Two became one...and then some

Big Girl

2011-11-11T14:37:00.000-05:00

Can it really have already been over 4 months!?!
You never cease to amaze us Evie girl, you arrived when you were good and ready...and not a moment too soon. I kept saying you were a Daddy's girl because you arrived when Daddy asked you to, but you're Mama's girl too because you waited until you were officially "full-term"....exactly, to the day, 37 weeks and that had been Mama's request.

In 4 months I can't believe how much you've changed and grown!

Is it possible this shirt already fits?!?

Not long ago we were so proud when you held your head up, now you are standing!

You are a such a wonderful blessing from the Lord sweet girl and we pray we always applaud your landmarks and are proud when you reach them but also treasure each moment in the midst of them and not try to rush to the next one!
Mama and Daddy love you, Peanut!

Milestones

2011-10-18T10:48:00.001-04:00

Evie seems to be passing milestones and making new discoveries every day and I am missing posting them all on here because I am so distracted watching them!
She is discovering textures of things and especially loves two "blankies" in particular, the first is from some of Jonathan's family, Parker and Ann:

And the second is from some family friends on my side, the Yankowskys

(For those of you who might be concerned....no she isn't sleeping with anything in her crib, she puts herself to sleep with it but then we take it out before we go to sleep...)

She LOVES the "I'm gonna get you...." game where she gets rasberries at the end...

Evie also really enjoys reading...especially the books she can grab and/or put in her mouth

Evie is becoming so aware of what's around her that she is rarely content for long just lying on her back, she wants to be facing outward when she's awake so she can see the world and she wants to be sitting up so she can interact, although she's not able to sit up without some creative propping right now...we're not sure where her social personality comes from...haha

(What was I thinking letting her lay back?! These pictures were literally seconds apart...she clearly was NOT interested in laying back even though she needed some help to sit up)

Here she was using the buckle to do a "sit-up" since the chair lounges back too far....she is incredibly determined!

Evie was able to go on her first hike this month! Granna and Papa were visiting and since it was one of their favorite activities when we were young, we thought it might be fun! Evie got lots of comments on being the youngest hiker...and the luckiest since her grandparents carried her!
She was SOOO sleepy here, but not wanting to miss anything!

We also had Evie's dedication while Granna and Papa were here. I'll have some other Mommy thoughts on that another time...for now I'll just post pictures
Our handsome nephew Andy was dedicated at the same time...

Thank you as always for your continued love and prayers, she is such an incredible little person and we are so blessed to be on this journey with so many people supporting us.

First Family Trip

2011-09-19T15:57:00.001-04:00

We got to take our first trip as a family of 3 with Evie outside of Mama this weekend! It was definitely an adventure, especially since we went with Jonathan's parents, sister, brother and sister-in-law with their son Andy (12 weeks older than Evie), his Aunt and grandmothers! The two babies alone make any trip an adventure now. We had a great time enjoying the mountains of TN and some cooler weather. Evie is an outdoor girl so it was wonderful to be able to take her walking without either of us sweating.
Here are a few pictures from the weekend...
Doing VERY well on her first road-trip!
(With a little help from some entertainment Granna and Papa sent just in time...)

First trip to the aquarium...Mama and Daddy's first date was to an aquarium so we figured it was only fitting that it be her first "amusement park" (of sorts).

The whole group!

In other news, Evie is growing in leaps and bounds! She is smiling, talking, and has even started rolling over! She has shown herself to be true to her pregnancy name of "Reepicheep" who was a mouse that was known for many things we wish for Evie, including a BIG personality and strength despite a small stature...Evie has finally broken double digits and weighed 10 lbs 3 oz at the last doctor's appointment almost a month ago and she was 22 inches long. She has just passed her cousin's birthweight but what she lacks in size she definitely makes up for in personality (and lung strength...) The doctor says she's growing wonderfully!

"Tummy time" to practice rolling over!

Evie has also discovered cloth diapers (thanks JJ and JD!) and is thrilled with her hair, she has always loved playing with it and first discovered it when she was just a couple of weeks old but now she regularly plays with it (when she finds it at the back of her head, as you can see she has lost a lot of her first round of hair!)

One last discovery for now....Evie has discovered that Aunt Jessica LOVES hairbows!

Thanks for the continued prayers! We are so very blessed.

Goodbye Nuky

2011-08-30T14:37:00.002-04:00

Dear Nuky,
You have been such a faithful friend for these past 2 months, we are so very grateful for the hours of sleep and soothing you've given our girl (and as a result, us). Although we didn't want you at first, in fact we were adamantly opposed to you being in our lives, there are times now that we can't imagine life without you. You have walked with us through many firsts in these last 2 months including:
First (and hopefully last) hospital stay

First bath

First photo shoot

First visit with Granna and Papa

First visit to Aunt Monzel's with cousin Andy

First church service

First library trip

First stroller ride (in the corner)

And most recently (today) first vaccines

And so many more firsts...for that we are forever grateful but now, as we leave Evie's second month and head towards her third, it's time for you to retire and let a new Nuky take your place, thank you for your dedication to our girl and her happiness.

Indebted for life,
Mommy and Daddy

The many faces of Evie

2011-08-26T16:05:00.002-04:00

Someone told me once I have a very expressive face...we have been entertained to learn Evie does too! I am past due an update again but since I know most of you just want to see her pictures anyway, here's a fun slideshow of just a few of her many faces that mean...anything from "Give me food now" to "I'm busy working on a present...don't bother me" to "I'm so sleepy but I'm trying to act like I'm not so I can keep playing" and the very special smiling "I love you" and oh how much we love her!

One month (plus some....)

2011-08-04T22:38:00.001-04:00

I have started a "one month" post several times and just can't seem to find time to finish it...so before she turns 2 months old I'll give a quick update:
She's incredible! She was 8 lb 6 oz and 20 1/4 inches as of the last appointment. She's growing at what we think is a ridiculous rate, she's finally fitting into all of her newborn clothes and has even worn 0-3 month outfits now! I'm sure before we know it she'll have outgrown all of those...everyone talks about how time flies when it comes to your children's growth and I can already see how true it is...just yesterday she was waking us up every 3 hours at night...oh wait, no that really was just yesterday...
Seriously though, she has changed a lot even in 6 weeks and we are so looking forward to more adventures the older she gets. She is looking more like her Daddy the older she gets (much to his joy although he tries to hide it)...but she is her Mommy's girl and inherited my personality so far. She's a girl who knows what she wants and lets you know it! She LOVES the outdoors and LOVES to move. Some might say she's already a little spoiled because Mommy walks laps with her most days...Granna and Papa (Sadie's parents) started that though, and it's really not her fault, she has two high-energy parents (and high-energy grandparents) who aren't very able to sit still so she was bound to like to move.
She's more entertaining than tv and is definitely Queen of the house most days. Her latest tricks have been "talking" and smiling intentionally...without a doubt the highlight of my day when I can get either of those to happen!
I could go on and on about how much fun we're having with her, but she's so cute and pictures are more fun anyway!

One of the pictures for her announcement....thanks to Granna and Papa for taking them!

Daddy loves his girl

Family picture

First real bath (not sponge bath)...Mommy loves her girl too

Tummy time with Papa

Outdoor time with Granna (Yes...she has them both wrapped around her finger already)

Thank you all again for continued prayers, we are so very blessed. She's healthy, growing, learning, and never ceases to amaze us.

Things I'm "not gonna do"

2011-07-16T12:56:00.001-04:00

I'm sure everyone does it, we were no exception...we had a list of things we were "not gonna" let Evie do, most people's lists probably look similar, she's not gonna eat junk food, watch tv, behave "like that kid" in public, or date until she's 40 (haha Daddy...I'm SURE she'll stick to that one)...And like all the parents before us who said that, we have already given in on some things and she's not even a month old! One of the things on my list was that she was not gonna have a pacifier, it was going to be hard to break her of that so we just weren't going to let her have one. That lasted until she was 4 days old. During our re-admission to the hospital Evie was particularly unimpressed with the bili-lights and the fact that she had to be only clothed in a diaper and other than that wide open, we also were not allowed to hold her. During that time the nurses were trying to give us ways to calm her down but our girl was not impressed by their efforts and felt the need to let the whole floor know that fact. In an effort to quiet her down so that her neighbors (other pediatric patients) could sleep the nurse's aide gave her a pacifier that had been dipped in sugar water, the first brand ("Soothie") she spit out quickly even with sugar water, the second ("Nuk") has quickly become her favorite toy. Here are a few pictures of her and her pacifier:

Under the bili lights with her goggles

Free of the bili lights but very attached to her Nuk

Hanging out with Papa (Sadie's father) before her first day at church

All ready for a workout with Aunt Alyssa the Pilates instructor via Skype!

Lastly...she was just making sure it was close in case she needed it!

Thank you all for continued prayers, as you can see she is growing at an incredible rate! As Papa has said on several occasions, she's "such a miracle" and truly she is!

Mommy Update

2011-07-03T18:46:00.000-04:00

I signed for the first time as someone's "legal parent/guardian"....how weird! There is so much to update on after this (almost) first week of Evie with us outside of Mommy, so many things to be thankful for, so many unexpected blessings, but as all of you who have had newborns know, there just isn't enough time for many non-essentials as we all get settled in!
So this will be a shorter update but at one point I'll give more details on the last week and the labor story that further defined our fiesty little Yankee who came when she was good and ready, not when the doctors told us she would come (and pooped on Mommy as SOON as she came out, when they were placing her on my abdomen - thankfully not before she came out though!).
We have been home for 2 nights in a row now and are so incredibly thankful to not have any medical personnel checking on us. We are thankful they were available when Evie needed it...but even more thankful she doesn't need it now! As one of the nurses told us "it's been nice meeting you, but I hope to not see you again!"
Thank you all so very much for your prayers, love and support! Although Jaundice is common and even more common in strictly breastfed babies, it was still very scary to have our little one need to be admitted to the hospital. We have one more bilirubin check tomorrow to be sure levels are staying where they need to but it looks like we're in the clear with all that and will get to actually start settling in.
We will update again soon, but we wanted to be sure to thank everyone especially for the prayers, as Daddy said "please keep 'em coming!", we have felt them and are all home and healthy as a result of them. Thank you also for the many emails, phone calls, text messages, food brought by, and other ways of loving on the three of us!
We are so very blessed.

Evie and Daddy cuddling

Mommy and Evie "talking"

Evie Update

2011-06-30T19:43:00.001-04:00

Granna is posting again because Evie has returned to the hospital with her parents. A routine follow-up check on her billirubin level revealed that despite sleeping with her billi-blanket her level had continued to climb. Evie has had a couple of very lethargic spells after crying too so it was back to the hospital for her.

Evie and her parents are being covered in prayer and we ask you to continue praying for them.

Evie is here!

2011-06-27T18:17:00.002-04:00

Sadie and Jonathan have limited internet access so Granna is posting this one. Granna (Cyndi) left Greenville and arrived in Benton at 9:00 Sunday evening.

Sadie was admitted at about 1:00 Monday morning, after a ride that included narrowly missing 2 deer in the road. Our little feisty yankee arrived this morning at 4:50. Evonne Whitley weighed in 6 pounds 10 ounces, and was 19 1/2 inches long.

Mama, Daddy and Evie are all doing well.

She is just so beautiful!!!

Love,
Granna

Baby Shower/Beach/Updates!

2011-06-17T07:57:00.000-04:00

Another packed update.....the baby shower was wonderful! We got lots of goodies that we are still trying to find space for. As I was telling my Aunt...it really is amazing how much space things for a little person less than 10 lb can take up! Thank you to friends and family near and far who have supported us in all the ways possible throughout this pregnancy, we are very blessed.

A diaper cake (slightly jumbled from the car ride home)

given to us by one of our young church friends, Taylor,

and the balloon baby from my sisters-in-law who put on the shower!

As you can see, the gifts are overflowing her room!

We spent another week at the beach last week thanks to Jonathan's work, the fireman's convention was going on so while he was in classes I got to lay around all week! It was a wonderful way to celebrate finishing my final test related to nursing school, which I took on June 3rd and discovered I passed on June 5th. We had prayed Evie would decide to wait until after that final test before arriving...thankfully she listened to her parents and I'm now officially licensed by the state of South Carolina!

We had our most recent doctor's appointment on Tuesday and it was quite possibly the best yet, no more pictures of our girl but we got the official word that if labor were to start now, it wouldn't be stopped. The doctors feel good about where she's at so although it would still technically be considered "pre-term labor", they feel like she's ready for it! There's no indications that she'll be arriving in the very near future, but it was still a wonderful blessing to hear that the Lord brought us to that point.
Now it's just a matter of getting everything ready for her to actually arrive! Thankfully, since I have neglected almost everything related to the house while trying to finish nursing school things, my mother will be coming next week to help us get a few things ready and help me do some final cleaning/organizing to make life a little easier in those first few weeks.

Bags are almost packed!

They are still watching my blood pressure since it continues to be "borderline", but I'm not having any symptoms and Evie appears to be handling all of it just fine so they are not really concerned at this point. Evie has made us laugh as we have "gotten to know her" throughout this pregnancy based on how she responds to what's going on around her/what I'm eating/who's talking/etc...at the most recent appointment the doctor was telling us what body parts were where and put a thumb and forefinger on either side of her head (which is down...YAY!) Evie started kicking like crazy as if to say "Hey! Cut that out!" Then of course the doctor said "now there's her heel....there's her knee" pointing at my upper abdomen, I had to bite my tongue to not respond "ya I know, I can feel them...now stop!" We are so proud of our growing fiesty little girl!
Thank you so much again for all of the prayers, please continue to pray as we get closer and closer to "meeting" Evie, pray for wisdom for the doctors as well as for the two of us as this adventure is about to change dramatically! Please pray for a smooth, uneventful delivery and a healthy Mom/healthy baby at the end of it (obviously we want a healthy Dad as well but the physical side of labor doesn't affect him quite so much!).

Maternity Pics

2011-06-02T15:14:00.000-04:00

Last weekend we headed "up the mountain" to spend some time with the Ross family (Jonathan's mother's family) and while there we got the very talented cousin Lindsay to take some "family pictures" for us before Evie arrives. We were so thrilled with how they turned out!
Here is a sample of the many pictures she took, they are all on Snapfish and Shutterfly so if you would like to see the rest feel free to leave a comment or send me an email and we'll send you the link!

First shirt Daddy bought his girl

Mine is definitely bigger!

We love our girl!

As you can see I'm laughing....Evie typically will move/kick when Daddy starts talking to her and "listening" to her "requests" for things like "Evie says you should make Daddy some pancakes....."

She probably is already a "Daddy's Girl" but she is sure loved by her Mama as well!

This water felt so good on my swollen feet!

We also had our most recent appointment this week and Evie continues to grow in leaps and bounds! There was some concern about my blood pressure being slightly high but for now they are just keeping an eye on it since it was just "borderline". They also decided they do want one more ultrasound of her since I keep measuring several weeks ahead of where I actually am they aren't able to determine how much she's growing based on my measurements (the "normal" way), but since the typical problems with a bicornuate uterus involve under-growth, they continue to have no concerns. We are incredibly thankful to have made it through so many weeks without any complications. Please continue to pray for no complications and for at least a few more weeks of growth for our girl. She is definitely losing space in her area as her movements have changed from quick jabs to long stretches but those are great signs she is getting ready to meet us!
Thanks to Lindsay for the pictures and her "assistant" Ann for help!
Thanks to all of you for continued prayers for the three of us as we get ready for changes in the near future!

Landmarks

2011-05-24T23:01:00.000-04:00

YAY! We love getting to see our girl at all appointments now, it has been very fun to have so many extra ultrasounds...but, we also know that the reason for the extra ultrasounds is that I am considered a "high-risk pregnancy" due to the unique shape of my uterus and they want to keep an extra close eye on Evie...so we are thankful/proud to announce that we have passed enough landmarks to now be considered a "normal" pregnancy! No more scheduled ultrasounds!
Here are the last pictures we got of her, we only got to see a brief, small glimpse of her face, and just the upper half, she kept turning away so we couldn't see her and then when we finally did see her face she had both arms covering it! She clearly was not in the mood to be seen, it was nap-time and we were invading it!

Avoiding the camera....this is the back of her head as she's turning away from us!

Essentially the same picture you just can't see the rest of her body very well!

And here is the next exciting step...a baby shower! These are the invitations that cousin Stacy did for us, thank you!

They turned out so cute and it made me even more excited to see her name on paper, I just can't believe how fast this pregnancy has gone, we're so close to meeting her!
Thanks again for all of the prayers, please continue to pray for growth for a few more weeks and no "adventures"!

Still Growing!

2011-05-15T17:33:00.001-04:00

Happy (late) Mother's Day! It's a week late...but Happy Mother's Day to all of you women in our lives. You may or may not have biological kids, but "it takes a village to raise a child". I was particularly thankful this mother's day for my Mama as I'm beginning my own journey into motherhood. She gave me such a wonderful foundation as I learn how to be Mama to my little girl and how to find the balance in all things...learning how to discipline when needed and just cuddle her and tell her she's amazing (because she is) when that's more important...learning how to show my love both by setting limits and by encouraging her that she can do absolutely anything she sets her mind to...and mostly just learning what it is to be Evie's Mama! Thanks Mama!

It's not a picture of me and Mama, but it is a precious picture of her enjoying time with her "firstborn"!

Thanks also to my Sweetie who gave me a beautiful new floor for Mother's Day!

They were just putting the finishing touches on (you can see the other room filled with things to go back in)

Evie and I got to go to a wedding this weekend of one of Jonathan's cousins, weddings are always a great time to visit with family and celebrate the happy event! As a bonus...wedding food is always worth a trip...Evie and I both enjoyed that part of it as well! Here are a few pictures from visiting with family!

We're still growing!

Cousin Lindsay...she's bonding with Evie so she can be one of our on-call babysitters!

Lindsay is also the very talented young lady who has offered to take maternity and baby pictures for us!

There's never a bad time for an updated belly shot!

Thanks for continued prayers for the three of us, we appreciate prayers for Evie's continued growth and incredibly "normal" appointments! We are 31 weeks now, so only 5 left until she is officially considered "full-term". Up to this point my body and hers have been largely focused on forming organs and maturing them...now, she's pretty much down to just lungs and digestive tract that are still finishing what's needed for them to function on their own and the rest of her is just gaining weight and length, what a miracle!

Updates and Picture Overload

2011-05-04T18:08:00.001-04:00

We have had a busy last week! We've spent time enjoying our new nephew...and letting him be our "guinea pig" for all things baby, we've been to Charleston and back for a military dinner, we went to a pinning ceremony and graduation for my nursing degree and had another Evie appointment! A very busy, wonderful last week all in all!
Life continues to be more and more exciting as Evie grows and moves - specifically she seems to be learning new boxing moves every day! We are finished with one adventure (nursing school) and fast approaching the arrival of our next adventure as we try to finish clearing out whatever isn't needed and make room for all of the things that come with a new baby. Her room has now been cleared out, Jonathan and one of his buddies will be installing flooring this week, and hopefully we'll be painting/decorating next week. I would love to blame the delay on Jonathan but it is without a doubt my own delay, I'm not great at making decisions and I have gone back and forth on what I want in her room...finally settling on a neutral light brown color, "applesauce cake"...I think...or maybe "warm caramel"...or something like that...
We had another wonderful checkup where they let us know we'll have one more ultrasound to check all of our (hers and mine) measurements and after that we'll be past the "pre-term risk" point and won't need anymore! Officially 36 weeks is considered full-term so we will still be a few weeks ahead of that, but since things start to change after 31-32 weeks anyway, they won't be measuring me anymore. We'll probably have 2 more ultrasounds to check her measurements and position (preferably head down), but that's it! Thank you again for all of your prayers. We have been so blessed by them and have felt them each and every week our girl grows. As of the ultrasound yesterday she is measuring at 3lb 3oz (perfectly within the normal range), she's head down, and she has hair! From the beginning I've said for her sake I hope she gets her Daddy's genes for hair since I had hardly any, Jonathan had a good head of hair but his sister had full, thick, beautiful hair right from the start! They said in the picture you can see she definitely has hair and it's long enough to already be over her ears! She was stubborn yesterday and didn't want to face the camera but that meant we got to see her hair, maybe she had heard me talking about me being a rather bald baby and she was trying to show off her lovely locks...

Feeding practice....

Burping practice....

Carseat Practice....I promise although we have no pictures to prove it, I have been practicing too!

At the pinning ceremony

Just before graduation....

It's official!

All ready for the military dinner

Formal one from the dinner

Our beautiful girl and her hair! Not a clear shot because she was moving, but her ear is in the picture and at the very top is her hair floating in the amniotic fluid

Growing girl....her spine is at the bottom of the shot, her head to the right (back of her head) and her left arm is at the top of the picture.

Please continue to pray for easy, carefree appointments and growth for at least another 6 1/2 weeks! Please also pray for us as we prepare for her arrival - not just with the physical things but emotionally/spiritually/mentally the best we can! Thanks again for your continued support of us!

Evie is sweet....but not TOO sweet!

2011-04-20T19:30:00.000-04:00

We had the test yesterday at the latest appointment that checks for diabetes related to pregnancy and we passed! So yes, she is very sweet...but thankfully not TOO sweet or we'd need to add meds/watch our diet/etc....depending on what the doc said. We also got the wonderful news we've been praying for that according to the doctors there is "no reason to believe" I won't carry Evie to full-term! We will deal with whatever cards we are dealt because we know that ultimately the Lord is in control and as much as we love our girl, she was His before we ever knew about her, but we are very thankful that every appointment has gone so smoothly. Initially we were told there was an increased risk for miscarriage, increased risk for growth restriction and an increased risk for pre-term labor, so far we have passed all of our landmarks without any concerns from any of the doctors! Thank you all so much for the prayers, please continue to pray that everything goes as smoothly as it has been, we are so thankful for all of your prayers and support and so thankful for each week our little girl grows before we get to meet her!

Here are a few pictures from the weekend...

Andy was clearly not bothered by getting passed from one person to the next...

This is Evie's Great Grandmother Flora (on the right in the pink) and her Great, Great, Great Aunt Esther (on the left in the blue and white). We were celebrating Aunt Esther's 97th birthday party!

Here is the official "after" picture of Katie and I....as you can tell I have definitely outgrown her now!

Our next appointment is May 3rd, we have entered our 3rd trimester now so appointments are more often, I can't believe how quickly time flies! Next appointment is another regular checkup, we appreciate prayers for continued growth of our girl!

Growing Belly

2011-04-14T18:56:00.000-04:00

Just a few fun belly shots!

Last picture of Katie and I pregnant with Evie and Andy!

I love when all the flowers start blooming, thankfully the woman who owned our house had a green thumb because although I love seeing the flowers I definitely have not developed the skill for growing them! It requires time and effort and a greater attention span than I currently have. Maybe later in life it will come but for now I get to enjoy someone else's effort at planting all of them and they are low maintenance so they require no effort on my part.

We seem to be growing all the time as well!

Next appointment is Tuesday to discuss our "game plan", as you can tell though, Evie certainly hasn't had any problems growing yet! We appreciate continued prayers for all involved, that everything continues to go smoothly and no game plan is needed. We also appreciate prayers for Jonathan and I as we continue to prepare for this next adventure the Lord has us on.

Blue!

2011-04-08T11:04:00.000-04:00

Just kidding...everything is still pink! Her eyes may be blue though...we had another ultrasound yesterday and got to see our beautiful, very active 1 lb 14 oz girl! She is definitely still a girl, and she is definitely still quite active in her space. Everything checked out beautifully, thanks for all of the prayers! Her measurements and mine are still right where they should be without doctors having any concerns for her growth or for my risk of preterm labor. We will be discussing a "game plan" at the next appointment, as a "just in case" kind of precaution though, so we would appreciate prayers that we never need to use that "game plan". Right now I'm praying Evie won't be joining us until July which would be the 38 week mark - risks drop significantly after 28, then 34 is another big landmark, but we would love for her to wait until July. Please pray for wisdom for the doctors and for us if we do need to use that "game plan", but please also pray that Evie waits a few more months and she gets to come home the same day we do!
We got to see her open her eyes yesterday! Of course it was all on ultrasound so we couldn't see what color those beautiful eyes are but it was incredible to watch. She still likes to tuck her hands up by her cheeks, Daddy says she looks like him...I won't disagree, he likes to tuck a hand up by his face when he sleeps too!

Here she is! Her face is on the right side of the picture, you can see her precious pinchable cheeks, all of her right eye, her nose, lips and forehead. Right next to the right side of her face just under her cheek is where she was bringing her hand up to her face. Above that, the curled up weird looking thing is the umbilical cord bunched up next to her. At the bottom is her little belly poking into the camera. It looks blurry on the bottom edge because she was moving (of course!). She was awake but trying to get settled in for nap time. It was SO weird to feel her move and then see it on the screen, this was the first ultrasound where I knew I was feeling her move and we could see it too!

This is her left side view, but her face is turning away, you can just barely see her arm on the bottom, and again a hand up by her face, but there's no profile because she was turning away. Her ribs are the lines and the top black spot is her 4-chambered heart (YAY!), the lower black spot is her stomach.

She's face down here, the "railroad tracks" along the top of the picture are her spine, although she's grown so much you can't see her whole body in a picture anymore and of course she was still moving so her face is pretty blurry!

Happy Birthday Andy Dale!!!

2011-04-06T21:17:00.000-04:00

We all got to meet Jonathan's brother Justin's son on Monday! Andrew "Andy" Dale Anderson was born at 5:01, on his official due date, he has clearly not inherited his namesake's inability to be on time for anything, he is quite a prompt little man. Everything went wonderfully, Katie (Mom) is doing well, looking and feeling great and Andy has been welcomed into the family without any added adventures, thank the Lord! They are set to arrive home today, thanks for all the prayers for a smooth delivery!
Here are a few pictures of my handsome nephew in his first days:

Hanging out with Grandma Anderson

Giving Uncle Jonathan a little practice!

Not a huge fan of his first bath!

Tomorrow is our next appointment for the other little Anderson, more pictures to come! We appreciate prayers for another great appointment with everything on track! Evie is squirming all the time and it has become incredibly amusing in the last couple of weeks to watch her move. Last night we decided to see if we could hear her heartbeat with a stethoscope since sometimes you can at 25 weeks, I could feel where she was since she was moving around so Jonathan put the stethoscope right where it felt like her back was (or at least the majority of her body) and as soon as he put the stethoscope down she gave a hard kick/punch directly to it, jumping Daddy and making Mama laugh for several minutes. She is already a prankster!

"Everything looks awesome"

2011-03-19T08:03:00.000-04:00

That was the report we got from the doctor! Another uneventful appointment, which we are so very thankful for. She said it looks like Evie is growing "more than good" based on measurements and they don't currently have any concerns. We didn't get an ultrasound, which is never as exciting as getting to see her, but it means they feel confident that everything looks the way it should so they don't feel the need to check it which is definitely exciting! We'll have another ultrasound on April 7th to check all of her measurements and my measurements again to make sure everything is growing the way it should and in the directions that it should (to not put too much pressure on my body, or hers, increasing the chance of pre-term labor and other complications), and they are also going to check again to see if it looks like she has settled into one position or another. For right now, she's still moving around enough that there's no way to tell if I'm at an increased likelihood to have a c-section based on the funny shape of my uterus, but after 28 weeks they are more likely to be able to tell. I won't be 28 weeks by the next appointment, but it will give them a better idea of what they are looking at as far as her growth and my growth and what it means for delivery.

Thanks again for the prayers! Please continue to pray that appointments go as smoothly as they have been and everything continues to measure the way it should as the Lord is "perfectly and wonderfully" forming our little one.

And now, here's just a fun picture of when my mom was pregnant with me and my brother was listening/taunting/getting ready to rip bows out of my hair.....or maybe just being sweet!

Beach Babymoon

2011-03-13T07:33:00.001-04:00

We SO enjoyed our babymoon! Here's a few more pictures from our trip, it was the perfect way to spend Spring Break relaxing....yes, it's a rough life but someone's gotta live it!

The storm held off, so we were blessed with beautiful weather

Since it's not a big tourist season, we even found starfish on the beach!

For those of you conservationists out there though....don't worry, no starfish were

harmed for the making of this blog...they were all thrown back

Hermit crab....also thrown back of course!

This fishing pier is one of the places we always go when we're at the beach

A random artsy stranger wanted to see this picture...

Our next appointment is this week, we would appreciate prayers for continued "boring" appointments!

Baby-mooning!

2011-03-09T20:14:00.002-05:00

Yay for Spring break while I still get one! We are enjoying a week at the beach right now, thanks to an early graduation present from my parents! Many pregnancy/baby magazines suggest taking a "baby moon" before the baby arrives, it's a vacation to celebrate time with just the two of you before your third member becomes less contained and not so easy to travel with. So we're taking advantage of this time off to take our own little early baby-moon at the beach!
Evie is without a doubt her parents little Wild Thing. Not that we ever expected her to be low energy, given that both of us could be considered "high energy" adults...and from what we've been told we were also "high energy" kids. At this point, I am so very thankful for our little girl's energy though, those flutters have quickly turned into distinct pokes that Daddy finally got to feel! She is fairly predictable with her movements, but it seems like every day they get stronger. She definitely marks her territory and does not like things that invade "her" space, that's when she pokes the hardest. I of course can't tell if it's a head, foot, hand, or what body part I'm feeling but I can tell she's stretching because there's even been a few times now where I can feel her in two different areas! No distinct kicks to the bladder or anything at all uncomfortable at this point, it's just amusing and wonderful right now!
Pregnancy continues to be the greatest adventure the Lord has ever put me on! The Lord has taken me a lot of places and gave me the most incredible family to support me, but He has also always provided me with wonderful other people along the way to help me, guide me and support me...on this most recent journey though, I am so very thankful for my partner to walk along this adventure next to me since it is the most wonderful but also most intimidating one yet!

View from the front porch...how can you beat it!

We're growing!

Enjoying Brook Green Gardens Aviary

I promise Jonathan is with me too!

Growing Girls (and boys)!

2011-02-27T20:35:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was Jonathan's brother and his wife's baby shower for their little man due to arrive the first week of April, it's almost time for us to meet him! We had a great time visiting with friends and family that we don't get to see often. If you look back from the last family gathering you can see the babies have definitely made themselves known in the last couple of months and we have all (Katie and their son, Evie and I, Storie and her son) grown!

We all had a wedding shower to attend today for another relative starting a fun new adventure in May!

Nothing much new for me and Evie, still growing and definitely wiggling, she's quite the squirmer. I still don't think I'm feeling her when I'm not paying attention to it, it's still mostly the "flutters", but I'm sure soon enough she will make herself known regularly! I think I felt her pokes today, of course I was sitting still in church again...she doesn't sit still any better than either of her parents do....and I thought I felt a poke so I put my hand down to see and sort of pressed back and it seemed like she poked back again as if to say "Hey! That's my space!" It's the strangest thing!
I was gifted several more Mommy gifts this week for which I am incredibly thankful! The first was maternity clothes from one of my classmates, for those of you who have never been maternity shopping it's like wedding shopping, just for the simple added word the cost will double or triple! The next was an aloe plant from another classmate for my very sensitive skin that has been made more sensitive by pregnancy and it has eased the itching/inflammation immensely! And lastly a book from one of Jonathan's cousins called "Nine Months to a Miracle", I haven't read much of it but from what I've read so far I highly recommend it to any other pregnant women. It discusses the miracle of conception, through to the miracle of birth and all the anxieties and excitements that accompany that time. I have mentioned it before, but I will never understand women saying that the baby is just "another part of the mother" as if it's an appendage. Did you know that from the time of conception....from the very minute that the sperm joins the egg that baby has an entirely separate DNA from the mother? Her DNA would have looked exactly like a grown adult's DNA, with the same numbers of chromosomes, simply a different combo. Evie is 1/2 me and 1/2 Jonathan, her genetic makeup is unlike any other living thing on this planet, what an incredible thought. She is uniquely herself, but shares DNA with each of her grandparents as well as her Aunts and Uncles. I hope I never cease to be amazed by the Lord's work in creating a little one!

Maternity clothes...and the rest of the update

2011-02-16T21:36:00.000-05:00

There are some modern inventions that I could do without, this week I am feeling VERY thankful for whoever came up with maternity clothes though! Now that Evie and I are both growing at a much quicker rate maternity clothes are becoming a necessity and they are so comfortable I'm not sure why I waited so long to take advantage of them.
So here's the rest of the update....our daughter is amazing! She passed everything with flying colors, ultrasounds are incredible, we could see everything....not that we knew what everything was that we were seeing, but the ultrasound tech was wonderful and explained it all. You could see her little heart and 4 distinct chambers, they measured her brain, her legs, her arms, her head size, her kidneys, bladder, placenta, umbilical cord (which had 3 vessels - the right amount), it was amazing. The funniest thing was to see how she "performed" for everything, she showed out every part they needed to measure but she wouldn't show male/female parts. She turned every time they got close to being able to tell, they had me turning on my left side...then my back...then my right side...then my back without any luck, she did NOT want to "show out" for that. At one point when they almost could tell she had her legs crossed!!! After they finally said "girl" we both were quite proud...and told her she better continue to be prim and proper and not "show out".
I know there are people who consider a child at this point simply another "body part" of the mom since she can't live apart from me, and it's not a "real person" yet, but I can guarantee that she is indeed her own person and she is fully a person. She moves entirely apart from me...and she's already a Daddy's girl. She is as "real" and human as I am, I may not be able to tell you what color eyes she has or what color hair, or even if she has much hair, and I realize she is very easy to "handle" right now since she is so contained and there are no diapers, no feeding, no crying, or any of the more challenging aspects of being new parents, but she is our daughter and not just another body part of me.

And since it's been far too long since I've posted an update of belly growth...here it is. I'm not sure strangers would dare to ask my due date yet, but it has passed the point of simply looking like I ate too much over the holidays.
Thanks again for all of the prayers, we have been so excited to continue to get updates that are "boring". Our little girl is growing wonderfully and doing great, and she is such a wiggle worm, this continues to be the best adventure the Lord has ever put either of us on!

Pink!!!!

2011-02-07T19:34:00.003-05:00

Here is the very first photo shoot of Evonne Whitley Anderson...."Evie" is what we'll call her! She is Evonne after several wonderful women in her life, Evelyn is my mother's middle name, it's also Jonathan's Aunt's name and my great Aunt was Evelyn as well....Von is Jonathan's Aunt on his other side, and Whittaker is the maiden name of Jonathan's Grandma Sarah, so we have Evonne (Evelyn + Von) Whitley (a cute variation of Whittaker)...Evie! They are five incredible women who we hope and pray Evie takes after!
And here is her photo shoot, thanks so much to everyone for the prayers, we got a wonderful report on her and me that I will post details about later in the week, we wanted to get the photos posted though because she is so cute!!!

This one shows where I had just asked about thumb sucking because it didn't look like she was....this is her profile and her moving her hand up to suck on a finger...not a thumb sucker

Head to almost toes...you can't quite see the bottom of her legs, she's measuring tall still like her parents!

She's waving to the camera! This is where even the woman that was doing the ultrasound was impressed! She said "Wow...look at that! She's waving at the camera! That shows great brain development with her hand wide open moving like that!" And yes...five fingers on each hand, which we were also excited about, although it is incredibly comforting to hear the professional saying your kid is smart!

And the last picture that shows she's a girl....well, we asked her to show out just for today, just this one time for the camera and we try to be family friendly on here plus her Daddy might not like it if I show her off....so you'll just have to trust us! :)

"Fluttering"....maybe?

2011-02-02T15:49:00.000-05:00

After sitting still for a few minutes in church Sunday I felt what may have been the baby! For those of you who haven't been pregnant that may sound weird...because surely you can distinguish a baby moving from any other feeling, and maybe some women can...but I don't think it's something you recognize at first! It's not as if I've ever felt a baby in my uterus before...I'm not sure I would describe it as a "flutter" although I can understand that description, sometimes it just felt like a little teeny pulsing and a couple of times I thought it felt like a "wave" not as in Reepicheep is waving to me, but as in the ocean has waves...
Either way, it was very exciting, and reminds me that the time is fast approaching when I will definitely feel the baby move and know that's what it is!
For those of you who have been pregnant, what did you think it felt like the first time? And how long after that was the baby daddy first able to feel it? Jonathan is curious about that one...
Short update....we're hoping to have clear pictures on Monday! And to know pink or blue! Of course, it may be like many ultrasounds done a little early on and we will still just know there's only one heartbeat and that's it.
Please pray for another great update with "nothing exciting"!

Growing Belly

2011-01-20T18:22:00.000-05:00

Here's an updated picture at almost 15 weeks! We are definitely growing!

"Nothing exciting" and the 2nd trimester

2011-01-19T17:06:00.002-05:00

That was the word we got from the Doctor.....when it comes to your Doctor's comments about the state of your growing child...nothing exciting is exactly what we want to hear! We went on Monday for another checkup, and it really was rather uneventful, we were hoping to get another ultrasound but since my counts looked great and Reepicheep performed wonderfully for the Doppler, (we got to hear the heartbeat for the first time - and she found it immediately, before she finished telling us "you sometimes don't find it....okay there it is...sometimes you don't find it right off"), we didn't get another ultrasound. I have to say though....that heartbeat is far from "nothing exciting".
And we have entered the second trimester!!! YAY! This is the "honeymoon trimester" according to most women and I am definitely a fan so far. I physically feel noticeably better....I still have my morning routine that hasn't changed much, although some mornings I don't get that reminder of my dear friend hCG, but it's hardly noticeable the rest of the day. Most women also feel the best about their appearance...I am very proud of my expanding midline....pictures to come soon! I am back in full swing with classes so the timing is perfect to be in this honeymoon stage of pregnancy!
Even more reason to celebrate an uneventful doctor's visit is that I have what's known as a "bicornuate uterus" which means basically that my uterus is shaped like a heart from the outside. Don't go google what that means though, it's depressing. Most women have a uterus that is wider at the top and narrows at the bottom....like an upside-down pear of sorts. My uterus has a divide in the center of it, for some women it's a dramatic divide so that it almost looks like two separate parts. We only discovered mine because of a fluke (the Lord reminding me that He's in control)....I had some spotting initially and the ultrasound machine at the doctor's office was broken, so we were sent to the hospital for an in-depth ultrasound. What that meant is that the ultrasound tech explored much more than we ever would have seen in a normal first ultrasound at a doctor's office. The doctor called the next day to let us know that we had a "viable pregnancy" (baby was where it should be and there was a heartbeat) and that I have a bicornuate uterus. She said the only change would be that they would do extra checks, more ultrasounds and extra measurements that not all women have and keep a close eye on anything out of the ordinary. She also said to expect a c-section, due to the divide babies often don't have room to make that flip needed to enter the world head first. I stupidly DID decide to google it and proceeded to begin a complete breakdown until my sweet husband reminded me that the Lord was in control and I should probably get off google and get into my Bible if I was in the mood for reading. So, the Lord is in control, we have always appreciated extra prayers and continue to appreciate extra prayers that have resulted in there being "nothing exciting" (i.e. nothing stressful) regarding Reepicheep at 14 1/2 weeks. We couldn't have been happier with that report...

Growing Bellies

2011-01-07T10:28:00.000-05:00

We had family Christmas with Jonathan's mother's side of the family last weekend, it was a much quieter celebration than it will be next year! By next year there will be 3 new little ones on that side of the family, Katie (Jonathan's brother's wife) is due April 5th, Storie (Jonathan's cousin's daughter) is due

July 4th and then our little one is set to come July 18th!

There were about 8 cameras taking pictures at this point which is why we are all 3 looking in different directions and looking like we've had lots of pictures of our stomachs.

Starting at the left we are...12 weeks, 14 weeks, and 27 weeks

The brothers soon to be Daddys!

Reepicheep's First (sort of) White Christmas

2010-12-28T19:24:00.000-05:00

While we're planning for Reepi to have White Christmases spent in Maine with grandparents, South Carolina hasn't had a white Christmas since 1963 until this year...so it's not likely we'll have another one here until Jonathan and I are grandparents! We very much enjoyed getting to spend this one alternating between playing in the snow and staying warm inside.

Although technically this wasn't Reepicheep's first Christmas, we did get some very fun treats for our new little one!
This is a very sweet book given to us by our friends the Dobes in Alabama, we were so thankful to get to play with their little one and celebrate the beginning of my school break with them!

This is a gift card to "Destination Maternity" and adorable stuffed bear with a baby bear in a sling from our favorite neighbors and dear friends Ben and Lacey.

These are the first set of silverware and the first paci from Jonathan's parents....he was a huge fan of his paci as a kid so they are betting on his kids liking them as well! Maybe Reepicheep will get my genes with that one....

This is a really neat calendar from Jonathan's brother and his wife who are also expecting their first child! It has stickers and is set up for you to make your own calendar....by next Christmas several of those stickers will be used already!

The rest are goodies from my (Sadie's) parents...

I have always loved to read and be read to...so we are very excited to already start reading to Reepicheep!

First wall-hanging...now we just need to decide which room will become the baby room! Redecorating is not at all one of my strengths...

Gender-neutral Maine socks!

Okay so technically these books are for us and not for Reepicheep but I'm fairly certain all of our children will benefit from these! We are just as clueless as all other first time parents!

And an update on morning sickness....turns out I am not one of those women who will completely stop experiencing morning sickness at 10 weeks, although improvement has happened! I've changed gears now and told myself that if it goes on for 9 months, that will be just fine. It has lessened, my "toilet routine" hasn't been EVERY morning so that's better! Either way, I've been reminded on several occasions by other women's stories that the hormone that makes my stomach rebel is also the one that keeps Reepicheep healthy and growing inside of me....so, I'll take it! I'm still gaining weight, still finding foods that are appealing and even had my first craving! So far nothing weird...and may not be pregnancy related although I can't remember ever feeling quite so strongly about lime sherbert until today....and it was definitely lime sherbert, not just ice cream and not just any flavor of sherbert, I wanted lime specifically and it was delicious!!

Thanks again for all the prayers! Next ultrasound is January 17th...it's possible that Reepicheep will be getting pink or blue items after that! It will still be early since we'll only be 14 weeks but if Reepi cooperates, they may be able to tell!

First pictures of our little boxer!

2010-12-17T15:05:00.000-05:00

I have started this blog several times and the Lord has continued to remind me that He is the one in control and it will all be in His perfect timing!

Initially I started this post several weeks ago talking about how I was one of those lucky women who didn’t experience “morning sickness”…then began my morning routine of leaning over the trash can/toilet (depending on which I could get to quickest)…so much for that post. Now I’m determined to be one of those women who only experiences it until week 10 (2 days left). We’ll see how powerful the “power of suggestion” is.

I had in my head this distinct picture of how it was going to be so uneventful and the very first pregnancy test we took would turn immediately leaving no question – instead it took 5 tests before we got that second little line that is the subject of so many emotions for so many women! Then when it finally did turn I grabbed the test and came into the kitchen almost jumping out of my skin and Jonathan said “wait….what? I don’t know what these lines mean….what does it say??” After some giggles on my part came the actual unforgettable moment that lived up to all of my expectations.

Since I have loved seeing the belly pics of some friends, I’ll participate in that tradition for friends and family far and away and here is the first….not poking it out, although it’s not noticeable as a "baby bump" to people who don’t know me well, it just looks like nursing school has taken its toll on my time to exercise. Jonathan’s response when I asked how noticeable he thought my stomach growth was (he’s a good man) was to say “well…it just looks tighter I think” by tighter I’m fairly certain he means my jeans look tighter!

I will be 10 weeks officially on Sunday, so Baby “R’s” due date is July 18th. We realize our last name does not begin with an “R”, but my favorite series since childhood has been "The Chronicles of Narnia" and one of the stellar, unforgettable characters of the series is Reepicheep. Since we don’t know if Baby will be a boy or a girl, we’re calling he/she Reepicheep in the meantime, a name given by my mother who made the point that the character has many traits that we would pray either a son or a daughter would have. So, here are the first pics of Baby Reepicheep! The doctor mentioned how "active" our little one already is - you could see TONS of squirming and moving and "air boxing" with those fists pumping up and down! It was the weirdest and greatest video I've ever seen...not that I'm biased.

Reepi's head is to the right here, that bright white spot is the right fist and the legs are curled up at the bottom

Same idea here, but the right arm is further extended and the knees are poking out, it's more of a face shot here

This shows the heart rate and a face shot, you can't see the legs in this but if you look close you can see belly, both fists and the face.....it's got both of our active natures :)

Thank you everyone for prayers! We got a great update today that everything looks great and "on target", so we very much appreciate continued prayers!