Whirlwind month

So things have been pretty crazy around here, but would you expect anything less? Jeremiah's mom & dad came the weekend before Ellie was born & his mom just left on Saturday (his dad left a few days after Ellie came). It was WONDERFUL having his mom here so long! She kept house, did yardwork, played with Callie & Jack, took care of me (I was able to get lots of naps!), and was just a huge help! Life will definitely be more work now that she's gone. Tara was here for a week too & spent lots of time playing with the kids & also helping out (and my mom's been really helpful too!). My mom and Tara have brought us several wonderful meals and I'm lucky to still have my mom close by to help when I need it. So we're adjusting, but I need several more hours in the day (& more consecutive hours of sleep at night!). Chelsea keeps bugging me to get her more pictures but it's not like I have a lot of free time (or any?) so that's why I'm just now getting some pictures up. Anyway, enjoy!

Ellie is SO sweet & cute!




Callie at Story Time again. Isn't she darling?!



Jack's a funny little guy. I didn't know until him that a 2 year old could have a sense of humor, but he most definitely does! We love it!





Jackson is constantly giving Ellie kisses & hugs. He can't keep his lips off her! Up until recently, almost every time he kissed her he'd say "I wuv babies!" Now he only says it maybe every 3 kisses! :) And he's starting to throw in there that he "wuvs" our baby. He's such a good big brother!


Callie is always asking if she can help me with Ellie. She's a bossy girl & loves to feel important (although who doesn't) so I let her help me as much as I can. She's especially good at throwing away diapers!

Callie's big enough now that she can ride the little midget 4-wheeler all by herself. She LOVES it!

I finally got new glasses! I wanted to be able to see in the middle of the night but I was getting so tired of my contacts sticking for the first half of each feeding!

Jack had been kind of quiet so I went in their room to check on him & found him just chillin' with a book! How cute!

My lousy camera & photography skills do NOT do this justice! Ellie looked SO cute in her little jumpsuit & bunny-ear hat I could have eaten her up!

This is Ellie chillin' at In 'N' Out. I just couldn't help myself with those glasses - aren't they fun?!

This is Jer's sister Tabetha & our niece Sophie at In 'N' Out. Tabby flew in (to Vegas) Monday night and planned on driving back to WA with Jer's mom on Thursday. Instead she spent half her time here in the hospital with Sophie who became severely dehydrated after throwing up tons because of a concussion from 3 good whacks to the head from falling! And to liven things up Tabby ended up with either food poisoning or a flu bug & spent a night puking her brains out! Their drive home was delayed & they weren't able to leave till Saturday. What a terrible, expensive trip Tabetha had! I bet it will be a while before she comes to visit again!

Jeremiah's mom! We miss her already!

Sisters!

Happy Easter!

I'm so proud of the Easter Bunny this year! Normally he goes way overboard with the candy (there are just so many good ones and it can't be helped that they come in big bags when you only need a small amount). This year the EB kept things very simple. I think the EB enjoyed the fact that WalMart had candy by color so he was able to get bags of all pink and all blue jelly beans & all pink Cadbury Mini Eggs (those were in Ellie's basket - they must have been meant for me)! And the choices for the egg hunt were great! Fruit snacks, stickers, and those Sweet Tart chicks, ducks & bunnies. Callie did comment that the EB should come back tonight to leave baskets for me & Jer! :)

Callie-ism (and even stuff from Jack!)

Callie was having a rough day so I took her in her room & we had a little talk. Our little talk was funny. Poor Callie!

Me: What's the matter Callie? Are you tired of all the company or are you having a hard time with the new baby.
Callie: Well there's a lot of company but I'm just getting a little tired of the baby.
Me: Is it because everybody wants to hold her or because Mama has to spend so much time taking care of her?
Callie: Because everybody wants to hold her all the time. I know it would be difficult to get rid of the baby but I'm just getting a little tired of the baby.
Me: I'm sorry Callie. We're not going to get rid of the baby. She's part of our family now & she's going to stay with us forever.
Callie: I really love babies but I'm just getting a little tired of the baby.

One morning Jack says to Jonny "You're my best friend Uncle Jonny. Will you get me some cereal please?" After Jack had started eating the cereal Jonny asked if he was his best friend. Jack said, "No, you're not my best friend."

Jack loves to tease! He kept calling Jeremiah's dad Jonny. At first we wondered if Jack was just confused but we soon realized that Jack was purposely teasing (and it totally annoyed Jer's dad! haha!). After Jer's dad found out Jack was trying to tease him he'd call Jack Sam. So as soon as Jack was called Sam he'd use the right name for Jeremiah's dad! Jackson does this little game with my brothers too, who both get really annoyed when you call them by the other one's name!

Jack told me earlier that he didn't want to take a nap today and that he's happy (cause lots of times I tell him he needs to take a nap so he can be happy when he wakes up). Then a little later I told him it was time for a nap and he said in this sing song voice that he didn't want to take a nap and he ran out the back door! I was trying to feed Ellie & couldn't run after him so I just laughed. I guess he's not taking a nap today! And then there's Callie who doesn't take naps anymore but went & just laid down in her bed a while ago & is now fast asleep! :)

I think this picture of Jack is so funny - he's always making the funniest faces or giving cheesy smiles!

Having Jonny here is like having another kid sometimes! :) Callie walked by once & tapped Jonny so he hit her (not hard) & she started crying so when Jeremiah asked why he hit her he said that Callie did it first! This kind of thing happens a lot! And I'm constantly hearing "quit teasing me" or "Jonny's teasing me" from both of my children!

Tara had taken the kids somewhere & was pulling into the driveway & something was in the way & I don't know if Tara mentioned it was Jonny or if Callie just jumped to the conclusion on her own but she said "stupid Jonny!" and Jack chimed in with "yeah, stupid Jonny!" Okay, Jeremiah's really got to stop saying that! LOL

Jonny's going to be here for about 3 more weeks & even though he & the kids "fight" quite a bit, they love him so much & will miss him when he's gone! They like to include him in their bedtime hugs & kisses & last night when Jack was going to bed he said "I love you Jonny!" Not that that was a first, it was just so cute when he said it last night.

Egg Decorating

This is the first year I did eggs with the kids & they had a great time! They were both really funny & cute about it. Callie wanted to scribble with the wax crayon on all the eggs. She did a pretty good job getting the eggs into the dye, whereas Jack, even though I tried so many times to show him how to hold the dipper, ended up with his eggs plopping into the dye, splattering dye all over & cracking the eggs! :) His problem with the dipper was that he was holding it upside down. He could successfully get the egg to the top of the dye cup, but it's a little hard to lower it into the cup if the dipper's upside down! One egg was so badly cracked that we peeled it right away & ate it. I guess I'm a bad mom cause I can't remember ever feeding my kids hard boiled eggs before (besides in egg salad sandwiches), but they both really liked it.




Jack at that point was done with the eggs (he wasn't real interested in putting stickers on them) and just wanted to eat more! I looked over & he was salt & peppering his own yolk (the only part he got out)! He was so funny to watch try & get the eggs peeled. He started out by squeezing them really hard & he kept asking me to help him squeeze eggs (instead of peel them).


Callie finished stickering & was ready to eat another. She'd been working on an egg for a couple of minutes when I hear some very loud crunching! I guess she did the best she could & then just took a big bite off the top - pieces of shell & all! I laughed so hard! I don't think that egg was as enjoyable for her as the first one that I fed them! :) We had fun!

12 on the 12th

Wednesday, March 12th

I love having a newborn! Even though I'm totally sleep-deprived & it's a lot of work, I look at Ellie & I just love her! She's one week old!


Spending some time outside with the kids. I love Jack's get-up! Both my kids LOVE their galoshes (no, these ones are NOT Jack's!) and usually choose to wear them over other shoes when they're going out in the yard to play. We're having gorgeous weather!

Callie is constantly saying "look what I can do!" or "watch me do a trick!" She's showing me her newest "trick" - jumping with one leg straight & one leg bent.

Aunt TT (my sis Tara) took the kids to Story Time at the library for me. We go to the Wednesday morning 11:00 slot because the other 2 times have so many more children at them. The theme this week was fish.

After Story Time, Grammy (Jer's mom), Ellie & I met Tara, Callie & Jack at the park for lunch.

Who doesn't love the swings?! Especially when you can swing with your grandma & aunt! Unfortunately shortly after this picture was taken Jack was dropped on the ground! LOL (he was fine).

Callie & Jack love to help us with Ellie. They were rocking her & singing to her in her carseat while she took a little nap.

Jeremiah had to go back to the Dr. this morning because after 2 1/2 weeks of antibiotics he was still not getting over his bronchitis! He got a different antibiotic prescription this time.

Jeremiah's mom is taking the best care of our home & yard! Our yard hasn't been so clean & tidy in a LONG time! I think we're gonna have to put her on payroll!

Tara & I took Callie & Jack shopping at WalMart after dinner & met up with my mom. She took the kids to look at some books while I ran down the Easter candy aisle.

Ellie's got a little bit of reflux so I've been washing a teeny load of her stuff every night! I asked our pediatrician about it & he wasn't too concerned - he said she'll grow out of it. I read some stuff about it & learned most babies grow out of it by 6 mos! 6 months! I hope not!

Mid-feeding diaper change just before midnight! She usually falls asleep after nursing for just a few minutes & a diaper change is about the only thing to wake her up!

Got the t-shirt!

Well I've officially joined the crazies who've done it natural! As in NATURAL CHILDBIRTH! That's right folks, we have a baby and I didn't get my epidural - not by choice mind you! I think everyone who wants to go natural & has done it & would purposely do it again is a total hippie & crazy! Talk about the worst, most painful hours of my LIFE! It SUCKED!

We went to the hospital yesterday (Wednesday) morning around 9 and they determined I wasn't actually in labor yet cause my contractions were too far apart and I was still only dilated to a 2 (same as at my appt. the day before, which by the way I'd had my membranes stripped again & this time it hurt!). Apparently I was having "uterine irritations" in between the real contractions but since I'd never heard of uterine irritations I thought my contractions were 3-5 mins apart when we went. Anyway, they monitored me forEVER because my blood pressure was high & they ended up doing blood tests. After sitting in a hospital bed for 4+ hours they decided I could go home if I wanted. Since we were pretty sure I'd be back later that day we decided to just stay & have them hook me up to pitocin. After a few hours of pitocin I was only dilated to a 3 but the plan was to have my Dr. break my water, let me dilate to a 4 or 5, give me an epidural, & get the show on the road. So Dr. Taylor came in a little before 6 and broke my water (ouch!) and went home. Within 5 minutes I was having VERY painful contractions! The funny hair we'd drawn on the little pain scale faces earlier wasn't so funny any more. My pain was 10 - I was in tears. My nurse gave me a half dose of Stadol (basically a narcotic to take the edge off the pain) which didn't help so she gave me another half dose which made me extremely loopy & TIRED! I was high as a kite but could hardly keep my head up! And the pain was only reduced to an 8-9! My nurse told me no matter what I was dilated to when the anesthesiologist got there (like if I was still only a 3) she'd make sure I got my epidural. Of course the anesthesiologist had to run an errand first so it was going to be half an hour before he was there. So about 30 minutes later my nurse checked me & I was dilated to 8! She was pretty much shocked! After a few more contractions the anesthesiologist got there so she checked me again just to make sure I wasn't fully dilated but it turned out I was! So it was too late for the epidural! By that point I thought it would be a relief to push. Dr. Taylor had just got back to the hospital and barely had time to scrub up & have the nurses get the bed adjusted when it was time to push. 3 contractions/pushes later they put our new baby girl on my chest! And let me just say, FEELING a baby being pushed out is a whole nother world of pain- not a relief! Next time you have to take a big poop imagine pooping out - no, not a watermelon as many have suggested - watermelons are smooth! Imagine pushing out a freaking sculpture and having it take a minute! Natural childbirth SUCKS!

So yeah, it was pretty much the worst hour or so of my life! I HATED every second of it! Basically I went from a 3-10 in about 40 minutes. My main nurse said that in her 12 years she's never had anybody go that fast. Not that I want to even THINK about having another baby anytime soon after that traumatic experience, but next time I have a baby I'm going to make sure they plan on giving me an epidural either before they break my water or immediately after! (oh yeah, I went fairly quickly with Jackson too, but definitely not THAT fast! I got the epidural with him!)

One humorous/ironic thing: earlier in the day we'd heard another girl on the floor in labor for at least a couple of hours & she was VERY vocal with swearing, crying, and yelling. As bad as we felt for her I just kept thinking "shoulda got the epidural!" Ha ha!

So now the part you've all been waiting for. Duh-duh-duh! Here she is:

Ellie (because we like it) Jeannine (after Jer's Grandma) Divis

March 5, 2008

6:59 PM

7 lbs 2 oz

19" long

No news is not good news

I'm still pregnant. We're all making bets now about when it'll happen. If I weren't so uncomfortable I wouldn't be so anxious to finally go into labor! With Callie & Jackson I didn't have any painful contractions until I was actually in labor, but this time I've had plenty of them for weeks. It's just getting old! My prediction is that it will happen on Wednesday. Because my Dr. told me to make an appt. for early next week (Tuesday) and said that he'll induce me. And I'm figuring he'd induce me on Wednesday morning rather than Tuesday evening. So basically I'm thinking it won't happen until we do it by force! :)

One good thing about still being pregnant, at least until last night, was that I didn't miss my 2nd surprise shower! I guess for mutual 2 Thursdays ago they had a surprise shower for me, but that's when I was super sick so I didn't make it to it! They had cake & played games anyway & the girls all told me they had a great time at my shower! :) Then yesterday morning my mom called me & told me that my visiting teaching partner wanted to take my mom, Jer's mom (his parents got into town Friday night), & me to lunch because I guess I was supposed to get back to her (my partner) on throwing me a shower but I didn't realize I was supposed to be getting back to her & anyway my mom said she felt bad so that's why she wanted to take us all to lunch. So my mom arranged to pick Jill & I up just before noon & then we'd go get Shanna. Anyway, we got to Shanna's & there were balloons & people & it turned out to be a shower for me! I have to admit, I'd become a little suspicious. I think I'd be a great detective! :) So I kind of thought I might be going to a shower. It was seriously so cool though that I was given a surprise shower! I got way too much stuff - I'm totally spoiled! Unfortunately the only pictures that were taken were with my mom's camera on her phone! But I got some really cute outfits & lots of diapers & some dang cute socks & other little things & also a claw-foot baby tub! No kidding! It's the cutest infant tub I've ever seen! I haven't looked at the directions for the stuff that came with the tub, but apparently it's a little baby spa! So I guess it's a good thing that I hadn't had the baby because I would have been 0-2 on the surprise showers! :)

Jesus & the pirates

In primary during singing time a few weeks ago the chorister asked the children if they knew who was in the boat with Jesus in this picture. Callie was quick to tell everyone that it was the pirates & then told everyone about Jack Sparrow!


I promise we haven't let our children see Pirates of the Caribbean! Jackson LOVES pirates & we call him Captain Jack a lot & sometimes we call him Capt. Jack Sparrow, so Callie was already familiar with the name when we went on the Pirates ride at Disneyland & pointed out Jack Sparrow to her. Anyway, I thought it was pretty funny!