Oh Christmas tree!

our christmas tree is up and decorated. bailey was so excited and into our tree this year. she wants the whole house to be decorated in christmas cheer. it makes me a little sad that she didn't get to do any of this last year.

on thanksgiving day, billy got the tree box out of the attic (sorry, we are artificial tree people) and i pulled out the ornaments. bailey "helped" us put some of the tree together before she went to bed that night with promises of us getting to the fun part, the ornaments, the next morning. crawford participated by sleeping peacefully in the swing our good friends let us borrow (thanks courtney!).

well, the next morning, we heard bailey wake up and, like all good parents, we turned the monitor off so we could get a few more precious moments of quiet before she came bouncing through our door, announcing the start of another day. at some point, billy got up to find bailey "decorating" the tree all by herself. with the expensive, special glass ornaments. we explained that, although we certainly appreciated her enthusiasm for christmas decor, it was not safe for her to be leaning all into the tree with extremely breakable ornaments. when the time was right, bailey and i had a blast with the tree. we carefully opened up the individually wrapped ornaments and i got to explain the meaning behind each one. the one from our honeymoon. my first christmas. ornaments my mom made for us. bailey's first christmas. various ones to commemorate our wedding. ornaments i made when i was little. ones our friends have given. i love that so many of our ornaments mean something to me. i like to choose ones that remind me of a special time or person.

i love that the christmas season has started and having such a wonderful family to share it with makes it all the more fun!

(sidenote: i thought it was funny that billy and i had written ourselves a note about the best way to put up the tree and hang the lights and stashed it in the tree box. we both agreed that assembling and lighting the tree went by smoother and quicker this year, thanks to our wonderful, helpful advice)

Simple things

it's the simple things in life that make bailey so happy.

like a new pink and purple hello kitty toothbrush.

3 weeks old

time has just flown by since your birth three short weeks ago, my big boy. it seems like you have been a part of our family for much, much longer than that and although i still feel like half a person, i am amazed by how much my body has healed thus far.
i just want to jot down some facts about you before they fade away in a sleep deprived fog.

* boys sure are different than girls. in the first week home, we did 5 whole loads of laundry. loads of only your little boy laundry.

* on the subject of boys and girls, crawford, you have already peed on your big sister. this caused her great distress. she walked over to me with a pitiful look and a few little droplets on her face, exclaiming that you "sprinkled on her". although i don't want this to become a habit, i have to admit that i was fighting back the laughter (and not doing a very good job at it).

* you are a frantic and fast eater. as in you are done and full in 10-18 minutes. i have to break the latch to burp you at least 3 times during each feeding. during those brief breaks, you fuss a bit and bob and thrash your head and sometimes your whole body all around with your cute little mouth open as if a nipple is going to magically appear if you just move around enough. the burps that come out of your tiny body are amazingly ginormous. you nurse about every 4 hours. i sometimes wake you during the day so you can nurse closer to every 3 hours.

* two words. spit up. crawford, you are a spitter. i don't think i've fed you one single time when you didn't spit up just a little. most of the time, it is moderate. sometimes, it seems like you have spit every single thing up. the nurse said it has to do with how quickly you eat and i would imagine that you are also just like your mommy with eyes bigger than your little stomach. kirsten reminded me to feed you in an almost sitting up position and that has helped. i've never understood why some babies always wear a bib. now i do.

* you are so noisy!! you sound like a purring kitten half the time and grunt and groan most of the rest. it's sometimes hard to sleep through (not for your daddy).

* with a name like crawford, i've had a tough time coming up with nicknames i like. the ones we use now have absolutely nothing to do with your actual name. like peaches, for example. billy commented on how tiny your little bottom is during one of the earlier diaper changes. that it barely has a crack in it and looks like a little peach. this cracked me up and has stuck. we also call you our big guy, little booger, big fella and big boy although you remain tiny in our eyes.

* speaking of tiny, most of your clothes just swallow you. we expected another big ole baby and are thankful that some of the clothes friends have graciously let us borrow are size newborn. most size 0-3 month clothes are still too big and you almost disappear in the gowns we keep putting you in. hopefully, you will bulk up soon enough to fit into all of the wintery size 3-6 months clothes i bought you.

* you still sleep a ton, although i'm pretty certain that is completely normal. you usually bless us with 4 to 5 1/2 hours between nightly feedings. not that we get to sleep all of those hours as it usually takes you a minimum of 30 minutes to fall asleep after each meal (plus, we have to keep you upright in an effort to minimize the spitting up). you have yet to repeat the whole i'm not going to settle down until 4:00 a.m. which makes us pretty happy. i try to keep you awake during the day but admittedly, that's really hard.

* like your beloved big sister, crawford, you are loud! your cry sounds almost identical to bailey's at this age.

* my sweet baby boy, we all simply adore you. you have made us all so happy and we are trying to cherish this time with you. thus far, you are a good baby. i feel like i already know your different cries and i'm able to distinguish what you need when you are upset. you can thank your sister for breaking us in. i am a much more confident mom this time around and it feels nice to not be so entirely clueless.

* even with baby acne, i think you are beautiful, in a tough, manly sort of way of course.

Taken care of

papa and mimi just left a few minutes ago. they were here for four glorious nights and provided immeasurable help to everyone in the family. words cannot describe my gratitude for all that they did for each one of us while they were here.
mimi cooked and cooked, stuffing our freezer with delicious meals for when my care calendar days are over. they both kept bailey more than entertained and got to love on and bond with crawford. billy and i were each given the gift every new parent can't get enough of, precious sleep. i was relaxed enough to let my poor, recovering body get the rest it needs to further heal. even boss got some much needed attention, food and a trip to the groomers thanks to papa and mimi. plus, the house is still clean, i have plenty of groceries and our laundry is taken care of. amazing.

we were well taken care of, to say the least, and are so blessed to have such loving, giving people to call family. i know i would not be where i am emotionally and physically without your help these past few days. thank you for spending time with us and loving us the way you did!!

now....................when are you coming back again?! :)

The first of many

look at my adorable son!!! he is so sweet and precious and tiny and squeezable and we love him so much!

can you believe something so cute could be so mean to his parents?

last night, crawford did not go to sleep until 4:00 a.m.

please, please, do not think of making that an everyday thing, big boy. you just may kill us although we have done surprisingly well thus far on such little sleep, mainly thanks to papa and mimi.

Church

crawford attended his first church service this past sunday at a mere 13 days old! i know, feel free to be impressed :)

he did great actually, despite my poor math skills regarding the times in which he should eat. crawford barely made a peep during the service. it was great to get out, see some awesome friends and listen to todd preach!

afterwards, since i had make-up on and looked somewhat presentable, we took a few little family pictures.

bailey is still totally in love with her baby brother!

sunday was a great day!! we have so much to thank god for!

So strong!

although he still seems so tiny and skinny to us, crawford is surprisingly strong. he was able to lift his head and hold it upright for seconds at a time from the day he was born!

i really can't get over his stregnth! he bobbles all around while i'm trying to burp him and will pratically throw himself out of your arms if you are not careful.


we were impressed when bailey did this at 2 weeks old. but, crawford has an edge on bailey since his head isn't nearly as big and thus, hard to support.

Proud grandparents

papa and mimi

granna and poppy

grandma

grandpa charlie

Love at first sight

oh bailey, you are just amazing! never in a million years could i have imagined a more loving, genuinely enthusiastic reaction to finally meeting your baby brother for the first time. my sweet child, it was priceless!! it was precious!! it was PERFECT! and so are you :)

daddy and poppy went to pick you up from school. how i wish i could have gone with them. i bet you were pretty funny in the car.

when you walked in, you were carrying the panda bear you thoughtfully picked out for crawford just days before. there were several cute stuffed animal options at babies r us, but they got shot down left and right for pretty legitimate reasons (baby elmo's eyes were too hard and could hurt crawford, another toy made noise, which wouldn't be good when he went to sleep). so, after careful consideration, the panda bear was it.

you just beamed at the sight of your tiny dark headed brother. "hi little crawford, it's your big sister bailey!", "oh, he's so cute and tiny!" and "i love you, little crawford!" were repeated several times in your sweet little voice. i don't know if i've ever heard sweeter sounds.

you naturally wanted to gently touch his soft, tiny features. at your request, i unwrapped his blanket so you could carefully count his 10 perfect little toes.





just like us, you were surprised that crawford had so much dark hair. you speculated it would be blonde and straight, like your good buddy reece. but, you weren't the least bit phased and continued to dote on the newest member of our family.

how proud you were to get to hold crawford all by yourself while he was still only hours old. i love how you gently leaned into him.

much to your surprise and delight, crawford had gifts for you as well. after opening up the awesome sticker and coloring book, you happily said "oh, thank you crawford for my coloring book and stickers! i love them!". the pink sparkly bracelet with the flower charm i spent hours helping crawford pick out wasn't nearly as exciting and lasted about 3 seconds on your wrist. my only hope is that you don't throw it away like i did to the necklace my parents got me when adam was born (apparently, it got dirty at school so i put it in the trash, sorry mom).

there are moments in your life that you know even while they are happening that you will never forget. these were some of those moments. i'm sure i will tear up every single time i think back on this special time. oh, how i love how much you love crawford! thank you bailey for making me so incredibly happy and grateful to be alive. thank you god for my perfect family :)

Welcome home Crawford!!

in case you are wondering where i get my more creative side from, here is more evidence.

while we were still at the hospital, bailey and my mom worked hard decorating this birthday cake for crawford.

bailey was super excited when we walked through the door. she had set the table and decorated it with balloons, a vase of pink roses, the cake, some reindeer cookies and some of her new go fish cards.




although it wasn't his actual birthday, bailey led us in singing happy birthday to crawford. i think he was pretty impressed :)

of course, big sis got to blow out the candle while baby brother enthusiastically slept in the background.

thank you mom and bailey for making our homecoming extra special! bailey, i hope you feel as included, important and valuable as possible now that crawford is here. you are already such a wonderful big sister and we are so incredibly proud of you!! mom, we could not have done this without you! i can't begin to thank you enough!

Comparison

bailey

crawford

crawford


bailey

bailey

crawford

so, according to me, the verdict is that bailey and crawford resemble each other some, but they are definitely different. the obvious hair difference and the weight (bailey was more than a full pound bigger) can really throw you off. but, they have the same shaped eyes, the same daddy eyebrows (bailey's are just more pronounced now) and the same cute little mouth. i know crawford will change about a million times like bailey did but i sure think he is the cutest little boy i've ever seen!

Time with Grandma

my mom has been here since before crawford was born to help us out. she has truly been a lifesaver and billy and i appreciate all that she has done for us so much!

i wanted to day before crawford was born to be extra special for bailey and i. we started off eating a delicious breakfast at cafe brazil, complete with chocolate milk (such a special treat around here). then we went to the store to get a few things before the birth. the combination of a high sugar breakfast and a one hour shopping trip left me absolutely exhausted. mom stepped in, just like a perfect grandma, and planted flowers in our front yard with bailey while i took a nap.

it was just what i needed and bailey loved the project. as you can see from the pictures, she took her planting and watering job very seriously.

i love it that my mom does fun, creative things with bailey. she always did that with me and it thrills me that bailey will have so many wonderful memories of her time spent with her grandma.

thank you both for making our yard look so beautiful! and thank you mom, for always taking such good care of me :)

So blessed

Living it out

at our church, watermark, they always end the service with the saying "have a wonderful week of worship." in other words, you should have the same loving, giving and kind attitude monday through saturday as you do on sunday. like her name, sundee does just that. words cannot express what a wonderful person sundee is and how grateful i am to call her my friend. just last week, she arranged her schedule so that she could be present the day crawford joined our family.

here are just some of the unforgettable moments sundee captured for us that day. there are plenty, as god has given her an eye for photography, and i still can't pick just one favorite.

proud grandma and grandpa charlie seeing me as a mom of 2 for the first time

my cute daddy

my adorable son and i

papa and crawford

sweet crawford looking up at me

bailey seeing her baby brother for the first time

snuggling with my precious children

the first of several kisses

my special girl!

excited big sister

billy sharing crawford with his happy parents

our happy family :)
sundee, thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing your gift with my family!!! we all love you!

My cute dark headed men

Our handsome little guy

Quick update

crawford was born yesterday at 7:45 a.m.
he was 7 lbs 9 oz and 19 inches long with a big head full of dark hair and a nice set of well developed lungs :)

we're all doing better than great. bailey was perfect and i'll have an entire post just for her initial reaction. i'm up and around but still in a lot of pain. crawford is just amazing and it's unreal how much we all love him already.

i probably won't update much until i go home due to lack of time, but just had to share our handsome little son with you :) expect plenty of pictures later.

Tomorrow

we will meet our son tomorrow!!!!!!!!!
i still haven't packed and my benedryl has kicked in, so that's about all i'm going to write.
call billy if you want to stop by.
i'm hoping that he will be able to update the blog with some pictures as soon as we get a chance.
pray for us!

Happy Birthday Caleb!

bailey's good friend caleb had his 3rd birthday party this saturday. we are so incredibly grateful to have such wonderful people live so close by! bailey just adores caleb and lindsey has always been such a great friend to me.

we helped out by decorating these (and several other) cupcakes for his party the day before. they turned out really cute and were delicious :)it was a costume party and the kids had a blast!! this year, bailey got to wear her costume 4 times, which made me, the purchaser of the costume, very happy.

here's the birthday boy and bailey painting little pumpkins.

instead of bobbing for apples, lindsey had the kids try to eat a donut that was dangling from a string. it was pretty funny to watch them try to get it without using their hands :)

one of caleb's gifts was a bounce house which i imagine will get quite some use in the years to come. bailey has come a long way since last year when she was too scared to even enter the bounce house at caleb's 2nd birthday party. she was quite fearless, actually, and would climb up the "stairs" and jump back down several feet instead of going down the slide.

lindsey went all out with the treats. there were homemade popcorn balls and a variety of caramel apples. yummy!!!


we had to make a quick exit, however, since :

80+ degree weather + several donuts + almost an entire caramel apple + 1 hot dog + candy corn + a very synthetic costume + very little water + almost 3 solid hours of bouncing = you guessed it................ throwing up

after a cooling down and taking a good nap, bailey was just fine. we all had a great time and are so happy that we got to celebrate caleb's birthday with him!

Unhappy Halloween

well, halloween started off pretty good. billy got home early, bailey got in a good nap and we were dressed and ready to go on time. we had some big plans to trick-or-treat with friends and then all eat pizza and candy together.

we had countless talks about kids wearing masks, how they can't hurt us, how it is just boys and girls under there, and how mommy and daddy won't let anybody get bailey. we had prayed specifically for bailey's fear of scary halloween costumes and so did bailey (so stinking cute, by the way).

the first few houses went by just fine. bailey and i walked up hand in hand, i usually rang the doorbells since they were high, she said trick-or-treat and usually had to be reminded to say "thank you." we met some new neighbors and chatted briefly with the few that we already knew.
it all went downhill when an entire family answered the door and the older elementary aged boy was wearing a decaying skeleton costume, complete with a dreaded mask. bailey ran back terrified to billy and the sweet boy quickly removed his mask and apologized for scaring her. i know he must have felt awful. then bailey refused to walk and asked to go home so she could take a nap. she was done with halloween and even our plans of meeting up with friends for pizza and candy weren't enough to entice her to continue the festivities. she didn't even want to go to her best girl neighborhood friend's house. it really was traumatic for her and we felt horrible about that.

we ended up going to jack's house anyway for pizza but didn't trick-or-treat with him or caleb. the boys were still accumulating candy when we got there and bailey sat on billy's lap with her face buried in his chest and her hands covering her eyes for about 20 minutes. it was quite a pitiful sight. she did warm up when the boys got there and they all ended up having fun sorting through the candy and playing with jack's toys. the pizza finally came and we had a nice time just visiting.

when we got home, it was about 8:20 or so and we had not given out any of our 2 giant sam's bags of candy. the lucky 20 kids that stopped by while we were open for business got so hooked up. i got a "thanks lady" like only a junior high boy would say, which i considered somewhat of a complement. i also got to try to pretend that i was dressed up as a pregnant woman with one group, but i highly doubt they bought it for even a second.

billy and i were worried that bailey would have nightmares, but she slept just fine.

bailey has already made it known that she has no intentions of trick-or-treating next year or even when she is five. who knows if that will last, but it might be cheaper in the long run to just buy a little bit of candy for us and stay home with our porch lights out. halloween is not something we plan on trying to force on bailey and it's not like it's a really holiday or anything. i hate it for her that what is supposed to be a fun, treat filled night is absolutely terrifying. i have such fond memories of trick-or-treating all over the neighborhood with my dad and getting tons of candy. i guess we'll just have to see how things go next year.