Birthdays, Sickness, and more - Oh my!

January 2012 was a crazy month for us.  We had a new baby, it was birthday festivus in the Shelton house, and RSV made it's way through the entire family.

I know they are even older now, but I can't believe my big girl turned 3!  She thinks she is 10, but she will always be our little "big girl!"  The baby was sick at home with RSV with Aunt Tammy, and we had a blast celebrating at the Ark in Coppell with lots of friends and family.  What a difference a year makes.

Greyson turned FIVE, and he is still the most tender hearted, sweet boy I know.  What a great big brother he is for his little sisters, and what a blessing he is for us. We also had a new member of the Wilhite family arrive right on Greyson's birthday!  Cole Trevor Wilhite made his grand debut, and he will forever share his special birthday with my sweet boy (exactly five years apart).  He is such a sweet little chunk, and we love him!

Party time!

And no post would be complete without some chubby Viv pics.  She is walking and talking now, and it's hard to believe that she was ever this small.  

The RSV fiasco.  We had a family trip planned to go to Broken Bow with a bunch of our friends, and then the baby came down with a bad case of RSV.  James was SUPER DAD, and he took the older kids who were on the mend on the trip without Viv and I.  It was an adventure and one that I was so sad to miss. Our dear friends, the Roberts, moved away that Spring, and little did we know it would be our last big group trip.  Pictures of new adventures to come!

Christmas 2011 - WHAT???

Yeah.  You read that right.  This is Christmas 2011.  I don't remember it.  I was in a fog.  I had a newborn.  It's been over a year, and I'm just now revisiting it.  I DO remember that it was wonderful, it was full of surprises, and it was our first Christmas as a family of 5.  We'll see if I can get my act together someday and keep up with this.

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!

State Fair & Fall Fun

No Fall in Texas would be complete without a trip to the State Fair of Texas or Pumpkin patches. We took the kids on Columbus Day since James and Tammy had the day off work, and we had a blast! The kids absolutely loved riding all of the rides and playing the games on the Midway. It's a tradition that I plan on always keeping, and we made sure to eat lots of cotton candy and corny dogs to round out the full experience :-).We also had the opportunity to visit some of our local pumpkin patches with friends. We especially love this one out in Celina on a farm where you get to pick your very own pumpkin from a real pumpkin patch, take hay rides, and pet farm animals. Fall is such a beautiful time of year in Texas, and it was made especially sweet with the impending arrival of our new addition.

Showers, Fall Fun & Waiting

Several of my friends threw me the best baby shower for baby Vivian at the end of October. We had such a great time eating yummy food, opening gifts, and visiting. I couldn't have asked for anything more perfect, and I feel truly blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family who care about us all so much.
The kids had a new level of enthusiasm for Halloween this year, and it seems to just get better and better. They were so excited to put on their costumes and trick or treat. We trick or treated with Cody in the new neighborhood, and it was so much fun! The kids got far too much candy, and we are still working our way through it :-). We ended up celebrating Thanksgiving the Sunday before the big day since we were scheduled for inducing Vivian's birth the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. We decided to have the kids decorate special Turkey cookies for the occasion, and the result was somewhat surprising. While they all enjoyed the activity, Hannah was definitely WAY more into it than anyone else. The boys decorated one or two cookies, and they were finished except for wanting to eat the candy. Hannah decorated at least a dozen and probably would have decorated more had we given her the opportunity. She was like a little assembly line, and it made me so excited for when she is a little older. I always enjoyed playing with my Easy Bake oven and decorating cakes, etc by myself. Now I'll have a buddy (or two soon) to work with on our little crafty projects.

It was wonderful to spend time with family, and we are now preparing to leave for the hospital in the morning to meet sweet Vivian. We are scheduled to arrive at 5 in the morning, and my friend Carrie, is going to be my nurse to help me deliver this baby. I can't wait to see her for the first time, and I am even more excited to see how the kids do with her. Greyson just started with a cough Sunday night so the kids won't get to come to the hospital, but we are planning on coming home on Friday so they will be introduced then. Pics to follow and lots of updates! We love you, Vivian!

Update

Fall is in full swing, and the weather has actually turned cool (by Texas standards) over the last few days. We had a high in the 50's yesterday which was absolutely blissful. Bring on the chili and boots! We've been enjoying more fun Fall activities, and making ready for baby Vivian's grand arrival. Hannah also had a new set of tubes placed and her adenoids removed so things have been as busy as ever.

Here is Hannah at her 6am roll call for her procedure. When we arrived, Hannah's O2 saturation levels were only 94% so they were not going to do the surgery at all. With special approval from the director and reevaluation b the anesthesiologist, they decided to go ahead. Overall, the surgery went well, but they found more things once they got started. They think she may have some sinus problems, but they can't evaluate that until 3 months after the surgery. We are two weeks post op now, but she still has a cough which she has had for 2 months now. It is way worse in the evening and mornings, but it seems to let up for periods during the day. We'll see how it all pans out over time. Greyson took his first ever field trip with his Pre-K class, and he got to ride on a real honest to goodness yellow school bus! Let me tell you that he could have just ridden around on that bus for an hour and been just as happy, but they got to go to a cute Pumpkin Patch as well. My Mom and I met him there and enjoyed some one-on-one time with him. It's not often that I get to do things with just Greyson so it was so nice to spend some quality time with him before the baby arrives. He is super excited about having another little sister, and I can't wait for him to hold her. He has really grown up over the past few months, and I see such a tender, sweet and caring boy in him. He worked on a project the other day at school where he had to tell them what he wanted to be when he grew up. He told his teacher that he wanted to be a "good Samaritan." I found out when I was walking down the hall and was admiring his class's artwork. I asked him about it later to check his level of understanding about good Samaritan, and he said that a "good Samaritan is someone who helps other people when no one else wants to help them." It made me so proud, and I might have teared up just a little bit :).
Hannah's dance class celebrated Halloween by allowing all of the girls to wear their costumes to class this week. Hannah is Minnie Mouse this year, but she pretty much refused to take off her tutu outfit that she wore that day. It was still super cute, and she thought it was a better "costume" choice for dance class. I love watching her concentrate and try so hard to do everything Ms. Taylor teaches. I can't WAIT for her first recital this Spring. I will definitely be the annoying dance mom taking way to many photos and video. I had my 36 week checkup yesterday where I found out that I am dilated to 1 1/2-2cm but 0% effaced. I will continue to go for my weekly checks every Thursday until Vivian's arrival. I am scheduled for induction the Wednesday before Thanksgiving at 5am, but we'll see if I make it all the way until the 23rd. I plan on being pregnant until then, but I will be happily surprised if she makes her debut any earlier. Happy Fall!