Laura Cate arrived!

Our precious baby girl finally arrived March 24 at 2:41 p.m. After a long night at the hospital with lots of contractions, but no dilation we decided to take Pitocin, which helped things along, as well as an epidural. I was so excited when the nurse said I could start pushing at 2:15. She was born quickly after that, beautiful, healthy, and bigger than we expected, weighing 7 pounds 5 ounces, one ounce smaller than Cameron was.

Alan's parents took care of Cameron while we were at the hospital and brought him by after his nap. He was so excited to see me and his baby sister. Cameron said, "she is soo cute!" So far, Cameron has been super great adoring his sister, looking after her, and praying for her. He is such a sweet big brother.

The transition from one to two has been pretty smooth as we are blessed to be living with Alan's parents and they are a ton of help. Cameron has been very understanding when I need to tend to Laura Cate, which I am so thankful for.

God has answered so many prayers...I was not crazy about being induced and prayed that it would be clear whether or not I needed to do that and after a long night, we had no doubt that I should take the Pitocin.

I have prayed for Cameron to not be jealous and to know how much he is loved by us and by God. He continues to enjoy Laura Cate and even today called her "my buddy".

It is still hard to believe that we have two kids, but here we are!

Fun with family

While being in the States, we really desired to spend quality time with our immediate and extended family. We were able to attend a cousin's wedding in Lexington, KY, as well as go the the Gulf Coast for the weekend. It was so great to get special time with family and allow Cameron to know them as well. Here is a picture of Cameron getting into dancing at the reception...he was not shy!!





We had fun together.






Before the wedding we spent time on a horse farm feeding the horses...it snowed and was soo cold!

North Carolina

We have had so many fun memories while being in the States. Cameron has grown so much and been able to do so many great things. From getting his first hair-cut at an American barber shop where his Granddad gets his hair cut, to playing in snow (it snowed 3 inches in Pinehurst in February - just enough to get on a tobogan!), playing at Imagination Station, going to the park,
and playing outside a ton! Enjoy the pictures!

Pre-school

We are blessed to be able to put Cameron in a pre-school right across the street from Alan's parents' neighborhood, at his parents' church. He goes three days a week for half a day and LOVES it! Cameron probably wishes he could go more often, but I wanted to spend extra time with him before his sister came and his life was forever changed! He loves doing puzzles, going to music class and playing with the other kids. I have enjoyed getting to know his teacher and I often walk to pick him up and then we take a leisure walk home, talking about his day, singing, praying, and of course collecting "really good sticks"

There was an Art Fair at his pre-school and we enjoyed seeing all that he has been doing.

Belated Birthday Party!

After being with my parents for several days, we met up with Gran C and Papa (Alan's parents) and they had a surprise birthday party for Cameron...3 years old! We were still jet-lagging, but Cameron managed to stay awake (how can you not have fun at a pool party) and enjoy some friends (mostly our friends and their kids) and family.


Enjoying yummy cake with Safari animal theme.








Cameron, Alan, and Papa all enjoying Cameron's new Handy Manny tools and car

Visit with Grandma and Granddad

Grandma and Granddad picked us up from the airport in Atlanta and we got to spend some time with them at a nearby lake.










Cameron feeding the ducks.








Picking apples off a tree. We even washed and ate them.

Holidays

Thanksgiving!

We have had wonderful time with family for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Thanksgiving we spent in Americus, Georgia on the "farm" (an hunting lodge that some family own) with Alan's extended family. Cameron had a blast with his Papa and lots of cousins. It was so wonderful to be on the preserve and out of the city for a little while. We are blessed with a large, sweet family. It was my first time to spend Thanksgiving with them and Cameron had lots of "firsts" as well...first time to see a hog cooked, first time to see deer skinned, first time to ride on a hay wagon and first time to ride on an ATV. We stayed in an old hotel, but spent most of our time on the farm, hanging out, playing outside, and eating!

Of course we stopped by Auburn on our way to Georgia! Cameron drove his tri-cycle around campus :)



He loves his tri-cycle!


















Cameron got hold of the steering, yes, I was a little scared.








Christmas!

We went to a Christmas parade. It was cold, but they had free hot chocolate for us and during the parade they threw candy and beads to all the kids. Lots of fun vehicles for Cameron to look at, even though we left early. Alan had to miss it because he had a migraine :(




For Christmas we were in Norfolk, VA with my sister-in-law and kids while my brother was deployed (Navy). We wish he could have been there, but we enjoyed being together for Christmas the first time ever and Cameron got to play with more cousins. My parents drove up from North Carolina and it was a sweet time celebrating the Lord as a big family. Sean (6 years old) taught Cameron some bible verses and he was really kind to share his toys. Karen and I had fun late night talks, we all went on walks together and enjoyed watching "White Christmas" which is Alan's favorite Christmas movie. It is becoming a Christmas tradition with us.

We all went to the Christmas Eve service at church and the kids did pretty well. Amazingly, they went to bed pretty quickly when we got back and were looking forward to Christmas day! It is so fun to have cousins near the same age to play with. They are such a blessing.