I've got this friend...

Well it's amazing what you can accomplish when you wake up at 3:30 am. :) for some reason this morning I cannot sleep, but all the better because I have 1) completed 2 loads of laundry, 2) perfected my recipe for a homemade pumpkin spice latte, 3) worked on pictures and blog posts and 4) watched about 80,000 videos of The Civil Wars on youtube.

Jesse and I don't consider ourselves very musical or up on the latest bands, disclaimer... but occasionally we fall in love with a new group and they are all we will listen to obsessively for months. My new favorite is the Civil Wars. The are amazing and I could listen to them all day long... and I do! For Valentine's Day my gift from Jesse was a ticket to go see them in concert... so Wednesday we had pretty much the best date night ever. They are absolutely amazing live and I told Jesse afterwards that the word that kept coming to mind during the concert was "sublime." He was like... "Sublime the band?" No, sublime the adjective. :) It was beautiful.

We went with our friends Paul and Rochelle- Paul is Jesse's best friend and actually the one who told Jesse that the Civil Wars would be in concert. Thank you, Paul! They are so much fun and Paul is pretty much famous now... because as we were watching John Paul White (from the Civil Wars) introduce the opening act he noticed that... um, the barn door was open. We all joked that he should tweet a message to tell him... well Paul did!

@thecivilwars john, being a brother here.... Looked like your fly was down when introducing the opening act... Louisville!

Hilarious! We wondered if they might say anything about it...

So Paul is famous and his tweet scored us a picture with them afterwards! Best night ever. :)

just a few...

Just a few minutes to blog today, but I think I should probably get used to blogging in 15 minutes or less!

Clare slept in this morning... a very rare treat, she is normally quite the early bird! I thoroughly enjoyed it but now she is refusing to nap... she's been in her room singing for quite a while now so I'm thinking it's time to give it up and admit defeat. :)

I've been playing around with a lot of photography stuff, reading blogs and learning some new techniques. I've also been using a free trial of Adobe Lightroom 3 and I am going to be heartbroken when it is up... I love it so! :) Up until now I've been editing in Picnik, it's a lot of fun but some features are just lacking. Lightroom, however, is starting to become a little bit too much of a time waster so I think I may be declaring a "computer fast" for a day or two... all the more time to practice actually USING my camera, right?

A few days ago, Jesse took Clare on a quick walk in the evening to burn a little energy and have some one-on-one time. Realizing that the lighting was at its peak and that the weather was warm (OK so this might have been like a week or so ago!) I grabbed Gray and a blanket and took him outside for a few 3 months pictures. While I was snapping away Jesse and Clare returned from their walk and we had a little impromptu photo shoot.

Here are a few of the results, thanks to advice I got from the amazing Amanda Worrall and the blog Click It Up a Notch, and of course my new love Adobe Lightroom 3! :)

I showed this last picture to my Mom and she said, "Who is that?" I guess it doesn't look much like him! I think it does though... cheeks, check. Button nose, check. Almond eyes, check... yup that's the Grayson! :)

I'm still here & pictures

It's been a while, I know! I promise life with two is not completely insane, I hope my absence hasn't scared anyone off from having more children. :) Truth is, we are busy. Busy at work... Jesse got a new job! Busy at home trying to get our house ready to sell so we can move out near his new job. All while figuring out how to parent a toddler and infant. I like to say it has been crazy, but fun... maybe at times a little bit more of one than the other. :)

So remember this little baby getting his first bath?

Check him out:

He hasn't had any trouble growing! Or eating! And on top of it all he is quite possibly the happiest little boy on the planet. I thank the Lord all the time for my children, they make my job so very enjoyable... most of the time! :)

Gray's favorite things.... swinging, smiling, eating, chewing on his hands. Being snuggled. Looking adorable.

And now I'm going to dump 3 months worth of pictures of my son on you! :)

Whew, are you still here??

Gray is awesome, such a sweetie. We would love if you would keep him in your prayers, he is scheduled for a big surgery in April... he has something called craniosynostosis and has to have surgery on his skull. I'll share more about that later. :) Other than that, though, he is doing so great!

And Miss Clare is too! Well, obviously, she's 2... and not immune to all the fun things that go with her age... but we're getting through. :) She is such a great helper, has a sweet and joyful spirit, and is so loving towards Gray. We have had to deal with whining, disobedience, and bad attitudes lately and I don't know... sometimes I feel like I am handling her well, disciplining clearly and consistently, and other times I feel like things are just falling all apart at our house! To be completely honest! :) But it's a learning process, it's definitely been sending me to my knees in prayer, seeking the Lord for wisdom and forgiveness for the sin revealed in my own heart... the selfishness, lack of patience, and easily frustrated nature that lurks inside! I'm all the more thankful for the Lord's patience and grace with me as I navigate this role as a parent!

Clare and I have been getting creative with ways to have fun together throughout our crazy days. The other day I busted out the finger paint... I have to say, I am NOT a big fan of craft projects, mostly because I hate the potential for epic messes! But that's all part of the fun for Clare, I suppose, so I let her go to town...

She also made Jesse a birthday card while we were at it... of course I handled the hot glue gun, not her...

That's Jesse, in case you didn't see the resemblance! :)

That's it for now! I hope to be around more often!

gray's arrival, complete!

So…. Gray’s birthday!

I have to admit… these days I find that I have very little motivation for blogging. :) But I do want to write down all the little details of that day before I forget! That is one of my favorite aspects of blogging… keeping record of memories, big and small, that I otherwise wouldn't. Time with little ones goes by so fast! Lately, though, when I have a moment to myself- which does actually happen thanks to my sweet husband- I find myself wanting to clean. Or nap. Or do absolutely nothing! :)

So the story that took three weeks to tell... My sweet nurse gave me her “epidural… it’s now or never” speech and I had no idea what to do... I was just completely on the fence. I think natural birth is amazing, but I also wanted to make the right decision for the baby, Jesse, and myself. And of course at this point Jesse was chatting it up with visitors outside, so I politely called him and told him to get back in the delivery room! We… well I should say I… debated for several minutes about what to do. I still wasn’t in a great amount of pain, but I also knew that things were going to be getting intense really soon. Jesse kept saying, “I will support you in whatever you choose. Do whatever you think is best,” which was very sweet, but not very helpful! Finally I remembered Clare’s birth and how much I loved it. It was so calm and joyful in the delivery room when she was born. I remembered laughing with the nurses and smiling at Jesse… and that decided it! We told my nurse to call the anesthesiologist and Jesse, looking very relieved, told me that he was secretly really hoping I would get the epidural. He’s really squeamish. :)

Before I knew it the anesthesiologist was there. I have to admit…. even though I chose the epidural, getting one is always scary to me! I asked about 80,000 questions and made the doctor promise me he was not going to hit a nerve. It took about a half an hour for the epidural to completely numb me, which felt weird. My left side was numb but my right side wasn't! Then all of a sudden I started feeling really odd. I’ve never passed out or fainted before, so I had no clue what was going on... I just kept saying, “I feel really funny” and felt like I had to keep reminding myself to breathe. I remember being mid-conversation with Jesse when all of a sudden I got really annoyed that he was talking to me... sorry, Jesse! I made him call my nurse, and by the time she arrived I was having tunnel vision and everything sounded muffled. Thankfully my nurse was on top of things and immediately got me medication for low blood pressure! After a few minutes I felt much better... and good thing, I was about ready to have a baby!

About 11:30 I was declared 10 cm... such a fast labor, but I’m not complaining. :) My doctor arrived, I pushed for about 4 or 5 contractions, and there was Gray! I remember being just amazed and thankful for his new little life. As they were handing him to me, he grabbed one of my fingers and wouldn't let go... I just melted!

I have to admit being surprised by his appearance… I was expecting Clare, only in boy form. They both have dark eyes and lots of dark hair, but his is much longer and he has a little baby receding hairline. :) She was always a little tan thing, he is much more fair! And he is just such a little boy already. He has big hands and feet, which makes me think he will be tall! Or maybe a little chunky monkey. So cute!

Life with Gray so far is crazy but wonderful. I’m slowly…. slowly… adjusting to life with two little ones! Lot of thanks to my wonderful husband and family for helping and encouraging me. Clare has been amazing as well. She is so sweet with Gray and loves to help me with just about everything… she is always trying to scoot up a chair when I am changing him and hunts for pacis whenever he cries. She has had to learn a few boundaries :) and struggled with some whining, but overall she is such a little trooper. I’m so proud of her and her sweet spirit, I can’t think of anyone else I would rather have as the big sister of this family!

Gray is doing really well. Growing like a weed… his one month appointment is next week and I can’t wait to see how much he weighs! I’m terrible at estimating, but I would guess he is at least going to have gained a pound up from his birth weight! He is getting such round cheeks and a sweet little double chin. Personality-wise he is very calm and serious, loves to snuggle and be loved, and loves to sit and observe the world. He’s been sleeping fairly well, for which I am very thankful! We still have our nights… last night was one… but he is such a sweet little peanut it is easy to overlook!

first bath

Well, I just typed out the rest of Gray's birth story only to lose it all when my internet cut out! I just can't bring myself to type it all out again right now. :) I promise not to wait much longer to finish it... and if anyone is hanging on the edge of their seat I'll let you in on a secret... I got the epidural!

In the meantime, here are some pictures of Gray's first bath. He got VERY angry when the actual washing process started, but calmed down once we figured out a way to keep him warm... then he started licking the water on his hands! I know I'm his Mommy and I'm totally biased, but I just think he is the cutest thing!

"What are you doing to me??"

"Hmm, actually, this isn't that bad... a little to the left please..."

Gray's Arrival

This is Gray's birth story. I might use words like dilation, pushing, and breastfeeding.

Consider yourself warned. :)

Gray's birth was a long time coming... or at least it felt that way to me! I'd been having contractions and other "signs" that labor was imminent for about 3 weeks before he was born. It was disappointing to show up week after week for doctor's appointments and see dates pass by on the calendar as time dragged on and he still wasn't here! I kept praying for God's timing and believe me, those three weeks were quite a lesson in patience and trust! Eventually at 39 weeks my doctor brought up induction. I really wanted to go into labor on my own, but we set a date- December 20th- and wouldn't you know, I woke up on the 20th still pregnant!

At 5 am we called the hospital and we were told to arrive at 7:15 that morning. When I arrived, I was 4 cm, Gray was at a 0 station, and I was having very mild contractions every 2-3 minutes apart. They started me on Pitocin at 8:30 that morning... which I was scared to death of! I kept thinking that Pitocin = pain and it would immediately make my labor unbearable. Honestly, though, the first few hours things moved slowly... Jesse and I played on our iPhones, chatted with the nurses, and hung out with his Mom and Dad who had brought by some breakfast.

At about 10:30 my contractions had picked up enough that they were taking up most of my attention when they would hit, but I could still talk through them. I was surprised at how mild they still were when in the midst of a conversation with my Mother-in-law I said.... "Ummm, either I just peed my pants or my water just broke!" We had been waiting for my OB to break it and I wasn't expecting for things to get started before then! While Jesse was saying goodbye to his parents and walking them out, my nurse came by to check me. She declared me 6 cm and Gray at a +1 or +2 station and then gave it to me straight, "If you want an epidural, you need to do it now, because by the time we are done you will be 8 cm!"

Ok, so this is getting to be a novel! To be continued...

Gray Thomas DeYoung

Joyfully announcing the birth of our son

Gray Thomas DeYoung

born December 20, 2010 at 12:27 pm

weighing 6 lbs, 7 oz and 19 inches long

Such a precious gift and very worth the wait! More details coming...