napping

yummy sleeping baby photo alert! theodore is swaddled in the wrap that i was wearing him in when twilight took over.

he is still so cute

i think its cute how meredith still just adores her little brother. you can see it in her eyes as she peers over him at the changing station. she will point out how cute he is and how small his little hands are. the funny thing is how she will continue to watch me change his diaper despite her gagging when its a poopy one! she is just mesmerized....... and proud.

cousins visit

today we had aunt kerry, uncle joel, jake and katie over to meet theodore and play! meredith loved showing off her baby and having fun. lots of cuddles today!

2 weeks old

how amazing it is to reach a thursday and learn that my children are already a week older.

here's pics of the kids in their big sister and lil brother shirts! meredith just asks all of the time to hold her baby brother. she says his name beautifully and loves to touch and hold him like her very own doll!

nana had fun reading to meredith in disguise! she is wearing a fun wig that papa wore! she thinks it is funny too, but when its time to read she is serious. i think she looks like a little einstein in the photos.... our little genius right?

we also took photos of theodore in his super baby onesie to grow into over the next 2 years and a few of him in a light blue outfit that daddy wore as a baby! those cute shoes and feet just rock! have fun trying to fill your own shoes theodore!

tummy time

i'm almost 2 weeks old and mommy has me trying out tummy time. its no big deal. i'd rather be cuddled and naked in the sun though.....

check out my cloth diaper! mom and dad are old fashioned cloth diaper fans and i think they are pretty soft and better engineered than those new fangled paper diapers.... he he

first time outdoors

its so beautiful out that we took the kids outdoors.... theodore was snuggled close to mommy

potty time

got pee pee?? look what our big sister knows how to do!

bug shirt

hey, i'm up! let's play and check things out! mom dressed me in a bug shirt today. she says that bugs are cool, and so does big sister.

lil man

our theodore is alert and loves to look up and out to the world

just like daddy

here is my big man and my lil man all snuggly!

more of today

here are more photos from today. we had fun playing meredith's fishing game for the first time! thanx nana and papa for a fun way to introduce fishing!

family photo

here is a new family photo.... i should have put my overalls on like the rest of the family.

knows to nurse

some more photos of our little artist and these ones of theodore show his awesome head control and knowledge about nursing already! just adorable!

the nap

a cute little nap!
our little theodore is one week old today!

holding

babywearing

here i am snuggling theodore in one of our favorite woven baby wraps. theodore loves to nurse and sleep while snuggled close like this...... and it comes in handy as well as feeling amazing for me too! yummm! look out for more babywearing to come! meredith still loves to be worn too and i look forward to giving her 'rides' soon tooooo

i'm growing

today was theodore's first visit to the doctors and he got an A+

theodore's healthy appetite for momma's milk is helping him to gain weight, get taller, and ward off jaundice! we are still going to keep up his daily sunshine baths to keep his jaundice on the low side and snuggle and love him as much as we can while he is still a 'little man!'

happy mother's day!

ahhhh mother's day is here and i have two beautiful children to love and watch grow. just a few short days ago i thought i might stillllll be pregnant today. i loved being pregnant and was feeling pretty good physically but mentally i was wondering about all of the 'what ifs' that were making him wait for his time. and so today i thank him for coming and i praise God for having a healthy family.

day two

today was a big day for theodore! he got to meet grandpa and uncle mike and miss shannon! he also got to give meredith a special big sister present of dress up accessories!

meredith was excited about putting balloons up at the mailbox and celebrating with family. she seems to 'share' her baby just fine and it is cute to hear her say his name so delicately. yesterday she was still saying some of our 'practice' names for theodore....... and today it seems that theodore is defintely the perfect name for him in her mind tooooo.

one day old

lots of snuggling and holding our little son! today we officially named him theodore michael and brought him home.

proud big sister

here are more bithday pictures! nana and grandma brought proud big sister meredith up to the hospital to meet theodore just a few hours after he was born. from the moment she heard that today her baby brother was born, she was excited! today is a day for celebrating, and she clapped and was overjoyed with "yay's!" and wanting to hold him and kiss him...........love love love

we enjoyed our 'recovery' room in the special alternative birth center within the hospital. an added bonus was a healing herbal bath(that is why the water is a different color) for theodore and i in the big whirlpool tub in the room. he wasn't such a big fan of the water.... until he got to nurse in the water :)

happy birthday!

we are proud to welcome the birth of our son theodore michael!!
he is a handsome 8lbs 5 oz and 20.5 inches long

we waited patiently for 41 weeks and 5 days for his official entrance into this world. he has melted our hearts already.

the birth was beautiful and spiritual. we are all healthy and doing well. we were able to labor naturally without medications and felt supported by our midwife, nurse, and especially our doula. we really can't say enough positive things about having the kind of support that we had :)

here are photos that our doula toni took just minutes after the birth.... i hope to get a few minutes here and there to post more photos sooon!!!

special birth items

just wanted to share some special items that will bring me comfort during the upcoming birth. here is the beautiful neclace made out of the beads given to me during my mother's blessingway. each wonderful bead in the neclace was given by a special woman and mother (or future mother) with a specific blessing and well wish for theodore's birth. the orange fabric and signs are all ready for being used as decoration in the labor room at the hospital. i have our suitcases packed with all of the other goodies..... that i have packed and unpacked now at least a half dozen times!....

it is exciting to have planned to decorate the labor room and myself with special calming and empowering items. i also plan to have special calming music, dim lights, special clothes to wear instead of the typical hospital gown, and my own birth ball. i'm looking forward to enjoying (yes, enjoying!) some of the special techiniques that my doula has up her sleeve too..... like massage, fragrant scents/aromas, cranio sacral therapy, and positioning support....

okay baby!

just hanging in there

i was only pregnant for 38 weeks with meredith when my water broke and we got to meet her. and so it is no wonder that i'm an anxious momma at 39weeks and 4 days tonight. i can't wait to update the blog with snuggly newborn pictures!

mother's blessingway

today my friends threw me a mother's blessingway to celebrate this pregnancy and the birth. it was a wonderful way to bring family and friends together (on short notice too!) and have a wonderful afternoon filled with positivity and motherhood.

some of the special highlights from today:
sage smudging (sage was burned to purify the space)
sharing of blessings, prayers, and beads (for a neclace to be worn at birth)
a momma foot bath and massage
a red cord binding around our wrists to wear until the baby is born
and making birth art with clay

thank you everyone who was able to be there in person or in spirit! it was a wonderful time! and i'm so glad that the baby didn't come too soon and have me cancel the party....... awesome!

playground

we took the grandmas to the playground today for a special treat. these glimpses of sun and warm spring weather are heaven sent. even the baby in my belly enjoyed the warm sun... and the break from being indoors snuggling with baby clothes and itty bitty socks and the smallest and softest cloth diapers......

happy easter

wow the easter bunny came to our house and meredith got to eat candy! jelly beans and a tasty chocolate easter bunny were favorites, as well as fun with family today. i missed quite a few fun photo opportunities because i was busy being a pregnant momma and napping (blush) or eating (blush)

decorating eggs

we finally get to decorate easter eggs! this is a treasured activity from my childhood and meredith seems to join right in! she kept wanting to make the eggs 'kiss' and crack them...... she is going to have so much fun tomorrow

the little wrap

meredith and i have been wearing our baby dolls in our wraps lately to practice for when our baby is born. isn't she just the cutest little momma in her own sized wrap? baby doll maria was so content and loved.

cousins

we had some fun with cousins jake and katie today.... the kids are almost too fast to capture on camera