A surprise beginning!

So, many of you know I had a planned C-section time of 8 a.m. on Wednesday morning. The plan was to get up at 4:45 am and be at the hospital by 6 am. We were worried about the snow being an issue, so we planned to leave early!

Well, around 1 am, I started feeling contractions. I thought they were just uncomfortable and not extremely painful. I had these off and on for an hour. I tried to sleep, but just couldn't get comfortable. At 2 am, I felt like I was sweaty. Now, let me say...I sweat a lot at night, so this wouldn't have been abnormal. I got up to go to the bathroom because I was so hot and started to feel dripping down my legs. It was weird. I thought, "there's no way that's my water breaking!" But, it was...I got Paul up and told him, called Dr. K to see what she thought. She said to go ahead and get to the hospital. On the way, my contractions got worse and more consistant. Now, with Ava I never felt contractions, so feeling them was not fun! I wanted drugs!!! We got to the hospital, the nursing staff checked my contractions, then called my Dr. to come in. Dr. K came in, talked to me about the surgery, and then we got started. I was so nervous about this surgery. Last time with Ava, I labored for 12 hrs., then had a c section. I was so ready to get Ava out that I didn't have time to think about surgery. Well, I was anxious, but Dr. K was so great. The surgery went well, and Alexandria came out great! She had to actually be suctioned out, though because of my pelvic bone. (which is why I had to have a c sec with both) She came out and screamed and cried so loudly! I was so proud of her strong lungs!

When she was out and screaming, I was crying so much. I had so many emotions running through. I first felt incredibly blessed! I thought, "God, you are SO good to us!" I thought about how God's plan is always perfect. I didn't want to be pregnant this time around, but when she came out, I loved her so much, that there was no question that God had a better plan than we did. I thought about how many babies we know that have not been healthy and how truly it was a miracle for Alex to be so healthy. While they were finishing sewing me up, I layed there thinking about my life the past 3 1/2 years with Ava. I have been through the hardest time in my life for 3 years because of my parents splitting up after 35 years. I layed there thinking that this daughter's first 3 years will not be surrounded my her mommy's sadness and anxiety. That she would have a happier mommy, and I felt full of joy thinking about that. What a blessing she is!

So, everything is going so well. Alexandria Faith is precious. She is just beautiful and sweet. She is nursing so well, and now that my milk has come in, she is doing well even on that. I am thankful for my milk coming in during my stay at the hospital so I could have help! With Ava, my milk came in at home and it was horrible!!! I didn't know what to do and felt miserable! BUT-Alex is doing so well! I am SOOO less stressed with the 2nd one...I feel like things have gone smoothly, and I feel totally overwhelmed and blessed. I have cried so much from feeling blessed! (of course, my hormones are out of whack!)

Big Sister, Ava, loves Alexandria!

[ps-This is what is on the door at the hospital! I asked my mother-in-law, aka Saint Janis, to bring a little something to put on the door. I just wanted something that said, "Alexandria" on it so visitors would know it was her room. My wonderful mother in law went above and beyond, as she always does, and made this sign. We are blessed to have such amazing parents!

Closing a Chapter...

I have been thinking all morning about doing this blog post. I have always valued reflection. I think it's important to look at the past to see how far we've come. We are on the brink of closing a major chapter in our lives. Ava will not be our only child anymore. For 3 1/2 years, she's been what our world has revolved around, and now she will be sharing us with Baby Alex. I am excited and starting to feel anxious. I have cried off and on all morning thinking about how much I love Ava and how proud of her I am. She wears us out like crazy, but the love we have for her is like nothing I can even describe! How are we going to love another child this much?! I am getting nervous about that, but I know that God will give us the love we need for this new child.

We are closing a chapter and opening a new one soon...here's how this chapter of Ava's life began:

The kitty, lovey that Ava has with her name on it was given to her in the hospital by The Pullen family from our church. She loves this kitty and sleeps with her every night! I can't believe how brand new kitty looks in these pictures! The pink "blankie" was given to her by her "Auntie Lori" and she also sleeps every night with that! Ava was a wonderful newborn. She slept well, and ate well (after the first, stressful week home). She started sleeping 5-7 hours when she was 5 weeks old. It was great! She was such a blessing to our home.

Ava grew to be a BIG baby! People always thought she was older than she was because of her size. She was a chunky baby, and we loved it! She was very healthy and we were so proud to show her off! Here is Ava at 6 months old at Christmas time, with her BCF (best cousin forever), Alana! Look how little Alana looks! She's 2 here.

Once Ava turned a year old we started really seeing her personality! She loved to play, laugh, and smile with people. She was very social with people whether she knew them or not. That really made us laugh. Here she is in Michigan at a year old. She loved to swing then and still would rather swing than play on a playground even now! At one and half, it was Christmas time. She loved her kitty and added Elmo (after we took her passy away!).


Ava was in her first wedding, my best friend, Lindi's when she was almost 2. She was beautiful! She loved wearing the dress, the wings, and walking down the aisle. She did really well walking down, but once she was down the aisle, she was a loose canon. My mom took her during the wedding because I was the matron of honor and couldn't leave.

Ava was a spunky 2 year old! She soon taught us that things should be "her" way, not "our" way. We learned how truly strong-willed she was during her 2nd year.

Here is Ava and Daddy at Christmas. Ava was 2.5 years old. She was in the Christmas program at church that year and stole the show! She was very animated and loved being the center of attention.

Ava and Daddy dug a huge hole in the sand this summer at Hilton Head. It was our first (and probably only) trip with just the 3 of us. I was pregnant and feeling sick, but Ava had a blast. It was fun watching the joy on her face at digging in the sand and playing in the water!

Ava is 3 now and just beautiful (I must say!). She makes me laugh harder than anyone else, and sometimes she makes me want to pull my hair out more than anyone else. She pushes buttons that I never thought I had, but I love this girl so much! Ava is thrilled at becoming a big sister. It will be a new adventure for all of us. All we can do now is pray for strength and guidance during this new chapter we are all about to embark on.

I love you, Ava Grace Morel!

Red Robin fiasco!

Yesterday we went to see "Yogi Bear" with Ava. We are trying to have some special "Ava" time before Alexandria is here. Our families joined us for the movie, including Alana (Ava's sweet cousin!), my dad, and my father and mother in law. It was fun! Ava loved the movie and ate a ton of popcorn, like me. I just can't get enough of movie popcorn.

After the movie, we all went to Red Robin where John, Janna, and baby James met us. We had a great dinner. The big Red Robin came out to greet us and Ava was extremely excited! Alana was a little freaked out as some children are of big characters. We enjoyed the wonderful campfire sauce with our fries and good company. At the end of the meal, our sweet servers and the manager brought me and dessert and present for my upcoming arrival. It was so nice of them! I haven't had a lot of "special" things for this baby, so it made me feel really happy for me and for Alexandria. I got a huge piece of icecream cake, which I shared with Alana and Ava and others at the table.

The whole night was wonderful until we walked outside...

Alana walked down the sidewalk away from Ava and turned around to realize she hadn't said good bye. Very similiar to a slow motion scene in a movie, Ava and Alana ran to each other with arms wide open to say good bye to each other. (we all find this so sweet, but now we will be more careful) With the heavy winter coats the girls had on and with the strong force, they hugged hard and fell hard to the ground. They both hit their heads very hard on the concrete! They were screaming crying after that. We got Ava in the car and tried calming her down, while John and Janna got Alana in the car and took her and James home. When we got Ava in the car, she couldn't calm down, she was literally hysterically crying and got so worked up, she threw up all the chocolate icecream she had just eaten.

My mother in law ran in the restaurant to get towels and I tried helping Paul clean Ava up with baby wipes. (BAD IDEA!)

I got one smell of the throw up and lost it!!! I started to dry heave thinking that's all it would be. Well, let me just be honest...I ate too much popcorn at the movies, fries, and then the dessert. It all came up. I threw up so much right in front of Red Robin. My father in law helped me to the side of the restaurant so I wouldn't be seen by customers as much. I continued to throw up non-stop. Then, my dad came over and rubbed my back and asked if I was ok. I was laughing the whole time because of the craziness of the evening! It was like a scene from a movie! My dad and father in law weren't sure what to do about me, but I think they felt better when I started laughing. I haven't thrown up that much in over a year when I had a stomach bug.

The evening was really great until the craziness in the Red Robin parking lot!

The Joys of the last month of pregnancy...

So, I don't want to complain...but I have about 2 1/2 weeks until my c-section and I am miserable. My back is killing me after working all day and my feet are so swollen. My 90 year old grandmother's (grandma stigall) feet resemble my own right now. Paul even said last night that I should get compression socks. ( I was/am making fun of myself, so it's ok for other's to do the same right now.) I'm not very sensitive about my swelling now, because I think it's just par for the course. I was very swollen at the end with Ava, too.

Here's proof:

Yes, I am being very candid here, and it must be part of my pregnancy to just be vunerable and say crazy things, but my feet are like elephant feet and I can't wait until I can see the bones and veins in my feet again! It will be a happy day!

Ava even notices my differences...she asked me the other day, "Why do your legs have fur on them?" It's the funniest, but most embarrassing she's ever said to me. I realized when she said it that it had been a long while since my legs had seen a razor...I better get to that before Alexandria comes...

Ava is getting so excited about having a sister. She talks about her all the time! I think she'll be a great help. Here's one of our angels, and soon we'll have two!

I am nervous about the transition that this is going to be for our family, but I know we will be strong and trust in our God to help us through. I worry about Ava's behavior and wonder if a new baby will help or hurt Ava's behavior. Either way, I know God is preparing us now and will guide us through whatever comes our way.

A Rough End to 2010...

I haven't posted in a couple months. As many of you know, we have had a rough November and December. Not just Paul, Ava, and I, but all of our extended families have gone through the roughest time we've ever been through. It's weird because when you hear about something tragic that happens, you always think it will happen to another person or another family. When it hits close to home...it's surreal. It feels like there is no way it could have ever happened.
This fall both Paul and I lost our maternal grandfathers at 89 years old and then we lost our newphew, Thomas (3 months old) only 3 weeks ago.
I have never experienced the loss of a child and have never known anyone very well who has experienced that loss. To experience this terrible loss has been devastating to our family. It feels like something is missing every time we are all together. James is the twin who is doing very well and growing, smiling, and giggling now. It's hard not to think about his brother when I hold him or am around him and watch him. I feel a deep pang of sadness. I know that time will make things a little less painful, but it will take a while for all of us to feel that. I feel sadness for my brother and sister in law who experience this deep grieve on a level I will never understand. All I can say to them is that I love them and am praying for them. I have watched and admired their faith, and I have been blessed by it. I have learned to not let the small things stress me out lately. I'm just thankful for my family. I am thankful daily for Ava, even when she wears me out. I am extremely thankful that Alexandria has been growing well and is safe and cozy in my womb for another 3 weeks. God is good, and has provided and protected for us. We are continuing to trust Him, even when it's not easy. I will never understand how this tragic experience has happened to us, but it's not my place to understand it. I am just trying daily to be thankful for God's many blessings on our family.