Why the move to Austin?

I think for a lot of people it was pretty much a shock that Dan and I picked up and moved to Austin this summer. It kind of was for us too to make a big life decision like this so quickly. Everyone close to us knows why but I haven't been able to be forthcoming with a lot of information until now and I'm so excited to share. 

We moved to Austin for a new company that I have been working on for a long time. I have partnered with two amazing women to start out own manufacturers rep group called W3 Sales. We have put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this company and we finally get to "open our doors" on January 1. The three of us were all based in Dallas and we really needed more coverage in Texas. We divided up the state and they asked if I would cover Austin. Of course I would! I love Austin! Dan and I used to travel to Austin all the time pre Charlotte! Traveling weekly down there would be no problem. Then Dan and I decided to try for Baby #2 and when we got pregnant traveling weekly seemed a little daunting to leave two little kids at home. 

One Sunday I brought up to Dan that we could move and it took zero convincing. He turned his sales pitch on me to get me to make up my mind quickly because he was so excited. We had always talked about moving somewhere but I didn't know if we would actually do it. My mom lived basically around the corner, my best friends were in town, we had great jobs...it was really hard to make the decision to leave.  

Now we have been here for almost six months and we LOVE it. Yes, it's hard to be away from what we have always known. Yes, it's been really hard being away from my mom. Yes, it's hard to make new friends. But we have done it! We are living in central Austin in a little neighborhood that adorable. Our house is over 60 years old and has a lot of character and very low ceilings (bad for 6'8" people).  Our neighbors are awesome and super friendly. We have always wanted a close knit neighborhood and we found it by luck here.  When we decided to move Dan was able to transfer with his company and he is so happy here.  Dan's drive to his office is 8 MINUTES...he drove well over an hour each way when we lived in Argyle.  

Our family life has completely changed since moving here. For one, I have been staying home with Charlotte since July. I respect every stay at home mom even more now. This job is HARD. I have loved being with her and I am so grateful I have had this time with her but I am looking forward to getting back to work full time. Is that bad to say? I hope not, but it's the truth. One of the things I love about being in a sales job is that my hours are flexible and I get to spend more time with our kids. We have found a nanny for Ryan that we are sharing with our neighbors who had a baby boy the week before we had Ryan (I told you we lucked out in the neighbor department here) and I found a full time school for Charlotte that I love.  So far, this move has been great for us. January we will go through another round of changes but I suppose that is just life.

A quote I found after we decided to move fits this stage in our lives perfectly. It said "If we wait until we're ready, we'll be waiting for the rest of our lives." So true and fitting for this stage we are in. I'm excited for what the future brings. 

One month in!

I cannot believe we have had Ryan for one month.  Doesn't every new parent say that?  It feels like Ryan has always been in our family. He just kind of slid into our household like he's been here forever.

 The transition from one kid to two has been pretty easy so far. I am actually really surprised! Or maybe it's easy when you have Super Baby Ryan who eat and sleeps awesome. From day one he has woken up once during the night. I guess that's the beauty of delivering a baby the size of a turkey (really, our turkey on Thanksgiving was 11 lbs 13 oz this year). Charlotte was a good sleeper and it looks like Ryan is too...so far. Hopefully I didn't just jinx us. 

 At his one month checkup he was 13 pounds and 23 inches long.  He's the same length but has put on over a pound. Yay! I've got to start switching arms holding him or else my left arm will be bigger than my right.

One month checkup!

I love tiny baby feet

Ryan is just your typical newborn right now. He really only cares about eating and sleeping and cries when he's hungry or needs a diaper change. I'm looking forward to more baby coos and getting a smile out of him. I'm trying to cherish these newborn moments because now I know how fast time goes. Before we know it he will be running around like his sister.

Dan and his twin...see pic below

Twins!!  They look so much alike it's creepy!!

This past month we made a road trip to Dallas for my mom's birthday. I drove the kids and Dan flew to meet us there after he got off work. We survived the car ride and it wasn't bad at all! It was nice to get out of the house for a few days.

Road Trip!

Charlotte with Daddy's "asses"

 We have had a lot of visitors this month! My mom was here the first week and it was amazing. She took over taking care of Charlotte while Dan and I took Ryan. I might have cried when she left.

My dad came in one weekend to meet Ryan and he was just smitten with him. 

Dan's parents have been here the past two weeks and have been a huge help! We are blessed with great parents!

 This past month has been a whirlwind and I know that time will just keep flying by. Hopefully I can keep up with this blog again!

My world.

Ryan's Birth Story 10.29.2014

I really want to write out Ryan's birth story while it is fresh on my mind. I always think that I will never forget anything but it was so nice to go back and read Charlotte's because I forgot so much of hers. This is a long post, you have been warned. :)

Anyway, back to Ryan. If you follow me on Instagram you know how ready I was to have this baby. The anticipation of not know if we were having a boy or girl was so exciting but I was also so ready to not be pregnant anymore. For months people thought I was full term and I got so many comments daily. Now I know how Dan feels because he gets height comments daily. I was in a lot of pain because my stomach was so big and sleeping was difficult. Being pregnant is amazing and I am so grateful for the experience because it is all truly a miracle, but when I hit 37 week I was done and waiting anxiously to go into labor. At 34 weeks we had a sonogram and it showed that the baby was measuring at 39 weeks. It was 7 lbs 15 oz already and when according to my Baby Center app it should be around 4.5 lbs. Needless to say, I was freaking out. The sonographer said that these sonograms are always off, and my doctor said the same thing.  I had Charlotte at 37 weeks and my doctor said that I should go into labor around the same time as I did with her. 37 weeks came and went and we were on pins and needles waiting. My brother was in town for two weeks and no baby, my mom came into town, no baby. Everyone went home and I went into freak out mode of what to do if I do go into labor and no one else was here. We had plenty of friends willing to help but there is something about having your mom there to ease your mind.

This shows how big I was at the end! Taken a couple of days before Ryan's birth day.

When 38 weeks hit we tried everything to naturally induce labor. Long walks, spicy food, massage, acupuncture, pedicures, pineapple, every old wives tale out there and nothing.  I had a ton of false alarms but nothing that would continue on. On Tuesday I was scheduled for the final growth sonogram to determine the size of the baby. They took all the measurements and said that the baby would be around 8 lbs 15 oz.  I did not want a c section but we had decided that if they thought the baby was under 9.5 pounds we would choose to try to deliver naturally. When it came time to talk to my doctor we decided that she would agree to induce me the next day due to very high fluid levels. We were so thrilled.  We called my mom and told her to get back down to Austin because we were finally having a baby!

We had to snap this before heading to the hospital

Wednesday morning came and we went to the hospital to get induced. I was almost 6 cm at the time! I had pretty strong contractions for a long time the night before but wanted to get some sleep before the next morning. We got checked in and at 9:30 they broke my water that was quickly followed with an epidural. I love epidurals. I got it early enough that I didn't really feel any strong contractions before they started. I almost felt like I was cheating labor. At 11:30 they started pitocin and then had to stop an hour later because my contractions were too close together. Around 2:00 I was at 10 cm but they wanted to wait a little longer to let the baby drop some more so I wouldn't have to push long. At 3:00 they brought the delivery team of what seemed like 35 people to watch me push and deliver our baby. Everyone is always so encouraging. Saying, "you can do this!" "you've got this!" "push a little harder!" Our one request was that Dan say "It's a boy/girl!" first before anyone said anything. That was the only part of any sort of birth plan we had. That is how I imagined it would go. The baby would come out, Dan would tell me what it was and they would lay the baby on my chest. To me that is one of the most magical experiences in life.  My vote was boy and Dan's was girl almost this entire pregnancy. We should have made a bet...

I pushed for about 10 minutes and when Ryan's head was coming out everyone was so excited and yelling for me to keep pushing and then things turned. What I remember is my doctor screaming to pull the emergency cord in the room to get NICU in there and a nurse jumping on top of me and pushing as hard as she could on my stomach and my pelvis. It was the most terrifying experience of my life. My doctor kept yelling "EMERGENCY!!" as the nurses in the room were screaming for me to push as hard as I could while the ninja nurse on top of me was pushing down on my pelvis. At this moment I thought that 1) our baby was dying and 2) that the nurse was breaking my pelvis but I wanted them to do anything to get the baby out. Then baby came out everyone yelled "It's a boy!!" and the NICU team rushed him away and Dan came to my side and prayed for our baby. We had no idea what had just happened. We didn't hear Ryan cry, we didn't get to see him, and didn't know if he was ok.

Finally, Ryan let out a scream and we knew he was ok. What had happened was his shoulder got stuck on my pelvis and the nurse jumped on top of me to literally try to break his shoulders to get him out. It was later explained to me that if he had taken his first breath during this time he could have suffocated and I could have started hemorrhaging. By the grace of God, he entered the world without broken shoulders and hopefully no long term damage. Right now Ryan's right arm won't move and the doctors think it is just nerve damage that will repair with time. It is called shoulder dystocia.  He can move his fingers but not his arm. It doesn't seem like he is in pain and we do believe it will just take time to get feeling back.  We could have a long road of physical therapy with the possibility of surgery later on but right now we are taking it one step at a time and trying not to worry too much.

As the nurses were standing over him doing their thing with newborns they asked what we expected his weight to be and I said 9 pounds. They all said that there is no way this baby was 9 pounds. They weighed him and he was 11 pounds 13 ounces. I think Dan and I were in shock. I still can't get over the fact that I pushed out a baby the size of a two month old.  Every person we see asks if I had a c-section. Um no...I probably should have because I never would have tried to deliver naturally knowing how big he was. I think sometimes it's good to be naive in these situations. And I was worried about him being 10 pounds. Now that seems like nothing. When Dan was born he was 11 pound 14 ounces but 2 weeks late. Ryan was 11 pounds 13 ounces a week and a half early. Thank goodness my doctor agreed to induce early. Ryan easily could have been almost 13 pounds.

Due to his size he had low blood sugar for the first 24 hours so he had to eat every three hours until it came up but now he is doing great and eating 3-4 ounces every feeding.

Our family is complete with Ryan now. Charlotte is smitten with him and doesn't seem too phased that we have Ryan in our house now. We quickly adjusted to life with a newborn again and have agreed that it's much easier the second time around!

Welcome to the family, Ryan!!

Charlotte--Our almost 3 year old!

It's been too long since I've done an update on Miss C.  It's hard to believe that in almost two months she will be 3. Where has the time gone?  Since we moved to Austin I have been staying home with her part time. I was very nervous about this because I didn't know what to expect. I always felt that we had a great time together but it was never for all day, every day except the weekends. Overall, it has gone really well. She loves going to her preschool on Monday's and Wednesday's and I enjoy being able to get work done during that time. In January we will put her in full time school again which I still need to figure out.  

 

Charlotte LOVES to sing. She makes up songs all the time about whatever she is doing. Right now she is really into princesses or "incesses". She has a couple of princess books and asks for her "incess books". It took me a while to figure out what she was talking about. Most days you will find her at home in a princess dress. She will put on regular clothes to leave the house and then it's right back into the princess dress when we walk in the door.  One night we went to dinner and Dan dropped me off at the door. I was seated and told the hostess to look for my really tall husband and a little girl in a nightgown.  I pick my battles. At least she has clothes on.  

She is getting better at eating. She still doesn't really eat regular kid food. Girlfriend will go to town on salmon and roast but won't eat a PB&J.  Ice cream is her favorite and it's about the only time she is silent. We may or may not use it as a bribery tactic pretty often. 

When we moved to Austin we went ahead and put her in a big bed. She's obsessed with her bed. It's pretty tall so we have a railing on one side but for the most part she stays in it at night. She has woken up a handful of times but overall is doing really well. Our house is about 65 years old and has been added onto. Charlotte's room is in the middle of the house and doesn't have a window. It's really strange but also kind of awesome. She doesn't know when it's light out so she sleeps until about 8 every morning.   

I'm not really sure what Charlotte thinks about being a big sister. We have tried to talk to her a lot about it and she just kind of ignores what we are saying. The other day I had bought some newborn diapers and she wanted to put them on Ella (her cabbage patch doll). We put one on Ella and she turned and threw her in the fireplace. Dan and I couldn't stop laughing. Let's hope she treats her sibling with a little more love. 

 I know that she will be a great big sister and I hope that they will be best friends. It's a little sad thinking that our days are limited as a family of 3. Just 3 years ago we were on pins and needles waiting for Charlotte's arrival. It's hard to imagine another little one running around.  Needless to say, there is no turning back now and I can't wait for Charlotte to have a sibling. Hopefully she will feel the same way too!

Pink or Blue?

Reality is really starting to set in that we will have a newborn next month (fingers crossed).  I'm starting to really wonder if it's a boy or girl. From the beginning when we ask Charlotte if she will have a baby brother or sister she says "sister" 95% of the time. Dan is dead set that it's a girl and I'm pretty set that it's a boy. This pregnancy has been almost the same as Charlotte's. People tell me all the time that I'm carrying really high, but I think it's because I'm short and I have a huge baby in me. I'm 5'3" and Dan is 6'8"...watch this baby be little though. Charlotte was born at 37 weeks and weighed 7 lbs 15 oz. So I thought it would be fun to put together a list of old wives tales to see how true they are when Baby T does get here.

1)  Rumor has it that if you are carrying your baby high, it's a girl. Carrying low? Stock up on blue. 

--I'm carrying high

2)  Legends say that if you are having a little girl, she'll steal your beauty. So, if you've got acne and other not-so-pretty skin blemishes, you've got a little princess coming your way. 

--Clear skin over here!

3)  The Ring Test: take off your wedding ring, tie it to a piece of string, and hang it over your belly. If it swings in a circle, you are promised a boy; back and forth indicates a girl.

--Goes back and forth!

4)  Your baby's heart rate might be an indicator of its gender. If your little one's heart rate is under 140 beats per minute, you're having a little boy. If it's over, get ready for your little girl!

--High heart rate every time

5)  Craving sweets? According to some, that means your going to have a little girl. Salty and sour cravings indicate a boy.

--Mostly salty (cheez its in moderation) 

6)  Morning sickness means pink. If you're stricken with a queasy stomach during your first trimester, think ribbons and bows. If you sail through your pregnancy with nary an upset stomach, it's blue all the way. 

--no morning sickness, thankfully

So basically, all these signs point to boy. Only a short period of time before we find out!  I did have a dream that I gave birth to a 10 lb Hispanic baby boy with a full head of black hair. That would be shocking!

Here is me at 32 weeks with Charlotte (left) and now (right).

 I think I look SO much bigger than last time even though I started out about 25 lbs lighter this time. It's really crazy how big you can get....(insert big eyed emoticon here).

Here are some pics of Miss C just because she is cute.

First day of School. It's going really well so far too!

Hi, 5 year old...

Making banana bread over the weekend. She won't eat it but loves to help!

So what do you think, boy or girl??

48 Hours

This has been a whirlwind of a year.  I have been by myself for the past 48 hours (!!!) so I decided to dust of the ol' blog and see if it still worked. So much has happened I'm not even sure where to begin. Here are random pictures and a little glimpse into what's been going on with the Tumis team.

Colorado Aug 2014

Santa Barbara May 2014

Let's start off with "I'm pregnant!" Shocking I know. I'm currently 30 weeks and we are due November. My doctor says this baby will be here in October so if you have asked when I'm due and I say the end of October, that is why. So....this baby better be here in October. I keep thinking I'm further along than I am. Maybe because every.single.day someone asks me if I'm almost due, or that I "look very full". Yes, I'm aware that I look further along but baby is still cooking for a while!  This time around we decided to not find out the gender. I'm getting to the point where I'm getting SO excited to find out what we are having. I love to hear everyone's guesses and I can't wait to meet him or her. By not finding out the gender, it has made us avoid any preparations for this baby. I still have a little time right? So far I feel pretty good. Half the time I forget I'm pregnant until I catch a glimpse of myself. I had to stop running at 20 weeks which was disappointing but I feel a lot better since stopping. My hips hurt so bad when pregnant and running just made it worse. I dream about it every night so that counts right? 

30 weeks with Baby T

30 Weeks with Charlotte

Next on the list of huge life changes: our move to Austin in July. We left the little town of Argyle and are living the city life in Austin. This is an extremely difficult decision to pick up and move our family away from what we have always known but we really believe this was the best decision for our family. We moved for both of our jobs and couldn't be happier so far. Dan's commute went from an hour to 8 minutes. Crazy. We have met the nicest people and everyone has been incredibly friendly. I'm looking forward to the cooler temps when we can really explore Austin more. My job won't start full time until January so I'm enjoying more family time and settling in here at our new home.

Moving day!

Miss Charlotte has adjusted so well to everything. I really expected her to have a big adjustment when we moved and so far she is super happy. She's 2 1/2 and sassy as ever but makes us laugh daily. She can communicate so well which is so convenient!! I can't wait to see her become a big sister. When we ask her what mommy is having she says "baby girl" every single time. She starts at a preschool on Wednesday and I'm really excited for her. The school she went to in Dallas was amazing and I know she has missed it. She will just go a couple of days a week for now. Charlotte runs everywhere and is a constant chatter box. I feel like her translator most days but she's starting to speak so clear! 

2.5 years old

I'll try to update the blog more. I really should, I enjoy writing. When did life get so busy?