Audrey and Claire - The Last 7 Months

Audrey and Claire had a great summer full of camps and activities.  Claire attended several camps at her preschool where they explored different countries and customs, traveled back in time to the Old West and got down and dirty with bugs and plants. Audrey attended a variety of camps - art, science, track and field and guitar camp.

In August, we had a very special event for our family. My youngest brother, Kyle, got married to a fabulous young woman, Briana, who is definitely the perfect match for him. Audrey and Claire were asked to be the flower girls and they were so excited to be a part of the wedding party.  The wedding was wonderful and the bride was beautiful. I am very thankful that our family was blessed with such an amazing sister-in-law. I will be officially getting another one in less than a year... Tyler proposed to Christina last winter and they have a January 2013 wedding planned. 

Audrey and Claire with the bride at the salon  

Audrey and Claire waiting for the bride to walk down the aisle

Did I mention that Audrey got her braces off just in time for the wedding? She was so excited... She wanted (and got) a smorgasboard of all the things that she couldn't eat with her braces. Our first stop was Steak 'n Shake.  

Claire had a very special August as well... She officially became a student! Her first day of Kindergarten was great! She is a very independent child so there wasn't any issues with saying goodbye. In fact, she didn't really want to be walked to class... Luckily for me the school requires all Kindergarten students to be walked to and from class. But I am sure that next year we will be using the car loop drop-off.  

 Audrey & Claire with Daddy at school

Claire began playing soccer this fall. Not only did she enjoy it, she was really good at it. She is very excited about the spring season which starts in March. Santa brought her a soccer goal to practice in the backyard and a Mia Hamm soccer video that she has watched almost every day.

Audrey is still concentrating on her music and developing her talent in amazing ways. She composes music and is currently working on a song with lyrics - all of which she is writing herself. I find myself in awe of her natural talent every time she plays. She is in the process of recording a CD with her compositions.  I will post a new video of her playing soon. 

March 18 - Going Home and Saying Goodbye

2 days old

On Wednesday, March 16th we left the hospital with our two-day-old little girl and went home - home to two anxious big sisters, one excited dog (who had no clue how much his world was about to change) and a loving grandmother who came to visit and help with the big kids while we were at the hospital.  The first night at home went smoothly - I should tell you that Emma is and has been an amazingly good baby from the beginning.  As exciting and wonderful as it was to have Emma home and finally be together as our new family of five, we also were facing a very difficult journey.  A little background here would probably be helpful - Brock's dad had been diagnosed with gastric cancer in late November/early December and the prognosis was not as favorable as we had hoped.  But the doctors thought that if he underwent chemotherapy that it might give him more time.  Unfortunately the chemo was not successful.  We received a call telling us that we needed to come to Atlanta as soon as possible.  So we got my mom a flight home on Thursday and loaded up the car that night to leave as early as possible on Friday morning (March 18). 

With a four-day-old infant and a mom who was three days post-op, the trip took almost twice as long as usual due to the increased number and lengthier stops that we had to make.  Every time that we stopped I worried that we were taking too long and would get to Atlanta too late.  But as we talked to Brock's mom and brother throughout the day we knew that his dad seemed to be holding on to see us and meet Emma. When we arrived around 6:30 that night, we went straight to his room to see him.  It was such a bittersweet moment and one that we will share with Emma when she is older.  The way Grandaddy's eyes lit up and the happiness that you could see on his face when he saw Emma was one that both warmed and broke my heart at the same time.  He wanted to hold her so Brock placed her in the crook of his dad's arm and the two of them laid there both soaking in the goodness of the moment.  When Brock started to pick up Emma , his dad said, "Just a little bit longer" and I felt my heart break just a little bit more.  Knowing that they were both going to miss out on getting to know each other seemed terribly unfair - a huge injustice to both of them and to all of the family for that matter.  I hated the fact that my children, who loved Grandaddy so very, very much, were in a sense being robbed.  I have tried over the past two months to look at our loss in as positive of a way as possible.  Grandaddy instilled a love of music in Audrey and she is blossoming into a very talented musician, both with the piano and guitar.  She composes her own music and I know that the love she has for it is in great part to the music that she shared with Grandaddy throughout her childhood.  He instilled a love of nature in Claire, who is always wanting to know more about animals and plants, and I wish terribly that I had half the knowledge that Grandaddy had about birds and such.  While he only had a few days with Emma, I know that the stories and memories that we share with her about her Grandaddy will be positive influences in her life.  

Grandaddy was the best grandfather.  He wasn't afraid to play with the children or share stories from his life with them.  He  played music for them and they in turn danced and danced in the den (or wherever we were), he took them fishing, never making a difference in what the boys (or boy, in this case) could do over the girls.  They were just as capable in his eye as what any boys could do and as a mom of three girls I loved that about him.  He took the whole family on beach vacations where he always took all of the grandchildren crab hunting - and inevitably was always bitten by one.  The grandchildren loved spending time with him and he enjoyed spending time with them just as much.  He was a very "hands-on" grandparent and I am thankful for every moment that my children had to spend with him. 

When I think about how much has changed since we found out in August that we were expecting a very unexpected baby, it seems like God knew that we would need an angel to help us through the hard times ahead so He sent Emma to us.  Just holding her makes the hole in heart not hurt so much.  In the first days after Grandaddy passed, Emma helped everyone.  It is hard to be quite so sad when you see this perfect little person in your arms... this perfect little person who life has just begun and has the whole world ahead of her.  We still miss Grandaddy every day and I know that we will always miss him.  But I look forward to sharing his stories and memories with all of our children.  Below is a short slideshow with some of our favorite photos of Grandaddy...

March 14 - Here Comes Baby!

So it's Monday, March 14th, approximately 6:30 in the a.m., we have made it through registration and are settled into the birthing suite.  The nurses came in and started all of the wonderful paperwork that has to be completed and they readied me for my IV and such.  Inductions, in my opinion, are great!  Everything runs smoothly...  For me, it just made the whole experience much more relaxed and enjoyable.  The nurses were concerned that this delivery might progress too quickly this time around since my labor with Claire was only two hours start to finish, so they started my epidural earlier than usual  that  way I wouldn't miss the window of opportunity to get it.  So while I was only 3 cm and with pain ranking a mere 2 on the 10 point scale, the wonderful anesthesiologist came in to start my epidural.  Now this did slow my labor progression but I was in absolutely zero pain so I did not see that as a problem. Here is a photo to show you how Brock and I spent the couple of hours waiting for everything to progress...

Notice the iPad is sitting on the table next to Brock's leg... We watched a movie and then some stand-up comedians... Nothing like some good laughs before delivering a baby. ;) Speaking of having a baby, here's a photo of me in labor...

See why epidurals are such great things... "Active labor" and not one ounce of pain! :)  The pitocin drip was started around 9:00 a.m. and around 2:00 p.m. the nurse called the doctor in... It was showtime!  The doctor came in and checked my progression and said that Emma was ready to greet the world.  One, two, three pushes and here she was! (Thank you Pilates!!!)  Our perfect little baby girl, Emma Catherine Ballard said "Hello World!" at 2:25 p.m. on the 14th of March 2011.  Brock cut her umbilical cord (just like he did with all of our children) and then the nurses weighed, measured and scored our little bundle - 7 lbs 2 oz, 19.5 inches and 9s on both Apgar tests.  See... I told you she was perfect!  Here are some photos of Emma shortly after delivery...

 

We spent the rest of the afternoon loving, holding and just soaking in all of the goodness that comes with a new baby.  My mom brought the "Big Sisters" to visit later that day and they were so excited to meet their new little sister.  I had the most adorable shirts made for them that said "Big Sis Audrey" and "Big Sis Claire".  Emma had a gown that said "Lil Sis Emma".  (You will see the shirts/gown in one of the photos below.) Claire was the most excited I think because she was finally a big sister like Audrey.  We explained that they are both special roles because Audrey is now a double big sister and Claire is now a big and little sister.  Emma has a special role too being a double little sister.  Our hope is that these "special" roles will help alleviate any issues with being labeled the "oldest", "middle" and "baby" later.  Here are some photos of the big sisters meeting the little sister...

Claire couldn't wait to hold Emma...

Daddy and his three girls :)

Audrey holding Emma

Claire holding Emma

The Girls!

 Three Sisters

Our Trip to Babyland General

While we were in Atlanta for the Christmas holidays, Claire decided that she wanted to go to Babyland General in Cleveland, Georgia and adopt a baby!  For those of you who may not be familiar with Babyland General, it is the home of the Cabbage Patch Kids!  So on the morning of her 5th birthday, Claire, Brock and I ate the  breakfast of her choice - Chick-fil-A.  Then we went to Gran and Grandaddy's house (Brock's parents) to pick up Gran, who was having a "Girls Day" with us at Babyland General and drop off Brock, who was having a "Father/Son Day" with his dad.

Babyland General moved since the last time I visited with Audrey six years ago.  The new facility is huge and beautiful!  It sits on over 650 acres in the mountains of North Georgia!  Very picturesque!  The new hospital has the look of an old Southern plantation which adds even more charm to the experience.

One thing I will say about Babyland General is that they take all of this VERY seriously!  There are rules and procedures to follow.  The No. 1 rule is that the Cabbage Patch Kids/Babies are BABIES, not dolls!!! In fact, that four-letter word is known as a bad word at Babyland General.  So it was no surprise when we got to the front doors and it looked very much like a real hospital.

Once we passed through the "Admitting" doors, we were in the lobby, where a very nice, grandmotherly woman was sitting behind the registration desk... dressed in a complete nurse uniform, of course!

Claire signed in and told the nurse that it was her birthday and she wanted to adopt a new baby!  The nurse explained where everything was and told us that new babies were born throughout the day in the cabbage patch.

After leaving Registration, we walked through the Nursery, where we saw some of the Cabbage Patch Babies that had already been born.  Claire was so excited as she walked by each of the cribs filled with babies.

We then went to the main room, where the cabbage patch is located.  Mother Cabbage is in the middle of this room and had just delivered a new baby when we were walking in.  Claire walked around and admired all of the babies that were still in their cabbages and those that were freshly delivered from the patch!

She found a "Lullaby" baby, which is a baby that is found in one of the cabbage heads in the cabbage patch, and fell in love with her.  She named the baby "Crystal".  She has blond hair and blue eyes just like her new mom, but her new mom (Claire) has a few issues with her wild and crazy newborn hair!

While Claire and Crystal bonded on the bench close to Mother Cabbage, we heard the announcement that Mother Cabbage was in labor - 9 leaves dilated actually (I told you they take this very seriously).  We moved over to be close to Mother Cabbage and watch the delivery.  It was a special one because it was a new delivery specially planned for Claire.  It is called "Planned Parenthood".  It was very cute!  There is a little bit of background noise in the video from people chatting and kids playing in other parts of the room, but you are able to experience the delivery of Claire's baby "Natalie"... the nurse calls her "Crystal" but Claire decided after the delivery that she wanted the baby born that day to be Natalie and the Lullaby baby to be Crystal.

Once Natalie was checked out in the Newborn Nursery, Claire was able to complete her adoption papers and take the official Adoption Oath.  The nurse got started a little faster then I was able to have the camera rolling but I was able to capture the majority of the oath.

Claire really enjoyed her trip to Babyland General (and if I am being honest, Gran and I really enjoyed it too).  Thanks Gran for helping make this trip a lot of fun!

If you are ever in the North Georgia area or just want to plan something fun for your daughter/granddaughter, then a trip to Babyland General is definitely something that you should look into doing. 

I'm Dreaming of a...

 You guessed it - A White Christmas! It hasn't happened in 128 years... The last white Christmas in Atlanta was in 1882! It was extra special for lots of reasons...

1. We were there to experience it.
2. It was Claire's first snow!
3. It was also Duke's first snow.  And...
4. As obvious as it is - It was a White Christmas!!!

That is something that people dream of (at least that's what the song says). The kids saw the first flakes begin to fall earlier in the day and the excitement began. Although those first flakes melted as soon as they reached the ground, the excitement did anything but melt. By the time we finished our Christmas dinner and opened presents there was a nice blanket of snow on the ground. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words so I will save you from reading a few extra thousand of those and I will just share some of the photos from our snowy Christmas fun!

Claire checking out the first snowflakes (even though it was more slush, than flake)

Audrey enjoyed the snow... although her nose turned quite pink! :)

Claire's 1st Snow!

Rolling a snowball for her tabletop snowman!

Just one more on top will make it PERFECT!

See!  It's perfect! :)

Duke really enjoyed trying to catch the snowballs that the girls tossed up!

Audrey's Snow Angel

 

Dad and the girls working on the tabletop snowman

"Ghostly Girl" and the "Viking Princess"

From the risen dead to the plundering vikings, our Halloween was full of fun!  Audrey searched and searched the costume catalog for the perfect costume.  When she found "Ghostly Girl" she knew that was the one.  She loved the idea of being one of the "risen dead" on Halloween.  It was a spooky, but not scary costume.  She appeared to be floating down the street with her long, tattered gown.  Her favorite part of the costume was the wig and hat.  Claire, on the other hand, went back and forth between several costumes until she finally decided on the Viking Princess.  Her costume did double duty since she had to dress up for her school's International Fall Festival, where each child had to choose a country to represent.  Claire chose Sweden and went back into their early history to represent the vikings that pillaged and plundered through parts of eastern Russia.  She wanted to be a princess, but not your everyday Disney princess.  The Viking Princess costume was the ticket!

We had a great time trick-or-treating through a few of the houses in our neighborhood before joining Audrey's friends and their family for candy-seeking adventures on their street.

Below are some photos of the girls in their costumes... Enjoy!

"You are next!"

 "Stop!  Give me all of your gold and jewels!"

And of course, it wouldn't be Halloween without some silly photos... :)

 Hope everyone had just as much fun on Halloween as we did!

It's a GIRL!!!

We went to the hospital on Friday for my second trimester ultrasound.  The tech told us that everything looked great - the baby was just the right size for the due date and all of the parts were there and in the correct places, oh, and she also told us that more PINK was in our future! :)  Baby Ballard #3 is Baby Girl #3!  While most people have thought that we might be disappointed that we are having another girl, we are actually very happy.  We would have been happy either way, but having another girl just goes along with what we already know what to do.  Other plus is now we do not have to rename the boat! ;) 

(note the name at the back)

Audrey and Claire are very happy about having a new sister.  Claire wanted a sister all along and declared, "I was RIGHT!" when the tech told us it was a girl.  I think 'being right' is something that means a lot to a little sister!  Audrey, who really wanted a brother, was still excited about a new sister.  The fact that this means that she will get her own "big girl" teen room when the baby moves into the room with Claire probably had a bit to do with that.

Okay, for those of you who are wondering, we do not have any names at this point but we are putting our thinking caps on and getting started with the process.  Audrey's name was relatively easy.  We knew that we wanted "Grace" as the middle name and when we found the name "Audrey" in the family tree we just knew that was the perfect combination.  Claire's name didn't come quite as quickly, mainly because I put so much pressure on myself to come up with a name that was equally as perfect as Audrey's.  We knew we wanted "Claire" (another name from the family tree) but we struggled with another name to go with it for quite some time.  The doctor scheduled my induction for the 30th of December and that put the name selection into high gear.  We found "Natalie" which means born on/near Christmas, which worked great since Claire was born on Dec. 30th.  With that we had an equally perfect name for our second baby girl.  So we have "Audrey Grace" and "Natalie Claire"... and now we have to come up with another girl name that is equally as perfect as those two.  I have no doubt that we will, but I know that it will take some thought. :)