Happy Veteran's Day!!!

I want to thank all the veterans out there this evening. A special thank you to the veterans who are again in Iraq for another tour. I also want to send out a personal thank you to the guys with 1st Cav that were in Iraq from Oct 2006 - Jan 2008... Thank you David, Merv, Drew, Jonny, Fred, Brock, SSG Rivera, Allen, Chris, Byron, and SSG Addison. You guys are my heros!
My husband sacraficed a lot for this country. I am very proud of him and love him so much for everything he has done for me, his family, and his country.

Veterans are awesome!

I actually want to go to the gym.

I never though I would say this but I am looking forward to being able to start working out. I want to see how good of shape I can get into. All I really want is to lose the flab I have hanging from my mid section, lose the "love handles", get my butt into shape, and get my thighs into shape. I really don't need an arm workout because carrying a car seat and Jacob is workout enough for my arms. My weight goal is to stay under 130 pounds. I only have 3 pounds to go to meet that goal so weight isn't a big concern at the moment. That will be a concern after the holidays.
Speaking of the holidays... I want to put my Christmas tree up! I am in the Christmas mood and it's driving me crazy that I will look crazy if I put my tree up now. I want to start Christmas shopping now but we really don't have the money to do that yet. I think I will have to settle with just watching Christmas movies.
Ryder is a great addition to our family. It feels like he has been with us forever. He has some issues with being gassy, but we still love him.
Jacob is still a trouble maker. I have noticed if he finds something he enjoys doing it will keep his attention for a long time. The hard part is finding activities he enjoys.
I was just thinking about my life and I think I am now a grown up!?. I have 2 kids, a husband, a dog, a house, and a job. Isn't that what makes a grown up? How scary... Where is the pause button!
"Go PAY!!!" -Jacob (Translation: "Go Play!!!")

Happy Halloween!

Jacob, Ryder, and I spent the evening trick or treating . We only went to family because Jacob doesn't need all that candy and this way everyone was able to see Ryder. Ryder was my little pumpkin and Jacob was a puppy. We had fun seeing everyone and Mommy isvery happy with the stash of candy she will have to help Jacob eat. The only concern I have is what will happen to my cute little pumpkin when it turns midnight?

Ryder makes his debut.

Ryder James Gaddie has arrived!

Ryder was born at 11:37 am on October 18th. He weighed 8 lbs 3.7 oz and was 21 1/2 inches long. He is absolutely adorable.
I was supposed to be induced the morning of the 18th. I went to bed on the 17th and had contractions all night long but didn't worry about timing them or anything since I would be going in to L&D in the morning anyway. We arrived at the hospital at 7 am. The resident doctor (Dr. Cheng) checked me and I was already dilated to 5. They decided I didn't need Pitocin to start contractions since I was already in labor but that they would give me an epidural and break my water. I got the epidural and as soon as they had me lay flat I started feeling really sick. I started sweating, was short of breath, and nauseous. My blood pressure dropped so my nurse went to get epinephrine and I started puking. I felt better after I vomited, but a few minutes later it all started happening again. After a little while I felt better. Ryder's heart rate decelled during the whole ordeal so we had to wait out a couple contractions to make sure he was fine. His heart rate was good so then they decided to break my water. I don't remember how long is took after they broke my water but soon I had the urge to push. The nurse made me breath through a few contractions. David told me to not push and to just breath. I told him the next time he needed to take his morning poop I was going to lock him out of the bathroom and tell him to just breath. The nurse got a good laugh out of that. When the nurses and doctors finally set everything up I was told I could push. I seriously only pushed like 5 times, it took about 5 minutes and he was born. Ryder came out crying, David cut the cord, and I started crying. This delivery was sooo much easier than Jacob's. I think it because David was there.
David and I seriously struggled to name Ryder. We wanted the perfect name. Because Ryder was born on the anniversary of Brandon's death and he looks like Brandon we wanted his middle name to be Brandon. We couldn't think of any names that went with Brandon so we decided to stay with James as a middle name. After staring at Ryder for a while David said we could name him Ryder. I told him not to just settle for a name and he said he wasn't. I already knew I loved the name and when I looked at him I thought Ryder just fit.

We are all home now and settling in nicely. Jacob loves his little brother, such a relief.

I love my boys. I don't know what I would do without them.
"So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind. Hang it on a shelf of good health and good time." - Green Day

We want to meet you!

The car seat is ready, the cradle is ready, the bag is packed, and I am starting to think this baby is stuck. David and I are ready for this baby to be born, I am thinking that is why we are on edge with each other lately. It's something neither of us can make happen and neither of us have patience so it is driving us nuts. To me the house still isn't clean enough to take a baby home to so I am hoping to get some deep down cleaning done today. I also don't think Jacob will ever be ready. He is used to getting the majority of our attention and it still isn't enough for him, so having to share the spot light is not going to come smoothly. For the most part though, I am ready to meet this little bugger. Come on out and meet Mommy!

The most magical feeling is when your baby kicks for the first time... The most annoying feeling is after your baby has kicked for 20 minutes straight at 4 am!