creative toys

the things you do to have a moment of quiet time while trying to get ready!

and when she starts pulling on the cord of the straightener?  well, you put her in the bathtub with toys of course!

where oh where did my baby girl go?

yesterday

We went to Children's Hospital.
We checked our sweet girl in.



They took us back for her kidney ultrasound, and despite being pain free, she screamed through the entire thing. Thank God it was a short process, and she calmed down once she was back in my arms.


Then THIS!

I knew as soon as I saw it that she was going to be strapped down.

My heart raced.
My heart broke.
I knew my baby was going to be terrified.
We got her changed into her hospital gown.



There's not many things more pitiful than seeing your baby in a hospital gown.


The nurses were wonderful!

They explained exactly what was going to happen, and we were able to stay with Becca the entire time.


We had to wait a few minutes, so we took the opportunity to pray.
To pray for Becca, the doctors and nurses, and to pray for strength & comfort for us.

From start to finish, the VCUG procedure only lasted five minutes.
Relief washed over me when it was complete and I could pick her up.

The physician's assistant was able to tell us immediately that there was no reflux.
Again, another wave of relief.

We got her changed - clothes back on - and after a short snack, we were on our way home.
I prayed again as we walked down the halls toward the parking lot.
I thanked God for my healthy baby.

And then, as we were walking out the front door, we passed a little boy with his parents.
A little boy in his pajamas.
A little boy who had a mask over his face.
A little boy who had only wisps of blonde hair on top of his head.
A little boy who was hooked up to IVs.
A little boy with cancer.

It broke my heart.
I fought back tears.
I felt overwhelmed with guilt.
I thanked God again that we were able to leave that place with the knowledge that our little girl was healthy.

As I layed in bed last night, I couldn't get the image of that little boy out of my head.
How do parents deal with that?
How do they watch their baby fight against a horrible disease?

So, again I prayed.
I prayed for that little boy.
I prayed for the doctors & nurses that treat him.
I prayed for that horrible cancer in his body.
I prayed for his mom and dad.

prayers please

I’m coming to everyone to ask for prayers.

prayers for becca tomorrow.

prayers for this momma tomorrow.

we will be at children’s hospital tomorrow at 12:45 for becca to have two tests run. the first will be a kidney ultrasound, and the second will be the vcug test that i described here.

I know that she will be fine, and that she is too young to remember any of it, but pray that everything goes ok and that the results come back positive.

oh, and if you have a few extra seconds, pray that I make it through it all with very few tears!

life lessons from a first year mom

wow!

a year already.

it’s still surreal that i’m a mom.  i know that in time that will pass.  i remember having the same feeling when we first got married. 

one of my biggest fears in becoming a new mom was breastfeeding. i was determined to nurse, as long as becca was getting what she needed. i knew it would be hard and i knew it would be a big commitment, but i felt prepared to do this.

jp totally supported this decision, and was willing to do what he could to help me in any way, but it really came down to me.  I decided to commit to six months and then go from there.

i remember when they first brought becca to me in the recovery room (jp had told them i wanted to nurse as soon as possible because the sooner you nurse after delivery, the better your chances are to continue)  i suddenly realized i had NO IDEA what I was doing.

the sweet nurse helped me, and we were very blessed that becca latched right on.  she acted like she knew exactly what to do – i’m glad one of us did!

from that moment on, we had total success. 

someone once told me that if i could just make it through the first two weeks, then i would be fine.  this was very true advice.  the first two weeks are a little on the painful side – even though the lactation consultants say nursing should never be painful.  once we got past that, it was smooth sailing. 

now, even though I was the only one able to feed her, jp was very helpful.  if i was very tired, i would wake to feed becca, and then he would change her & get her back to sleep.  i would not have been successful without him and his support.

now, i know that nursing is not always easy.  even though it worked out for becca and i, it was a H.U.G.E. commitment.  for the first few months, i couldn’t be away from her for more than a few hours.  after that, i had more freedom, but I just had to make sure if I left the house, I had my pump and all fifty million parts that go with it:)  then there was pumping and work.  at first, I was pumping three times a day.  luckily, my schedule worked out for the most part – i just pumped during my planning period and at lunch.  it eventually just became a part of my daily routine.

now, i must say that when the time came to put the pump away, i was NOT sad.

not even a little bit!

i was able to nurse for a year.  we had to supplement with some formula the last month and a half, but i still nursed in the morning and at night.  I loved this time with becca.  it was our time, and i wouldn’t trade it for the world.

this was the last time I nursed her, and while it was a little bittersweet, she was ready to give it up, and i was ok with that.

mamarazzi

so anyone who knows me, or who reads my blog, knows that I L.O.V.E. to take pictures. 

i take my camera everywhere because you never know when you might need it.

i catch slack about this from certain people who shall remain unnamed, but it doesn’t deter me.

I am always ready with my camera – it doesn’t matter what anyone says!

if only

if only I had known then

how much I would love you now!

happy birthday punky doodle!

happy 1st birthday sweet girl

So, I guess the day’s here!  it’s my baby’s 1st birthday!

happy birthday angel.  we love you more than you’ll ever know.

have your cake & eat it too

We had a VERY busy weekend filled with a photo shoot, a quick overnight trip to Charlotte, a visit with Yaya, and of course, the birthday party.

It started Thursday night when we headed to Charlotte – we had Becca’s 1st birthday pictures taken there early Friday morning.

This was B’s first time in a hotel, and while she struggled to go to sleep, once she did, she slept all night.

We woke up early the next morning to make sure we were on time for our pictures that began at 8:40.  We arrived at Independence Park at 8:20, but found that Jennifer, aka MckMama, was running late – good thing it was her and not us.  When she arrived at the park at 9:00, we struggled to locate her in the park.  Why you ask.  Well, that would be because we were at the WRONG park!  Yes, somehow, someway, I got confused on the location.  By the time we got to the right park, Freedom Park, it was 9:25 – there was only about 15 minutes left in our hour long session.  I was frustrated, overwhelmed, and very sad because I had been so looking forward to this.  The only thing I was able to do was cry.  Thank goodness Jennifer is so wonderful!  She had already explained our situation to the next family (who was already there) and she went to try to salvage what was left of our time.  Becca was great, and so was Jennifer, so even though we only had about half an hour, I feel confident that we got some great shots!  As soon as I get them, I’ll be sure to post them:)

Yay!  We got to meet MckMama!

After leaving Charlotte, we stopped by my Grandma’s house so she could spend some time with Becca.

Becca loves her Yaya, and her Yaya loves her!

These are some of the world’s best kisses – I know from personal experience.

We came home Friday afternoon, and our day continued the same.  Everything I did, touched, or looked at turned into a disaster.  After messing up her smash cake and then the Oreo pops, I decided it was time to call it a day.

*  Note:  The reason her smash cake didn’t turn out was because I forgot to add the butter.  I realized this the next morning when JP found it (the butter) in the microwave!

Saturday was such an exciting day.  I spent A LOT of time planning, shopping, and making things for this day.  Even though I didn’t get everything done, it turned out great!

It was such a pretty day.  We spent a lot of time playing outside!

This sweet little girl looks (& acts) just like her Momma!

Real men drive pink cars!

We tried so hard to get a picture of the 3 of us, but this little girl wanted to do anything BUT sit still long enough for a picture.

Then, it was cake time!  I’m pretty sure this was HER favorite part of the day!

Is anyone shocked that she liked her cake so much?

After that mess, we had to take a bath & change clothes, and then it was present time.  Becca got so many wonderful gifts.  Our friends and family were more than generous!  She is one lucky little girl.

Of course we have to stop & clap for everyone:)

And how does a one year old say thank you?  Why, she blows kisses of course!

Miss Addison loved sitting in the swing.  In fact, that’s where she sat to play.  She even tried to strap herself in!

Kisses for the birthday girl!

Love from her Lala!

I so wanted to get a picture of these two girls together, but it was way past nap time.  Addison still tried to give Becca some love.

Last picture before nap time – B & Lily:)

We took a LONG nap, and then we got up and played with all of our new stuff!

It was finally bath time, but that wasn’t the end to our playing because she got some great new toys for the bathtub!  They were too much fun.

This was one exhausted little girl – happy and blessed, but tired!