Merry Christmas!!

 Merry Christmas Everyone!!!  Hope you all had a very good Christmas - We sure did!  I had 2 Christmases!!  We had one with Grandma & Grandpa Louie before they left, and then another one on Christmas Morning after Santa Came!!

 Here's me with my Stocking.  It was stuffed to the brim!!!  I can't believe that Santa got all that in there!!  I got bath toys, bubble bath, silly straws, cars, crayons, and a bunch more stuff!!!  Jayce got a stocking too, it just had teether toys in it, though, nothing cool like I got!  Mommy and Daddy even got some candy and stuff in theirs.  They must have been good too.  

 Here's me opening some of my presents. 

 Some of my favorites are my Thomas Set from Grandma & Grandpa, my Pillow Pet from Unkie Rodgie & Auntie Kathie, and my Trampoline from Santa.  I haven't actually gotten to play on the Trampoline yet, Mommy and Daddy haven't opened it and put it together, but I ask them EVERY DAY!!  I think I heard them say that Santa got mixed up and brought the wrong one, so we are waiting for the other one to come. Jayce got some stuff too.  He got lots of clothes and a toy box and blankets.  Here he is in his new Smartwool Socks.  Mommy says those will keep his feet really warm. 

 Mommy also says I'm supposed to say Thank You to all the people who sent gifts to me and Jayce.  I got lots of books from people!!  It's really good too, since Mommy hasn't taken me to the library in a while.  I still have new books to read at nap time and bedtime!!  

We haven't been doing much since Christmas.  We went to Church a couple times, but mostly I just hang out at home with Mommy and Jayce.  Daddy's been working a lot.  They had a maintenance shut down this week at his work, so he's been putting in a bunch of overtime on his days off.  And when he's not at work he's still trying to fix our Computer.  It's almost done.  He should be able to get it up and running to use by tonight (at least that what Mommy hopes!!)  Guess Daddy should have paid the extra money to the company that put the computer together for you - cuz it's been a pain in the butt to get going!!  

Not much else going on.  I don't think we are going to stay up for the New Year.  Daddy has to work the next morning to get the production lines back up and running, so staying up until midnight isn't a good idea for him.  And Mommy gets such little sleep as it is, and I don't think I could stay awake that long.  Mommy thought maybe we could stay up until 10 and Celebrate it with Indiana on Indiana time.  I think that's a better idea.  I just don't know if we can find the New York ball drop on TV since we are on Colorado time.  We'll see.  Oh, and we are FINALLY supposed to get some snow Tomorrow!!!  It's been so long since we had ANY precipitation, things are so dry out here.  But tomorrow it looks like we could get at least a couple inches.  Daddy was hoping for a blizzard like New York and everybody on the East Coast got, but I don't think we will get that lucky.  I just want to be able to put on my boots and play outside in it!! 

Well, Have a good New Years everyone!!  We'll See you Next Year!!  hahaha

Happy Birthday Jayce!!

Well, now that we are home a little settled I thought I would tell you all about Jayce's Birthday and how we've been doing since. 

Early last Tuesday morning, just after Cam left for work (that makes it before 5 am), I felt like I was leaking fluids.  I wasn't sure (since I was induced with Riley and don't remember much about my water breaking other than the intense pain that soon followed!!), but I couldn't fall back asleep so I just sat in bed thinking, trying to decide what to do next.  Well, as if God knew what I was thinking (and he does of course!!), about 20 to 6 my water broke - I WAS SURE THIS TIME!!!  So I called Cameron at work and he came right home.  We packed everything up, woke up Riley and took him to our neighbor's house and headed for the hospital.  We arrived a little after 7 am, but my contractions weren't anything to speak of so they ordered me to walk.  And so I walked. . . and walked . . . and walked . . . and walked some more!!!  My doula Cj walked with me; we also tried a birthing ball and some massage.  But by noon I was only at 2 cm.  So I got into the jacuzzi tub (Fabulous invention - my next bathroom WILL have one of these!!) and they hooked me up to pitocin.  Since my water broke they needed to speed things up because of the concern for infection.  After an hour in the jacuzzi tub I got out and was starting to feel the effects of the pitocin. 

By 4 o'clock the contractions were intense enough I was ready for an epidural.  Cj was helping me to breathe through them, and the Doctors and Nurses said I did a great job lasting as long as I did.  I credit Cj.  By the time the anesthesiologist was doing the epidural, the contractions were so intense I couldn't even feel what he was doing.  They said that's when you know you got the timing right!  We did have some issues with getting the medication right and the next half hour or so was still pretty painful.  The doctor checked me again around 5 and I was already at 7 cm!!!  Woo-Hoo - Jayce was on his way!!!

It was this time that Cameron started prepping for his job as photographer . . . except for one problem:  He couldn't find the camera!!  In all the hustle and bustle that morning he had left the camera bag (and the diaper bag we later discovered) sitting in the living room!  While I panicked, Cam tried to figure out what to do!  Again, my fabulous doula Cj to the rescue!!!  She drove all the way to our house (25-30 min drive each way) to get the camera, so that Cam could stay (just in case!) 

Just after 6:00 the doctor checked me again and I was at 10 and Jayce was ready to come out!!  But I was determined to make him wait for that camera!!  It wasn't easy, but we held off until about 6:20 to start prepping everything and I knew that Cj was on her way up the elevator!!  Cameron got the camera about 30 seconds before I started pushing and Jayce was here about 20 minutes later!!  Phew!!!  It was a whirlwind!! 

They wanted to hold off on giving him a bath because his temperature was a little lower than they liked, around 97 degrees.  They gave him to me to do Skin-to-Skin and try to warm him up, but after an hour of it not working we determined that the problem was because MY temperature was low!!  They put him under the warmer and everything was fine!  He held that temperature just perfectly!  I was finally able to eat something, and we were in the post-delivery room by 10:30.  It was a crazy day!! 

Jayce is absolutely perfect, just like his brother!!  And he looks a lot like his brother too!  He doesn't have as much hair as Riley had, but still a full head of it!  I wanted to post some comparative photos, but we are still dealing with computer issues and I don't have access to Riley's pictures right now.  But you can see the pictures from Jayce's birth, and the following couple days at the hospital in the Kodak album posted at the right. 

We came home Thursday afternoon, and my wonderful neighbor had made dinner for us!  So once again we didn't have to cook!  Grandma & Grandpa Louie arrived Friday afternoon, and have been loving every minute of time spent with Riley and Jayce!  It's been nice and relaxing (other than some last minute Christmas gift details we are working on) and we are looking forward to the next few days at home!  Because Cameron got all last week off, he has to go back to work tomorrow, but only through Thursday since he gets Christmas Eve off already!  Grandma and Grandpa will be here til Thursday too, so there's lots more family time ahead.  Next post will probably be about our wonderful Christmas as a new family, so for now enjoy the pictures of Jayce's birthday!!  Have a Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Jayce Moway Louie

Happy Birthday Jayce!!!  We welcomed Jayce into the world yesterday, 12-14, at 6:43 pm.  He weighed in at 7 lbs 5 oz, and 20 inches long, just a smidge bigger than Riley when he was born.  Both Mommy and Jayce are doing great, and we'll be home tomorrow afternoon, just in time for Grandma & Grandpa to get here on Friday!!  Pictures still to come...

Friday's the day!!!

Hi Everyone!!  I hope all of you in Indy are staying warm and cozy during your snow storm!  Here in Colorado we are very jealous!!!  We have had little to no snow so far this year, and with none in the immediate forecast our dreams of a white Christmas are slowly disappearing.  The temperature was a balmy 62 at 2:30 today, and add the wonderful Colorado sun on top of it and it was almost like late September or April here rather than Middle of December! 

Well, a lot to update you on from this week!  Last Thursday I went to the Doctor and made some arrangements for Jayce’s birthday!  As of then, I was one and a half cm dilated, (I know it’s not much, but since I was at 0 when I was induced a week after my due date with Riley this is a BIG Deal!!) and almost 60% effaced.  According to my Dr. I “could go at anytime!!”  And I think that’s the only reason she let me schedule my induction date, because she doesn’t think I’ll make it that far!!  Well, it’s now Monday night and other than the few contractions I get around dinner time every evening . . . Nothing yet!!!  I’m scheduled to be induced on Friday Morning (if nothing happens before then), and so it’s nice to have a light at the end of the tunnel!  Cam’s parents come into town that day, so by inducing as early as possible they will get to spend even more time with their new grandson!  We are very grateful that they are coming to visit, and help out with Riley during this time!  I have so many wonderful friends offering to watch him if needed (and one exceptional one who I will be taking advantage of that morning!!) but it’s great to let him spend so much one-on-one time with his grandparents too! 

We also have a lot to tell you about what we've been up to lately!  I've been trying to "document" to the greatest extent I can our "Month of December" for a scrapbook.  We had a lady come and talk at MOPS about doing a "Day in the life" scrapbook to savor your life's moments at this point in time.  I was intrigued by this and did some more research and found someone who does a "Month in the life", and she suggests doing December because of so many holiday traditions that happen during this time.  I thought it was a great idea, and what better December to document that one that is occurring with so many changes to our family!  The idea is to journal and take pictures everyday, or almost everyday and just record daily life.  If you don't have anything for that day you can fill in with other topics like the story behind a favorite ornament or tradition.  I've done pretty well so far at keeping track of everything we've done, and have taken a bunch of pictures, so I'd love to share some of them with you. 

Cuties are in Season (both the oranges and this little man!!)

Time for Haircuts . . .

Riley decided he wanted to try too!!

At the Indoor Bounce Place with Greg

IHOP Brunch with Daddy

First Trip to a Movie Theater - to see the new Narnia

Last week was quite entertaining!!  After just giving the boys haircuts earlier in the week I spent an entire naptime on Wed wrapping presents.  Not thinking to much of it I left all the wrapping materials on the living room floor (there were still a few straggling gifts to wrap tomorrow).  Thursday morning I got in the shower while Riley was eating breakfast and watching PBS cartoons.  I got out and got dressed, and then got him dressed I noticed his hair looked a little funny in front, like it was sticking up from sleeping on it wrong.  Then I touched it, to attempt to flatten it, and noticed that it was fuzzy and short, not sticking up.  He had CUT HIS HAIR while I was in the shower!!  I didn't know whether to laugh or cry!!  I had just given him a haircut, so I couldn't "even it out any" without completely shaving him!  So that should make for some interesting pictures this holiday season, and when his brother is born!! 

Then on Friday we went to an indoor bounce place with our great neighbor friends.  Greg and Riley had a BLAST!!!  They ran, jumped, and slid for over 3 hours straight!!  And Lacey and I always enjoy chatting while the boys play!  Everyone was getting cabin fever with the colder temps and this was exactly what we all needed!!  We are definitely going to be doing this more often!  Saturday was My Day!  It was a GREAT DAY!!  I wanted to see the new Narnia movie before Jayce was born, and so we decided to take Riley to his first movie in the theater.  We went to IHOP for "brunch" since it was a 11:55 movie, and then got some snacks at the theater.  Riley did great!!  It wasn't a cartoon movie, so it didn't hold his entire attention, but once the dragon showed up, he was captured!!  The movie was great too!!  I especially like the part with Lucy and Aslan towards the end, but it's been so long since I've read the books I don't remember that being in there.  Guess I'll have to re-read them all again when I finally get some time!  After the movie I was able to get one last massage with my doula CJ.  It was so nice and relaxing!!  Much needed indeed!! 

Yesterday I had a dinner and gift exchange with my MOPS Steering team, and today was our last MOPS meeting of the year.  It's so nice to have other moms to connect with and relate to during this time!  And the support is so wonderful!  One of my Fabulous MOPS friends brought us dinner tonight, knowing that this week would be stressful for me, cleaning and waiting, and doing any last minute prep work.  I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful group of friends that would drop anything to help out another! 

So now the waiting game starts!!  (as if it hasn't already)  ;)  I will update again after Jayce arrives, to tell you he's here as soon as I can (thanks to our fabulous new smartphones!!!), but will probably hold off on the details and a longer post until we've been home and settled for a few days.  Have a good week everyone, and feel free to send any snow our way!! 

Oh Christmas Trees

What a week we have had!!  You won’t believe all that we’ve done!!  Well, I’ll start with after Thanksgiving.  Daddy spent most of the weekend working on Computer stuff.  We have needed a new computer for a while now, and since we can finally afford it now, that’s our #1 priority.  So Daddy got some really good deals on parts to build one (yes, my genius Daddy can build a computer!!) on Black Friday.  Mommy and Daddy say that the new computer is their Christmas present to each other, that way they save even more money on it.  And I heard that Daddy’s gonna wipe the old computer and give it to me just for games and stuff – isn’t that COOL!!! 

On Wednesday, Mommy’s church lit up their Christmas Tree.  It’s a Night Lights Tree – meaning every light bulb on the tree represents someone who has sponsored an abused child in our community to help give them a better life.  Isn’t that Cool!!  There are a bunch of lights on it this year – way more than last year!!  Anyways, we went to watch them light it up.  It was a lot of fun!!  Mommy and Daddy said that maybe one year we can watch something like it in Indy, since it’s a lot bigger than this one – I would like to see that, cuz this one’s pretty big if you ask me!!  It’s almost as tall as the Church Steeple!! 

Then on Friday Mommy and I went to church again, but this time for MOPS.  I know what you’re thinking – MOPS on a Friday Night???  Yep, MOPS hosted a Parent’s Night Out – Babysitting and Gift Wrapping for parents who wanted to go out.  Mommy did the Craft for all the kids, so we got to make really neat Santa Cards with our Handprints!!  Mommy hasn’t gotten a picture of mine yet, so you’ll have to wait to see it. 

Saturday we did accomplished our annual tradition of chopping down our Christmas tree from the forest.  Mommy was scared we wouldn’t be able to do it this year with Jayce being in her tummy, but we did it!!  We packed a lunch, drove up to the site near Red Feather Lakes and ate.  Then Mommy and I hung out at the car for a little while Daddy went Tree Scouting.  He got lucky and found a nice one really close to the car, so Mommy decided she would hike out to take some pictures.  We hiked out, and got to our tree in no time - Good Find Daddy!!

 

 Daddy did a good job of chopping it down.  It was a really tall tree, and Mommy wanted to leave as much on it as we could so that it wouldn't loose it's pretty shape.  So Daddy drug it back to the Jeep and we strapped it on, after figuring out that it was over 13 ft. tall!!  But Mommy still didn't want to chop any more off. 

 Then we got it home (after stopping at Walmart to get Twilight Eclipse DVD for Mommy), and Mommy still wouldn't let Daddy cut any off of it.  She Really Liked This Tree!!!  Crazy Mommy!!  So we finally got it in the house (after a lot of furniture moving and tugging and pulling), put it in our tree stand (which is only rated to hold a 10 foot tree) and The thing did NOT fit!!!  Duh Mommy!!  So Daddy finally convinced Mommy to let him cut some off, the only problem . . . it was already in the living room!  And yes, that's where Daddy Cut it!!  He took the lid of a big plastic bin to catch all the sawdust and chopped another foot and a half of the thing!  (that's as far as Mommy would let him go!!)  But we did it - we got the tree standing and secured in the stand - thankfully it's a skinny tree, otherwise I don't think our tiny stand would hold it!  But it definitely took some stretching to get it decorated!! 

 Not too mention we bought LED lights for our tree this year (but only two strands) and they only covered the top half of the tree, so we had to put on our old mini-lights on the bottom until we can get more LEDs (that's why it looks like there aren't any on the bottom!!)  Mommy let me put the first ornament on the tree, and I helped her decorate it!!  I'm not very good at hanging the ornaments, but Mommy was patient and helped me, mostly!!  Then she and Daddy watched her weirdo vampire movie!

On Sunday Mommy's friend Laurel came over and played with me while Mommy and Daddy went out.  They did some Christmas shopping (and said I couldn't go with them) and went to dinner and a movie.  It was the first Date they've had in a LOOOOOONG time, and Mommy said it was so wonderful!!  They had really good Chinese food (Chili House - their favorite!) and went to see the new Harry Potter Movie.  I wanted to go see that too, but Mommy says I have to wait until I'm older to see this one - it's really scary!!  I've only seen the first couple that they play on TV all the time.  Mommy wants to go see more movies before Jayce comes, but she doesn't know if she'll be able too.  This weekend the new Chronicles of Narnia comes out, and next weekend is the Yogi Bear Movie.  I wanna see those too!!  Maybe they will take me to see them!  

Well, not much else planned right now.  Just waiting for Jayce to come!  Mommy has an appointment on Thursday, so we'll know more about how close she's getting then.  Then Next weekend Grandma & Grandpa Louie come out to visit!!  I'm excited!!  Mommy thinks that Jayce is going to be a "hold-out" like I was, although I know she's secretly hoping not!!  But if he is, then her Doctor will induce her when Grandma & Grandpa are here.  That way they can stay with me, and see Jayce before they leave, and Mommy can bring him home before Christmas!!  YAY!!!  So I'll update you all later after More happens - what a busy Month we have!!