Catching Up

This is the first photo of all four of us since the hospital!






I had to take a picture of AF holding this counting book because I am so proud of her. Today she counted to 10 all by herself!! She counted all 10 ladybugs. Thanks to Grandma for this great book!




Yesterday was so beautiful out, we headed to the park.




I love taking pictures of this guy. And....he has already dropped one of his night feedings!!! I do "demand-feeding" which means I feed him whenever he's hungry and don't stick to a specific schedule. So if he sleeps for 5 hours straight, I let him and don't worry about how long it's been since his last feeding. I trust that if he's hungry, he will wake up and let me know. And since he was so big when he was born, I am not concerned at all about his weight gain. I can tell he is getting exactly what he needs. It's been so much easier this time around than with AF. I used to be so worried about making sure she ate every few hours like all the books said. I feel like a "pro" now with the nursing thing and just take all my cues from DR. I even whipped out the nursing cover at Chick-Fil-A yesterday and nursed him in public for the first time. So much less anxiety than with AF! :)




Look at those little tootsies!




His eyes are still blue/gray at this point. I know they may change to brown in a few months but for now I'm still holding out hope that he may keep those baby blues like his mama has!




Nonni has been here for the past two weeks helping out. She is my lifesaver! She has even made it possible for M and I to go out on our own a few times. As much as I love having some coveted alone time with M, both of us always get so excited to come back home to our babies.

*Thank you Nonni for all you do for us!!!!*


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Time Flies

Wow, I can't believe it's been a week since I've posted! I have so many pictures and so little time to post them.

Here are just a few from the past week...I will add more soon!

A Message to Daddy

AF worked on a special message for Daddy to see when he pulled in the driveway.




Isn't she a good speller? ;)



It was written in the perfect spot for him to see when he pulled into the garage.







DR was there to supervise.


We love you, Daddy. :)


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Our little Giraffe had a blast on Halloween!




DR and I handed out candy at home and M took AF out trick-or-treating. It was nice to meet some more new neighbors and see all the kids in the neighborhood.





Then Sunday night we started a fire in our fireplace for the first time! Soooo warm & cozy! AF got some coloring done.




But best of all was cuddling under the blankets watching the World Series with Daddy.




And I just had to post a new photo of my handsome little man. Isn't he the sweetest? This guy gets LOTS of kisses.


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Two Weeks Old

I think this is the first photo I have taken with my sweet DR since the day he was born.



I am finally feeling like myself again....well, not enough to put on makeup or contacts. ;) But I am thankful to be fairly pain free now and am getting into the groove of doing life on little to no sleep. Sleep is overrated though when you compare it to the quiet moments alone I have with him all through the night...just the two of us.




And speaking of "doing life", I am not the kind of person to stay home for too long. I was itching to get out of the house today so I ventured out for the first time ALONE with my two babies. And I think it only took me about 90 minutes to get us out the door. ;)



Get AF breakfast. Get myself breakfast. Get AF changed and dressed. Get myself dressed. Time DR's feeding so that I don't have to nurse him again while we're out. Change his diaper. 5 minutes later, explosion, change his diaper again. Pack my diaper bag. Put AF in her carseat. Put DR in his carseat. ......And we're off!

We went to Target to get some Halloween candy for the trick-or-treaters. I was so worried about getting the kids in and out of the car safely and then in and out of the store, that I left the entire bag of candy that I had just purchased right there at the register!




Oh well, at least I didn't forget the two most important things, so I will call it a successful day.


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My Three Favorite People

I love October

I love that God gave me a baby in the month of October. It is my favorite month! I love the beauty of the Fall season and we took full advantage of it today.




My wonderful sisters came to visit. The kids love having them around and so do I!




And I started to feel much better (physically) this weekend, so we headed outside for a little photoshoot.



My sweet, sweet son. My angel.



He indulged me by laying in this basket while I snapped away.








The soft breeze and the comfy blanket were just too much for him. Conked - Out.




And there's no place better than Daddy's arms.




And guess who else wanted to sit in the basket?


You know a house really becomes a home when you have fun days like today.



We collected Acorns...




We studied the colorful leaves...





But best of all....




We jumped in a pile of leaves!




I have great memories as a child of my sisters and I playing in giant piles of leaves at my Grandparents house in Virginia.



I love that we have a house that will make for so many wonderful memories for our children.




Happy October everyone!

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My guy

My guy is 1 week old!!!

Brother & Sister

Everyone has been asking how AF is handling the arrival of her little brother.

This picture just about sums it up....



She adores him! She asks several times a day to "Hold him, peeze mommy?"




She loves talking to him when he's in his swing. But don't think she's completely sweet & innocent...ha!...this little girl has been pushing the limits lately by outright disobeying us on many occasions. I think it's a combination of her age (almost 22 months) and the realization that she might not receive 100% of our attention anymore. This is all to be expected. But whew...she can wear us out in a hurry!





Can I just tell you how sweet and mellow this little guy is? He is a champion eater and an amazing sleeper. And best of all....he is a super snuggler! His favorite spot is cuddled up on M's chest. Needless to say, we have been enjoying getting to know him this past week.

Unfortunately, my physical recovery hasn't been as quick and easy as I was hoping it would be. I know it's only been a week but I have been in a lot more pain than I remember being in after AF's birth. It makes it a bit more tough to enjoy these first precious days he's been with us. All I can say is thank goodness M is home with me to help!

Thanks to everyone for all your messages, calls, and gifts! DR has had quite a warm welcome to the world.

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DR's Birth Story

**Since this is a journal, I want to write out DR's Birth Story so I have it on record from start to finish. There are probably way more details than you care about, but this is more for my own reference!**

At my 40 week checkup, the OB said he would put me on a waiting list at the hospital and if there were any free rooms, they would go ahead and induce me since I was already 3 cm dilated and was clearly carrying a large baby. We call on Wednesday morning but there were no rooms open. So we anxiously called again on Thursday morning at 6:30am and were thrilled when they told us to come in at 8am!

It was cold and rainy when we got to the hospital. They brought me right to my room and by about 9:30am, they started the Pitocin. I was 3 cm at that point. We figured it may be a long day of waiting so M and I watched episodes of The Office until my contractions got so strong, I asked for the epidural. That was around 10:45am. Things progressed a lot faster than we expected and by 12:30, I was at 8 cm. By 1:30, I was at 10 cm and they said I could push! But after a few pushes, it was clear that the baby was under some stress. His heart rate would drop with each contraction. The doctor suspected that the cord may be wrapped around him in some way. So she asked that we take a long break to let him rest and recover. They put an oxygen mask on me and asked that I take deep breaths to ensure the baby was getting all he needs. By 2:25pm, we decided to push again. Unfortunately, the heart rate kept dropping with each push so the doctor used the vacuum in addition to my pushes to get him out as fast as possible. After only 11 minutes of pushing, DR was out! The cord was in fact wrapped around his neck and stomach. The doctor cut the cord immediately and he started crying...such a beautiful sound to a worried mommy! He was totally fine....a healthy 8 lbs, 14 oz.

Praise God, I couldn't ask for anything more!

After spending the night in the hospital, we woke up on Friday morning and decided to ask the doctor if we could leave a day early. I was feeling fine and DR was doing great, so we thought why not? They checked us over again and said we could leave that afternoon! DR took to nursing like a champ from the start so I felt confident that leaving early would be okay.

Here are some of my favorite photos from DR's Birth Day:















This last photo was taken when he was two days old. He's a little less swollen so you can see his sweet face better! :)