One Month Of Sweet Baby Boy Bliss!

I know it's been awhile since my last blog but I've been staying busy with my sweet little baby boy. He is one month old now and at this months dr.'s appointments he had grown a quarter of an inch and is now 9 lbs! Wow it's amazing how fast they grow! He's starting to do lots of new things, trying to stand (which scares me because it gives me the impression that he maybe an early walker, during tummy time he does the crawling motions, his neck seems to be getting stronger and he's trying hard to hold it up, he's officially found his thumb and will insert it in his mouth when he doesn't have a paci immediately there to soothe him, he's developing little rolls on his tummy, arms, and legs (which I absolutely adore), his cries are becoming easier to desifier in terms of what he is wanting when he cries, he's smiling more, he's cooing, he's snoring, he's developing quite a personality and temper (hence the above pic), he's focusing on objects and faces, he's getting into a sleep pattern (we are now waking up at 12, 3, 6), he's more spoiled than he was at a day old and I think he knows it, his newborn clothes and diapers are getting a little snug, he knows how to throw a fit, he has mad manipulation skillz, he loves to go on car rides and to be in his car seat, and I think he is definately going to be a mommy's boy (but of course that's just my opinion).....there are so many other things he's doing that I haven't mentioned, who knew he would be developing and doing so many new things in one month! Overall he is a really awesome baby - he typically goes with the flow, as long as he's full and dry! He naps throughout the day; he only gets fussy when he's hungry, wants to be held, dirty, getting his clothes changed; he loves to snuggle; he loves to be talked to and loved on.......we're pretty lucky!

This past month has been a massive whirlwind for us with lots of visitors throughout the month, a new lifestyle adjustment, the business picking up, deciding to put the house on the market, healing, trying to keep up with the day to day things (cleaning, laundry, ect.), trying to get back into the social scene (church, lunch with friends, daily outings to the store, ect.) - it has flown by so quickly! I guess your body begins to adjust to this new way of life for me it took about 3.5 weeks but now that I've somewhat adjusted life is slowly beginning to become a little less exhausting and chaotic. Everyday I take the time to thank God for this little miracle that is my son and I take the time to look at his wonderful creation with always the same reaction......amazed, speechless, grateful, undeserving.....without question raising a child is not easy but it is definately the best gift I've ever been blessed with. The second I get down and think it's too hard, all I have to do is look at Cannon and my heart melts every time! He is the light of my life and I love watching him grow from day to day, I am a very lucky mommy : ) Thanks to all who have come to visit us and bring us food, you will never know how much that helped us out and we love you all so much for taking the time to help us out! I am looking forward to next weekend for when Cannon's Aunt Morgie comes to visit us, we are so very excited! Hopefully this week the weather will cooperate so I can get some pics of my handsome little man with the Texas Blue Bonnets, they are so beautiful and there is a perfect patch right across the street from our house : )

Cannon's Rustic, Hunting Themed "Baby Boy Cave"

Here are some snap shots of Mr. Cannon's "Baby Boy Cave", I call it this because Cannon's daddy just recently got his very own "Daddy Man Cave" so I felt it was fitting to give his room this name! We had a local painter in our subdivision paint his room and she did a fabulous job! His bedding came from a store in Midland, TX called Graham Krackers, everything was custom selected (by mommy) and tailored (by the store). They also do home decor custom items - throw pillows, curtains, bedspreads, lamp shades - you name it they do it and it's prompt and excellent quality, we will be lifetime customers for all of our future fabric decor! You just walk in pick your favorite fabric swatches, from the thousands of fabric swatches on the wall and "BAM" you have created the most adorable and one of a kind fabric art for your home : ) All other room decor we either had or got as gifts from friends or family, I was really happy how it all came together. At the time I was decorating it I thought he would be spending lots of time enjoying it but since we're putting our house on the market it maybe short lived, however that just gives me another opportunity to get creative and start from scratch with another room! I love decorating my home, it's one of my favorite past times : )

The Most Amazing "1st" Week Of Our Lives!

Most Photogentic and Handsome Baby Award

Whew, well this first week at home with our new bundle of joy has just flown by so fast! I can't believe our little prince is 8 days old already and that we were able to make it through this week without a nervous break down or going to the hospital every day (even though we called twice, but it was the first two nights and we were a little scared and inexperienced (still that) to say the least)! We have been abundantly blessed this week with tons of visitors (family and friends) and they are still coming for the next 3 or 4 weeks so we are loving that! Everyone has been so gracious and has brought or offered to bring us dinner, I don't think our refrigerator can hold anymore food - seriously! Cannon has loved all of his many admirers and has gotten so spoiled, as far as being held, getting kisses, hugs, and snuggles - even if you change his diaper or clothes - he goes completely nuts because he is getting put down for a few minutes! Cannon's Yaya and Poppa have been over practically every night, they just can't get enough of their sweet grandson and I can't blame them - he loves when they come over to kiss, snuggle, and love all over him!

First Sponge Bath

First Doctors Appointment

This week has been a week of many firsts for us. First week without nurses to help us out when we have an issue, first week of no sleep, first week of subconsciously putting our original babies (dogs) second, but I am happy to report that Banquet is super protective over Cannon however Cooper is super jealous, first bath, first week of changing 12 + diapers in one day, first of getting peed and pooped on, first doctors appointment (we had to go three times due to his jaundice), first newborn photo shoot, first of working together for a mutual cause 24/7, first of being a 24/7 milk bank, first of loving something so much that it hurts, first of being so protective over someone that you would do anything to keep them safe no matter what, first of willing to sacrifice anything just to make him happy, first car ride being super cautious and no speeding, first week of laundry for another person, first week of just wanting to lay around, do nothing, and stare at our beautiful creation, first week of waking up and going to sleep so happy because you get to see, snuggle, hug, hold, love, and kiss the sweetest baby and repeat that day after day, first of feeling even closer as spouse than what we've ever felt before, first of realizing how unimportant my pain is compared to the health and happiness of my baby boy, first of getting to see my grandparents, parents, and siblings get the opportunity to have a new role in their lives as great grandparents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles (they are all so excited and wonderful at it too), first of not working non stop (I miss it, believe it or not), first week as mommy and daddy...........and I am sure there are many other first's that I am leaving out but I know there are going to be plenty of more first to continue to write about for the rest of Cannon's life but this is just the firsts of this week.

Well this week has not been easy by any means, I am still recovering from my surgery and 95% I am busy feeding my growing boy and napping whenever I can. Chandler has really stepped up and has been an awesome hubby and daddy but I never had any doubt that would happen. He has been changing diapers, cooking dinner, rocking Cannon while I get some rest, helping me with anything I need, giving baths, folding laundry, cleaning and so much more. I am so very blessed to have such an amazing husband and a wonderful son, Cannon is so lucky to have such a loving daddy - he looks at Chandler with so much love in his eyes and it melts my heart and Chandler looks at Cannon the same way - it's just so sweet. I sure do love my two boys and could not have asked for a better first week but maybe this week Cannon will realize that it's completely fine by us if he wants to sleep throughout the night - wishful thinking I know : )

We want to thank all our family and friends that have come over to visit us, pray for us, call/email us this week, we are so blessed to have you all as a part of our lives! We love you!

Simply Perfection: Cannon's Labor, Delivery, & Final Debute

38 Weeks & 5 days, About To Leave For The Hospital!

About To Get Prepped For L & D!

Let's Get This Show On The Road!!!

I know it has taken me a little while to get on here and blog about the greatest moment of my life - my baby boys birth (I lied it's actually a tie to my wedding day) but nonetheless it is one out of two of the best moments of my life to date. We welcomed our first born child, a son, Cannon Todd Chandler on March 12, 2010 (only 3 days shy of his daddy's birthday) at 7:11 pm he was 8.4 lbs and 20 inches. It was the hardest, longest, most excrutiating event of my life, however at the end of it all I never have felt so accomplished, proud, happy, relieved and completely overfilled with more love, joy, peace, and so many other emotions for a person I have never met before.

Happy Birthday Cannon!

Love At First Sight!

Healthy Baby Boy!

In case some of you are unaware of our l & d experience, I will go ahead and fill you in, to say the least it did not go as planned nor followed my l & d plan whatsoever but in the end all that matter was that my doctor did  what was best to keep me and Cannon healthy. We went in on Thursday night (March 11th) for an induction, mainly because our dr. was going out of town that following Saturday. At 7 pm we checked in, they began prepping me and started me on cervidel, I finally fell asleep at 4:30 am. At 6 am the nurse checked my cervix I was a 2 and started me on fluids and potossin, however she did not put the iv correctly so all of the fluid went into my tissue instead of my veins and I awoke at about 8 am to discover my arm completely swollen and feeling like it weighed a million pounds. At 8 am they re inserted my iv and started everything all over and Dr. Arababi came in and broke my water, at 11 am they came in to check me and I had dilated to a 3 at this point my contractions had started pretty heavy so they gave me a dose of stadol to help relax me, it definately did not ease the pain but it did calm me down. At 2 pm they came back into check me and I had dilated to a 4 and my contractions were even stronger and more painful, so at this point I asked for the epidural. The epidural fully kicked in at 3 pm and I was not able to feel any pain, it was awesome for awhile anyway. At 4 pm they came in again and checked my cervix I was still at a 4 and at this point they realized that potossin was causing Cannon's heart rate to decrease down between 70 - 80 and also they were unsure about exactly how his head was positioned and why it wasn't moving down. They started rotating me right, left, and sitting me up and supplementing oxygen when the potossin was taken off. Also I started having a bad reaction to the epidural, I was shaking almost out of the bed, vomiting basically my own stomach acids as I was not able to eat or drink since the day before, my legs felt like they weighed a million pounds, and they were super tingly and numb - this was the point that I had wished I wouldn't have gotten the epidural. At 6:30 pm Dr. Arababi came in to check me and again I was still at a 4 and she decided that we needed to go ahead and have a C-Section because Cannon did not do well with the potossin and there was something obstructing him from moving down the birthing canal and they weren't sure what it was they felt like this was the best and safest route to go. I had about a half an hour to process this all and after being completely physically and emotionally drained I finally lost it. Luckily my husband and family was there to help calm me down and reassure me that everything would be ok - it was just alot to take in, in such a short amount of time. At 7 pm they wheeled me into the OR and with my husband by my side they began the C-Section and at 7:11 pm I heard the most beautiful cry in all of my life and that was the cry of my precious baby boy! With the first look he stole my heart, our eyes met and it was like he had known me forever, once he heard my voice he stopped crying and just looked into my eyes - I wish I could have freeze framed that moment so I could replay it back over and over again.

Future Red Raider!

After the C-Section they sent me off to recovery, while daddy and Cannon finished up on all of his stuff. At about 8:30 pm I was reunited with my baby boy and have not been seperated ever since. Of course there is so much more stuff that I could go on and on about regarding the after delivery process but none of that matters because the only thing I care about from the l & d process is that it got me to were we are now and that is a baby boy that is - perfect, healthy, loves to eat, hates his diaper and clothes to be changed, hates going to the doctor, loves to be held 24/7, sleeps but unfortunately throughout the day and not as much at night but that's ok, loves to snuggle and has his mommy and daddy wrapped around his tiny fingers. Our cup runneth over with love for our baby boy.........

Let's Get Out Of Here!!!

Leaving In Style......The Nurses Were Sad To See Me Go!

Thank you all so much for your sweet comments, advice, support, help, and love throughout this entire process. We are so blessed to have you all as a part of our lives! We love you all!

Home Sweet Home!!!

38 Weeks & An Official Nester!!!

Well I've decided to get off my feet for a little bit and take a few moments for myself, mainly because A.) my "cankles" are killing me and if I don't sit soon I may just collapse and B.) I still feel like I have so much stuff to do before Cannon's arrival that as I was cleaning the never ending dust caused from the hard wood floor installation (which look amazing btw) I felt my bp begin rising because in my O.C.D mind I just realized that everything may not be exactly perfect if Cannon decides to come this week, which is almost too much for me to handle at this point. So for fear of a total melt down, I decided to blog instead : )

Our new wood floors, my camera was acting up so I didn't get a great pic but now you can see the culprit of our past two week stress, but worth it!!!

Tommorrow is our 38th week Dr.'s appointment and I can not believe how fast time has flown by! I have official become a miserable pregnant woman and I am not too sure how I even have a husband at this point, lol, he is a really patient man and I am a very luck woman! My feet and ankles, have now become cankles which not only are totally unattractive but also painful! My walk has become an even more exaggerated waddle and now my sleep is not only interrupted by uncomfortable positions but also the inability to shut my brain off from all of the million things I have to do, which in pregnancy terms = NESTING! I just have this overwhelming instinctive feeling that I will definately be meeting my prince this week sometime and as excited as I am, I have started stressing that I might go to labor - leaving the house, work, ect. in just "good enough" condition - NOOOOOO, "everything has to be perfect before he gets here, not just good enough" or at least that is what my O.C.D mind has been telling myself! I know I need to not worry about these "little" things, when I have something much bigger on the horizon but it's just so hard for me! Another hard reality for me to swallow is that anyday now I will be an actual MOM, it will no longer just be a dream, thought, or idea it is about to be so real - we are about to see and meet the only thing in this world that is actually something that is a biological part of the two of us, obviously this concept is not new but to sit down and actually think about it and then really grasp it is just so breath taking and amazing! God is so good - I feel so blessed to be given the best gift of all and that's the ablility and opportunity to be able to conceive, carry and have a child that is 100% a part of me and my husband. When I think about why God would deem me worthy of such a special gift, I feel so humbled and loved.

Last week we did our maternity pics, I've only gotten to see a few but I am very excited to see them all! I also can't wait to get Cannon's newborn pics done, they are going to be adorable! Cannon's room is still coming along, however we have been preoccupied for the last two weeks trying to get furniture moved back into place and dust bunnies out of site before Cannon's arrival and we still have lots to do with that - it seems physically unending! Our hospital bags are all packed and we are now just waiting for Cannon to give us a sign that he is officially coming out! Last week I had gained 30 lbs. (not so exciting), 1.5 centimeters dilated and 50% effaced (super exciting), he has also dropped so much in the last week and a half - so with those factors and just the way my body and instincts are feeling I would be really surprised if he did not come early, like possibly this week! I can't wait for my doctor's appointment tommorrow and I hope my next post begins with, "Cannon's Officially Here: Healthy, Happy, and Loves to Sleep ALOT!!!"

Love,
Kristen

New Paint & Floors Today....New Baby in 26 Days!!!

This weekend I spent a fabulous, fun-filled time with our family in Houston. Cannon’s “Great” Aunt Terri threw him a wonderful family baby shower, as you can tell by the pictures everything was perfect from the food to the décor! The best part was getting to spend the weekend together with all of the girls in the family, there is rarely a time when we can all be there together at the same time (also without the guys, NO OFFENSE – Chandler, Kile, Dad, and Grandaddy) but it’s definitely nice to have a girls only slumber party every once in awhile!!! It was great getting to see all my aunts and cousins from Houston, they are all spectacularly funny and witty women and I always enjoy getting to see them whenever I get the chance! Again, everyone was so generous to Mr. Cannon – he got lots of cute clothes, bibs, burp cloths, swim gear, diapers, bath gear, medicinal gear, room décor, diaper bag and a swing from his wonderful great gram, yaya, aunts and cousins! My Aunt Terri did a great job on the food - everything was so good and not only was his cake adorable but it also tasted awesome too, she worked so hard on making everything so perfect and fun for everyone that attended the shower! We played some fun baby shower games – toilet paper game, nursery rhyme trivia, baby item trivia, and clothing i.d trivia – that was super fun for everyone too! Cannon is definitely blessed beyond measure by lots of women that can’t wait to meet him and already love him more than he knows!!!


Yesterday marked exactly 36 weeks, so we have only 4 more weeks to go if he goes full term! It’s hard to believe that in less than 27 days, maybe sooner my little bundle of joy will be here!!! As excited as I am, I am also starting to get nervous about the l & d and also praying as I have this entire pregnancy that there are no complications or birth defects. I received his bedding on Friday, Chandler put together all of his nursery furniture this weekend, and his room is getting painted on Monday so everything for him is now finally starting to come together. I still have a few last minute items to get but the majority of everything is ready to go! I start my once a week appointments this week, I am starting to become so uncomfortable – my feet started swelling on Friday, no sleeping and when I finally do start to fall asleep I awake to having to get up and go to the bathroom for the 15th time of the night, can’t bend over to tie my shoes, having more and more regular and intense contractions, starting to feel and look like whale, waddling, tired all of the time like the first trimester, jabs, kicks, and movements that seem to be 10 times more painful than what they were a week ago – everyone warned me about this part of pregnancy that was so miserable but nothing really prepares you for it until it actually starts, even though it’s far from fun I am just happy mine didn’t start until the 36 week mark and in about 4 more weeks all this pain and uncomfortableness will be gone and I’ll finally be getting to hold and love on my VERY active little boy!!!

I’ll be posting pics soon of Cannon’s room, so stayed tuned! This week our house will be somewhat turned into a construction zone, between the house painting and hard wood floor installations everything will be everywhere, so please pray for our sanity as we are both totally O.C.D when it comes to everything being in its place! Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Love,

Kristen

Snow Day, 35 Weeks, & Valentine's Day Weekend!!!

This weekend was a little crazy here in Granbury, TX - on Thursday and Friday we got tons of snow, it was so beautiful - we of course meant to take some family pics with us and the dogs in snow but it melted so fast that we didn't get to it in time, however I did manage to get a few pics from the back and front yard. All of the snow made me feel like we were vacationing in the mountains - the mountains and skiing is one thing we always look forward to in the winter but this year we missed out on all that fun, so for the brief amount time the snow was here we really enjoyed getting to watch and play in it.

Saturday marked my 35 week mark, we were suppose to take maternity pics but due to the weather that got pushed back to the last weekend in Feb. I can't believe how fast time is flying by, we are now finding ourselves scrambling to finish his room, get the rest of the baby essentials, and get the house together before his big debute. I've started having more intense Braxton Hicks contractions, which although uncomfortable is giving me the slight bit of hope that Cannon is getting more and more prepared to make his final arrival - hopefully sooner than later. We went to the birthing class last weekend and were so happy we did because we learned so much and now feel a little more at ease about the l & d process and another plus to the class was that we won a really nice car seat that we gave to Cannon's Poppa and YaYa. We also took dinner over to some friends house who just had a baby and holding their new son and playing with their sweet 18 month daughter made us really want Cannon to get here as soon as possible!

Today we celebrated our 7th Valentine's Day together, I have the best husband ever, he was so thoughtful and on top of getting me a gift from him, he also got me a special gift from Cannon and I absolutely loved it! I got him a gift too and then made him a few homemade surprises, heart shaped sugar cookies and a custom made Valentine's Day sign. The rule with the sign was that he had to where it every where we went today, however we only left the house to go to life group - so I guess he got somewhat lucky but our life group got a kick out of it : ) Now we are about to conclude our Valentine's Day with a little cuddling and watching the "Couple's Retreat"!

This upcoming weekend I'll be going to Houston for a girl's only shower, while Chandler, my Dad, and Cager will be here finishing up putting together Cannon's nursery furniture, ect. I'll post pics of that soon! Hope everyone has a great week!

Love,

Kristen & Brian