Welcome Baby Shane!!!

We are proud to welcome our new addition to our little family, Shane! He's finally here and we are having a ball with both boys! Shane's birth was totally different from Chase's because we had a c-section. To be honest, not knowing exactly what to expect frightened me and I was nervous about having major surgery which involved cutting into my abdomen and my muscles. Also, I was weary about the amount of time it takes to recover. The reason for the c-section was that Shane was breech. When this happens, the doctor lets the parents make the decision as to whether they want the doctor to turn the baby which could involve the cord getting caught around the baby or just opt for a c-section. We opted for the C and a good thing we did because Shane was true breech (facing his back to the world and sitting Indian style) with the cord wrapped all around his body! The whole process of the c-section was pretty fast. We got to the hospital at 8 am Tuesday, January 3rd, and they immediately took me to a pre-opt room. The nurses then took all my vital signs and started to poke me to start my IV. Immediately, I became paranoid because it took them 5-6 pokes with the IV needle on BOTH arms before they found a vein they liked. I was not too happy about this and was thinking "if this is how this whole ordeal is starting then I cannot even imagine how the actual operation is going to go!" Then my doctor came in to do an ultrasound to make sure the baby was still breech, which he was and decided to tell the nurses that we are going to go in earlier than the scheduled 10am time. So, panic started to set in on my behalf. The anesthesiologist came in to give me a super sour little drink since I said I was nauseous(mostly because I was starving) to settle my stomach and then they wheeled me into a SUPER cold (I was shaking it was so cold) and bright room (totally like something in the movies). Reality began to set in at this point. They started the spinal on my back which was similar to the epidural I had from Chase's birth except I feel NOTHING from my chest plate down which is freaky in itself. Then they laid me down on the table and spread my arms out. They no longer let you film the actual C so Cory could only take pics after the baby was out. As I was laying there and they begin, I quickly started to smell a burning scent from everything they were doing. I really do not know what it entails AND I rather not know!! Not to mention the entire time the doctors and nurses are chatting it up like they are gathered around a cooler telling office gossip. One of the anesthesiologist was massaging my temples the whole time so I had my eyes shut until they let me know my son was out! Of course, once they say the baby is out, you wait that first 30 seconds for the baby to take his first gasp for air and start his crying which always sounds strained since his little lungs are breathing for the first time. And once I saw Shane, I was in love! C section babies have the most perfect look because they are not puffy and their heads are perfectly round since they went through no trauma. After all that, then they apparently took my uterus out, along with other organs (eeek), and clean it out then put everything back inside. FREAKY! I do not know how some of my friends do this over and over again! Then they wheel you over to recovery for an hour or so and then into postpartum. I will say this, Baylor Frisco is the most luxurious hospital I have ever been to! Every delicious meal was made by a chef and every meal included the same exact meal for Cory. Finally, a hospital who cares about your other half! Our last meal was a steak and lobster dinner! I was very impressed and would go back for any surgery I would ever have again! Even Cory's dad would joke that it looked like a country club every time he came to visit!

Anyways, later that day, when Chase was out of school, he came up to meet his baby brother and we had a Big Brother Party for him with cake, balloons and presents. Both sets of Grandparents and his Nana were all in attendance and made it very special for him! He did not seem to notice much but the balloons that were in the room! The kid loves balloons! That's my boy! He did however manage to give his little brother a couple of kisses and it certainly made my heart MELT! I did feel a lot of guilt that I was unable to be with Chase but knew he was in good hands. Although I loved the hospital, I made sure to go home the second they asked if I felt better because I wanted to spend time with both my boys (all three including Cory)!

Anyways, we are all home (as of Friday, January 6) and doing well. We are currently trying to get into a routine after all the help we had that first week. Having your second can be challenging but it is pretty easy because you know what to do right off the bat because you have been there before. Shane's tempermant is really calm and relaxed so far and Chase loves pushing him in the swing. He also loves saying "baby Shane eating boobie" since I am currently breast feeding which is cute and funny at the same time! LOL! I am sure I will have more stories in the near future so until then....

YO GABBA GABBA!

After the last downer blog, I decided to post something FUN! Chase and Daddy went to their first concert together! Daddy got Chase front row tickets with backstage passes which was WAY worth it! Chase's buddy Etan was right there with him and both boys had a lot of fun!

Playing the Waiting Game

Well, we have about six more weeks before our new addition arrives. I am getting into panic mode because I procrastinated (which I never do) and now have a ton of things to get done before Chase's little brother gets here! I decided to also take on the task of redecorating Chase's room into a sports theme which was a lot more work than I anticipated and I still have a long way to go. Hopefully, I can get it all done before the new year! Also, I am having such a hard time at this point in my pregnancy. It is so hard with all the exhaustion I am experiencing to keep up with my VERY active two year old. I seriously feel like I move at a snail's pace lately which is frustrating! By 3 pm I tend to hit a wall and get into zombie mode. I am starting to drink coffee only because I cannot even keep up with my usual daily activities! I cannot wait to be my normal self at my normal energy level in a couple of months!!

In Chase news, a lot of exciting and not so exciting stuff has gone on. First off, he now LOVES school which is awesome! He is progressing at a rapid rate and is turning into a little parrot. Of course, this means, Cory and I now have to watch what we say. In a not so happy light, we have had some pretty traumatic things happen in the past three or so months. First off, we had an instance at Chipotle where Chase was choking. It was so scary! I do not ever want to re-live that day. He was choking so bad that he stopped coughing and was turning blue. He was making no sounds and Cory and I were freaking out. Luckily, a stranger at a table nearby jumped up to help and turned Chase upside down. He proceeded to pat his back until the food came out. The whole restaurant was concerned and everyone seemed to be trying to help after that. Before Chase was born, Cory and I took baby CPR but in the heat of the moment, anything we learned was definitely forgotten. I will tell you this, I will never forget now!!!! Another scary instance we had was that Chase got his second case of Croup (croup can be pretty common in kids and consists of a virus or several viruses that cause a distinctive cough). This time he had stridor along with it. Stridor is when your child's airway is closing. Chase woke up with the barky cough that croup brings on in the night but this time sounded like he was having an asthma attack even as I was holding him. I had no idea what was happening to my little boy. We called the nurse and after going thru Chase's symptoms she said, without hesitation, for us to go directly to the ER. Now, I was not prepared for those words to come out of her mouth. I was in shock and of course got worried immediately! Cory and I jumped in the car after running circles around each other and drove up to Children's Hospital in Plano at 1:30 am. Upon arrival they checked Chase right in because they could tell his symptoms were pretty bad. The nurses gave him a steroid medicine orally and put a breathing apparatus around his mouth which of course he protested the entire time. They kept us there for two hours to monitor him and finally sent us home at 4 am. Again, that was very scary! Cory and I looked at each other after both these events and confirmed that we can only handle two kids after those instances. Being a parent can be really scary at times!! Now, to lighten things up.....Chase turned two on November 10th! We took a cookie cake up to his school and celebrated with his friends there and had a birthday party that Saturday at Pump it Up in Frisco with all his other friends! Needless to say he had a blast and definitely seemed to understand it was his birthday!!

Well, that's all for now and I will try to update before the new baby is here if I have a chance, so STAY TUNED!!

Baby #2 and Chase Starts School

Cory and I went yesterday to my doctor's appointment and we found out the sex of the baby. Now, before I just give the good news away, I want to say that all those old wives tales are bologna! There is no truth to the way you carry the baby, nauseous or not nauseous, etc. All pregnancies are different! So, that being said, Cory, Chase and myself are proud to announce that we are welcoming a new baby boy into our world at the end of this year! When the doctor told us, I was in serious shock. I was 100% sure as were anyone I was ever around that it was a girl. I was carrying low, I was nauseated, I felt so different than when I was pregnant with Chase. After the initial shock set in, I was and am thrilled! I love having a little boy so I know I will love having two! Little boys are sweet, fun, crazy, destructive, and active. They do not normally bring any drama and tend to be tough. To be honest, while I was in the doctor's office before our appointment, panic was starting to set in on having a little girl. Cory is ECSTATIC to say the least. I had him convinced it was a girl but he was so happy to have another boy. However, it would be nice to have one of each so that we can see the difference in dynamic. Who knows, maybe MANY years down the line (and I mean many) we can discuss if we want to add another child into our hectic lives. I still have to get through this pregnancy first! Also, upon watching Baby #2 on the monitor, this baby is VERY active! More so than Chase and anyone who has ever met Chase knows he is very active as it is. So, I have my work cut out for me!!

Now, in regards to Big Brother Chase, he started school last week at a Montessori school. He goes three times a week (although currently he has been going for half a day because I want to get him situated and not just throw him to the wolves). So far, he seems okay but it breaks your heart when you drop him off. All he's ever known is to be home with me during the days so I know this is hard on him. He stuffed his face (I attached the picture) when he got in the car because he was on a hunger strike. The second day was better than the first (probably because they have gym that day and were playing with balls). The third day by far was the worst. The teacher had suggested that we bring in a picture of us so Chase can look at it throughout the day. Well, when I showed up before their nap time to pick Chase up, the poor little guy was in the middle of the floor staring and holding on to our picture crying. It was SO sad. This week he had a tough time but that was mostly because he is sick so I let him play hooky today. I do think school is going to be great for him because he loves to be social and you can totally tell that he is very bored at home with me. Once he gets the hang of it, I'm sure he will be begging to go everyday!!

Aye Ya Ya!

Well, the terrible two's are amongst us! Apparently, they can start anywhere from when a child is 18 months old all the way up until they are three! And my child, or the exorcist as I like to call him, is definitely going through this awesome and joyful time! He's come to the point to where if he does not get what he wants he screams bloody murder like that from a horror movie and kicks and falls to the ground like a wet noodle. He is definitely learning to test my patience and of course this screaming is heightened when we are in public! For example, today we went to target to get some groceries (my second trip this week since he threw a tantrum mid-way through my first shopping trip). I foolishly decided to stop and look at some shoes for him. Yes, oh silly me. Well, as I proceeded to walk away from the shoes, my little angel (and I use that word very loosely) decided he wanted those shoes. He screamed as loud as he could for a good 10 minutes as I walked up and down the aisles. I have read and have been told by other moms to ignore this behavior and it will teach him that he can scream all he wants but mama will not respond. I got the most scathing look from some stock lady that worked there throughout this ordeal and I was mortified but decided not to give in. He finally got distracted and quieted down! Man, did I feel a sense of accomplishment! But believe me, I'm fully aware the worst is yet to come!! Oh the JOYS of parenting! Luckily, it's just a phase!!

Good News!

Chase is going to be a BIG Brother!! We are all thrilled! The next baby could be a Christmas or New Years baby so now we just play the waiting game! In regards to pregnancy, anyone who has ever been pregnant knows that you either love it or hate it. There is NO in-between. AND, anyone who knows me, knows I am not to fond of it. My last pregnancy with Chase, I had severe sciatic pain (I had it before I was pregnant and being pregnant made it impossible to walk at times--I had a waddle before I was showing--you can go ahead and laugh out loud!). I was so uncomfortable the whole time! However, I did not have any nausea. Not the case this time around. I have been EXTREMELY nauseated the entire first three months ALL DAY LONG! I do not know how these women who get pregnant over and over again can make it through the nausea...IT's AWFUL! I am just now starting to feel normal and have more good days than bad so I will hopefully keep everyone updated on baby #2's progress! And according to myself and everyone in passing, the running bet is this baby is a girl...I will definitely be following up with another blog the second we find out so stay tuned!

Regarding Little Chase, he does not understand that Mama is incubating a baby right now but he has grown extremely fascinated with babies. Everywhere we go, if he sees a kid smaller than him he points and says "baby". Hopefully this fascination is a good thing! He's such a sweet boy that I know he will look out for his younger sibling, boy or girl and will love them so much! Currently, we are touring several different Kindergarten prep schools so Chase can start making friends and letting some of his energy out in the best way possible! I know it will be SO much harder on me than him. I can already see myself crying thanks to all these crazy pregnancy hormones!

I can't keep up!!!

I know, I know, it's been 4 months since I wrote an entry but we have been SOOOO incredibly busy and so much has happened that the thought of sitting down and writing it all out was a little overwhelming. Sooo, I am going to make it short and sweet! We have had so many kiddie birthday parties that I am convinced my one year old's social calendar has now exceeded mine! We went to LA in March for my big 3-0 and got to be on set at our hotel (Beverly Hilton) while they were taping a show that comes out this fall with Dustin Hoffman and etc. We grabbed drinks at Chateau Marmount (so cool) then left Chase with my parents for the weekend and drove to Vegas, stopped at Inn N Out burger on the way (two new locations opened next to us last week in Frisco and Allen and believe it or not the wait --so I heard---is up to 3 hours--FOR A BURGER! Texans are CRAZY!). My mom hooked us up with a suite at the Bellagio the first night then the Wynn Tower Suites the second night. Needless to say, it was an Awesome birthday and Cory and I enjoyed the one on one time! I also had one of my friends, Sara, come and visit from Austin which was SO nice and now that we live closer, I hope to see more of you AUSTINITES! One of the best parts about being back is that we can finally take advantage and go out to Cory's parents' lakehouse! It's so relaxing and serene out there!

In Chase news, he is doing fabulously! He's definitely ALL BOY! He's rough and tough on the outside but my sweet little boy on the inside! He LOVES basketball! He has a hoop in every room and he's become an expert at making baskets. Everytime we drive by a house with a basketball hoop outside (and almost every home in our neighborhood has one) he yells "ball". The kid LOVES balls! He actually will sit and watch a little bit of basketball on TV and enjoys it! My girlfriend even made a comment that "most boys like balls" but my kid "Loves balls and is obsessed". To be honest, I wouldn't want him any other way! I love his determination when we go to the park and he tries to throw his basketball up to the regulation 10 foot hoop over and over again (us yelling "almost" knowing he isn't even close!). I cannot wait until the day when he actually makes it!