Welcome, Sweet Corbin - Part 3

Corbin was beautifully perfect.

The moment I heard his first cries, I was struck at how different he already was from his brother. They sounded nothing alike, and how interesting it was that I recognized and remembered immediately.

He had dark hair, a dimpled chin, and a cry that reminded me of a little cat (not so much the pterodactyl of brother).

He was born at 8:22 p.m. He weighed 8 pounds, 3.4 oz, and 20 inches long...so a little bigger than the 7 pounds the doctor told us at our last appointment.

I was able to feed him right after they cleaned him all up, which was a great feeling. I was also doing sooooo much better than after I delivered Owen. It was so sweet to be able to enjoy my son right after birth, along with our excited family.

Corbin, Joe and I got to great our family, and I got to love on my first born while Mr. C was in the nursery getting checked out and scrubbed over. Owen was pretty excited to get to see me and Daddy again. And Daddy was pretty excited to get to show off Baby to Brother in the nursery too.

We had a pretty long first night in the hospital with waking up baby, getting woken up for medicine and vitals for me and baby, and noise in the hallway. The zombie phase had begun.

All went well health-wise for us both, and we were able to go home Thursday morning. My mom and dad stayed with us through the weekend, then my mom stayed for the next week and help us adjust as a family of four. THANKS MOM and DAD!

Owen has been great. We've had a few bumps with attitude issues and wanting me to hold him and sit in my lap, when there was no way I could. That has been hard for me as a mom to know I can't do everything for my son, whom I have tried to do everything for the last 3 years.

Corbin has proven to be his own person too. He, sadly, is not quite the easy-going baby I had asked for, but I wouldn't return him for the world. He wants to be held most of the day. When he is held, he bucks back and kicks his head out, making it difficult to hold him. And he throws his little head every which way...making it difficult to hold him. See an interesting trend? Wants to be held, but not??? Yeah, it's neat. The kid can pass gas with the best of them too! He nurses pretty well, but falls asleep very easily -- making him want to eat more often because he keeps falling asleep! ARG! Then, on the other hand, he goes on marathon bouts where he wants to eat for like an hour straight. Ahhh, babies....why can't you just have a display screen of what you need?

Corbin Jack, we are so excited to have you in our family. You have blessed us already, and you've only been here for a short time. Welcome, Sweet Corbin, let's do life together. What do you say?

A Labor of Love - Part 2

Well, those nurses were sweet. They said, why yes, we always have room. So around 10 am, they took us down the hall, not to far from where we had the O'Bear, and started to monitor us. Yep, we were in labor.

One of the first things they did was put my IV in to see if my platelets were high enough to get an epidural. This had been a concern the last few weeks, so I was praying we were good to go. If this kid was anything like O, I might be needing that epi sooner than later. My tiny veins struck again. Two nurses couldn't get a vein. UGH. So, they called in the ringer. If she couldn't do it, no one could...um, ok. This sweet nurse was able to do it lickity split, and mentioned "don't be surprised when you see an extra charge on the bill, that's me." Joe and I were not shocked by this pulling from our last experience; we were more shocked that she was joking! Ha!

I was monitored and checked a few times. After telling the nurses that O'Bear was 9.4 lb at birth, they said, "Oh, this kid will just drop right out." They also said he'll be here shortly. Lying liars! Don't believe your nurses on time tables, it's ALL up the the kiddo! It was also confirmed somewhere in there that our sweet second boy was sunny side up like his brother, creating horrible bone on bone back contractions, like his brother. So, I did not dilly dally. When my platelet count was OK'd, I signed right up for an epi.

Then the real fun began. Contractions were hard. The nurses also began the fun of trying to rotate the baby by having me flip from side to side every 30 minutes or so. I also found out that my doctor was not in town, which I didn't know before hand, and was waiting for a visit from one of her partners, and it seems we labored so long, I got passed off to the on-call doctor who I'd never even heard his name before.

It seems though, God knows what we need. Our doctor was calm, irreverent, and had a dry sense of humor. It took our minds off the not so fun stuff going on. Right before the doctor came to see us, the baby's heartbeat dropped very low, very rapidly, so I was also placed on oxygen for the last bit of labor. The doctor suggested a bit of pitocin to get us over the last hump (as I seemed to have stalled out about the same with Owen). Shortly after the pitocin was started, I was ready to start pushing.

As the nurses started to get everything in place, our doctor kept us occupied by showing us pictures of his kids and other patients, telling us odd family stories and filling us in on what he was texting his wife on why he wasn't home yet! Ha!

About four good rounds of pushing, and our sweet boy was here!! And the most amazing thing -- his full head of dark hair! Where did that come from.

Joe and I worked on names when we got to the hospital (again, seems to be our thing). We had it whittled down to Corbin Jack or Jack Alan. Joe wasn't quite sold on Corbin, but I asked to keep it in the running. I had a dream about it, and it just seemed like we needed to keep it. Corbin is Latin for dark or raven. And corban (found in Mark) is a Hebrew word for "a gift devoted to God."

When I saw his dark head of hair, I knew that his name was Corbin.

Welcome Corbin Jack!! Part I

I can't believe it's already been three weeks since we welcomed our sweet new baby boy, Corbin Jack.

This summer was a bear. It was hot. Heck, it was a Texas summer, with more heat in the last month than almost all summer. I was a boring, non-fun, stay-in-the-air conditioning kind of mom to a certain 3 year old. And he still loves me. Pregnancy was starting to become a drag the last few weeks, and as much as I wanted my baby boy to be healthy and well at birth, I also welcomed his arrival ANY TIME HE WANTED TO SHOW UP!

The last few check-ups we had showed O'Baby 2 to only be around 7 pounds. I found this a bit odd, as second babies tend to be bigger, and honestly, it had be worried. I chose to give my worries to God, and let him take care of my fears...He's really good at that sort of thing.

We still had no name. Our house was still a mess from construction in the back room to move big brother. Big brother's school year was about to start. We DID buy a new vehicle that would safely carry our whole family...that also cost a chunk of change. Needless to say, it was a time of unrest for me.

So, on Tuesday the 17th when I woke up at 1am not feeling well, I chalked it up to nighttime prego discomfort. When I woke up at 3am, I thought this is for the birds. When I woke up at 5am, I decided that this discomfort I was feeling MIGHT ACTUALLY BE contractions. I never had any Braxton Hicks with either, and didn't have any contractions til at the hospital with Owen since we were induced, so I was a little slow in the uptake. I decided to go ahead and get up, take a shower and start making Owen's lunch for school. At 6am when Joe got up, I told him, hmmmm, we might need to go to the hospital shortly. I still wasn't convinced this kiddo was coming today and started to worry something was wrong. I know...lots of worry.

Joe's mom was called and was ready to take O to school. My parents were called and were packing to come shortly. Well, after waiting and timing contractions, I called my doctor's office and they said to wait til they were 5 minutes apart before coming in. Ummm, ok. So, Joe and I took O to school, as I started feeling guilty about what was coming for my first born.

We dropped Owen off at school, and he was a basket case. He did not want to be left. So, while Joe comforted, I stood out in the hall willing the contractions to not hurt and my first born to not feel sad. Neither worked, so we left O in the capable hands of his teachers.

When we got back in the car, I had a message from my doctor's office asking to wait til contractions were at most 5 minutes apart and PAINFUL before coming in because L&D was quite busy today. Painful??? Are there nonpainful contractions?

As I was still not quite at 5 minutes apart, Joe asked if we could run down to his work in Grand Prairie to get his computer. Why not, what's a 40 minute trip on a bumpy road in a pick-up when you're in labor. This still makes me laugh. Joe did do a good job of getting in and getting out in just a few minutes. I just had it in my mind he was going to get stopped, pulled into some project and I'd be left out in the truck. 

After the computer was retrieved, on we went to the hospital. It was painful, and well, those nurses were just going to have to deal with us! ;)

(Also, wahoo for my 101st post! Fitting to be for our sweet new baby!)

Our Second Year of School

A few weeks ago, Owen started his second year of Mother's Day Out/Preschool at the local church. He has a great group of teachers again this year with Mrs. Kyung and Mrs. Sara. He also started the year off officially wearing big boy undies to school too.

I think it was a gift from God that we had one of the easiest potty training experiences I've heard about. With baby #2 on the way, this momma was pooped (nice...), but we needed just ONE kid in diapers in this family.

We'd had a training froggy potty around for several months and he would off and on go. But as I looked at our dwindling pile of diapers, I said, "O, we are not buying any more diapies, after these are gone, we're on to the big boy potty." We picked out a few packs of undies, had a day or two of asking "if his shorts were dry" and giving him a treat if they were, and not making a big deal of accidents if they happened. After a few days and a couple of pull-ups at night and during naps, we've been 100% big boy! There have still been a few accidents, but Owen has done great, and I couldn't be prouder. Though his demands for Scooby Doo underwear at all times are sometimes not easily met.

And with that, he has been doing great at school. We had a bit of drop-off drama the first few weeks, then I decided to have a baby his second week of school (more on that later). But when I took him last week, after he told me he was scared of school, he decided he'd walk in, tell his friends "Hi." and have a great day. And you know what? He did! I am so proud.

Keep it up, Owen. You're a charmer. And a goof. And overly-dramatic. And...we love you!

(He's grown a little over a siding slat since last year!)

Three Years of Awesome.

My baby turned three. Three is pretty awesome.

Year Two was pretty great. We hit a few bumps in the temper area and testing boundaries around 2.5 that I could have done without. But, we've passed most of those by...I'm sure to find others...but honestly, I love who this little kid is turning into.

Notice the "little kid." He is no longer a toddler. He is just about 3.5 feet tall (90+%), weighs 37~ lbs (90+%) and wears a 10-11 shoe. I did one of those "How tall will my kid be?" things on babycenter and they said he was going to be 6'4". Ha! I'd say we're on track.

He completed his first year of "school" during this last year. Owen has learned to spell his name, count to at least 20, knows his letters, and even some Spanish. One of my favorite moments from the school year was when he told his teachers he didn't care for the sweet faith songs they play during nap time. Instead, he preferred Sail by AwolNation. Chalk this up to his mama who sometimes turns up the alternative station too loud too often. ;) We like to be rebels.

This kid is smart too. He can carry on a conversation. Answer a phone call and respond to questions and pass off the phone...just like his mama used to do. He is an expert helper with his dad and PopPops. He knows his tools. He can work a screw driver and drill. O might have even gotten to use a chain saw to cut down trees with Daddy and PopPop Jim while I tried to ignore the situation and just pet the dogs from far away.

O has demonstrated a musical flair making up songs on his guitar, playing the drums on EVERYTHING, and singing into his microphone. He has loves playing with his toy sax and xylophone and singing in the car.

(you gotta start somewhere!)

Growing up is proving a trying time for us all, but I'm also impressed by his ability to appologizes and forgive. He has told me a few times after we've had to have a time out or room time "I'm sorry mom that I got frustrated." or "I'm sorry I snapped at you, mom." Both very grown up things to say, but he understands and knows what it means and also understands forgiveness. Now, being a 3yo, I might not hear these words for hours, but he is sincere when he says them.

Owen's curiosity and stories involving his baby brother have been increasing as well. I am excited to see Owen in his new roll of big brother, but sometimes I am a bit nostalgic on life as a family of three.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Boy.

We love you. We love watching you grow and learn. Keep it up; you're a pretty awesome kid.

It's a...

It's a boy!!!

After a very fun and very silly evening with family and friends, we found out Owen will be a Big Brother to a LITTLE BROTHER!

Read about the fun times over on the other blog!

Bow ties or Bows? Who will you be?

I can't believe we're almost to 20 weeks already! Halfway there, O'Baby 2.0!!

Next week we get to find out whether O will get a sister or a brother. I cannot wait!!

The first part of pregnancy always seems like such a non-event. You're pregnant, but you don't really have anything to show for it or much to share. "I'm feeling good." "Doing good, just tired." -- these things aren't that thrilling to share.

Now...just in the past few weeks, I've started feeling flutters and flips. We get to know whether O'Baby will be a boy or a girl. We'll get to start planning. We might even start thinking about names! ha!

Next week, the grandparents will be in town, and our plan right now is to even surprise ourselves and find out at a little get-together.

One more week!!!!

An All Star Addition

O'Baby! We're expecting.

We found out a few weeks ago that O'Baby 2.0 will be joining us around September 24, 2013.

We are excited. We apprehensive. We've been a little bit reserved.

It was a hard road to get to this sweet baby. It has not been an easy season for us and so many of our friends. Babies are amazing, fragile gifts that, only through God's mercy and love, turn into the bundles of joy we get to hold 9+ months later. And sometimes, we mere men don't know God's timing.

So, that's why there have not been the shouts of Surprise! The banners blazing. Till now... We've just been waiting. We've just been loving, and we've just been praying for a healthy baby to join our family.

Our families are so excited for us. My mom of course thought I was daft when I showed her a onesie for my soon-to-be-here niece that read, "I'm the Big Cousin!" "Ummm, no, Owen is the big cousin, Leanna." I then showed her and my dad O's accompanying shirt, "Big Bro." Slowly, slowly, the meaning became clear. My dad is pretty excited that he'll get to have two new grandbabies in the same year. I'm pretty excited too.

Joe's mom and dad were equally happy with tears and hugs after they read O's shirt.

Big Brother. Owen. Ha! How great! If you ask him if he wants a brother or a sister, he has said without fail that he wants both. BUT to his credit, and his mama's glad heart (and ultra sound), he said they don't have to come together.

O'Baby we are glad you are here. We are praying daily for your growth and health. We love you already.

-- Mommy and Daddy

2.5 is the new 17

So it would seem around here that 2.5 years old is the new 17. "They" say everything is happening sooner with these younger generations.

Let me give you a few examples...

1. He forages in he refrigerator. ALL THE TIME. And if he can't find something he likes there (usually fruit, cheese or lunch meat), he moves on to the pantry for crackers or raisins or something of the sort. Thankfully, this boy is like his daddy and could eat his weight in fruit and sticks to pretty good foods. Worrisome for us though...he is only TWO and a HALF!!

2. He knows his way around an iPhone, iPad, Kindle and even the Roku. Seriously. You try and move an icon. No worries, he'll find it. Oh, he doesn't like where his buttons are placed, oh he'll just switch that around too. We know all about charging and clicking and finding the arrow or home button. Amazing how smart this kid is some days.

3. He lounges. He wants his snack on the couch with his blanket. He doesn't want a clean shirt half the time, and as for hygiene, he can take it or leave it most days.

4. He doesn't really want to cuddle (though he never really did, sniff.) He is an independent cuss who loves to say "Let me do it," and he usually can.


5. He doesn't pick up after himself. Shocker...men...

6. He's getting too tall for this mama to bear some days.

Oh, O. I love you, my independent, growing-up little guy. You astound me, frustrate me, and fill me with love (another thing I hear teenagers can do). Don't grow up too fast.

Love,
Your mom

7. He calls me Moooommmmmmmm. Neat. (we have this whole back and forth thing. Mooommmmm. Baaabbbbe. Moooommmm. Baabbbe. You get it.)