Christmas

Graham's 5th month

-Rolling both directions by yourself

-Not sleeping so well anymore. You usually wake two or three times to nurse.

-Smiling, cooing, and "talking" a lot more

-You love being entertained by sisters and playing with toys on the floor

-You don't love the swing or Bumbo

-Chewing on everything

-You love being outside

-You actually like sitting in your carseat and sometimes this is the only way to get you to be happy somewhere other than my arms.

-Wearing 6-9 month clothing and some 12 month jammies. You've lengthened and slimmed down a bit.

-You're still my calmest baby by far! Not much bothers you and you're pretty content. You only cry when tired or need a new diaper.

4 Months

Graham,

You just turned four months old and have been such a delight and blessing to us in that short time. You seem to have your daddy's laid back and easy going personality and you're rarely upset. Here's some more about you at four months:

-You weigh 16 lbs and 2 oz and are 26 inches long. These measurements put you in the 60th percentile for weight and 80th for height.

-You have a quiet cry and are hardly ever fussy.

-You are smiling a lot and like to stare into my eyes and flash your gummy smile. It melts my heart.

-You can roll from tummy to back and are so close to back to tummy. Sometimes I find you lying on your back in your crib when you wake up from sleeping on your tummy.

-You love to sleep and are waking usually only once a night to nurse, but have slept all night a few times. Your daily routine is usually sleep, eat, awake for an hour and a half, and then sleep again.

-You love riding in the Ranger on the land. We leave you in your carseat and buckle you in and the bumps put you to sleep in no time.

-Your sisters absolutely adore you. Heidi brings your paci when you cry and is constantly giving hugs and kisses. Ansley loves to talk to you and call you "Little Buddy."

-You hair is so fuzzy!

-You're very cuddly and I hold you as much as I can.

Sweet boy, I love watching you grow and seeing how closely you resemble your daddy in appearance and personality. I'm excited to know that you will learn so much from him. Most of all, I pray that you grow to love the Lord above all else. We love you, little buddy!

Ansley's 1st Day of Pre-K

Today was Ansley's official start of pre-k with our homeschool organization, Classical Conversations. Though we kind of started school a couple of weeks ago with her reading curriculum, this was our first time to visit the campus and learn what our time in "class" would look like. She has been so excited about today and I really tried to make it special and make a big deal out of her first day of school. I stuffed a new backpack with fun school supplies last night (and didn't forget to put a pile together for Heidi, too) and had it all waiting on the kitchen table for them when they got up this morning. We had their favorite breakfast of pancakes and sausage, got dressed in some new school clothes, and then took our first day pictures with backpacks. Heidi made sure to fill hers with some books.

So, why homeschool and what is Classical Conversations? Jeff and I made the decision to homeschool about a year ago after much talk and prayer. Since I have my degree in interdisciplinary studies and taught fifth grade for a few years, I'm so happy to be able to use what I've learned with my own children. Ansley loves to learn and is one of those children who will beg to do school and sit down for long periods of time to draw or practice handwriting. She enjoys the one on one time with me and I enjoy teaching her. So, it just makes sense for me to use my education and passion for teaching with her. We also desire to give her a firm foundation in Christ before we possibly send her to school at a later point. While I know that she would do well in public school (Jeff and I were both public school students), we agreed that she would benefit most intellectually and spiritually at home at least for now. And starting pre-k gives us the opportunity to get a year behind us before she would otherwise begin public school to make sure it's the right decision for our family. I'm still not sure of exactly how it's going to look day to day for us, but we'll learn as we go.

Classical Conversations is a nationwide homeschool group/curriculum that has local campuses and meets once a week for the tutor to present information to the students (history, geography, latin, science, some math). We're calling this "school" and during this time the kids will also get to do fine arts, presentations, and science experiments together. What I love most about it is their desire and emphasis on knowing God and making Him known and the opportunity to show how everything points to Him. From what I've seen so far, I think Ansley will love this time and is going to do so well. But, I'm going to try to be very flexible and really evaluate what I think works best for her each school year. We're excited to begin this journey and thankful that God has given us this opportunity!

Summer vacation in photos

4th of July and the Frio River

Graham's Birthday

Since time is flying and our sweet boy is already almost 2 months old, I decided I'd better get his birth story written. I just really can't believe how the days are filled with activity and we are moving through them so quickly. While it seems like his birthday was just yesterday, I also feel like I've known him forever and that he's been a part of our family for so long. So, his birth story goes like this...

At 36 weeks pregnant I had my regularly scheduled appointment with my OB and found out that I was already at a 3 and 70% effaced. I had been having some contractions that were uncomfortable, but nothing too painful. The morning of my appointment I had been doing some yard work and was having some pain, but just attributed it to that. Jeff was at his parents' house for several days helping his dad harvest the wheat, so after I found out about the progress I had already made, I called to let him know. I think we were both pretty surprised. The doctor suggested that I rest and take it easy to try to avoid going into labor before I reached 37 weeks.

The following week I had an early morning appointment on Monday and found out that I was almost at a 4 and was about 80% effaced. By this time I was 37 weeks and having pretty uncomfortable and frequent contractions, but nothing that was consistent enough to time. Dr. Gayle estimated that I would have Graham in 72 hours, but that if I came in to my appointment on Wednesday morning and was a 4, he would admit me. We called Martha that day and asked if she would come stay with us in case it happened before the appointment and she came that night.

On Tuesday, June 18, we had a pretty busy day. All of us made a shopping trip to Gander Mountain and Sam's because I decided I was going to walk what I was pretty sure was a gigantic baby out. That night we had dinner at Frank and Misty's and then took a ride out to the land. I had hoped that the bumpy ride would bring on contractions like it had a couple of weeks before and I guess that did the trick. I started having them, but still nothing regular enough to time. I had been instructed not to come until I had contractions that came every 5 minutes for an hour. Jeff and I stayed up late watching the NBA finals, then went to bed around 11. At midnight I was woken up by sharp contractions that kept coming closer and closer. I remember watching the clock and telling myself that I would wake Jeff up at 12:30 to tell him if they continued. When I woke him, I told him that I would wait until 1:00 and if they were worse we would go. He just rolled over and went back to sleep. But, I woke him again five minutes later and told him we needed to go.

It was such a short drive to the hospital and like the two times before with Ansley and Heidi, it seemed so surreal. I was admitted close to 1:00, my doctor was called and I was hooked up to the machines. The anesthesiologist came in at 3:45 and Graham was born at 10:00 on Wednesday morning. Those hours before he was born were wonderful because I finally had pain relief after days of contractions and back and hip pain and Jeff and I just got to sleep and be alone together in the peace and quiet. When it was finally time to push, I expected for Graham to come out quickly and easily like the girls did, but I had to push much harder and for a little longer than I had before. It felt like there were a ton of people in the room, too. There were three or four nurses, my doctor, Jeff, and a firefighter/EMT in training (which wasn't as weird as it sounds. I don't know why. Maybe because there were already so many people in there. Maybe because Jeff had to watch deliveries when he was in training and I figured it was just something this guy, who was around our age, had to do).

Anyway, Graham finally made it out and was just perfect. I was immediately in love with him and was so relieved that he was a boy since I had a secret fear that he was going to be a girl and we already had his room done in navy blue. He weighed 6.14 lbs and was 21 inches of pure sweetness. I was surprised to see the little dimple in his chin, but not surprised at all that he looked like his daddy. We had lots of visitors that day and the next and went home Thursday afternoon. The next few days Jeff, Graham, and I spent alone together because the grandparents took the girls. It was a sweet time of rest, quiet, cuddles, and getting used to our new little boy. God has blessed our family so much. I wasn't sure I would ever be the mother of a boy and I'm so thrilled that I get to experience it all. What wonderful blessings all of our precious children are!

Introducing Graham...

Born Wednesday, June 19 at 10:33 in the morning. He was 6.14 pounds, 20 inches long, and absolutely perfect. His big sisters are already in love with him and we're all doing well. More to come on his birth story later...