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.