Laurie's Life

Sunday afternoon one of my best friends, Hillary came over. Hillary has a little flower tattoo on her toe. Emily was really interested in the tattoo. After Hillary had been gone several hours, Emily began talking about the flower tattoo and that she wanted one. I told E that maybe we could find her a tattoo sometime and that seemed to satisfy her. A few minutes later Emily did her little "I be right back." She came back a few minutes later proudly wearing her own flower tattoo on her toe. She was so proud and insisted that I get one too. I think she did pretty good, notice the stem. Sarah Kate is doing good. She is hungry ALL the time. She weighed 8 lbs 1 oz, so she is a big girl. We are sure enjoying her. Emily is crazy about her. She is a wonderful big sister.

While making the Sarah Kate birth slide show, we reviewed all of our pictures taken this year. We realized very quickly how thankful we are that Jesus has allowed us to enjoy so many blessings in such a short time.

Sarah Kate Slide Show

I am going to let Steve post some pictures and write some things. We just got home from the hospital and I AM SO tired! Emily is a proud big sister. She is loving being helpful. I am off to take a little snooze.................

I went to the Dr yesterday. My body is ready! The baby just does not want to come. We are all soooooooooooo anxious to meet her. I keep thinking, "this is the day!', but go to bed disappointed. Yesterday I went to a baby store and saw a shirt that said, "OH LORD, PLEASE DELIVER ME!" I wanted to buy it, but I figured it would be a waste of money at this point. I will be induced Monday morning at 6:00 if she does not come by then. Blog friends- please pray that Sarah Kate will come SOON and all will go well with her birth and health. Thanks!

All the parents are here and we are just waiting for the first labor pain. I feel fine. Earlier in the week I was having really intense Braxton Hicks but now, not a thing seems to be happening. I worked in the nursery at church this morning and NO baby was happy with me. I know it was not comfortable to rest upon a basketball that kicked. Poor children! Well..... just wanted to give the latest.

My due date is June 10th and that is just around the corner. Let me just say that I am puffed! I took off my wedding ring yesterday because I thought I may lose circulation in my finger. My feet look awful! I have two pairs of shoes I can wear. I am having lots of Braxton Hicks and they serve as a reminder of the pain I am going to have any day now. A couple of weeks ago I saw a Braums commercial for their Brownie Fudge Sundae. The commercial got me! I had Steve take me to Braums the next day. It is SOOOOO very very good. You must go and partake of this wonderful treat! When you see me or my picture you may question whether I have water weight or just too much Braums. I think it is both. But, the ice cream is good for my heart burn. (I like to tell myself that).

Last Sunday, after church ,we went out to eat and I spotted a poster and some "free" tickets for a circus this weekend. We talked the circus up to Emily all week. But, I think I was more excited about it than she was. We invited some friends to go with us and we were all happy to be taking our children to their first circus. We when got to the circus grounds, we counted 5 cars on the parking lot , that should have been our first clue. We saw no big top tent , only 4 or 5 trailers and a bus that said circus. As we walked to the little arena, we all spotted the sign at the same time: $15 per adult. We looked at each other and said,"You have got to be kidding!" We did see some pony rides going on with the 3 children who were there . Steve asked a man if we could just pay for a pony ride and leave. We felt really sorry for the circus people, but we were NOT going to pay $ 30 for a little "circus" that could have been set up in our liv...

I have a best friend during pregnancy and it is a little chalky disc called a TUMS! I SUFFER from heartburn during pregnancy and it is just miserable. I don't like the name heartburn because I would describe it more as "throatburn." I have two sensations in my throat at all times: 1. The first is a feeling of acid bubbling in my esophagus. I tell Steve all the time that if I pass in the night it is because my esophagus just melted from the acid. We can hear the acid popping in my throat. 2. After I take a Tums or Pepcid or drink a little milk, I feel as if I have a huge lump of biscuit dough stuck in my throat. I keep Tums by my bed at night and usually take about 6 through the night. Yesterday when Emily came in at 6:00 and stood about 2 inches from my face as I kept my eyes closed, she said, "Mama take you medicine." I opened my eyes and saw she was holding the last Tums I had left on the bedside table. I really didn't feel the need to take the T...

I am very thankful that my parents have been here for almost a week. They left this morning. I enjoyed them being here and they were so helpful with Emily. She is a handful! I loved having my mother here for Mother's Day. It has been nice to get ready in the morning and have people here to watch Emily. I usually just rush and pray she does not burn the house down or something worse. My mother helped with laundry and did many other things to help. I am grateful!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Here is Emily giving Kristen the cat some treats. Emily would feed her the whole bag if I let her. Emily loves Sisten, as she calls her, but Kristen DOES NOT like her. Actually, Kristen does not like anyone but me. Emily on Mother's Day.

The nursery is ready and so am I........ I have another cold! This makes the 8th one, I believe. My immune system is just shot. I hate to take another antibiotic. Have any of you had multiple colds in pregnancy? All Sarah Kate has known in the womb is my coughing. Bless her heart. Emily loves to get in her old bouncy seat. I found her in it at 3:00 a.m. Sunday night. She is still not sleeping through the night, but we have had some good nights. She is waking up at 6:00 a.m. EVERY morning. This is the girl who used to sleep till 8:30 or 9:00. Speaking of sleep, I need to go get some!

Last Thursday night my Sunday School class gave me a shower. WOW! I got so many nice things. Sarah Kate is set on clothes for a while now. I was overwhelmed by everyone's generosity. Steve and I are so blessed to be a part of the church that we are. The picture of me was taken right before I left for the shower. I was 33 weeks pregnant. I went to the Dr. today. I got a good report. Everything seems to be right on track. BUT.......my feet and ankles are SOOOOOOOO swollen. The are so tight at night that I think they could pop! I took good notes at the Dr today. Sometimes I leave not knowing too much of what is going on. Today I left knowing my measurements, blood pressure, Sarah Kate's heart rate and all that kind of stuff. Sometimes you just have to ask. The Dr thinks she is going to be a little bigger than Emily was. Emily weighed 6lbs 6 oz. He is thinking Sarah Kate will be 7 something. But, it all depends on when she decides to arrive.

Emily had her Kay-K and Pop come visit from MS this weekend. We all had a wonderful time and Emily was spoiled with princess attire! She loves getting into my jewelry and shoes, so I hope this will hinder that a little. She now has her own stuff. And she is so proud. She was thinking she looked good and I might add, she did. Everyday I think I am going to get to report that Emily stayed in her big girl bed all night, but it just has not happened. She has had some good nights, but she still gets up several time while Steve and I are still up. And the sad news for me: She is getting up around 6:00 or 6:30 every morning. She just comes and stands by my bed. We bought her some princess sheets this weekend hoping it would keep her in the bed, but nope. This morning Emily and I played outside . She loves playing with bubbles. We came in for lunch and Emily insisted that I go outside and she stay in. She pulled me out and said, "I be right back Mama." I sat out...

One of my very best and lifelong friends, Kelly, sent me a belated Birthday gift today. She gave me the first one a couple of years ago and I have loved it so much. It is cute and easy to find in my purse. But, I had worn it out! It looked AEWFUL!!!!!!!!! Today I checked the mail and got this beautiful, fresh keycahin. I am so proud. Thank you Kelly! I LOVE it! Let me clarify: I have two Kellys. The one who sent me this lives in Little Rock and we have been friends since we were two. My other Kelly I met at Ouachita Baptist University.

Over the weekend I got Emily some new shoes. She loves them! In fact, she slept in them Sat night. I had a Dr appt. today and my sweet neighbor kept Emily. The Dr gave me an antibiotic for this mess I have. I sure hope this is the last of the cold/sinus infections. Here are some Emily facts: 1. Everyday when she wakes up, she says,"Daddy at work." That is the very first thing she says. 2. She wants a spoon or fork for EVERYTHING she eats. She wanted a spoon tonight to eat chips. She put each chip on the spoon and ate them that way. 3. She LOVES to flush the toilet and she says,"I close the door, Mama." That is what she says as she reaches for the lever to flush. 4. The bath water must run the entire time she is in the tub. Turning off the water is a major tragedy to her. 5. She loves to put on a bow or perfume or my shoes and say, "I pretty Mama!" 6. She is constantly trying to get her babies to go night night and many times she will come...

I have not blogged in a while. There are several reasons for this: 1. Steve got a new fandagled computer that has intimidated me with picture posting. 2. I have a had terrible cold that I STILL have and it goes from bad to worse and back again. 3. Emily is still not sleeping in her big girl bed. I am battling her for 2 hours or so in the afternoon to get her to take a nap. Now, she gets under the new dining room table so I can't get her. It makes me CRAZY! 4. Emily has been sick with an ear infection and sore throat with high fever. This has not helped the nighttime sleep patterns. So.....that is where I have been. But, I am still thankful. I have read so many blogs and heard so many prayer request at church of people going through terrible grief and pain. My struggles are nothing compared to that! I hope to post some pictures soon.

A few people have asked me how I am going to decorate Sarah Kate's room, so I thought I would just show you. We are just leaving the room the same as it was for Emily. I will take more pictures later on when everything is good to go. Steve and I got a new dining room table and chairs delivered today! I am so excited. I keep walking in the dining room and looking at it. Steve knew I would do this! I LOVE getting new furniture. Now we can have more people over to eat.

Thanks to all of you who took the time to give me good advice on keeping toddlers in the bed! We have had two good nights. We are just taking her back to the bed each time she gets up and she has also had a spanking or two. We may try the gate if she does not have a good week. I had told Steve we could get some of those really scary, rubber Halloween masks and sleep in them and when Emily saw us, I doubt she would get out of her bed anymore. Of course I was just kidding. Consistency is the answer. I really appreciate all your help! Here is Emily on Easter morning. She got a princess doll and horse. She loved the doll the most. But, the doll was just junk. She lost her arm and leg within 30 minutes. Her dress also ripped in half. This did not seem to phase Emily. I am so thankful that Steve has always been so helpful with Emily. He has gotten her ready for church every Sunday morning ever since she was newborn. Here, she is sitting on her changing table. Notice her new h...

Emily watching The Big Comfy Couch! This is her favorite show! Emily's former room and crib. Doesn't look too comfortable does it? Emily's new room and big girl bed. Very comfortable with all the pillows and comforter and space to move around. Emily after eating Mac and Cheese for lunch. She HATES to have her face cleaned off. Everything is "I DO IT!" This is her face after she cleaned it. She is chewing a Nerd in the picture. It is funny to her her chant," I WANT NERDS, I WANT NERDS!!!" We are having night night troubles. We may be on Super Nanny soon. We moved Emily to her big girl bed over a week ago. I made a big deal about it and told her that Princesses sleep in big girl beds and told her that she MUST stay in the bed. Most every night she comes in our room in the middle of the night and just stands by our bed. She does not make a sound. We just sense her presence. Steve used to do the same to his parents when he was little. I take her back and...

I took Emily with me on Thursday to do some shoe shopping. The girl LOVES shoes. She was saying,"OHHHHH, ahhhhh OHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" She kept yelling, "I want SHOES!" I let her try some on and she wanted to keep every pair. She threw a fit over some Disney Princess sandals. She cried and cried because we did not get them. The lady in the store gave her a Princess sticker, so we were able to leave in one piece. On Friday we went to MS for Steve brother, Justin to get married. It was a really fun weekend and a pretty wedding. Justin's new wife is named Cissy and that is what Emily calls her beloved pacifer. She came up with that name because I called it a paci. Here a few pictures from our weekend.