Oops! We did it again.

That's the best title I could think of for this post. Wednesday, January 13th started out as a typical day. I woke up, got Hannah and myself ready and we headed to the YMCA for the 10:00 am Muscle Works class. We met Brett for lunch at Logan's then headed home. For some reason, I decided to stop at the Dollar General on Wilson Dam Road and pick up a pregnancy test. I knew it had been a while since my LP so I thought might as well. For those of you who don't know, I take pregnancy tests like I take showers so this wasn't unusual. Well, on this particular Wednesday the test looked a little different. There was a very, very faint line showing up on the DG brand pregnancy test. Well, I called Whitney (pregnancy test expert, in my opinion) because I didn't know if there was a line behind the test strip that could be showing through...I know, I know, but at this point I was grasping for any reason why there would be a second line showing up. She reassured me that the only reason a second line would be showing up was if the hormone had been detected. This scenario was all too familiar. On October 24, 2008 the EXACT same thing happened...a faint line plus a call/visit to Whitney's except this time she was in Birmingham:( She convinced me to go buy a digital test, once again exact same scenario as in October. I loaded Hannah back up and we headed to CVS to shop for digital tests. The whole time I was thinking that this was just a fluke that there is no way I could be pregnant. Well, you all know the end of the story by now. Sure enough, that digital test read "PREGNANT." I really didn't know how to feel. So many thoughts/emotions flooded my mind. After talking to Whitney, I collected my thoughts and called Brett. He was working late and wouldn't be home until after I had gone to bed so I just called him with the news. He was so reassuring, positive, and excited...something I desperately needed to hear!
We went to see Dr. Keith on January 23rd because I thought I was close to 7 weeks along. The LP I remember having was at the end of November however, I have been extremely irregular since having Hannah. Turns out, I was only a little over 4 weeks along. I felt bad for wasting their time since there wasn't much they could tell me at that point. We go back on Thursday for a followup appointment to make sure everything is progressing the way it should. At first, I was a bit concerned since I wasn't a far along as I estimated however, I have felt so pregnant since then. The nausea with this pregnancy has already been so much worse than with Hannah which makes taking care of her so much harder. I pretty much have to hold my breath every time I feed her mushy baby food...the smell/look makes me so sick.
I'll admit I'm still in shock and probably haven't fully processed what's about to happen...another baby, wow! Each time I start to freak out a little, I reassure myself that God doesn't make mistakes and this day was scheduled...His plan is perfect! We have to trust His provision for our life. He trusts Brett and I enough to bring another life into this world and for that, I am so thankful!

She's going to be the best big sister!

Mini-Getaway

Sunday afternoon, Brett and I packed up and headed to Tunica for the night. My Aunt and Uncle came and stayed with Hannah so we could get away. They are leaving for a cruise on Wednesday and will not see her for almost two weeks so they were thrilled to keep her. We arrived in Tunica about 6:30pm, checked into hotel and hit the casino. I hadn't been to a casino since Vegas so I was pretty excited. Brett and I played Three Card Poker for a while and then I landed at the Roulette table (love it!) while he played Blackjack. We had a blast! I actually won money this time:) The next morning we got up and headed to Memphis for the Grizzlies vs. Suns game. We ate at BB Kings for lunch and saw Brian McKnight there. We didn't take a picture because he was already bombarded with people. He was in town to sing the National Anthem for the game. After lunch we headed to the FedEx Forum to get tickets. We bought tickets from this angry yet hilarious scalper and ended up with great seats! We sat on the 4th row behind the goal. Our section was beside the Suns locker room so we got to see all the players and Brian McKnight up close and personal. It was an awesome game and we had a blast! We got back home last night at about 10:30pm. I couldn't wait for Hannah to wake up this morning. I missed her like crazy! Thanks, Brett, for a great mini-getaway!

Grant Hill

Steve Nash

Pic from our awesome seats!

Don't Call it a Comeback...

Well, it has been 7 months since my last post. My fear when I created this blog was that I wouldn't keep it updated...guess I was right. I finally got a cute background and changed the layout around a bit so hopefully this will motivate me to update every now and again.
As you can imagine, there have been lots of changes around our house. Instead of going back and trying to remember the past 7 months I'm just going to pick up with what's going on with us now:
Hannah will be 7 months old on the 29th of January...blows my mind. She had her 6 month checkup with Dr. Melvin a few weeks ago. She was in the 50th percentile of both weight and height (16.4 lbs. and 26 in). YAY! Brett and I are both hoping she at least passes me in the stats department:)
She has been a great baby! She's been sleeping through the night since she was about 12 weeks old. She doesn't have any teeth yet but seems like she's been teething for 3 months now! She started sitting up about a month ago and is trying so hard to crawl. She's getting to be such a big girl with such a fun personality!
Back in August, Brett and I made the decision for me to stay at home with Hannah. I loved my job at UNA but the hours/workload wasn't the most family-friendly. I do miss the students and my coworkers terribly but nothing can compare to watching my sweet baby grow daily. I recently became certified to teach a few classes at the YMCA. I am in the process of getting trained so I can begin teaching solo. Hannah loves staying with the Child Watch Staff. In fact, they call her "Happy Hannah" because they say she's the best baby they keep. Makes me proud!
Brett's adjusting to fatherhood wonderfully! Those first few weeks were trying on both of us. Even with her being a good baby, we really didn't know what to expect and really no one can prepare you for that time. He's so great with her and she absolutely adores him!
I guess that's all for now except for a few recent pics of our sweet baby:

Opening her gifts from Santa

Playing with her favorite Christmas gift, Giggles.

Nursery Pictures

One Week and Counting...

It has been several weeks since my last post so here's a brief update.
-I've been home for about two weeks now. My last day at UNA was Friday, June 5th. It has been nice but I must admit I'm beginning to get at little stir crazy. I've been resting, soaking up the sun and finishing up the last minute details before the big day.
-Two weeks ago, Brett and I went in to let Dr. Keith try and turn Hannah as she is still breech. We got to the hospital at 8am and waited and waited and waited. We didn't see Dr. Keith until 11:30am which made for a long day. Especially because I had to lie in bed hooked up to the fetal monitors plus an IV...no fun! It felt like the real deal. The nurses kept coming in and telling me that I was having contractions about every 2-4 minutes but I didn't feel anything...guess I shouldn't complain. After about 5 minutes of trying to turn her with no luck, he decided we would just schedule a c-section. I wasn't really disappointed...I wasn't expecting her to turn but wanted to say we exhausted every effort. We went in last Monday for my weekly appointment and scheduled the c-section for Monday, June 29th!!! I am so excited and cannot believe we get to meet our little girl in one week!!! I really hope this week flies by.
-The nurseryis complete...pics to follow. I'm really excited with how it all came together.

"Big Girls Need Love Too"

Last Wednesday, Brett and I headed to my biweekly doctor's appointment. Dr. Keith had scheduled an ultrasound at our last appointment but being new to all of this I didn't think to ask what for. I really didn't want to question it in fear that it was a mistake and they would cancel it. We hadn't had an ultrasound since my 18th week appointment when we found out the sex so I was excited about getting to see Hannah again. We found out that she is currently frank's breech, bottom first with her feet in front of her face. We got some great new pics of her profile and face though. The technician said she looked great, strong heartbeat and was a "healthy" girl. Dr. Keith had been called out to delivery so we saw the nurse practitioner. She informed us that Hannah is measuring in the 62 percentile of growth...great for a normal sized person. Unfortunately for my size, they are a little concerned with how big she is. I asked if there was anything I was doing to make her so big and the np said it was all about genetics. Well, we all know that doesn't come from my side of the family:) The NP said their was no reason to be alarmed they were just going to keep a close eye on her to make sure she has enough room. She said the good news is that I will definitely get another ultrasound. I am ready for next week's appointment to ask Dr. Keith what his plan is concerning her position.
After we left the doctor's office, Brett kept saying, "big girls need love too", referring to Hannah...hence the title of this post. He also likes to pat my belly and say, "it's the big girl!" It makes me laugh every time.

And Her Name Is...

Sunday, Brett and I finally decided on a name for our little girl. Well, I should say Brett finally gave the "go ahead" as I have been ready for several weeks now:). We are naming her Hannah Reece Clayton. I wanted to use "ann" in some form or fashion as this is my Aunt's, Kim's (Brett's sister), Mimi's (Brett's mom) and my middle name. I know Hannah is a little bit of a stretch but it does have "ann" in there. We also love that Hannah is a biblical name and the meaning is "grace" which speaks so much to my heart. We both loved the name Reece and loved how it sounded with Hannah. It feels so official now that she has a name. We are headed to Hunstville on Friday afternoon to register because I have a few showers scheduled for April and not many available weekends between then and now.