Lexie Noelle Pilkenton is finally here!!!!!!!

...and she's 1 week old tomorrow! She has her nights and days mixed up so I apologize for the very late blog announcing her birth. I will tell you that a miracle happened - Lexie and I were well enough to go home just 48 hours after c-section... Lexie was born by c-section at 9:11am, weighing 9lbs 1oz...expected to stay through Christmas day... and instead we left the hospital at 10:30am on Christmas Eve! The nurses were all calling me "Super Woman" because just under 24 hours after major surgery, I wasn't in any real pain (not near compared to how bad it hurt after my first c-section) AND I was taken off of the IV faster than any of their other c-section momma's!!!

My nurse Kathy kept telling me about a woman down the hall that had her c-section before mine was still in bed saying she was in too much pain to be taken off the IV (and this was the day I was up walking around the room making sure things were packed and getting Lexie's first pictures done...).... she said she really wanted to have me just walk in her room and say "Look, if I can do it- so can you!".... and I told my nurse that I had prayed about it- I knew my expected stay, but really hoped God would find a way to have me home in time for Christmas....and I am a witness to His miracle--- I felt wonderful the entire time, maybe a little sore...but I was in no pain at all and my surgery went beautifully AND I was told that it was because of how healthy my body was that I was able to handle everything so well. My dad told them "I didn't raise no wimp, she can take it!" And I did- and we were discharged officially at 9 am, exactly 48 hours after c-section and left by 10:30am. Thanks be to God!

Below you can see a copy of the birth announcement that I will be sending out to my close family and friends... as well as our Christmas card. I know it's late- but I really wanted Lexie to be IN the picture for the card seeing as this is her first Christmas and all..I hope you understand! I will be sending them both together to everyone- but I really could only afford so many, so I am posting them here so that everyone can enjoy them!

And Christmas this year was so special- Jenna Jade really got into it and was so excited about all of her gifts; Grandpa Perry, Grandma Neesie, Nana, PopPop, and Pappox...Aunts, Uncles, and Santa Claus too... all made this Christmas so special for her- I can't thank you all enough, both of my girls are blessed with the best that family has to offer and I thank God for that! Jenna also said that her favorite gift of all was her new baby sister being home so she could hold her. SO SWEET!

Eric and I also had the best Christmas ever - and both of our girls had a lot to do with that, this Christmas... our family not only grew a little bigger, it also grew a lot closer!

Love ya'll!

The announcement reads: "Lexie Noelle Pilkenton; born: 12/22/2008 at 9:11am; weight: 9lbs 1oz; length: 21.5 inches; Proud Parents: Eric & Stephanie; Proud Big Sister: Jenna Jade"

The Christmas Card reads: "Twas the night before Christmas, Our new baby came home, And we celebrate family, the day that God sent His Son.; We wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!; Love Always, The Pilkenton Family; Eric, Steph, Jenna Jade, and Lexie Noelle"

Santa Claus and Jenna Jade - 2008

Today we went to see Santa Claus at the mall! Jenna had been begging all week -- even a few times that we had made trips to the mall, she would pass by and wave at him and say "mommy, I HAVE to go see him!".... and so, today we finally gave in...we got her dressed up in her Christmas dress (which by the way I have a matching one for baby Lexie when she gets here! ha ha!) and we stood in line for about an hour just waiting to see the chubby, sweet old man in the red suit. Jenna was so excited she could hardly contain herself! (And I've been having contractions ---by the way I am dialated 1cm as of yesterday morning and contracting regularly! --) So needless to say, having to keep up with Jenna as well as my energy being sucked by contractions... I swelled up like a hot air balloon!

While standing in line for Santa, Jenna recited her "list" I think about 10 times (I lost count and just started pretending to listen while smiling and nodding...ha ha-I love 3 year olds); However, the blessing is that I know her list and whatever Santa doesn't bring, maybe we can surprise her with something later **wink, wink**. Her list is BRATZ Jade doll, a play tent, candy, a baby sister, and play nursery items for her doll.

"Her doll" is the gift I gave her at my baby shower for Lexie. She absolutely takes great care of that doll! She says she really needs a new stroller and blankie for her doll- ha ha! so cute! She's going to be such a great helper when baby Lexie gets here!

Belly Pics by i-Kandie Studios

A really great friend of mine, Lesley McGee, owns her own photography business called i-Kandie Studios. I'm so lucky because she is so talented and I get to be the practice model! And we did a family photo shoot featuring none other than... MY BELLY! ha ha! :) We had a blast- I had Eric take a few photos with my camera...but none of mine turned out as precious as the ones in the actual photo shoot...

Thank you so much Lesley! These pictures are so special and I will cherish them forever!

I think my all time favorite photo is of Jenna Jade and Eric both kissing my belly with me looking down at them--- I LOVE my family and that photo seems to capture it... I am so blessed with such a loving husband and sweet children!

... Enjoy the pics! ...

A Shepherd with Bling!

On Monday, December 8th 2008 - Jenna Jade was a shepherd in her first ever Christmas Pageant with Mrs. Casey's K3 Kindergarten class. She insisted on wearing her new pink sweater and her pink pearls/ pink heart shapped gemstone necklace --- so she was a shepherd with bling! ha ha!

She was so cute and she had so much fun singing for everyong- her favorite song was "Immanuel, Immanuel, God is With Us" <~ I know this is her favorite because she sings it every night in the bath tub!

We video taped all of it on the cam corder--- and I caught just bits of the songs on my digital camera so that you can see some of it on my drop shots - www.dropshots.com/pilkentonpearls ENJOY!

Jenna's artistic portrait of...US :-) so funny!

Jenna drew a picture of us at school and we all look so funny! She drew a picture of her daddy, then of me (and as you can see, baby Lexie too), then she drew grandpa and grandma... and we just couldn't hold back the giggles when we saw this hanging on the wall of her classroom...

Locks of Love...and Jenna's 1st Hair Cut

<~BEFORE PIC :)

It all started with my hair cut (that I seem to only get once a year) that I got on Friday. Jenna started asking me over and over "Mommy, I want my hair cut too!"... My first thought was 'Oh no! your baby curls will be gone...'.... my second thought was 'it's her hair, and baby Lexie will have plenty of curls for us to enjoy'.

So we asked her daddy... he was very much against it and Jenna just looked up at him with those big hazel eyes and said "Daddy, it's my hair!" And so... he finally caved but said "only cut a LITTLE bit". I told him that she would get to pick her hair cut because it was a big deal to her, especially now that she is a 'big sister'. We talked about it, and though it was hard for Eric, he finally said 'Ok'. We scheduled the appointment for Jelly Beans for tonight- Tuesday, November 25th at 6:30pm.

My mom and I stood back and took pictures while Jenna did 'her thing' all on her own. She was so great - and she noticed the poster for Locks of Love. So I told her all about how kids who are sick like Riley was get these wonderful gifts of hair for them to wear while they have lost their own hair due to cancer. Jenna looked at me and said "I wanna do that mom! I want to give my hair to Riley!!!"... I almost cried, but just smiled and said, "well, hold on, let me ask and see how short that would leave your hair". The hair dresser marked it and went up a few inches to account for her "baby fuzz" at the ends.... and, shoulder length wasn't that bad. It was worth it to go to a medium hair style so that less fortunate children could have something nice too. So I approved.... and I stood back with tears in my eyes, so proud of my baby girl, as she proceeded to donate 11.5 inches of her hair to Locks of Love; and on the card they wrote "from Jenna Jade; In loving memory of her best friend, Riley Hardison 9-22-08 ~ 4-06-08". And she was so happy and excited about what she did... I couldn't help but be happy with her. She has come such a long way since Riley passed, and I'm so proud to say that my Jenna Jade is a happy girl and a brave girl for donating so much hair!!!

Jenna's Fall Day Care Picture 2008

A visit from Twiggy

One of my best friends, Twiggy, lives in Charlotte, NC now and she came down and had dinner with us tonight and it was so good to see her! :) We really miss her alot! (Especially Jenna Jade...who practically held her hostage in her room all evening!) ha ha. We love you twigs!

You can see the pics of all of us at www.dropshots.com/pilkentonpearls .

Baby Shower for Lexie Noelle - Sunday Nov 16th

The baby shower was held at Hopkins Farm-

Thanks to Amanda Roshto for throwing such a beautiful shower! I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends- I had a great time and got some really awesome gifts! I will be busy with thank you cards this weekend, that's for sure!

We played a game where everyone guessed how big my belly was and many people had strings so long that they just tied bows around my belly! ha ha!

And I also gave a special gift to Jenna Jade for being such a wonderful helper for mommy and told her I was so proud of her and that she was going to be the best big sister for Lexie Noelle.

Here are some pics from the shower:

Bolt The Super Dog *in 3D*

Thanks to some free tickets I obtained from work--- Eric, Jenna Jade, my parents, and myself all got to go see the pre-screening of Bolt the Super Dog in 3D! Jenna looked so cute in her 3D glasses- and she had so much fun at the movies and she behaved so well--- we were so proud of our big girl!
Even Eric and I had a blast-- there are more 3D movies coming out next summer and we can't wait to take Jenna to see some more! :) Disney is just awesome in 3D!

Fall is BEAUTIFUL

I just can't help but admire the beauty of this season... i love all season's--- i love the beach in the summer, the flowers in the Spring...the first snow fall of winter... but absolutely nothing takes my breath away quite like the colors of the earth in autumn...

Wed. Nov 5th + Nesting = CLEAN DESK

The girls at work have begun to take over some of my duties...and the free time gave way for my nesting to kick in...and they insisted that I post the pics of my desk all clean and organized. LOL... funny! :) i'm going to do my best to keep it clean though... even after my maternity leave!

A Very SCARY Halloween!

Tonight was FULL of fun for everyone.

And I DO mean everyone!!!

Eric was dressed as the joker, Jenna was a witch, I was a nun.... and Lexie Noelle- well she didn't want to be left out either!!!! At around 4pm - i suddenly was overwhelmed with dizzyness and blurry vision. My friend Lindsay (who was dressed as a flapper! ha ha) took me to Wal Greens after the nurse requested a blood pressure reading from the nearest clinic---- Wal Greens gave me my numbers and I called the nurse back once we were back at work.

The nurse said --- go to the hospital NOW...

My manager Liz drove me to the hospital -- THANKS Liz!!

and so, I checked into Labor & Delivery at St. Francis Hospital--- at only 32 weeks gestation (that's 8 months along).... they got me all situated and hooked up and they informed me that I was in labor and having contractions. Eric met me there and got me checked in and everything - he did all of it for me!

About an hour went by and the nurses said they were just watching my labor- they checked my cervix and it was still closed- and discussing with the doctors what to do. The discussion was if they should go ahead and take the baby--- one nurse kept saying "the baby is far enough along that she would be just fine if she was born tonight"...and the doctor said "yeah...but we'd like her to be as far along as we can get her - let's stop labor and if she comes back in, then we'll go ahead and take baby".... and so on and so on...

I was very scared/nervous/anxious/... you know... um, this is a baby due on Christmas- NOT HALLOWEEN!!!!! But Eric was right there by my side, holding my hand and telling me it would be alright. ((I love him so much- I am so lucky to have such a wonderful man as my husband... it's hard for girl's to find one like him these days :) )) I love him!

So- a different nurse came in and said they decided to stop my labor. My reaction was "YAY!!!!!!! please please please do!"

She gave me a shot- ouch. burn. .. and then i was jittery and jumpy for 2 hours (which they said was normal). My heart was racing so fast- but it worked! It didn't completely stop contractions, but it spaced them enough that the nurses agreed my labor had stopped. Eric and I were discharged and sent home.

So--- I did get a good laugh out of it, something we'll tell the baby girl (yes, Jenna Jade told Pappox so we can say it on here now lol)... we'll tell her that she sure played a funny prank on mommy & daddy on Halloween night! Here we were- a pregnant nun, The Joker from Batman- in a Catholic Hospital in premature labor.

HA! :) I'm so thankful that I can look back and laugh at this now... I'm going to get some rest now!

Here are pics from the day- Jenna Jade as a witch, ME as a nun (a pregnant one of course), Eric as The Joker, Lindsay Phillips as a Flapper, & Nancy Slice as "Brittney Spears in disguise/hiding from paparazzi" <~ HA HA~

Jenna WROTE her first word!!!!!!

Today- October 30th, 2008 - Jenna Jade Pilkenton WROTE the word Mommy on a piece of paper--- I cut it out, and put her name and a date on it and yes, I plan to keep it forever!

Here's how it happened....

For a while now, my mother and I have been writing Jenna's name on all her stuff- even when she is coloring. She would sometimes try to copy her name, and always seems to write the "J" backwards so she would get frustrated and just move on. Well today, out of the blue, she says "Mommy, I want to try a different word...can I see your name?"....so I clarified if she wanted Stephanie or Mommy- and Mommy was the verdict!

So, I wrote "Mommy" on her paper...then she tried a couple times not really doing the letters correctly without me guiding her either verbally or physically....then a few minutes later, I watched silently as Jenna Jade wrote the word "Mommy" all by herself without any help from me at all!!!!!!!! I was so very proud of her! :) I've been bubbly all day about it- she was so proud of herself too. It reminded me of the moment she took her first steps...that extreme happiness and joy as the moment was happening....and then my heart sank into a bit of sadness when the moment was over...just like that, it was over. Jenna has written a word on paper and is showing curiosity in reading and writing.... I'm TOTALLY taking advantage of this--- my baby girl is so smart!!!

Here are the pictures of the one that Jenna wrote all by herself, without my help-

I just can't believe it.... Jenna Jade - your daddy and I just couldn't stop bragging about how smart you are! We love you baby girl!!!

love ya'll!!!

Crisp air & Beautiful Scenery... MUST be Virginia!

Thursday October 23rd through Sunday October 26th - Fall Virginia Trip

We went to Virginia last weekend to visit Eric's family up there. Everyone was so happy to see Jenna Jade and the belly (in fact, my belly has gotten so big- they were SURE I was going to just have the baby in Mamaw VanHuss' living room ha ha!)

The food was sooooo good, and we had so much fun, I can't hardly type it all here, but I will definitely list a few pics and stories!

First of all- we stayed with Eric's mom's parents, Mamaw & Papaw VanHuss. Mamaw had a stroke last spring and scared all of us who love her so very much...and as a witness to what stroke can do to a person, I have to say this-- Mamaw VanHuss IS a pure and beautiful miracle! She is walking, and talking, and though things are a little different--- she is 100% getting her life back and that is remarkable considering what she has been through. We could all learn so much about strength just by sitting with her and holding her hand--- and Papaw completely is one of the reasons she is doing so well, He spends every moment just taking care of her and loving her and making sure she is alright-- its so sweet to see two people so much in love, I can just look at them and imagine Eric and I at that age- We are both surrounded by so many people on both sides of our family that love and care for each other and show us every day how much love is really worth. We love you all so very much!

Also- while staying at Mamaw's, we got to spend time with Uncle Junebug, Uncle Dougy, Uncle Billy, and many of Jenna Jade's cousins -- and even Destiny made a new friend...a HORSE of course! :) Destiny ran and played for hours... and Jenna got to pet the horse and the horse even picked my hair up in its mouth so I couldn't walk away. No, the horse didn't pull on my hair and it didn't even hurt, and he would let go if I just reached out and pet him and smiled....he just loved the attention from Jenna, myself, and most importantly- our boxer named Destiny.

Jenna Jade met one of her cousin's for the first time this trip- they are just about 1 1/2 months apart in age and she is Eric's cousin Adam's little girl, Chloe. Chloe and Jenna had so much fun together running all over the place and becoming the best of friends. They were so sad when it was time to call it a day. It was so fun to see them play too- We all talked about how much Jenna looks like Eric, and Chloe looks like Adam-- several of Eric's family members felt like they had taken a step back in time and were watching Eric & Adam playing... except this time, they are girls! ha ha -- you boys sure make pretty young ladies! :)

Also visiting us that day were Samantha & Austin - Eric's cousin Matt's kids. Samantha is my baby doll! She just loves me so much and I absolutely love her back- we did our DIVA ritual of dressing up and taking pics of silly faces and just being girls together. She's growing up so fast on me and its fun to kick back and just enjoy the ride--- I always look forward to seeing her. And Michael Austin- what can I say? That boy is just soooo much fun! He & Eric wrestled and played until they could hardly breathe and all the kids just laughed and laughed and its definately 100% true=== the best stress reliever in the world is sitting on the ground with the kids just laughing and giggling until your belly hurts and you feel like you are 5 again--- it was so great to get a chance to spend time with everyone. Eric and I wish we could see them more often! And not just Eric & I - Jenna Jade and our dog Destiny ran and played with Samantha & Austin until they were both sleeping like babies when bed time came -- which is another BIG PLUS for mom & dad! ha ha!

Thank you Cousin Margie for bringing them over to see us! It was so great to see you too!!!

On Saturday night- we went over to Eric's Dad's house and got to see Eric's brothers Nick & Justin, and Eric's little sister Kinsley. We also got to spend time with Justin's girlfriend Kayla & Dad's girlfriend Dee! It was so great to meet Dee - she's a really great person and we think the world of her! All of us went up and enjoyed some really AWESOME food and games up on the mountain side. It was so pretty up there- and when we looked down... Eric and I saw something we never saw before....there is a pond just 10 feet away from where we park our cars at Dad's house!!!! LOL - I guess that shows how observant Eric & I are...we had never seen that pond before and we've been parking right next to it all this time... lol. But- in our defense, there is a lot of trees standing in the way so we just never noticed it until we were above it looking down. :) OH! And we also got to meet Pedro (or Idget - as Kinsley calls him)....he is a terrier mix and he's so cute and funny.... especially when a broom is in the room! ha ha! And Kayla & Justin had Jenna attached at the hip- she loved them so much and just wouldn't let go of Kayla's neck and chasing Justin around- she had an absolute blast with them. :)

One more stop along the way- Eric's Mamaw & Papaw Pilkenton. We got to see Uncle Mark & Aunt Lisa, Uncle Matt & Aunt Vonda, and Eric's cousin's on his dad's side of the family. Mamaw & Papaw were so happy to see all of us, we got tons of hugs and kisses! We love you both so much!!! They were all at the picnic up on the moutain and we went and saw Papaw down at the Pound 66 Station -- A big Thank's to Eric's dad & uncles for changing my oil and checking my engine for me!!!! :) Thank You!!!

Eric's dad made me some of Mamaw's meatloaf - and I am so very thankful it is something I had been looking forward to for a long time and I was soooooo excited to see it on the table. YUMMY! Eric's obsession is Mamaw's pumpkin pie...but I think I love just about anything she makes! lol. And Dad did an awesome job at making his mom's meatloaf recipe--it was DELICIOUS!
Papaw's heart was giving him trouble this weekend, so we didn't get to see him as much as we are used to--- but when we did we made sure he got big hugs and kisses and I hope he knows how much all of us love him so very much. We are praying for you Papaw!



It was so much fun seeing everyone- and I have DOZENS more pics at our family photo album - www.dropshots.com/pilkentonpearls <~check them out!!!!!

Love ya'll!