Welcome to a party of 5!

On Feb. 17th 2011, Jason and I (and his two siblings) welcomed Stratton Elijah into the world. Since then, things have been CRAZY around here, allowing me no time to catch up on blogging. So I'll try to stick to the basics because I'm sure someone will be needing something in a very short amount of time =)

J and I headed to the hospital Thursday morning ready to be induced. My parents watched Ky and Beck while we were at the hospital, and they had a blast hanging out with Nana and Dampa, eating lots of junk, and playing non-stop. The induction process was much slower than I had anticipated since it was baby #3. It was 2:00 in the afternoon and I was only measuring a 4/5 (I came in a 2). However, in the next hour and a half, we made it the rest of the way and it was go time! The doctor arrived, delivery took less than 10 minutes, three pushes, and we were done. It really was that easy, which was a nice break from the scares during Beck's delivery. Afterwards, J talked about how nice of a moment it was for him to have that time w/ Strat since he wasn't worried about one of us practically dying! (Beck was born with the cord around his neck and I, well, lets just say my heart rate was less than stellar through the process).

Stratton was born at 4:08 p.m. weighing 8 lbs. 11 oz. and measuring 21 inches. I couldn't believe I was able to deliver such a big baby without any difficulties. But afterwards, sure does make sense why I was so miserable during the end of this pregnancy. He was HUGE!

Anyways, over the next 20 hrs. or so we got poked, proded, and released, and were able to return home by Friday afternoon. My parents kept the two weenies until Sat. morning to give J and I one night with 'Tank' as J has aptly named him, before reuniting the family.

Life since then has been crazy busy. I'm walking around in a zombie state most of the time. Strat doesn't care much for sleeping at night, Beck has sense then sprouted a nice pair of devil horns, and Ky, well, she's as sweet as she always is of course, and she LOVES her new baby brother.

I'm sure the next couple posts will give more insight into life with 3 kids, but for now, this is about all I have time for. =)

Third times a charm...

This is the third time I have sat down to update the blog, lets hope it turns out better than the previous two, which I deleted only minutes after getting started since all I could do was complain and whine about anything and everything =)

We're down to any day for the arrival of our latest edition. We're set to induce on Thursday if nothing happens before then. That's six days away if anyone is counting! I'm ready to not be pregnant, but when I think about what life will be like after delivering and for the next, say 6 months, I'm not so ready. My biggest fear, and this is something you'll only understand if you're ever there (I've had it explained to me before and it made no sense) is questioning what kind of connection I'll have with the lil' bit when he arrives. Kylie's birth affected me in a very youthful, now you have real responsibilities, way. But she was a complete terror from the minute she arrived, until she turned about 18 months. I was working, Jason and I were trying to adjust to married life, and we were settling into our first house. It isn't that I didn't love her, I did, it was just very much a....let's get to tomorrow, one day at a time, type of love. Beck was different. We tried so hard to get pregnant and at the time I thought he was the last one, so I savored every single minute. Appreciated every long night, dirty diaper, and all the happy stuff in between in a way I didn't with Kylie. I was more mature, staying home with him, and more appreciative of the miracle of life. In other words, it was perfect. Perfect in a sense that I don't think there is any way that another child can compete. Now, I've heard others with the same fear say you get over it pretty quick, and I hope I do, but this is for sure my biggest fear. This one wasn't planned, this pregnancy has been a BEAR to deal with, and he's coming at a time in our life that is very busy and already filled with doctor appts., sleepless nights, and big decisions. But I know that this is God's plan. and there is a real definite reason why Stratton will be joining this family, and I'm looking forward to the journey that will lead us to the answer. Let the fun begin!

The last week or so my mind has been racing, however, on issues not surrounding #3. Kylie's new meds to fix the Brown's syndrom caused by her previous strabismus sugery did nothing. In fact, I believe it made her right eye turn in even more. Therefore, she has an appt. on Tuesday of this week, and the doc says to be ready to discuss another surgery. Beck has just started fighting his fifth ear infection of the winter, and the possibility to ear tubes was def. in the air when we talked to our pediatrician. The good news is that we're going to be able to hold off on the tubes for a while and hope that we can get to warmer weather and less germs sooner than later. And no matter how much I dread Kylie going back under, its a plan, and its in place, and although here to there will be miserable, hopefully this will be the last one, and we can put this behind us.

Last week, with all the bad weather, Kylie and I got started making her valentines for her classmates. It killed some time and made sure they were done before we might have gone into labor. She picked out a lady bug theme and we went to work. They took much longer to complete than I though, which was ok, seeing as we were stuck inside for 4 days last week, but I think they turned out pretty cute. I'm very excited for her to take them to school on Monday for their party.

On to my last bit of good news, Kylie has mastered her cartwheel to the point where she can now move up to the next level in her gymnastics class. I'm very proud of her and excited about what this new class will bring. I'm glad that she has found something that she's so into. She really seems to enjoy every minute of it, and I know its good for her coordination and confidence.

That's about it at this point. Next time I blog, I'm guessing will be after Stratton has arrived! Until then, I'm trying my hardest to enjoy my family of four, that I love so dearly.

More camera play...

I wish I could express to you how sick I am of this crazy Dallas weather! The kids and I have been stuck inside for going on four days! Here are a couple pics of the backyard, and this isn't even as bad as it got.

My Love watching some Gabba Gabba and trying to keep warm

Now if I can only figure out how to get him to look at me...

A new take on a teething toy. He's been sticking everything in his mouth. Yes, even dirty diapers.

My Kylie Grace getting ready to go play in the snow