Nana's Birthday Celebration: Pt. 2 (more pics)

Nana's Birthday Celebration

All the kids really enjoyed eating cupcakes!!

Alex really enjoyed his cupcake too!

Heather really enjoyed her cupcake

Rachel wanted to give Alex some love

Alex Lane...check out those gorgeous, chunky legs!!

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Making our silly faces...

Making our mad faces...

Beautiful little girls!

Rach and Juj hangin' with Bradley...fresh from a bath

We had such a GREAT day on Saturday, visiting with all of our favorite cousins!! It was a special weekend since cousin Juju and baby Alex were here with Aunt Wendy. We all went to Nana and Pop's house to celebrate Nana's birthday and had so much fun playing all day long! First thing on Saturday, me and my kids made cupcakes for Nana. Then, we headed to Loganville where Rachel and Julia embraced and were SO happy to see each other. The girls played so well together without a cross word or a single argument. Bradley enjoyed tagging along when they would let him, and when he could keep up! Alex was absolutely a baby doll, with his squishy, huge legs and arms and his precious little round face and head. He is quite a good looking little boy with his blonde/red hair and BRIGHT blue eyes! We all enjoyed getting to see his little personality as he becomes more independent and more strong willed. He reminded me of his cousin, Bradley, who's always been more concerned about how things affected HIM and not so much with anyone else. :) And, it is always wonderful to get to see my precious sister, who is so much fun to be with and I can't wait for the day when she is in Athens again! Of course, we got to see Uncle Tommy, Aunt Erin, Thomas, Heather and baby Abby and all the kids had a blast playing together! Also, since Aunt Linda and Uncle Paul were in town, it was nice that they were there to celebrate Nana's special day. Nana got to spend time with each of her 7 (so far) precious grandchildren, who ALL love their Nana so much and really enjoy spending time with her. Pop ordered Buck's Pizza, which we enjoyed, we ate cupcakes and helped Nana open her presents, even though there weren't that many. We tried to get a good picture of all the grandchildren outside, but it seems like there is always one who isn't looking at the same time as everyone else. At least their body is there, even if their face isn't showing! We certainly had a blast and hope that Nana really enjoyed her special day!!

Happy Birthday Nana!! We love you!!!

Child of God

Juju, George and Ray Ray

Rachel and George are about to make cupcakes for Nana's birthday

Rachel and George check Gege's mail


George climbs a tree...what a monkey thing to do!

Rachel's class is randomly picking a child each week until school is out to be the "Child of God". This means that the child gets to bring home the class stuffed animal, George, and journal everything that you do with George while he's at your house. Then, you return the monkey on Wednesday and celebrate being a child of God on Friday. Rachel was ecstatic to be the child of God this week and took SEVERAL pictures with Gege on George's first day with us. Then, George was lucky enough to get to meet: Juju, Alex, Thomas, Heather, Abigail, both sets of grandparents and several aunts and uncles. I was personally hoping that George would get to meet the next Milligan, but it hasn't happened yet, so I'm not holding my breath. :) But, I thought the idea that the class would celebrate being a Child of God, was awesome and made me even more thankful that this is the type of environment Rachel is in at school. I'm so thankful for both my children...who are children of God, whom I have been TREMENDOUSLY blessed to be their mother!!!!!!!

ECV- Exciting, Cool, Version

Well, Saturday was my first and only experience with an ECV (External Cephalic Version). It was quite fascinating and amazing! I had a strong feeling that Trent was breech a couple of weeks ago and as we got closer to 37 weeks, it was pretty obvious that his hard head was directly under my ribcage. Dr. Sepesi confirmed that on Thursday and then we set up an appointment for an ECV, per my request. I felt very strongly about trying to turn him since I loved my VBAC and want to do one again if I can. Anyway, I was a little anxious and emotional on the way to the hospital on Saturday morning, but was fine once I got there. We didn't take our decision to do the ECV lightly, we prayed about it alot. And, I found a comforting verse that I wrote down and prayed many times up to and during the procedure. It was: Philippians 4:6; "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

We ended up waiting around from about 10:30-1:00 just to have the ECV performed. Part of the time was spent waiting for the doctor and part of the time was waiting for another woman's c-section to be done so that there would be adequate staff available if my ECV didn't go well. There were several different scenarios that could have happened and thankfully, the best possible outcome is what we got. Just in case, we had packed my bag and left it in the car and we also had Trent's diaper bag and our camera. I figured I would be most upset about not having the camera for Trent's arrival than I would be if he came early. Dr. Sepesi did the ECV all by himself, with lots of strength, lots of jelly lubricant on my belly and skilled hands. There was one nurse who helped me focus and try to relax my abdomen while it was being brutally manipulated. Poor Nick just had to watch the whole thing, which I imagine was the worst option! The entire procedure took less than 5 minutes and it was successful since Trent ended up head down which opens the door for a VBAC unless something else indicates that we shouldn't do it. The pain was short-lived and tolerable and I'm so thankful that I was given the opportunity to have an ECV. Now, we're in watching and waiting mode, partially hoping that Trent comes early so I don't have to be pregnant any longer and partially hoping that he stays as long as he wants so he is strong and healthy at his birth. I cannot complain, this has been a great pregnancy, much like my other two, and I feel very blessed that we're about to have our 3rd child!

Rachel's Spring Pics

Last Wednesday was Rachel's spring picture day at school. It was funny because the school was closed on Monday due to SNOW! I felt funny getting her a spring outfit and then dressing her in such warm clothes 2 days after the biggest snow storm I've ever seen! But, Rachel loved her new outfit and especially loved her new slip-on shoes. When she got home, she didn't want to take her outfit off until I made her. We also rolled her hair the night before so she would have some curls for the picture. I bought a new hair curler net to try to keep the rollers in during the night. It helped some, but her hair is still so silky and fine, that lots of them came out. But, the curly effect was still there and Rachel thought she was a princess in her lovely spring outfit.

New Bunks

Today, our new bunk bed came for the kids. It's something we've been talking about doing for a while now. We figured we'd put the bed in Rachel's room for now so that over the summer, we can transition Bradley into Rachel's room and then put Trent into Bradley's room. We figured Trent and Bradley probably wouldn't be able to share a room for a year since Trent will be nursing for at least that long. Of course, at first, Trent will be in mine and Nick's room. Anyway, Rachel has been so excited about getting these bunkbeds and both kids were ecstatic when they arrived. The kids just think it's a new toy and the top bunk, fitted with just a boxspring (how comfy, right?? but no one will be sleeping up there for awhile!) is a regular play area. Anyway, they have had a blast all afternoon climbing up and down the ladder and "going night-night". We'll see how well Rachel sleeps in there tonight for the first time...

Rachel's School sings for a local retirement home

Rachel and her best friend, Kate
Bradley liked this wooden duck in one of the lounges

One of the few pictures I got of Rachel...very back row

Last week, Rachel's school took a field trip (across the street) to an Assisted Living home to sing patriotic songs. The parents were given the option of having their kids ride in the church van or bus or ride with their parents. Rachel chose to ride in the church bus. Nick and I weren't sure if we were comfortable with that, but since it was literally across the road, we let her go. Thank goodness that we did...apparently riding in the church van was a very BIG DEAL to the kids. Two of Rachel's friends did not ride in the van and were very upset with their moms. I was apprehensive because I wasn't sure if Rachel would get anxious or scared about riding with her teachers and friends, but she was fine. The kids sang: Yankee Doodle, I'm in the Lord's Army, and a couple of other cute little songs that they didn't know all the words to. They also said the Pledge of Allegiance, Pledge to the Bible and Pledge to the Christian flag. The kids were adorable and did a great job. The residents all seemed to really enjoy the singing and just looking at all the kids. I even had a resident who was comfortably sitting in a nice wing-back chair try to offer me her seat. I guess I looked worse-off than she did, being pregnant and holding Bradley. I thought that was sweet and funny! Bradley was a real trooper and really enjoyed watching the kids

and clapping at the end of each song. My only complaint was that Rachel was stuck behind several tall kids in her class so I couldn't see her very well or get many pictures of her singing.