Our Little Guy is 3 Months!

He is actually 3 1/2 months now... oops! Slacker blogging mom here. I am trying to keep up with monthly posts for him because I did with Caroline and am thankful to have the pictures and updates now. And I actually did take his picture on 3 months to the day... AND they are pretty darn cute, but I am biased I know :)

You, my handsome little one are 15 lbs! Woah... slow down anytime you like. You still are such a snuggly guy, and want to be held constantly, which i don't actually mind, but I remain constantly grateful for our sollybaby wrap. Poor thing you live in it while mama keeps up with big sis. Thanks for being such an agreeable, go-with-the-flow baby. You are sleeping about 8 hours at night, from 10ish to 6:30ish, which is amazing. Thank you! And we are working on naps in your crib. Not your favorite place yet... and I think it really is more that you don't like to be alone. You wake up and realize you aren't being held and can't even handle it. Its okay... we will get there. You actually took a 2 hour crib nap yesterday! Still in size one diapers, but headed from 3 month to 6 month clothes. James, you're holding your head up great, and have rolled from back to belly 3 times now. So strong big guy! 

You love your activity mat, Caroline singing or reading to you, looking in mirrors, being held outward so you can look around, watching Bella dog, and your bath. James, you smile so easily and have also started giggling. LOVE IT! You make the best noises, and sound just like you are talking to us. We're nursing about 7 - 8 times a day with occasional cluster feedings in there. You've also taken a bottle of breast milk twice now, for mommy and daddy to have date nights, without any problem. Thank you!

This past month we went to the beach and Gram's house, dressed you up like a cow for Cow Appreciation Day, got hand, foot, and mouth virus {NOT fun!}, gone for lots of walks, picnics, and lunch playdates with sister, and enjoyed watching you grow and change every day.

We couldn't be more thankful for you sweet buddy. Blessed to call you our son, and to kiss your sweet, smiling cheeks. We love you!

And just for fun, a few other pictures from this month:

James is 2 Months!

This little man has stolen my heart. He couldn't be any more of a snuggle bug... or any more of a laid back, easy go-with-the-flow baby. Blessed to be his mama and to wake up every morning to his smiles and coos. He has been so much more vocal over the past month, and definitely is starting to recognize voices by smiling or cooing or turning his attention to voices he recognizes. It is so fun to see these little growth milestones and to see him developing so perfectly.

James is such a big boy too! We had a 6 week check up and at that appointment he was already 11 lbs 12 oz and 23 1/2 inches long. We are most definitely in 3 month clothes and size one diapers. {Why are those clothes size changes so sad to me?! I just felt the same way when caroline switched to 2T clothes. I am a little crazy.}

He nurses like a champ and has been sleeping about 7 hours at night for me. THANK YOU JESUS! whew... I am thankful to feel a little more normal these past couple of weeks after getting more than a couple hours of sleep in a row.

This little man would be the happiest guy to sleep on my chest all day or be worn around the house in our Solly Baby wrap. He adores being warm and close, and I am soaking up every moment. He has taken to a pacifier fairly well and wants it when he is sleepy, but usually spits it out the rest of the time to "talk" and coo at us. LOVE. IT.

 James,

We are thankful for the way that you are so perfectly a part of our family of four. It feels like you have always been here, and we love watching you grow so big and strong. We know and are confident that the Lord has big plans for your life, and He will use you in great ways. Mommy and Daddy are thankful to be a part of your story and to be used by God to shape you as you grow. Thank you to you and your sweet sister Caroline for making us smile and for helping us to stop in the busy moments of life to soak in the beauty of our two blessings. You help us to look to God, trust Him more, and appreciate His presence more. We adore you little man.

Baby James is 1 Month!

Well the past month has officially flown by at warp speed. I knew it would. And somehow my tiny baby boy is now close to 9 lbs and about out of newborn diapers and clothes. I think I am squishing your little toes in them for one more week though because I'm just not ready. There is just something that transition from newborn to 3 month clothes that just makes me sad. I know, he is still my tiny baby, but this time around I also know how fast he is going to grow, and I am treasuring every second of his sleepy snuggles.

Speaking of snuggles, James you are the cuddliest little guy. You are happy and content as long as you are being held {preferably upright on mama's chest}... so thank goodness for baby wearing and the Moby Wrap! I also just got a new wrap for the summer and we are in love. It is the Solly Baby wrap. I would DEFINITELY recommend. It is just as secure as the Moby but much thinner, and a more lightweight fabric. It also folds smaller which is nice, and has been perfect so far!

We had a fun little, quick 1 month photo shoot in the elephant chair. James, you weren't too thrilled about being laid down flat, but thanks for cooperating for about 3 minutes.

We want you to know that we are beyond thrilled and blessed that you are a part of our family. Your sister adores her "Bubba" or "Bubs" as she calls you. She wants to kiss you constantly and sing Old McDonald to you over and over. Sister tells me thats your favorite. At this rate I am pretty sure you will know that song by heart before you can even talk. She is just the best, and I am thankful that you have her.

You have fallen right in step with our family, and we are thankful for your laid back, go-with-the-flow  little personality. We really have only ever seen you upset when you are hungry. You do love to eat for sure, and have nursed like a champ! You are pretty adamant about filling your belly every two hours during the day and about every 4 hours at night. James, you also like your bath, but just hate to be cold, and I can't blame you there. And you are so strong. You hold your head up off our shoulder and seem to want to "look around"... I think you're just trying to keep up with busy bee sister.

James, Mommy and Daddy are continuing to pray that you grow big and strong, and healthy. We know that God has big plans for your life, and we are thankful to get to be a part of your story and journey from the beginning. We love you little man, and are already your biggest fans. Thanks for a great first month. We adore you!

Our Sweet Baby James' Birth Story

I love birth stories. I read them like a crazy woman before Caroline was born because I was so unsure of what to expect with my first birth. You can read her story here. I loved her birth because it made me a mommy. Baby James' birth was different and similar at the same time, and I love it just as much. Both of their births are a huge part of our family story. You guys may think I am wacky, but Jay and I have felt that both birth experiences have made us closer as husband and wife. Actually, on the way to the hospital this time, Jay prayed for me, Baby James, our delivery, our family, AND that this birth experience would again draw us closer together. I love that man so much :)

As with Caroline's birth, Jay and I were committed to wanting a natural birth. I said this before, and I will say it again... it is a personal decision. I obviously chose it twice in a row now, but I also understand that it is not the right choice for everyone, and totally respect that. It was the right choice for our kids, my body, and our family. I am very thankful again that my body decided to cooperate with me and we had no complications from James' birth. Anyone who ever wants to know more about why we decided and committed to this for our family I would love to chat about it.

Now, you want to know something funny and neat!?! Caroline was born the Monday after Easter in 2012 and Baby James was born the Monday after Easter {ON HIS DUE DATE!?!} in 2014. No way we could have planned that in a million years.  Since Easter is different every year their birth dates are 12 days apart in the month if April, but it still is neat to us. Our doctor actually joked that he was going to go ahead pencil us in for a delivery room the Monday after Easter two years from now. He said this about 10 minutes after delivery and I very promptly said no thank you!

I really thought James was going to be born the Friday before he actually did arrive. I woke up that morning with contractions consistently 6 minutes apart for 4 hours. They were uncomfortable enough that I decided to call my mom and ask her to make the 3 hour trip from NC a day before she was actually planning to come... I also packed my hospital bag, and then of course the contractions stopped all together.

This pregnancy was night and day different from my pregnancy with Caroline, and I had tons more contractions throughout the last month before he arrived. In hindsight, although they were annoying, I think they were getting my body ready all along. I know that I am thankful now that I had those 4 hours of contractions on Friday morning because they helped me to mentally prepare for the work of labor that was coming later, and then when they stopped, I was able to have a really relaxing and restful weekend with my family.

We spent Easter Sunday at Jay's parents house, and when we were driving back home after dinner that evening I mentioned that I felt like my random contractions sure were lower in my abdomen. They weren't terribly strong, just noticeably different in location. Jay suggested that we go walk around our neighborhood while my mom gave Caroline a bath. It was so nice to have a little time with just Jay, and to be outside walking. I walked pretty much my entire labor with Caroline, and I knew it was the best thing for my body to help speed things along if I really was close to moving into actual labor.

When we got back home, I laid down with Caroline in her bed to read a few books, say our prayers and sing songs. I think I knew, and Caroline knew this was our last little time just the two of us before life changed. Caroline as she was falling asleep, she rolled over, put her chubby little hands on my face and said "love you mommy." Y'all I just teared up and laid there for another 30 minutes soaking in my sweet sleeping girl. It was such a special moment, and a transition moment where I knew she was going to be okay with all that was about to change.

Jay and I went to bed about 10:30 Easter night, and while I was still having very random contractions, I was able to sleep great until 3:30 AM. I woke up pretty abruptly at 3:30 with painful contractions. When I started timing them on my phone and they were about 10 minutes apart. They were strong and painful, but were far enough apart that I stayed in bed so that I could rest and doze off between contractions.

Around 5 in the morning, they were getting really painful and I alternated between pacing in circles around our dark bedroom and laying on a heating pad in bed. Contractions were 5 to 6 minutes apart and lasted about a minute and a half. I was determined to let Jay sleep as long as I could because I knew I would need him more later... by this time I was convinced that this was true, active labor, and we were going to meet our little man that day.

At 6:00 I woke Jay up and told him that I knew this was the real thing... filled him in on where my contractions were, and told him I was going to take a shower. He started getting a few things together, made a few phone calls to let people know that he wasn't going to be at their weekly chick-fil-a restaurant leader meeting, and to let his parents know what was going on. After I got out of the shower, my contractions were 4 minutes apart and painful. I was determined to make it till 8 when our doctor's office opened so that I could go there and get checked before heading to the hospital.

Jay kept telling me we needed to get going {He had this fear that he was going to be delivering this baby either in our house or in route to the hospital}, but I was stubborn about the fact that I wanted to know how much I was dilated before walking in to the delivery room. I wanted to be able to make the decision of coming back home and walking as opposed to walking the halls of the hospital if things weren't progressing quickly.

Caroline and my mom woke up about 7 and we filled mom in on everything. Mom fixed me a piece of toast with peanut butter and a banana {I wasn't hungry, but knew I needed some fuel for labor}. We left for the doctors office about 7:50 and called them at 8:00 on the dot telling them we would be there in about a minute. When we left home my contractions were so painful that I was tearing up and  couldn't stand still. It was hard to see Caroline see me in pain and to leave her confused as to what was going on, but I am so thankful my mom was here with her.

The nurse practitioner at the OB office checked me right away and said that I was dilated to a 6. She said we were good to head straight to Labor and Delivery and called to let them know we were on our way over. Luckily our home, the OB office, and hospital are all pretty close together because riding in the car was NOT comfortable. I even had Jay park as far away from the hospital as he could so that we could walk outside through the contractions to the hospital. Can you tell I wanted to be walking?!? :)

We walked into the hospital about 8:30 AM. It was so neat, and reassuring to find out that the same nurse that helped me deliver Caroline was my nurse again for James. Truly a God thing and such a blessing. She was completely supportive of everything being a natural as possible. She couldn't have been more encouraging, accommodating, and reassuring. I don't know her well, but I just love her! It makes me smile even now to think of just how perfectly God orchestrated things for her to help me bring both of our babies into the world.

They monitored my contractions and James' heart rate for 20 minutes and then they let me walk around the room. I think I was in transition while pacing back and forth in our room because I remember thinking, I just want this to stop, but I also knew that I wanted the pain to continue because it was brining us closer to meeting our baby boy.

Jay and our sweet nurse kept asking me if I wanted to get in the bath tub, and I almost did because I knew it would feel good, but kept stalling for some reason because I think part of me knew that I wasn't actually going to have time to get in the tub, and that I would be all wet and cold when it came to the pushing stage. {This happened with Caroline and the transition from the bath tub to pushing with her was by the worst moment of her entire labor!}

I remember having a really strong contraction, holding onto Jay's shoulders, and then my water broke. It kinda startled me, but as soon as it broke I knew things had changed and I felt like I wanted to push. 4 pushes later and our sweet baby James was on my chest at 9:42 AM. Only 6 hours after my labor started, and only an hour after walking into the hospital. It was intense, but totally worth it when I saw that sweet face. My contractions were overall more painful and much stronger this time around, but my body also seemed to know what to do, and moved things along pretty quickly!

James Crawford Hawkins V was born at 9:42 AM and weighed in at 7 lbs 14 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. He has tons of dark brown hair... with blonde highlights! Its the best y'all! It is so fun to be a mom to a boy, and to have one of each. I am loving the differences and similarities between my two kiddos

It sure is an adjustment going from one to two kids... but God's grace is sufficient, we are taking it one day at a time, and Jay has been the biggest blessing of a husband... and y'all my mama is a saint. She has cleaned and cooked and entertained a toddler and forced me to nap. And we have some of the most amazing friends and church family who have played with Caroline, and brought us meals and loved on us in this transition phase. It sure does take a village, and we are thankful beyond belief for our people. We love you.

Baby James' Nursery!

Well, I'm back with another post in the same week! Oh my, things are getting crazy around here waiting for Baby James to arrive. Thanks for so many encouragements on keeping this blogging thing going. It really is fun to share and document life.

I have had so much fun decorating a nursery for a baby BOY... for our Sweet Baby James. His room makes me happy, and Caroline's new big girl room {which is still a work in progress!} makes me smile too because she is loving the little details and the big girl bed. More on that to come...

For now here are a few pictures of our little man's room:

The walls in this room were already yellow, and I loved the subtle creamy color... so it stayed. Jay was happy to not need to re-paint anything. 

 I added blues and natural colors and lots of burlap to the room. 

All of the art work for the walls were either gifts or things I made, which was important to me because I wanted to re-use as much as possible and keep things simple, in-expensive, and sentimental. 

 This is the same changing table from Caroline's nursery. Its my favorite because it is just a fun old dry sink from an antique store that worked perfectly for Caroline. I did purchase new baskets in blue and white polka dot and burlap from hobby lobby. 

Jay picked up this wooden cross on a trip to Texas back in January specifically for James. Love his thoughtfulness and style :)

Caroline has made the transition to a big girl bed relatively easily, and we are using her same crib for Baby James. His blue and white bedding is from pottery barn outlet that I picked up back in november on a black friday special. It is the Row, Row, your Boat Bedding. 

OH, and don't worry, we haven't gone completely wacky and hung that elephant painting off center over the crib..... My sweet, and VERY talented friend Emily painted the above elephant paint for Caroline's nursery, and she is painting me a matching one with a giraffe to go bedside the elephant over the other side of the crib. Its the last detail for the room, and I am so excited to see it soon!

My mama and Jay helped me to make the super popular and VERY easy rain gutter book shelves. They are the perfect thing for this spot in the room, and to help corral all of our millions of books. Caroline loves the shelves too! We used this tutorial, and I am really happy with the turn out. It ended up costing us about $30 total and about an hour, if even that long. 

 I didn't get the best picture of the curtains, but they are white with tiny stitched vertical stripes and are from ikea. They were what we already had in the room when it was a guest room, and theyworked perfect with the bedding. 

I did order black out fabric from Fabric.com and made liners for the back of the curtains so that I can pull them closed and block out the very bright morning sun light that comes in this room. The black out fabric was super cheap, like $4 a yard and I needed 5 yards. It works great and makes this room really dark even in bright day light!

Oh, and my sweet Mama found this neutral glider at a consignment sale in Greensboro. It is in perfect condition and was a great gift for the room. She is the best :) Caroline is still fairly attached to having a rocker in her room so it is nice to have two. 

Baby James' dresser was our one big purchase for his room. I found this one in the PERFECT colors at an antique mall here in Virginia back in January. Both my Mother-in-Law and Mom agreed that it was just made for this room. The colors were just too perfect! It is also well made and not particle board {i am pretty partial to sturdy, real furniture}. 

The sweet J is wrapped in yarn by my dear friend Jessie who is so talented and such a kindred spirit in all things baby and craftiness. I love that she had it as a decoration at Baby James' shower and it is now in his room!

 The mirror over the dresser was something I bought for $10 last summer from Home Goods. It was on clearance, and I bought it on a gut feeling just knowing it belonged to me. I wasn't even pregnant, and it sat in a closet until I found James' dresser and then it was the PERFECT fit. I just love when that happens! I usually never buy anything unless I know I have the right spot for it because I hate clutter and extra junk, but this mirror just spoke to me :)

James 1:17 is our verse for sweet Baby James. He is our perfect Gift. 

The giraffe lamp is from World Market. Love it with the simple textured white burlap shade. It is a soft glow for late nights. 

Sweet James, your room is all ready for you... and so are mom and dad and big sis. Come on! We are ready to snuggle and rock you!

The Last 7 Months of Life…

Oh, Hello!

So I took a little, extremely long, break from this little blog. And you know, in typical crazy pregnant last fashion I decided that 1 week before Baby Boy is due was the perfect time to re-start / catch up on the past 7 months of life. Ha!

Seriously though, I do want to document my sweet Caroline's life. I haven't been the best at keeping up with Caroline's actual, hard copy baby book {surprise, surprise…} and I want to have this blog for her… and hopefully Baby James to look at when they are older. Plus its fun to share life updates and be a little creative… so I'm back, and we'll see I do with balancing it when there are two kiddos?! {ah!}

Here is sweet Caroline over the past 7 Months… Girlfriend, you have changed so much, and remain such a JOY!

It is so hard to put into words all the ways you have changed... and continue to change. You really are such a neat kid. I know I am partial, but seriously, you amaze me everyday with how much you are learning and growing. Caroline you are laid back, fairly reserved at first, but also have quite a feisty streak and are confident in knowing what you like AND what you don't. You are reasonable, and I can usually get you to focus for long enough to explain what or why we are doing something, and then you are easily agreeable.

You adore music and love to sing songs. Your little brain amazes me with the words and lyrics that you remember. Your favorites are "Hello! How are you?", "God Bless the Moon", "Row, Row, Your Boat" and the ABC Song. You can count to 12, know lots of colors, any animal there is, and most of your shapes. You love to pretend to  drive the car {and still HATE your car seat. It is by far our biggest daily battle.} You remember so many words and can talk a mile a minute, but also take your time to observe a situation before jumping right in.

Caroline, you love other kids. You are so interested in knowing their names and holding their hands and giving them hugs. Sometimes you get so excited with other kids that you just want to grab them and squeeze them or poke them in the eye. There is nothing vicious about you, but simply want other kids to play and interact with you. We are working on this baby girl. You love your little friends and play dates to the library for story time, Chick-fil-A for lunch, the park, or friends houses. You share so well for the most part.

You are a Daddy's girl all the way. You pretend to go to "meetings" like Daddy, ask me a million times a day when Daddy will be home, and get so excited for any special Daddy dates you have. I don't blame you one bit baby girl, because your Daddy is the best. He loves you and think you just are the greatest thing... and you are :)

You like Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, dancing to the Hot Dog Dance song, Doc McStuffins, Barney, smoothies for breakfast, going down the really tall slides at the park, petting Bella, reading stacks of books, puzzles, playing in your kitchen, helping Mommy make pancakes or cookies, playing in bubble baths, and flopping around like a silly girl on Mommy and Daddy's bed. You have such an infectious laugh.

Snacks are your favorite.. well Blueberries are your absolute favorite, followed by ice cream or cookies... but really there isn't a fruit out there you don't love, and are a great eater over all. Breakfast is your favorite meal. You have mastered climbing the stairs up and down like a big girl. You are sleeping in a big girl bed and doing excellent. We have started potty training at your request, and you really are making good progress. After baby brother arrives and we adjust to a new normal you will have it down in no time and be ready for your big girl minnie mouse panties!

Speaking of baby brother... you are as excited as can be for Baby James. You know he is in mommy's belly, and even though I don't think you fully understand that he is coming to live at our house, you sure are excited to talk to him and sing to him. You are going to be the best big sister and love him so well, just like you love on your baby dolls. I am excited to see you two together and watch you interact. I know there will be some transition times, but it will be an adventure and part of our family story.

Caroline, I could go on and on because truly every day with you is an opportunity to rejoice in the blessing of YOU. Thank you for your sweet spirit, your challenges, and your growth. We love you more than you will ever know!