Smitten

Hi everyone! Just wanted to add some pictures to Geoff's post about Avery's arrival. I love how Geoff wrote on Facebook "she is the best birthday gift I will ever have." We do try to be efficient around here...everyone (except me) sharing a birthday. We took one final belly picture at 5-ish in the morning before leaving for the hospital.
39 weeks:
C-section time-let's go have a baby!




One of our neighbors is an anesthesiologist (I will call him Dr. S for short). I requested him to do spinal for the surgery and was so happy to see he was scheduled for our c-section. He was so nice and came in to talk to us before the c-section, walked me down to the OR and even asked me what music I wanted during the surgery. He said "think of me as your anesthesiologist slash DJ." He stayed with us until I was wheeled back to the room. The procedure itself felt so much slower this time which I guess is standard for a repeat c-section. The boys arrived within a minute or so of the doctor making the incision...this time my doctor made the incision and it felt like at least 15-20 minutes went by before we heard her first screams. But luckily Dr. S and my OB were keeping us informed that they had to get through the scar tissue first and they can take their time. After Avery arrived I could see her across the room. My first thought was "she is so tiny." Geoff and I were guessing she would be 7 or 8 lbs but she weighed 6 lbs 7 ounces.
I love this picture. Here I am!

I couldn't wait to see her close up.

The hospital here did a great "pre-op" appointment. My other neighbor did the pre-op and told Geoff and I exactly what to expect. I was surprised to hear that the nurse would give me a drink right before the c-section to help with nausea (I got sick to my stomach three times in Florida after the c-section) and would use warmers to warm me up before the c-section. The OR was freezing and I loved that they put a warm blanket on me right before the spinal. The nurses also wait to give the baby her first bath until later because they found that babies nurse better before their bath. And they got her skin to skin with me shortly after I returned to the room. Dr. S told me to let him know if I started to feel queasy at all during the procedure and that he could give me something to stop it. While I was feeling lots of pressure and pulling and pushing I did start to feel bad so he gave me something and the feeling disappeared right away.
Holding her for the first time.
As soon as visitors were permitted we called Papap to come on over with the boys. Papap, J and W marched right into the room with balloons and flowers - it was so cute. They weren't shy at all about it...almost as if they were thinking "hey, where is my sister?" They were both a little wary looking at me all layed up in the hospital bed with lots of contraptions attached to me. They wouldn't come too close but just kept smiling at me. I couldn't believe how BIG they looked and felt after holding Avery for just a short while. They brought cards they made for their sister at school. Their teacher wrote the words, J and W drew the pictures and signed it. But they chose what they wanted the cards to say. The picture on the left is J's drawing of a crib. The card on the right is a picture of me with the baby in my belly.

The boys and I made these cards for Geoff's birthday. I saw the idea on pinterest.com. We traced the boys' hand and on the front it says "I love you" and the inside says "this much."













J was all about holding her and kissing her.



























J giving her a kiss...













We were in the hospital until Sunday afternoon and Papap and the boys came every day. And they were more intrigued by their new sister each time. W reaching for her on another day.















They were so very excited on Sunday afternoon to take her home. Geoff, J and W were working on adjusting straps on the car seat when J said "where is the baby?" before we put her in.

Love. Love. Love.

Leaving the birth center:













We learned fast that hardly anything fit her. She is swimming in newborn-sized clothes. After several changes, I found a onesie and some tiny pants that fit her well.


























Here is Bear meeting Avery. She sniffed her but then assumed her belly-rub position:














Katy's first kiss.













That was about all Katy did the first day. But we let her in Thursday night while Avery was napping on the couch. Katy went over to her and sniffed and licked her several times. Then she layed down in front of the fireplace where she could still see her. As soon as Avery started squeaking, Katy's head bolted upright and she scurried over to her. It was so sweet how curious she was. When I took Avery into our bedroom to feed her, I didn't realize that Katy followed me the whole way (and she always stops at our bedroom door because the dogs know they aren't allowed in there). It was as if she didn't want to let her out of her sight.
Papap did a lot of baby-holding and took the occassional nap with his granddaughter.


Avery had a follow-up appointment with the pediatrician two days after we left the hospital for a weight check and a color check. She was down to between 5 lbs 15 ounces and 6 lbs. She had a good check-up. Our only concern is that she hasn't passed her hearing test yet. I will worry about that until she passes.



























I love this pic-especially W's face. Papap asked J last night if he was holding the baby too much and he said "yes!" And the night before, J commented something about "your baby" to me. I told him it was our baby. He said "oh. But it isn't Papap's baby."

Also a video!

Avery is here!!!

Hello. I am sure A will modify this post later and improve it with her creative flare but I wanted to get some pictures out there while she is still recovering. Hope you enjoy.
We are going in...
WELCOME AVERY. A beautiful 6 lb 7 oz born 30 Sept at 0943.

Mommy and Avery doing great!

Here come the boys excited to meet their sister.

Jack was so sweet. He took one look at her and said "She looks nice" He was very excited to hold her and touch her cheeks and face. Wyatt held her for a little while but seemed more interested in when she would be ready to play.

Papap and Avery

Showered and Blessed

37 weeks and 4 days...six days longer than I was pregnant with the boys. Not long now.

My good friend Heather hosted a shower for me last night at a local restaurant. I had so much fun with an amazing group of women. I was so touched by how much thought went into all the details. My friend Lindsay made these invitations:

And Katie had cupcakes made to match the invitations...so so cute.

And Kristen made the dark chocolate truffles below for everyone to take home - Y.U.M.:

And check out this diaper cake Lindsay also made:

Heather and Erin decorated the tables with fresh flowers and provided appetizers...

Heather, Erin, and I:

I know it is a lot of work to coordinate all of it so I am so appreciative! Oh.my.goodness.

And having everyone come out to celebrate the new baby was so amazing. I know everyone is busy during the week and that it is hard to get out in the evening.

Talk about "feathering the nest":

So thank you thank you thank you Heather! And thank you to everyone else who helped with the shower and came to the shower. I am truly blessed with such great friends.

Tumbling, Sleeping, Camping

We decided to put the boys back into gymnastics. We first tried when they were three years old...but they were just not quite ready then. We learned quickly last winter that we needed an indoor activity that was very physical for the boys. There was a lot more action this time around. The boys ran right out onto the floor and the coach started music and said to "run" and they just did--with big smiles on their faces. They were attentive the whole time and participated in everything. J told me after his first practice that he "liked it all but the running."

J running (and smiling):

But I have learned not to judge an experience based on one time. So we headed back to the gym yesterday and they were just as enthusiastic. It was hard to get pictures from where the parents sit but I took a couple of them running.

They especially liked doing the trampoline and LOVED the bungee cords. The gym just got the bungee cord-contraption and I wish I had my video camera. W had the biggest grin the entire time he bounced up and down on it. It is fun to watch them having so much fun. And the last two days they had gymnastics...they were definitely tired. J even got upset and acted very cranky in the car right after gymnastics from being sleepy. We are just starting with one day a week for now just to see how it goes.
As for sleeping, I still love getting any photos of the boys I can while they are sleeping. The other night I found W like this:

Is that angelic or what?

Looking comfy.

And here is J and W with Geoff before camping in the back yard last weekend. At least for a few hours. Geoff said he was cold and couldn't sleep. Although the boys were out and tucked deep into their sleeping bags, he carried everyone inside for the rest of the night.

A Little of This...A Little of That

Is September really already half over?! I am in that giddy-excited-it-feels-like-it-is-almost-Christmas-stage awaiting baby to arrive. I love that she is arriving at the end of September. If baby arrives as scheduled, we will kick off fall with two huge events...her arrival and Geoff's (hence Uncle Matt's) birthday. Which then leads in to October and fall and the start of all the fun holidays. We have so much to look forward to!

Last weekend my friend Christina drove down from Bend to host a shower for me. The weather was beautiful so we ate outside and just enjoyed relaxing and visiting with each other. It was really nice. 36-week pic before the shower:

They "showered" me with such great goodies that I know the baby will love.

Thanks so much lovely ladies!

I am 37 weeks today and feeling great...I just can't eat very much because there is just no room. I had an appointment yesterday and the OB was only getting a bad echo-sound while trying to find the heart beat. She was listening low on my belly. Then she started to feel around to see what position the baby was in and said "hey, since we happen to be in the ultrasound room, let's take a peek." And sure enough, baby has been doing somersaults and is now breech like both the boys were. So the big hard bump up high on my belly is her head...sitting right under my ribs.

As for projects, we are making progress on her room but we still have lots to do. Mostly just getting all of our stuff out of the walk-in closet of that room and finding a new home for it. So our hallway is just full of stuff in transition. The crib is together, we have some frames on the wall and the furniture is in place. Now we need to hang the mobile, get window treatments, and find something else for the walls...there is more wall space than I realized in there. Here are some progress pics.

The after-painting but before cleaning out the room before picture:

Getting better:

The boys wanted to help change the light fixture:

And they each really wanted a turn in the crib. They are infatuated with getting in the crib (I think it is because of the super-soft crib sheet). They had the same crib sheet but in blue so maybe it is bringing back memories.

W in the crib:

J in the crib:

The boys resumed preschool right after Labor Day and the transition from summer to school was awesome. I wasn't sure if they would have trouble adjusting back to a "schedule" but thank goodness they didn't. They are returning to the same school with the same teacher but going four days a week instead of three. We lost most of their schoolmates from last year to kindergarten and other reasons so right now they are in a class of four total! Hoping the class will continue to grow because they are getting pampered right now with all the attention. W and the teacher made an awesome shark yesterday that is a whole length of a table. He painted it and everything. It will be fun to hang that in their room when it is done. Here is J and W before the first day:

More to come!