Amazed.

Norah has proven to be the perfect big sister these past two weeks. She is independent, patient and always loving. Her heart must be made of pure gold. We knew she had been doing a fantastic job welcoming little Henry into our family but, on Friday I realized just how amazing she really is. I found that she had got two of her big back teeth in the past week. No whining or refusing to nap. She is one tough cookie.

Each and every morning when we get her from her crib, she goes prancing into our room to look for Henry. He is usually napping in our bed or the pak-in-play and she knows to check both. She stands on her tippy toes hoping to catch a glimpse of her partner in crime.

She keeps busy these days( and I really do mean BUSY) by reading books, playing catch, dancing, climbing on boxes whenever she gets a chance, helping with laundry and cuddling with her Mommy and Daddy. She loves to laugh, sing songs about Jesus and give sloppy kisses. It is a joy to watch her grow and learn new things.

Joel made her this Pepsi box costumer but, she wasn't too impressed.


Our little beauty.



She loves to flip the pages one by one. When she wants us to read the books she simply carries it to us and stares at us with those big eyes until we read.





Tennis ball, golf ball, basketball, football, bouncy ball or even ballon.... she'll play catch with them all. Side note: the baseball and golf ball had to move outside once Henry arrived...... Norah's got a pretty wild fastball!

Wrestle-mania!!

I love watching these two play. Lots of grunting and giggling usually means wrestle-mania for Joel and Norah.

One Week Old!!

Henry's had a great week. He appears to have his sister's same easy-going nature which we couldn't be happier about!! It took him just a couple days to realize that Mom and Dad don't enjoy being awake between the hours of 12 and 4 so, he adjusted his schedule and now goes to bed at 10 and wakes up at 2am and 7am to eat. Then, after his 7am feeding the little guy dozes back into dreamland and I have to wake him around 10ish. Norah's been sleeping until 9 so, I've got nothing to complain about! We hardly ever hear him cry and he nurses like a big baby should!

Henry weighed in at 10lbs. even at his wellness checkup last week which puts him in the 97th percentile for weight. Height was 22 inches which is the 96th percentile. This boy has some chubby cheeks on him but the rest of his body is solid. I think he'll have Joel's build. Each and every day we sit back in complete amazement as he becomes more and more alert and we come to realize that this little guy is our son and no doubt, a blessing from above.



His hands seem so big for a newborns...

Comic Relief!

Why is it that just when you bring a brand new baby home from the hospital, 2 owls decide to make their home on your roof?!? Monday night we come home and just 3 hours later we have one owl on each end of our roof having some sort of disagreement about who knows what. Joel, clearly trying to make me a widower, decides to go marching outside in only boxers and a t-shirt and throw rocks at these two... and eventually the downspout! I could hear him yelling at them followed by their loud claws taking off into the night. The first thing he said when he came back inside was, "I can't believe how close I was to them."

Henry has become quite the prankster when his diaper comes off. When I'm changing him at 3am in our bed, some kind of sensor must go off in his head that Mom's too tired to remember to change diapers on a blanket so he figures that's a good time to poop.... one the bright side, I love a clean set of sheets fresh from the dryer! Joel has not been pooped or peed on by the little guy and Henry even lets Joel put desitin on him! I can hardly wipe him and get a diaper on him before he lets loose on Mommy. Seriously... I think there's been at least 10 separate incidents!

Wednesday morning we had a doctor's appointment for both kids at 9:10am. We would need at least an hour to get dressed and drive there so...... we overslept and woke up at 9am. The pediatrician didn't mind meeting with us at 10:10 so it all worked out but, clearly this whole sleep deprivation does not sit kindly with Joel and I!

Anyway, enjoy these pics of our kiddos....



Norah and Henry all ready for their wellness visit.


Cuddle time for my favorite 3!

Blessed with Henry Michael

10.17.10: My son Henry's birthday
I will forever remember the events of this day. We have truly been blessed with the most beautiful little boy. I love him to pieces. All 10 pounds 5.6 ounces and every 22 inches of him. He is healthy. We opted for no epidural once again so now I tell Joel I'm entitled to a $200 "push gift." Ha! That's about the amount of money we would've paid after insurance for an epidural. Anyone who knows Joel knows that I'm not having much luck convincing him of a $200 gift!! Just teasing.... I know Henry IS the gift! We prayed and prayed for this little man and our prayers have been answered!

I love the fact that Norah has a little brother. She has taken well to him and I can't wait to watch the two of them grow up together.







Thank you everyone for your prayers for Henry. The pediatrician has deemed him, "perfect." They have declared an ultrasound on Henry's head unnecessary. Many more pictures to come.

Overdue.

Our little Henry has decided he loves his "womb-style" life. Our due date was yesterday and the little guy is very very low but, very comfortable obviously. My parents and Allison arrived on Saturday and we've been having a blast hanging out together. We've been doing a ton of walking out in the beautiful fall weather and I found myself feeling sad today just thinking about them leaving on Sunday. Having my family here has truly been a gift. With all the belly laughing that's been going on in our house; I'm surprised Henry hasn't decided to bust out and claim his own "personal space." My midwife guestimates his weight at 9 pounds. I'm not treating that as gospel and I kinda wish she wouldn't have told me that. Maybe an epidural is worth reconsidering.......just kidding. :)

Norah has truly been "hamming" it up this week. She is in her comfort zone and I know she'll feel completely at ease if she wakes up tomorrow and Mommy and Daddy are at the hospital while Grandma and Grandpa take care of her. Her patience has completely amazed me this week and today I asked my parents what my odds were of getting another easy-going baby like Norah. Mom said "nill." Dad laughed.

Pictures and updates to come. Please continue to pray for a safe(and painfree:) delivery and a very healthy baby. God is good.

Relief!

October brings so many exciting new adventures for our family. First of all, I have relieved Norah from her blogging duties. She has so much to concentrate on with all the growing, teething and learning she's been doing... keeping up a blog is a lot of pressure for a wee little one. From now on, you will hear of our family happenings from my boring mommy/wifey point of view. Of course, Norah might still throw in a witty comment here or there.:)

38 Week Ultrsound
Thursday morning I went to Community Bible Study(CBS) as usual at 9:30. Joel agreed to stay home with Nor, since she had a runny nose and somewhat of a fever, I didn't want her in the toddler nursery. I left CBS at 11:10 and rushed to the doctor's office to meet Joel and Norah for our ultrasound.

The ultrasound seemed pretty uneventful... except for the fact that they think Henry already weighs 8lbs. 6oz.!!!! We were 13 days from our due date on Thursday. As I was still digesting the hugeness of our baby we went to meet with our midwife. She told us that there was an excess amount of amniotic fluid for 38 weeks and that Henry had an abnormal amount of fluid in his cisterna magna (fluid filled space at the back of his brain).. they referred to this as mega cisterna magna. Normal range would have been less than 10mm. Henry's measured at 16mm. Joel thought nothing of the enlarged cisterna magna but, I was crying and very very worried about our little guy. Our midwife called after we got home and said that they would make an appointment with a specialist to investigate this further. They were going to call us Friday morning with the appointment time. Thursday night after we said prayers with Norah and put her to bed Joel and I sat in the living room and prayed for our little miracle. We already love him so incredibly much. It was consuming and a relief at the same time when I finally acknowledged that God is in control. Hard for my simple mind to understand but.... God loves Henry more than Joel and I combined.

Friday morning at 8:45am, I got a call saying the specialist wanted us to meet with her at 9:30. I rushed to wake Norah, feed her, clothe her, brush my teeth and we were out the door by 9. Joel met us there and another ultrasound began. This ultrasound showed Henry topping the charts at 9 POUNDS! Hopefully that's off by at least a pound! I saw the sonographer measure his cisterna magna at 17.7mm. Even bigger than Thursday's scan. Soon after the scanner finished, a doctor came in and scanned my stomach for a bit. "9 pounds? What are you just waiting for the baby to fall out?" was the first thing she said. I wish it was going to be that easy I said.:) She said everything else in Henry's brain looked perfectly fine and there was nothing that concerned her in the scan. PRAISE THE LORD! She told us that they'd still want Henry to have an ultrasound of his head after he's born but, there was no reason for us to be concerned. So... we continue to pray for Henry.

I know we have a great deal of love and support out there and we just ask that you include Henry in your daily prayers.