Bud bud is eight months now! His seventh month was filled with lots of development. He learned to crawl and pull up on stuff. He can really get around now! He truly gets into everything. We dressed him as a minion for the base's trunk or treat. He is such a beautiful baby and taking his picture is so much fun!

The Day My Life Almost Stopped

On Wednesday, Oct 22, my husband called me on my cell at 2:30 am. He let me know that he was at the emergency room, but he was okay. He had called the house at 1:15 and a couple times after that, but the phone wasn't in my room, so I couldn't hear it. I was sooo tired, but couldn't get back to sleep. I thought through a plan to take care of the kids so I could go pick Greg up.

Greg left work and went down a back road toward home on his motorcycle. A couple of deer ran across the road in front of him just after he rounded a corner. The first deer ran across the road and the second froze in front of the bike. He had to choose...either hit the deer and risk greater damage or lay the bike down. He laid it down and totaled it. He was fine, though...just a little banged up. Lots of bruising along his whole left side. He also bruised his right hand pretty good.

A lot of people ask my reaction. I guess I'm just laid back...the eternal optimist. I am not my husband's mother, therefore, I will not forbid him from getting back on a bike. It will be his decision. My instincts lean more toward checking and double checking our disability insurance. I'm already comfortable with our life insurance in case something terrible happens. I'm a planner and find comfort in have peace of mind.

I'm so glad that I am not planning a funeral. I am truly grateful God let me keep my amazing husband just a little bit longer. I love him so much!

Blake is Three Months!

My cute little baby boy is three month now. I took the pic when he just turned three months, but I'm just now getting around to posting it. It's been a busy month.

I can truly say that I'm enjoying his babyhood. With Violet, I really struggled with sleep deprivation. I still am missing just as much sleep, but I'm used to it this time around.

Today, on Father's day, he rolled over! I'm going to try and get it on video soon. My little man is growing too fast! He is still a cutie pie, though.

He loves rolling to his side and he likes sleeping on his side too!

He loves kicking against anything and he frequently just sticks his feet in the air.

Hanging out with sister Violet is fun too!

We all love being with Daddy!

His favorite thing to do is play on this mat.

Happy Mother's Day!

I had a great mother's day. I played the piano at church and got to wear my beautiful necklace. I also got to make cards with the kids this week. It was an art filled week, but more on that later. Unfortunately, Violet hates getting her picture taken with me, so I don't have a cute one of all three of us. :( She did behave herself when I took her to Sweet Frog for free ice cream, though! She was pretty cute as she took the gummy worms out of the cup and used the ice cream as dip. :) We get along pretty well when it's just the two of us.
Blake was pretty cute too. He has been giving me the sweetest smiles that just melt my heart! <3 p="">Anyway, here are some pics from our day.

Blake Two Months

Well, it looks like we have a chunker on our hands! Our kiddos are complete opposites. Blake is two months old. He is in the 25% for weight at 11lbs 6oz and 95% for height at 24 1/2 inches! He will catch up to Violet in no time! I say by 6 months. Violet is hovering around the 20 lb mark right now.
Here is Blake's 2 month pic, along with a comparison to V at 2 mo and 4 mo.

Blake One Month!

Blake is a whole month old! I'm so tired! He generally eats every three hours. He seems to have a hard time with gas and pooping. He's a very noisy baby too! He doesn't sleep nearly as much as Violet did. He doesn't really like being swaddled either.
When he came home from the hospital, he was blowing out of the Huggies diapers the hospital started us off with. So I switched to Luvs and haven't had a problem since! He is in size one diapers now and is just now moving to the 0-3 month clothes. He is growing soooo fast! He loves to eat!
There is a huge difference between the two babies.

He's Here!

Blake Logan McDonnell has made his appearance. He is currently in the NICU, so I have a little bit of time to write up my birth story before I get super busy. :)

On Tues, Feb 25, 2014, I got up at 3 AM. Most of the time, that is when I'm going to bed. It was insane! Anyway, after a quick shower, Greg, my dad and I left for the hospital. I thought I knew where I was going, but apparently, I was wrong! I paid for it too! We parked in a parking garage and headed to the building I thought I was supposed to be in. Every single door was locked! We walked around the entire outside of the building. By then my calves were killing me and I was pretty sure I had a couple of contractions. We finally found our way inside the building, but there wasn't a person to be found! Dad offered me a wheelchair, but I thought surely we would be where we were supposed to be soon, so I declined. We finally found a security guard and she was kind enough to unlock one of the doors for us to get out and she directed us to the right building. We arrived at 4:30, but I didn't get a chance to check in until 5ish! I sure did get my exercise.

After they admitted me, they let the guys back into the pre-op/recovery room with me. I was terrified this time around. With Violet, it was easier on me to just wake up and be told I'd had the baby. This time I had all the nervousness and anticipation. It was definitely easier on the guys this time. They were freaked out last time with Violet's arrival. Anyway, I managed to get prepped for surgery. They wheeled me into the OR and there was a flurry of movement. Lots of people, each doing a specific job. The OR looked nothing like I had imagined it. Probably because I had only seen the ones on tv. It was basically a large hospital room with solid walls and lots of equipment...very sterile. They had me walk into the room and sit on the side of a bed/table. That's when they started doing a spinal block. The pinch made me shy away until they told me not to move. After that, I started going numb. While they were doing it, I was probably the most scared I've ever been. I really started second guessing myself. I started praying in earnest then. I was pretty terrified. They positioned me where they wanted me. Then tested the spinal with a cold, round metal piece. They put up the blue drape and started wiping me down with antiseptic. That's when my doc came in. I felt more peaceful as soon as he was there. I love my doc! He put me at ease about what was going to happen. Then he went ahead and started the incision while a nurse went and got my dad. Greg decided he didn't want to be in the OR with me and Dad loves that kind of thing, so Dad was to be my support. He was disappointed that the drape was pinned up so high. lol He said he could see a little from the reflection of one of the lights.

The doc said there would be lots of pressure and then the baby would be out. So they started pushing on me and then we heard the baby cry. They lowered the drape and I caught a quick glance of him. They put the drape back up. The plan was to do delayed cord clamping for as long as possible. They did it for a little bit, but then the baby started showing signs of respiratory failure. The doc quickly squeezed the rest of the blood into the baby and the nurses took him off. While the doc was sewing me up, the ped came and explained that they were trying to suck the fluid out of the baby's lungs, but he was having a hard time. She asked if dad wanted to stay with me or go with the baby. I told dad he could go. There was no point in staying with me. All I wanted to do was nap. So he left and got to see some of the "action" of sewing me up as he was going.

I was pretty comfortable at this point. My doc told me that I had beautiful looking tubes and ovaries! LOL Definitely the strangest compliment I've ever received, but it was memorable! They told me that the baby weighed in at 7lbs 4oz. I didn't get his length until much later, but it was 21 inches! He's a big baby for my little family! They finished up with me at 8:30am and wheeled me back to the recovery room. My cousin Stephanie and Greg were there waiting on me.

I was pretty sad that things didn't go according to plan. As if my pregnancies ever do! The baby was supposed to be with me and skin to skin right away. Instead, the ped doc came in the room and told me that they were going to have to take the baby to the NICU. He had a lot of trouble breathing and had bubbles coming out of his mouth which indicated fluid in the lungs. They wheeled the isolette in and opened the little window. I could touch his little hand for a few seconds. Then they had to go. So at least this time around I saw him briefly in the first day. Dad was able to tell me how strong the little man was. He was the only one who had held the baby while they were working on him. He said how Blake would push his legs down and arch his back off the table, screaming all the time.

Anyway, Blake was in the NICU from Tues morning until Thurs around 11am. He's doing well and growing like a weed! He and I went home on Friday afternoon. I will say the recovery was a bit more painful than I remembered. Probably because I was up and moving a lot more. Learning how to breastfeed was/is a hard lesson for me! I was on painkillers for about 8 or 9 days this time around. We managed to take Blake to church the Sunday after we got out of the hospital. Probably not something I would advise, but we got to show him off a little.Two weeks out, I feel much better. I can lift Violet with ease and drive with no problems. Overall, it was a good experience. I honestly don't know if I would have chosen a c-section again knowing my little man would have to go to the NICU, but I did choose it and all is well.

Here are some pics of my handsome little man.

Getting ready to go to the OR.

Going home!