Santa 2013

I had no idea what to expect when it came to Santa visits this year - would this be the year Kennedy sat on his lap and smiled? Or were we still in the Terrified of Santa stage? Only one way to find out.

While my mom was in town for a visit, we took the girls to the Galleria to walk around. Kennedy was in a pretty good mood, and Santa hands out fresh baked cookies, so we thought we would give it a go.

She walked right up, told him she wanted a doll house, smiled for the camera, got her cookie and said good bye. Success!

One Month

Month One has literally flown by. I couldn't believe Chloe was already a month old on Saturday. Sometimes it feels like we just left the hospital a few days ago and other times it feels like she has always been here. She is still a really sweet little baby. She loves eating, sleeping and taking baths. She is sleeping really well, which is making things much more manageable during the day for me and Greg. She's still such a newbie that most of our days are really just filling time between feedings. I have been able to build up a (small) supply of pumped milk, so we have the flexibility to do a bottle when nursing isn't super convenient.

Kennedy couldn't be sweeter with Chloe. She really has embraced being a big sister. She's a really happy little girl and has become even more independent with Chloe's arrival. She plays well by herself (and still lives in her little imaginary worlds) but also loves to try to include Chloe when she can. At times, when Chloe is crying or upset, the mere sound of Kennedy's voice calms her down. I know Kennedy is going to be so excited when Chloe can "do more" things...like laugh, coo, smile, etc.

Some of our favorite spots to hang out - the bath being close to the top of the list. 

Chloe's first Cinderella dress. 

Miss Chloe - One Month

Thanksgiving Feast

A couple weeks ago, Kennedy's school celebrated Thanksgiving a little early with their parade and feast. The Halloween parade was a bit of a mess with Kennedy, so I didn't have super high expectations for Thanksgiving. Granted, at Halloween, I was in the hospital and she was a little overwhelmed by all the people. Anyway, down the hall she came with her little Indian hat and vest on. I won't say she was smiling and enthusiastically waving at everyone, but she wasn't crying and didn't run to me - so, success.

Grammyflash and Big Poppa happened to be in town so they got to come join the festivities. When it was time for the feast, I asked them to keep Chloe so I could have a few minutes of Mommy/Kennedy time. Well, upon my arrival to the picnic blanket, Kennedy's first question was, "where's my baby? I want my friends to see my baby." I brought Chloe down and Kennedy was just beaming. She is a very sweet and proud big sister. She had all of her friends come say hi and walked Chloe around to meet the other teachers.

We sure do have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

Sharing Clothes

I'm a bit of a Stuff Saver (hoarder is such an ugly word) and because of that, Chloe has bins (and bins) of clothes from her big sister. This dress was one of the first girly things Kennedy received and I could't wait to see it on Chloe. This is only the beginning of seeing Chloe wear some of my favorite things Kennedy wore as a baby.

In other news, Chloe had her two week check up yesterday. She is back up to her birthweight and is doing great! Two week stats: weight: 7.7lbs (30%), height: 20.5in (70%).

Kennedy (left) at 1 week. 

Chloe (right) at 2 weeks. 

Week One at Home

We have been home from the hospital a little over a week and are adjusting to life with two littles. Kennedy has embraced Chloe and absolutely loves being a big sister. She loves to hold her, sing to her and try to play with her. She had a really hard time with mommy being gone a couple nights, and because of that, is extremely mommy-attached. But we are slowly figuring out what our new normal is. I have to make sure Kennedy gets extra special, undivided attention from Mommy. I was fortunate last week to have Greg home from work, so I could go pick up Kennedy and take her on Mommy/Kennedy dates.

We are getting out and about quite a bit as a family of four and I am learning the art of nursing on the go. Parking garages, park benches, etc. The days fly by as we try to work outings and activities in between feedings and rest time.

My recovery has been shockingly easy this time around. I did take a little better care of myself leading up to delivery (exercising up until Chloe was born). I got up and started walking at the hospital and we have been going on neighborhood walks since we got home. I did get sick and thought I had strep. Turns out it was a viral infection and pink eye.  Super fun (not really) but I got over it and Chloe didn't get it. Plus, having a three year old kind of forces me to get up and moving around.

Chloe is a pretty mellow little lady (so far). Of course, she is less than two weeks old, so it is only a matter of time before she "wakes-up" a little more. She loves her sleep. At night I have a hard time waking her to eat, she would much rather snooze. And I am ok with that. As soon as she is back up to her birth weight, I no longer have to wake her to feed during the night.

We had newborn pictures done on Friday by the same photographer who took Kennedy's newborn pics. We were at her studio most of the day and Kennedy actually had a really good time hanging out and playing. The sneak peeks we have received are beautiful and I can't wait to see the rest.

We have a follow up doctor appointment to check Chloe's weight and finish her newborn screening in the morning. There are shots involved. Wish us luck.

Hanging out at home. 

Getting out of the house. 

Newborn session sneak peeks. 

The Littlest Littlest Hunter

She's here. Baby Boo is finally here and her name is Chloe Dell.

The morning of October 30, Greg and I headed to Baylor nice and early to induce labor. My doctor was there waiting and as soon as she broke my water, things moved fast. I requested an epidural as soon as possible and figured I still had some time before contractions would get intense. Boy was I wrong. They got strong quickly and by the time my nurse was done with my paper work and lab results, I was dying for some relief. The anesthesiologist was amazing and once the epidural was in, I was pretty comfortable. Before I knew it, the anesthesiologist was back in the room to give me a "delivery dose" of medicine and my nurse was calling for the doctor because it was already time to deliver! My water was broken at 8:08am and Miss Chloe was born at 12:02pm.

"Its a girl!!" was followed by "oh my God she has so much hair!!" She was so pink and chubby. And seriously had the most hair I have ever seen on a newborn.

Just like when Kennedy was born, our families were in the waiting room anxiously awaiting the news. And just like with Kennedy, Greg got to go out and share the exciting news that Chloe had arrived.

My parents picked Kennedy up from school and brought her to the hospital to meet Baby Chloe. I couldn't wait to tell her that she was right all along, Baby Boo turned out to be a baby sister. We had her come in the room by herself for a few minutes to meet Chloe and see her mommy. She also got to get a special Big Sister gift from Chloe. Kennedy absolutely loves Chloe and has embraced her Big Sister roll amazingly well.

We are truly blessed with two incredibly sweet little girls. Our hearts are full.

Chloe Dell Hunter

October 30, 2013 at 12:02pm

7lb 7oz  and 19.5in long 

Everyone was so happy to welcome Chloe to the family.  

Extremely proud Big Sister