Happenings this past week

We brought Hallie home on Monday morning around 11am!  It was wonderful to be home.  Ben's mom brought Chance home around lunchtime and he was so excited that we were home.  He seems to really like as he refers to her "baby sister."  He has even given her a few kisses.  He enjoys seeing her in the morning and saying good night.  It has been fun to see him with her.

My parents came in that evening and my dad left on Wednesday and mom will leave tomorrow.  It has been a busy week!  I definitely think this time around is much easier than when we brought Chance home which seems funny to say.  I feel better than I did with him, not as tired through the night, and making the transition to 2 kids is easier than 0 to 1 for sure!

Hallie is doing well.  In one week she reached her birth weight again.  She is of course a great sleeper throughout the day and usually has once "episode" at night where it takes her a while to settle back down.  We did have a very scary moment on Thursday evening.  She had a chocking episode in the hospital with mucous and we thought it had resolved itself (as they said newborns do in the first 24 hours).  Well not the case.  She was really struggling to breathe and we could not clear the mucous with just the bulb syringe.  The Lord was watching over us and after a call to EMS and the fire department at our house, she was able to clear the mucous and seems fine again.  We took her to the pediatrician and really no explanation on the episode other than the fact she may be developing reflux.  She seems quite content after feedings, really is not fussy, and just the occasional spit-up so I do not know!  So keep our sweet thing in your prayers! 

Enough of that!  Enjoy pictures of our new family of four!!!

Going home from the hospital

sign from the church Love it!

Best picture of us leaving:((

Pops and Hallie (Chance's favorite show Bolt in the background)

MiMi and Hallie

My two little kiddos:))

Private concert with daddy

Weight check with cousin Gray!  Big boy little girl!

Chance had "friends" come visit!

Chance brings me toys as I feed Hallie

First bath.  She peed on her daddy just like Chance did@@

Visit with Granddaddy

Hallie and her grandmothers

Hallie's Happy Day

We have finally got to meet our little girl!  We started preparations for the hospital on Thursday night!  Chance sang Happy Birthday to Hallie before bedtime three times.  He would have kept going if we would have let him!  He calls any Big day a "Happy Day" and we were all so excited for Hallie's Happy Day! 

We had a morning at home before checking into the hospital at 10am.  I would like to say it was relaxing but believe it or not we were busy right up until we left. Katy was my nurse again and had everything ready for our arrival!  Katy is such an awesome friend and nurse and I am so thankful for her spending her last day at work before maternity leave herself taking care of my family!  Katy I cannot express how grateful I am to have you as my friend!!

The delivery was delayed a while due to Dr DLG running a little late so we didn't get taken back for anethesia until about 1pm.  My anesthesiologist and nurses were wonderful!  So....at 1:38pm Hallie Ray Hembree made her entrance into the world.  She was pretty non-responsive at first but pepped right up after some coaxing!  The first thing we noticed about her was how tiny she was!  She weighed in at 6 lbs 6 oz and was 18 3/4 inches long!  She also has a pretty good head of dark hair.  Pops she has your hair! 

We stayed in recovery for a while and made it to our room around 5pm.  We got settled and Chance came to visit his sister around 6:30.  She "brought" him a few books, and he was very excited and wanted to read them to her!  Other than that he was content playing with the sleeping bag Ben brought.  He was excited to bring Mommy and Hallie flowers.  He was so proud he got upset when they were taken away! 

My sister surprised us by coming down on Saturday!  I have not gotten to see Harlan (her little boy) due to restrictions on traveling.  So her sister-in-law Katie drove them down.  I was shocked to say the least.  The two cousins got to meet each other in the hall and I finally got to hold my new nephew.  He is so sweet and has the most beautiful eyes. 

Fast forward a few days and we are waiting to go home in the morning.  This c-section has felt much better than Chance's.  Other than nausea it has not been bad at all!   Ben and I are falling in love with this little girl!  We can already see her Mommy's fiestyness when things do not happen right away!  Enjoy all the pictures!

Before we left the house.  Last as our family of three!

Best buddy Katy! Both 39 weeks with Hallie and Mason

Hubby and I in front of our welcome board

Here she is!

Mini version of Chance Russell:))

Seeing Mommy and getting his books from Hallie

Reading to Hallie

Our Family of Four!!

Aunt Stacy and Hallie

Aunt Megan and Harlan

Our little cupcake

Daddy and his girl

Kiddie Park

Friday Katy and I were both off work so we had one last horah with just the two boys before our babies come! We took them to Kiddie Park for the morning! They had so much fun riding the rides together! It is fun to see the boys interact and laugh at one another. It started cold but turned out to be a beautiful morning. Ben recalls having several birthday parties there as a kid! He even stopped by the say hello and ride the carousel with Chance. We had a great time with Katy and Tyler!!

Chance accompanied me to Dr DLG to check Hallie first thing in the morning. She is still very high and we anticipate her to stay put until we go get her this Friday!! Crazy!  We cannot wait to meet our little girl!

I included some pictures from a shower that our friends did for Katy and I!  We feel so blessed to have the friends we do! God has really been evident in the friendships we have made since moving back to San Antonio.  They did above and beyond to make us and our little Hallie feel special! 

Next post will be of the BIG day:))

Riding the helicopter! Luckily for us no quarters needed to have fun!

Fire Truck! 

Little buddies!

Daddy and Chance!

Our Hostesses (minus Laura who was sick:(()

37 weeks!  I definitely win the biggest contest! 

The day my water broke!

I wanted to write down a few things so I could remember them...

Funny story (but not at the time!):

The Day My Water Broke!:  Right before Christmas break I was at work about to go to lunch and I was sitting at my desk at the office.  I got up because I had one more patient to see for the morning.  As I got up I realized that both my pants and chair were soaking wet.  I gathered my thoughts for a second and thought OH CRAP my water has broke!  I looked around my office to see what it could possibly be..did I spill something, are the girls playing a cruel joke on an unsuspecting pregnant woman, what could it be!  I calmly called Katy (my expertise) to see what she thought!  We agreed that probably was my water that broke, but to go to the bathroom and then go home and rest and see if for sure that is what had happened. So as a responsible mother I of course finished my last patient (they were getting their braces off and I couldn't just leave right?!?)  I told my receptionist the news but reassured her not to reschedule the afternoon (once again responsible mother right?!?)  I called the OB and they said the same thing as the expert Katy so I went home to change.  I called Ben and broke down..the kind where you speak and nothing comes out. I had been calm up until this point.  Told him not to come home though I was fine.  I am sure he was in pure panic mode!  So I went home and started to change and realized much to my dismay and horror that the sweater I had worn to work that day had a tie that had unexpectedly dipped into the potty at work and I just so happen to sit on it perfectly to give the "illusion" that I had broke my water.  Very embarrassingly I call all parties involved and breathe a sigh of relief.  Not one of my best days!  Funny now!

 

Christmas 2011

We had a wonderful Christmas!  Chance is understanding what Christmas is all about!  He knew that we were celebrating Jesus' birthday and could explain to you that it was "Happy Day!"  He really enjoyed telling people at church on Christmas Eve and Day what we were celebrating!  At first he was getting baby Jesus in his manger scene confused with baby Gray his cousin but soon figured out the difference.  We enjoyed Christmas morning at our house then headed out to Boerne to Ben's parents for the evening and next day!  He loved his new train table and according to him my "own boots!"  He requests to wear his new boots quite often even with sweatpants!  That is what little boys do right?!? 

Chance update (20 1/2 mos):
He is such a fun little boy, and he amazes Ben and I all the time with how much he knows!  He is a talker!  He pretty much speaks in sentences most times now!  He was helping Ben in Hallie's room and was playing with her toys and told one of her puppies (his old one) "Don't cry Puppy!"  I really think he is going to enjoy being a big brother very soon (as in 3 weeks soon YIKES!) He notices as we are getting all the stuff ready for Hallie and will tell you that that is "Hallie's!"  He has a very sweet heart and really wants to learn everything around him constantly asking you "is it?" for what something is.  He knows pretty much every big truck and can name them such as back how, bulldozer, dump truck, bobcat, trash truck (his favorite) and can pick out Mommy and Daddy's car even!  He loves to be outside playing with the dogs! He loves to boss them around and tell them to go outside.  He loves them and will just sit next to them and give them a hug and a kiss!   He loves to sing! Today at Costco he sang Jesus Loves Me all by himself quietly as we were going down the isle!  So very sweet to hear his little voice!  He loves Mickey Mouse and would watch it all day if I let him!  He will tell you all the characters and wants to do "Hot dog dance" multiple times a day! 

Our little family (mommy at 35 weeks)

He understood how to open his presents

Sitting with his cousin Gray

He actually wanted to hold him! (for a few seconds anyway!)

Opening "Daddy's truck" from Gran and Big Daddy

Look closely and you will see Sealy

With all the dogs! Ben's idea!