Freebies for the Grandparents

I love you THIS much!

She's warming up her grin

September 11: Charlotte Rose is One Month Old!

One Month Stats:  10 pounds, 23 inches long, somewhat unpredictable during the day but sleeping through the night!

Happy 3rd Birthday Jackson!!

Happy Birthday Jackson!  What a big boy you are growing to be.  We love watching you play, grow, and develop each day.  You seem to enjoy sports.  Daddy says you've got good instincts for basketball, and he is especially glad you like to watch football with him.  Go Buckeyes!!  We especially like to hear you recite your Bible memory verses.  You have a good mind, and you'll even be reading soon!  We admire your ever-present love for dinosaurs, animals, cars and trucks.  You are such a well-rounded young man.  We pray that God would draw you close to him even in this next year of your life and give you a great love for Jesus.  We love you!!!

Present time!

Smile, Jack!

There we go.

CAKE Time!!

The Stegosaurus Cake

I did not have the luxury of an easy cake request for Jack as I had with Madeline this year.  When I asked him what kind of cake he wanted, he insisted on a dinosaur cake.  Now, Jackson is still a bit in that 'oblivious' stage, so he probably wouldn't even have remembered what he asked for if we did something else.  But Jackson LOVES dinosaurs, and I kind of enjoyed the challenge.  However, it was a near disaster.  Notice there is only one picture from the top.  There will be no pictures of the side.  And please, don't look too closely.

Labor Day Fun at Kentucky Kingdom

What a great time we had with the Wheeler family at Kentucky Kingdom on Labor Day!  It was our first time visiting the park, and we'll be sure to visit again next summer.  What a blessing to have it so close, only a 10 min. drive!

Charlotte had a great day, too!  This is mostly what she did:  sleep & eat.

I so wish we had the video camera for this car ride.  Jackson was juiced for it, but did not last long.  His expression was priceless.  He ended up laying down on his seat to make it through, and the operator kindly escorted him off the ride.  Poor guy.

Ladies Only!

Only Handsome Guys Allowed!

Sept. 1: Charlotte is 3 Weeks Old!

Aug. 25: Charlotte is 2 Weeks Old!

Pseudo Date Night at Havana Rumba

Jayna's mom departed Aug. 19, and on Aug. 21, Kurt's family took Maddie and Jack up to Ohio for FIVE WHOLE NIGHTS. What a blessing it was to have time to bond with Charlotte knowing that Maddie and Jack were having so much fun and getting loved on by Grandpa, Grandma, Aunts, Uncle and Cousins! So, we took advantage of our 'freedom' and enjoyed a delicious dinner at one of our favorite places, Havana Rumba, with Charlotte in tow.

Sleeping Peacefully

Momma & Her Chicks

Grammy and the kiddos

First Bath!

Flowers for Charlotte

Thank you to our neighborhood association!

First Family Outing to Panera!

My Three Amigos

First Week with Big Sister and Brother

One Week Old

She's All Ours: Going Home

Charlotte Rose only lost 3 ounces of her birthweight, and by one week old, she was back up to 8lb 1oz.  We're thankful that she seems to be thriving.

Bonding

Grammy and her Namesake

If you were wondering where Charlotte's name came from, here is the story:  

Charlotte:  Jayna's mother is a 5th (or 4th?) generation 'Charlotte'.  As the first granddaughter on her mother's side, Jayna would have been named Charlotte if keeping with tradition.  (but that must not have been en vogue back in the 70's?)  It wasn't until many years later that Jayna's mom found out that was a 'tender subject' for awhile with Grandma Mitchell.  However, all is redeemed!  We hope Charlotte Rose grows to be a sweet, godly woman just like her Grammy Snyder.

Rose:  When Jayna had her 20 week sonogram, we opted to find out what we were having.  After the technician proclaimed with certainty, "It's a girl!", she proceeded to ask if we had a name chosen.  Maddie blurted out, "Her name is ROSE!!!" We had never discussed that name, but realized we liked the ring of Charlotte Rose.

What a blessing it was to have Jayna's mom with us for two weeks!  She arrived Aug. 4 just in time for Maddie's 5th birthday, and her extra hands and energy enabled Jayna and Kurt to focus on getting ready for Charlotte's grand entrance on Aug. 11.  Thank you, Grammy, for loving us so well! 

The Heath Family 5

(don't worry, Jackson was all smiles on the inside)

Meeting Little Sister

We told Jackson to look up (at the camera), and this was the result.

It's safe to say that Madeline is nothing short of enamored by Charlotte.  While at the hospital, whenever anyone entered the room, be they a nurse, doctor, food delivery person, Maddie would direct their attention to the baby (much like a tour guide) and ask with excitement, "Would you like to see our new baby?!"  She was quite the hostess.  I thought she might start offering drinks and refreshments if I had to stay any longer.

Welcome Chrlotte Rose!!!, August 11, 2009

Meredith (nurse) and Erin

***Kudos to Clark Memorial Hospital!!!!***

Tues. Aug. 11: Baby Day!

Baby Heath #3 was due Aug. 6, and I really wanted to avoid inducement with this baby, but no amount of walking made her want to come on her own.  So, with the encouragement of our fantastic midwife, Jessie, we headed over to the hospital on Tuesday morning to be induced.  This made me very nervous after hearing horror stories over the years about how difficult contractions can get when on pitocin, but my nurse promised me she wouldn't 'pit' the baby out.  So with my good friend, Erin (and doula extraordinaire), sweet husband, and awesome nurse by my side, we embarked on this journey to bring Charlotte Rose into the world, hoping to do it naturally (once the pitocin was turned off, of course).

One of us just got back from Hawaii.  Guess who....

For those of you who like stats:  we arrived @ 10 am, pitocin started @ 11:30 am, water broken @1:45 pm, pitocin turned off shortly thereafter, Charlotte Rose born @3:18pm.

Now, don't let the pics above fool you, there came a time when I wasn't smiling, but I'll spare you all those details and get right to the point.....

We Praise God for the safe arrival of

Charlotte Rose Heath

born at 3:18 pm, August 11

Weight:  8 lb. 1 oz.

Length:  about 22 in.

Our Last Family Photo as a Family of Four