Living the Dream

All is well at the Odom household.  We are getting into a groove somewhat and trying to get into some kind of schedule.  David’s mom hung out with us this past week and it was great.  We found this awesome park that was recommended to us…we will be headed their often this spring and summer. 

Noah really likes to "hold" Gavin.  We are still learning what the word gentle means.

Today was my first day on my own.  It actually went pretty well, but I am still trying to figure out how to entertain Noah during the times that I am feeding Gavin.  This is how Noah decided to spend his time today…

…Noah’s diaper in the toilet.  Thankfully he hasn’t learned how to flush yet!

One of our friends from our small group, Jill, has been able to take some awesome pictures of Gavin.  Here are some of our favorites.  She really has an awesome talent!

Our first week at home has gone fairly well!  My mom has also been here all week, so I am definitely not living in reality.  I have loved having her around! I am so thankful for her.  Gavin is doing great.  He is super eater, which for those of you who remember, Noah took a while to catch on to the whole nursing thing.  Noah is adjusting perfectly…but as I said before, my mom has been here, so he hasn’t lacked for attention either.

I forgot how much we love the swing.

Noah loves to "help" out and give Gavin his paci.  Sweet big brother.

Noah and I went on a lunch date yesterday to Chick-Fil-A and to Wal-Mart.  I think I made a few sympathy purchases, like his new picnic table for the back porch.  We were going to buy one anyway…

Noah went back to Gwinnett with my mom today to visit with Scott, Abatha and Nate during their layover at the airport.  Gavin and I had a nice, relaxing day together.  

Gavin is resting comfortably in David’s arms as I type.  Here are some more pictures of the little man and his big brother.  We are headed home Monday morning and looking forward to settling down back at home.  Thanks to everyone for all of the sweet messages and encouragement.  We are so blessed by the support of our family and friends. 

Here is Noah walking in to meet Gavin for the first time.  He did great!

The little man and his cool hat!

Our first family photo.  It looks kind of like everyone is cooperating!!  

Big yawn and wide awake.  They change so much in just hours.  

We have decided that Gavin favors Noah somewhat, but he definitely has his own look.

We have found different "toys" to entertain Noah at the hospital.  He has been a trooper…and here is the sweet smile again.

I have a bunch a new pictures of little Gavin, but the internet here at the hospital is extremely slow.  I have been able to put up a few more pictures on Facebook if you want to check those out.  Hopefully I can try to blog again in the morning when the server isn’t being used by everyone in the hospital. 

Gavin arrived this morning at 2:55 am!!!  He is perfect.  He weighs 7 pounds and 3 ounces and is 20 1/4 inches long.  He weighs one more ounce than Noah did at birth, but they are the exact same length.  God has blessed us so much with this little guy.  Of course, he is absolutely beautiful with a head full of hair.  Labor went really well for me, as I only pushed twice before he joined our world.  Here are a couple of quick pictures, but now that he has had his bath, we will get some more uploaded soon.

Here he is getting checked out for the first time.

Dr. Pohl is the absolute best doctor in the world.  

Here is Gavin and his poppy.  I thought this was a nice, alert picture!

David and I arrived at the hospital around noon today to have baby Gavin.  As you all know, we definitely wanted to have Gavin in Gwinnett, so we would have the best doctor in the world for the delivery!  Thankfully our wish will definitely come true!  Anyways, after we signed a million forms, we got situated in our room and met our great nurse, Pam.  Since then, I have had a couple doses of meds to stimulate the labor process.  Right now, we are a couple centimeters dilated and having some pretty regular contractions…about every 4 minutes.  The nurse predicts Gavin will arrive early Saturday morning.  Of course, we will keep the blog updated!  

Also, we wanted to ask everyone to pray for our house.  Tomorrow, we will have a showing (our first in long time) and on Sunday we are having an open house.  We are so ready for our house to sell, and what a perfect weekend for a contract!!! 

It looks like Gavin will be here by the end of the week!  Dr. Pohl has scheduled my induction to begin Friday afternoon in hopes of having Gavin by Saturday morning.  He asked if I was superstitious about possibly having a baby on Friday the 13th, but at this point, any date is a good date.  We of course are super excited, but I have to admit that it is a little strange knowing when Gavin will be here.  We will try to keep the blog updated with our progress on Friday and definitely post pictures soon after Gavin arrives.  God is so great!  

As I said before, we have had a busy last few weeks.  Since we are about to become a family 4, we wanted to have a special day for Noah this past weekend.  We had a great time at the zoo and walking around downtown Greenville.  We had a blast…God gave us such perfect weather. 

Noah and David looking at the giraffes.

I love my men!  It’s crazy to think I will have another one in a few days.

Noah’s new "sweet" smile.

We’ve also have had a few visitors to our new pad since we have been here.  Here are some photos of Noah’s favorite girl cousins who came to visit a couple of weeks ago.

Two of my best friends are also preggo.  It has been fun "growing large" together.  We finally got a group photo at Seleta’s shower.

Noah had fun playing with Bella at the shower.

And last but not least, Noah’s new smile.  So much fun!

Hello all!  I apologize for the blog hiatus, but it has been a little hectic around here.  We are officially in preparation mode as we wait for Gavin’s arrival.  At my 36 week check-up, everything was on schedule, so I will head back to Gwinnett next Tuesday for my 38 week appointment and to pick an induction date for the next week.  My prediction is that I will have everything planned out perfectly for the induction, but he will decide he wants to come early, in the middle of the night, and we won’t make it to Gwinnett.  Please pray this doesn’t happen…I love my doctor!

It has been quite weird to think that this is the last couple of weeks that we are a family of 3 (4 counting Lucy!)  I am super excited about the addition of Gavin to our family, but at the same time I am a little sad and extremely anxious about the transition.  I know in my head that everything will work out great, Noah will adjust well, and we won’t be able to remember life without our two boys, but this waiting phase is tough.  

We are headed to the Greenville zoo on Friday, so I will have some good pictures to post after our visit.  Let’s just pray I don’t go into labor while we are visiting the elephants!