Activities in the Summer...

So before we head off on our annual Beach trip I wanted to blog about some of the happenings that Braylen has been involved in this summer.

I will start with Gymnastics! We go every Wednesday morning at 9:30 and it is only 30 minutes. Can you imagine occupying a toddler any longer than that....or trying to teach them....man! We start out in a group circle doing activites then we move on to circuit training learning how to do the balance beam, the bars, front rolls, cart wheels, trampoline....etc. We then end the class in the circle again where they lay on their stomachs and sing a "Bye Bye" song! This has been a fun experience and I plan on keeping her enrolled through the end of August and then taking a break since she starts back Mothers Morning Out in September.

Our next adventure was SWIM lessons! Mrs. Jill is the swim instructor and she is known as the SWIM WHISPER....how funny is that! Anywho, she believes in starting the kids out at a VERY young age and then their progress will be less difficult the older they get. The video I am going to post is Braylen swimming to the ladder. They start out up and down until they can gain control to put their heads in the water and float on their stomachs. She loves floating on her back and is very good about swimming under water and kicking her legs till she gets to the side of the pool or your arms. We are VERY pleased with how she has down and will continue to keep Braylen in swim lessons once a week starting in the FALL....! Grant was a swim baby and did swim team growing up and would really like to see Braylen enjoy that sport! Swim lessons lasted ONE week and were about 15 minutes each day (she charges a $1 a minute,) I think if they are older the lesson last a little longer but it is hard on the little toddlers. Oh and parents aren't allowed in there until the last day...so this is the video I got....and of course she was crying for me to rescue her....lol! Ever since her lesson, when we go to the pool, all she wants to do is practice her swimming. That just blows my mind because Mrs. Jill mentioned not to over do it with them at the pool...just review it a little in the beginning and then just let your kids play like the others.....however....all Braylen wants to do is practice and swim....so neat! And one last thing....every time we talk about the pool, Braylen says "Jill gives suckers" that was her reward after every practice...Mrs. Jill gave them suckers and that sure got Braylen through it....lol! This is a picture before we go into the lesson and then the video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlrWhHrEu9c

I have more videos of her lesson but they are too short to share but once again we were super impressed with Mrs. Jill and look forward to Braylen continuing her journey of swimming with her. Oh and this picture is her eating her lunch after swim lessons.

Outside of going to the pool and playing this summer we have also enjoyed the sprinklers. She is so funny about them....she would rather drink the water than run through them and play. Well whatever floats her boat but she sure was cute doing it.

We also have been with a lot of our friends this summer and the babies below are my best friends from highschool kids. Addie is Nikki's little girl and A.J. is Nicole's little boy, they are only 3-4 weeks apart.....they are about 8-9 mths old. Braylen loves treating them like they are her babies. I am sure we will have NO problem with her playing with our new addition!

Sorry for the long post but lots to share but I also wanted to let my followers know that I am doing GREAT! Went to my specialist appt. last week and there is NO MORE fluid in the kidneys, baby still measures small but not abnormal and everything looks great! They even said I could ask my regular O.B. if I could stop going to the specialist and they could do my ultrasounds monthly to monitor the umbilical cord.......! So I go today and definitely will ask. The specialist did say, don't be disappointed if they say NO...it would only be because of Insurance purposes. So that is that update and one last thing....I THINK WE HAVE A NAME!!!!!

Carsen Faith Schmeelk (we are still working on the spelling of Carsen but I am pretty definite this is the route we are going... can't wait to meet her!)

4th of July Weekend...

The 4th of July weekend was VERY busy for us! We kicked off the weekend Friday night at the Cumming Fairgrounds where they always have a HUGE firework display.....! We met up with all of our friends, grilled out, socialized and watched the fireworks. Braylen was not a fan of the fireworks this year....they were too loud. She would say, "Firework.....BOOOOM!" It was cute but she wasn't liking them at all. However, she did get to enjoy the evening with some of her favorite friends!

The next morning, Saturday, we woke up and enjoyed a nice breakfast together as a family. I usually teach classes on Saturday mornings so we never get to enjoy it together but I didn't have to this past Saturday so it was nice to have family time. After breakfasts, we all got dressed and loaded up and went to the Cumming Parade, where they had over 20 steam engines to lead the rest of the parade participants. The Steam Engines were SO LOUD......! People were passing out ear plugs left and right and sure enough Braylen did not like the noise. It was SO LOUD that even MY own ears were burning. Not sure if we will be doing that again......! The steam engines are also really SLOW so it took forever and they were loud so we were all starting to get a little miserable.....! We might try it out a few years down the road so she can collect fun candy but definitely not anytime soon....ha! The picture below is us strolling to the parade because all the roads were blocked off and then the one after that was after the steam engines had finally rolled by she was able to sit down and enjoy some NERDS......she is sitting quite lady like, isn't she....lol! After the parade, all she kept saying is "ChooChoo is LOUD".......!

After the parade we went home, ate some lunch, and changed into our swim suit! We all went to out good friends, Evan and Tara's house for more celebration of the 4th of July Weekend. Us Moms/pregnant moms all went to the pool with the kids (their pool is VERY kid freindly) and all the guys and some of our other girl friends went on the boat and hung out on the lake all afternoon. It was a great afternoon of sunshine, swimming, socializing, and relaxing, we definitely enjoyed it. After a long afternoon at the pool we all headed back to Evan and Tara's house for some yummy dinner. We grilled BBQ chicken, roasted potatoes, grilled vegetables, corn on the cob, every appetizer you can imagine and then an amazing fruit cookie pizza.....it was all SO YUMMY! Pictures below are of all the kids getting bathed after a long day at the pool, Caleb and Braylen eating some dinner, and then them all relaxing trying to enjoy a movie!

Sunday was an even better day for our crazy, busy weekend! I woke up at 5:00am to get ready to head down to ATL to run in the 41st annual Peachtree Road Race. My race time started at 7:35, so I had to get up, drive to Marta, hop on with TONS of people and get in my placement group in time to run 6.2 miles! I love this race, it is such a FUN race and is a GREAT tradition to start with your family. My family is usually with me when I run this race but this year was a little different. This year, the race was on Sunday and at our church, the guest speaker was TIM TEBOW.....needless to say...they all backed out of the race to go see TIMMY! They got to do a personal breakfast with him, which was super intimate and then he spoke in both services. Hannah has those pictures to share. I was able to make it to the last service to listen to him. It was a crazy and fast morning for me. Oh....I must add...that while I was racing.....I was 3 minutes slower this year than last....which was expected.....because I am 7mths pregnant....WOW...what an accomplishment.....! Oh and the weather was PERFECT! So after the race and church, Grant and I came back to the house, showered, laid around and then went down to our pool for a FISH FRY with our neighbors....it was YUMMY food as well and Braylen got to play with some of the neighborhood kids, which was nice.

Monday, Grant had off and we did a lot of things around the house! He also got to play a lot with Braylen. Braylen is also VERY into her babies....so we always take them outside and play with the babies, or bath the babies, or stroll the babies....it is something with the babies.....and she has like 7 babies that she rotates throughout....! So the weekend was VERY eventful but a lot of fun was had.

6 mth appt.

Hey Readers,

Last Tuesday I went to my 6mth OB appt. and my Specialist appt. Just wanted to update everyone and let them know how the appt.'s went.

The OB was the glucose test appt. and the sugary drink I had to drink was FRUIT PUNCH (YUCK!) It is so sugary, it makes me gag! The nurse kept on saying if you throw up you have to start all over.....well...duh! I wasn't going to throw up but I was definitely making noises about how NASTY the drink was...lol! Anywho, this appt. was very nice and smooth, my midwife came in and checked me out and said she (Carson...this week) sounded good and felt good! She was pleased which made me pleased. Then I had to sit in the waiting room for another 30 mins to let that sugary, nasty drink soak up in my blood so they could draw some blood. I am not sure I have ever mentioned this but I hate getting my blood drawn but if I ever have to, I would want the nurse at my OB practice to do it. She is SO SMOOTH and does an EXCELLENT job.....I compliment her EVERY time......! I have had a bad experience that is why I have always disliked it but this nurse allows me to be relaxed and not worry about it....she is GREAT! So shout out to the OBGYN of Atlanta blood drawing nurse....ha....I don't even know her name....so sad!

My Fetal Specialist Appt. was right after this one so I went straight to this appt. and waited for Grant to meet me there. They called me back and did all the ultrasound anatomy checkups like they did last time. Watching this screen this time from last time was crazy because Grant and I both could tell how much she had grown. Her spine was so detailed and all her body parts....so that was telling me she was GROWING...yay! The technician was very pleasant (I liked her a lot better than the last one) she actually talked to us and made us giggle here and there and she kept saying how pretty everything was on our little girl! She definitely brightened up the mood and made us feel comfortable and good about why we were there, as opposed to SCARED to death, which I was when I first got there. So, she was done and mentioned she was also pleased with what she saw and then she sent us to another room to wait to talk to the doctor. The Doctor came in and mentioned how (CARSON) is still measuring small but that is okay. But at 32 weeks if she is still small then we need to see her more often to monitor her growth more (I was 25 weeks on Saturday.) She then said the umbilical cord still remains/looks the same so we just need to continue to monitor that and make sure (CARSON) is getting enough blood flow and nutrients. And last she talked about the FLUID....she mentioned it was actually looking back to NORMAL.....what, really.......repeat...NORMAL! So after the crazy scare of abnormal fluid last month, now things look normal.....! I sure hope so and felt super relieved to hear that from her! She mentioned I can still continue to go on my everyday activities and that I will do until I feel the need to slow down or they tell me.

And that is the lastest Readers.......! This coming up weekend is the weekend to work on getting Braylen's big girl room ready and putting the nursery (Braylen's room) back to nursery style.....well that might not happen right away but getting the BIG girl room is the first on the list....so I will post on that!

I don't have an update picture of my belly but this picture was taking this past weekend of Grant and I at the Tim McGraw concert.....! I am definitely starting to gain weight....I see it in my face and arms and legs....everywhere really.....but the baby is worth every pound! :)

Nahni is all grown up....

So I generally just do post about my little Schmeelk family but I just had to post about our Nahni (a.k.a Hannah) and her actually graduating Highschool.

First, let me start out and say how extremely proud we are of Hannah. She doesn't have all the confidence in the world and at times wanted to give up but she put her trust in God and pulled through and was able to graduate and also get HOPE (scholarship for 3.0 and above in GA)

I am definitely emotional about Hannah graduating. It is such a bitter sweet feeling. I am very excited for her new journey in life and know that she will be an amazing young woman but I am also very sad at the same time. Hannah is leaving us! Our family is extremely close as most know, especially the sisters, and having Hannah leave is like losing a best friend. I see Hannah every week and love having our chats. I know we will still be able to catch up here and there but it won't be the same not having her around all the time. Hannah is a very good kid and loves God and loves her family.......I envy that. It took me a good while to realize what GOD/family/friends really meant but Hannah knows and holds onto it tight. And with that being said, I don't want anyone to think that I am not excited for her but she will just be missed in my household.....LOTS!


On another note.....this picture doesn't have Braylen in it...she was very sick.....and that I will touch on at the end of this post but it was SAD for us and for Hannah to not have Bray around. Nahni and Hannah have a one of a kind relationship....! Never knew my little baby girl would love MY sister as much as she does. Braylen wakes up asking for Nahni, Nahni can be the topic of the day for Braylen, and when she sees Hannah, she never wants to leave her side. When Hannah starts her college years ( in August at Valdosta State University....go Hannah....) Braylen will miss her dearly and I know Hannah will miss her Braylen. Their relationship is indiscribable and I get tears in my eyes just thinking how things are going to change....not for the worst, but for the good, but still just change can be SAD. What is even more sad is that this new baby girl (still trying to decide on a name....Carson or Brittan are in the running as of now,) probably won't have the same relationship with Nahni as Braylen does....only because Hannah will now be 4 hours away and won't be seen as much as we see her now. I hate thinking about that but it is true....but time to move on....right!?!?!

Hannah's graduation was an eventful time. It started off with her being recognized at church for graduating....there were several seniors that graduated from the church so the process was lengthy. They were given AWESOME bibles that Dr. Lee wrote....it is such a neat Bible. And then she had a graduation party/gathering on memorial day at mom and dad's house. Her friends were there, neighbors, her coaches, her family (Granddad, Grandmom, Mama, Papa, Lis, Adam, Bodie, Grant, Braylen, and me) and then a few others...that I didn't know.....oh and yes...good ole Roger.....and his parents came as well. The food was yummy and the talking/socializing was nice! Braylen was a treat for us because she got sick at her party which took a funny turn....I will fill in later. Then her graduation day was in the afternoon at the Gwinnett Civic Center....great place to have it! We all went to celebrate her getting her diploma and then went to a nice dinner afterwards. This was wonderful family time and I hope Hannah enjoyed it. She got some wonderful congratulatory gifts from some great people....it just made me remember the days of graduating highschool and college. Loving all the gifts but had mixed emotions....not sure what to think or what is next in the journey of life......just weird thoughts.....do you guys remember the day you graduated or during that time and how you felt?

The picture below is also a bitter sweet picture. I know DAD is super excited for Hannah but I also know that he is SAD at the same time. All his girls are grown up but more importantly his Hannah B. is leaving to go to college. I thought the day that she got her drivers license was tough on him and mom...not being needed anymore, gaining independency but I feel that this experience is going to hit him harder....not so much right now but the day they leave her at College and travel back on the roads and realize she won't be home until she wants to come visit....or in Hannah's case....needs something....lol! Dad and Hannah have also had a VERY special relationship together....well we each have a special relationship with our parents but this one ws different. I never was Daddy's little girl and HANNAH most certainly was. They have a love/hate connection that is very fun to observe. They are like best friends to the extent....on how they talk to each and treat each other....it is crazy....even more crazy to know if I ever talked to my dad like Hannah does or how Dad talks to Hannah....not sure what would have happened. But once again, their relationship is unique and special and it is going to be a SAD first month when she leaves. HOWEVER, at least dad has BRAYLEN and BRAYLEN has her POPPIE.....which is a relationship that will always be dear to my heart. I just talked about how much Braylen and hannah love each other....Poppie and Braylen might have that relationship beat....lol! Anyways.....it will be nice for dad to have Braylen still and also the new little baby girl as well!

Wow, okay, this turned into a longer post than I thought. Lots of THOUGHTS and emotions flying around but I am glad and thankful that I am able to share this with you all. Hannah is such a wonderful person, she has a heart of GOLD, and she is the best sister, bestfriend, and AUNT, in the world!

Valdosta is in for a treat......Hannah, way to continue the tradition! (SIDE NOTE: Elisabeth, Adam, Grant, and I all went to Valdosta)

***Braylen being sick....she had diarhea for 2 WEEKS.....liquid....bad! She also threw up in her bed a few times as well. Even though this stuff was taken place, Braylen was still happy as can be so I just assumed everything was okay or that she was teething or something....! We went to Valdosta this past weekend for Hannah's orientation and Braylen's sickness went to the extreme. Excessive diarhea and vomitting in her car seat going and coming....it was disgusting/nasty...you name it....but so SAD because Bray didn't feel good and I didn't know how to help...it was tough but I thank my wonderful family for being around and helping me out and keeping things calm....! I did take her to the doctor to at least let them decide what was up...even though she was starting to act normal again....! She FORTUNATELY had an accident there so they took samples and said it smelled like ROTA VIRUS....(what....a virus has a smell....weird!) Anyways, it isn't treated with antibiotics...it has to play it's course but they HIGHLY recommend pumping her with Probiotics, no juices, only the BRAT diet and no dairy. Sure enough....our Braylen...knock on wood.....is back to normal and having SOLID diapers....wahoo! I didn't know what I was about to do with myself....cleaning, changing, gagging, you name it.

Oh and for the mothers of youngens out there....they said that every kid before the age of 5 will catch Rota Virus.....it can be found in childcare centers and them constantly putting their GERMY hands in their mouths.....so wash up ladies!

The fear of the unknown...

Well it all started last Monday at my 20 week appt. when I found out that the precious baby I am carrying is a BABY GIRL! While most people, including myself, get super excited about finding out the sex, you tend to forget about what that appt. is really for. It is a whole anatomy ultrasound to make sure your baby is growing correctly, in brain size, has all chambers of the heart, all limbs measure normal, has 2 ears, a mouth, and a nose....etc.! Well that appt. was never that important to me until now, until the Doctors told me....BEFORE they told me it was a GIRL......that my baby was measuring small and that the baby has a 2 vessel cord.

The baby measuring small wasn't a HUGE worry to me b/c Braylen did as well and they monitored her the last month based on her size. But the 2 vessel cord was very foreign to me. What it is? The baby normally has a 3 vessel cord- 2 arteries, and 1 vein - mine has 1 artery and 1 vein. Still what does that tell me....? Naturally I was scared and nervous and worried...you name it....didn't really know what to think, especially since they wanted to send me to a FETAL specialist for more detailed checking and monitoring.

So last Monday was a LONG day outside of hearing fun GIRL news.....it was also SAD to me because you want everything to be so perfect. I mean, I try to be such a HEALTHY person...what was I doing wrong to make this baby have some abnormalities?

Well, Grant and I went to the FETAL specialist this past Friday.....the appt. was 4 hours long....NO JOKE! Anyways, you get checked in and they do their routine weight, questions, etc. and then you go back to the ultrasound room. All I could think was, here we go again! And, that is exactly what happened. The synographer did all her DETAILED work in the ultrasound (and of course....this ultrasound was way more intense and detailed and clear on what was what.) She didn't do much talking but it took about an hour and then she left the room to get the doctor. I am assuming they also were dicussing all the photos taken and to confirm why I was sent there anyways. So they both enter the room again, and they definitely confirm the 2 vessel cord, they talked about the size for a while...trying to figure out if the dates were possibly wrong since the baby was measuring smaller.....but figured that wasn't the case, it is just probably because of the 2 vessel cord. Then he starts to chime in....well we also found some urine in the kidney. Supposively the baby already has some urine in the kidney but they felt like my baby had a little more than normal. EKKK.....I am very nervous to hear that because that is just another negative going against this pregnancy.

He then starts to talk about how their are 3 abnormalites going against a normal pregnancy and we feel like we should do an Amniocentesis test. I remember learning about that with Braylen and never wanted to get to that point....and now...here I was. What this test does, is it helps identify the 5 chromosomes that determine whether your child has down syndrome or not, it is a test for chromisonial abnormalties. Hearing this, my heart is melting and I am now crushed because the doctor feels that this is the next step to take to determine if my baby possibly has more abnormalities due to what we have already learned about the baby. As he was talking, I literally CHECKED out....i was crying, sad, confused, hurt, mad...all these crazy feelings......fortunately Grant was still in tune to listen to what was being said and needed to be heard....he filled me in later. So as the time went by, we chose to have that test/procedure done that day....just get it done with so we could have faster results. My heart was telling me to wait but my brain/gut was saying, just do it Sarah! The procedure was small....they stuck a BIG needle in my uterus on my stomach and withdrew some fluid/urine out. This is what they will test the chromosomes with. As they did this.....mild cramping occurs and then they ask for no activity for 24-48 hours as there is still cramping.....but tylenol helped mine...but DEFINITELY didn't help my train of thought.

As we finally left that appt. I was an emotional wreck.....just couldn't pull it together.....which is natural....I would hope, only because I was scared of the fear of the unknown. I know it is in GODS hands and I was willing to accept his challenge and let him guide my family to where he wanted us to be.....but I was also mad and sad at the same time.

The weekend was LONG to say the least....I thought about the results every minute of every hour and tried to stay busy not to think....but it was hard not to. Last night, I didn't get good sleep because I knew I would find out results today...or I was hoping for results! All day today, I was just anticipating their call. It was about 11:00 and they called......to SCHEDULE my NEXT VISIT....urghhhhh....not what I wanted to hear! I mean I know now, regardless of outcome, that I am a regular patient to the FETAL specialist based on the 2 vessel cord but I wanted to HEAR the other stuff. Well, results weren't in....so, of course, I cried....AGAIN! And then....2:00 this afternoon, the nurse called to talk to me about the results. She went over all 5 of the chromosomes and how their numbers came back. They all came back NORMAL.....whewwww! I was RELIEVED beyond belief but still somewhat SAD that my baby still has some abnormalities. So as of today...there is a 99% chance that all is good in the down syndrome department.....that this baby won't have any of those affects, but that doesn't always mean everything is sweet as candy.

There is so much more that I could go on and on about but that is it based in a NUT SHELL. I won't know more till in a couple of weeks at my next appt with the specialist on my precautions etc. but as of today they said I could go on my daily routine and activity...so that is what I am doing! Please continue to pray for this baby that she is healthy and strong and please keep Grant and I in your prayers that we will be able to face any challenge God gives us and will be the best parents to this baby regardless of the outcome.

Love to all!

And the NEWEST ADDITION is.......

DRUM ROLL PLEASE.........


A PRECIOUS BABY GIRL!

We are so excited to have another little girl! I would have taken a baby Boy in a heart beat but I have always wanted to have SISTERS and only HOPE/PRAY they share the bonds that Elisabeth, Hannah, and I share!

We are also excited because this baby will be right in sync with all of Braylen's old clothes....the seasons worked out just perfect and I can keep the nursery the same and prepare for Braylen's big girl room....which I am THRILLED about....seriously....can't wait to start putting it together! I would much rather be decorating ONE room rather than TWO.....so YAY for TWO GIRLS!

Braylen will be an EXCELLENT BIG sister to her Baby sister.....! I watch her on a daily basis feed her babies, change their diapers, drive them around in her car, stroll them, sing to them, burp them....you name it....she is VERY observant!

Now....off to figure out what to name this baby girl! We HOPE to have a name soon or before she comes unlike we did with BRAYLEN! :)

Photos of Braylen and US!

Here are some fun pictures that we had done almost 2 weeks ago. We wanted to get a few family photos of us three before the new one arrived and also grab some good ones of Braylen as she has changed so much in the last couple of months!


She did so good.....suprisingly! It was a morning photo shoot and it was HOT.....and the humidity was HIGH. We thought getting out there early would reduce the HEAT but it didn't. I bet we could have had some more good shots and a few outfit changes for Braylen if the weather didn't have us all SWEATING through our clothes. But overall we are very pleased to have some good shots!



Braylen didn't not want to get off this tire swing. I wish we would have saved these shots for last because then it wouldn't have been such a struggle. She was having a blast which made for this part of the photo shoot a lot of fun. Seeing her loving being on the tire swing brought me back to when I use to go to grandmommy's and granddaddy's and granddaddy would push us on the rope swing. It was so much fun because it would go REALLY high........! This is when they lived in Mississippi in the BIG, LONG house! Or at the time, that is what it was to me! Miss that place and love you Grandmom and Granddad!

This family shot is one of the several we all got together and we love this one so much because having her stand there beside us, just made us realize how she is truely transforming into a toddler, little girl stage.....TEARS!!!! She is still our baby though and will ALWAYS be our FIRST BABY and hold that VERY SPECIAL place in our hearts.....TEARS AGAIN!