A Day in the Life of a Lourcey

Cora: 5 Months

2012-02-04T11:06:00.000-05:00

I guess I should get this up before she turns 6 months. :) We've had alot going on lately. Cora Sue is cute, cute, cute though. Seriously the happiest baby I've ever known.

A Queen!

2012-01-26T11:09:00.003-05:00

We're watching The Price is Right this morning and Jane kept saying, "A queen!" I had no idea what she was talking about and kept asking, "what do you mean, a queen?" Finally she said, "A queen, his head!" Who knew spiky hair= a crown?!

Jane: 2 Years, 7 Months

2012-01-11T13:28:00.000-05:00

Jane is hi-larious. Really. She is becoming quite the character and keeps us laughing all the time.

Jane and her friend, Liza Jane.

Some of her newest words/phrases are...

hody-mody (holy- moly)- The first time we heard her say this was when we were driving around looking at Christmas lights. We could not stop laughing and she wouldn't stop saying it.

Woah Pete!- I have no idea where she got this phrase but I'm going to guess my mother. She always uses it appropriately too.

Tonight she said, "Hi Chunky Kooks." This is straight from my mouth. I just sometimes forget she's listening. :)

She LOVES wiff-waff, otherwise known as lip gloss.

She has also been known to say "shoot" and "what the heck?" but we really try to discourage her from these. I can't imagine where she's heard them.

Jane loves to interact with Cora now. Lots of times she'll turn the lights off in Cora's room while I'm changing her diaper or put something over her face and say, "What'd my sister do?" She's mocking me or sometimes wanting me to say it to Cora... to ask Cora, "What'd your sister do?" So funny to me how she's figuring out the world around her, how conversations go and who says what.

One of my favorite words she says is "bagaringa" otherwise known as ballerina. After Rob corrected her it turned into "balleringa."

I've been talking with Jane alot lately, especially when she makes foolish choices, about her not being able to be good on her own. We pray that Jesus would help her to obey God and that one day she'll understand that He was good for her. Now in random conversations we get bits and pieces of "Obey God. Obey Daddy. Obey Mommy."

Helping me make a snowman cookie.

She also still mentions at least once daily "Jesus boi-day coming."

We also get random comments about "Jesus on the cross. In the sky."

One of my new favorites is that she puts her little hands together to pray. We definitely haven't taught her this and I'm not sure if she's learned it from church or Miss Pattycake or both. Either way it is SO cute.

She asks to feed Cora every. single. day.

And she LOVES "fwakley shoes" or sparkly shoes. Her cousin Cadence has some fun sparkly shoes that light up. On our way back from FL we stopped at a McDonalds to eat and let Jane play in the play area. We found her sitting in front of the shoe cubby trying to put on someone's sparkly shoes. After we asked her to put them back she started hitting them on the ground trying to make them light up. We've found her some sparkly shoes but the first few days she wore them she kept hitting them on the ground or stomping trying to make them light up. :)

Baby T

2012-01-01T22:37:00.002-05:00

We have a new baby in our home, our first real foster baby. I picked him up from the hospital just yesterday when he was 3 days old.

It's strange having a little person in my home who didn't come from me but it's even more strange when I think about the fact that we're the only home he's ever known. I ran by Target on my way to the hospital to pick up diapers and I'm walking through the baby stuff thinking I should at least buy something for him. Who would celebrate his homecoming if we didn't?? I paced up and down the aisles with tears in my eyes thinking this might be a big day for us if he ends up staying in our home forever, but it's a big day for him regardless and no one's there with flowers and balloons and cameras.

I won't go into all the details but we aren't sure how long he'll be in our home. We do know that he won't go back to his birth mom. I keep thinking about where he might end up, either in our home or in someone else's and all I can do is pray that he will know he is deeply loved by his Creator.

I recently read and watched The Help and I find myself looking at him and wanting to chant, "You is kind, you is smart, you is important." I want this baby to be loved. I want him to feel loved.

I've learned something today and it's how Rob and I love differently. Rob loves quickly and easily. The first time he held Baby T yesterday afternoon he had tears in his eyes. He was smitten.

Me, I love slowly but deeply. It might take me a bit but once I choose to love there's no turning back. I've been feeling it today, this love like I just might burst, like the first time Jane babbled to me and the first time Cora laughed. It scares me a little but I can rest in the fact that God is Sovereign over how he grows our family and that He is Sovereign over little T's life. I've decided that if I'm risking feeling my heart being ripped in two for Baby T to feel and be loved fully, then that's a risk I'm going to have to take.

I've been overwhelmed today by God's goodness. I have seen His Body, our church, working just the way He intended it and it's honestly one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. There are always meals being prepared in our church for families with new babies. Not many have fostered or adopted but to be on this end of it and to see our church family embrace this ministry and love this little boy just as much as we do and as God does, is breathtaking. I don't have to worry for one second about him not feeling loved or as loved as a baby who was birthed in our church. I didn't have to say a word. These friends were prompted by the Spirit and listened and obeyed and we get to sit back and watch Him work.

Pray for us as we love on this little boy. Pray for him, for the transition to us, to a possible one somewhere else and for his health. We don't yet know if there's anything wrong but there doesn't appear to be anything as of now, praise the Lord! Most importantly, please pray that T will one day personally know Jesus as His Savior and will make him Lord of his life.

Grace

2011-12-18T21:24:00.000-05:00

This week we had our first foster baby. She left last night but was a little 3 week old baby girl. She was placed with a family when she was 2 days old but that family had a trip planned to Disney this week so she came to stay with us. I'm not gonna lie it was a hard week. It was alot harder than it should have been because we were just coming off of a stomach bug. Jane had this weird random bug for 5 days! Then Cora got it for about 5 days and just as she was getting better, baby N came. Cora wasn't sleeping through the night since she wasn't feeling well and was off schedule and baby N definitely wasn't sleeping through the night. Rob works every single night now so I'm home in the evenings by myself and on the weekends he doesn't get home until 1 or 2am so I feel bad asking for help in the night.

My week with a 3 month old and 3 week old

The other night Rob and I were having a pretty deep, intense conversation in the middle of the night (because that's what you do when you're up with babies and emotions are running high :). I was voicing to him that I'm so disappointed in our December this year. I had great plans for this month. I've been preparing for Advent for literally months now. I came into December having an Advent activity for every day planned, a Christmas book wrapped for Jane to open every day, and even a birthday party for Jesus planned to celebrate with Jane's friends. Party day came and went last Saturday and I had to cancel because Cora was throwing up everywhere. Advent activities have gone out the window due to stomach bugs, ear infection, foster baby and me not having a car at night since we only have 1 and Rob works every night. I've just been so disappointed.

One activity that we did do is give Jane a "shepherd's pouch." I got this idea from John Piper's wife's book, "Treasuring God in our Traditions." We gave Jane a "pouch" that she puts money in every time we find her helping/obeying when she's asked or for being kind to her sister or friend without being asked. We explained to her when we gave it to her that we give gifts to people for their birthdays and because Jesus isn't here for us to give him a gift that the Bible says when we do things for other people we're doing them for Jesus. So... we talked to her about people who don't have food or clothes and about kids who don't have mommies or daddies. We told her we would use the money in her pouch to help someone who is in need.

Her "shepherd's pouch"

After my pity party in the night the other night I got up to change baby's diaper and had a verse ringing in my head, "Whatever you do for the least of these, you do unto me." Matthew 25:40 It hit me like a ton of bricks. This inconvenience, this baby that was getting in the way of my December plans, was the very way we as a family were giving a gift to Jesus this Christmas. Talk about conviction!

I did go back to sleep feeling convicted but mostly feeling grateful that the Lord would be so gracious to me to show me my sin, give me a new perspective and remind me that His ways are greater than mine.

"Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved..."

Cora: 4 Months

2011-12-17T20:42:00.003-05:00

Profile of a 4 Month Old Cora- 15lbs 15oz (90%) , 26 1/4in. tall (97%), head- 50%

Schedule: Cora is on an amazing schedule. She still does eat/play/sleep all day long and that starts whenever she wakes, anytime in between 5 and 8. If she wakes before 7am we feed her and put her right back down and she'll sleep until it's time for her to eat again at either 8 or 9. She just started not being satisfied with 6oz so we give her 7oz in her first and last bottles of the day and 6oz for the 3 bottles in between.

We didn't start Jane on solids until she was 6 months and I really liked that. I don't want to feed Cora much more formula though (Jane never had a bottle that was more than 6oz!) so I might end up starting her on solids a little earlier.

Health: Cora has had a hard few weeks. She had her first ear infection a couple of weeks ago which really threw us off because Jane has never had one. She also got a stomach bug the following week from Jane. She went several days without eating much at all but has definitely been making up for it since she's been better. She still spits up alot but we aren't giving her Prevacid much at all. She doesn't spit up as much as she used to and she definitely isn't as fussy as she used to be. The pedi told us that the meds are to control the acid, not the amount of spitting up. She told us that the spitting up should stop around 1 year.

Sleep: We still swaddle Cora and put her in the rock-n-play sleeper but are thinking we'll try and wean her from both soon. She's started really fighting us on the swaddle and most days we come in and one or both arms are out of it. I did put her in a sleep sack one day and she did fine but we've kept doing what we know works because this week we've had a foster baby and didn't need any more change. ;)

I've been feeling a little guilty about how big Cora is and really it's only because I have Jane to compare her to and Jane was much smaller than anyone ever thought she would be. I feel like if Cora would have been born a normal size that I wouldn't be so concerned with how much she's eating and gaining but because she was born big I feel I made her that way. I have to keep reminding myself that I ate better with her than I did with Jane and I gained 15-20lbs less with her than I did with Jane. In other words, it wasn't anything I did and I'm trying to just be grateful that she was born healthy and that I had a healthy placenta. I have a close friend who reminds me of that when I bring this up because she didn't have a healthy placenta and had a 4.5 lb baby that was born full-term.

How 4 month old Cora is like her...

mama- laughs all the time

daddy- loves quickly and easily

Treasuring 4 month old Cora bits & details

-Cora LOVES Jane! It makes my heart skip a beat every time she looks at Jane and

starts smiling and she does it every single time she sees her.

- She's doesn't laugh a ton, especially not belly laughs that keep going and going but

she has this great squeal when she's trying to laugh like she's working herself up to it. :)

Jane: 2 Years, 6 Months

2011-12-12T14:40:00.003-05:00

Interests: accessories- shoes, purses, necklaces, etc.,
Enjoys: helping with whatever we're doing, playing with her baby doll
Turn offs- being told no or to go to her room
Vices- whining, crying, falling on the floor
Strengths- CUTE, smart, great helper

Favorites of a 2 year old Jane

Foods- popcorn, ice cream, broccoli, donuts
Songs- Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
Shows- Yo Gabba Gabba, Leapfrog movies, Pattycake movies
Books- not really any one right now, we've been reading lots of different Christmas books
Toys- baby doll & accessories- carseat, diaper bag, bottle, etc., magnadoodle
Activities- painting her fingernails, watching movies, coloring

Phrases:

"I be right back, k?" while waving her little finger
"I miss church" - break my heart!
"Oh, donut house!" - when we pass by Main Street Grille ;)

How 2 year old Jane is like her...

mama- likes to do things on her own time (i.e. stubborn)

daddy- talks with her hands

Treasuring 2 year old Jane bits & details

Every single time Cora wakes up, no matter what time of day, Jane says, "Hi! Morning Coo-coo!"
Last night Jane was looking at the refrigerator and waving her hand saying, "All my buddies." I asked her who her buddies were and she named "Creed, Caleb Shaun, Cadence and Ava." All of her "buddies" who were on the fridge. :)
She cannot stop talking about Jesus' birthday. I cannot tell you how many times a day she says to me, "Mommy, Jesus boi-day coming?" So sweet! With a little bit of prompting she can pretty much tell the whole Christmas story. We hope to get it on video soon.
She LOVES "cri-cut lights!" and points them out everywhere we go. Last night while driving around looking at them she kept saying, "holy moly!"
Jane says "huh?" alot. She doesn't say it because she doesn't hear what is said to her but when she doesn't understand what is said. Today I used the word lucky and she didn't know what it meant so she kept saying, "huh?" every time I would repeat it. I thought she wasn't hearing me when really she was asking "what?" or "what does that mean?"
She likes to answer us, "yeah buddy" or "yeah baby" because we laugh every single time.
She changes her clothes about 5 times a day. I'm just glad she can dress herself now!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-06T19:34:00.004-05:00

This year we gave thanks the entire month of November. I saw this Give Thanks board on Pinterest and decided to make one of my own. It has 30 pockets for every day in November. Every day we wrote down something we're thankful for and stuck it in the correlating pocket. Next year we'll write on the backs of those slips of paper and every year we'll add a new one. It will be fun to look back and see what we were thankful for, especially with a 2 year old. I'll give you a few as an example.

Jane-

Grammie & Poppa

food

night-nights (her blankets)

Jesus on the cross in the sky (melt my heart!)

potty

milk

Cadence

Rob-

his new job at Girasole

Northwake church

new running shoes

sleep

Emily-

our small group

mornings with my little family

the internet

The Grain Mill of Wake Forest

We also memorized our first verse as a family. "I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart, I will tell of all your wonders." Psalm 9:1 We added hand motions to it to possibly make it more fun and maybe a little easier for Jane to remember. I sure am glad we did that because those are the only words she says! She didn't love doing it with us but she did love saying it by herself! Here's a video of it.

Rob works every night so we make our big sit down meal for breakfast. It's worked well too in starting a daily Bible reading and prayer time as a family.

This is baked oatmeal and baked egg cups which translates to quite possibly the best breakfast you'll ever eat.

Rob got a new (2nd) job recently as a server at a local restaurant. He works this job on week nights and some weekday lunches. He ended up having to work Thanksgiving day. This is the first year we've stayed at our house for Thanksgiving and didn't have family here. It was such a fun relaxing day! In the morning I cooked a turkey and we watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Rob went to work at 11am and the girls and I had Thanksgiving lunch with a couple of families from our small group. It was super nice not having to cook an entire meal but still getting to enjoy one. I made the turkey, mashed potatoes and sauteed kale. My friend Rachel made carrot souffle and the yummiest mandarin salad ever. And our friend Amanda made green beans and some amazing apple pie. It was delicious! I learned that Jane really likes cranberry sauce as that was pretty much all she ate or ate all of.

My parents came up and had Thanksgiving with my sister's family in Charlotte. On Friday they came over to Raleigh and stayed the weekend with us. I don't have many pictures but I do have one of possibly the most fun we had. It's no secret that I LOVE to play games and my family HATES it. They appeased me and played one game and then struggled through a second. One thing I've learned with them is to pick the game I really want to play first because that's about all I'm getting. From the looks of this picture though it seems like someone is having fun.

On Friday night both my sister's family and my parents stayed the night and Jane had her first sleepover! It makes my heart so happy that it was with her cousin Cadence. I have such fond memories of growing up with my cousins and love that Jane get to make those too! You should have heard the conversations that were going on in there. They talked about their favorite colors, animals, Jesus' Birthday. So cute!

For Today...

2011-12-04T09:57:00.002-05:00

This is for my friend Rachael and my sister Elizabeth. Liz does these updates every so often and I LOVE reading about her world. Rachael just did one and asked that her friends do too. And since this blog isn't only about the girls....

On my nightstand:

The Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson. I've recently been introduced to the Paleo Diet by blogging friends. I was at the library the other day looking for books to complete our Advent reading activity when I spotted this book. I thought it might help me understand more about this lifestyle. I'm not finished with it yet but will I'm sure be talking more about it soon.

One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. Lots of people have read and loved this book. I started it in November to go along with our Give Thanks theme and haven't yet been able to finish it.

Bible- I've been reading in John but have been in Luke recently while re-reading the Christmas story.

Movies I've Seen

I've been watching Christmas movies with Jane lately. The other night we watched Miracle on 34th Street and this morning we're watching The Legend of the Candy Cane.

TV:

*Survivor- this is our veg-out show. We're not home when it comes on on Wed. nights so Rob and I watch it during the girls' naptime on Thursday or Friday.

*The Office- which is proving to be not so funny anymore. Thankfully this is the last season. We watch it when it comes on on Thursdays with Josh & Paige.

*The Biggest Loser- I watch this one by myself on the computer on nights when Rob is at work. It's helping to keep me motivated in my new lifestyle.

In my ears:

We're listening to all things Christmas right now. I LOVE Christmas music and hate that we only listen to it for one month out of the year so this year we extended it to 2 months and started listening on November 1st. We listen alot on Pandora. I just can't believe that I didn't know about Pandora before now. What we've been listening to most is

*Go Fish- Christmas With A Capital C

*Andrew Peterson- Behold the Lamb

*Alabama Christmas- Christmas just isn't Christmas without Alabama Christmas. It's one of my most marked memories of my childhood Christmases... like that one year when my sister April and I were running around the Christmas tree singing along to Thistle Hair the Christmas Bear and knocked the tree over!

In my kitchen:

I feel like I live in my kitchen right now. Paleo is basically meat, fruits and vegetables so unless I want to eat things raw (which I don't) there's lots of prep work. Here are a few of our favorite recipes

- Butternut Squash Hash- Rob really liked this and I thought it was okay too. Jane didn't get to eat it as she's been sick lately but I have a feeling she wouldn't mind it either.

- Spaghetti Squash- So quick and so easy! Rob told me he wouldn't mind if I added this to our regular meal plan and that's saying alot. It was almost like I was eating a meal from Olive Garden. Almost.

- Carrot Banana Muffins- these muffins have no wheat and no sugar. They're sweetened with dates and bananas and almond flour is used. They're so moist and yummy! Definitely a pleasant surprise. I only had 2 eggs, not 3 and they turned out fine.

- Coconut Chicken Nuggets- these were really good! Rob even like them and he doesn't love coconut. If you make these, I would go ahead and patty them out like chicken nuggets instead of rolling them into balls. They cook much easier.

Looking forward to:

Getting our first foster care child next week! She has already been placed with a family but that family has had a trip planned to Disney for about 6 months now. She'll be staying with us for the week while they're gone because she's only 2 weeks old!

Going to FL for Christmas and seeing my sister and brother-in-law Elizabeth & Shannon! They live in the Czech Republic so we see them maybe once a year, sometimes less. I can't wait for them to get to meet Cora!

Cora's Birth Story

2011-12-01T21:00:00.004-05:00

***DISCLAIMER: There's a not really graphic but maybe a little gross birth picture in this post. Just warning you before you read.***

When I was around 36 weeks pregnant with Cora my braxton hicks contractions started and I remember telling my mom that I didn't think we would make it to August. I just had a feeling my entire pregnancy that I would have her early. Well, I was wrong.

My braxton hicks slowed up the closer I got to my due date and started up again just a few days before. On Wednesday, August 10, the day before my due date, I called my mom and told her I thought I would be having her soon. I was having pretty consistent contractions and was walking alot to keep them going.

I went to the birth center that evening thinking I was in labor. I was about 3cm dilated and not effaced much at all. Sara, the midwife who delivered Jane, was on call and I LOVE her so I really, really wanted to have her that night. We decided to go and pick up my mom from the airport and if my contractions continued to come back after and see if I had made any progress. Rob and I went to the airport and walked and walked around while waiting for mom. My contractions continued and even got stronger. There were several times while walking around the airport that I had to stop and breathe through them. After picking up mom we went back to the birth center. I was still about 3cm maybe a little more and around 75% effaced. I was making progress but it was very, very slow. I decided to go home, sleep and start again in the morning. I really thought I would wake up the next morning, start walking and have her that day. That didn't happen.

Exactly one week later I was 40 weeks 6 days. I had an ultrasound scheduled the next day to check my fluid levels and then a non-stress test to see how Cora was doing. I decided to make one last effort to get her out by getting my legs waxed. I got my legs waxed the day before I had Jane and I really think it helped put me into labor. I decided to get it done again not really thinking it would help but secretly hoping it would and to not have to think about it again for a while. Sure enough, I left the salon and my contractions picked up! Rob and I went for a walk down the road and around Target. I didn't want to be exhausted walking all night and then having to labor, so I went to bed.

I woke up at 2:30am with contractions. I didn't want to get my hopes up but this was the first time I had been woken up by contractions. I was pretty sure it was the real thing then but just to make really, really sure I took a bath. The midwives say if contractions slow in the bath then it's not the real thing. I couldn't believe that they kept coming, same intervals, same intensity. After I got out I woke Rob up and we got ready to go. He woke my mom and called David and Amy Eill who were going to be taking care of Jane. We left for the birth center around 6am.

We got to the birth center around 7am and Sara, the midwife who delivered Jane, was there! Don't tell but she is my very, very favorite. She was leaving at 8am and told us that LeeAnn was coming. She was the one who I had hoped would be delivering Jane before we had Sara. I had won the midwife jackpot that day!!! When we got to the birth center Sara checked me and I was 6cm dilated. When I got to the birth center to have Jane I was 5cm and still labored all night. I was a little excited but still knew it could be a long day.

It was a beautiful day out, sunny and cool for the middle of August. We walked around the parking lot and I stopped and breathed during contractions. I noticed that my contractions were double peaking and I remember that normally happened during active labor/transition. Both Sara (before she left) and LeeAnn asked if my contractions were double peaking as they would see me start to relax after a contraction only to feel and watch it come right back again. It was interesting to me that they both noticed and noted it.

Even though I was dilated my cervix was still pretty thick since Cora was so high. They tied up my belly with the sheet and had me hang over a birthing ball to help her drop down. After that I got in the shower to let the warm water help to ease the pain and to help me relax. I remember around this time walking around the room and saying, "I don't want to do this again." Everyone assured me that I didn't have to. I was getting a little nervous though that I was talking crazy so early. When these thoughts started with Jane I was already in transition (almost ready to push). Apparently LeeAnn was thinking the same thing I was because she asked to check me again. At 9am when she checked I was 9cm!!! I literally started praising the Lord right there in that room. I was so encouraged!

After this I decided to get in the birthing tub. I really wanted to try for a water birth this time. I had Jane while laying flat on the bed and pushing on my side. It wasn't my ideal position for pushing and I didn't like that I couldn't see her well after she came out since I was laying flat on my back. I feared that it would be the same with Cora's birth and thought having a water birth would keep from all of that happening. It wasn't comfortable for me to lean back in the tub, it was most comfortable for me to lean over it and stay on my knees. I did lay back after I felt pushing sensations and during one contraction my water broke. There was meconium in my fluids which could be dangerous for baby. Thankfully it wasn't but I couldn't labor in the water any longer.

I was pushing in the traditional laying back position on the bed and wasn't making much progress. LeeAnn eventually told me to turn on my side which was the same position I had Jane in. I felt like I had more control in this position but I'm not sure if that's because I actually did or if it was just more familiar since that's how I had Jane. Either way, I started pushing at 10:12am and had her at 10:28am after only 16 minutes of pushing! When Cora came out her hand was up by her head and she was holding tight to her umbilical cord! It was loosely wrapped once around her neck.

She sounded really raspy, gurgly in her throat and it concerned me. The midwives deep suctioned her twice. She spit up mucous for the first few days but was fine after that. They layed her up on my chest and her eyes were open and looking right at me. The first thing I noticed was how blue they were! It was surprising to me because although most babies have blue eyes when they're born, Jane never did. We knew from the beginning that hers would be dark. Cora's were very blue but have changed to dark blue to now hazel/light brown.

The feeling of Jane's body was so cool coming out of me and I was looking forward to that again with Cora. It was still cool but while Jane's sort of flopped out, Cora took much more effort. As soon as she came out everyone gasped! She was huge! They don't weigh her right away but later when they went to, they were all guessing her weight and it shocked me when the midwives guessed 9lbs and laughed at my mom's 8lb guess. After seeing that she was 9lbs 10oz ! they mentioned that Sara (the other midwife) was right or close in guessing 9lbs 7oz. I had no idea she thought Cora would be that big and I'm SO glad she didn't tell me!!! I would have been scared out of my mind!

Cora was so fussy that first day and I couldn't figure out why. She would wake from a deep sleep crying and it concerned me that they hurt her while doing the deep suctioning. The midwives assured me that she was fine but did like to voice her opinion and "is no wallflower." So different than Jane but we are in love! Cora's labor and delivery were so different than Jane's. It was a dream to have such a short and easy labor. Praise the Lord for the great labor and new baby. She is so precious!

Cora: 3 Months

2011-11-17T19:24:00.000-05:00

She just found her feet this past week and it. is. precious.

Cora is just a doll. Really. She's a different baby from just one month ago. She's on a schedule and is super predictable. She does eat/wake/sleep all day long and it's a beautiful thing. She drinks 6oz bottles 5 times a day and that starts whenever she wakes. She had been sleeping through the night for weeks and then last week started waking up again. I think she was going through the 3 month growth spurt because she also would wake up and be fussy around the 2.5 hour mark when she normally eats every 3. For the past few nights though she's back to sleeping through the night and not waking until around 6am, then she goes back to sleep until her next feeding at 9.

Cora doesn't sleep in her crib anymore though. I would notice after she woke up and ate in the night that she wouldn't sleep well for the rest of the night, grunting and making noises. I was pretty sure it was from air in her belly. A friend had told me about what's called a "rock 'n' play sleeper." It's actually the only sleeper that's approved for night-time sleep and is helpful for babies with reflux as it keeps them somewhat upright. Now that she's sleeping through the night we might try and transition her back to the crib and see what happens.

We aren't really sure about Cora's eye color yet. When she was born they were blue and I thought it was amazing because Jane's were never blue, not even as an infant. They are some form of brown but I see green and sometimes even blue in them. I'm thinking they're probably going to be hazel or light brown, but definitely not the same dark brown as Jane and myself. I've also noticed since she was tiny that her left eye is slight darker than her right. I was wondering for awhile if they might be two different colors.

Cora still has super bad reflux. She takes Prevacid once a day and cannot go without it. If we ever miss giving it to her, she spits up all over the place and is super fussy. She spits up after every feeding anyway but the quantity is much more when she doesn't have her meds. We pretty much change her clothes 4 times a day, after every feeding. We're getting better about putting bibs on her but even those don't help sometimes.

Cora is SO happy! Unless she's tired, hungry or needs to burp, she is smiling! It's so fun to me to see how true to her "Smiley Girl" name she is since that 3d ultrasound. She's really started playing with toys lately. Sometimes it shocks me when one of her toys starts singing and she's the one who pulled it!

She has giggled/chuckled lots of times, mostly when we're cleaning under her neck! She's so ticklish. She hasn't yet belly laughed though and never chuckled for a long amount of time.

Jane: 2 Years, 5 Months

2011-11-11T07:53:00.001-05:00

Jane is becoming such a fun little person! Lately she's been really interested in Jesus. We read her a story from the Jesus Storybook Bible every night. We used to read the stories in order but now she only wants to hear stories about Jesus, her most requested stories are "Jesus asleep in the boat" and "Jesus on the cross." She also talks alot about Jesus being in the sky. I'm thinking she must be learning about Jesus in Sunday School because we do read stories but we haven't talked a ton about him, especially not being in the sky.

We have started talking more about what the Bible says in our training and discipline. I've been trying to teach, "honor your father and mother" but am not sure she understands the words honor, father or mother so I've been telling her that it says, "obey mommy and daddy." The other day Rob was asking her what the Bible says about giving thanks (in hopes that she would tell him our memory verse for this month) and she said, "Obey mommy." :) It makes me very happy and a little nervous that she's listening even when I think she's not.

This is our first month memorizing a verse as a family and we're doing it for Thanksgiving to go along with our "Give Thanks" board that I'll blog about after November. We're memorizing Psalm 9:1 and have even included hand motions to make it easier and possibly more fun for her. I thought she wasn't listening but a few days into memorizing it I heard her playing and repeating, "9:1, 9:1, 9:1." She doesn't love saying it with us, she's a stubborn girl who does things on her own time so I'm hoping it will just come out one day.

I just realized that all of these things I'm writing about sound super spiritual. I think Jane is just a fun age where she understands more so we can be more intentional. So... lately I've been trying to teach her catechisms and it goes a little like this...

Me: "Jane, who made you?"

Jane: "You" (pointing to me)

Me: "Ok, but who really made you?"

Jane: "God"

Me: "What did God make?"

Jane: "snakes" -she seriously says this every time

Me: "That's true but what else did God make?"

Jane: "EVERYTHING!"

Her favorite shows right now are Dora, frogs (Leapfrog) and Mommy's Show (the Price is Right).

We've been going to storytime at the library every Thursday morning at 10am and every time we pull into the parking lots she squeals and starts chanting, "Mo' books! Mo' books!" I LOVE it!

And one of my favorite things Jane says if she doesn't want something is, "I want not" instead of I don't want or I not want. For instance, "I want not eggs." So funny and so cute.

Potty Training Jane

2011-11-04T08:31:00.000-04:00

A couple of weeks ago (10/12-10/15) we decided to potty train Jane. I've heard great things about the 3-day potty training boot camp, lots of our friends have used it and been successful. So, I got all of the info from a friend and we set aside 3 days where we didn't go anywhere. I only used my phone and the computer at nap times and bed time so I could focus on Jane all day.

We threw away the rest of her diapers that morning and put her in big girl panties and I reminded her 15 million times during the day that she needed to keep her panties dry and to tell me when she needed to go potty. When she started to pee I would scoop her up and run her to the bathroom to sit her on the potty. We would wipe, flush, get a sticker and wash our hands.

Repeat 3 days in a row and we now have a potty trained girl!

She actually only had an accident the 1st day, after that she was good to go. Her first time or two going on the potty were a little traumatic as I had to literally hold her on the potty but now she does great at telling us when she needs to go!

The first night she kept her panties dry for 13 hours! After that pretty much every nap time and bed time we were changing her sheets and when it involved poop... everywhere... we had to do something about it. So now she sleeps in a pull-up.

She was pooping in the pull-up up until yesterday when she went on the potty!!!! We are so proud of her and celebrated with cupcakes. Hopefully now she'll see it's not so scary and will continue to go on the potty.

Big Day!

2011-11-02T12:12:00.003-04:00

This past Sunday, October 30th was a big day in the Lourcey home!

This little girl slept through the night! And not just 6 or 7 hours through the night, but 11 hours straight! She's done it once since then too, sleeping 10 hours.

My favorite thing is that she always wakes up happy and smiling.

And this big girl went poo-poo on the potty! We celebrated with the promised cupcakes. :)

Pretty Eyes

2011-10-26T21:33:00.002-04:00

Proof that Jane is SUCH a girl... we were watching Sesame Street the other day and Jane says, "pretty eyes." I look up to see Snuffaluffagus on the screen, who does indeed have some amazing eyelashes.

Cora: 2 Months

2011-10-17T06:07:00.000-04:00

Cora is 2 months old today! She is such a treasure. I tell her all the time that I could just squeeze her, I love her so much.

Her 2 month appt. is this coming Friday so I don't know her stats yet but what I do know is that is a butterball. She's been taking 5 ounces about 6 times a day but tomorrow we're starting 6 oz. 5 times a day in hopes that she'll sleep through the night! I get so discouraged when I read Jane's 2 mth blog where she was sleeping 9 hours straight at night!!! Last night Cora was up at 1am until 3am and then again at 5am and then at 6:30am. Needless to say, Rob and I are zombies today.

She is on no form of a schedule. We try to stick with eat/wake/sleep but she doesn't sleep well in the day. If/when she does sleep it's never long enough so her schedule looks more like eat/wake/sleep/wake/eat.

When Cora isn't crying she is so fun. She coos and smiles all the time! I know these next few months are going to be so fun to see her little personality unfold and to see her interact with Jane!

Jane: 2 Years, 4 Months

2011-10-11T22:20:00.002-04:00

Jane is so fun this month! She's started playing games with us and smiling and making fun faces just because. She loves her sister and it's been sweet to see her compassionate side come out. When Cora is crying she will run to her with a paci or night-night (blanket) while saying, "Ok, ok, ok."

She's a little parrot, copying everything we say. Sometimes this is cute and sometimes it's horrible. It really makes us re-evaluate what we say and how we say it.

One of our favorite words she uses is thank-you... which is really your welcome and is pronounced "coo-wamp"

When I give her something she'll say "coo-wamp Mommy" and lots of times this is unprompted which makes it even sweeter.

She is still not obeying well but I feel like we're working harder at being consistent and it's starting to pay off.

We start potty training tomorrow 10/12 so say a little prayer for us. We'll keep you updated.

Cora Smiles!

2011-10-03T13:39:00.001-04:00

Nan

2011-09-30T12:08:00.003-04:00

Last Sunday, September 25th, Rob's Nan went home to be with the Lord. We knew they were calling in hospice soon so we drove through the night the Tuesday before so that we could see her and so that she could meet Cora in person.

I've twice now had the opportunity to witness first breaths but this was the first time I had seen someone take their last. Nan was a Christ-follower so the verse that kept reeling through my mind was "To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord," 2 Corinthians 5:8. I can only imagine what she experienced after she took that last breath and is experiencing now and forever.

We're going to miss Nan so much. A few of the many things we will miss are her sweet spirit, her witty/random comments, her eyes that smiled, and some of the most amazing food you've ever had (my personal favorites were her chicken & dumplings, chicken & yellow rice and her famous chocolate cake). We are grateful to know that we will see her again someday!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-21T20:29:00.002-04:00

Our Life in a Nutshell

2011-09-20T17:33:00.002-04:00

Cora: 1 Month

2011-09-15T22:01:00.004-04:00

Profile of a 1 Month Old Cora- 10lbs even, 22 in. tall , head

Jane started calling Cora Coo-Coo before she was even born. It's turned into Cooks or The Cooks and now when someone asks Jane the baby's name she says Coo-Coo Sue.

Sleep: Cora isn't on a schedule yet. We've had one amazing night where she went to bed at 9:30pm and didn't wake up until 3:30am. However, she's normally up at 2am and then every couple of hours after that. She doesn't nap well at all during the day in her crib or bassinet. She actually sleeps best if we're on the go and she's in the sling. If we're at home she sleeps best swaddled and laying on the couch in the middle of all the chaos. So crazy.

Eating: I was trying to breastfeed Cora and she wasn't gaining weight. We started going every other day to the pediatrician for weight checks. After gaining nothing for 5 days we started supplementing with donor milk and she still didn't gain. The pedi said it's more about calories than volume. Breastmilk doesn't always have lots of calories, formula does. We supplemented with formula for 2 days and she gained 7oz in 2 days!!! Now I nurse her a couple of times a day just because I want to. She eats every 3 hours during the day and we let her wake up on her own during the night. She is eating in between 3-4 oz, half formula and half breastmilk. We amazingly have a freezer full of donor milk that someone gave us. It should last us for at least another month.

How 1 month old Cora is like her...

mama- looks like her

daddy- has reflux

sister- cries in the car when it's sitting still, stops crying when it starts

moving

Treasuring 1 month old Cora bits & details

She's started smiling! She smiled first at her Grammie (Jane did too!) at 3 weeks. Her dad gets more smiles than me. I've only gotten a few and they've all been half smiles.

Cora has just in the last week or so started being content to lay or sit somewhere for about 5-10 minutes by herself.

We've gotten a few little coos out of her and they are PRECIOUS!

She has reflux and is taking Prilosec twice a day. It's not good if we miss a dose. She spits up everywhere and cries and cries.

Cora is much more scrunchy and snuggly than Jane was. I love that. She's super sweet.

Jane: 2 Years, 3 Months

2011-09-10T19:46:00.004-04:00

This has been SUCH a fun month! Jane talks all. the. time. and learns/uses new words everyday!

I got this video of her yesterday. She really loves going to church now and always asks if we're going to "chuch amorrow." I'm so glad I caught it in the video. Another fav from the video is when we ask what she did or about her friends she always responds "good." So funny.

She loves "Coo-Coo" and will bring her night-night (blanket) when Cora cries.

Two of her favorites right now are "frogs" Leapfrog movies and going bye-bye. She whines and cries when she sees we're on our way back home. She also really enjoy playing outside, especially on her "fwing."

Jane isn't so great at obeying right now and especially not the first time we ask. I think we've been a little lax since being pregnant, traveling and now with the baby. Rob and I are going to sit down soon and talk, pray, read about what we should do at this point.

Jane is showing lots of interest in the potty and I'd really like to teach her soon. She loves wearing big girl panties even if it's over her diaper. However, she FREAKS out when she pees in them without a diaper and it runs down her leg.

Jane has learned to use an ipod/iphone really well since having her grandmas here. Between my mom's iphone and her G's ipod she can get to Angry Birds, pictures/videos and where she can type on it. What's really great is when she touches the icons on our computer screen thinking she can move them or when she holds my phone up to "show" Aunt Lizzie a book she's talking about. So crazy to me that she will never know life without this type of technology.

Her favorite songs right now are "Cinkle, Cinkle in Sky", Row, Row, Row Your Boat and The Itsy Bitsy Spider. These are always her first 3 requests. Twinkle, Twinkle was the first song she sang by herself and we actually knew what she was singing.

The View From Here

2011-09-01T16:21:00.005-04:00

I'm working hard at nursing this time since it's somewhat working out better than it did with Jane. Cora isn't gaining weight so I'm trying to feed her alot more these days. I either am in my bed feeding her or during the day I like to sit in the corner of our couch. This is my view from my little corner.

I don't love nursing at this point and am not sure I will because it's always going to involve lots of work on my part due to a low milk supply. However, one thing I do love and will definitely miss is looking down and seeing these little feet crossed when she lays across me and eats. So precious.

Notice the one long hair on top of her head. And it's curly!

This guy right here makes my world go around, both figuratively and literally at this point. I'm not sure what I would do without him. He's pretty much the best Daddy and Husband ever.

Cora Sue Lourcey

2011-08-19T19:46:00.005-04:00

Cora: after her great-great grandmother and myself. I was named Emily Corine after my Mom's Dad's mother. Her name was Ruthie Corine and when she was older she changed her name to Cora R. My sister Elizabeth has called me Emma Cora for as long as I can remember. Both Rob and I really loved the name.

Sue: both Rob's Mom and Step-Mom are Sue. My Aunt Debbie is also Deborah Sue and there are lots of other Sues in Rob's family. It was such a cute and fitting name to go with Cora.

Born August 17, 2011 on her grandparent's (Emily's parents) 37th anniversary! So fun for me that I was also born on my grandparent's anniversary.

9lbs 10oz

22 1/4 in long

We have waited a long time for Cora, 40 weeks and 6 days to be exact and are SO happy she is finally here!

This pregnancy, labor, delivery and postpartum have all been night and day different from Jane's! So fun for us to see two little girls that God has given us come out so unique and different.

Cora is very vocal and opinionated and Jane was a quiet, go-with-the-flow baby. The midwives said of Cora in just the few short hours they were with her, "She's no wallflower."

Cora is a great eater! Jane was a sleepy baby and it took SO much work to get her to eat.

Cora is not a great sleeper. Jane would have slept all night from the beginning if we would have let her. She is also a tummy sleeper and I'm a rule follower. I got no sleep last night from checking on her all night long. She is currently napping on her stomach and I'm just grateful for the sleep.

I don't mind that Cora isn't a great sleeper at the moment. I'm trying really hard to nurse this time so I'm nursing on demand for the first few weeks. Cora doesn't mind that one bit. ;)

Jane loves her little sister. Just tonight she was headed out the door to go to Target with her Grammie and she ran back to give Cora kisses and tell her she loved her. The first time she's ever said it without being prompted! It was music to this mama's ears.

Cora's Nursery

2011-08-13T04:14:00.005-04:00

I didn't do as good of a job with the pictures here, sorry I didn't just go right around the room. This one is taken from standing in the doorway. The only things I need to do are find a lamp for the dresser or hang one with a lower wattage bulb above the rocking chair. And put a picture or framed scripture on the brown shelf above the changing table.

Take from standing in front of the dresser.

Taken from standing in front of the toddler bed.

And from in front of the crib.

The toddler bed is for the child that we'll hopefully be fostering in a few months. If the child is a boy we'll be switching the rooms around some, but aren't exactly sure how yet. Depending on the age of the child, we might put a crib there instead or put them in Jane's room since she has a trundle.

Jane's Big Girl Room

2011-08-13T04:08:00.004-04:00

We decided to keep Jane in her same room and just switch the furniture so that she wouldn't have too much change at one time. I love her big girl room! She got a new bed and dresser and we moved in a little bookshelf. It's still got a ballerina theme, just a little bit more "big girl." The only thing I would like to do is a big white monogram on the back wall above her bed.

Jane: 2 Years, 2 Months

2011-08-11T19:35:00.000-04:00

weight: 29 lbs

Interests: Dora, shoes, her baby stroller, babies
Enjoys: singing, taking her baby for a walk, puzzles
Turn offs- being told no, not being able to go outside
Vices- pitching fits, whining
Strengths- smart, loving

Favorites of a 2 year old Jane

Foods- chi-chi (cereal), cheese, dried fruit, prunes
Songs- wheels on the bus, itsy bitsy spider
Shows- Dora and Pattycake (Pat-Pat)
Books- Veggie Tales counting book and God Made Me Special
Toys- her kitchen, baby dolls, doll stroller
Activities- taking walks, singing, reading books

Words:

She has finally figured out her opposites!

Her newest phrases/words are...

"What dat fo?"

"Why?"

Sit is a 2 syllable word pronounced "si-hit"

medicine = meh-mess

How 2 year old Jane is like her...

mama- loves puzzles, good with directions (geographically)- she always knows when we're near home, church, doctor, etc.

daddy- loves to perform for people! Our shy girl is coming out of her shell.

Treasuring 2 year old Jane bits & details

She really loves babies. Lots of times when I'm in the kitchen cooking or doing dishes she'll bring a baby in, sit in front of the stove and talk/sing/wrap up the baby. It's really, really sweet.

If you ask her who loves her she always answers Jesus, Mommy & Daddy.

She can count to eleven!

She loves her "night-nights" these days. They're 2 blankets my mom made for her when she was born. She sleeps with them every night but now when she's sad, scared, in trouble, etc. she asks for them and goes off to find them.

She says please and thank you without us prompting her! Only thank you is normally "You're welcome mommy" only not that clear. ;)

She has taught herself to color inside the lines!

While Waiting For Cora...

2011-08-11T11:21:00.000-04:00

We have taken lots of walks so that Jane can push her "baby"...

ate at a fabulous new restaurant in North Raleigh...

played at the mall in both the inside and outside...

been super creative...

did laundry...

cleaned, organized and are so ready to meet this little girl.

Pregnancy #2: 39 Weeks

2011-08-09T19:32:00.000-04:00

I'm now almost 40 weeks. I wrote this a few days ago hoping to get a picture to add to it. That didn't happen until today.... This is me today at 39 weeks 5 days.

It's really, really hard for me to blog the last few weeks of pregnancy since there's nothing exciting going on. Last week at 38 weeks I was 1cm dilated and this week at 39 weeks I was 2cm and 60-70% effaced. Baby's heartrate was in the 140's.

I'm feeling good but I'm starting to get impatient. I'm just ready for her to be out. My feet have started swelling this week but it's NOTHING like it was with Jane.

I made the famous labor-inducing eggplant parmesan today and had some for lunch and dinner and will have the rest tomorrow. If she's not here by Monday I have an acupuncture appointment that is supposed to help induce. We shall see.

Big Girl Bed

2011-07-22T18:10:00.000-04:00

One of the most important things we needed to do before the baby came was move Jane to a big girl bed so we can use her crib for Cora. I searched for weeks on craigslist and finally found a twin bed that's a trundle with both mattresses for only $75! I was shocked to say the least. Rob painted the headboard and footboard white and we got her new big girl bedding. She LOVES it!

"Cleaning" her bed.

Two years ago Rob was putting together a bed and didn't have a little helper. ;)

We set it up early enough the first day so she could nap in it. I never thought she would actually sleep that day but she did! We didn't tell her not to get out because I didn't want to put the idea in her head if it wasn't already there. I went right in to get her when she woke up and I think I went in too early. She was grumpy!

She went to sleep great the 1st night but the next morning when Rob heard her in the monitor she was standing beside her bed. He went in to get her and told her that she needed to stay in her bed and call for mommy or daddy when she woke up. She hasn't gotten out since! I just can't believe how easy the transition has been.

Pregnancy #2: 37 Weeks

2011-07-21T22:46:00.000-04:00

Today was my 37 week appointment. The midwife checked to see if I was leaking amniotic fluid and I wasn't. While checking on that she looked at my cervix, didn't really check it but said it looked to be about 1cm dilated and that my cervix looked soft, whatever that means. This week she said baby felt normal size and she would be shocked if she was a really big baby. I feel great. I'm feeling much better about getting everything finished before Cora gets here.

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 37 weeks

Fruit/Veggie: length of swiss chard

Size: a bit over 19in, 6 1/3lbs

Baby changes: Your baby is now considered "full term," even though your due date is three weeks away. If you go into labor now, his lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb.

Best Moment this week: Crossing things off of my to-do lists. ;)

Gender: Girl

Movement: Big movements, sometimes I still feel feet up near my ribs or down by my hip bones. I think she'll have long legs like Jane.

Food Craving: sweets

What I miss: nothing I can think of

Sleep: I can't complain.

What I am looking forward to: meeting this baby girl!

Symptoms: charley horses at night

Jane's 1st Haircut

2011-07-20T19:08:00.000-04:00

While we were in FL I got Jane's haircut for the first time. We had had enough of the mullet. My Mom and I took her to Infinity hair salon to get her hair cut by Carrie, the girl who cut my hair growing up and who still cuts my mom's hair.

When we first got there a man was getting his hair cut with clippers in the same seat Jane was going to sit in. We think this is why she cried all the way through it, she was just waiting for those noisy things to come out.

It turned out SO cute and Carrie saved a piece of it for us and gave us a little certificate to put in her baby book.

Florida (part 2)

2011-07-19T19:29:00.000-04:00

The night before Caleb Shaun's party we found out my Uncle Joe had been in a motorcycle accident and was airlifted to a hospital in St. Pete, FL. My cousin Christa lives just outside of Charlotte with her husband Chris & their 3 kids. Chris couldn't take off of work to go to FL so I offered to ride with her to help her in the car and in FL as much as I could. So... Jane and I headed to FL for another two weeks.

Here we all are loaded up to go.

It was quite a ride with 4 kids under 4 but I was grateful for the time spent with my cousin who I don't see alot and for Jane to spend a good amount of one on one time with my parents.

While we were there my mom and Aunt Connie rented a place at the beach for the weekend and kept Christa's kids there for her. My cousins Angie & Amber came over for one day too. We had a great time just hanging out and being together.

After we got back to my parent's house my Mom helped Jane light her first sparklers!

Cousins

2011-07-18T19:30:00.000-04:00

While we were in Charlotte for Caleb's adoption party, Jane got to spend alot of time with her cousins Cadence, Caleb & Creed. My cousin Christa also lives near Charlotte so we got to see alot of her kids, Kagan, Adaline & Garner too!

2 days after the party we packed up and headed to FL with Christa and her kids, so now they're some of Jane's favorite people. She talks about them all of the time! The reason for going wasn't so great but it was a really special time for Jane to spend with family that she doesn't see often. More on that to come....

Caleb Shaun Andersen

2011-07-17T19:30:00.000-04:00

Almost 2 years ago now, we kept my niece Cadence while my sister and brother-in-law spent a few days at UNC hospital learning how to care for their new foster son. He had a heart condition where only half of his heart worked and was fed with a feeding tube.

We fell in love with this smiley boy immediately and have watched in amazement at what the Lord has done in his life. We have watched him learn to cry, crawl, walk and eat all on his own!

On June 24th, 2011 Shaun Travolta became Caleb Shaun Andersen! We went to Charlotte for the weekend to help celebrate with an adoption party on Saturday, June 25th.

Lana & Tucker

2011-07-16T19:30:00.000-04:00

Our longest and probably closest Wake Forest friends have completed their time here in Wake Forest and have moved to Cantonment, FL, just outside of Pensacola. We are absolutely thrilled for this opportunity for them but will miss them being a part of our daily lives here.

We met Dan & Rachael when we lived in seminary housing. When we moved in they lived 4 houses down from us and had a 6 month old daughter Lana. Dan & Rob started working for Walmart around the same time and have carpooled together every weekend for the past 4 years. Rachael and I have spent many weekend afternoons/evenings together keeping our kids and ourselves entertained. You may remember we kept Lana for them when she was just 2 years old while they went to France for 2 weeks on a mission trip. Since then we've both moved off campus, Lana is now almost 5 years old and they have a little boy Tucker, just 3 months younger than Jane.

I have learned so much from Rachael watching her parent her kids with grace and wisdom. I would definitely not be the mom I am today if not for the Lord's blessing of her in my life. They are such a treasure to us and we are grateful for blogs and facebook to keep in touch.

A few weeks ago while they were packing up to move, we got to keep Lana & Tucker for a few hours for them.

Context Clues

2011-07-15T19:30:00.000-04:00

Two other words that sound exactly like this are Shannon and sorry.

Pregnancy #2: 36 Weeks

2011-07-14T07:39:00.003-04:00

I'm 36 weeks today and had my first weekly appointment this morning. The midwife said that my belly looks bigger than what the baby is but then she said that Cora would be a good-sized baby, whatever that means. :/ I feel amazing this time compared to Jane's pregnancy. I'm not swollen at all and because of that I am 30lbs less than what I gained with Jane! I realize though that I technically still have a month to go. I have started getting Braxton Hicks contractions in the last few days and last night they were somewhat painful. I'm shocked at how quickly they've progressed as I didn't have any at all (or that I could feel from the outside) just last week. Cora's head is not engaged in my pelvis, it's still floating up in my (lower) belly but the midwife said that with subsequent babies they sometimes don't engage until labor begins.

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 36 weeks

Fruit/Veggie: crenshaw melon

Size: more than 18.5 in, almost 6lbs

Baby changes: She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath.

Best Moment this week: coming home to my own house!

Gender: Girl

Movement: big movements now where I feel a bottom on one side of my stomach and feet on the other

Food Craving: nothing really

What I miss: not much at this point

Sleep: my hips hurt alot in while in FL but it's much better now that I'm in my own bed

What I am looking forward to: getting everything finished to meet this little girl!

Symptoms: a big belly

Jane: 2 Years, 1 Month

2011-07-12T22:12:00.003-04:00

Interests: Elmo, music, Pat-Pat (Miss Pattycake)
Enjoys: singing- this is the only way I can get her to sit still with me!
Turn offs- being told no, one of us going outside or to the bathroom without her
Vices- whining, telling mommy "no, no"
Strengths- beautiful, smart, loves to help

Favorites of a 2 year old Jane

Foods- chicken, ice cream, cake
Songs- wheels on the bus, itsy bitsy spider,
Shows- Elmo, Leapfrog Letter Factory dvd, Pattycake
Books- Veggie Tales counting book, Chicka-Chicka ABC,
Toys- her kitchen, baby dolls
Activities- watching movies, singing, reading books

Words:

We went to FL for 2 weeks and she came home talking in complete sentences!

One of my favorite phrases she says is, "I want door open" but she says it when she wants it shut.

She also says, "I want shoe on" when she means off.

She LOVES her "flop-flops."

How 2 year old Jane is like her...

mama- early riser

daddy- loves the beach

Treasuring 2 year old Jane bits & details

She LOVES Cora! She hugs & kisses & rubs my belly all the time. When I talk about her holding Cora when she comes out she wraps her arms around me and acts like she's trying to pick me up or hold my belly.

We switched her to her toddler bed today (July 12) and she napped and went to bed in it like she's been doing it all her life.

She would really like to be going to the bathroom on the potty right now but I haven't been home to work with her on it. If I get everything done and Cora decides to stay put for a while I will try and potty train her.

Pregnancy #2: 35 Weeks

2011-07-07T07:47:00.002-04:00

I'm 35 weeks today but in Florida so I don't have a picture. I will update with a picture next week at 36 weeks. That's when I'll start going every week! I just cannot believe this pregnancy has gone by so fast! Somehow I'm at the end of my pregnancy and in FL and I have NO swelling. It's definitely a miracle. I'm looking forward to getting home and getting everything ready for Cora. We're switching the girls' rooms around and I still have to wash and organize her clothes. Other than that, I'm just trying to enjoy this time with my big girl.

Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that she's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, she isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times she kicks should remain about the same. Her kidneys are fully developed now, and her liver can process some waste products. Most of her basic physical development is now complete — she'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

Baby Shower

2011-06-25T18:47:00.000-04:00

This past Saturday, the day after we got back from FL my friends had a baby shower for me in Wake Forest. My friends Ashley Connelly and Rachel Henkel threw it for me. Rachel is exactly 4 weeks to the day ahead of me and she's having a little boy!

Everything was just perfect! The food was amazing. The banner above the food table was precious and I'm planning on putting it in Cora's room. My very favorite thing about this shower is that it was SO many of my favorite people all in the same place!

There was also a sweet time of prayer over Cora and our family. I am forever thankful to these women for loving my family so well by interceding for us.

Disney!

2011-06-24T18:59:00.000-04:00

While we were in FL we took Jane to Disney! We are so grateful for friends/family who work at Disney who can get us in for free! It was such a treat for our girl.

Waiting for the ferry...

On the ferry...

In front of the castle!

She rode every single ride in Fantasy Lane and didn't cry once but her favorite was the show in front of the castle.

Watching the parade...

We met up with my sister April & brother-in-law Luke and while they were with us we saw Mickey & Minnie. These were the only characters we made an effort to see as they're the only ones Jane knows. She wouldn't hug them but she LOVED it!

After we came out from meeting them April showed her the Minnie Mouse dolls. She didn't want to put them back and of course, they had to buy one for her. She didn't put it down the rest of the day and she sleeps with it every night. Thanks April & Luke!

We headed over to Animal Kingdom after meeting Minnie & Mickey to see The Festival of the Lion King and had to have ice cream before we left. :)

Jane: 2 Years

2011-06-22T19:06:00.002-04:00

Profile of a 2 Year Old Jane- 27lbs (60%) , 36 in. tall (95%), head- 25%

Interests: accessories of all kinds, movies, letters/numbers
Enjoys: anything outside, coloring/painting, Elmo
Turn offs- being told no, one of us going outside or to the bathroom without her
Vices- tantrums
Strengths- loving, great helper (both of these only when she wants to be, of course ;), smart

Favorites of a 2 year old Jane

Foods- popcorn, hotdogs, fruit
Songs- Zaccheus
Shows- Elmo, Leapfrog Letter Factory dvd
Books- Veggie Tales counting book, Chicka-Chicka ABC
Toys- baby doll, magnadoodle, Leapfrog toy she got for her birthday, toy computer
Activities- coloring, bubbles, reading books, puzzles, watching movies

Words:

She talks all the time but some of our favorite words are...

cereal (chi-chi)

her newest phrase- "No, no, puppy!",

She adds "too" onto everything... "Jane more too" or "Jane potty too"

She calls herself "Jean"

tissue- "shi-ssue"

The letter W is "doo-doo"

Look- "Ook"

How 2 year old Jane is like her...

mama- an observer, has to eat right away in the morning

daddy- dramatic, accident prone :/

Treasuring 2 year old Jane bits & details

- Every morning Jane and I go to wake up her Daddy and she says, "Shh" as we're walking down the hall but when I open the door she flings it open and says, "Hey!"

- At this point, Jane knows all of her letters and their sounds, the majority of her colors and can pretty much count 1-10.

- She loves talking about the potty... whether it be us, herself, her dolls, stuffed animals or real animals!

- She LOVES to have her nails painted and asks for it at least once a day.

Nana & Poppy

2011-06-21T19:38:00.000-04:00

Rob's Dad & Step-Mom live in Jacksonville, FL. This is 7.5 hours from Wake Forest and 2.5-3.5 from the rest of our FL family. Because of their location we always stop at their house first on the way down from NC and spend at least one night there on the way home to help break up our trip. This is such a treat for us as we get to see them twice in one trip!

Nana & Poppy have a neighbor, Mr. Holtsinger, who has cows and a garden and Mrs. Holtsinger makes really beautiful quilts, lots of which we've been given over the past few years. While we were there we took Jane down to see the cows. I forgot my camera so this one picture I have was taken with my ipod and I snapped it right as this cow (named Earring) was licking her foot!

When we stayed there on the way down we visited with our cousins Freddie & Trish, their girls Mandy & Aimee and their families one night. They brought out a power wheels four wheeler of their grandkids and Jane was ecstatic. She had no idea at first that she was the one actually making it go with her foot on the pedal. Once she figured it out, she would put all of her weight, even standing up, to make it go. So fun!

This trip also coincided with Jane's 2nd birthday and she got a new baby doll from Nana & Poppy! She loved it and I can't wait to practice with her feeding, changing and caring for her baby to help prepare for Cora.

Nan's 80th & Jane's 2nd

2011-06-20T19:30:00.000-04:00

We were so happy to be in Florida to help celebrate Rob's Nan's 80th birthday. We had a big surprise party for her and she was definitely surprised! Lots of friends and family were there to help celebrate.

Since we had Nan's party on Jane's actual birthday, June 11th, at the end of the party we brought our cupcakes for Jane and sang to her. My favorite was that she didn't realize we were singing to her until we all said her name! So fun. And she loves Elmo, so we made Elmo & Cookie Monster cupcakes and had an Elmo fruit tray.

I love this picture of all of Rob's cousin's kids... l to r, Salim, Jane, Jadyn, Diesel & Evan.

Pregnancy #2: 33 Weeks

2011-06-20T15:17:00.004-04:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 33 weeks

Fruit/Veggie: pineapple

Size: Over 17 in, little over 4lbs

Baby changes: She's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and her skeleton is hardening. The bones in her skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for her to fit through the birth canal.

Best Moment this week:Finding a bed, dresser & bedding for Jane!

Gender: Girl

Movement: Lots of movement!

Food Craving: nothing much

What I miss: Being able to bend over to pick something up without much effort.

Sleep: pretty good this week!

What I am looking forward to: Our nephew, Caleb Shaun's adoption party this Saturday!

Symptoms: A humongous belly

Father's Day

2011-06-19T21:18:00.004-04:00

Today we are thankful for our Dads who mean so much to us. This is my Dad.

I had one of my proudest daughter moments this year when I was telling Rob about my parent's 25th wedding anniversary when my Dad rented out an entire floor of a dinner cruise and invited everyone we knew... literally. My Mom knew nothing about it. It was the best. surprise. ever. Rob was so impressed that my Dad did that and I couldn't have been more proud.

My Dad and I haven't always seen eye to eye on everything but something I'm happy to have learned from my Dad is to love to give and show love extravagantly. I love you, Dad and hope you've had a great Father's Day!

____________________________________________

Rob had to work today so we celebrated early this morning with a great breakfast and presents! He has wanted a new coffee grinder for a while now and Cora also got her journal! For Jane's 1st Father's Day I bought Rob a journal to write to her over the years and to one day give to her on a big day like her wedding day. I did the same for Cora this year.

This evening we went with Rachael Davis and her kids to have dinner with their daddies at work. Dan & Rob carpool to work and this is Dan's last weekend as they're moving to FL in two weeks. We will miss them SO much!

___________________________________

We were super excited to get to celebrate Father's Day with one of our dads this year! We celebrated with Rob's Dad while we were in FL this past Thursday. We are thankful for you, Bobby!

Tea Party Baby Shower

2011-06-13T17:46:00.000-04:00

Yesterday afternoon, my Mom hosted a tea party baby shower for Cora. We had the yummiest sandwiches, scones & desserts. The tea was so good too, a peach, lemon, earl grey and cold black currant tea. It was such a treat getting together with my family and friends to celebrate Cora.

Achoo

2011-06-12T23:10:00.000-04:00

This is a game that Rob and Jane play. She sets his hat on top of his head and he says, "Achoo" and sneezes it off. She thinks it's hilarious. So now she loves putting things on her head and sneezing them off. I heard her last week at work saying, "Achoo" and looked to see she had set a headband on the dogs head and was wanting her to sneeze it off. Hilarious.

Beach

2011-06-11T19:33:00.001-04:00

Yesterday morning Rob and I took Jane to the beach! She has been before, we stayed there for a week last summer but this was the first time she really wanted to play. We were so pleased to see that she LOVED it!

We met my friend Megan and her two children, Nathanael & Lilibeth. It was so fun getting to spend time with them as we don't see them very often.

After the beach we stopped at The Shake Pit for lunch. My grandparents used to live in Bradenton, just a few minutes from the beach. They often took us to the Shake Pit after a trip to the beach. It was so fun to get to take Jane there!

If this picture doesn't say summer I don't know what does... stripped down to her diaper, in her carseat with an ice cream cone in one hand and a water bottle in the other.

2 Years Old

2011-06-10T17:29:00.002-04:00

My Sweet Jane,

Tomorrow you will be 2 whole years old.

This year has been SO fun getting to see your little personality develop. We have laughed and cried and just been in awe as we watch you learn new things. I love to watch how you work in that you don't do anything until you know you can do it well... this happened in you crawling, walking, talking, etc. I also love watching you take everything in before you fully respond to what's going on around you. You are so observant.

You're like a little sponge soaking things up... like your numbers and letters and just the other day we found out you know the shape of a heart and cross and we have no idea where you learned them!

This year we have watched you learn to talk, to make friends, to soothe yourself, to feed yourself with a fork and spoon, to become your own little independent person and my favorite and your most recent phrase asking me to "Yook, Mommy!" when you do something new and fun.

You are so fun and full of life. Definitely feisty and stubborn but we're believing and praying for the Lord to use that for His glory.

Your love for others is so evident in how you love to hug and kiss and be so sweet. I have loved watching you love on this baby in my belly and can't wait to watch you love her when she's out. The Lord has truly blessed you in giving you a sister.

This year my prayer for you is that you would grow in your love for others, specifically in your relationship with your sister. That you would desire to please and obey your mommy and daddy. That this 3rd year of your life would be fun, memorable and that you would be safe and healthy. And most of all, that you would understand more fully God's great love for you.

I love being your Mommy and even though some nights I go to bed feeling like I haven't done a good job or I'm failing you somehow when we have a bad day, I wouldn't trade it for the world.

I love you more than words can say,

Mommy

Pregnancy #2: 31 Weeks

2011-06-08T22:18:00.003-04:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 31 weeks

Fruit/Veggie: four navel oranges???? how random is that.

Size: Over 16 in, 3lbs 3oz

Baby changes: She is heading into a growth spurt this week. She can turn her head from side to side, and her arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath her skin.

Best Moment this week: Going to FL!!!

Gender: Girl

Movement: While driving to FL two nights ago, Cora was awake all. night. long. I'm thinking she has her days and nights mixed up and she's up every night and I just don't notice because I'm sleeping.

Food Craving: nothing much

What I miss: being able to paint my toenails myself

Sleep: I wake up several times a night, every time I wake up to switch sides. It's work now to roll over and to bring my body pillow with me every time.

What I am looking forward to: Seeing more family this week and taking Jane to Disney!

Symptoms: A humongous belly

G & Aunt Cara

2011-06-04T07:02:00.004-04:00

Rob's Mom (G) and his sister Cara came up to visit and see Rob graduate. We had a really nice visit with them and were so glad they were here to celebrate with us!

G of course helped us out around the house this time she painted our shutters and doors! We bought the paint when we moved in almost 2 years ago knowing we wanted it painted and have never gotten around to doing it. It looks amazing!

This is what it used to look like... green and faded.

And now it's black and beautiful!

Jane is in love. We so enjoyed having the two of you!

Cinderelli, Cinderelli

2011-05-31T20:10:00.003-04:00

"A" says...

2011-05-27T18:25:00.001-04:00

Pregnancy #2: 29 Weeks

2011-05-26T21:50:00.000-04:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 29 weeks

Fruit/Veggie: butternut squash

Size: Over 15 in, 2lbs. 14oz

Baby changes: Her muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and her head is growing bigger to make room for her developing brain. This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.

Best Moment this week: Seeing her on the 3d/4d ultrasound!

Gender: Girl

Movement: Lots and mostly at night.

Food Craving: tuna and cereal

What I miss: sleep

Sleep: I wake up every morning in between 5:30 and 6:30 and can't get back to sleep.

What I am looking forward to: Going to FL soon!

Symptoms: my allergies are going crazy! They must be worse from pregnancy. I have to take something for them almost every day. And weepy/hormonal.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-05-25T19:53:00.002-04:00

Smiley...

2011-05-24T20:19:00.005-04:00

is Cora's new nickname. We had her 3d/4d ultrasound today and she could not stop smiling! It was so sweet.

On another note, we basically just make clones of kids. There's something a tiny bit different about Cora that I can't put my finger on but for the most part, she looks just like Jane!

We also confirmed that she is in fact a girl.

She was measuring right at 29 weeks (I'll be 29 weeks on Thursday) and weighs 2lbs 14oz.

The sad news is that she's not head down. :( The little bottom I thought has been at the top of my stomach is actually a head. If you think of it, please pray that she'll turn.

Master Rob

2011-05-23T12:00:00.000-04:00

Rob graduated from Southeastern Seminary with his Master of Arts in Christian Studies on Friday! I am so proud of him and all of his hard work. I know it wasn't easy working full-time, having a family and being in school full-time but all of that hard work finally paid off!

This is almost every book that Rob read while he was in seminary. Craziness.

Possibly the best picture ever.

4 Years

2011-05-22T12:15:00.000-04:00

This year we celebrated our 4 year anniversary. 4 years is a long time. You're not newlyweds anymore.

Maybe this happens with everyone or maybe I'm just weird, but this was the year I admitted to Rob that thinking about our wedding day makes me a little sad. I loved our wedding and I loved what those vows meant but I feel like if we said them now, they would mean so much more. We aren't even the same people that we were 4 years ago.

Rob leads our family so well. He has grown so much as a person and as a man of God in the past 4 years and this year especially I have experienced it. I remember distinctly a conversation I had many years ago with an authority figure in my life who told me that I didn't desire to be led... I might say that, but my actions don't show it. In that instance, he was right. I didn't desire a domineering man that I had to submit to. I desired one who would lead the way Christ lead, loving and serving and using His words when necessary to exhort and encourage.

I can honestly say that I respect Rob more than any other man in this world and it's truly because of the way he loves me so well.

I look forward to many, many more years as Rob Lourcey's wife.

____________________________________________________________

This year our anniversary happened to be the day before Rob's graduation from seminary so his family was in town. They kept Jane for us while we went out to eat and to a movie. We had the yummiest seafood/sushi at North Hills in Raleigh and then saw Thor. It was a much needed break for both of us.

And here I am with Cora on our anniversary at 28 weeks.

Office Party

2011-05-21T15:09:00.002-04:00

The Office season finale was this past Thursday night so we invited some friends over to play The Office trivia game and to watch it with us. This night also happened to be our 4th anniversary and the night before Rob's graduation so we also celebrated by having dirt cake, one of Rob's favorites.

Um...

2011-05-13T12:57:00.000-04:00

Pregnancy #2: 27 Weeks

2011-05-12T20:53:00.000-04:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 27 weeks

Fruit/Veggie: about the size of a head of cauliflower

Size: About 14.5 in, almost 2 lbs

Baby changes: She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now.

Best Moment this week: We had maternity pictures done this past Saturday! I'm a little nervous as it's a new photographer for us and because my belly wasn't as big at 26 weeks as it was with Jane. :( I'm anxious to see them though. I know there will at least be some good ones of Jane.

Gender: Girl

Movement: She's turned head down! So now I feel little body parts going across the top of my belly... my very favorite part of pregnancy.

Food Craving: Sweets. :)

What I miss: Running. With both of my pregnancies I had just started running before I got pregnant. Now all of my friends are doing the Couch to 5k program and are planning on running in a 5k soon. I can't wait to be able to run again!

Sleep: Really, really, really weird dreams... and I can no longer sleep without a body pillow.

What I am looking forward to: Rob's graduation and our anniversary are next week! His Mom & Cara are coming up for the graduation!

Symptoms: None except for a growing belly and being emotional.

Jane: 23 Months

2011-05-11T08:00:00.001-04:00

It's hard to believe Jane is going to be 2 next month! It doesn't seem like 2 whole years have passed since she was born.

She repeats anything we ask her to say but some of our favorite words are: popcorn (co-cone), hotdog, cereal (chi chi) and ant. And surprisingly our girl has the WORST southern accent! Somehow I had a really thick one as a child and don't now. People think it's weird that my family (parents and siblings) do and I don't.

Jane loves to eat. She asks to eat (nee) all. day. long. She, unlike most toddlers, will eat anything if it's cooked in something like a casserole or soup. She doesn't like fruit or vegetables by themselves except for roasted broccoli & sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, grapes, bananas, mandarin oranges and watermelon. She does not like any other fruit... no strawberries, apples (although she'll chew them up and then spit them out), oranges, grapefruit, etc.

The great thing we found out this month is that Jane is no longer allergic to peanut butter!!! She used to break out in hives every time she ate it. The pediatrician had told us that some parents will give it to their children in small doses to "help" them get used to it and she said that sometimes they just outgrow an allergy. This past week I have given it to her every single day in a different form just to make sure she really isn't allergic. She's had peanut butter crackers, peanut butter cookies, bagel w/ peanut butter and today a peanut butter & banana sandwich. This makes us SO happy as we both love peanut butter and it will definitely make it easier for us to sneak in protein at any meal or snack.

She knows lots more colors than we thought... now she recognizes pink, green, yellow, red and white. We also bought her the Leapfrog Letter Factory DVD and she really likes it. She told Rob today what sound an A makes. It blows our minds.

Jane seems to be better about being nice to her friends. She now realizes there are very real consequences so I think she's starting to think before she acts. She sometimes tries too hard to be sweet to them when she won't leave them alone for trying to hug them and play with their hair. ;)

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-07T20:33:00.004-04:00

This year for Mother's Day, Rob and Jane got me just what I wanted... a homemade ice cream maker! And Rob bought cake cones just to be funny. I have really been wanting them lately. In fact, I've had 2 this past week! He also helped Jane make a super cute Mother's Day card. I also woke up this morning to a card that Rob made for me. I laughed out loud when I saw it.

And I got a package from my Mom for Mother's Day! A new Vera Bradley beach towel and flip flops! It's SO cute! I cannot wait to use it this summer.

Happy Mother's Day to our Moms... Grammie, Nana & G. We love you and wish we could be celebrating with you today!

Soccer

2011-05-07T19:41:00.004-04:00

Jane started soccer today! We signed her up for the 18-24 month but she was the only one so they put her with the 2-3 year olds. I was glad for this because of what they'll actually being doing, the 18-24 month class was mostly bubbles, parachutes, etc. and this class is foot-eye coordination, listening skills, etc. You can definitely tell Jane is one of the younger ones in the class but we think she'll catch on quick. She really seemed to enjoy most of it!

One of her favorite parts was getting her hair in ponies!

What I love about these younger classes is that a parent gets to go with them. This is perfect for my shy, observant girl. The very first thing they did was sit in a circle and when the ball was rolled to them, they would say their name and favorite animal. When it was Jane's turn she turned around and buried her face in her Daddy's chest... which was to be expected. ;) We'll work on that.

They ran back and forth from one side to the other and then kicked the ball from one side to the other. She LOVED that!

Coach Mark (in black) also taught them how to "trap" the ball by putting their foot on top of it. She looks so big girl here!

They got out these little balls and did different things; touching the ball with their forehead, putting it in between their feet while sitting and lifting it up, putting it between their feet while standing and jumping, and then kicking it between their parent's legs.

This part was fun to watch. They stacked the ball on the cones and then a cone on top of it and then were told to kick the ball off of the cone. Jane loves to "crash" anything so of course she loved it but was most of the time too impatient to wait for it to be stacked completely or if she thought the ball was too high, she would just hit it with her hand. If you click on the picture to make it bigger you'll see her Daddy holding his finger up to her telling her to wait. :)

At the end they got out the parachute.

She was so proud of her soccer ball stamps!

Wordless Wednesday: Best Package Ever

2011-05-04T10:29:00.003-04:00

Are you my sister?

2011-05-02T20:29:00.002-04:00

I've been debating all afternoon about what to title this post...

Cuckoo...

Cora the Explorer...

I finally settled with "Are you my sister?" playing off of the children's book, "Are You My Mother?"

I love getting little snippets of what's going on in my girl's head but sometimes those little snippets make me wonder what's she's really thinking most of the time and how confused she can be.

Jane used to call her baby sister "Coca" but since we've tried to get her to say Cora Sue it's turned into "Cuckoo" and it has stuck.

Today at work we were all playing in the playroom and I heard Jane saying "Cuckoo" over and over again. She never talks about Cora without being prompted or unless she's standing in front of me pointing at my belly so I had to know what she was talking about.

I found her with a Dora the Explorer book, pointing at Dora on the front cover and repeatedly saying, "Cuckoo."

I asked if she was talking about Cora and she gave the affirmative nod and "uh-huh."

The poor girl thinks Dora the Explorer is in her momma's belly.

I have been really shocked with how she's handled the whole baby thing and how she really "gets it" that there's a baby in my belly and her name is Cora and all along she's been thinking of Dora.

While I would love to have a baby with dark hair, I hope and pray the kid doesn't have a head the size of Dora's and that she doesn't scream when she talks.

Easter 2011

2011-04-30T20:12:00.003-04:00

I attempted participating in Lent this year to help prepare my heart for Easter. I didn't do a very good job. We've talked alot these past few years in our small group about "putting off" sin and "putting on" something else to replace that. We make what are called "action plans" every year about a sin we would like to put off and something we would like to put in it's place, i.e. putting off pride and putting on humility. The plan is a bit more involved as it maps out steps to take to actually do this.

What I did with Lent I felt like was the "putting off" part by giving up facebook, which was definitely becoming an idol in my life. However, I didn't "put on" anything. I found things to do. I definitely made better use of my time. I had a cleaner house. I didn't do anything purposeful in preparing my heart for Easter which is the point of fasting from something for Lent. I still felt like it snuck up on me and I hate that. Sadly, next year I know I will do a better job at this because Jane will be involved in the Lent festivities. Not with fasting, but the family devotions that people have written for this purpose, that we will do together.

I do think it's good that I'm thinking through these things for my child and want to lead her well in it but I'm not leading by example. I want to do these things for myself and my relationship with the Lord, not just for hers.

Our church helps us to prepare a bit by offering communion every week during Lent, leading up to Easter. I appreciate that. They also send out pamphlets of different readings to do during Holy Week to help us meditate on Jesus' sacrifice.

Jane received the biggest package ever from her Nana & Poppie! It was the biggest bunny you've ever seen. She was actually scared of it at first but warmed up to it after a few days and now she LOVES it!

The traditional festivities we did with Jane were fun this year. We dyed Easter eggs and dressed up and had a big Easter dinner. The best part was that my parents were here!!!

Pregnancy #2: 25 Weeks

2011-04-28T22:10:00.000-04:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 25 weeks

Fruit/Veggie: Rutabaga

Size: About 13.5 in, 1.5 lbs

Baby changes: Babies beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. And if we could see her hair, we could discern the color and texture.

Best Moment this week: Our last foster care home study was this morning!

Gender: Girl

Movement: Lots of little kicks, mostly down low.

Food Craving: Nothing really.

What I miss: Rolling over in bed with no effort.

Sleep: Great except for some crazy dreams.

What I am looking forward to: Rob and I are planning an anniversary trip!

Symptoms: Indigestion. I ended up in Labor & Delivery Triage this past week with pains that I thought were my gallbladder. Turns out I have gastritis and will just live on Tums for the rest of the pregnancy.

Breakin' the Law

2011-04-26T22:35:00.004-04:00

I'm not even 2 years in and I've already broken one of my "mom rules" and am planning to break another soon. We all have them, things we say we'll "never do" as a mom. Phrases we'll never use. Things we'll never let our kids eat.

For me, it was that my kids would NEVER wear anything with a character on it. I went to our huge, local consignment sale seeking out 1 thing: pajamas, and came home with a Minnie Mouse nightgown for $1. Best $1 I've ever spent.

She. is. in. love.

And look how big girl she looks in a gown!

I will say that I allowed this only because it was pajamas and wouldn't be worn out of the house. I'm a rule follower, what can I say?

Part 2 of my Breakin' the Law series... character themed birthday parties.

My girl really, really loves Elmo.

Retreat

2011-04-20T22:08:00.004-04:00

Every year the Women's Ministry at our church has a weekend retreat in the mountains of North Carolina. We've been at Northwake for three years now and I've never been able to go for being big pregnant, traveling or because Rob works weekends. This year Rob took off work on Saturday so that I was able to go!

I traveled with the women from my small group to Blowing Rock, NC right outside of Boone. I roomed with the sweetest lady from my small group, Ms. Marilyn, who is in her 60's. I was so encouraged that she wanted to go and that we got to room together! I was a little sad at first that no other girls from my small group wanted to room with us, but it worked out perfectly. I'm like a grandma in that I like to go to bed early and wake up early and am also super independent. I like to be able to go to meals by myself and sit with other people if I want to and so it really worked out great.

We have about 5 hours of free time on Saturday afternoon and so my small group girls and I went into Boone and ate at Dan'l Boone Inn. It was a family style restaurant where they brought the food to our table in big bowls and we got to serve ourselves. We feasted on fried chicken, ham biscuits, country fried steak, corn, green beans, mashed potatoes & gravy, coleslaw and for dessert, strawberry shortcake, chocolate cake and peach cobbler! It was delicious!

We then looked around in the Mast General Store and an antique store in downtown Boone.

It was really fun that the location of our retreat was right down the road from Tweetsie Railroad! This was one of the places I visited with my parents, aunts, cousins and grandparents when we all used to stay in NC for the summer. I think I was about 8 years old when we went there but I do remember getting one of those wooden train horns from there. It was too cool to see it again after all of these years.

This year's theme for the retreat was Emotions and it was a timely one for me. I was so grateful to Rob to spend the weekend with Jane so that I was able to go. It was a much needed break from life and such a refreshing time spent with the Lord and with my small group friends.

Today...

2011-04-18T22:12:00.002-04:00

we hung out, just me and my girl. I was gone all weekend to a Women's Retreat with our church in the mountains of NC and I have missed her something fierce. So I spent last night and today just soaking up my time with her.

Last night when I got home we painted our toenails. Pink, as always. My not-yet-2-year-old knows the colors pink and green and can spot them anywhere. Pink she knows because that's the color we always paint our toes.

I gave her a "prize" when I got home last night. I found this little gem at the Mast General Store in Blowing Rock for $2.97 and thought it would be perfect for Jane when she moves to the table to give Cora her seat. She could not stop talking about the kids playing in the "wawa." Probably because her Daddy let her play in the water while Momma was away this weekend.

Reason #9782 Dad is way cooler than Mom.

We spent an extra long time taking a bath last night...

and reading books this morning.

She has a computer... and she knows how to use it.

My super smart girl also somehow knows her letters... e, o and p. E is her very favorite. We always know what she's doing when we hear her in the other room saying, "E, e, e..." over and over again. She's writing on her magna doodle and she writes lots of e's.

So... I pulled out this fun little letter flashcards her Grammie put in her stocking. She was in Heaven.

Jane also sported her first pigtails tonight when we joined our friends at Chick-fil-a for dinner. For some strange reason she is infatuated with "ponies." She loves to play with mine and tonight after I pulled hers up I went to the mirror where she looked back and forth from her own reflection to my pony tail and flashed her, "I'm trying really hard to not let her see how cool I think this is" face. Kind of pictured here. One day I really need to get this on camera. My shy girl makes this face all. the. time.

I hope your Monday was as fun and relaxing as ours.

Pregnancy #2: 23 Weeks

2011-04-14T22:27:00.000-04:00

I will be giving birth at the birth center again, the Lord willing. Since I've already had one normal, healthy pregnancy there they are allowing me to spread out my visits this time. My very first visit for an exam and blood work was at 12 weeks and then I didn't have to go again until 18 weeks and not again until next week at 24 weeks! Normally you go once a month but mine are spread to every 6 weeks. The birth center is about an hour away so it's nice not to have to make that drive very often. At 28 weeks you normally start going every 2 weeks but I will go every 3 and then at 36 weeks I'll go once a week until I have her.

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 23 weeks

Fruit/Veggie: large mango

Size: 11 in, just over 1 lb

Baby changes: Blood vessels in baby's lungs are developing to prepare for breathing.

Best Moment this week: Realizing I'm having TWO girls who can match! I had lots of self control in Old Navy last week. ;)

Gender: Another girl... Cora Sue Lourcey

We weren't going to decide on a name until we saw her but thought that Jane should be able to associate a name with our baby ahead of time. Hopefully this will make the transition a little easier for her. We were also pretty sure we were using Cora. ;)

Movement: Lots and lots of movement... but it doesn't start until around 10am and she definitely is up in the evenings/night around 9pm. I also think I've felt the first little hiccups this week.

Food Craving: SWEETS! This is the 2nd thing about this whole pregnancy that is even remotely like Jane's. The sweets craving started with Jane around 19 weeks and this one around 21 but I'm craving sweets just the same. The other only similarity is that my morning sickness stopped at 12 weeks exactly.

What I miss: Nothing I can think of.

Sleep: Great!

What I am looking forward to: My parents are coming to visit next week!

Symptoms: Weepy and hungry

Jane: 22 Months

2011-04-11T07:00:00.001-04:00

Some of Jane's favorites this month are singing and reading books. I really love that she likes reading books. I know it's not normal for all toddlers to enjoy reading and Jane will sit for long periods of time reading books and sometimes even the same book over and over. She also loves to sing and sings alot! Her favorites are anything Miss Pattycake, ABCs & Zaccheus.

Jane loves to accessorize. I looked over today to see her playing with her kitchen with this sweater around her shoulders. I tried to get a picture of her playing with it on but she sees the camera and is done.

This month has been a hard one in that Jane has been hitting and has even bitten her friends! I am a nanny for 2 girls, a 4 year old and 18 month old. Jane has hit the 18 month old several times and in the process scratched her face, causing her to bleed. This month for the 1st time she bit the girl. It's been hard with my job having to take Jane and worry that something might happen. I know the other mom is nervous about it and it makes me nervous too. It's added a little bit of stress to my job situation. I know that it's a normal (almost 2 year old) stage but it's frustrating when we feel that we're doing what we're supposed to as parents and it's not producing desired results. We are just learning to be consistent and also learning that different forms of punishment work better for Jane. We are not against spanking at all but in this situation Jane is more affected by having to be separated from her friends when she hurts them. So, we send her to her room (or wherever, if we aren't at home), give her a minute or two and then go in and talk with her. Sometimes we will spank after we explain to her why we have to and then she apologizes to her friend and gives them a hug.

I wasn't kidding about liking to accessorize.

We have found ourselves being tempted to bribe Jane to make her behave how we want her to. One day this past week we were at a park playing and it was time to go. Jane started to whine and protest and I reminded her that we have a movie in the car or that we could listen to Zaccheus in the car. She completely changed her tune and came right with me. I immediately knew I had done wrong. Jane needs to obey me because I ask her to, not because of what she's going to get from it. This is definitely something that both Rob and I are going to have to work on.
Seriously.

One thing that we've learned this month is that Jane's tummy can't take processed foods. We first found this out a couple of months ago when I gave her Yoplait yogurt for several mornings in a row. She got SO constipated... like she didn't go for several days when she normally goes once a day. This month she had lots of processed foods one week and got constipated again. :( Thankfully she really likes prunes but it did take a trip to the doctor and a good week and a half to get her regular again. We don't feed her ridiculously healthy all the time but she does eat lots of whole foods as opposed to foods out of a box. I think she can have sugary snacks every once in a while but it's when she eats them consistently that her tummy gets messed up.

Jane now sleeps with several stuffed animals at night... a bear, a dog and a monkey (along with her 2 night-nights, i.e. blankets). Every morning when we go in she'll point to each of them or pick them up and make the noise for them. Most mornings that I get her she'll also point to the pointe shoes on her wall and say, "shoes."

In some ways this has been a tough month but it's always been a really fun one. Jane has a new "cheese" face that she does at random times. It's so cute but I have yet to get it on camera. It's also really fun to hear Jane talking. She talks all the time! She will repeat anything we ask her to and some words come out so cute!

ABC's

2011-04-08T20:33:00.001-04:00

Pregnancy #2: 21 Weeks

2011-04-02T15:05:00.000-04:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 21 weeks

Fruit/Veggie: Carrot

Size: About 10.5 in, 12 oz

Baby changes: Baby's eyebrows & lids are present now.

Best Moment this week: Feeling kicks up high around my belly button. I've been nervous she'd never turn upside down.

Gender: Another girl. :)

Movement: A LOT! Of really big kicks... and late at night. :/ Hoping this doesn't mean she's up and ready to party at 9pm when she actually gets here.

Food Craving: Nothing really.

What I miss: Nothing I can think of.

Sleep: Great except for some really weird dreams.

What I am looking forward to: Warmer weather

Symptoms: Cramps/Charlie horse in my feet and legs this week! I remember having them in my legs with Jane but not my feet.

Spring Baskets

2011-03-29T21:55:00.005-04:00

I really, really loved getting Easter baskets growing up. My Mom went all out and always did such an amazing job with them. I am alot like my mom in that I love to do fun special extra things like Easter baskets, Christmas stockings, etc. Last year a friend wrote about giving Spring baskets instead of Easter baskets to not take away from the true meaning of Easter. I want to do this with not making Christmas about Santa, so why not do it with Easter and not making it about an Easter bunny and baskets? So... instead of giving the basket on Easter I'm giving them on the 1st day of spring. This year it was on Sunday, March 20th.

Rob's had a pair of flip-flops, a travel coffee mug, superhero gummy vitamins, a new loofah and candy.

Jane's had a paint-with-water book, a kite, chalk, bubbles, chapstick and candy. I have been buying stuff for hers all along for several months now and of course didn't keep it all together and forgot to put stuff in it. So... I left out a book (Chicka-Chicka-ABC) and a big thing of bubbles.

Jane loved everything in her basket but her favorites by far were the candy and the chapstick. She LOVES chapstick!

This Week...

2011-03-27T19:42:00.003-04:00

Rob's Mom, Sue, or as Jane calls her- G, has been visiting. We have had such a fun and might I add, productive week. It seems like we're always productive when G is visiting.

She is so good to us when she is here, buying groceries, getting new chairs for our front porch and making our yard look amazing! I have been begging Rob for months to do something about the yard, I've even wanted to hire someone, but G came to the rescue. It is beautiful!

Our hydrangea bushes went from looking like this...

to this.

I can't wait to see the blooms on those soon.

She and Rob also cleaned out and organized our shed and storage room.

And wherever G was, Jane was not far off. Here she is vacuuming out our car for us! And Jane is playing while she works.

We even got to get away one morning to a really fun science museum in Durham. We had such a great week and are grateful for all of the great grandparents Jane has. We are so blessed.

Sure or Unsure?

2011-03-24T11:42:00.004-04:00

This might be weird for some of you but if you've read my blog for long or know me personally, you'll know I'm weird and crunchy.

So, I was a dance major in college. I danced all day, every day, for 4 straight years and I never, ever noticed that I smelled after. I sweated for sure. Some days in ballet I would feel the sweat dripping down my back. I was absolutely disgusting but I was never able to smell myself.

Fast forward 3 years, I'm 3 days in of being a mom and the midwife comes to my house. She checks out the baby and asks if I have any questions. I have just one...

"Why do my armpits smell so bad?!"

She laughed and chalked it up to hormones. Well, hormones or not, two years later I still smell horribly bad. I'm not exaggerating either. I get in the shower and scrub my armpits with soap, water and a washcloth, step out to dry off and I smell myself!!! It's pretty ridiculous.

There's another problem in this story and it's that I don't like to wear deodorant. It has weird ingredients like aluminum that can get into your skin/body and it's been known to cause cancer. And like anything else in my life, if there's a more natural way to do something I'll take that route.

So... my Mom sent me this all-natural deodorant a couple of months ago and it actually works!!! It smells funny at first, I think. The first time I wore it I kept asking Rob what that smell was, kind of like nail polish remover. I also have to give it time to dry (at least I feel like I do) before I put my clothes on. It's roll-on and reminds me of the body paint my daughter uses in the bathtub.

It works though! It's Alvera's Aloe & Almonds Roll-on Deodorant.

Pregnancy #2: 19 Weeks

2011-03-17T22:12:00.003-04:00

I feel like I just look really fat in this picture. I'm in that weird in between stage right now, not looking like a normal person but not looking pregnant. I did have the first stranger ask about the baby today so maybe I'm looking more pregnant than I think. Maybe a zoomed out, full body picture would look more accurate.

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 19 weeks

Fruit/Veggie: Heirloom Tomato

Size: About 6 in, 9 oz

Baby changes: This is a crucial time for sensory development: Baby's brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that she may be able to hear my voice now.

Best Moment this week: Finding out that we're having another GIRL!

Gender: It's a GIRL!

Movement: She's definitely moving and kicking these days but not a ton. I feel her everyday but some days more than others. I actually think I've started to notice a pattern like I did with Jane, lots of movement one day and not much for the next 2 or 3.

Food Craving: This week I was in desperate need for smoked salmon on crackers with whipped cream cheese and capers. Today it was iced coffee... and I don't even drink coffee.

What I miss: Being able to sleep without waking up worrying that I ended up on my back.

Sleep: Good except for trying to stay on my sides. I've been much more successful recently. I know it's not super important yet but I'm trying to get used to sleeping that way.

What I am looking forward to: Rob's Mom is coming this week! And the weather is supposed to be beautiful!

Symptoms: Not much other than some cravings and a growing belly.

It's a...

2011-03-16T20:45:00.000-04:00

GIRL!!!!

We decided to have a gender reveal party this time instead of finding out at the ultrasound. The ultrasound tech put the gender picture in a envelope, we gave the envelope to the lady who was making our cake and she was making the inside of the cake pink or blue depending on the gender so that we found out when we cut into it. We invited our friends and family in the area and called/skyped in the family out of state.

The cake was made by a woman in Raleigh who was referred to me by a friend. It was the most delicious cake I have ever had! I wasn't really searching for this but the lady who made it told me that she uses organic, fresh, all natural ingredients. In fact, when I went to pick it up she told me that the eggs she used in the cake were laid that morning!

We were shocked when we cut into that cake and saw pink! Rob and I both thought I was having a boy this time until the day of the ultrasound we both started thinking girl.

We were super nervous when at the ultrasound appointment the tech told us she might not be able to see what gender the baby was. The baby had her legs crossed and tucked up. The tech took a really long time and would take the wand and wiggle it around on my belly where the baby's legs were. This made my uterus contract and squeeze the baby even tighter in that tucked/crossed legged position. Finally, she got it! The pictures aren't too convincing to me but I'm sure she saw for sure and wouldn't have told us if she didn't. We'll have a 3d ultrasound around 30 weeks to confirm. ;)

The baby's heartrate was 154 and she weighs about 9oz. She's measuring just right for her gestational age.