Welcome

Jillian Renae Reed

After 40 weeks of pregnancy, we finally got to meet our precious Jillian. Precious really is the perfect word to describe her. She gave us a little bit of a scare during labor because her heart rate kept dropping during contractions. Before we knew what was going on they were preparing us for a c-section and Jillian was born with in a matter of minutes. We were so relieved and overwhelmed with joy when we got to see our beautiful daughter. The first thing I said when I saw her was, "Hello Lauren". She reminds me so much of what her big sister looked like when she was born. She even has birth marks in the exact same places as Lauren. I think these girls are going to be two peas in a pod.

39 weeks and still waiting!

I can't believe that I am 39 weeks pregnant. After being put on bed rest at 28 weeks and being so worried that our baby was going to make her arrival too early, now this girl seems content to stay put. We are ready for Jillian to join our family and meet her big sister. Hopefully soon!

Pumpkin Patch and Pregnant

I wasn't sure it was going to happen this year, but we did indeed make a pumpkin patch trip before our newest pumpkin arrives. I am 38 weeks pregnant and chasing Lauren through a sea of pumpkins was not happening, so Daddy deserves a round of appaulse for keeping up with our marathon runner. After a while of searching for the perfect pumpkins, we ended up bringing two large and two small pumpkins home. Lauren picked her pumpkin right away and carried it around the whole time. Good thing it was small! She also picked a pumpkin for baby Jillian, very sweet. I don't know what it is about kids and pumpkin, but they make the cutest pictures. Don't you agree.

38 weeks pregnant

Daddy and his little pumpkin

Happy 3rd Birthday Lauren Grace!

Our little Lauren celebrated her 3rd birthday on October 6. What a sweet and precious blessing she is to our family. She is growing up so fast, but I still think of her as my baby. I don't think that will ever change. We love the little girl that she is growing into, and it is so fun to watch her personality develope She loves to sing and tell jokes, just basically likes to laugh and make others laugh. I think the Lord has given us the best of both worlds with her because she loves to play dress up and baby dolls, but she also won't pass up any opportunity to get messy and dirty. We think she is the perfect combination of a princess and tomboy. We love you, big 3 year old girl. Thanks for making the past three years so much fun!

The birthday girl

Cupcakes with her friends at school. Our daughter, the only girl in her class, was the only child with cupcake all over her face.

We took Lauren to the see the movie Toy Story 2 in 3D. It was her first movie and she loved it. She was a little unsure of things at first, but nothing a little popcorn, candy, and lemonade couldn't fix. She hasn't stopped talking about it.

Lauren's purple room

Lauren has made the move to her new room. With baby sister's arrival rapidly approaching, we have been working on making Lauren a special big girl room so that we can keep Lauren's old room as the nursery. Last night was her first night in the new room, and we had our good and not so good moments. She was not happy that Daddy put the safety rail on her bed and she told us that her bed was ruined because of it. Trying not to laugh, we explained that all of her friends also had safety rails on their beds. She didn't buy it at first, but eventually gave in. Once we got her put down, Lauren decided that the fun was just beginning. She went from jumping on the bed, to swinging and twirling around in the curtains, and finally ended up breaking 3 of the planks in the plantation shutters. Dad was not happy. She didn't fall asleep until after 10. She did however sleep through the night with no problems. Yeah!

The bed is no longer next to the windows and curtains. Lauren had too much fun playing in them last night, so that had to be changed this morning.

First day of School

At the beginning of September, our little Lauren started going to a Mother's Day Out program at the local Presbyterian church. It honestly makes me a little emotional when I think about it too much. She loves it and has several friends that are also in the program. Another funny side note, she is the only girl in her class. This apparently does not bother her at all. I have been on bed rest for the past month, so it is a blessing that Lauren has a place to go and play and be stimulated a couple of times a week. We went through a little bit of separation anxiety the first week, me more then her, but we are starting to get the hang of our new routine. We're excited about what a big girl she is becoming.

Lauren picked out a Disney princess lunch kit. I know you are all very surprised.

This picture makes me laugh. Doesn't she look like she is saying, "Hurry up Mom, take the picture".

Mother's Day 2009

This was an extra special Mother's Day for me. I got to celebrate being Lauren's Mommy, which brings me more joy then I could ever put in to words, and I also got to celebrate being a Mommy-to-be again. I am truly loving this time in my life, and trying to soak up every moment. Don't get me wrong, being pregnant and chasing a toddler is challenging, and half the time I feel like I'm losin' it. But I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

Doesn't Lauren look like such a big girl in the picture

Our newest blessing!

We are so excited to share our newest blessing with all of you. We will be adding a new little one to our family in October. Another October baby! God is so good! Lauren will be almost exactly 3 years older then her baby brother or sister. Our new little baby is so lucky to have such a sweet big sister. We can't wait to see the two of them together.