A car load

This was us backing out of the driveway on our first trip out as Mom and THREE kids. We were 30 minutes late, but we did make it to MDO before time for me to pick them up! :) Everyone got "promoted" to different car seats. Rhett is excited to be in the very back of the bus in his booster seat, Alexee got R's bigger seat and Crosby is content in the carrier (well, actually he cried all the way to school and back, but I think he was hungry). It was a looong day yesterday, but we made it. I was SO happy to see Lane walk through the door!Today we took C for a weigh-in at the hospital because his peditrician appointment got pushed back until Thursday (it was supposed to be this morning--I was disappointed when they called to tell me the doctor wouldn't be in). He weighed 7 lb. 12 oz. only down from 7#15oz at birth, so hes'd doing great. He'll be a plump little guy in no time if he follows his older siblings' baby patterns--they were both very round by about 4 months!
This is the little outfit we bought the day we found out we were expecting a boy...and now he's here, looking so cute in it. :) Time flies!

Back at home!

Just a brief post to say that we're home! We came home Friday evening, and it's been wild and crazy, but good. I think Crosby is the "easy" one...it's balancing the needs of two other children that poses the bigger challenge at this point! Rhett and Alexee have been great with him--they're both very interested in him and want to hold him. Alexee worries when he cries and tells us, "baby's crying". Rhett has been a big help. This morning was our first day in the real world--back to school for Lane, back to MDO for R & A. Rhett got himself dressed then made toast for himself and Alexee. He was cute getting it out and putting it on napkins and taking it to their seats at the bar.

We'll hopefully settle into somewhat of a routine before too long and I can post more details about the hospital experience, lots more pictures, etc.

Thank you for all your prayers and sweet comments. He's a joy and we're very thankful to be at home with him!

Welcome Crosby Grant

Crosby arrived at 1:30 pm. He weighs 7 lbs, 15 ounces and is 20 inches long. Both Jamie and Crosby are doing great. He is about to get a bath and then we will be moving to another room for the night. If all goes well, the doctor thinks we will be able to go home tomorrow afternoon.

What a sweet little boy!
Crosby meets his mommy and is warm and happy.
A proud dad!
Our wonderful family! Rhett loved holding Crosby and was very proud of him. Alexee kept saying "baby" and pointing to him. I think she is going to be a great big sis, but we'll have to keep our eye on her. She is pretty rambunctious.
Thank you all for your prayers!

At the Hospital

We are in the room and have seen the doctor. He estimates a noon delivery but it could be earlier than that. We ask for prayers that the delivery goes smoothly and that Crosby is healthy.




Update: Jamie got the epidural and is feeling good. If you're ever at Baptist and need anesthesia, request Brian, he'll take good care of you.

Also, Ashley and Laura are our nurses and have been fantastic. We are blessed to have such great care.

Alexee at the salon

Marked a few more things off the To-Do List today:
--Rhett and Alexee both got haircuts this morning (Alexee's was barely a trim.) Thanks to a package of Skittles, she sat really still for Debbie! I didn't have my camera, but snapped this one (blurry) picture with my phone.
--The air conditioner company came out to service the A/C this afternoon. I got a little earlier start on the A/C...I think I had the heater serviced in January after we'd been using it for a few months. I sure don't want the A/C to break--I'm not a big fan of our humid, 105 degree summer days.
--Lane picked up the little diaper bag that I bought last week and had monogrammed (Kelly, I think you've got me addicted to monogramming things! :) ) It's really cute and simple--orange and brown and not too big. I thought I had to have a huge diaper bag with Rhett, but I've downsized a lot since then.
--Tonight I worked on the wording/spacing for C's birth announcement. Now I just need to fill in the blanks for time, weight and length and print them.

It was another warm, beautiful day here. We played out in the yard with our neighbors for a while this afternoon--the little boy is R's age and invited him to fill up water balloons with him. He has an older sister who was helping, and Alexee likes to follow her around. Alexee didn't hesitate to join in the balloon-throwing fun (wish I'd had my camera then, too).

Lane and I watched "24" tonight--it's such a good season. I'm hoping that Larry is about to finally clue-in to the fact that he'd be better off working with Jack instead of against him. The episode went by so fast. I wish it came on more often than once a week!

Jaiden's Birthday Party

Rhett and I had a fun time together Friday evening. I took him to Jaiden's (my niece) birthday party while Lane and Alexee had fun spending time together at home. Rhett considers Jaiden his best friend. They fight and argue like siblings sometimes, but they are so close and love spending time together. J had a great party at a gymnastics center. R asked probably 20 times on the way home when I thought we'd get to go back there because he really liked that place. There was a trampoline, foam block pit, ropes and bars to swing on, etc.

Jaiden with her candle-filled cupcake

The cupcakes had plastic Disney princess rings on top of them. I thought it was sweet that Rhett told me, "I'm going to put mine in my pocket and save it for my sister because I think she'd really like this princess ring." He gave it to her first thing the next morning. He's so good to her.

Cousins and best friends
(I love how pink R's little cheeks are in this pic--he'd played so hard.)

We hope you had a very Happy Birthday, Jaiden! We love you!

Crosby Grant's room

So this is the big week! Crosby's room is ready and waiting to welcome him home!

Here are a few pictures of the room (this is also our "guest room" now, as it has the queen bed in it. We rarely have overnight guests, but when we do, our company can sleep here and C can sleep in the pack n' play. Our old guest room is now the office...or will be...that's one project still outstanding).

View as you enter his room:The big bed, the painting my Dad did, the armoire from R's room:
Found these cute little metal planes (yellow one below) at Hobby Lobby for 50% off:
Also got these three metal signs at Hobby Lobby, 50% off. The wooden "Thank Heaven for Little Boys" sign came from my Aunt's store in Flippin.


I've had this chair and ottoman since I lived at my apartment before Lane and I got married. It's super comfortable and will be a great place to sit with Crosby.
I like his first and middle names monogrammed on the shams.
This is the crib L's parents loaned us until we're ready to move Alexee out of her crib into a big girl bed. This was R's crib bedding that I had made for his cabin/trout-fishing themed room 5 years ago. I painted this name canvas for above the crib, but it seemed too small on that wall so I painted three wooden crosses (see name meaning) to hang with it. They were (unpainted) in the Easter section at Hobby Lobby (can you tell I spend a lot of time at that place?). I just realized after looking at this picture that I forgot to go back and trim the ribbon on the middle cross...

These three little outfits are ready to pack in his bag Wednesday night (or ready to grab quickly if I go into labor before then!). I can't believe it's time!
We considered buying a new infant car seat, but it would not have matched the stroller and the thought of buying a new car seat and stroller combo just didn't seem like such a wise use of money. So Lane took everything apart, washed all the pieces last night, reassembled the stroller and ordered new, replacement straps ($18) for the car seat (I washed the old ones in the dishwasher and they're in a Ziploc bag in case we have to rush to the hospital before the new ones arrive in the mail.) L's good at this type of thing--I wouldn't have been able to figure out how to put everything back together! Lane said last night that he remembered sitting in the living room at our previous house putting the stroller together right before Rhett was born. Five years sure did fly right by.Here I am after church today at--a very round--38 weeks. I'm holding up four fingers...only FOUR DAYS until induce date! Please pray that things go well and that C is healthy and happy!

Nesting

I don't know if it really means anything, but the nesting instinct has kicked into a higher gear. Today I finished cleaning out the fridge (and went to the store to restock after my haircut appointment), cleaned out the pantry, caught up all the laundry except for R's winter coat that needs to be washed and put back in the closet, ironed everything in sight, vacuumed, etc. Last night I decided to clean the shower at midnight (it really needed it) just in case I went into labor during the night and had to leave (that was after I'd put clean sheets on the bed at 11:45p). The house is FAR from clean, but maybe tomorrow will be another productive day. My maternity clothes are in a stack in the closet (ready to loan to a friend or take to a donation center), and I have a bin of clothes in the back of my vehicle ready to return to a friend.

I wish I could always keep the fridge like this.That's the top of R's winter coat peeking out of the basket. Everything else is DONE (for tonight...but it all starts again tomorrow!)

Daffodil Day

My friend Ali and I decided last-minute to take the kids to the local daffodil patch. It's such a pretty place, and I enjoy going every year. It was about 80 degrees today, and wonderful to have a chance to experience spring.

Here are a few photos from the trip:

Rhett & Lawson ran and ran and burned lots of energy!

R's surprise and birthday dinner

While the kids were at MDO this morning and I was at my doc appointment*, Lane did some furniture rearranging and set up R's birthday surprise--his own computer in his room! Rhett sometimes has strange reactions to things, so we weren't sure if he'd be super excited or if he'd be stressed out because Lane moved the armoire out of his room and into the nursery. Thankfully, he really really liked the computer and said that the armoire "looked nice" in C's room. I think he was genuinely proud of his computer. He likes to play games on PBS kids, Disney, Noggin, etc. I also hope it will prove useful this fall with some educational/school-related things (wishful thinking on my part probably--math drills don't really compete with Scooby-Doo games). Lane had me keep R downstairs until he got home from his meeting after lunch, then we called him up to his room to show him the surprise:We're shopping for a desk to match his room better, but this works for now:
He also got some fun mail today: a birthday card and money from Mo & Granddad and a package of sports stickers from them, too. He said he was going to buy doughnuts with his money and insisted on storing it in his cash register instead of letting me save it in my wallet. Mom also included Chuck E. Cheese coupons in his card--he and Lane plan to go there next week during spring break.
Tonight we went out for his birthday dinner:

Birthday dessert

Holding up FIVE fingers!

Mmmmmm!
He said he only liked the purple ice cream part, so Alexee gladly volunteered to take the whipped cream and sprinkles.

What a blessing this little boy is to our lives!
-----------------

* P.S. Unless something unexpected happens, today was my last OB visit! He said things were going well and I didn't have to come back to the office next week--he'd just see me at the hospital Thursday morning! He also said he is on call all weekend, so it's nice to know that even if I go into labor on my own this weekend, he will be the one to deliver.

More Birthday Celebration

It has been a busy but fun Sunday. This morning was my last day to serve in the church cafe for a while (probably until this fall when C's a little older and goes to the nursery). I've really enjoyed serving there--it's been a lot of fun, and I've enjoyed all the people I've worked with. I'll miss it for the next few months. I promised Rhett a few weeks ago that he could go with me on my last work day and have a doughnut and hang out there for a little while. He actually stayed the whole time instead of going to his class. He helped me carry boxes of strawberries from the freezer, threw trash away, helped me restock the coffee cups, etc. He was impressed with the walk-in fridge and freezer. I liked having him there with me. The super nice lady in charge of the cafe, Becky, had a gift for Crosby this morning...a really cute book and these little baby booties!
When we got home from church, Alexee wanted me to replace her pink & brown matching bow with these. (This is the look she gives you when you ask her to do something she has no interest in doing):
I went upstairs to get something and came back down to find this on the cover of Crosby's baby book. I guess that's the kind of thing a third child just learns to live with. Maybe he'll appreciate his sister's artwork. :) (Actually, to my surprise, it wiped off with a wet washcloth. I put it safely(?) in the bottom of a drawer for now. I didn't open it up to see if she scribbled on the inside pages, too. I really didn't want to know at that exact moment.)
Lane's parents arrived around 2:00 and spent the afternoon with the kids while Lane and I ran a few errands before an early dinner. We all went to McAlister's and then came back to the house to share R's Scooby-Doo birthday cake.

Grammy & Alexee

Happy Birthday to Rhett!
Thanks for celebrating with us, Grammy & Bobba!

I'm so thankful for this birthday boy!

Last week when I was in Flippin, Mom passed along a gift certificate that she had and told me to go shopping--thanks, Mom! With it I bought these silk tulips (don't they look real!?) and the glass jar on the left along with the lemons inside it. Hobby Lobby was having a sale on greenery and glassware last week, so I added the green vines, two more glass jars and the spring eggs in the jar on the right (I have one more jar to fill--any suggestions?).
Today Lane's Mom brought me these adorable spring bunnies, so I added them to the table arrangement (at least until Alexee discovers them). I just love spring/Easter decorations--they'e so cheerful. Thank you for the sweet gift, Rose Mary!
I'm 37 weeks today (photo not available). We are scheduled to induce on the 26th...ELEVEN days from now! I can't help but think C might decide to come before that. I've never just gone into labor before, so I don't actually know what to watch for or expect, but I just have this feeling that he might. We'll see...please keep us in your prayers!