Colt William Tison

We welcomed our sweet son, Colt William, on Monday, Feb. 27. I had a feeling earlier in the month that he might be a February baby, but as the month began to dwindle, I have doubts. The Friday before he was born, I came home from work and was having contractions. After a few hours, I decided to walk around the house to see if they would stop or intensify. They stopped and I was so relieved. I was just too tired to think about labor at that point!

The next day, I took it easy and just stayed at home. I had no contractions that day, so on Sunday, I decided to go grocery shopping for a little stock-up just in case it was my last chance. I had contractions while in Meijer, but nothing too major. I came home and thought about taking a nap, but decided I needed to clean the house before we went out to dinner that night. 

We went to JR's in Brooklyn to celebrate Travis and Chad's birthdays and then everyone came over to our house for cake and ice cream. We went to bed later than we wanted, but it was a nice evening. Around 2:30 a.m., I woke up to use the bathroom (this had become routine in later weeks of my pregnancy). I thought I had had an accident, so I was prepping to put on some new cloths, but when I stood up, a gush came out. I knew it was my water! 

I woke up Denny right away because I knew I was already dilated 3 centimeters and I didn't want to chance anything. I took a quick shower and as soon as Debbie got to the house, we took off. We got to the hospital around 4 a.m., they started pitocin around 8 because I wasn't progressing at all ...that is how the day continued ... every 30-60 minutes, they increased the pitocin. I didn't dilate any more until around 4 p.m. ... it was a long wait, but once things happened, it was fast!

I asked for an epidural and got it around 7:45 p.m., within minutes I felt like I had to push, so the nurse checked and said I was ready ... she got everyone in the room (Denny wasn't even back yet after they kicked him out for the epidural). I pushed for 10-15 minutes and he was born! I never even got to feel the best of the epidural ... oh well! :) I certainly can't complain because I wasn't in pain until around 4:30 p.m. ... so really it was a pretty fast labor in the end!

 

He weighed 7 pounds, 14 oz, and wad 21 ½ inches long … and everyone who looks at him comments on how big his feet are! I think he looks a lot like Emma did as a newborn minus the dark eye brows and eyelashes … maybe he will be more of a blondie!

Emma loves Colt! She keeps trying to play with him and loves to gently rub his head. As soon as she got to the hospital, she had to hold him. I am so proud of how well she is doing!

Colt shares a birthday with his Uncle Chad (Denny’s brother) and Uncle Jeremy (my brother). Oh, and I stayed true to my word and let Denny pick the name - Colt William! It has really grown on me and fits our sweet boy so well. We came home Wednesday and are doing well.

Emma's half birthday

Today Emma turns two and a half! We don't technically celebrate half birthdays, but maybe we should? I can't believe how the time has flown. She blows me away even though lately she has figured out how to push my buttons so easily. I am hoping that is more of an issue I am having with "no patience" during this pregnancy. It could also be that she is so smart. Even though I am her own mother, sometimes I forget that she is still so, so young. Yesterday, I had to keep reminding myself, "She is only two! She is only two!"

Lately, the biggest news for Emma is that she has been sleeping in her own room, alone. For the longest time, she would only sleep in there if Denny or I laid down with her ... then she got super clingy to just me. As this pregnancy has progressed, it has become more difficult for me to stay in bed, so Denny took charge and established a great bedtime routine for her. Sleep has always been an area where Emma has wanted to be touching me or in a tight space, so this is a big deal.

Another cute fact about Emma is that she has become super attached to a stuffed monkey - it's actually one that Aunt Alicia bought her at a garage sale this summer. She insisted on taking it shopping today, and she refused to leave him in the car. I was not in any type of mood to fight, so we brought him in to both Target and Meijer. To my surprise, Emma took great care of him the entire time. Right now, she is snuggled up with him sleeping.

Developmentally, I believe Emma is doing great! I don't know what milestones she should be reaching (I know, for shame!), but I know that her daycare providers are amazed by her progress in sign language and in identifying names. When I picked her up one day last week, they told me she grabbed a balloon (all the kids received heart-shaped balloons for Valentine's Day with their names on them), and said, "This isn't mine, it's Olivia's." She then did the same with Lilly's ... so maybe she is good at recongnizing letters or has a good memory! She can also count into the 20s and sing the entire alphabet song (along with many, many songs).

I wish I had a better report for potty training. The truth is, sometimes she does great and sometimes she doesn't. Just like the sleeping issue, I am trying to be patient to let her get it down on her own time. It's not easy when I think she has the skills and knowledge, but I know she will get it when she is ready.

Any day now, Emma will become a big sister, and any doubt that existed about her handling it well has completely vanished. She is excited and loves talking about brother and giving him kisses. I can't wait to see her with him.

She is still the greatest joy in our lives! Happy Half Birthday, Emma Claire!

Christmas 2011

Christmas was great! We were able to go to Indiana the weekend before Christmas to visit with my parents and attend the Maenhout family Christmas. Emma, of course, acted very shy at first, but then she came to life and had fun playing with second cousins. It was nice to see family we don't see very often.

For Christmas, my parents came up to Michigan. We celebrated with them on the Friday before since that worked best for Jeremy, but they stayed until Christmas morning. We were able to lounge around a lot, make cookies for Santa, attend mass and then watch Emma open presents on Christmas morning.

After my parents left, we headed to Debbie's for Christmas with her. We ended the day at Dennis' house. It was a busy, but great holiday. The two days following, I didn't leave the house!





Emma got a ton of pajamas - lots of Dora. She also got her first train set, a Rapunzel doll, dress-up clothes and shoes, puzzles, books, an art easel and I'm sure more that I am forgetting.

It was a wonderful holiday and the week afterward was also great! We did a lot of relaxing, but I also accomplished a few goals I wanted to accomplish before Baby Brother comes. I even took Emma to the treehouse for the first time. That was quite the experience! I was a nervous wreck watching all of the much bigger kids zoom down the slides and run full speed, but we survived and Emma enjoyed it!

Happy Halloween!

Emma was Dorothy this year! She had the red shoes and all. I was even able to bread her hair and put in blue ribbons. My favorite part? I purchased the costume two summers ago at a garage sale for $2 (I think). It came with the red shoes. I already owned that basket and the blue ribbon was left over from our wedding.

I was able to go to Emma's Halloween party at daycare. It was adorable and a little exhausting, but she said she was happy I was there. Last night we visited Papa's house and then went around one block in Addison. We ended the night at home watching Casper and Debbie came over to give Emma one final goodie bag.

Sweet Emma

I was just thinking about how I haven't written much about my Emma in ages. How is that even possible? She is my life! Denny's mom kept her overnight for us earlier this month and it seemed like the longest night of my life. I just wanted her back! Ha!

Talking
She is talking in full sentences and often says phrases that we don't say regularly ... I think that just shows us that she picks things up quickly. She also will sing parts of songs with us. I try to sing silly songs I remember from childhood, but Denny told me that she will also sing Incubus songs with him.

Potty training
She will still go on the potty, but her excitement is not there anymore. I am hoping to dedicate this weekend to encouraging her more. I certainly don't want to push her, but I think she is ready. I'm looking for the right time to give her the encouragement she needs without pushing her too soon.

Puzzles and books
She loves puzzles! She only has two wooden ones and they aren't challenging in the least anymore. We will probably be purchasing a few for Christmas. As far as books go, she is letting me read her longer books like Berenstein Bears ... we both love it! Her favorite book right now is "Dora's Perfect Pumpkin." She knows parts of the story and loves to say it with me. It's so much fun to read to her ... my favorite part of the day is laying in bed with her at night and reading.

Pretend
For a long time, Emma has loved playing with her dolls and her food, kitchen, etc. Last night, she told us she was a puppy. She crawled around, asked us for bones and all. Again, I have no idea where she picked it up, but it was so adorable.

On becoming a big sister
I think Emma is going to be such a great sister. Last night she was sitting next to me on the couch and she kept kissing and "face hugging" my belly and saying, "baby brother." I'm sure there might be some jealously issues and whatnot, but she is such an affectionate little girl and I just know she will do great.

Helping
This little lady loves to help with dishes and wiping down counters, tables, etc. It is so adorable. I really hope this continues into her older years. A little help now and then would be amazing!

I'm sure there is more I should document, but I can't think of more right now.

Weekend plans

Our weekends are usually quite packed. I often get together with my sister or try to catch up on cleaning, grocery shopping, etc. This weekend my sister is out of town and part of the house is halfway clean. Denny and I found ourselves wondering what we would do. He will probably try to go hunting weather-permitting, but he came up with a great plan this morning that I hope to add to: let's make a turkey! Love it!

Other tasks I would like to accomplish:

• Carve a pumpkin with Emma
• Make an apple pie from scratch
• Build a fort with Emma
• Encourage her to use the potty more
• Start organizing the house for Thanksgiving company and baby boy

I have to admit that this might not sound like a lot of fun, but I am super excited for this weekend! The best part--I can choose to do all or none of it ... these are just some options. I'm really looking forward to a relaxing weekend with our cozy little family!

22 weeks

I have been meaning to update this blog for so long. My pregnancy is going well even though I have been having these unrealistic nightmares about having complications for some reason. With that said, I am thankful for each day, which is never a bad thing! Today I am 22 weeks pregnant and truly feeling pretty good. Of course, I am writing this post at 3:19 a.m. because I can't sleep right now, but I haven't had a ton of these nights, so I am just rolling with it. I got some homework done and at least I am being productive even if it's not by getting my much-needed sleep.

On to the exciting stuff! I had an ultrasound on Oct. 7. And we found out that my instincts were dead on again - we're having a BOY! I am so excited, but I honestly can't imagine that my excitement would have been any different had I found out it was a girl. I think I'm just happy that I get to know a little more about this sweet little baby who is squirming around in my stomach.

At the ultrasound, the baby kept moving his arm up and down, so we would see it move in and out of the picture. It was so amazing! Everything checked out fine with my appointment as well. The midwife actually told me to take half a Tylenol PM if I can't sleep ... the problem is that I never remember to actually pick up the pills when I am at the store ... I only remember in the wee hours of night. Oh well! I will actually write in on my next shopping list ... if I remember!

Everyone has two questions for us: What are we naming this baby and will we be done after this one. The first I expected, the second question is totally throwing me off. I have no idea! I haven't even delivered this baby and people actually expect me to have my mind made up about whether or not we will have another. That's just crazy! Ha!

As for the name, Denny likes Colt ... I'm not sold on the name, but he did let me name Emma. A part of me just wants to say, you can name this baby - your turn. The thought of making this difficult decision is making me nervous ... so mostly, I try not to think of it!

Okay, that's all I think of right now. I will try to be better about documetning this pregnancy and my life! This is my 20 week belly picture.