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!:

Wake up

Over the last few months Olive has gradually started getting up in the mornings earlier and earlier. It's happened over time so wasn't a drastic change, but recently has been around 6:00 or 6:30. We have tried a few strategies to try and convince her to stay in bed longer, try to go back to sleep, or even get up and play in her room before coming into ours. Nothing has been successful.

A family I work with told me that with their son, they put a digital clock in his room, covered the minutes up with a post-it note and wrote the hour number that was acceptable to get out of bed on the post it. They told him the numbers had to match before it was time to get up. We decided to try it tonight. So I just put it in Olive's room and explained the concept. She seemed to like the idea and get it. She likes new and clear rules. Sam read her a book and left the room. About 5 minutes later I heard something fall and she called me in. She said, "my clock fell down." I asked her why and she said, "I was trying to use my nightlight to see if it was 7:00 yet.".

Not quite yet, baby. Not quite.

Nokomis Beach

Last weekend Laura and I took Irene and Olive to Nokomis Beach. It was a nice morning, cloudy but warm. We wondered why we were the only people at the beach until it "opened" an hour after we arrived, with a lifeguard and announcements and such! Oops.

The girls had a great time in the shallow water. Seeing how far they could walk out:

Splashing:

Chatting:

And Laura and I had a nice time chatting, too. But we didn't lay on our stomachs in the water to do so.

Daddy

I noticed something recently. In a lot of pictures, Olive is looking at her Daddy like this:

Though there are plenty of this type, too:

But you know what? It goes both ways:

Two peas in a pod:

This is love. Happy Father's Day:

Seven

7 years ago I got married. Sam and I got married in the gorgeous backyard of my parent's house. It was not formal. It was not luxurious. It was comfortable. It was us.

Sometimes I can't remember life without you, Sam. We grew up together. We learned to be adults together. In so many ways, it feels like I've always had you with me. I have been with you for 40.6% of my life.

And what do we have now? What have we done with that time?

We have made a family.

Our future is lovely.

Us.

Two girls. Daughters.

Lucky, lucky, lucky we are.

I'd do it again.

I'd choose you.