1... Happy New Year!!!

Ok..... So here it is the last week before "D-Day"!!! We are SO excited, anxious, nervous, happy, impatient, etc, etc, etc. Went to the doctor yesterday with the same results as before, dilated to 1 and cervix is soft... We have tried at home remidies, such as eggplant parmasean, castor oil, and even bumpy dirt roads! (Lol) I guess she is going to be a diva and make her entrance when she is good and ready!

The more I think about it, that's ok with me. My best friend - Heather - has a son who will be 5 on the 10th. Being that is my due date as well, I hope she waits to make an entrance so Heather and I can attend each other's children's birthdays long into our latter years. People say that is such a silly thing to worry about but think about it... If they were born on the same day, we would never be able to attend the milestone birthday parties. Maybe it is silly, or maybe you know exactly where I am coming from.

The doctor also told us that they were going ahead and scheduling me for induction sometime next week. When I get an actual date I will update again so you all know. I am guessing either the 13th or 14th they will have me come in late evening and begin the process. They want to give me enough time to do it myself. I have contractions on the regular, but the only time they were painful was when I tried the castor oil trick (WHICH WAS MISERABLE!!! I DON'T RECCOMEND IT!!!)

I hope everyone had a safe and Happy New Year! I can't believe how fast 2009 flew by?! I think being pregnant helped with that a little, but once she's here I hope time slows down. Michael and I attended the New Years Day ride - a big to-do in Paulding County. There were so many people there that they had to close the gates! For those of you unfamiliar with this event, it is where people take trucks with big tires through the mud and hope not to get stuck. Seems boring but in fact it becomes quite comical to see people take stock jeeps or trucks out there and try not to make a fool of themselves. People spend all year preparing their vehicles for these rides. We hope to have one to take out there next year ;)

Here are some recent pictures from the ride and other events - we have been busy!!

Me and Mike watching UGA win the Independence Bowl - in our matching jackets!

Me, Heather and Aubree all bundled up watching fireworks! Happy New Year!

Uncle Mike watching Aubree - everything ok?! THUMBS UP!

Aubree - My beautiful 'niece'

Lawson - My handsome 'nephew'

 

A view of the mud ride - 1.1.10

BIG trucks! And that one isn't even as big as they get!

Me, Michael and Sadie out at the ride! Brrr - it was So cold!

Hope everyone is doing well! We are updating our call list so if you would like to be called please let us know! And if you don't think I have your number please provide it! We love and miss you all!!

Kristen (and Mike)

2... Merry Christmas And A Mud Ride!!!

We are down to less than 2 weeks left!!! Had a doctor's appointment Monday which is why I waited to update. I have started to dilate and I am about 30 - 60% effaced thus far. The whole house is sick with sinus drainage, and being pregnant and coughing my fool head off really stinks :( We're making it through though.

We hope everyone had a great Christmas! Layla really enjoyed opening all her gifts! She really racked up! Santa brought her a VTech VMotion game console with games, a Georgia hoodie like mine and Daddy's, and some stuff for her kitchen! Some other gifts from family were a tea set, a new baby doll, some new movies, a baseball bat, glove and ball, a train set and a remote control car! She was really sick Christmas eve and we thought she wouldn't get to feeling better to open her gifts :( But after a little coaxing she tore through them! She's feeling better now, still fighting the cough she gave all of us!

Michael and I attended the Christmas Eve Mud Ride that they hold every year in Paulding. It's a big to-do down here... LOL There were so many trucks out there that day, it was so much fun watching them. That's all I can do this year - watch... I've gone to at least one of the 2 annual rides (Christmas Eve or New Year's Day) every year for the past 5 years except one. Last year Michael and I went to the New Year's Day ride. If Rylee doesn't come between now and then, we will go to the New Year's Ride as well. One year we might actually have a truck to take through the mud hole ourselves....

Well, I am going to keep this short, we hope everyone is doing well and had a great Christmas! Please have a safe and happy New Year's! More updates to come in 2010!!!

4... 3... And Christmas Shopping!

I am 37 weeks today! 3 more grueling weeks (give or take) to go! We finished shopping for all the little essentials for Rylee's arrival. We only lack a car seat and things like a high chair, bedroom furniture, and other big items we'll get eventually. We are extremely excited and anxious!

Weight gain: 2lbs at last check up - 26lbs over all
Stretch marks: A few but none on my belly!
Baby size: About the size of a small watermelon
Movement: YES! ALL THE TIME!

We finished all our Christmas shopping for Layla, FINALLY! It was hard to shop for her because she is so smart, but she has so many toys already?! What do you get the child who has everything? We got her a VTECH VMotion console and Santa got her games and stuff for her kitchen! I can't wait to see her open up her gifts on Christmas! :) Well, speaking of... I am going to get to wrapping!

As always, we hope everyone is doing well! Here are some pictures we took a week ago! Sorry I didn't get a chance to update last week...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 36 Weeks

 Me and Sissy!

5.... And A Palm Reading??

Ok it's official!! I am 35 weeks down with only 5 to go!! There has been a lot going on lately. Haylyn was born, a doctors appointment, setting up Rylee's "room" in our room, Christmas parties and another shower! PHEW! Lots of excitement - nothing has been dull!! Oh and I forgot that I had my palm read..... Lol.

As you read in my last post, Haylyn Jean Hill - Rylee's cousin - was born last Sunday. We were so consumed with her unexpected and early arrival that we forgot to update! Sorry! She had a doctor's appointment today and is doing great, she has gained some weight and even grown a 1/2 inch! The doctors said that was good considering she was a month early. She is now 5lbs14oz and 18.5in long. See my last post for pictures!

We had a doctors appointment on Friday and to say the least, I'm getting tired of them! But now we are going once a week for check ups until Rylee comes! According to that mean ol' scale - I have gained 6lbs since the last appointment two weeks prior. :( I know I'm supposed to gain weight to keep the baby healthy but that was a big jump from my normal 2lbs or so every 2 weeks! I blame Thanksgiving - Jake's potato skins, and Donna's apple pie! Lol. Either way, I hope that I don't see such a huge gain this week. With not much longer to go, the less I gain now the less I have to shed after she gets here.... Heather, you better be ready to hit the P90X hard core by end of January!!! Other than the weight gain and a mild case of dehydration, all is going smoothly! A few contractions here and there, and this week is blood work and Strep B testing - FUN FUN! :(

We had a very eventful weekend as well. Saturday we had the Glore family Christmas party which seconded as a second shower for me! I had no idea I would get as much stuff as I did, simply because this was a part of Michael's family I haven't met before. I missed their get together last year because of work. Everyone was so nice and we got a lot of great clothes and such for Rylee. I have one more shower the 13th and hopefully we'll get the rest of what we need then!

After the family Christmas party, we had Michael's company Christmas party. We had a blast and got a $25 gift card to the restaurant where we had our first date - The Cheesecake Factory!! YUMMY! It was great to finally meet all the people Michael works with and talks about (all good stuff I promise!!) all the time. Plus Florida lost the SEC championship to Alabama - And Tebow cried... All and all a great night!

Sunday we spent the day once again rearranging our room to better suit the arrival of Rylee. It is still a work in progress but here is what we got done so far...

Last but not least, the topic I'm sure you are most curious about - The palm reading... There is a guy named Micah who owns the gas station across from Donna's bank. When I was 13 weeks along he told me I was having a girl. He was SURE of it. SO last week, he came in and I asked him when he thought Rylee would come. He looked at me and said about 3 weeks - but then he read my palm and said the 17th of December! The dates coincide with me being 37 weeks which is considered full term. I'm not getting my hopes up but I hope he's right!

Hope everyone is doing good!! Miss and love you all!

6... And A New Baby Cousin!

I know I'm late.... REALLY late! But Haylyn Jean Hill was born at 253pm on November 29, 2009!!! She kinda stole the spotlight (and my ability to blog that day) so this is the first chance I've had to update! It was worth it to be a little late blogging :) Haylyn's mom is Michael's cousin, Brittany. We were a week and a half apart but Haylyn just couldn't wait! She was born 4 weeks and 2 days before her due date! She was 5lbs, 11oz and 18in long. Healthy but TEE-TINY! Here are some pictures!!

 Haylyn Jean!!

 

 Michael and the new baby...

 

 He couldn't get over how small she is!

 

 Look at that face (:

 

 Mommy, Haylyn and big brother - Jason

 

 He loves his new little sister - AWWW!

I will update again either tomorrow or soon... I'll give you updates on me then. Right now it's late and I'm TIRED! Rylee - Mommy and Daddy can't wait to meet you! Even your sister Layla is getting excited!! *sigh* Haylyn is waiting too! I have a feeling they will be close cousins.......

7.... And My First Contraction

Well, we are down to only 7 weeks until D-Day, due date that is! It seems to be dragging on now... Not that I'm rushing it but I feel like the weeks have flown by to this point! Maybe with Thanksgiving this week and Christmas fast approaching I'll get distracted...??

Friday we had a check up appointment and I had them check me cause I have felt a lot of pressure down low lately. She said Rylee's head is in a down position but that I'm still locked up tighter than Fort Knox! Ha ha. But because she is so low, I'm going to feel very uncomfortable and have that pressure for the remainder of the pregnancy. I can continue to work but I need to try to work part times that don't require me to be on my feet for long periods. Good news for me because I have been getting a call at least once a week to work! Also - I gained 3lbs in a two week span... 138lbs now. I cried a little - ok a lot. It's hard when you have been under 115 your whole life to see the scale almost go to 140 REGARDLESS if you're pregnant or not. I know that most of it is baby weight and fluid but the rest is caused by the ridiculous amount of sweets I consume - that is going to get worse with Thanksgiving this week! And I still have Christmas too?!?!?! Gees.... :o(

Michael is such a trooper though. He has been so supportive and I am really thankful for all the encouragement he has been giving me this whole time, even though he's bias ;o) He has supported me through the breakdowns and when I feel like I just can't do this - he's been there to lift me back up again. He's my better half!

I also want to say thank you to Tracy and Donna for helping me keep my sanity and reminding me on an all too regular basis that there are things beyond my control. I need to learn not to be the sponge and try to fix everyone's problems! It is stress I don't need and even though I know that, I find it very hard to just sit back and let it happen...

Anyways, we are getting the house ready for Thanksgiving and Rylee and boy is it taking a lot out of me! Saturday, Michael and I fixed my papazan chair so it won't slide, dusted, vacuumed, cleaned the bathroom, bathed Sadie, finished laundry, fixed the computer & desk, organized all our JUNK drawers, hung pictures, moved the old TV and submitted my FAFSA application!! Then Sunday we hung more pictures, I cooked Brunswick stew, Mike cooked beer bread and Donna made apple pie from scratch! All that activity I think played part in my first contraction! Well, I mean I know for a fact this was the real deal. I am still unsure if the tightness I've had periodically over the past few weeks have been Braxton Hicks contractions or just Rylee shifting. Either way, Sunday gave me a glimpse at what I should expect. It was scary! And it HURT! Not cool... 


We found out today that Michael's cousin, Brittney, went to the doctor and was dilated 2cm and 70% effaced! They admitted her to the hospital but sent her home on bed rest until next week. She and I are about a week or so apart (She's due Dec. 30th) 


Well, that's about all I have to report thus far! Continuing the countdown and staying busy! Love you all!


Kristen

8...... And A Baby Shower!

32 weeks down, only 8 to go!!! Michael thinks it will be less than that, and honestly I hope so!! I am nesting like a son of a gun! Today I got all my Thank You cards done, cleaned out our closet (which was WAY overdue!), laundry, pictures uploaded then printed and separated, started my pregnancy photo album, and switched out all my summer and winter shoes! It doesn't seem like a lot, but it was a lot of tedious little tasks... 

Our baby shower was yesterday! It was so PERFECT and we had a great time! So much work went into it all and we appreciate everything so much! Sorry to all those who got lost due to Waters Rd. being closed! Tracy and Patti, we really don't know how to thank you both enough, but we'll say it again - FROM BOTH OF US, THANK YOU! I wish we had gotten more pictures of all the neat candies and crafts that Patti and Morgan made. They were a hit! The house looked amazing thanks to all Tracy and Jake's hard work in painting and re-modeling. All and all we couldn't have asked for a more special day... And to top it all off, there was MeMaw's deviled eggs - YUMMMMY! :)

Here are some pictures of our special day - Courtesy of Tracy and Morgan

 

I love him because he makes me smile...

 

Daddy and Mommy to-be!

 

...again...

 

♥ ♥ ♥

 

CHEESE!!

 

32 weeks...

 

♥

 

32 weeks...

 

Opening gifts...

 

.........

 

Michael being Michael...

 

And again... :)

 

Going to be SO useful - Boppy Bouncer - Thank you Momma Canada!

 

Diapers, diapers diapers - THANK YOU!

 

 

Thank you Nana - 'Back to Sleep Bear'

 

...........

 

Thank you Sissy! Cutest Cowgirl bib and matching onesies...

 

Yummy goodness...

  

It's all mine so BACK OFF!

 

Me and my youngest sister - Morgan

 

Me and Daddy

 

Comparing bellies!! Lol I'm giving you a run for your money Old Man!

 

So what? Icing - yum I'm pregnant!

 

Please see chain of events... I got Morgan, then Morgan tried to get me...

 

She got dad, who then tried to get me...

 

 I tried to wipe it off his face but made it worse!

He hugged me and got it in my hair...

-The End :)

This week we are going to be very busy! We are having everyone over for Thanksgiving so we are spending every night this week preparing and decorating. Hopefully I'll get a call into a few jobs this week and we have a check up at the doctors Friday! This weekend we are ripping up the carpet in our room where it leaked and this will hopefully do away with the AWFUL smell that we can't seem to mask or get rid of!

We just want to say THANK YOU again to all our friends and family who came out this weekend and made us feel even more excited to welcome our little girl into this world! We are so lucky to be surrounded by such wonderful and amazing people, thank you all for showing your support!

Have a great week, and with much love from all of us - Take Care You

Kristen, Michael, Layla and baby Rylee