Belews Lake

Our last Sunday in Greensboro, we decided to do a bit of exploring...so we packed the kids up and headed north to Belews Lake.

We found this awesome parking lot gravel beach for Tucker to play on and be able to get close to the water.

Not to mention to awesome docks..

There were a million little fish and 2 BIG ones swimming around. He was THRILLED to feed them..and the one duck that eventually wondered over got a tummy full of bread too!

I loved watching his face light up over the fish!

 He was a bit scared of the fish at first (wonder who he gets that fear from..) but eventually Daddy talked him into sticking is toes in...and he loved it!! Until a fish came to close and he would immediately jerk his feet up to safety. Mama's boy <3

 I gotta say...the first time I tried to put her in the Moby wrap was a disaster. But I FREAKING LOVE this thing!!!!!! And as you can see...so does she!! LOVE LOVE LOVE the Moby!

 And...to end the lake trip...all little boys love to throw rocks :)

 LOVE this sweet sweet little boy!! His smile is contagious!

And to finish of Sunday afternoon...a trip to the park!

He thought this little car was awesome!

 Once again..love this thing!

And both kids were out for the count!

She sleeps just like her brother when she's not swaddled...hands behind the head  :)

 Out cold!

 

So all in all...the last week we spent in GSO was pretty awesome :)

Best Big Brother Ever!

Tucker is seriously a WONDERFUL big brother! He never gets jealous, he loves to love on her, he helps with EVERYTHING, he is very observant of her needs...he is just wonderful with her!!

He loved her from the first time he saw her. "Baby Rylie mine!"

He is such a good brother!

:)

best hand holder ever!

helping to feed her

holds her hand if she whimpers during tummy time! he comforts her :)

sweet sweet boy

Tucker has been amazing! I couldn't be more impressed or prouder of him!!

Mother's Day 2011

My boys and baby girl treated me to an awesome Mother's Day!!

It started with a bit of a sleep in (only so much sleeping in can be done when you are nursing a 6 day old baby!) then Zeke drove us to Lexington...BBQ capital!

And of course...Tucker and I got chicken tenders :-) As always.

Then off to the lake for the afternoon!!

Tucker had the BEST time watching boats being put in and out at the docks and speeding across the water. And of course...what little boy doesn't enjoy throwing rocks in!? And hitting the water with big sticks!?

And happy babies always makes a happy mama.

It was a wonderful Mother's Day.

So glad I got to enjoy it with BOTH kids and the hubs!



So lucky to be the mama of these two :)

Rylie's Birth Story

Gotta write this while it's still pretty fresh in my mind!

Rylie Grace

We woke up Sunday (May 1) and after some fresh cinnamon rolls for everyone in bed, we decided to take Tucker to see the baby ducks at the Bog Garden (total bust btw..there was only one! But a ton of big ducks and geese.)

I was feeling crampy the whole morning but knew it wasn't REAL labor. Shortly after we got home from the Bog Garden, I started having regular contractions..about 4 minutes apart, but not intense or very painful. So while Tucker napped and Daddy played Mario, I went walking. When I got back from walking, I noticed I was bleeding so after talking to the midwife, I went to the hospital to be checked, just in case. After an hour on the monitors, they sent me home in "early" labor...still 2 cm.

I cooked dinner, cleaned up and after Tucker's shower, I took one myself. Just as I was stepping out of the shower, my water broke! (about 7 pm)
So I read Tucker some bedtime stories, we put him in bed for the night. I drove myself to the hospital while Zeke stayed at home until some friends go there to sit with Tucker until my mom got there.
I was still only 2 cms.

Contractions were 2-3 minutes apart but still not too intense or painful...and at about 4:30 am, I agreed to start Pitocin. So by 4:45 the pit drip had started and things were picking up. INTENSE and HORRIBLE back labor!!!!!!!!!! All the pain tolerance methods, research, etc went out the window and by 11ish, I was crying and begging for the epidural! Something I swore I'd never do! But soooooooooooo thankful that I did! Two doctors came in and started to prep me for it. The girl doctor started doing her thing and then she started asking a million questions about how and what she was doing. Turns out...the girl doing my epidural was a STUDENT and the other guy was the real doctor. If I wouldn't of been in so much pain, I would of flipped out! But she did a perfect job and I was numb within minutes. Another internal right after proved I was only at 3 cm.........

At 12, my midwife checked me again. 6 cm!!!!!!!!!!!!! At 12:30, I was feeling a ton of pressure and felt like I needed to push. And I was right...I was at ten and she was coming!!

I started pushing at 12:48 and one and half pushes later..

 Rylie was born at 12:51 pm. 6 pounds 12 ounces 20 inches.

 About 15 minutes old. I was holding her the first 15 minutes after her birth!!

And my boy is an AMAZING big brother to his baby sister!!

After she was born, they had a really hard time delivering the placenta and pretty much had to go in and get it. Glad I was numb for that!! However, that caused me to bleed too much and I had to remain on the pitocin drip for 12 hours after birth to control the bleeding.

This is NOT how I had planned her ideal birth, but I can't imagine it any other way. She is 100% healthy despite being 3 weeks early. And if we have any more..you better believe I'm getting the epidural..it was awesome!!

I love love love being a mommy. I have two perfectly healthy children that are the biggest sweethearts ever. I couldn't ask for more <3

One MORE last trip..or 2...

We took Tucker to the Asheboro Zoo as his one last big only child day with mommy and daddy....

Then the next weekend we were bored to death! So off we went on one more adventure. Or two..

Saturday we took off to Linville Caverns. BEAUTIFUL drive. Tucker was a great boy in the car. However...in the caverns was a different story. Talk about living up to his nickname, MONSTER!!!! He yelled to hear the echos, he wanted to run ahead, touch everything, kick, scream,....well you get the point. He just thought it was allllll fun. NOT. The second we were out...he was back to his wonderful little self. So we spent awhile at the river..dipping toes in, throwing rocks, relaxing. Finished the day off with a wonderful drive thru Boone on the way home. Not counting the actual caverns, we had a wonderful day!

 

Then Sunday we decided to go to the Bog Gardens to see and feed the baby ducks. This boy sure does LOVE ducks!!!!

Thank goodness we went to the Bog Garden BEFORE nap!!