Sand, Shopping, Pizza, and an Exciting First!

We finally got to take Avery to the beach last Sunday. We had rescheduled the trip twice, so I am so happy we found the time to go. We dropped Caden off with my Dad and Stepmom and were on our way! Avery had the best time. She loved going out in the waves, and would even try and get down from our arms. She was not scared at all! She loved playing in the sand and running up and down the beach. When we were leaving she kept saying, "bye beeeeeach". It was so cute. :) I think having that one on one time with Billy and I is very important, and the beach was just what we all needed! Her first beach trip was a definite success and we plan on taking her back as soon as possible. I can't wait until next summer when Caden can come with us, we even plan on renting a beach house and spending a couple days out there. Here are some pictures of Avery's first beach trip!







Monday I ventured out on my first shopping trip with both kids by myself. We were in desperate need of food so I thought I would try my luck at the grocery store. I was a little nervous, because you just never know how your kids are going to behave when they are so young. I strapped Caden in the snugli and put Avery in the cart with the list in my hand. I headed directly for the candy aisle and got some gummy worms in case Avery started to need a distraction. Then, I rushed through the store with my list like my hair was on fire! LOL! They both were awesome. Caden was a little fussy but he eventually fell asleep and Avery had a great time eating gummy worms and helping me put food in the cart. It was a great success, I just didn't like how rushed I felt. It was a great confidence boost though. Lately, I have been feeling a little trapped at home so it's nice to know that I CAN do it. :)

Monday night, I made dinner for the first time since before I had Caden! We have been so blessed to have my mom with us and she does most of the cooking. Before I had Caden, I was really sick and then after I have just been so tired that cooking did not sound fun. I made Buffalo Chicken Pizza and it was delicious! I got the recipe from this cool blog: http://thepizzaprinciple.blogspot.com/
I really enjoy cooking and baking and I have made a goal to make at least one new recipe a week! :) I hope I can do it and will keep you updated. Here is what we enjoyed last night.




And now for the most exciting news! Caden SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT last night!! He slept from 10:30pm-6am!! Avery started sleeping through the night at 6 weeks too. How did we get so lucky?! I captured some more pictures of our little guy smiling so I will leave you with them. I hope everyone has a GREAT week!

SMILES!

Yay! I finally got him smiling on camera, sorry the pictures are blurry, hopefully I will get better ones soon! He has been smiling every once in awhile for about a week now. It's so cute. This morning when I was changing his diaper he gave me the biggest, sweetest, good morning smile. :)




In other news, Avery is sick (again :(). She's congested and has a runny nose. Poor thing is completely miserable, so it's been really hard the past couple of days. Luckily, my mom was off Tues and Wed and she has been the biggest help. I am so lucky to have her and Billy, they are both amazing. I honestly don't know what I would do without Billy. He never hesitates to change diapers, get up with Caden at night, take Avery outside to give me a break, feed them...the list could go on for days, AND he works full time. I hope Avery starts feeling better soon, I hate to see her feeling bad.

I also have some great news! I got a Nook! It's something I have wanted for awhile now and Billy told me a couple days ago that Wednesday was the day. :) I am still trying to figure it out, but I am totally in love with it already. In case you are wondering what it is, it's an electronic reading device. You are able to purchase and download books on it...so no more going to the bookstore. I can download a book in about 30 seconds! Plus, books are a lot cheaper. The most expensive ones I have seen are only $12.99 and those are for books that have just come out. They also have thousands of free books and the libraries have started having them available as well. I think I am going to have to take a class though since I am having trouble learning about all the features.

Anyways, that's about it for now. Hopefully, Avery will feel well enough for a beach trip this Sunday! I hope everyone has a great rest of the week!

Caden's First Monthday!

Yesterday, Caden had his first monthday. This means he turned one month old already! He weighs 11 lbs and is 22 inches so he has gained 3lbs 9oz and 2 inches since birth! Our big, growing boy. :) Here are some pictures from his first month photo shoot!







I sent Billy out for diapers last night and he brought home those Huggies' Jeans diapers, lol. I couldn't resist taking a couple pictures because she looked so cute!





One of Avery's favorite things to do is feed Caden his bottle. She has gotten so good at it and is really gentle. She is such a sweetie.

Caden has started smiling at us!! I haven't caught it on camera yet, so there will be a whole post about that as soon as I do. Other than that, he pretty much sleeps, eats and poops all the time. Haha! He is such a joy and we are enjoying every second with him.






I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

No.

Disclaimer: No, I was not feeding my 19 month old pringles. She grabbed them out of the pantry and was shaking them, lol. Also, please excuse my messy, messy house. I haven't figured out how to keep it clean with 2 under 2 yet. I'm working on it, I promise! :)

Our Weekend

Friday night I noticed Avery felt really hot so I took her temperature and it was 100.5, not a very high fever but a fever nonetheless. By morning, her temp was 102.4. I called the pediatrician and they wanted to see her right away. Turns out, our poor girl has a virus with a sore throat. No wonder she had been so clingy and fussy! :( We had planned on going to Galveston Saturday, but obviously couldn't. We got Avery some toys, Popsicles and cuddles and I am happy to say she is feeling much better! She even took a dip in her new pool Sunday afternoon!




Caden has been having some trouble at night. He cries as soon as we put him in his bassinet. Billy has been sleeping with him in his arms and that seems to be working. Hopefully, he will start sleeping through the night early like his sister did. Hey, a girl can dream can't she?! I hope everyone had a great weekend! I'll leave you with some cute pictures of Caden. :)

Life With 2 Under 2....So Far

Today is my 7th day being by myself with both kids. Billy was able to take off 2 weeks from work when Caden was born and he was an amazing help. It has definitely been difficult trying to create some semblance of order. But, I love it. There are times when both kids are crying and very needy and I am ready to pull my hair out. Then, in the next 5 minutes I will have them both cuddling on my lap and my heart swells up. I am so lucky to have Billy, who works so hard to provide for us so I am able to stay home.

A typical day for us starts around 7am. The next 2 hours are full of diaper changes, bottles, yogurt and cereal for Avery and lots of cuddles. Avery is really cuddly in the mornings so we usually sit on the couch and watch one of her "shows" while Caden sleeps next to us in the boppy.




Caden is still at the stage where he sleeps most of the time. He is definitely a baby that likes to be held though, so when he is awake things can get a little hard. I get this face A LOT:



Avery is so sweet. Whenever Caden cries, she rushes over and tries to help. She'll put a blanket on him or give him a paci. She has such a sweet nature and I know she is going to be an amazing big sister.

She hasn't shown much jealousy, but she definitely has needed more attention. She mimics Caden's cry, steals his paci, gets in the infant swing and carseat, and lets me rock her and hold her like a baby (which, I must admit, I don't mind this at all!).

Yes, through-out the day there are definitely struggles but it is SO worth it. After all, have you seen the cuteness that I get to be around all day long? :)

My Little Mommy!

We thought it would be nice to get Avery her first baby doll around the time Caden was born. I bought her a sweet little doll that you can feed that came with a carseat, pack n play, high chair and carrier. We brought her home the same day we brought Caden home from the hospital. She hasn't shown much interest in her yet, but she does like to feed her every once in awhile! :)

Checking her out for the first time


Being a little mommy!

First Bath!

Caden Robert Alexander's Birth Story!

I'll try and make the story of my really loooong labor as short as possible. :)

We checked in to the hospital at 8pm, Monday night. Here is my last belly pic:



See, we were all smiles thinking we would have a baby the following morning. I figured the induction would go fast like Avery's did. No such luck, lol.



They started cervidil at 10pm. I started having contractions about 30 min later. They gave me an ambien, so I slept a little but was mostly awake dealing with the pain.

At 6am Tuesday, they took out the cervidil and immediately started the pitocin. The contractions started coming every 2-3 min and it HURT.

8:30am- My doctor came in to break my water. She checked me first and realized I was still 1cm thick. Would have been nice if they had checked me BEFORE they started the pitocin. They turned it off and said I needed another round of cervidil, this time for 12 hours.

10am- Started the second round of cervidil. I am still having contractions. They give me Staydol (sp?) which doesn't take the pain away at all but makes you sleepy and able to rest in between contractions.

So I am pretty much out of it and in pain the entire day. It was horrible.

6pm- My doctor comes in to check, I am finally dilated to a 1 so they take the cervidil out and start the pitocin. Again. They give me another sleeping pill but the contractions manage to keep me awake the entire night. I remember telling Billy that I couldn't do this anymore. :(

8:30am WEDNESDAY- Doctor comes in, checks and I am at 3. She okays the epidural.

9am- Anesthesiologist comes in and gives me the epi. They made Billy leave the room which sucked, and it freakin hurt. I don't remember it feeling like that or taking so long. I kept having shooting pains down my left leg so he had to readjust it a couple times. It really creeped me out.

The nurse then puts the catheter in, puts it in the wrong place at first and has to do another one. It was awful and really burned.

I finally start feeling no pain and get really sleepy. I am looking forward to finally getting some rest before I have to push. No such luck!

9:50isham- Nurse checks me, says I am at a 9 and while she is still checking says, "nope, you're ready to go!" I'm not going to lie, I was so tired I didn't know how I was going to push this baby out.

They tell me that my doctor is in a meeting so a male doctor from the same practice will be delivering me. He comes in right away, we get ready.

10:17am- I push through about 3 contractions and Caden is here!



Luckily, I didn't have any tears this time and didn't need any stitches. About, 30 min later my epidural kicks in and I can't feel my legs. Haha.











My parents and Ave were waiting for us in my recovery room when they wheeled me in. It was SO good to see her! She cuddled with me for awhile. :)



She was so cute, every time a nurse would come in the room Ave would yell, "my mama!" and come hold my hand. Like she was comforting me, my heart melted.



I'll leave you with our first family photo. <3