A birthday Never To Forget!

So our lucky fin turned two on October 19! It was totally awesome too because my husband has been working 6 nights week to help pay off some bills that we have and don't want to worry about anymore. Anyway, he is only off Sunday and half day Monday before he goes back to work on Monday nights. (I know, he's my hero too ;) )Well, Jude's birthday happened to fall on a Monday! Talk about awesome timing! Jude got to spend his birthday with both his parents and of course his little baby brother. And boy did he have a blast. Let's see... We went to his swim class that morning, he loves to swim and is just like Nemo when it comes to being like a fish. After that he had a celebratory breakfast where he got to eat whatever he wanted. Mostly ended up being bacon though; just like his father. After, we went back to swim so he could watch his little brother float around in the pool. Next we went to the store and he got to help pick his present! We had a few things in mind and as silly as it may sound (letting a two year old decide) we let him pick hi gift and he chose an awesome tool table! Daddy was able to set it up during his nap so when he woke up it was all there and ready to play with. His face was priceless. - I should mention he got to help dad build it and then threw a fit when it was nap time but was a brand new person coming down the stairs to play with his toy the rest of the day. -

After that we helped dad get ready for worked and gave him a big ole hug and kiss goodbye as he went off to be mommies hero <3 Soon after I took the boys to Sams to get some pizza for Jude's dinner. I think if I let him, he would eat pizza every meal and eventually turn into a pizza haha. So he of course loved that and got a celebratory Sprite so obviously he was in heaven over that! 

Then what came next melted my heart. 

So every Monday night we go to our friends house to have dinner and fellowship. Everyone there (sometimes 25 people) love my kids and let me take a break as a mom for just a few hours. Since it was Jude's birthday they were extra awesome to him. But here's where it gets super sweet. Some of our friends were going out to the store and while there made a phone call back to the house. My friend on the phone asked Jude if he wanted chocolate or vanilla. Jude immediately answered with "vanilla" and before I knew it they hung up the phone and were at the house with a vanilla cake for Jude. We all sang and he got to blow out the candles (many times I might add). He is so blessed and he doesn't even realize it. Needless to say he had a blast and ate way to much cake I'm sure.

So there was his actual birthday.

Throughout the week people kept stopping by with gifts for him and he just kept saying "happy to me" - meaning happy birthday to me! haha - 

The following Sunday we threw him a nice big spiderman birthday party (he's obsessed with spiderman) at the park near our house. Everyone came and Jude was in heaven! He got to eat more junk food, play on the park, eat more cake and get presents. What kid wouldn't like that? 

Needless to say he had a wonderful birthday party and has adjusted quite well since. He got his last 4 teeth we have been waiting on what seems to be forever and so now just for the molars. - Can I skip that process please? - 

He has also transitioned into a semi big boy bed. His crib turned into a toddler bed so we took the railing off and he is now officially a big boy! He only attempted to escape once, on the second night, and I was in there so fast I think it scared him to ever try it again! (No I didn't yell to scare him!) 

All in all I am blessed to have such an amazing little boy to share life with (two now!) and I can't wait to see what bithday's 3, 4, 5, 6.... you get the point, may bring for us! 

I love you my lucky little fin! Keep On Keepin On! 

Some Birthday Pictures for yall :)

The cake our wonderful friends got him. 

His GIANT cupcake on his birthday. What a little ham :)

Thank you to our wonderful friends who helped make Jude's birthday special! 

First picture as a 2 year old! 

Have A Blessed Day! 

Hello Two's

As we slowly approach my son's second birthday (insert tears here), I am finding that he is becoming more of a little human with an attitude. Now, this attitude of his can be quite hilarious or follow the standard of a terrible two year old. There are several days where I can't help but laugh when he does something that he shouldn't be doing. He's just too cute and his facial expressions are priceless to say the least! I will say though, he is great with his baby brother.

Before his brother was born I was terrified that he was not going to do well. I baby sat a friends kid once who was younger and a little bit more needy and Jude did not like that. He was not a fan that mommy was holding another baby. Needless to say, I was dead wrong and he is so in love with his little brother! It's such a wonderful thing to see them interact. There have been a few times where Cooper is crying and Jude will go talk to him or share his blankey with him and Coop will stop in an instant and many times smile at his older brother.

Our lucky little fin has come out to be an extraordinary child so far. Now I know, I am biased because I am his mother. Whatever. I know that the statement above is true because not one person leaves him and is in a bad mood, if anything, they're in a better mood! I was so worried about how he would be growing up missing fingers and toes and here he is, showing me that there is nothing to worry about! I know when he becomes school aged there may be a few issues but for now, he is the highlight of the party and lights up anywhere he goes. He is my amazingly special baby and I hate that he is growing up! Two came much too fast for my liking but I can't wait to see what the future holds for my lucky little fin.

Have A Blessed Day

Here are a few pictures to brighten your day :)

Raising him right and making him love football!

Loves his baby brother <3

Graduating to Big Brother!

So as most of you know, our little lucky fin has been promoted to big brother! And as most do not know, here is the story of Cooper!

On June 20, 2015 I woke up at 6:30 am with what felt like a cramp. It was nothing intense so I went back to bed thinking nothing of it, knowing he wasn't due for another 2 weeks.

Around 8:00 I woke up again with some more cramping and decided I should probably get up. My husband had already left to go to his parents house because we were supposed to be killing chickens that morning. My lucky fin and I were going to be making our way over as soon as I got him up and ready.

Well around 8:15 I sent a text to my husband letting him know that I thought that I was having contractions but wasn't sure. I told him I would keep him updated.

Jumping forward to 8:30 or so, I called my husband to let him know contractions were varying from 2:30 to 7:00 minutes apart but that I was still planning on coming to my in-laws. In my mind even if I was having contractions, I wasn't very far along and could labor more at home. Plus if I went to my in-laws, Jude could stay there whenever I needed to head to the hospital. After calling my husband, he decided that he was going to come home and get me to take me to the hospital.

In the mean time I was packing up my car, making breakfast and getting my oldest ready because my sister in law was coming to get him. By the time I was all done they were at my house and we were getting ready to go to the hospital.

In my mind, because the contractions were so sporadic and I was able to still function that I would be maybe 2 or 3 cm by the time I got to the hospital. We arrived and headed to labor and delivery! As we were on our way to the hospital I called my parents to tell them but let them know that they probably had some time to kill before he would be born.

Once we were checked in they checked my progress and I was... wait for it... 7 cm and progressing quickly!! Holy cow! I made the nurse tell me 3 times that I was 7 cm because I didn't believe her. The next few parts went by so quickly.

After they realized how far along I was they decided I need to get unhooked from the machines and walk to the labor room to keep my body progressing. As they were unhooking me my water broke and I remember the nurse saying, "oh no, we need to get you into that room quickly! This baby will be here any minute since he is your second." I was shocked!

Once we got into the room where I would deliver things went even faster. The next check I was 9 cm and still no iv's so they were trying to do that as I'm contracting.

The midwife and nurses were amazing! Without my husband rubbing my shoulders telling me I could do it and them in my face telling me this baby needs to be born, I can say that I successfully gave birth all naturally. But only because of them!

As they were trying to get the iv in I noticed that I needed to push! Needless to say they got that iv in me real quick and I started to push! 4 or so pushes and baby Cooper had entered the world at 10:54 am. Almost 2.5 hours after active labor started; I have been blessed with easy labors!

Now, because of Jude one of the first things we did was check to make sure all fingers and toes were there and they were :)

The rest of the day is a blurr but it was beautiful and perfect and I could have asked for anything better! He is now almost 4 weeks old and doing wonderfully! Jude is absolutely in love with him and the best big brother ever! I love my boys to death and now that Cooper is here I can't imagine life before him!

Here are some pictures for you all :)

Jude on the left and Cooper on the right!

Snuggling his little brother :)

After his first bath!

Have a Blessed Day!

Long Time Coming

Wow! Where do I even begin?! We have been so busy that I honestly forgot about sharing my little mans story and update on his fingers!

First up - My Lucky Fin!

He has healed so incredibly well from surgery! We went in 2 weeks after he went under to take the cast off and take a look at the progress. The normally say it's about 2-4 weeks and they made it seem that his was so extensive that it would have to be 4 weeks. Well they took the cast off and the doctor said that it's one of the best he's seen! My little man was able to keep his cast off! We were so excited because we were going on vacation up north and anyone who has had a child in a cast, in the cold, knows that it's not easy putting jackets on over a hard cast. Plus we were happy that he would be able to use his hand again and get used to the movement. He has adjusted quite well and when you ask to see his fingers he proudly shows you his hand so you can see the progress. Hope that's a good thing and that it doesn't come back to haunt us later on!

Aside from surgery he is growing much fast that I would like! He talks all the time, is now in swim lessons (has been since 3 months) but is without mommy or daddy now, he's such a big boy. Along with that he loves all sports, if it comes on the TV he stops and just says "ball, ball, ball" over and over while watching whatever sport it may be. Anything to do with being outside and he is all for it, and like most boys loves to make a mess :) He is a precious and sweet loving boy that I adore! I can't wait to see his personality grow more and more as he gets older.

Second up - The Rest!

So the past 8 weeks I have been in grad school, busting my butt trying to make it through 2 classes while being a mom and wife, oh and have some social life with our friends. Let me tell you, it was super hard but all worth it! I am taking a break due to the fact that my next 8 weeks would end right before my due date. Knowing I went into labor at 37 weeks last time, I wasn't going to chance finals and giving birth overlapping. Entirely too much! With that said, I am in my third trimester at 31 weeks as of yesterday. Gosh. It went by so much faster than last time! Probably because I am chasing around an 18 month old active little boy! It's been a rougher pregnancy than the last one so to say that I am ready for this baby to be out of me is an understatement! Plus I'm excited to meet our second little boy :)

Third up - I Opened My Own Shop!

I have officially opened up my own Etsy store! I started making baby clothes closet organizers and it seemed to really take off! More than I thought and so with so many questions I decided I would open my own online shop and direct everyone to it and go from there. It just became live today but I am super excited about it! Check it out :)

https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChelseaRaeOriginals?ref=hdr_shop_menu



Anyway, short little update this time! Hopefully it wont be this long in between the next blog! I appreciate all of you who take time to read our story :)

Here are a few update pictures of us!

Baby Boy #2!

30 Weeks along! 

We spend quite a bit of time at the pool now days :) Too hot outside for preggo mama and he's a little fish! 

He wanted to be held and I had an assignment due so this is how it got done! <3

Have A Blessed Day! 

Surgery #3!

So as most of you know, our lucky fin went in on Thursday for his third surgery. This one was for his right hand to separate the ring finger and pinky.

This was taken long time ago but you can see where his fingers are connected. You may or may not be able to tell that the pinky tip isn't very well connected. Well when we went in for our pre-op appointment the Dr. had me sign amputation papers for the tip of his finger because he didn't think he would be able to save it at all. Let me tell you, that was horrible. Signing papers that had the word 'amputation' all over it was awful! Knowing that it would be fine either way and my son wouldn't know the difference but gosh. Rough signature. 

Anyway.

We got there bright and early on Thursday morning since surgery was scheduled for 8 am. This time around was much easier because he could walk. Last time he was only crawling and we couldn't very well put him on the hospital floor to crawl around. But now he could walk and he owned that hospital. He was walking up and down those hallways blowing kisses to anyone that walked by him. It was precious and all the nurses fell in love with him. Who wouldn't?! Plus this time he could have a little bit of juice when he woke up in the morning which seemed to hold him off on his hunger which was a HUGE relief! 

One of the worst parts is right before surgery when he is just screaming and crying because he has been up for hours but hasn't been able to eat anything since the night before. As a mom you have this desire to feed them (as any parent should lol) but you can't so you just sit there and hold them while they scream and cry :( awful. 

So we get up to the surgery holding area and they gave him some sleepy type drugs. Holy cow was that hilarious! He was acting like he was drunk and couldn't walk or sit up. Very funny, we were all giggling at him and dad took a video so we can show his future wife some day! 

Now, while we were waiting they go over all surgery details again and they originally said it would be 1.5 hours but that morning they said only an hour. Awesome! But of course we said take your time and walked out into the waiting room to wait that horrible hour that we had ahead of us. 

We killed time by eating and grad school and Aaron even played some video games and next thing we know the Dr. is walking out. I think to myself that this can't be good. It hasn't been an hour and something was wrong.

**back story**

For whatever reason, this surgery really had me freaked out. I kept thinking something was going to go wrong. I kept praying God would take those thought away and He never did so I thought it was preparation for when something went wrong. So seeing the Dr. come out early was terrifying.  

So not only did the Dr. come out early but he walked right on by me down to where Aaron was playing video games. I thought that it was for sure something horrible. Next thing I hear is the Dr. saying "we're all done!" WHAT?! How could he be done so quickly? Aaron and the Dr. continue to talk so I didn't hear much but they were done and casting him! 

Now remember how I had to sign amputation papers because they didn't think it was possible to keep the tip of his pinky finger? Well he still has it, the Dr. was able to save and properly attach it to his finger! This makes him has 3 fully functional fingers on his right hand now! His Dr, is quite fantastic if I do say so myself! 

After he told us Jude was done we still had to wait to see him. We aren't allowed in until after he is casted and he wakes up from all the medicine. Which always seems to take so long!! But we finally got back there and he was doing great! Much better than last time where his breathing was horrible and it took 2 hours (abnormal) to get out of the recovery room. This time we were there for 20 min or so and moved back down to our hospital room. Once he had some food in him he seemed back to his normal self! Running around the hospital becoming everyones best friend. 

We finally got the clear from the Dr. that we were able to go home in just a few short hours! So nice to be leaving when the sun was still out haha. We got home and he slept most of the time and has been doing great ever since. He has adapted quite well and it doesn't seem to really bother him! He went our with daddy the very next day to get some ice cream and a new toy; so he couldn't be hurting that bad right? ;) 

Now we have 2 weeks to wait for the cast to hopefully come off! I will have more of an update for you then! In the mean time - enjoy some photos of his big day!

In the surgery waiting area. Couldn't resist! That little butt is too cute! 

He was not happy before this so we decided to go for a wagon ride! 

Have A Blessed Day!

Worry Worry Worry

So I am almost half way through this pregnancy; 18 weeks and counting. We will be finding out the gender in 1 week...!!! Needless to say I am quite excited. But with excitement comes worry.

I don't remember worrying this much when I was pregnant with our lucky fin. Although that could be because I didn't know all the ridiculous amounts of things that could go wrong. Now please don't start with the speech of "don't be a worry wart" or "the odds of that happening are ___." I know I know. And I know worrying about it won't help and does me no good. Which is why I am blogging about the topic. Maybe if I can write it all out, read it and see how I sound, I will feel better. Who knows.

What I do know is that with baby #1 I was relaxed and hardly worried about a thing. Pretty much all the standard new mommy things but nothing out of the ordinary. With baby #2, not the same story. I worry all the time! From what I eat to what I breathe in on a day to day basis to how I sleep at night. Its rather ridiculous. I was telling my mother in law the other day how one of my biggest worries is giving birth in the car as we race to the hospital. We now live an hour away and if you read my lucky fins birth story you will know that it was only 5.5 hours from start of labor till he was born and they say your second one is shorter. So here I am, mind wandering and hearing stories of babies being born in the car and ya know what she said? (my mother in law) said, those are the easiest babies to birth cause they are just ready and come right on out! Now that was nice to hear (doesn't stop my worrying) but it takes it down a level for sure!

Another worry is what if this baby has ABS as well but it's worse. What if it's around the head or body of the baby? I'm not sure I'm ready to handle that.. Emotionally or physically. I know there are benefits to having 2 kids with ABS. My older child won't wonder why he is different or be jealous of our second baby. But am I ready for that? And before you tell me the odds I'd just like to say that from the research I have done, my odds are the EXACT SAME. Meaning, it was a crazy thought during my first pregnancy that my child would be born with ABS. I didn't even know what that was! But when people say "oh but the odds of your second child is just out of the world," mmm no it's not. They're the same odds and if it happened once, who's to say it wont happen again?? Right.

Gosh. I could go on and on about all my crazy worries. But all that to say; baby is doing great. I am moving to a high risk doctor to make sure everything is alright concerning the ABS but other than that we are smooth sailing which is nice.

It's definitely much harder being pregnant the second time with an older child. My little lucky fin keeps me running around and on my toes thats for sure! He is a bundle of energy but always smiling and that's one thing I love about him. He can light up a room even when he is driving me crazy! I can't wait to see how he does with his baby brother or sister.

18 weeks along :) 

Have a Blessed Day! 

Big Update!

Wow it has been much too long since my last post! But to be fair we have all been sick with everything from the common cold to the flu to pneumonia. So needless to say I have been busy either taking care of my son or husband or being taken care of by my wonderful hubby. Then on top of all of that we had the craziness of Christmas and New Years which I will say went very well for our family. Nice and relaxing :)

Now on to updates to fill you all in!

1. We found out over the holidays that our lucky fin will become a BIG BROTHER! That's right, we are expecting baby number 2 due in July. We are overwhelmed with joy and can't wait to see how big brother reacts to his little sibling. He does so well with other kids that I'm sure he won't have any problems :) (fingers crossed at least!)

2. Surgery update: (see Finger Surgery for a more detailed summary)

I know it have been a few months since he got his cast off and we have been able to see progress. I was shocked at what an amazing job the doctor did. I don't know why seeing as he does this surgery all the time but still. As a mom I think you prepare for the worst so that if it's not perfect you're ok with it and not disappointed. Needless to say my mind was blown. The surgeon did a fantastic job and Jude seemed to love his new fingers!

3. Cast removal day:

Everyone who ever had a child in a cast warned us that this was going to be traumatic. That he wouldn't handle it well and I would cry and dad would have to be the tough one to hold the little man. Well that was not quite the case. My son. My brave and courageous son didn't even shed a tear! (nor did mom for those who are wondering ;)) Yes, the machine that cuts the cast off freaked him out a little because it was so loud but he didn't even cry and dad didn't have to hold on too tightly so he wouldn't get away. I was very proud of my boy :)

After they took the cast off and removed the gauze they washed and cleaned everything up so we could see what it looked like. At this point Jude was in awe of his new fingers. - Keep in mind he is only 1 at this point. - He kept looking at them, moving and wiggling them (so adorable!) and touching them to see what was going on. It was priceless! That's what brought tears to my eyes.

4. Post cast removal:

This was rough. Again, people told me all their advice and I appreciated it because I knew what to expect. His arm was weak and he was not happy about it at all.

Side note: Jude took his first steps at 11 months but continued to crawl regardless. 

So because his arm was so weak and he was used to crawling with this big ole arm cast on he was getting frustrated. We were also told not to let him use it too much seeing as it would get very sore and painful for him if we did. This was hard and every time he would try to crawl, fall and then just cry on the floor it broke my heart. As a mom, if you are one, I'm sure you can imagine this. I would run over, scoop him up and tell him it was going to be alright. 

Well for those of you that don't know my son is very independent and rarely likes to cuddle or hug and wants to be on his own. So each time I would pick him up and calm him down he would want right back down and we would do it all over again. This process didn't last long because he was determined to learn to walk all the time. This made me very nervous because when we would fall, he would have to catch himself with his arms, one which was still very weak. But I think it's safe to say that because of his weak arm, he did everything in his power not to fall and rarely did! It was rather impressive. 

5. Few months later:

We are now at 3 months after surgery and no more cast and he is doing great! Back to using both hands for everything and has no issues what so ever. We are very happy with how the doctors separated his fingers and now are not as worried for the next surgery! 

6. What's next?:

As of right now his right hand is scheduled for surgery in February but that one will be less extensive and less time in the operating room. For his left hand (the one that was just operated on); he may need more surgeries later on as he grows but for now, we are done with that hand! Yay! 

I have a few pictures for everyone. There are surgery before and after pictures as well as just some other funs ones over the last few months :)

3 months after surgery 

He clearly did not like Santa! 

I just love this one <3 

His new favorite toy that he got for Christmas!

Getting to see his new fingers for the first time! 

Have a Blessed Day!