Reading to the Girls

As soon as I sit down to feed Layne Hayden decides that it's story time. She comes over with a book and asks me to read it. I can't always do that since I have to work very hard to keep Layne awake during feeding time. But after she's done eating Hayden sits on my lap and we read stories together. Layne didn't like this book too much!

"Peek-a-Boo Layne"
We got the AquaBouncer out today to see how Layne would like it. I think Hayden enjoyed playing peek-a-boo with Layne more than Layne enjoyed the chair!

One More Sister Picture

Hayden just loves to be close to Layne so we decided to get another sister picture this morning. Hayden made sure to support her head so it was straight!

Weigh In...

The three girls took a field trip back to the doctor's office to weigh Layne. She had to go back since she wasn't back up to her birth weight on Monday at her first appointment. I am happy to say that she weighed 8 pounds 3 ounces....2 ounces heavier than her birth weight! So, we don't have to go back until her 1 month appointment!!

It was an experience going to the doctor's office with the two girls though. They were both very well behaved, but when I went to get them out of the car I had to think about it. Which one should I get first? If I get Layne first where will I out her when I am getting Hayden out of her seat? If I get Hayden first what will she be doing while I am getting Layne out? Things I didn't have to think about when we only had one to keep up with!!

Cereal for lunch!? Yeah yeah, we are doing what we can around here. We are trying to get settled into a routine, but we aren't quite there yet!

Proud Big Sis

Hayden was so excited to be able to put her arm around her baby sister for this picture.

Today Hayden was a good helper to mommy. She just loves to help out....most of the time. I have a feeling that they are going to get along so well throughout the years.

A New Way

Now that the tiredness from entering the world has worn off Layne has decided that she like nights better than days. She likes to stay up at night and of course she wants mommy's company! Well, 2 nights of that and I have had it. Today is a new day and I am taking charge here! We read the BabyWise book with Hayden and once I read it we started her on the schedule-feedtime, waketime, naptime (in that order). Within days we noticed a huge difference in Hayden's moods. It was unreal. So, we are now going to get Layne BabyWise! I am starting a little earlier with Layne, but week 2 is the suggested start time so we will see how it goes.

Here she is during one of her "waketimes" this morning.

Grandma and Pop sent Hayden a card that had this mask in it. It doesn't stay on long, but I was able to snap a picture quickly before she took it off. What a cutie.

Daddy's Little Girl

Layne isn't awake much these days, but here she is getting to know daddy.

Grandma and her two granddaughters!

Doctor's Visit

We went to the pediatrician for Layne's first visit today. She isn't quite back up to her birth weight, but she's making progress so it's nothing to worry about. Other than that, everything is perfect! Hayden came with us and was the perfect big sister. Layne was even well behaved for a 5 day old!

Here she is doing what she does best....sleeping.

Here's a picture of Hayden and Grandma playing on the computer together. Hayden has fun doing anything with Grandma, she really is enjoying this visit.

Pappy was in town for 24 hours on business, so he stopped in for a quick visit! He brought me flowers, and Hayden and Layne little stuffed animals. Here he is giving Hayden a horsey ride.

As soon as he walked in the door she yelled "Pappy" and reached up to him for a big hug. She then grabbed him by the hand and tried to show him everything "in her world".

Quick picture with his new granddaughter before he had to make the long drive back to Florida.

Happy 5 Year Anniversary!!

Well, it was 6 years ago today that Jeremy and I met at the church during a Natalie Grant concert. Six months later we were engaged and six months after (July 19, 2003) that we were married! Now, five years later we are even more in love than the day we were married and we have two beautiful girls to share that love with.

Grandma!!!

Grandma has been in town since Wednesday morning. This time around she was able to be here for Layne's birth. She was also here to stay with Hayden while we were at the hospital. Now, she is here doing ALL of the cooking, cleaning, laundry, running errands that we need....and more! She has been and continues to be such an amazing blessing to us. She is helping to make this transition a little easier. And of course Hayden is in heaven!!!

Layne's First Bath

We gave Layne her first bath last night. She didn't like it too much at all, but she survived.

Sleeping Update

Layne didn't really like to sleep much at night in the hospital. The night that we were there Jeremy and I were up until 5am with her! She cried and cried and ate and ate but didn't sleep at all. The second night (our first night home) she stayed up until 3am doing the same thing. But last night my milk came in and it's like we have a different child! She went down at 10pm and we woke her up at 2am and 6am to feed her! So, mommy and daddy got some much needed sleep last night. Here is Hayden sleeping with the baby doll that Layne brought with her when she came out of mommy's tummy. Jeremy and I bought her a Graco baby doll play set. It has a stroller, pack 'n play, high chair, swing, and car seat....all for her baby doll!! We will have to get some pictures.
Mommy's First Outing

I ventured out this morning to get milk and donuts. Today is a special day so I had to take a trip out and get a special breakfast. When I got home Hayden ate a strawberry donut with rainbow sprinkles. She made sure to eat all of the icing and sprinkles off!

More Layne Pictures from the Hospital

Here she is in the nursery just about an hour after she was born.

Trying to find anything to put in her mouth!

Daddy and his two little princesses! What a proud papa.

All dressed and ready to go home on Thursday afternoon.

Layne Eden Ross

Here we are at the hospital on Wednesday morning before they began the petocin and broke my water. Things were just wonderful before those two events happened!

Layne Eden Ross was born at 2:35pm and weighed 8 pounds 1 ounce. She was 19 1/2 inches long. Only about 20 minutes of pushing to get her out!

Holding mommy's hand.

Hayden meeting her baby sister for the first time. I honestly think that it was love at first sight for Hayden.

Hayden is already so protective of Layne. The nurse came in and pricked Layne's foot and Hayden was very concerned about her baby sister.

"And where do you think you're going!?"

This picture was taken about a week ago when we put my hospital bag in the car in order to prepare for the baby's arrival (we thought it was going to be any day!). Hayden wanted to help out but it looks like she's not too happy about the idea of us going to the hospital and coming home with another baby!
Read below for the baby watch update..........

And We're Off....

It's now 6:30am on Wednesday morning (I MADE IT!) and we are about to leave in order to go to the hospital so that I can be induced. As some of you may remember, I was induced with Hayden but that's because my fluid was leaking. So, I have been through the whole petocin thing before. I was in labor for 9 hours with Hayden, we are hoping for a shorter labor with this one but we will see. My mom's flight gets in this morning at 8:30am. So, she will be able to be up at the hospital with us when the baby is born!! Praise the Lord!! Jeff and Jan are going to stay here at the house with Hayden until the baby is born. Once my mom gets here she will be able to care for Hayden while Jeremy, new baby, and I stay at the hospital for a couple days. Please keep us all in your prayers today. We will keep you posted.

Mommy Update...
We went to the doctor's today and I am 4 cm dilated. Mom is coming in on Wednesday, so we went ahead and scheduled an induction for Wednesday morning. So, if this baby does not come today or tomorrow there is a definite light at the end of this 9 month long tunnel!! We'll keep you posted.

I Love Daddy!

In the picture above she has pigtails, but one of the kids in Sunday school pulled her hair today so they're kind of coming out.

Here are some shots of her big girl bun.

Mommy Update

Well, some have requested an updated picture of me...oh joy! So, here it is. Not much to report here concerning the labor watch. We've had at least 1 night of irregular contractions...possibly 2. I kept waking up last night thinking that contractions were waking me up, but I couldn't stay up long enough to tell if there were more to follow. We have been walking every single night. I gave up on the eggplant because it gave me really bad indigestion and kept me up at night with braxton hicks....forget that garbage! I'm getting to the miserably pregnant stage, but it will all be over soon enough. And we'll move on to a new set of challenges!!

*The Famous* Eggplant Parmesan

There is a restaurant that's well known for serving labor inducing Eggplant Parmesan. Scalini's Italian Restaurant in Marietta GA "guarantees" that their eggplant parm will cause a full term pregnant woman to go into labor within 48 hours of eating the dish! Well, I searched for the restaurant on the internet this morning and I found the recipe!
Jerm cooked it for us for lunch today!

He followed the recipe to a T!!!

The finished product. I was going to have Jerm half the recipe, but I decided that I will eat this meal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner until I go into labor :-)

Very hopeful! Whitney has a very good friend that went to the restaurant, ordered the eggplant, and went into labor 8 hours later!! Over 300 pregnant women have given birth within 48 hours after eating the meal!!

Piano Time with Whitney!

Tonight Whitney came over and brought us our favorite dinner.....PIZZA!! It was just a girls night though because daddy had a meeting. We talked, hung out, and played! Whitney tried to teach Hayden some songs on the piano.

Saying a Little Prayer

Hayden has started repeating the last word in every sentence during the blessing.

Mommy Update...

Well, I went to the doctor today for my weekly visit. I am 3 cm dilated and they ended up stripping my membranes....I will spare you the details-you can Google it if you are really that interested. So, now we wait and see if I go into labor within the next 72 hours. We'll keep you posted.

Buddy Angie

We had Kenneth and Angie over for dinner tonight. We haven't seen them in so long so it was great to catch up with them. Hayden loved having a buddy around. She just took Angie's hand and made her go everywhere. They mostly played in Hayden's room together. Hayden even closed the door so nobody else could come in!

Then Hayden showed Angie her swing. She just wanted her new buddy to see all of the cool things in life.

Look new buddy...no hands!!

I can't even believe that I am about to say this, but we did not take any pictures today!! That's why I had to post the clip art to go with today's recap. We didn't do too much this morning because I wasn't feeling too well. By the afternoon I was feeling better so we rented a movie at one of those dollar a day DVD rentals that they have at some grocery stores (great way to rent movies by the way!!). We rented Vantage Point-a great movie if you are looking for one. Then we cooked dinner on the grill and headed to Brusters for some ice cream. I really wish that we would have brought our camera with us....what a melting mess we all were. As soon as we got the ice cream it just melted because it was so hot. Neat tidbit of information-children under 40" get a free baby cone!! Then we decided to drive by the Horse Park on the way home to see if we wanted to stop by. They had some activities beginning at 5pm and then fireworks later on. We decided to go on in and got an amazing parking spot....the 8 1/2 months pregnant card works wonders! They had food booths, craft areas, music, pony rides, and blow up games for kids. It was nice to get out and walk around. Then it was time for the fireworks. We sat in the car and waited for about 30 or 45 minutes. Finally, they started. So, we sat on the tailgate and watched. Hayden was a trooper for the first few and then she started talking about the car (she wanted back in the car.....quick!). Instead, I held her as she buried her head in my shoulder. Then we asked her if she wanted her sun glasses because it seemed like she just didn't like the bright light. She didn't have any problem with the loud noise. Jeremy went to the truck to get her glasses and she wore them the rest of the time. She sat on his lap with her glasses on, eyes closed, and hands covering her glasses!! What a nut. No tears though. So, that was Hayden's first experience with fireworks and we didn't even have a camera to capture it!! It would have been a great picture.

What a Nut!

Hayden has been on a binkie kick lately. She doesn't suck on them, she just puts them in her mouth and sometimes chews on them.

After I posted the last video I went in her room to check on her while she was napping. This is what I found!

Fun in the Sprinkler!

VOTE

Get This - Survey Results - GlowDay.com

Playing with Grady

Mommy Update

We all went to the doctor today and found out that I am 2.5 cm dilated and 80-90% effaced! All that being said....we don't have a good idea at all of when the baby will come. I could walk around for a few weeks at this stage or I could have the baby tomorrow. We just don't know! So, we will give you another update next week if I make it to my next appointment.