Blessed

I know I say how blessed I feel and how thankful I am a lot, but I always want to feel that way no matter what. I am so grateful for the Lord, my awesome family and friends, our health, our jobs, and so many other things. Sometimes I just get into a hot shower and thank the Lord for hot, running water. I know in so many parts of the world that is not even a possibility. I lay in bed at night and think "thank you Lord for this bed." I am grateful that I don't have to sleep on cement or only a blanket. I am so thankful for heat and for air conditioning, where it is so easy to take for granted but maybe considered by some as a luxury. I am thankful for a roof over our head, for a running car, for clothing, and food. I could go on and on, but I will leave it at that :) I just don't want to take what I have for granted, as it is so easy to do.

Today was a great day. The girls played so good together. They were both so sweet and loving to each other and made each other laugh a lot. Some days this is not the case. It always makes me happy, when they are so kind and loving to each other. One game they were playing together was "dog". They had an old piece of cloth that they were using as a leash. It was cute. Delaney was talking about her dog aka Averey. Both of them are always trying to lick me though or others. I feel like I am always saying, "You can't lick me. Please, don't lick mommy's face." (something along those lines). They love pretending they are animals.

I teach dance a couple of times a week and have for a LONG time. I love it. Tonight was a good night. We are in recital gear, getting ready for the recital in May. Love all our dance girls :)

On the way home from picking up the girls tonight, Delaney said, "I don't like rats (she really doesn't like them and talks about that frequently - I think she got scared of the rat on Lady and the Tramp), or beetle bugs, or hyenas." Averey then started to whine, "I scared of hyenas." Then Delaney said back to hear, "Jesus will protect you." Awww :)

Yesterday, Delaney said, "Mom, Do you know bees live in behinds?"

Delaney got to go with Grant yesterday to get "Tangled", and she was telling Averey that you can't go because you're little and Averey said in her cute, angry tone, "I'm not little, I'm a BABY!" Hahaha! Aves still likes to be a baby :)

Home Videos/Stories of Girls

A few times this last week, I took a little time and looked at home videos and photos of the last 3 years. It was so fun seeing the girls as babies and toddlers. They were/are so cute! I know I am biased but pure cuteness! I just love them! I am going to try and post some videos on facebook. Special, wonderful times…I am so happy to have. Well anyways, after looking at the pictures and seeing myself pregnant...I didn't quite have that same feeling of cuteness, haha! Oh my goodness, I don’t remember feeling THAT big. Whoever told me I was cute pregnant, I am pretty sure was lying to me :) I won’t call you out :) After seeing myself, I definitely want to lose weight before getting pregnant again. I haven’t yet decided my plan of how b/c I am lacking some motivation, but I want to at least try to avoid being that gigantic, haha! It was all worth it though! I cared very little about my weight gain, when I was pregnant. I just wanted healthy babies and am so thankful for that every day. And I ended up losing all the weight I gained after Averey without really having to try (Breastfeeding really helped and I was on the MSPI diet b/c she had tummy problems, so that helped even more). My husband said he will help me lose weight (he doesn’t care if I do, but I said I want to lose weight before we have another baby and he really wants another baby), so he made me weigh myself in front of him (I was resisting that at first).  I am not sure how he plans on helping me, but I appreciate the offer.

Funny stories: So if you read my last blog about Averey hurting her cheek at Wal-Mart, these kind of go with them. Delaney said out of the blue, “Mommy, I am sorry I attacked Averey.” For some reason, this cracked me up with the use of the word “attack”. Delaney was also confusing the word tackled with giggled. She was saying, “I giggled Averey”, when telling Grant about it she said it is very bad to giggle her sister. It was so funny b/c she was so serious.

In one of our books there is a male giraffe, and Delaney pointed to the boy part and said, “Mommy, what is this?” I was like, “Uh…”(trying to think how I wanted to word it), then Delaney said, “Tell me mommy.” I said, “it is a boy pee pee.” And she said, “No mom, it’s poop.” Then Averey was like looking really close at it and said, “Eww, that’s poop.”

I had a pimple on my face, and the girls were very concerned about my “owie”, well I used a little concealer on it, and Delaney said, “Did you take some medicine to make your owie go away?” Something like that.

Basically every toy commercial, the girls are like, “mommy! I want that for my birthday!” Delaney was doing this the day after her birthday, and her aunt Emily was like who wants to break the news that it is a year away. :) Averey is doing it too, and she just had hers.

Averey is SO dramatic. She says in a really sweet, whiney voice, “I sick” or “I have an owie” or “I have a fever” or “I need medicine”. The list goes on and on. She is also a huge fit thrower and/or pouter. For example if Delaney presses the elevator button first, she throws a fit or if Delaney does anything first before Averey does, she gets really upset.

Averey sings a lot now. She was singing, “How does she KNOWWW…you love her” (from the movie enchanted) over and over, very loudly. Her grandma said, she was singing it very loud in the store :)

Delaney made up a very interesting song about her friend, Jesus tonight. It was hysterical.

The girls get so excited to see me after I get off work. Love it every time. Tonight, Averey runs to me and says, “Mommy (in the cutest, most endearing tone), I love you (while giving me hugs).”  Aww, melts me every time. She also loves to plays with my face (a lot). Delaney also gets really happy to see me and gives me lots of love too. I love their sweet hugs and kisses and I love yous! I will never get tired of those sweet moments! I feel my girls are blessings straight from the Lord’s heart. How blessed and truly thankful I am!

Oil Change

It was time for an oil change, actually it was past due. It seems for one reason or another it just hasn't happened, so I decided I was just going to take the girls and go do it. My girls are very physical with each other (one of my aunts said they act like little boys b/c they are so busy). Delaney can be really aggressive with her affection, but she is VERY loving. She is very affectionate but sometime a little too much. My brother said I think she just gets so excited, she doesn't know how to channel that energy. From the time we brought Averey home, she would give her really big/tight hugs, lay on her, sit on her, kiss her all over her face, get in her face, you get the idea. Well they seem to hug each other, wrestle, and roll around together all the time. So at Wal-Mart right when we get there, Delaney is hugging Averey from the back and trying to walk or maybe push her over - who knows, and they fall and Averey smashes her face right in the corner of the checkout stand. Her face whole cheek is red and has a nice scratch.

Then we go over to the subway to eat and within 1 minute Averey spills her entire water all over the seat and floor, this is a very common occurrence whenever we go out :) Thankfully, it really doesn't stress me out anymore, haha! It's just so normal.

Funny things: Delaney wanted to sing a song for her Doctor. So she sang for him, "Jesus love us he who died, heavens gates are open wide, Jesus ....., Nah, Nah, Nah Nah, etc. She makes up words or sounds, when she doesn't know the song. Just like her momma! I get teased for that all the time...I can never remember the correct sequence of words for a song, so now I just sing loud and make up my own version :)

Delaney and I were talking and she said I was a good mommy. And I said well what makes me a good mommy? And she said treats! Because I give her treats :)

The girls love to play Doctor with me. They have their little kits and they give me shots (as hard as they can dig it into my skin). Well have you ever seen the bandaid with it? Its a hard plasic 1/2 circle bandaid meant for the hand of a young child and they kept jamming it on my ankle (after the shot). Ouch!

Our trip to Pennsylvania

I wish I was able to get on here and update my blog sooner, but the last 2 weeks are a blur :) So I will start at the beginning of the PA trip. We got to the airport and I had to check in 2 car seats and 1 large suitcase for the girls and I. This took a while, so Grant watched the girls while I did this. Then we had to go through security and we had to take off their shoes, get one of them out of the stroller and put all our carry on items through. By the time we got done with all that we were boarding. I hadn't yet figured out how to juggle both girls, a diaper bag, a back pack, the stroller, and the girls each had a little bag. So we managed to get on the plane. The girls did pretty good and slept about 1/2 the time, as we flew to Newark. The most eventful thing on the way there was that Delaney had terrible gas (really stinky), and every 5 minutes she would toot and with the plane being so small and warm, it just lingered. I felt sick from it being so warm and that made me have to concentrate on not gagging. When we arrived at Newark, we had a really long walk to our next terminal. The girls were hungry and getting cranky. I put Averey in a Moby wrap on me and Delaney in the stroller. I felt like I walked a mile (I think at each layover I had to walk forever), while carrying 24 lbs. and pushing the stroller. The next plane ride was short to Philadelphia.

It was really good to see Amy and Andrew! We had so much fun with them! The girls adore them!  We then drove about an hour away to where they lived. We were all up until 12:30 and the girls and I shared a comfortable (not really) bed - pull out couch. The next day we got ready and went to Chick-fil-a for lunch - Yum, they also had a play area (I had to keep crawling in it to help Averey - I am sure that was quite the site). Then we were off to Lancaster County, where a lot of Amish people live. They have some fun shops and restaurants in Intercourse, PA (weird name). It was really fun to get a glimpse of that way of life. Then we ate at an Amish Restaurant - It was basically a complete disaster. Both girls, we sleep deprived and uncooperative. Averey dumped her food everywhere and then dumped all her ice cream on the table. The table we were at was right in the middle of everything, so people were staring. Amy was gone half of the meal (I will leave out her where abouts, haha). Then Delaney said super loud, so everyone could here, "OH MY GOSH, AVEREY HAS GOT REALLY BAD DIARRHEA!"Of course everyone laughed.

The next day we went to church, out to lunch, and then hung out in their apartment and watched Bambi and ate popcorn. Then Monday, was the day of my sisters ultrasound, and the person who was suppose to watch the girls cancelled. Thankfully, we had a good friend of Amy and Andrews watch the girls and I got to go with them. They found out they were having a boy, so excited for them! That night we went to babies r us and ihop for dinner. Another dinner disaster as Averey soaked any sugar packet/substitute. I sat between the 2 car seats in the back for the trip, and for some reason I really struggled with car sickness. So they had to pull over for me, not pleasant.  

Tuesday was really fun, Andrew watched the girls while my sister and I went to coffee and shopping. So fun! It was so nice to spend one on one with my sister. Then they had a birthday party for Aves that night. My flight was suppose to leave at 12:30 p.m. the next day, well at 12:30 a.m. I found out it got moved up to 9:45.

The girls did pretty good traveling on the way home. It was still crazy though J 2 times at the Chicago airport I’d be right in middle of going to the bathroom and Delaney would open the door all the way (and she wouldn’t close it), and one time this woman was just staring at me saying I remember those days. That kind of stuff happened constantly J Makes life exciting I guess. The girls ate food off the ground at the airports and Delaney found chewed gum on her seat and was eating that. Gross! Since our flight was moved up, we ended up having a 4 hour layover in Chicago. Everyone thought the girls were twins too. I had so many comments like “you have your hands full”, “you’re traveling solo with them?”, etc. It was such a relief to get home! I felt like I needed a vacation to recover from the vacation! Throughout the whole trip, we all prayed for baby Olivia, she passed away, but will never be forgotten.

About 5 days after we got back Averey got so sick and had a 106.6 temperature. We took her to the ER and then to her PCP, then Delaney got sick, and they both had to go back Friday b/c they were so sick. Fevers/Viruses/Ear infections. They are on antibiotics, steroids, breathing treatments, and pain meds and doing much better today. Thank you, Jesus! I got so much cuddling time with the girls though, while snuggled up on the couch watching movies this past week. Love my little girls!

Averey is 2!!

I just got back from Pennsylvania and I will post about that whole experience in my next post. Even though I have a post about celebrating Averey's birthday, today is her actual day of birth. This is about Averey.

I had the best pregnancy with Averey (I was very sick a lot of my pregnancy with Delaney), which was really nice, since Delaney was only 6 months old when I got pregnant. I absolutely LOVE being pregnant. I know so many women complain about being pregnant, but I loved it. I loved having a life growing inside of me, and I was always so thankful I was able to be pregnant. It really is a gift. I loved laying in bed at night playing with Averey in my tummy. I would poke an area and then she would kick back. It was so amazing to me. When I was pregnant with Delaney, I knew she would be a really content, easy baby and she was. With Averey I knew early on in my pregnancy that she was going to be a spitfire, and I voiced that she is going to be how my brother, Paul was as a baby, and she has been all that and more.

Her Birth Story: With Delaney, I was induced 2 weeks after my due date, so I was kind of expecting the same thing with Averey. However, on March 9th, when I went in for my appt. in the morning I was already 3-4 cm dilated. I had been having contractions for a few days, but they were not that bad. Well that night around 10 p.m. I was having stomach cramping off and on. I was still trying to sleep, thinking maybe it was false labor (b/c several times with Delaney I was up in the middle of the night with pretty consistent contractions  for 2 hours and then they would stop). I eventually got up b/c it was getting too uncomfortable. I started cleaning. At about 12:45 a.m. the contractions were about 4 minutes apart. About an hour later I called the hospital and they told me to come in. I had wanted to take Delaney to my mom and dads house, but they said have someone come over if you can and to get here soon. My wonderful mother-in-law came over. I got to the hospital at 2:15 and was monitored until 3:15. At that time the resident came in and to check me. I remembering looking at his hands (they were gigantic) and asking the nurse is he going to check me, and she's like I can if you really want me to. He checked me and said I was about 4 cm and around 60% effaced and to walk around for an hour. So Grant and I walked all around the empty hospital for an hour. When I got back at 4:15, the contractions were definitely stronger. The chief resident checked me at this time and said I was 6 cm an 90% effaced. They sent me over to L/D, where I was rocking in a wooden rocking chair. The rocking motion felt good during contractions. I felt at this point, I was managing the pain fine. My midwife got in at 4:30 am and checked me (so 15 minutes later). I was 8cm dilated and 90% effaced. At this point she broke my water. Now this is where it got very intense. In my mind, I had made it this far and I was going to go all drug free. I got in the jacuzzi right away and the transition phase of labor was extremely painful of course. My midwife was amazing - she was with me the whole time talking to me so calmly. I got out at 5:15 and made my way over to a birthing chair. It is like a little stool on the ground you sit on (kind of like a toilet with no water :)). I was fully dilated. I pushed for 20 minutes and then out came Averey on March 10th-7lbs 3 oz and 18.5 inches. It was amazing - the whole experience. I felt so good having no epidural and no pain meds. Here comes TMI: The worst part of the whole experience for me was the stitches. I could feel it all. However, I never needed any meds or ibuprofen during or after birth. I really had very little pain postpartum . I felt so great afterwards. I had so much energy and was like I can understand how women can give birth in a rice field and get right back to working b/c it really had felt like I had not gave birth. I loved the whole process and I was so thankful to the Lord for the way it went.

Averey was so beautiful, just like her sister. I was so excited to have 2 healthy baby girls so close in age. I always wanted to have lots of girls. Averey has always been a mama's girl. The first night Averey cried all night. She cried more in her first 24 hours than Delaney had cried in the first 15 months of her life. Averey cried a lot and had very bad reflux. At 2 1/2 weeks I removed milk and soy from my diet. It did help quite a bit, however she still cried a lot, had terrible reflux, and tummy aches. She never slept good, in fact she has just started sleeping through the night in the last month. Praise the Lord! (Delaney started sleeping through the night at 7 weeks). She was a baby for what seemed like such a short time. She was getting anywhere in a room at not even 5 months by scooting or rolling, at 5 1/2 months she was crawling everywhere. At 7 1/2 months, she took her first 10 steps by herself. By 8 months, she was walking everywhere on her own. She is extremely strong-willed and stubborn. She has always tried to keep up with her sister. Averey is also a very loving, sweet girl. She tells us, "I love you" all the time. She gives us the sweetest kisses and hugs. She loves her dollys and loves books. She loves to play "baby".

We are so thankful for our sweet Averey girl and celebrating her 2 years. She brings so much spice and joy to our lives. She keeps us constantly on our toes (she is constantly doing something or getting into something she shouldn't). I love to watch Delaney and Averey playing with each other and taking care of each other. Averey makes us laugh constantly. I am so thankful that I get to be Delaney and Averey's mama. The Lord is so good to me, and I am constantly blessed by Him.