Grab Your Tissues

This week at work we are having a class on Pallative Care. This video called "Choosing Thomas" is being shown to everyone. I haven't been to the class but I watched the video with a few of the girls at work online. This is such an amazing but very heartbreaking video. It only lasts about 10 minutes. I'm going to warn you though...this is probably going to be one of the sadest videos that you've ever seen. It is about a couple who found out that their baby had Trisomy 13. They knew that this was fatal however decided to proceed with the pregnancy and have it filmed for a documentary. Some of you will wonder why in the world would I ever want someone to watch this. At work, this is what I have to see and deal with. Yes, I see alot of premature babies, some make it and some don't. It is very hard to see a family go through something like this, and at times, I even have to just walk away and try to focus on something else. But this video helps you to understand what some of those parents go through and it also makes me appreciate the little girls that I have and treasure every moment I have with them. So I definitely recommend watching this but just grab your tissues first. Click on this link http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/photography/2009/thomas2/

Silly Girl

Get the Shots..or Lose Your Job!!

The hospital system that I work for has recently made the H1N1 vaccine mandatory. The seasonal flu shot is mandatory also. If you do not receive both of these vaccines, then you are "voluntarily resigning". As you can imagine, this has made most of my coworkers and myself very angry. The regular flu shot would have been fine, but the H1N1 shot is not. This vaccine has only been out since July of this year. There is no way of knowing what the side effects and long term effects are. Because there aren't a lot of vaccines out yet, the hospital made priorities to who gets the vaccine first. Pregnant women, NICU, and then the rest of the Women's Hospital. I'm in all of those categories. About a month ago, my doctor wrote me a note so that I wouldn't have to get either of the flu shots because of medical reasons. Well, since then Moses Cone has found ways to decide what "medical reasons" were good enough to be excused. Also, for a few other reasons, I was forced to get both vaccines even though I have reactions to flu shots. As of right now, I need my job, and plus I carry our health insurance. I feel as though I had no other choice. When I did research on the H1N1 vaccine through the CDC website, I mainly looked at the information for pregnant women. There wasn't really any information. All it said was that "studies are still being done". So how do we know what the risks and side effects are for a pregnant woman and her unborn baby? This is what scares me the most. This is a very heated topic in the hospital right now. An email was sent out to every Moses Cone employee this past friday stating that everyone must have their shot by Oct. 31 or you are no longer an employee here. It even gave you step-by-step of how you were going to be fired...or "voluntarily resigning". One nurse who works at a different hospital went to Fox 8 and shared all of this information. She, like many of us, are furious and upset that we are forced to get this vaccine. But most of us feel as though we can't afford to lose our jobs. Here is a news clip of her interview with Fox 8. http://www.myfox8.com/wghp-mandatory-h1n1-moses-cone-091026,0,7855062.story

Playin' at the Playground

Josh, Emma, and I went to the beach this past weekend and on friday afternoon we took Emma to the playground so she could swing and slide a little bit. She loved the swing. She just smiled and giggled the entire time.

Pumpkin Patch

It's so hard to believe that last year Emma was only 2 months old and we had to carry her around the pumpkin patch. This year she walked all around the pumpkin patch. She also loved to pick up the hay and carry it around. When we were getting ready to leave, I walked her over to the pint size pumpkins so she could pick one out. I think she had fun. She kept smiling at the pumpkins. Emma-1st Halloween-1 1/2 months old

FINALLY.....

We are a two car family again!!! Josh finally got his company truck today. We are both so excited. Josh has been using the explorer since April so Emma and I haven't been able to go out during the day and do anything. We've mostly been stuck in the house for 6 months. Anyway, he got a 2006 Dodge Ram. It is really nice and he is lovin' it. I'm really glad that this truck is also a great family vehicle too. It has all the options and a HUGE backseat for the kids. I'm really looking forward to being able to go places with Emma during the day now. I have so many things I want to do with her that we haven't been able to do yet.

The front seats

The HUGE backseat

Just Another Sunday

Yesterday was just a typical Sunday for us. We went to my mom and dads house to visit and also so that Josh and I could clean our car really good. Emma stayed inside with my dad and watched football with him. Then my mom brought her outside for a few minutes and she rode the power wheels car. She has started to learn how to hold down the button to make it go. She doesn't watch where she is going though because she is too busy looking around and smiling up at you. For dinner we went to Autumn's house to have a cookout. It was so good to visit with everyone and Emma had a great time exploring a new place and playing with new toys.

Sittin' on Papa's lap and watching some footballEatin' cheeriosCheyenne and Emma playing

State Fair!

Today we went to the State Fair in Raleigh with my mom and dad. We got there around 10am and it was cold and windy. We got Emma in the stroller and wrapped her up good. Once we were there 30 minutes or so it started to get a little warmer. First Emma rode the Super Slide and the Merry-Go-Round with my dad. She didn't really like the Super Slide too much though. Maybe next year we'll try it again. Then we walked around some and fed Emma some lunch. We got to see some really cute animals. Then we went to the big rides and daddy rode a couple of them. We were there for about 4 hours and that was plenty of time to walk around and see everything. I can't even tell you enough how great Emma did all day today. Even with missing her morning and afternoon nap, she was so happy. She sat in her stroller the whole time and just looked around. I was so surprised. After the fair we went to visit Uncle Sam and to see his new house. I expected Emma to fall asleep on the way to his house and be cranky when we got there since it only took us about 20 minutes. But once we got there she played with Sam for 2 hours and was still so happy. We headed home about 4:00 and she fell asleep within 3 or 4 minutes of being in the car. She slept the whole way home. Overall we had a great day but we are very exhausted. I'm looking forward to next year when Emma is more into riding the little rides.

(caution......picture overload!)

When we got there, it was so cold that we had to wrap Emma up in one of her blankets and also one of my moms jacket. It was sooo cute. She couldn't even find her hands.

Just riding around

Mom and Emma

Super Slide

Daddy and Emma on the Merry-Go-Round

Daddy threw a ball in a fish bowl and won Emma a little stuffed Nemo

Baby Chicks

The little pigges...they were so cute.

First daddy rode this....the FIREBALL. It went completely around in a circle and would switch going backwards and forwards.

Getting ready to ride

Look at that grin :]

Next he rode "Freak Out". It looked so much fun. It only lasted a minute or two but daddy said that it was probably enough.

I think he had fun...don't you??

Emma was so exhausted.

18 Weeks!!

Today, me and little girl hit 18 weeks. We are just moving right along and she'll be here before we know it. Since Wednesday, I have been on Cloud 9. I love that we are having a little girl. Especially with Emma and the baby only being 18 months apart, they will have so much in common and can share everything.....especially since most everything we have is PINK. I can't help it though...it's my favorite color. I have saved all of Emma's clothes however, this baby will need some new things because they are going to be born in different seasons. I have already started planning on how I want to rearrange our house and the girls' room. We have a lot to get done in a short time. So far things have been going pretty good. I have continued to lose weight still. I am down 22 pounds since I got pregnant. I just never feel like eating anymore and most things make me nauseous. It completely takes some of the fun out of being pregnant. I have been contracting on and off since I was 11 weeks. I think it is mostly coming from not resting enough. I have been trying to take it easy more and rest whenever I can. Other than that, our little girl is doing great and I'm looking forward to preparing for her arrival.

Emma's New Shirts

Before our ultrasound this past Wednesday, Josh and I went to The Childrens Place. We were a little early for our appointment so, I figured it couldn't hurt to just look around. They were having a big sale and I was able to get Emma a few t-shirts. They had these cute Big Sister shirts for 2 for $12.00. I got them in 24 month to make sure they still fit her in March. I also got her two other long sleeve shirts. Emma just doesn't have hardly any cold weather clothes to wear right now so I love when they have deals like that!! I just love these Big Sister shirts. Next, I need to find her a winter jacket and some gloves and a hat! It's getting cold here...... fast!

Lovin' PINK!

Josh and I went to the doctor today for the "BIG" anatomy ultrasound and found out that we will be welcoming another little girl into our family. We couldn't be more excited. I absolutely ADORE little girls. I love all the pink and girly stuff.[not that we wouldn't be ecstatic with a boy too] But I'm so glad that Emma will have a little sister. During the ultrasound, the tech was able to see just about every part of the babies body and everything looked great. We have to have another ultrasound in 8 weeks so that they can see some other parts of the heart. The baby just wouldn't stay still long enough. Our little girl had a strong heartbeat of 145bpm. She is absolutely perfect and we are looking forward to meeting her. We are still deciding on her name. When I first got pregnant, we thought we knew what they names were going to be but now we are just making sure we pick the right name for her. We should be able to decide soon and I'll definitely let you all know. We got several pictures of her that I will post as soon as I can get them scanned.

Playin in the Yard

While we were at my mom and dads house today, we were outside playing and Emma threw up a little on her shirt. I went ahead and took it off and she decided she wanted to walk around some more. So I just had to get my camera out. I know these pictures are very similar but I think they are all cute in their own way. :]

My cute little Emma

Walking with Nana

I LOVE this picture

and this one too!!!

Walking around

Playing with her belly

Baby Butt

No more pictures mom