Ashley's arrival story

I thought I would update everyone on how Ashley arrived early!

On Saturday morning, I was scheduled to have my maternity pictures taken at 10 am. On the way down there, I started to feel a few contractions. But since I was so determined to have these done before she arrived, I ignored them! Probably not the best idea I ever had, but it worked out ok in the end.

We got the photographers house a little after 10 am. My mom met us there to help with Madison while Rob and I got the pictures done. The pictures are going to be so cute, I cannot wait to share them once I get to, but that is another posting!

Towards the end of the session, they were coming more and more frequent, but I was still not timing them, as I was still hoping they would end by themselves. When I realized that they might not end by themselves, I thought to myself "Where do I want to have my 'last meal' before I have a baby?" That's right, I knew it was about that time.

If you know me at all, you know I LOVE mexican food. One of the best places in Atlanta is Jalisco's Mexican Restaurant, and we happened to be so close!

I most certainly over ate, but that thought of not eating real food again until Sunday night made me very sad. Once we got home, we put Madison down for her nap and Rob and I rested while I watched the KU basketball game. I started to really time them, and they were 8 minutes apart. 8 minutes apart isn't bad for a normal delivery. But since I was a scheduled c-section, 8 minutes was a little too close. However, I was stubborn and waited for them to get to 5 minutes apart, which they did!

At about 6-7 minutes apart, I called my mom and told her she needed to come on up to stay with Madison because I think we are having this baby today. She was very excited to hear those words, and was excited to get to spend some more time with Madison. Once my mom got there and confirmed that I was having contractions, we called the doctor and started to pack our hospital bag. The on-call doctor called back and told us to head to Labor and Delivery.

I started to feel nervous at this point. This was for real, we were going to have a new baby by the end of the day.

We got to the hospital around 5 pm; they got us in a room very quickly and started to monitor me and the baby. They examined me, and once they talked to the doctor again, we were scheduled to go into the operating room at 8...things were happening very quickly! I had my epidural put in about 7:30, and once I was numb, we headed to the operating room.

We arrived in the operating room at 8:05; she joined the world at 8:15 pm. I was wheeled into the recovery room at about 8:45 pm; it was a very quick delivery, which was great!

We had to wait in the recovery room much longer than we anticipated because the transport team took forever to get there! Which may have been ok because I was quite sick to my stomach while we were in there.

Once we got into our assigned room, NaiNai was waiting to meet her new grand-daughter! This was made possible by my best friend Amanda! She went over to sit at my mom's house while Madison was sleeping so that NaiNai could be here! That meant the world to me! Thanks so much Amanda, I love you!

We could not be any happier to welcome this sweet little princess into our family! We now feel complete, thanks to Ashley!

Ashley McIntyre Russo

7 pounds 6.3 ounces 19 inches

Saturday January 28 2012 at 8:15 pm

Welcome Ashley McIntyre!

Ashley decided to join our family early! She arrived Saturday January 28, 2012 at 8:15pm. She weighed 7 lbs 6.3 ounces and is 19 inches! Here are a few pictures from her first 2 days with us. We hope to get more tomorrow, but we shall see!
Sweet kisses from daddy!

Me and my new little angel!

Me with both my baby girls! I am so lucky!

I hope you enjoy the preview. I hope to get more pictures taken tomorrow and get them uploaded.

Halloween!

We had a great Halloween this year! First, we stopped by HIES for the Pumpkin Patch that they had the weekend before Halloween. We went with my friend Lindsay and her family, we had a great time, and got a pumpkin! Here is Madison and I in the "pumpkin patch" at HIES. This might be one of my favorite pictures so far!
On October 30th, we went to Boo at the Zoo at Zoo Atlanta. Madison had a great time. Here she is loving the elephants so much that she would not turn around for a picture with NaiNai. She LOVED it when the elephant made noises...she got so excited!Here is Madison in sitting with the pumpkins at the zoo...again, she LOVED everything about the event, such a great one!

Madison was so excited to see the pigs...it was adorable! Again, she would not look at the camera, but that is OK. I love that she was so excited to see them!

And here we have Halloween night...I was trying to get her to sit with me on the front porch, epic fail. She was too excited about everything; again, I was ok with that, because she was so cute!

Here she is at the end of trick or treating, she had a blast! She even carried her little orange pumpkin around the whole time. When we went to the front door of houses, she would go with me and "knock" on the front door as I rang the doorbell. She patiently waited for the door to be opened so that she could get her candy! She learned very quickly!

We had a great time taking our little ladybug around the neighborhood! I cannot even imaging next year when we have two little girls to parade around our neighborhood. Life is going to change so much in the next year, I cannot wait to see what it will bring! I hope you enjoy the pictures!!

Saying goodbye...

Almost three weeks ago, we said goodbye to my sister and her family as they moved across the world to East Asia. It was a very sad weekend for everyone. Here are a few pictures that we took the last night we saw them.Here is NaiNai with her boys, doing what they love to do most...listening to NaiNai read them a book!

Here are my sweet boys, they stayed up so late that night; almost later than I did!

This is one of my favorites! This is me with all the kids...so hard to believe that next time we see them all, there will be one more kid in the mix!

I miss them all terribly, but glad they are enjoying their time over there. So glad also that I get to skype with them! I can't write too much because it makes me so sad to think about them being gone! We love them so much and miss them terribly!

More beach pictures...

Here are a few more pictures from our beach trip! Hope you enjoy. We had a great time despite the chilly weather!

Beach Trip...

In October, we ventured down to St. Simon's Island to my moms beach house. We always have a blast there! Here are a few pictures from our trip, more to come once I can get time at home to sit on the computer; hopefully tonight! Here is Madison trying to "read" my book! We were sitting on the front deck enjoying the nice weather, it was a bit chilly, but still so nice! And I put my book down for a minute, and she came over to my chair, picked up the book, carried it back to her chair, climbed up to the top of the recliner, and started "reading" it! It might have been one of the cutest things she has done!!!
We also took her on a bike ride while we were there. She was not the biggest fan in the beginning, mainly because of the helmet, she does NOT like things on her head. But in the end, I think she began enjoying to ride. Once she knew I was there, since she was on the back of Rob's bike, she did much better.

This picture was just too cute not to share. This was at the beginning of our trip leaving Atlanta. It was about 9:30 am. She had only been awake for maybe 2 hours. She was so tired, that she fell asleep for about an hour and a half on the way down there. She has not taken a morning nap in so long, it was kinda bizarre.

After she woke up, we turned on the DVD player for her, which was the best invention ever! She loved being able to watch Mickey and Minnie. She would get so excited to see the different shows come on (I bought a few DVDs for the drive)!

While we were down there, Madison tried some new types of food. She tried crab, which she liked, and shrimp. She was not a huge fan of the shrimp, just like mommy!

Some cute new pictures!

The past few weeks have flown by. Here are some updated pictures of Madison that I took with my phone, so please excuse the graininess...

 Madison and her cute little pigtails....

 Maddie in her UGA cheerleading outfit! I don't have anything for KU yet, but I am working on getting her something!

Here is a picture of Maddie and I before Rob and I left for the UGA game...she is so cute!

There are more to come, but this is what I have at work with me! Hope you enjoy!

16 Weeks and 16 Months

Wow...time sure has flown by. The past 16 months with Madison have been the best ever, which gives the new baby a big hurdle to get over!

I thought I would post about our daily life with a 16 month old and being 16 weeks.

First, we start off the day very early when she has to go to "school" because I have to be at work early. She gets up about 6:25-6:30, which means I get up about an hour earlier to get myself ready!

I drop her off at daycare, then head to work. She typically eats breakfast around 7:30, then has a snack around 9:00 am with her class.

Then, around 11:00, they all eat lunch at the table, in a big girl chair(for little kids), which is just adorable! Around noon, they all take a nap on the floor on mats. This was very scary for me in the beginning as she has never slept anywhere but her crib. But Ms. Francis said she is doing GREAT at her naps, and usually sleeps for the full 2 hour nap time.

Once all the kids have woken up, they all get another snack. Then, they either play outside, if it is not too hot out, or have fun inside.

I try to pick her up around 5:00, but sometimes I am running late and do not get there until 6:00. Which means that she is at daycare sometimes 11 hours! I feel so bad for her on these days, but she does not seem to care at all. She loves her "school", which is GREAT!

Once I have picked up my munchkin, we head home for dinner, which sometimes I pick up on the way home...but who has time that late to cook a full meal! After dinner, we play for a bit, I try to get her outside if it is not too hot. Then, about 7:45-8:00, sometimes earlier, sometimes later, we head up for a bath and bed time.

She LOVES bedtime, because we read to her her favorite books. She can pick out her books from the top of the bedside table. If she does not want that book read, she will shake her head no. Her favorites right now are Barnyard Dance, Pajama Time, and Five Little Monkeys.

After her books, I try to read her a prayer from her children's prayer book. Then we say our prayers before I put her in bed for night with ALL her monkeys, bunnies, and blankets that she MUST have in bed with her! She might be a tad high maintenance!

New words...

I feel like she is saying new words daily, which I know is not true. But here is a list of all the words that she can say and that we can understand!

Please, Thank you, Bailey, Dada, Mama, baby, diaper

When she wants more, she does the baby sign language and says please! If she is hungry, she will go to her high chair at our house and say please. When tired, she will sit on the bottom step and point up for the bed, so sweet! She most certainly knows how to communicate what she wants!

At her 15 month check up, It old the doctor that she is really wanting to take her diaper off at night and during nap time. She can also tell you when she needs a new diaper or when she has poop in there. She told us to try to potty train her over one weekend; we have not tried it yet, but hoping to this weekend. Keep your fingers crossed.

She weighed 20 lbs 5 oz at her appointment, which was in the 10th percentile, while she is 31.75 inches tall, which was in the 90th percentile. The dr wants us to come back for a "weight" check appointment. I cannot believe it with all the food that she eats! I guess she is so active these days at school. Her calories are going to her height, not her weight!

Back to the new baby...

We are expecting to find out the gender of baby number this Saturday, August 27th. We will keep everyone posted once we find out...I am trying to come up with a creative way to tell people, so check back!

I know that this was long, but we had a lot to catch up on!

Exciting times ahead...

Rob and I are very excited to announce that we are expecting baby number 2 in February! We cannot wait to see what this little one is, and see its cute personality grow. Madison does not quite get the concept yet, but that is expected since she is only 15 months old. There are going to be tons of new changes that come along with this one...the main one is that Madison will not be the only child anymore!

We ask for prayers for a healthy pregnancy for me and for the healthy baby! I will keep the blog updated with weekly pictures of my quickly growing belly, and any other updates that we have.

Maddie's One Year Pictures....

Last Thursday we had Madison's One Year pictures done at Peidmont Park. They turned out fabulous, but I had no doubt that they would since the photographers are AWESOME! Here are a few of my favorites...I hope you enjoy!

Our little family! Here she is trying to walk up the hill...her first hill ever!

Is she a natural or what?!?!?

So excited...

Giving her monkey some loving...she loves that monkey, it goes EVERYWHERE with us!

I love the police smocked dress...my sister gave her this for her birthday and I LOVE it...she can wearit next summer too since it is so long on her!

Hamming it up!

So small in the big city! Great place for pictures!

I could never have imagined that I could love someone as much as I love this little girl! She truely is a blessing to us!