Welcome to the World My Baby Boy: Charles Haddon Wauhop

I wanted to write all of this down so I never forget it. Charlie is nearing 10 weeks now and that seems kind of unbelievable. Only kind of, though, because it seems at the same time as though he has always been a part of our family! And if you're a mom, you totally understand that!

So...
my baby boy came fast! I woke up on June 21 - a day before my due date - at about 6:45am feeling a contraction, but honestly I didn't really think it was anything. But I felt another about 5 minutes later. I told Robert and we were really hoping that this might be it since I was so done with being pregnant and had been walking around for over a week at 4cm! Just in case I would spend the next few days in the hospital I thought I should hop in the shower. Well, with just a few minutes into my shower I suddenly felt like dying. I yelled out to Robert, "This is it!" And boy, was it! He got Maggie up and we started texting a few friends to see if they could pick up Maggie from the hospital. I was out of the shower and into the car in a few minutes. The three minute car ride felt unbearable. I crawled into the hospital, Robert had Maggie in tow. I rode up the elevator to the 4th floor...by this time I was physically yelling out every 2 minutes. They immediately got me into a room and I was begging for an epidural. Yikes! I've never felt pain like that before; it was insane. Anyway, I needed fluids and IVs and all of that jazz. They checked me when I got into the bed and I was already 7cm dilated! The nurse told me to let her know if I was feeling pressure, because she thought I'd be ready to push soon. I wasn't about to push without an epidural, though. I was yelling and crying and people were telling me to breathe and relax! HA! Right. Finally (after about 30 minutes) I was ready for my epidural - praise Jesus!! The nurse checked me again, right away. I was 10cm and Charlie was ready to come out.

Well, my lovely doctor came in right about then and asked me if I thought I might be able to hold my baby in until noon (it was about 9:30 at this point). Ok. Well I was feeling awesome, flying high, by this time. I was all for taking a nap before I needed to push out my baby. The Lord had other plans. My blood pressure got very low and Charlie's heart rate was dropping a little. I wore an oxygen mask for about an hour, but things weren't really improving. They decided to go ahead and let me push. With my Maggie pushing was a two hour ordeal. This time, there was barely time to break the bed down. Five minutes and two pushes later the most beautiful baby boy arrived. Seven pounds, fourteen ounces, screaming his precious, perfect, little head off!

My sweet baby boy laid on my chest and we were in love. Still are! We had to stay in the hospital for 48 hours. During those 48 hours I got to watch my baby girl become a big sister. I will say that she didn't thrive in her new position within the confines of our our hospital, haha, but she sure did love that new baby! And Robert, of course, was/is the worlds greatest dad! We couldn't take our eyes off of the sweet boy that just joined our family! The Lord is so kind and we are immensely blessed. We brought our boy home, and voila - Wauhop, family of four!

The Potty Chronicle: Day One: The End

Even the night before "Maggie's potty day" I had a great amount of nervous and expectant anticipation...only to be multiplied that morning as we put on her first (of many) pairs of big girl panties. She has been telling me she has to pee-pee on the potty for at least a month. This girl seemed all about the potty.

We started by trying to train "Bear" to go potty...Maggie was not into that. She was much more interested in the medicine dropper that "Bear" was using to go potty than in anything else, haha. And when "Bear" had an accident and I told her, nicely, "No, no, bear! Don't pee-pee on the floor, pee-pee on the potty!" Well, Maggie started to cry for Bear. It was hilarious and sweet! But, we gave up on that pretty fast. I thought I'd just focus on potty training the actual child instead of trying to get her into the animal thing. (She wasn't into any of the "key" elements of this method of training, haha.)

She woke up with a super runny nose and wasn't really interested in eating or drinking which definitely hindered the process. It was over an hour before she had to go potty, on the chair or on the floor. But when her pee-pee decided to make its debut, it was on the floor! It was a trail of pee-pee that she walked and slipped nervously around, and then started to cry! Well, then within the next 45 minutes she pee-peed on the floor 3 more times. We were flying through princess panties! We were sitting on the potty like every 5 or 10 minutes, but she was not feeling it. I had to sing round after round of Old MacDonald and The Itsy Bitsy Spider to get her to stay put! And then before I knew it, it was nap time! Praise The Lord. We were 0 and 4, and preggo mommy needed a break!

When she woke up (early of course), I reluctantly put another pair of panties on the girl. Well, by now she was starting to get it, miraculously!! She went on the potty 3 times in a row. I think she started making herself go once she realized the "reward" aspect of the training. Each time she went on the potty she got 3 peanut butter M and Ms and 2 stickers! Totally worth it. Anyway, even though she was having success and I could see things clicking, both of us were still stressed out! She kept getting off of the potty while she was still going pee-pee, so we were still flying through underwear. And I could tell Mags was tired of the whole thing. She had a few more accidents and a few more successes, the end of the day was coming, and then she just broke down. And then...I CAVED!

So, long story longer...my little girl will not be potty trained before her sweet brother is born and I will be a mom with 2 in diapers, and I'm ok with that! I talked to a few of my most trusted and beloved mommy and they really encouraged me to enjoy these last few weeks with just me and the Mags... Honestly, she was totally getting it and would have been "potty trained" for sure by the end of the week. But I wasn't ready - physically or emotionally, haha. Not because I don't want her to grow up; it's way more lame reasons that that. I don't want to deal with accidents and emotional break downs and nursing and using the potty at Kroger and all of that. I want to take my little girl on walks these last few weeks, and go to the aquarium, and the pool, and not worry about dry pants and asking her if she has to go to the potty every 30 minutes. That sounds selfish...it was certainly humbling, though, to realize this stuff, especially after I made such a big deal about it. But, the Lord is good! And Mags and I are going to have a blast these next few weeks while we wait for Charlie! So thankful to be her momma and for all of these opportunities for my sanctification (at least after the fact, haha)!

Blog What?!

My, o my...blogging. Where has the time gone?

So, quick update on the Wauhop life:

1. We live in Atlanta - and by Atlanta I mean "The City of Homes," Newnan, GA - and we are really loving it. We do miss CA and our friends, but who wouldn't? But Robert is loving that his job is studying and preaching and meeting with students and parents. And we are making some new, fun friends, praise the Lord!! Two of whom are having little boys this spring/summer, too!!

2. Speaking of little boys, ours - Charles Haddon (Charlie!!) - is due exactly 10 weeks from today! Can't wait!! But also have so very much to do before he arrives :)

3. Our sweet little girl is 17 months old! Wowzer!! She is the funniest girl! Maggie is my little adventurer! She is non-stop and such a chatter box!! Here are some moments from our silly world:
- she loves water and is constantly saying "water water!" Lame one to start with...but it's cute.
- currently she is obsessed with babies. Everywhere we see a stroller or high chair, a child under five, and especially an actual baby - o my! "Baby!" "mommy, baby!!" She is going to love being a big sister!
- she says "HI" to every single person we see as we are out and about.
- another obsession is the potty! O my goodness, she loves the pee pee potty...and we are going to try to potty train in a few weeks! Wow?! We will see!?
- she constantly wants to have her "boo boos" kissed.
- she loves animals and the sounds they make.
- she says "Ew" all the time, too, haha. It's both funny and annoying. She picks up things off of the floor or points out zits on our face and says..."ew." Weird diva child?
- she repeats everything.
- and there are a million other things she says and does every day that are just priceless! But of course I'm her mom...
Goodness, I'm in love with this child. She is a handful and a half and I am so ready for a vacation pretty much every other day. But I wouldn't trade being her mommy for the world!

4. I just saw a commercial on tv for mederma that was filmed on Honolulu in Montrose! No way.

5. We bought a house! And it's awesome. Pics to come :)

6. Other stuff. The Lord is good. He's awesome! He provides and He is faithful and kind and sovereign and He loves me! What a blessing.

Well, that's all for now I guess. Hope to be more regular at this thing, but we will see!

NEW GOALS

Hello!

I have new some new goals...that I want to share with you!

So, first thing.  I want to lose my mom pouch belly.  Maggie is quickly approaching ONE! (AHHHH! give me a moment to freak out with excitement and wonder at how that happened so fast!), and although I've been back to my pre-pregnancy weight since she was like two or three months old, my body is totally different now (obviously).  So, with thoughts of Wauhop baby number 2 starting to sound like an exciting thing - I don't want to go into that with any extra fat...for a lack of a nicer way to put that.  SO - I am committing to Jillian Michael's Ripped in 30!  I'm not going to do any weird diet or anything, but I just want to kick my booty into gear and shed a little extra fat.  Then I'll go back to my regular 3 or 4 (most likely less intense) workouts a week.  So, that's the first thing.

Second, on the other end of things - Meal Planning!  This year, a goal of mine was to cook something new every week.  And honestly, I've succeeded in that area pretty well thus far - and, I have loved it!  Now, I want to start being both more organized and more frugal with my meal planning.  I want to plan two weeks of meals (8 meals), and do pretty much all the shopping at the beginning of the first week!  This week's menu (in no particular order):

Chicken and Dumplings (crockpot)

Cilantro Thai Chicken and Rice

Cheesy White Chicken Enchiladas

Mustard Chicken and Red Potatoes

Fried Egg Quesadillas and Chips and Salsa

Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

Grilled Shrimp Stir fry with Potatoes

Tortellini 

Yum!!  Can't wait to eat all of this up!

Next, writing!  I have about three children's books "in the works."  I've always wanted to be a writer.  I studied English in school (should have studied journalism, but O well).  And I really want to start writing now.  Robert is super busy with school and work and everything, so it's really a great time.  Mags goes to bed at 7 and I need to utilize my time and get writing!  I'm excited and also a little nervous about this venture...but mostly excited!  *Let me know if you want to be a proofreader (especially those of you who read a lot to your little ones)!

Lastly, I want to read more.  Plain and simple, I want to make more time to read good books.

So, if you see me, ask me how those things are going!  I'd appreciate it :)

Have a wonderful day!!

**(O. Also, I changed my blog format because some had said they couldn't leave comments...?  so, I think that might work better now!)

Diary of a Stay At Home Mom: My Morning Thought...

I just put Maggie down for her morning nap.  And as I held her for just a minute before sitting in her bed, I was praying for her future and for her salvation.  Suddenly it occurred to me that I sort of presume on the Lord's grace.  I think that many times when I pray for her salvation, when I pray that she will hate her sin, see her need for the Savior, submit to the Lord, love His church, and live her life as a worshipper of Christ...I just assume that that will definitely happen.  On one hand, I feel like that is due to great faith and confidence in the Lord's kindness, compassion, and love!  On the other hand I feel like it's because I have become complacent at the thought of the greatness of salvation.  Yet again I feel so humbled by the blessed life of mommying!

What do you think?  Do you ever feel like that?  Praise the Lord that He is sovereign and that the gracious Holy Spirit intercedes on my behalf.  Salvation truly is a miraculous and amazing gift!  God is so gracious to save sinners, like me.  And I trust and pray for the future salvation of my baby Maggie.

Hope you have a great day!  God is so good!

Chickpea Chicken Soup for my Chica

Lately I've been trying to bring a lot of variety into Maggie's diet.  I'm always trying new combos of fruit and it's exciting every time we can add new foods into her menu - like CHEESE!  It's a favorite of mine, and thus far proved to be a favorite of hers.  She will eat almost anything if I melt some cheese on the top!  To be honest, though, I usually just make stuff up for her, like whatever sounds good or what might go ok together or what can I add to make it more nutritious (like some sneaky spinach!)...  Last week I blended sweet potatoes, avocado, and a small apple and she totally loved that random conglomeration!  But, this week I thought I'd try an actual baby food recipe.  I ended up tweaking it a bit to fit what I could find at my TJs/what I thought would be good, and Maggie loved the result!  So, if you have a little one, you should try it!  It's yummy (to a baby), nutritious, and easy to make!

Ingredients:

1 can of organic garbanzo beans, drained (15oz)
1/2 clove of garlic, minced (*I used a whole clove, but I think it was a little too much)
2 small or 1 large potato, peeled and cubed
1 small onion (or less) chopped
2 tbsp of olive oil
3.5 cups of water
1/2 cup of boiled organic chicken, shredded

Directions:

Saute the garlic and onion in the olive oil for a few minutes.
Add in the beans (drained) and the potatoes.  Then add in the water.
(You can add the chicken now or just add it straight into the blender with the soup [gross. i know.])
Simmer for 15-20 minutes/until the potatoes are soft enough to blend.
Blend it up.  Yum?

Let it cool and it's ready to go**.  I served it to Maggie with a slice of wheat bread.  And, from what I can tell she definitely enjoyed it!  So, try it if you want!

[**cottage cheese or whipping cream/milk is optional.  I added a smidge of cottage cheese to bring some creaminess, and also to make it less watery (you also might need to add some other thickening agents such as oatmeal cereal, depending on the consistency).  ALSO, if you are going to freeze it, do so sans "cream" and add the cottage cheese or what not as you serve it.]    

A Week Without Daddy

A week without Daddy is a sad week, indeed.

Mommy and Maggie sleep with less ease.

A week without Daddy means no strong, tickling hands

And big bear hugs are in high demand.

A week without Daddy is not our favorite week,

But tomorrow he gets back and we will go out to eat!

...OK, obviously a work of art!  But I couldn't justify any more time spent on thinking up rhymes.  Needless to say, though, I have been missing my man something fierce!  There is something about the knowledge of Daddy coming home at the end of the day that really helps to get you through a bought of crying or whining or teething or ??? you name it; but the knowledge of Daddy's absence for an entire week has the opposite effect.  But, tomorrow, he returns!  Yay!  

From the sounds of it, camp was amazing - lots of great ministry, one of one conversations, and fabulous preaching.  There were fun games and a lot of dirty kids.  Robert was one of the "hype" men this year, and he had a lot of fun doing that.  And, I'm SO thankful (despite how much he was missed) that he was able to be there, attending to all of that, and know that I was at home taking care of our baby and apartment...    

I've been thinking that with ministry this sort of thing might be asked of us a lot.  Trying to think about the future and what we might do: take the kids, leave the kids with someone else, don't go?  These decisions do not need to be made today, obviously, but it is something to think about.    My number one responsibility is my husband and children (future tense, obviously since i have only 1 as of right now!) and doing ministry with them as a family is a DREAM!  When they're littler and money is "littler" it can be tough.  But, it's so awesome to know that the Lord provides!  And, He will not call us to anything that is too difficult for us!  So, with all of that in mind, and with me wanting to get to bed...I leave this for another time.  

Goodnight Cyberspace and my few reading friends :)