Every single wrinkle was worth it...

This is something that I find very difficult to write about, but for some reason, today I feel like I have the courage to do it. I'm talking about that dreaded post-baby belly!!! None of us want to look at it and we all avoid vertical mirrors at department stores. We all pin different recipes that promise quick results and try different fad diets because "my friend tried it and lost 10 lbs in 1 week!". I am so guilty of all of these. And it makes me so sad to think that we kill ourselves for our pre-pregnancy bodies when the truth is, we'll never get it back...and it's okay. Sure, Britney Spears and Beyonce did it, but I sure don't have a full-time trainer and personal chef to help me. I have a full-time job and 2 kids...it ain't happening! I do, however, have an amazing husband that tries cooking me healthy meals (when he's home) and encourages me to live a healthy lifestyle. Most importantly, he still tells me I'm pretty. I am so proud to say that in the past 2 months, by eating so much better, drinking a lot more water, and running twice a week before I pick up the kids (when I can), I have lost 12 pounds and my clothes are finally fitting again...maybe even a little baggy. I am so excited to be loosing my baby weight finally and my goal is to loose 18-20 more pounds by March 8 (Keira's 1st birthday). But I would never want to loose my "baby belly". The wrinkles are most definitely an eyesore (for me), but they are there for a damn good reason. They are there because I carried 2 beautiful, healthy babies and brought them into the world. It took us 5 tries for those 2 babies, and as much as I hated loosing the other 3, they will ALWAYS make me so grateful for Dylan and Keira. And thank you, mommy, for your wrinkles :-)

I found this on Pinterest this morning and it is SO true...every single wrinkle was worth it...
(I couldn't find the original source of this photo, so I'm not sure who I should give credit to)

Keira Addyson Marshall

She's here!!! She was born on Friday, March 8, 2013 at 12:19pm. She weighed 8lbs, 5oz and was 19.75 inches long. For the two days before the scheduled C-section I was having some really strong cramps...I told myself I was having contractions, but I wasn't 100% sure. They would be consistent, but then stop. When Keith and I checked into the hospital and they hooked me up to all of the fun machines, I was pretty surprised to see the line going off the charts...I really was having contractions and these were very much consistent. If my C-section wasn't already scheduled, I'm sure I would've had her on that day anyway.

Surgery went just as I remembered it last time, including Dr. Garner's random comments and conversation that entertained and helped calm me. Seriously, if anyone is looking for an OB/GYN in Plano, I highly recommend him! As soon as Keira was born and I got my first glimpse of her I was so shocked to see how much she looked like Dylan when he was born. It was amazing. Once I returned to my recovery room and held her for the first time, I instantly fell in love. I've always been so worried that I would never love anyone as much as I love Dylan...he's my whole world. But I now see what everyone has been telling me...both of my children mean everything to me and I am so in love with both of them equally. Our family is complete!

"I'm ready for surgery!" (sense the sarcasm)

I'm here!

My new family!

Big brother visiting little sister at the hospital...we had to use the iPad to lure him into the room the first day.

With his new pirate boat that Keira got him...

Snuggles with her daddy...

The Lewis family came to visit!

Proud daddy :-)

We have adjusted pretty well to life as a family of 4. And aside from him getting antsy from being home a lot, Dylan has been doing great with Keira home. He notices her and asks about her, but doesn't seem to really care very much. I can't wait for him to get to go back to school on Monday so he can get back into his routine and get to play with his friends again. Keith has been great about taking him out everyday, but I know he's getting pretty bored at home. Keira has been a GREAT baby!!! When Dylan was a newborn he cried a lot and we had no idea why or how to get him to stop. It was a very rough first month. It has been the exact opposite with Keira...she sleeps most of the time and only cries when she's hungry. Things have been so much easier this time...here's hoping it stays that way! We are so blessed to have this new bundle of joy to love and snuggle with.

Here are a few of the newborn pictures I took of Keira the other day. I was nervous because I've never taken pictures of a newborn before, but I love how these came out...I may be biased, but I think she is absolutely beautiful!!!

39 Weeks...she's almost here!

Keira will be here tomorrow! And I'm still more worried about Dylan than about her and I. I'm hoping things will go smoothly and he won't be upset about the baby and about me being in the hospital and not home with him, but I guess we won't know until tomorrow. But either way, we're all so excited to have Keira here...I can't wait to sleep on my stomach and be comfortable again!

I noticed I haven't been taking a lot of pictures lately and really wanted to get some of Dylan while he was still an only child, so I snapped a few this past week...

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

He loved his hat so much, he wore it again the next day...

And again the next morning...

Sleepy baby!

"Mommy, get that annoying camera away from me!"

Our last picture as a family of 3!!!

I will try and let everyone know about Keira's arrival as soon as I have a free chance...so it may take a few weeks :-)

Keira's New Nursery!

Well the nursery is finally done and I'm so excited with how it came out...now we just need a baby girl in it!!! Keith did an AMAZING job of getting it all ready and doing everything I asked him to ;-) What a guy!

Keith's purple "man room"/guest bedroom before...

...and after!

I ordered the mobile from Etsy...

...and the beautiful bedding is from Pottery Barn Kids! Of course her Gloworm is waiting for her, and Dylan keeps trying to climb in the crib and steal it.

I got this idea from Pinterest, sheet music framed

(trombone parts for daddy and French horn parts for mommy!)

The only thing missing is the baby monitor that I still need to order...it comes with 2 cameras so I can keep an eye on both kiddos at the same time :-)

(Do I still have a camera in Dylan's room...yes! Do I plan on getting rid of it anytime soon..NO! I love being able to watch him play with his rocket pillow or talk to his Gloworm, Ducky, or Elmo when he's supposed to be sleeping...best part of my evenings)

Welcome to Keira's room!!!

I had another ultrasound today...and Keira is head down!!! Not sure when it happened, but even the sonographer was giddy with excitement. We were finally able to see her profile and even saw her yawning and chewing on the umbilical cord (apparently the ultrasound was boring her). She is weighing 7 lb. right now and they're anticipating she'll be around 8-8 1/2 lb. by the time we kick her out, which puts her at the 75th percentile for weight...it doesn't look like she'll be as big as Dylan was, hopefully!

I've been so tired and uncomfortable these past few weeks and then this weekend I was hit with a sinus infection. I've been absolutely miserable but being so close to the end, I'm trying to get through it without drugs. I don't think I'll make it much longer...I need my sleep! I'm also not thrilled with how emotional I've been getting lately...crying over songs I hear on the radio, crying when I think about Dylan not being my only baby anymore, I'm even watching Sex and the City and balling over the scene where Big leaves Carrie at the alter! I'm hoping I go into labor before our scheduled C-section...what are my chances of that happening?!?!

Month 9 and Baby Shower

Another take!

This past weekend Keith's parents came up to visit and his mom invited some of my friends to lunch to celebrate Keira...it was extremely thoughtful of her and we had a great time swapping baby stories and sharing advice.

Thank you all for coming and being a part of our lives!

And "thank you" to my mother-in-law for everything she's done for us! She's so excited to be a grandma again!!!

I'm getting very uncomfortable and desperate to get Keira out as soon as I can. She'll be full-term on Tuesday and I plan on being ready for her anytime after that. My blood pressure has been on the rise and I'm hoping for some bed-rest in the near future. This weekend I want to finish up the nursery, finish out the registry, get our hospital bags packed, and get everything washed and where it needs to go...the countdown has begun!

Before Baby #2 *UPDATED*

Seeing as how Keira (Baby #2) is only 5 weeks away, I thought I would update my list and see how much I was actually able to accomplish that I wanted to...

• Finish paying off my student loans
• DONE! Paid off last July!
• Potty-train Dylan
• DONE! He actually went potty completely independently this weekend...freaked us out to hear him in there peeing when neither one of us was in there with him!
• Take a photography class
• *sigh*, not done :-( However I have a few in mind to take this summer from Clickin Moms...
• Buy a new camera lens
• DONE!
• Take Dylan to Sea World
• Not done...our plan to do it last Spring Break didn't pan out...
• Redecorate Dylan's room, possibly with a new "big boy" bed if we decided to reuse the crib
• DONE! I'll get around to some pics soon!
• Take a long family vacation somewhere far away
• Not done :-( We'll just save up for a super fun one for the 4 of us :-)
• Start a "Marshall Family" scrapbook
• DONE! Started...just not finished...
• I want Keith to get a new computer...he really needs a new one
• DONE! He's loving his new iMac!
• Clean out the closets in Dylan's room and guest bedroom...there's no space anywhere!
• DONE! We weren't able to clean out the entire closet in Keira's room (Keith has too many "memories"), but at least she has half of her closet.
• Have a weekend getaway with Keith
• *sigh* not done :-( It's probably too late for it now, but hopefully one day...
• And cherish every moment I have with Keith and Dylan...my boys :-)
• I would like to think of it as a continuing project, but I'll definitely have to pay close attention to this one for the next few weeks...my boys are everything to me!

So unfortunately not everything was accomplished, but life won't be over when Keira gets here...there's still plenty of time to do the rest on my list (I'll just have to do them with an adorable newborn attached to me 24/7...wouldn't have it any other way). A recent sonogram showed that she was still in breech position, but luckily everything is looking great, and thankfully my fluid levels are looking better. She's currently measuring 5lbs, 4oz, and it doesn't look like she'll be the 9 1/2 lbs baby Dylan was. And at last glance, she has a full head of dark hair, like Big Brother was born with...so curious to see if she'll look anything like him! Now, here are a couple of pics, because every post has to have some Dylan in it!

Playing in the leaves!!!

Month 8

Self-Portrait Maternity Pics

I've been trying really hard to put myself in front of the camera lately...one of my photography goals this year. So I've been counting on my tripod and wireless remote to help me with this. As much as I wanted to have professional maternity pictures done (I didn't get any done with Dylan and I really want to remember what I looked like pregnant...it may be my last), I also wanted to challenge myself to do them on my own. Luckily Dylan was very willing to cooperate! Unfortunately I didn't realize my 50mm lens was on Manual Focus until after we were done and home...they're not completely out of focus, but definitely not as sharp as I would have liked. But with every obstacle, I learn something new!

These were done days later...I love how they turned out in black and white!

Today I attempted a mini-shoot with Dylan for his Valentine's Day cards...I had a $20 code from Shutterfly that had to be used by Wednesday, and I wasn't letting it go! Again, he did a great job of cooperating...who is this kid?!?! Who cares, I'm loving it!

Yes, he is in his PJs...he was modeling, I wasn't adding a wardrobe change into the mix!

Work is even crazier than ever, but I am determined to have every kid tested, report written, and ARD held before I leave. At my last appointment we scheduled our C-section date for March 8, so that leaves me with 7 weeks to go...however Dr. Garner told me to be prepared to go sooner if I have to, and I am! We have also FINALLY decided on a name for our little girl...Keira Addyson Marshall. We have most of the nursery ready, Keith has been working hard to get as much done as he can when he's home. Pictures will definitely be posted once it's all ready!