Mr. Mom

Ben has been Mr. Mom around here all week. I have been feeling great for just having a baby, but he has been on Ellie duty while I am taking care of Quinn. He has been doing an amazing job and listening to Ellie's bath time and bedtime at night while I feed Quinn is one of the sweetest things you will ever hear. This morning after getting ready she came in to say good morning to Quinn and I and this is the outfit I saw:

It is her blue and navy polka dot skirt (her favorite) and a grey shirt with hearts all over it and a purple bow (none of the colors are blue and navy). I had to just laugh. I later said to Ben that is an interesting outfit and he said don't you let her pick out her clothes. I told him I do but steer her to things that go together and he informed me he had steered her away from this outfit all week, so today was to day to let her wear it.

I could not ask for a better husband and best friend to live this life with and am so blessed to have a man that jumps right in blow drying hair and reading "Pinkalicious" every night to a little girl that sees no man better than HER Daddy!!!

Sleeping Baby

Quinn is enjoying sleeping in her cradle today for the first time. She looks so peaceful and has truly been a dream baby for us. This picture is a picture of Quinn sleeping in the cradle I slept in as a baby. My grandparents had it made over 30 years ago when their first grandchild was born for all their grandchildren to enjoy. It has been a cuddly place for many grandchildren and am honored that it can be a cuddly place for my own children.

Geep and Gran

Geep and Gran (Ben's parents) were able to come and watch our sweet Ellie while Quinn was born. Ellie had a great time and so did Geep and Gran. I think she wore Geep and Gran out, but they loved every minute and enjoyed some great time playing as well as Gran got some great pictures of their fun. Quinn also enjoyed meeting them and Gran was a great help in our first 24 hours home. Thanks Geep and Gran! We love you!

Meeting Quinn

Ellie loved meeting her little sister. She wanted to hold her and love on her while she was in the hospital. When we brought Quinn home Ellie went through a range of emotions for the first half hour, but is now well settled and loves having Quinn at home. She loves to help take care of her and love on her and of course hold her. Just today she said she liked having her sister home and they enjoyed tummy time together as Ellie wanted to lay with her on her playmat. Ellie has such a sweet heart and I know she is going to love on and take care of Quinn for many years to come, whether Quinn likes it or not :)

June Cleaver

Ellie has found a love for high heels. I have a few high heels from my working days and she has been enjoying them the past two weeks. She loves wearing my "wedding shoes" as we call them. She actually can walk quite well on them. She loves to wear her polka dot skirt and the other day I was cleaning the floors and she decided to help.

Sweet Miss B and Uncle Drew

My brother, Uncle Drew, and his girlfriend, Miss B, sent Ellie a wonderful gift before the baby was born. It is the most adorable hat with her name on it and is perfect for our summer adventures. They also sent her a wonderful note that she carries around everywhere in her purse. Here she is with her favorite outdoor activity, bubbles.

Family of Four

Here are a few pictures of Ellie meeting her sister. She loves Quinn. She loved her at the hospital and loves holding her. When we came home she had a rough first adjustment as her and I are best buddies and she was extremely hurt that Mommy has to spend time with the baby and can not pick up and hold Ellie right now. Ben has been great at comforting her and consoling her while I tend to Quinn. After her emotional moment she has been great. She loves on Quinn and does not mind that Mommy has to spend time with Quinn feeding her. She is going to be a wonderful big sister and we are excited to watch these girls grow together.

Introducing Little Quinn Avery Holden

Our sweet little Quinn arrived on 4/21/2012 at 3:31 am at 6 lbs. 14 oz. Her birth was nothing like the induced labor and delivery I had with Ellie. I was told having Ellie in a little less than 8 hours was very fast for a first birth, but Quinn is already trying to one up her sister :) I went to the doctor on Friday morning and was barely 3 cm dilated and we scheduled my induction for the following Wednesday as with my gestational diabetes that had estimated Quinn at 7lbs 9oz the week before putting her at over 8 by the time of my induction. For a week I had been told that I would not make it more than 7 days, but for two more appointments there I was waddling in with my big belly. Friday I met yet another doctor and she was great. She would be on call for the weekend and since my doctor would not be available at 39 weeks I was scheduled to be induced with this doctor. So Ben and I planned accordingly to be induced on Wednesday and I went about my usual routines Friday. Saturday morning at about 1:15 in the morning I woke up with a contraction, which was not unusual as I had been having them for a while but I usually would walk it out and go back to sleep. I got up walked around and tried to go back to sleep. It didn't work so I tried that again. The contractions were still happening but I thought let me take a shower and then see how it is. The shower did not stop the pain, so at about two I woke Ben up and told him I think he should time them. He did and they were 1-2 minutes apart. So he called our friend Lindsay to come watch Ellie and his parents to tell them once we got to the hospital and knew something we would call them and decide when they should head down from Raleigh. Meanwhile, the pain was getting pretty bad for me and I could not wait to get to the hospital and get an epidural. The hospital we use is downtown in Charlotte and is about 20-25 minutes from us. So at about 3 we were on our way. The contractions were coming fast and were painful. Ben drove fast and through many red lights and we got there at about 3:21. We parked the car and headed up. Meanwhile I am feeling like I need to push and know that an epidural is at least an hour away as I still have to check in and change and they have to call the doctor for the drugs. In the elevator my water broke. We continued to head to the check in and halfway there I sent Ben ahead so I could stop and deal with my pain. I was screaming in the hallway and two nurses came and got me and took me right to triage where they checked me and constantly told me not to push while I was screaming I need drugs. As they checked me I heard one nurse say we need to go she is complete and I thought natural is not what I wanted and I knew that was about to occur. I still screamed out for drugs but as they moved me to the delivery room and bed one nurse looked me in the eyes and said "Drugs are not going to happen and we are having this baby right now." Three pushes later little Quinn was here. So within 10 minutes of getting to the hospital she was born. Ben said it was crazy in the room and there were people everywhere. He was just happy to not be having this baby in the car. Natural was not what I had intended as I am wimpy with pain and not what I would sign up for, but it was fast and the recovery has been amazing. I had no time for an IV or anything. We were both healthy and left the hospital on Sunday morning with no complications. I have been able to move around with no problems and Ben took us to the store today so Ellie and I could get some things and I am constantly reminding myself I just had a baby two days ago. She has been an amazing baby. She eats well, sleeps well and has a great personality. I even got 6 hours of sleep our first night home! I have prayed this whole pregnancy for the things that have happened and the Lord has provided, but just in His way and not what I thought should be the way, which he constantly reminds me of in my life. We have had many people praying for us this pregnancy and their prayers have seen us through to this amazing result. Though a crazy delivery as I look back it was a blessing as it was extremely fast and was what contributed to our faster recovery. I have been told that my next delivery will probably go at the same pace if not faster, so as soon as I feel pain we will be out the door and to the hospital :)

37 Weeks

We have hit the safe zone of the pregnancy at 37 weeks, so she can come whenever she would like. I went to my appointment Thursday and had an ultrasound and she is estimated at 7 lbs. 9 oz. already, so I am ready for her to come now. My blood pressure spiked Thursday and so I had to return today (Friday) for another check, it was high, but went down and all my blood work looks great and so does the baby so we are patiently waiting. The doctor estimates I will deliver in the next 7 days based on my check up. I go back Tuesday morning to have another check, if she stays in that long :) We are excited and anxiously waiting her arrival but at the same time enjoying our last bits of time with just our family of 3. Please continue to pray for us in the coming days!



(Sorry the belly is little hard to see, but it is there for sure!)

Family Picnic

We love family picnics! We have found a great park to have our picnics and enjoy having them and wish we could do it more. Ben had Monday after Easter off and it was a perfect day for a picnic.

Happy Easter!

We had a wonderful time celebrating Easter this year! Our church does the service at Verizon Amphitheater, so we only have one service, which is great. It is a wonderful way to celebrate Christ. They do a wonderful job with the kids' activities. This year Ben was part of baptizing people and then had no other jobs so he was able to go to the egg hunt with us and sit with us most of the service, which was a real treat and very rare when you are married to a pastor :) Ellie enjoyed the egg hunt a little more this year and got quite a few eggs, but was overwhelmed by the amount of people. She got her eggs and was ready to move on. She also got to play on the jumping toys as she calls them, which is a highlight of her day. She is too a little young to understand Easter, but I am looking forward to next year when we can do fun crafts and activities to illustrate the meaning of Easter (I am already building up my ideas). We came home in time for nap and before she got up Ben was home and we were able to our egg hunt in the yard, which she was really into. Ellie was of course spoiled on Easter with all the egg treats, an Easter basket from Mommy and Daddy (in her basket I made for her last year) and an Easter basket from Nana and PopPop (they send Ben and I one every year too, I have gotten one from my parents for 30 years and can't imagine it will ever change, nor do I want it to :)) and stickers from Geep and Gran and other relatives. She is one loved little girl! We had a wonderful time celebrating as a family and look forward to what next Easter will bring!

Egg Decorating

This afternoon we decorated our eggs. Ellie could participate this year and enjoyed coloring the eggs but then she liked "dumping" her eggs in dye as she stated. It got messy and gentle was not her thing, so we will need lots of practice. After they dried Ellie got to put stickers on all the eggs, which was the best job for her :)

Easter Sweets

Ellie and I decorated (well Ellie sampled) our traditional Easter/Spring sugar cookies this morning and when Daddy gets home we will be coloring our eggs. Sad to say I can not partake of any cookies this year (have to keep baby and I healthy), but Ellie and Ben don't mind that one bit. Ben was at work setting up for Easter, but really he enjoys the eating the most, so he did not mind missing out.

Lover of the Outdoors

Ellie loves to play outside. Nothing can deter her. Today Ben finished up the mulch outsides and of course Ellie wanted to help. She had a great time spreading mulch with her hands like Daddy and building mulch towers while I was working. I was working downstairs in the office so I could see all their fun. At one point I looked out and saw this:



Mulch was all over her face and looked like a mustache and later a goatee! (Our mulch is dyed black, so this will most likely be a common scene this summer) She didn't care one bit as she was having so much fun and Ben and I just laughed as we watched all the fun she was enjoying (and if you ask her she helped Daddy with the "mulchy" today and was a busy worker). This is the best picture I could get as she is always on the move and dodging the camera :) It is so much fun having this little sweet girl in our home and can't wait to see the mischief two get into!

Final Projects

I finished the final sewing projects on my list before the baby comes. I made the baby a blanket and I made Ellie a blanket with the scraps from all of my projects over the past two years. Ellie is enjoying sleeping with hers every night. I am already planning my next projects for when the baby has arrived and I can get back into sewing. My mom gave me a great idea today that I can't wait to start researching and planning for this week!

Ellie's Blanket



Baby Girl's Blanket