Happy Birthday Olivia Mae

I'm pretty sure your child's birthday is a day that can never be forgotten, but I will document it anyway! Nana came in town the night before so she could be at the hospital for Olivia's arrival, and then come home to spend a few days with Charlotte. What a blessing! The surgery was scheduled for 12:30 so we spent the morning at home. I would have prefered the first case of the day but it worked out just fine. I had time to shower, get a few last things packed up and spend some time snuggling my first baby. I was just nervous enough to not be hungry but not a nervous wreck either. Martha came as usual to take Charlotte to Rolly Pollies and Chick-fil-A, so Char was just fine waving us off!!

The hospital experience was wonderful. Everyone was very nice, especially my pre-op nurse Julie who helped to calm a lot of my fears. Holly Helms, my good buddy from Dallas, was my anesthesiologist. So fun!! She is amazing at her job and it was very comforting to have her in the OR. The surgery went very well (other than the 2 hours of vomiting afterwards)... lovely. We figured out why Olivia did not flip over as we wished she would - her cord was wrapped around her neck 2.5 times. Dr. Kish told us that if we would have attempted to flip her at 37 weeks, it could have been fatal. Gulp. Such a terrible thought. She did not look so hot when she came out. She was not breathing at all and just limp. She scared her mama to death who could see the pediatrician resuscitating her. It only lasted a couple of minutes but those minutes felt like forever. I still thank God often for the wisdom and skill of those doctors who took care of us, as we could have had a very different outcome. Once I got to my post-partum room I was feeling much better and snuggled my girl for the rest of the day. She nursed like a champ right off the bat, my girls come out ready to eat!! The nausea was gone as quickly as it came on and soon I was starving! Dr. Kish told me I could eat when I was ready, but the nurses would only give me clears. So thankfully JaJa brought some banana nut bread and I ate a half a loaf!! I think banana bread will always remind me of my Livi Lou!!!

Ready to roll!

This prayer was in the room where Sam sat waiting for me to be prepped so he could come into the OR. I think it is so sweet.

Happy to see daddy, I was pretty scared at this point!

My poor blue baby, I hate this picture but a good reminder to thank God for our healthy little Olivia.

I remember this vividly - I saw her grab the bag like "Get that thing off of me, I'm breathing!". What a sigh of relief.

Holly taking good care of me!

Yay for a crying baby girl!

Pretty in pink

Love at first sight.

6lb 13oz and 20 inches - perfect!

Dr. Kish and Ashley

Daddy's girl

We see this little lip a lot these days, what a drama queen!

Meeting Papaw. JaJa and Nana were there too but I guess they were behind the camera!!

Wordless Wednesday

Dear Olivia...

My dear Olivia - Today is May 16th and we are expecting your arrival any day now! You seem pretty comfortable in there, I tell you every morning that it is a good day for a birthday but no signs of labor yet! Yesterday was Pops' 60th birthday so I was really hoping that you would come but I guess you want your own special day! I don't blame you :) Ready or not, Monday is the big day. You are breech so we are going to do a scheduled c-section. I am hoping that this is your one rebellious act and you are going to be an angel once you arrive! Nana thinks otherwise!! She keeps teasing me about that stubborn 2nd child!

So far we have had a fun 9 months together. We prayed for you for many months, and I cried with joy when I found out you were on the way. Pregnancy has been easy again, I have been so blessed to feel very well the whole time. The beginning was exhausting but that didn't last long, and I just took advantage of napping with Charlotte in the afternoon. It is getting hard to get around (and especially to carry around your big sis!) but it won't be long now. I have really just been miserably big the last week or two. I said I wasn't going to gain as much weight with you, but I did! 40 pounds!!! I guess that Nutella craving caught up with me...

You have been my traveling buddy and I think your first few trips were fun ones! We went to New York in December for a girls trip with JuJu, Tiff and Jan - it was great! I was in that lovely second trimester where I felt great and we just stomped all over town! We went to Crested Butte for New Years with Nana and Pops and had a wonderful visit. There you got to go sledding and snowshoeing with me! In March, daddy and I (and you of course) went to Lake Tahoe for a wedding. It was beautiful and relaxing, and you probably enjoyed me sitting still for a bit! Of course we also took a few trips to Dallas and New Orleans and the lake to visit our family. Those trips are always fun, and Nana and Auntie feed you really well!

I have felt so blessed with all of the excitement and love our family and friends have for you already. Of course your grandparents and aunts and uncles just can't wait to get their hands on you! And your sweet big sis is so excited to meet you. She hugs my belly all the time, and says she missed you when I get home from work. She says "hi yivi!" and "awwwww yivi you" (i.e. Livi Lou) all day long. She tells you to come out when we do something fun, like she is worried about you missing out. Yesterday she told you to get out and swim with her! I hope you are best buddies forever, there is nothing like having a best friend who is your sister. Our friends have showered us with love, prayers and well wishes for you. You are quite a lucky lady to be born into a community of so many people who already love you.

There is certainly something very magical about the first pregnancy, but there are also a lot of unknowns. One of those unknowns is how much love you can possibly have for a little person that you have never met. This pregnancy has been even more exciting knowing that I am going to get to fall in love all over again as soon as I see your face. I just can't wait to finally hold you and feed you and snuggle with you. I pray that you are a healthy and happy little girl. I love you, sweet Olivia.
And I promise to keep on loving you forever and ever. Love, Mama

Here we go! Off to the hospital at 39 weeks to meet my precious Livi!

Mother's Day

This mother's day was very special since I was so close to becoming a mommy of two! My sweet family spoiled me rotten - Uncle Vinny sent beautiful tulips, Nana sent a book called "God Thinks You're Wonderful, Mom!" that I love, JaJa gave me some super comfy nursing pj's and my sweet girls gave me flowers and a gift card for a day at the spa. We had a very relaxing day and dad let me off the hook on some Sunday chores :)






My favorite mommy quote these days - "If you want your children to turn out well, spend twice as much time with them and half as much money." I love it and am working hard on living it this summer. I know I won't regret a single minute of my time with my babies.

Sum, sum, summertime!!

Johnson City Zoo and The Wildflower Center

We were blessed with such beautiful weather this spring, so we spent most of our Thursday morning playdates with Francie outside. We spent lots of time at our favorites (zilker park, the zoo, our neighborhood parks and pools, etc). We also tried a few new things. One was the Johnson City Zoo - an exotic preserve which rescues different types of endangered species and cares for them. They do safari tours where you take a ride through the natural habitats of all of the animals and get to pet and feed them. They also have a great petting zoo for the little ones. The girls of course had a blast! I wasn't paying close enough attention on the tour, and when I turned around Charlotte's arm was halfway down a camels throat!! We both panicked a bit but silly Charlotte was over it as fast as it happened. She still talks about the camel that tried to eat her for a snack! Thankfully they don't actually bite!

We also spent a morning at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. It was beautiful. I didn't get many pics after the camera fell off the stroller and broke the lens.... thank goodness my husband is the warranty man.




















Wildflower Center... of course they found the only bit of water in the place and this was the highlight of their trip. Charlotte got her dress wet so she insisted on hanging it over the stroller to dry while she walked around in her bloomers. Silly girl.

A Cedar Creek Easter

We spent Easter at the lake with Nana and Pops, plus a couple of bonuses - Uncle Vinny and Owen!!! Owen came on his first trip to Texas all by himself to visit his family. Charlotte LOVES going to the lake house these days and was extra excited to have a buddy to play with. The weather was beautiful, even warm enough to swim (or at least Owen thought so!). Nana and Pops got a new "barge"... a beautiful pontoon boat. It is heavenly, I could just ride around all day. Charlotte agreed that it was pretty nice - it lulled her to sleep in just a few minutes after a big time playing. Nana made a delicious lamb feast Saturday night to celebrate Easter. The bunny came Sunday morning and hid the baskets and after church we had an egg hunt in the yard. What fun. Thanks to Nana for making everything so special, we had a wonderful visit!









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