Wordless Wednesday...Easter 2011

Hope everyone had a blessed Easter!

TTFN,

'take another little piece of my heart now, baby...'

Sorry I haven't posted, but I've been kinda busy...

This is the belly shot the night before she was born.

Wow. ALL baby, right??

Meet the baby inside...

~~Welcome~~

Aubrey Alaina Waltman

March 24, 2011

8lbs 6oz, 21.5in long

My first time to hold her...

Napping together...

Sweet baby girl.

Look at those cheeks!! :)

Proud Daddy.

Papa love.

Going home.

Tiny toes.

Precious.

Love.

Paul took the last few pics...aren't they beautiful? The lighting in

our hospital room was great, in case you didn't notice...all the pics

we took there turned out really great, lighting wise.

We've been home since last Saturday, and doing well. She's a sweet

baby, and all the kids just love her (so far ;) I will have to post pics

of the other kids with her later.

We came up with her first name the night before, and even with that,

her middle name was undecided until after she was born. Aubrey is

a name that means worlds to me-it was my Grandfather's name-but

I have a cousin with a little girl named Aubrey. After a lot of debate,

and a few phone calls, I discovered that my cousin had another reason

to call her daughter Aubrey, and they live in California,

so Paul and I decided to go with it. I originally wanted to name

Emmie that, but my cousin's little girl was born first. I love it,

but have trouble not accidentally calling her Emmie!! LOL!! :)

Anyway, I was thinking as I saw her for the first time how crazy it

is that no matter how many children we have, I still have the same

feelings of awe...of pure, unconditional love. I know sometimes that

when we have the first we can't imagine how we could ever love

another child as much...but then the second comes along and it's just

like, oh, ok, that's how that works!! And it's been like that each time.

I've been trying to figure out how to explain it, and instead of thinking

that each child is taking up space inside our hearts, eventually

crowding each other, either God made our hearts to grow with each

one or He gave us just the right amount of chambers to hold each

child He intends to give us. I am still amazed. And in love with

each one. Thank you, God...my cup overflows.

Gotta go...feeding time!! :)

TTFN,

I am...

~37 weeks and 3 days pregnant.

~2 weeks and 4 days from my actual due date.

~2 weeks to the day from our scheduled c-section.

~not sure we're gonna make it that long!

~trying to enjoy the last days of this pregnancy...

because it may be our last.

~alternately moody and happy all the time...short

tempered and patient...it's a weird combination.

~still not sure what we're gonna name her.

(again, suggestions are welcome!!)

~uncomfortable all the time...yet still amazed at

what is going on inside my body!

~BLOGGING!! :)

~eating WAY too much...giving myself some

fierce indigestion.

~unable to draw a good, deep breath.

(seriously, have you ever looked at a diagram

of where your organs go during pregnancy??)

~trying to get my house ready...I put things off

way too long, and now I'm too big to do alot of things!

~sure she's going to be a big one.

~ready to hold our precious baby.

~blessed beyond measure.

TTFN,

March??

Seriously.

March?

Wow...time flies...and somehow manages to drag

all at the same time. I told Paul the other night that

this has been the longest pregnancy on record. At least

that's how it feels to me! At the same time, I don't think

we're quite ready for her to be here yet...you know...since

she still doesn't have a name and all. Poor kid.

{any suggestions welcomed}

On the bright side, the girls rooms upstairs are almost

finished-we're hoping to move them in this weekend.

I'll have to post pics when they are done.

Then we just have to put Noah in the twin bed with his and

Jacob's new bedding, and get Emmie settled into the toddler

bed in the girl's old room after we move them out and get it

all cleaned up, and get the baby stuff out and

ready for the baby...

Phew...did I say we weren't quite ready yet??

In other baby news, I'm roughly the size of a whale.

Really, I've never been this big, I don't think, and the

funny part is I'm ALL BABY. So I look sort of like a stick

bug that swallowed an olive.

Yeah, I'll give you a minute to process that one...

She's very active, and I'm very awkward. And tired.

And very pregnant. I'm not complaining too much, though.

I DO love being pregnant, and I am crazy excited to meet

the newest member of our brood, so the aches and pains,

and distorted body image are very much worth it. :)

Wanna know what I'm most curious about with this one??

All the girls in our house-including me-have blue eyes.

All the boys in our house-including Paul-have brown eyes.

Will this baby follow the pattern?? This is one of my favorite

parts of having a new baby...who will she look like, whose

temperament will she have, will she follow the unusual

gender-eye-color pattern thing we have going on??

As of now, we are scheduled for a repeat c-section on

March 24th. I'm none too happy about the section...I hate

them...but after the mild scare with Emmie, I'm just doing

what I feel is safest for the baby. Although my OB did say

that if I went into labor on my own before that and things

progressed quickly and smoothly (they never have in the past)

that we could try the v-bac again. In his words, 'You HAVE

had more vaginal births than c-sections at this point, and

it stands to reason that you could do it again.'

I had a successful v-bac with Noah, and then things got a

little scary with Emmie near the end, and I made the call to

just do the section for her safety. I would LOVE to have

another v-bac, but we'll just have to see. I'm praying

about it, and I'll do whatever I feel God is leading us to

do when the time comes.

If you're still out there, thanks! :)

TTFN,

Wordless Wednesday-a little Disney...then and now

Noah...Disney World...Nov. 2008

Noah...Disney World (same spot)...Dec. 2010

I'm trying to get back into blogging. I'm trying.

TTFN,

Wordless Wednesday...Halloween style 2010

I don't know why Emmie was being so silly,

but the pics are cute anyway!! ;)

TTFN,

P.S. just in case you were wondering, the

older 2 didn't dress up this year. :(

And...

For those of you who don't know via Facebook...

We're super excited and can't wait to meet her!! :)

And just a little sweet...

When I was getting dressed Friday, Noah asked where I

was going. When I said I was going to the Dr, in typical Noah

fashion he suddenly had a cough and insisted he needed to

go to the Dr too. I explained that I was not sick, but I had to

go and let the Dr check out the baby. When we got back, he

looked at me expectantly, then looked all around me.

Then he looked up at me curiously and said,

"But where's the new baby?? I thought you were going to get it!"

He's very ready for his new baby to get here. :)

TTFN,

18 weeks-belly shot

Yes, this is my messy bedroom and my unmade bed.

Don't judge me.

And this is my 18 week belly. Not even 5 months, and I

feel HUGE! LOL!!

Yeah, I didn't do my hair or makeup today, so no face shot.

Don't judge me.

I'm feeling much better this week, and am very excited to

go to the Dr. on Friday and find out what our little nudger is.

Pink or blue??? :)

On a serious note, I would covet your prayers for my friend,

Konnie, whose mom has bone cancer and is going through a

huge ordeal. The whole family has really been through it the

last year and a half or so, and I know they would all appreciate

any prayers lifted up on their behalf.

I guess blogging once a week is better than once every

3 months or so!! Hope everyone's having a great Monday.

TTFN,

P.S. Just wanted to thank Julie for the phrase 'Don't judge me.'

It comes in handy. ;)

I make no promises...

Ok, the fact that the last time I posted I was 4 weeks PG

is pretty sad considering I am 17 weeks today.

{SIGH}

Where have I been? Mostly on my couch-

Nauseous and exhausted like I've never been before.

This has been the hardest pregnancy so far.

Seriously. Bad. Stuff.

I might have posted sooner, you know, if I could have

picked my head up.

Now that the nasties have subsided enough, maybe I will

be able to post more frequently. But I make no promises.

Other than that, the pregnancy is going fine. I've lost weight-

no big surprise-and the baby sounds fine. We have 'the' ultrasound

a week from Friday to find out the sex of the baby. I don't have

any feelings one way or the other about what I think it might be-

that's pretty unusual too. Not that it matters at this point! ;)

I've been in maternity clothes for a few weeks now...I guess they're

not kidding when they say you get bigger earlier with each

pregnancy...I'm a whale already. I can't wait to see just how

huge I get by the end! <--insert sarcasm here--

Anyway, I just thought I'd update. And I really will try to

keep posting. I do read everyone's blogs still, and I even comment

now and then. Miss y'all! :)

TTFN,

Wordless Wednesday...wanna see what I saw??

Sorry the lines are so faint...I didn't take the picture right away

and they faded!! The Dr. did confirm it today, though! We are

officially 4 weeks and 2 days pregnant! :)

TTFN,

Waiting for Michael...

The concert was amazing-as usual, Michael didn't disappoint!

This was only our 3rd time to see him! :)

Our 'romantic' night out turned out a little less than romantic.

I forget how stressful it can be to NOT know exactly where

you're going in NOLA-I guess that since I've been sick,

I wasn't in my right brain...I didn't use mapquest to

make sure I knew where the Arena was,

and I didn't make dinner plans.

We were running just a bit later than we wanted, so we

called and had Ashton do mapquest for us, and after

driving to the Arena first to make sure I was certain

of where it was, (I had no idea it was part of the SuperDome)

we set off toward Canal to find some grub.

Ever been to NOLA and tried to drive much? It's a city of one way

streets, it's definitely much better walking, and we just didn't have time

to find a parking place, walk somewhere to eat,

and make it back before the show started.

So I dropped Paul off at the corner McDonald's and circled the block

5 times before picking him up on the same corner. We drove back to

the Arena and ate our McD's in the parking garage.

Yeah, I know, every girl's dream, right?

SOOOOO romantic!!

{insert sarcasm. LOTS of sarcasm.}

It was really funny, though, even then, and with the free

tickets and the cheap meal, we've been

joking about our cheap date ever since.

I'd do it again just to spend time with my honey.

Oh, and Paul too.

BAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

TTFN,

Wordless Wednesday-Wheeeeeeeee!!!

TTFN,

betcha thought...

that I'd disappeared again, didn't ya??

Well, I (sort of) did.

I've spent 3 of the last 5 days quarantined in our

upstairs room sick. Again. With strep. AGAIN.

UGH.

And just because strep twice in one month isn't enough,

remember that horrific mouth infection Emmie had?

Yep. Got that too.

I'm just barely beginning to feel human again. I did let Paul

go back to work yesterday, and I did spend most of yesterday

laying on the couch wondering how people who don't have

a 13 and 11 year old function with littles when

they're sick!!

Thank you, Ashton and Sydney

BTW, the fever blister on the outside of my mouth is SCARY.

Seriously, I'd post a pic, but it would make people sick.

I've never seen one like this. It's freaky.

The worst part is that Paul and I have a hot date tomorrow

night. Yeah, it's the middle of the week, but we don't

plan the concert schedule of Michael Buble. Cause, ya know,

if I did, he'd get real tired of performing in my living room.

I'm just sayin.

We're driving almost an hour and a half to NOLA to see

Michael Buble, enjoying a night out together, dressing up,

and I look like someone tried to take off my bottom lip

with a flame thrower!

Anyway, it'll be fine.

Did I mention we're seeing Michael Buble?

(again)

Did I mention I WON the tickets??

(again)

Did I mention that Michael Buble doesn't actually have to

see ME, and that makes it all better?!?!?

BWAHAHAHA.

Ahem

The only way it could be any better

(other than having a normal lip, that it is)

is if we had a whole day to spend

in NOLA, but oh, well. Maybe next time!!

I'll let you know how it goes!

TTFN,

Wordy Wednesday...

I'm so far behind I think I'm about to lap myself!!

I'm here, and I'm thankful for those of you who are

still here too!!

Here's a brief rundown/catch up. We...

Celebrated our 14 year anniversary!!

Spent two weeks in Disney...had a fantastic time-BUT-

found out that my two littles can be crazy stressful when

naps exit the scene and are replaced by long,

miserably hot days.

I got the sickest I think I've ever been with strep throat

just days after we got back from Disney. For the first time

in our marriage, Paul had to stay home from work to take care

of me and the kids. I spent a full 48 hours closed up in our upstairs

room with no contact with the kids-approx 16 straight hours

of that time were spent unconscious-lots of fever and meds.

I don't remember most of that week.

Had a second and a sixth birthday!

(well, they weren't MINE, of course, but you know)

Had some dramatic GARBAGE go on with some friends and

some people that I thought were friends. I'm not gonna

name any names, but one of the gossip/drama causers

is a pretty popular blogger around here...

and a (former?) IRL friend.

I am saddened to find out that she is NOT the person

I thought she was...or who she pretends to be.

Found out we do not have a special souvenir in the making.

A little disappointed about that, but

we'll keep working on it! ;)

Work on the upstairs addition has come to a temporary halt...

it's very hard to work in the non-air-conditioned attic when the

temps up there get close to 130 degrees cause it's so stinkin hot here!

I lost a friend to an overdose. It was unbelievably hard for me to

wrap my mind around. And just hard. Very hard.

Emmie has been running fever since last Wednesday. I took her

to the Dr. Friday just because I wanted her seen before the holiday

so if she needed meds she could get on them and we could go about

our weekend. The Dr. told me what I already knew...it was viral.

But said if she was still running fever Sunday or Monday to bring

her back. I hate that. Really? You will be able to do something with

her virus then that you can't do now??

Anyway, by Monday she was still running

fever, but had a new symptom...her gums were swollen and bleeding.

This worried me a bit and after looking into her mouth, I thought

her front teeth looked funny, so I made her another appt. Paul wanted

me to take her to the dentist instead, and I tried to get her an appt

there, but with no luck. I loaded her up for her Dr's appt knowing that

I just needed to hear what the problem was...I'm not a worrier, but I

felt that there was more to her symptoms than just her teeth and fever.

The Dr. looked in her mouth for all of one second and said she has a

severe herpes infection all in her mouth. (the herpes that causes cold sores,

NOT the other kind!!) Ashton and Paul get them all the time, and

Ashton has had one for almost 2 weeks by this time, so I knew where

Emmie got it from. I was relieved to know what was wrong,

but surprised by the severity of Emmie's symptoms.

Apparently babies get it BAD.

Of course, it's still a virus, so the Dr. said there isn't anything we

can do but wait it out. Thankfully she is some better now, I have to

cut her food into tiny bites, and her gums still bleed, but the fever is

mostly gone and she's finally eating!!

She lost 2lbs from Friday to Monday from not eating. She's too tiny as

is it...she didn't need to lose weight!

And now I have my first ever cold sore. Thanks, E.

I had NO IDEA how miserable they are.

I can't even imagine what my poor baby has been through the

last week! I have since found out that a dentist WILL prescribe

meds for it that shortens the duration, and that makes me a little

angry with her pedi, but by the time we went in Monday she was on

the downhill slope, and from what I've read the meds work best if

you catch the virus in the beginning stages.

Next time it's not supposed to be nearly as bad.

We saw Toy Story 3.

I cried.

If I don't see Eclipse soon, I may cry again.

Still here?? LOL...sorry that was so long!! I'm going to try to get

back into the swing of blogging, and in the process also type up and

post-date some back posts. I've missed A LOT that I need to

post about. If you don't want to do all the catch-up posts, I'll

understand. But this blog is also my scrapbook/family record thingy,

so I feel the need to update all the stuff I missed.

It feels good to be back! :)

TTFN,

Wordless Wednesday...'Daddy, that was MY bite!!'