Day #4 I Am Thankful For. . . .

 A SLEEPING BABY!

Sometimes, nothing is sweeter than Lexi sleeping.  She's slept through the night since she was about 2 months old, but she's never quite mastered the skill of taking a regular, long nap during the day. 

So on those rare occasions when she falls asleep for longer than a 15 minute stretch, I relish the moment!

 

Since I never posted too much after I had Lexi, I thought I'd add a few pictures of her from her first few months.  I can't believe she was ever that tiny.  Babies grow up way too fast!   

She hasn't sucked her thumb for about a month now-it's all about the binky.  And for that I'm glad.   I would rather my babies not suck their thumb, but I have to admit she looked so adorably cute when she did!

Day #3 I Am Thankful For. . . .

THE TREE NEXT DOOR!

Our neighbor has a giant _______ tree.  If I was smarter I'd know what kind of tree it is, but I have no idea.   (Marlo if you're reading this have Jared fill in the blank for me).
It's right on the border of our two front yards.

When we first moved into this house, the very first thing our kids did was go straight to the tree--the Tree SWING to be specific.  They all fought over who was going to be the first to swing on our new swing.  After a few minutes I informed them that no one was going to swing on it because it was not our swing.  It was the neighbors and I did not want to see them on it.
They all walked away from their newly found treasure, but over the next few days I'd find someone trying to sneak a swing in.  "What did I tell you!" I would chastise. "Stay off the neighbors swing!!"

A few nights after we moved in I found a plate of cookies at my doorstep with a welcome note attached.  They were from the darling lady next door.  On the back of the note she had written, "Feel Free to Use the Swing Anytime!"
Apparently I'm not as quiet as I thought.
My children were thrilled.  At last they could swing.  The neighbor had given them permission and that was all they needed to hear!

Everyone in the neighborhood has the occasional swing, but I'd say my children utilize it 90% of the time.

 

In the fall the tree is beautiful.  Its leaves have been the backdrop for my Halloween pictures the past 3 years.  Remember these?  Every Autumn it fills the neighbor's yard and ours with an abundance of leaves. I look forward to them falling every year. 

Chloe and I had fun outside today while Lexi was taking her nap.  She wanted me to push her "super high," but not "scary high!"  Chloe's new thing is finding leaves and gluing them onto paper.  Simple pleasures.

 







 

This is the view from the window in Lexi's room.  I love rocking her and watching the leaves fall.  I love living in an area where the changing of the seasons is so very visible!  It has a very calming effect on me. 

It makes me think of this quote, "Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience."-Ralph Waldo Emerson.

They say the foliage is about three weeks behind in changing and falling.  That's fine by me.  I'll enjoy a few more weeks of watching the leaves fall; unless nature decides it's been patient long enough and decides to send a little snow our way.  But I'm looking forward to watching that fall too! 

Day #2 I Am Thankful For. . . .

A BABY WHO CAN SIT UP!

I love it when my babies learn to sit-up.  I've always looked forward to that time when they finally get it and don't fall over anymore AND they can't crawl.  Where you put them is where they stay.  Plop them on a blanket, give them a few toys, and your good for a little while.  Our little Lexi LOVES to be held, so our arms get about a 10 minute break before she needs to be picked up again, but let me tell you those 10 minutes are pure heaven!

Lexi's been sitting up for a few weeks now, but she's really gotten the hang of it the last few days.  We've even stopped putting the pillows behind her in case she falls!  I can't believe she's 5 1/2 months already.  Time has just flown by since she arrived.  And I'm loving every minute of it!

Day #1 I Am Thankful For. . . .

NOVEMBER 1ST!!

Why?   Because it means the LONG, LONG, L O N G Halloween weekend has finally come to an end!  And it means I'm finally blogging again.  I decided that everyday, throughout the month of November I want to post about something that I am thankful for.  Big or small, from the very important to the very meaningless (like the fact that Halloween is officially over).
And speaking of Halloween, here is just a glimpse of ours!

Too bad I didn't take this before Lexi fell asleep!

 But here she is looking a lot like Logan and Janie!  She was so mellow that afternoon and not quite herself and later on we found out why--my poor baby has the flu.

Earlier that day we carved our pumpkins. This year the kids were on their own. Lexi just wanted to be held and Jared was at work. Holding a baby and trying to carve a pumpkin are two things that don't go well together.  (Trust me-I know what I'm talking about)!  Luckily for me I had Logan who was super sweet and helped Chloe and Janie carve theirs.  My niece Anna was there helping us out too!

Jared dressed up for the students this year.  He said it took them a minute to figure out it was him.  He was a good sport and wore this while he took the kids trick or treating.  OUR kids LOVED seeing him dressed up!

                        Hope you had a Happy Halloween!

Introducing Our Newest Little Lady.....

Lexi Jae

Our little Lexi arrived on Thursday, May 12th at 12:18 pm. She was 6 lbs 15 ounces and 18 1/2 inches long.

She has completely won me over.   Number Six just might be the sweetest!

Here's how her story began:

The Tuesday before she was born I was at the hospital being monitored for decreased fetal movement. On the monitor the baby looked great, but because I had an anterior placenta I wasn't feeling her move very often.  It had been about 17 LONG hours that I had last felt her move, so the doctor wanted to make sure she was doing okay. Luckily the monitor was showing a strong heartbeat and FINALLY while at the hospital I felt her move. 
After that little scare I told Jared that I could hang in there until the 18th (if you know me-you know I struggle a teensy bit mentally at the end of a pregnancy).  No problem as long as she was doing good, but to my SURPRISE my doctor (Dr. N) didn't want me to have to come in every other day and be monitored.  So he asked  if I wanted to be induced on Thursday.  Hmmm... let me think about it.. . .  OF COURSE!

So Thursday morning bright and early (and 6 days before my due date) Jared and I headed off to the hospital.  And I didn't even have to get my blood pressure high to make my induction happen!

We got to the hospital about six in the morning and finally at around 7:45 I was being dripped with my miracle drug. (Whoever invented pitocin is going to get a BIG high five from me in heaven!)

Things were going just like my other five labors:
* Water broken--CHECK!
* IV in--CHECK!
*Antibiotics for Strep B being dripped into that IV--CHECK!
*Pitocin doing its thing--CHECK!
*Epidural in--CHECK!
*Waiting for the epidural magic to kick in-- umm... not to much.

At first it seemed like all was well.  That incredible feeling of total numbness was working its way on up and then it just stopped.  I kept thinking -- "it's going to start working better any minute now" - "It's not too bad-I can handle this for a little bit longer."

However, my amazing nurse (Emily) realized that not all was well and grabbed the anaesthesiologist for me before he went in for a C Section.   And bless his soul he really wanted to make sure I felt NOTHING!  Which is pretty much what happened as far as my legs were concerned.  A "little" overdosed, but hey I'm not complaining!

Just a few minutes after my overdose Emily (my nurse remember) came hurrying in.
And that is where the chaos began.

Emily had just checked me a few minutes earlier (I was a 5 and everything was okay)  But the next thing I knew was I was being put on oxygen, the baby was getting an internal monitor put on, and I was being told to move from side to side (easier said than done when you've just been paralyzed and can move as well as a beached whale).  Lexi's heart rate was DROPPING, dropping with each contraction and I could tell Emily was a little panicked.

When she went to put the monitor on Lexi's head she said no wonder your epidural wasn't working you're dilating FAST!  I was a 9 almost a 10 and Lexi was ready to come out.  Emily's panic turned from baby not doing well to I hope the doctor can get here in time.  At that point I started to relax knowing things were turning out just like my other labors. 
*Baby is coming now!--CHECK!
*Don't push!--CHECK!
*Wait for the doctor--CHECK!

 Dr. N walked into the room just then.  Got his gown on and told me I could push in just a second.  I laughed and told him I really hoped I could (remember-me & my temporarily paralysis).  Luckily  half of a push later (if even that) and our little lady Lexi made her grand entrance into the world.