Our fun staff team

We had our annual dirty Santa ornament swap last week. Here's the photos!http://picasaweb.google.com/coatlanta/ChristmasParty09#

I didn't know he could get in AND out!

References

I've added a lot of blogs to the right that I read regularly. Check them out! Some are helpful for budgeting, some for parenting, some for decorating, some for fun...a variety. Variety is the spice of life! :)

Mommy and Owen at 6.5 months

My parents think Owen looks like me and Sam looks like Michael, but more like Michael's dad. What do you think? I agree!

Owen's Baptism

There is a lot I want to say, but I don't have time to. All for now is that we loved baptizing Owen with our good friends the Crews' and the Irwins. It's been so neat to raise our older boys who are all a few months apart to now raising our second boys that are all a few months apart, too! So special to do life together!
Please pray for us and Owen as we try to be good stewards of our time with him and that he would come to know the Lord at a young age.

Five Easy Thanksgiving Crafts to Do with Your 2-4 Year Old
The items you will need are all inexpensive and most are probably things you already have at home and can recycle. The ideas are simple, but do require a little bit of adult help for younger crafters.
Read More

Michael is taking sam to the tech game. Cute!

7 months and change

Owen is growing too fast for me to keep up! He's all over the place...crawling, pulling up, getting into trouble! :) We love him so much. He's been such a fun addition to our little family. He's so healthy and strong. He got his first or second cold just this week. He doesn't complain, though.
Sam and Owen are learning each other...how to share and play nice. They keep me on my toes, that's for sure! They really do love each other, I think. They'll just laugh for no reason in the back seat or in their room when they're supposed to be napping. So precious!
I can't remember what all is new with Owen besides pulling up. Oh, he does say Da Da.
I'll try to get back into blogging some soon!

My big 6 month old!

I can't believe Owen is 6 months already. It hit me today when someone asked how old he was that he was 6 months today! It's crazy how you don't keep up as well with these sorts of things with baby #2. I love him just as much, though of course! :)
I wanted to list some of the fun things about my O-Ba-Go-ee:
You crawl like an inch worm
You are so strong!
You eat like a champ and then proceed to spit up a good amount at least 2 x after every meal
You are eating more and more baby food
You smile when you hear me laugh even if I'm not looking at you
You smile when I come get you from your naps
You nap exactly 1 hour to the T every morning no matter what time I lay you down
You LOVE to jump, either in the jumperoo, or when I'm holding you
You still love to be held and snuggle even though you're getting more and more adventurous
You are into everything and I can't leave you alone to do 1 task
You are PRECIOUS!

They're growing too fast!

It's been a while since I've blogged and I want to record some funny things about my boys before these moments are forgotten!
I looked over at Owen today and he somehow went from his belly to sitting up straight! I missed it. I got some pics later, but a certain 2 year old, whom I love, was quite jealous for my attention.


The first good picture:

Attempting to get another, but Sam wanted the blue pillow...
"Ok, Sam's turn, Sam's turn" He says
Right when I snapped it, he spit up...I give up on trying to get a cute one!
They are sweet, sweet boys and I love them so much! They are becoming buddies!!!

Owen at 5 months

Owen just turned 5 months last week! That's crazy to me. It's flying by.
Today he is starting a new routine.
7am-Wake and nurse, then eat Mush
8:30-?-Nap then play
12 or 12:30-Nurse, then eat Mush
1:00-Nap w/Sam
4:00ish- Wake up and play
6pm-Nurse and eat Mush
8pm-Bedtime!

He's already doing this for the most part. I'll see how it goes! Only 3 feedings a day will be awesome! He's so healthy and happy on this kind of schedule. I love it!

Mush=1 banana, 2 T fruit, 2 T veggie, 2 T black eyed peas, 2 T cereal.
I'm going to add a T of these other things soon. I just put all that in a blender in the morning and divide it into 3 bowls for his 3 meals that way the banana isn't all black and nasty!!!


He's almost crawling. He literally gets into push up position and then jumps forward. It's amazing. I couldn't have that good of form if I tried! He's grabbing everything and laughing like crazy at his brother. He's just precious. He loves the jumpy thing in the doorway too.

Sam is doing great. He's very sweet to Owen. He wants to play with him even when he's asleep in his crib and he should be asleep too...like at 10pm!!! They're having their own little party in their room some nights. We usually laugh and then try to make a serious face when we go in there to put him back in his bed.
They're fun!

2 months and 2 years!

We've been super busy and sick. That sums up the past month. We've gotten a stomach bug, pink eye multiple times, bad colds, fevers... It's been really tough. I think we're all on the mend now, though.
Owen weighed 12 lbs. 8 oz. on Friday. Sam weighed 24 1/2 lbs. They both look great!
What else?
Today's Sam's bday and we're going to have a little party. He picked Thomas the Train as the theme. No lie...he went with me to order the Elmo cake and he said, "THOMAS THE TRAIN!!!" I couldn't get the Elmo cake, then. We're excited about celebrating the cutest toddler I know (I'm his Mom, so I can say that!) and visiting with friends before we pack up and leave tomorrow morning. We'll be gone 5 weeks and I'm sure I won't blog. So, have a wonderful month of June! I'll post some pictures when we get back.

1 month appt.

Owen looks great! He weighs 10 lbs. 6 oz. so I guess the growth spurt slowed down a little. 21 1/2 inches long and 39 1/2 inches head circumference. He's sleeping well...10:30pm-4:00am. I can't wait until he sleeps longer! We give him an extra ounce of milk in a bottle at bedtime so he can go longer and that seems to help a lot. I can't survive without my afternoon nap! We all nap from about 1:30 to 3:00 and I'm unconscious it feels like until Owen starts stirring in the pack n play next to me.
It's been a fun first month, but I'm starting to feel the weight of parenting 2 kids under 2!

4 hour schedule

So, one thing I don't like about nursing is that you never know how much the baby is getting. I decided to do the 4 hr. schedule for about a week and see how his weight was doing. He was almost 8 lbs. 1 oz. at the doctor 2 Wednesdays ago, so he should have been at least 5 more ounces than that 10 days later on Saturday. They gain about 1/2 - 1 oz. per day. So, I weighed him Saturday and he was almost....10 pounds! What in the world????

Sam and Owen's schedule

The second child needs more planning since you don't have as much time. It's busy with a toddler and a newborn! I read Dr. Denmark info this time around and found it very helpful. I'm not as nervous about everything and was definitely willing to try it out! I tweeked some of it as most moms do to fit our lifestyle.
In the hospital, I nursed every 3 hours and even gave him a little formula to get rid of Jaundice. Once we got home, I realized I was waking him every 3 hours to eat...why??? I switched to 4 hours since that was the goal in mind. He did great! Only a couple of times I've felt the need to feed him a little early and I usually go right back to the this schedule by letting him go longer at night to make up the difference or changing it back slowly in 30 min. increments. It's been so great! Michael is happy with it too!

7am- Wake up Owen and nurse
7:30am -Sam wakes up and goes to eat breakfast downstairs
8:00am- Owen naps in swing or baby papasan seat so he'll be used to traveling in the morning for errands.
11:00am- Owen nurses
12:00- Lunch time for everyone
1:00pm- Sam, Owen and Mommy down for nap :)
3:00pm- Owen nurses and stays awake as much as he can
6:00pm- Dinner time for family (We thankfully have meals coming every other day until mid May!!!)
7:00pm- Owen nurses
8:00pm- Sam's bedtime
11:00pm- Owen nurses (thinking about changing this to 10pm since I'm so tired)
3:00am- Alarm set to wake up Owen to nurse
7:00am- The craziness starts again!

First week at home

The hospital was fine. I felt really good, actually. The doctor warned me to not act like I felt that great so I wouldn't start to feel bad from being so active. It was so different from having Sam since I didn't labor first and I knew what to expect. I was making people laugh in the operating room. I guess it was the nervous energy/excitement!

We had some people over the first couple days home. They brought us meals and hung out with Sam. That was great so he wouldn't feel like it was all about Owen.

Then, on Wednesday, we went to the doctor for Owen's check up. He looks great! Already gained most of the weight he had lost at the hospital...he gained a 1/2 lb. in 2 days! Needless to say, he's a good eater and that makes it easier on us! It's basically the total opposite experience we had with Sam. He's really easy. Not sure if that's just because of experience and not worrying since it's our 2nd or what.

Wednesday afternoon I really wanted to get out of the house, so we went to Target. I got upstairs (we go to the one in atlantic Station) and tried to decide if I should get in the motorized cart. I just couldn't do it. I got to about the shoe section and got dizzy. The doctor had told me to take it easy! I asked Michael to go get the cart. He came around the corner with the funniest face...he had to ride it all the way to me. So funny! Then, I proceeded to knock down displays and push racks around since I couldn't steer. I was feeling good on my pain medicine, so I was laughing so hard, which made my incision hurt more. It was pretty funny.

Thursday, we went to Jenna's so Michael could do some work. That was fun to let Sam play.

Friday, we went to dinner with the Pearson's at Blue Moon Pizza...yum! Michael had to convince Sam to eat the pizza and vanilla ice cream. He's funny about trying new food. They were nice to offer us a meal, but we all wanted to go out instead. Thanks, Pearsons!

Saturday, we went to Sara Link's wedding! I didn't make it to the wedding in Piedmont Park, so we sat in Trader Joe's parking lot until the reception at the Margaret Mitchell house. It was awesome! I walked a very short distance from the car and just sat at a table with Owen and Michael. People couldn't believe I was there and I got a little embarrased. I told her not to get married at the end of March because I really wanted to be there and they planned it in April. How could I not go??? She's moving to Minneapolis!!! It was a perfect day! I'm so excited for them!!!

Sunday was Michael's birthday. His family came to eat lunch and then we went to the Irwin's house as we usually do on Sunday nights. We usually pray together and let the kids run around...it's challenging to concentrate, but it works. We just grilled out and celebrated Michael's birthday. Thanks, Irwin's!

Monday, my Mom came over and we did laundry and organized the house. We also went to the grocery store for a few things, returned something at Home Depot and Office Max. I nursed Owen in the car while Sam and my Mom went in the store. We met my Dad for lunch and came back home.

AM I CRAZY!?!? It's been pretty active, but I try to sit wherever I go. I'm just a people person and can't stand to sit at home all day. I'm excited about getting to drive again soon!

Link to some pictures for now

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2516951&id=4914498&l=5cf258c0d6

Thankful

In the midst of hormonal meltdowns everyday and feeling uncomfortable, I'm very thankful. Thankful for a precious toddler and baby on the way and a WONDERFUL husband. I feel very blessed. I can't wait to meet this new little guy tomorrow morning! I'll be rolling into the OR around 7:15am, so say a prayer for us please!

I went to the dr. this morning for a last minute check and so she could tell me how the procedure will go. I was all nervous with my list of questions as I was waiting on the Dr. to come in. She was taking longer than usual and then I hear her on the phone in her office next door telling a 26 year old that she has cancer. She most likely will not be able to have children. Of course I'm crying when she came in and I told her I heard her on the phone in bits and pieces. I have so much to be thankful for. Of course a scheduled C-section is not anyone's ideal way to deliver, but at least I'm going to have a baby. This helped my perspective about tomorrow a lot. I prayed for that poor newlywed girl who found out at work that she has cancer. I hope that God gives her and her husband peace.

5 days!

We're meeting him in just 5 days!!! (or less!!!!)

38 weeks!!!

38 weeks with Owen vs.
36 weeks with Sam!
There are so many differences in this pregnancy compared to my last one. I'm much smaller, weight-wise, but man oh man, I hurt. Most days I feel like Owen is just going to walk on out. With Sam, I was walking a mile a day at the end with no problem. My belly is almost as big now as it was when I was only 34 weeks with Sam!
I went to the doctor today and she said that he could come at anytime. My bags are packed and I'm ready. I'm sure Michael is too considering I apparently kicked him out of the bed last night in my sleep. I'm tossing and turning a lot and just not sleeping well. The doctor said she's like for him to bake a little longer, but she's on call this weekend if I go in labor. We shall see!!!
I'll keep you posted!

Elizabeth Grace Prusa!

She's here! She's a very punctual baby considering she came on her due date. We went to dinner with them last night and Anna was feeling like she'd never come. HA! We got a picture of our bellies and ate yummy food. I guess it did the trick for her, but not me :) Go to their blog on the right to see her cute little face that's less than an hour old!

Over the weekend

On Friday, Michael stayed home in the afternoon to help me with Sam. We put him in his toddler bed for the first time. He was excited at first.



The first couple of times he got out of the bed Michael talked to him sternly about obeying and staying in his bed. The next couple of times he was disciplined. He definitely knew what we were asking of him, and after all that he stayed. We peeked in his room a bunch and one time he has dropped Dotters (his little doggie) on the floor. He was reaching for him and just couldn't quite get him and fell out of the bed. He jumped right back in after grabbing the dog. It was pretty cute. He didn't nap, but stayed there reading books and looking out the window. Success!

Friday night, we had a baby shower for Brett and Tiffany at La Paz. (I think this is why I dreamed about cheese dip!) I had the best fajitas ever there. They got fun gifts and we had a great time visiting. (I don't have pics of Becca and Jacob, me or Anne's boyfriend...maybe I'll get them from Tiff)




We put Sam to bed when we got home and he only got out a couple times right when we were putting him down. He stayed through the night except for when he fell out at 1:30am. He was crying and Michael went in and found him between the bed and the dresser. We think he bumped his head...poor little guy! We moved his big Pottery Barn chair next to the bed and that helped. He's just all over the bed!!!
I tried to sleep on the couch with not much luck. I'm pretty uncomfortable these days. I've started taking Tylenol PM at night and I've been able to sleep in our bed 2 nights only waking up a couple of times. YAY! I feel so much better.
Saturday, we went to Macon in the morning for a baby shower for Justine Hogan. This was after a no sleep night and I was so tired. The shower was great and Michael got to hang out with his friend Griff and their little boy, Jack. They went to a museum downtown and then we all went to lunch.
We drove from Macon to Gainesville for a Beach Project leaders' cookout. I was spent by this point, but MIchael kept his word that he would be on Sam duty all day. I slept for 10 hours Saturday night!!!
Sunday was great too. The sermon was good and it snowed like crazy! We went to lunch with some girls and came home thinking the snow would stay. By the time Sam woke up, it was gone. Bummer. We still put rain boots on him and took him over to our friends' house, the Irwins.



James Irwin is Sam's best buddy. He loves James. Whenever we talk about his friends, I say all their names and he'll repeat them to me. When I say "James", he just giggles. It's precious. He's also in love with Elie. Everytime we go in the car, he thinks he's going to see her and he'll shout "EWEEEE!!!!" I love that. He did it in church on Sunday too when it got quiet during announcements. He saw her on the next row and shouted it like he hadn't just spent the whole service until that point playing with her in the nursery. I love that we can bring the kids in for the last part of the service when we're all singing and taking communion.
So, there's our weekend. Today my parents took Sam so I could rest and clean. I'm pooped after just straightening the house and going to the grocery store! Maybe I'll get to it tonight or before my dr. appt. in the morning so it will be clean when he comes back home!

Preggo dreams

I've had some good ones and some bad ones. I'm up early because I woke up laughing at my dream. I'm sure I'll botch it and make it not sound as funny, but I wanted to post it anyways. I was eating lunch with a friend who kept getting distracted by some girl sitting at another table behind her. I got frustrated and slammed down the container of cheese dip and the lid flew over to the girl's table and she got cheese dip all over her face. She didn't know it was me and I couldn't stop laughing.
Where do dreams come from????

What are some of your favorite pregnancy or non-pregnancy dreams?

Pictures from a couple weeks ago

I don't know if you can see it clearly or not, but the top one shows Owen's nose and lips. He has Michael's cute little nose from what I could tell when they would zoom in and out on his face. It's hard to tell things just in a snapshot.
The second one is his profile where he looks like he's just laid back...putting his hands behind his head.
The bottom one is his cute little leg and foot.
I can't wait to hold him in 5 weeks!!!!!

March 27th

Sam and I went to the Dr. Tuesday for a check-up. Everything looks good. Heartbeat is great, weight gain is normal, yay! She was feeling my belly and said, "wow! he's all over your belly." He pretty much takes up my whole torso. haha! I know how to grow a big baby. You can see feet move across my belly sometimes and my whole stomach changes to weird shapes when he's stretching. It kind of freaks me out at times.
We set the c-section date for March 27th even though I was trying for an earlier date. The later they "cook" in there, the better though. I trust my Doctor. I was just worried about being in the hospital over the weekend since it wasn't the best last time, but she reassured me again that she'll talk to the staff when we get there. I can't believe we're going to meet our second "little boog" so soon!

Cute baby

I'm sorry, but could Mollie be any cuter? I'm a little obsessed with this baby right now. I can only hope Owen will be as sweet and easy as she is!

"So, what'd you do today?"

Baby Fannin

Another friend was born today! Check out the Fannin's blog to the right for updates!

He's a big boy!

I could tell that my belly is growing exponentially again. We went to the dr. and ultrasound tech this morning. He looks great! Already 4 1/2 lbs. (75th percentile). He has Michael's nose. I love him! We'll schedule the c-section next visit in 2 weeks. I'm hoping for March 25th, so I'm not in the hospital over the weekend, but we'll see. I told my dr. about our experience with weekend night nurses last time and she's going to make sure I get some good ones :)
Only 7 weeks to go!!! I've gotta get some stuff ready for him.

2 new friends!

Sam and Owen got 2 more new friends this week. Both the Wreyfords and the Hecks had precious baby boys this week! Both were breach...random!
Go to the Wreyford's blog to the right or click here to read about the Heck's boy, Teddy. The Hecks

Baby #2

It's decided. Baby #2 is OWEN MICHAEL VESTAL :)
We're calling him Owen.
We love him already!!!!

Preschool

We started preschool again yesterday. I'll be teaching next week and every other week for a while so I won't have to once the baby comes! I'll take pictures next week. We have 2 new kids, Kinley and Austin. They're all so sweet and preschool totally wears them out! It's great to have the afternoon after they go because they're napping for such a long time.
Today we're going to music class at Mt. Paran. Sam likes it!

Any guesses as to what we're naming Baby #2??? Don't guess if you already know!

Good news

My nurse called yesterday and sounded down and asked how I was doing. I asked her if I failed the 3 hr. test and she said, "No! I was just messing with you!" She's really funny and I just love her! YAY! No gestational diabetes. I celebrated with a Blizzard on our way home from Augusta.
We went to see Mindy and Brian's new baby girl, Charlotte Taylor Stansfield. She's so little and very cute!! When I get my act together I'll post a picture!
I am going to try to eat less sugar anyways because this whole scare made me realize how addicted I was and how I need to eat healthier. I've only gained 20 lbs. so far! That may be a lot, but it's not for me!!!

One minute I'm on top of the world!

Even though we had a wreck, I was still in a great mood this week. Happy to be home...happy to be back in the routine...happy Sam wasn't waking up at 4am...
Yesterday I found the string that we tied around my pregnant belly to see how big it was at my baby shower for Sam. I was due in 2 months at that time. That's close to where I am now, just a couple weeks away. I put it around my belly and there was a good 5 inches extra! YIPPEE!
Then, I found out today that I failed my glucose test. I'm not surprised since you are at a higher risk if your baby was over 9 lbs. in a previous pregnancy and I've experience sugar crashes here and there this pregnancy. I have to go in on Monday for a 3 hr. test. Hopefully I won't explode in preggo pounds now!
Does anyone know how to help this? I know it's pregnancy induced and diabetes runs in my family. Hopefully I'll pass on Monday!
Now I just feel bummed out!

Updated nursery

My parents came and painted Sam and baby #2's room for us while we were at New Years Conference. It was so nice and helpful! It looks so much better painted. I think we're going to move the dresser/hutch to the right where the bookcase is. Then, move the bookcase to the window next to Sam's crib. Then, hopefully squeeze another crib in by the window and next to the hutch. Make sense? This has kept me up some nights...trying to figure out how to fit 2 babies in a small room. I am determined to make it work and look ok :)

Yesterday's pictures

Our poor little Highlander after the accident. We're really grateful that's all that happened. We're going to take it to get fixed tomorrow.

Here's cute baby Vestal #2!!! It looked like he had a pug nose and a little bit of a larger head, not as big as Sam's though. :)

Another ultrasound

We went for another ultrasound this morning to check the baby's thyroid. Everything looks great! My Mom came with us and she was so excited. It is so cool to see the baby's face, heart, ribs, spine... Truly amazing.
We brought Sam's ultrasound pic to see if they look alike. They kind of look similar but not identical. Still cute, though! :)
I'll be going every 2 weeks now and in 4 weeks they'll do another ultrasound to see if everything is still good and if he's getting too big. He's measuring only a day ahead right now, which is awesome.

The only bad thing today is that on the way home from the hospital and lunch, we got in a wreck. Michael was driving and I was in the passenger seat, my mom and Sam were in the back. The light had been green for a little bit and we went ahead. My mom screamed because someone was flying through on our right. If she hadn't screamed we might have been t-boned on my side. The other car scrapped across the front bumper and spun across the intersection to the other side and ended up facing us. Scary! I was too nervous to move. I had my legs crossed kind of and the door hit my thigh, so I have a bruise there. The doctor said I"m fine if the baby is kicking and I didn't get hit. I'm just a little sore from bracing myself. I feel bad for the kid that hit us. He looked down at his GPS and wasn't paying attention. GPS's are awesome, by the way. We just got a Garmin for Christmas. Be careful using them though! :)