The Blog that Never Ends

Okay, Okay, Mel-Mel. I know I'm a slacker, but you know that things have been kinda crazy around here. I apologize for the delay in the completion of the NY Trip, so here are the last 3 days in the nut shell....a very BIG nutshell.

DAY 3

We started Tuesday off with a visit to the Children's Museum. Y'all, this had to be one of my favorite days. We had a blast, and of course most of that was due to watching our little girl learn and explore. There were several areas, each geared toward certain age groups. We spent most of our time in the Toddler Room. There's no way I could show you all the pics, so here are a few.

Olivia got acquainted with the play kitchen. Can you imagine how much fun we would have had as kids if we'd had this type of kitchen when we were kids. She loves playing make believe, so this was perfect for her!!!

Now on to something more challenging. A toddler size obstacle course. She loved this area. There were balls, mats, mirrors, musical instruments. This museum was truly amazing.

And The Celebrity Was.....

None other than Regis!!! He was there shooting a Valentine's Day special for his show that aired on the following Thursday. He interviewed 2-3 year olds, asking them about Valentine's day, boyfriends, love, and marriage. The segment was too adorable, and of course every mother there was vying for airtime. Obviously ours doesn't talk...so we didn't even try to get her on camera. But the kids said the cutest things.


Now on to a celebrity that Olivia is familiar with....DORA!!! They had a a whole tree house dedicated to Dora, and Olivia loved it. Here she is going down the slide...with Daddy's help of course.

Boots!!!! Now that's my kind of celebrity siting!!!

Daddy!!! You're knocking down the bridge walls!!! These foam blocks made the walls to the ladybug bridge. Once Olivia realized that the walls moved, she was all about knocking them down!!!

After a long afternoon at the museum, we walked back to the hotel by way of Central Park. I grumbled the whole way because I thought that Josh would surely get us lost, but alas, I must have faith in my hubby! He took us right to the Central Park Zoo....but Olivia had fallen asleep! We got to see a few animals from a distance, but thought we'd save the zoo for a time when she was awake and able to enjoy it!

Mommy and Olivia at the entrance to to the Central Park Zoo.

Recognize this from a famous Julia Roberts movie??? How about Step Mom. Julia is a photographer and she's doing a photo shoot from this tower where she promptly loses her stepson, Ben. Pretty cool, huh!!

Well that concludes Day 3. We had a fantastic day at the museum and in Central Park. But what was to come.....

Day 4

Cupid brought us more than love on this day of hearts and kisses. He showed New York with their first winter's snow. Daddy took the morning to scope out the conditions, and alas...it wasn't stroller friendly. So we did what any good parent would do. We bundled up and walked to Times Square again and hit TOYS R US for the Ferris Wheel ride.

Wow, is this cool or what!!!!!

The ride lasted so long that Olivia began to get bored. Daddy's still enjoying himself! Round and round we go!!!!

Look what we've found....a Dora suitcase. She pulled this bag around the whole store.

After a late afternoon toy store excursion, we decided to hit the subway and find Ground Zero. We finally made it, but it was already dark. We hadn't known what or how much we'd be able to see, but upon arrival it became clear that it wasn't much. The entire area was boarded off and signs were posted stating No Bills Posted out of respect. It was amazing. Playbills and graffiti littered every construction wall in NY, but not at Ground Zero. You can tell that everyone still mourns the tragedy that the city suffered that day.

This is a picture from another building. You can see the hole in the ground where the towers once stood. Now they are constructing the Freedom Tower in it's place. It was a solemn moment just thinking of what had taken place on this very ground just a few short years prior. Let us pray that we will never have to experience devastation like that ever again!

After a long trip back to the hotel, we snapped one picture of Livi before bed. Like her valentine shirt?? It matches her red cheeks!!!


Day 5

Our last day in the Big City. Today we took a Ferry Ride around the island of Manhattan and got to see many great sites.

The New York Coast Line. You can see the Empire State Building on the right.

There she is...Lady Liberty!!! Josh had to brave the cold by going up to the observation deck to snap photos. Olivia and I stayed down below where it was warm.

Daddy had to make friends with the only other "tourist" silly enough to be up on the deck. Thank goodness we have at least one of us in a shot with a NY landmark from that day.


And how about those eyes. Y'all, I know I'm biased, but come on. Is she cute, or what. This was on the Ferry, and she loved running through the bench seating. We were lucky because it was COLD and everyone must have stayed home that day. There were probably 10 other people on the boat with us. It was great.


Here is Mommy and Olivia braving the cold once again. We headed to the park to let Olivia play in the snow. I think her lips were cold because she made the face every time we went outside. It was too precious.

We had but only one mission while we were in NY. To find Mel-Mel and Aunt Bre a knock-off COACH bag. The first day...no problem. I thought I'd be smart and "shop around" for the best deals among the street vendors. Well, I had no idea that it would snow and all of the knock off carts would be closed (aka at home by the fire instead of out on the cold street!) So, this is for you Aunt Bre and Mel-Mel. As close as we got to your Coach purse.


And now for the fun stuff. That white, fluffy bit of heaven that only falls occasionally here in the south. SNOW!!!!

Olivia and Daddy head into Central Park. I'm so excited I can hardly contain myself. I think I may make my own "Mommy" snow angel!!! And I don't care if the locals do call me a nutty tourist!!!

Hmmmm... Not so sure about this. It's white. But it's not fluffy. It was so cold, the snow had frozen!!! Who woulda thunk it???? Olivia trotted around, but we couldn't even scrape any free for her to hold! This stinks!!! Why didn't anyone tell us to make our snow angels yesterday!!!!

But alas...there was hope for happiness in the frozen snow....

A DOGGIE!!!! Ruff, ruff!!!

If you remember, I was out of town the week prior to our trip. While I was gone, Josh taught Olivia what dogs say..."ruff ruff". She loves dogs. No - I don't think that y'all are gettin' what I"m sayin'... SHE LOVES DOGS!!!! Every time we passed a dog in NY she would point and go "ruff ruff". We'd have to look around...and sure enough, down the street, across the way, behind the car, around the corner....there came a dog! Y'all, it's like she had a sixth sense and could smell when they were coming. As soon as Olivia here found Fido in the snow...she was a happy camper and could care less about the white stuff.

In Conclusion

We really did have a fantastic trip. It was an experience of a lifetime. Part of me wants to go back again with just the hubby so that we can do things like Broadway, Letterman, etc. But I know that we wouldn't have done half of the stuff that we did had Livi not been with us. I'm so glad we took her, and we can mark this off as another GREAT family vacation.

Setting our Eyes on Success

Hello wonderful blogging buddies. I know this blog is about a week overdue, but it's taken me that long to be able to get to the point of wanting to write about about our OB visit.

First let me say that Zach is still doing great. He's active and the doc says he sounds great and we're measuring on track. Praise God for that!!

Zach's Mommy had a bit of a breakdown in the OB office last week; and ladies, it wasn't pretty! Man, I was never this emotional or hormonal with Olivia. What they say is true, carrying a boy vs. carrying a girl is completely different!!

Well, I didn't see my primary OB at last week's visit. Instead I was scheduled to see a different doctor, one I didn't exactly hit it off with when I was pregnant with Olivia. Well, I started by asking the nurse about my concerns and immediately fell into tears. She was very comforting and encouraged me to talk to the doctor. I took her advice and when the doctor came in expressed my concerns about the group's support in my desire to have a VBAC. His reaction was less than comforting, however he did shed much light on our situation that I had never been made aware of.

He reviewed my file to find that it wasn't because of Olivia position that we were encouraged to have a c-section. Instead it was because of the shape and size of my pelvis. Well, as you can imagine, this was frustrating to me. Why wasn't that explained to me at the time of delivery? Why wasn't that explained to us when we first mentioned VBAC?

As I left the office, still sobbing because of the unwelcomed news and the doctor's lack of compassion and understanding, my favorite nurse (Gail - she's the one who confirmed Olivia's pregnancy and was my nurse throughout that pregnancy) pulled me aside and told me that she was available to talk.

She was great. She too had an emergency c-section with her first, and opted for a second c-section with her second. She completely understood my fear of surgery and my disappointment in not "birthing" Olivia. She encouraged me that for my situation, a c-section would be a much happier option in the end. And she promised me that a scheduled section was completely different than an emergency one.

She then encouraged me to talk to my Primary doctor, and I did. While I was a little disappointed in Dr. Moore's approach, he did help me to understand that it was my body make-up, not my determination to give birth vaginally, that would ultimately determine the course for delivery. He said that he'd continue to support me if VBAC was the method I'd like to try, but he cautioned that my chances were very slim.

It's taken me about a week to digest all of this. When I left his office, I was determined to change practices. But as I reflected and prayed, I believe that we'll stay where we are. I trust that God will allow us the best delivery possible, and I put our fate into His hands. So, whether it be a VBAC or a second C-section, we give our concerns and worries to the Lord and know that He will deliver us all healthy and happy in the end.

So, we appreciate all of your prayers and encouragement. I believe that Zach has his own plans in mind. He's already helping me prepare for a possible C-section b/c he refuses to turn around and get his feet out of my pelvis. He'll probably stay breech long enough to help me come to grips with the possiblity..and then who know what he'll do - he is a man after all!

Stay tuned, nursery delimas to come!!