Lydia Joy

We have another beautiful girl in our family! Lydia was born Monday, October 3rd at 8:43 a.m. She weighed 6 pounds 14 ounces and was 21 inches long. No wonder I felt like I had little toes wrapped around my ribs for the last month or so. :) Although they thought she was 3 weeks early they decided my due date must have been wrong after seeing how she did on all of the newborn tests they do. The doctors and nurses said she scored more like a 40 week old! I'd been having Braxton Hicks contractions for months but on Saturday evening they started to come regularly and became increasingly intense. By 4:30 Sunday morning they were 6 minutes apart and what I can only call "make you moan" contractions. I went in and they decided to try to stop my labor because they thought I was barely 37 weeks along. They wanted me to try to last a few more days. Around 11:30 Sunday morning they felt comfortable that they had stopped my labor and sent me home with a prescription for Procardia to try to hold off labor for a few days. I had my doubts because by 9:00 Sunday night I was feeling uncomfortable again. I started having strong contractions although they were irregular. At 11:45 that night I started having regular, "make you moan" contractions again. By 4:00 Steve was starting to panic and made me call in again. :) I was having contractions every 5 minutes apart and by the time we got to the hospital they were 4 minutes apart and I was 4 cm dilated. They scheduled a c-section for later that morning. I went back to surgery around 8:00 and she was here within the hour! They must've forgotten that we didn't know what we were having because nobody said anything for probably 30 seconds after she was out (it felt like hours) and one of the nurses finally said..."ahh...did anybody tell you what the baby is?!" :) Lydia is doing great - she is such a little sweetie and cuddle bug. She is nursing well, sleeping well and pooping well! :) I feel fantastic. I've never felt this good after surgery before. I'm just a little sore but not in any actual pain. The incision already looks great and I feel very blessed to be recovering so quickly!

I love watching them together.

Grace and Samuel are in love. They can't get enough Lydia. They hate having to leave the hospital without her.

We should get to go home tomorrow sometime. I'm ready to have our family together in 1 place and start figuring out our new normal. :)

Sam-bam

The poor kid has had a rough few days. He started getting a cold late last week. On Sunday he started going downhill pretty quickly so I decided to take him to urgent care. They gave him a breathing treatment and tried to get a chest x-ray but they aren't really equipped for pediatrics. He felt crappy enough that he wouldn't stand on a chair so they could get an x-ray. The doctor sent us off with prescriptions for an antibiotic and breathing treatments and off we went to the hospital to get an x-ray. The doctor said that if he got worse that night then he needed to come back in. I took the kids and we were off to get the prescriptions filled. Of course the pharmacy only had 1 of the 2 and the next closest pharmacy to have the other 1 was 35 minutes away. Luckily by this time Steve was getting off the turnpike in Wauseon (he had been fishing with his dad in Michigan for the weekend.) I met him and traded vehicles so the kids...especially Samuel...didn't have to be carted all over northwest Ohio. Steve called the pharmacy in Bryan and asked them to please stay open for me because I was going to be a few minutes late getting there. They stayed for me - bless them! One of my friends in Archbold has a nebulizer so I then trucked back to Archbold to pick that up. By the time I got home Samuel was looking worse than ever. He wouldn't even lift his head and could barely open his eyes. Within 10 minutes we decided it was time to go to the ER. Steve stayed back with Grace and I took Sam. When we got there we got in pretty quickly. Side note - this was my first time going to the ER and I'm amazed at what some people consider "emergencies." I couldn't help looking around wondering whose emergency trips I was helping pay for. I know...bitterness and being judgmental isn't good. Anyway, they put an IV in and gave him a round of steroids and another breathing treatment. They also did a couple x-rays of his throat. He barely moved the whole time. Around midnight they decided to admit him. We got settled into his new room around 1. Steve and Grace came the next morning around 7 and spent the majority of the day with us. Samuel seemed to perk up and then he'd go downhill again. This happened several times that day. By noon they decided that he needed to stay another night. I took Grace home around 5 to shower and pack a few things while Steve stayed with Samuel. Mom and Dad picked her up at 7:30 and she stayed there for the night so Steve and I could both be at the hospital. By the time I got back to the hospital a little before 8 his IV had fallen out because he bumped it on something. They didn't put it back in but were worried because he wasn't drinking well at all. Steve left around 5 this morning to run home and shower and pick Grace up so Mom and Dad could leave for work. She went to the sitter's to play for the morning. By the time Steve got to the hospital the doctor had already been in and decided that he could go home. We got home around 10 this morning with breathing treatment stuff in hand and an antibiotic because of course all of this junk settled in his ear. I wondered because he woke up this morning and his balance was all off. He kept falling down. The poor kid can't catch a break. We are all home now and hopefully on the mend.

Updates

Here's the latest:

Steve is starting his 2nd year working on his master's. Hopefully around this time next year he will be done! I think he'll be a rockin' elementary principal. :) He seems to be enjoying his new class of 2nd graders and is his school's tech guru again. Apparently some days it's not worth the stipend. :) He went to the Boise State/Toledo game last night with Eben and got to sit in the middle of Kellen Moore's (quarterback for Boise State) family.

Grace is loving preschool and is especially excited because she gets to go 3 days a week this year. She had her first field trip on Friday and Steve took a personal day to go with her. They went to Mrs. DeNoi's dad's house and picked apples, pumpkins and gourds and made applesauce. They also played a bunch of games outside. I wish I would've been there but I had testing that I had to do at school. I'm glad Steve got to go! Here are a few pics:

Here is her class playing "Mrs. Fox." You'll have to ask Grace how to play it sometime. :)

Cutting up apples for applesauce.

Picking apples

I had to include this picture Grace drew of her family. She had to make a book as a project for her first show and tell. This is one of the pages. It makes me giggle to see that she drew toes on the feet. She attempted to draw Maggie underneath Sam in the bottom left but decided it was too hard. :)

Samuel is changing so much. He is repeating everything we say and talking in 3 word phrases often. He is wearing little boxer briefs while we are home now. They are too stinking cute. When we go out he still wears a pull-up. He is adamantly trying to do things on his own: zip his coat, put on his socks and shoes, buckle himself into his car seat, brush his teeth, pee etc. I often hear "I do" or "I do it" followed shortly by "help!" :)

Samuel and Steve spend lots of time putting around our living room and dining room together. I need to get a better picture of Sam mimicking Steve putting. He bends over and has the exact same form that Steve has. It's pretty cute.

Loving bath time! I think he'd stay in there for hours if we let him.

I am really enjoying my lovely class of 1st graders this year. We've had tons of changes at our school which makes this year challenging but the kids are great! On Monday we are celebrating International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Yes it really exists. Google it. I'll try to get some pictures of us dressed up. It's one of my favorite days of the year. The kids love it! The countdown to meet this little one is officially on. I've hit the end of pregnancy and am now in survival mode. :)

I try to not have pictures of me in the third trimester because it's not great for the ego. That being said I know it's all part of it and I wanted at least 1 of the kids and my big belly.

Dinner Conversation

Here's a conversation from tonight's dinner - I made chicken stir-fry:

Me: How do you like it?

Steve: It's really good except my potatoes are a little crunchy.

Me: Those are water chestnuts.

Steve: Oh (pause)...well how am I supposed to know that?

Me: (fighting back laughter) You're 27. How do you not know that?

Steve: Grace, what are water chestnuts?

Grace: (pointing) These white crunchy things.

Steve: Well crap.

And he thinks he could be on Iron Chef. Battle hot dog maybe. :)

High-Five Sambam!

Mark this day down...Samuel pooped in the potty for the first time! He's been peeing in the potty for the past couple of months usually a few times a day. Starting a couple of weeks ago he became way more interested and started peeing in the potty more often than not. He's only having a couple of wet pull ups a day! Right before nap time today I asked him if he had to go to the bathroom and he went and pulled his pants down and sat on his little potty. He farted (which is always hilarious to a little boy for some reason) and so Steve asked him if he had to poop. Samuel said "poop" and then instead of the dozens of false alarms we've had he actually went! The only motivation he seems to need is a high-five after he goes. I am so excited and proud of my little man! :) Here's a G-rated toilet photo:

Grace is 4!

Grace at 4

Blowing out her candle

Reading a bedtime story with dad

S'more cookies we made to take to the sitter's for her birthday treat (I'm back teaching summer school for half days for the next 2 weeks). They were pretty awesome if you like s'mores.

My first attempt at working with chocolate. Grace and I melted chocolate and made the flowers and then used a letter mold for her letters. I thought it turned out pretty cute for a first attempt! Grace and Samuel loved that the flowers were edible. Samuel almost wouldn't believe me but I convinced him by taking a bite first. Then he proceeded to eat 2. My little tank. :)

The wait is finally over. Grace is officially 4. She's been waiting for this day for months. She's been wanting to be 4 because all of her friends at school have already turned 4 and she thinks that as soon as she is 4 she doesn't need to take naps anymore. I'll let you know how that works out for her. :)

At 4 G. Marie:

likes books and to be read to

loves coloring, painting, drawing etc.

enjoys puzzles

loves the movie Tangled

loves balloons

enjoys helping me in the kitchen

would live outside if we let her

likes to swim and play in the sand

is very excited about the baby and thinks it's going to be a baby sister

always wants to hug and kiss Sam-bam

loves music and dancing

likes showers more than baths and requests them often

is obsessed with jumping and running, "look how fast I can run/high I can jump!"

loves the fireman pole on her swing set

talks nonstop to the point of almost driving me nuts some days "but mom, I neeeed to talk."

asks about her cousins on a daily basis

is outgrowing naps and often takes an hour nap or just has an hour of quiet time up in her room

goes to bed at 8 and gets up at 7 (soon to be down at 7:30 to be up at 6:15 again...yuck)

loves to play pretend - favorites being teacher, doctor, hairdresser and mom

goes up for a nap by herself, dresses herself, picks out her own outfit (it sometimes needs editing) :), brushes her teeth (and is insulted when I insist on going over them one more time), tries to rinse her own hair, tries to do her own hair and sometimes will ask when she gets to stay home by herself - ahhh! I tell her not for a long time and find the need to give her another hug because she is growing up way too quickly

is completely pumped about starting preschool at the end of the month again; her teacher called and left her a message on my phone today wishing her a happy birthday...so nice!

There is so much more I could write about Grace. She is loving, sensitive, stubborn, independent, funny...I could go on and on. :) Happy Birthday Marie!

Swim Pictures

Action shot - Grace jumped off the diving board twice and went down the twisty slide 3 times today. She did so well this week!

Action shot - Sam jumped off the diving board 3 times and went down the twisty slide twice today! He holds the teacher's hand to walk out to the end of the board and then just leaps. Such a little daredevil. :)

Cheeeeeeese!