Channing and Aniston

I have a lot of catching up to do!!! The past two weeks have been the craziest/best weeks ever! To start it off, Channing Renee was born on Tuesday, November 30 at 3:44 pm. She weighed 8 lbs. 10 oz. and was 20 3/4 inches long! She is absolutely gorgeous, and has our entire family wrapped around her little finger! It sure was a lot to get her here though!!! We went to the hospital Monday night at around 9 pm, and Jodi progressed slowly. Things picked up around 1 am and she was able to get an epidural! That was a life saver so she says!! We soon learned that Channing was head down, but facing up; which would make the delivery much harder. 3 hours of pushing and 2 suction cups later, the baby was stuck and was no longer progressing. Her heart rate also started dipping, which led to the decision for a c-section. Jodi was a little disappointed, but we all just wanted them both to be healthy. The surgery was very quick, and I will never forget seeing Jon walk Channing into the nursery for us all to see her for the first time! SO PRECIOUS!!! Jodi was great also, and has healed well! They were able to come home on Friday...which leads to another amazing thing!

Cody and I found out that we are expecting a girl...ANISTON GWYN!!!!! We had a 4d ultrasound at the Prenatal Experience, and it was phenomenal!!! Both sets of parents, Clint, Cayden, and Dayne were all able to come and share it with us! They laid me on an awesome bed, while the family cozied up on a huge couch, and the ultrasound was projected onto the wall! Aniston was being a little shy at first, moving around so that all we could see was her back and that precious little butt :) She soon opened wide though, and I was the first to notice those little lines!!! "It's a girl" is still ringing in my ears! All Cody has talked about is his little girl ever since! We are so excited for slumber parties, make overs, dress up and all of the many things only little girls bring to a family! And not to mention the closeness that Channing and Aniston will share. They will be more like sisters than cousins!

Right after the ultrasound, we celebrated at Outback for dinner! G-diddy was looking up all of the girl cribs/ bedding he could find on his iPhone while the rest of us planned our shopping trip once dinner was over! We went to Macy's and spent an ungodly amount on the cutest little girl clothes ever!!! Needless to say, Gigi and Mia have us covered in the clothing department for the next few years!!! The connection between Aniston and I has greatly increased now that I know she is Aniston and not just "it"! I am having a daughter...a precious little girl that I can dress up and curl her hair! All of the little kid things like holiday activities are so much more fun with little girls!!! (I say this like I know what it's like with a little boy...sorry guys just a little prejudice at the moment!) Cody has been so excited about getting her room ready for her. He is going to be the best little girl daddy ever!!! Aniston is the perfect addition to our family. I'll post the pictures/video soon (if I can figure out how)!!!

Side Note: Her name is Aniston, not Ann or Annie! There's a reason we are only using one n to spell her name! And we will be having a boy one day, and his name will be Zeke so don't try to steal it! I know it's cute, but get creative...you'll think of something!!! :)

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

In lieu of Thanksgiving, I felt it only necessary to acknowledge all of the things that I am thankful for! Because my list would be way too long if I didn't put a limit on it, we will do a top five count down!!! And God/ my salvation is a given...wouldn't be here without Him and love Him. He is the reason I have all of these things to be thankful for!

5. I am so thankful that I am FINISHED with my AA degree!!!! It seems minuscule, but I thought I would never get there!!!! I went way off track taking prerequisite classes for multiple nursing schools, and have now realized that I don't want to do nursing at all! I thank Jacquelynn for that one. If I did not have her wonderful, real life stories told to me; I would have probably continued to fantasize the whole thing and not actually realize I would be miserable doing it until it was too late. Now I have discovered that I want to do elementary education! No poking, prodding, or cleaning too much bodily fluids required there! I have been accepted to Flagler's Elementary Education program and am in the process of seeing if I can do the University of Phoenix online! Either way, I will begin the last 2 years of my degree in the Spring! Woop woop!!!

4. Friends. We have great friends. Unfortunately some have moved away now for college, but we love them with all of our hearts. Doesn't mean we aren't routing for them to move home though :) Kaylan has been amazing to me this past year. She helped me throughout my wedding, celebrated with me through all of our good news, and helped me when I was stressed! We are such a good balance for each other and love all of the same things! John and Jackie are the friends that you can be completely real with! Nothing against my other friends, but when you are married it is nice to have that married couple that has been there, done that, and can help you laugh your way through things! It is nice also to have friends that have babies and can help prepare us for what's to come...although I am convinced no one is every actually prepared!

3. I absolutely LOVE my in laws, and not very many people can say that! Mrs. Andrea is more like a best friend to me. I know she is always there for me whether it is just to listen, or to give me advice. I have now learned that nobody knows someone better than their momma knows them! I am lucky to be able to call Mrs. Andrea and vent to her about what is going on, knowing that she will never love Cody any less and that she is the ONLY person that can tell me how to communicate better with him, and how to understand what he's thinking. She is truly my second mother, and she is going to be the coolest Gigi to our baby! Mr. Richard is the bomb! He is hilarious and loving, and one of the wisest men I know! He loves me like a daughter, and has from day 1. He is supportive, understanding, and the life of the party! Clint and Cayden were just little things when we first started dating (I could literally lay my head on the top of Clint's when we were standing straight up lol) and I have been able to watch them grow into awesome men of God. They are my only "little" brothers and I am so proud of them both. Cayden is the talker that is constantly making me laugh, and Clint is the gentle, sweet one! Because both sets of my grandparents died at such a young age, I do not even consider Cody's grandparents as "his" but they are mine as well! They have replaced a void in my heart, and I pray that they know how much they have blessed my life.

2. My family. Where to even begin. My parents are such an example to me. They have shown me what love, endurance, dedication, and family means. My mom and dad love each other more now than I believe they ever have, and that speaks volumes to their relationship. I can only hope that Cody and I continue to fall deeper in love with each other after 31 yearsish of marriage. It has been so awesome to see our mother/father-daughter relationships turn into best friends. I literally spend everyday with my mom. I absolutely love our daily lunches, errand running, shopping, talking days. It is something that is easily taken for granted. Cody and I cherish our dinners with them. Almost every night they treat us to a five star meal...I'm convinced that's the main reason Cody loves me! JK! My dad is one of the biggest success stories I know. He has grown a business from absolutely nothing to a major success. He has taught us how to manage our money, invest for our future, plan for our children, prepare an education for them; but more importantly, he has taught us that money is a temporary thing, but love, relationships, and experiences are what will last forever. Our baby is blessed to have Mia and BZ, and I hope that we can be half the parents that they are. Now to my siblings! Jodi is the wise, planner! She keeps my off the whim self in check! She looks out for me and wants to prepare me for everything! I cherish the advice she always shares. Because we are 9 years apart, it took a little while for us to have common interest. Now we are both married, and expecting babies 6 months apart! She is such an example and friend to me. I can't wait to raise our babies together...our baby was perfect timing because we now get to learn from her even more! Dayne is the encourager. He is funny and also a fly by the seat of your pants type of person! I am so proud of what he has already accomplished. He has taught me to follow your dreams, stay committed, and work your booty off despite what anyone tells you and you will get to where you want to be. He is the celebrity of the family!!! I give him 2 more years and he'll be in the BIGS BABY!!!!

1. I am most thankful for my handsome hubby and the beautiful baby he has given me! Cody and I have been best friends for the past 4 years; but over the last 6 months of marriage, we have learned a whole new appreciation for each other. I love him for him and he loves me for me. He encourages me, supports me, and stands by me. I trust him more than anyone else. He makes me laugh. Random story...last week in the middle of the night, Cody stood up and started ranting and raving about free capitalism and America, walks over to our curtain rod, snatches it out of the wall, yells it's all for free capitalism, then crawls back into bed, he never woke up and the next morning remembered nothing! I have learned to do what is best for me and what will make me happy through him. He has shown me that life doesn't have to be completely planned out, but that you need to leave room for adjustments. I love the way he likes to change things up, and will wake up one morning and want to go on a day date to the beach. He is spontaneous, yet knows that at some point things need to get done. I have learned a lot through him. Sometimes I think he knows me better than I know myself (for instance, he has told me for a year that I need to think hard about nursing because he wants me to be happy and wasn't sure if that would make me happy. If only I listened to him earlier!!!)  But what I love him the most for is giving me this wonderful baby. There is nothing in the whole world that I am more thankful for. Even though this baby is still in my belly, I am more connected to it than any other human being. I love it so much it hurts! I cannot wait to meet my sweet pumpkin pie and watch it grow. By the way, I could have possibly felt it the other day! (It was either the baby or gas, but it felt like a flutter in my tummy that I had never felt before!!!) I love you Cody and I love you Aniston/Zeke. Thank you for loving me and letting me share my life with you...sorry baby you have no choice :)

12 Weeks and Marriage Retreat

This week was a very exciting ultrasound!!! We went on Wednesday to check up on the little peanut, and man has it grown! It went from looking like a little speck on the screen, to looking like an actual baby! The cutest, most precious baby I have ever seen might I add. The baby actually jumped in my belly!!! Cody is convinced it is an athlete...he claims it already has a 2 inch vertical! Which is literally how high it jumped..in my belly (I can't get over that part)!!! lol! My mom on the other hand thinks the baby was asleep, and when the doctor poked it with the wand thing on my belly it scared it to death and jumped! The second is probably the more logical solution, but I'll play along with Cody's athlete thing! What he isn't thinking is that GIRL volleyball players jump just as much as any boy sport! Speaking of the sex of the baby, we called the Prenatal Experience which is a 4d ultrasound place and have an appointment for December 11! They said we will know with 100% certainty by then!!!! Which gives us plenty of time to pick up a few things before Christmas :) Like everyone has been telling me, the morning sickness has started to fade away! I wouldn't say that it just completely stopped when I hit 12 weeks, but I definitely see a major improvement!

Cody and I left on Friday and attended our first ever marriage retreat! We ended up having a blast...even Cody was shocked at how much fun we had!! We were able to get to know a lot of great couples in the church, and we learned a lot about each other. It was the first time in a while that we took that much time for each other. I can definitely say that I fell even more in love with my awesome husband. We skipped out on the last few meetings on Sunday and drove into St. Augustine. After a few minor detours, we found all of the historical stuff! lol! We parked near by and walked downtown for hours. It was really neat to see all of the old architecture, roads, and the fort! We ate at a restaurant named Scarlet Ohara's...some of the best fried alligator tail I have ever had!!! Once we were done with the historical stuff, Cody wanted to go to the lighthouse. I had only been once before and it turned out very traumatic. I figured that I was just young, and scared of everything so this wouldn't be a big deal. We got half way up and I started crying like crazy, shaking and scaling the side of the wall! It's not that I was afraid of falling or the lighthouse falling, but I literally felt like someone was going to throw me over the edge! Cody thought it was hilarious! I made it to the top, sat in a corner while Cody walked around outside, and slowly went back down. Needless to say, I will NEVER climb another lighthouse. And it will be a miracle if I let our kids go to a lighthouse! lol! Cody took me to the outlet mall after as a reward, and ended up buying himself two pairs of shoes...still waiting on my reward! lol!

Bye,Bye Baby Bella :(

Last week was a pretty hard week, with some good things thrown in there! I'll start with the bad, so that we can finish on the good! Don't want everyone feeling all depressed after reading this! Lol! My week started off with my puppy, Bella, getting sick. We left her at Pet Paradise last weekend while we were in Destin, and she got into something which caused a bacterial infection. This infection became my worst nightmare. I woke up on Monday to walk Cody out when he left for work and was hit with an overpowering smell. I turned on the light, and discovered that Bella had exploded in her crate. It felt like that seen off of Daddy Daycare when he walked into the bathroom after the little boy went potty and the horror movie music started playing. I ended up having to throw everything away and left her outside until I could take her to the groomer...I could not even fathom bathing her myself. When I picked her up from the groomer, which was a whopping $60, I had to take her to the vet...another $150 and 2 antibiotics. And the fact that I had to miss work and handle this all by my lonesome didn't help.

Well Bella finally started to feel better, and Lilah had to go and get sick. Which caused another missed day at work, throwing away our dining room rug, and more money. All of this led Cody and I to the conclusion that 2 dogs and a new born baby were going to be way to much! So we had to say good bye to Bella last night. Cody and I got Bella together the summer of our 11th grade year...she was our first baby, and we will always love her sweet little teddy bear self. We gave her to the mother of one of my sisters close friends, which made things much easier. She was so happy, it didn't even phase her that we were leaving. It broke our hearts. We are now trying to decide what to do about Lilah :( Cody wants to keep her, and in my heart I do too! I just know  how much stress a dog can cause financially, and physically. We will see what happens, but needless to say; this has been one of the saddest weeks ever. We have vowed to never ever ever get attached to another dog again.

Now to the good! We had dinner on Tuesday night with some fantabulous people! John and Jackie cooked homemade chili, corn bread, and pumpkin pie for us! It was so nice to hang out with friends that have so much in common with us! And I am learning SO much about babies from them and Hilary! When I met Aubrey, I felt like I was meeting a celebrity!!! lol! She is such a good and happy baby! It was so funny because she kept trying to nurse when she would get close to me...that baby loves her some boobies!!! Jackie has a Doppler machine thingy so we were able to hear the babies heart beat for the first time! It was so amazing. It was steady and strong, consistently in the 140's! Cody was so cute...before we left he asked if we could hear it again :) We are completely awestruck by it all! We go on Wednesday for our next ultrasound!!!The baby is now the size of a large plum, so it will look a lot different then the little speck we saw the first time! All of its organs and systems are completely formed now (way to go little peanut!!!) so for the next 28 weeks and 2 days it will just continue to grow and everything will start to function!

OH BABY!

This week I have learned a lot about my baby! 1) I cannot take prenatal vitamins in the morning, and 2) the baby hates whataburger breakfast!!! I guess that's a good thing though. Not only is it teaching me to be healthy, but maybe it will make healthy habits early!!! By far the most embarrassing day of my pregnancy was on Thursday. I had to run out of class to spend 30 minutes puking in the TCC bathroom. Any germ-a-phobe like myself would be in misery from that alone, but as if that weren't enough; I had to interrupt class again to get my purse and run out for round 2. When I thought the coast was clear, I tried to get to my car as quickly as possible. Little did I know I would be puking in the bushes the whole way with tons of people giving me the "what did she do last night" look. Not a good experience! However, the baby bump is slowly starting to grow!!! It's so exciting to see the progression! Although no one else can really tell, it will only be a matter of time before I have a bowling ball in my belly :) It seems that all I do is think about the baby....what it's personality will be like, who it will look like, will it play sports or play instruments, will it be a smarty pants and go to Harvard?! So many things we get to look forward to learning about this baby!!!!

On a random note, we spent the weekend in Destin with my parents! We had a blast just being lazy, eating, shopping, and eating some more! We went to see the movie Hereafter, which could have possibly been the worst movie I have ever seen, but my dad somehow found something to like about it so it was worth it! I love that my parents include us on all of their getaways! It is so nice to now have the "friend zone" relationship with them. Now that I'm all grown up and having a baby of my own our relationship has evolved to best friends that give really good honest advice when needed! Anyways, the beaches were so beautiful...nothing is better than the sound of waves crashing on the shore. One day we will live by the ocean!!!!

Tonight we helped with the youth event at RPT! Cody got to break out his football skills that have not been used in the past six months for some ultimate frisbee! It was pretty hilarious to watch, but everyone enjoyed themselves! And Cody came in 2nd place for the 3 legged race...granted he trucked an 11 year old to do so. What a great leader!!! lol Haley and I were in the crippled/prego group so we got to sit around and chat for hours...I love that God gave Clint a down to earth girl that enjoys being with our family!!! Tomorrow I'm off to work...I'll be 11 weeks on Wednesday!!!

**Correction: If the baby is a boy we have decided to name him Zeke Butler instead of Zeke Benjiman! And Cody calls him Zekey when he talks to my belly! Lol! The girl name hasn't changed!**

Let's See How This Goes!

So since I am currently obsessed with Hilary Buckson's blog, and pretty much stalk her baby, I decided to give this a go myself! Thought it would be a fun way to "document" my life...I think this new found desire is mainly due to the fact that I am pregnant and want to remember everything when I'm old and grey! I can never get into the whole journal thing, so I'm hoping that this is a more practical option! So here we go....

I've been at work all day rigging up the doors so that my boxer, Lilah, will stop escaping! She has this really cool, but really annoying talent of opening doors. She's escaped 3 times today...that's her all time record! I tried putting a chair in front of the door, but she figured out that it can roll and has been moving it. I am hoping that she is now so exhausted from running from me, that she will nap until it's time to go home.

On a brighter note, Cody started training for his new job in Greenville! I know it is SUPER boring for him, but he is loving the fact that his hours will be from 1-7 now. One thing I have learned from our 5 months of marriage is that he is NOT a morning person! He can stay up all night long, but refuses to wake up in the mornings. Hopefully the fact that he is such a night owl will help once the baby gets here!

Speaking of the baby, let me tell you all how I've felt! HORRIBLE!!! Morning sickness is such an understatement. I have had all day nausea. I'm pretty sure that a man came up with the term "morning sickness". It makes me feel guilty sometimes because I have to force myself to eat, and what I can eat isn't the best nutrition for the baby. Good thing they make prenatal vitamins! And the exhaustion is kicking my tail!!! It was all worth it when Cody and I got to see the baby for the first time though! We invited my mom, Mrs. Andrea (Cody's mom), and my sis Jodi to come along. It was an amazing experience. Although it was still early, we were able to see the baby's head, body, arms, legs, and heart beat!!! It was so surreal. I think it took seeing it for us to actually believe that WE formed a baby! We can not wait to see it again. Our next appointment is November 10! It's pretty funny because Cody does not even comprehend that it could be a girl! Since the day we found out he has referred to the baby as he or him. Either way, baby Zeke Benjiman or Aniston Gwyn will be a HUGE life changer! We are so excited!!! One of the things that made me fall in love with Cody was his love for kids. I knew he was going to be such a great father. Didn't expect it to be so soon, but some of the best things in life are those that are least expected!!! Can't wait to meet this little baby in my belly :)