Welcome Collin Randall Strickland!

Collin Randall joined our family January 18, 2012 at 12:12 p.m.! He came one day earlier than our scheduled repeat c-section, but everything went perfectly smooth and the entire process went as well as we could have ever hoped. We came home today, and our family feels complete and happy :-) My recovery has even been much easier, so I have zero complaints.

I took a photo in the same outfit as the day Sydney was born so we could see a comparison of both pregnancies on the final day. I did gain about 7 more pounds with Sydney than with Collin, and he weighed 5 ounces less than her.

The surgery went quickly, and we were so happy to finally see our precious baby boy!

 

We each got a photo with our little boy - it's amazing how quickly you can fall in love with a 7 lb. 7 oz. person!

 

 Lots of friends came to visit us during our stay, and my friend Rachel snapped a few great photos while she was there. Here's a favorite:

 After two nights in the hospital, Sydney came to meet her baby brother. She spent those two nights with Kenny & Amanda - a gigantic help to us. (We are constantly reminded how lucky we are to have such a fabulous support system here!!) Sydney is quite a fan of Collin and hasn't shown any signs of jealousy yet. She thinks he's pretty entertaining, and she is overly concerned if he cries. Here's our first picture as a family of four.

 

We were able to Skype with family from the hospital, which was great, and finally, we were ready to go home. We took our time at the hospital and took the full three nights they offer to c-section patients. Collin's original going home outfit was way too big, so we opted for something more casual but still adorable (we think). I think the original outfit will be used for pictures down the road.

  

This is what our backseat looks like now --- love it! 

  

Here are two videos. The first is from my first visit with Collin after I got out of the recovery room. The second is from Sydney's first meeting of Collin. She wasn't ready to interact too much on the first day, but she was very sweet and seemed to be just fine with the idea of a new addition - a relief to any parent with worries! 

Bringing Collin into the world was such a special experience for our whole family. We can't wait to watch Sydney and Collin grow and learn ... and we will grow and learn right along with them. I feel like the luckiest wife and mother in the world. Now, to find out what our first night at home will be like... :-)

American Idol

We love to watch American Idol (it starts up again this week!), but sadly I don't think we'll be seeing our sweet daughter on that stage. Nevertheless, we love her voice and she does too. And maybe she'll end up a huge superstar and I'll have to eat my words ;-)

This first video is a bathtub rendition of "Rain, Rain, Go Away"

And video #2 is a playroom take on Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, complete with her goofy deep voice she brings out from time to time.

Sydney and Mommy enjoyed a day off today for MLK. We played at home, had a ladies lunch with a couple of friends and did a little shopping. She was an angel, and it was very special to have one more full day with her before Collin arrives Thursday. I thought she looked so cute so I took a quick pic with my phone when we got home. The boots are slippers that were a Christmas gift from her Meme so she had just changed into those after our outing, and the outfit was a Daddy's pick on Black Friday. I could eat her up!

Looks like a great big sister to me!! xoxo

Sydney Drew Turned TWO!

Was it really two years ago when we said hello to this little angel?

Apparently it was, and it's just mind-boggling! We celebrated Sydney's 2nd birthday Dec. 30, and the celebration pretty much started Christmas Eve and I'm not sure it has ended yet. Just this week, she came home asking for presents --- hmmm, need to work on that.
Sydney's big gift from us was an outdoor cottage/playhouse and it has been a hit! The un-winter-like weather we've had has also made it possible for her to use it a lot - both on the deck and out in the yard.

 

(She begged me to get in, and that was challenging enough. Getting out was quite the picture, I'm sure!)

We decided against having a traditional party since Sydney is overwhelmed by a lot of our friends coming over at once, and we didn't feel like she was old enough (or we were brave enough) to start having her school friends over, but we still had several visitors over a few days' time, and it worked out great. Sydney had a blast. Several of our out-of-town family/friends sent gifts too, so she was just as spoiled as you can imagine.

 

Loving the new ponytail!

Sticker books were a big hit!

Fortunately, our friends were smart and asked if we wanted a family picture, so we got this one right before she went to bed on her actual birthday.

The only other birthday touch was a bit of Dora the Explorer - Sydney's current obsession. She won't touch sweets, but we got cupcakes/cake for anyone who stopped by. They were so good; that girl's missin' out! We also got balloons, and the Mylar ones are still thriving. I think I may say farewell to them tonight. ;-) We see more than enough Dora on a regular basis; I need her not hanging out in my kitchen day in and day out. Ha!

 

Our sweet little baby is now such a little girl. She has moments where I think she seems five and other times she has a total toddler meltdown and I'm reminded she's still just little. I think she will seem soooo big when we welcome Collin into our lives in less than two weeks! I'll leave you with this video of her playing in her cottage for the first time.

Counting video and Christmas!

This post would have been solely dedicated to our Christmas Day, but the day after, we finally got Sydney to display her counting skills while being filmed. Check it out - English and Spanish! Following the video, there are highlights from our Christmas - which used to be just a morning and has turned into an all-day opening/playing/crazy day! No complaints though...especially because we realize things are only going to become crazier in the future :)

And here are some photos from the day. Sydney had a blast and is still getting used to all the new stuff. I culled her toys while she was at school yesterday, so the house is somewhat manageable again. It was amazing to see the number of things she has outgrown at just almost-two years old!

 

 

 

 

 

  

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

...and all through the house, the Stricklands were preparing for a wonderful Christmas Day! We started out with a fun afternoon at the park. Sydney was dressed to impress, I might add.

 Randall cooked a fabulous dinner of standing rib roast, candied carrots, roasted potatoes and green bean bundles. YUM.

 Sydney had eaten a couple of hours earlier, so she joined us at the table with peaches for dessert :)

 After dinner, we continued with our tradition of opening one gift. Sydney had to put on her shoes immediately (a gift from us), even if they did look ridiculous over her footie pajamas :-)

Randall opened a button-down shirt from my mom, and I opened a book about mothers and daughters and a set of stationery, also from my mom. Randall read The Night Before Christmas and we put Sydney to bed.

The rest of the night involved Randall - who should be hired as Santa's lead elf! - putting together Sydney's kitchen...a five-hour task. But, when we went to sleep at 2 a.m., the living room was beautiful and ready for one sweet little girl.

Christmas cards

This year and last, my designer friend at work of Elle Bee Designs (Find her on Facebook!) has worked on my Christmas card. There are a million options for designs online, but I love having the flexibility of a custom design. We still have last year's on our fridge, and I cannot get over the change from last year to this year. Is that even the same child?!

Christmas 2011
Photo credit, Rachel Krest

Christmas 2010
Photo credit, Alice Dawson

P.S. I'm realizing from this post that I work with a lot of talented people. All of the photos were taken by work friends, too :)

Quick pic catch-up

Sydney loves my many scarves, and we're always finding new ways for her to wear them so she isn't falling all over the place. This is Randall's latest idea and it's so stinkin cute.

Yesterday, we had a very busy day (after Sydney woke up at 10:45!) and beautiful weather to go with it. We did a little shopping and spent a lot of time playing at a park in a neighboring city - which is also right next to their library so we stopped in and got a few things there, too. I just love pics of  her playing at the park. It was busy with kids (big, rough kids), but she was less shy than normal and jumped right in. I'm laughing because these pictures make it look empty, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

 

After we grabbed a quick dinner, our plan was to ride around and look at Christmas lights (or yights, as Sydney says), but she was so exhausted, she slept through it. We'll go again Friday or Saturday evening right when it gets dark so she won't be as tired. Randall and I still enjoyed it, though!!
Speaking of our little sleeper, it's 9 a.m. and she's snoozing away. She really does catch up/save up on the weekends. She only has two days of school this week, so I'm looking forward to lots of time with her very soon!!

Monday's Mama - blog feature!

I had the special opportunity to be the featured "Monday's Mama-to-Be" today on the blog A Girl in Pearls.

My co-worker nominated me, and it worked out perfectly. Such a fun experience and another neat way to document one phase of this coming-to-an-end pregnancy.

Enjoy!

Top Chef and a Birthday

I think Sydney may follow in her daddy's footsteps and enjoy cooking. She loves to play in all of the kitchen stuff --- lining up and naming the larger cooking utensils, playing with oven mitts, eating...

I never did a post about turning 30, so I'll give a recap here. One of my best friends from college, Wendy, flew out the weekend before Thanksgiving and we went to Kansas City for good food and good shopping. Our search for both was a success! We had the best time catching up and just having some quality girl time. It's always so special to have that kind of time, especially with friends that I normally only catch up with over email or the phone.Having her here for a couple of days was a great way to hit this milestone of the big 3-0, even if it did have to be scaled back to late-in-pregnancy-appropriate activities. Ha!

 

Sydney also had a birthday of sorts a couple of days ago - hitting the 23-month mark - and the only huge change to mention is that we've officially started potty-training --- meaning, she has worn big-girl underwear at school all week! Some days she had many accidents, one day she had none, and yesterday she only had one. She has been using the potty for a couple of months, but this was the official switch out of diapers during the day. We'll see how it goes. I still think she's kind of young, but her teachers say she is totally ready. Time will tell!