Sneak Peek of Jax's Newborn Photo Session

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Amazing Poop

Yes, you read it right... I typed Amazing Poop. That's what my little man had a couple of days ago. You see, I was changing his little tiny size-1 diaper in the middle of the afternoon, marveling at his little tiny bird legs (which are daily getting chubbier, might I add), when all of a sudden, he grunted like I've never heard before and let loose with a stream of yellow poop. For those of you unfamiliar with breastfed babies and their poop, it starts out a seedy yellow color and completely runny. The perfect cocktail for projectile force. After he let loose, I noticed it was all over his clean diapers in their nice little stack, it was all over the case of wipes, it was all over the floor on the other side of the changing table, and it was even all over the blankets in his basket on the floor a few feet away. However, I just today discovered something that I really couldn't believe. In the natural light this morning, I noticed that there were some yellowish brownish spots on the wall. Upon further inspection, I realized they were poop spots and immediately ran to the office to get my tape measure out of my purse. (You may be wondering why I have a tape measure in my purse). First of all, it's not like it's an industrial-sized tape measure. It's actually a cute little green & pink 5-foot tape measure that you squeeze to retract, and it was my very favorite stocking gift from my hubby two Christmases ago. He really knows me. So anyway, I grabbed my tape measure and measures the distance from where my little man's cute bum sits on the changing table to the wall with the lovely yellowish brownish spots. I couldn't believe it. His 3-week old body projectile pooped a whopping 5 1/2 feet! Isn't that amazing?! I'm so proud. He's got his Daddy's bowels. Poor boy.

Spring

Every year when spring rolls around, I get almost giddy with excitement. I love watching the little teeny green leaves budding on the trees and the dogwoods in full bloom. It makes me antsy to get in my flower beds and get some annuals going. There's nothing quite like getting dirt under my fingernails... what little fingernails I have... I've always been bad about biting them. Actually I've moved from biting to picking at them. I would say it's part bite, part pick. So there you go.

Anyway, right now I'm looking out our office window, and the glare from the sun is almost blinding. I've got Jax in my left arm, so I'm hen-pecking this paragraph. Makes me thankful I have two arms. Speaking of typing, my typing teacher in high school was missing a thumb. He popped it off in a calf roping incident. Random, I know, but I never caught the irony of it until many years later.

I didn't get a nap in today, and I think it shows. So that's all for now. Emerson is yelling MAMA! from her crib, so I'm going to load the kids in the car and make a quick Wal-Mart trip for groceries. 'Cause that's how I roll.

My Little Stud Muffin

Sister Sue puckering up

Jax, Emerson & friends

On Friday, my friend Kyna brought lunch and her baby over! Miss Paisley Noelle was born almost two weeks before Jax. Her oldest, Lexi, is 6 weeks older than Emerson, so we're hoping our kiddos become as good of friends as we are!

I'm quickly realizing that having friends bring you food after a new baby is one of the greatest blessings ever. It's amazing to not have to worry about what you're going to fix for dinner, knowing a wonderful meal is on its way over. By the way, if you haven't already discovered http://www.carecalendar.org/, it's the most fabulous site for coordinating meals for someone. Thanks, Cristin, for introducing me to it.

Speaking of Cristin, she and her little man, Harrison, brought our dinner over earlier today. Harrison is almost one, and I really can't believe it. He's just so darn cute! I'm secretly hoping that the stars will align and he & Emerson will fall madly in love when they're older.... like 35.

Blackberry Blues

Late last night I accidentally dropped my Blackberry into the guest bathroom sink... the sink full of Jax's poopy onesies and clothes soaking in cold water. Whoops! I grabbed it just as it slipped under the water and immediately took it apart and let all the pieces dry overnight. This morning the screen wouldn't come on, so I loaded up the kids and dropped it off at the 71st & Memorial phone repair shop. Soooo, if you've been trying to get in touch with me today, I should be back in business later this evening after my sweet hubby picks my phone up on his way home.

Emerson's been using her words like crazy lately... she and I have been working on the alphabet daily, so hopefully I'll get a cute video of her repeating her letters soon. She calls a car a 'kai,' and for about a 2-mile stretch on Mingo this morning, she pointed out every single 'kai' she saw... all the while her brother is screaming at the top of his lungs because he wants to eat again. One-and-a-half hours after a full meal. But hey, I was jamming to our favorite Mother Goose CD, completely lost in a rousing rendition of "Polly, Put your Kettle On." Never underestimate the power of a good nursery rhyme.

American Idol & such

Okay, for those of you faithful Idol watchers, this post is for you. I don't know about you, but I thought tonight was one of the best nights of performances this season. My rundown of the contestants:

• Allison - She absolutely rocks... seriously, she's in freakin' high school and can belt with the best of 'em.
• Anoop - Such a sweet voice. Miley, you had to be laughing by his song choice! I was dying!
• Danny - I was crying, of course, because we all know he was singing to his late wife... I was also breastfeeding at the time, so the hormones weren't helping one bit.
• Kris - He is so precious. I really liked his song choice and thought Randy was way off base.
• Matt - Such a talent, but I agree that he's trying to do way too much. Piano-wise, the boy can play.
• Adam - Lisa, I am terribly sorry for disappointing you, but I actually voted for him tonight! You know I've always had a love/hate relationship with him and it's been mostly hate lately, but I thought he was unbelievable tonight. Such an entertainer. Again, I'm sorry.
• Lil - Why in the world doesn't she listen to the judges & pick a contemporary song? Come on... Bette Midler? I think she's going home tomorrow night.

On another note, here's a sweet pic of my favorite people in the whole wide world. It's Jason with his Mini-Me #1 and Mini-Me #2 (although I'm hearing that a few people think he favors Momma. Yea!).

This morning we had Jax's newborn photo session here at home. Kelly Stocksen came over and spent a couple of hours here... she is incredibly talented. Take a peek at her website: http://kellystocksenphotography.com/. I, of course, will post the link when she's finished editing them. I can't wait to see them!

Emerson, Jax and I played outside this afternoon. I figured some nice fresh air would do us all good. Emerson ran around in her new little crocs, courtesy of Grammy. They're so stinkin' cute, and she still walks & runs a little funny in them, trying to figure them out. Jax just snored away in his papasan chair. I love that chair. And how I love lazy Tuesday afternoons playing outside with my babies.

Easter, The Masters, and Adjusting

Our little man will be a week old tomorrow, and what a wonderful week it's been. Unfortunately, big sister would say otherwise. Poor girl's world has been rocked. She is really pretty sweet to him, pats him gently on the cheek (most of the time) and gives lots of kisses, but she'll randomly lay on the ground and flail around in aggravation. I'm hoping this week is a little better for her, and I'm really going to focus on making our one-on-one time special. Pray that my creative juices are flowing!

I had completely forgotten what it's like to get up every 3 hours during the night and nurse a baby while fighting to stay awake... you know, that embarrassing head bobbing that wakes you up as it's snapping back down... I'm so thankful that I've had that first-week adrenaline high. Jax has been a great sleeper & eater... he also burps & toots like a grown man. But should I really be surprised? Jason would say he gets it from his momma. :)

Today was a rainy Easter day, and we actually were planning on getting out to church this morning, but when the rain just wouldn't stop, we decided not to get little man out in it. I'm glad we didn't go... I made pancakes instead, and Emerson slept in until close to 10:00. It was a fabulous morning, perfect for our last morning together before Daddy goes back to work tomorrow. I panicked a little bit tonight just thinking about it, but he talked me back down and reassurred me that I could do it. Today for Easter dinner, Jason's parents, brother, grandma, great aunt, and my parents all came over bearing fabulous Italian food, and we watched the Masters and celebrated Jason's dad's birthday. I didn't have to lift a food-prep finger, and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed it! I think pushing out a 9-pounder gets one a little extra sympathy. :)

Jax's First 48 Hours

Monday morning just before my water is broken

4/6/09, 5:14 p.m., 9 pounds, 5 ounces, 21.5 inches

Emerson meeting her little brother for the first time

First family photo... Emerson didn't like me being in the hospital bed

Pa-Pa and Grandma C Van Valkenburg

Grandpa & Grammy Turnbull

Uncle Travis Van Valkenburg

Momma and Jax

Daddy and his chubby boy

3 generations of Van Valkenburgs

Sweet Kisses

Daddy's boy

I'm hungry... where's Momma?

Leaving the hospital today

All cheeks... and proud of it!

Thank you all for your prayers, phone calls, visits, and love! Can't wait for you to meet him!

Jax is here - pics coming soon!

Jax Michael Van Valkenburg entered the world on Monday, April 6th at 5:14 p.m. He weighed a whopping 9 pounds, 5 ounces, and was 21.5 inches long! I gave birth to a linebacker!

Jason and I arrived at the hospital around 7 on Monday morning, and around 8:30 my midwife Kim checked me and said I was dilated to almost 4 cm. She broke my water, and my contractions starting progressing from there, although nothing too painful or too close together. Jason and I walked the halls of the maternity floor (along with my brother-in-law Travis... thank you, Trav, for being a much-needed distraction from labor), and in the early afternoon I was making good progress. I decided to use the breast pump to see if I could speed things up even more, and lawsie mercy, did it ever work! Within an hour or so, I was having really strong contractions coming about every 2-3 minutes. Finally, Kim said I could push through my contractions if I wanted to (I was smack dab in the middle of transition at that point and really starting to panic), and he came out within 15 minutes!

This labor was so different than my labor with Emerson. For one thing, because he was so much farther along than she was, I didn't have to have Pitocin this time. I'm telling you, I truly and honestly believe that Pitocin is manufactured straight from the pits of hell... with Emerson, it took over my body and give me ridiculously painful contractions that came every 1-2 minutes for 7 hours straight (with no epidural, mind you). With this labor, my body was really able to manage the pain, and it was so amazing to be able to use breathing techniques, a birthing ball, walking, etc., to allow things to progress naturally. I also have to give credit to my hubby for being the best birthing coach I could ask for. There is absolutely no way I could've done it without him.

So, that is my birth story in a nutshell... exhausting, exhilarating, emotional, but every bit worth it when they put my little boy on my chest and I held and kissed him for a good five minutes before Jason cut the cord. It was an instant bond and such a powerful experience to have participated in bringing him into this world. I'm so proud to be his Momma!

SO WHERE ARE THE PICTURES?!? I, being the expert suitcase packer that I am, forgot to bring along my USB cable to upload my pictures with. So, I promise I will do that later this afternoon after we get home. Check back for pics and maybe a few videos, too!

Lazy Saturday

This morning I awoke to Emerson's fussing in the monitor. She either slept a half-hour later than normal or I slept through a half-hour of her normal morning talk. Either way, when I went in her room, she was laying on her back looking at the door, and she immediately said, "Hiiiii!" This was followed by the sign for milk, and she was squeezing those little fingers to her palm just as fast as she could! Poor baby was hungry. We decided Daddy needed to sleep in a little longer, so I made pancakes for the two of us (after her much-anticipated milk, of course).

After lunch Daddy did the inaugural spring lawn mow, and I felt so bad for him. Today we had near-30-mph wind gusts, so watching him stop after one strip of mowing and bag the grass was pretty terrible. He came in covered from head to toe with grass clippings, trying to rub the grass out of his eyes. What a trooper... and quite sexy all dirtied up. Too bad I'm two days from giving birth... :)

Speaking of birth, I haven't had any regular contractions today, but I'm glad because my midwife wasn't available to deliver today. So tomorrow morning I'm going to start walking, using the breast pump, drinking my organic pregnancy tea, and praying that it all gets something going! If not, she's planning on breaking my water first thing on Monday morning, so I'm counting on that working. Hopefully my little man will be here during the day on Monday. I'm getting so antsy to see his sweet face and hold him in my arms!

Happy 31st, Baby!

Today my sweet hubby turned 31. Yesterday Emerson and I surprised him at work, and his agents brought lots of food and a cake, too. Last night I made him one of his favorite meals in the world: chicken tetrazzini, stuffed mushrooms, and garlic cheese biscuits. I love cooking for my boy, and he's always so appreciative of it! Especially when I'm big, fat & pregnant! Tonight we celebrated at his parents' house with his brother, grandma, and great-aunt. It was a nice relaxing night complete with Pa-Pa's famous ribs.

One thought I kept having over and over today was how thankful I am that he picked me to spend his life with. My hottie had his pick of pretty much anyone, and somehow I came out the winner! I feel so blessed to spend each day with such an incredible man of integrity and character, and he's a wonderful Daddy to boot. (He's also a fantastic labor coach... Monday here we come!)

I also want to give a shout out to my little sis, Miley, who celebrated her 28th birthday yesterday and is pregnant with a sweet baby girl, Avery Lynn! I love & miss you!!!

Getting Closer

This morning at my check-up, I was 3 cm dilated & 80% effaced. I've been having a few more contractions today as well. I'm going to start drinking my organic pregnancy tea which has raspberry leaf in it, and making Jason's early b-day dinner tonight will have me on my feet for quite a while. I've been waddling so badly the last few weeks... I used to always think pregnant women who waddled were so silly. Little did I know it would happen to me and that it's the result of feeling like your pelvis is literally ripping apart. Ahhh, good times...