Hi, Nana!

Hi Nana!! Just wanted you to know how much I love the "Big Brother" card you sent me...I've been playing with the 'tickie' part of it all morning. Yesterday, everybody napped...today, Henry is staging a mutiny upstairs. Such is life, I suppose.

In other news, I took James for his 2-week check-up yesterday. His jaundice is almost gone, and he gained a whole pound in a week (he's now 8 lbs. 10 ozs.)! So, we're all clear on everything, and we don't have to go back until he's two months old. Yay. Between you and me, I hate taking the kiddos to the pede. It's a hurry up and wait (and wait and wait) sort of thing (not to mention H usually ends up sick with something a few days after we go), and it just stresses me out on a huge number of levels. So, let's pray for no sickies until May...and maybe for Jared to take Baby J to the 2-month check as a Mother's Day gift to me. :)

Happy Friday and I hope you all have a spectacular weekend. If any of us sleep more than 3 hours in a row, it's gonna be just grand.

Assured.

I have never in my life felt such fulfillment of purpose as I do when I have one of my sons in each of my arms. These are the days...

The Details

After much thought, I have decided not to write a blog post about the story of Jameson's birth. I would prefer to be sensitive to every possible person that reads my blog, and truthfully, I don't think the details of birth stories are sensitive to those who are trying to conceive or are currently pregnant or those who, in reading them, may be prompted to relive dramatic experiences from their own lives. So, for the blog, I will just say that our sweet boy decided to be a little stinker during the process of induction of labor. As such, he was born via Cesarian delivery in a much more dramatic fashion than we had planned. When are we Chessers ever going to learn that babies aren't born according to plans anyway?!?! Nonetheless, he came out very pink, very healthy, and with a strong, perfect cry. He was nursing within the hour (a relationship that has continued to go very well), and at this point, he and I are both doing better than I could have ever asked or imagined.
Oh, but if you are one of those people that just loves details, please send me your email address...I'll be glad to send you the full version privately. :)
Have a great weekend!! I know we will...

Pics again...

Jameson Bryce Chesser...8 pounds 2 ounces of perfect baby boy.

Cute daddy watching over Jameson in the nursery...10 minutes old...Mommy's first coherent glimpse of her sweet boy.It was love at first sight.Henry meets Jameson - also love at first sight. He was completely in awe of him and needed to know just one thing before he got comfortable..."Baby...oh, wow...does he bite??" What can I say...we've been around a lot of animals lately...guess it's just on his mind... Henry wanted to read Jameson a book. Aunt Heather helped.Grandpa and Grandma meet Jameson (could this picture be any sweeter???).Mimi meets a cleaned-up Jameson...she met him for the first time in the OR and was the first to give me a report on what he looked like - "he just couldn't be more beautiful...there just couldn't be a more beautiful baby." Agreed, mom, agreed.My dad brought me coffee every morning in the hospital, and that was when he had his visits with Baby J. Good thinking, Paw Paw...this is definitely the best way to ensure that you will not have to share your 'holding' time with anybody else. Wait 'til y'all see the present that Paw Paw brought Jameson...next post, perhaps. Almost everyone says the same thing about smiling newborns - "it's just gas." But one of my girlfriends on facebook said something different that I just love. "Oh look, angels are kissing him." Ummm, yeah, I'm going to have to go with girlfriend-on-facebook...it would only make sense that angels flutter around their own kind. And this baby, my friends, is surely an angel in his own right. More to come later. For now, it's lights out at the Chesser house. The boys (I just love saying that) are both asleep, and I'm going to take this glorious opportunity to close my eyes before 9:30. Ohhhh yeeee-uhhh.

pictures

The morning before Jameson was born.Our last photo as a family of three...about to tuck Henry in and head to the hospital.We love each other... One last belly pic...39 weeks.Our first photo with Baby J. Yes, I look like shit. Yes, he's flipping off the camera. But, dad's a hottie...and mommy and baby made it through a harrowing experience only minutes before this was taken...so, here it is in all its glory.
Until I can figure out how to put into words everything that 'went down' last Wednesday, you guys are going to be getting a healthy dose of picture posts. Five at a time until we're caught up to date.

And, as for an update - life is crazy at our house, but it's going really, really well. Much better than I expected, to be honest. Henry loves his baby brother so much, and we haven't seen any 'acting out' on his part yet. He just wants to 'see baby' all the time...and 'hold baby' as much as possible...and when 'baby cry,' he likes to 'hug baby' and say 'shhh.' It's all just so precious. I'm off of all of the pain medications as of yesterday, I think full recovery is in my very near future, I have lots of help, and my boys are both sleeping right now.

With that, smart Mama Liz is going to get her butt off the computer and into bed too.

Check back later for more photos...

he's here.

Our family joyfully announces the arrival of our newest addition!

Jameson Bryce Chesser
Wednesday, March 10, 2010, 12:31 p.m.
8 lbs. 2 ozs. - 20 1/2 in.

Pictures and story to come soon...

Love to all, Jared, Elizabeth, and Big Brother Henry

Holes!

My son is constant entertainment. Thank goodness, too, because about-to-go preggies NEED comic relief. Here's a goody from yesterday...

As we were cruising home from a last-minute trip to Target, little man gets that uber-concerned tone in his voice and says, "Holes." My mom was next to him, and as he's saying it, he shows her his hands...looking for sympathy. He looks at the backs of his hands, worriedly back to her, worriedly back to his hands, back to her, up to me..."Holes. Mommy, Mimi, holes."

Smart Mimi caught on quickly...it's almost like she's been around kids a lot or something. "No, Hen, you don't have holes in your hands...those are just your knuckles." "Oh, wow," says the boy.

heeheehee...little sweetheart spotted his knuckle dimples for the first time...

...shut-down mode...

And, it's done. The last item on my to-do list before the baby arrives was checked off yesterday. We took Henry to the Houston Livestock Show...at 38 weeks and 6 days pregnant, this was no small feat, but I loved every minute of it (well, except for the few that he was scared to death and sobbing on the choo-choo ride).
We have really worked hard to make our weekends 'count' since we found out that #2 was on the way. Being that this was our last weekend as a family of three, I felt extra motivated to do something that Henry would love. Although I'm pretty sure he was equally excited about the horrendous amount of junk that we let him eat at the carnival, I sure am happy that we made it down to Re.liant for the animals and cowboys and boots and egg-hatching and, most of all, the quality time. My parents came along, too, so that made it even more fun for all of us...Henry got his Mimi and Paw Paw and we got extra hands to help with the uber-excited 20-month old. What a great day it was!
So, now, it's done...38 weekends of fun and excitement before the arrival of the newest and littlest. Here are a few photos from last weekend's adventure to the Aquarium...Speaking of the newest and littlest, we've seen a lot of action and progress this week that would indicate that he could be here at any time. If he doesn't come on his own by Tuesday evening, though, we are headed in on Wednesday morning for an induction. Since Henry was such a big boy born a week early, we've decided to not experiment with letting our babies bake any longer than the 39th week. Baby J was measuring full-term last week, my body has progressed to make conditions favorable for induction, and well, frankly, if I can prevent a little bit of the damage that was done last time from happening again, I want to. So, there it is, folks...we're T minus three days and I'm officially in shut-down mode. Henry, on the other hand, is gearing up. He's got a lifetime of things to teach his baby brother...like how to decorate the living room with cooking utensils and the proper way to use a binky. :)

Tuesday Manners & Etiquette Lesson

Dear World,

When someone announces that she is expecting a new baby, the customary and automatic response is, "Congratulations" (or some variant thereof). It is not, "You're pregnant too??? Oh my gosh, EVERYONE is having babies right now..." It is also not, "Just wait 'til you have 3 (or some number more than what you have or will have when the new one is born)...that's when things really get interesting." While you may mean well by saying such things, make no mistake about it, you have just been rude and insensitive and, in the instance of response #2, condescending.

Similarly, if one feels the need to express a struggle that he or she is having with, say, a toddler-aged person, you have a few options...NONE of which is to tell said expresser that the NEXT phase in child-rearing is actually the hard one or that, again, if he/she had x number of children then they'd know struggle. World, while all of us know that venting and complaining isn't the most productive way to cure frustration, we also all know that sometimes we're just weak like that...and kicking us while we're down is just not nice.

In addition, hear this. There is only one acceptable thing to tell a pregnant woman about her appearance, and it goes: "You look great!" If making this statement threatens your moral fiber, because it involves a slight truth-bending, let Mama Liz tell you what to do. Just don't say anything at all. Shocking, I know, that you might actually keep your mouth shut as opposed to exercising your God-given right to spew venom...err, I mean, candor. But trust me on this...everyone likes a little ass, nobody likes a jackass. Really.

So, there you have it folks, and now you know. Go forth, do good, and be nice to each other. Also, if you have rules of your own to contribute to this post, by all means, put them in the comments section...I'd love to read them!!

**Note, I do realize that I may not be the most qualified individual to post on good manners...Lord knows I misstep in this department more often than I can rightly say. However, I chose a topic within Manners 101 that I do know a thing or two about. And no, not all of these things have been said to me...some are just grudges that I've picked up for my friends. And, yes, I know that picking up someone else's grudge isn't, what one might call, a good idea.**