Bittersweet Day.........

Today will be another busy day in the Williford household! A lunch me, my mom, and Anna-Grace are headed to see the Easter Bunny, then tonight after Chris gets off work we will be headed to Florida!!!

We are soooo ecited about meeting up with friends we haven't seen since our honeymoon, and celebrating our 4th Anniversaries together, but it is going to be sooo tough to leave our babygirl!

I know she will be well taken care of while we are gone, but it is still going to be hard to be away from her for a whole week! Hopefully she doesn't take it as hard as I will!

Stay tuned for beautiful pictures from the Bahamas!!!

The Latest on Anna-Grace

As most of you are well aware, Anna-Grace has been suffering from repeated UTI's and bladder infections. Her last one being the worst one yet (in terms of causing her pain). We took her back to the doctor yesterday and they just called me this morning to let me know her culture came back negative, so we have cleared out the infection. They are putting her on a 30 day supply of anit-biotics so the infection does not return before her appt at the hospital which they informed me would be the Monday after we return from our vacation.

She has to be there at 8am and will have 2 seperate tests run the 1st will be a Renal Ultrasound (see description below)to see if they can see any form of blockage in her kidneys.

Ultrasonography is the first imaging test used in evaluation of an infant with a urinary tract infection or as postnatal follow-up to known prenatal hydronephrosis. A renal ultrasound is a non-invasive test in which a transducer is passed over the kidney producing sound waves which bounce off the kidney, transmitting a picture of the organ on a video screen. The test is used to determine the size and shape of the kidney, and to detect a mass, kidney stone, cyst, or other obstruction or abnormalities. The kidneys, ureters, and bladder should all be surveyed.

The second test will be a VCUG (again see description below) and that will be done immediatley following the renal ultrasound.


Most children with urinary tract infections, especially if they are younger than five years old will need some testing done to make sure that they do not have urinary reflux, or vesicoureteral reflux (VUR). This is a condition that causes urine to move backwards from the bladder, through one or both of the ureters, and up to the kidneys. It is especially important to test children under 2-5 years old with a UTI and older children that have more than one infection. Up to 50% of children with a UTI may have reflux on further testing.



Vesicoureteral reflux can either be primary, due to an intrinsic anatomic deformity of the ureterovesical junction (where the ureter enters the bladder), which is usually congenital and eventually resolves spontaneously in most cases. Vesicoureteral reflux can also be secondary to other abnormalities, such as posterior urethral valves or neurogenic bladder or other causes of bladder outlet obstruction.

Children with antenatal hydonephrosis, usually diagnosed on a prenatal ultrasound, are also at risk for vesicoureteral reflux.

The tests that are done include a sonogram (ultrasound) of the kidneys (to look for hydronephrosis) and another test called a VCUG (voiding cysto-urethrogram) that involves placing a catheter in to the bladder and then injecting a dye. X-rays are then taken to see if the dye moves up towards the kidney.


I am a little worried about how she will do with the catheter, but she's such a trooper I am sure she will be fine. I will be sure to keep you updated :-)

Annual Trip to the Daffodil Farm!!!

It's really funny how every year since we have had Anna-Grace the second I see Daffodil's starting to pop up I immediately begin to plan Anna-Grace's outfit and look for just the perfect day to take her to snap a few pictures.

With the beautiful weather we have had the past week or so, I noticed it was time. We will be leaving Sunday to head to FL for our cruise and thought if I didn't go ahead they would all be gone by the time we got back (or at least not as pretty). We decided to go on Sunday and boy was it crowded. We went around 10am thinking most people would still be in church but boy was I wrong. Most of the pictures you can see several people in the background but hey, it's a very popular place.




As usual Anna-Grace hammed it up for the camera. I take a picture of her every year next to the "Don't Pick the Flowers" sign, and it's strange to look back and see how much she has grown! This year they even had a new sign in place :-) Her hair is getting soo long and curly and I swear it gets more red every second! Not quite sure what I am going to do without her for a whole week :-(

Our Little Model!!

A friend I went to school with, is one of the craftiest people I know. She has recently been asked to sell some of her wonderful kids clothes at a clothing store here in town. She drafted a pattern on her own that she was not sure would fit a 2T, so she asked if Anna-Grace could come try the outfit on to make sure (it fit her 12 month old daughter as well so she was a bit worried).

Of course we were more than happy to help, and went by her house for a few minutes on Sunday. She took a couple of pictures for her Craft blog and this was by far my favorite. I mean how much sassier can you get....she's got her hand in the pocket, one hand on her hip, and those eyes make her look like she's up to something. She's just rotten :-)

T- Minus 31 Days and Counting

Until we board this ship bound for the Bahamas ------->


It has been a very stressful year for our household, work's been crazy and Chris and I thought with our upcoming 4th Anniversary that we needed some time away, just the 2 of us! We met a couple while we were honeymooning in Jamaica that we had a blast with and they are going with us. Chris and I are beyond excited (though we are DREADING leaving Anna-Grace for a whole week). Stay tuned for pictures from Paradise, and be sure to pray out boat doesn't sink and we don't get attacked by Pirates!! LOL

Jackson's Shower!

Today was a day to shower Amanda and spoil my Godson Jackson! I can't believe it's only a month and a half away! We all can't wait to meet him....Anna-Grace especially, though we keep trying to explain to her he won't be able to play with her as soon as he comes out. I think she may be a little disappointed, but I am sure she will love him just the same!


Amanda got some great presents and I am sure she is at home right now trying to organize it all. Who am I kidding, I bet by now she has almost all of it put away!

Let it Snow 2k10!!

Finally for once this year the Weathermen got it right, and Eastern NC finally got some snow. We tried to let Anna-Grace stay up late last night so she could see it, but we finally gave up and put her to bed....of course right after she fell asleep the flakes started falling!


THE PICTURE BELOW JUST SHOWS A SMALL HINT OF THE EXCITMENT SHE SHOWED WHEN WE WENT OUTSIDE!!




We woke up EARLY this am (Chris still had to go to work) to a Winter/Ice Wonderland! We played in the snow for a little bit, but it quickly turned to ice/sleet so we came back inside!





It's supposed to start up again around 5pm (just in time for it to get bad again before Chris has to come home from work :-( ) so maybe we will get to play some more!

Introducing "Tiny"

A special visitor from The North Pole arrived at our house right before Thanksgiving. A special Elf from Santa tasked to keep a direct eye on Anna-Grace and report back to him her good and BAD behavior!

We had to give him a name and once we convinced Anna-Grace we didn't need to name him Elfy the Elf (everything like like that right now, she gets a stuffed dog and wants to name him doggy the dog...a stuffed cat....kitty the cat, we're hoping she gets a bit more creative with age)we decided on Tiny! He watches her all day then flies back to The North Pole at night to give Santa the head's up ( I think she frequently moves from the Nice to Naughty list). When he returns he is in a new place in the house. You just never know where he will land next!

Professional Beach Pictures

While we were in Myrtle Beach, we scheduled to have some professional pictures done. Since we have not taken any "family" pictures since Anna-Grace was 2 weeks old I was extremely excited and even more excited when the pictures came back......I couldn't be happier with them. Here's a few of my favorites!

Another Angel Part 2

So this week I was looking forward to blogging about our recent vacation to Myrtle Beach and sharing the AMAZING photos we had taken, intstead I have to post about how Anna-Grace got another Guardian Angel Tuesday evening.

As you all know my Grandmother has not been doing well and my mom tracked me down at the beach to let me know that she was not doing well and she thought it best if I come home. We quickly packed and headed to Fayetteville. We got here around 5:30 and I got to spend an hour and a half with her until she took her final breath. When we got here she was mumbling and groaing like she was trying to tell you something but you just couldn't understand. Finally about 6:45-6:50 she stopped mumbling and got really quiet she lasted till 7:00. I have never watched anyone die and I can imagine in some circumstances it's tough to watch becuase the person suffers so much. Not my Grandma, she just close her eyes and took her last breath. She looked so peaceful and beautiful all at the same time. I would swear she had make-up on. It doesn't make it any easier.....it sucks that she's gone and I hate more than anything that Anna-Grace will never know her like I do. I hate that when Chris and I got married 3 years ago we had 4 Grandparents and now we have 1. But I have to take comfort in the fact that she lived the life she wanted. She spent money when she wanted to, she went where she wanted to go and she loved unconditionally. And she passed away in the comfort of her own home surrounded by her friends and family.

Sorry to go off on a tanget, but I have a lot on my mind, and this was just the less emotional way for me to share it!

Another Angel......

Pa-Pa passed away last night at his home, surrounded by his family. It's a sad time for all of us, but I know Granny is happy to finally have him with her. Chris and I always say that Granny had to have hand picked Anna-Grace so I know with the 2 of them watching over her she's got a great life ahead of her.

Pa-Pa

Chris's Grandfather has not been doing well these past few weeks and my Grandmother is right behind him. It's been hard on me thinking that Anna-Grace is going to grow up never truly knowing what wonderful and amazing people they are and how much they love her. I have to take comfort in the fact that they have gotten to spend more time with her than most Great-Grandparents do and that we will make sure to tell her all the time about them. I was going through the pictures we had of us with Chris's Grandpa and made a little Picture DVD for his dad and Aunt. Just thought I would post it on here too!

Wet N Wild

Chris and I along with our friends Steve and Shannon decided to head for a weekend adventure at the Wet N Wild Water park in Greensboro. We timed it just perfect since we got there right when they opened so we got hit all the good rides before the lines got to long! We got our exercise and had a good time minus the kiddos! The picture up top is of me going down the tallest slide at the park and the one below is of us at dinner.

Day at the beach

Last week was enough to drive me insane work wise. It's just been a crazy couple of weeks for Chris and I both,so when Chris asked me on Thursday night if I wanted all of us to go to the beach Saturday I jumped at the chance for a day of fun and relaxing in the sun.

We woke up to some not so nice rainy weather, but the skies cleared up on our way there and we arrived to a beautiful, sunny day at Atlantic Beach! Chris definitely gets brownie points for that suggestion.

Time with Grandma Leen

Chris and I have had a hard time these past few weeks with my Grandmother and his Grandfather getting worse and worse health wise. My Grandma Leen just keeps getting worse, so Anna-Grace and I battled the horrible storms on Friday and headed home for the night. It was just a quick trip since we had to be back Saturday night, but I did get to spend some quality time with her. Anna-Grace always seems to brighten her day and I know she enjoyed seeing her. Please pray for both of our Grandparents, and us, we all need it.