Alex is here

So, we are finally home from the hospital. Alex was born Monday morning at 8:26 am by C-section. He weighed 7 # 7 oz and was 19.5 in long., just as healthy as can be. We are now home and he is doing great. Growing and eating well, and believe it or not sleeping decently. He is up every 3 hours at night to eat and then goes back to sleep. I am doing better today but have a rough few days. I had a lot of scar tissue when they did my C-section from last time which led to me being operated on for an hour. they had to resect a lot of scra tissue where it had attached to my bladder and muscle wall and then put everyhting back together again, so I am in a lot more pain than I was the last time, but slowly improving. I can't lay flat yet because of the muscle pain, but am getting there. The boys seem to have adjusted well so far and are very helpful with Alex. They are always wanting to hold him and love on him. Anyway, I'll add more later. In the meantime here are his first pics.

A new niece

My sister-in-law had her baby girl, Ava, on Friday morning. She is just as cute as can be. So far she is adjusting well. Sleeping fairly well, but always wanting to eat. The pictures are of my boys holding her for the first time, one of her, and the last one of my brother-in-law, his son, Ava, and David and the boys. There were many shots of that last one, but only one with everybody looking. Hate that the flash left that light in it. Oh well. We spent the weekend watching my nephew Cole, and interviewing a new doctor for David's practice. Seems like a great guy, and his wife is lovely, so maybe it will work out. Today I spent the morning doing online CE classes for me recertification and now I am pooped. Hope to relax and scrap my afternoon away. That's all for now.

A very long time ago...

I started a blog with every intention of updating it frequently. HA, HA. It's been several months now. Well, not a whole lot has happened in that time frame. We spent most of the summer tending to our garden which was suffering greatly due to a huge drought. It ended up being a decent year for the garden even though many things didn't produce well. The boys went back to preschool in September so now I at least have some time to myself to relax. However, I am now 33 weeks pregnant and spending a lot of time at the doctor's office(at least it feels that way). I am rapidly expanding and running out of room for this little one to grow. My clothes just keep getting tighter. Other than that feeling fine though. Pregnancy is going well. This past weekend we had our neighborhood pumpkin picking and that was a lot of fun. There were about 30 of us there. Ended up with a ton of pumpkins this year. Just thought I'd add a few pics from the weekend. The boys have gotten a new bunk bed and seem to be excited about their little brother's arrival. That's about all for now, but I promise to do better.

It's been a long few weeks

So we have literally spent the last few weeks working at the farm. I have have split and canned 60 quarts of green beans (yeah done for the year now), shelled and put up about 10 quarts of peas, shelled and put up 6 quarts of october beans, canned our cucumbers to make pickles and I am exhausted. 'Tis harvest season though I guess. I can't complain too much because by the time the season is over we'll be set for the year on vegetables. It's a lot of work, but so worth it to have fresh home grown veggies all year long. Plus it makes making side items for dinner a cinch. The baby has been kicking up a storm, very strong little boy we have coming. Sam ans Jake have been doing well. We've gone to several baseball games which they love. They are also taking swim classes. Sam is awesome. he can already swim with a flotation device and even swim under water for a short distance. Jake is doing great too. He was not a lover of swim classes from the beginning though. He refuses to close his mouth no matter what we try so he is not a fan of going under water. He has however improved in his swimming ability and kicks and digs like a champ now. He also enjoys the classes now which is awesome. Well, that's about it. Gotta go pack for our beach trip. Leaving on Saturday and can't wait.

It's another boy

Well, it was a very long and stressful weekend at our house. On Friday afternoon we had our 20 week ultasound, but the baby had an irregular heartbeat and they were having difficulty seeing all 4 chambers of the heart, so the doctor wanted to refer us to a perinatologist for a more in depth ultrasound. She was afraid there might be something wrong with the baby's heart. Unfortunately, it was after 5 by the time we finished and the perinatologist's office was closed, so we would have to wait till Monday. We spent the entire weekend worrying abou the ehalth of our baby and this morning the anxiety just got worse. We went to the perinatologist at 11:30 and he said everything looked great with the heart. We were going to have a perfectly healthy baby boy. We were so thankful and relieved. And another boy. I am severely outnumbered, but still so excited.

I also included some pics from our neighbor's 4th of July party. She has the fire engine come and lead a parade around the neighborhood. The boys were very excited to drive their John Deere power wheels this year.

That's it for now.

Okay so it's been a while

So, it's been quite some time since I last blogged. Things just started to catch up to me, but now it's settled down again. Since the last blog we had Father's Day. I got David a new set of golf clubs and we went to the Tourists baseball game that afternoon. The kids started swim classes and are doing great. They are every Saturday morning for 8 weeks. Jake absolutely refuses to float, but other than that enjoys the classes. Sam is an expert floater and is doing well with his kicking and stroking. Then last week Jake got his very first haircut. He look so handsome. This past weekend my mom came into town for Sam's birthday. We had a party for him on Saturday and some friends from his school came. For his birthday we got him a John Deere gator power wheels and he loves it. Amazingly enough, he's an excellent driver. He can even drive in reverse. we got Jake a little ATV power wheel so he wouldn't feel left it and he does pretty good with driving it. Sam likes to have a passenger though so Jake usually obliges because the gator goes faster up the hill. Other than that things are going well. Baby is still doing fine and my ultrasound is scheduled for next Friday. Getting very excited. Can't wait to make sure it's healthy, it always makes me feel much better. I usually spend the first half of my pregnancy worrying about everything being okay, then relax for the last half. Here's a few pics to hold you over until next time.

Quick update

Went to the doctor today and the baby is doing fine. Just trucking along. Scheduled my 20 week ultrasound for July 6th. Hopefully then we'll be able to see whether the previa has improved or maybe even resolved completely. That's about it since the kids are running around, I better go check on them.

Look what I got!

Okay, so it's been a while. I really haven't had anything exciting to post. Just same old stuff, new day. Still on limited activity, but slowly doing a little bit more, like cooking. Still bleeding, but baby is still doing great. Kids are doing well. They are both signed up for swim lessons that start this weekend. School ended last week, so now I'm trying to come up with fun things to occupy our days.

Our exciting news is we got a new truck. A Yukon Denali XL. I'm totally loving it. It's quite the boat but very luxurious. Definitely the nicest car I've ever owned. We traded in my old car because we couldn't fit 3 carseats in it. Now we have plenty of room for 3 carseats. It's silver with black interior. I'm shocked at how everything in cars is electronic now. So many buttons, basically everything is on the computer, nothing manual anymore, which is fine with me. Plus it has a V8 engine. It has tons of safety features, which makes it much better than the old car. Here's a few pics. Don't the boys look cute in their new truck. All they want to do is play in it every time we go in the garage.

Planning on taking the boys to the pool after their nap today and tomorrow, off to the doctor again, so I'll update with how that goes.

the days seem to be longer

Well still not much to report here. I did get out of the house on Monday night to go to a baseball game with David and the boys which was nice. Other than that we've pretty much been hanging here. David finished planting the garden. I feel bad that he had to do it all by himself. I am now up and doing much more with the boys and trying to relax at the same time. It's starting to get boring when the boys are sleeping to just lay there. I've been working on my recertification during that time, but I can only take so much of that at once. I did buy a doppler this week so I can hear the baby's heartbeat whenever I want. Very reassuring for me in between visits. Baby still sounds great. Sam is starting to understand the whole baby in mommy's belly thing better. He always asks to say hi to the baby and listen to its heartbeat. It's so cute because he lifts my shirt and yells "hi baby" at my belly button. Cracks me up every time. Anyway, that's all for now.
Until next time...

Nothing new here

Not much new to report. I am now on limited activity and am doing more with the boys which is great. Still spending a lot of time resting, which is starting to get really boring. I did go with David and the boys to the farm yesterday to finish planting it. Just sat in the chair and watched though.
Saturday night we had David's partners over and a guy and his wife that they were interviewing. Great couple. Friendly, lots of fun. I think they'd be great in the practice, but they are 2 years off, so we'll see.
My sister in law had an ultrasound done and they think it's a girl, so that will be the first girl niece near me. Should be fun.
That's about it. Until next time...

It's been a long time

So, this weekend was rough, to say the least. I am 12 weeks pregnant. I went to my local scrapbook store for national scrapbook day and while standing in line to pay, starting bleeding and was soon covered in it. I called my doctor and he said, go home and stay on complete bedrest all weekend and come in Monday morning, unless things get worse. So they didn't and I went in and the baby was fine, thank God. Good growth, good, strong heartbeat. I was diagnosed with partial placenta previa and am now off of complete bedrest, but am only allowed to have moderate activity. No more than 30 minutes on my feet at a time. It's been a very long weekend for David who has been an incredible Mr.Mom. My friends, family and neighbors have been wonderful helping out with the kids and bringing us meals. Couldn't ask for more. So needless to say I have no fun things to report from the weekend, just good news.
Until next time...

good news and lots of fun

Well my friend got discharged from the hospital late last night. Her contractions have not stopped and are still rather frequent but they are not progressing to labor so they sent her home to be on bedrest there. And the baby looks great! So wonderful news for her. So relieved for her.

Today I took the boys to the Health Adventure, a local museum for kids, where we met some of my friends and their children. They have a little builder exhibit and the boys just loved it. Love the orange vests and the cheesy smile Sam gave me. Afterwards we walked down the street to a pizza place and had lunch. It was great to spend some time with friends while the boys played. We stopped by the office to say hi to David and then we cruised on home for naptime.

Tonight we are going to the Asheville Tourists baseball game with the boys. David and his partners are the team docs so we go to every fourth home game. The boys have a blast and actually seem to like baseball.

As for the rest of the afternoon I have to clean the house. We are having a Kentucky Derby party tomorrow and I won't have time to cook and clean tomorrow, so must clean today.

Until tomorrow...

Long and sad day

Here's a picture of Jake onhis new bike from yesterday. He can reach the pedals and turn them when you push him, but he can't quite turn them on his own. I'm sure it won't be long though.
Today was a busy day. We got up and ran a few errands on the way to the farm. We farm a few acres of what's left of David's family's land that they farmed when he was a kid. We planted some green beans and sweet peas and then the boys were done- hungry, hot and tired. On the way out we stopped by the golf course (also on my husband's family's land) to visit my sister-in-law and nephew. The boys played and snacked and Heather and I chit chatted until noon. We came home, ate lunch, and off to bed for the boys. While they napped, I worked on my recertification for my pediatric nurse practitioner license. So ready to have this done. I have spent the last month working on this and still have much left to do.
The sad part of my day occurred when I got home. My friend had been put on bedrest on Monday (she's only 22 weeks pregnant) and she called today to say she had been admitted to the hospital for contractions. I didn't get all the details because she was leaving her room for more testing, but she sounded so distraught that I don't believe she's been given very good news. I feel so sad for her. At this stage of her pregnancy, a baby born now, if he lives, will have severe medical issues ahead of him, not just now but possibly for life and she is fully aware of this. I can't even begin to imagine how scared she is. I'm not even sure how to help except with my prayers and my presence. She really can't have visitors today, but I plan on finding someone to watch the boys while I go to keep her company. Please keep her and her baby in your prayers. I will post more updates as I find them out.
It's things like this that really make me look at my boys and be so thankful that they're healthy. I am so lucky to have been blessed with these boys and I am going to make sure I remind myself of that everyday.
Until tomorrow...

A typical day

I can't believe I've finally done it. As technologically lacking as I am, I started a blog. Everybody else had one and it seemed like such a good way to keep track of things and keep everybody informed. (I by the way am lousy at keeping in touch.) Today was just an ordinary day at the Jarrett household. David got up and left for work right as the boys were arousing from their slumbers. Sam busted into our room with the "I'm awake!" line. We went through our morning routine and then off to the grocery store for the week.
This morning Jake threw Sam's sippy cup over the balcony and it of course busted everywhere. Not a big deal except Sam will only drink from a blue cup and one was busted at school last week, so now we had just one. Any seasoned parent will tell you, always have a back up, so off we went to Toys R US for a new one. Of course, they had every color except blue, so we bought a new kind of cup. Big boy ones with Lightning McQueen from the movie cars on them. While there we also Jake his first bike! He's been trying to ride Sam's for a while, but that becomes an issue when Sam wants to ride it. We're going to put it together when David gets home from work and I'll try and post some pics tomorrow.
We have been discussing all the things big boys do with Sam. He is going to be 3 this summer and with baby number 3 on the way, we thought it was time to lose things like pacifiers and diapers. So, he only gets his paci at nap and bedtime now. This morning, he asked for it in the car and I told him no, you're a big boy now and you don't need it. His response-"No, I'm a baby, waah." So funny. It is going well though. No major meltdowns.
We got to eat lunch with David and now the boys have woken up, so it's time to go play outside.