Eight Months Old, RSV, and Changes

Lauren turned 8 months old on the 12th....yes, I am behind!!

She now has 4 teeth...two on top and two on bottom, front and center. She is almost crawling and talks all of the time, yet doesn't say much...must take after her mommy! She weighs 20 lbs, 6 oz and I know this because we went to the doctor today. She has RSV!!!! She still acts fine but has been coughing for about 3 weeks and coughed all night long last night. So, this week's plans may change a little.

She is still changing so much and it has been hard leaving her at daycare for the past several weeks while I take a couple of extra shifts at the hospital. This is something that I am going to have to get used to soon though because....

I HAVE ACCEPTED A FULL TIME JOB!!!!

Yes, it's crazy, I know! You are probably asking yourself why in the world would I leave my children in someone else's care if I don't have to. Well, with all due respect, it is a decision that I didn't come about lightly and I feel that it is what is best for our family at this time. I enjoy my work and my girls really enjoy daycare. I can already see a difference in the "clingyness" that Lauren had to me. I will be the Women's Services and orthopedic floor social worker at the hospital where I currently work. I am very excited and a little hesitant at the same time but I have a peace about it. My girls will be okay and I can go visit them anytime I want...they will be next door to the hospital. I am excited to be back in the career that I love more than just occasionally.

That means I will probably be more scarce on here but hopefully I can keep up with you. When I get into a routine at work, it will be a little easier to get things organized at home and I will make time for blogging after the girlies go to bed.

Wow, this post had a lot of information. I still haven't posted about Rachel's birthday party but it will be next, promise!!!

Until then....

Once Again...

I am behind! I need to post about Rachel's birthday party and Lauren's 8 month post...but for now.....

LOOK AT THIS PRECIOUS LITTLE ONE!!!!!!


Welcome to the world Baby Grayson!!! He was born on Monday, November 16th at 4:47 PM weighing in at 7 pounds, 11 ounces, and was 20 1/4 inches long!!!! He is absolutely precious, as is the rest of his family and I love him so much already!!!

Rachel Mackenzie

Oh. My. Word! Three years!!! I cannot believe it. It has been three years since my little baby girl was born. This time 3 years ago I was in the hospital, getting cytotec, getting ready to have my baby the next day. I was a bundle of nerves after being in the hospital for a week, I was finally having my first born daughter. I remember it like it was yesterday.


You never gave me a day of morning sickness...but you made up for that at the end of my pregnancy! Labor was long and horrible but the end was amazing!! You were early but still big! I was nervous because I didn't have that immediate "I loved you from the first time I saw you" response but the first time I held you and kissed you, you were mine!! I could have kissed you for forever...but they wouldn't let me. They took you to the NICU and you stayed there. I went home from the hospital but you had to stay. ABSOLUTELY THE. HARDEST. DAY. OF. MY. LIFE!!! But that didn't last long! You came home the next day! You were as orange as a pumpkin but I wanted you to come home. You did. Two days later we were both back in the hospital. Mommy was sick...bad sick! You were just a little too yellow and needed your very own personal tanning bed but I didn't get to see you for 2 whole days and I was sad. You got to spend a night with Daddy all by yourself at home while I stayed in the hospital. I made it home just in time for Thanksgiving. The best Thanksgiving ever...I had you!!!

The first year was so much fun!! You learned so many things and changed so much! That first year was amazing! I loved every minute of it...well, maybe not the sleepless nights at home but that didn't last too long.

The twos...yeah, those have been hard!! You are SO stubborn! You are incredibly independent which has its advantages and disadvantages. I love you more and more each day. I love the way you love your sister. My heart melts when you rub my face and tell me how much you love me. I enjoy watching the little "wheels" turn inside your head. I love it when you want me to lay in bed with you but get so frustrated after I do and you are screaming for me to stay longer. I love that you are a comedian. I love your chubby cheeks that are still there even after most of your baby fat is gone. One of my favorite things is when you sing "our song" that I have been singing to you since you were born. I love early morning cuddles. The point, is, my sweet baby girl, I LOVE YOU!!! ALL OF YOU!! Even the "not-so-good" things because it is you! You are not perfect and I am okay with that...that certainly means you are my child! =) You are beautiful and my prayer is that you will grow up to be happy, healthy and most important, a God-fearing young lady who knows Jesus as her Savior. You have been a blessing to me for 3 years and I want you to always know that you will always be my baby girl!!! I love you, Rachel Mackenzie!

Illness

This past week....we have been sick...all of us!

I agreed to work for all of last week and 4 days next week and the day after I agreed, Rachel got sick. Her tube in her left ear fell out and she has another ear infection!!! BAH!!! Then Saturday, Lauren developed a cough and Brice didn't feel well. Sunday, they were all 3 feeling pretty yucky so guess who got to stay home from church....YEP, ME! I felt great!! Brice's mom came down on Sunday to help me take care of the girls since they were sick, couldn't go to daycare, and I was supposed to work. She stayed until Thursday morning. I started feeling bad on Tuesday and it was really bad by Wednesday. I could barely talk. I continued to work...had no fever. Brice's grandmother got ill on Thursday morning and was put in the hospital with pnuemonia (please pray for her...she is 94 and illnesses like this can be really bad) so his mom had to leave kinda in a hurry to get back to Little Rock. The girls went to daycare. That evening I told Brice I was taking Lauren to CareNow to get checked out since she had a cough for nearly a week and it wasn't getting better. They couldn't get her O2 sats above 90 so they sent us to the ER. That took FOREVER!! Her sats were fine...95-97% and they basically told me what I already knew...she has an upper respiratory infection...antiobiotics for her now too! Both girls are taking amoxicillin. I now feel better but still sound kinda yucky. I was glad to have a quiet weekend...didn't do much but househould stuff and I loved it (well, not the chores but loved being at home). This week...same stuff...work 4 days!!! I'm tired already! =)

Sweet Friends!

I love my friends! I honestly have some of the best friends. Seriously! I have more than one best friend and I love it that way! I have many different people that I love in many different areas of my life. Many are still in Arkansas and I miss them dearly but I also have a lot of great friends here. I know that God brought us to GP and to IBC because I have made some of the best friends I have ever had. Girls that I would do ANYTHING for.

Heather is one of those people! She is almost 38 weeks pregnant with her 2nd precious baby boy and I could not be happier for her and Joel...and Big Brother Josiah. Baby Grayson Joel will be here soon and I can't wait to meet the new addition to an already adorable and godly family. Joel is the youth minister at my church. My two best friends are staff wives and even though Brice isn't on staff, I sometimes feel like he is! =) I am secretly hoping that Grayson comes this next week while I am at work. I am sure Heather wouldn't mind!

Last Sunday we had Heather's baby shower. I took a few pictures.

Halloween - I'm Only A Week Behind!!!

Here are some more pictures from Trunk or Treat.....

This is Justin - my cousin's baby...he was a yard gnome...I think he looked like one of the 7 dwarves! =)

Josiah the kangaroo and Rachel

Chelsea the pretty princess and Rachel

Disney World - Summary

I am really afraid that if I don't sit down and do a "summary" of the rest of our trip, you will never get the rest of it!! So, this post might be long but I am going to try to tell you about the remainder of our trip....

DAY 3 (Tuesday)
This was a rest day. We stayed at our condo and hung out all day. Brice's mom and I went to an outlet mall and had time to go to one store..Gymboree Outlet. She bought a bunch of ADORABLE clothes for the girls for Christmas. That evening we went to Downtown Disney mainly to go shopping and to let Rachel see the things made out of Legos.


DAY 4 (Wednesday)
We went to Animal Kingdom first (my least favorite) and then went to Magic Kingdom. Rachel really like Animal Kingdom. It really is like the best zoo ever even though they pride themselves on not calling it a zoo....I decided to put the girls in their Halloween attire this day...no reason in particular....

We went to the Finding Nemo stage show and Rachel really liked that. We also did Turtle Talk with Crush and she really enjoyed that too. Here she is with her daddy on Triceratop Spin.

She really started warming up to the characters too. She touched and HUGGED Pocahontas and Rafiki. She played the conga drums and wanted to spend more time at this....AND I did something I have never done. I touched a snake!! Rachel did too and she said, "He's bumpy!" That was about the end of Animal Kingdom. I am good with only staying there for a few hours.

We then headed to Magic Kingdom which is beautiful at night! I got my pineapple ice cream which is one of the MAIN reasons I go to Disney!!! =)

LOVE THAT STUFF!!!
I love Cinderella's castle at night. It changes many different colors. Here is one of my favorite pictures

Magic Kingdom truly is magical!

DAY 5 (Thursday)
This was Hollywood Studios (formerly known as MGM Studios) day. Some of the highlights were Great Movie Ride, Dinosaur, and Rockin Roller Coaster! I LOVE LOVE LOVE Rockin Roller Coaster...the BEST roller coaster ever!!

Rachel loved playing on the "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" playground. Here she is on an ant.

We got a Mickey ice cream everyday at each park, I believe. Rachel was LOVING it!!!

We ate a late lunch at Sci Fi Dine In. It is neat restaurant where you sit in "drive in cars" and watch a movie while you eat. The food really isn't anything to write home about but the experience is pretty neat.

We went back to the condo early that night. We were a bit exhausted.

DAY 6 (Friday)
We were at Magic Kingdom all day for our last day at Disney World!!! It is always bittersweet...you want to soak it all up because you know you are going home but you are so exhausted you can't wait to get back home.

Rachel got to ride the carousel horses...again....and again.....I didn't take many pictures the last day. I guess I was tired of taking them and we had already been to Magic Kingdom twice before. I took one special picture that morning that you might see on Katie's blog soon!! =)

It was such a nice trip. We had a blast but it was quite challenging with the girls. I found it a little difficult to juggle a toddler needing to go to the bathroom on a whim, an infant who needed to nurse and take naps (which she did AWESOME by the way), a toddler who needed a nap but found it hard to take one, and it is just tiring. I love going to Disney but we always come back way more tired than when we left. We will probably not go back until Lauren is about Rachel's age (given that we don't have another infant at that time).

I took a couple of pictures at the airport the day we left Orlando. I love this one of Rachel.

Sorry for the long post but I hope that you have stuck with me and have enjoyed reading about our trip. Hopefully I will catch up on posting soon!