Am I missing something?

So, in preparation of my roommate reunion in a few weeks and for an interesting topic of discussion, I finally read Twilight. With all the buzz, I was pretty excited and probably had my hopes up a bit higher than I should. With that being said, I was bound to be disappointed and I was. I really didn't get what was so great about the book. I have read my share of fantasy and I know the difference between reality and fiction but I couldn't help putting myself into Bella's character. I decided that Bella and I have nothing in commmon and I cannot relate to her character at all! That is unusual for me because I love to read and can usually find something I relate to in the hero or heroine. I am not saying I hated the book (I finished it didn't I?), and the vampire thing was interesting enough. I guess I just wasn't feeling the romantic notion of young love and vampires.

The risks of getting bigger and bigger...

Because I have had the opportunity to experience both a c-section and natural birth, I am desperately hoping to have a natural birth again. Recovering from a c-section is, in my opinion, a nightmare. That opinion is based on only having one child to care for during the recovery--I cannot imagine having to care for three in that condition. Needless to say, I have been very concerned with the amount of growth I am experiencing during this pregnancy. Preferably, the baby should be small. Genetics and past experience dictate that producing an average size baby may be difficult for me. My mom had big babies and Avery was just over nine pounds when she was born. I was fortunate Sarah was only seven pounds. My last appointment combined with the results of the ultrasound were discouraging. I gained quite a bit of weight in one month and the baby was measuring large when we found out his sex. Also, I have been browsing through pictures of my last pregnancies and have discovered that I am bigger now than I was with the other ones. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

About 6 1/2 months pregnant with Avery

About 6 months pregnant with Sarah

About 6 1/2 months with baby boy (Scary!)

Happy Birthday Sarah "Bean"!

I cannot believe my baby turned 2 years old yesterday. I have never seen anyone so excited about a birthday as Sarah was. We started the morning with some birthday pancakes. Later that morning, we had a small party with just our family. After nap time, we finished off the day at Chuck-e-cheese.



Just two short years ago, Sarah impatiently greeted the world. After two hours of labor and three pushes, she was born and she was perfect. She continues to be an impatient, fiery redhead with a very strong personality. She loves her sister and wants to copy everything she does. She does not like to be pushed around or forced to do anything. Lately, Sarah has developed a very strong sense of self--everything revolves around her. She asks "What about me?" and constantly says "mine". Her language skills are excellent and even though she screams a lot, she is able to communicate quite well. One of my favorite things about Sarah is how loving she is. She does not hesitate to give hugs and kisses and say "I love you".

Happy birthday my Sarah! I am grateful everyday that I was blessed with your sweet spirit in my home.

Caffeine and Pregnancy

There is no question that I have an addiction to sugar. I love sweets and I always have. I know it's something I should give up or at the very least, cut back on. It's hard though. I have never had a caffeine addiction though and for the most part, I stay away from soda and other forms of caffeine altogether. Lately, however, I have been craving this...


Good old fashioned Coca-cola from the fountain, in a bottle or in a can. I love the taste of it. I have been doing my research though on the effects of caffeine on my unborn baby--NOT GOOD. So goodbye my brief addiction. I will think about you often but no matter how loudly you may be calling my name, I will not give in. At least until the baby is born.

Summer Fun

We just said goodbye to Mark's family who flew all the way from Canada to visit all of us here in Houston. Needless to say, we had a great time hanging out with all the aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents. The girls stayed up way past their bedtimes most nights and slept in late the following mornings. We partied hard and were sad to see them leave. We are all back on schedule now and I can finally get back to posting.

Mark's sister Melissa was able to come down with her husband Joe and new baby Jessica. Mark and his brother Kevin had the wonderful opportunity to bless the baby on July first which is Canada Day (Independence day in Canada).

The girls and I went to our community bike parade the morning of the Fourth of July. We had a blast with the bike riding, prizes, popsicles and fireworks tattoos.

Summer Vacation!

Ok, so visiting family, in my opinion, is not really a vacation but it is as close as I can get right now. Sarah, Avery and I got to go visit my parents in Nashville for a few weeks. My mom is the best with the kids. She keeps them busy and takes them with her when she goes places. We spent a few days out on the boat while we were there. We had a blast tubing and swimming. My brothers were even brave enough to do some "cliff jumping." I was content to just watch. All in all, it was a pleasant and restful trip. We even got to spend some time with Mammaw. I did miss Mark, though, and was grateful to get back home.

Making some changes

A few months ago when we found out we were pregnant, Mark and I started talking about how we were going to fit three carseats in a sedan (I've never seen anyone do it except my friend Brooke--amazing). So we decided we needed something newer and bigger. I was happy to start looking at minivans again because they have the size and the mileage is alright. Of course, I would prefer a Landcruiser or something cool but we couldn't afford the gas and its way out of our budget. We got started looking and found this--Mazda 5.


We call it our mini minivan. It has a comfortable third row seat and the gas mileage is great.

I also have been working on getting the playroom transformed into the girls' new bedroom. Their current bedroom--the smaller of the two rooms--will be the nursery. I got the idea to paint stripes on the wall with the pink paint I used in the bedroom and it turned out really nice. The pictures don't really do it justice because the colors are actually much more rosy than they look in the pictures.