It's been two years???

Wow, it's been over two years since I have written a post. Looking back, I know I cannot possibly recap the past two years in one post. I neither have the time to write that much nor do you have time to read it (if there is anyone reading anyway).

Our precious baby boy, Griffin Lee, was born on August 10, 2010. He was over 5 weeks early. I will come back (most likely) and include his birth story. Fast forward several months and we noticed that he was not meeting his milestones. At first,  I thought it was because he was a preemie and that it would take him a little longer. By his first birthday, we had enrolled him in our state's early intervention program and had started therapy since he wasn't sitting up well and used his left arm much more than his right. A few months later, a position opened with another therapy group, Hand in Hand. We started working with a great OT and PT. Although Griffin was making improvements, he still was not where he needed to be.

On August 2, 2012, we met with a doctor who specializes in pediatric rehabilitation. He is on staff with our PT & OT. Griffin was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy (90 % diagnosis...we had a CT scan on Friday to rule out anything else and we are still waiting on results). Griffin seems to be only mildly affected...Praise God! His prognosis was good. According to the doctor, Griffin is bright, is not affected cognitively, he will walk and live a relatively "normal" (what is normal anyway?) life.

We are so fortunate that we are already with Hand in Hand because they are a branch of United Cerebral Palsy of Birmingham. The Lord had us exactly where we needed to be.

Although I was somewhat prepared, it was still very tough hearing those words. In my heart and head, I knew something wasn't right. Hearing it did solidify it and then I had to grieve it. I am so very fortunate for my family and friends who sent emails, texts, cards, PRAYERS, food and came to be with us. The prayer they covered us in has given me peace that is beyond my understanding. It's just a God thing!

Griffin will continue with therapy and I KNOW that he will overcome all the obstacles that come his way.

Thanks for taking the time to read about our sweet boy. I hope to keep up with this blog better than in the past. Joseph wants to join me on here and give his view on things about life,our son and CP.

Love,
Aimee

23 Weeks

I cannot believe that I am in my 23rd week of this pregnancy! My mercy, time is flying by!!! I am quite behind in blogging (surprise, surprise), however, I wanted to post my 20 week baby bump picture.

I am feeling pretty good these days. I am getting some energy back and really starting to get an appetite thanks to most of the nausea finally subsiding.

I don't think that I have offically blogged this but we decided on a name...Griffin Lee! Lee is my hubby's middle name. We came up with Griffin while reading baby name books. Joseph had a book and I had a book. He would say a name and then I would say a name. We could not agree on anything until I said, "I kind of like Griffin." He said, "Me too!" And that is how we chose his name!

I ordered his bedding and it came in this week! I love it!

I want to use the lime a good bit throughout the nursery. We still have a ton of work to do in there but once we get started, it should go quickly.

Hopefully, I will soon be able to catch up on some fun things that have happened over the last few weeks. We have a couple of things planned for this weekend but I may manage to squeeze in some computer time!

Have a great weekend!

Atlanta

On Friday, I picked up Meredith after work. Before we could get on the road, headed to the So Long Insecurity conference with Mrs. Beth Moore, I had to stop and get some snacks. Pregnancy brain was in full swing and I had forgotten snacks, my CAMERA, my pillow and I can't remember if there was anything else! We arrived in Atlanta with only one missed exit and one wrong turn. After checking in to the hotel, we ate dinner at a cute Mexican restaurant with a very unusual mural on the wall. I had the absolute best flautas of my life! We headed back to the room and chatted a while before falling asleep.

At some point early the next morning, I heard thunder and the rain start. I started praying that it would stop when it was time to leave because we left the umbrellas in the car! No such luck...it was pouring when we were leaving! However, when we got to the church, the rain had slowed and we made it inside without too much hair damage! Here we are waiting in line.

We were sitting in the overflow and during the break, Beth and her daughter Melissa came over for a little question and answer time. I took this picture (along with all the others) with my cell. Of all the times, my zoom decided that it did not want to work!

After the conference, we were able to say hello to two bloggy friends Kelly and Jennifer. They were very sweet and so tiny in person! We had such a great time at the conference. Beth brought an amazing word as always! I pray that I, along with the 300,000 other women that heard this message can commit to what we learned and make a difference in our lives and the lives of others.

We had an important mission after the conference so we quickly made our way to the car. Mere and I were going to stop at a mall to go shop at H&M!

They had SO much cute stuff! Unfortunately, my pregnant belly hindered me from really shopping (perhaps that was actually a good thing). Thank goodness that we had just come from a conference about saying goodbye to insecurity. The clothes ran REALLY small. At least I had the excuse that I am pregnant so I didn't feel so bad! Just as I was about to give up, Mere found an adorable dress for me try on. It fit and I LOVE it! I'm now praying that I don't grow too much during this week so I can wear it to a wedding on Saturday! It was a great trip that ended with this:

I was glad to be home and very pleased to see that my wonderful hubby had cleaned and dinner was almost ready. I am a lucky girl!

Weekend Part 2

After the birthday party on Saturday, I stopped at the grocery store and then headed home. I took a quick nap because I can't seem to "go" as long as I could before getting pregnant. Then I started packing and cooking a few dishes that I was taking to Joseph's cousin's shower on Sunday. When he got home from work, we packed the car and headed to his aunt and uncle's house to spend the night. We wanted to be there early to help Angel get to the location and set up the room and food.
Bright and early on Sunday morning we got everything together and headed to Tannihill Historical State Park. They rented an old school house to have the shower in and it was perfect!

This room was across the corridor from the main room. It was later set up with all the gifts. As I walked through there, I imagined the boys and girls sitting in those little desks and how different things were 100 years ago.

Asha and Chase - The Happy Couple

Joseph (my hubby) and Aunt Sandy

Asha and Angel looking cute!

Desserts. Need I say more?

At one point, I found myself alone with the food before the party begin. As I arranged the platters, I may have been sampling everything. This is probably the only time in my life I could have gotten away with it! Ha!

They had a great turn out! The food was delicious! Trade days was also going on across the park. They have vendors selling tons of homemade items as well as plants, flowers, tools, and other consignment items. After we walked around for a while (surprisingly, I did not buy one thing), we took the kiddie train back to the other side of the park. I was exhausted and my back was killing me. We said our goodbyes (but not before getting another plate) and headed home. My sweet husband ran me a bath and unloaded the car. After soaking in the tub, I climbed in bed at 8:30. It was a long but wonderful weekend!

Weekend Part 1

I had a wonderfully exhausting weekend! On Friday, I left work a little early and headed up to Decatur to my mom's house. We had planned on meeting my aunt and then driving to Huntsville to see my cousin Julie's new baby boy. Unfortunately, when I got there, Mom had a terrible sinus headache. So I talked with her for a while, met my Aunt Joan and we headed to the hospital. Oh. My. Word. Garrett is SO precious!

We took turns handing him back and forth while visiting with Julie and Bryan. Before we left, I was holding Garrett against my tummy. He started fussing and I felt several small kicks in front. Someone was saying hello to his new cousin, not happy because of the noise or saying get off my mommy! I am hoping it was the first!

After we left the hospital, Joan and I had dinner and a great time catching up with each other. She dropped me off at my car and I went to spend the night with my Mom.

I got up early on Saturday and headed back to Birmingham to attend a very special little guy's birthday party. I first met Lane in my nursery class at church. I was instantly crazy about him! I then got to know his sweet parents through a small group. I love them and am so thrilled they have "claimed" me as family! LOL!

Here is the birthday boy:

The awesome cake Jessica made:

I had a great time with good food, good company and some great Lane Lovin'!

There was lots more in store for the weekend but I (or Joseph) will need to download the pictures and then I will post! Have a great day:)

Baby News

Joseph and I went to my sonogram appointment yesterday morning. We were both so excited that we could hardly stand it! They called us back and the technician got right to work. She wanted to do all the measuring and then show us. I couldn't see the screen so I watched Joseph's face. FINALLY, she turned the screen around and I got the first look at our sweet little babe growing inside of me. Surreal. Wonderful. Amazing.

She asked if we were ready to find out the sex. Of course we were ready!!! She pointed out one leg and then the other. She then asked, "see this right between the legs"? We both answered yes and she said "IT'S A BOY"!!! Even though I could clearly see between the legs, I still thought she was going to say that it was a girl! Denial? I'm not sure! Ha! Joseph said he had a feeling, although his "feeling" for the first several weeks was "girl". He was actually more excited that the baby is boy than if we were having a girl! I have nannied for several families with boys, so I know how precious that little boy love will be! Now that it has finally sunk in, I am SO EXCITED!!!

My sweet cousin Julie had her baby last night (after 14 hours of labor)! I am driving up after work today and cannot wait to get my hands on sweet Garrett! She and I are 7 months apart and our boys will be 5 months apart. We are both thrilled that they will have each other and hope that they will become great friends like their mothers.

This weekend is going to be insanely busy with baby visiting, a birthday party, cooking and a bridal shower. Hopefully, I will remember my camera so I can post some pictures.

Have a great weekend!

Shopping on Saturday

Joseph surprised me by taking Saturday off from work. My plans were to do some shopping and he agreed to come along. We have been talking FOREVER about getting a new mattress so that was our first stop. They had a great sale going on and I jotted down information on several that we liked. As soon as we got into the car, I called one of my BFFs, FJ, to discuss. He sales in mattresses in another state and he knows his stuff. We were on the right track so we continued on with our shopping.

After visiting several furniture stores, we decided to go to Rooms To Go. I have been looking for a chair, coffee and end tables and thinking about a new bedroom suit. We ended up with the bedroom suit. I am very excited and pleased with our purchase but also a little bummed that I still haven't found a chair that I love for the living room (as if anybody cares LOL). Here are some pictures (taken with cell so they are not the best).






When we went back to get the mattress, they were able to deliver the same day as the other store. It all worked out because J was off work yesterday and was able to be home for it to be delivered. Bless his heart, he moved all the furniture that was in our master to a guest room by himself! He definitely deserves a sheet of gold stars!

One of our other stops on Saturday was to a pet supply store. We were in search of a bark deterant. We have a neighbor who owns a german shepard. This dog literally barks from the time it steps outside until it goes back inside. This barking can sometimes last for HOURS. Appartently, the owner can block it out. We cannot. We found an Ultrasonic Outdoor Bark Control device that is completely safe.

It looks like a bird house and oddly enough, the same colors as our house. Joseph actually hung it while that particular neighbor watched from his deck. So far, we have not had the exact results we had hoped for but we are going to move it closer to their yard in hopes that will work (it has to be within 50 ft of animal). Wish us luck!

We ended our day with dinner at Outback. It was SO good! The best part of the day was that Joseph was there with me. I love him so much!

My 18 week check-up is on Thursday! We will be finding out the sex of the baby! I will post the results!!!