Jake & Christy

crossed the other side...

2011-10-25T17:41:00.000-07:00

so i got an iphone...i feel like i was close to the last person ever to get one!...with how easy it is to take photos and immediately tweet things i will probably start doing more 'life updating' on twitter...which also shows up as my facebook status. I do still plan to blog every once in a while....but mostly going to tweet....crazy technology!! come follow me!! @christyseaton

he loves us, oh how he loves us....

2011-10-11T18:52:00.000-07:00

All i have to say about Sunday is ....BLESSED!!! thank you father for being so faithful!
we have 3 more weeks covering our series on 'seeds'...how God is up to something radically and shamelessly....small...

www.friscofieldschurch.com

Frisco Apartment Homes Tour 2011....

2011-10-06T18:45:00.001-07:00

and last but not least...the master bedroom/Violets room/jakes office:)...

thats it people, all 1007 sq ft of our little tiny place:)...well except the master bathroom/closet...i forgot to snap photos...maybe later. We really do love it, its just so darn little!! but for now its our home and we are blessed to have it!

a pumpkin patchin' we will go!

2011-10-05T18:08:00.001-07:00

last year piper and i went to this amazing pumpkin patch in Arcadia, Ok with my play group...it was my first pumpkin patch experience since i was little and it was super fun! So this year i was determined to find a good patch around here for us all to go and pick our pumpkins for the fall season:) Well i found an AMAZING one! The Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch did not disappoint! I knew i wanted to plan to go the first week of October to get us in the fall mood so i checked out a couple of books on pumpkins and the fall season at the library and we had been reading them to pipe in the days leading up :) We packed up our picnic dinner and started on the 40-ish minute drive to get there....the patch was full of wooden cut out characters all over the property of every 2-10 year olds tv idol you can imagine (pipers included, the whole toy story cast, barney, & elmo), tons of bounce house inflatables, playground equipment, mazes, picnic benches for our dinner, hay ride...and TONS of pumpkins (with wagons to ride while "shopping":)...on our way home we stopped at starbux for pumpkin spice latte....i told jake that it was officially a tradition! ...the best part....after thanksgiving they turn into a Christmas Tree yard...with equally fun activities!!...so we get to go back in 2 months!!!!

our little pumpkin family! Yes the mommy pumpkin is represented by the ugly-warty gourd...but at least its skinny;)

milestone catchup....

2011-10-04T18:56:00.000-07:00

~about a week ago Violet started this crazy super-baby style push-up...she is so strong, she would completely lift her entire body off the ground...everyone who saw it was amazed:)...it wasn't long after that she started actually getting up on all 4's and rocking!!! just shy of turning 5 months old! Having babies that are pretty much attached to me until they become mobile and get a taste of a bit of freedom...unlike most people, i LOVE it when they start crawling/walking...its defiantly a milestone i very much look forward too (weaning, starting food, leaving me for pre-school...not so much:)...

~if we are friends on facebook....i obsessively try to get advice on how to handle my high maintenance sleeper (piper ann seaton)...so much so that it has been overlooked that Violet is an AMAZING sleeper! And since she sleeps in her own bed (bassinet) much better then her sister ever did (as in she ACTUALLY does;) we decided to pack up the co-sleeper...and set up the crib!!!! We had to re-arrange our room a bit to fit it, but i actually think we like it better now:) She is sound asleep right now in her very first big-girl bed:) Eventually we really want Piper and Violet to share rooms...but we are not in any rush. I think she likes it:)...

~a little over a month ago we were at our new library looking over the movies... my eye caught a movie that a friend of mine had mentioned..."Potty Power!" we were not ready to dive into hard core potty training yet... but i thought we should check it out. When we got home i pulled her potty chair out to the living room (just in case she felt motivated;) and popped in the dvd...within minutes she was ripping off her diaper saying that she had "Potty Power!!!" and went pee on the potty! And I'm not kidding...since that moment she has had underwear on for every waking moment!!!! Potty training has been the easiest "hard" parenting achievement we have gone though!! All my readers (and future 13 year old piper) will be happy to know that i do not have a photo of this:)...

we gather together...

2011-10-03T10:59:00.000-07:00

this is it!....this is the week leading up to the entire reason we left our life of extreme comfort....we felt so strongly called to this ministry in Frisco....and here we are!....this coming Sunday is Frisco Fields Church very first service!!! I feel so blessed to be here....i feel so blessed to be apart of this Community of people....and i fell so blessed to be apart of the history of this Church! This journey has stretched me more then i can imagine....as a wife, supporter, mommy, christian, financial book-keeper, and friend. I have had to learn to give up control more then i have ever had to in my LIFE....but as a Christian i have been given this gift of not having to be in control....of having a heavenly father to say..."daddy, help, i cant handle this alone". We have done every earthly thing we can do....the stage is designed, the nursery is set up, activities are planned for the kids, we have set up & tear down, down to a science, sermon series is planned, coffee maker is cleaned, band is put together.....now its up to Him.... and we are sooooooo ready to see Gods Glory SHINE through this ministry!!

...come....join us....we are nice;) come be apart of our history!!!

www.friscofieldschurch.com

Sisters Much!....again;)

2011-10-02T20:27:00.000-07:00

One of the most wonderful photo of Piper and Jake....
Piper Ann...October 2009...3 months old

Violet June....October 2011...5 months old

Yes I made Jake wake up from Sunday nap to relive this photo! but it was totally worth it!! even he thinks so! :)

Frisco Apartment Homes Tour 2011....

2011-08-04T20:24:00.001-07:00

Part 3: Dining room/Living room/Kitchen/Laundry room...

our little Viley is 3 months old!!

2011-07-30T06:13:00.000-07:00

wow! 3 months! officially a baby, not a newborn anymore :( In the last 3 months you have met tons of family and friends...been to lots of library programs and playdates (in Oklahoma & Texas!), been diagnosed with reflux (and now doing SO much better, mommy hardly ever has to give you your medicine anymore!)... received TONS of kisses from a certain big sister of yours...had your first little cold...spend longer then a baby should have to at an audiologist just to be told your can hear perfect!...you are now starting to fit in 3 month clothes! which i guess means your starting to pack on the pounds!...you finally started wearing cloth diapers...you moved to TEXAS(yeah thats a big one)....you have been swimming A LOT, that happens when you have a very busy sister and a super nice pool at your new house :)...you started giggling this week which is so beautiful to me....you rolled over from your back to your belly yesterday!...you still LOVE to be swaddled, and pretty much have to be swaddled to sleep in your co-sleeper...you only nurse when your hungry and want the paci when your tired... you start off great sleeping in your bed the first part of the night (which gives mommy a nice break) but pretty much ends up in our bed by your first waking...you have been on a small trip to our state Capital Austin...and already have had many hotel stays in your short life...you are much less *clear throat* high needs then your sissy...most of the time you are a pretty happy and content baby... your awake times are getting longer and longer....you LOVE watching your sissy play...

These last 3 months have FLOWN by! With how crazy our lives have been lately i already feel as though i will look back on this time with Violet and feel like i didnt "take it in" like i should....i'm trying so hard to be aware of that! I love her so much....she is so beautiful and i could kiss her little cheeks all day!

Frisco Apartment Homes Tour 2011....

2011-07-29T20:24:00.000-07:00

Part 2: Piper's bathroom/closet/bedroom

Yes people you are seeing things correctly....that is a BIG GIRL BED in her room!! Since Violets still in our room in the co-sleeper....we thought, that when we moved we would not even set the crib up...there for the big girl bed would be the Cool new thing in our Cool new house:) She has done AMAZING with it! It still takes 2 or 3 times of going in and laying her back down at night before she officially falls asleep...but MUCH better then i was expecting!

Frisco Apartment Homes Tour 2011....

2011-07-26T19:16:00.000-07:00

Seaton's Home: Part One....entry & porch :)

and we're back in the game!!!!

2011-07-24T12:30:00.000-07:00

cloth diapers...ohhhh how I've missed thee! since within 10 weeks we were adding a 4 person to our family and moving to another state we decided that once Violet was born we would take a "cloth diaper vacation" until we got settled in Texas...then we would get Violet in cloth and Piper potty trained! well Friday we pulled out our diaper tub and put Violet in her first cloth:) they look so cute on her ;) I am so glad to be starting them! I was getting SUPER tired of buying diapers!!!!

next....the potty training adventure begins!!!! ANY ADVICE??!!

Terrific two!!!!!

2011-07-23T18:44:00.000-07:00

I grew up with dyslexia so to say the least reading wasn't too enjoyable....as I have gotten older I am learning to love a good book every now and then and especially am loving reading to Piper...so Jake and I are determined to raise a book worm! And since we were moving to Texas 5 days after her birthday to a small apartment....we thought this would be the perfect birthday to stock her(and Violets) library!!...
my little sweet pea is pretty much obsessed with cookies! so there was no question to the sweet of choice for her party!!

Paparazzi! :)

"ooooo. wow-we"

She kept saying..."hello?...bye bye. hello?....bye bye."

Piper reading to my cousins 2 little guys Titus & Javen

Violet finally woke up at the very end of the party! just in time for my cousin Rebekah to meet her.

Nothing like a good read!

Pretty good loot if I do say so myself!

sister's much!.....

2011-07-23T11:50:00.001-07:00

Piper Ann, August 2009, 6 weeks old....

Violet June, July 2011, 10 weeks old...

LOVE THEM!!

2 year old party, Texas and Frisco Fields update to come :)...

violet update...

2011-07-04T11:46:00.001-07:00

Because my 2 little ones have not decided to EVER sleep at the same time during the day...I have not had one moment to update the blog and SOOO much has happened! The first 4 weeks of Violets life seemed to be pretty simple...she was a very sleepy baby...I would have the hardest time keeping her awake! she was probably 2 weeks old before she had her first one hour of full awake time! Anyway when she turned 4 weeks old that's when all the drama began!!.....Because I had Violet at home, we didn't get the mandated hearing test done in the hospital like most baby's do...so within 2 weeks of her birth we had a letter from the state in our mail box saying that we needed to go get her hearing test done at the health department ASAP!!...well...she had been responding to noise just fine and because of that I honestly kept putting it off. But I knew it was something that was required in the state of Oklahoma....so when she was about a month old we finally got to the health department...only to have the speech pathologist tell us that she failed her hearing test on her right ear and that she was referring us to an audiologist...WHAT?!?! what does that even mean?...does that mean she is deaf in her right ear?...I was in total shock! Jake was blown away and we were practically silent all the way home. We trusted in Gods plan for Violets life...but it is so hard to hear that something might be wrong! Our audiologist appointment was set for 2 weeks later, and we spent the next 2 weeks praying for her ear and for her little life. Finally our appointment came...and after 3 hours of tests on my little violet...it turned out to be a complete fluke and she can hear perfect out of BOTH ears!!! Praise God!!!
Well right about that same time she also started to exhibit some concerning behaviors....she started practically refusing to latch on to eat...she would cry, scream and arch her back at about half of her feedings...really acting as though she was in pain....then at my 6 week midwife appointment they weighed her and she had not even gained a pound yet from her birth weight!! My midwives were a bit concerned...we all kinda thought it was a "producing" problem, so they gave me some crazy voodoo breastfeeding tea and prescribed an avocado a day to put fat on Violet. Well I was producing like crazy...but she was still struggling during feeding times! Then the breaking point came....one Thursday at playgroup, she was hungry, I was "full" so I went to latch her on and she screamed at the top of her lungs for 10 minutes while I tearfully just prayed for her to latch on to eat!...only for her to finally latch on for a whole 2 minutes!! Then that afternoon the same thing happened! it was 3pm and she had hardly eaten anything! no wonder she wasn't gaining much weight!! so out of desperation, I frantically pulled my pump out wash all the parts as quickly as I could (i had a crying hungry baby on my hands!!) and pumped for 5 minutes...I got 4oz and offered Violet her very first bottle...she latched on and ate not even one ounce, before coming off and crying again and out of complete exhaustion falls fast asleep. While she slept I got right on the phone with a lactation consultant...after talking though everything with her, she conclude that it wasn't a latching issue...Violet had reflux!!! Actually "Silent Reflux"...she is not one to spit up like a typical reflux baby would...so that's where the silent part comes from. I called my doctor right away...she agreed that it sounded just like reflux and called her in a script that night!!! Ever since being on this medicine she has had not one feeding issue, and just a couple of "reflux episodes" when I get a behind on her meds. We will know for sure next week at her 2 month appointment...but I think she has really started to pack on the pounds too!!! :) I hate hate hate that nursing, something that is should be a source of comfort had been such a source of pain for her first few weeks of life but ohhhh what a relief it was to figure that out!!
Violet is such a sweet baby and has been a much more "smiley" baby then I remember Piper being...she LOVES watching her sister play...and will smile so big after kisses from Piper:) She is already an amazing sleeper (although naps get interrupted by a certain loud big sister quite often)...she does very well laying in her own bed and only joins us in bed the last few hours in the early morning. She sleep propped up on her boppy in her bassinet. She has not taken a liking to her paci...although it is used and she will suck on to it if need be, she is not near as attached to it as Piper was...is;) She gets more and more beautiful everyday...and i am so madly in love with her!!!

Happy 4th of July!!!

2011-07-04T08:47:00.000-07:00

we celebrated with matching outfits!!! is there any other way!!! :) hopefully i will get to some MUCH needed blog updating soon!!....

Yeah...this is a really big deal!!!....

2011-05-30T11:01:00.000-07:00

WE ARE MOVING TO TEXAS!!! wow announcement overload....I'll start from the beginning....
Last October...one night after Wednesday night church, Jake pulls up to the house and just sits in the driveway...i could tell he was on the phone and was so anxious to hear what was going on... when he came inside he told me that this Pastor named Jared from a church in Arizona, whom Jake had met about a year earlier, was moving his family to Frisco,TX to plant a new church and Jared wanted Jake to consider joining his team and be the worship/arts Pastor!! We were excited about the idea yet pretty unsure...we knew nothing about planting a church and Jake NEVER even thought about the idea! (God has a pretty funny since of humor!)...over the next month we prayed a lot...asked a lot of questions...and seeked guidance from Jake's dad in the matter. By thanksgiving...we just didn't feel "quite on board"...we know now that it was just code for "we are really comfortable here...and moving somewhere with a new baby and a toddler, where we don't know anyone, to start a church plant is just too scary, so we should probably just stay put". After we told Jared that we were not quite sure about joining his team...we moved on with our lives....Jake got busy at church and me keeping up with a toddler and growing another person...Then January comes and Jake gets another call from Jared!! Jared basically just wanted Jake to know that he was still interested in him and wanted us to continue thinking about it. WHAT?!? seriously God...we thought we put this to rest?! We felt as though there had to be some reason God was "pushing" us on this church planting idea...So Jake and I dove into some deep prayer again and we both felt completely different this time around...this time for some reason we were starting to feel called! So as soon as Jared's family finally made it to Texas, we planned a weekend in early March to go check out the area and meet with Jared and his family. WOW what an amazing weekend! We LOVED the area and most of all we fell in love with the Doe family!! We really felt a connection and all of our questions were getting answered and our doubts were fading! When we got back to OKC Jake took a day to fast and pray over this new ministry opportunity...and God made it pretty clear (to both of us) that he was calling us to start this church!
Although a location still has not been decided yet our new church home already has a name and a website...Frisco Fields Community Church....click the link to check out our site! We have sold our house and will be moving July 15th! The launch date for Frisco Fields is October 9th!

please read about our core values and the biblical truth behind our amazing logo :)

The Core Values
Biblical. Relational. Missional.

Biblical.
Scripture reveals God’s heart and His story. It is a heart that must be shared and a story that must be told. It is God’s heart for us, and it is the story we find ourselves in. We commit our lives to the authority of Scripture through study, teaching, educational classes and obedience.

Relational.
People were created to live in healthy community. The early church had a huge emphasis on living life with one another. In fact, there are over 30 “one another” passages in the New Testament. We are to love one another, share with one another, confess to one another, serve one another, pray for one another, celebrate with one another, mourn with one another, and teach one another. We are committed to community, discipleship, and communal prayer, and of course… parties!

Missional.
People are called to serve one another in love. Serving brings life to others and self-transformation. The church is at its best when it serves, sacrifices, and loves others. Jesus had an uncanny ability to meet people exactly where they were and yet draw them into a life renewed. Sharing faith, love, and hope with others should be a natural part of life. We are committed to service, compassion, outreach, and alleviating spiritual, physical, social, and emotional poverty.

The Logo
The three bars in the logo represent three fields as well as the three core values of Frisco Fields Church: Biblical, Relational and Missional. The third bar and third core value (missional) has a corner cut off from it. This represents Leviticus 23:22 (NIV) says, "When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien."

Violets Birth Story….

2011-05-24T07:24:00.000-07:00

Friday, April 29th, 2011

Friday is jakes day off so I had scheduled a pedicure that morning while Jake watched Piper….i was hoping that maybe If I had not had her by then that the pedi would get things moving (I guess it did ;)…while sitting and enjoying my foot massage I had my first real contraction….like not Braxton hicks….like flash back to Pipers birth…like had to squeeze the chair arm contraction…I couldn’t believe it! That was around 10:30ish….but that was it…no more followed. Jake and Piper picked me up from the salon and we headed straight to downtown OKC for the arts festival! I told Jake about the contraction and told him that I have a feeling that this might be the start of something! We decided that if it was the start of labor that walking around the arts festival would be a good distraction and maybe even help things along…. The three of us shared a steak sandwich and a cinnamon roll (YUM!) while listening to music and of course people watching! We then walked around for a while checking out the amazing art! I had what I thought was maybe a couple of more contractions during this time….but they were so faint and I was so distracted that I’m not really sure. Then it was time to head home for Pipers (and mine;) nap time. We got home and settled in bed to sleep when almost immediately….

2:02pm- laying in bed with pipe I had another “real” contraction….it was still faint….yet strong enough for me to make note of the time….for the next hour I lay in bed, not sleeping, but keeping track of what was all of a sudden “regular” contractions!!!!!! I was not keeping track of how long they lasted …but they were 7 minutes apart.

3:00pm- although piper was still napping….after an hour of contractions, I decided to come out to the living room and tell Jake that I was pretty sure this was “it”….he turned his video games off (that’s what he does during nap time ;) and started keeping track with me….

4:00pm-Piper woke up and then within like 15 minutes Jake got a call from his dad wanting Jake to go TV shopping with him and jakes sister called wanting us to go to dinner and my mom texted wanting to know “how I was feeling today”!!!! We weren’t ready to tell anyone yet…because we felt it was SO early (I mean pipers labor was 27 hours long!)...but we had to tell them something! So we put them all off and I called my midwife….i had a couple of contractions on the phone with Gail and had to stop talking during it….im pretty sure for them that’s a sign that its actually happening ….she told me that she was sending her assistant, Nikki, over….hooooray!!!!!!! For the next hour we watch Oprah (which was on the “royal wedding”) and I labor around the house….still super “easy” labor….feeling great walking around the house and just stopping and leaning over furniture during contractions..

5:00pm- Gail’s assistant, Nikki, gets to our house and she listens to the baby and checks me….I am 3 centimeters and 75% effaced…..she calls it “early labor” and even mentions that it could still fizzle out….I’m a bit disappointed….but she stays to “monitor” things before she decides for sure if Gail should come. We call all of our family to let them know that “something is happening”. Within the hour things really start to pick up…during each contraction I am having to go down to my knees and lean on a chair…each time piper would come up to me and ask if I am “k? k?” so sweet!!!

6:30pm- my in-laws come to pick up piper for dinner and say a quick hello and goodbye… (the Seaton’s and piper meet my mom for dinner)….as soon as Piper leaves, Jake set up the pool in our room and made me dinner (chicken, black beans and cheese in a whole wheat tortilla…I wanted lots of protein ) I ate it one or two bites at a time in between contractions, leaning over a chair! Nikki also decided to make a quick run out to get something to eat(and coffee) herself…..all of a sudden It was quite…just Jake and i….it was nice….i sat and rocked in our rocker and watched re-runs of the Office for about an hour….just closing my eyes and trying to make it though each contraction. By the time Nikki came back I was still rocking….by now I was starting to be VERY vocal….saying just what I did with Pipers labor…”owe owe owe OWE OWE OWE” over and over until the contraction was done.

8:00pm- Nikki encouraged me to get up from the rocker, change positions and try something new….piper wasn’t home yet and I wasn’t ready to fill up the pool (I wanted to wait till piper was home and asleep) so I decided to try the shower…..the shower felt AMAZING!!! I wanted to stay there for hours….i kept saying, ok I’ll get out after this contraction….ok after this one….ok after this one ;) I was probably in there for 20 minutes. When I got out I felt like a new person…so relaxed! So relaxed in fact that for a (short) while it really slowed my contractions down…it kinda worried me…but it was not long before they picked right back up again. Jake started making some bread in the bread maker so that we would all have yummy bread to eat after the birth.

9:00pm- By now the Seaton’s and my mom were done with dinner and headed back our way…my mom got to our house and the two of us went and “hid” in our bedroom so that Piper would not see me….Jake did “bedtime” and piper when right to sleep. I’m sure she was worn out from all the excitement! As soon as piper went to sleep I sent mom back to her hotel and within minutes Gail arrived! Ok Pipes asleep and our midwife is here….it’s time to get down to business!!

9:30pm- I am so ready to be checked and see how I have progressed! So Gail checks me…I am at 7 centimeters and 100% effaced!!! I kept saying to Gail and Nikki “I feel like I should be more miserable!” although I was in pain…I still felt strong and happy…Jake starts to fill up the pool….

10:00pm- I get in the pool….Gail, Nikki, and Jake decided to leave the room and let me “retreat”….i not a fan of being fussed over during labor….so it was nice. The pool felt great in between contractions….but as soon as one would start just could not find a good position! It was frustrating….but I stayed in the pool and gave it about 30 minutes before I started getting uncomfortable and hot!

10:30pm- I call for Jake to help me out….as I’m getting out of the pool I have go down to the floor for a contractions and my water breaks!!! I get dried off and dressed.

10:45pm- Gail checks me again…..I’m at a full 9…and really feeling the urge to push….they encourage me to try little pushes during each contraction.

11:00pm- “transition” is hitting hard! I am completely exhausted….officially feeling the “miserable” that I was looking for earlier ….and ready to be “done!”….i kept telling Gail “I am so tired…its bedtime!” ;). I am not getting any “breaks”, one contraction would start to die down then immediately another one would start! Gail assured me that meant things were getting really close! They encourage me to lay down in bed to try to rest.

11:15pm- ok the urge to push is definitely there!...still laying in bed on my side with my one leg up I start pushing hard during each contraction….i hated this position….but my contractions were back to back with hardly any break in between that I didn’t even have time to think about changing positions….finally I expressed how uncomfortable this position was so Gail encouraged me to get on my hands and knees….much better….i was pushing so hard and being so loud! It is nothing but an answer to prayer that piper slept through it all! I know God was just plugging her little ears. The next 45minutes was a lot of sweating, yelling and pushing...I could feel EVERYTHING!! As painful as it was…it was so beautiful….you have no idea unless you have been though it….you just can’t describe it…I loved being able to feel my baby inside me with every push coming out! Finally her head was out, I reached down and just caressed her gooey head and hair….it was great motivation ;)

April 30th, 2011

12:02am- she’s here!!……awww what an amazing feeling of relief, joy, and love all at once!!! I Love you little Violet June…..I will daily seek Gods guidance to be the best mommy I can be to you!!

eating yummy food at the arts festival

walking around with the future big sister

about 12 hours before Violet was born!

right after nap....early labor

showing "our" tummys :)

leaning over the furniture (the desk, bed and chairs) was pretty much what i would do at each contraction....

after my amazing shower

Gails here and Pipers asleep....thats when things really picked up

in the tub....obviously in between a contraction :)

shes here! first photo!

Nikki and Gail!

apparentlly i had time to go get an updo ;)

goodnight!!!

She's here!!!.....

2011-05-01T15:01:00.000-07:00

Violet June Seaton...
born at home at 12:02am on April 30th
8lb 9oz 21in

and right on time!!!...I read that only 4-5% of baby's are actually born on their due date! and she made it by 2 minutes!!....much more details and pictures to come soon!

4 days till due date! & my midwives!!....

2011-04-26T07:02:00.001-07:00

Well...we are 4 days away from my (ultrasound given) due date (april 30th)....we really kinda thought with this being #2 that she might come a bit earlier....and although the week is still young....im thinking my body likes to fully cook our babies....and although im super uncomfortable...and barley feel like i can move....i feel very blessed that my body does its job well ;) I am much less naive this time and know that she is much easier to take care of inside;) that being said...jake and i are so anxious for this experience...even though she is our second...she is going to be our first homebirth and we are both so excited for how things are going to be different this time!! the midwives we are using have just been so amazing and so knowledgeable....i am blown away at every visit! if you are at all interested check them out here....
my mom was able to go to my 38 week appointment with me and got a few photos from her phone...as you can see piper is a huge help!

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers over the next week or so for a beautiful, safe...and short ;) labor and delivery and a beautiful and healthy little girl!!....we are so excited to add another sweet child of God to our family!!!

He is RISEN!!!

2011-04-24T19:35:00.000-07:00

Jesus gave it all, all to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow! O praise the One who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead!

Easter 2010

Easter 2011

ohhhhhh i am so looking forward to matching dresses next year!!! :)

37 weeks...

2011-04-10T19:23:00.000-07:00

with piper....

with baby sister....

come on sissy! we are ready when you are!!

test run:)

2011-04-04T18:28:00.001-07:00

"show me your...."

2011-03-21T11:46:00.000-07:00

"surprise face"...

"happy face"...

"sleepy face"....

27 years.....

2011-03-19T18:38:00.001-07:00

yep its my birthday...and it was amazing!!!! thank you to all my family for makeing it so wonderful.....another year down...

Surprise!!!!.....

2011-03-17T13:16:00.001-07:00

wow wow wow!! i am still in total shock!! last Thursday at our "normal weekly playgroup" piper and i walked into a HUGE surprise!!.... a "baby sister" baby shower!!!! it was my very first surprise party ever!! these amazing girls really pulled it off! a beautiful table....yummy food....gifts....and of course our usual mommy chat :) It was such an amazing morning...i was honestly in tears the rest of the day every time i would think of the friendship i have found in these girls!

baby sister was blessed with so many sweet gifts...

the "after party" ;)...

32 weeks....20 months....& Happy Birthday!!

2011-03-10T06:58:00.000-08:00

32 weeks with Piper....

32 weeks with baby sister....

I'm actually starting to think i may be a wee bit smaller (maybe its wishful thinking ;)....but obviously more stretch marks....and apparently i was much more prepared at 32 weeks with pipe.....i already had the co-sleeper out and set up!!! We still have not pulled out all the baby stuff from the garage....but that is changing this weekend!!! I am LOVING our new midwife and am SO happy that we will be having this baby at home!

20 months....piper, are you kidding me?!....why are you growing up so fast....stop it...right now....i mean it!!

although its an old picture (im about 25 weeks pregnant with piper here!!)...its one of my favorites! I love you mommy....i love seeing you happy....HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

speaking of proud.....

2011-03-02T07:43:00.000-08:00

LOVE YOU SISSY!!! click on the highlighted link to read her awesome break up letter.... ;)

all by herself....

2011-02-28T10:39:00.001-08:00

she did it!....she put her own shoes on!...100% all by herself...backwards ;)

i was so proud of her! and she was defiantly proud of herself!...its funny when they know they just accomplished something HUGE!!

big sister....

2011-02-21T20:02:00.000-08:00

she seems to be a natural.... ;)

Happy Valentines....better late then never :)

2011-02-21T19:41:00.001-08:00

a couple of the girls in my playgroup put together an amazing little valentines day party....it was wonderful!! yummy food...lots of playing...crafts...and of course valentines day card exchange! Pipers first valentines day party was a hit!

we then welcomed daddy home with a sidewalk masterpiece (aka free valentines day card) that we worked ohhh so hard on :) Piper and i also got "dressed up" and cooked dinner for our Valentine...spegetti...cant go wrong! Jake then surprised us with cupcakes! yumm!!!

It was such a wonderful Valentines! I love that piper really got a chance to be involved this year and i really think she had fun too! I love you to the moon jacob seaton!!!!!!!!!

19 months & 29 weeks!!

2011-02-10T19:49:00.000-08:00

I feel like piper has gone through so many "big girl" changes lately! there were a few things that i wanted to "try" to "help" piper change before baby sister got here...but im obviously not the kind of parent who "forces" any kind of behavior that she is not ready for....so first thing was the habit of waking up between 2am and 5am every morning...i didnt mind it when she would join us in our bed at that time and fall right back to sleep till 8am....but that was starting to not happen anymore....she would join us in bed and just waller around on us and NO ONE would go back to sleep which does not fly with me!!! So for like 2 nights we let her fuss when she woke up...and to our surprise she was back to sleep within 5 to 10 minutes!!! and ever since she sleeps in her crib from 8pm-7:30ish!!! we should have tried that months ago!!!
next was her paci....I wasnt in a huge rush for this one...but i thought why not at least try....so a couple of days ago i just decided to try to cut down to only...sleep times, car rides, and church nursery....It was so easy!!!! she has only asked for it a few times and i would tell her "we get paci at nap time" and she would move on!!! and she hasent even asked for it in the car in days!!! so its official we are down to only sleep times and church nursery...not sure when we will work on those, they will be a bit tougher to give up :(
next was the most ambitious one of all....POTTY LEARNING! thats right...we thought we would give it a shot....this one....not so successful ;) she has all the signs that she is ready...obsessed with the potty...very interested when I go potty, announces when she is going "pee pee" or "poo poo"...stays pretty dry for long peiords of time....so i thought this would be such an easy one...so early this week we went to the store...she sat on a few different potties, and we found one that she loved and seemed really comfortable on...we got really cute little undies (tip for you moms out there...dollar general has GREAT deals on toddler undies...for the same price as the cheesy "character" undies at walmart, target or babies r us...we got double the amount of undies and they are MUCH cuter!!)....anyway for one whole day she wore either her undies or was bare bottomed and guess what....she HATED it!! she looked so uncomfortable on her potty she would cry when she sat down on it (but she loves to sit on it with her clothes on! so weird!)....and when she needed to go she would say "pee pee...diaper" and walk strait to the drawer with all her diapers....she went a couple of times in the potty...but practically cried through it both times! we decided it was SOOOO not worth it right now so we will give it a few weeks and maybe try again :)
I just love this sweet girl so much and am so very proud of her!!....

Its official....i pretty much weigh myself every morning and i hit 10 pounds this morning....which is actually pretty good....but every girl out there knows....it doesnt matter what the scale says...i still feel huge! Baby sister really doest move much. I feel her just a few times a day, and try to savor it!! I still cant believe that we are just about 10 weeks away....and we have done nothing! im not kidding...we havent bought one baby idem, pulled anything out from the garage (baby swing, co-sleeper, bumbo,clothes ect.) and i have hardly thought about, let alone "prepare" for this labor!!! aaaaaaaa!!! ok, i am officially overwhelmed! i do however daydream all day long, wondering how she will be similar to piper...how she will be different....how they will play with their "babies" together....how they will be friends, and at times im sure get on each others nerves...i wonder if she will follow piper around and want to do EVERYTHING she is doing ;) I CANT WAIT!!!!
28 weeks along with piper....

28 weeks along with baby sister....

bigger? smaller? cant really tell....looks pretty similar to me :)

when you are as tall as the snow outside.....

2011-02-01T19:15:00.001-08:00

its much more fun (and warmer) to bring the snow inside!!!

woooooohooooooo for (at least) 2 snow days with my family!!!!!

18 months & 24 weeks!!!

2011-01-10T19:12:00.000-08:00

we had pipers 18 month appointment today....she cried the whole time...like normal....but she is perfectly healthy! 22lb and 31in tall....Dr. Grim and i talked about her "screaming for attention" according her her i have been doing the right thing by ignoring it and keeping a calm tone....she totally encouraged my desire to try to potty train....we might be going to buy a potty tomorrow! and we discussed possibly starting a vaccine schedule at her 2 year appointment....i have never really mentioned it....but we have not done any vacancies yet....but i was never convinced that we would never do them...i just knew i wanted to wait until she was 2ish....so i have the next 6 months to figure out what we should do....time to dust off dr.sears vaccine book :)
here's pipe with her daddy playing their "tars"....LOVE THIS...

little miss beanie is a little over a pound now and is the size of an ear of corn (that is really funny to me;) her heartbeat sounded good at our last appointment and she was laying sideways :) she is finally starting to make her presents known a bit more....i just remember piper moving a lot more then this?? hummm a sign of their different personality's?...who knows!

are you telling us something?!?!

2011-01-07T07:43:00.000-08:00

Family Birthday Date....

2011-01-05T11:18:00.000-08:00

we love our "family dates" we make big deals about them and always do something super fun and just try to create wonderful fun family memories :) yes we are admittedly cheesy;)
For jakes birthday we went to the science museum (a favorite of ours), out to dinner then to cuppies and joe for a birthday cupcake...it was so fun!

30...

2010-12-31T19:22:00.000-08:00

Happy 30th Birthday to this amazing....daddy, leader, pastor, musician, provider, video gamer, husband, christian, chef, honey-do-er, comedian, bed-maker,free spirit, MAN i have ever known!!

sick christmas...

2010-12-30T19:59:00.001-08:00

i got sick this Christmas...a horrible cold....first of all it was my first Christmas to be sick....second of all it was the first time i have been sick since piper had been born....i now know that even with ALL the help from jake....mommys NEVER truly get a sick day!...but to at least give me a few hours of complete rest in hopes to feel better Christmas day, jake took piper to Christmas Eve service at church by himself! this is how they felt about that.... :)

let the matching dresses begin!!!!!!......

2010-12-27T07:30:00.000-08:00

ITS ANOTHER GIRL!!!!!!!!

this is my favorite....her skinny little legs all stretched out...

sweet profile...

*explanation: we had every intention to "wait to find out" with this baby like we did with Piper, and had even "announced to the world (and family)" that we were "waiting"....then came the morning of December 3, the day of our ultrasound...and i woke up with an overwhelming desire to NEED to know....i convinced Jake on our way there....and what did we find?!.....ANOTHER GIRL!!!! We were both overwelmed with tearful laughter and joy!! not to mention complete shock!
So on our way home we decided since everyone thinks we are "waiting to find out"....lets just keep going along with that (and ummm...lie;) until Christmas and SURPRISE everyone!!!! This Christmas has been so much fun getting to shock everyone with this wonderful surprise!!!
So...we are sorry to everyone who we had to "stretch the truth" (ok...lie) too.....family, my playgroup, church friends, and anyone else! we have prayed about it and been forgiven ;).....I hope you can forgive us too....it was all in the name of a Christmas Surprise! :)
(videos of us telling out family to come....)

Christmas dress...this year & last...

2010-12-24T10:28:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2009- 5 months

Christmas 2010- 17 months

CONGRATS TRACI!!!

2010-12-22T07:20:00.001-08:00

my cousin Traci graduated from UCO Saturday! and she already has a job as a special education teacher in Guthrie! WOW i am so proud! and excited to have a fellow Broncho in the family!

ohhh man...check out that graduation bling! she is one smart cookie!!

Happy Birthday Papa Shu!....well yesterday ;)

2010-12-22T06:50:00.000-08:00

we have started a great tradition of doing Christmas with my dad (papa shu) on his birthday(the 21st)....it is so wonderful because i get to see my dad on his birthday, we get a fun early Christmas, and it allows us to be able to have time to see everyone during Christmas! we had such a good time (dispite dad having a bit of a tummy bug:(....we had a great lunch, then took dad to cuppies & joe for a birthday cupcake then back home for presents!!! Piper got some great gifts, her favorite is the Aquadoodle!! she loves it! and i love it too because she can learn to "color" without mess!!

and my favorite gift was dave ramseys new board game "act your wage"! it.is.awesome. who ever gets out of debt first wins!!! dad wasent gone 5 minutes before we started playing it....i won of course ;)

LOVE YOU DADDY!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

6 years and a BIG milestone!!.....

2010-12-18T19:52:00.001-08:00

today we celebrate 6 amazing years together....i don't feel old enough to be married for 6years(and to most people, I'm not)...but i would not have wanted my life any other way, but side by side with my best friend!! Ever since piper weaned...i have really wanted to have a overnight date with my hott husband ;) and since we only have 4 more months before i have another nursing baby....we thought our anniversary would be PERFECT for our first night away!....well...it went PERFECT! we went to a fancy place called Deep Fork for dinner, jake had some yummy ribs and i had the chicken and they even gave us a free appetizer for our anniversary! We got dessert to go (chocolate and strawberry cake) and headed to the the Renaissance hotel downtown....it was the most wonderful and lovely evening!! we "slept in" (7:45am:) and went downstairs for our fancy breakfast in our jammies :) i feel so blessed to have that time to re-connect with my hubby all alone (ok i guess baby #2 was with us ;).

And apparently Piper wants to trade us in for Nani & Pa...they said she didn't even fuss once and slept until 7:30am!!!!!!!!

17 Months & 20 Weeks!!!

2010-12-11T07:02:00.000-08:00

that's right! yesterday my 2 babies turned 17 months and 20 weeks on the same day! they are both getting so big!.....

a little bit about Piper...

*the words she says are...mommy, daddy, ball, baby, bath, book, puppy, duckie, piper, diaper, pretty, bubble, cheese, apple, nannie, pa,papa, "t", night night, peepee, poopoo, stinkie, bible, cookie, uh-oh, please, up, yellow, blue, purple and a lot of "words" we are not sure about yet ;)

*she still signs for...water, hungry, bird, more, all done & cracker

*foods she loves...cheese, apples, veggie burgers, PB sandwiches, ice cream, eggs, green beans, goldfish crackers, any dried fruit, bagels & cream cheese...she has really gotten into wanting to "dip" her food, like pieces of bagel into cream cheese, or french fries into ketchup ;)

*she weaned, basically on her own, at 15 months, when i was 12 weeks pregnant...all i did was a lot of distraction, we stayed really busy, and if she would ask to nurse i would offer a snack or an activity, and eventually she just stopped asking for it!

*she is a champ at going to sleep in her own bed now....staying asleep in her own bed is a different story. we honestly at 8pm (after bedtime routine of bath, book, prayer and a minute or two of rocking) can just lay her down awake in her crib and she doesn't make a peep and goes right to sleep....but she is up by 1am and we just bring her to our bed then...not sure how that is going to work when #2 comes??

*she has her first "chore", that she started all herself, when we leave the house it is her job to "put the puppy in her room"....she have even got doing the latch down...and when we come home she goes straight to annabelles cage to let her out...she gets pretty frustrated if we forget to let her do it ;)

*the girl loves her sesame street and praise baby video.

*our favorite activities are, the 2 library programs we go to, our playgroup, the science museum, and the play area at quail springs mall!

*after about a month, a lot of crying, a lot of comforting from the teachers, and probably a lot of crackers, she FINALLY loves going to church nursery!!!

of course i could go on forever about all the little quirks of Miss. Piper, but I'll stop there :)

a little bit about #2...

*our first belly photo!! everyone keeps telling me that i don't even look pregnant...well that's because its winter people and i wear a lot of sweats and jackets...so here is the belly....see i told you it was there!!!

*i have only gained 2lbs...but that is on top of the 2lbs that i lost at the beginning...so i am back right where i was when i first found out...although i already feel SO much bigger then i felt with pipe...but i think that's typical for your 2nd.

*I made it to 20 weeks without one moment of sickness!!!!!!! but a lot of back pain.

*we had our ultrasound last week and everything looks perfect and healthy! he/she is 10oz and moves all the time! he/she is so cute and looks like piper did at her ultrasound :)

*EVERYONE thinks the baby is a boy, i guess because my 2 pregnancies have been night and day different.

*starting to remember the pain of labor and birth...trying to focus on the beauty of labor and birth.

*I have been craving tomato based foods....pizza, spaghetti, and salsa.

I absolutely can not WAIT to meet this little one and learn his or her quirks and get to know him or her like we know Piper!!!!
I love you my little ones!!!!!!

The Real Christmas Story...

2010-12-07T07:16:00.000-08:00

headed to church with our Christmas jammies and paci....what else does a girl need ;)

before and during the show....playing with friends, looking at the live animals and giving kisses to daddy :)

after the show all the kiddos go do a craft and decorate a cookie...piper took it on as a project to clean up all the left over sprinkles while waiting for her cookie ;)

*yes...that day she took a little tumble off the couch (ooops!) and has a red bump on her head to prove it :( but it didnt stop her from having a good time!! huh?! :)

remember this from last year.....

2010-12-06T08:15:00.000-08:00

last Christmas Piper, Jake and I had the honor of playing Jesus, Mary and Joseph in a program called "the real Christmas story" that our church puts on for little ones....well this year we put on our jammies and went as spectators:) Pipers favorite part was when "Mary" walks "Jesus" around for everyone to see him...she stood up, pointed and kept saying "baby, baby, baby..." over and over again, it was so fun!!

2 generations of Mary & Jesus ;)

pipers buddy :)

2010-12-03T15:44:00.000-08:00

my friend katie needed someone to watch her little girl this week...so after some begging from piper ;) we offered. we had a BLAST!! they were inseparable! and if Liv did decide to explore and go to another room i would look to piper and ask "where did your buddy go??", piper would go right to find her and join in with whatever Liv found to play with, it was so cute! and of course there is nothing like a friend who shares the same passion of "sesame street" as you do ;)

ohhh and apparently sesame street makes all little girls do a little spin!!

very few things in life....

2010-11-24T11:11:00.001-08:00

makes a person want to spontaneously get up and do a little spin...

for piper....its Sesame Street...

ohhh life's little joys...

hand-me-down's from friends=

2010-11-23T07:03:00.000-08:00

one happy momma!!!!....

wanting to do EVERYTHING all by herself....not so much ;)

I'M BACK!!!

2010-11-22T19:54:00.000-08:00

did you miss me.....well to be honest...i missed you. i guess i would have to say that i got burned out on blogging...not sure why...but after a little break i hope to be back for good....i am already having feelings of guilt for not documenting this pregnancy like i did for pipers.... so heres a bit of an update...:)

I am 17 weeks along! feeling amazing! the only symptoms i have had is fatigue (is that pregnancy or chasing a 1 year old around all day??)...i have not been sick at all! if you are a long time reader you know that i was really sick with piper....so needles to say, not having any nausea was a very welcomed change :) we originally had plans to find out the sex of the baby this time....but about 2 weeks ago i completely changed my mind, and it didn't take much to convince jake....we just LOVED the anticipation too much! we also originally planned to have this baby at home...we had our first appointment (at 12 weeks) with some amazing midwives in Norman and really loved them.....but were still feeling just a little uneasy about being at home and so decided to go back to the midwives at OU medical center...Our Midwife from Piper is retireding :( so for my second appointment (last week) was with a new one named Barbra....we really liked her. Everything with #2 is going well...and so fast! I felt the baby move last week! and feel the baby about once a day :) Over night i have started "showing" i have a pooch that just cant be sucked in any longer!....yet i still have not gained any weight....well i think thats all for #2....i hope to start belly photos now that there is actually a bit of a belly, since i dont have one yet i will leave you with photos from when we told jakes family on heathers birthday(september 11th)....

underwear...necklace....whatev ;)

2010-09-18T18:39:00.000-07:00

this is now how piper "helps" me with laundry these days :)

here we go again!!!!......

2010-09-13T06:28:00.000-07:00

thats right!!! we are having ANOTHER BABY!!!! we found out the last week of August...but had NO idea how far along i was (since i had not had any sort of regular period since piper)...so friday we had an ultrasound and found out i was 7 weeks along!!! We were even able to see and hear a heart beat loud and clear!! it was amazing! I am due April 30!!!!!

and ABEDNGO!!!....

2010-08-25T05:27:00.000-07:00

have you ever seen this video??

or what about this one??

hilarious right!!?? well my husband was obsessed with them!....he knew every word by heart.........which then in turn inspired him to pull a team of volunteers together to but this video together!!!!....
(this video is a tribute to all of crossings children's ministries volunteers...it was played at "kick off" training....the first person represents the greeter/check-in volunteers, the second person represents the Sunday school teachers, the third (played by Michael foster) represents the tech/sound volunteers, and the fourth person(my crazy husband)represents the worship/music/band volunteers).....

please feel free to show EVERYONE this awesomelly amazing video...can you tell...im kinda proud :)

a few of Pipers quirks...

2010-08-16T11:33:00.000-07:00

~she can say....daddy,momma,night-night,nana(for banana),nan-nan (although they are similar, we can distinctly tell the differences in the last 3 words :) and MANY other "words" that we have no idea what she is saying! ;)

~she can sign...more, eat, milk(nursing), drink, bird, fish and diaper

~they other day piper and kennedy were walking into her room for the both to be changed...when i asked "who's poopie"...piper raised her hand! I'm not kidding!...and she actually was poopie!!!

~She runs...thats right RUNS at 13 months!

~she does all the motions to "patty cake" like a champ!

~we were looking through her "baby words" book the other day...i was just going along, pointing to all the pictures and naming the objects...then i turned the page and immediately she points the the picture of the banana and says "nana" with all the

~she gives hugs like they are going out of style...she gives them as a greeting, if you are sad or hurt,if you tell her "i love you" if you ask for one...and sometimes just because :)

~her favorite foods are pinto/black beans, carrots, broccoli veggie burger patties, any kind of bread, scrambled eggs, blue berries, oranges, yogurt,cheese, applesauce and ice cream!

~she finally LOVES books...i have been checking out about 20 new books a week from the library. Her favorite book is a fisher price book called "how big?"...each page we say real loud "SOOOOOO BIG" she anticipates us saying it and flips out! its awesome.

water4...

2010-08-11T06:04:00.000-07:00

a friend from church, Dick Greenly, a few years ago had an amazing vision of bringing water pumps to areas (i think mostly Africa) where water is VERY scarce...this video explains exactly the impact he and his team are making in the lives of these families in the villages...wow!

Craig Bay/Western Uganda Video of Water Coming Out from Water4 Foundation on Vimeo.

BEAUTIFUL!!

to learn more about this amazing ministry called Water4 Foundation check them out here and here...

the only way i can ever get anything done around here!....

2010-08-10T04:46:00.001-07:00

they should give these as baby shower gifts!! ;)

*disclaimer: no pipers were harmed in the making of this blog post :)

this is why i love her....

2010-08-06T09:22:00.000-07:00

Ali...thank you for sharing...you made my YEAR with this ohhh so professional news segment...

home-made laundry soap...

2010-07-26T17:27:00.000-07:00

thats right...you heard me...home-made laundry soap....we totally did it!...
this is what you need...
-Ivory bar soap
-Arm&hammer washing soda
-Borax
-essential oils (optional)
-bucket with air tight lid (lots of options at Lowes)

the goods...

1.grate one bar of ivory soap...

2.add soap to sauce pan...

3.add 6 cups of water, heat until soap melts...

1/2 cup of Borax

1/2 cup of washing soda

4.add borex and washing soda...let it dissolve...

5.Pour 4 cups of hot water into the bucket...
6.Add soap mixture to the bucket and stir...
7.Add 1 gallon plus 6 cups more water to the bucket...
8.Stir
9 add essential oils (optional)...we used lavender and tea tree oil...

10.Let soap sit for 24 hours before using it...it turn to a gel.

you only have to use 1/2 cup per load....this cost an average of $.71 for 2 gallons (64 loads)....thats right you heard me.... $.71!! boo-yah!

they didn't even call each other!!...

2010-07-22T12:08:00.000-07:00

when kennedy showed up this morning...her and piper were totally coordinating!! so of course first thing we did was a photoshoot!! it was really hard to get them together for a photo (can you imagine ;) but at least i got some sweet ones separate...

Splash!

2010-07-15T08:54:00.001-07:00

so blessed...

2010-07-14T08:48:00.000-07:00

i feel so blessed to have a father-in-law who is such an amazing encourager! he will randomly send me quotes from books he is reading that he feels will encourage me and give me strength and confidence in the work jake and I are doing with Piper...

this one is from Pure Pleasure by Gary Thomas...

“…let me explain the spiritual violence we do to young mothers when we shame them for being overwhelmed with love for their babies in a way they may not feel in that particular moment for God. Neurologists now understand that when a woman nurses her newborn, her brain releases extra doses of oxytocin and prolactin, which are neurochemicals that trigger profound feelings of intimacy and a rush of emotional love. In fact, nursing also triggers the release of oxytocin in the infant. In the God-designed act of nursing, mother and child are all but melding into each other, overcome with intense feelings of adoration, intimacy, and closeness. Their brains ping with positive, pleasurable feedback. Scientists have found this chemical reaction to be so overpowering that mother rats chose their newborns over cocaine!

Our creator designed this interaction, and brilliantly so. In a season of life that calls this young woman to so much work – changing diapers, struggling through sleep-deprived nights, dealing with incessant crying, breathing in unpleasant smells – it’s a mark of God’s genius that he also provides for unusually intense emotional bonding.

I can imagine a young mother’s prayer: “How good and kind you are, my heavenly Father, that you provide such pleasing intimacy between a mother and her baby. What a joy that my child and I can share these moments as gifts from your hand! You’ve designed my brain to truly enjoy regular times of intimacy and to bond so very deeply with a child I might otherwise grow to resent.” (pp.62-63)

I hope this encourages someone else today...

Go Piper...Its your birf-day...

2010-07-12T08:44:00.000-07:00

gonna eat some cake like its your birf-day....

a look back....

2010-07-10T04:45:00.000-07:00

Piper Ann’s Birth Story…
July 9, 2009…
2:55pm- I was resting on the couch about to watch Dr. Phil…I had a contraction…stronger then I had ever had…strong enough for me to make note of what time it was…but no more followed.
4:00pm- Jake gets home early from a work retreat thing. I have my next contraction almost as soon as he gets home…again…even stronger.
4:20pm- another one…this time I had to lean over the bed while Jake was telling me about his day. That contraction alarmed us both…Jake asked if this was “it”. How was I supposed to know?! I had never been though this! We were going to “the music man” at the civic center that night with jakes parents and were due at their house at 5:30pm…so we thought we should go walk at northpark mall to see if contractions continued…
4:30pm- had to stop for a pink lemonade snow cone on our way to northpark I had walked at northpark A LOT during this pregnancy and would almost always have Braxton Hicks contractions while walking there toward the end….these were NOT Braxton Hicks! Within 20 minutes of walking I had to stop during a contraction and sit down. Jake started timing them and they were VERY regular…every 2 minutes lasting 53 seconds (seriously almost every one of them was 53 seconds…weird huh??). Although I had all these plans to labor at home for hours and hours…I thought they were pretty close together and I guess like any first time mom…I was so anxious to get to the hospital and get things going! This was “it”! For sure!!!
5:15pm- we leave northpark, call Jake’s parents to tell them we wont be going to the civic center, because we were heading to triage…and that we would call them when we knew something else. We headed home to grab the bags.
5:30pm-in route to OU Medical center
6:00pm- with rush hour traffic, parking, and the LONG walk to triage, we finally make it! Contractions weren’t too bad while driving, but going down the sky walk at OU Medical center to triage was NOT fun…they were getting pretty painful and I had to use the side handle bar in the hall way just to make it! They told us while we were checking in to triage that it was a super busy night and they did not have a room yet and we would have to wait in the waiting room!! What!!!! I was not happy!! We head to the waiting room and I labored in there for 45 minutes. I just sat in the waiting room chairs trying to relax. Then, when a contraction came, I squeezed the chair and did “whoo-whoo” breathing that really helped. At this point I told Jake to call my mom and dad to alert them that things are happening!!
6:45pm-finally was taken into a triage room and I changed into a gown. The nurse came in and told me that Ann (MY midwife) was the midwife working that night!!! The nurse took my blood pressure but had to leave to find the strappy things to put on my belly to watch my contractions and the heart rate of the baby. I was sitting on the bed and Jake and I were talking about how in COMPLETE AWE we were that this was happening…when….my water broke! Right there on the bed of the triage room!! As Jake was getting up to go tell someone, my midwife Ann walks in the door…it was as if Piper knew Ann was about to walk in! As I’m freaking out with excitement, I tell Ann that my water just broke. She checks me…confirmed that my water has broken, told me that I was 5 cm dilated and 100% effaced!! She looked at me and asked one more time…”were doing this naturally…right?” “Yes!” I said…at this point I could have conquered the world! Although I was already in a lot of pain I was full of energy, excitement and SO ready to do this!!
8:15pm- we are in our birthing suite!! Suite #20. I wanted to get into the tub right away, but I knew family was on their way…
8:30pm-Both sets of grandparents and aunt heather made it to the hospital. They all came in the room to see us! I had quite a few contractions while family was there…I think it was hard for them to see me in pain, and it was starting to get hard to concentrate on the task at hand…so…
9:15pm- Jake and I sent everyone to the waiting room and I went right for the tub! The water felt pretty amazing…it didn’t necessarily take away the pain of the contraction, but it helps my body to relax completely in between contractions.
10:15pm- The pain was getting much worse…I was out of the tub trying all kinds of positions. Rocking in the rocking chair felt really nice…sitting on the birthing ball hurt like heck (didn’t stay there long!)…leaning over the bed felt nice, especially when Jake would do counter presser rubbing on my lower back for the back labor…but by 10:15 I was ready to be checked again. Ann (midwife style) doesn’t like to “check” very often, but it had been 3 hours since I was checked in triage and I was really curious. I was at 6 cm. Not a ton of progress in 3 hours…but it was progress!!
11:00pm- I was back in the tub….things are getting pretty serious…the pain is so intense and I was getting pretty tired…I asked Jake to turn the lights off in the bathroom. I spend over an hour in the tub, in the dark, in pain!
12:00midnight-ish- (…because midwives are awesome) I did not have to have an IV or have constant monitoring (with the strappy thingys ;). But once an hour the nurse would come in to monitor my contractions and the baby for about 10 or 15 minutes…the monitors are even water proof! So while I was being monitored in the tub…I started crying. I told the nurse that I was in so much pain and was so tired and was ready to be done with all this! I asked to be checked again, so the nurse checked me in the tub (btw, being “checked” is not the most pleasant experience…but being checked in the tub, felt so much better!). She told me I was 7-8 cm. Although heather, our nurse, was very supportive the whole time of me doing things naturally, while seeing me crying in the tub…she made sure to tell me…”if you change your mind, just let me know”…in a very sweet soft voice…
July 10, 2009…
1:00am- 9 hours into this journey, Jake and I were both pretty tired, so we decided to lie down and try to rest. I think Jake got a pretty good nap in at this point. I lay on the bed (propped up because laying flat on my back hurt really badly!) and didn’t necessarily sleep, but I went into somewhat of a trance. Before this point I was pretty vocal about my pain (yes, screaming “owe, owe, owe, OWE, OWE, OWE” each contraction). But now I started to be very quiet. Like I said I didn’t sleep, but I think my eyes were closed for an hour and a half…I started just counting in my head…when a contraction would come I would just count…1,2,3,4 etc…I knew it would REALLY start hurting around 30 seconds and start dying down at about 55 seconds. Counting, in my head in the quiet, dark room gave me a distraction…
2:30am- We both started to “wake up” a bit and I was ready to be checked again…7-8 cm….still. Ann told me it was time to start moving around again. Jake helped me with some labor positions. My favorite at this point was completely putting my weight on Jake and swaying back and forth….dancing if you will. Ann also wanted me to eat something at this point, so Heather, our nurse, brought me some Jell-O. I hardly remember this.
4:00am- I asked to be checked again after moving around a while…I was at 8-9cm!!! I was pretty excited to hear that at this point!! I remember asking Heather how much longer she thought it would be…and she told me that we should make a goal to start pushing at 6am! If only we knew I still had 14 hours to go!!!! After this, everything is pretty much a blur…good thing Jake twittered so I can look back and try to remember a few details.
7:00am- I am officially at 9 cm.
9:00am- Ann comes in, very disappointed that her shift is over. I was back in my trance on the bed, and I remember her walking in and telling Jake that, although I had no energy to react, I was very sad she would not be delivering our baby. Our new midwife, Leanna, came in very sweet and introduced herself, looked over our birth plan, checked me…still a 9, and told me to get into the tub again to see if that will help loosen me up to get to 10cm. Jake helps me into the tub again, we put towels on the side of the tub and I basically “slept” in between contractions in the tub. But during contractions it felt really good to thrust my hips back and forth, it made water get all over the place, but it felt good.
Between 11am and 1pm- Leanna came in and check me again. She was really concerned at how long I had been at 9 cm and really wanted to see how effective my contractions were being. So we all decided that putting an internal monitor in would help to see. To insert the internal monitor I had to lay completely flat on my back on the bed, and like I have already mention, that was extremely painful to do and would always bring on a very strong very painful contraction. So after I was done screaming through that contraction, Leanna gave me the horrible news… that contraction, as painful as it was was only about half the intensity it needed to be, to get to 10cm and to push the baby out. I have never been so discouraged…I almost felt like the past 20 hours of work meant nothing! She told us that her suggestion was to do a little pitocin just to get me over this hump and to have strong enough contractions to push the baby out. I looked at Jake and was shaking my head…all I heard was the word pitocin and I wanted to run away! Jake knew that it’s not what I wanted, so he asked Leanna if there was anything else we could do? Leanna took Jake all around the room and showed him some serious cervix opening exercise and told us that she would give us an hour to do some hard work and we would re-evaluate. Jake made me get up and I had the hardest 45 minutes of my life! We were doing side squats on the tub; sitting on the toilet, dancing, and birth ball positions…it was miserable. After 45 minutes, in complete humbleness and exhaustion, I couldn’t do it anymore. Jake called Leanna in and with no progress we decided to do an IV of pitocin. And because I was already in so much pain, and knew that with pitocin it would only get worse, I asked if there was any type of pain relief that could just be administered through the IV. Within 5 minutes of pit and nubain drip…I was pretty much knocked out. The nubain didn’t take away the pain of the contractions, I still remember feeling them, but it made me fall asleep so I just didn’t really care about them anymore. I slept for almost 3 hours, which was amazing! I needed that more then anything!
3:30pm- Started coming out of a drug induced nap….pushing!!! I was bearing down, pushing as I was telling Jake to call someone, because I was pushing!!!! Leanna and Lacey (our new nurse) came in. Leanna basically told me that I still had cervix in the way, but to go a head and start pushing and she basically was pulling that part of my cervix out of the way with her finger while I was pushing (lovely huh? ). Leanna had set up this whole area on the floor next to the bed, with those large cloth pad things for me to squat. Jake was on one side of the bed and me on the other, Jake and I locked hands and I would bend down into a complete squat while pushing…this felt amazing. It really is true that once you get to the pushing stage, that pushing takes away the pain of contractions. I pushed and pushed and pushed. For 3 hours in many different positions. But mostly squatting. Leanna eventually told me to lay on the bed, they leaned the bed all they way back and Jake and Lacey held my knees while I pushed…Leanna still in her floral cardigan (she never put anything else on, and even got a little blood on it!) was sitting on the edge of the bed….
6:40pm-After 3 hours, Piper Ann came out…and Jake caught her!!! It was amazing, as he put her on my chest he told me it was a little girl. I just remember crying…in relief that it was all over and in complete overwhelming love!

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY PIPER ANN....I LOVE YOU TO THE MOON!!!

new BFF.....

2010-07-08T08:34:00.000-07:00

this week piper and i have started a new adventure! My friend Emma from college needed a better childcare situation, so jake and i prayed about it and decided to offer our home as "the pre-school of piper and kennedy" :) it is definitely a whole new ballgame to take care of 2 one year olds (Piper is only 2 days older then Kennedy)...but we are figuring each other out and having a blast! Piper LOVES Kennedy...she is always giving her hugs! Im sure there will be many more posts on the adventures of Piper and Kennedy :)

must watch!

2010-07-06T05:19:00.000-07:00

this is a beautiful advertisement with a beautiful message!

Its her last...first....

2010-07-04T19:05:00.000-07:00

I was just thinking the other day...that this 4th of july is her very last...first holiday...wow...does that make since...well it does to me ;) It is so hard to believe that this time last year...i was wondering if were were EVER going to get to meet our little one!....i guess you can say that we have come a long way in one year!!....

HAPPY 4th OF JULY!!!

Happy Fathers Day!

2010-06-20T10:38:00.000-07:00

Today has such A deeper meaning then it has EVER had!! I am so thankful for my dad and for the amazing Godly helpmate i have in Jake!! Happy Fathers Day!!

my snuggle bug...

2010-06-08T18:53:00.000-07:00

when jake and i were trying to soak up as much information as possible about how we wanted to handle sleep...

this artical

was one that i found was the most helpful...just thought i would share :)

livin' on a prayer!

2010-06-07T19:13:00.000-07:00

wow wow wow! this has been one of those times in our lives that it has felt like go go go! the minute we got home from vacation has been all about having to find a new car, getting our house fixed (roof, painting, and fixed windows), even a consideration to sell our house, preparing for VBS, cranky-teething baby, trying to start planning Pipers first birthday party, dealing with home and car insurance...so on so on so on....hence being on a bit of a blog break...my mom told me today that "we have been sleeping on vacation for to long" :) so with out further adeu....

we are back!!!

2010-05-30T13:23:00.000-07:00

did you know we were even gone?? :) seeing as that we had 3 windows out in our house...we decided not to announce to the world that we were going on vacation...but for the last week we have been doing a lot of this....

this...

this...

this...

and did i mention?...this...

more photos to come of our Florida vacation once we get settled :)

on a lighter note...

2010-05-20T13:45:00.000-07:00

we have been on the look out for a bookshelf for piper...up until now all her books were put up in her closet and we would just get them out as needed...but i wanted them out and displayed for her to get a book to read whenever she wanted :) well, last Saturday we found this gem at an estate sale...

its just her size...

we have already played MANY games of "pulling everything off the self"...

thank you da-da for putting up our new book/toy shelf...

ohhh hail....

2010-05-19T06:25:00.000-07:00

the garden failed again...this time not because of my "purple thumb"...but because of mother nature herself!
before the storm...

after the storm...

CRAZY!!!

ohhh and....
not so fun news....the yukon is totaled
fun news...we are getting a new car!!!!!

what the hail....

2010-05-17T09:40:00.001-07:00

yesterday, while jake was at the church for meetings, Piper and I were woken up from our nap right at 4pm with the sound of what i thought was someone braking into our house! with my heart racing I grab Piper and run into the living room and see glass and hail flying all over our little house. Then I look to the left out our big front window and could not see anything it was so dark and loud! Since I had not been awake or watching tv I just KNEW there was a tornado right on top of us...with piper in my arms and my stomach in my throat, I start pulling things out of our coat closet and Piper, I and Annabelle squeeze into the dark closet. About 5 minutes later it was quite so i thought it would be ok to come out...there was no tornado but we at least protected ourselves from all the glass...it could have been much worse...and I feel so gratefull that we are all safe...but our little house has 3 windows broken...our garage door is torn up as well as the siding on the north side of our house and of course both our cars have damage, but no glass out and we will be needing a new roof. I have honestly never seen anything like this or been so scared...but thank God that it was not a tornado and that we are all safe :)

classen & grand BABY!!!

2010-05-14T07:41:00.000-07:00

*btw i stole this photo from my friend Katies facebook (wow i have a lot of friends name katie that i steal from ;)

one mans trash...is another mans tresure...

2010-05-11T10:18:00.000-07:00

we had a garage full of stuff that needed to GO....so we convinced our neighbors to join in and we had a garage sale this last weekend...it was really fun! jake and i both got a little sun...and thankfully piper took her longest nap ever! 2.5 hours!!!we dont have baby monitors (you really dont need them in a 1200sq ft house)...so we went old school and i just opened the window so i could hear when she woke up :) but when she was awake she LOVED talked to all the people and wanted to play with all the little ones that stopped by...ohhh yeah it was also nice to make a little cash :)

Happy 10 Months!!

2010-05-10T13:23:00.000-07:00

we are so proud of you sweet girl!!!

Happy Mothers Day...

2010-05-10T07:45:00.000-07:00

Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys
or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not
my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.
Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind
and my thoughts.
I slept all night.
Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
so doctors could do tests.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night
watching a baby sleep.
Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small
could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.
Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of
having my heart outside my body..
I didn't know how special it could feel
to nurse a baby.
I didn't know that bond
between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
could make me feel so important and happy.
Before I was a Mom,
I had never known the warmth,
the joy,
the love,
the heartache,
the wonderment
or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,
before I was a Mom

my friends and their thoughs....

2010-05-05T20:14:00.001-07:00

i admit it...im not much of a writer...i have so many views, thoughts, feelings that i just am not good at getting them to "paper"....but i have very talented friends that are great writers... so when i read something that i really connect to...i just steal from them... :)

my awesome friend Katie wrote this....

"Judgment~
I've been wanting to blog about this for awhile and have been trying to decide which angle to address it from because let's face it...as soon as I throw out a belief I have or a parenting choice I've made, people reading this have an opinion of me and they will judge me based on that opinion. It's really hard not to, and I get it because I do it too. Usually I don't mind when I feel judged by others because I'm pretty confident in my choices...but still. Mothers judge other mothers. Maybe not out loud, but they do in their head every day. And how can you not? Obviously the choices you make for your family are the ones you feel are right, so if someone else does it differently, it seems wrong.

For the most part I truly believe that you have to do whatever works for you and your family (different strokes for different folks right?) and I try not to give unsolicited advice or opinions UNLESS someone asks me and then I will be more than happy to ramble on. I am blessed to know many moms and babies and we don't all do things the same. In fact, by getting to know them, I have come to respect many of the differences that we have and the choices we have made. I've also learned that you can find solid research to back up whatever choice you want to support, you just have to decide which side to listen to!

I am truly blessed to know people who......
had planned pregnancies, unplanned pregnancies
had natural births, medicated births, c-sections, home births
circumcise their boys, didn't circumcise, vaccinate, don't vaccinate
co-sleep, use a crib, use a floor bed
breastfeed infants, breastfeed toddlers, use formula,
use doctors, use chiropractors, use acupuncturists
cloth diaper, use disposables, use elimination communication (you're googling aren't you)
are working moms, are stay at home moms, etc.

Becoming a mother has made me feel more judged by others and also made me more judgmental. At the same time though being a mom has helped me see that there aren't always black and white decisions...some things are gray...and some things that I think are black and white, I'm learning to shrug and say "agree to disagree"! Some days I can celebrate the differences, but some days I do find myself thinking that I know best.

I don't know if I have a point to this post other than rambling my thoughts (and hey it's something deeper than a cute pic of my kid with a fun title), but I guess I'm wondering do all moms feel this way? What do you do when you start to feel judgmental towards others? What do you do when people say judgmental things to you? Inquiring minds want to know!"

walking....flip book style...

2010-04-30T12:10:00.000-07:00

like most things...i have better photos of her taking steps then i do video :)

and yes she totally spikes the water bottle :)

aunt heathers new house.....

2010-04-30T12:05:00.001-07:00

be there or be square!!

I finally got a shot of her teeth!!!

inch by inch...row by row...

2010-04-29T09:14:00.000-07:00

i LOVE to see my garden grow!...
strawberries!

carrots

green beans!

MIA....

2010-04-26T19:08:00.001-07:00

apparently i decided to take a (un-intentional) blogging break...it seems like forever since i have been here...during my "blogging break" i missed Pipers 9 month birthday, earth day and the OKC Bombing Memorial....honestly it has been nice...Most of this blog is not for any of you readers....its for our own memories...a journal of sorts for our family...soooo i put alot of pressure on myself to document as much as possible....and i just needed a break from that pressure...except for the fact that i picked the worst few weeks to take a break! In the last month...piper has mastered free standing, waving, clapping, pointing, saying "dada" intentionally, and....drum roll please....TAKING HER FIRST STEPS! thats right she took her first step yesterday morning in the children's church room at church...and today she has consistently been able to take 2 small steps before falling down to go back to crawling. So needless to say this month has been HUGE!
ok so im back now and i have a list of things that need to be blogged...including a garden update and hopefully some video of pipe...hope there are still people out there!! :)
here are a few photos from this month :)

truck coma...

2010-04-13T18:55:00.001-07:00

Jake drives a 1971 GMC truck...so its very old, rumble-y and bounce-y...so as you can imagine it doesn't take long for little lady to fall asleep when we ride in daddies truck :) it has been so beautiful lately that we have been switching the car seat over and cruising with the windows down for hours! I LOVE SPRING!!

lets try this again....

2010-04-08T12:30:00.000-07:00

i hate to say it...but our garden did HORRIBLE last year...we planted too early...too much and all we got was 4 or 5 tiny strawberries...soooooo...round two...we waited about 3 weeks later then we planted last year...only planed strawberries, green beans and carrots and did seeds this year instead of plants

and we are already seeing growth!! this was after the thunder storm a couple nights ago! :) cant wait for some crock pot green beans!!!!

my sweet family...

2010-04-05T10:28:00.001-07:00

on our Saviours Resurrection Day!!

for my mom...and heather....

2010-04-05T10:10:00.001-07:00

my mom knows about heathers love for all things vintage so for heathers 30th birthday 6 months ago my mom gave her this vintage dress...that she got at a garage sale! Heather LOVED it and immediately announced that it would be her Easter dress! She got it tailored to fit her perfectly and this is the BEAUTIFUL result!! doesn't she look AMAZING!!

woooo-hoooo!

2010-03-31T09:20:00.000-07:00

we are tv stars!!! :) thanks to my friend Chellie for such a fun experience!!

Watch the clip *here*

check her out!!

2010-03-30T10:09:00.001-07:00

pipers new trick....STANDING!! is she going to be one of those crazy kids who walks at 9 months?....MAYBE!!! ohhh yeah...she also gives a mean "high five!" :)

watch it!!....

2010-03-29T11:13:00.000-07:00

piper and i will be on channel 4 tomorrow night for the 6pm news segment...we will be during the "saving a buck" part....you better watch it!!! ;)

DO IT!!!

great quote....

2010-03-22T12:00:00.000-07:00

my father-in-law is reading the book called "The Me I Want To Be" by John Ortberg...the other night at dinner he wanted to read me a part of the book that "reminds him of the important work I am doing with our Piper"...here is the quote...
"How necessary is (connectedness)? British scientist Donald Winnicott found that children who play in close proximity with their mother are more creative than children playing at a distance from her. Winnicott found that children are naturally inventive, curious, and more likely to take risks in what might be called the "circle of connectedness." When they are in this circle, they take more risks. They show more energy. If they fall down, they are more likely to get back up. They laugh more than children who are outside the circle. Why? It isn't that Mom is doing for the child what the child could not do for himself. She is not solving problems for this little kid or generating ideas about how he ought to play. Instead, when love is present, when that child feels safe and cared for in her presence, something gets released in his life. He gets a little stronger. He gets bolder and more creative. Love releases life in that child that would otherwise remain dormant and unsummoned." (pp. 183-184)

pretty sweet huh?!?!

happy birthday...

2010-03-19T19:07:00.000-07:00

to me...
happy birthday to me
happy birthday to meeeeeeee
happy birthday to me...

ok thats kinda sad....

down the street...

2010-03-13T10:51:00.001-08:00

to nan-nan's house we go!....

since we dont have cable....anytime my in-laws go on a trip we are always the first to offer to house/dog sit...we call it a "cable vacation":) we watch TLC, Food Network, and MTV till our hearts content! anyway so that is our spring break plans (ohh yeah with my 26th birthday mixed in too ;)....we will be home everyday (they live about 3 mintues away) to do weekly things like laundry and such...but i was just dying to use this super cute vintage suitcase i got for $2 at a garage sale like 4 years ago :) so we packed a few of pipers favorite things to take to nan's house ;)

Piper & her Gram...

2010-03-10T16:03:00.000-08:00

today they share a birthday....piper...8 months old....my mom(grandma)....50 Years old!!!!

I love you mommy...you have taught me to me a strong independent women and you have taught me how to be a mommy by being such an amazing example! I love you! Happy Birthday!!

new cousin for piper!!

2010-03-07T01:14:00.000-08:00

my cousin Clay and his wife Lindsay had their first baby on friday! Another little girl (piper was the first on on my dads side in 25 years...well since me!)....her name is Alivia Grace...so beautiful! So on my dads side that would be 3 new cousins born in 8 months (remember Titus, he is the other one :) Ohh i cant wait to see them grow up together playing at thanksgivings and Christmas's!

Jake & Christy & Piper's DAY OF FUN!!

2010-03-06T06:36:00.000-08:00

on our way to the zoo...she has no idea how much fun she is about to have!!!

riding the train to see all the animals...so fun!

swinging!....weeeeeeeee

eating play-gound bark...nice

wearing daddy

the North American stay-at-home mom, feeding her young in the wild!

monkeys jumping on the bed....

2010-03-04T09:54:00.001-08:00

we bought a new bed!! its temper-pedic...king sized....and amazing!!!!!

sick :(

2010-03-02T07:42:00.001-08:00

Piper pretty much woke up hating the world yesterday morning....cranky from the start, i just thought it was going to be another one of those "marathon nursing" days. So we sit on on the couch and start nursing...she almost immediately falls asleep after only being awake maybe 30 minutes! she takes a small nap on my lap, but when she woke up...she was hot, crying, and miserable! I took her temp..it was 101.8! then she threw up!! being completely unprepared for this inevitable day, i start crying my eyes out and call jake. While i pulled myself together, jake called our doctors office to make an appointment. i didnt want to go through this all by myself for the first time...so praise Jesus that jake has a job that cares and he was able to take us to the doctors...by the time we got there she looked so sickly...it was horrible...she could not open her eyes and was continuously crying and would not nurse! they listened to her breathing, which was really raspy, they put her on a breathing machine (which she HATED!), tested her for RSV and the Flu and sent us to the hospital to get a chest x-ray to check for phenomena...our doctor told us that she looked so sickly that she was honestly trying to decided if she should admit her to the hospital!!!! flash backs to the NICU came back and jake and i were full of emotions holding our little girl :( after spending a few hours in and out of the doctors office and the hospital, all the tests came back negative!!!! Whooo-hoooo!! And after a few hours on children's Tylenol and finally a good feeding...she was like a different baby...talking, smiling and trying to crawl off the examining table while Dr.Grim was checking her breathing:) It made us feel so good!! Dr.Grim said that it must be some sort of bronchial virus, she said just too keep up with the Tylenol every 5 to 6 hours, keep a humidifier around, and nurse her as much as possible!! We came home and took a LONG nap together :) she is still pretty cranky, wants to be held or nursing pretty much constantly, but i can already tell she is feeling a bit better. ohhhh the trials of parenthood...yesterday was one of the most emotional mornings of my life...and i know this is just the beginning!!!

*jake took this photo at the doctors office with his iphone

born to blog...

2010-02-26T09:11:00.001-08:00

just at the right time...

2010-02-25T11:05:00.000-08:00

man God knows exactly the right moments to show encouragement...Piper and i were having a bit of a rough morning...she was pretty fussy and all she wanted to do was sit on the couch and nurse...and a1thought when she gets in these moods i get nothing done...i really don't mind...but today she was on and off, pulling, getting distracted...so on and it was really getting to me...this sweet time that we were should have been sharing was making me frustrated and hurt! she eventually fell asleep so during her nap i searched out for some encouragement and came across this video! Practically in tears i realized that this selfless gift of not only amazing nutrition but comfort i am giving to my little girl is worth EVERY SECOND!! the dishes will get done later...my nipples will heal...but what i am showing her when i nurse her where ever or whenever she needs it is the love and security she will always have in me and that is priceless!

this video also really makes me wish piper and i had more photos of us nursing..i think we only have 2 or 3 from our early days together...i need to talk to jake about that :)

blue...

2010-02-23T06:29:00.000-08:00

the 2 things people notice about Piper right away is the dimple in her chin and her beautiful blue eyes!! I have tried to capture them from day one...and haven't really been able to do them justice...well when piper and i woke up this morning the light in our room was perfect!! I ran to get the camera and got this photo!! I did a small about of editing...but i purposefully did not touch her eyes(or the spit up on her lip ;)...how am i ever going to resist those piercingly beautiful eyes!!!