A Busy Year

A few months before Beau's 2nd Birthday, Paul and I decided that we'd better get busy and get a sibling for Beau on it's way, so without going into too much detail, we were pregnant again by August. The first few months of this pregnancy were a bit harder that my pregnancy with Beau. I sailed through Beau's time in the tummy without a single complaint, but with this one, I was super tired and had a really hard time getting going in the morning. Most of the time I would spend the first few hours of the day with Beau on the couch, watching cartoons. Well, he watched and I slept. My neighbors later told me that they thought I was out of town because I was such a hermit and never came out of my house. But one thing that helped me get through it was knowing that I wasn't alone--- 3 of my best girlfriends from highschool were also pregnant, as was my cousin Kristina. Sara, who was due in February was expecting a boy. Tara, who was due in March who was also expecting a boy. I was due in May with a girl and Tracey was due in July with another little girl. And get this---- my cousin Kristina was due in June, with TRIPLET girls. It was raining babies!!

My cousin Kristina and I and our pregnant bellies! Remember, she's carrying triplets. She looks pretty stinkin' fabulous, doesn't she??

A new thing that I learned with my 2nd pregnancy is that everyday life doesn't just stop--- and then start revolving again around my belly like it did with my first pregnancy. From the second I found out that I was pregnant with Beau, I ate, drank, breathed, slept and lived for my pregnant belly and that little life inside of me--- it was all I could think about. Everything else took a back seat to the fact that I was pregnant. I think I just got really caught up in the whole novelty of being pregnant. But this time around I still had so many other things in my life (like my 2 year old) that took up my time and energy that I sometimes forgot that I was even pregnant. Sometimes I even wondered what I had gotten myself into and how my heart was supposed to be able to hold enough love for another person without exploding! But then one day I started to feel little flutters in my tummy.... and then those flutters became sweet little bumps.... and then those sweet little bumps turned into round-off, back-handspring, back-tucks----- and my feelings of doubt melted away. I was positive that I was carrying a fellow lover of gymnastics and dancing--- a fellow lover of musicals and silly hometown plays---I was postive that I was carrying my daughter, my best friend from heaven--- and I was not surprised when the ultra-sound confirmed my conviction--- we were having a girl!!

When we found out that Beau was a boy, it took Paul and I a while to agree on a name for him. We knew that his middle name would be Daniel, after Paul's Grandfather on his Dad's side, but we didn't come up with Beau until a few months later. But with our little girl, I already knew what her name would be-- I had had it picked out for years. Her name was to be a combination of my Grandmothers name which is Gwen, my mom's name which is FloraLynn, and her middle name would be Nicole after me. That is where I came up with Gwendalynn Nicole and it just seemed to fit her perfectly, even though we hadn't even seen her yet. Beau was very aware of what was going on with the pregnancy and we talked about Gwennie often. Whenever anyone asked Beau who was inside of Mommy's tummy, he would very casually say "Oh, it's just Gwennie"----almost as if he had known Gwen for years and it was such a silly question to ask. But even with the pregnancy and the anticipation of Gwennie's arrival, life at the Rash house continued to move at the pace of a tornado, with Beau taking center stage. Before we knew it, it was Fall and time for the holidays to begin. October brought Halloween, this time with Beau dressed as a mountain man. He was a hit at his Grandma Cheryl's office, and we had a lot of fun

trick-or-treating around our neighborhood.

December of 2007 was an extra special month, not just because of Christmas, but it was also Paul's 30th Birthday. Paul's Birthday is on the 29th and I almost miss it every year because I get so caught up in Christmas---- I've always felt really guilty for it too. But this year, with the help of Pauls sister Kaylee, I was able to pull off a half decent party for him. We invited his family and some of his closest friends over for a pay per view UFC fight, which turned out to be a lot of fun. I didn't think I'd really get too into the fight, but those big muscles changed my mind pretty quickly!! Paul had a lot of fun with his buddies and I enjoyed hangin' out with the wives. And Beau was introduced to boxing--- ever since that night he boxes everything in sight. It's get's a little annoying at times, but it's super cute when he strips down to his underwear so that he can look like the guys on TV.

Our smorgasboard of Christmas and Birthday pictures. Don't laugh at Beau's picture with Santa--- I know his hair looks terrible. That was my first and last attempt at giving him a haircut at home. I will now be forking over the whole $10 that it takes to get a haircut at the salon by our house.

Easter ushered in a beautiful spring and we had so much fun coloring eggs. Beau thought it was pretty cool, but when it came time to eat them, Paul and I were on our own. We also went to the yearly easter egg hunt at Grandma and Grandpa Crumps house were Beau had a hay day hunting for eggs.

After Easter we had just a little bit more time till Gwennie arrived. I can remember sitting on my sister-in-law's front porch on Mother's Day, which fell on the 11th of May, and I knew that I only had a few days left until I got to meet her. I remember it being such a surreal moment. Here I was about to have my second baby, and I felt like I had just barely brought Beau home from the hospital . I know that it had been 3 years, but 3 years should feel like a longer time. Raising kids is just such a whirlwind of emotions and memories, and I sometimes feel like it's passing me by too quickly. I've really tried to make it a goal to just live in the moment and enjoy every second with my kids, because before I know it, it will be over. Okay--- so there's my blubbering for the day.

Since I had such a hard time laboring with Beau and it ended up in a c-section, my doctor thought it was best for me to just plan on having c-sections with the rest of my kids. So at 4:00 a.m. on the morning of May 14th I was wide awake getting ready for my baby girl to make her grand entrance. We were first on the schedule at the hospital---- set to go at 7:00 a.m. We arrived at 6:00 a.m., got checked in and hooked up to all the monitors. Beau was right there beside me too---- he was very concerned about what was going on with me and Gwennie. At exactly 7:00 a.m. we made our way to the operating room and exactly one hour later, at 8:00 a.m. Gwendalynn Nicole was born.