Here We Go!

Guess where Im going tonight? I'll give you a clue. Well last week I was at Breast Feeding Class.. In breast feeding class I learned all the great things about breast milk.... breast pumps... breasts... breast feeding... breasts.... yeah.. and all that.



This week we are off to something a little more interesting: Infant Safety Class and Bringing the Baby Home. Tonight we should probably learn some very interesting things. I am interested to learn about how to get the house together and Baby Proof it and all that stuff. I, of all people, need to learn how to put babies in car seats, high chairs, and all that jazz. WISH ME LUCK!



anyway.. just a quick update. Adios.

A work in progress....

Addison's nursery is slowly but surely coming together. My Aunt Maggie was wonderful enough to make these gorgeous drapes for me in less than two weeks! I wanted them done for the shower that is this coming weekend since they really make the room. My friend Teri owns Art Works by Teri and I had her paint the phrase above the crib (Charles picked it out!) and she painted the topiary. It all came out perfect! Now I am just waiting on a few things I ordered for above the changing table and above the crib and then it will be done! I also have to find a glider that I like but Charles's grandmother's antique chair will work for now. At least now I know if she comes early she has a mattress to sleep on (thanks to my parents) and a changing pad (thanks to the Sammons) to get fresh diapers on. I will update with new pictures when it is DONE! I added a picture of the closet after the first baby shower so you can see how many cute clothes she already has!

How Cute is Caleb????

Isn't he just the cutest thing!? Charles and I were in Jacksonville for MLK weekend. We got to see our friend's new baby Campbell who was born on Dec 30th (so precious...forgot my camera) and then of course we saw our darling nephew! It was a weekend full of babies...great practice for Charles and I! I still could not get Charles to change a diaper but his time will be here soon enough. :)

Heres to a WONDERFUL pregnant wife

I think I need to update everybody to how WONDERFUL my wife is as a pregnant woman. I have heard some CRAZY stories about emotionally unstable women with raging hormones while they are carrying babies. Waking up in the middle of the night and asking for icecream, cheetos, and some tobasco sauce..... crying because her favorite character on some MTV trash show got dumped, obsessivly cleaning the house, etc...

well let me tell you all. My wife is NONE of the above and has been a great pleasure to be around these past 7 months! I am truly blessed!


PS - Honey.... dont let me down... you still have a 8 more weeks or so!

29 Week Check Up

Charles and I went to the doctor's Wednesday and we were happy to hear everything is OK and I do not have to remain on bed rest. They basically said they wanted to see if they took me out of all my normal stressful activities and just made me relax and be pregnant for a few days if the contractions would stop. They didn't but they did not get worse and all my tests came back with normal results so I am good to go. It is hard to believe we only have 11 weeks left! We have our first of 4 classes this Wednesday night. The topic Wed is breastfeeding and post delivery. It is probably good that Charles is being eased into the classes....I think the birthing class might make him run away...good thing that is not until February 9th!!! :)

Addison's Cradle

Charles and my dad finished the construction of the cradle yesterday (1/10/09). It looks wonderful and I am so proud of their woodworking capabilities! Bella also helped daddy with the cradle and Tootsie enjoyed the freedom of running all day while daddy was in the shop.

Now we just have to decide what color to stain or paint it! No matter what color, I know Addison will have lots of cozy sleep time in there!

Welcome to Bed Rest

First let me say I AM FINE! I should have known when I told Charles he did not need to go to this appointment with me it would turn out more eventful then expected. My last few visits have consisted of my weigh in (I feel like I am the Biggest Gainer instead of the Biggest Loser), ask me some questions, take my blood pressure, listen to the baby's heartbeat and then I go home.
It started off with my doctor telling me that I "must have had a very good Christmas holiday" due to my weight gain since my previous appointment. He did not take into consideration the fact it was 3pm and I had just eaten lunch and had consumed at least 4 bottles of water...so now that I feel like a fat pig my appointment only gets better. He asked me if I have had any changes and I nonchalantly told them I was experiencing some tightness in my abdomen and it sometimes felt like menstrual cramps. To my surprise my doctor made me get an exam (which left me in tears) and then told me I needed to go to the hospital to be hooked up to a fetal monitor to measure my contractions. Then he says in passing, "I want you on bed rest for the rest of the week." WHAT!?!?!?!?! Keep in mind I am by myself....no wonderful husband by my side which is completely my fault so don't blame him. I go over to the hospital and lay in a bed with these things strapped around my waist monitoring my contractions and the baby's heart rate/movements. I honestly was more irritated than worried because I really felt my doctor over reacted. I know it is better to be safe than sorry but I just assumed I was having some Braxton Hicks contractions and he would tell me it was normal and I would be on my merry way. The nurse at the hospital was rather impressed with Addison's activity level, she asked me how far along I was. When I said 27 and a half weeks she was shocked. She said she has full term babies not as active as ours so that I should be thankful to have such a healthy active little one. My bladder also thanks Addison for her activity level! :)

So after three and a half hours of being with doctors they tell me everything is OK and I need to rest for the remainder of the week to see if the contractions stop. I called my doctor and asked if I could please go back to work and he sad no along with a "And don't ask me again. Enjoy your bed rest."

I feel fine. I just have the normal uncomfortable feeling of pressure and the occasional "contraction" that is not painful at all. I am allowed to return to work Monday. I am looking at the bright side of this bed rest, I can now stay up and watch the whole Gator game Thursday night knowing I can sleep in Friday!

Go Gators!

Who is the best husband EVER?

Thats me!!!

Work Work Work

My Aunt Maggie came over from Kissimmee and my mom came over to help me recover the dining room chairs that our landlord left behind. It is a very pretty set of furniture but the fabric that was on the chairs...not so pretty. It took us about 3 hours start to finish. It was something I always wanted to learn how to do and Aunt Maggie was nice (patient) enough to teach me! Mom was a great helper too.

You are probably sitting there asking youself...where was my wonderful husband? Well he enjoyed a game of golf and then went hunting for the evening....he has definitely earned his guy time!

Our Adorable Nephew Caleb

Doesn't he just melt your heart too!? We are the proud aunt & uncle....watch out Auntie Charlotte, I think he loves us more. :)

Happy New Year!

We truly have a lot to be thankful for as we ring in the new year and reflect on last year's events.

This time last year we had just found out we were expecting. My parents happened to be in Jacksonville and we told them New Year's Day 2008. Little did we know that 3 days later our excitement and happiness would end. People always says everything happens for a reason and we are now firm believers of that.

As we look back at 2008 it really was a year of change and chaos for Charles & I. Charles left real estate and joined Blue Medical Supply in January which later moved us to Vero Beach. Charles spent most of February and March out of town for training and I stayed in Jax Beach packing up the house to get ready for our big move. In February Tootsie was involved in a dog fight which led to her getting 19 staples in her neck, which I had to tend to alone without Charles by my side. Charles officially moved to Vero April 1st. I did not move down until May 1st. During the first 4 months of the year we celebrated The Caldwell's wedding in March, The Werner's in April, and The Mickley's in June.

Charles and I decided for our 2nd wedding anniversary we would take a much needed vacation with just the two of us. We went to Long Island, NY and stayed at my Aunt Ronne's beautiful house in Sagaponack. It was the perfect relaxing vacation we needed to re-connect with each other after a whirlwind first half of the year.

Much like Charles's cousin, Erin (check out her blog listed on leftside Snips & Tales & Ross Nicholas Tales), I was very impatient when taking a pregnancy test. I started to notice some changes with myself but I was still 2 days too early to test. Since Charles had supplied me with a box of doctor grade pregnancy tests I figured "Why not take one, when I have 30 more!" I woke up on July 26th and took a test and again like Erin there was a very faint line. I had to angle it just right in the light to see the line. I went back to bed and told Charles that I thought I was pregnant. He looked at me and said, "You have thought you were pregnant every month for the last 6 months!" Discouraged I ran upstairs knowing I had a digital test and took that. My options were "pregnant" or "not pregnant" with no room for ambiguity from a line. "Pregnant" showed up on the digital screen after about 30 seconds. I was so excited I ran downstairs and showed Charles the proof even he could not doubt! We were both overwhelmed with joy praying for this pregnancy to "stick". Since we were living with my parents at the time my poor parents knew the same day we found out and were not allowed to tell anyone until I was a solid 13 weeks pregnant. Talk about torture for a new grandmother...poor mom!

In September we welcomed our new baby cousin, Ross Nicholas Perlick, into the world. And on October 7th we welcomed our handsome first nephew, Caleb Kelley Wright, into the Bond family. Both little boys just melt our hearts.

Did I mention over the summer we had two more pet ER visits, one more for Tootsie and one for Bella? Both involved stitches. They are worse than children!!!

So here we are 27 weeks into our pregnancy and celebrating the first day of 2009. Baby Addison is growing fast and kicking away, even Charles feels her kicking in there. We thank God everyday for this blessing and to please protect her and keep her healthy and safe. We have 13 weeks left until we get to meet our little miracle.

2008 proved to be a hard year but it only made us stronger and closer. 2009 will be another year of change but we look forward to the sleepless nights and piles of dirty diapers and welcome it all with open arms!

Happy New Year and we love you all!

Here I am! 12/28/2008

Addison's Nursery

Charles has been super husband! A few weeks ago he woke up on Saturday and decided he was going to get the nursery ready for our baby girl. You have to understand that Charles does NOT paint. I painted our entire house in Jacksonville by myself! Apparently this little girl already has daddy wrapped around her finger! The house we are renting in Vero is decorated predominately with wallpaper. Every bedroom/bathroom had some kind of beautiful 70's style wallpaper in it (hence the sarcasm). In the room we decided on for the nursery the walls were a pale yellow with a floral border and all the trim and doors were beige. Charles pulled down the border, painted the trim and doors white and he painted the walls a soft cream called Oriental Silk. Since I am doing all the accents in pink we figured cream walls would give the soft delicate feel I want. He did an excellent job. Now that I know he really can paint I won't take no for an answer in the future! Here are some pictures of the nursery furniture and bedding. I don't have anything up on the walls yet but I will update the pictures when I do. The furniture was a gift from Guy and Reva and it is absolutely beautiful!

Building a Family Heirloom

When we found out we were pregnant Charles immediately wanted to find something to build for our little angel. After searching the Internet for hours we finally found a cradle we both liked. Our hope is to keep the cradle and Addison in our room for the first few weeks and then Addison can use it for her dolls for the next few years. I have posted a picture of my dad and Charles working on it in my dad's workshop. It is about 50% done as of 1/1/09.

Watch My Belly Grow!

Charles started taking pictures of me at 8 weeks so we could see how my body would change over the next 40 weeks. Since we don't see some of our family & friends frequently and they keep asking us how I look pregnant we figured we would let you all see for yourselves!