This morning

Get up to nurse baby before big kids wake.

I hear a gush of water. See that our new humidifier is leaking. Actually, I guess it broke.

Walk to the kitchen to grab a mop only to notice a burning smell.

Burnt the oatmeal.

Rhett's up- wants to turn on a cartoon. Wants to know what that bad smell is.

Throw out breakfast. 

Scramble some eggs instead. Add a side of grapes and orange juice. Wallah. 

Nina is up.

Get her out of her crib to see that poor thing has soaked her sheets.

Clean her up, sit her at the table.

Hunter is now crying. 

Gassy- I forgot to burp her. Humidier water is still all over the floor.

School lunches!?

Yogurt, check. Fruit, check. 

We are out of bread.

Hunter in car seat. Kids dressed. Brush teeth, hair, wipe faces, ears and hands. 

Load all three into the car. Hit the neighborhood Mexican restaurant on the way to school- 

bean and cheese tacos for lunchboxes. 

Get to school with a couple minutes to spare. 

It's nine o clock in the morning and I'm exhausted. 

 I jot this down because my mom tells me to. She says I am going to miss this.

She might be right.

We had a BABY!

Hunter Claire is her name! She was born 6 weeks ago- six weeks this weekend!



She is beautiful. Sweet. Easy. - and here is her story:

It was one of those classic 'omg we are in labor' moments. I woke up the morning of January 12th, thinking about walking down to the farmer's market while Porter was going to run and get our usual Saturday morning donuts at the  bakery. But then- my water breaks unexpectedly (2 weeks early), 4 year old slips on the mess (nice), best friend loads her kids in her car to swing by and pick up mine so the P and I can bee line it to the hospital (lifesaver). It was truly out of a movie. p.s. this next picture: Porter's idea.



And then we arrived at the hospital and waited..and waited...I taunted the red head nurse- begged and pleaded for some 'pharmaceutical' relief, and according to Porter- exchanged a few choice words (woops). Too little too late. In an instant, we had Hunter Claire. She came like lightening. My doctor was chit chatting in the hallway while that red headed nurse- she literally caught our baby and announced that we had a girl. Porter said I can kick natural labor off my bucket list. I reminded him that it -never-was-on-my-bucket-list.



And a GIRL- we were shocked! Not knowing what we were having was totally worth the wait. Porter and I were both taking in the  final moments of the delivery- hearing that it was a girl was just easy on the ears. She was beautiful.

 
All 6 pounds 2 ounces and 19 1/2 inches of her.

Hunter Claire! 

Hunter- because I have always like that name. I babysat for a little girl Hunter in college,  had a sorority sister named Hunter, Porter has a girl cousin named Hunter. Suffice to say- it was always on my heart since our Clemson days and I love its southern roots.

Claire- because we like the ring to it. And that's that.

We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends that came to our rescue, with meals and childcare while we waited for our families to get over the flu before they could come on the scene.

And in the meantime- it was time to recover in the hospital. I love the days after the delivery in the hospital- it's where I rest, read magazines, and fall in love with my babies.
And within a week my mom was in full force with her cleaning, grocery shopping, valentine decorating, and babysitting.

Within a couple weeks, Porter's mom was on the scene as well- probably washed more laundry that she ever wanted to - and more importantly she and Porter's dad rented a little condo on the river where they housed our Rhett and Nina most days. It was the sweetest.

Speaking of Rhett and Nina- watching them love on Hunter has almost been the best part.

 

It's like she has ALWAYS been a part of our family. I am just glad she is finally here. 

More to come.

And here's the Irony...

When I found out that my #2 was going to be a baby girl- I was a little shell shocked.

Boys boys boys- I thought I was made to have boys?
I was such a tomboy as a kid.

My mom would drop me off at soccer practice while running my sisters to their ballet classes and  recitals.

I was the only girl on my baseball team in the 2nd grade, because really- what is softball?

I would begrudgingly allow my sister Emily to crimp or curl my hair.
But I was happiest skate-boarding and building forts with my brother Tommy.

I always had to borrow heels and what-not for school dances because I just would rather not own any. 

And let my sister curl my hair :)

....wait for it....

So against all hopes that Nina Lane would come out wearing cleats, I was given the loveliest most dainty little girl ever made.

And.I.just.can't.get.enough.of.her.

I could watch her do this all day.

And I often do.

And take lots of pictures.

And say things like, "Porter quick-look! Isn't she sweet?!"

Oh, those Mary-Janes!

Even when she's not sweet, she's sweet.

The ballet classes...

The tea parties....

...and heels

I love it all.

The End.

Happy 2013!

Happy New Year!

Wow we have had a great start to 2013! And a good riddens bye  to 2012 :)

So proud of our Clemson Tigers for pulling off a win at the Peach Bowl on New Year's Eve night. It's so fun how a kicker can go from,-what's his name? To- the make it or break it player. Luckily, he made it!

And after we went to bed early with a Clemson Tiger win under our belts, we woke up for a celebration breakfast.

And kissed Porter good-bye as he endured the Polar Bear run and dip in the river to ring in the New Year with other New Braunfels folks. I really love this town. And Porter's cannon-ball.



I know the Los Robinsons is a feast or famine blog. I don't know how that came to be. Maybe as the children started multiplying. Who knows. But here's a recap of our holidays.

Can you believe pregnant ol' me was up for driving across the states for our Thanksgiving Holiday? I think it was a combination of really wanting to see our South Carolina family, college friends, and the realization that me+porter+3 kids = not many road trips. So away we went!

Thanksgiving Day: 

Grandaddy keeping his granddaughters in line

So nice of Aunt Emily and Uncle Jack to recruit some wheels for the grand kids.

Greg and Janean. Love this picture. 

Jackie trying to get Ella and Riley ready for the camera

Aunt Emily's Spread: 

Porter and Tyler and grandmothers.

'Hey Rhett, go sneak a piece of turkey for me..'

Rhett and Ella and the kiddo table



Aunt Patty and Uncle Billly and the Cooner Family

Aunt Carol, Aunt Carole's funny face,  and Jennifer Cox

Busted: In the desert line

It's Uncle Vinnie!

Tadaaa! We got the whole family for a group shot!

Clemson tailgaiting with Aunt Emily, Aunt Carole, Aunt Carole's funny face,Porter's cousin Jennifer ("Yum-Yum"), and friends. 

And for some reason we can drive our children to Dallas, and it's a hail-mary-aren't-they-just-terrrible-in-the-car. But to South Carolina- so pleasant I even got to read my Country Living magazine- twice. So worth the trip!

Cousin Love

Poor Riley!

Tyler, Jackie, & Riley

Guess what we are waiting on here?

The trash truck, geez!

Family Dinner

The Robinson boys

The Robinsons

And if that weren't enough- after we got home- 4 days later we thought it would be a great time to cash in our frequent flyer miles and... take the kids to New York? Whhhhhyy not? 

The real story is, we had plans to visit my brother Tommy and sister in law Monica, and best friend Jan, this summer. But with the craziness of moving- we decided to make the trip during the Holiday season- because who doesn't want to see NYC in all it's Christmas glory?

It was so wonderful it really deserves its own post. But, I 'm on a roll here. 

Macy's on 34th st. and Rockefeller Center

Victory!

 You have NO idea what it took to stand in line to get INTO the Lego store and out with a prize.

 Let's just say: Mother-of-the-year.

Bakery run in Tommy and Moncia's  neighborhood

Radio City Music Hall! Waiting to see the Rockettes' Christmas Spectacular!

And it was, SPECTACULAR!

Exploring Central Park:

Some of the best shopping-  SOHO!

Ice Skating at Bryant Park- via help from Tommy and Porter. Nina Lane and I watched from the sidelines.

Meeting up with my bff Jan- at the American Museum of Natural History

Lunch break at her apartment- mid renovation :)

Tommy and Monica's neighborhood- East Village.

And lo,  it was time to hunker down and enjoy the season at home.

In front of Rhett's classroom before his Christmas program:

I really did milk this sweater all season, eh? 

Rhett's school production. Can you spot him? Hint-cute blonde donkey-top row. 

Wasailfest downtown. Our annual pilgrimage is always met with the puppet show and pointing out our favorite toys at the hardware store.

 From the tree lighting to Waisalfest, I think our favorite town celebration by far was the quaint caroling at the gazebo downtown. We met some of our best friends the Digby's down there.

  Porter and I always try to make it to Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis' Christmas Concert in Gruene. I love the mix of Christmas songs they play and their own hits with their family slide show at the end.

Our friends Kellie and Travis Finch joined us for the 2nd time. And so did two cups of ice-cream- thanks to the boys sneaking it in for us preggos!

 Visiting Santa downtown- Nina Lane was NOT having it. This was the best shot we could do. 
Porter made a quick pre-picture visit with Santa thanking him for replying to Rhett's letter- just in case he forgot. 

Even on Christmas Eve morning when we woke Nina Lane out of bed and tried to get her to walk into the living room, she asked "Is Santa Cwaus stiwl heere?" 

 I love the Church tree on Christmas Eve- but a quick picture  was lost on my children.

 Rhett trying out his Christmas Eve gift. They are allowed to open just 1 before the big day- Rhett went for the gold.

 Making cookies for Santa: 

Quite possibly my favorite Christmas picture. After Porter read Twas the Night Before Christmas- the kids bee-lined it for bed!

Doctor's orders forbid me form anymore traveling. Period. Which meant a quiet Christmas celebration with our little family in our little home. But it was so sweet.  Entertaining Santa as he set up for the children, our candlelight Christmas Eve service at church, eating tamales, the novelty of new toys and feeling the love of relatives far away. It really was a sweet time.We did have a couple visitors, like Uncle Bill- ol' Faithful. And Uncle Coleman en route from the New Mexico family gathering that we missed.

Uncle Bill brought the prized present: an icecream maker-

 What a whirlwind! 

2012 was chalk full of blessings (and challenges)- which I am sure will be covered in another feast-full blog post. But for now, I think we are glad to finally welcome a new year!