Monday, June 10, 2013

Welcome Little Miss Avy Jane!

Avy Jane Wayment
This sweet little miss made her dramatic debut into the world on Thursday May 23rd at 7:28 pm.  She is wonderful, and has everyone around her just absolutely in love.
I'll post the pictures here first, then if you want the whole story, feel free to read to the end.


Waiting for the antibiotics to finish so we could get things started!

Steve demonstrating how to push...

My momma was my extra support -- she even braided my hair to keep it out of my face

Here she is!!
Two very proud parents
That first skin-to-skin snuggle is my favorite thing in the world!

Avy was pretty purple right after she was born, but she pinked up pretty quickly.
6 lbs 8 oz.  19 1/2 inches




Thoroughly enjoying her spa treatment
Look at that double chin! Hehe!!


Thatcher was sick, so he had to stay with Nani, but Grayson came and met his baby sister in the hospital.  He was so cute, and so excited! He kept saying "She's so cute!" "She's so tiny!" and for some reason, "She's so fuzzy!" 




Holding baby sis's hand

Sucking her thumb


Avy has her daddy wrapped around her little finger already :)


All dressed up and ready to go home



So here is Avy's birth story:
On May 23rd, I went in for my regular OB visit at my doctor's office. I've been contracting/dilating for many weeks, so there was nothing really new to report.  When he checked me, I was dilated to 6cm and fully effaced, fully engaged.  Dr. Seale said he didn't think I should go home -- he was afraid that I could go into full labor any minute, and maybe not make it back to the hospital. And seeing how fast I did go, I'm glad he kept me!
I called Steve and my mom, then headed down the hall to Labor & Delivery.  I was GBS positive, so I had to have IV antibiotics infused 4 hours before I delivered.  They got everything all hooked up (after one painful IV fail), and then we settled in to wait until my 4 hours were up.  A few times, the nurse would come in and look astonished at how comfortable I was -- they all kept asking if I was "really okay" -- seeing how many contractions I was having, and knowing how far I was dilated already.  I could feel the contractions, of course, but it wasn't any different than the ones I'd been having for months, so I was just fine.
Finally it was 3 1/2 hours after the antibiotics finished, and Dr. Seale came back in, said I was dilated to 7cm, and broke my water.  He said he would stay in his office -- it was so good that he stayed close.  As soon as my membranes were ruptured, my contractions REALLY kicked up, and we were in business.  I had been planning all along to have a drug-free delivery, and I got myself comfortable and tried to relax through my contractions.  Steve ran down to the cafeteria, since we figured we'd be there for a little while.  So it was just me and my mom in the room when I started feeling a lot of pressure -- which very quickly turned into "OH MY GOSH SHE'S COMING NOW!" Baby girl had found the exit, and she was making her escape, whether we were ready for her or not.  My poor mom tried to stay calm while she tried to find someone -- which of course no one was around. Steve came back from the cafeteria, and I'm pretty sure I yelled at him to get in there quick -- she was coming! I think I scared the poor guy.  It was the weirdest/scariest/hardest thing to have to keep her in until everyone was there.  It felt like forever, but of course it was only a few minutes -- finally my nurse came in, and she did an emergency broadcast.  Everyone came running, and they all got there JUST in time.  I couldn't even move into the traditional "stirrup" position to deliver -- they didn't even have time to break down the bed. Dr. Seale just got into position, said "Oh, yep, she's crowning!", told me to push, and Avy was born! It was exactly 4 hours after the antibiotics, and exactly 1/2 hour (HALF AN HOUR!) after my water broke. Little Miss came FAST.
It was so strange to go from walking out of my doctor's office to having my baby HERE in just 4 hours. I had myself all ready and in the mindset of having to go through hours of pain -- I had read a book on hypnobirthing, and was all ready with my relaxation exercises.  I did relax through the contractions I had, and it definitely helped -- but I think anyone can handle a 1/2 hour of real labor! Ha! So I really don't count it as any real "accomplishment" that I went natural -- it wasn't anything all that bad.  The only thing I hadn't felt before was the actual birth -- that was quite the experience.  Apparently I said something like "that kind of burns", because everyone kept making fun of me for saying it.  Dr. Seale joked afterwards "I'm over here whining to myself about how my back hurts from having to be in a weird position while I deliver the baby, and you're pushing out a 6 lb baby with no drugs, and you're just like 'that burns a little bit'." Then he called me "the Chuck Norris of all birthing women".  Ha! I think I'll take that as a compliment. (?) The most uncomfortable thing was probably being stitched up afterward without being numb at all -- since I just had a small tear and only needed two stitches, the doctor said it would probably hurt more to give me the shots, so I could feel everything for those -- not very fun in that very sensitive recently-much-abused area.  But all in all, I'm very glad I didn't get an epidural this time -- I felt so much better, and my recovery was so much quicker.  It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it'd be -- but like I said before, anyone can handle just 1/2 hour of labor. Not that bad. :)
Avy was technically pre-term (I had her at 36 weeks and 6 days -- ONE DAY before she would have been term), so they had to do all kinds of tests and protocols.  It was really annoying -- they didn't used to do all that stuff unless the baby was symptomatic -- but everything was fine, and she is very healthy. She had an elevated bilirubin and had to be on the bili bed for a few days, but she is fine now.  She's having a rough time with breastfeeding, but she has a VERY determined momma that will NOT allow even a drop of formula, so she'll get it eventually. :)
Her big brothers are very much in love with her -- especially Grayson.  He gives her lots of kisses and tender little soft touches and is always saying how cute she is, and how much he loves her.  He has dubbed her "Pipsqueak" -- because she "likes to go 'Pip!' and she squeaks a lot". He says we have a "medium" sized family now, and makes sure at least once a day that we really ARE keeping her.  Thatcher mostly just ignores her, but sometimes he kisses her and says "she's so cute!!" -- or tries to shove her binkie in her mouth or something.
We're all still adjusting to life with a new baby, but we're loving it! We just love this sweet little girl to pieces!

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Happy 5th Birthday, Grayson Wesley!


 

My little boy is FIVE!! He is just such a KID now.

Here are some of Gray's favorite things right now (as told by Gray himself):
Color: green & blue
Book: The Hungry Bunny
Movie: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
Food: Pizza
Treat: chocolate worms (???)
TV Show: Slugterra, Phineas and Ferb
Toy: my teddy bear, Bludown (his stuffed pug), and my Skylanders toys
Animal: bears, tigers, and lions
Song: Roll Your Hands, and the dogs and bees song (My Favorite Things -- he requests it every night at bedtime)
Sport: Bowling
Day: Preschool days
Holiday: Easter, Christmas, and my birthday
Number: 32
Cereal: Froot Loops, Cinnamon Toast Crunch
Store: Flower stores (??)
Game: Skylanders

And here are his answers to some interview questions I asked him:
What do you and Mommy do together? "vacuum the tomatoes" (??????)
What do you and Daddy do together? "we make clothes for Thatcher" (??)
What makes you happy? "Skylanders"
What is something scary? "a ghost ship"
What are you really good at? "playing Skylanders.  And dancing"
Who is your best friend? "Mommy.  Daddy.  Thatcher sometimes"
What do you want to be when you grow up? "A daddy.  When I'm really old. Like ten."
What is something new you'd like to try? "building blocks"
What do you think about before you fall asleep? "the tooth fairy"
Who is someone famous you'd like to meet? "Santa Claus. And all the Skylanders"

Can you tell he really likes Skylanders??! It's his favorite thing right now -- he's a tad obsessed!  So, naturally he had a Skylanders birthday party.  We just had a small group of family and friends over for a pizza party, and Gray loved it!


He got this "birthday crown" at preschool, and he was SO excited! He wore it the whole week :)
Balloons! In all the Skylanders elements colors
Gray was SO excited for his cake!  So was Thatcher -- he was so upset that I wouldn't let him have any before the party.
When I asked Gray what he wanted on his cake this year, he said "I want it to say 'Skylanders' on it, and I want LOTS of sprinkles! LOTS, Mom."  So here's what I came up with.  I think it qualifies as "lots", don't you think?!
He hid while we sang "Happy Birthday" to him -- a little overwhelmed I guess.
But he sure knew what to do with those candles! 
T finally got his cupcake, so he was happy :)
Nani made Grayson a blanket -- it's so soft and wonderful!
He loves it, as you can see.  He calls it his "special Nani blanket" and snuggles with it all the time.
Surprise surprise! He got SKYLANDERS!  Uncle JD and family gave him THREE! Jackpot!
Giving his buddy Carson a hug for the monster trucks he gave him. So cute!

Fun Play Doh set from Harmony and Derek -- we have had many messy-fun times with this stuff! :)
MORE Skylanders! We got him the new Giants game and some new characters, too. He of course had to go play the game right away to try them all out. 
Grandma and Grandpa gave him these awesome Nerf darts -- they came with two guns, but mostly Gray and Daddy just threw them at each other and laughed :)
Auntie Sarah and family sent Gray two pairs of new jammies! I swear he's the only kid on the planet that gets THIS excited about new pajamas! Ha! He loves them!
Ama gave Gray and T some books for their birthdays --  always so fun! Aren't they so cute?! I love that they both fit in the chair to read together :)
Happy Birthday, Gray! We love you so much, and we're so excited to see what this year brings!

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

It's A.....


Avy Jane Wayment -- coming June 2013

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Happy 2nd Birthday, Thatcher Arie!



Our little T-bear is officially a toddler now.  He definitely thinks he is ready to be a "big boy".  Here's a little bit about what's going on with T lately:

- First and foremost, this boy is a mover.  If he's not asleep, he's on the move.  He never stops for more than a few seconds.  He's ALWAYS running, jumping, climbing, etc.  He loves to run back and forth from the front door to the kitchen -- apparently for no reason at all.  He also runs like a crazy person -- just all-out with no restraint at all.  Every time I see him run (and it's a LOT), I'm amazed that he manages to stay upright and not crash.

- I love the way he says his name -- "Tatcherr Awie".  I love how he says pretty much anything -- his little voice always sounds so adorable.

- He loves his big brother, and tries to do everything Grayson does. But for some odd reason (no one can figure out why), he calls Grayson "Thatcher".  He'll call everyone else by their real names, and he he knows HIS name is Thatcher, but Gray is "Thatcher", too.  Even when he's tattling on Grayson -- "Tatcher hit, Mommy!" We've tried everything we know of to get him to say the right name, but he is very insistent.  No clue what that's about.

- He is so darn CUTE! Everything he does is adorable -- his little voice is so cute, his smile is so sweet -- even his tantrums are adorable to me.  I love this age! :)

- He can count to 12 by himself -- sometimes skipping 'eight', but mostly getting it right.  He can also name most of the colors correctly, and all the ABC's with help.

- He's a talker.  Most people would be surprised to hear this, since he rarely talks when there are other people around.  But if he's comfy, he'll talk your ear off. He's very good at sentences and large words -- he surprises me with things he says sometimes.

- His most often-used phrase right now is "Watch, Mommy!" and he'll keep repeating it until I respond that I am watching.  He does it for everything -- jumping off a pillow, swinging a sword, bending down and hopping forward.  And he looks so pleased every time -- I love it!  Another phrase he uses a lot is "What's that guy doin'?"

- T loves books - his favorites right now are "The Hiccupotamus" and "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?".  We have to read both of them at least twice a day.  I've even heard him reciting parts of "The Hiccupotamus" in his sleep.  And I can recite the whole thing from memory.

- He loves cars -- the toys and the Disney movies.  He also loves real cars, and tells me everyday he wants to "Go bye-bye in the car!"

- He loves to watch Yo Gabba Gabba, Blue's Clues, Wreck it Ralph, Shaun the Sheep, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  He also loves to watch Grayson play Skylanders -- which is good, because it happens a lot.

- When we sing "Old MacDonald Had a Farm", he makes every animal say "Mooo".

- He loves music, dancing, and singing most of the time, but when I start singing and he doesn't want me to, he'll sternly say "MOMMY." in a very irritated voice until I stop.

- He's the skinniest little dude on the planet.  The boy weighs 21 pounds, guys.  He's hard to dress, because he's so tall that any pants that are long enough just fall right off his bum. Which is so weird, because...

- He loves to eat.  He's such a good eater, and will usually try new foods without complaining at all.  He gets very enthusiastic about it when he likes what he's eating, too -- he'll nod his head in a big exaggerated movement, and say "Mmmm hmmm!"  His favorite foods right now are muffins ("muppins!"), cheese (any kind -- give him a piece of string cheese and he acts like you gave him a huge ole' cookie -- he bends at the waist and hops once with a big smile on his face), macaroni and cheese, chicken nuggets, bananas, and apples. Also, anything Grayson is eating -- if Gray has something, T needs it, too.

- He still loves his binkies -- he has two that are attached to two small binky blankets, and he has to carry them around with him.  I don't think I'm ever getting those things away from him!

- He calls our dog "Onnie" (his name is Ollie), and frequently scolds him when he barks.  "No, Onnie.  No bark. Bad, Onnie!"  Again, it's adorable in his tiny little voice.

- The other day when I went in his room first thing in the morning, he smiled at me and said "Hi, Mommy.  Nice to see you!"

- He refers to my growing baby belly as it's own entity -- "Hi Mommy! Hi Mommy tummy!".

- He is such a snuggler, and I love it!  He always has to be on TOP of me, though, when he snuggles.  He's running out of room.  :)

- His beautiful blonde curls are gone now.  It's so very sad to me.  He just gets one little curly wave right in front on his forehead.

- He is loved beyond belief.  Everyone that knows this little guy can't help but just LOVE him.  Especially his momma ;)

Here are some pictures from his birthday party at my mom's house.  It was a small event -- just us, my parents, my brother and family, and Steve's parents.  But T had a great time.  My mom bought him a Lightning McQueen Cars cake from her very talented friend Holli Speechly, and he LOVED it.