2011 was a crazy year, with a lot of ups and downs. Here's a quick review:
In January, we celebrated Andrew's first birthday. The poor little fella was sick, so we didn't get a massive cake-smashing eating session.
February was a pretty crazy month. We found out we were expecting what we thought was baby #2. It turned out, we were expecting babies 2 and 3.
In March, Jay and I took a 5 night cruise to Cozumel and Grand Cayman.
April was a quiet month, trying to deal with the shock of expecting twins. Andy had fun playing outside once the weather started warming up a little bit.
In May, we went to Kentucky to visit our former pastor and his family. We had a great time! Andrew loved Joe's "tractor" and enjoyed riding with him. We also found out our twins were a girl and boy.
June, July and most of August flew by, as summers do. Andrew and I spent most days at my mom's pool, trying to keep cool, which got harder and harder as I got bigger and bigger.
The end of August closed with a bang, much like a gunshot, as it was very traumatic. On August 30, I went to the hospital for a routine NST (Non Stress Test). The nurses were having trouble finding two separate heartbeats, so the doctor ordered a BPP (Bio Physical Profile), which is where an ultrasound is done, and certain movements, breaths and other things are looked for to determine how a baby is faring. We found out that afternoon that our little boy's heart had stopped beating. We had chosen the name Wesley James for him, and in the tradition of choosing family names for our children, he was named after my great-great-great grandfather, Noah Wesley Hampton, my grandfather, James Talmadge Hampton, and Jay's grandfather, Harold James Hollinger.
September was nothing but one day of crazy after another. For the first 10 days, I was in and out of the hospital, with contractions or concern that I wasn't feeling the other baby moving enough. On September 8, I was admitted overnight, and the doctors noticed our little girl's heart beat decline rapidly when I had a contraction. The next day, we had a routine ultrasound scheduled. During that time, the doctors discovered she had almost no amniotic fluid left. The decision was made to go ahead and deliver her first thing the next morning.
On September 10, 2011, (9.10.11) Zenith Danielle Hollinger entered this world. She was born at 9:35 a.m. and weighed 5 lbs. 4 oz. She was pulled out of my tummy screaming, which was a huge relief after the pain and concern the last 10 days had brought us. Her name comes from her great-great aunt Zenith Marie (Hollinger) Blood.
Zenith spent the next 14 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), to learn how to "suck, swallow and breathe" at the same time. September 24 was a very bittersweet day for us. We laid Wesley to rest next to his Grandpa Bob and Uncle Alan. We also got to bring Zenith home that day.
October was an awesome month for us. We spent a day at the pumpkin patch, and on the 20th, Jay and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. We had an amazing dinner at RuthsChris steakhouse. For Halloween, Andy dressed up as a cow.
November brought Thanksgiving, and lots of time spent with family, who were all anxious to meet Zenith for the first time.
Christmas was exciting. Andrew is nearly two, so he was much more aware of what was going on. We'd been reading about Santa, so he knew a bit about what to expect this year. In early December, we rode the Coopersville/Marne Santa train. Andy's really into trains, so it was a lot of fun.
We spent Christmas Eve with Jay's family, as we've done the last 11 Christmases. Christmas Day was spent with my family, and Andrew got a very special present--a John Deere Power Wheels tractor! He was ecstatic! We ended Christmas with some good food, and a great game of cards.
2011 ended for us the way it has for several years now--our annual New Years Eve party. We had a great crowd, and even added some new friends to our bunch this year. After the whirlwind that was 2011, we're looking forward to a better year in 2012, with trips to Washington, DC, Arkansas, Chicago, and Mexico planned. Stay tuned!
