Category: Featured

5 Months. How?

November 14, 2013 JB Leave a comment

I mean that very literally. How has it already been 5 months?

Jake had been home with us for about 3 days. I told Randy ‘it just feels like he has always been here’. Randy didn’t quite agree. But I still feel that way. He is so little and new, but he just feels like he has always been here. Definitely like he was always meant to be in our family. Each day I just fall more and more in love with this sweet boy.

At 5 months old Jake you are wearing size 3 diapers (you are a bit thick in the waist like your brother).

You are mainly wearing 6 months clothes, and even some 9 month.

You are finally starting to feel better. We don’t have to do breathing treatments 6-8 times a day anymore. We are down to a solid 4. 2 at school and 2 at home. Praise the Lord! Since you can breathe again you can also sleep again. (Double Praise the Lord!)

You usually come home from school and sleep for a few hours. Then you wake up around the time the big kids go to bed and Dad and I get to play with just you for a bit. It is a sweet time for all 3 of us and I’m so thankful for it.

You are eating food like a champ. So far I have been a slacker and haven’t made you a bunch of baby food options. I promise to get on that very soon. You can’t get enough of roasted sweet potatoes (this one is even sweeter because the potatoes are from our garden). You are also eating bananas, applesauce, oatmeal and rice cereal. You turned your nose up at carrots, but we will try again.

You weigh almost 16 pounds (I can’t remember the exact weight and length…sorry!!!) You are average in both measurements.

All the stats are out of the way….I just have to say I’m so thankful for you little boy. You are such a true joy to me.

Featured, Reed

Reed

November 11, 2013 JB Leave a comment

This blog has taken quite a hit since Jake joined our zoo. I want so badly to write down all the funny things that all three kids do because otherwise I just won’t remember. We do take lots of video and try to take enough pictures. But I want to remember the funny sayings and silly stories and what they loved during this time in their lives.

Reed is ALL boy. And all 4 year old boy at that. He loves trucks. And trailers. And anything with a trailer hitch. And super heroes. And cowboys. And fixing things. And knowing how things work. And rough housing. And potty words. And pirates. And dress up.

Reed is in a kinder prep class this year and it has been an adjustment. I am a typical first time mom because I had no idea that this class would be structured this way. I had no idea that the “Learning Center” part of our day care is actually supposed to be a structured kinder prep class. Sometimes I really just miss the point. Anyway, back to the important part. Reed has homework Monday – Thursday Every.Single.Week. For real. I totally understand that this is just about getting both Reed, and us, ready for next year. I get it. But it was a tough transition. We had many, many tears shed in the beginning. Now we are in a good routine and homework isn’t a fight…most nights. Reed is learning so much so fast that it takes me by surprise on a regular basis. Just a few months into the school year and I can already see how much he’s learning. Each week they learn more letters and the sounds that go with those letters. He is almost sounding out words. Who is this big kid and what has he done with my baby?

Reed still struggles with his temper. I don’t think this struggle is something he will grow out of. I think it’s part of who he is and our job is to help him learn how to channel his anger into more productive ways. I honestly have no idea what I’m doing. He is such a handful one minute and then the sweetest kid the next. I watch him get so frustrated and mad that he throws something and gets put in time out, but then he tells Ali that he will ‘keep her safe’. He is such a tenderhearted boy and I pray that we can help him develop that side of his personality.

Reed completely adores his brother and sister. He and Alison have started fighting some, and mostly it’s because she has her own opinions about what she wants to play. She no longer follows everything Reed says and he has a hard time with that. He wants to have ‘baby Jake’ with him at.all.times. Seriously. It’s crazy.

Reed is definitely a challenging child. There is not one bit of calm and easy going about him. I hope this means he will be a world changer when he grows up. I can dream right?

Family, Featured, Travel

The Beach 2013

August 27, 2013 JB Leave a comment

Dad rented a beach house from a friend of his. I was being a little dramatic and high maintenance because I found out it only had 2 bedrooms. I just couldnt’ picture how my whole family, plus mom and dad, plus Diana were going to fit. Oh I was wrong. Oh so wrong.

We were crammed in, but it was perfect. The house is on a canal and so it had a dock and a boat (that we didn’t use this time…next time we want to use the boat!). This vacation was the last hurrah for the summer and also for my maternity leave. It was the perfect distraction for me. I got to spend my last weekend off of work playing with and enjoying my family…not worrying about work. What a HUGE blessing.

Mom and Diana took Alison with them to the beach on Wednesday. Dad met them there. Jake, Reed and I joined them on Thursday. Then Dad left Thursday afternoon for a meeting. Dad and Randy came back on Friday. Sheesh. I’m tired just typing all of that! The beauty of this weekend was that everyone did whatever they really wanted to do. We took it easy inside. We went to the beach. We cooked together. We fished. We napped (well, in theory we napped…with three little kids we didn’t nap as much as I would have liked!)

Favorite moments from the trip…

1. Friday night we were on the dock fishing. Out of nowhere Reed declares, ‘it’s good to be fishin’ It was hilarious.

2. Reed watched every single boat launch and load back up. We were 2 houses down from the boat launch and he couldn’t have been any happier. This boy is OBSESSED with all things trucks and trailers and hauling things and trailer hitches. You should see his school journal. Obsessed. That boy was literally in heaven.

3. Alison named her babies (finally). She named them Astronaut (pronounced aster-not) and Bonnet. Man I love that little girl. She is so spunky and confident in herself.

4. I got to sit on the beach and relax for approximately 4.2 minutes. Saturday morning we had a lighter crew (see details below) and I was so excited to quietly sit in a chair and read a magazine. Who the heck was I kidding? I had Diana and my parents with me. There’s no way I could keep my mouth shut and read. I had too much to talk about!!! Plus I had Alison to play with.

In typical Baldwin fashion, it wouldn’t be a trip/vacation without an injury. Reed tripped on the dock when he was running to see a boat launch into the canal. He peeled back the skin on his big toe. I was so thankful that mom was there. I could.not.deal.with.the.blood. Seriously. I couldn’t look at it. Just nasty. Unfortunately this happened on Friday night, so Reed couldn’t go to the beach with us on Saturday morning. Luckily Randy didn’t want to hit the beach either, so he stayed at the house with Reed and Jake.

All in all the beach weekend really was the perfect end to the summer and to maternity leave. Thank you for renting the house Dad. Can’t wait to do it again next summer when Jake and Rhett can swim in the ocean too!!

Alison, Featured, Jake, Reed

Back to School

August 26, 2013 JB Leave a comment

First of all. Veto. I veto all of this ‘getting bigger’ nonsense. I used to hate it when mom’s were always griping about how sad they were about kids growing up. I seriously used to roll my eyes so hard at all that silly talk. I.Take.It.All.Back.

Alison and Reed both moved up classes today. Ali jumped ahead a room and she is now on the preschool side and not the day care side. I can’t believe my tiny little 2 year old is in preschool. I wasn’t prepared for that one.

Reed also moved up and he is now in the kinder prep class. I had no idea, but this is a legit kinder prep class. They have workbooks. They do math. And science. And reading. And homework!!! They even get to go on field trips!!! I am so, so thankful for all the kinder prep Reed will get this year. He is so stubborn and resistant to change. I think this will make all the difference for him. I think he will have a much easier transition into kinder after being in the class he’s in this year. I hate that I was so clueless about the changes that were coming, but I am so thankful for the kids school. When I’m sad about working, I remind myself of the fantastic instruction they are getting each day. Makes it a whole lot easier to run the rat race everyday.

There isn’t just one picture from this morning. You have to see all of them to understand their sweet little personalities. Gosh I love them all so stinking much. Thank you Lord for entrusting these little souls in our care. I couldn’t ask for anything more!!!

(Jake doesn’t start day care until Sept. 3. I still get 3 more days at home with him!!!)

Featured, Jake

Jake David Baldwin

June 15, 2013 JB Leave a comment

It’s a boy!!! The waiting and speculation is finally over. Jake was born at 12:28pm, weighing 8lbs, 14oz and coming in at 21.5″.

Scheduled c-section babies do not typically have much of a birth story, as was our experience with Alison. This time we changed it up and opted to NOT find out the sex of the baby. We were set up for either scenario, so why not spice it up a little? (For the record, I always said boy).

Friday, June 14th finally arrived!! We were finally going to meet the newest member of our family.

Praise the Lord, this was another uneventful birth story. Randy and I dropped the big kids off at school and headed for the hospital. As soon as I walked in those familiar doors I could feel myself relax. This was it.

We got checked in and all of my fears started to ease. IV went great (last time it was a nightmare and almost the most painful thing). I spoke to the anesthesiologist and when I told him about my reaction to the medication given to me with Ali’s birth he knew exactly what happened and what medicine caused the reaction. (For the record, “Reglan”. Reglan is the medication given to me last time that made me so miserable). All of the doctors, nurses and staff were amazing. And let me just brag on my doctor. She was amazing. She was in the O/R early and when they put in the spinal anesthesia she talked to me and held my hands since Randy isn’t allowed in until after that point. We talked about her upcoming wedding and her fiance. It was just so personal and nice.

Then it was finally time. Praise the Lord for the right mix of medication. No anxiety, no heart burning, no stress…just waiting. I remember how bright the lights felt. How exposed I felt laid out on the table. How I had never really noticed these things before because with Reed I was a little drugged up and with Alison I felt so anxious and had the burning all up and down my arms. How thankful I was to have Randy by my side. I have never relied on him as much as I did the last 8 weeks of this pregnancy. I was just so thankful that he is my husband and dad to these kids.

The plan was for Dr. Brozena to pull the baby out, hand him/her to the nurse, and they would come show me if it was a boy or a girl. No one would say anything first. I would get to see first hand. And friends, that’s exactly what happened. They brought my sweet baby to me and it was a huge sweet boy. I obviously cried intense tears of joy. I could barely breathe because it just felt so good. He was here, he was safe, and he was perfect.

There was still a tiny bit of drama. It took forever for her to sew me up. As Dr. Brozena was leaving the O/R she stopped and told me that we needed to talk. She had trouble sewing me up and she was a little concerned. I’m not going to lie…I heard her, but I couldn’t have cared less at that moment. I had my boy and we were both just fine.

The next morning when she came to check on me she told me more details. I had been contracting for 3 or 4 weeks. The contractions were so real that I started timing them on several occasions. And what happens when you start contracting…your uterus thins. When she went to open up my uterus it split open like a grape. The tissue was so thin that it opened on contact. Then, when she went to sew it up it kept tearing. Yeah. Tearing. That doesn’t sound or feel good. She wasn’t able to sew it up correctly. She had to take tissue from my upper uterus and attach it to my bladder in order to sew me up. She said she is still ok with us having a 4th baby, but I can’t get pregnant for an entire year and if I start to have contractions we will deliver at 37 weeks to make sure I am safe. Randy isn’t such a fan of this situation (and neither am I). Luckily, we have a whole year to enjoy the babies we have and not worry about whether or not we will add one final baby to the Baldwin clan.

Welcome to the family Jake!!! I already love you so much.