Eight Squared

Kelley my newest found bloggy friend tagged me in this fun game. I have seen it a few times, but have never done it. So here we go.

Here are the rules:

1. Go to your photo files and select the 8th photo folder.

2. Select the 8th photo in that folder.

3. Post that photo along with the story behind it.

4. Then challenge 8 blogging friends to do the same.

Now, I have a TON of photo folders and folders within folders...it is ridiculously organized. :) So I chose the 8th photo out of the 1st folder in the 8th folder (that probably makes no sense and no one cares...)
ANYWAY.
As you can tell we are in the hospital getting ready to have Leighton! My L&D was a whirlwind, but long all at the same time. When I finally decided to go in after calling my mom in tears (mostly because I was sure I wasn't in labor and they would send me home...I didn't want to be that girl.) I got stuck in perinatal for 2.5 hours!

Perinatal is the pre-admission room where they monitor you. If you are under 39 weeks, which I was 38w2d, and not at a 4, which I was at a 3, then you get to sit here for an hour and see if you progress...if you make it to a 4 you are now in "active" labor and you may now be admitted to the hospital and have a baby. These are CRAP rules I tell ya. I WAS in active labor. My contractions were HARD and coming every 30 seconds with maybe 1 minute rest between. But the textbooks say the magic number 4 equates "active" labor, so God forbid we use our common sense and help a girl out! Can you tell this still elicits quite an emotional response. :) They only kept me this long because I was laboring so hard and pretty sure they had nothing better to do as it was a Sunday evening. :) Plus, whether they were aware or not, I was NOT leaving with out my baby! Forget your dumb "rules."

Back to the picture. Finally after 2.5 hours I went to a 5, got admitted and put in my L&D room, got my epi (praise the Lord, because my body was tired!), and called the family. In this picture the epi is kicking in. :) The doctor is explaining that I was at a 7 (yeah, I went from a 5 to a 7 in 20 minutes) and that he would be back to check me in a bit after the epi takes full effect. Chad's face looks so nervous in this picture, but he did amazing! He was a great coach and partner through the entire thing. I think we just couldn't believe we were about to be parents, it all happened so quickly it was a lot to take it in. We are about to be responsible for another human life! WOW!

To finish the story, after another 20-30 minutes I was at a 10 and ready to push. One hour later at 11:27pm Leighton Olivia was born on February 15, 2009. It all just went so fast, once they finally admitted me!

Kelley was hoping to see a newborn picture of Leighton, so I am throwing in the keepsake poster my MIL made. We are those weird parents who didn't do a professional newborn shoot. We just took around 200+ pictures on our camera. These are from the hospital photographer.

Now to tag 8 people to participate! And even if you aren't tagged join in it it is fun! :)

Rachel
Gina D.
Melissa
Erin
Ginger
Gina E.
Sharla
Lori

Bringing Up Girls

I am currently reading Dr. Dobson's Bringing Up Girls. Thus, far it has been very insightful, but when is something he writes not insightful. :) Last night I was reading about the female brain and holy cow was it riveting. Probably more riveting to me than my husband because let's face it men have no clue what it is like to be us. It even gave me more understanding of myself too!


Did you know that when you are 8 weeks pregnant with a BOY their brain is bathe in a testosterone bath? AND that this male sex hormone kills some of the communication cells, including a portion of nerves call the corpus callosum. This area of nerves connections the right side (emotions) to the left (language), making boys and men unable to effectively "cross talk." Well, this helps explain a lot about my husband. :) He just never thinks what I think is a big deal. HA!

Baby girls do not undergo this (obviously) THUS, what makes us such emotional creatures. It is already innate. AMAZING. If that isn't proof of God what is? Dr. Dobson goes onto say that b/c our corpus callosum is still intact it makes our female brain and 8 lane super highway and a boy's a country road. This makes me laugh because it so true.

However, did you know that baby girls starting at 6 MONTHS of age (through 30 months) get bathe in an estrogen bath? Seriously, this explains SO MUCH. I have been saying for months now that I thought I had 11-12 years before Lo went all hormonally crazy on us, but she is already starting! She is so emotionally charged. Well, now I know why, poor girl.

This estrogen bath is what makes us girls so loving and nurturing. I have been so amazed at how Lo already takes to being a mommy in training, I didn't teach or encourage that, it is just what makes her a girl. AMAZING.

Here she is with a friend's little girl at the tender age of 13 months "being a mommy."

Also, did you know from birth baby girls have the innate ability of observation and can distinguish the slightest variance in tone. Lo can tell instantly if I don't want her to do something, just by my look. Ok, again AMAZING.

I wish I could just upload the entire chapter (chapter 4) to you because every mother and father of daughters should read it. I just laid awake last night just thinking about it (another "curse" of being a girl/woman we can't shut our brains off like men.). I just found all that scientific stuff fascinating.

I love having a little girl and watching her unfold as God designed. I often wonder what having a boy would look like, not going to lie, it scares me to death because I am not into all that rough house stuff, but it would be interesting to see the differences.

I can't wait to see what else this book teaches me. And I hope you all enjoyed your free science lesson. HA!

Editor's Note: It is 1p. God must really want me to work on understanding my little girl's emotions today since we have had 5 emotional break downs already (not tantrums, just break downs.) For example I have asked her to go play quietly (very nicely mind you) while I work on some things for my new job (more on that in a later post). She turned to me, lip out, shoulders shaking and big crocodile tears flowing. Her heart was sad and broken. God give me strength and patience in dealing with my little girl's heart.



P.S. there is a Bringing Up Boys book too, for those of you with little boys. :)

Rock-A-Bye Baby

These last few nights Leighton has been letting me rock her to sleep.
For those of you who have been following her, know that this is something that NEVER EVER happens.
Sometimes I look forward to bed time, so I can finally have "me" time, but lately I just sit there and rock and rock and rock her.
As I hold her I just thank God for her. She is such a huge blessing in my life.
She is just growing so fast and I want to soak in all of her cuddles while I still can.
While I realize I am no mother of the year, there is nothing better in all this world than holding my sweet daughter, knowing she loves me and I love her...it is just that simple.

65 in 365 Update 5

RECAP:
Starting Nov. 19th, 2009 through Nov. 18th, 2010 I have the highest aspirations to get this list completed. I need my blog to keep me accountable. Currently, my list is only 27 36 50 54 57 tasks...I can't come up with 65 but I will add to it as I think of things, but let's face it, I may be hard pressed to get these 27 36 50 54 57 things done. HA!

1. Finish Leighton's First Year Scrapbook/Photobook by Feb. 15th.
2. Submit RD portfolio (approved!)
3. Do at least 30 continuing Eds. (33/30)--since I got here so quickly I am just going to keep adding to it, maybe I can get to 50 before the end. (31/50)
4. Get grocery budget to ~$150/mo. (complete after 4 months in a row 2/4)
5. Start exercising again...consistently! (complete after 4 months 2/4)
+do the 30 day shred. (8/30)
6. Complete at least 4 personal Bible studies (2/4)
7. Memorize at least 24 verses (6/24)
8. Read at least 12 adult books. (ie not kid's books) (4/12)
9. Finish decorating my basement.
10. Start going on monthly dates w/ the hubs. (6/12)
+do the Great Date Experiment (2/6)
11. Get Meg's HS Grad "project" done (MAY)
12. Get my storage closet under control.
13. Try 1 new recipe a month (6/12)
14. Volunteer at church
15. Research/Start own RD counseling career.--IP
16. Get all loose photos organized in albums
17. Donate excess clothes and stuff (2x/ year).
+donated 2009 stuff
18. Wipe clean my Mac and sell it. Any takers?!?!?
19. Organize/consolidate office area.
20. Create and implement cleaning schedule.
21. Clean fridge 1x every 6mo. (1/2)
22. Keep my photo site up to date every two weeks. (10/24)
23. Host at least 3 family dinners (3/3)
24. Start a vegetable garden--it has been "Started" whether it lives is a whole other issue...
25. Paint the house trim
26. Clean out window wells.
27. Clean and organize garage.
28. Learn how to draw a line through words on my blog :)
29. Get into a routine with Leighton. (after not having one for the last 10.5 months!) (complete after 3 months 3/3)
30. Work with Leighton consistently on sign language.
31. Read to Leighton at least once everyday.--(complete after 3 months 2/3)
32. Get in a play group or host one...basically GET OUT OF THE HOUSE! (at least 2x/mo. 4/24)
33. Make "school" scrapbook for hubby.
34. Be a better friend. Since Lo we have neglected some of these relationships. Go out w/ friends 1x every 6 wks at least. (5/8)
35. Strive to live up to Proverbs 31. (this will always be a work in progress)
36. Take more pictures of everything!(take at least 15 photos/month) (5/12mo)
37. Plan and pull off Leighton's FIRST birthday party.
38. Figure out a playroom/area for all these toys!!
39. Deep clean house 1x.
40. Participate in Money Saving Mom Cooking Freezer day at least 1x.
41. Do an eat from the pantry challenge for 1 week at least 3x (1/3).
42. Create a "in my next house" list ;)
43. Create a "mud room" area for all our jackets/diaper bags/purses.
44. Get a new swimsuit for myself. The last one I got was for my honeymoon 6 years ago!!
45. Plan and go on some kind of a vacation as a family.
46. Have someone watch Lo over night, so Chad and I can have an over night date.
47. Keep Lo's scrapbook and baby book up-to-date.--Up-to-date
48. Take family pictures.
49. Take Lo's 1 year and 18 month pics.
50. Start a couples devotional.
51. Purge and organize file drawer.
52. Organize linen closet.
53. Organize and store Lo's clothes in space-saver bags. (we have been blessed w/ a lot of hand-me-downs!!)
54. Send/give handwritten notes/cards to friends and family through out the year. (6/24)
NEW!!
55. Go to a midnight showing of Eclipse.--Tickets purchased! :)
56. Create a compilation journal for all my pregnancy journal entries and Lo's "watch me grow" entries.--IP
57. Get Lo into swim time or gymnastic time (or both) this summer.

Key:
IP= In Progress

Starting point
Update 1
Update 2
Update 3
Update 4

Toby 2.0

You know people always said "when you have your 'real' babies you won't love your fur babies as much..." Well, skeptics, that couldn't be further from the truth. We love our first fur babies every bit as much as we love Lo. Now while the love is obviously different, it is still strong.

Today our Toby bear (aka the middle child) turns two! When we were pregnant we decided we needed to get another poodle to help ease Tucker into this transition, and while some times I question my hormone levels during that decision, we couldn't be happier. Toby adds so much joy into our home in his own little puppy way. (He is a little puppy, trapped in a slightly larger puppy's body :) ).

Toby is my lap baby (he must be on someone's lap at all times), he snuggles and cuddles me all the time...he is the pup I always wanted!

Toby loves to play with Lo and treats her so nicely no matter how she pulls, tugs, yanks and love pats.

Toby keeps Tucker entertained and on his toes. He is just like those ornery little brothers that like to antagonize their older ones. Toby is a nice compliment to Tuck's obsessiveness.

Toby has a bunch of quirky little routines. Every night he has to crawl under the covers AFTER I get into bed, which only lasts for 3 minutes and then he has to crawl out...so annoying!

Toby always helps us clean up all the crumbs Lo leaves behind, even if that means crawling up onto the table and into her highchair. It is a tough job, but someone has to do it!


We love you Toby and we are so glad we "accidentally" ended up with you!

Happy 2nd Birthday Tobias!

The Graduate

In other BIG news this beautiful girl, my littlest sister graduated high school Saturday evening!
I can not believe how fast her high school years went.

Meg, I have loved watching you grow up over the last 18 years. You are beautiful, extremely talented, smart young woman. I know you can do anything you set your mind to. Good luck in college and enjoy this newest season of your life.
We love you!

I Miss You

I miss you Landrey!
Can't wait to see you again.
Mommy and Daddy said we will come visit this summer.
Until then I love you!

Leighton's 2nd Year Scrapbook Pt 2

We are pretty much up-to-date!! Go mommy! The hard part is just waiting for the end of the year to print them all off.

Click HERE for pt 1.
side note: if you click on the page(s) you can zoom in to read them if you so desire. :)

Enjoy!

Great Date 2

Wow, we are little behind on the dating thing. Amazing how a little person can completely change your life AND priorities. :)

We usually do our "Great Dates" on the first Wednesday of every month, however in April we were stricken with the "Great Stomach 'Flu' of 2010" which threw a wrench in those plans. Bummer. I really look forward to these dates.

Anyway, date #2 was a progressive dinner date. I have always wanted to do that and was excited for it, but nothing sounded good as an appetizer place :( so we just went onto dinner at Granite City. Yum.

Again, they provided us with a list of questions, which I think is so great! Helps us talk about fun things, instead of Lo all the time! It is funny how we answer fairly similarly on things we have never discussed before. I suppose that is a good thing!

After dinner we decided to take a walk around a lake and just talk some more. I really enjoyed a nice leisurely walk that didn't involved two dogs and a stroller! HA!


Then we headed to Target to buy a $2 gift for one another, that was so hard, so we gave up. I don't like just to buy junk, but we had fun showing each other what we would have gotten. Way better. :)

Finally we ended the evening at our favorite dessert place, Freddy's! All and all another great date!

I think it is so important to keep dating even after you have kids. We have to keep our relationship strong, so our family unit stays strong!

Hope you all are joining in and have some "Great Dates" too! If you don't know what I am referring to click HERE!

15 Months

Leighton, here is what you have been up to this month, you busy little girl. :)
(again just a bunch of random pics from the month. Enjoy)


Milestones:
*You now know how to go DOWN the stairs on your own. You can also climb down or jump (from a seated position) off the couch/bed whatever you are on. You are quite the little daredevil, just like your momma!

We can drum AND sing.

*Mommy is finally realizing you actually can remember things. You know where to find just about anything and everything, I can no longer "pretend" it isn't there you are too smart for that.

*You follow simple instructions such as "go get your shoes." I am always amazed how you understand me.

*You are getting two new top teeth (your lateral incisors). This makes for a grand total of 6 teeth.

Language Skills:
* You still don't talk much. You say "dada," "mama" (still only when you are mad), "go-go-go" and "duck" of all things. You seem like you are on the brink of a talking explosion. Of course, mommy also thinks that about everything you seem like you might do and then you like to wait 3 more months, so we shall see.

*However, we are communicating well. You are almost always able to show me what it is you want if I can't figure out your "uh uh uhs."

You know how moms style their daughter's hair just like theirs?!

*You do mimic our tones in your own little Leighton language. I really wish I knew what you were saying to me so adamantly!

Eating:
*You are now eating PB for your lunch sandwiches. You seem to really like it and always ask for more.

*You are starting to get a bit particular about your food. Plates have to be turned just right. The food can not be mixed together (ie in salad form).

*You are not a fan of grilled meats...boy are you in trouble this summer.


*You are eating more slowly now and you are working on using a spoon and fork by yourself.

*You don't like ice cream, or maybe you thought it was mashed potatoes (which you hate)...who knows you weird little child.

Sending Auntie Meg off to her SENIOR prom!
Doesn't she look H-O-T-T hot!

*When you do like something you say 'mmmmm' it is pretty cute, how into your food you get.

Sleeping:
*You are staying up later! You make it to 7/7:30pm almost every night. While I like that you went to bed early it really boxed us in if we were ever out and about.

*You are down to TWO naps. Usually one is long and one is very short. You decide that. :)

*My current favorite thing you do is sometimes you cry when I put you down for bed/nap. To get you to stop I just say "shhh, your babies are sleeping, don't wake them up!" And you stop just like that. Such a thoughtful mommy! (you not me).

Favorite toy(s)/book(s):
*Baby dolls are your favorite toys.

*Your favorite books are: A-Z, A musical 'Here comes Peter Cotton Tail,' and 'My Little Word Book'
*You can even identify in sign language some of the pictures in the "My Little World Book" we are so impressed.

Anecdotes/Quirky things you do:
*You are quite the comedian. If you get a laugh out of us you keep doing it over and over. You even come up with your own ideas to get laughs.


*My my my you are a very emotional and sensitive child. Your little feelings get hurt so very easily. I can't help but laugh at times because you will just "work" your little self into a fit. You will start shrugging your shoulders up and down, and sniffing your nose until you build up a good cry. I personally hear the Academy Awards calling your name for Best leading Actress. :)

*However, you are such an obedient little girl, so hardly ever am I upset with you. You always do exactly as I say...I really hope this continues.

*You do not like your hands to be dirty, just like your daddy. This made making grandMother's day gifts difficult. Let's just say you were not a fan of plaster of Pairs.


*You already are living "Green." You know what belongs in recycling and put it there, all with out any promptings. Again you astound me with your observations...

*Finally, you are so neat. You know the old saying "a place for everything and everything in it's place?" This was the creed I was brought up in, and Lo it is hard wired in you. You put everything away right where it goes without being asked! Seriously, this is craziness?!?! Where do you learn this stuff. (Not, your daddy that is for sure! HA!!)

Story time:
I am not trying to brag on my kid, because I don't think she is more advanced than other babies her age (not that I would know, since I have never been around other babies), but I am seriously in awe of what she figures out and hears. For instance:

The other day I was on the phone to my sister. Landrey, my niece, loves to read books. We were discussing this and how I wished Lo liked to read more. All the while Lo was outside playing within earshot of me. Next thing I know I realize she has gone inside. I go in looking for her. She wasn't in the living room. Weird, she usually doesn't go far. I start down the hall to see where she had gone. She comes out of her room with a BOOK! A BOOK people. She totally heard me talking about reading and went inside to get a book for us to read. That just blows me away.

Stats:

Wt: 17# 2 oz. (0%): Yea!
Ht: 27 in (0%): This needs a little improvement...
Head circumference: 17 in (1%)
Shots: 1--and getting far more dramatic about it. She cried for 15 minutes over that 1 shot. When she was 2 months old she cried for 2 minutes over 4 shots...go figure. :)

Overall, a perfectly beautiful and healthy baby girl.

Thanks for tuning in to this month's edition of Watch Me Grow.

In My Daughter's Eyes

On Mother's Day Sunday our special music was "In My Daughter's Eyes." Pretty sure I cried through the entire thing, along with my mom! (who am I kidding, I am crying now just writing this). Having a daughter has changed my world and I am so blessed God choose her for us, and she was definitely worth the wait. This song sums up everything I feel about being a mommy.

In my daughter's eyes I am a hero
I am strong and wise and I know no fear
But the truth is plain to see
She was sent to rescue me
I see who I wanna be
In my daughter's eyes


In my daughter's eyes everyone is equal
Darkness turns to light and the
world is at peace
This miracle God gave to me gives me
strength when I am weak
I find reason to believe
In my daughter's eyes


And when she wraps her hand
around my finger
Oh it puts a smile in my heart
Everything becomes a little clearer
I realize what life is all about


It's hangin' on when your heart
has had enough
It's giving more when you feel like giving up
I've seen the light
It's in my daughter's eyes


In my daughter's eyes I can see the future
A reflection of who I am and what will be
Though she'll grow and someday leave
Maybe raise a family
When I'm gone I hope you see how happy
she made me
For I'll be there
In my daughter's eyes

~as sung by Martina McBride

Show Us Your Life: Baby Name Edition

This week at Kelly's Korner we are talking about our kids' names. I am always intrigued by the names people come up with and why. We live in such a world that is bound and determined to name each of our babies something different and unique and of course, we are no exception. Rather my husband is no exception. I love classic and simple names, but since Chad is a teacher and he quickly associates names with students, which results in shooting down an entire list of names in a matter of seconds. Naming Leighton wasn't easy.

Since I was a little girl I had my heart set on so many little girl names. Never any boy names, because I just assumed I would always have girls. :) I loved the name Elizabeth forever. Then Hannah, Samantha and Reghan. Reghan was 100% THE name I would name my daughter, no questions. As life would have it, a couple in our small group have a daughter named Regan...so back to the drawing board.

There was another name I was DEAD set on, again no questions, don't want to hear your opinions (ahem. Chad.), but once we got pregnant and found out it was a girl Chad just would not come around. ( I am not sharing the name, due to the fact if God ever allows us the opportunity to have another baby, let alone a girl, this may be the name...because in true Chad fashion he has finally come around, slightly.) While I wanted to put my foot down and demand we name our daughter this, I just couldn't choose a name Chad wasn't 100% behind.

One evening I was flipping through our 12 channels, and heard the name Leighton (you know Leighton Meester from Gossip Girl), I threw that out there figuring he would hate it and I could go back to my original choice...Nope, he loved it! I love it when my plans backfire on me.

However, once I paired it with Olivia, I fell in love with the name too. It sounded so beautiful to me. I laid in bed that night and could completely picture my Leighton Olivia.



Part of me wishes we had some great lineage or meaning behind why we chose her name, but we don't and that is ok. We love her name and it fits her perfectly, she is our little Lo Lo girl. And for those of you who haven't figured it out yet Lo is for Leighton Olivia, Chad came up with that one too!

We do have a boys' name, but that is a secret too. If there is a next time?!? The name will be top secret, because I think that is fun. Chad wasn't up for that the first time, but this time I get to make the choice. :)

I can't wait to read about all the names everyone else chooses and why.

Wishing everyone a Happy Mother's Day!

Just to make you laugh.

This commercial makes me laugh Every. Single. Time.