Cousins

Ellie loves her cousins. I don't have a recent picture of just the kids on Jeff's side of the family, but here is a great one of my girls with my brother's girls. Ellie is crazy about her "Diz" (Elizabeth) and "Issy" (Isabelle). These were taken at Isabelle's first Christmas program at school.

Christmas Tour of Homes

Although I may not have the official site linked, I decided to give my "viewers" a tour of my home decorated for Christmas. As you come to our front door, we hope you'll experience the JOY of the season.

Our tree, which may not be as fancy as some, but is full of ornaments with wonderful memories and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Our nativity, to remind us of the reason for the season.
Our dining room table...Believe in the magic of Christmas...in Santa and our Savior.
My favorite year-round decoration, my Dress-Me-Up Plate.
Santa's cookie plate is waiting on the kitchen counter.
Some of our favorite Christmas books are displayed in Ellie's room.
And of course, our favorite Christmas decorations and gifts, our sweet girls.
We hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

another cute Christmas picture

My aunt and my cousin gave the girls these matching dresses...they are SO cute on them! They have little scottie dogs on the front.

Christmas Pictures

My Granma and Granpa from Florida sent the girls matching Christmas dresses, so we played dress up before church today and took their pictures. These are our favorites.

good news!

Ava is FINE. She does NOT have spina bifida, she just has an extra hole in her crack! :-)

Food Allergies

So, Ava went to the allergist this morning and we got some great news. She does not have any life threatening food allergies!!! Not a single one. She is lactose intolerant, though, but I don't have to be nearly as picky with my diet. I can't sit down and have a big glass of milk or a cup of yogurt, but I can eat bread with a little butter on it and things with milk in the ingredients. She goes back in September and they'll do a few tests again - especially with milk before she is introduced to cow's milk because she could still grow out of this. She does have a slight allergy to shellfish, but it is nothing life threatening. WOOHOO! Jeff is on the phone right now trying to find out about her spina bifida test, so I'll write more about that as soon as we know something. Thanks for praying!!!

Doctor visit

So, if you don't know, I was very nervous about our doctor visit today. After talking with the nurse about Ava and not getting any support, I was ready to switch doctors. However, the visit was good. Jeff did a great job of standing up and initiating the conversation about the nurse's answers and at the end of the visit, the doctor said it shouldn't have happened that way and that if anything like that ever happens again or if I don't feel like I get my questions answered, to ask to specifically talk to her, not the nurse. That made me feel much better. She said that when the nurse told her I called the first time, the nurse wrote down "fussy baby, hoarse voice". The whole story was that Ava had been fussing for like a week and a half straight and seemed to be crying in pain and had cried so much that she had completely lost her voice. The doctor was surprised to hear that it was such a different story. Anyway, she even said the allergy thing seems legit and that she wants a full report sent to her so that she knows specifics after we see the allergist. Long story short, she was very supportive and apologetic of how the nurse handled the phone conversations.

The girls are both in about the 50th percentile for their weight and 95th percentile for their height. How we have such tall girls, I'll never know, but I'm glad! :-)

Pray for Ava and us. Along with what we think is food allergies, she has a dimple in the crack of her butt that they want to check. We knew she did at her 1 week check-up, but the doctor said she could see the end of the hole and it was nothing to worry about. However, this time she couldn't see the end of the hole in the dimple, so we have to go in sometime in the next couple of weeks for an ultrasound of it. The danger is that it can be an indicator of spina bifida, but the doctor said everything is probably fine she just wants to be safe and make sure.

more pics

getting ready for Christmas

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Ellie didn't care much about decorating the big tree, but she loved fixing her own! Her friend was here and helped some with both trees, but I found her last night in the dark beneath her tree playing with her nativity scene. She then slept with Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus! Ava loves the lights!

Recipes...

So, Ava is having a really hard time digesting cow's milk...I've done all of the research on my own because the phone nurse was no help and I knew something was wrong. Her answer was to check and see if there was a hair wrapped around Ava's toe?!? I knew it was more than that. I don't think babies are technically lactose intolerant, but same difference. Anyway, I have had to completely change my diet and if any of you know me very well, I could live on milk, so it's been rough - especially at Thanksgiving. It's worth it, though. I am having a hard time finding support from people...although my life group from church has been amazing - a couple girls who are becoming some of my best friends are changing their diets with me?!? So here's the deal. I need recipes. Probably vegetarian (although I still eat lots of meat). I can't have milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, eggs, whey...anything dairy. If anyone has good recipes, good ideas, and/or web sites, please pass them on.

Our sweet girls...

ELLIE IS 3 AND AVA IS 6 WEEKS!

Links to pictures

Here are pictures of our BCM Halloween party and of Ellie's 3rd birthday (family party).


http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=18643&l=514c2&id=504816953

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=18642&l=4b06d&id=504816953

Cross-Eyed Cricket

There is a place to eat here in town called the cross-eyed cricket...and that's what I called Ava when she was first born, but her eyes are better at focusing now. They still wander every now and then, though.

SOOO big!

Ava is growing so fast!! She's growing in to her 0-3 month clothes and has grown out of most of her preemie and newborn clothes. She's even in size 1 diapers already. She's such a sweet girl and Ellie is still doing great as a big sister!

view more

to see more pictures, go to

www.elliekate.shutterfly.com

hospital picture

To view Ava's hospital picture, go to www.thewomenshospital.org, click on web nursery, type in bhughes, and the password is sweetpea.

We're all doing great, I just haven't wanted to take the time to leave the kids and spend time on the computer. I'll get some new pictures up soon.

Meet Ava Claire

Here is our precious addition, Ava Claire. She was born on Sept. 28 at 6:38pm and weighed 7lbs. 3 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long. We are home and doing well, but wanting to spend time together, so we'll post more soon.

better late than never

So, Monday the 24th was my official due date, but my last sonogram showed that I was measuring Oct. 4. The doctor said that was normal and that most babies come in between the 2 dates when that happens. Today just may be the day! I've been having stronger contractions since 5am and they started at 13 minutes apart for about an hour and a half, moved to 11 minutes apart, and are now about 7 minutes apart. I'm headed to take a shower and just wait until they are 5 minutes apart. We live like 2 miles from the hospital, so I'm not in a big hurry to get there, but my parents are on their way here with Ellie so that they can be here when I do go to the hospital. I'm super excited! I can't wait to hold my second baby girl!!!

not yet

but maybe soon.

still no baby, but lots more contractions - they just aren't close enough together yet.

Progress

Well, I've made some progress this week. I am now 3cm dialated and 50% effaced, so the doctor said it should be any time. He told me not to take any road trips and stay close, so that was encouraging. We'll keep you posted...

FYI

No baby yet. We're still waiting and getting more and more anxious every day. I'm not nervous...just ready to have this baby. I can't wait to hold her and see her face. Even Ellie said, "I want she to come out!"

Good News???

I've always heard that no news is good news, but I think I'll have to disagree this time. I went back to the doctor this morning and I'm still really thick and have only dialated 1 1/2 cm, which is the same as last week. I go back again Monday.

Big Day

Ellie had a big day today! She has wanted to build a kitty at Build a Bear for months now, so we told her that she could right before Ava was born. She had her first official dentist appointment and went back by herself, so we headed to the mall where she got to make her kitty (Ella), slide, play, shop, eat, and ride the carousel with her Dad. When we got in the car, she said, "Mom, we've had a good day, huh?" :-)

Dr. Appt.

We had a dr. appt. today and things are progressing, but slowly. Last week, I was dialated about 1/2 cm and still very thick. This week, I'm at 1 1/2 and have thinned out just a little, so my body is doing what it is supposed to do...just not as quickly as I would like. It's all God's timing, though. He knows when Ava is supposed to come and it's obviously not right now. 2 weeks until my due date, so pray that I will have patience and that Ava continues to grow like she's supposed to. I think she weighs about 6 1/2 lbs. now, so she'll be a good size, regardless of when she comes. We go back to the dr. next Monday - I'll post more when I know more.

It's almost time...

Ava is almost ready to come in to the world! We had a sonogram today, just because when they did the one at 18 weeks, she was moving around so much that they couldn't see all of her heart. They didn't think anything was wrong, it was just a good excuse to have another ultrasound! She weighs 5 lbs. 15 oz. so far and loves to suck on her left arm. We can't wait to meet her!!!!!

names

We go back Sept. 4th for a sonogram to check Ava's weight and he'll also check to see if I've progressed any. Between now and then, I need to decide on a new name for our blog. A friend suggested that I be supermom and give them each a blog, but I don't even keep up with the one that I have like I want to, much less two. SO, I need your help. Send me your suggestions for a new blog name for the Hughes family and we'll see what happens.

Random Post

So, this post is full of random, unconnected things.

Pictures of Ellie that were too cute not to include.

Pictures of Ava's room and how we're decorating - the walls were already blue, so we tried to find some things that would make it girly by adding a hot pink rug, then my mom made a curtain, and the rings were an idea from our neighbor that she saw in a magazine - painted cross-stitching hoops?!?

And a painting that Ellie made to match her room - it's on her bookshelf now.

I take too many pictures. I'll probably put some on facebook and just include the link so you can see more. I also have some funny stories that I'll share, since I haven't been good about posting them as they happen.

This is totally embarrassing, but also totally worth sharing. I don't ever tell on myself like this and this is not a common thing in our house - at least not coming from me (Jeff and Ellie are a different story). When I do happen to "pass gass" and it is loud, poor Ava jumps!! I think it scares her?!?!?

Ellie has been telling everyone she has 2 babies in her belly. She even lets us feel them kick sometimes and she can tell you which baby it is. She has named them Ava and Talley, although Talley is somedays Sally instead. So cute!

We have been spending time with our neighbors like crazy lately and we just love it! They are great neighbors and even better friends. They have 2 little girls and are fairly close to our age, so we have lots in common. Anyway, the mom home-schools the older girl and she invited us over for one of their activities the other day. Another family was there and they were all making cookies, so they took turns pouring in the ingredients and Ellie got to take several turns. It was so cute! I have a picture, but need to ask before I just put the kids' pictures online.

My aunt is doing fairly well. The usual side effects are bothering her, but her body is responding well. I'll keep you posted as she goes through the next couple of months of treatments.

New news

Just posting some new news. Nothing real big or exciting, just life.

First of all, and probably the most exciting is that I am about 5 weeks from my due date!! We are going to the dr. for a regular check-up tomorrow and are going to talk to him about being induced. We have tons of reasons, but the top three are because of my job (just gives me time to warn the parents I'll be out for a couple of weeks), because we can make plans for who is going to keep Ellie ahead of time and not have to rush around at 2 in the morning or something, and because I really want my mom to be here when Ava is born - she is with my aunt who is in the hospital getting her chemo and starting the transplant process. If she knows ahead of time, my cousin can stay with my aunt and my mom can come see Ava.

Second, Ellie started her Kindermusik class today! She loved it, although she was actually pretty shy. That's not like her, so I figure the newness will wear off soon and she'll open up and really enjoy the class. (Thanks to my friend Sandy for telling me about the class.)

Other random stuff:
Students are coming back soon and we're excited about seeing them after they've been gone for the summer and meeting new students.

Our neighbors continue to amaze us at what great friends they are - to us and to Ellie.

Ellie's Mommy and Me dance class starts Sept. 18th! (tap, ballet, and tumbling)

My job is amazing! I am always tired at the end of the day (only Wednesday and 1/2 day Thursday), but also always proud of myself for really focusing on what I need to do and getting it done (both from a working perspective and taking care of my family financially). (Thanks again to my friend Sandy who told me about the job and helped me get started - I owe her!!)

My 30th birthday was a blast and Jeff did a great job of making it special for me!

I've been really bad about keeping in touch and sending things like thank you notes and birthday cards, so here's a special HAPPY BIRTHDAY wish to Levi, Micah, Erin, Carla, and all of our special friends, many of whom do not even check Ellie's blog so they'll never know...maybe I should quit typing and just send them cards?!? :-)

Tag

I've been tagged...

Four jobs I have had:
1. Key Entry Operator for Lockheed
2. Student Worker in college
3. Special Education Teacher
4. Developmental Therapist


Four places I have lived:
1. Dixon, KY
2. Owensboro, KY
3. Fort Worth, TX
4. Newburgh, IN


Favorite TV shows:
1. almost anything on HGTV
2. Survivor
3. I Love Lucy
4. Reba


Food:
1. Cheesecake
2. Fried Chicken Salad
3. Cream Cheese Enchiladas
4. Seafood Alfredo at Olive Garden


Places I would rather be:
1. In my swimming pool (on a float)
2. Visiting friends in Texas
3. On vacation (anywhere warm, as long as Jeff and Ellie are with me)
4. At the lake with my parents


Favorite movies:
(I would actually rather watch a 30 minute show in tv, but I'll watch a movie now and then)
1. Coyote Ugly
2. Dance With Me
3. Save the Last Dance
4. Holiday


Tag Time:
1. Miriam
2. Sandy
3. Sheri
4. Lindsey B

Family Pictures

We had family pictures taken at our house last week. Thanks to our friend, Heather, who took them and put them on her website. You can see them at www.steadfastmedia.photoreflect.com.

Again?

So, Jeff is out of town again...but hopefully this is the last time before Ava is born that he has to go anywhere, then we'll get to with him on his trips. I just didn't want to be in NC and go in to labor or something, plus they drove so I would have been miserable in the car. Anyway, here are some cute pictures of us hanging out with my parents and my brother's kids.