2015 Christmas Card

We had a big announcement on our Christmas card this year!

Christmas

I guess because of her late night on Christmas Eve, HG slept until 7:30 on Christmas morning. I think that might be a record. Whooohooo! Despite throwing Santa a curve ball with her last minute requests, she was happy with all that Santa brought her (and never mentioned the things he didn’t add on). I was very pleased with her handling that so maturely. She loved the American Girl Doll pajamas, FurReal puppy dog, Take Care of Me Lambie, and sno cone machine. Shopkins, Legos, a pin art thing, Doc McStuffins Mobile Cart, and chapter books were also high on her list.

Granddaddy and Spiffer brought over breakfast, and we all exchanged our gifts. Their biggest hits for HG were a vintage-inspired-with-a-modern-twist View-Master Virtual Reality (you open the app on your phone, put your cell phone inside it, and take a journey to various destinations) and then a VTech Kidizoom Smartwatch that she has yet to take off (complete with camera and games). 

GD, Spiffer, Grandma, Bubba, Uncle Bill, Aunt Di, William, Ryves, Mary Chris, and Darby joined us for a very casual dinner that night (we used our every day china for the meal and paper plates for dessert- gasp!), and we all sat around the dinner table for a long time chatting and catching up. HG loved entertaining Darby (they were attached at the hip all night), and Mary Chris said she had such a good time with her hands free all night! Their second baby is due on Dec. 29, so she needed a break!

We were missing our FL/LA crew, but I loved having the William and Ryves together and was thankful Ryves had the day off to be with us since he worked Thanksgiving. Next Christmas will bring a whole new round of Moore little ones! 

P.S. Darby actually left her bunny, Bebe, at our house that night. We offered to drive it up there because we know she is as attached to it as HG is to Lovey, but they refused and made due with another toy. It did mean that we got to see MC and Darby again the next day though when we rendezvoused to get Bebe back to her!

 
 

HG made place cards for the crowd to ensure she and Darby could sit next to each other. When I fixed a plate for HG and took it to her plate, I giggled at what she had chosen for her Christmas meal.

Christmas Eve

Helen Grace began Christmas Eve (Thursday) with the sweetest gift for us. She woke up early, dressed herself, brushed her teeth and hair, and was cleaning up her room when I found her. Wow!

The weather was record-setting warm that day (up to the low 70s), so we called the Browns, gathered up Addie, and headed to the zoo for some sun and fresh air. And whatdoyaknow? The zoo was CLOSED! We were so shocked and sad. We made the best of it though and headed to Overton Park with Sonic for a picnic, and the girls had a big time running off some steam. Addie was convinced she was going to follow HG around too and made it up the rope ladder with some help from John. (And he had to climb up the other side to get her down too!)

Afterward, we dropped Addie off at her house, and then we came home, got in our pjs, and climbed in mama’s bed for some nice down time. We rallied that night for the candlelight service at Bubba’s church, which HG remembered how (and was excited about) she got to run around afterward last year. She also remembered the hot wax from the candle last year and wasn’t sure if she wanted to hold one, but her stubborness won out and she held her own candle with no problems this year. And of course, she ran around like crazy with the boys after the service.

Then, we headed to Grandma’s to open presents in front of the fire (which was totally unnecessary with the high temps but Jeanne knows I love). We had a wonderful time with a few tears (Jeanne gave me a Pandora bracelet of Peg’s, as well as several gifts for us that Peg had chosen months ago) but lots of laughs and hugs.

When HG started asking for milk and curling up in her chair, we knew it was time for bed. We headed home to sprinkle reindeer food and leave cookies (and a letter) for Santa. She fell asleep cuddled up against me in Mama’s bed, and all was right with the world.

Who is this cleaning up little girl??

Playing at Overton Park

Candlelight service at Byhalia UMC

This is the way John finally had to get her out of the church.

Grandma’s by candlelight too

Time for reindeer food

Letter to Santa

Toohig Tidbits: Baby Cressey Edition

Sickness: So far, this pregnancy has been pretty good to me. I had some morning (all day) sickness for the first 14 weeks, which I didn’t really have with HG. (With her, I just had 2-3 early morning spells but never got sick.) This time, I didn’t get sick but was constantly planning where I would go if I did throw up. One pill of Diclegis a day kept that at bay, and around 14 wks, I finally felt normal again. I had some hormonal headaches around that point too.

Cravings: At the beginning, I wanted nothing but guacamole and Panera breakfast sandwiches, but those cravings waned by the second trimester. I generally have wanted nothing to do with salads or vegetables, but so far, no other crazy requests.

Side Effects: By 12 wks, I wasn’t falling asleep sitting up anymore- yay! I started taking Aspirin daily at 13 wks to prevent preclampsia, so I had a little gum bleeding from that (which scared me to death at first). For the record, John says I have been much more emotionally ‘tame’ than last time, so I consider that a big win. Maybe Cressey will be the same way!

Weight Gain: I gained 4-5 pounds by 14 wks but could fit in my larger sized jeans. By 16 wks, my coworkers could see a baby bump. By 18 wks, I had gained 7-8 lbs, and I was limited to very few pairs of pants (one pair of larger jeans and stretchy black work pants). By 22 wks, I was up 13-15 lbs, and maternity clothes were really the most comfortable option. Thank goodness that long tunics and dresses with leggings are in style! By 23 wks, I saw a colleague I hadn’t seen in a while, and she took one look at me and said, “Are you pregnant?”

Movement: Around 14 wks, I felt three seperate twinges that I thought might be her moving. They got stronger by the week, and at 17 wks, I was laying in bed in the morning and could repeatedly feel her move. By 20 wks, I could see her kicks from the outside (see video below). John and HG still (at 25 wks) haven’t been able to feel her though.

Here are some Cressey tidbits…

At DG initiation, we were singing Will You Wear Our Anchor, and baby girl flipped. A sign maybe??

HG really loves to go to my doctor appointments with me, partly because she gets to see pics of Cressey and partly because Dr. Neblett gives his ‘assistant’ a handful of suckers. She has learned a whole lot about all the things you have to do in this process (she was absolutely disgusted by leaving a sample). I told her, “This is what we mamas do for baby girls.” She quickly followed up with, “And it’s all worth it.” She paused for a minute and then said, “That’s why I’ll adopt.”

“When you have a sister, you always have magic because you love each other.”

HG was cruising keychains at a gas station and was frustrated that she couldn’t find one with her name on it. I said, “Well, baby, you have an old name. It’s not terribly common.” And she said, “It’s old but I’m new, so that makes it special. Just like Cressey too.”

At an ultrasound, we were having trouble getting Cressey to cooperate and show us her face. Exasperated, HG said, “We come in peace!” The tech had such a giggle fit that she had to take a minute. She keeps us in stitiches!

 

October 13, 2015: 14 wks 1 day, heart rate 154

Oct 25, 2015: 15 wks 6 days (HG as photographer)

Oct 26, 2015: 16 wks

Nov 11, 2015: 18 wks 2 days (HG as photographer)

November 25, 2015: Dr. Samson’s check up at 20 wks 2 days. Heart rate of 141.

She was a VERY happy big sister this day with all these pics.

November 28, 2015: 20 wks 5 days (in New York)

 

 

December 4, 2015: 21 wks 4 days (after Raymond James Christmas party)

December 8, 2015: 22 wks 1 day, caught her in a yawn!

December 21, 2015: 24 wks. This is Cressey with both her feet and her elbow up against her face. Quite flexible! She weighed 1 lb 10 oz (60th percentile), and her heart rate was 145.

And then she moved her feet and let us see that precious face…

 

"I have a baby in my belly like mama!"

 

December 26, 2015: 24 wks 5 days. HG loves to watch videos about babies’ development on BabyCenter, and she stumbled across one about the top 10 things you need to have to be ready for baby. Immediately afterward, she wanted to go upstairs and work on her room. This is her drawing plans for the layout of Cressey’s room.

Then she wanted to go shopping, so off we went to Babies R Us. We found a stroller, car seat, bases, boppy, bathtub, etc. HG had the best time trying everything out and was excited at every aisle. I soaked it all up, watching even John being excited looking at all the girly baby stuff. As we pulled away from the store, my eyes filled up with tears, thinking how I never thought I’d be back in that store, picking out things for HG’s little sister. It made it so much more real after chasing this elusive dream for so many years. We prayed and worked so hard for this little miracle, and we are more grateful than words can say.

 

 

She had to have the Boppy on her lap for the ride home.