Summertime is Here!

Finally the warm weather has arrived and decided to stay!  We have been enjoying the sunshine and have stayed very busy.  I thought that having a baby might slow us down a little and make me stay home more, but that has not happened.  We are as busy as ever, and Cade just tags along.  He is a very chill and flexible baby.

So here is what we have been up to this month of May.

Callie loves when Cade comes to wake her up in the morning and they usually hang out in her "big girl bed" together for a little bit.

Callie has been "winging" so much that she is actually getting blisters on her arm and leg from the swing.  But she loves it!  She asks to go to the park every day - sometimes several times a day.

Cade weighs about 10 pounds already (at 5 weeks) - which is what Callie weighed at 3 months!  

Callie loves Firehouse and we make it there for lunch almost every week.  She gets very excited when we pull in the parking lot and she always asks for a hat.

Bryan has had a crazy busy month at work, but he was able to get away for a few hours one Saturday to go to the pool at Hampton Lake.  Callie is still getting comfortable in the water.  She doesn't want to go in very far.  Instead, she likes to hang out in the shallow end and fill her buckets up with water.  But every time we go, she is a little more brave!

Cade can hit the toys with his hands and the ball with his feet - which is something that took Callie a while to be able to do just because she was so much smaller.  He is big enough to stretch to both of the toys at the same time.  He also loves tummy time and would actually prefer to be laying on his stomach than his back.

Mommy loves naptime!  Usually our house is very quiet from about 3 until 5 and it so wonderful!  I am very blessed to have 2 children who sleep so well.

We have continued our Friday lunch tradition with Mama D and PawPaw and make the trek each week to the island to go to the Yacht Club.  Callie is treated like a princess and she loves it!

There are a few days that we just play at home and relax.  Callie's favorite thing to do right now is get all of the nail polish out of my bathroom cabinet and put them in her purse.  Such a girl!  Cade spends a lot of time in his rock 'n play sleeper which is awesome.

Gotta love the late nights.  It is always a challenge to stay awake until the 11:30 feeding.  Cade has a few great nights a week and a few not so great nights.  He can sleep 4 or 5 hours at a time, but he doesn't always do that!  I think he went through a growth spurt this week - he was up almost every 3 hours ready to eat.  Hopefully we can move past that and get some more sleep! 

Callie Grace is growing up so much.  She is definitely a little girl now - not my baby anymore!  

We went to the pool at Baynard Park one morning with a few friends, and again Callie was happy playing with her toys in the shallow end.  

For Memorial Day Weekend, Auntie Em and Aunt LaLa came down.  We all had a fun-filled long weekend, and Callie was loved on excessively!

Cade got lots of hugs and kisses also.  :)

On Memorial Day, me and the two kiddos went to the pool with the Ussery clan.  Cade took a nap in his sleeper in the shade, and Callie played with the boys.  It was a fun and relaxing afternoon!

I can't believe May is over already.  Football season will be here before I know it!  Callie and I (mostly me) have made a list of fun things to do together this summer.  I don't know when we will have time to do all of these things!

I will put up more pictures as we check things off the list!

Time To Meet the Friends and Family

Well Cade has been very busy meeting all of his family and friends!  Mommom and Poppop, Aunt Kelly, and Mama and Grandad were all able to come down for a weekend and spend some time with Cade.  We had a big family dinner at Mom and Dad's house.

Of course, Aunt Lauren and Auntie Em made the trip to HHI as well.

On Sunday, May 5, Toni and Libby hosted a wonderful baby shower for Cade and I.  Everything was so wonderful - the food...

the decorations...

the hostesses...

the family...

the gifts...

the grandmothers...

the friends...

 and more family!

Libby and Toni were so kind to host the shower, and Cade received tons of great clothes!  He is going to be one stylish little man.  He was able to go with me to the shower and meet everyone there.  It was a very fun day!  Thanks to everyone who was there!

Cade's Newborn Pictures

Big Thanks to Auntie Em for taking great pictures!

Cade's First Week at Home

Little Man is home and time is flying already!  He looks so little in his carseat - hard to believe he will be outgrowing it so soon.

We got to come home from the hospital late Wednesday night, but we were so happy to sleep in our own bed.

Cade is such a "chill" baby.  He eats and sleeps incredibly well and we are so blessed.  I am breastfeeding him right now and he is doing really well.  When he was born he weighed 8 lbs 6 oz, and his weight got down to 7 lbs 8 oz.  At his one week weight check, it was back up to 7 lbs 12 oz.  Hopefully within the next week he will be back to his birth weight and then I won't have to wake him up in the night to feed him!

Cade did have a little bit of jaundice, but not as bad as Callie.  The highest that his bilirubin level got to was 11.  (The doctors like for it to be under 12.)  We did sit him in the sunshine though to get a little bit of a tan and help his jaundice.

Cade has big beautiful blue eyes, and I love when we get to see them!  Here he is hanging out on his big sister's bed while we were playing...

Gigi and Big Daddy were able to come down for a night this past weekend, and Cade took a nap with his Big Daddy on Saturday afternoon.

We have been so grateful to have Gigi stay two nights with us and Mama D stay all of the other nights. They are so helpful getting things done around the house and getting up with me and Cade in the middle of the night.  I don't know what we would do without such wonderful mothers!  Thank you!

Callie has adjusted well to having a new baby in the house.  She is as sweet as ever and absolutely loves Cade.  She did have a few moments during the first few days when she cried because I couldn't help her with something or be with her, but she is learning that sometimes I have to take care of Cade.  And thankfully we have had lots of help and people at the house to help take care of Callie.

Callie asks to hold Cade in her lap and she is so sweet with him.  She loves to rock him while he is in the sleeper and she always wants to take care of him and bring him everywhere with her.  She is already a great big sister!

Hello World!

Cade Cranston Coker

Born April 23, 2013

8 pounds, 6 ounces

21 3/8 inches long

On Monday night, April 22, Bryan and I were driving home and he decided to take a shortcut on the dirt road instead of driving on actual roads.  The road was full of potholes and very bumpy.  I joked that he was going to put me into labor while we were driving!  Sure enough, a few hours later at 11:45, my water broke.  We called the family, asked Amanda to come down to stay with Callie, and we were on the way to Savannah.  

When we got to the hospital, I was already having steady contractions and was 3 1/2 centimeters dilated.  When I was in labor with Callie I did not feel any contractions, and I did not want to feel any more with this labor, so I asked for the epideral as soon as possible.  By the time we were checked in and settled in a room, I was already 5/6 centimeters dilated.  Baby Coker was coming in a hurry!  I was able to get an epidural shortly after getting in the room.  The needle was not fun, but totally worth it!  All of the family (except PawPaw who was stuck in the middle of nowhere in Texas) drove through the night and got to the hospital around 5.  We said hey to all of the family, took a few pre-baby pictures, and by then it was almost delivery time!

  After only about 20 minutes of pushing, Cade Cranston Coker was born at 7:01 am.  

The moment of delivery and finding out that we had a boy was a great surprise.  Bryan and I have already decided that if/when we have another baby, we will keep the sex a surprise until delivery.  It was an awesome moment!  I think Bryan was in shock for a few minutes that he actually had a son.  

Since he was only 36 weeks and 3 days, the special care nurses were in the room for delivery.  They took their time checking him out, and Cade passed every test with flying colors, including his hearing test.

The pediatrician wondered if my due date was wrong and Cade was actually full term.  All I know is that I am so happy and grateful to the Lord that we have a healthy baby boy!

After Cade was born, Aunt LaLa brought Callie Grace to the hospital to meet her new brother.  She was so excited to meet her baby.

Callie wanted to point out Cade's nose, mouth, ears, and eyes.  She came a little close to poking him in the eye but Aunt Lauren caught her finger at the last minute!

Needless to say, the grandmothers were beyond thrilled to have another addition to our family.

Because Cade was so early, Auntie Em and Devin had not started exams yet and were able to be there at the hospital with us.  Callie was so excited to see everyone - she was full of energy while we were in the hospital.  Lots of laughs!

Cade is loved so much already...

and the kisses from Aunt LaLa have already begun!

PawPaw flew back from Texas and was able to meet Cade on Wednesday.

Welcome to the family, Cade!