Random lovelies

Some things I really enjoy these days:

The way that Mae reaches her free hand up while nursing and waves it around until she finds my finger, grabs on, and settles in. All with her eyes closed.

Olive's concern with anyone smoking when we see them outside. Her related mispronunciation of cigar as "smagar".

Mae's sweet smile when she sees someone walk into her room in the morning. She lifts her head up and turns toward the door as far as she can. The way she wakes up and happily chews on her blanket or coos until we come in.

Olive's belief in all things Santa/elf related. Hearing her sing, "Fa La La La La La La La La" in the car.

This sister love:

Yup. Love them. Lovelies.

Toofins!

Mae has looked like this a lot of the time lately:

She is getting her two bottom teeth and can't keep her hands out of her mouth! Or anyone's hands that are close enough for her to grab onto and gnaw/drool on.

Our girls are early teethers - Mae even earlier than Olive at just 4 months old.

I think she's just trying to impress her Daddy with her mad teething skillz.

Appendicitis Journey

On October 28, Olive had her appendix removed. She had lost her appetite the day before, vomited once, and then became very lethargic. She woke in the night complaining of pain in her right side. She couldn't sleep anymore and was crying out in pain every couple of minutes. We were pretty certain of the diagnosis even before going to the emergency room. We got to the emergency room at about 6:30am. Olive was in pain, and scared of what was to come. She ended up having an IV placed, getting some morphine, and then having a very long ultrasound to try and diagnose the appendicitis. That was not as conclusive as the doctors needed, so they ordered an abdominal X ray to see if that would show it clearly. That didn't show it either, so we moved on to a CT Scan. Olive was a trooper through all the tests, and the morphine helped!

Here she is in the ER, after the diagnosis, waiting to go to surgery. There were a lot of stickers obtained during this adventure:

The surgery was straightforward and went well, though Sam and I felt it lasted about 2 weeks. It was torture to wait. Olive had a rough time coming out of anesthesia. She was bright red - her temperature was 104, she reacted to some of the narcotics and was very itchy so was clawing at her her whole body and scratching herself. Her oxygen kept dropping, alarms would go off, and we had to hold the oxygen in front of her face which made her VERY angry. It was not fun to watch her be so out of sorts. We joke about it now, but mostly she spent the next several days saying, "don't look at me!", "stop looking at me!". She just wanted to be left alone, and I don't blame her.

This picture pretty much sums up how we all felt about it the whole situation:

The 2 days after surgery were rough. Olive was still in a lot of pain, her belly was full of air and she was miserable. She endured a whole lot in that amount of time. More blood draws, more X rays, a catheter insertion (and later removal, of course!). She had a myriad of drugs for pain - morphine, versed, percocet - none of which helped an incredible amount. Time was ultimately what helped. It was so hard to just sit by and watch.

The next two pictures show Olive's belly. The first shows how incredibly distended it was for the first days after surgery, which were very tough for Olive. She was terribly uncomfortable with this belly full of air and barely moved because of it. The second photo shows how much better it looked on day 3!

Quite a difference, huh??

Our sweet girl did her best to sleep, but it was hard in the hospital with all the noise, vitals checks, and our 4 month old roommate!

Here's Miss O, finally feeling a little better and interested in her new stuffed animals from Irene and Papa and Nana:

Heading home on Halloween. She really enjoyed the wheelchair ride:

For about a week after we got home, Sam slept with Olive at night and I napped with her...just because. Sweet sleeping girl:

This was such a lesson for us.

It was terrifying to see Olive so sick, it really was. We saw lots of other sick children, too, and realized how lucky we really are. Not only was Olive able to recover fairly quickly, but we had access to and the means to pay for great and quick medical care. We are so, so lucky. One of Olive's nurses shared with us that her twin sister had died from appendicitis at age 16 because there was no way for her to get treatment in their town in Ethiopia. She just kept saying, "It's such a simple procedure here, but there was nothing to be done there". Ugh. I can't imagine.

As usual, we were surrounded by our families throughout the ordeal. My parents came to our house at 6am to be with Mae the morning we went to the ER, and then spent long hours at the hospital distracting us with conversation and bringing us food over the next days. Sam's Mom came down and stayed with Mae at our house for very long days, even managing to make cookies and food along the way. My siblings worried with us, checked in, and bought Olive presents.

And Mae. Sweet Mae. She, of course, didn't have a clue what the heck happened and where her family disappeared off to! But she was such a trooper - she learned to take a bottle, slept very little, and was as sweet as can be to whomever was taking care of her at any given moment! She proved just how flexible she was at 3 months, and we were so grateful that we didn't have to worry about her. She was in good hands.

We are so, so thankful for the health of our children and ourselves today.

More than ever.

Mae at 12 weeks

Seems it's been a while since we've seen Mae around this blog! I guess her day to day isn't quite as entertaining as Olive's quite yet...

Mae is almost 3 months old. She is rolling from her tummy to her back very efficiently, giving us a run for our money with her random sleeping pattern (or lack of a pattern, I suppose!), and smiling up a storm when she's awake. She is getting more interested in toys and loves one particular elephant rattle that she can grab onto. She has made it clear to us that she wants nothing to do with bottles so we're working on that!

Here she is!

Animal Orchestra

Last night, Olive and I went on a date to see The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins at the Children's Theatre Company. We had great seats, 5th row center. From where we were sitting we had a perfect view of the back of the conductor's head. As the show began, her head began to move as she conducted. Olive leaned over to me after a few minutes and said, "She's a really good dancer, Mommy!". I explained that she wasn't dancing, that she was conducting.

Olive pretends to be a conductor sometimes at home, so she knew what that was, she just couldn't see the orchestra down in the pit so I don't think she realized what was going on.

A couple more minutes passed, and Olive turned to me, wide eyed and said, "The animals are down there? In the orchestra?".

It took me a couple of seconds to realize that she thought the orchestra was made up of animals. We have this book; Animal Orchestra, and apparently it's Olive's only frame of reference for what an orchestra is!

This, my friends, is what I love about toddlers and preschoolers. There could have been an orchestra made up of animals in that pit, and she would have just accepted it as reality. Zebras, foxes, elephants. Why not!?

Also, we will be going to the MN Orchestra very soon. :)

Preschool

Tomorrow Olive starts preschool.

She went for 2 days this summer as practice and loved it. I know she'll love going and participating and learning.

Our girl has changed so much and become such a different kid than she used to be.

A year ago I was so worried about her transition to preschool. I was certain that she would be scared, that she'd cry when I left, that she would take a long time to get used the new routine. But that was a year ago.

Our cautious, scared, anxious girl is no more. She has blossomed into an eager to participate kiddo, she loves to meet new people, she doesn't mind large groups, she separates easily.

She is still so so thoughtful. She is hyper aware of her surroundings, her peers, other's feelings. She notices everything going on around her.

Observes it.

Takes it in.

Comments on it.

Olive is such a unique child. She really is. She is incredibly smart, insightful, thoughtful.

And she's still anxious, don't get me wrong. She still worries much more than I'd like her little 3 year old self to do.

But she's ready. She's ready to conquer preschool.

Good luck, baby.

Tea for Four

Yesterday morning, Olive and I decided it would be fun to put together a fancy tea party. A REAL tea party! I made her wait until 8am to call Nana and Papa to see if they were available for such an event. Lucky for us, they were. She invited them to tea at 10am.

We got down to business by getting Mae down for a nap, baking banana chocolate chip muffins, and very thoughtfully setting the table:

There were cookies and candies to be arranged:

An invitation was created, complete with a drawing of a teapot:

And it seemed an occasion for the fanciest of dresses, hand made by Olive's Auntie Jess (she's holding up the invitation, it seemed an important part of the whole process):

Fancy girl, ready for tea:

Her guests arrived, completely dressed up and Nana even had a fancy hat and teapot earrings (seriously, best grandparents EVER!!!):

Olive enjoying her "tea" (which was mostly milk) and a muffin:

Thanks Nana and Papa for humoring us and coming to our tea party!

The thick of it

Tonight, we were at a park eating a picnic dinner and Olive was playing. I nursed Mae on a park bench, took Olive to the bathroom (twice), while Sam had Mae in the sling. As usual, one person at a time got to wolf down a quick dinner before handing off the baby so the other could eat.

A woman was there with her two school aged children. As she walked past us she said, "wow, you're in the thick of it'". We chatted about how old the girls were, how we are doing, etc.

As we drove home, I was thinking about what she said. In the thick of it. We really are. This is one of the busiest (and maybe hardest?) times of our lives. We are "on" all the time. There is no down time, someone always needs something, and we are giving ourselves and one another very little attention because we don't have any left. The day to day is so exhausting and sometimes I wish it away to a time when it will be easier...more calm...more routine. I have to tell myself to just get through the day, hour, minute.

But there are these moments when I realize it's all so fleeting. Olive trying to convince me that the phrase is "I be Claire" rather than "I declare", Mae slung over my shoulder, sleeping and snoring at 4 am, all almost-12-pounds of her resting on me in such a trusting baby way.

They will never be this little again, they will never need us as much as they do right now. They will never want us as much as they do now.

This is it. This is the time we have with them as little girls.

The thick of it is mighty quick. These are the days we will reminisce about. The good and bad.

We will look back on these days and wish for them to return, I have no doubt.

Sweet little ladies.

Maisy Moo. What's in a name?

I'm not sure who called her that, first.

Maisy Moo.

But Olive calls her sister by that nickname a lot of the time now and it seems to be sticking!

A couple of people have asked if we're going to change the name of the blog. We're not. I like the name of the blog, and I don't want to start over. Plus, leaving something the same seems OK, a lot has changed in the last month for all of us!

Mae is one month old already! She's changed a lot and seems much older already.

Here are some things we've learned about Mae in our month together:

*She likes to be warm (hot, even!) and sleeps well in the humid outdoor air

*She dislikes the car seat VERY much, and will make sure everyone within a several mile radius knows it

*She prefers to sleep on her tummy

*She loves to eat, a lot and often

*She loves to stare at faces

*She is a sweet kiddo and fits right into this family

And then there were 4

3:11 am.

July 19, 2010.

I woke up and and had to go to the bathroom (nothing new there). After laying back down I had a contraction (nothing new there, either). Hmmm...it hurt a little more than usual. Layed there some more, had another, and another in what seemed like a pretty short amount of time. I turned on the light and tried not to get my hopes up. I was so ready to meet this baby. Even though I was still 3 days from my due date I felt almost 3 weeks overdue since Olive was born early.

I started timing the contractions. They were 3-4 minutes apart and lasting a consistent 54 seconds each time. Maybe this was something! I timed for an hour and the consistency continued.

At 5:25 am I woke Sam up, told him I was pretty sure it was time. I still wasn't positive - this is what happens to a woman who has contractions constantly starting at 20 weeks! I was hoping for some concrete evidence that this was it - water breaking would have been nice!

Sam showered, I called my OB to fill her in. She said I should come in soon, since things could happen quickly. Called my parents at about 6 am. Sam and I packed up our bags and got organized. My parents arrived by 6:30 and we left for the hospital. I was now pretty sure this was it, the contractions were increasing in intensity and the car ride was pretty uncomfortable.

There is major construction at our hospital and after arriving we wandered a bit trying to find labor and delivery. We stopped for one final preggo shot before heading in:

That is a big belly.

Finally found our way in and filled out some paperwork, talked with the nurse, etc. I have no clue what time it was at this point. At the initial check I was only 2-3 cm dilated but I knew that wasn't indicative of much since I was the same when I went into labor with Olive and she came quickly.

Contractions increased in intensity quickly from this point on and I lost track of people and time. I was focused on getting through them.

I got pain relief sometime around 9:00 I would guess. Then my OB came in and checked me. I was 4 cm. She had a resident with her (it was her very first day and the poor girl was clueless!). So my OB was educating her a bit on how everything worked and what to do. They stayed quite a while, I think I was the only one in labor at the time. She checked me again before leaving the room at 9:45 am and I was a 6. She said she thought it'd be a couple hours and that we'd have a baby by noon. She left and not 5 minutes later I knew it was time to push, the pressure was so intense. I called the nurse and she came back, called my OB back and I was 10 cm and ready to go!

I pushed for about 30 minutes. All was very calm and low key. No bright lights, no panic, no yelling about pushing. Everyone just let me take charge and let them know when I felt like pushing. Everyone was so supportive.

And then...

There she was, suddenly in our world.

10:33 am.

Sam was crying. He doesn't cry. Neither of us cry much, really. I, especially, seem to have some block to crying at my own big events. I cry easily at other people's weddings, or watching television shows about babies being born. But during my own big experiences? I often don't cry.

But seeing Sam see his daughter, and taking that in together.

Wow.

She was here. Mae had arrived and made us parents again. We made her. And she was here.

Mae was checked over under the warmer to make sure her breathing was OK after finding meconium in the amniotic fluid. She was fine. She was whisked over to us very quickly. Our second sweet girl, looking much like her sister did as a newborn. She opened her eyes and drank us in.

Love. In love. All of us.

And then my girl walked in the door, not 10 minutes after her sister's birth. I saw her peek around the curtain.

Pink dress.

Pigtails.

Miss O.

She walked over shyly and Sam picked her up.

I saw her see her sister for the first time.

I saw them meet.

These girls. My girls. They'll have one another for a lifetime.

And I saw them meet.

This is a gift.

There will be hard days for us all. 2 is a challenge, a readjustment. A new way of life.

But the benefits to us all are many.

They have one another.

Sisters.

Siblings.

Friends.

Something I can't imagine living without.

We have one another.

Children.

Daughters.

A family.

This is a gift.

They are our gift.

Welcome to the world, sweet baby Mae.

Pedi

Being 9 months pregnant, getting my toenails painted is a challenge. I decided it would be fun to get a pedicure and to take Olive along for her first one, too. We opted for the "polish change" rather than the whole pedicure routine.

O's toes before (with flip flops on the wrong feet):

Special kiddo pedicure chairs:

She loved all of it, I was in a chair across the room and she kept looking over at me and waving with a big grin on her face. She didn't even mind the filing, she just looked at me and said, "it tickles!":

Drying the toes. She loved this part and kept turning the fan back on when it stopped:

Final product (she chose neon orange, and got flowers on her big toes):

As soon as we left she asked if we could go back the next day. She's asked pretty much every day since then. She also wants to get her nails done next time (I've never even had a manicure!). I may have created a monster.

Trout fishing

This weekend we went to Star Prairie Trout Farm to catch our dinner! It was really fun, and Olive had a great time.

Counting the fish:

A little nervous when they would flop around in the bucket:

Handing Daddy the worms, a very important job:

Digging in the worms:

Catching a trout!: