Happy Birthday!

Happy 1st birthday to sweet Olivia!

Happy birthday to Sandra (Na-Na Guh-Guh)!

Pumpkin Olivia,

Thanks for inviting me to your birthday party this weekend. I had a great time watching you eat your very first taste of cake (and sugar for that matter). I also enjoyed watching you eat lots of Gold Fish (they're whole grain after all!) and watermelon. Your birthday hats were adorable and all the food was yummy. Your mommy did a great job planning your party. Your house looks great and so does your yard. I especially like your new wall upstairs and your new bookshelf.

It was lots of fun watching your mommy, daddy, and Auntie Melanie play on your daddy's new tube out on the lake. Your mommy can drive the boat really fast! All the food was yummy from the pimento cheese your Grandmother Askins made to the chicken salad and ice cream your Guh-Guh made to the pesto pasta salad your mommy made. I couldn't pick a favorite.

I can't wait to visit again soon. Oh, and remind your mommy to email me pictures of your special "kitty" cake.

Love,

Auntie EB

Finally!

Baby Olivia Maree arrived last night, July 16th, a few minutes after 8 p.m. weighing 8 lbs 13 oz's and 20 1/2 inches long! She's a big baby! You can see in the photos how chubby her cheeks are and she's already got rolls on her little legs! We can't tell yet who she looks like. Her hair is light brown and she's very pink.

As I was leaving Walmart yesterday afternoon around 2:30 with a cart full groceries, my cell phone rang. It was Melissa calling to let me know that her water had broken and she was on the way to the hospital. She sounded pretty calm at first then anxiously stated that she didn't want to go! I rushed home and unpacked the groceries then headed down the road to the hospital an hour away. Dave had to go to work so he couldn't go with me. I got there in plenty of time to be a part of all the action.


Melissa decided long ago that she would have a natural birth if possible. She endured the intense labor amazingly! I was lucky enough to be able to stay in the room as part of the photography and moral support team. Also in the room were Elliott (obviously), Melanie, Sandra (a.k.a. Guh-Guh) and Julie. Julie shot video and I took still shots. Melanie served as the birthing coach which she's been able to do for a few of her friends and she did a great job! Sandra had a hard time knowing that her baby (Melissa) was in so much pain but she stayed very calm.

Melissa sees Olivia for the first time after leaving the recovery room.

We took bets with the nurse that the baby would arrive by 8 p.m. Everything was going along very well until the time came to start pushing. Unfortunately the baby's heart rate began to drop and after checking the baby's vitals with an internal monitor, the midwife quickly determined that a C-section would be necessary. The next few minutes proved a bit scary with all the hospital staff hurrying around the room getting Melissa ready for surgery as quickly as possible. We could hear the announcements over the intercom and the staff talking with each other in the hallway which heightened our anxiety. Everything happened so fast. Because Melissa had not had any drugs up to this point and because there wasn't enough time to do a spinal the anesthesiologist had to put her completely to sleep. Elliott was able to stay with Melissa until she was under but then had to step out of the operating room. All of the hospital staff were great and they acted very quickly. The baby was out in less than five minutes and we could immediately hear how strong her lungs are.

Here's Aunt Melanie staying with Olivia in the nursery so that Elliott can be with Melissa in the recovery room.

As it turns out Melissa was destined to have a C-section because the cord was wrapped around the baby's neck TWICE! We had to wait for Melissa to wake up to find out if the baby was a boy or a girl. Both Melissa and Olivia are doing great today, though Melissa is in a fair amount of pain from her surgery and says adoption sounds like a great idea for any future children. One thing is for sure: Melissa gave her mom the best birthday present ever!

I'm an Aunt...Well sort of!

Baby Abby has arrived as of 7:10 last night! And what a beautiful girl she is! I got a call yesterday morning from Anitra saying she was at the doctor's office and was in labor and her water had broken! I finally got a hold of Greg around 1:45 and he said that Anitra had just had an epidural and was feeling much better and enduring some serious labor. I decided to wait a little while before heading up the hospital. When I got there around 4:30, the waiting room was already full of Anitra's and Greg's family and friends anxiously waiting to hear some news. Anitra gave it her all for several hours and Abby just wasn't wanting to show herself so the doctor decided to do a C-section. Everything turned out great. Anitra and Abby are doing very well today and will be going home (to their new house) on Thursday.

Baby Shower

Last Sunday, May 28th, Julie G. and I hosted a baby shower for Melissa and Elliott at their lake house. Melissa and Elliott have been working very hard to get the house ready for Baby and for the shower. Elliott is quite the carpenter and handy man though he intensley dislikes his carpenter duties. Regretfully I do not have pictures of the baby's nursery, but the room is complete with custom-built shelves compliments of Daddy Elliott! The nursery is so adorable! Everything turned out great for the shower too. We had a nice turnout and the parents-to-be received lots of adorable and useful gear for baby. Everyone enjoyed themselves, including the hostesses. Those who remember what the lake house used to look like thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the hard work that Melissa and Elliott have done to make the lake house their home. So Melissa now has just 6 weeks to go--that is if she makes it that long. We are hedging bets as to how much longer it will be until "Delivery" day. I'm betting she's got 4 more weeks at least. That way she can attend our annual Folly Beach week coming up June 18-22. One thing's for sure: Thanks to all of their friends and family, Melissa and Elliott are now prepared for baby's arrival.

Here's a photo of the generous gifts that Melissa and Elliott recieved.

Melissa and Elliott had lots of help opening presents!

Margaret stopped moving long enough to take a picture with GuhGuh and Grandpa.

Baby update

Well, I don't have any new pictures of Melissa to post since she threatened me with the termination of our 25-year friendship over posting the last pics of her. But she did invite me to attend her 3D/4D ultrasound today and I have attached a picture of what a 4D image looks like to show how incredible it is. We had a room full of viewers including Elliott, Sandra, Melanie, Margaret and myself. I earned my position in the room by filming everyone's facial expressions upon seeing the images of Baby A. In a word, it was amazing! It is unbelievable to me that we have the ability to see pictures of a what a baby looks like before it's born. It's nothing like the old ultrasound pictures you've seen where you're left questioning, "Is this supposed to be a baby?" Thanks to Melissa for including me in the experience!

Now we just have to wait to see if the little monkey is a boy or a girl. Everyone seems to have a very strong opinion on this matter except for me. Maybe I just don't like to be wrong and that's why I haven't formed my own opinion. We'll find out soon enough (this is week 30). Next up for Baby Askins in the coming weeks: 3 baby showers and 2 belly casts.

Growing Bellies

My two best friends, Anitra and Melissa, are expecting their first babies this coming July within two weeks of each other. Anitra is having a baby girl! Melissa is having....a surprise! I have enjoyed watching them progress through their pregnancies and see the physical changes they are going through. Last week I visited Melissa (in her 25th week of pregnancy) and took a few pictures of her growing belly. Melissa's special 29th birthday request was a chocolate pound cake and I figured that was an easy wish to grant. This is a photo of Melissa preparing to enjoy her birthday treat. I will see her again tomorrow night and can't wait to see how her belly has grown in the past week.

We are all looking forward to meeting these babies! We are scheduled for our annual (and possibly last) Folly Beach trip the week of June 18th. Anitra will be too pregnant to attend and it's iffy that Melissa will be able to come (according to her husband). However, knowing Melissa every possible effort will be made to ensure her attendance. After all this trip has been a highlight for us since we were wee children ourselves. Since we're thinking Melissa will go full term (or longer hehehe) we're planning (fingers crossed!) on her attendance. One thing is for sure, Melissa's mom Sandra, sister Melanie, and niece Margaret will all be there with their swimsuits on!