One Year Ago...

One year ago today, we were looking at this...

and now we are looking at this...

It may sound cheesy to say but today brings back a total flood of emotions. I cannot even begin to explain how I felt the moment that I held that pregnancy test in my hand and saw that it was positive one year ago.
After struggling with fertility issues with Allie, pregnancy tests became such a negative thing to me. They brought frustration, sadness, anger, depression, etc. I quit buying them because I was so sick of going through the total high of anticipation while waiting for the results and then the devestating low of seeing the result that you don't want to see right in front of your face. Although I never got to see an actual positive pregnancy test with Allie, I do think it's cool that Matt actually found out before me that I was pregnant (I had had a blood test and the doctor called Matt with the results) So this time, taking a pregnancy test with Sienna and finding out that I was pregnant was a new thing for me...and it was GREAT!!!
We had been trying to get pregnant for about 6 months and it wasn't happening. It didn't totally surprise me since I went through this for almost two years with Allie, but I have to say it was a little easier this time around. Getting pregnant didn't consume my every thought and I felt sooo blessed to have Allie but of course longed for another baby. I remember for the first time not feeling very well at a birthday party for my bff's son. But I totally brushed it off, trying not to think about it. This continued for about a week, but again, I just did not want to get my hopes up so I tried to ignore it. Finally, I sat down and realized that I was almost 2 weeks late and decided it was time to go to the store and pick up the dreaded pregnancy test. I still did not think that it was possible that I was pregnant so I bought the absolute cheapest one there, a single pack, generic, and it was probably on sale. I did not want to waste my money on another one of these things! I went home, locked myself in the bathroom, prayed to God that He would protect my heart and prepare me for whatever was to come and...well, you know what I did. :) IMMEDIATELY it was positive. I couldn't believe it. I burst into tears, finally I was crying happy tears after taking a pregnancy test. I had always thought about doing something creative to tell Matt that I was pregnant but I was a mess and he was right in the next room so I couldn't wait! I walked into the room, tears streaming down my face and told him we were going to have another baby. We were amazed!
God certainly answered a huge prayer of ours and I was so thankful! And the best part was, this all happened on Thanksgiving day last year. Yes God, I know, You were in control the whole time and I am soooooo thankful :)

Christmas Cards!

It goes without saying that December is my favorite time of the year. I love driving down the street seeing all of the 'twinkly lights' (as Allie says), decorating the house with Christmas decorations and shopping for gifts. But I have to say that my favorite part is getting the mail every day and receiving Christmas cards from friends and family. I love seeing the adorable pictures, getting family updates and just feeling connected to people so far away this time of year. This year I am so excited to use Shutterfly to design and order our Christmas cards. I’ve used Shutterfly many times and love their products and service, not to mention their prices are great. Last week my bff took our family pictures and I love that Shutterfly has so many cards that will show multiple images, because of course we can't just choose one! They literally have hundreds of designs to choose from, here are a few of my favorites…
I love this one, very Christmas classy...
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/with-love-chartreuse-christmas-5x7-folded-card?sortType=1&storeNode=93496
This one is super cute...
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/peppermint-bliss-christmas-5x7-folded-card?sortType=1&storeNode=93496
I love anything black and white...
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/oh-holy-night-religious-christmas-5x7-folded-card?sortType=1&storeNode=93496
And now that we have TWO little munchkins that get spoiled by grandparents, we might have to give back by ordering some photo calendars and mugs...
http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars/wall-calendars
http://www.shutterfly.com/photo-gifts/photo-mugs
December is quickly approaching and I can't wait to start receiving this year's Christmas cards!!!

4 Month Stats

Sienna had her 4 month appointment today, here are her stats...
Weight - 15 pounds 10 oz - 86%
Height - 25 3/4 inches - 93%
Head - 43 cm - 92%
We have a healthy, growing girl! We are going to continue her on her Prevacid two times a day since it has helped sooooo much, but we are hoping she grows out of her reflux by 9 months. She still spits up a TON (which there is nothing we can do about that) but at least now she is happy when she does it (just like Allie). And although it's a pain (I use beach towels as burp cloths now because I was so sick of using 20 burp cloths a day...seriously!), I'm glad it doesn't hurt her anymore. She also did great with her shots, she just cried for a minute, whined for a little longer and now she is on hour 3 of her nap! And we are excited to start rice cereal! Hopefully Sienna will like it, future post to come I'm sure :)
Matt giving S a pep talk about the shots that were about to come. Poor girl :(

Me and my girl

I always like to compare Sienna's growth with Allie's. At 4 months Allie was 16 pounds 3 ounces, 25 1/2 inches long and her head was 43cm. I still can't believe that Sienna is smaller than Allie since Sienna was a whole pound bigger at birth, but I still think it's because Sienna had such a hard time eating for the first 9 weeks of her life. Still, I have a feeling my girls are going to be sooooo similar, little twins :)
Here is Allie at her 4 month appointment...

4 Months Old!

Sienna Faith,
You are four months old! You have changed so much in this past month, I feel like you are definitely out of the newborn phase and into the real baby phase, if that makes sense at all. :) First of all, you've made some big changes with your sleeping. You are starting to follow after your big sister in being a rockstar sleeper, it is the best! You go to bed every night at about 7:00pm. Still about half the time you sleep through the night and half the time you wake up once to eat but almost every morning I have to wake you up at 7:30am to start your day. You are so happy in the mornings, it is my favorite time of the day with you. Your morning nap lasts anywhere between 1-2 hours, your afternoon nap last about 2-3 hours and you take a later little catnap about 45-60 minutes. We even got rid of your sleep positioner, swaddle, and put you to bed awake most of the time and you do this great, I am amazed! I sure hope it lasts!

You still love to play on your activity mat and now you reach for your toys that are hanging and grab ahold of them. You are doing great with tummy time and you roll from your tummy to your back but still not regularly yet. We started sitting you in your bumbo several times a day and you love to just sit and look around.
Your favorite thing in the world right now is your big sister. Any time she is near you, you just smile HUGE! It is the cutest (and best) thing in the world. No one can make you smile like Allie. :)


We left you for the first time at night this past weekend too (well, kind of) You slept in your Memaw and Dodad's room when we were up in Prescott for two nights so that your daddy and I could get a good, full nights sleep and sleep in in the morning. Although I really missed you (and worried about you just a little:) it was great and you were wonderful. You and Memaw definitely bonded in the wee hours of the night :)

I can't wait to start feeding you 'real' food this coming month! We are just going to wait until your doctors appointment to start to make sure we know what to give you because of your allergies. But I have a feeling you are going to like to eat. :)
I love you my little princess. You bring so much joy into my life and your sweet little face just constantly makes me smile.

Dancing with the Angels...

This post is for a dear friend (you know who you are:) I didn't get to meet your precious M, but her life has touched me more than you can imagine. Although so many questions of 'why?' still fill my heart, I know that our God is in control and He knows exactly what He is doing. And I know that you will get to dance with her one day...

Dancing with the Angels
by Monk & Neagle

Memories surround me
But sadness has found me
I’d do anything for more time
Never before has someone meant more
And I can’t get you out of my mind
There is so much that I don’t understand
But I know

You’re dancing with the angels
Walking in new life
You’re dancing with the angels
Heaven fills your eyes
Now that you’re dancing with the angels

You had love for your family
Love for all people
Love for the Father, and Son
Your heart will be heard
In you unspoken words
Through generations to come
There is so much that I don’t understand
But I know

You’re dancing with the angels
Walking in new life
You’re dancing with the angels
Heaven fills your eyes
Now that you’re dancing with the angels

We’re only here for such a short time
So I’m gonna stand up
Shout out
And sing Hallelujah
One day I’ll see you again

3rd Annual Girls Weekend!

I had the amazing opportunity to spend this past weekend up north with 5 of my best girlfriends. Over 3 years ago we came together as a group and have been meeting every other Tuesday night since then. We support and encourage each other on how to be better wives, mothers, friends and Godly women. I love these girls and don't know what I would do without them! When our group started only one of us had a child, now just 3 short years later there are 8 kids between us! The babies always join us on our girls weekends so this year we had three sweet little girls, it was a first of all girls. :) (We actually think that next year will be the first year that no babies will come with us - unless of course someone gets pregnant in the next three months! Bri??? haha) We lounged around in our sweats all weekend, played games, watched a movie, soaked in the jacuzzi under the stars, drank lots of wine and made VERY yummy food. It was perfect! Only pictures of our sweet babies were allowed (since we were away from our hubbies and the rest of the world, I don't think any of us looked in the mirror all weekend!) so here are a couple...
Our three precious girls...

Grace kept holding Sienna's hand - so cute!

Lily was a little too far away but Grace tried

I love this picture - future best friends :)

I just had to take this picture - it is a tradition every year to make chicken and veggies on the grill for dinner on Saturday night. Here are our prepared veggies ready to be grilled. My mouth is watering just looking at them...yum!

Our Halloween Festivities

We had such a fun Halloween weekend, here are the highlights...
Decorating Pumpkins

Highlands Fall Festival at Westworld



My sweet little ballerina and butterfly


Practicing ballet moves (I can't wait to put her in dance!)

Sienna trick or treating

Reaping Halloween rewards :)

Adorable pumpkin pj's

Macdonald's Ranch

Yesterday we went to Macdonald's Ranch up in North Scottsdale with our good friends the Anderson's. Allie had so much fun on the hay ride, picking out a pumpkin, petting the animals at the petting zoo and hanging out with her boyfriend Tyler (although the two were not as affectionate as usual, I think Tyler was playing hard to get) Sienna had a great time too chilling in her Baby Bjorn with Matt, there's nothing cuter than seeing a dad carry a baby in one of those :) We had so much fun on our 'family day' and were glad we could spend it with our friends. Here are some of the highlights...
Found a great pumpkin

The Anderson's

The future Mr. and Mrs. :)

Our Family

Petting Zoo

Allie sitting with John (who she has a mild obsession with :)

Sleepy girl

Daddy and his girls

More Baby Stuff!!!

I posted a couple months ago about my first time making some baby things for a boy. Everything I had made up until that point had been for baby girls so it was a bit of a challenge. Well, I just finished my second challenge. My dear friend Shawna is not only having two babies, but she is not finding out the gender of them until they are born! I had so much fun at Joann's picking out the fabric that I was going to use. I didn't want to do the typical yellow and green so I chose to go with chocolate brown and white. I love that color sceme for both boys and girls, plus she's doing an animal theme in the nursery so I thought it fit. I made my usual burp cloths, paci clips and diaper/wipe holder and think they turned out great. Congratulations Shawna!!!

This is my favorite diapers/wipes case I've made so far :)

3 Months Old!

Sienna Faith,
You are three months old already! This past month has been soooo much fun. We went up to your grandparents house again in Prescott and you did great. This time Memaw and Dodad were there too so you definitely got loved on a lot.

You are getting so incredibly strong. You completely hold your head up on your own, even when we pick you up from the ground, we really don't have to support your head. You are actually really good at tummy time and (somewhat) enjoy it. You definitely stay happy for longer than your sister did, you love to just lay there and look around. AND, you have started to roll over from your tummy to your back! I thought it was a fluke the first time you did it but you have done it many, many times since then. It's definitely not a regular thing yet but I know you'll get there soon.

One of your favorite things to do now is lay on your activity mat and look at all the hanging toys. You haven't tried to grab them yet but you kick your feet and smile like crazy when you are on it.

Sleeping is still a challenge but you are much, much better than before. You are now taking mostly all of your naps in your crib (occasionally you will still take your fourth nap in my moby wrap though). But, I swear you have an internal alarm clock that wakes you up after exactly one hour because that's the longest you will sleep. Oh well, I know it will get better soon and I hate to break it to you but next month we are going to start sleep training boot camp! Hopefully it will help you learn to fall asleep on your own because I do have to rock you to sleep and hopefully you will sleep longer. We will see! You do perfect at night though. About half the time you will sleep through the night (12 hours) and half the time you wake up once to eat, I can't complain.

You are smiling and cooing like crazy which I LOOOOVE! Everytime I look at your sweet face I just melt. You are just so darn cute! And it is even better when you smile at your big sister, which you do EVERY time you see her. It's the best and I love that you have a sister to grow up with.

I still can't believe that you are my daughter and that you are here! I am in awe of the ways that God has blessed me!