on a date. And twice with GT. But all those times was like before she was a month old. And now I am way more attached to her! I guess I just need to suck it up and get over it. I did that with moving her to her room and it has been over a week now and we are both OK! 

High Chair, Bouncer and Wanting to Drive

We have been having alot of firsts around the Nehls household. I guess thats what happens when you have a baby. The big one has been moving her to her nursery in her crib! It has been going good the best few night. She has slept all through the night in her crib like a big girl! 

So to some new things happening...

Audrie will be 4 months in 15 days! AH! So I am not sure yet when we will start her on rice cereal. I am going to talk to my pediatrician alot about it and I have been reading about it on the internet and in books. My child definitely does not need it for weight gain! And I would hate to mess up her digestive system by starting to early. BUT anyway, I brought her high chair out and set it up. I put her in it when I eat meal, if she is awake, to get used to being in it and to see mommy eat. She LOVES IT! Our kind reclines, so I think she feels like it is her lazy boy! HAHA. Here is a cute picture of her loving it:

And then today, I set up her jumperoo.  I thought it was for when they could sit up on their own, but I didnt see an age anywhere on it. So I put her in it and she LOVES it. She has learned how to make it make noise and she bounces to make it make noise! HAHA! It is so cute! She looks kinda mad in these pictures, but she isnt!

 

Then I was cleaning the kitchen while she was on the play gym,  I went to check on her and she had gotten her keys around her wrist! I told her she could not drive yet, silly girl! 

And I almost forgot! We bought this carrier before Audrie was born. Well I put her in it at like 5 or 6 weeks and she did not like it! And then as most of you know, I got the Moby. Which Audrie still loves, but she doesnt love it so much when she wants to be awake. Well Lynzie and I have been wearing the girls when we walk because they seem to get pretty fussy recently in their car seat/stroller combo. So I tried this out today and Audrie loved it too! She is such a good baby! She actually ended up falling asleep in it, but it did the job! 

The BIG Move

Audrie rolled over again! And again, no video. I put her down in her crib for a nap and she just plopped over. So I think I am going to give up on catching it on film. 

Recently we have a had a change ( a big change to me). I started putting Audrie in her nursery. The first few nights home from the hospital Audrie slept in her crib while my mom would watch her at night. Well in between feedings...So anyway...when my mom went home we started putting her in the basinet in our bedroom next to me. And sometimes in bed with me. Well, she had starting getting really good about sleeping all night in the basinet, but sometimes she would wake up around 6 am. She wouldnt be hungry and still sleepy. SO I think it was because GT was getting up for work around that time. AND I decided that was pretty selfish of me because I was keeping her in our room, next to me, because I needed it. And she wasnt able to sleep through the night.

SO...Thursday, I decided, all or nothing. So we moved the basinet into the nursery. She slept in it that night, Friday night and Saturday night. She has done pretty good so last night I put her in her crib! She is still waking up some in the morning like around 6 or 7, so I just get her and put her in bed with me and she sleeps until 9. I dont understand why she is still waking up! Sometimes she does it at like 4! I dont know what wakes her up. We have a loud box fan running for white noise and I have a navy blanket over the window so it cant be the sun coming up. I have no idea. 

I feel like we are making baby steps. I do miss her. And I have had a hard time sleeping because I am worried. But I know it is whats best for our family. For mine and GT's relationship. I wouldnt mind a bed full of children, but I know my husband would! :)

I have done pretty good emotionally about it, I think. I didnt cry. Yet. I mean I do spend ALL day EVERY day with her. So it is a good break. But a little sad. 

What It was Like Being Pregnant

I went back and read some of my old posts...and I never discussed what it was like to be pregnant. Last night as I was scrap booking my labor and delivery page, I realized that I need to start writing alot to keep these memories because if not they will fade over time.

So here is my story of what it was like to be pregnant...

Nausea. I had mentioned in one of my previous post about being scared in the beginning that I was going to have a miscarriage. So the first few days I knew I was pregnant I felt like I made myself nauseous. But then it really kicked in at about 7 weeks pregnant. I got nauseous mostly around 5:30 pm. My best times were in the mornings. Odd. I know. So I would come home everyday from work and just lay on the couch until bed time which was about 9pm in my first trimester. I was soooo exhausted and nauseous that all I could do was lay down. Our house was a mess. I dont remember cooking even one night during that. I didnt have much of an appetite. I would feel hungry and when I started eating it would make me sick, so I would quit eating. I was lucky and only threw up twice. I will share these stories, so skip down if you dont want to read.

The first time was one night I was craving eggs and I was starving. So I asked GT to make me some egg sandwiches. So he made me two of them. Well compared to what I was eating, this was alot. So I scarfed them down and yepp an hour later they both came back up. 

The second throw up story was when I think I was in my second trimester. I was on my way to work. I ate a granola bar and took my prenatal pill (which I didnt do too often). I stopped by a foster home for about 30 minutes, then when I got to the office I started feeling funny. Anyway, I went to the bathroom and threw up about 30 times. I dont know why. But I never took a prenatal pill again until they put me in the hospital.

I did get a stomach virus when I was preggo...it was HORRIBLE! I threw up alot then too, but those dont count because they werent because of the pregnancy. 

Stretch Marks. Up until about my 7th or 8th month of pregnancy I only had two stretch marks. I named them stretchy and marky. Then one day I woke up looked in the mirror and stretchy and marky had alot of friends! I think this was about the time I had developed gestational diabetes and Audrie grew really fast. I really looked like a red zebra. And I didnt know this happens, but I got stretch marks on my thighs and my upper legs. I started developing these from like week 10. I am not sure why. You might ask if I used any kind of lotion? Yes. In the beginning I used Palmer's. Then I switched to Mama Bee's belly butter. I used it all the time my 2nd and 3rd trimester. I am not sure if it helped or not. I cant imagine my stretch marks being worst because they are pretty bad.

Weight. I will share my weight, because I really dont care. It is what it is. When I  was 6 weeks I weighed 222. (I was about 20 pounds over what I should be) During my first trimester, I lost and got down to about 209. The last time they weighed me in the hospital (the day before Audrie was born) I was 262. So I tell people I gained 40 pounds which I really gained a little more since I lost that weight in the beginning. Currently, I am at 224. After having Audrie, I immediately lost alot and then plateaued around 230. My friend Lynzie and I walk 2 miles 4 times a week. So it has been a long journey to lose those 6 pounds. I am not really on a food diet, but I should be. 

Moods. I did become quite moody especially the first trimester. One thing I remember being very moody about was sleeping with GT. When your pregnant (well some women) you get this crazy enhanced smelling ability. So I could smell his breath no matter what. It was more comfortable for me to lay on my left side and he would always want to lay on his right side, so he would be facing me. Almost every night, I would be like, "roll over, your breath stinks" and then we would get in an argument and one of us would end up going into the guest bedroom. We slept apart many a nights during my pregnancy. 

Anxiety. I had mentioned a little about this in a previous post. When GT lost his job, it seems like my job got more stressful. I had one of the highest case loads, and we had just gotten a crazy case with a crazy amount of kids. I was traveling alot and was behind on alot of my documentation. I even flew to Amarillo at one point which made me very sick to do, so I vowed I wouldnt fly again until the pregnancy was over. Anyway, I was having anxiety attacks all the time. I had never really had them prior to being pregnant so I was scared. I mean, I couldnt control them. I didnt know when they would happen. So when I went for my monthly check-up my doctor gave me a prescription for it. I really didnt want to be on medication. I remember the first day I took a pill on my way to work. It was like magic. I got so much done that day and I felt great. About a month after being on it, I forgot to take them one weekend and  I didnt need it. It was very strange because nothing about my situation in life changed. 

Heartburn. I had terrible heartburn from like 10 weeks pregnant. I constantly took tums. It was worst during the night. Ugh. I dont miss that.

Swelling. Oh my goodness. My feet got so huge. I cant even explain it they got so big. I had to stop wearing my wedding ring at like 5 months preggo. I got a silver band from walmart. Mens size 11. Yeah, thats how bad it was. When I look back at pictures from my last 2 months...WOW. I was huge. And I dont mean fat. I was SO swollen. It was bad. I didnt even realize how bad it was. Which now, I know it was from the pre-eclampsia. And my swelling in my feet didnt completely go away until about 3 weeks AFTER Audrie was born. 

Sleep. Or lack thereof. I slept on my stomach the first 12 weeks. I know some books say your not supposed to but oh well. I couldnt help it. I would just roll that way. Then I got to where I couldnt, so some nights I would sleep on my back, which your not supposed to do that either. I ended up sleeping with a big body pillow in between my legs and hugging it. I miss that thing. I tried sleeping with it after being preggo and it just wasnt the same. But in the last trimester, I didnt sleep well. It was very uncomfortable and I woke up often. One night the electricity was out until 5 am and it was like June. UGH! That was bad! 

SO I guess most of these things were pretty bad. There were good things, like feeling Audrie move around. Which sometimes I was tired of it and wish she would have stopped especially when I was on bed rest in the hospital. I enjoyed the attention of being pregnant. I enjoyed eating whatever I wanted and not feeling bad (except for when they put me on that diet :( ). It seems like there was more bad then good of being pregnant. But nothing is like the experience of growing a child inside of you. It is such a special thing. And while you are pregnant it makes the bad things bearable. 

I hope this was a real enough account of what it is REALLY like to be preggo. Atleast what it was like for me. I am sure I left out some things so I might have a what it was like being pregnant part 2 in the future!

Why I Blog...

I started this blog when we found out that I was pregnant. I did it because I suck at keeping a journal/diary. I will write in it for like a week or two and the stop. So this is my journal. And hopefully one day Audrie can read it and my other children. Plus, I love going back and reading old post! So, I dont really feel like alot of people read my blog, but it gets imported on my notes on facebook and people read it on there. I like to be REAL. Especially when it comes to motherhood. Because I cant really remember what I thought motherhood would be like prior becoming a mother, but I KNOW it was NOT realistic.  I will post soon about some more lessons I have learned in becoming a mother.

I usually do not put pictures on her because I put them on face book. And I figure the people that do read this look at my face book. BUT then as I was reading some other blogs...I decided, reading a post with pictures is alot more fun! So maybe I will put some pics on here that only exclusive to my blog! 

Tuesday, we went to visit my brother, sis-n-law and two nieces in Dallas. GT had to take a test to become licensed for pest control. So I went along because I hate staying at home by myself! 

Here a few pics I took...

Audrie and Ellie. Ellie is actually 5 weeks younger than Audrie! The Allen's make some big babies!

Audrie and Claire. Claire will be 2 years old in January! She was the first grandchild born on my side of the family. She is full of energy! And sooooo sweet...

This post is a bunch of things all rolled into one...So yesterday, Audrie rolled over for a 2nd time. This is how it went. Lynzie was over at the house, and I said, I am going to put Audrie on her stomach and see if she will roll over. I put her down and she starts leaning to the side. Lynzie says, "Go get the camera, she is going to roll over." I say, "She isnt going to roll over she does this all the time." Then, she rolls over. So I might get a roll over on video but it will be her 3rd or 4th. But that okay. I am just glad she can roll over! But she only does it when she wants to, thats for sure! 

We tried to get them to roll over together, but it didnt work. In this picture here, Audrie is reaching for the toy and Adalynn is looking at Audrie's arm because she wants to suck it. She eventually did but Audrie wouldnt have it. It was quite funny.  Audrie finally reached the toy then decided it wasnt what she thought it would be and got fussy. 

And...Yes, my child is naked. She spits up alot when I put her on her tummy. 

Being a MOM

When I knew I wanted to be a mom...Ever since I was little, I wanted to be a mom. When my friends wanted to play school, doctor etc... I wanted to play mom. That was it. I had tons of baby dolls, that I played with probably too long. They all had names and many outfits. I had a baby stroller, pack-n-play etc...I felt like they were my real babies. So I say since I was a baby, I wanted a baby. I really feel like I was born to be a mom. I've always said I wanted 6 kids. I really mean it. I would love a house full of kids, full of craziness and chaos. But my husband only wants 3, so we will see :)

So now on to becoming a mom. When GT and I started dating, I made it very clear to him how bad I wanted to have children. He knew before we ever said I love you, that when I have children I will stay home with them. We got married July 12, 2008...I think every day after our honeymoon I asked if we could have a baby. He kept saying "No, I am enjoying it being just us right now." And how can a girl argue with that? So I held off until September. I told GT I was getting off the pill and it was up to him if he wanted to use other means of birth control. And on December 6 we got pregnant. We found out on New Years Eve. I WAS SO EXCITED! 

Being pregnant...I could write a novel on this, but I will make it short. My mom and mother-n-law had miscarriages. When I found out I was pregnant, I was very very excited, but I knew in the back of my mind that it could result in miscarriage. So for the first 6 weeks that I knew I was pregnant I would go to the bathroom like every 20 minutes to make sure I was bleeding. I had dreams about it. or nightmares rather. So then I was 11 weeks and had my first ultrasound. We saw the heartbeat and the little fetus that would be our little girl. It was such a relief for me. There was really a baby in there! Then shortly after that I started bleeding a little. I thought it was happening. I prayed so hard and God gave me a peace. It was like He just put His hand on me, and said, "I am in control". I went to the doctor and she did an exam and another ultrasound. The baby was fine. Whew. Apparently, I had an infection and it was causing me to bleed. It had nothing to do with the baby and her development. Then at the next ultrasound my parents came and we found out we were having a girl. Since the day I found out we were pregnant, I knew it was a girl. I just knew. And I wanted a girl really bad. So when the u/s tech told us it had girl parts---I was like I knew it!!! And so excited. During my pregnancy, as many of you know, my husband was laid off. I was working at CPS. I really enjoyed my job at times, but it is very stressful and I had to travel alot. So at one point, I was having anxiety alllllllll the time. I had never really had anxiety like that, so I told my doctor and she put me on some medicine for it. Before that, I was crying every night, I wasnt so nice to my husband, I couldnt get work done etc...That medicine was a miracle! It helped me get through the next months. Until one weekend I didnt take it and was fine. So I never took another pill. My bestfriend, Allison, came to Longview. She helped GT paint the nursery. She helped me decorate. Her visit was something I needed SO bad and it came just at the right time.  Thank God for her! I had known from about 7 months something wasnt quite right. I was swelling ALOT but kept thinking it was normal. And I had always thought from the beginning that I would have gestational diabetes, bc diabetes is all in my family. So yall know the rest of this story when I got put into the hospital and so on. So skip all that. If you dont know it, go back to previous post if you are interested. Then we get to August 3 at 7:30 am. The high-risk doctor says, "we have to take the baby today"....   ***Side note that I failed to mention*** On January 28, 2009 ( I just went back and looked at facebook) I had read an email from our previous Sunday School class where this girl I knew had put she was pregnant. So I sent her a message on facebook tell her I was pregnant, and now we (and our daughters :) ) are best friends. Lynzie and I started hanging out when we were our first trimester. We had many late game nights and scrap booking nights. Many lunches on our lunch break. Many conversations during softball games. And now, our life is little girls. I am very very lucky to have such a good friend that is in the same stage of life as I am. When I had Audrie, she was still pregnant (it was supposed to happen the other way) she came over every day for the first week. She was such a big help. She even helped me breast feed. And you would think, no big deal, but breast feeding for me was not normal. It involved two people... Anyway, I am very grateful for her! 

Ok, now for BEING a MOM!...The first time I held Audrie, I was so tired from pushing that I didnt really have time to take it in. I remember when everyone left for a few minutes. It was just me, GT and Audrie. I didnt know what to think.  I didnt feel an overwhelming love or emotion for her. I felt tired. And I was like did I just push that out of me! HAHA. Then family came in and I didnt really hold her again until like 11 pm. and she was born at 6 pm. (Next time I have a baby that will not happen.) So then that night, I got to sleep with her on my chest. Bare skin to bare skin. (Not such a good idea because i was taking vicodin) BUT I wouldnt trade it for the world. That is when I felt the overwhelming love for her and that is when I cried tears of joy. So then fast forward two days and we are home. I remember coming in sitting in the recliner with Audrie and both the pups-thinking- what do we do now? Gratefully, my wonderful mother came like an hour later! She stayed with us for 4 days. Thank God for MAMAS! I had always heard the first week home is survival. For us I think it was the first month. Is being a mom what I thought it would be? Yes and No. It is wonderful and amazing like I thought it would be. BUT it is also extremely hard sometimes. You do learn to become selfless. It is hard on a marriage. It is hard to take care of yourself anymore, because honestly you dont matter anymore. I spent the first month feeling like a bad mom. Feeling like a bad mom because I didnt succeed at breast feeding. Because I didnt follow Growing Kids Gods Way. Because I didnt have Audrie on a schedule. Because I held her most of the time. Because she slept in bed with me most nights. Then one day, I was just like I dont care. And then my life got much easier. I do what works for my family. Yeah, sometimes I do things for me. because of my attachment with Audrie. And I am ok with that. As each day goes by, I become more attached to her. I thought it would be reverse. I thought I would be attached at birth and become less attached as she got older. Not so much. I LOVE being a mom. I LOVE AUDRIE. I LOVE the joy she has brought in our lives. I LOVE seeing GT as a daddy. I LOVE talking to other moms. I LOVE reading baby center :)   

And I still want to do it again 5 more times...

Baby Food Making, Ruston Trip and Christmas

Wow, what a weekend. I am one tired mama! Here is the weekend re-cap!

Friday Night--we went over to Damian and Lynzie's to make baby food. We made big batches of green beans and green peas. It was fun and now we know how to do it, maybe we will be better at it. 

Saturday- We started the day by driving to Ruston. I didnt realize it, but I miss college--AM I CRAZY???? Yes, I believe so. I guess I mainly miss the friendships and not having to be such an adult. We met Jena (our wonderful photographer) at Tech farm. We took some family pics and some of just Audrie. Audrie wasnt very cooperative. She wouldnt smile at all. Then she got fussy. We went to the football field and took a few. Again, she was sleepy and fussy. So, we went to dawg house and had to wait a hour for our food. :( Then we went to visit our friends Jonathan, Erin and Jackson Clark. They are such a cute family. We had alot of fun! I miss Erin so much! I am so excited she is preggo! I wish we lived closer so we could be closer. Then we went to visit Bro. Danny and Mrs. Karan Eddy. We missed seeing them at homecoming so it was good to stop by and visit! They are such sweet people! Then we came home and were pooped from the long day. It was very fun though! 

Sunday (well today)- we skipped church, oops. We were very tired from yesterday. And last week GT worked late every night and we just wanted to relax and spend some quality time together. Excuses, excuses..I know. So I talked him into taking down the Christmas stuff from the attic. We put up the Christmas tree. It was alot of fun to do together. Audrie slept through most of it, but she likes the lights on the tree. Then NaeNae (GT's mom) came over with Bailey (our niece). It was a great time! Bailey is a bundle of energy! She loves our dogs. She did great with Audrie. She sang to her, read a book to her and kept the pacifier in her mouth when she was fussy. Then we watched the Saint games. And now GT is studying. He takes his tests to be licensed for pest control this Tuesday! 

**Weight Update***

 I have lost 2 more pounds. I am now 2 pounds from pre-pregnancy weight. So in all since Audrie was born I have lost 38 pounds. Then I need to lose about 20 more to be at a healthy weight. Its been hard, but I really enjoy walking and it doesnt really feel like 2 miles when you get to walk with your bestfriend! Now, I need to work on a food diet... :( 

November Already?

Here is what has been going on lately in the life of the Nehls family:

• Saturday for Halloween we went to a Bonfire with NaeNae and Poppa Bruce. I didnt dress Audrie up again, I figured it wouldnt be necessary. So she just wore her 1st Halloween onesie which was super cute. 
• Audrie has been smiling alot more and kind of laughing. Its not a really belly laugh but she definitely makes some noises when she is smiling. 
• I cant believe she is already 3 months! Lynzie and I are going to start making baby food and freezing it so we have alot stored up. I am super excited about making Audrie's baby food.
• Lynzie and I have stepped it up and we are now walking 2 miles! I am so glad its not raining and we get to go to the trail!
• I've been trying to get Audrie to roll over. Its not happening. She has started to kind of lean to one side when on her belly so I am hoping thats a good sign that she is on the road to rolling over. But the girl hates tummy time :( 
• I am a little sad we are having to switch to 3-6 clothes. She has some really cute 0-3. But oh well..I guess those things happen. 
• We are going to Ruston for Audries 3 month pictures Saturday! I cant wait! 

I am not going to post a recipe. Tonight, I did make pumpkin pie. Its in the oven currently. I got the recipe off the back of the can of pumpkin...

For a good laugh I thought I would share my dream from last night. I dreamed we had another baby. When the dream started it was post birth--so I asked the nurse how long was I in labor? She said you were in labor for 4 hours and pushed five times...(I hope my next one is like that)...Then GT was in there and he said he wanted to name her Andy Andrea. I was like no. And he said well it has to be an A name. (We are naming our future son Allen Eugene, so we have talked about going with all A's since we already have Audrie) Anyway, so then we go to church with Andy and Audrie and the Duggars are there singing! HAHA! What a crazy funny dream.

Have I shared my obsession with TLC shows? Yes, I love Jon and Kate Plus 8. I have thought about sharing my ideas on this and I might...who knows. And I LOVE the Duggars! I know they are strange to todays society, but I just love them. I wish more parents were like them (not populating the earth) but having values and convictions. This view comes from working at CPS!  They just seem like really good people. Anyway, and my new favorite is The Little Couple. They are too cute. Yes, reality TV gets me. Especially, when its about families. I used to watch Little People Big World and I still do on occasion, but the dad gets on my nerves. 

I think the pumpkin pie is about to be ready...yummy...

Before and After

At the baby shower my mother-n-law had for us, Gt's cousin Hilary organized the games. One of the games was a questionarre to see who could guess my answers. I think it is pretty funny to see how my answers have changed and what it is really like! So I thought everyone out there would enjoy a laugh!

Pre-Baby Answers in Red / Post Baby Answers in Purple

1. What is the first thing you will do when you hear the baby up at night?

• Look at the video monitor to see what she is doing
  
• I roll over, pick her up and put her in bed next to me

2. What will be the first thing you'll do if your water breaks?

• Cry-- because I do not want my water to break before I go into labor!
  
• Actually, this was the first thing that happened. My doctor broke my water to start my labor. I didnt cry. I was like HOLY CRAP I am having a baby today! 

3. What brand of diapers do you plan to use?

• Pampers Swaddlers, because all my friends say they are the best
  
• I have used swaddlers the most. They are my favorite still.

4. What will be the first foods you plan to introduce?

• Rice cereal
  
• Rice cereal is still the plan...In like a month! AH! Not ready for it!

5. What will be the number one place you plan to use your stroller?

• Around the neighborhood on walks
  
• I use it the most when Lynzie and I go on walks. Usually it is at the trail on 4th street, but when it rains we walk at the mall

6. What will you feed your newborn? Nurse, formula. etc.

•  nurse until she is one, introduce solids at 4-6 months, hopefully we wont ever have to use formula!
• well, she was on formula her second day of life. i breast fed while supplementing for 2 weeks then went to all formula

7. Who have you taken the most baby advice from so far?

• Books---GT and I attended classes on Preparing for Parenthood (Babywise) and other various books on breast feeding, natural birth, etc...
• Now, I read alot on the internet and ask my mom, friends and sister-n-laws lots of questions

8. Do you foresee chewing GT's head off while you are in labor? ;)

• Hopefully not, he has been the best most supportive husband through all I have made him learn and all the classes I have drug him too! I think he will know what I need and will be there for my every need during labor so hopefully I wont feel the urge to chew his head off, but it is possible. He is prepared that it might happen and not to take it personally! :)
• I did not chew his head off in labor. When I was pushing, he was sooooo supportive and telling me things to help me. Sometimes I wanted to chew him out but I didnt. But he was trying to help me, and he did!

 9. Where do you plan for the baby to sleep when you bring her home?

•  Basinet/Playpen in our room for the first week then off to her crib! 
• HAHA! This is the funniest! Audrie is almost 3 months old and still sleeps in the basinet next to me! I am not ready for her to go to the nursery! 

10. Do you plan to stock your car with baby cd's after she's born?

• Probably not, GT and I have been getting used to listening to the Christian radio stations more then we normally do
• Last week we got some veggie tale and kids hymn cds! She loves the veggie tales! 

11. Where will you bathe your baby? 

• Bath tub
• Sometimes we put her in the bathtub with me and other times we put her in her bathtub that has a sling on the top of it. She likes it best in the bathtub with me. 

12. Do you plan to use a pacifier?

• Not for the first 6 weeks if possible, want her to get good and used to breast feeding! After 6 weeks, if she likes it, then sure...
  
• She really didnt take a paci in the hospital, but when we got home, I got those soothie pacifers and THANK YOU JESUS FOR PACIFIERS! We have like 10 scattered throughout the house! Cant go an hour without it!  6 weeks...haha, what was I thinking??????