Merry Christmas!

A Christmas photo shoot story in pictures...

These brothers truly love each other.

Big brother Alex is 3.5 years

Middle Brother, Henry, is 21 months.

Baby Ben, is 9 months.

Henry loves to give Ben sweet kisses.

Alex is interested in nature.

Henry is determined to ride something with wheels.

These boys simply cannot resist mud. They found it a mere 2 minutes into the photo shoot.

The end result - super muddy hands...a little boy's ideal Christmas photo. =)

What an evolution of photos we get each year of our boys. This year the entire photo shoot lasted about 3 minutes. Such fun, though! Glad we get to capture them in action and get a few to put on the Christmas card.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Why, Hello Fall!

Guess it's better late than never. I've learned that Fall in Houston is late...as in, Christmas almost came first kind of late. But at least it comes.

This year the colors are amazing. We are enjoying being outside and savoring the beauty all around us. My boys love to play in the leaves and we are enjoying bike rides on the trail with leaves falling all around us. It is making for a colorful holiday season this year. Many people enjoy a blanket of white this time of year, but we have been blessed with a blanket of red, yellow, and orange. It makes quite the Christmas decor!

My big boys.

Fall:

Look, a tiny hint of Christmas:

Riding Solo.
When did my boy get so big?
Yesterday he said he wanted the training wheels off.
And today he is riding like a pro.
I thought my heart would burst with pride.
There are many days when being a full time Mommy isn't very fun.
But one day like today tends to erase all the other not fun ones.
So fun to see him try, learn, and succeed.
Ride on, my Boy!
Ride on.

November...

This month I'm loving my new living room. Especially loving the mantle.

Little Men.

I finally got some real portraits of my boys....all in the same day, all in the same hour. A real photography feat! Handsome little men, if I say so myself...

Happy Anniversary.

Look at this stunningly handsome man. So thankful he became my husband 4 years ago today.

I couldn't be happier!

Mighty Machines.


My sons LOVE huge machines...dozers, trash trucks, cranes, dumpers, you name it, they love it. Imagine their pure delight when we came home today to find a yellow dozer right out front. Bummer for our neighbors, who have a broken water line. But major bonus for my boys who got to watch the action up close!

My only question for the dozer man? How do you expect me to proceed with naptime while you work?!

Looks like today will consist of two very tired boys spending their "naptime" standing at the window watching the dozer's every move.

I won't complain, though, because they just look too darn cute in their dozer excitement. I'm so glad my camera was nearby today....it is not often that I can capture them sitting so close together and so perfectly still.

Baby Ben

also known as Big Brown Eyed Baby!
He's five months old now...where does the time go?

Henry's Girl Twin.

This is my super cute niece. We went on vacation with my entire family last week and I had the chance to try taking a couple of photos for my family. I thought this little pic of Alice in the woods turned out great....

Not difficult to tell that she and Henry are cousins, huh? They are only about six weeks apart, but could almost pass for twins!

The Final Harvest.


My husband is the green thumb at our house and he grew all sorts of yummy things in our backyard this summer. We had one fabulous harvest of tomatoes and then they were discovered by the birds and squirrels...and completely obliterated! But these peppers ran the course. They are full of color, spice, and gardening love.

Henry's One Year Portrait.


Special thanks to Adam Nyholt's The Studio for taking it!

Gig 'em.

Mommy and Ben, our littlest Aggie.

Rain Today.

Hooray!

One Month Old.

Ben's Birth Day.

I know there are a lot of mamas who read this blog and many of you are interested in birth stories. If you aren't so interested, you can just skip this post and wait for the next one with a cute baby picture. =)

Ben's Birth Story could be summed up in a short version:
Saturday morning - 5:30 AM the alarm goes off.
Water breaks at 5:31 AM.
Go to the hospital.
Have the baby at 10:49 AM.
Move to recovery for afternoon nap time.

Seriously, it could be summed up that simply.

But for those of you who want details, here they are...

The Longer Version:
So far, Ben has inserted himself right into our family schedule without missing a beat. My main prayer for this delivery is that it would happen in the morning because I have so much more energy in the morning. And I'm too old for all-nighters anymore. So thankfully, Ben decided he'd like to arrive on Saturday morning after a good night of sleep for Mommy. It was also the same Saturday Mimi was scheduled to arrive at noon. Perfect! When my water broke as the alarm was still going off, I immediately said a prayer of praise. We got into "go" mode and got everything ready for the boys to wake up. We arranged for a friend to come stay with the boys until our nanny came and then had a nice family breakfast together - the last one as a family of four.

It was important for me to get to the hospital well before my delivery because I needed to get IV antibiotics for Strep B. I've been positive for all three pregnancies and Henry's was so quick, I didn't get there in time for them to even get an IV. My doctor had made me promise I would show up early this time! So we got to the hospital around 8:00 a.m. We told the nurse that I was going to go very quickly and the IV should get in soon. (After the antibiotics are given, you have to wait 4 hours and get a second dose to be fully covered.) I got the dose and she said, "Okay, now all you have to do is wait til 1:00 p.m. to have this baby." She was totally serious and I laughed. I told her that I wouldn't even make it til noon.

Once we were all hooked up to the IV and settled in our room, Jason and I began breathing through the contractions. I sat on the birth ball and we took them one at a time. I started to progress quickly and when the nurse kept coming to check, I told her that we were gonna go quick here. When it got to the point that I was feeling pressure and needing to push, the nurse and the resident told me that my doctor was in a C-section and I would need to wait as long as possible to push. Now, if you are a mama, you KNOW that you cannot wait to push! They had me get on the bed on my side and try to slow things down. It wasn't working. They were getting the room all ready for delivery. Still no doctor. Only the resident. (Who, I might add, looked very freaked out by a lady in active labor in a natural delivery...it's anything but calm, folks!)

At this point, Jason told me later that he was getting very nervous that only the resident was there. She was timid and didn't say much and this made him real nervous. Finally I made it very clear that I needed to push. Then I heard a man's voice in the room that sounded like a drill sergeant. Seriously, he walked in and was in charge. It was not my doctor, but still, a clearly seasoned OB who was ready to catch my baby. Jason was relieved. And I probably would have been had I known what was happening.

Ben came out with one push at 10:49 a.m. I heard him crying. Then I heard the doctor instructing the resident on how to finish things out. Thankfully I had no injuries that had to be tended to - another answered prayer. When it was all said and done, the OB who made the guest appearance at my delivery kept saying over and over, "well, she did a d*mn good job. A d*mn good job for a natural delivery." Hey, I guess of all the things people can say to you after you give birth to a baby, I'll take it! Better than "Wow, did you see that huge kid come out of that tiny..." Never mind. You get my drift.

Ben checked out healthy and we headed upstairs to recovery just after my mom arrived for a visit. Jason, Ben, and I enjoyed an afternoon nap and my boys at home hardly missed a beat.

Three cheers for giving birth on Saturday morning! If I do it again, I'll definitely add that to my birth wish list.

But right now, I'm not thinking about doing it again. Just enjoying sweet little Ben and all his newborn-ness. =)

Sweet Little Ben.

Happy One Week Birthday, Buddy!

Our New Brother.


New Brother (as Alex calls him) arrived yesterday. He's a little bundle of joy!

Benjamin Gene
born March 12, 2011 @ 10:49 a.m.
7 lbs. 8 oz.
19 inches long

We are grateful for this gift from God.

Happy 1st Birthday, Henry!

before cake.

after cake.

38 Weeks

Still waiting on Baby Brother to arrive.
Hopefully just about 10 more days...or less.

Nesting....Again.

Well since my children are napping and I have a little time on my hands, I thought I'd do a nesting post...again.

If you read my family blog, you'll know that we completed Henry's early birthday party, which was pretty much the last of my to do list. The freezer is full and so is the pantry. The closets are all cleaned out. The newborn clothes are laundered and ready. The bag is packed. Nothing to do now except wait on Baby #3. I am such a list checker offer that I am so grateful that the list is done. And, of course, now I'll start some other new project to keep me busy until Baby comes. It's the task oriented human being's way, I guess.

I thought I'd start this nesting series (I have no idea how much time/energy I'll have to write too many posts, but we'll see) with a little list I've been compiling in my head for a while now...

It's called
Things You Should Never Say to a Pregnant Lady.
I'll start with the actual words that people say to me, followed by my internal interpretation of them:

"Wow. Do you know how much that baby weighs?" I hear, Geez lady, you are huge and your kid is probably going to be a fatso too.

"Do you know if you are dilated?" Seriously, stranger, are you asking about my nether regions? Cause that's just weird.

"It looks like it's dropped." You are trying to make me feel better that maybe the baby will come soon. Thank you. This one isn't as painful to hear but still...how should I respond? Thank you for noticing that my tummy is low...I guess.

"You are gonna have your hands full." Mostly this comment comes from people who see me with my two other children (ages 2.5 & 12 months). If I had a quarter for every time someone said it, I'd be paying for my children's college education. I'd love to offer an alternative. How about, "Wow, these two children are completely angelic and behaving so well in this grocery store that I'm certain your next baby will be a piece of cake."

"When's that baby due? Oh my goodness, six more weeks! Girl, are you gonna make it?" Well, yes, I will. But thank you for pointing out that it looks like I'm not gonna make it. =)

"Wow. Is there just one baby in there?!" Yes, skinny lady, there is. And if there were more, the three or four of us would gladly kick you in the shins for saying such a silly thing.

I also receive strange looks from people when I am out with Henry (my 12 mo. old) and I'm nine+ months pregnant. They look at him, look at me, look at him, look at me. Then they say, "So, when's your baby due? And how old is he (pointing at Henry)?" Then, they are certainly doing math gymnastics in their head to figure out how/when I got pregnant. One lady even said, "wow, just after the 6 week check up, huh?" Seriously, people. It creeps me out that you are thinking about the process of me getting pregnant. Just say, "oh they'll be close together, huh? They'll be best friends." That's much more positive and much less creepy.

"You haven't had that baby yet?" No I haven't. Evident by the huge tummy I'm still sporting.

I'm sure many of you have something to add to the discussion. Feel free to chime in on the comment section if you want to share something.

And here's a free PSA: If you want to say something to a pregnant woman, how about, "wow, you look great! Congratulations!" Cause that's what every pregnant lady wants to hear. Of course, you should make sure they are pregnant first. =) If in doubt, say nothing!

36.5


Oh man this plant run the course! I planted my "baby plant" when I was pregnant with Alex and it is now 3 years old. It has now counted all three pregnancies and kept its lovely place on my kitchen window sill. You'll notice that it has also had its share of bumps and bruises (just like the boys, I suppose.) Henry used to take his baths in the kitchen sink. That is, until he grabbed my plant and sent it crashing...now it has a permanent ding. No harm done, though. Henry now takes his baths in the big boy tub and my pot - scars and all - keeps on countin' down the weeks for Brother #3.

If you are a long time blog reader, you might also notice that the actual plant is considerably smaller than it used to be. It was getting so big that I had to transfer it to a bigger pot and transplant a smaller one to this one. Maybe someday I'll have a house full of ivy pots to match my house full of children. Hope so!

Thanks, Baby Plant, for helping Mama keep track of the days. Baby Brother, we can't wait for you to arrive!

My Latest Photography Gig.

My photography hobby has suffered lately in light of my extremely busy life as a Mommy. Thankfully I have managed to continue building my experience through few and far between projects. I had the chance to photograph some of our friends here in Houston back before Christmas. The goal was to get some shots that would work for Christmas cards and for photo gifts. I was really happy with the results and encouraged that maybe someday I might really have a great hobby on my hands....I mean, that someday when I have more than 12 minutes of free time a week to devote to it. =)

Thanks, Pagets, for letting me capture some great moments with your sweet little family!

Lovely.


It's the season of love in all the stores and it seems everyone is advertising ways to "make her Valentine's Day special".

You know what? I am thankful for my husband who, 4 years ago when we were dating, gave me this lovely crystal vase - with no flowers - on Valentine's Day. The card simply said, "I promise to fill it often." He always says that it seems silly to spend big money and pull out all the stops on ONE day of the year and neglect the other 364 days. I'm grateful he has a year-round view of love. It includes flowers, dates, diapers, laundry, and a whole slew of other things that might not be as romantic to others, but are certainly Lovely to me.

And I'm thankful for the flowers he brought home this week ... on a Monday. =)

2010 Christmas Photo Shoot

These were my favorite pictures of the boys this year. They are getting older now and can actually sit together - so cute for a pair of brothers, I think. These boys are men in the making. I couldn't be a prouder mama!