Christmas for Poco . . . ALREADY?!

Well, Christmas has passed.  Kind of sad, but it was good and looking forward to next Christmas makes me smile again.  I will say that on the days that our family celebrated Christmas (each family celebrates it on different days due to schedules) I wanted to savor every moment, but Poco has me pooped and I spent a good portion of my time lying around and/or sleeping.

I wanted to show you a few of the gifts that made me smile.  In a later post I'll put up some pics of us having Christmas fun and listening to that never old story of our Savior's birth.

Caleb's sister and family gave this to us for baby Poco.  I cried when I opened it.  Don't really know why...Hormones I guess.  My nephew wanted to make sure I was ok... So sweet!

This outfit my mom got for baby Poco.  I can't believe Poco already has clothes!

Of course we can't forget little feet!  Grandma bought these too.

And the last one.  Yellow!!!  And pretty non-gender specific.

I have been eyeing this Willow Tree statue since I found out I was pregnant, but didn't want to get it for myself.  I guess my mom and I think alike because she got it for me for Christmas and said this would start a yearly tradition between her and I.  I love it!!!

And last.  I keep looking at this statue, also from my mom, and think about how wonderful it will be when I get to hold Poco in my arms!

By the way, I think we have chosen Emmalyn Marie as our girl name.  Still pondering over a boy name!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and that 2010 brings many blessings!

Haley - The McMillion Family

About 4 months ago this little one's mom came into the hospital in labor!  I was able to be there for her birth and help with her care afterwards.  Since, he mother and I have become friends.  Little Haley has gotten so big and has an awesome little personality!  I took some Christmas shots of her and her family.

Beautiful eyes!

She looks a little confused.

LOVE this one!

Yay for smiles!

The whole clan!

List of Baby Poco Names - So Far

Choosing a name for your child is really nerve racking!  It will be with them their whole life and I want it to say something about the person behind the name.  I have a few boy and girl names that I've been playing with, so let me know what you think and PLEASE give some feedback or other suggestions.

GIRLS (Middle name Marie)
Emmalyn
Madilyn
Alana

BOYS (Middle name undecided)
Brycen
Everette
Brady


I LOVE LOVE LOVE the girl names, but not too crazy about any of the boy names.  I don't know exactly what I'm looking for though.  HELP!

Letter to my unborn child

I wrote this about 6 weeks ago.  Its hard to imagine that wasn't that long ago.  Caleb was in SERE at the time and away and I couldn't sleep so I decided to start a pregnancy journal.  This was my first entry.

To My Unborn Child,
Today I have had you in my tummy for 6 weeks and 4 days.  Mommy is not feeling very well, but I'm okay with that because I know that it is all for you.  I love you to the moon and back already.

It has been hard not to tell the family about your existence, but for now you are mom and dad's very tiny secret.  You are now the size of a pea and your heart just started beating this week.  Mommy is trying her best to eat healthy and remember to take her vitamins so that you can grow big and strong!  The next few weeks are very important because not only will you be growing so fast, but all of your important body parts are forming too.  Your heart, and brain, and even your arms and legs.

Daddy has not been around for the past 3 weeks, but he is coming home on Sunday and I could not be happier.  I want to tell him all I've learned about you and how much I love you and talk to the one person in the world that loves you as much as I do.  Dixie and Bumper haven't quite been great to have conversations with.

Last week at work I tried to see you on the fuzzy black and white screen at work, but apparently you like to hide, just like your daddy.  However, on Wednesday, you need to show your face because Dr. Pollard needs to see how big you are and mom and dad would love to see your heart beating.  Until then, get some rest and mommy will try to do the same.  Can't wait to wave to you on Wednesday!

                                                  I'll love you forever 

                                                  I'll like you for always, 

                                                  As long as I'm living 

                                                  My baby you'll be.

Love , 

     Mom

Baby Poco to Mom

Dear Mom,

I have few things I would like to discuss with you.

1. Please save me and you and stop eating sugar.  I realize that you like it, but I take after dad and like meat better.  If I'm ever going to be able to keep up with my cousins, I'm going to need the extra protein.

2. Would you please stop putting that thing on your belly that makes those awful noises.  I know that you like to look at me, but if you haven't noticed, the reason I'm moving like a jumping bean is because I don't like those sound wave things.

3.  Would you please tell dad to stop poking at me.  I'm trying to grow in here and the poking just interrupts my peaceful surroundings.  Let him know we will have plenty of time to play when I'm done in here.

4.  I know that me being in here makes you sick and you keep running to that big white thing in the bathroom with a hole in the middle,  but it's cold out there right now, and I'd rather stay snug in here until it gets nice and warm outside, just like you did!  So just let me cook a little while longer (say - 6 months) and then we can meet and you can have fun running to me every 2 hours!

Ok...I'm going to go see how many times I can flip now.  Pretty soon I'll be big enough for you to feel my acrobatic stunts.

With love,
Your growing child

Christmas Decor!

Christmas is my favorite time of year and today has been jam packed with Christmas festivities.  Caleb and I started a tradition for our small but growing family of cutting our own Christmas tree.  It was cold today so it felt even more like Christmas.  I've posted some pictures of our trip to the tree farm and a little bit of our Christmas decor so far.

This is a wreath I put together for our front door.

This is Caleb and I at the tree farm standing in front of our first real tree as a couple.  I'm so excited and it makes the house small awesome!

And here is my handy husband being Tom Sawyer and cutting our tree.

The finished product in our home.  It was so nice to decorate the tree with Christmas music in the background, our dogs lying close by and the smells of Christmas surrounding us.  We can't believe that next year we will have a little to watch out for!

And...I would like to say a HAPPY BIRTHDAY to KB and Aimee!!!

Baby Wilkes - Monthly Checkup

Baby Wilkes and I had a check up today.  Everything was fine, but he/she was giving me a bit of a scare while at the Dr.  They tried to find the heart beat with the portable Doppler and couldn't.  Two different nurses tried and the second one made me feel like she was going to have the doppler go in through my abdomen and come out my back because she was pressing down so hard.  I think they even got a bit worried and kept saying things like "the baby is so small at this point and their heart rates are so fast and that makes it hard to detect."  If only they knew they were talking to a nicu/nursery nurse... he he.

Well, after a few minutes of trying to find the heart beat, they sent me to ultrasound.  As soon as the sonographer saw the baby, she said, "no wonder they couldn't find it, the baby's wiggling around so fast in there!"  I just smiled and thought, yes, that's my child, can't stay still : )

She did manage to get one still shot, it is a bit blurry because he/she was moving so much! I saw the feet way up in the fluid (air ha ha) and the hands were reaching far out.  It was great to see that there really was something in there that had life.  On our last visit all we saw was the heart beating.  At that point the baby really had not developed to many muscles and wasn't able to move its extra short limbs, but now that it is has long legs (compared to the rest of its body) and arms and hands it loves to move around and mommy loves to watch it.

I wish you all could have been there to see it.  I want to show my child off already.  In the picture you can only see parts of the leg because it was moving it so fast, but it is perpendicular to the rest of the baby's body.  I will say that if we are having a boy it looks like soccer will be in the future, but I think this baby, if a girl, is ready for dance classes!

The heart rate was 173 today and is measuring right on track.  As of this week baby Wilkes is the size of a lime.  Of course I had to buy a lime at the commissary to keep on the kitchen table for this week.  From the sonogram, Caleb said it looks like our child has a mohawk.  He laughs now... just wait until is comes out bald like both of us did.

A side note:  I don't like calling Baby Wilkes, "It" so I'm nick naming the baby for blog and conversation purposes.  My nephew, Micah, helped me with inter-womb baby names and we chose Poco.  So, from here on out "it" is Poco.  I like it...  Maybe a bit spanishy, but it'll do.

Notes from the Pregnant Gallery

So today I woke up complaining about how sick I felt and how I couldn't eat but 2 spoon fulls (is that even a word?  I think it is in the south so I'm going with it) of my oatmeal and I told my husband I couldn't eat lunch with him because I had not showered yet and looked like an old lady with a scary animal on her head.  Then I went to the grocery store and complained about the number of people and driving in the rain and all the house work I need to get done.

Then God decided to show me all I have to be thankful for.

I went to a movie with a friend.  We saw The Blind Side and I loved it!  It kind of got me thinking about being thankful for the little things.  Then I came home to my dog, the big one, Bumper, following me around.  He watched me brush my teeth, the followed me outside, jumped up and down for about 10 minutes when I got home from the movie and even sat with his paw on my leg while I peed.  Strange, but it made me happy.  I guess with Caleb being a guy he just wasn't very cuddly but for some reason Bumper needed my attention.  He is now lying beside me.
Then I caught up on some blog reading.  My best friend has a blog that she uses kind of as a diary.  What's on her mind for the day, what is God teaching her, what has annoyed her lately - and her blog is actually fun to read because she can write well.  Her posts always make me think.

All of this made me so happy.  I can go to see movies whenever I want  (meaning I have the funds to do so - not always the time), I have a great husband, even if he does leave his dirty dishes at his desk (guess I'm never going to change that one), I have best friends that I keep in touch with weekly and we help each other through whatever life is throwing at us at any particular time.  Heck, I'm going to be a mom in  7 months, something I've dreamed about since I was as young as my nieces toting their baby dolls and caring for them just like their own mothers.  There is no reason for me to have a pity party so allow any sorrow to ruin all the other things that are so wonderful.  Today I let my looks and dirty dishes get in the way of having conversation and even maybe a lingering kiss with my sweet husband.  And the crowd at the commissary and weather outside get in the way of my good cooking judgement (don't really know how much of that I have, but whatever it is, I totally lost it all).

This feeling really makes me want to go out and change the world right this second!  Not exactly realistic, so I'll settle with working on changing the world of those around me.  I know I've said this before, so obviously I struggle with it, but I'll try to be nicer and not find everything to complain about.

I love my God.  I love the peace he provides and the fact that he continually reminds me of that because I so easily forget when things don't go my way or get tough and I start complaining or have a bad attitude toward something.  There is no other reason for me to be happy other than Jesus Christ.  Without him in life I would be able to find bad in everything, but instead, because he lives in me and I know of his love, I can find the good in anything.

Okay, so if you know me at all you'll understand my chaotic thinking here, but if you don't just reread the last paragraph and try to be happy about your life today, without looking for all the bad in it.

Thanksgiving at the Steeles

So I didn't quite get any pictures of our Thanksgiving dinner with my parents, but we had an awesome spread with Carolina football for dessert, and my what a delicious dessert it was!

After the game my dad, brother, caleb and I went to the shooting range to practice...  well, for me to practice, they just played around.

Here's my hubby shooting, we were aiming, at this point, at a milk carton.

Sierra Mist is very needed!  Especially when you shoot a full can!

This was my photography for the day.  My brother and I timed this shot (well, both shots :) just right so I could get the gun actually firing.  A bit blurry, but I thought it was cool.

Thanksgiving with the Wilkes

Caleb and I had two Thanksgiving dinners this year.  Our first was at Dan and Alecia's where there were 21 people enjoying the food at one time.  It was chaotic, but so amazing to have so many people there to love on and celebrate all the things to be thankful for.   There was so much food to choose from that I'm sad I didn't get to taste some of the desserts.  I've posted some pictures of the Wilkes Thanksgiving.

Here Daniel is stuffing the turkey after giving Micah an anatomy lesson on the parts of a turkey.  

Micah helped making the stuffing by tearing the bread. He was concentrating very hard on this task.

This is the table decor.  Simple, but festive for all the people that would soon be surrounding it.

After helping with the stuffing and while the turkey was cooking, Micah decided to pick out some colorful leaves.  He loves fall and the different leaves.

And Anna was busy taste testing all of the food.  She was so happy that day and gave everyone hugs randomly.  It made my heart melt.  Not mention she looked adorable in her dress and tights.  And boy does this girl appreciate some food.  She might take after her aunt - or just the family she was born in to.

Alecia's mom, Marti, took this picture of Caleb and me.  After stuffing our faces and letting everyone know about our little one cooking in my oven we were so happy!  It was a great day.  Check back for the Thanksgiving with the Steele's next.

Sadie

My parents got a new puppy and named her Sadie.  She is the niece of their last dog, Sally who passed away about a year ago.  Sadie is about 7 weeks old and weighs barely 3 pounds.  She is very photogenic.

My mom loves her!

She is so funny because when she's awake she loves to play... for about 15 to 20 minutes, but then she gets tired and passes out!  The girl can sleep in any position when she is tired.

She really is a pretty dog and it makes everyone so happy to see and touch a puppy.

We spent this past holiday weekend with family and I have a lot of pictures to sort through from both of our Thanksgiving feasts.  Stay tuned!

What I'm Thankful For

This Thanksgiving is so special.  Living 400 miles away from family has been different this year and the fact that we get to visit both of our families for both Thanksgiving and Christmas is amazing.  God has been so good to us this year and I see him working in my friends and families lives everyday... That makes me so thankful.

However, this holiday season is the last one that Caleb and I will have alone.  God is working on a few other unseen things (but definitely felt) inside me.  Next year, we will be celebrating Thanksgiving and the gift of God's life with our own little one.

This is what we saw on October 11th.  A life changing word.  We are so excited!

We had our first Dr. appointment on November 4th and because it was probably the only appointment Caleb will be able to attend, my doctor let us have a sonogram.  Once we saw the heart beating we both lost our breath.  It was so amazing and surreal to think that there is a small, very small human growing in there and that it was ours, it is us.

Here is our little one - about a month ago.

  

I have to admit that I love working in the nursery because I can sneak over to the labor and delivery dept to take a peak at our little one.  Now it has distinctive arms and legs and fingers and toes and a very big head.  The other night I was looking at baby Wilkes and saw "it" playing with its little hands.  I just laid there watching it play and was amazed at what God has done.  Every decision I've been making since we found out has been especially with the health and safety of this little one in mind.  And I love it!

So this year I'm Thanking God for this amazing gift and praying I will make good decisions as a mother.

Wilkes Home Happenings

Since I have been sick lately and have not been up for blogging I thought I would give a small update of life in the Wilkes home.

Remember my basil plant that I was trying very hard not to kill.  We here it is today!

 

YAY!  With some help from Caleb it is still growing!!!

This picture is of my husband's favorite lunch... grilled turkey and cheese.  They are easy and he loves them, score!

This has been my best bud for the past week, raspberry tea.  With a sore throat and cough, this stuff makes me feel all cozy and warm.

And on to the Christmas decor!  I got these ribbons to go on a wreath that we will put on our front door. I'm so excited!!  This year I actually have the time to make our home feel like Christmas and I think I might try a few new recipes as well.

A few more decorations.  This is garland that will go on our tree... a REAL tree that we will pick out when we come home from celebrating Thanksgiving in SC.

We also have candles galore with the best of the holiday scents and as soon as T-day is too-da-loo, we will be playing Christmas music and wearing cozy bedroom shoes.

Lots to do this week!  Hope you all have a great short work week!

A Weekend To Remember

On Friday, November 13, Kari, KatieBeth, and I set out on our trip to Gatlinburg, TN.  However, we did not know what was in store for us.  Here is the 3 of us at my mom's beauty shop before heading out on our weekend bachelorette adventure.

Ahhhh, so happy!

On the way, my tires looked a little low, so KB put some air in them.  This was to be the least of our headaches.

Once on the road, we came upon I-40 in which we quickly realized was closed due to a rock slide that occurred about 2 weeks ago. So, with our trusty GPS (aka Kathrine) we tied another route.  A.... more scenic route.  We were enjoying our mountain ride despite the lack of sleep that KB and Kari had from working 12 hours the night before in the NICU and my uncommonly overactive bladder.  So, we took advantage of the trip only consisting of the 3 of us and the beautiful surroundings.

But, we quickly became delirious and frustrated at the harsh terrain we traveling over and the sways of the roads going up and down 3 different mountains.  In the next 2 pictures we were traveling about 8 miles an hour over large pebbles on a barely one lane mountain road with about a 200 ft drop below.

So I decided to get some fresh air and stick my head out of the sunroof at 8 miles an hour.  Very liberating.

KatieBeth decided to try it also... The fresh air helped a bit with the car sickness.  All of this occurred after we stopped in the mountains countless times to rid ourselves of excess fluids and talking with Park Rangers about a dead Elk that was being investigated due to an unknown reason for departure.

After 7 hours in the car and a story within itself, we finally made it to our cabin where Kari proceeded to cry because she was that happy to be there, I got bit in the face by the neighbor's dog, and we realized we had no food other than the cake I got for the specific purpose of the bachelorette party.

All in all, we had fun, bonded and made some memories that will not soon be forgotten.

Melissa and Trent - Engagement 2

Here are a few more shots from the engagement session.