Spoke Too Soon

Wow... what a couple of weeks. I think we spoke too soon about Miss Skylar. Her cute little cry has now turned in to an all out scream that is ear piercing. For the past week and a half she has been unconsolable every night from about 11-2. Occassionally the episode will occur earlier in the day but its still exhausting. On top of that Mr. Jo Jo is starting to regress rapidly. He wants to be held all the time, is getting real interested in her bottles, and only wants mommy or daddy to change his diapers. Needless to say we are all exhausted and running on fumes.
Fourth of July was fun. We went to Oakboro (a small town near us. We took the kids to the parade that morning and Joey really enjoyed it. He liked seeing the firetrucks, tractors and motorcycles. I think his favorite part was getting candy though. That night we went back out there to watch fireworks,
Not much else has been going on here. I feel like we're buried in dirty diapers and bottles and that's what occupies most of our days right now. Tomorrow we plan to have a day for Joey. We are taking him to the zoo for the first time but we won't have Skylar. This way he has a day to himself with mommy and daddy devoting all of our attention to him. Should be fun... fun but hot ;)

Skylar is Here

I've been trying for days to do this post but the computer kept messing up so I'm doing it on my phone now. Miss Skylar has arrived and she is an amazing baby!! The first night at the hospital was rough because the nurse advised us to only give so much formula so she kept waking up. Now she sleeps and we wake her every 4 hours to eat and during the day she lets us know every 4 hours. She hardly ever cries, even during diaper changes. She only seems to cry when she's cold or has gas. Her cry is so precious. She sounds like a squeak toy :)

The delivery went pretty good. We arrived at 7 for the induction. I had already been having contractions every 5-6 minutes on the way to the hospital. The pitocin was started around 7:45. It was then stopped about an hour later because I was contracting so often I was about to pull the bedrail off and the doctor had not arrived. Not to mention I didn't have my epidural yet. I received my epidural around 9 and was in heaven. I couldn't feel a thing, not even the pressure of a contraction. I began pushing around 10 and she arrived at 10:22. The cord was wrapped around her neck twice and when the Dr tried to unwrap it, the cord snapped and covered her in blood.It's a little unsettling to see your Dr get covered in blood while delivering your child. I knew something was going on when they were having me turn and gave me oxygen (and the Dr. suggested using the vacuum). But in the end we had a healthy baby girl. She was 8lbs 8oz and 21in. long with a 35cm head. Her measurments almost matched Joey's except for the weight (He was 7lbs 11oz, 21in and 36cm head).

We've been home since Wednesday and things have been going well. Joey loves helping out with "Baby Skylar" as he calls her. She gets more kisses and I love yous than everyone else in the family combined. I'm really glad he has taken to her so well. We gave him a truck at the hospital to be from Skylar and he loves it. He lets you know that Baby Skylar gave it to him.

Below are some photos from the delivery and coming home. Enjoy!

Birthday... With a lil Blues

Yes... today is my birthday... I'm 29. I've decided I won't acknowledge anymore birthdays from this day forward because I don't want to put "3" in front of my age.

Had a Dr. appointment today and not a whole lot has changed since last week. I'm currently 2.5-3cm and still 60% effaced. I was really hoping to be further along than that. I didn't realize how "fortunate" I was to not work my first or third trimester with Joey. I'm so miserable at this point that the thought of going back to work in the morning is depressing. If I had the PTO time I would definitely be taking off this last week prior to my scheduled induction on the 18th.

A few weeks ago we had Cameron's 12th birthday party. He wanted a pool party so that's what we did. It didn't seem to phase him or his friends that the pool was radioactive green. Yuck. I just couldn't force myself to get in there but the kids had a good time so I guess that's all that matters.

Joey is currently a lil monsta!! Nothing makes the child happy. One minute he will be this sweet loving child and the next he is screaming at the top of his lungs. He'll ask for his bottle and then when you give it to him he says he doesn't want it. That phrase occurs with just about anything he asks for, anything you hand him, or anything you try to feed him gets the "I don't like it". It's very frustrating. Hopefully this phase will pass quickly!

Not much else is happening right now. We're just sitting back, waiting for this little girl to finally arrive. Below are my monthly belly pics. Enjoy!

~*~3 months~*~

~*~4 months~*~

~*~5 months~*~

~*~6 months~*~

~*~7 months~*~

~*~8 months~*~

~*~8.5 months~*~

~*~9 months~*~
~*~9.5 months~*~

Countdown to Skye's Arrival

Today I'm 35 weeks pregnant and had an appointment this morning. Apparently I'm already 1.5 centimeters and 50% effaced. That's a little scary considering with Joey I didn't dilate until 38 weeks and then he was born at 39. Guess I need to get my bag packed and do my belly cast soon if I want one. I'm supposed to be induced in June 18th but it sounds like miss Skye is going to determine her own birthday.
Today I became the proud owner of a mini van. I never thought that would happen at 28 years old. But when you've got 3 youngins, you gotta do whatcha gotta do.
The only other news is being on day shift now. I really enjoy seeing my family every night. Not to mention my days off feel so much longer and more productive. I'm gonna miss the extra income and my coworkers but overall the change will be good.

You Will Be Missed

I'm sad to report that a week ago today my uncle lost his battle with cancer. He fought so hard up until the very end but I'm glad he no longer has to suffer. He was an amazing person that always made those around him smile/laugh. Sometimes it still doesn't feel real. When I look back at important times in my life- graduations, birthdays, holidays, trips to camp- he was there. I will always treasure the bond that we had. I feel we were pretty close for an uncle and niece. I'm thankful I was able to hug him one last time and tell him that I loved him the night before he passed. It's been a tough week for the whole family/friends. I continue to pray for my aunt, cousins, grandmother, mother, and uncles as they try to deal with his loss as well. I can't imagine losing my husband/father/son/brother.

Looking back on the laughs is what helps get you through times like this. My memories of Pooh Pooh include- Barnard Bashes, the spray on hair running in his eyes, pee wee herman dance/laugh, weekly trips to Kristophers and the grilled cheese incident and sugar packets, being at my softball games but chanting football cheers (ie: push em back push em back waaaaaay back), the ride home in the camero when the "clutch" messed up, getting in the river when the water was up and he was holding richard and I b/c of the current and told us the water might get warm for a few seconds, the infamous cat call rrrreeeeaaaarrrr, always saying "what" while trying to look so innocent, the chuck taylors with budweiser shorts and fishing hat at camp, JD!, beer chime mugs, "clogging", hearing the story about roasting a large "marshmellow", James Taylor concerts, and so many other stories that brought a smile to our faces and will continue to do for years to come.

I love you and miss you dearly uncle Dick. But I know you are in a better place watching over and protecting all of us!
~*~ Years ago at Camp Clogging w/Elaine... Not sure What he did To Me~*~

~*~ Halloween '03~*~

~*~ Wish it wasn't so dark... Shows his Randomness~*~

~*~Halloween '06- Longhorns Fan Costume~*~

~*~ Our Bachelor/Bachelorette Party '07~*~

Emotional Roller Coaster Ride

Lot of catching up so here we go. All my doctor appoinments so far have been going well. I'm no longer measuring ahead of schedule so I'm not really sure what the cause was. But as long as mommy and baby are healthy that's all that matters.

April 22nd was our baby shower and we had a great time seeing old friends and hanging out. Our friends/family absolutely SPOILED this little girl and she's not even here yet. We are so greatful to everyone for your gifts. THere were even some guys there to join in our celebration and help Frankie through a few back for his birthday. His buddies from work got him some diapers lol... that was a gift that he and Skye had in common =o)

~*~ Opening Gifts~*~

~*~ The Guys~*~

~*~ The Gifts~*~

The morning after the shower we headed to the beach with my mom and grandmother. We were disappointed at first when we checked in because our room was supposed to be oceanfront and it was ocean view...barely. The next morning we were moved to an oceanfront room and all was well. It was pretty chilly the first 2 days but then it was nice the rest of the week. We enjoyed being on the beach, the indoor pool, going to Ripley's Aquarium, and we even to Joey to Ride Makerz to build a car. He LOVED it! When we walked in the store he went wild seeing all the car stuff. Coming home was not something I was looking forward too... especially since I had to go back to work that weekend.

~*~ Building Our Truck~*~

~*~ At the Aquarium~*~

~*~ Getting Water with Daddy~*~

~*~ The Gang~*~

~*~ Nana Giving Joey a Ride~*~

When we got home we received word that my uncle had been rushed to the hospital. He's been battling cancer for the past year. The next night I called in so that I could go visit him with my family. What an eye opening experience. It was so devastating to see him not awake when he had just been himself (cutting up, joking, at home) the days before. Through lots of prayers, some steroids and other meds brought him back to his usual jokester self. He went to the Hospice unit for a couple of days but I'm happy to say that he's currently back at home :*) Thank you God!

Easter =o)

Hope everyone had a great Easter. Ours was pretty eventless which made it perfect =o). We went to church, where Joey did an egg hunt while in nursery, and then we came home and had dinner. We colored eggs with Joey for the first time a few days before Easter. It was so much fun watching him. He loved taking the eggs out of one color and putting them in another.

~*~Our Eggs~*~

~*~Daddy Helping~*~

~*~Mommy Helping~*~

~*~Coloring Eggs~*~

~*~So Proud~*~

Frankie took him to see the Easter bunny on Friday and Joey was not having any part of that so Frankie had to get in the picture with him =o)

I had my doctor appointment today and got to have an ultrasound. I was measuring big at my last appointment so the doctor wanted to find out why. Still no answers for that because Skylar's size is good and my fluid level is normal. Get to go back in 2wks for another check up. Fingers crossed that everything goes well.

~*~Face~*~

~*~Profile w/Feet and Hands at Face~*~

~*~Still a Girl~*~