2009 a year in review

Our family at the beginning of 2009

As 2010 looms ahead, I feel the need to look back on 2009. This year started out so differently than it ended.

In February, Trevor and I started P90X. We were workout machines. We saw changes in our bodies we never thought possible, even in a short time.

In March, on day 38, I found out I was pregnant and things changed greatly.

In April, Trevor's family suffered the loss of his unborn niece, Chloe Grace. It was so very sad and truly impacted Trevor. We never took for granted what a blessing our children are, at any age or stage of our last pregnancy.

In June, Trevor was laid off from his job of ten years. It still seems weird. Thankfully he was pretty busy with his handyman business and almost without missing a beat, he has made that his full time gig. We have been blessed. He has worked everyday of 2009 and has jobs pending for 2010.

In July we had a great family vacation to San Francisco. We also found out we were having another boy! That makes FOUR!

At the Crab House in San Fran

In August, CJ moved to Belton and Kendrick officially moved here to attend his senior year at Elgin High. CJ not being here daily has been really hard for me, thankfully he is close and we see him often.

August marked another loss in Trevor's family. Travis was diagnosed with testicular cancer and after a short battle, passed away on August 26th. This was extremely hard for everyone. We still miss him greatly and our hearts are saddened by him not being here physically with us.

November couldn't come soon enough for me. Pregnancy was rough, especially near the end. We were slated for a delivery on November 16th, but our little guy had different ideas. Hamilton Shane arrived on November 10, 2009. He weighed 9lbs 13oz and completed our family. The past seven weeks have been amazing with him and I have never been more full of joy and happiness as I am with our whole family. Hollister has adjusted to big brotherhood so well and having Kendrick here has been an incredible help.

As we look toward 2010, I know more big things arrive. The year will be filled with "firsts" for Hamilton and come June, graduation for Kendrick. We'll continue to work our business and bind our family. I am excited about what lies ahead...

Our family at the end of 2009

Gingerbread Houses 2009

It's that time again. Our 5th year, let the fun begin!!!

Hollister is old enough to make his own house. I did give him a structure to start with though. He had a small Goldfish box to create his house from. He knew what to do and he was aware that candy was involved this year too. He loved his little house, until he saw the big houses.
Maybe next year...
CJ's house:

Kendrick's house turned into a sports complex. Can you tell we are a divided household?

Mom's house

Trevor's house: Check out the basketball goal on the shed.

Trevor mastered the roof, check out these supports. And, he actually used a real tool to spread his icing. I think he has a sickness, really.

Santa Claus is comin' to town....

And he has NEVER been cuter!

5 weeks old

Wow, having a newborn keeps me very busy, I feel like I never have time to update stuff, so here we go....

Hamilton is 5 weeks old today. He had his 1 month check up yesterday. It was a little late due to our spur of the moment trip to Dallas last week. Thank goodness Aunt Mandy was there to help us. She helped me stay organized and sane.

Last Tuesday, the boys and I had dentist appts. Trevor was in Dallas working. We were on the phone and Trevor missed us greatly. So, wild hair, I packed up the younger boys and headed to Dallas for the week. Kendrick stayed here and went to school. Fun for him, huh? Actually, he LOVED it. He was home alone for 4 days. He was quite the home maker. He did laundry, made muffins, cleaned his bathroom and did his laundry. He even washed his bed sheets!

Hamilton did great in the car. I was so glad. My kids HAVE TO BE car riders.... We did have to stop for a feeding, but then it was back to sleep.

We were very fortunate this trip. We were able to see a lot of family.

This is Peyton. She and Hollister are 5th cousins (we think). Peyton is the granddaughter of Trevor's second cousin, so if we lived in Arkansas, they could date. They live near Dallas and we were able to visit them and play. Peyton is almost 5 years old. They had a blast together. In this picture they are fishing. She had a kitchen with plastic food and it was HUGE hit with Hollister. He played for hours. Maybe he'll be a chef one day.

Aunt Kim
Coincidentally, Kim was in Dallas for a shopping trip. It was perfect timing!

We came home Saturday and had more family time. Trevor's youngest sister is in town from Colorado to visit.

Aunt Mandy

The whole family here in Elgin.... Uncle Josh and Aunt Nikki
We had game night with family and friends and dinner together one night as well.

In Dallas, the boys and I met up with one of my sisters and her youngest, John for some play time at the mall while Trevor worked. This way, we were not in his way or bored. At first John was asleep and Hollister wouldn't play on the toys. They both warmed up though and had a blast. The play area was all about Looney Tunes and loads of fun.

What's Up Doc?

He LOVED this tongue slide for some reason.

My little Stinker!

John, the daredevil. He is on top of Tweety's head.

These are the "tongue's" toes. I thought this was so cute!

And, last but not least, this is what Hamilton did the whole mall trip.

Just plain freaky!

It is just plain freaky how similar these two boys are! Check out the left arm and leg, both out to the side and the head pointed the exact same way. My husband can truly clone children!

Aren't they precious!

3 weeks old

Hamilton is 3 weeks old today. He is getting bigger and bigger everyday. He eats, sleeps and poops. That's about it right now.

He is starting to be awake a little more each day, but mostly, he is awake at night still and sleeps during the day.

Hollister is doing fantastic as a big brother. He wants to share everything with Hamilton and is always wanting to give him kisses and see his eyes. Becoming a big brother has been a very good thing for him.

Thankful for my turkeys

Last year I didn't want to make a long list of all I was thankful for, it just seemed so cliche'. So I posted this instead. Fun and totally appropriate in our home.

This year though, how do I not talk about everything I have to be thankful for? This morning, I drank coffee and held the most precious 14 day old baby while listening to my older 3 laugh and giggle. How does one even express thankfulness for that?

I am blessed, well beyond what I deserve and trust me, I am thankful....

Bath time, Big Brother, and BUCKS!!!

Hamilton hasn't lost his umbilical cord yet, but he still needs a bath. This was his first "sponge bath" at home. He did not like this experience at all, but he sure smelled good afterward.So handsome!

Hollister continues to be a great big brother. He also continues to be silly and make us laugh. This is him in his "Santa" hat, but we think he looks more like an umpa loompa.

I have also talked a lot about Swagbucks on this site. Well, I wanted to show you what I have gotten by just using my computer and using the search engine, Swagbucks.

I got $40 off of this FABULOUS car seat from Target, just by playing on my computer! Instead of "googling" everything, I use "swagbucks" and earn points and then redeem them for prizes. I redeemed Target gift cards and was able to use them towards our new car seat. On top of the gift cards, I had a 10% coupon and got this seat for HALF PRICE!!!! It was sooooo easy.

All you gotta do is click, sign up, its FREE and you NEVER get junk mail from them, just "bucks"and then prizes!! It really works and this car seat is proof!
Sign up today!!!! Earn free prizes just for doing what you do everyday, searching your computer!!

1 week check up

Today Hamilton is ONE week old. He had his first Dr.'s check up and I had a quick check up with my Dr.

Hamilton left the hospital at 9lbs 1 oz. Today he was 9lbs, 12 oz. That is one ounce from his birth weight. This kid can definitely eat! He is in the 90%tile for his weight and height.


My check up was also great. So far, so good on the incision. Of course, they weighed me.... well I am thrilled that in one week I have lost 25 lbs. I AM THE BIGGEST LOSER. It felt great. I have much to lose and need to get "back in shape", but for today I am basking in the fact that I am 25 pounds LESS than I was a week ago! The other great news is my blood pressure was AWESOME!!!! Yes, I am on meds, but that's the point, right!

Hollister also had a check up today. He was a great big brother though and made sure Dr. was treating his baby brother right.

The story of Hamilton's birth

Labor:
I had some serous contractions at lunch on Tuesday (11:45am), bad enough to shut me up and make my upper lip sweat. It was kind of embarrassing. My team partner insisted on taking me to the hospital where Trevor met us. He was covered in paint, literally and in south Austin. Ironically, he beat us to the hospital which is only 8 minutes from my work. We took our time I guess. LOL

I realized that I never took the "last"maternity picture. Trevor took this one, even with all the lumpy monitors under my robe!

Exam time 1pm:

I was 90% effaced and dilated to a 1. Since I was scheduled for a C-section AND my doctor was on call (thank goodness), I was kept there for a c-section after "office" hours. Which means, they let me stay in labor. Hmm... I have never done this thing they call "labor", why start now? Man, it was not fun. I had some serious contractions and never really was seen by a Dr. There were times when I really wished I had just gone home to rest and thought, "staying pregnant isn't a bad idea".

Birth time:
The Dr. arrived at 5pm. We went into the delivery room at 5:13pm. Hamilton was born at 5:46pm.
I was never checked again for dilation, and I am thankful we were still able to have a c-section. All went well and since it was planned and my Dr. was on call, I was relieved. I won't say I wasn't nervous about the whole thing, but I knew it would all be fine, eventually and it was... The following video clip will prove that.
Hamilton was 9lbs 13 oz.... in 6 days (his scheduled arrival, he would have easily been 10) Who cares now though, he is here and HEALTHY!

Recovery:
This was a really rough time for me, honestly. Hamilton was with Trevor in the nursery, I didn't see him for quite a while. I was very uncomfortable from the C-section and the tubal ligation. yes, this is it for us. Then, the real fun began because after having awesome blood pressure throughout my pregnancy (for the most part), it got really bad afterward. Again, at this point I am thinking, "I should have just gone home and rested. Why did I come to the hospital?"

1st time seeing the baby:
Hamilton was awesome. I was able to nurse and he latched right now. The boys made it to the hospital by this time and they were very excited. Hollister was cautious and wanted to see him, but also wanted to be close to his "Nenick" (aka Kendrick) My first thoughts were that Hamilton looked exactly like Hollister at birth, which he does. My second thought was Hollister is acting exactly like I thought he would. He was wound up at the hospital and couldn't stay for long.

More blood pressure woes:
My blood pressure was not stabilizing which was frustrating. I felt fine and by about 10:30ish... I was actually super happy to NOT be pregnant anymore and actually have this precious baby here. I was glad I didn't just go home and rest.... Lots of "drugs" helped with these feelings LOL

High blood pressure complicates things...
It sends doctors and nurses into a frenzy, not to mention my mom. (But she wasn't really aware what was going on)
I was put on medicine, lets just say yuck! I was kept in Labor and Delivery instead of being sent to a postpartum room. This really wasn't so bad. We were right door to the nursery, the room was huge, the nurses were great. I was monitored constantly.


Time to see baby:
Hamilton came in my room one more time for about an hour to eat. Again, he did great. Then he was gone... it was weird.... I saw him one more time in the middle of the night and then, again he was gone...
By morning, I just kept him with me. With all the craziness, I felt like I had this baby, but he was never with me. I didn't get much rest though. But I sure did get to love on that boy all day. We had lots of visitors and lots of time together.
My blood pressure was okay. I was expected to go to a postpartum room that night. Unfortunately, after moving all our stuff, getting rid of the catheter, I.V., and using the bathroom on my own, well my blood pressure was back up and they wouldn't move me. I was more than a little upset and frustrated. See, I felt fine. this blood pressure thing isn't new to me, I have had it during pregnancy with CJ, and at my 6 week check up with Hollister. So, we spent another night in Labor and Delivery.

Finally, some action was taken by the right person....
At 7am the next morning, my fabulous, wonderful, amazing Dr. came into my room for rounds and IMMEDIATELY took me off the yukky medicine and got us sent to the other room. She knows me, she knows what I need and she gets it done!

We spent one more night at the hospital and were sent home Friday afternoon. That story... well, how 'bout...

to be continued.....

note: I don't know why the video is on here twice, please ignore... I am too tired to try and figure it out.

The early bird...

He came early..Hamilton Shane Hodges

born: 11-10-09
9lbs, 13 oz
20 inches long
5:46 pm

I will really have to work on updating, time seems to have lessened in the last four days, but it is not flying by and that I am thankful for. I am trying to soak in every minute and not rush this experience. I will try and stay updated though and get the most precious pics out often.

Should I worry?

We (finally) pulled out a lot of baby stuff the last few days. I completely forgot how many clothes we had! Thank goodness though, I am finally feeling more prepared.

Hollister is going nuts. He is really into it. Not sure for the baby though, or for himself. He keeps saying things like "that looks fun!" or "I remember that!" Its really funny. So, last night he decided his "gog" (dog) needed to be in the baby swing. He even gave him a blanket and a drink.

Only time will tell if he's as sweet to the baby as his "gog".

Halloween of course....

Halloween 2009 was big for us. Not sure why, but it was...

Had to make the most of our youngest pumpkin! I wore this to school Friday, it was so fun!

We know Halloween is for kids.


Hollister had 2 Batman costumes. One for day care, one for trick or treating. This was the day care one. Its pajamas, which is great. He can wear it anytime!

Cookies for the day care party.

This was Batman #2, he even let Trevor paint his eyes. It worked out nice, because the mask didn't stay on long.

This is Batman and scary Daddy. Not sure why, but apparently men like mask. Trevor wore this while trick or treating. Hollister was unphased by it, Mommy kept her distance.


Our original idea was for me to be a "golf ball" and Trevor to be a golfer. Well, the golfer outfit didn't pan out because it was harder to find "knickers" than we thought.

So our game plan changed.... We became a priest and pregnant nun. We also decided to throw a party and go out on the town. Friday we went to Cool River in Austin for some fun. Man, it was interesting. We had our picture taken many times.... thank goodness people took it as funny....

We also saw some interesting costumes.... People are so creative...



Us and our neighbor Eva before Cool River.

Saturday night we had the neighbors over for a party/BBQ. Things get so crazy when everyone comes over, I forget to take pictures. We had tons of great costumes, but sorry, no pics of the kiddos... WAH for me... Of course, their is always plenty of food.... Aren't the mummy dogs cute? Thanks, Eva for making those. We had pumpkin cake and cookies, spider cupcakes, edible eyeballs, the list goes on and on.

Isabel, aka. super girl.... one of the only 2 girls in our clan. Even our neighbors have lots of boys.

We trick or treated which was great fun. This is actually our first time to "neighborhood" trick or treat. In the past we have gone to the local malls. It was loads of fun. It was nice to be with our friends and their kids.

Our older boys passed out candy while we walked. Another missed photo op there. It was nice to have them help us out. Our neighborhood has a zillion kids AND apparently we are one of those neighborhoods people drive to. Hollister and his good "pal" Jack together. Hollister was really into going to the "next house" for more candy. Didn't take him long to figure out how it all worked.


Kristy, our neighbor, awesome Cleopatra... her make up was awesome, should have gotten a close up. But by then, I was sitting on the couch with my fat feet elevated!

Afterward, we headed to 6th street. Yes, I took my 37+ week pregnant self downtown to 6th street. It was incredibly crowded and what comes to mind to say about the costumes is, "only in Austin" We chose a bar and stayed put. It was really a lot of fun. I was even actually able to put my feet up. I also was not the only pregnant person down there, and not even the only pregnant nun... furthest along, yes... but not the only one.

Funny thing is, many people asked if the "bump" was real, both nights. We would never have chosen those costumes if we didn't have the real thing. LOL

Trevor thoroughly enjoyed himself as well. Years of not celebrating this holiday have been unleashed. He is already planning next year....