Griffin and Jackson are here!!!

My morning started at 5 am when I got a GREAT phone call from my best friend Heidi to tell me she was in labor and the Twins were on their way!!! After a super fast delivery, Griffin and Jackson entered this world at 34 weeks old! While they are in the NICU both babies and mommy are doing great! Breathing on their own and weighing in at 5lbs 10 oz and 5 lbs 7 oz! I have not seen them in person but I did recently see a picture of Griffin and he is super cute so I assume that Jackson is too! And they have gorgeous sandy blonde hair!! Congrats Heidi and Mike Slocumb!!! I cannot wait to meet these sweet boys and will continue to pray for a quick stay in the hospital so you can all be together as a family!!!

Huxley George Martin

So here is the deal on our sweet baby's name. Boys names are hard to agree on for us so when we both actually liked Huxley, which I found in a baby name book, we decided it was meant to be. George is my dad's name and since he has done so much for us we decided it would be a great way to honor him. Therefore Huxley George was created lol. Nothing overly exciting or no special exciting story to tell just two names we liked. We do realize that some people think we are crazy and that's ok. We love the uniqueness of the name Huxley and are not planning on changing it for anyone. We pray that he will grow into a strong God fearing Christian and make his name one to be known for God as opposed as one of the Atheists we have found that bare his name online. We are so excited about little Huxley's arrival and cannot wait to meet him!

IT'S A BOY!!!!!

So words again cannot even begin to explain how excited we are to be having another boy! I was positively giddy all last night and all day today! Just can't stop smiling! :oD Couldn't sleep last night so I finally convinced myself to get off the computer and go to bed around 12:45 this morning. took me about 30 minutes to fall asleep and I think I woke up at 3 and every hour after just to check the time lol. At 7:30 I was awake and by 7:45 was sitting at the computer desk eating cereal and updating every status I could find about being excited! My appt was not until 11:10 but I couldn't seem to stop myself from getting up and getting ready to go at 8:30 lol. My Nana and Pawpaw came over at 10 am to watch Preston ( I told her 10 because she is normally 15-20 minutes late...for once she was on time ;o) ) So I left shortly after 10 Mountain Dew in hand and heart racing to find out what this sweet baby of mine is.

I called Robert and made sure to remind him to be there by 11 and then called my mom. I got to the Dr's office at about 10:30 so I sat in the parking lot and set up my mass texts for each sex to save me some time later and saved them to drafts. I also consumed half a bottle of Mountain Dew. I knew I needed to stop when it felt like little fireworks shooting off in my tummy for a straight 10 minutes lol Baby was ALL jacked up on Mountain Dew ;o)

We went in and paid the lady for the Us (75 bucks but worth every penny). They called us back and Tonya was our tech. She was SUPER sweet! We got started and we made small talk. As soon as she showed me his face he was all over the place. He LOVED looking at us and kept waving like he was saying "HERE I AM!!! Aren't I cute?!?" lol. It took him all of two seconds and he bared his glory for all to see. It was official I could start pulling out my boy things Tonya said. I stared at that sweet face, who has Preston's nose, on the screen and even though for .5 seconds I was a teeny bit disappointed a smile crept to my face and tears welled up in my eyes. He was beautiful, perfect, and my sweet little blessing from God. Who am I to question God's planning. He is in control and knew I needed another little boy! We are sooo elated! I just can't stop smiling and I wanted to show his pictures to everyone even strangers on the street! Isn't it funny to be so proud and in love with someone you haven't actually really met or seen for that matter?!?

Robert and I are truly blessed and are just thankful that we are able to conceive. Now we just have to nail down a name and some baby bedding and we are good to go!!! Thanks to everyone for your kind words, prayers, and well wishes!!!

12 weeks 5 days

So I am almost officially 13 weeks and time is inching by so slow! I cannot wait to find out if this baby is a boy or a girl. I really want a girl but will love whatever God blesses us with none the less. Hopefully this won't be our last baby so we can still hold out hope for one before we are done. Otherwise when we do finally adopt it will be a girl. Anyhow, I got a call from my Dr's office this morning stating that he was sick and would be out today. I was sent to a midwife in Prattville for my check up and it was an experience. My appt was at 1 and when i got there the door was locked...apparently they were still enjoying their Mexican food since they didn't open up til almost 10 after. I was called right back and the did the necessary leave your sample, which i might add was a nasty dirty bathroom, and take my weight. Which i was surprised to only be up about a pound or so. My BP looked good it was 112/60. It was high when i was sick so I was told to make sure it was good when i went back. The nurse was super nice and told me to not be alarmed if we can't hear the heartbeat. She found it right away but this baby is a mover and a shaker so she lost it as soon as she found out. It took a few minutes but she found it again and told me the heart rate was set at 156. She was also shocked at how strong and loud it was. She said that typically at 12 weeks its hard to find and often very light. Its good to know this baby has a strong heart. That sweet lub dub noise i could listen to all day long! The midwife came in and she was very nice but i felt like i was being rushed and that I was a nuisance for having to be squeezed in. I told her that my doc called in sick today and she said yeah that's what they told you he will be out for a couple days..which i thought was kind of rude and strange. She never checked my hands and feet for swelling and didn't press on my abdomen to check the height of the fundus. I know its not a big deal but I am a routine person and Dr. D always checks me. It was kind of a wasted appt. Oh well at least i got to hear that sweet babies heartbeat! That's all that matters.

I got back to the doctor on January 28th at 1015 so we will see what he says then. I am hoping that he goes ahead and lets me schedule my gender US then. I am trying to convince Robert to let me go to Virginia College in Bham to find out earlier. We will see if he finally gives in.

7 weeks 2 days

So I finally had my doctors appt this morning and was sooo nervous! I don't know why since i knew what to expect! I guess since I had told Robert that I didn't need him to come with me I was just afraid we would get bad news. Got there and got into a room and waited for the Dr. He came in and we chit chatted for a while about Preston and how we cannot believe its been two years since he was born. By my calculations and Dr Desautel's calculations we determined that the baby will be due July 9, 2011 and that I am 7 weeks and 2 days pregnant. So exciting! He told me that he likes to have an ultra sound done at around 8 weeks so on December 3rd at 10:40 am we will get our first little peek at this sweet sprinkle in my tummy. I will be almost 9 weeks by then so hopefully it will look more like a baby and less like a bean. Thank you for all your prayers and thoughts during this special time in our lives. We are truly blessed!

Old-Fashioned Soft Pumpkin Cookies

I don't come across a cookie recipe often that is worth sharing. However, recently my mom gave me a little cheap cookbook on cookies and the above cookie recipe caught my eye. I couldn't resist I had to make them. I don't normally bake from scratch but I had all the ingredients so I thought why not. I hope that you will enjoy them as much as we have!!!

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1tsp baking soda
1tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

Glaze ingredients
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
3 T milk
1 T melted butter
1tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease Baking sheets. ( I used nonstick and didn't grease and they came off fine).

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in medium bowl and mix together dry ingredients.

Beat sugar and butter in large mixer bowl until well blended. Beat in pumpkin, egg, and vanilla extract until smooth. Gradually add and beat in flour mixture. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until edges are firm. (We like ours a little gooier so I took the second batch out while they were still a light orange color. Both taste just as good though.) Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Drizzle Glaze over cookies.

For Glaze: Combine two cups sifted powdered sugar, 3 T milk, 1T melted butter and 1 tsp vanilla extract in small bowl. Mix until smooth.

They have lots of ingredients but were not hard to make. And they are really yummy! Kind of like a pumpkin pie in a cookie! I hope you enjoy as much as we have!!!

recipe courtesy of Toll House Nestle Holiday Recipe book.

So far this pregnancy...

People have been asking me how far along I thought I was and I would say 4-5 weeks but I totally forgot that the end of the week is one week. Does that make sense? Any who by my calculations I think I am 4 weeks and 4 days. Saturday will be the beginning of week 5. I thought I was a week ahead and I still may be off but at least I have almost two weeks before the morning sickness typically shows up. Praying that it doesn't show up at all!!!

As for symptoms so far I feel pretty good. I am tired some days but not all the time. I have horrible heartburn already and am already munching on Tums to relieve the pain. I have preggo nose and can smell Preston's dirty diaper from across the room and possible even from another room lol Its Super Sonic I tell ya! I also have started having stuffy noses at night so I bought me some saline spray and breathe right strips so I can sleep with my mouth closed.

Preston was taking baby news well. When you would ask him where the baby was he would say Tummy and point to my tummy. Well Monday night when you asked he would state that the baby is in the pumpkin...and now if you ask he makes this horrible screeching noise like how dare you ask me about the baby lol. I still talk to him about the baby like its the best thing that ever happened to him so we will see how well it works when the new baby gets here.

I also started back on a modified C25K program today. I found I couldn't run the full time so I walked the first 10 minutes and then jogged off and on the last 15-20 minutes. I am so out of shape since I haven't done it in three weeks so I am having to pace myself to get back into it. I am determined to try to exercise this pregnancy at least 5 days a week!