Wylders Birthday

Here are some pictures (like, MAJOR picture overload!) from the day we finally met our sweet son:


dannnng ... I think he was ready to come out!


waiting in the prep area


my wonderful doctor stopping by to make sure everything was good to go & I felt okay!


ready to meet him!  (and loving the epidural!)


sorry if thats too much for anyone! dont look at the next one if it is! :)


Born at 7:38am!!








in recovery (out of it!) getting to hold Wylder for the first time!



Wylder had some respiratory issues after he was born and sadly had to go to the NICU. He stayed there for part of the afternoon but he wasnt ever officially admitted so that was a blessing! Freeland & my mom were able to stay with him while I waited as patiently as possible in our room! It was sad but honestly, I wanted whatever was best for him and if that meant being monitored by the people who could help him then I was all for it!

Honestly, before I went in to deliver him the nurse randomly started talking about how he would stay with us the entire time unless something was wrong & walked us through what would happen if it did. I seriously think it was a gift from God because before that moment it never occurred to me that something could happen since it didnt with River. I think it was such a gift because it prepared my heart and made me actually think about the possibility of that happening.

Anywho's this was the amazing nurse who watched him:


she also pretty much helped Freeland through the whole thing too! As you can imagine, its a little stressful sitting and watching your child not be able to breath for hours! Especially with all the things he has learned in school that could go wrong. Freeland had to work to not think about all the things he has studied! The nurse was a serious blessing!

Here is our room .. which I LOVED:







view of the bay (took it on a couldy day so not the best) but it was awesome to see the sunrise and sunset everyday!


the wreath my mom had sent to the hospital

River meeting Wylder for the first time



getting to see mommy again

Then all our sweet friends came to celebrate and meet Wylder




Olivia LOVES babies!







*pretend that you see Adam & Camille, Bethany & Josh, Becky, Lauren, Sarah, & everyone else that moved in these pictures! Because I know they all wish they could have been there! Also, I forgot to get a picture of Elizabeth, Kevin & Becka! (sad!)






trying to get a family picture!











Isnt he the sweetest! I forgot how much I love having a newborn around.

Oh and gosh I seriously miss the hospital!

Phew!! Dont worry I have a TON more to share!! That was just a start! :)

PS: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARK!! Yesterday was my official due date. So there was a chance we actually werent going to deliver Wylder until today & they would have shared birthdays! Thanks for sharing my mom though & letting her be up here while you are still in Texas on your birthday!! Cant wait for you to meet him!!

introducing..

Wylder Davis Ackley

7/20/2011

*All those pictures were done by the company in the hospital. His hair looks red in them (just like Rivers hair was when he was born) but Wylder's hair is actually brown. I think its just how they edited them.

We're home from the hospital. Adjusting to life with 2 kids. So far we have made it!

Freeland is back at his rotation today in Ohio but only 5 more days!!

River is adjusting. He just points at Wylder & says "baaaby" and then walks off.

And I cant get the pictures off my camera for some reason! So I'll be working on that between naps and feedings and cleaning spit up off of me! Thank you again for all your sweet comments! Ya'll are way too kind!

first family picture

Ackley party of four

Baby Ackley
Born 7.20.11 at 7:38am
7lbs 12oz
21" long













Still at the hospital. Checking out tomorrow. Just wanted to share some pictures from my phone while I had the chance. He is precious & being a family of four has been wonderful so far. He looks just like River did as a newborn except with dark hair & darker eyes. He is pretty calm & laid back .. unless he gets cold .. then he very quickly finds his voice! :)

I promise we aren't just keeping his name a secret to torture everyone. We just haven't officially decided on one. (yes, its very annoying!) We have until tomorrow so I can promise you we'll have it by then! We've narrowed it down so I'm just calling him all of those for the time being to see which one fits!

Rivers warming up to him and slowly taking more interest in him. He's got the whole "baby" thing down. And it's pretty darn cute to hear him say it over & over again.

Thanks you so much for all your emails, texts, comments etc! We definitely feel so loved, encouraged, and taken care of!

almost time

As Ive mentioned, Freeland is on an away rotation this month. But thankfully they are understanding and theyre giving him time off so he can be here while we have the baby. Then next week he will go back to finish up & my mom will stay with me to help hold the fort down with 2 kids.

So Freeland gets back home tonight. And he's picking my mom up at the airport on the way in.

Then we go in tomorrow morning (at 5:00am!) to meet our little man. (I wont actually have the c-section until probably later in the morning)

Obviously, we cant wait. Its a surreal feeling doing this again. I dont feel nervous but Im sure I will for a moment when everything gets started. I just cant wait for that moment when we, Lord willing, hear his little cry for the first time. Oh and did I mention where we are delivering apparently lets the baby stay with you the entire time (meaning unless something is wrong they are never sent to the nursery.. unless of course you ask them to so you can get some rest later;) So even with a c-section the little man will get to stay with us and never leave our side.. yes, even during recovery! Amazing! I cant wait.



People ask me a lot if Im nervous about having 2 kids (more tired thinking about it but not nervous) or about if I wonder what it will be like to love two kids. All of which are normal questions/feelings. I actually have no doubt that I will naturally love this little one the same way I instantly loved River. The things I wonder about is if I will want to compare them and how I will adapt to things being different this time around. Obviously, no 2 kids are alike.

I just pray that we both are sensitive to the way our children are different and therefore need to be loved & encouraged in different ways.  Thankfully, the Lord has given us the ability to love both our kids the way they need to be loved. So while its crazy to think about I feel a huge peace about it. And in a lot of ways excited about it. 



Im hoping to spend the rest of the day preparing my heart to meet this little guy and watch our family grow. Less than 24 hours now!

Also, I plan to give updates asap after he is born. Im sure most will be on twitter .. if youre interested & dont have a twitter account - they are posted on the right side of our blog. If internet is working in the hospital I will make sure to post a picture of the little booger as soon as I get a chance! Thanks for all your support & encouragement!

*all the pictures above are by Puremotif Photography.

family weekend

Freeland was able to come home again this weekend so we tried to get as much done as possible and still enjoy our time as a family of three.

First we went to the annual Cherry Festival. We normally go on Saturday so we can see the parade but it was still fun to go on a Friday evening. I think Rivers favorite part was getting to just walk around the park and run around.




mini freeland. I love that their making the same face.




first taste of cherry pie. He loved it.





Saturday we woke up early and headed to Cracker Barrel. Dont ask. For some reason its what I wanted. Well, specifically the breakfast sandwich is what I wanted. And Im pretty sure we spoiled River again with pancakes and then playing with every toy in the store he wanted!




ps: that wasnt all our food. They brought out extra stuff because they got our order wrong. :)



After naps we did lots of fun things like run errands, make list, organize furniture and junk around the house. All necessary things. But the most exciting part was we finally put finishing touches on the baby room. Its also going to remain our guest bedroom so it was a little tricky making it all work. But we are both happy with how it turned out. Here's a preview of the projects Freeland did:


we made a little board with burlap over the babies bed. I love how it turned out.

And that night we went out on a HOT date to go see Harry Potter. (so goooooood.)

Sunday was mixed with running errands again, enjoying the samples at sams, cleaning, organizing, and me napping. Honestly, I think Freeland has done the nesting for both of us! I was useless. 

But the most exciting part was getting to tour the hospital where I'll be having baby #2. We are going to be at a different hospital this time & lets just say I LOOOVE it. And if you have the chance to tour your hospital and dont you are missing out. They show you so much more than you would normally see during your stay. And its just fun. I was also thankful River got to come with us.


River running around the hospital playing.

It was a great mix of knocking out things on the to-do list but also enjoying time together. I should say that half the weekend I was a grumpy prego lady. So it wasnt all peaches the entire time. But we made the best of it. I kept finding myself stopping and trying to just take in all the moments & enjoy giving River all of our attention. Sweet memories. And Im excited to expand our family and have time together as a family of 4 now!