Kilpatrick, Party of Five

As soon as we knew that Beckett would be born on the 17th, I began to be equally excited and terribly nervous.  I knew all the things that had brought us to this point and why we were so hoping that an early delivery would mean avoiding a long hospital stay and health problems that plagued Rhys.  I also knew that my C-section would be different this time since it was planned and not such an emergency.  But I still knew that he would be one day shy of 35 weeks old and would be small, just over 5 pounds and my worries were rapidly adding up.

The weekend prior, my mom and niece had come to visit us just to hang out and see Cameron and Rhys.  We played all day and didn't do much at all.  We cooked and cleaned up toys endlessly, and just enjoyed the last weekend of no baby.  I knew that I would be visiting my specialist, Dr. M, on Tuesday when she would most likely tell me if she was recommending that we deliver early.  And sure enough, she said to plan it for the next day or two and Grammy knew that she wasn't going to head home anytime soon!

The day before, I spent about half the day at the hospital being monitored and having my blood tested and making sure that the blood bank would be ready in case we needed some very specific transfusions.  A very kind nurse told me that being awake during his birth rather than completed sedated would be a bit strange at times, but that I would most likely enjoy getting to witness so many more things.  She was even wise enough to warn me of the things I would feel and how to respond if I became nervous or concerned.  Let me say to any of my friends that may end up having a C-section, I will tell you the real truth when you are ready and want me to.  :)

The day came so quickly.  We checked in at the hospital around 10:00 am and were scheduled for surgery at noon.  We were so touched to find out that a whole team of doctors and nurses had been prepped with information about Beckett and would be in the room during his delivery.  Maybe it was the combination of nerves and gratefulness that we had made it that far, but I was crying before he was even born.  The moment the doctors held him up for us to see, Bo said to me, "He's awesome! He's little, but he is awesome."  I remember seeing how small he looked in the doctor's hands but that his skin looked so healthy and pink!  Compared with Rhys, he looked so much better.

And yet, we still had to head straight to the NICU.  He was put on three lamps to help him process out the bilirubin and he had wires and IV cords everywhere.  

Over the next week, we tried to be patient and thankful as the doctors told us they were testing you for all the same things that we had dealt with for Rhys.  Bilirubin tests, CBC panels, hemoglobin and hematocrit numbers, making sure that you were eating and digesting out those bad antibodies...

But really we anticipated that you might be there for a very short stay!  Your brother was in the NICU for an entire month and we were hoping that you might only need a few weeks.

Such a sleepy boy, we were always excited to see your eyes open!  For now they seem to be a deep blue and Daddy and Cameron are pretty excited that you are part of the club.

This is the first time that Mommy got to hold you.  Even with all the cords, I was so excited to snuggle you close to me and tell you how much we love you.

Daddy is so proud to have not one, but miracle boys!  We know that God is going to continue to give you strength and help your body correct the things that need help.

Still praying for you, our Little Bear!

Love.
Mama, Daddy, Sissy and Rhys Man

Camp Showbiz!

Cameron spent the last two weeks at Magik Theatre Camp with her friend Morgan.  They were there every weekday from 9 - 3 and learned all about costumes and backdrops and learning to say your lines.  (Mostly she would just tell us if she liked the snack for the day and how they played outside....)  This was Cam's first camp experience and we had a feeling that she would enjoy getting to dress up and be loud in front of an audience.  I was sad to have to miss seeing her play today since I was still in the hospital, but she had a bunch of family and friends to cheer her on!

She had to get all gussied up to play Jasmine in their "Llama Llama" play.  Makeup done by Aunt Rachael!

The Mowrey Crew and their superstar Morgan

Cameron with her proud Daddy and Brother

Morgan and Cameron

 

We are so thankful that she got to be with Morgan for this experience!  They have many more years of fun ahead of them. 

The Day Before Beckett

Since we knew Beckett would be arriving on Thursday, we spent Wednesday evening at home just enjoying being our little foursome for the last time.  Aunt Rachael was gracious to take pictures for us and help us remember how blessed we were to be adding our sweet Little Bear to our family.

I had spent the morning at the hospital having some blood work done so that everything would be ready in case Beckett needed any special transfusions later.  I was relieved when the doctor said that we would be delivering at the same hospital that both Cam and Rhys were born at.  They have a much higher level of NICU and would be better equipped to take care of his potential needs.  And it also helped that my doctor was about to leave on a family vacation the same day as the delivery, so we had to be sure to take care of him in our allotted window of time.

All our months of praying were coming to a conclusion.  We prayed for his lungs to be strong, his body to be healthy, for his blood to continue to fight off the antibodies.  We thanked God for giving us this blessing even though we didn't understand it at first.  We prayed for wisdom for his doctors and for protection for Mama in surgery.

And then we tried in vain to sleep our last night at home.  But we just dreamed of our newest little boy about to arrive.

Kilpatrick Family Picture

This Thanksgiving, we were lucky enough to have all the Kilpatrick family together to take a huge family portrait.  My sister Rachael was even gracious enough to come take it and also do smaller family shots.  Here we are with Bo's brothers (Chance on the left and Tanner on the right), his stepmom Gaila (AKA Gigi) and Bo's dad Billy (Grandpa!).  Not much of a smile out of Rhys, but at least he wasn't crying or trying to escape!

Happy Halloween 2013

This year, we decided to go all out for our Halloween costumes!  Cameron made the executive decision that she and Rhys should have coordinating costumes, so she was Jessie and he was Woody from Toy Story.  (I secretly wished that Bo would be Buzz Lightyear, but we couldn't convince him…)

 Cameron's sweet friend Hallee threw a party for some of our friends at her house, so we had an extra chance to wear their cute outfits.  Hallee loves to play dress up any day of the year!

All the kiddos - Cuteness overload

Here is Mommy in full Snow White mode.  The wig was tough to wear all day, but we were having an office costume contest!  Rhys and Cameron actually liked it when I surprised them at school like this!

Some of my crazy co-workers all dressed up!

Here we are at the end of the night, all worn out!  Not many trick-or-treaters in our neighborhood, but we had a great time anyway.  I would say Halloween 2013 was a success!

Summer Lovin'

Pictures of Days Gone By

Chomping on a toy before his two teeth arrived...

Mommy & Daddy on her 31st birthday!

Sweet Cameron in her soccer jersey

Cuddly bear Rhys Man

Easter Sunday with all the girls at Grammy's house

Happy to be out egg hunting in the warm weather!

My silly dinner date

Fun with Hattie & Ainslee

You won't stay little for long.

Sweet Rhys,
What a lucky Mommy I am to have such a snuggle bug.  You are slowly growing into the next phase where you will be on the move and crawling soon, but for now you are still stuck in whatever spot we put you in.  This month you became a pro at sitting up and now have several favorite toys that you play with.  You really love one that has a steering wheel and makes lots of car noises and sings the alphabet!

This month you have been eating really well and continuing to grow.  You eat a jar of baby food, and you seem to like everything that we have tried, a still happily drink your bottle at every meal.  At your (somewhat late) 6 month checkup, you weighed 14 lbs 5 oz (6th %) and were 25.5 inches long (10 %).  You are perfect to me!  You finally grew out of the 3-6 months size of clothing and even needed an entire new batch of socks this month.  Apparently I turned around and your feet suddenly grew a ton because you are now wearing the 12-24 month size in socks!  The other size was mysteriously 3-12 months and wouldn't stay on your feet at all.  I think I bought you 20 pairs of socks in one day just so I wouldn't have to mess with them again.

The wonderful gift that God has given us in you is your mellow personality.  People comment that you are easy going and calm, not a fussy guy at all.  You like to people watch and you seem to go along with whatever schedule happens that day.  I think our routine for naps & feedings at home on the weekends is quite different from your norm at school, but you seem happy and content anyway.  You will soon require a bit more activity and planning, but for now you don't seem to mind just being home with me for an entire Saturday.

I have to say that this picture of the two of us made me so happy because I think you look like me.  I love when you wear a "fancy shirt" that looks like one of Daddy's.  Even just combing your hair after a bath makes me imagine what you will look like in just another year, since your sweet features seem to change so quickly now.  But you still have that sandy brown hair and those big brown eyes just like I did when I was little.  See?  This is me at 9 months!

Well, I am going to go give you your bedtime bottle and get in my snuggles right now.  I love you so much, Rhys Man.  You are more of a blessing than I could ever deserve.

All my heart,
Mama

Giving Thanks

 When we celebrated Thanksgiving this year, we were blessed enough to be with the ones we love in a warm house with plenty of food to eat.  We have jobs, we have beautiful healthy children who make us laugh and let us hold them close.  We have so much to be thankful for EVERY day of the year.

Party Girl

Big Sister Cameron,

 What better place to celebrate being four years old than Build-a-Bear?  You were super excited to have some of your sweet girlfriends come hang out with us for the afternoon and Mommy was super excited not to have to clean the house!  Since Grammy was in town for a visit, she was so kind to stay home with Rhys so that Mommy and Daddy could go to the party and just spend time with you.  You loved being the center of attention and were thrilled when the BAB hostess said you got to be first in line for everything. :)

We had invited a few more friends that weren't able to make it, but I think for your age, this group was just perfect.  Everyone had a good time and didn't feel left out.  You were so happy to spend the afternoon with Elizabel, Ainslee, Hattie (who mostly wanted to just hang out with her mom), Jordyn, and Makayla.

First you all got to choose your bear and get it stuffed to your liking.  You chose a very colorful one!

Then you all made wishes on the little hearts that are then sewn into your bear.  Yours was special because all of your friends kissed a heart and gave it to your bear too.

Then your bears all got a quick bath and a good brushing. 

Then everyone picked out an outfit and gave their bear a name.  Yours was named Alice since you are suddenly a big fan of the name.  (We don't know anyone named Alice...)  I think all you girls loved getting to take home your very own bear and get to make all the choices.  Yours had to have a fancy dress and high heeled shoes, by the way.

Fortunately, you didn't seem to mind that Mommy played the baby card and tried to outsource as much of your party as possible.  We ate a snack at Chick-Fil-A and had some delicious non-homemade cupcakes, but the point of it all was that we love you and are so proud of you.  We can't believe how much God has blessed us with four whole years of being your parents.