A 4 year old Bean!

Maybe it is because we have a new tiny baby girl in our home right now, but I have been nearly physically ill thinking about my little Isabelle turning another year older. I am sure she was my newborn baby just a day or two ago and now she is old enough to get dressed by herself, get herself a snack and climb in and out of her own car seat. What happened? I swear I took everyone's advice and never blinked?!

We began celebrating the big day almost 2 weeks early when Grandpa Elmo and Grammie came to visit and let her open an early present. It was gardening tools and she spent the first few hours of Saturday planting literally hundreds of flower seeds in her pjs in our back yard. Grammie supervised and just let Jelly plant seeds as she pleased all over the mulch under each of our trees. (We will now enjoy watching if and exactly what may actually grow!) The funny part of this story is that she insisted that her garden hoe was actually called a foo and foo'd all morning long. Jelly was especially lucky because when the dreaded time came and her grandparents had to return home, they left her with a stack of gifts all numbered with a countdown to March 23rd so that she would have a gift to open every day until then. It was a great idea and Isabelle ran downstairs every morning searching for the right numbered gift to celebrate with.

A few days later, Grandma and Grandpa Cosby headed south for a few days to enjoy the Spring weather and to meet little Olivia. Of course being just a few days from Isabelle's birthday, the celebration continued. Since Jelly LOVES downtown, we headed to the city and had fun at the Children's Magic Theatre watching If You Give Your Moose a Muffin. We have read the book so many times and Isabelle loved seeing the story come to life! (And baby sister, just three weeks old, slept through her first trip to the city!) More gifts were opened including a new dress for Sunday and one of Jelly's favorite activities, a puzzle!

Finally the calendar actually read March 23rd and the real birthday celebration began! Jelly ran straight from her bed to ours before 7:00am and exclaimed I'm already four! She was right too since she was born at 3:23am on that glorious day! She was thrilled when she came downstairs and found My Little Pony decorations, more gifts and a donut for a birthday breakfast! Her most exciting present was waiting for her on the back porch, thanks to her Dad working to put it together well past midnight the night before...a City Center Playhouse! It has a different 'business' on each side including a basketball hoop on the back.

Olivia and I tried to make the day full of fun playing and opening a gift here and there all day long. Again we made a trip downtown at Isabelle's request for a birthday lunch at Rain Forest Cafe on the Riverwalk. Ben was able to meet us there and we enjoyed a wild meal with singing and an ice cream sundae for dessert. Jelly was exhausted after a full day of fun and hit the pillow hard dreaming of her My Little Pony party with her friends the following day.

To finish off the several week long celebration, Isabelle had planned to meet some of her favorite friends at the park for a little birthday party with a My Little Pony treasure hunt! Unfortunately, we woke up to buckets of rain but thanks to lots of work by mom and dad and Jelly's sweet enthusiasm, we decided to continue on with the party and made some quick modifications to the plans. Isabelle was out of her mind to see all of her friends and was actually shocked that they had all brought her more gifts. She had so much fun playing with each of her guests and their ponies, breaking a Pinkie Pie pinata and eating snacks and cake! We managed to keep the party under the giant pavilion until the very end when we finally let the girls run out in the rain and when it was time to go home, we stripped the birthday girl down and put her straight in the bathtub to warm up! Despite the rain, her My Little Pony party exceeded her simple expectations.

Isabelle is such a sweet daughter and sister and all of the celebrating was worth every minute of her feeling special and loved. She tries so hard to do what is right and always keeps us laughing...and running. She is so smart and we are continually amazed at how quickly she learns and remembers everything. Little Olivia already adores her big sister and cranks her head around searching for the body that matches that animated voice! What a blessing our little Jelly Bean is!

New Acquisition!

I don't know who is the most in love with new baby Olivia, her mom, her dad or her big sister Isabelle?!

Let's start at the beginning...

Ever since I found out I was pregnant I was concerned that my labor and delivery would go too fast! I showed no signs of labor with Isabelle until the day I delivered her and my mom didn't even make it to the hospital in time for all of her deliveries, having one almost at home and then delivering in the ambulance. Dr. Theis knew my history and was "on alarm" as well so when I went into his office on Tuesday the 23rd of February and still showed no sign of imminent labor, he decided it was smartest to just meet him in labor/delivery on Thursday morning at 7:00am. Luckily knowing a plan a day in advance, Grammie was able to be here from Houston and be on "Belle duty" while Ben and I checked into the hospital.

I knew I was in trouble when the first thing the nurse said to me when she got me attached to all of the machines was aren't you feeling these contractions you are having now? I was definitely uncomfortable but I would never have headed to the hospital yet based on the pain and contractions I was feeling. I could tell by the look on Ben's face that he was glad we were already in the hospital because it was going to be a busy morning!

Obviously the baby had finally decided to arrive because at check-in I was already dilated to 4cm and was well on my way! I was blessed with a very kind nurse who skipped the normal hospital procedures and forced the anesthesiologist to visit me sooner than later as I was progressing very quickly and she and I were both hoping for a little pain-relief. As luck would have it, I was able to get an epidural but the needle veered to one side, so while my left side was able to escape most of the delivery pain, my right side took the brunt of it. (What a weird sensation!)

By now, Isabelle and Grammie had made it to the hospital and had come in multiple times to check on me! Isabelle was very hesitant to touch me at all as she was skeptical of my IV, heart monitor, etc. At about 11:10am I was dilated to 6cm and I asked my nurse when she thought I should call a friend to come pick up my toddler so that my mom could be in the delivery room for the birth. She said it was impossible to tell because some people would lay like this for hours and hours while others would move a bit quicker. However, I could tell labor was moving very quickly at this point and decided it might be best to make the Isabelle drop-off soon. Ben called our great friend Jaimie and she began to head to the hospital to pick up big sister for a few hours. While Ben was out in the waiting room getting Isabelle ready to go the baby decided she was ready to come NOW and made a giant move which set off alarms and had nurses running in to put oxygen on me and monitor the baby closer. I was now 8cm dilated and about 5 minutes later I was 10cm and ready to go!

Ben came back in shock only being gone a few minutes to find me hooked up to more machines and ready to deliver. The baby was serious about being born immediately and while Ben called my mom, the nurse called Dr. Theis in panic-mode. The nurse was holding the baby's head IN and trying to encourage me to breath but NOT PUSH. She and Ben could both see her cute little head and were commenting on her hair while I laid there praying the doctor would get there SOON! Jaimie pulled into the hospital moments later and my mom literally threw Isabelle to her and raced up the stairs and into my delivery room with Dr. Theis running in right behind her. He was shouting, just let me put on some gloves, and about 60 seconds later, Olivia Cosby was born at 11:30am on February 25th, 2010.

She weighed 7 lbs and 11 oz and was 20 1/4 inches long. She was perfect and pink and cried right away wondering what just happened?! She has the same brown hair Belle was born with and looks just like her sister in the face! After getting a scolding from both Ben and the nurse about if there is ever another Cosby baby, I MUST get to the hospital earlier, with or without pain, we finally made our way to recovery!

Ben picked Belle up (big thanks to Jaimie) as she was very excited to meet her new baby sister and we spent the rest of the day enjoying the new sweet baby in our family. The quick labor and delivery agreed with both me and Olivia and we were able to return home the next afternoon. We were lucky to have Grammie with us all week (and Grandpa and Aunt Alee and Uncle Nick for the weekend) and Olivia made the transition to life outside the womb with grace, sleeping and eating just as she should. Big sister too has been charming picking out what Livi wears each day and surrounding her with toys to play with. Olivia already posed for her first photo-shoot with www.jaimiehaleyphotography.com at 7 days old and we can't wait to see the newborn pictures of our sweet baby.

Of course with all good comes some bad and on the second night home from the hospital we were up all night with Belle and a stomach bug and then a terrible head cold all week long which left her grumpy and tired. Livi has already tried out her first prescription as well for conjunctivitis which apparently goes hand and hand with ear infections. (Can I just say NO right now? Isabelle did have it too when she was a newborn if there is any connection.) However, Belle is finally sniffle free and Livi is 14 days old today and is now weighing in at 8 lbs and 2 oz so all is well.

We are so grateful for little Olivia and know that she will be a great strength and blessing to our family! She is absolutely smothered with love!

**On a side note, a few weeks before Olivia was born I had a picture frame made for Ben's office that reads New Acquisition. It just seemed so appropriate!

All you need is love

Maybe it's a girl thing, but Isabelle and I love Valentines Day! We wish everything was pink and red with ruffles, bows and lace all year round...and at our house they pretty much are. Jelly had a great idea this year and planned a party for her and three of her friends to celebrate the holiday. She worked on invitations, decorations, gift bags, activities and treats for days beforehand and could hardly stand the anticipation when the glorious day finally arrived. She carefully set the table, complete with crowns for her and all of her friends and watched out the window as each of her guests arrived.

Like all good things, the time went by too quickly and when her party was over she said to me very concerned but I planned a much longer party! It was a great afternoon and Jelly and all three of her friends were disappointed to see the fun end!

Fortunately, the Valentine spirit was alive and well in the Cosby home for several more days. Aunt Tara made a quick 48 hour trip to San Antonio to help us celebrate and we had fun eating waffles with strawberries and whipped cream for dinner and answering the door multiple times to find special Valentines left for each of us including flowers and jewelry from Daddy! Sadly now the holiday is officially over for this year but thankfully...all you need is love!

Let's Rodeo San Antonio!

The San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo is something we look forward to every year! This year we figured we better get tickets for the first weekend since we weren't sure how much longer we would be a family of 3! Lucky for us, Tim McGraw was the Saturday matinee concert so after a little bit of time enjoying the rodeo grounds, we feasted on "rodeo food" and watched the 5th-time in a row Large Indoor Rodeo of the Year! Grandma and Grandpa came with us and Isabelle decided she wasn't interested in participating in the Mutton-Bustin but rather preferred the Calf-Scramble! What does she think we would do with a calf in our backyard?


*Concert picture taken by Isabelle.

Honest, trustworthy and a bit of a tease!

As baby girl #2 is quickly on her way I have recently reflected about my baby girl #1 and just what a good girl she is! We have great trust in Isabelle and always have. We never really "baby proofed" our house when she was just learning to walk, instead we just explained to her what she could and could not do and she almost always obeyed. Of course she has a bit of an adventurous side like all toddlers and we have caught her standing in the window-sill or sitting behind the couch eating an entire candy she didn't think we would want her to consume, but 9.9 out of 10 times, Isabelle makes the right choice! I pretty much trust her in every situation and find myself doing things constantly that I would have never guessed I would be doing at age 3. For example, I get out paints and paper for her to create a masterpiece while I shower, I hand her full big-girl cups of apple juice in her carseat and I let her cook with me almost every time I prepare any meal. Accidents occasionally happen and most of the time it is me consoling Isabelle for feeling so bad about the mistake rather than disciplining her. Now, what are the chances I will get another mini-Isabelle who is so trustworthy at such a young age? Please let baby sister be just like Isabelle...except nap sometimes!

However, Isabelle has also turned into a little tease. One night when I tried on a pair of Ben's mesh shorts to see if they would be any more comfortable with my big pregnant belly to lounge in, Isabelle thought I had lost my mind and died laughing. She then ran into the closet and put on a pair herself and cracked up teasing her mom! What a little comedian!

Brrr, January in review!

Although we were excited for the start of a fresh New Year, I can't honestly say that I am disappointed to see the first month of the year already written in the history books. Being in my last several weeks of pregnancy and with the weather being chillier than I prefer (even in San Antonio) January is one month I am happy to say goodbye to. Despite the cooler weather and the aches and pains of pregnancy, we managed to stay busy all month and to have some fun along the way.

Isabelle is always ready to play make-believe and often is found in dress-up clothes with an audience of "friends" all set up and ready to watch her performance. They too are often in dress-up clothes of their own and if she can fit a costume on mom and dad, we are ready to perform as well. This month she enjoyed reading Dr Seuss's If I Ran The Circus several times and I believe we put on as many as three cirucs' a day for weeks.

We also spent a few nights this month at the SBC Center first cheering on the San Antonio Rampage followed by a night with the San Antonio Spurs. We were fortunate to have great friends attend the Rampage game with us and then Grandma and Grandpa made the trip over to watch their hometown Rockets beat our Spurs. Isabelle of course loved staying up late and eating lots of junk-food but her most favorite part was watching the mascots!

Mid month, little Jelly woke up and literally could not walk. Her left leg didn't seem to work all of the sudden and after watching it get worse for 24 hours we made the first trip to the pediatrician where we were then sent on a wild-goose chase to try and figure out what exactly was affecting Isabelle's leg. After more pediatrician visits, X-rays and a stint at Methodist Children's Hospital for ultrasounds, etc, the doctors finally ruled out most everything they could easily come up with and made the diagnosis of most likely Transient Synovitis. As bizarre as a hip virus is, if anyone would catch it, it would be Jelly. We were told to treat it with an anti-inflammatory for a few days, keep her off it and pray that a fever did not show-up. We luckily were able to avoid an MRI and extensive lab-work as her leg seemed to slowly improve over the next 7-10 days. It was a really scary and weird experience and we are grateful that both of Isabelle's legs work just as they should and that she is such an agreeable patient.

Only a few days after the diagnosis, we were desperate for Isabelle's gait to greatly improve so that she would be ready to walk down the aisle and be the flower girl in her Aunt Katrina's wedding in Houston! We had a great time visiting with all of the Cosby family in Houston for a short couple of days and participating in the union of Katrina and Gordon Meldrum. We loved getting to know Uncle Gordon's family and friends from Michigan and feel lucky to live just a few hours away from the new couple.


Isabelle happily marched down the wedding aisle tossing her petals very carefully and even walked on beat with a little shuffle in her step after the ceremony was complete. We all had fun dancing and eating and mingling with all of the guests until both Jelly and I were too tired and left the rest of our group to finish with the post party clean up.


Since the wedding Jelly has been "married" herself several times or has been a bridesmaid or flower girl in a variety of her "friends" weddings at home. My favorite part of each ceremony is after they dance and then depart for what she calls their "honey-do!"

I was hopeful that after all of the busyness and long hours on my feet that the new baby Cosby may possibly greet us just a bit early, but good or bad, here we are a week into February and we still have a week or two left! Either way, we had a fun, busy, scary and chilly start to the 2010 year and look forward to more excitement to quickly follow! There is never a rest for the weary!