Mommy Brag!

I swear...having kids makes your life go by in double time.  I mean there are some stages that seem to be exhausting and they last forever (like the last month of pregnancy and that stage where babies aren't quite walking yet, but refuse to be held/strapped down), but at this rate, my babies will be off to college tomorrow!

First Anna...12 days WEEKS old!  I took her in for her check-up today and she was perfect (no surprise to me:)).  I made sure that she flashed her gorgeous baby blues to everyone at the doctor's office and she threw in a few adorable coos and grins for good measure.  She's our little bundle of baby fever and we've been getting a lot of this lately:

Holding her head up like she was born to do it:)  (and cute hiney)

She's so vogue;)

And our little wild card, Jude...  You know, he's three now and in some ways it's more difficult than two, but it's also mostly awesome.  He's had his first "teeth cleaning" last week and got a great report (I'm still surprised he's got all of his teeth...the little dare devil).  I also took him on a mommy date for breakfast last week to "celebrate" his three-year check-up (which came with shots).  He was such a good boy and we had a wonderful morning out together.  I love this little firecracker and can't get enough of his sweetness!

Here's to three years of living life to the fullest!  (this is how he does "three" now, btw)

Jude was a rock star at the dentist!

And then Penn...sigh...I'm oozing with pride today especially because guess what...PENN TIED HIS OWN SHOES!!!  If you don't have kids, this is kind of like your dog learning to put it's own leash on.  We've been working on this skill for a few weeks now and after some tears (mostly mine), he did it all by himself today.  Someone please put him in a room alone with the world's problems and he'll solve them by nap time.  Next week I predict he won't even need me:(  I'm just a warm body for his cold feet these days (just kidding...big boy LOVES his mama!).  And guess what else...in a few months, I'm going to have to give him up to strangers for five days a week when he starts kindergarten!  He's growing so fast, my heart may just break...

Kindergarten is what's up!

Ties shoes...no biggie (except it is!)

Please tell me they don't always grow this fast!  I need to be able to fit them all in my arms for the rest of my life!

Last Year's Resolution...Year in Review!

I was feeling pretty ambitious last January.  I guess being in a new place gave me a bit of motivation to make some changes to my lifestyle and create some new habits.  I think I did okay considering all the outcomes of this past year, so I'm going to summarize what worked and what didn't for me last year.

1.  Start quilting.  Well, I didn't start quilting, but I did make a baby blanket.  You see, I didn't realize that measuring (my mortal enemy) was so important to quilting and as it turns out...I'm lazy.  I'm still planning on working on this, but I'm happy that I still ended the year with at least one blanket sewing project.

2.  Start a vegetable garden.  This is another one that I cheated on...kind of.  A friend gave me some patio tomatoes that I planted in pots and we were actually able to harvest a few that the squirrels and dogs didn't get to first.  I'm glad I started small.  It was a good trial run and maybe this year, we can actually build a garden of sorts.

3.  Read a Proverbs a day.  I did this off and on throughout the year.  I learned something new every time I read the same thing over and especially loved a study I didn't on the Proverbs 31 Woman by Nancy Leigh Demoss.  Although I faltered quite a bit on this resolution, I feel like I reaped the most benefits from this one alone!

4.  Eat out no more than once a week.  We did better on this last year than we thought we would.  Especially during my whole "first trimester funk" where I couldn't cook, go in a grocery store, or open my fridge.  We definitely ate out more than once a week a lot of times, but we kept pretty close to this goal.

5.  Get rid of most of my clothes.  Weeelllll....if you count putting all of my clothes in the attic and replacing them with a closet full of maternity clothes, then I did this perfectly!  I did manage to get rid of a lot though and now pretty much only have dresses and coats/sweaters in the closet and the rest of my clothes in three drawers.  Not bad considering that maternity clothes just take up more space than regular ones!

6.  Join and become active in a small group at our new church.  We totally did this and it was awesome.  Our group decided to split up toward the end of the year though and we are now getting ready to join another one, so long as this baby doesn't decide to come on the day GroupLink is scheduled.  Either way, I can't wait to get back into a small group asap!

7.  Lose 10 pounds.  Or gain 20...hmmmm.  Blame this one on the baby too.

8.  Renovate our kitchen by the end of the year.  We didn't do this at all.  Remember how I said the hubs would veto some of these?  Well this was one.  We did, however, get new windows all over the house (which made a huge difference), and for under $2000 we were able to redecorate our bedroom (including upgrading to a king sized bed), create a nursery, and buy a new-to-us sectional sofa bed for our living room (aka guest room)!  Gotta love Craigslist!

9.  Teach the boys how to serve others.  I guess this is one where I definitely feel through.  We did SOME things, but definitely not something organized once a month like I had hoped.  I'm keeping this one on the forefront this year and hopefully will do better.  I do have to say that despite my slackness, my boys have the kindest, sweetest little hearts I could hope for them to have and for that, I am so thankful and proud!

10.  When I think something nice (specifially about my husband), I want to make it a habit to say it, share it, or write it down for him to see.  I guess Pack could tell you how I improved on this one.  I will say that he's still the most awesome, fun, and loving husband in the WHOLE WORLD and I still find it hard to believe that he somehow wanted to end up with me.  I'm such a lucky girl and when I see his traits in our boys, I couldn't be more proud!

11.  Make less waste.  Okay, this one, I feel good about.  I think the only disposable product that we're still really attached to is toilet paper (and we're not giving that one up any time soon).  I only bought throw-away plates, cups, and napkins for birthday celebrations this year and we don't even think about paper towels anymore.  There were also a few other throw-away products that I switched over to this year and not one of my choices as created more work for me.  Awesome!

Bonus:  Pack's new year's resolution last year was to not buy any sliced bread from the store for our home (which of course, was one more resolution for me).  I got a bread machine last Christmas and I guess he wanted to make sure we got good at using it.  I'm proud to say that for the entire year of 2011, we did not buy one loaf of regular sliced bread for sandwiches and such.  We did however, occasionally buy things like  hotdog buns and tortillas since I don't know how to make those (and didn't feel like trying to learn), but overall...SUCCESS!

THREE!

In one year, our little Jude has gone from this:

to THIS:

And BOY what a ride it's been!

We have had so much fun seeing Baby Jude blossom this year.  He has really grown into his BIG personality so well and we have loved getting to know him as a little boy.  Here are a few of his big moments from the past year...

We've always known Jude liked to live big.  I always joke that Jude is a magnet for disaster/injuries.  And he's definitely had quite a few injuries that left us wondering if we needed to make a trip to our local ER (thankfully, we haven't...yet.).  Fortunately, our little daredevil seems to be very resilient:)

"One little monkey jumping on the bed..."

Jude has also become quite the little talker this year.  His vocabulary and verbal expressions have really exploded!  It hasn't always been smooth sailing though.  We've had a few rough patches of stuttering here and there (that were definitely harder for us than him).  Although these times were frustrating and a bit scary for us as parents because it's so hard to see your kids struggle with anything, I am glad to say they ended up teaching us quite a bit.  We learned that Jude can sometimes feel like he's having to fight for attention.  We also noticed that we interrupted him quite a bit to finish his sentences and we let Penn do most of the talking for a long time.  Now we know the importance of taking turns, speaking more slowly and quietly, and paying closer attention to our children during life transitions (this seems to be when the stuttering relapses).  He may continue to struggle with this from time to time, but I have every idea that it won't stop this little boy from doing what he wants to do;)

Stubbornness and perseverance go hand in hand:)

Jude is still our "Mr. Independent."  He's been dressing himself as long as Penn has and doesn't let us do whole lot for him.  There have been many times where I've had to let him go to the park with his shoes on the wrong feet, pants on backwards, or shirt inside-out because he will not let me help him get dressed.  Forget the fact that he probably doesn't match anyway.  Luckily, with those beautiful hazel eyes, no one looks at the crazy outfit underneath anyway:)

Those eyes are going to melt some girl's heart one day (besides his Mama's)!

Penn has always been idolized by his baby brother.  Except now that Jude is a little boy, he's literally doing everything that Penn does.  If Penn scratches his leg, Jude gets an itch too.  If Penn gets in trouble, Jude seems to be found getting into the same mischief.  If Penn cries, Jude's heart is usually broken too.  Although they fight sometimes now that both of them are older, there's no mistaking their love either.  No one can cure one of Jude's bad moods like his big brother can!

Sweet love.

Lots of mischief has been gotten into this year by "innocent" little Jude.  Messes seem to follow him around and sadly, nothing is out of his reach anymore.  Whenever he gets into trouble, his first instinct is usually blurting out, "I'm sowwwy, Mommy."  He has visited "time out" quiet a few times this year to say the least.  And of course, he never feels that it's justified.  There is a reason we call him "Moody Judee."

 We've had a lot of incidents this year--------->

<------------Usually they are followed by this.








One of my favorite changes from the past year is seeing my little Jude go from being "the baby" to a BIG BROTHER!  I swear, he grew a whole year in just one day!  Little Anna came into our lives at the beginning of 2012, and we have gotten to see a side of Jude that we always knew was there.  Jude wants to touch, kiss, hug, hold Anna constantly.  And he always reminds me what a "big helper" he is.  Baby sister, Anna, will never want for anything (except space) if her big brothers have any say in it.  I hope he always remembers how much he adores her.

He just can't get close enough.

So, now he's three.  Two flew by (and it Wore. Me. Out.), so we kept his birthday pretty low-key.  We called it "Jude's Day" and he got to pick what we did all day long.  That meant pancakes with sprinkles for breakfast, a trip to Inflation Nation (where we had lunch), Angry Bird cupcakes, a nap on the couch, and Chick-Fil-A for dinner.  Basically not too much work for mom (yay!). 

Birthday Pancakes (with a a candle, of course!)

Presents!

Inflation Nation!

A family nap!

 Jude is busy, messy, sensitive, creative, funny, and so loving.  I never have to negotiate for a hug and kiss.  His prayers are the sweetest.  He loves to sing (especially lullabies for his baby sister) and he is a dancing fool.  Jude always helps with laundry and dishes and has the best manners.  He also loves to tell stories and jokes.  There are so many wonderful things about my boy and I'm smitten for the boy he has become!

We are crazy about you, Baby Jude and we hope that you'll always remember how boundlessly you were loved.

I never said I make it look easy!

If you've ever seen me with all of my kids in public, then you probably already know this.  The Mom of the Packard household is off her rocker sometimes.  Like the other day when I decide that we NEEDED to go to Sam's Club at 11:00 am and get toilet paper and groceries.  I envisioned it this way:

Anna is changed and fed before we leave the house.  She'll fall asleep in her car seat on the way.  When we get there, I'll quietly and gently place her in the Moby Wrap that I'm OBVIOUSLY  a pro at using since I've worn it twice before.  Penn and Jude will sit quietly in the buggy and I'll give them my phone to watch Netflix while we shop.  I'll leisurely stroll the store getting everything we need and browsing for more while my well-behaved children make all the other parents jealous.  We'll check out and I'll look like super-mom to everyone who sees me when I tell them my kids' ages.  We'll have lunch at the snack bar as a reward and head home for outside playtime followed by naps.

The outing actually more like this:

Anna was changed and fed before we left the house (according to plan).  She fell asleep in her car seat on the way.  When we got to Sam's, I put on the Moby Wrap and clumsily tried to stuff her in there.  I obviously needed to practice using it some more before trying it in public.  I woke her up while readjusting her.  I grabbed a buggy and realized that Penn and Jude couldn't get inside because I couldn't lift them up while Anna was hanging on the front of my body.  Her little head was bobbing around because I couldn't figure out how to wear the wrap to support her neck.  I pushed the cart with one hand and held her head with the other while yelling for Penn and Jude to stay with me and not run ahead.  As soon as we stepped inside, Anna started screaming.  We walked to the back of the store and I tried to rearrange her.  That didn't work.  Penn and Jude REALLY wanted to ride in the buggy so I had to push the cart next to a shelf, let them climb the shelf (I know, super-safe, right?), and get into the buggy.  While they are sitting, I tried to nurse Anna in the back of the store to calm her down.  It works, but she starts right back up as soon as I stop feeding her, but I don't know the "wrap" that is good for nursing.  I knew I should have brought my old, faithful Snugglie.  We threw toilet paper in the buggy and then grabbed all the fruit I could squeeze between Penn and Jude in the buggy before we checked out.  It was about this time that I started noticing all the stares that silently said, "Poor girl..."  Not exactly the adoration I was hoping for.  The man in front of me generously offered to unload my buggy and the cashier rang us up in record time.  We couldn't stay for lunch (thanks to Anna) which really upset Penn and Jude since they were actually really good in the store.  Then we were finally out the door after our receipt check and one last comment from the checker at the door, "You sure do have your hands full."  Thanks, Lady (eye-roll).  I spent the next 15 minutes sitting in the car feeding Anna (again) and deciding that when we get home, I was letting the boys eat hotdogs and watch a solid hour of TV before naps so I could breathe.

Mother of the Year, right?

Kimberly "IshouldhavepracticedtheMobymore" Packard

The fact is, even though I definitely don't make parenthood look easy (it's not), I wouldn't trade it for anything.  I'm realizing that these days are numbered and soon my wild kids that are practically attached to me will one day be teenagers that may decide they have better things to do than tag along with mom.  So for now, I'll take the crazy with the sweet AND I'll probably try sticking closer to home for a while...lesson learned.

Her First Month

So it hit me today that Anna turned one month old...THREE DAYS AGO!!!  What kind of mother have I become????

Just kidding.  I'm not stressing too much about this.  This little girl has kind of slipped right into our lives and it's hard to remember that she wasn't filling up our days just a little over a month ago.  Here's a little glimpse into our life learning how to be a family of five...

Poor little Anna...the girl is tortured constantly by everyone except her Daddy.  Penn and Jude can't...PHYSICALLY CAN'T...leave the poor girl alone.  They love her, adore her, and tell her how pretty she is all day...even if she's sleeping, crying, or getting her diaper changed.  I've never seen anything like it.  And as much as I melt each time I hear Jude cooing in her face "I wuv you baby sisher," or, "Mommy, I mawwy her," I also equally would like to scream for him to leave her alone for five minutes (and sadly, sometimes I do...) and not wake her up from her nap for the sixth time today.   And Penn, "The Great Baby-Holder" is constantly checking her to make sure nothing has changed (When will she wake up?  What color are her eyes now?  When will she get teeth?).  Most of the kisses Anna gets are from Penn.  Truthfully, both my little boys are great big brothers and they are also a very big help.  I don't have to bend over to pick up anything that their baby sister might need:)

I, on the other hand, torture her in different ways for which I believe no one will judge me.  MY baby girl wears a bow (with a headband) pretty much every day.  We also do several wardrobe changes during the day and I can't promise that they are all necessary.  It's her fault, really.  She just looks so cute in everything! 

This month has been a celebration of all things girly.  Pack even went out and bought Anna her own pink bathtub.  We've never had a baby bathtub for either of our boys, but Pack Daddy didn't want his little girl bathing in the sink:)  And let me tell you...our Anna is a girl that LOVES her bath.  She went from a screaming fit to perfectly serene in the little mini-spa we arranged for her after her umbilical cord stump fell off when she was a little over a week old and has been enjoying her twice-a-week bath just as much since then.

Here's a few more little facts we've learned about our newest family member:

• She cries...LOUDLY. ---------------------------------------------->
• She loves to be outside.
• Noise doesn't bother her (thankfully).
• Yellow is her color:)
• It appears that her second toe will be longer than her big toe (Thanks, Aunt Amy!)
• She eats..A LOT!
• She's got all three males in the house wrapped...
• ...I think she has me suckered too;)

All in all, it's been a whirlwind of a month, but I am loving the sweet moments we are having as "Anna's family."  We are so fortunate and can't wait to get to know her more and more as the months go on.

Things I Already Forgot (about newborns)

• Breastfeeding makes you extremely hungry, thirsty, and sleepy...all at the same time.  I forget about this until I've got my newborn good and latched on and then realize I forgot to grab a snack or drink.
• Speaking of hungry...breastfeeding "hunger" is much more intense than pregnancy "hunger."
• It's fun to play dress-up with a new baby...they look cute in everything.  It is not much fun for the baby...she hates it.
• Nothing stimulates baby's bladder and bowels like a clean diaper.  Nothing.
• Babies are little, but their cries are not.  In the middle of the night, it is the loudest sound imaginable!
• Spit-up happens (always on a cute outfit or on my side of the bed).
• Apparently, Packard babies always look alike...boy or girl (see evidence below):

  

  Exhibit A (Penn)

  

  Exhibit B (Jude)

  

  Exhibit C (Anna)

  Thank you and goodnight:)

Anna's Birth Story

Just to warn you, this is a long, detailed story about a very short labor.  I've put in all the details that I can remember for Anna's birthday because I don't want to forget a thing.  I'm so thankful for every single detail in this story and I know that even if no one ever reads it, I'll always be glad I recorded the events from that day.  And if a detailed birth story (with photos) is not your thing, you may want to skip this post because HERE IT GOES...

 Anna's Birth Story 1/27/2012

Anna Hazel Packard--January 27, 2012

Thursday night (January 26th), my mom and sister Karen arrived at our house to stay with us for the weekend.  The hope was that I would go into labor while they were here and available to watch the boys for us to go to the hospital.  All day Thursday, I had irregular contractions that were on average about 10 minutes apart.  When I walked around, I had strange pains in the tops of my legs that made it hard to walk.  I wasn't in pain or terribly uncomfortable, but I felt like I was heading into labor (which is I guess what you should feel like at 39.5 weeks pregnant).  I went to sleep thinking that I would wake up needing to head to the hospital, but instead had a really solid night of sleep.  I woke up disappointed that I wasn't in labor.  Pack asked if he should go to work or not and I told him to go, but try to stay close by in case I needed him.  I figured if (by chance) I went into labor while he was gone, there would still be two adults at the house (one to take me to the hospital and one to watch the children).  After the false alarm from the night before, I expected a pretty uneventful day.

I was wrong.

We had a pretty normal morning.  Mom made breakfast for the kids, Karen, and I, and we sat around playing with the boys and taking care of Carmon who we were planning to take to a nearby Urgent Care for some respiratory issues she had started having the day before.  Instead of sending her alone, I decided to go with the two of them and see if Karen would drive me by my doctor's office to get checked out before the weekend.  I thought Pack might be less stressed over the weekend if he knew my contractions were just false labor ( like i thought they were, haha) and weren't helping me progress.  I was still having very irregular contractions, but instead of averaging 10 minutes, they were averaging about 7 minutes.  When I called the doctor's office, they said they could see me at about 12:15 to get checked out.

I told my doctor that I was "labor stupid."  Since I was induced twice before and never really felt any pre-labor contractions, I felt like I was a first-time mom.  I didn't think I was in labor, but I knew something was going on.  When he checked me, he said I was about 4 cm dilated, completely effaced, and the baby's head was "way down."  He wanted me to go right over to the hospital to get started on the antibiotic and discuss breaking my water to get things moving.  I didn't especially want my water broken artificially, but I did want to get the antibiotic in time for the baby to be born and I figured that my only two choices to start labor would be if my water was broken or if I started pitocin (which I definitely did not).

I got to the hospital at about 12:45 and was getting settled in a room by 1:00.  The nurses tried to quickly start the antibiotic.  The first IV attempt blew my vein.  On the second attempt, they tried to be nice and use a smaller needle (even though I didn't complain), but the catheter was too small and it wouldn't reach the spot they needed.  On the third time, they finally got it, but by then I felt like a pin cushion.  Once the catheter was in, they started me on the penicillin and I waited on Pack to make it to the hospital.

By 2:15, Pack arrived at the hospital.  He was shopping at a Food Lion across town that was closing when I called (pretty far away...go figure) and had to leave there to go home and get our bags before he came to the hospital since I didn't bring anything with me.  I was so happy to finally see his truck pull up in the parking lot.  Him being there brought me instant comfort.

My Favorite Coach!

At 3:15, the doctor came by and we decided to go ahead and break my water since the antibiotic had been started.  I was 5 cm when he checked me and he told me that I could walk around as much as I wanted.  I decided to wait until the antibiotic had been administered completely before I tried to get up so I didn't have to drag around the machine.  When he broke my water, I immediately noticed more pressure on my bottom.  The contractions weren't painful at all, but feeling the baby so low during the peak of the contractions was definitely uncomfortable.

Sometime between when my water was broken and 4:00, I noticed that I was having to breathe through the contractions.  I never studied "lamaze" or "Bradley" or anything really official, but a prenatal relaxation mp3 that I listened to regularly helped me to practice a simple breathing technique that seemed to really suit me.  I would inhale for a count of three through my nose and exhale for a count of six through my mouth.  I also tried to listen to music through the contractions so voices and other noises didn't distract me.  The first song I heard when I started listening to Pandora was "What'll She Look Like," by Stephen Speaks.  I thought it was amazingly appropriate.

Breathing and Music

The nurse told me that my doctor decided to leave for the day as long as I felt comfortable with the doctor on call (whom I had never met, but totally didn't care who delivered me).  She came by to meet me and mentioned that since my water had just been broken, she wouldn't check me, but would come around again after five and would check me if I wanted (which I did...I want to know my progress).  I figured we'd call my mom to come to the hospital when I was checked then so she wouldn't be sitting around for too long, but Pack told mom to come on anyway and she arrived at 4:35.

Mom didn't have to wait around as long as we thought:)

 I was still feeling pretty good when I wasn't having contractions, but found myself slipping away into music and breathing when the contractions would wave over me.

At 5:15, Dr. Davis said I could be disconnected from the IV if I wanted so I could move around easier.  I didn't really feel like getting out of the bed, but she checked me and I was 7 cm and said that if I walked around, it would help move things along.  I felt instantly better when I stood up...

for about 10 minutes...

I was talking to my dad on the phone when I started feeling really "different."  I handed the phone to my mom and looked at Pack and said, "Don't give me the phone again!"  I'm assuming this is the mind altering state known as "transition."  I went to the bathroom again and thought I felt like staying there for the rest of my pregnancy, but knew I didn't want to have my baby in the toilet.  When I finally came out, I typed in my notes, "Need to push?"  Five minutes later, I updated with "Yes!!!"  I had Pack and the nurse help me back in the bed and I asked when I would be checked again because I KNEW something had changed.  I thought my back was going to break in half and I couldn't stand up any longer. Pack got our camcorder out, sat it on the windowsill in view of the side of the bed and started recording from there.  (Maybe one day, I'll post the video...you can see how fast things happened from that point on for yourself!)

The urge to push was really intense and the contractions were coming with no break in between at this point.  My eyes were closed and concentrating so hard on keeping my breathing rhythmic and slow.  I kept arching my back to keep from pushing because I didn't want to start pushing too early, but I could tell my body was starting to push regardless.

At 5:30, Dr. Davis came in the room and started gowning up.  Shortly after, I was ready to push and it was such a relief!  The contractions gave me a break in between (just as they are supposed to) and I only ended up with a small tear.  I'm not sure how many contractions I pushed though, but Anna was born at 5:41.

Dr. Davis (who also has 3 children...2 older boys and her youngest, a girl...named Anna!)

My first baby born without the help of any medication and it was SO WORTH IT!  exactly the birth I wanted! As a matter of fact, my only regret was that it didn't last a little longer! I have been fortunate to have short, easy labors with all of my babies, but I was so thankful to be able to really experience this birth.

Holding my girl for the first time!

 Anna was 7 pounds, 10 ounces at birth, 20 inches long, and scored two 9's on the APGAR scale.  She came out squalling and was put right on my chest where she rested as her Daddy cut the cord for the first time (I was shocked!).

Daddy's first time cutting a cord:)

 As soon as I was able to get in a comfortable position, I started nursing her and she picked it right up.  I joked with Pack and asked him if he thought she had done that before with someone else!

First feeding.

At some point, I checked to make sure she was actually a girl.  She was...the prettiest little girl I had ever seen!  Little Anna came into the world quickly and easily and worked here way into our hearts exactly the same way.

I have a daughter!!!