County Fair

We took the girls to the Washington County Fair on Friday, September 2. We had such a great time looking at and petting the animals, watching the lights on the rides, listening to all the sounds, and eating some yummy food!

Katie loved looking at all the rides, and it was so nice to just be able to look and not have to pay ridiculous amounts of money for carnival rides!
There was a tent with stations set up for kids to enjoy - saddled bales of hay, animals to pet, baby chickens in the incubator, a cow to milk, etc.

Katie must've thought we were the coolest parents around. We let her eat Cheetohs for dinner :o)

Katie got to pet a real pig.

Miss Anna just enjoyed the atmosphere from the stroller. She alternated between sleeping and smiling!

Anna - 3 Months

Anna baby,

You turned 3 months old on September 1, and I still can't believe it. You are such a sweet baby, and I'm so glad you're in our lives. You started at Oak Grove Montessori on August 29, and you are doing great. Ms. Deanna is your teacher, and she constantly talks about how sweet and easy you are. I wonder if you will always be my content, laid-back baby...

You love to coo at anyone who will talk to you. You also smile and giggle all the time. Your sister was always the happiest baby, but I think you may be giving her a run for her money :o)

You also stayed with Mimi and Papa overnight for the first time. You did really well, and they are looking forward to having you over again.

You are such a special baby, and I'm so happy that God chose me to be your mommy. You make my life so bright!

I love you,
Mommy

Katie and Anna Monthly Comparisons

Anna at One Month...

Katie at One Month...

Anna at Two Months...

Katie at Two Months...

They really do look SO much alike, but it's hard to tell from these pictures because Anna is so much bigger than Katie was at one month and two month!

Anna Claire Fryar

Well, it has been nearly 3 months since I last updated the blog. WOW!

Here's a picture of me the morning of my induction. We took this picture right before we left the house to head to Willow Creek. I, at the time, DID NOT realize just how big I was... Looking back, I can definitely see how I had an 8 lb 15 oz baby!!!

Our first picture with Anna Banana!!!!
Here's our beautiful Anna Claire at 3 days old... Beautiful!

My beautiful girls... Gosh, I love being their mommy!

AND... Here's Anna at 2 months. Gosh, time flies!

Anna's Birth Story

Well, I'm about 3 weeks late in posting this, but.. Oh, well! Better late than never, right?!?!

It all started on Tuesday, May 31, at my 38 week appointment with Dr. Reiter. I went in like normal, weight gain was fine, BP was fine, measuring 2 weeks ahead (like normal)... Just a routine appointment. Dr. Reiter did my internal exam, and I was 3 centimeters dilated and about 70% effaced. While listening to Anna's heartbeat, he said, "We can induce tomorrow if you'd like." Matt's immediate reaction was, "Let's do it!" Dr. Reiter joked about that! The reason he did this was because of how ready we were to have this baby. Note: I'd been on bed rest for the last 4 weeks due to pre-term labor scares. So, I got dressed while Dr. Reiter contacted Willow Creek. When we walked out, the nurses were guessing how big the baby would be. **Their guesses were in the low 8 lbs.**

We left Creekside and headed down to Willow Creek to get paperwork and blood work taken care of before the induction. That took about 30 minutes, and we rushed to go pick up our precious Katie who was at my parent's house. When we got there, we told my parents what the plan was and OF COURSE they were thrilled. We took Katie home with us and enjoyed dinner and bath time with our angel. Once she was ready for bed, we took her back to my parents to spend the night. I cried leaving her because I knew things would never be the same...

We got back home and did last minute things.. Matt brought baby things down from upstairs. We repacked our bags. We cleaned the house. We enjoyed some cuddle time. We went to bed around 11:00, but I just could not sleep. I slept on and off until the alarm went off at 4:30 am. I took a nice, hot shower and shaved my legs. While getting ready, my mind was racing. Even though I had been through labor and delivery with Katie, I was still nervous and scared about the "What Ifs."

We left the house at 5:15 and arrived at Willow Creek around 5:25. We checked in and were given a room by 5:35. However, the nurse didn't come back in the room until 6:15. You can just imagine our frustration levels! During that time, though, we took a few last minute preggo pictures! The nurse (Sara) came in at 6:15 to get me in my bed and start my IV. However, she had real trouble and ended up getting another nurse (more experienced) after she failed two times. The new nurse got it in immediately, but it hurt quite a bit. Once the IV was in, they started the pitocin on a pretty low level and checked my cervix. I was already dilated to 4 cm and 75% effaced just from my appointment yesterday afternoon. Once the pitocin was started, my contractions picked up and were VERY uncomfortable. They let me labor for a few minutes while the nursing staff switched over.

My new nurse, Margaret, came in around 7:00 and introduced herself. Dr. Chase, the anesthesiologist, came in around 7:15 to give me my epidural (THANK GOODNESS!!). I had to lay back to let it all even out. While I was laying back, Margaret started taking my history. During this time, I started feeling woozy and had Matt answer the questions. It wasn't getting better, and I noticed I was having trouble hearing and was getting extremely hot and nauseous. My BP had dropped down to 70/40, and Anna's heart rate was dangerously low. I actually wasn't too sure what all was going on during this time, but I vaguely remember. A whole bunch of nurses came in, turned me on my side, and slapped the oxygen mask on me. One of the nurses was also doing an internal exam to try and stimulate Anna. The other nurse was trying to loosen the contraction.

After getting that all calmed down, she explained to me that my body was reacting negatively to the epidural by lowering my BP all while the pitocin was creating a constant contraction, not giving Anna a break in between. So, it was a scary few minutes in our little room. Thank goodness for a strong husband! After giving my body a short break, Margaret began taking my history again. I tried to sit up a little to answer her questions; however, within a few minutes, I felt very woozy again. They had to slap that silly oxygen mask on me to stabilize things again. I decided to just lay back for the time being.

Around 8:45, Dr. Reiter showed up to break my water. He checked my cervix, and I was still a 4 and on the lowest level of pitocin. He said that I would've gone into labor naturally within a day or two. Oh, well... I was ready to have my baby!

My mom and Sandy both arrived around 9:15. Dad brought the girls (Emma and Katie) up to visit for a little while. It was so nice seeing my sweet girl! Margaret came back in at 9:30 to check me again, and I was 5 cm. I was amazed at how quickly everything was progressing. Dad left with the girls around 10:15, and we all just visited while we waited.

At 10:30, Margaret came back in just to check if we were ok. She proceeded to stay and talk for 45 minutes about lots of nonsense stuff. I ended up falling asleep while her, my mom, Sandy, and Matt talked. It was rather humorous! They all thought I was faking, so she would leave. I wasn't, though. I actually fell asleep! She left and retured at 11:35 to check me again. This time, I was 7 cm!

Aunt Mischelle arrived at 12:00. I was in great spirits until 12:50 when I felt an overwhelming urge to use the bathroom - which usually means you're fully dilated. I only told Matt because I didn't want anyone else to think I was crazy :o) At 1:00, Margaret came in to check, and I was 10 cm and ready to push!!!! She left to go tell Dr. Reiter and quickly came back in with some not so great news. Dr. Reiter was down the hall sewing someone up who had an extensive tear. She said that he wouldn't be able to make it for at least another 20 minutes. So, I had to breathe through each contraction or urge to push. It was extremely difficult.

Dr. Reiter made it into the room at 1:30 and got everything ready to go by 1:35. I quickly started pushing. I only had to push through 1 contraction before I could see her crowning. The second contraction moved her even further down. With the third contraction, Anna baby was out!

Anna was born at 1:50 p.m. weighing 8 pounds 15 ounces. She was 20.75 inches long and had a beautiful head of dark brown hair! I ended up with a 2nd degree episiotomy because Miss Anna was on the large side! Giving birth this go round was SOOOO much easier than with Katie!

Pictures will come later!

Bed rest...

Well, we've had an interesting last few weeks with this pregnancy... Interesting, to say the least! On Friday, April 29, we went to the BBQ cook-off and then to Patrick's to get a burger for dinner and were planning on coming home to prepare for the garage sale the next morning. We were having a great time. During dinner, I noticed some Braxton Hicks - which is fairly common for me. However, once we got home, I realized they were still coming, so I decided to time them. To our surprise, they were coming every 4-6 minutes and getting more and more uncomfortable. Plus, I was only 33 weeks 6 days.

So, after nearly 2 hours of regular contractions, we decided to call Dr. Pharr (my best friend, Jenn). She said that we should go on into Willow Creek and just let them check me. It's 9:15 on a Friday night, Katie's asleep upstairs, and we have to leave for the hospital. So, we call my parents. My little sister was having a sleepover, so my dad came on over to sit at the house with our sleeping angel.

When he arrived, we left straight for Willow Creek. I fully expected the contractions to stop on the drive there, but they didn't. We got to WC, checked into triage, and were told to go to bed #2. I got dressed, left my urine sample, and laid down. The nurse came in to hook me up to the monitors and sure enough there were those contractions I'd been feeling for the last 2.5 hours.

After talking to the ER doctor, they decided to start an IV. Let me just tell you. The IV is the WORST part about having a baby!! So, of course, I start freaking out inside because I shouldn't have to get an IV unless I'm actually having a baby. Well, the sweet nurse did a wonderful job, and I barely felt the needle going in. She said that they were hoping that with a couple bags of IV fluids that my contractions would stop. At this point, she checks me, and I'm only a fingertip dilated and about 30-40 percent effaced. After 2 bags, they weren't slowing down or stopping. So, they decided to do something else.

She checked me again, and I was now 1.5 cm. dilated and 50 percent effaced. They decide to "sedate" me to see if that will help. So, they give me two different medications - Demerol and Phenagrin. That Demerol was some crazy stuff. The room was spinning, and I felt awful.

Well, that didn't work either. So, they gave me a shot of Brethine. The Brethine slowed the contractions down but made Anna's heart rate and mine go WAY above normal. So, at this point, my contractions were now 10-12 minutes apart, but my heart rate was 140-150 and Anna's was in the 180s. Not good...

Our heart rates ended up going down to a more normal range, and they discharged us at 5:15 a.m with pretty clear instructions of bed rest and pelvic rest. So, we drove home, I laid down on the couch while Matt and my dad got the rest of the stuff ready for the garage sale.

Matt ended up doing the garage sale, and we made quite a bit of extra money! My parents ended up taking K after the garage sale and keeping her, so we could sleep. We slept so good!

So, that was Friday/Saturday... Sunday morning, around 9:00, the contractions started up again. We went to Willow Creek around 10:15 with contractions coming every 2-3 minutes. This time, I just knew I was in actual labor and was expecting to have a baby. I got to the hospital, got hooked up and those painful contractions I was feeling were barely even registering. I was so frustrated.

However, they checked my cervix, and I was now 3 cm. dilated, 60 percent effaced, and Anna was in the -2 station. So, they wouldn't let me leave. They did the exact same procedures as last time, hooked me up to ANOTHER IV, gave me Demerol and Phenagrin, gave me two shots of Brethine, and waited for our heart rates to go down.

Well, I am now 36 weeks 3 days pregnant, so I've made it nearly 3 more weeks being pregnant!!! However, I've been on bed rest which gets very lonely and boring.

Matt has taken over all household chores and taking care of Katie. Our church and my parents have provided meals for us about 3 nights a week - which is such a huge help.

While I'm very glad that Anna is staying put for the time being, I'm SO done with bed rest. I literally can't stand up without having contractions and am feeling very bad for everything everyone is doing for us. So....

Sweet Anna Claire,

Mommy knows that you tried to come out a few weeks ago, but we weren't quite ready for you then. You have now been in Mommy's tummy for longer than your sister was. So, feel free to make your appearance anytime, littlest princess! I love you so much and am VERY ready to meet you!

Love,
Mommy

Puerta Vallarta, Mexico!!

I decided to participate in Kelly's SUYL - Favorite Vacation Spots today!! I love reading these and rarely participate, but I just couldn't resist talking about my favorite vacation..

Matt and I went to Puerta Vallarta, Mexico while I was 23 weeks pregnant with Katie! It was a "Congratulations, Matt for finishing Law School and taking the BAR," "Congratulations, Cori for finishing your first year of teaching," and a babymoon! We had the best time...

This picture was taken on our balcony...

A few beach sunset pictures... One of our favorite parts of each day was walking along the beach at sunset. Beautiful!

The Palace Resorts have some amazing food! This was taken at Mo-Mo-No-Ha-Na, an oriental restaurant in the resort. Matt was eating Tuna tar tar...

One of the days, we decided to take a tour around the city. This is Los Arcos.. A few famous spot for snorkeling, but we didn't do that because of how pregnant I was.

All in all, it was the best trip we have ever been on together, and we can't wait to go back!

Here's a link to the resort's website: http://www.palaceresorts.com/resorts/vallartapalace

We went to the Moon Palace Spa and Golf Resort for our honeymoon and then the Vallarta Palace for this trip.. We plan on going back next summer but haven't decided on which resort or location to go to next.. We were thinking Cozumel!

Easter 2011 (a little late)

We had a great Easter this year even if it was pouring down rain the entire Easter weekend... We started the weekend out by going to Mike and Judi's house for a birthday/Easter celebration. Sarah's 21st birthday was the weekend before, so we celebrated this weekend instead. The Crowders got Katie a little Easter basket full of goodies. VERY thoughtful of them! Katie is very lucky to have such wonderful people in her life that love her so very much. After the birthday festivities, we dyed Easter eggs. Last year, Katie was too small to dye eggs. So, she got to enjoy it for the first time this year, and BOY was it fun!

She loved throwing the eggs in the dye and watching the dye splash everywhere.

She also LOVED putting her hands in the dye and pulling the eggs out instead of waiting on Mommy to get them for her!

All in all, we had a great pre-Easter celebration at Judi's house...

One of my favorite parts about being a parent is getting Easter baskets and stockings ready for the next morning. This year, Katie was definitely visited by the Easter bunny! I guess she'd been a good girl :o) She got a duck stuffed animal, bath markers, sidewalk chalk, Elmo crayons, and a mini Magna-doodle...

Because it was raining this year, we didn't get any good family pictures outside.. So, here is my princess in her beautiful Easter dress that Daddy picked out!
After church, we drove to Greenwood to have Easter with Matt's family. We drove in some pretty crazy weather... However, once we got to Greenwood, the weather was ok. The kids hid eggs for Katie to find, and she found them! It was funny! On the way home, we hit some REALLY bad weather and had to pull over at a Sonic and wait for it to pass. We weren't able to wait for it to pass because it wasn't supposed to stop or get any better for hours, and we both had to be at work the next morning. So, we toughed it out and drove home in the torrential downpour. We decided that we will not travel in that kind of weather again... Not worth it!

We had a great Easter this year and can't wait until next year when we will have a 2.5 year old and 10 month old!!!

Random A-Z

I am borrowing this idea from my friend Carman!

A. Age: 26
B. Bed size: Queen, but I would LOVE a king!!
C. Chore you dislike: Laundry
D. Dogs: Cooper, 2 year old Cocker Spaniel
E. Essential start to your day: These days... Getting to the bathroom as quickly as I can waddle!
F. Favorite color: Purple
G. Gold or silver: I prefer to wear white gold, but my wedding ring set it yellow gold, and I love it!
H. Height: 5'6"
I. Instruments you play(ed): I took piano lessons for 9 years and can still read music pretty good!
J. Job title: 5th grade teacher at Lee Elementary
K. Kids: Kathryn Elizabeth "Katie" - 16.5 months and Anna Claire - due June 11
L. Live: Springdale, AR
M. Mom’s name: Debbie
N. Nicknames: I don't really have any nicknames.
O. Overnight hospital stays: When I had Katie!
P. Pet peeves: Bragging, Secretive people, people who are late!
Q. Quote from a movie: THIS IS SOOO NOT MY CATEGORY! However, the only quote I can think of at this moment is... "I'll be your Huckleberry."
R. Righty or lefty: Righty
S. Siblings: Emma - 9
T. Time you wake up: It depends.. If I shower in the morning then it's 5:45, and if I bathe at night then it's 6:15.
U. Underwear: Definitely Mommy undies!
V. Vegetables you don’t like: My taste buds are off when I'm pregnant.. Right now, I don't like spinach.
W.What makes you run late: Usually my husband...
X. X-rays you’ve had: My teeth, my foot (when I was in 2nd grade).
Y. Yummy food you make: I make a mean pot of chili!
Z. Zoo animal favorites: I love the monkeys!!

Spring has sprung :o)

Today was the most beautiful Spring day... We took Katie outside to play two different times!! She found a dried-up wipe in her Cozy Coupe that entertained her the entire time. She cleaned everything in sight - her animals, the mail, the weeds, an empty Diet Mountain Dew bottle, Mommy's legs, the road, her face, etc... It was rather entertaining :o)

We also took her on a walk down the street. She refused to hold our hands because she's too independent. She loves to explore and discover things without the restraint of a hand. She loved picking "flowers" in the neighbor's yards (aka their weeds). She also enjoyed seeing a cat - from a distance. There was a man sitting in his driveway revving up his motorcycle, and she got a kick out of that, too! Little one even managed to scuff her knee up for the first time. She cried for about 5 seconds and was ready to go again. Our neighbors across the street have this little bench in their yard. Of course Katie HAD to sit on it and threw a huge fit when it was time to go!!!

Beginning Stages of Potty-Training

Katie spent a couple days with her Grandma and Grandpa in Hot Springs a few weeks ago. While she was there, Grandma noticed that she would tell her everytime she dirtied her diaper. When we picked her up, we noticed her doing it, too.. So, we talked about it and decided it was time to go pick out a potty. When we got back to Springdale, we took Katie to Wal-Mart and let her pick out a little girl potty. She picked out a very cute pink one!

We took her home and asked her if she wanted to sit on the potty. She replied, "Yea." So, we did just that! We sat her on it with NO expectations. We just wanted her to know what it was.

Daddy read her a book while she sat there. She continued to sit there, and we finally had to ask her if she was done.

When she was done, she got off and THIS IS WHAT WE FOUND!!!! Our baby girl pee-peed and poo-pood in the potty!
Now, we have had QUITE a few people "inform" us that 16-month-olds are just not ready to potty-train. Maybe their 16-month-olds weren't ready, but I think ours is! Keep in mind, that we are BY NO MEANS pushing this on her. If she doesn't want to go, then we don't make her. We are still in the beginning stages.

We have, however, learned a few tricks... Keep the Pat-a-Cake book on hand, have either blanket, binky, or dog with her, and make a HUGE deal about seeing pee or poop in the potty! If there is pee and/or poop then we always take her to the big toilet and let her say bye-bye. That's her favorite part :o)

I am so proud of her! We have no set timeline on when we want her potty-trained. We know this could take 6 weeks or even 6 months to fully set in with her. Either way, we are still proud of her!

24 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 24 Weeks
Size of baby: 8.5 inches, 1.5 pounds (size of an ear of corn)
Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 9 lbs
Maternity Clothes: I am in pretty much all maternity clothes...other than the t-shirts
Gender: It's a girl!!! Anna Claire Fryar
Movement: AC is very active except while I'm teaching... I guess I bore her!
Sleep: I sleep great and never wake up!
What I miss: Being able to eat sushi!
Cravings: No cravings this week...
Symptoms: Really bad lower back pain, pain around my pubic bone...

Best Moment this week: Going to the doctor and hearing baby girl's heartbeat (and getting to show Katie off at the appointment)

A Valentine's Day Post...

This has been a terrible Valentine's Day... Matt and I are sick with strep throat. We went away for the weekend for a romantic getaway for us only to get sick. We haven't seen our precious baby since Friday afternoon, and I had to go to Willow Creek ER because of how sick I was. YUCK!

However, upon reflection, I realized that there are many things that I LOVE and are constant in my life whether I am sick or not...

Jesus Christ

My sweet husband
My precious Kathryn Elizabeth


My unborn Anna Claire
My WONDERFUL family (I don't have a picture)

My beautiful home

And... Diet Dr. Pepper

So, Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Katie's Transition to "Big Girl" Room

When we found out I was pregnant, we knew that we'd have to move Katie from the nursery to the guest room. It has been emotionally draining for us because this just means that our baby is growing up. We decided to suck it up and get her moved. We hired a friend of ours to paint the room (along with a few other rooms in the house) because we just really don't like to do it! After he painted the room, we ordered the furniture. We wanted to buy her all new furniture and let Anna use the furniture in the nursery. So, we went with white! We thought it was very girly :o) Just what we wanted for our princess! Since she's going to be in a crib for a while, we decided to let her keep her custom made bedding and buy Anna new stuff. So, here is Katie's big girl room...

We've yet to start in Anna's room, however, we have bought her bedding. We have a general idea of how we want it to look, but it will all come together with the help of a VERY TALENTED younger cousin of mine... Hannah!