Miss Leah

Lucy has always called baby Leah, "Miss Leah"-- I don't know if it's because she's our little Southern belle, but I've noticed one by one we've all picked it up. And it seems to fit because shes's kind of a diva. If she's not eating or being swaddled in a cuddly blanket and held, she's screaming. Our little peanut definitely has a temper, and takes after Lucy's temperament as a baby more than Zach's. And she HATES baths. She'd rather smell like stinky cheese. Yesterday at her doctor's appointment, she literally screamed until she was blue in the face from start to finish until I wrapped her back up and held her again. At least when they're already screaming you don't feel as bad when they get their shots.:) She weighed 9 lbs. 10 oz. and was 22 in. long, which means she gained 2 lbs and grew an inch in one month. Atta girl, Miss Leah!

During Thanksgiving my very kind sister in law Sarah took the time to take these newborn pictures of Leah, and they turned out AMAZING. She is so talented and it's been fun to watch her skills develop the last couple of years. Each of her little expressions is so precious and she's changing so fast it makes me think I'm losing my mind when I see her one morning, and the next she already looks bigger! THANK YOU Sarah for these treasures!

Happy Birthday Lucy!

Happy Birthday to our sweet little Lucy! She celebrated her 6th birthday a week ago (December 4th), which made me realize that we're officially 1/3 of the way to age 18, which is such a scary thought I actually considered pulling her out of kindergarten for the day and holding her on my lap and smothering her with kisses because she's growing up too fast.

Last year Lucy really wanted a party, but having just moved here and not knowing anyone I promised her a party next year-- little did I know I'd have a 3 week old at home! But, a promise is a promise, so the Saturday before we invited 4 of her friends and par-tayed! She was so excited.

As has kind of become tradition, Lucy picked to make gingerbread houses with her buddies. Can you say C-A-N-D-Y overload!?! The girls had a blast decorating their houses.

As did this little guy. He was just as excited as Lucy to have kids over, and as soon as all the girls were over he excitedly told them, "We have Barbies upstairs!" and when they all got up there I heard him ask, "Anyone want to play GeoTrax?" It was all a ploy to get them upstairs. He knows what little girls like.:)

Thank heavens my mom and dad were still in town to help! My mom made the cake and cleaned, my dad helped entertain and picked up the pizzas, while I nursed a baby and stressed out about everything.

Such a cute almost 6-year old!

The finished houses. Lovely, aren't they?

The BEST part of the party? Opening presents!! Lucy got some really fun gifts.

The beautiful and super delicious strawberry princess cake. The birthday goers were very impressed with Grandma's handiwork.

Blowing out 6 candles! It's crazy having Leah wear all of Lucy's baby clothes because I see them and think "Hey, Lucy just wore that." But then I realize it was SIX years ago. Seems like just yesterday!

Lucy's special birthday present from us was to get her ears pierced. We'd tried it when she was 4 and it was a MAJOR disaster, so Jon and I were both a little wary, but she handled it like a champ. She didn't even cry or flinch really. This is the BEFORE picture at Claire's.

And the AFTER. She picked the Hello Kitty studs and they look so cute on her!

When she looked in the mirror for the first time, she said, "Man! These earrings change everything!" She was very happy with how grown up they made her look.

I can't even express how much we love our Lucy, and what a HUGE joy and help she is to me. HAPPY BIRTHDAY Luce!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

For Thanksgiving the Morris Clan descended upon Pinehurst to feast, and golf, and feast and golf some more. Oh yeah, and to see baby Leah!

Thursday evening Devin and Sarah and Co. drove down from Richmond, while my parents flew into Raleigh. Since we obviously missed the holiday, we decided to celebrate Friday instead, so while I was rockin' Zombie Land (and still am...guh, I was still supposed to be pregnant when we made all of these plans) with the new baby up all night, Sarah and my mom made the Thanksgiving dinner and watched the kiddos while the guys golfed. Sounds fair, right? We had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, jello salad, rolls, and all that other good stuff. It was the first home cooking we'd had in weeks! Yum!

Jon got the honor of carving the turkey-- thanks to his surgeon's hands. He's good with a drill AND a knife!

Here we are! And there was even enough for leftovers, hooray!

The best tradition: my Great Grandma's Banana Cream Pie. I don't think I've found a pie I like better than this one. It's amazing (especially when you're not the one doing the 30 min. of stirring)!

Zachary agrees with me. Every year I think we should just make all 4 pies Banana Cream. Pumpkin is a good 2nd place I guess.

Saturday morning my parents and Devin took Lucy, Zach, and Eva to the movie "Wreck It Ralph." Lucy and Zach LOVED it. Lucy has the whole thing memorized basically, and tells me all about the funny parts.

That night they got dinner at Texas Roadhouse while I stayed at home with Babykins.

And speaking of Leah, here she is at 2 weeks old! Jon is finally over his cold and can bond with our little peanut. She sure is cute!

Devin and Sarah left Sunday, but my parents stayed through this week. Tuesday the 27th was my Dad's birthday, so Zach helped him celebrate with a pancake breakfast (their favorite). It's been really fun having both parents here to help.

Baby Leah was actually due on the 27th (Grandpa's birthday), so it was kind of crazy to think she's already been here for 3 weeks. Thinking of still being pregnant and going through everything I just did sure makes me thankful she came early! We have so much to be grateful for these days-- our little turkeys, our church, our home in North Carolina, and our family and friends who've helped so much in the past few weeks. Happy Thanksgiving!

Welcome Leah Gene Cardon!

On November 7, 2012 we welcomed our beautiful baby girl, Leah Gene (Gene in honor of Jon's dad and my maternal Grandmother) to our family! Her delivery was one wild ride and we are sooooo happy she is finally here! Here's her story:

On Monday, November 5th I went in for a routine check-up where they found a really high amount of protein in my urine, I was SUPER swollen, and my blood pressure was elevated-- which is a pretty good indication of pre-ecclampsia (the same thing I had with Lucy). The doctor really felt that since I was already 37 weeks, which is considered full-term, we should go ahead and induce me the next morning. She scheduled me for Labor and Delivery for 5:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, and I hurried home to get packed, find a babysitter for Lucy and Zach, and teach my Body Pump class one more time... I know, I'm crazy. You can see how awful my face was (I was SO puffy) and how high I was carrying!

I showed up bright and early the next morning after a pretty restless night, got hooked up to an IV, and waited for Jon to meet me (he waited for the kids to wake up and then fed and got them ready for the neighbor's house).

7:30 a.m.: Doctor checks me to see where we we're starting-- which is basically from scratch. Not dilated, not thinned, not effaced, and she was at stage 5+ (which basically means she was as high as a baby can be). He gave me Cervadil to ripen my cervix, which stays in for 12 hours. So no walking, no moving, no eating from now until delivery.

10 a.m.: Start me on a magnesium drip to treat the pre-ecclampsia. NOT FUN. It basically gives you flu-like symptoms-- achey, tired, nausea, and really intense hot flashes. Lots of watching and waiting...

7:30 p.m.: Nurse removes the Cervadil, and checks my cervix-- and I'm dilated to 3 cm and 50% thinned out. Hooray!

8 p.m.: Start me on Pitocin so the contractions can come fast and hard!

10 p.m.: Dilated to 4 cm and given an epidural.

2:30 a.m. (11/7/12): STILL stuck at 4 cm and baby hasn't moved down, so the doctor decides to break my water to see if that speeds things up.

3:30 a.m.: Did it ever!! Dilated to 8 cm and totally thinned!!

4 a.m.: 10 cm and time to get ready to deliver!!

4:30 a.m.: Doctor comes in and we start pushing...

4:47 a.m.: Baby Leah arrives!!

7 lbs. 10 oz. and 20 1/2 in. long. She was really goobery when she came out and swallowed a little bit of fluid, but was otherwise PERFECT.

The sweetest little face ever! Hi Leah!

Meeting Daddy! Poor Jon started coming down with an awful cold and hasn't felt like he should hold her until he is better. He was an awesome support during labor-- keeping me calm and positive, staying up with me, watching the depressing election results, and helping me deal with the whole experience. Best husband ever.

The doctor was spending a really long time sewing me up that I finally asked him if I'd torn when she came out. He kind of looked me, then looked at the nurse, and was like, "Uh, yeah." Apparently I tore from top to bottom (bi-laterally) due to some old scar tissue, as well as side to side-- kind of like a star shape (sorry, TMI!), and he worked on me for another 30 min. after she arrived. All I know is when my recovery nurse found out about my battle wounds she promised me I could have whatever pain meds. I wanted for as long as I wanted.:)

Getting to hold her for the first time. That magical moment when you realize it's all worth it and you'd do it again in a second.

Around 6:30 a.m. they finally let me eat breakfast-- I hadn't slept or eaten anything since 4:30 a.m the day before, and was totally exhausted. Jon went to pick the kids up from the neighbor's house at about 7 a.m. and bring them to meet Baby Leah! Apparently Lucy had been really worried since she hadn't come the night before like we'd told her we thought she would. They were SO excited to see her! That was probably the best part of the whole day when they each got to hold her.

Once they were sure I could move without tearing any stitches, they finally moved me to a recovery room so I could sleep (lookin' pretty hot after 24 hours of labor).

Totally worth it!!

I could tell right away that she definitely recognized our voices-- especially Zach's. She LOVES when he talks to her, and turns her face to find where his voice is coming from. She is showered with kisses from both siblings.

They discharged me Friday morning and it felt soooo good to get home. Jon was given 10 days of paternity leave from the military and had been manning the home fires by himself. I think he was pretty ready to have me get home and help out.

And here she is today, 1 week old. She is SUCH a beautiful baby!! She is really sweet tempered and puts up with all of the poking and prodding from Lucy and Zach, only cries when she's hungry, eats like a champ, naps like a champ, and squeaks when she's happy. We are all totally in love with this baby and so grateful to Heavenly Father for her safe arrival. There were many, many tender mercies during her delivery and my recovery, and I can't express how close you feel to Heavenly Father after you deliver a brand new baby who is so fresh from heaven. I guess you get a small glimpse at divinity. We love our Leah!

Tricks and Treats!

As promised, more Halloween! Last weekend our ward had a Trunk or Treat party, so while Jon got some much needed R & R up in the mountains, I headed solo to the party with the kiddos. Lucy decided to wear her "Dorothy" costume (also made by Grandma Cardon), and was SUPER excited to see her primary friends all dressed up.

The youth were in charge of carnival games for the kids, and Zach and Lucy both had a blast gathering candy and prizes and playing games like this one-- pumpkin bowling!

Both kids wanted to get their faces painted, and as soon as Lucy was finished she took off with her primary buddies and I didn't see her again until the trunk or treating!

Zach requested a Spiderman face, and the priests and laurels took it very seriously. They COVERED his face in this thick red paint, and then tried to outline his eyes in white and black, but after 20 minutes of sitting perfectly still I could tell Zach was not having it. As soon as they finished he started rubbing his eyes, and wanted it OFF pronto. What a mess!

Sunday evening we decided to carve our pumpkins and watch the Disney version of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," per tradition.

Zach picked a demon and Lucy picked a bat, which I'm proud to say I carved-- and for the first time in 3 years, I successfully completed it without it imploding. Hooray! And man, I love that Zachy face! So him.

Pretty spooky, right? Unfortunately, with the Southern-style heat they'd both started rotting by Monday evening and didn't even make it to Halloween. Oh well.

And finally, on THE Halloween I had a doctor's appointment that went an hour later than expected, Jon couldn't get off the base until 5 p.m., so while I had great visions of making this cutesy Halloween dinner for my kiddos, Chick fil A saved the day and within 20 minutes of us eating we were changed and out the door pounding the pavement for candy!

Zachary was determined to ride his tricycle, which was a bad idea in many ways-- a) he's SLOW, b) he's even slower because our neighborhood has tons of hills, and c) he tried to carry his bucket but it kept spilling when he tried to steer. Plus it was pitch black outside, and after he end-over-ended down a hill, we convinced him to hop in the stroller.

Ahhhh, much better and much more efficient. We were really able to cover a lot more ground then.

After we'd trick or treated as long as we could handle (Lucy's feet were "haunting" her), the kids headed home to count up their loot. Not bad for one night's haul! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!