The mom of one boy and one dog

Leni Grace

2010-05-21T19:00:00.000-07:00

Today was a day that no mother should ever have to experience

2010-05-20T20:40:00.000-07:00

Today we buried our baby girl. Pulling up to that cemetery, knowing that I was burying my baby was so hard.

We had a graveside service and it was beautiful. It poured but rain is good luck in the Catholic religion. Her casket was so tiny but so pretty. It had her name and a teddy bear on it. She had a spray of pink roses and pink and white carnations. She also had an angel laying in wings statue from Nate.

The funeral home was amazing and gave us a lot of things to keep. They gave us a baby book that they had filled in her information on. The hardest thing that I have ever done in my life was walking away from my baby girl. The funeral home director promised me that they would take good care of her. No one should ever have to bury their child. No mother should ever have to walk away from there child knowing that they will never see their child on this earth again.

Mommy loves you so much Leni Grace and misses you terribly.

The story of my Leni Grace

2010-05-18T22:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we found out that our baby did not have a heartbeat. Today, we said hello and goodbye to her...that is right, our baby was a beautiful baby girl.

I got to the hospital to register and there was a women in labor registering in front of my and I completely lost it. So, they didn't make me register and took me straight up to L&D. They had to do a second ultrasound to confirm it and my dr said that I was not going anywhere to do it. He brought the portable machine to my room and he did it and made radiology come to me to confirm it. I tried to hold out hope that there would be something there but there was not.

We filled out a lot of paperwork and started cytotec at 8 pm. I was to get one dose every four hours. I started cramping about three hours into it and after the second dose started having very strong contractions. My nurse had told me that usually the Dr was not present during the birth but my Dr came in and said that he was going to spend that night at the hospital and he promised me that he would be there for the birth. Around 1 am I started having strong contractions that got progressively worse. The nurse said that I would only have to dilate to a 4 or 5 and that the baby would just come out. They kept offering me Stadol but I wanted to feel everything and be able to remember exactly how everything happened. I started having back labor like I did with Nate and the contractions were right on top of each other. The nurse came in a 4 am and checked me and said that I was somehow only at a 1 but the contractions were about 2 minutes apart and off the charts. At 8 am the dr decided to double my cytotec and started talking about the possibility of a c-section. He said that the baby was too big for a D&C and I needed to see the baby and know what it was. I was miserable in pain but still refused to take any meds. My worse fear was that I would not know that it was time and would get up to use the bathroom and would have the baby in there. I made the nurse check me every time before I would get out of bed. Around 9 my Dr came in and said that he was going to take the meds out because I was in such pain and the contractions were non stop and see if my body would take over. He checked me and I was at a 4 so he felt that it would not be much longer. 9:30 I was at a 6 and he could not believe that the baby had not been born yet. They had me get up and walk around to try to get her to move down. At 10 I was dilated to a full 10 and the baby had moved down but was not coming out. I could not push because he was afraid that I would start bleeding and have to be taken to emergency surgery and was offering me the epi. I refused to take it. At 10:40 the dr decided that he was going to have to reach in and take the baby out with his hands as she was not coming out on her own. At 10:44 he said the most beautiful and most painful words I have ever heard, "the baby it out, and it is a girl". He said that the cord was very short so they clamped it off and asked if I wanted to see my baby girl.

I cannot begin to explain how scared I was at that point but she was absolutely beautiful. Brad and I got to hold her for about 30 minutes before they took her. We baptized her which was absolutely heartbreaking. The nurse was crying when she came in and said that my dr was going to take her down for me so that I was absolutely sure that she was being taken good care off. I will never forget him walking out the door with my baby. They hospital took pics of her for us and gave us a memory box with the pictures, handprints and footprints, her bracelet, a gown and hat and some books in it.

They took her for an autopsy and came back to deliver the placenta which still had not delivered itself. They started me on pitocin and nothing happened. My dr said that it was good that I had dilated to a 10 because they had to open me up and manually deliver the placenta. I got a small tear along my scar from tearing with Nate during this. They did an ultrasound which showed a blood clot so my dr went back in and got this out. He felt comfortable at that time that everything had came out.

I finally took some pain meds after it was all over to try to get some sleep. I was so confused at what I wanted to do. On one hand, I needed to get home to see and hold Nate but on the other hand it was painfully heart wrenching to think about leaving my baby girl at the hospital alone. I got released that night and came home to some very hard questions from Nate. As most of you know, he was still nursing once a day and my dr said that if he nursed at all my milk would probably come back in. (I had dried up). I did not want this so we told Nate that he could not have his duckies at least for a couple of days and he said "why, because the baby needs them?" We told him that the baby had went to heaven. He started crying and asked why and said "I just want baby Leni back in your belly so she can grow big and strong." He cried and cried. He asked if he hurt her when he jumped on me and my broken heart broke even more.

Leni Grace was born on 5/18/10 at 10:44 am. She was the most beautiful baby girl that I have ever seen. She was 2 oz and 7 inches long. I will forever cherish the time that I got to hold her and tell her how much I loved her. I would not trade all of my pain for those precious moments with her.

Leni Grace, Mommy will forever love you and remember you.

And just like that my world came to a crashing halt

2010-05-17T17:29:00.000-07:00

I had not felt the baby move all weekend so today I called my dr to come in and hear a heartbeat. The nurse did not seem concerned at all but set me up for an appointment. I got there at 2:45 and the nurse said the dr will be right in and you will get to hear your heartbeat. I am 17 weeks so there was no fear from anyone that there would not be a heartbeat. Dr Jones came in and put the doppler on my belly. Nothing... moved it around...nothing...at this point my heartbeat was coming through so loud he said that it would be hard to hear the babies so he rushed me back to ultrasound. He had said that he had cleared me a spot in ultrasound so that after I heard the heartbeat I could see the baby moving around. Only this time, when he pulled the baby up on the screen there was no movement...no heartbeat. I don't understand why this keeps happening to me. I don't understand why I do everything by the pregnancy books but my body cannot protect my babies. I don't understand. I have to go to the hospital to be induced and will say hello and goodbye to my sweet baby all in the same day.

He finally said it!

2010-04-12T23:40:00.000-07:00

We have been working with Nate on learning his alphabet for a looooong time. Everyday we sing the alphabet song to him but when I would ask him to sing it he would always says that he didn't know how. Friday, I had to work late and Brad called me and said that he was pretty sure that Nate just said his ABC's. He said that they were in the McDonald's drive through getting milkshakes and he heard Nate singing and that was what he was singing. We asked him to sing it again and he ignored us. Well, last night, Nate and I were laying in bed and all of a sudden he breaks into singing his alphabet! The only letters he missed where "D, E, F and G!" He is getting to be such a big boy!

The sweetest thing that Nate has ever said!

2010-03-26T21:17:00.000-07:00

Today, we were playing in Nate's playroom and we were listening to his music. Lady Antebellum's Never Alone came on. I always tell Nate that he and I are going to dance to this song when he gets married. When it came on I asked him when we were going to dance to this song and he said "when we get married Mommy!" Daddy said "no Nate. When YOU get married." Nate looked at him like he was crazy and said "Yes Daddy, when me and mommy get married". Melted my heart and you better believe I will be reminding him of this conversation in about 25 years!

Noah comes to our house!

2010-03-25T07:59:00.000-07:00

Happy St Patricks Day!

2010-03-17T22:02:00.000-07:00

And in honor of St Patty's Day, Nate added some green and yellow marker to our kitchen table!

Day with Momo and Papa!

2010-03-14T19:12:00.000-07:00

Today we went to Momo and Papa's house to eat lunch. All of the kids were there so Nate had so much fun!

First nice day of the year!!!!

2010-03-11T19:49:00.000-08:00

Finally a warm day here! We took Nate to the park to fly his kite. He was so excited! He found goose tracks and he was really excited about that!

Our family

2010-01-17T18:40:00.000-08:00

Such concentration!

Play dough family that is.

That would me Mommy, Daddy, Nate, Reese and Glub Glub

2010-01-16T23:01:00.000-08:00

Tonight we went to Extreme Bounce. Nate loved it! His favorite thing to do was to jump int he pit or to have Brad throw him in. He was so tired after it was over and fell right to sleep.

Always a reminder

2010-01-16T20:56:00.000-08:00

Today Nate was really trying my nerves. He was refusing to eat, didn't have his listening ears on, didn't want to eat and on and on and on. I had told him that we were going to go to the library that afternoon but I was really not looking forward to it. He was excited about it though so I took him. We were walking out the front door and he reached up and took my hand and said "I lub you Mommy"! A reminder that no matter how hard of a day I have had that I that he is still my sweet little baby.

"Feel the burn"

2010-01-12T06:08:00.000-08:00

Nate likes to help mommy and daddy exercise! The will yell encouragment like "go Mommy", "feel the burn" and "no pain, no gain" from the other roon. But he really likes to be right in the middle of the action and exercise with us. He wanted Brad to wear the football helmet to do his push ups :)

Bowling night

2010-01-09T23:02:00.000-08:00

Daddy teaching Nate how to bowl
"Yay"

A little dancing was involved too!
Look at his cute little shoes!
Of course we had to play the games
First round of tickets
What prize to get?
A football wristband!

Calling Santa again

2010-01-09T22:57:00.000-08:00

Remember back in December when Nate was calling Santa on the monitor? Well, today he wanted to call him again and thank him for his gifts! And, this time I go the pics!

My sweet baby!

2010-01-08T23:52:00.000-08:00

How sweet is this face?

First snow of the year!

2010-01-07T15:05:00.000-08:00

We got our first snow of the year! Nate was so excited and loved playing in it but is was freezing cold! We were only able to play for about 10 minutes before no one could feel their fingers and toes.

Sweet brothers

2010-01-04T14:38:00.000-08:00

It doesn't get any better than this!

Game night!

2010-01-03T21:07:00.000-08:00

Tonight we had game night in our jammies! Nate had so much fun playing Hi Ho Cheery O. Nate won one game and mommy won one game, poor daddy didn't win any. There we no winners in Uno Moo. Nate just likes to put the animals in the barn and then take them out again. He always yells "I win" when he gets them all out though!

Little drummer boy

2010-01-03T18:24:00.000-08:00

My future rock star!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T17:29:00.000-08:00

Welcome 2010! I hope that everyone has a happy and prosperious 2010!

First time to movie theatre

2009-12-31T22:30:00.000-08:00

It is New Years Eve and Nate had a date with Yaya and Papa. He went to watch the Princess and the Frog with Yaya and Papa tonight! It was his first time to the movies and my first time to miss a "first". He LOVED it! My mom said that he was mesmorized during the whole movie. Nate is not one to sit still for very long and he sat through the whole thing. He took his cup of milk and had to put it in the cup holder and ate popcorn.

Brad and I went to church and then out to eat with some friends of ours. When we got home Nate was asleep in Yaya's arms but woke up as soon as we walked in the door. He was so excited to tell us about his movie and then told me to take him to "mommy's bed".

We are not going to make it to see the ball drop!

Nate's new favorite toy!

2009-12-28T19:04:00.000-08:00

An indoor tent from Nana and Pap! He loves it! He put all kinds of toys in there along with his little lantern and just entertained himself. But, then he decided he needed company and wanted us to come in there with him. A little small for Mommy or Daddy! Yaya and Papa came up to keep Nate today since daycare was closed and he wanted them to come in the tent with him too! They put their head in but that didn't make him happy!

Static hair!

Reese standing gaurd!

Christmas with Nana and Pap

2009-12-27T22:00:00.000-08:00

Today we celebrated Christmas with Nana, Pap, Aunt Jenny, Uncle Lance and Great Grandma and Nana and Pap's house.

Nate's favorite gift from Nana and Pap!
Eating with Daddy at the kids table
What a big stocking!
"Yay, Fredbird"
Taking some toys for a ride
He put daddy's hat on Earl
Helping Nana make popcorn
Waiting patiently

He got some many toys and loved helping Nana make popcorn and eating it!

My little caring boy!

2009-12-27T14:15:00.000-08:00

Today we were driving up to Nana and Pap's house and were going to be on the road during lunch so I stopped and got Nate nuggets and apples. I didn't get anything to eat. Here is our conversation after we got his food

Nate-"Oh no"
Me-"What is wrong Buddy?"
Nate-"Mommy no eating"
Me-"I am going to eat when we get to Nana's house"
Nate-"No, Mommy need to eat now"
Me-"I am ok. I am not hungry right now"
Nate"Mommy is hungry. Eat a nugget mommy" (holding out nugget to me)
Me-"Those are your nuggets to eat"
Nate-"No, Mommy eat nugget" (lip is quivering)
Me-"Ok Nate Mommy will take a bite" (I take a bite and hand it back to him)
Nate-"No Mommy eat it'
Me-"I did take a bite Nate"
Nate-"Mommy put whole thing in your mouth" (I eat the nugget)
Nate-"Kank you mommy! You feel better?"

He is such a little protector of mommy!

Christmas with Yaya and Papa

2009-12-25T23:30:00.000-08:00

Today after we opened gifts from Santa we got ready for Christmas with Yaya and Papa and Ellen and the girls. As always, Nate was excited for people to come to his house. He was very excited to show everyone what he and Reese got from Santa.

And, he would not take off his jammies and change into clothes!

Showing Yaya the snow!
Little Elf!
His favorite gift from Yaya and Papa. A big truck with a crane on it.
Giving daddy his gift from Nate-Stuart Little!
And mommy's gift from Nate-the two bracelets that I am wearing and a necklace with an angel on it.

Getting ready to play games-even Reese!
Yaya and Papa
Emily, Aunt Ellen and Amy
Our family!

He would not put down the viewfinder in the pics! He loved it!

After everyone left he asked me if I liked my necklace that he gave me. I told him that I loved it and he told me that it was an angel on it. I told him that I saw the angel and loved it. He said "it is baby Daisy". How sweet and thoughtful for a two year old.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T20:15:00.000-08:00

"Merry Christmas! Did he come?" This is what Nate said as soon as he woke up!
Green skateboard, race cars and a baseball bat! Just what Nate asked for!
"What is in here Mommy?"

And Reese that the bone that Nate told Santa he wanted!

This is his sport ball rosary. He LOVED it!
Trying out his new skateboard

Santa came to our house and Nate and Reese got just what they asked for!

The house is ready for Santa!

2009-12-24T23:58:00.000-08:00

After we got home from Papa Glen and Momo's house we went to church. Our midnight mass was from 10:00-11:00. We put Nate in his Christmas jammies thinking that he would sleep but he didn't. I was sad after we got there and wished that I had put him in his Christmas outfit that I had gotten him. He loved seeing the nativity scene and was so excited when Ft Ken brought the baby Jesus and put him in the manger. About half way through church he decided that he wanted to go see the 3 wise men and when I told him that he had to wait until church was over he hit me in the face and that let to a meltdown which involved hitting and biting! Have I mentioned that we are in the terrible two stage? But all in all, midnight went better than it could have. But, it would have been nice if he would have just laid his head on my shoulder and went to sleep!

We got home and he went right to sleep so I got the house all ready for Santa. I made sure the milk and cookies were out, set out carrots and water for the reindeer and moved Santa's key to the front door so he could get in. I can't wait to see what Santa brings!

Christmas Eve with Papa Glen and Momo!

2009-12-24T22:37:00.000-08:00

All the boys!
"What is it Mommy?"
Mommy and Aunt Jenny in our new scarves
Trying to carry all of his books

I love you Momo
And you too Papa

Playing Wii with Uncle Lance and Uncle Jake

Tonight we went to Sparta to celebrate Christmas with Papa Glen and Momo. Uncle Lance, Aunt Jenny and Uncle Josh and Uncle Jack were all there too! Nate was so excited to see all the presents under the tree and kept saying "find Nate's present Mommy". This is the first year that he liked opening gifts and it was so fun watching him rip the paper off!

Cookies for Santa

2009-12-24T18:12:00.000-08:00

Nate loves to cook so while Daddy was at work, Nate and Mommy made cookies for Santa. Nate loved it! He tasted the cookie dough before we cooked the cookies and then threw the "cookie ball" on the floor! Nate is so excited to leave the cookies out for Santa to eat!

Tasting the cookie dough
Notice the little bite out of the cookie?

Being my little elf!

2009-12-23T19:07:00.000-08:00

Tonight Nate helped me wrap gifts! He loved it. He would pick out what wrapping paper he wanted and then would put the tape on.

I really hope that he is not getting sick

2009-12-23T19:03:00.000-08:00

I took Nate to gymnastics tonight and he got mad and hit me. Hitting in an ongoing battle at our house. I took him home and put him in timeout and told him that he could not have his special treat since he hit. He had a total meltdown! Hitting, kicking, headbutted, threw stuff. I have never seen Nate so upset. I went in there and held him and he asked for the duckies. He laid on top of me with the duckies and was asleep in five minutes. At 7:oo pm! And, he slept for 13 hours! He has never (in his life) went to bed at 7 or slept for 13 hours. He has never been big on sleeping. I really hope that he is not getting sick right before Christmas!

Learning the true meaning of Christmas

2009-12-23T18:25:00.000-08:00

Nate loves to play with his nativity scene. He is able to point out Mary and Joseph and the Angel. But, his favorite is the "baby Gezus"!

Where does he learn this stuff?

2009-12-22T20:27:00.000-08:00

Last night Nate was playing in the floor with some "balls". Really was gum balls but he didn't know that. He was counting them and putting them in a little cup. Next thing I know he says "uno, dos, tres, quatro"! I seriously do not know where he learned this! A few times I have said spanish to him (which makes me chuckle because my spanish is horrible) but he would never say it. He is amazing :)

Our first Christmas celebration

2009-12-20T06:41:00.000-08:00

Great Granpa and Great Grandma Campbell
Some carolers came by

We went to Fairview Heights today to celebrate Christmas with the Campbell's. Nate had so much fun playing with the girls. Issiah was there too but he is getting to old to play with the little kids. Nate got a shirt from Aunt Effie so the sweater had to come off and the new shirt was put on. He loved it. Nate loved the food too. He ate 3 helpings on beans and two helpings of corn! Merry Christmas Campbell family!

You'll shoot your eye out!

2009-12-19T21:38:00.000-08:00

This would be a marshmallow shooter that Daddy brought home for our 2 year old! He also got one for himself. Nate loves it! Daddy loves it more!

Nate was put on the spot by our priest!

2009-12-16T22:14:00.000-08:00

Tonight Brad has RCIA at church and Nate went to play with Ms Marge and Ms Ruth. After RCIA was over Nate took Father Ken and Deacon Joseph thier Christmas present (we made them a platter of Christmas goodies). Nate was so proud to give them their gifts. He also gave Ms Marge and Ms Ruth thier gifts of lotion and chapstick. Ft asked Nate who was coming on Christmas, Nate answered...you guessed it, Santa! Ft asked who birthday it was and Nate said "papa" (we had just called Papa Glen and wished him a happy birthday). I reminded him that it was who was in the manger's birthday and Nate said "oh yeah, Baby Jesus". Whew, we passed the test! He also told Ft that Mary was the baby Jesus' mommy!

Making a gingerbread house

2009-12-13T18:28:00.000-08:00

Just a little taste!

Checking out his house
What a pretty house!

Christmas pics

2009-12-12T16:17:00.000-08:00

Slumber party with Papa!

2009-12-12T07:48:00.000-08:00

Daddy went on his yearly "Christmas shopping" with his buddies from back home so it was just me and my two boys (you know, Nate and Reese!). Papa called and said that he wanted to come up and spend the night with Nate since we were going to be home by ourselves. (Papa still thinks that Mommy cannot stay home alone!) Nate was excited about Papa coming. When he got here, Nate told him that we were going to eat Mexican food so off we went. Nate was still not feeling the best so he didn't eat much and he usually eat all and sometimes seconds of his Mexican food. Papa asked Nate if he wanted to sleep on a palate on the floor with him and Nate looked at him like he was crazy and said "NO! Nate sleep with Mommy"! It was worth a try. Papa helped Nate get ready for church the next morning and then headed back to KY.

Went to see Santa

2009-12-11T21:13:00.000-08:00

Telling Santa that he wanted a "green skateboard, race cars and a baseball bat"!

We took Nate to see Santa tonight. When we were in line he was pretty unsure about sitting in his lap but when we got up there he was so excited! He told him what he wanted and then gave him a big hug! He talked about seeing Santa all night!

Funny things that Nate says

2009-12-10T08:11:00.000-08:00

"wis"=this
"meckass"=Mexican (my personal favorite)
"backassball"=basketball
"wisen"=listen
"cock"=truck
"skinny rabbit"=skin a rabbit (when taking his clothes off)
"asaline"=ambulance

Is it bad that I will be sad when he start talking correctly? I will miss his little baby voice!

Happy birthday Reese!

2009-12-08T23:45:00.000-08:00

Today is Reese's birthday! He is 6! It seems like just yesterday we were bringing home a 7 lb little puppy! Nate was so excited about it being Reese's birthday. I think he was more excited about Reese's birthday than daddy's! He sang the happy birthday song to him all night. Guess what his birthday present from us was?

Daddy let him sleep in the bed with us all night!!!!

Yes, that would make me, Brad, Nate and 100 lb Reese in one queen size bed! Nate and Reese were in heaven (and maybe mommy too)!

Happy 6th Birthday Reese!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2009-12-07T23:41:00.000-08:00

Today is Daddy's 33rd birthday! We were going to have a birthday party but Nate was sick over the weekend so we just hung out at home together. Nate got Daddy a Spiderman DVD (which I really think was for himself) and was so excited to give it to him. He kept telling him "happy birthday Daddy!" We went to church tonight for the holy day of the Immaculant Conception of Mary. Daddy says of course, his birthday is on the immaculant conception. Please!!!

I have said before that Nate loves going to church but now they have Sunday school so he usually goes there during mass time. Since tonight was a holy day and a Monday they didn't have Sunday school so he went to church with us. He had a good time and was singing through most of church. Part of the time he was singing "all done, all done, all done". He went up to communion wiht me and tried to grab the wine glass and said "Nate wants a drink Joseph!" After church when we got home tonight Nate told me "mommy, I really liked Father's jammy's tonight!"

Happy St Nicholas Day

2009-12-06T18:16:00.000-08:00

Today is St Nicholas day so last night Nate sat out his shoes in hopes that St Nicholas would leave gifts of generosity. He was so excited to wake up and find that he had gifts. He got muffin mix to make and share with our neighbor, $10 and a helicopter. We explained to him that the muffins and money had to be shared but the helicopter was all his!

Putting up our Christmas tree

2009-12-05T22:02:00.000-08:00

Tonight we started putting up our Christmas tree. Of course, Nate was a huge help. He wanted to climb the step stool and help put the angel on. He had been sick the day before and just laid in my lap all day but tonight he was feeling better. Yaya and Papa came up to help and to see how Nate was feeling. Brad put the lights up outside and Nate said "ah, now Santa can find Nate's house".

What a sweet little boy I have!

2009-12-03T20:22:00.000-08:00

Tonight I heard Nate say...

"Come here Reese. Lay your little head down big boy!"

He could not possibly get any sweeter!

Playdate today

2009-12-02T19:51:00.000-08:00

Playdate today with Alex at McDonalds. It was raining out so Nate insisted on wearing his raincoat and hat and boots! It spit a few flurries while we were there! Nate is really wanting some snow!

Meet our baby that we only knew for 10 weeks

2009-12-01T21:22:00.000-08:00

I didn't blog much about the baby because I was really behind on the blog and didn't have time to catch up before everything happened. So, now I am going to tell you about my 10 weeks with my baby. I found out that I was pregnant on October 8th. I had taken several pregnancy tests that were negative so I thought that I was not pregnant. My grandmother passed away so we went home to KY for the funeral. When we got back home I decided to take another pregnancy test as I was officially late. I took a cheap Walmart test and immediately it was positive. Nate ran into the living room and gave Brad the positive test. He was so proud to show his daddy what he had. Brad told me to go buy a digital and take it again. Pregnant! Lance was here at our house so he was the first person to know. We called our parents and siblings and let them know. Nate was so excited and said that he was getting a baby "sista named Daisy".

The next day (and the next) I took tests and all were pregnant. Actually I took test for several more days because there is nothing better than seeing that pink line!

My first appointment was on 10/21/09 with the nurse practitioner Dana Oberg. I told her that I was feeling great, no morning sickness or tiredness. I told her that this pregnancy was so different than with Nate. By six weeks I was already sick and super tired with him. I also told her that none of the early pregnancy test showed up but that I got my first positive when I was a day late and they have all been really dark lines since then. She said that she was concerned because of the lack of symptoms, the early tests not showing up and the fact that I had miscarried before. She asked if I wanted an early ultrasound and of course, I did.

The ultrasound was done on 10/28/09 at the Herrin office. It was the same nice lady that did all of my previous ultrasounds with Nate. She put the wand in and immediately there was the little heartbeat. It was beating 121 beats a minutes which she said was good. The baby was measuring 0.46 cm which was about 5 days behind where I should have been but she said that the dr would probably just change my due date to 6/21/09. She said that everything looked great. The baby was laying right up against me and would not move. All ready another momma's baby!

Two days later, I started getting sick. Really sick. All day long sick. I ate nothing but breadsticks and sprite for days on end. Then I started craving meat which is really strange because I don't eat meat. I ate lots of tacos and hamburgers. I even dreamed about hamburgers. For about two weeks I was sick and then that went away and I felt great. I was worried and called the dr and the nurse said to just be thankful that the morning sickness was gone.

My next appointment was with Dr Jones on 11/19/09 and well, you know the rest.

In my mind, this baby was a girl. That is what Nate told us even before we knew we were pregnant. About a week before we found out we were pregnant, he started telling us that he was getting a "baby sista". So, this baby will always be a girl in my mind. Anytime we told him that he may get a brother he adamantly said "no, it is a sista." I really wanted to name a little girl "Leni" so this was my little girl named Leni. I know that she is up in heaven with her other sibling that I lost at 5 weeks on 08/06/06 and that they are both watching over Nate.

Nate has mentioned the baby a couple of times and tells me that baby Daisy is in heaven with God. It is so heartbeaking to hear him say that in his little voice but so soothing to hear it at the same time. I have not really said much to him unless he asks because honestly I don't know what to say to him. One night he asked me if there were mommies in heaven and I told him that sometimes mommies had to go to heaven but that his mommy was staying home with him. He then said that was why baby Daisy had to go to heaven was to be with a mommy up there. He has been able to come up with the best reasoning on his own. He asked me the other night why there was no baby in mommy's tummy anymore. I reminded him that the baby went to be with God in heaven and he said "but I was going to share my duckies with her". I just held him and cried.

This is such a hard time for us but I am so thankful to have a happy healthy baby at home and know that there was a reason for this to happen. My baby was looking over me so that this growth could be found and taken care of. For that, I will always be especially grateful for her.

Follow up dr's appointment

2009-11-30T21:14:00.001-08:00

I went back to my OB today for my follow up appointment. He said that the growth was benign (huge sigh of relief but they still do not know what it is) and that the tissue from the baby came back normal. He said that the growth didn't cause the miscarriage and the miscarriage didn't casue the growth. He did say that if I had remained pregnant this would have probably caused grave danger to either myself of the baby later on. He said that he is hoping that the estrogen had built up the lining of my uterus enough to "heal over" the growth. I go back to have a saline injected ultrasound on 12/21/09 to monitor it and he hopes that it is gone. He said that after two normal cycles (as long at the growth is gone) we can start trying to get pregnant again. He does not see the growth still being there at that time. When I get pregnant again, I will start progesterone immediatly and start getting bloodwork to monitor everything. And, of course early ultrasounds. So, I am so relieved that the growth was benign and now I feel like I can process and grieve the baby.

Nate knew that I was going to the dr and being the little worrier that he is he was talking about it. When I picked him up (literally, I am finally able to lift him again) he asked if I went to the dr. He asked if my tummy felt better and I said yes and he said "did you get your flu shot"? I have no idea how he even knew about the flu shot. He also asked me if the dr "put that crane back in my winky"! Remember he was at my last appt and apparently saw too much!

No Sunday school today!

2009-11-29T21:03:00.000-08:00

A couple of months ago our church started having "Sunday School" during mass time for 2-4 year olds. Nate loves going to church but it seemed like we were missing most of mass trying to entertain him and keep him quite. Not to mention, we were getting several dirty looks from the little old ladies! So, we decided that we would put him in Sunday school. The first couple of weeks he said that he wanted to go to church instead but then he started to like it. Well, this week sunday school was cancelled. Wow, I forgot how hard a one hour mass with a two year old can be! About 10 minutes after church started Nate started saying (very loudly) "Amen, church is over". He said this more than once. Then Brad had to take him out...twice. When we went up for communion, he grapped the chalise and said "Nate wants some of that". After church we usually let him play on the school playground but today it was raining so he didn't get to play. That led to another fit. We got in the car and started talking about what we were going to eat lunch. Nate started begging to "meckass food". That is Mexican food in Nate language. He said "meckass food will make Nate feel better". Of course, he got Mexican food!

Christmas with Rachel

2009-11-28T19:10:00.000-08:00

Uncle Craig, Nate and Rachel
Here Daddy, let me help you!
Nate and Rachel opening gifts
Lot at all those gifts!
Kissing on Yaya!
Swimming with Chris
Waiting for his turn

Goodby kisses!

My brother, his wife Ellien, their little girl Rachel and Ellie's boys, Chris and Avery all live in Georgia. We do not get to see each other often and it seems like it has been forever since we have seen them. Nate talks about Rachel all the time and loves to talk to Uncle Craig on the phone. Craig, Ellie, Rachal and Chris came to KY to celebrate Christmas early. We met them in Paducah and then went to eat at Logan's. The kids could not hardly eat for trying to met each other once again and play. Then we went back to the hotel and opened gifts. The original plan was that we were going on "vacation" and were going to stay at the hotel overnight but things didn't work out as planned so we ended up coming home. Of course, Nate did not understand that and wanted to go swimming. So, Chris got in the pool with Nate and Rachel and swam. Nate did not have a swimming diaper so he swam in his regular diaper until it fell off and them just got in naked! He loves to swim and didn't want to get out. He loved all of his gifts but really like Rachel's pink Barbie car! Daddy says that Nate cannot have one though.

When we got home Nate looked at a picture of Rachel and said "Rachel, I really like her".

We love you guys!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-27T22:30:00.000-08:00

Silly boy!
Daddy eating

Reese's Thanksgiving lunch
Playing with Emily, Aunt Ellen and Yaya
So sleepy!

Today we had Thankgiving for Mommy's family at our house. Papa and Moma came by to and ate with us. Nate had so much fun playing with everyone. He always loves to see Aunt Ellen, Emily and Amy and loves to play with Amy's boyfriend Michael. As usual was had way to much food and had tons of leftovers. My favorite thing that we had was a family cupcake tree. Everyone had their own cupcake leaf. Nate or Reese neither one liked theirs! Nate told everyone that he was thankful for "loves and hugs". He is such a little lover boy!

After lunch Nate to got to Walmart to "win an elmo ball." He gets so excited playing the game at Walmart to try to win a ball or a stuffed animal. There is no telling how much money we have spent in that thing. Nate was sure that Michael could win him a ball. Well...many quarters later, Emily won him a Christmas dog. He was so excited. Then of course, we had to go celebrate over ice cream cones at McDonalds.

Nate told me that he wanted to go home and take a nap (and mommy needed one too) so Nate and I went home while the others went shopping for a while. At 6 pm I woke Nate up (who grumpily told me he wanted more nap) and we ate appitizers for supper.

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving at Nana and Pap's

2009-11-26T22:05:00.000-08:00

Nana sneaking Nate a treat!
Playing with Pap
Giddy up Uncle Lance!
Having a snack with Aunt Jenny
Did you win Daddy?

Tonight was our second Thankgiving at Brad's mom's house. Nate was excited about going to Nana and Pap's house. Nana's dog has a hurt back and Nate kept saying that he was going to be carefull with Kiki's "hurt back". He is such a caring little guy! Aunt Jenny and Uncle Lance were there and so was Pap's daughter Allison and son Ryan and Allison's friend.

Nana and Pap found a slot machine at an auction that they bought. It is very bright and loud and Nate was scared of it. He would jump everytime that I would sound off and say that it scared him! Poor little guy! He did take his first taste of turkey (not much of a meat eater) and said that he liked it.

We went over to see Great Grandma's house and Nate found a bobblehead Fredbird that he loved! He told Great Grandma that he wanted one for Christmas.

Happy Thanksgiving Green family!

Finally home from the hospital

2009-11-24T21:46:00.000-08:00

Things have been crazy since the news that we lost the baby. I called Dr Jones on Friday and he said that he had already called the hospital and set me up for a D&C on Friday. He felt that the baby had been in there to long and said that my hormone level was still extremely high so he felt that a D&C was my only option. I went in at 10:45 and had the procedure. The surgery took longer than expected. They had a really hard time getting me dialated and Dr Jones said that tissue from the baby was very sticky and part of it was stuck to my uterus. I had a hard time waking up so we didn't get home until 5:00.

On Sunday night, I started feeling bad and running a fever so I called Dr Jones and said for me to come in and that he was going to admit me. So, this would be the first night that I was ever away from Nate. We had to take Nate with us to the hospital until my parents could come up and get him. They got there around 11 pm so he was exhausted. Dr Jones did an ultrasound Sunday night and said that it looked like I had a blood clot and some leftover tissue so they scheduled another D&C for Monday.

Monday I went into the surgery. He had told Brad that the surgery would talke about 15 minutes but it ended up taking 1 1/2 hours. When they got in there, there was a blood clot but what they thought was the leftover tissue was a growth. Dr Jones does not know what the growth is (his associates have never seen anything like it either) but he is certain that it is not cancerous or anything bad. He put me on IV antibiotics (so another night in the hospital and away from Nate) and put me on estrogen to try to heal the growth. Finally on Tuesday he said that I could go home. I am on antibiotics and estrogen for 14 days. He is going to do saline induced ultrasounds to monitor the growth. He does not feel that the growth and the miscarriage were related but feels that if the pregnancy had went on I would have had severe complications later on. So, maybe my little angel saved my life.

I go back on Monday.

Nate did so good while I was gone. He did not cry at all even at night. He slept in the bed with Brad. My parents both stayed with them too. Brad said that he woke up once each night and asked for me but went right back to sleep. I am so proud of him for being such a big boy. When I got home today, he had a sign on the door that said "welome home mommy! We missed you! Love Nate and Reese" and balloons. He was clapping at the door. I just held him and hugged him. He did much better and being apart than I did!

Got heartbreaking news today

2009-11-19T18:35:00.000-08:00

Today was my second OB appointment. Nate went with me because he had a dr's appointment right before me. His ear infection is akk cleared up so that was good news. We went for a date at Tres Amigos (which Nate loved) and then went to my appt. The dr did my exam and said that everything looked good and that my uterus felt big enough to be able to hear the heartbeat. But, he was unable to find the heartbeat. Dr Jones said that he was not concerned as the baby was measuring small so they were going to move my due date back so I would be a little over 9 weeks instead of 10 weeks and that was right at the point of hearing the heatbeat. He asked if I wanted an ultrasound. I thought that it would be great to be able to see the baby again so I said that I did. I called Brad and told him what was going on and asked if he would come but reasurred him that Dr Jones was not concerned. but, when he did the ultrasound there was no heartbeat. Dr Jones was as surprised as anyone. He said that the baby had stopped growing shortly after the last ultrasound. I am so heartbroken. It was so hard because Nate was there and was upset because I was upset. I have to call Dr Jones tomorrow and takl about what our next steps are.

Thru the eyes of a two year old

2009-11-18T14:22:00.000-08:00

Today Nate and I were brushing our teeth and I spit my toothpaste into the sink. Nate started pointing and yelling "look mommy look!" I asked him what he wanted me to look at and he said "looks like a jackolanteran". Sure enough the toothpaste in the sink looked just like a pumpkin face. If only we all took the time to see things like a two year old does.

Lub

2009-11-17T22:55:00.000-08:00

At night when Nate is getting ready for bed, Brad will play with Nate. A new game that they have it making signs for "I love you". Brad will point to his eye while he says "I", then cross his arms over his chest when he says "love" and then point to Nate when he says "you." Now Nate has learned it and says "Iiiiii" "lub" "you" (really high pitch voice). It is so cute.

First Thanksgiving celebration

2009-11-15T21:14:00.000-08:00

Playing in the leaves
Talking to Great Uncle Roger and Chelsea
"Hi puppy"
Playing with the big boys
Today was the Campbell Thanksgiving at Great Uncle Gary and Great Aunt Effie's house in New Athens. We go there every year to celebrate Thanksgiving. The whole extended Campbell family is always there. Nate told everyone there that he was getting a "baby sista". He had so much fun playing basketball and football with the big boys and jumping in a huge pile of leaves in the ditch. He was not to sure about eating lunch though. He did poopy on the potty while there. Literally, ON the potty! He started scooting off the potty saying he was "all done" and pooped on the seat! Aunt Jenny helped me clean it off. I am pretty sure that we are slowly scaring her from having kids anytime soon! Nate was so tired on the way home and slept for the whole drive. Happy Thanksgiving Campbell family!

How to make a birdfeeder

2009-11-15T20:47:00.000-08:00

Making birdfeeders!

First you spread the peanut butter on

Then you taste it

Then you roll it in the birdseed

Then you taste the birdseed, yummy!

And you have birdfeeders

How stinking sweet is this?

2009-11-14T22:02:00.000-08:00

Nate was sitting in Brad's lap and I asked him what he was thankful for. His response? "Loves" and then he gave Brad a hug! How sweet is that?

What am I thankful for? Having such a sweet baby boy!

And...we have a big boy!

2009-11-10T21:45:00.000-08:00

Nate was in the bathtub this morning and said "I have to poop, I have to poop!" I (quickly) got him out of the bath and put him on the potty and he poop on the potty! (for the first time) He was so proud. I cheered and danced and he was cracking up laughing. I told him that he could have two M&M's for going poopy and he picked out two, ate one, gave me the second and asked for an apple. I don't know what made me more proud-the fact that he used the potty or the fact that he asked for an apple over an M&M! I will spare you from the pics! But, of course I took lots!

I have learned the secret to 2 year olds!

2009-11-10T21:17:00.000-08:00

Bribing!!! It works like a charm!

Nate goes to gymnastics on Tuesday nights and has since he was 18 months old. He has started really having a hard time with it. It is in a really big gym and there are other (older kid) classes going on at the same time. So, there is so much going on around him he has a hard time listening to Ms Kelsey and following directions. It literally wears me out to take him.

We had talked about pulling him out but he does have fun while he is there and I really think that the physical activity is good for him. Today I told him that we were going to gymnastics and that if he had his listening ears on we would go to McDonalds afterwards. (I know, bad mommy to bribe with fast food!) It worked like a charm. Nate would sit and listen and did everything that Ms Kelsey asked him to do. If he started to act silly I would ask him where his listening ears were and he would say "oh, yeah mommy. My listening ears are on. Go to McDonalds" Isn't that great?

We made it through gymnastics with no fits, and mommy was not exhausted. Then we cancelled out the physical activity with fast food!

We saw a hot dog walking down the street today!

2009-11-07T22:46:00.000-08:00

Well, that is according to Nate! We were driving to Papa and Momo's house and there was a ground hog walking down the side of the street. I told Nate to look at it and he was so excited to see it. When we got to Papa and Momo's house I told Nate to tell them what was walking down the street and he said "a hot dog"! He was so proud to tell them!

Fall time!

2009-11-01T20:47:00.000-08:00

Nate loves playing outside and he still wants to go out everyday even when it is cold. Today there were lots of leaves in our yard so we raked them. He thought that was lots of fun but not as much fun as jumping in them!

Maybe he will be an engineer one day!

2009-11-01T19:57:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T23:03:00.000-07:00

He was scared of the inside of the pumpkin!

This is what he got on the trail of treat (minus the shape sorter)

Every year I dress Nate up as something that means something to him that year. His first halloween he was a worm because we always called him "squirmy the wormy", last year he was a peanut because he was so little. This year I headed out to find the perfect costume for him at age 2. I found the cutest dog costume and that would be perfect because he loves Reese so much and because he acts like a dog all the time. Well, Nate had other ideas. He told me that he was not wearing the dog costume and screamed "get it off" when I tried it on him. So, the dog went back to Target and while we were there he found a football outfit. He wanted it. Actually, he demanded it! He was so excited about it and we had to hid it before Halloween because he wanted to wear it everyday!

We carved our Jackolantern before going trick or treating and then headed out. He wanted to go to Mr Bob and Ms Sue's to show them his footballl outfit and he cried when they were not home. We went on the trail of treats and he was so excited everytime someone would put candy in his bucket. I let him have a sucker while we were walking and he kept giggling. If you asked him what he was for Halloween he would say a "football helmet"!

We got to see our sweet baby today!

2009-10-28T21:58:00.000-07:00

Today was the big day to see our baby. It was the first ultrasound. The baby is cute already! We got to see the sweet sight of that little hearbeat (121 beats a minute). The lady said that was a great heartbeat. She said that the baby was measuring five days small (0.46 cm) so the dr may move my due date up. The baby was right up against me and would not move. Already a stubborn baby! Everything looks great!

Second pumpkin patch

2009-10-24T22:05:00.000-07:00

Kissing the kitty

Today Yaya and Papa came up and we all went to the Shady Hills Pumpkin Patch. It took us a while to find it but we finally did and Nate loved it. There was a petting zoo which of course, he loved and a play area that was lots of fun. Of course, he had to go down the big kid slide. We went on a hayride and Nate talked about the tractor all day. As we were leaving Nate said "wait, we forgot to buy pumpkins!" We finally talked him into leaving without pumpkins because, if you remember, we bough seven at the last pumpkin patch!

Last day for curls...again

2009-10-23T22:48:00.001-07:00

Nate got his hair cut again and his curls are gone...again. I cried...again. I really hope that they grow back again.

After the haircut. What a big boy!

Sweet baby curls that I love so much.

Date night again!

2009-10-22T22:00:00.000-07:00

Tonight Nate and I had a date night. I try to do this often and just him and I will go eat and to do something fun. We ALWAYS go eat Meckass (Nate's version of Mexican) because that is our favorite. He had a rough day at school so we talked about it and I decided that he needed some Mommy time. So, off we went. He must have been starving because he ate chips and cheese dip, two cheese quesadillas, all of his rice and part of his beans. After dinner, he wanted to drive through the park (after he made sure I knew that we couldn't get out because it was raining) and then wanted to drive around and look at the Halloween decorations. He told me on the way home "I like these Mommy dates". I told him that we would have Nate and Mommy dates for the rest of his life :)

Playdate with our new friend Alex

2009-10-21T21:00:00.000-07:00

Today we went on a playdate with Alex and his mommy Felicia at the Castle Park in Carbondale.

Felicia and Alex and his daddy have just moved to Carbondale from Louisville. Felicia and I are long time "internet buddies" so it was very nice to meet in real life. Alex and Nate played so well together and shared a snack of Elmo crackers. It was so nice for the kids to play and for me to have an adult to talk to. Alex is potty trained and had to use the potty while we were there. There was only a porta potty and it was far away so Alex just used a tree. Nate was amazed! He kept telling his daddy that "Alex peed with his winky out of his pants!" Maybe this will start potty training on Nate's part.

First appointment for the baby

2009-10-21T20:47:00.000-07:00

Today I went to the dr for my first OB appointment. I saw the nurse practitioner Dana. She had some "concerns" because my early pregnancy tests did not show up positive (first positive not until I was a day late) and the fact that I am not having any symptoms so she ordered an early ultrasound. Other than that, everything looks great. I can't wait to see our new little addition to our family.

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-17T21:30:00.000-07:00

What a big boy!

Nate and I went to the pumpkin patch today. Daddy's knee is still not better so he stayed home and Nate and I went on a date. It was so cold but Nate didn't care. All the way there he talked about us eating nachos when we got there. That was the first thing that he wanted to do. Of course, they do not have nachos this year! After some tears (and a refusal to eat anything else) he decided it was time to play. They have a huge barn for the kids to play in and Nate loved it. This year, he was a big boy and went down the slide by himself. Scared me to death! After the barn we went to pick pumpkins. He insisted that we buy seven pumpkins. His favorite was the white one. A man was there with his little girl and asked us if I would take their picture and then he would take me and Nate's picture. So I did and when it was time for our pic Nate would not smile. I asked him what was wrong and he said "no like boy talking to my mommy"! After we left he wanted "meckass" food AKA: Mexican food. Of course, I let him have it :) When we were going home he said "mommy, I love Nate and Mommy date days". He melts my heart!

My sweet sweet baby!

2009-10-16T22:00:00.000-07:00

Brad had his knee scoped yesterday. Nate, being the worrier that he is, has talked about it non stop since we came home. He keeps asking "Daddy's knee hurts?", "Daddy go to the dr?" We keep reassuring him that Daddy is ok and that when Daddy's knee gets to feeling better Daddy will be able to play and run with Nate all he wants him too. Tonight we were laying in the bed saying Nate's prayers and Nate says "kank you for Daddy's drs." Is that not the sweetest thing you have ever heard a 2 year old say?

Time for the "another post"!

2009-10-09T22:09:00.000-07:00

Yes, that is right! Nate is going to be a big brother! My due date will be on June 16, 2010. Nate says that he is getting a "sista" so we will see!

Nate thinks that we went on vacation

2009-10-08T23:10:00.000-07:00

This week I was going on a work trip five hours away for three days. Of course, I was not going to leave Nate for two nights so Nana was going to go with us. We bought up car toys for the drive and lots of snacks. Right before we were getting ready to leave my mom called and said that my Grandma had passed away. So change in plans and we were off to KY instead. Nate and I drove down and Daddy was going to meet us there the next afternoon. Nate was upset because he thought that we were not going to go on vacation anymore so we ended staying at a hotel. He had so much fun swimming and eating at the hotel. The first night it was just Nate and I so grammy, aunt Ellen and Amy came out to visit us. The next night Daddy stayed with us. We went to the funeral and Nate did so good. He kept asking if Great Grandma was sleeping and told me to wake her up. When we were leaving he said "bye vacation, see you on another sunny day".

And we got a surprise when we got home but that is for another post!

"Good morning Sweet Pea"

2009-09-21T11:12:00.000-07:00

That is what I heard at 4am when Nate woke me up by starting at me 2 centimeters from my face! Is that not the sweetest thing that you have ever heard?

Playing outside

2009-09-08T20:48:00.000-07:00

Nate loves to play outside and the weather has been so nice.

You notice at first he starts out in clothes but he always ends up in just a diaper!

First day of Sunday School

2009-09-06T20:20:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day of Sunday school and Nate was so excited to go. It is during the hour of mass for 2-4 year olds so the parents can listen to the mass. Nate loved the statue of Mary and the Baby Jesus. He had so much fun and talked about Sunday school all day.

Typically boy!

2009-09-05T20:04:00.000-07:00

Watching cartoons this morning.

Saturday morning with Papa

2009-08-29T22:28:00.000-07:00

Papa came up this morning just to eat breakfast with Nate. What a good Papa Nate has. We ate breakfast and then went to the farmers market. Nate is still not to sure about the farmers market but he loves to pet the dogs that people bring. He is not sure about shopping for food though and usually wants to leave about 5 minutes after we get there.

Brothers

2009-08-24T22:39:00.000-07:00

How sweet is this? Two sleeping brothers!

We finally go the Elmo Ball!

2009-07-26T23:14:00.000-07:00

If you are around us much and ever do to Wal Mart with us, you know that we have spent an outragous amount of money on the ball machine outside of Wal Mart. Nate loves those machines and this one has an Elmo ball in it. Everytime we got there we have to try to win the ball. We have seriously spend a ton of money on this thing. Last night, Brad and Nate went to Wal Mart and I stayed home to wash the dishes. When they got home, Nate comes running in and says "mommy look!" I turn around and he is standing there with the biggest grin on his face and says "daddy and deet win Elmo ball!" He seriously looked like he had won a million dollars. The rest of the night he kept saying "daddy and deet win elmo ball." It was so cute. I thought that we would be done with that machine and could save some money but he had already told me that there is an Ernie ball in there to!

Pet Fair and ER!

2009-07-20T19:36:00.001-07:00

First pony ride on Dolly

Chasing the dogs

Today we went to the pet fair with Reese and Nate. Brad did not think that going to a pet fair with a 2 year old and a 100lb dog sounded fun but I assured him that it would be loads of fun! So, off all four of us went. Nate and Reese both had so much fun. Reese loved barking at all of the dogs and Nate loved everything about it. Nate jumped in the bouncy house, chased after the dog in the kennels and rode his first pony. That was his favorite part of the day. The pony's name was Dolly and he kept saying "yee haw Dolly". We were waiting in line for Reese to get a bath and Nate started crying. I went over to see what was wrong and he had his hands over his face. I pulled his hand down and his eye was bleeding. His eyeBALL was bleeding. So, off we headed to the ER. Keep in mind that we had a 100 lb dog with us. Brad dropped me and Nate off at the ER and took Reese home and then came back to the hospital. The dr said that Nate's eye looked ok and Nate passed the vision test. He gave us some antibiotic drops and Nate has to see the eye dr on Monday.

His poor eye

Eating his snack in the ER

Wow! Is this what 2 is going to bring?

2009-07-07T22:00:00.000-07:00

Tonight we went to the LLL meeting. Like always, I let Nate pack a bag of toys to take to share. Only, sharing he would not do. Not his toys, not the other kids toys! He had a full blown fit! We are talking threw himself on the floor, kickign screaming fit! I made his sit in time out and told him that if he would not share his toys we would have to go home. As soon as he got down another fit began. So, we packed up his toys and left!

I am really hoping that he is cutting teeth and that this is not the new Nate personality!

Meet Glub Glub

2009-07-06T20:27:00.000-07:00

Meet our newest addition to our family. Glub Glub the fish (yes, Nate named it). Nana and Pap got it for Nate for his birthday.

Slept all night in his big boy bed!

2009-07-06T17:00:00.000-07:00

I put Nate to bed last night after we got home from the fireworks and he was so tired. He usually wakes up about halfway throught the night and asks to come in our bed. I woke up several times (like 7 or8!) throughout the night and would go check on him and he would be sleeping away. He finally woke up at 6:30 am! His first full night in his big boy bed. Also, his first night to sleep through the night! Yes that is right, my two year old does not sleep through the night yet!

Amen!

2009-07-05T13:15:00.000-07:00

We went to church today which is always an adventure with Nate. It is just too long and too crowded for him to sit still in. Today, he did pretty good and was pretty quite. Of course, he was climbing up and down the pew and over the kneeler but if he is not screaming or running down the isle I think we are doing good! At one point the priest said amen and Nate says "amen priest"! I thought the little old lady behind us was going to die!

Happy 2nd Birthday Nate!

2009-07-03T12:22:00.000-07:00

Nate's birthday kiss at 12:22 pm!

I cannot believe that at 12:22 pm 2 years ago we were just meeting Nate for the first time! Where did those two years go? It seems crazy that my baby is now two! It seems like I was just laying in the hospital bed waiting to meet his beautiful face. I will never forget the love that I felt the first time that they held him up for me to see. I never knew that I could love someone like I love Nate. He truely is my whole world. I hope that someday all of his dreams and prayers come true.

There is nothing better than waking up to that sweet little face asking for a kiss and telling you that he loves you. There is nothing better than the sound of his giggle when you tickle him. There is nothing better than the look on amazement when he is learning something new. There is nothing better than hearing him say "mommy" in his sweet little baby voice.

I love you baby boy!

Nate's birthday party!

2009-06-27T20:30:00.000-07:00

Today was Nate's birthday party at the city park. It was SO HOT! I think that it was the hottest day that we have had so far. And, we could not reserve the pavillion so we had to get out there at 9 am and hold the pavillion. Brad went out there at 9, mom and I got everything ready, picked up the cake and then went to decorate. Nate got there right at 2:00. When I pulled up with Nate he said "oh wow, Elmo and Big Bird came to Nate's party!" Isn't that the cutest thing ever? He had so much fun and ran around. He loved all of his presents and even got a fish from his Nana. He named the fish Glub Glub.

I cannot believe that he is nearly two! Where has the last two years yet?

My smart little boy!

2009-06-10T20:00:00.000-07:00

The summer reading group started this morning. I could not get off work so my mom took Nate. Yes that is right, she drove 1 1/2 hours to take Nate to a one hour reading group and then drove back home to go to work! They were talking about wild animals and the kids were all naming wild animals. Keep in mind that most of the kids in the group are 3-5. The kids were saying "zebra, lions, giraffs etc." Nate raised his little hand and the teacher asked him if he knew of a wild animal and he says "dog". How sweet is that? Little did she know, we do have a wild dog!

First trip to the Library!

2009-06-03T19:36:00.000-07:00

Today was my day off and Nate and I had a great day. I told him that if he had a good day I would take him for a fun surprise. Of course, he was up bright and early! We watched some cartoons while Nate ate breakfast (this morning he had a cereal bar and a peach) and then played outside. He has so much fun playing outside and loves to run and jump and bark at the neighbors dogs. Then we came in and ate lunch. He has not been eating good lately so I was so happy that he ate a great lunch. He had two pieces of veggie pizza, carrot sticks, peppers strips, cucumbers and a cup of green peas. For dessert he asked for kiwi. Then it was naptime. He took a three hour nap! Doesn't that sound like a good day? I thought so. Our fun surprise-a trip to the library. He had never been to the library. He wanted his daddy to go too so all three of us went. Nate played at the table with his daddy while I looked for books for him. He checked out five books - Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Icky Bug Colors, Silly Little Goose, Eeyore and The Very Busy Spider. We have read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom five times already! I told him we would return his books in two weeks on my day off. They are having a summer reading program so we are going to start taking him to that too. He is getting so big!

My Sweet Little Boy

2009-05-31T21:04:00.000-07:00

Tonight I was laying in bed with Nate while he was falling asleep. He was laying next to me and ever so often would say "mama". I would answer him and tell him to close his eyes and go to sleep. Then he reached up and started rubbing my cheek whispering "Deet's mommy". How sweet is that? He really is the sweetest little boy every!

Hurricane in IL?

2009-05-23T11:36:00.000-07:00

Neighbors house

Our fence

Yep, apparently that is what are saying happened today. We had an inland hurricane. It was the scariest thing I have ever seen. Winds got up to nearly 110 miles an hour. I was at work in Marion and Brad was at home (actually at the dump but that is another story). Nate was at daycare. Thankfully, daycare had a basement and that is where the kids were. Ms Sue said that Nate had so much fun playing in the basement. She said that he wasn't scared at all. After the storm was over I came home. It took me 45 minutes to get home (normally 10 minutes). There were trees and power lines down everywhere. The closer I got to Herrin the worse it was. I could not get to daycare because all the roads were covered in trees. As you can imagine, I was in a state of panic. I finally had to park and walk two blocks to get to Nate. I walked in and Nate said "hi, Mommy". This is what daycare looked like!

We are going to have to get a new fence, part of our roof fixed and our tree out front came down, so a new tree.

This is so much fun!

2009-05-05T22:00:00.000-07:00

Nate loves taking a bath! He wants to take a "bath" in any water that he finds-sinks, water puddles, pools, foutains. His favorite thing to do in our bathtub is to slide down the back! He is such a funny little guy!

Mommy's big helper!

2009-05-04T21:30:00.000-07:00

Grammy is coming up tomorrow so I decided that I would make her some banana bread. Nate had to help! He is such a big helper!

What happened here?

2009-05-04T19:58:00.000-07:00

Today I was getting ready for work and Nate was playing in the pantry. Not a really good place to be playing but it was giving my valuable time to get ready. I heard "uh oh, mama look". I go looking for Nate and he is not in the pantry. I find him and this in the bathroom. Yes, that is chocolate sprinkles (a whole container full) all over the bathroom floor! But never fear, Nate loves to sweep and vacuum so he helped clean it up. I was late for work, which is nothing new and at least today I had an excuse.

Nate's new words

2009-05-02T21:44:00.000-07:00

Tonight he has said...
"avacado"
"llama"
"rectangle"
"sweet tea"
and
"ice cream"
What a combination. We are up to 77 words!