Tis' the Season

As I have gotten older and become a mother, I have learned from first hand experience that the old adage "when it rains it pours" is most definitely true. Since bringing Parker home from the hospital we have been suffering from more than sleep deprivation (although that is starting to make me a bit crazy, too.) Poor Aidan got the stomach flu shortly after Parker got home, and in an effort to give him and the rest of the family from getting it, we exiled him to Grammy Sally's house for a few days. Almost as soon as he came home, the cough started. Emma got it next, and then Matthew got the worst cold he's ever had the entire time I've known him. We finally got everyone to the doctor and on antibiotics, so hopefully the sickness will have left our house in time for Christmas. On the brighter side, Parker is now almost three weeks old, and is doing great (aside from spitting up all over our bed in the middle of the night, and the four diaper changes every five minutes...) He is starting to hold his head up a bit, he is sleeping pretty well, only getting up about twice a night, and eating really well. Aside from all the illness we've had around here the last few weeks, we have so much to be grateful for this holiday season and I couldn't be happier that we are a family of five this Christmas!

Before Parker Arrived...

...here is what we were up to a few days before our family grew from four to five!



Aidan at the park the day after Thanksgiving! He really like playing crochet (I hope I am spelling that right?)



The day after Thanksgiving Aidan also turned three!!!! Here he is with his present....



...and here he is playing with it! We got him a little cash register with money and debit/credit cards and food to check out. He loved it and played with it all day. Now, however, it spends most of it's time in the toy box. How quickly they lose interest :(



Emma has been using the potty sporadically over the last few weeks. I think the fact that Aidan uses the potty has prompted her to want to as well.



Our first Thanksgiving dinner! In years past we have always gone to my in-laws, but this year we celebrated Thanksgiving at home, and cooked ourselves.

Parker David Carpenter

Don't let the smile and happy demeanor fool you, Monday, December 1st started out as one crazy, hectic day....

Sunday night was typical. I didn't sleep much-- I was up multiple times a night to go to the bathroom, and because of my gigantic tummy and constant pelvic pain, I couldn't get comfortable. At around 5:00 am I started to feel crampy and so I gave up trying to sleep. Pretty quickly I realized I was having contractions, but they were only about 7 minutes apart. After about an hour or so I let Matthew know I thought I was in labor. Because I had been dilated to 4 cm for a week or so, we decided to just go to the hospital instead of waiting for the contractions to get 5 minutes apart. We called my mom, showered, got packed and were heading to the hospital by 6:30 am. In the car, however, my contractions came closer and closer together, until they were just two minutes apart. We got to the hopsital at 7:15 am, were sent to triage to make sure I was actually in labor (no one believed me, because I was handling the pain well and they all said if my contractions were two minutes apart I would be screaming.) They checked me, and I was 6 cm. They decided to admit me. By the time I got to my room a half an hour later, I was almost 10 cm and was ready to push. There was no time for an epidural, which I was planning on getting and after some crying, and begging, I accepted that I was going to have an ALL natural, drug free delivery and after 15 minutes of pushing, screaming, and more crying Parker David Carpenter made his grand entrance into the world at 8:03 am.


Later that evening family came to visit us. Here is Aidan holding his baby brother for the first time.


Grammy Sally, Aidan, and Emma in a group hug!


One of Parker's first pictures. He weighed 7lbs. 3 ounces and was 19 inches long. Welcome to the world Parker, we are so happy you are a part of our family!!

Amanda's Banana Cookies

My kids having been spending a lot of time with both of my sister-in-laws lately, while I have been on bed rest. My sister-in-law Amanda made cookies with the kids one day last week while they were at her house, and as you can see from the pictures, Emma thoroughly enjoyed eating them...especially with no hands!


This picture is my favorite. She has that look on her face like "what? Don't bug me, I have my own way of eating these cookies!" Thank you Amanda for always making the time my children spend with you, so much fun!

Grateful

Lately I've been thinking a lot about gratitude. Mostly because I have a lot to be grateful for these days. Having been on bed rest for the last few weeks due to preterm labor, and my recently diagnosed SPD http://www.babyworld.co.uk/information/pregnancy/pregnancyproblems/pregprobs_pelvicjointpain.asp I have had a great deal of time to think. I am the type of person that is easily caught up in the things that are going wrong, and it is typical for me to lose sight of all that is going "right." Ironically enough, it has been during this time of everything going wrong that I realize just how incredibly lucky I am. By the world's definition, we are not a rich family, we are not a famous family, we are not even a family that has it all together...but we are a special family, because we have each other. It has taken me a long time to learn that who we are and how we treat each other means so much more that what we have. It is very hard for me to accept help from others, and recently that is exactly what I have had to do. To humble myself and ask my family and friends for help, especially help with my kids. And I have been blown away by just how much help I have been given. By my mother, mother-in-law, sisters-in-law, friends, and most especially my own husband.

Matthew works 40+ hours a week as an electrical engineer at Raytheon, owns a web design business on the side(another 15-20 hours a week worth of work) and has some how managed, in addition to all of that, to take over the cooking, cleaning, and needs of our children. He has also managed to finish tiling our kitchen floor this weekend (he still needs to grout and move back the appliances, but he's done so much!) He also finds time to get my pregnancy cravings from restaurants across town, rub my back almost every night, and spend time talking to me before going into his office and starting on his second job. I don't know where he finds his energy, patience, or strength, but I am so, so grateful for who my husband is as a person.

Below are a few pictures of just how wonderful of a husband I have:

Matthew STILL tiling the kitchen at 11:00 pm, after having tiled all day long...

...wishing I would stop taking pictures and leave him alone to finish!

Reading the kids a story after having worked a very long day, done two loads of laundry, fed the kids dinner, given them their baths and gotten them ready for bed...

...he still manages to smile and enjoy being a dad to our kids!

Mug Shot....?

Matthew recently watched an old home video, where his father chronicled the growth of his beard. After that, I noticed that Matthew wasn't shaving anymore. I sighed internally and waited patiently as my husband followed in his father's footsteps. After about two weeks however, I was begging him to shave! But, he wouldn't shave until I took a picture, to document his ability to grow a moustache. So, here it is, the evidence, that if given long enough, even my husband can grow facial hair. Congratulations honey! And thank you for finally shaving again!

Baby in a Basket

Emma's new favorite thing to do is find a laundry basket...and if there are clothes in it, clean or dirty, she will dump them out, bring the basket into the family room and immediately get inside, where she will demand that you place all her Little People's Farm Animals in the basket for her to play with. And by play with I mean that she will take them all out one by one and throw them on the floor, and then you have to put them back...Matthew just LOVED playing that game with her :)