Happy Birthday Samuel!

Happy Birthday Samuel!

Samuel just turned two! I can't believe it! To celebrate his birthday we had a small party with family and a few friends at the park. It was a really fun and low key party. Samuel had a great time. He talked about the "party" for a few days afterward. His actual birthday was during the week and we just enjoyed a day at home and then went to the park after dinner that evening. The poor guy got a stomach bug and was not feeling well on his birthday. I love having a two year old. He is so cute and has such a cute personality. He is difficult at times and requires lots of patience, but he is worth all the effort it takes. Enjoy the pictures of our fun celebration.

Sydney at One Month

One Month Pics

April

April

Even though Sydney is the second child, I am taking lots of pictures of her, I just don't have as much time to post them or even download them off my camera. The end of April was lots of fun. We started to feel a little more normal around here. Sydney started sleeping a little longer and I started getting used to having both kids all day long. We actually started back to some normal activity. I was brave enough to go to the zoo with my sister-in-law and her kids one morning. I was really tired afterwards, but it was lots of fun. Sydney slept in the stroller the whole time and on this trip, I did forget to take her picture (oops), but she was there! John and I were also happy to go watch the Thunder play in the playoffs. John's parent watched the kiddo's and we enjoyed an evening at the game. It was my first time to leave Sydney for any length of time. Samuel is a great big brother. Sydney has developed a hatred of riding in the car. She cries most of the ride until she wears herself out. In the backseat Sam tries to calm her. He says, "It's okay baby...It' alright." Despite her crying, it is one of the cutest things I've ever heard. After that doesn't work he just ends up covering his ears with his hands. He makes me laugh at times that I should be crying!

Family of 4

At Home

Family Time

Sydney is settling in to our family quite nicely. We are also settling in to her routine pretty good. She is a really good baby and seems a little more relaxed than Samuel was (We shouldn't compare our children, I know, but I have no other referce point). So far I think she is a pretty typical newborn. She eats every 3 hours and sleeps in between with her more awake times in the morning and in the evening. At nightime she is going about 4 hours between feedings usually about 10 pm, 2am, and 5:30am. Yes...I'm tired like all mothers of newborns. There is no sleeping in during the day with Samuel and occasionally I'll catch a nap in the afternoon. But it is worth it. I love my two kids more than I ever thought possible and I have to admit that they are darn cute! Here are some pictures of the first few weeks Sydney was home. I'll try to get more up soon.

Easter!

Easter 2010

I'm trying to catch up on this blog! For Easter we were pretty low key. I really wanted to have Sam go to an Egg hunt, but didn't want to go far and I didn't have too much energy yet so I convinced my inlaw to have us over since they have a huge backyard. The cousins hunted eggs and we had such a great time. Sydney was held by everyone and we enjoyed dinner together. John and Sam went to church that morning while Sydney and I caught a few extra winks. Samuel and I died Easter eggs during the week before and it was lots of fun. Sam got so excited and he remained excited the entire day. He kept saying "More EGGS!" The eggs were well loved and I think about 4 of the 12 remained uncracked! I loved having a toddler for Easter this year. He loved all the activities. Kids add so much to things. I think it was one of the most fun Easter's I remember.

She's Here!

Sydney Jo

Well we have had our baby girl home with us for almost two weeks now! Believe it or not, the transition has been pretty easy...(so far)! Sydney Jo Sherrer came to us on March 25 at 12:33 weighing a mighty 8 lbs 13 oz and 20 1/4 inches long. She had the chubbiest cheeks and lots of dark hair! I couldn't believe the hair and we are still wondering where she got it from, but it is beautiful and can already hold a small bow!!! The c-section went as planned and was much better than the first experience I had. I actually found myself amazed at my coherent thinking and talking abilities as I was talking to the doctors who were performing the surgery. Medical science is amazing! The recovery has been good too, but I'm not going to say it's been a breeze.

Like I expected, all my anxieties were wasted energy, cause I've recovered well and Samuel has adjusted better than I ever imagined he would. He was nervous when I was in the hospital and he came to visit, but was excited about the "baby". The first day we came home Sam had some adjustment issues, but after that he has been really good. He likes to kiss his baby sister and always includes her in any reading, singing, praying or family time we have. I can't wait to see how close they become.

We have lots of pictures from the hospital and our first day home. We are so proud of our new family! I wondered how I could love a second baby as much as the first, but like everyone has told me, you just do. I say that God just expands your heart to welcome the new love in. I can't really believe how fulfilled and blessed I feel to have such a wonderful family! God is so good! Enjoy the pictures. There will be more to come!

March!

March 2010

What an exciting month it has been for the Sherrer family! It started with me in the hospital for contractions. After our third visit they put me on some oral medicine to stop them and make me more comfortable. They don't appear to be progressive contractions, just uncomfortable and annoying. So, I've been taking some medicine everyday to keep them controlled, but it has also made me slow down a lot. I've been very thankful for my family who have pitched in to help with Sam and the final preperations for Sydney. My mom and John's mom & dad have been so great and John has really stepped it up with the work around the house and taking care of Sam! We have been coutning down the days till Sydney's arrival.

Another big change this month is that John switched jobs! Great timing, I know, but we couldn't pass up the opportunity. So far it is going really well, but he is very busy and trying to learn all the new stuff that comes with a new job!

Last, but definetly not least, Sydney will make her grand appearance tomorrow! We are scheduled to have the repeat c-section at noon, March 25th. We are very excited to finally meet her. I don't really think Sam understands fully what is about to happen, but he is very interested in babies and he know's someone named Sydney is coming soon. We are praying that he loves her and that his adjustment to having a sister is as smooth as possible. I'll try to post some pictures soon, but don't get your hopes too high. I think my motto for starting out with two kids is going to be "low expectations". If I can reach the low expectations then maybe we will start working on something other than just getting through each day. This day by day thinking is helping me relax.

We can't wait to show off our new family!

February Recap

February 2010

I'm having a hard time remembering too much about February (I blame pregnancy), which is why I need to keep up with blogging. There are a few great things that happened this month worth mentioning.
*First, Samuel got his first haircut! I didn't think that his hair looked too bad, but it was a little shaggy and about to start hanging in his eyes a little. Also I figured that since he was about to be a big brother, he might as well look like a big boy. The haircut experience itself was awful. Samuel cried (more like screamed as if being tortured) the entire time. People in the barber shop were happy to see us leave. But with all the screaming and squirming, I was shocked at how great his hair looked. He does look like a big boy now. Hopefully I won't have to get his haircut again for about a year...at least 6 months.
*We also continued getting Sydney's room ready and we are really happy with how it is coming together. When we get it done I'll try to post some pictures.
*The second week in February was my last week to watch baby Micah. We had a great time hanging out with that cute kid for 7 months and look forward to frequent play dates and watching him grow up.

February seemed to fly by, especially since it is a short month and we looked anxiously to March and the arrival of our newest family member. I have to admit, that I spent a lot of time in February worrying about becoming the mother of two. I know that things will be fine once I get there, but the anticipation can make you crazy. There were so many times I thought "how will I do this with two". Most of my anxiety comes from having another c-section (although everyone tells me the second is better)and working through all the adjustments that will come with Samuel being a big brother. I just continue to pray everyday that God will get me through it and I'm trying to cast this anxiety on Him. Pray with me on that.

January Recap

January 2010

Okay, so I'm a little behind. Give a pregnant woman a break, okay! I just wanted to let you in on the past few months events so here is a little short break down of what happened in January.
*After Christmas break John and I decided to try to move Sam to a big boy bed instead of buying another crib (especially since my mom had a twin she''d give us for free). So we put it in his room, talked up the big boy bed idea, got an extra long bed rail, and went for it! To our amazement, Sam did awesome! He didn't cry one single bit the first night we put him in it and he didn't even get out on his own for a couple of days. Now he sleeps just great and likes to show everyone one his "big boy bed"! We were so relieved to have that adjustment over before Sydney arrived.
*So after we got Sam confortably in his new bed we decided to paint Sydney's room and move the crib in there! We chose a beautiful color of green and I love it. Samuel helped Daddy put the crib together. He loved acting like he was screwing in the screws and handing Daddy the tools (or running from him with the tools he needed).
*With the cold winter weather we were indoors alot. Samuel enjoyed playing with Micah and doing some fun painting. He is quite the artist!
*For my 29th birthday John arranged for us to have courtside tickets to the Thunder game. It was really fun. We got free food and drinks and got to go to a fancy lounge area where the "special" (ie: rich) fans get to go. We got to see all the players up close and they look bigger when you are down there for sure!
*Baby Sydney continued to grow this month and do well. Mommy on the otherhand struggled with back pain and started going to Physical therapy for some relief. Thankfully it really helped and I started to recover. Growing babies is hard work!

Christmas (Finally)

Christmas 2009

We had a great Christmas. Sorry it has taken so long to post pictures. The weather only delayed us a little on Christmas day. We were able to see all of our family and enjoy some quality time with them. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Better late than never.