Introducing Colton (Cole) Curtis Moran

We are thrilled to announce the arrival of Colton (Cole) Curtis Moran, who was born at 3:38 a.m. on January 27. He weighed a whopping 9 lbs 10 oz. (say what?!) and was 21" long.

After a 13 hour labor with Jackson (which included nearly three hours of pushing), we were amazed to welcome Cole just three hours after my first contraction, which included my water breaking upon walking into the hospital, me wanting to start pushing on the floor in the hallway on the way to be checked in, and only 20 mins of pushing. Very dramatic to say the least.  After experiencing an epidural with Jackson, I was lookong forward to one again but there was no time.  For the record, I highly recommend one.

But, dramatic delivery aside, we loved being able to meet Cole so quickly and start to find out all about this little person who has been rolling around in my tummy for months.

The three of us were excited to be discharged yesterday morning to get home and see big bro again (thanks to his grandparents, he was able to stop by the hospital a few times, including a visit mere hours after Cole's arrival).

I'll share more as we get settled into being a family of four, but in the meantime, feel free to check out Corey's daily photoblog for Cole here.

Mini Breaks

Jackson hasn't been to swimming or the mini break dancing class in a few months (swimming ended back in November, and we opted to sit the next session out, with #2's arrival, and with the holidays, the dance class wasn't meeting). 

J has recently asked about both, so when earlier this week, he asked to go back to dance class on Sunday, we couldn't resist, especially since #2 hasn't made his debut.

He had a great time dancing with Daddy, and burning off some energy after being cooped up in the house so much these last few days.

Practicing his "freeze" and new spinning-on-the-ground trick (which we learned from some of the other kids).

J danced in the circle both chances he got today.

 

I just love my boys!

So serious and attentive, listening to the teacher (Anna Banana Freeze).

 

Lots of hugs for his dancing partner today.

The Waiting Game

January 24 (#2's due date) has come and gone, and still no baby.  I was 3 cm dilated at my last appointment on Tuesday and my doc was very excited and thought I'd have him before my next scheduled appointment on Monday.  But so far, other than a few non-painful and sporadic contractions on Thursday evening and yesterday afternoon, there's no sign of him.

At this point, it appears we'll have two stubborn boys on our hands, but I guess we could have expected that, given that they have two stubborn parents...

We've been relaxing and enjoying our final days as a family of three, including lots of snuggles on the couch together, a trip to the duck park and the slides, and a family grocery shopping trip this morning, complete with a kid's hot chocolate.   Corey and I are catching up on lots of Breaking Bad episodes at night - we're hoping to complete season 4 this weekend. What a great show.  And as of this past Monday, I am officially working from home until the baby arrives, which has been nice.

Unfortunately Jackson caught the worst cold he's had and has been home from school since Tuesday with a fever and cough.  He's had numerous colds in his 2.5 years, but none have effected him much or kept him up at night but this one is a doozy.  He's been waking up with coughing attacks multiple times each night.  "I'm coughin', I'm coughin'!!", he'll tell us through tears when we go in to comfort him.  So far though, the honey we've given him before he's gone to sleep has helped a bit.  He's also been sleeping with a water bottle and surprisingly has actually been drinking it throughout the night.   At one point this week, we also thought we may have an ear infection on our hands, but after already visiting the doctor the day before (at which his ears appeared fine), the nurse I spoke to on the phone didn't think it could already be an infection and perhaps was just fluid starting to build up and suggested trying Tylenol, which seemed to do the trick, thank goodness. 

What's funny though is that during the day at the peek of his cold, he was in a GREAT mood - even happier, more polite, and more agreeable than normal.  If we told him no or asked him to do something he wouldn't normally want to do, he'd just say, "okay, mommy/daddy" and he was thanking us for everything many times each day. 

At this point, his fever is gone and he just has his cough, which is starting to sound a little better - perhaps thanks to the humidifier Corey picked up earlier this week. And the Jackson we know and love is back - still happy and polite, but a bit less agreeable and a bit more apt to get upset when things don't go his way at times. 

What rough timing for a cold to hit our house, I tell ya!  I am just glad Jackson seems to be on the mend though, and I guess the overnight wake-ups are preparing us for the reality of a newborn soon...

We're thinking #2 may have delayed his arrival in order for Jackson to be fully recovered.  So, now that we're nearly there Mini Moran #2, we are ready for you! 

Jackson had a rough time falling asleep last night. After counting to 15 in Spanish (all on his own!), saying the Humpty Dumpty rhyme, he ended with this, shortly before falling asleep. (In case you can't tell, it's him reciting "Baa, baa black sheep".)

 

Intently watching the Chipmunks movie he received for Christmas for the first time this morning.

 

Showering #2

We have such wonderful friends, family and co-workers who have all spoiled us like crazy as we prepare for #2's arrival. 

Kelsey threw me a fabulous intimate shower back in November to celebrate the arrival of #2, and it was perfect - a few close friends and family members, fabulous food, and way too many presents. 

A few weeks later, several of my co-worker friends took me out to lunch and spoiled #2 again.  Right after that, others at my work threw me a surprise shower, and then this past week, Corey's office threw him a surprise shower! 

We are so ready for this baby now after all these celebrations, I can't stand it!

Jackson and I were thrilled to be included in Corey's surprise "Little Man Moran" mustache shower.  Yesterday, J and I arrived at Corey's work while he was out at a meeting, so that when he returned, we'd be there, along with everyone else, to surprise him.  It was perfect - they brought Specialties in to snack on, everyone participated in a "guess the mustache" game and submitted their vote for date, time and weight of the baby when he arrives, followed by even more presents.  They were so thoughtful and even included Jackson in the presents - with his recent love (obsession) with Dora, they stocked him up with a Dora DVD and bath toys.  Baby bro was way too spoiled with an extremely generous Amazon gift card and two of the most adorable onesies ever, including one with a snap on bow tie and one with a tie.

Thanks to everyone for sharing in our excitement over #2's arrival and for hosting such wonderful celebrations in his honor!

Seriously --- this hair!  He had a haircut three weeks ago, yet it looks like he hasn't had one in months.

 

And I'll end with a few photos from the shower Kels threw me (as I just realized I never posted them!).

 

 

More Jackson-isms

I've said it before, but I can't help mentioning it again...Jackson continues to say the funniest things.  Here are a few recent Jackson-isms.

He continues to pick up on phrases that we say, using them in appropriate contexts.  Things like "Holy cow!" and "Oh my gosh/God!" slip out when he's surprised, he drops something, etc.  There was a short period of time though, that he mixed up the two phrases and would say "Holy God!"  Had to help correct that one...

We were driving through a construction zone recently, and the road got a bit bumpy.  Jackson yelled "we're bumpin', Mom!".  I agreed, and then he asked, "are we driving on the sidewalk?!"

He's never been much of a meat or a veggie eater, but I've been asking him to try at least one bite of whatever is on his plate for lunch at school, as it would make mommy very happy.  Usually he doesn't come through, but this week, as soon as I came to pick him up, he was VERY excited on two different occasions to run up and tell me what he'd tried/eaten that day.  The first was chicken, and the second day was hot dogs.  I made a big deal about this, giving him high fives, hugs and telling him how proud of him I was.  He was excited to call Daddy and some of his grandparents on our way home to fill them in on the good news.  He then told me,  "when I try chicken/hot dogs, it makes everyone so happy!". 

He told me he'd missed me the other day on our way home from school. I told him I'd missed him too, and that I loved him very much. He responded with, "I love all of our family" and started listing off everyone's name. 

We've been talking a lot about what he can help us do with baby brother. He likes to show us how he'll hold baby brother (like he's cradling him).  One day, he got up on my lap and said, "I want to cuddle next to baby brother" and then leaned against my tummy.

Recent dialog between Jackson and Daddy:
Jackson: My tummy hurts.
Daddy: Are you going to get sick? (He'd recently had the flu.)
Jackson: No.
Daddy: Do you need to poop? (He often tells us his tummy hurts before he needs to poop.)
Jackson: No.
Daddy: Is it because you're hungry?
Jackson: Yes...I need chocolate.

I'm sure this won't be the last post on funny Jackson sayings, as this blog is the best way for me to keep track of and remember all the cute things that come out of his mouth these days.

Green tootsie pops = VERY green mouths.

Bed Time

For as long as I can remember, Jackson has taken a long time to fall asleep each night, like his daddy.  Normally he just flops around in his bed, kicks at the wall, or does downward dog poses, but last night, he was talking up a storm.  Unfortunately we couldn't understand what he was saying - it all sounded like gibberish.  And then there was the blanket throwing.

Eventually, about an hour after I said goodnight to him, he fell asleep.

Goodbye 2013, Hello 2014!

2013 has been a big year for the Moran family.  Some of the highlights include:

• Jackson turning 2
• Finding out that Jackson was going to be a big brother
• Finding out that Mini Moran #2 is a boy
• Jackson's first trips to the Seattle Aquarium, the Blueberry Farm, Fox Hollow Farm, Cougar Mountain Zoo, Dairy Queen, Denver, and Newport Beach
• Seeing Jackson dance and sing at his first school pageant
• Kelsey and Mark's wedding
• Corey and I celebrating our 5th anniversary in Maui, where we were married
• Jackson's first swimming lesson, and getting over his fear of water
• Jackson's first hip hop class
• Corey getting his dream car (a Tesla Model S)
• Jackson learning the ABCs and to spell his name
• Jackson learning to count to 30+
• Jackson getting over much of his shyness (though he can still be shy, we've definitely seen vast improvement)
• Jackson moving into his big boy room
• Celebrating the birth of new babies within our circle of friends, including Henry Shawver, Ellie Gossett, and Hadley Reeder

We hope you all had a wonderful 2013 and wish you a fabulous 2014!

Christmas 2013

Christmas has come and gone, all of our decorations are put away and the lights have been taken down from our house, but I wanted to do a quick post about our eventful holiday activities over the last few weeks.

It started with picking out our Christmas tree at Trinity Tree Farm.  We love it there, and even though it was only 11 degrees the morning we went, it was sunny and Jackson had a great time helping pick the tree, and then thoroughly enjoyed climbing on some rocks he came across (such a boy).

Next up was the HMG holiday party at the Westin, while Gramma Joan watched Jackson.  He kept busy by decorating his first gingerbread house that she brought over, while we mingled with Corey's co-workers and took part in a gift exchange. It's always so great to catch up with the HMG'ers, since I don't get to see many of them very often.

 

Jackson helped me make sugar cookies this year, and it was his first time decorating them, which he loved.  He may have only decorated a few (since I was worried he'd start licking them and we planned to give some to a few of our neighbors), but those few were amazing, and delicious.

 

Last weekend, my family came over and we celebrated Christmas (round 1) together with gifts and a yummy dinner.  It was so fun to watch Jackson not only get excited to open gifts but to also play with them this year.  His favorite gift by far was a kid's CD player my parents gave him - he spent at least an hour putting CDs in, dancing and taking the CDs out while we all opened our presents.  He didn't even want to move on to his next presents - "not yet, I'm busy" is what he'd say each time we tried to get him to move on to the next gift.  We finally got him to open his other gifts, which included his own kitchen, but he still kept going back to the CD player.  It was in constant use all weekend (I think we heard the Chicken Dance alone at least 100 times), and has continued to be a bit hit since then. 

Earlier this week, after Jackson's haircut at Bellevue Square (first time not having to sit in my lap since he was a baby!), we hit up Snowflake Lane.  Jackson loved the lollipops they handed out, and the drummer boy that we had a great view of, which was his favorite part last year as well.  

On Christmas Eve, Joan and Elliott came over for our Moran family Secret Santa gift exchange (round 2), and we were each spoiled and enjoyed watching Jackson open his next round of presents including a race track, adorable big boy outfit, and new additions to his kitchen.

On Christmas day, we spent a quiet morning at home (round 3) - just the three of us - and Jackson opened his presents from Santa and from us.  The present we were most excited to give him was a work bench, and he's spent a lot of time putting together and taking apart a toy airplane Gramma Joan gave him earlier this year.  The cutest part is when he uses the (fake) vacuum attached to the side of the work bench to clean up when he's all done. 

Christmas afternoon, we headed to Joan's with Consuelo and Elliott for Christmas dinner and to open stockings (round 4 - whew!).  Again, we were all spoiled both a delicious dinner, as well as stocking stuffers.

 

Corey and I didn't get each other any presents this year, considering he bought his dream car a few months ago, and we just got a new bedroom set (finally bought a king size bed, which we love!), but we did decide that a nice dinner out at Daniel's Broiler would be a great way to sneak in what may possibly be our last date night before Mini Moran #2 arrives. So over this past weekend, Joan watched Jackson and we headed out on date night. We ate way too much of course, but had a fabulous time together.

 

You can sense a theme --- yummy food and being spoiled with way too many presents --- and we thoroughly enjoyed all the family time we were able to sneak in over the past week. And as Jackson's last holiday season as an "only child", I'd say he had a great time.

 

We hope you all enjoyed a wonderful holiday as well!

 

Trinity Tree Farm

 

 

 

Joan picked the gingerbread house kit up from Trader Joes - such a cute house!

 

HMG holiday party

 

Decorating cookies is serious business

 







Christmas Round 1

 

The infamous CD player, which HE can control

 

 

 

Waiting for Snowflake Lane to begin

 

 

 
 
 

Christmas Round 3

 

 

Christmas Round 4

 



The Countdown is On!

With less than a month to go before Mini Moran #2's anticipated arrival, it's time to place your bets! Feel free to leave your guesses on the following in the comments, and we'll see who is closest once #2 decides to join us.

1. Birth date
2. Time
3. Weight
4. Length

Keep in mind, my due date is January 24, and in case it helps, Jackson was five days late, was 8 lbs 4 oz and was 20.5" long.

Snow!

We woke up to the first snowfall of the year yesterday and even though it was less than an inch of snow, school was delayed and then ultimately cancelled for Jackson, so I worked from home.  While it meant a lot of Dora watching for Jackson while I worked, we both decided a little fresh air after lunch would be fun, so we bundled up and headed outside.

Jackson hadn't ever really experienced snow.  It snowed his first year, but he was too little to enjoy it, and last year I think it snowed one day but turned to rain (and thus slush) before we even left the house for school.

We decided to build a snowman, which he named Frosty the Snowman ("just like in Dora Mixed Up Seasons!", which is one of his favorite Dora episodes).  The snow was perfect for snowman building, so it didn't take us long.

After that, we decided to do some writing in the snow, and until it started raining, our driveway was full of all kinds of names (Jackson, Mom, Dad, Auntie Sara, Gramma, Grampa, Kelsey, and so on).  I'm sure our neighbors got some laughs out of our driveway and snowman.

Can't wait for #2 to get here, and to see both boys get to enjoy the snow together in the years to come.

Unfortunately Frosty the Snowman didn't live long. After an evening of rain, he was pretty much a tipped over snowball. Poor J - he asked me to go out and "pick him up". If only I could, Jackson, if only I could.