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.

School Days...

One of the negatives of living in a small town is that there aren't a lot of day care options.  We are sooo fortunate to have Sunshine Friends Preschool in ours.  Jackson started school there last year, and when we found out that Sadie would be eligible to go this year, she was thrilled.  She helped me pick out her backpack, and every time we drove by the church, she would say, "There's my school!"  When the first day finally came for them, they were really excited.

Really.  They were excited.  I promise. :) 

The one thing Jackson is not is a morning person.

Like his momma.

When they got to school, they went to the gym, got their breakfast, and settled in.  Jackson was all about making me feel like he would miss me.  Sadie was already scoping out the scooters. 

They love their teachers and are completely exhausted by the time they get home every day.  Sadie won't tell us who her friends are (so far only boys' names have been mentioned, which makes her Daddy a bit nervous), but Jackson is so glad his best buddies are still there.

They are both having a great year.  

San Antonio 2010

One thing I love about my father is his love for the family vacation.  Growing up, around the end of the school year, he would either tell Mom and me to start thinking of somewhere to go, or he would simply tell us his vision.  I don't ever remember being disappointed with his vision.   I guess because he and I are so alike in what we consider fun.  As I got older, he would just hand me the Mobile Travel Guide and say, "Plan our route."

You see, we Pedens don't fly.

Not that we're afraid of flying or that we've never gone far enough to justify flying.  We just didn't.  The only vacation that required a jet was a trip to Cancun when I was 5 (still to this day my very very favorite childhood vacation).  We traveled to both coasts in a car.  More than once.  And I don't remember thinking that it was strange.  It was the way we did things.

So when my parents came to our house one June afternoon and in the course of conversation my father told Jackson, "You know what I want to do?  I want to take you and Sadie to see the glass bottom boats.  And then, I want to take you to the San Antonio Zoo,"  I can't say I was all that surprised.  As he left that day, he looked at me and said, "Check into that and let me know what you find out."  I felt the same twinge of excitement as I did when I was in high school.  I get to plan the route! (Don't judge me.)

The glass bottom boats Dad referred to were in San Marcos, also known as Stop #1 on our trip.  Anyone remember Aquarina Springs?  You know, the place with the flying pig?  Mermaids drinking Dr. Peppers under water? (This is where I should probably tell you that as a child I was easily sucked into any sort of roadside oddity that involved caves, reptiles, and/or mermaids drinking DP under water.  I'm pretty sure I got this genetic quirk from my dad too, although he acts like he made a huge sacrifice to stop there. Whatever.)  Well, don't expect to see any of that now.  The park is owned/managed by Texas State University now, and while structural elements remain, the park itself is  no more.  Except the boats.  For a small fee, students/tour guides will ferry you around the springs and give you little nuggets of geological info about what you're seeing.  The kids really thought it was cool.  Plus the ride is just long enough to hold their attention.

The next stop on Dad's agenda was the San Antonio Zoo.  The kids love zoos.  The kids just aren't big fans of zoos where the animals are hiding inside because it's so stinking hot outside. They did have a great time looking at the Gila monster (the real one), venturing into the butterfly pavilion, and riding the train.  But let's face it.  San Antonio is the hottest place on Earth.

Actually, that's not right.  San Antonio isn't the hottest place on Earth.  Sea World actually holds that title.  We went there too. I love this picture below because it was the kids' first experience with Shamu, and they were literally in awe.  We loved all the shows we saw, and we loved watching people feed dolphins and sharks and alligators.  Jackson even got to ride a roller coaster, but it wasn't a big one and he still wants to ride the big roller coaster.  Sadie was too short to ride just about everything, and that didn't sit well with her either...my kids are going to be coaster riders, and I am a happy, happy girl.

We stayed at the Hyatt Hill Country Resort.  I have no pictures of this place because we literally spent every spare moment in their amazing pool/beach/lazy river.   The kids LOVED it.  This place ranks in my top 5 favorite places to stay.  If you want family friendly old-school resort with every modern convenience and ammenity, this is it.  It is beautiful, it is comfortable, it has wonderful activities for the whole family (Movie night on the lawn?  Check.  S'mores around the campfire with a singing cowboy? Check.).  Kevin and I both talked about how we could come back there for a week and never leave the resort and be perfectly happy. 

On our way home we made what would be my very first ever stop in Gruene, Texas to visit the Grist Mill. I am now officially in love with Gruene and hinted strongly to my husband that it would be a lovely anniversary destination next spring.  It was a great vacation overall. The kids were ready to go back as soon as we got home.  Who am I kidding?  They didn't want to leave in the first place!