welcome reese!

Reese Lydia Shrock 

May 18, 2014

7:20 pm

6 lbs 2 oz

19 in

I think the theme of Reese's life will be surprise. She's been a surprise from the very beginning! We weren't necessarily done having kids, but we hadn't made any plans to have another one yet. Then both Chris just felt like we should wait to find out the gender because it was more fun to have a surprise baby in the delivery room. I had in my mind she'd be a week late, because that was what Todd and Elle had done, but she surprised us by coming on her due date of all days. We had anticipated it being a quick labor because Todd was so fast, but contractions started around midnight Saturday night and we didn't end up leaving for the hospital until 5 pm the next evening. I was surprised at how tiny she was when she was born. I've been surprised at how easy she is to take care of. However, I'm not surprised at how naturally she seems to fit in already. Or about how much we all adore and love her instantly. I'm curious to see what surprises she has in store for us in the future!

A little bit of the birth story for our memories: Once we got to the hospital, it was a fast delivery. The contractions rapidly got closer together and more intense. I had decided to go without the epidural and really there wasn't any time to change my mind once I had refused. Two pushes and she was here! She had a loud squeaky cry and let everyone know she had arrived. Chris was the one who announced the gender because for some reason the doctor and nurses weren't saying anything. They put her on my chest and she stayed there for a long time.

They didn't weigh or measure her for such a long time, that Elle and Todd had arrived by then and got to watch. They got to see her first bath, which I think was good timing for their first glimpses of her. Elle was a proud big sister and wanted to hold her immediately. Todd was a little overwhelmed, and didn't really want to hold her. He was more interested in the birthing ball in the room. He finally came around by Friday and asked to hold her. He loves to give kisses to her, and stroke her head.

We've all been adjusting pretty well these early days. Chris is wonderful to help all the time. He's so good about staying up late with Reese or taking her when she's not needing to eat, but needs to be held. We've been so blessed by everyone's gifts, well wishes, prayers, yummy meals, and visits. It's hard to believe she's already 2 weeks old! I tried my hand at some newborn shots one day in her bear outfit. I have a lot more respect for people who do that professionally. Elle loved taking pictures with her, but Todd was sick and napping so he missed out. Hopefully, we'll get some with him soon.

todd lately

Toddy, Toddy, Toddy! He is at such a fun age! He wants to get every second he can out of life. He's too cute for his own good sometimes. He's incredibly sweet, adores his sister, can't get enough sports, and loves to sing and dance. He's not too little to do anything so he thinks! He loves going to school and walks right in ready for the day. He's very verbal, but he's got his own language, which is pretty much caveman/- the first consonant of every word. But it just adds to his charm! He likes to say his prayers, but you might sit there awhile because he likes to thank God for everything. We could probably learn a lesson there. He loves doing gymnastics and soccer. He got his first big boy haircut last month and he looks so much more like a big boy. He talks about the new baby a lot, and I know he doesn't really understand what's about to happen, but I know he will be a great big brother. I just love him so much!

elle is 5!

I can't believe Elle turned 5 in March! She just finished her last day of Pre-K and it just doesn't seem possible that time is moving this quickly. She has learned so much this year! She loves reading and has begun adding numbers. She loves to write and draw. Her favorites of late are the Tinkerbell dolls, movies, and now chapter books. We have been breezing through the chapter books because she wants to read them all the time. Elle has become really good at her gymnastics and absolutely loves soccer. She's enjoying it even more now that her friends Olivia and Alohi have joined her class. She's a great big sister and plays really well with Todd. They have such a special bond. If he's upset he will choose her for comfort a lot of times. She's very sweet and lets him take a nap in her bed, and a lot of mornings I find them reading together in bed. She prays all the time for the new baby that it will be "safe and healthy". She wants a sister, but I know no matter what she'll be a great big, big sister.

For her birthday this year she wanted a My Little Pony party. She'd been talking about it for quite a while. She was really excited to have everyone over to her new house so we decided to have it at home. We couldn't have asked for more perfect weather! We had stations for each pony: Shutterfly's animal care taking with Elle's vet kit and beanie babies; Rarity's Boutique where kids could color; Twilight's Library in Elle's tree tent that worked perfectly; Apple Jack's Apple Bobbing, Rainbow Dash's  Race where the kids could win cutie marks and Pinkie Pie party blowers, Rarity and Spike's gem hunt in the sandbox, and Pinkie Pie's Sugar Cube Corner with cupcakes for each pony, Twizzlers (Elle's favorite), "Horse Oat" no bake cookies, carrots, and apples. Elle had a blast and was so happy to have so many of her friends and family around her!

mother/son rodeo 2014

We had a mother/son rodeo at church last Friday (or our gang banquet as Katie called it). This was supposed to be last November, but I had to postpone because of dissertation. (If I had a dollar for everything that has been pushed off because of that thing! But I digress and it's almost over!) We got some great help setting up Friday morning from our friends Katie and Olivia, and this time got the set up done with enough time to not be rushed during Todd and I's date.

the set up gang

love this kid!

We went to Chickfila, mostly because I knew he would eat the food and it was close to the church. After eating our grub we headed up to the Mayfair ranch. We had several moms, and an aunt, and some grandmas join us with their cowboys. All the boys were close in age so it made it easier to do the activities and they got along really  well.  It was a really fun night!

My cute date!

This is the fourth parent/kid night and I by this time I figured out get the photos in early or it won't happen. Everyone just gets busy and it gets forgotten about. So as soon as the moms got there I got them to visit the photo booth. I have the parents write letters to their child during the event that usually goes with the theme or as a memoir of the night. While they're doing this they visit with someone who has an older child of the same gender for advice. I take the kids and make a special survey or gift for the parents. And then mail the photos, letters, and surveys after the event to the child for a keepsake.

Katie put together the great background for our photo booth. For the rodeo photo booth we had bandanas, hats, mustaches, beards, lips, sherif badges, and a wanted sign as props.

this kid is definitely wanted!

Our dessert for the evening was root beer and milk, a "happy trails" mix the families could make, and making pie pops together. I thought cooking would be a good activity for moms to do with their boys and pie is a western kind of dessert. I would say forget about the candy sticks next year, and just call them pie pockets because the sticks really didn't work very well. I think the boys had more fun just making them and didn't even care of eating them.

the saloon

"happy trails" mix

the tables

make your own mustache

the "rodeo" activities

the "bucking bronco" or "bull riding" inflatable

stick horse races

rounding up lizards

calf roping

ping pong ball shootout

the results

elle's sleepover plans

One day Elle started talking about this sleepover she was planning. I have no idea where she got the idea. She had a list of friends to invite, and all the activities even centers. (I thought that was cute!) At first I just thought she just was playing, but then several days later she kept talking about it, and asking when we were going to have it. I decided maybe that would be fun, but knew I couldn't handle a bunch of kids by myself. I thought a mom/kid sleepover sounded like a better idea. On short notice, our friends Katie and Olivia, and Jenna and Noah willingly agreed to come over for a Friday night sleepover. We had snacks, played vintage board games, chatted, played with toys, and watched a movie. Those kids stayed up late (except Todd)! The other moms and kids stayed in the lounge on the extra couches and mattresses, and then we had breakfast and played some more in the morning. Elle had an absolute blast, and I was so touched by our friends making her dreams come true! Elle started talking today about another sleepover so I guess we need to hurry up and get into the house so we have plenty of time before the new baby comes.