tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57885464080238339172024-03-19T05:22:31.387-04:00the Morgan'sRambles of a mom, wife, teacher, homemaker living with God's grace.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01445841263554813770noreply@blogger.comBlogger507125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788546408023833917.post-11612409186546517382017-08-19T20:01:00.000-04:002017-10-12T10:00:07.535-04:00Eve is One Year Old!<div style="text-align: center;">
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<b>Weight & Height:</b> Eve weighs 19 lbs 13 oz (51st percentile) and is 27.75" long (8th percentile)... hey, she get's it from her momma ;-)<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Clothes & Diapers: </b>She is wearing size 3 diapers and mostly 12 month outfits with a few exceptions.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Eating & Sleeping: </b>She eats whatever we eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and transitioned to cows milk about 2 weeks ago. Let's just say I was not sad to move on from pumping! Ha! She drinks a cup of milk for breakfast and one before bed... the rest of the day she drinks water and <i>rarely</i> juice (only if she's having trouble pooping!) She sleeps from 7:30 pm to 7 am when we wake her, and takes a morning and afternoon nap - about 1.5-2 hours each.<br />
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<b>Mood:</b> Happy, curious, sweet, and active! Her little personality is so sweet... and mischievous!<br />
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<b>Likes: </b>Mommy, Daddy, Ava Kate... balls, Ava Kate's toys, play food, real food, getting tickled, music, dancing, the pool, being outside... she loves life. She's a happy girl!<br />
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<b>Dislikes: </b>If you take her food away. HA!<br />
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<b>Milestones:</b> She is a girl of few words... one word really, just "dada" but she points to whatever she wants, eats anything and everything, she blows kisses, signs thank you, waves hello and goodbye, feeds herself, chowed down on her bday cake, turns pages in a book, flips the light switch, walks if you hold her hands, dances to music, brushes her hair, loves floating and swimming<br />
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<b>Sentimental Things Mommy Wants to Remember</b>: I love watching Ava Kate and Eve interact. Eve loves watching AK and they are starting to "play" together by rolling balls, or building (or tearing down) towers of blocks, play cooking... it's so sweet.<br />
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<b>Practical Things Mommy Wants to Remember:</b> I've never been so happy to pack up my pump and wash bottles as I was 2 weeks ago after pumping for the last time this go round... I was soooo over it. Please dear Lord, let my next child nurse from the tap and gain weight appropriately. Please, please, please. Making it to a year of pumping and bottle feeding after the STRUGGLE of the first two months weight gaining + me being diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis in the final 3 months = my proudest accomplishment... potty training at the same time is a close second. Shew.<br />
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<img alt="laura ann" border="0" src="https://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv329/gracelikerain-laura-ann/Signature-1.jpg" />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01445841263554813770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788546408023833917.post-82783147952472471702017-07-20T15:56:00.002-04:002017-07-20T16:19:39.996-04:00Eve is Eleven Months Old!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Weight:</b> 20 lbs on our scale at home -- which is about half a lb bigger than Ava Kate was at this age.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Clothes & Diapers: </b>Size 3 diapers and 12 month outfits for the most part.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Eating & Sleeping: </b>Morning nap (about 8:30) and afternoon nap (about 12:30) for about 1.5-2 hours, bed time at 7:30 pm. Eats meals with us, drinks three 6 oz bottles of milk a day (morning, lunch, and before dinner).<br />
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<b>Mood:</b> Curious and giggly! :) I think she'll be a (sweet) force to be reckoned with! She is LOUD. Haha!<br />
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<b>Likes: </b>Being in the water (pool or bath), exploring and moving around, playing with her toy kitchen stuff, being tickled, "reading books," dancing, giving kisses, eating<br />
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<b>Dislikes: </b>When there isn't more food on her plate immediately. -_-<br />
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<b>Milestones:</b> She blows kisses, waves, turns lights off, walks if you hold her hands, pulls up by herself if she holds your hands (still can't quite do it on the furniture yet), dances to music (it's precious), shakes her head no, understands what "no" means, and had her first cake and ice cream (& hotdog thanks to Grandmommy and Granddaddy, lol), oh and she got her first leg poppin' because she bit the mess out of my arm... and she has 8 teeth now!<br />
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<b>Sentimental Things Mommy Wants to Remember</b>: I love snuggling her, I feel like the baby stage has gone by so fast and I feel like I have missed it. :( How will she already be one in a month!?!?! Ahhhh.<br />
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<b>Practical Things Mommy Wants to Remember:</b> Her first bottle is breastmilk and her second two are half breastmilk and half formula... I gave up stressing over it and it is what it is. SO ready to be done with pumping. I so enjoyed it with Ava Kate... but it has been a struggle and CHORE with Eve. I can honestly say I have done EVERYTHING I could (including going through a flex sigmoidoscopy with no anesthesia) to breast feed this child.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ZfltOtYdZ9YK7_5qdrWIfc40_0nrr7Bc7DbiNUhqFYm5ghoQtGYLuWVEHQqjv6heSr9WhqpkTr8i3qPbBTVgNdk6KYoxsYJcIYQfbo_1y7ilZVPIcGAE3kXW5cthCifDld6DfQsObEg/s1600/1011E.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="936" data-original-width="1600" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ZfltOtYdZ9YK7_5qdrWIfc40_0nrr7Bc7DbiNUhqFYm5ghoQtGYLuWVEHQqjv6heSr9WhqpkTr8i3qPbBTVgNdk6KYoxsYJcIYQfbo_1y7ilZVPIcGAE3kXW5cthCifDld6DfQsObEg/s640/1011E.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She looks like a different child in these pics -- think it's the hair being pulled back in the 10 month photo.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lawdy, Ava Kate was pale haha! They look nothing alike in these two pics, but there are moments that Eve looks a lot like AK... BUT, she mostly looks just like her daddy. :)</td></tr>
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<img alt="laura ann" border="0" src="https://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv329/gracelikerain-laura-ann/Signature-1.jpg" />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01445841263554813770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788546408023833917.post-38736706675722658112017-06-19T14:57:00.000-04:002017-06-27T14:58:15.897-04:00Eve is Ten Months Old!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy59zEh64BMf9VjY_FcudWmT8VI1OeP_mvMJ2XwLh2fyMyqaBO0ULWEMJdZzQkUJeS6nLRc-GaFbv9uLHH-4WHKhvw3z6uMbeXlSwqE4uUg1468Rxg44Uezut9PaM1kbGjd7am7hByFuA/s1600/IMG_0733.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy59zEh64BMf9VjY_FcudWmT8VI1OeP_mvMJ2XwLh2fyMyqaBO0ULWEMJdZzQkUJeS6nLRc-GaFbv9uLHH-4WHKhvw3z6uMbeXlSwqE4uUg1468Rxg44Uezut9PaM1kbGjd7am7hByFuA/s640/IMG_0733.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<b>Weight & Height:</b> Close to 19 lbs according to our scale, and about 28" according to Ava Kate's measurements the other day <i>(haha!)</i><br />
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<b>Clothes & Diapers: </b>Eve wears size 3 diapers and 6-12 month clothes, although more 12 mth as some of her 6 mth are too small for sure!<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Eating & Sleeping: </b>We dropped the 4th feeding of the day, so she has 6-7 oz of breastmilk at 7, 11, and 4.... and usually at the 4 pm feeding I have to top it off with some formula to get it to 6 oz. She doesn't seem to even notice she's not having the 9 pm feeding, so we let her sleep. She eats food like a champ -- can out eat Ava Kate some nights. She'll eat everything on her tray/plate and let you know loud and clear she wants some more. We are working on signing "more"... otherwise it's a loud, high-pitch scream to let you know. A happy squeal... but loud. She does it with a smile on her face. :)<br />
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<b>Mood:</b> She's super happy, rarely fussy, and very flexible with whatever is going on!<br />
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<b>Likes: </b>Mommy and Ava Kate... even though AK can be a bit suffocating to Eve, she doesn't seem to mind. She loves Daddy, playing in the water, BATHTIME, being outside, watching people, playing with Ava Kate's legos and blocks, rolling and crawling around the floor<br />
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<b>Dislikes: </b>Not much I can think of...<br />
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<b>Milestones:</b> She's got 4 top teeth, 2 bottom teeth, and another bottom tooth peeking through, she stands pretty well with assistance, but isn't really interested in pulling up herself, she finally moves from laying to sitting with ease (she could sit by herself for months, but was never interested in sitting up from laying down until recently), she feeds herself, says dada on occasion... and squeals all the time. :) She's played at the beach with Granddaddy Mark, the river, and the pool. We celebrated Father's Day yesterday!<br />
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<b>Sentimental Things Mommy Wants to Remember</b>: Eve likes to snuggle for a second and then she's a busy bee. I love it when she lays her head down on my chest, even if it's just for a split minute! She smiles and thinks it's soooo funny when you give her a "mean" look.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg98EiGXRJ8t-sjfeNe_UoJG5I4BDav0zNQgXn_p1p16FKluk20DKvSxjz8NR8K_Q4cfe-auWimItjbMnx2oeLQQRyI9PWfmtE62kCxSFrPYxdpWBZyDILSbujm0YaEZqpGLycZSySg3GI/s1600/910E.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1092" data-original-width="1600" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg98EiGXRJ8t-sjfeNe_UoJG5I4BDav0zNQgXn_p1p16FKluk20DKvSxjz8NR8K_Q4cfe-auWimItjbMnx2oeLQQRyI9PWfmtE62kCxSFrPYxdpWBZyDILSbujm0YaEZqpGLycZSySg3GI/s640/910E.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She's grown in the last month for sure!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSyLy2ZUk5IYtDj7ndH0WofXWJyVJxeXJhHTdmgJ9ozhW-NdzqDAgPPcrHP5vf_lwD46yerPi-FGfadPqfqGPF9Btvh4PItD6SZt7vvFDGmrIoqhTKP0RRm2ko59IBFDHLAvmQeoDru-4/s1600/10AKE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1092" data-original-width="1600" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSyLy2ZUk5IYtDj7ndH0WofXWJyVJxeXJhHTdmgJ9ozhW-NdzqDAgPPcrHP5vf_lwD46yerPi-FGfadPqfqGPF9Btvh4PItD6SZt7vvFDGmrIoqhTKP0RRm2ko59IBFDHLAvmQeoDru-4/s640/10AKE.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I think she caught back up (and maybe passed) her sister in size at 10 months! She's got more hair than Ava Kate did too!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5BBDAfSi_DtFl1RsHFlpXJzYICQQ_ZWLjRgsFMwg0OtaXgsW5rYNJFVU08P-yLNJjgSddS9qXcqOuKEAbaGD1TRpueXja0Uu0pi_Ggq_jcf99EEzAE1U0mbBDmdv5R9TL6-gldGtGK8M/s1600/IMG_0738.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5BBDAfSi_DtFl1RsHFlpXJzYICQQ_ZWLjRgsFMwg0OtaXgsW5rYNJFVU08P-yLNJjgSddS9qXcqOuKEAbaGD1TRpueXja0Uu0pi_Ggq_jcf99EEzAE1U0mbBDmdv5R9TL6-gldGtGK8M/s640/IMG_0738.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everything is going in her mouth... everything. And she doesn't like to lay still for pictures! :)</td></tr>
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<img alt="laura ann" border="0" src="https://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv329/gracelikerain-laura-ann/Signature-1.jpg" />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01445841263554813770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788546408023833917.post-6278141603633438532017-05-19T13:36:00.000-04:002017-06-27T13:37:06.710-04:00Eve's Nine Months Old!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Weight & Height:</b> 18 lbs 3 oz at her appointment, & 26 in long (although I question the accuracy of the height... weight is 50th percentile, and height was 4th... lol)<br />
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<b>Clothes & Diapers: </b>Eve is wearing size 3 diapers and 6 month to 12 month clothes...<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Eating & Sleeping: </b>Same nursing schedule as before - she eats about 5.5-6 oz at 7, 11, 4, and 9. I still nurse her for the first feeding, then pump and bottle feed the rest (boo). No more purees (she didn't ever get the hang of them, so I just stopped trying... more hassle anyway!) but she's really picked up finger foods now. She eats whatever we eat, and her favorites are pasta, green beans, crackers, cheese, and fruit. For naps, she takes a morning and afternoon nap for about 1.5-2 hours each, and she sleeps until her last feeding and then through the night until about 7ish.<br />
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<b>Mood:</b> She's can be a firecracker (or as loud as one), but she is a happy firecracker! She loves playing with Ava Kate... and she still has stranger-danger randomly.<br />
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<b>Likes: </b>Mommy! And she loves her sister, daddy, playing with toys, her paci, being tickled, snuggling a blanket, playing with Ava Kate, playing in the pool, swinging outside.<br />
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<b>Dislikes: </b>Hmm... can't think of anything.<br />
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<b>Milestones:</b> army crawling, first Mother's Day, first time in the pool, two top teeth FINALLY came in<br />
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<b>Sentimental Things Mommy Wants to Remember</b>: Even though she only nurses first thing in the morning, I'll take it. She's definitely becoming more "independent" by rolling and crawling around to get what she wants... that has given me more to keep up with for sure! <i>Ha!</i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXzQReEWckbjvuYo8gASYcFzlOV4DIK05EPDW-aZuPpMKXAStCy3fywFtqWRurcJ0mFHzfHiAz1FXRI4_0KWf6oK5DZE36059nlKCBh95OPREm3xE_Ak-z8cYqQ6-Hd-zGeLs5Pco3DoI/s1600/89E.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1092" data-original-width="1600" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXzQReEWckbjvuYo8gASYcFzlOV4DIK05EPDW-aZuPpMKXAStCy3fywFtqWRurcJ0mFHzfHiAz1FXRI4_0KWf6oK5DZE36059nlKCBh95OPREm3xE_Ak-z8cYqQ6-Hd-zGeLs5Pco3DoI/s640/89E.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eve at 8 months vs 9 months</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ava Kate on the right vs Eve on the left. :)</td></tr>
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<img alt="laura ann" border="0" src="https://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv329/gracelikerain-laura-ann/Signature-1.jpg" />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01445841263554813770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788546408023833917.post-55276246126390247182017-04-19T10:20:00.000-04:002017-06-23T10:23:24.058-04:00Eve's Eight Months Old!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMoBuHYaXI8V0WrSpoZpDgm9xu-HlExVJnpknarlgKcCAxygEpzjqatoDrd_4g3IKf9pghOmOeR9Qk56AKooJCnQ44qXrtJ0F6wFTJyYlYtEoSFZlqSkQLNKpDxNX0rw9DE9O6EiO3RB4/s1600/IMG_0188+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1280" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMoBuHYaXI8V0WrSpoZpDgm9xu-HlExVJnpknarlgKcCAxygEpzjqatoDrd_4g3IKf9pghOmOeR9Qk56AKooJCnQ44qXrtJ0F6wFTJyYlYtEoSFZlqSkQLNKpDxNX0rw9DE9O6EiO3RB4/s640/IMG_0188+%25281%2529.jpg" width="512" /></a></div>
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<b>Weight:</b> not exactly sure, but about 17 lbs?<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Clothes & Diapers: </b>Eve is wearing size 2 diapers (but could easily wear size 3, we just have 2 packs of size 2 left that I want to use before going to size 3), and anywhere from 3-12 month clothes (haha, quite the range, I know... but it's been super warm this spring, so her 3 month clothes are cool, and her 12 month clothes are cool... so we mix it up! The 3 month outfits are just about too short for her, but the 12 months are pretty roomy. 6 months fit best, but the 6 month hand-me-downs are winter clothes... ahhh #SecondChildProbs)<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Eating & Sleeping: </b>She eats about 5.5-6 oz at 7, 11, 4, and 9. I still nurse her for the first feeding, then pump and bottle feed the rest (boo). She has been sloooowww to pick up purees, so I just started giving her finger foods to entertain her while we ate. She ate an entire half of a piece of toast this past Saturday for breakfast... with her two little teeth. <i>Haha!</i> For pureed food, she has had cereal, peaches (her fav!), green beans, squash, apple sauce, bananas, sweet potatoes, carrots, and pees. She likes the peaches, and that's about all. She also has had yogurt (which she gobbles down). For finger foods, she has had a lot... pasta, mac & cheese, a little bit of pork chops, toast, strawberries, potatoes, green beans, crackers, puffs, bananas, corn, grits, bread, and probably a handful of other stuff that I can't recall right now. :) It sounds like a lot, but she mostly tastes the food and spits it out. She's been actually eating a bit better in the past week or so. She takes a morning nap and an afternoon nap for about 1.5-2 hours each, and she usually takes a evening nap after dinner and before bed. We wake her up to put her PJs on and feed her and then she sleeps from 9ish-7ish.<br />
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<b>Mood:</b> She is super sweet, and becoming more social. She has been babbling more and giggling... and she <i>loves</i> when her sister plays with her. She had stranger-danger fright for a little bit, but she seems to be getting over that now!<br />
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<b>Likes: </b>Mommy! And she loves her sister, daddy, peaches, being tickled, snuggling a blanket, playing with Ava Kate, swinging outside, riding in the Tula, and reading books.<br />
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<b>Dislikes: </b>Getting her face cleaned<br />
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<b>Milestones:</b> Started drinking water from a sippy cup, first time sitting in the shopping cart & restaurant high chair, she's inching forward (not a crawl, but a pull with her arms and push with her toes kinda thing), she waves (but not consistently), she's thinking about clapping, first finger foods, first round of pink eye (& second, ugh), learning what "no" means, first time at the river, first time with her toes in the blow-up pool, and she's no longer the "Baby Cousin" because Judah was born last Thursday - the 13th! :)<br />
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<b>Sentimental Things Mommy Wants to Remember</b>: I <i>love</i> watching Eve and Ava Kate play together while I'm doing something (pumping, cooking, etc)... I know they'll be the best of friends and it's so sweet to see their little relationship developing.<br />
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<b>Practical Things Mommy Wants to Remember:</b> If one child gets the pink eye, EVERYONE in the family starts drops... otherwise we just pass it around for a few weeks... even if the doctor won't give the other kid drops... just use the eye drops for both kids! Sanitizing the house 45 times in 2 weeks blows. Also, potty training takes FOREVER and it'll be my biggest accomplishment when AK has no more accidents... that and breast feeding despite all the hurdles with Eve. Shew.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not a lot of change in appearance this month! :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Comparison between Ava Kate & Eve at 8 months. One is chunkier than the other, lol!</td></tr>
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<img alt="laura ann" border="0" src="https://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv329/gracelikerain-laura-ann/Signature-1.jpg" />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01445841263554813770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788546408023833917.post-36445105847803233092017-03-31T10:24:00.000-04:002017-03-31T10:24:03.050-04:00Dear JudahOh sweet baby boy, I <i>cannot</i> <i>wait</i> to welcome you into this world! A boy! What do we do with one of those?? It's been so long! You, sweet boy, will be adored and put on a pedestal in the eyes of your older sister and girl cousins. I am certain that you will do no wrong in their eyes. I hope you get them dirty and put bugs on them and wipe fish guts from your hands onto their little smocked outfits, making them squeal with "Ewww... Yuck! Judah!" I just can't wait for you to toddle after them and break up their little girl-talk circles. Rest assured, they will <i>all</i> think that you are theirs and I feel so sorry for your future girlfriend and wife. Bless. She will have to meet a very high standard I'm afraid. ;-)<br />
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Judah, you have the <i>best</i> parents ever. If you are anything like them, you will be able to do <i>whatever</i> you want to do in life, because they are driven, resourceful, determined, and super talented. If nothing else, you'll be able to provide food and shelter from scratch! I seriously don't know how they manage to do it all - they have pigs, chickens, bees, like 4 jobs, kids... <i>and they are building a house and want to get cows and goats.</i> I mean holy smokes. I think they are super heroes... which is way cool, because hello?? <i>Who doesn't want to have super heroes for parents?!?!</i> Not only that, but super heroes with a <i>farm? #EveryLittleBoysDream</i><br />
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And your sister... oh my gosh. She's super fun! You are going to adore her. She is sweet and loving, just like her momma! She is super smart, and I am quite certain y'all will have some sort of secret signing code that none of us can interpret. <i>Haha!</i> I love that my girls, you, and Ella Paityn are so close in age and I hope that you will all be the closest of friends. You also have the best babysitter ever in cousin Abi! She is beautiful and dotes on her little cousins... and they look up to her <i>so much</i>. But don't worry, you won't be surrounded by <i>all </i>girls... You have seriously the <i>best</i> boy cousin to look up to in Cody... he is smart, polite, athletic, outdoorsy, funny, and <i>everything anyone could want in a son!</i> If you turn out to be like him Judah, then I will no doubt have the best nephews in the entire world. There'll be no competition.<br />
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Baby Cousin, we have prayed for you and wished for you! You were a complete surprise, but <i>trust me</i>.... <i>We prayed you would come</i> and we have prayed for you to have a wonderful, exciting, healthy life. We love you <i>so </i>much! You are in for something <i>great</i> in the Morgan clan!<br />
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<a href="http://thejpmorganfamilyblog.blogspot.com/2015/04/dear-ella-paityn.html">As I told EP before she was born</a>, get your last minute tummy snuggles in, because soon, you will be born into this crazy world... and we are so ready to welcome you! :)<br />
<br />
XOXO's<br />
Aunt Laura, Uncle Parker, Ava Kate, & Eve<br />
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<img alt="laura ann" border="0" src="https://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv329/gracelikerain-laura-ann/Signature-1.jpg" />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01445841263554813770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788546408023833917.post-70454380262911552342017-03-15T10:45:00.002-04:002017-03-31T09:06:00.195-04:00Eve's Seven Months Old!<div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Weight & Height:</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , "freeserif" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> Close to 17 lbs</span><br />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"><br /></b><b style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Clothes & Diapers: </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , "freeserif" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Eve is wearing size 2 diapers and a very few 3-6 month outfits, mostly 6 months... and even some 9 month if it's warm.</span><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"><br /></b><b style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Eating & Sleeping: </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , "freeserif" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Still working on baby food... she's a great taster, not a great eater lol. She hasn't really hated anything yet except squash. She's had bananas, carrots, sweet potatoes, cereal, green beans (pureed and mashed), peas, spaghetti noodles, squash, apple sauce... I think that's about all. She eats 6 oz 4 times a day (7, 11, 4, 9) and goes down for the night and sleeps all night. Sometimes she wakes up about 6:30, but just lays in her crib "talking" to herself... or if we go give her the paci and a blanket to snuggle, she'll fall back asleep.</span></div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Mood:</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , "freeserif" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> Still so sweet and relatively quiet. :) Of course her big sis doesn't giver her a chance to talk, so there's that... lol. She has rounds of fussiness, but so mild in the scheme of things. She is also a wiggly worm and very curious.</span></div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"><br /></b><b style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Likes:</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , "freeserif" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> Bottles, a rainbow hedgehog Santa brought her, her Turtle Turtle (also from Santa), her sister, her Mommy & Daddy, snuggling, baths... and she giggles just a little when she's tickled but she loves being tickled. She likes jumping in her jumperoo and napping in her swing and rolling around on the floor when her sister's not tackling her. Haha!</span></div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Dislikes: </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , "freeserif" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Still weary of "strangers" and by strangers, I mean anyone that's not mommy/daddy/Ava Kate. She does fine if I'm not around (like in the church nursery), but if she can see me and someone else is holding her... she tends to protest. Still totally normal. She also does not like squash. Can't say I blame her ;-)</span></div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Milestones:</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , "freeserif" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> Eating baby food, 2 teeth, starting to sit up better, first trip to Myrtle Beach w/ Mommy & Daddy at the FCA conference, first time with her toes in the sand.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I can see a bit of similarities between sisters at this age in those precious little smiles and blue eyes. :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfI-qmld8ObZNP-B0Nm3KJyn0XRw4EYsFTlDgTdiiKSiSGynPFZS-kXMtWOoq20TKDYFybldhL8QUUNPKhki5lRC-7ayT_GVsxXc1Fs2cCxHYC-meBbFYEtWmMuNAypOchO2WV048Gofg/s1600/IMG_9859.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfI-qmld8ObZNP-B0Nm3KJyn0XRw4EYsFTlDgTdiiKSiSGynPFZS-kXMtWOoq20TKDYFybldhL8QUUNPKhki5lRC-7ayT_GVsxXc1Fs2cCxHYC-meBbFYEtWmMuNAypOchO2WV048Gofg/s640/IMG_9859.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big sis wants to be a photographer ;-)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmqxue7CPFf2-nyurIeoXHHZnu4jZaU0jG2Y-GvMeqjz6uzfzWzmojU4SIcj9M5D3Sy7Le4csqAyeMpRLTgw28-NfNQlSC3_b415Yr9xu55AJNqMgMzYGEpMtSJqlJsysNNn6P8MzmaPM/s1600/IMG_9861.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmqxue7CPFf2-nyurIeoXHHZnu4jZaU0jG2Y-GvMeqjz6uzfzWzmojU4SIcj9M5D3Sy7Le4csqAyeMpRLTgw28-NfNQlSC3_b415Yr9xu55AJNqMgMzYGEpMtSJqlJsysNNn6P8MzmaPM/s640/IMG_9861.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See? I can sit up!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijTxjh6OuWnaKNAjK7YULSOIv0tbwakYruMMe2GP78Hh0-x3wv7bCC7egrdrKoH7v_vtLF83a_wJznSlQwYUPEPHARezugPLOyij7nYonc3bFcVpiKwWWrBnr4Cu2Q6eR4TsUXqiZsKTc/s1600/IMG_9864.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijTxjh6OuWnaKNAjK7YULSOIv0tbwakYruMMe2GP78Hh0-x3wv7bCC7egrdrKoH7v_vtLF83a_wJznSlQwYUPEPHARezugPLOyij7nYonc3bFcVpiKwWWrBnr4Cu2Q6eR4TsUXqiZsKTc/s640/IMG_9864.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Cred: Ava Kate :)</td></tr>
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<img alt="laura ann" border="0" src="https://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv329/gracelikerain-laura-ann/Signature-1.jpg" /></div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01445841263554813770noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788546408023833917.post-46988167549773308102017-02-19T10:19:00.000-05:002017-03-15T10:19:27.467-04:00Eve's Six Months Old!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUZhgnjHprGSuWZ97J-TFBrKogaec7cdk6jnFl5EuelIxdgZYFTWSe0hY4szItKRiseOhNFiBTZkknwzdfN4dPQ7Qd5o_ggRrVsOwdCEPtoJ4R_wRF1Rq6NO1j8QMumdqy90lenUhpKn0/s1600/IMG_9632.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUZhgnjHprGSuWZ97J-TFBrKogaec7cdk6jnFl5EuelIxdgZYFTWSe0hY4szItKRiseOhNFiBTZkknwzdfN4dPQ7Qd5o_ggRrVsOwdCEPtoJ4R_wRF1Rq6NO1j8QMumdqy90lenUhpKn0/s640/IMG_9632.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Weight:</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , "freeserif" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> ALMOST 16 lbs. It was a slower growth month, but she's still gaining!</span><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Clothes & Diapers: </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Eve is wearing size 2 diapers still and some 3-6 month clothes and some 6 month clothes... just depends on the weather. If it's cold, she wears AKs 6 month hand-me-downs, if it's warm (which it has been), she wears 3-6 month hand-me-downs. Poor girl won't have very many of her "own" clothes at this age when her sister's bday month is just 1 month off. I have officially packed up the newborn clothes though lol. It was time. :(</span><br />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"><br /></b><b style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Eating & Sleeping: </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Eve is still a great sleeper, praise the Lord! She had one rough night this month, but the next morning she had a tooth that had broken through. I was shocked that she had a tooth already! She is now eating 6 oz at 7 am, 11 am, 4 pm, and 9 pm, and we introduced solids. Still at the "food is for fun" phase, so nothing real consistent. She's had bananas and sweet potatoes.</span><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Mood:</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , "freeserif" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> Still a sweet baby girl!</span><br />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"><br /></b><b style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Likes:</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , "freeserif" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> Eve likes to roll around in the floor and jump in her jumperoo thing. She likes being talked to and singing songs. She likes reading books with Mommy & Ava Kate and adores her sister.</span><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Dislikes: </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , "freeserif" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">She's starting to not love people she's not around a lot... she gets anxious and wants mommy back. Totally normal, I know.</span><br />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"><br /></b><b style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Milestones:</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , "freeserif" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> </span>first teeth! (I was shocked that they broke through already!)<br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Sentimental Things Mommy Wants to Remember</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , "freeserif" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;">: Everything! Snuggles, kisses, giggles, precious outfits, smiles, shrills, and coos.</span><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Practical Things Mommy Wants to Remember:</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , "freeserif" , serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> I'm still pumping all day except the morning feed... I get just enough for the next bottle, no extra. :(</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpv3KQDPyuP7d3zPJTp95Xm5MAwMqEh-2AXfX4-3zmDecJoSOM-AQN-i4BtWo7J6uOSh5EX9wnvkl-Px5cj-o8krj1vfX3-p8mjQPAAJpoZ_198S2QTGqbg6240amCAC1Kt1_u-sVcWoo/s1600/Eve56.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpv3KQDPyuP7d3zPJTp95Xm5MAwMqEh-2AXfX4-3zmDecJoSOM-AQN-i4BtWo7J6uOSh5EX9wnvkl-Px5cj-o8krj1vfX3-p8mjQPAAJpoZ_198S2QTGqbg6240amCAC1Kt1_u-sVcWoo/s640/Eve56.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Y'ALL. Those LEGS! #ThunderThighs #PearShaped loool</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWIWT_51VE4BUd3PzAiGVEezI9iihCQF8aUqIHsUwJ-N4XDHeywnchntVTK93SJnb0Jn7OlQfYtV8nauoZ9Kml7Usp6QWdfYFnt2mg_lPP1ZEPE-VP-09c7Hjti9RtxWJtIYU90Izg9tA/s1600/akeve6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWIWT_51VE4BUd3PzAiGVEezI9iihCQF8aUqIHsUwJ-N4XDHeywnchntVTK93SJnb0Jn7OlQfYtV8nauoZ9Kml7Usp6QWdfYFnt2mg_lPP1ZEPE-VP-09c7Hjti9RtxWJtIYU90Izg9tA/s640/akeve6.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not seeing a lot of similarities this month between sisters</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0U652wvXhFgZ5IRavpgZAxMvmuiBkrk58ZT5HfMFTjEKHfJEKwen206E2wFAc33lbgqvbuYpxUUWrXrv-inr-jA0T0PVQ18BLtdeFhMNIV1AgPp2iGaEGHVMZt52VYi_Mk2KSu_T_S8s/s1600/IMG_9634.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0U652wvXhFgZ5IRavpgZAxMvmuiBkrk58ZT5HfMFTjEKHfJEKwen206E2wFAc33lbgqvbuYpxUUWrXrv-inr-jA0T0PVQ18BLtdeFhMNIV1AgPp2iGaEGHVMZt52VYi_Mk2KSu_T_S8s/s640/IMG_9634.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<img alt="laura ann" border="0" src="https://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv329/gracelikerain-laura-ann/Signature-1.jpg" />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01445841263554813770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788546408023833917.post-36384569239584980842017-01-19T09:52:00.000-05:002017-03-15T09:56:25.196-04:00Eve's Five Months Old!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk669KBPjjJUXik7hGzCTQLoPPGAVIlwWFPNf4AlzX8zlSiKHic652qZj6gmrxFFktn8iSo4GwU4tjQ2ZqDFpk35D1JFU8wGIdTJ15pvEpO6ZM3PrmVvtlBoMfNJfYmpPeeRi6AikRCes/s1600/IMG_9377.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk669KBPjjJUXik7hGzCTQLoPPGAVIlwWFPNf4AlzX8zlSiKHic652qZj6gmrxFFktn8iSo4GwU4tjQ2ZqDFpk35D1JFU8wGIdTJ15pvEpO6ZM3PrmVvtlBoMfNJfYmpPeeRi6AikRCes/s640/IMG_9377.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<b>Weight & Height:</b> 15 lbs 8 oz...about what Ava Kate was at this age! Hooray! Not sure for height.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Clothes & Diapers: </b>We've transitioned to size 2 diapers and she's in 3-6 month clothes mostly.<br />
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<b>Eating & Sleeping: </b>Eve is still on the 5 oz bottles every 4 hours and eats at 7, 11, 3, 7, and 10 and continues to sleep through the night. I'm still only nursing for the first feeding and pumping/bottle feeding the rest. We will be moving to 4 feedings a day soon! I think she's ready... it'll be so much nicer hopefully because I won't have to pump as often.<br />
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<b>Mood:</b> Sweet. Eve is very flexible with our scheduling and tags along for everything. She's very sweet and rarely get's fussy. She's usually quiet, just taking in her surroundings, but if she does get upset... boy she is loud!<br />
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<b>Likes:</b> Getting tickled, having anyone talk to her, playing in the floor, baths, chewing on things<br />
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<b>Dislikes: </b>Hmm... can't think of anything. She is finally starting to enjoy bath time! Hooray!<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Milestones:</b> First Christmas, first "big" snow/ice storm (Jan 7)<br />
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<b>Sentimental Things Mommy Wants to Remember</b>: aww... All of it. I just want to soak it all up.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkE5uunAXoL5dJFqjclI-LC0kEumwcC4Si0RMXyZAEUTDO8_M7xCecIpEieUzat7lF5nr0P9JnGAuBuxwDymbQXKHU3tYsfKgc6ZT9YoKAKES04yH-bDD4k-lqGC3IaTJ0EkwHBS6RCE4/s1600/eve45.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkE5uunAXoL5dJFqjclI-LC0kEumwcC4Si0RMXyZAEUTDO8_M7xCecIpEieUzat7lF5nr0P9JnGAuBuxwDymbQXKHU3tYsfKgc6ZT9YoKAKES04yH-bDD4k-lqGC3IaTJ0EkwHBS6RCE4/s640/eve45.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look at those chunky legs!! Haha! :) </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP3lBtVf4ZnAsFeM-4PNuAj9fC3Y1ufs48heaHtyJ_70SemTCNWr8tfLnDLlGwQcDVI3IpGSXWH6sZa87sJkaGcn5GTXJVJ4KpqBwUIZIMnyg-8bnuG9GdF_JPSIwnuLsE0UPdST19BeI/s1600/akeve5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP3lBtVf4ZnAsFeM-4PNuAj9fC3Y1ufs48heaHtyJ_70SemTCNWr8tfLnDLlGwQcDVI3IpGSXWH6sZa87sJkaGcn5GTXJVJ4KpqBwUIZIMnyg-8bnuG9GdF_JPSIwnuLsE0UPdST19BeI/s640/akeve5.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ava Kate vs. Eve at 5 months... AK's head is rounder, but otherwise, they look about the same size.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMYABDJ_M4xn6WSV8QG88dvc7Z43vbo_ovR-ZDO9irOG2_r3hyl9lM7C1MosPTwGnKMIotkH6MP8Y5xHftaB_0t1Q1lr5HfFgJb8ZariLgSV5gWPuvRtdONK-29uZHUCSDhJyE6DkWtSM/s1600/IMG_9381.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMYABDJ_M4xn6WSV8QG88dvc7Z43vbo_ovR-ZDO9irOG2_r3hyl9lM7C1MosPTwGnKMIotkH6MP8Y5xHftaB_0t1Q1lr5HfFgJb8ZariLgSV5gWPuvRtdONK-29uZHUCSDhJyE6DkWtSM/s640/IMG_9381.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<img alt="laura ann" border="0" src="https://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv329/gracelikerain-laura-ann/Signature-1.jpg" />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01445841263554813770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788546408023833917.post-3813336512367804972017-01-14T23:12:00.000-05:002017-01-14T23:22:26.440-05:00Game Changing Yard Sale?<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We’re having a yard sale. It’s a life changing decision for us. Ok, well the yard sale </span><span style="color: black; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">itself</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> isn’t so much the game-changer… it’s the journey we’re on that is.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It all started with the Possessions chapter in </span><span style="color: black; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://amzn.to/2it6h4B">The Seven Experiment</a></span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Jen Hatmaker. I’m just going to go ahead and tell you </span><span style="color: black; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">a lot</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of this blog post is taken from her because she sums it up far better than I can. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><i><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Side note: Jen, (is it okay if I call you by your first name? I hope so!), don’t sue me for copyright infringement please. We’re working for the kingdom here. And people will want </span><a href="http://amzn.to/2it6h4B" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">your book</a><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> after this. Amma right? I’m right. Ok. Let’s keep going.</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Let me go ahead and burst your bubble (ours were bursted at the beginning of this journey).</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I wish I could make that image flicker. I mean, NEWS FLASH: I’ve never had to skip a meal because there wasn’t enough money. I live in a house with a sturdy roof and heat. I’ve never gone a day without health insurance. I’ve thrown away food I didn’t eat, clothes I’ve hardly worn, trash that will never disintegrate… </span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Have you?</i></span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> If your household makes $35,000 a year, you’re in the top 4% of the world. $50,000? Top </span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>1%</i></span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We are the richest people in the world, praying to get richer. We are blaming “those at the top” for our problems. Making excuses for not being generous, because “I don’t make </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">THAT</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> much money.” What does it communicate to the rest of the world, when </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>half the world's population</i></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> lives on $2 a day, and we can’t manage to live fulfilling lives on $25,000 a year? </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">taken from p. 13 with some add-ins from yours truly)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Read Matthew 19:23:</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #3d85c6; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><i>“It is easier for a CAMEL to get through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.”</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well dang.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pause. Hmm. Ok. Well… Wow. Let’s see here… Hmm. </span><span style="color: black; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">::Scratches head:: ::Fidgets in seat::</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let me be clear that Jesus is not saying that being rich is evil. If you read the rest of the chapter (and other parts of the Bible), you’ll understand that Jesus is saying that riches are a </span><span style="color: black; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">distraction</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> from what matters. Riches cause us to change what we cherish... What we </span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u>should</u></span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> cherish. Therefore, it is not easy for someone who is distracted by excess and who cherishes the wrong things to get into heaven.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Alright… so maybe I’m being a little too spiritual for you… and that’s okay. Or maybe you’re like me and we’ve just read that so many times that we’re almost immune from its persuasion. Then how about this? </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Hatmaker just lays it out for us on p. 80-81:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Do we hate the gross abuses money inspires over mankind? Do we hate the whispers of greed and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">entitlement</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> we see in our children, mirror images of our own affections? Do we hate the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">comparison game </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">money feeds off of? Do we hate the inequity that gives our kids rooms jammed with possessions </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">while 16,000 other parents will </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">bury their starved children today</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">?”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>[::jaw drop::]</i></span><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span><br />
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">---</span><span style="color: black; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">OR</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">---- </span></span></b> </div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Do we hate these questions? Would we rather spin this or twist this or shove it off on other people? </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>[Are you coming up with reasons right now about how this doesn’t apply to us?]</i></span><span style="color: black; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Do we hate being challenged to care for the poor, since they didn’t earn this money </span><span style="color: black; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">we</span><span style="color: black; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> worked for? Do we hate the idea of parting with things? Do we hate being called ‘rich people?’”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let’s make a chart </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>(</i>actually, Jen made it for us, and she stole it from Jesus, haha!)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAh6nCY2QzNNOFr608gsGELmYXStu0H8t8iIjzMgV2xBDADA-jc3s1PeuYeAT_07gbzYext_2bM1SWKUKbgy7sLsW8T9PZSdo0EsEA30Z7IRi24KVW_JYqgjlF98X3EhWthYcLDQCukMY/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-01-14+at+10.27.10+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAh6nCY2QzNNOFr608gsGELmYXStu0H8t8iIjzMgV2xBDADA-jc3s1PeuYeAT_07gbzYext_2bM1SWKUKbgy7sLsW8T9PZSdo0EsEA30Z7IRi24KVW_JYqgjlF98X3EhWthYcLDQCukMY/s640/Screen+Shot+2017-01-14+at+10.27.10+PM.png" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So our small group asked ourselves, how can we intentionally make choices daily to fall on the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>right</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> side of this spectrum? We can sell our stuff and give to the poor. Choose to be generous when choosing what to give. Live below our means… I mean, we don’t need </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">errrr-ything</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. We can give. Intentionally choose </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">not</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to buy something on the premise of “I’ve worked hard, I deserve this.” Be simple. Share, so others can do the same. Always err on the side of giving more if we’re not sure how much to give. This is what we want to do… so we started purging our stuff. For seven days we got rid of seven items a day (which is a challenge in the book)... and then we had to figure out what to do with it all. Some of it we just threw away (i.e. expired medicine, food, make up), some of it we donated to people we knew that needed it, and the rest… we need to sell. Enter our yard sale. :)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Disclaimer time</b></span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Are we selling our houses and downsizing so we can be more generous? Well, no, not at this time. Do we still buy stuff? Yes. Guilty! Are we becoming extra-crunchy granola people? </span><span style="color: black; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Maybe, maybe not</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. :) :) This is a big elephant. We know that. </span><span style="color: black; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="color: #6aa84f; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></b>
<b style="color: #6aa84f; white-space: pre-wrap;">So, sweet friends, dear readers, our tribes, our villages… don’t you want to join us? Purge your excess? Sell your stuff and give to the poor? Or maybe you just want to go shopping at our yard sale! Maybe you’ve been looking for a new coffee table? Consider shopping at our yard sale and then give the money you saved by buying our super cheap stuff to someone in need. Or maybe give someone in need $30 to come shop? I don’t know. <i>We’re just over here taking bites of our elephants…</i> will you join us?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Get rid of 7 things each day this week (or 49 things in one day - whatever!) It’s a lot easier than you think. Then, donate your gently used stuff to our yard sale. See our flyer for more details:</span></span><br />
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Matthew 6:19-21 says, </span><span style="color: black; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Do not store up for yourselves treasure on earth, where moths and vermin destroy… [i.e. the attic]. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven [...] For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy [read: generous], then your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy [read: stingy] then your whole body will be full of darkness. [...] No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despite the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img alt="laura ann" border="0" src="https://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv329/gracelikerain-laura-ann/Signature-1.jpg" /></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #111111;"><i>Disclaimer: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.</i></span></span><br />
<i style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">*In other words, if you click on the link above to buy the book, I make a small commission. ALL money I make from this post will be given to charity, so go buy the book. It'll change your life and you won't regret it.*</span></i>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01445841263554813770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788546408023833917.post-39485062853554488702017-01-09T15:03:00.003-05:002017-01-09T15:05:22.911-05:00Dear MomDear Mom,<br />
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I miss you. A lot. A lot a lot. So much that at times, it literally takes my breath away and I can't breathe for a minute. I can't tell you how many times I wish I could pick up the phone and call you, or just send you a text. Like today, I was looking through pictures and saw a picture from the last Christmas you were really with us, and I giggled. It's a picture of you holding a candle with a smug look on your face. It was an inside joke. I wanted to text you about it so we could laugh together.<br />
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Speaking of candles... Ava Kate ate a birthday candle last week. Like <i>ATE</i> it and then threw most of it up and said she didn't like it. (<i>Ugh, I know right!?! How does that even happen??</i>) I panicked and the first thing I wanted to do was call you to ask what to do. I called Poison Control instead... which was probably a better idea anyway. She's obviously fine now. She's the spitting image of you. She walks just like you. Stops and puts her hand on her hip, just like you. Gives the side eye, just like you. Even her little smile is just like yours. It's actually kind of freaky sometimes, in a good kind of freaky way.</div>
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And sweet little Eve is becoming quite the little personality herself. :) Oh how I wish you could love on them and squeeze them tight. I wish you were here to "fight" with Mrs. Lydia over whose house they get to spend the night at next. I wish you were here for me to go shopping with... <i>shocking, I know</i>. You are pretty much the reason why I <i>don't</i> like to go shopping with other people. I hated how long it took you to look at something to decide if you liked it or not... and how you would try on things "just to see," even if you didn't like it on the rack - <i>I mean, who does that??</i> But I would <i>love</i> to spend the day with you running errands and just doing every-day-life together. When other people complain about their moms, I just want to lecture them... I'd still complain if you were here too... but I would know in the core of my being how precious the ability to complain about your mom is. Those little moments are sacred because you were there.</div>
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I also pretty much always think of you when someone is giving me directions (which I still suck at by the way). All I can hear is you saying, <i>"You just keep going, and you'll pass this on the right, and you keep going, and you'll go past that little store on the left, and then go through the stop sign and just stay straight until you get to such-in-such, and then keep going past that a little ways to the shop on the right... you know... that little shop on the right?" "</i>Mom, I don't know what shop you're talking about." <i>"Yes you do, that little shop. Right there on the right. Well anyways, just go past it. You'll know it when you see it."</i> Me: Nod. Pulls up the GPS. </div>
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I think about you when I make spaghetti. Every time I pass Talbots. Every time I go to Dad's. <i>Dad's.</i> Whenever I see a big TV box in the back of a truck. And... when I see Young & the Restless. :) Don't worry, nothing has changed -- if you watched it today, you wouldn't have missed a thing.</div>
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I cannot believe it's been five years since I heard your voice and felt your touch. It seems like just yesterday and forever ago at the same time. Sometimes it's hard to remember what you were like before you were sick. Sometimes I can imagine what life would be like if you were here and not sick. Most of the time I just feel the void of where you should be, but aren't. I look back at pictures of wonderful, special times and can't help but remember that you're not in them. Pictures of my daughters' births, our annual beach pictures, Weston's graduation, Amanda's wedding. Things that I <i>wish</i> you were here for and grieve because you're not physically with us in those moments.</div>
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But Mom, we are doing good. Parker and I have two beautiful girls. Weston graduated (please, personally thank the Good Lord for that, haha). He's wonderful - funny, generous, polite, and an <i>amazing</i> uncle. And Dad's doing really good too - he's so good with the girls - no surprise there. He keeps them a lot and has still got a knack for babies. They adore him. :) We miss you and think about you all the time. Love you always. See you again later!<br />
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xoxoxo,<br />
<img alt="laura ann" border="0" src="https://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv329/gracelikerain-laura-ann/Signature-1.jpg" />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01445841263554813770noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788546408023833917.post-80942756582269924502016-12-19T11:15:00.000-05:002016-12-30T20:12:53.153-05:00Eve's Four Months Old!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I can't believe we're already a third of the way through her first year! Time slow down! I just adore this sweet little one!<br />
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<b>Weight & Height:</b> 13 lbs 14 oz and 24" long.... 49 percentile for weight, which is AWESOME considering she was at the 17th at 2 months. Praise! :)<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Clothes & Diapers: </b>She's still wearing size 1 diapers, although she technically could wear size 2. We have one more case of size 1s that I'd like to get some use out of before opening our size 2s. She wears 3-6 month, or even 6-9 month outfits. She's so long that many of her 3-6 month footed PJs are too little, so that's interesting considering our weight gain struggles! I need to pack away her NB stuff still, but the holidays have put a hold on that. :) Plus, I just hate packing away those sweet little outfits.<br />
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<b>Eating & Sleeping: </b>Eve is still on the 5 oz bottles every 4 hours and eats at 7, 11, 3, 7, and 10 and sleeps until about 6:45 most mornings. I'm still only nursing for the first feeding and pumping/bottle feeding the rest. I will say that every now and then I'll nurse her in the evenings if we're going to be out and about because it's just SO much more convenient. I still despise pumping and washing bottles... but I love seeing her grow!<br />
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<b>Mood:</b> Precious. She is just so precious and sweet. She's started smiling and giggling more, and when she gets really excited she "talks" or babbles. If she isn't happy though, the whole neighborhood knows because the girl is LOUD. Holy smokes.<br />
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<b>Likes:</b> Watching Ava Kate play, singing songs, rolling around on the floor, standing/sitting up like a big girl, reading books with mommy & Ava Kate, snuggling, eating, snuggling her blanket against her cheek, her paci (oh, how I wish she'd suck her thumb!)<br />
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<b>Dislikes: </b>Sweet girl is still not a fan of baths, BUT she is getting better about them. She'll only scream at the beginning for just a minute.... then she's just on edge the whole time, haha. She also hates when she rolls onto her tummy and can't roll back over if she gets stuck.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Milestones:</b> First Thanksgiving, first visit with Santa Clause (Dec. 3), First long, hard laughing session (Dec 16), rolls over quite well now, sitting up with help/holding her head up on her own with much more consistency<br />
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<b>Sentimental Things Mommy Wants to Remember</b>: I love her sweet little snuggles or when she falls asleep in my arms, her sweet little smile and big blue eyes, how her and Ava Kate look and giggle at each other<br />
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<b>Eve's Weight Gain Journey:</b> If I eat another lactation cookie I will throw it up. They are good... in moderation. But ugh. I've just been taking Fenugreek and that's giving me enough milk for each day... but still not enough to freeze and I've had to dip into the tiny stash I had from early on a few times on Sundays this month because of crazy schedules and just being able to pump enough in between events (church, family reunions, Christmas celebrations, etc.) So please pray that I can get my supply up enough to at least freeze a little every few days!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ava Kate at 4 months vs. Eve at 4 months<br />
Eve is definitely longer, but both have chunky legs! Ava Kate's face was a little rounder, too. :)</td></tr>
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<img alt="laura ann" border="0" src="https://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv329/gracelikerain-laura-ann/Signature-1.jpg" />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01445841263554813770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788546408023833917.post-61448432107964781222016-11-19T14:25:00.000-05:002016-11-28T14:26:24.282-05:00Eve's Three Months Old!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXFzLS3x0AhwnIuKqPMTkea2FMMGb6NfHIx5FB-F3FbsRlJvHPwEm-PU3-_scfeeUNZUygyijjBpYa0TFfqgD8vo6YlIDIrR5oNXMuDq1OjmNI3lO-VLVwBrIhXVbSwV1Yd-0xBffi9QE/s1600/IMG_8363.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXFzLS3x0AhwnIuKqPMTkea2FMMGb6NfHIx5FB-F3FbsRlJvHPwEm-PU3-_scfeeUNZUygyijjBpYa0TFfqgD8vo6YlIDIrR5oNXMuDq1OjmNI3lO-VLVwBrIhXVbSwV1Yd-0xBffi9QE/s640/IMG_8363.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look at those chunky legs! Finally getting some rolls! :)</td></tr>
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<b>Weight & Height:</b> 12 lbs 1 oz & not sure for height... But she's growing! In just 2 weeks she's gone from the 17th percentile to the 26th percentile in weight... and 43rd in height/weight combined. Woohoo! :) Yippee!! Happy dance!!! Praise hands!!!!<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Clothes & Diapers: </b>We're still wearing the size 1 diapers and she wears 3-6 month clothes, although she can still fit in 0-3 months. Most of her long sleeve clothes are 3-6 or 6-9 month, so she hasn't worn a lot of 0-3 months since it's been cool lately. She has officially outgrown her Newborn PJs and I've packed away some of the NB clothes that it won't be warm enough for. I could probably pack up all the NB clothes, but I just hate packing away my favorites.<br />
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<b>Eating & Sleeping: </b>We JUST transitioned to 5 oz bottles every 4 hours. She eats at 7, 11, 3, 7, and 10, and sleeps until about 6:15 most mornings. Because of the transfer issue with breastfeeding, I usually only nurse for the first morning feeding and sometimes the 7 pm feeding... it breaks my heart, but I love knowing she's thriving and growing... even if it's a lot more work to pump and bottle feed.<br />
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<b>Mood:</b> She's so sweet y'all. She's developing a smiley little personality and remains pretty content and flexible with everything we do! If she wants some attention she'll let you know and boy does she have a loud holler. She is very patient and understanding though! <i>Haha!</i><br />
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<b>Likes:</b> Snuggling, eating, blankets, her tiger toy on her bouncy seat, looking at her reflection in the mirror of her swing, her mommy!!, looking around, the giraffe on her jungle gym, "talking" with mommy & Ava Kate<br />
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<b>Dislikes: </b>The girl hates taking a bath. Screams bloody murder every time. She also doesn't love being held like a baby unless she just ate... otherwise she wants to sit up like a big girl and look around. :)<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Milestones:</b> Sleeps through the night (1st 8 hour stretch Nov 1), 2 month old shots (Oct 21), rolls over from back to front (Nov 7 in her crib!), rolls from front to back (Nov 9), cooing and talking, recognition of familiar faces, first Halloween<br />
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<b>Sentimental Things Mommy Wants to Remember</b>: Sweet baby snuggles in the rare moments of quiet, those big blue eyes full of wonder, how Ava Kate wants to hold her all the time, precious moments watching Parker snuggle her up<br />
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<b>Eve's Weight Gain Journey:</b> As of Nov 23, she has graduated from regular weight checks! Praise the Lord! I'm so glad she's growing as expected now! We have finally fallen into a routine and things are settling down! It hasn't been easy at all and my supply took a huge hit when she was just nursing and only transferring 1.5 oz... I've had to eat a ton of lactation cookies and take Fenugreek to get it back going and even still, I can just stay ahead of her with bottles. I end up with maybe an extra oz each day, but haven't been able to produce enough to stock up on a freezer stash, which worries me a little because I had to dip into it a bit as we were moving to exclusively(ish) pumping. Thank God for an oversupply in the beginning! Eeek!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ava Kate (about 13.5 lbs) vs. Eve at 3 months (about 12 lbs)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1, 2, 3... watch me grow! :) I can really tell in her face that she's gaining weight... it's harder to tell in other places.</td></tr>
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<img alt="laura ann" border="0" src="https://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv329/gracelikerain-laura-ann/Signature-1.jpg" />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01445841263554813770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788546408023833917.post-27723373324285022642016-10-19T14:08:00.000-04:002016-11-02T14:08:26.060-04:00Eve's Two Months Old!<div>
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<b>Weight & Height:</b> 10 lbs even and ??? long!<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Clothes & Diapers: </b>Eve can still rock the NB diapers (I am shocked), but wears size 1. She is wearing NB & 0-3 month clothes... but some of the 0-3 months are a little big on her. I actually need to go get her some long sleeve outfits, because almost all of Ava Kate's long sleeve clothes are 6 months... and those would just swallow Eve right now.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Eating & Sleeping: </b>She eats every 3 hours and sleeps for about 4-5 hours at night. Her current schedule is 7 am, 10, 1, 4, 7, 11 pm, then bed. She wakes around 3:30/4:00, but we're working to break her from that now. She nurses on both sides for 20 minutes and she takes between 4 & 4.5 oz in a bottle. See more about feeding below... it's been a journey.<br />
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<b>Mood:</b> Pretty content and very flexible with our busy life, thank goodness! She can get fussy in the evenings sometimes, but generally, she's great.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Likes:</b> Snuggling, Ava Kate, Mommy... she likes being outside, being worn in the Tula, & playing in the jungle gym.<br />
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<b>Dislikes: </b>Baths. lol<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Milestones:</b> Tongue tie clip (Sept 28), first stay with a friend (Carries on Oct 6)<br />
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<b>Sentimental Things Mommy Wants to Remember</b>: I love the way Ava Kate wants to hold Eve and how Eve looks at AK with wonder. :)<br />
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<b>Eve's Weight Gain Journey:</b> Eve was not gaining weight like she was supposed to and we went to the ENT because she had a small tongue tie. We had that clipped (which was way traumatic!), but there still wasn't any significant improvement in how much milk she transferred while nursing. Now, with the guidance of lactation specialist, the ENT, and her pediatrician, we have developed a crazy routine of feeding. At first I was nursing for 15 minutes on each side, then bottle feeding her another 2 oz, and then pumping. It was taking an hour and a half to complete the process... and she was eating every 3 hours. I was losing my mind. Crazy stressed, couldn't get anything done, Ava Kate was going bonkers during that hour and half every 3 hours.... it was not good. I was very low. I was tired, stressed, frustrated, disappointed, sad, depressed... not a good time. After lots of trial and error, prayers, and help, we've finally established a routine. I nurse her first thing in the morning at 7 am (20 mins on both sides, she seems satisfied when finished), then for the rest of the day while Parker's at work (her 10, 1, & 4 o'clock feedings) I pump and bottle feed her around 4.25 oz. Then, when he's home, I nurse her for 20 mins on both sides and he bottle feeds the other 2 oz while I pump. I'm still frustrated (after all, one of the reasons I was excited about staying home with the girls was that I <i>wouldn't</i> have to pump and wash bottles) and pumping is not as convenient as nursing when out in public... but it is what it is. My sweet little girl is FINALLY gaining weight and that's what matters. It makes me so sad that she wasn't gaining weight -- she seemed perfectly content! I look at the pictures and can tell, but in the middle of it all, I couldn't tell that she wasn't getting enough until we weighed her.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUTcm9mSGV3HoeVfJyCdmyI3znI5yVeMtjG3YEo4s2laDcNvpBgiFPl202duKGoKPxOLowL4y13UWDCZ0tsrKMxsC7qmiUJ83BTFwQFpAf5RTgoHa163dHEGdzim9-QrV1RDmdrKKIO3o/s1600/IMG_7992.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUTcm9mSGV3HoeVfJyCdmyI3znI5yVeMtjG3YEo4s2laDcNvpBgiFPl202duKGoKPxOLowL4y13UWDCZ0tsrKMxsC7qmiUJ83BTFwQFpAf5RTgoHa163dHEGdzim9-QrV1RDmdrKKIO3o/s640/IMG_7992.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One month vs Two month comparison</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTIYw35dyNegUhBsRDxhNkg608B6m6nDtCgEWADV1Hdk8ehgbCaYJ1iOdg7djY1P59xUGKEdMJFoXnVA-zhZ16-QMzBcNNAwZJxWwTc8dR9u_YWorvYbdHthOwr53BjyHepQ0twFLzrTo/s1600/AK+v+EK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTIYw35dyNegUhBsRDxhNkg608B6m6nDtCgEWADV1Hdk8ehgbCaYJ1iOdg7djY1P59xUGKEdMJFoXnVA-zhZ16-QMzBcNNAwZJxWwTc8dR9u_YWorvYbdHthOwr53BjyHepQ0twFLzrTo/s640/AK+v+EK.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ava Kate vs. Eve at two months... Wow. What a difference. </td></tr>
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And, just for fun:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO5wzxmnuse_HdDqYHaIyIy1GvXuv7bn1cUZAexTAzsDBfwLRkLSTYid0HQLvKBDsywfcADkRvgsubUOPjuewTwLLlwq-7xjAESOqrF2s4NVfXKGmd9E2G-dgTLKLHbVhd-KIoh1deZbE/s1600/IMG_7966.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO5wzxmnuse_HdDqYHaIyIy1GvXuv7bn1cUZAexTAzsDBfwLRkLSTYid0HQLvKBDsywfcADkRvgsubUOPjuewTwLLlwq-7xjAESOqrF2s4NVfXKGmd9E2G-dgTLKLHbVhd-KIoh1deZbE/s640/IMG_7966.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is what happens when your big sis takes your sticker so she can take a picture too... sigh. lol</td></tr>
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<img alt="laura ann" border="0" src="https://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv329/gracelikerain-laura-ann/Signature-1.jpg" />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01445841263554813770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788546408023833917.post-10894544781276836402016-09-19T14:14:00.000-04:002016-10-19T14:21:45.457-04:00Eve's One Month Old!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv6FvNBCSEd3U01juH8CyoSjUoUtv73zePLlcv1GCfphSIkJEYIFAGh-R0qwOpB8GDFFZ64frGT6wjOX7yaqWIkB-E3aTd8981DVD-LB9XxUDdd-gz65pUo4DZV7BtzEJFYZSCGG25-OI/s1600/IMG_7713.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv6FvNBCSEd3U01juH8CyoSjUoUtv73zePLlcv1GCfphSIkJEYIFAGh-R0qwOpB8GDFFZ64frGT6wjOX7yaqWIkB-E3aTd8981DVD-LB9XxUDdd-gz65pUo4DZV7BtzEJFYZSCGG25-OI/s640/IMG_7713.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<b>Weight & Height:</b> 8 lbs 8 oz (still not up to birth weight!) and 21.5" long<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Clothes & Diapers: </b>She's still rocking newborn clothes and a few 0-3 month clothes (but some of those are a little big still). She can wear 0-3 month sleepers because she's so long, but she's a skinny little thing! She's still wearing newborn diapers (and we had a ton left over from Ava Kate, so that's not a bad thing!)<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Eating & Sleeping: </b>She is a GREAT sleeper. In fact, I think she might would sleep through the night if we weren't pushing her to wake up to eat. Unfortunately, she's not gaining weight very fast at all so we're still doing middle of the night feedings. She nurses every 3 hours during the day and about every 4 hours at night. She nurses for about 20 minutes (or longer!) on each side... but after her 1 month check up at the doctor and appointments with the lactation specialist, we realized she's only transferring about 1.5 oz during that time. :( :( :( We thought she wasn't gaining weight because I had an oversupply, but now that it's regulated a bit.. we're not sure what's going on. We have an appointment with the ENT to check into a small tongue-tie to see if that's causing issues.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Mood:</b> She is a super chill baby. This first month really has been pretty easy - she goes along for the ride with whatever we're doing and rarely fusses. However, <i>when</i> she cries... it is LOUD. She is a loud screamer. Shockingly loud for a newborn.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Likes:</b> Snuggling with Mommy & Daddy, looking at big sister Ava Kate, sleeping<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Dislikes: </b>Bath time. She is not a fan.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Milestones:</b> First smile, first bath, first wedding (Roman & Alec's when she was 2 weeks old), first bottle, first time at church, first ECU football game (3 weeks old), first family reunion (4 weeks old), and baby dedication at church (Sept 18)<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Sentimental Things Mommy Wants to Remember</b>: the sweet interaction between Eve & Ava Kate, how her little legs stay bunched up when I pick her up from the carseat/swing, sweet snuggles on my chest, sweet smiles and faces while she sleeps<br />
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<b>Practical Things Mommy Wants to Remember:</b> Eve went about 2 weeks where she wasn't a fan of swaddling, but now she's sleeping swaddled. She spits up mostly at night in the pack-and-play, but not as much during the day. Holy oversupply. I caught 2 oz in a bottle from the side she <i>wasn't</i> nursing on for the first few weeks... what a mess. Her umbilical cord fell off much earlier than Ava Kates - at about a week and half. She still has a little sore where it was, but hopefully it'll heal up soon!<br />
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Just for fun...<br />
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<img alt="laura ann" border="0" src="http://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv329/gracelikerain-laura-ann/Signature-1.jpg" /><br />
<br />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01445841263554813770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788546408023833917.post-40678138604401668322016-08-26T14:23:00.000-04:002016-11-02T14:24:19.411-04:00Eve's Birth StoryEve's birth was a beautiful and wonderful experience! It went quicker than Ava Kate's and it was, like hers, quite easy and smooth -- thank the good Lord! I was due on August 18, and fortunately, my midwife, Carolyn agreed that an induction on August 19 would be a good idea since the pregnancy had gone so smoothly and Ava Kate had been a rather large baby.<br />
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On August 18th, despite regular Braxton Hicks the week before, Eve's due date came and went. Parker took the afternoon off and we treated Ava Kate to a special day of fun on her last day as an only child. We went took her to get ice cream, went bowling, and out to dinner. It was very bittersweet, and I'll be honest -- I was a bucket of tears most of the day and night. I am not good at closing chapters, and I just felt so sad that our family of 3 days were coming to an end. I was excited about Eve, but sad that Ava Kate would no longer have my full attention. We took her to spend the night at the Morgans' that night since we had to be at the hospital at 5 am. She was super excited and had no idea how her little life was about to change. I cried a ton. :)<br />
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On Thursday morning, after a decent night of sleep (surprisingly), Parker and I woke up bright and early and got ready to go to the hospital. When we arrived, we checked in and the nurse started Pitocin about 6:15 am. I was at 2 cm when I went in and when the midwife checked at 8ish, I was about 4 cm and 50% effaced. Carolyn (the midwife) broke my water about 8:30 am... and let me tell you... that is my *least* favorite part of labor. It is SO gushy and I cannot stand feeling like I'm peeing on myself every contraction. Yuck!<br />
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Contractions picked up a bit, and by about 10:30 the doctor came in to give me the epidural. Parker stepped out of the room for this one -- if you remember, he passed out when I got the epidural with Ava Kate, haha! He still hasn't lived that one down. Unfortunately, the epidural didn't work on my left side at first and that was pretty uncomfortable. The doctor pumped the meds up and finally, I had relief about 11:30.<br />
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The nurses and midwife had lunch and when Carolyn came back around 1 pm to check me, it was go time. I started pushing at 1:15 and little Eve Kennedy was born at 1:31 pm. She has 10 fingers and 10 toes and 2 very good lungs, haha! :) She weighed 9 lbs 2 oz and was 21" long.<br />
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Dad, Tammy, and Mrs. Lydia were at the hospital waiting to meet Eve, so we got some sweet moments with them. Mr. Jack was holding down the fort at the office and Ava Kate was with Candice and Jacob. After a while, everyone left, so Parker & I got a lot of sweet time with Eve. Then, Ava Kate woke up from her nap and Candice & Jacob brought her (& Ella Paityn) to meet Eve. It was such a sweet moment that I'll cherish forever.<br />
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Dad brought my Grandma by and Weston came later that afternoon. Mrs. Lydia & Mr. Jack came that evening as well. My good friend Lauren stopped by and overall it was a peaceful, relaxing evening.<br />
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The first night was not nearly as bad as our first night with Ava Kate -- in fact it wasn't bad at all. Eve slept in her cradle a bit and then on my chest the rest of the night. I was able to move around and go to the bathroom just fine - pain free. I seriously don't know how I pushed a 9 lb baby out and didn't have any issues, but I am SO thankful!<br />
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Fortunately, we were able to go home the next afternoon and the Morgans treated us to a steak dinner. Ava Kate was a little unsure of Eve being home the first night, but she warmed up to her quickly! The next day (Sunday) we went to O'Cools w/ Dad & Weston for our weekly Sunday lunch, and from there, we fell into being a family of 4. Parker was able to take a week off and enjoy some bonding time, and we enjoyed several visitors throughout the week! :)<br />
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<img alt="laura ann" border="0" src="https://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv329/gracelikerain-laura-ann/Signature-1.jpg" />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01445841263554813770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788546408023833917.post-63037172928824990052016-08-10T13:55:00.002-04:002016-08-10T13:55:43.039-04:00Miles' Baby Shower<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
So, my best friend had a baby. :) He is precious. His name is Miles. Amber & I gave her a baby shower months ago and it was precious. Like <i>way</i> precious. It kinda made me want a boy a little bit. Bowties and all. Here are a few of my favorite pics:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMXRwyJTGoYMCy3LyW827y82Kc5XoKNGxIfDhfKVgJKjab52kG-GXD278rmdoPn3BIsHk7vXamt3-pL8g6V8jeAq2DrWSEqV1Ex3vy285JS9w4I-FHZhOxQNMtiC3y7RybYk5GCkPT-G4/s1600/IMG_6152.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMXRwyJTGoYMCy3LyW827y82Kc5XoKNGxIfDhfKVgJKjab52kG-GXD278rmdoPn3BIsHk7vXamt3-pL8g6V8jeAq2DrWSEqV1Ex3vy285JS9w4I-FHZhOxQNMtiC3y7RybYk5GCkPT-G4/s640/IMG_6152.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFTULUjzH7irllUC2r7d7Bv16XFhnhU4MCe-hGmzq1rq5hyphenhyphenAeHiOzp27aA0aLFA51IAACisxUG1KcQZZ-Ug9Qh9EpenFzT0QGgM7xnm6hoBywXxasFLt78itOOpfYa_p3rdbZu7qmpy_k/s1600/IMG_6184.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFTULUjzH7irllUC2r7d7Bv16XFhnhU4MCe-hGmzq1rq5hyphenhyphenAeHiOzp27aA0aLFA51IAACisxUG1KcQZZ-Ug9Qh9EpenFzT0QGgM7xnm6hoBywXxasFLt78itOOpfYa_p3rdbZu7qmpy_k/s640/IMG_6184.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The grub! Mostly courtesy of Amber's awesome cooking and baking skills. Plus some yummy green punch - recipe <a href="http://thejpmorganfamilyblog.blogspot.com/2015/01/green-punch-yummy-yummy.html">here</a>.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detachable bowtie onesies.... Ahh. Love them.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Close up of Manda's <strike>boob</strike> corsage. ;-)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5xGmoOX-GJcYjLrlcn5D7H_FrfDWH5Jsxb_GbrW7gSu0AuW3c1CL3ognOm-BcTNljfPcmSyEtU6O6o8-l4J3Fped6ehbD1OhvIFIu7ZXdNY7wycVF4UROcVyoVf-LftGw49OqyR9zbdk/s1600/IMG_6190.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5xGmoOX-GJcYjLrlcn5D7H_FrfDWH5Jsxb_GbrW7gSu0AuW3c1CL3ognOm-BcTNljfPcmSyEtU6O6o8-l4J3Fped6ehbD1OhvIFIu7ZXdNY7wycVF4UROcVyoVf-LftGw49OqyR9zbdk/s640/IMG_6190.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The beautiful Mom-to-be and Grandma :) :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyTXWOURcUjH-4yf5rJ59lLR2-lJwLgvdeoF3OkMiN1VCuqAe_GROhVkURpfYmFviFRkOKusT_E9nE6HoY3ut9Bi0cGOG3EMVvb3Tpx7BTVcRL_nYb4GvyU8NwHECbJ6BPsDnzAcMdqWM/s1600/IMG_6193.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyTXWOURcUjH-4yf5rJ59lLR2-lJwLgvdeoF3OkMiN1VCuqAe_GROhVkURpfYmFviFRkOKusT_E9nE6HoY3ut9Bi0cGOG3EMVvb3Tpx7BTVcRL_nYb4GvyU8NwHECbJ6BPsDnzAcMdqWM/s640/IMG_6193.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eve & Miles' first picture together. <3 <3 #ArrangedMarriageAlready</td></tr>
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<img alt="laura ann" border="0" src="https://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv329/gracelikerain-laura-ann/Signature-1.jpg" />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01445841263554813770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788546408023833917.post-76202931698629282492016-08-09T15:42:00.000-04:002016-08-09T15:42:02.892-04:00My Decision to Stay at HomeI have always wanted to be a stay-at-home wife, mom, and homemaker. I know that there are all kinds of opinions on women who choose to stay-at-home vs. moms who work full-time, but that is not what this post is about. This post is about <i>our</i> family and our decision for <i>me</i> to work from home. <br />
Just to clarify, I do not think that one is better than the other... in fact I think it's something that's different for every family. So that's <i>that</i>.<br />
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When I had Ava Kate, I <i>so</i> wanted to stay at home. The night before my maternity leave ended, I sobbed on the couch. We looked at our budget and I felt so hopeless because it just wasn't possible for me to quit my job. Months later, the desire of my heart still had not changed. I <i>loved</i> being a teacher and I <i>love</i> the people I worked with so, so much. Ava Kate <i>loved</i> her babysitter and I did too. All of these things made it easier, but nonetheless, I still yearned to be "just" a mom, wife, and homemaker.<br />
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The year after Ava Kate was born, we (Parker & I) went back and forth on whether I should leave my full time job or go back in the fall. I could not make up my mind... he was fine with whatever I decided. I mean, my heart wanted to stay home, <i>that</i> I was sure of... <i>but</i> my brain saw that the money just wouldn't add up. We talked to trusted mentors and friends and family. And we prayed. Parker is so supportive and loving y'all. Can I just say how much I love doing life with him?!? <br />
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Well, like I said, we prayed a lot and I started exploring online teaching. I really hoped that I'd be able to teach enough classes for our county's online academy to make enough money to work from home last year, but we just didn't have the enrollment. So... I went back full-time to the classroom and had a good year... but kept looking into online teaching. I applied and was offered a job with NC Virtual Public School and then another county contacted me about teaching a course for them as well (Seemed so random, but obviously God was at work). You read right... Last school year I taught for <b><u>FOUR</u></b> places - full-time for SCHS and online for PCVA, NCVPS, and Granville Online. It was A LOT of work... but I really enjoyed teaching online... and it paved the way for me to realistically consider quitting my full-time job.<br />
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Then, when I got pregnant with Eve, it was a no-brainer. We weren't going to pay $1200 a month for daycare. So, I excitedly told my principal that I was pregnant and wouldn't be returning... which was completely bitter sweet because I <i>LOVE</i> SCHS and the people I worked with... the most awesome coworkers ever.<br />
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When I was on the fence, I had many conversations with friends, mentors, coworkers, and family, the same words kept coming up from each of the different people.</div>
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<i>I don't know how it works, but it just does. (in regards to the money)</i></div>
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<i>You can always get a job back, but you can't get this time back.</i></div>
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<i>If I could go back, I would've taken time off when the kids were small.</i></div>
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<i>God put this desire in your heart for a reason.</i></div>
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<i>It will all work out.</i></div>
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Then, a friend posted this on Facebook one day.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAVtDuUL8ytpGJUXUyLl13fhluRxUMg_Rui3urK0WdRZ6rS2x4XWJKiKy5_Q2Fqkq-0thO1G16kR9jhY840yf-dW7ZeZKjNQBjfAqen7K3azrqJ8ekyBsih9qYLnSwrcercve295vGsXw/s1600/IMG_1897.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAVtDuUL8ytpGJUXUyLl13fhluRxUMg_Rui3urK0WdRZ6rS2x4XWJKiKy5_Q2Fqkq-0thO1G16kR9jhY840yf-dW7ZeZKjNQBjfAqen7K3azrqJ8ekyBsih9qYLnSwrcercve295vGsXw/s1600/IMG_1897.PNG" width="360" /></a></div>
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Summertime is just a confirmation that this is the right decision for us. I LOVE being able to play with Ava Kate and get stuff done around the house. I LOVE being able to serve Parker by doing things for him during the day and meeting him for lunch. I LOVE the freedom to pick my schedule... <i>and still get to teach and work with students</i>.<br />
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Now, looking back, I can see how God's hand was in all of this. I see the scriptures that were on my heart during the waiting period... the ones that just kept coming up...<br />
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<i>Be still and know.</i><br />
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<i>Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding (read: math skills and ability to plan things). In all your ways, acknowledge me, and I will direct your path.</i><br />
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<i>I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go.</i><br />
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<i>We are assured and know that all things work together are are for good.</i><br />
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<i>Cast all your anxieties on Him because He cares for you.</i><br />
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<i>For nothing is impossible with God.</i><br />
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<i>Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine...</i><br />
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<i>Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.</i><br />
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<i>Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.</i><br />
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I don't ever know how many students/classes I'll have from semester to semester, that's just the way online classes work. It's nerve wracking waiting to see if I'll make "enough" money, but we've been able to save due to summer school classes and all the extra jobs last year. Even with the uncertainty, I have a peace about it all. <br />
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I'm reminded of the second half of John 10 and stunned by the revelation (although I shouldn't be). Starting in verse 24, the Jews are begging Jesus to tell them if he's the Messiah. They say:<br />
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"<i>How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly</i>."</div>
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It makes me think of how many times I prayed almost the exact same thing during the last 2 years -Just substitute "If you are the Christ" with "If you want me to stay home," and they pretty much nailed it. Then, if you keep reading...</div>
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<i>"Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe."</i></div>
<i><br /></i>If you keep reading in John, it talks about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Despite the fact that he knew he was going to raise Lazarus, he <i>waited</i> for the right time... which was after Lazarus had been dead for <i>four</i> days. He waited, despite Mary and Martha's plea for him to come right away. He heard them, and he heard Parker & me... but not everything needs to and will happen right when <i style="font-weight: bold;">I </i>think it should. Again, I find myself striving to be like Mary & Martha... they <i>knew</i> he would answer them and <i>trusted</i> it would be in his perfect timing and plan.<br />
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So, here's to online teaching (& lots of student enrollments, haha) and to stay-at-home mom life. I'm so excited!<br />
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Oh my goodness.<br />
<img alt="laura ann" border="0" src="http://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv329/gracelikerain-laura-ann/Signature-1.jpg" />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01445841263554813770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788546408023833917.post-25082950868367459742016-08-08T15:09:00.004-04:002016-08-08T15:09:54.168-04:00Maternity Pictures :)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
So it's totally true what they say... Second child probs. </div>
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I'm 38.5 weeks and I just realized that 1) I have very few pictures of my baby bump, and 2) I hadn't even planned maternity pictures. With Ava Kate, I posted <i>almost </i>weekly baby bump pics, with the chalkboard updated. As you can see, I just recently went back and back-posted <i>monthly </i>baby bump posts and found whatever pics I could. Oh well, nothing to dwell on.</div>
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I did want some "maternity pics" to have for Baby Eve, but wasn't really interested in dishing out tons of money for them. I'd rather save the money and put it towards family-of-four-pics when Eve arrives. :) I bought this cute dress from the Lil Pirates Exchange Consignment Sale the other day and wore it to church Sunday. I felt really pretty for once, so I made Parker go in the backyard and snap some pics. :)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYQHYIsYBWBjmoqSZ0xhiZcvmtP_WzFpwwLuWfn1UJC9VEzWFLfmiEQogt9F-h5fXi7zYPJvl2qIhrj9hzc2Ui0Gdk5nm54nfM3rucokXeKy38ikc7JnkQn2cpBhCS9sB49rI6-f3Ljx0/s1600/IMG_6984.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYQHYIsYBWBjmoqSZ0xhiZcvmtP_WzFpwwLuWfn1UJC9VEzWFLfmiEQogt9F-h5fXi7zYPJvl2qIhrj9hzc2Ui0Gdk5nm54nfM3rucokXeKy38ikc7JnkQn2cpBhCS9sB49rI6-f3Ljx0/s640/IMG_6984.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Ava Kate joined in when she wasn't playing on her swing set.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPaZvHXzbifonzPYSeG7_PVkRwuX_oC06pUbdEgeZ2d9cda6ZujraAJ6rXvPUlc7thtLv1M5Ppj6XIhFgVLT7rHPHcQfCRnWCbP8UYqIj2Ar4DvwHAan7BRq25sjEcRS73eKkOnz6_2oo/s1600/IMG_6992.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPaZvHXzbifonzPYSeG7_PVkRwuX_oC06pUbdEgeZ2d9cda6ZujraAJ6rXvPUlc7thtLv1M5Ppj6XIhFgVLT7rHPHcQfCRnWCbP8UYqIj2Ar4DvwHAan7BRq25sjEcRS73eKkOnz6_2oo/s640/IMG_6992.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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The handsome "photographer" :)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigH1KalAzuZmfd3wiQRsoPASRHOK4gPrdiR26muv3EmJ59dARk-zoE3opjPoL1LGyCNsARC_Tljul-noMhyphenhyphen1t801HnSyHZWMIVrc1QMA77Rx9Ldcxsv2dZiV4npXo49YyPTTL9rYh1cnY/s1600/IMG_6993.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigH1KalAzuZmfd3wiQRsoPASRHOK4gPrdiR26muv3EmJ59dARk-zoE3opjPoL1LGyCNsARC_Tljul-noMhyphenhyphen1t801HnSyHZWMIVrc1QMA77Rx9Ldcxsv2dZiV4npXo49YyPTTL9rYh1cnY/s640/IMG_6993.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3R8XKPTdeVkuNmdOJlAKdoYPzMjk1ngL2AUwD2lRn-cCFuQBMkGT8EPpIlixlfl8eJee_rtn7yr2NQLa-iWWUnFuOYKwk2GWqYN0EE0re2ptXZ4DqsWFfMrKPb-BUvWtEl-E8MfFwQ-8/s1600/IMG_6995.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3R8XKPTdeVkuNmdOJlAKdoYPzMjk1ngL2AUwD2lRn-cCFuQBMkGT8EPpIlixlfl8eJee_rtn7yr2NQLa-iWWUnFuOYKwk2GWqYN0EE0re2ptXZ4DqsWFfMrKPb-BUvWtEl-E8MfFwQ-8/s640/IMG_6995.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Thank goodness for a self timer so Parker could be in one or two pics! Unfortunately, Ava Kate isn't quite the master of taking good pics yet. <i>Haha!</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2j7Lsot6EHyh-bfrUC5L_3Ak_SpREnam4pFBwWZ4AexeKiZFIKlxJk1c-eDJtYy7WxhZKzOgRb_afMaj1jCmS_6vMaDTPY2muf_S2Wpgte7BLSx5L-gDykBRdY4Hp7TDvz57eg-SXx1c/s1600/IMG_7003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2j7Lsot6EHyh-bfrUC5L_3Ak_SpREnam4pFBwWZ4AexeKiZFIKlxJk1c-eDJtYy7WxhZKzOgRb_afMaj1jCmS_6vMaDTPY2muf_S2Wpgte7BLSx5L-gDykBRdY4Hp7TDvz57eg-SXx1c/s640/IMG_7003.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiWylMIoPy6Z8Ex04Q1YFx4zupGFwa0VNIn0HYHbkHjLPrwuTgwc_MPBAXhD8EXqqGlK7sbpgv8a0DKL_Fo6Ic1Czm4wi3aS1drgkT0V8dHCy6qNRWy-HGjRnZVzGxmUe3t2kbEBqlTuA/s1600/IMG_7007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiWylMIoPy6Z8Ex04Q1YFx4zupGFwa0VNIn0HYHbkHjLPrwuTgwc_MPBAXhD8EXqqGlK7sbpgv8a0DKL_Fo6Ic1Czm4wi3aS1drgkT0V8dHCy6qNRWy-HGjRnZVzGxmUe3t2kbEBqlTuA/s640/IMG_7007.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkOL6I7sy_Ub4dVvKTFI8TuI9si7lm02_kd9uMBV-BKCxpRy3vCdeu72AkH1EjeuLdFAHh-Iu5keoakE1L30f0iGftNG52aZGcL3-hBxukl_QrVzFYIbRWEnfynNNgXFmDleRypnNw_6s/s1600/IMG_6983.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkOL6I7sy_Ub4dVvKTFI8TuI9si7lm02_kd9uMBV-BKCxpRy3vCdeu72AkH1EjeuLdFAHh-Iu5keoakE1L30f0iGftNG52aZGcL3-hBxukl_QrVzFYIbRWEnfynNNgXFmDleRypnNw_6s/s640/IMG_6983.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<img alt="laura ann" border="0" src="http://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv329/gracelikerain-laura-ann/Signature-1.jpg" />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01445841263554813770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788546408023833917.post-60522719034565621902016-08-04T17:55:00.000-04:002016-08-08T14:55:54.389-04:00Baby Bump: Weeks 35-38 (Month 9!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGk_XnbZyQo-WvdV8kUxYOsEt2Hczfe8mMfFyZHLNrM_bvuA9lvPdZJ3LC9HY_kXJc54nJJVDK1nQQ8exNMG_2-gjOfX7feS0v1gWzVnzSqWE0ELMdK1lh4S0w09GRBPn8I1K4yBCEPbQ/s1600/IMG_6983.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGk_XnbZyQo-WvdV8kUxYOsEt2Hczfe8mMfFyZHLNrM_bvuA9lvPdZJ3LC9HY_kXJc54nJJVDK1nQQ8exNMG_2-gjOfX7feS0v1gWzVnzSqWE0ELMdK1lh4S0w09GRBPn8I1K4yBCEPbQ/s640/IMG_6983.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<b>How far?</b> Weeks 35-38</div>
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<b>What's baby up to? </b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">Eve is about 6 and half pounds and 19 and half inches long. She's still head down, fairly active, and getting lower and lower. Can't wait to meet this sweet baby girl!</span></div>
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<b>Weight gain? </b>About 21 lbs total (a little less than with Ava Kate)<br />
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<b>Maternity clothes?</b> Yes, silly. :)</div>
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<b>Symptoms?</b> Braxton hicks every. single. night. Period like cramping. Sore back. But HAPPY! :) :)<br />
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<b>Sleep? </b> With lots of pillows!</div>
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<b>Food cravings?</b> Frozen lemonades from Sonic! Chick-fil-a (although they got rid of the original BBQ sauce and I've had to resort to CFA sauce... which is still pretty amazing!) and pasta!</div>
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<b>Food aversions? </b>None!<br />
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<b>Miss anything?</b> I want to sleep on my stomach! Thankfully, my sinus infection is GONE (insert praise hands!) and life is wonderful again!<br />
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<b>I'm feeling... </b>ready! Pretty much our whole to do list is done and we are just waiting for our sweet little one!<br />
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<b style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">Best moment of the month?</b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"> We had an impromptu Saturday pool day with Dad, Tammy & Weston this past weekend - that was really nice! :) Also, any massages Parker offers up are pretty awesome moments as well! Haha</span><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "times new roman", times, freeserif, serif; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">Looking forward to... </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "times new roman", times, freeserif, serif; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">meeting our sweet baby and having our little family of 4 all together! I can't wait to see Ava Kate with her little sister!</span><br />
<img alt="laura ann" border="0" src="http://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv329/gracelikerain-laura-ann/Signature-1.jpg" />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01445841263554813770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788546408023833917.post-68797517938422899022016-07-07T17:55:00.003-04:002016-08-08T14:57:27.453-04:00Baby Bump: Weeks 31-34 (Month 8!)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipn-1c4YDVdBSV7qt7Z_j88eH-O450PJwtmQGKyPJLx7JC-wZIdimds3qDpOxg46ooZDtEfa1A63B0eAm4_0gJ2rOz44oW7SDVk067-peNEMRDmc9E9R3GQxNe3n7nGnhO9c2KS8DlqN4/s1600/IMG_6634.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipn-1c4YDVdBSV7qt7Z_j88eH-O450PJwtmQGKyPJLx7JC-wZIdimds3qDpOxg46ooZDtEfa1A63B0eAm4_0gJ2rOz44oW7SDVk067-peNEMRDmc9E9R3GQxNe3n7nGnhO9c2KS8DlqN4/s640/IMG_6634.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I am 34 weeks in this picture! :)</td></tr>
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<b>How far?</b> Weeks 31-34</div>
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<b>What's baby up to? </b>Eve's almost 5 lbs and 18 inches.... about the size of a cantaloupe!</div>
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<b>Weight gain? </b>About 18 lbs total (a little less than with Ava Kate) ???<br />
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<b>Maternity clothes?</b> Yup.</div>
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<b>Symptoms?</b> A pretty sweet belly bump! :) Definitely having some back/hip issues, but nothing major.<br />
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<b>Sleep? </b> Well, I sleep with about 15 pillows. Just kidding... it's only 3. I could definitely use more sleep, but it's not because of pregnancy... it's because I'm working like a dog teaching online classes that I've never taught before. More on that later... I've also had a sinus infection for a month that I CANNOT shake so... sleep is not great.</div>
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<b>Food cravings?</b> Well, I have really been liking the frozen lemonade from Sonic... and anything else that's super cold... because it's bloody hot outside.</div>
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<b>Food aversions? </b>No, not really.<br />
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<b>Miss anything?</b> Sleeping on my belly... a real summer break. I guess I should be happy because I'm not going back full time in August, but I had big, fun plans for the summer... and it's been consumed with teaching. That should slow down soon! I also miss being able to breathe and not having a sinus infection.</div>
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<b>I'm feeling... </b>pretty bad. I've had a sinus infection... at first it was a bad cough (thanks Ava Kate) and then her cough turned into a ear infection, and mine turned into a sinus infection. One round of antibiotics didn't touch it, so a week after that, I had another round. That helped. Then, I got a yeast infection from all the antibiotics. Hooray. -_-<br />
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<b>Best moment of the month?</b> We went to the zoo! It was wonderful (minus being sick) and Ava Kate loved it! Also Baby Miles was born and Parker & I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary!<br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">Looking forward to... </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , "freeserif" , serif; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">celebrating Ava Kate's 2nd birthday (I need to get started on planning that haha!), end of summer school, g</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , "freeserif" , serif; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">etting everything checked off the to do list, going to the river for the 4th of July, going to the beach, and of course, snuggling our baby girl!</span><br />
<img alt="laura ann" border="0" src="https://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv329/gracelikerain-laura-ann/Signature-1.jpg" />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01445841263554813770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788546408023833917.post-4189249597863885052016-06-09T17:12:00.000-04:002016-08-08T14:58:36.907-04:00Baby Bump: Weeks 27-30 (Month 7!)<b>Welcome to the 3rd Trimester! Eek!</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-YhOpYMp1eGDQmkLnOiv9tNc5lbxEa0Idg3IS95MJuAvNECJTIsua0ZReMvoVSnqFVPLRTzOqCFjvPTiad-Fs2CJwq2Yie6FY-G_uRqZHMg8PcrvHVk0Bg2mlMZRBS6p80X1aoigvArc/s1600/IMG_6289.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-YhOpYMp1eGDQmkLnOiv9tNc5lbxEa0Idg3IS95MJuAvNECJTIsua0ZReMvoVSnqFVPLRTzOqCFjvPTiad-Fs2CJwq2Yie6FY-G_uRqZHMg8PcrvHVk0Bg2mlMZRBS6p80X1aoigvArc/s640/IMG_6289.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is Week 30 exactly!</td></tr>
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<b>How far?</b> Weeks 27-30</div>
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<b>What's baby up to? </b>Eve is about 15.7 inches long and 3 pounds. She is quite an active little one!</div>
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<b>Weight gain? </b>I need to get my records from the doctor... or at least write them down, because I have no idea... About the same as with Ava Kate I do believe.<br />
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<b>Maternity clothes?</b> Well, yeah. Pretty much.</div>
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<b>Symptoms?</b> People can definitely tell I'm pregnant. :)<br />
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<b>Sleep? </b> Still pretty fine. This has really been a smooth pregnancy minus the crazy morning sickness at the beginning.<br />
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<b>Food cravings?</b> Nothing really in particular, but I like fruits and cold stuff.</div>
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<b>Food aversions? </b>None<br />
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<b>Miss anything?</b> My intern... haha. She was wonderful and it was nice to have her help in the classroom!</div>
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<b>I'm feeling...</b> ready for summer! Just 2 more weeks until I'm officially a stay-at-home (work-at-home) mom! I'm a bit overwhelmed with how fast time is going, because there's SO much we need to do!<br />
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<b>Best moment of the month?</b> Weston graduated high school! Praise!! I passed my glucose test (yuck!), and I survived the end of the school year!<br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">Looking forward to...</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , "freeserif" , serif; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"> So many things!</span><b style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"> </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , "freeserif" , serif; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">SUMMER! A 2 week break between the spring and summer semesters... SUMMER. Haha! We have big plans - the beach, the river, the zoo, the pool, and a HUGE to do list before Eve is born!</span><br />
<img alt="laura ann" border="0" src="https://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv329/gracelikerain-laura-ann/Signature-1.jpg" />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01445841263554813770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788546408023833917.post-42964663694151407852016-05-12T16:56:00.000-04:002016-08-08T14:58:56.857-04:00Baby Bump: Weeks 22-26 (Month 6)<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<b>How far?</b> Weeks 22-26</div>
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<b>What's baby up to? </b>Our sweet Eve is about 1 2/3 pounds and 14 inches long. She's apparently about the size of a scallion. Her hearing is continuing to develop, so she can hear us talk and sing to her (and the babbling of her big sister, haha!) :)</div>
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<b>Weight gain? </b>I should do a better job of keeping track of this.<br />
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<b>Maternity clothes? </b>More than I was last month, but still back and forth between regular and maternity.<br />
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<b>Symptoms?</b> Pretty sore back/hip pain, but nothing terrible!</div>
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<b>Sleep? </b>Yes please, I would like to sleep. :) I'm sleeping fine, just could use some more!</div>
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<b>Food cravings?</b> I like food. It's good. :)</div>
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<b>Food aversions? </b> Not one.</div>
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<b>Miss anything?</b> Nope, not really.</div>
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<b>I'm feeling... </b>busy. But life is great!<br />
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<b>Best moment of the month?</b> Working on the nursery, giving my best friend Amanda a baby shower for her little one due in June, celebrating Mother's Day (Parker & Ava Kate made the sweetest little handprint garden flag! I love it!), thinking about life as a family of 4... EEK.</div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">Looking forward to...</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , "freeserif" , serif; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"> the end of the school year! I'm not going back full time next year, so work-at-home-mom life is about to commence and I AM SO READY!</span><br />
<img alt="laura ann" border="0" src="https://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv329/gracelikerain-laura-ann/Signature-1.jpg" />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01445841263554813770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788546408023833917.post-81857741866777482832016-04-07T16:48:00.000-04:002016-08-08T14:59:14.139-04:00Baby Bump: Weeks 18-21 (Month 5!)<div style="font-size: 15.4px;">
<b>We've hit the halfway mark!</b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is at 20 weeks on Easter Sunday!</td></tr>
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<b>How far?</b> Weeks 18-21</div>
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<b>What's baby up to? </b>Sweet Eve Kennedy (Yes! We picked a name!) is about 10 1/2 inches long and weighs about 12 ounces! She is about the size of a carrot!! She's still a little wiggle worm! :)</div>
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<b>Weight gain? </b>Beats me!</div>
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<b>Maternity clothes? </b>Eh... still a mixture of maternity and regular!</div>
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<b>Symptoms?</b> A growing belly bump! :)</div>
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<b>Sleep? </b>Good!</div>
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<b>Food cravings?</b> Ranch, pasta salad, cold stuff.</div>
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<b>Food aversions? </b> Nope</div>
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<b>Miss anything?</b> TIME! Gracious. I need more time.</div>
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<b>I'm feeling...</b> overwhelmed by life, but not because of pregnancy! Pregnancy is great!</div>
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<b>Best moment of the month?</b> Ava Kate is now in her big girl room - so bittersweet! We can start working on the nursery anytime! Spring Break was wonderful and busy! I attempted to potty train Ava Kate, but decided to hold off and wait a bit longer. </div>
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<b>Looking forward to...</b> Making progress on the nursery and the end of the school year (Is it too soon to talk about that yet? haha!)</div>
<img alt="laura ann" border="0" src="https://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv329/gracelikerain-laura-ann/Signature-1.jpg" />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01445841263554813770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788546408023833917.post-34755550824158887082016-03-10T16:37:00.000-05:002016-08-08T14:59:47.208-04:00Baby Bump: Weeks 13-17 (Month 4!)<div style="font-size: 15.4px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><b><i>So, I've just resorted to doing monthly baby bump updates because... life. You know.</i></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4UTIcGpnOjRHAORh6_q7TNtfVENchvAQ4BVIjc7GNnvHmn_I-XPoqiLih8tm_-N_uVP2qoCCpcNKOw-2YHSZYyF7ijrmsRjwTqnbp7cElInhYxidkofPUW16su2hIXoYyJ5_rkEvnE-k/s1600/12494919_10208385511692385_2406636658190659167_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4UTIcGpnOjRHAORh6_q7TNtfVENchvAQ4BVIjc7GNnvHmn_I-XPoqiLih8tm_-N_uVP2qoCCpcNKOw-2YHSZYyF7ijrmsRjwTqnbp7cElInhYxidkofPUW16su2hIXoYyJ5_rkEvnE-k/s320/12494919_10208385511692385_2406636658190659167_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b style="background-color: white;">How far?</b><span style="background-color: white;"> Weeks 13-17</span></div>
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<b>What's baby up to? </b>At 17 weeks, baby girl's bones are hardening and she is about the size of a turnip! Baby weighs about 5 ounces and measures about 5 inches long.</div>
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<b>Weight gain? </b>No idea<br />
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<b>Maternity clothes? </b>Some maternity clothes, some regular clothes with a belly band! My Easter dress wasn't maternity... so yeah, a mixture.</div>
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<b>Symptoms?</b> Feeling pretty good! Finally over the 1st trimester nausea and exhaustion! That was rough.</div>
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<b>Sleep? </b>Fairly decent :)</div>
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<b>Food cravings?</b> Not really... </div>
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<b>Food aversions? </b> Nope, I can finally eat breakfast again.</div>
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<b>Miss anything?</b> Unrelated to pregnancy, I miss TIME to do stuff. Life is moving too fast to keep up!</div>
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<b>I'm feeling...</b> pretty good!</div>
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<b>Best moment of the month?</b> We're having another GIRL! :) :) Parker also finished my craft room and we've started working on Ava Kate's big girl room! It's all painted and we have a bed! She'll be moving in soon!!!</div>
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<b>Looking forward to...</b> Spring Break! Finishing off Ava Kate's big girl room and starting on the nursery!</div>
<img alt="laura ann" border="0" src="https://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv329/gracelikerain-laura-ann/Signature-1.jpg" />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01445841263554813770noreply@blogger.com0