My Little American Idol

Abby is always wandering around the house singing. The girl LOVES to sing, and it is so stinkin' cute listening to her. But of course, as soon as I pull out the video camera, she stops singing, and I am left singing alone, which no one wants to see or hear! But finally last night I pulled out my camera while she was singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" while we were all hanging out in Ethan's room. So, here she is, my future American Idol....

Extreme Couponing

So, I have a new passion. I have become completely addicted to couponing. I have found several couponing websites and blogs and I have dipped my toes in the water, and I never knew how much fun it could be!! I love to come home and show Greg all the stuff I got, and then tell him how little I paid for it. And I love when the store actually pays ME to take the stuff away!

So, being the silly blogger that I am, I actually took a picture of today's trip to CVS. I spent $10.01, and got back $13 to spend next time. So, essentially, CVS paid me $2.99 to take all this stuff away!!

So here's what I got:

• 2 Dreyers Maxx ice cream-16oz.
• 1 Garnier Fructis spray gel
• 1 Viactiv 60 ct.
• 4 Visines
• 2 Gerber stage 2 mixed fruit
• 1 Huggies Clean Team wipes
• 2 Maybeline mascaras
• 2 bottles All small & mighty
• 2 Colgate wisps
• 3 boxes Hello Kitty band aids
• 3 packages of Mentos gum
• 1 Dora birthday card for Abby

I got back $10 in Extra Care Bucks for the Visine, band aids & Viactiv; $2 for the spray gel, and $1 for the mentos gum!

Ethan's 2 month Checkup

So, I completely forgot to tell you all about Ethan's 2 month well-baby visit!!! He weighed 13 lbs. 7 oz. which puts him in the 90%!!!!!!!!!! He did a great job getting his shots. Greg was able to calm him (and me) down pretty quickly afterward.

And...his first smile! April 1 he gave us his first adorable gummy grin, and he's been doing it ever since! And he is cooing so much now. It is so cute to hear his sweet little voice!

On Friday night I dressed Ethan in real pjs instead of the gowns he has been wearing for the past 9 weeks!! He looked like such a big boy. I can't believe how quickly he is growing!

Where has the Time Gone???

It's hard to believe that our sweet baby boy is already 2 months old. I remember from Abby's babyhood that the time flies by quickly, but this time around it seems to be going by at record speed!

I can't believe that it has been 5 weeks since I last posted. It certainly isn't for lack of things to write about!! A lot has happened in the past 5 weeks.

I've thought of a million things to write about...if I only had the time. If I had the time, on the 18th of March (the day after my last post), I was ready to write all about Ethan's first month of life, and how much he had grown, and how much I could already see his sweet little personality coming out. In that first month he had already met both his grandmothers, one of his grandfathers, his Uncle Brian, Aunt Vanessa, and 3 of his 12 cousins. He had just celebrated his 1st holiday (St. Patrick's Day), and we had already given him so many nicknames!! I wish I could have written all those things and more, but it didn't seem that there was any time left in space on that day.

Instead, only hours after that last post, I learned that my amazing and beloved grandmother was not well. Time feels like it sped up and stopped at the same time from that moment on. My grandma was reunited with her husband on Friday, March 20. I know that she was ready to go, but it really hurt to say goodbye, and still the sting of it all lingers, and sneaks up at strange times and in odd spaces. I have really great memories of her, and she knew and loved Abby & Ethan very much. I hope that someday I am loved by my grandchildren as much as she was loved by hers.

By the time Ethan was 5 weeks old he had met his other grandfather, his Aunt Erin, and way too many other relatives to list. He also experienced his 1st plane ride. He also got to experience the beach for the first time! He slept just about the whole time, but Abby had a blast. She loved the sand, and I will never forget the memory of walking along the beach her, collecting shells and rocks along the way.

Last weekend was Ethan's first trip up to Dallas. It was strange driving into town, remembering that the last time we made that trip was before Christmas, when we were just a family of three. For some reason, Dallas felt different to me this time. Maybe because no matter where I've lived, for me, coming to Dallas has always felt like coming home. But now, for Ethan, Houston is the only home he has known. It will always be his birthplace. I wonder where "coming home" will be to my children as they get older.

Saturday was an AMAZING day. It was a day to celebrate Ethan. Niki did an incredible job putting together the most perfect Sip-n-See ever. The decorations, the food, the company, the gifts, the hostess-----all amazing. I feel honored, and so lucky to have such a great friend who would throw us such a great party. It was really great to see all my friends and family, and I was so excited for everyone to meet my little (not-so-little) man!! It was also a really special opportunity for me to finally meet Kevin's wonderful girlfriend, Heidi. Not only beautiful, but warm and kind too!! I'm so glad that fate brought you to Dallas, and I can't wait to spend even more time getting to you even better Heidi!!! :)

Easter was so much fun! Abby really embraced the Easter egg hunting, and she had so much fun playing with all of her cousins. Ethan enjoyed his first Easter, and he got in a picture with every single one of his cousins! Heading back to Houston on Sunday afternoon was bittersweet. It was nice to come home to our own bed, but gosh I really miss our playdates with Niki, Brayden, and Alexander. And I miss hanging out on my sister's patio, talking non-stop for hours while we watch the kids jump on the trampoline. And I miss reading the paper and drinking coffee with the girls on my mom's patio, and I miss birthday parties, and family gatherings at Kay's house, and a million other great things about home. It makes me homesick for sure.

But luckily, we brought back a small piece of Dallas with us, in the form of germs! In all the excitement of the weekend, Abby managed to pick up a cold, and ear infection, which she has kindly shared with her baby brother, and now ME (serves me right for always nagging her to SHARE)!! So this past week and weekend has been quite a snotfest, and now that she is on antibiotics, a poop-fest as well (I won't gross you out with all the details, but lets just say that there are couch cushions in my washing machine right now).

Whew! That should bring everyone just about up to date...I think!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Last year...

And, this year...

What a difference a year makes!! Looking back at the pictures of us at the St. Patrick's Day parade last year, I can't believe that one year ago today was Abby's 1st St. Patty's Day!!! She was 10 months old, no teeth, and couldn't walk yet. And now look at her! Exactly one year ago today was the iui that resulted in my ectopic pregnancy, and today I am holding a handsome baby boy. It is amazing how much can happen in one year, and just how fast time flies by! We are feeling especially "lucky" this year!

In other randomness, I walked by Ethan in his swing earlier to find that Abby had given her sleeping brother one of her baby doll's pacifiers. Too cute!

A Little Piece of Heaven

Introducing....

Ethan Gregory McGee

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

7:35 p.m.

7 lbs., 5 oz.

19 in.

Wow! I can't believe he's really here! This past week has just been magical. It all began last Wednesday afternoon. My water broke around 1:30 pm. Luckily Greg had not gone into work yet. We loaded up the car, woke Abby up, and headed out! After dropping Abby off at Nikki's house, we headed straight to the hospital. No surprise with Greg driving we made it there very quickly. It took only moments for them to confirm that my water had broken, and we were in a room and hooked up to monitors by about 3:15. They checked me and I was about 5 cm dilated and 80% effaced. The contractions weren't too bad, and they were pretty irregular, jumping between 5 to 7 min apart, so my dr. ordered pitocin to make the contractions stronger and closer together. I decided that I wanted an epidural before things got too painful. It took awhile to get the epidural because they had to draw blood and wait for the results first. Finally I was ready for the epidural around 5:15 or so, just in time! Greg and I relaxed and talked about how excited we were, and listened to music for awhile. Around 7:00 the nurses changed shifts and they decided to check me again. I was completely dilated, and Ethan was VERY low. We did one small practice push, and the nurses eyes got very wide, and she told me to stop half way through. She took off to get stuff ready and call the dr. The dr. arrived around 7:30, and I began pushing at 7:34. 2 1/2 pushes later, Ethan was out and in my arms. Greg got to cut the cord, and I was able to nurse as soon as I wanted. He came out perfect and pink and crying. He scored a 7 and 8 on his APGARs.

Abby came and met her baby brother the next day, and she has been so great with him. We came home Friday and so far the transition is going very well. The first two nights were rough, with Ethan being awake and crying until 3 am, but the past two nights have been perfect, only waking up once during the night. We just feel so blessed!!! I could go on and on, but my little piece of Heaven is ready to eat! :)

But first, as promised, here are my 37 week belly pictures, and then a couple 39 week belly pictures!! Enjoy!

37 Weeks

39 Weeks!! :)

38 Weeks!!!

Gosh, I guess it has been awhile since I last posted! Hmmm, where did we leave off???

On the baby front, I am 38 weeks pregnant! Yay!! I had my dr. appt. this morning, and I am now 4 cm. dilated and 70% effaced!! Pretty crazy! I am having lots of contractions, but it is still anyone's guess as to when our little man is going to make his big entrance! :)

For now I am just trying to enjoy the last few days of our family of three, and savor all the one-on-one time that I have left with Abby.

Our Valentine's Day was wonderful!! I feel like I have so much to love right now that I could just burst!! We enjoyed our Valentine's Day together as a family, and we went out to eat to ITZ pizza, which is sort of like Chuck E Cheese. Abby had a blast playing in the bounce house, and learning how to bowl, and I had a blast just watching her, in awe!

The latest thing that Abby is doing is singing. She sings with me, or along with the tv, but lately, she will just start singing on her own. It is so cute when we are driving somewhere, and I hear her tiny little voice in the backseat, singing Twinkle, Twinkle or Ring Around the Rosie, or the theme to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. It is in these moments that I just listen in amazement, awestruck that this little person is MY daughter.

No pictures to share right now, as the camera is charging in the other room and I'm too lazy to get up and go get the memory card out and download all the pictures right now. I also need to scan my latest maternity pic. I'll try to get around to that soon so that I can share some more cute pictures.