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Best holiday commercial. Ever.

Happy Weekend!

 You know a package as adorable as this is bound to contain something good. Oh you guys are going to be so jealous. Charlie was very lucky to get a package from the incredibly talented Abi.  Aren't you itching to know what's inside? Feast your eyes upon this handsome devil: Abi knit this this hat for Charlie and well it's nothing short of perfection! I love the little brown button and the blue- gah, it's so good. You've got to see the one she knit for her little guy. Adorable, no? She said she whipped this bad boy out in an evening.  It fits Charlie like a glove and the chin strap totally rocks. Maybe, if you are really nice, she'll tell you how you can make your own.

Thanks so much. Abi! We LOVE it!

 View from my labor & delivery room

I wasn't planning on sharing the birth story of baby Charlie but Grace said she always loves a good birth story and well, I just adore Grace so bear with me. I was due around Friday, November 20th and well, the day came and went and no baby. I had to be induced with both Henry & Kate because they were so late and an induction was scheduled for Charlie a week after my due date. I started having contractions the Monday before he was born. Nothing consistent, but contractions. They continued on Tuesday and were in full swing by Tuesday night. I had contractions through the night (nothing that kept me up much) and by morning they were a steady 5 minutes apart. They told me to come in when they were 5 minutes apart for an hour. I didn't want to risk being sent home, so I waited until it had been 4 hours with them 5 minutes apart. We headed up to UCLA hospital around 12:30, parked, got checked in, etc.,. They checked me about an hour later and I was only dilated to a blasted 2. I couldn't believe it. We were sent walking. So I changed out of my hospital gown and back into my clothes. They weren't sending me home, but wanted me to walk around Westwood for 2 hours. So we walked, contractions still coming but this mama was hungry. I hadn't eaten all day. We stopped at BJ's for lunch. I had  a wedge salad (my fav) and a cobb sandwich. We walked back up to the hospital.  But it hadn't quite been 2 hours yet and I wanted to get some more walking in. So I this is where I walked. Around these fountains. I made the loop around this courtyard for what felt like dozens of times and when the 2 hour mark hit- we went back up. The contractions were stronger and harder now. I was checked again.It was 4 o'clock now.  This time, I was a dilated to a 4. They were letting me stay. Back into the gown and into the labor & delivery room (see picture on top.) The deliveries with Henry & Kate were so short. Within a few hours of being induced (2-4) they were born. The labor with Charlie was by far the longest and the hardest of the 3. I opted for an epidural around 6 or 7. It kind of worked- well not really. Just for a short time. They decided to break my water at 9:15 p.m.  and told me they'd come back & check me in 2 hours. I knew there was no way it would take that long. The pain was intense (as I imagine all un-medicated labors are) and it felt like the contractions were right on top of each other. I was feeling pressure. They came in to check . "During the next contraction why don't you try to give us one push and we'll see what your body does" so the contraction came and I pushed once. 

"STOP PUSHING" yells one of the nurses

"I"M NOT PUSHING ANYMORE" I yell back. 

"He's coming…the baby is coming!" I tell them. 

They are not ready. The doctor is not gowned-up, no gloves, totally unprepared to catch the baby. The nurse reaches down to HOLD THE BABY IN. I'm thinking- 'you've got to be kidding me! I've been working all day to get this baby out and you are HOLDING HIM IN??? Are you insane??' Chris almost reached down to catch him. The  Dr. frantically throws her gown and gloves on and barely catches him in time. It was exhausting.  Chris started making the calls that Charlie had arrived. I overheard him say, "yeah, he just shot out like a cannonball!" Oh really? Geez, sounds so, I don't know.. SIMPLE and EASY and um, EFFORTLESS. Sheesh!

But little Charlie is here and we love him so much. He is an absolute dream. I am ready for another!

Every year I tell myself I'm going to make my own advent calendar. Henry loves them so much. On the eve of December 1st, I realized that I, yet again, had no advent calendar (it somehow didn't make the list of things to do before baby arrived.) So I started picking out felt from my stash and cutting. Feverishly. I had seen one years ago in the Magic Cabin catalog and have been wanting to make one just like it ever since. Man, advent calendars are time consuming! I'm starting to wonder if this thing is going to be done before Christmas. In the mean time, I picked one up at Trader Joe's for $1.00 which Henry is over the moon about. It has little doors that open up with chocolately treats inside. He  says advent calendars 'have to have doors.' 

Mine does not have doors. 

Eeek!

Happy Weekend! We'll see you Monday. Hopefully with a completed advent calendar.

FIngers crossed!

 Wow- these past 6 days have been a bit of a whirlwind. I spent Thanksgiving in the hospital with Charlie and so we celebrated on Friday. Mom has been here which has been a big help. Henry & Kate have been so sick. Horrible coughing and fevers and restless nights. Oy! Luckily this little monkey has been a really good sleeper allowing us to give a little extra tlc to the other children. What timing!  We are trying to find our new rhythm as a family of 5. I think it's been especially hard for Henry so we are working on that. He went out for a special 'boys night' with Papa last night for an evening of glow-in-the-dark mini golf and then to a Japanese restaurant for dinner (Henrys' choice.) Kate, who is totally obsessed with 'babies' (and started pointing & saying "BEBE!! BEBE!!" from the second we came home with Charlie) is a doting, loving older sister who occasionally pokes out Charlie's eyes or smothers him with slobbery kisses.  I am feeling better day by day and especially look forward to the quiet evenings when everything is still and I get to soak up (and smell!) all the beauty that is this sweet and perfect newborn baby. 

Isn't this picture so funny? He looks like a perplexed little old man!

 Charlie Winslow Moore

8 lbs 2 oz. 21" long

Born Wednesday, November 25th @ 10:03 p.m.

We are all doing well & will post more on Monday. Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

xo

We are heading in, keeping fingers crossed all will be well.

Wish us luck!

The baby quilt is done, we are just missing THE BABY!  Why must I always be late?  I wish I would have taken some better pictures of the quilt but you get the jist of it. I ended up doing a white border around it and then binded it with that green/white fabric. The quilt kind of reminds me of the scrap quilt I made over the Summer- all crazy and stuff. I think I used 10 different fabrics- which were then cut into 2 1/2 " strips & sewn together in sets of 3. They were then cut into squares which were, I think, 4 1/2" x 4 1/2". Some parts of the top drive me a bit crazy. I laid them all out before sewing but the crazyness of the top made me miss some pieces that I really wished I would have changed around, but oh well. I'm happy enough with it.  I love pulling new quilts out of the dryer when they are all wrinkled & soft and squishy. Pure satisfaction. Oh the back of the quilt…. I didn't have enough of the blue, so the back is mostly blue, with a strip of pieced together fabrics and then the red. I actually really like the back.  

Anyway- thanks for all the name advice/help. A few of you nailed the name that we are more than likely going with (you smarty pants!) and I am feeling better about it. I kind of started packing a hospital bag, which is good because I've been having pretty steady contractions this evening, so let's keep our fingers crossed for a baby soon! I can't wait for you all to meet him!

xo

 I think I'm nesting. Monday turned out to be a day of nearly 10 loads of laundry,  (and for the record, I will jump for joy when the day comes that I don't have to pay $2.50 per load of laundry), washing & setting up the co-sleeper and washing the car seat & all the baby clothes. I'm still recovering. Does anyone have any good suggestions on drawer organizers? The baby clothes are so small folded in that dresser and when the piles start to inevitably topple over it's going to be a mess in there. Let me know. Still no hospital bag packed, BUT major progress on the quilt. The entire top is done and just needs to be put together & binded. Huzzah! Still working on the to-do list but the tree is decorated and just a handful of things need to be done. This book has been on my night stand for months. We bought it when we were pregnant with Henry. I was pouring over this book on the delivery bed while laboring with Kate. For any new readers to this space, we really struggled with naming Kate and changed her name a month after she was born (by the way it still has not been legally changed….all the paperwork was recently sent back to us because I left one of the squares on the form blank….lame!)The back of the book has a little workbook page where you can write down all the names you like. We have names from when we were naming Henry and of course Kate. I even have some contraction times written down on this page from Kate's delivery. We have a name picked out for this little one, but I get a little panicky and start feeling unsure about it but have sworn to myself that we will not repeat what happened with Kate. I wish names weren't so difficult. I really want something that goes with Henry & Kate but I realize they won't always spend their lives together & it doesn't really matter. I'm just not 100% and that feeling sucks rotten donut holes. I just don't know what to do. Added to the to-do list: Pick a name for the baby (we are rapidly running out of time!) Maybe it's time for a new book. Maybe it's not the very best name book after all. 

Suggestions? I'll take 'em!

 Hospital bag packed? Nope. Co-sleeper set up? Nah. Baby clothes washed? Fughettabout it. Car seat installed? um…No. I decided at 9:00 last night to start a quilt for the baby. With less than a week until my due-date I'm feeling like I should only be required to do things that fall into the 'fun' category.  I'm not really sure what I'm doing here but  baby quilts are small and I'm confident that I'll have this thing finished in no time at all. I may not have a hospital bag packed, but I will have a cute baby blanket. That's all that really matters. Hospital bag, schmospital bag.