Halloween 2009....

The weekend before Halloween (while we were still in the hospital with Noah) our local Avenue shopping center hosted a Halloween afternoon! My parents took Davis as a way to treat him to a little bit of fun during all of these life changes!

I had originally found an idea for Davis to be Thomas for Halloween via the Internet. It was a simple, cost effective idea to use a cardboard box over a wagon. My nine month pregnant self gathered our wagon and a few cardboard boxes left over from moving and brought them upstairs to our living room where I would replicate the online picture. I didn't really have an assembly plan, I just thought I would play it by ear. It is at this point that Matt began to question my tactics. He started asking all these questions about how it was going to work, how I was going to do this or that... I didn't have any answers for him- I just wanted to jump into it. If you know my husband, you know this didn't fly over to well. Before I knew it he had determined that the cardboard box approach was never going to work well, plus what if it rained? Being the woodworker that he is- he whipped up the body of Thomas in just a couple nights. From there we spray painted it, taped it off, drew the face and wha-la... Thomas the Train was complete.

Here are a few pictures from Trick or Treating at the Avenues...

This year Halloween fell on a Saturday- the perfect day of the week for this holiday!!!! However, the weather was rainy on and off the day. We had decided to head up to the church located at the front of our neighborhood for there annual Trunk or Treat and maybe hit a few houses on the way back! My parents came over to watch Noah and then we were off for our Trick or Treating fun! Unfortunately, about halfway their it began to rain :( We kept going but only stayed at the church for a short while as Davis was not really relishing all the fun of Halloween! Oh well, maybe next year! He was one cute train conductor this year!

Oh & for good measure here is a picture of little Noah on Halloween just 9 days old... I could just eat him up!!!!

Big Brother Meet Little Brother...

I always want to keep it real when I blog. Why am I telling you this? Because I want you to know that I don't want to sugarcoat things! However, in light of the past week I'm going to tell you that I have the best two year old son a mother could ask for! He has handled the birth of his brother so beautifully it has exceeded my expectations! I just keep waiting for thier to be a glitch which I'm sure there will be one day... but for now he has embraced his big brother role and welcomed his little brother with open arms!

Eagerly awaiting to meet his little bro..


Davis immediatly started to wave at Baby Noah! A few seconds later he started to wave goodbye! We had to inform him that Noah wasn't going anywhere! Fortunatly Davis was just fine with that!

Below Davis smiles REALLY BIG while holding his "wittle brudder"!

NICU

Noah spent a total of 29 hours in the NICU due to “Transition Problems” at birth. Basically he had fluid on his lungs at birth. Apparently this is more common among c-section babies because the regular birthing process helps rid the lungs of fluid (most of the time)! With that said, I’ve been asked if I regret having a c-section and the answer is an admit “No”. In fact my doctor has stated before that I’m very fortunate to be living in the country I live in during this day in age, with great medical access- other wise I nor any of my children would likely make it through the birthing process. Talk about gratefulness!!! Thank you Lord!

Once Noah was brought back to the NICU only parents and grandparents could have access to him. I however couldn’t go back and see him immediately due to my recent surgery. Therefore, Matt and our parents kept going back and relaying updates and information about him! While I was grateful for these updates, as the hours past I became more and more eager to see him for myself and make sure he was doing ok! Throughout the day Matt & our parents had been told they couldn’t hold him or even touch him because they wanted Noah to be able to focus on breathing and not any other stimulus. This thought broke my heart! I had also been told that my kid was the giant in the NICU- never thought my kid would be considered a giant :)

The doctors finally let me go back and see my beautiful baby boy at around 11:00 PM (he had been born at 7:46 AM)! Though certainly not in any shape to do so I really think I could have run all the way to the NICU if they would have let me! I arrived and saw my baby boy for the second time (though the first time was BRIEF)! He was beautiful even with all the machines hooked up to him. He was breathing a little bit fast and had a few bubbles coming out of his mouth (the actual fluid in his lungs coming up, I was told) but he was indeed perfect! The NICU nurse even felt like he was doing so well she let me hold him!!!! It was just the right medicine needed after such a long day!

Me holding Noah for the first time

We woke up the next morning and headed to the NICU and held our sweet baby boy once again! By 1:00 that afternoon, they released him from the NICU and brought him to our room where we were reunited! The NICU nurse told us while laughing “he had come into his own and has decided he loves to be held” and honestly, after all we had been through in the last 24 hours – that sounded just perfect to me!

Matt holding Noah for the first time

Noah's Birthday Story....

Hi everyone! Most of you already know due to word of mouth or facebook but Noah Matthew entered our world this past Thursday, October 22, 2009! We were so excited to meet our newest addition! We had a planned c-section set for 7:30 in the morning- meaning we had to be at the hospital by 6:00! What an early morning for this stay at home mom! My sister, being the awesome aunt that she is, spent the night at our house the night before so she could be here with Davis and take him to his MMO program in the morning. I wavered on whether he should be at the hospital at the time of birth but we finally decided that we wanted him to be able to stick to his normal routine as much as possible. In the end- it was the right choice for our family!

So once we got to the hospital they took us back to the pre-op room where they started my IV- not one of the better experiences with that! Apparently my veins were “running” from the nurse. She kept giving me a play-by-play as she dug the needle in my arm and I kept trying to ignore her commentary. Ummm I can feel it- I don’t need to hear it as well! After the port was finally placed the antheshiologist came in to talk. I was really nervous about this (though my epidural was wonderful last time- it’s just the idea of it all that bothers me) and he set my mind at ease.. well as much as someone could right before the stick a needle in your spine! Next they wheeled me into the surgical room, administered the spinal tap and before I knew it we were getting started! I must admit I was a little bit alarmed because I could feel much more than I felt when I had Davis! This has something to do with a spinal tap verses a traditional epidural with a continuous drip (which is what I had with Davis, my emergency c-section)! I was amazed at the amount of tugging and pressure I could feel this time- though it didn’t hurt at all! But you can imagine my alarm initially!
So to the tune of some bad 80’s music (which ironically Davis was also born to 80’s music as well) and the repetition of me just repeating in my mind for God to be near to our growing family, precious Noah Matthew Gorman entered this world at 7:46 AM! Before he was out I could hear the doctor and nurses talking about his full head of dark hair and soon I could hear a small cry! ! Music to any birthing momma’s ears!

However, the cry was short lived and I never even got a glimpse of the little guy (once again, this was different than last time). They instantly took him over to an area and began his apgar test! Matt who had been by my side the whole time looked down at me, and I told him to go- I was just fine! So he went and saw Noah and was briefly informed that he was having a little bit of hard time breathing. As I lay there I could only hear ever few words the neonatal doctor was telling Matt (which was so very frustrating- darn 80’s music)! However, I could tell there wasn’t panic behind the words just some concern.
Over the next few minutes Matt would come back and check on me while they “finished up on me” and debrief me about little Noah! At one point he brought me the footprints from our little boy. Instantly, I thought, “Whoa, those look like some big feet! He must be a big boy!” And for so long, I clinged to those little footprints hoping and praying that my big boy was doing ok!
The first sight I caught of Noah was when they weighed him. Sure enough he had a broad chest, a full head of dark hair, and looked to be a big boy considering he was birthed at 38 weeks, opposed to the typical 40 weeks! He was 8 lbs, 5 oz. and was 20.5 inches of pure love!
After that they wrapped him up, brought him over to me so I could see him cheek to cheek, and took him to the NICU with Matt in tow.
Lying on that table, all alone, with all the uncertainty of what was happening was a surreal feeling. I tried to pray but was stunned- once again, I found myself saying the only words that could come to mind “Lord, be near”. They finished up with me and wheeled me into recovery where I was informed that Matt would meet me. However, when I arrived he wasn’t there and little did I know but I had a good wait ahead of me. It seemed like forever before he showed up (no fault of his own- he was exactly where I wanted him- with our little / “big” boy)!

He finally came back and we were reunited. I was amazed at how calm & collected he was. His strength quickly encouraged own. More to come in the next post…

Picassa in the Making...

We've been having A LOT of rain these days! And I mean a lot! It's hard being coped up with a 2 year old for days on end (though I'm extremely grateful for his Mother's Morning Out program he goes to twice a week)! Last week we were especially bored so I pulled out the finger paints that Davis got for his second birthday! I set up shop at our kitchen table and apparently Davis felt like it was appropriate to pray before getting started & for my sanity's sake & new house sake I thought that was a great idea! Then we got started... Davis doesn't really like to use his hands as a whole- just a finger or two on each hand will suffice!


And he likes to wipe them frequently! I was grateful for the old towel I put down beforehand!!!!

Overall it kept him occupied for only about 15 minutes! However, he created two masterpieces- one of which is now hanging in his daddy's office! The other one we may post on etsy or ebay- let the bidding begin!

School Days...

Well- it's that time of year! We got Davis' fall school pictures back last week and once again, it's provided us with a few smiles! First of all, I didn't have any notice that this particular day was picture day because Davis didn't go to school the week before due to flooding and a throat infection! Therefore we missed the flyer being sent home! Hence the reason my child is wearing a warm-up suite type of outfit on picture day! Opps! Normally I would have at least sent him in a collared shirt! Now anyone who has been following this blog for a while, or has ever seen Davis, knows that his' hair has a tendacy to stick up! However, what is that tuft on the side of his head? Even I was surprised by that! Someone please tell me they tried to fix it beforehand?! Please! Oh, well- it adds character I guess!

Overall, I'm not disappointed- I never really have high expectations for these school pictures anyway! I"m just glad to see he isn't crying like in years past! Perhaps by 5 year old kindergarten we can get one with him smiling, wearing picture appropriate clothing, and having a good hair day! Here is to hoping :)

Ode to Old Nursery- Hello New Nursery!

As previously mentioned in my last post leaving our nursery behind in our last house was one of the most difficult things for me! Especially after I found out we were having another little boy! Let's have a moment of silence for our old nursery....


Ok, Ok- time to move on! After all we gotta live in the present! But oh, what fond memories that old nursery brings back! Though Noah's nursery is quite different than Davis', most of the same elements will be used in both- with a few special things designed just for Baby Noah! We were unable to do beadboard again due to financial constraints, but I'm not sure I would do it over again even if we had the option because well... we've been there done that! So this go around we just used a classic blue color & tried to get creative in other areas!

Here is a view from the door... The baby bedding is still the same bedding we used in Davis' old room! I still really like it and haven't grown tired of it at all. It uses different shades of blue and green with some red stitching in places. I got it from pottery barn at a rock bottom price- I think I paid more for shipping than the actual bumper and spread (if not, it was really close)!

Next we have our seating area in the nursery. The shelf Matt made for our first house guest bedroom and I rediscovered it during our move and thought it might be perfect repainted for our new nursery. Also, the chair, curtains/wagons, lamp & rug were used in the last nursery as well.

We modepodged some scrapbook paper onto some 12x12 canvas and got wooden letters to hang on them for a focal point over the crib.
The dresser below was not only used in the last nursery but also in my bedroom during my teenage years. My grandfather restored it for me and it's perfect for the nursery because the top 3 drawers are just the right size for baby clothes!

We recently found this large picture frame to hang above the dresser. It seems to express my hopes for the boys- I hope in pray that they become the best of buddies and have a bond that pails in comparison to others.This was the first outfit I ever bought for Davis! It has cute wagons on it and I can't wait to see our second born in it as well! So glad it will still be the right season for little Noah to wear it!

My Aunt Lesley and cousin Morgan... also known as Princess Morgan... got us this picture frame at our shower! Each letter is a magnet so you can rearrange the name on the side or stagger it- whatever you choose! We could also add Davis' name if we wanted to but I think we will keep this especially for little Noah!My last item I will show you is my favorite elements of the room that one of my best friends, Peaches, made for us! A super-dooper, oh-so-cute, hand painted 3D canvas that features one of my favor tie chapters in the bible! Isaiah 43:1 is "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine." The following verses go on to describe the intense confidence we can when we are walking hand & hand with our Savior during life's most challenging times. I hope and pray God's word will come alive in Noah's life at an early age and that this scripture will ring true throughout his life both in the good & trying times of life.

Warning Shameless Plug- not encouraged by anyone but myself...

As previously mentioned my best friend Peaches painted this canvas for me! She is so incredibly talented and is starting to sell custom pieces of art for those who are interested! She specializes in making the costumer happy, and creating 3-D works of art. She uses lots of scrapbooking techniques to bring dimension to the piece (in our piece both the Noah and Isaiah are wooden letters-though it's hard to see in my picture). The pieces she has created for her daughter and nieces are so adorable because with a little girl you can go all out with frill and fun! I just knew that I wanted something a little bit more boyish and simple and she nailed my request right on the head! I couldn't love it more! If you are interested in getting your own customized painting I encourage you to contact Peaches (peachzyo@hotmail.com) to discuss different options and pricing (she is very reasonable)! You will love her almost as much as I do- ok, well that might be impossible, but you will love her & her work- I promise! Can't wait to see the little boy who will fill these shoes! Only two more weeks my sweet Noah, two more weeks! Your Daddy and I can't wait to see you face-to-face!