I love my friends. I have good non-pushy but caring friends. I've been asked the question, "Okay, how are you REALLY doing?" a few times the last few days so I guess a real update is in order.
Update on Joy:*she sleeps 3-4 hours between feedings and really
sleeps the entire time. Her eyes have been open for a combined total of 2 hours since she was born. I'm not kidding. Dream baby so far. I love her. Not just because of this.
*we got a good report on her at her first pediatrician visit. I had to use the hospital pediatrician because you're well aware of how far we drive to go to our real one. She doesn't exactly do rounds an hour away consistently so for those first few days our babies see someone else. I don't trust someone else nearly like I trust Dr.
Fowers so it was a great day Thursday to get a thumbs up.
*She had jaundice when we came home, (a first for me,) so they checked her levels and she has improved.
*She's back up to 8 lbs. 6 oz. so we're hopeful and confident she'll be back up to birth weight by her 2 week check-up.
Woohoo for
momma's milk production! And double
woohoo for
momma's very-worth-the-money
Medela pump giving her a break from the pain. I nursed her yesterday and she hasn't forgotten how to do that so I feel confident we will continue our routine going back and forth between the two.
*She is a big hit with everyone, and even the other kids are happier with her than we anticipated.
Update on Charlie:*She seems much better than she was last week sickness-wise, (I know that's not a real word,) but just started coughing again last night. Hoping she doesn't get any worse.
*She wants to touch Joy but obeys when we say, "Easy...be easy," and just lightly pats her. I was most worried about what my bulldozer of a girl would do to the baby but she's such a
toucher I think she will be okay with enough lap time with me and her daddy.
*The first time she saw Joy she laughed at her and kind of pointed then ran away and played. Whew. No eyeball poking from the get-go. Relief.
*She is killing her brother trying to do exactly what he does at all times. She doesn't seem to be bothered at all by him leaving the room when she walks in. The girl is confident that in time he will want to be her friend. I love that about her.
Update on Ty:*The first morning I was home and he came downstairs he said, "Hi Mom!" and clapped. That was enough for me to know he missed me. I knew better than to expect a dramatic hug/cry and emotional reunion. He walked over to me and I hugged him but he pushed right past me and said, "Waffles?" True to form, the boy wakes up thinking about breakfast just like his momma.
*We had our cameras ready for the big reveal and sat down on the couch after breakfast so he could meet Joy. She was in her moses basket and he walked over to it and looked inside. I said, "Hi baby Joy." I nervously waited for what he was going to do...not afraid he'd want to hurt her but wanting him to be excited about her. He said, "Hi baby Joy." And smiled. Whew. Since then he will walk over to her basket and say hi to her periodically through the day.
*Right after the big reveal I went to my computer to sit down. He walked over and said, "Music?" He has learned we can play music for him on the computer and it's the highlight of his life. When I saw
August Rush I was blown away by how similar the little boy is to Ty. Yes he will be famous one day. No, no, that's not what I mean. He is
mesmerized by music and will sit for an hour if we let him. Bonus that he started dancing too.
During our little concert, I played the song, "It Won't Be Like This for Long." The country song sung by Darius
Rucker (
sp?) that talks about bringing a new baby home, sending a child to preschool, etc. I sat and cried, soaking up the moment that I'd been missing for over a week. Just sitting with my little man watching him do what he loves. Pretty sure some
hormones were swirling but I might have just been that happy, that content. Who cares which one. It was a great moment.
*He is almost 100 % recovered. He still has a cough but it's not as scary. He's eating and drinking again.
Update on Momma:*By reading about the kids, you can guess I'm REALLY doing okay. I'd even say I'm doing well!
My mom is helping a ton and so is my Dad now that the weekend has started. Sean is home, a huge blessing and a key ingredient to my emotional stability right after having a baby.
*Did you read the part about how much Joy is sleeping? I've always said if I can just recover for a week or so then I can handle a lot more of what the baby throws at me and we're past that point. My pain level is much lower and I am wanting to DO MORE instead of fading into the back bedroom like last week. It's all downhill from here...I'm sure I'll retract that statement at some point but the unknown is bliss in this situation.
*God has answered so many requests and prayers on Joy's behalf so I know He has chosen for her to be here. He has chosen what her life will be and that gives me great comfort. The reminders of His provisions are constantly in my path so I know He will help me when we hit rough patches. I'm sure they're coming :)
Lord knows you're bored by now...maybe a picture post next time? Yes Okay.
Growing up in a relatively small town (that now has its own Target!) we always had something growing across the road from my house. Corn was a favorite thanks to Field of Dreams and I remember trying to pick cotton occasionally--that really hurts if you've never done it--and this year there is wheat growing and it is just beautiful. On Saturday while I was feeding Joy Sean took Ty and Max out into the field to take pictures. Clearly Sean thought about how nervous it would make me to have my child out in the weeds-okay wheat-knowing how many snakes are surrounding my parents' house. He was sly to do it while I wasn't paying attention. The reward of his sneakiness was these pictures and what can I say...I didn't get mad at him. We're going to make the one of Ty big enough for our entryway we like it so much. He looks so old! 
Charlie in her happy place...almost. She gets in and out of the swing 35 times every time we go where a swing is. This is a normal outfit for her while Daddy is in charge. 
Man did this girl love this toy. Since she didn't crawl or walk for a long time she got some serious mileage out of the jumperoo. She would get going really fast and giggle until she choked. The highlight of her life was when Ty would drop by to push the buttons for her. 
At the Turkey Trot right after her 1st Birthday. Aunt Emmy could cancel any workout regimen she has because of how much she lifts Charlie when we are all together. Do you like how I just left her PJ's on and put her t-shirt over them? It was COLD. 
One of the moments when she couldn't care less what her brother is/was doing. Those are rare.
Charlie was just a few hours old in this picture. In the hospital she cried once that I remember. I heard she didn't even cry in the nursery. She slept most of her life away for the first few months and we were grateful for her and her demeanor. And we still are.
Oh Hi mom! I didn't know you were there. These were the days before the hair took over.
This seems to be her picture face. I love this picture of her because her eyes look so blue--they are blue but my goodness she'd be like a baby eye model if they were really this blue. Do they have baby eye models? No I don't think so.
She poses for her Daddy now when he holds up his camera. What a gem!
She sat and watched her brother play at the park for many months until she was finally ready to join in. Now it's harder to get her to leave than him when it's time to go home and she puts up a good fight. Soon after breakfast she finds her shoes and holds onto the doorknob. We have never (okay rarely,) taken them right outside without first going upstairs so we can get dressed. She keeps trying though. Persistent little thing.
Having a cousin drink from it too. This is Henry, my brother's son. He's a trip. I'm so glad my family came up today to spend the holiday with us. Watching a little boy who just might act enough like his daddy to be hysterical at such a young age, (he'll be 2 in July,) makes even a super hot day fun. No Ty does not have any shorts on. Yes we let them drink the water. No they did not develop any weird rashes.
Isn't she wonderful...
Well there you have it...the quickest photo shoot ever for a family consisting of three children less than three years old. I've mentioned before that Sean is a photographer. A link to his business in my list of websites but here is a link to it directly. He loves taking pictures and I think he's pretty great at it. My mom was here when we did this shoot (thank God!) so she did everything from dress the kids to click the family picture once Sean got it all set up. We call her his assistant. :)
about a pretty new dress like this. If it didn't cost what it does I might look into it as a motivation dress. When given a choice of what to eat for the next few weeks, I'll consider the impact that what I eat will have on Joy. Trying to be careful, I avoid salad, anything spicy, caffeine--I still have a little but nowhere near what I had while pregnant--and stick to a bland, comfort food diet. Nursing burns calories so don't worry that I'm not eating enough. I can out-eat most teenage boys. And I plan on it. But see, there's a wedding coming up (love you Bonnie!) and it would be fun to find a new pretty dress to wear to it to celebrate the wedding and having a baby...without looking like I'm still pregnant. A dress like this would do the trick even if I don't succeed. Isn't it cute?
If I didn't know any better I'd think my daughter could be related to Susan Boyle. Really, y'all, have you ever seen such a resemblance??? I'm gonna post some cute pictures of her later but just had to share this. Sean sent it to me when he moved Ty to the back of the car to make room for Joy's car seat.
I know, I know, it looks cruel. But a little bit funny too, don't you think? She was crying because Sean was trying to take her picture and she had decided it was time for him to pick her up instead. He was saying, "Wait just a second...Daddy will pick you up...wait a second..." and this is the face he got. Do you think we're in for a little drama in the next few days? I think so too.
Charlie loving the freedom that comes with walking. She found two plastic spoons and never put them down. We hope they came from someone with us--I think they did--and she never sat down that night.
April and Grace, her oldest. April is expecting her 4th (!!!) in July. April was one of the three people who hounded Sean to make a move many years ago.
Carley and Jason. Such a fun picture! Carley and I are constantly calling each other now reporting new ailments...we're down to the home stretch. It's still pretty amazing that I met Jason (I think,) seven years ago as one of his volunteers and now I talk to his wife at least twice a day on average. Pray for Carley--she's due May 14th and really wants to let things happen naturally but it's hard during these last few weeks to be patient. I'd be going crazy if I didn't know the date things were happening for me!
We always say, "What are the chances?" Four friends all pregnant at the same time. What ups and downs we have all shared over the last few years and what a blessing each of them has been to me. Carley (due May 14th,) me, April, (due in July,) and Jennie, or "Tibby," as Ty calls her, (due in October.)
This wasn't our car. It wasn't even anyone's in our party. Glad it didn't have a sensitive alarm since Ty played on it, crawled partially under it, and jumped up against it a few times while he was working on his rock collection.
My little man looking really sweet and excited about his little baby sister in momma's tummy. In reality Jason had just walked up and he's a little afraid of Jason at first. We went through this with Jonathan too until Jonathan started counting for Ty from the first second they see each other...if Ty is ever afraid of you just count--bonus if you can count in Spanish--and he gets over whatever he was worried about.
I love this little boy! David is extremely photogenic and likes Sean enough to pose for him pretty regularly.
Can you tell how uncomfortable we are?? Not that I haven't mentioned it about 200 times here, but Carley and I are both uncomfortable these days.
Few things make Ty happier than the ice cream. Vanilla like his momma thankyouverymuch. No chocolate for us!
