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!