Miss Lillian's 8 month stats

On Monday, I took Lillian to see Dr. Bies for her 8 month check up. I was very glad to hear that she was doing great. As a first time mother, I have no idea what I am doing and/or what to expect. I just pretty much go with the flow. I figured that I have some common sense and a bachelor degree in nursing, so how much damage can I do?

Anyway, here are Lillian's measurements: weight 19lbs 3oz, height 28in, head circ. 45cm. I was actually surprised about her weight. That child definitely feels bigger than 19lbs!!!

In other news, I went back to work on Tuesday after about 10 days off due to sickness. I'm still not feeling well. I still can't get into the doctor until Jan 25th. Something has to be done about this stupid gallbladder!!! Plus, to top it off, I have had a bladder infection off and on for 8 months. After having a c-section and getting a catheter, my bladder has not been the same. I have taken Cipro (antibiotic) and that didn't help. Now I'm taking Macrobid daily for 1 month. I have about 5 pills left and still feel the symptoms of a bladder infection. Last night I was up at 1:30, 2:30, 3:00, 3:30 and then 6:30 trying to use the bathroom. Geez, I didn't know that the stress of birth and hormone changes can do this to a woman, but apparently it can.

Today, was the day that I let Lily have her first Gerber puffs. She absolutely LOVED them. I took pics, but haven't downloaded them yet. It is so much fun to see how she reacts to new foods!

Well, it's getting late and I must get ready for bed. I have to work the next two days. I really really hope these next two days are uneventful!! Yesterday was a crazy day and I don't want that again! Plus, I have to pack Lily's bag for grandma's. Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

8 months already?

I can hardly believe it...Lillian is 8 months old. It feels like yesterday that John and I were headed to the hospital to have her. Lillian has been such a blessing in my life. I don't know what I would do without her. I love seeing her sweet smiles, hearing those wonderful laughs, and watching her doing new things. She brings so much joy to my life. I wish I could freeze time. I know that she will grow up before I know it. I just hope and pray that Lillian will grow up to be a happy, healthy, and intelligent young lady!


These pictures are from our photo shoot yesterday!

In other news, I haven't been feeling well this week. Tuesday, I woke up for work. I felt pretty good. I was in the shower and all of a sudden I just have the urge to vomit. Needless to say, it was downhill from that point on. I threw up all day long. Wednesday, I felt better, but still have some nausea. Thursday, same thing, but started to get right upper quadrant abdominal pain. Friday and today the same thing. I really think my gallbladder is acting up. I have been trying to eat light, which I have lost 5 lbs!! However, I still feel like crap. I can't get into my doctor until Jan. 25th. So, this is going to be a very long couple of weeks for me. I hope I can just get through these couple of weeks!!!

I just want to say...the snow is so beautiful! Lillian and I haven't got to be in the snow too much since I haven't felt that great. We look outside the window all the time. I love looking at it. John, Lily, and I went to John's brother on Thursday. John was going to go sledding with his nephews. However, we were quickly interrupted with the alarms from the turkey farm going off. The heaters weren't working, so Lily and I went home while John went to work. She looked so adorable all bundled up! She even went to sleep!!

Well, I hope everyone has a good weekend! Stay warm!

I think I fallen off the face of the earth

Geez....it's been a long long time since I last posted something on my wall. It has been a crazy 2 1/2 months. Work seems to be getting busier and busier all the time. We have had more sick people than usual...I know they are sick, but they are really really sick people. However, we haven't seen the H1N1 yet...praise the Lord!!!

October:

Lillian got to celebrate her 1st Halloween. It was exciting, but during that time she was fighting a cold. We didn't get to do a whole lot of trick or treating. We just went to John's parents.

November 6:

John celebrated his 29th birthday! We both had to work that day, but we went out with friends that weekend. It was a lot of fun. Next year, I have to plan a huge party. My hubby will be the big 3-0!!!

November 10: Lillian was very very sick. She ended up developing gastritis. She wasn't eating, having a lot of diarrhea, and a temp of 103. It was very scary to see a child that young so sick. We went to the doctor and they just told us to watch her for 7 days....you got to be kidding me...7 days of that!! However, Lily started to turn around in a day. It probably took a whole week to fully recover, but she was fever free for 6 of those days. Lillian 6 month status: weight 18 lbs 7 oz 26 1/4 inches long.

November 12, my good friend Vanessa had her baby, Avery Lorine Dedrick. She is such a blessing, especially for Vanessa and Brad. They went through In-vitro 3 times. This was the final time they were going to try. She was born happy and healthy! She is so beautiful!

I found out that my oldest sister Carrie is expecting her second child July 16th. She will be a schedule c-section so we think she will have the baby much earlier than that. Dillon, my nephew, wasn't too excited to be a big brother....he is 3 and used to being the only child. However, I think he is doing better with it now.

November 22: Lillian was baptized at St. Paul Lutheran Church at Haysville. We decided to have Aaron and Jennifer Andrews as her Godparents. Aaron and John have been best friends since 16 and Jen is one of my good friends as well. So, we thought they would be a wonderful godparents. They absolutely love Lillian like she was their own!

Lillian got to see Santa for the first time at the mall. I was so scared, I didn't know how she would react to him. She basically just sat there and stared at him for awhile. No crying involved.

December 5:

John, Lillian, and myself went to Christmas with our children at Memorial Hospital. They were throwing a Christmas celebration for the employees children. It was absolutely wonderful. I didn't know what to expect, but it was really great. Lillian had a good time and got lots of goodies.

December 8:

My good friend Kelly had her baby boy, Eli Dale Collins. Kelly works with me and Derek, her husband, works with John. So, we were both excited for his arrival.

December 9:

I said bye bye to one of my loves, my Toyota Camry. I can't even explain how much I loved that car. However, it was not practical for a growing family. It had absolutely no truck space. I could only fit Lily's stroller in the truck and that was it! Plus, every time I got Lily in and out, I would hit my head. Needless to say, I got a new car. Buick Rainier is what I got. It is fully loaded. I actually lucked into this car. One day after my kids are grown, I will get a new camry!!!

Dec. 10:

Lillian got her 6 month pictures taken. However, it was actually 7 months. I was running a bit behind. Oh well. Chelsa Knepp made Lillian the cutest tutu. John and I absolutely LOVE it. Those pictures of her in the tutu were my favorite!!

Let's not forget that this was Lillian's first Christmas. This little girl is so spoiled!! I think she owns every toy at Toys R Us...seriously! John's quote, "Geez, we need a bigger house just to hold all her toys." That is no joke. I still have toys in boxes because we don't have anywhere to put them. I really think Lily had a very good Christmas. I was very thankful to have Christmas off this year and get to spend Christmas morning with my family. I couldn't have asked for a better day!

Usually, John and I have a New Years Eve party. However, with Lily and the fact I had to work New Years Day, we didn't have it this year. Bummer!! John and I went to Hammerheads with Chris and Meghan Olds to eat. It was a good time. We got home about 10:00 and I was in bed by 10:30....we were rebels, let me tell ya. John and I were talking, we didn't even think we could stay up until midnight even if we wanted to. Man! We are getting old!

I guess I'll give you an update on the things Lillian is doing. Right now, she is eating seconds in baby food. She eats fruits in the morning and veggies in the evening. She takes 7 oz of formula every 4 hrs. She gets a biter bisquit on bath days. She has started using a sippy cup with apple juice. She holds her sippy cup and bottle for grandma and grandpa, but refuses to do it for us. She has started crawling backwards....not going forward yet. However, she is working on it. Lily has no teeth whatsoever. She likes to play on the floor sitting. She does excellent sitting. She loves bath time. She plays with her rubber ducky. Lily is saying, "dada, mom-mom, nana, hi." She has also said, "next year, duck, ladybug, bye." This little girl is a talker!!! Lily is starting to pull up. I caught her pulling up in her pack n play and on the floor using her toy box. Lily still likes her jumperoo. She fights sleep like nobody I have ever seen. She usually sleeps through the night, getting anywhere between 7-12 hrs of sleep. Oh! The best news of all....she grew out of her acid reflux...she doesn't have to take Zantac anymore....yeah!!!

Well, I just wanted to add one thing. I know everyone has seen Lillian's birthmark. I was the very first one that noticed it when she was born. The doctor didn't even see it. The birthmark is on her right upper arm. It's called Hemangioma. It's a bright red and patchy. It occurs more commonly is white girls. I am very aware of what is going on and so is the doctor. She gets it check out every 2 months. The doctor said that it should go away by the time she goes to kindergarten. If not, we could do corrective surgery to remove it. The only reason I am bringing this up is that I have had numerous people ask me if my daughter is alright. She is absolutely fine. I have had strangers come up to me and say, "oh she is so adorable. She has the biggest blue eyes." Then, their eyes goes down...the person steps back and says, "WHAT IS THAT?" Pointing to her arm. People can be so mean and so rude sometimes. Do you honestly think I would take my kid out in public if she was contagious? I really hate it for Lily. All I have to say is that Lily is happy and healthy. I thank God everyday for bringing her in my life. Things could be worse, it could be right on her sweet little face. Just recently, I had a girl I went to high school with email me and asked me if my daughter was alright. She had seen a picture of Lily on Facebook and wanted to make sure she was alright and didn't have cancer! Yeah, seriously, she asked me this. Until this email, I had completely forgot about her birthmark. That birthmark is not who Lillian is. It's just something that is on her, like a freckle. So, please, don't ask me about it and don't even bring it up. In my book, that is old news. Lillian is fine...she doesn't have cancer!!

Well, I hope I caught everyone up on what has been going on for the past 2 months. Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!

Here are some more recent pics of our family!

Happy Anniversary!!

I just wanted to say Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband. We celebrated our 2 year anniversary yesterday. Although we both worked and didn't see each other yesterday, it was still a good day. I can't wait to grow old with you John and to celebrate many more happy years together! I love you with all my heart! Thank you for being a great husband and a great dad!!

the first night we met 11/5/05

Our wedding day 10/20/07

Our most recent picture together 9/25/09

Congratulations!

I just wanted to say congratulations to Dale and Mary Beth Potts for their beautiful new home. I can't wait to see it again when everything is unpacked! Also, the best news...congratulations on having a baby. Their baby is due in June! Can't wait to meet him or her!!

Also, congratulations to Gabe and Blair Henson...they got married today on an island (I'm sorry I forgot the exact location), but I bet it was beautiful! Can't wait to see pictures! I bet the weather was a lot better than it was here!

If I forget to post...I just want to say Happy Anniversary John! It's been the greatest 2 years of my life. I can't wait to spend many more happy years with you. Thank you for being the greatest husband and greatest daddy! I don't know what Lily and I would do without you. Our actually anniversary is October 20th. However, I don't think we will get to celebrate our anniversary. October seems to be very busy for us. I work everyday next week and he will be getting birds in, so our celebration gets put on the back burner. However, we don't need a day to celebrate our marriage.....we celebrate everyday!! I love you John!!!

Oh! I also want to say Happy Birthday to Dale and to my brother in law Ryan. They both celebrate a birthday on October 18th. Happy Anniversary to Chris and Meghan Olds...they too will be celebrating 2 years of marriage on October 27th!

More of Lillian's 3 month pics

Hope you like them!

This and that

So many things have been going on. First, John got a promotion at work....yipee! He is now the manager for Hub 1 in Dubois. He has started in the position last week, but he is officially the manager on October 7th. He seems to like the job so far, but he is still in training.

Our best friends Aaron and Jen got married over the weekend. It was such a beautiful wedding. Jen looked absolutely amazing! We had a really good time. John and I were both in the wedding. We were so honored to be a part of their big day. They are in Jamaica right now on their honeymoon. I can't wait to hear all about it!! Congrats Mr & Mrs Andrews!!

Work is still crazy! We keep getting sicker and sicker patients everyday. We just flew out a 24 year old on the vent. WOW! Seriously...that is too young!! Oh! A couple of weeks ago, we sent a 23 year old to Louisville on the vent and she was pregnant!!! That is scary stuff! So, I am preaching....get your flu shots and wash your hands frequently!!! If you are sick...stay home...I don't want to see you at Wal-Mart!!!

I got to go home a couple of weeks ago to see my family in Illinois. It was so nice to see everyone. You don't realize how much you miss home until you go back. Lily and I went by ourselves. John had to work. We missed him bunches while we were gone. Lily got to experience her first Town and Country Days.....she seemed to enjoy it. She was good...she was wishing she could have a corn dog too!!

We started Lily on solid foods. We tried the whole rice cereal thing first. She ate it, but she didn't like it. So, I tried to mix the cereal with baby food, again she ate it, but she didn't like it. So, I just tried the baby food....she LOVED it!!! She was eating it up like crazy!! We have tried the sweet potatoes and the green beans. She loves the green beans. I guess I wasn't putting it in her mouth fast enough because she grabbed the spoon out of my hand. She is something else!! In other news, I'm waiting for her teeth to appear. This child has been chewing on things, drooling like crazy, and fussy at times. I just wish this tooth would come already. We have been dealing with this for a long time now.

Well, the last couple of days have not been that great for me. On my way home from work last night, I ran over a cat. I was so upset about it. However, this cat ran out in front of me and I really tried to stopped. Then, on my way home today, this semi was going south, while I was going north. Anyway, this semi was driving like a bat out of hell, he was in my lane. To make a long story short, Lily and I are alright, but my windshield is not. When the semi was getting back to his lane, he hit a rock and it hit my car. Of course it would hit my car...I have the worse luck in the world. So, now I have to figure out if I really need to talk to my insurance company or just pay out of pocket for a new windshield. Oh! That just makes me so mad!!!!

John and I are going to go look at a 4-Runner tomorrow. My co-worker is selling hers. I really need a SUV. My car is slowly getting smaller with Lily and all her things. I'm not trading in my car or selling it. We actually need another vehicle anyway, so this is a good opportunity. Hopefully, we will get it. Not really wanting a payment, but sometimes you just have to suck it up.

Well, I'm really going to try to be better at posting!!

Here are Lillian's 3 month pics:

Alright...not all of then uploaded like they were supposed to, so I'll upload them later. Too tired to do it now!