Sleepy Head

Lately, Elye has been sleeping, sleeping, and sleeping. I am not complaining. At this point in Reesi's life she was crying, crying, and crying.

Saturday- Work Day

We still need to make a trip to Babies r Us to pick out a crib.

Ours was recalled. If you have a Jardine crib check and see if it was recalled. They have recalled tons and tons of cribs!

The weekend before Elye arrived my parents had come done to do some major work around the house. Before the work began my sisters surprised me with an awesome baby gift. Larry and I had painted the baby's room a while ago and it was a disaster. Not only did we get it everywhere, but the color I picked out was not what I expected. However, I had decided that I was just going to live with it. I came home Thursday night to a room professionally repainted in the color that I had meant to use. I love it!! Thanks Jenny and Julie!

The rest of the weekend my parents did the following work around the house: set up the cradle, picked up the new furniture and assembled, bought curtains, shades, and rods and installed them, cut down an out of control tree in the back yard, made two trips to the dump, cleaned out our garage, installed shelves, and organized it, and moved out old furniture. Much of this was done on Friday while I was at work!

I did help on Saturday and ended up staying on my feet all day. That was when the swelling began! My feet and calves were enormous. Little did I know that I wouldn't have to live with the swelling very long at all.

So a big thanks goes out to my family and all the hard work they put in. I am so glad that we got it all done before Elye arrived!

An Early Arrival

Reesi found all these things in her bedroom to make into presents for the baby and I.

Tuesday afternoon I was sitting at a wedding shower at school discussing with friends that even though I was already 4 cm dilated the doctor said I could still several more weeks. I was positive that I could make it at least two more weeks, even though my friends disagreed. Minutes later my water broke. I wasn't quite sure if it broke for sure so I grabbed my Denielle and we went to my classroom. As I was walking around laying out things for a sub it became obvious that my water broke. She snuck back into the shower to get my things and Rai Lynn followed her out. They generously took me to the hospital and helped me get checked in.

Knowing how quickly things progressed with Reesi, three and a half hours, I urgently called Larry, who, of course, didn't answer his phone. He was a Seven Oaks coaching a JV baseball game. I got a hold of his assistant coach, who called the field and they let Larry know his wife was in labor.

The only problem was that he was driving the school bus and with no other way to the hospital and no one else licensed to drive the bus he drove the bus downtown to the hospital leaving the team in the hands of a parent. Unfortunately, things weren't progressing as quickly as Reesi and he would have had time to coach both games!

Finally, eight hours after my water broke and four weeks early, Elye Kate was born at 12:06 AM weighing 5 pounds and 15 ounces. She is doing great, healthy and strong. She is a little jaundice and we are going back to the doctor on Monday to check her out again, but other than that she is doing well.

Reesi has been so excited claiming, "I can't believe she finally came out." We have also been calling Reesi the baby hog. When I was in the hospital she stayed all day with me both days and wanted to hold Elye all the time. Now that we are home that is wearing off some, but she is still the biggest helper and sweetest sister. We are so blessed to have our two healthy girls.

Where Are You Sunshine?

Reesi

Grace

Lyla

Where is the baseball weather? Weather-wise it has not been good for baseball this year. Rain, wind, cold, and every once in a while a pretty day! Reesi, however, could care less about the mud and cold. She has a blast playing on the playground with her best bud, Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn is one of the player's sixth grade sister and she is the best babysitter at the games. I actually get to sit and watch the game, therefore, I love Kaitlyn too!

Easter Sunday

Remember this cat?

Yeah, she is still FAT!

We made Reesi go in the house while we hid the eggs, but then we heard this noise. She was in the bedroom trying to open the shades and peek out.

Holding as many eggs as she can!



Reesi loved hunting the eggs and made us hide them twice.

Is this belly really supposed to grow for five more weeks!?

NO WAY!

Reesi loves this rabbit every year. She thought it was hilarious when she turned his head around backwards.

Larry's side of the family


Uncle Steve blowing bubbles with Reesi

This Easter we spent our Sunday with Larry's family. After church we grilled out steaks with Karen and Van. While we were there Reesi had her egg hunt. I think she would have hunted them all day if we would have let them. We then went to Granny and Papa N to hang out with all the family. I was a busy day, but a fun day with family.

Forced to Dye My Thumb Green

Plants and I are not friends. When I get a plant for a gift I usually give it away so that I won't kill it. However, Reesi loves flowers. She wants to buy fresh flowers every week for her table. When Jenny's beautiful flowers bloomed in her yard, Reesi picked them immediately (she now knows better).

So several weeks ago I let Reesi pick out some seeds and we bought a little indoor greenhouse to grow some flowers for our yard. She picked out zinnias, sunflowers, and pumpkins. I know nothing about any of those, but I we gave it a shot.

They sprouted beautifully under Reesi's careful attention. She would wake each morning and immediately check her plants. Yesterday, we finally transported them to our yard. I have no idea if I planted them in the right place or if they will actually grow. We'll see. We may end up at Home Depot soon buying some actual flowers to plant. My thumb will never be naturally green.

Easter Egg Hunt

Reesi's class also had their Easter Egg Hunt last week. Unfortunately, I am trying to save my days off for when the baby comes so I couldn't make it to the party. So it was all Larry. He went for the picnic, egg hunt, and he even took pictures. Now we all know, whether we want to admit it or not, classroom parties are really only fun for the kids. Larry is not fond of these parties and I can't say that I blame him, especially being surrounded by all moms. But he was a good sport and Reesi had a fun time with her Daddy. She even said she wants Dad to come to all her parties from now on. Looks like Larry found a permanent job!

My Little Bird

Reesi the bird and Lyla the construction worker

Reesi's school had their spring program last week and their theme was Noah's Ark. Reesi's assigned animal was a bird. Being the not crafty, non-sewing mom that I am I was not sure how this bird was going to turn out. Since I couldn't find one on the Internet to buy I bought a bunch of feathers and got out my glue gun. It turned out pretty cute, in my "humble" opinion, but now what do I do with it. Anyone need a bird costume?

As far as the program goes Reesi had been practicing the songs at home for a while. She even freaked out and started crying one night when she couldn't remember the words to one of her songs. However, at the program she was not enthusiastic at all. The last song of the program, Rise and Shine, she sang with her eyes closed because she said the camera flashes were hurting the eyes. Kids are so unpredictable.

We Love Lilly!

Last weekend we went to see Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse at Nashville Children's Theater. It was adorable and the girls loved it. They are also having a great season coming up next year. We can't wait until next season!

Thanks Karen for all your help! You are a lifesaver!

She decided to add bunny ears.

In the past two weeks my washer and my vacuum have broken. My washer is now fixed, but a week and a half with no washer has put me behind. Fortunately, my sweet mother-in-law, Karen, volunteered to take some of my laundry to her house to do for me. Today, she came over with lunch, clean laundry, her vacuum cleaner, and Reesi's Easter basket. After lunch and vacuuming she had a little time to help Reesi with her Easter egg dying. Reesi went the traditional route with her eggs and went with one plain solid color. Of course, when she was done she wanted more! She wanted to keep them in her egg carton instead of her Easter basket. She has already put them down for a nap, but now that their nap is over they are enjoying a movie with her. However, they are very talkative and not watching the movie too much at all. With her imagination she can use just about anything to pretend and have fun with.