Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Blessed

I have gone back and forth about whether to post about this or not, but decided that it is a big part of our lives and that we are not alone in facing this, so here's our story...
We found out at the beginning of the new year that we were pregnant with our third. We were shocked, since we didn't easily get pregnant with the other two and we had planned to wait another 6 months or so before getting pregnant again, but we were still thrilled! I was put on progestrone with my other two pregnancies, but decided that this time around we would go without since a test at the OB showed my progestrone levels were normal. At the end of Hailey's first birthday party we let her announce (though a t-shirt) that she was going to be a big sister. I waited until the end of the party because "just in case" something did go wrong with this pregnancy the party wouldn't be marked with saddness.
I finally had my first appointment at 9 weeks 2 days (with the other two I had an appointment at 7 weeks, so this was a long wait!). Everything looked great until she turned on the ultra sound machine. She started measuring right away and I searched for a heartbeat. After maybe 10 seconds, I asked her, have you seen a heartbeat yet? She said, "no, why? do you have a reason to worry?" and I told her that I didn't but I always worry at this point. Well, she looked, and after a few seconds said, "I'm not seeing a hearbeat". Even though it was something I knew was always a possibility, I was still shocked, as was Cole. She did an internal ultrasound to make sure and saw the same thing. We were broken hearted, of course. But the Dr. was AMAZING and so was the ultrasound tech. We have been blessed through all of this in so many ways. God truly is the Great Comforter! His comfort began right there in that room with those two women! They comforted us with all of the love and patience that any stranger could.
We went that afternoon to have a D & C done. Another blessing... one of Cole's best friends, who is an OB, was working at the hospital that day and was able to come and sit with Cole while I was back having the procedure done. His professional opinion and friendship was exactly what we needed at that point. I haven't had any pain physically and have been able to go on without any major issues. We also live near family, so we've all been in good hands. We have had a peace through most of this. The hardest part was seeing that little body on the screen. It was formed perfectly and was measuring 9 weeks, 1 day. So the heart had probably stopped beating right before our appointment- maybe days, maybe just a few hours. It was hard to accept that the heartbeat wasn't just being overlooked since everything else was exactly as it should have been. But coming home to two smiling little faces made me so much more aware of how blessed we are! God is so good!!! I realized that I could be facing the same thing without having two healthy girls at home, and I know so many do.
I've gone through feeling some guilt over not just taking the progestrone anyways and guilt over the little things like that deli sandwich I ate or not being thankful enough for this surprise pregnancy, but I know that none of those things had the power to take this little life. There is so much comfort in knowing who's hands it is all in!
So now we wait and see what God's plans are. We would love a third, but are so extremely blessed to be given the gift of parenting Savannah and Hailey! At the end of the day, we stand so undeservingly blessed!!! Our cup runneth over! Praise God for His goodness!!!

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Hailey is ONE!!



It's hard to believe our little baby is already a year old. I know everyone says it, but it's true, time really does fly by! Hailey has 6 teeth (she didn't get her first until she was 10 months and then got the rest in about a week!). She is crawling (she took her time, but she's got it!) and cruising, but still not attempting to walk. Yesterday I saw her stand for about 3 seconds before slowly lowering herself to the ground. She is a very cautious baby and that is just fine with her very cautious mommy!


We had a birthday party for her with our family and close friends which filled our house with girls (and a few boys) running and giggling! I made little shirts for Hailey and Savannah but Savi had her's off as soon as her cousins walked in the door and the dress up clothes came out! Oh well!








This is some of the chaos of the day, but it was great to have everyone together to celebrate out girl!





Hailey was done partying by the time the cake came out, and when I put her in her chair she cried! But once that cake was in front of her that's all she saw! She tasted and then put her face right in it. She was a happy girl... until I took the cake away.

































Saturday, February 5, 2011

Ice Skating With Daddy




Savannah had an opportunity to give ice skating a try, and jumped right on it! She couldn't wait to get out there on the ice. She had a blast with her daddy and is still talking about it 2 months later!


Friday, February 4, 2011

Christmas 2010


I was horrible about taking good Christmas photos this year! It was a crazy Christmas, but such a good one! We moved into our house about 10 days before and ended up getting a tree for $15 since it was one of 10 left on the lot. That little penguin Hailey is reaching for was one of her very favorite Christmas decorations. I love how she spotted it and did what she had to do to reach it. So sweet!




We were at home Christmas morning and then jumped in the car to be with Cole's family for Christmas afternoon and evening. It's so great being this close to everyone!








Savannah pulled the Christmas stocking off of the mantel and the stocking holder got her right above the lip. We didn't end up getting stitches, but maybe we should have. She is still sporting a red scar. It'll be our little reminder of Christmas 2010!

Living With PaPa and GaGa


We have moved! It's been 6 months now, but I figured I should make an official announcement on the blog :) Cole got a job with Michelin and we moved from the Raleigh area back home to Greenville, SC. We have loved living closer to all of our family and reconnecting with some old friends. My parents were more than patient with us while we lived with them for 4 MONTHS! while we house hunted, waited on responses from the bank on our offers on a short sale, and then did some remodeling before moving into our home. I'll post pictures of the house later, but for now, more pictures of our growing girls! Savannah is almost always seen in her dress up clothes these days. Pink ballet leotards seem to be her favorite, but princess dresses usually make a daily appearance as well. The girls are playing together more and more... I am loving it! Sisters are such a gift!!













Halloween 2010


So, I know I'm WAY behind, so I figured I'd try to do a little catch up. These posts will probably be mostly pictures, because that's what everyone wants to see anyways, right? So here are our little ballerina (princess?) and our little piggy.