La Fiesta!

Our kids are started early on Mexican food!



Emery with her first chips at El Sombrero.



Jesse, with his first bowl of chips during his first trip to Papa's and Beer.

No Contingency Clause Here

I'm glad and I'm sure you are too that my JOY comes from the LORD and not my circumstances. My happiness and peace of mind are not contingent on the every day happenings in the Ladd home.

I just wanted/needed to make that clear. I tend to be a glass half empty kinda blogger.

I have more good days than bad days around here and I don't necessarily blog about all the good ones, because well blogging is cheap therapy! Ha!

And frankly I like to keep it real and I know that when I read that other bloggers/friends are going through the same struggles I am, I feel less alone, So I share my struggles hoping you can feel the same: less alone in the big ol world of mommyhood/wifeness.

Plus rainbows and sunshine blogs are just kinda boring to me and I know it aint tha truth! I know every one's got good and bad days just like me.

So that's my disclaimer. Trust me, I've seen my share of REAL problems, tragedy, loss etc. I have no real problems here. I get that.

My children are my greatest blessings, I want a million more! I mean have you seen my kids? Who wouldn't want more?

Operation: Get Myself Together

I am fruuuummpeeey.

I've got to get it together! Being stuck in the house for a month does nothing for your self confidence let me tell ya!

Not only does my body look like a deflated whale, I'm lucky if I get my teeth and hair brushed every day.

So I'm making a hair appointment to get a cut and some color to hopefully jump start my return to the real world!

For a stay at home mom it's easy to get stuck in the mind set that appearance doesn't matter, because you've got "nowhere to go or anyone to impress". I struggle with this BIG TIME especially after having a baby.

After waiting 9 months for the big day, it's kind of a let down once the baby comes and there isn't this huge life change to look forward to anymore.

I've found myself thinking, "what is there to look forward to now??"

Benji's going to The Masters in April, has his DNow coming up, his beloved turkey season, golf season... TWO beach trips AND Brazil in June, NOW THAT is something to look forward to!

I get to look forward to staying home by myself while he's gone! Yes!

Okay, Okay I know. No body wants to hear me complain. But this is my blog and this is where I am today.

I know it gets better, I know this is my choice and just a season in life. I know how fast it goes. I just have to remember to take it day by day, because if I look at the big picture it gets way overwhelming.

The Best 100 Bucks I've Ever Spent

The best money I've spent in awhile was spent on my new telephono!

I would be for sure crazy by now if I didn't have my new DroidX. It was my "thanks for having my baby" gift.

The best part about it is the camera(and the facebook access of course).

I love being able to snap photos of Emery and Jesse at a moments notice because we all know how fast moments pass with little ones. :)

We are having a great time cuddling and loving on our new baby. AND loving on our new big sister....even though she tries our patience these days, she is still adorable and super loving MOST of the time.

My mom came up this week and spent Thursday with us. She basically kept the kids while I napped and went to eat lunch with Benji. I'm soooo soo so thankful we live close enough to family that they can come up for the day. She helped me so much that day just by playing with Emery and giving her some extra attention.

Boarding School For Pre-School

For realz. Emery is making me CrAzZZZaaaAyY!

She Keeps getting up at night. SCREAMS her head off at her door. She'll scream anything to try and get us to come to her. "I need a spanking!" "Put me back in the bed, right now!" "I got a booger!"

These battles never end. When you get them sleeping through the night on a consistent basis, THEN they start with behavior issues. Which is what I see this as, not a sleep issue but a behavior issue.

The best way we've been able to handle it is to just ignore her, but man that is hard! especially now since there is a 3 week old in the house. Thankfully he still sleeps through it but I know he won't forever.

AND it is super frustrating because she usually does it in between Jesse's feedings, meaning he's awake, then she's awake, he's awake, then she's awake.......all night.

I totally didn't mean for this post to be all about the frustrating side of parenting a toddler but it's what's on my mind at the moment. Jesse is asleep and I sent Emery with Benji to church.

Hoping maybe she'll catch some religion and start obeying us at night!

Welcome To The Family

Here is Emery's first time ever seeing Jesse.

Some how I missed this moment. I think I was still in the O.R. Good thing there's pictures. :)

I love love love this. My heart is so full when I see them together.

Emery had been sick for about a week right before, she was sooo tired, but she was sooo good at the hospital. Such a sweet and patient child. She was really excited to finally meet this Jesse we had been talking about so long.

She was also very interested in how the "Dr. get baby Jesse out of Mama's belly???" How do you explain that to a 2 year old.

We love you sweet Emery, you're the best big sister ever!

Jesse's First Hours

Like I said earlier, this time around the birth was so fast! It was a whirlwind so I'm glad I've got pictures to remember what all went down.

Some of the pictures of Emery seeing Jesse for the first time are so precious and I know I will treasure them forever.

I May Regret This Later

I may regret staying up to blog....haha. Tonight I'm taking the first shift with Jesse. I probably should already be asleep, but I'm gonna try and quickly post a few more photos.

I'm going out of order I know. I'm just going to have to sit down and think more about the hospital pictures and the whole time there, so I'll save that one for a day I have more time.

Emery has been GREAT with Jesse. She loves him so so much. It's been such a blessing to see her with him. I know that for awhile she will help me take care of him, but soon enough he will be taking care of her. He will protect her and stand up for her as her brother. :) Such a sweet thing to think about. My heart almost burst every time they are both sitting with me.

The only thing better than having a kid is having TWO kids!

Jesse Wallace Ladd: Official Blog Debut

Holler! I finally got my computer back. Thank goodness I had just ordered my new phone that lets me access the Internet or I totally would have cracked under the pressure of no facebook for two weeks!

I would have missed all the pictures my family and friends have posted of my new little buddy, what would I have done?

I have so so much I want to share here, tons of pictures from Jesse's birth and first few days. First though I've got to post some of the photos my friend Liz and her photography partner took in our home on Tuesday.

I've been SO BLESSED to have photographer friends and a sister who takes great pictures!

Hopefully I'll post again soon. We are still adjusting here to a family of four. Jesse is sleeping GREAT! Emery is the one we are having trouble with! Ha! She's started waking up again in the middle of the night. I think it's just how her frustration with all the change is manifesting itself. She's been great with him and seems to not be jealous or insecure about him being here at all.

Don't you just LOVE this little man? :)

Thanks To All You Drug Addicts

I'm baaaack!

Had a baby on the 23rd. Once we got home I found out my home computer had virus..boooo.

I have no idea how it got one. I NEVER open anything that looks like crap on facebook, email or anywhere and we have two years worth of anti virus protection paid for. So I've been waiting to blog so I could share some pictures but, I gave up, it wont' be fixed for a few more days so I'm using Benji's work laptop.

Thanks to all the drug addicts out there I came home from the hospital with only 3 days worth of pain medicine, which for me ain't enough people! I am a wimp when it comes to continuous pain. That constant ache and soreness is wearing me out! Hopefully by Monday, when Benji goes back to work and all the family members quit coming around I will be healed enough to make it.

We are loving our little man. Emery runs in the room every time she's been gone and says "I want to see baby Jesse, Where's baby Jesse?" She loves to hold him and look at him. Both our families have been such big help. They've both taken turns coming and helping with Emery and with Jesse.

I'm starting to get a little stir crazy in the house. Ready to get out into the real world again. It's such a lala land time the few days and weeks after having a baby. So many emotions and ups and downs. I have to admit I've had a harder time than I thought with the whole guilt thing. Yesterday Emery said to me, "Mama maybe you can go to the park with me tomorrow?" It made me feel so bad! I started thinking maybe I should have taken her more, maybe I shouldn't have put her in MMO this year, maybe I should have waited one more year to have another baby....etc. YOU GET THE POINT! ughh. She's adjusted better than I have! Ha.

I must say that I adored Greenville Memorial Hospital. I had the best team of people helping out with my C-section. My doctor is great of course, but the people that helped her, the nurse anesthetist and anesthesiologist were so great. I was really REALLY nervous and they calmed me and talked me through it all.

I also am sooo thankful that Jesse came out healthy and strong. I was really anxious about him breathing okay since we had all that trouble with Emery.

I had as smooth as a delivery as I hoped and could not have asked for anything else. I went back to the O.R. a little after 2pm. They got me set up and numbed up with my spinal block. My Dr. came in around 2:30 and Jesse arrived at 2:51! So amazing!

Benji once again watched the whole thing! Ha. The nurse anesthetist was a little concerned about Benji watching, but he proved once again he was a man that could handle watching his wife split open for the sake of his children. :)

So we are doing great, Emery loves being a big sister, I love being a mom of two and hopefully on Monday I will still be able to say the same. :)