Blessing

Today we blessed Clara. It was a nice morning and I was glad to have some family here to share it with us, Gma and Gpa Woodard. I wanted a more traditional look so Clara wore a dress with smocking and a bonnet. She was adorable.

Karl blessed her. Gpa, Brothers Billadeaux and Rich joined in the circle. We asked a few others but they didn't make it to church on time. The minute Karl started the blessing I felt a wave of the Spirit and immediately started crying. I felt a confirmation of each thing Karl said. He blessed Clara that she'd be a light and an example to those around her. That she'd be an inspiration to her family.

After, Karl said he thinks it's one of the most powerful times he's used the priesthood. He was in the zone 😊. He said he didn't recognize there were others around him. It just felt like him and Clara. We definitely all felt it.

So excited to see what this life brings for sweet Clara. Excited to have this person as part of our family.

Mother of 4!

Well my mom left today and now I'm doing this thing on my own! Luckily Karl's current rotation is light so he can help some. Clara was up all last night and I'm exhausted. Hoping she sleeps tonight!

I'm always a little hormonal the first postpartum week so there have been some emotional nights. I'm feeling good about it so far. We'll see!

Mother of 4!

Well my mom left today and now I'm doing this thing on my own! Luckily Karl's current rotation is light so he can help some. She was up all last night and I'm exhausted. Hoping she sleeps tonight.

I'm always a little hormonal the first postpartum week so there have been some emotional nights. I'm feeling good about it so far. We'll see!

Clara Mae

Our new sweet baby was born yesterday at 3:35 pm. She was 8 lbs 6 oz and 22 inches long. She weighs in as our smallest baby although not the shortest.

After 24 hrs (after delivery) at the hospital, we brought her home today. The kids were all very excited to see her and us. They all wanted to hold her right away. They each waited their turn to hold her twice. Carson kept saying how cute she is. Chloe could barely contain herself and said "I just love her so much!" right after meeting her. The girls spent a lot of time rubbing her hair, squishing her cheeks, and booping her nose.

It is definitely a different environment here than at the hospital. It was so quiet there. I've already had to teach the kids a few rules, like don't push on her soft spot. Camille asked if she could carry her around lol.

She is a very easy baby so far. She eats really well (immediately had a great latch) and is sleeping easy. We'll see how that goes in the next few weeks.

She hadn't pooped by the 24 hr mark so the doctor was a little worried. Luckily she gave us 2 poopy diapers tonight.

We all love her so much already!

Disney Trip

We just got back from Disneyworld! The kids were really brave and did a ton of rides. Carson was scared to go on one and Chloe said "Don't let scare force your from your happiness." It was my favorite quote of the week.

Copy Cat

Camille is copying everything I say lately.

Yesterday she told me to "take a chill pill mom." I laughed for 5 minutes before telling her she doesn't get to tell me to take chill pills. I do say that to the kids all the time.

Today she had a whistle. She said "Mom, this is a freaking whistle." I made her repeat it 3 times to make sure I was hearing her right. Then I asked "where did you hear that?" She said "You said 'Give me that freaking whistle.'" Hahaha. One day the kids kept blowing the whistle and in exasperation I yelled that. Camille thought it was a freaking whistle ever since. I told her it isn't, it's just a regular whistle. Hopefully she stops saying freaking!

Funny Things

Carson is doing a golf camp this week for 9-14 yr olds. I was asking him how the 14 yr old boys are.  He told me they are really competitive and always talking through everybody's back swings. He said they are always saying things like "I can do better than that" or "I'm just getting warmed up." So your basic teenage trash talk.

I asked him if they use any swear words. He said "No, they're not graffiti teenagers." I laughed and said "what's a graffiti teenager?" He explained "a kid who does graffiti on his school." Lol! Apparently that is the standard for a good kid.

We live in a rural, somewhat small town. Nearby is a little bit nicer town, Holly Springs. I was driving and there is one intersection in town that has a bunch of bamboo growing. Camille said "I see the bamboo...but I don't see the panda." I said "I don't think there are in pandas in Fuquay." Camille asked "they live in Holly Springs?" I laughed pretty hard. Holly Springs tends to have the nicer anything so if there were pandas around...they'd probably be there.

Swim!

I signed up Carson and Chloe for Swim Team this year. We had our first meet tonight. Chloe was terrified that she couldn't swim the half way that was required  (even though she's done it). She was just a big ball of tears. I tried bribing her with candy, that didn't work. She finally stepped up when she asked if I would take her to McDonald's for lunch AND let her stay up late and watch a movie in bed with me. She cried a lot tonight, but she did it (with a little help).

I have to wonder if I'm pushing her through her feat and helping her conquer it...or if I'm traumatizing her for life. I hope this doesn't scar her!

Carson did well and swam faster than I've ever seen him do. So fun to watch him.

Also today, Camille had her first dance class. She did so good listening to the teacher and being brave. No crying! Yay!

Announcement!

At this point, I've made the blog private so no one is reading this but me. I'm just doing it more as a mini journal.

So I am 8 weeks pregnant! Karl and I were quite content with our 3 kids. No one is in diapers! It's magical to have everyone potty trained. We were thinking we were probably done. Correction, I was thinking...Karl was 100% sure.  I just wanted to make sure so I asked Karl to pray and fast with me. I felt like I needed to know for sure or I'd always wonder.

I didn't really feel a strong answer. Karl felt like he should follow my inspiration. I went ahead and made an appointment to have an IUD put in. While these aren't permanent, it felt like I was making a final decision. Half way through the appointment i basically had an emotional break down, lol. I suddenly felt so sure this isn't what I should do. I started crying. The poor nurse was trying to comfort me. I apologized for wasting their time and told them I would not be getting an IUD.

The whole time I was texting Karl updates. He responded "well, I guess we're having another baby." Lol. And so...2 months later, I was pregnant.

I'm now 8 weeks and sick as a dog. My mind does an amazing job forgetting how awful it is. The love for your child must push out all the horrible pain and discomfort!  Can't wait to be done with the 1st trimester...more like week 16 for me...but I'm thinking positive!

We're excited. It's funny, I'm not "baby hungry" but just felt so sure our family wasn't done. I am telling myself this is baby #last though!

Another Chloe

These conversations embody our 5 year old.

#1. Karl explaining something complicated and she didn't quite follow "You'll just have to trust me."

Chloe: "No I don't. I trust myself."

#2.  Me trying to teach her how to ride a bike with no training wheels after she's been trying on her own with no luck..."Watch Chloe...Chloe are you watching?...Chloe!...Sometimes we learn by watching."

Chloe: "And sometimes we learn by doing!"

She 100% trusts herself and has always learned by doing. Parenting her is a whole new world. She learns her lessons the hard way, but there's no convincing her otherwise. She causes me a lot of frustration but she has qualities that I admire and can't wait to see in action as an adult. We just have to guide her and let her do her thing. Fingers crossed!

True Love

We are in trouble. Chloe told me tonight that she told Easton (a boy in her Kindergarten class) that she loves him. (She is constantly declaring her love to boys!) As I walked away, I heard her say (in a very romantic way) "I love him with all of my heart." Oh boy.

Eating Myself

Camille was having a snack yesterday. She yelled out "Ow!" and then started whimpering. I asked if she bit her tongue. She angrily pointed at her veggie straw and said "Dat made me eat myself!" I couldn't help but laugh. It makes sense though.

Chloe isms

Sometimes Chloe gets scared at night. But she doesn't say "I'm scared." She yells out "I'm getting the creeps." It makes me laugh, which means I usually go in to help her calm down.

Chloe calls hand sanitizer "hanitizer." Every time she says it I think, why doesn't everyone call it hanitizer? It makes so much sense.

Stubborn

Chloe can be so stubborn. I am currently pulled off on the side of the road. I told her we would not move until she buckles her seat belt. I already took away her electronics. Now we're just sitting here in stale mate. It's a good thing I have a book because we've been sitting here 10 minutes thus far. She can't have toys and I've told her I can't "hear" her till she puts on her seat belt. She seems quite content to wait it out. We'll see how long this takes. I'm not sure what my other options are except yell...and sometimes I am just not in the mood to yell.

She tried to negotiate. "I'll only put it on if you give me back electronics." I told her that's not the way it works. She's tried to talk to me 4 times now.

Oh man. She is so cute and so loving...and also so stubborn.

Post Script added 2/28.
The other day she wanted hot lunch but I had already made her lunch so I told her no. When I wasn't looking, she took the lunch box out of her back pack (twice). She was kicking and screaming about it as we left for school. She said "I'm just not going to take my lunch out of my bag."

Well her teacher must get lunches out. Chloe sat at lunch with her lunch box on front of her and refused to eat. She sat in silent protest for 30 minutes while everyone else ate. It's not like I was there...not sure who she's proving a point to. It's just a matter of principle I guess. So in the afternoon she was starving and her teacher let her eat her lunch.

I am TERRIFIED of this girl as a teenager. She is going to be one I have to "suggest" things to and then hope she makes the right choice.

Another example. It was a "dress up like it's a rainy day" day at school. She wore her rain boots. I tried to put her tennis shoes in her backpack. She freaked out and took them out. I explained she didn't have to wear them, they were just there in case she got tired of wearing her rain boots during the day. It was an ongoing argument (escalating...I need to remember to let her learn lessons the hard way). I finally took them out of her bag. As she's leaving she says she wants them in her bag again...so we put them back. 

At the end of the day I pick her up and ask if she ever used them. She says she did! I say "oh great, well then you're probably really glad you kept them in your bag." She says, "no, I still wish I hadn't." There is no winning with this one!

Couple Things

Carson was looking at my drivers license a few days ago. He started uncomfortably giggling. I asked what was funny. He said "Your license says 'sex' on it." I told him that was asking what gender I was, male or female. Then he started laughing more. He saw the "F" next to sex and thought it meant I had tried to have sex and had failed. I laughed pretty hard at that.  Not sure who would have been doing the grading in that scenario.

The other day I was helping Camille go to the bathroom. She was sitting there for some time, nothing happening.  Then she said "Poop...takes awhile." Cracked me up!

Stamps

Camille saw a man with several tatoos at Costco the other day. She said "Mom, that man have stamps!" I looked at who she was talking about and then laughed. I don't think he heard or at least he didn't react. Then she said "Him got stamps from him mom." Lol. Then she told me she wanted stamps. Let's hope for just real stamps.

Mini Me

Today I told the kids to go get in the car and I'd be out in a minute. Camille said "Me stay with you, you not alone in the house." It was so sweet that she didn't want to leave me alone.

It reminded me of when I was little. Anytime we left my mom at home and went and did something, I was always so worried she would feel lonely and sad.

Any mom knows, a little time alone is welcome!