Somehow, with the adjustment of a new baby, I haven't found time to clear out my laptop on the external hard-drive so I actually have room to save pictures on here. I know, I know...lame excuse. But this will be a post devoid of pics (which seems like a crime, when there's a photogenic newborn around) but tomorrow I hope to catch up.
So last Monday, Pops and Mimi and uncle Caleb all said goodbye. Pops was kind enough to drive Calla to school before they left, so I didn't have to worry about that! They were on the road by 9am or so. Kelsey, Jay and Parker and I waved as they drove away. Before Mimi left, she said something to the effect of - "well, it looks like you have everything under control!" hahaha. I think her saying that kind of helped me feel that way ha! It was time for her to head to Texas for a week to take care of Libby!
(I still can't belive I haven't met Libby. When your sister has a baby, it just feels weird when you haven't met the baby!)
Well anyway, Monday was an easy day to ease back into the routine. Actually, the whole week felt that way! My girlfriends kindly did a lot of the driving for my week. On Monday, my friend Ashley picked up Calla from kindergarten so I wouldn't have to. In fact, I didn't even leave the house on Monday.
Parker slept most of the day, as newborns are accustomed to doing. ha! He nurses every two hours pretty consistently so we did see a lot of him! (-:
Monday evening, Jenny Moo dropped off a meal. It was delicious, and after dinner Jonathan gave the three big kids a bath. (Can you believe Jay is a "big kid" now?) Then he headed to the grocery store to do my shopping. Then he put the kids to bed. Probably a tiring evening as far as he was concerned! ha!
Tuesday we got up to take Calla to school. Parker behaved himself in the car...on that note, I feel like I am SO tense when I am driving around with him because I am just expecting him to start screaming his head off (Kelsey and Jay-style). Once you have spent months of your life driving around with an infant wailing at the top of their lungs, you never cease to be amazed when you are driving around in silence! Well, not silence but it least devoid of hysterical crying.
Well anyway, Tuesday morning I didn't get anything accomplished really except to shower and to practice Kelsey's speech homework with her. Jenny Moo actually picked up Calla from kindergarten for me and then took her back to her house to have a playdate with Eriksen.
In the meantime, my girlfriend Kris dropped by at 12:20 to pick up Kelsey for speech class. we said goodbye to Kelsey, and then Jay and Parker and I hopped in the minivan to head to Parker's newborn appointment.
He went to the pediatrician to get all checked out. I was nervous about how the whole thing was going to go (mostly, the drive!) but the baby didn't even let out a peep the entire time we were gone. Even while being stripped down to naked for his weigh-in (he is at a whopping 9 lb 2 oz!) and while being poked and prodded by the doctor.
Jay didn't do too bad either, although he was feeling REALLY chatty. I am not sure if he isn't normally so chatty because his big sisters are there, but I could hardly get a word in edgewise. He had lots of things to say (or mumble) to the doctor. He was very excited about getting his sticker.
Fortunately we weren't there too long. They must see those mothers coming with their newborns and know to hurry them right through!
well we went home and I put Jay down for a nap. In the meantime, Kelsey was dropped off by Kris at 3 and Calla was dropped off by Jenny at 3:30. They had a few minutes to eat a snack and get in their ballet clothes before my friend Debbie came to pick them up at 3:45 to drive them to ballet class. My house was turning into a bus stop!
It was really kind of Debbie to offer to drive them. I wasn't sure I was going to take them at all (it seemed odd to take a 6-day old baby to the park district building! ha!). They were so tickled about riding in Avery's car (Avery is Debbie's daughter, who is in their ballet class).
Debbie dropped them off again at around 5. Then the rest of the evening we had at home. Jonathan was gone at a Bulls game, so we just took our time eating dinner and then playing a couple games and then reading books and going to bed.
Wednesday we didn't have anything on our agenda, other than lunch at my friend Ali's house. She had invited us over for lunch and I was looking forward to getting out of the house and being social (-:
Calla was at school in the morning, and then Jenny drove her home. (This was especially thoughtful of Jenny, considering she didn't have anyone in Callas class to pick up! She made a special trip, just for me.)
Once Calla got home, we drove over to Ali's house. The weather was a little chilly, but it was sunny, so the kids scarfed down the lunch Ali had ready for them and headed outside to play on the trampoline. (Scarfed = ate two bites from each food group and then said they were full.)
Parker slept through the whole visit. It was a very relaxing time! ha! Ali offered to keep Kelsey and Calla for the afternoon, so I headed home with Jaybird and Parker. Poor Birdie. He was wondering why he didn't get a playdate. I read him a lot of books and then put him to bed.
After Jay woke up a couple hours later, I loaded both boys into the car and we drove back to Ali's neighborhood to pick up Calla and Kelsey. (They had also spent time at my friend Kate's house, which is just a few houses down from Ali's in the same subdivision.) The girls came running as soon as I said it was time to go. This is notable just because usually it takes a few attempts to get them to part ways with their friends. I think they were excited to see Parker again.
Wednesday night a friend brought us dinner. Daddy wasnt home for long because he had core groups at church. Thankfully, Awana had a week off and so the kids and I got to hang out at home. (-:
Thursday I decided not to go to BSF because it just seemed a little much to get out the door. (Thursday mornings Jonathan goes to a men's Bible study that meets at 6:30am, so he wasn't home to assist in the getting-out-the-door.) We drove Calla to school and then came back home.
Kelsey and Jay and I just hung at home with Parker. Parker is usually awake quite a bit in the morning...well, maybe "quite a bit" isn't the word but it is definitely the most time he's awake of his entire day. Kelsey loves to hold him on the couch while he looks out the window. Eventually he went down for a nap and I quick took a shower! ha!
Thursday at lunch, Kris picked up Calla from school and then dropped her off at our place and took Kelsey Mae with her to go to speech. I suggested that her daughter Annie hang out at our place with Calla while Kelsey and Molly were at speech. Kris hesitated to take me up on it but I'm so glad she did! Calla and Annie had a fabulous time. After eating lunch, they spent two solid hours working on crafts.
Jaybird missed most of the craft-making because he took a nap. I think Parker missed a lot of it too. haha
Kris' mom dropped Kelsey off from speech and picked up Annie.
Then the girls helped me straighten up the house. Kelsey helped by holding Parker. Calla helped by actually cleaning. (-:
We straightened up the house because Opa was coming for dinner. Well, he brought his own dinner (we were eating leftovers from the night before). And then the Moo family came over at 6 or so to eat dessert with us. Jenny had made me a delicious ice cream dessert earlier in the week that was in my freezer. She made it in a 9 x 13 so I told her I needed her fam to come over to help us eat it!
We dug in and it was delicious. Then the kids played and played in the back room while the adults got to chit chat in the front. I got to hold Parker the whole evening, which felt like a treat! Before everyone left, the kids put on a "play" from us which was really them singing "Frozen" songs and attempting to act them out. It was funny (although maybe it was meant to be serious? We couldn't tell.)
It was a fun ending to our day. I will have to catch up about the weekend tomorrow.
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Monday, April 28, 2014
Parker's First Easter
Jonathan took so many pictures from Parker's first days of life, but I haven't been able to upload them yet! (They are very big files, and my laptop will literally crash if I upload them...I need to clear space asap on here!)
So I will post a skeleton-version of Parker's first Easter, and add photos tomorrow. First, we had "Easter Eve" of course.
That Saturday, everybody but Parker and I got up and headed out to the French market to get some donuts. Mimi got a little shopping in as well. Jonathan brought back a Starbucks drink for me, which was very nice. (Perhaps that was my "push present?!")
We didn't have any plans for our day, except for an egg hunt that friends of ours were hosting. Jason and Andrea Clayton invited over several families for a big egg hunt in their backyard. They hid over 400 eggs! (I dropped off a few earlier in the week, before I had Parker, so I think I contributed about as many as my kids searched for! It least, that was the plan!)
The egg hunt was scheduled for noon, so we ate an early lunch. Then we headed down the street to the Clayton's for the egg hunt. Jonathan got a few pictures so I will include them tomorrow!
Parker missed the egg hunt because he was asleep the whole time. Oh well. There's always next year. But Calla, Kelsey and Jay semeed to really enjoy searching for the eggs! The Claytons served some drinks and snacks afterwards which was fun. It was also nice to introduce Parker to everyone! I noticed that Calla kept bringing her friends over to "meet Parker." That was so cute. I am not sure if her friends really cared but it made Calla so happy to show her baby brother off!
After the egg hunt we headed home to take naps. Well, the boys and I did! Mimi might have had five minutes to rest because she was very busy getting "Easter dinner" started in the kitchen. She cooked up a storm in there, prepping dishes and getting everything ready. It made me tired just watching it!
She also got in some egg dying with the kids. She wisely timed it over Jay's nap, so he was none the wiser. Calla and Kelsey had a great time dying their eggs. They showed them off to Uncle Caleb later on. They are very aware that he is an artist and would "appreciate" their "talent." ha!
Saturday for dinner, Pops treated us two times. He bought us dinner from Portillo's, and then bought some extra Italian beef to put in the freezer for us to have as a meal a different evening. We still haven't cracked it! I look forward to saving it until some of our meals from friends slow down. (-:
Mimi ironed the girls' dresses, and even a shirt for Jonathan. I can very confidently say that "Easter" would not have been celebrated this year (it least, the pressed-clothes, big Easter meal, dyed-eggs version) without Mimi!
Sunday we were all up early for church. We all headed there together, leaving the house at 9. Uncle Caleb even joined us, because Brie and her parents were coming to the same church and planning on sitting with us.
The service didn't begin until 9:45, so we had plenty of time to walk in and save seats. Calla, Kelsey and Jay all stayed with us for the worship part. Kelsey and Jay went to their classes during the sermon.
below: A pictures of Pops taking a picture of the kids in their Easter best!
We took a ceremonial Easter picture in the front yard. Cheese!
We sat around the table for a delicious brunch. Mimi made an egg casserole and baked french toast and it was so good! It was going to be awhile until we felt hungry again!
Mimi and Pops gave the kids some Easter presents. The highlight for them was the movie "Frozen," which they've only seen once (Calla) or twice (Kelsey) and they were excited to see it again. In fact, after brunch they sat down in the back room and watched it with Daddy.
Jay missed the movie because he was napping. He did wake up in time for the egg hunt, however. Uncle Caleb and Brie showed up at around 4, and immediately got busy hiding the eggs! The kids were ready to hunt!
We all went outside to watch the egg hunt (Pops stayed indoors with Parker). The girls let Jaybird find all the blue eggs. haha. I had stuffed a bunch of eggs with candy and then Mimi hid some with coins in them. I think Calla saw the value of finding the "money eggs!" ha! I am sure Jay did not!
We got to sit and visit while Mimi got all the food for Easter dinner ready! Then at around 6, we sat down at the table for the delicious ham, potatoes, asparagus, etc...all the sides! Brie and Caleb, Mimi and Pops, and Jonathan and I sat around our dining room table and we brought in the kids table for Calla, Kelsey and Jay.
The food was all so good! Mimi really outdid herself! To top it off, she served an amazing chocolate cheesecake for dessert. Yum!
I told Mimi that I should have a baby right before Easter every year. She did the dishes and I just sat around. It is terrible on paper but it seemed right at the time. ha!
Jonathan and I put the kids in bed and then Pops and Uncle Caleb and Jonathan and I played a game of "Settlers." I think we played two games of it. It was a relaxing way to end a very relaxing Easter!
I sure hope Parker enjoyed it! He slept through most of it but it sure was fun having him around!
Pictures to follow tomorrow!
Thursday, April 24, 2014
The Rest of the Hospital Stay
Thursday morning Jonathan didn't come to the hospital until after dropping Calla off at school. You would have thought I could have slept in, but instead I was GLUED to my phone. I had gotten a text from Katelyn that she thought she was in labor. She sent it to my mom and all my sisters and I. The next hour and a half I was glued to the edge of my hospital bed! I think we ended up sending over 150 texts between the five of us! (No kidding...) Katelyn surprised everybody by going into labor with baby Libby at about 7am and getting to the hospital at 8am and giving birth (naturally, although not purposefully-naturally!) to Libby at 8:32am! She was born twenty hours after her cousin Parker.
Well I felt terrible because mom was with me! but I don't think the emotional pain of having mom out of state could compare to the physical trauma of giving birth without an epidural, against her will! ha! Sorry, ill-placed "ha!"
At any rate, I had a huge adrenalin (sp?! for goodness sakes) on Wed. from Parker's birth and felt another huge surge on Thursday. I am not sure if I've even recovered at the time of this typing.
I had some visitors on Thursday. I love visitors, and it was fun to have girlfriends stop by. I had Jay on a weekend so I don't remember many people stopping in, but for Parker I got to see my girlfriends Jenny M and Kate and Jenny L and Brooke and Ashley and Chellena and Suzi and Kris. It was really fun to introduce Parker to them.
I also got to Skype Corinne and Daniel from Africa (!) on Thursday morning. And I spoke to Aunt Kelly on the phone Thursday afternoon, and Aunt Kimberly on Skype Thursday night! It was such a busy day! ha!
Thursday at lunch, Mimi brought in Calla, Kelsey and Jay to see Parker again. Shortly after, Uncle Stephen came to meet his new nephew. The timing worked out perfectly, because Jonathan and Stephen ended up taking the girls to the hospital cafeteria to eat. (Jaybird stayed up with me since I had just recently received my lunch tray. He polished off a side of mac and cheese.)
Uncle Caleb and Brie came to the hospital! Uncle Caleb wins as far as aunts/uncles on my side of the family to visit Parker (not that it was any contest...). The last baby he got to visit of mine in the hospital was Calla! He was a sophomore in high school!
below: Cabes and Brie
Once Jaybird was getting wild (translation: tired), Mimi and the girls and Jay headed home. Mimi put Bird down for a nap and then she painted the girls nails. (-: Brie and Caleb hung out at the house and played with the girls for awhile (so I heard) which was really kind of them. I am sure it made Calla and Kelsey's day!
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Daddy and Parker took a nap...
below: they read FoxNews.com together...
It felt strange not having the big kids with us, but in one way the whole hospital stay felt like an extended date-night! ha! It was kind of nice!
Jonathan held Parker while I ate my dinner, and then he headed home. He had suggested relieving Mimi for a bit that evening so she could come visit Parker and so he could give the kids a bath and get the whole bedtime routine started.
Mimi and I ended up calling Aunt Katelyn on speaker-phone at the hospital. We wanted to hear how she was holding up! We compared hospital dinner food. (-:
After Mimi left, Jonathan came back for a bit. He held Parker while I got ready for bed. Then he tucked us in for the night! I ended up getting a pretty good night's sleep because the nurse took Parker to rock him for a couple hours in the middle of the night. She said she had requested taking care of me again (I had her the night before) because Parker was her favorite. She may say that to everyone, but I appreciated her attentiveness and especially the extra sleep! (The hospital no longer offers a "nursery" for babies to go at night. It's funny how much things have changed since I had Calla, when they always wheeled babies out of the room so mothers could have a good night's sleep.)
Friday morning we wanted to get discharged! Jonathan went into his office early and got back to the hospital at 10:30 or so. In the meantime, I got showered and packed up and dealt with all the people coming in and out (there's always so much to do the morning you get to leave the hospital).
Although it was tempting to stick around for lunch (ha!), we packed up Parker to head home.
below: the "head" portion of the infant seat somehow got left back in the car. Fourth child. What can I say?
I wish I had taken a picture of our greeting once we pulled into our driveway! Mimi and Calla and Kelsey and Jay were standing on the steps waving and yelling. They even had a balloon flying out that said "It's a boy!"
Mimi had cleaned the house from top to bottom, so all I had to do all afternoon was sit on my bum. She even had a yummy lunch for us.
I put Jay down for his nap afterwards, and when I got out of his room I discovered that Pops had arrived! He had flown into O'Hare. It was so good to see him!
below: Parker's first picture at home. The stickers on his blanket are compliments of Jay.
We didn't have any set plans on Friday, other than to attend the Good Friday service at church. Pops and Jonathan decided to go to the 8pm service, so that gave us plenty of time for a leisurely dinner (prepared by Mimi).
It was a fun day! The kids loved sitting around and holding Parker, and it was sunny and warm outside so they spent some time playing on the swingset too. They were all feeling pretty giddy about having Pops and Mimi both there.
*I have more pics but will have to post tomorrow!*
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Welcoming Parker Matthew
We are a week into this thing (you know, the four-children thing) and Parker is snoozing next to me in his bassinette (I am sure the spelling of that is wrong) and it's hard to believe we were just enjoying his first few hours last week at this time!!
So I want to share about Parker's birth, but randomly I have a couple pics I never posted last week:
below: Palm Sunday! This is Cal-Cal waving her palm
So last Wednesday, April 16, Jonathan and I headed out the door at 7:30 for our 7:15am scheduled induction. (In my defense, i thought it was 7:30.) I walked in and the nurse said, "I was about to call you." Way to be late for your own induction, I said to myself.
We got settled into the labor and delivery room.
below: Jonathan's version of "getting settled" (pulling out his iPad)
Without going into the gruesome details, I thought Parker's birth was my second hardest! Nothing is worse than Calla's, since it involved more hours of hard labor, a very painful 30-minute drive to the hospital, and a half hour of pushing. But Kelsey Mae's and Jay's went so smoothly that I really thought baby #4 would be smooth sailing.
But, alas, there wasn't any smooth sailing. Or even sailing. Ha! (Probably due to his size!) I got the Pitocin at 9am, they broke my water shortly after. I was at 3cm. Then they left me to "labor on" and came in every so often to "up" the Pitocin since they said I was "handling the pain well."
After a while, the pain got unbearable and I thought I could face the epidural. (I really dread the epidural shot. The one I got for Jay was beyond "it should feel like a bee sting." It felt like a sword in my back. ha)
Anyway, when I couldn't stand it anymore I said I was ready for the epidural! Bring on the drugs! Well, easier said than done. It took it least an hour more until the aenste...aenast...ok, the drug-guy to get in the room. By then I was scard it would be too late to get one. (But, alas, that only happens to my sisters! HA...too soon? Sorry, sorry.)
I got one, they checked me right away and I was 8cm. Then they started getting ready to for the pushing (which does take a while). They were settling everything (you know, laying sheets places, putting on masks, etc. ha) and Jonathan said, "any minute now?" and the nurse said "oh no, I think we have another half hour." Haha!
well I got the epidural close to noon and shortly after I was ready for the pushing. (The nurse said that I had the epidural for 30 minutes total.) I kind of prided myself on my ability to push after receiving accolades from the doctors after Kelsey and Jay but apparently that only applies to babies in the low 7-lb range. Because Parker took 15 minutes and it was pretty grueling, but alas he arrived!
The doctor let Jonathan call out the announcement- it's a boy! Then Jonathan cried as any man who hopes to have a boy does. Or any man who hopes to have a second boy.
I did not cry but I was sure happy to see him!
below: it's a giant! 9 lb, 1.5 oz. 20.5 inches long.
below: this is my view of Mimi holding the baby!
I got to hold him first (the hospital is very big on skin-on-skin right out of the womb) and Jonathan got a chance and then it was who-traveled-the-furthest and mimi won that one ha.
below; Parker is thinking- "why does my mom swaddle me so much? I can't breathe"
below: insert lots of pictures of Parker
SO Aunt Courtney and Uncle Kurt came to visit the boy! My girlfriends Ali and Emily dropped in for a few minutes. Then Mimi went home at 3:30 to relieve the baby-sitter and to bring the kids back after Jaybird woke up from his nap.
Opa, Court and Kurt were still there when the kids made their grand entrance!
below: these next pictures are all thanks to Aunt Courtney!
below: Jaybird was so smiley and happy to see Parker right away! It was the dearest thing.
below: first family portrait! It's a shame I didn't take that inner tube off from around my waist in time for the pic. (-:
below: Uncle Kurt holding Parker
below: Courtney got this pic of the spectators
Jonathan took lots of pictures that I will have to post tomorrow. The kids stayed and visited for awhile...I'm so glad they got to see Parker's first bath (the nurse waited for them to arrive so they wouldn't miss it!). They also got to see Mema, who stopped in with a balloon and Parker's first stuffed animal (a blue bear).
Everyone headed out at dinnertime! Mimi took the kids home and must have fed them quickly because Jonathan ended up taking Calla and Kelsey to Awana (it was "pajama night!"). Mimi and Birdie got to hang out from 6:45-8:15. Jonathan said they were reading books when he got home. Bird will never be satisfied with 5-books-before-bed again.
Jonathan helped get the three kids in bed and then he came back to the hospital for a bit to hang with Parker before saying goodnight to us!
We had a pretty good first night! It involved lots of waking up but I would say that's pretty expected !
Finally, his name (since people have asked). We picked Parker because I liked the sound of it. (After you have a Junior, then the next boy is named by his mother. This is an unspoken rule.) Jonathan wanted a Bible name as a middle name. (He narrowed it down to Matthew, Andrew or Joshua.) Matthew is one I suggested because I like its meaning ("Gift of YAHWEH") and I've also been studying Matthew all year in Bible Study Fellowship. If Parker was born a girl, he would have been Caroline Paige. (-:
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
A Very Pictureless Post
Well quite frankly I am giving birth tomorrow so I thought I needed to quick update my blog! hahaha.
So this will be brief. And without pictures because, as everyone knows, pictures are the only things that can take long about posting to a blog.
This past weekend we were busy getting ready for baby! Well, if you count re-cleaning the house and doing yardwork getting ready for baby. I count it.
Saturday morning I headed to the sports center to get my hair done. That definitely counts for getting ready for baby. Kelsey Mae came along, because she insisted. She sat in a chair and watched. The hair stylist gave her a lollipop for sitting so nicely.
Calla and Bird and Daddy stayed home, and then once I got home Jonathan headed out to HOme Depot to get some supplies to work on the yard (weed-killer, exciting stuff like that). It was very warm here Saturday, so the kids spent the majority of the day playing outside. Jonathan logged in a couple hours of doing yardwork, and I wandered out there every so often.
The day seemed to go fast! I was busy doing random things like washing the walls. Newborns expect clean walls, you know.
That evening friends invited us to meet them at a pizza place in downtown Wheaton. A few families got together and it was the perfect evening to eat outside! It was a lot of fun, and we went over to the candy shop afterwards so the kids could fill up on candy for dessert. I felt like downtown Wheaton was busy! -- everybody was in such a great mood about being out and about.
Sunday morning was Palm Sunday of course! I definitely need to post pics of the kids later, because our church parades the young kids out during the service to wave their palm branches. Calla and Kelsey recalled this from last year and were so tickled about it.
Between services, we took Jay out of his class so he could watch his sisters waving their palms. They (and the other kids!) looked so cute. I remember doing that a handful of years as a kid.
After church, a bunch of families from our Sunday school class went out to a local deli to eat lunch. Jonathan wasn't sure he was in the mood to go but I insisted because I reminded him that this was our last Sunday with definite mobility. Ha! Starting next Sunday we may or may not have a cranky newborn along. (Well, we'll definitely have a newborn...the verdict is out on whether or not he/she will be fussy!)
The kids all sat at the "kids table" with their friends and we sat with the adults and had normal conversation. These type of moments always stick out to me because I know it will be an adjustment going back to "baby mode!" Lunches out can be hairy for awhile! (Like, two years. ha!)
We got home from lunch and Jay took a nap. Jonathan watched the "Masters" (golf) on TV for awhile and Calla laid on the couch and watched along. She likes to ask lots of questions. I'm sure Jonathan appreciated the constant commentary in his ear! ha!
We just hung low the rest of the day. I had a bunch of "to-dos" left to tackle. We ate dinner and did family worship and then put the kids to bed. Then I got to work stuffing Easter eggs with candy. You know, stuff you definitely can't do once a baby is born. hahaha.
Monday morning Kels and Jay and I dropped Calla off at school and then headed to the grocery store. As we were walking in I thought "last time this will be easy! [without the baby]" but before I knew it Kelsey and Jay were arguing over which cart to ride in. I guess it isn't so easy after all. haha.
We packed in our grocery shopping for the week within an hour's time, and then headed across the street to my OB appointment. It was cold outside, which was fortunate in that I didn't have to unload groceries before the doctor's office stop.
I did not think I'd need an internal since the nurses had always acted as if it was optional up to this point, but lo and behold they like to know these things at 39 weeks. I tried to act casual about it to Kelsey and Jay, but I think Kelsey in particular was pretty bewildered about the whole thing. Sorry, Kelsey. Hopefully you have a very short-term memory. (Btw, I was 3cm dilated and 75%. Not super changed from last week.)
After the appointment, we headed home to unpack groceries. The kids had an hour or so to play before we had to leave to pick up Calla.
Calla and Kelsey's day was about to improve 150% because my friend Kate asked if they wanted to come over for that afternoon for a play date. Kelsey had eaten lunch, but I packed a lunch for Calla in the car and she ate in the car on the drive over. Jay was a little confused why he wouldn't be invited to play with Claire (Kelsey Ann and Maggie's youngest sibling). I told him she was taking a nap and maybe he should too.
Once I got home Jay went down for a nap and I got busy making dessert for a birthday party that evening. My friend Kris was hosting a birthday get-together for our friend Jenny, and I was bringing the cake. I also brought carmelitas, so the two-hour quiet time while Jay slept and the girls were gone was just what I needed to bake and clean up.
Poor Birdie was rudely awaken from his nap so that we could drive back to Kate's to pick up the girls. Then the four of us headed to the sports center so I could get my hair done (I had broken up my "highlight and cut appointment" into two appointments so that it didn't get too long).
Calla, Kelsey and Jay went cheerfully into their classes (it helped that I packed snacks for them...they love having snacks to eat there). I got my hair done and then we headed home to make dinner.
Mimi's flight was arriving in at 7pm, so Jonathan went to pick her up right from work. While we waited, the kids and I ate dinner and cleaned up the house and then the girls watched out the window for the better part of an hour. It was nice they had an evening activity! haha.
Mimi and Daddy walked in at 8pm or so to lots of cheers! They must have been so starving! And I felt so rude, because I had to leave for the birthday party for Jenny! It seemed strange to say "hi" and "bye!" to Mimi, who had spent her entire day traveling to help me!
Mimi and Daddy ate dinner and then Mimi put the girls to bed. She said they sat on the bed talking for awhile until she realized that Calla had school the next day! ha!
I enjoyed my last "social gathering" in the meantime. It was fun to treat Jenny for her birthday...we had desserts and punch and just sat and talked. I went home and finally got to catch up a bit with Mimi!
Today was a nice day to have before the big "Induction Day!" Mimi and I took the kids to drop Calla off...Calla was tickled to have Mimi accompany her on the drive to school. I was giving instructions to Mimi as we drove since Mimi will be taking her tomorrow and Calla kept talking loudly over me, spouting off different details of the route.
We went back home and plotted out Easter dinner. Then we went to the grocery store to buy all the supplies. This is the day to go Easter shopping because it wasn't too busy!
After the shopping trip. it was time to pick up Calla. We picked up Calla, then picked up Molly so we could take Kelsey and Molly to speech class. After we dropped them off, Mimi and Jay and Calla and I headed to Chick-fil-A for lunch. (Shhh don't tell Kelsey! We felt bad she had to miss out!)
We overlapped with some friends there...I knew a couple were going to be there but we ended up seeing a bunch of different gals from church that I knew. That was fun! Calla enjoyed seeing her buddies, and Jaybird even got to see Bitty. That always makes his day.
We ended up staying until almost 2pm! We headed home and I put Birdie down for his nap. Mimi and Calla played some board games together until Kelsey got dropped off from speech class.
Our Tuesdays end up feeling pretty full because the girls have ballet at 4pm. I had to wake up poor Birdie but he was probably due to wake up anyway. The highlight of ballet class was that Miss Katrina invited all the parents in to see the "performance rehearsal" so Mimi got to watch Calla and Kelsey's "dance number." I actually missed it because Jay was busy taking FOREVER in the bathroom. Haha. I don't think I'll miss the dance recital though!
We headed home and I got dinner going. Dinner was time-consuming (well, it seemed to be!) and it still wasn't ready when Jonathan got home at 6:30. I felt like I was moving really slow. I probably was. But we eventually got to all sit down. We ate and had some dessert and then JOnathan gave the kids baths while Mimi and I did the dishes.
Jonathan brought out the baby bassinette from the attic (never too soon! haha jk) and bathtub and a couple other items. The kids were pretty excited about that, so we had to rein them in for bedtime!
Speaking of bedtime, I just noticed the time. Better get to bed so I can be on my "A-game" tomorrow!
I will upload pics on here once we get them of the little bambino!
So this will be brief. And without pictures because, as everyone knows, pictures are the only things that can take long about posting to a blog.
This past weekend we were busy getting ready for baby! Well, if you count re-cleaning the house and doing yardwork getting ready for baby. I count it.
Saturday morning I headed to the sports center to get my hair done. That definitely counts for getting ready for baby. Kelsey Mae came along, because she insisted. She sat in a chair and watched. The hair stylist gave her a lollipop for sitting so nicely.
Calla and Bird and Daddy stayed home, and then once I got home Jonathan headed out to HOme Depot to get some supplies to work on the yard (weed-killer, exciting stuff like that). It was very warm here Saturday, so the kids spent the majority of the day playing outside. Jonathan logged in a couple hours of doing yardwork, and I wandered out there every so often.
The day seemed to go fast! I was busy doing random things like washing the walls. Newborns expect clean walls, you know.
That evening friends invited us to meet them at a pizza place in downtown Wheaton. A few families got together and it was the perfect evening to eat outside! It was a lot of fun, and we went over to the candy shop afterwards so the kids could fill up on candy for dessert. I felt like downtown Wheaton was busy! -- everybody was in such a great mood about being out and about.
Sunday morning was Palm Sunday of course! I definitely need to post pics of the kids later, because our church parades the young kids out during the service to wave their palm branches. Calla and Kelsey recalled this from last year and were so tickled about it.
Between services, we took Jay out of his class so he could watch his sisters waving their palms. They (and the other kids!) looked so cute. I remember doing that a handful of years as a kid.
After church, a bunch of families from our Sunday school class went out to a local deli to eat lunch. Jonathan wasn't sure he was in the mood to go but I insisted because I reminded him that this was our last Sunday with definite mobility. Ha! Starting next Sunday we may or may not have a cranky newborn along. (Well, we'll definitely have a newborn...the verdict is out on whether or not he/she will be fussy!)
The kids all sat at the "kids table" with their friends and we sat with the adults and had normal conversation. These type of moments always stick out to me because I know it will be an adjustment going back to "baby mode!" Lunches out can be hairy for awhile! (Like, two years. ha!)
We got home from lunch and Jay took a nap. Jonathan watched the "Masters" (golf) on TV for awhile and Calla laid on the couch and watched along. She likes to ask lots of questions. I'm sure Jonathan appreciated the constant commentary in his ear! ha!
We just hung low the rest of the day. I had a bunch of "to-dos" left to tackle. We ate dinner and did family worship and then put the kids to bed. Then I got to work stuffing Easter eggs with candy. You know, stuff you definitely can't do once a baby is born. hahaha.
Monday morning Kels and Jay and I dropped Calla off at school and then headed to the grocery store. As we were walking in I thought "last time this will be easy! [without the baby]" but before I knew it Kelsey and Jay were arguing over which cart to ride in. I guess it isn't so easy after all. haha.
We packed in our grocery shopping for the week within an hour's time, and then headed across the street to my OB appointment. It was cold outside, which was fortunate in that I didn't have to unload groceries before the doctor's office stop.
I did not think I'd need an internal since the nurses had always acted as if it was optional up to this point, but lo and behold they like to know these things at 39 weeks. I tried to act casual about it to Kelsey and Jay, but I think Kelsey in particular was pretty bewildered about the whole thing. Sorry, Kelsey. Hopefully you have a very short-term memory. (Btw, I was 3cm dilated and 75%. Not super changed from last week.)
After the appointment, we headed home to unpack groceries. The kids had an hour or so to play before we had to leave to pick up Calla.
Calla and Kelsey's day was about to improve 150% because my friend Kate asked if they wanted to come over for that afternoon for a play date. Kelsey had eaten lunch, but I packed a lunch for Calla in the car and she ate in the car on the drive over. Jay was a little confused why he wouldn't be invited to play with Claire (Kelsey Ann and Maggie's youngest sibling). I told him she was taking a nap and maybe he should too.
Once I got home Jay went down for a nap and I got busy making dessert for a birthday party that evening. My friend Kris was hosting a birthday get-together for our friend Jenny, and I was bringing the cake. I also brought carmelitas, so the two-hour quiet time while Jay slept and the girls were gone was just what I needed to bake and clean up.
Poor Birdie was rudely awaken from his nap so that we could drive back to Kate's to pick up the girls. Then the four of us headed to the sports center so I could get my hair done (I had broken up my "highlight and cut appointment" into two appointments so that it didn't get too long).
Calla, Kelsey and Jay went cheerfully into their classes (it helped that I packed snacks for them...they love having snacks to eat there). I got my hair done and then we headed home to make dinner.
Mimi's flight was arriving in at 7pm, so Jonathan went to pick her up right from work. While we waited, the kids and I ate dinner and cleaned up the house and then the girls watched out the window for the better part of an hour. It was nice they had an evening activity! haha.
Mimi and Daddy walked in at 8pm or so to lots of cheers! They must have been so starving! And I felt so rude, because I had to leave for the birthday party for Jenny! It seemed strange to say "hi" and "bye!" to Mimi, who had spent her entire day traveling to help me!
Mimi and Daddy ate dinner and then Mimi put the girls to bed. She said they sat on the bed talking for awhile until she realized that Calla had school the next day! ha!
I enjoyed my last "social gathering" in the meantime. It was fun to treat Jenny for her birthday...we had desserts and punch and just sat and talked. I went home and finally got to catch up a bit with Mimi!
Today was a nice day to have before the big "Induction Day!" Mimi and I took the kids to drop Calla off...Calla was tickled to have Mimi accompany her on the drive to school. I was giving instructions to Mimi as we drove since Mimi will be taking her tomorrow and Calla kept talking loudly over me, spouting off different details of the route.
We went back home and plotted out Easter dinner. Then we went to the grocery store to buy all the supplies. This is the day to go Easter shopping because it wasn't too busy!
After the shopping trip. it was time to pick up Calla. We picked up Calla, then picked up Molly so we could take Kelsey and Molly to speech class. After we dropped them off, Mimi and Jay and Calla and I headed to Chick-fil-A for lunch. (Shhh don't tell Kelsey! We felt bad she had to miss out!)
We overlapped with some friends there...I knew a couple were going to be there but we ended up seeing a bunch of different gals from church that I knew. That was fun! Calla enjoyed seeing her buddies, and Jaybird even got to see Bitty. That always makes his day.
We ended up staying until almost 2pm! We headed home and I put Birdie down for his nap. Mimi and Calla played some board games together until Kelsey got dropped off from speech class.
Our Tuesdays end up feeling pretty full because the girls have ballet at 4pm. I had to wake up poor Birdie but he was probably due to wake up anyway. The highlight of ballet class was that Miss Katrina invited all the parents in to see the "performance rehearsal" so Mimi got to watch Calla and Kelsey's "dance number." I actually missed it because Jay was busy taking FOREVER in the bathroom. Haha. I don't think I'll miss the dance recital though!
We headed home and I got dinner going. Dinner was time-consuming (well, it seemed to be!) and it still wasn't ready when Jonathan got home at 6:30. I felt like I was moving really slow. I probably was. But we eventually got to all sit down. We ate and had some dessert and then JOnathan gave the kids baths while Mimi and I did the dishes.
Jonathan brought out the baby bassinette from the attic (never too soon! haha jk) and bathtub and a couple other items. The kids were pretty excited about that, so we had to rein them in for bedtime!
Speaking of bedtime, I just noticed the time. Better get to bed so I can be on my "A-game" tomorrow!
I will upload pics on here once we get them of the little bambino!
Saturday, April 12, 2014
Our Last Week Before Baby (And a False Alarm!)
Monday we recovered from our trip! We had to set our alarms to drag ourselves out of bed to take Calla to school, although after I dropped her off I climbed right back into bed. Kelsey and Jay played nearby (safely, I am sure). We just stayed home that morning...I unpacked and did laundry and Kels and Jay kept busy kind of making messes everywhere they go. (They tend to make messes when Calla isn't around to cast a vision...not like scribbling on stuff, just like taking out tons of toys and then relocating and taking out more toys.)
I hope it was a relaxing day for her! We have yet to connect over Skype for a rousing rendition of "Happy birthday!" April is a busy month for birthdays around here; Opa's birthday was on Saturday (the 5th) and Mema's was on Sunday (the 6th) and obviously soon I am going to have a little bambino with an April birthday.
Tuesday morning we took Cal-Cal to school and then I dropped Kelsey and Jay off at home to be with Stefani while I ran to the doctor's for my 38-week appointment. Things were holding steady at "the same." Dr. Cannon will deliver baby #4...he is my second favorite doctor in the practice so I'm glad it worked out for his schedule. I saw him for my appointment on Tuesday and told him I've been super emotional and could tell the hormones were in overdrive! He told me to tell my husband just to go outside and "rake leaves" in his free time. Even if there aren't any leaves to rake, he mentioned. ha!
I went back to the house and Stefani chatted for awhile before heading out. I did some more laundry at home and then Kels and Jay and I headed out to pick up Calla from school. Every time I make that drive to school, 20-minutes round-trip, I just hope and pray baby #4 is not terrible in the car! She/he may have a pretty terrible life if that is the case. It least until the end of the schoolyear haha.
We picked up Calla, then picked up Molly for speech class, and then we took Molls and Kels to Madison. I had arranged with my friend Kris to have Annie over for the afternoon (molly's older sister) so Calla would have a playdate. Sometimes Calla gets bored on Tues/Thurs without Kelsey!
Annie and Calla are just hilarious together. They are pretty much the same person. Annie ate a snack while Calla ate lunch. Then they chit-chatted for awhile...you know, caught up. Then Calla asked me to get the "art bin" down from the closet and they shut themselves in Calla's room with it for the better part of two hours. They just slaved away on their "art."
Jaybird took a nap in the meantime. And when Kelsey got dropped off, Kris picked up Annie. I wish we could do it every day that the girls have speech.
Tuesday afternoons always seem busy because Kels gets dropped off at 3:10 or so, and then at 3:45 we head out the door for ballet. I had to wake up Jaybird. He usually wakes up cheerfully, as long as he's had an hour and a half to rest.
We took the sisters to ballet. The highlight of our 45-minutes sitting out in the hall (thank goodness there are other moms that sit out there with their sons, so Jaybird has playmates), was that Miss Katrina invited all the moms in at the end to watch a "rehearsal" of the big performance.
below: a dark picture (Calla far left, Kelsey far right)
Jay and I really enjoyed seeing the "piece" in progress! Kelsey Mae smiled broadly through the whole thing. Calla has a much more serious look to her when she's dancing. Of course, she's probably concentrating, since she is much more accurate with the "dance moves" than little Sis.
The girls were still beaming about it when they got home. And told Daddy all about it when he got in the door at 6 or so. I already had dinner on the table...we are usually pretty starved by 6pm.
We ate dinner and gave the kids baths and put them to bed. Kelsey Mae is always half-asleep by dinnertime on Tuesdays!
Wednesday turned out to be an exciting day! I didn't mean it to be! ha! We started it off with our last day at Wed. morning Bible study (technically, April 16th is the last day but I will be in the hospital having a baby that day). I told Jaybird it was his last day but he didn't seem comforted by the thought. Instead, he cried and cried when I dropped him off. It really was ridiculous.
Kelsey loves her teacher "Miss Katie" so she will probably miss Wednesday mornings at Bible study! It's hard to believe the next time we get back into that routine it will be mid-September. Seems like years from now.
After Bible study, Jenny invited us over for lunch. It was really so kind of her. She popped in a frozen pizza for the kids and heated up this delicious soup for me and her. We had picked up Calla before we arrived, so my three kiddos ran outside and got busy on the swingset. It was actually a mild-weather day! And the Moo's swingset is fabulous. (Picture playhouse and big, tube slide with it.)
We stayed and visited for a while after lunch, but I was not feeling the best. By the time I got home, I just laid down on the couch and told Jay to put himself down for a nap. Well obviously he wasn't getting that memo (instead he ran off with his sisters). I took him potty and laid him down and then laid on the floor of his room. I think Jay was probably confused.
But I needed to lay down! The girls played in the back room and I just laid on the couch for a couple hours. I had terrible heart burn. And I had so much to do, but I really couldn't get up. It was the oddest thing.
Then all the sudden the contractions started. I instantly got alarmed, since I have never had contractions like that (unless I was in real labor about to give birth!). I drank a few glasses of water and chewed ice chips like it was my job. I started timing them, and when they were under 5 minutes apart I called Jonathan.
Well thankfully he had a work meeting in Wheaton because otherwise he would have been a 45-minute drive away. He rushed home and found me the kids' toothpaste off the bathroom sink. I had haphazardly packed a suitcase (at Mimi's encouragement) and when the contractions continued, Jonathan insisted we dump the kids off at a friend's house and head to the hospital.
Well, in retrospect, we acted too fast! But our friends Bryan and Ali took the kiddos (so kind of them!) and we headed to the hospital. Jonathan drove as if the baby was already halfway out. I guess it's good to be on the safe side.
They hooked me up to the machines of course to monitor everything and could see my contractions were 2 minutes apart. But they were also concerned that I might be dehydrated (since I hadn't been feeling well) and wanted to hook me up to an IV. They asked me about 1,000,000 questions in their registration process, all of which made me deeply regret not yet taking the time to register online.
By the time the IV got going, my contractions had spaced out to every 4 minutes. Oh my, not the right direction! That's when I realized that I might not be in "active labor." She did an internal [too much information] and I was 2cm dilated. The nurse told me to let the IV finish and then we'd see where "we stood."
Well the IV took forever and my contractions were getting further apart. The nurse suggested I walk around for a few minutes to see if I had dilated further. If I had, then I'd stay. If I hadn't, then she'd send me home. So Jonathan and I did a few laps around the hospital and she checked me again. The contractions were still coming steadily, but I was only at 2cm. She told me that if I was past 39 weeks they would just keep me (and probably help it along) but since I was not, that it was time to go home. And to keep someone on call (baby-sitter-wise) in case we needed to go back that night.
Well we didn't need to go back that night! We picked up our kiddos from our friend's (bless their hearts!) and took them home. I folded laundry and waited to dilate. hahaha. I still had contractions but they were becoming much more sporatic. It was just the oddest thing to me, since I had zero "symptoms" of early labor with any of my other kids. Of course, with Calla my water had been leaking so labor started much more fast-and-furious.
below: a video my girlfriend Ali sent to me when we all thought I was going to have the baby. How confused must my kiddos have been to see me walk in "from the hospital" without the baby? ha!
Thursday morning I woke up after having it least a dozen different dreams about childbirth. Kind of an exhausting night of sleep! HA!
It felt weird just going about having a normal day after such a whirlwind evening the night before, but we took Cal-Cal to school and then headed to BSF. Thankfully I ran into a friend there who told me she had a false alarm with her baby #4. That helped me feel less clueless! haha.
BSF was so meaningful and I am so glad I got to go. We are studying the end of Matthew, which coincides with Passover/Easter and it is so neat to dig deep into the text right before the holiday.
BSF doesn't end until May 8, so hopefully I'll be able to return with the newborn in tow. I will play it by ear! ha!
So after BSF we went home and I gave Kels a quick lunch. Then we went and picked up Calla from school. I had packed a lunchbox for her, since Kris had invited her to Kris' house to play with Annie during speech class. Calla was really excited about it.
Then I drove Molly and Kelsey to speech, and Birdie and I headed back to the house. We read lots of books and then I put him to bed. I was planning on Kris bringing my girls by after speech, but instead she offered to keep them an hour or so longer so they could all play at the park together and so I could get some downtime. It was so nice! Although after my "labor scare" the evening before, the "downtime" consisted of a lot of housework! I had felt contractions steadily during the morning, but they disappeared that afternoon. Such a tease!
Kris dropped the girls off at 4:30. We spent the rest of the day at home. I was still in cleaning-mode, and Calla and Kelsey got busy playing after spending most of their day away from home. I made dinner and we ate when Jonathan got home. Then he gave all the kids a bath. There is nothing more uncomfortable as a pregnant person than leaning over a bathtub. haha! I am officially off bath-duty until this baby is born!
We put Calla and Kelsey to bed at 7:30! Jaybird lasted a bit longer. It usually works out because he loves to read books before bedtime. We sit by his toddler bed and he just requests book after book until I cut him off with "singing time." His favorite songs right now are "Jesus Loves Me," "Trust and Obey" and "B-I-B-L-E." He kept requesting one "from BSF" and saying one line over and over but I had no clue what song it was. I felt bad! As Kelsey would say, "look it up on your phone!" (Anytime I don't know something, she tells me to "look it up on your phone!")
Friday morning Calla had a "hilarious" time getting dressed for school. It was "backwards day" and there was just nothing funnier to her than putting everything on backwards. She even asked me to make a braid in her hair coming out the front. She even put her panties on backwards. (We reminded her that nobody would know that they were on backwards!)
We dropped her off to school. She walked in with her backpack on her front, giggling the whole way.
Jaybird and Kelsey and I headed to the sports center. I did not work out (I really want this baby to hang on until Mimi gets here!) but I did have an appointment to get my eyebrows waxed. You know, important list items prior to baby. I had a gift card which made it all the more enjoyable. (-:
below: I took Jaybird to the potty in the childcare bathroom. He needs a potty like this at home.
The eyebrows took all of 20 minutes, and then I picked up Jay and Kels and we headed out for a couple errands. We gave ourselves enough time to return home and pack lunches because I wanted to take the kids to the park after we got Calla. It was a beautiful day! High 60s and sunny!
When we picked up Calla, we also picked up her friend Kalie. She is a classmate of Calla's and has been high on Calla's "invite over to play" list for some time. I wanted to squeeze in a playdate before the baby arrived!
I didn't know Kalie very well (although I know her mom!) and we loved having her. She was so much fun...Kelsey Mae told her that Kalie is now her best friend. haha.
We went to the park for awhile and then headed home and the girls played "school" all afternoon. Jay was sad to miss most of classtime during his nap. (He kept calling Kalie "Haley." I am not sure he realized he was wrong!)
below: I took a picture of Calla leading in "chapel" at school! ha!
Kalie's dad picked her up at 4:30 or so. I was so glad the afternoon was a success; it can be a little sticky when there's three. (Kelsey Mae can make a crowd sometimes!)
We headed out to Target after Kalie left to get Calla a birthday present to give a friend. She had a party for one of her classmates at Monkey Joe's (a bounce-house place) that evening. Somehow getting a present had totally slipped my mind.
We got home just in time for Daddy to pull in the driveway, then all of us headed across town. I dropped Calla off at the party and then we went to the Moo's house for dinner. Two meals in three days at the Moo's! I really owe Jenny!
It was such a nice night that the kids spent the entire time outside. They played on the riding toys until dinner, and then afterwards they played on the swings and took some practice swings with the baseball bat (and their dads). The evening ended with Luke digging out some sparklers from his garage for the kids to play with...Jay was a bit skittish at first but he got over that real quickly. The person who always makes me skittish is Kelsey...I can totally see her poking somebody with one of those sometime!
We had to say goodbye by quarter of 8 in order to grab Calla. It had felt weird to have an evening without her! Daddy went into Monkey Joe's to fetch her and she came out talking a mile-a-minute. She said the party was so super fun and she couldn't even narrow down the best part. She even brought her cup of apple juice for Kelsey and Jay to drink the leftovers (they did, with gratitude). ha.
We got home and got everyone to bed! Playing outside makes everyone tired! I think Jay was asleep before I sang my last song. haha.
We straightened up the house and then went to pick up Cal-Cal from school. Despite her late night, she seemed in high spirits. We went home and ate lunch and continued the laundry and unpacking (it is always an all-day affair, isn't it?) and I put Jay down for an early nap. I had Calla and Kelsey lay down too, although neither of them slept. Technically half-the-night in the minivan doesn't seem like a sound night's sleep but neither of them noticed too much.
Monday afternoon, after Jaybird woke up, we headed out to the grocery store. It was just a terrible time to go to the store but I didn't have a choice. I hadn't made it there that morning and I didn't have dinner ingredients without it. We fought the after-work crowds and made it home in time for me to make dinner before Daddy arrived at 6:30. It was a late dinner, so afterwards it was pretty much pajamas-and-story-and-bed!
Tuesday was aunt Kelly's birthday!!!! She is officially the big 3-0!
Tuesday morning we took Cal-Cal to school and then I dropped Kelsey and Jay off at home to be with Stefani while I ran to the doctor's for my 38-week appointment. Things were holding steady at "the same." Dr. Cannon will deliver baby #4...he is my second favorite doctor in the practice so I'm glad it worked out for his schedule. I saw him for my appointment on Tuesday and told him I've been super emotional and could tell the hormones were in overdrive! He told me to tell my husband just to go outside and "rake leaves" in his free time. Even if there aren't any leaves to rake, he mentioned. ha!
I went back to the house and Stefani chatted for awhile before heading out. I did some more laundry at home and then Kels and Jay and I headed out to pick up Calla from school. Every time I make that drive to school, 20-minutes round-trip, I just hope and pray baby #4 is not terrible in the car! She/he may have a pretty terrible life if that is the case. It least until the end of the schoolyear haha.
We picked up Calla, then picked up Molly for speech class, and then we took Molls and Kels to Madison. I had arranged with my friend Kris to have Annie over for the afternoon (molly's older sister) so Calla would have a playdate. Sometimes Calla gets bored on Tues/Thurs without Kelsey!
Annie and Calla are just hilarious together. They are pretty much the same person. Annie ate a snack while Calla ate lunch. Then they chit-chatted for awhile...you know, caught up. Then Calla asked me to get the "art bin" down from the closet and they shut themselves in Calla's room with it for the better part of two hours. They just slaved away on their "art."
Jaybird took a nap in the meantime. And when Kelsey got dropped off, Kris picked up Annie. I wish we could do it every day that the girls have speech.
Tuesday afternoons always seem busy because Kels gets dropped off at 3:10 or so, and then at 3:45 we head out the door for ballet. I had to wake up Jaybird. He usually wakes up cheerfully, as long as he's had an hour and a half to rest.
We took the sisters to ballet. The highlight of our 45-minutes sitting out in the hall (thank goodness there are other moms that sit out there with their sons, so Jaybird has playmates), was that Miss Katrina invited all the moms in at the end to watch a "rehearsal" of the big performance.
below: a dark picture (Calla far left, Kelsey far right)
Jay and I really enjoyed seeing the "piece" in progress! Kelsey Mae smiled broadly through the whole thing. Calla has a much more serious look to her when she's dancing. Of course, she's probably concentrating, since she is much more accurate with the "dance moves" than little Sis.
The girls were still beaming about it when they got home. And told Daddy all about it when he got in the door at 6 or so. I already had dinner on the table...we are usually pretty starved by 6pm.
We ate dinner and gave the kids baths and put them to bed. Kelsey Mae is always half-asleep by dinnertime on Tuesdays!
Wednesday turned out to be an exciting day! I didn't mean it to be! ha! We started it off with our last day at Wed. morning Bible study (technically, April 16th is the last day but I will be in the hospital having a baby that day). I told Jaybird it was his last day but he didn't seem comforted by the thought. Instead, he cried and cried when I dropped him off. It really was ridiculous.
Kelsey loves her teacher "Miss Katie" so she will probably miss Wednesday mornings at Bible study! It's hard to believe the next time we get back into that routine it will be mid-September. Seems like years from now.
After Bible study, Jenny invited us over for lunch. It was really so kind of her. She popped in a frozen pizza for the kids and heated up this delicious soup for me and her. We had picked up Calla before we arrived, so my three kiddos ran outside and got busy on the swingset. It was actually a mild-weather day! And the Moo's swingset is fabulous. (Picture playhouse and big, tube slide with it.)
We stayed and visited for a while after lunch, but I was not feeling the best. By the time I got home, I just laid down on the couch and told Jay to put himself down for a nap. Well obviously he wasn't getting that memo (instead he ran off with his sisters). I took him potty and laid him down and then laid on the floor of his room. I think Jay was probably confused.
But I needed to lay down! The girls played in the back room and I just laid on the couch for a couple hours. I had terrible heart burn. And I had so much to do, but I really couldn't get up. It was the oddest thing.
Then all the sudden the contractions started. I instantly got alarmed, since I have never had contractions like that (unless I was in real labor about to give birth!). I drank a few glasses of water and chewed ice chips like it was my job. I started timing them, and when they were under 5 minutes apart I called Jonathan.
Well thankfully he had a work meeting in Wheaton because otherwise he would have been a 45-minute drive away. He rushed home and found me the kids' toothpaste off the bathroom sink. I had haphazardly packed a suitcase (at Mimi's encouragement) and when the contractions continued, Jonathan insisted we dump the kids off at a friend's house and head to the hospital.
Well, in retrospect, we acted too fast! But our friends Bryan and Ali took the kiddos (so kind of them!) and we headed to the hospital. Jonathan drove as if the baby was already halfway out. I guess it's good to be on the safe side.
They hooked me up to the machines of course to monitor everything and could see my contractions were 2 minutes apart. But they were also concerned that I might be dehydrated (since I hadn't been feeling well) and wanted to hook me up to an IV. They asked me about 1,000,000 questions in their registration process, all of which made me deeply regret not yet taking the time to register online.
By the time the IV got going, my contractions had spaced out to every 4 minutes. Oh my, not the right direction! That's when I realized that I might not be in "active labor." She did an internal [too much information] and I was 2cm dilated. The nurse told me to let the IV finish and then we'd see where "we stood."
Well the IV took forever and my contractions were getting further apart. The nurse suggested I walk around for a few minutes to see if I had dilated further. If I had, then I'd stay. If I hadn't, then she'd send me home. So Jonathan and I did a few laps around the hospital and she checked me again. The contractions were still coming steadily, but I was only at 2cm. She told me that if I was past 39 weeks they would just keep me (and probably help it along) but since I was not, that it was time to go home. And to keep someone on call (baby-sitter-wise) in case we needed to go back that night.
Well we didn't need to go back that night! We picked up our kiddos from our friend's (bless their hearts!) and took them home. I folded laundry and waited to dilate. hahaha. I still had contractions but they were becoming much more sporatic. It was just the oddest thing to me, since I had zero "symptoms" of early labor with any of my other kids. Of course, with Calla my water had been leaking so labor started much more fast-and-furious.
below: a video my girlfriend Ali sent to me when we all thought I was going to have the baby. How confused must my kiddos have been to see me walk in "from the hospital" without the baby? ha!
Thursday morning I woke up after having it least a dozen different dreams about childbirth. Kind of an exhausting night of sleep! HA!
It felt weird just going about having a normal day after such a whirlwind evening the night before, but we took Cal-Cal to school and then headed to BSF. Thankfully I ran into a friend there who told me she had a false alarm with her baby #4. That helped me feel less clueless! haha.
BSF was so meaningful and I am so glad I got to go. We are studying the end of Matthew, which coincides with Passover/Easter and it is so neat to dig deep into the text right before the holiday.
BSF doesn't end until May 8, so hopefully I'll be able to return with the newborn in tow. I will play it by ear! ha!
So after BSF we went home and I gave Kels a quick lunch. Then we went and picked up Calla from school. I had packed a lunchbox for her, since Kris had invited her to Kris' house to play with Annie during speech class. Calla was really excited about it.
Then I drove Molly and Kelsey to speech, and Birdie and I headed back to the house. We read lots of books and then I put him to bed. I was planning on Kris bringing my girls by after speech, but instead she offered to keep them an hour or so longer so they could all play at the park together and so I could get some downtime. It was so nice! Although after my "labor scare" the evening before, the "downtime" consisted of a lot of housework! I had felt contractions steadily during the morning, but they disappeared that afternoon. Such a tease!
Kris dropped the girls off at 4:30. We spent the rest of the day at home. I was still in cleaning-mode, and Calla and Kelsey got busy playing after spending most of their day away from home. I made dinner and we ate when Jonathan got home. Then he gave all the kids a bath. There is nothing more uncomfortable as a pregnant person than leaning over a bathtub. haha! I am officially off bath-duty until this baby is born!
We put Calla and Kelsey to bed at 7:30! Jaybird lasted a bit longer. It usually works out because he loves to read books before bedtime. We sit by his toddler bed and he just requests book after book until I cut him off with "singing time." His favorite songs right now are "Jesus Loves Me," "Trust and Obey" and "B-I-B-L-E." He kept requesting one "from BSF" and saying one line over and over but I had no clue what song it was. I felt bad! As Kelsey would say, "look it up on your phone!" (Anytime I don't know something, she tells me to "look it up on your phone!")
Friday morning Calla had a "hilarious" time getting dressed for school. It was "backwards day" and there was just nothing funnier to her than putting everything on backwards. She even asked me to make a braid in her hair coming out the front. She even put her panties on backwards. (We reminded her that nobody would know that they were on backwards!)
We dropped her off to school. She walked in with her backpack on her front, giggling the whole way.
Jaybird and Kelsey and I headed to the sports center. I did not work out (I really want this baby to hang on until Mimi gets here!) but I did have an appointment to get my eyebrows waxed. You know, important list items prior to baby. I had a gift card which made it all the more enjoyable. (-:
below: I took Jaybird to the potty in the childcare bathroom. He needs a potty like this at home.
The eyebrows took all of 20 minutes, and then I picked up Jay and Kels and we headed out for a couple errands. We gave ourselves enough time to return home and pack lunches because I wanted to take the kids to the park after we got Calla. It was a beautiful day! High 60s and sunny!
When we picked up Calla, we also picked up her friend Kalie. She is a classmate of Calla's and has been high on Calla's "invite over to play" list for some time. I wanted to squeeze in a playdate before the baby arrived!
I didn't know Kalie very well (although I know her mom!) and we loved having her. She was so much fun...Kelsey Mae told her that Kalie is now her best friend. haha.
We went to the park for awhile and then headed home and the girls played "school" all afternoon. Jay was sad to miss most of classtime during his nap. (He kept calling Kalie "Haley." I am not sure he realized he was wrong!)
below: I took a picture of Calla leading in "chapel" at school! ha!
Kalie's dad picked her up at 4:30 or so. I was so glad the afternoon was a success; it can be a little sticky when there's three. (Kelsey Mae can make a crowd sometimes!)
We headed out to Target after Kalie left to get Calla a birthday present to give a friend. She had a party for one of her classmates at Monkey Joe's (a bounce-house place) that evening. Somehow getting a present had totally slipped my mind.
We got home just in time for Daddy to pull in the driveway, then all of us headed across town. I dropped Calla off at the party and then we went to the Moo's house for dinner. Two meals in three days at the Moo's! I really owe Jenny!
It was such a nice night that the kids spent the entire time outside. They played on the riding toys until dinner, and then afterwards they played on the swings and took some practice swings with the baseball bat (and their dads). The evening ended with Luke digging out some sparklers from his garage for the kids to play with...Jay was a bit skittish at first but he got over that real quickly. The person who always makes me skittish is Kelsey...I can totally see her poking somebody with one of those sometime!
We had to say goodbye by quarter of 8 in order to grab Calla. It had felt weird to have an evening without her! Daddy went into Monkey Joe's to fetch her and she came out talking a mile-a-minute. She said the party was so super fun and she couldn't even narrow down the best part. She even brought her cup of apple juice for Kelsey and Jay to drink the leftovers (they did, with gratitude). ha.
We got home and got everyone to bed! Playing outside makes everyone tired! I think Jay was asleep before I sang my last song. haha.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
