Hailey's First Bath

Hailey wasn't a super huge fan of bath time at first...



Now she seems to enjoy bath time. Or at least she's not crying while I'm washing her so that's good!

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6 Years!

Today we celebrate our 6 year wedding anniversary. 6 years!



I can't believe how fast time has passed!


In 6 years of marriage we:


Became a family of 5


Went on 4 major vacations


Had 3 children


Built 2 homes


And bought 1 new car


6 years ago, I never could have imagined just how full my life would be, but now here we are and I must say, I am pretty damn happy with my life...with our life.

Goofballs!

Whenever we take a photo of Hannah she always has to pose. Such a diva! :oP

 I love it!
 And because Colson didn't want to be left out here he is posing.
"momma take my picture! CHEEEESE!"


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Wordless Wednesday

I just love this peanut to pieces!

I think purple is her color...or maybe its my color....either way she looks adorable! :oP




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Hailey's 2 Week Appointment

Hailey had her 2 week doctors appointment yesterday.

Here are her stats:

weight: 7 lbs 4 ounces (20%)
length: 19 inches (8%)

At birth she was 7 lbs 10 ounces and 19.75 inches (I don't think the pediatricians are ever accurate at the length measurement because I do not believe my child actually shrunk! :oP) so she is not quite back  up to birth weight. They usually like to see them get back to their birth weight by two weeks and since she didn't, I have to take her in for a weight check next week. Otherwise the doctor said she looked good. :o)

She is awesome in the sleep department. That is all she ever really does. She gives me good 4-5 hour stretches at night which is AWESOME! Hopefully it continues.

She still fits comfortably into newborn clothes so I see her wearing those for at least another couple weeks.

She is just such a joy in our lives and we couldn't love her any more. :o)

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Brother Love

Colson has been loving on his sister more and more with each passing day. He will ask if he can give her kisses or rock with me when I am rocking her. He likes to poke her 'chubby cheeks' and gets really excited when she opens her eyes.

I love that he is paying attention to his little sister. Hannah wanted nothing to do with her brother when he was born. I thought he would be the same since he is close to the age Hannah was when he was born but I have been pleasantly surprised. :o)


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Hannah's First Soccer Game

The weekend before Miss Hailey decided to make her arrival, Hannah had her first soccer game.

She did rather well considering this was the first time she has actually played.  She's just not too sure about taking the ball from the other players. She really just ran around behind everyone else. :oP But thats okay. She will learn in time and get better. The most important thing is that she had fun...and I think the thumbs up she kept on giving to us during the game proves that she had tons of fun! :o)





It was just really fun to watch her play. :o)

Since her first game, she has had two more games and she has improved significantly. She is actually going in after the ball and actually kicking it. I am very proud of her!

We ordered her soccer pictures this past weekend and this momma definitely order a button. I am one proud soccer mom! :o)

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Hailey's First Day

After we found out that the baby was a girl, the first person we called was Hannah. 

Whenever we would ask her what she thought the baby was, she would very excited say GIRL! I was actually a little nervous about it being a boy because I didn't want her heart to be broken. :o( 

But when we told her that she did in fact get a little sister, she was beyond excited. It was very cute. :o) 

When she was finally able to come up to see me and baby Hailey in the hospital, all she wanted to do was look at he baby and hug and kiss her. It was a far cry from how she reacted with Colson and not ever wanting to touch him after we brought him home! :oP

Here are our first family photos with Miss Hailey. :o)  

Me with all of my babies! My heart explodes with love! And I just love Hannah's face in this picture. It just goes to show you how truly excited she was to meet her sister.

Colson...yeah, this photo pretty much sums him up upon meeting his baby sister. Haha! :oP He has since started loving on her and giving her kisses and poking her "chubby cheeks".

Family of 5!
Me and my girls.
Here is the little miss all ready to go home. I am glad I bought this headband 'just in case'! :o)
And I just had to share Hannah's gifts to me and Hailey. So sweet!



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Wordless Wednesday

Little Miss Hailey




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Miss Hailey's Birth Story

Last Monday (the 9th) I had a doctors appointment. My doctor checked me and I was already 4cm dilated. He joked that he could just send me to the hospital right then and I could deliver. But since I was only 36 weeks and 5 days (technically premature) he obviously did not send me to the hospital. He did say that he wouldn't be surprised if I didn't make it to my induction on the 18th though!

I left my appointment fully thinking that this baby's birthday would be the 18th!

On the way home I noticed some cramping. Not really thinking too much of it because my doc did just check me.

An hour later, still cramping.

Two hours later, still cramping and coming about every 5 minutes.

I started to get really nervous.

I decided to write and post Hannah's first day of school, all while having what I now know were contractions. I then decide to finish packing up our hospital bags--just incase, as well as the kiddos bag to take to their grandparents.

We're now about 3.5 hours into cramping and contractions and I call Nick to tell him to not work out after work, because I think we might be heading to the hospital. After having Colson in 3.5 hours, I didn't want to wait too long before heading to the hospital.

Nick gets home and I am still having contractions so I told him we should head to the hospital. By this time it was about 5:30.

In the back of my mind, I totally though I would get to the hospital and they would laugh at me and send me home. But they hooked me up to the monitors and sure enough, I was having contractions pretty regularly. But since I was still rather early and the contractions were not painful, they didn't do much but keep an eye on my contractions. By late that evening I was officially checked into the hospital but the nurses still weren't sure if I would end up with a baby or if I would be sent home. The plan was to labor through the night and wait for my doctor to come in the next morning.

So we hung out in the hospital that night. The contractions did start to get more painful and I had progressed slightly to 4.5-5cm but the contractions were becoming less frequent and more sporadic. I decided to get some pain meds in hopes of them allowing me to get some rest, but no luck. I was up all night.

My doctor came in the next morning around 7:30 and he checks me--5cm. He explains that technically I am early and the baby would be premature--by 1 day--because 37 weeks is considered full term. He said I can either lay in the bed for another day or 2 and let things progress how they may, or he could just break my bag of water and I could deliver before lunch. He said that some early babies might have some trouble breathing and eating but that since I was so close to the official 'full term', he would feel fine with getting my labor going.

So I took the breaking my water option. This happened about 8:00 and since I was already 5 he said I could get the epidural as well. By 9:00 I was comfortable and happy.

I was checked again, I believe sometime around 10-10:30 maybe but hadn't really progressed, so they started pitocin.

After spending a couple hours flipping from side to side and getting a bit of sleep, I was checked again and I was 9cm. It was now around 12:00 and my doctor was on his way!

I also want to state that this was the first time we had family in the delivery room with us (our moms and sisters) so it was extra special to share this with them! Plus, we got some photos that we wouldn't have gotten otherwise. :o)

Now, I will warn you that I am going to post some photos during Hailey's birth. There are no 'gross' photos, but I did convert them to black and white for you to hide anything that could be  considered gross.

Okay, on to the photos!

Getting all set to go! (Take note of the time-- 12:26!)


Pushing!



IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!
born at 12:36pm--after 2 contractions and less than 10 minutes worth of pushing! 

Daddy cutting the cord.


Since she was slightly early, she was breathing pretty fast after delivery. They had an NICU nurse come look at her but after about 10 minutes, she was given a clean bill of health!

I still can't believe we have another daughter! Our hearts overflow with love!

Our family is now complete! :o)


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Someone Made Their Own Plans!

We welcome with love...


Hailey Denise
born at 36 weeks and 6 days
September 10th at 12:36pm
7lbs 10oz and 19.75 inches long

As you all know, I was set to be induced this Wednesday the 18th. We obviously did not make it that far. Little Miss had some plans of her own! :o)

Tomorrow, my birth story!


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Hannah's First Day Of Preschool

Tuesday was Hannah's first day of preschool. It was a day that I hoped would take forever to come when we signed her up way back in February. Sadly, the day came faster than I had hoped (as I knew it would).

Hannah had been hesitant about going to school. When we would mention it she would sometimes burst into tears crying she didn't want to go to school. And of course, it broke my heart.

But ever since her orientation last week, she was excited to go... which was a relief to this momma, and made it slightly easier 'letting her go'.

The night before, we picked out a fun outfit and hung it on her closet door. Her school is very nature oriented and they go on walks pretty much every school day. They also paint. They are not allowed to wear shorts or capris, and they prefer you to avoid dresses and skirts but if you do wear them, you have to wear leggings under them. They really are just supposed to wear play clothes. So, unfortunately, I don't get to dress her very cutely. So I am trying to find a nice middle ground right now with letting her wear some of her new outfits. I'm sure the time will come wear I send her in sweats and a sweatshirt, but for right now we are testing how far we can go in the cuteness department before we ruin an outfit. :o/

In the morning, Hannah came out of her room and the first thing out of her mouth was 'guess what day it is??? my first day of school!'. I just smiled! :o) I made some special pancakes with sprinkles. Although, I think Hannah was too excited to eat because she didn't even finish one. But we brushed our teeth, got dressed and I did her hair and we got ready to go.


We are still working on our morning routine. It will only be made more difficult once the baby arrives, but we'll get it down! Mom will get it down! :oP

Nick took the morning off to be able take Hannah to school.

We had to take some pictures and video before we left for school though. I made a 'first day of preschool' sign for her to hold. (P.s. the chalkboard markers are awesome!!!)






After saying goodbye to her brother, we were off to school!

They are very efficient with drop-offs at school. You come in, hang up your tote, wash your hands and head upstairs. They tell the parents to not linger and to just say goodbye, give hugs and leave. Hannah had no problem at all with any of this. She hung her tote right up on her special hook and washed her hands. She had to pick out a card that had her name on it and then her teachers said she could head upstairs. No sooner were the words out of their mouths, she was already two steps up. I had to chase my daughter to get a hug goodbye...she was that excited to be there.


I was fine up until the point where she wasn't even going to say goodbye. That's when I kind of lost it. I definitely shed a few tears. :o( But it was okay because I knew she was going to be okay. She was excited and that made this mommas heart happy. It was time for her to go and make friends and gain some independence.

When we picked her up three hours later, she had a huge smile on her face. She had a great day and was already talking about going back and really that's all you can ever hope for...that your child wants to go to school. :o)

So, the first day of school was definitely harder on me than it was for Hannah but that's okay. We're still working on our routine but we'll get there! The first day is now behind us and now it's all fun times ahead! :o) I look forward to all of the artwork she will bring home and all of the activities she will get to do! I am especially looking forward to their nutcracker performance in December! Um...cuteness! :o)