doctros visit!

Had another good doctors appointment today! Blood pressure was GREAT, weight gain minimal, and I am a full one and a half centimeters dialated, last week i was "one maybe a one and a half" so to hear a full one and a half and know that I made atleast a little progress is always encouraging, she said my cervix is "very thin" which is great but Sofie is still really high! So unless she decides to drop it will probably be a while before we see her... I go through moments of desperately wanting her out so I can have my body to myself again but then I am reminded to just enjoy Kevin and Averi today before our lives are forever changed by the arrival of another baby! I am excited to meet her and am anxiously counting down the days til her due date, although I know I could be pregnant past her due date! Please pray for her to continue to thrive within me and that when her birthday does come all will go smoothly with no complications!

Flara

our sweet friends Shawn and lindsay recently welcomed their niece into the world. she was extremely premature but seems to be a fighter! Please join us in praying for her, her name is Flara Sophia!
to follow her story click HERE

37 weeks

Here I am about to head to work at 37 weeks


Kev took the picture on my phone right before I walked out the door so it isnt the best quality but atleast this week has been captured! Only 19 days until Sofies due date!

Have I really been married to this AMAZING man for 27 months?



Have I really been watching this BEAUTIFUL girl grow for 17 months?



and have I really felt every flutter, hiccup, elbow and kick from this girl for 37 weeks?



WOW!!!! I am beyond blessed!

check up!

Psalm 118:24 - "This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."
Today I started weekly check ups... it was the BEST doctors appointment I had had in a while! My blood pressure was GREAT (130/68) the best it has been in several appointments, and I am 1- 1 1/2 cms dilated and 70 percent effaced- I know that is not much and to some people may seem discouraging but for me it is a HUGE YIPPEEE (!!) because with Averi I was not AT ALL dilated until they induced, I mean I was locked up like a bank vault, so knowing that I am already 1- 1 1/2 and that my body is heading in the right direction with having this girl, even if it takes another three or four weeks made my day!!!!
My midwife and the nurses in my practice are always so kind that I always leave there feeling confident and happy! They all treat you like they are your best girlfriends instead of just a patient, I LOVE it!
I was also reminded, once again, that pregnancy is a joy. Now granted I have had two very easy pregnancies and therefore may not have any ground to stand on here but to me it truly is a joy! No it is not easy, it is not comfortable, and it is not a lot of fun but it is a JOY to have the privilege to carry and give life to our children, a privilege that I often take for granted! PRAISE THE LORD he has given me two healthy pregnancies, and PRAISE THE LORD he chose me to be a Mother to two baby girls- I am truly blessed!

36 weeks

Saturday marked week 36! I am feeling well just finding it hard to sleep comfortably and yet am so sleepy my eyes are struggling to stay open- all of which is part of the last month of pregnancy! As I type those words I can hardly believe Sofie will be here in the next month... A MONTH I can not believe it! I am so ready to meet this wild women inside me!
My sweet husband has walked with me every spare chance we've had in hopes I will begin to dialate! We spent all morning Saturday at brown park walking and ofcourse stopped so Av could look at the ducks and play on the playground! What fun!

fry party

Sunday we hosted a "fry party" for our small group from Sunday School! We made a big pot of chili and everyone else brought things we could fry out on the deck in the "fry daddies"... there was fried mac n cheese (YUM!) fried oreos (YUM!) fried pickles (I'm not a pickle eater but I was told these too were YUM!), we also attempted fried snickers- which didn't work too well! What a fun day filled with greasy food! Our Sunday school is rotating small groups and as excited as we are to get to know more couples better in our class we will miss the bond we have all made with one another in our current group!


fried mac n cheese and fried oreos!



here are the friers and everyone with their dollar tree prizes which included an elephant head and a knock off fergie cd!

double the fun!

One of the biggest joys in this pregnancy has been sharing it with my sweet friend Laura! We are both due on the exact same day with little girls! We have talked regularly about doctors appointments, aches and pains, hormones and the pure joy we feel in carrying our daughters! We also attended all twelve weeks of Bradley class together with our husbands which was a blast!Having someone who understands where I am at so well and is so willing to listen to all my complaints and can always make me laugh has meant the world to me!
We attend the same Sunday school class and the ladies were so sweet to throw us a shower together! I was honored with TONS of diapers and wipes and a few other goodies, which are so necessary and so appreciated and Averi enjoyed the evening playing with Leahs sweet little girl Kendall who is only a few months older! How blessed we are to have such sweet women in our class to share in our joy with us! Thank you Leah for hosting and opening your home to us!

WE ARE 28 DAYS FROM SOFIES DUE DATE!!! I am so excited to hold this precious little girl in my arms...we love her so much already and would not object in the slightest to meeting her a little early!!!!

The very kind and very talneted Rachel Marshman caught some VERY sweet pictures of our family the last month as a family of three!!! Thank you Rachel they are gorgeous! For a sneak peak click HERE

big sister little sister!

I got Averi and Sofie big sister/little sister shirts! The thought of Averi being a "big sister" blows my mind as I still see her as my baby, she will do great though!

35 weeks

Saturday marked week 35 of our pregnancy! Everything is going pretty well, still struggling with high blood pressure but with no protein in my urine and Sofies heart rate looking GREAT my midwife is fine with allowing me to stay pregnant until Sofie chooses to make her appearance! At my last check up I was told Sofie was head down (YAY!) and my midwife doesn't think she will be too much bigger then her sister (Av was 7.2)! I feel pretty good, just tired but that is expected... I have thoroughly enjoyed carrying Sofie and truly think I may miss being pregnant when she comes!!! I have a check up next week where they will check my dilatation for the first time, needless to say I am walking like crazy trying to prepare my body for labor!
Last night was our hospital tour. Kevin had the flu and was in bed all day so my sweet friend Sarah was gracious enough to accompany me! I wanted to take the tour as we are delivering at a different hospital then we did with Averi. The tour was good and gave me some peace of mind in knowing exactly what would happen when Sofie comes! I LOVE the practice I am going to with this pregnancy and LOVE Clark Memorial! Can not wait to meet miss Sofie!



Here is a picture of me and my friend Laura at 35 weeks, we are due the exact same day and are both having girls! They are best friends, they just don't know it yet!

Suprise shower for Sofie

Kevins family was so sweet and threw us a suprise baby shower while we were visiting over labor day! We got lots of goodies for miss Sofie, I had truly forgotten how little they start out until I looked at the clothes! I am so blessed to be married ino a family that loves and takes care of us as Kevins do! I can not wait to introduce them all to miss Sofie!

1st matching outfit

Thanks to gift cards I bought Averi and Sofie their first matching outfit... I know it may be a little cheesy to dress your daughters alike and I dont plan to do it all the time but once in a while I think it is ADORABLE! Cant wait to see my two sweet girls together!

When I was pregnant with Averi the ultrasound tech told us they could see her hair floating around, I was thrilled I love when babies have tons of hair and was ready for bows braids and pig tails from day one! Unfortunatley what the ultrasound tech saw was the hair on the back of her head, she didn't start out with much on top, and all that she did have fell out fairly fast!
I improvised and used big bows on headbands, and if I do say so myself I have never seen a cuter bald baby then miss Averi Noe'l! Her baldness only emphasised her gorgeous eyes! I am proud to say tho that my sweet girl finally grew enough hair for pig tails, I couldn't be happier, Ive waited sixteen months for this!

Grace and Andrews big day

These pics are WAY over due! Our sweet friends Grace and Andrew got married August 1st. they had a GORGEOUS ceremony! Thank you for inviting us, we love you both!

Sofia Pearls baby shower and a visit from Nana and Papa

Two weekends ago we were blessed with a sweet coed baby shower! Kevins parents came in and our closest friends came to help us celebrate the upcoming arrival of miss Sofie! Having never attended a coed baby shower I wasn't sure what to expect... let me just say it was FUN!!!! We played two games, one we each had a name of a famous father (the boys) or mother (the girls) on our backs and we had to ask questions to figure out who we were, with people such as "Octo mom", "mother goose", "darthe vador" and "billy ray cyrus" (just to name a few), this was LOTS of fun! We also played the traditional how much toliet paper does it take to wrap around moms belly only this time the toliet paper had to wrap around both Kevin and myself! It was fun to spend an evening with our friends and receive many needed and appreciated gifts! We are blessed!






Since Kevin's family was in town for the whole weekend we decided to introduce them to Huber's farm. Hubers has changed a lot since we went just two years ago but it was still fun. Just being outside in the gorgeous weather was enjoyment enough!

almost 34 weeks

Tomorrow I will be thirty four weeks pregnant! We are certainly on the home stretch! I had a little scare at my last doctors appointment my blood pressure was really elevated, they checked my urine for protein and there wasn't any which was GREAT... they then had me rest and took it again, it had come down but was still not as low as they like.
After a long lecture from my midwife I was advised to rest way more and stop pulling so many third shifts at the nursing home unless I have a sitter for Averi the next day and can truly rest. I promised to watch for headaches and have gone straight to Kroger to check my blood pressure every time I've felt a headache come on. My blood pressure has consistantly been elevated 9but not so high it is scary) but comes down after I rest so my midwife is not too concerned. I go back next thursday for a regular check up so hopefully everything will be fine with my blood pressure and miss Sofie will look strong and healthy! I can not wait to see this sweet girl!

dreams

Have you ever had a dream that seemed so real you woke up and questioned whether or not it was? Two nights ago I dreamed about my dear Granny Hontz. She died a little over two years ago and I can truthfully say not a day goes by that I dont miss her.
In my dream Kevin and I were coming home from the hospital with Sofia and were stopping by my grannys to pick Averi up (apparently she was babysitting). The only other thing I remember is seeing my granny on her bed, in her room, holding sweet Averi and smiling at us... she looked at Sofie and said "oh she is beautiful"... I wish I hadn't immediatly woke up, how I would have loved to see her more, even in my dreams!
Although her never meeting Kevin or my daughters breaks my heart I can and will REJOICE in knowing she is in heaven and in no pain! She is glorifying our magnificient Lord and I will see her again someday! I miss her so much...

Dad

Wanted to ask for prayers for my dad. He was in the hospital several weeks ago with a collapsed lung, it was repaired and he was sent home. This past week however he went back to the hospital and had a minor heart attack because there was a ton of infection built back up in his chest which put too much strain on his heart ( I am not good with medical stuff so hopefully I am explaining all this right!)... they have drained the infection and have put him on antibiotics to help remove and remaining infection. Please keep him in your prayers, he is still restlessly sitting at the hospital!
We love you POP POP and want to see you strong and healthy!