Happy Birthday Lila Grace!!

One year ago today we welcomed our last baby into this world. Lila Grace came to us with a little less ferociousness than her sister Brynn but still just as quickly. I went into labor with Lila at 3am on a Monday morning and I had her at 6:30 am. I was just so thankful that I made it to the hospital in time to have her.

The moment I saw Lila, I was in love. She was perfect. She was 8lbs 4ozs and 21 1/2 inches.

Looking back on this time, I was excited to go to the hospital to have her. I thought it was going to be a little vacation for me. A couple of days of people bringing me food and just having to take care of one baby that would sleep all the time. Boy was I wrong. Right after I had her the doctors took Lila to the Special Care Nursery because her heart rate was low and she wasn't keeping her oxygen up. My perfect little baby was having problems. I started questioning what I did wrong during my pregnancy, I felt guilty for caving and getting the epidural, I was scared because I sent Geoff home to be with the other kids. It was just an emotional time.

So instead of enjoying my time with my new daughter I was walking down to the Special Care nursery every 3 hours to nurse and spend 30 minutes with Lila. She was hooked up to heart monitors, oxygen, an IV. My heart just broke.

On the 3rd day I was to be discharged but they said Lila was not ready to go home and would have to stay at the hospital. It was 5 days before Christmas and I was faced with the dilemma of leaving my new baby in the hospital or trying to find a hotel close by so I could be with her every 3 hours. I cried my eyes out at the possibility of having to leave Lila there. I also felt so guilty that I would be ruining Christmas for my other kids. I was discharged at noon. I stayed by Lila's side until 5pm when Geoff came to pick me up. As I sat there crying a doctor came up and said that she didn't hear anything wrong with Lila's heart and that her most recent X-ray didn't show anything. She was going to let her go home with me. Woohoo!!! Best Christmas gift EVER!!

Lila has been completely healthy ever since. There are times I wonder why she needed to spend 3 days on monitors, IVs and having to be poked and prodded. I am thankful she is healthy but was she really sick to begin with.

The last year has been a roller coaster. I have fought very hard to gain some sanity in my new world of 4 kids ages 5 and under. I will not lie, it has been hard. I think I have finally found my groove and it has taken me a year. The whole family has learned to adapt. I am big on having control in the house and that probably comes from having twins, everything is regimented. But it has come in handy now. My light at the end of the tunnel was Blake & Abby going to kindergarten and Brynn going to preschool. I have 2 mornings a week with just Lila. It is a nice time to bond with her.

I think we will all come out of this for the better. We are one strong family. I have now accepted that I am a mom of 4 small kids. I have (kind of) accepted that I can't do it all. This last year was a year of  learning to ask for help from my neighbors. It would be so nice to have family close by but being a military family you learn to lean on others. Thankfully we have some amazing neighbors who are more than family to us!!

So thank you to my husband for helping me immensely this past year. You are an amazing dad and husband!! Thank you to Blake, Abby & Brynn for loving your mom when she is acting crazy because you guys spilled milk all over the brand new carpet AGAIN. And thank you to my amazing friends that have talked me off the ledge of insanity.

And last but not least HAPPY BIRTHDAY LILA GRACE!! You are absolutely amazing and I love you for pushing me beyond my limits. With you I now know I am capable of SO much more. You are the perfect addition to our family.

So Much Change!!

I can't believe it has been almost 2 years since I wrote out a blog post. I really would like to be better about posting. I think it will help me and it will let me look back on these times and see where I have come from. I would also like to document this new time in my life of rededicating myself to fitness.

So from my last post, Geoff came home from Afganistan and we packed up and moved to Indiana. Two weeks after we moved to Indiana I found out I was pregnant again. I was completely thrown off guard. I thought we were done having kids after we had the twins. With everything that we had gone through to have the twins, I never thought there would be more children in our future. Brynn was a "homecoming" baby and I call her my miracle baby. But I was blessed with a second miracle baby. Lila came into this world December 17th and is my Christmas present every single year. She completes our family.

The twins started Kindgergarten this year. I separated them, so they are each in their own classrooms. They are thriving. Both are reading and writing above their levels. I am so proud of them. Blake is currently in hockey and he loves it and Abby is in gymnastics. Brynn is in preschool 2 days a week and is beyond bright, she is keeping up with the twins. Brynn is also my little fish and in swimming lessons. She may be on the swim team before we know it. Lila is growing up so fast, she will be one next week. It is sad to see my last baby grow leaps and bounds everyday. I am trying to cherish and remember this time the best I can.

I am slowly getting back into my pre pregnancy shape. I am running again and taking classes at the Y. I am hoping to complete another half marathon this spring. Another goal I have is to get back my Aerobic certification and start teaching again. This is a great motivator to keep me in shape. It will be a little more difficult with 2 little ones home with me during the day but I will take my time and get it done.

Right after Thanksgiving I started the Advocare 10 day challenge. Well, I lost 1 pound but I gained SO much energy. I decided to continue on and do the 24 day challenge, this is where most of the weight is lost, so they say. I am excited to give it a try. I really like the changes that have happened so far. I feel great and I am eating really healthily. I have really come to love the Advocare products and I am now a distributor. If you would like to try some products, let me know and I would LOVE to help you obtain your weight and fitness goals along with mine.  I will keep you updated on my progress.

I included a couple of updated pictures. One from the Marine Corps ball this year and a recent one of the whole family. I hope you have a Happy Holiday season!!