Baby Love

Has it really only been 3 months

since this sweet baby boy was born?  

Because I feel like I've loved him 

FOREVER.

Life With Three Kids = BUSY

Originally, I wanted to document how our entire day usually goes, but by the time I got to 11:00am, I was EXHAUSTED just reading about it!  So ... 

Here's a look at our typical summer MORNING:

7:00 Wakeup 

• Landon is our resident early bird and has usually already made his way downstairs, turned on the TV, helped himself to a granola bar, and set out a cocoa packet for me to make him when I get downstairs.  

• Kellen is usually sleeping in bed with me after his EARLY morning feeding.  I just love to snuggle him during that time -- he is so soft and sweet!  And it buys us both a few more hours of sleep. :)

• Tanner makes his way into my bedroom, turns on the TV, and asks to hold Kellen.

• Jon has left the house much earlier in order to hit the gym on the way to work.

• I check my email and the weather while I nurse the baby, then change him and get myself ready for the day.

7:30 Downstairs

• Make breakfast for the kids -- usually pancakes.  Try to avoid syrup ending up all over the bottom level of my house.  Race around the kitchen refilling milks, cutting up more pancakes, pouring more syrup, etc.

• Unload dishwasher

• Start a load of laundry

• Pack a lunch -- we'll probably be eating at a park, pool, etc.  

• Determine what's for dinner.  

• Clean up syrupy mess that has spread across the bottom level of my house.

• Kiss someone's boo-boo.  

• Yell at the boys to stop fighting

8:30 Prep for Morning Outing

• Get kids dressed, brush teeth, etc.

• Pack swim bag

• Pack bag for whatever we're doing afterwards

• Start loading up car

• Remind the boys how lucky they are to have each other.  Plead with them to stop fighting.

• Put Kellen down for a nap (he's a champ, btw -- I can lay him down awake and he puts himself to sleep -- thank you, LORD!!!)

• Kiss someone's boo-boo.

9:30 Time to Go!

• Tell the boys to put their shoes on

• Fill up water bottles

• Threaten boys that we will have to stay home if they don't put their shoes on.

• Transfer Kellen to his carseat

• Pretend to call swim coach and tell her we won't make it

• Boys finally put their shoes on 

• Tell boys to get in their seats in the van.

• Run back inside at least 4 times to gather last minute things that we need.

• Come back outside to find that boys are in the 2 front seats, pretending to drive.

• Put on a show for the neighbors to hear as I yell at my children to GET. IN. THEIR. SEATS!!

• Kiss someone's boo-boo.

• Try to collect myself as I head to Dunkin' Donuts for my Medium Iced Coffee with Coconut, Cream, and Sugar.  Order a 5 ct munchkins for the boys to share as a snack after swim lessons.

10:00  Swimming

• Gather my crew and head into the pool building

• Rush into the teeny tiny locker room with both boys and a stroller, along with 30 other moms/kids, and make my boys go potty.

• Undress big boys and send them into the pool area with cheers and kisses and an earnest reminder to listen to their coach.  Remind Landon NOT to splash coach in the face.

• Sit down, get out my nursing cover, and start feeding Kellen.

• Shock teenage male pool manager along with a few other spectators by escorting T or L to the bathroom to go poopy while I continue to nurse the baby.  

• Chill for a few minutes and watch the boys swim.  Make sure to give Tanner a few thumbs up.  Make a V with 2 fingers, point to my own eyes, then to Landon so he knows I'm watching him.

• Fold big boys into a towel hug and tell them how proud I am as they exit the pool and I try to dry them off.  

• Head back into teeny tiny crowded locker room.  Get kids changed into dry clothes.  Listen to another mom tell me that I have my hands full … that I'm done having kids, right???  Wait … unless I want to try for a girl, right???  

• Tell her with a big smile how much we enjoy having boys and that we don't know if we're done and that if we did have another one, we would most certainly welcome another boy.  Hope that she's doesn't live in my neighborhood and wasn't privy to the scene in the garage earlier that morning.  

Are you tired yet???

Sturdy

It's a good thing...

he's so sturdy ...

because this 2.5 month old ...

is WELL-LOVED ...

by the big boys :)

Has it really been several weeks since my last post?  Time is just flying here.  Today at the park, a neighbor asked me how life was with three.  The only thing that came to mind was "busy."  That's probably an understatement.  Truly, most days I feel like I don't even sit down until after all the kids are in bed, unless I'm nursing the baby ... and even then sometimes I'm walking around -- LOL!!  This last part drives Jon nuts, but a mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do, and when all three kids are in fits, something's gotta give :)

First and foremost ... our littlest man is not so little anymore.  (sniff, sniff)  I just took out our six-month clothes about two weeks ago, and already they are quite snug.  I'm just hoping there are some summer clothes in the 9-month bin, since that will probably be coming out next week :)  Kellen turned two-months old last week and had his check-up this Monday.  He is 24.5 inches long (95th percentile) and 15lbs 8oz, which is way off the charts.  Most of the time I feel like I'm carrying around a 6-month old.  He is the absolute joy of each day for me (and probably my boys, too).  He really is such a sweet sweet baby, all smiles and usually content unless he's hungry, tired, or needs changed.  In the midst of all the whining and tears from my older boys, all I have to do is get a little snuggle from the baby to remind myself why I love being a mom.  Ahhhh .... babies are the BEST, and this baby just MELTS me.

Stealing kisses from Grammy at the zoo

Love him!

Our biggest boy, Tanner, has had an eventful few weeks!  He brought home the stomach flu about two weeks ago and spent 4 days on the couch.  It was the worst!  Poor guy.  I HATE the stomach flu more than any other sickness.  First of all, it makes me sick just wondering if and when the rest of the family is going to get it.  Secondly, we are stuck in the house, trying to keep healthy kids away from sick kids.  And most of all, even though I'm the one who has to clean up all the puke, I'm still the bad guy because I can't let the victim have anything to eat!  UGGGH!  Just when I thought we were done with it, Landon started throwing up.  He's not a very good patient, btw.  He literally lays on the couch SCREAMING all day.  SCREAM.  ING.  It was a long few days with him.

By the grace of God, nobody else got sick.  We were all able to make it to Tanner's preschool graduation last Wednesday evening.  MawMaw even came into town for it!  Even though he'll be back at the same preschool next year for Pre-K, he was still able to go through graduation with the rest of his classmates.  It was pretty adorable.  They all paraded into the gym with little graduation caps, then stood with their classmates and sang a few songs for us.  Tanner had to use the restroom SO BAD, he had both hands on his crotch and pretty much danced through all of the songs.  He waited until they were handing out diplomas to finally tell a teacher that he had to potty.  Thankfully, she ran him out to the bathroom and they made it out just in time for him to receive his.

I was kind of sad knowing that he is saying goodbye to all of his classmates, who will be going on to Kindergarten together, but I know it's all for the best.  Here is a picture of him with his best friend, Scarlet, from school.

How cute are his little ears sticking out from his cap?  

Tanner also started his first soccer league a few weeks ago.  Jon and I literally toasted each other with our coffees as we drove up to the fields the first week.  We were SO excited (probably way more excited than Tanner was).  The beginning of sports with our crew ... so fun!  After the first two games, we're not sure if soccer is really his thing.  He doesn't appear to be having much fun, but we're really trying to encourage him as much as possible and celebrate our Saturdays at the field together as a family.  Grandpa Hall gave us a piece of advice after last week's game (Tanner looked like he was ready to fall asleep on the field).  He said to give him a shot of maple syrup right before next week's game -- he used to do that for all of his boys before their Rocket Football games when they were little.  We'll give it a try!

Despite the huge smile in the picture below, Landon has been going through a little rough patch.  I'm hoping it's just a phase!  He used to be so pleasant to be around.  Now, he is just whining and crying and screaming ALL OF THE TIME I feel like.  My sister reminded me that Tanner went through a similar phase when he was three.  He's trying so hard to be independent, but he gets so frustrated SO quickly!!  One thing that's been really positive for him this week is camp.  I signed him and Tanner up for a three week session with the park district.  It's in the morning for three days/week and he is in class with Tanner.  Miss Lori, our most favorite preschool teacher, is the leader and both boys are really loving it.  They get to pack a lunch each day, do crafts, and play outside.  I get to have a few hours to run errands or be at home with JUST Kellen.  I told my mom on Monday that it was the fastest three hours of my entire life!  LOL!!  

My Terrific/Terrible Three-Year-Old

Ready for the first day of camp ...

With the weather getting nicer out, I'm so excited to have a fun summer with my boys!  Every once in a while, when I'm running through the neighborhood, I see another mom and her three elementary-age boys outside.  The mom looks pretty athletic and they are always shooting hoops, hitting balls, or playing some sort of game together.  I hope that in a few years somebody will run by my house and see the same thing:)  I'm so thankful for my little crew of boys!  Thanking God at the end of every overwhelmingly busy day for those little souls!

Another Picture Update :)

Check out the Chubbs :)

Looking more and more like Tanner's Baby Pics

Typical Kellen:  Passing out in the middle of the playroom while the big boys play around him.  I think I need to record the big boys' voices while they play together ... maybe use it to help get the little guy to sleep at night and nap time :)  

This little man has brought nothing but JOY to our family.  Love him!!

And this guy, too!  I feel like he and Kellen are growing at similar rates right now.  Landon just seems taller and more mature each day.  I'm so in love with his funny and sensitive personality!

My three guys at Easter.  This pictures makes me feel like such a lucky mom!

Truly the best, most gentle, kind-hearted big brother ever.

Sweet Boy

So happy to be outside at the park!

Best buddies licking their fingers as we make Landon's "Poopy Cake" to celebrate the big day :)  Not sure who's more excited -- Landon having done the deed, or Tanner getting an opportunity to eat chocolate cake!

Happenings

I love being a mom to three little ones. To me, the more the merrier. I usually don't feel stressed, I just feel BUSY. Busy dealing with one disaster after another some days. But mostly just busy making more food, cleaning up more messes, wiping more butts, folding more laundry, ... Life is good.

Here's what we've been up to:

1) Landon has now been in underpants for 10 days without an accident. This is HUGE. HUUUGE. We had some serious poopy issues going on. As in ... there was no poopy happening at all. You can skip the details if you want, but I have to document this so I remember :) Last summer, we thought Landon was potty-trained, but he would hold his #2 for days on end in order to keep his underwear clean, and never did end up going on the potty. It was so painful to watch. We decided to just put him back in pull-ups indefinitely and he basically stopped using the potty at all. A few weeks ago, I started trying to really encourage him to go on the potty. He wanted to be wearing underpants, so I let him, but it was one accident after another. The hard part is that I wouldn't notice his pants were wet until long after the accident happened. I would ask him about it and he would always just tell me he cleaned it up, but wouldn't tell me where in the house it happened. UGH!

One morning, after noticing he had wet pants, I told him that we needed to wash his bottom off before we put on new pants.

L: "Why do we need to wash my bottom?"

ME: "Because if the potty stays on your skin, it will really start to itch and burn."

L: "It will burn? There will be fire on my skin?"

T (yelling from the other room): "No, but it will feel like fire!"

That seemed to REALLY get his attention and his eyes got wide. I decided to pounce on it.

ME: "Oh yeah, and if you poop in your pants, that will burn your bottom, too! That's what happens once you turn three. Your poopies start to burn your bottom."

I KNOWWWW ... so mean. But guess what ... it WORKED!!! Thanks to a little MiraLax, he had no other choice but to go in the toilet :)

2) Landon pooped on the potty for the first time last Wednesday. Just minutes after he dropped my iPhone in the toilet. Thankfully, I fished the phone out before the action took place, but still, I had to buy a new phone. I can honestly say it was all worth it, though. :)

3) Kellen is growing exponentially. At his one month appt, he was 11lbs 3 oz and 23 inches long. This little boy is WELL-loved. I can't even tell you how many times I have to say throughout the day, "Back off boys! Give him some room!" It's not uncommon for me to have two big boys climbing all over me trying to get to Kellen while I'm nursing.

The other day, I gave Kellen a bath before breakfast. He smelled so good and was so fresh and squeaky clean. A few minutes after cleaning up the breakfast mess, I went to get him out of his swing and he had a big patch of syrup in his hair -- the result of syrupy kisses from his big brothers, I'm sure.

In fact, he's been getting so much lovin' from the big boys that we had to make a trip back to the doctor this week because the little man was sick. He was inconsolable Sunday night from 6 until about 3 in the morning. I was so sad for him. I thought it was probably a tummy ache, but he did have a goopy eye and a bit of a temp (100.2), so I decided to take him in the next morning. It's a good thing I did. Poor thing has an ear infection, which is a scary thing for a newborn. The doctor was very concerned about meningitis and also that he might become septic, which FREAKED me out. He's on antibiotics now and seems to be doing much better. THANK YOU, GOD!!! I've pretty much been sending up a prayer for him with each breath I take.

BTW ... he weighed in at 12 lbs 10 oz at his sick visit. Yes, that's a pound and a half in just 7 days, folks. LOVING his chubbiness!

4) Tanner was up all night last night with an earache and sore throat. We made another trip to the doctor today (my new home away from home) to confirm that he does have an ear infection. Poor babe -- he had to miss his first bus field trip today, and he was so looking forward to sitting next to Scarlet :) With two sick kiddos, one of them a nursing baby, I'm getting my first real taste of sleepless nights since Kellen's birth. Getting up twice a night to nurse is one thing, but doing that on top of taking care of sick kiddos during the night is quite another. Can't WAIT until Grammy gets here tomorrow night and I can just rest a little!

5) Tanner has started talking about having kids over from school to play. Actually, one day last week, he informed me that Brady was coming over the next day. "Ummm, Honey, in order to have a friend over, I need to talk to their mom first. I'll have to get some phone numbers." So the next day, I go to pick him up from school and he hands me a sheet with a bunch of numbers on it that he says are his friends' phone numbers. The problem is that some had too many numbers, some didn't have enough. It was pretty funny. His teacher laughingly said to me on my way out the door, "I hope you know, you have 4 kids coming over tomorrow!" LOL! It's kind of weird -- because he's my first, all of his playmates are my friends' kids. This is my first experience with inviting kids over from families that I don't really know.

One of the friends that he wants to have over is Josh. Here was our conversation the other day:

Me: "Buddy, what is Josh's last name?"

T: "Oooah."

Me: "What?"

T: "Oooah, Mom!'' "Josh OOAH!"

Joshua. LOL!!!

5) I just booked my first photo shoot of the spring. I'm a little bit excited, a little bit nervous. I was just kind of getting into my groove at the end of the fall, and actually haven't taken a ton of pictures since then. As you can probably imagine, I don't have a lot of extra time on my hands for photo-editing at night. But I do love taking pictures. I'm hoping God will give me exactly what I can handle and nothing more :)

Okay, that's it. I'll work on some more pictures! I guess that's how it is these days -- words in one post, pics in another:) Oh well -- gotta just do what I can when I can :)

Photo Update!!

My Three Sons ... LOVE them!!

Tickets for the birthday boy!! He ended up with about 300 ... which got him some smarties, a straw, and a temporary tattoo! LOL!!!

Watching him for 30 seconds all decked out in his crown, medal, and goggles made the party worth every penny!! Hilarious!

Family pic ... minus the sleeper

So excited to get his own power wheels! Isn't Tanner the BEST big brother??!!

Out for an afternoon walk/drive around the neighborhood

We call him Freaky Fingers because they are so long!!

Big Brother Extraordinaire leading the way!!

My guys with "Cutie Pie Lanier," as they call her

Putting their heads together ... LOVE this pic!!

Sharing in their iPhone addiction

These people are nuts ...

... but I love 'em!!

Worn out

Couldn't quite keep his eyes open watching Tanner and I play Hi-Ho Cherry-O

Brother Love!

My newest ...

My oldest

Love him

SO

MUCH!!

Lovin My Little Man

I've been trying to write a new post for a few days now, but keep getting really overwhelmed when it comes to selecting/editing pictures to include. So ... for right now, I'm just going to write a post without pictures, and someday when I actually get a chance, I'll update with pics :)

The days are flying by here at the Hall House. I'm still scrambling to find that pause button. Every day someone asks me how old the baby is. A week from now I'll have to tell them that he's an entire month old. (Can you hear my tears and sniffling?) As of yesterday, I used our last newborn diaper, and we are now officially on to size 1. Newborn clothes are too small and Kellen is fitting comfortably into 0-3months. The little man even had his first real bath tonight in the baby bath tub. I feel like he's literally growing before my eyes. Each day his cheeks are a little chubbier, his body is a little more filled out.

I'm completely obsessed with this little boy. I just love his tiny little mouth and the way his hair looks like it belongs on a baby chick. He is so soft and squishy and snuggly. And when I least expect it, he totally smiles at me and melts my heart. I can honestly say I've done nothing but ENJOY him, which is one of the reasons this blog hasn't been updated nearly enough lately! I don't have a minute to do anything until the big boys are in bed, and once that happens, all I want to do is snuggle with my littlest guy until I go to sleep.

My first week alone with all the boys went surprisingly well. It's amazing how life just sort of goes on ... even when there's a new member in the family ;) Laundry still needs to be done, meals need to be cooked, groceries need to be bought. The weather was AMAZING ... high 70s and 80s -- we even had the baby pool out at one point ... in MARCH!!! We were able to be out and about and get back into our regular routine. Landon seemed to bounce back to his old self after we reestablished his nap time and bed time.

Last week, my sister, Lauren, and her daughter, Lanier were able to visit with us for a few days. The timing was perfect, as Jon had to go out of town for work and also had school. It was so nice to have her help preparing meals, bathing the kids and putting them to bed, etc. The best part was just having her company throughout the day! We also had Landon's birthday party while she was here. It was a total blast. I knew I wouldn't want to host anything at our house, so we decided several weeks ago to have it at Chuck E. Cheese. Honestly, they did everything for us ... all we had to do was show up with the cake. They made Landon feel SO SPECIAL. One of the things they gave him was an inflatable crown to wear -- he has hardly taken it off since -- he even keeps it on his beside table while he sleeps :)

This week we are back to normal again. Tanner is back at school after being off for spring break. My women's bible study starts back up. Back to playgroup, etc. So far, so good. I know I'm only three weeks into it, but so far, the adjustment to three kids hasn't been nearly as difficult as adjusting to two. Everything just takes a little bit longer and the days go by SO FAST because I'm so busy with everyone. But I love it. And I love them. So. Much.

And I love sleep, which is why I need to get to it. Pictures coming soon, hopefully!

Highs and Lows

5 days old

I can't believe it's already been 9 days since Kellen was born. Is there a pause button somewhere out there that I can press to keep these precious newborn days from flying by so fast? I really want to cry, knowing that he's already growing and changing so fast!

I just love love love having a newborn in the house. He's like this little piece of heaven that I get to smell and hold and love on each day. He's a smiler, for sure. I don't know who ever said that newborns don't smile, but this little boy smiles all the time -- and I know it's not gas.

He's still sleeping most of the day. God is so good to make babies this way, and ease us into mothering a new little life. Can you imagine if babies were born as toddlers?! What a life-changer that would be! As it is right now, things aren't too overwhelming. I can kind of count on Kellen sleeping through the kids' bath/bedtime (hardest part of the day) and try to give T and L as much attention as I can while K is sleeping. Of course, I've had plenty of help with all of that this week ...

If you ask the boys (and me!!) what the best part of this week has been, it would be that Daddy has been home ALL WEEK! I can't even begin to tell you what a gift his help has been to me! For three whole days last week, Jon took the boys out of the house on an "adventure" all day. They had the BEST time, and I got to just savor some quiet moments with my newest love. I felt like I was a mother of one again during those days. It was just me and Kellen ... I SO appreciated the PEACE around here, and just knew the whole time how precious those hours were with JUST him.

Tanner has been smitten with the little guy. He is VERY good with him and loves to hold him several times a day. I'm hoping to introduce an occasional bottle sometime next week, and I think I'll give Tanner the honor of feeding it to him. I can already imagine his delight ... :) He talks baby talk to him ALL DAY LONG and I can tell he is totally in love -- what a good big brother.

Landon has had kind of a hard time. He doesn't really care at all about the baby, which is totally fine. I get it. But his behavior has been so bad. Just so not like him. He also doesn't really want to have anything do to with me, and I think our interactions have been mostly negative all week. I think I've cried about it every day since I brought the baby home. My mom says his behavior probably has a lot more to do with the fact that he's turning 3. He's not a baby anymore. He wants to be independent. I probably agree with this a little. But it still makes me sad.

Tomorrow is Jon's first day back at work. I had kind of a trial run today with all 3 for an extended period of time. Jon had a muster for the Army that he had to report to. (He's still in the Independent Ready Reserves and has to report for a day here and there). But, he was home by 4:30, and by then I was already close to the end of my rope. I'm a little bit nervous for tomorrow, but I'm also looking forward to establishing a routine, getting Landon back on a nap schedule, etc. I'm praying so hard that Landon's attitude will change, and that God will give me huge reserves of patience and kindness for my sweet middle boy.

That being said, I should probably do my part by getting to bed at a decent time and waking up as well-rested as possible. First, though, a few more cuddles with my newest. He's such a little angel-baby. No chance he'll grow into a sassy, stubborn 3-yr-old, right? ;)

Baby Love

We're so excited to announce the birth of our newest love! This little guy entered the world with a bang and has completely stolen our hearts in the last 72 hours!

Kellen Patrick Hall

March 9, 2012

8:06 am

7 lbs, 5 oz

19.5 inches

I still can't believe that he actually arrived on MARCH 9!!! Remember this post, where I told you how I selected that day weeks ago to be the perfect day for his arrival? For some reason, that day had been on my mind for a while. However, after Thursday's doctor's appointment, I was pretty sure that date was out of the question. Oh little Kellen, already working hard to make Mommy happy :)

Want to hear how it all went down? Excuse all of the minute details, but I wanted to make sure they are all there for posterity's sake!

As I wrote Thursday evening's post, I was feeling some random contractions, but nothing regular or painful. I just chalked it up to more Braxton Hicks after a long week of taking care of the kiddos. We hadn't even seen Jon since the previous Sunday. He was at an overnight conference Mon-Wed, then class on Wed night, and a work function on Thursday night. I woke up around 11:30 Thursday evening not really feeling well, but didn't really think I was in labor. At 1:30, I woke up again, this time having real contractions. Jon came to bed soon after and I told him we were probably going to have a baby the next day. Poor guy had a HUGE work meeting Friday morning, but considering the length of my other labors, he thought he might just be able to make it.

I started timing my contractions using a nifty little "Contractions" app on my iPhone. They were pretty regular from the start (4-5 mins apart). I sat in the glider in Kellen's room and tried to just relax as much as possible. I held out until 4am, then decided I should probably call my mom, who was planning to come later that morning, and ask if she could go ahead and start making her way here (2.5 hr drive). At this point, my contractions had been 3-4 min apart for at least an hour. However, I still thought I had lots of time. With Landon, I labored at home for 12 hours, and was still only 3 cm when I finally got to the hospital. I went and laid down in bed for about an hour, and my contractions seemed to slow down a bit.

At 5:30, I got up to start showering and making sure things were in order for the hospital. Things got a lot more intense from there. My contractions seemed a lot closer together and more painful. It took me forever just to get through showering and drying my hair. Jon left for work as soon as my mom arrived around 6:30. By 7:00, I was in a lot of pain, but I still had some things to get together before I could go. The problem was, I could hardly do anything because I was in so much pain. I know what you're thinking right now, "You are a stupid, stupid woman." I fully agree.

I called the doctor around 7:15. By 7:30, we decided that we would go ahead and get the kids in the car. Here was our plan: my mom would take me to the hospital, where I would have the doctor check my progress before I called Jon away from his meeting. Then, she would drop Tanner off at preschool. It was an important day for him and I really didn't want him to have to miss it. It was his show-and-tell day, which means it was also his day to bring a snack, be the weather-watcher, and the calendar helper.

By the time we actually got in the car, I was already starting to wonder if I would make it to the hospital before having the baby! My contractions were only 1-2 minutes apart and extremely intense. I was feeling so much pressure. I've heard people talk before about feeling pressure, but had never really felt it before, so I didn't know that's what it was at the time. To me, it felt like my bladder was going to explode and I was going to wet my pants.

My poor mom. She had no idea how to get to the hospital and had to rely on me for directions. I was trying so hard not to act like a crazy woman in labor because I knew I was already scaring my kids who were in the back seat. The traffic was horrible, and we were stuck behind a school bus most of the way to the hospital. On the way there, I called Jon and yelled into the phone, "If you want to see this baby born, you need to get to the hospital, NOW!! I don't know if I'm going to make it!!" Almost 30 minutes later, we were finally getting close to the hospital. I called the doctor again in a panic and told her I didn't know if I was going to make it and that I would definitely need a wheelchair because there was no way I could make it in the door and up to labor and delivery by myself.

A few minutes later (8:00 am), we pulled up to labor and delivery, where Jon was waiting at the door for me with a wheelchair. They got me up the elevator as fast as they could, and we were met by several nurses who wheeled me into a room right away (8:01 am). I cried all the way up to the unit, and then into my room, where I looked in my doctor's eyes and said, "I really wanted an epidural!!!" The nurses were literally undressing me as they wheeled me in, pulling off my pants and shoes as they took me out of the wheelchair and helped me onto the bed. As soon as I laid down, the doctor checked me and confirmed the head was right there. I couldn't help it, I just had to start pushing right away. My water broke at 8:03. And little Kellen was here at 8:06.

I was a mess. The crazy lady in labor, screaming and crying that I wasn't going to be able to do it. At one point the nurse got right in my face and said "Stop screaming!" Jon looked completely shell-shocked. He told me afterwards that he felt like he was in the middle of a combat operation. Even after giving birth, I was still traumatized for a while. I think I was just so scared by the whole thing ... the drive, no pain meds, etc. This wasn't exactly how I envisioned my labor would go :) I was basically shaking and crying for the first 30 minutes after Kellen was born. I didn't even hold him for an hour or so after he arrived.

Finally, things calmed down a bit. My nurse was awesome and kept reassuring me that I did a great job. I just remember that she kept bringing me really warm blankets to cover up with that felt so good! My mom and the boys were able to come in and visit as soon as visiting hours started at 10am. They boys were so adorable with Kellen. It totally melted my heart to see them check him out and hold him for the first time. Tanner was especially over-the-moon, looking at his newest brother so sweetly. My heart literally wanted to burst.

I do have to say, even though I probably wouldn't have chosen to deliver like I did, the recovery has been amazing. Once I got over the initial shock of the whole thing, I felt great right away. I was up, moving around, snapping pictures of the boys, etc. Our time in the hospital was really fantastic. My nurses were wonderful and took excellent care of Kellen and I. I so enjoyed the peace and quiet and sweet time with my new little man. I can't believe how quickly I've fallen in love again. He is just so new and fresh and soft and smells like heaven. I can't believe that God has blessed me once again with such a perfect little miracle. I know the next few days and weeks will fly by, and soon he's going to be as big as Landon -- who, by the way, was still a baby to me until just a few days ago. I'm already wishing I could just stop time for a little while.

Thanks, everyone, for all of your prayers and well-wishes! We are so thankful to have added another healthy little boy to our family.