Gratitude...

We have felt so much love and support from people far and wide. The Jefferies sent us flowers when Jack was born too. What great friends!! I bought a pack of 50 thank you cards from Target before the baby shower a month ago. The cards are all gone!! My last box I bought in Virginia lasted almost two years. Everyone here has been amazing!! Not only did we receive all those wonderful gifts from the baby shower but we had three full weeks of meals and I still have people calling to see if they can bring by anything or help in anyway. I am totally overwhelmed with love for this ward and our neighbors. They went above and beyond to not only make us feel welcome when we moved here, but have really stepped up to the plate for the birth of this baby. I'd like to think it's the blessing I get for serving in Nursery while 9 months pregnant:-)

NFP sent us such a beautiful flower arrangement. I was so sad when they died. They brought so much vibrance and color to the living room.

JoAnn's another friend that I can't thank enough for all she's done. She brought by this adorable little cake that not only looks amazing but tastes amazing too. Then, a few days after my Dad left I started getting really sharp chest pains in my left chest. I called the doctor and she ordered me to the emergency room immediately.

I drove myself there because I wasn't too worried. I thought I must have torn a muscle or something. They freaked me out when I got there because when I told them I was having chest pain, they immediately made me sit in a wheelchair, even after I told them I felt fine to walk. They worried that I might have a blood clot because labor and delivery can often be the cause of a post partum clot in the lung. They ordered a cat scan and told me that because of the dye going in through the IV ( noooooo...not another IV) I wouldn't be able to feed George for 24 hours. This sent me WAY over the edge and I was inconsolable.

I wanted Chase there but he was home with the kids. I called JoAnn and the second I asked her if she could go over to the house she said "the keys are in my hand and I'm leaving right now." Makes me cry to think about how willing she was to help us out. The cat scan came back negative and through the test they found what might be walking pneumonia which I didn't believe because I felt fine. Honestly, I think I subconsciously had a panic attack even though I felt totally calm and collected. I'm just glad I didn't break out into a rash like I did when pregnant with Jack. Stress does strange things to my body.

JoAnn had cleaned our kitchen and put the kids down for the night. I cried when I walked in and saw her there relaxed on the couch. What a saint to come over and help us so willingly! I feel so blessed to have so many angels here watching over our little (but growing) family.

LBJ Ranch

My Dad did a little research and found that Lindon B. Johnson's ranch was only about an hour drive away. We loaded up the car and crossed our fingers for an enjoyable (and peaceful) adventure with our new addition. George was great! He pretty much slept the whole time. Sadie and Jack, on the other hand, complained the whole time. I felt a little like one of those families we saw in D.C. that brought young children to see all the monuments. "Poor kids"..I thought. What kid wants to walk miles and miles around a city looking at monuments and reading plaques? I guess we were that family today because other than a cow and a couple of goats, Sadie and Jack were a tad bit disappointed especially after such a long car ride.

I loved the scenery!! I have a soft spot for ranches, barns and white fences. I could tell Grandpa was in heaven being the history buff that he is. This would have been George's first real outing. He didn't seem to mind the lack of water slides, cotton candy and horses to ride. He was simply content to be fed and held in my arms.

Maybe we'll try for some historical sights in a decade or so when Sadie, Jack and George can at least be bribed into having fun:-)

First bath

What an event! The whole family gathered in the bathroom to watch George strip down and experience his first submersion in water (disregarding the 9 months he was swimming in the womb). Like the other two chiddlers, George loved the nice warm water and and the sweltering hot bathroom due to the space heater I placed in there 30 minutes before the whole event took place.

Sadie loved washing George. She has really become a little mommy around him and I love how sweet she is. I can't say the same for her behavior towards her other brother, Mom and Dad, but at least she behaves well around one of us:-) Seems she has taken the arrival of George harder than anyone else, which totally surprised us all. Heaven forbid George get more attention than her!

It was such an event that George has been taking showers with Chase ever since.

Grandpa

Having my dad come for the birth of George was the greatest blessing ever! Everyone asked me if I had family coming to help and were surprised when I said my Dad was coming first. Usually the mom comes first but Dad coming was perfect for our situation. All the kids really needed was someone to play with and keep them busy. Dad was perfect for that. He gets down on the ground with them and really plays.

The did all the "messy" things I rarely do with the kids because I don't want to clean it up afterwards. He filled up the sand box with water, did finger painting, and said "the messier they get the more fun they're having." I'm just glad they had fun.

We still haven't put those darn leaves in bags because they're just too much fun to play in.

I loved having Dad here so much that I bawled my eyes out when he left. I got a whole week with him. We sent Chase to work because I wanted him to use his PTO time when I really needed him. Mostly I napped during the day and had great conversations at night. By the time he left I was really sad but also very well rested and taken care of. Thanks Dad! You saved us!!

Coming home

When Sadie was born Chase and I were TERRIFIED to take Sadie home. They practically kicked us out of the hospital after our two day stay. We were such rookies. We learned faster with Jack that being home is WAY better than being in the hospital, so with George we asked how soon we could leave. Nothing against the hospital, I just wanted my comfy cosy bed again and felt distant from the kiddos at home. Such a different feeling when you bring home your third child. There's hardly any anxiety and instead of fearing your baby will die in his sleep, you're more concerned about your sleepless nights for the next 6 weeks.

Welcome home George!! Here's to a month or two of complete bliss and oblivion!

Visitors

We loved Seton Southwest. If I could have had every baby there I would have. It was so quiet and after a massage therapist came in to give me a post labor massage I was ready to tell EVERYONE to deliver their babies there. They were also great about having visitors come and we had a lot of company to see little George.

Our first visitor was Melissa (i.e. life saver). She came down last night and slept at our house so we could leave early in the morning for the scheduled induction. She fed the kids, got Sadie off to school and played with Jack all day until my Dad arrived later that afternoon. It was extremely reassuring knowing someone we love and trust was there to take care of our other little ones. I was so worried that I would have to call a neighbor in the middle of the night to come sit at our house. I was also concerned about sleeping in the hospital at night by myself. I was TOTALLY relieved when my Dad said he would fly out the next day when I talked to him on the phone.

Dad literally saved the day. It was amazing to have him home with Sadie and Jack so Chase could sleep at the hospital with me. He was the perfect person to have come because the kids were in total HEAVEN. They love their Grandpa. He took care of everything and was such an amazing help.

Tiffany, JoAnn and Kristy were among the other visitors who came and brought me some goodies. I've mentioned this before, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE our ward here. Everyone has been so helpful and so giving of their time.

Sadie and Jack were the noisiest visitors of all! I had planned to have them come and we would all bring George home together but they were such a handful I had Chase take them home first then come back to retrieve George and me. Sadie was so sweet with little George. She looked like a little Mommy holding him and was totally "baby talking" with him. I overheard her say "hello handsome" which totally cracked me up. Jack was pretty much completely oblivious to the whole saga. He enjoyed playing games on my iphone while everyone was glued to George. Like always, he's just "along for the ride" and as mellow as can be. Just like his Dad:-)

GEORGE!!!

George has finally made his appearance into the world!! We are delighted to finally meet him and finally name him. It took us a few hours after birth to decide, but George Edwin Cannon it is. We were still loving the name Charlie but when we saw those chubby cheeks and his dark hair, we had no choice. His name was George. Funny how it just clicks.

We arrived at Seton Southwest Hospital at 6 a.m. (5:30 was virtually impossible, especially for anyone with the last name Cannon), was induced at 7 and George came out at 10:49 a.m. I've never been induced before. I wasn't sure what to expect but it was REALLY nice driving to the hospital sans panic and cried of desperation this time around. Everything was so calm and peaceful! We just hung out until the pitosin induced contractions made their way to the monitor.

Pitosin induced contractions HURT! I was told I had to take in a whole bag of fluid from the IV before they could administer the epidural. I don't think they thought I would progress faster than the stupid IV because by the time they FINALLY gave me that BEAUTIFUL epidural I was dilated to a nine!!

I'm just glad they still gave me one. I still don't understand why I can't get the shot first and THEN the pitosin. Those contractions made me weep like a baby. Poor Chase had to just sit and watch while I mutilated his hand. I don't really feel too bad for him though. He'll be just fine:-)

The epidural wasn't working fast enough and I was still in quite a bit of pain so I begged for more juice and once they gave it to me I was finally TOTALLY numb and TOTALLY relieved!! WAHOO!! That is always my biggest fear with labor and delivery, being able to feel the pain. I had felt enough and was ready for relief. I also HATE the IV but there's nothing you can do about that. They wouldn't take out that bloody IV until I was able to get up and go to the bathroom. Considering I was numb for the next 7 hours that IV stayed in WAY too long.

They cleaned George up and put him under the heat lamp. We always think it's funny how frantic they are until they feel that heat on their bare skin. George went from a screaming crazy baby to a lethargic sloth under that lamp.

One of the sweetest moments was before the anesthesiologist arrived and I asked Chase to give me a priesthood blessing. I was so scared of that needle and was needing some serious comfort. I was also very worried about George, because that's what mom's do...worry. Chase gave me an amazing blessing and I could completely feel such a calming spirit come over me. We were both in tears and realized once more that we are in the hands of a far greater being. Makes me feel so loved when I think of how blessed we have been to have another beautiful, healthy and heavenly child. I think that overwhelms me the most. I feel so incredibly blessed that I'm bursting with gratitude.

George has been such a sweetheart! He's eating wonderfully, pooping like a horse, and sleeping in our arms. We are TOTALLY in LOVE! It's amazing how fast your hearts become welded together. He is perfect and I feel there's an angel in our presence.

Last night as a family of four

I was a little impatient today. Up until now I haven't really cared that the baby wanted to stay inside a few extra days. They are so much easier to care for in the womb then on the outside. This is by far my easiest pregnancy. I sleep wonderfully and have had a TON of energy. You wouldn't believe the "nesting" that has been going on around here. For a while I was happy to have him stay inside as long as he needed to. However, five days is a bit much and I was growing restless. I went to the doctor and she explained that because I was dilated to a four, my chances of going into labor and progressing to0 fast would inevitably make it difficult to get my epidural. Well we wouldn't want that, now would we? Abby with out her heavy narcotics during labor and delivery would NOT be a sight for sore eyes. She talked me into a scheduled induction the next morning at 5:30 a.m. Why the heck so early? Who knows but it's cruel to deprive a soon-to-be-new mother of her precious sleep.

To celebrate the news that baby brother would be arriving tomorrow, we headed to Tarka for some fine Indian Cuisine. What a cute little family I have. Can't believe we will be five in number by tomorrow!!

Only in Texas

We should just make it a January tradition to wash the cars in our swimsuits. It's hot here!! I moved my lazy 150 something pound body out to a lounge chair to watch the festivities. I cheered them on from the sidelines.

Still waiting...

I told myself that if I was still pregnant on Saturday (2 days overdue) then I was getting a pedicure. Forget that it's winter and no one will see my toes. I deserve this!! Well, turned out Texas is awesome and the weather was in the high 70's so I arrived at the nail salon in flip flops. Jack had a birthday party (which I previously thought we would never make it to...) so we dropped him off and made it a Daddy-Mommy-Sadie pampering event!

Yep, that's right...Chase got one too. I think it's kind of lame they charge the same amount for him and he doesn't even get his nails painted. However, if you saw the state of his toes and heels you would have charged WAY more than an actual pedicure.

Sadie didn't want her toes painted so they did her nails. All but lasted about a day before those pretty pink fingernails started chipping. We're talking about a 5 year old. Do you know where those hands go and what the do all day?

Yesh, yesh, the nurses will be so impressed when they have my BEAutiful nails to distract them from my pasty white rear end:-)

Her "best" rainbow

Sadie brought this picture into my room and said:
"Mommy, because you're a little sick and you have a baby in your tummy, I colored one of my best rainbows for you."
I love her!!

Way to go NFP

I was informed a couple of days ago that Chase's co-workers wanted to throw him a shower at work. I was delighted but feared I might not be able to go, if I was in labor. Well, fate had it's way and the baby decided to stay inside a couple more days. It was so nice of them to celebrate the little man with us. We received TONS of diapers, wipes and gift cards. So generous!! Did I mention before how much we love the people Chase works with? NFP is an amazing company and we are thrilled he has a job there. Now, lets get this baby out so he can poop in all those diapers!!

P.S. I was thew dumb prego lady who walked in and asked if the cupcake display was of a guitar (assuming so because of Austin's musical history). Felt a little dumb when they told me it was actually a blue baby rattle made out of cupcakes. Yikes...this placenta brain is getting out of hand. The other day at the eye doctor I couldn't find Chase and asked the receptionist if he was being "examed." Examed? Really? I didn't correct myself in hopes that she was as dumb as I sounded and didn't notice:-) Grammar has gone out the window. I asked another friend the other day if she "knowed" someone. Thank goodness for spell check and autocorrect. I would be in serious trouble!

Bad Santa

Overgrown trees equals squirrels on the roof, which is so cute, right? Cute until those squirrely squirrels chew a hole in your attic and move in to have more squirrely squirrel babies. To trim the overgrown trees (and to hopefully get rid of the squirrels), our landlord hired some interesting, Austin-esque characters who somehow have a license to not only drive, but also to own a saw. Seriously, though, this guy was impressive: he could balance on a ladder, smoke, hang on a limb, and operate a chainsaw all at once. While watching his perilous actions cautiously from our kitchen window, Jack pretty much summed up the sentiments of us all when he said, with a tenuous and disgusted look: "I don't like that Santa, Mommy. He's messy."

Happy New Year!!!

Who says 2-year olds, 5-year-olds, bald men and pregnant women can't party? Thanks to our friends, the Baumeisters (that means the "masters of BAU"), we learned that all four can, and will; but only on New Years. While Sadie and Jack watched a movie with some of their friends in the garage (it was carpeted out, but still smelled a little like gas), the rest of us (the Baumeisters other friends) chatted, snacked, and danced away the last few hours of 2011. Nathan and Janae built a dance floor in the backyard, and hung Christmas lights and lanterns above it. They also had loud music that was awesome. It was seriously fun to just hang out and dance!

Abby was a huge hit on the dance floor. She pulled out all of her old moves, and did so as a 9-month pregnant woman! It was amazing. Stomach-bump and all, she was rockin' the dance floor and shaking circles around the non-pregos!

Seriously--how do you have that kind of balance when you are laden with child??

Only my wife, i tell ya!

Amazingly, Sadie and Jack made it to midnight. After watching Toy Story 3 (and who knows what else), eating popcorn, and drinking juice boxes for three straight hours, i guess we shouldn't have been surprised. But both wanted to come out and dance at around 11:45 or so. Sadie has some funny moves, where she points her fingers and wiggles her hips, like all disco-style and stuff. Jack also likes to swivel and dip, although it's usually just one or two moves, and then he just runs around and laughs. Both also enjoyed being thrown in the air and touching the lanterns, which provided me with a pretty intense end-of-year workout.

Both Sadie and Jack were in their Santa peejays, which made them like the coolest party animals evah! They also liked wearing Hawaiian leis, glow stick bracelets, and party hats. Who wouldn't? Sadie and Jack didn't get to bed until almost 1:30 AM. Toots and I didn't get there until around 2:00 AM. Party on rock stars: 2012 is off to a bloody good start!

A Decade...

It's hard to believe it's been ten years since I entered the MTC. I was reminded today on facebook by some of the other missionaries in my district. I don't know if it's being pregnant or if I'm am just cursed with an unstable amount of emotion, but just thinking about that day puts a huge pit in my throat. The same wretched feeling occurs when I read the letters he sent me over that 18 month period of time. This is not to say I wasn't ready and willing to serve a mission, but having known Chase for two years leading up to that day made it VERY hard to leave.

I'll never forget the night before when I was set apart by the stake president. Chase and I went for a drive a few hours prior to President Clark Hinckely's arrival. We didn't go up the canyon for one last "filling of the tank" so to speak, but we did drive up Emigration Canyon, got out of the car, and just hugged for an hour straight. I never wanted to let go!! I literally felt like my heart was being ripped out of my chest and I knew that in a short 30 minutes I wouldn't be able to hug my best friend for another 18 months. I hate to be dramatic but looking back, I really don't know how I got through saying goodbye to him.

The next morning I had to say goodbye. Chase came over and it felt so awful to not run into his arms for a squeeze. He helped me pack a few last minute things in my room and then I had to get in the car. My Dad snapped the photo above right before I headed down the stairs. Aren't we a pathetic looking lot? I love that we are about an inch apart but nothing more:-)

Oftentimes I wonder why we put ourselves through such agony. We were in love. Why didn't we just get married? Knowing how much I would miss him then, I probably would have thought twice about sending in those papers. The overwhelming urge to serve and the amazing spirit I felt when deciding to go couldn't be denied. I'm sure God would have been pleased either way, but maybe getting married would have robbed us of the knowledge that through the atonement of Christ even the most miserable of heartache can be healed. We wouldn't have those treasured 18 months of letters, the experience of supporting one another through our trials, and the realization that we really were welded souls, not to be separated EVER again!!

I don't know a better man than my Chase. I'm so glad he's sitting next to me right now and that he'll be at my side forever and ever. Funny that we were apart for 18 months and some days I can barely stand for him to go to work in the mornings. Those 9 hours are just too long!!