three months

August 23, 2013

Weight: 17.4 pounds

Length: 26 inches

Head circumference: 17 inches

Sweet Charlie Boy!

We love you so very much! You are the perfect addition to our family. Living life with you is an honor and a joy. You’re a growing boy and wear size 3 diapers and 3-6 month clothes.

You’re still a happy boy and are quite generous with your sweet smiles! Your whole little face lights up when we make eye contact and talk to you. You coo and make the sweetest sounds as you look back into our eyes.

You like to be held and are still pretty snuggly. You enjoy lying down for short periods of time, but really prefer sitting up or standing up and seeing what is going on around you. The bumbo is your favorite place to be. We usually keep it in the kitchen, and you like to watch us prepare meals and wash dishes. It’s also your favorite place to poop! You’ve blown out several diapers in the bumbo. You like to sit in your high chair during meals and smile at us while we eat. When we’re holding you, you use your strong legs to push to a standing position. You love to watch Carson. He’s almost always moving and talking or singing, so he’s quite entertaining. He loves to talk to you and you smile sweetly at him. We love watching you two love each other.

You eat every 2-3 hours during the day, and have even had a few four hour stretches when we’re out and about. You sleep in the rock ‘n play for naps when we’re home and at night. You switched from the swaddle me blanket to the woombie this month. You like that it allows you to move your arms, and you always put your hands beside your face to sleep. You’ve still been sleeping really well and have become quite consistent in sleeping eight hour stretches at night time.

You continue to do well while we’re out and about at the grocery store, restaurants, and at church. You are happy to be passed from one person to another at church. The teenage girls especially love to hold you.

Just a few days after Daddy got home and Pops and Granny left, our sweet friends, the Riches came to visit. We stayed busy and had lots of fun with Mark, Tara, Jaxon, and Madelyn. Daddy took off work and we had a staycation. We went to the Children’s Museum, the Aquarium, Monkey Joes, Chick-fil-A, and an outlet mall. We even took a day trip to Savannah and Tybee Island. We were thankful that you were flexible and went with the flow.

Thank you for being our sweet baby boy!

We love you so much!

Mama, Daddy, and Carson

happy three years from daddy

Dear Carson,

You’re 3 years old! Where has the time gone? It seems like yesterday we were waiting on your arrival. Now you’re such a big boy! Watching you grow over the last year has been so much fun!

It’s been neat to see you become so comfortable in our new home, in our new city, and with our new church family. What a fun treat it is to live in such a fun place and have such a loving church family. We’ve had fun going and enjoying many of the perks of living in the Atlanta area: the zoo, the aquarium, the children’s museum, and Braves games. Your excitement at experiencing these fun places and events makes the experience even more fun for me and for your mama!

As I think back over the last year we’ve begun doing lots of fun things together. We check the mail together each evening after I come home from the office. You help me when I cook food on the grill. We watch basketball together. We listen to music together. You sit in my lap and watch concerts with me (your favorite is Trombone Shorty). We read books together.  We make music together with your harmonica, your pitchpipe, your xylophone, and your drums. I love for you to be my helper to go shopping; we go to Kroger and Sam’s most of all. You especially like the car shopping carts at Kroger!

It’s amazing how much you’ve changed. You’ve slimmed up and grown taller. Your vocabulary has expanded exponentially. You know so many songs (your mama and I estimate you probably know significant portions of a couple hundred songs). Your imagination has continued to become more and more vivid. Your creativity has developed a lot, too.

My favorite thing about you is how much you love people. You care for everybody you know. If friends are sick, you want to check on them and help them. If people are sad, you want to cheer them up. When I come home each day, you always ask me about my day and tell me about yours. But perhaps the greatest example of your love for people is the way you’ve welcomed Charlie to our family. You have been so sweet and loving to him, and he loves you so much.

Carson, I am so thankful for you! I love you so, so much!

Love,

Daddy

three years old!

August 2, 2013

42 pounds (99^th percentile)

40 inches tall (91^st percentile)

Dearest Carson,

It’s difficult to find the words to express just how much I love you, my sweet boy. I am so very thankful that I get to live life with you. You are an absolute joy. Watching you grow and learn is such an honor. In some ways, it’s hard to believe you’re already three, but in other ways you seem much older and it’s hard to remember my life without you.

This year has been extra special because I’ve gotten to see you become a big brother! Not long after your second birthday, we found out I was pregnant and Daddy and I decided to tell you right away. We knew it was a lot for you to process and would be a long time to wait, but you did great! You watched my belly grow as Charlie grew inside me and loved to talk to him, sing to him, and give him kisses before he was even born. You were patient with me while I was pregnant, sleepy, and unable to carry you. You went with us to my doctor’s appointments and loved getting to hear your baby brother’s heart beat.

My very favorite moment of being a mama so far is seeing you and Charlie meet for the first time. I will never forget the excitement and love in your eyes as you came into the room and crawled into the bed with me to see your brand new baby brother. You talked, sang, and kissed just as sweetly as you had when he was still inside of me and over the next few weeks you kept saying, “Mama, can you believe Charlie is really here?!” Since then, you’ve continued to show him love, care, and patience. I am so thankful Charlie gets to learn from you!

I love to hear your sweet voice call for me in the mornings. “Mama, I’m awake!” What a joy it is to be greeted with such love each day! Some days, we snuggle for a little while when you wake up, and other days you’re ready to play. You like to know what day it is, and have been working to better understand time, so several months ago we put a calendar in your room, and you’ve enjoyed learning with it in the mornings. You can sing both the days of the week and months of the year. A couple months after that, we added a United States map. You’ve really enjoyed learning where various states are on the map. You can already locate and name 12 different states.

Your favorite toys are Fisher Price Little People and plastic animals. You use your imagination and play for hours with them. You also like to build with blocks and legos. You’ve started watching TV some and your favorite shows are Little Bear and Clifford. We still love reading books together, especially snuggling and reading one after another. You also like to play and explore outside. Rocks and sticks are some of your favorite toys. You like to call your grandparents on Facetime. You love your stuffed animals. Sometimes you try to put all thirty in bed with you at once, but you normally sleep with about 10 each night. You especially love Tiny, Teddy, and Pooh.

You don’t always nap anymore. Some days you will nap for three hours and other days, not at all, but you always stay in bed and rest for at least an hour and play with your stuffed animals and sing.

One of the highlights of our year was potty training! Just two months after your second birthday you started using the potty and wearing big boy underwear during the day. It’s been challenging at times, but you’re doing really well! You are 42 pounds and 40 inches tall. You wear size 4T-5T shirts and 3T-4T pants.

Daily tasks are fun with you. You help me with cleaning, laundry, trash, and mail, but our favorite task is cooking. I love spending time with you in the kitchen and teaching you as we prepare dinner and make yummy breads and cookies. One of your favorite parts of cooking is sharing with friends and neighbors. Your loving and generous spirit challenges me almost every day.

You really like to go out and about and I enjoy running errands with you. We go to the post office, Kroger, Sam’s, Target, and Hobby Lobby. You help me find the things on our list and we enjoy chatting while we shop. We also go fun places like library story time and the park together. We’ve made sweet friends this year so sometimes we invite them over or meet them at the park, library, and Chick-Fil-A. At least once a week during the day we spend time with Shannon, Laura Beth, and Caroline; Kristen, Colin, and Owen; or Keely and Addison. In the evenings or on the weekends, we have lots of fun with Brian, Kathy, Graeme, and Miles.

You love people and are thoughtful and compassionate beyond your years. You’re outgoing and friendly and remember everyone you meet. You have friends of all ages including our neighbors and church family. You love going to church to see people you love and sing. Singing, oh how you can sing, my sweet boy. You’re almost always singing! It is such a joy to both listen to you sing softly as you play and to see you grab anything you can find to use as a microphone and sing loudly and with great passion. You still love Thank You Lord and The Doxology, but a new favorite this year is 10,000 Reasons. You love to sing at church and at Southland, the nursing home we visit once a month, and you’ve even gotten to help lead songs a couple of times. Your worship is not only a blessing to God, but also to everyone around you.

As is our tradition, you woke up to balloons in your room on your birthday and we had pancakes for breakfast. You also got to open gifts and go to Loco FroYo. We made chocolate cake and shared it with friends at church. I had a lot of fun planning your birthday party with you! It was fun to share ideas and see you get excited. We ended up finding inspiration from one of your favorite books and had a bear hunt party. Everyone brought their teddy bear to hunt and we ate milk and cookies. A lot of friends came to celebrate with you.

Carson, I pray that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ-to the glory and praise of God!

Thank you for being my boy! I love you so much.

Mama 

two months

July 23, 2013

Weight: 15 pounds 10 ounces (97%)

Length: 25 ¼ inches (100%)

Head circumference: 16 ½ inches (100%)

Dear Charlie,

We are all so very thrilled that you’re in our family and we love getting to know you more and more each day. You are an absolute joy! You are growing everyday! You wear size 2 diapers and 3-6 month clothes.

You’ve had some exciting milestones this month. Just before you turned 5 weeks old, on June 26, you smiled for the first time and haven’t stopped smiling since! You give out smiles freely. What a joy it is to see your whole face light up when we talk to you! You are such a happy boy and are becoming very social. You hold eye contact, smile, and coo at us when we talk to you. You also rolled over from your tummy to your back for the first time on your five week birthday. Since then you’ve rolled from your back to your side as well. Your baby acne cleared up at six weeks old. The doctor gave us some eye drops to help with your blocked tear duct. Some days it seems to be getting better.

You still enjoy snuggling and being held. You also enjoy lying on your back, especially on your changing pad. It’s one of the best places to see you smile! You like to relax in your vibrating chair and sit in your highchair during our meals. You’ve also started sitting in the bumbo in the kitchen and do really well holding your head up in there. One of your favorite things is bath time. It seems to be really relaxing for you. You like to scoot down into the water.

You’re still an excellent eater and usually eat every two hours during the day and have started an eat/wake/sleep rhythm throughout the day. During your naps, you are able to fall asleep in various places and sleep through lots of noise. You do really well at church. You normally sleep in your car seat during the singing, wake up and eat during the sermon, and let lots of people take turns holding you afterwards. Then, you’re ready for another nap just in time for us to go out to eat. You do so well going out and about and sleep really well both in the car and in your stroller.  Your naps while we’re out are usually quite a bit longer than your naps at home. You’re still sleeping really well swaddled in your rock ‘n play at night, and have already slept eight hours several times. What a treat that is to your mama!

This month, Daddy started working on his Doctor of Ministry degree and was gone to Nashville for classes for two weeks! He missed you a lot while he was gone and couldn’t believe how much you’d grown and changed when he got back. While he was gone, Pops and Granny came and stayed with us. We enjoyed spending so much time together and I really appreciated all of their help with you and Carson.

You are such a sweet boy and a joy to everyone you meet. We’re so very thankful for you!

We love you!

Mama, Daddy, and Carson

one month

June 23, 2013

Weight: 13 pounds 2.5 ounces (100%)

Length: 23 ¾ inches (100%)

Head circumference: 15 ¾ inches (100%)

Sweet Charlie Boy!

What a joy it’s been to have you here for a whole month! You are the perfect addition to our family and we love you so very much. After a couple of days in the hospital, we came home and Carson greeted us with a celebratory cinnamon cake and lots of excitement!

You are a good snuggler and like to be held, which we LOVE, but you also enjoy time in both your swing and vibrating chair and end up napping in them quite a bit during the day so that you’re downstairs with us. You are able to sleep through a lot of talking and playing. You like to lay on both your back and your tummy when you’re awake. You are really good at holding your head up already. You are pretty laid back and easy going. Your big brother loves you so much, and it’s easy to see that you love him right back. He gets really close to your face, talks to you, sings to you, and gives you lots of hugs and kisses, and you are patient, really seeming to enjoy it most of the time.

You eat every couple of hours during the day and usually sleep between each feeding. Feeding you has been a joy! You’ve got a good latch and strong suck. I’m thankful it’s gone so well. You’re beginning to stay awake for a bit longer each time during the day and we love to see you open those sweet eyes. You like to look at the light and move your head towards our voices. You are already a rock star sleeper! We swaddle you using the swaddle me blanket and you sleep in the Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play Sleeper in your room. The Rock ‘n Play’s bassinet shape is cozier than your crib and is more comfortable for you. You usually eat at about 9:00 at night and don’t wake up until about 3:00-5:00. Then, you sleep until 7:00-8:00 in the morning. We are thankful that eating and sleeping are both going so well!

You are a big boy and are in the 100th percentile in weight, length, and head circumference. You were not able to wear newborn sized diapers and clothes and are already growing out of many 0-3 month clothes that Carson wore until he was 2 ½ months old! We’re finishing up this pack of size one diapers, and you’ll start wearing size two tomorrow. We’re thankful you’re such a big healthy boy! Your circumcision and cord both healed at 2 weeks. You’ve developed baby acne on your face and neck, but thankfully, the doctor said it’s normal, won’t bother you, and should clear up in another month or two. You’ve also got a blocked tear duct on your left eye which causes yellow goop to come out of your eye. The doctor told us to massage it and that it should heal on its own.

You’ve already gotten to know all four of your grandparents. They were here for your birth and took turns staying with us and helping during our first couple of weeks at home. You’ve also met lots of friends from church. You had lots of sweet company both at the hospital and at home the first couple of weeks. Everyone was excited to meet you and loves you already!

Your first outing when you were 10 days old was to Loco FroYo with Mama, Daddy, Carson, Pops, and Granny. Then, you went to a hotdog supper at church the next night. You went to church on a Sunday morning for the first time at 2 ½ weeks old. You went on your first road trip when you were only 20 days old, and it was a 7 ½ hour drive! Our dear friend Lloyd from Hohenwald, TN passed away and we went so that Daddy could help with the funeral and so that we could see his sweet family and let them know how much we love them. It was special to be there to celebrate such a good friend’s life. You did a wonderful job traveling and meeting so many new people! I’m so thankful for that.

Charlie James, you are an absolute joy. I was nervous about having two kids and learning how to balance my time and energy giving you and Carson plenty of love and attention, but it has been an absolute joy and not as difficult as I imagined thanks to two sweet and patient boys who love each other! It’s also been made easier by our sweet family and friends who have spent extra time with Carson so that we could rest and have plenty of time getting to know you this month. They’ve also been really helpful in cooking for us, so that I could spend time with my boys and not have to worry about cooking. I am very thankful for your grandparents and for our sweet church family and for the love they’ve shown us.

You’ve transitioned to life in this great big world so well this first month, Sweet Boy and we are so very very thankful you are ours. Our hearts are overflowing with love and thanksgiving for you, Baby Boy!

We love you!

Mama, Daddy, and Carson

Charlie's birth story

On the days leading up to Charlie’s birth, I had a lot of contractions. They had a consistent pattern several times, but never lasted more than a couple hours at a time. We kept thinking we’d have a frantic hospital run, but Charlie decided to keep us waiting. The doctors recommended an induction, so we scheduled that for his due date, Thursday May 23. Pops and Granny arrived on Tuesday night and Bobel and Reenie got here on Wednesday. The night before Charlie’s birth we enjoyed time with both sets of grandparents. It was the first time we’d all been together since Carson’s birth almost three years before. We considered going out to eat. There’s a restaurant about an hour from us that serves eggplant parmesan that’s famous for putting pregnant women into labor, so that might have been fun, but with all of the contractions I was having, we decided it was smart to stay home and order pizza. It was a special night celebrating family and waiting for our sweet Charlie! We were all full of excitement, especially Carson, so we didn't sleep too much that night! After just a couple of hours of sleep, we woke up, loaded the car, and headed to the hospital. We had to be at there at 5:00 am!

5:00 am: We arrived at the hospital.

5:30 am: I was 3 cm dilated, 80% effaced and he was positioned at -2.

6:45 am: They stared the pitocin and contractions gradually got stronger.

I sat on a big exercise ball to help ease some of the pain of the contractions. I considered trying to go all natural without an epidural. Part of me really wanted to fully experience child birth, but as the contractions got harder, I decided I wasn't tough enough.

10:30 am: Amy broke my water. It was fairly painful with a big gush. I was now dilated 3cm and he was positioned at -1. The contractions intensified. I tried to stand up and what seemed like a gallon of water gushed out!

11:45 am: They started IV for epidural.

12:45 pm: The anesthesiologist got called to a c section which meant we would have to wait a while for epidural. I was now dilated 6cm, was 100% effaced and he was positioned at -1.

1:15 pm: I got epidural. It was really hard to sit still with such strong contractions and it took him a couple of tries to get it in the correct spot. I was now dilated 9 cm, 100% effaced and he was positioned at 0. So, they said it was about time to push. Bob brought Keith some lunch and the nurse told him to scarf it down so he swallowed his chicken strips in less than five minutes. The nurse and midwife stayed for a little while watching contractions on the monitor. They began easing up for me as the epidural took effect. They told me to scoot to the end if the bed and said to let gravity do its thing and left saying they'd return in about 20 minutes.

2:00pm: We waited. Grandparents came in for one more hello. My feet began swelling a lot as they dangled off the bed and as time passed; we began wondering when the midwife and nurse would return.

5:00pm: They finally returned and said it was time to push. As I scooted back in the bed, I realized my left side was numb, but my right side was not. I began pushing with each contraction. I only felt pressure in the left side, but the right side was in a lot of pain. It was clear that the epidural did not work correctly. Amy, the midwife, was reaching inside to feel for Charlie and discovered he was turned in an unexpected way and his shoulder was under my pelvis. She had me roll on each side while I pushed and she did her best to reposition him. As I pushed, Charlie's heart rate began to drop and they gave me an oxygen mask to use between pushes. Pushing was really intense and she was having a hard time getting him in a favorable position. His heart rate continued to drop, so they called the doctor and specialists from the NICU. I tried to remain calm and focused, but with the pain, hormones, and concern, I became quite emotional. Keith, the nurse, and Amy were all kind and encouraging to me, and before I knew it the room was full of specialists waiting for Charlie. After more intense pushing, pain, screaming, and crying, his head finally popped out, but that wasn't the end. He was still stuck so tightly that I had more hard pushing to do. I wasn't sure I could do it. I was pushing as hard as I could. She did an episiotomy.

5:54pm: Thankfully, with a few more hard pushes, he finally came. They quickly handed him off to the specialists to make sure he was okay after a traumatic labor and delivery. I was completely exhausted and full of emotion. I looked over and was able to get a peek at my precious bundle of joy. I heard a cry. Things seemed to be okay. I was so very thankful. Keith looked over as they put him on the scale and saw 10 pounds. He assumed something else was on the scale with him until they announced his weight as 10 pounds 15.3 ounces. Wow! Just shy of 11 pounds. No wonder that was intense!  He was also quite long at 22 1/4 inches. Amy began sewing me up from a 2nd degree episiotomy. With only half of the epidural effective, this was quite painful as well.

6:30pm: We finally got to hold our precious Charlie! Our hearts overflowed with joy, love, and thanksgiving! All four grandparents were able to come meet their new grandson. Keith called Carson and told him Charlie was here and Carson was so excited!  I fed him for the first time. It was so special to hold him close and begin getting to know him.

7:00pm: Carson spent the afternoon and evening with Brian, Kathy, and Miles, so after the phone call with the good news, they headed back up to the hospital. We were all looking forward to seeing the brothers meet for the first time. Keith had the camera, Reenie had the video camera, and I had Charlie. Granny brought Carson in. He was beaming with joy and love. He crawled up on the bed with Charlie and me and immediately started talking and singing to his baby brother. His touch was sweet and gentle. Then, he moved to a chair so he could hold his new baby brother. Seeing my precious boys together for the first time is a memory I will hold close and treasure always.

 8:00pm: Brian and Kathy met Charlie and then helped us move to our new room.

We spent the evening recovering and getting to know our precious baby boy. We loved our sweet Charlie so much already! He spent the days with us and the nights in the nursery. The nurses were so sweet and took such good care of us. That night, they had to check Charlie’s blood sugar every time he ate to make sure it wasn’t too low. It dropped about midnight, but thankfully it increased enough over the next few feedings, that by morning, they were no longer concerned. 

Carson, Pops, Granny, Bobel, Reenie came to visit on Friday, as well as several friends from church. Everyone was excited to meet our sweet Charlie. We rested and snuggled. They discharged us around noon on Saturday. We made a quick stop by the Kroger pharmacy before heading home. We were greeted with lots of love by Carson, Pops, and Granny. We took a couple of family pictures and then had a special lunch of pigs-in-a-blanket and cinnamon cake, planned by Carson! It was good to be home and surreal that we now had two children! What a blessing!

Baby Brother

It’s the big question everyone has been asking us for months: "Have you decided on a name?"

Naming another person is such a big decision, and just like when we were naming Carson, I think of names and Keith eliminates them! Sweet Carson has offered several suggestions along the way, including Lightning McQueen and TowMater, whom he knows from his underwear, and his very favorite suggestion: Jesus. He also thought Baby Brother would be born in Bethlehem with all of the animals and was quite concerned to hear that he would be born in a hospital. Throughout the pregnancy, Carson has been such a sweet big brother, rubbing my belly and talking to his baby brother in the sweetest little voice.

Last night, we finally decided to commit to a name. It’s the one name that’s been on the list the whole time.

Charlie James Clark

Charlie

One of our most beloved mentors, Charles Siburt, passed away last summer. Dr. Siburt is one of the godliest men we’ve ever known. He was honest and encouraging, gentle and strong, funny and sincere. He was probably the most discerning person we’ve ever known. He loved churches and loved ministers and was gifted at matching the two. We will always be grateful that he matched us with Hohenwald and with Southern Crescent. He had physical challenges, but did not let them define him. In fact, those challenges made him stronger, more humble, and more empathetic. He and his sweet wife, Judy, always made us feel like such dear and special friends, and in the months leading up to his death when he was so sick, we realized just how many other people they made feel so special and loved. So, as we brainstormed names, there was a reason we kept coming back to Charlie: because there is no one we’d rather name our sweet boy after than Charlie Siburt. We pray that our little Charlie will grow up to be a man with the same kinds of qualities as this man that we loved so dearly, who used his gifts to glorify God, who recognized gifts in other people, and who dedicated his life to Jesus.

James

James is another name rich with meaning for both Keith and me. Like Dr. Siburt, Dr. James Thompson is another of Keith’s professors from the Graduate School of Theology at ACU. Graduate school has been one of the most formative parts of Keith’s life so far, and did so much to shape us both into the people we are today. Much of this formation is thanks to James Thompson. Dr. Thompson sought Keith out as a first year student and took time to teach, mentor, and nurture his faith. Keith took almost every class Dr. Thompson offered during his three and half years in graduate school and soaked up as much as he could. He used to joke that he was minoring in Thompson. Dr. Thompson opened his eyes to new ways of understanding scripture and introduced him to some of his favorite authors. We will always be thankful for James, for the ways he has taught Keith about theology, and for the way he models a life of continued learning and growth. We are excited that our Charlie James can carry his name.

My granddad, my dad’s dad, was JT Mahaffey. When he was in World War II, they asked him what his name stood for, and he told them it didn’t stand for anything, his name was simply JT. They asked him his dad’s name and when he told them James Thomas, they informed him that was now his name too. So, though I never heard anyone call my granddad "James," I saw it written on his mail and knew the story of his name. I have absolutely wonderful memories with my granddad. My sister and I used to join him, his wife, and oftentimes, the rest of their RV club on camping trips where we cooked outside, went fishing, swam in the lake, and played cards. My love of organization, strawberry milkshakes, and playing cards are all from him. He was a craftsman and was gifted at working with his hands. Whether it was building a new dog pen or baby doll beds for Misty and me, he was always working on something. He loved his neighbors, friends, and family. For the last three years of his life, we lived just two miles down the road, and were able to spend even more time playing cards, sharing meals, and visiting around his kitchen table. Unfortunately, he died several years before I met Keith, so they never got the opportunity to know each other, but he is one of the kindest men I’ve ever known. We are thankful our sweet boy can carry on his name.