Month One

Eli has now been with us for one month! It's been a tiring but good month. He's starting to sleep more hours at a stretch with five hours being his record (unfortunately these five hours are not at night, yet!). He usually has a bottle about 9:30 PM and sleeps until 2 or 3 AM, has a bottle and then sleeps again until around 6:30 AM. This has been his trend for the last several nights. The big boys are doing well with him. Nathan looks for Eli each morning and has learned to say "Eli." Both Luke and Nathan shower Eli with hugs and kisses when they see him (whether Eli is asleep or awake!). My biggest job is to protect Eli from his sometimes overly loving brothers. I would say that jealously is at a minimum but this may change when Eli becomes more active.

On another note, I found a job. My job at UNT ended since I started teaching and would have ended anyway when I graduate so I have been looking for a job. I actually found a job I would have really loved, working for PISD as a measurement coordinator. But, the job was full time, year round and would have meant a lot of time away from the boys. I was tempted to take it but I could never get any peace about being away from the boys for so long each day. But, God is so good and provided a part time job for me. It's an ideal position working with a group of charter schools around Texas (Responsive Education Solutions). The position is part time, work from home with opportunity in the future to move to full time. Everything worked out so well. I moved to Texas from Mississippi 10 years ago to attend UNT. It was a really hard decision to make. But, since and including then, when it was a move I needed to make, God has always provided the prefect position for me. It's been neat to watch how jobs have "fallen in my lap" over the years when it was a decision I needed to make. This new job has followed that trend. I am really excited about it and so very thankful. I start June 1.

Here are some pictures of the last month. This is at almost 1 month...

Eli's room...
Jeff's HS picture...

Yard decor from Jeff's HS days...

My little muffin before his first real bath...

During...

What he did the entire time...

One month old today!

The boys' Papa has given them each nicknames before they were born (Luke: Scooter, Nathan: Spanky, Eli:Sparky)

We love you Sparky!

My Sweet Boys

Here are pictures of the boys at about the same age. I love to see how alike they look and wonder how they will change over the years. I'll put who is who at the end.

A.

B.

C.

A. Eli

B. Nathan

C. Luke

Thank You

Now that we are back home and Jeff is back at work, I wanted to take a minute and say thanks. I have a very wonderful husband and I appreciate him so much. I wish I could express all the big and little things Jeff did for me and the boys while I was in the hospital and since we came home. Of course, he always takes great care of us but during this birth it was particularly evident. From putting up with a nutty pregnant woman for months to sleeping on a hard, fold out chair at the hospital, he has been really wonderful. Since we got home Friday I have watched Jeff work from the time the boys got up until he helped me with Eli's 1 or 2 AM feedings. He's cleaned and mopped, vacuumed and done laundry, all because he knew it was bothering me. Of course it all could have waited but he knew it was important to me so he worked continually to get it done. Finally, after planning and needing to get back to work Monday, when I turned into a big slobbery mess Sunday night, he put it all on hold to stay home with us one more day. I am so so thankful for you Jeff! You are the best husband and father anyone could ask for and the boys and I appreciate you so much! XXOO

Eli's Here! 7 lbs, 14 oz, 20 inches

Tuesday, February 23 turned out to be a big day for us! About 5:30 AM my water broke so Jeff's peaceful snoring was interrupted and we began getting ready to head to the hospital. We arrived about 8AM and we (and my tag along puddle) were set up in a room to await the c-section. I had never had my water break before and I found out it's not like on TV. I had no idea there was that much "water" in there! It continued to break for about 2 hours (that's probably way too much information). To make a long story short, we headed in for the c-section about 11:15 and Eli was born at 11:36 AM. Overall, this c-section was the best of the three (which is not saying much) and most of all, I'm so thankful it's over and we are all back home getting adjusted to our new addition. We took a lot of pictures so I'll just include the highlights.

Before...

After!
Right after he arrived...

Back in the room...

Sweet little buddy...

Newborn blotchy!

With Daddy on day 2...

Headed home from the hospital...

Jeff and I had been a little concerned about how the boys would react to Eli. This is a picture of Luke's first meeting with Eli. He was SO sweet and kept kissing him and saying "so soft." It was wonderful! So far, Luke has done well with Eli. Nathan was excited to see Eli too. While his kisses are a little rougher and his pats a little less than gentle, he has done well with Eli too. We know it will continue to be an adjustment, for all of us, but so far so good and definitely better than we expected.

One Week Old...

One Week Old, napping...

Jeff and I want to thank everyone for all the well wishes and support. As usual, our families have been amazingly supportive and we know we are so blessed to have all of you! We love you and we promise this is the last one :)

Snowy Valentines

The snow was so beautiful last week! Here are some pictures of the event and some pictures of a few very sweet Valentines.

From our front door...

The neighbor's tree...
Our house...

Our street...

Our street...

Our house...

The boys in the snow :)

Little Nathan...

Luke...

Daddy and Luke working hard...

From my two little Valentines...Jeff gave each of them a flower and sent them in to give them to me. It was really sweet to see them walking toward me with the flowers and Luke with the card too. It got really funny when neither one of them wanted to give up the flower :)

A yummy cake and chocolate from Jeff. I crave cake even when I'm not pregnant and it's even worse when I am. So, Jeff was very sweet and got one for me for Valentine's Day. It's been SO good!

And flowers too!

It's been a great Valentine's Day with my boys!

February, so far...

So, what's been going on in February? My job at UNT ended a month sooner than expected. I'm still teaching two online courses but not traveling to Denton any more. I've realized that I really like working part time and miss it. I'm not sure of all the details but there was something about since I am a graduate student and was technically working two part time jobs, resulting in 100% employment with UNT, that was not allowed so I had to stop working in the lab (since I could not stop teaching). I have been able to get a lot of stuff for Eli done but I miss the work in the lab. There is still no word from my professor about my paper so I've had some time off from that. The boys are doing great and growing fast. Nathan is adding more words every week and understanding so much. He amazes me some times. He's such a loving and cuddling boy and I treasure the hugs. On the other hand, Luke is constantly moving. He has begun to sit and listen to longer and longer books (Thomas books of course). There is one in particular he likes that is about 20 minutes long. I am amazed he will sit for it, but he will and I love the time to have him close to me. He's started potty training and it's slow going but we are persisting. Jeff's business appears to be picking up some, so that is good. Other than that, not much is going on around here. Two weeks from tomorrow Eli will join us. Can time move slow and fast simultaneously?

Luke's first ride on his "bike" using the pedals. I can't remember why we were not outside doing this...

He picked up a passenger...
Playing in the tent and tunnel Uncle David and Aunt Stacy gave us for Christmas...

Luke wanted all the animals from his bed plus two blankets, "cover me Mommy" he says...

If Nathan sees the camera, he wants a "cheese..."

A book too Mommy...(a Thomas book)

"Sleeping"

Well, before nap time is over, I'm headed out to take some pictures of this crazy snow! It began before we woke up and it's still snowing!

January Highlights

It's hard to believe January is almost gone! It has really flown by. When I was teaching, January always seemed to go by so slowly and was probably my least favorite month. But, the last two or three months have really moved fast. For most of the past few months I feel like I have been in a sort of tunnel with trying to get my dissertation finished in time to graduate in May. My family has been really great and supportive and I could not have made it this far with out them (I'll try not to cry here!). I told Jeff that I have been extra emotional during this pregnancy (like I had to tell him) and this must be what it is like to be a "real" girl all the time! The jury is still out as to whether I will make the deadlines for May graduation. I turned in my "finished" paper to my professor yesterday so it will depend on how fast he can edit it, me make the corrections, get it back to him, more corrections, then to the committee (by March 15) and defended by the first few days of April and to the graduate school by April 9th. It will be really tight but maybe...I'll just praise the Lord for favor and leave it at that. In the meantime, life has gone on around here as usual. Here are a few pictures.

Spaghetti and Pudding Dinner

I put this one in because in this picture, (to me) Luke looks so much like his Uncle Jake.

Me and Jeff on New Year's Eve (I think I look like my Aunt Wanza in this one)

That's about it for January. I'll try to come out of my fog before Eli gets here and post again. The c-section is scheduled for February 26 (at 7:30 AM!). I went to the doctor today and she said he seemed big but that's what they said about the other boys and they were a very average 7 pounds, 13.5 ounces. Only time will tell I guess. Or, it could be the 40 pounds I have gained with this one...I guess I'll be "visiting" South Beach soon!