Tonight, we went to our church's Live Nativity. Our church is so wonderful and very intentional when it comes to teaching our children about Christ. They provide so many activities each time they enter the doors to learn and hear about Jesus and we as parents are so thankful to the church body and all the preschool workers who love our kids throughout each week.
My Little Shepherd Boy (Not too sure about all this yet...)
Cole with "Joseph" and his friends, Macy and Jack
Cole with "Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus" and his friend, Anderson
Craft Time!
"All the ANIMALS" (in Cole's words)
The BIG Finale of the evening:
All Cole really had to say about this was "It's bumpy..."
Back at the end of October, we went to the senior pro golf tournament in The Woodlands with our good friends Jon and Stephanie. It was a great afternoon to walk a golf course and catch up with friends. Cole is an old pro at attending pro golf tournaments, since he has been to the Shell Houston Open a few times. Brent can't wait to get him out playing for real, but that may be a couple more years. :) (38 week preggo here and hoping all the walking would get something started, but no.)
Admission to the tournament was free, but what wasn't free were the passes Jon had which were to get inside the luxury tent on the 18th hole. All the food, drinks, and ice cream you could eat. Just the snack Cole and I needed on somewhat of a warm day.
The highlight for Cole was being given a golf ball by a pro golfer, Mark O'Meara. We have a friend named Mark, so we know Cole would say his named, so when Mark O'Meara was coming towards us Brent told Cole to say, "hi Mark." And he did! Next thing we know, his caddy is dropping one of his golf balls at his feet. Then (shown in picture), Cole proceeded to play golf/baseball with his hat. He loves the outdoors, sports and is just creative. Too fun.
A couple weeks ago, we went to Kroger and there was a security cart/golf cart there. The first thing Cole said was, "I want to go golfing." It took me a minute to realize what he was talking about and where that came from. He proceeded to ask to go all throughout the store and I told him he would have to talk to daddy about that. Then I asked, "who did you go golfing with?" He replied with a big smile, "Jon and Steph! And we rode the bus!" He never forgets a thing.
Sunday, we are on our way to church. It is a bright and sunny day. The direction we are headed happens to be the direction allowing the sun to directly beam Cole in the face. Blinding.
This is what we heard from the backseat:
Cole: It's bright, Claire. The sun is bright. I need my glasses. (Several more things were said which I can't remember now, but led me to say this...)
Me: Yes, Cole, it is very bright outside. What a beautiful day.
Cole: No, Mommy, I am talking to Claire. Claire, it's bright...
Oops. My bad. I thought surely I should respond to him since Claire is not able to herself quite yet, but apparently not. That boy loves to talk to his sister. Keep it up Cole!
On December 4th, Claire turned one month. I am a few days late, I know, but life is just busy right now. Blogging is on the furthest back burner ever right now. But I also know the importance of writing down the sweet moments in her little life. They are moving too quickly already and mommy brain is in full force and I can't remember where I left my shoes last much less all the little milestones happening around me.
Breathe.
Anyway. Life is good. Busy but good. I think the holidays are attributing to that a bit with Thanksgiving just behind us and Christmas just 12 days away.
Claire has been one social butterfly attending a Women's brunch and SS class Christmas party last week. Tuesday morning Bible study and various ministry meetings and worship services at church on Sunday and small group on Tuesday nights.
She is sleeping and eating and growing well. A little congested these days and you can tell it is hard to breathe at times. She HATES to have her nose sucked but who wouldn't. She has started to follow objects with her eyes more and her wake time during the day is getting longer. Claire also has baby acne which showed up at 3 1/2 or 4 weeks but is getting better, still there but better.
The nights have not been too bad at all. No, she is not sleeping through the night like her brother did at this age but I was fair warned not to expect that from our doctor. If I can feed her in the 9 or 10 o'clock hour, then she has been making it to the 3 or 4 o'clock hour and then sleeping on to 7 or 8am. Perfect. I can handle once a night. It is when she wants to eat in the 8:30pm zone that really throws us for a loop. She might get up 3-4 times that night. How does 30 minutes make that big of difference? I don't know. All I know is it does, so I do all I can to make her eat around 9 or 10pm. I haven't decided when I want her wake time to be just yet which I already knew that with Cole at this point, but with two schedules I am trying to figures out how to make them line up a little so I can have a break/nap/clean, etc. uninterrupted some afternoons.
Claire:1 months, 3 days old
Big brother Cole is doing awesome with his sister as well. He loves to talk to her, hold her, kiss her, and help mommy get was she needs at that moment. Last week, I was in the dining room and Cole was sitting next to Claire in her bouncy seat in the living room just having the sweetest private conversation with her. I overhear him say, "I love you." Too sweet. Just blesses my heart to hear that sweet boy love on his sister like that. He always wants to know where she is, what she is doing, etc. So cute!
Claire is 1 week old today! She is absolutely amazing and I love the way it sounds to say "kids" now. Wow, I have 2 kids! Incredible!
This week has truly been great. Brent has been off the entire week and it has been so great to have him home as we discover what a family of 4 looks like and how it will work. We have been out and about a lot this week, partly because I can't drive for 2 weeks and Brent is home this week and not next week, so we needed to get a few things done. So it will just be me, Cole and Claire staying home all week next week. I don't like to stay home all day, every day. I go stir crazy and Cole likes to go too. We like our just hang at home days don't get me wrong, but a whole week. Yikes. I am going to have to be good and follow doctors orders. But it will be good to just take it easy too. I must take advantage of this time. The Birth Story: Thursday, November 4th, we drove to the hospital at 5:30 in the morning. We were scheduled to be induced. My doctor was going to be out of town that weekend and didn't want me to go past my due date and since my body was showing signs of being ready, we decided to have Claire on the 4th if not before.
At around 7:15am, my doctor came in to see me, break my water and get the medicine going for the induction. I was at 3.5cm at this point. I waited until about 10am to request my epidural. I kept going back and forth when to get it but finally Brent just said "it's time" and went and got my nurse. Sadly, 3 hours later from the first check, I was still at a 3.5cm. I was so disappointed and nervous because the epidural was in and I was afraid it would make the progression even slower. I did not want a c-section if that could be avoided.
There was a point between 10 and noon that Claire's heart rate kept going up and down so I was put on oxygen to help regulate it and that worked perfectly to keep it steady, so I was on that for the duration of the labor, which made it a great excuse to nap since I couldn't exactly carry a conversation on that easily.
At noon, my doctor came back and I was given a bit of good news. Claire was face up. Not that that is good news, she definitely needed to flip over, but it was her fault I was not progressing and not my body refusing to. Yes! The nurse and doctor agreed that once she flipped that she might be ready to come, so they flipped me on my side and we waited. At this point, I was a 5.5cm, so there had been some progression.
Around 2pm, I started feeling pressure. When Cole flipped, I felt a bit pain in my back. This was not the same. I told Brent to please find my nurse because this baby is coming out or flipping. My nurse came in at 2:09pm to see what was going on and sure enough Claire flipped and I was at a 10cm! Wow! Fast!
At 2:15pm, my doctor had made it downstairs. When Cole was born she was only in the room a couple minutes before he was born because I did all my pushing with the nurse. I had not pushed once. My nurse told me not to move while the doctor was called and she got the room ready. I told my doctor, "wow, you will be here longer with this baby." She said probably not. She was right. At 2:19pm, only 4 minutes after she arrived and 4 pushes later, Claire made her entrance into the world! It was incredible. I was so much more present and aware of what was going on this time around. With Cole, I did not feel well and very out of it. It was amazing to hold her right away, watch her get cleaned up and just remember the moment. Her cord was tightly wrapped around her neck so the doctor did have to cut it off, probably the reason her heart rate kept going up and down. She was perfectly fine though.
Claire weighed 7 pounds, 12 ounces and was 19.5 inches long. Perfect.
**Thank you to all those who prayed for us during the labor and delivery and days after. Your prayers were heard and answered. We are all doing so great. I feel great and healing quickly which is super great with a 2 year old to chase around and want to keep up with. Claire is healthy and growing and sleeping great as well. We appreciate and love you all!**
Today, Claire had her first doctor's appointment. It went great. She looks great and is gaining her weight back nicely. We left the hospital at 7lbs, 5oz and was 7lbs, 9oz today. The doctor said that was about an ounce a day since we left and they typically gain about a half to 1oz per day, so she is eating well and on track.
Wow. The head percentile makes me laugh. Cole has always been in the 90th+! haha. Her head is perfect to me. It fits her tiny body just right. :)
Outings: Sunday Night (3 days old): Spring Creek BBQ Monday (4 days): Target, HEB, and Double Dave's Tuesday (5 days): SWAT (women's ministry) Meeting and Home Group Wednesday (6 days): La Madeline, Staples, Academy, 3 Salsas, Bear Creek Park Big Brother Cole: Cole LOVES his sister Claire. He loves to hold her, kiss her and talk to her. The hardest thing for him is me not being able to pick him up and hold him right now, so we are having to get our snuggle time in other ways. We did have a few rough days in the potty training area, but now that we are back home, on his regular routine, things are back on track. I have a slide show below with pictures from the week, but I have to highlight this one of Cole and the first thing he said to his sister: Brent brought Cole in the room first to meet Claire so we could have some family time and his moment. He sat on the end of my bed and I introduce her to him. She didn't start to cry but just made a little squawk, and Cole immediately pointed his little finger at her and said "don't cry!" So so funny. He has truly been hilarious with her. So sweet. And so helpful. He loves his big brother role. Love you, Cole! You are doing a great job!!
I will leave you with this slide show of pictures to enjoy if you haven't already seen it.
Last month, my super great sister-in-law took some long overdue family/maternity photos of us. She posted a few of her favorites on her photography blog.
Okay, Claire's arrival is soon approaching! Tell us your prediction of when she will make her big entrance in the world. Tell us how much you think she will weigh and how long you think she will be.
I know most everyone that reads this uses Google Reader and I don't think Claire's post ended up there this time when it was actually finished. It was accidentally posted a month or two ago and went to Reader then, so I have a feeling it didn't put it there again.
I started this post almost 2 months ago. We were making great headway in Claire's room for a couple weeks and then it just turned into a storage unit again and absolutely no work was able to happen. Finally, tonight, I was able to get back in there, do some organizing, putting things away in the dresser and hang a few items on the wall. It is all coming together! I am so excited!
I decided that I wanted to have the bedding made because I did not find one that I just loved. There were parts to many but I was not able to buy just the parts, so instead I went to JoAnn's and found a pattern. I did make some modifications to it though. I found 3 fabrics on Fabric.com, 2 at Hobby Lobby and 1 at JoAnn's. My mom was able to do all the sewing for me. Thanks Mom!
I really hope Claire is a fan of bright colors because as you can tell her Mommy is a big fan!
The Old Guest Room...Is Now Claire's New Room!
It went from this...
Check out the before of the dresser in the corner. Brent's mom found that for him when he was moving to Houston for only $5!!! And it is heavy, solid wood, just needed some TLC. Thanks Dena!
To this... Overview
The Wall Makeover
The Dresser (See above for original look.) A little primer and a little paint can dress anything up.
Please forgive the color. It is not showing up right in the picture. It is called something Red Wine, so in person it looks more cranberry.
The Updated Pulls (Spray paint has been a HUGE friend of mine during this makeover.)
Finished Product The Bookshelf
Before Of course, I forgot to take a before picture. This shelf was mine as a girl and my parents bought it down from Tulsa for Claire to use in her room. It was solid white, but I thought it needed a little touch of color.
After
Bedding (Crib skirt not shown here since it is already on the crib.)
Close-up of Bumper
Close-up of Favorite Sheet (this one is from PB Kids...matched perfectly...couldn't resist)
Close-up of Quilt Side 1
Close-up of Quilt Side 2 (my favorite side)
All Assembled in Crib
Curtains
The shears are from my college days and have been just hanging in my closet since then waiting for a place to be hung again. I am excited to use them again for Claire's room. Wall Decor
Today is Day 6 without TV. Yesterday was the first day the TV was turned on in Cole's presence but it was golf for Brent. The first few days he did ask for it a couple times, but by Saturday, he didn't ask for a show once! Yay! Yesterday and today, he has asked one time, but I think that is the result of seeing it on for a bit yesterday. But we are having progress.
I am seeing him WANTING to play again, whether it is with us or independently, and I am loving it! All we needed was a break from TV for a good few days.
I am so thankfully to have my silly, funny, creative boy back playing actively!
**I didn't mention in the first post how much Cole is like me. The shows he does watch are great. I have watched them with him to make sure. He does learn things from them, but he is a zoner, just like me. They ask him questions or tell him to do something like stand up and jump. He just sits there. I ask him a question. He just sits there in silence. He completely spaces out. I don't think it would be as big of a deal if he were responding in some way, but he is like me when it comes to TV and we both need to limit our TV time. :)**
