Pictures of Mae

Arabelle and Bo have been at Mamaw and Papaw's house this week for swim lessons,  so it's been quiet here!

It's amazing how easy 1 baby can be! Jared and I enjoyed the quiet, but we're ready to get back to normal around here!

I'll be back with a swimming update from Arabelle and Bo in a few days!

Mae's Arrival, Part 2

If you missed it, here's Mae's arrival, part 1.

Once Mae was born and checked out, they handed her off to me. I was so excited to have my hands on my sweet girl! Jared went to get Arabelle and Bo from the waiting room, so we could tell them if they had a new brother or sister. They both walked in really quietly and stood right beside the bed. When I told Arabelle she had a baby sister, so was SO excited! She squealed a little and then looked at Bo and said "You were wrong!". haha! Bo just kept holding his arms out saying, "I want to hold it". 

Then Jared went to get the rest of the family and accidentally left me alone in the room with all 3 kids. Oops! Luckily, Bo only tried to climb on the bed and didn't jump right up on us.

Arabelle was pleased to tell everyone that it was a sister!

My 2 girls!!

Bo wasn't really interested in taking pictures. Notice he's wearing a swim suit....he is ALWAYS wanting to wear one these days and unless we're going to church or somewhere special, I let him.

Before going for a bath and some time in the warming area of the nursery.....she still looks a little grayish here.

After Mae nursed for about 30 minutes, the nurses took her to the nursery for her full assessment, bath, and to be warmed up. Bo and Arabelle enjoyed watching through the window. 

 I LOVE this one. :)

Daddy and his first girl.

Getting Bo excited about having a sister:

Mamaw and Papaw with their 8th grandchild (2nd granddaughter)

Arabelle and Bo had a t-ball game Monday evening, so they stopped by to see Mae one more time before going home. Do you think Arabelle is a proud big sister?

Leigh Leigh with her 6th grandchild and 4th granddaughter (Mae looks extra chubby here to me!).

Sambo:

Bo gave her some kisses too.

Mae and I spent Monday night in the hospital. I forgot how nice it is to have the nurses bring her in for feedings, then take her back to the nursery for her diaper changes, etc. I got a bunch of rest Monday night, especially considering I went to bed there at 8:30. 

Jared came back Tuesday morning and we finally chose her name, Eliza Mae. Mae is after my great-grandmother, Lora Mae Love. We just liked the name Eliza, which is a short form of Elizabeth, meaning God's Promise.

We were discharged Tuesday, around 11 and headed home! Mae wore a blue dress that was mine when I was a baby. Arabelle was sure to choose the blue one, which is her favorite color. 

And big sister was so happy to have her home! Not that Bo wasn't, he just didn't care a whole lot. ;)

Arabelle's Creativity

Arabelle has always been pretty creative. She often takes things, like boxes, scrap paper, ribbon, etc. and makes new things from them.

This week, she's spent a lot of time with her new construction paper and ribbon from balloons. She's made butterflies and birds, and other random things, like taping ribbons to her crayons.

Saturday, she made Bo a "Bo" train track all by herself! I was quite impressed that she figured the "B" out!

As you can see, Bo was quite pleased with her work! 

Mae's Arrival, Part 1

I'm writing up Mae's birth story more for myself, so I can remember, but I know all of you want to see the pictures too. ;)

Sunday, May 19th, I hit 41 weeks. Needless to say, I wasn't too happy to be a week over due AGAIN! Bo was born at 41 weeks and 1 day and on the 20th of the month (August 2010), so I was hopeful there'd be something happening soon!

I was feeling fine and normal all day, no contractions or pain. We went to church like usual, which was exhausting, so I came home after and rested while Jared and the kids had lunch. We ended up getting the pool out for Arabelle and Bo Sunday afternoon, so most of the afternoon was spent outside in the yard. I started having the occasional crampy like feelings, but nothing painful or even uncomfortable.

Our last day as a family of 4!

Sunday evening, Arabelle and I went to church, while Jared and Bo stayed home. Jared had court Monday morning and figured he'd better be prepared in case we weren't at the hospital. ;)

When we were getting dressed for church and while we were at church, I started noticing some contractions instead of just the cramping. They didn't hurt badly enough that anyone noticed, but I figured things would be picking up into the night. 

We got home, had supper, and got the kids into bed, then I showered and started making sure I had everything together. I also did 2 loads of laundry and straightened up a bit. In hindsight, I should have tried to sleep a little at that point. By 9:00, I knew it was the real deal. The contractions weren't lasting all that long (under 30 seconds) and were still about 7 minutes apart, but they were picking up a bit. 

I crawled into bed at 11 and slept for maybe 15 minutes before I had to get up. I knew we'd be going soon, so I started timing them. Once they got to 4-5 minutes apart and lasting nearly a minute, I woke Jared up and let him know it was time to go! 

Sambo arrived to stay with Arabelle and Bo around midnight (?? I'm not exactly sure what time....). We got to the hospital, registered, and went up to Labor and Delivery. By then it was about 1:45, I think. Let's just say, when you arrive on the 20th of the month and tell them your due date was the 12th, they assume it is the real thing. ;)

I was at 5cm and fully effaced when we got there, which was good news! By the time the IV was in, labs were drawn, etc., it was about 4:00. The contractions were about 3 minutes apart and getting pretty intense, but they were easy to breathe through. I let them know I'd take the epidural any time because I really wanted to sleep some before it was time to deliver. 

I got the epidural at 4:30. I should have known it was't working right when my right leg went numb really quickly and it took a while for the left leg to catch up. I was numb for awhile and was able to sleep off and on for an hour or two, then I started feeling the contractions more and more. I couldn't move my right leg at all (not even to wiggle my toes!), but I could move my left leg decently well. The anesthesiologist gave me another dose of the epidural after 7 am, but it didn't help at all, despite position changes, etc. 

At 6:30, I was 7cm and at 9:25, I was 10 cm! Dr. G was in surgery, so the nurses started setting things up. Pushing started at 9:51 with the nurses and after 2 contractions, she told me to stop and Dr. G came in to deliver. He told me that the baby would be out in 1 more contraction, which really surprised me! It took about 20 minutes to deliver Bo and Arabelle, so I was counting on the same this time. When he said that, I figured the baby just had to be smaller than they were. 

One more contraction and she was out, at 9:56 am. Yep, started at 9:51 and she was here at 9:56! I couldn't see if it was a boy or girl at first because the umbilical cord was in the way, so Dr. G announced, "It's a girl!!!" for us! I cut the cord (Jared hates being in the Delivery room) and they took her to the side to get cleaned up and checked out. 

Even after I saw her, I didn't think she'd be as big as she was. I was thinking *maybe* 9 lbs, but probably 8 something? She measured 22 inches long, then they took her to the nursery to be weighed. I was really surprised when they came back and said 9lb 10oz!

I was SO relieved she was here and healthy and I can't even describe the relief I felt to have that big girl OUT!

Stay tuned for part 2 to hear about everyone's reaction to "It's a GIRL!". 

Meet Eliza Mae!

It's a GIRL!!! We were blessed with a healthy baby girl yesterday morning, May 20th!

Today, we named her Eliza Mae and will be calling her Mae, after my great-grandmother.

Eliza Mae

5/20/13, 9:56 am

9lb 10oz

22 inches

I haven't uploaded the pictures from my camera yet.....more to come! 

SnoBiz

The kids stayed at school Tuesday afternoon until my Dr. appt was over, then we went for SnoBiz again! 

I'm not sure who enjoys it more......

Pre-School "Graduation" Program

Arabelle and Bo had their pre-school graduation program Tuesday evening. They both learned so much at school this year and LOVED their teachers! Both of their classes sang a couple of songs and said a Bible verse for us.

Bo is there in the middle in the white shirt and khaki shorts. His cousin Tripp is on the left in the red shirt:

Here is Bo's class singing The B-I-B-L-E and The Wheels on the Bus. He was really into it! 

Arabelle was on the back row, there right behind the microphone. She doesn't get as into the songs as Bo did, but she sure knew them and did great!

Arabelle's class singing My God is so Big and The Moving Song. I'm so glad no one fell off the back of the bleachers they had them on! I'm not sure they fully thought that one through. 

And my favorite picture from the evening:

Poor ol' Bo. He had been on Jared's shoulders and was going to get to stay there for the picture, but he reached down and pulled my hair, so he got put on the ground and was NOT too pleased about it. ;) I'm sure this will be a picture we laugh at for YEARS to come!

*Yes, I'm nearly a week overdue and no, I'm not feeling anything. :p

Last Day of School

Today is Arabelle and Bo's last day of pre-school. This school year has flown by and they've both grown so much!

Bo wasn't really feeling the picture this morning. ;) He looked like a baby back in August and is such a big boy now!

I think Arabelle has grown a foot since August!

They both had a great year and learned a lot. They both say that playing on the playground is their favorite part. :)

40 week update

Well, the due date of May 12th has come and gone and the baby is still baking! I was prepared to go overdue this time though, so it's a little easier, mentally at least. ;)

• How far along: 40 weeks 2 days
• Size of the baby: Um, huge?? Arabelle was 9lb 7oz and Bo was 9lb 10oz. I'm fully expecting another 9 pound baby. I didn't have an u/s today.....considering how inaccurate they can be at the end anyway, that's fine with me. 
• Latest Dr. Appt: The baby looked great on the monitor again today! Lots of movement and variation in the heart rate. I was 2cm and 70% effaced (last week was 1.5 and 70%, so not much progress) and the baby was still nice and high. 
• Weight Gain: 28 pounds! 
• Gender: Still a surprise! Hopefully we'll find out this week!
• Sleep: Sleep has been more difficult lately. I can fall asleep fast, but wake up a lot to roll over, which should be an Olympic sport at this point. I'm usually awake for the day by 6. I guess it's training for life with a newborn.
• Signs of Labor: Still nothing. Absolutely NOTHING! No contractions, low back pain, etc. At this point, I'm read for the pain!
• What's next: Ideally, labor will start on it's own in a few days. If not, I'll go back to the Dr. next Wednesday morning, the 22nd (41 weeks 3 days) and we'll make some decisions from there. My body knows what to do, it's just not time yet! 
• I'm thinking of making a list of things NOT to say to any pregnant woman and include those things not to say to an overdue lady. ;)

Mother's Day 2013

I had another great Mother's Day this year! It's hard to believe this is the 5th year I've had the privilege of being a mother!

Sunday, we went on the porch before church for a few pictures. Bo had to bring his fire truck and his 'hanger truck' (tow truck) too.

Arabelle had to bring her camera out for a few pictures too. She took one of Bo, then was showing Bo how to take one of her. You can tell he's listening intently!

Both kids smiling for a picture!!

After church, we enjoyed lunch at Sambo and Leigh Leigh's house. The kids had the best time picking blueberries after lunch!

Arabelle and her Leigh Leigh:

After we rested/napped, Mamaw and Papaw came over for supper. Jared grilled for us and it was delicious!

Arabelle got Drake's leash out for some fun. She was the dog here:

But everyone had their turn on the leash. Arabelle even walked herself. ha!

Arabelle and her Mamaw:

We grabbed Bo for a quick picture.....being still for a picture isn't a 2.5 year olds idea of fun. ;)

So thankful for my Mama!

5 Mother's Days for me. The kids have grown so quickly! Looking forward to a picture with 3 next year. :)

I am so thankful to be able to stay home with the kids and 'train them in the way they should go'. That is my #1 goal!