Happy 3rd Birthday Abby Kate and Joshua!

Abby Katherine - 4 pounds, 7 ounces, 18 inches at 11:45 p.m. (July 6, 2004)







Joshua Alan - 2 pounds, 5 ounces, 14 inches at 11:46 p.m. (July 6, 2004)






Our Year In Pictures

Summer Fun (August 2006)







Summer Fun (August 2006)







Abby Kate's 1st Haircut (August 2006)








Mother's Morning Out (August 2006)








Gulf Shores (September 2006)








Tate's Farm (October 2006)








Birmingham Zoo (October 2006)








Fall Family Worship (October 2006)







Halloween 2006











Halloween 2006








Santa's Village (December 2006)








Christmas 2006








Abby Kate's First Trip to the Dentist (January 2007)











Joshua's First Trip to the Dentist (January 2007)











Mother's Morning Out School Performance - Joshua is a cow on Noah's Ark (March 2007)







Mother's Morning Out School Performance - Abby Kate is a cow on Noah's Ark (March 2007)







Happy Easter (April 2007)








Abby Kate and Joshua are the big sister and big brother (June 2007)







The Bybee Family (June 2007)







What a fun year we have all had! Abby Kate and Joshua have grown so much. We have all truly enjoyed each and every day. It's hard to believe that my babies are now 3 years old. May God continue to bless Abby Kate and Joshua!

Our Day at the Park

Abby Kate feeding the ducks.


Joshua throwing bread to the ducks. (He actually hit some of the ducks with the bread.)


Our 1st popsicle! Thanks for sharing Lawson.


Joshua and Abby Kate fell asleep on the ride home.


Jackson was wide awake when we got home.

Welcome to Time Out

Well, after thinking about it for more than a week, I'm finally ready to unveil my new blog title. Thanks to everybody who weighed in with their opinions. (Stacy, I nearly went with "The Sunny Side of Life". The only drawback was that I was constantly going around singing that song. It kinda drove me crazy. Sorry!)

With 3 year old twins, they're constantly going in time out. Oddly enough, sometimes they seem to enjoy going into time out. It makes me wish I could put myself in time out. So...I've decided to go with Time Out as the new name of my blog. This blog serves as my own little dose of time out from the world of raising three kids!

As you can tell, I've also made some slight changes to the color scheme, too. Be sure to let me know what you think!

Abby Kate and Jackson

And Let There Be Light

While putting Jackson down for a nap, Joshua and Abby Kate decided to go around the house and turn on all the lights. Yes, each and every light in the house! Oh, and the fans got turned on too.

I don't think that they make light switch covers. Do they?

Time for a New Title

I think that the time has come to rename by blog. I am looking for many suggestions as to a new name. So, tell me what you think.

On a little side note, my son decided that this morning would be the perfect time to play in the toilet. (He's almost 3, shouldn't he know better by now). My bathroom floor was soaked with the water from our toilet. Apparently he decided to use the bathroom cleaner bowl brush to lift the water out of the toilet and onto the floor and walls. So gross!

My Ebay Find

Today, Jason and I ventured out of the house for a family photo. While out, we decided to run into Babies R Us and purchase our "single" stroller for Jackson. We critically looked at the model I had been eying for sometime now and even tried it out with Jackson's snugride infant seat. We were very disappointed to see all of the features that we did not like on it. We quickly realized that the Graco Metrolite Emerson stroller was not for us. I was pretty disappointed. You see, I have this horrible obsession with things being just perfect. Since having Joshua and Abby Kate, we had two Graco infant snugrides and I did not see the point in buying a whole new stroller set for Jackson. I found that the Blackwell Graco pattern that we purchased 3 years ago would closely resemble the Emerson pattern that Graco currently has out. Thus, my carseat would not mismatch my stroller. Well, we tried out the Graco Quattro Strollers and found that our carseat (even though it is a Graco) did not fit as perfectly as we would have liked. We left Babies R Us and decided to try looking online for something.

I have looked on Ebay for the Graco Blackwell stroller (which they made 3 years ago and would match my snugride carseat) and have only seen it a few times. I tried bidding on one back in December, but gave up when the bid reached over $100. (I'm not going to pay that much for a used stroller when I can buy a new one for the same price). Well, today I tried again and could not believe it when one came up. It was listed for $41.00 and had a shipping tag of about $20.00. The best thing about this stroller was that there was only 1 hour and 45 minutes left on the bidding. I watched my item closely and got very excited within the last few minutes. I could not believe that no one else was bidding. I anxiously awaited seeing the sell of the stroller end. Within the last minute and 20 seconds of the auction closing, someone crept in and made a bid. I quickly countered and was relieved when the bid closed and my screen said that I had won! I actually got a little nervous about losing my stroller that I desperately wanted and needed. I am so happy to say that after my frantic attempts to match my carseat to a stroller, I am now the proud owner of a Graco Blackwell pattern Quattro Tour Stroller. It will be a perfect match and the car seat will actually fit better than in a newer model stroller.

This was my first Ebay purchase and I am so pleased with the outcome. I will receive my stroller in the mail shortly and it only cost me $50.00. How awesome is that!?!

My Sweet Little Baby Boy

Here We Go Again

Well, we finally took the plunge and we are once again the proud owners of internet services. I am so happy to finally be connected with the outside world again. As part of our package we received a home phone line. We have been without a home phone for well over 3 years and have LOVED every minute of it. Today, I realized just how much I hated home phone lines. I received my first telemarketing phone call! We just got service and BellSouth has already sold our number! How dare they!

We really are excited about having the internet at home once again. Now all I need is a new computer since mine has been out of commission since December!

Jackson's Homecoming

Baby Jackson and I came home from the hospital last Friday afternoon. I ended up staying an extra day for addition meds. We were all so happy to be home and Joshua and Abby Kate were thrilled to have us all home again. I really did not realize how challenging it would be for the kids to be without me all week. Thankfully, my parents were here with them and gave them all of the love and attention that they needed throughout the week.

Joshua and Abby Kate love their baby brother! They constantly want to know where he is and what he is doing. They are so sweet with him and very gentle. They have actually settled down a little bit and are very helpful to me.

I am slowly recovering from my C-Section. It has been a somewhat easier recovery so far (HA). I am ready to get back into the swing of things, but that will take some time.

Jackson is a GREAT baby! He is very laid back and very content. We are all so happy and enjoying each and every moment of having this precious child in our lives.

Hospital Pic

Check out Jackson's hospital picture!

My Handsome Little Man

More Jackson pictures!

We'll be posting more pictures to our blogs all week long, so check back for more!

Jackson Cash Bybee

Jackson Cash Bybee was born today at 9:01am. He weighs 6 lbs. 12 ozs. and he’s 18 inches long. We chose this name for our son because Jackson means “God has been gracious.” With all that we’ve been through with this pregnancy (fear of Down’s, pre-term labor at 26 weeks, etc.), we can certainly say that God has graciously brought us to this point. Our prayer all along has been that Jackson would be a strong and healthy little boy. And God has certainly answered our prayers.

We chose the name Cash for several reasons. The name itself means "peace" or "peacemaker". But the name is also an homage to my father and his hero, Johnny Cash. Cash has always stood as something of a redemptive figure for me; his sins were certainly public ones, but so too was his faith when he returned to it. Bono once said, "Every man knows he's a sissy compared to Johnny Cash." That's the kind of man my Jackson will be.

All along our prayer for this child has been that he would be a strong man of God. Along those lines, the verse we chose for Jackson is 1 Kings 2:2-3, which says, "So be strong, show yourself a man, and observe what the Lord your God requires." May you live into these words, son. We love you.

Mommy & Daddy, 12:42pm, Monday June 11, 2007

Prediction Time

Well, I am 38 weeks today and will see Dr. Bailey bright and early Monday morning. I asked him today what he thought the weight "might" be and he guessed 7 pounds. (I think that he is keeping things on the safe side with that guess). I would love to hear what you all think.

Time to make your predictions.

Name or Intials
Weight
Length

We will update as soon as we can on Monday.

Georgia Wildfires = Asthmatic Bronchitis

Unfortunately, I woke up last Thursday morning with a really bad sore throat. On Friday, I really did not feel all that well and ended up being worked in at the doctor's office. He quickly identified that I was actually having trouble breathing. Apparently all of the smoke from the Georgia Wildfires had somehow caused my chest wall to become inflamed, making it difficult to breathe. I was given a breathing treatment, a prescription for 2 inhalers, and a prescription for an antibiotic.

On Saturday, it was pretty much the same thing, only I ended up with a slight fever and chills. We called my OB since one of the "call me anytime this happens" was a fever with chills. He ordered me to go to the ER and get checked out. We dropped the kids off at our friend's house and headed over to the ER. It took forever! Everything checked out okay and I was given another breathing treatment and some pain medication for the night. I slept very well that night (which was a relief, since the previous night I was up every hour).

I went back to the doctor today and was given another breathing treatment, along with a lovely and very painful shot. On Wednesday, I will have to begin a Prednisone treatment for a week. They also set me up with a home breathing machine. My doctor is afraid that I might actually have asthma (something that we will have to look into after the birth of the baby).

I already feel so much better this evening. I have taken 4 breathing treatments, a shot, an inhaler and 2 antibiotics. Hopefully this will all be under control by next week.

36 Weeks

Wow! I can hardly believe that I am actually 36 weeks pregnant. I am so excited and happy for making it this far in my pregnancy. We have definitely had our ups and downs. I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of this precious baby that God has graciously blessed us with. After having 2 NICU babies, I am looking forward to holding the baby after recovery. I will not be told that I can only hold my baby for 5 minutes at a time (only after the baby is 3 days old). I will not be told that I am being discharged, but will have to leave my baby in the hands of the nurses at the hospital. I will not have to "scrub down and suit up" everytime I want to see my baby. I will be able to hold my baby. My baby will be allowed to stay in the room with me. The baby will be able to come home with me. I am really looking forward to doing everything the way that it should be.

We are scheduled to have our C-Section at 8:30 on Monday, June 11, 2007. I am still 50% efaced and have now dilated to 1 cm. The doctor is now performing 2 NST (non-stress tests) on me a week. I will be able to stop taking the Brethine next Friday (I can hardly wait)!

Joshua and Abby Kate are getting so excited about the baby. They have started telling me that the baby will "cry a lot" and "scream". I know that they will be a great big brother and big sister. We are just all so excited and can hardly wait for the baby to get here!

To The Couple Waiting Ever So Impatiently In Line Behind Me at Marble Slab

There are 8 other people in line in front of me.

You are beginning to invade my personal space.

If the person in front of me scoots up closer to the person in front of him, I am under no obligation to move 2 steps forward to be on his heels.

I can hear you talking about me not moving forward.

There are only 2 workers getting everyone's orders.

You can look up at the menu to see the flavors of ice cream that Marble Slab is offering tonight (you don't have to crain your neck around my body to see what is being offered).

I could care less that you are in a "fruity" mood.

Yes, two people checked out, I still don't have to move forward. What's the point? It's not like we are going anywhere anytime soon.

(To the guy out on the date) Please do us all a favor and invest in a bottle of deodorant. If I can smell your body odor, so can your date.

Please give me my personal space!!!!

Confessions of My Obsession

I have a confession to make...

I am obsessed with my pillow!
When I was in the fourth grade, my family built a new house and we moved in before the school year began. My grandmother bought my new bedroom furniture and linens. One of the things that she bought with the bed linens was a new pillow. I did not realize it, but this was no ordinary pillow. It was a latex, foam pillow. I fell in love with my new pillow and became very possessive. This pillow lasted me through my elementary, junior high, high school and college years. My pillow even made it through 5 years of marriage.

I did not realize that I had a problem with my pillow until I took it away with me to college. One thing that my roommates and I loved doing was hanging out in the dorm room talking. To them, there were no boundaries. They would sit on my bed (with their shoes on) or even lay their heads down on my pillow. I quickly realized that I had a problem! I could not stand for them to touch my pillow, let alone lay their heads on it. I found myself changing my pillow cases frequently and they soon caught on! From that point forward, they knew what pushed my buttons. Somehow I survived and they began leaving my pillow alone!

When Jason and I got married, we each had our own pillows (that we brought into the marriage). One day Jason decided that he would snuggle up beside me and he put his head on my pillow. (Now, I know that this sounds romantic and all, but I could not get past the fact that he had his head on my pillow.) Little did he know what this would do to me. Over the years, we have worked out the pillow issue and he knows to let me be.

A couple of years ago, I was watching Oprah and she aired a segment on dust mites and unseen creatures that live in our beds and even our pillows. (For those of you that do not know, I am an extreme germophob.) I was totally grossed out and knew that I needed to get rid of the pillow that I had been treasuring for 15+ years. I threw away my pillow and was stuck buying the cheap pillows from Walmart for the next few years. I could not find another latex foam pillow and my heart and head ached for a replacement.

That is until...

The other day, Abby Kate and I were headed back home from a birthday party and I decided to run into Linens 'n Things and take a look around (I have been looking for some new curtain rods). Abby Kate pushed her little buggy through the store and followed me back to the pillows. I decided that it was time to find another cheap pillow that would not give me the support I was looking for. I noticed the pillows that were on sale and became somewhat interested. Before making my final decision, I took a look at the other pillows. I could not believe what I saw in front of me! A Simmons Latex Foam Pillow! This was a dream come true. I did not care that I was about to spend $35 on a pillow! Abby Kate and I made our way to the checkout lane and I purchased my new pillow.

I love my new pillow! I am still very protective of my pillows, but this new one will be carefully guarded!

New Baby Pic!

The other day Jason and I had a 33 week ultrasound. We were so happy about getting to see this little bundle of joy. (We really did not enjoy the last ultrasound since we were so anxious about the genetic screening and counseling). Our baby is thriving and growing quickly. The ultrasound measurement was right on 33 weeks gestation and it calculated the baby's weight at 4# 9oz. We were thrilled! At this same point in my pregnancy last time, Abby Kate's weight was 5#3oz and Joshua's weight was 3# (of course, that is a little more than what they actaully weighed in at birth). This little baby has hair and chubby cheeks. We were able to really see the mouth and nose (I think that this baby has Jason's big plump lips). The baby had its foot over its head (I don't see how that can be really comfortable). Dr. Bailey told us that next week we should be able to schedule our C-Section.

On Friday, I will be 34 weeks along in this pregnancy. Abby Kate and Joshua made it to 33 weeks and 2 days gestation. This is uncharted territory for us. We are so pleased with the progress that we have made in this pregnancy. Dr. Bailey was so proud of me for making it this far. Our time to meet this little baby is getting closer each and every day. We are so excited about this little life that God has blessed us with. Joshua and Abby Kate love talking about the baby in mommy's belly button. I'm sure that they will be a great big brother and big sister!

32 Weeks

"...Sunny Bybee would be a sitting duck!"

That's right! "A sitting duck!" That's the way one of our local tv news reporters described me on the local news last week.

Wednesday afternoon as I was driving home from picking up the kids from Mayfair, I saw that my gas gauge was approaching empty. I pulled into the Kangaroo Gas Station and proceeded to pump my gas so that I could get home. That's when the fun began.

While I was pumping my gas, I was quickly approached by Janine Reyes from NewsChannel 19. She asked if she could ask me a quick question and I said sure. To my surprise, she darted off and came back in a couple of seconds with a man holding a news video camera. As he started taping, she informed me of a woman that had her purse stolen right out of her passenger seat as she was pumping gas that morning. She asked me if I usually kept my purse in my passenger seat and if I locked my doors when I filled up my van with gas. I told her that usually my purse was not in the front seat and that I always locked my doors. She then proceeded with her camera man around the passenger side of my van to uncover the truth.

My driver's side door was still open and I looked through my van to the other side and was shocked to see my purse sitting out and open in my passenger seat and that my doors were unlocked. (I honestly thought about locking them before Janine made it around, but realized that she would hear the automatic locks if I pushed the button). So, I just stood there while the camera man zoomed in on my unlocked passenger door van with my purse sitting in the seat! I was busted! The news lady had proved me wrong. She then interviewed me and asked for my name. I was so humiliated! After she left, I pumped my gas and left totally embarrassed.

At 6:00 on the NewsChannel 19 news, my interview aired. To my surprise, I was the ONLY woman that they had interviewed that day that had left my door unlocked and my purse in the passenger seat! I was proven wrong and was called "a sitting duck".

I hope you learn from my mistake. Don't be guilty of being a "sitting duck". You never know when a criminal might strike (or when a news lady with a camera will embarrass you!)

Happy Easter

We all enjoyed our Easter Sunday this year. We decided to take it easy and had our own easter egg hunt on Saturday night. The kids had so much fun finding their eggs and playing with them after they were all found. We told the kids about the Easter Bunny coming to their house to leave them a present on Saturday night. They were so excited when they woke up Sunday morning.
Unfortunately this is not Joshua's Easter "outfit". Sunday morning was so cold, so we had to pull out something a little warmer. Joshua was very happy about his easter basket. The Easter Bunny brought him a Lightning McQueen race car which is by far his favorite.






Abby Kate was so excited about wearing her pink Easter dress. For the past two weeks she had been begging to wear her dress. The Easter Bunny left her a pair of pink sunglasses. Of course she wore them all through church on Sunday morning. She is definitely turning into a little diva!

28 Weeks

Our Days at the House

I've been taking it easy since hearing the latest about my preterm labor. Jason has done so much around the house. (I bet that he has made at least 10 trips to the store in the last 2 weeks). Everyone has been so great to help us out and to remember this baby and me in their prayers. The rest seems to be helping. We've been spending our days lounging around the house. I have been out only a few times and was actually surprised to see how green everything had become.

The kids are doing well. They have really started playing with each other all the more. They love to play "going to bed". They walk hand in hand and tuck one another into their beds. They also like to go on walks through the house pushing Abby Kate's stroller. Abby Kate has really started a more "imaginative" play. Joshua still loves to play baseball with daddy. They throw, play catch, hit the ball and Joshua runs the bases. When I ask the kids about the baby, Abby Kate tells me that she wants a baby sister and Joshua wants a baby brudder (Abby Kate says that she already has a bro).

Here are a few pictures from today. They love to take pictures!

I Can't Get Enough

Saying good-bye to the pizza and hello to the roast beef sandwich from Arby's!

24 Weeks

Here is the latest picture of the ever growing belly. Tomorrow I will actually be 26 weeks and it has unfortunately taken me this long to get it up on the blog.

I think that we are going to be looking into some internet plans in the next week or so.

I had my glucose screening today and saw the doctor as well. The baby is continuing to grow and the heartbeat has been a steady 150. I had been having a tremendous amount of back pain and even felt a few early contractions this morning. After my exam, the doctor did in fact reveal that I am having contractions and that my cervix is already 50% effaced. Not the news I was hoping for! Right now I am to take it easy and rest often. I have also been prescribed Brethine (which I took during my pregnancy with Joshua and Abby Kate) to help stop/ease the contractions that I am having. I am on the lowest dose for now. They are checking to make sure that I do not have a urinary tract infection (which could explain why I am starting to have these contractions). We were suppose to leave for Panama City Beach tomorrow, but I am also no longer allowed to leave town. Hopefully my body will cooperate and this little baby will be here in June!

Moving Days

We have spent the last week or so packing up and moving into our new house. We absolutely love the new place and can hardly wait to get it all settled. Our internet company does not service our new house, so we are in the process of looking into some internet plans. I am limiting my posting time to seeing Jason at the church office.

Here's the latest...

Joshua is doing really well with his potty training. (I feel like he is basically training himself). He only has about 2 - 3 accidents a day! He is so proud of himself and we are so happy.

When we moved, we put Abby Kate in a full bed and Joshua got her toddler bed. We have not had a single issue with it all. They love their new rooms and beds.

I am into my 24th week in my pregnancy. Everything looks great with the baby. I am measuring about 2 weeks ahead of schedule! (I will have Jason post a picture from this weekend).

We are planning on going to the beach in the next couple of weeks. Should be fun!

We got Dish Network and love it! I am still trying to figure out how to even turn the tv on.

The kids love seeing their fish in the pond and the cows. The other day while having lunch, we saw a horse that lives on the farm behind us.