Back in Action!

I am finally starting to figure out time management and having a 3rd child! ha! I have been on 3rd shifts for the past 12 days since Miss Chandler has her days and nights mixed up but she is finally starting to figure things out and so are we!

The past 12 days have been a wonderful adjustment to our new normal! I honestly can say I love the newborn stage, sleepless nights and all. The minute she came into the world I just melted! Here is a tiny glimpse of how things are going.... Maybe one of these days I can get caught up!

The night before we went to the hospital there was a HUGE storm here and apparently it caused every women in our town to go into labor. We had to be at the hospital at 5 am, when we got there they told us that since midnight 7 women had walked in with their water broke so things were crazy busy!

Here I am the morning we left for the hospital. I was pretty nervous and ready to get there!

My last picture! 39 weeks!

Here I am at the hospital waiting to go! My c-section was scheduled for 7:15 am but since there were so many women in labor/surgery it got pushed back about an hour and a half. This was my least favorite part of the day, I have never been good at waiting :)

At 8:58 am I heard the most wonderful cry ever! My baby girl was here and she was healthy and pink and screaming :) She had swallowed some meconium but based on how loud she was screaming everyone knew she was a-ok! The c-section was great, it seemed easier and faster than the times before!

My sweet precious baby! I was SO happy for her to be here and to see her face to face!

The kiddos have been amazing with her! Annie is having a little jealousy but that is normal. She just wants to be a part of it all and know that mommy is still all about her :) Palmer is just precious with her, loves her to death and is SUCH a good big brother!

Here is my little mommy! She helps me out so much getting diapers, wipes, cleaning out bottles, picking out clothes, you name it she is on it!

We have had SO much fun dressing up Chandler! Headbands, bows, flowers, etc... We act like she is a baby doll dressing her up!

We finally realized the only way this peanut was going to sleep any length of time was to be swaddled! What a difference it makes! She is going about 4 hours between feedings a night and 3 hours during the day! Now that I can handle! We had a few nights where she literally screamed all night and most of the day. Luckily I went ahead and switched her formula and so far so good (crossing fingers and toes!)

This is chandler's first outing to the dr! We just had our second weigh in today and she is 2 oz away from her birth weight so we are right on track and doing great!

Palmer thinks his baby sister is the cutest thing ever!

First picture with her eyes open! She is the sweetest thing ever!

Our cord still hasn't fallen off so all we have been able to do is sponge off. We have yet to take a full bath but even just wiping her down she LOVES it. I have never had a baby not cry in the bath. She just lays there and loves every minute of it!

One of many outfit changes even in the hospital!

I had to throw this pic in cause it cracks me up! I know it is blurry but it is Palmer with my breast pump! I looked over and he had his shirt up and acting like he was pumping! His friend Adler thought it was just hilarious! Can't wait to keep this picture for blackmail one day :)

As cliche as it sounds we already feel like Chandler has been part of our lives forever! We are totally loving being a family of 5. It is chaos pretty much all of the time but it is our chaos and we love it. This is the best I have felt physically and mentally post pardum and for that I am truly grateful! I am loving every minute I get to spend with Chandler. We are doing tons of resting when the kids are at school and of course we have made trips to target! ha ha We are loving every minute with our precious new addition!

She's Here and a Week Old!

Chandler Grace Templeton

Arrived 08/17/2012 at 8:58 am

7 lbs 5 oz 20 inches long

'

I can't believe she is a week old today and I haven't blogged once! She is perfect, healthy, wonderful and totally spoiled already! I have been a busy momma but loving every minute! I promise LOTS more pictures as soon as I find a minute to sit down and go thru everything!

I am going to be an Aunt AGAIN!

Today is the first BIG day of this week! Ashley is in the hospital as we speak! She just got her water broken and is about 3 cm dialted! I am BEYOND excited to find out whether I am having a niece or nephew! I am also SO sad not to be there, it is literally killing me! Thankfully technology is making things a lot easier and we update each other about every 30 minutes.

This is total "princess Ashley" haha Only Ashley would have a custom hospital gown! I love it! Totally her. I just can't say enough prayers for a healthy, happy baby and an easy delivery!

I am finishing up my last half day of work, going to my last dr appt and trying to not be a bundle of nerves :) I will update when baby Merritt arrives!

Last Weekend as a family of 4!

Family of 4, Almost a family of 5!

I am completely 100% all over the map these last few days! There are moments when I am teary eyed because I can't wait to meet this precious baby, there are moments when I am teary eyed because I think about this being my last time pregnant, there are moments where I stop breathing thinking about the "newborn" stage again, moments where I think I can't take another day of being pregnant and moments where I think this hasn't been so bad after all :)

I am totally pumped its Friday and that this weekend we literally have NO plans other than to hang out and relax! We have a BIG weekend coming up! haha Not only do we get to meet our precious baby I will be finding out whether I am an aunt to a niece or a nephew! My sister is set to be induced on Tuesday if she doesn't go before. The suspense is killing me!

I am trying to soak up as much time with Palmer and Ann Mason as possible because I know a lot of my time soon is going to be dedicated to Miss Chandler! Palmer has done WONDERFUL this week at school and has had a blast and been exhausted every night! I am SO thankful to have this first week out of the way for Palmer!

All of "this" hasn't really hit me yet. My sister and I were talking about it today and it just doesn't all seem real. I know I felt like this with both kiddos, I doubt it will hit me until I go to the hospital on Friday. I am just so anxious to see this beautiful baby girl and know she is healthy!

Kindergarten!

Wow! I am seriously on emotional overload today. Palmer's first day at Kindergarten + Ann Mason going to school by herself + being 9 days away from baby = one hot mess of a momma! I have literally cried over a dozen times today and I forgot my make up at home.

I sent my first born baby boy off to the big world of Kindergarten today! I really did not think this would effect me this much. I have a feeling it is not all about going to school but rather thinking of how fast life goes. It was just yesterday that he was born and now in the blink of an eye he is going to kindergarten? Everything just played in my mind, have I soaked it all in, have I cherished every moment of these past 5 years, have I made sure not to take anything for granted.... the list goes on and on.

I think it is easy to have unreal expectations on one's self especially when these big milestones occur. I know it is human nature to take things for granted and I am sure there were plenty of days where I didn't soak it all in and I counted down the hours until bedtime and I am sure that there were moments where I did wish away the time because of a certain stage we were going thru.

I do know I have done at least some things right :) that I LOVE these kiddos so much it hurts some times like today. That I had no idea that my heart could love or hurt so much or worrying could be so great but most of all that my love for them could be bigger than any obstacle there is. I pray ever day for their safety, health and hapiness and for today we have all 3 and that makes it a WONDERFUL day!

This picture literally tears me up! Ann Mason can be such a stinker some times but at the end of the day this is how she truly looks at her brother. She LOVES him and seriously cheers him on in anything he does. She might sucker punch him when he is not looking but when it comes down to it she has his back! She cried wanting to go with him today which of course made me cry! She is learning to navigate her own waters by herself as well and it isn't always easy. Luckily she will have a new person to teach the ropes to in about 9 days!

Karson our neighbor and friend met us outside to take pictures! It was so fun all of the teachers were cheering, the rocky theme song was playing and everyone was pumped. Palmer, however much prefers a more low key entrance into new things so all of the excitment got him a little nervous. He did SO good walking in until he had to find a seat at the lunch table and he didn't know anyone in his class. That was when the head went down and the tears came, for both of us. His sweet teacher came over and saved the day and allowed us to hug him and make a fast exit from the building! Thankfully we have friends that are at school today with the kiddos and I have already gotten a picture of Palmer smiling at the lunch table with the caption "He is having a GREAT day!"

Thank Goodness! I can't wait to get him in my arms and hear all about this big day! I hope he loved everything about it!

Weekend Recap!

We had a really great weekend. It was a great mix of fun, getting stuff done, resting and spending time with family and friends! It was also our one year anniversary of being here in Owensboro. I know this because our first day in Owensboro one year ago we celebrated Kathy's birthday.

I have to admit this first year in Owensboro has been rocky, ROCKY! :) It definitely was not a love connection with me from the start. We are more than blessed to have our family here and that is the #1 main reason I think we have stuck it out. I am pretty sure if I had, had my way we would have moved back to Louisville within the first month. There are still days that I would like to move back but things are getting better. I pray daily that this next year things will start to feel ok again and we will finally be able to enjoy calling Owensboro home. I definitely think we are meant to be here in this season of our life, especially with the kids being small and expanding our family. I guess only time will tell if our jounrey will continue to keep us here...

So on our one year anniversary we celebrated Kathy's birthday again! :) We LOVE celebrating birthdays, eating food and cake and hanging out!

Here is Mamaw and the gang before we sang happy birthday!

Mamaw and her babies.

Kathy and her TOO CUTE chocolate on chocalte cake. You should see this womans wardrobe. I haven't walked into a normal store in months but apparently I hear that primary colors are making a comeback and Kathy's closet is rocking it out! This woman is more stylish than most 20 year olds!

I didn't get to write last week about Palmer's back to school night. It was awesome but SO chaotic. You sign up for lunches, after school, meet the teacher, fill out 101 forms, etc... It was fun but after it is over your not sure what just happened :)

Here we are walking in together!

Palmer in front of his classroom. We met Palmer's teacher and it was a LOVE connection as far as a mom/teacher goes. She was SO great I think we could be BFF's! She is sweet and fun and gave Palmer the biggest hug, I knew right then he was in good hands! I cried when I saw his desk with his name tag on it. I tried to turn around and not let anyone see me. This guy is going to do great, I can't wait to watch him grow this year!

Another thing we did this weekend was go to the dragon boat races. All of the businesses and schools have a boat and they race. It is actually so cool and the kids loved it!

We brought Karson our neighbor along, the more the merrier!

The dragon boats.

Palmer doing his own dragon boat race. He won and I LOVE this picture, he was so stinking excited!

Last but not least. Erin my amazing friend from Louisville somehow found out she had family in Owensboro and came to a cookout that was near my house. I was able to go visit with her and her new found owensboro family! I loved catching up with her and was sad to see her go!

So this could be the most random and long post ever, sorry! Tomorrow I have the day off to spend the WHOLE day with Palmer to make sure he has the best ever day before he starts kindergarten. I don't know who is more excited, him or me? :)

Surprise and 37 weeks!

I swear I don't know where the time goes. I got my act together and finally downloaded some pics over the last week. Last Wednesday my sister in law and mother in law told me they wanted to take me to dinner. I honestly thought nothing of it because sometimes we do this as a way of politely telling the boys and all of the kiddos that we need a break :)

So they picked me up and we were headed to a nice dinner out!...

To my surprise when we got there it ended up being a surprise baby shower! I was shocked and of course being overly emotional I cried :) It was so nice of them to get my local friends here together and celebrate baby Chandler! It was perfect night out! I enjoyed an adult meal with friends of course cake and presents, it was great!

The only bad thing was that since I didn't know about this surprise, I didn't bring my camera so I got limited pics. Here we are in front of the half eaten cake, it was delicious!

The precious cake for baby Chandler! She is already so loved and I am so blessed to be surrounded with people that show me love every day!

I also turned 37 weeks, I have been horrible about my weekly picture!

Weight Gain: 23 lbs.

High of the Week: The shower and finishing up her room!

Low of the Week: Sleeping, pretty much is non existent :)

I definitely am feeling different things and I think my body is just telling and showing me exactly how close we are getting. I think I realized that I might want to slow down and pretend like I am actually having a baby in less than 2 weeks! I still try and do a lot but I take a few more breaks in between! I just keep on praying for a happy, healthy baby girl! I am REALLY excited, REALLY excited! I looked thru old pictures of Palmer and Ann Mason as babies last night and cried and laughed and I am SO anxious to do it again!

Kindergarten Jump Start!

It's all starting, I don't know if I am ready to deal with it :) Palmer's new school has a wonderful thing called Kindergarten Jump Start. The new kindergartners go to the school for 2 hours a week before it starts and they get the whole school to themselves to meet their teachers, take a tour, talk about Kindergarten and just get acquainted. Today was the day!

Here is Palmer and his buddy Karson. They didn't make it in the same class but we are glad just to have them at the same school! Not such a great pic, obviously the sun was a little bright but it was the best we could do!

Palmer did GREAT! I mean, LOVED it! I dropped off and Tex picked up. Tex said that he literally smiled from ear to ear the whole way to McDonald's where he got a happy meal to celebrate such a milestone! :)

We are trying to make him feel even more special since this is such a big occasion for him. Him and I were talking this morning and I reminded him that next week Daddy is going to take off one day for a Palmer/Daddy day and Mommy is going to take off the next day for a Mommy/Palmer day. He said "Mom, I have wished for that for forever" I started laughing and asked him what he meant. He said "I have wished for a day where I was ALL by myself!" Poor thing! haha He admitted that he would miss Ann Mason but I am pretty sure he is eagerly awaiting have ALL of the spotlight for two whole days!

My heartstrings were pulled more than once today. Dropping of Annie and watching her walk into school by herself brought me to tears cause I could tell she was a little sad and unsure of why Palmer wouldn't be going with her anymore. They are such buddies and are so used to doing everything together! Of course watching Palmer get called to his classroom and him smiling at me and waving about made me loose it. I am so proud of my kids and want the very best for them always, I just can't believe they are growing up so fast!

Kindergarten Jump Start 2012