The Payne Family

Justin Goes Squirrel Hunting

2012-01-19T13:16:00.003-06:00

Towards the end of 2011, Justin decided to go squirrel hunting with his buddies. Yes, I said squirrel hunting. Sorry, but that's pretty gross to me. But the guys had a great time and they say their are plenty of squirrels to go around :)

I think they are on Coach Durham's land... it's really beautiful

Setting up camp

I know Justin had a great time, but I just don't like the thought of guys getting together with guns. Any other wives/moms feel the same way? haha

Ok, so here are the guys with their squirrels. Brad, Justin, and Rusty (all football coaches at ECS too). And I have to make note that they.....yuck...i can't even say it...yes I can....They ATE their squirrels for DINNER that night!!!!! EEWWWW! Justin said the meat was good, just a little, well a lot, tough. haha.

Whatever makes ya happy!

James is 2 & 1/2

2012-01-12T14:21:00.006-06:00

Wow, my sweet boy is already 2 and 1/2! Well, he is not sweet all the time...ha! But we love him so much and are just trying to savor every minute of our first born :)

He and Kramer are still best buds.

He loves playing with his best friends, Taylor and Law!

Justin took him to see his first movie!

"Happy Feet 2"

He sat through the entire movie! Well, there may have been some getting up and down ;)

Boy, he loves Reese. He talks to her all the time, shares his toys, and loves getting in the bed with her when she wakes up.

Justin put together another set of shelves for me, and James definitely wanted to help his daddy out. He is using a screw driver to put in a screw.

Reading with Daddy and Reese

Not sure WHAT James is doing here. He wanted to be under Reese in the exersaucer...funny ;)

For some reason he likes to eat his special snacks (cookies) in this little cubby hole in the piece in our dining room.

More loving on that sister!

Taking that paci out for a smooch!

Speaking of paci... James is officially paci free!

He had just bitten them to pieces (seriously a choking hazard). He also started wanting them more often just around the house, not just for sleeping. So Justin and I (more Justin THAN I...haha) decided to nip this paci thing in the bud! We got him a sound machine that has a projector on it for a little distraction to help fall asleep. And we just took his paci away and said, "Pacis are for babies, like Reese. You are a big boy now. No more pacis."

The first night was awful. LOTS of crying. Maybe only 30 solid minutes. But still, that's tough for me. He has had a paci for sleeping every night for 2 and a half years! I felt bad. But I didn't feel bad for long. He fell asleep, and woke up the next morning, and we gave him a big icing topped cookie for breakfast! He loved it and knew he was getting the treat for sleeping without his paci. The next couple of nights were a little tough, but not bad.

And sure enough, now he never asks for his paci! It is a thing of the past! (Thanks for your encouragement, Justin. I couldn't have done this without you by my side!).

I think I might look back at this one day when James is older and say, "Really, Mandy? This was your biggest worry?" Haha

Reese is 6 months!

2012-01-10T12:19:00.001-06:00

I am about a month behind in blogging, but anyways, here is Reese's six month post!

Stats:

Weight- 14 lbs

Height- 25 inches

She is so close to sitting up on her own. Still topples over with one wrong move!

Reese is starting to say "Ba-ba-ba-ba". So sweet.

She smiles all the time still.

She is just now beginning to sleep on her side and sometimes tummy during nap and at night.

Reese still wakes at least one time in the night, and her longest stretch will go about 8 hours.

hmm....sounds like we might be doing this waking in the night thing for a while!

I still don't drink cow's milk because it just hurts her little tummy. Almond milk it is then!

Reese absolutely adores James and will just sit and stare at him all day if she could.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-29T10:07:00.003-06:00

We spent Thanksgiving in Nashville this year and as usual had a amazing time with family. It is incredible how the drive to Nashville is always sooo pretty to me. When we get there, we see rolling hills, winding roads through beautiful forests, wild turkeys, horses, big red barns, and so much more. Definitely reminds me to thank God for His beautiful world he created for us to live in.

Well, I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked. Too busy having fun, I guess! But here are a few.

Right when we got there, we knew we just had to get a picture of Papa Blair and Reese!

Our family picture!

Thank you, Lord, for blessing me with such a wonderful family with beautiful hearts to be married into!

(I'm not gonna say how many "takes" it took to get a great picture with this large crew!...more than 10 though!)

Nonie and Reese watch our gift exchange with the kids.

James opened his gift bag and probably was saying, "Oh Man!"

Because that's what he says when he's excited! ha

First he got a kid's catechism CD from his Fish cousins (we LOVE it!).

Then he pulled out a tractor just like Uncle Tim's!

Sweet little Payne is showing James his gift that he got.

Before we know it, these two will be best buds!

James found a football helmet to try on. He thought he was pretty funny :)

Aunt Rachel had the greatest idea of taking our two oldest nieces out early early for a Black Friday super great experience! We started our journey at 5am so we could get to Target when the crowd was there to show the girls how crazy it could get. When we got there, we didn't see more than few people in the store! Maybe Black Friday shopping in Leiper's Fork is a little different than other places! Ha!

Crazy picture!

We had a great time! Love you all and can't wait to see yall again!

Papa's Birthday

2011-12-27T10:15:00.004-06:00

My dad's birthday rolled around on November 7th, and we got to celebrate! Everyone just got together at Meme and Papa's house and had a good time hanging out.

James helps Meme bring Papa his ice cream cake.

"Happy Birthday to YOU!"

Papa let James help blow out his candles...

... and lick the icing off the candles!

Yum :)

Reese did a great job sitting in the walker.

Getting attention from her aunt and uncle ;)

Yay! Papa got a Keurig coffee maker for his birthday!

Big hug with Uncle Josh and Aunt Michelle :)

Sweet picture

Dad, thanks for being an incredible father and an unbelievable Papa! We love you so much. Happy Birthday!

October 31st

2011-12-21T21:31:00.005-06:00

For Halloween, James and Reese were skeletons! I tried to get some pictures of Reese by herself, but James saw me with the camera and decided to jump on in before he got dressed up.

What a sweet big brother

Did I mention James was sweet?

Here is a Reese picture by herself :)

Both kiddos dressed up

This is James' happy face

and his sad face

I love the way he looks at her sometimes ;)

My two little skeletons, ready to get some candy!

What a great pose (which he came up with on his own!)

Cutest skeleton I ever did see!

Pumpkins!

2011-12-14T09:46:00.007-06:00

This October, James fell in love with PUMPKINS! He would see one and say, "Look Mommy Daddy, BIG pumpkin!" We thought this year, instead of going to Kroger, we would let James pick out his very own pumpkin at a "pumpkin patch". He had such a fun time looking around.

So excited to be near all these pumpkins!

He had to touch MOST of them.

We found a cute little spot for a great picture.

James carried his pumpkin on his lap the whole way home ;)

(sorry about his yucky sores around his mouth... he wouldn't leave them alone, and they just kept getting worse!)

Back at the house, Josh and Michelle came to carve the pumpkins with us!

I can just hear James now, "What you doing Umple Josh?"

"Here ya go, Ampachelle"

James watched Justin's every move.

Justin let James use the real pumpkin carving knife to make slices in the pumpkin top.

He loved it.

Here I am attempting that too, but with much more fear!

Baby Girl just hung out with us and watched :)

Our finished product!

Michelle made the cat, Josh made the face with the awesome background, Justin made both pumpkins on the right.

Great Job Everyone!

Melanie and The Boys Visit (part 4)

2011-11-20T14:13:00.003-06:00

Before Melanie and the boys had to head back to Texas, we got a few more pictures.

Grandad visited one more time!

This is our photo shoot in the backyard with all the grandkids.

We were laughing pretty hard at the kids. They were acting really funny!

But we got some pretty good pictures anyway!

Mel, can't wait to see you all again!

Melanie and The Boys Visit (part 3)

2011-11-16T14:35:00.005-06:00

The bonfire that the boys and Josh and Papa created was so great! The kids loved it. We sang songs, made s'mores, ate marshmallows, and just enjoyed each other's company. And it was so easy because we were just in Meme and Papa's backyard!

Mel and all the boys

Singing!

This kid LOVES his marshmallows!

Yep, this one too!

This one didn't eat the marshmallows, but he dove into the chocolate!

(hmmmm...must take after his mommy!)

What good memories :)

We left the marshmallow toasting up to Uncle Josh. He was the only one who could handle the heat! We couldn't get close to the fire at all!

My sweet sis and now running buddy :)

James calls her, "Abachelle" for Aunt Michelle. ha!

"Umple" Josh (Uncle Josh) taught James how to warm his hands :)

Reese enjoyed the fire (and her fingers) too!

Can't get any cuter!

Do those cheeks have marshmallows in them?

James is becoming more of a cuddle bug, hugger, kisser, lap sitter! Yay!

I love it!

Melanie and The Boys Visit (part 2)

2011-11-11T12:59:00.010-06:00

While Mel and the boys were here in Memphis, we decided to go to Shelby Farms. They built a beautiful new playground that is so much fun for all sorts of ages. The boys had a lot of fun!

Lucas and James tackle the rock climbing wall!

James follows Anthony head first down the slide!

There was one really neat basket swing that we finally got to try out!

The boys seemed to really enjoy it, except they were pretty tired by this point.

I love Anthony and James' expressions :)

Back at the "Big H" (that's what the kids call Meme and Papa's house), we decided to go for a family walk down the trails behind my parents house.

So sweet.

Aunt Michelle and Uncle Josh

Twin sis! Love you Mel!

Reese just curled up and went to sleep while we walked.

James and Anthony led the way :)

Lucas preferred to relax in the stroller

We saw a neighbor's horses so we stopped to let the boys watch them for a few minutes.

Papa holds Lucas so he can see.

Uncle Josh holds James on his shoulders for a better view!

Boy James loves that Uncle Josh!

Love this pic

Michelle and Josh

The kids also played on the playground at Meme and Papa's house. This is the playground that Mel, Michelle, and I grew up on.

The boys started to collect wood to make a bonfire in the back yard!

James found a good one!

So did Anthony!

The bonfire pictures are coming next!

Melanie and the Boys Visit (part 1)

2011-11-03T12:46:00.006-05:00

Melanie's husband, Mario, went on a fishing trip with his dad, so Mel took the opportunity to bring the boys to Memphis for a visit! We always love spending time with them, and the days always go by too fast.

Mel and sweet Lucas

(I can't believe he is almost 2!)

Michelle holding Reese :)

Josh and Anthony are always good buddies :)

Grandad came over and got a picture with his great-grandkids :)

As usual, it took a few times to get everyone to look and smile!

And then, the boys start being boys again!

Grandad and Mom both have their birthdays in October, so we celebrated!

Time to blow out Grandad's candle.

Now it's time to blow out the candles on Meme's cake!

Lucas got to blow out the last candle :)

These two just keep becoming better buds.

Lots of Love :)

Reese is 5 Months!

2011-11-01T10:05:00.001-05:00

Reese turned 5 months old on October 27th, 2011.

No stats because we don't see the pediatrician until she is 6 months.

Some things Reese is doing:

Going to bed at 7:30pm, but waking up twice in the night again!

Giggled, but only one time!

Still working on that first time to roll over.

LOVES watching everything James does. And smiles at him all the time.

Just tried rice cereal for the first time and loves it :)

Might be teething.

Look A Likes

2011-10-29T11:02:00.000-05:00

How cute are these two?

You can definitely tell the difference between Reese and James, but still, I think they favor each other. :)

Reese

James

Reese is 4 months!

2011-10-25T13:44:00.004-05:00

Reese turned 4 months old on September 27th, 2011.

Stats:

Weight: 12 lbs 12 oz (50th %)

Length: 24 inches (50th %)

Head: 16 inches (50th %)

She gained 2 whole pounds and has just turned into a little chubster! She has a HUGE grin now, which makes it funny since her cheeks are so big ;) She actually has rolls on her legs which I never saw on James. This month, she has been talking all the time and just started to reach for objects. She tries to hold things, but she is still not very good at that yet. Reese loves sitting in her bumbo so that she can look around.

Her longest stretch at night is 9 hours, but most of the time she sleeps only 6 or 7 hour stretches. Occasionally she will only go for 4 hour stretches...yuck! She is eating every 2 1/2 - 3 hours. I can't wait until that stretches out. Her naps range from 45 mins to 1.5 hours. She is really good about me putting her down for nap and bed at this point.

4 months

That's one happy baby!

Love those cheeks!

She will just stare at you until you smile at her....

then comes the smile...

She gets so excited that she can't keep that paci in!

Still enjoys her bouncer

Little chubby thing! :)

Big brother loves her

Big Hug!

Boy, don't they grow up fast?

Nonie and Pops Visit Reese!

2011-10-18T15:05:00.003-05:00

During the first week of September, Nonie and Pops came to spend time with us and to see Reese! We loved having them stay with us. The time always goes by too fast!

Pops getting to hold Reese for the first time!

(since Reese had been in the NICU for so long)

Nonie's turn!

I think they are all watching "Thomas".

Boy, James just LOVED seeing his POPS. :)

He kept saying "Pops" over and over and had lots of "conversation" with him!

Nonie and Pops worked lots of puzzles with James.

He was having so much fun!

Pops making Reese smile ;)

She loved just staring at him and cooing!

I love this picture :)

James had lots of hugs to share with his Nonie.

Thanks Nonie and Pops for a wonderful visit!

Reese Is Three Months

2011-10-17T12:00:00.004-05:00

Reese turned 3 months old on August 27, 2011.

Stats:

Weight: 10 lbs 13 oz (25%)

Height: 23 inches (50%)

Head: 15 1/4 in (25%)

It is super easy to get her to smile!

One of her favorite things to do is to just stare at you, wait on you to pay attention to her, then she will just smile so big and start talking to you! Then if she loses your attention, she just waits patiently staring at you again! LOVE IT!

Reese sleeps best like this :)

Daddy swaddles the best!

Working so hard on that tummy time!

At 3 1/2 months, she finally used gravity to roll from her tummy to her back.

Visiting Daddy in his classroom at ECS

Cuddles before bed.

Reese is sleeping about 8 hours at this point.

On random nights, she will still wake up twice wanting to eat.

Getting so chubby! Love it!

Her tummy problems are just about all gone now! Yay!

(of course, I still don't drink regular milk. Sticking to almond or soy milk. Strongly believe that's what is the biggest help to her right now)

Herb Parsons

2011-10-16T13:31:00.006-05:00

One Sunday afternoon in August, Justin told me about Herb Parsons Lake. He said it was beautiful and only 10 minutes away from our home! Sometimes he and his buddies would bike on the trails out there, but I had never been there before. So after naps on that breezy Sunday, we packed a picnic dinner, loaded the kids and Kramer in the car, and headed to Herb Parsons.

We decided to just take a hike on the trail that leads around the lake.

James LOVED walking on the trail and just doing his own thing.

Of course, we went at a snail's pace because he had to stop and look at every little interesting thing he saw! He had so much fun. (And got so many mosquito bites!)

Reese had a good time too!

She just chilled in our arms or in the front carrier.

Loving the outdoors :)

Justin said we should do this EVERY Sunday afternoon!

(It hasn't happened yet, but maybe once our busy football season comes to a close. Go Eagles!!)

Kramer LOVED being there with us. He got to stay off leash quite a bit.

James had fun throwing rocks in the lake.

Such a pretty area :)

We could go a little faster when James rode on Justin's shoulders!

Boy, James loves his Daddy!

Yumm! There's nothing like a good PBJ sandwich after hiking!

Before we left, Justin threw Kramer's favorite football into the lake so he could retrieve it! I think Kramer could have done this for hours. James sat in Justin's lap the whole time and watched Kramer have a good time :)

I just love family time! Can't wait to do this again!

Just James

2011-10-12T14:22:00.015-05:00

James is nearing 2 1/2 years. He can be the sweetest boy you have ever seen. Or he can be that terrible toddler that makes you want to pull your hair out! But most of the time, he is just a happy-go-lucky kid with a big heart, and a desire for adventure and fun.

Here are some descriptions of James:

He still LOVES to be playing outdoors.

Here he is having a blast with daddy :)

Still loves his swing

Loves looking at bugs. We have a lot of Stick Bugs and Praying Mantises in our back yard that James gets excited about finding. One day I even caught him putting a black beetle in his mouth! YUCK!

So excited to see airplanes in the sky.

"Look, Look! Big airplane mommy!"

Hugs all the time now!

Wants to be near us, finally!

Likes to wear hats like Papa...

or visors like Daddy! Oops...too big!

Likes to walk around the house wearing "Daddy's shoes".

You should see when he tries to wear mommy's wedges!

Is obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine!

(don't let the elmo slippers fool you. He has only worn them once!)

He is pure B-O-Y. For example, what else do you do with an empty trash can except put it on your head!

Loves trucks! We got him this one for cheap at a consignment sale.

Loves tractors. Here he is with "toach tutto" (Coach Hutto) after a Friday night ECS football game. Coach Hutto let him ride the tractor (at 10 pm) while he cut the field. James was in toddler heaven!

Loves Fire Trucks! One night, a neighbor's truck caught on fire, and 911 was called. A fire truck came and James was in awe. The fireman let James sit in the truck (after the fire was put out!).

Loves doing what baby sister does. I find James constantly in Reese's car seat, bouncer, activity mat, crib, bumbo...etc.

Favorite foods: Pistachios, gold fish, fresh spinach leaves with ranch, hotdogs, chicken, green beans, corn, frozen peas, yogurt, cheese, strawberries, french fries, "cake" which could be actual cake, donut, banana bread, cinnamon roll, cookie...etc.

Recently, James has been in what we call a "destructive mode" where he goes from room to room knocking over whatever he can find. Everything ends up being upside down.

One minute his room is tidy. The next minute, no, the next 30 secs, his room looks like this.

His book shelves are wiped off, toys are dumped out of bins. He even drags stuff out of his closet!

The play room. There is not much playing going on. Just "dumping".

We finally took his basketball goal out of his room, because we kept hearing him do this.

And it continues outside. This is a huge play house dumped upside down. Notice that Reese's bouncer is upside down underneath it.

Toys are just thrown around. James dumps the bin of toys. He even dumps over his dump truck! I feel like I am having to re-teach him how to PLAY.

Still sleeps with his "cut" pacis and now TWO, yes TWO, puppies. He found the "extra" puppy one day, and he has been hooked on sleeping with two ever since. He is sleeping about 10 hours at night (8:30 pm - 6:30 am), and takes about a two hour nap during the day. We make sure to still wake him up by 2:30 pm, and we are still having to lock the door at bedtime.

Despite all the areas of "training", James is a great kid. He is our sweet little boy who will one day love the Lord with all of his big heart. We just can't get enough of him. Our house is usually filled with laughter.

James, you are a joy to our family. We love you!

Reese is Two Months

2011-10-10T14:58:00.003-05:00

On July 27th, Reese turned two months old :)

Stats:

Weight: 9 lbs 10 oz

Height: 21 3/4 in

Head: 14 1/2 in

**She finally started getting over her little tummy issues and started becoming a more happy baby!

**Started smiling but seems to have to work at it!

** Sleeps 6 hour stretches

2 months!

Still stays put in her boppy lounger

Loves the swing :)

Working on that tummy time!

Justin's Project

2011-10-10T14:49:00.004-05:00

Over the summer, Justin decided to take on a painting project in the ECS field house.

"Before" picture

This is the old logo that was on the wall of the field house.

Justin painted over it, and projected the new ECS logo up on the wall.

And the painting begins...

Justin worked very diligently. It was a HUGE project!

This is me helping out. We did most our work in the dark so we could see the projected logo :)

Ta Da!!! The finished logo!

It looked really sharp!

Justin also painted the Bible Verse that the football coaches chose for this year.

James Loves Reese

2011-10-10T14:37:00.003-05:00

I think these pictures speak for themselves :)

Adjusting to TWO!

2011-10-05T14:05:00.003-05:00

For a while, lots of people would ask me, "So how are you adjusting to two?". My answer always just depended on the day. Some days were easy. Other days were so hard that everyone ended the day with tears, yes, me included. The first two months were definitely the most difficult months. Sometimes Justin had to be away in the evenings for coaching football, adult softball league, Bible Study, etc...... Sometimes I did ok doing dinner and bed with both kiddos, but other times it was a nightmare. One evening, I was so stressed out that I decided to document it as it went on. I thought to myself..."Maybe I will look back and laugh at this one day".

This is James. I couldn't even get the camera to focus because he was throwing a huge tantrum that lasted all through the evening. I mean screaming at the top of his lungs. I think we had about 20 time-outs that night. (spankings have stopped working for us, so we have moved on to some more creative discipline and keeping spankings for the exceptionally bad behavior.) Notice he doesn't have his pj's on, probably because I couldn't get him to calm down enough to put them on him.

Hmm...I am not sure if this is normal or not, but when James cries, many times Reese cries. It's like she feeds off of his emotions. Weird. So of course, while James threw his tantrum, Reese decides to throw one herself! I tell you, a baby's scream has got to be one of the most stressful sounds. Mix that with big brother's cries and you wanna pull your hair out!

So of course, I will do anything to get her to stop crying...maybe she is just hungry early. I was trying to pour Reese's milk from a "mommy milk bag" into a bottle, and I spilled it all! Probably because I was trying to do this with one hand while the other was holding the screaming baby. Now every breast feeding mom out there understands that your milk is like gold, so it is an incredible loss to spill it! And on top of that....I spilt it all over my precious cookbook my sister-in-law, Cassie, had HAND-MADE and had given to me for a wedding gift six years ago! Now it's pages are permanently wrinkled. :(

And yes, I am breast feeding, but when Reese was this young, she tired out too easily breast feeding often, so we also did some bottles to make it an easier feeding for her. Well, that didn't help much during Reese's first two months of life because as soon as I started feeding her.....

She just started to scream even harder. This was how almost every feeding went. Acid Reflux? Colic? Who knows what it was. We couldn't put our finger on it. Poor thing.

So ok, here we are so far, screaming toddler, screaming baby, spilled milk, and now it's time to get dinner ready ;)

So dinner is a battle. Note: I am only warming up leftover pasta and throwing together a simple salad. As I am holding screaming Reese, I try to get James to stay in his seat and eat. Nope....James learned to take full advantage of the screaming baby in mommy's arms, so he decides to run, hide, not eat, get up, get down....so on so on. Notice on the table, I managed to scarf down some pasta, but my salad sits there the rest of the evening and later gets put back in the fridge.

And here is my messy kitchen that I can't begin to even think about cleaning up after dinner.

So how do I cope this evening? I turn on Thomas the Train. Yes, I gave in. Yes, the TV baby sat James for me while I tended to Reese and got her in bed. Yes, it was Thomas, not discipline, that straightened up my toddler and got him to calm down. You know what? OH WELL!

As I dried my eyes, I watched a little Thomas the Train too. Nice break. And a quick text to Justin, "When are you coming home?" ...haha.....James could stay up until Justin got home so he could put him to bed!

I gave up this night, but there would be another night when I could maybe handle it all and do it better.

Ps...and yes, there have been much better nights since then....actually it has gotten tremendously better here on out!

First Family of Four Outing

2011-10-04T20:53:00.004-05:00

After getting back from our trip, one day we remembered we had a gift card to Chili's, and we thought we would try for the first time going out to dinner....all 4 of us!

James really enjoyed the atmosphere and for the most part behaved very well.

Reese just slept the whole time, so that was easy!

James kept wanting to drink out of Daddy's glass

His meal came with corn on the cobb, and it was the BIGGEST piece we had ever seen! We had fun watching James figure out how to eat it.

Hmmm...maybe this way will work?

James finally set it straight down on the table and dove in head first! Haha.

(those of you who know me probably can't believe I let him do this bc of "germs" on the table! Believe me! I have come a long way!)

Oh James loves his Daddy!

Can you tell it's nearing the end of our stay? At least no tables of people were behind us!

You will see this a lot during this season we are in with James. Mommy and Daddy wanted some peace and quiet to finish dinner and talking, so Thomas the Train made his way out on Justin's ipad.

What was that?!

2011-10-04T15:38:00.003-05:00

We are on our way home from Gatlinburg, and Justin yells, "Mandy quick! Get the camera!....Take some pictures of this car without being obvious!"

Well, if "not being obvious" meant getting out my BIG lens, rolling down the window and sticking out my head and camera snapping pictures,....then I succeeded! HaHa.

This is what we saw!

Yeah, that is a wild thing!

Bellican Gatlinburg Vacation (part 2)

2011-09-27T22:39:00.011-05:00

On our Gatlinburg vacation we tried to have a balance of relaxing and also going out and having fun! We managed to squeeze in quite a few outings and had a blast with the kids.

Started off at the Aquarium

Justin and James look like they are INSIDE the tank with the fish! Funny :)

James the scuba diver!

Cousin Anthony's turn

The boys LOVED these creepy crawly underwater things.

This was our favorite....it was so cool. The picture doesn't do it justice. God is an unbelievable Artist and Creator.

Looking at some fish.

Then we went to Splash Country!

Josh and Michelle just hanging out.

James had so much fun

Daddy taking james down the slide!

Cheese!

Aunt Michelle's turn to take James down the slide!

Splashing around in the water

Reese slept like a doll :)

Papa was on baby duty! Thanks Papa!

Little Angel :)

Oh so sweet!

We also made it to Ober Gatlinburg!

We rode the chair lift up the mountain. Reese slept in my sling :)

We took the Alpine Slide down the mountain!

(Well, Reese didn't!)

I had control of how fast we went down, and I felt like I was flying. Justin informed me later that I was going slow! Haha.

The boys got to ride a train!

I think James could have stayed in the train the whole time we were there.

Justin took James down the water slide in Ober Gatlinburg!

I was surprised that James was not fearful ;)

Aunt Mel walking with James

There was also a carousel!

The boys got to ride it on the way out.

We tried to get a big family picture before we left Gatlinburg. It was hilarious trying to get everyone to cooperate.

Justin has to chase James down.

Now everyone is doing something funny with their hands...

Lucas had to be chased, and James is trying to get loose.

Justin's face says it all here!

How did James get a stick??

The fam is standing a little too far away from each other, but we are getting close to a better picture!

Ta Da! I think we have a winner!

Bellican Gatlinburg Vacation (part 1)

2011-09-26T13:31:00.009-05:00

In mid-July, we went on a Bellican family vacation to Gatlinburg, TN. It was so nice to just get away, and relax, and spend some quality time with the family. And, it was Reese's first trip!

I wish I had pictures of our EXTREMELY STEEP hill we had to drive up to get to the cabin. I seriously felt like I was on the steep climb of a roller coaster. It took me awhile to get the courage up to drive it myself!

Our beautiful cabin with an incredible view.

Living Room

(the couches had just been cleaned, so the seat cushions are drying)

Kitchen

What the bedrooms looked like

Theatre Room!

Deck

Game Room

Some pretty views that we got to see every day:

We also got to see some wild life right outside the cabin.

Some turkeys...

At one point, Justin was outside and came running inside looking frantically for the camera. He kept saying, "I see a BEAR!...It's right outside near the driveway!"

AND SURE ENOUGH...

seriously so close to us!

That's one cool little black cub.

We didn't dare go near it, but it sure didn't seem to be bothered by us :)

Me and Reese

Sweet Melanie and Lucas

All the grandkids!

James, Anthony, Lucas, and Reese!

Rockin' on the porch

Justin reads early in the morning to the boys.

James slept on the pull-out bed in the middle of the game room, and Anthony slept in the bed room right next door. After Anthony woke up from his nap, he would go wake up James and sit in the bed and they would just read together and talk about the story. It was the cutest thing!

Best Buds!

Reese was just a doll ;)

(still sleeping a lot!)

Papa watches the boys, and they hang out in the theatre room.

Sweet Boys before bed time. All washed up, got their lovies, and now ready to read some stories! Matching jammies too! Thanks Meme!

Locks of Love

2011-09-22T13:19:00.006-05:00

I love long hair. I love me with long hair. Justin loves me with long hair. I never get it cut. I go two years without even a slight trim! But at the end of two years, my hair is just too too too long. It gets so long that all I can think about is cutting it. Then I realize that it is so long that I could probably take an easy 10-12 inches off and donate my hair to Locks of Love.

Locks of Love is an organization that helps children who have long term hair loss. We can donate our hair and this organization will give it to a child who needs it. I love this mission, and I love finally getting my hair cut. But I never care for my hair after I cut it.

Before the cut:

After the cut:

ewww...I REALLY can't stand the side view. I never wear my hair down. Only half-down or in a pony tail. But it is soooo worth it to know that a little girl gained some self-esteem because she now has hair. And my hair will grow back one day. Until then, you may see me in a pony tail!

Why Won't He Sleep?!!!

2011-09-22T13:16:00.002-05:00

James has never been the perfect sleeper. In the two years of his little life, I don't think he has ever slept 12 hrs straight. He woke up at least one time at night for the first YEAR. And since then, he has woken up with teething, woken up because he can't find his paci, woken up because he heard us laughing, woken up because the power went out...etc. He at one point was sleeping about 11 hours at night, but that has slowly decreased to about 9-10 hrs. We used to put him down at 7:30, no problems. Even transitioning from his crib to his big boy bed went well.

But all of a sudden, James decided he didn't want to stay in his bed. We would put him down at 7:30, and he got up out of bed numerous times. He would sometimes play in his room. Sometimes stand up, turn on his light, turn off the fan. Sometimes open his door and go running down the hall until mommy or daddy put him back in bed. This could even go on for HOURS. One night he finally settled down in bed at 1 am.!!!

We tried spanking. We tried Super Nanny style putting him back in his bed numerous times without saying a word. We tried sticker charts. We tried laying down with him. We tried putting him to bed later. NOTHING seemed to be working...

Justin sitting by James' room, waiting on his next escape attempt.

Can you tell he is having fun?! I think he sat there for an hour.

Watching James through the monitor. I can't even remember what he is doing here. Playing maybe...but at least in his bed. He just didn't seem tired!

Finally, we had a friend tell us that what worked for them was locking the child's bedroom door. So after rearranging James room where he can't stand on his bed to turn on the light, moving nap time to earlier during the day and only letting him sleep for max 2 hrs and not past 2:30, and taking the door knob out and turning it around so that we can lock his door from the outside....James finally started going to sleep about 5-10 mins after putting him to bed. He would cry for about 3 minutes and then put himself back in bed and go to sleep! Yay!

Hopefully soon we will be able to stop locking the door.

Reese is ONE Month!

2011-09-22T13:10:00.002-05:00

Ok, so since I am behind on blogging, Reese is obviously older than one month, but here are her sweet ONE month pictures :)

Weight: 8 lbs 16 oz

Length: 20.5 in

Head: 13.75 in

She sleeps ALL the time.

Have to wake her up at night to feed every 4 hours.

Every feeding during the day, her tummy hurts and she cries out in pain :(

Acid Reflux? Colic? Gas?

Likes bath time.

Likes being on tummy, but I forget to help her with it every day!

Loves being swaddled.

June Random Moments

2011-09-22T13:02:00.007-05:00

Here are some random pictures from the month of June. Couldn't leave them out!

James just chillin' outside

Reese taking a bath

Sleepy Time

Cute kid! hmmm...notice he still has his paci.

(working on that one :)

Month one tummy time

Enjoying the bouncer

Here we go again!

James loves his sister!

Pretending to sleep like Reese :)

Pretending to sleep with Daddy and Reese

Boy, I love my family!

Happy Father's Day 2011 (again)

2011-09-22T12:59:00.002-05:00

It is currently September, and I am just now blogging June! During June, I posted a tribute to Justin for Father's Day, but I did not post our actual Father's Day pictures. So here they are!

Kramer and Reese watch Justin open his card and gift from us.

I love how Kramer loves his Daddy :)

Justin got some of his favorite things! One was OREOS!

Cheese!!!

Happy Father's Day!!!

The Warrens Visit Reese!

2011-09-22T12:58:00.004-05:00

In Mid-June the Warrens also got to come in town and meet Reese! We had such a nice and relaxing day with them. I don't know if we just relaxed so much that we forgot to take more pictures, or what! But I only have these two!

Aunt Katie loves on Reese :)

Sweet Julianna takes a turning holding Reese

Can't wait to see all of you again some time!!!

The Simple Things: Turtle

2011-09-22T12:48:00.006-05:00

One day James was playing in the backyard all by himself and he comes running to the backdoor banging on it, yelling "Mommy! Daddy! Turta!"!!! Ok, so we don't live out in the country where every day you see come cool creature. So to find something unique in our backyard is so much fun! We go outside, and sure enough, James had spotted a turtle! Fun, simple things :)

James pointing the turtle out to us.

Kramer was very interested too!

Wonder what we will find next!

The Fish Sticks Meet Reese!

2011-09-20T11:22:00.005-05:00

Aunt Cassie and her 6, yes 6, children traveled from Nashville to Memphis in Mid-June to meet Reese for the first time! It was sooo nice to see them and spend a couple of days with them. They all just adored Reese and took turns holding her.

Aunt Cassie says, "Mommy's turn FIRST!"

Haha

(They also brought James a very fun bubble holder that is very hard for a toddler to spill!...James has loved this toy, and so have I!)

Aunt Cassie with Reese

Sweet Anna Blair holds next.

She will be the BEST babysitter! (just wish we were closer so we could actually have her as our babysitter!)

Leah's turn

(she would have loved not having to share Reese with the other Fish Sticks...probably would have stayed a week longer too!)

Ruth's turn

Lydia's turn

I didn't think this guy was interested in holding a baby, but he took a turn holding her too!

You look like a pro, Caleb! Hmmm...wonder why? Maybe because he is firstborn to his 5 other siblings! hehe

Lydia's turn AGAIN!

Josiah is not pictured holding Reese. He was having too much fun playing with James, I think!

A nice lunch break

Thanks, Aunt Cassie, for making the trip to see us! Come any time!

The Simple Things: Thunder

2011-09-20T11:16:00.003-05:00

I love how James is so interested in the simple things of life. It was barely sprinkling outside one day and there was lots of awesome thunder, so we thought we would all sit outside in the cool breeze and enjoy watching the storm. James LOVED the sound the thunder made. Every time he heard it, he made a very funny face!

Sitting outside - storm watching :)

Kramer is terrified of thunder, so we take any chance we get to help him "practice" listening to it.

The "funny face" James made each time he heard thunder!

hahaha

James 2nd Birthday

2011-09-17T15:42:00.007-05:00

Ok, so in our little family of four, we have three birthdays that fall in the SAME WEEK! Justin's birthday is May 25th. Reese's birthday is May 27th. And James' birthday is May 28. It will be interesting to see how we handle this from year to year!

About a week after Reese came home from the hospital, we had James' 2 year Birthday Party.(Only a couple weeks late...sorry James! And Justin didn't even have a chance this year!) We just had over any family and friends who could come last minute and just hang out and play ;) I didn't have much time or energy to plan, but I figured the best party for James was one where he was playing with cousins and friends outside.....so that wasn't too hard to swing! We all had so much fun.

James' Thomas the Train cake

(thanks Meme, for making the yummy butter cream icing!)

Anthony, Lucas, and James play in the whale pool!

Best friend, Taylor, joins in on the fun.

Taylor's brother, Law, just hanging out ;)

Lucas loved the slip in slide!

Grandad enjoying some sweet moments with Reese

Time for presents! James got Thomas the Train pjs....

money (which he was very proud of!)...

a drum set....

Boots...

And so many more great gifts! Thanks everyone!

Picture with my sweet sisters

Picture with my best friend. TTFN!

And picture with my sweet husband. This day was actually June 11th, our 6th anniversary! Love you Justin. Oh, and for the record, for Justin's birthday, I did have him some birthday gifts and an oreo icecream cake! And my family got him some gift cards to home depot so he could get a new grill cover too! So he wasn't too left out on his birthday ;)

So tired after a long, fun-filled day!

Tractor Fun!

2011-09-16T13:49:00.001-05:00

In early June, we went over to Meme and Papa's house to hang out. Mario, Melanie, Anthony, and Lucas were also in town to visit Reese! Tractors, trailers, and trucks are a huge favorite of all these boys. Papa and Josh just made the boys' day when they got our their tractors!

Papa gave James a ride!

Now it's cousin Anthony's turn!

Uncle Josh had his BIG tractor from work and gave the boys a ride! James absolutely LOVED it!

Papa and Josh race down the street. Haha....very slowly I might add :)

Reese needed to be in the picture with the "truck" too!

Little Lucas just has the best smile!

Mario swings Lucas around and helps him do flips in the yard...FUN!

Looking at Baby Reese

Still sleeping all the time (almost a month old)

Do they look alike?

2011-09-15T12:35:00.002-05:00

I am always trying to figure out if James and Reese look alike. When I look at Reese in person, I think she looks just like James. Then I look at photos, and sometimes they look alike and sometimes they totally have their own looks. What do you think?

James

Reese

James

Reese

First Few Days at Home

2011-09-14T01:46:00.000-05:00

I just LOVED having Reese at home. We pretty much just watched her sleep all day and all night. We took her to the doctor a couple days after she had been home, and here were her stats:

Weight: 6 lbs 1 oz

Head: 13 inches

Length: 19 inches

Sweet Reese in her own crib :)

Kramer's usual spot. He already loves Reese!

Little Angel

Daddy taking a rest with the kiddos

James just adored Reese

First time for James to "hold" Reese!

Reese got James a special present after she was born. Hot wheels!

All you mommies know what's going on in this picture! HAHA

So Tiny

Daddy resting with Reese :)

I put Reese in one of James' little pjs and she just looks so much like him, just more girlie!

Our precious friends brought us meal after meal, and it was a month before I had to cook anything! This meal was HUEYS!!!

New family picture ;)

Gotta have the family picture including Kramer!

Going HOME!

2011-08-26T13:43:00.007-05:00

On Saturday, June 4th, 2011, we got the call that Reese could come home! We hurried to the hospital as fast as we could! Once there, we had to go through the paper work and instructions, and also wait for Reese to have a head ultrasound (just to make sure she was truly good to go!) This was one of my favorite days. I couldn't believe we were about to be home as a family all together!

Reese got all dressed up in her pretty white gown that Meme gave her and her tiny bow that Michelle gave her. She just slept in her hospital crib until we were ready to leave.

All secure and ready to go! She was sooo tiny in the car seat.

It was so funny because she kept holding her feet up in the air.

Leaving the Baptist Women's Hospital

James meets Reese at Home!

Time for Kramer to meet our new little addition. Of course, it was love at first site.

Daddy was happy to have everyone home ;)

Yall know how I felt! :) Sigh....

Aunt Michelle came to visit and fed Reese her bottle.

Meme holds Reese while she sleeps (she loves putting her hand over her face to sleep)

I think Papa is in love too!

James just adored her. He is giving Reese a kiss before bed.

Mommy gets a kiss too ;)

Time to rest :)

Last Few Days In The NICU

2011-08-18T07:08:00.006-05:00

At this point in time, the nurses kept preparing us that Reese could still have to stay in the NICU for quite a bit longer...even up to a couple more weeks! But she kept making steady progress and it was only a matter of a few more days before she would get to come home!

Reese moved from the feeding tube to a bottle!

Proud Daddy

Sleepy Time

They kept the feeding tube in to make sure she was digesting the milk she took from the bottle.

While Nonie stayed with us, she brought James up again to see Reese!

Nonie's turn to bottle feed Reese

Reese finally was moved to a crib!

My feet and ankles swelled up terribly from just being on them so much after the C Section. It definitely limited the amount of time I went up to the hospital to see Reese. I went from trying to see her 3 times a day to only once a day.

Loving my sweet baby

Aunt Michelle visits and gets some cuddle time in.

Another picture with daddy

No more feeding tube!

Without all the tubes she looked so much more "real" to us.

Isn't she pretty?

We didn't see this much! Eyes OPEN!

Meme's turn to bottle feed

Mommy's turn to bottle feed

Another step in the right direction!

Some more good Kangaroo care!

Oh, I just didn't want to let her go.

Sweet Pea

Moving to the "healthier baby" part of the NICU!

(I think this is Friday)

This meant that any day now she could go home!

Reese's new "room"

NICU: Days 3 and 4

2011-08-16T07:23:00.005-05:00

Days 3 and 4 in the NICU were made up of going back and forth to see Reese and catch each milestone that she would hit.

Starting at 12 am on Sunday, we got to witness her first tube feeding. We also changed her diaper. I forgot how little newborn diapers were! Let me just say it is crazy changing a newborn's diaper with a gazillion wires in the way!

Sunday evening, Justin helped with the tube feeding while I did some "kangaroo care" with Reese. That's just a fancy name for some good mommy and baby skin to skin.

Some good daddy time before bed :)

Monday morning we woke up and went to see Reese again:

Reese kept taking her feeding tube out of her mouth, so they finally had to put it through her nose :( But, this morning, she also was in a sweet little outfit that hid many of the wires!

All swaddled up and sound asleep ;)

We just sat and stared a lot.

Noon was the highlight of Monday. It was James' first time to see Reese! She was right next to a window, so Justin held James up to see her. He kept pointing and saying "baby".

Reese's nurse held her up so James could get a better look.

James was in awe.

Sometimes we would come back to the NICU and find Reese like this. She would have red marks all over her. It was sad to see, but was a good thing though, because it meant the nurses took more wires and monitor tabs OFF!

Monday evening, Reese had her first bottle feeding!

Making progress!

Look at that full head of hair in the back!

Poor Reese, she looks like she has a broken leg....but the nurses actually just needed to prevent her IV from coming out of her leg.

8 Days in the NICU: Day 2

2011-08-11T11:25:00.004-05:00

As I was recovering from surgery on Friday, Justin came back into my room and told me that Reese was starting to breath too quickly. She was really trying hard to get good breaths. So nurses took her from the nursery to the NICU around 2:40 pm just to do some monitoring. Later, they told us that they would be keeping her overnight. Oh, it just crushed me! I knew there was such a strong possibility of that happening, but to not be able hold your baby the day she is born is soooo sad. Justin was able to go to the NICU and see her, and he also took some family in there to see her too. By 7 or 8 that night, I attempted to see her, but because of my blood loss in surgery and afterward, I wasn't able to leave the hospital bed. I had to wait until morning to visit my sweet little girl :(

By 10:15 on Saturday (Day 2 in the NICU), I was in my wheelchair ready to visit Reese!

It was so good to see her, but so sad at the same time. She was just working so hard to breath. She was hooked up to so many things and wires were everywhere. And she had a little feeding tube in her mouth. Here is a little video of Reese for anyone who did not get to visit her in the NICU.

Reese loved her purple vanilla scented paci ;)

Her nurse put a tiny pink bow in her "hair".

My first time visiting with her. I wanted to hold her so desperately.

Justin was so supportive the entire time :)

He kept me strong.

We mostly just laid our hands at her head and feet.

Family picture with the "Baby Girl Payne" sign in the background.

This is a picture taken that night. She already looked better to me.

Sometimes she liked sleeping with her legs hanging out!

My sister, Michelle, got Reese some cute tiny bows. That night we were able to put one on her!

Oops, Bow Patch! I guess the bow bands were still a little big for her tiny head. She didn't seem to mind though :)

Reese is Here!

2011-08-07T17:12:00.006-05:00

Our C-section was scheduled for Friday, May 27th at 12:00 pm. We got wheeled back to the operating room at 12:05. Justin had to sit in the "Daddy Seat" outside the O.R. while I got my spinal and got ready for the surgery. Justin got to come in to be with me at 12:24...yes, he has written every little time down in his notebook :) And Reese Laney Payne was born at 12:28 pm! Everything went so quickly! I was so nervous the entire time, but the doctors and Justin made me feel better.

So sweet. She was looking really healthy at this point. They weighed her at 6 lbs and 4 oz. She measured 18 3/4 inches long.

Even though I was so sad not being able to hold her, I was so happy Justin got to! We are very proud parents!

At about 12:50, Reese was taken to the nursery. She seemed to be doing great and her breathing was steady so far. Around 1:15, Justin was able to get the family and bring them to the window to see her!

Here is James in his "Big Brother" T-shirt (Thanks Amber!). He knows something is going on that has to do with a "baby", but he is really just along for the ride! What a sweet, flexible big brother!

It's Almost Time!

2011-08-06T18:24:00.005-05:00

Once I made it to week 36 in my pregnancy, I just couldn't believe the time to have Reese was almost here. My nurses and doctors were impressed I had made it that far, and my doctor decided not to push it much longer. Still too much risk involved in waiting over a weekend, so at 36 weeks and 3 days, Friday May 27th, we were ready to have the C-Section! What an incredibly exciting time. My bed rest had come to an end, and soon we would be home!!! And we would have our precious little girl that we waited so patiently for.

36 week Belly Picture

James was so interested. He kept pointing to my belly saying "baby" :)

Friday, May 27th is here!

Showered and waiting to be prepped for my C-Section.

Final Belly Picture

36 weeks and 3 days

(always a bitter-sweet moment)

One last time monitoring the baby's heart beat and my contractions. My contractions were 3-4 minutes a part, and my doctor said that even if we hadn't scheduled the C-section for that day, we would be having the baby any way!

My sweet husband spent the night in the hospital with me that last night and prayed a beautiful prayer to the LORD that morning. We were READY!

(Um...and for everyone who knows Justin, yes, he had his little notebook in hand, writing down each and every detail of the day! I just love that!)

One last time seeing my parents before surgery!

Sweet Reese is about to meet the family!

My Sweet Family

2011-08-05T05:57:00.006-05:00

My family was so incredibly helpful during my hospital stay. The biggest worry of mine was James needing to be cared for while Justin was working. My family stepped in so fast, I didn't have to worry long. Not only did everyone take care of James, they made it to where he had so much fun while still staying on a schedule!

My twin sister, Melanie, has two boys and my parents brought them in town one week. They, along with my sister, Michelle, took the three kiddos to the zoo. Anthony, James, and Lucas had the best time!

Meme helped Lucas see the animals, while Papa helps Anthony.

Now Papa has Lucas :)

(I bet there was a lot of switching around!)

Michelle helped James look over the fence

These boys LOVED the elephants!

Break time!

Isn't this the cutest face you have ever seen?

Lucas is always smiling :)

I love this picture where James, Anthony, and Papa are holding hands as they walk through the zoo.

Not only was James taken care of by my family, but I was too!

My parents and Justin's parents all came to visit me in the hospital on Easter.

Mom got me the sweetest Easter Basket for Reese filled with lots of cool things for her.

Michelle came for Easter, but she also came quite a few other nights bringing me dinner and watching the Harry Potter movies with me! Fun times!

My sweet mom with me at Easter.

She made an incredible meal (Chicken Pot Pie) and brought it to the hospital!

The family! My parents on the left, Michelle and Josh in middle, and Justin's parents on the right.

Nonie and Pops came from Nashville to spend Easter with us. Nonie brought salad and yummy dessert to go with our Easter meal. Nonie also stayed two separate weeks at my house, taking care of James and keeping my house clean! Nonie, you have a permanent seat in our dining room now. Every time James is eating, he points to the chair beside him and says, "Nonie's seat". :)

Ok, I can't forget about my other family member, Amber! How can I not call this friend family when she comes to the hospital at 4 am to watch the Royal Wedding LIVE with me!!!?? She brought hats and pearls to wear! And then, she had to make sure she left at 6 am to get back home so that Justin could drop James off at her house! What a good friend.

My mom came to visit me many times after she got off work. She would always call to see if she could bring me a milkshake! YUM.

When mom wasn't working, she was watching James. One of his favorite things to do at Meme and Papa's house is play in the rocks.

Right before I went on bed rest, we let James sleep over at Meme and Papa's house for the very first time! Mom made him big boy bed (which is much bigger than his one at home). He did so great! He loved reading his truck book.

I am so thankful Mom offered to try out him spending the night when she did, because shortly afterward, I went into the hospital. That was just one thing I didn't have to worry about, because I knew James slept great at Meme and Papa's! It was so nice to have Justin stay overnight in the hospital with me a few times ;)

Again, thank ALL OF YOU for your help and support taking care of my family during that crazy time!

101 Ways to Have Fun in the Hospital!

2011-07-31T15:45:00.000-05:00

There is only so much you can do when you are on bed rest in the hospital. And there is only so much a 2 year old visitor can do as well! Thank goodness I had wheelchair privileges. For 30 minutes one time a day, I could get out of my bed, hop in a wheelchair, and have someone push me around inside or outside. This was so great for James since he loves being outdoors. And I sure did appreciate the fresh air and the different views.

James loved sitting in his own wheelchair occasionally.

Even now, any time James sees a wheelchair, he points to it and says "mommy chair". HA!

Usually James would ride in my lap and we would go outside the hospital, through the pretty garden...

...and to the pond to watch and feed the ducks!

Justin would take James in the grassy areas where my wheelchair couldn't go.

really watching :)

I don't know if you can see, but if you look closely, the duck to the right is hiding her babies under her wing. You can see a little spot of yellow :)

Since I was in the hospital for six weeks, we got to see the babies grow and swim and get bigger!

Sometimes James would try changing things up and ride on my wheelchair's leg rest!

Here is a video of us feeding the geese. James went back and forth eating the bread and then throwing some to the geese:

Another thing we would do at the hospital is throw pennies in the fountain.

Throwing pennies with daddy

We sure did throw a lot of pennies in there!

When Justin and I just wanted to try to sit and talk, we would let James sit in my bed and eat a snack and watch Thomas the Train.

Here is a video of Justin and James running through the curtain in the room. Like I said...we found as many things as possible to keep this kid happy while visiting those few days each week!

Never Missed a Beat

2011-07-29T08:38:00.010-05:00

Justin and James never missed a beat during those six weeks of my stay at the hospital. (This was largely due to all the help we received!) Justin found ways to keep James occupied.

They did things away from home:

Bike rides on the Green Line

Grocery Shopping

Shopping for Mother's Day at Barnes and Noble

Wheww! All that "going" can make a little one sleepy!

Justin also took James to Chick Fil A for lunch one weekend.

This video is hilarious! James loves to watch it over and over and laughs at himself.

Justin also took James to his good friend, Taylor's, birthday party!

Taylor with her mommy, Amber

Having such a good time, James lost his shoe!

Taylor's daddy, Brad...The Grill Master!

James with Taylor's little brother, Law.

James and Law are such good buddies!

Loving that ice cream!

Justin and James also found lots to do at home to make the time pass:

James helped Daddy with school work

Playing in the toy room

Playing in the bath

Going for walks

Playing with the neighbor kids

And Justin was given this awesome train table complete with trains and tracks for James to play with! Justin spent forever cleaning it and setting it up for James.

Nonie (Justin's mom) came in town for a week to watch James while Justin was at work.

By the way! Where are pictures of my sweet people who took care of James..Nonie, Mom, Dad, Amber! I don't think I have any!!! Sad.

Well, here is a video of James playing with Nonie's weights. Nonie did her arm exercises every day and James must have watched intently, because he sure looks like he knows what he is doing!

And Justin got this video of James....we are both not sure what he is doing. We think he is saying "3-2-1 Bye Bye!", but we are not certain. We have no clue where he picked it up. Maybe James just made it up, but it's kinda cute and funny anways :)

And I wanted to throw these pictures in this post as well. Justin's sweet homeroom at ECS, as well as some teachers, threw him a surprise Baby Shower for Reese! They made him a cake, brought tons of diapers, and some even brought individual gifts! What an incredible community of people who desire to serve the Lord!

Bed Time and Sweet Messages

2011-07-25T12:34:00.003-05:00

Bed time is often very challenging, but Justin did so well with James during my hospital stay. They got into a great routine and made it special with reading books, praying, and saying "I love you" and "goodnight". Justin would always send me these bed time pictures so I would feel a little more like I was there with them :)

Sweet picture of Justin and James before bed.

Getting sleepy while using Kramer as a pillow ;)

Sitting in Kramer's lap before bed

These videos are messages that Justin would send me from James. It was so sweet to hear James' voice each night. So precious.

James also started this thing where Justin would lay him down for bed or nap, and after Justin leaves the room, James stands up in bed, turns ON the light, and lays back down and goes to sleep. He still does it sometimes to this day, and we don't really know why. I don't see how he can sleep with that much light on, but I guess he is more comfortable that way. Later someone will sneak into his room and turn the light back off! Ha.

The Bad News of Bed Rest

2011-07-11T01:52:00.005-05:00

My pregnancy was a very interesting journey this year. Around 19 weeks, we had our ultrasound which revealed we were having a little girl. But what the ultrasound also revealed was that I had complete placenta previa. This is when the placenta entirely covers the cervix, and usually results in a C-section. The risk involved is that I could begin to bleed too much during my pregnancy, and my life or the baby's life would be in serious danger. I had orders to carry on a normal life, but to take it easy. How does one take it easy with a 2 year old?!

Well, around 30 weeks, I had two bleeding episodes at home. After the second one, my doctor told me to stay put at the hospital for 6 weeks of bed rest! We would try to keep contractions to a minimum which would keep me from having another episode in the hospital. What an emotional roller coaster. I was happy to be in the hospital to protect my sweet unborn girl. But I was so sad to leave Justin and James and see them so few times each week. On top of that, I couldn't stand that I had to leave Justin to take care of EVERYTHING at home.

We were so blessed to have so much help. My parents, Justin's mom, Michelle, my friend Amber, and others helped to take care of James while Justin was at work, teaching and coaching. ECS teachers and parents provided meals for Justin almost EVERY DAY for the whole six weeks! And my sweet friends at church brought me lunches here and there so that I would not have to eat hospital food for every meal. My nurses were also amazing and helped me to feel at home in my hospital room. God was the ULTIMATE PROVIDER the entire time I had to be there.

I have more to write, but here are some pictures to start off the journey!

James came to visit me in the hospital 3-4 times a week. Sometimes he would sit with me in my hospital bed and have a snack or watch Thomas the Train. Each week I could see all the little ways he was changing and growing up. I was so sad to know that I was missing this at home. But I sure loved my time with him each chance I could get!

Justin was so amazing through it all. He worked sometimes 10 hours then picked up James and either took him home to get him fed and ready for bed, or he would bring him to see me at the hospital. James sure became Daddy's Little Guy. They definitely bonded even more in a short amount of time.

Eating lunch one afternoon and just hanging out :)

At home in Daddy's car, getting ready to go see Mommy!

James did a lot of his normal things at home...still loving on his best friend and loyal companion.

Justin was such a good Daddy and always just played hard with James after work and before bed. They stayed outside a lot. Justin left the house work and school work for after James went to bed. It made for some late nights for Justin, but it sure helped James to just have fun with Daddy and miss Mommy less. (it made mommy feel good to know they were having fun too!)

to be continued...