More pics of Chamae Rose

Here are a few more pictures. DeAnna is already getting around much better, she's just short a few hours of sleep! Chamae is already a GREAT sleeper. She slept for 4-5 hours straight last night, but the doctors/nurses kept coming in and out so DeAnna was unable to get the same amount of rest. She is feeding really well which is a blessing since we had quite a few problems with Donovan the first time around. She is very sweet and has a pathetic whimper for a cry--it's adorable :) It's been very nice having Mindy (DeAnna's mother) around to help out with the kids and to lighten the load. Thanks to everybody for your love, thoughts, and prayers.

Of course I had to stage a picture with my baby girl and a soccer ball :)

Donovan and Chamae--he has already offered to carry her for us! He's going to be a great helper and brother.

Our happy little family just got bigger!

Chamae Rose Silvey

Born 6:35 pm, December 30, 2010. 7 lbs 4 oz, 20.5 inches.

More pictures to come in the next couple of days. I don't have my camera cord here at the hospital. She looks a lot like her big brother did...just smaller! She came in 2 contractions, just a few pushes. We're all in love with her! Donovan is already very proud of his little sister. PS-the Ch is a Sh sound.

Christmas!

It was really nice to have Brad home for most of the week before Christmas. We were able to relax and hang out together, but got a little bored after a while. I tried to plan at least one thing to do every day, but I always end up exhausted at the end of the day so we didn't do much! Plus it's hard to get out and do things when it's cold and yucky outside...for me at least. We did get the carpets cleaned which is one thing I had on my list to do before baby girl's arrival. It's so nice having a clean carpet! Thank you for doing it Bradley and thank you for letting us borrow your carpet cleaner Hiatt's!

On Christmas Eve afternoon we headed over to the Hiatt's to have Donovan and Mason exchange gifts. We got Mason a new imaginext guy and he got Donovan a Dr Kit. Everytime we go over there he plays with theirs so now he has his own. So far I've been given 3 shots today and he's checked my temperature twice.

They were both happy.


Cute boys. They don't get along as well as they used to, but they still get excited when they get to be around each other! That feeling usually doesn't last long, Donovan doesn't follow along with what Mason wants to do very well anymore. They like to get into silly arguments and end up yelling at each other because Donovan has to contradict everything Mason says...whether he's right or not. I think they enjoy upsetting each other sometimes.

After a wonderful dinner over at David and Joyce's, we came home to open our Christmas PJ's from my parents. There was snow on our hill again this year, but we made it up without any problems! Thank goodness! I think walking up that stupid snowy hill this year would have put me into labor.

Donovan LOVED his pajamas. Grandma Mindy did a great job picking them out. He put them on that night and didn't take them off until the day after Christmas!

He thought the webs were wings so he was running and jumping all over the place telling us he was flying.

We have video, but the files from our cameras are too big to post on blogger. Grandparents can watch it when they come to see the baby.

Brad was excited to have some pajama pants that fit him. My mom doesn't always get the right sizes, ShayLea and I often get pants that end up being too short. That's okay though, it's always fun!

I told my mom to get pajamas from the clearance rack because she was threatening to quit getting them for everyone, so she did...can you tell? They're a little short, but they are pretty comfy:)


Donovan had a great Christmas this year. Brad and I had decided to make it about Donovan this year, but ended up getting each other something too. Once again, Brad won for getting the most thoughtful gift. He got me my Kitchenaid! I got him a zip-up Colts hoodie. He says he loves it, but I feel pretty bad that I didn't get him something better. Donovan got plenty of new games and lots of fun little toys and arts and crafts stuff (scissors, paint, paper, etc). His big gifts were a remote control car and a little kid camera. The camera doesn't take the highest quality pictures, but he enjoys it because it's HIS! He also got plenty of cool socks! That is all he asked for, cars and cool socks.

Santa put a harmonica in his stocking...he loves it.
His new camera. He was excited for 3 seconds and then asked where the next present was.

We had an extremely lazy Christmas Day. We played all of Donovan's new board games and toys and watched Christmas shows.

He also got slippers and has been wearing them around for the last couple days, but he's also very excited about the boots Mason is letting him borrow for the winter. We sent him in his room after his bath to get his underwear on. Brad walked in after a few minutes and found Donovan putting on the boots...without any underwear. Thankfully he was able to convince him to put some underwear on. This was the pose he gave Brad.

We hope everyone had a great Christmas! I'll be taking the laptop to the hospital on Thursday so hopefully we'll at least get an email sent out with some pictures. I'm hoping she decides to come out at a decent hour so Donovan will be able to come see her. He's getting really excited, but I think he's a little nervous at the same time. He's been soaking up every minute of his time with mommy and daddy.

Baby Time

Most of you heard via Facebook or text, but I have an appointment set to be induced on Thursday, December 30. I'm a little nervous, it seems really soon, but I'm also getting really excited to have her here! I didn't think I would be induced early this time. I basically asked the doctor how long I would have to wait past my due date to be induced and he said, "You don't have to wait that long if you don't want to, we could induce anytime next week." So I basically just picked a day! I think he was being kind because when he checked me he asked me if I was extremely uncomfortable. Apparently her head is pretty low. I feel a lot of pressure, but it's not necessarily painful. Anyway, that is why I'm being induced early this time. Not much of a reason, but I'll take it! I figured this way my mom could make plans to be there. It'll be nice to have my mom there for the birth of at least one of my children. Now we're just hoping this little girl doesn't decide to come a day or two before because now I'm planning on having my mom there with me!!

Donovan

My big boy Donovan decided he needed to take a shower this morning, so I thought I would take the opportunity to type out his birth story. I don't even have it in my journal, and I don't think I've ever really shared it with anyone besides maybe my mom. It wasn't anything miraculous or totally horrifying, but I think it should be documented for his sake so I'll try to remember!

My doctor wanted to induce me at 38 weeks because Donovan was getting pretty big and I had been dilated at a 4 and 90% effaced for a while with no other signs of labor on the horizon. That really wasn't an option because Brad was going to be a few hours away at a coaching liscensing camp for about a week. So we held off until the day after Brad got back hoping I wouldn't go into labor on my own. Joyce was concerned so she and David had me stay at their house just in case I went into labor in the middle of the night (this was at a time where we only had one car and Brad had taken it with him). They provided me with a nice, relaxing weekend. I'm still grateful to them to this day! (Joyce is actually the one that got me thinking about all this, she was talking about Donovan on Sunday and remembering that week before he was born and how perfect he was when he arrived) Anyway, I didn't go into labor and Brad got home safely Sunday night just in time for us to try to get some rest before we had to get up and head to the hospital the next morning. I remember driving to the hospital, it wasn't a long drive, but I remember being really nervous and telling Brad, "I don't think I'm ready for this." His response, "It's too late now!" He's usually much better at telling it like it is than trying to make me feel better about things...but that's okay, it really is one of the things I love most about him and he's actually getting better at trying to calm my anxiety and silly fears. After we got to the hospital they asked us a bunch of questions about insurance and other things (thankfully I had started a job in July of '06 that provided insurance and I got pregnant in November of '06...we were very blessed!). The nurses were really great and we just hung out for a while and tried to get some rest before they started the pitocin. Shortly after they started the pitocen, my Doctor came over to break my water. That was an interesting and slightly disgusting experience. After that, the contractions got stronger. I was having a hard time resting and I guess I was moaning a little because Brad called in the nurse so we could see if I could get the epidural. About 15 minutes or so later, the anesthesiologist was there. I had to close my eyes and turn away so I wouldn't see the needle, but of course Brad had to tell me it was huge. It wasn't too bad and I was able to relax for a while. After a couple of hours I could start to feel my legs and being a total wuss, I pushed the button because I was terrified to feel anything! I finally got to a 10 and started pushing before the Doctor P got there. I think I pushed for a little over an hour. It really didn't feel that long. We kept them all pretty entertained. I would start to push and Brad would say something that would make me laugh so I would try to keep pushing through the giggles. Brad swore he wouldn't watch, but once he caught a glimpse of Donovan's hair, he couldn't look away. He decided it was actually pretty awesome. I don't know if she was serious, but one nurse told us we were a pretty good team. Brad was cheering me on like he would one of his players, maybe that's what she meant. I had a hard time taking it seriously so everything he said made me laugh. When he finally arrived, Brad had a huge smile on his face and I had big tears in my eyes. He was a beautiful little boy with almost black hair. He was perfect. The first picture Brad took of him was by a soccer ball...does that shock anyone? He was 8 lbs 3 oz, 21 inches long. Everything went smoothly and he completed our family for the time being. He went to his first soccer game when he was 4 days old and has been a permanent fixture at home games ever since! He was a pretty good baby and he's a great little boy, even though he tries his mommy's patience and likes to push his limits! He's still as sweet and snuggly as he's always been. He's always been a great jumper, ask anyone that held him after he was a few months old! He still jumps nonstop! He is extremely active and loves to be around other kids. He's very excited about having a little sister. Yesterday he said, "I'm excited for my sister to come. And I'm going to be so proud and I'm going to give her lots of kisses." I just hope he's past his stuffy, runny nose when she gets here so I'll feel okay with him giving her lots of kisses! We love our little Donovan and wouldn't trade him for the world! As I'm typing this, he's wearing his soccer socks and multiple pairs of underwear. At least they're not on his head anymore and he's covering his cute little bum.

Gingerbread Houses, etc

On Tuesday, we had Papa Sam(he's been out here working in Lincoln), Lenna, Hannah, Mason, Addi, Jordan, and Jordan's niece Chamea (who also plays at Iowa Western) over for chili and making gingerbread houses. I was a little stressed out when I couldn't get to the store until after 3 (see Tired post), but it all worked out and I was even able to straighten up a little before people got there. Brad also got home a little early and helped with the cleaning. I think it was a success. The boys enjoyed it. It will be a fun little tradition. No offense to anyone, but I think it might just be our little family next year...it's a lot of work!! I don't know how my mom did it with 6 kids every year! The cleanup alone was enough to put me in a coma that night! Thankfully Brad is very helpful and cleaned up most of the gingerbread stuff.

Maybe someday I'll be awesome like my mom and make the gingerbread when Donovan and his sister are old enough to appreciate it! For now, we'll stick with graham crackers.
I think Donovan's favorite part was squeezing out his own frosting.
I don't think he understands the concept of loading it up yet. I'm sure that will come next year since he's been able to pick something off of it every day since. Some may think that's gross, but I don't really care, he enjoys it and I think he'll be just fine:)

I know I've been complaining a lot, but I'm actually feeling pretty good now. I'm tired and sore of course, but I think I can make it 2 more weeks without being too miserable. Brad is being very cooperative with the naming process. He finally opened up a little about it last night without being silly (very rare to have even a semi-serious conversation with him) and we feel the same way about naming her. We're trying to find a name we can imagine calling her all the time, but it's really hard to imagine. None of the names we've found have really jumped out at us. It was pretty cute last night when he was explaining how he felt about trying to imagine holding her and saying, "my sweet little...." It's pretty much exactly how I feel. There are so many names I like, but it's so hard to imagine actually using any of those names every day. I do remember having second thoughts after naming Donovan, but that has grown on me and he is definitely a Donovan! I guess we really shouldn't stress out about it, just pick a name we both like! Maybe we'll pick 2 or 3 and decide at the hospital. That's what we did with Donovan. If anyone has any name ideas, feel free to send them our way :)

Tired

I'm starting to complain a lot. I'm exhausted. I seriously need to go grocery shopping today and made the mistake of going to Hobby Lobby to pick up some frames for Brad's office first. Donovan decided to be a hooligan and I had to chase him down once in the store and again in the parking lot. I was not a happy mommy, especially since I'm 37 weeks pregnant and I really want to make it to my due date. That boy is going to put me in labor early. Instead of braving the grocery store, I brought him home, fed him lunch and made him take a nap. I'm hoping he decides to behave a little better when he wakes up so I can get to the store today. We are in need of food! I needed to go yesterday, but ran out of time and energy...if I don't get it done today, it won't get done until Brad gets home from work tomorrow and we'll have to eat out or something. I have Addi the rest of the week and I'm way too tired and my belly is too large and heavy to haul 2 kids around...especially when one of them is pushing his limits a lot more lately. Sometimes I wish I knew more stay at home moms so I could trade off babysitting to run errands. That would be nice on days like today.

I'm done whining, here's the latest picture. I took this yesterday when I wasn't feeling quite as frazzled as I am today.

Ladies Man

Maybe it's not such a good thing that Donovan is around girls so much. I have the feeling he's not going to go through a "girls have cooties" phase. In nursery today, he decided to grab a girl's face and plant a big kiss on her lips. When I texted Brad to tell him about it and told him who it was, his response was, "She's a cute little girl, good for him!" She is pretty cute. I went in there because I wanted to watch him during singing time and they were holding hands and dancing around together. That's when I heard the kissing story...and apparently they are married too. He's a little obsessed about talking about people being married since Jordan and Kolay got married. He's only 3, I think we might be in trouble. Anyway, it was our silly nursery story for the day. He also decided that he wanted to go up and sing with the primary during sacrament meeting. Mason was going up so he wanted to! I tried to drag him back to our seat, but he was crying so I just took him up there with me. He stood very still and was very pleased with himself when we sat down again. We'll see how much he likes singing in sacrament meeting when he's 11. 3 more weeeks and he'll be a Sunbeam!!! And I'm probably going to miss his first day in primary :(

Keeping Ourselves Entertained

I realize that I sounded a little whiney and maybe a bit silly in the previous post, but Brad is out of town and it's hard to vent on the phone with him. It's much easier to type it out. I can get it all out without interruption :)

We're trying to keep ourselves entertained while Brad is gone, but playing 3 year old games is getting a little old. I love spending time with the little squirt, and I'm grateful that I'm able to stay home with him, but keeping him entertained with no break until bedtime is starting to wear on me. It makes me appreciate Brad a lot more. It's so nice when Brad comes home and plays with Donovan so I can have a little "me time". He's always very good about letting me take an hour or so to go work out, blog, or do whatever while he keeps Donovan entertained. Once Brad gets home, Donovan is his shadow until it's time for mommy to brush teeth, read books, and sing before bed. He would even do all that if Donovan would let him. Bedtime is apparently mommy time, which makes sense, Brad is gone a lot during the bedtime routine. Having daddy do it throws him off, but he does let Brad read and brush his teeth on occasion. Anyway, I'm glad we planned to have the baby when we did because it will be nice to have Brad home more often to help for the first few months so I can slowly adjust to 2 instead of being thrown into it all on my own. Just one more thing about being a coaches wife, you have to plan big things, like babies, around the season...otherwise you're on your own!! It makes me really happy that Brad loves what he does, but it can be a tough schedule! I'm just glad he coaches girls, they love Donovan and it's really fun to get to know a lot of them! The boys are pretty good with Donovan too, but the girls are more fun. Plus they all make me feel really good when they tell me they want to look like me when they're pregnant :) They've helped keep my self esteem up as the belly has grown.

I was hoping to post tomorrow and have pictures of Donovan with Santa, but our ward party was cancelled due to crappy conditions so we won't be seeing him tonight. Donovan could care less about seeing Santa, he was disappointed that he won't be able to run around and play with balls with the other kids. He was so disappointed that he actually cried while he was telling me he wanted to play with all the kids. It broke my heart a little. Hopefully church won't be cancelled tomorrow, I think he needs a break from his mommy...and vice versa.

Enjoy some silly pictures of Donovan. We have a lot more going on next week so we'll have some fun pictures to post.

The Clock is Ticking

Baby time is quickly approaching. Christmas is in less than 3 weeks! How is that possible? Sometimes it feels like the days drag on, but the weeks are flying by!! I thought I was ready for Christmas and Baby Girl, but I keep thinking of things we don't have yet. I realized this morning that we still need diapers, bottles, and a car seat cover to keep the little one warm. It never seems to end. Once I think I'm ready, I think of at least one more thing we don't have. It doesn't look like I'll be having her early though, so I guess we've got a few weeks left to be physically ready. We should probably put together a list of names too. I have less than a handful of names that I like and Brad hasn't even given an opinion yet. When he gets home, I'm going to make him sit down with me and take it seriously. Besides all the things we don't have done, I'm almost done with being pregnant. I'm starting to get a little uncomfortable. I don't sleep all that much anymore. She has dropped so my walk has turned into more of a waddle. My back is pretty sore at the end of every day. It's getting hard to stand up straight. I don't want to get dressed in the morning, I just want to hang out in my comfy jammies all day. I hate maternity pants because they don't stay up so I'm alternating days with the only 3 regular pants that fit me right now. They aren't very comfortable, but I really really HATE maternity pants...I can't say it enough. I can't stand to wear maternity dresses either, so I'm still wearing my regular skirts. I know it's silly, but I'd rather be a little uncomforable than feel like a cow....and that's how I feel in maternity dresses. I think other pregnant ladies are so cute in all their maternity stuff, but I don't feel so cute when I wear mine. I really shouldn't complain, I haven't even gained half as much as I did with Donovan. I guess I'm just my own worst critic, I always have been. The funny thing is, this baby is still measuring on the bigger side of average even with me gaining a lot less weight. Maybe that's why I'm a lot more achy and sore this time around, I don't have as much cushion! I guess Brad and I just make really big babies...not sure how. Brad was a smaller baby and I was pretty average at a little over 7 lbs, but Donovan was 8 lbs 3 oz. I really don't think my frame can handle that this time around! Anyway, as of last Wednesday, I haven't progressed at all. We'll see what the Doc says tomorrow. I'm not expecting much, I think she's going to be right on time, even with my constant Braxton Hicks contractions.

On a slightly different note, Donovan is getting really excited for baby. He loves to see the little baby widget. He told me the other day that our baby likes to do somersaults.

Completely out of order...

I posted pictures backwards so I'll start from yesterday and work my way back. Yesterday, Donovan and I made a trip to the Children's Museum after we dropped Brad off at the airport (another recruiting trip, he'll be gone until Sunday the 12th). Donovan had a blast and even after being there for 4 hours, he did NOT want to leave! I was exhausted and starving so I convinced him to leave by promising Village Inn pancakes since I had a $5 off coupon. Anyway, he had a lot of fun and was really excited about everything...as always.

Pretty much the most adorable little chef I've ever seen.

He has never had a tricycle, and isn't very good at riding the one at Grandma Mindy's, but he did really well and was even riding pretty fast! He came back to this area a few times. He thought it was fun to stop at the red light and then go when it turned green.

He was so cute when he picked this up, he said, "I need to go under the sea."

He actually spent less time golfing than I thought he would.

The ball room was his favorite, of course. He loves this place!

Rewind to earlier in the week. He was playing, singing, and being silly so I pulled out the camera and captured the many faces of Donovan.

Probably my favorite, he's such a handsome little boy!

I don't know how I captured such an awesome picture. I think he was in the middle of telling me something silly or singing a song.

On Wednesday, we went to dinner with the Sophomores. This was Brad's first recruiting class as a head coach so they are all pretty special to him. It's difficult for him to only coach them for 2 years, he's going to miss them all...Donovan and I will miss them as well! PS-Brad is up for the NSCAA (National Soccer Coaches Association of America) Coach of the year for Jr College Women's Division I. I tried looking online for a link, but it's not posted yet. Anyway, I'm really proud of him and if Donovan knew what it meant, he would be proud of him too! It helps make the time he spends away from us pay off a little when he's recognized for his dedication. He loves what he does and he does it very well!! So congrats Bradley!!! I hope he doesn't get mad, I told him to tell his family but I don't know if he's had the chance to yet...so this might be news for everyone!