Happy 5th Birthday, Hudson

We had a fun year.  We did so much this year. You went to birthday parties for friends and family. We had playdates at fun places. We went to the beach. You had programs at your school for the end of the year and Christmas.  You are learning so much at school.  You are really enjoying it.  You like your teachers and don’t cry when we drop you off at school anymore. 

This year we went to Essex to see Thomas the Train. You thought it was fun. They had some cool rides there.  You went to Lake Compounce and Six Flags. You LOVE amusement parks.  You got a swingset that you love. You enjoyed playing in the snow and being outside whenever you could.  You helped Daddy outside every chance you got.  You love being outside with him and helping him dig and build. 

We went on vacations to Sesame Place two times this year.  We went to the Crayola Factory after Sesame once and we went to the Philadelphia Zoo once after Sesame.  We had a great time.  We went to Cape Cod on vacation this summer, too.  You LOVED our beach vacation.  We went swimming in the Brewster side (the Brewster Flats).  We walked way, way, way out during low tide and you got to see all sorts of fun sea creatures.  You went fishing with Daddy during low tide and you thought it was awesome.  We played miniature golf and ate ice cream.  We also went to the ocean side once.  You were so excited to see the waves and yelled with excitement about how big they were.  The water was FREEZING but that didn’t stop you from playing in it.

We had fun holidays this year spent with lots of family for Easter, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.  We had a fun Easter egg hunt, watched fireworks, ate lots of food, and opened lots of presents.  You got a ton of toys for Christmas. 

You had a fun birthday party at a trampoline park. You had a great time bouncing with friends and cousins.  It was a Star Wars theme.  You love Star Wars. Daddy let you watch the movies this year.  You dressed up like a Storm Trooper for Halloween this year and you wear it all the time in the house.  Star Wars, super heros, and transformers are your favorite things.  I don’t see that changing in the next year or two.

This year, you said some cute things. 

One day, you were sick with a cold and you said, “Mom, my nose is all rusty.” 

While heading to school one day, we saw a police officer and fire fighters finishing up putting out a house fire. You talked to the police officer.  Later that day while we were driving home, you said, “Mom, I’m nervous. I think our house is on fire.”

One day, we were talking about family members’ names.  When we got to Grandma’s name, we talked about how Grandma and Mommy have the same name.  You said, “Well, that’s interesting.”

I love you Hudson.

Happy 1 Week Birthday, Brooklynn

Happy One Week

October 8, 2015

You are ONE WEEK OLD already.  I am always amazed at how quickly time goes by.  You are my last little one.  I do not plan on having another baby in newborn clothes and newborn sized diapers.  I’m really trying to enjoy every minute of you, even if you only like to sleep at night on me.

We left the hospital on Saturday.  The first night there you needed to be held the entire night so we took turns holding you for about an hour and a half while the other napped.  The second night you slept a full 3 hours in one stretch and it was amazing.  Since being at home though, you will sleep alone during the daytime, but at nighttime you want me to hold you.  So, we cosleep.  It worked with your brothers and it is the only way I can function now.  You aren’t too fussy yet, but you do love to nurse and be held. You weighed 8 pounds when we went to the doctor two days shy of your 1 week birthday. You love breastmilk. 

Your brothers adore you.  Hudson is always saying how cute and sweet you are.  Camden says how excited he is.  They always want to hug you, hold you, and kiss you. They want to help out as much as they can.  You are one loved little girl.

Happy 3rd Birthday Camden

Happy 3rd Birthday

September 15, 2015

Where did three years go?  You are no longer a baby but a preschooler who looks like such a little man.  You are so sweet and fun.  You are so full of life and energy and you NEVER STOP TALKING!  You have so much personality.  I love it. 

In the past 6 months, you went to the movies for the first and second times.  The first time, you went to see The Minion Movie with Mommy, Daddy, and Hudson.  You loved it.  Then Grandma took you, Hudson, and Mommy to see Shawn the Sheep movie. It was so cute to hear you laughing.

We had a great summer.  We went to Cape Cod again for a few days. It was wonderful. We went to Brewster again and played in the water on the bay side. You loved it.  You looked for crabs and snails and hermit crabs.  We had ice cream. We played miniature golf. You were sad when it was over because but then we had to drop Daddy off at the airport for a business trip. You were so upset about it.  You cried when we left the airport. You were very happy when we went back to pick him up.  We went to the Children’s Museum with Grandma the day we had to pick Daddy back up and you loved it. 

You potty trained, sort of.  You mostly go to the bathroom to pee without very many accidents, but you prefer to poop in a diaper.  Your brother was the same way.  I’m hoping it doesn’t take you as long to get out of that habit though. Speaking of habits – you still climb into my bed just about every night.  You just love cuddling with us.

You started preschool.  You love it so far.  You don’t cry when we drop you off. You think it is lots of fun and are making new friends.  You love coming home and showing off what you did in school.

You had a Minion birthday party for your 3^rd birthday.  Daddy rented a bounce house too and you LOVED it.  It was a beautiful day and you had such a great time.  You love birthdays.  You talked about your birthday constantly since your 2^nd birthday.  When a scented candle is lit, you make us relight it over and over again while we all sing “Happy Birthday.”  You love everyone’s birthday since it means cake. 

Your favorite things right now are Daniel Tiger (specifically the episodes when he gets a baby sister), Thomas the Train (playing with the toys, you don’t like the show), Curious George, Frozen, Minions, and The Little Mermaid.  You also love when we bring bags in the house from the grocery store and yell out, “did you bring food?”  It’s funny.  You love food and always want to eat and need a snack. You love singing Jingle Bells still.  It might be your favorite song of all.

You are very loved, my sweet boy.

Welcome to the world, Brooklynn Grace

Brooklynn Grace

October 1, 2015

3:44 AM

7 pounds, 7 ounces

19 inches

My estimated due date was October 3. Once again, I assumed I would go “late” since my first two pregnancies went past their dates.  I didn’t mind though.  We just wanted to make it to October. How blessed we are that we got our wish.  On Monday evening I started losing some of my mucous plug. I knew from past experience that would mean I still might have a few days.  I was right. I went to work on Tuesday and wrapped up a few things.  I brought what was left on my desk that I would want at home with me when I left. I already had Wednesday off from work, and while I expected to be at work on Thursday, I didn’t want to chance it and leave stuff behind.

Wednesday morning, I went to my midwife’s office for my regular, weekly visit.  I did not have an internal since she knew I absolutely did not want that baby coming that day (the 30^th) and didn’t want to chance it.  She said she did not want to be blamed for labor, even though she didn’t think an internal would make me go into labor.  I went to the labor and delivery floor to get a non stress test and to check my amniotic fluid since I had felt much less movement and was worried.  It really eased my fears. I went about the rest of the day as normal and made dinner.  While I was putting the boys to bed, I noticed some contractions that were about 15 minutes apart and kind of painful.  I wasn’t too worried and didn’t expect them to progress though.  That was around 8:30.  By 10 they were more like 10 minutes apart.  I let Rich know. He was busy cleaning the baby’s room and decided to pack his stuff in the suitcase.  I finished up my packing.  I couldn’t sleep because the contractions kept bothering me. 

They progressed to 5 ½ minutes apart probably around 1am.  I decided a little after that to get in the shower to make the pain a bit more manageable.  While in there they jumped to 2 minutes apart.  Rich called his mom to come down but we still thought there was lots of time.  I called my midwife at 2:23 am to see what she thought. They were hovering around 3ish minutes after the shower.  I had 2 contractions on the phone with her and she wanted me to come in to Yale as soon as I could. I said, “I just don’t want to get to triage and you tell me I’m only 2 centimeters.” I still didn’t think it would happen quickly.  I stood up from the bathtub and told Rich what she said.  He took a shower and started packing the van up. He realized they were getting more intense and closer and that there wouldn’t be time for either of our moms to get there. It was now around 3am and they were 1 ½ minutes apart and even though they didn’t last as long, they were intense.  He tried to find the van keys. They were in his pocket.

He woke up the boys and put them in the car. Hudson was really excited and kept asking questions.  I tried to answer him but then told him no more talking.  Camden stayed asleep.  Rich was going around 90 to get to Yale.  We were calling his mom to let her know to meet us at Yale and then my mom. Noone answered the phone.  For some reason, I pointed out the parking garage to park in and Rich looked at me like I had 3 heads and that we would valet.  Smart man. I wasn’t thinking. I would have had my baby in a parking garage had he listened to me.  We pulled into the emergency entrance around 3:25 am. I was admitted. She asked if I wanted to wait for Rich and the kids but he told me to go. I got ahold of my mother at 3:27 and told her to get to the hospital to watch the boys and hung up the phone.

I was wheeled to labor and delivery and went right to the room. Eliza, the midwife on call was not in the room when I got there and I panicked a little.  I stood up and started crying hysterically that Rich was downstairs with the boys.  One of the nurses calmed me down and said “Your husband will not miss the birth of the baby. I will go watch the boys.” Eliza came in. The nurse went out to find them.  Rich came in right after that. My water broke with the next contraction. I climbed onto the bed on all 4s. They had me lean/hold on to the top of the bed and I started pushing.  I think it was only a few minutes and she was born at 3:44.  They said to mark that the water broke at 3:41, but none of us really know since they hadn’t looked at the clock, and it was so quick.  

They handed her to me through my legs so I could see her. Then they helped me flip over to stitch the first degree tare.  I breastfed her, and she latched right on. The nurse that had been out with the boys had come back because family showed up. Courtney, the nurse, thought the boys were great and Hudson amused her talking all grown up.

We were wheeled out to go to the maternity ward and passed by the family waiting for us. We covered her pink hat and asked the boys what they thought they had – a baby brother or a baby sister.  They both thought sister and were very happy to see they were correct. It was close to 6am when we finally got settled into our room. The boys were very sad that they had to leave us behind.  Camden wanted me to come home with him.

This delivery was similar to Camden’s. It was very painful and intense. I was terrified Rich wouldn’t make it to see the birth since the boys came with us. This birth was definitely the more emotional for me since I plan on it being my last.

We are all doing well and adjusting to being a family of 5.  The boys are crazy in love with their little sister.

Happy 2.5 Birthday

March 15, 2015

You just keep getting bigger and more energetic! You talk so much. You play by yourself so sweetly.  You like to build with the mega blocks. You still LOVE all things Thomas the Train.  You love Frozen and The Little Mermaid and ask to watch them a bunch.

This year for Halloween, you were a lobster.  You were NOT thrilled with it.  You cried, until we started Trick-or-Treating.  Then you realized you would get candy if you walked to the houses and got really happy.  Thanksgiving and Christmas went well.  You really enjoyed opening presents this year. You kept saying WOW as you were opening every present.  It was really cute.  You do not sit still to take pictures though, so getting pictures of our family at the holidays was difficult. 

We found out our family was expecting an addition. Mommy has been very sick and you walk around the house saying, “Mommy goes ‘bleh’” and make your attempt at a vomit sound.  It is really funny.  You don’t grasp the concept of a new baby though, just yet. If things don’t change in your personality, it will be a big adjustment since you still nurse, and you don’t want Hudson cuddling with Mommy.  You think Mommy’s lap is only for you. 

Our next big thing is for you to potty train.  As of right now, you have no desire and say, “Tomorrow” or “Next week” when we talk to you about sitting on the potty.  It is kind of funny.

In November, you did something that melted my heart.  When it was bedtime, you and Hudson were hugging good night and you said “I love you” to him.  It was so cute and I had never seen/heard you say that to him before. It made me so happy.

You are loved immensely.

Happy 24 Month Birthday

September 15, 2014

Happy 2 year birthday to you! It is amazing how quickly these past two years went.  You came into this world quickly, and you haven’t stopped moving quickly since.  You have so much energy and personality. You light up the room.  You make the most adorable faces. They crack me up.  You roll your eyes in such a cute way, I can barely stand it. You sing; you dance (OH MY WORD IT IS SO CUTE!)

You still love “What Does the Fox Say” and sing and dance to it.  You love playing with your trains (“eee-eee”), and you love you brother. You guys play together, although sometimes it is a little too rough for my liking.  You like pretending you are having a swordfight. You try to do things yourself. You are independent. You love helping me in the kitchen. You say in your cute little voice “I help” and pull up a chair. Adorable. You push your babies (stuffed animals of all kinds) in a baby stroller and a shopping cart. You make them tip over and then pick them up and pretend to shush them. CUTE.

This summer we had a great time. We went to Sesame Place twice.  You didn’t like getting too close to any of the characters, but you did enjoy playing and going on the different rides.  We went to the Crayola Factory and the Philadelphia Zoo too. You liked the monkeys. We went to the beach and Cape Cod. You LOVED Cape Cod. We mostly stayed on the bay side. You had a great time looking at the different sea creatures like snails, hermit crabs, and crabs. You loved playing in the sand.  While the water wasn’t your favorite part of the beach, you didn’t mind the water on the bay side.  You did not like the water on the ocean side.  It was colder and the waves were big. We would go to the bay during the day and again in the evening during low tide. You had a great time walking out on the Brewster Flats looking at all the different sea creatures. You would pick up the shells and the seaweed. You enjoyed playing miniature golf while on vacation too, but only the first couple of holes. Then you got bored with it and hung out in the stroller and watched and relaxed.

We saw fireworks, played in some pools, played outside, went your cousin’s birthday party, and got a swingset.  You LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the swingset. You ask to go outside all the time and just love being pushed. You will walk up the ladder to the slide and come down.  You love when your friend Liam comes over and you guys sort of play together.

You had a great time at your birthday party. It was a Thomas the Train theme. You said “Wow” when you opened your presents. It was great.  We went apple picking the next day and had a wonderful time. Apple picking is my favorite part because we did that the day you were born when you were in my belly, and we went apple picking on your first birthday too. It is a sweet tradition.

Happy Birthday. I love you.

Happy 21 Month Birthday

June 15, 2014

You are at such a fun age.  You make me laugh all the time.  You love to talk and you love to sing.  Many times in the car, you will just start entertaining yourself by “singing” rather loudly.  It is cute (most of the time). You started putting words together. You say “I want one” and “I don’t want that” but when you say it, it sounds almost like one word. 

You say “E-E” for train (I don’t know why).  You call bears “baby.” You have this one brown bear stuffed animal that you love and at first I thought that you only would call that one ‘baby’ but you do it to all pictures of bears that you see.  You love playing pretend with “baby” and Elmo and every stuffed animal.  You cuddle with them and change their diapers all the time because you say they “poop.”

You like playing outside. You love having races.  You still love balloons and always talk about them, even when we don’t have any in the house.  You point to the ceiling and I think are remembering the balloons.  It’s cute. You have decided that you also love Winnie the Pooh.  You like watching that movie with your brother. 

Easter was lots of fun.  After church, we went to Vavo and Vovo’s house and had an egg hunt.  You didn’t understand the concept of getting a bunch of eggs to put in your basket and would pick one up and open it and eat the crackers inside. 

We went to Essex to see Thomas the Train.  YOU LOVED IT. You are obsessed with trains.  They had a great set up there.  You and your brother got your picture taken in front of the train, you played with some train tables, and went on a train ride. You had such a great time.  You did NOT like Sir Topham Hat.  You were terrified and wouldn’t take a picture with him.  After we left the room where he was, you were happy again.  It was a wonderful day and I am so glad we did it.

We love you.

PS. You say “E-E” for train (I don’t know why.) You call bears “baby.” You have this one brown bear stuffed animal that you love. At first, I thought you would only call that one “baby,” but you do it to all pictures of bears that you see.  You love playing pretend with “baby,” Elmo, and every stuffed animal. You cuddle with them and change their diapers all the time because you say they poop.