Allred Kids

My sister, Claire, and her two kids, Lincoln and Ella came to stay with us for a few days after Lauren was born. My mom and sister, Julie, came as well. It was so much fun to have them all around- I miss them already! Ella, Kate, and Taylor had a ton of fun playing- their favorite thing to do was wear their tutus all around the house at all times...so cute. I wish we could have gotten a picture of that.

We didn't do much while they were here because I was still recovering and well, I admit, there just isn't much to do in Dallas. So, the usual occurred...shopping and eating out....my two favorite things! :) Mostly, I enjoyed just sitting around, relaxing, and chatting with family that I don't get to see often enough. The only downside was that they didn't stay long enough! They drove (yes, DROVE the 13+ hours from Atlanta) all the way here and I know it was a big sacrifice, so thanks a ton and I hope its not too long before it happens again!

Sweet little Lauren ...

[Brian Post]

It's half time, so I thought I'd post some pictures of Lauren that we took earlier today. Rachel and Lauren came home Wednesday afternoon and have been resting well. Kate, Taylor, and I have been playing and running errands.

These pictures are my first attempt at indoor lighting ... more to come for sure. Let me know what you think ... it's a totally different beast to outdoor photography.

Meet Lauren Mae ...

I just signed the birth certificate...we can now officially introduce Lauren Mae Crofts!

Stats:
7 lbs. 3 oz.
18 inches long

I wanted to give a little more information from mommy's perspective of how everything went yesterday....

First of all, I had a feeling that this baby was coming on Sunday night so I did all of the last-minute preparations around the house (cleaning, organizing, etc.) and packed a bag for the hospital, just in case. At 2:30 AM, I woke up to more-intense-than-normal contractions. They weren't horribly painful, but I knew they were different. So, I told myself I would wait an hour to see if they were legitimate. I think I waited for about 3 contractions to pass and couldn't stand the anticipation any longer...I woke Brian up, we called his mom to come over and stay with Kate and Taylor, and headed to the hospital.

As soon as we arrived-around 4 AM, I was hooked up to the monitors and it was confirmed that I was indeed having regular contractions, but was still dilated to only a 3 and not really progressing. Brian teased me for pulling a false alarm, but I was pretty convinced this baby was coming...about an hour later my contractions really started picking up intensity and I was dilated to a 4 and had hit my threshold for pain. I requested an epidural and got it around 6:30 AM at which time I had dilated to a 5. But the epidural slowed things down so around 8:30 AM, I was given Pitocin. Lauren Mae was born about 2 1/2 hours later, at 11:06 AM. I think I had to push 2 times- which made for a really fast delivery.

Yesterday was such an amazing day- I did not want it to end. Lauren is such a sweet baby and pretty adorable (in mommy's eyes). I really could stare at her all day long. I'm so excited that she is finally here and cannot wait to take her home. Kate and Taylor were thrilled to meet her as well. Kate has been #1 mom lately, giving advice on how to do everything and how to best take care of a baby. I think she'll be ready to babysit when she's say....five. Taylor is such a mommy's girl that the transition has been a little more difficult. She cried tonight when she had to leave mommy at the hospital. So sad.

Thank you for all of your congrats and sweet comments. I'm feeling pretty good and am looking forward to getting home and figuring out what life is like with 3 kids! We'll keep you posted.....

a good week for updates ...

We took the girls to Las Colinas so we could get some shots of them for Christmas presents. The weather was a little chilly, but we had fun checking out a new place. The scenery was really nice and I think the pictures turned out great.

We had such a fun Christmas this year...I don't think you completely understand the phrase "'tis better to give than to receive" until you have kids. They sure made it fun for us as they could barely contain their excitement for the things they got. I already can't wait until next year when we'll have three girls to "spoil".

Freezing in NYC ... some images from the weekend

1000 ft Over Dallas

Happy Birthday Rachel!

"Dear Mom,

I love you

I hope you have a great birthday

From

Kate"

When the Dad's away, the GIRLS will play....

Brian just left this morning for a quick trip to New York City. So, its official- GIRLS weekend! By girls, I'm referring to myself, Kate, Taylor, and the little girl bean in my tummy. That makes 4 of us, and thats quite a crowd!

So, we just got back from the grocery store and I bought for us all candy, chocolate milk, sugary Christmas cereal, E.L. Fudges (per Kate's request), Frosted Shortbread cookies (thanks to Taylor), and stuff to make peanut blossom cookies- you know, the stuff I never indulge in unless I'm completely without adult supervision. :) Ask me if I will feel guilty about the absolute gluttony I will indulge in for the next two days. Nope...after all, I am 8 months pregnant, without a husband, taking care of two toddlers solo for two days, and its the weekend of my birthday.

By the way, I'm being induced on January 12th- I thought I would mark this day as the one month mark. 4 1/2 weeks until I can breathe better, eat healthier, have an excuse to NOT wear jammies all day long, bend down far enough to put my shoes on, not worry about the people who stare at pregnant people everywhere I go, and hopefully being able to look at my backside in the mirror without shaking my head.

Santa is here ...

Our neighborhood had a Christmas Party today and guess who was in attendance? SANTA!!

Taylor was too scared to sit on his lap- but hey, 1 out of 2 ain't bad. I'm glad Kate got to tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas- we wouldn't want him delivering the wrong presents! :) Kate and Taylor also got to ride in an antique fire-truck around our neighborhood while listening to some festive tunes. It was such a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun celebrating this time of year...I love Christmas!

On a funnier note...I took the girls Christmas shopping this week and wanted them to buy the other one a Christmas gift. We ended up at Target and I had Kate help me pick out a scooter for Taylor. So, I briefed Kate on the importance of keeping this a secret so it will be a surprise on Christmas morning. So, what does she do? She marches right over to Taylor (who was keeping busy with the dolls a few aisles away) and blurted out, "Guess what Taylor? We got you a Dora scooter for Christmas!" The next morning Taylor came into the kitchen and was telling me all about her Dora scooter- I guess Kate went into further detail that night after they were put to bed.

Then, I took Taylor to pick out some crocs for Kate. That afternoon, Kate was talking about the pink crocs that she really wanted for Christmas and Taylor says, "No Kate, they aren't pink, we got you the green ones". Oh well, better luck next year!

Rubsamen Family ...

This morning I had the chance to meet up with the Rubsamen family ... Dean and I go back a couple years and it was great to see his family and their new baby boy. Although the weather has been a little harsh lately, this morning ended up being pretty nice.

Enjoy!