Florida Fun

Each year my family takes a vacation to Seaside, Florida and we always have such a wonderful time. We left last Friday morning and finally made it to Hammond, Louisiana by about 5:00 that evening after being stuck in awful traffic outside of Baton Rouge. Ansley rode with my parents, so we only had Heidi for the trip and she was great. No real crying, slept most of the way. We spent the night in Hammond and got up the next morning and headed to Florida. This may sound silly, but since we've stayed in the same house for five years now I feel like I'm coming home each time we finally turn onto the familiar rode called 30-A that drives through Watercolor, Seaside, and then Seagrove to our house. I love it there. I can't say it enough. It's probably the only place outside of Texas I would ever want to live and I've told Jeff so many times that someday I want to have a home there. It's my favorite place on earth. Really.

Anyway, this year was even more special because we got to celebrate the wedding of my sister and brother-in-law. I was the matron-of-honor (ugh, that sounds so old) and Ansley was the flower girl. It was a beautiful wedding on the beach and I am just so happy for my sweet sister. Ansley did a great job walking down the beach to us, though she never dropped any petals. And she totally stole the show at the reception as she danced almost the entire time. She would have danced all night if we would have let her.




The rest of the week was spent relaxing with our sweet family. My grandma was able to make it this year and it was just such a special week. Some of my favorite things we did: riding bikes to Seaside, playing in the sand with Ansley, laying in the sun and listening to the waves, boogie boarding, playing 42 on the balcony, watching Jeff pull Ansley around the water, eating at Great Southern in Seaside, checking out the little shops, grilling hotdogs on the beach, and the massage and facial my mom and I enjoyed at a spa in Seaside.





After a 12 hour drive yesterday, we finally made it back home last night. We had both girls with us and by about 5:00 they were done riding in the truck. We didn't get home until 8:30... Those last few hours were rough.

I can't wait to go back next year. Have I mentioned that it's my very favorite place? Thanks for such an amazing week, Mom and Dad!

Sweet sisters

Heidi's first month

Heidi,

You are one month old now and the last few weeks have flown by. It's amazing to watch you grow and change. A little about you:
-You have grown a good bit and are no longer a tiny fragile newborn. Daddy and I were a little afraid to even change your clothes and diaper in the beginning. You have officially outgrown your first outfit that is newborn size, but you can still wear newborn onesies. You can also wear 3 month onesies, but they're still a little long.
-You love your pacifier and sleep with it all night.
-You love to be held and snuggled and aren't a fan of the swing or bouncy seat. However, you do love the Moby wrap.
-The last two nights have been great. You have gone to bed between 8-8:30 and woke at 12:45 and 4:00 to eat and gone right back to sleep. Just getting those hours of uninterrupted sleep have really been nice for me.
-You seem to be very sensitive to the food I eat. Spicy food, a lot of cheese, and apparently coffee cause you to have tummy aches and you cry and cry. I soothe you by holding you upright and patting your back or putting you in the Moby.
-You're not a fan of the carseat either. Ansley tries to make you happy by putting your paci in your mouth and holding your hand.
-You've starting cooing in the last couple of days and I love hearing your happy little voice. I can't wait for your first intentional smile at me.
-You're nursing very well and are starting to get a little chubby.
-Ansley absolutely loves you. She talks to you all the time and tells me that she wants to play with you. I can't wait for you two to be best friends. Ansley is very into princesses now and tells me that you're a princess when I put your bows on you. It will be so sweet to watch you both spinning around the living room in your princess dresses in a year or two.

Love you sweet Heidi!

Our girls

What a sweet blessing these two girls are to us! Ansley is cracking us up everyday with the funny things she says and does. She's to that age now where I'm going to have to write them down so I don't forget. But, remember how a few posts ago I mentioned I thought the terrible twos were behind us? Well...nope. Today was a rough day and I'm so thankful that Jeff was home to help. She's apparently gotten more brazen and decided to come out of time out in her room twice without permission.

And Heidi is just growing and time is flying by. I can't believe she's already almost one month. We're having some trouble with her tummy and trying to figure out what it is that I'm eating that could be causing it. She's been pretty fussy for the past few days and I must say that my Moby wrap is a life saver. It's the only sure way to calm her, so I've been wearing her around a lot. We're also working on sleeping in her crib for naps. Ansley really does love her and is actually a big help to me. She gets diapers and blankets when I ask and will put Heidi's paci back in her mouth when she loses it.

They are both so sweet and we're so in love!

Heidi Reese

It's been a crazy few weeks around our house. Here's the story:

About two and a half weeks ago, Ansley got really sick. She was coughing, congested, had a weird rash on her entire body, and her fever reached 103.8, which totally freaked me out. The next day I took her to the doctor and was told that she had strep throat. About the same time, I also started feeling very strange with cramps, contractions and severe back and body pain. I was 38 weeks pregnant, so I knew that the baby could come at any time. The contractions started coming every 3-5 minutes and I had Jeff take me to the doctor's office to be checked out. I was put on a monitor and then checked and it was determined that I was 3 cm and 50%. All I knew was that I was starting to feel really bad and I thought I may have a fever. It was checked and was 101, which was causing the contractions and Heidi's heartrate to increase. So, I was given medicine and kept on the monitor until my fever decreased and her heartrate did too.

A few days went by with me trying to help Ansley get well and I ignored how terrible I was beginning to feel. I was having painful contractions every day. Early Sunday morning I woke up drenched in sweat once and then another time shivering and unable to get warm. I got up at 4:30 because the only thing I could think of to warm myself was a hot shower. When I got out and still felt terrible, I decided to wake Jeff and have him take me to the hospital. In the car, my contractions were again 3-5 minutes apart and I just knew I was in labor. At the hospital, I was checked and told I was a 4 and 80%. My temperature was 102 and Heidi's heartrate was again very high because of the stress she was under due to my fever. But after a couple of hours, my body was making no progress. I have never in my life felt so sick as I did that morning. I had chills and was sweating, my back was killing me, and I was so worried about my baby. My doctor happened to be the on-call doctor at the hospital that morning and she ordered tests to be done to determine what was going on with me. She thought there was even a chance that I had pneumonia, so she sent me down to have x-rays of my lungs. Finally, it was discovered that I had the flu despite having the vaccine in the fall and I was given a prescription for Tamiflu. After six hours and three bags of fluids in the hospital, I was sent home.

So, a couple of days later I had my regularly scheduled doctor's appointment and was still about the same that I was in the hospital. My doctor warned Jeff and me that if he were in Houston when I went into labor, there was a good chance he wouldn't make it to the hospital in time because she felt that I would have a short labor. She suggested I be induced since I had already progressed so much. So, after talking about it, we decided this would be a good decision for us and the doctor scheduled us to come in early Tuesday, April 19.

Tuesday morning we made it to the hospital by 6:30. I was asked questions, put on the monitor, and given the IV. At 8:00 my doctor came in to break my water and hard contractions seemed to start immediately. What seemed like only minutes later, I was told I was a six, then checked again soon and told I was a 9 1/2 and the nurse hurried off to call the doctor back to the hospital. At 10:09 Heidi Reese was born, weighing in at 7 lbs 2 oz. She is absolutely beautiful and we're so in love with our second daughter!

It's that time again!

Time for swimsuits, sunscreen, and playing in the sprinkler.






Thought the chair over the sprinkler would be a good idea...


Enjoying the cool water for just a second.


Surveying the grass that made her little feet "dirty."

2 Years (a little early)

Ansley,

Is it really possible that you will be turning two next week? That honestly was the quickest two years of my life so far, but I know that every year will seem that way now that I'm a mom. I've been reminded this entire pregnancy of my pregnancy with you and the memories still are so fresh that it's hard to believe in a few weeks I will be entering the hospital again and leaving with another precious little girl. God has blessed us with a life that I'm so thankful to live and there's not a single thing about it that I would change even if I could.

About you:
-You have such a sweet personality. You love to mother and are so polite, always saying please, thank you, excuse me, and bless you. Lately I have felt like we are on the downhill slide of the terrible twos since we've been in them for quite a while now. Maybe I shouldn't say that yet. :)
-My favorite thing you do is when you come in my room after waking in the morning and say, "Mommy, good morning! Did you sleep good?" Every single morning the words are so sweet to hear, even when I'm so tired and not ready to get up.
-You are talking so well and so much. I'm constantly amazed that I can say something to you once and you will remember it weeks later. You also love to repeat everything you hear.
-You're very coordinated with your movements and love to run, dance, spin in circles, and do front rolls.
-Your favorite things to do are color, play with play dough, carry your baby around the house and ask if she's wet and needs her diaper changed or wants to rock, play on the playground at the park, and do anything with Daddy (especially climb on him).
-You seem to understand that Heidi is your little sister and that she is a baby in Mommy's tummy. I love when you pat and rub my belly and tell her you love her. I think you're going to be a wonderful big sister and I know you'll instantly fall in love with her when you meet her.

It is such a joy spending every day with you, sweet Ansley. We are so in love with you and are thankful for the two wonderful years God has given us to be your mom and dad.