The Christmas Season

There is no question about it, though fall is my favorite season, Christmas is my favorite holiday. Not only do we celebrate our Savior's birth and all that entails with my faith, but much of the secular parts of Christmas are fun too. I love the decorations, the traditions, giving gifts (my love language is to give gifts), the music, everything about Christmas is fun to me. Ok, maybe not the long lines and the materialism, but the parts that I try to be a part of. With that said, I'm a little pouty Christmas 2013 has already come and gone and to think that Sadie has already experienced her first Christmas is beyond me. I'm so thankful we were able to start off our Christmas season with my Mom here to decorate and Jillian and Eli visiting (as seen in earlier posts). Since then, here is how we "decked our halls"...

 We enjoyed a snow day of December 20th. It was the perfect kind of snow. About 2-3 inches, just right to make snow balls, still fine to drive, and gone by dinner time. :)

 Jude loved throwing snow balls and his first time sledding down a hill by himself. He was so pumped! He told me, "I not cry Mommy. I do it myself. I not afraid!"

 This sweet gal gets bigger and bigger. Her newborn clothes are already put away, tear. She has started to ooh and ahh and share some smiles.

 This is her 5 week photo before church last week. I won't lie, I really do love dressing her all cutesie and stuff. :) (And yes, Jude shared a horse with her.)

 Jude and I baked and decorated cupcakes for Jesus' birthday, even though this poor guy had a temperature of 101 in this picture. Thankfully his high fever we experienced was apparently a 24 hour bug.

 We enjoyed a lovely service at church on Christmas Eve. Jude didn't want to leave his new movies, Cars 2 and Planes behind, hence the sad face.

 Everything was ready before we went to bed...

 Jude loved all his gifts. Holy Cow! Having everything shipped here made it seem like he got 10 times the gifts he normally gets. Since we're usually home, his gifts are all spread out because we go to so many different settings, but this year, everyone sent things here. It took us almost 3 hours to go through presents. He kept wanting to play with whatever he opened and not open the next gift.

 Ready for his first scooter ride.

 In her lovely Christmas bow.

 On Christmas Day, we stayed around after opening gifts. No big deal if I was still in my pj's after lunch. Friends stopped by around lunch to exchange gifts and visit and then we enjoyed Christmas dinner with sweet friends from church.

Christmas was very different this year, having never been away from family. We've always been home for the holidays, but with Sadie so small, we did not feel comfortable flying this year, as well as with Justin's work schedule, it just wasn't possible. Thankfully, we were able to see my Mom and sister before the holidays and we'll see Justin's family soon in the coming months.

I am so thankful for the gift of our Savior and the joy He brings. I pray every day that our children understand this gift and receive it. We had a beautiful Christmas in 2013!

And yeah, this cutie is ready for 2014...she doesn't look like her brother at all, not one bit...

1 Month Already?

 For anyone who follows my blog, you know that this is my form of keeping up with the many family and friends we have spread out all over the country. It's also used for my benefit as an online scrap book. When you move as often as we do, the last thing you need is a scrap book kit. With that said, I'm going to try to do monthly updates on our sweet girl, so, like her brother, I can look back and remember those small, sweet moments that we as Mommies tend to forget.

These are some of my favorite photos from  her newborn session. They are only newborns for such a short season and their look changes so quickly. I love how beautiful each baby is at this tiny stage.

 As I've mentioned before, though Sadie's delivery was longer, the process in itself was much easier. The process of pushing and the actual recovery has gone much more smoothly (not that Jude's was really that difficult either thankfully) and though I'm very tired having 2 young ones, I feel like physically, I've bounced back a little better. Probably because I've had to with Jude man. :)

 My beautiful girl. At 1 month, she has started to give me 4.5-5.5 hour stretches at night. She gets her last feeding around 10 pm and doses on off. She usually wakes between 2:30-3:30 am goes back to sleep, and we start our day between 6:30 and 7:30 am. From there, we feed about every 2.5-3.5 hours, with a sleepy stage (still difficult to have much awake time) in mid afternoon. She does great with awake time in the mornings and evenings. I don't mind this, as this is also when Jude has quiet/nap time, so I'm enjoying sleeping babies at the same time while I can.

She does have a "witching hour" around 9-10 pm every night. Honestly, she seems gassy and just irritable, but we get through it. She's a doll during the day. She's already establishing some routine (which I hope continues). She does not love her bappy like Jude did, only taking one at that fussy time at night. She'll take one if she is really upset in her car seat, which she despises. Another thing she does not enjoy is her play mat yet, but she loves her swing and looking at the pictures and diplomas hanging in our walls. She'll sit and stare at them for long periods of time.

She also does not love to be swaddled. She seems to be a pretty mellow baby at this point. She nurses pretty well, but she often sucks a lot of air when she's really hungry, causing some gassy spells.

 Sadie also enjoys bath time. She likes watching Jude. Jude enjoys helping wash her as well. She doesn't like having her clothes changed, but she doesn't mind her diaper at all.

 I'm definitely enjoying the cute dresses and bows that come along with a baby girl. She is definitely a snuggle bug but can sleep well in her co-sleeper and swing.

This is her official "1 month" photo, but it cracks me up. She was cranky and her poor baby acne has hit with a vengeance. It's probably not a picture we'll put in her senior year book. :)

I have no idea how much she weighs, since we don't go back to the dr. until January, but she's definitely plumping up. We've moved onto size 1 diapers (no more newborns as of 1 month, tear shed). We'll start our cloth ones in the next few weeks when her bowels get a little more regular. She's outgrown about 1/2 of her newborn clothes, depending on the brand. This outfit above is newborn onesie with 0-3 months pants.

These tiny moments are going so quickly and I do realize how incredibly blessed to have this sweet second blessing.

We love you Sadie Girl!

JJ and Eli's Visit

 We have had a lot going on in the last 2 weeks. Jude did a splendid job at his Christmas program with his school. He was an elf and sang "Santa Clause is Coming To Town".

 The following day, JJ and Eli flew in all the way from NC. It was wonderful to have her here to help with Sadie and to have bonding time with the cousins. Her trip has been long awaited and I can't believe it's already come and gone.

 Lots of snuggles took place in the 9 days she was here.

 We built a gingerbread house, which was somewhat difficult with the sprinkles from the bad place and my OCD issues, as well as Jude wanting to eat all the decor.

 Sadie's cord stump finally came off on day 18 so her first real bath got to be with big brother and Cousin Eli. She loved it.

 JJ wasn't  the only one to enjoy some snuggles. It was wonderful to see sweet Eli. I can't believe this precious boy is almost 1!

 Sadie turned 3 weeks old during JJ's visit and of course we had to show off some of the adorable bows she got from JJ for Christmas.

 We attempted several cousin Christmas photos but they were an epic fail. A 2.5 year old, almost 11 month old, and certainly a 3 week old just do not make for good photo opts.

 One morning we went to Wiggle Works, which Jude loves. They boys played hard while Sadie slept away.

 We also went to Bellevue Square Mall to visit the Disney store and play at the indoor play ground. During our time there and while enjoying cupcakes, there was an evacuation of the whole mall. Needless to say, carrying our 3 babes, plus 2 strollers and bags in tow down 3 flights of stairs in mass chaos was quite the adventure.

 Sweet snaggle tooth!

We had to get a picture of Sadie in this onesie. Jude and Eli both wore it as well so it's become a family hand me down.

We also enjoyed the tree lighting at a local park and bag pipe band, trips to the park, and lots of yummy sweet treats during JJ's visit. The time came and went entirely too fast, but we are thankful for our friends here in WA who shower us with love and encouragement, as well as friends and family who are planning visits after the holidays. We are immensely blessed.

I can't believe Sadie will be 1 month old in just a few short days. She is such a doll. She's a contented baby, on a 3 hour schedule and is such a joy. She does have her fussy time from the hours of about 8:30-10:30 pm which makes for 1 tired Mama, but she does doing well, giving me 4-5 hour stretches nightly. Jude is totally in love with her and has blown me away with his maturity, gentleness, and attentiveness to her.

My heart is so full as we celebrate the birth of our Savior next week. I truly could not ask for me. (Ok, to be closer to home, but I'm not picky.)

Beginning of the Holidays

There is so much to be thankful for this season, including simply, THIS SEASON! Thanksgiving and Christmas are 2 of my favorite holidays, filled with family, friends, fun, and lots of wonderful traditions and memories.

 This sweet gal and I have had some wonderful snuggles. Unlike Jude, I am not so concerned about holding her as much. I feel like I missed out on some of the sweetest moments with Jude, terrified I might spoil him. Well, I didn't hold him non stop, he's still spoiled, and still prefers Mommy most of the time. I figured I might as well enjoy these sweet times.

At Sadie's 1 week appointment, she weighed 8 lb exactly, already 5 ounces above her birth weight. She is eating well and seems pretty typical of a newborn. We are so thankful to have a healthy baby.

For Thanksgiving, sweet friends from church invited us over for dinner and we had a nice time. Though we certainly missed seeing family, we are thankful for good friends to include us. It was also nice to enjoy a wonderful meal and not have to worry about that with a 10 day old. I was fully prepared to get a spiral ham, instant stuffing, and bake a few sweet potatoes.

 On Friday morning, we bundled up and took the bus into Seattle for the Macy's Holiday Parade. Jude loved seeing all the floats, but loved the bands best. He really liked the bap pipes and gathering candy. Sadie made it 1/2 way through before she got hungry so she and I popped into a near by store to nurse and snuggle while the boys finished watching the parade.

I must say, thus far, Jude has been wonderfully patient with moments like these when Mommy has to disappear. Just this morning, he ran into the kitchen and whispered, "I checked on Sadie and she's doing ok."

 Not only did we enjoy the Apple Cup on Friday, but we LOVED the fact that our Auburn Tigers beat Bama on Saturday. Jude wanted to make sure we were all dressed in "War Eagle" colors. He also had his footballs ready, as he does every game, to imitate the players. Playing "tackle" is one of his favorite games with Daddy.

After the game, we went to Snowflake Lane where Jude enjoyed the pretend snow, music, and drums. He also really got a kick out of meeting Rudolph and Frosty. He requests their songs constantly.

 And yes, our sweet Sadie is 2 weeks old today. Holy Smokes! I love pictures like this, because it catches the essence of her tininess. She makes the funniest faces and sweetest noises.  Her legs and arms are already chunking up and she loves to sit in her bouncy seat and look at the Christmas tree.

 Today was also our first trip to church. She slept the whole time and everyone of course oo'ed and awed over her. We are so thankful for such a wonderful loving and supportive church family.

And, I must say, my Jude man continues to crack us up. He's in a stage where he is definitely showing a temper and his 2 year old ways, but he also is so funny. He'll ask cute questions, lots of "whys", and tell made up stories of his animals and characters like you wouldn't believe. He gives everything a name and one of his favorite thing to do is play play doh. He loves making new animals and playing with them. He wants to do everything on his own and is being much more boyish, including playing more rough and becoming more physical.

He is also WAY too observant. Today, while playing with his Little People Nativity scene, he made shooting sounds with a wise man. I asked him, "What are you doing?" and he said, "shooting the angels". My mouth dropped and I told him we are to NEVER pretend to shoot anything, especially people. (Mind you, Justin has had the conversations with him concerning gun safety and only shooting animals for food multiple times.) Long story short, he apparently saw a scene from Ratatoullie (spell check) where the old lady tries to shoot the mice. He literally watched the movie for less than 10 minutes and that's what he picked up.

Any who, we're excited about my sister and Eli coming for a visit this week and making lots of holiday memories with them!

1st Week Thoughts

Yes, I'm updating my blog when I should be napping. Both children and hubby are sleeping, but I had a small burst of energy and wanted to keep family and friends updated. I know these updates will get more sparse in weeks to come. I also want to jot down my thoughts in these first few weeks before I forget them. These days go in such a blur between feeding every few hours, or sooner, making intentional time with Jude, and just resting.

My Mom left today, which brought out my surge of post partum emotions. When she walked out the door with Justin and Jude, I just held Sadie and cried. She was so wonderful to have here during this time. God has so richly blessed us with supportive friends and family here, but to have my Mom here to help with Jude and just love on me was so needed this past week.

I had my Hillsong radio station playing on Pandora and the song "Your Grace Is Enough" was playing when they left. I sensed the Holy Spirit telling me to just worship and be thankful, so I did. Thankfully! I placed Sadie down in her crib, sat on my bed, cried, and worshiped. I truly needed this experience. My heart is so overwhelmed with thankfulness and joy. I asked God to help me remember this, just like the Isrealites were told to pick up stones while crossing the river to remember. When my heart feels dry and empty. When the days are long with 2 little ones; remember this feeling of immense thankfulness to have 2 healthy babies, a supportive family, a great group of friends, and a loving husband. To remember what His goodness feels like.

My heart is so full!

Unfortunately, Justin's field season is quickly approaching, meaning this is his busiest season of the year. He took Monday off (Sadie being born on last Sunday), but had to go back to work on Tuesday. Again, so thankful to have my Mom here during this adjustment period. Though he had long days, it's so good to have him home in the evenings. Since trying to only nurse these first few weeks until Sadie has a good latch, he and I have had some good late night talks at her late night feeding.

 As this sweet girl already turns 1 week old, I am reminded of the importance of just being with her. When Jude was born, we had some huge decisions to make concerning Justin's next step in his career. I also was very rigid on what I thought I HAD to do with my baby, trying to follow certain things and self-induced expectations that I did not allow myself to "just be".

Thankfully, this time around, I'm trying to just enjoy her sweet tininess. These moments go far too quickly. I love her snuggles, the funny noises she makes, the gassy smiles while she sleeps, and her teensy baby love. I am so amazed by God's rich blessings when I look at her and Jude.

 Jude is doing well. Though the first night was tough, overall, I think he's adjusting wonderfully. He doesn't like to hear her cry, but it's out of concern, not agitation. She also reminds Justin and I to be careful with her. He told a friend this week, "This is my baby sister. She is so tiny. You have to be caweful." It feels like yesterday he was so tiny and now he's taking on the role of protecting her.

And again, my sweet Mom. She has had such an emotional roller coaster of a year. From my brother's health needs and welcoming 2 new grandchildren, she has been on her toes in 2013. I am so thankful she was able to be here during this experience. I know the coming months will bring other family and friends to our side, which we will also be forever thankful for. Our cup truly does runneth over.

Thank you Lord, for you abundance of blessings. My you remind my heart of your goodness and grace always.

Happy Birthday!

Sadie Caroline Dellinger

Born: Sunday, November 17, 2013, 9:47 am

7 lb. 11 oz

20 inches long

Our hearts are overwhelmed with joy and excitement as we welcome our sweet baby girl to our family. As she cuddles with her Daddy and Jude is at home with Mo Mo, I wanted to go ahead and document her arrival while the details are in tact in my mind.

Because Jude came quickly (less than 3 hours from 1st contraction to birth), my midwife, Justin and I had reservations about Sadie coming even quicker. With the hospital 20 minutes away and I-90 traffic, we had peace in the final weeks about doing a natural induction to have a more controlled birth. At my last appointment (11/13) I was 39 weeks and 3 cm dilated and 60% effaced. My body was already showing it was ready and we solidified the plan to induce.

On Saturday, 11/16, Mo Mo, Justin, Jude and I enjoyed sleeping in, watching cartoons and a beautiful morning at the park before getting to the hospital a little after 11:00 am to check in. We all went together and Jude was able to see me get my IV, snuggle with me, and gave my Mom a chance to see how to navigate the area since she's never been to Issaquah before. Jude leaving was much harder than we anticipated, in that he did not want to go without me. He screamed, "Come home Mommy!" as Justin walked him and my Mom to the car. Talk about breaking my heart.

At 12:30 pm, my midwife stripped my membranes. I was still at 3 cm, but my cervix had gone to 90% effaced, so it was already thinning on it's own. At this point, I was having the same trend as I did with Jude so we were feeling confident we were moving in the right direction. We enjoyed watching the AU vs. UGA game and my contractions stayed exactly at 10 minutes apart from 2 pm-6:15 pm. At 6:15 pm, my midwife checked me and I had gone to 4 cm and was now completely thinned out, again, going in the right direction. She broke my water and pretty quickly, my body began to contract quicker, staying from 5 to 2 minutes apart through the night (starting at 7 pm and going until 6:30 am). I was able to get some rest from about 3-6 am in spurts. Mom and Justin also tried to rest and we made it through the night, in labor, but nothing too hard. 

Around 6, since we had reached the 12 hour mark, my midwife and I discussed having a "whiff" of Pitacon to see if we could get my contractions stronger. At this time, they were occurring every 2-3 minutes, but were at about a 7 in pain, rather than super intense, which would get Sadie through the birth canal. I had peace about doing this and Justin supported my decision. At 6:45 am, 15 minutes after starting the Pitocin, I had my first really intense contraction. I was able to use the birthing ball, walk around and move much easier than I did with Jude. (At this point with Jude, my body responded to the pain with intense shaking, so I was confined to my bed.)

Around 9 am, my midwife suggested getting in the jacuzzi since I was having really intense back labor at this point. I got in and continued to contract as I had for the last few hours. The hot water definitely helped relieve some pressure from my back and my tummy. Around 9:35-9:40, my nurse and I began talking about progress, as I had stayed at this timing and intensity for a few hours at this time. During our conversation, I had a very strong contraction occur and I felt a pop. (I would later learn after Sadie was born it was her poor face ramming into my pelvic bone.) When I felt the pop, I had intense pressure begin and the contraction continued, bringing no relief. Justin, Mom, and my midwife helped me get out and dry off, the whole time, my body staying in the contraction. I said I need to lie down and once I was in the bed, I knew I needed to push. As soon as I rolled over, my Mom and midwife said, "there's her head" and I began pushing. Roughly 3 minutes later, our sweet girl was here.

Though the process was longer, when this little gal decided she was ready, she was ready. We are thrilled to have her and big brother Jude had a great response to her. He loves the new horses Sadie brought him. He wanted to share with her immediately (hope this keeps up) and his first questions were "Can I see her tiny toes?" and "Is Mommy's tummy different?" He didn't want to leave without her. 

We hope to get home tomorrow and begin to adjust as a family of 4. 

Every good and perfect gift comes from above. 

Thank you Lord for your many blessings over our family.

*My computer isn't compatible to my camera, so I hope to upload more pictures on Justin's computer in the next few days.*

Trick or Treat

 Th

 Jude was pretty pumped about going trick or treating. What he was NOT pumped about was his horse costume. Back in September after we went to the state fair, Jude began asking/begging/pleading to be a horse for Halloween. He wanted to be a clydes dale horse like "Sarge" at the fair. He wanted us to be a family of horses and said Eli should be a Shetland pony since he was itty bitty. Daily, all we heard about was being a horse.

So, like any good Mom and Dad, we searched online to find the cutest horse costume around. After lots of searching and $30 later, we found one. The day it came in the mail, I was pretty stoked to see Jude's reaction. Well, it was a reaction of pure despise. As soon as I pulled it out, he said, "NO! That is Jake, not Sarge!" What this meant was, the costume we found looked like Jake, brown with a black mane. Sarge, on the other hand was grey with white spots. Oh dear.

I insisted that we would not get another costume. If he wanted to go get candy, he would have to wear it. The inner battle of a 2.5 year old desperately wanting candy he does not get often vs. demanding his way was one.

As you can see from this picture, Jude was rescued when Auntie JJ sent him a Halloween treat package that happened to include this Frankenstein mask from the Target $1 spot. She thought it was cute, threw it in, and ended up being the way her nephew got to experience Halloween.

On Halloween afternoon, Jude was still pitching a fit to get into the dern horse get up.We showed him his options: Horse, a borrowed lion, football player (b/c we have a few jerseys), or Frankenstein. He was not getting another horse. We wanted him to use something we had provided for him. He chose the mask, we had a cute striped shirt to go with it, and we became a Frankenstein family.

Liquid eye liner and lip liner allowed Justin and I to have some fun with it too. I love Halloween (the fun part, not the weird, spooky, creepy part) so I was excited to have a little fun with it.

Justin was not as excited to put on a little face wear, but he appeased me.

And of course, sweet Sadie girl at 37 weeks had to make her debut on the blog. She is one active little lady. At my appointment last week, I'm right where I should be, measurement and progressing, so we should see her within the next 2 weeks!

We had a great time on Halloween. We went trick or treating with a friend of Jude's and his Mom, also a friend of mine. We just stuck to our neighborhood and Jude got some good treats. I love not having to buy incentives. He gets 1 treat per day based on good behavior and chores. He has no idea that many kids just get to get theirs, and that's fine by me.

This time next year, we'll have two little ones running around in costumes. The Lord has truly blessed us.

"Punkins"

If you have ever read my blog before, or know me at all, you know that my favorite time of year is fall. I love everything about it. Cooler temperatures but not cold. Fall fashion, pumpkins, the smells, the fragrances, boots, football, the traditions, including Halloween and fall decor. EVERYTHING!

 Last weekend we went to a Pumpkin Patch. Jude loved the duck races and pumping the water to make them go. It was so cute and funny how he got a kick out of something so small.

 He wouldn't give me a chance and of course, he always won, little turkey.

 They had a corn maze, which Jude loved. He wanted to hide, rather than stay on the trails, which was fine by me. He also wanted to pick the corn and eat it.

 Once we made it to the actual pumpkin patch, we each picked a pumpkin that seemed just right for us. We had a really great time!

 Justin and I also enjoyed a date night out for my birthday last weekend. Here I am at 35.5 weeks. It was good to enjoy a quiet dinner together and then we walked around UW's campus and reminisced about our college days. We try to take a night per month just to ourselves and once we have it, I'm always reminded of the importance of it.

 Today, we enjoyed carving and painting our pumpkins. Good friends came over to help carve too. The adults ended up doing a lot of the grunt work, but the boys loved playing together.

When it was all said and done, Justin did a great job on his wolf pumpkin. My stripes do look better in person than in this picture. The black smudge actually is quite cute with a cursive S in the middle for Sadie, and Jude's green pumpkin with squiggles is adorable.

We have enjoyed the last 2 weeks with our fall traditions and making many more wonderful memories.

Happy Fall Y'all!