New Year, New Beginnings

2013 marks a new year for my little family as it will be our first year as a family of four! I'm not sure why, but going from a family of three to four makes me feel so much more grown up. I feel like I finally have everything that I've ever hoped and dreamed for.

And while we are far from being perfect, I feel like we're perfect as a family. Does that make any sense? I really can't put this feeling into words beside saying that I feel whole.  I feel complete, and I feel an overwhelming amount of love.  I think I spent so many years fretting and being overwhelmed with getting to this point in my life that I wasn't able to enjoy everything as I am today.

I hope this feeling sticks around for a good long time:)

I haven't made any resolutions for the new year, I rarely do.  Sure, I'd love to lose these last 10 pregnancy pounds but that doesn't really count as a resolution.  One thing that I have changed thus far in the new year is making the most of my maternity leave and cooking for my family.

I know, pick yourself off of the floor.

This momma has taken up healthy cooking! I'm learning how to really grocery shop, menu plan, and stock our pantry.  Mr. and Jackson have enjoyed many a home cooked meals, including the table being set when they walk in the door.  My wish and goal for myself is to be able to keep this up once I go back to work and when Mattie does a little more than eat, sleep and poop during our days together;) Let me know if you'd be interested in seeing what I'm cooking each week?!?

As for the actual new year, we rang it in with a bang, literally...We spent the night at my mom's house since it was my sister's last night in town...and well just safer to stay put.  The boys got enough fireworks to put on quite a show to keep things exciting on an otherwise low-key evening with four babies in the house.  We will forever remember the year that Mr. set off a roman candle that miss-fired and shot in the house! It could have been way worse and we have a black mark on the brick column to prove it! No one was hurt or injured, thank God.  And it makes for a great story, but I think next year we'll opt for sparklers instead:)

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Mattie's Newborn Photos

The Friday after Mattie was born we had a photographer come to the house to take her newborn photos. Two hours later, I think Abbie captured some great images of our almost week-old baby girl!

Birth announcements have been ordered and I'm taking measurements and planning out a photo gallery wall. I just love how sweet these turned out!

Here's a collection of my favorites:)

"Sometimes being a Big Brother is even better than being a Super Hero"

 

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Christmas Memories 2012

I thought for sure that last year's Christmas/surprise trip to Disney would be impossible to beat, but this was the most memorable Christmas yet!

Let me back up a bit to make note of the entire holiday season.  Jackson is at the age now that truly makes Christmas (and everyday) magical.   Even being 9 months pregnant during the month of December, I tried my best to give the season my all because of the joy it brought to Jackson.  From nightly drives through the neighborhoods to look at the "pretty decorations" to singing jingle bells every night on our way home. These are the memories I will hold near and dear to my heart.

Santa, oh Santa, how memorizing you are in his eyes.  Even the tacky blow-up ones that cover the lawns of most neighborhoods.  Now that the decorations are coming down, my sweet boy has decided that you all blew away up the chimney with Santa and Buddy (the elf) back to the North Pole.

Speaking of Buddy the elf, you made this Christmas for Jackson.  The first night you joined our house, you made the mistake of resting on a shelf in Jackson's room.  This caused serious problems when it was time for you to report back to Santa at the North Pole at 11PM and a certain little boy was still sitting wide-eyed in his bed, watching and waiting for you to fly away.  Yes, Buddy, that was the last night you took up space in his room! Please be sure to warn the Tooth Fairy;)

Mr. and I were sure that Christmas Eve would be much like Buddy's first night at the house.  But, much to our surprise, Jackson slept through the night...unlike his baby sister:)  Christmas morning started out slow and sleepy and quickly turned into a fast and furious scramble.  This may or may not have been my fault.  Jackson woke up and didn't take much interest in the new presents under the tree.  So my sweet husband turned on a show and snuggled with him on the couch and let me sleep.  Yes, I made my son wait for Christmas morning so I could catch another hour of sleep.  New mom fog!

The biggest surprise of Christmas was a swing set (Jackson calls it his playground) that Santa brought for the kids.  My brother-in-law and step-dad assembled the entire thing while we were in the hospital! So, my parents called at 9AM to say that they were on their way over after a change of heart over wanting to see Jackson's reaction to the swing set.  And from that point, Christmas was on!

Jackson was so surprised by the swing set, which was quickly overshadowed by his sadness when he realized that Buddy was gone back to the North Pole.  A meltdown later and a huge lesson learned for next year, we were back on track.  Presents were torn through at our house until Jackson opened his T-Rex from Santa (the one and only thing he really wanted, which was discontinued and Amazon saved the day).

Once Jackson was satisfied with his new dino, he was ready to head to Loli & Pops for more presents! So, we packed everything up and headed to our next Christmas at my mom's.

A delicious breakfast was served in our matching pj's, with mimosas and coffee with Bailey's.  And much to our surprise, Santa was very good to us at my mom's house as well.  On top of an all-inclusive, all-expenses paid, week at a 5-star resort in Aruba for the 4th of July, Santa loaded the family room with presents and castles!

The rest of the day was spent playing with new toys, nursing babies and catching quick naps when we could.  We ran home to get cleaned up and waited for my Dad and his girlfriend to arrive from St. Louis. Christmas was certainly not over, as we had a nice dinner planned back at my mom's.  And because the more, the merrier, Mr.'s dad's side of the family joined us for a visit too! It was so nice to be able to camp out and have everyone travel to us to see sweet Mattie Jayne and celebrate Jesus' birthday!

After dinner we had a cake with candles and sang Happy Birthday to Jesus.  It is after all what the holiday is all about!

My dad and Nancy spent the rest of the week at out house, which was so nice.  We didn't do much at all during their stay, but the days went by so fast.  We spent a lot of time lounging by the fire, playing with all of Jackson's new toys and getting to know our new baby girl.

I wouldn't have changed one thing about the holiday, except for maybe the weather! I'm so over the rain and ready for some sunshiney afternoons on Jackson's new playground:)

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

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Our Christmas Eve Homecoming

It was no secret that my Christmas wish this year was for all of us to be home, as a family of 4, on Christmas morning. I'm still pinching myself that my wish and dreams came true and life is better than I ever imagined it to be.

Delivering Mattie just past midnight on Friday night/Saturday morning made for a bit of exhaustion leading into the newborn sleep deprivation. When my doctor gave me the choice of going home on Sunday or waiting until Monday (Christmas Eve) morning, Mr. and I both knew without a doubt that we needed one more night of nursery care and sleep to rejuvenate for our new family life.

We missed Jackson, and our beds like crazy, but my mom lives around the block from the hospital so we got frequent visits from Jackson. And well our need for sleep outweighed our need for our own bed:) My mom's house was full of fun with all my siblings home and cousins running around like crazy, so Jackson was in heaven all weekend.  To keep things exciting, Jackson's ear drum ruptured on Saturday from his infection earlier in the week.  Another plus to staying in the hospital was that my pediatrician was able to treat both of my babies and saved my mom hours in the urgent care!

On Christmas Eve morning, we packed up our belonging and waited to be discharged.  Our hospital stay was really great and our nurses went above and beyond, especially on Monday.  My mom brought Jackson to "go home" with us and the nurses helped make our trip extra special.  Jackson got to ride with me and Mattie in the wheelchair and we made a quick stop to let Jackson push the newborn, lullaby, button.  Jackson was more impressed with the under the sea wall then the actual lullaby, as any 3.5 year old boy would be:)

Mr. and my mom got us loaded into the car and home we went...just long enough to unpack and catch quick naps before it was time to start the Christmas celebration chaos.  In keeping with family tradition, we headed to Mr.'s mom's house for Christmas Eve dinner and presents.  And as if that wasn't enough excitement just days after having a baby, we then headed to my mom's house so that I could visit with my family for a bit.  The hardest part about being in the hospital was knowing that my sister was in town and I missed out on a few days with her.

As soon as we got to my mom's, aprons were put on and a Christmas cookie marathon began...what would Santa do without Christmas cookies when he came down the chimney?!? A mixer may or may not have blown up and Mr. may or may not have saved the cooking day once again:)

Once the cookies were done and milk was poured for Santa, we took our sweet babies home to spread reindeer food on our yard and slip into bed for a quick nap before the magic of Christmas literally melted my heart!

 

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