More on the twins and their big sis...

Our newest nieces are doing great! They're a little over two weeks old now. Harrison and I visited them on the 15th and took a few pictures (the last two of the photos of them are from my camera; the other photos I stole off of facebook). Kellye updated Paige's carepage on the 20th, and here's a little bit from it: "At their last weigh-ins, Avery was 4 lbs 15.5 oz and Ella was 4 lbs 10 oz. We are so pleased to see how well they're growing and developing. However, the more Ella gains, the more she looks like Avery. Nate had me paint one of Avery's toenails pink before cutting off their hospital bracelets -- just to make sure we can tell them apart! Big sister Paige is doing wonderfully! She is enthralled with her babies and "talks" to them in a very sweet voice. She's still learning how to be gentle with them; both Avery and Ella have gotten a few fingers to the eyeballs. Still, she loves to pat them and even hug them!"

She goes on to say that Paige recently had a checkup and the doctor told said she "is the 'poster child' for infant heart transplants. They are so pleased with how well she looks. Her echocardiogram was "beautiful" and her lab work was all within the normal ranges."

SNUGGLING SISTERS:

AVERY:

ELLA:

PAIGE:

Office redo!

My office is SO bland! It's in the interior of the building, so there are no windows and the lights are those bad halogen tubes behind Plexiglas. Because I spend a lot of time in my office, I decided it was time to liven things up a bit. Here are some before photos:

Recently I raided Hobby Lobby and got all sorts of great items marked down by 66%! I always have a 40% off coupon too. I got a bunch of little things to set on shelves, but they were all black...B-O-R-I-N-G. So, I bought teal and paprika red (Home Depot), ocean blue and cherry red (Wal-mart) spray paints. The Sunday before last, I had myself a little spray-painting party in the back yard.

On Pinterest, I got the idea to spice up my office's bookshelf by adding either contact paper/wallpaper/or wrapping paper to the back of the shelf. I found a great black and white damask wrapping paper from Wal-mart and bought double sided tape to attach it. It took me all of 30 minutes and I love the way it turned out. I also love the way my Hobby Lobby items ($5 per item) look with a fresh coat of spray paint!

 With the recent changes, I think Hippocrates looks happier on the shelf!

My office needed an extra seat for the pharmaceutical reps that come by to discuss their products. My office is limited on space, so I needed a very small seat. I found a great, although very tired/beat up, small bench at the thrift store in Auburn. I dusted, sanded, cleaned, primed and spray painted this bench. Then I tried my hand at my first ever upholstery job. The seat unscrewed from the bench very easily. I almost just put the fabric on top of the old fabric, but it was pretty nasty, so I got rid of it. When I did, I realized there was another layer of upholstery (in terrible condition) underneath. When I went to remove that, I realized that the 'batting' that was originally used was PINE STRAW! EWW! But it was also kind of neat because I knew that the bench must have been practically ancient! I wonder what its story is. Anyway, the board happened to be a lovely piece of cedar, so I wrapped it in 3 coats of batting and then put some lovely leftover fabric on it. I love the way my $6 thrift store find turned out! I added a little pillow for some extra comfort and color. I made the envelope pillow cover. You can kind of see the bench in the photo above, but here's a close up:

I bought two $7 lamps and two $5 lamp shades from Dollar General to go on top of my filing cabinet. I sanded, primed, and sprayed the lamp bases teal. I bought the lovely turquoise planter from Hobby Lobby (only $7 since it was 50% off this week)! Eventually I'll get around to getting a nice green, leafy plant to put in it. I replaced the lame, freely hanging, anatomy poster with a vintage poster of the human skeletal system (which I framed using a simple $10 poster frame with Plexiglas). Here's the file cabinet area now:

I'd like to eventually add a tall coat/umbrella rack in the back corner to hang my tote, lab coats, 'brellas, etc.

I saw this easy art inspiration on Pinterest, and decided to copy:

I spray painted a 16 x 20 canvas light ocean blue. Then I dipped various sized plastic cups and lids in white and teal acrylic paints and transferred them to the canvas. I let the paint drops fall where they would for added character. Now I've brightened up my wall a little bit and matched the rest of the decor:

I'm so happy with the way everything turned out! The best part is that I no longer get headaches from the hideous overhead halogen lights. The five lamps put off a nicer, ambient light that makes me feel relaxed and happy to be at work.

On a side note, I thought I'd include a photo of my new couch pillows at home. My friend, Erin, found these burlap monogrammed pillows at Scott's Antiques in Atlanta. Can you believe that she found our initials? Our couch pillows match the blog name! I love them! As for the other pillows, I made them out of Pier 1 place mats.



The twins are home!

Ella got to come home Thursday (after about 5 days in the NICU) to join her twin sister, Avery, and her big sister, Paige. Don't they all make a beautiful family of five?

Congratulations, Nate and Kellye!

Hailey's Baptism

After getting home from the hospital late on Friday, Saturday was another eventful day! Harrison and I went up to Newnan for our niece, two-month old Hailey Marie Swartz's baptism. She was so good during the whole thing; and her brothers were very well-behaved! Isn't this a cute family photo of the Swartz's?

Mommy, Aileen, and the newly baptized Hailey:

Julie Swartz, Suzanne Swartz, Janet Swartz, Bill Swartz with Ryan, David, Harrison

Blake with Aileen, Andrew with Hailey, my mom and dad, me

My Dad (otherwise known as Pops) with granddaughter, Hailey

My mom (otherwise known as Gigi) with granddaughter, Hailey

After Mass, we went back to the Swartz's for a great dinner. Andrew and Aileen made Jambalaya (I'm told to pronounce it JUM-ba-ly-a, but I always mess it up). For dessert we had some delicious pettifores that Julie had gotten from a bakery and KING CAKE that Andrew's parents had brought from New Orleans. It was SO good!

Ryan and Blake wrestling with Uncle David

Wrestling each other and Aunt Trey

 Pillow fight with Aunt Trey

Update on the twins:

Avery is still doing really well; she and Kellye will likely get to go home tomorrow (Monday). They can go anytime they want so that Kellye and Nate can visit as much as they can with Ella. I'm sure Kellye will be back at home for the National Championship kickoff, as she's a HUGE LSU fan! Ella is progressing along, but will likely come home a few days later. Both girls had echocardiograms today and their hearts look perfect!

Twins!

Today started off as a mundane Friday. I have Fridays off, so I usually run all of my errands then. While I was at the dentist (new patient at this office) I got a phone call from my brother, Nate, saying that he and Kellye were at the hospital and she was going to have an Emergency C-section in the next five minutes. Right then, the dentist walked in to introduce himself. I pretty much hung up on Nate. The dentist was trying to make small talk when he noticed how out of sorts I was. He asked me if everything was ok, and I blurted out something like this: "twin babies...coming now...1 month early...my brother...my 15 month old niece...heart transplant...anxious!" He told me that it was probably in my best interest to reschedule our appointment due to the state that I was in (this was after they'd already taken Xrays). I checked out, got in my car, and hit the interstate immediately. Two hours later I was in Marietta with my family.

Kellye gave birth to Ella Claire Cunningham first, at 10:26 who weighed in at 4lbs, 13oz, and was 16.5 inches long. Avery Ann Cunningham arrived just after, also at 10:26. She weighed 4lbs 14oz, and was 18 inches long.

We met up with Nate and got the story of how the events had unfolded for them. Around 7am today, Kellye started having sharp pains. Nate was supposed to be in an important meeting for work at 7:30, but Kellye asked him to hang around for a little bit to see if she felt better. She's a tough one, so Nate knew that she wasn't crying wolf.  The pain became so intense that Kellye said she couldn't go anywhere. Nate said something like 'Oh, no, you are not staying here. There's no way I'm delivering babies today.' He put her in the rolling office chair and rolled her out of the house! Luckily, the lady who occasionally watches Paige was out running errands and was able to stop by and pick up Paige for the day. Another bonus is that Nate and Kellye live about two minutes from the hospital.

While checking into the hospital around 10, Nate overheard some doctors saying 'she's ready to go now.' He thought they were talking about someone else, but then quickly realized it was Kellye. Once they'd put the monitors on Kellye, they realized that Baby A's (who would later be known as Ella) heart rate was dropping. They told Nate and Kellye that they were going to operate immediately and fully sedate Kellye because she had Abruptio Placenta (where the placenta spontaneously starts to tear away from its attachment to the uterus - life threatening to the fetuses if not delivered quickly).

Ella had suffered the most distress with the Abruptio Placenta, and her APGAR score was 0 at birth. After a very quick CPR, she was doing awesome with a five minute APGAR of 8 (that's pretty much perfect)! Avery came next and she was pink and healthy, but both needed to be admitted to NICU for surveillance with their premature state.

Avery was able to go to Nate and Kellye's room around 6:30pm after her temperature had stabilized. Here are a couple of pictures of her that I snapped with my phone (I didn't pack my camera since I didn't go home after the dentist):

Ella was having a little trouble with her respirations being too fast because some fluid had gotten into her lungs during the delivery. The idea right now is that she'll probably stay in the NICU for a few days until her breathing improves. Please pray for the health of these babies! Here's a photo of Ella that Nate took:

My uncle pointed out that Ella Claire's nickname will likely be E.Claire. Cute!
It's unbelievable that Nate and Kellye showed up at the hospital at 10 with practically no expectations and 26 minutes later they went from a family of 3 to a family of 5! Paige is a big sister! She joined us at the hospital later in the afternoon:

In less than 5 years, Harrison and I have SIX nieces and nephews (Ryan, Blake, Paige, Hailey, Ella, and Avery)! We are a very happy aunt and uncle! Hailey's baptism is actually tomorrow night! Nate and Kellye are her Godparents, but I'm thinking they won't be able to make it. Andrew's parents will be standing in as proxies.

1-6-12

Happy birthday, Avery and Ella!

Happy New Year

2011 in review:

January:
- We celebrated the new year in Asheville with friends at our apartment (Joey and Erin came up to visit).
- After celebrating an awesome snow day in Asheville with our friends, we watched as Auburn became National Champions!
February:
- A bunch of us celebrated a friend's birthday by shooting skeet at Fowler Farms.
- Saw Yann Tiersen in concert.
- Harrison's family visited us in Asheville.
- Celebrated the baptism of my niece, Paige.
March: 
- Saw Devotchka in concert (one of my top three concert performances of all time).
- Gave up meat for Lent.
- We went to Charleston, SC for a mini-getaway/medical conference.
April:
- Our family endured a tough month after receiving news that Paige (just 5 months old) was diagnosed with Idiopathic Dilated Cardiomyopathy.
- Josh and Heather visited us in Asheville. We canoed on the French Broad River and saw Widespread Panic in concert.
May:
- Harrison finished his master's degree in history.
- I had to break the news to my wonderful coworkers at Biltmore Family Medicine that I would be resigning to move to AL (even though we had no job prospects at the time).
- After stabilizing, Paige was released from the hospital after over a month long stay.
- We enjoyed a nice vacation with Harrison's family in Kauai, Hawaii.
- We had a family reunion (with my mom's side of the family) in Fripp Island, SC and celebrated my cousin, Erin's wedding.
- America breathed a sigh of relief in the news of Osama Bin Laden's death.
June:
- We attended Harrison's ten year high school reunion.
- We BOTH got jobs!
- We spent the month soaking up every aspect of life in Asheville, enjoying all it had to offer.
- We spent a wonderful weekend camping with all of our amazing Asheville friends.
July:
- For the 4th, we had a 'float party' down the French Broad River with all of our friends.
- We took a great beach trip to the Outer Banks of NC.
- Nate and Kellye told us they were pregnant! The next day they called back telling me they'd found out they're expecting TWINS!
- For our third wedding anniversary, we spent the day on Max Patch (where he proposed) with a fantastic picnic. We soaked in the 360 degree views of the Smokies and Blue Ridge Mountains that surrounded us.
- We packed up our apartment and had one last 'throw down' with our Asheville buddies at our 'No Furniture Party.' The next morning I cried bittersweet tears as I drove away with Asheville in the rear view and Auburn ahead of me.
August:
- As returning Alabama residents, we started our new jobs.
- I had a blast reuniting with my college sorority sisters at Jenna's bachelorette party and wedding.
September:
- Football season!
- Paige was readmitted back into the hospital, as her heart condition began to worsen.
- We (along with Harrison's parents) adopted a stray Brittany Spaniel that we named Piper. We're 'co-parenting' her.
- We celebrated the life of my Grandpop, who went to be with the Lord.
- Dad turned 60!
- After just 16 days on the heart transplant list, we were blessed with a donor for Paige. She successfully underwent a heart transplant on 9/30/11 and we've been singing praises ever since!
October:
- Harrison and I returned to Asheville for a friend's wedding and to reconnect with our friends.
- My brothers, sister, and parents met up in Atlanta for a weekend of fun to celebrate my Dad's 60th.
- I turned 28 and celebrated with Harrison at a nice restaurant and with Auburn home game win.
- For Halloween I dressed up as Princess Kate and Harrison as Magnum P.I.
November:
- We celebrated Paige's first birthday.
- Our entire family met at the hospital to hear Andrew announce that Aileen gave birth to a GIRL, Hailey!
- We spent Thanksgiving at my parents house, although only my parents, David, and Harrison could be in attendance.
December:
- We went back to Asheville for another visit and to see Beirut in concert.
- Harrison and I spent a lot of time with our families over Christmas and had a wonderful time together.
- For our New Year's festivities, I'll go into detail below:

This year, we decided to spend New Year's in Atlanta with our friends Erin and Joey. Harrison and Joey have been together on New Years more times than I've been with Harrison on New Years! On Friday night, we went to a great restaurant called JCT. We had a little 'cocktail hour' before our reservations, so we sipped on drinks outside in teak patio chairs, underneath heat lamps (although unnecessary for the 60 degree weather), as we listened to acoustic guitar and enjoyed the city view in the distance. I highly recommend this place! 

At dinner we had the most amazing deviled egg appetizer I've ever put in my mouth. I'm still thinking about those eggs!

After dinner, we went to a cool speakeasy/bar called Ormsby's. It was huge inside and people were playing fun games everywhere.

On Saturday, we ate breakfast in Decatur at a great little spot called Sweet Melissa's.

Afterward, we got a sneak peak at Erin's newly purchased townhouse (adorable) and went for a walk around her cute neighborhood. I took pictures of homes I thought were pretty cute:

After going back to Erin's apartment and resting up a few hours for the night ahead, we got ready and met up with our friends Jameson and Katie. We went to the Bucket Shop Cafe (an Auburn hot spot) to watch our bowl game.

I noticed that our waitress looked familiar, so I asked her where she worked previously. She had been our waitress before in Asheville at the place where we used to watch Auburn games (Pack's Tavern). I thought that was pretty neat. Auburn looked AWESOME! It was great to see our season end so strongly. I can't wait until September 2012!

The game ended pretty late, around 10:45, so we had to figure out quickly where we wanted to be to ring in the New Year. One place popped into my head: JCT's deck! We knew it would be perfect outside with the unseasonably warm weather. We jumped into our cars and arrived at about 11:30. That gave us time to grab a glass of champagne (Prosecco for Erin and I), have a few photo opps, listen to the acoustic music, and enjoy the city view from the walking bridge (over the train tracks) that connected to JCT. At midnight we could see the fireworks going off in downtown.

 Erin and Joey

 Katie and Jameson

It wasn't a good idea for us to have a group picture under the heat lamp.

One of the servers gave Katie a massive amount of leftover balloons. She looks like she's going to float away: 

 Harrison thought it would be fun to pop all of Katie's balloons with his pocket knife. In this photo, he's chasing Katie across the bridge as he pops all of her balloons!

 The aftermath:

On Sunday morning, we all grabbed brunch/lunch at a Taco Mac in Decatur and met up with David and Katie there. They had a fun night at the bowl game with Nate.

I wonder what we'll be doing next year for New Year's? What did you do?