Two weeks with two kids under 2!

I haven't posted anything since Julie arrived. I have had my hands full trying to recover from surgery, getting to know my new little girl and trying to pay extra special attention to Joshua. So far, we are adjusting pretty well. Joshua has been really good with Julie. Sometimes he is really interested in what she is doing, other times he completely ignores her. He likes to climb up next to me and watch me change her diaper, and he loves to hold her. He points at her when she cries and looks at me with a very concerned look, like he is saying "you better do something about this mom." I was afraid Joshua would act out to get attention once we brought Julie home, but he has been really good. The hardest part really is not being able to pick Joshua up. The doctor says I should wait until 6 weeks after delivery before I fully pick him up. He is still sleeping in a crib and still in diapers so getting him into the crib for naptime or onto the changing table to change him has been challenging. You don't realize how much you pick up your kids until your not supposed to do it anymore.

Julie is a really good baby. She is sleeping most of the time still, and does pretty well at night. We had our first pediatrician visit and Julie weighs over 7lbs now. She also had her pictures taken which she did not like at all - I think she was objecting to being naked and cold more than to the fact that she was getting her picture taken. She is a sweet baby girl and is a perfect little addition to our family.

Thanksgiving was low key this year. We stayed at home and just relaxed as a family. However, I did cook a turkey with all the fixin's for my hubby. I could have opted out of cooking this year, but last year at Thanksgiving Josh was still in Colorado finishing up school and I was in Arkansas and he was quite depressed about not getting Thanksgiving dinner and being away from us. So, this year, I wanted to make sure Josh got his Thanksgiving favorites with our new little family.

All in all, these last two weeks have been an adjustment, but have gone really well. It is pretty exhausting getting very little sleep at night and trying to keep up with a toddler during the day, but it has also been fun. I am so humbled by how truly blessed I am to have two healthy kids and a wonderful supportive family.

Julie Kate Walker is here!

Julie Kate has finally arrived! Born on November 11, 2008 at 7:35am, weighing 6lbs. 14 oz., and 19.5 in long!

Her delivery story is much shorter than Joshua's (praise Jesus!). Basically, we arrived at the hospital at 6am for my scheduled c-section. I was prepped for surgery and Julie Kate was delivered at 7:35am. Everything went extremely smooth. My blood pressure was a little high right before delivery, but other than that, no sign of complications. We were released from the hospital around noon on November 13 and are so glad to be home as a family. Julie Kate is a precious baby girl - she started breastfeeding immediately and has not looked back, so that is a big relief as well. She appears to be a pretty laid back baby like Joshua was, we will see if that continues once her personality starts to come out :) Throughout this whole experience Josh and I have been reminded of how difficult the delivery process with Joshua was. We don't know how we made it through all that 19 months ago, but are so very grateful that this time around was so much better. We are truly blessed and are in awe of how amazing our new little girl is! Here are a couple of pictures from the last few days...

Waiting to go in for surgery....

Julie Kate is here!

6lbs 14 oz.

First picture with Daddy

Are you my mommy? Precious baby girl

Joshua meeting baby sister

Julie Kate is ready to go home.

Mom is ready to go home!

Everybody is ready to go home!

Halloween!

For Halloween, Ben Lomond hosts a hayride for all the kids. Because houses are spread apart in the country, the kids can ride the hayride from house to house to go trick or treating. They have been doing this since Josh was a little boy so it was fun for Joshua to go on his first Ben Lomond Halloween Hayride. He was Yoda for Halloween and looked pretty cute! He was a little overwhelmed by all the kids in different costumes, but had a good time I think. I even let him have his first piece of Halloween candy after the night was over and man was he a sticky mess! Here are a few pictures from the event.... Daddy getting Joshua ready to head down to the hayride. Joshua is not sure about this yet.

Ok, ready to go... Are you coming mom? Heading down to the hayride.

Taking it all in... Riding on the hayride with candy in his hands.

Enjoying our first halloween candy.