Sunday, February 21, 2010

Little Miss Sweetheart Pageant...and the results are in!!!

Well, Laura Beth had her first beauty pageant today. It was just off of the Strawberry Plains exit at the Hampton Inn. It took us over an hour to get there because we dropped the other three kiddos off at Nana's. Laura Beth was asleep when we pulled in, but she woke up pretty happy. Everything started out ok at first, but the longer we were there the more impatient and wiggly she got. It appeared that there was an unexpectedly large turnout. Most of the other kids there had done at least one pageant before, so we were one of the few rookies. There was a whole lot of waiting in line, or waiting in a room to get into a line. Then you got very little time in front of the judges. The pageant also allowed a wardrobe change. We had a   "special outfit" and of course the "beauty" outfit/dress. They also required you to bring a photo off which they would judge for prettiest smile, hair, and eyes, and most photogenic. Of course, I forgot about the picture until the last minute so I had to go to Walgreens and print one off of the digital camera that I had cropped. Needless to say, our picture couldn't compete with the others. There were some really cute pictures. After the long, grueling morning trying to contain the little rascal and keep her out of everyone else's stuff, she finally falls asleep on my shoulder... right before the crowning ceremony! She wasn't the only one though, there was another sleeping beauty in line with us. The director started handing out the awards for all of the different categories, and I just kept feeling my heart sink more and more, as each of Laura Beth's awards went to other girls... all due to my terrible photography skills! However, near the end, she got an award for "best personality" which was kind of neat. She must get that from her daddy cause I think my personality is as dry as a bone! So I prepared myself to go home with a little sash and a participation trophy as we listened to the director name the 1st alternate and the Queen. There was one particular girl that got most of the other awards that were based on the picture, so I just had it in my mind that she would get queen, but she got 1st alternate. Who then would be Queen? I waited curiously as they called that last name. It was contestant #12....Laura Beth! I was so excited for her. I wanted to jump up and down and scream and holler, but she was asleep on my shoulder! It was so precious! They gently crowned her right there asleep on my shoulder. It was a magical little moment that made all the waiting and aggravation worth it. Now she has a pretty little crown to put on her shelf, along with her personality sash, queen sash, personality trophy, and queen trophy. She really racked up! Sadly, though, I felt a little sorry for a few of the other babies that didn't win any awards. Especially since this was our first pageant and we were clueless! When she won, it made her daddy so proud! Now he is not so skeptical about the pageants, he is actually looking forward to the next one. I think we might have a "pageant dad" on our hands! Based on this experience, I think there will probably be more pageants in our future, as long as Laura Beth is ok with it of course.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Babies running out our ears!

In April 2008, we found out we were expecting! What a surprise! We had not planned on having any more kids of our own which is why we were adopting Logan, but God is the Boss! I grieved for a while at first, because I felt like I had a newborn in Logan, he was new to me. I was enjoying having a son, and Sam, the girls, and I were having a blast spoiling him rotten! The grandparents were even in on it! Now I was going to have to share that affection with another baby! It wasn't long before we were just as excited with the fourth one as we were with Caroline. We were pretty far along when we found out we were pregnant, so within a couple of months we already knew we were having a third, and FINAL girl. And due to the clotting disorders that we found out I had while I was pregnant with Caroline, we went on the lovenox injections again (as we did with Caroline but I left that part out when I blogged about her). We knew right away she would be named Laura Beth, because Sam threatened to buy a really big expensive boat that we couldn't afford and name it Laura Beth, if I didn't let him have his way with the name this time. So I did. I decided, after experiencing both an emergency c-section and a VBAC, this time I would opt for the scheduled c-section. We arranged for the c-section to take place the Saturday after Thanksgiving that way I could do my Black Friday Christmas Shopping the day before. Dr. Susan Dodd with Women's Care Group pulled her out sometime in the afternoon (it was postponed due to some emergencies, so i finally quit looking at the clock). She weighed 7lbs 7oz and was 20.5in.long. She was screaming before she was even all the way out. We knew right then that she had a voice that would be heard! She nursed like a champ. I was so proud that I was able to make enough milk for her and that my skills worked for her! But she was always fussy. She would scream for hours after eating. She had a lot of diarrhea. She always acted hungry. She appeared to be in a lot of pain to me. I went to the Pediatrician numerous times over it. They put her on several different medications that never helped. Finally, when she was 5 months old she had dropped to the 3rd percentile for weight on her growth chart and was still in pain. I asked to be referred to a GI specialist. We went there 2 weeks later and found the miracle cure- Alimentum! She had a milk protein allergy, and was being exposed through my breastmilk. The alimentum had the proteins broken way down into amino acids so that she could digest them. After changing to the formula she was a new kid. It broke my heart to stop nursing  her, she was the only one who was able to nurse and she had to be allergic! Oh well, her happiness and comfort was more important. She has been doing well and was up to 17lbs 7oz at her birthday. When she was 11 months, we started transitioning her to soy milk. She did well with soy milk, never any problems. She loved eating table foods. Then at 13 months we transitioned to regular cow's milk. She did great with that as well. Now she eats pretty much anything. However she seems to dislike most cheesy stuff and pasta. She loves her fruits and veggies, and especially her instant oatmeal in the mornings! This weekend she has her first beauty pageant (2/20/2010) and I think she will win. The kid can't go anywhere without getting compliments on her beautiful eyes. And she loves the attention. She is not the least bit shy like the other girls were. I think beauty pageants might be her thing.

The Baby Brother Invades the World of Estrogen!

In January 2008, a sweet baby boy came into our world. Logan Dean Henry was born July 31, 2007 at Fort Sanders Parkwest Medical Center. But it took him 6 months to find his way home. He was the happiest and most content baby. As long as he was jumping there was a smile on his face. He never even cried for food. Before he had made it home, Logan wouldn't sleep alone, wouldn't sleep all night, wouldn't eat full feedings, didn't sit up. But in a few short months he was doing all of those things! And we got to witness all of those little milestones. The first tooth, rolling over, sitting up, crawling, walking. I am so greatful that the Lord allowed us to have him for that. For two long years now we have been in the process of adopting Logan. His birth mother saw how healthy and happy he was and offered her blessings on the adoption by giving us full parental rights in April 2009. We were so thrilled that things could finally be permanent. He still has contact with his birth family, and that is what we always wanted for him. He is right now in those "terrible two's" and there have been moments I wanted to ring his little neck, but he is starting to grow out of them. It's kind of sad to see him go from a baby to a little boy. He is learning so many things. He has recently learned to use the potty and has done awesome! We had a few little accidents when he started at the new babysitters just because he was having so much fun playing. Since being potty trained, he is acting so much more like a "little man". He seems like he just understands so much more now. He communicates better. He is starting to be a pesty little brother to his sisters, too! It's so funny. My  hope for him is that he will always know that we wanted him, God chose him for us, sent him to us at just the right time, and is gonna keep him right here where he belongs forever! Keep us and him in your prayers as we continue this adoption process. Hopefully it will be over soon.

The "New Baby" arrives!


One morning, very, very early, I awoke from a restless sleep thinking, "well I just can't get comfortable, so I might as well get ready to go to clinicals." After a few short moments of being out of bed, gravity began to have it's effect on me. I was in labor! "No, not today! I have school, I can't miss!" I thought. But yes, Caroline decided to come on November 11, 2003... My 22nd birthday! I call her my birthday present. She wasn't supposed to come until the 26th, which would have been fine, because then midterms would be over and we'd be on our way to Christmas break. I decided to VBAC (vaginal birth after cesearan). We went to the hospital at around 6am, I was told, "oh you're not in labor, honey but we'll keep you until the doctors get here anyway." By the time the doctors came an hour later I had dilated from 0-3! It was painful, and I was already begging for an epidural. By the time we made it from triage to the delivery room, I was 5cms and hurting a lot so we got the epidural right away. Things moved so fast after that. The "New Baby" was born @ 12:30pm and weighed 6# 15oz. She ate like a champ, and did very well. However, she didn't have a name for two days! I finally named her Caroline Olivia, without the final ok by daddy, of course! But it turned out that he was ok with it. We brought her home two days later and she pretty much had to fend for herself from that point on, because I was really busy with school, Sam worked 12 hour swing shifts. It was a really crazy time! Caroline spent several months miserable; she had eczema and it took us a few months to figure out what helped- all unscented, sensitive products. She had to use unscented dove soap, unscented lubriderm lotion. She didn't get to smell like a sweet little baby. But she was a sweet little baby, and is sweet and affectionate to this very day. I always use to tell her she was "my honey" and it wasn't long before she started calling me her "honey" as well. It was so cute. In March 2005, we bought our first home, which we are still living in. It's located well off the beaten path, in Greenback. It was a new construction and the perfect little home for our family of four. In June of 2007, Sam and I started entertaining the idea of becoming foster parents and one day adopting a third child. In 2008, Caroline would no longer be the baby of the family.

Our first born, Natalie Grace a.k.a. "Gracie"

Well shortly after Sam and I were married, our first little bundle of joy arrived... several weeks sooner than we expected! Gracie was due July 23, 2002- but Drs Roussis and Stephens and Fort Sanders Perinatal Center decided Gracie and I would be better off if she was delivered on June 15th. We had a rough few weeks before her birth due to Eclampsia. A week in the hospital and a seizure later, Dr. Stephens did an emergency C-section. Turns out that Gracie had been turning flips and had became tangled in her umbilical cord! No wonder she couldn't come down the birth canal. Was she trying to bungee jump? Oh well, the doctor ruined that fun. She weighed 5# 5.1oz and was 19in long. She had no trouble with her breathing, but she did have some trouble staying warm and with eating. She had a feeding tube for a few feedings, but after that she did ok and came home with me when I was discharged. When we left the hospital, Gracie weighed 4lbs and 15oz! What a tiny package. We had to swaddle her in blankets just to have enough to hold. It took me several weeks to recover from the c-section and the eclampsia. Sam was such a wonderful daddy right from the start. He was always eager to do whatever it took to take care of the both of us. As a matter of fact, we were like kids, arguing over who got to give her a bath! Our first home was a two-story 4-plex apartment. It had two bedrooms, so Gracie had her own cute little room. Her Grandma and Grandpa bought her some really cute, girly furniture for it. Shortly after Gracie was born, however, we moved out of the apartment and into a huge house on Anchor Drive that we rented for a short time. During our stay at that house, when Gracie was only 9 months old, we found out we were expecting again. Gracie would now have to share all of her spoils with a little sister. Poor baby girl! I was mortified to find out I was pregnant again after less than a year! Nursing school was getting tougher and tougher, and childcare more and more expensive. How were we to make it? It didn't take long though for Sam and I to warm up to the idea of having another baby. We got more and more excited, but it wasn't long before we had to move out of the huge house on Anchor Drive and into a much smaller two bedroom house in downtown Loudon. There we stayed, awaiting baby #2.

Welcome to our Blog!

I can't believe it's been almost 8 years since our family began. Wow, how time flies! Of course, we have been busy. We have had three beautiful girls during those eight years. We are also adopting a very handsome and energetic little boy. I'm very excited about this blog, because now I have a way to share our lives with all of our family and friends, as well as keep up with all of the milestones and acheivements. Lets just see how well I keep up with it. I guess the best way to fill everyone in on the past 8 years is to go child by child. Stay tuned for our post on "Gracie".