Happy Mama = Happy Baby

So truth is three years ago, if you had asked me what PP meant, I probably would've laughed at you...thinking it meant literally peepee.  Now, after two kids I know PP and PPD more importantly mean postpartum and postpartum depression.  PPD is no joke....now let's take a moment to flash back to Kinsley's PP days.

With Kinsley, I breastfed.  I breastfed exclusively for as long as my leave was, 6 weeks.  Then she went to daycare.  Immediately after going to daycare, she fell ill.  She was put on amoxicillin.  Booger wouldn't take the medicine out of a syringe so we mixed it with her bottle of breastmilk.  After that, she longer cared to latch on to me...why would she?  The bottle was quicker...So here I was now pumping at work and pumping at home.  This is a lot of work for those that do not know....takes twice as long and essentially two people to feed her.  Not to mention, the pump now had to follow me everywhere.  AND took extra time out of my work schedule to accommodate pumping.  O and Kins had to have warm milk, so this meant we took a bottle warmer EVERYWHERE with us.  But alas, I did it, after several infections and pains, I exclusively pumped for her first year.  It was what was best for her, right?

Looking back, looking back at especially those first 6-12 weeks of her life, I was miserable.  ABSOLUTELY MISERABLE!  Why?  Cause she was like a third leg/boob per se, she always wanted to be attached to me.  It was draining.  And I got no sleep.  Now, I wouldn't admit it cause geez depression...that's awful....but now, looking back- I had PPD.  Bad.  I resented my daughter at times cause she was so "needy".  This is an awful thing for a mother to say, I'm an awful mom.  No one tells you this side of motherhood- babies are just so cute...how could you think that.  IT IS NORMAL!  New moms, did you hear me?  IT IS NORMAL!  It is not easy, not at all.  There will be times you just need a break...and that is OK.  Now, let's flash forward.

Levi....Levi was born 9 lbs 2 oz.  Did you hear me?!?!  9 POUNDS!  I quickly learned this didn't just mean "ouch".  Because he was over 9 pounds, he fell into a different medical category.  He had special tests ran and everything.  O and with a 9 pound baby, he likes to eat!  I quickly learned that at the hospital.  He would feed every 2 hours, for just about an hour to hour and a half.  Okay, do that math...that meant at most, I was getting an hours sleep here and there.  Now, I thought o he's a great latcher- latched on perfect the very first time.  So why was he eating so much?  Had to be his size.  But I never "emptied".  So this meant, I became engorged more and more.  After 3 days, now at home, breastfeeding became more and more tiring.  He was still hungry even after 1.5 hrs of eating, so we started some formula (just an ounce after latching).  Well, then came his first ped appointment, sure enough, he's jaundice.  So the ped recommended more formula cause it helps with jaundice.  And after discussing with her more of his constant hunger, she suggested adding rice cereal to help fill him up.  Ok....so this meant breastfeed, pump (to help me empty), and bottle feed?  So when is it that I'm suppose to sleep?!?  At this point, I was in some pain.  So I scheduled an appointment with my doctor.  Sure enough, not only did I have mastitis in both breasts (look it up if you don't know what it is), but I was also fighting an uterine infection.  Mama was in pain!  Which is crazy cause Kinsley phsyically did more "damage" to me then Levi even though Levi was 9 lbs.  Recovery with Levi just was not easy....at all.  So I was put on meds, but only a Z pack cause I was breastfeeding, they couldn't prescribe stronger drugs cause it would go to Levi as well.

Here comes PPD....I cried and cried for two days straight following this.  I was in so much pain yet had a baby that needed me.  I'm the mom that wants to go natural, wants the best for my baby.  I HAD to breastfeed.  After day one, I started thinking though....is this worth it?  Do I want to go down that path again?  I do not want to resent my child, I love my child.  O and let's just "get past this", then what?  THEN I have to look forward to pumping for a year?  O yippee....It was then that I started talking to friends and Adam and decided that breastfeeding was just not in the plans for Levi.  This was the hardest decision ever....I felt like a failure.  How could I do this to my child?!  Again, PPD....after some love from family members and close friends, I started to feel better and better about it.  After all, if Mama isn't happy baby won't be happy.  O and how true this became.  After about 4 days of hell/engorgement, I grew to LOVE my baby boy.  I LOVE feeding my baby.  I LOVE that bond we have.  And not to make it sound "better" but bottle feeding really is easier and definitely more convenient.  Here's the bottom line....I will NEVER be one of those moms that judges another mom for formula feeding ever again (I used to be that way).  Sometimes, it is more important that Mama is happy.  Not to sound selfish but when Mama is happy, baby is happy and hubby is definitely happier.  Babies can sense when there is tension or hostility and if you hate every minute of breastfeeding your baby- then don't do it.  It is okay....your baby will be fine!

PPD is serious, if you think you have PPD, seek help.  Don't be ashamed (as I was), it is normal.  Take care of yourself- you are just as important as your baby!

Levi's Birth Story

Lots has changed since my last post in 2012.  Obviously, everyone has grown older and cuter (well at least Kinsley has).  We have moved into our "forever" home.  And decided to expand our family even further.

Adam and I started talking about a second child shortly after moving into this house.  By August, we were "successful".  The plan had been not to find out the sex but nerves and health concerns led Adam to change his mind.  At about 20 weeks, we find out our nugget had fluid build up in its right kidney.  This meant going to a specialists and getting more ultrasounds.  At about 28 weeks, we went for a follow up and everything was leveling out- meaning not so much of a concern.  This was when Adam voiced his opinion that he wanted to know the sex.  We always had our instincts but it was confirmed that we were indeed welcoming a little BOY into the Trombly family.  The next few months seemed to fly by.  Before we knew it, it was May 9th- my due date!

At this point, I had tried everything imaginable to get this baby out.  It was apparent, he had his own plans- much like his sister.  I always had the date 5/11 stuck in my head as his date.  Well 5/11 came, this year, it was Mother's Day.  We went about our normal Sunday routine and went to dinner at my mom's house.  During dinner, I had one very good contraction that took my breath away.  But it wasn't till on the way home that things felt different...

~6 p.m.  Adam was driving home from dinner in his truck.  I'd say I had about 3 good contractions on the way home- 20 min drive.  I told Adam that something was going on.  I mentioned to him after I put Kinsley to bed, I'd take a bath to test this once again.

~7:30 p.m.  Warning text had already gone out to my mom to be on alert.  I got Kinsley in bed and got in the bath.  Sure enough, this was it!!!!  FINALLY!!!!!!!!  I had a contraction in the tub then one immediately after getting out.  This is when Adam and I hit the "panic mode".  I called my mom, she was going to be on her way.

~8:30 p.m.  Mom and Tom arrived.  Kinsley was still awake in her bed (talking to herself of course), so they took her straight to their place for the night.  Adam and I finished packing up the goods.  I contacted my doula to let her know tonight was the night.  Told her that at this point my contractions were about 40 seconds long, 4-5 min apart.  She told me to wait it out at home some more.  Adam decided maybe we should eat something since it was apparent it was going to be a long night.  He fixed me a good ole PB&J sandwich.

~10:30 p.m.  My nerves were getting the best of me.  I decided even though the contractions were not any closer that it was time to go to the hospital.  I was just very uncomfortable at home.  After my last labor, I knew just checking in to the hospital could take hours and I wasn't wanting to risk that.  The second labor is suppose to go quicker right??!?!

~11:30 p.m.  All checked in and settled into the room by now.  Once I was hooked up and checked, I got in the tub.  I was at 3 cm upon arriving to the hospital (very disappointed by that- I surely thought I was at least 4).

~12:30 a.m.  I tell Adam to get Renee (doula) on her way.  I was exhausted and needed a reinforcement besides Adam.

~3 a.m.  Renee was here and I was getting out of the tub.  From here on out is kind of a blur,  at least as far as timing goes.  I know the contractions never really changed- timing wise.  Renee suggested I walk around to try to pick up the pace and encourage him to drop into position.  Well, my body had different plans.  At this point, I think I thrown up twice- including my late night "dinner" and apple juice.  I could not fathom just "walking around".  Exhaustion had set in.

~5:45 a.m.  My breaking point.  After throwing up again and again, I caved and asked for the epidural.  I was, I think, only 4 cm still and again contractions still at about 5 min apart.  This baby had no plans of coming out any time soon!  I knew at this point, labor was going to last at least through the morning.  Here I was working on no sleep...well it took another 45 min to be able to get the epidural.  If anyone knows how long this 45 min is- it feels like eternity!  First, they have to check you, check the baby, get an IV in you, have to have one bag of fluids, THEN they can call the anesthesiologist.  While I was getting my fluids, I got back into the tub to help ease the pain of the contractions (the intensity had picked up).  At this point, Renee and Adam say  my contractions slowed to about 11 minutes apart.  After receiving the fluids, I got out of the tub.  Once again, I threw up.  Now we had to wait on anesthesiologist.  He comes in, does his thing, which usually takes another two contractions or so- before the shot is even given to you.  Then, once you get the shot, it takes another 3-4 contractions to take.  Again, this felt like eternity.  But alas, I was good.  

~7 a.m.  Doctor on call came in to see me (Dr. Barrett).  He knew I was a patient of the midwife, Susan Lorres and wanted her to be present at my birth.  I got checked again and was now at 6 cm.  He looked at my contractions (again only 5 min apart) and knew it wouldn't be till around lunch time that anything would happen.  Which sounded awful in my mind BUT that is when Susan would be available so it would work out.  I could have my midwife for my birth!    The next few hours were some cat naps, some re-positioning to try to get the boy to drop and some chatting.  

~12 p.m.  Susan came in and broke my water (7 cm).  

Again, I have no track of time here.....so fast forward.

~2:15 p.m. Well still no baby...but I was getting close.  I started to fill that urge to push.  Let the games begin!  The nurses all took position and they brought the mirror out.  Now, "the mirror?" you say...yes, the mirror.  I did not really care for it with Kinsley but this time, this time, it was different.  I wanted to see this miracle take place.  O and let me iterate that my epi had started to wear off.   My drip was gone at at this point. So those contractions, the ring of fire, yeah I could feel that....but it worked out for the best.  My body knew what to do and when to push.  Things happen for a reason....So here I was pushing and pushing through contractions.  Just hoping that this would be a "3 contraction birth".  Again, he had different plans.  After about 45 min of feeling like I had made no progress of getting this baby out, the nurses called Susan over.  Okay, so this meant something right?  They knew something I didn't...was he really closer?  Was he that close finally?  I stared at the mirror at this point....every push I was just waiting and waiting to see that head full of hair.  Well finally, I could see something.  BUT I started to freak out, okay here is his head but where is SUSAN!?!?!  I know it probably was only like 5 minutes but again felt like eternity.  Susan arrived in what I felt like was just in time, the head was crowning.  The next push, here came his shoulders.  Then after that, my baby boy was on my chest.  ***This moment in time, is the best moments of a mom's life.***  The feeling and emotions that come over you when you finally have your baby on your chest cannot be put into words.  My baby boy, Mr. Levi Nicholas Trombly, was finally in my arms!!!  

Levi was born at 3:10 p.m. on May 12, 2014 at Northside Forsyth Hospital.  Weighing 9 pounds 2.4 ounces and measuring 21" long.  20 hours of labor, 1 hour of pushing.

Don't Shoot!

WOW!  Slacker? I feel terrible that it has been so long.  I will quickly try to catch y'all up to present day.  Since the last post, we've obviously have gone on our family vacation.  Not sure if it was the sun, the ocean, or her crazy cousins but seems like Kinsley slept most of the vacation.  Here are a few shots:

Come June or Birthday Month we like to call it, things got crazy!  Here's one cute picture we got from Madison's birthday party.

Shannon celebrated her 30th birthday this year and we all got to spend a few hours out on Lake Lanier with her and her friends.  Kinsley got to ride a jet ski for the first time:

Since June, July has really seemed to fly by.  Adam and I are both extremely busy at work right now.  It is really hard to believe that Kinsley turned 9 months last week!  Here are a few of our favorites of her 9 Month Photo Shoot.

She went last Friday to get her shots :( .  Everything went great (only one shot this time).  She was a little over 20 lbs, 75% for weight, 50% for height (I think 27"?), and a 95% for head size!  The doctor had to remeasure her head cause it had grown so fast since 6 months.  While this is funny and probably means nothing cause Adam and I both come from a family of big heads- we have to take her back in a month from now to get her head remeasured.  Apparently, it could be a sign that brain fluid is not getting absorbed back into the brain (again, doctor laughed at this and really thought this would not be the case).  I think it just means that she will be the next Telsa (if you don't know who I'm referencing- look it up).

She now has two complete bottom teeth, one upper, and one more upper trying to make its way through.  She is experimenting with real solids now, losing interest fast in purees.  She's a talker, an all around joy.  She now reaches for familiar faces when she wants to be held and has very fine motor skills (putting items between her thumb and index finger).  She can pull up on items and "walk" when assisted.  The biggest thing since this past week even- she crawls!  And crawls fast!!!!!!!!!!  I will post a video as soon as I can capture one.

This Thursday-Saturday I am attending Thirty One's National Conference here in Atlanta.  Other than that, Adam and I are keeping very busy at our normal "day" jobs.  In the meantime, I am slowly starting on planning her first birthday party- "Under the Sea".

~ABDK

6 Month Photo Shoot

I finally got the pictures back from our 6 month photo shoot.  While I will say, I'm less than happy with them- here's a few:

Yesterday, marked Kinsley turning 7 months!  Can you believe it?  I vividly remember pacing back and forth in the living room, lying on our bed, and "floating" in the tub at the hospital.  Seems like it was just last week.

A couple of weeks ago was Mother's Day.  My first!  Friday, Primrose held their "Muffins for Moms" in the morning.  So I had the pleasure of taking my daughter in to school (usually Adam does).  Of course, as soon as I got my plate of mini-muffins, I had an admirer.  How could I not resist giving her a taste?   Once she got used to the texture, she LOVED them.  She had about 8 bites of my muffins!  I did not want to leave to go to work.

On a sadder note, our family lost an amazing, loving, and protective member this week.  My childhood dog (second childhood dog), Midnight went off to doggy heaven.  I don't think any one of us (or our neighbors) will forget him.  Whether it's geese, a red ball, or lightning, we will always have a part of Midnight with us.  I'd like to believe the past couple of days, these thunderstorms we've been having is him telling us that he's better off now.  It's going to be odd not seeing a black lab in my mom's backyard.

In just two more days, we will be on VACATION!!!!!  A much needed vacation for both Adam and I.  First true vacation in two years.  We're doing our annual beach trip with my mom.  This will be Kinsley's first REAL trip to the beach (in mommy's tummy doesn't count apparently).  I hope she enjoys it!  Cross your fingers for the long drive down there.  Mommy is super stressed about packing...

I need this vacation, it seems, more than ever.

~ABDK

Love is in the air

Well since the last post- I have been to Panama City for Ashley's bachelorette and to her wedding.  It was an absolutely beautiful wedding.  David and Ashley met at the most romantic place- Waffle House.  They had a waffle groom's cake with the WaHo syrup.  It was too cute.

Thanks to my mom for keeping Kinsley so we could go out and enjoy Ashley's wedding.

Ms. Kins now has her ears pierced! We went for her 6 month checkup on the 27th.   She weighed a little over 17lbs, was 27" long and healthy!  While I tried to get them done there- the doctor wasn't in that does it (I hoped to just piss her off in one visit instead of multiple times).  Well we went to the outlets Saturday to get some shopping done and I ended up getting them done at Claire's.  The girl made me feel really comfortable and she was due to eat anyways so I had the perfect opportunity to cheer her up after.

Hole 1

She had grabbed a couple's attention and was watching them

Its hard to capture the moment but we believe Kins has her first boyfriend.  Too bad he's on a DVD and is at least 6 years older than her (not allowed).  She just lights up and babbles when he comes on TV.  

I've gotten a kiddie pool and hope to play with Kins every weekend in it to get her accustomed to the water.  She absolutely loves it.  Here is her first time in the pool.  

The past week or so has been very busy for me.  Well not really but I've put off doing a lot thanks to the newest trend- Fifty Shades of Grey.  I finally gave into the hype and downloaded the books.  I don't normally read or enjoy fiction at least- I read all three books in just one week!  While I will admit, you have to keep an open mind- it really is a great story.  Once you get past the shock of the first book, books two and three are just amazing.  I recommend to any married couple.

In just 18 days, we'll be at the beach!

First Easter

Well its been a while, again.  To update on medical issues- Rose is recovering, they believe they got it all YAY.  Dad is still waiting to go to the doctor but preliminary says it shrank about 20% in volume.  And Mom passed the PMP!!!!!  Tom turned another year older and we had a blast at his party.  Kinsley was definitely a focus point of the party.  Too bad with so much stimulation, she couldn't sleep so we had to the do adult thing and leave early.  We came back the following day to see Tom's family and friends again (one special lady, Danita- shares Kinsley's birthday).

This was the day before our "bug" hit...she's so happy....

The following week, I had a busy Saturday.  Had a Thirty-One party followed by my best friend's wedding shower.  Then family and friend visits again that weekend.  Kinsley sure loves visitors and loves talking to new people.  She is not shy at all.  She's getting more and more of a personality.  And daycare says she's a real joy.  She now has a little tooth poking through too!  (Hard to get a picture- sorry.)

Friday/Saturday we went down to camp again and Adam got his first turkey!!!!!  So a buck and a turkey all in a year- that's my man.  He is now fully converted :) (if only he would say "y'all"...)

Easter has also come and gone- here's a few from our time at my mom's house (she didn't last too long in her dress).

All the kids

Happy baby

Whole outfit shot

Unwrapping sure was fun- "Where'd she go?"

I really loved my gift BAG

Saturday I have a Thirty-One meeting and a party in Covington (whew).  Sunday, Kinsley has her 6 month photo shoot too :) .  Not telling any plans, but they will be good. Then the following weekend is a bachelorette weekend in PCB....o goodness.

Nifty Fifty Tom's Bday

Today is Tom's Birthday!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOM! Today my mom is also taking her PMP certification test, so good luck to her.  My dad has an MRI...no results quite yet just the scan.  So pray for that.  AND on top of that- Tom's mom- Rose- is having surgery to remove uterine cancer.  So please please please pray for her.  On to some better lighter news...

We had a blast down at camp this weekend.  Kinsley really seemed to enjoy our golf cart rides.  She talked/babbled most of the time we'd ride then she'd pass out.  It was very nice outside just had a "tint of yellow" to deal with.  Speaking of, because of this extremely high (9000+) pollen count- Kinsley's sniffles/cough has returned....yeepee.  She is doing better and better with solids now.  We've had sweet potatoes, squash and some green beans.  I'm looking into making my own baby food now.  Just really not sure if I have the time for it (like I'm not busy enough).  I was looking into products to make it easier (baby bullet or baby brezza)- any opinions?  Most of what I'm getting is use a blender and bake/steam them well yeah that takes 2+ hrs, and I frankly don't have that kind of time.

St. Patty's Day School Attire

Play time outside

Feather sensory bin

Just too dang cute!

This week we've had several days in the 80s (last week too).  I've made a point of going outside and playing with Kins as soon as we get home at least till Daddy comes in the door.  She loves being outside and loves being able to watch Benny do his thing.  One thing I'm also starting to do more and more is 'sensory lessons'.  This is a fun introduction to new materials and the environment around her.  One of my favorite blogs play at home mom as the best ideas.  I made this feather sensory bin for her and put her in it.  Definitely lots of looks (btw if you want to do this make sure you put a paci in your child's mouth lol).  She loved grabbing at them at first then seemed to manage to raise that right leg (see picture) and would not put it back down.  She slide down a few times then became more interested in the actual bin than the feathers.  Next up is water beads.

Without getting into too much detail- I'm growing through some hard times with breastfeeding so please pray that I can continue to do this- it really is what I want to do.  I've made it 5 months, I hope to continue.  O yeah- today marks Kinsley turning 5 months!!!!!  I'll upload her monthly photo in a later blog post.  It's hard to believe she's already 5 months!  Okay, I need to get back to work...

~ABDK

Adam's Birthday

A little late on this on but Friday was Adam's birthday!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY ADAM! I have the best husband in the world- honest!  He is amazing- and an amazing father.  So his amazing wife got him a rifle lol!  Something he's been wanting for at least two years now.  Too bad I'll get the first kill with it though :).  We're going down to camp this coming weekend to sight it in and practice.  It will be rifle time + 1911 shooting time.  I'm nervous about the 1911, cause I haven't ever shot something like that quite yet.  Cross your fingers.  It's so nice to shoot guns though- definitely a stress relief!  

Meanwhile, I've been keeping pretty busy organizing our house (attempting) and getting my Thirty-One business up and running.  I have 3 parties booked for the next few weeks.  I'm really looking forward to them!  My orders are coming in now from the party I had and man- I do love these products!  (Adam doesn't seem to be as enthusiastic as I am.)  

Kinsley is growing up so fast!  Saturday marked her first "real" solid experience.  I mixed oatmeal with some breastmilk (to make it lumpy)- she didn't care for that too much on Saturday.  So Sunday I mixed in a little bit of carrots with it.  She "ate" it.  Funny faces and most of the time doing "raspberries" but I'd like to say she ate some.  LOL.  I sent all food and instructions (of course) to day care with her today...we'll see......

Some of her favorite things right now- playing with her toes and blowing "raspberries" (as daycare calls it).  We refer to them as "poot noises" lol.  She's the best fake poot noise maker around!  We couldn't be prouder!

And for this weekend- Happy St. Patty's Day but more importantly- I LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU EVERYDAY GRANNY!  

~ABDK

4 Month Checkup/ER

So Friday, Kinsley went for her checkup/shots.  All is well.  She is now 15 lbs, 24" long.  She is 60% for height, 80% for weight, and 75% for head size.  None of which I take seriously.  She was not happy the entire visit to the docs, lets just say we were the ones with the crying baby.  Getting her shots didn't make it any better.  She has a nice bruise from one shot in particular- stupid nurse!  She was quite cranky and tired till about Saturday evening.  At one point, we were on the phone with the nurses cause she was just not acting herself (not eating, sleeping all the time, etc).  Well come Saturday this cough kept getting worse and worse.  Fast forward to Sunday- we were putting her to bed and just started to really worry about her breathing.  She was constantly coughing- as if she was choking/not able to get her breath.  She was having short/quick breaths...we called the nurses line again.  Sure enough we were off to the ER.  To sum up our 6 hr trip, she was diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection.  She received a breathing treatment while in the ER and we were sent home with an inhaler.  She is still wheezy and coughing but seems to be more "controlled" now.  She went yesterday for a follow up her with her doctor- she has bronchitis and an ear infection :( .  We got new meds to try.  I'm so ready to have my happy/smiling little girl back.  As bad as this sounds- mommy just happened to have her camera on her while at the ER...so I snapped a couple of photos.  NOTE:  I said a couple...I kept getting "that" look from her so I quit.

As a parent- it is the scariest, worst feeling in the world to be sooooo helpless when it comes to your child's health.  I would give anything for her to have to not go through any of this.

In other news, I had my launch party for Thirty-One over the weekend.  Boy, was it a success!  I'm still working on getting my business up and running but I have complete faith that once things pick up- it will all be worth it!  Did I mention how thankful I am to have a supporting husband in all of this?  It is not easy on either of us but I'm glad that he sees this is something I want to do (and enjoy so far), and he's so supportive.

I had my own health scare last week as well.  I won't go into details (cause its private stuff) but so far lab results have all been normal so that is good.  I'm still waiting for things to pan out- but so far, so good!

March is a crazy crazy time for our family.  The majority of the men in the family are celebrating birthdays this month.  First up- and to whom this post will recognize- is my Dad.  I won't embarrass him by posting his age but his birthday is this Saturday- HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!

~ABDK

Monthly Photo Project

Time has flown by...sorry no update.  I kept saying "well when we finish this project then I'll post", well that still hasn't happened yet so no more waiting.  Adam is still busy on the DVD case/seat/thing- that one will take a while.  Meanwhile, I worked on a stair photo wall.  Thank you Pinterest.  Great tip I used?  I made replica frames out of printer paper and taped, measured, arranged on the wall before hanging the pictures- that way, I could mess up and rearrange as much as I wanted.  And I am an engineer, so I had to measure everything.  The most time consuming aspect- that stupid vent right in the middle of our wall/stairway.  It's so unsightly.  When we first moved in, one of our first jobs was to paint that thing same color as the wall and the actual exchange part black.  Now that I put pictures around the vent, I framed it to blend in even more (another idea from Pinterest).  Thank you to Adam for going with me to Home Depot to piece together exactly the idea I had in mind.

Can you tell we only have one kid? LOL

In other news, I have decided that Adam and I need some extra money on the side.  We are saving up for our next house (just not near enough room in this thing).  We'd really like to move in the next three years or so- no baby #2 till then!  So, why am I telling you this?  Because.....I have decided to start selling Thirty One products!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I am very excited (and nervous) about this.  If you have no idea what Thirty One is- check it out, Thirty One. This is my plug- if you'd like to host a party or just order anything let me know!  BTW this was a very hard decision for Adam and I- I, by no means, just jumped into this.  My biggest fear is missing out on my daughter's life too much.  We will play this out and see what it can do for us- I hope that even a little extra money could get us out of this house even faster!

Third, I have now made it back to pre-pregnancy weight!  Thank you Weight Watchers!  While my body is by no means the same as it used to be, I'm happy to make it to this first goal.

Kinsley is doing great!  She really is a ball of joy (most of the time).  She has fallen into what is apparently known as "4 month sleep regression".  She was waking up every 1-2 hours.  I did some research and have since been on a "routine" and she is now mostly back to sleeping through the night (woke up once last night).  The worst part is, by 7 pm she is sooooo tired she literally throws a temper tantrum.  Plus, I think I fill a little bump coming in....so here comes some fun!  We are also fighting some cradle cap- but its already starting to go away since I've been treating it.  She goes for her 4 month checkup/shot routine Friday (24th).

Rolling Over

Talking

So I've been slacking but would now like to start this Monthly Photo Project.  Here is my first photo, month 4 (FEB)!

Lastly- my cousin/brother "by" law (adopted by my dad- no Alabama thing going on) got deployed Thursday to Afghanistan. One of the hardest days for me.  He called me for a brief "I love you, give a kiss to Kinsley for me".  I know he'll be fine (at least that's what I'm telling myself) but of course I worry.  We really do take for granted what these men and women are doing for us.  And this is just a reminder of just because war has "ended" in Iraq does not mean that all troops are done- cause in point.  There is still a war going on in Afghanistan.  Please pray for my cousin and the other men and women (and their families) that are fighting for our country.  

~ABDK (sorry Ben Ben)

Seattle/3 Months!

So mommy made her trip to Seattle this past week.  I cried the whole time I was on MARTA.  It was so hard to say goodbye.  Thank God for Skype!  Just in the five six days I was gone, she rolled over and started grabbing at items.  I just wish my boss understood what this means and what it took for me to go do this!  I learned a lot and it was a great experience (Seattle is beautiful even in rain) but nothing is like home.  I know Adam was so thankful that his parents came in town to help him out.  His first morning alone with her, he woke up to no power in the house and it scared him straight (meant no monitor).  He's a deep sleeper so he was afraid that she had been screaming all night and he didn't hear her (he didn't hear the dead battery beeping of the monitor).  Of course, she was fine but I know it scared him. It really is a lot of work for one parent to do- mad props to single parent households and military families.  I couldn't do it.  His parents head back to NY today.  I know how hard it has to be for them to leave.  I feel for them.  I wish we had more money/time off to visit them more.  Funds are a little tight right now.  I thank Skype for making the situation a little easier though. Photos from Seattle:

My job :) 

A downtown/Mt. Rainier view from atop Space Needle

View from my hotel room

Pike Place Market

Straight Up!

Mixing work w/ play

So I had a red-eye flight back Friday night.  Probably slept about 2.5 hrs of that flight.  Got back to Atlanta at 7 am (local time).  Needless to say, I'm still trying to catch up on sleep :-/  But Sunday, we woke up early and got Miss Kins ready for her photo shoot.  Here's "just a few" (no really):

We make cute babies!  I'm absolutely in love with these pictures.  She did amazing!  I think she likes having her photo taken.  I hope to work on a photo wall this weekend.  Adam's got a project going on though too so who knows.  He's building a DVD case/toy bin/bench for the living room.  I've decided to try my hand at some beadboard with it too.  Inspiration:

Except black where teal is

I'm quite excited about it getting it finished.   O here's a Grammy Di and Grampy shot from their visit:

Even Benny participated!

~ADK