The Big One

Up until 4:44pm on 3/31/2010 we didn't know if we were having baby Reid or baby Paige.  But SURPRISE a BIG, bouncing boy came into this world and we could not have been happier.  I never told my labor and delivery story, but so that I can remember years from now, here is the rundown. (Most of you won't care about the details, so you can stop reading here!)

I checked into the hospital at 7:00am.  My labor was completely different with both boys, as I showed up having very strong contractions with Connor, I felt nothing with Reid.  Once I got checked in, the nurse came by to start my IV, except (as this has happened numerous times throughout my life) she could not get the needle in my veins.  After 3 different nurses and about 6 attempts in both arms, they finally got the needle in the top of my hand-ouch!  They started the pitocin and even though I wasn't in much pain, I knew what horrible contractions felt like (again thanks to the 1st time around) and knew I did NOT want to go through that again.  So I went ahead and got the epidural. EXCEPT...problems getting the needle in.  After many attempts (and a rude anesthesiologist) he left saying, "well I got it in, but not sure where it's going to numb you!"  Sure enough it numbed me completely in one leg, but not where it should have.  So another anesthesiologist came in and adjusted everything.  Viola!  Numbness everywhere!

My parents came to hang out with us and while they were sitting in the room I kept feeling something "weird" but didn't say anything.  Finally after about 30 minutes I figured I needed a nurse to come in just to see what was going on.  After my parents left the room I told Josh about this "feeling." He looked down, said nothing to me but paged a nurse and said we need a nurse NOW!  The nurse rushed in and said "yep you're ready to have this baby!!

I immediately started crying.  I could not believe this was happening!  I was about to be a mother of TWO!  They called my doctor who rushed up to the room.  I've always heard the 2nd time around is much easier and I definitely agree with that.  I pushed for 1hr 40 min with Connor and only 3 times and 15 minutes with Reid.  BUT, the greatest, most memorable part of the whole process was Reid coming out, the room getting quiet and Josh announcing "BOY!"  I get chill bumps every time I think back to that.  For anyone expecting a baby I highly recommend waiting to find out because there is truly nothing like that.
The very first thing I thought when I heard "boy" was that Connor now has a best friend for life; his best man! 
So there it is.  And here was my 9lb 6oz 22.5 in baby boy:

We had a birthday party for him this weekend so I will post pictures on that soon, but here he is eating his cupcake tonight:

(For some reason his right eye was very bloodshot)

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY SWEET REID!

1-4-3

For it's Root, Root, Root...

for the home team, in which this case is the Baylor Bears! Sunday morning we went with Uncle Jason, Mimi and Papa Jud to Waco to see the Bears beat the Kansas State Wildcats.  These aren't the best pics but I wanted to document Reid's first BU baseball game.

 Cousin Denton joined us!

You can see how into this game he was!

And the highlight of the game was this:

Catching a foul ball!!!

Cheering for the Lady Bears tonight to beat the Lady Aggies! Another house divided night!!

Spring Break

This year the boys and I spent our Spring Break in Livingston. It started out on a sad note though, as we said goodbye to a former choir teacher.  He was a legacy at Livingston High School and just thinking back to choir I am flooded with great memories.  Memories of wonderful trips, concerts, musicals, competitions and the lasting friendships that were made.  I had the honor of singing with other past choir members at his funeral, two songs we sang at every graduation and ended each concert with--"The Lord Bless You and Keep You" and "I Will Never Walk Alone."  It was a nice service and I was so glad to see many of my old friends and choir members. Here's a picture of 3 of my former choir buddies:

Before heading to Livingston, we were able to meet up with the Nadolski Family and get all the little boy cousins together. (Connor and Reid's great-great grandmother and Kase and Grayson's great-great grandmother were sisters.)

Connor (2), Reid (11 months), Kase (5 months), Grayson (2 months)

Connor and Leah swinging in downtown Austin!

One day Mimi, Papa Jud, the boys and I drove to Houston to go to the Rodeo.  We met with my best friends from high school, Jill Brown and LeAnn Luedeker and LeAnn's kids, Jack and Hope.

We were cleaning up from lunch and Reid reached over the table and pulled down a plate of his brother's french fries!  He looooved them!

 Camel rides at the rodeo?!? 

Love his laughter! He was having so much fun!!

 Two of my besties: Jill, Me, LeAnn

Now that his belly is full of french fries, it's time for a nap!

 

My little clowns!!!

One day we had a picnic and fed the ducks at Pedigo Park:

Reid tried PB&J for the first time and had it everywhere! 

Then one day another one of my best friends from high school, Bria, invited us to go out on the lake with them in their new boat.

We enjoyed many concerts! Connor would take requests from the piano bench and then play and sing at the same time.  Who knew he was so talented?!? As soon as the music started, Reid would dance along!

And the last night we were there, we roasted marshmallows out on the deck and ate some yummy s'mores.  Connor waved to all the planes and continued his singing concert while snuggled up with Mimi!

Who knew Spring Break in Livingston could be so much fun?!?

Our Daily Outings

Every morning Connor wakes up and asks, "Mommy, where are we going today?"  I try to plan some kind of outing every morning because it's good for all of us!!  Most of the time it includes me packing our lunch, lots of playtime with his best friend, Addy, and then timing it perfectly so that both boys fall asleep on the way home!  One advantage of living in a large city is all of the opportunities there are for kids.  So we seek out those opportunities daily, and here are just a few:

There is a small petting zoo down the street from our house so one morning we went there.  Abbie the Donkey bit Connor's finger and the rest of the week he told everyone about it.

We also go to a park at least 1-2 times a week, have a picnic and sometimes feed the ducks.

Every once in a while we go to Chuck-e-Cheese:

At least once every other week we go to the mall:

And we can't leave off the zoo.  This is our 3rd zoo in 5 months to visit.  The Austin Zoo isn't very big but perfect for little ones!

And lastly a family trip to the kite festival:

I learned CPR while I was there!

Connor and Josh climbed this wall!

After our fun-filled day, this is what I like to see. Job well done!