Happy Birthday to Me!

Well, I officially entered my thirties today. =) We celebrated on Saturday and I must say, James did a fabulous job. He made dinner reservations at Emmy's German Restaurant for he and I, my mom, mil, and a few friends. If you haven't eaten there yet, you have to go. The food was awesome (I highly recommend the fried cheese for an appetizer and the cordon bleu as an entree)! For dessert, we had a yummy strawberry cake that James ordered from Confectionately Yours. After dinner, we headed to the Rib Room and Papas with friends. Despite the heat, we had a great time. I got some really nice gifts including a new MJ cd and gift cards galore. I picked out some new Dior sunglasses at Saks that James is ordering for me and mom is getting me a new iphone. Thanks to everyone who made my birthday extra special!

My pretty flowers from my amazing husband

Birthday Cake

James and I at Emmy's

Linsey and I

Hunter, Sara, Miranda, and Sean

Miranda, Jennifer, Me, and Sara

James and Matt

Washing the Car

James and Aden got out in the brutal heat we had Saturday and washed James car. Aden had fun holding the sprayer (maybe a little too much). We eventually had to take it away as he wanted to spray the house and everything else. =)

Mom and Tot Class

I started taking Aden to a mom and tot class at Didion Gymnastics here in Van Buren. Since Ava arrived, we have been trying to make sure that Aden gets plenty of attention. I thought this would be a good opportunity for he and I to do something fun. This past week marked our third class and I think that he's really enjoying it. James got to come with us this week, so I let him participate with Aden while I watched.
Aden and James

Aden's friend Madeline

Aden jumping on the trampoline

Another little friend, Hayden

Some others in the class at circle time

Happy Father's Day!

My kiddos are so lucky to have such a special daddy! We celebrated the day with a late lunch at Varsity (James' choice of course).



James and I had a date night on Thursday and went to see *The Hangover*. Although it was funny, we didn't find it to be as great as we had heard it was. Maybe our expectations were too high?

On Saturday, we went to Aden's little friend, Hayden's, birthday party. It was at the Adventure Zone at Eastside Baptist Church. The kids had so much fun. I think that we are going to do Aden's party there this year!

Hope that everyone had a great weekend!

Ava's Newborn Photo Session

Just wanted to share some pictures from Ava's newborn session. These were taken at our house when she was 5 days old.

Happy Birthday Laura!

Tonight we celebrated my sister-in-law Laura's 20th birthday. We had a yummy dinner at my mil's house. After dinner, we went outside and watched all the kiddos play. Hope you have a great birthday, Laura! Here are a few pics from our evening:

Cousin Madison playing


Cousin Mackenzie and Aden blowing bubbles


Baby Ava sleeping peacefully


Daddy and Aden


Ava is wide awake once we get home

Craziness

Things have been a little hectic around here. Everyone's schedule is messed up. We started potty training Aden today. Let's just say it's not going too hot so far. I know he is ready, but he has absolutely no interest in using the potty. Aden will start preschool at Montessori in the fall and he can't go unless he is fully potty trained and no pull ups. He's in a super defiant phase right now too, so there are lots of no's being said at this house lately (on our part and his).

I am so thankful that I have had some weekday help with the kiddos. It has been a lifesaver. My mom has been coming over twice a week and then another lady is coming the other three days. That will continue throughout the summer, so fortunately we won't have to use a childcare facility this summer.

Here are a couple of recent pictures:

Ava's Birth Story (Long overdue, I know)

On Memorial Day, around 2 or so in the afternoon, I started having what I thought to be contractions. Not having gone into labor before, I told James that I wasn't positive, but I thought that I was going into labor. Our plan was to having my mother-in-law come over to our house when I went into labor so that she could stay with Aden while we went on to the hospital. Nonetheless, I kept waiting, wanting to be sure that I was really in labor. When I couln't walk and was doubled over on the kitchen table, I knew it was time to go right away.

We met my mil at St. Edwards and got checked in around 4:30pm. I was dilated to 5 and was ready for some pain medicine. I was given a drug called NuBain until they could get in to give me the epidural. The epidural worked great for the contractions, until I started having back labor on my left side. It did absolutely nothing for that. I was in tears and finally they gave me a narcotic, which did help somewhat with the pain. The doctor broke my water and said that the baby had used the bathroom and that she probably had ingested meconium. Due to this, once I began pushing, I would be instructed to stop once her head was out, so that her mouth and nose could be suctioned. If she was to cry before they removed it all, she could develop pneumonia.

Although I was progressing as I should have been (about 1 cm an hour), my contractions were not as strong as they wanted. At this point, they decided to give me Pitocin (labor-inducing drug), to help my labor along.

I was ready to start pushing somewhere close to midnight. Once that began, things become a little fuzzy. The epidural did not take as it should have and did nothing during her actual birth. So, basically I delivered her naturally. I cannot even begin to describe how painful this was. James said that I turned into a demon, but I could have never imagined labor being so bad. Once she started crowning, the nurse told me to stop pushing because she wanted to wait until the doctor came in. Then she got up and walked around the room waiting for the doctor and I was beside myself. Once he arrived, I continued to push until her head emerged and then it was time to stop again. They were able to get most of the meconium out that she had ingested and we were very thankful for that.

After almost an hour of pushing, we were finally able to meet our baby girl. She weighed 8 lbs. and 13 oz. and was 21 inches long. I couldn't believe that she was so big, even though she was 9 days overdue. She has quite a bit of black hair. Several people have commented that her hair must have come from the Grady side, but suprisingly enough, I had black hair when I was born and James had light hair.

I've posted a few pictures below. Hopefully, I'll have more to come soon, but I've been having a tough recovery so far. I had second degree tears, followed by an episiotomy. I am feeling a little better and can't wait to get back to normal!