Wedding Traditions!

This past Friday morning Matt, Bethany, Andy and I headed to Chesapeake City, MD (about an hour north of Baltimore) for Jessica Curran's wedding. Jess and her family are good family friends. We have known each other since 7th grade. We were on the same church district and went to camps and district events all throughout high school and Beth and I use to drive my 89 Chevy Citation to Baltimore on the weekends to visit her and her sisters! We have lots of great memories and traditions including singing in all of their weddings. First was her mom's wedding in 2000, then Jenn's wedding (Jess's older sister) June 2003, Katie's wedding (Jess's younger sister) Sept 08, and now Jess's wedding Sept 09. Even 9 months pregnant I wasn't going to miss her wedding. Of course I went to the Dr. the day before we left to make sure everything was okay. That was a great visit actually. I lost 1 lb and my blood pressure was great. She just advised that I make sure I knew where the closest Labor and Delivery Hospital was. Thankfully we didn't have to worry about that.

Our trip there was rather long due to the GPS taking us the wrong way around DC, thus getting stuck in rush hour traffic. We ended up missing the rehearsal but made it to the rehearsal dinner. What I love about Jess and the rest of the Curran's is their love for crabs! They introduced Bethany and I to crabs probably in early high school. We grew up in MD but for some reason never got into them till we started hanging out with them. So it was to be expected that we would get to chow down on some yummy MD crabs at the rehearsal dinner! Good times!

Later that night, we checked into our hotel. We were suppose to be staying in a one bedroom suite at the Hilton, Non-smoking, with two queen size beds. Well we walked in to the room and it obviously wasn't non-smoking so I called the front desk and they upgraded us to a two bedroom suite free of charge! We had three tv's!! It was great! We decided to go for a nigh swim and hang out with some old friends.

Now all along, I am missing Grace like crazy. This is only the third time I've been away from her and probably the furthest distance I've been away from her ever! But she was staying home and her Aunt Jenn and cousin Alex were watching her so I knew she would be in good hands and would have a blast. However, Jenn called me later that afternoon and Grace was beginning to get a fever and not feeling well. Her nose was constantly running..so much that they went through an entire box of Puffs plus in less than 24 hours. So not only am I missing her but I'm feeling guilty that she is sick and I'm not there to comfort her. Long story short, she didn't sleep well at all for her Aunt Jenn that night and her temp got up to 102.

But what could I do, I was over 5 hours away and still had the wedding to get through. So I just prayed for her and talked to her on the phone and told her mommy would be home soon! We had a relaxing morning and afternoon, went and discovered the little college town (University of Delaware) that we were staying in, and ate a really good cupcake from a little shop that was recently featured on the Food Network. Then we got ready and headed to the wedding. It was a gorgeous day, couldn't have ordered a more perfect day for the wedding. Jess looked beautiful and Matt cried when she walked down the isle. I could barely look at him during our song. She picked the song "Kind and Generous" by Natalie Merchant. At first I was like, okay..not your average wedding song but after I really started looking at the words and hearing Jess's reasoning for picking it I realized how it was thanking God for bringing them together. Andy played acoustic guitar and we slowed it down some! They were pleased so I guess that is all that matters.

The reception was fun and the food was amazing. The thing about being 9 months pregnant is you think you can eat a lot more than you really can. So I was quite miserable by the time we climbed in the car at 10 pm to drive home. Yep, that's right. We drove straight home. We didn't get in till 4 am but it was worth it. I wanted to see my little girl and Andy needed to get back for church. Overall it was a great trip and a nice get a way for Matt and I before Reese gets here.

Grace had a rough time on Sunday and ended up sleeping on me during her nap but she is feeling much better today. I think we are almost over this nasty little cold.

Here are some pics of the wedding! Don't be alarmed when you see the size of my stomach because I was shocked! I knew my stomach was big but didn't realize how big till I saw it in these pictures! hahahahah!

Twilight Stroll on the Beach with Dad!

There are some perks to living at the beach despite the outrageous price in the housing market and the traffic from all the military. That is the beach is always here and it's always free!

One night Grace and I went with Matt on an estimate (to paint a beach house in Sandbridge) and we decided to take a stroll along the beach. Here are a few photos of my two favorite people. I'm excited that Gracie will grow up living at the beach. She will always have special moments like this to look back at. I hope she still wants to take twilight strolls with us when she is 15 years old and not be embarrassed to be seen with her mom and dad at the beach! :)

Reese Taylor- less than 6 weeks and counting!

I'm very behind in my blogging these days. Seems like the closer we get to baby's arrival date the busier I become. I still need to blog about the beautiful shower my friends and family threw for me over the weekend. As soon as I get the pictures from my friend (the only one who brought a camera) I will post them.

But for now I want to give a quick update on Reese. I had my 34 week check up yesterday with my OB. At first my blood pressure was elevated but after laying on my left side for 20 minutes and a re-check my blood pressure became normal again. I have some swelling but that is normal at this stage in the game and I'm thankful that it's not as bad as it was with Gracie. She said we will be able to determine a lot from my next ultrasound. Meaning if we need to deliver early or let her come naturally! Of course I want her to come naturally.

So I had my ultrasound this morning and everything is looking good. While they still can't predict a stroke in utero they can look for brain bleeding or abnormal tissue in the brain. Both of which they did not see. Praise God! She is still on the small side with an estimated weight of 4 lbs 14 oz. which is considered in the 20th percentile. Again, the dr said anything between 10%-90% is considered normal. She just maybe smaller than Grace if delivered at full term. Another interesting thing we saw during the ultrasound is that she has flipped and is now breach. Meaning what I thought was her little bum under my ribs is actually her head. I'm telling her to flip back so mommy can have a natural labor and not a c-section. There is still plenty of time for her to flip back around. But if you got a moment and are thinking about it can you say a quick prayer that Reese will find her way back down to my pelvic area! hahah...such a strange prayer request.

That's about all I have for now. I start going every week at my next appt. So we shall see when and how little Ms. Reese Taylor will arrive! Thanks again for all your prayers and thoughts.

The above picture is the best 3-D the tech could get. She wasn't being very cooperative. She wants it to be a surprise with what she is going to look like I guess. In this pic you can see her profile and her little hand up at her mouth. We also saw one of her grabbing her feet and putting them up to her mouth. Guess she learned that one from Gracie! :)

Visiting the Folks!

The great thing about living in VA is being closer to my parents. It's a four-five hour trip vs. the ten hour trip from Nashville. We've been blessed to be able to see them a lot since Grace has been born but that is because they have traveled here most of the times to see her. Can you blame them? New Grandparents and loving every minute of it. Sometimes I feel guilty that we don't live in the same area. I know they would love to see her every day if they could.

So lately, Matt has been working a ton of hours to build up his business! And while I'm thankful, I get a little stir crazy being in the house all the time. I get out but I don't travel like I'm use to. I use to love me a good road trip!

So, I decided to take Grace to go see my parents while I could still sit comfortably behind the wheel of my car. Lauren, our friend (& roommate) had some time off and after some bribing about spending an afternoon in DC going to the museums, she was happy to accompany us on the trip. I'm not that crazy to travel 5 hours alone at 31 weeks pregnant with a 15 month old. So we head out Sat. morning and came back late Tuesday night. We had a great time. We visited with my parents, did some shopping, spent an afternoon going to the Smithsonian museums, and even got to head into Williamsport, MD to spend the afternoon at the pool with some old friends and their kids.

As much as I love going away, I love coming home even more! Poor Gracie got off her schedule due to our busy itinerary but luckily was able to get right back on it Wed. I know she was happy to see her daddy too!

Here are some pics of our trip.

Gracie's 15 Month Checkup!

Today was Gracie's 15 month check up. She weighed in at 23 lbs 6 oz. and 30 1/2 inches long which is average height and a little heavier than average. The Dr said this will even out once she starts walking. Dr. Karp was very pleased with her development and how far she has come in just three months. She agrees with Gracie's therapists that she will be walking, if not running very soon. We anticipate this day with much joy and celebration!

Gracie has been on a alternative vaccine schedule since birth. This is important to us and we have stuck to it diligently. We are not anti-vaccines but we don't believe that she needs 4-5 shots at one time either. Our pediatrician has worked with us and we are very happy about this. I did learn something very interesting this past weekend while talking to a good friend, who's husband is a Dr. It got brought up that Gracie had recently had a high fever and her 15 month appointment was coming up. She then proceeded to tell me that you are suppose to take your child's temp. 30 days prior to any vaccines and if they have even a low grade temp. it's best to hold off on the shots. Most Dr's are aware of this recommendation but sadly don't share it with the parents. It's even stated in small print on most vaccine handouts that they will give you if you request them. So needless to say, this spurred me into a online research frenzie. I found some of the most horrible stories of real life babies who were given vaccines when having had or experiencing high temperatures. It was unbelievable the pain and agony they went through, many of them even dying. And the Dr's still denying it had anything to do with the vaccines or the failure to tell the parents it would be best to wait. When they are obviously fighting off another illness, why on earth would they inject them with any kind of vaccine???

So I just thought I would share that with anyone who didn't know like myself. Obviously the decision is yours and what ever you feel is best for your child. But I am so thankful that I discovered this valuable piece of information. Even if 30 days isn't what my ped. recommended...for my piece of mind, it's what I needed. When she's been fever free for 30 days we will go back and get her two scheduled shots. She won't be behind at all.

30 Week Ultrasound!

That's the most recent pic of our baby girl. We had an extensive ultrasound this morning at the Tidewater Perinatal Dr's. They measured her growth, her blood flow, her heart, and everything else. It was great to see her so much larger than at our 19 week ultrasound. She is doing good and as far as they can tell the blood flow in her brain looks good.

She is around 3 lbs 5 oz. which is considered on the smaller side. They say she falls in the 16% percentile but they really start gaining weight around 36 weeks ( about 1/2 lb per week) so it's really too early to say if she will be a petite baby. One thing is for sure, she will be taking after her sister with some chubby thighs. The Dr could see fat around them! Poor girl!

We are just so excited and can't wait to meet her. They want us to go back around 36 weeks for a follow up ultrasound just to make sure she is still growing and developing good. It's kind of hard because they have no way of predicting a stroke in utero. They are just doing this to keep us informed and I guess give us a piece of mind. I'm still anxious but I know that God has her in the palm of His hand and that she will be just fine, no matter what happens.

Thanks for all your prayers. We do have a name that we are about 85% sure of but don't want to say just yet in case we change our minds. But the ultrasound did confirm that she indeed is a little girl so that is a relief to know since I've already ordered and picked out her bedding and am ready to get started on the nursery!

Yummy Blueberries!

Today we went to pick blueberries and blackberries with Uncle Andy and Aunt Bethany. We tried to get out there early in the morning but didn't end up getting there till 1pm. It's been a mild summer here in VA Beach (thank God says the pregnant woman) but today it was pretty hot! It was close to 95 degrees but we were deteremined to get us some blueberries. We've recently discovered that Gracie LOVES blueberries. She eats them a handful at a time. Which make for interesting dirty diapers, you can only imagine.



We also were able to pick some blackberries, although, they are about to be out of season and there weren't as many left to be picked. Gracie seems to love Blackberries too!

Here are some pics of our day at the blueberry farm.