AJ's Baby Blessing

We had AJ blessed at church on May 29th...Tom did the blessing with my dad and it was beautiful. I was totally scatter-brained that day and forgot to do pictures while he was in white...and forgot to write down what exactly was said. Oh well...hopefully he's not mad at me when he's old enough to care. We did get a few pictures when we got home and I took some of him in his cute little outfit a week or two later!


Caroline wasn't so happy to be taking pictures...

pretty much sums it up...good pictures were not going to happen!

We thought we could get some once we were inside...still not going to happen....



Finally a couple good ones...

This is the same outfit AJ's cousin jarian wore when he was blessed...

He did NOT want to take pictures either!



Caroline wanted a picture too :-)

Angelo - 1 month

Angelo is now 6 weeks old! I can't believe it! He is such a good baby! He eats like a pro, sleeps pretty good considering how young he is...and only cries when he wants to eat, or needs his diaper changed. This first month has been great just bonding with him and cuddling. He spends most of his time swaddled and asleep...he's just awake a couple hours during the day. He loves to just stare at me when he is awake. I love it!

At his one month checkup he weighed in at 10 lbs 7 oz and 22 inches tall. Now, 2 weeks later I weighed him and he is 11 lbs 6 oz! Big boy, he loves to eat!

We sure love you AJ and are so happy to have you in our family!

Caroline 21-23 months

Wow, where did the time go? I have been neglecting my blog due to the fact that I just had a baby! If I kept my blog up then I would be neglecting my children...but alas, the children are asleep and instead of sleeping myself I am going to play catchup!

Caroline is now 22 months...almost 23. She is just so amazing! The saying about children her age being like sponges is so true! All it takes is Tom and I doing something one time, and she is doing it too! We have to be VERY careful with what we do in front of her and what we allow her to do. One time and it is SO hard to reverse.

She likes to pretend to shave like daddy (she would probably really shave if we didn't keep the razor out of reach). She likes to pretend to go potty and wipe (haha, I wish she would really go potty, but for now, she just pretends). She likes to put lotion on like mommy. She likes to pretend to cook. She likes to clean up everything. She loves to wash her hands in the sink...which she does every time I get in the shower causing me to run out of hot water! Since having her baby brother come home she has really started to play with her baby dolls. She does everything with them that she sees mommy do for AJ...including trying to breastfeed. It is quite hilarious.

She learns and says new words every day. It's getting to the point where almost anything I say she copies. Between her signing and her words she and I communicate quite well. She LOVES to say "what's this" about EVERYTHING!! Even if she knows what it is, she will still say "What's this"...and she will say it over and over and over. When I say what she wants me to say she smiles and says "YES!" She's just so cute!

She LOVES the beach! We have to be so careful to stay right next to her because she will run right into the water without a care in the world. She likes to play in the sand too, but not as much as the water!

Tom was out of town this past week. Without having her daddy to play with, Caroline started to get jealous of the time I spend with AJ. She kept telling me "Momma, baby swing" and hitting the swing. Then she would say "Momma, play?" I feel so bad that I can't play with her like we used to...but soon enough we will all be able to play and she will have a new play mate! Sometimes when we are driving down the road she will start yelling "Play? Wawa?" I think she means she wants to play at the park at the beach, lol. Tonight when we went to the beach and when she saw the other kids playing she was SO excited! She just kept pointing and yelling "kids, kids!" She sure loves to play with kids! Pretty soon I will be babysitting Jolina again and she will have her little playmate back!

Caroline loves to watch Signing Time and Elmo...still! Haha! She will ask me to watch Signing Time...but when she says it, it sounds just like she is saying "Satan"...so funny!

She is a good eater now. She likes so many things I can't name them all. She LOVES to dip. Every time she eats she asks me for something to dip her food in.

That's all I can think of for now...plus I seriously need to go to bed! We love you Caroline! You are such a good big sister!

Angelo meets Papou and Yaya

Papou and Yaya met Angelo yesterday too...he actually met all his Uncles and Aunts on Toms side yesterday too, but I forgot to get out the camera for that. We will just have to see them again soon! I can't wait till my side gets to meet him too...but for now, these pictures will have to do!

Papou and Angelo...so proud! :-)

The proud grandparents!

Daddy loves his boy!

Angelo and Caroline Meet!

Caroline came to the hospital yesterday to meet her new little brother. I was so happy to see her!! I miss her so much, but I know she has been in good hands with Tom's mom. We have never been apart overnight and I miss checking on her before I go to sleep and playing with her. Things will be different, but she will be a great big sister, I know it! She all of the sudden seems so grown up to me :(
When she first walked in she was a little nervous it seemed, but she did come give me a hug and kiss. When she saw her brother she gave a little smile and tried to pick him up and hug him. It was cute. After that she got distracted and would just come back to him every now and then. Eventually she asked for her jacket and said bye bye. I'm not sure what she thinks but I loved watching her meet him and I can't wait to bring him home and to get a routine again.

Here are some pics of their first meeting...videos too...but again, you have to log into the blog to see them.

Videos!

Angelo James Gounaris is Here!

Angelo is finally here...he is quite the punctual kid. He came 3 minutes before his due date, completely on his own. He is beautiful and just the sweetest, calmest baby. He looks just like Caroline as a baby only with dark hair. He was born at 11:57 PM on Wednesday, May 4th. He weighs 8 lbs 4 oz (actually 8lbs 3.5 oz...but I guess they decided to round up) and was 21 in long.

I suppose you would all like to see pictures and maybe even hear how it all went. Don't read if you don't want to hear about birth! I did spare you from a lot of gross details though...

I went to the Dr on Tuesday evening just for a regular checkup. I was hoping my Dr would tell me I was close...or give me some sort of clue to when he would come. But, after my exam I was no closer to knowing when he would come because there had been NO progress. I came home, played with Caroline, put her to bed and then watched some TV with Tom until about 10:00. At around 1am I woke up for one of my regular nightly visits to the bathroom. When I got back in bed, half asleep, I started to have contractions. It didn't really hit me what was happening. I kept waking up every 10-20 minutes but didn't think much of it until around 4 am. Then I realized that this just might be the real deal. I decided not to wake up Tom because he had a test that morning that he needed to rest for. He got up around 6:30 and I told him we were probably going to have the baby soon....I didn't know how soon, but soon. He went off at 7:30 until about 10:30 ish for his test (which he passed of course). By the time he got home the contractions were about 5 minutes apart and slightly more painful. I had called the Dr and he told me to come in at 1:00 to his office. Tom's mom came over to watch Caroline and off Tom and I went to the Dr. He confirmed that I was in fact in labor and was about 2-3 cm dialated. He sent us off to the hospital and by 2:00 I was in my room getting all ready for AJ's arrival. In the hour from when I was at the Dr till we were checked into the hospital the contractions got pretty painful. Luckily I only had to endure that for about 2 hrs and 45 min until they gave me an epidural. I was a little worried about getting an epidural because I had heard it can slow labor and if I wanted to do a VBAC I had to do this all on my own without Pitocin. But...I decided it was worth the risk. Especially since if I did end up needing a c-section at the last minute I would be able to without being put to sleep. After I got the epidural I felt great until about 9:00 ish when it started to wear off on one side. The Dr. came to check me at 9:30 and I was 6 cm but Angelo's head was turned the wrong way so she was worried he would not fit and I would have to have a c-section. She told me she would come back at 10:30 and check again, but if there wasn't much progress we would have to go to the operating room. I guess Angelo heard because when she came back at 10:30 I was 9.5 cm and about ready to push. About this time I started to get really nauseous. Angelo's head was still facing the wrong way, but the Dr. thought since I was totally dialated I could just try to push him out and he should turn the right way. On maybe my second try at pushing he turned the right way which made me start throwing up. It ended up being about 45 minutes of pushing and feeling the urge to puke and he was out at 11:57PM. I remember at one point saying that if he loved me he would come out before midnight. I guess he loves me :-) I really just wanted him out! It was wonderful to see him. They put him right on my chest which was so wonderful compared to my experience with Caroline and the c-section. I was able to hold him for a few minutes....Tom cut the cord. Then they cleaned him off right in my room and brought him back for me to hold and breastfeed for an hour before they bathed of weighed him. He came out sucking and has been an expert at eating. I don't think we will have any problems with him gaining weight...he loves to eat.

So...that's the story. I would have to say a c-section was MUCH easier...BUT the bonding and recovery are much better with a vaginal birth. I'm really glad that I was able to do it even though it would have been easier to schedule the c-section. Now I can have a lot more kids like I want without too many risks! I LOVE the hospital I am at this time! The nurses are great...only thing bad is the food!

Welcome to the world baby Angelo James *He is named after Tom's father (Angelo) and my father (James). I like to call him AJ because I think it's super cute just like him :)

Here are some pics and videos. If you are getting this in an email you will have to log into my blog to see the videos. Don't mind me blubbering...it hurt so bad, I was just so happy to have him in my arms!

showing my contractions...


Feeling good right after the epidural...

He finally arrived!