Imperfect Perfection

I can't believe that we are parents to two children!  It all happened so fast, we started and completed our family within in 2 years! 

We didn't find out the gender of this baby until delivery, so planning was a little different this time around.  There was a lot of purchasing boy and girl stuff, knowing that some of it would be going back.  Picking a name was also a challenge this time.  With Brooklyn, once we heard the name, we both knew that was it, but this time we didn't have that feeling.  We kept a chalkboard with a running list of boy and girl names.  


Dad and I arrived at the hospital at 5am on Monday, April 11, 2016.  We got checked in and set up in the birthing room.  Finally. at 8:30am, they started me on Pitocin and every 30 minutes or so, they would come turn it up.  Around 9am, Mom arrived with Brooklyn, who sat and ate her breakfast with us.  Then Julie and Robert joined us.  Later in the day Parker and Rylee came.  We kept telling Lindsey that there was no rush and to stay at work until we called.  Well as you will read, that time came extremely fast, but Lindsey rushed to the hospital just in time.

The day lingered on with not much action, until...around 1 I decided it was time to get me epidural!  The anesthesiologist was very nice and patient with me, since I was crying about the pain (I didn't get the recommended pain meds prior to the epidural, because with Brooklyn they made me feel so loopy).  He also told me that there is such a thing as having too strong of an epidural (who knew?), which may be the reason I was so sore, for so many weeks, after having Brooklyn. 

Around 3:30 the nurse came in and asked me to try to reposition my self since the baby's heart rate had dropped.  After a few attempts, she said, it was time to call Dr. Lee and have this baby!  Dr. Lee arrived within minutes and was rushing to get the bed into position.  I kept asking if there was anything to worry about since the baby's heart rate was so low and she said no, it was just time to get the baby out (I feel like she has to be good at hiding her emotions, as to not worry the mom).  So, we pushed and pushed. Because my epidural wasn't as strong as it was with Brooklyn, I was able to feel some pressure of the contractions and they made me know when to push and also push more effectively (thank God!)  Dr. Lee to me we were almost there, but the baby's heart rate dropped again and we had to use the vacuum to get the baby out quickly.  So, one more push and out came the baby!

Dr. Lee has previously asked me who was to announce the gender and I told her she could, since she would be the first to see it.  However, she didn't immediately announce the gender (because she was untangling the cord) and was holding the baby above me and all I could see was balls :) haha, so I yelled, Oh my god, it is a BOY!!!!

Because the baby wasn't in any danger (like Brooklyn) following birth, I was able to do the delayed cord clamping and do an hour of skin-to-skin!



Remember that chalkboard with our list of names, we prior to getting the hospital AJ and I sat down and picked our favorites and then looked to see which ones we both picked  For the boy names we only agreed on Jaxon. Well...when we got to the hospital, AJ all the sudden became indecisive and wasn't sure about Jaxon any more.  So, we kind of started all over again looking for names.  The last morning of our hospital stay, we still hadn't decided, so I suggested we go back to Jaxon and we agreed (just in time to apply for his birth certificate).  This name suites him so perfectly.
We are so happy to have both a boy and a girl to complete our family. Now, the real fun/craziness begins!

I have to be honest, these weekly photos really take a toll on me.  Especially after being pregnant for what feels like 2 years!  However, I am so glad we have these updates to remember this time in our lives.  I hope my kids are able to look back at these and see all the love and anticipation we had waiting to welcome them to the world. 

Our Lil' Cuppiecake turned 1!!

We had a wonderful celebration at my mom's house with close friends and family.  We have been calling Brooklyn Cupcake/Cuppie Cake for almost her whole life, so it made sense that we would have a cupcake themed birthday party for her.

I had so much fun planning this with my mom, sister and of course AJ.  I haven't had time to craft much since B was born, so this party was a perfect excuse to get back to it.  I made her highchair tutu, the cupcake liner garland, her birthday updates chalkboard, all cakes and cupcakes (with scratch icing) and her monthly photo banner.  I was going to make her tutu but, because I had never attempted a tutu, I went ahead and ordered one from Etsy shop Sunday Boutique, to make sure it was nice and full. It turned out great.  However, after making the tutu for her high chair, I realized I could have easily attempted it.  The onsie was made by ABCDedsigns & Monogramming.
 




B was starting to suffer from allergies (cause we live in awesome Florida!) so she wasn't feeling her best, but I was surprised how good she was for the party.  Watching her interact with so many people was awesome.  I think she had a really good time.  She loved when everyone sang Happy Birthday to her and clapped for them at the end.





She didn't get as crazy with her smash cake as I would have thought, since it was her first time having sugar.  But, it was still so much fun to watch:)



She got so many awesome presents, that will last her forever.  Thank you to everyone that came out to share her special day:)

I am trying to make sure I do all the special things I did for Brooklyn, for this new baby.  This not only includes weekly belly photos (which to be honest, I loathe that I have to get "pretty" every week on the same day, take the photo and then edit, but I did it with B:) and also a professional maternity shoot.

Last time, I hired a photographer for $90 (for a 30 minute shoot) and honestly wasn't very happy with the photos.  I did get a few good ones, so it was worth it.  Well, this time I was determined to save my money and use my Nikon D3200. 

We stayed at my mom's this past weekend just for fun and decided to head out the next morning to get some shots.  At first, I was planning on going to Maclay State Gardens, but then changed my mind to Pebble Hill, where we got married, and I am so glad I did!  The scenery there is endless.

My mom came along with us (thank God), so we didn't have to use the tripod.  I am so pleased with how they turned out.  I did do some editing on my free editing software, nothing too drastic, just some cropping and fixing the exposure.  Enjoy!











Side note, I really need to start taking photos "professionally".  I really enjoy it and think I can capture some great memories (for much cheaper than most photographers).  Let me know if you would like me to work with you.