4 Weeks!

I can not believe this precious baby is 4 weeks old today :( Oh how time flies, esp with your second baby! He continues to be a good baby. He only gets up (most nights) at 1am and 4:30am to feed, and is finally sleeping in the pack n play! THe 4:30 feeding is harder to get him to go back to sleep so sometimes that results in getting in bed with me, but my sleep is SUPER important so I do what I have to do!

He has had several "1st's". Yesterday he started smiling when I talk to him (see below) and it MELTS ME! We have started tummy time and play time. He also finally lost his umb. cord after 3 1/2 weeks and got his first "full-on" bath.

First Smile

1st Tummy Time

1st bath! It doesnt look like he enjoyed it but he did! He wasnt a fan of getting out and putting lotion on though!

And just some random pictures...

We are still enjoying this sweet Angel and learning the ropes of having two kids. Grant continues to do well with Cole and is a great big brother! Happy 4 weeks little man!

Easter Overload!

We have had a weekend jammed with Easter gatherings and it has been a blast. Grant started off on Thursday afternoon when Papa and DeeDee called and asked if he could come over because Cousins Tol and Yates were coming over to decorate eggs and have a hunt! So after school we headed on over and the fun began!

Papa and DeeDee were super brave to take on all 3 boys, esp when it came time to decorate the eggs! Poor DeeDee had blue hands and their house.. well.. you can only imagine what it looked like after those boys were done!

Oh.. and I did feel a tad sorry for Papa too!

They had a great time and we thank Papa and DeeDee for a good Easter Party!

Saturday, we headed over to Tol and Kelly's house for Easter and Mom's bday. Since Tol and I were kids the Easter egg hunt has been a SERIOUS competition, too bad we're not kids anymore but I think we both secretly feel the eagerness that our kids will find "The Golden Egg" each year!

Cole got to visit with his Great Grandparents too, he really enjoyed that. He also got to meet Aunt Marcia and his other cousins!

After some yummy burgers, duck (yes.. how awful is that we ate duck on Easter? If Tol would've had rabbit, I would've gone home hahahah), wild turkey, and side dishes we headed out for the big hunt! Grant was so funny, he would find an egg and then want to open it, we kept having to tell him "Hurry"! Yates would pick up an egg and shake it to see if he heard it rattle before putting it in his bucket, he would throw the other ones down. What he didnt realize is, there were dollar bills in the ones that didnt rattle! So cute.

Grandaddy and Cousin Adam supervised Cole while I took pictures.

Cousin Wesley found the golden egg!

Grant with his bucket, he had $19 and candy!

Cupcake time or "Pupcake" as Grant calls them

We had an awesome time at Tol and Kelly's celebrating Easter and Buddy's birthday! We didnt get home until almost 6:30 Saturday night and thankfully the kids were exhausted and ready for bed.

Sunday morning we got the boys up and let them see their Easter baskets before getting ready for Church.

Grant got a new talking Rex and he was tickled pink! Cole, he got some swim trunks and a few other things.. he could care less!

Buddy and Grandaddy drove over and came to church with us, here is Grant waiting at the door for them!

Me and my boys... I'm only about half ready at this point, its HARD getting ready with two kids!

Daddy and the Boys!

Unfortunately our family picture turned out TERRIBLE so I didnt post it, so disappointed. I looked awful and Grant was not cooperating. Oh well, thats life.

This last picture is so funny to me. You can see that Grandaddy is helping hold Cole and his hand is under his butt. Cole let out the biggest toot/poop and Grandaddy kept saying "He's pooping on me... HURRY HURRY". I was dying laughing.

Our first experience at church with two was eventful. Grant was good but Cole had a little accident and lets just say I had to change him, luckily I had a little UT onesie in my diaper bag, not the outfit I planned for Easter!

Anyways, our Easter afternoon was just perfect with the 4 of us! I am so thankful that God blessed me with such a great family, husband, and 2 beautiful boys!!

Life with Two!

Well, we are two weeks in today with our sweet Cole! He is such a good, relaxed baby. Grant got to come home last Thursday and as you can see from the picture above he was beyond thrilled to hold his baby brother. I had oftened worried how he would react but the first few days our biggest issue was getting him to understand that he can't hold his brother all the time. I think that's a pretty good problem to have!

I have never in my life been so excited to see Grant. I missed him terribly bad, but at the same time I was nervous about him coming home. Honestly, Cole has been so easy that Franklin and I felt like we'd been on vacation while I was healing. We kinda forgot how much work a 2 1/2 yr old is and how much energy they have. It took us a few days to get back in the swing of things and we are all still adjusting but I am loving life as a family of 4! I told Franklin its ironic that today we celebrate our 4 year anniversary as a family of 4! Pretty neat!

Franklin has had to keep Grant entertained and do all of the "hard work" since I am still very restricted on things I can do. I hate not being able to chip in more but I have to say I have the BEST HUSBAND IN THE WORLD! He's been beyond supportive and helpful!

Grant has been super active and wanting to be on the go nonstop so Franklin has taken him outside and has had him going nonstop! His entertainment is "spraying off the patio"! He LOVES IT! Works for me.. well.. as long as I dont get in the line of fire!

Grant continues to love his little brother and Cole is a trooper about Grant holding, kissing, rubbing, and poking him all of the time!

There is absolutely nothing sweeter than watching your children form a bond!

I sure love my boys! All 3 of them :) I'm officially out-numbered but I wouldn't have it any other way! I feel so blessed to have 2 healthy beautiful boys and a fantastic loving husband!

Guess Who?

I had to post these pictures because I thought WOW... they look alot alike! I, of course, can tell the difference but I never thought I would have two kids that looked so much alike! I have posted 4 pictures. 2 of Grant and 2 of Cole both wearing the same outfit!

Could you tell the difference? The first two pictures were of Grant and the last two were of Cole! Grant's head is rounder and Cole's is longer. Cole also is shorter and fatter notice his chinS!

ITS A BOY!

I can't belive March 31st has already come and gone! Above is me, minutes before I got in to my lovely gown. YES, I have makeup on and my hair fixed because I only slept an hour and a half the night before! So I figured, why not.. I will get ready and be somewhat decent when my baby arrives. My experience this time was 100% different than it was with Grant. I didn't exactly love being fully aware of my csection but I did absolutely LOVE hearing that sweet cry.. it seemed like forever before they told Franklin he could peak over to see the gender! I will never forget him being the one to tell me that we had another son. I could not get the smile off my face. The minute I looked at him I knew his name, Cole Miller Madewell!

8 lbs 12 ounces and 20 inchesLove at first site!

Everyone waited very patiently. We had been told prior to registering that Franklin would get to walk the baby out and let him reveal the gender. However, Baptist works a little bit different. No one could see me or the baby until after I got out of recovery which well after 10am. I had been back there since 645 so everyone had gotten anxious. The way we revealed the gender was when Cole was taken to the nursery, Franklin went and told everyone to stand in front of the glass and he had the nurse bring him to the window and they saw the blue name tag! Well.. and they were bathing him! Then Franklin told them his name!

They sd he screamed during his bath and footprints but loved having his hair brushed. I think this picture looks exactly like Grant when he was a baby!

Finally all of the Grandparents got to come in and see him. I am sick that I dont have a copy of the picture of Cole's Great Grandparents holding him. I hope to get that soon and post on here.

Franklin's Mom, "Grandma"

"Grandaddy" (Note: Thomas COLE McCord)!

Buddy and Grandaddy (My Mom and Stepdad)

Uncle Tol (My brother)

Papa G (My Dad Gary MILLER Swindell)

Grandpa (Franklin's Dad)

DeeDee (My Stepmom)

The next event just so happens to be the absolute BEST moment of my life... Emily was visiting with me and I heard a little knock on my door to see this:

My precious Grant.. who now looked like a ten year old boy to me rounded the corner with flowers and grinned from ear to ear saying "HI MOMMY".. he came to my bed and climbed right up and sd "Where's my baby Cole, I need to hold him".

He is CRAZY about Cole, he loved on him, rubbed him and told everyone how sweet he is. The lactation nurse came in and he sd "Dont give my baby a booboo".

I couldn't be more proud of both of my sons!

Cole gave Grant a Leapfrog Tag reader and book and a pack of Smarties.. of course look what he was most excited about.. The Smarties!

Emily was getting one more "Cole fix" and Grant look at her and sd "Emily I need my Cole back, I need to hold him"!

I had a fantastic visit with Grant and many more friends and family. I had great nurses and a good experience this time. On Saturday we got the good news that we could come home and I was SO EXCITED! I dont like this picture because Cole's eyes are so red and swollen from that funky cream they put on their eyes but I wanted a good pic of us leaving!

Home Sweet Home!

There is so much truth to the saying "There is no place like home". I thank everyone for all their warm wishes, thoughts, and prayers. I thank God for my beautiful family and our healthy and recovery. Please continue to pray that our family of four has a nice transition and we all stay good and healthy!