Thank you for being a Friend!!

I got a card a while back from Christy. When I opened it I almost fell out in the floor laughing. It was a photo of me, Nicole and her except that it appeared that we had hit the fast forward button to 25 years later. So funny! On the front it said "Thank you for being a friend - traveled down the road and back again"

I was reminded again this weekend how lucky I am to still have the best group of girlfriends I could ever ask for. I pray Addi and Harper both have those same type of friendships but even more have that friendship with each other. I am getting ancy...Ready to meet Harper, ready to see her face, ready to be a family of 4 and well not sugar coating it here...ready to NOT be pregnant. This one has been far from fun but I must admit that I will miss some of those movements and kicks and just the amazement of pregnancy in itself.

Amanda, Christy, Nicole and Val did an amazing job on hosting Ms. Harper's shower. The decorations were adorable, the food definitely hit the spot but the CUPCAKES were a hit. Those of you that really know Christy know she missed her calling - she should have some sort of dessert shop. And let's not leave out Matt, he himself did the chocolate butterflies that topped the cupcakes. Now if a man helping with a shower doesn't make you feel special I don't know what will.

I'm a big ball of emotions. Just so grateful for all of God's blessings. I sometimes sit back and wonder what in the world did I do to ever deserve the husband I have or the healthy, beautiful little girl I have...and that isn't even getting into the long list of my mother, my inlaws, my home, my job, the best friends a girl could ask for. I mean really!

We had some good laughs, shared old stories and just enjoyed the time together. I've been told that we do have some of the most well behaved children because there were no fights, screaming or tears (at least not while all the guests were there - ha!). There were at least 9 girls under the age of 5 and 2 boys under the age of 3. WOW!!

I truly can not say thank you enough to the most amazing friends a girl could ever ask for; I am truly blessed! 

Home made cupcakes and home made chocolate butterflies!

Can't wait to see what a good big sister Addi is going to be!

Nicole & Sophie / Christy & Arden, minus Brock / Andi & Addi / Val & Savannah, minus Will

Amanda didn't have either of her kiddo's so she sat this one out - Madison & Landon

I broke the girl first boy next tradition that had been set by Amanda, Christy & Val so I just wanted the pressure of Nicole her next time around!!

My girls!!!

Onsies

Sweet decor - I love seeing baby Harper's name!

Just a little of the goodies

Loving on Grammy

Isn't this adorable!! I feel like I'd really love to have one myself!

Addi was such a great helper - I barely had to lift a finger.

People were so sweet to think of Addi too!!!

Baby Harper Update

We have welcomed the 3rd trimester with open arms!! I went for my 28 week appointment today, which included the nasty sugar test. Fortunately for me, and if I've failed to mention, I LOVE my practice and DR!!! They allowed me to pick up the drink the day before and drink it prior to coming so I didn't spend much of my Friday afternoon at the Dr's office. I won't know the results for a day or two but let's pray that I don't have to sit through the 3 hr test like I did with Addison.
My blood pressure checked out great, my weight seems to be right in line but Ms. Harper is measuring a bit on the larger side so let's hope that isn't a sign of gestational diabetes and just that she's growing faster than anticipated - meaning she could come a week or even two earlier than expected. That is such a double edged sword b/c Addi's birthday is June 19th and Harper's estimated arrival date is scheduled for June 29th...I did not want them to even have to share birthday months let alone the same week. But its not in my control, so many lessons I am learning!
Other than that all is well and we are trucking right along. The crib is up and in her room; I'm still going back and forth on decor. We painted it a light gray, which to me looks like a light purple but oh well - I doubt Josh wants to hear that I'm not that satisfied with it. It will do. We are utilizing the same glider we used with Addi and its oh so comfy with many memories of long nights with a restless baby girl and many songs sang in it. Same curtains, and if you aren't catching on that means that big sister had a room move and make over. She loves it!
My baby shower is planned for April 21st and I'm excited to share some time with some of my bff's and Addi is excited to get to open presents. :)
I have to share this video b/c its way too sweet...I'm sure there will be days they want to scratch each others eyes out but for now I will live in my fantasy of loving, sweet songs sung to each other.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVhBAM-R9ho&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Father Daughter Dance 2012

We are so lucky that our church offers a father daughter dance. This year it was held at our Northgate Campus which I've yet to even visit. I'm so thankful that Addison has a Godly physical father in her life to do such fun things with but most of all spend quality time with. Even though Josh said she would only dance with him a few times the rest was spent dancing with her cousins Audrey Kate and Myra. :)
She picked out her own dress, her shoes and how she wanted her hair - very opinionated she is. She had been looking forward to this for weeks, one of the few things we had actually told her about prior and only because she was with me at church when I purchased the tickets. :)
She was glowing when she left with her daddy and glowing just as much when she returned; although the sequins had rubbed under her arms so bad she returned sans clothes and thought that was hilarious! Oddly enough daddy did too when he realized that they had been beside Addi's friend Sydney and let her roll her window down to wave - he forgot she was in the buff until she told him that wind was making her cold.
Although I know deep down Josh had really been hoping for a boy this time around there is no doubt in my mind the kind of daddy he will be to Harper. We are truly some of the luckiest girls I know.

When Dreams DO come true!

Usually my girl looks so big...not compared to the big beautiful castle. Sometimes I wish she would stay this small!

Grumpy's in front of grumpy's - ha

(really they were not grumpy's; they were incredibly good, walked all we walked, and were just troopers all the way around!)

Princess Tiana
Princess Jasmine & Aladdin

Princess Ariel - Addi's most favorite!
Look at her smile!
This video is a MUST watch...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lZn5T7Q31c

Belle (we are all in agreeance that Belle should be in her pretty yellow dress!)

Princess Aurora

Snow White

Love this snuggly girl

Fun at Hollywood Studios with Piglet, no not me!

Safari ride fun with two pretty girls!

Weeee - Aladdin's Carpet ride

Breakfast in Animal Kingdom at Tuskar House with Daisy Duck & Mickey (below)

To say this trip was PRICELESS is truly an understatement. Other than the first day where we were in our big jackets and wind burnt we had the best weather, the best experience and most of all the BEST COMPANY!! When we booked this trip I threw the idea out there that we would appreciate any company that wanted to attend. Literally very last minute, like a month in advance, did the Beach's decide that their schedules could accomodate a trip to Disney. The best part is that still neither Addi or Arden knew about either of their trips. Addi thought we were going to the beach for mommy's birthday.

I don't regret for one minute not telling her any sooner. IF you know our Addi you know 1)she talks non-stop, with no taking breaths and jumps from one thought to another so you better keep up and 2)she talks non-stop, with no taking breaths and jumps from one thought to another so you better keep up. HA! I just couldn't handle telling her at Christmas, which was way before we booked the trip, and having to not only hear it 24/7 for 100+ days nor could I handle telling her that was her Christmas present yet nothing to show for it. Needless to say we down played Christmas a bit this year. And what was even more difficult was the fact that we booked this trip with no notification to any "grands" what so ever - we felt terrible but we knew we wanted to do this before baby Harper arrives but at that point still had not told anyone I was pregnant. We came very close to slipping several times.

We were non-stop from the time we arrived at Magic Kingdom until we left Downtown Disney our very last night.

So we had planned on bumping into the Beach's as we strolled along through Magic Kingdom. I swear, kids can surprise you no matter what. It was the cutest but really subtle - Arden merely walks up to Addi (Addi does give a bear hug) and say's "Hey Addi, wanna go ride its a small world with me?" And...So we went. I think mom's were way more excited to see each other for sure! We spent the entire day at Magic Kingdom and could not decide whether to stay for fireworks or not as it was frigid. I was not a happy camper because I had extremely high hopes of tanning this blinding body (or at least my arms and face) but that was not happening, or at least not the first day. Thankfully Matt was so thoughtful and had already made reservations at Boma, a delicious buffet at Animal Kingdom Lodge and we had just a little over an hour to get there. ****DISCLAIMER**** I'm fixing to rant and please remember the views expressed here are merely MY OPINION, we all have them so if they are not shared well its my blog, get over it. We waited on our bus to arrive, then waited on 1 of thousands of lazies to be loaded up with their Jazzy Jet, and that in itself was a debacle when the driver is about 100 years old and can barely bend down to buckle the Jazzy Jet or help the "lazy" and their baggage. I'd like to use another word but this is kid friendly here! FINALLY we loaded on the bus to go about 5 feet and ... dum, dum, dum...the bus was going to have to unload us and we were to wait on another. Who knows...I seem to think it was a weight limit issue - ha!

We cut it close, missed our actual reservation but they managed to hold it for us and we enjoyed a very delicious dinner through all the exhaustion. And Matt being incredibly thoughtful again took care of the tab for my birthday...I tell you, blessed isn't even begin. I'm saving my hormonal sappiness for towards the end though.

Our next day was again non-stop. We were up early to be down at the bus at 7:30 for our 8:30 breakfast reservations at Animal Kingdom's Tuskar House. The character breakfast are awesome!!! Not only do you get the one on one time with the individual characters but its so seamless and the staff ensure that each table is visited. The breakfast itself was a pregnant woman's dream, even though I am not real big on a big breakfast. Anything you want its there...Mickey Mouse shaped waffles, eggs, bacon, sausage, fritata's, quiche, fresh fruit, bagels, toast, donuts and danishes. I am certain I am forgetting something but you get the idea!!
We left straight from breakfast and hopped onto the safari ride with no wait. The weather was great on this day and the animals were out everywhere. We were so close to them it sometimes got a little scary, in my opinion. I mean waiting on rhino's to cross that were the size of the front of the vehicle was insane. Elephants, rhino's, hippos, gators...the variety was amazing and the kids loved it. So much, we rode again once the Beach's made there way.

Addi was too small to ride Everest and cried about it. Bless her heart - she has no fear sometimes and I wonder whether that is good or bad at times. We did make the mistake of taking both her and Arden on Dinosaur (Just me and Josh might I add) and that was a huge mistake. Neither of the girls liked it at all and in fact Addi was scared to death - Arden had ahold of Josh and definitely was not letting go. We watched the jungle parade and then headed over to Hollywood Studios for Fantasmic. Fantasmic was so cool. The neatest show with fireworks and laser which I might add that Josh almost missed. I won't give details but it involved he and Christy being shut out of the show (that is what they get for being able to ride tower of terror w/out this preggar!), Christy kept going, Josh having an amusement park employee try to stop him and then Matt having to do a search and rescue. It resulted in all of us enjoying the show, together. (Note - everyone's phone at this poing..DEAD. I had all the $ and room key's on me and NO IDEA where my hubby was - I was in panic mode!)

The next day we got up and headed back to Hollywood Studios for more fun. Again, Addi was too small for Rock N Roller Coaster but that kid of mine was all about going on Tower of Terror and could not wait to call Seth and Eli to tell them about her adventure. Although, when asked if she wanted to ride again she passed. We spent most of the day there and then headed back to Magic Kingdom for the fireworks...

Our last day we headed again, back to Magic Kingdom for breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table with the Princess' before the park opened. It was so cool to walk around with no one hardly there, you had to have reservations to get in park that early, and just take it all in - in peace too. I tell you Disney definitely knows what they are doing. My child was in awe from the moment we stepped foot into the castle and each time a Princess came out...but she was waiting for Ariel. The smile on her face when she met Ariel and even got smooches from her was worth every dime we spent and the time it took to plan. I will never, ever forget that moment for as long as I live. She smiled from ear to ear for hours and would constantly ask if Ariel's lips were still in tact on her cheek.

We spent most of this day standing in line for autograph's for those we had not seen just yet, Rapunzel, Tiana and Jasmine/Aladdin. We rode the tea cups, let Addi drive a race car and piddled for a while. We trucked it over to Epcot but in all honesty by this time we were all pooped. We had lunch, visited the Nemo area and just made our way back to the hotel to wish the Beach's a safe trip home and hit the pool. We were able to grab a nap in there too before hitting downtown Disney for shopping and Rainforest Cafe.

We spent our last day going to Sea World. Had I not paid for this prior we probably wouldn't have done it but again, the shows were amazing and we had a really good time. When we finally hit the road there was no stopping daddy and we made it home safely by 11:45 that night and enjoyed a night in our own bed! At this point Addi kept asking when she was going to see her family so we knew we weren't the only one that was ready to be home.

I truly can not explain how exhausting this trip was but the time with my girl, especially right before things are fixing to change ALOT, can never contain a price tag. The experience of getting to watch both Josh and Addi see the castle for the first time EVER was awesome - the awe in both of their eyes, priceless. The time with my hubby and just thinking about where our lives are, how lucky we are to have this beautiful healthy girl and adding another to our family, priceless. The time spent with my best friend, priceless. The time Addi spent with Arden, priceless. Watching Addi interact and be thoughtful and helpful to Brock, priceless.

NOW - I know I have some serious hormones going through this ever expanding body of mine but I thank God every day for the blessings in my life and I tend to wonder what did I do to deserve such a man willing to bend over backwards, drive almost 10 hours listening to "are we there yet" or "I have to pee" 1000 times a day.

My life is definitely full of daily hiccups, frustrations & disappointments but this time with my family allowed me to regroup & thank God for continuing to be a rock in our lives and for keeping us safe.

Lastly, I will say - Disney is truly the MOST MAGICAL PLACE ON EARTH but I will NEVER go back pregnant - I love me some roller coasters and thrills and standing on the sidelines was at times no fun, but that is the true definition of being a parent...no fun at times but the reward over all, you know it....Priceless!

It's Official!

We have a name...and although I found humor in the short video below, Josh did not.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vidyx1QFH1A

So without holding back much longer its official...Harper Anne Lewis. We really struggled with this one. Long before we knew we would even have kids it was important to Josh, and me, that we use a family name in Hunter seeing that Grammy lost the most important people in her life all at once and at a young age. Who knew that when Josh laid claim to Hunter we would have girls & the Coffelts would have the boys. :) Regardless we really struggled to come up with a name that seemed to be a good fit w/out her sounding just like a boy. There are definitely some unisex names out there but in my opinion Hunter was not one of them, even as a middle name. I was determined that our Disney trip, a post in its own to follow, would result in a name for baby girl but Disney came and went and still no name. We then came home and traveled to Franklin for the state wrestling tournament, another 2 hours in the car, and still no name. By the time we got home - and we all know the type A personality I have - I was aggrivated. Tired of calling her baby girl but yet didn't want to settle. We came to an agreement though as we both really loved Harper but still wanted meaning to her name so we chose the middle name Anne. Not only will she inherit her only aunt's name, she inherits what would have been her great aunt Anne (Hunter) Hughes whom neither Josh nor Anne ever met.

So a brief update about baby Harper. We had our (official) gender ultrasound and Dr appointment right before we left for vacation and it confirmed we will out number Josh 3:1. Everything appears to be picture perfect at this point…all chambers of the heart visible, brain looked good, no cleft palettes (I had NO idea they could tell this sort of thing now a days) and all organs looked good. So we are trucking right along and happy to be home after an absolutely priceless and memorable trip to Disneyworld. I feel extremely blessed to not only be bringing another baby into a family filled with so much love from both sides but especially to have had the time with our girl and some of our closest friends at Disney. I truly can not put into words the fun we had on this trip and the blessings I feel all around. Sometimes I wonder what I did to deserve such love and happiness but I surely do not try to take it for granted.

Here are just a few quick shots of Harper Anne.

Bringing Blogging Back

Figured there was no better reason than this...

Getting to the root of the problems.

(being silly before her procedure)

So I have felt like I've tried to be patient with our pediatrician(s) regarding the regular vomiting that Addi has done since birth...and really not so much the entire time I breastfed, around 10 1/2 months. Sometimes she'd just plain gorge herself and projectile but that wasn't anything I didn't do as a baby.
But really, enough has been enough. I think in my last post I explained that its random puking, she is fine, acts fine but she is to the point that she feels sad or guilty when we have to clean up after her or it embarrasses her when we are out in public. I mean who wouldn't it do that to, right? I think about elementary and that kid who gets sick...the trauma of other kids seeing it, making fun (yea, we all know it happens whether its my own child or yours) but it can hurt kids and I don't want her to hurt any more mentally or even with physically throwing up. Its just not normal. Then there is the issue of going to a preschool or elementary school and this continuing. I'd be very close to a truancy officer I'm sure!
I believe not for any particular reason other than the fact that our pediatrician was diagnosed with cancer and we worked to just see who we needed to when we needed to because in all honesty she hasn't been sick...we've done routine yearly check ups with a bout of congestion here or there, nothing serious though and we were continuously reassured each time we did go, with logs of throwing up, that she was within her weight range and height. She does eat good, well the things she wants to eat which we found out probably weren't helping the throwing up. She loves spaghetti, lasagna - anything Italian (guess she just comes by it honest since its in her momma's blood) ha! For the past few consecutive times we have seen Dr. Coffman and he began to listen - mainly because I was forcing the issue. We went for bloodwork at Childrens (which resulted in my identity being stolen ... 7 credit cards open or attempted to be open all of which were maxed out before I ever even got the first one in the mail, another blog in iself!)

Bloodwork came back fine so we were referred to a pediatric G I, Dr Devoid. Heard both good and a few bad scenarios but my mom does work with his ex wife who did make a call to him and just gave a little background. Fortunately I've been force to take some time off with Addi since Nana is on vacation this week. Meghan was nice enough to keep her on Tues. She took Mady & Addi to the creative discovery museum, big river grill and then home to play in the water. I'm so very lucky to have such incredible friends in my life who love not only me, but our entire family. I feel like they too are all my family. I'm blessed.

So we met with Dr. Devoid who confirmed how we'd always felt, that reoccuring vomiting is NOT normal in children over the age of 18 months and that we'd order an upper GI imediately. I think I was a bit confused because I thought we were immediately having an endoscopy & that she'd have to be put to sleep and maybe we will have that eventually but this morning we went to Chatt Imaging in Hixson, they really were so wonderful. Addi thought she super special b/c we got our own waiting room with Handy Manny and the Mickey Mouse clubhouse to watch. She just didn't understand why she could drink anything, that is until they tried to get her to drink the barium drink. It was grape flavored and shouldn't have been a big deal but the whole sensitivity to smells then causes her to gag. I will say she may not look like her momma but this girl is me made over when it comes to willpower (and attitude at times). It was pure torture. I felt so helpless I had to leave the room crying. At that point I think the nurse felt better if I left as well so that she could just try to make her get it down. I regained my composure and one of the ladies watching the images being taken just explained what was going on & how they were able to catch a great image of her trying to throw the drink back up. The whole staff was very comforting and helpful in trying to put us at ease. DEFINITELY SEVERE ACID REFLUX!!! I'm not certain if I will even hear from the dr today or what the next steps are but at least we did leave our initial appt with Dr Devoid with Nexium (not covered by our insurance - or any for that matter) and we still have the zofran but I'm hoping we can wean off of that knowing the severity of the reflux. Just with doing the nexium in her apple sauce at lunch yesterday there was never a hint of gag or that she may throw up.

So, even by this picture you can tell, this morning was super stressful and just glad I've had the last 3 days with my girl. Needless to say we left the procedure, stopped by to see YaYa (and started smiling again!!) then headed to Target where we walked out with 3 movies, some stickers, headbands, a leotard for our tumbling class we started (jeesh I'm way behind in blogging huh?) Our time together this week has really been priceless and so sweet. Although we haven't packed our days in busy we've just had some good old fashion quality time snuggling and hanging out. Much needed!

I must say that I know God is in control although sometimes I get overwhelmed in knowing I can't control her being completely healthy or incredibly sick....I'm blessed for those that he puts into our lives to help shed some light in either their own situations & perspectives. And for those in the medical industry who are really there to help us and often get misrepresented/mistreated ESPECIALLY by myself, since I work in the insurance industry, and I often fight fights for those that can't afford the necessary procedures they may need. I'm grateful for the job my husband has and that I'm able to no matter the situation walk in and know that my family is going to get the care that they need. I just know regardless of the issues we endure we are still incredibly blessed and sometimes I just need to "close the complaint door" as my Bible for mothers tells me.

I will continue to update and honestly sometimes facebook gets out of control with knowing each others business and the personal stuff we post but in all honesty I've had more people praying for my family and well its sometimes just nice to see all the believers out there standing up and putting their faith in our God to take care of us and not afraid to show it. Thank you all!!!