the poags go marching ..

on sunday, May 1st

the poags went 'a marchin!

we marched for healthier babies.

we marched for our friends and their little ones.

we marched for OUR babies.

many babies are born early. 

some by choice (doctors or mothers)

some NOT by choice.

either way, we march and pledge and donate for the resources to take care of those early babies.

kullen spent the first five days of his life in the NICU.

he was born early by the choice of my doctor and myself.

had i of known, i would have declined the option.

i know better this time.

unless a baby is ready and coming on his/her own

it shouldn't be born any earlier than it has too!

we had a great turn out at the March of Dimes walk

and

Gianna & the baby steppers did their thang! 

we all endured every bit of 5miles 

and with smiles on our faces :)

[this is his excited face!]

michele, heather and my-prego-self!

poags!

something was staaaanky!

our group.

we were the largest team there!

i cannot wait to do this again next year.

it was very inspiring to see all these people come out and walk for healthier babies.

it was amazing to see the 50+ people who love gianna & her family enough to walk with them.

i'm proud to be one of those people!

thanks to everyone who supported our team and helped us reach our goals! 

see you next year, MOD!

[all images courtesy of heather and mandee]

march of dimes!

i am very excited to be participating in the March of Dimes this year.
our team name is Gianna & the Baby Steppers! I am sure you all remember my post about baby Gianna. She is the daughter of one of my very best friends (and kullen's sitter) and is very special to me and our family! kullen loves her to death and lights up whenever you say her name! she is his little girlfriend, that's for sure! ;]

we are walking in her honor but also in honor of every other baby born before their time. Although Gianna is a healthy baby girl today, if it weren't for March of Dimes and other walkers donating their time and money in the past, her family would have had an even more difficult time during the entire process!

i know a lot of you guys aren't local but if you wanted to give a little donation to help us - it is more than appreciated!
www.marchforbabies.org/kaleysalene

also - Ashley is offering up 25% of Scentsy sales to the March of Dimes! if you're running low on scents or need some new summer styles - head on over to her site and make sure you select March of Dimes when checking out! :)
https://amhscents.scentsy.us/Buy/

and PLEASE - feel free to pass this along! we'd love the help and support from anyone and everyone who can! :]

gianna :*

so, while i was on vacation - kullen's babysitter stephanie had her babygirl. Gianna Adele was born June 2nd at 3pm weighing in at 6lbs 2.2oz and 19inch long - and this is AMAZING considering she was 5 weeks early! i so badly wish i could have been home to see her the day she was born - even though she wasn't allowed visitors that day! being 5 weeks early - she was doing VERY well. while stephanie was pregnant she was given steroid shots to speed up gianna's lung development because she knew she would be early and she was right!! even though she got the shot, they still had her on oxygen to make sure she was getting the proper amount of air and also had her on a feeding tube :( my heart broke for stephanie and john. when kullen was born, he was kept 2 extra days and the tubes and IVs were heartbreaking - so i defintely felt their pain. well, on friday - they decided to transport gianna to children's hospital for better medical treatment and in my opinion better STAFF! well, last night she was taken off her ventilator and feeding tube! :) i was lucky enough to be able to go visit her sweet face today during my lunch and she looked amazing! i got to watch stephanie feed her a bottle and see her open her cute little eyes. my heart still breaks for stephanie and john though - they have to leave their baby every night. i couldn't imagine but as i told stephanie - the things a mother will endure for her child - and the strength God gives is amazing. you think about something and think 'i could never do that' but then you're in that situation and you somehow find the strength to do things you never thought possible - you work through your OWN pain. as i walked through the childrens NICU ... i had to fight the tears. to see all these infants, in their own hospital rooms, alone, crying ... broke my heart =( i just wanted to go in the rooms and pick them up and love on them, kiss their faces and tell them everything was going to be alright.
but anyway - back to miss gianna - she is beautiful :) i am SO thankful that i got to see her ... i could have just stood there forever and gawked at her!


gianna adele - 5 days old :)