May 14, 2015

Lydia Emily Wallace

 
 
On Wednesday, April 8th, 2015 our sweet Baby Lydia was born at 10:29.  She weighed 7 lbs, 7 oz . and was 19.5 inches long.  She is so beautiful and we are so in love with this sweet thing.
 
The delivery went so smoothly and so fast this time around.  Her actual due date was April 10th but the closer it got, the more miserable this momma became.  So, we made the decision that if she had not come by April 8th, we would induce her delivery.  The Monday before, I went to the doctor to check on her progress.  He said that I was already 3 centimeters dilated so inducing would be no big deal at all.  Music to my ears!
 
The night before her delivery I was having some mild contractions so I was not surprised to hear that I was 4 centimeters dilated when I arrived at the hospital the next morning. Already on the way!  They started the induction around 7:30 a.m. and she was born just three hours later!  With James, I was in labor for almost 12 hours so time flew by this time.  Another difference in Lydia's delivery was the amount of times I pushed.  With James, I pushed for over an hour.  With Lydia, I pushed maybe three times?  She was so ready to come out into the world that I wasn't even allowed to push until the doctor arrived.  Easy!  The only downside of having a baby that quickly was that the epidural did not have enough time to truly set in.  I was in a good amount of pain towards the end of delivery but luckily, it didn't last long. Phew!
 
Here are some more pictures of her birth day:
 
She looked so much like James when she arrived, it was uncanny
 



 


 
Meeting Daddy.  She already has him wrapped around her finger :)
 



Meeting Nannie
 

First bath in the hospital.  Not a fan.


Sweet Girl


Meeting KoKo


 
Later that day, Big Brother James came to meet his baby sister.  At first, he was unsure of the situation.  I think seeing Mommy in a hospital bed was a little frightening at first.  There were some tears but then he held her... he was in love!





 
My stay in the hospital was in a way... relaxing.  No laundry, or cooking, or cleaning to do.  However, I missed my James so much.  On the day of discharge, I was so ready to get home to him!  I arrived to hugs and kisses from my sweet big boy!



So much excitement from Big Brother!

 


Sweet Lydia, you are so loved!  You fit in perfectly to our family.  You were the missing piece and now our family is whole.  We love you so much!
 


May 11, 2015

Holiday Wrap-Up

 
Since it's been awhile since I've posted anything on the blog, I'm going to do a wrap-up of the last couple of holidays that I haven't blogged about.  I really want to document every special occasion of our lives so I can reminisce in a few years as I read my past blog posts.  So, here it goes...
 
 
Christmas
 
This Christmas was such a special one. It was the first Christmas in our new home. James was older and really started to understand the traditions of Christmas.  Mainly the tradition of Santa Claus and that he was going to be getting toys and books on Christmas day.  The whole month of December, we tried to do activities that were Christmas-related so that he would understand.
 
My parents came to visit the day before Christmas Eve.  James was so excited that they were here!  On Christmas Eve, KoKo came over and we all had a great dinner with beef tenderloin, potatoes, and pecan pie!  This  is definitely a tradition I would like to continue every year.  It was delicious!
 
On Christmas morning when James woke up, he was so excited to see what Santa had brought him.  Santa really out did himself this year and spoiled James completely.
 

 
James loved everything!   He was so excited looking at everything.  He would "ooh" and "ahh" at it all!  He got right in his new car and checked it out. What he found (much to our surprise) was that the car had a radio in it.  He loved to turn it up and dance to whatever song was playing.  Hopefully, that isn't a sign of what's to come in about 14 years.
  I'm going to have to have a discussion with Santa about not giving James nicer stuff than what his dad and I have :)
 

 

He started driving the car in the house that morning but didn't really understand the idea of steering.  It was hilarious!

 
Later, we took the car outside for a test drive.  We laughed so hard as he tried to figure out how to push the pedal and steer!  We worked on our technique in the coming months.
 

Then, months went by.  Tax season was in full-swing and my belly grew by an inch every day. 
 
Easter came upon us.  We didn't have a lot of plans for Easter since we did not know if Baby Girl would make her debut before Easter.  She decided to stay put for a little while longer.  In the mean time, James hunted Easter eggs and we prepared for the birth of our second and last child.
 
James loved hunting for eggs.  We just hid them in our backyard and he had a blast!  He would get so excited every time he would find one.  So much joy!
 

 
Love the look on his face here...
 









 
Found another one!


 
Afterwards, he opened them to find some had some surprises in them.  Mommy was surprised to find that some had candy in them from last Easter.  Did not notice before hiding them.  Next, year, we will just buy all new eggs.  Ooops.


 
On Easter morning he woke up to find that the Easter bunny left a trail of Easter eggs leading from his room to his Easter basket.  He love it!  He was so excited about his basket!
 

 
 
Of course, he found more candy in the eggs and was eating chocolate before 7:00 a.m.
 


 
He put on his new sunglasses that the Easter Bunny brought him and wore them all day!  Even to Cracker Barrel where we went with KoKo for Easter brunch.  Judge all you want but I was not about to cook or clean since I was 9 months pregnant and Lydia could come any day now!
 



 
This sums up the day.  Happy 2 year old after loads of candy and pancakes with syrup.  Sugar overload makes a happy toddler!
 
I really enjoyed the last holidays as a family of three.  I tried to soak up every minute and memory that I could.  Some moments weren't as good as others since I was very pregnant towards the end.  However, I will never forget these last celebrations with James as an only child.  He's the one who made me a Mommy.  I love him more and more everyday.
 
Now that Baby Lydia has arrived (blog post coming soon), we are looking forward to the next chapter in our lives.  We can't wait to celebrate every holiday from here on out with both of our children.  Every moment is precious. 
 
The days are long but the years are short.