I know we have let our thousands of fans out there down, by not keeping up with blog posts over the past.... decade! :) So, I figrued I'd make sure everyone knows we are still here and making noise around Westfield! Clayton, Hallie, Bennett and Annie all still in school, although Clayton will be heading to College next year! Here's just a few pics of some recent fun! Maybe we'll catch up with some more sometime soon!
Bennett Neal
9 lbs 14 oz 22 inches long
2-12-12 10:10 a.m.
I couldn't believe it!!
We were so determined to have a "normal" delivery the 3rd time around! And like they say...the 3rd time's a charm! There is always a story though...so here is Baby Bennett's!
I decided to stop working a little early this time since both Clayton and Hallie made early arrivals. I worked until January 30th and Bennett's due date was Super Bowl Sunday, February 5th. The days passed by and I enjoyed some quiet me time... pedicures, manicures, yummy lunches, a little shopping, crafting some special things for his nursery... I was feeling such a sense of peace and relaxation. And for being the end of my 3rd pregnancy, I felt GREAT!! I kept hoping and praying for some contractions that I could really feel, but they just never came. We had an appointment on February 6th (Hallie's 2nd birthday and the day after Bennett's due date) to check on him. We had a 40 week ultrasound and he was doing well so we decided to give him 1 more week to come on his own. I was trying for a VBAC instead of another c-section. Bennett knew what he was doing making me wait til 41 weeks for the scheduled c-section...no way I could have delivered a 9 lb 14 oz baby "naturally".
We arrived at I.U. North Hospital on Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 7:30 a.m. to get prepped for the delivery. 2-12-12 (easy date to remember!) It was such a strange feeling knowing we were walking in and going to have our baby in our arms in no time! After answering questions and getting prepped we walked to the OR...way different than being rushed to the OR with Hallie. It was so cold in there. I was just taking it all in and getting a little nervous. Hospitals and surgery have NEVER been my thing! Just ask my mom, Ha!!! Neal had to wait in the hallway while the anesthesiologist did the spinal. I just remember freezing as I sat on the edge of the table leaning forward getting the spinal. It didn't really hurt...just felt tons of pressure. She had a difficult time getting it in the right spot due to my scoliosis. Next, they brought neal in and had me lie down and started to get things ready. The doc pulled on my old incision with tweezers or something and I totally felt it. I could also move my knee caps, feet, and legs...which didn't seem right to me. They decided to wait just a bit to give the spinal time to set in...well it never did, so the next thing I knew there was a mask over my face and I was asleep. Thankfully they didn't make Neal leave the OR. He was able to stay just not up near my head so he was able to video the c-section. Pretty cool since I was out of it. I couldn't believe I was able to hold baby Bennett so soon and without tubes and wires! Very emotional moment for me...I felt so present in the moment. He was so perfect and HUGE!!!! (chubby cheeks and a full belly and lots of dark hair) But he did still seem tiny to Neal and me...
We were so excited to be able to have Bennett in our our postpartum room with us. This was a first!! Our family was able to come visit and hold him and Clayton & Hallie came to meet their new baby brother. His first nights in the hospital were rough...he did not want to sleep anywhere, but in my arms. I didn't sleep much at all! We are so thankful and blessed for a short hospital stay and a healthy baby.
P.S. Bennett is officially the biggest baby on my mom's side of the family. She has 7 siblings and those 7 siblings had 23 kids and "the cousins" have had 19 babies so far...
We love you Benny Boo!!!!
Dear Hallie,
You are now 2 years and about 1 week old! You are getting so big I can hardly stand it! I can't even believe you were only 4 lbs 15 oz when you were born. You are napping right now in your new big girl bed that your nana got for you. You love your new big girl furniture and love showing it to everyone. You LOVED celebrating your birthday this year. Your favorite song has been "Happy Doo Day" for a while now! You want to sing Happy doo day Papa, Happy doo day Hallie, Happy doo day charlie brayden (the twin boys in your class), Happy doo day butterflies... the list goes on. Other songs you enjoy right now are Itsy Bitsy Spider, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, ABC's, I'm a Little Tea Pot...and at night you request Bubbie comes in to sing you Baa Baa Black Sheep. I love to cuddle with you at bedtime and you are just starting to figure out how to make getting ready for bed last a little longer! :)
You are still a very feisty girl. You like to be in charge and when you want something...you want it now. You love your big brother who you call Bubbie. You love rocking and singing to your baby dolls, building towers out of blocks, dancing, and playing with Bubbie's toys. You love dress up clothes, wearing tutus, and brushing your teeth! You are an EATER!! Always eating your meals and snacking in between. You are a growing girl. Tall that is...still a little stick, but your legs seem pretty long to me.
Tomorrow you will become a big sister. It's a big job, but I know you will love your new little brother. You love your cousin blakers or baby bakes so you have had some good practice! It's hard for me to imagine that you are no longer the baby in the house, but you have taken a liking to this "big girl" thing.
I want you to know how much we love you. You are the spunkiest little princess who can melt our hearts with an I love you...a kiss...a smile. Love you punky!
~Mommy
School has been in session for a little over a month...and boy is it exhausting. Clayton & Hallie both transitioned well to getting up early, being gone all day, and getting home at dinner time. We still LOVE the weekends. Clayton will tell you he likes to sleep in, too. Both kids are AMAZING sleepers. Up between 8-9 on weekends! The first early morning of school Clayton commented that it's not time to go because it's still dark outside. I totally agree. If we could leave around 10, it would be perfect!! :)
Hallie's teachers have told me that she is so great at TOTS. She knows their routine, loves to sing, dance, and take walks in the bye bye buggy. Hallie is an EATER. They always comment on how well she eats lunch and snacks. And to think her doc "reminded" me at her last appointment that she could eat whatever she wanted. She does that and more!! In her new TOTS class she naps on a cot. She is usually the first to fall asleep and if she wakes up before it's time she just looks at her teachers and when they signal her to go back to night night, she closes her eyes and is right back to bed. WHAT A DREAM!!! The evenings haven't been as easy...by the time I get the kids they are exhausted, hungry, whiny, etc. and SO AM I!! Hallie loves baby dolls right now and also anything that Clayton is playing with. She can sure hold her own with the boys! Her favorite color right now is yellow. She calls every color yellow and especially loves school buses because they are yellow! She has always done a lot of listening and observing (although she is hardly a quiet kid). But recently is talking a lot more. She loves to say, Bye Bye Papa, Gigi, Nana, etc. She loves to call aunt abby on the phone and she adores Melmo (Elmo). She knows when it's raining and says, rainin. She calls her big bro, Bubby, and when they see each other in the hall at school they hug! She uses the word no a lot and is very good with her pleases and thank yous. She isn't very nice to Peyton. She growl/grunts at him especially when she thinks he might get her food. She loves reading books. Her favorite song is Happy Birthday and she just recently learned to sing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, and Row, Row, Row Your Boat. You just have to see this girl dance...she can even do a somersault!
Clayton started preschool at TOTS this year. He loves it and is learning lots of letter sounds. We really enjoy it when he sings... "The A says a, the A says a, every letter makes a sound, the A says a...etc." Clayton is quite the chatterbox as usual and on the rare occasion when he has to "sit on the bench" he tells me right away. It's usually for going up the slide the wrong way. My fault because I totally let him do it at home. He's my little explorer! He loves all things boy...bugs, baseball, dinosaurs, racecars, superheros. Clayton thinks he grows every single day when he eats all his food. Lately he is wanting us to measure him ALL THE TIME! He wants to be just like his daddy and will tell you that he is getting whiskers like his daddy. At school when they play house he had to be the doctor, but he said he really wanted to be the daddy. He has figured out the way to his daddy's heart... "Hey daddy, I set up the bases..." Then, Neal is right out their with him playing baseball. Clayton loves to bat. Everything he steps up to the plate he says out loud... spread my feet, tap the plate, watch the ball, and swing and then usually hits a homerun! He wants you to cheer for him and chase him as he runs the bases. Neal even cut a base path in the grass last time for Clayton's field.
With all the snow days leading up to Hallie's 1st birthday party I had plenty of time to get crafty for her party! Since her birthday is so close to Valentine's Day I decided to have a heart themed party. It just made sense to me because she was still in the NICU for Valentines Day when she was born and I got to make her a little Valentine Bag to hang on her NICU door. All the nurses put Valentines in her bag. It was just so sweet. So for her party...I made her a hot pink and red tutu to match her "sweetheart" onesie and bloomers! Clayton helped me stuff tiny pink, red, and white mailboxes with goodies for the little party guests! We made all the sweet treats ourselves...cookies, cupcakes, cake, and candy pops. Hallie loved her birthday cake...she's our "sweets" girl! My dear friend Jill helped me bake cookies and Jill even made her mom's homemade icing to decorate them! Hallie's big gift was a playhouse with a doorbell that really rings. Clayton loves it too! She did a great job opening her presents and had a much longer attention span than Clayton did opening his presents. He opened the first one and was done! :) She really is our little sweetheart!
It's harder to keep up with things like this...& not as many pictures...well I think we have a TON of pictures of Hallie, but we haven't been the best at sharing them on the blog. And I'm way behind in posting about Hallie's monthly stats and milestones. I am really sad about this! I've jotted most of it down in her baby book, thank goodness, because I can't remember anything lately! I really love scrolling back through the blog to reminisce and the gap is too big after Hallie.
Our little sweetheart turns ONE in a week! Where has the time gone? I swear I just had her and now she says uh-oh, ma ma, da da, ball, and sometimes book, car, & dog. She began crawling forward at the beginning of December and now she is quick! Lately she's been sneaking in to play in Peyton's water bowl or trying to climb up the stairs. She's pulling up on everything, but I still can't picture her walking. She LOVES Clayton and his cars & trains. She gets excited to crawl in his bed when we wake him up. Hallie loves playing peekaboo and giving kisses. She really is a sweetheart! We love our Hallie girl, our princess, punky, Baby or My Howie (the two names Clayton prefers).
On Hallie's 6 month birthday we went to the zoo! Clayton did not want to leave the train at the zoo! He loved going for a ride! Hallie enjoyed the scenery too! (Bucket List #16 & 20) I know we took more pics checking out the animals, but I can't find them right now! :)
Swimming Lessons taught by Aunt Abby! (Bucket List #12)
1st Trip to the Monon Center Water Park!! (Bucket List #8)
Neighborhood Pool!
Backyard Pool!!! Thanks Daddy-o!
