Job? Mom.

As of today, I am officially resigned from my teaching position.  I thought I would have a lot to say about this, but strangely enough, I don't.  In fact, writing my letter of resignation seemed more like checking something off my to-do list rather than the significant, life-changing event that it was.

1. Shower
2. Feed baby
3. Write my resignation letter

I spent the last six and a half years teaching 4th and 5th graders, and only the last 11 weeks raising my new baby boy... but it honestly feels like a lifetime ago that I was in the classroom.  My days used to be consumed with classroom management, teaching strategies, conferences, and grading papers.  Now, my days are filled with feedings and diaper changes... and I'm perfectly happy with that.  I can honestly say that I hardly ever even think about what's going on in my classroom.  That's not because I don't care, because I do.  I loved teaching and I'm sure I'll return to it one day.  If anything, being a parent is reaffirming my belief that all children deserve the best education possible, and a teacher who truly cares about them.  I think I feel this way because I feel so called to what I'm doing right now- being a mother to my sweet Carson.

I know without a doubt that this is exactly what I'm supposed to be doing with my life right now.  There isn't a thing more important to me, nor anyone I'd rather spend my day with than my son.  He is the most important job I'll ever have, and I couldn't feel more blessed to be his mother.

10 Weeks

My little man is growing up so fast.  Sigh.  It seems crazy that only 2 1/2 months ago he was this tiny little thing that only ate, pooped, and cried all night long.  Now he's smiling and cooing and being all-around adorable (and sleeping through the night)!


A few of his likes: eating (obvious- you don't get two chins any other way), playing on his play mat, getting his diaper changed, listening to mommy and daddy talking (he's started "talking" back), and best of all... waking up!!


Enjoy the super cute baby smiles, ignore the annoying baby talk.

It is so true... I do think my child is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.  I am one of those parents.  But don't worry, I still love my furry son, Jet!  He has been at the dog trainer (hopefully on his way to becoming a master hunter- he got his third pass this weekend- only two to go) since Carson was born.  For Easter weekend, Sean brought him home to meet his little brother.

My three boys.  I am so outnumbered!  (Sean is working the Kramer look.)

They already love each other.  (Actually, Carson didn't really even notice Jet.)

On Easter Sunday we divided our day between all the grandmas... first we went to Nee Nee's house where Carson (and mom and dad) got spoiled with lots of Easter goodies, and then over to my mom's for dinner.  

Here's Carson with his great-grandmother, Nee Nee.

And here's one of Carson's favorite places to nap. (It's one of my mom's favorite things too.)

Uncle Justin, Aunt Jackie, and Aunt Jenni. 

I've begun to notice an annoying trend.  Does anyone want my picture anymore?  No.  Does anyone want a picture of me with my son? No.  Does anyone want to take their picture posing cheezily with my son? Yes, everyone.  Poor Carson probably has permanent flashes in his eyes.

I forced my sister to take my picture holding Carson (it took about six requests and me handing her the camera) and ended up with a pretty cute picture of Carson (what picture of Carson isn't cute?), and a horrible picture of me.  I give up.

Out and About

The Hales have been pretty busy the last couple of weeks... here's some pictures to show you what we've been up to!

Sean spoiled me with a push present... I've always wanted a little blue box! 

What was inside the box was even better!  I love my new earrings. I haven't taken them off since he gave them to me! 

Play-date at Kristin's!  Here's Carson, Karter, and Keaton.  We had so much fun!  I LOVED talking with Kristin.  She's such a great mommy and I learn so much from her.  As I've mentioned before, I'm kind of an anxious person, and Kristin always has a way of putting things in perspective and making me relax!  Plus, her kids are so cute and so sweet!

A close up of the two babies!  Karter and Keaton made me realize how much I have to look forward to as Carson grows up!

Play date with Eloise!  Meredith and Walt went to watch the Bears play basketball, and Carson and  I headed over to help the babysitters- my teammates from school!  Is it too soon to print the wedding invitations?

At one point that evening, Carson started fussing (as usual).  We put both babies on Eloise's play mat... then Eloise started fussing.  As soon as she started, he stopped and listened!  You could see the wheels turning in his little head, "who is this other baby?!?"  

Here's a sweet picture of Emily soothing Carson.  He gets so fussy in the evenings, so I sometimes hesitate to take him anywhere... but if Emily is going to be there, then I'm going!  She kept him so peaceful the entire night.  It was really sweet.  I loved watching them together!

I'll have to post about our Easter weekend a little later... Mommy is always on duty!

Improvement? Wha????

Picture me and Sean, walking through First Colony Mall, out on a date, holding hands, talking about what a beautiful baby we have when we pass by.... Victoria's Secret.  Would I like to go in?  No, Sean, I'm still at least 12 pounds away from my pre-baby weight, thank you very much.

"I'm actually feeling pretty fat today.  I'm still wearing maternity pants and the scale seems to be stuck for the last two weeks."

"Are you kidding?  Look around!  You look great!"

"Really, Sean?  I mean, I guess I could look a lot worse.  Thanks!  I guess I really look pretty good!"

"Yeah!  You do!  But, I'm not trying to discourage improvement."

Thanks.

(I told Sean I was going to blog about this, and he was so embarrassed.  He's worried that he'll sound like a terrible husband.  I told him not to worry, if anything would make him seem like a terrible husband, it's what I'm about to discuss next...)

Flash forward about a week, when the UPS guy stops by.  We get a huge package from Beachbody.com and I proceed to open it- expecting to see the after-workout drink mix that Sean ordered.  You see, he's been working out everyday and is quite determined to be more fit than his buddy, John, who he has started this crazy workout competition with.  Ever see the infomercial for P90X?  It's insane, and these two have decided to compete to see who is more fit at the end of 90 days.  They did the fit test together, and even took before pictures.  I'm getting a huge kick out of it, and have been teasing Sean pretty much nonstop.  Although, as I've reminded him... I'm not trying to discourage improvement. Haha!

There was definitely some after-workout drink mix in the box, but there was also this...

I was pretty sure Sean wasn't interested  in lifting and firming his butt... so I can only assume he bought this for me.  I laughed SO HARD, and then called my sweet husband.  

"So, Sean, is this your way of encouraging me?  Or, did you just buy it for the pictures on the box?"

"I thought it was worth a laugh!  If you don't want to use it, it's not a big deal."

"OK, I can take a hint!"

That night I gave the Brazil Butt Lift a try.  (The instructor- cheeseball.  The workout- pretty good!)  My butt may have a long way to go, but as I was able to laugh my way through this experience with Sean, I think my marriage is rock solid!

Two Firsts

Our first visit with the Sims twins!

These cuties are 9 months old now, but looking at the picture of Caroline and Carson, he is going to out grow them pretty darn quick!  Caroline is just about 15 pounds, and as of yesterday, Carson is 11.8 pounds!!!  Both Caroline and Chloe were interested in Carson and me.  They were talking and crawling all over the place!  Carson really liked them and he played on the floor for quite a while; cooing and smiling!  Both mommies enjoyed some tea and conversation- even if it was mostly about the babies!  I don't know how Barb does it with twins... WOW.  I'm exhausted just watching her!

Our first FuzziBunz diaper!

The last few weeks we have been using disposables that we received from friends while we waited for Carson to fit in his fuzzibunz cloth diapers.  Today I decided to try one of the washable diapers on Carson, and it fit great!  Carson seems to like it... who wouldn't?  The inside is the softest fleece.  It's got to feel great on his tush!  

I've received many mixed opinions on our decision to try cloth diapers, so I thought I'd post an update later to let you know how it's going.  So far, after just one diaper change, I have nothing bad to say!  It held everything in, and was very easy to change.  I have a waterproof travel bag that I was able to put it in while we were out, and now that I'm home I just rinsed it and put it in the big waterproof and washable bag that I've got hanging in our laundry room.  One thing I did notice is that the washable diaper is quite a bit bulkier than the disposable ones, so I had to put a larger size outfit on him.  He still looked very cute!

I'm not married to the idea of cloth diapering, so if it doesn't go well we may switch back to disposables.  And most likely, when we travel we'll use disposables for convenience.  I'm pretty curious to see how well we like using the cloth diapers, and if we think it's worth it to continue or not.  I'll let you know!

Six Weeks

The past six weeks have been such a learning experience... and I still feel clueless!  On the day we brought Carson home I remember telling Sean that "I've never been more in love with or more afraid of anything in my life."

The fear is starting to subside (slowly), but the love is growing everyday!

At six weeks, Carson is 10 lb. 8 oz.  I wish I could say he is sleeping longer at night, but he's still pretty much waking up every 3 hours to eat.  He's a good eater! Here's what I like to call "milk coma."

He is perfecting the art of the "blow out."  Poor Caitlin... Carson decided her shirt was as good as his to poop on!

Nasty.

Carson has also decided that after six weeks, bath time isn't so bad after all.  The first few baths were a little rough.

And, thanks to our wonderful babysitters, Grandma and Aunt Jenni, Sean and I have enjoyed another date night!  We had sushi and beer... it was awesome!  Two things I was craving from pregnancy, check!

One Long Weekend

I've had friends tell me that just when you think things are going really well with your baby, something happens and it all changes.  I think our weekend pretty much proves this to be true.

I made my last post Friday morning.  Carson was smiling and sweet and absolutely precious!  That very same night at about 8:00 pm, we were on our way to Texas Children's Hospital with a very sick baby.  He was running a fever, which for a 4 week old, was not good.  Our doctor told us to take him to the ER.  (I was surprised.  Did a fever of 101.3 really constitute a visit to the ER?  Apparently, it did.)  We did as we were told, I mean, we're first timers here and when your baby is sick, it's scary!!

At the ER, after 8 hours and after many, many questions about alternatives, the doctors pretty much insisted that we run several tests on my poor, sweet man.  He had blood, urine, and spinal fluid taken.  The cultures needed 48 hours to be complete, so we were admitted to NICU 2 for the next two days.

Carson then received some antibiotics via an IV to his head, and was hooked up to monitors which beeped incessantly.  Luckily, he made quick progress and his fever broke sometime on Saturday.  He was feeling much better by Monday morning, when the doctors said his cultures were negative and he was free to go home.  Apparently, when a very small baby runs a fever, it could be a simple cold (which is what Carson had) or it could be something very serious.  And since a four week old hasn't had any immunizations yet, and since they will take no chances with a precious new life, we spent the most gorgeous weather weekend we've had all year in an insolation room in the NICU. 

I don't know quite how I made it through the experience.  I definitely cried my eyes out all Friday night and all Saturday.  Sean was calmer and held it together for the both of us.  When our family was able to come visit, it made it much easier.  I think Carson had more visitors than any other baby in the NICU!  Our parents came to relieve us which allowed us to nap and to take showers.  Nursing him throughout the hospital stay was a little tricky, but it worked out OK.

Now, we're home and so thankful.  There were so many tiny babies in the hospital who were there for so long, and whose parents couldn't be there all the time.  Our son shared a nurse with several babies, and so sometimes those babies were left to cry all alone.  It absolutely broke my heart.  I am so thankful that Carson was born healthy, that I am able to stay home with him, and that he has a big, loving family that made sure he was never far away from a warm pair of arms during his stay at the NICU.  He is so loved.  I am so, so thankful for that.

I sure hope this was our only hospital stay with Carson... or at least that we don't make another ER trip for a long, long time!!  I'm sure there will be stiches, or broken bones at some point with my little boy, but I pray he gives us a little break!  My heart needs it!

Carson with his Mamo