Easter Weekend

We started our Easter weekend on Friday at the First Presbyterian Church of Orlando's Easter Egg Hunt! The hunt was held at Cypress Grove Park. Connor joined his buddy Emma and had so much fun! He collected tons of eggs and had fun opening each of them as they all had fun little prizes inside! After the hunt the kids got to play on the playground and then we had a nice picnic lunch.

Saturday was a busy day. We started the day off at a marshmallow drop in Oveido. What exactly is a marshmallow drop? We didn't know what to expect either! The city of Oviedo Recreation and Parks department hosted their annual Marshmallow drop at the sports complex. It literally rains marshmallows as a helicopter hovers over the baseball fields, distributing more than 25,000 marshmallows. The kids could collect the marshmallows and redeem them for candy. We weren't too interested in the candy part but we knew Connor would love to see the helicopter so we went. It was a neat idea I suppose but I don't think we'll be making this a tradition of ours. Connor had fun but there were so many people and the helicopter doesn't exactly distribute the marshmallows evenly over the entire field but rather in just one spot so it was a little chaotic.

After the Marshmallow drop we went back to the house to welcome Bebe and Grandpa! They decided to make a quick trip to Orlando to see their grand babies for Easter. Connor had a ball! Connor played in his pool, we dyed Easter eggs and generally just enjoyed our visit together. Before going to bed that night Connor put out some carrots and a hard boiled egg he made for Easter bunny. When he woke up Sunday morning the carrots and egg were gone and next to the plate were Easter baskets for him and Addison! He seemed to get a kick out of that but really enjoyed everything the Easter bunny brought him. Among his favorites were the cars and M&M's :)

The rest of the day was very low key. I had started to not feel well on Saturday and by Sunday I had developed a fever and was super weak. Turns out I have a double dose of mastitis :( I think I'm finally on the mend but it was a few rough days and required a visit to the doctor for antibiotics. Thankfully I have the best husband in the whole world who has taken such good care of me (and the kids!) while I've been so miserable. Needless to say though I didn't get to do all the fun Easter things with Connor on Sunday. I'm so glad we went to the Easter Egg Hunt on Friday! Here is a link to a few additional pictures from our busy weekend.

On another note out little Addison is already 1 month old! I can hardly believe it. She is growing like a weed though and starting to develop a cute little personality. She makes the cutest noises and is even starting to smile! I'm trying to capture this on camera but it's hard because she usually does it when I'm holding her which makes it impossible to take.

Spring Arts Festival

 We went to the Maitland Spring Arts Festival on Sunday...our first outing all together! The festival was held at Lake Lily Park and it was a gorgeous day out - perfect for a day at the park! We first looked at all the various vendors then settled down for a picnic near the live music on the other side of the lake. Connor had fun dancing to the music :) After lunch we headed to the playground so Connor could burn some energy before we went home. He had a blast!! He has matured so much since the last time we were at this park. He wasn't afraid to do anything or approach anyone. He actually tried to talk to the older kids! I wasn't able to get any pictures though because I was holding Addison, but he was one little monkey out there!

 After the park Connor hung out with daddy in the garage. He loves to do anything and everything his daddy does. John had the air compressor out earlier to put air in the tires. Connor immediately wanted to do the same...but then wouldn't give it back! It's amazing how much he absorbs without us realizing it. He knew exactly what to do with it! I forget why exactly but John said to Connor, "Connor, I got it" to which Connor replied back "No dada, I got it." Too cute!!

Connor continues to want to hold his baby sister whenever he can. Not sure why we hadn't used the bobby pillow before but now Connor can hold her all on his own!

Click here for a few more pictures from our weekend. Have a great week!

2 Week Checkup

Addison had her 2 week checkup on Monday with our pediatrician and I'm happy to report that she is doing great so far! Typically they like to see that an infant has gained back their birth weight. She has done that and then some, weighing in at 7 lbs already!! She must have already hit her first growth spurt because in addition to weighing a pound more than she did at birth, she also grew an inch! Everything else looked good, though she does have a blocked tear duct in her left eye but that should heal up all on its own over time.

We're all doing good and adjusting well to life as a family of four. Connor continues to do well with his baby sister and will take every opportunity he can to hold her. Last weekend we hung out at the house (as I presume will be our weekend ritual for the next couple of months). Connor enjoyed his pool time but otherwise was a pretty laid back weekend. This weekend looks to be pretty quiet as well but we're looking forward to Easter weekend in a couple of weeks. I can't wait for Connor to go Easter egg hunting. I'm sure he'll enjoy all the festivities that coincide with it like dying the eggs. I promise I'll take lots of pictures! :)

We've been busy....

 

Addison Jayde Gumula made her debut on Saturday March 26th at 1:36 AM, weighing in at 6 lbs and was 19 inches long! Friday started like any other day but on the way to work I started having contractions. They were very irregular and not too painful so I didn't get too excited. I've had friends who have had contractions for weeks before labor, but I was hopeful! The contractions subsided by lunchtime but picked up again that evening. Again, they were pretty irregular but it got us thinking about our plan of action in the event this was the real thing. All along John and I had hoped I would go into labor in the morning during the week so that Connor would be taken care of (daycare). If it happened in the middle of the night we had a few options but not that night, two of our three options were out of town! We decided we needed to make sure our friend Tim could in fact come over on short notice. While we were talking about it John suggested I start timing the contractions, just to see where we were at. Turns out that while irregular duration and strength, the intervals were between 5 and 7 minutes apart! We decided better to be safe than sorry and got Tim to come over to watch Connor so that we could go to the hospital to get checked out.

While waiting for Tim the contractions started coming on stronger and quicker. Tim got to our house around 10:30 PM and we got to the hospital around 11 PM. They checked me and told me I was 4 cm dilated and 80% effaced. My doctor wanted me to walk around for 2 hours but said to come back if I couldn't bear it any longer. I thought to myself, 2 hours? Are you kidding me? Ok.....let's go walking....

After 20 minutes of walking I couldn't stand the pain any longer. I thought I was going to be sick so we went back inside. They checked me again and I was 8 cm dilated!  They quickly wheeled me into a delivery room and the anesthesiologist came in. The contractions were so much more painful than I remember them being when I had Connor. I was torn with the decision to get an epidural or not.First I said yes (while having a contraction, lol), then I said no....but finally decided I needed one :) She told me I probably wouldn't have enough time for it to fully kick in as it takes 45 minutes but I said go for it anyway...that I wouldn't mind having it for the after birth (stitching, etc). They gave it to me and it definitely helped alleviate the pain of the contractions. I could still feel everything which was perfect, the idea of not being able to feel my legs or know if I need to push freaked me out a little bit.

Very soon afterwards the doctor came in to break my water. Almost immediately after I felt the urge to push. I pushed through 3 contractions and out came our little princess. She hardly cried at all and has been the sweetest little angel ever since. She hardly lost any weight in the hospital, only getting down to 5 lbs 12 oz. They did have to keep us in the hospital for 48 hours to give her an antibiotic IV, but it was all for precautionary purposes. I tested positive for group B strep and because my labor was too fast, the IV they normally give to prevent infection during delivery wasn't in long enough. We took her to her pediatrician last Tuesday and she was already at 5 lbs 15 oz. We go back next week for her 2 week check up and I can't wait to see how much she has grown since then.

Connor has been doing great with her so far! The first thing he says when he gets home or wakes up is baby...he wants to see his baby sister. And he loves to hold her! His face beams so proudly whenever he gets to, it's just the cutest thing ever. He also loved having both his grandparents here that weekend taking care of him while we were in the hospital. Last weekend my parents came back to visit for the day and since then we've had a few other visitors, including uncle Andrew last night. We are so grateful for all of our family and friends that were able to help us and whom continue to help us as the days go by. We're quickly adjusting to life as a family of 4 though....6 if you count the doggies! Click here to view some pictures from Addison's first week with us - enjoy!!!