Where does the time go?!

Our little Leighton turned 6 months this month, I just can't believe it!  She has such a sweet little personality and it comes out every day as she flashes her sweet smile and happy screams.  Yes, I think this one is going to be one of those screaming babies you give evil eyes to at restaurants, that will be us I have a feeling!  She is happy when shes squeals at home, but I don't think everyone will think it's cute.  Anyway, I was buying some clothes for both our growing girls and just got so sad about how fast they are growing up.  I almost got tears in my eyes as I was looking at the 9 month jammies for Leighton and how big they were as I realized how fast she is growing. Ava is such a big girl now but still asks for our help to do things she can do by herself, which is frustrating when we are busy, but deep down it feels good to be needed. Ava is such a kind-hearted little girl (most of the time) and loves her little sister so much. It will be fun to see them continue to grow and become play buddies and best friends.  I'm so thankful for God bringing Victor and I together (many years ago) and these two wonderful blessings He has entrusted us with!  Nothing melts my heart more than to hear their laughter as their Daddy plays with them, I love it!!!  Well two blog posts in less than a month, how about that!?

Hope everyone has a safe, fun and happy Memorial Day weekend!

Our sweet 6 month old

Twins.  Yes, I dressed them alike, just like my Mom did to me and my sister and I thought I never would, ha!

Spring is finally here, and almost gone!

I know my posts always start out as "It's been awhile", so here it goes...

Well, it's been awhile.... Things have been busy at the Upshaw house.  I started back to work mid-February and Leighton started going to daycare with Ava.  Of course I cried the first day and after that I was fine.  Being back at work has been good to have some time to feel like I get a lot done and a little sans kid time :0)

Victor is still working hard and traveling a few days a week usually.  

Ava and Leighton are doing great!  Ava turned 3 on April 11th and enjoyed a Princess themed party, of course.  We had all her friends over and they enjoyed lunch, a little activity of making their own crowns, played and opened gifts.  It was fun, but Mommy was stressed as usual!  Ava has been such a great big sister to Leighton who will be 6 months next week!  She loves to play with her, dance and sing for her, and give her hugs.  Leighton watches her every move and flashes her cute smile at her big sis.  She is such a good baby and still very rarely cries unless she doesn't feel good (which is a lot lately since she has a cold).  She is the happiest little baby and smiles all the time.  We are very thankful to have such an easy going second baby, it makes things a lot easier!  

We enjoyed dying Easter eggs with Ava this year.  She enjoyed finding all of the around the house since it was a usual rainy weekend in Knoxville and loved all her Easter basket goodies!  We've been enjoying the warmer weather lately despite a lot of rainy weekends.  I've been able to run some and Victor enjoys getting lots of tennis in throughout the week.  We've been to the park a few times this spring and all Ava wants to do is swing.  She loves Daddy to push her really high.  We're excited about this summer and pool time so Ava can work on learning how to swim.

I'll try to not let so much time go by before my next update, I'm not good at this blogging business and short on time ;0)

Here are some pictures of the kiddos....

A little late but Leighton is here!

Well it has been a long time since I've updated this, sorry! Well here it goes....

At my 39 week appointment I asked if I could schedule to be induced since Thanksgiving was so close to my due date. The 15th was his only available date so that was it. It was nice to be prepared and have Ava taken care of but it was a long day! We got there at 6:15 and everything started. At about 7:45 they started pitocin. Around 10:00 the doctor broke my water to move things along. I got my epidural right after that. We thought it would be a couple hours later that it would be pushing time but no. I was 10 cm around 4:30 but there was still a little part of my cervix needing to thin so it wasn't until 6:30 when the fun started. I pushed for about an hour then they turned my epidural off so I could push better. Leighton was coming out at an angle and things were getting difficult and close to having a c-section so they used the vacuum suction on her head and I got a pretty big episiotomy and she was finally out at 8:37pm! I was in a lot of pain since my epidural was wearing off and I could still feel my contractions. It was not fun but Leighton was here and healthy weighing in at 8 lbs8 oz and 23 inches long. She had a pretty big bruise on her head from the vacuum but healed quickly. Ava came and met her sister which was so sweet. We left the hospital after two nights and went home with our new addition. Leighton is such a good baby and very rarely cried for the first few weeks. Ava has been a good helper and over all done well despite a little mommy jealousy. We enjoyed celebrating the holidays as a family of four and especially having Victor home so much!

Leighton is now 10 weeks and is still a good baby. She's been sleeping 5-7 hour stretches at night recently which has been nice. I'm off work until February 19th and Ava goes to daycare during the week so Leighton and I have our time. It's been hard in my opinion having a winter baby with all the sickness going around, I've been paranoid! Everyone except Leighton came down with the stomach bug the week before Christmas which was not fun at all! Leighton has had a touch of a cold the past week but has been doing fine. Once that clears up she's going to make the transition to her crib.

Last Friday we had some snow and this Friday it's ice. So we've been stuck at home just lounging around. Ava was excited to stay home with us!

Here are some pictures from Leighton's arrival and after.....

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?!?