Austin Is Becoming A Little Man

Just like Abbie, Austin is growing up faster than I thought he would! Austin is becoming a little man, instead of a little baby. I just don't know how I am going to handle both my little ones growing up so fast!
My little man is soooo different from Abbie. He is not much of an eater, and sometimes it takes everything we have to get him to eat some baby food! He loves sweet potatoes, and most of the fruits, but boy when it comes to the veggies.....just wait for the spitting and spewing! Yesterday he got his first taste of cool whip! He was refusing to eat his green beans, hence them all over his face and bib! I decided to see if he would eat the cool whip, then the green beans...IT WORKED!!!! I know I can't do that everytime he won't eat his veggies, but I know he enjoyed it! I will tell you that he absolutely loves any kind of cracker! He will shove the entire thing in his mouth and just gum it and chew it to nothing! His most favorite is Nilla Wafers! You should see him go to town on them!

Here is Austin right after a bath the other night! Opinions are very welcome here, as I ask who he looks more like....me or Josh? He loves his bath, especially now that we have him in the big tub, where he can splash around. He got too small for the baby tub, so we had no choice but to move him to the big tub! Every night I walk in with nice dry clothes, and walk out like I have ridden on Thunder River, drenched from the water fall! You should see when daddy tries to mohawk his hair!!! Once it has dried that way, there is not getting it to straighten out!!!

Now, just like Abbie, he is growing up much too fast! I look back and see him as a scrawny 4lb baby in the NICU, and now he is growing and learning so much. Although he still isn't crawling

yet, he is getting closer and closer each and every day. He can move his knees, just not his hands! Not quite that coordinated yet! He is babbling more and more each day. It really warms my heart when he talks to me! He will wiggle and wiggle, then say babababa and mamamama, wawawawa, yayaya, and then smile his big smile! Let's not forget that with every smile, you get a tongue too!

Along with his verbal skills and his motor skills, he also has a new addition in is mouth! His first tooth has finally broken through his gums! It broke through a couple days before he turned 10 months old. In those few days, he has already learned how to use it!!! I think we are in trouble when he gets more in!

All in all, my babies are growing up way too fast! In two months, my little one turns 1!!!!! In my wildest dreams did I ever think that I would have two little ones running around that were so close in age! In looking at the near future, I am right around the corner from having a 1 year old and a 2 1/2 year old! Oh how time has flown by.

Abbie Is Growning Up

I've come to the realization that my kiddos are growing up way too fast! Abbie is almost 2 1/2 years old, but going on 16!!!! She has totally got a mind of her own, and the attitude to prove it!


Abbie loves her food! She will eat almost anything that you put in front of her. When she was younger, she wanted nothing to do with lettuce, even when drenched with her favorite ranch dressing. Now, she asks for it!!! She has one rule to eating most of her food though...it HAS to have some kind of condiment on it....most the times is either ketchup or ranch dressing. Tonight was a little different! In order to get rid of the cool whip that we acquired, I added it to the top of her peaches! She LOVED it!!! I had just missed getting a picture of her with cool whip all over her nose and chin. She did however ham it up to the camera the minute she saw it! That's my pretty little girl!




Yet another thing she has finally come to try is corn on the cob. She loves corn, but it had always been the kernels. Our neighbors grow fresh sweet corn, and were kind to give us a bunch. Abbie saw the corn and just went nuts! She even helped take the husk off! This is the first time she ever ate a corn on the cob! She couldn't get enough of it! She ate the entire cob and wanted more! Of course she was following daddy's cue, and decided that doing the typewriter bite was so much more fun! I had a blast just watching her go to town on the corn!

Now I know I have already said how much her singing warms my heart, but I need to say it again! She does more than warm my heart! She is a very musical little girl and sings much of the day. Even her daycare loves her singing all day long! They make it a point to sit and listen! I finally got her on video singing!!!! She is singing "Little Baby" (Hush Little Baby), Fwinkle Fwinkle (Twinkle Twinkle), and of course ABC's! Please don't mind me in the background! We have made it a tradition to say our prayers at night then sing Hush Little Baby before she goes to bed. Miss that, and she won't go to sleep!

My Montage 7/24/09

In two short years my baby has grown up soooo much...almost too much too fast! I don't miss the screaming and crying of her infant days, but sometimes to have that little bundle in my arms again.... She is my pride and joy! She is one of the things I wake up for in the morning and she is one of the last things I think about before going to sleep at night. How I love this little girl!

Fun Surprises!

Do you remember a time in your life that you were truly surprised? I mean in a good way? I sure can remember the night I got engaged! Josh and I were going to a fancy restaraunt, Magnolias, in Birmingham one evening. We were getting dressed up and everything! I put on a beautiful blue satin dress and got my hair done. He pulls up in my driveway in a stretch white limo!!! Then, on the way home, he dropped to one knee and poured his heart out! It is a day I will never forget! Much like today....it is a day I will never forget!

My little man, Austin, is a very fiesty little boy. He does things on his own accord and is very independent (well, with most things)...even at his age! He will do things in his own time, in his own way. He loves to fling his little arms and legs anytime he gets the chance. Put him on the floor, and his looks like he is trying to swim away!! I bet if I put him in water, he would swim like a fish too! He loves to wiggle around; put him on one end of the room, and he will be on the other side in one minute!

Today he gave me such a fun little surpise! No it wasn't a huge poopy diaper either, although I did get one today! He has been hard at work with trying to crawl and trying to talk. It's all right there, just waiting for the brain to turn that little lightbulb on! He knows when he is doing something great. He hears me and Abbie everyday cheering him on and clapping and laughing with him. While playing on the floor today, out of the mouth of my little man came something I have been waiting to hear for nearly ten months! Rolling and wiggling around, "bababamamabababa" came out of his mouth!!! He has now found that handsome voice of his!!!!!!! Since that moment, he has been "talking" up a storm! But, if you ask me, his first word was "mama", not "dada"!!!

I got this whole thing on video, which is really surprising! Everytime he sees the camera, he usually stops everything he is doing, so this was a special moment! We clapped and gave him all the encouragement we could this morning! He giggled and wiggled, and smiled ear to ear! He knew it was a new thing that we would soon learn to love! Now only if he could crawl already!!!

On a different note, my little sister Sarah is coming to visit us this Friday!!!! I am more than excited for her to get here! I haven't seen her since Christmas, and I know she is just going to flip the minute she sees Abbie and Austin! They have grown soooo much since the last time she saw them! Austin was just 3 months old and about 6lbs and Abbie was 21 months old!! Can we say big difference, now that he is almost 10 months and 16lbs and Abbie is now 28 months old and a whopping 31.5lbs!?!?!?!? I don't think we really plan to do much, but it's nice to hang out with someone that isn't a little kid!!!

I know Friday, we are going to visit with the next door neighbor (actually the one across the street). She has horses that she is going to let Abbie pet and talk to! Abbie is going to love that! She has been so curious about those horses across the street for awhile now, and we are finally going over there Friday. The neighbor came over today and brought us some freshly picked sweet corn and told us to come on over! I'll fill you in afterwards!

Well, my free time is up....kiddo number 1 is waking up! Guess I'm back on duty!

My poor little man :(

Today I have learn a really valuable lesson.....life never turns out the way you want it to! I know I should have learned this many many many years ago, but I guess I wasn't really listening until now.

My children suprise me everyday, and my guess is, is that they always will! I try very hard to make things go the way I want them, and sometimes they do. You know, the easy things...I want the laundry done today or the dishes need to be washed, dried and put away...they go my way because I make them go my way! All I know is that my two kiddos will never ever be that way! I am very certain of this!

Abbie is the midst of potty training....well, I think she is more training me! We started this process almost 6 months ago, to no avail! I was stressing and finally came to the conclusion, let her do it on her own! I was tired of pulling my hair out wondering why she wanted nothing to do with it. I mean, I know diapers are a comfort thing, and it's much easier to just do the deed in the diaper....but I'm tired of buying diapers and I am definitely tired of changing them! Now that I have let her go her own pace, she seems to do much better! I'm not saying that she is perfect at it yet...far from it, but at least she now understands that panties are NOT for pee peeing in. It's a start that I will take! She even can now tell me that she has to go, and many times go to the potty on time! Let's take today for example. I changed her when she got up this morning and guess what, I didn't have to change a wet or dirty diaper until bath time tonight! Now keep in mind, I am constantly reminding her if she feels a "twinkle" in her belly, she needs to run run run to the potty! Some days are good, others are aweful, but I am learning to manage! But I do know that she WILL be potty trained by the time she is 3!!!!

Austin is in a very exciting stage in his life as well. My little man is now 9 1/2 month old and really making my heart sing! He is a much happier baby now, thank goodness!!! I don't know how much longer I could have taken the crying and screaming all day long! Just recently, he has been lifting himself on his hands and knees, eagerly trying to crawl forward! You can see his little brain just working on the problem at hand...a toy too far in front of him to reach. He pops up on his hands and knees and rocks back and forth, back and forth.....then stop and stare....and wonder how he can get there! He hasn't quite gotten that far yet, but I think in the next week or two he will have it mastered enough to scootch forward. If he were like Abbie, all I would have to do is put kid cheese puffs on the floor, and away he goes...but he isn't in LOVE with food like she was! Now I know what you are probably thinking....he should already be crawling...walking...well, with him being a preemie, born 2 months early, he is actually developmentally now 7 1/2 months...so pretty good for him I would say.

Today he went for his 9 month well baby check up. I really hate piling both kids into the car for a 30 minute car ride and another 30+ minutes of waiting involved at the doctors office. Today wasn't too bad though....only had to wait about 10 minutes! Record time for the doctors office. My little man grew almost 3 inches!!!!! He is now up to 27 inches long...which if Abbie keeps growing at her snail rate, he will catch up to her very soon....only 6 inches to go!!!!! He is still a tiny tot though in weight, weighing in only at 15lb 6oz!!!! No wonder he just moved into 6-9 month clothes! He still doesn't register on a normal weight chart!!!! We got lucky though, because he didn't need any shots today!!!!! Yeah!!!! No cranky baby for me!!!!! But................we didn't get off so easy! My poor little man has a very bad ear infection in both ears! I was shocked! He has been his happy little self, not showing any signs of his ears hurting at all! I feel so bad for him! He is now on meds to fix it, so hopefully he will be an even happier baby in about 10 days!

Other than two needy little ones today, it has been a good day! I got confirmation from the principal of Pinkston Elementary that I will be recommended for the teaching position that I interviewed for! That made my day, I can tell you that! On July 13th, she is going to recommend me to the board (she is on vacation until then), so hopefully soon after, I will get the call to come sign my contract. This is a great opportunity for me! I am in a grade that I think I will more enjoy, 4th grade! It's a big change from kindergarten! I am sighing with relief at everything that is happening!

Maybe just maybe life will be great tomorrow!

Welcome to my fun chaotic life! It's been a rollercoaster ride these past few years or so. Although isn't ben crazy, I wouldn't change a second of it!

On May 18th, 2002 I married my high school sweetheart, Josh! It's funny to look back and know that I hated him back in the earlier years of high school too! He will tell you it all started in 7th grade when I slapped him...I'll tell you 10th grade when I absolutely despised him! Either way, for 7 years we have been happily married.

Since we got married, we had been trying to have a baby. I think sometimes me more than him, but he will never admit that! Many people do not understand what it is like, holding on to hope month after month, with no success. In a few short words, it is depressing, frustrating, and sad. Then in March 2006, we got the wonderful news we had been waiting for, we were pregnant!! But by May, we had miscarried that precious baby. I was heartbroken-no words can describe that feeling. For almost 4 years we tried getting pregnant with no sucess; test, medication, surgery...all done in hopes of getting pregnant.


Life has a funny way about it though, because 4 months later, we found out that we were pregnant again! All these emotions were running through my head. I couldn't go through what I did months prior. It seemed that it was all happening again, and I was losing it, both physically and emotionally. My doctor put my mind at ease when he let me see my little one for the first time! All was well, and I was indeed pregnant! This was the happiest day of my life! Life though loves to take many twists!


This little one gave me more scares than I could imagine. At 25 weeks I ended up in L&D due to lack of movement, but all was well...she just felt like being still! But, at 30 weeks, she decided she wanted nothing to do with being nice and cozy...she wanted out! On March 21, 2007 at 8:05a.m., my water broke! I was scared out of my mind. Josh was overseas and my family was 2000 miles away. I freaked out, then in a moment of clarity, drove myself to the hospital! (Although calm, I was driving 95 MPH!!) The hospital transferred me to the best hospital around, Thomason Hospital, where at 1:46 p.m, Abbie Grace was born via c-section 3lbs 13.8oz, and 16.5inches long. She was rushed to the NICU due to not breathing, so I only saw her little head for all of 5 seconds. Josh got there 3 days after her birth. Here is what Abbie looked like when we got to see her for the first time:
Abbie is now a rambunctious 2 year old now! Looking at her, you would never know that she was born 10 weeks early and only 3lbs! She is my life and my love! She makes me smile when I am having a bad day. I smile everytime I hear her sing her ABC's or fwinkle fwinkle (twinkle twinkle). Oh from the mouths of babes!

Now the story does not end here! After months of raising Abbie on my own, Josh finally came back from overseas. They sent him back after Abbie came home from the NICU. She gave many scares during the next 8 months of her life. She screamed non-stop from 2 1/2 months to 5 months of age...let's talk about pulling hair out! Then, one day, she looked up and smiled! That was the end of her fussy stage! She had moments with her breathing that scared us as well. She would stop breathing in the night, and her aweful apnea monitor would screech! By the time we got that off, life was good! Only, we weren't ready for the next chapter in our lives!

When Abbie turned 11 months old, I found out I was pregnant once again! We weren't really even trying! I knew something was up, when watching a rerun of Walker Texas Ranger, I cried like a baby! We were sooo excited, but at the same time very cautious. This pregnancy started out just like Abbie did! I believed I was miscarrying yet again, so off to the doctor I went. I went to the ER first, where they confirmed I was in the process of miscarrying. I followed up with my doctor the following Friday, and without hesitation, he did an internal sonogram..and to my surprise, my little bean was still in there, heart beating away! What made my body do what it did with my two pregnancies, I will never know!

This time around, I took progesterone shots every week, starting at 16 weeks, and had weekly monitoring of the baby starting at 28 weeks. Everything was looking really good! The baby was growing, and I wasn't having any contractions. What a relief! We were going to have a full term baby....or so we thought! At 30 weeks, I was noticing that I might be leaking fluid, so I told the doctor, and they did an exam....well, needless to say, I was once again rushed to L&D! I was already contracting, although my body wasn't feeling it! They then rushed me back to Thomason Hospital, where I was able to hold my little man in for another week and a half. On September 20, 2008, at 4:41 a.m., Austin Cole was born! He was 31weeks and 5 days, weighing in at 4lbs 3oz and 17.5 inches long! I was able to have him naturally...and when I say naturally, I mean NO DRUGS!!! I didn't plan it that way, but life happens, right?! He came out kicking, screaming, and peeing!!!! I was actually able to hold him for a few minutes before they carried him off to the NICU. Here is a picture of him only hours old in the NICU:

Austin was in the NICU for 3 weeks, and then was able to come home! We only had a little problem with his BP the first night in the NICU, and from then, it was just getting him to eat enough to gain the weight. I can tell you that he is a much fussier baby than Abbie, and is just now really getting out of his fussy stage...thank heavens for that! He is doing soo many new things now! He is really trying hard to crawl, and I think in the next week or so, he will be full on crawling! He also sat himself up twice! I don't call that really knowing how to do it, but it's a start! Let's not forget that he is starting to get his two bottom teach too! Here he is at 9 months old:

Now through all this hospital time, we have become stronger parents and stronger as a married couple! We have since moved to North Carolina from El Paso, and we are loving it here! Josh got out of the army and is now working as the head guy at work! It's stressful for him right now because they don't have enough people, but that is soon to change!

I am also in the process of finding another teaching job. I did not teach last year since Austin was so young. I acquired the North Carolina certificate, now making myself certified in 3 states! I had two interviews this week, and both schools want me! I have accepted one, and they are now in the process of getting me approved by the board....that will take some time. But needless to say, I will be teaching 4th grade!

Today of all days is a great day! I am surrounded by my family and I know I am loved today! My life may be chaotic, but I wouldn't have it any other way!