Joshua Young arrives on the 4th of July!!

Well, who knew when I was writing the last blog update that a week later our little boy would be here. Joshua Andrew Young arrived with quite a bang on the 4th of July. He was born at 4:57AM, weighing 5lb 5oz and 19 inches long. The delivery was complicated, but all turned out well and we are enjoying our lil peanut (his nickname so far, not sure if that will stick or not).

We spent the 3rd at Julie's for her annual July 4th party. She had a big water slide that Shelby thoroughly enjoyed. The only way we got her off of it is when a thunderstorm blew in! My family came down, arriving that evening, to spend the 4th with us. Well, their timing could not have been more perfect. I ended up going into labor that night, and Mom, Drew & I headed to Dallas Presbyterian and got checked in by 1:30 AM. Little did we know it would take just 3.5 hours for our little guy to arrive. We had some complications at delivery, but all I can say is God is GOOD. He totally provided for us through each situation and I truly believe that He protected all of us throughout the drama of the delivery. Joshua had stuck his hand above his head and brought the cord forward as well, so we had what is called a "presented hand and prolapsed cord" situation and needed to get the baby out as soon as possible. Dr. Light assessed everything very quickly and thankfully could tell that he was small and she could get him out without having to do an emergency c-section, which is apparently what normally would occur with this situation. So, I just did what she told me and at 4:57 AM he was delivered safely. He didn't cry at first, but by the time he was over at the table he was wailing! The NICU Dr. said everything looked good and he was cleared to go to the nursery. I had to have some minor surgery to repair the cut she had to make, which took a long time and required a 2nd trip to the OR to ensure the repair was good. But it was all worth it because physically I'm doing really well, recovering much easier than with my c-section with Shelby, and I think she did a fantastic job. And our precious little son is here & doing great. We had a few other challenges last week getting Joshua's jaundice under control, which had us back in the hospital for one overnight stay. But his numbers came down dramatically overnight and thankfully we were back at home Fri. night. All in all, last week was a bit crazy & dramatic, but all worth it. We are enjoying our little guy....he is nursing well and already packing on the weight. As of yesterday he was up to 5lb 13oz!! Pretty good considering he'd gone down to 5lb even at discharge on Tues.

As best we can tell, Shelby is thrilled to be a big sister. We haven't had any issues, no tantrums or major outbursts as a result of Joshua's arrival. I think my Mom & Uncle Russ being here last week & weekend helped a lot. But she also seems to be understanding that Mom & Dad's time is spread a little differently and she is learning patience as she waits on us at times. I feel like I say "Just a minute" or "Hang on" about 50 times a day. I've been able to find ways to spend alone time w/her each day, whether it's reading books at bedtime or just spending some time in her room listening to a princess CD or reading books. She keeps saying "He is just so cute!!" and "Look how tiny he is, his tiny hands and feet." She loves to touch his feet.

Here are some pictures below, I'm already realizing that I haven't taken near as many with Joshua as I did w/Shelby. I'm going to have to get on that!! But I mostly just adore sitting and holding him & looking at him. The birth of a child is truly a miracle and we just feel so blessed that everything turned out well. Enjoy the pics and I'll try to keep up & post more when I can!

Ummm, could I get my epidural please?!?! You can see how red-faced I am, those contractions HURT!! I had made it to 7cm before they got my epidural. It took forever.

Welcome to the world Joshua!!

Mommy, Big Sis Shelby & Joshua, when I finally made it to my room at 12:30pm!


A very proud Nana and her sweet grandson.




Look how ginormous Drew's hand looks over him!



Ready to go home, you can see how yellow he was w/his jaundice.

He crosses his arms a lot or often has his hands up around his face when sleeping. The cord behind him is attached to the billi blanket light therapy we tried at home for his jaundice.

1st bath, SO not happy. Doesn't like diaper changes either!

Chillin' in the swing

Joshua & Big Sis Shelby, she looks so huge next to him! He's got some catching up to do!

Hey man, what's up?

Camping Trip & Just 2 weeks to go for Baby!!

Just a quick little update.....Well we survived the 2010 Git-R-Done camping trip but boy was it HOT!!! Thank goodness for the RV and A/C!! We spent quite a bit of time in the RV, especially during the heat of the day; it was just too hot to be outside much. But the kids enjoyed swimming in the lake & going out on the boat. All in all it was a fun weekend, hopefully next year we can go when it's cooler.

We just have 2 weeks to go until our due date. I battled a sinus infection the past 2 weeks, which was not fun; but just about all healed up from it. So far nothing too big happening. I have some contractions, but nothing consistent enough, and then just other typical aches & pains that happen at the end. We are going to the Dr. weekly and just waiting to see if this little boy will arrive early or be like his big sister and sail right through his due date, making Momma wait. :) Either way, it's kinda nice knowing that by July 12th he will be here due to our scheduled c-section if nothing else happens earlier. Shelby is very excited and tells me she's ready to "See that baby and see what he looks like!" I finally got around to washing up the car seat pad and seat pads for the swing & bouncy seat, clothes and started packing a bag, just in case. That was fun washing up some clothes and remembering how tiny they are! So, we're just waiting around for the arrival of this little guy & trying to stay cool as much as possible.

Here's a few pics f/the camping trip!

Fishin' on the boat w/Daddy. She really digs the lake!

Rolling of the eyes, a frequent expression we see these days!

Is this too cute?!! Close cousins watching Aristocats in the RV.

We love how close they are, just like a brother & sister, very cool.

Me & my girl....I loved this picture that Uncle Russ captured.

She was one tuckered out little girl, they swam a lot that day and she had gotten quite a bit of sun.

Road Trip & Easter Fun

Well boy, March, April & May just pretty much flew past me! We had a busy month in March, we went to Oklahoma to celebrate Aunt Kellie's 30th birthday. Then Shelby & I enjoyed Spring Break, had some nice weather and did a couple of playdates at the park with friends. The week after we went to California to visit Grandma & Grandpa Bomar, probably our best flight with Shelby EVER. She did really well sitting in her seat, enjoyed watching DVDs, coloring and just looking out the window. We spent a week out there and enjoyed the beautiful weather, going to the park (I think Shelby wore her grandparents out pretty good!), going to Katelyn's softball game and riding Ernie's horse. Then Russ flew up from Orange County where he'd been in training and we all drove back in my in-laws' RV. We bought it from them and made the road trip back in it. It was so much fun.....we were ready to get home by the last day, but all in all it was a great trip. We stopped in the Grand Canyon and stayed overnight, which was absolutely amazing. I said to Shelby "Isn't this amazing?!" and she responded "And beautiful!". We definitely want to plan a vacation to go back and spend several days, it's just so cool. We made it home and then the next week had Easter. Shelby had an Easter egg hunt at school and we also took her to the McKinney town hunt they put on each year; Leslie, Abby & Kiley met us and the girls really seemed to enjoy it. It was a warm day but we all had fun. Of course the next day, Easter, was cloudy & rainy. Every year!! The next couple of weeks were busy as I prepared for our Ladies Retreat at church. It was a WONDERFUL time of fellowship with our ladies. Shelby & Drew went to Oklahoma to camp out this weekend w/Uncle Russ, Papa, Aunt Kellie & Mason. I must say, I missed my family a lot.....the first night was great (best night's rest I'd had in awhile!) and it was nice to have some quiet time and run errands. But I was ready for them to get home, I missed my lil munchkin!! But it was good daddy-daughter time for her, she was SO excited to go.

May was full of activities with our anniversary on May 1st ~ 11 years! Then Shelby & I went to OK for Mother's Day while Drew stayed here to work on the Jeep project. Next Drew left for a fishing trip in Arkansas with a bunch of guys and he had a blast. Brought home some fish he caught that he's waiting for me to cook up....he'll be waiting awhile!! I'm not so into dealing with that, so I am leaving that up to him. :) While Drew was gone, I tried to do some fun things with Shelby, we went to see the documentary movie Oceans (the only G-rated thing that was out!) and we had a playdate at the Arboretum with some preschool friends. I also had a baby shower that my dear friend Julie & her daughter Melanie threw for me. That was loads of fun and Shelby really enjoyed opening the presents! Then Memorial Day I went to a scrapbooking retreat with my little scrapbooking group and Drew & Russ worked on the Jeep. I got a lot done, which was exciting since I am quite behind. Oh well, it's a fun hobby and if I get to do it once in awhile, that is cool. And that brings us to June!

We were pretty busy this week getting things ready for VBS next week. We went to gather my supplies for crafts and today went to decorate our room. Shelby also got to go play at Abby's while I had a Women's Ministry Team meeting. Next week is VBS and then I think that's all the activities for me & Shelby! Drew is trying to finish up the Jeep project and deliver it by mid-June. We've just got 5 weeks to go for our due date. If I don't go into labor before then, we are scheduled for a c-section on July 12th. So, hopefully in the next few weeks we can get the baby stuff all organized and ready (waiting to get some Jeep parts out of the way).

I've posted several pictures, catching up a bit! Enjoy and hope everyone is doing well!!

These are the 35-inch tires for the Jeep project - almost as big as Shelby!!

A late snow we had in March!! It was crazy! Shelby enjoyed it though!

Riding Ernie's horse in CA, Shelby really likes horses, very opposite of me!

Playing races at Ernie's house while Drew worked on Ernie's Jeep. She loves to pretend she is Sally (from the Cars movie) and then I do commentary on the "race". Good way to burn energy!

Leaving out of Tracy, CA on our road trip in the RV!!

Hanging out in the RV, playing with her new pony Grandma Bomar got her.

Grand Canyon ~ what a beautiful & amazing site to see!!

This is our last day driving home through TX, which is a loooonnnng drive. But we still had smiles on our faces!! We were definitely ready to get home though.

Shelby is VERY into twirling right now....especially when she has a dress on.

Shelby & Abby going on a train ride @ the McKinney Easter Egg hunt.

Last day of preschool, what a pose!!

Enjoying her ice cream party at preschool.