Family Get-Together Pictures

We went to visit my sister this weekend, and it was the first time my grandmother (mom's mom) had seen Ava. My cousin, Melissa, her husband, Dan, and their daughter, Claire, also came for a visit. Claire and Ava are one week apart, but since Ava was born 4 weeks early and Claire was born on time, there's quite a difference. Claire looks so big next to Ava, but she's about the size Caleb was at that age.

Justin and I were able to go to a nice dinner Saturday night, sort of a belated Valentine's Day and an early "Justin's leaving the country for a while and we won't see each other" dinner. It was great. I actually didn't feel sick and was able to eat! :-) We took advantage of the fact that we had family that could watch Caleb for us...it sure is nice!

That's about all the time and energy I have to write today, so the pictures will have to do! :-)

Ava and her cousin, Claire

Caleb and Ava:

Caleb giving Ava a "kiss" (for some reason, he just put his head down right next to hers and smiled...I guess he knew she was fragile!):


Nana and Ava...their first meeting


Caleb and his cousin, Claire (6 weeks old)


Melissa and Claire, Caleb and me, Kimberly and Ava (with the big yawn!)

How am I doing?

A couple of you have called or emailed to see how I'm doing. Since I haven't posted much since the pregnancy announcement, you could probably tell things aren't going all that well. I've been pretty sick this last week. It just seems to be getting worse. Yesterday was probably the worst day yet as far as not feeling well, and it was the day Caleb chose to run like a madman around the house and get mad at me for not taking him outside. Fixing him lunch and dinner about made me lose mine. My sense of smell is incredibly heightened. We drove by a restaurant the other day and I had to cover my nose but hubby couldn't even smell anything.

My hormones have also been going CRAZY! I cry when cleaning commercials come on because my house is such a mess. Yesterday I was watching a commercial about how there are around 60,000 germs on your kitchen table and I cried because I feel so guilty that I haven't been cleaning.

And can I just say that being pregnant with a 17-month-old in the house is HARD. Those of you with more than one child already knew that...I welcome myself to the club.

I'm also not cooking much or doing anything remotely domestic...unless you count laying on the couch and ordering pizza domestic.

I try not to beat myself up because in a few weeks (5 or so if my pregnancy with Caleb is any indication) life will be back to some sort of "normal" and I'll be better at all the things I'm supposed to be doing right now. I thank God for a wonderful husband who does the dishes, gives Caleb a bath, brings home dinner, and doesn't complain. Oh, and also says things like, "if you need a break this weekend, you can go to your sister's house alone and I'll keep Caleb here." I don't deserve him. *happy sigh*

So, I don't know when I'll be back here regularly. Hopefully soon. Until then I'll be eating cereal for every meal and hoping to get down something resembling health food in the near future.

7 weeks, 5 days

That's how pregnant I am!!!!! :-)


We found out the day little Ava was born (how's that for drama!), but hubby wanted me to wait to make the announcement until our first prenatal appointment, which was today.

I'm due on September 26, which is one day after Caleb was due 2 years ago. I told Justin we're nothing if not consistent! We've decided to go the c-section route, so that will be done the week before the due date. As long as it's not on Caleb's actual birthday (September 19), I'll be happy.

So, there it is. I thought I might escape this pregnancy without the nausea, but about 5 days ago it showed up nice and strong. It's pretty constant, just enough to make me feel yucky and lose my appetite. Some weight loss program, huh?

My parents took Caleb for a few days to give me a break from running after a toddler while feeling nauseous, for which I'm very grateful! I do miss him dearly, though, and can't wait to see him again in a few days.

We're very excited about our new little munchkin growing inside me. When they did the ultrasound today, I was amazed again at how wonderful and creative our God is. Even at 7 weeks, the little heart was just beating like crazy. I don't know how people can say they aren't real live babies!

Well, it's late and I'm at my sister's house to help with holding little Ava and giving her bottles while her mommy gets some rest (I can handle sitting on the couch with a newborn...it's the running after a toddler who's stringing board game pieces all over the house that I'm having trouble with!), so I'm off to bed before it's time to get up and love on Ava again. Being an aunt is such a hard life! ;-)

A Recommendation

My blog friend, Stephanie, has a stationary business. She has such amazing talent! We've ordered Caleb's 1st birthday invites and my sister's baby shower invitations from her. We were so pleased with both. She's super sweet and worked with me until the invitations were just what I had in mind.

If you have a need for invitations, birth announcements, note cards, note pads, or anything of the like, check out Stephanie's website Punkin' Press.

Thanks, Steph, for always doing an awesome job! Your talent amazes me. :-)

Stephanie blogs at {Olive Tree}.

For Carol

Close-ups of Ava (none of these is very good, sorry!):

I wish I had taken some of her little legs...they are SO skinny! Putting fat on her is the goal. I also wish I had a picture of when she smiled at me (really, she did!). Justin told me she was probably just seeing a reflection in my glasses when I was holding her, so I took off my glasses and she smiled really big! :-) (And I know that picture on the top left looks like my mom is choking her, but she's just burping her. I love the scrunchy little face look!)

I'm An Aunt--Proof! *fixed*

I got to see and hold Miss Ava Grace this weekend. Here is me trying to burp her the first night we were there. I couldn't seem to do it right since she's so small. I thought I might break a few bones in the process, so her mommy had to take over. It took me a while to get used to her size!


Caleb trying to get a good look a the "beebee." I think if he could have found something to climb up on, he'd have been in there with her.


This is as close as we would let Caleb get, and only once, for the sole purpose of taking a picture of him with his cousin. Sitting still for pictures isn't really what he's good at. Now, throwing and catching a ball 10,000 times a day is right up his alley!

Caleb trying to get a good look a the "beebee." I think if he could have found something to climb up on, he'd have been in there with her.

Ava is doing well. Besides keeping her mommy and daddy awake a lot wanting to feed ALL.THE.TIME and really slowly, everything is going well at their house. It was so good to be able to hold her!

One-Year Blogoversary!

I started blogging one year ago today. My other blog was started as a way to keep our family informed on how Caleb was doing and share pictures of him. Reflecting Him started because I wanted a place to share my thoughts about life, what I was studying, and what was going through my head at the time. It's turned into much more than that, and I have made some wonderful friends through this process.

One year already? Hard to believe. It all started with this post.

Ava's Home!

Ava Grace is finally home with her mommy and daddy! We're heading to their house tonight so I can finally hold that little girl. :-)

The nurse practitioner said they don't normally let babies Ava's size go home, so they can't take her anywhere for two months. Caleb won't be able to hold her or touch her because, as you know, one-year-olds are germ vehicles waiting to share their germs with anyone in sight! When she gets older and a little bigger we'll get pictures of the two of them together.

Thank you all for your prayers for Kimberly, Kurt, and Ava. They are so excited to finally have their little girl home.