Happy 4 Months Tagg

Yesterday marked 4 months of having our new baby Tagg.

{may 10, 2013}

I cannot tell you enough what a fun, sweet, cuddly baby he is!

{may 25}

If you're like me, every time we add another child to the family, you wonder how the family dynamic and your schedules will change. 

{july 28}

Sure, adding a third has definitely made life busier, but Tagg is the PERFECT baby for us.

If I was given the ability to design my own children, I am certain, 100%, that I would not be able to design them more perfect!

(Everything from that intoxicating baby head smell down to his clammy little tootsies!)

{june 17}

Everyday I marvel at God's grace. His love overwhelms me and I am so thankful for this little bundle of joy....

{may 20}

THE FIRST MONTH:

We just love those sweet cheeks.

{may 24}

Lots of naps. Adjusting to a new baby in the house is tiring!

{may 31}

Lots of snuggles. Tagg gets the award for my 'most snugly baby'.

{june 2}

HAPPY ONE MONTH:

Proud BIG Sister!

{june 13}

{june 20}

First long trip in the car. He was an angel, of course, and loved to stretch when we stopped to get him out of his car seat.

{july 7} 

HAPPY TWO MONTHS:

Every mom dreads the two month doctor visit...

Tagg cried. Reese cried. Mommy cried.

{july 15}

First diaper change from Big Sis!

{july 17}

LOVES to be wrapped tight for naps.

{july 24}

Such a happy boy in the bath! 

There's just something about how a baby smells fresh out of the bath.

{july 25}

HAPPY THREE MONTHS:

It's a rough life y'all!

Continuing his nighttime ritual of falling asleep on Daddy....

{august 14}

Reese is off to school. We sure do miss her smile around here during the day!

{august 18}

He loves his play mat and toys and I love his peacock hair!

{august 19}

I have a couple of couch potatoes on my hands thanks to Disney Junior!

{august 20}

I got to use my Moby Wrap several times and we both love it. Worth the investment- just remember, practice makes you better!

{august 22}

First cereal...not a fan.

{august 25}

Bath time, on the other hand, is still a thrill.
Can't you just hear the scream through the picture???

{september 4}

Not sure how I deserve these three....

{september 6}

Baby Dedication Sunday....  

{september 7}

HAPPY FOUR MONTHS TAGG!

{we can't wait to see what this month holds!}

Graham Keegan- A Birth Story (4 Years Old)

A week ago, we sang 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY' to our first bundle of BOY joy!

We welcomed Graham Keegan into our family FOUR years ago.

A birth story....
July 29, 2009
I had a scheduled appointment at 2:30 on that Wednesday afternoon with another family doctor. My doctor was out of town for the week. I was torn between being COMPLETELY ready for this baby and wanting to WAIT a few more days so my doctor could deliver as he had done before.
My appointment went well and I was excited to say I had made the 40 weeks.
Tomorrow was my due date and we were ready to meet our son.

Contractions started at 5 that evening. They were bearable, and nothing like the contractions I had experienced with my daughter almost four years earlier.
Besides, who has their baby on the ACTUAL due date?
(I laugh now because I have delivered 2 out of 3 babies on their due dates.)

My husband was grilling hotdogs and I was cooking macaroni and cheese in the kitchen. As I was stirring the noodles, I had an intense contraction. I had Joel finish dinner and I rested on the couch. We decided to have my in-laws come get Reese and take her to Church with them. I packed an overnight bag for her, just in case.
I convinced my husband to let me labor at home as long as possible. NO pregnant woman wants to be told to 'go back home'. I wanted to make sure I was in labor.
At 8 pm we headed to hospital.

When we arrived, I was settled into a labor and delivery room where my water was broken and contractions quickly progressed. 11pm brought the epidural and smiles all around.

Delivery started at 1:30, after I rested, and our son arrived at 1:57 am on July 30, 2009.
He was 9 pounds 4 ounces and was 21 inches long.

His heart rate had dropped during delivery so Respiratory Specialists were called to come assist him after he was born. He had swallowed a lot of amniotic fluid and it was 20 minutes (which seemed like forever) until I was able to hold him.

Reese arrived later that day to meet and love on her new brother.

Our family for FOUR went home Friday, July 31st and have enjoyed every moment with our son since!

Graham,
You have brought such joy to our family. Thank you for your energy. Thank you for being all BOY and still wanting to play dress-up with your big sister.
We love you and enjoy seeing how you have grown. We pray you will live a God-honoring life and grow up strong and loving.

I went through my pictures of the last four years to include some of my favorites.
I laughed and laughed as I looked back and realized most of his pictures are of him eating or sleeping. (Two of his favorite things!)

{First Birthday}

{How many pacie's does one boy need?}

{Those cheeks get me every time.}

A Daddy Gift

Like most kids, Reese and Graham LOVE to draw and color pictures.

The only requirement is that you keep EVERYTHING they give you.

I thought this photo was funny....

Not entirely true, but it emphasizes the fact of how wrong it is to throw away ANYTHING (in the eyes of children.)

My kids learn quick that Mommy throws out stuff.

When crafting with their friends, they even talk about how guests need to not leave the newly crafted junk treasures on the floor. "My Mom will throw it out" is what they say.

Guilty.

I'm sorry... Mommy can't handle papers just lying around. If I did, I would have died years ago from paper strangulation.

Anyway.... with that said, they give Daddy TONS of pretty artwork. And Daddy takes it to work.

In an attempt to keep those papers organized and help them remain a keepsake, enter the organizer we got him for his birthday.

It's a plastic box that holds file folders perfectly.

And each file folder is now labeled with a year. I started with 2005, the year our oldest was born, and ended with 2029. That's a lot of keepsakes!

So this plastic file box doesn't get confused with 'work' stuff, I added this poem to the front:

"Paint me a picture,
Both happy and bright;
That will light up my face
Both day and night!
Paint me a world of make believe...
Of princesses, dragons, and knights on steed!
And when you are finished,
I know just what to do!
I'll save those precious pictures,
And one day, show them all to you!"

It is already holding precious gifts of paper from our kids to Daddy.
It will be fun to see them go through the files, piece by piece, when they're older and see what they drew from years past.

I'm thinking of making one for me. I find myself getting jealous that Daddy is getting all of the artwork.  The purger in me does love those precious drawings and pictures when they have a place!

Hello Tagg.

This last month has been busy and has absolutely flown by.
It all started May 10 when we welcomed our newest addition to the family.

Meet Tagg Corbin

Born May 10, 2013 at 4:06 pm
Weighing 9 pounds 4 ounces and measuring 21 1/4 inches long.


Here's his story...

Friday morning, May 10, I woke up around 6:30 with a few contractions. Nothing out of the ordinary, I thought, because I had been having contractions for MONTHS now.
I woke up excited because today was my due date. I had made it. 40 weeks. I had been anticipating my doctor's appointment that morning at 8. I dreamed of him telling me I was dilated and ready! Although, reality was telling me, 'Probably not'. I was only dilated to 1 centimeter the week before. And with my past two pregnancies, I had been at 3 centimeters weeks before delivery. I was 'in the schedule' for an induction on May 15. It was comforting knowing that, for sure, I would not go past May 15.

I rushed around that morning getting ready and headed to my appointment at 8. As Joel left for work he said, "Call me if you need me."
As I was waiting for the doctor to come into the patient room to see me, I had a very intense contraction. So much pressure that I was almost certain my water would break any second. It didn't break and the contraction passed but I was still feeling pain and kept thinking to myself, "Maybe today is the day."
The doctor came in, checked for dilation and happily announced I was 4 centimeters! What an answer to prayer. I was thankful something was happening!
My doctor instructed me to head to the hospital. He said to walk the halls there and he would come over at his lunch to break my water.

So I headed home. Yes, that's right, home. I'd much rather walk in my home than in the hospital. I made a few phone calls on the way home. Joel (of course), my mother-in-law and my friend that was going to keep Reese and Graham for the day.
When I got home, I sat and waited. And I think, pretty much, scared my mom and husband. They kept saying, 'we should go'. But, I didn't want to get there until I knew my contractions were consistent.

Around 10:00, with my bags packed, we headed for the hospital. The big question was, 'Which baby outfit will we be using that night? The girl or boy one?'

When we arrived at the hospital, I had quite the entourage. Joel, my number 1 supporter, and the reason I was in this predicament (haha), my Mom, who flew from Virginia to meet her 3rd Grandchild, one of my Sister-in-laws, who wanted to experience a 'real live birth' and agreed to take pictures, and my Mother-In-Law who has been my faithful videographer for all three of my kids' births.

{Stopping for a contraction and to shed a few tears of excitement on our way to Labor and Delivery.}

It was around 11:30 when I was hooked up and fluids were going in preparation for an epidural. 

Then it was time to (uncomfortably) wait on this baby.

My epidural was in and working at 12:45.

{Smiles all around!}

My Doctor came, as promised, on his lunch break around 1:15 to break my water. 

We were all anticipating our baby to make it's debut very soon!

As I rested, the nurse reminded me to let her know if I felt any pressure. I told her I wouldn't because of the epidural. I couldn't move my legs at all, or feel anything. I had never felt the sensation of pressure in the past deliveries. 

At 3:30, I surprisingly felt pressure! Joel told the nurse who immediately checked my dilation. Sitting at the foot of my bed, with wide eyes, she said, "Don't push!" 

She knew my Doctor was in his office 15 minutes away. They called him right away. 

Within seconds the delivery room was buzzing with nurses preparing for delivery. 

Everyone was moving around with such urgency. I was so excited. (And a little nervous that I might be pushing and not even know it.)

With everything ready, the nurses joked that all my Doctor would have to do is walk in and deliver the baby. One nurse was even holding his scrubs open and ready for him.

The doctor arrived at 3:50....

And 16 minutes later, we met our son.

And he was perfect.

And his Big Sister and Big Brother thought he was perfect too!

Our family is complete.....

(for now.... )

;)