It's Not Gas!

Liam is the most smiley newborn I've ever known. (And I've known A LOT!) I'm not just saying this because he is my cute and perfect baby. It's true, and it's not gas. Promise. The thing is, I can't seem to catch that sweet smile on my camera. (Darn delay!)

Here's the last millisecond tale end of a smile...

And this is the face I get when I ask him to smile for the camera. Apparently he's one of those models that needs inspiration for his expressions. Whatever. It's still cute!

Brothers

Javen LOVES being a big brother. Before Liam was born I was a bit concerned about the jealously factor. Javen has always done well sharing his toys and playing with other babies/kids, but when I would hold another child, he would get very upset. He hasn't been upset about me holding Liam once! In fact, he is always asking for a turn to hold him. Javen loves to point out Liam's eyes, ears, nose, mouth and hair. He gives lots of hugs and kisses to his baby brother. Though he has yet to actually say "Liam" Javen currently refers to him as "My baby." (So sweet!) He's such a big helper...throwing away Liam's diapers, bringing me his blankets and burp cloths and taking it upon himself to try to comfort Liam if he starts to cry. He also likes to share his books and favorite trains and trucks. We're so blessed to have such an affectionate big brother and such a tolerating little brother.

My 3 Boys

Javen's leaning in to give Liam a kiss. (Liam is not crying, just yawning. The delay on my camera made me miss the kiss part.)

Javen holding Liam and patting his head.

"Baby's nose!"

Javen put the phone next to Liam and told him to call Pa. (My dad)

Reading with my babies

Welcome to the World, Liam!

A few photos from the first few days of Liam's life...

Brand new baby!

 (Clearly I wrote the last post in a sleepy stupor, as this is obviously the first time Jake got to hold Liam. I'm glad there's a photo of this because it's at this point my memory gets a little fuzzy from all the wonderful pain medication they gave me.)

Big brother Javen seeing baby Liam for the first time!

So fresh and so clean-and needing a hair brush!

Meeting Grandpa and Grandma (Jake's parents)

Meeting Gia and Pa (my parents)

The coolest hair. Ever.

My little thumb sucker!

Javen loves to hold Liam just long enough to point at his nose and give him a kiss.

Fruit break with Mama

Don't worry, plenty more photos to come!

Liam's Birth Story

Quite a few of you have asked to hear Liam's birth story, so I'm warning the rest of you now: if you don't care to hear about the unglamorous side of having a new baby, stop reading and just wait for the next post, which will be full of pictures. For the rest of you, I won't be extremely detailed and gross about anything, because odds are if you're interested enough to know about his birth story, you've experienced giving birth yourself and/or know enough to fill in the details.

Liam's due date was January 6, and five weeks prior to that two different doctors told me I had dilated 1cm. Two weeks before his due date I somehow magically was not dilated any longer. Medical mystery?! A week past his due date I was still not dilated at all, nor had the baby dropped yet. After discussing my options and what was safest for the baby with my doctor, we decided to schedule the inducement for Friday, Jan 15. At this point, he still had three days to make his arrival the natural way. (We all know that didn't happen!)

Thursday, Jan 14:

4pm- Checked into the hospital

6pm- Was administered Cervidil. This was supposed to help get me dilated. My contractions were 4 minutes apart all night long. (Meaning, there was little sleep for me.)

Friday, Jan 15
6am- Still not dilated
7:30am- Started pitocin
9am-Stopped pitocin. My contractions had become more frequent, but with every contraction Liam's heart rate dropped. He was going into distress.

9:15am- They gave me medication to stop contractions completely. Liam's heart rate came back to normal and he was a happy camper.

9:30am- The doctor checked to see if I was dilated (which I was not) and decided that a C-section was the only option left at this point to safely deliver.
9:45am-They walked me back to the O.R. and gave me a spinal. (Like an epidural, only it's a one time shot in the back with a denser block.)

10:12am-Liam was born! (The cord was wrapped around his arm/shoulder, which could have contributed to the low heart rate during contractions.)

11:20am-I finally got to hold my baby boy for the first time!

Meeting Mama for the first time

Meeting Daddy for the first time

The nurse that brought Liam to us after I came back from the O.R. took this family shot. (Minus big brother, Javen.)

We're Home!

We were discharged from the hospital yesterday and are SO glad to be home! Javen LOVES Liam and is so sweet with him. Liam is SUCH a good baby- he eats like a champ, sleeps when he should and is so alert during his awake time. Many of you have asked about the birth story so I'll start typing that up soon, but I did end up having a C-section.  Recovery is not fun, but it will give me plenty of time to upload photos and start blogging and emailing agian. (That is, if I can stop cuddling with my boys long enough to get anything else done.)

Happy Birthday Liam!

Liam Robert McDaniel
January 15, 2010
10:12am
8lbs 2oz, 22 inches long

Heather has a photo on her blog, I'll get some up once we're home!

Incredibles

I've decided to take a new approach to Baby Watch 2010. No more reports of him not coming. I'm only thinking positive here. So from now on, I won't say anything about him not arriving, instead we'll just have a nice happy birthday post when he does decide to make his arrival. I think that puts less pressure on everyone involved.

In other news, let's talk about Javen and how he is obsessed with the movie, The Incredibles right now. The DVD plays at least twice daily in our house, even though he has yet to sit down and watch it from start to finish. I found a great bargain on an Incredibles book a few days ago, so we read that about four billion times every day. PLUS Target's dollar section had some Incredibles paraphernalia, so you know I hopped on that and bought stickers and snack cups.

He's so cute about it. He talks to the TV and gets excited/concerned/happy/etc during different parts of the movie. He tells me about the characters as if they hang out together all the time. (Which I feel like we do.) He can name everyone in the Incredible family except the daughter, Violet; but he knows who she is. It just blows my mind that he has latched onto this movie and he's not even two yet! We went to the Disney store yesterday to check out what kind of Incredibles merchandise they had...and they have nothing! The store clerk suggested we look in Disney World. I guess a trip may be in order?!

WFMW- Yogurt Smoothies and Diaper Boxes

When I had terrible morning (all day) sickness the first oh....six months or so of this pregnancy I found it rather challenging to feed Javen breakfast (or any meal for that matter.) He loves yogurt in the morning, which at the time just repulsed me...until I came up with the yogurt smoothie. I'd take his cup of yogurt (we like YoBaby and/or YoKids) and stir it into his sippy cup of milk. (Easy to make, no mess, no clean up!) He would down it in no time flat, every single morning. (He always requested it, so I didn't vary much during those months.) If he was still hungry I could toss some Cheerios, Kix or whatever cereal we had on hand into his bowl and breakfast was a snap. Now that I don't get sick at the sight of food anymore, I don't serve it every day, but it's still his favorite food in the morning!

My other "makes life easier" tip is the trick I discovered in opening diaper boxes. We're a Pampers family and we purchase them by the box every 2 weeks or so. The top of the box is always taped shut almost to the point of needing a chainsaw to break into that bad boy. However, the bottom is secured with just a little bit of glue and it's SO easy to rip open...even while wrangling a wiggly baby or toddler with your other hand. So if you're purchase diapers buy the box, I highly recommend flipping it over to open...no sharp tools needed!

For more Works for Me Wednesday ideas, head on over to We Are That Family.

Elephants and Saxophones

First thing's first. I know you clicked on my blog this morning to see if I have baby news. I don't. Still very much pregnant here and feeling like an elephant. (One, because they are huge and secondly because they are pregnant for some crazy amount of time like 2-3 years.)

Last night Jake and I were able to get away for a date night out to Olive Garden and Target. (We had gift cards for both places, which made our date super cheap!) It was SO nice to be out-just the two of us. I can't remember the last time we've done that, and we all know it'll be a while before it happens again. On the way home we were listening to music in the car and started talking about singers. I mentioned to Jake that even after 4 years of marriage and 7 years of knowing him, I have yet to hear him sing. Don't get me wrong, I've heard him goofing off, being silly singing-just not his real singing voice. He argued that he can't sing. Not true. (I've deducted.) If he can carry a recognizable tune when goofing off, then he can carry one in a normal voice. This was his argument:

"You're right. I can sing, just not loudly. When I sing softly, I sound like a cool raspy Michael W Smith,*" to which I laughed, but kept listening. "When I sing louder I just end up sounding like Kenny G."


"Kenny G?!" I said. "Jake, Kenny G doesn't sing, he plays the sax."

"I know. I sound like a saxophone," he says in all seriousness. I can't even describe it."

I don't make this stuff up, people.

*Those of you who know my husband, know that him comparing his voice to Michael W Smith is his way of paying himself the highest compliment ever. Jake LOVES Smitty. But seriously, that's a whole other hilarious blog entry.

Javen's Week

Javen LOVES to go "Bye Bye." Since he's been sick/recovering this week, the only outings he's had have been two quick trips to the grocery store. I've never seen a little boy more excited to to grocery shopping, nor has he ever been better behaved while we were there. It's been nice having my Mom here to help distract him from the fact that he's been cooped up inside all week. Wednesday was his most sick day where he sat in my lap and snuggled pretty much all day long. The rest of the week I don't think he even knew he was sick...

Testing out how well his "Choo-choo" does on the car track

In mid-sentence saying "Uh oh!" in response to a scene in the Incredibles. (He LOVES the action/fighting scenes. Yes, he truely is a mini Jake.)

Not going to miss a second of the action in this movie!

This morning Javen and I stayed home from church since his nose is still pretty runny. We took down the Christmas tree this week and set up the baby swing in its place. So far we've been able to convince Javen that the swing is for the baby (and/or his plush dog) and that he is a big boy and therefore cannot ride in it. He's followed that rule well all week, until this morning. I turned around to find him telling me "Mama! Gock-gock in da weeng!" (Mama! Rock-rock in the swing!) He was so pleased with himself that I had to snap a few pictures before reminding him he was too big for the swing to rock him.

Spicy Food

The spicy food I had for dinner last night did NOT do the trick. (But it was good!) Still no baby yet...

No, My Camera Did Not Break

I know the reason many of you visit this blog is for Javen photos/stories/updates (and new baby news as well) but this year in addition to all those wonderful things, I may digress from the topic of my boys every few entries (i.e. the past few blog posts). (See, I'm not abandoning the cuteness....give the people what they want!!) I think not only will it spice things up a bit around here, but it may be somewhat therapeutic for the writer in me that has been cooped up since I quit my (paying) job the month Javen arrived.

Just to be clear, in no way, shape, or form do I regret quitting my job to stay at home with my kids. This is what I'm supposed to do. However, sometimes I miss the challenge of creating, writing, etc (and obviously the paycheck was nice.)

So if you stop by for your daily/weekly/whatever check in on my blog and find a bunch of text with no adorable photos, just pardon my "journaling" and feel free to skip to the picture filled posts about poop, baby food, trains, haircuts and new teeth.

On that note, let's talk about Javen. He's been sick this week, so I haven't taken any photos of our snot filled, droopy eyed, fever filled days. (Today he's running at about 94% his usual self, so we're back in action now!) As much as I've hated being overdue (especially since my hopes were up for having a quick, easy, early delivery) I can see now it's a blessing in disguise. God's plans always work out better than what we have planned. If this baby had been born on his due date I would have had a sick big brother at home. That would have made my time in the hospital away from Javen terrible! I know when he doesn't feel well he just wants to sit in my lap with a sippy cup in hand and watch the Incredibles (or as he calls it, "Edda-pulls") all day long. I would have also had to bring home a sweet newborn baby to a germy environment. Now I can go have this baby and know that Javen is happy and healthy at home while I'm away for a couple days. It's also a great peace of mind to know that we'll bring baby boy home to a healthy house.

So, sweet baby boy, (whose name is NOT Milton!!!) everything is all ready out here for you to make your arrival. We're ready to see your sweet face and celebrate your birthday!

Baby Watch 2010 Update

P.S. Still no baby today. My guess is next week.

In the mean time, here's a cute pic of Javen brushing his teeth before bed. Enjoy!

Another Favorite Blogger

Thank you to those of you who have suggested new blogs! I plan on checking them out after baby boy is here and I have some down time on the couch for a few days. (And if you haven't told me about your top 3 favorite blogs yet, I'd still love to see what you all love to read!)


Yesterday I told you about Katie (and her giveaway...still time to enter!) and today I want to introduce you to another real life and bloggity friend, Becca. (I know the coolest people!) She has this great blog about motherhood, her adorable daughter, an amazing ministry in Atlanta that she and her husband, Adam, are involved in, all things cute, photography, her etsy shop, cheese, Mexican food and a whole bunch of other amazing topics. I love her honesty, humor, photos and stories. (Forgive the run on sentence, but she's just so talented, it was worth the rambling!)

I check her blog at least once a day and it never fails to either make me smile, think, laugh, pray, or just give me that much needed break that I need to make it to nap time or bedtime. :) A visit to her blog is like a refreshing catch up with your best friend.

I encourage you to check it out over at The Stanley Clan. And once you've finished there, don't forget to stop by her Etsy Shop, BG Doodles & Designs. (Which also has a blog, so go ahead and click over there while you're at it!)

Blog Makeover, A Favorite Blogger and a GIVEAWAY!

I'm so excited about this. If you're a google reader, you need to hop over to my real blog page and check out the new look created by my real life and bloggity friend, Katie Jones ("Cleared for Takeoff"...formerly "Keepin' Up With the Jones's"). Then you need to hop over to her blog, Cleared for Takeoff and become a follower. Seriously, she is one of my favorite bloggers. You'll love this blog. She's a new mommy and just puts it all out there. She's funny, witty, entertaining, so talented AND has such a cute baby girl! And on top of that, she's started a new blog design business! It's called "Fancy Pants Designs."



Not only did she just give my blog a much needed face lift but she's giving away a blog makeover for FREE! All you have to do is go over to her blog and leave a comment before Jan 13. It's a great opportunity for ALL of you! Don't have a blog? Always wanted to start one? Now's a great time, especially with Katie to help snazz up your new online space. There is more than one way to enter:

1. Comment on this post (on her blog): Mind My Bizness
2. Tweet about this giveaway and let her know you tweeted.
3. Post about this giveaway on your blog and let her know you posted.


A winner will be chosen using a random number generator on Wednesday, January
13th. Good luck!


P.S. In case you missed my blog post yesterday, I'm looking for some new blogs to check out, so let me know your top 3!

P.S.S. No baby yet. Baby watch 2010 is still on.

Top 3

Hey Everyone,

I'm curious, and also on a search to follow some new fabulous blogs. What are your top 3 blogs that you visit every day? It could be people you know, people you don't know, topic oriented, whatever! I'd love to find some new ones to inspire me!

Stay tuned for an upcoming post from me about a few of my favorites...

Due Tomorrow?

A little update on baby boy...he's still not here! The official due date is tomorrow, although my doctors kind of got my hopes up when they all guessed he'd arrive early. Still no big signs of his immediate arrival, so we're still playing the waiting game. I can't promise there will be photos up here within the hour he's born, but I'm sure one of my siblings will be updating their facebook with news shortly after.

Until then, Javen is enjoying some undivided attention from Gia (my Mom) and me. He has no idea how much his little world is about to change!

Anyone care to guess the baby's birthday? I'd give you a hint, if I knew!