Noelle's Story

On Tuesday March 24th, I went to the Dr. for my 38 week ultrasound. They saw that Noelle was measuring a little small for her age (25th percentile) and that the cord was wrapped around her neck-which may have hindered her from getting all of the nutrients she needs to grow. So, my Dr. told me that I would be checking into the hospital the following night to be induced! Marshall and I arrived at the hospital at 8 p.m. on Wednesday night where they started the induction process. The labor was progressing slowly through out the night and the next morning- and those nurses had me in all kinds of crazy positions to try to get this baby girl to drop! There were a few complications during the labor. Noelle wasn't getting enough oxygen and her heart rate started to drop, so they had me on the oxygen mask for a while. Finally, a nurse came in and told me that I was at 9 cm and that I needed to push through the 9- b/c this baby girl needed to come out. I only had to push for maybe 20 minutes and Noelle made her grand entrance. The cord was actually wrapped tightly around her neck 3 times. She was soo tiny! 5 lbs 13 oz- compared to her big brother who was over 8 pounds! Even though sweet Noelle had a rough time, God's hand was over her and she is perfectly healthy. Petite- but perfect! She is absolutely the sweetest little girl ever! I didn't think I could ever love a little girl the way I love Noah- but Noelle has proved me wrong!

We were a little nervous about how Noah was going to react to another baby in the house- but he has been so sweet! He LOVES his baby sissy and is so sweet to her! We are having so much fun with our new family of four!

Spring is officially here and Noah LOVES to be outside any chance he gets! I love how grown up he looks in these pictures! He's getting sooo big! Right now he has a pretty big obsession with Elmo, Big Bird, and Grover. His hobbies include playing in the toilet, throwing toys down the stairs, and screaming at the top of his lungs. He has also been loving Mommy's growing belly. He loves to pat it and say, "Ball!" Noelle's due date is just 2 weeks away, and we are so excited to welcome her into our family and begin a new season of life as a family of four!

Noah had a great Christmas this year! Personally, the highlight of my Christmas was watching Marshall cry as he opened up gifts for Noelle. We can't wait until our baby girl gets here!

Baby Bathroom!

We have lived in our Sugar Land home for about a year and a half now. I have not done a bit of decorating to Noah's bathroom since we've lived here, so I finally decided to be a good mom and redecorate a cool new baby bathroom for Noah and Noelle! Check out the pics! I added some before and after shots to add to the dramatic effect! Oooh...Aaaahh.

On another note, Noah hit a huge milestone today. He finally crawled down the stairs BY HIMSELF! He has been crawling up the stairs for months now, but has always thrown a FIT whenever we would try to teach him to crawl down stairs on his belly. So today, as I was sitting at the computer, Noah thought that it would be a good idea to start throwing his books down the staircase. After about book number 2- I took his little face in my hands and told him that was a "no-no." After that, he just got on his little belly and started going down the stairs to get his books! Hallelujah! I have been praying that he would master this skill before Noelle gets here. I can't imagine having to carry an infant and a toddler downstairs at the same time! Whew! Thanks God!

It's a Girl!!!

Marshall and I went in today for my 20 week ultrasound and found out that we are having a baby GIRL! This is such a sweet day for us! The night I found out that I was pregnant again, I couldn't help but journal all of the emotions I was feeling. I just wrote and wrote to the Lord of my thanks and my desires for this next baby. Today I revisited that journal entry, here is a little snapshot from that entry:

August 12,2008

..."Lord I pray for my 2nd born. Not knowing if this is going to be my last child or my middle child or what. Lord, I will gladly love and delight in another boy if that's your will. Sweet Jesus, it's my desire to have a daughter. To be the kind of mother for her that I always wanted growing up. To raise a daughter who at a young age falls in love with You. A daughter who desires purity and a daughter who knows her worth in You."

Little did I know that the Lord was preparing my heart through out this whole pregancy to give me my dream come true! Oh yes! Today is a happy day! I am pleased to announce the name of our precious girl. Her name is Noelle Grace Peterson. "Noelle" is a French name and it means Christmas. We chose this name because Noelle is our gift from the Lord. We chose the middle name, Grace, because nothing else can explain why God chose to bless us with another child to love. It is certainly not by anything we have done- but by His Grace that he has chosen to bless us. And we chose the last name Peterson...because it would be wierd if her last name was different than ours. Please keep Noelle Grace in your prayers as she continues to grow and develop through out the pregnancy.

Oh, and also pray for Marshall-he has been terrified of having a little girl because all he sees in his mind is her wedding day. Right after the ultrasound Marshall told me what he wanted for Christmas...a shotgun. I'm a little concerned about that...

Fun with cousins!

Last night was Christian and JoAnna's 2nd Birthday Party! Noah had so much fun! He got to take his first hayride and feed the cows-MOOOO!

Happy Halloween!

Noah was a football player for Halloween this year(more specifically Tony Romo)! Noah and his sweet friend Abby went to a Halloween Festival together! Noah spent most of the time running away from us. We think he might be a strong willed child...but we aren't sure yet.