HOMECOMING 2014-OUR LAST GAME AS A FAMILY OF THREE

Obviously I am writing this post and it is a couple weeks late and it is really strange to be posting about this looking back as the last day before our lives changed.  We were moving through this day not knowing that I would go into labor that night and we would have a son the next day.  So surreal.

Homecoming weekend we were excited to have a low key weekend.  We did not have any guests staying at the house and planned to really spend time together as a family with Walker's impending arrival.

Friday evening we went up to campus for the school's Homecoming parade but I have to be honest it was pretty dismal.  It lasted all of two minutes so after it was over we went to dinner with some of our friends that we had met there. and then headed home.

The next morning we headed up to the Country Club for breakfast and met our friends there.  Elle was so happy to see her friends Annie who is in her class and her older sister Shelby.

Elle with Shelby an Annie.

After breakfast we went home to relax and get ready to do some leisurely tailgating and go to the game.

Elle snuggled and resting up for the game on my Snuggle.

Early afternoon we headed to campus in time for the Dawg Walk and just a few hours of tailgating.  We were excited to have Elle with us this weekend for the tailgate and the game since we had a babysitter the last couple games.

Elle and Daddy on the way to the Dawg Walk.  Elle loves her cowbell!

With our friends and our tailgate partners Jay and Margaret.

After some wonderfully relaxing time at the tailgate we headed to the game.  The weather was great and the game was an easy one.  We stayed until halftime so that Elle could see the girls in the pretty dresses and then we went back to the tailgate for a short time.

Family of three selfie.

Being silly with mommy. This is the face I get most of the time when I ask her for a picture.

It was truly a wonderful and relaxing day spent as a family.  It was everything I could of hoped for to be our "last" day with just Elle.  It is funny to think looking back that this was our most low key football weekend and this was the game and day that my body decided it had had enough and it was time to go into labor.  But it makes for wonderful memories!

ONE FINAL HOSPITAL DELIVERY POST

I wanted to include just a few more pictures from the hospital.  We spent two nights before we went home on a Tuesday.  This hospital stay was so different from our delivery and hospital stay with Elle. It was nice to be able to rest and get to know Walker while we there.  I was having some really intense pain and had some struggles managing it so it wasn't all fun.  But for the most part it was so nice.

Daddy and Walker having a little chat.

All snuggled up.

So swollen. So tired. So happy.

My sister had to go back to Memphis the Sunday evening Walker was born but my mom stayed to keep Elle for a couple of days.  She brought Elle up to see Walker on Monday after she picked her up from PDO. Once again I was so happy to see my girl but she was all about baby!

One last picture with Gramma and PopPop before they went back home to Fairhope.

And our friends Ava and Craig were so excited to come see Walker.  Ava has offered so many times to just come over and hold Walker.  I am thinking I might want to take her up on this for a few things.  I am in desperate need of a haircut and a pedicure.  I also notice that Walker's jaundice had started to kick in on this picture.  As I am writing this we are going on our third day under the bill blanket. 

ELLE MEETS WALKER AND GRAMMA AND POPPOP MEET HIM TOO!

Elle was so incredibly excited to come meet Walker once we got into our room.  She spent the day with Margaret having her nails painted and then CeCe and Nanee took her to one of her friends birthday parties. At the birthday party Elle bonked heads with the birthday girl in the jumpy so she has this big red bruise on her face in all the pictures. 

After the birthday party Elle came home to greet Kenny's parents who had just arrived in Starkville and to get changed into her official Big Sister outfit.  Luckily this was one of the few things that I put some forethought into and had just washed Elle's new shirt that week.  She was so proud of her Big Sis shirt.

When she arrived at the hospital room with the whole crew the door opened wide and I was in the hospital bed and Kenny was on the sofa holding Walker.  I was so excited to see her and wanted a big hug but Elle had one thing on her mind! Her eyes darted all over the room.  She was looking for that baby!  She finally spotted him in Kenny's arms and ran over.

This was her first look and encounter with him.  She was totally in awe. She as part of our family had looked forward to this day maybe the most.

She had been telling my mom and sister all day how he would hold her finger.  And he did. 

She was so happy.  

Then she got to hold him.  Another huge thing she looked forward too.  

She was so gentle and careful around him.  

After Elle and Walker were properly introduced in a meeting that was so sweet and tender I could not of asked for anything more special, it was time for Gramma and PopPop to have their turn.

As you can see, Elle wasn't leaving his side.  I would ask her questions or try to get some attention from her and it was like I wasn't even in the room.

Gramma with her two grandchildren.

PopPop with his namesake. The Lacey name shall live on.

And our first picture as a family of four. I cherish this picture so much.  We prayed and waited so long for this baby.  To have him here finally was one of the best days of our lives and then to capture the moment with a simple picture.  Our family of four!

36 WEEK UPDATE-SURPRISE HE'S HERE!

That's right! Surprise! Again! Kenneth Walker Lacey is here! Much like his sister he decided to catch us all off guard by his arrival.  At 35 weeks and 4 days my water broke and after 16-17 hours of long hard labor Walker was born at 12:22 weighing a whopping 7lbs 2 oz and 19 inches long. We were instantly in love.  He was completely healthy and had no complications from being premature.  This delivery and hospital stay was completely different than our experience with Elle. 

Our son.  Kenneth Walker Lacey.

So let me back up a little.  On Saturday we took Elle to campus for some tailgating with friends and then the Homecoming Game.  We did not have any company in town this weekend and immensely enjoyed the day with Elle.  Our tailgate was a small group and we left the game after all the girls in the pretty dresses came out.  Early evening we left the tailgate and called in a to go order at a Thai Place and were excited to come home and relax and watch the LSU/Alabama game. I made several comments throughout the day about feeling uncomfortable but never thought it was out of the ordinary aches and pains that I felt on a daily basis. Kenny went upstairs to put Elle to bed and I lied down to try and rest.  Kenny took a while to come down and I knew that he most likely had fallen asleep/zonked out with Elle. I got up to go to the bathroom and then I started to leak.  And never stopped.  Yep.  My water broke. Again. Early.

I called my good friends Margaret and Jay who I was actually texting at the exact moment my water broke and they were at our house in literally 10 minutes.  Then I went and woke Kenny up.  He was completely disoriented and confused when I told him to get up and pack because my water broke.  It was comical.  So for the next half hour we ran around the house trying to make sense of what was happening and pack bags.  We were going to have a baby! 

We got settled into labor and delivery and the nurse checked me and I was half a cm! Which happens to be exactly what my doctor had told me I was the day before when I saw her.  She told us that day (the day before) that we weren't having a baby for at least another week.  Hahahah! So at half a cm we got ready for a long process.  I started having a lot of pain but the doctor wanted me to wait to get my epidural so they gave me some Stadol so I could try and sleep. It made me feel completely drugged but I could never get any sleep because my brain wouldn't calm down. Finally the doctor came and gave me my epidural which ended up being really really painful and I started to get some relief from the pain. I had some times where my blood pressure dropped from the epidural which made me feel really sick. And I still couldn't sleep.  

In the early morning my mom and sister got to the hospital and I was around 4 cm.  I am telling you my labor was moving really slowly.  I eventually progressed to 6cm and around that time got a hot spot where my epidural quit working.  Oh my goodness the pain! So much pain! I was feeling every contraction.  Luckily I was progressing more quickly at this point and the nurse allowed me to start pushing through the contractions because it helped so much even though I wasn't technically pushing.  I know that makes no sense.  They ended up giving me more Stadol because we didn't want to redo my epidural because of my blood pressure dropping. The Stadol didn't really do a lot for my pain but just made it so I didn't care as much.

Finally, it was time to push.  And I could feel a lot at this point.  But a few pushes and we got to meet our son! And it was so incredibly worth it.  And I was so glad labor was over and that I wasn't pregnant anymore!

One of our first moments.  It was so incredible!  PS Wouldn't you know I had a hair appointment schedule for today that I didn't make it to! So say hello to my roots too!

Kenny introducing himself to Walker!

We were so enamored! And I was so swollen! I swear my feet are still total bear claws.  So swollen!

 CeCe meeting her new grandson.

Nannee meeting her nephew.

Kenny's parents arrived in town that afternoon and so they came along with Elle and my sister and my mom so that Elle could have a proper introduction.  This deserves a post of it's own.  Watching Elle meet her little brother was one of the best moments of my life.  So check back for that!

WALKER'S NURSERY-THE BIG REVEAL!

Here it is! The big reveal.  When I started thinking about Walker's nursery I had no clear vision.  No real idea of how I wanted it to look.  I did know that if I was going to spend money on some nice things I wanted them to last a little while and stay with him as he grew.  I wanted them to be used in his next big boy room too.   I also did not want anything too heavy.  I still want it to be sweet and babyish. 

So some things I knew for sure. I knew that I was going to use our old crib that we bought for Elle.  I am just not into cribs or crib bedding.  I also knew that we had a old gorgeous dresser that was my grandparents I think that I wanted to use.  I knew that I wanted to do some quality curtains that had black out liner and that I wanted a nice chair but did not want to necessarily do a traditional rocker.

So I started looking at artwork, chair fabric and curtain fabric and then asked my friend Kim for some help pulling in some other details. She helped me with finding a rug and having the monogram pillow made.  I chose a rocking chair from Pottery Barn in a tan ticking and my favorite feature of the chair is that the rockers come off and you can put normal feet on it making it a nice arm chair.  I love the results and can't wait for him to be here.  We do plan to put him in his crib immediately just like we did with Elle.  

So here are some pics!

Frames on wall will obviously have some pretty pictures placed in them soon enough.

We were originally going to do something with his entire name on the wall but it would of been way too big so we pulled his initials out of his name letters and my mom made this mongogram wall art.

Excited about my diaper bag hanging over there on the closet door.  It is a Timi and Leslie diaper bag and has a small little purse along with other inserts so this will be my diaper bag and purse all in one.

The swing will eventually be moved downstairs but for now it is living in the nursery.   I love the sign and the sweet quote.  I chose it because its pretty and because Elle loves Peter Pan and I think the quote is cute.

Close up of the top of his dresser.

View from his doorway.  Like I said before swing, Rock N Play and the other little seat will probably be spread throughout the house so the room will be a little less crowded.

And for memories sake a picture of his closet.  My bible study were so generous and had a diaper shower and then we had two sprinkles for baby boy along with I couldn't stop buying sweet gowns.  

35 WEEK UPDATE

I said I was going to do this last week but never got around to it and since I showered this morning and got dressed to take Elle to PDO I snapped a couple belly pictures to document! So here we go!

I like this shirt when I wear it but photograph wise it might not be doing me any favors! Oh well! And my cheeks are so puffy. And I swear my nose is getting flat.  

How far along 35 Weeks and 1 day! Happy 35 Weeks to me! I have never made it this far into pregnancy.  I delivered Elle at 34 weeks and 6 days.  We are in uncharted territory now! My What to Expect App says Walker is the size of a canary melon which I have no idea what that is and weighs 5.5 lbs and is 19-22 inches.  

Total weight gain/loss? Around 40 lbs.  Yeppers. It is what it is folks!

Maternity Clothes? Got a few new tops which gave me a boost.  New clothes are new clothes.  Always fun. 

Stretch Marks- No. No stretch marks. But I had a total panic attack the other night when I came home and I  must of subconsciously scratched my belly with my fingernails and then I looked at my belly and thought that I had literally sprouted bright red stretch marks during the day. Luckily the marks went away and we have dodged the stretch marks for now.

Sleep?Kenny ordered me a Snoogle last week.  Yes 5 weeks before my due date and I have a snoogle and it really has helped my sleep so much.  I swore by this pillow when I was pregnant with Elle and I am kicking myself now that I waited this long.  While a little cumbersome to adjust at times.  Once you get comfortable you are just so much more comfortable and supported.  I highly recommend!!

Best Moment Last Week? Watching the Bulldogs beat Arkansas.  Bringing Elle to the tailgate and seeing how happy she is supporting our team.  Adding the final touches to Walkers nursery and it being completely done! Post to come in the next few days!

Movement? Yes lots of movement.  Some a little painful.  Feeling them in the ribs, the bladder and other unmentionable areas.  He is running out of room! I am anxious to see how  he is situated in there at our sonogram on Friday.

Food cravings? Not really. Just kind of over indulging in Halloween candy.  Orange juice in the morning.  

Gender? It's a boy! Kenneth Walker.

Labor Signs? Feeling crampier at times.  Not really sure.

Belly button in/out? Flat.

What I miss? Shoes.  Being pain free.  My patience.

What I am looking forward to?Looking forward to my appointment and sonogram on Friday and getting my next to last progesterone shot.  I kind of hope that I have progressed a little as far as labor goes.  Also cannot wait to take Elle to the homecoming game this weekend.  She hasn't been to the last couple games with us and we have missed her being with us so much! Not to mention this is most likely my last game of the season.  It will be fun!

Funny things Elle has said this week about Walker:  Not really anything in particular about Walker but she is remaining very excited about his arrival.  I will say we have had some behavioral stuff the last couple weeks.  She's testing her limits and really pushing my buttons.  I worry that it is a result of Walker getting closer to coming.  But I need to be stricter with her and I know we could nip it all in the bud but I am so worn out a lot of the time that I have been kind of lenient.  Time to reign it all in I think.  

WEEK OF HALLOWEEN!

So Halloween! I feel like we didn't do as many Halloween oriented activities this year which was okay.  Last Halloween I felt like by the time actual Halloween night rolled around we were sick of it all.  This year we pretty much kept it to the week of and just a couple of things.

I'm not sure if I had mentioned on here that Elle was going to be a mouse for Halloween.  But she was a mouse.  A costume idea/request she came up with completely out of the blue and on her own.  When I explained to her what Halloween was and how she could choose what she wanted to be she quickly said a mouse. I didn't jump to getting her costume right away and continued to ask her for a couple of weeks what she wanted to be and the answer was always the same.  A mouse.  I was even a little scared that once we got around all her friends who were all going to be a princess of some sort that she would great her choice but she stayed true to herself and I was a proud mama of my cute little mouse!

Elle had a class Halloween party on Friday so she and I made these easy Pinterest find spiders.  According to her they were a total hit at the party!

Helping me out with spiders.

The Thursday night before Halloween we went to Trick or Treat on the Row.  It is always a fun event and the perfect amount of trick or treating. Halloween isn't the easiest holiday when you are 34 weeks pregnant with all the walking but it was still great memories.

Headed to hit up the first sorority house.

We ended up running into many of our good friends and walking with them through most of it which made it even more fun!

Elle, Abigail and Anna Claire

Had to include a picture of Elle at the Chi Omega house.  

Getting her face painted at one of the houses.  We are so so serious about face painting.

Unfortunately I took very few pictures on the actual day of Halloween.  We celebrated our Bulldogs by wearing maroon for Maroon Friday and Elle had so much fun at her class party.  We went over to some our good friends who live one street over (Abigail's parents) for dinner and then trick or treating in our neighorhood.  This was our first Halloween in our neighborhood and it was insane! Lots of people drive in to go trick or treating here so its very crowded and the bowl I left outside of our front door with a note instructing one piece please was gone after two kids I am pretty sure.

They both looked so cute and festive I needed a picture!

Our sweet neighbors across the street dropped off a treat bag for Elle that afternoon.  She was so exited.

Not an exciting picture but the only one I took Halloween night.  Sad face. The girls were enjoying so cute Halloween themed treats that Sarah made!

Trick or treating in our neighborhood was lots of fun and we were all worn out when we got home.  We let Elle stay up a little late and pour out her candy and look through her loot. Because that is just a right of passage.