Carrington Ann

Well, we did it!  Team Koslan is now a party of 4!!!

I wanted to get down the story of being pregnant with her and her birth story before I forget, which is very likely to happen sooner rather than later :)

We found out that I was pregnant about a week before Christmas and typically we're the people who keep it a secret, even from family, for several weeks to give it a chance to sink in and make sure that everything with the pregnancy is ok.  But this go round we didn't have the luxury because we knew that if I didn't drink wine during Christmas, it would be a dead giveaway!  So we ended up telling our immediate family while we saw them at Christmas and everybody was surprised and thrilled.  I was very nervous this time about something going wrong so I went to the doctor several times in those first few weeks and she was gracious enough to let me have several ultrasounds until I was more confident that things were progressing as they should.  I even went during an ice storm one day!  At 10 weeks we were able to have the chromosome test and find out what the gender was, which we definitely wanted to know again.  I went back the next week for a check up and they had my results but since Bryan wasn't with me, I had them write it down so we could open it at home.  And gosh, with that envelope next to me, it sure was a long trip home!  I was pretty sure it was a boy because up until then, I had felt exactly the same as I had felt with Warner.  Bryan thought it was a girl and I was in total shock when it turned out he was right!  I was excited of course, but it took me a while to really believe it.

The rest of the pregnancy was rather uneventful.  I was a little bit sicker than I was with Warner in the first trimester.  Maybe it's just because I couldn't rest as much, and I still had to make 3 meals a day for Warner so I couldn't just avoid all foods except crackers and sprite.  But I, with much complaining, made it through.  I carried Carrington a lot lower, so I didn't have the same rib pain that I had with Warner.  But I did have a lot more pressure, hip pain and soreness and varicose veins.  Overall, I think those were easier symptoms to deal with and I'm pretty sure having her lower made the delivery much easier...

I had been monitoring my blood pressure pretty closely towards the end since high blood pressure was what caused me to have to be induced with Warner.  I definitely have White Coat Syndrome because my blood pressure would be completely normal at home but be high once I sat down on the exam table to see the doctor.  So at 37 weeks and 2 days, I wasn't exactly surprised that during my weekly check up, they sent me down to be induced.  Luckily, Bryan was already with me and after scrambling a little bit to come up with a plan, we were able to get his mom and step-dad lined up to come stay with Warner for the next 2 days.  So Bryan left to pick up Warner from MDO, get our bags and wait for help to arrive while I was admitted to L&D and given cervadil again.  It was about 1:40 that I started and the contractions ramped up quickly.  By 4:00, I was asking for my epidural and hoping that Bryan would make it to the hospital quickly because I was panicking a little bit being by myself.  The epidural worked like a charm, hallelujah!, and Bryan showed up and then we just waited.  At 8:00, Erica stopped by after work to check on us and to curl my hair.  We were just hanging out and at 8:40 the nurse checked and I was 6 cm dilated so the doctor decided to take out my cervidil and break my water.  From here, things progressed even quicker!  In the next 2 hours, I was completely dilated and ready to push.  Not only was I ready to push, but the baby was ready to come out.  After one "practice" push, I had to stop and we knew that it wasn't going to be a three hour ordeal like Warner's birth was.  The doctor and rest of the delivery crew came in, got ready and within a few seconds of pushing, literally one and a half pushes, Carrington was here!  I was really in shock, as was Bryan, my nurse, my doctor and Erica, who asked if she could stay when we realized that the baby would be arriving that night.  It was about 10 hours from when I was sitting in the waiting room for my routine appointment, to when I had Carrie Ann in my arms and we were so so happy!  And so so tired...it wasn't until about 3 am that we were in post partum and settled in enough to try to sleep.  Which is hard when you just went through all of that excitement :)

The next day, Bryan went home to get Warner so he could see his Mommy and meet his baby sister!  We had tried so hard to prepare him for the moment and he pleasantly surprised us :)  We had cookies to celebrate and Carrington gave Warner a Woody doll, which he LOVED and helped to break the ice, and he gave her a Baby Doll.  He wasn't quite sure what to think at first but warmed up and was in the best mood.  I was in heaven having my whole little family there in that room.  What a blessing for this mama!

We were able to come home the next day (after a trip to Carter's to buy some premie outfits because she was so itty bitty) and try to get into our new routine.  Warner continues to be a great big brother.  Which sometimes includes yelling at her to be quiet or throwing her doll.  But it's so sweet because he doesn't want me to leave the room without her, he always asks where she is, he tells her it's going to be ok when she cries, he brings her her baby doll and he tries to make her laugh.  I know it's been a big adjustment for him but I think he's going to be happy to have a sister and I know that Carrie Ann is lucky to have him as a big brother.

She has been such an easy baby.  Sleeps most of the day and is very predictable with crying when she is hungry or has gas.  She's a great napping buddy and has consistently only woken up once or twice a night to eat!

Our little Koslan family is over the moon to have her join us :)

Warner at 2

There is so much I could write about our Warner George as he turned 2.  And it would be constantly changing every day, just like he is.  I know I say this about almost every age but I really can see in leaps and bounds how he has grown up in the past few months.

Most notably to the outside world, his language has exploded!  He can and will copy most anything that we say and has a great memory so is able to remember words after just one or two times of hearing them.  Our whole day is basically a play by play of him identifying things i.e. "Mommy car", "yellow truck", "Warner lunch", "Kim glasses", etc.  It's really fun to watch and it shows his personality even more.  And speaking of his memory, the boy really picks up on everything.  One of the first examples of this was at my parent's house and Bryan was outside with my dad while my mom, Warner and I were in the living room.  Warner went over to the rocking chair, said "Daddy chair" and then pointed to the table next to it, pulled out the coaster section and said "Daddy beer".  Hah!  He pretty much thinks the only thing Daddy drinks is beer and the only thing I drink is coffee :)  He also loves to recall memories.  For example, if you ask him about the Aggie football game, he'll tell you he went with Miles, Mal Mal, Be and Jeff, that he ate popcorn out of a hat, that he ate peanuts, that he said "Gig Em", that he ate pizza for dinner and that he rode on Uncle Jeff's knees (shoulders).  He also says "um" between most of those things while he is thinking of the next thing to say.  It's pretty cute!

Warner knows all of his colors, several shapes, the numbers 1, 2 and 3, and a few letters (P, L which he calls Hola, and of course W).  He loves to go to school to see his friends and teachers and is in the BEST mood when I pick him up.  He is starting to be a little bit shy at times but he obviously warms up and then has the best time when he is comfortable somewhere.  He eats a great breakfast and lunch (what other kid asks for more bell peppers?) but doesn't really eat the dinners that I make but that's fine.

We weaned him of his paci in March (22 months) and he has been great without it.  We also just moved him to a big boy bed in a different room which he also loves and does really good about staying in bed.  He will also go potty in the toilet but is usually too busy to bother.  We're not rushing him at all so if we ask and he says no, we don't push it but sometimes he tells us he wants to, so we certainly oblige!  I think we'll wait to really get potty trained until after baby sister is here so we don't have too many transitions at once.

He's started to love watching Toy Story and I'm pretty sure could watch it all day if we let him.  His favorite toys are cars and trucks and he mostly likes to sort them, stack them, line them up and throw them :)  He sure loves things in order.  He is GREAT at picking up and helping me stay organized.  He gets his own shoes out and puts them away, helps pick up trash, will clean up spills and likes to make sure that all of his toys are back in just the way that he found them.  I don't know where he got that from, neither Bryan nor I are particularly tidy but I am thankful for it.  He also helps me put away laundry and dishes.  He really is a great helper!

Warner took swim lessons a few weeks ago and absolutely loved them.  He has zero fear about jumping into the pool by himself, even if my head is turned!  So we are going to have to be very careful this summer because as much fun as he has, he doesn't know how to keep himself afloat or swim to the edge yet.  But we're glad that he enjoys it and it's a great way for him to burn off some of that toddler energy.

Warner is learning how to interact with other kids and we practice lots of sharing and being kind.  He knows exactly what to do and decides on a case by case basis whether he wants to or not :)  I'm also trying to teach him "Hi, my name is Warner.  What's you're name?" and he will go up to other kids and say "Warner name" so we have a little ways to go with that but it's a good start.  He loves to talk about his teachers and friends at school so I'm hoping that his joyful extroverted personality continues to grow!

We are so crazy about our little man and I am so proud to watch him grow into a little boy!

Christmas 2017

Another busy Christmas season is in the books!  I'll try to touch on everything that we did!

The first weekend of December, Warner visited Santa.  Bryan was a trooper and took him because I was in Austin hosting a baby shower.  He said that Warner did pretty well but sadly, the pictures don't do it justice!  That same weekend we also had a little Christmas party with some of my girl friends from college and their families.  It's always so cute to get the kids together!

Visiting the trains at Second Baptist

The next weekend was busy with more celebrating!  Bryan and I went to a nice dinner with some people he knows from work on Thursday and then Friday was his company Christmas party.  We had a great time at both and even got to spend the night at a hotel on Friday while Warner spent the night with Bryan's dad.

Hallway selfie

The weekend after that we had a neighbor's wedding to go to and Warner had his first non family member babysitter!  We asked a girl from our church to come watch him and they did great!  Hopefully we'll be asking her to come again soon :)

Our Christmas weekend started on Thursday when we left for Rusk.  G and Papaw had gotten us tickets to ride on the Polar Express on Friday which we were all really excited about!  It was so much fun...the cookies and cocoa, the singing and dancing, the train ride, seeing the North Pole and talking to Santa.  By the end, Warner was a little bit tired of sitting in his seat but he did great.  The next morning we had Christmas with G and Papaw, Uncle B, Aunt Lauren and Uncle Eli.  Warner got so much fun stuff and he ate great and got to ride the buggy and feed the fish.  Life is good for him in Rusk :)

Figuring out his new tricycle

We left Rusk to go to the Woodlands to celebrate with the Hodges group.  Madges and Padges, Aunt Be, Uncle Jeff, Miles and Mallory and Aunt Eree were all there.  It was a house packed full of fun and love :)  We had the annual fire pit party that night which was just the perfect way to enjoy the evening.  Warner loved to wave to the cars and wanted to walk up and down the street...there was so much going on!

Mowing the yard

The next afternoon we headed home to spend Christmas Eve night at our house.  We went to our church's service, Warner and all.  He did awesome!  It made my heart so full :)  The next morning we relaxed, played with our new toys, ate cinnamon rolls and stayed in our pj's until it was time to get ready to go to Grandma and Grandpa Koslan's house for dinner.  They had a delicious dinner and more fun toys but by this point, Warner was a little bit exhausted so he was bordering between delirious and cranky.

Church selfie

It's been such a busy month but it's been so much fun.  I also love doing all of the little things like decorating the tree, watching Christmas movies, drinking hot chocolate, listening to Christmas music, driving around looking at Christmas lights...all of the things that create those tiny magical memories!

Happy New Year!!!

Halloween 2017

Warner loved Halloween this year!!!  I thought he might still be a little bit too young but nope!  I don't think he put down his candy bucket all night.  Unfortunately the weather was crummy so we only made it to a few houses but we sat on the porch and he had fun waving at everybody and playing with his candy.  He dressed up as Curious George and Bryan was the Man with the Yellow Hat.  They were too cute!

We also went to a pumpkin patch with friends, visited the Oil Ranch and shopped for our pumpkin at our local Methodist church!

Warner refused to wear his hat but Bryan looked pretty legit

Nope!

We messed up because it ended up being way colder than we planned on!  Oops!

Loving talking to the animals

He rode a horse!

Pumpkin patch #2!