Christmas Day

**It's amazing the amount of blogging that can be accomplished when both children are napping, but someone please explain why I am not napping???**

Christmas Day 2012:

 Cars and trains for my girl this year...and my boy...but mostly my girl since she's obsessed with all things mobile lately. 

 So excited for Dada to open her cars!

 We found a fake white tree on sale and had to have it! So out went our real tree on Christmas Eve, and  here's our new pretty white one!

 You know, just playing trains in the nude.

 I think she likes them!

 New clothes for my growing girl! I seriously cannot keep up with this girl and her need for new clothes and shoes lately. 

A movie! Which she will still only sit and watch for 20 minutes, but hey that's something. This girl does not sit still. 

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve 2012:

 So we all turned around for 2 seconds, and when we looked back, Addi had picked up Reid and was trying to hold him. I'm in trouble!

 We have two kids. Weird. 

 Addi reading to Grandma and Grandpa J. (They came for a few weeks in December and Addi was in heaven with all of the attention. Grandma J got up with her every morning and fed her breakfast so I could sneak in a few extra minutes of sleep. Grandma J also did our laundry, kept our house clean, and cooked every meal for weeks. Thank you for all of your help, Grandma J. Grandpa J took his job as baby holder very seriously. I don't think Reid slept anywhere but someone's arms for weeks! We sure miss you both around here! Addi misses playing with your iPad, Grammy =) )

Here's what Reid thought of the whole thing. 

Grandma B Comes to Town

The hardest part about having a second baby (for me) was knowing what to do with my first baby while we were in the hospital. I wanted her to be with people she knew and loved and could try and stick to her routine. I didn't want her to be shuffled around from place to place. So, Chad's mom was kind enough to come out and spend some time with us during the time I was supposed to be having a baby. We thought I would go into labor early, so she came the week before Reid actually arrived, but she was so helpful with Addi during that last week I was pregnant and not wanting to move. =) Addi had so much fun with Grandma B! Thankfully Reid decided to show up while she was still here. It was such a relief for me knowing that she was the one taking care of Addi while we were in the hospital. We were all so glad she was here!

Thanks for coming, Grandma B!       

 *Side, funny story - We thought it would be fun to take Grandma to the Festival of Lights at the Cincinnati Zoo the night she came in from Utah. It was not a good idea. Apparently we decided to go on the busiest night of the year, and it took us 2.5 hours from the zoo exit to get to the zoo. (It usually takes us about 10 minutes). I'm sure we were quite a sight. I was 9 months pregnant, very uncomfortable, having contractions every 10 minutes from sitting for so long. My poor kid was so bored sitting in the back seat. We really tried to make the best of it, but we were a little ornery by the time we got there. Anyway, that's why the above picture makes me laugh. This was when we got to the zoo, and it was way passed Addi's bedtime. She was exhausted, as we all were. But this picture makes it look like we just had the time of our lives! =) 

Addi is 2!

Addi's 2nd birthday fell on the day we came home from the hospital. We tried really hard to get out of the hospital a day early because we were missing her so badly, and they were going to let us until they realized that I didn't get enough of the antibiotic I needed for testing positive for Group B Strep. You know, because the second half of my labor went by super fast. So we had to settle for coming home on her actual birthday. We tried to make that day as special as possible. Thank goodness for Grandma B, who was there to help make the day special too. In Chad's family, they have a tradition of eating Chinese food for dinner, so we decided to carry that on. Addi loved eating with chopsticks and managed to actually get some food in her mouth! We also got donuts from our favorite "donut shop" rather than a cake, because you don't like cake and you love donuts. 

 She must have blown out the candles 20 times. Grandma B taught her how to sing the "Happy Birthday Song" and it was so cute. I have a video of it on my phone I'll have to download. 

 Skyping with Mandy, Checho, Abby & Bella while she opened their present.

 Stopping to give brother a smooch.

Our little princess!

Tree Hunting

We decided to buy a real tree this year, and even went as far as going to a plantation to cut it down. With a saw. In the freezing cold. This happened the weekend after Thanksgiving, so we were lucky enough to have some helpers (Addi's cousins and uncle came along). 

 Surveying the foliage

 And this is why older cousins are awesome. Addi is spoiled with their attention and they'll do things like drag her around in the sleigh for an hour while we find a tree.

 There she is!

Donuts in the vacant lot 

 My animal lover

 And no tree farm is complete without a visit from...Mary and Joseph? Forget Santa, Addi loved the little pony. (I am a cruel parent for not taking my kid to see Santa. I just figure, why torture her? I know she would hate it, so we'll try in a few years when I think she's ready.)

Reid James

Reid James Byron made his entrance into the world at 2:08 pm on December 6th. Labor was thankfully much different this time than with Addi. Contractions began on the 5th at 6 pm. We went to the hospital at midnight and stayed until 4 am, only to be told that I was at 2 cm and wasn't budging (even after 10 hours of very painful contractions). So they sent us home. At 9:30 the next morning, I told Chad I couldn't take it anymore and we went back to the hospital. I was dilated to a 5 at 10:30 and received my epidural around noon. Around 1:15 I was close to a 7, and then the nurse changed my position. Just 30 minutes later I was complete and could start pushing. He arrived shortly after 2! It went so fast! My recovery has also been much easier, and I'm already feeling much like my old self. (I felt miserable after Addi was born for months...and months...and months...)

 And here is what big sister thought of her crying brother...

 Every time he cried in the hospital, she cried. It was kind of hilarious. 

 Our first picture as a family of four!

 My sweet, baby boy.

Reid is now two weeks old and has already changed our lives forever. He is the sweetest little guy and is so pleasant. Addi has learned that he is ok when he cries and now just wants to snuggle/kiss/hold/hug him all day long. We sure do love him to pieces!