A VERY simple Christmas

   Maybe March is too late to blog about Christmas?  Oh well, here we go.  Christmas 2015 was a VERY low key and simple Christmas for the Hixon house.  With Molly being born 3 weeks before Christmas, you would think that I would plan ahead and have all my shopping done beforehand since I knew that we would have a new baby right before Christmas.  Not so much.  I was distracted by our adorable toddler and trying to get ready for our sweet girl, that it just never happened.
  So once Molly arrived, I just kept putting Christmas preparations off.  The only gifts under the tree until 3 days before Christmas were gifts for Caden and Molly from Casey's co-worker.  Thankfully, the kiddos were young enough to not really care about a ton of Christmas decorations or presents.  When I couldn't put it off any longer, I then found myself asking "What in the world do I get for Caden and Molly?"  Caden whose birthday was November 18th got more than enough toys and clothes, so what was there left to get the kiddo that I had not already told grandparents and aunts/uncles to get him?  Obviously, my creativity was not functioning at a high level with a newborn, but I didn't want to not to anything for them.  It was Molly's first Christmas after all.  At the same time, I also thought about what the true meaning of Christmas is about: celebrating the birth of Jesus.  While some presents aren't bad, I really didn't need to go overboard.  Santa ending up bringing  Caden a tee pee tent that he loves to draw in and Molly s this little teether blanket.  Their parents managed to get them both a few small things complete with goldish for Caden in his stocking and Molly a little toy (like I keep saying it was very simple).  While our Christmas was very, very simple, it was still very nice to spend time with each other and our loved ones.  Next year, I plan to be more on the ball with my Christmas shopping.  Though next year I will have Molly's 1st birthday to plan (sad to think of that for our sweet girl).    Here are some photos from our holidays:

A new Veggie Tales for Caden from his parents

Molly's Christmas presents

He loves his teepee

Caden 2015                                                                  Molly 2016

Our sweet babues!

Hixon Family 2016

Molly and her cousin Olivia who are 2.5 wks. apart in age

"In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace."  Ephesians 1:7

Molly at 1 Month Old!

   Good golly Miss Molly is 1 month old!  Time goes by so much quicker with the second baby!   Doesn't help either that our calendar was pretty jam packed with Christmas holiday fun.  Molly thus far is such a great and easy baby.  Seriously.  Girl is a rock star!  God knew that with an active toddler who is fully embracing his 2 year old-ness with tantrums and all that an easy-going, laid back newborn would be just what we needed.
   I can't praise Molly enough in the sleep department!!!  Since she was born she would go 4-5 hrs at night between feedings, but I felt like that only lasted a week before this little lady stretched it out to 7 hours!  Big brother was never a bad sleeper at night, but he was your typical newborn waking every 3 hours, so this has been a MUCH welcomed surprise this second time around.  During the day, I feel like she sleeps more than Caden did too, which again is appreciated so I can focus on giving big brother the attention he needs.  The fact that Molly can snooze through your brother's near constant singing bodes well for all of us as I feel he won't get quieter with age.
   Two things we've had to deal with Molly that we didn't with Caden: blocked tear duct and thrush.  When Molly was 9 days old, one of her eyes became really goopy, so bad she didn't want to open it.  I thought it was pink eye since Caden had that in the past (pre-Molly).  When I took her to the pediatrician, I was happy to hear it wasn't pink eye, which is really contagious, but a blocked tear duct instead.  Our pediatrician just told us to do the following 5 times a day: wipe the eye, massage in a circle 15 times, and then put a drop of a breast milk in the corner of her eye.  That last part sounds strange I know, but it seriously works!  What I was not expecting to find out when we went to the doctor was that Molly had thrush, which is just a yeast infection in her mouth.  Since Molly had thrush, this meant that I had thrush since I was breastfeeding her.  Thankfully our wonderful pediatrician prescribed enough medicine for both Molly and I, so I was saved a trip to the doctor.
   You're not really any help with diaper changes Miss Molly.  You like to stiffen up your legs and since you're so little and fragile, I'm nervous to force you to do anything too much because I don't want to hurt you.  Molly is pretty chill most of the time.  She doesn't really cry that much, and if so there's usually a pretty easy reason why (woke, pacifier fell out, wet diaper, etc.)  Speaking of the pacifier, she is definitely a bigger fan of these things than her brother was.  Thank you to the person that invented the pacifier clip because that has been a huge help in not having to search for them.
   You're wearing newborn size clothes and diapers at this point still.  Since size 1 diapers start at 8 lbs, you're Daddy was ready to move you to size 1 diapers.  However, your Mommy was not so ready to see this phase of the newborn-ness go away so soon since everything else seemed to be flying be so much faster.  So you better believe, I went to Target and bought a box of newborn diapers that we probably didn't actually need, but this Momma's emotions did.

Molly's first Sunday at church

Ready to watch the Aggies play

Such a happy baby!

"The righteous lead blameless lives; blessed are their children after them." Proverbs 20:7

Molly Elizabeth Hixon's Entrance Into The World

   Miss Molly's entrance to the world has some similarities to her big brother's, but she also had plenty of differences to make it her own story.  With Caden, my water broke at 39 wks at only 1 cm dilated (which I was for a couple weeks at least) and no obvious signs that labor was near.  Molly was WAY more active inside the womb than Caden, so I thought with that and the fact that this was my second baby so my body knew what to do, that Molly would come early too. Wrong!  I was even dilated and effaced more at this point in the pregnancy with Molly too.
   At 37 wks, I was ready for her to be here and not be pregnant because I was so uncomfortable.  This time around, I was much more honest and open about this opinion too.  At my doctor appt the following week, my doctor just mentioned talking about induction at the next appt if not much progress had been made.  I remembered thinking (and hoping) that it wouldn't be necessary and she would come on her own.  Then a part of me felt guilty for even considering it just because I was a little uncomfortable (truthfully, I was a lot uncomfortable) and didn't want to risk forcing Molly out when she wasn't ready.  After enduring another week of uncomfortability that I felt was worse without really any progress and talking it over with my doctor, the word induction had a much more positive meaning.
   When I went in for my 39 wk. appt at the doctor without really any improvement, I scheduled our induction for Friday.  Thankful that my doctor was on call that day so I was ensured that she would deliver Molly too!  After you go on this long journey together, you really hate to have someone else bring your baby into this world.  Plus, I absolutely love my OB/GYN doctor and I wanted her to deliver Molly just as she did Caden.
   Casey and I reported to the hospital just before 6:00AM and by 7:30 I was hooked up to the IV's and we were on our way to bringing our sweet girl into the world.  My doctor came by not too long after that to break my water, which isn't the most comfortable thing ever, but neither are contractions.  Based on where I was at when I came in that morning, my doctor estimated Molly to be here around 2ish.  Just like with Caden, things seemed to start out slow.  Neither one of them liked too much Petocin, but too little was not enough to help keep the contractions regular.
   My epidermal this time totally numbed me! Awesome, right?!  With Caden I remember I didn't feel contractions, but I could still have some feeling in my legs, they just felt like these heavy sand bags.   With Molly's birth, I could feel absolutely nothing!  They would move my legs and I was literally helpless to help, but the nurses were wonderful and helped me out.  It seemed like I was stalled at 6 1/2 cm, so I told Casey he could go get some lunch.  Just like Caden, things seem to happen when he leaves!  Sure enough, the nurse asked if I felt any pressure, which I hadn't all morning, and checked me to see if I had made any more progress.  She looks up and says, "I see the hair on your baby's head!".  What?!  My doctor went to grab lunch too and was about 8 minnutes out, so the nurse then tells me to try not  to push until both Casey and the doctor could get there.  Since I could feel nothing, this was a difficult task.  I'm texting Casey and both our parents to tell him to get back to the room.   Thankfully both he and the doctor got there before our sweet girl came.  For Caden, I only had to push for like 20 minutes and he was here, so I was hoping to do about the same this second time.  Miss Molly was ready to come because after only 5 minutes of pushing, our beautiful baby girl made her entrance into this world at 12:55 PM on December 4th, 2015 weighing 8 lbs. 1 oz. and measuring 19 1/2 inches long.

Molly & I at 39 wks. 4 days

Introducing Molly Elizabeth Hixon!

Daddy and his little girl!

Big brother meeting his baby for the 1st time.
I LOVE my babies!

LOVE seeing her name and thinking of her
amazing great grandmothers we named her after!

Ready to go home! (once we're buckled in of course!)

"Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well."  1 John 5:1

1st Day of School

   This week began another milestone for our little guy, starting school!  It's 2 days a week (Tuesday and Thursday), which I think is perfect for starting off when you're this young.  Casey and I decided that the best place for our family was at the Mother's Day Out program at the church where Casey grew up going called Little Champs.  Being almost 22 months old, Caden was ready for school.  He needed the social interaction and the chance to learn so many fun, exciting things (and Mommy needed a little time to herself to clean the house and go to doctor appointments before Miss Molly arrives).
   Even though I tried to get as much ready the night before, I still felt like I was rushing around trying to get out of the house on time.  Since it was such a special occasion, I figured a special breakfast should be in order, so off to Chick fil a we went for a Mommy/Son date.  While I was looking forward to a few free hours, I found myself wishing we could put this off one more day.  So of course, there were some tears from me on the way there (pretty much a guarantee when you're 6 months pregnant so I wasn't surprised by their presence).  Once we got to school, I felt like everything went by so fast.  I would have loved to slow it down a bit, but I wanted to make a smooth, easy transition for Caden and his teachers.  Quickly after walking him into his classroom, I snuck out while he was distracted.
 

I think he ate more bread than
anything else, but that's okay this time!

This not impressed look is courtesy of his father!
(Thank you Casey Hixon!)

He looks too grown up here!  I'm impressed I even got a little smile!

Puzzles and snacks right when he walked in!

When I went to pick him up, he was all smiles and excited to see me (though the first words out of his mouth were Da-da).  His teachers said he did good and even gave me some artwork of his handprints they had made (a Mommy's dream!)  I would based on his artwork that his teachers got a good grasp of our kiddo.  He is 100% boy and has quite the arm already.  I'm slightly curious what the other kids in his classroom hands were made for, but Caden's definitely made me giggle.  His first artwork from school is a definite keepsake and is proudly displayed on our refrigerator.

Such true words for our son!

   Just like that, we made it through our first week!  Caden did great!  I was able do go to Ladies Bible Class at church, do some cleaning, and go to the dentist, so I feel accomplished!  We are excited to see Caden grow and how we are going to be blessed by Little Champs!

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."  Romans 15:13

Family Photos

   Like with my blog posts, I'm really slow with updating my pictures.  The picture on this blog is from Caden's newborn photos, ha!  My profile and cover photos are old too!  Part of my slowness in changing them is that I love looking at them and remembering Caden as this tiny, little one forever.  Then there's the decision of what picture(s) to replace these things with, which also takes me longer than it should.  And finally, there's the whole time factor that I never seem to have enough of.  Back in April (yes I wrote April) we had some family photos done.  My original plan was to get these done when Caden turned a year old, and we see how long it took me to finally get that done.
   Oh well, such is life.  Instead, Caden is 17 months old and I was pregnant with Molly (though no one knew at that point, which was also another reason I delayed in posting these pics).  A sweet friend from church that is also a very talented photographer took them for us and she did an amazing job.  I'm so glad I got some great pictures of my little guy (and little girl too!) that I can treasure forever!  Here are just a few:

I love seeing my sweet boy putting his
hands together to pray

Caden showing his "muscles"

"You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you." 
Isaiah 26:3

Sweet Molly Elizabeth!

I've been a bad blogger yet again!  So sorry!  Baby Hixon #2 is a GIRL!!  

Sometimes, I still can't believe it!  I seriously had this feeling after having Caden that we were going to have all boys and I was good with that!  Overall, Caden was/is an easy baby (don't get me wrong, we have our challenges, but I know it could be way worse).  Given that this second pregnancy was so different from Caden's in the fact that I was way more nauseated amongst other not so fun symptoms, we suspected this little one might be a girl.    We really were good whether it was a boy or girl.Each pregnancy is different, so in actuality there's really no way to really know.  Casey and I were both fully confident that God would give us what we needed, we just prayed for a healthy little one. When we had an ultrasound, the tech was able to tell us right off the bat that we were having a girl!  It was so incredible to watch her move around and to see how much she had grown from the last ultrasound.  Everything looked great and progressing as it should be!
   So how did we arrive at the name Molly Elizabeth?  This is actually the girl name we had picked out if Caden was a girl too (I just had to talk Casey into it again)!  With Caden and Molly's pregnancies, both Casey and I spent a lot of time looking at baby name books trying to find the perfect name for our little ones!!  One day when I was pregnant with Caden I was looking through girl names, I came across Molly and I really liked it.  The book I was reading also had details in it like what the name meant, if it was the form of another name, and a variety of spellings.  Then I saw that Molly was a form of Mary and I fell so in love with the name and knew if I ever had a daughter, that's what I wanted her name to be!  Both Casey and I had grandmothers that we were very close to growing up that were named Mary.  They were beautiful, amazing Christian ladies that we both loved deeply, admired for so many reasons, and aspired to be like.  I can remember one day driving home from work and just crying at how much I loved this name!  When I told Casey about the tears, his initial reaction was that he laughed at me (ah the joys of pregnancy hormones)!  But then when I asked him what kind of person he would want his daughter to be like and that I would want her to be like them, he totally agreed!  Both of our grandmothers are living the good life in heaven now, which makes me a little sad they can't be here to hold our sweet girl and meet their namesake, but we'll all be together one day, so it's just a delayed reunion.  I'm sure they're both looking down on us and just in love with their great granddaughter.  Okay first name down, now what is her middle name?  Elizabeth is again special to both of us!  Casey's grandmother (same one named Mary) had the middle name Elizabeth and then my very first best friend Laura that I only had to thankfully spend 10 days without on this earth has the same middle name.  I think it just fits perfect with Molly too!!

Casey's Grandmother Mawmaw

My grandmother Mur with all but one of her grandchildren
(I would be the front and center)

   It's so nice to no longer call this baby an "it" and that she has a name!  I'm hoping this will help Caden better understand that he has a little sister coming in a few months.  Right now, if you ask him where his baby is, he lifts up his shirt and points to his belly button!  Pretty typical, but very cute!  If you ask him where Mommy's baby is, he'll lift up my shirt and either point to my belly button or if we're sitting down he'll hug my belly.  We're making progress (I hope) on the being gentle.  We bought a baby doll to help Caden start the transition of not being the only child and how we need to be sweet to the baby, which I think is helping him a lot.  Bring on the bows and pretty dresses!

20 wks. with Caden

20 wks. with Molly

"Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him."  Psalm 127:3

4th of July Fun!

Little late to be posting about our Independence Day weekend, but I think we all know by now that I usually operate a few weeks behind schedule!!  With another baby on the way, I don't see that improving either!!  It was so nice to have the 4th on Saturday, which meant Casey had Friday off. That also happened to be my Mom's birthday, so we had my family over to our house for dinner and dessert.  Then on Saturday, we went over to our next door neighbor's house for their party.  Caden got to go swimming with Casey for the first time and let me say this child was a completely different child from the one I've taken to the pool this summer.
   He let him hold as they moved around the pool and didn't really squirm or fuss at all.  When I've taken him, he wants out of my arms after a few seconds and is constantly hopping in and out of the pool.  Needless to say, Caden was in heaven with his Daddy (aka his best buddy) in the water!  He had the biggest smile on his face pretty much the entire time!  Needless to say, Caden and I might stick to splash pads for the rest of the summer, but we'll see.  Thankfully after swimming for an hour, it was no problem at all putting him to bed and he slept through all the fireworks that went off right outside our house, which impressed everyone!!  Thank goodness for video baby monitors, which allowed Casey and I to go outside to watch the fireworks while still keeping an eye on our little guy.
   A late night for Casey and I, but overall a fun, family weekend together!!!

This baby loves the water!!

'

So happy to be with his Daddy

Caden's 1st Shaved Ice!  He liked it, but was more
interested in exploring his surroundings

"Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name." Psalm 103:1