First Few Days

Well I'm surviving... I'm getting used to having two adorable boys at home.

Dustin has been such a big help these last few days. Last night he had to work so it was just me putting the kids to bed, and I think the Lord was blessing me because it went really smooth, for the most part. 

Thomas is handling the change well, he seems to be a little more crazy but I think it's because he's excited when Oliver is around and to get some attention since now he has to share our attention. 

Anyway, here are some pictures I took of Oliver, I want to do some sibling pictures soon, but I might wait till Oliver is a little older and Thomas is more used to him.

Isn't he a sweetheart?

Dustin's favorite pictures are the one that he is crossed-eyed and the one he looks like he's throwing a punch.

Than these are pictures I just took a few days ago, already he's changed so much. They grow so fast!

We Love you baby Oliver!

Oliver Joseph Clark

Oliver Joseph Clark

January 24, 2013

born at 5:30 a.m.

7 lbs 9 ounces

20 inches

Well Oliver is finally here! Just when I thought he was not going to come he decided to join us!

He is such a blessing and a sweetheart and such a great addition to our family. 

So who wants to hear the labor story? 

Well, I have been feeling really good these last few weeks, and my contractions stop coming for a while, and I was getting discouraged because I was ready to be done. Even at my Dr appointment 2 days before I had Oliver I was dilated at 3 and 75% effaced, which was where I was the week before so I figured it was going to be another week before anything would happen. I had been feeling really good so I would take Thomas on a lot of walks hoping to get things going, not until Wednesday morning that I didn't feel great, I had constant menstrual cramping and some contractions pretty consistent through out the day but they were very light that I just didn't think too much about it, just maybe my body was prepping for the next week. Than after dinner I felt great again so Dustin and I took Thomas on a walk and I felt fine for rest of the day. 

Not until 11:30 at night when I was taking a bath the I felt 3 pretty good contractions, I told Dustin about it, but I figured it was nothing than for half hour to forty minutes they kept coming, but they were ten minutes apart so we just waited to see, we joked about it being that night, but I could also see my body stopping. I told Dustin if they keep coming by 1:30 lets head to the hospital. So we sat and talked in our room, when they started coming harder, than one came really hard and I told Dustin "We probably should go." that's when my water broke, and that's when the contractions really started hurting and coming every 3 minutes. 

We ran out to the car, thank goodness Dustin's mom was around so we could just go. Dustin drove 80 on the highway because there were no cars and I was having the contractions really hard and every 2 minutes or so, and I kept saying "What if I have the baby here!" that's one of my worst fears, is having a baby in a car. 

We finally get in the hospital, by than I wasn't  really having any breaks between contractions and the nurse could see that, and I was in a lot of pain. That she said to go straight into working on the epidural, but I had to wait till the guy came (he was asleep at home), o boy the longest wait of my life. 

These contractions hurt more than ever, I have never been in so much pain in my life, I felt weak because I was screaming and complaining about the pain, but the nurses told me when the water breaks it hurts that much more because there is no cushion so I had ever right to be screaming. Also what made it hard was that the contractions were constant with no pause, just when I thought one was over another would start, so for every one contraction I had 3 large and long peaks, than have maybe ten seconds of recovery before the next 3 would come. So mentally I wasn't focus because every time I thought it was over it kept coming so I would lose my focus and scream out of pain. 

Than, what seemed like a long time I finally got the epidural.  But before than, my poor nurse, she was awesome, put I held on to her for dear life every time I was in pain, but she was my focus on was and she was my coach through it all. I felt so bad I kept apologizing but she didn't seem to mind. But once I got the epidural I felt amazing, I couldn't be happier, I still could feel the contractions but at least it cut off some of the edge. Than she checked me and thought I would be 7cm dilated, but it turned out I was already at a 9 and almost a 10, so she went to call the dr. So for 40 minutes she let us rest until it was time. She wanted the baby to move down the canal a little more before we start pushing, which I think was awesome because it made the delivery that much easier. 

After some rest we were ready, but we were waiting for the Dr, and she told me to go ahead and push, than she told me to stop because with one push the head was almost out. She told me it will take a few pushes and I would be done, so to wait for the Dr to come in. I didn't believe her, but once the Dr came in, I pushed a few times and he was out. It was such an easy delivery I couldn't believe it.

So the contractions were way harder this time but the actual delivery was so easy I can't complain. I hope the next baby will be this fast and easy.

Now we are home and doing well. Thomas loves having Oliver home, and how he says Oliver is very cute. He is adjusting fine right now, but I think it's because Dustin's home and he's getting most of his attention while I take care of Oliver. He is super protective of Oliver and thinks Oliver is his, and he tries to tell me what to do, like put him in his bed, and wrap him up... so this should be interesting. I know he's trying to look out for his brother but we might have a few bumps these next few weeks.  

Bath Time!

Obviously these pictures were taken before Thomas' haircut but I forgot about them until now. I love bath pictures! I need to do them more often, and Thomas is more willing to sit and smile for me for a picture so they seem to turn out better, I have been questioning my photography skills these last few months, so it's nice to get some cute pictures.

So Much A Like

Sometimes, I can't believe how much these 2 are a like. Thomas is literally a younger version of Dustin.

They both are into the same things, to name a view: Avengers-Iron Man being the favorite, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, drawing, drawing, drawing, and soccer.

Thomas has always liked coloring and drawing but he's really into it now. I got him an Avengers coloring book the other day, and that kid loves to color in it, and if he's not coloring in it, he's probably drawing on a piece of paper. Drawing is probably what keeps him entertained the longest. And just like daddy he rather draw than stop for a bite to eat. 

He also loves playing soccer outside with Dustin, he hasn't quite grasp the concept but he loves it anyway. If you notice in one of the pictures he is also holding a pencil, I fear, we might have another artist in this family. 

I love these two boys!

It Will Grow Back, Right?

So Dustin has been begging me to let him cut Thomas' hair really short for about a year now,  and my response would go something like this: "After Easter, I want to take some cute pictures." or "After Halloween, because his long hair will be so cute with his costume" and so on and so on, there was always some holiday or event that was coming up and I didn't want to risk not liking his hair. Well last month I told Dustin he could cut his hair really short after Christmas, I personally was thinking RIGHT after Christmas so Thomas' hair could have a chance to grow out before his little brother comes, so I could take some cute brother pictures, well Dustin never really did it, and I figured it just wouldn't happen like the times before. Well, I WAS WRONG. The other day I heard the clippers and poor Thomas screaming, he hates haircuts but we've never used clippers on him before so he was really screaming.  I came in the room to stop Dustin, but he already started, I'm not going to lie I was traumatized between Thomas screaming and crying way hard, and seeing his beautiful hair falling on the floor. After a few minutes I told Dustin to stop and that it looked fine, and because I didn't want him to go any shorter, well once his hair dried we saw how uneven everything was, and he looked like Anne Hathaway did in Les Meserables, I should have taken a picture, but at the same time I didn't want to. I was very sad because I knew to fix it we would have to go shorter, so the following day, Dustin had to cut it again, and I decided to hang out at his grandparents house because I couldn't watch it. I don't know why I'm so attached to his hair? I'm not that attach to mine, so I don't know why I'm like this. Anyway, after a few minutes I head to our place and Thomas is still screaming, I hate watching it. I came up to comfort Thomas and I held him while Dustin finished, and Thomas was holding me for dear life and finally stop crying, but he wanted me for comfort, which NEVER happens with this kid. Rarely does he come to me for comfort like that. Anyway after a long process, and lot of hair Dustin finished. It looks a lot better than it did the first night but there are some bald spots because Thomas wouldn't stop moving, so in a few weeks it should look better. 

I'm still not used to it, I will admit I'm a little sad about  how short it is, ha ha, but it will grow back. I'm hoping I will like it more in a few weeks, but I think I will like the longer look better. We didn't realize how many calicks(sp) this kid has, so there are places where his hair sticks straight up, so it kinda looks funny. I think he is still cute, but I'm excited for his hair to grow out again.

So here are a few pictures of it, they aren't the best, but this house seems to never have good lighting, and this kid was not interested in taking pictures, but you get the idea... of his short, short hair.

Where Did the Time Go?

I have been really bad at taking pictures lately, and I want to get back into the habit of taking a lot of pictures again. At one point of last year, I made sure I took the camera out at least once a day, but I kinda got out of that habit and I want to try and do better.

Anyway, the other day Dustin and Thomas were playing on our bed, and I thought it would be a great opportunity to take some pictures, and while I was looking through them I couldn't help but remember the pictures I took almost 2 years ago and how similar they were. And now comparing them, I can't believe how young Thomas was, and wondering where has the time gone?

It's going so fast, and I feel every year is getting faster faster, and I hear each child goes faster, so I really need to remember that I need to appreciate everyday because before I know it, I will be an empty nester! Too many times I wish for something ahead, for example, the last few weeks I've kept saying how I want this baby to get here, but the last few days I have been thinking to enjoy this moment right now. This will be the last few days/weeks that I have with just Thomas, where I can spend most if not all my attention to him, and that's going to change soon, and I will never have that again. I always call him my buddy, but soon I will have 2 buddies, which I'm very excited about, but till now I just want to enjoy this time and not try to rush through my life. 

So here is Thomas at 4 months.

And here is Thomas at 2!

Twenty Twelve

So I planned on doing a collage of pictures from the year 2012 earlier, but I didn't want to take the time. Than I saw other people had the same idea on their blogs and I liked it, so I broke down and did one myself as well. 

Twenty twelve was truly a great year, the best yet, so I hope this next year will live up to it.

So here is the cliche TOP 12 OF 2012:

(in no particular order)

12. Living in Orlando and seeing all the parks and beaches.

11. Traveling to Maryland,Pennsylvania, Virginia, New York, Tennessee, Texas, Idaho, Utah, and Denver.

10. Going to San Antonio and staying at a great resort and going to the caricature convention.

9. Celebrating 3 years of marriage.

8. Moving for the fourth time, and state since we have been married. 

7. Celebrating Thomas' 2nd birthday.

6. Finding out we were pregnant!

5. Involved in 2 fires and witnessing a drug chase (maybe not the top, but eventful) 

4. Dustin's first children's book printed.

3. Jessica getting commissions almost every month this year.

2. Making new friends.

1. Thomas got his first kiss this year. 

When I think of 2012 I think of it being a BLAST! 

We did so much and had so much fun, don't get me wrong their were also hardships and tears along the way, but it was a great year. 

Getting There

It's been a while since I have blogged. But nothing too exciting happening here, just playing the waiting game and trying to get ready for baby #2 to arrive. 

Since we've been home I've tried to get our lives/rooms organized and ready to go. I've got all the clothes out, just need to wash them, have the pac-n-play and the car seat good to go. 

I have been having 1-2 contractions everyday, but I still think I have a while before this baby's arrival. I have been feeling pretty good for the most part, just have a big bump in the front so I can't move as easy. 

About this time with Thomas I started to swell a little in the face and feet but so far this time I haven't which I'm totally ok with. I have gained 27ish pounds (it's been a week since I've weighed myself) and I'm 37 1/2 weeks along. Mentally, I'm ready to have this baby but I really want him to be in there for 39 weeks because I've read each extra week is that much better for them until 39 weeks it doesn't matter, they've cooked long enough. So my ideal would be to have him at 39 weeks but I think that is wishful thinking.

In my next appointment I will be having a sonogram again to measure how big he is because at 33 weeks he was already 5 pounds, so I'm curious how much he is now.

Anyway, a little update, since I don't have that much to blog about right now.

But here is a lovely picture of me with Thomas at 37 1/2 weeks as well. This was the only picture last time that I recorded how far along I was so I finally have 2 pictures to compare back to back.