Reason to Rejoice

It is time for me to play Christmas catch-up. We have been out of town and I have been busy with the kiddos. This year has been so much fun and I will try to tell you all about it without making this post too terribly long. CHRISTMAS EVE! We had a white Christmas Eve and it stayed for Christmas morning. To my knowledge (or recollection, anyway) this was my first white Christmas. I think it's crazy that I live in Texas and we have had more snow this year than Arkansas has! Here is our house on Christmas Eve right before we left to go to my aunt's to celebrate. We normally spend Christmas Eve at my Granny's but this was our first Christmas without her. It was very different and I had a hard time processing how different it would be. It made me very sad. We still spent Christmas Eve at that house but it wasn't Granny's...my Aunt Donna lives there now. The roads were bad so we left kind of early to go home and get the kids in bed and play Santa. Here are a few...

And...in case you want to know...I made this myself!!! I did another for a friend this year too and it is adorable. I won't post it here but it is one of my favorites I have ever done.

What's this girl up to? Let's see....she weighed 20 lbs, 14 oz and was 19 inches long!!! What I am so excited about is that she is out of the 100th percentile for weight!!!! She was only 80th! YIPPEE!!!! The doctor, of course, said see was perfect. She tries to crawl but doesn't succeed really which is a shock to me since Rachel was already crawling by now. That certainly does not mean that she doesn't get where she wants to go! She rolls EVERYWHERE!!! She gets up on all fours and rocks, goes backwards and even goes a few "steps" and then falls on her face. She could do it if she wanted but I think she just chooses not to! She can get from a lying to a sitting position without help. She is pulling up some...not very much to her knees. She isn't crazy about standing but she can. She has 5 teeth...just noticed another one last night! She is doing well at daycare and takes really short naps but is getting better at that. She is COMPLETELY weene...

Who is behind on blogging again? YES! You guessed it! That would be MEEEEEE!!!!! This will be a "no picture post" because, well, just because I don't have access to pictures at the moment! Things at work are going full swing. I am getting used to being full time and the girls are doing lovely at daycare! My days are filled with much excitement and busyness. My office is cozy and decorated with mostly pictures of my girls...what better way to make it mine!!! =) I have a ton of stuff to do everyday which makes the day go by faster but makes for a tired Mommy at the end of the day! Anyway, just a short update...it's going well. Lauren turned 9 months old on the 12th!!!! NINE MONTHS OLD!! I just can't believe it. She is an absolute joy and I will blog about her soon...I have pictures - some that I took and some professional ones!!! =) I also have stats from her well baby checkup...something I am pretty excited about! SOMEONE had a birthday since I blogged...

I feel as though I have been initiated!! I started my full time job today!! It is at the same place that I have been working (I know I have already blogged about this). Let me just tell you.... WHAT A FREAKIN DAY!!!!! Nothing says, "Let's get to work now that you are full-time" like two adoptions, a domestic violence case (that turned out to not be a domestic violence case after all) of a pregnant woman, a teenage pregnancy, a girl with herpes needing Medicaid (for what, exactly, I'm not sure), and just a bunch of other stuff that would not amount to much except all of the little things piling up amounted to a lot!! I am thankful! I love my job and I love working in the areas that I do but I feel as though I can now be a full-time social worker...I have been initiated!!! =) We went yesterday to see Santa at my work. Here is a picture of the girls.... We got pictures taken on Saturday morning...mainly for Lauren's 9 month pictures but we did some Christmas ones too...

I have heard so many people talk about how unsure they are about having more than one child and the hesitations that go with that. I have to admit, I was hesitant as well but for totally different reasons. I was scared on a physical level about being pregnant and going through everything that I did the first time around. I did have some of the same complications but the experience all the way around was just much better. I thoroughly enjoyed my pregnancy and loved being able to know what to expect during labor. Most of what I hear others talk about is if they can love another child as much as you love your first, will I be able to give him/her the same amount of attention, how will life balance out, etc....that was never a concern for me. I never once thought that I couldn't love a 2nd baby as much as my 1st. And it's true....I absolutely love both of my girls more than life itself and I cannot explain how I can love that much!!! Children are fascinating to me!! They ...

...I will thank You..." Today I am missing my Granny. I miss her really bad. She was our rock...the center of our family and today and everyday since January, she is missed. I miss our long talks on the phone. I miss being able to go to her house anytime because I knew she would always be there. I miss the sound of her giggle. I miss her telling me to eat whatever I want...I'm at Granny's house!!! I miss her rubbing my belly when I was pregnant with Lauren...the last time I saw her...I was pregnant with Lauren. She never got to meet my baby and Lauren will never know how special Granny thought she was...before she even knew her! I still have the row she crocheted that was supposed to be Lauren's baby blanket....she never got to finish it. I miss everything about her....everything. Happy Birthday my sweet Granny-bug! Happy Birthday.... "...for all that You've promised and all that You are. For all that has carried me through..." Happy Thanksgiv...

Ugh! The migraines...PLEASE STOP!!! You might recall all of my blogs from about two months ago regarding the headaches that I have. WELL, THEY ARE BACK IN FULL SWING!! I wake up most days with headaches and then this morning I had ANOTHER migraine!! I got out of the shower and realized that I couldn't see very well...the first sign that it is coming. Well, not too long, my head was hurting. It was the absolute worst migraine I have EVER had!!! I still have it but it has subsided some. I took four 200 mg Motrin and drank some caffeine...didn't help. Then, I got extremely nauseated. Not sure if it is because I didn't eat anything before taking the Motrin or if it was the headache causing the nausea...either way, I thought I was going to throw up..more than once. So....what does this mean? Good question! I think I will call the neurologist back and visit with him...sooner rather than later...about getting on Topamax. We have talked about this several times befor...

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 ...

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!!!

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 ...