My Beautiful Girls

Lately Julianne wants to be wherever Jenna is - under the play mat, in the bassinet, in the swing, etc. We are trying to teach her to be gentle, but self control is hard for a 3 year old! I thought this was a sweet picture of Jenna looking at Julianne. Jenna smiles the biggest at her sister. Jenna is eating and sleeping like a champ - thank God!

A Picture of our newest niece, Ella Grace

Ella Grace is home from the hospital. She kept her parents up most of the first night, but did better the second night. Suffice it to say, there is no rest for the weary for a while.

Her cousin, Jenna, on the other hand, went from 10 pm to 4 am last night! Woo-Hoo! However, she does have conjuntivitis and an ear infection at 7 weeks old. We met our new ped this week. She is now on meds and feeling better. Actually, I had no idea she was feeling bad, but took her in for congestion and eye gunk. We would have never known she had an ear infection, but glad we caught it!

Do Your Part!

So one of the most rewarding charities we have given to is Compassion International - see link below. You literally can scroll through pictures of thousands of precious kids who need a sponsor for $34/month. This tiny amount of money literally transforms their lives. They get to go to a special Compassion School in their village every week and also any extra funds goes towards their families needs - food/blankets/etc. They only ask you for additional money (via email) for birthday and Christmas and we ususally just give $30 extra. Other than that, you can become a pen pal with your child. Our childs name is Irene from Kenya and she is very smart. Some day I hope Julianne and Jenna can start writing to her. Anyways, here is the link if your heart leads you to do this:

http://www.compassion.com/

Nothing (medical) is ever easy for the Williams Girls

The good news is Ella Grace has arrived and is a healthy, beautiful little girl. As I said before, she weighed in at 6 lbs. 7 ounces, 19 1/2 inches at 1;07 p.m. November 22. Jenny has had a diificult time, but is recovering. Her contractions started before she was dialated. She had a 34 hour labor, then the doc discovered the baby was face up instead of face down. The granola doctor didn't call a C-section, but (this is gross) had her hand in the birth canal turning Ella as she progressed down during the pushing stage. Then after the birth, Jenn developed a form of pre-eclampsia which happens post partum!! This means her blood pressure shot up to 212/100 plus and her body was at risk to "shut down". Serious stuff. She is now on meds to stop that, so pray all will progress well today.

Ella Grace Zimmerman has arrived!

My sister, Jennifer (Jenna's namesake) and her husband Ryan had their first daughter today around 1 pm. Ella Grace was 6 pounds, 7 oz and 19 1/2 inches long. She has a full head of dark hair and has the sweetest little face ever. Her features are just perfect. Jenny labored for more than 24 hours and has post eclampsia (never knew this could happen, but it is like pre-eclampsia, but happens after the baby is born)....Blood pressure is real high and lots of pain, but thank God they diagnosed it and she is on meds and feeling much better. Childbirth is just so miraculous and so freaking painful. Anyways, praise be that Jules and Jenna now have cousin #3 and the first cousin on the Williams side!

My youngest sister Lauren Elizabeth (Jenna's other namesake!) whose link is on my blog, and her hubby, Andrew, (Agamoo) find out where they will spend the next 4 years in the JAG - tomorrow. A HUGE day for them! Their first choice was Tacoma, Washington so we will see! My mother was actually born at this base in Tacoma!

My folks are truly going to be empty nesters starting July 2010. Lump in throat. What is WRONG with me???

We look forward to seeing Justin's parents this Christmas here in Plano! They just got back from Germany and are truly world travelers! :-)

Settled - NOT

For some reason with this move to Dallas, I am obsessing over being "settled" - I think it is because since June of this year (6 months) we have been talking about moving, planning a move, actuallymoving, or unpacking and all that is involved with starting over. I am ready to be settled, nested, in one place...you get the point. We are finally in our new house in Plano, TX and I love the house - I could not ask for a more perfect home. Now - can we please stay in this one for more than 2 years? God, I hope so. I hope we are here for 20 years. If you think that sounds ridiculous - you have not been through a move with a newborn baby and a toddler...not just a move around the corner either - a move to a new place where you don't know where the grocery store is and you can't find your own house after finally finding the grocery store! I am ready for things to feel familiar and homey, but I know we have a long way to go.

I do think the potential here is great for raising a family and enjoying a new place. We will desperately miss The Woodlands and our friends and family there, but thankfully we are only a drive away - albeit a long and hard one with 2 kiddos.

Julianne started her new pre-school yesterday and I walked her in with a huge lump in my throat, but a big, fake smile on my face for her sake. I think fake smiles may be necessary for awhile. Anyways, she seemed to love it. I was allowed to join them for the school play and Thanksgiving feast which was adorable. We are going to visit the church where her school is - Christ United Methodist Church of Plano this weekend. The faster we can get plugged in somewhere, the better. We are SO excited that our friends the Mills and the Andersons are near by so we have some wonderful friends near by - a huge comfort. Julianne already got to spend a day with Kendall at the Mills house last weekend and loved every minute of it. OH, we have a sweet 11 year old girl next door who is marketing herself as a "Mothers Helper" - she charges $3 an hour to come play with Julianne while Mommy unpacks and takes care of Jenna. We had her come over 2 days ago and Julianne loves her already. This is a blessing - truly. I know I have been spoiled beyond measure living so close to my folks and having a built in babysitter anytime I needed one - and they are still in town waiting for the arrival of Jenny's baby, Ella Grace, and helping me every day as I try to get unpacked. When they drive away - back to Houston - well, I can't even talk or think about it right now. I am finally going to have to "go it alone" as many people already do - but again - I have to adjust to it - and it won't be easy for this girl or for Julianne. I don't say this to sound negative, but truthful and honest. I am excited and I know this is where God wants us and I am thrilled beyond measure for Justin's new job - but that does not make moving easy.

Jenna is 6 weeks, but I feel like she has been with us forever. I feel she is neglected by me b/c once she is fed, I stick her in some contraption be it a swing or bouncy and don't pay attention to her until it is time to eat again. She plays by herself and puts herself to sleep. She is a low maintenance child by genetics or by necessity or just by the simple fact that mom and dad don't have time right now....once we are "Settled," I hope to spend some quality time with her.

Thanksiving and Christmas will probably be a blur for me this year - I may not even remember them, but I will try to enjoy them nonetheless as I know I have a lot to be thankful for.

More Pics of Bundle of Joy, Jenna and Big Sis, Julianne

Sweet sisters. Tired Parents.

Jenna Elizabeth is here!

JENNA ELIZABETH CHATIGNY ++++ 9 POUNDS, 1 OZ++++20.5 INCHES++++10/2/09

One week ago tonight, my water broke - it was not this huge gush that people talk about, but a slow trickle that got bigger and bigger. After waking up Justin, paging the doctor, adding a few things to my hospital bag, then telling Justin it was a false alarm, then calling the doctor again, then telling Justin it was time to go to the hospital - we grabbed our 3 year old around midnight and headed for Memorial Hermann. Mimi and Papa met us there to take Jules back home and Justin and I went in for a long night in the Triage room. I was hooked up to monitors to check my contractions as well as to monitor Jenna's heartbeat. We waited in that room from midnight until 7 am (being told that 3 other mothers had to deliver before me for urgent reasons). The contractions did get to a point where I needed pain meds and so I was pretty loopy when they wheeled me in to deliver. The main things I remember are: Justin's teary and excited eyes that I stared into while they cut me open, hearing the 2 docs and nurses go "WHOA" as they delivered Jenna ("She is huge!!!" and "Look at that head!"), and hearing her sweet cry that seems to take forever to come. I remember feeling that sweet relief of having that huge baby out of my body. Her apgar scores were 9 and 9 and that made me feel good too. While in the recovery room I was not impressed with the 2 nurses tending to us and for some reason I got fixated on that - the one caring for Jenna and checking her out had this huge frown on her face and she seemed very put out and I kept asking, "Is she OK? Is everything OK???" and then she would look at me like I was crazy. The other nurse caring for me was being way too stingy with the pain medication and I basically felt like my incision was on fire until she gave me a bit more...I mean, it is not every day you have your abdomen cut open! Our stay in the hospital was very good overall and our main challenge was and continues to be Jenna learning to latch on to the breast feeding routine. Oh and the little oinker eats every 2 hours, so no real down time between feedings. We are struck by how much more calm and comfortable we are this time around.

We feel very blessed to have 2 beautiful, healthy girls and our family feels complete now. Big sister is doing very well and we are trying to give her special attention time as we can. I know she is ready for mom to be able to do normal things again like go to the park and pick her up, etc so I am anxious to get healed and start living again!!!

Hope to have more pics soon.

OH, and our other family news is that we are moving to Dallas. More on that later, but picture this: New job for Dad, New House, New Baby, New City. Could we please have a little more change in our lives?

Love, The Proud Mom of Julianne and Jenna

Prego Picture

I got this picture from Lauren's blog and thought I would show how gigantic I am. This was taken at Jenny's Houston baby shower. Jenny is about 7 weeks behind me which is fun. Everyone thought Lauren was glowing, but it was not a 3rd baby on the way - just sweat! I am way bigger than this now. This was about a month ago. The Subway sandwich cashier asked if I was carrying twins. I can't breathe. I need oxygen. Julianne thinks I am an invalid. I just cannot wait to have this baby. I don't care if she screams all night long for 3 months - I just want her out of my body. OK, I may regret saying that. God, please give us a good baby! Healthy first, then a good baby is what I mean of course...Looking back, Julianne really was a "good baby." She just had some medical issues that prevented her from sleeping (reflux and horrible ear infections). The ear infections ceased completely right after her 2nd birthday once we got her tubes. We should have had tubes around her first birthday, but decided to see how the year went - big mistake, but you live and you learn. Granted that was 2 years of not sleeping, but that is behind us. She still has reflux and it still wakes her up, but she knows now that "the burn in her throat" is just food or milk and can go back to sleep. Otherwise, she really was happy and very easy to play with/distract/etc. Being the 1st child, she is pretty demanding of our attention....saying, "Wanna play with me?" about every five minutes....but if we tell her that we can't or that we are busy she can play very creatively alone for a good long time.

Yesterday she said 2 funny things:

To my Dad, "Papa, do you wanna play for heaven's sakes?!?!"

To Justin,"My name is not Julianne. It is Big. Sister. Chatigny"

We do have some big changes in our family that I can report more on after this Friday.

Big Sister

Well, my camera's wireless card is on the fritz so I cannot download new pics right now, but I do have some cute stories about Julianne. She is SO excited to become a big sister and talks about it daily. I think she senses big changes in our family with mom's growing belly and just the stuff that goes along with getting ready for a new baby - washing little clothes, wiping old toys down, setting up baby books, having diaper showers, etc. My diaper shower will need to be a separate post when I can put pics up, but it was so lovely and perfect. Thank you Jenny, Lauren, and Mom!

So here are some things Julianne is saying:
*I am going to be the first one to hold Jenna - no one else can hold her
*I am going to take care of Jenna - bathe her, put her little clothes on her, get her some toys, feed her some milk
*Mom, when Jenna pops out - I will be the one to catch her
*Mom, can you and Dad go upstairs and let me take care of Jenna by myself?
*I love my little baby Jenna

You get the idea - she is already in love with this little person and wanting to help out. Call it her age or just her inherent sweetness, but I think she is going to be a great big sister and helper!

Random, but we always have really interesting conversations in the car on the way to school and today she asked me,"Where does our voice come from?" and "What is beneath our skin?" When I told her bones, and muscles, and blood, she goes - "Oh, I like blood!" Lol.

Also, she has lately been telling Justin and I that we have 3 or 4 choices and will list them off with her fingers (You can either have popcorn or a popcicle or.....while counting down on her hands).....

And to report on activities, she is enjoying her pre-school which is T and Th from 9 to 2 and taking ballet/tap on Wednesdays. She loves it and I cried when they did this little mini routine for us. She had her hands on her hips and was shaking back and forth and had this little shy/embarassed look on her face that was priceless. As all of you parents know, the pride and love is just overwhelming at times! There are a few little bullies in her class at school and I have already conferenced with the teacher about them - yes, I am one of those mothers. :-)

Ok, more later and I hope for more pictures soon!

Some Pics from this Summer

During Gamma and Gumps visit, I came upstairs to the gameroom to find my bra suspended between the 2 gameroom doors. When I asked Julianne, "What is that?" she very calmly replied, "it's your bra mom. the one for your bobbies." I had to chuckle.

Great visit w/ the grandparents from VA~! Much fun was had playing with Gamma's new curlers - note there is one in each person's hair in this pic.

A play date with my cousin Lana and her 2 precious Kiddos - Ethan and Alyssa.

Great pic of Jules and Papa

Julianne and Jack at Safari Stop.

Major Birthday Party Event

Ethan Shapiro had his 4th birthday party at the Houston Zoo and it was quite an event! As you can see Jules got to have her face painted with anything she wanted. She chose a butterfly which may have something to do with the fact that her "Big Girl" Room (newly painted pink) is a butterfly and flowers theme. The kids got to meet a few animals up close and personal - one being a huge garden snake that had teeth, but no poison. Gamma and Gumps joined us at the party as they were in town for a few days and a great time was had by all. It's all about giving our kids experiences, right? Well, this was a great one. Thanks Robyn and Rob!

The Birthday Boy, Rob, and Jules

Let's get one more picture of that butterfly! She kept feeling her face for it long after we washed it off.



The snake talk

Mom, it feels "Oooookey!"

Observations

I just read on my friend Kacy's blog that one of her girls thought she saw Jesus (well, it was a Middle Eastern person dressed in traditional garb). This cracked me up beyond belief and reminded me of a few observations Ms. Julianne has made lately:

*"Mom, you have a big, fat belly" (which she does kiss often)
*When she sees overweight people she asks me, "Is that man full?" or "Does that lady have a baby in HER belly too?"
*"God made us all different colors, mom! I am white and pink!"
*"Why does that boy have on earrings?"
*"I like that boy, he is so cute." Justin loves these comments!

Like I Said, San Antonio Summer

Over the 4th of July Weekend we had our first and last family trip (meaning just our immediate family of 3) to San Antonio or more specifically the Westin La Canterra in the Hills of San Antonio. It was a great resort complete with multiple pools, restaurants, and activities for the kiddos. They did smores in a firepit every night for the kids as well as face painting and firewords for the 4th of July. We really enjoyed just being together and hanging out at the pool. We ventured to Sea World one day which Julianne loved of course. Justin had up his sleeve to stop at the Shiner Bock Brewery which we did as well.

So this brewery only employes 65 people and they produce like 150,000 bottles of beer a day. Huge 18 Wheelers were standing by to cart the beer all over TX and beyond.

The hotel pool that we still miss!

View of the Adult pool

Ok, so most mornings we ate dry cereal that we brought with us, but this morning we splurged for Julianne and got her a TX shaped Belgian Waffle - yummmm.

Lunching by the pool

Sea World Sea Lions

1st Roller Coaster Ride - Jules and were in the first pair of whales. After it stopped she screamed, "AGAIN!" like 50 times.

Shamu was awesome

Lots to take in for a 3 year old. She talked about it for days. Great trip, family of 3 and soon to be 4!

My Prego Sister

My sister Jenny and I had visions of tons of pregnant pics together since we are only 7 weeks apart and both having girls.....well, that has just not happened due to timing of visits etc. Sooo, here is a picture of her cute belly on her mission trip to South TX about a month ago. She says she is even bigger now. I think she looks precious. My other sister Lauren and Ryan's sister, Chelle and another good friend are throwing Jenny a Baby Shower in Dallas at the end of August and since Jenny and Ryan picked polka dot bedding, we picked this cute invitation from Swoozie's to go with the theme:

I am not big on details

Anyone who knows me well knows I am not big on details - I don't care about exact dates, timing things to perfection, making lists, etc.....never have been. I am a big picture girl with a focus on people (at least that is what Myers Briggs tells me)...For better or for worse, that is me - take it or leave it, but.....I am counting down the days until the end of this pregnancy - I can't tell you if I am in week 29 or 30, but I can tell you that when I get my due date next Wed at my obgyn appt, I just may add one of those pregnancy ticklers to my blog! If I had to guess, my due date will be somewhere between Sept 29th and Oct 2nd. I have never been more ready for a date to come in my life. I am short of breath, having all kinds of pains in my hips that feels like raw nerve exposure, I am up every 2 hours at night (yes, I will be ready for a newborn as far as no sleep is concerned), I am having contractions from about 5 pm to 10 pm every night, and am unable to do much of anything past about 3 or 4 pm besides hope for the end of the day to come soon. Suffice it to say that I will celebrate never being pregnant again - blame it on my short torso or my zero pain tolerance (again, something you are born with), but pregnancy is horrendous in my opinion. Of course it is worth it in the end though. I just have soooo much admiration for those women of our grandmother's generation who had 5 to 10 kids to help out on the farms - can you imagine??? Well, this will be my one and only whine session, so glad that is out of my system. Oh, and the baby's name is....Jenna Elizabeth Chatigny. We are not big into surprises either - can you tell?

A Game of Hope

If you have 5 minutes, this story is well worth your time. Think a football story can't make you cry? Maybe we could all root for someone who needs us - I know I will. :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuxejhBOCOo&feature=related

Justin's Man Trip to Montana

I am so glad Justin got to have this get-a-way with buddies - he needed it and deserved it. I am not trying to win the cool wife award, but I always encourage Justin to take guy trips because he comes back refreshed and we get to have that "excitement" feeling of seeing eachother after being apart for a few days - very healthy, I think! Here are some pics of my handsome hubby in the wild: