Snow

On Saturday night it snowed. On Sunday Chris and I figured Alyssa should get to enjoy it. The wind was still blowing about 20 mph with gusts up to 40 so we left Colin inside and took Alyssa out on the deck. Her shoes became covered in snow and I showed her how to make a snowball. She loved it. The whole time( like 3 minutes) we were outside she had the biggest smile on her face and enjoyed everything there was about the snow.

When we came inside she decided that she should put on her daddy's snow gear. She looked adorable and she knew it.

There was not enough snow for a snowman but I promise you that when there is, she will have to be out there making one.

Firsts

Colin has now had his first bath, his first doctor's appointment and his first visitors. It is amazing how different the second child is than the first.

I LOVE to hold Colin and snuggle up with him but I do not hold him half as much as I held Alyssa. Part of this is because I'm already back to work and can't hold him and take care of kids at the same time, but the other part is I need time with Alyssa too.

Colin is very content sleeping in his swing or bouncy seat for hours at a time while I play with Alyssa or take care of the daycare.

Another difference is the firsts. When Alyssa got her first bath we took like 100 pictures. The first time we put Colin in the bath someone had to run to get the camera because we had forgotten it.

As I uploaded pictures to my computer yesterday so that I could write about some of his firsts I realized that Alyssa still had more pictures on the camera than Colin.

Chris and I both love being parents to two kids and are way more relaxed with the second but sometimes I feel a little guilty because we aren't as overbearing as we were with Alyssa.

Picking the Christmas Tree

We usually get our tree the first weekend in December. But this year we waited until the second week because Colin was so little that first week.

On Saturday we packed up the family in two cars and headed out to Home Depot to get the tree. Now usually when we go we walk up and down each aisle at least two times picking up trees and admiring them from different angles to see if there are bald spots and if it will look good in our house.

This year we get out of the car to the bitter cold and wind. We ran inside and got all the things we needed from inside including a cart. I put Colin in the basket part and tried to put Alyssa in the seat but she wanted to walk. So out we go to find a tree. We start up the first row with the wind blowing at about 40 mph. I pull a tree out and say this looks good. Chris pulls a tree out and we say we like that one but it looks like it has been sitting awhile. The wind blows again. We grab the first tree I picked up and I head to the car with the kids.

Once in the car Alyssa is crying because her hands hurt from the cold and Colin is crying. And I'm driving with the heat blowing full blast.

If you know me you know that picking out a tree usually entails at least 20 minutes. This year I could have cared less. It was cold and the kids were cold. It is amazing how your priorities change.

We brought it home to decorate. Alyssa walked behind Chris saying "eww" to every pine needle that dropped.

Alyssa loved the lights on the tree and enjoyed hanging a few ornaments though most were to hard for her to hang.

Colin James

On Wednesday I had my 37 week check up. My blood pressure was up and since Thanksgiving was the next day I was sent to Labor and Delivery for blood work and monitoring. My blood work came back fine and my blood pressure went down but I was having contractions. The contractions did not amount to anything so they sent me home.

I had BH contractions all day Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Saturday night my family went and walked the zoo lights. That finally made the contractions stop.

All day Sunday I felt great and got a lot done.

On Monday morning I got up and at 6:15am my water broke. It was a huge gush that would not stop coming. There was mecuim in the fluid so I knew we needed to head straight in to the hospital.

We left for the hospital at 7:20 and checked in about 8:30 am. When I checked in I was 2 cm and 80% effaced. They monitored my contractions for about an hour and they were not strong or consistent so they started pitocon.

At 11 they finally let me get out of bed and onto a birthing ball. This only lasted about 40 minutes because with every contraction his heart rate would drop. They decided that I had lost too much fluid. So I got the epidural and they inserted an internal monitor and pushed fluid back into my uterus so that he wasn't being squeezed during contractions.

At 5 pm I was finally 5cm. At 6 they checked me again and I was 9. They started setting the room up. At 6:25 I started pushing. He was born at 6:33 after 3 pushes. The NICU nurse that was supposed to be in there to suction his lungs since he had mecuim did not make it in time and he took a breath, but was fine.

He was born at 37 weeks 3 days. He weighed 7 lbs 14 ounces, 20 1/2 inches long and was healthy.

He is eating like a champ and I am so in love.

Cute

Two quick stories about my growing baby girl.

1. She loves to sing songs. She has two that she likes to watch on youtube one is KT Tunsel called "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" and the second is "Kiss the girl" from the little mermaid. We also sing a lot of songs. Her favorite is "5 little monkeys swinging in a tree". Any time I start another song she asks for this one next. She can do the movements to wheels on the bus, patty cake, If your happy and you know it.

Well anytime I start to sing the ABC's she runs to her toy area and gets a toy that sings the ABC's we think it was pretty smart. Today I was changing her clothes at swim and I heard a lady singing "Twinkle Twinkle little star". I thought to myself I never sing that one to Alyssa. So tonight I started singing it. She ran to her toy area got a music book turned it on and played the song. I had listened to her play with that book a hundred times but never payed attention that it played that song.

2. Tonight Chris is out with friends so Alyssa and I are home by ourselves. I really want Wendy's and think I will pack Alyssa up in the car to go get it soon, but she was hungry so I was giving her a pop tart to hold her over.

I gave her a piece of pop tart. ( we are sitting on the floor in the TV room). She puts it down, folds her hands and starts to say prayer. I could understand God good and Amen. She then waited for me to repeat the prayer then picked up her pop tart and started eating.

I know she doesn't know why or what prayer means but it melts my heart that she knows that we are to do it before we eat. There are times she also will do it when we are out.

She is a smart little girl and I am so lucky to be her mom.

Halloween

Alyssa had a blast Halloween weekend. On Saturday we decided kind of last minute to go to the mall and trick or treat through the stores. We were told it was going on from 4-6. So we got there at 4:30 and over half the stores were out of candy. We didn't really care because Alyssa doesn't eat candy. Everyone thought she was really cute and she loved that people were putting things in her basket.

We came home and ate dinner then headed back out for the Alton Halloween Parade. You can tell we haven't been to a parade in ages because we didn't take a blanket or chairs. Alyssa was 2 minutes from falling asleep when it started but had a blast watching the floats.

On Halloween I only let her go to 4 houses of people we knew pretty well. She then ran around the front yard while we passed out candy for a little bit then came in for bed.

She did not know why people were giving her things but she LOVED it and spent two days taking the candy out of her basket and putting it back in.

I would say it was a good Halloween.

Day Care

My daycare is taking off! I just had to put an ad up looking for an assistant to start after the new year. I need one more kid and then I will need full time assistant. Praise God.

Starting in Jan I will have 4 kids under a year( with another baby in March).

2-3 kids in the 1-2 range. (though 2 will be a month from that 2 point)

and 3 kids in the 2 -7 range. Two of those will be my kids but other than that they are daycare and paying customers. I wish a few of them would be more full time but I will take what I can get.

I'm to the point where I don't have to be as flexible. I told Chris no more kids that have to have weird hours. I will keep the ones I have but I will not take on anymore.

I go to a class next Wednesday to really get the licensing process started. Hopefully I can get things moving quickly and have it done by the new year. Now I'm off to find more pack n plays and maybe another high chair.