Two Months

Jack! I can hardly believe that you are already two months old, little guy! The days and weeks have been moving faster and faster. We're finally settling into a routine, as chaotic as it may seem. Still don't have you on a nap schedule. I'm not sure if I will be successful in that before I go back to work next month. You're not sleeping through the night yet, but hopefully that will happen before I go back to work, too.

There are many sides to our little Jack. We've named some of them.

There's Slumber Jack. We love this one :) especially when it's nighttime and mommy and daddy want some rest.

There's Pepper Jack. This one is probably the most common right now. You're a feisty little kiddo. Not the most content baby, but we still love you. We did find out that you more than likely have the milk protein allergy your sister ("sissy") had, so that may have been contributing to some of your grumpiness. I have cut dairy out of my diet. Hopefully at your two month check up on on Monday we will find that we were successful. You still are quite peppery. You don't know what you want, just that what you currently have is not good enough, be it in mommy arms, on the floor, in a bouncy chair.

And there's Happy Jack (also lovingly known as Jack Attack). We LOVE Happy Jack. We're finally getting to see more of this, but you can flip in a second to Pepper Jack. You really like to lie on the changing table. I think you like the big window nearby. For all the screaming you do, you are a pretty quiet baby when you're happy. You open your mouth real big and love to smile, but you really don't talk or coo. Maybe you can't get a word in edge wise among me, daddy, and sissy! Soon enough, I'm sure. You enjoy to have smile-offs with daddy and playing here comes the mouse with me. You really like tummy time. You've fallen asleep a few times on your tummy, so you're quite comfortable there. You are very strong. You have been since you were born. Great neck muscles. You can already roll-over from tummy to back, but you only do this when you're really angry about being on your tummy. You absolutely adore your sissy. You can be fussy and when you hear her, you stop and look for her. If she walks away, you get upset. You love kisses and hugs from her and have even leaned in to rest on her shoulder. I find it amazing that there is already a bond between the two of you. I hope that you will always have that special bond and treasure each other.

Jack, you're an amazing little guy, cranky or not. I love you so very very much. I love your spikey dark hair. I love your little ears. I love your big eyes, button nose, and cute little mouth. I love how you snuggle into me as you do with no-one else. I love that you know I'm your mommy and you find comfort in me. I find comfort in you - you are wonderful. I love you, always.

2 Month Stats - 12lbs 6 oz (75th percentile) ~ 23 Inches (50th percentile)

Mrs. Rose: Thank you for my new hat!

Love Always, Emma

One Month Old

Mr. Jack, you are one month old today! At times, this month has flown by so very quickly, at other times, it felt like it came to a screeching halt.

Bringing you home has been a significant adjustment to our family. Your "sissy" Emma has been having trouble adjusting, but we will adjust soon enough.

You, my little man, are a fussy baby. You are generally more times fussy than happy, but we still love you. You love to be held, which is hard when we're trying to get you on a schedule. It is so much fun to hold and snuggle you, though. I just love watching your little face as you sleep. You make these sweet sweet smiles and sometimes you have a little laugh. It's quite funny. You also love your pacifier and you are quite content sucking on it at all times.

I know as our family adjusts to being a four-some we will have so much fun. I cannot wait for the weather to warm up so we can get outdoors and play!

Budsy, I love you so very much. I'm so thankful God has blessed us with you.

Less Than Beautiful Words

Well, Jack will be 4 weeks old on Wednesday. By this time with Emma Grace, I had written numerous posts gushing over my beautiful newborn and how wonderful it was to be a mother.

I feel so terrible that I currently have only one post about my beautiful newborn and have nothing in addition to write that would be beautiful and moving as to how wonderful it is to be a mother.

I hope that Jack does not take this one day as I do not love him as much as his sister or as deeply, rather it's a sign of our life right now. We are struggling. I don't feel like a person right now, much less a mother, wife, or daughter. We have been battling the last 4 weeks with our new life, making adjustments and flat out trying to survive.

Jack is beautiful and such a gracious blessing, but Jack is a crier. He fusses...a lot. He hasn't completely grasped the concept of feed-wake-sleep or that at night we feed and sleep. That makes it hard. As a baby Emma quickly took to the nighttime schedule, which helped us with our sanity. She did struggle with the day time schedule, so this will be work with Jack too. It's so much harder to get on a schedule with two. The day revolves around Em's schedule, and it's sometimes hard to get Jack's schedule to fit in. It's also difficult, well impossible, to let him cry it out since sissy's room is right over our bedroom. So, we're struggling with having a newborn again that LOVES to work his lungs.

Then there's Emma. Little Emma. Everything I ever did to my parents and all my feistiness is coming back to haunt me ten-fold. Emma is seriously struggling with the new addition. She loves Jack and tells us that all the time. She wants to help with him and wants to check on him and kiss him, but she resents us for bringing the kid home. It now takes us almost two hours to get her to sleep at night and it's a constant battle. And naps...you can forget about those. I've heard more screaming, yelling, and crying in my house the past few weeks than I have from her the past 2 1/2 years. Dusty and I are struggling. We are at a loss as to how to handle the situation. We've talked to experts. We've talked to friends. We've read and read and read. We've hit bottom.

And I'm sorry this post has been anything but beautiful words about motherhood. I needed to vent. Crying just isn't doing the trick. I now completely understand that being a parent IS the hardest job you'll ever have. I didn't completely grasp that statement. Oh I thought it was hard before the arrival of our newest addition, boy was I ever wrong. This has been the hardest 4 weeks of my life, hands down.

I hope that in the next few weeks I can turn my helpless words into beautiful words of how wonderful motherhood is...we'll see.

Baby Jack's Story

Jack Brannon Crane joined our little family, the afternoon of January 12, 2011, at 2:45PM weighing in at 7lbs 7oz and 20 inches long. This is the story of his journey.

Late in the evening Sunday, January 9th, Chattanooga received the most snow it has seen since the 1993 Blizzard. Of course, Dusty and I went into panic mode. Our due date was two weeks out, but I had gone to the doctor the previous Wednesday and was almost 4 cm. We had scheduled an appointment for the following Wednesday at the office, but the doctor told me to pack my bags and bring Dusty because if I was 4.5 - 5cm, she wasn't letting me go home. With all of that said, we felt like we were just a ticking time bomb, waiting for Jack to start his arrival. When he woke up late that night and saw the condition of the roads, Dusty became sick to his stomach, literally, and could not sleep. The next morning, we worked and played and tried to take it easy, in fear of helping Jack along. Our neighborhood roads were impassable for the ol' swagger wagon and CRV. Dusty scouted some neighbors with 4x4s, so that made us feel a bit better.

Needless to say, we made it to Wednesday with no labor drama. The office was delayed in opening 2 hours, which worried us. We were supposed to get in right at 830. Now we weren't sure if our appointment was still scheduled. We kissed our sweet Emma goodbye and made it through the ice up our hill to get out of the neighborhood. Off to the doctors. Both of us just knew that it was going to be the day. If it ended up not to be, we weren't sure what to do! We were as mentally prepared as you can be at that point.

At the doctor's she confirmed that we were 5cm and said we're going to have this baby today, very excitedly. She immediately sent us over to Women's East and ordered everything. This being my 2nd experience with labor, I had already decided epidural was the way to go. What's the point not to, right? We got to the hospital and they immediately got us to our room, got fluids going with me and some pitocin. By 11:45am I had my epidural. I felt bad, the anesthesiologist kept saying, this will make you feel better, but I wasn't feeling a thing!! At 12:30pm my doctor showed up to break my water. I was at 7cm at this point, and still no contractions. This is when I count that labor really started.

She broke my water and it all seems quite quick and blurry from here! I started having contractions, but could not feel them with the epidural. Dusty and I kept watching the screen to see where they peaked, how long they were, and how far apart. They went from inconsistent to really close together in no time flat. Around 1:45pm the nurse said she'd be back around 2:30pm to check me. I laughed and told Dusty I was aiming for 2:51pm jokingly, since that is when Em was born. Around 2:00pm I started feeling some intense pressure and realized it was coming with each contraction. I debated on calling the nurse and finally I had an intense NEED to push and we called her. She checked and immediately called the doctor. Then she looked at me and told me to cross my legs. I chuckled, was she serious? She looked at me and said I'm serious. From 2:25pm to about 2:35pm, with my legs crossed, I fought the urge to push - which was very intense by this point. I think I about pushed apart the bed. Just before my doctor had left at 12:30pm she told me not to make her run across the parking lot because of all the ice...oh well.

So the doctor arrived at 2:35pm and by 2:45pm I was holding our brand new baby boy, Jack. That was a grand total of 2 hours and 15 minutes of labor, with 10 minutes of pushing. I was so thankful for the speediness of labor and delivery. I had worried because my first labor with Emma had not been terribly difficult, so I just knew this one was going to be bad.

Jack is amazing. As a 2nd time mommy, you wonder and worry how you will ever love another individual as much as you love your first born. It's amazing how God gives us the ability to continue our love, just as strong as you had for the first.

God has blessed me with my sweet and precious family and continues to bless us. I am humbled beyond words.

Welcoming Jack Brannon

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Christmas with the Cranes

It's so magical to experience the spirit of the season with a two-year old. We've had such a wonderful few weeks preparing for Christmas in our house.

Emma was very excited to decorate the Christmas trees. She helped with all three. We have one in the living room - our "grown up" tree that has coordinating ornaments, etc. Emma carefully placed the snowflakes and berry twigs. Another tree can be found in the playroom/den - this one is a Nutcracker themed tree. Emma had great fun decorating the tree, placing each of the characters from the ballet, making sure that they all had chocolates hanging nearby. The final tree is in Emma's room. We were going with snowflake ornaments, then Emma located some huge plastic Christmas balls and a Blues Clue ornament to hang on the branchnes. It is quite the tree!!

This season has been full of firsts for Emma, even though this is her third Christmas. We enjoyed baking and decorating cookies together. She made sure to put on her apron from Auntie Rel and pick out just the right cookie cutters. She also picked out blue icing (very festive) and decorated each cookie herself.

Watching the cookies bake.

Mmmm...icing.

The finished product.

Emma had her first Christmas Program at Preschool and sang lots of songs. Her favorite was Jingle Bells. Of course, being the proud parents we are, filmed it all. Emma even hit a note on her own at the end of one of her songs. Too funny. Maybe she'll be a performer like her mommy and daddy.

As Christmas grew closer, we talked about many things about the day. First and foremost, we talked about how this was the birthday of Jesus. She is quick to point out any Baby Jesus that she sees in mangers as we drive. We also bought a Little People nativity set in which she has let all the animals in the house join in on. She has also been asking quite frequently, as she did to GiGi one day at her house when looking at tree, "Where's Baby Jesus!?" At the Christmas Eve service, she made sure to bring in her little people Baby Jesus so she could hold him through the service since we were celebrating his birthday.

We also talked about Santa Claus. Emma hasn't been too sure of this guy (just like her mommy was). Any time we talked about going to see him and sitting on his lap, she would say, "No ho ho." When we'd ask her if Santa was going to bring her toys, she would say, "No ho ho. Baby Jack and Mommy and Daddy bring toys." As we got closer to Christmas, she started to talk more about Santa, even calling him Santa instead of Ho Ho. She decided that she wanted him to bring her a Jessie doll from Toy Story 3. On Christmas Eve, she was so excited to track him across the globe. We made food for the reindeer and filled it with magic sprinkles to help them fly. After church we sprinkled it through the yard. That night, she made sure to set out cookies for him (as well as milk and ice water). In addition, she wanted to make sure the reindeer were refreshed. We had to put a bowl of water on the porch.

Tracking Santa Claus

Making Reindeer Food

Reindeer Food!!!!

Ready for church.

Excited for Christmas!

Spreading reindeer food in the yard.

Christmas Eve with cousins Audrey and Natalie.

Cookies for santa.

Being very careful with the milk for santa.

Also needs ice water.

Making sure reindeer are satisfied too.

Christmas morning came and we had SNOW!! I think Dusty and I were more excited than Emma, this being our first white Christmas in Chattanooga. Emma came downstairs, just taking it all in. First she checked to see if Santa ate the cookies. She was quick to note he didn't finish them all. Then she remembered the reindeer and ran out to see the bowl. They had drunk all of the water and left some of their food in the bowl with their messy snouts! Then we said, check your stocking. So she slowly went back over to the fireplace and saw none other than Jessie sticking out! The look on her face was just priceless. It melted my heart!

Jessie doll! Of course we had to go get our Jessie hat that Gigi and Pop brought back from FL.

We opened the rest of our presents and enjoyed a nice breakfast with family. Then it was off to build snowmen in the yard. We got about 4 inches of snow! How wonderful!

View from the front porch

Emma's snowman

Yes, for those of you that know our house, we're not standing in front of it. Used the neighbor's snow!

This was absolutely an amazingly beautiful Christmas for so many reasons. I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful family, with such an amazing daughter and husband who never cease to amaze me in all ways possible.