Brotherly love

Tad would tell me before the baby was born that if it was a girl, she had to sleep in the kitchen.  :} 

I was a little worried to see how he would react when a baby girl was born.   He came into the hospital room and looked in the bassinet.  Fred lifted him up to see and asked "Can you see her?" 

Tad: "It's a girl?"

Dad: "Yep"

Tad: "I hid my dime"

(Nannie had bet Tad that it was a girl.  She gave him a dime and he was supposed to give it back if it was a girl.)   

I'm pretty sure it was love at first sight.

Sometimes he teases a little and I can tell he wishes she would play back with him, but for the most part he's a VERY helpful kid.  

He'll watch her when I ask. 

He's more than excited to show daddy all of her new clothes.

Wearing earmuffs so he can't hear her cry as he tickles her awake.

"Look at the pile I made on Oaklee".   Luckily it was just her feet covered in heavy beanbags!

He shares his "dolly" that he has renamed "Oaklee". 

He reads to her and shows her his homework. 

Every time I lay her on the ground for tummy time Tad is right there by her. 

She saves all of her biggest smiles for her brother. 

He "rescues" her from nap time.  :}  How could I be mad?

He shares his sticker from the doctor's office with her.

So blessed to have 2 beautiful children. 

I know there will be more pictures like these to come- Oaklee loves her brother to pieces....even though he loves her to pieces sometimes!

Teaching her how to run a remote control car.

Telling her all about firemen.

Changing his dolly's diaper like mom changes Oaklee. 

Sharing his preschool mascot with Oaklee.

Tad loves to wake Oaklee up.   I try to let him every chance I can so that he doesn't feel like I'm always telling him "Shhh, Don't wake the baby".   Plus, she wakes up super happy to see his face. 

"I'll tell you about boys, then you tell me about girls."   I love to eavesdrop on their little conversations. 

Lots and Lots of kisses!

Sharing his favorite puppy.   "Don't let her spit on it!"

 

Best big brother ever!

So happy to see brother!

On Tad's bunk bed.

 1st time swimming together.

Tad often reaches out to hold Oaklee's hand. 

Watching TV together while mom gets dinner.

Snuggling on Tad's bed.  When we put them in the same room for bedtime she would fuss a little and we could hear him say "brother is here Oaklee". 

Such a tender moment.  Tad was trying to play on the IPAD and instead of yelling at Oaklee for touching it, he moved her hand and kissed it. 

Tad insisted that they both have firetruck jammies (he says he's getting her another set for her Christmas present from him).

"Towing Oaklee's car because she crashed it."  Such a caring brother.   The walker has added a new dimension of them playing together, Tad loves to be able to move her.

This picture tells you exactly how Oaklee feels about her brother! 

Snuggling on the couch to give Oaklee her bottle. 

"I'm taking Oaklee for a walk."

"Now Oaklee can be a fireman"

Tad got to feed Oaklee her first cereal since it was on his birthday. 

Oaklee's first camping trip.  She fell right to sleep without a fuss in the tent next to Tad. 

Tad is the BEST big brother we could have ever asked for Oaklee to have.   He's so patient and loving with her.   She already worships the ground he walks on.  At night if we put her to bed without letting her say goodnight to Tad, she cries.   If we take her over to his bunk bed and let her smile at him, he reaches out his hand and tells her "Goodnight Oaklee, see you in the morning", then lay her down she goes right to sleep.   In the morning we lay her in his bed to wake him up with her cooing.  He tickles her toes then rolls over to snuggle her.  :}

He doesn't resent the time she takes or how much she cries.  He always helps when you ask him to get something for you.   He tells his little sister secrets and giggles with her.  I hope as she gets older she shows him as much love as he's shown her. 

 I think he's definitely going to be missed as he starts school this week.   But I can't wait to see their grins each day when we pick him up! 

 

A little overdue.... this post, not the baby!

This post is REALLY overdue!   This baby is now 6 months old!  Something about a 2nd kid keeps you kind of busy (and a broken computer).  Here's the story of baby #2.  Of course we didn't find out what we were having again this time.   I was sure it was going to be another boy.  We scheduled to be induced early because I was beyond ready to be done being prego.  This baby had made me sick every day for months! I was uncomfortable and wanted to be able to eat again without feeling sick. 

Whoever says labor with your second is easier and faster - lies!   We went in at midnight with Tad and he was born at 3:30pm.   We went in with baby #2 at 8am and finally delivered at 10:38pm.  This baby did not want to move!   At least the Olympic opening ceremony was on to entertain us for the evening.

This was a harder pregnancy, much more painful epidural, longer labor, bigger baby, but faster recovery - go figure!  

We were one of those nerdy people that picked an inducing date because of the date number: 2-7-14.  Plus, Tad was born on August 7th.   Not only do we only have to remember that the kids were both born on the 7th, but that makes them EXACTLY 4 1/2 years apart.  (That part was not planned when we got pregnant.) :}    

Fred was mean and sent pictures to work without any details.  They'd all been waiting to hear if it was a boy or girl.   It was too late to call Tad at Grandma & Grandpa Lyons' house so we called first thing in the morning and just told him that his baby sibling had arrived.  

The baby cried a lot, but would stop when Fred snuggled it. 

Tad was the first one (besides a cousin that was working as a nurse that day) to find out that we had a new baby.....

GIRL!  

Oaklee May

8lbs 15 oz. (thank heavens we didn't wait longer!)

21 inches long

I told Tad he could go get Grandma and Grandpa from the waiting room and he told "No, I'll stay here and take care of Oaklee, you go get them."  :} 

Oaklee was a name that I had heard before we were married, and we both liked it, so we've known since 2000 that if we ever had a girl, we'd name her Oaklee. May is my Grandma's middle name.  

Grandma Lyons

Aunt Crystal

Nannie Drysdale

Pompa Drysdale

Aunt Jayne & Uncle Christopher

Aunt Nashaela

Uncle Paul

Great Gram

I LOVE THIS PICTURE!!!!   Such a sweet brother from the very beginning. 

Aunt Lauralee

Big Brother & Dad

Oaklee is such a noisy baby!  At night it was easier to just hold her in the hospital bed with me so I could know she was okay rather than get up to check her every time she made a noise.  She could sense from the moment she was born when we moved away from her and she'd fuss.  

Because of her size, they had to check her blood sugar every couple of hours.  She was a very sleepy baby and wouldn't wake up to eat.  Of course that's when the nurses would come in to check it and get mad at me telling me I had to get her to eat!  I was happy to leave the hospital and the constant checking and poking.   Poor Oaklee did get Jaundice though and had to have her foot pricked daily for the next week and be on bili lights. 

Tad would hold her for a minute every time he came to visit, but only for a minute, the hospital room was much more entertaining. 

Tad came to help us take her home.   It was nice to have them in the back seat together.  Tad reaches over and holds her hand or tells her "brother is here". 

Fred threw his back out the 2nd week we had Oaklee home and I ended up carrying the carseat everywhere, I still healed faster than I did with Tad.  It was wonderful to be able to eat whatever I wanted again!  I REALLY dislike being prego.   

At her 2 week apt she hadn't gained back her birth weight----- did I mention Oaklee spits?   Not just baby spit, FULL FLUID OUNCES at a time.  If you're holding her when she burps, you've got about 3-5 seconds to grab a rag for her mouth before you're going to be drenched.  The worst part is that even if it's been a few hours you can't trust her.   I hope she grows out of that soon!   She also cries a lot from 7-10pm.   Fred calls her a werewolf. 

At 6 wks she would sleep from 10:30pm-4:45am.

At 8 wks 10:30-7:45am. 

We used the Babywise method with Tad fully believe in it.   It took Oaklee a little bit longer, but she sleeps through the night and lays down for naps with little fussing. 

Overall, girls are much harder than boys for me.   Maybe it's just Oaklee.  I keep telling her when she's having a fussy streak to get her diva out now!   Hopefully she's just fussy as an infant and will be a wonderful teenager----- I'll keep my fingers and toes crossed!