Nolan's FORE Par-tee!

Well, it was a month ago, but with having a now 2 month old I guess being 1 month late on this post isn't to bad. After all, we managed to have a party for our 4 year old with a less than 1 month old at the time. (High five, husband) 

Recapping Nolan's 4th birthday we started out by celebrating with him one day early at his school during their chapel. It is so much fun to see him in the school setting with his little friends. He had so much fun in preschool this year and I know he is looking forward to the 4 year old program he will be in this new school year. 

On his birthday he woke up to a room full of balloons. We started this tradition two years ago and it was very cute to see Nolan excited and anticipating the balloons. He kept asking how they get there and if we thought they would be there on his birthday. And so, we let him believe that they appeared because of magic. :) 

On his birthday we let him plan the day. He chose mini golf, batting cages (his first time in the cages and he loved it!) and dinner at "breadsticks" aka Olive Garden. 

Woke up a 4 year old! 

Oh yeah, and then he opened presents and ate a cupcake of course!!!

And lastly, we celebrated with all our family and friends at his golf themed party! He told us that he is going to pick a different sports theme every year and next year will be tennis. 🎾 

For the golf theme I brought his mini golf set and themed the food appropriately with "club" sandwiches, pita "wedges", donut "hole in ones", watermelon "slices" and many more clever titles. ;) I was actually quite proud of the names I came up with. Some with the help of Pinterest and others on my own! That was the extent of the golf theme, but I think it went nicely!

Amazing cupcake cake!

And with his 4th birthday came his 4 year check up. We were informed that at the appointment the poor thing would have a whooping 4 shots. We made sure he had no idea and I can honestly say it took us 4 years, but this is the best he has ever done at the doctors. He answered all her questions that quiz them on their development and hopped on 1 foot to show he's got the motor skills. She saw all his skinned up, bruised knees and could tell he is quite the active little boy. We laughed because 90% of the time he has a ball in his hand and is most likely diving or sliding on the ground (The other 10% is devoted to his eating and sleeping). :) She tried to stump him with questions, but he was answering them all with no problems. He made his mommy and daddy proud to watch the big 4 year old in action! And then came the dreaded shots. When he heard he had to have 4 you could see an instant onset of nerves, but I held him...make that hugged him through them and yes, he screamed, but about 3 minutes post shots he managed to give us some smiles and daddy told him to pick out a sticker for each shot, so we basically cleared out the sticker basket and we were on our way! 

"Mommy, they did this at your baby Madelyn appointments too" 

Cold waiting for the doctor so he stole his sisters blanket!

4 shots later! 

Nolan is 35 lbs (40%) and had a huge growth spurt from his 3 year to 4 year check up pushing him from the 40% for height to 75%! Maybe he will be tall like his daddy! 

Happy 4th birthday, my sweet Nolan James!

1 Month with Maddie Ann

Happy 1 month baby girl!!! What a (tiring) joy this last month has been! 

During our stay at the hospital when you were born your weight dropped a bit too much and so the pediatrician insisted we supplement formula. At that point you became way too spoiled to work for your food and I have resorted to exclusively pumping for you sweet girl. I am just as stubborn as you though and we continue to work on nursing daily. I still have hope you will get it! 

{the lip}

You actually love your sleep. I really, really hope that stays, but I am not going to hold my breath! I set the alarm for every 3 hours to wake you up and feed you. In my tired state I have actually forgotten to set the alarm a few times and each time you went 4 hours before waking up hungry! I am waiting until after your 1 month appointment to get the weight checked and ask the pediatrician if we are good to let you sleep until you are hungry!! 

Your brother loves you to pieces. He loves to hold you, kiss you and help take care of you. You respond to his voice. When he sings to you it calms you. You are starting to try to follow our voices! 

I am so excited to watch you grow and learn so much this year and to watch Nolan teach you so much!! 

In this month you have inherited many nicknames -- Maddie girl, Maddie bug, Maddie Ann, Munchie and we should make Spit up queen #1 on the list because unlike your brother, you spit up...a lot! 

{spit up queen}

1 month "stats"-

21.5 inches -60% (still a 1/2 inch shorter than your brother was at birth)

8 lbs 6 oz - 18% (pediatrician advised we continue to wake you every 3 hrs to eat at night {insert tired emoji} we were so hopeful to let you sleep) 

50% head :) 

We love you to pieces Maddie girl! 

Happy 1 month <3

Dear Nolan ~ 4 years old

Dear Nolan, 

I don't even understand how you are already 4 years old. You just completed your very first year of school ever. You are so big. It seems like just yesterday I was 10 days past my due date wondering when you would decide to make your debut and what you would be like. Well, I can say I was blessed with the sweetest, funniest, handsomest and most athletic little boy there is. You truly are something special. 

You have a memory like no other. You tell us things from months (even a year) ago, you learn lyrics to songs super fast, you memorize stories and have an insane visual memory. Daddy showed you how to crow hop for baseball the other day and he only showed you one time...I am so serious when I say it only took you seeing it once to perform it flawlessly. You have been so great at giving us school reminders throughout the year. If it weren't for your reminders then you probably would have been the only one wearing a blue shirt to school on green day. ;) You actually told us you were supposed to wear your spring sing shirt to field day and we didn't believe you, but we should have! Oops.

You rocked your first year of preschool. You went from this shy and timid little boy  that cried during the Halloween parade to a little boy that although still timid will try so many new things and got up on stage and sang and danced at both your Christmas concert and spring sing concert. 

The biggest change our family had this year was that we welcomed your baby sister, Madelyn. You stepped into your role as big brother and you have been such a great helper! You love to give her kisses and call her beautiful. :) I can honestly say I was so worried about bringing a new baby home because you have had almost 4 full years of our undivided attention and I feared the jealousy, but you haven't been jealous at all. Granted you don't like having to wait at times, but you have really adjusted so well. You're simply amazing. 

Your favorite things are sports, specifically baseball. You play any and every chance you get. You study the Orioles. The other day you asked daddy why the players keep their glove on the players when they are on base and daddy had to explain holding a tag to you. I don't know how a 4 year old can pay that much attention, but you take it ALL in! You also love the color blue, Mac and cheese, Team Umizoomi, UNO, paper airplanes, learning new things and dancing like a goofball. You are the MOST competitive little boy I have ever met. You love the word 'win'. Everything is a contest with you and you are a pretty good sport about losing. 

You are the most determined little boy and you work so hard to excel at everything. I hope that your determination and drive never changes. 

I can not wait to see what this 4th year has in store for you! 

I love you to pieces sweet "baby" boy of mine!!

Love, 

Mommy

Xoxo

Happy birthday, Nolan!! :) 

Madelyn Ann is here!

I started writing this before Madelyn was born, not knowing if it'll get posted before or after she came. My main goal was to get it up by Mother's Day. Obviously it's after, so excuse the jumpiness of the post...

Is everything packed? Do we have enough diapers and wipes?  Is the car seat in? Is everything taken care of at work? Is her room ready? Is Nolan ready? Crap, are we ready?!?!

It has been a long 39 weeks and 5 days building up to when we would finally be able to meet little Maddie. Although that is better than the 10 days late that Nolan was. I can’t believe she’s here and we have survived pregnancy with an increasingly more active 3 year old. We can say goodbye to the discomfort, the heartburn, and the restless, sleepless nights. Ok, the sleepless nights will be around for a while…but still, we survived!

I can’t wait to see Nolan’s face when he meets her. I think he will be shy at first as he takes everything in, but I know that he will help us in as many ways as possible, take care of her, and of course “teach her baseball”. I know that it will be an exciting and emotional moment and happy/nervous/excited tears will flow, without a doubt. 95% chance I absolutely lose my composure...

It feels like it has been forever since we had an infant, and many things have come back to us in our preparations, both good and bad. I remember when Bob Marley was the only thing that would get him to sleep, when he finally slept 5 straight hours (even if we didn’t because SOMEONE had to keep checking if he was breathing), and doing anything just to get a baby giggle. We also remember listening to “Three Little Birds” at nauseum, having to check him every 30 minutes to make sure he was breathing (even if he was in the middle of a solid 5 hour slumber), and trying  anything to make him smile, only to get a straight faced “I'm not impressed” look.

But I. can't. wait.

I can't wait to try out the different combinations for the 6,243 bows we already have. There are actual bows with other bows on top of them! Nolan even liked trying them on, and honestly looks a little pretty with them.

I can't wait to spend 20 minutes each morning picking out the perfect outfit…..only to have Madelyn destroy it 3 minutes later as if she wasn't even wearing a diaper.

I can't wait for the first time I'm left alone with both kids. I know it'll be chaotic, and terrifying to be out numbered, but how hard can pitching a baseball to a three year old be while holding an infant?

After roughly two years of waiting, I welcome everything. Every crying fit, sleepless night, and every blowout. I know she will make us happier than ever being a family of 4, an official Herd of Hurds. She will be amazing, Nolan will be amazing, and we will (continue to) be amazing parents.

5/5/16

7:45pm - successfully drop off Nols and head out to a date night at Cheesecake Factory. Both of us are too nervous/anxious to eat our dessert so we take it home.

9:30 - home and everything's packed! Try to watch modern family and eat cheesecake...one of those was a good decision, the other was not. 

5/6/16

4:20 - alarm goes off, not that it was really necessary.

5:00 - phone call to head in to the hospital by 6:00. “We’re a little busy but everything should be ok”.

5:50 - for the first time (and probably last) in a while we’re early for something!  Check in and told to wait 30 min before being prepped….

6:40 - head back for fun prepwork and pep talks.

7:10 - Aunt Lainy and Nolan call to say good morning and good luck. I'm instantly choked up at hearing his voice and glad he sounds like he's excited for school and to meet his sister this afternoon.

7:15 - I get myself  together from talking to Nolan briefly. A picture pops up in a text of him and his “cowboy” outfit for school…..thanks Alaina!

7:59 - we’ve been prepped about everything. Countdown to 8:00…..5….4...3...2….1….

8:00 - no baby.

8:10 - nerves are setting in. Stomach hurts. I have to go to the bathroom. I've been nervously tapping/shaking for an hour. Maybe I'm just cold. Is it time to go back yet?!?!

8:12 - I forgot how good we both look in hair nets.

8:32 - showtime!! Let's do this!

8:33 - nevermind.

8:40 - nurse finally comes back to take me in to the operating room. Let's have a HEALTHY baby girl.

8:48 - official time of birth! Crying, healthy baby Madelyn at 7 lbs 12 ounces and 20 inches long. It looked like she was really comfy in there as the doctor said she probably would have been at least a week late.

9:15 - Dr. Esposito held you and says “no boys on motorcycles”. Sorry sir, you meant to say simply, “no boys”. Ever.

9:30 - off to recovery where everybody does great and we are sent to MCU around 11:30 to get ready for our visitors!

Grandma and Aunt Lainy come to get their newborn cuddles. Grandpa, Aunt Callie, and Uncle Dyl come to meet Maddie later on.

Of course the special visit was from big brother Nols (and Aunt Lainy and Pop Pop). He ate up all the “Awwww”s he got when he kissed her and asked to hold her. He held his little sister 4 different times and even threw in some unsolicited “I love you Madelyn”s. She fussed and Nolan sang “Twinkle Twinkle little star” to her and she calmed down. It was amazing until he (we) cried that he had to leave us.

We groggily survived the night and were greeted by Aunt Aunie, Uncle Anthony, and Aunt Jamie in the morning. They were sweet enough to spend time (and lunch) with us before their early Mother’s Day plans and it’s always fun seeing their excitement around ALL of the children in our little group. Good luck, Anthony…

Nolie came by again later too and did amazing with her once again. He asked to hold her and gave her tons of kisses. The unprompted “I love you Madelyn”’s and “Maddie you’re my best friend” absolutely melted our hearts.

Madelyn Ann joins us on Mother’s day weekend, and there couldn’t be a better way to celebrate. We even had a nurse named Cheryl for the delivery and the doctor said she has “Angel kisses” birthmarks on her eyes. No doubt that she is always with us. I am proud to give her Mama Grubb’s middle name as it was the easiest decision we had to make involving our little girl. Tessa (yes, I hijacked her blog, if you couldn't tell yet) is the most amazing mother to our children and she takes after her mother in every way. I know she would be so proud of the incredible job her daughter is doing as a mother.

As a father of two amazing children I sit here exhausted, but so excited for what lies ahead for our family. Nolan is showing that he will be an awesome brother, protecting and caring for his baby sister, and I've already learned new things from my baby girl. For example, Friday's word of the day wasvernix, and yes, girls are much more difficult to clean than boys. But I can't wait to get home with our family and begin this new chapter in our own home.

Now to teach Nolan to sing this...