Keeping up with the Warners

December Update

2011-12-28T09:19:00.000-08:00

We had an appointment at the hospital today with the high risk doctor. First they did an ultrasound to check on baby girl and everything looked great with her. She's measuring 2 weeks ahead of schedule and is 2.5 lbs already! So great news on that front. They looked at the placenta for a bit and then the doctor talked to us. Basically he said it is very hard to tell from ultrasound the degree of the accreta and if it has or has not gone through the uterine wall and attached to any organs. The MRI can give us a closer look, but still may not really provide all the information and they will just have to see to what extent everything is when they do the c section. He wants to wait on the MRI for another month for two reasons: 1. So we can get a look closer to delivery in case things change and 2. So the baby's exposure to the radiation is not quite as long...everything they inject into me will go into her system and will circulate into the amniotic fluid, so the less time in her system the better for her.

He's saying if all goes well, we are planning on delivering at 36 weeks. They will do an amnio at that point and check to make sure the baby is developed enough and will also give me steroid shots to speed up lung development. The doctor will have to wait until the delivery to know if I'm having the hysterectomy at the same time as delivery or if it will be safer to recover from the c section, then go back in a week or so later for the other procedure to try to remove the placenta. It all really depends on how things go and the amount of blood loss that will occur.

So basically, all is well for now. I need to just take things easy and it's a wait and see situation. The good news is that everyone is prepared for what's coming and they will have all sorts of specialists on staff at the delivery as well as blood for transfusions waiting for me so it's not as much of an emergency situation. So all that can really be done at this point is wait and see how things go at delivery, there are still a lot of unknowns. Thank you for all the cards and messages and phone calls and most of all prayers, they are so much appreciated.

The Power of Prayer

2011-12-12T02:00:00.000-08:00

Life has been so busy this past year that I haven't updated my blog at all. We have been blessed to have a great year and lots of fun with our boys. We got a major surprise this summer when we found out we were expecting another sweet baby and even more surprised this fall when we found out that sweet baby was a baby girl! Words could not tell you how excited I was to find out we were having a girl (as proven by the enormous amounts of pink that have been brought into this house!)

I was debating about putting this out there publicly, but I'm getting so many emails daily from wonderfully sweet friends and family, that I thought it would be good to keep updates in one place instead of writing the same thing over and over again all day. And I woke up this morning thinking that the more people we have praying for our family, the better so I'm going ahead and putting the updates here on my blog for those that want to check updates.

Things were going well until our 20 week anatomy scan, where the ultrasound tech found the placenta located in the wrong place. We were sent to the hospital to meet with the high risk team there and I was diagnosed with placenta previa (fairly common placenta disorder) and placenta accreta (not so common).

http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancycomplications/placentaaccreta.html This is a pretty good source about it, but basically in my case, the placenta attached itself to my previous c section scar and at the time of my ultrasound was right on the border of breaking through the uterine wall. If it does break through, it can then attach itself to surrounding organs, which can be life threatening to the mother. At this time, we are waiting on an MRI to tell us exactly the severity and will make decisions about the delivery based on those results and the recommendations of the high risk team I am seeing. What we know right now is that the baby will be delivered prematurely (although it is still being determined exactly at what week, but most likely not past 34 weeks), and that I will have a full hysterectomy either at the time of the delivery, or if it's not safe at a later time after recovering from the c section.

Our family would be so grateful if you could pray for the following: 1. That baby girl will be delivered safely and that the NICU team can work miracles to help her with any issues that she may have being delivered early. 2. That my surgeries will go smoothly and I will recover quickly so I can be there for my babies. 3. The doctors will have the wisdom and knowledge they need to perform the surgeries to the best of their abilities. 4. That we will both come out of delivery with no lasting complications.
Thank you friends for all your comforting and loving words to me. I love you all dearly. The words I keep reading and remembering daily are from Isaiah 41:13: "For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you." I believe in the power of prayer and positive thinking and have faith we will get through all of this.

Guess Whoooo's A Year Old!

2011-03-03T18:12:00.000-08:00

That's right. My baby boy is now a year old! I still remember when he was a tiny 5 pound baby. People were afraid to hold him because he was so fragile. Now he is a big boy weighing in at 21 pounds and is 30 inches tall. He's talking up a storm saying things like Mama, Dada, Bubba, ADew (Andrew), Hey, Hi. He's waving, clapping, gives hugs and kisses, and is taking a few steps on his own. He loves people, especially kids and his face lights up every time his brother walks in the room. He is the sweetest baby ever and I'm looking forward to seeing what the second year brings!

We had a small family get together for his party. Nana and Pops were able to fly in from Atlanta to be there and share in the day. He had a great time and LOVED the chocolate cupcake I made for him!

11 Months

2011-01-05T06:01:00.001-08:00

One more month left until my little guy turns one! He is such a sweet boy and is learning more and more everyday. He is standing up everywhere and just this week has started to let go of things. I think we may have a walker really, really soon (but Mommy wouldn't mind if that waited a while!). He is busy exploring everything, opening drawers and cabinets, and loves looking in the pantry to see what all he can pull out. He loves going to the park because now he is big enough to go in the baby section and ride the horses. He got to see snow for the first time this month when we visited Nana and Pops in Georgia, but it was too cold for him to really play in it. He still only has 2 teeth on the bottom, but I finally got a look in there, and there are 4 teeth getting ready to pop through on the top all at once...poor baby! He is getting lots and lots of hair and will probably need his first haircut soon...we love making baby mohawks with it! He is loving having his brother home from school for a few weeks for the holidays and can't get enough of playing with him (and Andrew's toys!). We're planning to have lots of fun celebrating his first birthday next month!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-05T05:45:00.000-08:00

Christmas at the Warner house this year was double the fun! We did lots of fun things this year like going to Mickey's Christmas party at Disney which was tons of fun and our local event Snow Mountain where they bring in "snow" for the kids to play with and sled down. Andrew and I baked lots of yummy treats this year. We went to Christmas Eve church services and then came home to a yummy Christmas Eve meal complete with a delicious turkey cooked by Adam and all the traditional sides my Mom always makes every year. Then the boys went to bed early so Santa would visit. Adam and I actually woke up before the boys did and couldn't wait for them to see what Santa brought. Andrew was thrilled with all his goodies and Evan was more interested in all the boxes (but finally settled down and played with his toys). It was such a fun time to see them so excited and happy!

Andrew's 6th Birthday!

2010-12-09T09:32:00.000-08:00

This is the first year since Andrew was 2 that we decided to have a big party. The past few years, we have been taking family trips for his birthday since we share a birthday. But now that Andrew is in school and sports, he has sooo many friends and wanted them all to share in the day. We had the idea of having a "sweet treat shop". We got our local ice cream parlor to cater a make your own sundae bar and I also set up a milk and cookies bar. We had about 30 kids at the party and they all had a blast. We danced, played games, had a pinata and played at the park behind the clubhouse where we had it. It was so much fun and the kids in his class are still talking about what a blast they had!

10 Months

2010-12-09T09:24:00.000-08:00

We've had a busy month so far. Nana was able to come down for a visit on Thanksgiving and the boys really enjoyed spending time with her (and getting very spoiled!!). Pops had to stay behind and work, but we all really missed him. Adam and I are so thankful this year for our 2 very special boys!!

Evan has grown so much in the last month. He is constantly pulling up on things and is beginning to get very brave and hold on with only 1 hand. We can all tell he is getting ready to be up and walking with his brother. He finally has 2 little teeth that popped through on the bottom on the same day. He is such a tough little man and only really fussed for a day or so before they came in. He continues to say lots of things and repeats us. He loves to clap, and when he does the whole family cheers for him, which makes him laugh and laugh. He is one sweet boy and we all love him so much!

9 Months!

2010-11-05T19:34:00.000-07:00

Evan is now 9 months old. He had a great doctor's visit. He's staying along the same growth pattern at 25% for weight (19.5 lbs) and 50th% for height (28 1/2"). He is still such a sweet, sweet baby. He's learning new things everyday. He can now crawl so fast, you put him down and a few seconds later, he's heading off into another room! He likes to pull up on things and loves to stand up and walk with us holding his hands. He's eating lots of things cut up into small bites and loves to feed himself. He likes to wave to people, especially strangers in the mall...he always makes friends wherever we go! He continues to sleep through the night (which his parents are VERY thankful for!) and pretty much smiles constantly all day long unless he gets hungry:) He's saying lots of "words" like mama, dada, bubba, hey, hi, love. He knows what the word no means....I tell him lots of times when he's trying to go for the cords behind the TV. He stops what he's doing, flashes me a sweet smile, then goes back for the wires! He tries to give kisses, which just end up being a slobbery wet kiss all over your cheek, but I love it! The best thing he started doing is holding my face with his hands so he makes sure I am looking right at him, so sweet.

Evan enjoyed his very first Halloween. We made a visit to the pumpkin patch, he watched us carve our pumpkin. He got to go to our church's Halloween festival and see all the kid's in their costume. He was dressed as a puppy dog, but with our hot Florida weather, he got hot really quickly and only stayed in his costume for a little while. While his brother went trick-or-treating with a friend in the neighborhood, Evan got to stay with me and hand out candy to all the kids. I think he enjoyed seeing all the new faces!

We all love our little guy and enjoy seeing him grow and change everyday!

Another Soccer Season

2010-09-29T06:02:00.000-07:00

We have been busy the last few weeks with soccer. Andrew has played soccer since he was 2 and he loves it. We have been playing with the Upward Soccer league through church now for 3 seasons and it has been great for everyone involved. This year, he actually has practice afterschool one day a week and one game per week. While Adam is working with him on being more aggressive in going for the ball, he is doing really really well on defense. He got to play goalie the last game and while it made me nervous to watch, he did wonderful and didn't let the other team score!

We love his coach and I love that I have met some sweet friends that are moms on his team. We are very lucky to live in such a tight knit community where everyone knows everyone. It reminds me of home and makes living so far away much better. There are 3 families on our team from Georgia. I always joke that I am attracted to Georgia folks like magnets here and it seems to be true. Funny how small the world really is!

8 Months!

2010-09-29T05:56:00.001-07:00

Evan is now 8 months and so much has changed this past month. He is now officially crawling all over the place. He can go from crawling position to sitting up position, which still cracks me up when I go into his room after naptime and he is sitting up in his crib! He is talking away all the time and can say "mama, dada, bubba (for his brother), nana, pops, hey, hi, and love". I LOVE to hear him talk, it is so sweet. He said mama first, but since he's discovered dada is easier to say, he doesn't say mama much anymore unless he's really mad (go figure!). He loves to play with Andrew, and especially loves to play with his matchbox cars. It has been a lesson of sharing for Andrew, who has not had to share his toys in almost 6 years of his life:) Andrew is the greatest big brother though. He plays with Evan all the time and is so helpful in keeping him entertained while I cook dinner or do things around the house. All Andrew has to do is talk to Evan to make him laugh uncontrollably. He thinks his big brother is the best! Evan continues to try new foods. I make him fresh fruits and veggies and his favorites are bananas and sweet potatoes, although he actually loved broccoli. Peas are still the only food he didn't care for. He is obsessed with banana puffs! He loves to read books, especially those that have sounds. He loves when we go to the park and will sit in the baby swing and swing forever! He is still sleeping through the night like a champ. Evan is such a blessing to us and is such a sweetheart. We all love this little guy!

7 Months

2010-08-30T09:50:00.001-07:00

My sweet baby E is 7 months old! He is such a joy and his personality comes out more and more everyday. He's still in a size 3 diaper and size 6-12 months clothes. His cheeks are still as chubby and cute as always! He loves eating solids and has moved to eating 3 meals a day. He loves pretty much anything I put in front of him, but especially gobbles up yogurt, zucchini, and sweet potatoes. He is starting to crawl, but mostly just does an "army crawl" or eventually rolls to get where he wants to go. He already thinks his brother's toys are really cool and is drawn to all of his men and cars. He surprised us a few days ago by sitting up on his own. He just went straight from crawling position to sitting up and we all started cheering which led him to topple over...woops! He is still sleeping well at night and now likes to flip on his belly to sleep. We all love him so much and he is such a blessing in our lives!

We have a Kindergartener!

2010-08-24T09:13:00.000-07:00

Wow, where did the time go? It seems like yesterday, Andrew was my baby just learning how to walk and now he's an official kindergartener! He has been in school for a week now and really likes it. His teacher is very sweet and he is learning to make new friends. His favorite thing is being able to buy his lunch at school. He looks so big going into that big building alone. Mommy is having a hard time letting go and letting him grow up!

6 Months

2010-08-03T06:20:00.000-07:00

Wow, half a year has flown by! Baby E is now 6 months old and is growing and learning everyday! He is now eating all kinds of baby food...he especially loves yogurt, carrots, and sweet potatoes. He loves sitting up at the table like a big boy with the rest of the family. He's now in a size 3 diaper and 9 or 12 months clothes in most things! His appearance is deceiving though, because at 16.4 pounds, he is only in the 25th percentile for weight. He is tall though at 26 3/4 inches, he's in the 55th percentile for height. He is starting to scoot around to get things out of his reach, but he finds it's much easier to just roll to his destination! He is starting to find his balance and is sitting up for a few seconds at a time on his own. He does really well until he forgets he's sitting up and flings himself backward, so we have to make sure we're right behind him when he's practicing! His favorite things to do are play in his jumperoo, go swimming at the pool, and of course play with his big brother! Happy half a year, E!

5 Months

2010-06-29T17:29:00.001-07:00

I can't believe we are well into summer now and our little guy is already 5 months! The time has flown by so fast and he is learning so much everyday. He is now into a size 2 diaper and 3-6 month pants, but 6-12 month shirts to cover that giant belly of his! I can't believe the doctors and all of us were so worried over your tiny tummy E...you sure showed them! Evan is now rolling over all the time and sits up really well with some help for balance. He is still super happy and smiles and laughs out loud all the time. He has been enjoying going to the pool with his brother this summer, and even went on his first road trip to Georgia to see the grandparents. We have now started E with baby food. I am making it myself so far and it has been really fun! He LOVES oatmeal, bananas, avocado and sweet potatoes, but peas were NOT a hit! We are looking forward to having a very fun summer!

Our trip to Georgia

2010-06-23T18:13:00.000-07:00

We had such a great time in Georgia visiting family. As always, it was a whirlwind of activity going from place to place to see everyone while we were there. Baby E and Andrew got a healthy dose of spoiling from both grandparents. We had a great time throwing aunt Meg a baby shower for little Braden while we were there. We also took the opportunity to take a few days for just the 4 of us to rent a cabin in the mountains to relax and spend time as a family. It was so nice and peaceful and we all had a GREAT time seeing everyone!

4 Months

2010-05-31T14:15:00.000-07:00

Wow, E-man (daddy's nickname for him) is now 4 months old! There were lots of developments this month. Evan weighs 13lbs, 12 oz (still in the 25th percentile despite the chunkiness!) and is 25.5 inches (50th percentile). He has moved into 6 months clothes and size 2 diapers. He is smiling and laughing all the time. He is now rolling over from his back to his tummy. He has also found his feet and loves to grab them. He even has two little white spots where teeth will be popping through pretty soon! He is still a great sleeper and has slept through the night every night since turning 9 weeks, yea for sleep!! He loves playing on his playmat and can now reach out and grab his toys. He loves watching his big brother and lights up whenever he talks to him. We have his bathing suit all ready to splash around in the pool this summer. Can't wait to hang out with both my boys all day!

Andrew's Preschool Graduation

2010-05-31T14:12:00.000-07:00

We officially have a kindergartener in the house! That's right, my little guy graduated from pre-k last week and will be moving on to the big school! It was a really cute celebration, the kids got to walk across the stage and receive "diplomas". Mom, Dad and baby brother are so proud of the big kid you are becoming Andrew! We love you!

My big boy!

2010-04-28T17:59:00.000-07:00

Andrew is such a big kid now. His sport of the moment is baseball and he really enjoys it. He is much more coordinated this year and really has a good arm. He likes to play first base. He is also enjoying riding his bike. We have to practice so he can take off his training wheels soon.

We registered him for Kindergarten a few weeks ago! Wow, I don't know when my baby turned into such a big guy. We loved his school. He said his favorite part of the tour was the art room. We are so lucky in that we can actually walk to school, so we are going to make some practice runs up there during the summer. I'm sure Mommy will be teary-eyed sending him to school the first day!

3 Months!

2010-04-28T17:50:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't believe how time is flying by! My little E is 3 months already. He is getting to be such a big boy now. He is about 11 pounds, and just now starting to fit into size 3-6 months clothes. He's moving into a size 2 diaper and still likes to eat every 2 hours except at night.

He is such a great baby. The only time he cries is when he's hungry or tired. At the same exact time every single night, he gets fussy and we know it's time for the bedtime routine. So we give him his bath (which he LOVES) and he gets all nice and clean while listening to a little Baby Motzart! Then he has a BIG bottle and goes down without fighting it at all. He has been sleeping all night for the past 3 or so weeks, from 10-12 hours....Mommy and Daddy are really happy about that.

He loves to go outside with Mommy in his new jogging stroller. He just looks and looks around and usually is so relaxed, he falls asleep on the way. He also loves to "talk" to us. He is jibber-jabbering away and can kind of say the word "hey" back to us. He is all smiles all the time and is such a joy to our family!

Easter 2010

2010-04-05T14:26:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Easter weekend as a family. We started out the weekend going to a birthday party for one of Andrew's friends where they had an Easter egg hunt. Then that night, Adam and Andrew did their tradition of coloring Easter eggs while I made some dishes for Easter dinner. Sunday morning, we had a great Easter service at church. Evan slept the entire service even through all the music that was played.

Then the boys came home to play with their toys from the Easter Bunny. Andrew got lots of Art supplies, puzzles, candy and a kite from Grandma....we can't wait to take it to the beach to try it out! Evan got lots of new toys and a new playmat to play on. I think he wishes he got some chocolate when he smelled his brother's Reece's egg...maybe next year!

We ended the evening having dinner over at Adam's aunt and uncle's house. We are so lucky to have them close by. Everyone went to bed tired, happy, and with full tummies!

2 Months Old

2010-04-05T14:19:00.000-07:00

Well, I can't believe my little one is already 2 months old. He is so sweet and is growing so quickly. We had his 2 month appointment, where he had grown quite a bit, both in length and weight. He was now 22 1/2 inches tall (50th percentile) and 10lbs, 12 oz (25th percentile). I was actually shocked he was so low on the charts for weight because he has filled out. He has the chubbiest, cutest little cheeks that I love to kiss on all the time!

He is in size 0-3 months clothes still. He is in a size 1 diaper. He still eats ALL THE TIME, rarely going for more than 2 hours during the day. However, he is now sleeping anywhere from 6-9 hours at night in his crib and is giving Mommy a much needed break from waking up every hour or two during the night!

My favorite thing he is doing is "talking" to me. He makes little noises and you can tell he is trying his very hardest to talk to us! He still LOVES watching his big brother and will turn his head whenever he hears him talk to try to find him. Andrew is still loving being a big brother and is a huge helper to Mommy!

I love my two boys and am a very lucky Mom!

6 weeks old!

2010-03-11T08:57:00.000-08:00

Wow, I can't believe baby E is 6 weeks old already....time passes too quickly! We are all having fun getting to know this sweet baby. He is so calm and happy (except for when he's hungry...he wants to eat RIGHT THEN!!) Here are some things that are going on now: He weighs about 8 pounds. We are moving out of the newborn outfits into the 0-3 months sizes (except many of these are still too big!). He still gets up every 3 hours or so to eat every night....he LOVES to eat! He is starting to smile at us. My favorite time is talking to him in the morning on his changing table, he will smile and smile at me and it melts my heart. He LOVES his big brother. Anytime Andrew is talking, he will move his little head around to find him. Andrew loves his role as big brother. He is a big helper and will play with Evan and sing to him, and help me with getting blankets and toys for him. It is so neat to see them interact with each other. We've recently started putting Evan on a blanket on the ground for some tummy time. He seems to like it for a while. He can really hold his head up well for a 6 week old. He's already trying to roll over and make "swimming" motions...I think Evan will be an early mover just like his brother was. We can't wait to see him grow some more and do lots of new things. Enjoy the pics from a photo shoot we had when he was 4 weeks old!

Evan Curtis has arrived!

2010-02-11T11:06:00.000-08:00

Evan Curtis was born at 7:27am on Wednesday, January 27. He weighed 6 lbs, 5 oz and was 18 1/4 inches long. Everything went very smoothly with the delivery and it was love at first sight for Mommy, Daddy, and Big Brother Andrew! This little boy is already very loved!!

Christmas 2009

2010-01-04T06:59:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas this year! Although it was a little sad not getting to see our families this year since I am so close to having the baby, we still had a great time celebrating our last Christmas as a family of 3! We started out by going to Christmas Eve service at church, which was fun...I always love all the Christmas hymns and of course being reminded of the true meaning of Christmas. We then came home to a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner with all our favorites (mostly mom's recipes) and then Adam's aunt, uncle, and cousins came by for dessert. It was a great night and Andrew was sure to get in bed early so Santa would stop by!

Christmas morning came and Adam and I were up for about an hour before we finally woke our little man up! It just took him a second to realize what day it was, and he jumped up to find out what Santa left for him. He was thrilled with all of his gifts and said "I must have been on the extra nice list this year, because Santa left so many toys for me!" I love this little boy and can't wait to have double the fun next year!

Christmas Season

2009-12-17T08:30:00.000-08:00

Whew! It has been a whirlwind of activity around the Warner house lately. We have been on the go with Andrew starting basketball, going to birthday parties, and attending Christmas programs and parties. This kid has a full social calendar! This year, we really wanted to do something fun and special with Andrew since it's his last Christmas as an only child. We had been hearing about this great exhibit at one of the most beautiful resorts in Orlando called ICE, so we decided to check it out. It was a great time, although if we ever go back, we will be more prepared with gloves, scarves, and hats because it's 9 degrees in there! We sure did get our fill of cold for awhile...we kind of like having the 70s and 80s in December!

Baby Evan's Nursery

2009-11-09T09:15:00.000-08:00

We worked all weekend moving rooms around and are almost finished with Baby Evan's nursery. Here is a sneak peak at the room!

Our Trip to Atlanta and Andrew's Birthday Week!

2009-11-09T09:08:00.000-08:00

My baby turned 5 last week. He was so excited...on his birthday, he said "Mom, now I am a whole hand!!" So cute. We had a great time celebrating all week. First, he took in some yummy pumpkin cupcakes to school to celebrate. Then, we left for a quick but busy trip to GA to celebrate with our families.

We packed so much into the trip. We celebrated Grandma's birthday, went to a friend's birthday party, I got to see my sweet friends, got Christmas pictures taken, celebrated Halloween, and we had Andrew's birthday party. We had so much fun and loved seeing all of our family! The next time we head to Georgia, we will be a family of 4!!!

Getting Ready for the New Baby!!

2009-09-19T12:30:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks, I have been on a major shopping spree getting everything ready for baby Evan. He will be here in about 17 weeks, and we are all getting really excited, especially Andrew! Adam's parents sent us our stroller/carseat combo this week and Adam decided to put it together already to make sure we had all the parts. Well, immediately Andrew ran to get his new play drill (thanks Pops!) to "help" him out! It was too cute to watch. After they got it all put together, Andrew had to practice taking it for a stroll around the house. He decided to put his stuffed animals in to see how it would look when the baby rides in it. He is one excited boy to become a big brother soon!

Pictures of the nursery to come soon after it is all put together!

First Soccer Game!

2009-09-05T17:13:00.000-07:00

Andrew had his first soccer game of the season this morning. He was a little nervous , but he ended up doing pretty well for his first game. We are hoping he will be a little less nervous to go after the ball next game. He got a few good kicks in though when the ball came right to him. When we told him to get in there and steal the ball, he said "but Mom, stealing is not good!" Haha....this kid makes me laugh everyday!

It's a BOY!!!!

2009-09-02T08:16:00.000-07:00

We found out yesterday we are expecting another little boy. My Mommy intuition was correct, I thought we were having a boy the whole time! The cravings for all things tomato once again was the giveaway!

We went in for our ultrasound yesterday and as soon as the tech put the machine up to my tummy, the little guy was moving all around so we got a good shot of him! She said, "do you want to know what it is?" and I said "it's a boy!" She spent lots of time looking at all his parts (heart, spine, brain, arms, legs) and everything was perfect! It was such a fun time watching him poke my tummy on the screen!

Andrew was at preschool when we found out, so we picked him up and told him the news. He said "yea, I can play football and soccer with him....but not at first!" He has been talking to my tummy saying things like, "hey little brother, this is your big brother Andrew. I love you!" So sweet. I can't wait to see them form that brotherly bond over the years and hopefully become best buds!

Andrew's first day of PreK!

2009-08-31T12:37:00.000-07:00

Andrew started his first day of PreK today. He was very excited and picked his own clothes out last night to hang up for this morning. When he got dressed, I took a few pictures of him and then he said he was feeling nervous. I reminded him that he has some old friends from last year's class that will be in there with him and that he would make new friends. As soon as we arrived at school, his principle told us how much Andrew had grown over the summer. He stopped to show her his light up shoes, which he was really proud of (thanks, Nana!).
When we arrived inside the classroom, he found his cubby and put away his book bag. He let me take a few more pictures before he was off to play. I told him goodbye and to have a great day and he gave me a super quick hug before he went back to playing. There were several kids in the class crying and clinging to their moms, so I told him to go play with them to make them feel better. When I picked him up, he said he had a great day and that his teachers were nice. I told him I would take him for an ice cream, but he said he needed to go home for a rest.....guess he played hard!

Our Trip to Georgia

2009-08-26T06:26:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a wonderful trip home to Georgia to visit family. It was a great trip and we packed as much as we could into our 6 days there. Andrew loved visiting with Nana and Pops and Grandma and Pop Pop. He had a great time going to Chuck E. Cheese with the Warners and loved spending time with his Aunt Megan. We had a blast going back to school shopping with Nana. Andrew even had his first experience camping out with Pops. He only lasted 30 minutes in the tent before he was ready to come back inside for the night, but he had a great time in those 30 minutes! Pops had bought Andrew a new sleeping bag and his very own flashlight. They made hand puppets and told stories. We even made smores by their fire pit. It was so much fun! We also got a chance to go visit Granny down in Griffin. We had a dinner with tons of family and it was great to see everyone including my Uncle Glenn and cousin Colby who were down from Oklahoma visiting. Andrew enjoyed playing with cousin Mollie outside with her horses. He was too scared to get on the horse, but he did finally get brave enough to pet her. We loved every minute of our trip and had the best time!

Baby Bump Week 15

2009-08-11T07:48:00.000-07:00

I'm going to try to post a baby bump picture every few weeks, so I can see the progress. Here I am at week 15!

Marco Island 2009

2009-08-08T13:33:00.000-07:00

We just returned from a fun-filled week at the beach. It was our 2nd time going to Marco Island and I think it is our favorite place to go (besides Hawaii....maybe we can go back for our 10th anniversary!). We had so much fun just relaxing, building sand castles, eating yummy food from the local restaurants, and checking out what Marco Island and Naples had to offer. Andrew had a blast "fishing" with his net we bought him, but he was a little too loud and scared the fish away so he didn't catch anything. He said maybe next year since he will be 5 he will catch some. We had a wonderful time. Adam is already talking about retiring here.....he's got a few more years to work before we can do that though;)

Our Newest Addition!

2009-07-02T08:34:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been forever since I updated our blog. I've got a ton of pictures from the Spring and beginning of summer to scan in, so I hope I can get that done soon. But the big news is that we are expecting again! We are all so excited. The baby will be here Jan. 25th! Here is our first picture of our sweet baby!

Space Shuttle!

2009-03-16T07:12:00.000-07:00

One of the coolest things about living in Orlando is that we get to see the space shuttles take off and land. The town we are in is close enough to go out in our backyard and see it very clearly. Andrew always gets so excited about it and does the countdown. My sister-in-law is here visiting us and got to see it too, so she was excited. Enjoy the pics!

Our Family Photo Shoot

2009-02-23T10:44:00.000-08:00

Here are more pictures from our family photo shoot. Enjoy!

Christmas 2008

2009-01-13T06:18:00.000-08:00

Well, I know I am really behind on updates. I finally uploaded pictures from our Thanksgiving visit to Georgia and Christmas pictures.
Christmas this year was really nice. Nana, Pops and Kevin were at our house to help me out after the surgery, so they got to be there for Christmas morning. Andrew had a blast and said he must have been on the super nice list this year with all the gifts Santa brought!

Love, Loss, and Keeping the Faith...

2008-12-29T04:29:00.000-08:00

Last week was very hard for us. After being so excited to see our little one on our ultrasound, we got some really sad news. The nurse called us and told us that they didn't detect a heartbeat on our baby. We went from being so excited about the baby to crushed in a matter of seconds with that news. My heart still physically hurts everytime I think about our little one. I'm not sure how a mother comes to love her baby so much in a matter of a few months, but the love I felt for our baby is real and that will never go away.

In times of sorrow like this, it is so hard to see the plan God has for our lives. Why would he choose to take our baby from us when we are good, loving parents so excited for the birth of our son or daughter? These are the times when your faith can be shaken, but I have found that mine has gotten stronger through this. I don't know if I could get through this tough time without the knowledge that my baby is in heaven right now alongside God. I feel comfort in the fact that we will see our baby one day. Until that day comes, I will hold our baby in my heart instead of my arms.

"These are my footprints,
so perfect and so small.
These tiny footprints
never touched the ground at all.
Not one tiny footprint,
for now I have wings.
These tiny footprints were meant
for other things.
You will hear my tiny footprints,
in the patter of the rain.
Gentle drops like angel's tears,
of joy and not from pain.
You will see my tiny footprints,
in each butterflies' lazy dance.
I'll let you know I'm with you,
if you just give me the chance.
You will see my tiny footprints,
in the rustle of the leaves.
I will whisper names into the wind,
and call each one that grieves.
Most of all, these tiny footprints,
are found on Mommy and Daddy's hearts.
'Cause even though I'm gone now,
We'll never truly part."

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. 1 Corinthians 13:7-8

Christmas Pictures

2008-12-14T02:10:00.000-08:00

While we were in Georgia, we had a photo session for our Christmas pictures. I found the photographer through a friend and she was great. She is just starting up, but had some wonderful ideas. She took over 400 pictures at our session. I have only seen a few pictures so far, but what I have seen so far turned out really cute. I'll post more when I get the rest back. Her website is www.atfirstsightphotography.com.

2008-11-03T05:57:00.000-08:00

Birthday Weekend at the Beach!

2008-11-03T05:35:00.000-08:00

We had a great time at the beach. Adam set everything up for us to go for the weekend to his friend's condo at Cape Canaveral. It was right on the beach and Andrew was very intrigued by all the cruise ships we saw. It was too cold to get in and swim, but we had lots of fun playing in the sand and playing with his new bat and ball on the beach! Enjoy the pics!

Pirate Party!

2008-10-27T06:14:00.000-07:00

This weekend, Andrew's friend Eisley had a birthday party at her house. The theme was Pirate Princess. Andrew got a costume from Pirates of the Caribbean and had a blast (although the fake hair and hat were off in about 2 minutes flat!). Enjoy the pics!

Chuck E Cheese

2008-10-24T11:04:00.001-07:00

Today we took Andrew to Chuck E Cheese to celebrate his birthday with some of his Orlando friends. They had a blast. Enjoy the pics!

4 Years of fun!

2008-10-23T17:13:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow kicks off a week-long celebration of Andrew's birthday. He's got a party with his friends planned, then next week is a party at his school, then the family is going to the beach for the weekend to celebrate Mommy and Andrew's birthday together!
I can't believe it has already been 4 years since my little man arrived. He has truly been a blessing in our lives and I love him so much!

Andrew, there are so many things that Mommy and Daddy love about you, but here are a few:

I love that you share a birthday with Mommy, what a wonderful gift from above that was!
I love that you tell me you love me at least 10 times a day everyday!
I love that you run and give me hugs and kisses first thing in the morning!
I love that you are so curious and ask questions about everything.
I love that you always make me happy when I'm feeling down.
I love listening to you talking to yourself and using your imagination while you play.
I love all the drawings you make for me.
I love all the flowers you pick out in our yard for me.
I love when you dance.
I love when you tell me to turn the music up and sing in the car!
I love when you stop playing for a few seconds to blow me a kiss.
I love that you tell me you miss me while you're at school.
I love that you love to go to school and tell me all about your day when I pick you up.
I love that you cook with me almost every night.
I love our storytime every night.

You are the best son ever! Happy Birthday!

Pumpkin Patch Florida Style!

2008-10-21T13:49:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful day today. Adam was off of work, so we went out to vote early this morning. Then after voting, we drove over to the pumpkin patch to pick out a pumpkin. Nothing says Fall like 80 degree weather and sand! Anyway, we had a great time and Andrew picked out a pumpkin after we had to discourage him from picking out the biggest one of the bunch! Enjoy the pictures!

Our Update

2008-09-22T05:31:00.000-07:00

Well, I haven't posted in a while. Our digital camera decided to break and the researcher that I am hasn't decided on what kind of new camera to get to replace it. Hopefully we will get one in the next week or 2 and I can post some recent pictures.

Andrew is LOVING school these days. I tried to walk him in on his second week and he stopped me at the door and said "no, mom. I can do it by myself." And he proceeded to walk in, find his classroom and go right in (as I was watching from a corner outside to make sure he was okay). Man, my little man is sure getting big quickly.

Well, on my front, my cupcake business has all of a sudden really taken off. I made some up for a friend's party and now I have 3 birthdays and possibly some real estate open houses to do. I am excited that people seem to love my creations and have a blast in the kitchen anyway, so it is a great thing for me. I am thinking I need to make a website, so that may be coming soon!

Since I don't have any new pictures to post, I decided to post some of Andrew when he was tiny. I can't believe how he's grown!

He is officially a Preschooler!

2008-08-29T16:58:00.001-07:00

Well, we had a great first day of school today. Andrew woke up before I did and came running into my room and said "Mommy, mommy today is school day...why are you still in bed!" Well, truth be told, I was too excited for him too and had been up since about 4:45, but climbed back in bed around 6:30 to see if I could get anymore sleep, so I guess we were both excited for his first day of school.

I let him decide what he wanted to wear to school. He had gotten several new outfits when Nana and Pops were here visiting. He decided on a red shirt with a shark on it because he said it would match his new red shoes. He also picked out his red gap underwear so everything would match. After I finished brushing his hair, he asked for some of Daddy's hair gel. I told him he looked handsome and he then told me he would probably get some new girlfriends....haha, hopefully not that soon!

So then it was on to school. Last night I read him the story of the Kissing Hand. It is about a little raccoon leaving his mom for the first time to go to school. She gives him a kiss on the hand to let him know her love is always with him. This morning, he asked if I would kiss his hand so of course I did and told him to think about that if he started missing me.

When we arrived at school, he was all smiles and remembered exactly where his classroom was. He went right in, put his book bag in his little cubbie and started playing with the kids. He barely had time to turn around and blow me a quick kiss. All this made me feel good about leaving him, even though I did have to fight back tears on the way out of the door.

When I returned to pick him up, he was helping his teacher clean up books. They said he had a great day and he started telling me all about it. He said his favorite part was the playground and of course lunch! He told me he played with a little boy, but he didn't know his name yet. He asked if he could go back to school tomorrow! I think this is going to be a great thing for him and am so blessed we found a great school and have really nice teachers!

Our Little Chef

2008-08-10T13:24:00.000-07:00

Andrew's favorite thing to do these days is to cook with me. His favorite channel is the Food Network and he says he wants to be a chef like Bobby Flay when he grows up. Our current addiction is making cupcakes. We make them every weekend and try out new recipes. My favorite is Red Velvet with cream cheese icing, while the boys love chocolate. Adam thinks I should start my own business making cupcakes for parties and weddings....hmmm, maybe I should do that. We will see, but for now I am having a blast cooking with our little chef!

Our New Home.....again

2008-08-07T21:28:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, we moved from Miami to the Orlando area in late February. Since moving in, we have accomplished quite a bit, including a kitchen remodel so things have been quite busy lately. We love our new home and our new town. Maybe it has something to do with this being our 5th move in 5 years of being married, but we settled into this house very quickly. We love having family nearby again and Andrew and I have made quite a lot of friends already. We love all the fun things to do in Orlando. Our summer has been filled with going to the pool, the park, the movies, storytime at the library, Sea World, a trip to Georgia and a few trips to the beach. I think God everyday for the blessing of being able to stay at home with Andrew and making all of these wonderful memories together.

My first post...

2008-08-07T20:41:00.001-07:00

Hello to all of our wonderful family and friends. I started this blog as a way for everyone to keep up with what all is going on in our lives. I hope to update this site often with pictures and stories about our family. Thanks for viewing!