Before You Were Born

 

 

 

Thad, before you were born, your daddy and I were so convinced you were a girl, but we couldn't decide on a name for you.  We'd narrowed it down to two: Anna Chiles and Campbell Chiles (Cece).  And would you believe that we were about to deliver you and still couldn't agree on a name.  Several weeks prior to your due date, we'd settled on a boy's name, but hardly gave it a second thought because we just knew you were going to be a girl.   

 

 

 

My labor with you was completely unlike what I was accustomed to with your brothers - whereas they were fast and sudden, you were slow and on your own time frame.  How funny and foolish of us to assume this also meant you were a girl. 

 

Laboring with you was so leisurely and I enjoyed every contraction and kick I felt - knowing that things would soon change.  There is a closeness I've felt with you and your brothers while being pregnant that is so comforting.  I got to know your little kicks and nudges.  Late in my pregnancy I was concerned when you hadn't turned head-down, but a few days later I remember knowing that you were in the process of moving.  I just loved to feel your little body and guess what position you were in.  And so there Bo and I sat in the hospital room, savoring these moments with unborn you, and anticipating with great excitement your entry in the world. 

 

A nurse midwife named Tina Hayes delivered you, and she allowed Bo and me to help guide you out.  That was a thrilling and emotional experience.  A true gift - and one of the most meaningful days of my life.  You can only imagine our surprise and extreme excitement to see that you are a perfect and beautiful little BOY!  Your daddy and I were so surprised we laughed immediately!  What a beautiful entrance you made into the world - bringing joyful laughter with you!

 

Our hat trick

A third boy!  We welcomed him on June 5th, 2014 at 4:32 pm and named him Thad Campbell.  

It was a beautiful summer day.  Bo and I drove to the hospital as the sun was rising.  Little did we know that Thad had plans to take his time, and didn't arrive until later that afternoon.  I will never forget the time that Bo and I had that day as we waited to find out if we'd be welcoming a boy or girl.  We had so much fun walking the halls and timing contractions hoping that I was making progress.  We laughed and talked about our family and we even talked about baby names, because we still didn't have things completely hammered out yet.  I'm so thankful for that time with him.  

7 lbs. 2 oz. 20.5 inches of joy

I packed this gown for each of the boys to wear home from the hospital right after their births.  

Loved this funny stork our friends put in the yard. 

This is what I get when I tell Mc to "give me your best smile!" 

McCord and Wade were the first ones to see the baby and tell the rest of the family that "it's a boy!"  

McCord's first selfie

Newest big brother! 

We've taken this same picture in this same location with each of our sons before heading home.  

Welcome home little guy!

These cuddles!

McCord calls his newest brother Thadcampbell - all one word - so we've been doing the same - not sure yet whether it will be shortened to Thad or Camp. 

This is how we change diapers around here.  Wade never misses a diaper change.  He comes running and slides his chair right up to the changing table and watches intently.  His job is to throw the dirty diapers away, and he does a great job!

First trip to the duck pond as a family of 5.   

Probably my favorite picture from the first week of Thad's life.  I have loved watching how the boys have reacted to having a baby in the house.  Both McCord and Wade seem just a little bit older to me and have been so sweet and curious about Thad.  It's so fascinating hearing the questions and comments Mc has to say - like getting a little glimpse into his almost 4 year-old mind.  The other day he said, "We'll have to ask Thad Campbell what it looks like inside Mama's belly!"  

Welcome to the world Thad Campbell!  You are so sweet and precious and we are thrilled you're here!

OH BOY! Oh, baby boy!

Welcome to the world, Wade Perrin!

Born Saturday, May 19th, 2012

7 lbs. 9 oz

21 inches

Littlest one, 


We are so in love with you.  You are just 3 days old, and already you have enriched our lives more than you will ever know.  Tonight, after your big brother had a bath, we all climbed in his bed to read stories and say prayers.  With you there, with your tiny little body and wide eyes, I felt an overwhelming sense of family.  Our family.  You are perfect in every way and a true blessing from God.

McCord was the first one to meet Wade after he was born and he got to carry a sign out to the waiting room that said "I have a baby brother!" to make the big gender announcement to our families.  Bo & I talked a lot about the day of delivery and how to best help McCord adjust, and we decided that he should be invited to meet Wade first - allowing us a few moments together as our family of 4 before the rest of the family visited.  We were so amazed and thankful to watch McCord's sweet and affectionate reaction to Wade. He crawled up on the bed with me and gave Wade a kiss!  His eyes were filled with pride and awe - two things I didn't know a 22 month-old could feel or show.  

Fortunately, Bo was able to take a week off of work, so we are spending this week, just the 4 of us, adjusting.  Without a doubt, this is a tiresome and challenging process, but I am thoroughly enjoying this phase of life as we stumble through this learning curve, trying to be the best parents we can be.  These moments of bringing home our second child will only come once, and I'm relishing in the fullness of these days.

How thankful we are for two healthy, happy boys!  

Cupcakes & Goldfish

I think I mentioned earlier that McCord and I have planned to do one really fun thing each day until the baby arrives so that we can really make every day count.  It has been so meaningful having these special memories with McCord through our last days of being one-on-one.

Today's outing: the cupcake bakery!

If you are local - check out the new Sweet Art Cakes on Ebeneezer.   Not only is it charming and cheerful, but oh! so! delicious!

It took him no time at all to choose the Koolaid cupcake (with sprinkles)!

Yesterday we had a picnic at the nearby public garden and fed the monstrous goldfish.

Bo and I just love this picture of Mc.
While I was shooting this, I was talking to him about becoming a big brother.  We talked about all the things he can show the baby since he's so big.  He demonstrated his baseball swing, and attempted to hit something very small near his feet with his imaginary golf club.  Then he got real still and folded his hands together like he was praying.  He watched the fountain like this for a minute or so and then looked at me and nodded as if he was really considering his role as a big brother.   It's one of those motherly moments you want to remember forever.  

We tried to get a picture of ourselves smooching, and it took several out takes to get this one.  Loving some special time with McCord!

And remember the baby robins that hatched in a nest on our front porch?  They're all grown up now and two of them have made our front yard their home.  We often spot them hanging out on the fence together.  They're almost as big as the full-grown robins, but they have some spots on them where their mature feathers haven't come in yet.  We've had the best time observing them!

Someone stop me!  I made Mc another pair of pants - this is the 3rd pair in about 2 weeks!  But what 22 month-old doesn't need blue seersucker football embroidered pants?!!!

The Big Boy Bed

One of the things on our "to do" list before Baby #2 comes is transition Mc to a big boy bed.  We switched him over last weekend, so we're one week in, and thankfully it's been pretty uneventful.  We talked a lot about his big boy bed and read books about sleeping in a big bed before making the switch and I think that may have helped.  Right now McCord is sleeping peacefully upstairs, and we are so relieved that he likes his big boy bed.  We fully expect for him to regress when the baby comes, but for now, we're enjoying that he's sleeping through the night.

This has been a fun family project that we've worked on for the past few months.  Here's the before shot - I found the headboard at the Habitat ReSale store for $10.  The wood was split on the top and needed some major TLC.  My dad stripped it down, sanded it and repaired the split.

You can see that it has a removable insert.  As you know, I've got a thing for upholstered headboards (like this and this), so I was excited about finding this particular headboard at such a good price.  I stained it blue and added 2" foam wrapped in batting to the insert.  Then I used a staple gun to secure the linen fabric after adding an applique monogram for McCord's initials.  The applique fabric is the same used on the roman blinds I made for the room.  I hope to make some pillows out of this fabric too.

I found a simple white bed skirt and bed rails when I was out thrifting.  My dad assembled the whole thing (with McCord's help of course) last weekend.  

Here's a quick shot of the vintage quilt that's presently on his bed - it was given to me by a good family friend who was like a grandmother to me.  I think the fabrics used are from some of her clothes she wore growing up. The teddy bear was my dad's when he was young and can you see the embroidered pillow case?  That was a gift from my sister for Mc's first birthday.  

And Mc has found that his big boy bed is the perfect place to practice using his drill.

Bo's First Road Race

Bo and my dad ran in our town's annual 5K Road Race over the weekend and the route came right by our house twice.  We invited the whole family up to cheer them on.  Bo came in 84th overall and my dad came in the top 5 of his age group.   There were about 400 participants in the race.  We are so proud of our runners!

This is my dad's old running hat that he used to wear during his marathon days.  It was super helpful to pick him out of a crowd of runners.  

"Go Uncle Bo," "Go Daddy," Go Doe Doe"

There's Daddy!  Go Daddy go!

 And other big news about the weekend:

We assembled Mc's big boy bed and Bo and I tucked him in about 2 hours ago for his first night trying it out. So far, so good.  We're keeping our fingers crossed.  I hope to post more about how we made the bed in a later post.

And, Bo & I had a date Saturday night to the Jr. League's black tie event.  Many thanks to my friend, Mimi who let me borrow her beautiful maternity gown.  We have about 6 weeks to go until we find out if Baby #2 is a boy or girl!

Spring Beach Trip

We went to the beach last weekend as our last family trip before baby #2 arrives in May.  And it was wonderful and magical and so special to see the ocean through a toddler's eyes.

Many thanks Poppie and Gee Gee for sharing your condo with us again!