Happy Birthday!!!

October 6th is always a special day for our family.  My husband's birthday is on that day, and this year I decided, "What the heck.  He's a pretty great guy, so I'll splurge and give him a baby for his birthday." : )

The day started off very, very early. The kids spent the night with Nana and Aunt Robin so that they wouldn't have to get up at 4:30, but they made it to the hospital bright and early.  Jackson was so sweet.  He was pretty concerned about me and how I was feeling.  He came in several times throughout the morning, just to check on me and make sure I was okay.  This picture was taken before the contractions kicked in.

Labor and delivery was more or less what I expected. I was labeled "history of quick delivery," so all the nurses were ready for the main event by 9:00 a.m.  The funniest part of all that is it didn't matter how prepared we all were, we still had to wait on the doctor.

Let's break here for a quick history lesson:  when Sadie was born, I went into labor at home around 11:35 p.m. (Contractions began then. Like a good patient, I was waiting the requisite hour to make sure contractions were regular...and then they went from 8 minutes apart to 2 minutes apart in one contraction), got to the hospital at 12:50 a.m., and Sadie was born around 1:10 a.m.  No pain meds.  Would've delivered sooner, but had to wait for doctor.  Of course.  Because no one else in the room can say "PUSH" quite like a doctor.  Whatever.

Now, I'm not mad at my doctor.  Much.  But my epidural didn't take well and it wasn't exactly a walk in the park to NOT push.  But once he arrived, it was a breeze.  Three pushes and Annabelle was here!  She came out crying and I realized why the last few weeks of my pregnancy were so uncomfortable! That sweet little girl was 22 inches long!  I kept telling people that she was more of a "stretcher" than a "kicker"...and boy was that an understatement! :)

I will spare you the icky post-birth pics.  She might want to look you in the eye someday.  But these pics were shortly after she arrived.  Her daddy and her siblings were sooo proud.

  Jackson--the boy who only recently told his little sister that his cousin "stole his baby brother"--was completely smitten...to the point of just wanting to sit and look at her.  Of course, Sadie loves her too, but that was a given!

Annabelle is such a sweet baby.  Now, I know she isn't really smilling, but she smiles all the time and almost always has a pleasant look on her face.  And she is so alert!

The nurse was so nice to the kids when she gave Annabelle her first bath.  She pulled up little step stools and let them help bathe her. They did a great job!  This was right up Sadie's alley, because all she wants is to be a little mother to her baby sister.

One major mistake I made was forgetting to put on waterproof mascara that morning!  Oh well.

Sadie likes to give Annabelle her "wahwah" (pacifier, for those of you who don't speak Sadie)...she has a hard time understanding why she doesn't want it.  And the camo moose in the picture (by my dad's shoulder) is a toy of Jackson's that he brought for Annabelle to play with.  How sweet is that?

Right before this picture was taken, we let Jackson hold Annabelle.  Sadie broke down crying because she thought we weren't going to let her hold her baby sister. She perked right up when we put Annabelle in her arms.  (And for those of you who know Sadie at all, she has yet to call Annabelle "Honey"...she says that's not her sister's name.  I think she's afraid it will hurt Annabelle's feelings.)

This is the expression I see almost the entire time this sweet girl is awake.  With the exception of about 30 minutes at night, she is completely pleasant and content.

Today marks her one week birthday. Time has truly flown by so far!  We are blessed.

Dear Annabelle...

Dear Annabelle,


Today your daddy and I will welcome you into our world. We have been waiting for you patiently for the past nine months, but we are so ready to see your sweet face. You will be our baby. Our youngest. The one that gets all the hand-me-downs from garage sales and big sister. Speaking of which, your big brother and sister have also been waiting patiently for your arrival as well, and they are both as excited as we are to see you…well…your brother is kind of hoping you will change miraculously into a baby brother, but I promise he will love you. He won’t be able to help himself.

I still remember vividly the night we found out you were coming. I had a feeling, but confirmation came in Austin, Texas, in February. I’m not sure what this says about you or your personality, but you were the first baby we ever planned that worked out exactly as planned…almost to the day. With your brother, he took his sweet time getting here…your sister—she came roaring into this world on her own time table—much sooner than expected! But you…you will be here exactly when we hoped you would arrive—on your Daddy’s birthday.  I know you're ready to make your grand entrance, but I appreciate your willingness to wait a few hours longer.

I also remember the day we decided—finally—on your name. It took months! We tossed around other options for weeks after finding out we were having a girl. I’m not going to tell you those options, just in case you like any of them better. That would be bad. Anyway. I was the first one to suggest the name Annabelle. I expected your daddy to shoot it down like he had several others. He did not. He loved it. I became hesitant. It’s the last baby name I will ever get to pick out, after all. But one day, while your daddy was at the deer lease (a.k.a. “Heaven”—if you’re really lucky you may get to see it someday, even though you’re not a boy), I was searching iTunes for a Don Henley song that I’d been wanting. I was looking at the different albums, when I saw a song he’d written entitled “Annabel”…and then I heard it. It was your song. A lullaby. Written for another Annabel somewhere else, but it was still YOUR SONG. I sent the lyrics to your daddy. He was more than sold. That was when you stopped being “Baby girl” or “Honey” (still your sister’s choice for you, by the way)…You became Annabelle. Our Annabelle Grace. For that, I will always owe Mr. Henley.  I have spent the past six weeks or so memorizing this song so I can sing it to you once you're here...

I watch you sleeping

My weary heart rises up on wings

I hear your laughter

Something deep down inside me sings

Way down here in the land of cotton

You were born on a rainy day

Since then, sweet things long forgotten

They just keep flooding back my way

Oh child, I cannot tell you how the time just flies

But I have had my days of glory under sunny skies

These days, your bright dreams are all I want to see

Sleep tight, Annabelle

You can always count on me

In this cold world, folks will judge you

Though they don't know you at all

And I may not be there to catch you

Anytime that you might fall

But, you got my hard head

And your mother's grace

All the likeness of the loved ones right there in your face

And I know in the end you'll be who you will be

So sleep tight, Annabelle

You can always count on me

…So welcome to this world, sweet girl. We are happy and thankful and blessed to have you. Our only prayer for you is that you are healthy and happy.  As we have told Jackson and Sadie for the past nine months, you were given especially to us because God knew you were our perfect fit. We love you already.



The Waiting Game

I am 38 weeks and 3 days pregnant today.

I am ready to not be pregnant.

I am tired, sore, swollen, and just generally uncomfortable.

But at the same time, I keep thinking of things that I need to get finished before Miss Annabelle makes her appearance.  The past few weeks have been a race...finish maternity leave plans, order necessary baby items, pack a bag, get grades done, stock pantry for at least a few weeks, and love on my children for a few more minutes before my attention is divided by three.  All at the same time, I am trying to be fully prepared to meet this precious little one...and I honestly feel I'm less prepared for her than I was for Jackson! I spend a lot of time praying that someday she will forgive me for all the things I am forgetting to do right now, and glad that she will most likely not need long term counseling for it.

I guess that's why, when my doctor said, "How do you feel about being induced?" today, I didn't jump at the earliest possible day (we decided on Wednesday--October 6--Kevin's birthday), and I didn't jump at taking any measures to make me go into labor sooner rather than later.  Of course, that probably has more to do with the fact that I barely made it to the hospital before Sadie was born.  But that's another story.

So. 

We are spending the weekend waiting and hoping that baby girl will be patient with us and stay put until Wednesday. 

Wednesday we will be ready. 

I promise.