Baby Viv

Time really has flown by with three kiddos in the mix.  I'm not promising that I will catch up or even attempt to cover all that has happened in the last 7 months, but I must hit some highlights!  We had the opportunity to get Vivian's newborn photos done by a photographer here in Frisco, Liz Labianca.  Holy cow!  She was AMAZING!   How do you even pick which ones to print??? I am so glad we did them this time around, and I know I will treasure them forever.  Here are some of the shots.

This was one of the shots for our Christmas card.  Love it!

Their first family photo.  This has a funny story that I don't want to forget.  These pictures were taken on Monday after Viv's birth the previous Wednesday.  We all thought it would be super cute to do a nude shot of the baby with the kids sans shirts.  I love the natural look of it, and I wanted a great black and white for above the fireplace.  Greyson had been banned from holding the baby since she came home Friday, because he had pneumonia :-(.  This was the first time he was able to hold her all weekend, and he was SOOO excited to be the big boy holding the baby.  Right when she took this photo, Viv decided she needed to go #2 in a hurry and exploded all over his leg.  Oops!  Greyson was upset, but we were trying to keep him from fully loosing it so we could take more pictures.  He kept saying that the baby "spit up" on him since the breast milk poop doesn't look like the poop he is used to seeing.  We decided that we would just go with that story that she spit up since he seemed less upset about it.  This picture will always make me think of the time that Vivi "spit up" on her big brother.  He was pretty heartbroken about the whole series of events with not getting to hold her the first few days and then the spitting up.  He actually was very gun shy and refused to hold her for the first few weeks after that.  I was so worried that they wouldn't bond which was absolutely not something I was expecting.  I thought that Greyson would instantly fall in love and Hannah would have to work up to sharing Mommy with her.  Boy was I wrong.  It was the exact opposite, but over the next few weeks, Greyson came around and now they are completely inseparable.  

 James and I can hold the baby, too!

Introducing Vivian Ruth Shelton!  This was the other picture that we used for the Christmas card/birth announcement.  Love this shot!

Vivian Arrives!

Vivian Ruth Shelton arrived November 23, 2011 at 1:22pm ( I think) weighing in at 8lbs 10oz and 20 inches long. Life is busy, but it could not be better. Vivian is the BEST baby, and we couldn't imagine our lives without her. If I don't get this down, I will NEVER post again so here is a heavy picture story with a few words of how things went down. Enjoy!

We arrived at the hospital bright and early at 5am for our induction. Carrie (one of my dear friends) came in on her day off so she could be my nurse and help deliver our little bundle. I felt completely at ease knowing that she would be there every step of the way. I was still at a 2 when I came in and very posterior so she started Pitocin to get things going. Carrie was SUPER creative in trying many different positions to help get my labor going.



After minimal tears and a little whining later, Vivian arrived healthy and chubby :-). I swear she looked like a one month old with built in rolls, chubby cheeks, and a nice round little (or big) head.I was so thankful to share another birth with my Mom and of course James. I have to say that I just love having babies. All of it! Even the aches, pains, and discomforts. I wouldn't trade any of it, and I just don't know how to stop wanting more.

Since Vivi was born right smack dab in the middle of the day, we were able to have lots of visitors that evening. She was born the day before Thanksgiving, and we sure had a lot to be thankful for this year.
The kids stayed overnight the night before the delivery at my Aunt Kathy's house (Greyson) and Amy's house (Hannah). Unfortunately, Greyson was sick with croup which later developed into pneumonia so they were not able to come up to the hospital to visit. James came up and had Thanksgiving giving dinner with me while Trevor and Kim watched the kids so we could spend some time together. We felt it was important that the kids be at their own home with one of us while I was in the hospital so they (and really I) wouldn't be too stressed about everything.
The homecoming was so special. The kids were thrilled to meet little Vivi, and they were so soft and gentle with her. More to come...time to attend to a little baby who needs to eat!