Hockey Fans

We got the NHL Center Ice package this year so that Bud could watch as much hockey as he wanted, since the season is so short this year.  So, we have been watching a lot of hockey in our house and Claire LOVES it.  She will say "YAY hockey!!" when she sees it and really loves when the guys check and make a loud noise on the boards. :)

There was a game on a couple weeks ago on a week night so I surprised Bud by having both the kids dressed in their Wild gear when he got home.  So, I had to get a picture of my favorites in my favorite hockey teams gear!  Go Wild!

One Month Old!

I'm not really sure how it happened, but Will is already a month old!  I feel like his first month went way faster than Claire's and time needs to SLOW DOWN.

At one month, Will is a pretty good baby.  He seems to have a much more sensitive belly than Claire did, so has his fair share of crying and can be a stinker when he needs to eat, but overall he is easy.  He sleeps really well, lets us (mostly Claire) attack him with love, doesn't care when the dog parks, and sleeps like a champ in his car seat or my wrap when we are running errands.  His newborn clothes are just starting to get a little snug, but a lot of them are seeming too short.  I think he is going to be tall and thin like his Daddy and sister.

I love watching how much Claire already loves him.  Whether he likes it or not, she is going to be his second mom his whole life, I have a feeling.  I decided that every month when I take his picture, I will also take one of the two of them to see how he tolerates her 'love' as he gets older. :)

William David

Since our little man is one month old today, I figured it was about time I got this post done.  Sorry, folks, but better late than never, right? :)

I made it to my due date weekend still pregnant, which really was no shock to me.  I was fully expecting to be pregnant for a lot longer.  On Saturday, I was able to go get my hair done, got a new phone and did a little shopping (grocery shopping, but still) alone.  It was wonderful.  Then that evening, we got a huge surprise when it started to snow!  Bud and I looked at each other, and I said what we were both thinking--this little guy HAD to be born tonight or tomorrow.  To tell him the rest of his life that he was born when there was snow on the ground would be SO cool!  Very true to our Minnesota roots.  So, we went outside to play, I ran around the yard with Claire and threw around a football with Bud.  Then we came in and I ate some spicy food and did 100 squats.  Seriously.  Went to bed that night holding on to a little hope that I might go into labor, but wasn't so sure.

2 am rolls around and I woke from a dead sleep to contractions 3-5 minutes apart.  I woke Bud up and told him it was go time.  We got Claire dropped off at Jaci's (SO thankful for such wonderful friends that don't mind being woken up at 3 am!!), and headed to the hospital.  I was in real deal labor at this point, and really was wishing the hospital was 5 mins away, not 35.  Bud drove fast, and only got scolded by me twice...once for taking a turn too sharp and the other for going through a bump in the road with out slowing down. :)

Once we got upstairs, I was checked right away and was already at 7 cm.  I was SHOCKED.  I went to the bathroom on my way to my room and my water broke, and I realized this was moving a lot faster than I had thought.  I made sure to tell everyone I came in contact with after that point that I wanted and epidural and I wanted it 5 minutes ago. :)  He was in my room within about 10 minutes and got my epidural in.  After that things are a little bit of a blur--I think it was a little over an hour after we got there that I started pushing...and that took forever.  About 2.5 hours later, at 8:49 am, Will was here!  We decided to name him William David after Bud and my dad....I decided we couldn't go wrong naming him after my two favorite guys!  I have always loved Bud's real name, and since no one ever refers to him as William, it worked.

And as you can see, was making it known that he wanted back in! :)

He just screamed and screamed and screamed.  After I held him for a while with out calming him, I tried putting him chest to chest and immediately he stopped crying.  So, we stayed that way for a while!

Bud was so wonderful the whole time I was in labor.  This was a completely different experience than we had with Claire, and he was amazing.  He really enjoyed the quiet time we had after Will was born--since it was so early it was a while before we had any visitors and we got to soak him in a little bit before we had to share him. :)

Claire was hesitant for just a minute when she got to our room.  Once she saw him, she was immediately smitten, and pretty much hasn't left him alone since. :)  She loves being a big sister, and is a huge helper for me.  

She was SO excited to hold him!  She has sat multiple times just snuggling with him for 15-30 minutes at a time.  She really just can't get enough of him!

Getting ready to go home!  We were so lucky to only have to spend one night in the hospital before we could go home and start our life as a family of 4.  

One of the first things Claire did was grab her book and 'read' to her baby.  I couldn't pass up this picture--the first one of our three 'babies' together at home.  

We are absolutely loving this new little man in our lives, and it's hard to remember what life was like with out him. Both of them have made our transition fairly flawless.  He is pretty easy, and Claire learned very quickly that she just needs to be patient sometimes when I am nursing him, changing him, etc, and she really hasn't skipped a beat.  I am SO thankful for that.  She is just proving what a big girl she is!

I spend a lot of time wondering how I got so lucky....we are so blessed to have two beautiful, healthy children! I am trying really hard to soak up all the sweet memories that have happened in the last month, and not miss anything.  Time goes way too fast!  So, forgive me for the lack of posting and updates and pictures, but snuggles with my babies are way more important. :)

Dress up!

Claire got 3 dress up dresses for Christmas this year, and she LOVES them.  I have them hanging at her level in her closet, and she will bring them out to me about every other day wanting to wear them, and it is so stinkin cute.  A couple weeks ago she added sunglasses and a necklace to her ensemble...and then Daddy had to wear this sunglasses too. :)  

2012

2012 was a busy, exciting year for our family.  Here is our year in review!

january

January was busy--Claire and I were in MN for half the month, and headed back to NC after a nice long MN vacation.  Claire and I found our routine again with just the two of us, and she really started turning from a baby into a big girl.

february

February was busy!  We spent a lot of time outside, Claire and Lacey officially became BFF's, and I accomplished a big goal in the house.  With the help of a friend, I put a tile backsplash in our kitchen that I am still completely in love with.

 march 

March brought warm temps back into our world.  The countdown to Bud being home began and my parents came for a whole week to see us.

april

April was an exciting month.  It was our last one with out Bud, Claire turned 18 months old, we celebrated our last holiday with out Bud and I finished all my last minute projects.

may

MAY was finally here!!  The first day of May brought our favorite guy home, and the rest of the month was spent as a family, enjoying figuring out our new normal again.  Bud and I got a much needed vacation just the two of us thanks to his parents coming to watch Claire.  May was probably my favorite month of the year. :)

june

Early in June, we found out Claire was going to be a big sister!  I spent the rest of the month feeling pretty crummy, and trying to keep up with Claire. :)  Claire and I spent a lot of time in the garden--her favorite thing was to pick broccoli right off the plant and eating it. We also had visitors in June that won the prize for longest travel--our friends from Alaska came to visit for a couple days!

july

We celebrated the 4th of July with some friends and my sister and her sweet family visited!!  Having Lainey and Claire play together was SO fun.  

august

We took a trip to MN in August!  It was a WONDERFUL break from the heat of NC, and Claire loved having her daddy around so much, which also meant a nice break for mama!  I was still feeling pretty awful in August, so all the extra help from Bud and grandparents was very welcome!!  We were able to help sweet Lainey celebrate her first birthday--and it was the first time my entire family had been together since 2010, so it was extra special to me!  We also learned that Claire was going to have a baby brother!  August was a busy month!

september

After such a crazy August, September was a quiet month.  We spent lots of time playing inside (still very hot and mama still feeling not so hot), and doing yard work when we could stand being outside.  Claire starting learning her alphabet and caught on very quickly--she knew about 10 letters by sight within a week or so!  I was very impressed!

october

We were so happy to have Bud home this year in October!  He got to help us celebrate Claire's 2nd Birthday, and took her trick or treating for the first time.  We celebrated Claire's birthday with a Mickey Mouse party with her best friends, and the night before her birthday we took her to dinner at one of her favorite places (she LOVES the nachos at O'Charleys!).  She caught on to trick or treating very quickly, and would run from one house to the next saying, 'more!, more!'  The clown costume was mine when I was her age--and she is WAY cuter as a clown than I was! :)

november

We spent a lot of time outside in November.  I finally was feeling good, and the weather was beautiful!  We got our first Christmas tree in this house, and started decorating for our first Christmas at home.  Claire vocabulary exploded after her birthday, and it seems like she was learning a new word or phrase every day!

december

We started December with a trip to VA to see Bud while he was away for work.  DC is clearly very tiring when you are 2!

Right after VA, Claire and I packed up and headed to IA to meet this little dude, Wyatt!  Claire completely fell in love with her baby Wy, and asks for him almost daily.  She had a lot of fun playing with Lainey too, even though she did 'poosh' her a few times.  Stinker. :)  My parents are loving the complete choas that comes with having all the grandbabies so close together...it is quite the experience! (There will be 4 kids in less than 2.5 years!)

We celebrated Christmas with our very good friends, who are like our family here.  The kids loved playing with new toys and the adults enjoyed some Just Dance.  So many laughs were had after a very yummy meal...we are so thankful for our life here!  

2012 was a wonderful year, and 2013 is shaping up to be pretty great as well!!  We will welcome our first little boy into this world, and besides many (many) work trips, will spend the entire year together as a family, and that is more than I could hope for.  We hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and have a happy, healthy 2013!