It's been a long time!

Our best friends from Nashville came to visit us last week! This was their first of many visits to Little Rock and we were on cloud 9 the whole time they were here. I'm not sure their was a quiet moment the whole time we were together- 4 girls = lots of fun!! Kristina and Camden (oh and Bella the dog came too!!) got here on Tuesday afternoon and the fun began. We were able to play, play, play, talk, talk, talk, eat, eat, eat, and sleep- it was a perfect visit. Camden slept well in her "suite" and the girls played well together. They are at such a fun age where they can play alongside one another. The only disputes were over play cell phones and Caroline's vicious bear hugs...she likes to take you to the ground with her lovin! We even had a chance to have little Levi Rutledge come over for an evening. I guess we were attempting to get ourselves ready for how it will be when our new additions arrive. Kristina is 20 weeks pregnant and just found out that they are going to have a little man join their family the first week of May! He better watch out...Caroline or Emily may be after that guy before he can even notice! Which lead me to realize that Camden and Caroline COULD potentially be sisters one day...hahaha...you know how we like younger men!! :) It's fun to dream anyway! I loved having Kristina around and both of our preggo brains led to some fun conversations. I'm not sure Brad got a word in with our constant chit chat but he loved seeing us so happy. Kristina was kind enough to watch the little one's while Brad and I slipped out to his work Christmas party. She's an angel of a friend and I can't wait until our next visit. My sweet girls!
So Camden is our favorite person to watch eat a meal- she may not eat as MUCH as Caroline, but she sure spreads it well over her face. Caroline was able to get some tips...as you can see!

Rice is good for the complexion...especially rice that comes from a Japanese restaurant. We went to lunch and enjoyed our most favorite foods ever- Japanese steak house!!

Caroline LOVES dogs and she and Bella were hitting it off well just like old times.

We went to a fun place in Little Rock called The Wonder Place. It was amazing- and tons of fun for all of us! There are stations set up in a big huge building for the little ones to run around and explore. Our girls were booking it through this place so fast we were hard pressed to keep up with them! I think they had a blast and I can't wait to take Caroline back. We met up with one of our sweet friends, Natalie from our church. She has a daughter named Emery that played with us. I think she was probably in awe of the energy and excitement that Cam and Caroline exhibited!

Natalie explains the tube thingy to the girls- not sure Caroline is buying it...but they spent a lot of time watching the tube. :)

Water fun!! They liked this A LOT and got drenched!!

Peek a boo!! I got you!!

The ball pit was a hit

Morning play time in their jammies

Caroline meets the Wiggles for the first time- Cam is a Wiggle fanatic and she shared her Christmas DVD with us. Kristina also shared her musical talents by singing the Wiggles all week long. We loved it! PS- Look for the Wiggles next Halloween bc we decided our hubbies would be super HOT dressed as the Wiggles dancers..hahaha

Meal time...notice Bella's stance...ready for food flinging from either tray

Our sweet girls and their babydolls....soon to be REAL babies!

Caroline loving on sweet little Levi- He was a perfect angel while our friends Amber and Jonathan went to their other sons Christmas program.

Cooking with Elmo and Cookie in the kitchen

Baby Boy and Emily

Here is a belly picture from about 28 weeks. Little Emily is growing quickly!!

And now...more news on little Emily...

At my 28 weeks check up for baby Emily we had some news that sort of put a spin on day to day routines. I had a few contractions and a little bit of pain the weekend before my appt. and told the dr. about it. They checked me, ran some tests and came back with the good news that I was not in pre-term labor. However, I had a sit down, eye to eye conversation with my amazing OB doctor which basically boiled down to telling me to TAKE IT EASY!! My body seems to be a little over worked and tired from running after big sister Caroline everyday. We did not want to keep running my body so hard so that Baby Emily would have to make her debut early...SO we are attempting to keep me off my feet and resting as much as possible- partial bed rest I guess. This was NOT in our plan books for the Christmas season and I had so many plans and ideas of things I wanted to be doing in the next few months, but it seems they will all have to be put on hold while we work at protecting and growing sweet Baby #2.

I was extremely worried and upset when I first found this news out, but it's been amazing what your prayers, thoughts, and concern have done to ease my fears and I believe helped Caroline adjust to some changes in our daily routine. With Brad working at all times it's just me here with her all day. She is learning to play by herself a little more and is discovering some independent activities to keep her occupied. She has been such a little cuddle bug and I cherish the time when she is snuggled up with me in the lazy boy or on the couch. We can always count on Baby Einstein to give us a few minutes of stillness. :) And yes, I've seen the news reports about Baby Einstein...my little one is already a genius...I wasn't counting on puppets and music to truly enhance her mind. :) God had us in the palm of His hand when we found out this news because I had my hubby home all weekend, then only had 2 days on my own until my dad was able to come out here early to help. He is here now and has been a tremendous help. As I type this he and Caroline are at the mall enjoying a grandpa-granddaughter lunch date at Chick Fil A. He's hopefully enjoying it as much as I know she is!! It's been hard, I'm stubborn, and I want my normal life back...but I am instructed to act as an incubator right now, and that is what I will be.

My mom is flying out here to LR on Sunday to spend the week with us. Dad will pick her up from the Memphis airport- sling and all. Yes, sling...because she had a fall at school on Tuesday (the day dad left to come stay with me) and she broke her elbow!! Poor thing....I hate it for her! She was SO looking forward to the holidays...holding all her sweet grand babies, and this had to happen! Thankfully, it's her left arm so she can still use her right hand/arm. She is scheduled to have a pin put in on New Years Eve. Boo. Either way, we can't wait to see her!!

So that is our few weeks in a nutshell. We continue to covet your prayers and thoughts as we go through this Holiday season and the next few months to come. We have A LOT to do in order to get ready for Emily's arrival...and we don't want her to come any earlier than she needs to. We have loved getting all the Christmas cards...we miss you all like crazy and wish we were in GA where we could all see one another.