Blessing

Today we blessed Clara. It was a nice morning and I was glad to have some family here to share it with us, Gma and Gpa Woodard. I wanted a more traditional look so Clara wore a dress with smocking and a bonnet. She was adorable.

Karl blessed her. Gpa, Brothers Billadeaux and Rich joined in the circle. We asked a few others but they didn't make it to church on time. The minute Karl started the blessing I felt a wave of the Spirit and immediately started crying. I felt a confirmation of each thing Karl said. He blessed Clara that she'd be a light and an example to those around her. That she'd be an inspiration to her family.

After, Karl said he thinks it's one of the most powerful times he's used the priesthood. He was in the zone 😊. He said he didn't recognize there were others around him. It just felt like him and Clara. We definitely all felt it.

So excited to see what this life brings for sweet Clara. Excited to have this person as part of our family.

Mother of 4!

Well my mom left today and now I'm doing this thing on my own! Luckily Karl's current rotation is light so he can help some. Clara was up all last night and I'm exhausted. Hoping she sleeps tonight!

I'm always a little hormonal the first postpartum week so there have been some emotional nights. I'm feeling good about it so far. We'll see!

Mother of 4!

Well my mom left today and now I'm doing this thing on my own! Luckily Karl's current rotation is light so he can help some. She was up all last night and I'm exhausted. Hoping she sleeps tonight.

I'm always a little hormonal the first postpartum week so there have been some emotional nights. I'm feeling good about it so far. We'll see!

Clara Mae

Our new sweet baby was born yesterday at 3:35 pm. She was 8 lbs 6 oz and 22 inches long. She weighs in as our smallest baby although not the shortest.

After 24 hrs (after delivery) at the hospital, we brought her home today. The kids were all very excited to see her and us. They all wanted to hold her right away. They each waited their turn to hold her twice. Carson kept saying how cute she is. Chloe could barely contain herself and said "I just love her so much!" right after meeting her. The girls spent a lot of time rubbing her hair, squishing her cheeks, and booping her nose.

It is definitely a different environment here than at the hospital. It was so quiet there. I've already had to teach the kids a few rules, like don't push on her soft spot. Camille asked if she could carry her around lol.

She is a very easy baby so far. She eats really well (immediately had a great latch) and is sleeping easy. We'll see how that goes in the next few weeks.

She hadn't pooped by the 24 hr mark so the doctor was a little worried. Luckily she gave us 2 poopy diapers tonight.

We all love her so much already!

Disney Trip

We just got back from Disneyworld! The kids were really brave and did a ton of rides. Carson was scared to go on one and Chloe said "Don't let scare force your from your happiness." It was my favorite quote of the week.

Copy Cat

Camille is copying everything I say lately.

Yesterday she told me to "take a chill pill mom." I laughed for 5 minutes before telling her she doesn't get to tell me to take chill pills. I do say that to the kids all the time.

Today she had a whistle. She said "Mom, this is a freaking whistle." I made her repeat it 3 times to make sure I was hearing her right. Then I asked "where did you hear that?" She said "You said 'Give me that freaking whistle.'" Hahaha. One day the kids kept blowing the whistle and in exasperation I yelled that. Camille thought it was a freaking whistle ever since. I told her it isn't, it's just a regular whistle. Hopefully she stops saying freaking!

Funny Things

Carson is doing a golf camp this week for 9-14 yr olds. I was asking him how the 14 yr old boys are.  He told me they are really competitive and always talking through everybody's back swings. He said they are always saying things like "I can do better than that" or "I'm just getting warmed up." So your basic teenage trash talk.

I asked him if they use any swear words. He said "No, they're not graffiti teenagers." I laughed and said "what's a graffiti teenager?" He explained "a kid who does graffiti on his school." Lol! Apparently that is the standard for a good kid.

We live in a rural, somewhat small town. Nearby is a little bit nicer town, Holly Springs. I was driving and there is one intersection in town that has a bunch of bamboo growing. Camille said "I see the bamboo...but I don't see the panda." I said "I don't think there are in pandas in Fuquay." Camille asked "they live in Holly Springs?" I laughed pretty hard. Holly Springs tends to have the nicer anything so if there were pandas around...they'd probably be there.