It's Been Awhile....

So it has been quite awhile since I have updated the blog, so sorry!  Well summer has come and is about gone, fall is right around the corner!  We've had a good summer and enjoyed a few weddings, a trip to the beach and fun with family and friends.  Our beach trip was Ava's first trip to the beach and she really enjoyed it!  We went to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in July for my family reunion.  Victor was in his cousin's wedding in Oklahoma the same weekend we left for the beach, so Ava and I unfortunately couldn't make the trip for the wedding.  Victor enjoyed seeing his family and then was able to fly to the beach for a few days with us!  The rest of the summer has included a few firsts for Ava, she saw Boom's Day, a huge firework show here on Labor Day, and her first UT Football game. 

Everything has progressed well with our soon to be new addition!  We are having another girl and will name her Leighton Victoria Upshaw.  She is due on November 20th so only about 9 more weeks to go!  I've been feeling good and getting big!  We haven't really taken any "belly bump" pictures this time around, but I assure you that I'm a lot bigger than I was with Ava!  Everything is on track and I'm currently seeing the doctor every 2 weeks and will start weekly appointments when I reach 36 weeks next month.  My thyroid fluctuated again this pregnancy but it's been regulated for several weeks now - I get the joy of getting lab work done every month to be sure.  Ava is excited about being a big sister and knows that her baby sister is in my belly.  She often hugs my belly and says she is "hugging her sister" which is so sweet.  Victor, his mom and Bruce worked on painting our guest bedroom pink and we converted Ava's crib into a full size bed for her big girl room.  She's done really well sleeping in her big girl bed and is enjoying her new room.  We have most of Leighton's room ready, just a few last minute touches needed and a lot of organization with the clothes, bottles, etc.  She better not decide to come early!  We appreciate every one's thoughts and prayers throughout this pregnancy and we are so thankful God has been watching over little Leighton and our family!

Here are some pictures from this summer....
  

Victor's 28th Birthday


                                            


Fun with cousins in Nashville



 

For some reason, this keeps loading the wrong direction, sorry!



This is how Ava smiles when we say "cheese"

                                     

Liam and Ava at the beach

                                    

Ava has curl in her hair :0)



20 weeks



30 weeks, the last picture is a foot

                                                 

Hopeful Expansion...

In November 2011, we were very excited to learn that we were pregnant again.  I went to the doctor and even got in right away to get my thyroid levels checked as I was instructed.  I had some lab work done and two days later I had a miscarriage.  When I went in to see my doctor he told me that my lab results showed a very low progesterone level meaning I didn't have a healthy pregnancy.  It was such a heartbreaking thing to go through.  Even though it had only been a few weeks, we were so excited about having another baby.  It was just not something that we had expected, not that anyone thinks to expect that.  It was very hard physically to be reminded of what was happening for those next couple weeks, but even worse emotionally to know that we had lost the pregnancy.  I was assured that it didn't mean anything was wrong with me or that I didn't do anything wrong, and was probably just a chromosomal abnormality.  We spent a lot of time praying and asking God to heal our hearts.  I think that God was trying to tell me that I just needed to stop trying to plan everything and focus my trust in Him and what He had planned for us. 

At the beginning of March we found out that we are pregnant again.  We went to the doctor and had lab work done again. Waiting to get the results seemed like forever.  I had this terrible fear that everything was going to happen like it did last time.  I finally got the call and my labs looked good but my progesterone was a little lower than where they wanted it to be.  They put me on progesterone supplements to help increase my levels and wanted to check my levels every week.  I was at ease a little more.  Then one night we went out to eat and I started having some strange pains and thought it was a gas bubble.  I went to the bathroom to discover that I was bleeding.  I immediately thought it was all happening again and my heart just started breaking.  It was a Friday night so I called the on call nurse and they told me to take it easy until Monday.  It seemed to get better as I lay in bed but then happened again Monday.  I had a doctor's appointment that afternoon to see what was going on.  I was so convinced that it was another miscarriage.  They did an ultrasound and said that they did see a fetal pole but it was still probably only about 5 weeks into the pregnancy.  I was told to continue to take it easy and come back the next week for my regular appointment.  We of course did A LOT of praying and told our family and close friends and asked for their prayers.  At my next appointment they did lab work and everything showed that everything was progressing as it should and had an ultrasound that showed the little flicker for the heartbeat.  I was relieved but still uneasy.  I continued to get my labs every week and my progesterone has continued to increase.  I have had a couple more ultrasounds since then and have enjoyed seeing the little developing baby.  I am now 13 weeks and 3 days.  Our next appointment is set for June 6th where we will hopefully find out if we are having a boy or a girl!  We are soooo thankful that everything has turned out to be going well so far.  We continue to pray that this pregnancy is normal and that the baby is healthy.  I think Victor has a more positive outlook that everything is good but I still worry every little pain I feel and have fears of something going wrong.  I know I need to leave it all in God's hands and trust in Him, but worry is still inevitable.  We are so thankful for all He has blessed us with in our lives and are so thankful to have our precious Ava.  We know that this baby will be every bit as precious as she is!




Ultrasound at 7 weeks, 1 day.  The little rice krispy is the baby!



Ultrasound at 9 weeks, 1 day.  You can see the baby's little arms developing.  Isn't God AMAZING?!?



Ava Turns 2!

Ava turned the big 2 on April 11th!  We celebrated her birthday on Easter Weekend and had an egg hunt and Easter themed party on Saturday.  We had family and friends come help us celebrate the occassion.  Ava had a great time!  She is so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends that love her!  On Easter Sunday we went to church and the family came over for lunch to celebrate together.  It was a great weekend and we are very thankful that so many people were able to come to town and had a great time spending time with everyone!

We have been terrible at taking pictures lately so I don't have many new ones.  (Below are some from our Easter weekend.) This past month has been hard for our little Ava.  She had RSV then got Roseola from one the kids at daycare then just recovered yesterday from another viral infection with a fever of 103.7!  She stays in pretty good spirits even when she is sick but when she doesn't feel good, you can definitely tell.  Hopefully our sweet little Ava is on the mend and won't be getting sick again for a while!
 

It's been a while!

Well I haven't been the best 'blogger'.  But not much has been going on with the Upshaw's.  We've just been doing our normal routine of work, daycare, Victor traveling, and enjoying our weekends as a family.  I wasn't feeling very good last week and Victor was out of town during the day, so we didn't do a lot for Valentine's Day, just spent time with our family.  We thought we might actually get some snow last week, but didn't. It has been an unseasonably warm winter so we've gone outside a little bit.  Our new neighbors graciously offered to build a fence in our yard while they were doing theirs so we now have a fenced area for Ava to play.  Ava got to try out a little slide Victor put in the back for her (see video below).  While I do prefer warm weather, I wish it would snow just once so we could enjoy it before spring gets here.  There's still the rest of February and March, right?!?

My posts are usually (ok, they all are) about Ava though.  Soooo... here is what she's doing. Ava continues to grow and make us laugh by a new trick it seems like everyday.  She is getting really good at speaking and tries to repeat everything. Victor has been out of town this week and she asks to call him and will take the phone and just speak gibberish non-stop to him, it is so cute!  She also loves to dance and has been singing to the radio in the car which is pretty funny!  Right now she has a bit of a cold but other than that she is doing good.  Victor played in an indoor soccer tournament last weekend and I took Ava to watch him play.  She loved it and was so excited to see him out on the field.  She worked on her soccer skills too and seems to be pretty good for a two (well almost) year old.  Speaking of that, we can't believe in just two months our little girl will be two!  We are excited about her party this year because it will be on Easter weekend so we are going to do an egg hunt! 

Here are some pictures and videos from the past month!  Sorry about some of the videos being sideways, they are that way on our phones and don't know how to change them....

Ava loves Mommy's shoes

Watching our fence construction

All bundled up on a cold day.  Sorry this is sideways, not sure what happened.

Watching TV with her favorite shades.

Driving in style...

Matching pink toes

Ava praying before dinner

Happy New Year!

It has been a while since our last post.  We celebrated Christmas with my family the week before Christmas and then headed off to Oklahoma to spend Christmas with Victor's family.  We had a good time and enjoyed visiting with everyone.  Ava understood Christmas a lot more this year and had a great time opening gifts!  On our last night in Oklahoma I came down with the stomach bug that is going around, it was not fun.  After getting settled back in at home we were ready to celebrate the new year.  We decided to stay in town and were able to meet my friend Allyson's new baby, Hilton!  He is so precious and we are glad we got to see them while they were in town!  We planned on having a low key New Year's eve with dinner, a movie and watching the ball drop from home. Unfortunately, Victor came down with the stomach bug and spent the night on the couch sick.  He is all better now and we are ready for what 2012 has in store for us!  Happy New Year!!!

Trying our her new nap mat!

Mittens!

Allyson and Hilton in his tux - what a cutie!

A rare moment watching TV

Coloring