the simple joys....

A recent Sunday afternoon was spent enjoying all the wonderful things about spring including pretty new flowers in pretty new yellow pots

cute little dirty boy faces 

the view of our new pool and dreaming of lazy summer days and, wait, what's that in the background.....

why, yes, that would be my daughter.  playing in the sprinkler. in a long-sleeve dress.  and tights.  and cowboy boots.

 

a perfect Sunday aftenoon. i love this girl. enough said.



 

the bolt party......

Around here, we love the movie Bolt.  Love it.  If you have never seen it, I highly recommend it.  It is just the cutest thing.  And it was recently on tv.   And the girl declared that we were having a bolt party that night while we watched it.  So we did.


Curled up with Miss Two to watch the movie.




Excited about our night.



Our guest of honor

Practicing our "Super Bark"

Mmmmm.....paw print cupcakes

the suitcase.....

A few nights ago Bennett broke something off the desk chair in our front living room. It is not actually broken but the piece did come off. Shortly afterward, Charleigh came to find me in the other room to let me know what her brother had done.



Like any good mother I told her that Bennett would of course have to move out of our home. I mean, really, we had no other options.



"Okay," she said. And that was that. She went back into the other room and told brother of his fate.



A short time later he was crying and when I mentioned that I didn't know why, Charleigh's reply?




"Maybe he's sad that he has to move out. I even got his suitcase ready."

And she had. And placed it right by the front door.

She had packed it quite well too. The contents? A diaper, socks, pajamas, a sweatshirt, a beanie, jeans, and a shirt.




As you can see, Bennett was very concerned by the threat of being sent to live elsewhere.

Curious about where he was going? To TeeTee's (my cousin's) of course.

"But only for one day to think about what he did."

the birth story: part three......

So there I was. Walking down the little hallway to the operating room to meet my second child. It had been such a whirlwind of a morning that I was still trying to process that it was all really happening. They had Josh wait outside while I was prepped. I entered the room and remember thinking that it looked and felt very different from my experience with Charleigh. That feeling was most likely because with her I was already exhaused, medicated, and laying on a gurney when I was brought in there.

One of my nurses was an awesome girl by the name of Jane (I think.). She was a Cal State student so even though she was "working", she spent most of the time just taking care of me. After we got in the room they had me get up onto the table. Nurses were running around like crazy everywhere and it suddenly seemed so overwhelming. Then it started. The panic. I just felt like I could not do this. No surgery, no needles, no cutting, none of it. I wanted out of there. Now.

But that was not an option. At this point, Jane stepped in and was amazing. She held my hands and asked me nonsense and unimportant questions which really helped me relax. The epidural was placed (much better and easier than I remember with Charleigh). Once it began to take effect I was laid back on the table. My arms were placed on the boards, and I remember asking the anesthesiologist if I could have something for nausea because with Charleigh I puked right after she was delivered. It was not a pleasant experience while laid out flat and unable to move. She told me that she had already given me something for it as well as something for my blood pressure. I laid there while they placed the heartrate monitors, blood pressure cuff, and did lots of other fun stuff. At one point, I asked the anesthesiologist why the baby's heartrate sounded so fast. She pointed out that that was MY heartrate, not the baby's. Oops. Right about the time that panic started to set in, Josh was allowed into the room. This did wonders to calm me down.

The time had really come. We were really going to meet our baby.

Dr. C came in and got started. I was so much more numb this time around. I really felt nothing until that moment when you feel that big tug when I knew they had pulled the baby out. Throughout the pregnancy I had been begging Josh to look over the curtain the moment the baby was delivered. I just felt that it would be so exciting for him to really see if it was a boy or a girl and what it looked like fresh out of the womb. He adamantly refused because he gets kind of queasy and was worried that it would be too gory for him. I also secretly hoped to be allowed a quick glimpse of Cereal prior to him/her being wiped off and wrapped up. The second request I mentioned to Dr. C and she had previously instructed the OR staff to lower the curtain for me.

Back to the delivery. As soon as I felt that big motion that I knew was baby being pulled out, I heard Dr. C say, "Okay Daddy, look at this! What is it?" Without any hesitation whatsoever, Josh stood up and looked over the curtain. He then looked down at me and with the most amazing sound of awe in his voice he said the most beautiful words, "It's a boy honey. We have a son." I could hear the full squealing coming from my son and then the curtain was dropped. There, right in front of me was this purple, slimy, screaming baby. It was one of the most amazing moments of my life. The staff asked us if he had a name. To which we replied yes. It's Bennett.

Bennett Michael LaGore. How sweet a moment it was. We finally knew who this child was.

This sweet little surprise. This wiggleworm that played all hours of the night inside me. Cereal. This baby that Charleigh was already so in love with. Our second child. Our son. He was here. He had a name.

As with my daughter, I started to cry. Filled with such awe that God had given me the chance to be part of this miracle. The day had been so chaotic and unexpected. But those moments right before he was born and just after were so peaceful and terrific.

It was everything I could have hoped for.

He is everything I could have hoped for.

And so much more.

the birth story: part two....

Let's see....now where were we?

Oh yes, I survived the "day o' contractions" and was finally pain free. That lasted a glorious 48 hours, but alas, those darn things started right back up. By now, I had been given the "you're pregnant. It's part of the deal" speech and so I didn't really think much of them. They were uncomfortable, but bearable. Life continued on like normal for the rest of the week. Until.

Friday, April 16.

4:30 a.m. - I wake up and take my mom to work. Josh's car needs some repairs and so we are sharing a vehicle for the week. I need the truck to go to my dr's appointment so she is now at work without a vehicle.

8:00 a.m. - I drag myself and Charleigh out of bed. I had showered the night before because I had gone to a get together at my MOPS Mentor Mom's house. As a result, I threw my hair up in a ponytail, applied ZERO makeup, threw on some clothes, got Charleigh dressed and headed out to my weekly checkup appointment. No bags, no pictures, no nothing.

9:30 a.m. - I get a call from my girlfriend wanting to know if I would still like her to watch Charleigh while I go to my appointment. I tell her "no thanks, we'll be fine." It's just an in and out thing after all.

9:45 a.m. - We are called back for my appointment. My OB asks me if I have still been having contractions. To which I answer "Sure, but whatever. I can handle it." She checks me out and declares that the baby's head is much lower than it was the previous week, but there is no effacement or dilation. She then listens to the heartbeat. I notice that it sounds a little slower than usual and also that the doctor has kind of a funny look on her face. After putting the doppler away she turns to talk to me. It goes like this:

Dr. C: Well, Carrie, you're scheduled for your c-section on Tuesday. But we may be able to move it up at this point.

Me: Ehh, I'm okay with Tuesday. I'm handling the contractions okay and I just want to do what you think is best.

Dr. C: Perhaps we should think about going ahead with the delivery.

Me: When would we do it?

Dr. C: Today, silly. Go ahead and get dressed and let me see if they can fit you into the schedule.

(Insert me beginning to panic a little here. Deliver? This afternoon? I have so much to do still.)

10:15 a.m.- I head into Dr. C's office (with Charleigh) to find out what the plan is. She informs me that we are a go for delivery today. I calmly ask her what time we are looking at, to which she replies, "12:30" Oh my. Heart racing. Full blown panic. As I sit there in shock she asked me if my husband was nearby. Uh, no. He works in Elk Hills. 45 minutes away. "Call him" she tells me. I nod but don't move. "Now" she says.

10:20 a.m. - Josh gets the phone call all expectant dads dread. "Honey, come home now. Put down whatever you are doing and get here. My c-section is in 2 hours." My mom gets the next phone call. Except hers includes the words "Find a ride to the hospital. Now!" My dad's response? "I'm in Buttonwillow and covered in grease from a repair." My in-law's? They were almost 200 miles away on their way out of town. Awesome.

10:40 a.m. - My mom arrives at the hospital. Charleigh informs her that it is time for us to go pick up the baby. She spoke of it like we had ordered our dinner and it was time to get it. Don't we all wish? As my mom and I are deciding that she will go drop Charleigh off at Susie's house, my girfriend calls back. She asks if I need anything. Yeah, please come get my kid. And because she's amazing, she does.

11:00-11:30 a.m. - I was told to go to registration because apparently I had not registered correctly. When I get there, they are busy and so I sit. And wait. And wait. And wait. Meanwhile, my doctor's office calls and tells me to go straight to the birth center because they need to get me started. The registration people (rudely) inform me that is not an option. I have to register. While waiting, we hear the woman at the front desk arguing on the phone with someone who is clearly requesting that they send me upstairs. But alas, no can do. When I am finally called back, the girl checking me in is slower than molasses. I simultaneously answer questions, field about 10 phone calls, and send out a few texts to friends. Finally, I am headed upstairs.

11:35 a.m. - I arrive at the birthing center, only to be greeted by my doctor in the hallway. "Where have you been?" she asks. Grrr.... And then, because she's great, she eats a cookie in front of me. I was soo hungry at this point. My crepe from 7:30 the night before was really not cutting it anymore. When I give her a (jokingly) bad time about eating in front of me she replied, "I need to keep my energy up for surgery." I love her. Seriously.

11:40 a.m. - I am brought into my room and change into my gown. Looking at the clock, I call Josh and tell him not to hurry too much because there is no way that I will be prepped and ready to go in 45 minutes. Ha.

11:45 a.m. - 12:32 p.m. - Chaos reigns. IVs are flying, meds are going in, and the questions. Oh, the questions. At one point, I had two nurses and the anesthesiologist all asking me questions at once. I thought my head would explode. I was hooked up to the monitors where we found out that I was having regular contractions every 5 minutes. Um, yeah. I did have the same anesthesiologist I had with Charleigh and she agreed immediately when I asked if I could have an epidural rather than the spinal block. One weight from my shoulders. At some point Dr. C peeked her head in and asked them to move it along. Josh arrived some time in there. I was prepped. Josh was dressed in his scrubs. The phone rang constantly. Mine, Josh's and my mom's. The flurry of activity made the whole thing seem so surreal.

12:32 p.m. - I am walking down the hallway to the OR. It all just got a whole lot more real.........