A birth I will remember forever!

Introducing Caleb Xavier Alicea!!!

I've been so excited to make this post. I finally can today because I got some cute pictures of this precious little boy. Monday, March 14, 2011 Caleb Xavier Alicea was born. He arrived at 1:32pm and weighed in a 8 pds 12oz and is 20 inches long. He is the most handsome little newborn ever!

I will remember this birth as long as I live because it was my first live birth(besides my own of course.) I have never experienced something so beautiful other than giving birth myself. Mommy Sarah did amazing and daddy Jose was great too. I'm so honored that they allowed me to experience that with them. I am on my way to being a doula. I still have a long ways to go but I needed to experience a birth to find out if I could truly handle the whole experience and my questions have been answered. If I can do this the rest of my life I will. The feeling I get while being there with the mom and dad while they are anxiously waiting, doing whatever I can to help and being able to watch the miracle of birth gives me a high that I can't explain. I felt calm and peaceful the whole time I was there. Sarah, Jose and I had some great conversation and learned a lot about each other. I know this will probably be one of the easiest births I'll experience but it was still so amazing. Knowing how calm I was even when she was in pain and pushing and while she was recovering from the birth just reassures me that I am going to be able to be the supportive doula like I want to be. Knowing that I can handle the ups and downs and take the stress well is very reassuring for me also. Sarah had a great labor. I think things went really well and she didn't have to push long at all before he was out! This is something I will live for and love doing for the rest of my life. Thank you Sarah and Jose for allowing me to be there with you all and have an amazing FIRST birth experience!

I'm going to put myself out there a little bit. I need all the experience I can get before I can become a doula. If you or someone you know would like to have a "doula in training" at your birth or wouldn't mind if I just sat in on your birth I'd really appreciate the experience! I'm sure Sarah and Jose wouldn't mind talking to you about the experience they had with me so you can better determine if it's something for you or not.

Somebody pinch me...

I guess I just love bragging about my boys but check THIS out! 

This is why I love my husband so much! Thanks babe! I'm such a lucky woman!!!

Just Sayin...

Isn't he CUTE?? I'm just sayin...I JUST LOVE THIS LITTLE BOY! 

Thanks for giving me my minute to brag.

(thanks for the pic Ashley)

:)

I've enjoyed our last few days spending time with Ashley, Ryan, Mylei and Tristen! We've had an interesting time together to say the least. Marland got put in "The Doghouse" as Ashley put it because he got us caught up in rush hour traffic in unfamiliar terrains by ourselves. It's bad when Ryan and Ashley(not from Columbus) are giving ME directions on how to get home! We've had a great time and I just LOVE their kids. Mylei was a great helper with Josiah and Tristen read Josiah his bedtime stories! <3 that WHOLE family! :)

Marland and I got the chance to take Josiah to the mall TOGETHER for a change. We had a great time. I really cherish those times. 

He loved this ride so much he had to ride it twice!

This is my new favorite picture.

Eggs on Your Head!!

This morning, Josiah was eating eggs for breakfast. I was happy because I can't hardly get him to eat them most of the time. Anyways, he was eating them from this bowl that is supposed to stick to the high chair so he can't pick it up and dump things out of the bowl. Well, that didn't work. As you know he has been making ANYTHING his hat lately. Well, I turned around and there he was sitting with the bowl on his head and little pieces of eggs ALL stuck in his hair. I didn't think to take a picture but this is about what it looked like.

I love my silly boy

I've also spent some of my time this morning scratching a yellow crayon off of my stove! Some little boy around here stuck the crayon down in the burner of the stove and it melted while I was using the oven last night! Oh toddlers...

Josiah has been so affectionate lately. He'll give me hugs and kisses anytime I ask and even when I don't! And they are good ones too! I love my son.

Sleepy Baby

So, I know I've been fussing a lot about how hard it is to get Josiah to bed. I just wanted to let you know that he is starting to sleep much better. He's been asleep by 7:30 every night this week and he's taking one 2-3 hour nap every morning.  He wakes up around 6:45-7:00am but he's not waking up in the middle of the night anymore at all so it's much easier on everyone. Ideally, I'd like him to take another nap in the afternoon but I think he's doing ok because he's going to bed earlier than he's used to.

It's an adjustment for me right now because I'm used to doing things later like bible study and such but everyone I've talked to and everything I've read has said to be very rigid with the bedtime so that he gets used to it. I'm hoping later it will be ok if he goes to bed a little later every now and then. I'm excluded from pretty much everything at our church right now because everything goes on later in the evening so it makes it tough to be able to connect with my church friends and family but I know Josiah needs to get on a better sleeping routine and I need it to. Long nights are not good for this family!

Marland has had a pretty long week. He has an extra class added to his schedule this week from 7pm-9pm. It makes for a really long day for him. And to make things more stressful he has been studying for his MPRE test(some part to the BAR exam) that he has to take this Saturday. I just hope I'm doing everything I can to make things easier on him here so he can focus on his school work. It's pretty tough running everything all day by myself with Josiah and now Evan but it's totally worth it. Poor Josiah misses his daddy though.

Some Recent Pictures Of Josiah

Josiah signing "baby" for you

Our little ET

Big Boy

1st time on a ride in the mall

He's Back!

Evan's back in the Turner household again! Today was Evan's first day back here with the family. We all had a great time. I was amazed at how much he grew in only a few months. He's so tall! He's putting 2 and 3 words together which I think is adorable. His main phrase for the day has been "elmo song". He LOVES elmo and he saw it on my computer on youtube and repeated that phrase over and over again until I turned it on for him. I think it's really neat that he actually answers me with a yes or no when I ask him something now. That seems so small but it really does make things much easier!

Josiah was so excited when Evan came through the door. He was hugging all over him and pulling his coat off of him. It was so cute! They played so much together and got along really well for the most part. I can tell sharing will be a fun thing to work on with Josiah. He always wants what others are playing with!

Niko and Sarah stopped by today for a visit. It was great! Sarah is due with her second baby boy in March and I'm so excited for her. It's neat because while reading my books for my doula training I can easily relate what they are talking about to her and how she's feeling. I'm lucky to have a friend be so open with me about her pregnancy and birth. I need all the experience I can get! Niko and Josiah played a lot together too while they were here. Evan was taking his nap so he missed out this time. There's always next time!

I found out recently that my friend bake from home is having TWINS! She's due in late September. I'm so excited for her and I wish her the healthiest of pregnancies. I know what it's like carrying one and having to take care of one but I couldn't imagine having two little ones in my belly at once and taking care of two. If anyone can do it though it's her! She's so calm and patient all the time. She's going to be a great mom. I really hope she has them before or after we go on our cruise! She wants me to be her doula! How amazing would it be to be a supporter for someone having twins! That would be such a blessing and such a miracle to experience! I really hope I'm around.

Here are some pictures of the boys hanging out today for the first time in awhile...

A weekend away

This weekend Marland and I went to Cincinnati for a couples retreat. Josiah stayed at home with his mamaw Sharon and his auntie Andrea! This was our first time away from each other over night. Of course like any first time mom I was worried about things but I knew he'd be fine all in all. I probably went overboard to make sure everything was set out and ready for them once we left but I'm sure that's pretty normal for any first time mom. Marland and I had a great time while we were away and apparently Josiah did really well too. He went down for bed and naps better then he does with me! He slept through the night, ate well, and played a lot with Maggie. He got spoiled rotten while they were here! We were so lucky to have pictures sent to us every once in awhile to see what little man was into. That really made it easier for me. It was a great weekend for everyone. Marland and I got some much needed time together without worrying about Josiah. I did tell him several times to be quiet because I thought I heard Josiah waking up before we went to bed. My mom and sister did a great job with Josiah and I am so glad Josiah was good for them! A big THANK YOU again to my sister and mom for coming up and staying with him while we were gone!!

Some Pictures from Our Weekend