31 August 2012

One Year Ago Today (Part 2)

You want to know the definition of a perfect moment?

It's the moment a healthy baby is born.  When you are the first one to hold him and everyone in the room is happy.  When the baby isn't crying, but it's only because he's perfectly content in his mama's arms.

That, my friends, is a perfect moment.

~~~

Wednesday the 31st started with no labor in sight.  Once again, my natural instincts to keep anything medicinal away from the birthing room were compromised as we kind of 'had' to get things moving.

The hard thing about hospitals is they have to keep their standards so high in order to keep themselves from getting sued.  I am not typically supportive of inducing labor when a mother and baby are healthy, so to be in that position was a very tough place for me to be.

If there is anything I have learned through my pregnancy and birth with Daphne, though, it is that the most important thing is a healthy baby.  Sometimes little things happen that we really don't want, but in the end, the baby is all that matters.  The tiny details in how he got here?  Not so important.
 











So I was induced starting around 10AM, and after 10 hours of hard and fast labor (comparing to Daphne's 40 hours), we had a baby.

The birth was perfect.  I thought maybe it wouldn't hurt as badly the second time around, but unfortunately it did.  I was happy to be able to do it again without any pain medications, so the little bit of Pitocin to get things started was all I needed.

The baby came out and I took him right away.  I got to see that he was a boy and I was so glad that he was.   It made me nervous that he wasn't crying, but it didn't take long to see that it's just because he was so happy to be with me.  He had no reason to cry.

It was a couple of hours before I was ready to give him up to be washed and weighed.  I'm so thankful our hospital wasn't pushy about getting all the stats taken.  Those first hours with him were precious and unforgettable.   Perfect moments.
 











If Daphne was our faith baby, Christian is our redemption story.  We are thankful for the joy and healing he has brought to our family.













And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving...
~Jer. 30:19 
 






















30 August 2012

One Year Ago Today...

One year ago today was a Tuesday.  I drove David to Gresham for a doctor's appointment thanks to a car accident he had been in at work the week before.  Things with the pregnancy were...strange...so after his appointment we hopped on the freeway to go to L&D at Sunnyside.  Not to stay, just to check in an make sure everything was OK.

After checking in with the midwife she let me know that I would be staying at the hospital.  I wasn't even technically in labor yet and was completely unprepared to stay.  I didn't have my bags, I still had some things to finish up at home.  Staying at the hospital was not in the plan.

For a mama who likes to do the birth thing with as few medical interventions as possible, staying was such a disappointment.   It was not how it was supposed to happen.  It was supposed to be like labor with Daphne...stay home until the last possible second and then head to the hospital.

So I signed against medical advice and went home for a bit.  I felt like it was the right thing to do.  David knew it, too, and our doula (Carissa the Great) felt the same.  The midwife had had both her children at home, so she understood my need to leave for awhile. 

I'm so glad we did leave.  We came home, finished packing our bags, I did some last minute cleaning and preparations for Daphne.  It was a good time to collect myself and feel more relaxed and ready to go back to the hospital. 

And on our way back down to the hospital we took the time for a last outing as Three.  Izzy's is our last outing memory for Daphne, and now TCBY is Christian's. 
August 30, 2011
















Unfortunately for Christian and I at this year's visit, there's nothing for us to eat at TCBY.  But Daph loved her chocolate cone, and he was fine cruising around.
August 30, 2012
















After our ice cream break, we headed back to the hospital to basically sit around.  The midwife on duty for the evening was fine to just let us sleep and hang out and see if things would start progressing on their own during the night.  It sort of felt like a little vacation, except not.

I tried some "mind over matter" activities, trying to convince my body to go into labor so that we could have a baby the next morning.  Unfortunately it didn't work. 

We watched Gilmore Girls season 4 (with Daphne it was season 2...I feel like much of my life revolves around those girls), Carissa ran across the street to the Town Center to get us some yummy food, and we tried to sleep.

But we did NOT go into labor...

28 August 2012

Then & Now

It's birthday week!  We will celebrate with many "then & now" posts.

Or maybe it will just be this one, I'm not sure.  I don't want to set myself up for failure.

September 2011























February 2012
















April 2012
















And now for the current picture of how nicely they sit together:
August 2012















































What we can learn from these photos:
*We like wearing jammies.  (In the Feb. and April shots, Daph is even wearing the same jammies.)
*Daphne always needs her brown blanket. 
*Daphne wants to snuggle.
*Christian does not want to snuggle. 

26 August 2012

Slices of Life, Vol VIII


Daphne Gives Advice

David:  What should Daddy be for Trick Or Treat?

Daphne:  Umm.  I don't know.  Maybe a pumpkin.

David:  What about Mommy?

Daphne shakes her head:  No, you can't be Mommy.

David: (much laughter) What should Mommy be for Trick Or Treat?

Daphne:  Mommy can be an elephant. 


Daphne Makes My Heart Happy

Daphne likes to bring me her little Bible and say, "I want to learn.  You teach me."

Then she sits in front of me, I hold the Bible up so she can see the pages, and she learns.
 














Christian Cannot Be Fooled

I wanted to take a shower one morning, but since Christian LOVES taking a bath, as soon as he heard the water running he came crawling to the bathroom as fast as his little arms could propel him.  Hoping to draw him out so that I could shower in peace, I went to Daph's room and grabbed a musical toy (another love) and turned it on in the living room.  When he wasn't making an appearance I went into the bathroom to find him, and there he was, still in his prized spot at the bathtub, but dancing to the music that he could hear from the living room.  Dancing is also a great love in his life, but clearly not beloved above bath-taking.


Christian Learns to Talk

Christian:  Airplane!
 
Me: Christian, say 'Daphne.'

C:  (chuckle, chuckle)  Airplane!

M:  Say 'Daph.'

C:  Da.

M:  Yay!!  Say 'Daph.'

C:  Airplane! Airplane! 

M:  Say, 'mama.'

C:  Mama!  Aiplane!

M:  Say, 'Daph.'

C:  (chuckle, chuckle)  Airplane!  Airplane!  Airplane!

He crawls off and finds a toy airplane and flies it around his head.

C:  Airplane!  Airplane!

(Most of our conversations revolve around airplanes.)


Christian Makes My Heart Happy

One recent morning when David came upstairs, Christian spotted him and launched into a full-on happy-to-see-daddy dance.  It's a good moment when your baby gets old enough to do a happy dance out of joy from seeing you.

































~photos by Angi Carmen Photography

25 August 2012

Good Food

We had a most fabulous cultural experience yesterday.

We often drive by the food carts on 102nd and Stark.  They've intrigued me.   They're a mess of trailers in the middle of a parking lot and I think that's so great.  The sign advertizing 'Meaty's Cupcakes' always throws me for a loop, though, as 'meaty cupcakes' do not at all sound appetizing.  But everything else (Thai?  Good.  Mexican?  Good.  Fruit smoothies and lemonade?  GOOOD!) looked fine.















It was a last minute decision to have lunch there on Friday.  We truly felt like we were in another country, but the food was yummy, the weather was perfect, and no one cared if the kids were loud or if they dropped food on the ground.

Family dining at its finest.




















24 August 2012

Let Me Know If You Know About Chairs

Monticello Antiques is one of my most favorite antique stores.  It's a very large space filled with many vendors, so you're surely able to find a style that appeals to you.  We don't go too often (the tiny children are to blame) but when we do drop in I am almost guaranteed to be able to spend hundreds of dollars.  I do not spend hundreds of dollars, but I could if I felt so led.

Like when we were doing Daphne's big girl bedroom: it was time to spend the Big Money and I embraced that wholeheartedly by buying her dresser and bookshelf there.  On sale no less!  So much cuter and more unique than going to Ikea or something, although I do have a deep love for Ikea as well.  (I don't want Ikea feeling badly or anything.  It's not you, big blue store of wonderful-ness, it's me.)

The shop where David buys some of his motorcycle stuff is just a block or so down from Monticello's.  He and Christian went motorcycle-stuff shopping yesterday while Daphne and I walked down for our own shopping trip...where I found the most wonderful of items!  For 50% off!  (I am not kidding.  Sometimes a vendor will have a little sale, just for fun.)

**WARNING!!  Christian is not wearing pants in these photos.  
I will humor Mother by sitting here.  Pantsless.























When you see a chair like this for half off you DO NOT pass it up!  Plus David gave me a gift certificate for our anniversary and this chair ended up being even less than the certificate, a sure sign that it needed to come home with me.





















The old-looking sticker on the underside of the chair says Phoenix Chair Company, Wisconsin USA.  I looked that up on the internet and it said the PCC stopped making furniture in the 30s.  If this is true, this chair is fabulously old.















I just love it.  It's super comfortable, and someday when I have a library in my house this chair will be in it under a window with a lamp and cozy blanket nearby.  Perfection.  For now it's in the guest bedroom (window, lamp and blanket all available) so please, come stay here and sit in it for me.  I'll even make you a hot coffee.

(Except I won't, because I don't know how to use the espresso maker.  David will make you the coffee.  I can make food, though.  Like muffins.)

Monticello's is having their Fall Premier Show on Sept. 7 and I feel it is vital to my health that I go.  I probably need to go The Old Fashioned Christmas Show as well. 

You want to babysit???

23 August 2012

Perspective

I try to remind myself when I'm sweeping food from the kitchen floor again.

Or taking someone to the bathroom, cleaning bedding after an accident, or changing a diaper.

During a temper tantrum, or while holding an inconsolable baby.

While someone refuses to take a nap longer than half an hour at a time. 

When I want to read a book, or sleep, or just sit down for five minutes.





















When little hands bring me flowers.

As we snuggle on the couch reading books.

On long summer walks, on impromptu trips to Starbucks, and quiet times at the library.

A big sister making a baby brother laugh.

When I get to kiss soft cheeks, or brush long, blonde hair... 

 














You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this.

                          ~Trace Adkins

22 August 2012

Our Weekend

The kids and I have woken up to cups of fresh blackberries in the fridge several times in the past few weeks.  I love that David picks blackberries while on duty. He says sometimes they get funny looks from passers-by.  (I can't imagine why.)

He took us to his picking spot the other morning so that we could pick a few for our freezer. 
Daphne did not like all the thorns so she just sat like this:
I'm pretty sure that "I don't like the ouchies" was her cover-up for "I'll just sit here and eat the berries."

Besides berry picking, our weekend consisted of hosting a baby shower, having our neighbors over for a BBQ, lunch and shopping at Bob's Red Mill (where we saw Bob drive away in the cutest ever vintage car), eating food from our garden...basically enjoying summer to its fullest.  

And in case you need time for some emotional preparations, Christian turns one NEXT WEEK.  

17 August 2012

Gardening Love

The sun was barely up when Daphne wanted to go pick peas.






















So while still in our jammies we picked peas.  And strawberries.  We can also snack on carrots and tomatoes and snip a few herbs.  Corn and pumpkins are on their way.

The best way to get kids to eat vegetables is to grow a garden. 





















done with dew on his toes
















We went in for a breakfast of our harvest, plus freshly made yogurt for Daphne and ground beef and a banana for Christian.






















I mopped the floor while they ate.  As soon as I finished, Christian picked up his tray and dumped its contents onto the sparkling floor.

And thus ended the idyllic nature of the morning. 

16 August 2012

Birthdays

Our newish backyard makes throwing parties loads of fun.

Daphne's favorite are the birthday parties.  Not a day goes by that she doesn't ask me if it's her birthday yet.  I tell her we have to wait for the pumpkins, and then Christmastime will come, and then it will be her birthday.  She is so excited for her birthday that I hope it will live up to her expectations.

In the meantime, she will help everyone with their birthday cakes.
helping papa
















At some point we will work at eating in a tidy manner.

15 August 2012

More Summer Love

I come from pretty good stock.
my dad, aunties, and grandparents























For the most part.





















Roth Girls!





















The kids and I spent a hot weekend in Albany, which is the perfect time for swimming in bathtubs:




































Let me say it for the 1000th time....I love summer!

13 August 2012

Oh Feet, Why Do You Give Us So Much Trouble?

We finally were able to discuss the results from Daphne's MRI today with her doctor at Shriners.





















I wish the doctor could tell us exactly what we're supposed to do, but she can't.  Daphne's little feet have missing bones, fused bones, bones in the wrong places...it's crazy in there.

There is no "we will do this, and this will happen" formula.  It's more of a "we could do this and hope for this, or try that and hope for that, or add this, or take away this, or wait 5 years, or do something tomorrow."

I do not feel qualified to make these types of decisions. 

So for now we're taking the easiest route possible: a different type of brace that's actually, technically a prosthetic.  I can't even explain it it's so strange, so you'll just have to wait the 6 weeks for them to be finished to see.  This new prosthetic won't do anything as far as straightening her feet, they'll actually be more focused on giving her more of a 'foot' to walk on and relieving some of the stress on her knees and ankles that her regular KAFO's have caused.















I admit, it would be more fun if we didn't have to do this.

09 August 2012

Playground and Cake

Tuesday night was our neighborhood's National Night Out at the park.  We figured that Daphne loves playing at the playground and we love free food, so we might as well be community minded and attend.

And then, glory be, there was a band that was a tribute to Cake band (Cake the music band, not like cake that you eat...all that to say, they just played Cake's music, they didn't play music and encourage you to eat cake.  Which is good because Christian and I can't eat cake.).  Cake is one of David's favorite groups, so he got to sit there and listen to some of his favorite music, live.  The band was actually pretty good.















David and Christian sat and listened to music for quite awhile and Daphne and I played on the playground.





















Do you think she enjoyed herself?

Then Christian came over to watch Daph and he was just SO CUTE.  Not really cuter than any other time, of course, but for some reason his cuteness was really speaking to me.





















he's doing his fake laugh right here.























And then Daphne came over and she was just SO CUTE as well.  Although she's not into having her picture taken right now.






















I know this about her, but I made her sit with me for some pictures.  I will be kind enough to show you some of the best ones:








































































I know.  Call a modeling agency immediately.