Monday, May 30, 2011

Baby....baby....

One of my favorite first memories of Evan and Alex was watching Evan notice Alex. When E was up at the hospital, he would keep saying baby, and pointing at him throughout the visit. They had to take Alex to check his vitals and Evan lost it. He ran to the door yelling baby and crying. He didn't want Alex to go. It was so sweet. Mike went over and told him that the baby would be right back and he kept repeating baby, baby, baby over and over. Mike asked Evan if he wanted to come play while we waited for Alex to come back and he said, no...baby, pointing toward the door. Mike then asked, do you want to sit right here and wait for him. Evan said yes, and sat down right by the door waiting for Alex to get back....and he did. Mike sat next to him waiting. It was so adorable. :)



Time flies...

I can't believe that I have a 19 day old and a 2 year old! I feel like it has gone by SO fast and we've been on the go ever since Alex was born! I still need to blog some early hospital brother stories, first days at home, our trip/drive to Indy, and Evan's birthday party. But, for now here's a pic of Evan at one month and 2 years!





Friday, May 27, 2011

2

Dear Evan,
How did you get to be 2 years old already??? We can't believe how fast this year went by! We love you so much Evan. Happy 2nd birthday!
Love,
mommy and daddy



Saturday, May 21, 2011

32

32...when did I get so old ;)
We had a great day today and I must admit, one of the best birthdays ever! I was spoiled by Mike, Evan and Alex. It was great to be able to spend it with my three boys.
All I really wanted for my birthday was a decent picture as a family of four. Below is what happened...
Thanks to Dave for taking the pictures and to Sarah for trying to get Evan to laugh/smile/sit still! ha! :)

Take 1:


Take 5:


Take 8:


Take 12:


Take 23:


This one just *might*  be the best out of the bunch! :)
 At least we had fun trying to get the perfect one... there's always next year, right?!

 Can't wait to see what this year has in store for us! I'm a very lucky wife, mom, sister and daughter! :)
What a great birthday!

Thursday, May 19, 2011

first bath...

Alex's first bath was just as expected...cold, wet, and full of tears. It was pretty cute  :)




 All is right in the world again...all nice and cozy.


Wednesday, May 18, 2011

What should've been...the happy and the sad

  • Dear Alex, today was your due date, but you decided to join us and the world one week early. Today you woke up early, nursed, and went back to sleep till around 8:30. You did great last night too. Let's hope that keeps up! This morning you heard your big brother saying "baby" over and over and Evan wanted to see you right away. You stirred a little when he yelled baby, but then went right back to sleep. Today you were given lots of kisses and as we celebrated your 1 week birthday. We've realized how complete you make our family and how incredibly lucky we are to have you. We love you Alex James.

And here's my 40 week belly shot :) Ha!




  • Today should have been just another day in May, but the 18th, today, is the 1 year anniversary of Aunt Barb being gone. It doesn't seem possible that 1 year can go by so quickly, missing someone so badly. She was full of joy, laughter and always had a huge smile on her face and that is something that I miss on this day the most...We love you and miss you Aunt Barb. xoxo



Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Alex's birth day

I can't believe Alex is 1 week old tomorrow on his actual due date :) I want to get his birth story written down and share his birth day slideshow before he goes off to college...so, here we go!

On Tuesday, May 10th I had my 39 week appointment with my doctor. He jokingly said "are you ready to have a baby today?" I said sure :) After checking to see if I was dilated, he said while smiling, "well, maybe next week looks better to have a  baby!" I was not dilated at all and nothing had changed from the previous week. So, we left there with our appointment for the following week and had plans to induce on Wednesday the 18th if he wasn't here by then.

After dinner (around 5:30 pm) I started having contractions. They were not super strong, but were about 5-10 minutes apart. I wasn't paying too much attention to the timing since I was just at the doctor that morning and knew I wasn't dilated at all. I finished watching The Biggest Loser :) breathing through contractions and occasionally getting up and walking around to help ease the pain. Around 9:45ish I decided to call our doctor just to make sure since the contractions were pretty steady and I had started bleeding a tad. He told me to head on over to the hospital just to be safe. Mike called his parents to come and stay with a sleeping Evan and put the bags in the car while I showered. We really thought it was just a false alarm and that we'd be back in an hour or so.

After getting to the hospital and walking up to labor and delivery, the nurse asked what I was there for, and I said, "I think I'm in labor." I don't think she believed me because I wasn't in pain and I had walked up instead of riding in a wheelchair. Around 10:30 I think we finally saw the nurse and she checked to see if my water had broke (and it had while I was at home!) Apparently I had a slow break and not the big gush like I heard would happen. She also checked to see if I was dilated (remember that morning I was a 0!). She (and I) was surprised when she said I was already a 5. She said the baby would be here soon. I called my parents to let them know and they left St. Louis around 11 pm and got there around 1 am. By 11:30 or 12 I had my epidural and had a dose of pitocin. I was definitely feeling better and still couldn't believe that this was the real thing and I had no idea when we left the house that we would have a baby that night/early morning.

Around 1:45 am I was dilated to a 6 and an hour later (around 2:45 am) I was a 10! It was quick just like Evan's birth. Around 3 am I started pushing and pushed through 4 contractions and at 3:19 am on Wednesday, May 11th Alex James arrived into this world (also arrived on his Uncle Dan's birthday).
He came into the world not crying, but soon let out some little tiny cries and squeaks. He weighed 8 lbs. 5.9 oz. and was 20.5 inches long and completes our family.


Sunday, May 15, 2011

And just like that...

we are a family of 4!


There's SO much I want and need to write about while it is still fresh in my mind...like Alex's birth day story and watching Evan become a big brother. But for now, I'll just leave you with this picture until I can get a few minutes to actually sit down and write out some coherent sentences/thoughts. :) I will say...it's going amazingly well as a family of four, everyone is doing fantastic, and we actually all made it to church on time this morning!

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Alex James

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

frogs

We went outside this afternoon and Evan picked his shoes (boots) out that he wanted to wear.
He kept saying frog...rib-bit, rib-bit! :) I tried to tell him it was almost 90* and maybe sandals or flip-flops would be better, but he was insisting on his rain boots.







 Someone didn't want to go inside :)


 Yelling at Jack through the fence..."Jack...Jack!" Even though Jack was inside sleeping :)




Monday, May 9, 2011

Weekend Update

Had a wonderful weekend!

  • Saturday: Went to a friend's baby shower brunch (where the decorations were amazing!) and had a great time celebrating baby girl's upcoming arrival! We also took Evan to see African Cats at the movie theater. He lasted pretty well at the movie, but only liked the action parts :)







 (Number of weeks left...starting from left to right: 16 weeks, 10 weeks, 5 weeks, 10 days!!!) :)
 Sitting in the big boy seat at the movie theater! Mike didn't want me to take the pic! ha! :)




  • Sunday was a gorgeous Mother's Day! We went to church and listened to a great service and had a great afternoon as a family of three. We wanted to spend as much one on one time with Evan before his little brother gets here and we couldn't have asked for a better day. We played with Evan's new train table that I got from a garage sale on Saturday, played outside all afternoon, BBQ'd, made smores, and just had a relaxing Mother's Day. It was perfect!






Sunday, May 8, 2011

Happy Mother's Day


"Mothering is a lifestyle. You live it. You breathe it. You are consumed by it every single day. 
There is no escaping it. There is no leaving it. The responsibility is utterly unbelievable. 
There are no breaks, no time outs, no days off and no moments of silence. 
It's my life. And, despite all the years I wasn't a mom, it is all that I know now."


Friday, May 6, 2011

Right now...

Outside my window: the sun is setting and I see kids riding their bikes down the street
I am thinking: that I am ready to meet our son
I am thankful: for my husband for carrying the laundry upstairs and downstairs for me
I am wearing: white tank top and gray sweats
Dinner plans: we had nachos :) Yum!
Favorite snack of the moment: Oatmeal squares cereal
I am hoping: for a great weekend with my boys
On my mind: making sure we clean the car seat and put that in the car this weekend...just in case!
Noticing that: my belly has definitely dropped and that I would love to get a hair cut :)
In the kitchen: Jack is snoring, the dishes are put away and the floor needs to be mopped
On my desk: don't have one :(
On my frequent playlist: kid's songs :)
One of my favorite things: being able to grab a cup of coffee and browse/read in a bookstore
A photo I love at this moment: Evan all smiles after a rainy day nap, watching his favorite movie

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Wordless Wednesday

38 weeks!!


Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to my MOM!!!!





And Happy Birthday to my sister-in-law, Sarah!



changes...

We've been doing a few changes around the house lately getting ready for this baby to make his arrival! I decided a few weeks ago that our kitchen was too dark and I desperately needed a change! Thank goodness, Mike went along with it and now our kitchen is definitely lighter and seems just a little bigger.

Here are some before pics. These are the only 2 before pics I could find...

 Me at 34 weeks with Evan!


And the after :)
Love it!!! We still have a few more things to do in here, but at least the painting is done! The pics are not the greatest...and I could get up to go find the exact color name, but I'm too comfy on the couch while E is napping. It's a light light blue/gray color. :)




 Here is the baby room...now we are just waiting for the baby! Had a doctor appointment this morning.
38 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow! Heartbeat was 141 and not dilated yet. We'll see when he decides he wants his birthday to be. :)






























Happy Tuesday!!!