Disney World!

Mom, Ayda and I went to Disney World Monday. Kevin's mom has a sweet friend that gets us in free so it is totally worth it. Ayda is very lucky that she has been to DW three times already. We got to the park at about 10AM and lasted till about 4PM. Not bad! We decided to go to Magic Kingdom because there is lots for Ayda to do. We rode Small World, Dumbo, and Peter Pan. It was pretty crowded and we didn't want to make Ayda wait in long lines. We checked out Minnie's house and Donald Duck's boat. We saw the show outside the castle and ended with the parade! And of course we had a Mickey Ears ice cream bar!! Mom and I enjoyed walking around people watching too.

Ayda watching the small morning parade/show on Main Street. She liked the characters from a distance and she LOVED the music!

Yes she is dancing in the stroller. The girl has some moves!

Waiting in line at Small World and enjoying some air condition

Small World line

YAY!! Finally on the ride! Ayda was so excited when we started moving and she just took it all in. She pointed at the dancing people throughout the ride and danced to It's a Small World that plays the whole time you are in there.

After we rode Dumbo Ayda passed out. She ended up napping in her stroller for an hour (new record!)

Side Note: The stroller Kevin and I got when we were pregnant with Ayda turned out to be a rather difficult stroller to maneuver. It didn't turn well, was already falling apart, and Ayda would not sit in it for very long. My mom and I went to a consignment store here in town and found a Graco for $50. She was so nice to buy it for us and I could not be happier. Anyone looking at strollers...DO NOT get the Chicco! It is awful. I love our new stroller to say the least. Thanks again mom!!!

Playing at Donald Duck's boat...water squirts out randomly. Ayda loves water but she was not so sure about the random sprays! So I ended up getting wet too but it was actually kind of nice to cool off some!

The parade is starting!!!

And this is the look on her face the majority of the parade. Aladdin was the first character to approach her and she was not amused. So for the rest of the parade she had this look on her face. She did still wave to the characters on the floats. As long as they kept their distance, she was ok!

So all in all we had a great few days with my mom! Ayda loves her Grand-Pam so much! And I love the time with my mom! Like I said, we both cried when she left but luckily we will see her again in ATL in a few weeks!

Mother's Day

My Mother's Day weekend was fabulous! My mom came into town for the weekend and we had a blast with her here. The weekend was packed full of fun to say the least! Ayda and I both cried when she had to go home Tuesday morning.

Mother's Day started with a great service at our church. Then Kevin headed home with Ayda to let her take a nap and mom and I went to get pedicures! I was so excited to be getting one. The last one I had was in August when she took me for my birthday. So needless to say I was in need. Well, in fact, I didn't realize how badly I needed one until the poor lady working on my feet broke out the cheese grate for my heels and bottoms of my feet! Yes, the cheese grate! How embarrassing. My mom saw her coming with it first and though she tried not to start laughing there was no stopping it. She was laughing hysterically which got me laughing. I am happy to report that my feet feel much better and the nice lady got a little nicer tip. I had told Kevin the story and last night he asked if I had shrunk an inch. So funny, really!

Anyway after our pedicures we got some lunch at Panera (my favorite!!). It was nice to enjoy lunch with my mom and actually have an adult conversation. She dropped me off at Kevin's office after lunch and headed home to keep Ayda while Kevin and I taught a Bradley class. Even though I had to take a few hours out of my Mother's Day to teach, it was so worth it. What a great way to spend Mother's Day teaching other couples about having their baby unmedicated! It was fun. Then mom met us back at the office to head into Orlando for a nice dinner Kevin had set up. The restaurant was so neat and had very tasty food. Unfortunately Ayda was way more interested in roaming around outside the restaurant than sitting at the table to eat. So we ate in shifts! Again, what is Mother's Day without having to deal with fussy kids? I would not have it any other way either!!! So all in all the whole day was wonderful. Kevin does such a great job of making sure I know I am a good momma to Ayda all the time. Mother's Day makes me stop and appreciate my mom, grandma, step mom, mother in law and other "mother" like ladies in my life. I also had some friends on my mind throughout the whole day that are waiting for their turn to be mommys. I spent the day praying for those girls and that they would celebrate next mother's day holding that answer to prayer!

Ayda at dinner...still enjoying sitting there.

Mom and Kevin! They gave all the moms a flower lay!

Ayda was done with pictures at this point so I had to fly solo for this picture. We did get a picture of my mom and I but it is on her phone!

My little angel passed out on the ride home! She was a trooper through dinner!

Ayda's Play Date and Friend!

I met Taunya through my MOPS group and have thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with her and her son, Easton. Easton is a month younger than Ayda and they really seem to enjoy playing together!! I would have to say this is her first official friend. She will say his name but it sounds more like "Eatsie". So cute! And he says her name really well. Anyway, we have been getting together for playdates a lot lately. We power stroll at the lake in the mornings, we have visited Sea World, and meet up at JumpNJoeys (a bounce house)! The kids love to run around and play and Taunya and I enjoy our time to chat and hang out! So...today, Kevin needed me to work at a Realtor Expo where he had a booth set up. I was going to have to be there from 7AM-3PM. We thought, no problem, Kevin's mom will keep her like normal when I have to do something with his practice. Except when I asked her if she could, she reminded me she was in Taiwan! AH! What were we going to do with Ayda?!?! Thankfully Taunya offered to keep her all day and I knew she was in great hands! I dropped her off at 6:45 (whew...that was interesting getting out of the house that early!) and everyone did great! I enjoyed the opportunity to help Kevin out and share with people what he does and Ayda had an absolute blast playing with Taunya and Easton. As you can see from the pics there was not a dull moment at their house. Kevin is a little concerned about this relationship developing between A and E, but I think they'll be just fine! She does light up when you talk about Easton though which is super cute!

Typical girl...on the cell phone!

Digging in the sand!!

"Here, Easton, I think it goes on this one!"

Having lots of fun playing with Easton's toys!

Quite the Appetite!

There is one thing Ayda does not lack and that is a good appetite. The girl loves to eat and she will eat anything! While Kevin was out of town last weekend I thought I would treat us to a Mommy date out to dinner. We headed for Panera and then at the last minute decided to go to this fun Mexican place. They have a really good salad and Ayda loves their food. I ordered her a kid's meal soft chicken taco which comes with a cup of applesauce. I was not sure how she would do eating the taco but she managed just fine. She ate the stuff inside with her fork and then munched on the flour tortilla. I felt like I was dining with the Very Hungry Caterpillar! She ate her whole taco, most of the tortilla, the cup of applesauce, my cup of olives, half of a cup of tomatoes, a few chips, and half of my black beans. She just kept going and going. Usually she is really good about saying all done when she gets full. This time I had to cut her off! We had so much fun on our date though! She had me, the table next to us, and the waitress cracking up. She was in rare form to say the least. Her bedtime is around 7 but we were having too much fun so she didn't make it into bed till about 830! And she slept like a rock till after 7 the next morning!

Always uses her left hand to use the fork or spoon, but still uses the right hand to just pick up the food and eat it!

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Her belly was so big after dinner, hence why I finally cut her off. Thought she was going to pop!!

Just some ramblings

Yesterday was just one of those days that I wasn't thrilled about starting but so glad I did by the end of it. Kevin had been out of town since Thursday and I was definitely missing him and ready for him to come home. I also was just struggling with some things in the morning and was in a good ole funk. Fear, doubt, and worry had got a hold of me and I was just down. With it just being me and Ayda at home it was so tempting to just stay home and mope around the house. But I was so uneasy about that and knew God was wanting me to get myself and Ayda ready and head to church. I even said (so immature, I know) "Fine but they better sing at least one song that really lifts my spirits and lets me know you are here". Though we were running a little late we made it to church. I dropped Ayda off at the nursery and headed into the service. We sang a few songs that I like but nothing that just jumped out at me. Then the last song we sang was one of my favorites "God of this City". I knew immediately that was God's song to me, even though my request (or demand) was so childish and immature. He still answered. I sang with chill bumps all over. Then the service started. The topic? Why does God allow pain and suffering? Though my funk was not related to something serious the sermon was exactly what I needed to hear. I was so refreshed as I walked out of there yesterday. I was reminded that not only does God care about his people, He is with us no matter how big or small our pain/suffering is. I was so encouraged as I picked Ayda up and headed home. The rest of the day got better and better. When I started to get down again I was reminded of how clearly God spoke to me in the morning. I taught my Bradley class and it went great. The couples are getting more familiar and open which is bringing on some good discussion. And then my hubby came home and we got to spend a few hours together which was much needed!

I am ready to start another week now!

Due for an Update:

Wow! I did not realize till yesterday that I had not posted anything for almost two weeks. Time flies when your having fun! So here is a recap of our couple of weeks. And pics to follow!

Kevin: He is working 70 hours a week getting everything going. I am so proud of him and his hard work. It is tough not having him around but I am so glad he is finally doing what he knows he is supposed to be doing and wants to do! He has hosted an After Hours event which is part of the Chamber of Commerce. It is a HUGE deal and he had a wonderful turn out. Unfortunately I missed it because I was with Amy and Gabe as they welcomed their little one into the world. I was so so sad to miss the event and the ribbon cutting. There was awesome food, live music (our good friend Sara Jones sang!!!), raffles, and lots of fun. Tons of people came and it was a great opportunity for Kevin to share with the community what he does. Then he had his Grand opening celebration yesterday. It was another great time of K getting to show off the place and talk about Upper Cervical Chiropractic. All in all he is doing great and is getting more and more patients each week. We can really see God's hand in all of this and we are so thankful. This weekend K is up in ATL at a seminar that I know will recharge him and he'll get back Sunday ready to go again.

Pics of his Grand Opening Celebration:

Ayda: Well she just runs...all the time! She is so busy and has such the time of her life doing whatever it is she is doing. She completely keeps me entertained all day. I love it! She is talking so much and it is fun to hear her version of words. She LOVES being outside which is where we spend the majority of our day. I am still working on cheap ways to make the yard a playground for her. She loves the garden, in fact I believe it is safe to say she has eaten an entire tree of Kumquats. She still goes to the tree but they are all gone. We have moved on to another fruit that is in season now but I have no clue what the name of the fruit is. It is small and tastes like a sour peach though. She loves them. She also loves the water...as you can see in the pics below. So between visiting daddy at the office, running errands, having playdates, playing in the yard, and taking walks to go see the cows she is a very happy little girl!!

My attempt at pigtails. Her hair needs to grow a little more. Usually I put it in a "pony tail" on top of her head!

Fun pool time!

The child has no fear. I am a nervous wreck as she throws herself around in the water!

Taking a break to check the garden

Playing with the hose is SO much fun!

Oops...till it sprays you right in the face! She was still having a blast!

Me: Other than chasing Ayda around, I have been working at Kevin's office one afternoon and two mornings a week. I just help out with some of the office stuff and getting patients checked in. I also am finally working on getting my nursing license down here. I took the test today which was the biggest thing I was dreading. Turned out to be a piece of cake! My Bradley classes are going great. I am on class 4 this week and have 3 couples. I love teaching! And I am getting more involved at church and meeting lots of people that way. So I am staying quite busy yet wonder why I am exhausted every night after Ayda goes to bed! I do sometimes feel like a temp jumping from job to job but I would not have it any other way.

So we are all doing fantastic. Super busy but life is good! We have some exciting things going on this summer so I can't wait for all of that to start rolling in. My mom comes in 2 weeks which to me will kick start the summer for us! I can't wait!!!

A Beautiful Birth

As you may know I started teaching the Bradley Method of natural childbirth in January. Kevin and I took the course in preparation for having Ayda and I have such a passion for natural births now. I had one couple in my first series which was perfect. Over the course of the 12 week series I bonded with this sweet couple and knew they would have the birth they truly wanted. They were definitely better students than Kevin and I were!!! Towards the end of the classes they asked me to be their doula. I was very excited as her due date approached. Amy finally went into labor on her due date (thursday) and had baby Liam at 2:28AM on April 9. It was such a blessing and joy to be with them as they welcomed their sweet baby boy into their family. They had not found out the sex either which made the moment that much more exciting!

I totally had flashbacks of labor as I assisted Amy and her husband Gabe through the 12 hours of labor. I was so happy that those flashbacks of contractions, pushing, etc were happy memories, not any of pain, fear, or fatigue. I remembered how wonderful our birth was! I am glad this family will also be able to have those same memories. I truly love what I do now, hands down!!! Who could ever get tired of teaching couples to prepare for their precious little baby and then to watch them as they do. Seeing a baby born will always put tears in my eyes!

Liam Gabriel

5 lbs 9 oz

18 inches

April 9, 2010

You can tell how tiny he is here...he is sitting on a boppy pillow!!!