Sick baby

Well, things have not gotten better since my last post. Sydney hasn't been throwing up anymore, but she's still coughing. I called the doctor yesterday morning & they wanted to see her. The doctor said her throat & ears were really red. Ryan and I are fairly certain that she got this bug at the doctor's office Tuesday, because she was fine up until that point. Quite frustrating! 

She looks like she's just miserable. Her eyes are red and watery. She coughs like someone who has been smoking all her life. It's just sad. I really think we have allergies going on in addition to the ears & throat thing. 

This weekend we are heading out-of-town. We're moving Nathan from one apartment to another in Nashville. I really hope that Sydney gets to feeling better so that she can enjoy the time visiting with family...we'll see. Prayers for my baby are welcomed! Thanks!

Update on the Little One

Yesterday Sydney had her 18 month check-up. She's 19 months old now, but because of vaccination timing, we had to wait. Anyway, she checked out great. She's a little above the 50th percentile for her height & a little below for her weight. The doctor said all is well & she is performing at the 21 month level! Whoohoo!!! Yesterday was a great day to celebrate the healthy little girl we have!

Today was a different kind of day. We woke up to a COLD house due to leaving windows open in Ryan and my room. While trying to get one of the windows down, I about broke my elbow. I pulled & pulled trying to get the window down. When it finally came down, my elbow crashed into our headboard. It hurt so bad I cried & felt like I was going to be sick. Luckily, I didn't break it & am much better now.

*This part is not for the weak stomach!*

Later in the day while Sydney was trying to nap, she started coughing & coughing. She coughed so hard that she threw up twice all over her bed, clothes, Tigger, pillows & self. I immediately rushed her to the bathtub & stripped her down (while getting sick myself). Normally, I'm ok while taking care of her. Today was a different story. Anyway, after getting her in the tub & water run, I ran the clothes to the washer so that we didn't have to smell them. When I got back to the bathroom, she had gone #2 in the tub! (You know, I didn't realize kids did that before I had Sydney...naive, I guess. 'Cause before they're potty trained, when they gotta go, they gotta go!) So, I got her out of the tub, to clean it. While standing by the tub, she pottied on our bathmat. At that point, I just started laughing. I wasn't going to catch a break & I could tell it. When I started laughing, she started laughing. It was a fun moment. Although, it wasn't much fun getting to that point, it will be a memory I will hold forever.

Work, work, work, work, work!!

In the past 2 days, we've mowed, mulched, put out flowers, trimmed hedges, planted 2 tomato plants, organized our garage, got ready for a yard sale, washed 2 cars, washed house off, painted table & chairs, cleaned 1/2 of the living room carpet, & kept up with laundry & dishes! Wow! That is a lot with a little one in tow! We are so satisfied with our accomplishments that we are taking today off to play! Yay! 

It is our last day to play before Ryan starts back to work & back to school. He has taken the last 2 weeks off from school since he was traveling with work & visiting family. It has been a nice break for us all. So, today...we head out to spend the time as a family. Since there's 60% chance of rain, I'm not sure what is in store...maybe the Apple store...heehee! We'll see.

I hope you all enjoy your day off! Thank a veteran or current military member. They are the reason you are free! 

Week with the Hughes Family

This past week, we were fortunate enough to visit with Ryan's parents & siblings! It was great to have us all together!! The last time we were all together was at Jon & Corena's wedding 2 1/2 years ago...pre-Sydney days! So, they had never met Sydney. It was great to see Sydney meet her aunt & uncle for the first time. She LOVED them both!! It was also fun being around Kit & Laura. Laura is 16 weeks pregnant & we are so excited to be getting a niece or nephew! 

We spent our days out on the back deck of Ryan's parents' house. Our days were full of hanging out & being together. It was so refreshing. Sydney was quite spoiled with all of the attention from grandparents, aunts, & uncles. I'm sure the next few days will be quite challenging since she will not get near the attention she received from them. That's ok, though! It was well worth it!! Soon, I will post pictures here & on our website. Be sure to check it out!! 

Have a great Memorial Day Weekend! Say a quick prayer for our troops who are overseas & their families back home. 

Funny Moments in the "Wee" Hours of the Morning

Sydney and I decided to accompany Ryan to Evansville yesterday & today. That meant, a hotel stay. Since his company picks up the bill for his stays, it wasn't a big deal. Yesterday, Sydney and I went to 2 different Targets, Burlington Coat Factory, McDonalds twice (because they had free biscuits & free Chicken sandwiches for the day!), tried to nap at the hotel, and picked up Qdoba for dinner. She was so tired from our long day that she fell asleep on the way home from the restaurant. We tried & tried to wake her up, but it was not happening. So, at 8:15pm Central Time, we all went to bed. She slept sound from 6:30pm-2:30am. Then at 2:30 she was thirsty and AWAKE! She was good to stay in bed and sing to herself so that mommy didn't have to get up. (Smart girl!) It was her singing that made me bust out laughing.

As I said in my last post, Sydney LOVES to sing. She "knows" the words to Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and sings it all the time. It is quite cute. If I start singing & stop, she'll pick up & help me "remember" the words. Of course, that is my way to prompt her to keep singing. Anywhoo, last night I started listening to the words she was singing. Here is Sydney's versing of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star:

"Tinkle Tinkle it ul sar,
How I onder ut oo are,
Up abobe du orld o high,
Ik a diamon in uh sky,
Tinkle, Tinkle it ul sar,
How I onder ut oo are,
Up abobe du orld o high..."

Yes, it is the never-ending "Tinkle, Tinkle" star. I started laughing so hard I woke Ryan up. In all my years of life...I never knew that stars had to potty.

Praising God in the Morning

This morning we were watching & singing along with our Praise Baby Collection DVD. Sydney LOVES to sing!! It is not uncommon for her to start singing along with us at church when we're at Reidland. She's been doing this since she was little, little!! It has always been cool to hear her singing along, even if we couldn't understand the words that she was saying. 

This morning, however, was quite different. We were sitting in the floor singing along to the DVD. At first, it was gibberish. Then she started singing along with How Great is Our God. She started saying God at the right moments. It was so cool to hear His name come from her lips...so cool that I began crying. I sat in the floor holding her sobbing like a little baby & thanking God for my little girl. I pray that His name is never far from her lips & that she will spend her life praising him as we did this morning!!

Mother's Day Weekend

These are a few pictures of our weekend. We had such a GREAT weekend with our mothers. 

Saturday we played with Dita & Pops (Ryan's parents). We played out back with Buster, their dog, and the Backyardigans ball that was a huge hit with Sydney. It was a very relaxing & enjoyable day!! Next week we get to spend Monday night-Thursday afternoon with his parents & siblings!! We haven't all been together in 2 1/2 years!!! I'm quite excited to be able to see & visit with everyone!

Sunday we played with Grandma, Gigi, and Pawpaw (my parent's and grandmother). We went to church that morning. Kacey, Nathan's gal, kept Sydney with her during church. I couldn't believe how still she was!! It was nice to have a Sunday without having to worry about her. Thanks, Kacey!! After church, we went to Kentucky Dam Village Resort for lunch. Let me just say...yum! Thanks, Dad, for treating us to a special lunch! After lunch, we headed home to hang out for a while.

 

We truly loved every minute of our weekend. We didn't get in until after 10 pm last night & we were exhausted, but it was worth every minute! We have such great mothers (and fathers). We are blessed by their faith in God & love for us!! Thanks, Moms, for being such great mothers & grandmothers! Love you!

Happy Mother's Day to all Mothers & Mother's-to-be ;o)

I am forever changed because I am a mother. I see things differently. I feel things differently. My life has a meaning and importance that it never had before. I now get how much of a miracle it is to see a child come into this world. The word "hero" now fits every pregnant woman who is doing everything she can to have a healthy baby. My world and everything in it has changed. For that I am thankful. I cannot imagine my life without my baby girl. My mom asked me one day if I could remember my life before Sydney. Although I can, it is quite a different world! 

So, thank you, Mom for all the many things that I could not see before I was a mom. Thank you for the love that you feel towards Nathan & me. Thank you for being a "mean" mom & not one that gave us everything we wanted. Most of all, thank you for being the definition of a good mother.

I love every day that I get to wake up and be a mom. I praise God for our beautiful, healthy little girl. I am thankful to be called "mom" and hope that I can live up to all that really means.

To my husband, I thank you. Thank you for giving me the chance to be a mom. To my God, thank you for blessing me with the family you have. I am not deserving, but am forever grateful.

Big progress!

This week has been a great week. Why specifically, you ask? Sydney has put herself to sleep 3 times (two naps, one night). I am so excited!!! I fully expected a fight to be on our hands, but I told her to lay down and go night-night. She laid down. The next thing I knew, she was asleep!!! How cool is that?! I do realize that most parents have gotten to this point long before 18 months. We did, too, before we moved from TX. Once we moved, all bets were off. Our floors of the apartment were paper thin, so we couldn't just let her cry it out. Well, I guess we could have. I would have felt horrible to keep the people up below us. So, I decided the other day that it was time. Evidently, she did, too! :o) 

Last night, she went to sleep. When we were heading to bed, I went in & closed her window. When I did that, it woke her up. My thoughts were, "Great! She'll never go back to sleep on her own!!" I told her to go night-night & left the room. Less than 2 minutes later, she was back asleep! Yay! I hope this trend keeps up! Now, to tackle the paci or "pati" as she calls it...

Wow! 7 years!

Seven years ago today Ryan proposed!! It seems like just yesterday. It was the perfect proposal. Since I knew it was coming at some point, he worked very hard to surprise me. He proposed at his brother's wedding reception! I would have never thought in a million years that he would pick that moment. It was perfect, though. I was completely surprised & he had his family around to help us celebrate. 

Thank you, Kit & Laura, for sharing your special day with us! It was very kind & selfless of you to let us in the celebration! Love you both!!

Thank you, Baby, for loving me through the last 7 years!! They say time flies when you're having fun. We must be having fun because time sure is flying!! I love every minute of every day because I am your wife. I can't imagine anyone more perfect for me. You have made me a better person. For our little one, I can never say thank you enough. Love you.

Pics from the weekend

Smelling the flowers at Gigi & Pawpaw's

The Love Birds

Sydney's favorite person for the day!

Sydney & Kacey

Sydney & Pawpaw

Mowing with Pawpaw

Home...

We arrived home last night. I have to say, it is the first time that I have had that "Ah..." feeling when arriving home. Usually, I get that feeling when I get to my parents' house. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED every minute of being with them this last week!!!! It was an awesome week. However, it is nice to be home. I'm excited to get back into our routine & get back out in the yard. 

I'm thankful to have parents who are so willing to open their doors to us. Years ago, they gave us a key to their house & told us to come & go as we please. They mean it, too!! If they came in one day & saw Ryan asleep on the couch & had no idea he was coming, they would think "Oh, I didn't realize he was going to be in town. Cool." They would not be upset that he came in and laid down on their couch. It is cool that they accept us both with open arms! Of course, they adore Sydney...so, that makes it even sweeter. 

It was nice to spend a week with people like that. I'm lucky that I can also call them my parents! It is also nice to be home. :o) I'm not sure Sydney is agreeing with me on that last one, though. She loved all the extra attention! 

Fun but Busy Week

This week has been a great week, but it has been busy! So far, we have played outside with sidewalk chalk, eaten dinner at Grandma's, eaten dinner at Pizza Hut with family, gone to Wal-Mart, got Gigi's hair cut, got my hair colored & cut (for almost 1/2 the price I normally pay! Yay!), talked to one of my bestest friends for an hour and a half, met PawPaw for ice cream during the middle of the day, went for a walk around the subdivision, & played, played, played. It has been a refreshing change of pace! Today, if I can quit procrastinating, we plan to do a little shopping before picking up Gigi at work & grilling out tonight for dinner...yum!

In a few days I'll post pictures of this week. We haven't made a ton, but there have been some cute ones. Hope you're all having a wonderful week, too!!!