Annie Grace's Birth Story

Since this blog still exists I decided I should write down Annie Grace's birth story while it's somewhat fresh in my mind!  I'll do a timeline...

January 6 (35 weeks prego) - dilated to 1ish and 80% effaced...I'm thinking, "Yay, progress!"
January 13 (36 weeks pg) - 1.5 ish and 90% effaced...same thought as week before.
January 20 (37 weeks...) - NO CHANGE...not cool
January 27 - maybe dilated to a 2, induction date set for Feb. 3

These weeks and days dragged by.  I should have been learning patience but instead wallowed in self pity....I really think not knowing the gender of our baby added to my impatience.  I was so ready to meet this baby and know his or her name!

February 2 (MY BIRTHDAY!) -
No signs of anything all day.  I knew it was my last day before I had my baby in my arms yet went about my business as usual...BSF leader's meeting, lunch with friends, etc.  Later that evening, Daniel and I took the girls to Chili's for our last meal as a family of 4.  My parents met us at the house afterward and we settled the girls in to bed and sat up chatting and watching TV.
9:30 PM -  I feel a slight cramping feeling but don't say anything to anybody...
9:50 PM - I mention to mom and Daniel that I might be feeling contractions but probably not.
10:45 PM - pretty sure contractions are going so I should probably go to bed and sleep.  Afterall, I have to be at the hospital at 5AM! (this feels so silly typing now!)
11:30 PM - can't sleep, contractions hurt...still, I must get some rest before I go to the hospital at 5! haha!

February 3
12:00 AM - call hospital to explain what I'm feeling, nurse says drink water and try to sleep.
12:15 AM - three STRONG contractions since calling hospital...I tell Daniel we should go
12:20 AM - wake mom to tell her I'm going in to be checked but I don't think I'm too far along.  She assures me that I am in labor.
12:45 AM - check in at ER
1:00 AM - they finally wheel me upstairs and say they're going to admit me since I was going to come in at 5AM anyway.
2:00 AM - nurse FINALLY checks me and I'm dilated to 8 cm.  I have a momentary freak out b/c this is what I was when i checked in with Caroline and I missed that epidural!
2:15 AM - anesthesiologist walks in...whew!
2:45 AM - epidural started and pain starting to dissipate.  I think I love Dr. White more than my husband at this moment...ha!
3:00 AM - no pain whatsoever.  Yay!
3:15 AM - my water breaks on it's own and Daniel goes to tell nurse
3:20 AM - nurse comes to check and I'm fully dilated and baby is ready.
3:25 AM - I ask Daniel, mom, and Kate to help me put my headband on...I needed to look decent for pics, right?!
3:30 AM - nurse has me push a couple of times, tells me it's time, goes to get dr.
3:40ish AM - I remember telling the Dr. and the nurses that I was sorry if my breath smelled bad.  I love that the epidural was working so well that my only concern was whether or not i had bad breath!
3:48 AM - IT'S A GIRL!
4:15 AM - phone alarm goes off telling me to get up and go to hospital...I need that laughing so hard I'm crying emoji right here!
1:00 PM - Annie Grace finally has a name! We really could not decide between Annie Grace and Charlotte.  Both are beautiful.  We decided to type a text to each other with our #1 name and hit send at the same time...Annie it was!

My days were all screwed up for a couple of days post-baby.  Not sleeping from 6:30 AM on Feb. 2 until 3:45 AM on Feb. 4th will do that to ya! I also didn't get to leave the hospital until 4:00 PM on Feb. 4th b/c doctors were so behind.  We had a great meal brought over to us later that evening.  I'm forever grateful to ALL of the friends and family that helped us out those first days home.  Annie Grace was a great sleeper from the get-go so I felt rested but the help with food and the big girls was so good for Daniel and me.

December

We had our Christmas decorations up in record time this year! The Sunday after Thanksgiving...we're usually a little lazy and don't get it all up so soon! 

In early December I drove the girls, Granny, dad and Lujean to see my brother in Texas. It was my first time to meet my niece Blakeleigh. She's so precious! 

Aunt Jaimee thought the girls would love to make their own pizzas. What a sweet aunt. She's gonna be a fun momma! 

After Texas I took the girls to Tulsa because I needed to pick up a few things from Kati. Ree and Papa were so excited to take the kids to Chuck E Cheese. (My least favorite place.) After about an hour, Ree and Papa were so excited to leave. I think they figured out why I did not want to go in the first place! 

Our neighbors had an ice skating rehearsal one night so we went to watch. 

SJ stole my phone and took a few selfies. Ha! She said she's "really sick" in the bottom pics. 

We attended our third Christmas party at Kraft! 

I really wanted to plan some fun stuff for the girls this December. So we kind of made up a bucket list of things to do before Christmas. Our first night was decorating cookies  with neighbors. So easy and a lot of fun! 

Night two was ice skating at the Bentonville Square. They loved it! 

3rd night on the bucket list was decorating gingerbread houses. 

4th night was pictures with santa. A friend of mine has two girls just a little older than my girls. She passed down these super cute dresses! 

The 5th night the girls went to our church's Christmas cantata. We missed out but they really enjoyed the singing. Sadly, no picture! 

Sarah got to be Mary in her school Christmas program. Mary didn't really have much to do in the program except dress the part. Either way she looked super cute with her friend Timmy as Joseph! 

They really love on each other...sometimes. 

The Saturday before Christmas is always our first Christmas party with mom's side of the family. It's always a great time and always ends sooner than I want! 

On Christmas Eve, Aunt Bet Bet joined us! We had a relaxing afternoon then headed to our church's Christmas Eve service. 

We followed a tradition in Daniel's family and had gumbo for our Christmas Eve dinner. Daniel made a good batch! I tried to be fancy and make a chocolate cake with white chocolate trees. It wasn't too cute but it tasted great! 

Christmas night we headed to McAlester to see my dad's side of the family. We had a great dinner at Granny's followed by opening gifts at Dad's. 

Sweet Blakeleigh giving me morning smiles and cuddles!

We made it to Bixby to cap off Christmas parties! The first night we hired a sitter and all adults went to dinner at Smoke. I loved it! 

The typical cousins in PJs pic! :)

We spent Dec. 30-Jan. 1 in Kansas City. OSU had a basketball game against Mizzou...which we won in OT. I also ran into my college roomie, Fatima. So fun! We had a lot of fun with the Eberharts but sadly took no pics of all the kids together. Darn! NYE was a nice prime rib dinner with cheesecake for dessert. We all rubbed our eyes and yawned our way to midnight. At 12:10 I was putting my head on my pillow and falling asleep! 

November

November was kicked off with a football game! We watched our friend, O score his first touchdown. It. Was. Awesome! 

I mean, really. These two. Is this a future engagement pic? My heart only wishes she would marry sweet Jude!  :) 

Frozen birthday party for Millie turning 6!

Daniel's first Arkansas buck. He was so proud. My walls have no idea where this is going...

Sweet Ember and Caroline! I love little people sharing a baby swing. This is one of my favorite pics! 

School pics. I have two mottos. 1) The bigger the bow the better the mom. Or 2) the bigger the bow the closer to God. Take your pic here. Love my little people! 

Celebrating the impending arrival of baby Cora! We didn't know if there was a boy or girl in that cute bump of Summer's. (Spoiler alert...she had a girl two days later!) So thankful for these friends! 

Vintage Toys baby shower for a great friend of mine, Ashley. This was a fun shower. Why do I have no pics of the mommy-to-be and me?!?! 

Sometimes it's hard to be a 3 year old. 

Buggie came to visit. I love this pic and each face in it! 

SJ went on her second hunt with Daniel. I don't think she was cold. At. All. 

SJ and I went to watch several friends in their basketball skills debut. It was adorable! And, I enjoyed the high school girls basketball game that we watched beforehand. Ahhh, I sure miss coaching. While my girls have not embraced the world of sports, I have attempted to expose them to all kinds. First and foremost, I hope they learn to support and encourage their buddies. Second, I hope they learn that girls play all sports! (Not just dancing where they wear pink tutus. SJ's words not mine!)

This girl. She cracks me up. She is constantly asking me to take a picture and send it to, ____. Different person everyday. She is so funny! 

Thanksgiving with the Family. Love these people! Oh, Aunt Susie, corn?!?! Hahaha! 

We had a way scaled back Friendsgiving this year. I was 6 days away from not having it. At the last minute we invited all of our neighbors and a few friends. Always a good time! 

My girls have recently discovered ice skating. Mostly thanks to our neighbors, the Basketts. It is so cute watching them attempt to skate. They love every second of it! 

Oklahoma sunset on the way to see my dad and family for Thanksgiving. 

I titled this pic on Instagram, "A grandparent's house is where cousins go to become best friends."  It was true in my early years and I know its's true for my kiddos! 

"Hey grannie, take a duck face selfie with us!"

My cutie patootie niece, Harper. She is one! Wow! 

We finished up Thanksgiving week at Grandfather and C-mom's house.  This was Caroline's favorite resting place those few days. I love it. 

Daniel helped his dad everyday while in LA (lower Arkansas).  He's so in his element around these cows! 

Sweet C-mom and Aunt BetBet reading to the girls. 

A December post coming way sooner than the November post!