Merry Christmas

Guess who is four months ....

this sweet baby!

 

(please excuse the middle finger gesture....)

Guess who is three months ...

this kid!!!!

And she continues to grow by the minute!

We've come a long way

 

One month old

 

Three months old

 

Someone is starting to enjoy bath time!

Our spooky Halloween

This year Halloween got a little spooky!

We had wolf, strawberry and owl lurking about all night!

But the scariest was this little sleepy cupcake!

She did wake up for a bit...

but babies can have only so much fun before it is time for a nap again.

 Family portraits...

Another fun Halloween in the books!

Guess who is two months.....

my baby!!! 

(Granted I am a month late posting them...oops)

I would like to share some of my fav's from our most previous photo session.

I feel like I may know what she is thinking in these...

"I am so winning this staring competition!"

and "have you got my good side mom?"

 and "i don't get mom's jokes, but I will laugh to make her feel better!"

and "how do you like my Elvis impression?"

and "I can yawn with my eyes open!"

Happy Friday!

Guess who is one month old....

 

my sweet Ella Grace!

 

She has just moved out of preemie clothes and entered the newborn stage!

That is right...we are up to seven pounds now! She sure has come a long way!

 

You tell me...

 

Is she the baby whisperer or what? 

 

 

The hair do and glasses may have changed but she still has the touch!

 

We love you mom nana!

 

Our little miracle....

has arrived!
 

Our sweet Ella Grace made her debut August 16th at 1:31 pm.  She weighted 5 pounds and 14 ounces! 

  

 To say we are blessed is an understatement as this pregnancy was not an easy road.  In the past year, I have witnessed the power of prayer and the will of my Lord in a way I could have never imagined.  

 

To make a long story short, we were considered "high risk" from the first appointment due to a miscarriage that we had this past fall.  The first 19 weeks were walk in the park in retrospect.  At our 20 week appointment our doctor found several issues that required us to see a specialist on a weekly basis.  It was during these appointments we learned our sweet little girl was only in the 4th percentile in growth.  After a series of lab work, the doctors concluded the growth restriction was a result of a faulty placenta.

 

Around week 32, we learned this crappy placenta had become even more problematic.  I had a placenta abruption and the umbilical cord doppler's became elevated.  Elevated doppler's meant Ella was not receiving the nutrition she needed.  Ella was evaluated through hospital stays and eventually I was put on bed rest.  Thus the decision was finally made....we would induce as soon as possible.

 

So Thursday morning, August 16th, we arrived at the hospital at 4 am.

 

 

Around lunch, we had hit 8 cm.  The doctor dropped by just to see how we were doing and things started to take a turn.....Ella's heart rate began to plummet drastically and within minutes we were in the operating room.

 

At 1:31 pm, we met our little Ella. 

 

 

 

 

 

While Ella was being cleaned, the nurse noticed she was having respiratory issues. 

 

The next thing we know she was being sent to the nicu. 

 

(first time I got to see her)

 

(first time to hold her)

 

 

(holding her daddy's hand)

 

But after two (what seemed to be VERY long) weeks, our baby girl came home! 

 

One part of the story I left out is how perfect God's will truly is.  During the c-section the doctor realized I had a placenta accreta that had gone undetected during the ultrasounds.  What is an accreta... it is when the placenta grows into the uterine wall.  So what does this mean for a pregnancy if it goes undetected....it means hemorrhaging and a hysterectomy is likely.  But my gracious God not only sparred me from a hysterectomy, he gave my doctor the discernment to insist on a c-section which ultimately protected our child and prevented me from having a blood transfusion.  

 The God I serve is an awesome God.

 

We truly are blessed!

 

Home sweet home

This past weekend, we made one last trip to Birmingham before Miss Ella's arrival. 

And of course, we partied it up with the old crew! 

just because i think it is fun....here is a picture of the same group circa 1987ish

From what I can tell, white visors were all the rage that year!

While we didn't have an ocean to keep us busy, we managed to have just as much fun eating our body weight in food, having lots of laughs and hanging out til most of the men had fallen asleep! 

Here are a few pictures to give you a glimpse of our fun (Thanks for the pictures Stac!!!) 

 

  (J and Lucy seeing how far they could get in the pond before someone fell....and by someone I mean Lucy)

(me and my dad) 

(the pregnant ladies and our loving husbands!)

 

 

Although we have all gotten older, being together is just as much fun as it was 28 years ago!