Accomplishments

Today I have:

-Been alone with both Andrew and Caroline for five hours and survived! I even took a shower while Caroline slept and Andrew used my tall black boots as a leaf blower.

-Done 3 small loads of laundry...I will stay on top of it!

-Nursed Caroline more times than I can remember.

-Visited with sweet friends who came by to meet her.

-Watched The Pioneer Woman's new show on Food Network. Loved it.

-Edited a few photos while babywearing. Andrew was napping!



-Drank a Miller Lite for the first time since December 2010.

-Read our Thomas the Train book three times.

-Rocked and patted on Andrew for a long, long time before bed. It's hard on a two and a half year old to suddenly have to share his mama.

-Stared at this darling baby for a long, long time.



"Who, me?"

I'm going to have to remind myself that at this stage, it's going to be all about the little things in life.

An Ordinary Day

Today was one of those days where Andrew's energy far outweighed mine and left me wondering how one little person could exert such force. He's trying so hard to give up his nap, but even without one today he was still awake at 9:30 tonight.

I need to do a better job of working all that energy out, but that's hard to do when you're busy nursing a newborn every two hours and it's STILL 106 degrees outside.

He starts back at MDO next week and that will really help us both out.

Today I put Caroline in the Moby wrap for the first time.



I think she liked it. She fell asleep after just a few minutes and stayed there happily for about an hour and a half.

While she was snuggled up and napping I played farm animals with Andrew.







All of the animals are 2 years old - just like Andrew! - and they're big. Big enough to stand on top of the barn.



Oh he wears me out, but I'm crazy about him. :)

Settling In with Two

I had forgotten how tiring it is to have a newborn. And this time we're throwing a toddler into the mix, which makes things really exciting!

So far though I've only been alone with both kids for about 30 minutes on Saturday afternoon.

Brian was absolutely amazing last week. He played and played with Andrew. He made all our meals and cleaned up after us. He let me take naps and cuddle on the couch with Caroline.

But he's back to work and school this week. *sigh* Andrew was so sad when he left this morning, and so was I.

My mom came to spend the week with us though so I'm still not flying solo. Brian has class two nights this week so he'll be gone all day at work and then not home again until about 10PM. I just don't think I'm ready to handle dinner, bath and bedtime on my own yet so I'm very thankful she's here.

Mom is great at playing with Andrew and she does laundry, cooks dinner and cleans the kitchen. She's also just great company. I may be a little spoiled by the time she goes home next week. :)

Andrew seems to be handling the transition from only-child status surprisingly well. He's been a little grouchy on the days that he's refused to take a nap, but overall he hasn't been acting out too much.

Brian did bedtime duty all last week and then last night Andrew refused to go to bed. I went up to tuck him in again and he asked me to pat him and sing songs for a little bit.

I started to sing his old favorites and my crazy hormones raged and I cried. Sweet Andrew comforted me and assured me I would be okay. Here I was feeling sorry for him, and he was worried about me.

This motherhood thing sure is wonderful.

Caroline went in for a weight check today and she gained 7 ounces in 3 days. Go baby, go! She's a great nurser and I'm so pleased. Breastfeeding seems to be much easier the second time around.

And I know you really just want to see a picture of the baby. My sister helped me with a little mini shoot on Saturday and I captured this darling moment:



Could she be any cuter?

At Home

We came home Wednesday and have been busy getting all settled in and used to being a family of four.





Caroline is such a sweet, happy baby during the day. She's a great nurser and is thrilled to spend her time being held and cuddled, but she'll also nap very well in her swing or on the couch on her own.

For the last two nights though she's been wide awake and doesn't want to let us put her down in her bassinet in our bedroom.

The first night we had her swaddled like all new babies should be (right?) and she wasn't happy. She likes to have her hands right up at her face so we decided to try keeping her unswaddled the second night.



That didn't change a thing. She still wanted me to hold her all night.

But then this morning Andrew came in and was making tons of noise, I turned the TV and the lights on and put her down in her bouncy seat and she went right to sleep.

So maybe she just doesn't like it to be too quiet and dark? She has to be used to hearing Andrew all the time anyway, so maybe peace and quiet is just too unsettling for her?

As I'm typing this Andrew and Brian are playing dinosaurs with lots of roaring and loud noises and jumping and there's music on the stereo and Caroline has slept through it all without even making a peep.

We're going to try the white noise machine and a night light tonight. Let's hope that'll help.



I'm pretty sure she's the most beautiful baby girl I've ever seen, but I'm a little biased. :)

The most amazing thing about her is how small she is. Andrew was 8 lbs, 6 oz and Caroline was 6 lbs, 14 oz and has dropped down to 6 lbs, 6 oz and she is seriously the smallest baby I've ever held. She likes to keep her feet crossed and her legs pulled right up to her bottom so she's about a foot long most of the time.

I have very few outfits that are small enough for her. I've been keeping her in little sleep sacks, but they just swallow her up. I'm looking forward to getting her into all those pretty dresses in her closet!

Introducing...

She's here!

Caroline Claire arrived at 6:02PM yesterday. She's 6lbs, 14oz and 19.5 inches. She's beautiful and perfect and we couldn't be happier!



I got to have my VBAC and I'm so, so happy. I can't believe what a difference it makes. I'm already feeling pretty good and moving around very well.



Andrew came up to meet his baby sister this afternoon. He was a little more interested in the buttons on my bed than baby Caroline, but he was really sweet with her.



He gave her lots of kisses and loved on her. I'm sure they're going to be great friends - eventually.

I am so blessed with this little family of mine.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

It's Scavenger Hunt Sunday! I really didn't think I'd be here this week, but apparently this baby has her own schedule, so here I am.

I'll admit this probably wasn't my best week, but I did get all my interpretations together so I wanted to share.

Thanks for looking!

{Against the light}



Hanging in the window. I love that you can see the texture from the screen in the background.

{Frame within a frame}



My side mirror, through the frame of the window - and there are windows from an old building in the bokeh background.

{Best part of your day}



We often spend our mornings trekking around our backyard. I usually get Andrew dressed first, but this day I thought it would be more fun to stay in our pj's. :)

{Buttons}



M&M's look like buttons, right?

{Ink}



I think blackberries are very messy and I'm not a fan, but Andrew loves them. He can eat handfuls and handfuls of the things. But they leave a big, dark mess behind.



With the baby coming I'll be taking a bit of a break from Ashley's Scavenger Hunt, but next week's items are:

Geometry
Brushstrokes
Hanging by a Thread
Collage
On the Dotted Line

See y'all soon with baby news!

Baby Sister?

It's Friday morning, and I'm still pregnant. I'm feeling really hopeful for this weekend. Today would have been my nana's 80th birthday. I think it would be pretty cool if the baby came today and they could share this day.

If you ask Andrew what we should name the baby he gets this funny look on his face and says, "Baby Sister!".





I'm pretty sure we'll have to give her a real name, but Baby Sister might stick for a while.

I also asked him when he thought she was going to be here and he said Saturday. So maybe he knows something we don't?

Happiness Is....

An icy cold latte on a 105 degree day....



New fresh cut flowers in my living room...



A good hair day and new lipstick to help me feel a little less whale-like in this current state...



A grown-up ruffly bedskirt....



Spending my day with this guy...

40 Weeks Due

I wasn't sure if I would have a 40 week post, but here I am, still great with child.



It's really not that bad that I'm still here though. I'm a big believer that babies come when they're good and ready and that a few extra days (or even weeks!) are worth it in the grand scheme of things.

My first goal with trying for a VBAC was just to make it to my due date so I feel like I've already had one success. And if I have to have a repeat c-section next week, well, at least I've made it this far.

We had a busy day yesterday, shopping and lunch with my sister and nephew and then a playdate with a friend from my mom's group. I realized at the end of the day that I'd sat down very little and was having some good, strong braxton hicks contractions.

But they were gone as soon as I got in bed.

Last night was the first night I've really slept poorly. Andrew woke me up at 3AM and then I was wide awake until 5AM. Andrew climbed back in my bed at 6AM.

*sigh*

I'm hoping this was a fluke and not the start of a terrible nighttime sleep regression. That would be bad timing.

Honestly, I'm just ready to wear new clothes. It's too hot to wear much and I'm so tired of all my maternity dresses. Most of them are my sister's, and I don't think she'll want them back after I've practically worn them out. So maybe we can have some kind of maternity dress destruction party. :)

The stores have their fall clothes out now. This drives me crazy because I know it's still months and months until it'll cool down enough for us to wear them here, but they're so tempting.

Well, this post has gone in a funny direction. But I'll leave you with this:

This week Dallas is going to break our 30 year record of 42 consecutive days with temperatures over 100 degrees. I will be able to say that I was nine months pregnant during the hottest summer we've ever seen.

She's so going to be worth it.

Baby Girl's Nursery

As soon as we found out we were having a girl I started thinking about how I wanted to decorate her nursery.

I started this board on Pinterest, and went to Home Depot to look at paint colors.

I decided I wanted to paint the walls a soft blue/gray color, but had a hard time finding just the one I wanted. I also had an idea of what I was looking for in bedding, but couldn't quite nail it down. Remember this post?

We finally decided on the Lily Bedding from Pottery Barn. I love its patchwork look and all the colors are soft and lovely. Also, that ruffly bed skirt? Couldn't be prettier.

Then we chose Light French Gray walls, Pastel China for the ceiling, and had the chair rail added. (The pink ceiling was my mom's idea and I love it.)

And everything else kind of fell in to place from there.

Here is the finished room:





The furniture is Andrew's old furniture; it's Young America by Stanley.



I used this tutorial I found on Pinterest to make the fabric embroidery hoops. They were so easy. I'm the least crafty person ever, and even I could do it.



The prints over the crib are from this shop on Etsy, and I ordered the frames from Exposures.

The chandelier and lamp are both from Pottery Kids and the glider is from Little Castle.



The drapes are custom from Calico Corners and we will be able to use them for a long, long time. I decided to go with the plaid, thinking we could pair it with lots of things as she gets older and wants a more grownup room.



We hung these old hooks from Ballard Designs with ribbons for hair bow storage over by the changing table.



And now we're just waiting for her arrival so we can name her and hang her monogram over the changing table. I'm pretty sure we're going to go with this one from Etsy in pink.

I'm so happy with her room. I keep wandering in there just to look around. I'm so anxious for her to get here. So soon!

Updated!

She's here and we finally named her: Caroline Claire.

Here's the monogram over her changing table. It's a brighter pink than I thought it was going to be, but it's pretty and adds a nice little pop to that side of the room.



I did end up ordering it from Leen the Graphics Queen on Etsy and I'm so happy with the font. It's so pretty!

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

Brian and I went on a real, honest to goodness date last night.



We had dinner and saw the final Harry Potter movie. It was so fun. My parents came in to watch Andrew for us. They took him out to dinner and they all had a great time. I'm so glad they live close so they can help us out and that we get to spend lots of time with them.

Obviously I haven't had the baby since I'm still here with my scavenger hunt items. Maybe this week? I am due on Tuesday, and getting pretty tired of being pregnant, but I seem to make babies who like to stay inside for a long time. Sooo....

{Seeing Double/Two}


I'm clearly feeling pretty maternal these days, but these roses made me think of a mom and daughter the way they are side by side and leaning in the same direction. So pretty.

{Whatever}


I thought I'd share this guy again even though I've already shared it this week. He kind of reminds me of the Geico gecko. He clearly knew we were right there, but didn't seem to mind us all.

{Sweet}


Chocolate chip cookies are my absolute favorite cookie. Well, sometimes peanut butter cookies can give them a good run for their money. Either way, they're awesome.

{Space}


I've always thought Crocs looked like something you should wear to stomp around the moon. I'm not a big fan, but they actually look kind of cute on Andrew. :)

{Bright}


This is our office building reflecting the bright, blue rain-free sky. (It hasn't rained here since some time in late June.) I stood in the parking lot to take this shot and I thought the asphalt was going to burn through the soles of my flip-flops. I really didn't know shoes would get that hot.



Next week's prompts are:

Against the light
Frame within a frame
Best part of your day
Buttons
Ink

Ashley sure likes to challenge us. We'll see if I'm back here next week!