The Perms Baby

Elmo!

2008-12-15T19:36:00.008-06:00

Here's a few video clips from our adventures with Elmo!

Santa Picture 2008

2008-12-06T22:24:00.002-06:00

Well, Santa didn't go as well as I'd hoped. We had been talking about Santa for days and when you asked Sydney if she wanted to go see Santa she would say "UHHH HUHHHH! And she has been saying "Ho Ho Ho" and said she was going to tell Santa she wanted "Toys". When we were in line waiting for Santa to come back from lunch she pointed at a picture of him and said "Santa". But when he came walking to get in his chair, she froze. We got her to wave at him a couple of times, but she would not take her eyes off him. Then when I put her in his lap she freaked. Oh well, there is always next year.

Almost Thanksgiving, but here is Halloween!

2008-11-22T22:08:00.007-06:00

I just got my camera back from my Grandmother's house, so here are Sydney's Halloween pictures. She is in the mode of HATING having her picture taken, so she is covered in chocolate - the distraction so I could take her picture. When she sees the camera, she breaks down and cries. I can't blame her, that's how I feel about having my picture taken too.

Goldilocks (and the 3 bears)

We have a big accomplishment for the day today! Sydney said the first sentence we've heard. I had to work today and I was getting ready to leave and getting my hugs and kisses at the door and Sydney said, "Mama what is dis?" and pointed to my sunglasses on my head. She wants you to tell her the words for everything so she can repeat them. She is in the "Parrot Stage" right now. She has been talking SO MUCH the last few weeks. My list of words that I posted at the beginning of November seems obsolete. That list has at least tripled of words she says and knows what they are, but she'll repeat any word you tell her to. She can now say all of her grandparent's names - Hoppy, Gran, Meme, and Pops. She started saying Hoppy about a week ago and has since learned to say the others and points them all out in pictures and names each one over and over again. It's so cool how fast they learn. All you soon to be moms out there remember to soak it up. I feel so sad that I barely remember her being a little baby. In a year or two I know I won't remember this time very well either. Even though that time is gone, the present is so much fun! Plus, there are the hours and hours of video I can watch one day...
Well, this went on much longer than I meant. I bought some hair color today and I am going to try to save $100 by touching up my highlights at home. Wish me luck!

Just An Update

2008-11-02T17:40:00.002-06:00

I have no pics from Halloween to post because I left my camera at my Grandmother's house, but I just thought I'd do an update on the Permenter clan.
At 17 1/2 months Sydney is growing by leaps and bounds. She has really started talking lately. I think she has been talking for a while, but she has such a country accent, we didn't realize she was actually saying words!
Here's a list of what I can remember:
"Baw" (Ball)
She calls the dogs "Oh Puppy"
"No, No, No"
"Huh" and "Yah" (which both mean Yes)
"Uh Oh" (Her favorite)
"Whoa"
"Mama"
"Dada"
"Eyes"
"Eye Ba" (eye brow - she's infatuated with them for some reason)
"Noph" (Nose)
"Ears"
"Mouf" (Mouth)
"Die-per" (Diaper, but super country)
"Go, Go, Go"
"Hey"
"Bye"
"Hoe" (Hello)
"Baby"
"Acorn"
"Cup"
"Hot"
"Hat"
"Tantoo" (Thank You)
"There this" (There it is)
"Where dit go"
"Nuh Nuh" (Night Night)
"Pish" (Fish)
"Back" (For Backyardigans)
"Jack" (Jack's Big Music Show)
"Clap"
"Giggle Giggle Giggle" (Tickle Tickle Tickle)
She'll also "Shoosh" you with her finger over her mouth
She says "one" and will hold her finger up when you ask how old she is
She knows a ton of animal sounds because that is all we do on the way to and from school
Cat says "Mowww" (like a dying cat)
Cow says "Boooo"
Coyote says "Owwwwww"
Dog says "Uff Uff"
Pig says "Onk Onk"
Frog says "Bibbot"
Duck says "kak kak kak" (in a really high voice)
Chicken says "click click" (she clicks her tongue)
Bear says "Errr"
Tiger says "Errr"
Lion says "Errr"
Zombie says "Errr" (we've been playing monster at our house)
Horse says "huhuhuhuhu" (almost like a laugh)
snake says "slslslslslsl"
Owl says "Oooh Oooh"
At night in the tub we learn our body parts. So far she knows:
Eyes
Eyebrows
Nose
Mouth
Tongue
Teeth
Ears
Hair
Head
Chin
Cheek
Neck
Shoulders
Elbows
Arm Pits
Arms
Hands
Wrists
Fingers
Boobs
Belly
Belly Button
Vagina
Booty
Legs
Knees
Feet
Heels
Toes
When I taught her "Vagina", I told her to go show daddy where his vagina is. She pointed right to his crotch. So funny!!

I started a new job last week and so far so good. I'm working at Crye-Leike Property Management as a Leasing Agent. I've been taking the Real Estate courses to get my license and should have it in the next month or so. It's not such a good time to be a realtor, but a great time if you are in the rental side of the business. My friend Tina has been working there for a year and has been trying to get me to come there too, so I recently decided it was time for a change. AAA was a dead end. Unfortunately AAA has too many "cooks in the kitchen" when it comes to upper level management. A bunch of old men with out-dated ideas. Their business is suffering because of that. I am excited about starting a new career and learning new things and working with Tina again. It was time for a shake-up. It's fast paced, which is what I like. The possibilities in this position are unlimited. Not only am I only 1 of 2 Leasing Agents for Crye-Leike, I will also be able to list homes for sale and be a Buyer's Agent. This could potentially be some really great money!
Jeremy is the same as always. He hasn't started a new job, or learned any new animal sounds. He got Mario Cart for his birthday and recently discovered Facebook, so that is mostly what he has been doing.
Well, that's the update. I'll try to go get my camera this week so I can post pictures of my little "Goldilocks".

Loretta Lynn is a horrible cook!

2008-09-14T21:36:00.004-06:00

If you're ever in Hurricane Mills, TN and you see Loretta Lynn's Kitchen and Gift Shop and think "Oh, I bet that's some good country food", think again, turn around and go to McDonald's or the BBQ place in the trailer. But first, I guess I should explain why we were in that area of TN. In late July we sold Jeremy's Jeep and have been looking for a car or van that would get better gas mileage than the Jeep's 10 MPG. We've been to all the dealerships, looked on Auto Trader, Craigslist, and EBay Motors. Everyone is taking advantage of the high gas prices and cars are so overpriced right now it's ridiculous. So we found several cars on EBay and bid on a few of them, but didn't get them. Finally about 2 weeks ago I see this fabulous car and tell Jeremy we should bid on it. We had both agreed early on to get a car that is not going to be expensive to repair, but I just couldn't resist this one. Well, long story short, our bid was the highest and we are now the proud owners of a Mercedes-Benz!

This is what eventually led us to drive 4 hours each way to Pulaski, TN. So that's what we did this Saturday, which in turn led us to the horrible mistake that was Loretta Lynn's Kitchen and Gift Shop.
You pull up to what looks somewhat like a Cracker Barrel - the country crap on the outside of a fake log cabin with rocking chairs and John Deer signs flanked by picture windows showcasing Ceramic Dolls, Loretta Lynn Cd's and other household essentials for the Southern Trailer Park. OK, so far it's living up to my expectations of the "One Stop Eat and Shop". After perusing the monogrammed coffee mugs, "I love TN" shot glasses and the shelves and shelves of Loretta Lynn souvenirs we decided it was time to try the food. I should also mention it was 12:00pm on a Saturday afternoon. We just knew that we would be fighting for a place to sit with every Senior Citizen within a 45 mile radius. We should have been tipped off when there were 5 empty spaces right by the front door. We are led from the Gift Shop area to a "Seat Yourself" area that is just indescribable, but I'll give it a shot. It just made me sick. It made me dislike Loretta Lynn horribly. Think of a CK's restaurant. Now make it 2 times bigger, 2 times dirtier, way more country, throw in about 200 Loretta Lynn pictures, and that's the decore (I'm so sorry CK's. You are 5 Star compared to this horrible, horrible trap that calls itself a restaurant). There is just no comparing the food. I can not think of a time that I have ever eaten garbage before now. We had the extremely overpriced $10.99 buffet that consisted of barely any food, but lots and lots of heat lamps! You know when you were a kid and your grandmother cooked and it was soooo good, but then as you got older and she got older her cooking started to go. The lady in the kithcen must have been over 100, because this food should have been thrown out about 5 days ago. It had been reheated so many times. The one thing I thought I could count on to at least fill me up was the good old country staple - cornbread. How can a "Country Kitchen" screw up cornbread??? When I was in the 4th grade I made corn bread for 4-H and won the regional first place prize. Do you know what this means??? A 4th grader makes better corn bread than Loretta Lynn's Kitchen!
Loretta Lynn, please take my advice and take your name off of this shit hole posing as a restaurant. You should have the person in charge of your P.R. killed! One of two things is clearly obvious, Loretta Lynn; you have never eaten at Loretta Lynn's Kitchen and Gift Shop or you have gotten so old that your taste buds no longer work!
Please warn others not to make the same mistake as us. Buying a car on EBay turned out to be a great experience. Keeping our lunch down was much harder.

Some updated pictures

2008-04-23T22:24:00.007-06:00

My silly girl!

This is her meltdown after bath time. Too sleepy.

Finally, an update!

2008-03-25T19:18:00.009-06:00

OK. So I know it's been months since I've updated, but I have been busy with my new job and when I get home at night, I don't really want to get back on the computer. I just want to spend time with my two honeys. Some updates since Christmas...

Sydney has 8 teeth. She says MaMa and DaDa and she loves the dogs so she tries to bark. She waves, blows kisses, and when she hugs you she says "Awwwww". Sydney loves music and will dance and wave her hands around when music comes on. She is so much fun. She is trying to walk. She's taken a couple of steps. She has a push cart and walks behind that really well. If you ask her, "Are you a good girl", she shakes her head "No". Sydney is eating grapes, chicken nuggets, kraft singles, fish sticks, scrambled eggs, potatoes, and anything off my plate that I will give her. She loves chinese noodles. She has recently started wanting to spoon feed herself, which makes dinner extra messy, but so funny. Cheerios and sweet potato puffs are still her favorites. She is still not sleeping through the night. Sometimes she wakes around 2 or 3 wanting to eat, but most nights it is about 5:00. She goes to bed at 8:30 and gets up around 7am. Some days she naps at school, some days she goes strong and won't nap all day. Her favorite show has always been "The Backyardigans". When they sing and dance, she is just mesmerized. She points her fingers straight in the air when she hears the theme music, almost in a "ROCK ON" sort of way. I put a Backyardigans book in her Easter Basket and everything else got tossed out in order to get that book. The Backyardigans show (or CD in the car) is the one thing that can always soothe the savage beast. Jeremy has even been known to break out and sing "I Love Being a Princess" just to calm Sydney down.

Here's some new pictures. Some from snow day and her Easter Bunny pic. Enjoy.

"Ahhhhhhh!! The stuffed animal moved!!! Ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma MAMA!"

Permenter Look-alike Meter

2007-12-20T22:57:00.001-06:00

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

Our visit to Santa

2007-12-19T21:24:00.000-06:00

We went to see Santa at the mall tonight. Sydney did really well. We knew she would either freak out or just stare at him. Luckily she just stared at him with a freaked out look on her face. I ran up quick and tickled her cheeks and she turned and smiled. Here's the pic...I just took a picture of the picture, so it's a little blurry.

Here's my girl being silly with her Santa hat on.

This was my dress when I was a baby. I believe I was a bit older when I had this, but it fits her great.

Sydney had her 6 month check up (1 month late) this past Monday. She weighs 18 pounds 12 ounces and is 27 1/2 inches long which puts her being bigger than 90% of babies her age, (she was bigger than 99% of babies her age from birth until now). Her weight gain has slowed and she has gotten longer. She has her 4 top teeth coming in (1 has broken through) which will give her 6 teeth. The doctor said her development was wonderful. Happy and healthy!

My little cutie

2007-12-14T18:15:00.000-06:00

Just some pics I took of Syd in front of the Christmas tree and some in her pajamas. Also check out what Jeremy and I bought ourselves for Christmas!

Where the Wild Things Are!

2007-12-10T00:22:00.000-06:00

Saturday night the 3 of us went to Atoka for Tim's 30th birthday and all the kiddies were there. Well, 4 of them were there and that was plenty! Camryn (Ashley and Kevin's daughter who was born on the same day as Sydney) was happy doing her own thing. But, Coleman (Ashley and Kevin's son), Tatum (April and Antonio's daughter), and Sydney were WILD! I think Coleman had a little too much chocolate - so funny! Tim got a gift wrapped in a 42" T.V. box and the kids were all over it. They were having a blast. First they were content to play inside, but Coleman just couldn't stand it and HAD to get on top of it. Well, the rest had to follow. Tatum wanted to crawl up it, and then would slide back down (on her back, stomach, upside down, she had a blast) so I put Sydney on it to see what she would do. Well, just check out the pictures. She and Tatum were sliding down it together and sliding into each other and kept coming back for more. So I guess the best gift for Sydney for Christmas is a big box or a slide! When we left, Sydney passed out before we got the car moving, so I'm sure Tatum and Coleman crashed, too. We had a great time Tim and Jenn! Happy Birthday Timmy!
Coleman in the box

Sydney in the box.

Tim pulling Tatum up the box.

Sydney and Tatum

My little Sunny Baudelaire (it's a Lemony Snicket thing)

My Little Turkey

2007-12-03T23:21:00.000-06:00

Isn't it so cute! Yeah, so every kid in the U.S. made one this year, and every year before that, but this one is my little turkey's hand and it's her first "art project". The day care even put a magnet on the back. I was so proud when I got it out of her bag. You would have thought that she cut it out and glued the feathers on herself by the way I was acting. It's amazing how seemingly ridiculous things can be so momentous once you have a child.

My Little Stinker

2007-11-07T15:11:00.000-06:00

Sydney was a skunk for Halloween. So cute with her chubby little face!

Halloween Pics

2007-10-29T15:14:00.001-06:00

Here's a few pics from the Halloween Party. I can't take credit for taking all the photos and I'll be adding more as people send them to me.

A few new pics

2007-10-25T21:27:00.001-06:00

Just a few pics!

This is my Meme and Pops!

Me with my Gran and Hoppy

Me and my daddy.

Mommy put a bow in my hair for Pop's birthday

Taking a bath a MeMe's!

Another Tooth

2007-10-19T23:52:00.000-06:00

Just a quick update...Sydney's first tooth popped through just a few days ago and now she has a second bottom tooth.

Finally...a new blog!

2007-10-18T23:08:00.000-06:00

I've been so wrapped up in Sydney that I just can't find the time to blog. Plus, I'm still trying to find a job. For those of you who don't know, when I went back to work in July after maternity leave, I worked 1 day and they told me they were "doing away with my position". I couldn't believe it was happening after working for the company for 7 years. I know several women who have either been "let go" during or after maternity leave or that have lost their clients while on maternity leave. It really sucks that women are made to feel like they need to choose between a career or family. I guess we should all quit working and live off welfare and WIC. But, enough about that...

On to more postive feelings!!!
Sydney turned 5 months old Oct. 11 and since she's had a cold for like 3 weeks, her 4 month check up was postponed until Oct. 12. She weighed 18lbs 10oz and was 26 3/4 inches long. My giant baby! Her weight and height were still in the 99th percentile for her age, but her head is in the 50th percentile, so at least she doesn't have a giant head! She's already wearing 9 month and 12 month clothes. She's outgrowing size 2 shoes! Her first tooth also broke through on Oct. 13. It seems like she's been teething forever. Little Miss Drool. She's also trying to crawl. She's scooting around on her stomach and is learning to pull her legs under her to push herself off the floor. She's so amazing and so much fun! Here's some new pics. Our wedding photographer Alison Bynum took some awesome pictures of Sydney last month and I've included a few of my favorites. Hope you don't mind Alison! I took the others.

New Pics

2007-05-28T21:11:00.000-06:00

No time to post...just a few new pics! Check out those dimples!

Quick Update

2007-05-17T01:28:00.000-06:00

I just wanted to do a quick update. I'll post more info about delivery, etc. once things settle a bit more. We are having our long sleepless days and nights right now, so when Sydney sleeps, we try to nap and get things around the house done, and when she's awake, we just like staring and talking to her. We are "camping out" in the den for now because I have to sleep sitting up because of my incision. So Jeremy is sleeping in here with me on an Aerobed and Sydney is in her co-sleeper. I'm still taking Percocet for pain, so I'm always a bit "drunk". Breastfeeding is very time consuming and painful, but going great overall. I never thought I would say this, but it's the most precious thing ever. The nurses told me I had really great "equipment" for it.

So, once I sober up and we get re-organized around here, I'll update. Here are some pictures of our little love monkey.

This is what we found on our driveway when we came home on Monday. Our neighbor's daughter, Carol, drew it for us. She will also be our babysitter. They are so awesome - they brought over Lasagna dinner and some yummy brownies for us Tuesday night. Thank you Tracie, Pat, and Carol!

It's a baby!!

2007-05-13T09:14:00.000-06:00

Finally after much anticipation and an emergency C-Section, we had Sydney Laine on Friday May 11, 2007 at 6:33pm. She weighed 8lbs 11oz and was 20.5 inches long. I'm still pretty out of it and on lots of pain medication, so I've just picked out a few pictures to post and I will blog more and post more pics in a couple of days once we get to go home and get settled.

And for all of those wondering...She has 2 big dimples! (but I haven't gotten good pictures of those yet).

No luck...

2007-05-10T13:57:00.000-06:00

The hospital sent me home. Apparently they weren't concerned about the slow leak of water that I was having this morning since I haven't started having contractions. I swear my Dr. is trying to see if I can have the longest pregnancy ever! They tell you in the labor and delivery class to come to the hospital if you have any kind of leak. But today the hospital told me to come back only if it gushes or if my contractions are 5 minutes apart. I'm still 2-3 cm and I'm about 65% effaced. Oh well...

Did my water break?

2007-05-10T10:45:00.000-06:00

Not sure. I think so...so Jeremy and I are headed to the hospital. We will keep you updated...

Never Doubt My Insanity

2007-05-10T05:12:00.000-06:00

If you check the time of my post, you'll see that it's after 5:00am. I think a MATA bus hit me while I was sleeping, because there can be no other explaination as to why I am so sore and stiff. I woke up to go to the bathroom, and as usual about this time of the morning, I have restless legs and can not lie back down without going insane. I sometimes also get a "crawling" sensation and it feels like I have ants or small bugs on me and I itch everywhere. Then I get paranoid and make sure there aren't actual bugs in the bed. And this morning to add to all of that, I feel like I tried to pick up a car. I can barely lift my arms or move my legs and my back is totally shot. I think I was a crazy person before I got pregnant, now I'm sure I've removed all doubt. So it is true, our moms weren't always insane. There was a time when they were normal, then they got pregnant and were never the same.

Induction Date

2007-05-09T14:50:00.001-06:00

My induction date has been set for Monday May 14 at 7:30 am.

Here are some pictures of Sydney's room.

Another Dr. Appt., Another Day...

2007-05-08T22:21:00.000-06:00

My Dr. Appt didn't go as well as I had hoped. I'm dilated 2-3cm, and I have effaced some, but he didn't give me much hope of having the baby any time soon. He wants me to wait another week before he'll induce. I'm 40 weeks and 2 days as of today. The hospital is calling me in the morning to schedule my induction for next week, so I'll post the date as soon as I know something. Jeremy's dad (Pops) leaves for London this coming Monday, so it is really upsetting to think he might not be in town when Sydney is born. I never imagined that I would actually have to wait this long and it is becoming more mentally and physically exhausting everyday. I've still been going to work each morning, but I don't know how much longer I can keep it up. I have saved 25 of my sick/personal/vacation days in addition to my 6 weeks of maternity leave, but I had planned on taking those extra days after she was born, not before. Luckily my yearly anniversary comes up on August 28, so I'll have about 30 days that renew after that. My legs are starting to feel the strain of the extra weight and I'm afraid I'm going to get some crazy busted leg veins. My ribs/chest mucles hurt as bad as ever. Sydney is now taking up so much space I can only eat small amounts at a time, so I've lost 2 pounds since last week. I guess that could be a positive thing. My blood pressure is still excellent. So, things could be worse. I'm grateful that we're healthy and all that I can hope for at this point is that it stays that way and just keep telling myself that it will be over before I know it.

Sydney's Due Date...

2007-05-07T12:49:00.000-06:00

Well, the day I've been looking forward to as an end to my pregnancy and the beginning of parenthood looks as though it may pass without much excitement. I went to work today, but I only worked the morning because I'm so uncomfortable sitting for long periods of time and it's just so much nicer being in my pajamas. I have a Dr. Appt. tomorrow afternoon, so hopefully there will be good news because I feel like the end will never be here. It's like I should just accept the fact that I will be pregnant FOREVER!!

Cinco de Mayo Baby???

2007-05-04T09:30:00.000-06:00

It's Friday and I'm at home because as soon as I stepped out of my car at work this morning I felt a leak. I went in the office and I had to go directly to my boss' office to drop off his daughter's laptop that I had been working on and I got stuck talking to him for a couple of minutes and I just knew my water was going to break while I was standing there talking to him in his office. He would have died! Then, I went to the bathroom to assess the situation. I'm sure this is T.M.I. (too much information) for some of you, but my mucus plug had come out and I had a small leak. Hey, if I have to experience it, you get to read about it! I let the girls in my office know what was going on and that I was leaving. So now I'm at home because that's the last thing I want is for my water to break at work! I think I'm experiencing some very slight contractions and I'm just here waiting it out. Hopefully we'll be at the hospital soon!

Sleep? Who needs sleep?

2007-05-02T00:17:00.000-06:00

It's 1:20 am Wednesday morning...this is how most of my nights go. It's very hard for me to sleep because of my ribs. I can't lay down all the way on my sides because of the pressure my weight puts on the ribs on the side I'm laying on, but I can't sit up straight because everything presses up into my ribs, so I have to find a sort of propped-up-on-elbows-and-pillows-position, but that's easier said than done. I've tried sleeping in chairs, but I sink too far into everything. Only straight, hard chairs are comfortable anyway, but they're not practical for sleeping. I don't want to fall out of it. Our couch isn't firm enough either, so I mostly wander around the house until I'm too sleepy to stand. Sometimes this goes on until 3:00, 4:00, or 5:00 am. I may sit down and doze for 20 minutes or so in some random place around the house (mostly on the toilet), but constant sleep is impossible. This is making it very difficult to function at work and it's making me very irritable. It's so frustrating to be so sleepy and to be so uncomfortable. At least when Sydney gets here, I'll be sleep deprived because I'm taking care of her. So today when the Dr. told me that I was still 1cm dilated and 0% effaced, I was mad. Last week, he had said he would induce me this week (I'm 39 weeks and 2 days today), but he thought I would have made some progress. He wants me to wait another week and if I have not effaced, I have the option of choosing Cervadil - a cervix softener, and induction. The drawback is that it doesn't always work and I could be in labor for many hours and end in a C-section. So hopefully she'll co-operate and come on her own this week. I'm guessing she'll pick May 5th - Cinco de Mayo. We'll see...

Gloom, Dispair, and Agony on me...

2007-04-26T11:09:00.000-06:00

No, it's really not that bad, but I'm truly upset about still being pregnant and I am extremely uncomfortable. I know my due date is still a few days away, but I had planned on having better news from the Dr. when I went on Tuesday. There was no change and I'm still only 1cm dilated. The only hope he gave me is that he would induce next week, so if I can just make it through the next few days... I think Sydney is just waiting on her Pops to get back in town, so come on Sydney, Friday is a good day to be born!
On a more positive note - Jeremy's office gave us a shower yesterday and they catered Bogie's Deli and we had a nice turnout. Most of his co-workers chipped in and bought Sydney her high chair, but she also got a fabric photo board to hang on her wall, some cute outfits, onsies, nightgowns, and a Rainforest Waterfall Soother. Thank you everyone!! Not only was this a party for Sydney, but also a welcoming party for her daddy. Jeremy got officially hired by Hilton and his "first day" is on Monday. Of course if there is a birth, Jeremy will miss his first day of work! At least if she's born tomorrow or Saturday, he could go in for orientation on Monday. She'll wait until he's in orientation and then she'll want to come!
So, for the most part, we've had good news this week. Sydney is still growing and healthy and I'm still growing... But don't be shy Sydney - we've got the house ready, your room ready, the bags are packed, my desk at work is clean, we are just waiting on you. You've got a whole closet of clothes to wear and toys to play with and I'll buy you a Barbie Jeep if you hurry up!

Another Great Shower and Dr. Appointment

2007-04-19T21:42:00.000-06:00

I haven't felt very well all week so I haven't updated the blog, but I felt great tonight and got a lot of house work done and thought I would blog while I felt well.
Last Saturday we had a shower hosted by Jeremy's aunt Cathy and family friend, Laurie. I had such a great time. Everything was so nice. There was excellent food and fun games. Sydney got more great gifts - her great, great, great aunt's crocheted blanket from her great aunt Cathy, another crocheted blanket, a Bumbo seat, Papasan rocker and a swing, a locket, earrings, and a ring, 2 boppy pillows, several outfits, and a whole bunch of goodies like sippy cups, socks, sunglasses, wipes, diapers, robe and slippers, blankets, stuffed animals, books, gift cards, and so much more. We are so lucky to have so many people who love us and have given Sydney so many wonderful things. She is already spoiled! Thank you Cathy and Laurie for such a wonderful day!
This Tuesday I had a Dr. appointment and I am dilated 1cm. I know that I could be at 1cm for weeks, but at least it makes me feel a bit better knowing that my pregnancy is coming to an end and we are getting closer to having our baby. It could be anyday now and we are extremely anxious!

Our Couples Shower!!

2007-04-10T20:46:00.000-06:00

This Saturday our friends, Tina, Dennis, and Izabella hosted a couples baby shower for us and we've all decided that they need to host more parties! The food was great and the cake (with cream cheese filling) was awesome. It was quite a spread. They had their entire house decorated with balloons and streamers. Dennis took lots of pictures (Jeremy and I are horrible about remembering our camera) so as soon as I get those from him, I will post them. Thanks so much you guys, you're the best!
We were so glad our closest friends were there and sharing this special time with us. Sydney got lots of goodies! Thanks to our veteran parent friends we got many needed items - baby gowns, onsies, bottles, sheet savers, burp cloths, socks, diapers, mittens, bibs, etc. Sydney also got many cute "extras" like ballet slippers (she'll be dancing as soon as she can walk), a soccer ball, dresses, stuffed animals, ceramic feeding set, and many other things. We can't thank you all enough! I never realized how expensive all of these things can be and we are truly grateful for everyone's generosity.
Izabella (she was our wedding flower girl) wrote Jeremy and I both notes that she included with our gift. I just had to post the one she wrote Jeremy. She LOVES to pick at him!

Dear Jerm,
I am going crazy about your monkey shower. You know I never thought you would have a baby monkey. I hope you like your baby or monkey shower. Call me to baby sit. I love monkeys.
Love,
Izabella

Thanks again, Tina, Dennis, and Iz!!

33 Days To Go!

2007-04-04T11:39:00.000-06:00

As the days count down, I'm getting more excited and more ready than ever to have this baby. I've started "Super Cleaning" the house and getting my bag packed and trying to wrap up loose ends at work, but I'm still not completely ready - not for a few more weeks and definitely not today. So when I was in a meeting this morning and I started having very intense lower back and rectum pressure and lower abdominal pains, I got a bit worried. Well, I started to panic just a little bit. I've been having some pretty strong Braxton Hicks Contractions lately, so I know what those feel like. This pain was way different. They got so bad after about 5 or 10 minutes that I just got up and walked out of the meeting - I very slowly walked out because it felt like the baby was going to fall out. I tried doing this as gracefully as possible while trying not to draw too much attention to myself or the pain I was in. I walked into the nearest office to gather myself and the girl who is in that office has never had kids and she started to freak when she saw me all bent over holding my stomach. It was pretty funny. I told her I was fine and reminded her "There is no way I'm having this baby today! I have too much to do and she's not due for another 4 1/2 weeks!" Then she reminded me that not every birth goes according to plan and I wouldn't be the first person to go into labor early. Well, sure enough after about another 10 minutes or so the pains quit and I was fine, but reality sure did hit. I have had a couple of pains since then but not as intense and not close together like those were. And before anyone else asks (because people in my office and Jeremy did) - No, I didn't need to go to the bathroom. This was no digestive problem. This was pain like I had never felt. So, now I am extremely motivated to get my bag packed and to get the house ready - just in case. And if that was just a test, I can't imagine what the real thing will be like.

What An Eventful Weekend!

2007-04-01T20:40:00.000-06:00

We had a very full weekend and I'm exhausted! Saturday morning we had our parenting class and that was a lot of fun. The nurses that taught the class were hilarious. We didn't really learn anything new as far a taking care of the baby, but we learned more about how to take care of me for the first few weeks after the baby is born. They even used props - flowers, candy, and a big piece of jewelry! I didn't know that I wasn't suppose to drive for 2 weeks afterwards! They really emphasized to the dads not only the emotional support that mom will need, but also made dad aware that there is to be no cleaning, no cooking, no lifting of anything but the baby for several weeks. While mom is taking care of baby, dad is to take care of mom.
THANK YOU SHARON AND JOSH!! Saturday afternoon we had a baby shower given by my sister, Sharon, and her husband Josh, for our family here in Memphis. I'm glad they decided not to cook out hamburgers because it was pouring rain. Everytime Josh plans to cook out for Jeremy and I, it rains! The beef brisket and pork and beef tenderloin cooked by his parents was really good, though! My favorite had to be the chocolate chip cookies - I probably ate 10! We got many great gifts including a video monitor, silver baby bracelet, mini co-sleeper bed, $50 gift certificate, monogrammed diaper bag, a baby scrapbook made by my mom, bottles, bibs, pacifiers, and lots of other goodies! I just had to post this picture of what Josh's parents and sister, Jerry, Vicky, and Hannah gave us. It is the cutest and was filled with gifts! Such a great idea.

Today the ladies of Asbury United Methodist Church (my parent's church) in Ripley gave us a shower. Sydney got a ton of clothes! She got the same outfit 3 times - haha! We got lots of bibs and washclothes and hooded towels and blankets, too. My mom's best friends all got us our stroller and carrier combo and my grandparents got us a smaller, more portable stroller. Here are a couple of pictures from the shower - one of me and my mom and one of my friend, Carole, and myself. We grew up together and were college roomates our first semester. She is due within days of me with her 4th girl!

The shower was wonderful, ladies, we THANK YOU!! But on a sad note...if you take a look at my cake in the picture of my mom and me you can tell it had taken a tumble - with Mrs. Sylvia (one of my mom's best friends)! I walked in to the church basement and she was there with an ice pack on her face. She had a huge black eye and a cut on her face and her leg was very swollen. She was carrying the cake and missed the bottom step and went head first into a glass door. She cried about my cake (it still tasted great!) but I am really worried about her. Her husband came to get her and I know she is probably in great pain tonight. We tried to get her to go to the ER, but she is going to the Dr. tomorrow. Get well, Mrs. Sylvia!
One more thing...my belly. I took these about a week or so ago.

Misery... But only 40 days to go!

2007-03-27T09:03:00.000-06:00

If I get much more miserable, I may just cry for the remainder of my pregnancy. I got weepy last night because my ribs hurt, my back hurt, I was exhausted, I had a really bad crick in my neck that just added insult to injury, I could not get comfortable enough to fall asleep and I have "restless legs" so I ended up pacing the bedroom and hallway until I could no longer stand up. I had my first really bad Braxton Hicks contraction last night while I was trying to get ready for bed and I was really close to just having a complete meltdown, but Jeremy rubbed on my back and neck and helped me to relax enough to at least stop pouting so that he could go to sleep. I feel really bad because I know he is exhausted from me getting up 4 or 5 times a night and flopping to get comfortable, and I don't normally fall asleep until after 1:30 anyway, so I know he's not fully rested. But then I don't feel too bad about it because I know it is just preparing us for the long nights ahead with Sydney and if I have to suffer, so does he. I'm just hoping the next few weeks go by really fast. We have 4 baby showers coming up, so that should make the time go by faster. It will at least make the time more enjoyable.
I have a Dr. Appt. this afternoon, and I'm so ready for the time when my Dr. says "You're dilated _ centimeters!" or "Let's schedule to induce you next week!" I'm trying not to get disappointed because I know this Dr. Appt. will be uneventful but I just feel like I'm about to pop. I'm estimating that Sydney probably weighs about 7 pounds at this point. She weighed almost 4 pounds on Feb. 10 and almost 5 pounds 2 weeks after that.
Maybe I should just go home and get a really good cry in, sip on a little red wine, and pass out for a few hours. At this point something has got to give or I am going to go insane. (I didn't mention that in addition to my body's chaos, we are also laying laminate wood flooring in our 600 sq. ft. den, so the house is torn apart because all the den furniture is in the dining room/bedroom/hallway, etc. and it is driving me insane because I feel disorganized and we also found out about a week ago that we have an ant/termite colony living in one of our interior walls and if Terminex doesn't get rid of them soon, I'm going to tear the walls down myself!)

The First Baby Shower

2007-03-15T08:54:00.000-06:00

We had our first baby shower last Thursday given by my coworkers. My boss, Richard, let us shut the office down and we went to the Fox and Hound for lunch (Thank you, Richard)! Sydney got such wonderful things - A baby bath, 2 different types of baby gyms/playmats, a bunch of adorable clothes, a cute handmade throw, a silver engravable birth date keepsake, and a cute shabby chic mirror for her room. One of the girls also made the cutest and yummiest cake with pink icing and a stork crash landing with a baby on top. Thanks girls! You're the greatest!

Yeah, I'm looking a bit bloated these days...

9 weeks to go!

2007-03-05T23:07:00.000-06:00

There isn't really a whole lot that has happened since my last post. I'm feeling a lot better and was able to quit taking my prescription pain medication a few days ago. I have still been taking Tylenol quit regularly and sleeping is still rather uncomfortable. Doing much of anything these days is becoming more uncomfortable... I'm starting to have quite a bit of pain in my hips and upper back. Most of the time this is from sitting too long and so I have to remember to take a break at work just to stretch some. The worst thing at this point is probably trying to get my socks and shoes on. It has become such a major undertaking in the morning that I have to allow myself a couple of minutes just to sit a catch my breath after getting dressed.
Tonight was our last night of Labor and Delivery Class and we got to tour the hospital, which I've been looking forward to. Our instructor led us through the hospital on what will be our "journey" once we go to check in. Being there made us realize how close we were to "the real thing" and that before we know it, we'll get to see our little Sydney.
I also want to say "thank you" to Jeremy's mom, Debra, for taking me shopping this weekend. She got me some more maternity clothes because I'm outgrowing what I now like to refer to as "Level 1" maternity outfits. She also brings little Sydney something every time we see her. This time Sydney got some new Janie and Jack outfits and a Beanie Frog from her MiMi (is this how we spell it?).
This week, we also got permission from my OB to have my sister in the room during delivery. So it will be Jeremy, my mom(because sometimes when you feel bad mom is the only one that knows how to help and I thought she should see a baby being delivered since she was put to sleep for all of her deliveries), and Sharon will be our videographer and photographer. That is, as long as she doesn't start getting nauseous or faint. Sharon, it's just like your fear of heights...don't look down!

Random Things (Blogging on Lortab)

2007-02-20T22:54:00.000-06:00

Those of you who read my last post know that I'm on pain medication right now so I'm a bit loopy and while I'm waiting on my sleepiness to set in, I figure I'll blog.

We started our Labor and Delivery Classes last week. They've been a little too graphic for me. We watched a delivery video our first night and last night we learned all about anesthesia options - which means it was a whole night of talking about blood and needles and catheters. After about 45 minutes of in depth discussion about epidurals and spinals our instructor asked the class if we were all O.K. She noticed about half of us looking at the floor and I'm sure I was a shade or two paler than usual. We then watched a slide show involving the steps we will take when we come to check in to the hospital all the way to checking out. Our instructor took time to answer questions during the close-up slide of the baby sticking it's head out of the mother during delivery, and after about 3 minutes of staring at that picture, the room began to break down. It was ten 20-35 year old men who turned into a group of giggling 5 year olds. Jeremy was the worst one. He got to laughing so hard that I started laughing (although I agreed, the baby did look like a demon.) As long as he doesn't do that in the delivery room, we'll be fine.

We also bought the new "Baby Wagon" tonight. I really didn't want to give up the Beemer, but the 2 door coupe isn't practical for getting baby in and out and as much as I would love a 4 door BMW, it's just not something we can afford right now. I did get a really nice, fully loaded Nissan Pathfinder. It's a bit bigger than what I wanted because I was trying to get something with better gas mileage, but I know it will be much safer and easier to get baby stuff in and out when driving Sydney around. It was so nice not having car payments, but it had to be done. It will be strange to drive an automatic and something that is so much larger than my car. Sydney is costing a fortune and she isn't even here yet!

One last random thing...my ankles and feet have begun swelling some, especially after an extra long day. Last Friday I had heels on all day and we went out right after work and didn't get home until 10:30 or so and when I took my socks off, my feet and ankles were huge - like tree trunks. We tried to take pictures of them, but they didn't really come out well. I propped my feet up for a while and the swelling went away pretty fast, so I wasn't too concerned. Late at night my feet start to look like hobbit feet. Sort of fat and swollen a little, and they look like they don't belong on my legs. Flintstone feet! I find something new and weird on my body to laugh at almost everyday.

The Storm Before The Storm???

2007-02-19T22:07:00.000-06:00

PREFACE: I'm on pain medication (Lortab) right now, so if this post is rambling or just too much info or has a lot of spelling errors, you'll know why...

Just when I start feeling great and think my last few months are going to be better than all the rest, something else comes up. I've always had the weirdest luck and the strangest things happen to me (a bird flew up my pants leg a couple of months ago), so when it comes to injuries, I'm usually the person at the doctors office that they talk about and stare at and is normally followed by a "Wow, I can't believe that happened!" I wonder if they have a medical oddities book about me? It's amazing that I've survived this long (I'm also a huge klutz for those of you who didn't know). I guess these things shouldn't surprise me anymore (or anyone that knows me). So I'm betting you're all wondering what in the world happened to her now? Well, before I get to that, let me fill you in on a couple of things - the 2 things on my upper torso that have managed to grow so large they are putting an enormous amount of pressure on my chest. Just to put it bluntly, I can't find a nursing bra bigger than 40E and I will definitely need larger ones. Well, apparently the pressure of the baby pushing out and the pressure of my 2 friends pushing in makes for a bad combination. So last night I'm walking through the kitchen eating a TUMS and I guess I inhaled as I was swallowing and kind of got choked and I coughed really hard and heard a loud "POP" in my chest. I immediately doubled over in pain and began having trouble breathing. I don't handle pain well, so I start shaking uncontrollably and I got very cold. My immediate thought was that I had just cracked some ribs. And yes, I've cracked ribs before while coughing, although I did have the flu at the time. The pain wasn't quite as sharp as it should have been for cracked or broken ribs, so I started to panic a bit wondering what the popping noise could have been. I walked around the house to regain my composure and try to decide if we needed to go to the hospital. I decided to give it a while and maybe I would feel better and to see if the baby was moving, etc. I decided to take a shower to see if the hot water made me feel better and because Sydney seems to move a lot when I shower. I felt a bit better afterwards and decided to just go to bed. Big mistake. I got in the bed and laid down and it felt like bricks had just been dropped on my chest. So now I can't breath and when I try to sit up the pain is so bad that there is no way I'll be able to push myself up. So I call for Jeremy and by the time he gets me sitting up I've started to hyperventilate. The pain was extreme and I got really cold and starting shaking again which caused my muscles to tense up which made me hyperventilate even worse. Jeremy starts trying to get me to breath properly (not in a sweet, relaxing, soothing way, but a demanding jerk kind of way) which then caused me to start crying hysterically making the whole situation very scary because I really couldn't breath then. I'm sure at that point we should have gone to the emergency room, but it was midnight and I didn't want to sit up there in the ER all night, and I was just too exhausted, so I decided to sit up and sleep (sort of sleep) for the remainder of the night and call my Dr this morning. They had me come in and he did an ultrasound to make sure all was well with Sydney. I had been counting her movements throughout the night and morning and she was as active as ever. The ultrasound showed that she wasn't up that high yet, so there was no danger to her, but they checked my placenta to make sure there were no tears, etc. They tried to look up as high as possible with the ultrasound to see if they could see an injury, but because it's under my breast, that was impossible. My Dr. said it could be a muscle/ligament injury, but because I heard a "pop", it's likely a displaced rib/ribs. There isn't much they can do about that while I'm pregnant, so it's likely I could be hurting until they are able to manipulate it back in place after the baby is born. Like I said, crazy things seem to happen to me. But now I've got some good meds and I'm about to pass out, so hopefully I'll rest a bit better tonight. Oh, and they checked her weight today - 3 pounds 10 ounces! She's a bit on the large side for 29 weeks. If she continues to gain 1 pound every nine days like she did these past days, I won't have to worry about having any ribs in place, she may just bust right on through!

Sydney's 4D Pictures

2007-02-10T22:26:00.000-06:00

Today we had our 4D Ultrasound and got a glimpse of our little Sydney. She looks so sweet and peaceful...Im guessing she's resting up now so she can keep mommy and daddy up all night!

So, who does she look like??? I think she has the Smith mouth and chin (like her Daddy, Mimi, and aunt Carrie). But in general, I think she looks alot like me, especially around her eyes. My Papaw Langley asked if we could tell her eye color yet (he couldn't see the pictures very well). He's hoping for brown eyes - the Langley's are notorious for dark brown, almost black eyes. I can remember people asking my mom, when I was little, if I had black eyes or talking about how dark my eyes were. My granny Langley just lit up when I showed her the pictures and couldn't believe that you could actually see her face. Having babies and prenatal care has come a long way since she had her children 60 years ago! Mom and I did a little baby shopping this afternoon after attending a friend's baby shower. I think seeing all the cute things at the shower got mom excited. Her Gigi bought her 2 little sundresses and a Baby Guess denim dress. So cute.

Let's just hope she fits into all these cute little clothes I'm buying...The little chunk weighs approximately 2 pounds, 11 ounces. That's a little large for just under 28 weeks, so I'm hoping she's really, really long! At this stage, it is said that she will put on just under 1 pound every 2 weeks, which would put her over 8 pounds at birth. Sydney needs to go on a diet! No more rice crispy treats or cupcakes for you!

Well, without further ado...here's Sydney Laine

Baby Belly

2007-02-09T00:02:00.000-06:00

Here are a couple of baby belly pictures...

This is at 5 months. (Sorry it's a bit blurry)

This is me today at 7 months. Notice the navel ring is gone.

The Room

2007-01-23T11:00:00.000-06:00

We have begun setting up Sydney's room. Jeremy has been putting together all the furniture and I've been washing all of her linens, etc. We still have a bit more to do, but this is a start...

The New Year

2007-01-15T12:46:00.000-06:00

There isn't much that has happened since the start of 2007. We are finally getting the office moved from the room that will be Sydney's. Now we just have to clean that closet out and start decorating. With the exception of coming up with a plan for her room in my head, I still haven't felt like actually doing anything about it. The nesting phase has not kicked in and it's starting to make me wonder if it will! I have bought her some clothes (only because Osh Kosh and Parisian had super sales) and a few pieces of furniture, but not much else. I guess it still seems so far away, but she will be here before I know it.
My sleepless nights aren't getting any better. I've been getting leg cramps during the night and I've started vomiting again. It's like the first trimester all over again! Sydney has not slowed down one bit, either. I feel her move all day and night. She wears me out, but it is also comforting because I know if she's moving, everything is fine. She should be better than fine - she should come out with the body of a gymnast!

Being Sick and Sydney the Wiggle Worm

2006-12-27T23:03:00.000-06:00

I was hoping I could make it through the winter without getting my usual cold, but I wasn't so lucky. I've been sick for the last 4 days, and I promise I'll never take Tylenol Cold or Robitussin or Nyquil for granted again. You never realize how great those are until you can't take them. The doctor called in a Z-pak for me today, so hopefully that will help. I have to say the last few days have been an all new low for me. I've managed to pee on myself several times from either coughing or sneezing and I spent one morning sitting on the toilet coughing, peeing, and vomiting in the bath tub. I also vomited on myself while I was taking a bath, but I think that was from drinking too much chocolate milk while running a fever. Not some of my greatest moments...

On a brighter note, Sydney has been extra active in the last week and yesterday we started seeing my stomach thump when she would kick or get the hiccups. It's pretty weird, but at the same time it's neat because Jeremy is able to see her moving.

Naming the Little One

2006-12-11T12:46:00.000-06:00

After much debate we have decided to name the munchkin Sydney Laine Permenter. We wanted something cute, something that would work for each phase of her life, and a name that was simple, but strong. I picked the first name and Jeremy came up with the middle name (way to go, babe, I couldn't think of any good ones). I think it flows well. My dad came up with a name that he said used both the grandfather's middle names...Leona Deaona (Leo and Dean)...he's ridiculous. No chance, dad.

It's a girl!

2006-12-06T11:58:00.000-06:00

After waiting for what seemed like forever, we finally had our first ultrasound yesterday and found out that we are having...A GIRL! A perfect 10 fingers, 10 toes, no facial deformities, best brain the Dr. had seen all day, perfectly developing girl! I just knew that it was a girl. Jeremy now knows the full power of karma...

The ultrasound was so amazing. She moved and wiggled and punched at the ultrasound wand. When the ultrasound first started she was on her stomach with her arms tucked underneath and her booty stuck straight in the air. After a little poking and coaxing she started rolling over and did the splits, leaving no mystery to her sex. We got a lot of great views of her and it was so fun to poke on my stomach to see her reactions. Her developement is exactly what it should be for 18 weeks and 3 days. Her heart and brain and kidneys and spine are all perfect. She weighs 9 ounces. I have been feeling her move quite a bit in the last week, which is very strange and sometimes creeps me out a little. The glimpse of her yesterday made all the misery of my first few months worth it!