I'm official

I am officially a mom of a girl now:

I just had to post this picture on this blog too. There are many many more on the About the Babes blog next door.

This is absolutely the cutest little girl in America!

The Princess

This is the best picutre we've gotten of Carly so far. She usually starts crying or spitting up right when I get the camera out. This was outfit number three and photo session attempt number two for one-month pictures.

Here are some others:

I finally finished Carly's letters: I'll have to upload the pics of them on the wall next time.

We have been busy! Carly is 4 weeks old now, Greg has started working in Tyler and driving back and forthm and we just had my friend Tiana and her almost-3-year-old daughter Kennedy here for a week. It was so much fun! We went everywhere with our three kids. I really figured out the logistics of getting my two in and out of the car in a variety of different scenarios. It's not as hard as I thought! We were even brave (or naive) enough to eat at PF Changs and TGIFridays with them. We totally shopped till we dropped and it was the best thing ever. Now I'm back to my boring stay-home lifestyle but I'm getting caught up on the rest I deprived myself of last week.

Caleb and Kennedy played really well together, but I think towards the end of their stay they were getting a little sick of each other because they both had bad attitudes and behavior more than normal. Greg got some great pictures of them playing at the park and I got a few other random cute ones.

I had a post-baby shower last weekend too. It was originally scheduled for Jan 11th, but since Carly was born on the 10th it had to be rescheduled. I got a few pics of that, although I didn't get a pic of the hostesses or the guest of honor, and she looked cute too! I'll have to dress her in the same outfit and stage a pic for the scrapbook I guess.

Greg has started working out of the Longview claims office, which means he has to physically be in East Texas a few days a week. This week was the first time he left for more than 24 hours, but Tiana was here so I didn't get the full dose of single momdom this time. Next week I'm on my own though. I don't think it should be that hard, just exhausting since Carly is still so little. When she starts sleeping through the night though, it will be cake. I think this situation will be harder on Greg than me though, because he is the one practically living in two places. Driving 2.5 hours one way every trip isn't helping either. We really need to figure out a way for us to all move there even without selling the house. We thought about finding a renter but we would have to come off the price to get someone in here. The rent house across the street has a hard time finding tenants and there rent is lower than ours would have to be. We could lower it enough that we can still afford the payment while paying cheap rent in Tyler too, but then what about the sale situation? Would a renter clean the house up nice for showings? We really need to find a solution to this. I just don't know if the house will ever sell. It's about 2 weeks shy of a year on the market. The odds are stacking against us every day it sits here.

Life!

Carly's homemade bow collection:

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Photos and a movie

What it's like to be a family of four

It's nuts! Not really; the adjustment phase is still going on, but this ain't too bad. Of course, Carly still sleeps all the time so it's not too busy yet. There's a lot of tag-teaming with Caleb and Greg does most of it, especially at night since I'm up every three hours with a hungry Carly. Caleb is adjusting pretty well. We have started moticing in the last few days he wants more of our attention but he's not being bratty about it. Mostly he just wants to be close to us, like sit next to me while I'm feeding Carly or sit in Greg's lap and read books on the floor. He's being such a big boy and he really loves his baby sister. Everytime she makes a squeak he runs over and checks on her. He's going to be so protective of his little sister.

Birth Announcement

Carly Hope Rice
born Thursday, January 10th, 2008
at 1:12 pm
6 lbs, 13 oz.
19.25 inches

Warning: There might be some details that modest company won't want to read. You know, because childbirth in general is pretty gross. Readers use your own discretion! :)

I went to my regular appointment at 7:15 thursday morning, and the doctor did the ultrasound and frowned on the fluid level. Then she checked my cervix and said I was "almost 5" and since I had both of those things going on she sent me over to L&D. I got checked in and into a gown and got the fetal monitors on and at 9:15 my doctor came by to check me and after only two hours of sitting in a bed doing nothing I was almost 6 cm. Obviously in labor! So she went ahead and broke my water right then and we got started. Contractions started slowly and felt like normal menstrual cramps for about two hours but since they were getting progressively stronger and longer I didn't have to have any pitocin (yay!). The contractions really never hurt that bad and I just laid on my side for most of the time and breathed through them. It definitely helped that I had my pillow from home to snuggle into. My back started hurting so at 12:30 my nurse made me stand up on the side of the bed for 10 minutes in case the baby was turned funny and putting pressure on my back. I only made it 7 minutes standing (my Grandma was watching the clock) before my contractions started hurting really bad so I got back into bed and called for drugs for the first time. My doctor was right out in the hall, so she came in and checked me and I was about 7.5 cm, and said they would get me some Stadol. I get a little confused right here with the time because as soon as the doctor walked out of the room I felt like pushing, but I thought I was only 7.5 cm so I was YELLING for medicine as the urge was unbearable. I think I went from 7.5 to complete in about two minutes and so the nurses and doc came back in to see why I was so irate and saw the baby crowning! So intead of bringing me medicine they said, PUSH!!, so I did. (Little did they know, before they came back in I had already pushed twice. I couldn't help it!) Two pushes, and the head was out, one more, and Carly was here!

I did it completely naturally and I can't even believe it. I totally planned on having some IV meds but my pain never got bad enough until it was too late. I wouldn't change the way it went for anything though. I feel great! Carly is a perfectly healthy baby, she even got a 9 and 10 on her APGARs. The nurses said they are usually very stingy with the 10s. She is nursing really well and is just beautiful. She really looks JUST like Caleb did as a newborn, so much that the only way we can tell the pictures apart is because the nurses put a purple bow on her head. When Caleb came and met his sister he just loved her. He poked at her and kissed her and said, "baby" a few times. It was very sweet.

House

We have two showings today! That is a first actually, to have two in one day. Hoping for the best, but not going to count on it, since that never works. "Nice home, we just started looking," "shows well, but not right for my client." "Floor plan doesn't work for us." "Shows like a model"

BUY THE STUPID THING ALREADY!! :)

We're moving!

Most everyone already knows that but I realized I hadn't posted it here yet. Greg got his transfer to Longview, so we are moving back to Tyler. He is supposed to start Feb. 1, which is VERY soon! Here is our list of things to get worked out:

1. New baby! Yikes!
2. House STILL not sold
3. Live here and Greg commute? That means I'll be by myself for several days a week with a 2 year old and a newborn! YIKES!
4. Live with family and leave this house empty?
5. Try to rent a house there and pay for this one too? (financially impossible)
6. Take a major financial hit on the house just to get rid of it?

Hmmmm, it seems when you ask God for something He gives it to you in his own order. I just wish he would send a buyer for our house. That would be something!!

Last minute projects

This is what I did for New Years Day while the boys watched football and played with cars ("Kaa!" in Calebese)

Valance: Not bad for my first attempt ever!!


Pillow: front


back:


I know no one really cares to see this stuff but I am so proud of myself that I have to share with someone!