As I said when posting the above photo on Facebook the other day, I don't think Kross was too happy about being Brennen and Kenidi's new sidekick at that moment. At least you wouldn't think so anyhow. LOL! Actually, he was more ticked off that I sat him down for 2.2 seconds - just long enough to capture that picture. Yes, he is S-P-O-I-L-E-D with a capital "S!"
Either way, I wanted to share the Etsy shop/seller where I got the adorable little lap tee from that he is wearing. Beings that I am sharing my new "favorite finds" in the baby department this week, I knew I had to share this one too. I love personalized items and this shirt really made me smile when I saw it. It came from Irena over at SimpleWear. Not only was Irena willing to add two names to the shirt for me for both siblings to be included but she had excellent customer service and lightening fast shipping. I couldn't have been more pleased with my order from her. She carries very cute personalized onesies for little ones. They would make a great baby shower gift or new baby gift in general. You should definitely check her store out. Oh and her prices...very reasonable. This little lap tee was only $16.50. Gotta' love a good deal and a great gift all wrapped up in one. Thank you for everything Irena. I'll definitely be back for more in the near future. :)
And before we sign off, here is just a candid shot of Kross snoozin' the other day. He loves his little lamb bouncy seat. Fun fun fun! Until the next favorite find post, I hope everyone has a very Happy New Year and stays safe on New Years Eve tomorrow night. We'll be celebrating downtown on 5th Avenue for the evening. Praying the new year brings you lots of happy days and many wishes granted! Much love, Angie & family
I promised each of you that I'd be sharing some of my new "favorite finds" in the baby department over the next few posts. This just happens to be one of those posts devoted to a new favorite product that we are using here in the Seaman household since Kross's arrival. It's called the "Puj tub." If there is one thing I detest it is big bulky things that take up way too much room in my house. Thus why I was on the search for a decent baby bath tub this time that wasn't the size of Texas. Que the puj tub. The puj tub is not only light weight and little enough to fit in any size sink successfully, it is also storeable - completely flattened and non-invasive when it comes to taking up space.
As you can see by the image below, Kross loves his Puj tub. This is him getting his bath the other night in my bathroom sink...(Ignore the white balance being off in my camera for all of you photogs. LOL!)
The pictures below are ones I found on the internet. They give you a great idea and visual word picture on how this awesome baby tub works...
This tub feels like a rubbery foam material. It can be hung when storing (which is how we store it) and then it folds up and clicks into place when ready to use it.
The series of shots below show you how to place it in the sink when ready for use. It takes mere seconds to click it together and get it ready for use. LOVE!!!
I personally love how the tub conforms and cradles your baby allowing you to wash him/her with both hands free. You can store the tub by hanging it on the back of a door or something when finished using it. The water dries off of it within minutes due to the foam material. The foam protects your little one from the cold feeling of a normal plastic baby bath tub. This tub was an incredible product for a c-section mom like me. It allows me to bathe Kross without having to bend and lean over a tub following my surgery. This tub is suitable for newborns up to 6 months.
Again...Kross is happy and content in his. That makes Mama a happy girl too...
The puj tub will run you approximately $30-$40 new. I found ours online and am so glad I decided to go with it over any other bath tub.
On that note, I'm off to finish some laundry. We discovered a great app on my iphone today called "white noise." It has a blow dryer sound which helped put baby Kross right to sleep today. That one app allowed me time to do laundry, unload/reload the dishwasher, shower, take the Christmas tree down, etc. It was a God send. So...while we are discussing some of my newest favorite baby finds, check out the white noise app if you have an iphone and a new baby. It's amazing! Now, if there was just an app to keep his big sister quiet while he is sleeping, we'd be doing GREAT! LOL!
I'm also off to lather up in aloe vera lotion. Two nights of tanning after having not tanned in 9 months left me looking like a total Florida tourist right now. That or a lobster that escaped from the bottom of the ocean. I AM FRIED! And before anyone jumps my case about it...I only tanned for 10 minutes each night. Needless to say, this tanning spa has great - very strong beds - and I am one pasty white ghost. Put the two together and you have a "tourist" look going on. Sooooo not pretty. Nor does it feel good on your back, legs, and stomach when trying to sleep. Add a scratchy nursing bra to the equation and life really sucks. It's a darn good thing I remembered to cover my incision site with my towel and my nipples with my nursing pads. #Iamasmartgirl! Ha ha!
What a great photo of Daddy (Brent) and Kross together, eh? Kross was just about to doze off for an afternoon nap following the opening marathon with the kids Christmas gifts. Christmas was nothing short of amazing. It was truly our best Christmas ever. The grandparents spoiled our kids - and myself - r0tten - not that I'm surprised. I keep telling them I'm going to disown them if they keep this up. Unfortunately, they still don't seem to listen. I missed being home with my Dad and Cathy again this Christmas but thank goodness for Skype. We were able to "see" them on Christmas day and my Dad was even able to show us the snow falling outside via his computer screen. Technology today is simply amazing.
We celebrated our Christmas as a family of five that morning and then my Mom came over that afternoon and we celebrated with her as well. Someone left me a blog comment the other day asking if my Mom still lived here in Florida near us. The answer is yes. She lives about 15 minutes from us. Unfortunately we don't see her as often as we'd like due to her work hours but it's great knowing she is so close either way. :)
Of course we had a real Christmas miracle that afternoon as well. I cooked! Yes, you heard me correctly...I cooked. As many of you know, I don't tend to cook much in this house. It's rare - very rare. However, I couldn't stomach the thought of more turkey or ham on Christmas day so I opted to cook some lasagna for our Christmas dinner. It totally hit the spot!
I went to the "electric beach" tonight for the first time since February. It felt soooooo good to have a little faux vitamin D warming my skin. Color does fantastic things for ones soul. I am so pasty white from having been preggo and not going to the beach in the last couple of months due to the incredible heat here in Florida. My pregnant self couldn't stomach that heat without getting nauseated. Now that I've delivered and I'm feeling better, I hit the tanning bed and bought a package to get me thru the next couple of months. Boy just that one session did my body good. I reallllllllllyyyyyy needed it. LOL! i also really need the "gym." Ha ha! I have two more weeks before I can get back to regular exercise following my c-section. I'm sooooo ready to tackle that too. I feel good about 2011 and I'm planning to make some big changes health wise.
Lastly, on another note, many of you have asked me to share some of my recent "favorite finds" surrounding baby items that we've found to be helpful now that we have a newborn in the house again. I know it has been forever since I've done a "favorite finds" post. Instead of doing one massive feature with tons of items in one long post, I thought I'd feature one item per blog post for a while. My first item that I wanted to feature is our stroller and car seat travel system.
I don't like giving reviews on things I don't use so please know...the things you see featured here are things we actually use and really have had great luck with. This stroller and car seat are one of those products that I could rave on and on about. Beings that I hadn't been pregnant in 8 years, I really took the time to research all of the products we bought this time. I spent hours - literally - pouring over strollers and car seats. In the end, I ultimately decided on this Chicco set. The pattern was one that we couldn't get from the stores. It had to be specially ordered online but it was a very simple process. The pattern is gorgeous and one that we've gotten stopped about a lot already or had just random compliments given about it. The stroller itself is extremely light weight which I love. It also has great upper compartments within the tray and cup holder area. It has a very spacious basket area underneath for big packages. Love that! The car seat is wonderful as well and also houses a superb base for the car. Brent really liked the fact that the car seat base has a leveler inside it to ensure that the base and car seat are level once installed. My favorite trait of the travel system itself is the fabric and color scheme. I really like the silver, black and yellow together with a hint of white. This set normally runs around $330 but I happened to find it online a bit cheaper at Babyage.com. Click HERE for the direct link. Babyage was a fantastic company to work with. They shipped the stroller and car seat to me within the same day of me ordering it. I had the whole kit and caboodle within 2 days. I was thoroughly impressed with Babyage and their prompt shipping/customer service as well as their prices. I will definitely be ordering from them again in the very near future. If you are in the market for a new stroller or car seat, check out chicco's keyfit 30 travel system. And should you be in the market for any new baby items in general, check out babyage.com. They won't disappoint! For now, it's almost 10:30pm and I'm signing off and headed to zzzzzzzz land until Kross tells me otherwise. Stay tuned for more "favorite baby finds" to come in the next few days. Until then, enjoy your week. Much love, Angie
Nine months ago I never even knew I wanted him. I never realized that I needed him. God apparently did though. Now that Kross is here, we can't imagine our lives without him.
Who would have guessed that Kenidi would ever be a big sister? Honestly, I never thought I'd see the day. It just wasn't in the cards for us - so. I. thought.
We've got three rock stars now. When I look into my rear view mirror in the car these days and see three children in the back seat instead of the usual two, I'm still blown away by it. I'm in shock that I'm a Mom of THREE at this point. Amazing stuff! I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm crippled by gratefulness this Christmas. I'm weak with emotion - raw emotion - regarding how mysterious God works. We are so very blessed.
We are joyfully welcoming our newest rock star this CHRISTmas season...
This is Kross's birth announcement. It couldn't be more fitting in my opinion.
It's 9 minutes after midnight on CHRISTmas day. This "Santa" is behind in her wrapping. I must sign off and finish a few more presents that need placed under the tree before my three rock stars wake in the morning. :) From our home to yours, may this CHRISTmas be your best & most joy-filled CHRISTmas ever. I know without a shadow of a doubt that it is for us. Happy birthday Jesus! Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I think this was probably the longest I've ever gone without blogging. Can you tell that all of my "new baby help" has gone back home and I'm trying to find a routine now that my lazy butt is on its own again? Yeap, after being waited on hand and foot by my Dad and Cathy as well as my Mother in law, Debbie...my world is being ROCKED as I dive back into real life again. Brent's mom went home last Saturday so Brent and I have been learning to hold down the fort on our own yet again. I know this sounds crazy but I swear having three kids is waayyyyyy harder trying to stay organized with 2. LOL! I feel so out of whack and as if I am chasing my tail constantly to try and keep up. With two kids, I had this party down to a science. But for some strange reason, now that we have three kiddo's...I feel totally out of control and sooooo NOT organized. Maybe that feeling of nailing a routine will come eventually but right now...I suck at running this household in an efficient manner. Hey...on a good note though...at least I was organized enough to get my wall art finalized with three gorgeous 16x24 canvases of my three blessings from God (shown in the top photo above). These are proudly hanging in our great room. I managed to get those ordered not only for our great room wall but these same three photos now grace my Dad and Cathy's entry way wall and Brent's Mom's wall in her house as well. The grandparents wanted canvases of their grand kids and so they got them. When it comes to fulfilling those wishes, I clearly don't suck! I followed their orders and efficiently had those puppies shipped and delivered to their doors within a week. They received them a couple of days ago and all was well with the world. Each grandparent loved them. I'm sooooooo glad!
These pictures are some out-takes that I took of Kross in the past week. Over exposed and totally not professional quality but I still had to share them. I have a ton more pictures to come but these are the only ones uploaded to my computer thus far. Between trying to finish my Christmas shopping, finish the wrapping, and just stay awake in general due to late night newborn feedings, my butt is dragging. I just now managed to get over to the nail salon tonight and get my wretched nails filled in after 3 weeks of them looking like I took a sledge hammer to them. It was my first chance to break away and get them whipped back into shape after being on post baby lock down for 21 days. I had planned on going tanning for the first time tonight too but I found myself missing some lil' 8 pound short boy after only an hour of being away. My nail appointment was enough - I had to rush home after that because I was going into convulsions due to withdraws of being away from that little hunk of newborn sweetness. I'll tan tomorrow. :)
I took Kross to the store with me today to finish some last minute gift buying and we ended up getting mobbed by all of the "snowbirds" that are here in town for the winter. Every 3 feet, one of the elderly stopped me and ooo'ed and awwww'ed over him. They were all so very sweet - one gal even telling me that he looked like something straight out of a magazine. Needless to say, albeit worrisome because of germs, they made our afternoon. I now understand why the pediatrician warned me about just staying inside though.
As I type, I take every few minutes to stop and stroke this cute little guys ear. It's so soft and so precious. He's asleep in my lap as I blog. I think about Christmas this year and what a beautiful gift God has given us. Who would have ever guessed that HE would be our present for 2010? What a gift he is! Another over exposed image but just had to share...
Christmas is going to be spectacular this year. I've got everything I've ever wanted laying right here in my bed with me right now. All three of my kids are sprawled out and lounging with me as we watch "Eclipse" for the 1000th time on Apple TV. OK OK...well maybe one thing is missing - one person I'd like to have wrapped and under my tree this year - but I don't want to be greedy. Robert Pattinson would be a nice added extra if God really wanted to bless me this year. HA HA! Edward under my tree would really be the kicker to a FAB year, wouldn't he? Boy oh boy...you can tell my strung out postpartum brain is really fried at this point, can't ya? Hey...a girl can wish, can't she?
Speaking of awesome guys...my husband scored some brownie points this Christmas. He got together with two of my photographer friends here in Naples (Thanks again Megan and Alvaro for beings so sneaky with him) and found out which photography light set I'd been dying to have and then ordered that said light kit as a surprise for me this Christmas. I am now the proud owner of the Alien Bee 1600 flash unit as well as an innovatronix battery back-up for it to use on location during my shoots. I realize this doesn't mean jack diddley to most of you but lets just say that the hubs scored some major brownie points for this set of gifts. :) I can't wait to get out and use it.
Speaking of said awesome spouse, we are hunkering down getting ready to watch a different movie on apple tv for the evening. Speaking of movies, if any of you are on Christmas break and want to watch some good shows while off, rent "The Town" with Ben Affleck. It's an incredible movie - LOVED it! We just watched it twice over the weekend. We also saw the movie called "DEVIL." Although somewhat freaky, it leaves you thinking long after the movie is over. It centers around sins in life and how forgiveness can change things. I wouldn't call it a "scary" movie but more less one that just kind of freaks you out a bit. On another note, I watched "The other guys" this past weekend too. I thought that movie was as stupid as stupid gets. I wouldn't waste your time seeing it if you haven't already. Dumb! Just plane dumb! I love Mark Wahlberg and Eva Mendez but was so disappointed in their roles in that film.
Until the next post...Merry, Merry Christmas to each of you!!! XOXO, Angie & family
It's Tuesday morning. Around 10:30am. I'm watching Kross sleep beside me on my bed. He loves my pillows. He curls up like a little rolly polly bug next to them and hunkers down to zzzzzzzzz land as if sleeping was like hitting the lottery for him. Brennen and Kenidi are at school. Brent's Mom is up and about working on more of our laundry for us as it seems this house has nothing but laundry now. It's almost like someone suddenly says..."Oh you are a family of five now - well guess what - that means five times the laundry now too." BLAH! God knows how much I detest laundry. I avoid it like the plague. I'm good about getting it into the wash and into the dryer but folding it in a timely fashion and putting it all away is my weak side. I suck at that part. Suck really bad!
Today is the first day that I've finally felt like the real "Angie" again. The antibiotic the doc gave me over the weekend is definitely working and my swelling is almost completely gone now. I actually have ankle bones again and my toes no longer resemble snausages dog treats. Life is good! Although exhausted, I'm feeling much much better. I get released to drive again come Thursday. I can't wait to put Kross in the car and just drive down the street, along the coast/shoreline and smell the beach filled sea salt air again. I'm like a trapped rat right now - ready to go all rabid on anyone willing to go head to head with me. I don't like to be held down nor do I like to be out of control. I suck really bad at that in life too. I'm a "do-er" - not a sitter/squatter. Thursday can't come soon enough.
Because I love the perfect imperfection of scaly newborn skin, toes, and fingers...I thought I'd share Kross's lil' hands and toes today. He is such a shrimp - so very tiny. His fingers and toes are no different. In the pictures, he looks wayyyyyy bigger than he really is. Even my Mother in law commented on how tiny he was compared to what she was expecting after seeing his pictures. They always say the camera adds 10 pounds. LOL!
Speaking of that, I got to watch a slide show video of Kross's birth session from the hospital yesterday that my friend Megan made for us. She took all of the images that she captured and rolled them into an amazing video for us coordinated to music. It is truly the most beautiful slide show I've ever seen. She captured so many things that I would've missed with my own eyes that day had she not been there. I watched the video over and over again. I bawled like a baby. Not only were the images of Kross's arrival spectacular but I loved the shots she captured of things like my Dads hand holding my arm immediately following the surgery. A zoomed in shot showing nothing but Kenidi's hand locked with mine in the hospital bed. Shots like the one where Brent leaning is leaning over me in the hospital bed with a huge smile on his face as he stroked Kross's face for the first time. She captured some of the most heart wrenching tender moments amongst my family and I that I've ever seen. Brent watched the slide show from work and quickly emailed me back with an email that just read only these words:
"Crying...with Kleenex. You look beautiful! KK and Brennen are so precious."
I got his email and cried some more. That was after I'd already literally cried my eyes out while watching the video alone the first 50 times. He was right - Brennen and Kenidi were absolutely precious in the slide show images. Especially Brennen - watching over Kenidi while they awaited their baby broters arrival. He is such a nurturer with her and it really showed - A LOT - in this slide show Megan made for our family. It was like raw footage of the beginning of a life merging with those who've come before him (my parents, my other two children, his Daddy, etc.) Megan captured images and angles that helped to tell the story in a fabulous and very sentimental way. I wish I could share it with all of you but my big as a house appearance should be spared. No really. I was three times my size in those images - swollen to the max. I'll keep that video private for now. Maybe someday. I got on the scales this morning for the 2nd time since giving birth. I have 12 more "baby pounds" to loose before being back to my pre-preggo weight. However, the havoc wreaked on my bodies appearance in general will take months to return to normal. Months with a whole lot of walks on the beach and a whole lot of clean bland no fun foods. I'm up for the challenge though. I have to get some head shots taken for my website, for the magazine I'm doing work for and I've also done a stupid thing by promising Brent that we will have a family portrait done this year with the five of us. He is demanding that we get one done and I had to fold and comply. He's right - it's been too long since I've been in front of the lens myself. I'm ready to own that and make good on my promise to him. It's a scary thought - one that makes me want to vomit. However, I gave my word. I'm working on more new images of little "K-man" as well as Brennen and Kenidi. Now that I'm feeling better, I'm working on images for our Christmas/New Years cards as well as for Kross's thank you cards. My lab that I use for my client orders recently ran a Christmas special over the weekend with a huge discount code so we went canvas-ordering-crazy in our house this week. I'm finally getting my portrait wall pulled together of my kiddo's. I can't wait to share it and the canvases in general. My parents even ordered three new canvases of each child during the sale. They saved a ton by doing it when I placed my orders so it was a win win for them. Keep in mind - I'm an only child so my kids are my Dad and Cathy's only grandchildren. They wanted photos of each of them for their great room walls. I'm excited to see them hung up in their house when we go back home next time. (Hopefully over Spring Break if the planets align properly) :)
Kross is still sleeping so I'm off to finish paying some bills while I have the down time. Fun stuff - bill paying. Highlight of our lives, eh? As they say, life must go on. Enjoy your Tuesday. I'll be back with more pictures soon. Much love, Angie
ONE WEEK OLD - NAPLES, FLORIDA NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHER
It's Saturday afternoon. I just said good-bye to my parents as Brent walked them out the door to take them to the airport. They are headed back to Indiana today. Needless to say, I'm an emotional wreck. After a year of living here in Naples - apart from them - you'd think it would get easier to say "until next time" but it hasn't. If anything, the departures get worse. Of course it's bad today because I'm dealing with postpartum hormones that make me crazy sappy too. My Dad and Cathy were such a huge help over the past 11 days. Cathy did every stitch of laundry in my house the whole time and even wrapped all of my Christmas gifts for me that I had shopped for so that I wouldn't have to bend over and wrap them myself following my c-section. Her and my Dad made multiple trips to the grocery store for us as well as Target - getting food and such things as newborn items for me that I needed for Kross. They cooked for us at least once a day - sometimes twice a day while here too. Food like homemade dumplings (one of my favs), Cathy's famous chicken salad (another one of my favs), her chicken burritoes that ROCK, and so forth. In a nutshell, we are completely spoiled now and will be going thru some serious withdraws as they make their way back home to cold Indiana. I miss them already. My heart aches to have them here with us all of the time - to watch Kross grow - just like they did every week with our other two children. I have tremendously involved parents and the same goes for their grandparent roles. Unfortunately they won't get the chance to watch Kross grow as they did with Brennen and Kenidi. In the meantime, AMEN, Hallelujah, and thank you God for Skype! :( My problem is that not only do I have very loving and supportive parents but I also have "fun" parents. I mean how many other Dads do you know that will walk the "maxi pad" aisle with their daughters and laugh with her while she jokes about how gross "pads" in general are and how I don't have a clue which ones to buy for the "after child birth" fun. We laughed together as I told him that I should've sent Brent in here to buy them for me just to embarass him. :) How many Dads do you know that will help talk their daughters into a hospital suppository when she has gas pains so bad from surgery which kept her constipated and unable to barely move following a c-section. My Dad talked me into it and gladly left the room when they came in to administer it. LOL! Just keepin' it real peeps. Not only that but he walked the hospitals hallsways with me during those first few times they had me get up and walk following the surgery. He walked slowly and supportively with me - as he always has - during those night time hours when I was trying desperately to feel like "Angie" again so I could go home a day early from the hospital. How many Dad's do you know that you can nurse/breastfeed in front of and not feel "weird." I'm close with my Dad - very comfortable with myself and my life around him. Why? Because he has always put me on such a pedestal as his daughter. He helped give me the self esteem and the self confidence to reassure me that I am good enough in this world. On a funny note, he had me "autograph" all of the magazine layouts/spreads that I've photographed for recently and have had published. He wanted his own copies to take back to Indy with him. I signed one of them like this: "To my buckethead Dad...thank you for being my biggest fan!!! I love you so much! ~Angie"
My Dad makes me feel worthy. He lets me know how much I am loved just by his constant show of encouragement and support for me. I can't thank him enough for teaching me that "I've got this." (whatever "this" might be from day to day in this world.)
As you can see, I finally got out my camera yesterday and managed to snap some images of Kross by himself. It was the first chance I've had because of a lingering fever and flu like feelings since this past Monday. After a quick follow up at my OB's office on Thursday, she determined that the fever isn't from my surgery or incision and that it could either be a normal virus coming on or the start to something surrounding breast feeding. Earlier today, after the last 24 hours of a very sore throat and raging hot/cold, hot/cold, hot/cold chills and such, the doc called in an antibiotic for me in hopes of curing strep throat if that is what I have. Brennen and Kenidi had it last week so it only makes sense that I could now have it as well. Of all times to get sick. UGH! I go back to the OB on Monday to get the results of some blood and urine tests that they did as a pre-caution. Either way, Kross is great - and is such a good baby. He is becoming more and more alert with each passing day. His beautiful blue eyes make my heart melt and the love our other two kids have for him is just priceless. I've said it before but I'll say it again...we are so very blessed!
Due to feeling so crummy, I haven't blogged or photographed much at all. I'm hopeful the antibiotic I started today will take care of that and heal me right up. I got in some really cool newborn photography props yesterday and I'm dying to use them with Kross. That child really has no clue what he is in for. LOL! #PhotogMama :)
We found out that the pediatrician thinks Kross was weighed wrong at the hospital the day he was born. When he had his first follow up visit this week, his weight was 7lbs. 14 ozs. I knew he didn't feel like my other two 8 lb. babies did. He is such a little peanut - so very tiny compared to what I'm used to. He's nursing well - although still struggling to latch on pain free for muah! I'm confident that he will "get it" eventually. For now, I just press on - grinning and bearing it - when he does latch on. After a few seconds, he is where he needs to be and it doesn't hurt as bad. We are tag teaming it together - so far so good. The pediatrician said he has the "Kurt Douglas chin." Too cute!
As Brent dropped my parents off at the airport, he was also there picking up his own Mom, Debbie, for her arrival. Perfect timing! Debbie is now here and will be here helping us from tonight thru next Saturday. I don't know what I'd do without all of their help. I'm so thankful for all of them. My Dad just called to say that they got to see and talk with Debbie briefly as she was getting off the Indy plane and they were getting ready to get on it. The plane she flew in on is the plane they fly back on. Deb left cold weather and snow for sunny Florida today. My Dad and Cathy are unfortunately leaving here and headed back to that arctic Indiana chill.
For now, I'm off to go dry my eyes, wipe off the mascara that I've cried off from my Dad's departure, and veg with the family now that my Mother in law is here. I will be glad to bust out of this house come Thursday when I'm released to drive on my own again. I'm going frappin' stir crazy at this point. I also don't want to take Kross out and about for another couple of weeks at least. Therefore, we've been totally cooped up. Thankfully, I'm braving a photography shoot with my fellow Photography Naples peeps this coming Saturday. We are photographing a band on the streets of downtown Ft. Myers. It's going to be a new challenge - photographing a band - and I'm sooooo up for it. It will be my first shoot since my c-section so I'm praying my abdominal muscles hold up nicely for the event. I've missed being able to lay on the ground and shoot from angles while on my stomach sooooo bad for the past 9 months. No matter what...I'm just ready to get out and photograph again. Poor Kross is taking the brunt of my down time. He'll detest the camera by the time he is 2. LOL!
Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend. Much love, Angie
PS...Just when I finally quit crying and get all of the mascara off my face, my Dad texts me this...
Kross Anthony Seaman entered this world at 7:38am on December 2nd, 2010. He weighed in at 8 lbs. 11 oz. and was 20 inches long. The above picture was taken on the way home from the hospital Saturday while in his car seat. Yes, my doctors ROCKED and gave me a pass to go home a day early. I was only there for the typical 48 hours instead of 72 as usually enforced with a c-section. The pediatrician and my OB had to approve my departure after only 48 hours in the hospital given that I had a c-section. I was so thankful. Being stuck there - away from my other children - is tough. Baby Kross and I were extremely happy to bust out of there early. :)
I've gotten so many emails and so many facebook posts with questions so I'm going to try and touch on all of them. First off, we've been bombarded with love and support from all of you. We can't begin to thank everyone enough. I was in tears at one point as I sat reading all of the posts and CONGRATS messages from you guys. My heart is so full at this moment and all of you really helped me get there. I apologize for not blogging sooner. The hospitals internet was down for 2 days while I was there. JUST MY LUCK! I went thru some serious withdraws during that time. I couldn't even get the emails off my phone because we couldn't pick up a working wifi in the hospital. It was such a pain.
I got to the hospital at 6am last Thursday morning. By 6:30am, the nurse I had got my IV in my wrist on the first try and I was a happy camper. THAT NEVER HAPPENS! I told her that she was my hero fo' sho'! LOL! At 6:45am, they had me walk back to the OR - in a gown that didn't fit my huge body which left me almost showing my backside to everyone I passed in the hallways on the way there. It wasn't a pretty sight. I promise you. I hopped up on the OR table and of course the room was freezing. They made Brent wait outside until after the spinal was administered. And who did I get for my spinal anesthesiologist, a "training student." Oh yes...you read that right. The person who gave me my spinal was a resident in training. Talk about anxiety. The young man had a hard time getting the needle in the area where it was supposed to go in my back but thankfully the head anesthesiologist was there to help him slow down and re-work his steps - eventually accomplishing what we all came there for. I was SURE that I'd either end up with a spinal headache or some sort of freak out once the numbing began after his inability to land the spot on the first try. By the grace of God though, neither of the two happened. Funny enough, during the process of him trying to get the needle in the right spot of my back, I looked down and realized I still had my iphone in my hand. The OR nurse looked at me and said, "You gettin' ready to call somebody?" We all just started laughing. It was too funny. They took my phone and handed it off to one of the nurses as they laid me down and stretched my hands/arms onto the boards beside me. Thankfully this time my hands weren't locked down during surgery. Due to my heart condition, the team of anesthesiologists had a bit of a time getting my heart rate under control before they began the surgery. They wouldn't allow Brent into the OR until they got me stable. After adding several doses of additional medicine into my IV line, they assured me they had me stable and where they wanted me. I was beginning to get nervous because I could hear everything they were saying above my head and I think that only made matters worse. Brent was eventually brought into the OR and was able to sit down beside me - up by my head. He stood up a few times to grab some photos over the curtain like this...
Sorry for the gory shot. I know some of you weren't expecting that and are about ready to kill me now. LOL! However, what an amazing picture. This is literally Kross's first breath of life and Brent captured it. Although gross, it makes me very emotional when I see it. My stomach is filleted open like a fish here but I move quickly past that and on to the emotion his little face exudes as he enters this world. God is soooooo good! The doctors had him out of my stomach within 10 minutes of being in the OR. Once they cleaned him up a bit and weighed him, they brought him to me. I was instantly in love - as all Mothers are when they see their children for the first time. I was able to kiss him quickly and then they took him and Brent up to the nursery together. I remained in the OR until they were finished stitching me up. It seemed like that part took an eternity. All the while, I was praying for God to make me more comfortable on the operating room table. The spinal was something that scared me a bit and I'll admit that I was fearful of it and it's effects. I had moments of feeling as though I couldn't breathe very well but it was more so due to being congested rather than the symptoms of the spinal. I was given oxygen to help that feeling subside but at times I felt it only made it worse. Once they finished in the OR, I instantly began shaking. It was that uncontrollable shaking from the anesthesia. That lasted in the recovery room for about 30-40 minutes before it went away. They had every warming device on me possible. Brent was able to come down into the recovery room with me for that hour. My memory of all that is vague. The whole process was like an out of body experience for me. The anesthesiologist even played Christmas music off his ipad in the OR during my surgery. Therefore, the song Silent Night will never be the same for me ever again. As that song played along in the background, my mind wondered into this surreal place - listening to the OR machines beeping and the doctors talking about Christmas gifts they've gotten their family members as they cut me open & sewed me back up. I stared at the ceiling and all of the surgical "blue" shades in the room for the longest time as the Silent Night song drug on and thought...this is like something out of a movie. Like I'm not really here. It totally felt like an out of body experience as I concentrated on praying that God would make the process go quick and that he would help me to remain calm even at times when I felt it was possible to have a panic attack on the table. The power of prayer is an amazing thing. That mornings events proved no different. Between all of your prayers and mine as well, God walked calmly beside me and I survived the ordeal that I had dreaded for 9 long months.
This image above is one I just had to share. It was taken by my friend Megan in a photojournalistic approach. The shot is of Brennen - looking thru the nursery room window - anxiously awaiting the moment when he gets to hold his new baby brother. Megan's image shares so much emotion here. I just love everything about it. His reflection in the glass, his emotion that is so prominent and so forth. I'm very thankful that Megan and my friend Rochelle were there to be my "eyes" that morning beings that I wasn't able to see these moments myself. What they captured on camera for our family are priceless memories and many of them I would've never seen had they not been there to document the morning for me. Thank you Megan and Rochelle. Both of you ROCK! I can't wait to see the rest of the images you guys captured. :) We are now home and three days into this new reality of becoming a family of five. How sweet it is! My parents are here and I'm in heaven. The picture below is one I took yesterday while Kross slept on my Dad's chest for almost 2 straight hours. He was so very comfortable there. To see my Dad with him melts my heart. As all of you know, Kross now carries my Dad's middle name (Anthony). We were thrilled to honor my Dad with this surprise when we learned I was having another boy. Dad keeps calling him "LT" for fun. (Little Tony. My Dad goes by the name Tony.) Speaking of his name, I'm so glad to hear all of the awesome comments about Kross's name. You guys really expressed how much you love his name and how different and unique it is. I am so thankful to hear that the name we chose was a huge hit. Many of you have asked for me to explain how we came about that name. Truth is, I've had that name in my head since Kenidi was born. If Kenidi would've been a boy, she would have been named Ashton Kross. However, she turned out to be a girl so we went with Kenidi Grace. :) I've always loved the name Kross though and basically just came up with it because of my love for crosses. Many of you know I collect crosses and somehow that name just clicked for me when I thought of it one day about 8 years ago. I also felt like it could be my own way of giving glory to God for such an amazing blessing. The love for that name never subsided and it turned out to be an easy name that Kenidi could pronounce as well. Therefore, it just stuck. We felt like it was a good fit. So...Kross Anthony Seaman it is. Not only does Kross fit his look well, but he carries the name "Anthony" very well too.
Unfortunately, I'm moving very slow at this point. I'm still very sore from my incision and my legs and feet are swollen up like an elephant. No joke! They are HUGE. I put a call back into the hospital today to ask them about the swelling being so bad still at 5 days out. I'm hoping it is all normal and that it goes away QUICK! I can't stand that swollen up feeling. Because of being so uncomfortable, I've had very little time to capture many images. However, I'm hoping to change that this week. I've got lots of newborn props I hope to try out on Kross and also plan to do an impromptu shoot with him and my other two blessings from God int he next couple of days. I will share all of them once I get them taken and uploaded. I can't wait to share Kenidi and Kross together. Kenidi is madly in love with her baby brother and refuses to leave his side. Same with Brennen though. We actually fight over who gets to hold him next. Ha ha! Yes, he is already waayyyyyy spoiled. Kenidi has been very motherly to him and helps me pat him on the back when he needs burped and does things such as hold his hand while I'm changing his diaper. She is in heaven. We've noticed her having a couple of "emotional" moments here and there when the attention wasn't directly on her but those come and fade fast. Overall, she is doing very well with his permanent status. Brent and I are trying very hard to keep her up on the pedestal she is most familiar with and the top priority we've always made her. We sent photos to her teacher at school today of her with her baby brother as well as some photos of just him alone. Her teacher emailed me already today and said they put the photos up on the projection screen so that she could show off her new baby brother. The teacher said Kenidi "beamed" when she saw the photos come up. Again, God is soooooo good to us. Although exhausted, I'm still standing after these first few days. I'll slowly adjust to this new normal and hopefully get in a new routine that flows well for our family. Most importantly though, I couldn't be happier than I am at this moment. My God is a BIG BIG God and I'm proud to serve him.
Thanks again to all of you for your prayers, cards, calls, emails, well wishes, CONGRATS, gifts, flowers, etc. Your words have left me very emotional and so very thankful for each of you. Stay tuned. I'll be back soon with a new post and lots of new images to share.
Much love and many thanks. XOXO, Brent, Angie, Brennen, Kenidi, & Kross
