Another Visitor....

My dad was able to join us for the last week that my mom was here.  Lucy was SO excited for Papa to come.  I have missed my dad like crazy since moving, so I was thrilled for him to come too.

 Whenever my dad comes into town, he spends time working on my house.  He actually has a pair of work clothes that he keeps here.  This trip was all about lighting.  Our room has only one light, and it is ridiculously dim.  Now, anyone who really knows me is aware of the fact that I'm kind of a light freak. I like BRIGHT light.  Nothing makes me feel more depressed than dim lighting.  

This is what I've been dealing with for the last 10 months.  It is so dim, that I sometimes mismatch Jordan's socks because I can't tell the browns from the blues.  My dad and Jordan got to work putting in  can lights and......

 ....voila!!!  I love how bright our room is now.  They also put a can in our shower and some in the hallway.  I am one happy girl.

One afternoon I put Charlie down on the couch and started doing the dishes.  When I looked over, Lucy had dragged this blanket over to cover him and was snuggling him.  

 While both my parents were here, we went to Berry Patch Farms to check out their pumpkin patch.

Hooray for October!

A Visit From Grandma Hale...

We were so lucky to have Jordan's mom with us until October 4th, but then she had to go home.  After a four day lapse, my mom flew into town on the 8th.  She had scheduled her flights months ago to be here for my scheduled c-section on the 11th.  It was SO great to have her here with us from the 8th until the 28th.  I had hoped to go and do all sorts of things, but I was quickly reminded how exhausting having a new baby is.  By the time I slept in (after a long night of feedings), got up, got myself ready, got Lucy ready, fed Charlie (a couple of times), and ate breakfast it would be noon.  Lucy still needs a nap every day at 2:00, so we didn't get out as much as I had planned.  I had to learn to be more realistic in my expectations and just enjoy the time I had to spend with my mom.  Instead of long outings we spent a lot of time at home reading books, watching movies, baking, talking, going for walks, and coloring.  It was so nice to have my mom pick up where Kathy left off, and do my grocery shopping and cooking.    Lucy loved being Grandma's sous chef.

 She was pretty obsessed with Grandma's iPad.

 The best part of having moms in town, is being able to catch a few more hours of sleep.  It was MUCH appreciated.  Especially in the middle of the night.  

 My mom brought Lucy this darling owl skirt, and Lucy wanted to wear it everyday.

 While Jordan and I went on a date for his birthday, my mom let Lucy feed Charlie.  How cute is this picture?

 More baking with Grandma.

 One Sunday afternoon while she was here, we took a walk on a beautiful trail near the Kennesaw Battlefield site.  

The selfish part of me LOVED having my mom all to myself for so long.  She is one of my very best friends.  I love the advice she gives, and her ability to "normalize" my feelings/experiences.  Thanks for coming mom!!  Love and miss you!!!

Jordan Turns 28....

With the new baby and my lack of sleep, the last thing on my mind has been blogging.  However, so many great things happened in the month of October and I'm feeling the need to document them.  Here is the first of several posts that I will be cranking out.  

On October 13th, Jordan turned 28.  We spent the day at the outlet mall buying each of us some much needed clothing items.  We hurried back to watch the BYU vs. Oregon State game with some friends from the ward.  My mom made an awesome brisket and we had a great time watching the game (even though we lost).  After the game we had some Costco chocolate cake (per Jordan's request) and Blue Bell ice cream.   

 The crew.

That night my mom watched our kids while Jordan and I went on a date to see, "The Bourne Legacy". It was so nice to get out, just the two of us.  I would list all the amazing things I love about Jordan, but he absolutely HATES "blog gushing".  I guess I'll just say--Happy Birthday Jord.  Sure love you!

Life Since Charlie...

I had a baby three weeks ago.  Crazy.  The past few weeks have been full of beautiful moments and quite honestly, some really difficult ones.  Baby Charlie continues to be a great sleeper and eater.  I am more attached to his sweet face every day, and can't believe how much I love my little man.  While Miss Lucy is improving, we're still working with her during this difficult transition in her little life.  She is crazy about "her baby" and loves to give him hugs and kisses.  I feel like my recovery this time has been so much easier; consequently, we have been out and about quite a bit.  Four days after getting home from the hospital we spent the afternoon at the zoo. The weather has been beautiful here in Atlanta and it was so nice to get outside after being so immobile at the end of my pregnancy.   

 It's never too early to teach kids the right team to cheer for....:)

 The girls in my ward threw me a baby shower complete with a crepe buffet.  Mmmm......  Check out this diaper cake that my friend, Karla, made.  Crazy, right?

 As stated previously, Charlie does a lot of sleeping...

 ...and pooping.  This is the result of a particularly crazy diaper change.

 He loves his bath!

 Jordan's mom went home on the Thursday before conference.  It was so wonderful to have her here!  On conference Sunday Jordan and I decided to make ebelskivers, Danish pancakes in the shape of a ball.  We got an ebelskiver pan for Christmas and have been excited to try them out.  Both of our families have the tradition of making ebelskivers for conference, and this was the first time we made them on our own.  They turned our fantastic!

 Snuggling my kids.

 The next day my mom came into town!  Oh, we've been having a good time.  Post pending on my mom's visit.

 The rest of the pictures are just ones that I like.  I'm too tired to think of anything else to say.  Enjoy.

Welcome to the World Little Charlie....

Remember how I was scheduled to have a c-section on 10-11-12?? 

Well, plans change.

On Monday I went in for an OB appointment.  Everything was status quo until the doctor went to check me.  Turns out, she could feel the baby's head and I was already dilated two centimeters.  She looked at me and said, "Now, I know I told you that you weren't a good candidate for a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean), but I think I'm changing my mind.  Do you want to try a VBAC?"  

Um, yes please.

The next week was kind of crazy.  I suddenly felt the need to get this baby's room ready to go.  This required moving everything out of the office and downstairs, getting the crib set up, buying Lucy a new dresser and moving the changing table/dresser, getting the baby's clothes washed and put in drawers, and finishing up shopping.  Jordan's mom happened to find an amazing deal on airfare and asked if I could use the help during the end of my pregnancy, so she was already here.  Divine.  She helped me finish up shopping for the nursery, sewed up a storm and made crib bedding, all while grocery shopping, cooking, taking care of Lucy, etc. I'm so grateful she was here, because I kept having contractions that kept me up most of the night on Wednesday and Thursday nights.   

On Friday I went in for another appointment.  At this point I was 36 weeks and 2 days.  At the appointment she checked me again and I was now dilated to almost a four.  As I was leaving I said to the doctor, "Maybe I'll see you tonight."  She responded, "I certainly wouldn't be surprised."  By the time I got home from the appointment at 4:30, I was having pretty strong contractions.  Even though I was so tired and wanted a nap, I decided I should probably take a shower, shave my legs, and pack a bag for the hospital just in case.  Jordan ran to grab some dinner, and by the time we sat down to eat at 6:00, I decided it was definitely time to head into the hospital.  

 When we got to the hospital, they hooked me up to a machine to monitor my contractions before they admitted me.  I was there for an hour and the contractions started slowing down, so I was really upset.  I thought they were going to send me home and the last thing I wanted was another long, sleepless night of irregular contractions.  My doctor came in and checked me again and I had actually dilated to a six so they admitted me.  At this point I was finally letting myself hope that I would be able to go through with the VBAC.  I had such a horrible experience with the c-section and I thought I would never get the chance to experience labor, so I was ecstatic.  

They took me up to a labor and delivery room where I was introduced to Michele, the best L & D nurse ever.  She has helped deliver thousands of babies and was perfect.  I got my epidural and discovered that I was still feeling pain during the contractions so they gave me a second dose.  Now I was COMPLETELY numb from the waist down.  Not a pleasant feeling.  

 At midnight the nurse checked me again and it was time to start pushing.  Now, I have never attended a single child birth class considering I had planned to always have c-sections. I thought you pushed a few times and the baby comes out.  When Michele warned me that average pushing time was 1-2 hours I thought, yeah right. The previous two nights of no sleep were now catching up with me and I was beyond exhaustion.  I started pushing at 12:30 AM and could not believe how physically exhausting it was.  Even though I was so numb, I could still feel the pressure during the contractions which was helpful.  However, trying to hold up my legs (which felt like they weighed 1,000 lbs) during the contractions was proving difficult.  After an hour of pushing I took a little break and then we were back at it.  Finally, I pushed hard enough that the baby's head was visible and Michele called the doctor in.  I got a burst of energy knowing that we were getting so close to meeting the baby.  I was having a hard time pushing the baby past my pubic bone, but I finally pushed hard enough that his head came out.  What a miraculous thing.  He was born at 2:34 AM after two hours of pushing.  I felt so grateful that I got to experience this amazing miracle, because it was something I never even hoped I could do.  I loved that they put him right on my chest and I got to hold him right after birth.  Everyone was shocked at how big he was considering he was over 3 1/2 weeks early.  The birth stats:

7 lbs 1 oz.

19 1/4 inches long

Dr. Elizabeth Street.  She was fantastic!

We decided to name the baby Charlie Brent Walker after Jordan's maternal grandpa and my dad. He is Charlie, not Charles.  I'm a big fan of naming your child exactly what you're going to call them.

Anyway, we didn't end up in our room in the maternity ward until 5:00 AM, and the nursery closed at 6:00 AM, so I only got about an hour of sleep that night.  Talk about tired.  We were so excited for Lucy to meet baby Charlie the next day.  She has been so anxious to meet him and was thrilled when she saw her baby "Charwie" for the first time.  

Once again, I'm so grateful for Jordan's mom's timing, that she was here when this all happened.  She extended her two week trip for another week so that we would have help until my mom comes.  It was such a relief to know that Lucy was home with someone she loves so much.

We spent a lot of time sleeping in the hospital.

Finally, Monday rolled around and it was time for us to go home.  We ended up waiting around for hours because I had a sharp pain in my right leg and they wanted to scan it to check for blood clots.  Turns out everything was fine and they gave us the clear.

Lucy and Grandma were waiting for us.

Check out all my hospital bands.

It's been interesting since we've been home.  I'm happy to report that Charlie is still in the wonderfully easy newborn phase.  He sleeps 23 1/2 hours a day, nurses like a champ, and poops well.  However, our little Lucy is struggling.  The day after we came home she started pushing every limit/boundary she could. I'm talking tantrums, attitude, disobedience, etc.  Even though she's been potty trained forever, she keeps wetting the bed.  Jordan and I are trying to walk that fine line between being patient/understanding, and still providing rules/limits.  Hopefully this quickly works itself out.  She did a little better yesterday, so I'm not too worried.

Yesterday we took Charlie on his first outing because we all needed to get out of the house.  We drove to the top of Kennesaw Mountain near our house.  Kennesaw Mountain is a Civil War battlefield site and about the only place I've actually seen a view from since moving to Georgia.  The weather was beautiful and it was so nice to get out.

This girl sure loves her baby.  That's all for now.