CHRISTMAS!

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. Matt was on call, but thankfully we were able to spend a little time with him on Christmas Day. My parents came in to town the Sunday before Christmas and left on Christmas Day. They had a fun time hanging out with the kids and getting to see them open their presents. This was the first time that we had grandparents in town on Christmas to see the kids. It was nice! We cooked a turkey and had Honeybaked Ham the Sunday before Christmas and by Christmas Eve I was all cooked out. Traditionally, we would visit Mamma Lucia's and have an Italian Christmas Eve dinner; however, they were booked so we ended up at Outback. It was delicious! Santa came while we were out eating and Nate was so excited to open up his (and Abby's) gifts. Here are a few pictures from our Christmas this year.

My dad quickly became Abby's favorite after he kept taking her for walks outside and holding her nonstop! 

So many toys! 

These two sat back and watched the action 

All Nate asked Santa for this year was a red BMW. Amazingly, Santa came through!

Abby got Nate a Jack Skellington shirt for Christmas. To say he loved it would be an understatement. I have washed this shirt so many times since he opened it. If it is warm outside his first request is his Jack shirt. If it is dirty, he understands, but is not happy. 

On cloud nine in his Jack shirt!

We had a lazy Christmas hanging out at home and our friend, Andrea, came over for dinner. I cooked a buffalo chicken lasagna and it turned out pretty good! I was a little weary at first, but it was an easy recipe and delicious. We will be having this again! It was sad to think that this was our last Christmas in Jacksonville, but we are looking ahead to what next year might bring.

Bama Bound with the Babies

Matt had a work conference to attend at the end of October so my mother and I packed up the kids and made our way to Alabama. It was an interesting car ride with two small ones, but we survived. It was a bit of a whirlwind trip, but we did manage to squeeze in some time with as many family members as possible. Abby got to meet her aunts, uncles, cousins, and great grandparents. She loved all of the attention and Nate loved all of the play time he got with the cousins and grand parents.

We made our first stop in Chelsea to visit with Adam, Megan, John, Noah, Nanny, and Dedaddy. Everyone had a great time visiting and the kids enjoyed getting to spend the day together playing.

Renee and Tim had just got back from a trip to Jamaica. All of the boys received rasta hats as souvenirs. 

Abby got to meet Matt's granddad, Dedaddy 

Nate had a blast playing with Noah and John. Nate especially loved Noah's Lego collection.

On Sunday my brother, Chanlee, and Indiana came up to visit. Nate woke up not feeling so well this morning, but thankfully got to feeling better. He and Indiana spent time playing and later on we roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. 

This picture cracks me up! It is pretty much impossible to get three children to look at the camera (much less smile) at the same time. 

Fire pit time! 

Abby got to meet my grandmother on this trip. 

On Monday my dad and I took Nate to the Falls. He got to see the animals and ride the train. We ate lunch at Jack's and Nate spent some time on the playground.

On Tuesday Shannon came up to visit and meet Miss Abby. As usual we had our lunch at Villa Fiesta and caught up on the latest news. Abby tagged along with us and had her first visit to Villa!

Shannon and Abs

I cannot stress how rotten Abby was after this trip! She was constantly held and was given so much attention! Here she is with one of her favorite people...

On our way out of town we had to take a detour through Chelsea since I left some of the kids' things at Adam and Megan's house. We met up with Megan and John at Burger King and Nate was able to get in one last play date before we left.

Cousins!

We came back from Alabama just in time for Halloween. We got back in to town Thursday afternoon and Matt arrived late Thursday evening. We did Halloween on Friday and by Saturday we were back on the road. Matt had a week of vacation the first week of November and we decided to take a trip to Gulf Shores and spend a little time with Matt's dad, or Big Daddy. We got to take a boat ride and see some dolphins. Nate loved the ride, but was none to thrilled with the sun being in his eyes. 

 This is about the best picture I could get of Nate. He was not happy with me for leaving his sunglasses behind.

Abby was bundled up in her life jacket. At first she wasn't a fan, but she came around.

We took the boat to Tacky Jacks and had lunch. Afterwards, Nate spent some time playing on their playground. November is a decent (and not so crowded) time to visit the beach. It was a little too chilly to actually go to the beach, but the weather was nice enough to enjoy some outdoor activities.

On the playground at Tacky Jacks

Playing in the sand with Big Daddy 

Abby had a great time using Big Daddy for her naps!

Everyone hanging out at the condo 

 These two look so much alike!

After hanging at the condo for a few days, we took a quick trip over to Pensacola. Matt previously had an interview there so we decided to go back and do a community tour and check it out a little more. While there we got to meet up with our old college buddy, Patrick, who flies planes for the Air Force. Nate got to go visit and see some of the planes at NAS Pensacola. Patrick gave us some ear plugs for Abby before we went out to see the planes. You will notice in the next picture who eventually took over the earplugs.....

Our balcony overlooked the beach and he loved playing out there! 

 This picture is a rarity! All three people are somewhat looking at the camera and no one is moving so it is not fuzzy!

We had a fantastic time visiting with family and friends in October and November. We were on the go so much that time flew by so quickly! It was also great to have a little vacation time together.

Fall Fun

Once again I have fallen behind on my blogging. It is amazing what having two little ones will do to any free time and/or energy you may have. We have had a fun, crazy, and hectic few months. Let's start with some of our fun fall activities. 

Nate is all about Halloween. Seriously. It's his favorite holiday. You can ask him which he likes better, Halloween or Christmas, and Halloween wins out. I'm not sure if it's the decorations, costumes, or candy that make him love it so, but he does. This year we went to the pumpkin patch where he picked out a pumpkin for himself and Abby. Here are a few shots from our trip:

Nate decided he needed a Jack Skellington pumpkin. He was not a fan of gutting the pumpkin, but he sure did love the carving tools. Matt ended up doing most of the hard work.

For Halloween Nate was Bumblebee from Transformers and Abby was candy corn. Here is a picture of both in their costumes.

Halloween arrived finally for Nate and our sweet friends, Catie and Rob, invited us over to their house again this year to trick or treat with their kids, Will and Olivia. We had a great time hanging out with their family and friends. Nate, once again, was not shy at all and loved running up to doors and saying "Trick or Treat." 

Bumblebee Nate with Tinkerbell Olivia and Ghost Will 

Abby was perfectly content in her Halloween outfit that we decided not to bother her with the actual costume. She had a fun time riding the the stroller while Nate roamed the streets.

 Here is Abby in another of her Halloween outfits!

My crew on Halloween!

The day after Halloween Nate woke up and was ready to go again. He had a very hard time understanding that Halloween only lasts one day of the year and was very disappointed that he had to wait another full year for it to come again. We had a wonderful Halloween and are looking forward to what next year brings.

As far as Thanksgiving goes, I was a bad mom and didn't have the camera around for much of the festivities. Matt was not off, but we did get to spend a little time together as a family. One of his attendings invited us over for Thanksgiving and we had a blast! There were other residents there with their families and everyone was able to relax and enjoy the food and company. I will greatly miss all of our Jacksonville friends next year.

Welcome to the world, Abby!

Our little princess, Abigail Grace, arrived on Sunday, July 13, 2014, at 10:51 p.m. I went to the hospital a little after 4 a.m. on the 13th with contractions. As soon as they got me into triage and on the machines, it all stopped. They decided to monitor me for a few hours to see if the contractions would pick back up. While being monitored, Abby had some heart decels and this caused concern. At one point five nurses walked into my room at the same time and immediately started watching the monitor and checking the machine's history. Doctors decided to admit me in order to keep an eye on her and possibly induce. After a few more hours of monitoring, doctors gave me the option of going home or induction. Matt and I went ahead with the induction. I don't think I would have felt at ease going home and knowing that Abby might be having decels at home and I would never know it. I was in labor with her for about nine hours or so, but when she decided to come it all went quickly! I pushed for less than ten minutes and she was here! She only weighed 5 lbs 13 oz -- a full two pounds lighter than Nate. She was a tiny tot, but considered full term at 39 weeks. Her body temperature and blood sugar were a little low so we had to immediately feed her and then she was taken to the nursery to rest under the heat lamps. They moved Matt and me to my postpartum room around 1 a.m. where I was finally allowed to eat after 28ish hours or so without food. The hamburger I scarfed down was very delicious!

She's here! 

Our first picture together.

Since I had her so late in the evening, family got to meet her the following day. Nate was super excited to meet his baby sister. He came into the room and immediately started looking for her! 

Nate loves his little sister!

Abby's temperature leveled out and her blood sugar tests started coming back normal on Monday. She was a champion eater at the hospital chugging 1+ ounce every two hours. Since she was so little none of the clothes we had would fit her. Matt's mom ended up buying her a few preemie outfits including a dress for her to wear home. She was originally supposed to wear my old dress home, but it was going to act more like a tent than a dress!

Snuggle time with Daddy 

Hanging out 

She has hair! Hopefully she'll wear all of the headbands and bows she owns.

Thankfully she was not as jaundiced as Nate and passed her test Tuesday afternoon. We were both discharged and the real fun began!

Daddy was in charge of getting her dressed to leave the hospital.

 Abby was not a fan of her new dress.

Abby's first car ride!

Nate was very supportive of Abby on her ride home. He would check in on her and tell us she was sleeping and if she started to fuss he would tell her it was all going to be okay.

Abby had her newborn appointment at four days old and was a little jaundiced. We were told to put her in the sun and we did.....

Ready for her sun time 

She doesn't seem to amused by the walk in the sun! 

Nate was a great helper on our walk!

We are settling in now as a family of four. Things are definitely different and we are all sleep deprived, but we're working on figuring it all out! Abby is a very welcomed addition to our home. Nate loves to give her kisses and helps out when he can. 

Holding baby sister 

Kisses! 

One of our first trips out as a family and she is rocking the headband! 

Our first family photo

Finally, on a lighter note, I want to include a little bit of the hospital ambiance that I was able to experience while in triage and the delivery room. The hospital had lovely cloud covers on the fluorescent lights directly above the beds. After staring at them long enough I was able to make out some cloud animals. These lights made me laugh and I just thought I would share them with you!

Hopefully, as things begin to settle down around here, I will be able to blog more about the craziness of our lives. Until then, I will use my free time to sleep!