Moments to Remember in 2012

2012 was quite a year! While I wasn't the best blogger, I was busy finishing up school, being a mommy and wife, moving a few times, and overall just learning how to be a better me. This year was definitely filled with abundant blessings! 

January 7th - My 26th Birthday 

January 15th - Cabin trip to Ellijay, Georgia  

January 29th - South Carolina Baby Shower

February 29th - Gavin Josiah was born!

March 7th - Two year anniversary

(Gav was one week old, so this is what we did. :) )

March 15th - KC got his new job

April 15th - Moved back to Charleston 

May 13th - My 1st Mother's Day 

May 28th - Visit to Chimney Rock Park in Asheville, NC

June 17th - Keith's 1st Father's Day 

 (The only picture I have of them on this day)

June 22nd - Gav's first time rolling over

July 26th - Keith's 27th Birthday

August 31 - Trip to Gatlinburg, TN

September 8th - Moved back into our house :)

September 19th - Gav's first time crawling!

October 23rd - Found out we're expecting baby #2

November 22nd - 26th - Louisiana/Texas Thanksgiving

December 15th - I finished my undergraduate studies!!!!

(This is how I finished most of my final semester)

December 25th - Gavin's first Christmas

 

I am very much looking forward to what 2013 holds for my family.

Happy New Year!!!

:)

More on Sweet Baby #2

***Hello, readers! It's me, Lindsey. Remember me? I hope so. I have been absent for quite a bit but am finally ready to break the silence. Today I am posting something that I wrote a month and a half ago. It's about sweet #2 and I am so sad that it's taken me so long to hit publish. I hope all of you are doing wonderful, and I will definitely be back soon. :) ***


I still can't believe it. I cannot believe that I'm going to be a Mom again...and so soon! It absolutely amazes me that we were graced with this blessing. Keith and I did not plan on having another child for at least a few more years, but God has other plans for our family. To be honest, I don't know why I even bother making plans anymore, because I know that God is control of my life, and I am not. This is so hard for be to grasp because I'm such a planner, but I'm definitely learning to let go. :)

I guess I should start from the beginning in my discovery of this pregnancy nearly two weeks ago. (The following may be a bit TMI for some people...consider yourself warned.)

Just like my first pregnancy, I was only a few days late and decided to take a pregnancy test to rule pregnancy out. I didn't have any pregnancy symptoms, but I didn't know what else to do since Flo had not shown up yet. So, I took two tests in the evening on October 22nd. They were both negative.

Just to make sure, I took another one in the morning to confirm the results since the hCG hormone is strongest in the morning. Well, this one was positive.

Holy. Moly.

I used a cheap pregnancy test strip and the second line was really faint, so I didn't think much of it. Gavin and I were heading to Wal-Mart later in the day to get an oil change for Keith's car, so I figured I'd pick up a box of better tests. When we got home, I took two...and they were very much positive.

I immediately began crying and felt joy and fear. Joy because I was going to be a mom again and would experience another pregnancy. Joy because a new life will be entering this world. Joy because Gavin is going to have a sibling. And fear...well, fear because I remember in great detail the pain of labor and delivery. I only experienced this with Gav 8 months ago and it's scary to think that this will be happening again so soon. More than fear, I was overwhelmed. Could I handle two kiddos that will be 15ish months apart?!

After I got over the initial shock, I started thinking about ways to tell Keith. He was traveling out of state for work and would be flying home that night. I called a few stores looking for a Big Brother onesie for Gav to wear, but couldn't find any. So, I made one with an iron-on template I had.

Then, to add to this I picked up two balloons, a blue one and a pink one, and tied them to Gav's stroller. We waited at Keith's gate for the big reveal.

Keith got off of the plane and came towards us looking confused. The first thing he said was "Why do you have balloons?" I shrugged and kept looking at Gav. I tugged on his onesie a little and Keith's eyes got really wide, he scrunched his nose, and said "Big brother? Are you pregnant?????" I excitedly said yes and we spent a few minutes hugging and talking right there at Charleston Airport's B gate. He didn't believe me at first, so I pulled out a ziplock full of pregnancy tests. :) (I knew I brought those with us for a reason.)

We definitely aren't the kind of people to keep this kind of news to ourselves, so we called our family. To be honest, the first few phone calls were extremely disappointing. A family member on my side and two on Keith's had very ugly responses to our news. I was in tears at their reactions and felt really awful, but thankfully other (nicer) loved ones were so happy for us and made us feel better. I will say that 2 of 3 of the rude folks called to apologize, but that's a totally different story that I won't be ruining this post with. :)

When we got home, Gav had a ball playing with the balloons and Keith and I sat a long time and just talked. We didn't understanding the timing of it all (still don't) but we know God has great plans for our family. We were not trying to get pregnant, and were actually taking steps to prevent this from happening, but God blessed us with this baby. I have my moments where I panick and think that I absolutely won't be able to do this again, but I'm soon comforted and know that I can, and I will.

As of today, I am 6 weeks pregnant and am praying for another wonderful pregnancy and birth experience. We are back in Charleston, and I'll be taking advantage of the local birth center and will try for another natural birth. I am anxious to meet my new little one and am excited to find out the gender of this sweet child. I'm also greatly looking forward to spending tons of quality time with Gav before #2 arrives. Our family is expanding very rapidly, and I am just very thankful for this life that I'm living.

No Words

NYC.

It won't be easy. 

But you will recover. 

You'll come back stronger than before. 

You always do.

You're resilient.

You're beautiful.

And I'm sending all of my love, thoughts, and prayers to you.

Eight Months Old

**Thanks so much for all of the love on baby #2! I appreciate you guys so much!**

Well, I've been a bad momma in documenting Gav's monthly updates. The last one I wrote was at five months! I'll do my best to remember everything my sweet man has done over the past few months. 

Sleeping and eating: Gav typically goes to sleep between 8pm and 10pm and will sleep until 6am to 9am. He also takes two naps during the day (morning and afternoon) although sometimes he skips them altogether. On those days he gets a bit fussy, but don't they all? As for eating, he's been enjoying baby food since around six months, and his favorites are pears, sweet potatoes, white beans, and apples and blueberries. He strongly dislikes peas, green beans, and carrots. I've been buying organic food, but plan to start making his food to save some money and to also give him more of a variety. Gav really likes organic carrots and cheddar munchies and sweet potato puffs. He's still drinking 4-5 bottles a day at 5-6oz each, with around 4oz of baby food twice a day.

Likes and dislikes: A lot has happened since G's last update. He is a little crawling machine! He still likes Sophie, but not the Jumperoo too much. He now loves his little kid remote control and destroying our house. ;) He likes knocking all of the DVDs off of the DVD shelf, climbing the TV stand and turning the cable box off, chewing on the house telephone, and putting anything and everything in his mouth. He has been doing really well interacting with our cats, and likes petting them. I will say he also likes pulling their tails, but the second that he starts to go for it, the cats take off running! We no longer use the boppy pillow and he's figured out how to escape from the bumbo seat. 

He is a fantastic traveller and has been liking his car seat. I love going shopping with him because he is so easy. He's not crazy about the song You Are My Sunshine anymore but really likes Skinna Ma Rinky Dinky Dinky (?), Hush Little Baby, I've Got The Joy, Joy, Joy, and anything by Taylor Swift. No kidding. I listen to her a lot and I think she relaxes little man. Lately I've been letting him watch Disney Junior in the morning, and the only show that he really pays attention to is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Whenever Gav hears the opening song he gets SO excited. It's adorable. :) One of his favorite things to do is take a bath. This kid LOVES playing in the water. He also likes sitting in the grass in our backyard. He is definitely a momma's boy, and loves to be super silly with me. 

Milestones: 

September 19 -- Crawled for the first time!

Has a total of 4 teeth now!

And last but not least, we found out he's a big brother on October 23rd! 

Gavin is such a blessing and brings an indescribable amount of joy to our lives. Everyday is a new adventure and I am so thankful to be this little dude's mom. :D

 

Our Sweet Surprise

Woah baby.  

Our completely shocking, straight out of left field, absolutely wonderful surprise! :D 

Little Christmas #2 is due at the end of June 2013! :) 

 

God, your timing never ceases to amaze us! 

Remembering Jen

Today I stumbled upon a story that absolutely wrecked my soul. It's about a beautiful 36 year old named Jen. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in August 2011 and sadly, she passed away on 10/12/12. 

via

This beautiful woman left countless loved ones behind, including two sons who are only 6 and 9. While this story is undeniably sad, it isn't one that I haven't heard before. My dear aunt, Carleen, passed away six years ago from pancreatic cancer, leaving behind her 3 year old son. :'(

As a new mom, my biggest fear is that something will happen to my son, my husband, or me. I have faith that my God holds all of us in His hands, so no matter what happens everything will be okay. But I'm also human and I have this fear. Cancer is an ugly, despicable illness that has no prejudice. It can happen to anyone. Through Jen's story, I learned that a yearly Pap smear will not detect ovarian cancer. It can detect cervical cancer, but there is no regular check-up that can give women warning. This is really shocking to me, as I have always thought that an annual check-up could detect any type of female reproductive cancer.

What most disturbs me about this newly learned fact is that because there is no way to detect through regular exams and often has common symptoms, ovarian cancer is typically diagnosed at stage 3 or 4. Here are a few facts about this type of cancer regarding survival expectations.

• About 3 out of 4 women with ovarian cancer survive 1 year after diagnosis.
• Nearly half of women live longer than 5 years after diagnosis.
• If diagnosis is made early in the disease and treatment is received before the cancer spreads outside the ovary, the 5-year survival rate is very high

These statistics are completely heartbreaking. Additionally, there is not a standard screening. There is a test that can be performed for women who are high risk to detect BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. These particular genes are linked to hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. If a person has these genes, they can have a hysterectomy to attempt to reduce  their risk of these types of cancer. 

So, what are we, the women, to do? For starters, we need to listen to our bodies. There have been a few dominate symptoms linked to ovarian cancer. They are:

1. Severe and frequent bloating/ Increased abdominal size

2. Severe and spastic cramping–similar to menstrual pains but more intense

3. Lower abdominal and back pain

4. Loss of appetite/Feeling full quickly

5. Weight loss

6. Extreme fatigue/Lack of energy

7. Night sweats

I did not know Jen, and I do not know anyone with ovarian cancer. I just feel a really strong conviction to write this post. Maybe someone needs to read it, maybe it'll pop up on a Google search years from now. if you or someone you know are experiencing the symptoms above, do not ignore them. You may have nothing, but you may also have reproductive cancer. For ovarian cancer, the sooner it is caught, the higher the survival rate. Do not ignore it. Do not succumb to it.

Jen, you beautiful soul. Your story has touched my heart and I will keep your sweet family in my prayers. May you dance with the angels at the throne of our King. 

***If you would like to donate to Jen's family, please click here***

Relaxing on this Miscellany Monday

Source: flickr.com via Lauren on Pinterest

Good morning, sweet readers. How are y'all doing today? I'm feeling great! Keith and I just finished the last of our assignments and are officially on Fall Break for one week. YAY! Anyway, Happy Monday y'all! I'm full of miscellaneous, so that's what I'll be writing about today. 

* I know it's only Monday, but I am beyond pumped for Friday because....Keith and I are finally going on a date! :) It's been months since our last one and this quality time is much over due. Plus, I'm totally pumped to get dolled up and explore Charleston with my man. :D

 Our first Charleston date, January 2009

* So, my Yanks are in the playoffs, but it is so hard to be happy when Jeter is out with a broken bone in his ankle. He is without a doubt my favorite ballplayer and it just doesn't feel right seeing someone else play shortstop. The Wall Street Journal posted an article yesterday called Without Jeter, These Playoffs Feel Like a Funeral and boy are they right. I'm praying this injury doesn't end his career. I'm praying that he is back next year and playing like himself again.

It may sound silly, but if this is it for him...if he doesn't come back, I will truly be heartbroken. Besides the fact that he's The Captain and is just a damn good player, I am hoping he's okay, selfishly, so that I can see him play in person. I've yet to do that, but it hasn't been without trying. (Remember my honeymoon?) My logic is this -- it's like living in the era of DiMaggio and never making time to get to NYC and watch the greatness in action. Especially now that Gav is here, I just really want to share the experience with him. *sigh* Sorry to ramble, but this is important to me.

* I don't know what the weather has been like everywhere else, but here in South Carolina it has been bliss. Anywhere from the 60's to 70's and sunny. We've also had hotter days and rainy days, but man have those sunny fall days been wonderful. Gav and I have been going on walks and I am really just thankful for these days.

* After one month of avoiding fast food, I decided to splurge yesterday on a Whopper combo from Burger King to celebrate Fall Break. Let's just say I deeply regret this decision. I was so nauseated and felt terrible. Almost like I had food poisoning. Blah. I guess we really are what we eat! I don't want to say too much yet (don't wanna jinx myself) but over the past 5 weeks I've lost a considerable amount of weight (we're talking double digits!) and I am 1 pound from reaching my pre-baby weight. Thank God! (I'm going to write about my results once I reach my goal.) Eating that awful BK meal yesterday was definitely poor judgment, but I'd like to note this experience for the next time I am tempted to eat fried, processed, food...DON'T DO IT LADY!!! (Also, is anyone on My Fitness Pal? If you are, send me your username! I'd love to have more accountability and offer up some encouragement.)

Well, that's all the rambling I have for now. I'll be spending today with Gav and relaxing without feeling guilty. I've been wanting to have an Audrey Hepburn marathon, and I think that's exactly what I'll do. On the lineup? Roman Holiday, Sabrina, and Breakfast at Tiffany's. :)

Happy Monday, readers! 

Skip September, Welcome October!

Hello, sweet readers of mine. How are y'all doing? :) I apologize for my month and a half hiatus, but it was much needed.  I have missed blogging so much, and I'm finally ready to begin writing again on a consistent basis.There were a few times last week where I could have written, but it's been difficult finding the right words to say. Where do I even begin? 

Well, for starters, life is slowing down considerably. Still busy, but slowing down. My family and I moved back into our house and we are beyond thankful to be back home. So much has happened since my last post, and the easiest way to catch-up will be to do a recap....so here we go!

* For Labor Day weekend, Keith, Gavin, and I took a trip to Gatlinburg, TN with my bro/sis-in-law, Stephen and Ivey. If I had to rate this trip, I'd give it a 4. Our cabin was crawling with bugs, Gav's ears were hurting from the altitude, we got stranded in Ober Gatlinburg thanks to some bad weather, and we kept comparing everything to our much more pleasant 2010 cabin trip. We weren't completely  miserable, but  I don't think we'll be heading back to the mountains anytime soon.

Gav hanging out in Tennessee

* I slightly mentioned that we had trouble with the tenants that were living in our house, but I've never really explained. To sum it up, last July Keith and I moved to Atlanta for Keith's job. We rented our home to what we thought was a nice family. Well, we were wrong. They rarely paid on time, and come July of this year they stopped paying all together. We filed for eviction, and one month later we regained possession of our house. We discovered a trashed, abandoned house. They turned off the electricity and left meat in the freezer...and the smell that came from our house was worse than anything I've ever smelled. Keith and I, along with many family members and friends worked very hard over the last month and a half to make our house a home again. We succeeded, and here is the finished product.

This was definitely a learning experience for us and I don't think we'll ever be renting property out again. If we can find them (apparently they've moved out of state), we'll be taking the tenants to small claims court. We know that we'll never recoup the money that we've spent fixing everything, but at least they'll have consequences. There has to be consequences for behavior like this.

* On a much happier note, baby boy is CRAWLING! On September 19th I placed him on a blanket and said "Spread your wings little buddy! Crawl!" And he totally did! It was such an amazing moment and I am very proud of Gavin. He is getting so big and I am just cherishing every season with him.

After he crawled the first time, I grabbed the camera and filmed this video. :)

* I am two weeks away from finishing two of the last three classes of my undergraduate career. My final class begins at the end of October and wraps up right before Christmas. And then that's it! Undergrad will be DONE. Praise. The. Lord!!!

* Last week, Gav and I took a walk with my mother-in-law, Pam on what is a Charleston landmark, The Ravenel Bridge. This was his first time experiencing the bridge, and while he didn't enjoy the walk, he did enjoy hanging out at the park afterward with his Grandma. :)

The top of the bridge :)

Gav and Grandma Pam

I think I covered everything! I'm really excited for October, as it is one of my favorite months. Mellowcreme pumpkins, MLB playoffs, pumpkin spice candles....OH I just love it! I'm not a huge fan of Halloween, but there's just something about the month that ushers in Thanksgiving and Christmas that makes me happy. Plus, you can't beat the cool weather. I'm off to spend some sweet time with my son. What are your plans for the day?