Big Bear



Mike, Parker, Bennett, and I headed down to Big Bear this past weekend.  We had so much fun! The weather was perfect and it was great to just spend some time as a family.  We hit up the zoo, alpine slides, rented a boat, and of course ate lots of yummy food (and ice cream)!  Here are a few pictures of our fun.

 

Fun on the boat.

Bennett was there, but this is what he enjoyed doing the majority of the time :)

Driving the boat.

The cute cabin we stayed in.

Parker's friend the bear.

These lifts up to the alpine slides made me so nervous! Parker told me that I just needed to be brave. haha

Riding the wolf.

Eating lunch and making silly faces.

Baby Bennett

 

I am finally getting around to introducing the newest member of our family, Bennett Brian Cahill.  He was born on 7/5/12 at about 5:30 pm, weighing 7lbs 12oz and was 21 inches.  My due date was the fourth of July, and since he didn't come then, I went into the hospital on the 5th at 12:30 to be induced.  Dr. Harter is great, and had a balloon catheter put in me that Monday.  So when I got to the hospital I was already at a 5 and having some irregular contractions.  Things moved along really smoothly and relatively quickly from there.  When I reached a 7, they gave me my epidural which was nice but very patchy.  They actually had to come and redo it once I was ready to push because I was in so much pain.  After 20 minutes of pushing, our sweet baby Bennett was born.  The umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck twice, which was a little scary to see, but once he finally started to cry we were so happy and relieved to have him here and healthy. 

 

Parker came to the hospital once baby was cleaned up, and it was so great to see him.  He didn't really care much about the baby at that point.  He was just happy and excited to get to sleep at my mom's house that night. :)  I can't thank my family and Mike's parents enough for all of the help they gave to us during those first few weeks.  Even after becoming a mom of two myself, I still love having my own mom around to help and take care of me :) 

 

Since being home, things have settled down pretty nicely.  There are for sure days that I can't believe I have 2 kids to take care of, and it is definitely harder to get out the door on time, but I love my sweet boys so much and feel so lucky to be their mom. Parker has been so fun to watch become a big brother.  He loves to talk to Bennett, hold him, and put in his binkie.  I love hearing the things he says to his brother.  Things like, "it's ok baby Bennett, don't cry" and "oh Bennett! you are just so cute!" All said in the high pitched baby voice we use :)  Mike has also been super dad, always there to help and let me catch a break whenever needed.  I love my family so much and am so grateful for them.

 

 

Kisses for baby Bennett.

He loves to snooze in his swing.

After my first bath. He loves them!

We got so many fun treats and meals from family and friends. We can't say thank you enough!!

Just got home from the hospital.

Love this silly boy.

After my bath.

Waiting to go home from the hospital.

First time holding and meeting brother. A little apprehensive :)

Daddy and Bennett

He's finally here!

All hooked up and ready to go.

Just a little late...

I need to download all the pictures from our camera and phones, but until then I thought I'd post a small update.  Parker turned 3 on April 22nd and he sure loved his birthday! We had a small party in our backyard with lots of family and a few friends.  His favorite part was his dalmation bounce house, which he still talks about getting for his next party :)  His party had a firefighter theme and his nursery leader was kind enough to come to the party and show off his fireman gear. Parker was in awe.  His favorite present was a toolbox filled with tools so he can help his dad around the house.  He takes it everywhere with him and always tells me he has to go to work.  Here are a few pictures from the party.

Parker is such a fun boy and is definitely not a baby anymore.  He loves his big boy bed, is learning to go potty in the toilet and he talks non-stop, saying some of the funniest things.  One of my favorites is when I'll ask him to do something for me and he'll say "Absolutely mom!"  He loves to play with his cousins, pretend to be a fireman or a worker, watch Word World and Calliou, and play with his trains and cars.  His imagination is so funny, and he is such a loving little boy.  He is very excited for his baby brother to get here, and I know he will be a great helper.

Baby brother should be making his debut in just a few weeks.  We have been busy getting his room set-up and trying to wrap our heads around the fact that we will soon be a family of 4.  We are a little nervous for the change, but also very, very excited to meet this sweet little guy.  We had some family pictures taken in May, and I can't believe that soon our family will have one more member.



When I look at these pictures, I can't help but be grateful for the blessing of my family.  I sure am lucky to have them in my life!

A Little of Everything

So much to catch up on, it's a little daunting. Let's start with Halloween. 

We went to the pumpkin patch a few times and had lots of fun.  Parker loved to see the animals and kept demanding the rides to go faster. 

 

We went with some cute friends pick some veggies and look at the orchard,













watched dad carve our pumpkin,

and dressed up like a cow for some fun trick-or-treating.

Next, well jump to Christmas since that is the order my pictures are in for some reason.  Christmas time has always been a favorite time of the year, but it especially is now with Parker getting older and really getting excited about things.  All he wanted for Christmas was a train table and Santa pulled through.  He was so excited to wake up and see that train table on Christmas morning.  He was practically shaking.  

We saw Santa a few times.  Fake Santas are far less scary than sitting on the real one's lap :)

We decorated our Christmas tree,

Went on the Santa train,

performed the nativity on Christmas Eve (and Parker insisted on wearing his Halloween costume for the play),

got new pjs to open,

and played all day with our new train table.

Now onto Thanksgiving, which we hosted at our house. Mike's parents, sister, and grandparents came. We had a full house and a fun time. They brought their dog Lily, and Parker loved that!

Grandma and Grandpa Cahill got Parker his own dog Jingle, who he loves.  I hope he's ok with having stuffed dogs for awhile since I don't know if I'll ever be able to handle a real one!

Parker loves hanging with his aunt Katy,

Grandpa Cahill,

Grandma Cahill, 

and Lily.  He was spoiled with so much attention and was very sad when everyone left.

After Thanksgiving, we had our first ultrasound of baby Cahill #2. 

 

I'm now 19 weeks along, and we found out today that Parker will be having a baby brother.  We are so excited to have another sweet boy joining our family in July.



And I'm pretty sure this goofy little guy is going to be a great big brother.  He's already practicing taking care of baby dolls and making silly faces to cheer up the baby when he cries.  Parker is such a funny kid, growing more and more independent everyday.  He loves to say "whatever mommy" when I tell him something he doesn't want to hear and is quick to say sorry and give hugs.  I am amazed that he is almost 3 and will be the big brother soon.  I feel very blessed.