My own little piece of heaven

Sigh.  :)

More amazing work by Kristie.   So thankful to have her to capture all these precious memories. 

April 19, 2011

It was a beautiful day in Texas.... the 16th anniversary of the OKC Bombing (both me and mr. fix-it are from OK and April 19th is one of those "I know where I was" days)...  2 weeks before she was due... the day we met the Tiebreaker.   (Yea for making a comeback to blogging - I promise I have lots to talk about besides the newest addition, but... while I sit with her on the couch - she's sleeping and smiling those newborn smiles in her sleep! - I just want to catch y'all up and share some pics!)

mr. fix-it snapped this picture of me right before we left for the hospital for my 3rd csection. 

We did so many things differently this time.  We didn't find out the gender (we had with the big kids). 

And we picked a name before the birth day.  That was huge for us!  I still haven't decided what we'll call her on the blog (I'm throwing around a few ideas... like Punkin, which is sooo cute when her brother calls her that... or Sugar, which is what I call her.  TBD!) 

But I will share with you what the Tiebreaker's name would have been... if she would have been a he.  Max Edmund.  We went with family names (another first!) for both the boy and girl middle name choices. 

Here I am, with the hats I had made (from Etsy seller Brownies N Butterflies) for either occasion!

When my dear doctor called out, "It's a GIRL!" I just couldn't believe it!  I hadn't been able to feel one way or another the entire pregnancy... but even on the day she was born, her heartrate was around 110... and both Sissy and Gman had gone by the unofficial rule that girls had higher heartrates (Sissy's was usually in the 170s), boys lower (Gman's was usually around 120-140).

An even bigger shock... her size! She was significantly my SMALLEST baby, weighing in at only 6lbs, 10 oz. And at 18 1/2 inches, she was a good 2 inches shorter than her (consistently 90-100%tile) siblings.

As soon as Daddy shaded her eyes in the OR... she opened them!

It's amazing how all 3 trips to the OR were so special in their own ways - and completely different!  Waiting to find out the gender was SO INTENSE.  I was a complete bundle of nerves that morning, more than ever!  Waiting to hear.... is the most special surprise, like every Christmas rolled into one.  Amazing!

My first chance to hold her....

And the big kids come to meet her!  (That's mr. fix-it's mom, holding Gman.  What a lifesaver she was!)

You can see just how excited Sissy was.  No one had told her if it was a brother or sister until she walked in that room.  She was in love, instantly!

And she's so good with her... holds her so carefully.  This was the first time...

And then... on Good Friday... we got to come home.  And we tried - for the first time - to get a picture of all 5 of us.  Note that there's only FOUR people in this picture.  Someone wasn't cooperating.

So daddy tried to hold him.  Still not working.

He wanted mommy.  So he's holding my hand.  But only time (lotsa time!) will erase the look on a child's face after they've had a complete meltdown.  So.. this is what we got.  It's not the perfect picture I was hoping for... but it's real. ;)

And these days... look fairly similar to this first full day home.  Two sisters... relaxing and enjoying life.  And each other.  :)

Sugar

Sugar.  At least that's what I call her.  :)  G-man calls her Punkin.  And Sissy holds her every chance she gets.

I am sooo excited to say that I'm on the mend from my 3rd c-section (I STILL can't believe I'm momma to 3 sometimes!), and I'm ready to decorate!  So stay tuned as I tackle all 3 kiddos' bedrooms (Finally, right?) as well as take on the rest of the house.  I'll also fill you in on what's keeping me up at night (and it's not the newborn!)

WOO HOO to decorating and blogging!

xoxo,

And the tie goes to........

So sorry to keep y'all waiting!  (Thanks for the comments and emails, checking on me!)  It's just chaos when you have a baby (and family in town to help, and 2 big kids!)  :)  So, last Tues, our little Tiebreaker was born.  And the tie goes to.......

PINK!!

Here she is yesterday, 1 week old, showing off her dimple!... in a cute outfit from her most frequent visitor (my brother's girlfriend!) and on a blanket that one of my dearest friends made.  So sweet!

I'll be back soon with TONS of info about her birth day, how Sissy and Gman are coping, (how I am coping!), what we should call her on the blog, etc.  I promise!  But right now, I have THE best mom.in.law in town to help and I'm spending my time sleeping and visiting with her - more computer time next wk!

xoxo,

Texas Bluebonnets

Wow.... by this time tomorrow, my belly won't be *quite* this big - I'll have traded it in for some sweet, squishy newborn goodness.  By this time tomorrow.  WOW.

My amazing mom.in.law is about an hour away, as we speak.  (She even called to see if she could pick me up a little Sonic happy hour - she's the best!)  And all that's left to do is some laundry and repack that hospital bag.  (We had a rough night last Thurs, in which a chaotic hospital bag was assembled - time to make sure I don't - gasp! - get to the hospital without my favorite mascara or something!)

So in the meantime, a peek into Spring in Texas with my fav... Bluebonnets!

Big Sis and the Big.brother.to.be!!

Can you tell that she loves the camera? ;)

My friend Tracy, mom of MULTIPLE boys, noticed the truck in G-man's hand right away.  See, after 2 years of 'bluebonnets & boo hoos!' we finally learned.  Entertainment is key. 

In fact, take a quick trip down memory lane with me... Here's 2010.  Sissy did pretty well, G-man wanted to be held.

And in 2009?  Yeah... we got lots of pics that looked like this.  NOT funny at the time, but hilarious now!  (And I can't believe how much they've both grown up!  Sniff, sniff!)

Hope that wherever YOU are, Spring has found you!  Wishing you lots of sunshine and a blessed holy week!

xoxo,

What to Expect..... when you're Expecting AND running C25K...

SETBACKS, that's what!  ;)

When I was pregnant (and running!) with Gman...  I got a horrible stomach bug around 20 wks.  Lots of vomitting led to a trip to the ER to be rehydrated.  Once I recovered, I never ran again during that pregnancy - I had to make the switch to walking.

After last week's 5 day migraine (and another trip to the ER!), I was afraid I might be headed down the same path.  I had jogged the day before Thanksgiving, making it 12 days in between runs - yikes! - and part of me was afraid I wouldn't be able to get back into it.

But then I had dinner on Sat night with 2 old friends.  I met these girls online in early 2005, when we were all pregnant with kiddos due in Jan 2006.  Sasha and I have been good friends for a few years - we connect on lots of levels (struggling to do it all as working moms, running, shopping!) and I just love her dearly.  And she lives in my home state of OK.  Beth and I have shared lots of stories about our kids (we have girls the same age and boys about the same age!) and she's THE source when it comes to info on running - I love it!  But I'd never gotten to meet her... until last weekend.  So fun!

They were in Dallas to run the White Rock half marathon.  Over a carb-y dinner of pasta, they shared their training regimens and we talked life.  It was that kind of rejuvenating fun - just what I needed!  Here we are, after dinner (I stand at a short 5'4", but don't these girls make me look like a giant?)  :)

They gave me the energy I needed to run last night.  It was tough, but I'm so glad I did it!  I'm still working towards a goal of reaching wk 9 of the c25k (I'm currently doing wk 6 - for the 3rd time - see what I mean about setbacks?!)  After I reach wk 9, then I'll work backwards towards wk1.  It'll be challenging in Dec (I only have approx 3-4 time slots avail in each wk to run, so I HAVE to make it happen in those times!), but if I make it thru without any repeated wks... I'll finish wk 1 when I'm 31 wks pg - almost 8 months!  So much can happen, but all I'm thinking about is one jog at a time.

And in the meantime... in the last 2-3 wks.... my belly has taken on a life of it's own!  Here I am with Sissy.. in the new house... sans shoes... She loves 'her baby' so much - I think I'll be getting alotta help!

And today was a big day - the SONOGRAM!  I've had so much anxiety this pregnancy... I guess I know how blessed I've been to have 2 healthy children... maybe it's that worry that my luck will run out! 

We held strong and opted not to find out the sex (mr. fix-it seemed to be wavering a bit, but in the end, he was strong, too!)  Baby #3 (I need something else to call him/her besides by a number... or the Tiebreaker... suggestions?) looked healthy in every way - answered prayers!

Hope y'all are having a wonderful week - I just love this time of year, even amid the chaos!  Sissy's birthday party is just 4 days away... we close on the house in 8 days.... and 11 days from now, I'll be residing (admist a million boxes!) in my new house!

Round 3 - Who wins? Pink or Blue?

I've been both nauseated and starving.  At the same time. 
Both exhausted beyond a doubt and suffering from insomnia.  At the same time. 
Both insanely overjoyed and extremely pissed off.  At the same time. 
And apparently have lost ALL ability to withstand any kind of heat.  Whatsoever.

Yep, Baby #3 is on the way!  We'll meet the "Tiebreaker" (we're 99% sure this is the last one, so this new kiddo will sway our house to a pink or blue majority!) at the end of April. 

And we're going to wait until that exciting day to find out just who wins - the pink team or the blue team!  And I'm soooo thrilled that my "planning side" is allowing my more "free-spirited side" to do this! :)  (It totally helps that I had brainstormed an entire black and white playroom with lime green accents - it's now the theme for #3's nursery!)

We planned for around a 3 year gap between G-man and Baby #3, but we were pleasantly surprised to get lucky QUICKLY - so the new baby will be about 3 months old when G-man hits the big 3!  With one kiddo's birthday sandwiched between Christmas and New Year's.... And the other born in the middle of scorching Texan summers.... I'm excited at the thought of outdoor birthday parties!

Sissy has wanted a baby sister since G-man was born ;)... mr. fix-it would love another son playing football in TX.... and I just want a healthy baby!  So who will win - pink or blue?  Guess we'll know in April!