e & a

Our friends Lane and Laurie just recently lived one of the biggest days of their lives. If you've been reading my blog for a while you might have read this.

It was been four long years that Lane and Laurie have been trying for a baby and on August 2nd the Lord answered their prayers. They welcomed not one, but two precious baby boys into the world. Ethan [6lbs, 15oz] and Aidan [6lbs, 5oz] arrived and they are more adorable and perfect than ever imagined.

Laurie took these pix.

I have been in a constant state of praise since they were born. I find myself tearing up just thinking about the miracle they are. The struggle Laurie has had to endure...The close call when they were 20 weeks old and almost entered the world extremely premature...The hard pregnancy...The bed rest...The shots...The negative pregnancy tests. On Tuesday I got to hold this little miracle in my arms.

God is so good.

He loves his people.

That is not up for discussion.

brunch with benefits

Today my friend Emily came over. She lives in Chicago and we always hang when she's in town...good times are had, let me tell you. Today she brought over breakfast. She made a feast of bacon, eggs, bagels, blueberries, raspberries, grapes and cinnamon rolls! al;ksjdfl;kasjdkfas. SO GOOD.
I love breakfast.

THEN...get this...she did my dishes. LOVE HER.

AND THEN...she went outside and threw a slobbery ball to Copper for 30 minutes to wear her out for me. LOVE LOVE LOVE her! It's the small things that really bless my heart...like playing with Copper. So helpful.

This picture was taken during Christmas a few years ago. Every year she comes and helps me decorate my entire house in one night for the Christmas season. Yet another reason why I love her. Sometimes we get silly.

I'm spoiled.
And I have really great friends...

saint katie

The other day I was in my kitchen when the doorbell rang and the mail lady delivered a box with MY name on it. I was in the middle of cutting my dad's hair [yep, I'm a kitchen beautician] so Andy got the box. He read the return address...it was from Oregon from a place called Saint Cupcake? Did he say C U P C A K E???

After a few minutes of Andy being impatient he went to grab some scissors to open the box with MY name on it. Oh no he didn't! After a few short words leapt from my mouth and cut to his soul he backed off and realized that he should wait for me to open the box with MY name on it. So he did. Thankfully.

I opened the box and saw this...another box, a pink one.

With a sticker on it that said Saint Cupcake.

Then I saw this sweet note. The cupcakes were from my friend Katie Holt who lives on the west coast. We went to church together and spent many summers together as counselors at Camp Adventure. She thought of me and sent me a special treat...just because! Which is why I will forever refer to her as Saint Katie. 'Katie' alone is no longer good enough.After the note I saw the sweetest individually wrapped cupcakes...Then I saw cute little containers of icing...Then sprinkles...Then wands to apply the icing and instructions on how to decorate a cup cake.Needless the say, this made my day. Let's say it made my week. These cupcakes were the most moist, delicious things I've ever eaten in my life! Seriously. My favorite was the chocochip cupcake and the cream cheese icing. Yum, Yum and Yum! And for all of you wondering...I only shared with Molly. Saint Katie said I didn't have to share with anyone else...and when Saint Katie says something, you listen.

Thanks again Saint Katie.
You're a doll.

lyds

I had planned on writing this blog in March sometime but when life throws ya a curve ball ya just go with it.

My friend Angela had her little girl, Lydia, via emergency c-section on Monday evening. Lyds came into this world a whopping 10 weeks early. She was 2lbs, 11oz and we're not sure about her length. Ang had some complications due to pre-eclampsia and her doctors knew it was best for Angela's sake to get Lydia out ASAP. Thank goodness she had her check up when she did or things could have taken a even more scary, tragic turn. God's timing is always perfect.

This picture really doesn't do Lyds much justice. She looked super cute here, but she's even more beautiful in person. She was kicking her arms and legs all around yesterday. She even gave me the one-eyed-willie and peeked at me. She's got big eyes and the most adorable 'Ang' nose.

I was lucky to get to visit Ang yesterday. I sat there for a few hours just chatting it up trying to wrap my mind around what she had just gone through. One minute you're feeling fairly normal, enjoying your little one kick you from the inside and the next minute your getting prepped for surgery.

Before I went to the hospital yesterday I printed off a picture of Lydia and put it in frame for Ang so even though she can't be right next to her, at least she can stare at her baby girl whenever she wants. I feel like that would be the hardest part, being so far from your baby, you know that one that was living in you just a few days before.

Angela is recovering well from her surgery. All her vitals are looking good and her spirit has sky rocketed through the roof. I expected to see a quiet, exhausted Angela when I walked in her room yesterday...I walked in and was greeted by her just chatting it up, laughing, still shocked by the string of events but not easily phased. I'm pretty sure she's stronger than I think I would be at this point.

She's got Jesus in her heart.
It's amazing what he'll see you through.

Pray for little Lydia.
She's still got a lot of growing to do.

my uncle's brother's wife and baby

This is my friend Ann and her little girl Emerson. She is actually my Uncle's Brother's wife but more easily described as my friend. Ann and I shared the same due date with our first babies. August 29th! Ann went two weeks early and I went crazy. I was jealous then God reminded me that jealousy is a sin and made me go a week over my due date, hence Colt's September birthday. Meh.

Colt and Emerson are both 29lbs and 31.5" long.
They're from the same tree.
They can also beat up your kid. So play nice.

I'm due with Molly in April and Ann is due with baby #2 in June! Go Figure!

Let's just pray that she doesn't go two weeks before me again or I might just poke my eyeballs out.

Our kids are cute.

makeshift

Lane and Laurie had us over for dinner last night. Andy was sitting in the car practically beeping the horn at me as I was running slightly late. Side note: the only reason is because as I head out the door to join my family in the car, I realize an empty diaper bag is hanging on the hook. So I proceed to fill with diapers, pj's, corn, grapes, kiwi, milk and a paci. I guess when he rushed out the door he forgot that children have baggage. Thank goodness for mommas!

ANYHOW, we get to their house and get settled for dinner and I realize in my rushed madness I forgot to bring the booster seat. So we improvise...Got a scarf? Got a stack of books? You've got a highchair :)
p.s. Laurie, we left our milk cup in your fridge.

Again, probably not my fault

buds

My friend Shannon's friend/sister-in-law Ann, who also happens to be my friend had her baby the other day. I know what it's like when your best friend goes into labor. You need to be there, like, 10 minutes ago. When Kaley went into labor I swear I wanted to be there before her. I don't know what it is about the birth of a child but you just GOTTA be there. It's that important.

Anyhow, I was really happy to be just chilling at home and we got to watch her little buddy boy Gavin. Him and Coley play great together and they just crack me up. They're really cute. Here they are watching an episode of Tigger & Pooh. I love that Colt has a coffee cup in his hand...it was early.

laurie

Laurie is one of my best friends. We became friends through our husbands who just happen to be hot fire fighters. It was sort of like a friendship that just made sense. It helped being able to relate with the fears that come with our husbands professions and the lonely boring nights...[which we sometimes choose to spend together, eating skinny cow ice cream sandwiches and yelling at the Biggest Looser contestants through my T.V. screen]. She typically comes to my house straight from a fitness club where she teaches spinning classes...I usually come from the kitchen where I've just finished dinner :)I remember one day Andy came home from the work a few years ago and share the 'secret news'...Lane and Laurie are trying. A few months later Andy and I were chatting and thought that maybe we should start trying to. Lane and Laurie put the idea in our heads and we felt like the time was right. A month later I was staring a pink plus sign right back in the face. We were pregnant! I was excited and so was Laurie.

Sometime in August while on Facebook I saw something she posted on Lane's wall, it said: 3 years today...love you. We had talked earlier in the day and she told me it was their 3 year Anniversary [if that's what you want to call it] of trying for a baby and having no luck. It was a bitter sweet moment for me. My friend was hitting a milestone she wish she wouldn't have hit and I had just found out I was pregnant with our second child. Apart of me felt a little guilty or sad...not sure which one. I've gotten pregnant twice while Laurie is still trying for her first. It wasn't supposed to happen that way it just did. So, I cried and prayed some more.

Over the years I've never prayed for a friend harder than I've prayed for Laurie. I have never wanted something so bad for a friend, like I want a baby for Laurie. I've talked with her during the sad times when a procedure failed, or the pregnancy test was another negative. I've tried to give her the encouraging words she needed to hear that day and like I said, I've prayed. But really, through all of this, she has inspired me.

She believes that the Lord has a plan for her and their family. She's said before, I don't know how people would go down this road with out having faith. I'm so glad after all this she trusts in God more than ever that in his timing, and his timing alone...she'll have her baby. I feel it coming...I really do!

Just a few days ago I got the low down on their next adventure. In-vitro. I told her she should start a blog. I truly feel that people could either a) draw strength from their story or b) lend her all sorts of advice & encouragement. I know for a FACT that she's not in this journey alone. I've been to many a blogs of woman on the same path. And really, even if you're not on the same path exactly you should still go to her blog and send her some love. She's a doll. Enter HERE. She took her first in-vitro shot tonight. I texted her to see how they went...she replied, the needle was a little dull, but not too bad! Gotta love her! Tower of strength, I'm telling ya!

Anyhow, in writing this I'm realizing the amazing people I have in my life. Laurie being one of them. I'm uplifted and challenged by them on a regular basis. God's put me smack dab in the middle of their lives and I just pray that I can be a blessing to them like they've been to me. I just wanna be a good friend.

welcome to the world.

Avalon Taylor aka. My best friends baby.
7:08am
6lb, 4oz

Isn't she adorable? THIS is the only picture I've actually seen of her. I was at the hospital last night from 1am-6:30am and little Ava was born at 7:08am. Missed her by just a hair! Stink. Going up there soon though. I gotta see this girl in real life.

Kaley did great. I got to hang with her between contractions and then post epidural [yes, she took da drugs] and was sooo happy she did. She didn't have to push for very long either so over all a very very successful, healthy labor. Looking at this picture and thinking that my best friend has a little girl just makes my eyes leak a little bit.

Welcome to the world Baby Ava. It's a beautiful place. We're glad to have you.

it's a zoo out there

We took Colt to the zoo for the first time on Thursday. We waited until he was 11 mo's old just because we figured he wouldn't be able to really tell what he was looking at any younger than that...and even still, I mean, I think I had more fun at the zoo than he did. No, really, he looked at the animals which in 'baby' translates to:I'm looking therefore I'm having fun. So much fun in fact that I might just pee myself. YEP. There it goes. I just pee'd my pants.

Andy and Colt are both peeing their pants in this picture. They're looking at baby chickens and ducks. Oh by the way, if you go to a zoo in Indiana there is a FARM petting area...because no matter where you go in Indiana you can't escape chicken and ducks. You just can't.When I was 10 or so my Mom took my to this very same zoo and there is a picture of me in a dress standing next to a peacock. I'm pretty sure the peacock in this picture with Colt is the same peacock I took a picture with 14 years ago. I know it's been many, many years but this peacock winked at me...so I'm putting money on it. It's the same one.Shannon and baby Gavin shared the day with us! It was so fun. Gavin got into the animals a bit more than Colt. He is after all, a 1 1/2 months older than Colt. It's a big difference in baby time.Momma and baby. Momma and baby.

Isn't she so pretty? The oldest, rickety-est tortoise I've ever seen. For being a tortoise it was pretty fast!
This is how I take family pictures.
I forget the child and cut off the husbands head.
Talent...pure talent.Look at all those colors!!?!
God is awesome.This is Colt just a few blocks from the Zoo.
It wears a brother out!
We had a great time and it just shows you don't have to spend lots of money to make family memories!!

5 years from 30.

Kaley, Happy Birthday!! We have had some fun times along the way. From that hair game at our first sleep over at my house in 7th grade...or laughing in my kitchen over leg cramps you get during pregnancy. Remember to stretch :) Not many people have had a friendship like we've had! I can't wait to hold your baby girl. What a new chapter of laughs we have a head of us. I love you!!

he he hoo, he he hoo

Andy and I took a Lamaze class when I was pregnant for Colt. We lucked out by being in a class full of really cool couples [no baby mama drama] and since having our babies we've met up a few times for play dates. Quite a cute bunch. This time around we are mobile and crawling! Well, all but one. Evi [in the pink] is still trying to figure out her legs. You'll get there Evi. Crawling is fun.

Colt was the last one born out of the bunch and he still takes home the trophy for being the chubbiest and the longest. We're proud of our little tank. Missing in the picture are Brady, Riley and Olivia. But we had fun! They even all sat still for 2.5 milliseconds so we could snap this shot.

Anna, Colt, Evi, and Henry

April has been fun so far.

I've been post-less for the last few days. One reason being my phone. Almost all the pictures on my blog are taken with my Verizon chocolate. Colt loved my phone too. Every chance he got he would grab it and drool all over it. Because of that baby drool, my keys stopped working and I told Andy, Dang...looks like I'm gonna have to get a blackberry since my keys stopped working. Andy got on the phone with Verizon and tried to figure out what we could do.

A few minutes later he walked into the kitchen with his old phone [the phone from his pre-blackberry days] and said Look...I got you a new phone! So, until August when I can renew my contract and get a real new phone, I get to used Andy's hand me down phone. The buttons work but the picture quality is poop. See how fuzzy the pictures are in my April One post?? Oh well. It keeps us from spending money which is all apart of 'the plan'.

Since my new-used phone doesn't have a good camera I've been having to get out my digital camera which seems like so much more work. I have to plug things in and click download. See? Too much work. Anyhow, here are some shots taken with a real camera and a few from my piece-o-poop phone camera. Try and guess which is which.



This has been our month of April so far...


No this isn't one of those hands you put in the back of a car trunk...this is Colt mid-nap.
The sideways lean. Colt's has taken his cuteness to a new level.Copper n' Colt. They like each other.Friday we went bowling with our friends. Here is Kaley and I. She's pregnant. Her baby is hiding, not only in this picture, but in real life too. It's an invisible baby. The only way I know she's really pregnant is I saw the ultra sound pictures. But she ate a lot of pizza on Friday and if I blur my eyes I can see a baby bump...OH and she almost beat the guys while bowling. So if you add all those signs together...you have a BABY!Here is Andy and I bowling at the same time. We bet that whoever knocked down more pins got a five minute back rub. We went at the same time and got matching GUTTER BALLS! Then on our second roll I knocked down all but 1 and Andy got another GUTTER BALL!! He got gutter balls the whole night and ended up only getting 60 points for there entire 3 rounds of bowling we played. He sucks at bowling.This is John and Ang. They're married too. Ang was really excited because her iPhone glowed in the dark. It was Cosmic Bowl Friday. Black light baby. I was really hoping my light gray shirt would make me one giant glow ball but instead all I did was blend in and become invisible the whole night. My teeth didn't even glow. Sadness.This is Andy and I. We're married to each other. See Rob in the background? That's Kaley's baby daddy. They're married too. And having a baby. Except you can't see it yet.This is [from left to right, in case you get confused] ME, JEN, and KALEY. Somehow my head magically becomes three times the size of a normal head every time I take a picture. What's the deal with that? This is Nic and Jen bowling together. They're married too...and remember Colt's friend baby Logan? That's their baby. Funny story...The last round of bowling all the girls played with each other and we all had to do funny things before we threw the ball like...tap dance your way up to the lane then release and then give us your best 'jazz hands'...or...the do the Fred Flintstones fast toes run then release. One of them was skip up the lane then release. Well...JEN for some reason forgot to how to skip [i think she's still recovering from childbirth...it jacks ya all up]...anyhow she forgot how to skip and did a fancy hop-scotch move instead. Then she was baffled by her brain fart and almost pee'd her pants laughing so hard. She recovered...stepped to the line again and gave us her best second-attempt at skipping. She skipped nicely down the lane but released the ball backwards and almost killed us all. That was the point in the evening when we all almost pee'd our pants. Ahhh...good times.This is me curled up under my favorite blanket. Yesterday I told Andy that I hope in Heaven that clouds are made of down comforters that smell like bleach. That combination makes me really happy.This is baby boy yesterday at the Dr's office. We have another ear infection. Every time we think he might be getting a tooth there is a stuffy nose and a ear infection to follow. We caught it really early this time so he hasn't been near as sad.

Check out that cute hat! It a Walmart design. Walmart is my new Target. I'm falling head over heals.

Longest post ever.

Sending Love.

Mo