My Boys

This may not be the type of post you'd expect from me, but it's something that is important to me to document, so I am.  After all, this blog isn't just for my readers (how few of them I have anyway) it's also a chance for me to document some great moments in our family.

Dallas and Liam have done a little bit of "modeling".  They have profiles with a free agency out of Green Bay, WI and they have booked several jobs with Shopko.  In fact, Liam is currently on the front page for the baby items.  Between the two of them, they have been in about 10 ads.  I'm proud of them!  They love hamming it up for the camera and although sometimes it takes awhile for the photographers to get "the shot", it happens and they look super cute each time.  Dallas loves to get the ad and look through it to find himself or his brother and Liam, well he just thinks it's some other fun thing that we do and I'm okay with that.  If at any time they seem like they aren't that into it, we will stop.  I will never pressure my kids to do anything they don't want to do, even if it's something I want to live vicariously through them while they do it.  

So, the other day I got an email from the company mentioning that we should update their profiles pictures.  I took the boys outside and snapped a few photos of them and here are the results.  I am posting these here because I don't want to forget this age.  They are almost 4 and almost 2 and they are boys from head to toe. These are straight out of my camera, not edited.  But they show their personalities and I love that.  

First, Liam (because in life his oldest bro gets to do everything first, so today it's Liam's turn!) Liam has little red spots on his face from drooling due to teething and chewing on everything.  He has a silly smile and he is so busy all the time.  He wants to do everything his brother does, so Dallas is the one making him laugh in these pictures or making him look at the camera.  Liam is super strong and something I don't think he knows his own strength!  We say he will be the one in sports and will be the first one in the emergency room with a broken bone, that better not happen for another 18 years though!  I have a feeling he will push the limits in life, whether or not they are meant to be pushed.  He is going to be successful at so much, I just know it.  He is stubborn and wants what he wants right. now.  He likes to climb and jump and run.  He loves to be outside and his absolute favorite thing is to swing.

Now, on to Dallas.  He is smart and kind.  He has a big heart and always cares about other people.  He helps me out around the house whenever I ask.  He is organized and he likes things to be just so.  He gets a little to rough with his brother at times, but he notices quickly when that happens and is even quicker to apologize.  He is a gentle soul with a lot of love to give and I think he's going to do some big things in this world.  I think he will make an impact on people's lives.  He remind me to slow down and enjoy life's little treasures.  That we don't always have to rush through this life at  lightning fast speed.  We are pretty sure he's going to excel in school and learning will come easy to him.  

I love these two boys and I'm so thankful to be their mom.  I'm lucky to have them, impatient at times, learning each day, and find myself loving them more and more even when I thought that wasn't possible. Being a mom is the. greatest. gift. ever.  Okay, enough with the sappy-talk! 

May 14th, 2010

The Day Our Lives Changed (for the better)!

Alyssa had, what we would find out later to be her last doctor's appointment on May 7th. Michael came home early from a job in Nevada two weeks prior to make sure he wouldn't miss the birth of his son. At the appointment we were told by Dr. Sree, that we could schedule an induction as early as the following Monday. So, after giving it some thought we decided to go ahead. We called the hospital and unfortunately they were full for scheduled inductions and the waiting list was full as well. For Tuesday (Alyssa's birthday) they only had spots on the waiting list, so we put our name down. In the event that we didn't make the cut on Tuesday, we were able to have a scheduled spot for Friday. (Our doctor had off on Wednesday's and was not in the Appleton office on Thursdays) We didn't receive a call Monday night informing us that we "made the cut" for Tuesday, so we thought Friday would be the day.

Fast forward to Thursday morning - 2am - Alyssa started having contractions and they came every couple hours, but we weren't thinking anything of it. By 2pm, they were every hour. By 8:00pm they were every 10-20 minutes, so we called the nurse hot line and were informed that UNLESS they were every 2 minutes apart for 2 hours we would not be admitted, so we were supposed to sit tight and relax at home. By 9:30 they were every 5-10 minutes apart and a very anxious dad-to-be called the nurse hot line again and she finally said "I'll call the hospital and you can go ahead and go if you want, but they more than likely won't keep you"...we think she was tired of us calling and wanted to get to bed herself:)

We finally went to the hospital and got up to a room at about 11pm. Alyssa was only dilated 1cm and after about an hour of walking the nurse gave us the option to go home and come back at 6am, for our scheduled induction or just stay over night. We decided to stay overnight since we were checked in, had our suitcase, and were more than ready for the baby to come! It was a good thing we stayed because at 3:30 the following morning the contractions were every 2 minutes. Alyssa's mom came to the hospital around 8:30 that morning and soon followed Katie (her sister) and Ella (Katie's daughter)! The morning seemed to fly by (well, for most of us) and before we knew it, it was 1:00 in the afternoon and the nurse said it was time to start pushing. This was, of course, after one round of pain meds and the wonderful "epidural"!!

1:57pm - the time our little man, Dallas Michael Jeffers, made his dramatic entrance into the world. Before the doctor could even make it to the hospital (later we found out she was stuck at a broken traffic light) Dallas decided to come out on his own in between contractions. The nurse called for help, three nurses came running the room, one pressed the "code red" button, and the doctor came in just in time to "catch" Dallas. He had the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck, he swallowed the miconium and had fluid in his lungs which was preventing him from crying and made it tough for him to breath, one of the nurses was working on him as we all watched. After a few minutes she decided to take him to the Special Care Nursery. Of course we were all very concerned, but Alyssa new her little man was SO strong (like his daddy), she had no doubt he would pull through. Michael was very scared, but he spent a lot of time in the SCN with Dallas where he would soon learn he really WAS strong!

Dallas spent a total of 6 hours in the SCN and Alyssa was not able to see him until about 4:00 that afternoon. (The epidural had to wear off before she was allowed to leave her room) But, she was able to see lots of pictures and videos that Michael took of him so she wouldn't miss his first cries!

8:00 that night was the first time Dallas was with his mom and dad and he was lucky to be joined by his Poppy (Alyssa's dad) too!

We were all SO ready to leave by Saturday morning, but we were told we had to stay another day since Dallas had a rough start. They wanted to make sure he was good and healthy before sending him home. Don't ever let anyone tell you those hospital beds are comfy, they are NOT!!! So, finally Sunday morning at about 11am we were able to leave and take our little man home with us. The newborn outfit we had picked out for him was drowning him and he looked SO small in his car seat, but we were ready to be the best parents in the world and start showing Dallas off to everyone!

Please enjoy the pictures below, these are from his first few days in this big, big world!

Dallas Michael Jeffers born May 14th, 2010

1:57pm

7lb. 5.5 oz.

20 inches long

Dallas on Oxygen in the Special Care Nursery

One of our favorite pictures from the hospital

Swaddled up, he has loved this from Day 1!

One of Mama's favorite pictures:)

Going home from the hospital!