My Baby is in Kindergarten!!

My baby started Kindergarten today!! Most of you know how emotional I am on any given day and that I was a basket case when we took Andrew to preschool last year. Well can you imagine what I would be like taking him to his first day of kindergarten 2 weeks postpartum???!!! Thank God for my wonderful husband who, without prompting from me, went to work late so he could go with us. He knows me all too well!! Praise the Lord he was there, because not only did I have a break down, Andrew clung to Brian's legs like we were sending him into a pack of wolves!! His teacher, Mrs. Hooker (yes, that is right, Mrs. Hooker ~ Thank goodness its kindergarten!) had to pry him off of Brian! I had left the class room after hugging him goodbye and telling him how much fun he was going to have and how proud I was of him through heaving sobs. I quickly realized that I was not going to contribute anything positive to the situation if I stayed! A dear lady, I have no idea who she is, put her arm around me and said "Honey, tell me what I can do to help"! I just laughed through my tears and said...."I'm 2 weeks postpartum, and I just left my "baby" in Kindergarten"...."Bless your heart, he will be fine!" she said and gave my shoulder a squeeze! Well, when I went to pick him up 6 1/2 hours later, yes that is right, we have full day kindergarten (just doesn't seem right), he was all smiles!! I asked Mrs. Hooker how the rest of the day was and she said great! As soon as Brian left the classroom he was fine! Before we even got off the steps of the school, he unzipped his lunch box and showed me that he had a cookie...I asked him where he got the cookie and he said from Nicholas. Nicholas is a boy that was in his class in preschool and is also in his kindergarten class (along with 2 other kids from preschool!!). I said how nice that Nicholas shared with you! He said, we traded! Andrew gave him some of his spiderman cheeze nips and Nicholas gave him a cookie! It cracked me up that it is just instinctual for kids to trade lunch items!! Can't believe my baby is in kindergarten!!

Andrew also is thriving in big brother land! He is so sweet with Emily! I know I have mentioned this before, but I just think it is so precious, when he is holding her and she is crying, there is not an ounce of tension in Andrew. He just gently rocks her and talks softly to her and occasionally sings her a song....the other night he was holding her, she was very content, then after a while started to fuss. I went to get her from him and he insisted he wanted to keep her and that he was sure he could get her calmed down! So I let him give it a try and bless his little heart, he did! After about 20 minutes, she was fast asleep! At one point Kelli was laughing and I looked over to see Emily "latched on" to Andrews lips. He had bent down to kiss her and she latched right on! It blesses my heart to see him be so tender to her, even when she is so cranky! I guess it is good preparation for married life!! Here are some pictures of this sweet brother sister bond!

Sweet Siblings

I couldn't decide which one of these I liked better so I just decided to post them both!!

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I just added a new link to the right where you can subscribe to recieve an email when ever I add a new post. I don't presume there are many addicts to my site, but this is a nice time saver for a site that you frequent often. If someone would send me an email telling me that they have subscribed and then let me know if you get an email when I post something new, that would be helpful. I think I have done it right, but not sure!

Rain, Rain and More Rain! And more Emily Pics!

We have had lots of rain the last week! Not as much as some areas in the country, but we did make national news last night. A trailer park about half a mile from our house was evacuated because of flooding of the local river that runs right across the street from the park. 2 state highways are closed in our town and there is water every where! I talked to my 2nd cousin today who lives a few miles from us and her kids were canoeing in their back yard!! We just had a few small puddles in the back yard. The kids were running around inside, I told them to stop or go outside, and they of course chose to go out. My mom was here, and she was upstairs and had looked out the window and yelled down that the kids were playing in puddles... I think the first thought of every mom is about the mess, but I saw how much fun they were having and just couldn't put a stop to it!

There is also a spot on our concrete "patio" (the slab where our garage used to be) where water collects, this water was fairly clean, so they "washed up" in that water! So much fun!!

Here are some pics of Emily and the kids...she is doing good! Eating well, sleeping sorta well, she has some good 4 hour stretches, unfortunately mostly during the day. =)

God Is Good!!

Emily is a week old today...hard to believe! She is doing great and we are praising God that we have avoided phototherapy for jaundice with Emily. Both Andrew and Kelli had to be on a billi light at home for several days. It is not a huge deal, but it adds lots of stress, especially for me, since I am her source of food and eating well and getting plenty of milk is the only way for the billirubin to be excreted, so there is lots of anxiety that I am not making enough milk. Emily is jaundiced, but we have found a pediatrician, who has been great working with us to avoid the phototherapy. I am praising God for him! He is an athesit, and I am excited to tell him that he is an answer to prayer!! We also went in again today for a weight check and she had gained 3 ounces! So we are on track for being back up to birth weight by 2 weeks of age! I cant even tell you what a difference that has made this time around, to know that I am making plenty of milk and that she is doing what she needs to be doing! I found a pediatrician from Canada who runs a breast feeding clinic and his resources have made all the difference! If you are reading this and are a breastfeeding mom, or will be someday, make a point to check out Dr. Jack Newman's website www. drjacknewman.com

Okay so here are a few more pictures from the last couple of days! My mom came down Sunday and stayed through Tuesday, what a huge help! The kids are loving Emily. Kelli always says "There is my sweetheart" when she comes downstairs after sleeping! Andrew loves to hold her and doesn't mind in the least bit if she is fussy. He just softly talks to her and tells her it is alright, and the other night, he started singing "Jesus Loves Me" to her. So precious!! We are blessed!

Introducing Emily Aileen!!

A lot has happened since my last post! The Lord has blessed us with another healthy baby girl! You know me, I am a story teller and not short on words, and my favorite stories to tell are my labor stories and little Miss Emily gave me quite the story to tell! So here we go! My due date is today, the 18th, but this past week I was very ready to have this baby! I had a doctors appointment on Wednesday, which of course they told me I wouldn't make it to, because surely I would be delivered! Well, 4pm we headed off to the doctors office because surely I wasn't delivered! My doctor was running late so we didn't see him until shortly before 5pm. My cervix (remember I am an OB nurse, so you are going to have to bear with these details!) was dilated to 6-7 centimeters and he gave me a couple of options. 1. Go to the hospital in the morning and he would break my water and see if that got things started. Or we could do that Friday morning, or Monday morning or 2. We could let nature take it's course. Well I was wanting to sign up to go in that next morning and my darling hubby asks the doctor, "What do you recommend?". "It is always better to let things happen naturally" was his reply. So he gave us his cell phone number told us to go home and talk about it and let him know. So shortly after 5 we loaded up in the truck. I was crying because I knew the right thing to do was to let nature run it's course, and that is what I have preached to many the last 10 years, but I SOOO wanted to be done! We went to Andrew's school to finish registering him for Kindergarten and were home around 520. When we got home, I told Brian I was having some more uncomfortable contractions, but figured they were just because of the exam at the office. So we put a few pizza's in the oven and continued on with daily routines....At 540 I told Brian that I was going to start timing these contractions because they were getting more intense. By 6pm I was telling Brian he needed to call someone to get them to the house to watch the kids, because I was pretty sure we were going to need to be going. His sister Amber just happened to call at that moment. After they talked for a while about her recent car repairs (and after he realized I was now crying each time I had a contraction) he asked her if she could come over to watch the kids. She got here around 620 and Brian was getting the kids their pizza and shoveling down a few pieces himself. I had a whoppin contraction and told him we needed to leave NOW! We got out to the truck and realized we didn't have any of our stuff, Amber and her boyfriend were headed out with it and Amber said, "Man, you would think you guys had never done this before!" =) So we got to the hospital, my doctor was already there. They admitted me at 655pm. My doctor came in and broke my water and I was now 7-8 cm's and really feeling like this baby was coming any minute! The doctor encouraged me to fight the urge to push and breath through a few more contractions. My nurse, a good friend, who I worked with for several years, Angie told me I should turn to my side. Now I know what happens when you turn a laboring woman to her side...it gets more uncomfortable! So I got turned to my side and a contraction started right away and let me tell you, words can not describe how unbelievebly painful that contraction was. When I had Kelli, I was kinda just zoned out at this point, and was totally calm and quiet. With this one I was very vocal which surprised even me! I kept yelling that I couldn't breathe and I needed to push. Angie told me to pant, which I did and I got through that one and knew I had to get through a few more. Well the next one came and I grabbed Angies arm and told her the baby was coming out! She got the doctor and 2 pushes later Emily entered the world! Her birth time was 731pm!! I just looked at Brian, looked at the clock, looked at the doctor and we all laughed in complete shock!! Thank you God for a quick, certainly not painfree, safe delivery and another healthy baby! Here are some pictures of the events after delivery!

Because of how quickly she was delivered, and she had the umblical cord around her neck, she needed a little bit of oxygen after the delivery.

When I first saw her, she looked so small, I said I thought she was going to be my smallest. However, she was the biggest!

This was about 20 minutes after she was born, nice and pink and ready to meet her big brother and sister!

Andrew and Kelli were very timid when they first came in...they were afraid to touch anything and just kinda looked around very sheepishly. When Angie asked if they wanted to help her give Emily her first bath, they totally came around and then we couldn't keep them from touching her! Andrew said, "mom I don't think I have ever touched a baby so much!"

This was in the car seat on her way home!!

"Our Soldier"

This is an email I just recieved from my Aunt Madeleine...her oldest son and my cousin, Jeffrey, just came back to the US from Iraq today. I especially loved the verse they have been praying over him while he has been gone...Welcome Home Jeff! Cant wait to see you!!

YES, YES, YES!! He is on US soil!
Jeff just called from Bangor, Maine. Landed about 10 min ago and ready to go on to Texas after they re-fuel and load up more food.
They have been on this plane (commercial but military has contract with it?) since yesterday when they left Kuwait. The whole plane is military, about 300 men. He actually slept 6 hours on the plane!
He said it was special to be greeted and welcomed home by about 100 veterans in Maine.
So, he should land at Dallas- Ft Worth tonight. He'll probably get home Friday.

This has been our verse while he has been gone this past year--
The Lord will protect him and preserve his life;
he will bless him in the land and not surrender him to the desires of his foes.
~~Psalm 41:2
The Lord has answered our prayers and you have all been a part of that.
Thank You!
~~ Madeleine

Such a big girl!

Well...my baby girl is now a big girl. After much consideration, we decided she would need to have her hair cut after Andrews attempt to cut it yesterday. So off to the salon we went today, Andrew in tow, to get it done! She did pretty good....freaked out a little at first. I guess you can't blame her after all the talk she heard yesterday about how naughty Andrew was and now we are letting some stranger come after her hair with scissors!! Here are some pictures of the new big girl. There is also one at the end of Andrew paying for the hair cut. That was part of his punishment for making the bad choice to cut her hair. He has been saving money, and so he had to contribute what he had saved towards the total. A lesson learned I hope!!

"It's Only Hair"

It happens in most households with young children, I know that. But does it happen 4 times!!! Andrew has this "cute" little thing he does...he likes to cut hair. He did this 3 times to himself over the first 4 years of his life. After being reprimanded, I would shave his head, which most times would even out enough so it wasn't noticeable. He hasn't done it in a while, I was thinking he was getting old enough to know better. Well, today he took it to a whole new level. I cut his hair with scissors on Saturday night. Usually I use clippers, but they are getting old, and they pull the hair while cutting it and it is a major pain for both the cutter and the cuttee so I decided to give scissors a try. I was proud of myself for the job I did and I guess I talked it up too much because today he decided to give Kelli a haircut with scissors. They were upstairs cleaning their room, which needed to be done before they could go swimming, this is a process that takes them FOREVER, so I didn't think much of the fact that they had been up there for a while. They finally got it done and came down and for about 45 minutes I was none the wiser. Then Kelli was walking away from me and I noticed the damage....I freaked!! From the front, you can not tell, but from the back there is this nice new layer cut (quite straight I must say). I couldn't get a picture that does the damage justice, but at least you can get a little bit of an idea. So do I let it go and wait for it to grow out, or do we do a big girl haircut? The shortest part is right above the nape of her neck.

The other funny thing (wait, what was the first funny thing, I don't think this is funny).... When Andrew cut his own hair, I was upset that he got into the clippers and cut his hair, but I didn't shed any tears over it. I bawled like a baby today....I was so upset over this. Pregnancy hormones? Long locks that were so beautifully growing out that now are lost? Girl hair vs boy hair? When I was blubbering to Brian he so lovingly reminded me that it is only hair, it is nothing to get so worked up over! At least there is one voice of reason in this household!

Catch and Release

Early this summer, one evening sitting outside, we were observing a squirrel that didn't seem "quite right". After further evaluation, Brian decided that there was something seriously wrong with this creature, and put it out of it's misery. This was one squirrel of 4 that has been living in our attic. After the babies were grown, we thought they had all moved out, but the last month we have been hearing some rather aggressive "chewing" sounds above Kelli's room. Since squirrel's can cause some major damage, Brian decided to get a trap and see if we could resolve the problem. So Tuesday night and Wednesday, several trips were made by the kids to the back window to check and see if there was anything in the trap. No results. I had a doctors appointment yesterday and when we got home, we could see that the trap door was closed and upon closer evaluation this is what we found...

The kids were fascinated, and watched it for almost an hour from this safe distance. Brian was still at work so we waited patiently for him to get home. Brian and I had not really discussed what the next step was, but Andrew was certain that it was to shoot it with a BB gun! So Brian came home and we had a quick dinner and then took a family trip to a wooded area not far (but far enough) from home to release the poor creature, who was now quite irritated!
The kids and I got up in the back of the truck (I was kinda nervous about how a ticked squirrel would act after being released! So I wanted us to be watching from a safe distance.
Brian got the trap door opened and the squirrel immediately ran up a tree by the river. A much better home (at least in my opinion) than our attic. So I think the trap will be set again this afternoon to try to catch the 2 remaining attic residents!