Growing Up

O.K. So, last night we had some friends over for dinner - just a cookout, but with something a little different - NY style hotdogs! Now, you can't get these hotdogs anywhere - just in NY and from the area I'm from. They have a different smell, look and taste - but they are FANTASTIC! Anyway, this has nothing to do with this post, but I just had to throw that in. Anyway, we had friends over. And after they left, we were trying to get Cole to smile. He's starting to smile more on cue now - a sign of growing up. Well, this is what I got.

Cole after I told him to smile the first time! Not really what I was looking for, but still a cute picture.

This was just after I told him to smile the second time. Much better and getting cuter.

And this is what I got after I told him to smile the third time just after he got rid of all the gas in his belly. Must be a boy thing to think it was funny!

Pictures

Well, since I had a few minutes tonight to sit down, I figured I probably should get some pictures on here that I've taken in the past few weeks. A lot has happened lately. Of course, the birth of Cole, Maggie's 4th Birthday, my parents visiting and a new deck being put on. So, I thought that I should get some pictures put on here to show the different events. Emma's room is almost done, too. Just the chair rail and base molding to put up and then we're done! Yay!!! But then it's on to Cole's room. Anyway, enough of that. On to pictures.

Daddy and Cole

This is the way Cole always sleeps when he's on his back. The arms are always up above his head. Looks a little uncomfortable to me, but now that I think of it, my dad, Marc and my brothers all sleep this way. Must be a man thing!

Bright eyed

Mimi and Cole. She's trying to get him to burp for me.

Papa playing guitar. The girls always love it when he plays. Actually, I love it, too!

The decorations for Maggie's birthday.

Her chair

Maggie wanted a poodle party. I think we did pretty well!

Happy Birthday to you...

A new dress

Happy Birthday, Maggie! We love you so much!

Mimi reading her card

One of Maggie's gifts from Mimi and Papa was a red Adirondack chair that they had made for her. Red is her favorite color. She now uses the chair all the time!

One of her gifts from grandpa and grandma. I have a sling that I carry Cole in. Maggie wanted one to carry her babies in. Grandma made it for her.

My dad working on the deck

Still working...

The almost finished product. We still have to work on the handrail for the stairs.

We LOVE our deck! Unfortunately, we haven't been able to use it much because of the rain. But we use it whenever we can! Thanks dad and Marc for all of your hard work!

Family Visit

I will post pictures soon, but for now I just wanted to write. My parents were here visiting us this past week. And we had a great time together. But needless to say, it was definitely a working vacation for my dad. My dad - he's such a great guy and I love him so much. Marc and I wanted to build a deck off the back of our house. But we really didn't know how to start this process. So, we decided that since my dad was coming for a visit, we'd ask him to help us. Now, for those of you who don't know my dad, he's a perfectionist. And that's someone that you want working on these types of projects. Anyway, Monday afternoon Marc came home early from work and he, my father and a friend of ours started on this project. My dad then got up every morning and started working on it whether Marc was home or not. By the time my parents left, the deck was 98% finished. All we have left to do is finish the handrails for the stairs. My mom also helped when my dad needed it. But she was more of a help to me. She helped keep the house clean and watched the girls when I needed to take care of Cole. And she was also more than willing to hold my son during some of his cranky times in the evening. And yes, I love my mom, too.

Since they came out so close to Maggie's birthday, we decided to celebrate with them. Mom and Emma helped me decorate the kitchen while Maggie was down for her nap. When she woke up, Maggie was so excited to see her "Poodle Party". We had a great time. Mom and dad got her the cutest little sundress. But the best was the little Adirondack chair they had made for her - painted red - her favorite color. Now that chair is on our new deck and she LOVES it!

It was great just to sit and talk with mom and dad. That's the part I miss the most. I don't get to do that very often anymore. Not when the visits are few and far between. But the best is yet to come. It looks like both my brothers and their families and Marc and I will all be going to my parents house for the same week in August! I CAN'T WAIT!!! I am so excited to spend time with all of them and just have a great "Winters" week (for those of you who don't know, my maiden name is Winters). I sometimes think it's so funny that a family who adores each other live all over the US. But there are so many families who can't stand each other that live in the same town. Do we wish we lived closer together - oh yes. But we all know we are exactly where God wants us to be. And even though that's hard, it seems to make our times together so much sweeter. So, I had a great week with my family here - the girls did, too. The adore Mimi and Papa. And I'm looking forward to our time together again soon!

My Boy

It's hard to believe my boy is almost 2 weeks old already. He's such a good baby! He's a GREAT sleeper, only gets up once during the middle of the night to eat and is generally really content. I can lay him down on his back or tummy while he's awake, and he'll stay that way and just look around for quite awhile. Needless to say, mommy's in love! His big sisters are great helpers. Getting things when I need them and talking/singing to him if he's crying. They always want to hold him. This little guy is so loved. He spends time with daddy especially when we're trying to keep him awake. Marc is really good at keeping him awake. Probably because he can't get anything out of daddy and as soon as he starts nursing off me, he falls asleep. So, we're very thankful for daddy's help! Our lives haven't really changed much since Cole arrived other than the obvious - diapers and nursing. Other than that, it's still the same old thing every day.

Well, here are a few pictures. The first one was taken in the hospital. The second was taken on Father's Day. That was Cole's first day going to church. He was ooh'd and aah'd over and held for most of the service by friends. I didn't mind. I love that other people love him, too. We didn't get a picture of Marc and Cole that day. The morning was so rushed trying to get everyone ready and out the door on time. Oh well. We'll get the morning's down in no time.

Mommy and Cole - so in love!

Cole on Father's Day

Birth Story

I figured since the girls weren't here right now and Cole was having his hearing test done, that I would get some pictures posted and try to go into his birth story. So, as I stated in the previous post, we had to come in Monday night to have Cole delivered. The ultrasound showed that he was doing fine, but since he hadn't been moving much, he needed to come out sooner rather than later. So, after the ultrasound, we came up to the labor and delivery floor and were put in a triage-type room. Not a room to labor in, but it had a fetal monitor and one chair. We had been told that there were a ton of women that had been admitted that night due to the same thing - no fetal movement. Marc and I sat in the triage room for 3 hours before I was finally able to get into a labor and delivery room. During that time, Marc went home to pack our bags and to also pick up Emma. When he was gone, they came in to start my IV (I tested positive for group B strep - a pretty common thing among pregnant women). Now let me just go on record to say that I HATE NEEDLES - and even more so...I HATE IV'S!!! They put the IV in my left hand and everything was going fine, for a few minutes. Then the vein blew out! I didn't feel it. Just got this big puffy area on my hand where the antibiotics was collecting. So, they had to pull that line out and insert one in my right hand. O.K. Could that part get any worse? But, this one worked and everything was just fine.

Marc and Emma showed up and we had "Chatty Kathy" in our room for the longest time. All Emma did was talk. And talk non-stop! But she was so excited and we loved having her there with us to share in Cole's birth. We were admitted to our room at 11:00 pm and we still had more things to do. I had to answer a ton of questions - not a problem - I didn't mind. But it was the second time I had answered these exact questions. Hmmmm.....anyway, they gave me some meds to sleep. Ambien pills and Benadryl by IV. Now, let me tell you, Benadryl by IV is great!!!!! I was feeling so good. But it still took me a little while to fall asleep. Emma fell asleep at midnight and I feel asleep sometime between 12:30 and 1:00 am. At 3:00, they came in to start the pitocin. I didn't mind. I was contracting, but didn't feel anything. I fell back asleep and at 5:00 they came in to break my water. Again, not a problem. I still wasn't feeling anything. But at about 6:45 I woke up to some very uncomfortable back labor. The doctor came in to check me and I was 4 cm. I was able to breathe through them for awhile, but then they became really intense. I've had back labor before, but never like this! The contractions never went around to the front. They stayed completely in the back. And usually there's a little while in between contractions. But I had just a few seconds before the next contraction started. I couldn't relax or concentrate. And I definitely couldn't get on top of the contractions. So, I did something I've never done. I requested an epidural. Yes, for those of you who know me well, I've never asked for an epidural. But I needed one this time. The anesthesiologist came in at 9:00. Just before he did his thing, they checked me again and I was 6 cm. At 9:20 I told my nurse that I felt quite a bit of pressure and needed to push. She checked me and I was ready to go. I did two practice pushes with the nurse and she told me to stop. She had to get the doctor. Cole was coming. The doctor immediately came in and two contractions later, he was in my arms.

If I had to do this all over again, I wouldn't change a thing. Everything went perfectly. My son is here and I love it! He's fantastic and so cute. He's a great nurser and hasn't really vocalized much. I know that will change as soon as we get home. But that's o.k. He is so loved by Marc and me and his sisters can't get enough of him.

So, now that that part is done, here are some pictures of our newest addition.

Just shortly after he was born. He's a little guy!

Emma spent most of the time holding him. She watched the whole birth and was just fascinated by the whole thing. She was fantastic! So obedient and never questioned us about anything. The only thing is, she didn't want to give him up! Hmmmm....I don't like to either!

Checking out dad.

Soooo cute!!!

Still not wanting to give him up.

Could Lily's grin get any bigger?! =)

My little mommy-in-training. She adores Cole. She's even talked to him twice on the phone already. It's so sweet to hear her talk to him.

My beautiful son - Cole Stephen Rader

My favorite picture so far! I love the bond that's between them already.

He's Here!

I so did not think that when I put up my post yesterday that I would be sitting here today telling you that my son has arrived! After my dr's appointment yesterday, they hooked me up to a fetal monitor because he hadn't moved in 24 hours. That was unusual for my little boy, but didn't really think much of it because I knew he was running out of space. I was on the monitor for about an hour and still no movement. So, they sent me over to the hospital to have an in-depth ultrasound done. Now, before I continue, let me just say that even though he wasn't moving, his heart rate was still really good. Anyway, still no movement during the ultrasound. The heart beat looked great. He was practicing his fetal breathing. Lungs, umbilical cord and all the other major organs looked great. Just no movement. So, they sent me up to the labor and delivery floor to be induced. I will go into his birth story on a later post (I'm really tired right now), but everything went so well. Emma was able to be a part of this story. And we were so glad she was there. But...before I sign off...here are his stats.

Cole Stephen Rader (middle name is after my dad's middle name)

Born: June 16, 2009

Weight: 7 lbs. 3 oz.

Length: 20 1/2 inches

Time: 9:28 AM

I will put up some pictures soon. But I just have to say, he's so cute!!!! And no, I'm not partial! =)

Almost Done

It's so hard to believe that I am almost done being pregnant with this little one. Where has the time gone?! I am just now over 38 weeks and it seems like just yesterday I said I still had 20 weeks left to go. I have enjoyed every minute of this pregnancy - well, almost every minute. But now I'm ready to meet him. I'm ready to see what and who he looks like. To hold him and love on him. I'm done. I've stretched to the point where I don't think I can stretch anymore. I feel like I'm sitting on him. I'm tired and worn out and he's not even here yet. But still, I will miss being pregnant with him. I thank God every day for this little one that He's created. And I thank God that He's entrusted this little one to Marc and I. Am I ready? Well, in some ways I am. I'm not ready for the long nights and the unknown reasons as to why he may be crying. But I am ready to add a little boy to our family. I'm ready for the girls to have a little brother. I'm just.....ready!

18 weeks pregnant!

27 weeks pregnant!

38 weeks pregnant!

Me and my family of girls (for now)!