1 to 2 AND 2 to 3

  

I was talking to a friend the other day, who's wife is pregnant with their second child, and he asked me if it was a hard transistion from 1 to 2 kids. I have also been asked this by a few my readers...

When Abby was born into 'Chase's world,' it was a big shock to him. He was used to being the 'prince' and getting all the attention from everyone. He loved his new little sister, but was so angry with us. He would hit us and act out every chance he got. Nursing her was the hardest time, I couldn't really get up and discipline him and he knew it was easier to get away with stuff when I was 'occupied,' It felt like it took him forever to get used to the fact that she was part of the family and he was going to have to share everything! Being a family of 4 wasn't easy, and took quite some time getting used to. People always tell you to take a nap when your baby is napping....well, when you have two kids, things don't always work out that way. You now fill up a sedan car and most likely have to move onto a SUV or a Mini-van sized vehicle. Instead of sharing the responsibility of one child, we now were occupied with one each.

When Makenzie was born into 'Chase and Abigail's world,' Chase and Abigail had each other. I won't say that Abby and Chase aren't spoiled, but they are spoiled in a good way. They get lots of attention from family and our friends and get their fare share of goodies too. They are good about sharing with each other and get along very well. When they met Makenzie...they were both head over heals for her. The looks on their faces said it all. They love giving her kisses and hugs, getting diapers and wipes for me, giving her a nuk and covering her with her blanket. They are such big helpers.

They have each other and they are partners in crime. I think that it is easier to adjust when you have someone else there to play with. Chase still acts out now and then and tries to push my buttons, but not nearly as bad as when it was just him, and Abby came along.

We are now a family of 5...we can't fit into 4 person booths at restaurants anymore {not that we are daring enough to take 3 kids out to eat yet}, our mini-van is almost getting a bit tight {well, not really, but if we go on vacation, it might be a tight fit} and we are now outnumbered...kids vs. adults.

Both Abby and Chase nap at the same time and Makenzie sleeps all day anyway, so I still end up getting my 'me time' in each day.

Overall, I would say the transition from 2 to 3 kids, was much easier than from 1 to 2 kids.

Christmas Pictures Galore

{Get ready for picture overload} 

We had Christmas Eve celebration with Brian's family at our house this year and thou it was a bit chaotic, it was so much fun and went by too fast. We had a smaller group than normal, now that our family is growing and siblings are sharing time between families every other year.

  The tree at our house

 

 They went right for the ball pit

 

Waiting so paitently to open their presents

 

 They were such a good present opening team!!

 

 Chase's own Craftsman radio

 

 Toy Story Yahtzee

 

 Cutie Patootie in her new sweatshirt from grandma and grandpa

 

Wrapping Bebe up like a present

 

 Shake n' Go Speedway Extreme...he has been waiting all year for this!

  

 So many presents!!

 

 A new baseball tee. He can't wait for spring!!

"Holy Moly....look at all those presents!"

Ready to open some more presents!

Uncle Kyle finally got to meet Makenzie!

 Uncle Kyle playing with the girls

 

Abby got TONS of pretties from Santa

Time to cuddle with cousin Matt

Grandma and grandpa 'vroom's' tree

All the grandkids (cousins)

Snake Hot Wheels track...Thanks Sean and Kate

Uncle Sean and the girls

Her princess purse set...she loved this!!

Batman Imaginext...hours of fun!!

Sleeping right through Christmas!

All the kids playing together so well

Drinking her 5th glass of OJ, out of her new Dora cup

Proud mommy and daddy!!

Uncle Kyle and double trouble

Uncle Sean is SO comfy!!

Precious!!

Family photo 2009

Grand-kids with their grandma and grandpa

Christmas Card 2009

Well, I had my reasons for being late this year....she is adorable...sweet, beautiful and just plain perfect!

Here is our Christmas card for 2009!

(pictures were taken by my father-in-law) 

This year I wrote a rhyme, instead of a newsletter. I thought I'd share it with all of you, since I couldn't send everyone of you a card.

Fear not all you worriers; this might not get to you on time,

For we had a good reason to be late in two thousand and nine.

No more boring letters, so sit back this year,

And enjoy a recap of our memories and cheer.

Lets start at the top with the boss of this clan,

Kelly and Katie have come up with a plan.

It’s a daycare they’ll run; together they’ll have so much fun.

Kelly is still working on keeping her own business going,

Each year getting more clients, by word of mouth, it keeps growing.

When Brian’s not working and finds some spare time,

He enjoys playing any sport or poker online.

His softball team had a pretty decent year, when they weren’t playing a game,

They drank their fair share of beer.

We all go to the games, to cheer the Bombers on,

Did I mention this summer, he ran his first full marathon?!

Addicted to baseball and not much more, our little all star just turned four.

Chase is our little comedian and Energizer Bunny,

He is sure to keep you on your toes and he is pretty funny.

It’s school he is awaiting; he can’t wait to go,

He loves learning new things, as much as playing in the snow.

Our princess Abigail, who now is two,

She is our actress and drama queen, through and through.

She loves playing with babies and reading book after book,

She’ll never turn down dancing to a song, or helping mommy cook.

She loves to be outside and has a great love for pets,

She is getting to be like her brother, she has a memory that never forgets.

Now for the reason this letter might have reached you late,

We have welcomed a new little bundle of joy to our very full plate.

Makenzie Grace has finally arrived,

Believe it or not, we aren’t sleep deprived.

She fits in great with our family, now of five,

She definitely took her sweet time to arrive.

With our family now growing, we are running out of room,

We bought a new house, we’ll be moving in soon.

In Brooklyn Park, we will now reside,

With Brian’s sister and her husband along for the ride.

When we have some quiet time to think about our blessings all year through,

we focus on our family and our friends and appreciate the gift of knowing you.

If we ever fail to keep in touch, sometimes at this we bomb,

You can tag along with all of our adventures, at Oxboroughchaos dot com.

So we bid you great things from our full little den,

We wish you the very best for two thousand ten!

 {A few more pictures}

 

 

 

Makenzie's Birth Story

    

Two great things in one day...

I couldn't believe I was still pregnant at 38 weeks and I was stressing myself out about the house, which I am sure, wasn't helping with her arrival.

The morning of the 17th, we found out we got the house! We will be closing on January 20th and moving in shortly after we get things painted. That afternoon I was desperate to have my baby and posted on my Facebook status for suggestions on how to do so. One of my high school friends suggested I try Castor Oil, she said it worked for her and she went into labor 45 minutes after she drank it. (Please note, I DO NOT suggest you try this way, to have your baby!!)

I was pretty desperate to have my baby before Christmas and to be home before Christmas...so I went to the nearest Walgreens and picked up a bottle of Castor Oil. I came home and looked up online, how much I am supposed to drink. It said, mix 2 oz. Castor Oil with Orange Juice or some other type of juice. I then looked at the container and it said it was 4 oz. WOW, I was supposed to drink half the bottle. So...I mixed half the bottle with a bottle of Orange Juice and shook it up. {Let me just tell you, it smelled bad, looked bad and the taste was AWFUL!!!}

After I gagged my drink down, I went to sit out with the kids to watch their show before nap time. 

LOW AND BEHOLD...about three hours later....contractions started. (What people don't tell you about Castor Oil, is that is is also a laxative...which is usually what makes the contractions start.) So now I am having contractions and going to the bathroom about every half hour. (sorry if that is TMI)

5:00 pm rolls around and the contractions are starting to get really uncomfortable and starting to hurt. They are about every 7 minutes, so I am still holding out, until I am in too much pain. We were waiting for my parents to come over and for our realitor to come over, so we could sign the house papers. 

5:30....6:00....6:15...ok, papers are signed and time to leave for the hospital...they are getting pretty painful and about 4-5 minutes apart.

We get to the hospital and get checked in labor assessment and they monitor me for about 30 minutes, then tell me I am only at 3 cm...and that they want me to walk for about an hour. So, I get walking and I lasted about 45 minutes. Contractions are pretty painful when standing up and I swear I stopped at every bathroom on the labor and delivery floor. (Note again...I do not recommend drinking Castor Oil)

They checked me again, and I was at 4 cm. They walked us to a room in Labor and delivery and got me all hooked up. The contractions were very painful, so I got a shot for some of the pain. That worked wonders...until the nurse broke my water and then I was in so much pain. Unfortunately I had complete back labor again and it is very painful. The baby's heartbeat wasn't registering correctly, so they tried to put a monitor on the baby's head, while still inside me. The monitor came off and the nurse tried again. That one fell off too. My nurse called another nurse to try to get it to work and by that time, I was dilated to 5cm and that monitor one also fell off.

I decided to have an epidural, cause I was in so much pain. After I got the epidural, I only felt pressure, no pain. I was SO much more comfortable. 

Brian was getting hungry, so he decided since I was only at 5 cm, he would go grab something to eat. The heart rate monitor thing was really bothering me, so my nurse decided to try one more time. This was bout 10 minutes after Brian left to get something to eat. She went to go put the monitor on and he exact words were..."Where did your husband go?" I said, to get something to eat. She said, "Well, someone should go get him, you are dilated to 10 cm and the baby head is ready to come right out. My mother-in-law went and got him and when he got in the room, I gave two big pushes...and out she came at 11:50pm! Beautiful 7 lbs. 8 oz., 20.5 inches long...Makenzie Grace!

A few pictures from Makenzie's first week....

  My little angel and I

Sisters...on their way to best friends! 

Watching a movie together

 First bath at home