Tommy at 5 weeks old
Madison is such a sweet and friendly little lady. She makes friends easily and if someone is left out, she makes sure to include them. I love that she is outgoing, independent, and as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. 
Since her little brother came so close to her birthday, we celebrated it later in the month, however, it is Spring Break at school so most of her friends were out of town and couldn't join in the celebration. Luckily she has lots of cousins!
Pictured from left to right: Serenity, Madison, Alex, Noelle, Andrew, and Dre.
If only I could freeze time then she would stay my little pal that follows me around, helps me with the baby and scrapbooks with me.
My 32nd birthday was one of the best birthdays since my 21st! I've had lots of great gifts in between the two birthdays, (thanks babe!); however, the best gifts are the balloons, flowers, friends, and the little special gifts that I've received. As soon as I awoke, I was bombarded with lots of love and birthday wishes from my husband and kids. Oh, and not to mention the 7 a.m. attempted birthday wish from my sister! What was she thinking! NO calls until after 10 a.m.! I am NOT a morning person, duh! Later that day, my little brother, Ray, and his girlfriend, Afton (whom Madison and I absolutely adore), stopped by with a vase full of roses, a card, and a bunch of smiley face balloons! As if that weren't enough, my bestest friend, Jolene and her family, made a surprise visit. They brought me a bag full of my favorite things: Orange Milano cookies, Snapple Diet Peach Tea with the cool 'Snapple Facts' that I love to read, a 'butt load' of Taco Bell fire sauce, which is a staple in my diet, and some Safeway brand baked potato soup... just to name a few things. Finally, to top it all off, my hubby bought me an Oreo ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. I know, it doesn't take much to make me happy!
Finally, after 40 weeks of impatiently waiting, our little Tommy has arrived. It didn't come easy either. This pregnancy was by far the hardest. From constant back pain because he sat on my ciatic nerve, to sleepless nights of tossing and turning and rib pain. On Tuesday, the day before the scheduled induction, I had my final doctor appointment so that my doctor knew my starting point. I was dilated to 1 and my cervix was only 30% efaced, which means Tommy had no intention of coming any time soon.
On Wednesday morning at 7:30 I was admitted to be induced. They had to start me on Cervetix (?) to soften my cervix before they could start the Pitocen. By 1 o'clock, I hadn't progressed much. I was dilated to a 2 and 40% efaced. My doctor stopped by on his lunch to break my water in hopes of hurrying things along a bit. I thought having my membranes scraped was painful, this was worse! At 3 o'clock they started the Pit and at 11:09 pm Tommy was born. After all that waiting, it only took about 5 pushes and he was out. I think my sister cried more than I did when he was born! It was such a blessing to have Lynn, my sister (and photographer/videographer of the birth), Jolene, my best friend, and of course my hubby, Lee in the room with me. With Lee looking like he was going to pass out, and my sister balling her eyes out, the only other person to look to was Jolene who remained the most calm. :) After Tommy and I were cleaned up we let the kids in the room. Words cannot describe how excited they were to see their new brother. Aaliyah, one of my neices, was excited too because after all the craddling of my stomach, her cousin was finally here.
Born at 11:09 p.m. on 2/18/09. 8 lbs. and 21 inches long
1 day old at his hospital photo shoot
Relaxing at home
Precious little blondie!
Tommy is such a good baby. He reminds me of his sister. He gives a slight growl when he's hungry and a little squirm when he needs changed. Other than that, he is quiet and sweet. When he is awake, he is very alert and stares at you when you talk to him as if he understands every word you are saying. I can't stop staring at him and smothering him with hugs and kisses because after having an almost 8 yr. old and a 10 yr. old that just had open house at Silver Hills Middle School, I know how fast time goes by. 
As of yesterday, I am 38 weeks along! The last month is always the worst. Not only does it seems to slowly creep by, but it's incredibly uncomfortable. Thankfully my doctor was awsome enough to induce me on my due date and not make me go over like I did with Andrew (10 days overdue) and Madison (14 days overdue). Needless to say, I am so excited to meet the little guy. Lee and the kids are as well. We went to my hang out with my little brother for the Superbowl and his friend Dustin's 15 month old was there. Lee couldn't get enough of little Marcus. Madison followed him around everywhere and Andrew couldn't stop laughing at all the cute things he did. I think we are more than ready to have a little one running around and causing havok again!Madison has been in gymnastics, dance, cheerleading, MMA and now she is giving basketball a try. Her first game was this past Saturday and it was completely adorable to watch! There are no referees, keeping track of score or fouls called. The girls wear colored wristbands to keep track of who they are suppose to be guarding. They are trying to learn the basic fundamentals of passing, dribbling, guarding and shooting which is quite challenging for them. In the video, there is constant double dribbling and traveling. It's funny to see them all gather around the ball, walking side to side to get in a good shot and the non-stop dribble-walk-dribble. Although they didn't keep score, Madison's team, the shooting stars, made the most baskets. I can't wait till her next game!
For those of you who have seen my cat, he's huge! I've had him for 8 1/2 years and I absolutely adore him. He follows me wherever I go and is waiting by the door for me when I get home. Over the last year, he has gotten really fat. So fat that he can no longer reach his back to lick/comb his hair and I have to figure out a safe way to shave him. I refuse to take him out of the house to take him to get groomed because he completely freaks out and hyperventilates (for lack of a better way to describe it). 
Little Tommy is so incredibly adorable! He was so comfy in my belly that he slept thru most of the ultrasound. It was such a blessing to get to see him in this type of ultrasound. It's as if you could pick him up and hold him. My sister was awsome enough to get this for us for Christmas (a little early). The above picture is of him sucking his thumb. During the ultrasound, he sucked his thumb, smiled, blinked, squirmed and even snarled at us for moving him around. We were trying to wake him up and get him to move so we could get a full face shot. He didn't cooperate. The picture below is the best we got of his face. We have the entire hour long session on DVD! We were surprised how much he looked like his big brother Andrew. Yes, it was that clear!
The picture above is his little fist against his chin.
The doctor wasn't quick enough with the print button so this is him just after he smiled. His heartbeat was 150 bpm and his estimated weight is 2 lbs 4 oz. I cannot fully describe how amazing and wonderful it was to see him in my belly and with such clarity. I can't wait to meet the little guy!
I'm at the beginning of my 6th month, only 110 more days to go! Yes, I'm counting them down! Time is flying by so fast but my back is killing me and I'm anxious to meet the little guy! All my check-ups are going really well. He is growing perfectly, his heart beat is a steady 140 bpm, and I am gaining the right amount of weight :) I think my belly is huge, (and my butt:), but when I tell people how far along I am they tell me my baby bump is little. My thought is it's because he sits in my back, which hurts like h*ll, so maybe that's why I'm not poking out so much. It just means less belly flab for me, YAY!!
