McKenna's first Carnival!

Dave was off of work, school, and clinicals for 5 days straight and we wanted to make sure to spend some fun time together as our little family of 3 before it becomes a family of 4! Luckily the St. Paul's Carnival at the beach was in town and provided just the fun we were looking for!!!

I did not have high expectations in going. My thoughts were that we would just walk around, maybe play some games, people watch, and eat a funnel cake :) They had a kiddie-ride-section at the carnival, but I was not going to assume McKenna would be interested at all in riding any of the rides. Our girl is not the bravest of 2.5 year olds and a lot of times does not recover quickly if hurt/scared/bothered, etc. I just knew as soon as we encouraged her to get on a ride, she would be the kid screaming her head off, willing the ride to stop, and we'd have to just stand there watching in horror as our kid is being scarred for life :)

Ummm...I was TOTALLY wrong!!!!!!

The first ride we saw was this little train ride. We simply asked McKenna if she wanted to ride it and she automatically said yes without any hesitation. I found myself holding my breath and whispering a prayer as Dave set her inside the train, buckled her seat belt, and stepped back. McKenna shared her seat with a little friend, so I was hoping this would provide her with a little "peer pressure" to be brave!

She had a BLAST!!!!! She didn't waver one bit. She could have ridden that choo-choo train a thousand times without batting an eye at us! I was SUCH a proud Mama. I know it totally sounds silly, but it was a really big deal on how brave she was! She waved triumphantly each time she passed us, and we waved wildly back at her like psychotic first time parents :) I think the girl could have asked for a pony after getting off this ride and we would have said yes because we were just so thrilled!



Next was this "fish merry-go-round" as McK named it. This one made me just as nervous (again- I know this is silly sounding), if not more, because she didn't have a "wheel" or "handles" to hold on to and the fish jerked up and down as well as went round and round. She also didn't have a friend to keep her company and it just didn't seem all that "safe/stable" :) But again we asked her if she wanted to ride and she said practically put out her hand for the tickets...so I held my breath, whispered another prayer, and waited for the herky-jerky-ride to start, along with McKenna's tears. The ride started and so did McKenna's smile...no tears, just complete confidence radiating from my little red head. She did have a death grip on the front her fish, but she was just as happy as can be. WHEW!!!!

McK is an expert on the carousal, so this ride did my heart good to take a break from beating so insanely fast and worrying :)

She met another new friend, Olivia, on the PINK motorcycle ride. By this time I had calmed down and didn't worry. She enjoyed this one just like the others.

It's a bird, it's a plane, no it's McKenna & Superman! This was the last of the fun for Miss McK and it was a good one to end on. On this ride she not only waved to us but to all the other parents watching. She showed us just how brave she had become and lifted her hands up off the bar a bit as if to say, "Look Mom, no hands!" :)

There are moments when we just look at her and realized how fast she is growing up. She will look REALLY big once her sister comes into this family, but she is and will always be our little girl. This night just seemed to be a real eye-opener in how big she is becoming. It's a good feeling with only a tinge of sadness. We are proud of our brave, little red head and are excited to watch this confidence and independence grow.

Ty's visit to FL!

My life long friend Jennifer (McDuffie) Eidemiller loaded up her 2 1/2 year old and drove 9 hours south from TN to spend a long weekend with us! We soaked up every minute and we were so incredibly thankful they were up for the trip down. McKenna and Ty are just days apart and it is the coolest thing ever to see them play together and know each other. Jen and I have been friends since I was in 3rd grade (and she in 4th), so it's just like life is coming full circle and it's the best!


Ty and McK share the same love for Toy Story, so Ty brought McKenna a "Jessie" towel! Love it!

Waffles for breakfast...can't get much better than that!


We visited the Children's Hands-on Museum and the kids had a blast. The weather was on the chilly side, so it was nice to have something fun to do indoors. Ty loved the basketball court, McKenna loved playing with the animals, they both shared a love for the stage and choo-choo train :)


We took a trip out to the Navy Base to show Ty & McKenna the helicopters. We visited the squadron that Dave works in during his Reserve time. One of Dave's jobs is to help with parts and supplies for the helicopters and he had been wanting to take McKenna for a while. It was a perfect opportunity to show off a little more of Jacksonville and something "cool" for Ty to see and experience.

Enjoyed the evenings at home playing and feeding the ducks. Ty loved all of the fountains, bodies of water, and boats!

We played hard so that bed time would be easy on all of us :)


On one of the sunnier days we headed to the Zoo. The kids fed the giraffes, pet the goats, road the train, had a picnic lunch, and enjoyed the day!

Ty really liked jumping on McKenna's trampoline! One thing they found hilarious was when one of them would lay down on the mat while the other jumped and tried to "pop the popcorn". They giggled and giggled!


Of course a visit to the Fire Station to see Dave was a must! Ty really liked sitting in the Rescue truck the best!

We finally had a warmer day and we headed out for some beach time! The kids loved, loved, loved it. When walking over the boardwalk to the beach, Ty said, "Look at the snow!" Hee, hee! He even showed McKenna how to make a "snow" angel in the sand. I think he now knows the difference between sand and snow and really had a good time. The water was freezing so we didn't have to worry about them wanting to get in. They were truly content with playing with the sand toys and running around! It gave Jennifer and I some good time to lounge in the chairs and talk!

I can't say how much it meant to me that Jennifer made this trip! It spoke volumes to my heart about our friendship. I truly enjoyed our time together and hope that there will be MANY more trips to TN and FL in our future with our families! I love you Jennifer and am so thankful that McKenna loves her friend Ty too!

She turned!!!

It was the ultrasound and doctor's appointment that had kept us all "anxious" and ready for answers... My doctor had scheduled another ultrasound to check Addison's position when I turned 36 weeks. Up until this time Addi was in the breech position. This appointment would determine whether or not we needed to discuss c-section options.

Dave had to be in school school, but luckily my life long friend Jennifer had come into town just the day before and got to attend the appointment with me. I was so thankful to have the support no matter what the news was going to be. I had resolved in my heart and mind that a c-section was just going to be fine-n-dandy. After all, what could be better than knowing exactly when your baby would be born and how it was going to happen?! I was almost relieved to think that we'd be able to tell the grandparents when to come and how McKenna would be taken care of with no loose ends...so either way...the news was going to be OK.

The week before the appointment I had decided to look into some "home remedies" to try and get Addison to turn. I did some research and waited until McKenna had gone to bed and Dave was at work...nobody needed to see the lengths I was willing to go through to get this child to turn the "right way". I did everything except stand on my head! I had a heating pad on the bottom of my uterus and an ice pack at the top. One remedy had me in the "downward dog" yoga pose with a flashlight trying to get Addison to "come toward the light"!!! I finally had had enough when the blood was rushing to my head, I was out of breath, and my limbs were aching! I know that I was a sight to see for sure!!!! I resolved in my heart that I had done "everything" I could personally try and the rest was up to the baby and the Lord :)

Well...between me, Jesus, Addison, and the internet something worked because SHE TURNED!!!! She was head down and butt up in the "ready to launch" position :o) Although I was so thankful and felt like the Lord had really answered our prayers...the "hurry and wait" game began...

The ultrasound also showed that Miss Addison has HAIR!!! This explains the tremendous amount of heartburn that I have been experiencing in the evenings! It seems that any time I lay down my chest burns like fire! EVERYTHING seems to give me heartburn! I can't wait to see if this little one will have red hair too...I'm hoping for CURLY red hair :o) She was face down so we couldn't see her sweet cheeks, but got to see her fingers and toes. Everything looked good and she was close to 7 lbs! She will certainly be a bigger baby than her big sister I have a feeling!

We were thankful for the good report on our growing girl.



In other Addison news...

I had a doctor's appointment this morning. I am 37 weeks and 3 days along. Addi's heart rate sounded great, she is moving like CRAZY, my water is still in tact, and I was bout 2 cm dilated. I go back again in a week. The doctor mentioned that they could induce me at 39 weeks, so this may be an option we might think through considering the fact that Addison continues to grow and get bigger...chances of a c-section grow with her size :)

This part of pregnancy is so hard...the not knowing, the waiting, the uncertainty of how it is all going to "go down." We were so spoiled with McKenna being born at 37 weeks, that it is extremely difficult not to have those same expectations. BUT...I know there is nothing that I can do or say to make her get here faster and I know that God is the author of life and He is in charge of her beginning...so I need to trust that He will bring our girl into this family when it is the PERFECT time. The Lord does not need my help planning or does not need to know what time I think is best...He just needs me to be willing to let Him be God and to take care of the details. We are thankful beyond belief for a healthy pregnancy and baby and trust that the Lord will see us through with the labor and delivery details. So...we will just hurry up and continue to wait :)

Surprise for Addison!

It was a surprise for me too!!!! My oh-so-sweet friends ganged up together and threw me the best little shower for Addison!

We were all set to get together for our monthly MOPS Care Group Girls' Night. Melissa had invited us over to her house and plans were set! I had tutoring that evening so I phoned ahead to say I'd be a little late, so it was no surprise to me that when I got there, everyone's cars were parked and the fun had already started inside with out me...

Melissa answered the door and in the entry way, a bunch of ladybug balloons caught my attention (since we're doing a ladybug nursery, I notice them EVERYWHERE). I commented, "Oh I love those ladybug balloons!!!" and Melissa just smiled and said, "Thanks!" I turned the corner and there were some of my nearest and dearest girlfriends all gathered in the kitchen, staring at me! Lauren Baughman had her camera out and started snapping pictures...It took more than a second for me to scan the room and see MORE ladybug decorations, presents, and "extra" friends that weren't "invited" to the originally planned "care group GNO". My response was, "What's goin' on here? Is this for me?" Giggles ensued and the girls said, "surprise!" My face turned bright red and I was just tickled to death!!!

It was such a fun evening of sharing pregnancy/birthing stories, laughing, eating, being together, eating some more, and opening presents! The ladies spoiled me rotten and I'm forever grateful for their generosity and thoughtfulness! Addison is set with everything she needs or could want! I have the most tremendous friends in all the world, and just was overwhelmed (and yes I cried...several times) at how blessed I felt.


"What is going on here?"..."Is this for ME?"

There were ladybug decorations as soon as you came in the door!!! Everything was just so sweet and perfect!!!


The icky-dirty-diaper-melted-candy bar-game :) Hysterical!


Among the delicious treats were "Cami Cakes". They are a little slice of Heaven! My friends knew just what I'd like :o)

Just to show some of the precious items we were spoiled with...


New clothes for Addison from the Kuder family and a new "Ta-Ta Topper" handmade especially for me by Mrs. Christine Fealy! McKenna and Addison also got matching outfits that were to die for!!!


Bass Pro Onesie (for Dave) from The Baughmans, and an insanely cute ladybug frame to match the nursery made by sweet Melissa Dempsey!