Cousins Brunch

It was the annual cousins brunch and we had a great time as always.  Pictured above are Brian & Cora, with Aunt Pat (Brian's Godmother).

Family Pyramid

Bob, Mary, and the kids visited (Ava brought her friend too).  It was their first time meeting Cora.  We have lots of space to play in our new family room. As cheerleaders, Ava and her friend started a cheer which resulted in Brian and Bob as the foundation to a family pyramid.

Trains

It was a nice day in December and we had been indoors for many days due to the weather.  We decided to hop in the car and go to Morris Arboretum and check out the trains before the sun went down.  We got there with only 15 minutes to spare to see the holiday trains.  It was just enough time for Colton's attention span.

Santa Came

Colton is still grasping the whole Christmas and Santa connection. Santa sent his elf to watch over Colton for the month and he really didn't get that there was this elf checking on him. But on the big day, this was his reaction seeing all the presents under the Christmas tree. It still brings a smile to my face seeing his excitement.  

P.S. We did explain the real meaning of Christmas and tried to get him to understand it was Jesus' birthday. But to a 3 year old, gift wrapped toys fill his mind space.  

Mullen G-Man Visit

Our old neighbors from Linden had two boys that became good buds with Colton. In fact, Colton has walked into our new neighbor's home asking for Thomas and Michael to play with. After the dust settled from the birth of Cora, we invited them over to see our new home and make a gingerbread house with Colton. Here is a picture before they tried to sneak all the candy into their mouths.

Proud Big Brother Colton

Colton has been a champ through the entire pregnancy and welcoming his little sister to the family.  He is very proud and likes to tell people about his baby. His teachers told us he was very protective of the photo above.  He didn't want too many people looking at it. A funny story...when I had a follow up doctor appointment, Colton asked Brian where I was.  Brian said I had gone to the doctors.  Colton then asked Brian, "for another baby?"

Welcome Cora Elizabeth Kenney

Cora joined our family at 6:54 pm on December 4, 2013. She weighed in at 6 lbs, 14 ozs and was 20.5 inches long.

I went into triage thinking my water was leaking. My water hadn't broken but my blood pressure was high. Because I was full term, the OB on call gave me the option of being induced that day to avoid risking more high blood pressure readings. Not wanting to be pregnant anymore, I opted to be induced.  I was scared to death, but as soon as Brian arrived, he put me at ease.  My parents jumped in the car in Pittsburgh and arrived in Philadelphia in time to pick up Colton from school.

Once they induced me, it took about 5 hours.  I got some IV pain meds once the contractions kicked in which took the edge off of the contractions, let me sleep, and helped get me to 9 cms very quickly.  I opted for no epidural, and at 10 cms, I pushed Cora out in 2 pushes.

Seeing Colton with Cora for the first time was very special.  He held her, kissed her, and was just plain sweet.  It just feels right being a family of 5.