Thanksgiving

Things our family is thankful for:
Elizabeth: "Mommy and Charlie" I'm sure she is thankful for other people but we happened to be in her line of sight when I asked.
Emily: "My whole family."
Charlie: No verbal answer but I have a feeling he would say "Tummy sleep time on Mommy".
Jeff: I think right now Jeff is thankful for sleep. A newborn at home and working two 24 hr shifts at the station with very little sleep makes for a tired Daddy. He went to bed tonight at 8:00.
Cathy: A complete family that we didn't know was incomplete until Charlie came into our lives. Also, good health for all of us and wonderful family and friends!

Boys vs. Girls

Here is what I have learned just in the last two weeks in some differences between a son and daughters:
1. Clothes-Boys clothes have the ability to be mixed and matched quite easily.
2. Diapers changes-MUCH more difficult with a boy. Charlie actually peed in his ear today-I kid you not! I was way too confident and left him open to the breeze. Don't worry, I put a tad bit of rubbing alcohol in his ear to dry it out.
3. Gas-He has proven to be better belcher and gas passer and seems happier for it. I'm wondering if this is an innate ability of all males.
4. Mommy love-I'm not sure if it is because he is THE last baby or because he is more of a Mommy baby but I've been fairly selfish with sharing this sweet little man. I have no doubt that one day I will be looking up at my precious son and wishing that he would curl up on my chest and sleep or wrap his hand around my finger being hopelessly dependent on his Mommy.

Welcome to the World Charles William Jacobs!

Charlie entered the World on Monday, November 9, 2009 at 8:39 a.m. He weighed a healthy 9 pounds 6 ounces and is 21 1/2 inches long! He came via c-section and it took 4, count them, 4 people to "push" him out of the incision. Even the anesthesiologist got in on the action. We were so excited to welcome him to the family.

The girls weren't able to come up to the hospital because of the new H1N1 policy but the anticipation built up and they were VERY excited to bring him home on Thursday.

Jeff and I thought we were prepared for the first night having done it twice before-we thought wrong. No amount of experience prepares you for the exhaustion, confusion, middle-of-the-night diaper changing (all the more challenging with a boy, I might add) and scrambling around that newborn care requires.

While we are walking around today in a zombie-like state, we feel extremely blessed to have this sweet baby boy in our lives.

See ya October, Hello November

October is over and we are getting closer to being a family of 5. We had a Pink Panther and a ghost this year. Trick or treating was great, the girls are now brave enough to go up to the doors without us trailing right behind them. I made it from block to block but we probably made it to fewer houses because of my slower pace.

So, we say good-bye to October and look forward to bringing a new blessing into the family, counting down the days until Christmas and stuffing ourselves full of holiday goodies.

Pumpkin Fun

Last Saturday we made a quick trip to the neighborhood pumpkin patch. I was all about getting the "perfect pictures" while the girls wanted to run around and roll the pumpkins. I've realized I need to loosen up, actually doing it will be the challenge. We love going to Dewberry Farm but I am not in any condition to walk around that much. We will be back there next year with all three kiddos.
Last night, the girls helped Jeff carve one of the pumpkins. They scooped out the seeds and the "mulch" as Elizabeth calls the pulp. I was surprised that they actually stuck their hands into the pumpkin once or twice. The cute, little jack-o-lantern is stinking up my kitchen but the girls are constantly walking by to admire their handiwork so I will deal with the smell (at least for one more day). :)

The Nursery!
Well, the nursery is pretty much complete. It has a dalamation/fireman theme (I know, hard to believe) and we think it looks pretty cute. It was decorated with the help from a lot of people. Thank you to all of you who helped out with Charlie's room. The bedding and window treatment were sewn and monogrammed by Dorothy Hendrick and Dawn Buffington, friends of my Mom. We still need a few wall decorations but aren't too worried about that. Our whole family had a lot of fun with the room and the girls are VERY excited about welcoming their baby brother to our family.

What a day!

I started off the day trying to do some baby preparation. We ended the day with the girls bedroom completely rearranged, toys moved around and out AND closer to being ready for Charlie.
The girls bunk beds are no longer in the bunk position. One was getting too much fan/ac and the other was getting too little. So after measuring, contemplating, measuring and talking again...the beds are separated. Well, after Grandpa Kirk and Nana came over to help with the labor part. Now there is a slightly broken rail on Elizabeth's bed that wasn't there this morning but Jeff is sure he can fix it.
The girls were very excited to have "new" beds. We felt the need to reward all of our hard effort with dinner at Chuy's. Whew, I hope tomorrow is a little more relaxing.