Winter Storm 2010

Welllll, our biggest snow of the year! As opposed to the rest of the country, we didn't get much. But for us, it was a big deal. It started out really light and nothing seemed to be sticking to the ground. But after about an hour of good downfall, things started to stick to the roads and driveways. We ended up with about 4 inches on the grassy areas and probably 2 inches on our driveway. I'm just glad it fell on the weekend when Christian was home and could go out with the kids. They had a blast playing with Daddy!

This is a picture of our neighbor's property with the snow on the trees. It really was beautiful!

Doesn't he look like he's up to something?

Two beautiful angels!

What Daddy? Its not too slippery!

There wasn't much snow on the cul-de-sac, but it was covered in a sheet of ice!

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day was a busy day. The kids and I went back to church for the first time since Magan was born. Christian stayed home with Magan because it was still too cold to get her out. To tell you the truth, I really think Christian wanted to stay home because the Daytona 500 was coming on at 12:30 and they started TV coverage at 7:30 a.m. I think he was afraid that he would miss something!

My mom and dad came out (this is a tradition for my mom and Christian) to watch the 500 with us. The kids got Valentine's gifts from GeeGee and PeePee and they brought a BIG cookie for dessert! The kids had a great time but were really tired of racing by the end of the weekend.

Sisters

I'm so glad Mallory has Magan now. I think all little girls should have sisters. Yesterday, Magan was fussy and couldn't get comfortable anywhere. I put her in the swing to give my arms a break and to wash dishes. While she cried in the swing, Mallory decided to help me out. She thoughtfully told me that make Magan feel better by reading to her. So, she went to Magan's room and got a book (a rather big book). She placed her chair right by the swing and began to flip through the book.

A few pages into it, she discovered that she couldn't read the "big words" and she went back for a new book. All while Magan is screaming at the top of her lungs. I wanted to pick her up but I couldn't deny Mallory this chance to soothe her baby sister. When she returned with a smaller book, she began to look through it also. Sweetly, she looked up at me and said, "I don't think I can read this book but I can tell her about the pictures."

It was a priceless moment.

To my valentine...

The kids are having their Valentine's Day party at school today. Yesterday, we had to work on their valentines cards. I wrote down all of the kid's names from their class and they each wrote out their own Valentines. I had to get this on camera for two reasons:
1) They were so cute working on them. Each letter was meticulously written, and they took time to decide who would get which valentine card. Surprisingly, they were very interested in the fact that they would get a card from each other. I had to explain to Mallory several times that she would get a card from everyone in her classroom.

2) It was the first time that I didn't have to write out the cards. It means that they are getting big and can do a lot of things without my help. It was kind of sad for me to come to realize that they aren't babies any more and can think and feel for themselves. (I can tell you that my post-pregnancy hormones kicked in and I had to fight hard to hold back the tears!)

Mason's cards came with tattoos for each valentine. He not only had to pick out the card that each person was getting, but he had to pick out their tattoo also. When it came time to write out Ms. Janie's card, I had to stress that Ms. Janie probably didn't want the Power Ranger tattoo and that she would be just happy with the card.



Mallory looked so cute dressed up on her costume while she worked on her cards. She took them very seriously and her handwriting was perfect. Although, in the end, she was "over it". Eight Valentine's cards was enough for her and she was ready to move on. What a sweet little girl!

Cooking with my Valentines!

Yesterday, I got brave. I'm still recovering from the baby but I decided my other sweet Valentines needed some attention from mom. So, I decided we would bake cookies for Valentines day. The kids were so excited. Sugar cookies with lots of icing and sprinkles.

Mallory is a "touchy-feely" kind of girl. (Just like her mom and GeeGee.) We like to touch and feel the texture of stuff. She absolutely loved having this dough in her hands. Then we added the flour and she was in heaven. She really could have cared less if we actually made the cookies. She just enjoyed running her hands through everything.

Mason wanted to eat the icing more than he wanted to put the icing on the cookies. He licked the knife a few times before I caught him, so we had to change knives. I'm not sure how many cookies got iced with the licked knife, so these cookies we have to keep home.

Vola! Such beautiful cookies. And...look at that proud smile! :o)

Mallory was so proud too. She wanted to take her cookies to school, but I wasn't sure if anything had been licked on her tray. Just best to keep them home. More for Mommy to eat!

Happy (early) Valentine's Day!!!

Its 8:24 p.m. and all of my children went to bed at the exact same time tonight (7: 45 p.m.). Clean, fed, sang to, homework done, and bags packed for tomorrow. And...I did it all by myself. Aren't you proud?????

Mawmaw's Visit

Christian's mom, Nancy, came for a visit today with Magan. Luckily, Magan was staying awake at the hour she arrived, so Nancy got to visit with her for a while. Nancy couldn't get over how much she looked like Mallory. Pawpaw came too, but he was busy with Mason and Mallory outside. They made him run around the outside of the house and chase them. It wasn't long before he was ready to go!
We were glad they came and hope they come back soon!

2 wks old!

Today, Magan is two weeks old. Its hard to believe that I was having a baby two weeks ago. About this time, I was in the recovery room and anxious to see my new baby.

Magan went for a second check-up last week to get her weight checked. She was born at 8 lbs. 1 oz, and at her first appointment, had dropped down to 7 lbs. 12 oz. Dr. Jattan just wanted to see her again to see if she was gaining weight. We took her back yesterday and she weighed 8 lbs. 10 oz. She had gained almost 1 lb. in 1 week. Dr. Jattan jokingly asked if we were feeding her lead. We were just glad that she had gained!

This morning, were just hanging out on the sofa. This picture is a little dark but really cute! It won't be long and she'll be as big as Mason and Mallory. Its hard to believe!

Nothing to do...

Well, not really. I have house work, laundry, dusting, etc. And I'll get to that sooner or later. If I start heavy cleaning now, Christian and my mom will probably have a heart attack. But I'm a little bored right now. Magan is such a good sleeper and eater, that she's not too much trouble. I know, I know. Don't get too excited. It'll come and I'll be so overwhelmed. But for now, I'm relishing the time to catch up on the things I like to do and staying on top of my blog. (I know this makes my mother happy!)

I don't have any new pictures to post. Magan has been asleep so much of the time and the unofficial rule at my house is that the baby has to sleep in her crib. So I haven't wanted to disturb her sleep with the camera. But I'll work on that in the next few days.

My mom and my friend DeLynne have gotten me interested in sewing. My grandmother did this for us for as long as I can remember and I think I might really want to learn how to sew for myself. I think when I'm able to get out, I'll be checking in to a starter sewing machine. DeLynne puts her basic patterns on her website and she says they are really simple. Maybe for her, but I'm hoping she'll help me with them.

I'm just blabbering now. Check on me tomorrow.

Magan's 1st Bath

Earlier this week, Magan got her first bath. This has always been one of favorite parts of having a newborn. They either love or hate a bath. Fortunately, Mason and Mallory loved bath time at this stage and thankfully, Magan does too. She just laid in the bathtub and let the water run over her. She liked putting her hand in the running water.

I will also say that I love the bath cover-up that I got at one of my baby showers. It basically is a wash cloth-type item and is shaped to cover the top of the baby's body during the bath. You warm the cloth with warm water and cover the baby. It is supposed to keep them warm during bath time. You just move the cloth around when your bathing the baby. I LOVE THIS THING! They didn't have these when Mason and Mallory were babies, so we just used another wash cloth. Now this one is actually shaped for the baby's body. So cute!



Did I mention that they smell really good afterward???????

I wanna hold your hand...

The biggest question I get from the kids these days is: "Can I hold her?" It used to be "Can I have a snack?" I still get that question but now everyone wants to hold the baby. They are so sweet with her. Its cute to see them mimic how Christian and I talk to the baby when we hold her. Mason held her this morning before school and he was telling her how sweet she was and how he was her big brother. He has mastered how to hold her body and her head without Magan looking like she's uncomfortable. If he can't hold her, he likes to rub his cheek against her head. He told me that was his way of hugging Magan.

Mallory also is very gentle with her. She has been practicing with her baby, Sarah, and she wanted to take Sarah to school today so she could "look after her". Mallory loves to let Magan hold her finger. She figured out that if she stuck her index finger out and put it under Magan's hand, that Magan would eventually find it and hold it. It is the sweetest thing but I haven't yet caught it on camera. I'll post when I do.




My best friend, Sandy, visited me in the hospital and brought gifts for all three kids. These were the t-shirts she brought for Mason and Mallory. They are so cute, and they couldn't wait to try them on. This was the day we brought Magan home from the hospital and I gave them their shirts. They immediately went and changed into them. I can't wait for them to wear them out in public. They are definitely proud of their new baby sister. Look closely at Mason's shirt and you'll notice the baby buttons we bought for them. They have Magan's picture in the middle and they say "Official Big Brother (or Big Sister) of Magan Emerson Lawrence". Mason has worn his every day this week to school.

I wasn't really worried about how they would feel about her, but I was a little worried that they wouldn't understand that I couldn't give them my full attention. But...they have done really well and they truly love their new baby sister.

Magan has Arrived!

Baby Magan has arrived. She arrived via c-section on Friday, January 22, 2010 at 8:21 a.m. She was 8 lbs. 1.6 oz, 21.25 inches long. She has blonde hair, but quite as much as Mallory had at birth. She has been very good for us in the hospital and is a very good eater. We had a very good experience in the hospital and had very good care from the nurses in the Maternity ward. We are so thankful for all of our friends that came to visit, sent cards/gifts/flowers, and for all the calls. We can't wait for everyone to see her!

Just after her first bath!

First visit with Mommy and Daddy in the recovery room

Am I awake????

Dressed and ready to come home!

Her first visit with Mason and Mallory. They were very excited to see her and couldn't get over how little she was in her clothes. Magan would make a noise and Mallory would cover her mouth and giggle. It was so cute. Mason just wanted to get her a toy to play with. We had to explain that she wasn't quite old enough for toys yet.

Bed rest????

Who needs bed rest? Well, I thought I needed a little, but my family thinks otherwise. After our doctor's appointment yesterday, Christian went in to work and Mother stayed with me until late afternoon. Mason came home from school not feeling well yesterday and complaining of his throat hurting. I was hoping it would be just the change of weather. Shortly after my mom left to go home, Christian called to say he was on his way home and was sick to his stomach. He got home by 6:00, took a shower and crawled into bed.

Mason got up at 5:30 this morning with a terrible hacky cough, stuffy nose and a fever of 101.7. And he didn't want to go back to sleep. I took him to the doctor this morning and he tested negative for strep but they are treating him for strep because of my current condition.

Mallory was mad this morning because she had to go to school by herself. She knew that everyone else was staying home and she didn't appreciate having to get out. Oh well. She needed to be somewhere besides here. I don't know if I could handle both of them being sick.

Oh yeah. As of this posting, Christian still hasn't gotten out of bed and is still sick to his stomach. I found out at the pediatrician that the stomach flu is going around. Just what we need. No rest for the weary. On to folding another load of clothes....

Family baby shower

Over the Christmas holidays, my family offered to give us a baby shower. We had it planned for last weekend, but the snow/ice came and we had to reschedule it for last night. However, Saturday afternoon my doctor placed me on bed rest because of my blood pressure. So, Christian and I talked about what to do. We tossed around all kinds of ideas: we could reschedule for after the baby; we could let my mom open the presents for us; we could Skype the shower and let mom open the presents while I watch; or (and my favorite idea) we could send Christian in my place. Christian didn't seem completely opposed, but he'd never done something like this. I called my mom and talked to her, and I also called the ladies that were hosting the shower. They thought sending Christian was a great idea. Then we decided that all the kids would go too. I hated to miss it, but I was stuck at home.

Christian with the hostesses of the shower - my cousin, Jenny and family friend, Cathie. They were so sweet to let him be the guest of honor instead of me.
Mallory helped Christian open all of the presents. She was so excited when she left the house, and when she came home, she was so excited to show me what she had opened. My friend, Meredith, helped Christian and Mallory with the presents.

Christian thought everything was cute. He was so tired when he got home.

Daddy and Mallory having fun before baby Magan arrives.

I hated to miss the shower, but I had to follow the doctor's orders. Christian was so tired when he got home. It was a long drive but worth it. Everyone said they had a good time, and a lot of the dads ended up coming too. When my crowd got home, the kids couldn't wait for me to go through everything. We Skyped Mom and Dad so they could see me reopen everything. It was fun to have the kids show me and them, even though Mother had already seen everything.


After wards, we put them to bed and never heard another word out of them. They were tired too. Now, I just have to go through everything and put it away.

Baby update

I had two days last week of some serious contractions. Just when I was getting excited about going early, the contractions would end. When I went to the doctor on Friday, my body had not changed other than the baby had dropped down. However, my blood pressure was low, 100/78. They kept me an extra few minutes and took my pressure another two times. After resting, it got back into the normal range so they sent me home. This afternoon I decided to stop by my local fire station to have them check it again just to make sure. The paramedic said my pressure was 160/90, definitely in the high range. He advised me to call my doctor. When I called the after-hours number, they paged the doctor, which just happened to be the doctor that is scheduled to do my C-section. After hearing my news, she placed me on bed rest until she could see me on Tuesday morning. So, I'm catching up on my blog. Nothing else I can really do. Oh, well. Just a few more days.

Getting Ready

We have been working on Magan's nursery for several weeks now. We didn't know what was going to happen with the new house and how much work we'd need to put into a nursery right now. Our crib has been broken down for several years now and we thought we'd kept it all together. Christian got it all out (or so we thought) but we couldn't find the screws and bolts to put it together. I had to call the manufacturer and order new parts. Once we received them, Christian put most of the bed together but then we realized that we couldn't find the spring bed that held up the mattress. Christian finally found it tonight and enlisted the kids to help him put the finishing touches on Magan's crib.

Mason used the wrench that came with the screws to tighten up the bolts on all four corners of the bed.

Everyone had an opinion...Dad just wanted to get it finished!

Mallory was in charge of the screwdriver. She was just fascinated that the top of the screwdriver was magnetic and could hold the screws on without her help.

I have to iron the bed skirt and finish putting the bed on tomorrow. I'll post pictures then.

SNOW 2010 (almost!)

We got a little bit of snow two weeks ago. We were expecting 1-2 inches, but it barely dusted the ground. It was enough for the kids to play in and enough to get them out of school for one day. On the other hand, it was REALLY cold. I think the temperature at the time I took these pictures was around 17 degrees. That is really cold for us! The kids stayed out about 10 minutes and their hands were red. The gloves didn't do much for the cold.

I wish I could crop this picture so you could see them better. I think this is a great picture of both of them.

They really wanted their snow angels to show up but they never could make one. There just wasn't enough snow on the ground. They tried about four different spots in the yard to get them to work but they never did.

Mallory was trying to get enough snow together to make a snow ball but again, there just wasn't enough.

He had mostly dirt and grass in his hand and was about to throw it at me!

Hopefully we'll get a little more before the Winter is finished.

Happy New Year!!!!!

We celebrated our New Year's Eve with our Supper Club. This has been our tradition for the last few years. Everyone comes over to our house, we have appetizers for dinner and we play cards until we ring in the new year. This year we didn't start until 8:00, so the party went by really quickly. It was 12:00 before we knew it! The kids play and dress-up and have a celebration all their own while we have "grown-up" time. After we reached midnight, Christian and Tom shot fireworks in the circle for the kids. The kids were really excited for the first 10 minutes, but the dads wouldn't let them come to the circle to watch. They had to stay on the front porch. Therefore, the kids didn't think it was too much fun after a while. I walked down to the circle to find out who exactly the fireworks really were for. I think the dads were doing it more for them than the kids. Everyone finally went home around 1:45 a.m. I was so exhausted and the kids were really tired. Mallory had even gotten a nap earlier in the evening, and she was still sleepy.

Another great start to a new year! Hope we have many more!

This picture turned out fuzzy but it was the best one I had of the kids.

Latest Baby News

I went for my weekly check-up today with the OB/GYN. Everything was good and I'm right on track to have Magan on Jan. 22nd. She is full-term now and is taking up lots of room in my stomach. I've gained a total of 17 lbs. (19 lbs. as of last visit but I lost two lbs. this week). I begged Dr. Williams to take the baby today, or even tomorrow, but she wouldn't do it. She wanted to wait until the planned c-section date or until Magan decided it was time.

I'm extremely uncomfortable these days. I sleep in 45 min. intervals and can't get comfortable anywhere. She moves around a good bit and kicks me in the strangest places. My heartburn is slowing down a bit but I still drink Maalox like its water. I have an aversion to Mexican and Italian foods and I'm back to thinking that red meat is something from outerspace. Its funny how your body can tolerate something one day but not the next. And the funny thing about the meat is, I really like McDonald's hamburgers but wouldn't dare touch them from my grill at home. Weird!

We've done nothing to prepare for Magan's arrival. The bed is still in several pieces and I haven't washed any of her clothes. I haven't purchased a car seat for the ride home but that will probably get done this weekend. We're excited about her arrival but the new house stuff has us all thrown off. We are holding off as long as possible to see what will happen with the new house before we make any commitments where we are now.

Other than that, we are just waiting on our precious baby to get here. She'll be here in her own time. Just wish it was sooner rather than later!

More December events...

Mason had a birthday this month, too. We had a dinner at home on the night of his birthday and then went to Scoops for ice cream. We had a party later, but I'll have to post those pictures on another night. He was so excited about his present. He knew it was a big box because he'd seen it earlier in the day. He thought it was the aircraft carrier that he'd asked for but Daddy wanted to give him something else. This was the anticipation of waiting on Daddy to get home from work.

He was so excited when he opened his gift. He couldn't wait to get it opened and try it out. He and Christian had picked out this scooter at Toys R Us the previous weekend. I wasn't sure who wanted the scooter more...Christian or Mason. I was told it would hold up to 220 lbs., so my bet is on Daddy!

The perfect picture of Mason. (Check out the extra head in the picture!)

Mason felt like a big boy on his new "ride". He couldn't wait to get to church and tell all of his friends. He did really good his first time riding. He didn't fall and kept his balance really well. It didn't take him long to figure out where the brake was on the scooter. And, yes, he does ride with his helmet. We were just in a hurry to get to Scoops and church this evening!

Our annual trip to the tree farm for our massive tree! We went to a different farm this year and found a few trees that we liked. This one seemed perfect...big but not too big. We had to walk about 1/3 mile to get to where these trees were on the farm, so I was exhausted when we finished. The kids helped cut down the tree this year, although Mallory wasn't that into it. She tried but found it hard to push the manual saw.

Everybody making sure Daddy was doing it right!

We made two trips to the site where the trees were that we wanted. The first trip was unsuccessful and we didn't find one we liked. About 1/2 way down, this tree-hauler got a flat tire. It wouldn't have carried anything out of the forest. So the kids and I stayed with the trees and Christian took this hauler back to the store. He came back with the green plastic one that the kids wanted to ride on like a sled.

Daddy obliged, and rode them down the rows. I was afraid that it was going to break and we were going to have to make three trips. The kids had a great time riding and we were able to get the tree this time.
Mason was checking it out, but this was about the time he started to complain that he had ants in his pants. Check out the ant hills next to the tree!

I love this picture! Mallory didn't help cut it down much, but she really wanted to help Christian pull it out of the forest. Mason only wanted the toy that the tree worker promised him when he came out of the trees.
We got the tree home and Christian was able to get it in the stand and in the house. But that was about all that happened to the tree that night. We determined that a strand of our lights wasn't working right, so Christian got out of putting the lights on the tree. A few days later, the kids and I spent our evening getting the lights and a few Christmas balls on the tree. I was exhausted after I got the lights on, so I let the kids have free reign on where they wanted the decorations to go. They, of course, didn't get very far up the tree but that was okay. At least they had a good time!
Mason couldn't quite figure out where to hang the ornaments. He wanted to hang them on the very end of the tree branch but after two balls fell off and broke, he decided they needed to go a little further inside the tree.
Mallory was so proud of herself. I wish this picture was a little clearer, but she moved about the time the shutter closed. She had just put that red ornament on and was proud that it stayed on.
My little monkeys and their first tree (that they decorated)! They had a good time and it was sweet to watch them decide where to put all of the decorations.

We had lots of fun this December! Can't you tell?????