Greyson Porter

Greyson is coming up on 6 weeks on Wednesday and I'm looking at these pictures like... huh? Who dat baby? I tell ya, the little newborn look doesn't last long. He's changed so much!

So Greyson's birth story goes a little something like this...

The last month of my pregnancy, I was having severe pain in my groin from Greyson's positioning. The doctor said I could either do physical therapy (which wasn't realistic with two kids and only a few weeks left of pregnancy), be on bedrest (which once again, isn't that realistic taking care of two kids), OR be induced early. Hmm.. being induced actually seemed super nice and convenient with planning a place for the boys to go. So we set a date to be induced. And then a few days before I was to be induced, I called it off. I was in pain---yes, but I was getting so anxious about "knowing" I was going to have him on a certain day and I decided I'd rather let him come on his own.

Well, my due date came and he wasn't here. My pain had gotten tremendously worse and I thought, "dang girl, you crazy for canceling your induction." Yeah, maybe. I went in for a check-up the following day and guess what, I was 4cm and 50% and the doctor asked if I wanted to go to the hospital and have this baby today. Umm...yeah!!! Let's do this.

I was at the hospital by noon. Ryan took the boys to a friends house and joined me. I got my epidural right away because the last two pregnancies resulted in being induced after a long day of labor and this time I wanted to enjoy my epidural from the get-go!!

Ryan and I played scrabble---which I was kicking his butt in, and watched some funny youtube videos. Just the typical "waiting-for-baby" stuff. I was pushing that epidural button every few minutes. I wanted to make sure I was completely comfortable and taking FULL advantage of the epidural this time around.

Mid-scrabble game, I was feeling some intense pressure and pushed my epidural button a few more times. I know pushing it 10 times in one minute doesn't give you more, but mentally it helps. The pressure got more intense and the epidural wasn't doing anything. Not that I was having any pain... I just didn't want to feel anything... not even an itch on my pinky toe. :) ha.

The nurse grabbed the doctor for a cervix check (jeeze those are fun) and he informed us.... you're a 10!

It was 430pm and they started setting up the room. We joked that the doctor wanted to head home by 5pm.

Can I tell you how weird this was for Ryan and me. We were like, "Uh, we were just playing scrabble and now we are going to have a baby??" It's these few moments that always get me anxious. It's also these few minutes that I remember specifically with each delivery. Ryan will lean his head in to mine and say a prayer. And he gives me the most encouraging uplifting words. It's loud and chaotic in the room, but he always makes me feel calm and peaceful. He's seriously the best cheerleader when it comes to our deliveries. Give that guy two pom-poms and he'll make up your own personal cheer and make you feel like you can do ANYTHING!!!!!

Two contractions later, this angel was put into my arms. 4:47pm

Greyson Porter Shideler

Ryan brought the kids in the next day to meet their newest brother. Luckily, my friend didn't come until the following day to take pictures because these boys were complete animals. I take that back--- they were intrigued for the first few minutes, but once they learned my bed had buttons that made it go up and down and there was a remote to a TV AND a bulb syringe to play with, Greyson became second tier.

(also, can we note how Ryan dressed Simon in a skull sweatshirt for our pictures?! :) I was laughing so hard. Good thing his sweet face softens the roughness of the sweater.)

Simon actually was very sweet with Greyson. He asked, "hold it?" and would NOT let go when we tried to get him back. Simon's chubby hands wrapped around tiny Greyson with a death grip. :)

They've really been into magic tricks lately and there was only one thing I could come up with in the moment to get the boys to gather around Greyson for a decent picture. :) So no, they're not looking at Greyson's adorable little facial features... they're looking in his ear trying to find the quarter mommy said was in there.  

We love you, Greyson!

Welcome to this crazy family.

emma long holiday

We hadn't been to Emma Long Park since we first moved to Texas, which is a total shame because it's the PERFECT outing to escape the hot weather (which is like 8 month of the year). Ryan had taken a random Monday off work this summer, which is seriously the best. A day with daddy during the week is like a freaking holiday! A holiday that everyone else has to work on, except you.
THE. BEST.
So we went to Emma Long Park and we were the ONLY PEOPLE THERE!!! We had snacks, of course, and a blanket, and sunshine, and it was a wonderful family holiday.

secret "beach"

This summer we went to the "secret beach" here in Austin. We tried coming once before, but we had trouble finding the path. So I finally found an Austin mom-blog that gave great directions and woohoo! We made it! The only thing is, Ryan had it in his head a different way to get down there, even though the blog gave easy instructions and PICTURES of the path taking you down.

I would have argued to go the way she explained, but I stepped back and let him be our guide. Do you see all those trees behind Lincoln and I in the picture below? Of course you do. It's a freaking forest of a mess. Well, we went through THAT! And there was a huge drop off that Ryan had to maneuver down first in order to catch the rest of us as we practically threw ourselves to his mercy. Also, it was crazy muddy. The kind of muddy where you take a step and your flip-flop gets sucked in. Here we are, with two kids in tow, trekking through a swamp. I didn't say a word... but I was sure thinking it--- if we had only gone the way the instructions told us....

And then the other fun part, because there were lots of those, was Simon REFUSING to leave our laps. That sand sure can be intimidating. Finally, after much bribery and using all of our tactics, he decided he would venture out of our laps once he discovered he could start throwing rocks. And throwing rocks he did....

And there was more throwing. Look at the muscle behind this particular throw!! That also happens to be the throw where he nailed me in the face with a rock. Yep.

And lastly, we weren't paying attention to our flip-flops RIGHT along the water shore and Ryan's shoes got swept away. He walked a ways down trying to find them because they happened to be his favorite pair, but to no avail. Gone. And one of the hardest parts of him losing his shoes?? Taking that monstrous of a hike back to our car through the muddy forest carrying Simon. I didn't say anything, but I was sure thinking it---- that other trail wouldn't have been so rough on your feet. :) I felt bad, so I ordered him a new pair of his favorite flip-flops like any good wife who doesn't say, "I told you so."

Children's Place

Ryan had to work a Saturday a few months ago. Whenever he has to work a Saturday, the boys and I need some adventure to break up the long week we just survived. So first thing that morning, I loaded up the boys in the car for a 40 minute drive to another city for this magnificent park. I guess that's what you do once you become a mom. You look up the cool parks to go to and that becomes your day of adventure hitting them up and exploring. And this park... Let's just say it was worth the 40 minute drive, for sure. I mean seriously--- do you ever see playgrounds like this anymore? In all my years of adventuring to playgrounds, this one was a favorite.  

The boys loved exploring and we had the park a good chunk of the morning to ourselves. It was a pretty dang cool way to spend a Saturday before Greyson came. I would have LOVED chasing these boys around here. Instead, I wobbled through a bit and sat on a bench and watched them go wild.