FIESTA!!!

So I'm a little late posting this but better late than never. The kids were in the annual Fiesta Parade at school and they all did great jobs. Each class room dresses in a certain theme. There are kings & queens, 50's, parade floats (decorated wagons), spurs fans, surfers, dancers and so much more. Addie's class dressed as cowgirls and cowboys. We had to buy new boots (which she was SOOO proud of) because she'd outgrown her old ones. First they walked with flags and then the second round they threw candy from bags.





This is important to note because little Nora was an "Extra Spicy" (yes, they matched the names with the personalities - mild, sweet, spicy, extra-spicy) red pepper - and apparently she didn't want to be. To be fair, she did great until she saw me.



First round she just acted shy. My attempts to make her smile (sticking out my tongue at her) didn't get much of a result other than a shy look which I caught on camera. Soon she resorted to crying - this is so unlike her so I'm still not quite sure what happened.



The second round she was once again fine but when she saw me she started full on wailing.




After a quick hug and kiss to comfort her as best as I could, my extra-spicy, crying-red-pepper continued to trudge along with her class. Determined to get a smiling picture from my sweet girl I did the only thing I could think of - I bribed my kid with candy:-) After the 2nd round Addie had picked up a laffy taffy. I got the whole thing on video. She picks the candy up off the parade route, tries to open it, shows it to the teacher who tells her to save it for later, so of course she continues to open the candy at which time I stop recording and go get my girl.

I took her over to Nora, split the candy and like magic, I got smiles! Didn't get eye contact with the camera but that's ok, the smiles were enough.








And what about Wyatt in all of this?? Even the nursery participated. Unfortunately they had him laying down in the crib rather than in a bumbo. Oh well, he was still happy as can be and I got a few pics. All in all a great day!

Swimming

Addie's been taking swimming lessons and loving them! After having spring break off, the new spring session starts this week. She was always fearless in the water and now she has a few skills to use in the water. She can float on her back by herself and is pretty good swimming the backstroke. She does great with her sitting and kneeling dive, jumps readily into the water (never a problem but at least now she waits until she's told she is allowed to), holds her breath really well (pool and bathtub skill apparently)and can do a pretty good breast stroke and freestyle. This next session Mr. Anthony's goal is to get her breathing coordinated with her stroke so she can swim greater distances - not just as far as her breath will hold out!! Addie is our little fish and Nora practices her skills in the tub with her sister (she sometimes goes to class with us and watches). Can't wait to have her in the water this summer too!

February 2011

So now that March is halfway over and I only have 3 more weeks of maternity leave (including this one)I thought I'd post an update of our February. Unfortunately February was not a very healthy month for the girls in this family. Fortunately the guys stayed well through it all! Literally most of February one or the other of us was sick. It started on the first day of February with Addie at home with a fever for a few days, then Nora got that bug which also lasted several days. After a day or so of Nora being well then I got a fever - ugggg! I was convinced Wyatt was going to get sick from me so I tried to only hold him to feed him and sanitized like crazy. Not too long after that Addie and Nora BOTH got a stomach bug (Addie's started late in the evening and Nora's the next morning). Now the stomach bug was a different ball game because when the girls had to go, they HAD to go and I was still restricted to lifting only 20 lbs or less. What's a girl to do knowing her husband had appointments all afternoon and could only stay that morning??? Call her mom, of course! Mom to the rescue!! I was still weak from the c-section and fever, never mind the weight restrictions. The morning went fine and then when my mom was there in the afternoon things got very BUSY! I won't get into the messy details but it certainly got messy. At one point I was cleaning the floor downstairs while mom was bathing the girls upstairs. Boy was I glad when it was over...but wait...Nora got round 2 of the stomach bug. Poor baby at one point had such bad stomach pains that she would cry and put her head on my shoulder while she was sitting on the potty, the she requested her pillow to put on my shoulder which of course I complied with because poor baby was moaning about how bad her tummy was hurting. I felt so helpless and was SOOOOO relieved when days later she was better. All she could eat were popsicles, bananas, crackers, jello and rice soup - each time we though she was better and tried something else we had problems. Here are pictures from the fever episodes (Addie doesn't look too sick but she was). There are NO pictures from the stomach bug episodes.





We managed to fit in some fun in the few days we were healthy (or mostly healthy - Nora started her second round of stomach bug on Wyatt's Baptism day).

We had a home photo session with Wyatt and a toe nail painting break in between takes!






We went to the San Antonio Livestock Show one afternoon.



We celebrated Valentine's Day!



The kids and I went to spend the night at Aunt Misty's and Joanie's home. That was Wyatt's first time to sleep away from home (since coming home from the hospital) and he did WONDERFUL!



Wyatt met the horses out at Luckenbach.







Wyatt got Baptized.



And we had an amazing weekend with Greg, Shauna, Lyndie and Gavin Key. We even made a trip to Sea World and got to try out the new "Bay of Play."

Happy 2nd Birthday Nora

Happy 2nd Birthday to my sweet Nora. Having had Wyatt a little more than a week before we planned on having a small family get together for Nora, I was grateful for the small crowd and all the help I got that weekend. Nora was the sweetest birthday girl ever. She was so excited about the cake and balloons that appeared while she was napping. Ever since Christmas every hat (including an elf hat) has been designated a birthday hat by Nora. She's also been really into singing Happy Birthday to anyone and everyone. All healthy members of the family were present and we had a great time, and thank God the weather ended up much better than originally expected. Nora loves all things cats so her cake, baloons and several gifts thoroughly delighed her. We love you Nora - Happy 2nd Birthday!


Our silly girl the night before her party. She was literally jumping up and down going in and out of our room and through the living room. So much energy!

Funny faces

Wyatt was sound asleep when Chris and the girls came home today. I asked him to snap a photo or two of peaceful little Wyatt and here are a few of the results. His little chin is irritated looking but we had a Dr. appointment today and she said to do nothing for now - just newborn skin. Wyatt was born at 8 lb 4 oz and went home from the hospital at 7 lb 10.7 oz on Sunday. Today he has already GAINED and is at 8 lb 1 oz - the doctor laughed because you expect them to continue to drop weight the first week but not this baby!!

We had only a semi-sleepless night last night so progress is being made. Keeping our fingers crossed for tonight. Thankfully Chris' mom was here last night and tonight so she was such a help with running errands and around the house today. Especially helpful to me is the fact that she can keep an eye on Wyatt while I catch up on a little sleep during the day - family is such a blessing. I feel bad that Chris doesn't have the same napping opportunities.

We're Home!

Some alone time with Mom and Dad in the hospital!

Lots more to come later. Wyatt was born at 7:12 pm on Thursday, January 20, 2011. He was 8 lbs 4 oz (this is 9 days b/f his due date - yikes) and 20 1/4 inches long. He has the blondest hair ever - I love it!! We came home from the hospital on Sunday, January 23rd around lunch time. The girls were super thrilled and we're adjusting to having a new born around again. Thanks to my mom for staying through today - we certainly couldn't have made it without her, today especially for me since Wyatt kept Chris and I up almost all night last night (for the first time ever). Chris has been mom and dad to the girls and has been there to meet every one of my needs since going into the hospital. I love him so much and am especially grateful for his patience and understanding through all of this. Our stay in the hospital was a little longer than expected and my recovery will be a little lengthier than anticipated and he's taking this all in stride while still showing up for work! Super Dad/Husband! Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. I hope to share more about our new little guy in the coming weeks. I'm going to go snuggle with my guys for now:-)

Days

Unfortunately, I am clearly in the "days" category. I have my regular appointment tomorrow morning and hope to have some good news of some sort at that point. On Friday evening I never thought I'd make it to my Tuesday appointment. Now, I'm convinced that this child will not come on his own and must be induced at some point. Lazy little toot!

Not that I didn't already know this, but frequent abdominal crunches (whether 5-7 minutes apart for 2.5 days or 6-12 minutes apart for about a day) of varying degrees of intensity STINK!!