Cannon's Birth Story

Ahh!! I have had this on my "to do" list since he was born and it has taken 2.5 months for me to actually sit down and get it done! Hopefully I can remember it right, I'm sure there will be things I forget.

My mom and sister flew in early this time (the last two births they barely made it). They came on New Year's Day and I went to the airport to pick them up. It was so fun to have them here. I think my mom and sister got a little more bonding time, because they stayed up late chatting, but I was determined to get to bed early each night so I would be well-rested when the baby arrived. My mom and sister were also unfortunately both coming down with a cold when they arrived so that was unfortunate. The night before my induction, my sister was so sweet to deep clean my whole kitchen for me! She even cleaned behind my oven and fridge! My stove never looked so beautiful and she cleaned out the gunk in our sliding glass door track that has been there before we even bought the house!

Sunday we all went to church and then Jeff and I dropped off the girls at their friend Eve's house around 5:30 ish. Chelsea was so sweet to entertain them while we were at the hospital. We checked in the hospital at 6 and I began to get very nervous! After I got all changed into my robe, Jeff gave me a blessing. The nurse inserted the cervadil and my contractions began pretty quickly. I want to say in the next hour or so. Finally around midnight, the nurse came in and asked if I wanted some ambien to help me sleep. I said yes, and I thought she was going to give me a pill, but she injected it right into my iv and it worked instantly! I was in the middle of saying something to her and I went right to sleep! It was pretty weird. It felt like the best deepest sleep ever and I couldn't feel my contractions as strong, but then at the same time I didn't feel very rested when I came out of it. There was also one point where I felt like I couldn't take a breath. It was like I needed to breathe but my brain couldn't remember how to tell my body how. It was a little freaky. I woke up in the middle of the night and could tell it was wearing off and started feeling my contractions more strongly so I asked the nurse for more. That probably was not the best choice because the next day I was having the hardest time staying awake all day! My Doctor came in and I told him that and he was like, "you mormons! I always tell them to only give Mormons half a dose because they can't handle a full one!" Then I told him I had double and he was like, "no wonder!"

The next day when the Doctor came in he said to go ahead and start the pitocin because I was only dilated to a 3. I could totally feel the muscles in my body fighting against the progression every time I had a contraction, I felt like my water was going to break, but it felt like my muscles were holding against it, if that is even possible, I don't know, but that is what it felt like. As soon as I got the epidural, I started to progress much faster. And once again, it was the best feeling in the world and made me want to cry because it felt so so good. Shortly after that, my water broke. I thought I was peeing, because it was before they put my catheter in, but she tested it and it was the amniotic fluid. The Doctor came in to check me and I think I was at a 4. I warned him that the other times, the Dr had barely made it in for the delivery. He left to do his business and Mom and Heather went to get lunch and told Jeff he should go workout, but I told him not to. A few hours later, and only 20 minutes or so after mom and Heather got back, I felt pressure like I was going to poop and I called the nurse in to check me and he was crowning! Same thing that happened with the other two. She closed my legs so that the baby wouldn't come out and they called Dr. Sepsei so he could come deliver. He came into the room and he was totally out of breath from running to the room and he was also really sick, which worried me a little about the baby being sick, but I guess it was okay. I pushed more than I had to with Cheyenne and Berkeley. I think it was two 10-20 second pushes and he came out! They gave him to me and he looked so scared, I just felt so bad for him. He was born at 1:49 pm and weighed 7 lbs 14 oz, our biggest baby to date! He was 20 3/4 ". All the nurses at the hospital said he was so beautiful.

Jeff went with Cannon to get bathed and tested and whatever they do. I was wheeled to the recovery room. I was so starving and the hospital was all out of sandwiches so I had two bowls of chicken noodle soup. Chelsea brought the girls to see Cannon and they were so excited. Then Mom and Heather took the girls home. Then, Jeff went to workout and brought me Chic Fil A. I had begun nursing Cannon, but no milk had come in yet. So they took the baby to the nursery and brought him to me when he needed to be fed. The next day I don't remember much, we just hung out in the room and admired the baby. The next night, I remember I was nursing Cannon and my nipples were hurting so bad. Then as I was nursing I got the worst nursing cramps ever along with the excruciating nipple pain, then I couldn't stop shaking I felt like I was having a seizure! And I felt freezing cold, but it wasn't cold. That was the most pain I was in the whole time I was in the hospital. Thankfully the nurse realized how much pain I was in and brought me some pain medicine and I was able to sleep a bit. The next day so many people were in and out of our room (Baby photographer, hosptial check out people, birth certificate people, nurses, room cleaning people, etc.) We also got Cannon circumcised that morning. So he was a little sad and fussy that day. Oh! And I had the BEST nurses. Sally was my recovery nurse and I am so sad I don't remember my L&D nurse's name but she was great too. So grateful for them!

Fast forward 2 1/2 months and we are in love with little Cannon Man. He is the sweetest, cutest little baby and we all fall more in love with him every day. Can't wait to live life with him in our family!

Pajama Girls

For New Year's Eve we went to an AWESOME party at our friend Robyn and Steve's house. They also threw a Super Bowl party and these people know how to throw a party!! It was so much fun!! They had any food you could think of, tons of fun people, fireworks, a bouncy house and boxes of candy everywhere for the kids, it was totally awesome! Anyway, we live like 45 minutes from their house so they invited us to stay in the guest room, since it wouldn't have been super safe driving back on New Years Eve with possible drunk drivers. The bad part was that I came down with some sort of sickness and woke up with a fever:( Jeff was going with some friends to play football the next morning so I rode back with him because I didn't want to drive myself later. Jeff ended up getting a horrible migraine where he lost his vision and was in extreme pain all day, I had a fever and was on Nyquil and so I spent all day sleeping. I think it lasted for two days or so, and these sweet girls survived by eating remnants of the gingerbread houses. Every few hours Berkeley would tap my face and be holding a hot dog and I would stumble to the microwave and put it in and pour on some ketchup and give her a glass of water and go back to the couch. When Jeff and I both finally came to, the house was a disaster, there was cereal spilled all over the floor, but everyone was alive, so that was a success! I gave these messy girls a bath and here they are all fresh and clean!

Christmas 2013

 Excited little girls on Christmas Eve!

 Making cookies for Santa!

 Daddy photo bombed this one!

Our little Princesses with the cookies

Christmas Morning!

Matching Jammies from Grandma Connie and Grandpa Frank and Matching outfits from Grandma Janet and Grandpa Bill

Matching Christmas Dresses from Grandma Connie and Grandpa Frank

It was another year full of the Christmas Spirit! We are very blessed!

December 2013 fun

Cheyenne got the above outfit as a gift from Grandma Sylvia for Christmas. She also wore the little crown from her birthday party and the poof which was a gift from her friends, The Whighams. We got a picture after church to text to Grandma...

This is our elf, Princess! It was our first year experiencing the Elf on the Shelf Tradition. She was a pretty funny little girl... she drew faces on our family pictures, she drank out of the syrup with Barbie and lots more...

The kids at the Christmas parade with their friend, Scotty...

Cheyenne and her miniature Starbucks hot chocolate, so cute.

Finally starting to teach Berkeley her letters! Still working on that, I am so lazy about it...

Berkeley and Cheyenne with the little town, they can't keep their hands off it and break something every year! They love it.

Berkeley holding ice and drawing I's.

We also made an ice wreath!

We give our little neighbor girl, Carly a ride to school in the mornings, the girls love it.

My first Ugly Sweater party... Bunco at Laura's house! I luckily found the sweater that morning at a thrift store while Berkeley was at Joy School. Now I will have one for the next time:)

There's princess cruising with Barbie and Ken again...

The finished ice wreath!

I went to Michael's two weeks before Christmas and all their Christmas stuff was 40% off!! It was awesome! We got a bunch of little cheap Christmas crafts to do with the girls including these iron on bead things... the girls loved it and it was all about the process! We also got a new nativity set and an angel for the top of our tree!!! So exciting to build up Christmas Decorations!

Weekend Zoo/ Temple Trip

 The girls love these things you stick your head through.

It had been forever since we had been to the temple, so we used our credit card points for two free nights in Atlanta at a hotel. We also get free zoo passes every year through our library! Its great! So we took turns going to the temple and even did family names that Jeff's uncle Billy sent to us. While Jeff was at the temple I took the girls swimming and saved a little three year old girl from drowning whose parents weren't watching her at all. I think it was meant to be for us to be there at that time, seriously, the little girl would have drowned. Little did I know a nice stranger would return the favor to us 5 months later...

It was a great trip and we decided we would use our credit card points for hotel stays on temple trips from now on!

Cheyenne's 5th Birthday Party

 Cheyenne and Mommy... Cheyenne wanted a princess party for her 5th birthday. One of her babysitters, Cubby, is a very talented little actress, so she was going to come dressed as a princess and sing songs for the girls and read to them and play with them and stuff, but unfortunately she got really sick and didn't want to infect all the kids, so I took over as best as I could! When all the guests arrived we had pipe cleaner crowns for them and I put glitter spray in their hair, glitter on their face, painted their nails and glitter lip gloss. We had cake/ice cream, and played princess bingo, and they opened presents and I think we did more, but it was almost 5 months ago now so I can't remember what else, this is why I love my blog so I don't forget my life, but now I am behind!

Here is sweet Berkeley and this is when her crush on "Prince Carter" began.

 My first attempt at fondant. It was supposed to be a castle cake. It tasted good anyway...

 All the kids at the party

 Layla White, Kyra Lee, Afton Whigham, Carter Whigham, Mommy, Berkeley, Idgie Sullens, Lena Whigham, Cheyenne, Michelle Malina

I found a few on my phone as well. The above picture was Cheyenne's birthday morning, I got her favorite foods: Watermelon, powdered donuts and chocolate milk.

I also took cupcakes to her class, these were a pinterest fail. I really struggle trying to make beautiful cupcakes!

oh yeah. and cakes.

November... so behind!

It's so bad because now that we have smart phones we barely ever take pictures with our real camera anymore. I don't have one single picture on our computer from November. I thought I would check my phone to see if I had any at all and it turns out I had a TON! So bad, because if my phone breaks or I lose it they are all toast! And we all know how awesome I am at losing things, seriously, I'm really good at it... hidden talent:)

The above picture is from when Jeff and I got to work out at the gym together (our favorite date). We both had sweatshirts on when we left the house, then we went in to our respective locker rooms and came out to warm up on the treadmill and were like... awesome, we are dressed the same (not the first time this has happened). We didn't have anything else to wear so we owned it and walked proud:) Plus, that way it drew more attention to our Advocare business and invited more questions since we were matching!

Cheyenne and Berkeley after church one day with the stray cat, Rose. This cat followed us home from our walk around the neighborhood one day, and I was so skinny, so I fed it some tuna fish and before it even ate it was rubbing up against me purring as if to say, "thank you thank you!" then it scarfed the tuna. It was the sweetest cat I have ever seen and so beautiful. It would let Berkeley hold it anyway she wanted and was so snuggly.  Cheyenne and Berkeley loved that kitty. Jeff would sneeze anytime we came inside from holding it.

Berkeley with the cutest hat ever she got as a birthday present from her friend Eve.

I think it was in November that we switched to bunk beds. We found them for $90 at a garage sale and the girls were so excited about them. It worked out perfectly because Cheyenne wanted the top and Berks wanted the bottom. However, we need to get a new mattress for the bottom because it is  really really hard and Berkeley ends up in our bed every night complaining of her hard bed. And she is 3. I thought three year olds could sleep anywhere!

Cheyenne to Burger King one day, to use her free ice cream coupon she got from school.

Berkeley with her birthday present from Grandma Connie and Grandpa Frank. She LOVED it and Cheyenne was super jealous! They still fight over it often.

We went to my brother Aaron's house for Thanksgiving! It was so much fun! We spent Thanksgiving morning playing in a turkey bowl. It was fun, I pretty much rushed the entire time, which was a new experience for me, but I sacked the quarterback a few times:) (It was flag, not tackle) and of course I was the only girl. Jeff hurt his calf or something, Aaron was MVP (voted by Jeff and I)!

The kids table

Jeff and I with his new found beard and my new found curly hair:)

We went to Target Thanksgiving night so Austin could get his Itouch he had been saving for.

We also went on a date to see The Hunger Games, but I can't find the picture of that...

The girls sharing the potty on a potty break on our trip home from Fl.

This was that same day as the picture from the top after church, but I have a lot of blogging to do tonight and I don't feel like moving it!

Jeff's basketball season preseason game at Madison County High School (they actually play at the middle school for some reason), but this is where Cheyenne and Berkeley will go to school if we still live here when that time comes. The girls had to go to the bathroom so I took them in Jeff's locker room and they wanted to play in the lockers!

Cheyenne's Thanksgiving gift for her teachers.

Our Thankful Tree

The girls "washing the car" one day.

Berkeley's joy school field trip to Memorial Park Zoo.. this was one COOOLLLDDD day!

November was fabulous! After we got home from our Thanksgiving trip to the Blum's house in Florida, a neighbor had found a home for our Rose kitty.... Cheyenne was super devastated when we came home and she was gone. She quickly got over it when I told her we would have a baby soon and we couldn't have animals and a baby... That didn't quite happen when we thought it would, so ever since she has been praying everywhere (in front of everyone and anyone) for Mommy to get a baby in her tummy! I told her how Aunt Heather prayed for Grandma Sylvia to get Mommy in her tummy for 5 years, so she is prepared for the wait!

Volleyball season got me out of the habit of blogging and now it almost next volleyball season and I need to get caught up!!! Wish me luck!