Busy House

It's hard to believe Gabriel is already almost 4 weeks old. We thought time went fast with Madelyn but I think it goes even faster with number two! The days are crazy and of course the work load has certainly increased, however, we were very lucky to have some great guests that have joined us to offer a helping hand.  My dad came out to visit a few days before Gabriel. The best part of dad being here was the fact that Madelyn was able to spend some great one on one time with him. The weather was gorgeous so they spent a lot of time playing outside which was heaven for Madelyn! Madelyn also helped Grandpa plant some flowers, and leave it to our diva to find the only pink think at Lowes and get Grandpa to get her a pink Minnie watering can, haha! Dad was so helpful and not sure what we would have done without him!

After dad left my mom flew in for 10 days. Anybody who knows mom knows how awesome and efficient she is at getting things done. She helped get caught up on all the house chores, did lots of cooking and we even ventured out on a few outings with two kids (which was no easy task, ha) Not sure how I would have gotten anything done without her here. Madelyn and her Nana are two peas in a pod and I love seeing them spend time together. The best was we got to spend not only mom's birthday but Mother's Day together with her! It wasn't the most exciting birthday for mom but meant the world to us to celebrate with her!

Next, Derek's parents came in for 5 days! We had a great week and lots of fun memories. While they were here we had lots of pool time (Madelyn playing in her outdoor inflatable pool), a picnic at the park, Madelyn got to go strawberry picking with Nanny and Poppy and of course more great cooking! We loved having them here and it's hard knowing they aren't just 2 hours away anymore! We are very thankful for everything they did for us! The last two days of the week our good friends Dana, Dan and their son Grady came for memorial weekend. It meant a lot to us they drove the long drive and we loved catching up.  Madelyn LOVED having a buddy to play with for a few days. Thanks to Derek's parents we also got a night out with Dana and Dan while they babysat.

Many people have said you have to be so sick of company after 3 1/2 weeks of straight company but Derek and I loved nothing more than filling our house with friends and family! After everyone left the quietness of the house made us both sad. We are so thankful for all the helping hands and memories! Gabriel and Madelyn both hope all their grandparents will be back soon! Now that everyone is gone we are excited to start getting adjusted to being a family of 4:)

Updates on the kids:
Gabriel is doing wonderful! He had a check up last week and was already up to 10lbs. We are so blessed to have another great baby. He rarely fusses or cries unless he is hungry or you are changing his diaper. As for sleeping he is till sleeping a lot and most nights goes about 3-4 hours between feedings. We definitely have noticed when he is awake he is starting to enjoy looking around at things especially lights.

Madelyn has surprised us on how well she has done with the addition of Gabe. She of course has had a few jealous moments when she wants to be held if we're holding the baby but for the most part has done really well. Just the other day Gabe was crying while in his swing. Without knowing I was watching, Madelyn walked over and turned on the music on his swing and said  "there you go Gabriel" to make him better. She also has  impressed us with her talking the past two weeks. She is using 4-5 word sentences all the time now.
We started her in swim lessons a few weeks ago and this past Saturday she swam by herself for the first time (with her back floaty on of course)! We also started back with the potty training again today! We will see how it goes!

Our precious baby boy

The girl loves her Minnie!

Is it nap time yet??

Showing off those pretty eyes:)

Nap with Poppy

Swim Lessons!

Our little fish

A few great pictures Derek's dad took while here!

Strawberry picking with Nanny

Daddy is training me now!

Gabriel Joseph White

 We were so excited on May 3rd to finally meet Gabriel Joseph. He was born on 3:44 pm, weighing 8 pounds 10 ounces and was 22 inches long. On Monday, April 28th I went for my weekly appointment and I was 4 cm dilated and 80% effaced. I of course knew from Madelyn that while in most people this usually meant labor around the corner my body liked to sit like this for awhile and my babies liked to stay put! My doctor decided that if he hadn't come by Saturday, May 3rd they would schedule an induction.

All week, we anxiously did last minute things to get ready for Gabriel's arrival. On Thursday my dad flew in and would stay with Madelyn while we were in the hospital. Saturday morning we woke up early and had to be at the hospital at 8am. By the time we got there, checked in, me all set up, iv's going, etc. my doctor came in around 9:30 and broke my water. The hope was since I was so far dilated she would break my water and that would send my body naturally into labor. So the waiting game began. I started having contractions but they were not regular at all to signal labor beginning. Therefore, after 2 hours my doctor started a small dose of pitocin to help regulate the contractions. Soon after that I received the epidural which of course made everything much easier. The doctor came back in around 12:30 and I had dilated to 5 cm. At first it seemed this labor was taking more time than Madelyn's and we started to wonder if he was going to come on Saturday. About this time the contractions started to really pick up but I still didn't have a lot of pressure or pain. When my doctor came back in at 3:15 she said she was hoping I was at least 7-8 cm but to our surprise she said "Oh my you are fully dilated and he is right there, we need to start pushing!"

After only about 3 pushes they said he was almost out and then the nurse put oxygen on me. I didn't know why but she said breathe to help the baby get air. The doctor had me pushing on each contraction and finally after 10 minutes said "Rachel he is almost out and I just need you to push really hard because his heart rate is dropping." I of course started to panic and a push later he was out. Apparently as I started pushing the cord got wrapped around his neck. Derek said he watched the monitor and his heart rate went from around 120 down to 60. I had no idea and the doctor and Derek stayed so calm to not to freak me out. I realized after this is why they put the oxygen on.  Luckily it was such a quick labor and he was out in 12 mins total so they were able to immediately cut the cord and he was fine. He gave us a nice little scare for a minute.

We of course were in love with him and so happy to finally be able to hold him. Madelyn came to the hospital a couple hours later and was very excited to meet him. She wanted to hug and kiss him like crazy. She hasn't shown jealousy towards him but of course we have to watch her like crazy as she is to young to understand things like we can't put the blanket over his face :) I also have tried to give her some Mommy and Madelyn time each day to help.

We came home Monday morning and have been getting adjusted to having two! It was much easier to adjust to the little sleep this round and are very lucky to have a lot of family visiting to help. Last Thursday my dad left and my mom flew in and next week Derek's parents will be coming!

Here are pictures of our adorable Gabriel and his bis sister!!!

Dinner out with Grandpa, the night before Gabe was born!

Here we go!

LOVE this little boy!

One happy Daddy!

First time meeting her brother!

Love this family:)

Uncle Carter came to visit!

Madelyn loves holding her baby brother!

Lots of kisses

Grandpa with Madelyn and Gabe before leaving

Such a cutie!

It's tough being a couple days old!

First outing out as a family of 4, only took about an hour to get packed up! Mads was to excited to look at the camera!

Mother's Day!! So happy we got to have Nana here for it!