It Happens So FAST!

When we brought Hadley home, time stood still; we stayed home, admired our precious little girl, family came and went, wonderfully prepared meals came every other night, we watched Riley gaze into her sister's eyes and a true friendship begin, I could go on and on about those first four weeks of pure bliss. I can replay those days over and over, but then LIFE started back up again and the little bubble I had around our moment in time had to bust. But that's okay, we have had some great things go on in the first five months of Hadleys life. Cousin Grady's birth, Riley's 1st dance recital, Hadley's first time to a wedding, Hadleys first family vacation to Gatlinburg, The 4th of July, Hadleys first trip to the beach, Riley starting PRESCHOOL, and Parker (Hadleys future husband) was born ;). These past 5 months have been filled with a lot of "firsts" for the girls and for momma and daddy. Right now, LIFE couldn't get any better! I feel as if we have reached a new "normal". We have found a routine that suites us well, Riley has adjusted great, and I am still SANE:)! haha But really, I am so BLESSED..... that really sums it up! I mean, is there a better word for it? I have a GOD that is GOOD, he has blessed me with a WONDERFUL husband, two HEALTHY children and a family that SUPPORTS and LOVES us more than words can describe.

So, now that all the sappy emotional stuff is out of the way, I have a "few" pictures to share, mainly of Miss Hadley and Miss Riley or Mimi and Wild Woman as we like to call them. Enjoy!

Oh, and I hope that now that we have a "routine" I'll be able to find time to sit and post some more about our day to day life of a family of 4!

Hadley and Cousin Grady- one week apart

Riley and Hadley

My Little Fairy Ballerina

Nonnie and Hadley at Joel's cousin Taits wedding

Aunt LuLu with Carley Clayton (Grady's sister) and Riley cuttin' a rug!

Proud Parents ;)

Gatlinburg!

Big Joe with his "lady bug"

Tuckered out from a day at the beach. Oh the life!

She got it honest!

Growing up so FAST!!!

Minnie surprised Riley with a "happy" after her 1st day of School.

Proud supporters of the "Dawgs"!

Maroon, White...... Fight Fight Fight!!!

Photo Shoot....

So, I've been playing around with my camera and computer programs and what better way to experiment than with a newborn... here are some very amateur photo's of Hadley.

What can I say.... I'm a PROUD mama! :)

Blessed!

We're a family of FOUR! WOW, it happens so, so fast! These past 9 months have really flown by! One day your pregnant and the next your holding a beautiful, soft, strong, healthy baby. It's a surreal thing, that is a true blessing! I am so grateful for the doctors, nurses and family members that have helped us bring Baby Hadley to this world, and BOY did she enter in her own true fashion!

The Birth Story.....

So, Wednesday March 31st started out like any other Wednesday.... Joel and I took Riley to Mother's Morning Out, then we headed to the Doctors office for a routine weekly visit. The visit went just as we had expected- still 1cm dilated and no thinning. So, we set the induction date for April 6th, which was just fine with us. With Easter on Sunday, we were gearing up for a GREAT weekend with Riley and family. Joel and I preceded to go to a local gardening center to get some flowers and pine straw to "spruce" up the yard for the "BIG" hunt.

Around 2 we picked up Riley and had a great time outside. We had dinner and went to bed.... feeling fine. Around 11:30 Joel wakes up complaining of heartburn and within an hour he was paying a visit to the porcelain goddess. Yup- the dreaded STOMACH BUG!!!! I on the other hand moved to the couch praying that I didn't catch what he had..... boy was I wrong!!! Around 1am I was right with Joel! We BOTH had the STOMACH BUG!!! I mean really, how convenient! We went thru the night taking turns going to the bathroom, crying and praying! Thursday morning Joel's dad came up to get Riley- who by the way was let loose in the house, we told her to grab some yogurt and watch Dora- she did and was such a SWEET lil' girl. Thursday progressed and we were both on our "Death Bed", or that's what we called it. We couldn't keep ANYTHING down and the phenegren wasn't working for me! As the day went on I started having contractions and my hands started tingling, we called the Doc and we were on our way to get some fluids. This whole time thinking- "we can get thru this, I'll get some fluids, and then be on my merry way". NOPE!!! Baby Hadley didn't like the situation at all! Her heart rate was all over the place and when I had a contraction her rate would dip, so they held me that night and the next morning (GOOD FRIDAY) our Doctor came in and told us it was going to be her Birthday!

Oh, how you can plan, prepare and pray for things to go the way you want but ultimately it is in the hands of the Lord, he knows all and will guide you to his will. We listened and gladly welcomed Hadley Miriam Edwards. The actual birth went GREAT! They started the pitocin (SP?) around 9:00 am, received my epidural at 11:00, started pushing around 6pm and she entered this world at 6:53pm. For those of you that know Riley's birth story, you know how relieved/excited I was to get an Epidural! I can now say I have experienced natural and pain free births, and I would have to say I prefer pain free :)!

Joel and I were cleared of any signs of contagiousness and were given the OK to LOVE on our baby girl. Riley was a dream, she was a lil' angel who just couldn't wait to meet her baby sister! I have to thank Joel's parent's and sisters for keeping Riley and disinfecting our house from all the germs!

So enough typing.... here are some pictures with many, many more to come!

Riley waiting outside the door, listening for baby Had-a-we.

Sisterly Love!

Sweet kisses!

Now a Family of 4

Proud sister!

Proud Daddy!

Sleeping Beauty!

Hadley Miriam Edwards

Hadley Miriam Edwards made her GRAND appearance on Friday April 2nd 6:53pm, weighing 8 lbs, 21 1/2 inches. She's healthy, strong and has a head full of RED hair! Will post the complete story with pictures soon.

The Hunt is on!!!!!

Today was a GREAT DAY!!!! We were invited to a sweet friends house today for their annual easter egg hunt that included friends, family and their Sunday school group. What a great way to get together for great food and FUN! Although it was breezy and chilly at times, we had great fun, and Riley had a BLAST finding some Easter Eggs

Taking a break to see what she got!

On the Hunt !

Riley and Payton

Thank you to the Townsends for inviting us to a WONDERFUL Egg Hunt. We had a great time!

When I look down.....

This is what I see......

My beautiful little girl! To my surprise I think she is more excited about her baby sister coming than I am. Every morning she kisses baby "Had-a-wee", and gives me the biggest hug. I LOVE her more and more every day. She has become such a sweet 'lil girl, and I look forward to raising sweet sisters!

3 weeks !!!!! WE CAN'T WAIT!!!!!

White stuff EVERYWHERE!!!!!

I was SO excited this morning to wake to a WINTER WONDERLAND!!!! It's not that often that Mississippi gets SNOW! I grew up with snow every winter and even though I don't miss the COLD, I sure have missed playing in the snow- Riley had a great time, however the FUN didn't really start until Daddy got home around 3, that's when they made a bigger snow man, had a snow ball fight and slid down the hill. You see, I'm kinda of a wimp- I always think of the worst thing that could happen- like slipping, getting hit too hard with snow, or busting my head wide open, and that goes for Riley too. So needless to say if you asked Riley who she had more fun with, she would tell you her Daddy. But hey that's okay..... I'll always have the hot chocolate ready when they come in! :)

Mine and Riley's First Snow Princess!

Photo session!

Poor Maddie Mae.... she was not a fan of the snow!

Daddy's and Riley's BIGGER and BETTER snowman - Carlos!

Cheese!

Yup, only in Mississippi will you see a Skim board used to go down hill !

And a Cookie Sheet!

What a Wonderful Day!

I'm back.....

I know it's been a LONG while, so sorry. I really don't have an excuse, I am not sure why, but I have enjoyed reading about everyone's life and by the time it came around to posting something, I wasn't sure where to pick up. I decided that today I would pick up where I left off and get all my family and friends updated, so here it goes.

Last you heard- August 2009 We're Preggo!!!

September 2009- Riley's 3rd Birthday.... so much fun! Daddy's 30th Birthday!

October 2009- Halloween, my 30th Birthday.

November 2009- Thanksgiving & It's a GIRL !!!!! So, so excited Riley's gonna have a sweet lil' sis to share secrets with, play dress up with, and fuss over boys with (20 years from now)!

December 2009- Christmas and Officially naming baby girl- Hadley Miriam Edwards. So cute when Riley says her name: Had-a-we!

January 2010- whew, how time flies..... we realized that in 3 months Miss Hadley was coming, we have been moving furniture around, sewing baby bedding and painting!

February 2010- Now then your all up to date! I am on the official count down! 8 more weeks!!! My belly is GROWING and we are getting more excited! Riley just loves hugging and kissing "my big ol'belly" (that's what she calls it) it's just too sweet! I can't wait to see her become a big sister, she is going to be so good at it!

I am going to finish the post with some photos from the last few months, and I promise I will be blogging a whole lot more as I become more and more stationary. (due to this "big ol'belly) hahaha!!!!