Adam's Fight

Sometimes things happen in life that we don't understand. Sometimes we have to face things that are, well, BIG. 

For those of you who know my family well, you know that we are really close. I have three brothers who have always been some of my best friends. We are still like little kids when we get together. When the four of us are all together, we always laugh so hard!  My oldest brother, Adam, is one of the strongest people I know. He has always had this attitude about himself. The attitude like "Don't mess with me!" I actually remember one summer when Adam, Drew, and I played basketball all summer. I mean we were in the gym constantly. We all still joke about the time when we were playing pick-up games and this guy on the other team kept giving Adam crap. This guy was a shorter, black guy who was like an ex-marine or something. Adam just kept giving it back to him and they ended up in a yelling match. Adam won. It was so funny. Drew and I just died laughing. 

Anyways, about two weeks ago Adam got the news that his cancer has returned.   He had won his battle with cancer 6 years ago and he is determined that he will win this fight again!  I know that he will win this fight because it is Adam's nature. He is a winner.

As a way to tell people about his fight against cancer Adam has set up a blog. I really want people to look at it and try to gain some type of insight as to what he is going through.  I know that we can all learn from the journey that he is going through; his FIGHT.

http://myfightadam.blogspot.com/

Oh the lessons you can learn in 1 MONTH...

As of tomorrow, we have been a family of four for 1 month! I cannot believe that Halle is 1 month old. To say that this month has been eventful is an understatement. I started thinking of the many things that Matt and I have learned throughout the past month and came up with this short list. Sorry if it is boring but I rarely write things down other than on this blog so this is for my own record as well. 

• Nap time is SACRED!  Nothing beats a 2 year old napping for 2 hours in the afternoon...priceless!
• Movies (such as Cars, Lion King, and Toy Story) and a locking baby gate provide mom with the chance to shower in peace each day.
• Toddler jail is a great method of timeout. (See the video below. To clarify, he is yelling "Open the Gate.")
• I can totally understand why people use leashes on their kids (not that I have resorted to it yet).
• DO NOT attempt to carry a toddler down the stairs, in the middle of the night, with no lights on...Matt learned this the hard way!
• Although it isn't fun to get up during the night, enjoy snuggling with your little girl while it is quiet!
• Bribery is completely OK when you are in a public place.
• Having the flu while nursing should NOT be wished upon anyone.
• Babies grow FAST. Halle is already getting little rolls on her legs and chubby little cheeks
• Matt has more patience than I do. Thank goodness for two parents.
• Nursing while walking around the house is OK.
• A clean house is so OVERRATED! :)
• Family and amazing neighbors can take Ryan for an hour or two anytime they want. He loves to go play with someone other than his mom. We can't thank everyone enough for their help. 
• We thought Ryan ate good as a newborn. We just didn't know any better. Halle nurses like a champ!
• Nothing is sweeter than Ryan giving his sister kisses or holding her hand while she is crying.
• 5 hours of straight sleep can go a long ways! 

A little smile from our little girl

All in all we really have had an amazing first month. Although challenging at times, it really is so much fun to have two kids. We love the two of them so much!  Thanks to everyone who has helped us through this first month!

Halle's photo shoot @ 2 weeks

Our neighbor has a photography company and took some great pictures of Halle.

Here are just a few of the really great shots she got of our little girl! 

There are a couple more that I really love but I think I will wait to post those because I'm gonna use them for her birth announcment.  If you want an announcment leave your address for me and I'll be sure to send you one:)

Thanks Autumn! 

(autumnbaldwinphotography.com)

"Two is better than one!"

Life in the Oakey house has definately changed over the past three weeks but we are convinced that we absolutely love having two kids.  The whole feeling in our house has changed. Ryan has past the point of hating his little sister and throwing cars at her and he now wants so badly to help with Halle.  He also loves to give her kisses and hold her hand (which is one of the cutest things I have ever seen).  He isn't quite sure about the time mom has to spend with Halle but he is trying to figure it out.  He doesn't get the feeding thing yet so we have had some funny conversations about that. For instance yesterday I had just fed Halle and was now pumping for a few minutes. He had the most priceless look on his face when he looked at me, looked at the pump, lifted up his shirt and said, "On Ryan, Mommy?"  I'm not sure what he was thinking but he wanted to do what mom was doing.... so funny! 
Matt and I are adjusting well to two kids.  I have ventured out more than once and I feel proud of myself. I feel like Sam's Club is easy but the grocery store is still in question. This past weekend we actually went camping on Saturday and Sunday.  Halle and I didn't sleep over but we spent most of the days  in the mountains and just drove home at night.  She did awesome!   It is actually kind of hard to remember what our life was like before a toddler and an infant. It is becoming more normal to hold Ryan's hand and carry Halle's car seat in the parking lot of Walmart. 

I love this picture of Ryan. So dirty, so happy, and so cute!

Enjoying the sun!

Nothing like a nap on daddy's chest

Our little girl!

The only adjustment we haven't mastered quite yet is that of getting sleep!  Ryan has never been a great sleeper so it is normal for him to come into our room atleast once during the night.  Add that to a 3 week old on a typical 3 week old sleep schedule and you tend to get a few long nights.  I honestly don't know how Matt functions at work each day. He gets up at 5 am everyday and doesn't get home until almost 7 pm.  In fact he was putting Ryan to bed last night and this is what I found after about 10 minutes. 

Ryan was not the one asleep. He was the one singing to his dad. It was priceless!

He is such a great dad and as you can see the kids love cuddling with him!  This is a pretty common scene at our house lately.

Last of all my mom and dad took a few pictures for us on Labor Day. We really don't have any pictures of our little family so it was fun that Halle was awake and the scenery was so pretty. We didn't really plan this so we aren't very prepared but it works for now.

Our first week at home with Halle

Today Halle is 1 week old and this week has absolutely flown by. It is amazing to think of the past week and how much our life has changed since those minutes when she was born.  Since I haven't really posted anything about the day she was born and the days since then, I thought I would take some time and give some of the details.

Halle's Birth

I always see people's blogs where they share the story of their labor and delivery. I won't spend too much time on this because honestly I think I would probably bore the few people who actually read this blog.  To put it simply, I might possibly have the easiest and painless labors.

In labor waiting for our little girl

Matt and I knew for three days that I would be induced on the 19th so we had plenty of time to prepare. We packed, cleaned, went grocery shopping, and arranged babysitters for Ryan all in advance. So when Thursday arrived we simply got in the car and went to the hospital at 6 a.m. By about 6:30 the nurses had started my I.V. and started the petosin.  My doctor arrived at around 9 a.m to break my water and until this time I had started having contractions but they definitely were not killing me.  At about 10 a.m. the nurse came in and said if you want an epidural let me know and I will page the anesthesiologist.  My contractions were stronger and I was starting to experience some pain but mostly it was just discomfort but I figured I would get the epidural before it got bad.  So I got my epidural at about 10:45 and was completely comfortable and relaxed. I spent the next two hours looking for something to watch on T.V. and listening to my IPOD. 

They checked me and I was at a 5 so the nurse said I had probably another hour at least. So Matt, who was probably completely bored at this time, called his mom and she brought him a cheeseburger. He gets his lunch and I actually was about to fall asleep when the doctor came in to check me at about 1:15 p.m. It was hilarious because Matt was literally taking his first bite when the doctor says, "She's complete, lets have a baby."   The doctor continued by putting on his gloves and preparing the room. Meanwhile I am still trying to comprehend the "lets have a baby line," and Matt has now put down his lunch and is frantically trying to text our parents to tell them I am about to start pushing.  Just as he finished the text, the nurse says to me, "Okay, you need to push."  The epidural had worked so well that I honestly looked at her like she was nuts and said, "Now?!?" As she nodded I pushed as they counted to 10 and the doctor abruptly says, "Stop, she's here." I looked down just as our little Halle's head came out. I simply gave one more small push and her shoulders were out and our little girl was here!  

Now I don't mean to brag but it may have been one of the quickest labors in history. I pushed for literally 15 seconds and she was born!!!!  

The First Week

The past week has been filled with a mixture of emotions.  We are so excited and blessed to have Halle home and healthy. Ryan has been adjusting slowly to her arrival. When I say slowly I mean he has had moments that are so sweet like when he gives her kisses before bed and moments where he is a complete terror like when he threw his car at her while I was nursing her.  I think it is just going to take some time for him to get used to a new little sister in the house.  

Other than Ryan's horrific bouts of anger and aggression the week has been quite pleasant. She is eating pretty well, poops all the time, and sleeps great. We have amazing family and neighbors who have taken Ryan for a few hours each day and brought in meals. We couldn't do it without them!  We have been blessed with a great little girl.  Here are a few pictures of this past week:

A nap with daddy during the first day at home

 2 days old

4 days old

5 days old

6 days old

1 week old

My little stinker so he doesn't feel left out :)  He is so cute its hard to get mad at him!!!

Our family of FOUR!

We would like to welcome our little girl to the family!

Halle Lucile Oakey

She arrived at 1:23 p.m. on 08/19/2010 and weighs 7 pounds 14 ounces and is 22 1/2 inches long (2 inches longer than her older brother was). 

She is completely healthy and has a full head of brown hair! She looks a lot like Ryan and definatley fits into our family. We are so excited to have her here!!

Just minutes old

Who knows where that hair came from!

Our first family photo....Ryan absolutely loves his little sister!

PROUD PARENTS

More info is on the way, I just thought I would get the news out. 

37 WEEKS DOWN AND HOW MUCH LONGER?!?

As of today, I am 37 weeks pregnant and my due date cannot come soon enough.  I have reached the point where I finally feel ready for her to come and ready to have my body back!  I have made lists and lists of things to do before she gets here and I think I can honestly say that I have checked most of my to-dos off!  We have done everything including: painted her room, made baby blankets, a car seat canopy/cover, hooded towels, and burp cloths (YES I actually SEWED all of this by myself and they are pretty darn cute), washed her newborn clothes,  got Ryan settled in his "Big Boy Bed,"  bought all the necessities (diapers, etc.),  got everything ready for Drew's wedding that is in two weeks, and even renewed my drivers license (which was like 4 months overdue).  I am pretty proud of myself considering most of this was done in the past 2 weeks.  Here are some of the projects we have been checking off lately:

Her new bedding and light green wall

Carseat canopy/cover

 Recieving blankets that I really love! If anyone wants to know how to make these let me know they are super easy!

Matching burp cloths

As you can see we are ready for her, I just want her to get here now!

I have this debate going on in my head whether it would be better to be 39 weeks pregnant for my little brother's wedding (he is getting married on the 14th) or to have an infant that is at best a week and a half old.  At this point I would much rather look somewhat normal in the wedding pictures and have a brand new baby, call me crazy but I think I might just ruin the wedding pictures if I am ready to pop and everyone else looks fantastic.

Anyways, other than me being completely done with this pregnancy all else is going well for us.  I think I will actually miss feeling our little girl moving so much. There is something to be said about what an amazing experience it really is.  Ryan is loving summer and has a new obsession with "Simba." He has never watched movies before and all of the sudden he wants to watch The Lion King all the time!  Matt is completely busy with work and has been working anywhere from 50-60 hours a week! He doesn't get to be home a ton so when he is home we have been trying to take advantage of it with short overnight trips camping, trips to the local pools and parks, and spending time with all of our family.  Summer is a great time of year!

Here are a few more fun pictures so you aren't completely bored by this post:

Ryan enjoying a baseball game and licorice on the 24th of July

Our attempt at a family picture...not the best but atleast we're all in it!

Ryan enjoying a RARE can of pop while camping.

Such a happy and sticky boy!