What's Up Wednesday

Joining Mel, Shay, and Sheaffer today for What's Up Wednesday.

What we're eating this week...
Monday - Due to getting the house ready to put on the market, Eric was doing some lighting updates in the kitchen that took waaaaay longer than expected. With the kitchen breaker off for hours, I couldn't cook. So we ate out, something we hardly ever do on a weeknight.
Tuesday - Skillet Beans & Rice with Kielbasa. And even though it doesn't sound like anything spectacular, it was SO flavorful, quick, and easy. And a big win for the toddler, whose favorite meat is any type of sausage.

Wednesday - We eat at my parents' church tonight.
Thursday- Homemade General Tso's chicken with fried rice
Friday - No idea :)
Saturday - Our town's annual parade/festival is this weekend. So, we will probably grab a bite with family amidst all the festivities.

What I'm reminiscing about...
A good night's sleep. Ha! Grayer still wakes up for 2 feedings at night. And Wells was not feeling great last week (I think he was finishing cutting his 2 year molars), so he kept waking through the night, too. Silly boys. Mama needs some sleep!

What I'm loving...
This Spring weather has got me feeling a bold, pink lip. I am not usually one to go bold, but on a whim, I used Baby Lips Pink Punch this Saturday and really loved the way it looked.

What we've been up to...

Getting the house ready to put on the market. So not fun. 

What I'm dreading...

While I want our house to sell quickly, I am really not looking forward to the showings that will force us to leave the house at a moment's (or few hours) notice. 

What I'm working on...

A certain little guy's 2nd birthday is coming up very soon. Where did the time go??? Anyway, I am chugging away at planning a train-themed party for our big boy.

What I'm excited about...
Looking at houses :) While selling and buying a house is definitely a stressful time, I do LOVE looking at houses. I've been scoping out a ton online but now that our house will be listed, we can actually go and look in person. Yay!

What I'm watching/reading...
I've been reading this devotional and really liking it.

And I just started watching People's Couch online. I had no idea it could be so entertaining to watch people watching TV :)

What I'm listening to...

Lately, my Pandora has been anything from the Boys II Men station to the Brad Paisley station to the Jesus Culture station...and as always, my all-time favorite station - Whitney Houston. #balladsfordays

What I'm wearing...

I am officially back in all of my pre-baby clothes as of the last month or so. Hallelujah!

What I'm doing this weekend...

Our city's annual Stand Up For America Day parade/festival is this weekend. We always enjoy going, and I know Wells will really enjoy the parade in the morning and the fireworks that night. Last year it rained (poured, really) for the first time in the parade's history. Really hoping it stays dry this weekend!

What I'm looking forward to next month...

Getting the house on the market. It should be officially listed next Tuesday.

My favorite Mother's Day gift to give/receive...

It's hard to believe I've only had one Mother's Day on which I've been a mom. Two years ago, I was about to pop with Wells. Last year, I was a mommy of one (and about to find out about another!), and this year, I've got two little babes. Man, how quickly things change! But anyway, last year Eric surprised me with a beautiful, personalized First Mother's Day picture frame with a print of me and Wells in the hospital after his first bath. 

And in the spirit of being a mother...

The best job in the world is being a mama, but I think everyone can relate to having one of those days!!!

Don't forget to join the link-up!

Out of the Mouth of Wells

So, I am starting a new little installment called Out of the Mouth of Wells (once Grayer can talk, I'll change the name!). I always love when people post the funny things their kiddos say, and even though Wells can't have lengthy conversations with us (oh trust me, he's working on it. Chatty Kathy that kid is!), he does say some funny things that I want to look back on one day and remember. The list will get longer as he starts talking even more, and these aren't really that funny (well, they are to us!) but here are some little things that he says right now that I love...

- Apparently when I am making a decision with Wells (like what to have for snack, etc.), I say "Hmmmm....let's see." I didn't even realize that I did that until Wells started saying "Hmmmm...seeeee" all the time. He says it at the right times, too, and it is adorable.

- "Cheet dat" ...we have NO CLUE what this means but Wells says it multiple times a day. It's one of those things that is finally going to click, and we'll be like Ohhhhh that's what he meant. But right now we are at a total loss!

- "Oh no" ...this is by and large his favorite phrase right now. And he says it with such feeling! The other day he was watching The Ugly Duckling, and when the duck was sad, he said it so sympathetically.

- His new talent is imitating snoring. Eric's dad fell asleep when they came to visit, and Wells heard him snoring. Now when we ask him, "What does Papa say?," he responds with a snore and a sigh :)

- For the longest time, Wells would not say "Mom." If you asked him where I was or to go give something to me, he would. He just never called my name. No clue why. When he did say "ma, ma," he was really saying "more, more," as in he wanted more food. Classic Wells. But a couple of months ago, my mom figured out that Wells did have a name for me. One day I was running errands with my mom and the boys and when I got out of the car, Wells yelled after me. He did it a couple times throughout the day, and we discovered that he was calling me "Nah." What in the world? He continues to call me that, and I have no clue when he will switch over to "Mom." Crazy kid.

- Counting. Wells loves numbers. He can count to ten (with little prompting). If he picks up two of something (pacis, blankets, whatever), he will almost always say "twooooo." He used to automatically say "two" if you asked him how many of something he had. But now if you ask, he will start counting out loud and throw out a random number.

- When we say our blessing at meal time, Wells folds his hand and says "Dear Lord" followed by some jabbering and will then repeat "Amen" after an adult says it. I love it.

I can't wait for his vocabulary to expand even more. I know some funny phrases and conversations are ahead (especially when Grayer starts talking and they have their own little talks!). Wells had a string of ear infections earlier this year, so I really think that his hearing was a little off for a while because sometimes his words weren't that enunciated. He has always had a huge vocabulary but the last few months, his new words weren't always recognizable. I think we are in the clear now, though, and I can tell that he is really starting to speak a lot more clearly. In the last few weeks, he has started to talk all of the time. The other day I had to tell him to stop talking and go to sleep while we were riding in the car during nap time. Haha!

Weekending

Linking up with Biana for a little weekend recap.

Eric was off on Friday, and we spent it trying to get the house ready for photographs since we are putting it on the market! So exciting, but so stressful! With two littles, it has proven to be a lot more work than we thought to get it photo-ready. We are nearing the finish line, though! Other than getting things tidied up, it was a pretty low-key day at home. Which was perfect before our busy Saturday!

On Saturday, we made an impromptu trip with my parents to my sister and nephew's school for their annual fun day. Wells got to play games and jump and slide in a bouncy house (which he is obsessed with after a recent trip to an indoor bouncy house place). Daddy had to get in with him since he couldn't quite climb up to the slide by himself. Eric is actually just a big kid at heart, so he didn't mind at all :) Grandma bought the boys some new books at the school's Book Fair, and I was so especially excited to add this one to our collection. We have the Nighttime, Easter, and Fall ones, and I always love getting a new one for each holiday.

After the school festivities, we headed to Oatland Island for a friend's 1st birthday. I took a Benadryl on the way in preparation for the petting zoo! Ha! Wells LOVED petting the bunny and looking at all of the animals.

We left for home after the party and Wells got in a quick 45-minute nap before we left to go to a friend's house for dinner. Eric played disc golf outside with the guys while the girls (and baby Grayer of course) stayed inside chatting. Wells spent most of his time playing with our friends' kids' train table. We are now positive that we have to get him one for his birthday. He LOVED it and was entertained all night. Poor Grayer was not feeling well the whole night. He had a major colic flare-up. I hate seeing little buddy feeling so yucky, and we are hoping that the end of colic is near.

On Sunday, Eric surprised me by making breakfast before the boys got up. And we got to eat at the table with just us! ...Well for most of it. Grayer was ready to be held toward the end of the meal :) We spent the morning at church and then headed to my Granny's house to eat dinner with family. After that, we came home where I tackled some laundry while the boys napped. Eric spent the afternoon doing paint touch-ups on the house. Wells, Grayer, and I went to my parents' church that night because our small group was cancelled for the night. Eric stayed behind to continue painting. We got home and spent some family time together before putting the babies to bed.

All in all, it was a pretty packed weekend. Hopefully this will be the week that we can finish getting the house ready. My mom's birthday is also this week, and Saturday is our city's annual Stand Up For America Day parade and festival. So, we are looking forward to some fun stuff this week, but I hope a little rest is in order, too! ...I won't hold my breath, though!!
    

Grayer is TWO Months!

So, just to be honest, Grayer is actually more like 2.5 months old. Bad mom award :)

I know I usually say something along the lines of "time flies!" or "how has another month gone by?!"...but not this time. Eric and I were just saying that we feel like Grayer has been with us waaaay longer than just 2 months. Feels like he's been here in our little family all along :) And PS - He was not in the picture taking mood. These are all we got :)

Weighs: I have no clue...his 2-month checkup is coming up on Friday (we had to reschedule it since we were out of town last week). He seems to be filling out more, and if I had to guess, I'd say he's about 12 lbs. I'm also curious to see how long he is since he had grown so much at the last appointment.
Sleeps: Grayer is a pretty good sleeper at night. He goes down around 10pm (although I am trying to bump it up a little bit earlier now) and wakes up around 1-2am to eat. Then he will sometimes not eat again until 5 or 6am. So that puts us down to only 2 feedings at night. Sometimes he throws another feed in there just to keep me on my toes :) He has had a stuffy nose the last few nights, so sleep hasn't been as sound or uninterrupted as I had gotten used to...so I am hoping his little nose clears up soon and we can get back to good sleeping! I have to be at work at 8am, so I usually feed him at least a little bit before we leave the house just so he doesn't wake up hungry in the car and scream like a wild banshee!
Eats: Like I said last month, he is not the ravenous eater that Wells was. He still eats about every 2-3 hours. He is much more of a spitter-upper than Wells was, too. We don't ever make it through a day without changing blankets or clothes at least once. I still am not exactly sure how much he eats in one sitting because he's only ever had like 2 or 3 bottles of breastmilk. Since I am only working a couple hours a few days a week, Grayer usually comes with me to my office. So, I am able to feed him during the day. My work is only a minute or so from my mom's house (where Wells is during the day), so if she happens to watch Grayer part of the day, I can just drive over and feed him since it would take the same amount of time to pump.
Wears: Grayer is wearing 0-3 month (although some of them are getting snug) and 3-month clothes. He is in a size 1 diaper...until we finish up the last box left from baby showers. Then we'll be opening the size 2 boxes :)
Plays: Grayer is quite the smiler. If you let him see your face and talk to him, he will usually smile right back. He has been very vocal lately, just cooing and babbling a ton! I have gotten out a couple of his rattles to wave at him - it'll be fun as he starts "playing" with toys like this soon. He has gotten much better at not being held 24/7 in the last week or two. We brought up an old bouncy seat that we used a little bit for Wells. He seems to really like it and will sit in it for a while in the kitchen so I can cook dinner. If he is in the right mood, he will lay on his back and coo and smile for a good amount of time, too. Grayer really likes bath time. He HATED it for the first 3 or 4 weeks, and now he loves it. He just sits there looking so relaxed and enjoying it. He even likes when I scrub his head in an effort to get all that yucky cradle cap off. Grayer is very alert and has really big, attentive eyes. It's fun to see him becoming more aware and interactive as he gets older :) He is so strong, always pushing up and standing with his little legs! Combine that with the rolling over that he started at just a couple of weeks old, and I think he is going to be an early bloomer as far as active/physical milestones go! We'll see.

We love this little guy and are excited to see him grow and develop more as the days pass. Whereas Wells' facial features look like mine and he has my brown eyes, Grayer is really starting to look a lot like Eric to me. And I think that his eyes will will stay blue like Eric's instead of turning to brown. I think the colic (that he had been having many evenings each week) pretty much peaked a couple of weeks ago, and hopefully we are on the other side of it now. He still has some fussy times (I don't know why my children are so gassy as infants!!!), but they have diminished a lot. So, here are to happy days and lots of playing for our sweet Grayer in the next month!

Grayer's Birth Story

Grayer William Hankin
1/28/16 - 1:58am - 8lbs 5oz - 19in 

When I went to the doctor on Tuesday, January 26^th, I was not surprised that I was not at all dilated. Annoyed? Yes. Surprised? No. With Wells, I did not dilate at all until the day he was born. So, here we were, six days before my due date, and no progress. My doctor scheduled my 40-week appointment for the following week but seemed hopeful that I would deliver in the next couple of days.

The following day was a normal Wednesday. I took Wells to my mom and worked my regular half-day. Since Eric was working night-shift that week, he picked Wells up around 11am and took him home to feed him lunch and lay him down for his nap. I got home around 1:15, and Eric and I spent some time together before he went in to work for the afternoon.

Like usual, Wells and I headed to my parents’ church for Wednesday night supper and for Wells to play in the nursery during the service. I felt a few contractions while we were at church, but it didn’t totally register that they were contractions because they felt a little bit different than they had with Wells. They felt lower and more intense. But I assumed that they were just pregnancy pains. After church, Wells and I headed to Eric’s work and dropped off his dinner. On the way home from there, I started to notice the “pains” becoming more regular. Like, every seven minutes. It became clear that these were real contractions, and I was pretty sure that labor was coming soon. I had had Braxton Hicks contractions for more than a week, but I just knew with the increasing regularity that this was the real deal. We got home, and I got Wells ready for bed, read him a book, and laid him down. I started packing my bag (no, it wasn’t ready yet. Haha) and making sure that the baby’s bag and Wells’ overnight bag were both not missing anything. I called Eric and told him that the contractions were getting closer together and more painful. I told him that I would continue to work through them and that when I needed him to come home I would let him know. I truly didn’t know how long labor was going to last and when Eric would really need to come home. I didn’t want to go to the hospital and be sent back home. With Wells, I had a 30+ hour labor (click here for Wells' birth story). We got to the hospital with him with my contractions at 2 minutes apart, and when I was checked, I was still not dilated even a full centimeter. So, I assumed that the same thing could happen this time around, too.

The contractions continued to get closer together and stronger.  I took a short bath to ease the pain and then tried to get ready and make sure all my stuff was together. I called Eric again and told him to leave work. When he got home, he quickly packed his bag (can you tell we were not well-prepared this time around?!) We got Wells loaded into the car and headed to my mom’s house to drop him off. We had to stop and get gas (more unpreparedness!), and I was really feeling bad. The contractions were so intense. Eric took Wells in to my mom when we got to her house at about 12:15am. My mom planned to come to the hospital once we gave her an update after check-in and leave Wells sleeping with my sister (my dad was out of town for work). On the way to the hospital, my contractions were about 2-3 minutes apart and steadily increasing in intensity. 

We got to the emergency room, and it was pretty obvious why I was there. The check-in lady asked if I was about to have a baby, to which I replied, “I hope so!” They got me a wheelchair, and Eric and I waited for about 10 minutes (felt like an eternity) for L&D to come get me. We checked in to L&D at 1:10am. I was checked and was at 4-5 centimeters. We let my mom and my friend Tiffany (who was supposed to take pictures/video) know so that they could head to the hospital. I was happy that I was progressing better/quicker than I had with Wells, but I had no idea how fast I was actually progressing! Each contraction was stronger than the last and took every ounce of strength to get through. I told the nurse I wanted an epidural, and they wheeled me to the delivery room. While laying on the bed, with the contractions coming closer and closer together, I felt a pop and a gush of fluid. I let the nurse know that my water had broken, and she checked me again (just a few minutes after the last exam). I was now at 7-8 centimeters. It was now that I was really grasping how fast this was all happening and progressing!

At this point, the pain was unlike anything I had ever experienced. I had an epidural with Wells at around 4 centimeters since I had had contractions with him for so many hours. This time around, I was at 8 centimeters with no medication…quite a different experience to say the very least! When the anesthesiologist arrived a couple of minutes later, they sat me up to administer the epidural. The nurse was trying to coach me through a contraction and was letting me know the importance of being still for the shot (sit still through a contraction? yeah right!). But before I knew it, I felt the baby drop and the INTENSE pressure to push…which I yelled (not in a mean way, but more in a “Holy Cow!” kind of way) to the nurse! She said later that she knew by my face and voice that I was ready. Sure enough, she checked me and I was at 10 centimeters. No time for an epidural. It was time to push!

They hurriedly called the doctor in, and I asked (okay, screamed) if it was okay to push. The nurse said yes, but I don’t think they were expecting that I was really ready to get that baby out! Because when I pushed, the baby started to crown, and the doctor said, “Whoa, I don’t have my gloves on yet!” The pain was unreal; again, nothing like delivering with an epidural. I could see the fear and sympathy in Eric’s face with each contraction. He had never seen me in such pain (or heard me scream so loudly!!). I only pushed 3 or 4 times overall, and Grayer William Hankin was born at 1:58am, about 45 minutes after checking in at the Labor & Delivery floor. Crazy!

So tired but so happy!

Immediately we heard his little cry and saw his pudgy face and thought he looked and sounded just like Wells had a year and a half earlier. We were in love right away and were completely in shock that he was here so fast! They laid Grayer on my chest, and he nursed for about 45 minutes. He had lots of dark hair and was so handsome. They let my mom and Tiffany in a few minutes later (it all happened so fast that they didn't make it for the birth but arrived a few minutes after he was born), and Grayer was weighed and measured and examined. He weighed 8lbs 5 oz and was 19” long. Even though he was a good size baby, he seemed so tiny! You really do forget how small newborns are until you have another one!

When we got settled in the recovery room that morning and ready to go to sleep at about 5am, Eric prayed over Grayer, something that he did with Wells that I have always held close to my heart. We went to sleep with our hearts full, thankful that God blessed us with another sweet, healthy boy to love.  

Family of four!