#3 Elizabeth Gregory

It was the spring of 2003, Matt and I were driving in our car in Durham, NC. We were reflecting on our two great kids and how "easy" it was at this point. We could travel in our civic, we could all have our own room in our little, sweet house, we were one-on-one, but we still wanted a big family. We wanted another baby. So, taking our past difficulties with getting pregnant, we thought we would start trying for baby #3. Little did we know that we were pregnant already. God is so funny to me, how could we even get pregnant without trying was beyond me? We were told before boone that anna clare was a miracle child???

So this is how pregnancy #3 began and oh what a journey it was...

Honestly, the timing could not of been much worse with the future we knew was ahead of us... Matt was finishing his phD - so we would be applying, interviewing, moving soon after baby #3 would arrive. But we were so thankful to have our third at the same hospital, with the same doctors, surrounded by such great friends!! However, we had no idea what would really transpire through this pregnancy. To keep it to the point, from the beginning of my pregancy until the very end my family suffered great loss and hardship. We lost my grandfather, uncle and my sweet oldest brother greg within those nine months. It was truly a deep, deep dark time. I was so torn between myself, my husband, my kids, my parents and family and this baby growing in me. This baby was the one sweet, happy surprise we all looked forward to after all that had happened. But the poor baby inside me was (I think) emotionally wrecked along with me... I had strong (fake) contractions very early on and actually went to the hospital 4 or 5 times before she really came. My poor mom drove down for her birth 3 times! We were so anxious for her to come!! So, finally on Jan. 14, she arrived with a very quick delivery. She arrived screaming - seriously, like we thought something was wrong with her, she was sooo mad. But when she finally stopped, she was just perfect!
We named her after one of my favorite people ever, my grandmother, Elizabeth, and actually call her after my favorite cousin, Eliza, and then gave her my brother's name Gregory because well, he is one of the strongest people I know and I wish with all my heart that she could of known her uncle! Her name is strong and makes me so proud that sometimes I can't even say it without getting choked up.

Little lizzy lulu, is what we really tend to call her, is much different from the other two. She is shy and at the same time a little high strung. She loves to sleep but at the same time still keeps a strange schedule often waking up in the middle of the night. We try the "supernanny" method of just going in her room and laying her down and walking out and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't?? ya never know. Other times she will sleep 12 to 14 hours straight. She just likes to keep us guessing and she keeps me pretty exhausted because of it. She is a cuddly and very funny girl. She is a thumb sucker unlike the others and she is the tallest, at the age of two, then the others were. She is already wearing some 4T clothes. This year has been so fun with her as we are watching her really become her own little person and discovering the things she loves and making it clear what she doesn't love!

What I love about her is the way she talks... for example... she calls monkeys, "no more jumpitings" because of the book No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed. She calls our new cat Lexi, "ex - e-wu-wu" (lexi lulu). She tends to finish every word with the e sound, so it is always , "milk-e" "juice-e" "boone -e". I also love the way she sucks her thumb and holds her "meme" to her nose, so cute. I love to watch her swim, it is about the only thing "daring" that she will do. She is hesitant to try new things, unlike her older siblings. I love her desire to "help out", she loves to sit on the counter and help me cook and she will almost always throw something away for me or go get something for me (i know this will not last long). Lastly, I love to look in my rearview mirror and realize that she is singing along with me to my favorite songs and has everyone's favorite songs nailed. So when "my wish" comes on she screams, "boone's song".

This is what Eliza loves...books, her cousin Cole which currently she brings herself to tears asking if "colbot's comin?" (when i say no, she breaks down). She loves shoes, music, her grandparents, her two little friends daisy and kade, juice-e and meme, and her mommy of coarse! Her current toy of choice is baby dolls. She likes to undress them, put them to bed, get food for them, and take them on walks. She, for now, is a nurturer... we will see if that lasts!

She is still so young and is just starting to become a little person and we are so excited to see her grow up!