Halloween 2010

Happy Halloween everybody! We had a another great year at the Chamberlain house. My parents and my sister came up to help celebrate which added to the fun. Tucker had decided to be an army man after a week of community helpers lessons at school, and Sissy was a princess (Belle from Beauty and the Beast). She's recently started to enjoy dressing up, but as it goes, she wasn't loving her costume! I think it itched her, so we remedied it by letting her wear a onesie underneath. Carter wore Tucker's 1st Halloween costume and was pretty much the cutest cow you've ever seen! We didn't get a ton of pictures unfortunately.

We walked the neighborhood with our sweet neighbors and their kids, Grant (5), and Sean (3). The boys ran fast and furiously from house to house, while Sissy took her time toddling along. Once she went to the first house and discovered she got candy she wanted to hit every door! (She also insisted on having a piece of candy in her mouth at all times!) After about an hour of walking the streets Tucker got tired and wanted to ride in the double stroller. When we would get to a house he would say, "Grant, Sean, just ask for an extra piece for me!" Can you say Lazy Bones! I told him if he wanted to get candy he wasn't gonna have to do the work himself! ha (He was happy to oblige). At the end of the night, when we ran out of candy, Tucker insisted we give away some of his candy to the trick-or-treaters. What a sweet boy!

Happy Halloween!

Brotherly Love

Better Late than Never

Okay, my plan is to do some major updating to this blog over the next few weeks! There's so much to report on since school has started. I thought I'd start today with an update on Presley. These pictures were taken in September at a birthday party at a splash park. I have loved, LOVED her swimsuit this year...who wouldn't!

Presley is growing up so fast! She is high maintenance, and all attitude, but we adore her! She is starting to talk more clearly now, and as of this weekend she's been stringing together two word phrases like "Carkey baba" (translated: Carter's bottle) and Muh cky ("more cookie). I've tried to write down all the words she says now, just for a mother's memory :o) At 19 months, Presley says:
Bow
Bonk (when she's hurt)
Bib
Baby (her lovey)
Bibbet (her other lovey, Ribbet)
Bag
Baba (bottle)
Bubba
Ock (rock)

Bite (she loves to share food!)
Carkey (Carter)
Mama
Daddy
Nana
Poppy
Pan (bread in Spanish)
Paypay (pacifer)
Shuss (shoes)
Shoks (socks)
Geeps (grapes)
Ckies (cookies)
Muh (more)
WoeWoe (her car she rides)
MiMi (her babysitter, Miss Melinda)
NaNight
Cup
Nack (snack)
Dass (dance)
Go
Bye
Choo Choo
Trsh (trash)
Peepee (she loves a clean diapy!)
Dat (that)
Dn (down)
Uh oh
Ck (cook)
eat
ChaCha (my sister's dog, Sasha)

We love this girl! She is growing up so quickly and I'm not ready! I love this age...so much discovery! She definately keeps things moving at home, and we wouldn't have it any other way!

First Day of Kindergarten

Well, we did it...we survived the first day of kindergarten! Mommy made it through with very little tears, and I was the only one in the family that cried at all! Tucker absolutely had a great day! I went in to work early, and Patrick dropped off Carter & Presley so he could take Tucker in on his own. As soon as we got there we saw our sweet friends and that got Tucker even more excited. Patrick took him to his room and he settled right in.

I was lucky to see him quite a few times in the hall, (so I got in extra hugs and kisses!), and I was also able to have lunch with him while my kids were at recess. Every time I saw him in the halls or in the building he seemed to be in a good mood. I gathered this about his day...
--His friend from the babysitter, Liam, sits at his table
--The girl next to him is named Alex, like his favorite character from "Wizards of Waverly Place"
--He puts his red folder in the yellow basket in the morning and takes it out at the end of the day
--In art they read a book called "Incredible Ned" about a boy who thinks things to life
--He was able to do "even the hard stuff"
--Mrs. Linthicum has a rug that has animals that are letters; the T is a tiger
--Mrs. Linthicum taught him not to "shout at Mommy if I see you in the hall" and that he can "give me a finger wave" (I'm pretty sure Mommy needed this lesson too!)
--At recess he played lots of things
--He played with the Color Tiles & Teddy Bear counters math tubs
--He forgot he had a snack but thankfully had some left over lunch (Mommy had packed the snack safely in his backpack, just FYI1)
--The soap in the bathroom was easy to pump
--Mrs. Linthicum is "great"
--Naptime was awesome because it was really short (probably because it's not really naptime!)
--He got a sticker on his tens-frame
--He got a smiley face in his folder
--He had "the best day" and he "loves this school!"

Can you ask for anything more??! What a precious gift to not only Tucker, but to Patrick and I to know he had so much fun in such a huge new environment. It is also so special for him to be at school with me because my sweet colleagues shower him with extra love and attention.

I have to include one more thing...my sweet friend Hollie works at our school (Carter's namesake) and her two boys Christian (4th grade) and Colby (3rd grade) are there too. Tucker knows Christian and Colby and thinks they are just the coolest kids ever. Well, it was the two of them that Tucker first saw at Boals this morning and he was so excited. After school Christian found Tucker right away and asked him all about his day, and the sweetest thing was that Christian responded genuinely and enthusiastically to Tucker, which made Tucker feel so important. Christian asked Tucker how his day was and Tucker said, "It was awesome! You should be in kindergarten too!" Christian was so cute to say, "You're right -- I remember really liking kindergarten." It was just precious to see him take Tucker under his wing like that.

So all in all, I'd say we had a great first day! Only 176 more to go...

From Birth to 5 Years in a Flash

Believe it or not, our Tucker Bear is starting his first day of school tomorrow morning. It is amazing how these days have been long, but the years have flown by. Where has the time gone? One minute he's Carter's age, and the next he's off to school.

I feel like the luckiest woman in the world being mom to this little boy. As each day passes I am overwhelmed by my love for him and for what a precious, precious treasure he is to me. How could I be so lucky?

If you're reading this blog, please take a minute to say a quick prayer for Tucker and the world that awaits him. I am so looking forward to seeing who he will become, and soaking up every minute of the ride.

My sweet, sweet Tucker Bear,
Tomorrow you start the beginning of the rest of your life. Each day will bring new adventures, new joys, new friends, and new experiences. Not all of them will be great, but you can make all of them what you will, and I know you will make them great. I am so proud to be your mommy. From the moment I found out you were coming I have loved you. Regardless of what the calendar says, you will always be my little boy. I will always want to hold you and kiss you, I'll always want to bind up your wounds and your brokenheart. I'll always want to laugh with you, and sit with you, and simply be in your presence. You are my heart walking around outside my body.

I pray tonight, my sweet boy, that you would dress each day in the full armor of our mighty God. I pray, in the name of Jesus, the Helmet of Salvation securely fastened on your head. I pray that you safely live by your Breastplate of Righteousness. I pray you hold firmly your Shield of Faith, and that you tighten each day your Belt of Truth. Be protected and prepared by the Sword of the Spirit, and walk in peace my Son with your feet always in the Gospel. In the name of Jesus I pray a hedge of protection around you. I ask our Father in Heaven to allow compassion and kindness always to greet you. You are fearfully and wonderfully made, my Tucker Bear. There is no one like you. You're the one whom Jesus loves!!

Tonight I sit with tearful eyes and a full heart, so happy to have been a part of yesterday, and looking forward to tomorrow. Sleep well, my firstborn, and I'll see you at school in the morning!

All my love,
Mommy

Two Months Old

Today my Carter is two months old. (This picture is old but I love it! I'll be updating with current pictures soon.) We've had him for eight weeks and five days, and each one has been treasured. It's amazing the difference in the way you feel with your third child versus your first. Not in the love of course, I could never love either of my children more than the other, no not in the love but in the ease of self. I am so relaxed taking care of Carter. I remember with Tucker, and even some with Presley, how I would stress out when they would cry. The few minutes between them waking up, changing their diapers, and getting them fed would send my nerves through the roof as I listened to them scream. But with Carter, I'm able to just take it in stride, speak soothingly to him, and get done what needs to get done. With my third it's like I've realized I've done this all before (and not half bad, if I might add!) and I know what I'm doing. It's freed me to enjoy Carter all the more.

At two months old Carter weighs exactly 12lbs, so he has doubled his 5lb 14oz birth weight, and then some. Yesterday I put him in an outfit that says "3-6 months" and the next time I buy diapers I am bumping him up from size 1s to size 2s. He is growing so well! I can't believe my little NICU baby is doing so well. He is a great sleeper, sleeping in three to four hour cycles during the day and some five hour stretches at night. (I think if I let him cry a little more at night he may just fall back asleep...I'm thinking of trying it.) He eats really well, clearly, and he's started having a little more wake time between his naps.

Presley and Tucker are just enamored with him. Presley likes to "hold" him whenever he wakes up. She insists on sitting on the floor and we kinda put him in front of her and she'll wrap him in a hug...for about three seconds; then she's ready to move on her way! But she's gotta get her Carter-snuggle in before she's off :o) Tucker always hugs and kisses him whenever he first wakes up and is just as loving as he ever was with Baby Girl.

In two more weeks I'll go back to work and Presley and Carter will go to our fabulous babysitter. (I swear, if it couldn't be me at home with the kids, Melinda's is the absolute best place to be. I LOVE her! And she loves my kids. And her kids love my kids. I am SO blessed to have her.) I am so thankful that God allowed Carter to come as early as he did so I would be able to be at home with him that much longer. If he had come at 38 weeks as was planned I would be going back to work when he was only 8 weeks old, instead of 11 like he will be now. What a HUGE blessing. (For those of you that are wondering, yes, I could technically take maternity leave until about Thanksgiving time actually, but my Tucker Bear is starting Kindergarten in two weeks, and I just can't miss it! He's coming to school with me this year.)

We love you Carter Jackson! You are such a huge blessing to each of us.

Crazy House!

For a rare, rare moment, all three of my kids are sleeping. I can't even begin to express how challenging (but wonderful!) my days are. I can't imagine how people with multiples get anything done! I am constantly, constantly on the move....changing diapers, making snacks, finding bottles, washing dishes, washing clothes, picking up toys, nursing, pumping...the list goes on. Three is proving to be so much more work than two! Anyway, just wanted to post a few things even just for my own recollections...

*Tucker and I had a date and bought school supplies. Tucker was totally blase' about the whole thing, which is so Tucker! If it ain't his idea it's not really his thing!
*Presley got her first shoes, and boy are they sassy! They're silver with subtle pink and gold polka dots. She loves to wear them.

*Speaking of things Presley loves, every morning and after each nap the first thing my little girl asks for is a bow. She pats her head and says "bow, bow, bow" until I get one on her. She is all-girl...and I love it!
*Carter is up to ten pounds, almost double his birth weight. He is a GREAT sleeper and he already only wakes up just one time at night, around 3:30. He sleeps in four to five hour stretches during the day and has wake time in the early-to-late afternoon. He's an angel, truly.
*I've taken the kids out by myself just a handful of times, each time just as crazy as could be! I'm just so outnumbered :o)

Anyway, if you were wondering, I'm still here. Just wanted you to know ;o)

FINALLY Walking!

Finally! Presley started walking on Monday, July 5th, one day shy of her 16-month birthday! (Tucker started walking on his 15-month birthday, so we're expecting Carter to walk on his 17-month birthday! ha)

Walking is absolutley tiring out Little Miss! Presley normally wakes at 8 and naps from 10-12 & 2-4. Well since she's been walking, on Tuesday she slept until 11 am, then took a three hour nap from 1:30-4:30. Wednesday she slept until 10 and took a three-and-a-half our nap from 2-5:30. Today she woke up at her normal 8:00, but couldn't make it to her typical 10:00 nap time...she went back down at 9!

Until now, Presley has "walked" on her knees. Not crawled, not scooted, but walked on her knees! She has huge, red, scratched, bumpy knees, and the tops of her toes often blistered and bled from rug burn! (SO glad she's walking now, but I'm wishing I had captured her knee walk on video. Hopefully there's still time!)

Yea for you Baby Girl! We're so proud of you!

One Month Old

So Carter is one month old today, and I've decided to use this Bevo as his "growth marker". Pretty tough to get a good pic since he was lopping over this way and that! I'm kicking myself though for not getting one of him when we first brought him home. Oh well :o)

Family Pictures

My friends Casey and Connie came to our house a couple of weeks ago with their sons to hang out. Casey was gracious enough to snap some photos of our new family, and Connie kept the kids smiling and occupied. Needless to say, it was a zoo here, but so much fun. These are just a few pics Casey snapped...

Carter's First Four Weeks

Four-weeks-old


Dreaming of Longhorns :o)


Playing trains with Bubba


Father's Day


First day at church with Baby Buddy Gibson


So we've had our Carter now for four whole weeks. Funny how his official due date wasn't until eight days from now! The whole family has embraced our Little Man, and Patrick, Tucker, Presley, and I couldn't be more smitten with him. Tucker of course is the best big brother ever, but it's our Presley Girl that has surprised us the most. Patrick and I were convinced she was going to be a holy terror once Carter arrived since Patrick and Tucker have created quite the little princess, but she has been absolutly adorable with her little brother! She always asks for him immediately when she wakes up in the morning or from naps, saying "CarCar" all day long. She loves to give him sugars and "pet" him (as Tucker says). I've realized in the past couple of days we should have never worried -- she is a great big sister because she's always been loved on by a great big brother.

In the past four weeks Carter has grown in length and weight. I'm not sure what he is officially right now, but at his two week check up he had already grown two inches and put on 12 oz. I think he's probably about 7-7.5 maybe 8lbs. He's close to growing out of his newborn clothes, though I think he'll still be in a newborn-sized diaper for a little while longer. Here is a picture of him in one of the only outfits I had that fit him when we had him, take at one-week-old and today at four-weeks-old.




Not only has our family loved on Baby Carter, but our family has been loved on by a lot of friends! We've been blessed to have meals brought to us over the past few weeks, and we've had lots of loving visitors come by to meet Mr. Carter or to lend us a hand. Sometimes it really does take a village to raise a child!

Carter Man, Daddy, Bubba, Sissy & I are loving loving you! And you are loved as well by family and friends! You are one blessed little boy!

Carter Jackson Chamberlain

Our sweet Carter made his debut five weeks early on Monday, June 7, 2010 at 8:21 pm. He was 18 inches long and weighed 5lbs, 14oz. He was in the NICU on a breathing tube and feeding tube for two days. I wish I had gotten pictures of him like that. Not because it was a good thing, but because I think I'll always want him to know what a little fighter he was right from the start. He was released from the NICU after only 48 hours and all the nurses and doctors were impressed by his progress.

The whole experience was a whirlwind! I had only finished the school year 48 hours prior to his arrival! Looking back, I'm pretty convinced that my labor started on Thursday, June 3rd as I was having a lot of tightness and shortness of breath starting then. I was also incredibly emotional and pretty much flew off the handle over anything and everything! On Monday, Patrick was heading out for a job interview after several months of unemployment, and we had even talked that morning about what I should do to reach him should something happen with my pregnancy. Not that either of us thought that was a possibility -- I had never gone into labor with Presley or Tucker, I was induced and scheduled for both of them. Patrick had told me to text him 911 if something were to happen. Well he headed out for the interview at about 3:30. At 4:00 Presley woke up from her nap & I got her up, changed her, and made her a snack. I made myself a snack and went to sit down in the living room, when it happened...my water broke! It totally caught me by surprise as this had never happened before, and though I was 99% sure that this is what had happened, a part of me had no idea what happened! I called the doctor's office & they told me to come in, but I had one small problem...Patrick was in town with the carseats! Unfortunately, I totally forgot to text Patrick 911 & I kept calling him...and he kept ignoring my calls since he was interviewing and I didn't text 911! I paniced for a minute but was luckily able to get a hold of my sweet friend Keelie who happened to be heading my way anyway. She came by & picked up the kids and I and drove us to the hospital. Patrick met us there and my sister and mom picked up my kids. By 7:30 pm I was prepped and ready for a c-section! Carter was on his way! There was a little concern from my doctor and nurses that he would be born at 34 weeks, 6 days, but they opted to deliver him anyway since my water had broken. They were prepping me to expect Carter to be in the NICU for at least a week, if not until his July 13 due date, so you can imagine our complete surprise when he was released to come home with us on Friday, June 11th!

For those of you that don't know (most of you do) Carter was a baby that we hadn't planned on. When we found out we were pregnant and little Presley was only about 6 or 7 months old, we totally paniced. But now that he's here, I can only praise God that He's in charge of my life. I can't imagine not having my little Carter Man! He is so precious and so easy to love. And as a veteran mom now, I'm really enjoying him and feeling comfortable taking care of him and loving on him. I'm so, so thankful that he's here and he's healthy, and that I have another chance to be a mom. This past year has been one of our toughest ever, but God is good. He blesses us in the biggest ways when we feel crushed on every side. All praise and glory to His name!

Carter Jackson Chamberlain, you have my heart. I loved you yesterday, I love you today, I'll love you more tomorrow. Today I pray that you'll have healthy bones and a heart that loves the Lord. I can't wait to spend every day of the rest of my life loving you. May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you.
With love forever,
Mommy