From Summer to Halloween

Yeah, been a while since I've updated. Who knew being a stay at home mom would be so busy ;-)

Jake is growing like crazy and is now 6 months old. Avery is in speech therapy and we are seeing some improvements there. She was not approved for the LISD speech program because she tests normal for a 3 year old. She is delayed though, so well keep her in private therapy.

I am still loving being home. I am trying to take on more odd jobs though to bring in extra money. Luckily my friends seem to want their houses cleaned on occasion, so that works out great! Lol

Here are a few pics from summer through Halloween!

Hope everyone had a fun Halloween!

Family

I have been so pleasantly surprised with how wonderful Avery is with Jacob. She is very patient with me as I feed and change him throughout the day, and she loves to give him hugs and kisses and hold him. Never once has she seemed upset by his presence or frustrated with a lack of attention. I am so very lucky!







I also must mention that my husband is incredible and such an amazing dad...not to mention super good looking!



Jake is such an easy baby. Avery was a very easy baby too, so we really thought we couldn't possibly be so lucky twice, but alas, we are! I nurse him every 3 hours during the day (or whenever he wants) and then he'll sleep 4-6 hours straight at night, then nurses and sleeps another 2-3 hours. I've started putting him in his crib for the first stretch, this was the exact same age I did this with Avery too. I can't believe how similar they are, or maybe it's me...not sure.

The biggest change HAS been me...now that I am not working, I am so much more relaxed all the time, and happier! With Avery as a newborn I was instantly heart broken with the idea of leaving her. I also had to start building up a freezer stash of milk too to prepare for my return to work. I pumped 3-5 times a day for almost a year with Avery while working...so with Jake I have stayed as far away from my pump as possible! Lol. I have pumped enough for a few outings and can easily replenish that if/when needed.

I get my first girls night this coming week to see Harry Potter on my birthday...30, yikes! ;-) I have to admit though, I really have had no strong desire to be away from my kids yet. I know it's good for me though...and for Hunter to have one on one time with his babies!

I must say 30 is looking to be one of the best years of my life...can't imagine being any happier!




Love to all!

Avery's 3rd Birthday

Avery had an amazing 3rd birthday! We rented an awesome bounce house and had lots of friends and family come over to celebrate. It was a scorching hot day, we are in Texas in one of the hottest summers on record, but the kids still enjoyed bouncing and playing outside. Luckily we decided about a month ago to purchase and install misters on our back porch. We are using the heck out of them! Avery got so many wonderful gifts and really seemed to enjoy her party.

Can't believe how fast she's growing up.



I took her to her 3 year well check on the 13th. She got one vaccine and was very brave! She is 3 ft 1 in and 28 lbs. She's in the 50th % for height and 25th% for weight. This is quite an accomplishment since she spent her first 2 years of life struggling to stay on the weight scale at the 5th %! The pediatrician recommended we have her evaluated by a speech therapist. She is incredibly smart, has a huge vocabulary, can count to 11, say her ABC's, do tons of 24 piece puzzles...but she's not putting her words together to form coherent sentences. So I'm researching therapists and I'm sure with a little work she will be arguing with me in NO time! She can argue now, just without articulation, lol.



Nothing to worry about though, she is healthy, happy, beautiful, and smart.

The next year for Avery will bring full potty training, full communication, lots of fun staying home with Mom and little brother Jake, and many new happy memories!

My new life

I am now watching my older sisters 2 kids during the week days and am having a great time. This is by far the best job I could ever have! It's a little challenging keeping a 14, 9, and 3 year old entertained while attending to the needs of a 2 month old, but it is a fun challenge! Avery loves having her cousins around, and we get out to swim and do other fun things as often as we can.

I have such a sense of peace about quitting my job. It really was a hard decision, not only were we giving up a huge amount of our income, but I have never known adult life without being gainfully employed. I feel so fulfilled now staying home, cleaning, taking care of kids...it's peaceful, there is no other way for me to describe it. I know its temporary, so that probably makes it even more precious to me. I'm going to enjoy everyday that I have at home with my kids!

Here are a few pics from the last few weeks.

Avery got her first hair cut!

Sweet sleeping baby

Jake started smiling right at 6 weeks old

This is my current favorite photo!

Growing like crazy!

A few of my closest friends are having babies at the end of this year, so I am very excited for them and can't wait for Jake to have some very close friends to play with soon!

3 weeks old

I can't even begin to express how very happy we are. Jacob is an amazingly content baby (although he still sleeps a ton) and Avery absolutely adores him. She wants to hold him all the time and kiss and love on him. In fact, the other morning, Avery woke up and came into my room. I tried to have her go into the living room with me while Jake was still sleeping, but she was NOT about to let her baby brother stay in there by himself. I had to pick him up and bring him into the living room with us, it was really very sweet.

Here are some of the pictures we took of Jacob at 1 week old. They are too sweet not to share! Hunter took these pictures on our back patio, although you would swear they were done at a studio by a professional!

It's a Boy!

Jacob Hunter Pontious was born on Tuesday, April 26th, at 2:56pm!
8lbs 2.3 oz
21 inches

Birth Story:
I checked into the hospital Monday night for a slow induction. They started a drug called cryotec at 8pm, and gave a second dose at 12am. I had regular contractions throughout the night, but was able to relax and even sleep a little. At 6am Tuesday, they slowly started the pitocin. Around 11:30am I got an epidural (which was a very odd experience, although definitely made things better). My blood pressure kept falling with the epidural, so they had me on oxygen and made me lay flat on my sides in order to maintain. After another few hours, I started feeling pressure with contractions, definitely no pain though. Then I got a little nauseous and the Dr. came in to check me. "Wow, we are ready for a baby!" he said. He started yelling at all the nurses to get everything ready. After only 3-4 pushes, baby Jacob was born! I cried and cried when I found out he was a boy and was screaming with healthy lungs! Hunter was so excited and a little emotional too and was really looking forward to telling the waiting family members.

The doctor worked to control my bleeding quickly, which was much easier to take with the epidural (this was the hard part of my delivery with Avery). Baby Jake took in a little fluid, so had to be monitored closely for a little while to make sure his breathing was steady. After about 30-45 minutes, we were both ready to greet family!

Papa Kevin, Papa Mike, Mawmaw Pam, GreatPapa Sam, Great Grandmommy Joyce, Uncle Alan, Aunt Nikki, and Aunt Linsey were all there to rush into meet Jacob. Everyone fell instantly in love!

My recovery was excellent. My doctor is absolutely amazing and made sure that I didn't have any of the postpartum issues I had with Avery, so I felt great and was able to enjoy my new baby completely! We left the hospital on Thursday and have been unbelievably blessed with love and support from all our family and friends. Baby Jake is perfect and even lets me sleep for 6+ hours at night (although broken into 2-3 hours spurts of course!).

Avery has adjusted beautifully to being a big sister. She loves to kiss and hug Jake and has never questioned this new addition to our family.

I am looking forward to being fully recovered and enjoying my time at home with my babies!
We are so very blessed and happy! God is great!

Love to all!
The Pontious Family


Moments after birth-Proud Mommy and Daddy


Meeting all the family for the 1st time!


Avery and Jake's first meeting


Sweet big sister!


1 week old


Wide eyed handsome little man!

Final Days!

I am spending my last day at home trying to make sure the house is neat and tidy and that everything is set up for Avery and Mawmaw (or Papa, or Aunt Linsey) while Hunter and I are in the hospital having baby #2. So glad we are here already!

I am so much more swollen with this little one than I was with Avery, and so much larger! My next post will be about my birth story and how we are adjusting to life as a family of four! EEEEE!!!!

Excitement, nerves, anxiety...that's how I've felt the last 24 hours.

Here are a few pics from Easter, our last pics as a family of 3:






39 Weeks...final belly pic!