AGG at 2 months old

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Weight:  9lbs 15oz (15%) This is up 1lb 11oz in the last month

Height:  22 inches (25%) Grew 1 inch in the last month

Head: 14.25 inches (5%)

Eating: Not too much had changed when she turned two months old.  Soon after she dropped the middle of the night feeding!  At just 8 weeks old she slept for 8 hours straight....this is a HUGE difference from her big brother who woke up at 2am to eat until he was 9 months old.  She has made me a happy mama. :)  Baby girl eats, give or take, at 5am, 7am, 9am, 11pm (followed by her longest nap of the day), 3pm, 5pm, 7pm, 9pm (bedtime).

Development:  We were able to answer yes to all the developmental questions they asked at her check up.  The dreaded 2 month shots went as best as could be expected.  Baby girl slept the rest of the day and did good over night.   

Doctor Appointment Done!

This sweet baby girl still loves her paci, being swaddled and cuddling.  She likes her bath time but hates when you take her out.  The crying usually doesn't stop until you have her all dressed and cuddly warm again.  At around 7 weeks she started "talking" some and at 9 weeks was giving us some smiles!  There is really nothing better than a smile from your itty bitty baby.  

Half way to FOUR!

It's still so hard to believe that my teeny tiny little baby is so grown up now!  When I get sad about our newest little baby growing so fast, I just look her big brother and I'm reminded of how much fun every single stage is!  Here is a little update on our sweet William James at 3.5 years old.

Height: Almost 38 inches (up 2 inches in 6 months)
Weight: 32 pounds (up almost 3 pounds in 6 months)

Eating- Not much has changed in this category.  Some days he's hungrier than others.  He still eats the veggies off his plate before his meat.  Chick Fil A, Luby's and any Mexican food restaurant are his favorite places to eat!  He will still gobbled up tomatoes and has recently been into broccoli and blueberries.  He loves to help make soup and will randomly request that we make some because it's "yummy to eat"!  And just like a Gooding he is obsessed with pumpkin pie (year round).  I'm not a huge fan but William and his daddy can put some pumpkin pie away!  I'm still pretty sure he has a mild allergy to eggs.  He ate some the other day and he told us his mouth felt funny and itched.  Right now, his favorite breakfast food is bacon and peanut butter and honey toast.  If you'd let him, he'd eat mac 'n cheese at every meal.

Sleeping-  Not much has changed here either.  Since the time change we've been better about getting him to bed by 8:00.  Lately, he's been up around 5:00 (I think he hears me with the baby).  He still randomly wakes up in the middle of the night and sneaks down to our room.  Nap time is still 12-2 (I pray this lasts for at least another year).
Development- Little William can finally jump!  It's taken the poor little thing forever, but he's gotten it down now.  He can do a great front roll at little gym and loves to run fast.  We finally potty trained the little guy in June and he's done great.  He gets more independent by the day and is always telling us, "No, I do myself!"  His handwriting is getting better and he can trace really well (in my opinion).  He has perfected his "W".  Anytime he sees a W now he says, "Look, it's William."  
Personality- William has continued to prove that he is what I call "a lover".  He has the kindest heart and just wants to make everyone happy.  He loves his family, friends and all animals.  When he sees birds flying in the sky he'll say, "Look mama, it's my friends!"  He loves giving hugs and gets his feelings hurt easily.  ....on the flip side, he is a toddler who recently had his world rocked.  We do have a lot of breakdowns and days where his "listening ears" just don't work.  But, overall, I can't complain.  He's a good kiddo with the biggest imagination who makes us laugh every single day.                
Clothing size- Shoes size 7 and most clothes 3T (he can still get by in a 2T).   
Things mommy loves- 
Pretty much everything.  Watching him love on his sister is the sweetest thing ever.  She is the first thing he asks about in the morning.  I hope they love each other forever!  William may drive me crazy sometimes but the other 90% of the time he is making me giggle.  I love that he loves being outside, that he has such a vivid imagination and he's all boy when playing with his trucks and dinosaurs.     
Mommy stuff- I've recently been busy feeding a newborn.  You forgetting how all consuming pumping, nursing and changing diapers all day long can be.  :)  William has done a great job staying patient with me and Anna Grace.   
Things WJG loves-  William is currently into the show Paw Patrol and is obsessed with going to the movie theater (he gets this from his mama...there's nothing better than a good movie and a big bucket of popcorn which William calls "happy corn").  
He loves pretending to be Hulk or Superman.  I'm guessing a super hero birthday party is in our future because he is obsessed!  
He loves going outside at night to look at the moon and in the morning wants to know when the sun is coming up.  
Although he doesn't get to see my parents dogs very often he talks about them all the time.  He loves "Fifi" (I know one day we will give in to getting a dog of our own....he would be the happiest little boy).  
He is obsessed with big construction trucks.  He wants to see them all digging!  We spent 15 minutes watching a concrete truck pour a sidewalk the other day.  :)
Things WJG doesn't like-  He doesn't love brushing his teeth but he will let us help him.  Going to bed is not his favorite either.  He'd rather stay up and play, play, play.      
Favorite Things To Say-  When William is proud of something he's done you'll hear him say, "Yay, William!"  The other day I told him I was proud of him for cleaning up all his toys without being asked too.  He responded with, "I'm proud of me too, mama!"
When he wakes up in the morning he says, "I slept all night!"  I make sure to remind him that he woke up in the middle of the night.  :)
The other day he asked me if I wanted to share with him.  So sweet.  
William lovingly refers to Anna Grace as "my baby".  "My baby crying, mama!"  "That's my baby."  When he wants to hug her or hold her he says, "Mama, I wanna pet her."  LOL.  This will be a funny story to tell for years.  Poor little Anna Grace gets "petted" like a dog.  :)

There have been a lot of changes in little William's life over the past 6 months.  Although he does have some rough toddler moments, overall, he has handled it all like a champ.  He loves his sister, is super patient with all the baby stuff and is still my sweet little boy that puts a smile on my face every single day.  #mycuprunnethover  

Friendsgiving Take Two

At the beginning of November we had our second annual Friendsgiving.  We had a great afternoon eating yummy food and catching up with some of our favorite people!  Last year my parents were in town so I got out of cooking...luckily, this year, I was able to get a lot prepared during the kiddos nap time.  Everything turned out great and we made lots of sweet memories.  

Watching some football | William had the best night with his buddy | Arts & Crafts

Love these ladies  |  Movie time  |  I sure do love this baby girl  |  Hanging with Aunt Em

Yummy holiday food  |  The kids table (minus the itty bitty ones)

If you are planning a get together any time soon I highly recommend making pumpkin dip.  I found a recipe on Pinterest that was delicious and a huge hit.  It's basically pumpkin, powder sugar and cool whip with graham crackers and apples for dipping.  :)  Delicious and not nutritious!

I can't say enough how very blessed we are to have such great friends!  There is nothing better than watching these kids grow up together.

Halloween Fun

We had a super fun month celebrating fall and Halloween!  Here are a few of my favorite pictures.

Silly skeleton | Her crying makes him a little nervous | In their orange PJs

Super man and his little lady | My little pumpkins | Trick or treating FUN!

Lovin' on his baby sister | Superman! | Our family of four

We spent our Halloween trick or treating with William's friends from "town".  Teddy's mama (and my sorority sister) does a fabulous job hosting a pre-trick or treating party!  We always have the best night with this crew.  This year was by far the most fun.  The kids finally understand what is going on and were so much fun to watch!  Before walking up to one of the houses William told me it was "spooky" {in a super spooookyyy voice}.  That kid sure does keep me laughing!

The day before Halloween we made a visit to the zoo with Mimi for Zoo Boo!  As always, William had a blast!  The elephants were still #1 on his list followed by the fish, the carousel, the lion and the black bears who were eating pumpkins.  We even fit some pumpkin decorating and pizza eating in between all of that!

I'd say this was our most successful Halloween yet!  The only thing that could make next year better would be temperatures below 90 degrees outside....it was HOT this year.  I will admit, I'm pretty excited about dressing baby girl up next year!

Houston Texans Game

I'll admit that I was raised a Dallas Cowboy fan, and a part of me will always like them the best.  With that being said, after living in Houston for 10+ years I have really grown to love "our teams"!  And come on, who doesn't LOVE J.J. Watt?!?!?  Just seeing him out there, in all his cuteness, is worth watching the Texans.

So, a few weeks ago we made our way into town to watch some football!  Our original plan was to take William to the game and make it a family affair....long story short, he ended up having a fun afternoon with his Uncle G and Aunt Em while we had some adult time (with baby girl).  Anna Grace had a great time at her first professional game.  She made things super easy, being a good girl, and being in a suite we were able to bring in her stroller and all the baby stuff we needed.

It's a #suite life

I think baby girl brought the Texans good luck!  They won this game and haven't lost a game since.  :)  Sometimes it's hard to make ourselves do these kind of fun things, but it's always well worth the time and energy it takes.  We had a fun day with some great friends.

More First Month Pictures

Week 3 and 4 as a family of 4 were just as fun and busy as the first two weeks!  William has continued going to school 3 days a week.  Those are the days I get lots done!  Anna Grace and I had a lunch date with a good friend in town (eating "in town", at my old favorites, is always a treat) and we had some pumpkin filled days (Dewberry Farm and pumpkin carving).  Saturday soccer games were still a challenge at this point.  Luckily, he's doing a ton better now.  At 23 days old Anna Grace went to her first birthday party.  We had a blast celebrating Perry's 2nd birthday at Little Gym.  Baby girl slept the entire time while William enjoyed all of his friends.  
When Anna Grace was 4 weeks old she went on her first roadtrip to Texarkana.  Other than that we just did lots of cuddling....along with our normal stuff like swim class etc.  
Our mornings are lazy and evenings busy.  Every minute in between I'm just trying to soak in.  I know that these will be some of the sweetest days of my life.
 

Anna Grace At One Month Old

Weight:  8lbs 4 oz (20%)  This is exactly 2lbs up from her discharge weight.

Height:  21 inches (40%)

Head: 14 inches (25%)

Eating: Some feedings she will eat 4 oz but usually it's closer to 3oz.  Half of her feedings I nurse her and the other half she takes a bottle so I can pump.  I pump about 40 ounces of milk a day.  Some of that is used to feed her, but a lot is frozen.  If my production keeps up once I return to work I just may be donating milk again!  Baby girl eats, give or take, at 8am, 10am, 1pm, 3pm, 6pm, 7pm, 9pm (bedtime), MN, 4am.  

Development:  We were able to answer yes to all the developmental questions they asked at her check up.  She's getting a lot stronger and can track us with her eyes.  She was not a fan of the Hepatitis shot she got at this appointment.  :(    

Anna Grace loves to be talked to and even loves it when I sing!  William is not a fan of my singing, so to me, this is so sweet.  Since she tends to cluster feed in the evenings being at home around that time is best.  She has been such a trooper about car rides.  We spend an hour in the car in the mornings when dropping William off at school and then another hour in the afternoon.  She still likes a paci, loves to be swaddled and really loves to cuddle.  She loves to lay on her mama. :)  She can be crying like crazy and if I put my face against hers she quickly stops.  She's my little cuddle bug! 

She has been the biggest joy to take care of and love on.  We have been blessed with, in my opinion, the sweetest baby girl.  

Can you tell she's not a huge fan of picture time?!?!

Photo sessions are exhausting!  :)  Although I hate to see these newborn days fade away, I keep reminding myself about how fun watching their little personalities blossom is!

Photo Dump

Here are a few more of my favorite pictures from our first few weeks as a family of four!

Dewberry Farm

On baby girl's 3 week birthday Gordon took the day off so we could go to Dewberry Farm with the kids.  It was nice to go on a Friday when it was less crowded.  We had a great time picking out pumpkins, going on a hayride, sliding over and over again, going to the petting zoo, and playing in the sand.  William was still in his "frequent meltdown" stage....which was no fun.  Luckily, he snapped out of it (after a 15 minute breakdown) so we could stay and enjoy everything a little longer.

Watching Gordon and William go down the slide was pretty hilarious.  I even tried it out, and was surprised by how fast you getting going on those things!  I think picking out pumpkins was William's favorite part (close tie with the huge sand box which caused the meltdown).  Daddy wasn't too happy with how many pumpkins we left with.  haha.  

It was really hot and humid that day but it was well worth it!  William kept running around saying, "This is fun!"  :)  

Oh how I love these people!!!  

Look Alikes

Before Anna Grace was born I was so, so excited to see what she'd look like!  Would she have any hair, what color eyes would she have, would she look at all like her brother or the exact opposite?!?!  By the time she was one week old we could tell she and William favored each other in many ways.  They both have small features.  Little button noses, little chins and similar mouths.  You can't tell in these pictures, but she has a smaller head than he did.  (you have to remember William was not even 5 lbs when he came home from the hospital at 4 weeks old!)  I think William's eyes are bigger and as of now his are bluer.  Anna Grace does have some pretty blue eyes like the men in her life......hopefully they are here to stay!  

Here are a few pictures of my little munchkins.  :)

William at 5 weeks old and Anna Grace around 2 weeks old

William at 2 months old and Anna Grace 1 month old

Both of these sweet babies love their hands!  They both love to grab my hair and when they aren't swaddled immediately put their hands by their faces.  Over the years, it will be interesting to see what similarities and differences they have!

Exactly alike or completely different, I love them both like crazy!

The First 2 Weeks With Anna Grace

I hate that I've waited so long to write this post.  With the lack of sleep and our normal busy life it's kinda hard to remember all the details.  :(  At least I have the pictures to help remind me!  Here's a little overview of our first couple of weeks at home with the newest little Gooding.

The first week at home was a little hectic because we spent a lot of time at the hospital.  I mentioned in a previous post that Anna Grace had a critically high bili level.  This was due to her Direct Coombs being positive.  Gordon's blood type is A+ and I am O+.  Baby girl is A+ like her daddy.  The direct coombs test was done at birth and it came back positive.  Basically, her body was breaking down RBCs which makes your bilirubin increase.  We were discharged from the hospital on Sunday and had to follow up with our pediatrician on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.  When we weren't at the doctor we were staying busy with all of William's activities and trying to get some nap time in!  Having my parents in town that first week was a great help.  Having help with our little William was much needed.  Although, he has loved Anna Grace from day one there were a lot of breakdowns during that first month.  We've tried our best to keep our routines the same, but obviously he's had to learn to adjust to a few new things.  :)

Here were her numbers from the first week of doctor appointments.

Monday:  Wgt = 6 lbs 5 oz  Bili = 11
Tuesday:  Wgt = 6 lbs 5.9 oz  Bili = 14.3
Wednesday:  Wgt = 6 lbs 5.6 oz  Bili = 15
Friday: Wgt = 6 lbs 8 oz  Bili = 13.2

I was a little worried that they'd end up admitting her on Friday.  But, luckily, her bili level finally started going down.

Our 2nd week at home we started getting into the swing of things....just the four of us!  William goes to school 3 days a week and the other two days the three of us hang out together.  Baby girl didn't have to go back to the doctor until that Thursday.  She weighed in at 6lbs 13oz (right over birth weight) and they didn't have to recheck her bili since she didn't look nearly as jaundice.  YIPPEEE!

Here is what a day usually looked like around that time....8am breastfeed, 10am pump and feed bottle (usually 2oz), 1pm breastfeed, 3pm breastfeed, 5pm pump and feed bottle, 7pm bottle or breastfeed, 8pm breastfeed, 9pm pump and feed bottle, 1am breastfeed, and 5 am pump and give bottle.
Before I had Anna Grace I wondered if I'd produce enough milk for her, if she'd do well breastfeeding, if she'd hate the bottle.  Well, now I know!  She has been a super great baby.  She will nurse, take a bottle and likes a paci.  Just as I did with William, I make more milk than baby girl can eat.  So, I pump 4 times a day and breastfeed in between.  Anna Grace is definitely my daughter, she is predictable and stays on a good schedule!
While I'm on the subject of schedules....here what William's been up to.  Tuesday evening soccer practice, Wednesday Little Gym, Thursday morning soccer at school, Thursday evening swim class, and Saturday soccer games.  We have been busy!  Thank goodness for newborn sleepiness.  :)

We've been busy but things have been great.  Anna Grace is the sweetest little baby and I can't say how wonderful it's been to not be stuck in the NICU.  It's been a breeze compared to our experience with William.  So, big thanks to my fabulous doctor for helping us keep this little angel in for 39 weeks.  We have felt so blessed to be at home together, as a family. since she's was born.

The Things That Matter

In honor of Carrie Underwood tickets going on sale tomorrow (you can count on me being at her concert here in Houston in April) I thought I'd post the lyrics to one of my favorite songs So Small.  It is the perfect song for this post.

Being a mama can be hard.  Having a newborn baby can be hard.  Keeping up with the house work can be hard.  Being a good wife can be hard.  Thinking about going back to work and leaving your precious new baby with strangers is really hard.  Working with children that have cancer is hard.  Life is hard.  With post pregnancy hormones raging through me and all of these things I've listed above I'll admit I cry once a week (I'm 100% sure this is normal).  Sometimes it's when I hear a sad song, watch an episode of Grey's Anatomy or because I'm just plain tired.  But here is what I always come back to..... 

It's so easy to get lost inside

A problem that seems so big at the time

It's like a river that's so wide it swallows you whole

While you're sitting around thinking about what you can't change

And worrying about all the wrong things

Time's flying by, moving so fast

You better make it count 'cause you can't get it back

Sometimes that mountain you've been climbing

Is just a grain of sand

And what you've been out there searching for forever

Is in your hands

Oh, and when you figure out love is all that matters after all

It sure makes everything else seem

So small

Time does fly right by.  Life is hard, but it is so worth all the sweat and tears.  When I take a step back I can clearly see that all the things that build up and make me anxious....they aren't mountains.  They are just grains of sand.  I have the life I've always dreamed of.  God has given me the most precious babies and a husband with the best heart.  I am forever grateful for these things.  Here are a few pictures that capture my life, at this moment, perfectly.  

The cutest little love bug I've ever seen.  So very blessed.

These two have my heart.

I read so many blogs about women struggling with anxiety and the pressures of being the perfect mom.  So, if you're reading this, remember to go easy on yourself.  You are doing a great job!

Bringing Baby Girl Home

The older I get the faster the time flies by.  I wish it would slow down!  Since I have no control over that.....I'll just take a million pictures so I can remember all of these precious moments.

The rest of our hospital stay was semi-uneventful.  Since I seem to keep everything "complicated and interesting" baby girl decided to follow in my foot steps.  Our first night with baby girl went pretty well.  We didn't get to sleep until after 1am, but luckily she was a good baby and we all got some sleep.  I learned early on that baby girl loves to be touched.  When she's upset you can just lay your hand on her chest or touch her forehead and she calms down.  #sosweet  Poor little baby did keep spitting up/gagging on clear fluid that the nurse said was amniotic fluid.  Being the nurse I am, I of course worried about her choking/aspirating.  Luckily, I would hear her making funny noises in time to get it suctioned out of her mouth.  {I say we got sleep....haha....I should say Gordon got some sleep and I closed my eyes.  Life of a mommy.}

The first thing I did Saturday morning was order breakfast!!!  I hadn't eaten since Thursday night, and this mama was hungry!  Around 9am the nurse came in to do Anna Grace's 24 hour bili check, her hearing test was done around this time and I finally got to take a shower.  She failed the hearing test in her right ear but the next day eventually passed.  Unfortunately, her bili level came back critically high.  They came in and told us the bad news around noon.  Soon after she was placed under the bili lights and on a bili blanket.  We weren't able to have the in hospital pictures done since she had to stay under the lights as much as possible.  :(  I had put so much thought into the outfits I picked for her hospital stay....instead baby girl could only wear a diaper while she was under the lights.  *Again, that's what I get for planning.*  I could still hold Anna Grace to feed her as long as I kept the blanket under her.  

As you can imagine, no newborn wants to be uncovered, unswaddled and not held.  This made the next 20 hours hard.  William had to be under the bili light as well.  The difference is, he was hooked to monitors that told us his heart rate etc so he could be placed on his belly.  Whatever made him happy we did (and he was negative two months old).  This was obviously not the case with Anna Grace.  I was able to keep baby girl calm most of the day but the night time was a different story.  Her stylish sunglasses were bugging her and her little arms were just flailing all around.  There wasn't much sleeping going on in our room that night.  Gordon and I did have a nice evening watching the Texas Tech game and eating our "celebratory dinner" from the hospital.  After some tears that night and lots of prayers that her bili level would be low enough to stop the lights, my prayers were answered.  At 48 hours old her bili level was actually the same but since she was older it wasn't in the critically high range {more on why Anna Grace's bilirubin was high in my next post}.  She also passed the oxygen test that they now do (to test for possible heart problems).  Once Anna Grace and I were each seen by our doctors we were given the okay to go home!!!!
 
William and I had a hard time saying goodbye to each other on Anna Grace's birthday.  So, we decided to not have him visit on Saturday.  Instead, he had a super fun day with my mom!  As soon as we got the okay to go home my mom and William headed to the hospital.  Seeing my little William made a great day even happier!
      

{A bili blanket is better than the NICU} {Our sweet baby girl} {Getting some sun}

{Baby girl in her first dress} {Proud big brother is ready to bring her home.} {Day 1: meeting sister}

{Packing up to head home} {My little helper pushing us to the car}

The drive home went great.  I think Gordon and I were in shock to be driving her home only 50 hours after having her!  Such a blessing.  My mom picked some lunch up for us and then we all laid down for a much needed nap.  It was one of the happiest Sundays I've ever had.  

On our drive home Blake Shelton's song Mine Would Be You came on the radio.  I love, love, love this song.

Baby, if I had to choose

My best day ever

My finest hour, my wildest dream come true

Mine would be you

What's the greatest chapter in your book?

I asked Gordon what his greatest chapter was....as we drove down the road with our two little lovies he told me he was living it right now.  I couldn't agree more!  I know it's weird that I refer to songs so often....for whatever reason they help me remember special moments, and this day folks will always be one close to my heart.  

You forget how tiny they are | My whole world in one car | Nothing sweeter than this!

Holding baby sister | Can you tell he's happy?!? | Night #1, night night angel 

To say that William loves this little girl is a drastic understatement.  I knew he'd like her but I had no idea just how much.  He was instantly in love with her.  It gives the saying love at first sight a whole new meaning.  Nothing has ever made my heart happier than seeing him kiss her and whisper, "I love you, Anna Grace."  Life is good.  God has been good to us.  The stressful pregnancy and scary delivery were so worth this precious little gift!!!   

More Catching Up

Here's a little more catching up from August!

When I was 32 weeks preggo Gordon had to leave town, for several days, for work.  This obviously made me really anxious since this is the week I had William.  It didn't help that the week before, when I'd seen Dr. Zepeta, he seemed worried about how low Anna Grace was.  If he said it once, he said it a hundred times.....take it easy, stay off your feet, gravity is not you or baby girl's friend.  So, to help ease my mind, my mom flew into Houston the day that Gordon left town.  Later in the week my dad drove into town to join in on the fun!  William continued with swim class four days a week, he was started on antibiotics for a sinus infection, I helped host a baby shower for a girlfriend and we had some fun dinners out with the family.  Big thanks to Nana for helping out this week.  :)  The Texas heat + big belly + the busy swim schedule (not to mention working 4 days a week) = one tired mama.  Having an extra set of mom hands is always awesome!

Fun carousel ride  |  There's nothing better than a sleeping baby  |  Taking a selfie with Papa  |  He loves a chocolate donut 

We spend a lot of time in the car this week due to lots of trips to the med center.  We took advantage of being in town on Monday afternoon and had a yummy dinner at Punk's.  William got to run around the open court yard area that daddy's company designed.  It may have been 100 degrees outside but that wasn't stopping William.  This was also a snocone kinda week.  I would have gone every day if you'd let me (and William wouldn't have complained either).  We both love a coconut snocone.   

 Dinner in town  |  Playing outside  |  Kisses for Anna Grace  |  Making silly faces  |  Playing a little baseball after our snocone run  |  Pool party for Finley and Kirby  

Nothing too exciting happened this week.  Just our normal life!  Swim classes went down to only twice a week (yippeeee).  We went to another birthday party that weekend and got our weekly pool time in....followed by a snocone of course.  

Yummy coconut snocone  |  Lunch at Zoe's  |  Playing with daddy

This big boy moved up rooms  |  Such a happy little guy |  Laying with the belly (yes, it's lopsided!)