It's Baaaaack!

Morning sickness, that is. I remember commenting the other day that I was surprised I hadn't been sick yet with this pregnancy. With Keira, I was sick constantly until about 4 1/2 months along. Up until this week I had been a bit queasy and HUNGRY all the time, but not terribly sick. Then, I woke up Sunday morning, and before I even got out of bed, I knew it was back. Since Sunday morning, I've been fighting the urge to throw up. I almost wish I would throw up, just to make the nausea go away for a brief time. I just want to lie on the couch in the evenings and rest because I feel so tired and sick, but Keira keeps me pretty busy. I think I had "pregnancy amnesia" because I'd forgotten how yucky (for lack of a better word) morning (or ALL DAY) sickness can be. I can't believe I had actually been looking forward to it...but at least I know that there are plenty of hormones circulating through my body. Hopefully it'll only last until the end of this first trimester. We'll see...

"#1"

For some reason, this picture wouldn't show on the previous post. There's a link to it, but here is the actual picture. OH YEAH, Shawn also had Keira's ears pierced yesterday. I wasn't really all that excited about it, but it turned out pretty good. He held her while the ladies pierced both ears at once. She cried for a couple of minutes and then was fine. She doesn't even seem to realize they're there, plus they look ADORABLE!

Keira's 1 year photos...

We took Keira to have her pictures made for her first birthday (a bit late, I know). They haven't come in yet, but here's a preview. What a cutie!

KEIRA is going to be a BIG SISTER!

Ok, so, here's the scoop. Shawn has been saying since before Keira was born that he wanted our kids to be close together in age. We had talked about waiting until this summer to start "trying" for the next one. He'd wanted to start sooner (like when Keira was 5 or 6 months old, but I persuaded him to wait). So, we finally decided that this would be the month when we'd stop NOT trying...and just let nature take its' course....you know, in God's time and all of that. Apparently God's time is NOW! I'd been "feeling" pregnant for about a week or so and finally decided to take a home pregnancy test last Thursday...and it was POSITIVE immediately. We were shocked and elated. I feel good...my morning sickness has been pretty minimal up to this point (of course, I am only 5w5d), but I have been extremely moody and sensitive. We're going to the doctor on April 14 for our first appointment and (hopefully) our first look at our new addition. I have talked to my doctor's nurse, and Dr. McB increased my Folguard dosage and told me to keep taking baby aspirin for the clotting. We're praying all goes well, and we're expecting a precious new baby in November. If this new baby is half as amazing as our Keira, we'll be blessed.

KEIRA'S FIRST BIRTHDAY

Keira's first birthday was Saturday, March 11. We had her party at Mom and Dad's church (in the fellowship hall). So many family members and friends came. It was really nice. Here are some of the pictures.



She was so funny when we gave her her little cake. She wasn't sure quite what to do with it. She stuck her fingers into the icing and then tried to wipe them clean on the highchair tray. In the end she got pretty messy. She even ended up with icing in her hair. Thank goodness we took her birthday dress off before giving her the cake. Luckily there was a sink there, so we just ran it full of water and gave her a bath.
I still can't believe my baby girl is one year old.

Today Shawn took her to the pediatrician. She weighed 19lbs, 3oz, and was 27 1/4" long. She's come a long way from 3lbs, 14oz! She isn't walking yet, but she does talk all the time!! She says some words that are recognizable (Mama, Dada, bottle, e-i-e-i-o, babygirl, get down, hi, bye-bye, and uh-oh). Some other things aren't completely clear, but we know what she's saying because she consistently says the same things. She also gives kisses. What a big girl!

Sara's Birthday Pictures

Here are some recent pictures of Keira and Sara. They were taken at Sara's 3rd birthday party on January 29. Uncle Tim got to spend some time with his girls.

Crying it Out..Some Peace at Last!

Ok, so I finally got tired of being tired all the time. Neither Shawn nor I were getting a full night of sleep because Keira had gotten back into the habit of waking up twice a night. One of us would feed her, snuggle her and put her back to bed. It's so hard to resist picking her up when she's crying...and she's still sleeping in our room (which is a topic for another day...). Anyway, Saturday night we got home late from visiting Holly, Jeff, and Tyler (after doing some birthday shopping for my *almost 1 year old girl*). We went to bed, and after a couple of hours, Keira started crying again. I lay in bed for about 10 minutes listening to her and hoping she'd fall back to sleep. She didn't, so I got up and went to her. She was standing up and reaching for me, but I somehow managed to resist picking her up and lay her back down instead. I patted her back and talked to her for a couple of minutes then got back into my bed. She cried (and screamed) for about 30 more (LONG and TORTUROUS) minutes, then was calm and quiet. I got up to check on her and she was sound asleep. She didn't wake up until 6:00 Sunday morning.

Sunday night she cried for about 30 minutes total and fell back to sleep. Since then, she hasn't woken up and cried at all. I am pretty excited about this development. At first I felt like I deserved the "World's MEANEST Mom Award" for letting her cry. But, she wasn't wet, dirty or hungry, so I knew that she was just tired. And after getting TWO FULL NIGHTS OF SLEEP, I'm feeling like a pretty good Mom after all.

We're Feeling Better (and sleeping again)

What a weekend! On Thursday last week, I was really looking forward to the weekend. We had a PD day on Friday at work, so that meant 8:30-2:30 and NO kiddos! Then, we were off on Monday for President's Day.

On Thursday when I picked Keira up, Aunt Sis said that she felt a bit warm to her. So, that evening, I took her temperature and it was about 101 degrees. I gave her some Tylenol, and she slept off and on that night. Friday morning, she woke up with a fever (near 102 degrees). I gave her some medicine and took her to Aunt Sis and Uncle Doug's house. I called to check on her around 1:30, and Aunt Sis said that she'd given her some Tylenol earlier and that her temp. was about 99 degrees. I was glad to hear it. But, by the time I picked her up and got to Mom and Dad's house that afternoon at 3:00, her fever was back and up to 103 degrees.
I decided not to call the doctor because she didn't have any other symptoms and the fever was going down with medicine.

SO, she was cranky Friday evening and didn't sleep much that night. Then Saturday she ran a fever all day long. Kelly and Dave both came to visit Saturday afternoon. At 10:00 on Saturday night, Keira's fever was up to 104 degrees. I decided that I'd waited long enough and called the pediatrician's office emergency hotline. The nurse I spoke to said that if she didn't have any other symptoms I didn't have to take her to the ER unless I was just really worried. Shawn and I decided that we would just wait until Sunday to see how she was feeling. If she still had a fever on Sunday, we would take her to the ER.

Wouldn't you know it, we woke up Sunday and NO FEVER! She slept all day Sunday, and I thought we were out of the woods. Then, on Monday evening I was changing her diaper and noticed red bumps ALL OVER her body! I called in to work for Tuesday and vowed to call the doctor's office the next morning. It was a long night! She was up (and crying) every hour between 9:00 pm and 6:00 am.

I took her to the pediatrician's office on Tuesday morning and found out that she had a rash caused by a viral infection! I was terrified that it was measles! Thankfully it wasn't, though, and it didn't really even seem to bother her all that much. We came home from the doctor's office at 10:45 am and she slept until 3:00. Things are back to normal now, and I couldn't be happier! What a (long) weekend!

In twenty-three more days...

...my baby girl will be ONE YEAR OLD!! I know I've said it (about 3 million times), but I have to say it again...WHERE DOES THE TIME GO? I can remember vividly the night I had her. It really does feel like only yesterday.

I remember sitting on the couch in my living room watching the coverage of the courthouse shooting in Georgia when Dad came to pick me up to take me to my appointment. I remember dropping off my "sample" to the Quest Lab. I remember sitting in the rocking chair at the Perinatal center waiting for my ultrasound...reading my book (that Shawn bought for me with the advice that I should wait to read it until I was admitted to the hospital so I'd have something to keep me busy).

I remember feeling (first) excited to see Keira on the screen of the ultrasound machine, then terrified as the technician went to get the doctor. I remember how quickly everything happened...how upset I was that Shawn wasn't there yet, but how glad I was to have my Dad with me. He was so calm and reassuring (like always) reminding me that it would all be ok, and that God was in control.

I remember sitting in the waiting room watiting (while they cleaned my room) to be admitted....Shawn coming off the elevator...Dwayne arriving, then my mom, Rob and Lisa, then Holly and Jeff. I remember how long it took (and how painful it was) for the nurse to start the IV. I remember my family leaving for dinner, and having to call Shawn back because they were going to take me to surgery ASAP.

I remember how quickly everything happened once Keira's heartrate dropped and the decision was made to do a C-section...I was shaking and felt faint. I don't think I even felt the epidural needle in my spine. I remember wondering if it was too late to just change my mind and go home...wondering if I was really ready to be a mother. All of the fears and doubts that I hadn't had during the course of my pregnancy suddenly flooded in.

I remember being wheeled into the delivery room (at 9:04 pm), and Shawn trying to watch over the drape as Dr. McBride worked to deliver Keira. I'll never forget hearing the doctor and nurses marvel about how "tiny, buy mighty" she was...or that cry of hers...and her strawberry blonde hair.

The best memory of the day my life changed forever was the moment Shawn placed Keira in my arms for the first time. She was so tiny, so beautiful, so amazing. It was all so surreal, such a wirlwind of activity... One minute it had just been Shawn and me, and the next we were suddenly responsible for another life. The 5 days we spent (and the 6 she spent) at the hospital were days that I'll never forget...the isolette, having to go to the nursery to feed her, the NICU, her first bath...

And the first week or so at home when I took her temperature before every diaper change and feeding, carefully recording every detail in a notebook...

How our lives have changed, and how blessed we are that God worked his miracle to bring Keira to us! I remember thinking how different it might have turned out if I'd gone into labor on my own...how I spent too much time worrying about what could have gone wrong instead of just enjoying what went right... I look back now and realize how unnecessary that all was.

It's amazing to me to watch her grow and change and learn new things. Every day she does something new...she's developing into such a funny child already. It's so neat to watch her play tug of war with Max, and to give Mommy and Daddy kisses... What a wonderful life!

And now we're planning her first birthday party. March 11 will be here before we know it. Shawn picked out the birthday party invitations and decorations from BirthdayExpress.com. Now we're just waiting for them to arrive so we can send them out in time. I still can't believe my BABY will be a year old!

Birthday Blues

February 13...it's come again. It seems like each year my birthday arrives more quickly than the year before. I guess it's like everything...the older you get, the quicker time seems to pass.

I remember when I was a kid, I always looked forward to my birthday. It always meant (at least) a gift and a cake that my mom would make. I can remember about 2 or 3 birthday parties as I was growing up...the two that stand out were my 10th and 16th.

This year (#28) my birthday fills me with a feeling of melancholy. I wonder if it's because there isn't as much to look forward to in terms of celebrations. There aren't any milestones left (unless you count 30, 40, 50, etc, and who wants to do that?!). Adults don't have birthday parties, and it's considered "childish" and "selfish" to expect gifts from family members and friends. And, I don't expect gifts. It's nice just to be remembered (thanks for all of the birthday wishes family and friends!). I guess adults just don't "do" birthdays the way kids do. My students get so excited on their birthdays. They're still magical days full of possibilities.

I am looking forward to Keira's 1st birthday. Maybe living vicariously through their children's birthday celebrations is what gives a parent joy. I know that every day with Keira is a joy for me. I suppose that's what being a parent is all about. Still it would be nice to be as excited about my own birthday...

Another weekend almost over

It's Sunday again, and we're savoring the last bits of another weekend gone too fast. We didn't do much this weekend. We hung out here at home on Friday evening. It was pretty mellow. On Saturday, we went up to visit Kelly and Dave. We stopped by Holly's apartment to see her and Tyler and to drop off an exersaucer. He's getting so big! And he was so smiley! What a sweet boy...

This evening, we went to Rob and Lisa's house to watch the SuperBowl. Admittedly we spent more time playing with the girls and going through some of Sara's old clothes for Keira. I shouldn't have to buy many things for this summer, so that's nice. I appreciate their generosity.

I've also been hearing lots of baby news lately. My friend Jill just had a baby girl this past week. For those of you who don't know, Amber and Bo are having their 5th baby...a BOY this time. He'll be here in May. Dwayne and Becky should be having their ultrasound soon to find out if they'll be having a boy or a girl. I have to admit, with all of these little babies around, I'm starting to feel the first stages of baby fever. Not full-blown baby fever yet, but I'm in the "awwwwww...a baby! stage. My baby girl is getting SO BIG! Well, not big, so much as older and more independent.

Did I tell you that she got 2 more teeth? She now has 2 on the bottom and 4 on top. She finally stopped climbing our stairs, only because we installed a baby gate. This morning, she pushed her Peekablocks Hippo over to the stairs and stood on top of it trying to climb the gate. What a monkey! She's grown so much and I can't believe how fast this year has flown by.

In addition to happy baby news, I've been hearing quite a bit of sad baby news lately, too. I am just so thankful every day for my sweet girl. God definitely blessed us with our little miracle. I couldn't be happier.

Park Pictures

I finally got the film developed from our day at the park (yes, I said "developed"! I'm still in the dark ages and using my 35mm camera). Anyway, here are some of the pics. We had such a great time...it was hard to believe it was in JANUARY!!

Blowing off steam...school on MLK Day

Today is Martin Luther King Day. We were supposed to be off school today for the holiday. However, since we had a snow day before Christmas, we had to come to school today as a make-up day. I don't mind making up days...I completely understand the need to be in school for the required number of days, etc. What really burns me up is that the first day we "lose" is Martin Luther King Day.

The idea behind today is to celebrate the life and contributions to society of a great man...a man whose legacy is equality for everyone. I (for one) am trying to teach my students the importance of treating everyone equally (and I know I'm not the only teacher who is doing so). I'm trying to expose the kids here in this small, predominately white community to other cultures and the struggles other people have had to endure. Granted, I know that if we were off today, our students probably wouldn't be doing any activities related to honoring and celebrating Dr. King's life.... I just think it's a bad idea to take away this holiday. It's almost as if we're telling the kids that this is an "OPTIONAL HOLIDAY", that it isn't as important as other days. Probably this thought has never entered the minds of the powers that be. Who knows? I just think I'd rather make up days at the end of the year...

Well, at least I was able to do several activites today that (hopefully) taught my kids how important Dr. King was to the Civil Rights Movement. I just remember that when I was a student here growing up, no one ever taught me about the struggles that African-Americans had to face even after the Civil War ended and slavery was abolished. When I left here and moved to a bigger city, and taught in predominately black schools, I learned so much...from the other teachers and even from the students. I know that I'll never completely understand the discrimination and injustice the way that my colleagues there did, but it's my goal to teach my students here about respect and tolerance...

Spring Fever

What a gorgeous day today was!! Shawn and I took Keira to the park today to enjoy the weather. We took a walk on a trail, and then played on the playground. She slid down the slide with Daddy and then on her own. She especially loved the swing. I think we took an entire roll of pictures today. It was so beautiful...sunny and about 60 degrees. I am ready for spring to get here. Now that Christmas is over, I'm done with winter. I'm looking forward to warm days, playing outside, more trips to the park and to the zoo. I guess I'll just have to be satisfied with taking advantage of any unseasonably warm days that we have. April will be here before too long.

Back to Work (and Keira's latest adventure)

I went back to work yesterday. It wasn't nearly as hard as I'd imagined it would be. I settled back into the routine of school pretty quickly. Keira seemed to be happy to be with Aunt Sis and Uncle Doug. Today she was at home with Shawn...he had the day off work. I called to check on them during lunch, and he said that she'd just gone to sleep for the first time. They had had an eventful day. She apparently climbed all the way to the top of our stairs, with him right behind her. She climbs pretty quickly and laughs the whole time. It's definitely time to get a gate for the stairway.

I can't believe how quickly she's growing. I'll bet she's walking in no time. She's also getting another tooth. She got the bottom middle two teeth at the same time, so she'll probably get both of the top ones at about the same time. It's so unreal to me that my little baby will be TEN MONTHS OLD soon! It'll be time to start planning her first birthday before we know it.

A Brand New Year

The holidays are over for yet another year. Christmas was good. We saw a lot of family members , so that was nice. On Christmas Eve, we went see Aunt Cyndi and Uncle Rick. We also got to see a couple more of Shawn's aunts, uncles and cousins. I kept thinking about the last Christmas we spent with Mary there. I can't believe she's been gone for 2 years now. Last year was hard without her, but this year seemed to be even harder. I think it had something to do with all of the changes in the family...weddings and babies and such. At any rate, I definitely thought a lot about her during the holidays this year. I'm sure that if it was hard for me, it had to be ten times harder for Shawn, Holly, and Dwayne.

After visiting Rick and Cyndi, we went to my parents' house. We had such a great time visiting and eating and opening gifts. I think Keira had a fun "FIRST CHRISTMAS". Everyone was so generous, and she had fun opening the gifts. She especially enjoyed the boxes, bows and paper. We also went to see Grandma Wilson, Uncle David and Linda. After that, we stopped by to see Aunt Sis and Uncle Doug. What a busy night!

That night, Keira was up with a fever, so we were exhausted the next day. We finally managed to get out of bed (later than we'd planned). After feeding Keira, we let her open her gifts from Santa. Then, we got ready to take Max to Rob and Lisa's. After that, we left to visit George and Roxana. We got to their place early in the afternoon. Once Holly, Jeff, and Tyler got there, we started opening gifts and then had dinner. It was nice. We all really enjoyed ourselves. I think it would have been even better if Dwayne and Becky could have been able to be there. I know that it's hard to rearrange schedules and traditions...but I hope that next year we'll all be able to be together, especially with their new baby on the way!

On December 26, we went to visit the rest of Shawn's family at his Aunt Beth and Uncle Ken's house. It was good to be able to see his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

We planned a small get-together at our place on New Year's Eve. Shawn and I were both really looking forward to hanging out with our friends and ringing in the new year with them. We cleaned up the basement, bought food and drinks, and even bought a couple of new games for the night.
On Friday (12/30), we went to dinner to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary, and we had a great time. The next morning (New Year's Eve), I woke up feeling so queasy! I ended up throwing up all day, and spent the evening in bed sick. What a letdown!! Luckily, everyone knew each other and felt comfortable hanging out and having fun together. I was just disappointed...what a way to start the year. Hopefully we'll all be ablt to get together again soon.

Now, I'm just hanging out with Keira on my last day before I have to go back to work. I've really had a lot of fun with her over the past 2 weeks, and am not looking forward to being away from her. Thankfully, the end of the school year is less than 6 months away.

I didn't make any resolutions for 2006. I guess I just hope that I'll be able to be the best MOM and WIFE (and daughter, teacher, friend) that I can be. There were a lot of changes in our lives in 2005, and I can't wait to see what changes this year brings.

Christmas is coming...Praise GOD!

I can hardly wait until Christmas! After today, there are only 1 1/2 class days until Christmas break. My students have been pretty good, for the most part, but they are starting to get excited. Their excitement is contagious! Last year, I didn't put up a tree in the classroom, didn't hang Christmas lights, and honestly, wasn't really in the mood for any of it. This year, my head room parent decorated a Christmas bulletin board, hung Christmas lights and put up a small tree. The kids have begun bringing in gifts for each other (and for me!) to put under (around) the tree. It's looking quite festive!

At home, I've been in the Christmas spirit for awhile now. Our tree and inside decorations have been up for a couple of weeks. The presents are bought and wrapped, the cards have been sent. I think I just want Keira's first Christmas to be special. I can't wait to continue our annual traditions...Grandma and Pop's house with Uncle Tim, Uncle Rob, Aunt Lisa, and Sara on Christmas Eve, Christmas morning at home with Mommy and Daddy, then Christmas afternoon at NaNa and PaPa's house, with Aunt Holly, Uncle Jeff, and Tyler (and hopefully some years with Uncle Dwayne and Aunt Becky...).

I know the holidays can become stressful if we let them, but it's usually a good sort of hectic feeling. Things change as families grow, with new spouses and babies, and that's normal. What I've come to realize is that it's so important just to stop and remember the reason that we celebrate Christmas in the first place. We (as humans) want things to go our way and get disappointed when our plans don't fall smoothly into place. Imagine for a minute how dramatically different our lives (and our world) would be if God had been selfish and decided that he wanted to keep His Son all to himself...Hard to imagine a world without the love of God and the sacrifice He made for us. I'm not saying that we should be perfect. I have a tendency to be selfish and want things to go my way...but it's my goal this Christmas to take time to remember the amazing sacrifice God made for us, and to let go of the things that take away from the joy of the season.
Merry Christmas and May God Bless You!

Thanksgiving

You know, for the first time in a while, I stopped today to think about Thanksgiving. I realize that I have so much to be thankful for. I have the most amazing daughter, husband and family a woman could ask for. I have wonderful friends, a nice home to live in, and a great job.

It's funny to think about how your life could be so different if you'd made different choices. I can't (even for a minute) imagine my life without the people in it. I am so blessed to have been born into my family...and for all of the steps that led me to the family that I have today....

I don't often say it, but I'm going to now...I love each and every one of you so much. Thank you so much for who you are and all that you do to make my life better. I'm a happy person just for knowing you.

Love,

I need a vacation!

Our "Annual Fourth Grade Musical Performance" is tonight at 7:00. It's appropriately titled "I Need a Vacation". The kids have been practicing all week (and for the past several weeks in music class), and had their matinee performance in front of the rest of the school this morning. It's really cute, and they do a great job. We 4th grade teachers all got together and decided to dress the part of vacationers. Amy wore her fishing gear, Amanda was a skier, Eddie wore a swim mask, goggles, water wings, and carried a boogie board, Madelyn looked like she'd just arrived from a dude ranch, Sandy had her binoculars, camera and other sight-seeing gear, and I was decked out for a Hawaiian vacation, complete with a tropical print sarong, and flowers in my hair. The kids enjoyed it, and so did we. Last year we dressed up in our warm up suits and tennis shoes to go along with the sports themed musical. I love teaching FOURTH GRADE! The kids are sweet, the curriculum is interesting, we get to go on the fun field trip, and present the musical every year. Plus, I have an awesome team of teachers to work with. I'm so happy here (at last!).
As much as I hate having to leave Keira every day, at least I get to go to a place where I'm happy and appreciated. It feels nice.
Now--I'm ready for CHRISTMAS VACATION!!