She's Here!!

We are so happy to announce baby Addison Chaunte' Fuller.

She weighed 7lbs 8oz and 20in.
Here's the story. Originally when we found out we were expecting, we were a month short of our maternity coverage, which meant we were going to pay for everything out of pocket. In January, Ben was offered a job in Texas which would give him full benefits beginning April 1. My due date was April 3. I did everything I could to NOT go into labor. I know most people are doing everything they can to get them to go into labor, and here I am doing everything to keep this baby in :) Well we made it to the 1st. Now I was ready to do everything to go into labor. The day before we went to the Dr. and she stripped my membranes. Friday we took Caleb to the zoo in the morning and then went and walked the mall that afternoon/evening. To say the least I was exhausted. At 1:30am my water broke and my contractions were pretty regular. I debated whether to wait a little to go in or to just go in. I decided it was time. I went and got Ben and we were at the hospital around 2:30. They got me all hooked up to the iv's and started pumping fluids and rushed my blood work so I could get an epidural before it was too late, because by now I was a 5-6. Not too much longer after, my contractions became pretty intense and right on top of each other. Then I will never forget the feeling I got when I felt like I needed to push. I felt like I was going to pee, poop, and puke all at the same time. It was the worst pain I have ever endured. I told the nurse and she came and checked me again. She told the other nurse to cancel the anesthesiologist, get the Dr., and I was ready to go. The Dr. came in and told me next time I felt like I needed to push, to push as hard and long as I could. I was definitely not ready for this! Ben was great!! I don't know how many times I said I couldn't do it, and he was right there telling me I could and that it was almost over. I pushed about 4 times and at 4:15am out came this beautiful baby girl. It was amazing how as soon as she came out, most of the pain went away. I was in awe as I looked at my baby girl and all her hair. The awful heartburn most of my pregnancy was definitely worth it! They took her and cleaned her up, weighed her, and sewed me up. Then they brought her over to me to eat, and she latched on and ate like a pro. Then they took her to the nursery and told me to try and get some sleep. I tried, but somehow after going through all that with out much sleep, I was wide awake and then came the after cramps that come with your uterus contracting back down. They were more intense than I remember and the nurse told me they get worse with each child, plus they had me on pitocin because I was anemic and wanted to make sure I didn't bleed too much. Once they gave me the motrin and a little something to eat, I was finally able to take a little nap. Ben went home about 10:00 to get my mom and Caleb. When he got there he didn't quite know what to think. He just kind of looked at me and the baby and went over to Ben. He finally came and sat with me on the bed, but wasn't too interested in Addy. It took many hours to get him to hold her and that only lasted a second. He would give her kisses though. It has been a rough adjustment for him and there have been a few breakdowns, but he is doing much better than I thought. I am just grateful he isn't mean to her. He has started to share his toys with her and is getting much more used to the idea of having her around. He will be a great big brother!!!

It's a Girl!!

This should have been posted a month ago, but we are expecting a little girl on April 3(my 30th birthday)! We are so excited! I think Caleb will be such a great big brother. I'm a little worried about the adjustment at first,but hopefully it won't take long for him to love being a brother! I promise to put pics of the ultra sound up once we can get our scanner to work again. I will also post belly pics soon! Stay tuned!

He's 2!!!

I can't believe my baby boy is 2! He definitely acts it :) He is so much fun and we are so blessed to have him in our lives! For his birthday, Ben went a little crazy! We had it at Chuck E Cheese. Ben had an awesome cake made at a local bakery here. He loved every minute of it. He was dancing with the other kids and Chuck E, played like crazy, and ate lots of pizza and cake. It was fun and thanks to all those who made it a memorable and enjoyable day!!

Wild Safari

In Missouri there is a Wild Animal Safari where you can drive through and see and pet different animals like deer, zebras, donkeys, and bison. There is also a little petting zoo. Caleb was in heaven. He is obsessed with animals and can't get enough of them.

Pumpkin Patch

We took Caleb to the pumpkin patch for the first time this year. We went with my parents and Teaghan when they came out for his birthday. He loved picking up all the pumpkins and the little horse ride that was there. When it came to getting a good picture of the 3 of us though, he wasn't so cooperative.

Florida

This summer we went to Florida with some friends. Ben wanted to get some scuba diving in so we drove like 19 hours there and 19 hours back. I would never make that drive again with a toddler, but it was fun. We were only there about 3 days and spent most of them at the beach. Caleb was not afraid of the ocean at all this time, which scared me actually. He would just take off running into the water. He loved to sit on the sand where the tide came int and loved searching for all the shells. My parents were still there so we hung out with them a lot too! It was a fun time had by all!

My little cowboy

So for those of you who don't know, Ben and his buddy have begun a business adventure in cows. Yes you read that right, cows! I haven't seen the rewards yet, but I am promised in the next few years(which for me is not soon enough) i will. However, Caleb loves them! He loves helping Ben feed them and loves to call them up when it's time. He is not scared of them at all, although they are of him. It terrifies me when he runs up to them and they scatter. Here are a few pics of him feeding them!

6 months

Ok so where to begin on catching up on 6 months! I promise I won't make it too long :) First, we have Thanksgiving. We had fun with friends this year. It was fun cooking the food and hanging out. We fried our turkey this year and boy was it delicious. For those of you not in the south, it is a very popular thing to do i guess.

The kids played all day and loved banging on the door when someone went to the bathroom!

Ben was working nights at Toys 'R' Us and so I had to bring Caleb shopping with me the day after Thanksgiving. I had every parent looking at me like I was the worst mother, but boy did I get some good deals. Caleb slept in his stroller most of the time. Toys 'R' Us was a nightmare because they opened up at midnight and there is only 1 within a 150 mile radius. It was freezing. Then we had breakfast, then Walmart, then Target. I finally went to bed around 7am and was back up at 10 when Caleb woke up.

Next is Christmas. We had Ben's parents down on Christmas Eve and Christmas day along with some friends of ours. They came dressed as Mrs. Clause and Santa. Caleb wasn't too sure of them until they changed.

Christmas morning we woke up to snow!!!! It has been a long time since I have seen a white Christmas.

It was more fun this year with Caleb since he could open his presents himself. The only thing is he was more interested in throwing the paper away. It was a long morning! The day after Christmas my parents came and spent a few days freezing and playing with us. New Years Eve we just hung out at home and played games and enjoyed some quality family time!



The end of January we finally got the answer to our prayers we had been seeking for what seemed like forever. Ben got a job!!! He was let go in August and so he was almost 6 months with no work. I had been working at H&R Block, but wasn't making enough to live on. We were so excited and grateful. That is when we moved up to St. Louis, MO. We still have our home in AR and go back to visit.

My parents flew Caleb and I out to Orlando to go to Time out for Women. We went a few days earlier to play at Disneyworld. Caleb was grumpy and had a fever that wouldn't go away and so I finally took him to urgent care to find out he had a viral infection. And even better at his age there is nothing they can do. So we would go for a few hours a day, but it wasn't the most exciting for him. He wanted me to carry him everywhere. The last day we were there, he puked all down the front of me and him while we were waiting for the parade to begin. So needless to say we went back to the hotel instead. But here are some pictures of him enjoying it :)




We have been enjoying the fun things to do here. For example the zoo. It is one of the best zoos in the united states. It is enormous. The best thing is its free. You have to pay for parking, but most of the zoo is free (there is a sea lion show, carousel, and petting zoo you have to pay for). It is so big we have been there twice and still not seen it all!!!





We have been to the science center. They had this cool dinosaur expo and Caleb really liked it. He loved digging for the bones!



For my birthday this year some of our friends came up and we went to the Arch! It was a pretty nice day and we had lots of fun!!


And for my dinner it was none else than Texas Roadhouse!

Easter morning we were having major issues with our camera so here are the ones that turned out. Ben had eggs filled with candy all over the floor and Caleb gathered them and put them on the couch.



A couple nights ago we went to our first Cardinals baseball game. I am still a Diamondback at heart and always will be, but since I can't watch them I have grown to like the Cardinals. Caleb loved it for the first 5 or 6 innings and then he had had enough(it didn't help that he has like 4 teeth coming in all at once).



I know I have said this before, but this time I have made a goal keep this current. It is much easier this way :)