Hospital Stay

We finally made it out of labor and delivery and into a room by 6:00. I felt TERRIBLE after the birth but was feeling like myself again by then. We did let Grace come visit while I was still in the delivery room and she was beyond thrilled to see that Jack was finally here.



All the grandparents visited, which I must say I don't know how we would have ever made it without them! Grace had a ball with them just like we knew she would but it was still very comforting to know she was happy! Many of my coworkers visited and I don't think we got much rest but that probably just prepared us for what was to come.

and finally home!

Jack's birth

When you have your first baby 3 1/2 weeks early, you just get the idea that all pregnancies are going to happen that way. WRONG! As my stomach grew and grew and I began to get more uncomfortable each day, we all thought Jack would be here before Halloween. That day came and we thought surely it would happen soon. I looked like this just before delivery

I felt like this!

Honestly I can't tell much of a difference between the two pictures! HA!
My due date was the 19th and before we knew it, that day was quickly approaching. Dr. Collins said we could plan for an induction or wait to see how things went naturally, but with Thanksgiving being the following week I felt better knowing that Dr. Collins would deliver Jack. He first checked to see if November 11th was available, but with that being 11-11-11 he said there were tons of mommies wanting to be induced that day so we took the first avaiable spot. After picking up Krispy Kreme donuts for the nurses station we headed to the hospital at midnight. Let me back up - before we left I had a minor meltdown. I started remembering the pain of having Grace, the 18 hours it took to get her out, and then already missing Grace, who was in good hands with Nana and Grand Dad was just more than I could take. There wasn't much time for a complete "come apart" and that was probably a good thing!
We arrived at the hospital, filled out paperwork and before I knew it two hours had flown by before they even got things going. Things calmed down around 3:00am and we both got some sleep. Some where between 4:00 and 5:00am my water broke. I slept a little more but by 10:00 or 11:00 I was really feeling the contractions! The first epidural I received worked wonders and I got another short nap, but once it wore off the following epidurals just didn't seem to take much affect. By noon I was at 6 cm and my mom and Jon's mom decided to go grab a bite to eat. I warned them not to and as soon as they left they checked me again and I was at 10cm! I think I started pushing around 2:00 and at 2:41 Jack was born!

Welcome to the World, Jack!

Jonahan Robert Mills Junior
Born November 16, 2011
at 2:41pm
7 pounds 9 ounces
19 inches long

Halloween

For the past several years we have had people over for Halloween because one, it's my favorite holiday and two, our neighborhood is known for a crazy amount of trick-or-treaters. But with two weeks left until I was 40 weeks pregnant, I was just not up to it so the Tigues volunteered to have us over and we were thrilled. I had a doctor's appointment on Halloween afternoon so Tiffany squeezed a third carseat into the back of her car and took Grace home with her and the girls for me. Grace LOVED this and talked about it forever! I came over and got Grace ready and then after lots of pictures I waddled with everyone else through the neighborhood to trick-or-treat.




If you can't figure out what Grace is, don't worry. When we asked her what she wanted to be she said a "Fairytale princess movie star lady." Sometimes this phrase would include "ballerina" too. So between Nanny and I, this is what we came up with!

Fall Fun!

We had a very exciting fall with things to do non stop! Here are just a few of the things we did before our lives flipped upside down (momentarily).
School was back in session which means REALLY early mornings (I'm talking 4:30am for me and 5:45 for Grace and Daddy, HAVE MERCY!)

But it also means we are on a schedule, lots of cute outfits, crafts every single day and a huge milestone - Grace Mills knows just about all her letters! I have been blown away by how much she has learned in the 3 year old class. I seriously do not know what there is going to be left to learn in kindergarten. She is getting really good at writing her first and last name and draws stick figures to represent our family. It's precious!

In September Nanny bought Grace a pair of light up Skechers and I'm pretty sure Grace's life hasn't been the same since she got them. They really are great school shoes and hold up well on the playground. But I have to bribe her to wear any others so that has been a little tricky.
By far one of our favorite things about fall is Auburn football!
Even Grace seemed to really enjoy game day this year, which consists of us staying at home to watch the game with good food. Everytime she seems the Auburn emblem she yells "WAAAAAAAARRRRRRR EAGLE, HEY!" She found out who was an Auburn fan and who was an Alabama fan from everyone at school and would come home and tell us. It would go something like this "Presley goes for Alabama and we don't like Alabama right Mommy? EEEEWWW!"
We met Presley and her family at the Pumpkin Patch in October. What I remember about it is that I was HOT and MISERABLE at 9 months pregnant but Grace had a ball and that is all that matters.

Their favorite part was riding horses which scared me to death. How I went from being a girl who once loved being propelled towards the ground on the Skycoaster at the beach to being terrified of my daughter possibly falling a few feet off from a horse I'll never know but I'm totally there. They rode together first and then on the way out they each rode again seperately.






It finally cooled off and Presley had us over for a hayride and smores which was so fun!


Grace's school had a fun fall festival


We carved a pumpkin, which despite looking like she's having fun, held her attention for all of about 15 seconds.

And possibly my favorite thing we do each fall, JSU's homecoming. I was only up to going to the parade this year but that was more than enough fun.

She loved dancing to the bands and catching candy!

Our Summer in Pictures

Because I'll never be caught up....








No summer vacation, just lots of trips to the pool, birthday parties and very few days that held an agenda. It was perfect and I loved every minute at home with my princess!