Kendall Grace Turns 1

Our sweet little niece had a super sweet strawberry themed 1st birthday party :) Ava and Kendall are 10 months apart and I cannot wait to see what great friends they become when they get older. Here are some highlights from Kendall's big celebration!

Kendall's precious made by her Aunt Anna

Cute decorations made by Kendall's mommy 

Cake time :) 

Someone is sneaking some icing :) 

It was a little hot so this is the look you were rocking for most of the party little one

Dear Kendall

Uncle Kyle and Aunt Jenny love spending time with you! You have a contagious smile and a squeal that will make anyone laugh. You love being with your big brother and it is fun to see you follow what he is doing. You love your cousin Ava sooo much,  you even threw a new outfit you got for your birthday to the ground in excitement when you saw Ava was in the room :) Happy Birthday Kendall!

Two Months {7.16.13}

Time is really flying by, I can't believe you are two months old! You are no longer our newborn little girl, you are growing up before our eyes and your personality is starting to show more and more :)

You were not really liking your two month photo shoot :) 

Weight: 11 lbs 14 oz
Length: 23 1/2 inches

Things that have been happening during your second month of life:

Working Momma: After taking seven weeks off I am officially back to work. It would have been nice to take the full twelve weeks off but only living on one income was not feasible for us. My transition to work was not as hard as it could have been since Grandma Jackson and Aunt Carrie watch you when mommy and daddy are at work. You have such a great time with them and are always on your best behavior when you are with them :) You will have so much fun playing with your cousins once you get older and I know Grandma Jackson really enjoys spending time with you. I am so thankful for the job I have and the hours I work. I am home by 4 each day so I get to spend time with you before I have to clean the house or make dinner. Being at work and seeing the kids does make me miss you. When I am in the OR and I see the kids getting ready to have surgery I am so thankful that you are healthy! I do not want to take forgranted what a blessing it is that you are healthy and that some parents do not have healthy kids.

Sleep: You have your days and nights back on track now. During your first month of life you would cry in between feedings and did not sleep that much during the night. Now you are not crying or fussy when we feed you at night. Sometimes you do not go to sleep right away but you do not cry like you used to :) You usually sleep four hours, then three, and then two at night. You had one night where you slept 5-1/2 hours, that was a good night for mommy and daddy :)

Feeding: You are eating so good and starting to fill out. You started off the month doing 4 ounces but now you usually eat 5 ounces every two-three hours during the day. You are starting to want more so I'm sure 6 ounces will be your new level soon. Also, the milk factory officially closed. After I got the infection my milk really depleted but I never really had that much to begin with.  Since you are eating so much more it became more of a hassle than benefit for me to keep pumping. It took awhile for the little bit of milk that I had to dry up and I was uncomfortable for the majority of the time this transition took place. Everything is good now and I am beyond thankful that you like your formula.

Boppy: One of the best gifts we got (besides the video monitor). You love your boppy and actually fall asleep in it when we visit people. I use it to help prop you up when your feeding and also use it to cuddle with you. I'll be so sad when you get too big and don't fit in it anymore.

Thrush: After your one month appointment you had thrush in your mouth. It is white dots on the sides of your mouth that babies get sometimes.  They gave us medicine to help get rid of it and it has cleared up.

Initiated into Parenthood: One day when mommy was feeding you your little body did one of the biggest poops I had ever heard. Mommy went to burp you and all the sudden I realized there was poop all over me and all over your back. I'm sure this won't be the last time something like this happens. Daddy has not been pooped on yet but he has experienced you spitting up all over him and the couch :) You are slowly but surely helping us get the full parent experience :)

Stars and Stripes: You experienced your first 4th of July. It has become a tradition since we moved into our house to have a party and invite our families over. You slept most of the time in your swing but I think you had a good time :)

All smiles :) 

Baby girl is all arms and legs :) 

This is what happens when your daddy has the camera, he makes you look like a giant

Crying/Fussy: You are really very content and happy most of the time. You only really fuss when you are hungry or your trying to poop. You crack us up when you cry because you curl your lower lip when you are upset and give a really pathetic cry. You also have tears now and it is so sad to see you get upset, but a bottle makes it all better :)

Visitors from the South: Two of mommy's besties from Lexington came in to visit and to see you :) Your two honorary aunts loved meeting you and cannot wait to spend more time with you when they come to visit.
Shop til you drop: You went to Mommy and Daddy's favorite stores this month. Mommy took you to Target for the first time but I'm sure it will not be the last time :) Daddy took you to Gabriel Brothers (he is obsessed with that store) and bought some clothes for him but did not even buy you anything :)

A night out: Mommy and Daddy went out for the first time without you to see our friends Rob and Heather get married. It was fun to get dressed up, eat great food, and catch up with friends. You stayed with Mamaw and Papaw Crofford for the few hours we were gone and were so great with them. You slept most of the time and were never fussy for them at all!

Little Mover: You are always moving your arms and legs. We have to be extra careful holding you since you like to squirm and move. One night you pushed yourself all the way to the top your crib. You have some powerful legs little one.
Who do you look like?: Baby girl there is no denying you are your Fathers child. You look just like his baby pictures :) You have mommy's ears but other than that right now you look just like your Daddy when he was your age.

Young Life: Mommy took you along as she hung out with Young Life girls. You are always so content and never fussy which is great. We also have been to Young Life hang outs and everyone loves seeing you.

The little things: You still love to stretch and always have your arms above your head. You went to church for the first time this month and were great during the services, you make little grunting noises but never cry :) One day when you were fussy in the car Daddy played the Bruno Mars song "Treasurer" and sang to you and it made you calm down. It may have been a fluke but it was really funny that you calmed down so quick.

One Month {6.16.13}

Hard to believe our baby girl is one month old! This month has been filled with lots of love, changes, adjustments, fun, smiles, doctors visits, tears, crying, just to name a few items of what we have been going through :)

Weight: 8 lb 1 oz (15th percentile)
Length: 22" (85th percentile)

Ava you also are known as our baby girl, pretty girl, princess, and baby Ava.

Some of your favorite things:

Mommy: Mommy had only held a newborn baby maybe a couple times in her life. It is really true what they say that it will come natural when it is your own baby. I have never felt nervous holding you, like I did when I held other babies. Mommy loves spending time with you and the little faces you make are so precious now. You are starting to show more facial expressions and are opening your eyes now for longer periods of time. Mommy can't wait to see more and more of your personality and for all the fun you are going to be. Mommy loves to read your bible story book to you and to sing to you. I usually sing "Ava Michelle, Ava Michelle, pretty little girl named Ava Michelle" and "Ava, Ava, Mommy loves you, Mommy loves you".

In Mommy's arms 

Daddy: After we got back from the hospital Daddy had to go back to work but really wanted to be home with you. Daddy's schedule includes school, landscaping, and working at the firehouse which some days makes it where he is not home until dinner time or he is not home at all. Daddy makes sure he always kisses you before he leaves and loves holding and feeding you when he gets home. Your daddy thinks the world of you and it is really precious to see him interacting with you. You and your daddy are going to have so much fun when you get a little bit older. He is going to have you playing everything and you two will be so cute together. He will probably also pick and poke at you, but don't worry he does the same thing to mommy so we will make sure we get him back together :).

You love to cuddle with daddy 

Bentley: Your big brother Bentley is adjusting to having to share his spotlight with you :) He is really great with you and is concerned when you are crying but is also jealous and purposely gets in trouble just so that he get attention for that moment. I know that when you get older you will love him and give him big hugs

Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins: You have so many great people in your life that love you soo much baby girl! They have been bringing mommy and daddy dinner, watching you so mommy can sleep during the day, buying you clothes and coming over to spend time with you. You were born into one great family and I can't wait for you to get to know all of them!

The Swing: You will swing two-three times a day after we feed you. You usually don't look very comfortable when we go to check on you but you don't cry so I guess it does not bother you :)

Walks: We have gone for a few walks and you seem to like them. You are usually asleep for most of the walk so I guess maybe this next month I will know if you really enjoy them since you will probably be up more :)

Other events that happened during your first month of life:

*Breastfeeding/Formula: A couple days after we got home from the hospital we went to a lactation doctor at mommy's work {Children's Hospital} because mommy heard about it at work and your pediatrician really liked that I was going to see one. My milk had not come in and I wanted to know what to do. The doctor was so helpful and super nice and told me to come back the next week and she will do a weight check to see how much you were getting from breast feeding. I came back the next week but you were too sleepy and did not do a good feeding so I came back the next week. When she did the weight check she told me that you were not getting enough from me (my milk did not come in all the way because of the complications I had after you were born) and that you were going to have to be on formula but I could still pump. It does not bother me that you are on formula since lots of babies are and are totally fine :) I just want you to get bigger and stronger. Mommy is pumping still but I got an awful breast infection called mastitis. I felt absolutely awful and Grandma Jackson came over to take care of you for a couple of days since Daddy was working at the firehouse.

*EKG and ECHO: Your pediatrician also wanted us to do weight checks with you every week to make sure you were gaining weight throughout the month. Every week when we went to your doctors office you were gaining weight but then when we went to the lactation doctor you would lose weight. They were two different scales but this had mommy concerned because she did not want you to keep losing weight. Since we were having this issue your doctor had us come in on 5/7/13 for her to make sure you look okay and that everything seemed fine. When she was listening to your chest she heard an "innocent murmur" which lots of babies get but because of your weight loss/gain our doctor wanted us to take you to Children's Hospital so a Cardiologist could make sure that was what it was. Daddy left work so he could join us and they did an EKG and ECHO on you. It was really hard for Mommy to see you on that big bed with those wires on you and you were so still and quiet for the ECHO. It made mommy thankful that you do not have anything seriously wrong with you and that we will keep praying for God to make you strong and healthy. The Cardiologist said that it was an innocent murmur and that we should not be concerned.

*You stretch (usually putting your arms above your head like your raising the roof) and make all kinds of squeaks when your getting ready to get up.

*Your daddy thinks its funny when you are getting ready to take a bottle how you shake your head back and forth because you are ready to eat and want it right away.

*You are most fussy at night between the feedings at 9:00ish and midnight. It is really hard for us when you cry and their is nothing we can do to help you.

*You eat every 3 hours and are taking 3 ml now. You sleep mostly during the day and are up for half the night.

*You are most alert after you eat and make some of the cutest/weirdest faces during that time. It is usually because you are getting ready to poop or fart :) You make some of your dirtiest diapers at night.

*Since you are mostly on formula your little breathe when we burp you is stinky but daddy would say that mommy's breathe also stinks sometimes so it is nothing personal itty bitty :)

*You have gotten a few baths and are not really a fan but I think you eventually will be.

*Daddy says words mommy has never really him say before like cute, pretty, adorable, etc. They are usually always in reference to you or clothes that you get :)

What Mommy and Daddy are learning about being parents:

How much to feed you: Since you can't tell us when it's too much we just go by you grabbing your face if your still hungry and are learning how much you want. We also found out that when we give you too much you will spit it up. You did a really big spit up in your swing and then also one night when mommy was home alone.

Not to listen to people who make us feel like bad parents: There have only been two people who have made us feel like we were really bad parents. One nurse when we were in the hospital and I just had the DNC and my milk was still not in and she made us feel bad we were giving you formula. Another nurse was at the cardiologist office and she gave us some formula to give you since it was time for you to eat but you had already had a little milk in the waiting room. You took it down really quickly and she literally said "she is starving. do you guys feed her?" We do not act like we know everything and are very open to everyones suggestions but when someone make us feel like we're bad parents or that we're doing something really wrong to you that's when we get really frustrated.

How to balance schedules: Kyle had to go back to work right after we got back from the Hospital. We have been trying to figure out how we balance being with Ava, spending time with each other, and also still getting to do a couple of the things we still did before she was born, like shopping for me and golfing for Kyle. We have a great family who is always willing to come over and help but it really nice when Kyle is home because it just helps us continue to try to be on the same page of how we are going to parent Ava. I know when I go back to work we will have to figure it out again and will continue to find a balance as Ava gets older. My hope is that we can have patience with each other as our schedule changes and be able to see each others perspective.

Takes a tole on your body: I knew that having a baby I would be tired but I feel my body has been through so much. After all I went through at the hospital coming home I was still swollen for a couple weeks, I had bruising, my emotions were all over, my appetite is not the same (food that was usually good is not as good),  and then I got the breast infection. I feel like every part of my body had been through something lol When I go back to work I am hoping to workout out again (not to lose weight since I'm back to my pre-baby weight) so I can get my strength back.

First Father's Day {6.16.13}

Kyle is the absolute best Dad to Ava. His interaction with her melts my heart. He is always trying to make her laugh and do funny facial expressions. Some of the things he does that cracks me up is he is always asking Ava to give him a kiss back, he loves when she shakes her head back and forth before she gets her bottle, and he likes to poke at her to see what kind of reaction she will get (which he also does to me).

Here is part of the gift Ava gave to her daddy. She is so crafty at such a young age :) 

 

closer look 

Happy Father's Day babe!! I'm so blessed that Ava has you as her daddy :) 

Will you be my bridesmaid?

After Ava was born I asked Sarah to drive me to an appointment for Ava and Sarah surprised me with a cute little box that had a delicious cupcake in it and asked me to be part of her and Timmy's wedding! I could not be more honored to be part of the wedding and Kyle and I are so thankful to have them in our family's life. Kyle is Timmy's best man and it is so fun when we get to spend time with Timmy and Sarah. They are so easy going and it is an absolute joy to spend time with them. God is doing awesome things in their lives and I am so thankful that we get to see first hand all he is doing.

I cannot wait to make all kinds of pinterest ideas for the wedding and enjoy all the wedding festivities that will be happening in this next year.

Only 364 days left until Timmy and Sarah are Mr. and Mrs. :) 

Bun in the Oven: Bump Update (Week 37)

{Disclaimer: This was written around May 6th but I forgot to publish it :)}

We went to the doctor on May 6th and they said I was 2 centimeters dilated and told us what to do if I start having contractions. She thinks I will have the baby before May 29th and her exact words were "to pack our bags". Kyle and I are both really excited that the baby could come soon and we have our bags packed for the hospital. My legs and ankles are still the same, still big, uncomfortable, and hard to recognize. The doctor told me that my feet could get bigger right after I have the baby which is hard for me to comprehend since they are so big right now! Other than my lower body looking completely different I feel the same. My back has been hurting but not all the time and usually only happens when I am bending over to get something. I am also not sleeping as good as I used to. I am getting up a couple times to pee and my lower body makes it hard to get comfortable at night. I am very thankful that I have not had any major issues with this pregnancy and am praying that labor will also go as smoothly.

This past weekend Kyle had a diaper party and it was a huge success :) We should be set for diapers for a long time! I was able to hang out with the ladies in our families while Kyle had his party, breakfast at my grandparents house, going shopping with Carrie and Connie and then dinner with my mom. It was also Mother's Day on Sunday so it was fun to spend time with our families and I won a beautiful flower basket which I am really excited about. Next year will be my first official Mother's day and I can't wait :)

Some of our families are going out of town at the end of May so they want the baby to come before they leave :) I am fine with the baby coming around their due date since that is the time I always thought I would be off work and I am still training people at work on what I do I know I have no control on when the baby will come and it is in God's perfect timing when they make their arrival.

Itty bitty baby,  Mommy and Daddy cannot wait to meet you! We are praying that you are growing healthy and strong and we are waiting for you to make your arrival.

Ava Michelle Crofford 5.16.13 {A Birth Story}

It still seems very surreal that I am a mom. I have a little girl who I am responsible for, to love, see grow up, and to treasure every moment I have with my itty bitty. My water broke with Ava when I was exactly 38 weeks, my body was ready for her to make her arrival and I think mentally I could have waited another week or so but my body knew it was time for her to make her arrival into the world. Here is a break down of Miss Ava's arrival into the world.

5/15/13- 2:40 am-My water broke. I was not really sure that it broke since I thought it would be like a rush of water but it was really just a constant flow. I had slept downstairs because my legs were so swollen that I could not make it to our room and I remember calling Kyle to come downstairs because I thought my water had broke. We both were not sure since we thought I would also have contractions after my water broke but I did not feel any different after it broke.

5/15/13 11:00 am- I went to the doctor and she confirmed my water had broke and she told me to head to the hospital. I was 4 cm dilated and I called Kyle to tell him to leave his landscaping job and that we're having a baby :) 

5/15/13 1:00ish- We made it to the hospital. I was not in any pain but I kept thinking that I just want to get to the hospital so I can get settled in my room and not have to be in extreme pain before I get an epidural. Since I did not look like I was in too much pain every nurse and staff person kept asking me why I was being induced and I had to keep explaining that my water had broke and my doctor told me to come. Also since my water had broke my pants were absolutely soaked by the time I made it to my room. I remember just wanting to throw them away instead of keeping them since I did not want to remember how embarrassed I was that they were so wet.

5/15/13 5:30 pm - I got an epidural. I was probably a 5-6 on the pain scale but I did not want to feel anymore pain without getting an epidural. The funny thing is I actually knew the person was that gave me my epidural. She is an RNSA student and I am in charge of the students at Children's so it was actually pretty funny that I knew the person that was giving it to me. The epidural did not hurt and I was glad that I got it when I did. I thought once I got the epidural I would not feel anything but I still felt pressure, which is what I am supposed to feel just not pain which I did not know.

5/15/13 6:00-10:00 pm- Gave me medicine because I got a fever and they were worried that Ava might be distressed. I was fully dilated by 10:00 so they gave my doctor a call. The practice I go to their are three doctors and I saw each of them during my pregnancy but of course the person who actually delivered Ava was the person they have on call when they are really busy and I had never met her before. They gave me a little more medicine to take the pain away but wanted to make sure I could still feel pressure so that I could push.

5/15/13 10:30 pm- Started pushing. I could feel when the contractions were coming and sometimes the nurse and doctor were talking so I would ask them if it was okay if I pushed since I wanted this baby out of me :) I pushed for two hours and by the end of it I was really exhausted, I'm not sure I could have done it if I had felt all the pain from labor lol

5/16/13 12:32 am- Ava made her arrival into the world :) Since we did not know what we were having Kyle  announced when she came out that we had a GIRL :) They put her on my stomach and I cried. The first words I said to our daughter were "Mommy can't wait to buy you all kinds of cute girl clothes", precious right? Instead of telling our daughter how much I love her or that she is a gift from God I tell her that I am going to buy her lots of material possessions, I am going to blame it on my exhaustion that I did not say something better to her when she entered the world :) Kyle cut the umbilical cord and then they took Ava to get cleaned up.

5/16/13 12:35 am- Ava was good at the one minute Apgar scale but at the 3 minute mark she became unresponsive so they had to stimulate her pretty hard and actually caused a bruise on her back (she had a bowel movement when she came out so they were worried that she might have swallowed some of it which could cause a lung infection). It was really scary because we were not sure what was going on but all we knew was that they called peds to come to our room to look at Ava. At the same time that was going on with Ava I had three really high blood pressures and they were afraid that I might have a seizure. They put me on magnesium sulfate, which is a muscle relaxer and would help me to not have a seizure and I would be on it for 24 hrs. Kyle was so torn when Ava and I were both having complications. Ava and I were both in the same room but not close enough where he could hear what was going on with both of us. He was going back and forth to check on both of us. At the 5 minute apgar scale Ava was fine and we let our family come in really quickly so they could see Ava and I. We did not have them stay or really get to hold her because it was really late and most of them had to go to work and also because of the issues Ava and I had Kyle was not sure that people should be in the room for that long.

5/16/13 1:00ish- I finally got to hold Ava and feed her. It did not feel real holding her and it was crazy that she had just come out of me.

5/16/13 3:30 am- We made it to the recovery floor and we had Ava go to the nursery since Kyle and I were both exhausted.

5/16/13 4:00 am- 10:00 am- When they were doing their routine checks on me I was having moderate to heavy bleeding which they were concerned about. Ava had been doing great though.

5/16/13 10:00 am-4:00 pm- Lots of family and friends were coming to see Ava and I but because of I was bleeding so much our family could not really see me because the nurses were checking in on me so much. During this time I also passed three really big blood clots (two were softball size, one watermelon size) and then they became really concerned. They tried to get me to get up to go to the restroom but every time I would stand up I would immediately get dizzy and my ears would start ringing. They said the magnesium would make me feel like I had the flu but it really did not sit with me well.

5/16/13 8:00 pm- Gave me pitosin to contract my uterus since the magnesium was preventing my uterus from contracting and that's why I was having so many blood clots

5/17/13 7:00 am- Tried to manually clean out my cervix because they could tell by the ultrasound that I had clots left. They gave me 4 milligrams of morphine to help with the pain of doing it manually but cleaning it manually did not work.

5/17/13 9:00 am- I had to go back to the labor and delivery floor to get a DNC. I had to be put under for the surgery, it lasted about half an hour. I was told that I looked as white as the sheets since I had lost so much blood. When I came out of surgery I had to stay on the delivery floor and got three units of blood. After I got the blood I started to feel better and I was getting my color back. We had to spend the day on the labor floor until they could do a blood count at 8:00 that night. They told us it is really rare for someone to go from the delivery floor to the recovery floor back to the delivery floor. The nurses on the delivery floor are not good at taking care of the patient after you have the baby for an extended period of time so it was not a lot of fun being on that floor all day. The nurses were nice but they were not as helpful and friendly as they were on the recovery floor. One nurse made us feel bad about giving Ava supplement but we had to since my milk had not come in and poor little thing couldn't go hungry.

5/17/13 8:00 pm - 10:30 My blood count came back good and we went back up to the recovery floor

5/18/13 9:00 am- Since I was feeling better they took the catheter out and I actually was able to walk around the room a little. I took a shower which made me feel better but it was really hard to walk around since my legs and feet were still really swollen. My doctor said that she wanted me to stay another night so we knew that we would be in the hospital another day. This day was probably what a typical day would look like after you have a baby. The nurses came in every once in awhile but not all the time and we got to enjoy being with Ava. We were getting stir crazy at this point though and we were ready to leave the hospital.

5/19/13 8:00 am- {Kyle wanted me to add this} Kyle was by Ava's crib and he farted and said something really funny to her about farting. The next moment Ava also farted and Kyle thought it was so funny and laughed really hard.

5/19/13 12:30 pm- We got to leave the hospital! I was glad that Ava and I were taken care of so well and that we needed to stay at the hospital so they could monitor me to make sure I was okay. The nurses and pediatricians at the hospital were all very nice and super helpful. We really loved the pediatrician at the hospital, she never made us feel like we were doing something wrong (since we were giving Ava supplement) and she was always really nice and friendly. I joked with Kyle that some of the nurses were nice since I had made little gift bags to give them. I know that when someone gives me something I am nicer and want to help them out and I think the gift bags really worked at the hospital :)

5/19/13 1:00-6:00 pm- Our house seemed so weird to me when we got home, nothing was different but for some reason it looked different to me. Bentley got to meet Ava for the first time and we got to settle into the house with our baby girl.

Once we go to our room

After Ava was born

Our little girl!!

sucking her thumb, precious :) 

After my DNC. I look really bad 

Our itty bitty perfect little girl :)