Wednesday, May 30, 2012

LakeLynn's wardrobe is growing!

It's completely different looking at baby girl clothes. I've only known boy stuff for the past 2 1/2 years. Logan & I were also thinking how funny it is that the clothes appear to be so small. Coco showered LakeLynn (she also bought Stryker 4 shirts so he wouldn't be left out) with a bag full of Ralph Lauren clothes. Macy's had a big sale & apparently, she went crazy buying everything in sight! All the clothes were 3 month size but still looked so tiny. How easily we forget how little our babies are. To think, Stryker's clothes were even smaller than this because he had to wear preemie sizes.


My favorite outfit so far.


long sleeve tops with pants


footies


little dresses


sleeper gowns


soft blanket

Stryker's new tricycle



Grandmomma got Stryker this tricycle so his short little legs could reach the pedals in order to start learning how to ride a bike. He has a big boy bike ready to go, that Fletch bought him, as soon as he learns to propel & reach the pedals.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Like father, like son

Logan spent Memorial Day doing chores around the house while I was at work. No, I did not give him a list or even tell him to do any of these things. Coco kept Stryker entertained with pool time. Logan completed the following: loaded & took the armoire that was in LakeLynn's room to Coco's house, mowed the grass, & cleaned out the garage! Thanks hubs! Coco cleaned out LakeLynn's closet & organized Stryker's playroom during Stryker's nap. Thanks Coco!


Stryker trying to help daddy drill

Stryker's new pool

Stryker continues to be spoiled, as usual. Thank you Coco for the new pool!


Decoration Day 2012

Every May or June, we attend decoration Sunday at a church in Steele, Alabama (a very small country town) on Chandler Mountain in honor of Logan's dad. (A little side note: they grow the most delicious tomatoes! Logan laughs at me because he said his city wife wouldn't know about that!) Logan's dad passed away when Logan was 15 years old. Unfortunately, I was unable to meet this man. Our family met Logan's family about 2 years later. I have no doubt that Logan inherited many of his traits. Looking forward to Logan sharing stories of him as our children grow older.


This year it's a family of 3 but next year we'll be a family of 4!


Stryker working out at Aunt Bonnie's house (Logan's dad's sister)

Monday, May 28, 2012

More fun in the sun

We met our friends (Nick, Stacy, & their daughter Lucy) at Splash Pad Saturday morning. They had never been so it was fun for Stryker to show Lucy around.


The ice cream truck came by (twice) which Stryker needed some, of course both times!


My handsome guys playing in the water.


Stacy & Lucy


Stryker found this ball & had a blast kicking it all around in the water.


Lucy & Stryker found water holes to cover.


runs everywhere


caught in action


drying off while playing at the park


Stryker chasing Lucy down the slide






Mr. Independent & trying to show off in front of the girls

Registering for LakeLynn

We spent last Friday night registering for LakeLynn. This year Buy Buy Baby is open so we chose to register there. With Stryker, we didn't have this wonderful place.


Daddy keeping Stryker entertained while I shopped for baby girl


We ate dinner at Johnny Rockets & this is what Stryker wanted! This boy loves his ice cream.

Last day of school 2012

We loved Stryker's teachers this year & hate he will be changing classrooms tomorrow. Thank you so much for all you taught our son! We'll miss all of you.


Ms Kelley (main teacher)


Ms. Ashley


(a new teacher that came in the last month) - hate that I cannot remember her name

Friday, May 25, 2012

Song Review

"The Hurt & The Healer" by MercyMe
Why? The question that is never far away. The healing doesn't come from the explained. Jesus please don't let this go in vain. You're all I have. All that remains. 
So here I am. What's left of me. Where glory meets my suffering. I'm alive. Even though a part of me has died. You take my heart and breathe it back to life. I've fallen into Your arms open wide. When the hurt and the healer collide.
Breathe. Sometimes I feel it's all that I can do. Pain so deep that I can hardly move. Just keep my eyes completely fixed on You. Lord take hold and pull me through.
So here I am. What's left of me. Where glory meets my suffering. I'm alive. Even though a part of me has died. You take my heart and breathe it back to life. I've fallen into Your arms open wide. When the hurt and the healer collide.
It's the moment when humanity is overcome by majesty. When grace is ushered in for good. And all the scars are understood. When mercy takes its rightful place. And all these questions fade away. When out of the weakness we must bow. And hear You say "It's over now."
I'm alive. Even though a part of me has died. You take my heart and breathe it back to life. I've fallen into Your arms open wide. When the hurt and the healer collide.
Jesus come and break my fear. Awake my heart and take my tears. Find Your glory even here. When the hurt and the healer collide.


This song has really touched me as I look back over the past 10 months. Why is a question that comes to mind immediately, especially during tragedy. On earth, we contemplate this often & keep stating that we'll get answers when we get to Heaven. But I hope that God can remove all of my curiosities when I reach His presence. I fight each day especially since our two miscarriages & the ups/downs of this current pregnancy. Thank you Lord for your comfort, peace, & strength because we cannot live out this life without You.

SEC Baseball Tournament 2012

Baseball Fever!!!! Logan, Stryker, Coco, & I all enjoyed an evening of baseball. Thank you Coco for the tickets. What better way to spend an afternoon. Only wished it was all day every day!


Stryker pitching in the kid's zone


Loves baseball


Good form, but needs some work on changing his lead foot


My guys love ice cream


My heart belongs to these amazing guys

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

LakeLynn's first piece of clothing


Coco bought this cute sweatshirt for LakeLynn yesterday. She'll definitely be warm in this!

Fun in the sun














filling his baby pool (he needs a bigger one)


Coco bought Stryker his first play camera, so he was constantly taking pictures & saying "cheeeessseee" (notice how he squats down to steady the camera)

Mother's Day 2012

Mother's Day weekend was exciting, especially since we knew the gender of our baby! Saturday morning, Logan & Stryker took me to breakfast at Niki's West. Logan heard me talk about wanting to eat breakfast (since I love their food) so he decided to surprise me. After filling our tummies full of delicious food, we headed around town in search for bedding set ideas for LakeLynn's room. Our original plans for that afternoon was spending it with grandmomma at the splash pad in Oneonta. Unfortunately, she had to cancel due to family sickness. Therefore, we decided to enjoy our backyard & the Splash Pad down the road.



Stryker's present from daycare: handprints were the flower pedals


sharing his sweet tea with frog; if anyone knows our son, this is a big deal because he does not share his tea!


Sunday morning Coco & Fletch came to church with us. We enjoyed a good lunch at All Steak on the way home. The picture above shows what the rest of our day consisted of.


My present from Coco for Mother's Day. It matches perfectly in our 1/2 bath downstairs. Don't worry, I went straight to Lowe's for updated towel & toilet paper holders (not pictured) so they would match as well.

Saturday, May 12, 2012

LakeLynn's first gift

Coco gave LakeLynn her first gift!


The little boy couldn't be left out, of course.


Coco's gift to Stryker - a sports growth chart! He didn't understand why it wasn't a toy.


Now for LakeLynn's gift...


It's a girl sonogram holder! It's special because Coco bought Stryker one before he was born.

LakeLynn's furniture

I know it's probably a little soon to be planning the nursery but I don't want a repeat of how we decorated Stryker's nursery. I was on bedrest which only allowed me to enjoy the decorating process from a chair in the hallway. Logan & Coco were the ones who enjoyed that process. I told Logan from the start of this pregnancy that I didn't want to miss out on anything. So, yes we have already been shopping! We went Thursday after work to Storkland in Vestavia where we purchased Stryker's furniture. They were having a sale for Mother's Day & Coco told me that it was worth going because they had a big selection with several on clearance due to discontinuation of designs. The set below was something we liked when we were shopping for Stryker but passed it quickly since we needed boy furniture. We were drawn to it again. Thankfully, Coco had already warned the sales lady that we were coming that afternoon. She told us this set was on sale for Mother's Day weekend (starting today) & was discounted even more because the company would be discontinuing this design. What?! That's exactly what happened with Stryker's furniture! She also told us that we would receive $50 off when we tagged them in a picture of Stryker's furniture on Facebook. That's a deal we could not pass up. So yes, we put a deposit down & it will be delivered in 4-6 weeks. The 3 pieces are posted below but definitely do not do it justice. It's known as white chocolate. The crib is a convertible crib that will grow to a full size bed just like Stryker's crib.








Close-up view of crib headboard

It's a GIRL!!!!

Yes, it's a GIRL!!!! We had a scheduled doctor's appointment on Tuesday, May 8th to begin our weekly progesterone injections. The nurse quickly found baby's heart beat (158 bpm) since we immediately told her to check low. Another nurse entered the room to give me my first injection & teach Logan. After the shot, Logan came over to me. He held my hands while telling me that he just couldn't give me the shots, unless there was no one else. He continued stating how he couldn't hurt me like that. The shot was uncomfortable but not anything like I had expected. Not sure if it was because I was nervous or the fact that I knew this was what our baby needed. I kept reminding myself what all I had to endure with Stryker, especially the shots/medicine while on bedrest in the hospital. At the end of our appointment, we spoke with Dr. Adcock. I informed him that cramping had developed since restrictions were removed & they were worse on days that I had to work in the hospital. He didn't seem concerned but wanted to make sure there had not been any changes in my cervix. We were then sent for an unscheduled ultrasound. We were excited to get the opportunity to see baby again since it had been awhile. Note: our appointment to find out baby's sex was not until May 29th. The ultrasound tech was the same one who has been with us the majority of the time. Everything checked out perfect! She then preceded to ask when we would be finding out the sex. After telling her 3 more weeks, she told us that we shouldn't have to wait that long after all that we had been through since August. She told me to lie down & we would see if baby would cooperate. Are you serious?! Yes, we would love that! I couldn't thank her enough. What a sweet gesture. Now, we needed baby to behave. As soon as the ultrasound head touched my belly, baby Green kicked & hit it. We all laughed saying Stryker did the same thing. Baby was also active, just like Stryker. The first time we saw baby's full frontal view, she waved almost as though she was telling us "Hi, mom & dad. I'm okay." God always knows what we need. Such comfort. Baby cooperated & we were told, 
IT'S A GIRL!!!!
I do have to say that Logan & Stryker were correct. They kept saying it was a girl. I didn't have a feeling. I'm sure it was because I wouldn't allow myself to truly dream about this baby. We're extremely excited & blessed to be welcoming another child. It will be fun having a son & a daughter. Since we were wanting our mothers to be present on the May 29th appointment (like they were with Stryker), we didn't have any plans to use on the surprise of today. We quickly called our mothers to invite them for dinner. Remember, it's only an hour before they all get off work. So we had to plan fast. Logan grabbed BBQ & cupcakes on the way home while I picked Stryker up from school. I was so excited to tell our families about the new addition. Coco, Fletch, Brian, grandmomma, & our neighbors (Chuck & Lisa) came for the big surprise. They didn't know why they were coming but were ready for any news.


The girl group: Brian, grandmomma, & Lisa


The boy group: Coco, Chuck, & Fletch


Revealing the secret to our moms!


Yummy strawberry cupcakes from Savage's


Proud parents


Our precious baby girl, LakeLynn!

One of my friends from high school told me something about this ultrasound picture. If you look at the bottom left hand corner above (under LakeLynn's bottom), you will see some dark white areas. It is shaped like hands - God's hands! God is showing us that He is always there. He is protecting our baby girl through this pregnancy.