Family of Five

We took Maxwell on his first outing to the aquarium while Mike’s mom and sister were in town. It went very smoothly, we even got to go out to eat afterward at our favorite burger place.  Amelia is OBSESSED with animals and aquatic life, so she was very excited about going to the aquarium as well as the zoo!  If I had to guess, I would put money on Amelia being a veterinarian or a zoologist.  Her favorite animal is a goat, and while they were at the petting zoo, she jumped on a goat’s back and said, “I love you, goat!” The goat then immediately bucked her off into the mud, but she didn’t seem to mind.

Max had his first doctor’s appointment, and he gained a pound in a week (double the average weight gain).  His pediatrician said he got an A+ and I told her, “They don’t call me ‘Bessie’ for nothing!”  He already has a double chin…there is nothing better than a fat baby! Unfortunately, Amelia and Max also contracted pink eye, but they are feeling much better now.

I love hearing Amelia carry and talk to her baby the way I do with Max!

Nancy, Mike’s mom, made so much delicious food and left our freezer stocked with dinners for me to reheat.  On top of that, Mike has been making all sorts of yummy things!  We are really enjoying his three weeks of paternity leave.

Delicious flat bread Mike made from the yeast starter I ordered him from Italy for his birthday.

Khai soi soup Mike made last night, hands down the best thing he's ever made!

Introducing... Maxwell Anthony Thompson

Maxwell was born on February 12th at 1:32am, weighing 6 lbs 7 oz and  measuring 20.5 inches long.  I was  in labor for around 12 hours, and it was not what I was expecting!  After having no epidural with Noah and then having one with Amelia, I was definitely planning on having one this time around.  However, I couldn't get one because the anesthesiologist came in and explained that I had very low platelet levels which increases the risk of hemorrhage and makes the risk of an epidural too great.  Needless to say, this was quite devastating.  Noah's labor and deliver was a bad experience, so I was really upset upon hearing this news.  That wasn't the end, as once the contractions starting getting more intense and closer together the baby's heart rate started to drop dramatically.  Mike and I knew something was wrong from the way the nurse was reacting.  She immediately called my OB (who is AMAZING) and she came in and explained the umbilical cord is in a bad place, likely close to his head.  They decided to do all they could to continue on a natural birth path and avoid a emergency C-section.  This was the hardest part for Mike and I because we were so worried about the baby and a C-section was definitely not in my plan!  Thanks to the amazing work of my OB and nurse, who never left my bedside, I was able to deliver him naturally.  When he finally was coming 10 hours later, all of a sudden I knew I had to push at that moment. Early in the process, I had warned the nurses that I don't push for long so they should be ready.  I told the nurse, "I need to push NOW!" and she checked me and then immediately called in the deliver team. Two minutes and four pushes later, Maxwell was born.  The doctor immediately said he had a double nuchal, which means the cord was wrapped around his neck twice.  This happened with Noah as well, so I was really upset because Noah had to be taken by the NICU team and didn't cry for the first few minutes.  However, Max fared much better and started crying within 30 seconds. I was so happy when everything was over because I got to hold my beautiful, healthy baby boy! Despite the anxious labor, he is a very mellow baby and has only cried once when we gave him a bath!

We stayed in the hospital one day and were anxious to get home.  They did serve us a"Celebration Lunch" that included prime rib and salmon.  The whole hospital staff and stay was wonderful. 

I feel so lucky to have our awesome friends, Melinda and Dean, and our neighbors, the Nigros, who watched the kids while we were in the hospital.  Mike's Mom and sister flew out the day after we got home from the hospital and have been here to help with Amelia.  Noah has been so amazing, he cleaned the whole house before I got home from the hospital and made his brother a very adorable card!

All About Mr. N

Noah has had a fun week . . . it started last Saturday at the Pinewood Derby at the Texas Motor Speedway.  I can’t believe it’s been a year since the last one.  We were all really looking forward to this year’s race, since last year a piece of tape was stuck on Noah’s racecar wheel and he came in dead last.  However, last year he did win “Best in Show” and got a pretty awesome trophy, although we didn’t find that out until a few weeks after the race.  This year, he came in second in all four of his heats, which he was okay with.

We went to watch the entire second grade sing for their “Winter Showcase.”  Poor Mike didn’t get to see much because Amelia wasn’t cooperating, and I was on camera duty.  I wish Noah could just stay this age forever!

Lastly, Mike surprised Noah this morning by coming in as the “Mystery Reader” for his class.  We had to send in five clues for his teacher to read – one per day; and Noah would come home and be like, “Do you think it could be Daddy?  The clues have been, ‘I like to cook, I play guitar, steak is my favorite food, and I like to grow spicy peppers’.”  It was so hard for me to act like I had no idea what he was talking about.  Mike read a book I got Noah for Christmas called “It's Duffy Time” about an adorable pug dog and the bond she shares with the kid in the family.  It might well have been written about Noah and Lucy, since they sleep together every night . . . it’s seriously the cutest thing ever!  The other day Noah asked me if he can get a pug when he gets married!  (I like knowing that Mike and I have passed on our loves of pugs.)

Noah colored this for me a few days ago.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

We had fun celebrating Mike's birthday this past weekend.  I ordered him some presents I was so excited to give him.  The first was a home brewing system called "Mr Beer" and the second was a yeast starter kit to further his love of making pizza.  With his background in chemistry, I have high hopes of how both will turn out. 

We've really been trying to take the kids out to eat and do fun family outings in the last couple weeks before the baby comes.  I still don't think it's totally sunk in that we're going to have a newborn soon!  Lately, Amelia asked me every morning if baby brother is coming today and tells me how much she wants to meet him!

Amelia really doesn't like getting her hands dirty!

Big Girl Room

I have been anxious about moving Amelia out of her crib into a “big girl” bed for a while.  I knew I wanted to do it at least six weeks before the baby arrives so that she would have time to adjust and wouldn’t feel like the baby was taking her place.  We decided to do it over Christmas vacation while Mike had two weeks off and could help change the furniture and rooms around.  I can say I was pleasantly surprised with how easily she handled the transition.  We had been talking about getting her a big girl bed with princess sheets for a few weeks, so when we surprised her with her new room, she was really excited!  We did a trial nap and, after lying in her bed with her for about 15 minutes, she told me to go to my bed.  I wasn’t sure what to expect when she woke up, since she had never tried to climb out of her crib – so, I didn’t know what she’d do.  Well, she still doesn’t get out her bed either . . . she just lays there, yells my name, and snuggles with her puppy until I come to get her.

Having Mike off for two weeks was AMAZING!  I literally checked off every “to-do” chore I had.  He refinished a toy bench, painted the nursery, put together Amelia’s new furniture, and fixed all sorts of things.  It is such a great feeling to have everything ready, especially considering three weeks ago I had ABSOLUTELY nothing ready!  

 We spent New Years day with our friends, Tom and Tracy and their adorable three-month-old, Simbry.  It was so fun to watch Noah and Amelia interact with her.  Noah was especially smitten and he loved that Simbry kept smiling at him!

I can't wait to hold my little boy!

Mike took Noah to a car show where they saw a car that matched Noah's shoes!

A White Christmas

It snowed most all of Christmas day and we were loving it!  Our neighbor, who has lived here her whole life, said she never remembered it snowing on Christmas day.  It felt like a true Christmas miracle, and funny enough it started snowing right as "White Christmas" came on the stereo. 

Watching the kids' faces light up as they opened their gifts was so much fun for Mike and I.  Mike and I bit off a little more than we could chew with making Christmas dinner.  We spent most of the day in the kitchen and as much as we love to cook we were worn out by the end.  The good news is that we have had leftovers for two days. 

New Christmas Eve pj's

Amelia ate more than she put on the gingerbread house.

I'm so happy Noah still believes in Santa!

After dinner entertainment!