Luke Robert Lodde

It's a BOY! 

Luke Robert Lodde

July 23rd @ 5:36 am

7 lb 3 oz

20 inches

We are so thrilled and blessed to welcome Luke Robert into our little family!  He made a speedy entrance into the world very early on Monday morning, July 23rd!  

John and I checked into the hospital on Sunday night around 7:00.  Dr. Levin had planned on starting a light dose of Pitocin at midnight since I was already dilated 3 cm, then increasing the dosage at 5:00 am. She was going to come in and break my water at 6:00 or 7:00, then we would have a baby by 9:00!  Haha...isn't it funny how we think we can plan these things?!  

What actually happened is...they started a light dose of Pitocin at midnight, then contractions were painful by 3:00 am, so I requested an epidural.  They had to give me fluids, so by the time the anesthesiologist arrived, it was about 4:30 am.  Meanwhile, John is sleeping this whole time...while I breath through painful contractions alone. Haha!  To his defense, I didn't think we were this close or else I would have woken him up!  The nurse did not check my progress at any point until after the epidural was in around 5:20 am.  Before she could check me, my water burst.  Sure enough I was already 10 cm, and it was time to push!  I was slightly panicking...my doctor was not there, I could still feel pain because the epidural wasn't strong and/or hadn't had time to fully kick in, and my family wasn't there!  I immediately told John to call my mom.  He called her and said "Allison's water just burst, we're going to have a baby soon!".  They were still at home.  Our sweet nurse, Gabby, was shocked that this was happening, and she immediately called Dr. Levin, who was on-call that night.  She said "I'll be there in 5 minutes!", but Gabby said that wasn't quick enough and grabbed another doctor that was thankfully in the right place at the right time.  All of a sudden, there were about 6 nurses and a doctor in the room, and I was pushing!  It was a little chaotic, and the doctor kept asking "Is Dr. Levin coming?".  I was thinking, "Lady, my baby is coming NOW, get it together!".  Haha! 

I only pushed a few minutes before our sweet little angel arrived!  I remember saying "We don't know who it is - is it a boy or girl?!", and someone said "It's a boy!".  I KNEW it was Luke, but it was still shocking and so exciting to hear that.  John said he was really shocked and thought it was a girl.  But God knows exactly what each family needs, and we needed little Lukey. :)  Dr. Levin showed up about a minute later. 

 Luke is the perfect addition to our family.  He is an angel baby so far!  Very chill, sleepy, and snuggly.  Big sister Perry did remarkably well meeting him!  I have the sweetest video of her meeting her baby brother.  She LOVES him!  She is constantly giving him hugs and kisses and talking to him in a baby voice.  She calls him "Baby Luke" every time.  I'm ecstatic with how she has reacted so far!  We've had TONS of help with Perry, so it might be a different story when I'm home alone with both kids for a whole day. ;)

Here are some pictures from our time in the hospital.

First moments...

Meeting some of his family for the first time...

Luke Robert's namesake, Robert Wayne "Popsie". :)

This picture makes me laugh - football hold!

First bath and other random moments...

Meeting his sister for the first time...

Heading home!  Mumsie made his special "going home" gown, cap, and blanket.

We love you SO MUCH, baby Luke!!!  We are so happy to have you home!!!

Celebrating Perry's birthday!

Perry turned TWO on Saturday, and we had the best day celebrating her!

We spent the morning snuggling in bed together watching Daniel Tiger, then we went to pick up a pink sprinkled donut for the birthday girl. {I can't get over her new, cheesy, gap-toothed smile!}

She opened her gifts from mommy and daddy - a new dollhouse, a shopping cart, blocks, and a cookie dough set!  She loved them all, and we spent the next couple of hours playing with her new loot.

Then it was off to Chick-Fil-A for lunch!  Afterwards, we stopped at the mall for some carousel riding (and to pick up her birthday cake)!

After naptime, it was time to party!  We went to my parents' house to celebrate with a mermaid party filled with swimming, fajitas, cake, ice cream, and presents!  My entire family was there, along with my great aunt Fuffy, and our friends Alex, Ellen, and Aria.  Perry had a blast and stayed up way past her bedtime!

It was the perfect day for our precious girl!  We love you, Perry Frances!

Perry is 2!

Happy 2nd birthday to our firstborn, Perry!!!

When we think of Perry, we think - ENERGY, chatty, fearless, curious, wild, SILLY! 

She is non-stop energy!  She is constantly jumping or moving.  Our little jumping bean!  The ONLY time she sits still is when Daniel Tiger is on tv.  We always say that's what makes her a great sleeper, so we'll take it!  She is a bit rambunctious at times with all of that energy.  She'll randomly scream as loud as she can (even in public places) just to get a laugh.  She runs, climbs, trips, and falls quite often, but it hardly ever phases her.

She is very curious, adventurous, and fearless.  I LOVE this about her and hope she maintains it throughout her life!  However, it is also a bit scary at times for mom and dad. ;)

She is so chatty!  She pretty much dictates everything she is doing, everything we are doing, and everything she sees.  And she repeats everything we say!  She is starting to string a lot more words together, and even occasionally forms a sentence.  She kind of makes this high pitched "ah" sound when she starts to say something.  Some of our favorite things she says are:
- "Daddy by you" or "Daddy sit down by you" when she wants someone to sit next to her at the table, in the car, etc. 
- "Noise" with a very concerned look on her face when she hears a noise (which is all the time)
- "Help you" or "Mommy help you" when she wants help with something
- When she sees something small, she says "baby (whatever)" in the cutest baby voice with her face all squished up.  For example, if there is a tiny blueberry on her plate, she picks it up and says "baby boo-bee!".
- "Oh no" in a really serious/casual voice when she drops something

She loves when we sing songs to her!  She demands them in the car constantly, specifically Hickory Dickory Dock, the duck or sheep song ("5 little ducks went out one day..."), and Sally the Camel.  We also sing a song or two before bed every night, and she'll sing along with us to Twinkle Twinkle and Jesus Loves Me.  She is really into Curious George books.

She loves her cousins, especially Rhett, and screams with excitement anytime she sees him.  When she talks about her cousins, she says all three of their names like it's one name "Reid Georgia Rhett".

Perry Frances is the light of our lives!  We can't wait to see her become a big sister soon!  We are soaking up these last days/weeks with our only child. :)

Baby #2 update!

We are 5 weeks away (or less!) from meeting our precious baby!  Where has the time gone?!  Seriously, this pregnancy has FLOWN by wayyyy quicker than the last!  We are so close!

Here are baby's feet at our 20-week ultrasound back in March!

We had another ultrasound at 34 weeks.  Dr. Levin determined that the baby has a very large head.  Given that, and the fact that John, I, and Perry were all big babies, she would like to induce me the week before our due date.  I think we've settled on July 26th.  So the baby will be here then, if not before!  Look at our sweet baby's profile!!  Who are you, baby?!  Boy or girl?!

This is just a random picture I snapped today of the bump at 35 weeks.  The first time around, I took a posed bump picture every week.  Sorry, baby!  #SecondChildProblems

We need to get our act together around the house to prepare, haha.  We are in the process of setting up Perry's big girl room and getting the nursery put together.  We will try to finish in the next couple weeks and have Perry sleep in the nursery for a while longer until she is ready to move to a big girl bed.  We've washed gender neutral clothes, blankets, and swaddles.  We still need to set up the "gear" (swing, rock-n-play, etc.), install the carseat, and pack a hospital bag.  But really, if the baby comes today, we'd be fine! :)

These next five weeks will fly by, and we are SO ready to becomes a family of FOUR!!!