4 year wedding Anniversary!

  I remember the day like it was yesterday.  It was 10-10-10, and I was in the middle of my 1st semester of nursing school.  Some may have thought, what in the world were you thinking?? But Shane and I knew that was the right time for us and we were so thankful to be married in front of our closest family and friends.  I cannot believe time has gone by so fast!  If you were to ask us where we saw ourselves four years from then, I am pretty sure we would be living very similar to now.  We knew of our we wanted 2 to 3 kids, we wanted to have them young, and we wanted them to be raised knowing and loving God.
  So much has happened from getting pregnant for the first time, to now the third (each and every pregnancy is so amazing and different in its own way), from getting promotions and new jobs, and just growing so much closer to each other in our marriage and love for each other and God that I wouldn't change any of it for the world.  No it wasn't easy, and that first year of just adjusting to living together for the first time was definitely harder then either of us thought it would be, but just taking the time we each needed to get comfortable in the rent house and for me to get comfortable with my new environment not being close to my family and friends took some time but it was so worth it.
  This year we actually decided to go out and have a nice dinner since our anniversary was on a Friday night, but since we are parents and Brielle had gotten sick we decided to stay home, eat dinner at home and enjoyed a movie at home.  We both were relaxed and spending it at home was just as meaningful as spending it away.  Our gift to each other was a 4D ultrasound of baby Rochelle and since she is so low and we decided to wait so late in the game to get the sonogram we got some decent pictures, not the greatest but just to see her grow and so healthy and big meant the world to each of us.  We can't wait to meet in her in a few short weeks!
  After the sonogram appointment my best friend Adriane came over to help me make a blanket out of all of the pregnancy shirts I have made (saw the idea on pinterest and it took a LOT more time then either of us assumed it would) and the blanket turned out great!! It was way smaller then I thought it would be, but I will forever cherish the memories of wearing them for my babies and show them the blanket when they get older.  I definitely won't be doing another blanket any time soon (unless we learn how to sow one together) but I am glad we took the time to do it.
  We signed up for a fall mini photo session to happen in just a couple of weeks and we can't wait for that and hope the pictures turn out great!

4 years down,  many more to go! 

The start of my blanket 

The end result!  

Thank you again to everyone who wished us a Happy Anniversary, we can't wait to spend many more together!

This is our precious bundle of joy! 

33 week check-up!

Baby: 33 weeks and 5days at the day of the appointment!  (Even though today we are technically 34 weeks!) Rochelle has been like rolling in my stomach lately I swear and it's crazy to feel so much pressure (down there) at times.  She now has her own immune system, and since her amniotic fluid has maxed out this week and is starting to get thinner she can start seeing more light pass through differentiating between day and night!  Her heart rate was ranging in the 120's-130's and sounding great! I wish we did another sonogram to get her weight but she is supposedly gaining half a pound a week now.  My Doctor wants to schedule my induction for November 10th (a week early) and start with cervadil(used to thin the cervix) and then start pitocin after that and go slow to see how well Rochelle can tolerate labor.  We discussed our options again regarding my preferences during labor, what happens if a complication were to occur, and how the the NICU team felt about this pregnancy and how they will be there when I am giving birth.  I can't believe in 5 weeks from today we will be meeting our baby girl for the first time, I cannot wait!

Mommy:  I enjoyed my MUCH needed week off from work and returned this past week at the nursing home and had a great weekend working there and then I am going to back to Austin for tomorrow and Wednesday so start my busy month of work there.  I get one full weekend off this month and I am definitely looking forward to that!

Daddy: Still doing amazing foot rubs every night I am home, and helping out a LOT around the house since I am having a harder time bending down and picking up stuff quick when there is a spill or what not from Brielle and cooking a lot more too.  Such a great husband and father to Brielle and he tells Rochelle every night that he cannot wait to meet his new precious girl.  Rochelle is hilarious and knows exactly when Shane touches my belly because she tries to do something funny or crazy inside of me to show off for Daddy!

Cravings: Still sweet stuff but I have calmed down a LOT.  I have been wanting apple juice a lot more lately these past two weeks but as for any other cravings I have not had a lot.  Oh and cereal for lunch a lot of the days now.

Brielle: We did her 15 month weight for my book that I keep all of her weights in and she is now 22 lb 10 oz.! And 29 1/2 inches long. She has been the same height for quite some time now.  We thought for sure she went through a growth spurt for a while eating a lot more then normal and waking up so much in the middle of the nights but nope.  She is now completely bottle free but refuses to drink milk out of a cup.  Absolutely refuses so I have gotten creative to sneak more calcium and vitamin D into her diet and add whole milk into anything that can have it during her meals.  She is talking SO much now and definitely acting like a toddler (temper tantrums, getting mad and trying to hit (which we have NO clue where she got this from), and wanting to do everything herself.  Love the joys of all the different stages she goes through and looking back it's crazy to think  of how much we have been through with her in the past 15-16 months.  She is one amazing child.

She can now catch a ball!!! 

Go longhorns!!  

Emma and Brielle walking to the park

We love you Nana and grandpa! 

Playing with her medical kit. 

5 Fun Toddler Activities

  During this week that I took off from work I knew I really wanted Brielle to have some fun new activites to do around the house and I wanted to share a few of them that she has absolutely loved! Let me start off by saying that my child rarely sits down for more then a few minutes to enjoy a certain activity, but these got a good 30+ minutes out of her which was amazing!

  1.)  Put the ball through the roll.
  In this activity, you will need an empty paper towel roll, some tape, and pink pom-pom balls or whatever you would like to use to put through the paper towel roll.  We also added a blue bowl at the bottom to catch them which made it a little more fun.
  To do this activity it really is as easy as it sounds.  You just put three pieces of tape length wise on the paper towel roll to stick it to an empty part of the wall, and place the bowl underneath it.  Then you just take the pom-pom balls and put them through it.  Easy as that.  And while we were doing this we were practicing our counting which is always great!

2.) Push the pipes through the strainer.
  In this activity, you will need a bag of pipe cleaners and a strainer that is preferably a bowl so that you can easily flip over.
  To do this activity is so fun and super easy, you just flip the strainer over and see how many pipe cleaners your child can put through the holes without any help! Brielle did great for the first few until they started bending then I had to teach her to hold the pipe cleaners at the bottom and put it through and she loved it!

3.) Trace the shapes
 In this activity you will need a box of crayons and a coloring book or just blank pieces of computer paper like I used and draw the outline of the shapes yourself.
  To do this activity is simple, all you need is to help your child focus on how to trace the different shapes, or anything that you have pre-outlined on the paper for them that you would like for them to go over.  This required a lot of help from me to my 15 month old, but she will get there someday! She is great at drawing lines right now, and just loves the act of coloring.

4.) Reading with expression.
  In this activity you will need some interesting, new colorful books for your child to read.
  To do this activity, I just bought a couple of animal books and went for it! I used loud, funny voices for all of the animals in the stories and Brielle REALLY stayed focused the entire "story time".  It is so fun to be crazy and weird with your children as well so they know how different animals sound and they can start understanding the story in their own way.

5.) Chalk time!
  In this activity, all you will need is a box of chalk and a sidewalk area to do it.
  To do this activity I would just use a couple of colors of chalk so your child does not get distracted/overwhelmed by the amount in the entire box.  We have been practicing how to spell her name for a little while now so when we ask her how to spell it she will draw a line and say "B" and then another one and say "E" haha so we are missing all the letters in between but she will absolutely spend 30 minutes-1 hour outside playing with the different chalk and trying to draw different things.

Pushing the pipe cleaners through the strainer. 

So many! 

Practicing counting while putting the balls through. 

Chalk time! 

I hope this helps a few mommas who just want to add some new fun activities into their house! :)

Celebrating the little things.

  I have noticed this last week that I have been a little overwhelmed with the lack of sleep and just overall discomfort towards this time in the pregnancy (almost 33 weeks!!) and just trying to get everything in order. I realized that I have so much to celebrate at this moment in time that I really have to stay as positive as possible.
  First, I am celebrating my jobs, the same ones that I still have not come up with a good time to take maternity leave at (I am thinking the last week will be when I am 38 weeks). I love both in such different ways and I just truly appreciate having them both and I am so proud of what I do at both jobs.  Even though the bigger I get, seems to make some things a little more difficult, I find a way to to make it work.
  Brielle seems to be getting so much smarter everyday and it's amazing to see how much she has grown into her own little toddler self throughout this pregnancy.  Even though there were a couple of days last week where her and I got very little sleep when I had to work some long hours in Austin, I wouldn't trade those middle of the night precious moments for the world.  She is such a blessing to Shane and I and we are both so happy to just celebrate her being a happy and healthy girl and enjoy every day we get to spend with her.
  This pregnancy is something I celebrate with God daily.  Shane and I both pray for a healthy baby girl and we wish we knew what God has for us in our future, but we will soon find out in His time.  The miracles that we have read about all the Trisomy 13 babies that have survived, and all the struggles the families have gone through with the Doctors and the therapists to make sure their child lives a long happy life means the world to us.  We know how lucky we are to carry her every day and can't wait to meet Rochelle!
  Shane and I are about to celebrate 4 years of being married next month and I can't believe how much we have grown in our marriage, faith, and love in each other over these past years. No matter what we know we can always count on each other and that is what gets us through each and every day. So here is to celebrating a lifetime of anniversaries together!
  My family and friends are always worth celebrating as well.  Whether it's a phone call just to vent, or a lunch meet up those people make living in this crazy world much easier. I love you all very much!

  When life gets hard or just plain overwhelming, just remember to always celebrate the little things.  Those are what matter the most in life! :)

Brielle had so much fun at Daddy's company work dinner!

Shane and Aiden

Enjoying the day at the park! 

Daddy and Brielle

Cute Emma!! 

Brielle loves to eat!! 

She loves her some "chips" 

Brielle's usual look at Emma lol! 

31 Weeks!!

Baby: 31 weeks and 5days!   Rochelle has been kicking and moving around my entire middle section it's amazing!!.  She is now making faces, hiccupping, swallowing, breathing, and is even able to suck her thumb (we don't have any proof of it yet!) :)  Her heart rate was ranging in the 140's and sounding great! She is measuring just right and is doing great as far as we can tell! (my huge belly is definitely proof she is growing and getting big!)

Mommy:  I have been working and picking up extra days a couple of days this month just to have more saved for when baby girl gets here.   I only get a couple of hours of sleep when I stay at my moms--not sure why but I am only able to sleep comfortably in my own bed.  Brielle is the same and wakes up in the middle of the night majority every week I work in Austin.  I am tired right now and haven't been to the gym, but hopefully I can get back in there soon!!

Daddy: Is definitely ready to meet his new baby girl and is growing more in his relationship with Brielle every day.  Still the daily foot rubs are amazing and much needed after VERY long shifts! Also helping me start to organize all the baby stuff from Brielle and get stuff more and more put together again in the house.

Cravings: Anything sweet.  I did my glucose test two weeks ago and the results were great so I am glad that my body is able to handle all the sweets I have been consuming! I ate pickles the other day thinking a lot of pregnant women do it so I wanted to try it to curb from craving and that was a major negative.  I was up all night with heartburn, no bueno!

Brielle: She is going to be the best big sister!! She kisses my belly every day and says "sister" but when you ask her where Rochelle is she points to her belly.  So cute!! She still has to work on not hitting her cousins when she wants to play with them and has definitely gone into time out a few times for that! I know it's just a phase and will hopefully pass sooner than later! She kisses her cousin Aiden about 100 times a day when my parents keep all the grand kids together. She has an obsession with babies, it's hilarious. Can't believe she is 15 months already!! Where in the world has time gone? She is growing more and more independent every day!

We will be at the doctor's again in 2 weeks for another check-up and can't wait!

Matching Sister shirts!

Me and my big bump!

Brielle loving her some candy!

I finally bought shadow boxes for Brielle and Rochelle 

Sister matching outfits-Another one I made.

Turning 26 and my 29 week check-up!

  I would have to say yesterday was one of the most relaxing/calm birthdays I have had in a while. Since we already celebrated a couple of weeks ago with all of our friends, it was a day for Shane and I just to be with each other.  Well if you add our doctor's appointment, going to toyota dealership, the mall, and registering at the hospital I guess you could say we spent it with a lot of other people as well! :)
  The morning started out with Shane and I having to be at the Doctor's office by 8:30am for our ultrasound that I requested to make sure baby Rochelle was growing ok and measuring right.  I was 29weeks and 4 days and she is measuring 33w and4 days in leg length, 31weeks in the head circumference (even though this was a hard measurement since she is already head down and wasn't planning on repositioning for the sonographer) and about 29 weeks or so measuring all around the belly.  She is growing great and overall and that put me at ease a lot.  Her heart rate was 140bpm and sounding great but the sonographer was having a hard time finding her VSD in her heart but she said "good thing you went to an expert because that is hard to see on here!" Of course when trying to get us cute print out pictures, Rochelle wouldn't cooperate one bit with a side profile, so we got two pictures of her face (she has Brielle's nose! so cute!) and one picture saying it's a girl (for the 5th time) lol but she was kicking up a storm and moving around a lot which I loved!  She is also weighing in at 3pounds 6 ounces (58th percentile). Then we met up with the doctor after I had to drink that disgusting glucose drink for my 1 hour test and discussed our plans for delivery once again and he is thinking about taking the induction much slower this time (if I don't into labor on my own) and make sure she is tolerating labor ok. Shane and I both agreed that would be the best approach and he also asked if she isn't tolerating labor would I like a C-section and I said of course! Even though he said the likelihood and survival might not be good, he agreed with us that we should fight for baby girl and I am glad he is on our side on doing whatever we can to make sure she has the best life possible.  The NICU team will also be there at delivery to make sure they thoroughly check over her as well, so we feel much more confident about the entire process. I went back to get my labs drawn for the blood testing and we return back in 2 weeks! We can't believe it's already that time for 2 week check-ups!
  Then Shane and I went to the mall for a little bit and he surprised me with my dream rose gold watch and earrings! I LOVE them and he knows how much I have wanted them for so long and I am definitely appreciate of him.  We usually don't spend much on each other as majority goes into savings for the kids but every once in a while it's a great treat!
  We then celebrated at Olive Garden and had an amazing lunch and then went to go register at the hospital! Donna (the lady we registered with) is seriously the funniest woman on the planet and had us laughing the entire time I was signing my life away! I just love the hospital and the staff that we chose.  We will be there in about 10 short weeks!  She told us to email her after our next appointment so we could maybe swing by the NICU and meet some of the team that would be at delivery. We can't wait for that!

Thank you to everyone who said Happy Birthday to me via FB, Text, Phone calls I truly appreciate it and thank you so much to my parents for watching Brielle for us while we had a day to ourselves!

My new watch and earrings!

I LOVE them!

Grandpa and Brielle on the exercise ball

Brielle making huge mess of oatmeal with my parents!

Had to get a birthday cookie from Great American Cookies

Baby Rochelle!

Week Full Of Love

  This past week was so much fun, yet so exhausting at the same time.  I only got to sleep in my own bed 3 times this past week but it was SO worth it! It was a week full of time spent well with my friends and family and a LOT of driving! :)
  It started out by going to our cardiologist appointment which went way better than we expected and then I decided to spend a little bit more time with my niece and nephew that day before heading home.  I love spending time with them, even with each child going through their own phases right now and at times it definitely gets hard to handle!  Then the next day was so relaxing at home I think the only time Brielle and I left the house was to grocery shopping.  It was definitely needed.  The next day we drove back to Lockhart so I could take my refresher CPR course in Austin (so good for ANYONE to take not just nurses!).
  The next day we were planning on going to visit Val and the girls and since I hadn't seen baby Natalie since she was 1 week old, and now she was 2 months old, I would say a visit was definitely needed.  My mom came with me and it was a lot of fun (very busy with 6 kids total) but so glad we got to catch up on everything and love on their 3 gorgeous girls. I can't believe Sara and Rachel are both in school already! Gosh time flies.
  Then our weekend was filled with mommy working a 3 day weekend celebrating Grandma Johnson's 87th birthday at Shane's parents house.  So much fun celebrating life and she has overcome so many obstacles in her life and is stronger today than I have seen her in a long time.  We all love her so much!

Hope everyone had a great week! Happy Labor Day! (oh and we all slept past 8 this morning, BEST gift ever)

Ian and Isaiah

One of Grandma's cakes

Another cake!

Emma, Aiden and Brielle in the ball pit.

Baby Aiden is 6 months!

Emma and Aiden at the park

Part of Grandma's prayer circle for her birthday dinner.

Brielle driving!

One of my favorite pictures of the weekend!