2 Weeks Old!

I can't believe Cole is already 2 weeks old. We think he might in the running for the world's most spoiled baby. He gets held all the time, partly because we know he is our last and partly because he has 3 older siblings who constantly want to hold him.

They say 2 weeks is pretty early to start smiling, but I swear he has done it a few times when we talk to him - and I don't think it's due to any sort of tummy issue. He is such a good little baby... Of course all new moms probably say that. Right?

In hindsight, we're kind of glad he came early. We didn't like it at the time, but now we consider ourselves 2 weeks ahead of schedule. I mean, as I write this, I'd be in the hospital tonight. Instead, things are kind of seeming normal. In a "I have no sleep, my body still isn't my own and I have have never showered so quickly in my life" kind of way. And I wouldn't change it for the world.

And yes, I do realize I need to change the title of my blog. Give a girl a break though :) Hope you have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend!

Cora

This is baby Cora... one of Emily's many baby dolls.

She's recently been showing up in various baby things - swing, car seat, bouncer, etc. In the middle of the night it especially freaks me out.

Cora is going to disappear for awhile... just to help me maintain my sanity. Here are the 2 babies together. I think mine is cuter.

Class of 2010

The girls are officially on their way to kindergarten in the fall. They had their graduation ceremony Thursday night. I took some video of their program before the festivities but can't load it on here. So all I have is this picture - not the best! I did move to the back to get some good video because obviously my seat was not the greatest. Austin came with me and James had to stay back and watch Cole. The girls did such a good job!

We went back to their classroom for punch and cookies, and the teachers gave them some buckets with their diplomas, scrapbooks, and other fun items. One of the teachers then said something nice about every kid, and then said what they wanted to be when they grew up. Emily said she wanted to be a fairy and Abby wanted to be a mommy and firefighter. I asked Abby later about her aspirations to be a Chick-fil-A guy (which I suppose she forgot), so now she wants to be that and a mommy - firefighter is off the list. Whew - I'm looking forward to some free chicken when she turns 16.

This is from Abby's scrapbook - boy have I seen that look before! One of the teachers reassured me that they asked her to pose like this, it wasn't the mood she was in! She can pout with the best of 'em.

Here they are with their teachers. We are so blessed to have them this year!


Opening up their buckets of goodies...

Lost... Season Finale!

Finally!! I can't wait. I almost wish I never started watching this show, but after a few seasons I invested too much time in it to give it up. So we caught up on all the shows this past week and are ready for 4 1/2 hours of Lost tonight! Yikes! They better have a definitive answer to all the strange island occurrences - but somehow I doubt they will.

Anyway, here are a few pictures... haven't taken too many - been happily busy with other things :)

Cole's first bath - not a happy camper. He had his first appointment with our pediatrician on Friday and lost some weight since leaving the hospital on Monday. Other than that he looked great... none of the same problems we had while in the NICU.

Abby fixed her own hair a few days this week. Luckily we didn't step out of the house on those days. It got even crazier than this, I just didn't get a picture.

A rare picture of Cole with his eyes open - unfortunately it was when he was yawning. James makes fun of the little mittens I put on him, talking about how he looks like he's about to bake a batch of cookies. I don't have any baby nail clippers yet (they're on the list for our next Wal-Mart visit), so these are protecting his sweet little face.

Our first vegetable out of the garden!! Wish it was something other than a jalapeno, but James certainly enjoyed it. Abby spit it out real quick, and Austin was excited enough to swallow a small bite. We are going to have tons of jalapenos - looks like we're going to be eating a lot of salsa this summer!

And look at our tomatoes! We have tons of them coming in also... can't wait!

Brothers

Three hours of swimming for Austin and a belly full of milk for Cole is a great recipe for a nap.
Life is good for these boys. I must admit I'm a little jealous. :)

Welcome Home Cole!

I was released from the hospital yesterday afternoon - even though Cole was doing much better, we had to leave him behind. Thankfully not for long though as we got a call this morning that he was ready to come home!

The kids visited me in the hospital on Saturday night. They loved sitting in my hospital bed watching tv.

Today James, the girls and I headed back to the hospital. Here are the big sisters - ready to meet their baby brother!

James waited outside the NICU with the girls while I headed in to pick him up. The siblings get to put their handprints on the hospital walls when a baby is born. Here's Abby next to Austin's handprint when they were born. I can't believe that was 5 years ago. His handprint is the messy red one. I remember that day - it was hard just to get one handprint on the wall - there was no way we were getting two handprints.

The girls saw Cole for the first time and instantly fell in love. Here they are waiting for James to pull the car up.

The first fight broke out when Emily got to sit next to Cole in the car. "I never get to sit next to Cole!" Abby was not a happy camper and Emily looked at him the entire way home with a smile on her face.


We arrived home and Saffron checked out the source of her future lack of sleep. Sorry Saffron - there's a new sheriff in town.

Then the girls held him for the first time.



Austin got home and was thrilled that the baby was here. As soon as he got off the bus, he ran all the way to the front door. He kept saying how adorable he is and how all the girls in his class call him adorable too. After about 10 minutes, he was asking for his snack. Some things never change.

I'm going to find a baby picture of Austin soon after birth. I think these two would look more like twins than our actual twins. Just a hunch.

(By the way, we know... our game room is still TOO orange!)

The girls cannot keep their hands of this little baby. They want to be involved in everything and they are going to be such good little helpers. I do have to keep an extra eye on them though...

Well that's all for now. I think we have a rough night ahead. I'm kind of used to the lack of sleep just from the pregnancy and then pumping every 2-3 hours since Cole's been born. But tonight is going to be an interesting, but happy night! I have no problem losing sleep for this little guy. I am so happy our family is all together - we are so blessed! Thanks for all your prayers! :)

Oh, and as I was about to publish this post, I needed to add another tidbit. The kids are learning a "little" about the birds and the bees. Well, not exactly - but we had to explain how mommy would be feeding Cole. Here's how the conversation went...
Me: So the baby gets milk from mommy.
Austin: Like up there, in your private area?
Me: Yes. All mammals feed their babies this way.
Austin: Like pigs. Horses. Cows...
Me: That's right.
Austin: Does Cole taste blood when he's sucking your milk?
Me: No, it just tastes like milk. It's good for him.
Austin: So he's like a vampire baby?

Good stuff.

Cole Evan

We finally decided on a name for our little guy. It took awhile, and honestly I don't think he looks like much of a Cole but I know he will grow into it. I waited as long as possible (yesterday) to tell the birth registrar just in case we changed our minds.

And he looks exactly like Austin. James' genes are obviously highly dominant because there is now a 4th child that looks exactly like him. Nobody would know that I carried any of these kids! :)

Cole is doing great in the NICU! I could leave the hospital today, but we decided to extend my stay so I can spend some more time with him. I miss James and the other kiddos terribly but I feel awful leaving him here. The doctor seems to think that maybe on Monday he will be coming home. They took the CPAP off yesterday and we were able to hold him for the first time. His IV came out yesterday and the nurses had to put a new one - his poor little arm is so red. I think he will also get to have some bottles today and I might possibly get to try and nurse him. He hasn't opened his eyes for me and I don't think the kids will be able to see him until he comes home. Overall he is doing wonderfully - he's definitely the biggest baby in the NICU!

Baby!

Our little boy arrived yesterday at 1:13 weighing 6 lbs 4 oz. He is beautiful and we are over the moon for him.

His lungs are under developed and he is on a CPAP right now in the level 2 NICU. The doctor says he is acting like a 35 week baby instead of a 37 week baby. I saw him for the first time last night and it was really difficult - I've been an emotional wreck for the last day and the whole thing has been extremely hard. We haven't been able to hold him and just found out he won't be coming home with us on Saturday. The kids haven't been able to see him either, but James did take some pictures to show them. They can't wait to meet their baby brother.

The staff at the hospital has been so supportive and I can't say enough nice things about the doctors, nurses, lactation consultants, etc. I'm recovering well after the c-section and started walking around (very slowly) this morning. I'm trying to pump every few hours, but haven't had a whole lot of progress on that front.

Anyway, I just wanted to give an update. Please keep our baby boy in your prayers. I know God has big plans for this little guy.

5.12.10

This Wednesday around 12:30 is going to be our little boy's birthday. I must say I'm pretty nervous - I thought we had at least another 1 week, but the doctor thinks it's better to deliver now then to risk having more complications in the future. I am 37 weeks and am praying that his little lungs are mature and won't need any NICU time. I'm also nervous about the c-section. It's not like it's my first one or anything, but it's definitely the first scheduled one. How strange to be going into the hospital not in labor, get stuck with needles and having a baby an hour later.

The kids are all excited and have been making tons of pictures for the baby. Well Austin doesn't know we just have 2 more days since he's still in school, but I'm hoping he will be just as excited as the girls! This is the inside of the baby's crib:

I hope all you moms had a terrific mother's day yesterday. I did. The girls made me these plates at school:

Austin made me some sort of tile creation and wrote this letter. Classic.

Dear Mommy,

Thank you for still loving me when I be bad. I like your hair and your voice. Thank you for bringing me to muffins with mom. And bringing money for the bookfair. I'm looking forward to do that next year. You know that your not the only person I love. I love Emily Abby Dad Saffron and me too. And thank you for our house. I like my room your room the living room Emilies and Abbies room the kitchen and the TV rooms.

Love,
Austin

Bedrest

Well I am officially on bedrest now - looks like I am having some signs of preeclampsia. This will probably be my last post until baby boy arrives... since we won't be doing a heck of a lot and I'm supposed to be laying in bed on my left side at all times (ha). I was very close to getting admitted to the hospital today but thankfully my blood pressure came down when I laid down. After about a 4 hour doctor appointment with the girls (poor things - or should I say poor me), I did get an ultrasound today which was exciting - baby boy looks good and is measuring somewhere around 6 1/2 lbs! This should definitely be our biggest baby yet.

So take care and please keep our family in your prayers :)

Family fun day

We skipped church today... to have family fun day. James says I am breathing super loud these days - I can't even hear it. I guess that's what happens when you are 36 weeks pregnant. He thinks the other people in the congregation think it's him - ha! Of course, that's not the reason we didn't go. We really didn't have a good reason, except I'm dragging these days and wanted to spend some time outside on a beautiful morning.

Austin constantly asks questions about God. Today he asked why we can't hear God talking to us. I told him God talks to us in different ways, in which he responded "I wish he'd talk to me in English." I laughed so hard and then the girls had to pipe in - they wished God talked to them in Chinese, Spanish, French, etc. They crack me up.

Anyway, we went and played at a park this morning.

Jurassic Park V (sneak preview)

Our tree-hugging boy was holding on super tight. Not really tree-hugging... more like tree "holding on for dear life." He was only about 8 ft. up though...

Little Miss Attitude. Styling in her pink shades - trying to avoid the Paparazzi.

"Higher, higher! Wait, not that high..."


We brought bread for the ducks, but there were no ducks to be found. No big loss - the girls got a snack out of it. They were really excited about this snack. A little too excited. Certainly that's not a statement about the last few meals I've made...

James and one of his three "mini-me's" - the other two kiddos were watching a nutria "play" with some turtles. It's funny how people see nutria as pests - whereas beavers are seen as cute.

Run fast Mr. Squirrel...

Austin had some "artwork" shown at the district art festival. This work is from his "feathers" period.

But the real reason he wanted to go was for these fried Oreos. I tried a bite - yuck. Better without the batter if you ask me...

They had arts and crafts for the kids to do.


Austin's soccer season has come to a close, although we are still waiting for the trophy celebration.