One Year Ago Today . . .

It was a year ago today that our precious little Julia was born. The night before she was born, I remember laying on the couch (where I slept because I was too fat to be comfortable anywhere else!) and I remember holding my belly and talking to her and telling her how I couldn't wait to finally meet her. I remember falling asleep with the comfort that I only had a week left before she was here.  I woke up a few hours later with the worst stomach cramps I had ever experienced. Of course, I had no idea I was in labor because it felt nothing like I had heard about in the classes or read about in the books. I just thought I had eaten something that didn't settle well. I never went back to sleep that night - I just laid awake oblivious to the fact that I was in labor and would be holding my sweet little girl in just a few hours. When Keith woke up to get ready for work, I told him that I was having cramps, but I didn't think I was in labor or anything. I took a bath and helped Jordan get ready for school. I was hurting pretty bad when Keith left for work, but I told him to go ahead and go to work and I would call him if I thought I needed to go to the hospital. At this point I still wasn't certain that I was in labor. We had been told in the childbirth classes that labor lasted many hours, especially if it was your first born. They warned against going to the hospital too soon and being told to go home. Plus, they told us that first babies usually come late - not early and our due date was November 11th. With those "facts" combined, I didn't think this could possibly be the real thing. I wasn't even feeling 'contractions' as I had imagined them. So Keith went on to work, but before he even got to the office, I called and told him we needed to go to the hospital. By the time he got back home to pick me up, I was doubled over on the floor and in severe pain. I started counting the time between contractions and realized pretty quickly that maybe I should have started counting hours ago. By the time we got to the hospital, my contractions were less than a minute apart. We signed in at the hospital at 8:50.  I was shocked to learn that I was too far along to have an epidural. A sense of terror rushed through my body when I heard those words.  What?  No epidural? I remember thinking that I just wasn't going to do it if I couldn't have an epidural.  But Julia had other plans.  An hour after we walked into the hospital I was holding my precious little girl for the first time. 

The first time I saw Julia was from across the room. They laid her on the scale and I remember just staring at her while she was staring back at me, both of us completely silent. Despite all the confusion going on in the room around us, we were fixated on each other. We had both just gone through a tramatic experience and neither of us knew what quite to expect next.

This is my very first image of Julia.  I will never forget that moment when our eyes first met.

Within a matter of moments, they laid her on my chest and I held my daughter in my arms for the very first time. It was the most beautiful and unforgetable moment of my life. Feeling her warm tiny body next to mine was the most comfortable feeling.

Daddy finally got to hold his little girl for the first time. She looked so tiny in his big, strong, loving arms. He fell in love with his little girl the moment he laid eyes on her. You can see the love and pride on his face as he looks at her.

And then it was time for the grandmas to have their turn. When they arrived at the hospital, Keith met them in the hallway and proudly began showing them pictures on our camera. My mom was so confused and didn't understand why he had been taking pictures of me in labor, but as soon as they saw the pictures, they were shocked to discover that little Julia was already here.

I have never seen a more proud and loving big brother. Jordan hugged and kissed on his baby sister from the day he first met her and has been taking good care of her ever since. He loves her so much and is so proud to have her join our family.

November 2, 2007 is a day that changed our lives forever.  We are so blessed to have little Julia Madison Skeen in our family.  Happy Birthday my little angel.

The Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend my mom and I took the kids to the Pumpkin Patch in Flower Mound. Keith didn't go with us because he wanted to watch the Cowboy game. There were thousands of people out there, but we managed to find my friend Amanda and her son Jase. Amanda was pregnant with Jase when I first started working at KPMG and when I found out I was pregnant, she was my saving grace who helped me through it. Anyway, most of the Bybee clan spent the day at the pumpkin patch too - Heather, Tim and Kade were there, The Gentry's were there, Patsy, William, Amanda and Aubrey were all there. There were too many people for us to stay together the whole time, but we were able to spend a little time together and get some good pictures. We had a lot of fun. There were lots and lots of pumpkins and places set up to take pictures. Here are some of my favorites.

Julia just doesn't know what to think of the giant pumpkin.

Here's Jase with a very mischevious smile on his face. I wonder what he's got up his sleeve.

Jordan is such a great big brother. He is always looking out for his baby sister.

Julia and Grandma taking a break from all the festivities.

Just another pumpkin-head.

Jordan loves to pose. Here is his all-too-serious model face.

Or maybe it's his, "Mom, please stop taking so many pictures!" face.

I don't know, he sure seems to like to have his picture taken!

That's a great big pumpkin!

Another one of Jase with the big pumpkins.

Julia and Grandma sitting pretty.

Jordan doing his bestSponge Bob impression.

Jordan Turns 8

Jordan turned 8 years old on October 13th.  We had his birthday party at Laser Quest.  He invited a bunch of friends from school and from the neighborhood to help him celebrate.  My friend Paula, from KPMG, made Jordan's cake and it was absolutely delicious.  Jordan is playing flag football this year so I asked Paula to decorate the cake with a football theme.  She made a regular rectangle cake decorated like a football field, then she had a 3-D cake on top shaped like a football.  It was really cute.  

Hmmmm . . . .What should I wish for?

Blow out the candles. . . 

What?  They're still lit?

Finally!

Julia had a good time hanging out with the older kids.

She got most of her cake and ice cream on her shirt.

And she even played her first video game.

Well, she had a little help from Grandma.

Here's Keith checking out the scores after a round of Laser Quest.  He came in second place after the first game. Should someone remind him that he was playing against 8-year-olds?

Everyone sang happy birthday to Jordan.

And then they topped it all off by throwing toilet paper all over him.

Jordan had a really great time playing Laser Tag with all his friends.

Julia vs. Mr. Alligator

This video was taken a couple months ago, but I wanted to share it with you. Hearing Julia's little giggle makes me laugh every time. She's so much fun!

Julia's 9 Month Photo Shoot

Jamie was in town over Labor Day weekend and she graciously took Julia's 9 month pictures. Yes, I know, she turned 10 months the very next day, but she was still technically 9 months old when the pictures were taken. I think there is some unwritten rule that you are supposed to take pictures at birth, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months and 1 year, so these count as her 9 month photos. Jamie takes such good pictures. Julia was her normal uncooperative self on picture day, but Jamie was quick on the trigger and was able to catch her actually smiling in some of the pictures. We took most of the pictures outside on the side of our house. We found out that Julia does not like the feel of grass on her toes. We tried to get her to stand up in the grass, but she would hold her little legs up so that her bare toes couldn't touch the ground. I think she is going to be just like her mommy - doesn't like to get dirty! Here are a couple of my favorite pictures.

Sittin' Pretty

Here are some pictures of Julia that dad took a couple weeks ago when she was in her pretty little pink dress.  She is such a beautiful little girl (Do all mom's think that?)  One of these days, we might actually be able to have on a pretty dress without a drool-soaked bib, but for now this is the best we're gonna get!