Life has been busy since the last post!
We welcomed Ethan Jeffrey Katz into the world on August 16, 2013 at 4:13am. He weighed 6lb, 6oz and was 20.5 inches long. He is perfect! I had always heard that it was easy to love a second child as much as the first (and as a second child, I've always felt this was certainly true), but was amazed at how quickly (instantly!) my heart felt like it was exploding with love!
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| My pregnant belly! |
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| Last picture as a family of three! |
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| I was hoping to avoid a second Cesarean Section, but alas..... |
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| Bryan holding his new baby boy |
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| Cuddles with Mommy in his first few minutes of life! |
Since his birth he's continued to do well. He was gaining weight by the time we were discharged from the hospital and passed his birth weight by 10 days of age (7lb 2oz on 9/3/13). On 9/16, he was up to 8lb 9oz, 21 inches!! Being a second time breast feeding mom has its benefits - Ethan hasn't had to deal with me learning what I'm doing, so he is certainly eating well. He seems to be a really happy baby and easy going. As long as he is kept fed (which is no small task), clean diapered, and warm then he is really fairly content. At this point, I don't feel like he favors either side of the family more than the other, but that he looks more like Emily than anyone else. Here are some more pics - what do you think?
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| Emily is AMAZED to meet her new "baby brother". |
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| Mommy and new baby, Ethan! |
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| Mommy with her babies - Big Sister Emily and Baby Ethan. |
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| Dr. Laurie Hudgins delivered both Emily and Ethan. We've really developed a great friendship with Dr.Hudgins through these two pregnancies! |
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| Emily holds "Baby Brother" for the first time. |
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| I think she is proud of herself! |
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| Yep, she is definitely excited! |
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| Mamma is proud of her baby boy! |
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| This is the little bear that Emily gave to Ethan. |
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| Picture of Ethan right before we left the hospital. Ready to go home! |
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| Welcome Home Ethan!!! |
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| Eating his first meal in a restaurant - Famous Anthony's at four days old! |
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| Emily was showing Ethan that she has a matching pink bear to his blue bear. Think he is embarrassed by double kisses? |
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| Our awesome photographer got some pics of Ethan when he was one week old - check out this preview! |
So far, Emily has transitioned well into being a big sister. She mostly refers to Ethan as "Baby Brother" but will still call him "Pink" if someone asks what his name is. She has been showered with attention from our guests and also gotten some great big sister treats, so I feel that she isn't missing out on anything! It seems to me that she has grown up so much and so quickly. Is that because I see her compared to a newborn now - or did she just have a major developmental growth spurt? I don't know but my baby girl seems like a big girl more and more every day. She says the funniest things (that sometimes have more attitude than I care to admit) and seems more physically able with each passing day! She has quite a busy schedule for the fall including a Mom's Morning Out program two mornings a week, a swimming class, music class at church, dance class - "fairy tale ballet", Chinese class, library, and a movement focused class, which is mostly just play time! It is enough to keep her (and mom) busy!!
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| Emily at the dentist. |
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| One of the crazy things I've done...... I also had a dentist appointment, four days after a C-Section. What toddler doesn't want to climb on top of mamma and watch? Ouch! |
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| Emily did GREAT. It was her second time at the dentist and she handled it like a pro! |
Bryan and I just celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary. It is amazing to think back on how life has changed in the last seven years and all that we have accomplished. Since we were married: spent one year in Northern Virginia, moved to Christiansburg, Bryan finished his PhD, Bryan started teaching at VT in addition to his SAIC job, I started my masters, we adopted a dog - Beamer, we moved to Blacksburg, I finished my masters and became a Family Nurse Practitioner, I practiced as an FNP for a year then began teaching at Radford University, had a beautiful baby girl- Emily, I started on my doctorate, built a home in Blacksburg and moved again, I finished my DNP, had a beautiful baby boy - Ethan..........whew! It's hard to imagine what the next seven years will hold. :) (Although Bryan says we are done with major life changes, so we are entering the "boring" part of life - I think we two little kiddos life will be anything but boring!) Here are some pics at us over the years - it's fun to reminisce.
We've been blessed to have lots of family around over the last three weeks - Mom and Dad stayed to help me recover from the birth and also with adjusting to having another baby in the house. Kaleb, Carrie and Henry came for three nights for a great visit on our first weekend home, and Kaleb also made it down for the weekend when Ethan was born! Marti and Alan came for a couple of nights on the weekend - so they got to meet Ethan and be here to celebrate Bryan's 34th birthday! My uncle Warren drove up from NC for a visit - and got to be here to see half of his great nieces and nephews, while also enjoying a delicious meal (coordinated by Carrie). We've also been visited by tons of friends - too many to mention individually, but all special and much appreciated!
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| Ethan meets Uncle Kaleb, who rode all day on a train and then drove through the night to get to meet him on his birthday! |
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| Grandpa drove down to meet Ethan on his birthday too! |
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| Mimi got to hold both babies at the same time! |
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| Papa has his hands full! |
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| Mimi and Papa with both Katz Kiddos. |
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| Meeting Aunt Carrie and Cousin Henry for the first time! |
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| Ethan with Aunt Carrie |
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| Kaleb looks like he is recruiting fans for NCSU! |
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| Cousin bath time! |
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| Cousin picnic on the porch! |
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| Meeting Uncle Warren! |
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| Emily still ADORES Snow White and was tickled to get the Little People Snow White Cottage as a gift! |
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| Admiring the newest member of the family! |
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| YAY - a nephew! |
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| Mimi and Papa with all of their Grandbabies! |
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| Emily being silly! |
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| Emily had a blast cooking with Kaleb and Carrie - we all enjoyed the results of their cooking! :) |
We are adjusting to being a family of four - and I'm loving every minute of it. Keep us in your prayers as we continue to transition and grow. I feel like our family is complete and look forward to lots of great memories with these adorable kiddos! :)
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| Going home as a family of four! |
