Do I really look like that?

Well, life around here is definitely different with 2 little ones!
Brady looked at me the other day and said "Mom, why does your face look like this?"

I guess I have not been getting very much sleep and my face is still kind of puffy from the surgery and my blood pressure issues but I didn't know I looked that bad that Brady would make a funny face. My Mom snapped this picture trying to ask him again what my face looked like and this one looks more sad than droopy-which is what he was trying to do! Oh well, sleep is overrated!

Collin is here!

So I guess my body has decided that even a planned c-section was not going to be as planned! At my last Dr. appointment on Thursday, my blood pressure was kind of high. My feet and legs had been swelling for weeks, and even my face was starting to look puffy. So my Dr. asked me how I would feel about having the baby that day! For someone who is 38 weeks pregnant, the possibility of getting this thing done and over with actually sounds pretty good! It took us by a little bit of a surprise since I was scheduled for Monday already, but she felt it was the best option so I didn't get worse over the weekend and cause even more complications.

So she scheduled us for 6 pm that evening and gave us about 5 hours to get some things in order before having to return to the hospital. I made some phone calls and re-arranged who would be taking care of Brady while we were in the hospital, did a load of laundry to have some clothes for me and for Brady to pack our bags, gathered up all the last minute things and I did the most important thing of all-went and got a pedicure! :) I had been planning to get one that weekend before having the baby anyway so I decided that with my other short list of things I wanted to do that afternoon, I needed to keep that on the list. I am so glad that I did too because I was feeling a bit scatter-brained and a little anxious about everything and the pedicure actually relaxed me and gave me an hour to sit and clear my head (and catch up on People Magazine!). I know, I'm totally vain for wanting my toes to look pretty but I don't care!

Right before heading to the hospital-last picture with Baby inside!

We dropped Brady off, headed to the hospital and they got everything going. After being there for about 2 hours, it was time for the actual birth. My other Dr. that was doing the c-section asked if we had a name picked out and I told him I thought we had until Monday so we didn't have anything for sure yet! The surgery went great, I was surprisingly calm and the spinal they gave me worked great. This time (since it wasn't an emergency c-section like with Brady) they took their time and we were all chit-chatting and such as the surgery was going on. When they pulled him out, he started crying and didn't stop even after they took him in the hallway to weigh him, check him out, etc. I did get a quick peek after that and Aaron got a cute picture of us together.

Collin Steven Gray was born August 19 @ 6:34 pm weighing 6 lbs 4 oz and 18 1/2 inches long. He's such a little peanut!

He looks so much like Brady did as a baby. The nose is a little different and the shape of his face a little different but otherwise, pretty much a little mini-Brady.

And speaking of Brady, he's the one who helped us finally decide the name Collin. It was one of the names that we had been talking about but Aaron asked Brady before we went to the hospital what the baby's name should be and he said Collin. So big brother helped name little brother! See the next post for pics of them together!

As I was preparing to go to the hospital at home, I was thinking that when we get back we will have 2 little ones at home. It's no longer just Brady that we have to care for, worry about and love. Now in everything we have to consider how it will affect "the kids". Life has been great having Brady around but now we will have another special little guy to make our life that much sweeter! How we love him so much already and just a few short days ago, our family was happy and we didn't even know we were missing out on loving this special little boy!

Brothers

I can already tell that these 2 brothers are going to be good friends....that is if Collin doesn't mind Brady being up in his business 24/7! He really has been so good with him and good with helping out. When Aaron brought him to the hospital the first day, he came in looking around and almost couldn't believe his eyes that he was actually there. When he finally got used to the idea, he has been so affectionate and so cute with him ever since. He always wants to hold him or touch him or just keep saying "hi Collin" or "I love Collin."

I think this picture pretty much describes their relationship so far!! :)

And like always, our little comic relief!

He asked me what these were and I said they were nipples that go on a bottle to feed a baby. The next thing I see is him holding these up on himself and laughing. It made us laugh as well and then I wondered how the heck he made that connection. I had explained before how Mommies have a special way of feeding their babies but as always this kid surprises me with his knowledge of things!

Then he got to help feed the baby too!

It's going to be so fun having these 2 brothers around and see how they will grow up.

Quick video

It is so hard to get pictures of a newborn with their eyes open! I took this short video in the hospital the other day when it was just the 2 of us and he was wide awake! No one was around to see it but we had a good time together!

Baby projects

So not too much going on here right at the moment......just doing last minute things and waiting for Baby Brother. In the last couple weeks, I have had a list of projects I wanted to get done. Several of these included sewing projects for the baby so I knew I needed to get on it and get them done before I had him. I haven't had much to get ready for the baby's room since we are moving in 2 months, I am not doing his room until after we move. So I had to get crafty and do some other projects instead. These are some of what I have been working on:

Nursing Cover Up (Hooter Hider, Udder Cover, etc...)

Turned out super cute I think!

A car seat canopy - cute brown, green, blue strips on the outside and brown and white design on the inside.

And of course, ever since we got this car seat back out of the attic....guess who wants to pretend to be a baby? He's goo-gooing and ga-gaing right now as I am typing this. Funny kid! And here is the cutest little baby thing of all................I did not make this one!!!!

A friend of mine makes the cutest little denim/bandanna bibs as baby gifts (I got one from her when Brady was born). A while back, Aaron had given her son some old camo clothes and flight suits to dress up in. She took some of that material as well as the little ribbons and buckles and the name tag and made this cute bib for the new baby Gray. Isn't it the cutest thing???? So creative! I have these types of things laying around my house and I never in a million years would have come up with something like this! Thanks Emily!

Little buddies

I realized in my last post I should be calling my toes "big fat piggies" instead of my "little piggies" because that's what they really are! Oh well, not much time left!

Anyway, last week we had Tolson spend the night at our house while Wendy was at the hospital with new baby sister! These 2 little buddies are so funny and cute together. They played all day and tried to play all night instead of going to bed! But really they have so much fun. Here they are brushing their teeth before bed. I just couldn't resist when I walked by the bathroom and saw them both in the mirror next to each other!

It's going to be so hard when we move away from here. I think Brady is just starting to understand that we will be leaving and our friends aren't coming with us. It makes me sad thinking about it too. We have really made some wonderful friends here. I wish I could take everyone with us! But we still have a couple months left here and we are going to enjoy spending that time with everyone before we leave. It's too bad this whole "having a baby" thing is going to get in the way of that a little bit! :)

By the way, it's less than 2 weeks now! Yikes! It seems like it's going to be a whirlwind of events once the baby comes, having family come visit and trying to get ready to leave after that and worrying about trying to sell our house. (By the way, anyone want to buy a house???) Hopefully by then my brain will be back to normal. I've been having some serious issues with trying to remember what I am doing or saying lately! I would give you an example but I've already forgotten all the things I've forgotten!

So the countdown goes on and so does my ditsiness......... (is that even a word??)

My little piggies.....

So I'm not trying to complain about pregnancy, but instead trying to laugh at the things women go through to bring a baby into this world! Men can sympathize all they want but seriously have no idea!!

Cankles......that's right I have cankles now! My poor feet have swollen up and have not gone back down. Does this picture gross you out? Cause it grosses me out! The joys of a hot summer pregnancy! The only help in relieving this a little bit is to lay down with my feet propped up. Ok, who has time for that? There is so much more to be done in the next 3 weeks and I have no time to lay around with my feet up....although that would be rather nice! :)

Last week at church I was wearing shoes that have straps across them and I could barely still fit into them. So much so that they looked like a tied up Honey Baked Ham! This last Sunday I ended up wearing some nicer looking flip flops because they were the only shoes I could get my feet into! Oh well, not much longer!