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I have a 2 year old!

To celebrate Claire's big #2 we went out for Mexican food and she had a cupcake! Yesterday we transformed our house into a winter wonderland and had a "Snowflake" party. Those pictures have yet to be downloaded but I'll work on it. Claire's favorite thing in all the world is birthday cake. She loved every bite of it! She went around singing "Happy Birthday" to herself all day on her birthday and everytime we said "Happy Birthday" to her she said "I'm two!" and tried to hold up two fingers.
The other picture is of Ford so everyone can see how adorable he is! He is just as sweet as he is cute! I know hard to imagine but it's true.

Merry Christmas!

I'm a little behind on blogging considering how much has been going on the past couple of weeks!
We started our Christmas celebrations by heading up to the mountains of North Carolina to "Shirley Ridge" - Rhett's parents new home. We had a couple days of fun with his family where Mac and Claire got to play with each other or around each other! We came home to Birmingham for Christmas and my parents drove over for Christmas Eve and morning. We managed to take both kids to the 8pm Christmas Eve service (it's the only one we have - whose idea is that anyway? Obviously no one with small children!). We made it through the service with some creative moves on our part and ended it with a high five to celebrate our parenting feat!
We opened lots of wonderful gifts on Christmas morning. The picture of Claire above is her in Mommy's snazzy new double stroller a Phil and Teds Sport Buggy! It's really cool and she couldn't help but smile when I put her in it. I went back and forth on what kind of "jogging" stroller to get (they do make non-jogging jogging strollers just for people like me). I found the Phil and Teds and it seemed perfect considering how much international travel we are planning in the next few years. We needed something that could whiz around airports and museums and monuments with out being too big. I wish I had more tech savvy so I could put a link or something so you could see how cool this stroller is. Rhett is disturbed by the fact that we now own 4 strollers (single, single jogger, double umbrella and now double non-jogging jogger) and asked me if we have started a new tradition of getting a new stroller with more seats every year for Christmas. Watch out for what you wish for Rhett . . . I've got my eye on a triple! HA!
Claire gave Ford a hippo for Christmas - I'm hoping it becomes his Bunny. He is doing so well. Just as sweet as he can be. We took him in for his 2 month check right before Christmas - he was 14 lbs 2 oz!! Could he possibly have gained 6 lbs in two months?? He definitely has some chub on but he doesn't look really roly poly- he just looks like a six month old.
Claire is having a blast playing in her new kitchen that she got for Christmas and her new dollhouse she got for her birthday. I'll post on her birthday next . . .

A haircut and a smile!

Claire got her first haircut today! She was so excited and had so much fun. We went to one of those "why didn't I think of this" places - a salon for little girls. This places is a sea of pink and purple designed to make little girls feel like princesses. There is even a throne. We got the "First Haircut" package that included a certificate and a lock of her hair for probably twice what we should have paid but it was a special day and worth it! There wasn't too much hair to cut but it looks cleaner and a little thicker with the layers in it. We skipped the mani/pedi package but maybe we will be back for that one day. Claire was so excited about the whole experience that she . . . gasp. . . SMILED for the camera! Yea! Claire did get glitter in her hair, a glitter stamp on her face, a balloon and a lollipop. Not bad. I wonder if they would cut my hair there?
Claire was excited to play on her new playset that Jo Jo and Doc gave her and Ford for Christmas. I got some cute pictures of her playing with lots more smiles for the camera!
The last picture I stumbled upon when I was downloading the others - it's for Shanan. Can you believe that picture was take Jan. 22, 2007 - less than 11 months ago? My how things have changed. That was before we knew Mason or Ford and when our first babies were, well, babies. Claire and Cole have always been so incredibly sweet to each other. She's lucky to have him as a friend. And maybe one day a husband . . .

Little Friends

Claire and Sydney have been friends for a long time now (since her Mom and I were waddling around the PICU worried that everything we did there was going to somehow harm our babies). Well they turned out perfect despite all of the radiation and contagious diseases we were exposed to. Sydney turns two today which means Claire turns two in 9 days. It's difficult to believe that time has gone by so quickly. Sydney had a party at Kids Gym last weekend and we had a blast! Claire wore herself out climbing, jumping and riding on all of the fun equipment. The first picture is of the two riding in the see-saw boat. If you look closely you can see Claire's smile (she does actually smile just not when a camera is around). The second picture is of the two of them leaving school today. They had their Christmas party today - nothing more fun than a bunch of toddlers eating pizza! They held hands and walked out together - too cute.
I was able to (sort of) get a picture of Sydney, Connor and Claire together at the party. It was a lot easier when they were 8 weeks old (in the bottom picture). Claire has just a little bit more hair but not much! We are going to get her first haircut today despite the fact that she doesn't have too much to spare. I've heard that if you cut it then it will thicken up a little bit and help it grow. We will see. I'm sure I'll have some interesting pictures that I'll post later.
We are off to North Carolina to visit with Rhett's family this weekend. If we survive the 6 hour drive (plus stops) we will have a great time up in the mountains. We are looking forward to some relaxing time in front of the fire looking out at the Smokies!

Our little lactation consultant

There has been a lot of breastfeeding going on around here lately for obvious reasons. Claire has definitely shown a great deal of interest in the whole process. She continues to bottle feed her babies but occasionally she will get all of the necessary equipment for pumping and head back to my bedroom telling me that she is going to make milk for her babies and that she will be right back. On this particular day she decided that Bunny (aka Bubby) needed to pump. At first it looked like she was trying to resussitate Bunny with the pump (maybe I just miss working in the ICU too much) then she got it together and poor Bunny will never be the same (if you've ever used a breastpump you understand!). (click on the pictures to get a better view!)

Bah Humbug!

My quest to take cute pictures of Claire continues. It is now complicated by the fact that I now have the challenge of incorporating another child in the picture. I thought they looked cute this morning in their matching outfits so I pulled out the camera and the tears began. I hope I get credit for trying.
Ford is doing great. He was 7 weeks yesterday. He weighs around 13 lbs now. He is a sweet baby. He just fit right in our family perfectly. We are very blessed with two really great kids.
Here is a funny story about Claire . . . we were playing with a felt nativity scene last night. She was having a great time with all of the little pieces and people. She was playing with the baby Jesus and all of a sudden we hear this "No! No! No throwing Baby Ford Jesus! No throwing! Time out Baby Ford Jesus. Time out!" Rhett and I cracked up but she was very serious about her discipline of Baby Ford Jesus. I hope He got a chuckle too!
Claire and I have had this argument before but it came up again today so I thought I'd share. We were leaving CBS this morning when she looked at me and said "Char vroom vroom" (She calls herself Char and vroom vroom means drive). I said what I usually say when she wants to drive "No Claire you can't drive only Mommy or Daddy can drive" then she gets all upset and the tears start coming because she can't drive. There I stand in the freezing cold trying to strap my 1 year old in her carseat as she cries because I won't let her drive! She definitely has some of her momma in her. I wanted to drive from the time I could walk - there was even an instance involving a Volvo when I was 12 but we won't mention that will we Susan?. We have had great success with teaching her to "take turns" with her brother with things like his bouncy seat, play mat or even sitting in my lap. She is fine with it if it is his turn because she knows it will be her turn next. Well today she got smart on me and in a last ditch attempt to win the argument and drive home she said "Char's turn vroom vroom!". Gotta give her credit for trying!

First smiles!

What a sweet day - a baby's first smile! This is the first one I caught on camera. It's fun to see Ford's personality emerging. So far he is really laid back and has a sweet disposition. He is 6 weeks old now and weighs 13 lbs. He is content with a full belly and being held. He likes the swing a lot like Claire did. I dubbed it "baby crack" at the time but, hey, you do what you have to do and if it makes him happy - great!

Claire also has a beautiful smile but refuses to show it off when a camera is around so here is yet another picture of her with a blank look on her face.

Lots of babies lately . . . my college roomate, Ellen, just welcomed #3 a little boy named Davis. The triplets were born last week at 35 1/2 weeks. Two of them weighed 5lbs 5 oz and one weighed 6 lbs! That's almost 17 lbs of baby! Amazing! Great job Luann! Our friends from college, Matt and Jamie, are bringing baby Wells into the world as we speak! These little ones are such sweet blessings.

Worth the Wait

Our friends Stephanie and Casey just returned home from Guatelmala where they met their son, Nathan, for the first time. He is absolutely gorgeous. We are so excited for them and can't wait until Nathan is home forever. He and Ford are sure to be buddies! We have been praying for Stephanie and Casey for a long time. It is amazing to see how faithful the Lord is and how he is blessing them with this sweet child. There have been lots of ups and downs throughout this adoption process but He has carried them through and now they are finally parents! We celebrate with them and can not wait to meet Nathan in person!

Thankful

The top picture is a typical evening for Rhett - loving ALL of his babies! Claire takes meticulous care of her "triplets" Lilly, Addie and Molly (only Addie and Lilly are pictured here). I change their diapers more often than I change hers! She recently received a new doll and nicely named him Baby Ford. Luckily he is small and compact (thanks, Shanan) and more easily transported than the "girls".
The next is a picture of Ford at 4 weeks during his first tub bath. He actually liked it and didn't get upset until I took him out! It's fun to see his face changing so much already.
I desperately wanted some pictures of the kids in the AMAZING leaves this year. Of course everyone knows about Claire's hatred of all things camera so I wasn't able to capture how cute she is (not only will she not smile - now she won't even look at the camera -errrrr!). Hopefully Ford will be more happy to be photographed. He and the leaves look great!
We hope everyone takes time to give thanks this holiday. We are so thankful for the bounty of blessings God has poured out on our lives.

Announcing Ford . . .

Little Bulldog

We officially made Ford a member of the Bulldog Nation on Saturday with our first trip to Athens with him. He did not participate in the "Black Out" but he looked cute in his gameday outfit just the same! The first picture I posted is from last weekend during his first football Saturday with his Dad. He did what Rhett does most Saturdays that he is not working and not in Athens . . . sleep, eat and watch football.
Our dear friends, the Mareks, drove up from Augusta to hang out with us for the day which was so much fun for all of us! Shannon took my ticket to the game and I got to hang out with Shanan all day while the kids played. Claire loves hanging out with "Tole" and "Macey" aka Cole and Mason. We were able to capture her first kiss on camera - Rhett has not seen this picture and he wouldn't like it very much :) We thought it would be cute in their wedding video.
Our friends, Casey and Stephanie, are in Guatemala meeting their son Nathan for the first time this week. We are so excited for them and can't wait until they bring him home. Ford needs a little friend close to his age! Our other friends, Tracy and Luann, are expecting triplet daughters any day now! I can just imagine Ford, Nathan, Emory, Ellison and Elizabeth running around together in Sunday school!
On another note - if you ever wonder where I am on Veteran's day (or Columbus day for that matter) check the bank. It never fails that I plan a trip to the bank on these random holidays! Ugh!

One of the gang . . .

Claire has a new doll to join her collection! She is enjoying her brother so much and is becoming very protective of him. It's so cute!

The slideshow is up! Ford's newborn pictures can be seen at www.erinnolenphotography.com/shirley2

It's awesome!

Two Weeks

Here are a few pictures of Ford the last week and one of Claire and Ford at the pumpkin patch last weekend. Ford is growing fast! He was 8lbs 2oz at birth, 7lbs 11oz when we left the hospital, 8lbs 4oz at 1 week and 9lbs 8oz at 2 weeks! It's amazing how fast they grow. He's not a little newborn anymore :( I had some "newborn" pictures taken this week by our awesome photographer Erin Nolen (her blog is on our favorite sites). As soon as I get the slideshow I'll share it. I can't wait to see them!

I've enjoyed getting into a routine this week and getting back to our normal activites. I've ventured out with both kids a few times (I even made it to a 7:30 am pediatrician appt!) and I'm trying to learn how to best manage everyone and all the equipment necessary to sustain and transport two kids. I've decided toting the pumpkin seat around is just not the best way to transport a baby. Seriously, we have taken a very small and portable person and made them very heavy and awkward by lugging them around in those silly seats! I bought a sling and we both love it so I'm going with that as much as I can for now. Besides I need both hands to take care of Claire!

More good news from the Shirley household - RHETT PASSED HIS BOARDS! Yeah! He is officially Board Certified in Internal Medicine - woo hoo! We are very proud of him as he has jumped over yet another hurdle in the crazy medicine game.

Week 1

Here are some pictures of our first week home with Ford! All of the noise he makes comes from his bottom - barely a peep from his mouth! His Aunt Chrissie is wondering if he has vocal cords! I am prepared for that to change at any moment but I am enjoying this sweet, quiet baby for now! Despite the picture above Claire is still very excited about her brother - she even asked me to bring him in to say good night to her last night. She was upset about the bow in her hair in this picture but I thought it was too cute not to share. She was excited about sharing her "new ride" with Ford (the picture is his first walk outside) and kept leaning over to check on him asking "are you OK, Baby?". I'll share more pictures soon. For now it's off to breastfeed and change little diapers!

Ford is here!

Yea! After much anticipation and a very long wait we are proud to announce the arrival of our son - Ford McKey Shirley! He was born on October 17th at 9:58 AM. He weighed 8lbs 2 oz and was 21 inches long. He is just precious! We are loving having a newborn in the house again. It is such a sweet and brief time. We are just savoring every moment!
Here is the birth story for all of the girls who love to hear the details: We decided that the 17th would be the day to nudge little Ford into the world. We gave him 2 extra days to hang out and after trying every trick in the book to bring him on we decided an induction would be the best way to get him here before 41 weeks. All he needed was a nudge after all! When I was admitted and they checked me I was 4cm dilated and 75% effaced. A pretty good start to the day! She broke my water at 7:30 am and ran to a meeting. She forgot to leave the pitocin orders in her rush so we ended up not getting it started until around 8:30. In the meantime I started contracting on my own at around 8:00. When the pitocin started I was a little concerned because I was already getting pretty uncomfortable with my "natural" contractions. My nurse said she would increase the pitocin every 15 minutes until the contractions were measuring 200 and were 2-3 minutes apart. This is where I made the mistake of asking what pressure the contractions were currently measuring - her answer: 80. Yikes. I was really uncomfortable and didn't think I could make it without the epidural if the contractions were going to get more than twice as strong. I folded like a deck of cards and asked for the epidural. Rhett says that I am a mental marshmellow and if I had not know that little piece of information I would have made it. Baby's heartrate started having some issues so she put some oxygen on me and wanted to check me. I heart sank - I could see this going nowhere good. I feared I would stress the baby with an induced labor and end up with a c-section or with something happening to the baby. I was having contraction upon contraction and not getting back to my baseline so he could rest. She said I could be changing quickly so she wanted to see - 5 cm. That was about 9:00.
About this time anesthesia come in and asks Rhett to step out for 20 minutes. He goes somewhere in the hospital to read about sports on the internet. In the meantime everything intesifies. I start loosing control of the pain - at this point the pitocin has only been increased once to 4. My contraction pattern normalizes a little bit and baby is doing well with the O2. I sit up for the epidural and I am hopeful now that relief is on the way. It is taking way too long to get it going though (this is at UAB and a resident was doing it) I remember with Claire it was in about 30 seconds after the anesthesiologist walked in the door and I started feeling better quickly. Not this time. I started feeling nauseated and I told my nurse I felt like I was sitting on the baby's head. The pressure was intense and incredible. She told the anesthesiologist that she needed to check me "NOW". I laid on my side - epidural still not fully functional and she checked me - 7 cm. She said "lets get your foley in". The charge nurse was in the room and she said "we will probably take it right out". It was all happening so fast. Rhett walks in about this time and is a little surprised to say the least. I am in an incredible amount of pain by this point and just trying to get through each contraction. They are trying to get the narcotic bag to hook up to my epidural but realize that I am probably going to have a baby before pharmacy fills the order! They drain my bladder and then check me and my nurse says "she's complete" - it's 9:30. My Dr. walks in a few minutes later and I start pushing. I get a dose of fentanyl via my epidural about the time I start pushing. I've always heard about the strong urge to push - I don't know if I'd describe it like that. It was more the intesity of the pressure and the strong urge to get the baby out so the pain would end. I pushed through 5 contractions and in a little more than 10 minutes I saw my sweet baby for the first time. (Timecheck - 9:58) Even in that moment it is surreal to see your child for the first time. Two of the best moments of my life have been seeing my babies faces and meeting them for the first time. There is nothing like it.
So that's the story. Quick and intense. I could have made it without the drugs but I was not mentally tough enough once I thought it was going to get twice as bad. Of course there is no way of knowing that you only have an hour of labor left and not 6 hours left. I still got my natural childbirth (Rhett says I can't claim it but I say I can - I felt every last twinge of everything!) and the most important part is that I have a healthy baby.
Not only was the birth way easier and much quicker but the recovery has been much better too. Ironically the only discomfort I complained about postpartum was in my back from the epidural. It ended up causing more discomfort than it relieved. Oh well. So for all of you who had difficult 1st deliveries or recoveries - have hope! It gets easier!
Claire is thrilled with her brother. She was so excited to meet him in the hospital. She gave him a stuffed puppy when she met him and said "Here you go Baby!" and when Ford gave her a toy cash register so smiled and said "Da doo baby!" (thank you baby in Claire-speak). She was just as excited to see him the next day and when we arrived home she was jumping up and down with excitement to see him. I am so proud of her and how she has handled everything. Her little world has been turned upside down and she is doing so well. It makes me love her more deeply and in a new way too. And as far as loving another child as much as the first: Yes, what you hear is true - you do! I thought it would be different having a boy too but it's not. The love and joy you feel in your heart for your children flows from the same place whether it is your 1st or 5th, boy or girl - they are just your precious child and you love them.
I will post more pictures and updates soon. I'm going to grab a nap while I can! Thanks to all of your for your encouraging words and support.

My Daddy is Dr. Seuss!

Just a quick story - My mom has been here for about 10 days now waiting for Mr. Ford to arrive. She and Claire have been having a great time. Claire loves having a playmate and Mom is more than happy to oblige. My Mom, being the dedicated educator that she is, has apparently decided there is no time like the present to start preparing Claire for Kindergarten testing. This is where it gets interesting...
Apparently, one of the items on the test is the difference between an author and an illustrator so when my mom reads books to Claire she is sure to tell her who did what. Claire's favorite book right now is "10 Apples Up on Top" - we read it to her about 10 times a day! Mom was explaining to her that Dr. Seuss wrote it and would ask her "who wrote the Apples book?" and she would reply "Dr. Seuss!". Good job C - you are one step closer to kindergarten!

Fast forward - Claire asked "Where's Daddy?" and I gave her my usual response "Daddy is at work. He works at the hospital taking care of sick people" and Claire nodded her head saying "Daddy's a doctor" - "Yes, Daddy is a doctor" - I could see the wheels starting to spin in her little head. She looked up wide eyed and excited and said "Daddy is Dr. Seuss!". Well maybe we aren't quite ready for kindergarten!

Claire started doing something wonderful this week although we are a little perplexed by it. We have been working on counting recently and she has just about nailed 1-10 on most tries ("one" was holding us up for a long time!) so I thought I'd try to introduce Spanish numbers too. I started by saying "let's count in Spanish! Uno . . . " and Claire procedes to pick up "dos, tres, quatro, cinco, seis, siete, OCHO, NUEVE!" What the . . .? Who taught her how to count in Spanish? No she does not watch Dora. No they did not teach her in school. The only thing we can come up with is a CD that we listen to in the car (quite regularly) that counts in English and Spanish during one song. How amazing those little brains are at this age. They are just wired to learn everything around them. Rhett and I are excited about her learning Spanish since we will be in Peru for at least several months next year and perhaps longer depending on his research decisions. We would love to have another language so we are making that a priority for our kids although we will be a little jealous of them and perhaps frustrated when they plot against us in another tongue!

Oh, perhaps you are wondering about the baby. No he has not been born yet. I am still pregnant somehow! We are giving him every chance but we don't want to go past 41 weeks so we will probably intervene this week if he doesn't step up to the plate. I'm going for another pedicure today - I had tons of contractions when I had my pre-baby pedicure almost two weeks ago! The polish has chipped and there is still no baby but that is the most action I've had in my attempts to nudge this baby (and it feels quite nice!) so I'm going to treat myself again. Maybe he works on a deadline and will realize that his time is up now! It's time to join the rest of us. I can't wait to see what he looks like! Hopefully we will have news soon!

Still waiting . . .

No baby news yet! We are still waiting on little Ford to decide to check out the outside world. I was 3cm in the office on Wednesday. My doctor says I'm right there - I just need a few good contractions or for my water to break. So we just wait. I really feel like I may be pregnant forever - like this is my new reality. I can't really imagine not having this big ole belly and actually being able to reach down and pick things up again! I think Claire has given up on the baby being born. She has been hearing about him for quite a while but by now she is like "really . . . where is this baby you keep talking about?". She just kind of ignores us when we try to get her excited about him where as she used to get all into it and hug my tummy. Now she occasionally brings him some socks or a paci and lays them on my belly but that's about it. Her dolls have taken over the swing bouncy seat and carseat so Ford is going to have to work it out with the triplets as to where he is going to hang out. We will keep you posted if anything happens . . .

Let the waiting begin . . .

39 weeks today and still no baby. We are being patient and trying to be old fashioned by not being induced (for one more week anyway!). I actually feel better than I have in weeks so it makes the waiting not so brutal. I've tried all of the "tricks" to no avail so I've decided to stop making life more complicated and just wait. We were hoping Ford would come a little early (OK more than a little early) on 9/28 since Rhett, Claire and my birthdays are all on 28ths but he apparently didn't realize how cool that would be and has decided to pick his "own" birthday. Typical second child . . . trying to be different.
My mom got here over the weekend to help with Claire during the final wait and while I'm in the hospital. It has been wonderful. I told Rhett we should consider taking another wife. Last night he cut the grass, I cooked dinner and Mom gave Claire a bath and got her ready for bed. I realized there is enough work around here for 3 people and by only having 2 we are each overloaded. I'm going to enjoy it while I can because in a week there will be enough work for 4 people to do!
We will keep everyone posted on baby news . . . Thanks for your prayers for Ford's safe arrival!