Lasseigne Family

Not just one... TWO TOOFERS!

2009-11-04T07:20:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, when Stephen came home work via Wally-world with Stella he brought her in the TV room. Not to my surprise she was holding on to something and chewing... something she has been doing for two months now. It took me a minute to figure out what she was chewing on as Stephen continued to say to me "Momma, what am I chewing on?" - it was toothbrushes. It still did not dawn on me because he had told me that morning the next time one of us went to Wally-world to grab him a specific type of toothbrush. He then replied with "how many toothbrushes momma?" Well it was a pack of two toothbrushes, still no surprise. I replied with "two" as if it really didn't mean much.

I still wasn't catching on.

He asked "why would I need TWO tooffbrushes momma?." At this point I looked at him and said "I'm sorry, but i'm not understanding you."

And then the light bulb went off.

I snatched her out of his arms, desperately looking for TWO toofers. Couldn't find them.

About two months ago, daycare pointed out that a top tooth had popped through. Low and behold, it was a top tooth. Her top gum swelled up literally the next day and we have not been able to see it again.

Stephen finally felt bad for me.. and our almost 10 month old who did NOT want someone to mess with her mouth.. and hinted for me to look at the bottom.

After some unique positions of her head - there they were, her TWO bottom front teeth.
No more chewing on momma's chin, that's for sure!

Yay for Stella!

Happy Halloween

2009-11-02T14:19:00.000-08:00

Our first Halloween was a busy day for Miss Stella the Peacock. It started out with Breakfest with Pop as he blew through town.

We were then off to spend some much needed time with Mimi C & Papa. She did not go down for her MORNING nap until 12:00, so needless to say we were way off schedule.

She did not go down for her afternoon nap until 4:30! Needless to say, she slept until dark, waking up around 6:30. So, we gobbled down dinner and headed to the drive way to join the neighbors in welcoming trick-or-treaters. They came by the bus loads. I can say I have never seen that many kids.

Next year is going to be an entirely different story and we just can't wait!

9 months... in denial again

2009-10-21T10:04:00.000-07:00

Ok! I have completely and utterly avoided updating my blog because I seem to be struggling with the fact that Stella was 7 months, then that turned to 8 months, and now.... whopping 9 months old!!!!!

We had her 9-month well-baby visit. She is "growing beautifully" according to her doctor.

Length - 27.5" - 25%

Weight - 16.5lbs - 5%

I don't even know where to start with developmental stuff.

- She just started wearing 9 month clothes, although most of it is still a little big. She fits best in 6-9 months.

- Size 2-3 diapers

- She started army crawling around 8 months & this past Sunday (Oct 18) she raised up on her hands and knees and took off across the floor.

- She is pulling up.

- She loves to open drawers and pull things of them or try to use them to pull up.

- She will eat solid food for daycare, but no so much for Stephen or I

- At home she is one #2 foods and we have ventured in to some #3's although she does not care for things that have tomato base (i.e. - #3 food of spaghetti with meatballs)

- Size 2 shoes, but we are right at the point that I need to start buying 3's if I want her to be able to wear them for more than a few weeks.

- She talks when she feels like it. By talking I mean gabbing. Still no "mama" or "dada."

- TEETH! Okay, well not yet. Her top two peeked through a few weeks ago, her gums swelled up and they have been hiding ever since. You can tell when they are bothering her- but she handles it SO WELL. She doesn't get crabby or whiney, she just doesn't like to eat when they are giving her fits.

We went to the pumpkin patch with Courtney & Boston. So here is the most recent picture I have readily available to post (aka - besides the ones that just seem to hang out on my camera)

She is going to kill me forever this probably. For Halloween she is going to be a peacock! I promise it is the cutest thing you have seen in a long time.

With the holidays coming up and family visits increase we are sure to have more fun to talk about. September was a super busy month for me because of all of the ovarian cancer activities. Hopefully, I will be able to jump on here more.

Because I do not get off of work until 5:30, I am not walking in the door until after 6 and someone has to be fed around 6:30, we eat at 7-7;15 and bed time routine starts at 7:30, with lights out by 8. By then, Stephen & I are exhausted.

Can't wait to share Halloween pictures with everyone!!

6 Month Well-Baby Check up results

2009-08-06T02:13:00.000-07:00

Watching Daddy Work!
He was working in her rocker before her doctor's appointment and happened to look up & this is what he saw.

Playing with momma! Her smile just warms my soul.

So... I guess our kiddo is just going to be small.

Weight: 14 lbs, 1 ounce (7%)

Height: 24" (50%)

Everything looks great. Here are a few pictures I promised - these were taken either from my phone or Stephen's. Sorry, more to come.

6 Months.... Really??

2009-08-04T14:57:00.000-07:00

I have been dreading this post for quite some time now. Stella being six months has been a little difficult for me to swallow. (I know…, I’m sure I will feel the same way when she turns one, two, three, etc.) For me, six months is a milestone – one I was not ready for. It is like six months is no longer infant stage – we now have a baby. I think most of it comes from the fact that I did not see us out of our house for this long. I just knew that we would have our own place again by now.

Enough about me – let’s talk about what our sweet angel is up to these days.
- She is still growling… but only at people she likes/admires.

- My bouncing baby girl! She loves her jumper… so much so, she will rub blisters on her little pinky toes if she doesn’t have socks on. When she is in a good mood, she likes to jump around on your legs, too.

- You can tell she is excited to see you if she pumps her legs (like she is jumping) – doesn’t matter if she is sitting, being held or in her crib – that is her communication of excitement.

- You know when she is awake because she will lift up her legs and then THROW her heels on the mattress, making a big “thump” noise.

- Where did my sweet girl go….? The teething monster has grabbed her. We are often dispensing Tylenol and oragel…. Mimi S found a great teether that when pressed on the tips, it vibrates. Stella loves it, you can tell it makes her feel better.

- She is still a pretty scooter when sleeping. (Thank God for bumpers) You never know where she will be in her crib when go to grab her in the morning.

- We are weighing in around the 14lb mark. We go for our 6-motnh well baby tomorrow. So I will post more stats tomorrow.

- We are on solid foods!!! She loves vegetables, not much of a fruit eater. She will eat bananas and pears & she takes them better if they are mixed with rice cereal. We think it is a consistency/texture thing (just like her mother ;) ). Hopefully she will keep up the vegetable eating for a long time, but I think every kid goes through a “no-vegetables” phase around 1-2.

- She got sick the weekend we up to Fayetteville to see my brother (weekend after 4th of july) and she has been sick ever since (not to mention getting us sick in the process). I took her to the doctor when it turned green, they told me to just let it run its course… it is still green. She has been sleeping with a humidifier for 2 weeks now and we have not noticed any significant difference in the amount of congestion she has when she wakes up.

- She will often cough in the middle of the night – of course, I hear it – bolt out of bed to check on her. She is always fine, but I tend to have this fear that she is going to choke for some reason.

- She sits up and is pulling her self up in to the sitting position like a champ.

- Crawling is a challenge. If you give her legs something to push off with, she could go to town.

- She enjoys rolling over, but often times she gets her arm in a funny position and doesn’t quite know what to do with it. But she either figures it out or moves on to something else.

- She knows her name now. We can’t quite figure out if she understands the words “momma” and “da-da” and that they indicate an actual person.
I know this post has been very long. Thanks for bearing with me. I just feel like I have so much to tell.

5 months!

2009-06-23T10:04:00.001-07:00

Sidenote: since I have THE hardest time posting freakin’ pictures on here… the pictures are below this post. Sorry.
Well, my baby no longer seems to be an infant. I am sad to report we have moved over to the baby stage. It is so bittersweet. Stephen & I find ourselves trying to teach her things the other one isn’t ready for to do (i.e. hold her bottle (I don’t like that one) or eat rice cereal (Stephen isn’t ready for that one))

She growls, sometimes on demand, but usually just because she feels like it. Everyone just thinks it is the funniest thing. She has done it in public and I have received a few strange looks, but most people just laugh.
Her favorite time to talk is in the morning after her bottle, while she is kicked back in her swing watching the news. She will just sit in there by herself and just talk up a storm.
We do not get many laughs out of her. She is happy all the time, but the hear her laugh out loud does not happen a lot.
We are finally starting to fit in to 3-6 month clothes… at the ripe ole age of 5 months.
We survived our 4-month shots. I just had to give her one dose of Tylenol afterwards (more of a preventative) and we were good to go.
She is fascinated with her toes… even if they are covered with pj’s or socks – doesn’t matter. We have caught her multiple times in the morning laying in her crib with her foot in her mouth.
Her bedtime is usually right around 8 pm. If you don’t get her down for a good nap in the morning then she tends to cat nap a lot or is fussy until her late afternoon nap.
She has mastered pulling her paci out and putting it back in her mouth… even while sleeping. (now that’s talent!) :)
Tummy time is becoming more enjoyable. She will even scoot on her belly if you give her feet something to press up against (like your arm or hands)
She will roll from her back to her side and sometimes she gets enough momentum to rock back and forth and make it to her belly, but it is not a consistent thing.
She is a busy sleeper. Note to self: you do not want to have to share a bed with this child. She is a wigglier. You never know which way she is going to be facing when go to her crib to get her after she wakes up.
She has discovered her jumpy seat (see pics below). Has only really figured out she can jump in it maybe twice. She just looked over at me with this “is this what I’m supposed to do expression” and I would clap and praise her and she would just grim and laugh.
We have tried rice cereal about 4 times now. This past Sunday was the last time and she was actually reaching out for it this time wanting more. We couldn’t shovel it in fast enough.
She tried to hold her bottle. Sometimes it’s a success, but usually she just swats at it.

I am sure there are things I am missing. Things have been so crazy for us at work that I forget to update everyone. Speaking of, Stephen just got back from his first trip away from home since Stella has been born. He was in NYC for 4 days. We really missed him (I think he missed Stella more).
Oh! We have discovered the pool – but that will have to be a whole other post.

Her schedule is (these times are not exact, but give you an idea):
- 5am – half way awake, daddy changes diaper then in to bed

with mommy for a/b 30 min.
- 6am – breakfast
- 7-8:30 play, if she is real sleepy she will go back down after her
morning bottle until 9-ish
- 8:30-10 – morning nap
- 10 – lunch
- 10:30-11:30 play
- 11:30-1:30 afternoon nap
- 2 – afternoon lunch
- 2:30 – 4 play
- 4:30-5 – nap… if at day care, daddy pick her up at 5, if at home, she will sleep until 5:30
- 5-6 – play
- 6 – dinner
- 6:30-7:30 play/watch everyone else eat..
- 7:30 bath
- 8:00 bedtime

4-5 months! (pictures)

2009-06-23T09:51:00.000-07:00

Waiting on Daddy to get back from NYC!

Headed to down the stairs to go to school with dad!

"What are THESE?... I don't know guys...."

I feel a little lost in here...

3rd time to try rice cereal...

Hanging with my cousin Henry!

Tell me....

2009-05-21T11:20:00.001-07:00

That is the main word coming out of our mouth lately. Last week we had Stella's 4 month well baby check up. She is growing normally for her pace.

She weighs 10lbs 5ounces and is 23.5” long. She is in the 3% for her weight and the 25% in her height. Apparently she is on her way to be 5’2”…. That is so weird how they can calculate that stuff.
Side note: I was in a/b three weeks before then b/c she was sick, I noticed that she had only gained 2 ounces in 2 weeks! The doc told me to start supplementing her with every breast feed. So we have stopped breastfeeding and are now on formula. I gave it my best shot and was able to make it to four months. Needless to say she gained over a pound in 2-3 weeks.

- She is becoming more conscious of her movements. She knows she can pull out her pacifier, and she is getting to where she can consistently put it back in her mouth.
- She can deliberately grab her feet.
- She is going to be right handed b/c that seems to be the dominating side.
- She has created her own bedtime – usually asleep by 8pm
- Is now taking 6 oz bottles like a champ!!
- Will sleep about 8 hours straight! A few nights ago she ate at 7:30pm, asleep by 8 and didn’t wake up until 5am. Stephen & I didn’t know what to do with ourselves.
- Talk, talk, talk. She has really started to become more vocal over the past few days. On Tuesday I was in the kitchen, Stella was in her Bumbo. As I was stepping out of the kitchen she made a noise, I mimicked her back, we did this a/b 6 times as I was out of her sight. It was so funny. She was having a little conversation with me. I loved it.
- She will follow you across the room.
- She definitely knows mommy and daddy.
- She gets excited by flailing her arms and legs and sometimes cooing.
- She has just started to laugh out loud a make little squeals, but those have not caught on like the talking.
- You can get her tickle box...she will laugh and put on a huge grin – then with a hopefully-curious expression, she will look at you like “you going to do that again?”

We get this expression a lot!

Stella, you are the center of our lives and we love you beyond measure!

So... the house situation....

2009-05-21T11:04:00.000-07:00

So what’s going on with the house situation?... Several people have been asking. Here is the scoop. I can not say much b/c of legal reasons and the fact that this blog is subject to public view – so everything I do say is essentially public knowledge.
However, I can share pictures with you.

It is evident that the crack, excuse me, fissure near the house (aka upper crack) is spreading open even more - it is now a/b 9ft. deep and a/b 1 ft. from our foundation. There is now a “sink hole,” if you will, in the front flower bed – which leads the geo-techinical engineer to believe that the whole house may be moving with the hill… instead of the hill moving away from the house. Also, the paved brick walkway in front of the flower bed has cracks and is beginning to become unlevel. The other day I ran by there and noticed that the telephone line had finally snapped from the power pole at the bottom of the yard. (which means that the cracks have spread open enough to cause the power pole to move to then finally cause the line to fail. The next line to fail will be the cable line. Both the cable and telephone lines have been tight from the beginning. The electrical lines still have a good bit of slack in them. You see rocks continuing to pile at the bottom of the hill but you can not really grasp the severity until you see the cracks in the yards at the top of the hill.

The upper crack - looking from the patio.

At the beginning of all of this, they cut everyone's sewage lines to create a temp. line (which is what the plastic and sandbags is covering up where they cut). The upper crack has opened so much that the sewage line coming from house is exposed.

View from alley/bottom of hill.

Crack in CMU (concrete masonry unit/cinder block) wall in basement.

About 5/8" wide. You can shine a flashlight through the crack and see orange brick on the other side.

We are still living with my parents. It is nice to have the extra set of hands, as far as Stella is concerned- but man, we would really enjoy our own space right now. Much less a vacation!
Please keep this whole situation in your prayers! We truly need them. I never ever imagined we would have to be displaced from our home- not to mention still have to pay mortgage in house we can not live in.

3 month pictures

2009-04-30T13:21:00.001-07:00

It has always been very important to Stephen & I to be able to have professional pictures of Stella's first year. We have had several friends do this and we always thought how cool it was to see the progression of change from 3 months to 6, 9 and 12 months.

This was also my first Mother's Day present from Stephen!! (Guess what his Father's Day present is? HA!) Thank you honey!

We had her pictures taken last Wed. (22nd) night at my parents house. Stella did absolutely wonderful! Here is one of the photographer's (Sarah Bussey) favorites.

Sarah & I have mutual friends and she has done some professional work for me. I could not wait to get her out to photograph my angel. She does such a great job - a true artist in my opinion. Her website is www.sarahbusseyphotography.com

To see more, click here.

Our first sick doctor appointment...

2009-04-27T15:04:00.000-07:00

I regret to say that my baby girl has her first sinus infection... at only 14 weeks! She sounds awful. I just want to wave a wand and make it all go away!

I finally went against Stephen's advice and took her to the doctor. Sure enough, this awful pollen has gotten to her and she was well on her way to a sinus infection, so Dr. C went ahead and treated her with antibiotics. You can tell she has allergies because the outlines of her eyes will just get bright red, she sneezes and her nose is runny. When it turned green is when I had enough.

I did learn a new trick from the nurses. When I have to use the sucker to suck her nose - to hold one nostril shut while you are sucking from the opposite side- it gets a better suction... and it works really well (especially if you combine it with saline drops). I was sucking stuff out of her nose that was probably all the way to China. She absolutely hates it, but I know she feels better afterwards.

Visitors & New Introductions

2009-04-20T15:17:00.001-07:00

Last week her Uncle TJ came down and had an opportunity to spend some time with her. Sharing your children with family members – especially a brother, it is so sweet and tender. There is a lot of pride there, on both sides.

Easter weekend, we went over to Stephen’s parents house to celebrate Easter with his family and to celebrate his mom’s birthday. How cool is it to have your birthday on Easter? Here is a picture of Carolyn with all of her grandchildren.

We also were able to go to the Walker Family Farm and introduce Stella to my best friend Alice for the first time. Even though the stay was very short, it was fun to introduce our babies to each other.
At the top of this post is a picture of Alice introducing Simone to Stella. I can’t wait to see them grow up together.

Oh! Look I have hands….

2009-04-20T15:14:00.000-07:00

I am amazed daily at this little wonder I call my child. She just crested the 3 month mark and I am still speechless at how fast time has flown. She is starting to develop a tiny personality – a few things we’ve noticed are the following.
1- You can tell the difference between a “I’m-really-mad-at-you” cry or a “Hey-lady-I’m-really-hungry” cry.
2 – Discovery of hands. If you can remember we introduced the pacifier early on, well she mainly prefers to have it at night or right after a feeding – otherwise, she is all about her hands. I don’t really care for the fact that she is constantly sticking her hands in her mouth, but apparently that is what they do when they discover their hands.
3 – awareness. If you are talking across the room, she can find you. She will also follow things with her eyes a lot.
4- jibber, jabber – she is starting to talk some, mainly in the morning. If you make the same noises she makes back at her she will “engage” you in conversation. so sweet!!
5 – Laughing – occasionally you will hear her laugh out loud. It weird how a laugh is different than a “coo”

Miss Petite

2009-04-03T09:48:00.000-07:00

Stella had her well-baby check up this past Wednesday, right at 11 weeks. She passed with flying colors. She is now up to 9lbs 2.5oz. and 22.25” long. Dr. C just ooed and awed over her and feels that she will be petite little one. We have moved to at least 2 formula bottles a day and the rest she either gets milk from me or breast milk in a bottle.

The pacifier has not been as big of an issue as I thought it would be. There are more times than not that she will spit it out. She prefers to have it in when she is trying to go to sleep, other than that she seem to feel as if she doesn’t need it .

This week has been my first full week back to work and man has it been a busy one – which I think has really helped me not think about not being able to be with her. But man, do I miss her tremendously. Stella is such the light of our eyes. I know Stephen can’t wait to see her at the end of the day as much as I do. Stephen is usually the one that takes & picks her up from daycare because of my work schedule.

Stella's first day of school!

Last night we were daydreaming about our new backyard (whenever that will ever happen) and Stephen was just going on and on about what Stella would need and what he could build for her. Needless to say he rattled off a big list - he better get started.

We love you baby girl more than anything!!

8 weeks, oh my....

2009-03-14T16:23:00.000-07:00

Stella is doing wonderful! She is holding her head up like a champ, beginning to coo/communicate and has started to show us her beautiful smile. Man, when she grins at you, I swear all is right with the world for that very moment - well, and when she falls asleep on your chest. The other day she fell asleep on my shoulder for the first time and it felt great. She has started to take a bottle from her Stephen and I know he just soaks up that time her, it is so sweet to watch.

I wish I had a picture to share with you of how much she is growing but our life has been BEYOND crazy and rather hard to fathom. On Feb. 26th we were "strongly advised" by the city to evacuate our home due to the failure of the rock bluff behind our house. On Feb. 29th we temporarily moved in with my parents and put everything in storage until the next step reveals itself or the wall fails - as its expected to... taking our backyard with it. The structural soundness of our home has been compromised and with a newborn, having the house cave in on itself was not something we were willing to risk. Please pray for God's favor and wisdom throughout this ordeal. The wall will fail, it is not a matter of IF but WHEN. Here is a link to a news story about it.
http://arkansasmatters.com/content/fulltext/?cid=196121
It would take me a lot longer to explain.

I go back to work on March 23rd and have pretty mixed emotions about it - naturally. I am sure Stella will be just fine. The new mommy in me worries that they will not take as much care of her as I would. I am going to miss her terribly. Also, the thought of getting in to a morning routine kind of stresses me out but I am sure everything will fall in to place. Stella has done a great job at helping teach us how to be good parents.
We love you angel!!!

5 weeks!! Where on earth did they go?

2009-02-22T12:10:00.001-08:00

<---- Stella is about 4 weeks old in this pic.

Stephen & I can not believe how fast time has flown by with her and how fast Stella is growing.

I guess I have a lot of updating to do since I have just gotten around to updating this blog.

Stella is doing wonderful. My recovery from the c-section has been a lot easier than I had anticipated. I often found myself doing things I probably should not have been doing and then paying the price later. But i viewed that as a blessing.

She has big blue eyes that make your heart melt. If you compare mine & Stephen's baby pictures she looks a lot like me right now. She is gaining weight like she should, which is good because my appetite has not stayed up like I thought it would when I was pregnant, so I have been a little anxious about it. I had her weighed on the Feb 17th and she was 6lbs 11 oz. I am sure she is up to 7 lbs by now, the girl is getting heavy to carry around! lol! (I often wonder what life would be like with a 7 or 8 lb baby from the start, HA)

When we brought her home from the hospital we had to supplement her with formula, every two hours, which was pretty rough. Something did not feel right about having to wake a baby to feed her, but doctors orders. However, everything has been going pretty good since my milk came in a day after we arrived home.

We have only had one really bad night and a few bad days. I have just now gotten the hang of her different cries... maybe. She usually only fusses when she is hungry or needs to burp. I have to say, the girl is a tooter and it is quite amusing. (atleast we think so).

Because she is so small, we have had a hard time finding clothes that fit her. She is just starting to look like she actually fits in to her outfits. Anything 0-3 months is still too big right now, but I have a feeling it won't be too long before she can fit in them.

We have ventured out several times and have been out to eat with her at least 4 times, she is a champ and usually sleeps through the whole thing. She also likes to go to Sam's in her stroller, that place just sacks her out. I took her up to Stephen's office for a shower they hosted for us and he was such a proud daddy. It was too cute. We also finally made it to church last week, I don't like going a long time without going to church.

Here are more pictures of our angel...

STELLA SUZANNE LASSEIGNE has arrived!

2009-01-22T10:40:00.000-08:00

Our angel arrived on January 14th at 7:42 a.m. by c-section

5lbs 15 ozs

19.25"

You can view more photos here. Sorry for the delay and updates, we have been enjoying our new bundle of joy and recovering!

More to come.

Last update.... only 2 more days to go!

2009-01-12T07:37:00.000-08:00

Our last OB appointment was this past Friday, the 9th. We are in the countdown. According to the quick ultrasound Dr. Deed conducted she is weighing 6.1 lbs and is going to have long legs... that is the second time we have heard that and we don't have a clue where that might come from in our families.

I have started to dilate and go through the process of very early labor. It threw me off a little because i had this crazy notion that I wouldn't feel any of this because of the scheduled c-section.

Well, low and behold on Friday Stephen & I got to experience a tiny bit of the labor & delivery process. Dr. Deed sent me over to monitor the baby, for everyone's piece of mind, for a bit b/c she had not moved much that day and Deed just had a hunch. Everything was normal and her heart rate was great. It was fun to be able to be admitted and released within 30 min... and get to "stay" in a labor & delivery room.

We spent most of the weekend cleaning the house and spending time together. It was weird to think this was our last weekend as just the two of us... life will never be the same... even when she is married with kids of her own - home will always be home and she will always be welcome... even if her daddy insists on "the warning" phone call. Ha!

In case you are wondering she finally has a first name!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

STELLA ............. it is!

Yeah!

A good friend of mine, Courtney, made this awesome wreath for us to hang on our hospital door for visitors. It is so cute, i love it!!

The next time I will be posting, Stephen & I will officially be parents and we will have wonderful pictures to show of our beautiful Stella. We are getting very excited and can't wait for everyone to meet her!

And the doctor says...........

2009-01-03T17:30:00.000-08:00

Still no flip at 36 weeks. Baby L had up until yesterday's doctors appointment to flip and her big fat head is still right under my right rib. So, we ended up scheduling the c-section for January 14th.
I am apprehensive about it just for the fact that it is ANOTHER surgery in my book of surgeries and the whole unexpected. My focus has to be on the fact that this the most positive and happy surgery I've ever had.

I have started to feel a few random contractions. They aren't too bad... yet. The doctor feels everything is moving on schedule and still expects her to be a small baby.

Mom asks me a lot how I am feeling these days and I thought I would share a few of things I tell her b/c apparently she thinks it is funny. I try to cherish these feelings b/c in all truth pregnancy is really a fleeting moment in life.
- The waddle has started... especially if I have a full bladder. That's pretty funny - it feels funny and I'm sure it looks funny.
- I can only fit my feet in my tennis shoes now, which is a little frustrating. Never in my life did I think I would be wearing compression knee-highs. Can you see it? yeah... no.
- Bending over, getting off the floor, or tying my shoe should be classified as an Olympic event in my life right now due to difficulty.
- I can not get enough food. I feel like I am always hungry or eating. Stephen even commented that he can't wait until this is over sometimes because he feels like he has to keep up with me. It is pretty funny to see him watch me eat dinner, he will just look at me like "are you ever going to stop?"

The doctor will check ONE last time next week to see if she has flipped (mainly because she really didn't want to have to do a c-sec to begin with), but at this point chances are not great and I am sure she will induce on the same if she has flipped. Baby L seems to have found a comfy spot or her bottom has fallen in to my pelvis and its too difficult for her to flip. I have been able to feel or tell that she is dropping.

Either way.... Baby L will be making her arrival on January 14, 2009!

Merry Christmas

2008-12-29T14:01:00.000-08:00

We had a blessed Christmas and hope you did as well!
Stephen & I had about 5 days of just us time and it was real nice… knowing next year (okay, within 2-3 weeks) it is going to be all about Baby Lasseigne. We did not do anything real exciting… well I take that back, we played with our new Wii a lot. Here are a few pictures!

JT opening his stocking.

Yea! My diaper bag!! I LOVE IT!!

Stephen sportin' his own "manly" diaper bag.

Stephen wanted his own diaper bag... so JT listened and got him one for Christmas. Also, Santa brought us our travel system and an extra base. Stephen installed the bases and mirrors and we are set. Next step is to find somewhere we can go to get them checked that they are installed properly.

Stephen assembling the stroller.

Stephen showing off the stroller (and my diaper bag attached)!

I do have to brag on him for a minute..... he gets MAJOR brownie points for this. I decide on a whim... like most pregnant women, right?... that I wanted to go to Silks-A-Bloom for their 50% Christmas sale the day after Christmas. I had an idea of how much of a mad house it could be and tried to prepare him. Stephen jumped right in there, grabbed boxes and stood in line with me for over an hour to check out. I could not believe how cool he was about the whole thing... mind you lots of people were highly impressed that he was out in this mess helping me. I was so proud and can not wait to put up all of my goodies next year... especially when Baby L will get to enjoy them too. THANK YOU AGAIN HONEY!!! YOU ROCK!

Nursing Class

2008-12-22T09:34:00.000-08:00

After our OB appointment last Thursday, Stephen & I got to experience nursing class. I would say it was interesting and informative. I will admit I was a little thrown by the fake boob she used to explain things and the anatomically correct baby dolls. I think it was great to have Stephen there so he could get a better understanding of the whole process as well. I will also admit that at times I was embarrassed,-Stephen ...of course, as cool as a cucumber.

TURN BABY TURN...

2008-12-22T09:33:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday we had our 34 week appointment (I am a little late at posting this). Not much longer to go! After our doctor was listened to her heartbeat I asked her if she felt Baby Girl had flipped yet. She got excited and kind of got us excited b/c she was hearing her heartbeat a little lower than usual. To double check we hurried in to the ultrasound room with anticipation that she was a studious & intelligent little girl that obeyed her parents….well, she is obviously doing this her way (probably just as her mom or dad would). Right where we thought was a hard little bottom….. was still her big ole noggin!
It was good to be able to see her and to know she had gained a pound since the 32 week ultrasound.

IF SHE DOES NOT FLIP….
This then led to the discussion of our delivery plan. She has until our next appointment to flip (Jan. 2nd), if she does not flip we are headed for a c-section. At one point Dr. Deed said she would just use my old scar from all of my previous abdominal surgeries. After having 9 months to think about this… and knowing this particular incision had been opened up 5 times, I questioned why she planned on going that route. (Remembering how long it took me to recover from all of those surgeries and a newborn on top of that, not cool. Not to mention the whole short-term disability nazi’s.) Her answer was simply “so I wouldn’t have to put another scar on your belly.”
Well, well, well… My poor stomach already has enough scars at this point – seriously, what is one more in all reality? Does it bum me out? Extremely. Just like every other surgery before- if I don’t have a choice, then I don’t have a choice – if it is for the best then it is for the best. As our pastor reiterated this weekend “God’s grace is sufficient!” Look at what all it has pulled me & Stephen through. So we left it with me thinking it over if I wanted her to do the typical cesarean incision or use my old scar.

IF SHE DOES FLIP….
Dr. Deed wants to take her early, more around the 38 week mark. She felt that because she is a small baby the longer she cooks the more stress it could put on her the further along we get. Even though we won’t get the “Honey, its time…” moment I would much rather go this road.

I am getting more apprehensive but it is peaceful to know that we will soon be able to meet our little angel. Either way, she will be making her arrival either the week of January 12th or January 19th. No February baby after all.

Now that we are at 35 weeks, our fruit comparison is the size of a honeydew! HA!

(Pictures are from my company's christmas party... as you can tell, I was exhausted by the end of it... and still had to be responsible for making sure the bill was paid - sorry no real good belly shots.)

33 weeks - starting to get uncomfortable

2008-12-10T14:15:00.001-08:00

I think I have ventured in to the physically uncomfortable portion of pregnancy. Here are a few of the issues:
- Usually by the end of the day my ribs are sore from slouching... she is teaching me a thing or to a/b my posture while at my desk.
- Shall we talk about my swollen foot? It is only my bum foot that swells really bad. I think I am going to just have to shift to tennis shoes only and work will have to get over it... and so will my wardrobe.
- No more regular size meals. If I eat like a normal human being I feel sick afterward, so it is short frequent meals all day.
- It's official, I have reached the "I feel like a cow" part of pregnancy.

Overall we are doing good and I know these are issues everyone deals with, which makes them a little more bearable.

At my 32 week doc appointment she said that ultrasound reported that she was measuring a tiny bit smaller than average. However, she is not real worried about it because I was such a small baby. She is still breach, so we are hoping she will flip in the next couple of weeks. She is moving around frequently and it is getting to where you can see my whole abdomen warp at times. Wierd but amazing.

Over the weekend I accomplished the one goal I wanted to do for the holiday season... just to get the tree up... which took help from mom and Stephen. The rest of the house won't be decorated but o-well. I just know I will not feel like packing it all up in January.

It is neat to imagine that this time next year I will have a 10 month old on my hands during the holiday season. I can't wait. It will be so much fun!

It is the time of the year for holiday parties and Stephen & I wish for everyone to have fun and be careful.

Late thanksgiving wish

2008-12-10T14:13:00.000-08:00

I meant to post this last week... sorry.

First, we want to start off by letting everyone know we hope you and your family had a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving. We are so thankful for and blessed with the wonderful friends and family we have in our lives.

We were able to have a nice quaint thanksgiving at our house this year with the Lasseigne family… and Stephen’s cousin Michael was in town for the LSU game (which we won by the way!!! Barely.) – so it was such a treat to have him over to our house.

Stephen fried his first turkey and did an awesome job (I will add a pic soon). I attempted my mom’s famous mashed potatoes for the first time… by myself (while she was visiting Mickey & Minnie in Orlando). That was the only thing I was real nervous about turning out okay. She has no real recipe, so I only called her about 20 times and they still ended up a tad runny.

The next day he got a wild hair to make turkey gumbo from the carcass (that just sounds so icky!) like Jessie Mae & Josie Mae used to do. You can tell he does not cook on real regular basis b/c he did not realize that gumbo takes 6-8 hours to make; it was good and even I ate it!

We spent most of the weekend trying to relax as I enter week 32, the start of the eighth month. Thanksgiving wore me out. I really started to recognize my limits this past weekend. Running errands won’t be the same for the next few months.

JT (the boxer) has started to really recognize that something is about to change. We catch him walking in and out of her room often. I have to wonder why he’s doing it. If only I could speak dog….

Baby Girl is doing great. She is moving around like crazy in my belly. She usually gets the hiccups the same time everyday, around 4:00. I hope she is trying to turn b/c I am starting to feel a lot more movement on my left side. I can’t figure out if is a foot or elbow, more than likely a foot. Also around bedtime, she has been doing (what feels like) rolls. It is weird b/c it seems like I can almost anticipate them coming. I think she takes a nap from about 8am-9:30 am and then again from around 3:00-4:00. Other than that I feel her on a regular basis. There have been a few nights she has woken me up, but not many.

Could she be a February baby?

2008-11-25T16:38:00.000-08:00

Just maybe.

We had the ultrasound today to check her size. I have been a little worried that I am not as big as I should be this far along in the game. We have not received the final results from the doctor, however, according to what we could see with our own eyes and the technician everything looks good. She is measuring a week and 2 days behind the original ultrasound. If it is anything like last time the doctor hardly blinks when they hear that. She was kicking up a storm too!

Don't ask me how they measure it, but she weighs exactly 3.6 lbs right now. It was really neat to see her. We were anxious to see if she would show us her face; all she would give us is half to a 3/4th view- we got to an eye socket, half of a nose, a cheek (chubby by the way), lip line and chin. The technician mentioned that she might have long legs. Stephen & I couldn't really figure which side that would have come from, his grandfather had long legs but not much of my family really did. Her heart looks great, you could see all four chambers, it no longer looks like a fluttering butterfly. (I was a little bummed but they didn't give us any pictures to share this time around.)

Currently she is breach. Her head is just to my right of my belly button, you can often see it poke out more and it is as hard as a rock! (If she is as stubborn as her mom and dad then we are in trouble....) Her back curls around to my left side and all of her feet and hands are on more toward my right side of my belly. She has really liked the right side of my body, she was hanging out there at the 20-week ultrasound. We need lots and lots of prayers that she will flip between now and the time she decides to make her arrival. If she does not, we all know what that means.... c-section. In which this will be Amy's 6th abdominal surgery. The doctor has already said she will use my old incision, which is vertical - instead of the normal horizontal bikini incision. With all of the scar tissue that may be going on in my abdomen, for my safety and hers we REALLY do not want a c-section.
We would appreciate lots of prayers for her to flip.

Stephen, myself, JT & Baby Girl hopes every one has a blessed and stuffed Thanksgiving. I think it is going to be unseasonably warm here... and Stephen is going to fry a turkey for the first time. I love fried turkey.

Always an adventure

2008-11-23T15:14:00.001-08:00

It is always an adventure at the Lasseigne house. This past week we celebrated Stephen's birthday on Monday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY HONEY!)... he surprised me and brought home our glider that came arrived at the store. Here is a picture of it in the nursery. I love it!! It is so comfy, I could just rock in it allllllllllllllll day long.

On Tuesday, I had the pleasure of meeting one of my best friends new baby girl, Simone, she was born in September. She is such a beautiful baby and I can not wait to watch her grow up in to a wonderful little lady. Unfortunately they live in NOLA, but I still have high hopes that Simone and Baby Girl will become good friends. Her mom & I grew up together since high school, so it is a little interesting watching both of us step in to motherhood.

On Thursday we went to see the OB and start our bi-weekly appointments. Everything is going great. They are going to do an ultrasound this coming Tuesday to ease my anxiety a/b my belly seeming so small for 30 weeks. I will keep everyone update, of course. Afterwards we went to Babies R Us and got a few things for her nursery. Here is the progression, if you can't tell we are accenting with red.

Saturday we sat around, watched movies and put together some of Baby Girls toys (bouncy seat, jumparoo and swing). Sunday we started cleaning house and Stephen decided to re-caulk my shower doors and just kept going... to then discover that the tile was placed on top of wood (the joys of being in a home that is 40+ yrs old)... in a shower... so the wood was rotten and moldy. Here is a picture of the progress. We have been debating on making over that bathroom for a while know - but a few things have come up... i wonder what.

Baby Girl should weigh around 3.5lbs by now and be a little over 15.5 inches long. I am feeling good. I feel her move at least twice and hour. It is beginning to get progressively harder to bend over or getting up from sitting low or on the floor. It is pretty interesting feeling something "in the way" when i try to slouch over. It is a different "in the way" - almost feels like something is pushing in to your stomach as you bend forward. I am hungry all the time and Stephen often gets left out when it comes to cooking. There used to be a day that when i fixed something for myself i would fix him something. These days, i have a one track mind and that is "get me food and get me food now."

Yea!!! Showers & Furniture

2008-11-10T07:54:00.000-08:00

The past two weekends have been great at the Lasseigne household. We had baby showers and arrival of baby furniture.
The showers were wonderful and I can not thank my hostesses enough!!! All of you did such a wonderful job (Erin, Keri, Kathryn, Emily, Lana, Kelly & Gina) and Stephen & I are so thankful to have you in our lives. Also, thank you so much to all of you that were able to come! It means so much to me and I really appreicate it! My mom took all of the pictures, so when she hands those over I will post them. We got a lot of great gifts and can not wait to share them with our baby girl.

I promised I would post pictures of the wall and then Stephen got the furniture in before I had a chance to snap a picture. This morning I took a few around the furniture, hopefully you can vaguely see the leaves. The idea was for them to be an accent at different light angles. So here is the wall.

Here are a few pictures of the baby furniture.

I found out this past week that the main fabric I have based the whole nursery around is back ordered for another 6-8 weeks. I am REALLY hoping it is just 6 weeks, I only have 11 weeks to go until I am full term. I have become okay with the fact that I probably will not have her bedding by the time she gets here, it is still nerve racking. She will be in the bassinet for the first few weeks, so it is not real crucial. I think the part that makes me so anxious about it is the nesting that I am going through. For some people it is not a big deal, to me, I am bringing home my angel to an incomplete project/room. God has taught me a lot about patience over the years, so I think now we are on to “Learning How to Roll With The Punches, Lesson 1.”

I can officially no longer watch Extreme Makeover: Home Edition until after she is born. I just sit there and cry at every little thing and if anyone on the show cries, I’m done. I have my opinions on the election results but will keep most of them to myself. The history making aspect was neat; the moral aspect is what bothers me. I caught myself in the shower the next morning worrying about what type of country she is going to be raised in – which led me to start praying earnestly that we will raise her with a great Christian foundation and leadership. It is not just my angel I worry about it- it’s our parents and their financial/retirement plans that have had to be altered because of the economy, or the people that now have to put their dreams on hold.

So not to be “Debbie Downer” I will leave you with a 29-week baby update. She should now be around 2 ½ pounds and about15” long. The fruit/vegetable they compare her to this week is a butternut squash. (Those really crack me up for some reason) I have really been able to feel her hiccup lately and sometimes you can feel it from the outside as well. She still likes to kick or punch me in the bladder a lot, which her daddy finds amusing. My glucose test came back fine, however, I am anemic. I’ve been trying to take my iron but it is tough on my system so I am going to explore other means of getting iron as well. I may have to live off of spinach dip, since that is the only way I will eat something green unless it is peas.

A week of first's....already.....

2008-10-31T15:49:00.000-07:00

It is not very often that after three years you get to share a "first" with your spouse. Stephen & I had the joy (well kind of) of experiencing two on Saturday (25th)!

One first started when we went and bought the furniture for the nursery!!!! It was fun, yet somewhat overwhelming. On one hand ,I was so ready to get this part over with to help satisfy the itch to get everything ready for her big day. On the other hand, all I could see was dollar signs. And Lord knows, especially with a girl, that is not going to change. You could somewhat see the humbled joy within Stephen when he was paying for/taking care of his little girl. I sat in one of their gliders and watched distantly and quietly as he worked out the details.

So... off we go, back to the house and guess who is hungry?? That would be me. I had Stephen get off at a different exit that has a weird left turn at the end of it. We both look over our right shoulder as he prepares to make a left - all clear. He proceeds in to his turn, I see something over my right shoulder and here ladies and gentlemen would be our second first. We were unfortunately in our first accident together. It was not a major and everybody was fine. Basically our front passenger panel/bumper was damaged. Of course, I freaked out mainly because I have never been involved in an accident as a passenger. And Stephen was probably more upset with himself than anything else. The rest of the afternoon we spent laying around in the bed and being thankful that we still had one another b/c it could have been a lot worse than it was! God had his hand on us, that's for sure!

I had my monthly doctors appointment on Thursday and she checked everything out and did not feel that the wreck disrupted anything. I have actually been feeling her move around a lot more, but I think the wreck flipped her b/c she is kicking in a completely different location... like my bladder. Her heart rate is great and the doctor feels I am moving along just fine. I am not real keen on the weight I've gained, but it's a part of the package.

We got our first baby gift this week!!! Stephen & I were so giddy as we were breaking in to the box. It was her Ocean Wonders Acquarium that goes on the side of her crib. Speaking of which, we will be picking up and putting together the week of Nov. 8th and this coming weekend hopefully we will finishing painting the nursery - if we can figure out this whole glazing idea we are trying to pull off..... that we can't find any information on. It is real hard to explain, so if we pull it off, i will definetly post pictures.

ALSO, this weekend I have my first shower and can't wait to see everyone. It will be so much fun! I am trying to get Stephen to attend, but we'll see.

26 weeks - Becareful little ears what you hear...

2008-10-22T13:57:00.000-07:00

"No-Name" is moving along and kicking around like crazy. According to my updates she should now be able to tell the difference between mine and Stephen's voices. However, Stephen & I feel she will recognize JT's voice better than she will recognize ours because he is so vocal. It is next to impossible to ask him to be quiet b/c he just talks right back. I see the good and the bad in it, I would like for her to be able to fall asleep under any condition without it being super quiet around her. I have very high hopes that I will be the kind of person that will be blowing and going, however, there is also reality...

Guess what?!! We decided on a paint color and painted the nursery this past weekend. To give you an idea the paint color name is "simplify beige." Here is a swatch:

I think we both really like it. That room gets a lot of afternoon sun and it just makes the room feel so fresh and airy. I would have liked to have gone with a bolder color but that room can seem small and we did not want to close it in any more. We are going to try a glazing effect on the walls using "branches" from the fabric pattern (shown in a previous blog). I'll let you know if it works. If not, its just paint and we can go to plan B.

SIDENOTE: Last night, Stephen & I were watching t.v. and I came across the Discovery Health show "Freebirthing." Okay, that's just weird. It's a/b pregnant women who refuse to be followed with medical treatment and would prefer an unassisted childbirth. REALLY? They followed two women through the process and luckily neither of them had any complications. I have been through way to much to be too strong willed to not ask for help or medication. More power to them, but Stephen & I were partly speechless and partly disgusted at the same time. One family cut the umbilical cord with regular scissors. I found this on wikipedia to explain why some people do this:
The reasons for choosing to give birth unassisted range greatly from mother to mother but a few key factors are common to most.

- The conviction that birth is a normal function of the female body and therefore not a medical emergency.
- The belief that most interventions commonly used by the medical profession during birth cause more harm than good in a normal birth.
- The sense that the mother will be more apt to follow the natural flow of her individual birth in an undisturbed birth setting, thus enabling her to find the optimum positions or techniques to birth her child safely.
- The understanding that birth is an intimate, sexual, and potentially orgasmic experience,[3] and that privacy is absolutely essential for the erotic dimension of birth.
- A noted increase in the feelings and ability to bond with and take responsibility for the welfare of her child.

Some have requested a picture of the "buddha belly" (as Stephen & I call it) so here it is at 26 weeks:

Austin Pictures

2008-10-13T10:34:00.001-07:00

No-Name Lasseigne

2008-10-13T09:50:00.000-07:00

(You will see a few posts in a row b/c its been a few weeks.)
It’s about freakin’ time! Stephen & I finally got around to registering this weekend- however, she still does not have a name, so i've nick-named her "no-name." It was so sweet to see how involved he got with registering. Of course I had to give him the laser gun so he could scan everything. I think at one point he even said “Hey, let me do it – you get to carry her all the time.” So I would just point and he would scan.
I will say it was a little overwhelming, so many things to choose from and how do you know which one is best. I think the thing that stumped up the most was which type of bottles to choose.
We also decided on furniture (see picture below)! I am so excited. It the Metro collection by Bonoavita. We think it is great quality and will last a long time, either for her or for whenever #2 comes along.

AND we have decided on the bedding. Here is a swatch of the main fabric- it is brighter here than it actually looks. The walls will be light beige. The main color I will play off of is the red – then accenting with brown, ecru, and lime green. The turquoisy color you see is really more of a sea-foam and has been almost impossible to find stuff to match it.

My belly is really starting to stick out and I think I am starting to officially lose my waist. (check out the slide show below and you can kind of tell) She is estimated to weight a/b 24 oz, or a 1.5 pounds. It is getting a little harder for me to sit up from a reclined position. This whole gaining weight thing has been a little bit of a bummer and I am really starting to be able to tell there is more of me, especially when walking long distances or stairs.
If I could live in my tennis shoes I would! Stephen & I had to go to shoe shopping for me so I could some black flats that would accommodate a bad foot that swells pretty badly by the end of the day, no matter how much water I drink or how long I prop it up. The doctor doesn’t seem to be too concerned about it, mainly b/c it’s my bad foot anyway. She is regulating my amount of swelling by watching my right leg.

Just a few more weeks and I have my last monthly appointment, after the end of October we start our bi-weekly appointments. I am nervous about the whole process but I also can’t wait to meet her! Yes, a her that still has no name...

AUSTIN!

2008-10-13T09:49:00.000-07:00

What a neat town. It was not near the size I thought it would be and was pretty easy to get around once you got your bearings straight.
Stephen, myself and his parents went there a few weeks ago for a family wedding. His cousin Mark got married to a sweet girl named Caroline. It was a beautiful wedding and we are glad we were able to attend. I got a chance to meet a lot of the cousins that Stephen grew up with that were not able to make it to our wedding. It was also great to catch up with the ones that I have met before.
Another cool thing we got to do while we were there was go the Austin Musuem of Art. It was really neat to see pieces of work done by what I consider “the greats” – Picasso, Monet, Degas, Matisse, van Gogh, Gauguin, and Delacroix. And of course my favorite was Degas. I have always admired his work, mainly because he worked a lot in pastels and those are really my favorite medium when I take the time to sit down and draw. It also really made me miss school and I caught myself craving that artistic outlet that I used to be able to suffice when in school. I have a few painted pieces planned for the nursery, but nothing real creative. I can’t wait to teach our children art and help them understand and appreciate its importance in our world.

Check out the slideshow pictures from the trip.

Belly movements

2008-09-23T17:48:00.000-07:00

According to my weekly update, she should weigh around 1 pound by now. Just think, a year from now, who knows a/b how much she will weigh - it is hard to think about.

People say to pay attention to when she is active because that can indicate her sleep/wake patterns when she is born. Well, right now, her busiest time is between 8pm-9:30. (I swear she is having a party in there) I keep trying to get Stephen to feel her kick and this past week he has been able to. Here is the really cool part.

I was laying in bed and Stephen was in the other room, she was kicking like crazy. I happen to look down and could see my stomach move everytime she kicked. So I scream "Stephen! Stephen! Hurry!" He comes walking back to the bedroom, unalarmed b/c usually when i call for him like that lately it is for him to feel her move and he was starting to lose hope and had almost resorted to the fact that she was real shy to anyone but her mom. He steps in the bedroom with a look across his face like "Why are you calling me back here when you know I'm not going to be able to feel anything." I said "You can literally see my belly move."
His immediate response "Nooo Way......, she's not going to do it now b/c you screamed for me and probably startled her" so he crawled in to bed with me proceed to watch her do kickboxing through my skin. It was so cute, he could not keep his eyes off my stomach, at times i thought he was scared to blink b/c he might miss something.

Still no name, but Stephen is finally staring to throw some out there for me to think about. He has two weeks and counting to help me decide on a first name. I already know what I really like, but I want this to be a "we" decision. I want him to be involved in every aspect of her life as much as I am. He has already promised me that he will teach her how to change a flat tire before she is allowed to drive. (He'll have to teach me in the process. I could probably figure it out, but it is better to learn from a perfectionist... maybe)

Our little carrot!

2008-09-16T13:27:00.000-07:00

We are officially at 21 weeks! Last weekend we were busy trying to decide on the bedding, furniture and the travel system. The only one we were able to accomplish was the travel system.

I really thought I wanted something modern and graphically cool for the bedding… then there is the whole baby pink issue. I can handle pink, but not all over her nursery. I would feel like I was stepping in to Pepto-Bismol every day. Can’t do it. She will be in plenty of precious pink outfits and skirts to make up for the lack of pink in the nursery. I kind of feel like a mom that is not keen on having a girl, but I am very excited a/b it – I’m just not a real girly-girl. I really don’t want the nursery to look real “baby” either. All that to say, the bedding is still up in the air, which drives me crazy, b/c for me, that pretty much determines the look of the entire room (excluding the furniture) – what paint colors to use, what accent colors to use- blah, blah, blah.

I guess one of these days she will have a name. Stephen was given one month from when he found out the sex to contribute any names... two weeks remain. We have a few first names and one strong possibility, but no middle name just yet. Believe you me, she will have a name before she makes her grand appearance.
According to my books, she is a/b 10 ½ inches long – the average length of a carrot.

Off the subject issues:
Last week I chaired an awareness rally at the Arkansas State Capitol for Ovarian Cancer Awareness. Afterwards, we had a survivor’s luncheon at the Governor’s Mansion. The turn out was way more than we expected, we had over 150 people in attendance. Our goal was around 80. Our prayer for next year is that we will have to move locations b/c we need more space. J It was a great success.
Also, we have a website up and running http://www.arkansasovariancancer.com/ to be a resource for women in Arkansas just diagnosed with ovarian cancer and to be a place to gather information on awareness and upcoming events- check it out.

Presentation of Survivors at rally.

Mom, Leah and myself listening to a speaker at the rally

Stephen played in his first adult league soccer game this past Sunday. I was not able to attend. Unfortunately they lost, but they have only practiced twice, so I expect better outcomes in the future. As the soccer player I was growing up, I have to admit I am a little jealous. I think that would be so much fun. However, there are some things that the foot/brace does not allow me to do and this would be one of them.
I am very proud of him for stepping out and doing something a little outside of his comfort zone. Who knows – he probably did it as a way to get away from the crazy pregnant lady at home! HA!

Here are some recent pictures of my boys...

Stephen & JT at my brothers house in Fayetteville. JT actually rode around at low speed, it was too funny!

JT Hanging out of the window. (this picture may not be reproduced in any way without permission)

Our big news!!

2008-09-08T12:20:00.000-07:00

All of the family has finally been notified so it is safe to finally tell the world. We are expecting our first child. We found out last week that we are going to have a baby girl! Most importantly she is healthy. She currently weighs about 13 oz.’s which is a little on the small side, but that is what our OB prefers. With my medical history, the doc wants her to be nice and small and maybe even come early so I will have a nice natural deliver.
Stephen is very proud but I think he is more worried a/b 401k, retirement and the like… typical guy. He has been a pretty good trooper and has gone to every doctor visit with me. I think this whole pregnancy has taken both of us by surprise because it has been pretty easy. I never really had morning sickness and the only big change is my frequent consumption of food. I have not really craved anything I don’t think. I have found though, that I really like to make different dips. It makes me think I am eating something somewhat healthy as a filling snack because someone in the household does not like to eat dinner until around 8 – I’m not naming any names or anything.
This weekend we went to Babies – R – Us to narrow down our selection of various baby paraphernalia b/c Mr. Research wouldn’t know what to do if his child didn’t have the best recommended and safest – of course. I find myself feeling relieved over that b/c it really is overwhelming if you do not have a clue what to even start with. Do you go with a maximum weight of 22lbs or 30 lbs? Do you get the whole travel system with stroller or just the carrier? Do we get the carrier that is more recommended for my car or his car? There is no point in getting different ones that fit better in each care. Do we really need a stroller AND a jogger? Probably not, but those joggers are pretty cool. Oh – and by the way – why on God’s green earth did most of the infant carriers go back to the normal handles and not stick with the more ergonomic one’s? Yeah, let’s not get started on the bedding….
Here are few pictures of the ultrasound. Now that everyone knows, I will be updating a lot more frequently and will be keeping everyone up to date about our progress.

Bascially this is profile shot. Isn't that precious? What you are seeing is from the knee down. She is already a little southern belle.

2008-08-05T14:31:00.001-07:00

I know, I know. It has been a long time since I have been able to hop on here and post. I apologize.

Stephen & I just had my dad in town for a little over a week. We had all these activities planned and then wham! - the weather. Was it because of rain? NO Was it becuase of tornados? NO
It was becuase the temperature was around 103 with a heat index of over 110!

I have been super busy with the Arkansas Ovarian Cancer Coalition. September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness month in Arkansas, so we have a few events planned. We are doing a rally at the State Capitol and a Survivors Luncheon at the Governor's Mansion on September 9th.

Congratulations to Renee for getting engaged!! (Stephen's cousin) That is awesome! You go girl!

Stay tuned... I promise, stephen & I will have some new news soon!

So much for spring cleaning

2008-05-12T09:59:00.000-07:00

Stephen & I have been really busy for the past couple of months. I have to brag on him a little, he is doing such a great job to the front of our house. It is by far looking like the best house on the street. Below is a before and after picture. We have painted, built new columns and are reworking the flower beds. (The house got new paint about a year ago, but the doors and stuff we have done recently. ) oh- and funky new house numbers.

BEFORE:

Also, coming up we are participating with the Luminaria Ceremony for the Maumelle Relay for Life this weekend. (update: we helped raise over $45,000 for the American Cancer Society)

Stephen will be traveling for work some and I will be busy helping plan my 10-year high school reunion and my best friends baby shower!... all while watching another birthday pass me by.

Okay, I have been putting this post off to find time for a new picture for the front of the house, but no sense in continued delay. So here is one with out the new landscaping - just the new columns. (Which Stephen built by hand)

AFTER

My reunion is actually this weekend and I've been running around like a mad woman trying to get everything in order. Another girl and I have been doing the majority of the work and I couldn't have done it without her. Just for reminiscing sake, here is a picture of me in high school: (I'm the one on the far left, in both pictures)

(1996 - me at 16 yrs. old) (1998 - senior banquet, 17 years old)

We also had the arrival of our wonderful neice (Lauren) on March 28.

Here is a picture of her the day she was born.

NOLA .... Surprise Ali!!!!

2008-03-25T14:21:00.000-07:00

Stephen, Chris (bestfriend’s hubby) and I pulled off a great surprise for one of my best friends, Alice. Her birthday was March 16th. Chris & I started planning the surprise around Christmas for me and Stephen to come down to their house for the weekend.

Chris was already planning a crawfish boil for her birthday, so we just joined right in. I was so proud of him for not folding and keeping it all in – I know there are a few times when he wanted to just blurt it out.

We drove down to New Orleans on Friday. I had been setting her up for weeks and she was expecting a fed-ex package from me – so she thought that was who was at the door. I’m so sneaky.

Her new house is gorgeous and they did such a great job remodeling it - it got around 6" of water from Katrina. I am so happy they have found a house they want to be in for a long time. And they live in the cutest/coolest neighborhood with great neighbors!

Our two "other" nephews - Chip and Rex were such a joy to be around. They were my snuggle bugs. It really made me miss having two dogs in the house.

Stephen & I also got to experience our first New Orleans St. Patrick’s Day Parade. It was pretty cool. Nothing like the strict southern ways of Arkansas. We went with several of Alice’s friends & in-laws, so they were able to hook me up with some big beads, without having to “do something” for them....but no worries, I got them respectfully… its good to know people that know people (thanks Val!). One picture below is of me with beads about 5 minutes in to the parade. In this parade they would also throw a bunch of cabbages, carrots, potatoes, and green onions. By the time we left, all we needed was the meat.

Here are several pictures.

Amy & Stephen in the French Quarter

"MOM! That's MY rose!," says Rex-oppotomus.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALICE!! *smooch* love you!!!

We will meet again, I know

2008-03-11T14:23:00.000-07:00

My baby girl passed away this past friday, March 7th. I can't say much because it still hurts.

She was 13 years old, we grew up together and she was the most loyal, sweetest, humble, happy thing I knew.

Rainbow Bridge Poem

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.

There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor.

Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.

The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance.

Her bright eyes are intent.

Her eager body quivers.

Suddenly she begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, her legs carrying her faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again.

The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together... Author Unknown

My Valentine Blessing

2008-02-14T07:41:00.000-08:00

Last night, myself, the women's pastor and several other ladies from my church hosted a valentines dinner for the Women & Children First Home. This home takes in women and children that are fleeing from domestic abuse. Some of them come from half way across the country b/c their situation is so bad that they never want him to find them.
We prepared a dinner for ladies while thier children played upstairs with other volunteers. Because these women have not been shown love in a long time, it was our honor to cook them a nice meal and focus our love on them, if only for a couple of hours.

I was blessed beyond measure. God surprised me more than I could imagine.

I sat next to a lady who was very soft spoken and probably didn't what to think about all the attention. I had noticed upstairs that she had brought her son with her (I can't disclose names for the protection of the women). He was such an outgoing little boy and full of energy. As I sat next to the lady, I knew one way I could get her to talk was to ask her a/b her children. She has been in toe program for a while and is now starting to live on her own for the first time. We talked about her apartment, where she works, what she does for fun.
I felt very odd asking the question, but I followed my gut - I asked her (as far as a career) what she would eventually like to do.

Are you ready????...

She looks at me and says "Well, I have a degree in art with an emphasis in graphic design & illustration and love to get back in to that one day."

HELLO!!!!??????? OKAY GOD, WHERE AM I SUPPOSED TO TAKE THIS?!

Some of you might be wondering what I am suprised about.? Well, being a graphic designer, I knew instantly that I was supposed to talk to her about that. When I told her what I did for a living, her eyes to lit up! "Really!?" she asked.
So, for the rest of the night, I tried to coach her on what avenues she should take to try to get back in the business. It has been a few years since she has worked and things change rapidly in this business. She was very curious and asked me a ton of questions. I pray that I left her with tremendous encouragement and that I empowered her to take her next step in life.

I have never walked out of a situation/event with that much belief that I was RIGHT were God wanted me to be that evening - ever!
I will never forget it.

I wish she would live forever...

2008-02-13T06:43:00.000-08:00

Most of you know, I have a very special quiet angel in my life -

my 12 yr. old golden retriever, Belle.

I have had her since I was 15. I am just know able to post this b/c I have run out of tears and have started the process of acceptance, but it is going to take me while to get through this post.

We found out last September that she had skin cancer after two tumors were removed off of her right leg. Everything seemed great, nothing seemed to "loom" over us.

Right after New Years, what I thought was two more tumors had popped up on her right leg again. I took her in to get them removed and there were SEVEN, not two. The type of skin cancer she has is very aggressive. We had just been dealing with Grade 2, well, one the size of a BB came back a Grade 3, which puts us in a whole other playing field. Chemo is not very effective towards this cancer, so we have decided not to pursue that option.

To me, her quality of life is much more important at this stage than the quantity!

She still greets us at the door everyday when we come home - tail wagging and ready to play frisbee to the best of her ability. If she wants a whole piece of bread instead of a half piece, yes, i admit it, she gets it.

The vet said we have 6-9 months.

I know the time will come, but I will NEVER be ready.

Every time I have been sick, Belle would not leave the front yard, even if she did want to go on a walk so bad she couldn't stand it. She had a job a to do.
One of her nicknames is "Thumper" b/c when you come up to her and she is lying on her side she thumps her tail on the ground so loudly and has the biggest grin on her face that says "Rub my belly, Rub my belly"
Another nickname is "Boo Boo" b/c my brother used to call her that to make fun of her b/c she is such a chicken when it storms
She is my protector and my gentle giant. All she wants to do is know your not going to hurt me, then she licks you to death.

I soak up every minute I can with her right now b/c I know I will never have a dog just like her. It is heart wrenching to think that what seems like a little thing in your life will leave an impact the size of a crater on your heart.

So this post is dedicated to my quiet angel.

CHRISTmas

2008-01-16T09:45:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!!!!!!

December seemed to fly by so fast! I'm sure everyone feels that way. However, I think a lot of companies have started to steer away from the large Christmas parties because there did not seem to be that many around that I heard of, so that was a relief - but I could be in the dark.
It is always fun to recieve all the great Christmas cards, and well you can't forget the Christmas newsletters from Aunts, Uncles or Cousins. Some are joyful and others, well.... humourous.

We had a good Christmas, Stephen's big items were an ipod and a bike rack. I got a new bike (yeah!!) and a docking station for my ipod. We put the docking station in the kitchen and I have throughly enjoyed listening to music, instead of the TV, while I cook. I don't feel as rushed. Here are a few pics.

On Christmas Eve we went to Paul & Carolyns house and had Christmas with Stephen's side of the family. Our neice is growing so fast and to think she has a little sister coming shortly is amazing.

A week after Christmas we went up to Fayetteville to spend time with my nephews - Parker (7) & Henry (4). JT & Belle love it up at the farm. JT especially likes to go bark at the cows. While me and my brother, TJ, rock out on Guitar Hero. (as of right now, that is the one game that I can beat Stephen at - but I am sure he will catch up to me quickly)

We had a lot to reflect on and remember how much Christ has blessed us this past year.

Stephen being laid off and re-hired that then lead to a management postion.
Mom's fight with ovarian cancer - involving two sugeries and 7 rounds of chemotherapy. She is now cancer free!!!!
A good friend of mine was blessed with a beautiful baby girl.
And last, but not least, just the ability to live everyday in freedom. We are blessed that people will knowingly pay that price for us everyday. I love our troops!

Our prayer for you and your families is that you will have a blessed New Year and may Christ be beside you everyday.

To be the best I can be

2007-11-27T07:43:00.000-08:00

Pictured above: Alice, Amy & Leanne

This past weekend I had the opportunity to go out with a few friends. One couple consisted of my best friend Alice and her husband Chris that live in New Orleans. The other couple was Leanne and Chad. Leanne and I used to be best friends from junior high school until it fell apart our first year of college. It was really good to see her and her man, he seems to take really good care of her and I’m thankful for that. Alice & I have been friends since high school and got closer and closer in college and beyond.

On Sunday I found myself flooded with a million different feelings about the situation. I am one that never likes to lose friends. I know that some people come and go in our life - but i have always thought that when you are that close with someone that the friendship never really dies. I am sure that comes with being an adult but I also think it comes from me geninuinly caring about someone. There are girls I have gone to school with since kindergarten and they have turned more in to acquaintences. Sometimes that bums me out but it doesn’t pull at my heart strings like the loss of a friendship/friend that I spent a lot of quality time with does - someone that I "grew up with."

I have had a few friendships that have come full circle, that I lost touch with and I now spend time with, its not as close as I would probably like for it to be - but I am sure I am just as much to blame in those instances.

There were a lot of questions that flooded my head after all of my emotions of hurt and frustration mixed with excitement and true joy for this "new friendship" - for me that is what this is going to have to become in a sense - a new friendship. There is A LOT of history there but our lives are completely different, in a way, both of us have experience different turns in our lives, but I know the roots of our personalities are the same. I really just want to know what happened. Was it me? Am I the one at fault here? For some reason I can not find the courage to ask those questions yet - it still hurts. (Which is frustrating in its self, because I sometimes think I am stronger than that- HA! who am I kidding?)

I can remember when the day I was told I had cancer and how bad I just wanted a close girl friend there beside me - to hug me, cry with me, and laugh with me. I may not have talked about that much or I may have put on my strong face - but man, was I dying inside! Thinking... "Really? Cancer? I’m only 24! I have so much more ahead of me!" ... to name a few.
I do know now though that if anyone I consider a close girlfriend goes through anything life-threatening I will do everything in my power to be there and to be the comforter and friend that I needed.

This weekend taught me a lot, but most of all it reiterated what I have always tried to be... I want to be the best friend I can possible be... I want to be the best person I can possibly be... I want to be the best wife I can possibly be... I want to be the best mother, sister, aunt or cousin I can possibly be.

Pictured Left: Stephen, Amy, Chad, Leanne, Alice & Chris

Leanne - if you read this - I always wanted what was best for you - ALWAYS! Meeting Chad has put a great sense of peace in my heart and it seems that right now, you do have what is best for you! I am so happy for you!

Here is to all types of friendships - old, new or revitalizing.

The great dingy adventure!!

2007-11-20T15:23:00.000-08:00

Off the main island there is a nationally registered island called “Buck Island” where locals and tourists spend their Sunday afternoons. You can only get there by boat and it is a mile off the mainland.

Most people take boats out there that a/b 20ft or larger. Most of the larger boats will pull a dingy (tiny boat w/ an outboard motor) so that they can take it to shore, cruise around to everyone else’s boat or take people around to the other side of the island to the snorkel trail.
Stephen wanted to take our friend’s (Dick) dingy out (funny, huh?) and ride right behind them (a 1970 60ft something) b/c he didn’t have a tow line for it. Well… this would be first time this dingy has ever been “out to sea” and the swells were a/b 2-4 ft., not bad, but not fun.
So off we go, merrily riding behind them as they pull out of the slip and out of the jetty. It looked as if we were going to keep up… until – Dick cranked it in to only about 10-knots and we were soon left in a trail of churned ocean. I thought to myself “that’s okay- it will just take us a half a day to get there.” Wasn’t happy about it, but was adjusting okay.
Then the motor dies. He cranks again, we progress a/b 15 ft (we are going in to the seas to go to the island) then it dies again. We lose our 15 ft. gain. By this point we are a/b ¼ mile or more from land. He then says “why are we taking on water?” He grabs the water pump that you use to usually pump out rain water and starts pumping. We lose more ground. He starts it again. We gain 10 more feet, maybe and it dies. The engine sits too far in to the water, so every time we would hit a high wave and the back end would drop a little the engine would get flooded. He then asks me to grab this milk jug that has half the top cut out of it so I can start bailing water. “Fine, I thought, I can do this, its not big deal, this is a tiny boat, and it’s kinda’ like being in he lake.” Then I happen to look up and the boat is bounding up and down and get my bearings all messed up and here comes the nausea.
So, now I’m nauseated, it’s hot as heck, we have nothing with us but a water pump, my mosquito bitten feet are sitting in a/b 8 inches of ocean water/ left over beverage that was spilled trying to do 3 things at once and I realize I’m burning b/c I didn’t put sunscreen on my back b/c it wasn’t supposed to be that long of a ride. I can also see that my family and a/b 12 other friends had made it to Buck Island and was starting to get a little panicked/really pissed that they were not going to come get us. If I could have screamed profanities I would have, then I thought at this point there was no point in wasting my breath.

My husband looks at me and says “Well I guess if worse comes to worse we will eat your left leg first.” I was stunned, thinking “WHAT?,” and I replied with, “Oh no(!), why my leg?" He was trying to lighten the mood and I wasn’t having it.
We notice that the big boat has turned around to come get us and they are looking a/b 1/4mile west of us. We’re screaming, waving our hands- then they finally come over.
As we are bobbing up and down as they back in to us so we can get up at the swim platform at the back of the boat, I hear something buzzing beside my left ear. I swat it, thinking it was mosquito and BAM! A STINGING SHOCKWAVE goes through my left thumb and in to my body. I’m screaming, I see the bee do a dive bomb in to the bottom of the dingy and look at my thumb to see its stinger lodged in to the top pad of my thumb and half of its intestines still attached.
So, I’m screaming, freaking out b/c all I want to do is get on the freakin’ boat – a friend reaches over grabs me underneath my armpits, and like superman lifts me to safety. Now I realize I’m okay and I lose it – I am a balling – I had had enough crap in the past 45 minutes, I was done – then I notice there are about 10 people on this boat that I have never met before and they probably think I am the biggest pansy.
They ended up finding a line to pull the dingy behind the boat, we get there, they check to see why were taking on water… Dick (our friend) had taken out the plug for something and forgot to put it back in. We found out that champagne corks work just fine for a drain plug. Let the engine out and the dingy was ready for other adventures…. That did not include me!

Here is a picture of my dad, Stephen & the infamous dingy.

VACATION

2007-11-20T15:11:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful vacation visiting my dad and step-mom. We didn't get to go island hopping which was a HUGE bummer b/c of some incompetent boat mechanics at the marina.

However, some good friends of ours, Robyn & Ethan, rent villas for a living and they let us stay in one for a few nights. The name of the group of villas is called The Villa Madeline. If you would like to rent one for your next vacation, let me know and I can contact them, in the mean time I am going to try to find their website so I can link it here. It was awesome - 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, den, full kitchen and a private pool. Very romantic.

Here are some pictures.

(L) Stephen looking for baby sharks. (R) Robin, Deborah & me on the boat at Buck Island.

Out in the town shopping.

Us being tourists - at the eastern most point of the United States of America. Behind us is a sun dial that was built in 2000 for the millenium.

THE VILLA!

Cancer....free, babies, pun-kins & ribbons

2007-10-22T10:03:00.000-07:00

It is absolutely crazy that it has already been 22 days since our last post. We have been very busy. I guess this way we don't have to wait for our vacation to get here, it is just going to smack us in the head the night before.

As a family, we got the best news in six months.....
MOM IS CANCER FREE!!!

The past couple of weeks I have been traveling for work- Fayetteville for a photo shoot and Hot Springs for a tradeshow. In between those events I have preparing our office to participate in the 2ND Annual WD&D Pumpkin Carving Contest (which i think was sabotaged/rigged) and the Tinkled Pink - where we decorate a port-o-potty for the Race for the Cure.

Here are some pictures of the port-o-potty - we don't know if we won yet- we better have!!!

Stephen joined us later and helped with all the detail work- i think he is the one that took the group photo - me, Courtney, Laura and Aaron. I know, you would want to use the potty in our bathroom!! We had all the tile and wallpaper donated. So it only cost us a/b $50 to decorate.

Before all of those events I hosted a baby shower for one of my long time friends! That was such a treat - however i do feel older by the day when my friends start having kids and Wes & Kelly have #2 in the oven. But no pressure, right?!
"In Gods time" is what i keep telling myself. Although we have had "the baby talk" but I will need to get off of my nerve pain medicine and that will be a TALL mountain to climb. Maybe I will talk more about that on another post.

Speaking of babies - Stephen & I are going to have to deal with "letting a stranger keep our baby for the first time" thing. I never knew finding a kennel that we were both comfortable with was going to be such a task! First we thought we had found someone Stephen works with to keep him, b/c come to find out they had one of JT's cousins only a month or two younger than him. Well, he was a little too rambunkcious (sp?) for dad and mom just wanted to know that he was going to be as loved there as he is at home. It will be funny to see how long we can go w/out calling the kennel to see if he's alright.

I will try to write again before we go on vacation!

What a weekend!

2007-10-01T09:17:00.000-07:00

BIG DAM BRIDGE 100

This past week Stephen, Wes & P.D. (Amy's stepdad) participated in the Big Dam Bridge bike race. This race helps benefit the Arkansas Prostate Foundation. They chose to do the 25-mile course. They ended up doing 35 miles in a little over 2 hours with an average speed of 14.7 mph!! You can find out more about "the longest pedestrian bridge in the world" here.

I know they had such a wonderful time, however, it kicked their rear!! They were so exhausted but felt so good for completing a race. Plus, it was for a good cause - proceeds benefited the Prostate foundation.

OVARIAN CANCER AWARENESS!!

For those of you that do not know, my mom- Suzanne Holland, was diagnosed with a rare form of ovarian cancer in March. She just completed 6 months of chemotherapy. I do have to say that I think she has the prettiest bald head I have ever seen! No dents, no funny angles.

God has blessed us tremendously with this process. He allowed it to be caught fairly early and made the chemo process easier than most. She did have some nausea every time and fatigue - but other than that she has handled the drugs very well.

I will be posting more info on here about ovarian cancer "the silent killer."

If you just can't wait, the best website for more information is here at the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition. They do a lot with the politics of funding as well. So when we need your help, I will post on here what you can do to get more awareness out there.

Here is a picture right after Stephen shaved her had back in May. We had a head shaving party! The whole losing the hair issue was a big one for mom to get over - she still isn't over it, would you? (and would probably kill me for putting this picture up here). It took a few times seeing it for me to get over it. But now, to me it signifies such strength and courage!

This weekend mom & I went to an Ovarian Cancer Retreat at the Arkansas Cancer Research Center (division of UAMS). It was informative but more for people currently going through everything. Mom's big question was "now what? - I've been through it, how do i get active again, etc."

When we got there for registration, on your tag it said if you were a survivor or a caretaker. If you were a survivor it just listed your name and the month and year you were diagnosed. For me, it had my name and underneath it "caretaker." To be honest, I wasn't really expecting it. It is a little weird to be identified as her "caretaker," it's that whole role reversal thing. My step-dad has done a GREAT job at taking care of her. That was just a little more for me to fully comprehend yet. I guess b/c a caretaker to me is someone that watches over the elderly or very ill and to me, mom isn't any of those things.

ONE SWEET DEVICE!

Stephen also bought his "first very own computer since high school" this weekend. We needed something just for home use and simple tasks. He was very pumped.

We hope everyone else had a blessed weekend, too!

Our First Step in blogging!

2007-09-27T08:37:00.000-07:00

I (Amy) wanted to create this blog site so that all of our family and friends near and far can hop on here and check out what our family is up to. We hope you throughly enjoy it. For those of you that we do not see often, we miss you bunches!

Here are a few pictures to get us started!

Wes & Kelly and Amy & Stephen

JT Lasseigne on his first birthday!!! August 6th!

What a handsome boy!

We can't leave out big sis'!

Belle McDaniel Lasseigne - just turned 12 September 22nd!!

Love you bunches!! We hope you enjoy our blog!