Monday, April 5, 2010

introducing Cambria!

Sorry, it has taken me so long to get pictures up...we've had some small issues the last few days with getting Cambria to eat enough and gain weight. I think I've spent about 2/3 of my waking hours (at least) trying to work on this with feeding, pumping, trying to wake her up to feed, etc. I've been to the doctor's each day this week and the hospital yesterday for blood work...thankfully, today she gained two ounces! I was so thrilled for that! We go back to the doctor Friday so hopefully, she'll keep gaining.

We've also been dealing with being sick. A week before Cambria's birth, I started getting sick with a bad cold. During the next few days the kids got sick, on Friday and Saturday I was completely wiped out from it, my mom and Tom started getting symptoms but were taking lots of vitamin C and were trying to keep it at bay. Monday morning, I called my doctor to make an appointment b/c I was worried about being sick and having the baby that week. I also called the pediatrician and they both thought since we (the kids and I) were feeling better and it had been a week that we should be okay. Unfortunately, it's been a long-lived, really bad cold. My mom officially came down with it the day we went into the hospital so she spent three nights in a local hotel when we came back home to keep her sick germs away and we've kept Cambria separated from the kids(b/c we don't want her to get sick). Hopefully, with nursing, lots of hand sanitizer and keeping her in our room away from everyone who's been sick (except Tom and I) she'll be okay, but we're doing lots of praying!

Anyway, with all that, it's been hard to find time to post anything...so, here it finally is! The day before Cambria was born I wanted to do something fun and special with the kids so Taylor and I went to my doctor's appointment in the morning and then we had breakfast together at Mimi's. Then, we went home and picked up my mom and Max and went to the zoo for a few hours. It was great. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day.

So the day before...
Our zoo is really neat and I think the best part is getting to feed the giraffes crackers. These seem like the happiest animals on the planet b/c they get to eat anytime they want! that's Max's little hand feeding one of the giraffes.


see the little baby monkey on his mama? So sweet! There were actually two babies.

The night before...

being a little goofy with Tom.
Ready to POP!

The big day!
I always am so happy to get the big insulated hospital mug for ice cold water; with Max they handed it over right away...this time I had to ask for it and this mauve cup that reminds me of my dad working ER shifts years and years ago was what I got! :( I got sweet Cambria too so it's okay!
The hospital had us come in around 6:15, so we got there and they got me ready and then put a pill called sidotec (sp?) into my cervix (sorry if this is too graphic for anyone ;-). At noon the doctor came and broke my water...wow! that is such a weird sensation! I started getting pretty intense contractions quickly, so around two p.m. I got an epidural and then they gave me pitocin. I felt so much more this time around, so much pressure as the baby moved down, I started shaking like crazy, they called the doctor and she literally ran through the parking lot and hall to get there in time. Tom said I pushed through 4 or 5 contractions and she was born. It was much more intense and I felt so much more than I did with the other two deliveries.
This was just after getting the epidural...
and not long after at 4:05 p.m. Cambria entered our lives....
sorry, the picture above may be disgusting to everyone...yep, that's the placenta. The doctor showed it all to us and explained the different parts. It was really interesting. I'm a pretty queasy person, but it really is amazing how this whole baby growing, birthing process works!
with the doctor right after delivery.
Cambria Adelyn...she is the sweetest little baby! We feel so blessed by her already!

with her sweet daddy...








getting her first sponge bath...

laying under a heat lamp to keep her nice and warm after her bath. We thought it was so nice that she never left our room once while we were in the hospital.
all clean, dry and warm...

nurse Tammy: She was the same nurse I had with Max and we just loved her then, so I felt so grateful to get her again. And, she was amazing again. She's very competent and sweet. She said she wasn't going to give me a catheter when I got my epidural and wanted to be as non-invasive as possible so I could bounce back quickly. I was amazed at how much better I felt afterwards. During the delivery she was so encouraging and comforting. I just love this incredible nurse! and I just love this incredible baby girl! She has lots of dark hair (like her dad!).

more pictures of Cambria coming soon!

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Max is two!!!

Max just turned two a couple of weeks ago! Before posting new baby Cambria pics, I wanted to make sure I got up pics of Max's special day...since he turns two only once! He's such a sweet boy and we are so glad he's a part of our family....here he is just a few days old: He turned two on a Wednesday, so the Friday after his birthday, we had a fun little party for him with some of our great friends here who have a kiddo Max's age. Here are some pics from the party:


the kids playing in Taylor's bedroom

Max's cake...I'd been planning to make him a truck cake for weeks because he's CRAZY about trucks! The cake was sort of a mess (looked a bit like puppy dogs) but it was a fun, family effort! I would never have been able to make a cake like this, if it weren't for my very talented friend Callie who taught me and gave me some expert tips. Callie makes and sells cakes...check out her website www.coloradocakebox.com to see some incredible cakes and get inspired! I stole the table deco idea from her too...thanks Callie! ;-)





the littles:
the biggies:
the cool parents we get to have as friends:
Max handing out his party favors:
opening fun presents:

on Max's birthday (a Wednesday) we went out as a family to Applebee's...they have 99 cent kids' meals on Wednesdays so we thought it'b be a fun way to celebrate. It was! They came and sang to Max and gave him a sundae. He loved it. I love this pic of these two cute boys!

after dinner we went to our favorite local grocery store to get cupcakes...the ponies below cost a penny to ride!



opening presents at home...
I got these stickers for the party favors and Max saw them and sat there for about 5 minutes looking at them...it was so funny! It's the simplest things that they love!


a card and check from great Grandma!


a gift from Grandpa, Grandma J. and cousins.
some of his cousins made this map of Grandpa/ma's home for his new cars to drive on...
he LOVES books...
this was a easter basket we saw at Hobby Lobby...so cute!
I got this off of craigslist for 3 bucks! I'm excited to take our kids to the park so they can ride around on the basketball court...


we saw these at the grocery store and had to get them b/c they looked so much like the rainbow cakes my Grandma in Georgia always got us that are so amazingly good. These unfortunately weren't the same, but brought back great memories!


this little guy has melted my heart since the day he was born! I love my Maxwell!

so tired:

Happy Birthday sweet boy! You are so loved!