It's a....

Since we found out we were pregnant, I never had a strong desire to find out the gender of Baby #3, as I already had both a girl and a boy, and the gender didn't really matter to me -- I loved having both genders equally and so either would have been perfect and I thought being Team Green and finding out at the birth would be so fun!  However, Chris had a burning desire to know and of course, Lucy wanted to know.  She told her teacher at school that she really wanted a girl, but just KNEW it was going to be a boy... I even caught her whispering to my tummy a few days prior to finding out and when I asked her what she was saying she said "I'm just telling the baby 'Please be a girl, please be a girl, please be a girl!'"  Sweet baby...

So I made an appointment to find out.  We went somewhere different than we did with Lucy & Austin, we went to First Photo in Macon, Georgia.  It wasn't as cozy feeling as Baby Dimensions, but it was just as good.  The sonographer started first trying to find the baby and all and when she said, "okay, let's see what the baby is.." Lucy was whispering "girl, girl, girl, girl..."

Well, God must have heard the desires of my first precious baby's heart, because Baby #3 is a GIRL!!

Charlotte Rebecca Giles

Lucy could not be more thrilled and talks to her and about her every day.  She's constantly thinking of her, what she will like, what her favorite color will be, finding her old baby items and wanting to save them for Charlotte.  It's really the sweetest.  While I honestly did not care one way or the other about the gender, I secretly wanted it to be a girl for Lucy.  Austin will never know one way or the other, but I didn't want Lucy to feel disappointment, and I'm so glad she gets the experience of a SISTER!

I'll post a baby update later this week (hopefully with a picture!)

Happy WINDS-day!

This week, coming back from Spring Break, was a long one for us!  It seemed to never want to end!

Baby #3 has me very exhausted.  I don't know if it's having two other children who are so young, being in exhausting stage of pregnancy during an exhausting time of the school year, or a combination.  But by 4:00, I am worn OUT!

We had to get onto Lucy this week because she was still wanting to run after her  Daddy as he dropped her off for school.  We had to tell her that if she did it again, I was going to have to start taking her to school.  She doesn't want that, because then she is there so early she has to be dropped off in Austin's daycare room, and it makes her feel like a baby.  After we told her that, she hasn't done it since.  She's also been riding the bus to my school in the afternoons.  She doesn't care for after school too much, and it costs the same for me to have her ride the bus as it does to send her to after school, so I let her just ride to me on the days that Cindy can't pick her up.  (Cindy has gone this week to Jekyll Island with Kacie, Wesley, & the girls since they are on Spring Break) Lucy also started saying "yellow" this week.  It's not consistent (yet!), but it is still sad to hear her lose her "Lell-low" :(  She has been learning about space at school and is very interested in our Earth, other planets, Sun, & stars.  So fun!  Her class is taking a field trip to the planetarium at GCSU next week -- I know she'll have a blast!

Austin is starting to enter his "terrible two's" except, they're not terrible.  He's just wanting to become very independent, such as feeding himself completely.  Even something as messy as spaghetti.  And he's not wanting to share.  Anything he sees that he wants, he thinks he can get and will try to bully it out of your hands (or more often, Lucy's hands).  We're having to be strict on him to not hit or push.  He's talking more and more every day.  A lot of it is still probably very incomprehensible to others, but to us, we know what he's saying. He can say:  Mama, Dadda, ball, Mel-mo (Elmo), Dat (Mickey Mouse -- he used to say "mee mow" but then changed it), ball, juice, num-num (gummies -- his favorite snack!), Lilah (what he calls any cat after our cat, Delilah), thank you, love you, bye, hi -- I think those are it! 

Yesterday, we went to Chilly Milly after school and met Dena Stancil and her girls.  Lucy enjoyed hers and Austin didn't care for the one I'd fixed him.  I figured he wouldn't because he doesn't care for cold food, but after I fixed mine (fudge brownie batter, with real brownie bits, cookie dough, white chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, hot fudge, & whipped cream), he ate every bite!  He was a MESS!  He had it, literally, from head to toe.  Then, he walked out of there like a boss, who just dropped the mic, on a mission to the car.  There were some college girls sitting outside of Velvet Elvis and they were just going on and on about how cute he was.

 We had so much fun with Dena and her girls we decided to do dinner at their house last night.  Ally Grace was so excited to have someone her size to play with.  She just kept loving on Austin, knocking him down with hug after hug.  I mean, can you blame her?  He is a handsome hunk!

And these two girls had the most fun they've had together! I think they finally remembered each other, so we didn't have to spend our whole time being shy and trying to warm up to the other one.  Ha!

 Here's a picture of the Fab 5 (soon to be Super 6!)  Lucy had played Beauty Salon with Caylin & Suzi Kate.  That's why they're all dolled up! ;)

Today is Saturday, and it's windy outside making it a little chillier than it has been.  Our cabinets that we had built for the playroom were delivered, and Chris is outside painting them white.  My two babies want to be outside playing.  So we got all dressed and bundled up and headed out.  Lucy was doing great, but Austin wasn't happy.  Probably just too cold.  So I headed back inside with him, but now he's upset that he's not outside!  Can't win for losing with that kid!

We'll try heading out again later.

Rain, Rain, Go Away (after you wash the pollen away!)

Today has been a very rainy day.  In fact, it was a very rainy and stormy night!  

Chris took me out to dinner at the Brick last night for my birthday, and we took Lucy along with us.  Poor thing wanted to go so bad, because she just loves going out to eat at the Brick, but she was so tired!  She had ridden her tricycle all the way from CiCi & Papa's house to our house yesterday.  Took her almost an hour!  On top of no nap, she was just worn out.  So, we had to deal with her being a little loopy at supper last night, but she was fine and we enjoyed a good meal.  She then spent the night at CiCi & Papa's.  

It stormed all night though!  I'm talking thundering and lightening and lots and lots of rain!!  And it's barely slowed up today, with several more storms and only patches of time with no rain at all.  It made for great napping weather, though, as I got BOTH of them to nap for almost 2 hours!  Lucy barely wants to nap anymore, usually just settling for "quiet time" with her iPad instead.  But with today's storms, she napped -- hard!  Poor thing needed it.

I'm glad we've gotten all of this rain -- it's going to wash the pollen right on out of here!  The pollen has finally gotten to each of us.  It's been giving me drainage at night, which is terrible since I already have a hard time sleeping with the nausea and the getting up to tinkle.  Yesterday, it had both Lucy & Austin's eyes all swollen and goopy.  Lucy's right eye was so red and swollen, I sent a picture of it to her doctor (Dr. Bowers) and he actually called her in some Amoxicillin.

Today is our last "day" of Spring Break.  After this weekend, we all start back to school for the final 35 days (7 weeks).  Lucy is in Pre-K at Learning Safari with Summer Leggat as her teacher (Assistant is Morgan Brown).  Austin is at Learning Safari, too, in the 1 year old class.  He doesn't love it.  And I'm teaching 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade Special Education self-contained this year.  I enjoy it a lot!

So, we've got lots of winding down to do, and gearing up to do for the Summer!

"For the First Time in Forever..."

I'm baaaaaaa-aaaaack!

When I started this blog, way back when, I was the owner of a Dell laptop, and typing up a blog took no time at all and I was able to do it more easily and frequently.  When that laptop bit the dust, I was gifted an iPad by my husband for Christmas, and while I LOVE my iPad, it is not very convenient for typing long blog posts.  

I didn't realize just how much I missed blogging until my baby boy turned 1 and I realized I had not documented his first year like I had done his sisters.  This made me SO sad, because as a middle child myself, I know he's going to miss that one day.  Sorry, future Austin.  Thankfully, his Daddy does a FANTASTIC job of journaling every few days in a composition notebook.  But it's just not the same. 

So, for my 29th birthday (TODAY!), Christopher surprised me with a brand new Mac laptop!!!  Y'all.  I could not be more excited!  I am ecstatic to get back into the world of blogging and fill up posts about Lucy & Austin's daily doings.

Aaaaannnnnd the new baby's!  That's right -- #3 is on their way!  We found out February 24, 2016.  I got the notion to test when I started gagging while browning turkey meat to make spaghetti, and the smell of tuna made me want to vomit.  So, while Lucy was at dance, I went to Kroger and bought a test, came home and it turned pink RIGHT away -- like, before the control line even had a chance to show up!  I freaked out, went and picked up Lucy and planned how I was going to tell Chris.

I decided to put the test in a bracelet jewelry box that I had saved (I save all of my jewelry boxes) and wrote on the top "Something Special for You..." 

You see, Chris and I had decided to try for a 3rd baby, but the other two took us nearly 6 months before we got pregnant, so we figured it'd take about the same amount of time, we'd get pregnant this summer and have an end of school year baby so I could take the rest of the school year and the summer with the baby.  Turns out, God had a different plan and this baby came a lot sooner!  So, he was not shocked but surprised and VERY happy! 

We kept it a secret, just the two of us for a while, until I started having a weird pain to the right of my belly button... about 4 inches to the right.  They wanted me to come in to make sure it wasn't an ectopic pregnancy, so I rushed up to the doctor.  On March 2, 2016, I saw our baby for the very first time.  Still so tiny, looking nothing more than a little bubble, I could see their heart beating at only 6 weeks 1 day pregnant.  The doctor was thrilled that everything was in place, that he could already see the heartbeat (must be strong!), and said the pain I was feeling must just be ligament pain or gas.  Everything was perfect!

So, when I came home, we told Lucy that I had something in my tummy.  She has been wanting another baby (particularly a sister) for quite some time.  She even asked Santa for one.  She was very excited to learn that there was in fact a BABY in my belly!  We created a fun little video on iMovie and announced it to both of our families that way.  We went and showed it to his parents in person, but I just couldn't stand not telling my family right away and sent them the video over my phone.  

Needless to say, everyone was surprised but THRILLED!  We cannot wait to welcome #3 to our family and round out our family of 5.

Stay tuned... This will be updated a lot more frequently now.

Much love,

Happy 1 Month, Austin!

Austin, Austin, Austin!

 

I asked you when you were born to not grow up as fast as your sister has, and you're already doing it -- this first month has FLOWN by!!

 

It is so much fun experiencing the newborn stage all over again.  There are so many things I dearly remembered from when your sister was little and couldn't wait for again (the sweet baby smells, the knocked-out milk comas, the snuggles, and ALL the feels you feel when you hold a baby close to your heart) but there is so much I had forgotten about (How much milk do you drink at one time?  How often should you be sleeping?  When do you start a schedule?)  Luckily, you and your sister were born in the Google era -- I can look anything up that I need to! ;)

 

Austin Christopher this month you::

 

are 10 lbs. 8 oz. and are 23 inches long!

 

are wearing size 1 diapers (say it isn't so!!  wahhh!)

 

are showing the beginnings of smiles and starting to coo :)

 

went on your first vacation!  We went to Panama City Beach with your Daddy's family and stayed at Edgewater Beach Resort.  Never again will we stay there.  You and your sister inhaled way more smoke than you ever have in your lives combined during our week there, it was incredibly crowded and everything seemed to break (2 families had to move condos because their air went out, one moved because theirs flooded from a busted water heater, our ceiling started leaking and CiCi & Papa's condo had bed bugs -- ick!)  You were a champ though!  We took you down to the beach almost every morning and you would nap down there on me for about 2 1/2 hours -- you loved it!

 

don't love your car seat as much as your sister did, but don't HATE it either.  It's just not your preferred seating arrangement and periodically on the drive you will cry out just one time and not too loud, just loud enough -- almost as if you're saying "just letting y'all know, I don't like this.."

 

have a blocked tear duct and it makes you have crusty eye boogers in your right eye all the time -- sad!  Although, it doesn't seem to bother you too badly.

 

LOVE your sister!  You watch her and listen to her all the time.  I know that when you're able to, you're going to be chasing her all around this house!  She loves you, too!  She has yet to be jealous of you or our time together.  She enjoys holding you, but really takes pride in noticing when you need your paci and getting it in your mouth -- just right! :)

 

love to sleep on your stomach (shhhh!)

 

eat 3-4 oz. of milk at a time and eat every 2-3 hours.  Breastfeeding didn't work out for us, either.  So you're on Similac Sensitive formula.  The Similac Advanced seems to hurt your little belly. 

 

Even though during the day you eat every 2-3 hours, at night you'll go every 3-4 and sometimes longer than that!  There have been several nights where you have gone 6 hours and those are the nights I thank you for!! :)

 

are hairy!  You were born with a head full of dark hair (although it has started to lighten some and even look a little auburn at times), but also had thick, dark hair on your biceps, thighs, back and forehead -- so funny!  No wonder I had so much heartburn!! :)

 

are a Mommy's boy!  You can be so upset and nothing will calm you -- not your Daddy, not your swing, not your paci, not milk -- and as soon as I hold you in my arms, you're content! :)  Oh, this warms my heart!  You are attached to me in a way Lucy never was.  You and I just fit together when we snuggle. :)

 

look just like your Daddy!  You have his feet & toes, his legs, his chin, and his ears :)

 

Austin, you have brought so much more joy into our lives that we didn't even know was missing!  You have a different relationship with each one of us that really is special!  I love our time that we've had together so far and can't wait to see where your life takes you -- the world is yours, baby boy!

 

With all my love for you,

Your Mama

Happy 3rd Birthday, Lucy!! :)

Happy 3rd Birthday, Lucy!!

I can NOT believe you are THREE!!!

At three years old, you::

Are 31 lbs. and 38 inches tall!

Love to dance!  It is not uncommon for you to just tell me "I need music!" I turn some on my phone and you will twirl around the room throwing your hands in the air and wiggling your fingers.  You took ballet this last year through the Vibe at Learning Safari, but will take both ballet and tap this next year in studio.  This summer, you completes two of their dance camps.  One was "beach" theme and involved ballet and tap, the other was "camp swagger" and involved hip-hop dance.  You're definitely more into ballet and tap! :)

Love to sing and are actually really good at it!  You can carry a tune well, and love playing instruments -- any kind!  You love your little piano and your guitar. You'll carry it around for hours and actually hold it like you know what you're doing.

Know all of your letters (upper and lowercase) and the sounds that they make.  You're even beginning to blend sounds to make words.  Thanks to some apps on the ipad, you know a lot of the -at and -an word families.  You can also recognize your name and do an okay job of writing it (pretty much only legible to me, but that's ok!)

Can count to 30 (but usually skip 15?)

Love to look for deer when we are out riding the golf cart

Love to swim in the pool (with puddle jumpers floatie) and are even braving jumping off the sides/steps in the deep end.  You are terrified of the diving board, though! 

Austin Christopher Giles

Oh, sweet boy, where do I start?

First, perhaps with an apology for not blogging more often during my pregnancy with you or any sooner than now.

Let me begin with a recap of my pregnancy with you..

Your Daddy and I love your sister so much, we couldn't wait to try again for another blessing.  When we found out we were in fact pregnant with you, it was just a day or two before we went to Disney and we were ecstatic!!  Of course, this meant I couldn't ride any of the big rides at Disney, but you were every bit worth it!

My pregnancy with you was so different than my pregnancy with Lucy.  It was so easy with her.  Aside from a few weeks of nighttime nausea, it was every bit of expected pregnancy discomforts.  With you though... I was nauseous all day, every day until about 14 weeks.  I never actually got sick, but I had a tinge of nausea that stayed with me all day long, regardless of any medications the doctor gave me to try to help it.  And just as soon as the nausea ended, it seemed as if the heartburn/reflux/indigestion began!  And it lasted the whole pregnancy... I also had bad foot cramps and pelvic discomfort with you as, unlike your sister, knew which way the exit was, and were low and in place for a long time.  Part of the hardships with my pregnancy with you could have also been attributed to the fact that I was chasing around your 2 year old sister, that I was working a more rigorous full-time job, that it just was my second pregnancy, that you were a boy, etc.  I was also very anxious to meet you, and so I couldn't wait for the pregnancy to be over and have you in my arms!!

The day we found out you were a boy, I could not stop smiling!  I knew in my heart the whole time you were a boy, and couldn't wait for the changes having a son was going to bring to my current life of tutus and hair bows!  I was also nervous because I know (& love) the girly-girl world that your sister lives in.  I find so much enjoyment in hairbows and ruffles and glitter and pink and frills and sparkles!  How do I change tracks to rugged and sports and cars and mud? I want to be able to invest all things boy into you like I've done all things girl for your sister.

You were actually due on July 4, 2014, but we were able to schedule your c-section delivery for June 25, 2014!  I started counting down months ahead on my phone and would text your Daddy with updates.  I kept a countdown in days remaining on my desk calendar at school and looked forward to marking through the number every morning.  Towards the end of school, all teachers countdown to the end of school, and it did that too, but I was way more excited about the countdown to YOU!

After school ended, Lucy and I had about a month together before you would be here.  I loved and cherished that time with her as our only child and tried hard to prepare her to be a big sister.  She seemed to understand about being careful around my belly and why I couldn't do as much playing as I used to with her.  Oh, she loved you so much in my belly!  Every night, she would say "Can I talk to Baby Austin?" And she would lift up my shirt and get really close to my belly button and say "Hey, Baby Austin!  It's Lucy.  Come play with me!"  She'd give you her Lovie because she thought you were sleepy, and cover you with her blankie when she thought you were cold.  Then she would give you "jamurmus" (ginormous) hugs and kisses.  It really was the sweetest thing, and I just hoped she would love you on the outside as much as she did on the inside.

The day you were set to arrive, I was beyond ready!!  Surgery was not set until 12:30, so your Daddy and I didn't need to be there until 11:00.  I, of course, was not able to eat past midnight the night before, but didn't much feel like eating because I was a ball of nerves and angst!  We were a little bummed we didn't get the 7:30 surgery time slot, but this actually worked out better, because we were able to just wake up and take things slow and make sure we had everything before leaving.  There was no rushed, anxious, feelings.  Your Daddy and I dropped Lucy off at CiCi and Papa's and left for the hospital in Macon.  We checked in and immediately things got started.  They hooked me up to monitors, put in my IV, etc.  from there on, it was just a waiting game.  With Lucy, surgery kept getting pushed back, and we ended up waiting almost 4 hours, but everything was on-time for you!  What a nice change! :)

For whatever reason, I was so nervous about throwing up during surgery.  I don't know why.  I didn't with your sister, so not sure where this angst came from, but it was definitely there.  I told every nurse that stepped in my room that I didn't want to throw up, I didn't want to throw up, I didn't want to throw up.  Thankfully, I didn't!

Just like my pregnancy with you, my delivery with you was different, too!  Perhaps because Lucy was sideways, but they were literally having to push you out of my ribs so hard, I swore they were going to crack or break one of my ribs!  I just remember thinking, "but he's worth it!"  And at 1:01 pm when you were born, they held you up over the curtain and I could see how worth it you were!   They wrapped you up and let me home you immediately for about 10-15 minutes, something I was not able to do with Lucy.  My heart, in those first few moments with you, immediately grew 7 lbs. 12 oz. and 20 3/4 inches bigger!  Oh, how I loved you so much!!!

They had to take you away and clean you up really fast while they finished stitching me up, but we were soon reunited again in my recovery room, again, something I was unable to do with Lucy.

Those next two hours with just you and your Daddy were so sweet!  We just watched you and loved on you, and just soaked up your sweetness!

When we got back to the room, we wanted Lucy to be the first one to see you.  Your Aunt Kiki brought her back and videotaped y'all's first meeting.  It was love at first sight!  She just kissed on you and loved on you --  I could tell immediately how great she was going to be with you, and could tell y'all are going to have a lifelong friendship.  Before much longer, hey brought in your grandparents, and Pop, and my friend Kendall :). They all loved you!

You were born with a head full of dark hair that was so long it came past your ears.  Your Daddy joked that we were gonna have to set up your first haircut before we left the hospital.  In fact! You were hairy all over!  You had hair on your legs and arms -- so much testosterone!  No wonder I had such bad heartburn/reflux with you!  You were only slightly jaundiced in the face, but all of your bilirubin levels were low, so no heel pricks or lights for you!

You were born on a Wednesday afternoon and we were able to go home Friday morning.  Bringing you home and settling in as a family of four felt so weird but so right all at the same time!  You just fit right in!  Lucy loves giving you your pacifier anytime you cry, and looking at your "tiny everything". She thinks you're "so cute" and loves when you wake up and look at her!  She's given you a couple of bottles and likes to hold you.  When I asked her the other day her favorite part of being a Big Sister, she rolled up all her favorites into one and just said "Baby Austin!"

Baby boy, we love you so much and are so happy you're in our lives!  You are just precious to me, and so far, I'm LOVING being the mommy to a little boy!  I know it's only going to get more fun!  Your CiCi said the other day "I want to hold him, but y'all always look like you fit so well together, I don't want to disturb him." And we do!!  You just snuggle right into my chest and we sit like that for hours!  Oh, I soak it up, because I know now it won't be long before you're flying around our living room fighting pirates, and defending our castle from dragons! 

All my love,
Your Mama :)