Maternity Leave

With John Michael, I was only able to take 6 weeks off of work. That means that with JM, at this time, I had only a few days left. How the heck did I do that!??!? Guess I was stronger back then!
I cannot imagine having to go back to work on Monday!

This time around I am taking full advantage of the 12 weeks. I have throughly enjoyed the time to bond with  Matthew, but also the special time I have been able to have with John Michael as well. Now that it has been 5.5 weeks, here is a glance of what we have been up to:

Trips to the Janet Huckabee Nature Center:

Naps! 



Walks (when It is Cool Enough)



 Potty Training (or Attempting to!):  

Tummy Time!

Being Silly:  

Building a Play Set (Blog to come Soon!)

Trips to the Library:

Cookie Breaks!

Movies with Friends!

To all my friends who are stay-at-home mommies.....I can honestly say, I'M JEALOUS!

What a fun summer we have had so far and we have another 6 weeks together!

Matthew is One Month!

(Well....technically 5 Weeks!)

Matthew is 5 Weeks old! I have to brag, he is one awesome baby. He is a great eater and an amazing  sleeper (Averaging 5-8 Hours a night.....I know that it is crazy difference between 5 and 8; HOWEVER, in sleeping terms I do just fine with 5 or 8!).  John Michael NEVER slept that long this early!



Speaking of John Michael, he has been an incredible big brother! He likes to tell us when Matthew is crying and immediately tells me I need to feed the baby or the baby needs a paci. Overnight my "baby" John Michael grew up to be a helpful little boy. He has become "daddy's boy", but I guess for right now that is ok!

Comparison Picture......they really look a like!

John Michael 5 Weeks

Matthew 4 Weeks

  Brotherly Love:



Introducing Matthew Paul Carroll

Meet the newest little man of the family.....Matthew Paul Carroll.
Born June 18th, 2012 at 4:28 PM.  Weighing 8 Pounds, 8 Ounces.  21 Inches Long

We are truly and madly in love with him.

Labor and Delivery was SO much better than his big brother's! 

I woke up in labor on the morning of June 18th, being in denial that I was actually in labor.....I got ready for work, had breakfast and was about to get dressed to leave the house. Ben convinced me that maybe we should start timing contractions.....sure enough 5 minutes apart.


We called Ben's Parents and they quickly came and picked up big brother.

We had a regularly scheduled appointment with our doctor at 8:30 AM and afraid I would get stuck in an observation room if I went into Labor and Delivery, we decided to just wait until our appointment. It seemed to help to walk, so Ben and I walked up and down our street (mind you, it is 6:45 in the morning!). I am sure our neighbors were scared I was going to give birth right there on the street!

Ben and I went to our appointment and they quickly got us in, the doctor came in and confirmed it was time to go and we were sent to Labor and Delivery. Within the hour, we were checked in, IV going, and epidural placed (ahhh.....relief!).

We had the sweetest nurse, Candance, who took care of us all day.

With John Michael, I was in constant pain (I am now convinced my epidural truly wasn't placed right), but with Matthew....I was good as gold.
No pain.....just starvation! I was ready to eat.

Ben was taking pictures of me all day.....I told him I needed a picture of what I was having to look at all day.....this was him trying to convince me that the ice chips were really ice cream.......

 Action Shot.......a sweet nurse took pictures for us. I love Ben's Face:

I was checked once and I was still steady at a "5" and then checked again and was quickly a "10"!

I was in a little shock that it was time to meet our little man!
28 minutes of pushing later (I was VERY determined not to push all day), the second cutest little boy entered the world. He instantly won our hearts.

Ben and I then had a decision to make....what were we going to name this child??
We decided on: Matthew Paul. We are very traditional, I know........

Matthew --> One of Jesus' Apostles (along with 'John')
Paul --> My Father's (Randy) middle name. ('Michael' as in John Michael is Ben's Father's middle name)

 

 Daddy  Welcoming Him into the world:

First time I got to hold him; 

First Photo:

 My awesome Doctor:

Our Sweet Nurse:

 I love this picture....this was when Big Brother was able to see his little brother for the first time:

 My Boys:

 First Family Photo:

Two Year Old Celebrations

On John Michael's Actual Birthday, I suprised him at School with a Little Mickey Party!

We had Mickey Mouse Cupcakes and Apple Juice. It was so much fun to see him interact with all his little friends! John Michael with his sweet teacher Ms. Lorinda:

After the Party, John Michael and I popped over to get a Slushy at Sonic and then had a great time playing outside!

When Dada got off of work, we met up at Chuckie Cheese! We ate some pizza and had a lot of fun "playing" games. Dada and John Michael's favorite was the basketball hoops!

After Chuckie Cheese, we went to Ops and Nana's house to continue the party! We had another round of cupcakes and singing (at this point) the FAVORITE Happy Birthday Song!

Ops and Nana helped us get started on John Michael's college fund by introducing him to real golf clubs (we are already thinking golf scholarship!). He was so excited!

The following weekend we had another Mickey Mouse celebration!

It consisted of all of John Michael's favorite foods: Chick-fil-a Fruit and Nuggets, Cake, and Ice Cream! He had so much fun being the center of attention!

Four Generations Picture: Mama Pat holding Abby; I'm holding Baby Boy Carroll; "Meme" is holding Riley; "Aunt" Jennifer holding John Michael

Meme and Dado gave John Michael his very own Coloring Table! As you can see, he loved it!

Hey Baby Abby!

Our Baby is No Longer a Baby

John Michael IS 2 Years Old!

Ben and I are in shock how fast it went.

I swear just last week, he was this small:

And Just Yesterday, he was this little boy:

Now he is a Little Man!

Some Facts About our Two Year Old:

* He is such a charmer! He knows when he is center stage and puts on a show!

* Speech: Even though he still gets very frustrated when he cannot communicate something effortlessly to you......his speech seems to be improving and changing every day! He imitates what you say (For Example: I yelled 'Ben' tonight from outside--Ben was inside -- and after I yell, I hear JM yell 'Ben!').

* There is something that definitely has not changed.....the boy still LOVES music! He is always clapping, dancing, and singing....sometimes just to his own music! His favorite songs: "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" Theme song, "His Grace is Enough", "Happy and You Know it", and here lately the "Happy Birthday" song. He also loves to make his own music....using anything he can find.....Tupperware seems to be the most fun!

* Favorite Foods: Milk! Blackberries, Strawberries, Chicken Nuggets, Macaroni and Cheese, Ritz Crackers, Yogurt, Infant Cereal, and cookies!

* Craves routine. He loves having a schedule and sticking to it.

* Loves to color!

* John Michael CRAVES his Independence. He wants to crawl into his car seat, walk by himself (with no holding hands), climb up the stairs, Drink from a Big cup.

* Still very much Loves Animals and has absolutely no fear of them.

* John Michael is such a helper! I (Mom) love this age because I can ask him to do something and I am not asked 'Why?' And after he does the task, he is so proud of himself!

* He is definitely "all boy". He loves to run fast, be chased, wrestled with, knock over things, grass stains on the clothes, drive his 4-Wheeler, Throw/Catch Balls.

* Momma's Favorite Time of Day: Right before Bed. The three of us read a book, say our prayers, and then HUGS! He gives the best hugs and kisses (and even kisses his little brother!).

* Dad's Favorite Time of Day: Listening to JM bust out some Veggie Tales praise songs on our drive to school each morning.

* Sleeping: He goes to bed between 7:30 - 7:45 and wakes up around 5:30 (he has never 'grown out' of waking up early!). He moved to a Toddler Bed in December 2011. He really disliked his crib but he loves his Toddler Bed!

John Michael definitely has his own personality and opinion these days.

We love John Michael so much. It is mind-boggling to us that we have another boy on the way.....how can our love grow even more? But I know it will and I know our heart will burst with joy seeing how wonderful John Michael is with his little brother.

Thank you to everyone who has prayed for our family throughout his second year. We ask that you continue praying for him and that one day John Michael will understand salvation and ask Jesus to come into his heart!