Welcome to the family...

Well, there is a good reason as to why the blog has seen very little love in the last few weeks...our sweet girl arrived on June 5th. Here's the highlights:

The week before I saw my midwife twice and was already three cm dilated and progressing nicely. She thought I'd go on my own but if not we planned an induction for Sunday, June 5th. On the 5th we headed to the hospital and checked in at 8AM. By 9:30 everything was ready and all my paperwork was done. Around 10 they started pitocin and by 11:30 they broke my water. Around 1ish I received an epidural and at this point I was really curious to see how fast things would go. With AG I received an epidural and he was born 2.5/3 hours later after pushing for 30 minutes. Around 1:30 my mom brought AG by to see us after they had lunch at Moe's with Aunt Caro and Uncle Clay. She then took AG home to nap and wait to hear from us. At 3 they checked me and said I was 5/6. Shortly after that Caroline and Clay came back up along with Ginny and Julie to visit for a bit. At 4:45 Ginn and Jules left to let me rest...ha. Well, after they left my nurse checked me and I was a 10 and ready to push. I started pushing at 5PM. I pushed for two sets of contractions and on the third they told me to just let her do the work. I pushed for a total of 7 minutes. Afterwards, Andy goes, "not to take away from what just happened but it was kind of anti-climatic because it happened so fast." Ha. He was right. He then texted Ginny and Julie to let them know that I delivered immediately after they left. The nurses joked it was a 9-5 job. The whole thing was a breeze and I'm grateful we decided to induce a week early because if we hadn't Avi-Kate would have been 9 punds plus. As it is she was 8 pounds 9.4 ounces and 21 inches long. Almost a full pound heavier and an inch longer than her big brother when he was born! And she is a redhead! Her hair is the same color AG's was when he was born. I guess we'll just have to wait and see if it ends up being the exact same shade or if it's darker/lighter. Andy and I were surprised because we really thought she'd have brown hair. She looks just like her big brother...only bigger. :) Here are a few pics from the hospital...

AG was elated to finally meet his sister that evening. He immediately started giving her kisses and playing peek-a-boo with her. We stayed till Tuesday morning and were at home and settled before noon. And now we enter the world parenting two children...here goes nothing. :)

Sweet Baby Toes...

...can't wait to see them in person.

Andy informed me yesterday while we were looking at the ultrasound that she has my toes. Which if this picture is an indication that is most likely true. My toes and AG's, for that matter, both have the second toe being as long as the big toe. Mine actually have my first three toes being the same length. So, I guess we'll just have to wait and see. :) Either way there is something sweet about little baby feet. And I can't wait to put Avi-Kate's sweet little feet in her knit slippers from Ginny...they are pink and brown with a pink ribbon laced around the top. Perfection.

Hip, Hip, Hooray...

...Avi-Kate is not breech!

Hallelujah! Yesterday, Andy went with me and to my appointment since we had to have an ultrasound to determine her position. AG was quite the ham at the office and was ecstatic to see "SHANNON!", my midwife. Everything looks great and I'm progressing right along. I'm now 37 weeks and 2 days. I'm already at 2cm dilated and she swept my membranes while she was checking me. To quote her if I'm ready for labor it'll kick start it if not no worries. So, far I've had some cramping, nausea, and inconsistent contractions but nothing major. We'll see. She also said that she doesn't think I'll make it to my induction date but if I do I'm well on my way to having an easy induction.

We are feeling much better about things. If she doesn't come this week that's okay. We are still wrapping up some projects around the house and rearranging some things. Next week Andy's office is closed for the week so if she came that'd be great but if not I'm sure we'll enjoy soaking up the last few days with AG as an only child.

Speaking of AG he is quite taken with babies. We went last week with some friends to Jandy's Yogurt and they brought their baby, Caroline. He was quite smitten with her and has been asking since then where she is, can she come over, etc. We keep telling him in a few days he'll have his own baby and to hang on. Ha. We'll see how he does but we are very optimistic.

Around the house this weekend Andy finished the touchups on his desk and he finally finished his chest of drawers. (He started on the chest 2 years ago and never finished it till this weekend. It looks fabulous!) I've been doing lots of laundry and washing of baby clothes. I need to start packing stuff for the hospital but I'm waiting for my Amazon order to come in. I know I've said it before but I love, love, love Amazon Prime. Ordered some baby stuff yesterday after my appointment and it'll all be here tomorrow. :) If Avi-Kate stays put these next few days then Andy is going to go ahead and paint her room this weekend. We'll see. We've been throwing out and GoodWill-ing stuf left and right. On Saturday morning we purged a ton of stuff from the attic...while I hunted for a box of infant towels/washcloths/burpcloths...which I still haven't located and I'm sure I'll discover them months from now when I don't need them! There were a ton of boxes/crap up there that was left from previous owners that we tossed. Andy took an entire load of cardboard in the bed of his truck to the recycling center. I'm currently working on my second load of stuff to take to GoodWill in the back of my trunk. So we are making some major progress around the house on stuff I've wanted to do for awhile.

The blog has been sorely neglected and for that I'm sorry...hopefully, I'll have a night to play catch-up before we become a family of four. :)

So, here's where we are at...

...on multiple things:

Parasite Take Two:
   After spending almost all day Friday on the phone trying to locate AG's medicine we finally found some the only problem is it would not arrive in Rome till Monday morning. This was what Aunt Meg, the pharmacist, was afraid would happen because the drug we needed is not used often and we were trying to find it on a Friday. And she said it didn't matter if we were in Rome or ATL trying to locate this drug the outcome would have been the same. We did the only thing we could do...put AG on a limited diet and prayed for no more episodes to get us thru the weekend. This morning after my OB appointment I drove across town to our new pharmacy to pick up the very important medicine. And yes, this whole thing required me to switch pharmacies but that story is best told in person...feel free to ask I don't mind sharing but I am not going take up entire post explaining how this isn't the first time this particular pharmacy/pharmacist has screwed up. Anyways, AG has already had his first dose of medicine and will get his next dose in a bit. I'm praying that we are over the worst of it and this does the trick.

Our Sweet Daughter's Pending Arrival:
    Well, I went this morning and my midwife did not want to check me...she wants to wait until next week which is fine. The kicker from the appointment was that she suspects that Avi-Kate is breech! Which I've suspected for weeks but due to the chaos that has been life this spring didn't vocalize it. Granted, I know every pregnancy is different but  her movement patterns haven't been similar to AG's at all. At this stage in the game I could watch AG's appendages stick "out" and "move" across my abdomen. That has not be the case at all this time. So, while I feel daily movement it's very different. To quote my midwife, "where her hiney should be is very, very round. Now, she could have a very round bottom but I suspect it's her head." Next Monday, I'll go for my next appointment and I will have an ultrasound to determine her placement and then we'll go from there. I hope I can deliver vaginally and that she is flipped/will flip for me to do so. If not, a C-section is not the end of the world. The goal is for us to have a healthy baby and I'm okay with whatever way that happens. God is in control and he has known from the beginning how she would be born...there is no need for me to be worried about that. I take comfort in knowing that.

The State of Our House:
Chaos! Pure and utter chaos as we do a mass purging and cleaning. In addition I've flipped the queen bedding from our room to Avi-Kate's and the bedding that was in there is now on our bed. AG's room is almost done. Done enough for right now...I need to frame a bunch of stuff and get a shadow box or two but I prefer to go to Hobby Lobby for those things...and in all that is going on I haven't made it down to Cartersville. So, it can wait for the time being.

My brain is fried...I'm sure there is more that needs to be in this post but I can't think at the moment. :)

Apparently one parasite isn't enough...

Yes, one parasite experience wasn't enough for AG and we get to do it all over again. Last August, we spent several weeks dealing with these violent attacks in the middle of the night that became daily occurrences. It was finally diagnosed as a parasite and we were given high dose antibiotics to clear it up. My child hadn't thrown up till two weeks ago.

Two weeks ago I posted, the night before the tornados ripped thru Northwest GA, about AG being sick. Well, I suspected it then but thought I was just being a paranoid, pregnant mom. I didn't think anything of it till we were awoken by AG crying in our room a few minutes before 2AM early Thursday morning. Within seconds the hacking cough that is the precursor to his throw up spells started and it was all down hill from there. We knew as soon as we smelled it what we were dealing with. We went to the doctor yesterday and she wanted to give it one more night to see if he had another episode before prescribing high dose antibiotics. At 3 AM this morning we were awoken to AG crying and coughing in his soon to be sister's room. (Her room is sandwiched between our room and AG's room...you can cut thru her room to get to ours.) AG had thrown up in his bed and then tried to get to us before his next attack but didn't make it. Thankfully, his room and his sister's room are in the original part of the house with hardwood floors because by the time we got to him he had thrown up all over the floor in Avi-Kate's room. I'll spare you the rest of the nasty details...needless to say we are a little sleep deprived over here and the laundry room has been busy.

We are now trying to find a pharmacy in town that has the medicine we need in liquid form. It's not common and we've been told by several places already that the earliest they could have it stocked for us is next Monday. Pray we find some. I can't keep this up along with contractions/nausea/cramping in addition Andy is leaving for a business trip Sunday night. At the most I now have three weeks left of being pregnant they've scheduled an induction for June 5th unless she shows up before then. At the moment I'm praying she stays put till we can get AG over this.

I'm suppose to go Monday for my next OB appointment and they are suppose to check me to see where I'm at. Needless to say I'm very curious...I'm off to re-clean what I cleaned yesterday. I'll update more when I know more.

A cooking marathon...

...happened here today.

I took pics and have lots to share but for now I'll leave you with what all I created...I'm off to put my swollen feet/achy body in the sack. Despite the aches and pains I feel accomplished as we get closer to the arrival of our sweet girl. Next up sauces and dishes featuring beef...just waiting on a good sale.

Chicken Pastina x3
Poppyseed Chicken x1
Chicken Crescents Casserole x1
Saucy Mexican Chicken x1
Chicken Lasagna Roll-ups x2
Chicken Noodle Soup x2
Individual Chicken Pot Pies x6
Homemade chicken stock x4 (I already had to use two today because I needed more than what I had saved for cooking)

For the grill:
Chicken breasts in a honey teriyaki marinade x2
Chicken breasts in a steakhouse marinade x2
Porkchops (the other white meat! Ha.) in honey teriyaki marinade x2
Porkchops in a steakhouse marinade x2


In addition to what we already had stocked:
Ribollita-soup x3
Red sauce with pancetta x1
Individual chicken pot pies x2
Fajita Chicken x2
Chili x1
Creamy Red Sauce with Chicken and Broccoli x1
Stouffer's Mac-and-Cheese x2 (on sale recently at Kroger)
Purvis' BBQ x4 (This is our FAVORITE BBQ and we get it every time we go to the farm. This last trip Andy got extras so we could have enough for several meals on hand...thus, making his very pregnant wife very happy!)

In addition to all of this I've also started stockpiling other items around the house as they go on sale. Last go around I hadn't gotten into couponing. A few months after AG was born I got into couponing/stockpiling and have since kept up with it for the last two years. This year I have begun to experiment with freezer cooking in bulk and while I don't like to rely on it for every night of the week it has been super nice on nights when I can't/don't want to cook. And I know it will be really nice to have a stocked freezer/pantry when we become a family of four in a few weeks. Details on my adventure to come...

Monday, Monday...

Well, what a weekend we had.

Friday we awoke to grey skies that promised inclement weather...and inclement weather they did provide. In the last two weeks we've had pretty horrific storms. Two weeks ago today we spent a night without power. Last Monday while bad we thankfully had power all night long. Friday we were not so lucky. 

Friday I took AG to Kindermusik, we had lunch at the Dwarf House per AG's request, and dropped off my dress to be altered for Meg's wedding. We got home and I put AG down for a nap...I had high hopes with the rain coming that I could get a nice nap in myself. Well, no such luck. At 4:35 the winds kicked up, the sky went to an eerie shade of grey to the point where there was no visibility,  it began to hail, and there was a piercing howl. I dropped my phone call with my dad and ran to grab AG from his bed. And then the power went out. We tried calling Andy who was trying to get home to us but was stuck in the down pour. 

Moments later I ventured to the front of the house to see that a tree had fallen across the street but our old oak was still standing. I began reading reports via my iPhone that parts of Rome were completely shut down. When it was all said and done there were over 15, 000 outages in Rome. One of our main roads, Turner McCall, was shut down till Saturday due to multiple snapped power line poles. Andy made it home safely and we ventured out to grab dinner at Waffle House since we had no other options and everything around us was without power due Turner McCall being shut down. We originally thought that it was tornado that came thru but they later determined that we had straight line winds at 80 mph. Either way the cleanup is still on going and chainsaws could be heard all weekend long. 

I spent the rest of the weekend having contractions, nausea, and cramps. I was suppose to head to Albany for Meg's Lingerie Shower Saturday, however, after consulting with my midwife she decided that I was in no condition to travel. So, I spent the bulk of the weekend on the couch and in the bed. 

This morning, we had AG's preschool tour at the Child Development Center and then my OB check-up. It was hard getting up this morning since we were up most of last night with AG. His sleep has been off the last two nights and I am starting wonder if his last set of molars are gearing up to make their appearance. Our tour at the CDC was great and AG was Mr. Analytical like always...taking it all in and studying everything that was going on. We were then off to my appointment and AG enjoyed helping Shannon, my midwife, with my check up. He helped measure my belly and use the doppler to find the heartbeat. Everything looks good...my belly is measuring a little small but Shannon is not concerned in the least. She commented after picking up AG that a little on the small side for #2 might not be a bad thing. I laughed and agreed with her. She gave me the go ahead to try using something to help me sleep at night. Up until two weeks ago I had been sleeping great...much better than I ever did while pregnant with AG. Anyways, I'm now averaging 2-4 hours of sleep a night and while I know that sleep is hard to come by at the end 2 hours is not sufficient with a toddler. So, we'll see if I can get some better sleep this week. Here's hoping.

This afternoon I had high hopes of cleaning the house since Andy was home all afternoon since today is the end of tax season. Alas, I've spent the afternoon in bed with really bad nausea and throwing up. Thank heavens I'm 32 weeks and the end is in sight...I'm so ready for summer.  The only thing not ready is the house BUT thanks to my hard working husband things are coming along. Wait till you see what he built for AG's room this weekend. Pics and posts on our latest house projects to come this week. I'm off to curl up on the couch for the rest of the night and this post is long enough.

Clicking along...

Life as we know it is flying down the tracks like a train on long journey. The picture above was snapped last weekend when we were in Macon. We went to Macon at the end of last week to meet AG's newest cousin, Delia. This is Ronnie showing AG how to get around the hospital. I was hoping to snap some sweet newborn shots with my portrait lens but Miss Delia needed to be under the lamps to help stabilize her billirubin levels. Which is fine because we'll see her again in a few weeks when Avi-Kate arrives.

We got home from Macon and I've been struggling with my allergies. Last pregnancy I missed the spring pollen season and so I didn't have to worry about it. This go around has been brutal. I can't take my migraine meds and so I have to tough it out. Needless to say that over the last few days there have been lots of headaches along with nausea and throwing up. In addition throw in daily contractions, increasing sciatic pain, and the ability to not be comfortable when sleeping (that comes during the third trimester) and that's pretty much where I'm at.

I'll be 32 weeks this weekend and go back to see my midwife on Monday. We are getting closer to the finish line. I mailed off my pre-registration packet to the hospital last week...so check that off my huge to do list. Next week I don't have to teach so I'm hoping to tackle several organizing projects around the house. We are quickly running out of time to get things situated. I need to finalize how I want the kids rooms laid out and then get to putting them in order.

G-Daddy came up on Tuesday to speak at some classes at Shorter. He had a great time with Rick's classes and then came over to do dinner with us. We enjoyed having a meal together and catching up. He and Andy also spent some time in the backyard brainstorming some projects ideas.

Last night we had our college family over for dinner and it was fabulous. We had to pull in a third table and extra chairs...which is not a bad problem to have. We had a big Italian meal all together and it was delish if I do say so myself. I think we fed 19 people including AG and the to go meal I sent home for Harrison who couldn't make it. Thankfully the red sauce that I made triples beautifully and I still have leftovers for lunch and enough to freeze for another meal.

Speaking of freezing...chicken is on sale this week at Kroger. I bought a ton and am planning another huge cooking day. I know I never posted all that I created last time and the recipes...I will do it this time. I actually still have a few things I made last time still in the freezer but my stash is dwindling. I wanted to restock closer to June so this will be perfect. We'll have lots of dishes to pull out as we get closer to my due date and once Avi-Kate arrives. I also plan to do some beef dishes and Italian sauces that freeze well. I'm just waiting on beef to go on sale.

Hard to believe that April is halfway over already. Our sweet girl will be here before we know it. To say we are excited and ready to meet her is an understatement. :) Speaking of her arrival reminds me I have projects to tackle today...off to be productive.

26 Weeks Update...

In two weeks my baby sister will be married and I will have officially crossed over in to the final trimester. I go back a week from tomorrow for my next appointment and my glucose test with my midwife.

Weight Gain: I'm at 23 pounds exactly today.

Maternity Clothes: I'm still rocking my jeans and a Bella Band, however, I did order several things from Boden this past week to try out their maternity line. I'm excited for everything to come in next week sometime...shipping takes a little longer since almost everything ships from the Britain. But worth the wait because everything I've ever ordered from them has been fabulous.

Energy: Today I'm on self-prescribed bedrest. This last week I overdid it with cleaning and wedding festivities. I had several painful Braxton Hicks contractions last night back to back. I'm staying off my feet all day and resting. I'm hoping that I'll feel better overall and ready to take on this next week with a day of rest under my belt.

The first half of this was typed yesterday...here's the rest:

Cravings: Coke and Sprite ice cold on crushed ice. Water continues to make me nauseated most days. So that's why I drink everything over a ton of crushed ice since I can't drink just water. Popsicles.

Gender: Girl!

Movement: Quite active but she appreciates it when I slow down and prop my feet up after a busy day.

Miscellaneous: I'm at the stage where I can't eat an entire meal anymore but I'm hungry every 2-3 hours without fail.


I feel like there is more I should type but my brain is at a stand still and I can't remember what I wanted to type earlier in the day. I'm exhausted from trying to keep up with AG today and not still feeling 100% yet. I'm praying I feel better tomorrow...here's hoping.

Purging. Cleaning. Nesting.

Whew.

I've been on my feet all day cleaning out my closet and the linen closet in the guest bath...while having ER play in the background. ER and FRIENDS were two my favorite shows from high school and we have them all on DVD. Whenever I need a little background noise while I tackle a project I pop in a disc. I've seen them so many times I don't have to 'watch' them. Anyways, after dinner I made a trip to Wal-Mart to pick up some containers to help me put everything back together. I'm taking a break and propping up my feet while watching Idol.

Lots of progress made in my closet today. I have a huge pile of clothes I'm going to try and consign...if that doesn't work then I'll donate it all. It's quite freeing to purge en masse! And rewarding...I just ordered some new maternity clothes from Boden since they were running a 20% off special. :)

Andy and I both purged our vast collection of t-shirts, however, I'm not giving them away. I've boxed 'em up to go in the attic for the time being. I want to have them made in to a couple of quilts. I need to do a little research to see how they are made and figure out if it is something I could do myself. I'm betting that while I'm crafty I might be better off getting someone to make them for me.

I also started on the linen closet and normally I'd say stick to one organizing project at a time, however, some of the stuff that I was sorting from my closet needs to be moved to the other.  We have to be super creative with our storage since our space, in this wonderful old house, is at a premium.

I'm off to watch another episode of ER and get to a good stopping point for the night. Plus, I need to unearth our bed. Speaking of bed I slept great last night for the first time in several days. I'm hoping for a consecutive night of 'good sleep' which doesn't always happen when you are pregnant.

24 weeks update...

I'm now six months pregnant and in the last month of the second trimester...it really is all downhill from here! After looking at the calendar this week it'll be June before we know it. February has flown by and this time next week March will be upon us. Wow!

Weight Gain: I've now gained almost 20 lbs. I'm still able to sleep on my belly and there is no denying now that I'm pregnant.

Maternity Clothes: Hip, hip hooray for my discovery this week! Boden, one of my favorite clothing companies, now has a maternity line! Hallelujah. A few weeks ago my spring catalog arrived and I was so bummed that I wouldn't be able to wear anything that I opted not to look at it. Well, this week AG's new miniBoden catalog arrived and I browsed it. While browsing I saw an ad for their Maternity line and immediately had to check it out. I'm thrilled because I need to buy a few dresses to rotate between Caroline's Rehearsal, Meg's Rehearsal, Easter, Mother's Day, Andy's cousin's wedding, bridesmaids luncheons, etc. So now I just need to decide what to order...

Energy: As I type this I'm wiped. This weekend has been busy with throwing a shower for Clay and Caroline and duties at Church. I'm planning to keep my feet up the rest of the day and rest...despite the fact that I need to tidy up around the house. Some things will just have to wait. As far as nausea goes I was nauseated this morning before heading to church.

Cravings: Coke. Ice cold. With LOTS of ice. I also enjoy having a sweet treat mid day. Clementines in groups of two or three at a time. And popsicles in the evening in groups of two...this one I'm grateful for...with AG I had to have ice cream almost every evening after dinner.

Gender: Girl...we've already got lots of cute little things for her. I washed everything I bought last weekend and have already put it away. I'm looking forward to us moving the crib in to her room in the next few weeks once we get AG completely transitioned so that I can start working on the new guest room/nursery.

Movement: Lots and lots of it. She's still transverse and hasn't flipped, yet. I can tell by her movements. I'm looking forward to talking to my Doctor at length this week about what the timeline will look like if she stays transverse. I'm mentally preparing myself for the possibility that she won't flip and if that happens I will have no choice but a C-section. I'm completely okay with that if that is what happens. My desire is for her to arrive healthy and whole. If I do have a section my midwife will not be able to deliver and my prayer is that my doctor can do it...he would be my first pick in that situation. I'm not sure how all of that works since the practice that I see is quite large. Again, another thing to chat about this week when I go for my check-up. I will say that because she is transverse my sciatica has been minor and I really believe it's because she's not on my nerve, literally, like AG was the whole time. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise...if my sciatica was as severe this go round as it was last time I don't know what I would do. Seriously, I don't know how I'd keep up with AG.

Miscellaneous: Andy leaves early Tuesday for a week of business in Cali. AG and I will be holding down the fort and Aunt Mis may come up for a few days. I need to finalize our plans for Disney and order some maternity clothes this week. On Saturday we'll head to the airport to pick up Andy and then head on to the farm to spend the rest of the weekend with Andy's family. We are looking forward to a few days  at the farm and having a baby shower get together.

22 Weeks Update...

Well, we've crossed the halfway point and racing along towards the third trimester. I know I say it often but I really can't get over how quickly this pregnancy is flying by.

Weight Gain: I'm fluctuating between 14-16 pounds depending on the day. Still much smaller than I was with AG at this point. Still sleeping on my stomach.

Maternity Clothes: Bought a few tops this weekend while we were in Gwinnett from target. Two maternity tanks along with 2 non-maternity tops that can be used as maternity. And another Bella Band since all my pants still fit. I wore a pair of maternity jeans the other day for the first time and they were awful. I decided then that I'd rather wear my own pants as long as possible.

Energy: Great on days when I'm not nauseated! Yes, I'm still sick. Nauseated on and off all weekend with a lovely two day headache to go with it. I look forward to being able to take Excedrin and my allergy migraine meds again in the near future. I hate having a headache and not being able to take anything for it...Tylenol just doesn't cut it.

Cravings: This last week it was a milk shake from CFA. I had one Tuesday and Saturday night. Mmmmmm. So tasty.

Gender: Still a girl. I need to post her ultrasound pics. We've started shopping around for deals on little girls clothes. We found several cute things this weekend and my three sister have also all been very generous...thanks Mis, Meg, and Caro!

Movement: Daily. This weekend Mis and Meg got to feel her...Meg had an entire conversation with my stomach and she put on a show. It was quite humorous. She's moving around as I type this...she's ready for breakfast but I'm staying in bed as long as possible since AG is still asleep.

Miscellaneous: Well, Andy's birthday is this next weekend. In general every year I try and plan some sort of sporting event for us to attend as his gift since he's such an avid sports guy. (Last year, for example, we went to ATL for a weekend without AG and saw the Hawks play Friday and the Thrashers Saturday.) When we bought our Disney passes for the year we mulled the possibility of doing Braves spring training since we've both always wanted to go. In addition our five year wedding anniversary is on April 30th. So, we started thinking maybe we would try and scoot away for a few days before Avi-Kate arrives and celebrate Andy's birthday and our anniversary. Well between Caro's wedding March 19th and Meg's wedding on April 30th and all the showers in between our weekends are packed. Plus the arrival of our new niece in between both weddings!

However, we've found one weekend in all of this that we can get away and yesterday we decided to plan it. So, we are heading down the last weekend in March to Orlando to do Disney for a few days, enjoy the sunshine, and see the Braves last two spring training games. Originally, we planned for AG to stay with someone but yesterday we opted to take him. Our last trip down there he was sick and didn't feel good. Plus, we've never taken him away just the three of us and this will be our last chance to do that before June...so we are taking advantage of it. And if that wasn't reason enough he's been practicing "The Chop" a lot lately on his own. Guess he's just warming up for spring training.

Thanks to our passes we get a discounted rate to stay on site so we think we are going to take advantage of that. Yesterday, we made reservations for the Liberty Tree Tavern at Magic Kingdom since we had to cancel our reservations there in December since AG had a fever that day. Andy also requested we go back to the 50's Prime Time Cafe at Hollywood Studios for another helping of Fried Chicken...I also made a reservation for there. And thankfully, I looked at dining stuff back in December and made a reservation on a whim in case we were able to go because I got us a reservation at Le Cellier at Epcot! Which is suppose to be one of the best places to eat at Disney. So we have lunch there one day...good thing we already had a reservation because there is NOTHING available now with them the entire time we are there. I'm excited we get to do something fun with AG before he becomes a big brother. After that, we are hoping to come back this fall to bring AG trick or treating for Mickey's Not-So-Scary-Halloween...Andy thinks he should go as Peter Pan this year since he has the hair and is obsessed with Pan these days. Guess I need to find Avi-Kate a tiny Tinker Bell costume. :)

Nesting, Organizing, Nesting...

...Organizing. Blame it on being pregnant. Blame it on the new year and the need to tackle a project.

Ah, so many projects and so much chaos to complete it in.

Today we started tackling the laundry room. (Photos to come) It is the only room in the house yet to be touched by us. Every inch of the rest of the house has been updated and remodeled. The laundry room has been the catch-all while we did all the other rooms. And while we aren't going to remodel it, yet, we are going to make it more functional in the interim.

So, for right now my den is filled with chaos...boxes everywhere, a drum set, tools, paint cans, and anything else you can think of that might be thrown in a laundry room at the last minute when guests arrive. My toddler enjoys rummaging in all of it and banging on Daddy's drum set that was "hiding" in the laundry room for all these months. I'm sure the neighbors are loving the noise coming from our house between the drilling, cutting wood, and drum set.

This is the perfect week for us to tackle this project since I don't have to mentor this week since the county has early release/intercession. Freeing up my schedule to tackle lots around the house. Avi-Kate just needs to get the memo that Mommy doesn't have time for nausea this week. :o) She apparently ignored that memo today and several hours into this project I was hit with a wave of nausea. I'm feeling better now after drinking a Coke. Andy enjoyed using his new saw that he got for Christmas today to cut all the wood for the shelves. I'm mulling over a building project for him to put in the laundry...which I'm sure he would oblige since it would involve his new saw.

In other news I've been working on some housekeeping stuff. It's a new year and I have another child that will be here before I know it. I'm itching to get some new routines established and in place before her arrival. (Another reason why I need my laundry room functional.) Hoping to get that up and going this week at least partially while we finish the laundry room so that we can give it a complete go next week. Post to come on that...

Also, a post forth coming on my poaching chicken for the first time and shredding it to make several meals. Kroger had a great deal this past week and I decided to give it a try.

Hope everyone has a great week. Hard to believe January has come and gone and February is here.

Saying hi to Daddy...

Avi-Kate has been moving, for me, for weeks now. Andy has been patiently waiting to feel her. With AG the first time Andy felt him we had just gotten home from dinner at the Hungry Bull (my brother-in-law's name for Longhorn) and were watching the UGA vs. ASU game at ASU. The Dawgs had a big play, I'm sure Andy could tell me what play it was, and we were cheering when AG decided to join in. Tonight we were watching the auditions for American Idol in Milwaukee and Avi-Kate decided to say hi to her Daddy with one simple kick. Andy commented that she's not as "wild" as AG was. I would definitely say that she is (so far) more mellow than AG was. We've crossed the half way point and we'll see if that changes.

I can't believe we are over half way. This pregnancy is zipping by in comparison to my pregnancy with AG. Tomorrow morning we have an appointment with my mid-wife and Avi-Kate's full anatomy ultrasound to make sure everything looks good. I have lots to post and update on in the next few days now that I have some down time on the horizon. We are also starting to make our master list of things to do before her arrival. It'll be here before we know it...

19 weeks update...

Hard to believe that I'm almost to the half way point in this pregnancy. I'm 19 weeks now. I feel like it is flying due to how busy life is these days with the red-headed tornado! There is always something going on. Since I didn't have the blog during my pregnancy with AG (wish I could go back and change that!) I don't have anything written down about the comings and goings. The biggest things that happened in my pregnancy with AG are:

-I had NON-STOP heartburn for seven months straight...literally up until he was born. I remember asking the nurse in the hospital for some and she said she'd ask Shannon, my midwife, to add tums to meds. Before she could walk out I was like, "if I have my own can I just use them?" Ha.

-My sciatica was unlike anything I've ever experienced. I ended up in physical therapy for the last five months of my pregnancy. I also had to use a walker to be able to get around the last two weeks that I was pregnant.

-I had no swelling until Thanksgiving Day from there I just inflated like a balloon. I can honestly say I don't know how much weight I gained with AG. After Turkey day I quit looking at the scale because the numbers bothered me so much due to how much fluid I was retaining and there was nothing I could do about it. (Granted I have an idea but I couldn't tell you for sure.)

-I was induced a weekly early because I was in so much pain from my sciatica and so swollen.

This go around I've been meaning to post at least a monthly update but I'm almost half way done and am just now getting around to that.

Weight Gain: The first trimester I gained 2-3 pounds. Since then I bounce between 10-12 pounds. My weight gain this go around has been slower and smaller than with AG. I'm not going to lie I'd love for it to stay that way for the second half. We'll see, right?

Maternity Clothes: I'm actually wearing next to no maternity clothes at this point. Which is also crazy to me because with AG I was wearing maternity clothes before I was out of the first trimester. I am wearing all my regular pants still zipped just unbuttoned and held up with a BellaBand. Andy calls it a tube top for my belly! I'm wearing two or three maternity shirts but haven't made the complete transition to all maternity ware, yet. I've decided that with your first pregnancy you can't wait to be in maternity ware and then the next go around you want to stay in your non-maternity clothes as long as possible. Once you switch to all maternity ware you can't go back till post-baby.

Energy: I'm still sick. Although in the last month it has changed from every day nausea to alternating days. For example this past week, I felt great Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday then Thursday rolled around and I felt awful. The week before that I had three nights in a row that I stayed in bed sick. So, when I feel good my energy level is good and when I am sick I have no energy. At this point I think this is just something I'll deal with the entire time I am pregnant because I'm halfway (almost) and still dealing with it.

Cravings: When I'm nauseated the only thing I want to eat is nuggets from Chick-fil-A. Also, when I'm nauseated I want Coke or Sprite as cold as possible with lots of ice. Preferably, with crushed ice from Chick-fil-A.

Gender: Girl! We'll get another confirmation when I go back next week for my next check-up and my 20 week ultrasound. AG can say, "Avi" we are working on the "Kate" part but it's pretty stinkin' cute to hear him say her name.

Movement: Let's see I started feeling twinges about a month ago but in the last two weeks it's consistent and daily. Andy hasn't felt her, yet. She's flipping and twirling as I type this.

Miscellaneous: I'm still sleeping on my tummy but the last two mornings I've woken up with my sciatica bothering me. So, I might have to make the switch to my side sooner than I thought so that I can sleep with my leg propped up to help my nerve.

Here's a sneak peek at some of the fun we had this weekend celebrating AG with his Buzz birthday. (Update about his birthday this week...once we finish celebrating.) I'll take a belly picture this week to post. But you can see my bump in these pictures and I actually wore a maternity top yesterday. 

AG's Buzz drum pad from Nanny.

AG's Buzz from Emma.

Meet...

...Avi-Kate Edwards.

Thankfully, names are not something we have to mull over for a long time. Andy and I like a lot of the same names to begin with and we are both very decisive people. With AG Andy picked the name long before we were pregnant with him. He decided that if we ever had a little boy we would name him Austin after his Dad and Granddad. And Gary after my Dad. It's definitely different. We've yet to meet another Austin Gary. And the nick name AG fits him perfectly. We also choose to call him by both his full name and his nickname.

So, how did we come up with the name Avi-Kate? I have half-jokingly stated since we had AG that I was naming the next child since Andy named AG. BUT I also gave Andy veto power if there was something he didn't like...but again we know what we like and don't like so it wasn't hard for us.Well, first, Kate is another one of my nicknames since my middle name is Katherine. My immediate family and closest friends call me Kate. Andy also started calling me Kate when we were dating. I love the name and I've always wanted to use it in a little girl's name.

Avi is after one of our dear, sweet friends. This is Avi...

With our friend Monica in Keystone, Colorado for our PE class.

With AG in the hospital.

The day she graduated from Berry. 

With AG at her graduation party.

Avi and I met her freshman year at Berry when I was a senior. We became close friends after having a class together. (We went skiing in Colorado for a PE credit.) The next year Andy and I were married and living right off campus...Avi started bringing her friends over to our house on Thursday nights to watch Grey's Anatomy. And thus, our student ministry was born. The people Avi brought over began to bring their friends over and it's just snowballed from there. What started out as four or five girls on a Thursday night has grown in to a family of 20+ students...that we feed and interact with several times throughout the  week.

Avi is one of the most loving and caring people that I have ever known. She has never met a stranger and goes out of her way to make people feel welcome. She's adventuresome and loves to travel. She'll try anything and is not afraid to make mistakes or ask questions. She is determined and hardworking. She is vivacious and her laugh is infectious. As my dad would say, "you gotta have drive." And she does. These are qualities and characteristics that we would hope our little girl would have.

On another note, my appointment went well and Avi-Kate is measuring right on schedule and is weighing in at 5 ounces. I'm 16 weeks and 4 days and she is measuring right there. I go back in four weeks and they'll do my full ultrasound to measure everything. I will say that she was much more subdued than AG was for his ultrasounds! Ha. The tech had to work to get a good profile shot...AG on the other hand was all over the place. Always on the go. AG didn't know what to think about the ultrasound...it was highly amusing to watch his reactions. He kept looking at the screen and looking at me. The heartbeat (which sounded great!) really threw him for a loop. :o)

It's coming...

...a blog post on Christmas, photos from Disney, an update on life this last week with my grandmother, etc. I'm wiped mentally, physically, and emotionally and promise to get to it soon. I'm still dealing with nausea despite being well in to the 2nd trimester and  taking medicine for it.

On the upside we have our gender ultrasound Thursday morning (wahoo!) and we have tickets to the Chick-fil-A bowl for New Years Eve (which I'm really looking forward to date night with Andy...even if it means cheering for the Ole' Ball Coach and the Gamecocks.)

More to come. Andy joked the other day that AG and his sibling were already conspiring against me with being nauseated and keeping up with a toddler that is in to EVERYTHING these days. Ha. So very true...

Due Date for Tiny E 2.0

Here's the latest on Tiny E 2.0:

Yesterday, I saw my fabulous midwife and she has given me a due date of 6-12-11. This puts me at 14 weeks and 3 days as of today. Which means that my sister-in-law, Caroline, and I are exactly 8 weeks apart. They found last week that they are having another little GIRL. We are excited for them! Speaking of gender my midwife has it arranged for us to find out the sex in two weeks! So, in between Christmas and New Year's I'll go back for my next appointment. We are excited to find out if AG will have a brother or a sister. Once we find out what we are having we'll announce the name we've picked out for Tiny E 2.0. We have one for each sex picked out...we are enjoying keeping it a secret just a little while longer.

My midwife declared yesterday that I was having a girl after I listed my symptoms from this pregnancy and how different they are from my pregnancy with AG. We'll see in two weeks if she is right. Our hearts desire is for a healthy baby but I'd love to have a little girl. :o)