It occurred to me this morning as I was playing peek-a-boo with a half interested toddler that the infant games would soon be replaced with more dynamic play time. The simple joys are being replaced either because children get bored and want more action or stimulation, or because parents have to lead their children forward. Not only are peek-a-boo, plastic rings and rattles being replaced with jungle gyms and toys that require batteries but the nuker (pacifier) has also been sent on a permanent vacation. This is uncharted waters for us as Will used a nuk for less than a month as a newborn. Liza on the other hand loves her nuker and it has served her better than any lullaby or rocking arms ever could. It was her very own dose of magical melatonin. Plug in, baby out, as simple as that. She has always been such a good and easy napper due in part to her little green friend that would accompany her to the crib. Before she can become too verbal, we decided it was time to say good-bye to the nuker.
Because she doesn't understand, there was no big "send your nuk to the Nuk Fairy" ceremony...they have simply disappeared. This is Liza's first broken heart, which in turn breaks ours. We are on day 5 today and it is getting better however, the tears and looks of sadness when she is sitting in her crib completely beside herself makes me want to give in. Let's face it...nuks are a beautiful thing in calming and quieting babies not only at bedtime, but at the store, at church, or around people that don't want to hear your people. Liza was really very good at using it only to sleep or settle down. She was not one of those babies that walked around 24/7 with a rubber sphere blocking half of her face. Still, we noticed her teeth are coming in different because of the nuk and again, we don't want to argue with her about it when she can actually talk and reason. So her first break-up complete with bed-time crying, loss of appetite and sad, desperate frowns to mom and dad has begun. We know this is one of those short phases and that it is for the best, but the convenience of the nuk for us, and the calming effect for Liza will be missed for a little while.
The long, iridescent tail feathers of our male peacocks are being gathered in the yard this week. This is a sign that summer is already half over. We have enjoyed the warm days with sprinklers and kiddie pools, resort cabins and pontoon rides, ice cream cones and mini donuts. Will and Liza have been to the zoo, a county fair, town celebrations, the pool, the beach and their favorite place; the backyard sand box. We still have a lot to do. Next week they will spend almost a week with my mom as I head off to a scrapbook retreat with my girlfriends. We have a family reunion on my dad's side in August followed by a trip back out to WA & OR to visit my dad, his wife and my brother Chris. I don't know what I am thinking as I swore last year I wouldn't do this again until Liza was 6...glutton for punishment. I hope to stay strong and not give in to the nuk while we are flying! This time we will be home in plenty of time to relax and repack before ending our summer with antique tractor parades over Labor Day weekend.
The kids are growing and growing. Liza is 17 months and will have her 18 month check next month sometime. She did have a 15 month check-up weighing in at 21 pounds. The doc says she is a bit of a peanut though her weight seems average in the 43rd percentile. Her height is only in the 11th however, so she's a little short for her age. Will is always small in those charts too, so we are not concerned...they'll catch up. Will had his 3 year wellness check when Liza had her 15 month in May. No shots when you are 3, YAY!! Will is a whopping 32 pounds when standing on the scale putting him smack in the middle of the percentile chart. At almost 37 inches he is in the 21st percentile for height. Perhaps he'll take after Zach's side where the men tend to be a little shorter instead of my family where men, whether maternal side or paternal side are never under six feet tall. Time will tell.
We are in the stage with William where we have these perfectly grown-up conversations. We understand his wants and needs, he engages and starts conversations about daddy's work day or mommy's outings...and then he goes and does something so....3 year old! We wonder or ask why he would behave in such a manner after we just discussed the national debt or how the stock exchange works (ok, joking, but sometimes you can have a pretty serious conversation about monster trucks!) then have to remind ourselves that he is only 3...barely 3! He speaks so well and loves telling jokes. We think he needs some new material but in the meantime find ways to laugh at the handful of jokes we hear 100 times a day. His imagination is soaring and it is fun to watch him use straws as horns, dress up like a pirate or play 'farmer' with his sand bucket and dried up yard clippings. He loves his trike and feels the need to be towing something (usually his baby sister on her trike) behind him. He's obsessed with mud puddles (muddles as he calls them) and I have given up on the squeaky clean, fresh as a daisy baby look that I always want them to have. Kids want to be grubby...it's liberating...for all of us! Sparkling clean is what bath time and clean PJ's are for. Shorts and t-shirts are made for muddles! Since my last post we did celebrate Will's 3rd birthday with lots of his friends. We had a Toy Story party which the kids really seemed to enjoy. He had so much fun! Mom and Dad got him a bike and bike helmet which he really likes riding up and down the driveway.
Liza has lots of words and is picking up on sign language quickly. She says mama and dada, puppa (which is puppy), hi, gobble-gobble and other words that we recognize as William and Blazey. Her first short sentence came yesterday while she was riding Lucky (the plush horse on springs) and bouncing back and forth saying "up and down, up and down" while she rode like the wind. It really is shocking to me the rate in which they grow. It doesn't seem possible that my baby girl is moving in to sentences. Along with verbal skills, she is climbing like crazy and can be mostly unsupervised while crawling up the slide or the climbing wall on the play structure. While she likes to follow Will around with trikes and trucks, she also loves cuddling her babies and pushing them in their stroller. She likes to comb her own hair and brush her teeth with her lime green electric Dora the Explorer toothbrush. She hasn't discovered the joys of purses and shoes...but it's a comin'!!
Though summer is half over, we still have plenty of time to hit the pool, picnic in the yard and hit another fair or two. This Sunday we are going to the Sherburne County Fair to take the kids to a demolition derby (Will loves them!) and we have the state fair to look forward to as well. We hope to hit the coast while we are out west. Last summer we did the Olympic Peninsula so maybe this year we'll see more of the OR coast. As always, stay tuned!
Thanks for reading, happy popsicle season!
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Behind Much?
I should feel a little guilty that I am not blogging for Liza as frequently as I did for Will...but hey, we are having fun! We are looking forward to spring but taking advantage of the snow when we can for some backyard adventures. We just celebrated Liza's FIRST birthday (wow and I haven't posted a picture of her since she was 6 months old!!) and are rounding the corner on Will's 3rd birthday. 
Since I am so behind, I'll give a brief update and let the pictures speak for themselves. Liza is on the verge of walking and can stand on her own for long periods of time. Because she is standing and climbing up on everything I am sure it will not be long before we see those first steps. Boy will we be on the move then! She is such a laid back and sweet girl; I could honestly copy and paste all of the sentiments I wrote from Will's posts when he was her age. We are lucky to have such sweet children! One big difference is Liza's ability to let us know who is the boss! She is LOUD when she is trying to tell us something or is unhappy about something. You cannot help but laugh because she is so anima
ted. It started with Will boldly taking a toy or God forbid a snack out of her hands...she would let him have it! I don't think she will have a problem holding her own.
ted. It started with Will boldly taking a toy or God forbid a snack out of her hands...she would let him have it! I don't think she will have a problem holding her own. Will is really into singing and dancing, reading and playing with his dump trucks and trains and of course anything that has to do with Toy Story, Woody or Buzz Lightyear. He cannot get outside enough and wants to do everything daddy does! He is a big help in the kitchen and is constantly in the sink wanting to do the dishes. As I type this, both kids are dancing and shaking their butts to the music coming from one of their musical toys. I have got to get that on video!!
December was a busy as usual for us. Though I actually finished in August, I decided to participate in the graduation ceremony from Northwestern College just before Christma
s. Figured I might as well...didn't want to regret not doing it. Christmas was wonderful and peaceful and we really enjoyed ourselves as a family as we were recovering from Zach working in ND for 5 months which proved to be really hard on Will. We are glad to have him back home and that his commute is back to Minneapolis instead of Williston.ND may be in our near future again...but we'll worry about it when the time comes.
s. Figured I might as well...didn't want to regret not doing it. Christmas was wonderful and peaceful and we really enjoyed ourselves as a family as we were recovering from Zach working in ND for 5 months which proved to be really hard on Will. We are glad to have him back home and that his commute is back to Minneapolis instead of Williston.ND may be in our near future again...but we'll worry about it when the time comes. 
Our Groundhog Day Girl celebrated her first birthday with Grandpa Steve, Lala and Uncle Chris followed up by a birthday party the weekend after complete with pink ruffles on her cake and her bum ;) It was a great week of frosting, balloons and pink wrapping paper and ribbons!I will try a little harder at updating this blog if for nothing else but to make Liza feel like she wasn't neglected!
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Summertime Summertime Sum Sum Summertime
The blog has been neglected. This should serve as some insight to what life is like for us now that there are 2 little ones to hug and kiss (ok to change diapers, feed etc.) all day long. Summer is as busy as it always is with family reunions, celebrations and family get-aways. It has been so fun toting the kids all over to meet great aunts and uncles, distant cousins and new generations, like them, to add to the family tree.
Liza is changing every day; she is 6 months old already and passing new milestones week by week. She is rolling over (and over and over), eating cereal and fruits and has cut her first tooth just this week. She recognizes us, LOVES Will and is starting to fear strangers a bit. She is sleeping through the night and has a good daily schedule with naps, bottles and play time. Just yesterday she started sitting up for a few moments here and there. We have been practicing for about a week and I thought it would be easier because she has lots of chubba-wubba on her butt and legs to give her some extra support, but nope, I guess she's on her own schedule. She is so smiley and giggles all of the time. She gets very bright eyed when daddy comes home from work and tends to just stare at him and smile. Pretty sure it melts Zach's heart every time he walks in the door to all of his adoring fans :)
Since the last post, we have celebrated Will's 2nd birthday. It was a beautiful little party with his favorite characters present to help him celebrate...Mickey, Minnie, Parker & Kayla :) He is an outdoor kid just like his Pops and he is loving summer. Everyday I ask him what he wants for lunch and everyday he says "picnic!" which on most days I can do. These last few weeks of hot humidity has left us picnicking more on the inside and less in the yard. I am loving being home with the kids everyday and love coming up with new things for us to do outside every day. Will has new wonders with kitties, baby peacocks and chicks. There are so many places for him to explore and our swing set actually provides hours of entertainment for him.
Will is growing so much in all areas. His sentences are getting so big and we are almost having grown up conversations around here. He is learning songs and keeping himself occupied with books, books and more books. His manners are shockingly very natural for him, I don't have to remind him much of his 'please' and 'thank-yous' and he is generally an excellent listener. He is starting to understand consequence and reasoning. He is even starting to understand empathy...which is huge! Not much to complain about. Of course there are melt-downs, but he's 2, and as long as we remember that that is the only way he knows how to express his emotions in that moment than our understanding and our patience with him is way better. He is just a smiley and happy kid, we are blessed beyond measure!
The last day of school was June 2nd and was also the day I gave my notice at Foley High School. I am actually really sad about not seeing my co-workers, as I really enjoyed them and cherish the friendships I made...but so unbelievably excited about the next chapter. There are a lot of reasons why, even with Zach's long unemployment, we decided that it would be best for our family if I quit my job. For now I am enjoying the "stay at home mom" status, but am not planning on making it a permanent position. Bottom line is that the school income, after daycare, gas and other work related expenses, would have required me to get a second job to afford the first one!
With that decision made, it was only natural for me to want to better our situation and that means back to school for me. I enrolled in May to finish the last stinkin' 12 credits in electives I needed to get my B.S. in Ministry from Northwestern College. As of now, all class time is done and in less than a week all final papers are due and I will be ALL DONE!!! It has been a long time coming but I am so relieved. I hope it opens some doors for some job opportunities. I have some great ideas as far as what I would like to do with my degree and am just now starting to look around. I have to finish these papers first!
A week ago today my brother Paul had his first baby! Paul Christian Iverson Jr. (PJ) arrived on 8-2, making him and Liza exactly 6 months apart. He is unbelievably beautiful and I am looking forward to seeing these cousins grow up as friends. My dad will come in from WA next week to meet the new grandson and then Will, Liza and I will fly back with my dad so the kids can spend some time with Grandpa, Lala and Uncle Chris. It will be good to see my brother and spend some time with him. Flying with the kids should be interesting...stay tuned for pictures and stories. I am a little nervous about how Will is going to behave, but not so nervous about Liza. Hey, he's a good kid right? Piece of cake! I know Lynn has some things planned for us to do. I am hoping we head to the coast for a bit as well.
Before we leave next week we'll have Liza's 6 month and Will's 2 year baby wellness appts. I am interested in seeing how BIG Liza is on the charts and how small Will still is. Shots will be fun and I hope they don't have long side effects for the trip.
I'll post some pics with this post and more later after we get back.
Liza is changing every day; she is 6 months old already and passing new milestones week by week. She is rolling over (and over and over), eating cereal and fruits and has cut her first tooth just this week. She recognizes us, LOVES Will and is starting to fear strangers a bit. She is sleeping through the night and has a good daily schedule with naps, bottles and play time. Just yesterday she started sitting up for a few moments here and there. We have been practicing for about a week and I thought it would be easier because she has lots of chubba-wubba on her butt and legs to give her some extra support, but nope, I guess she's on her own schedule. She is so smiley and giggles all of the time. She gets very bright eyed when daddy comes home from work and tends to just stare at him and smile. Pretty sure it melts Zach's heart every time he walks in the door to all of his adoring fans :)
Since the last post, we have celebrated Will's 2nd birthday. It was a beautiful little party with his favorite characters present to help him celebrate...Mickey, Minnie, Parker & Kayla :) He is an outdoor kid just like his Pops and he is loving summer. Everyday I ask him what he wants for lunch and everyday he says "picnic!" which on most days I can do. These last few weeks of hot humidity has left us picnicking more on the inside and less in the yard. I am loving being home with the kids everyday and love coming up with new things for us to do outside every day. Will has new wonders with kitties, baby peacocks and chicks. There are so many places for him to explore and our swing set actually provides hours of entertainment for him.
Will is growing so much in all areas. His sentences are getting so big and we are almost having grown up conversations around here. He is learning songs and keeping himself occupied with books, books and more books. His manners are shockingly very natural for him, I don't have to remind him much of his 'please' and 'thank-yous' and he is generally an excellent listener. He is starting to understand consequence and reasoning. He is even starting to understand empathy...which is huge! Not much to complain about. Of course there are melt-downs, but he's 2, and as long as we remember that that is the only way he knows how to express his emotions in that moment than our understanding and our patience with him is way better. He is just a smiley and happy kid, we are blessed beyond measure!
The last day of school was June 2nd and was also the day I gave my notice at Foley High School. I am actually really sad about not seeing my co-workers, as I really enjoyed them and cherish the friendships I made...but so unbelievably excited about the next chapter. There are a lot of reasons why, even with Zach's long unemployment, we decided that it would be best for our family if I quit my job. For now I am enjoying the "stay at home mom" status, but am not planning on making it a permanent position. Bottom line is that the school income, after daycare, gas and other work related expenses, would have required me to get a second job to afford the first one!
With that decision made, it was only natural for me to want to better our situation and that means back to school for me. I enrolled in May to finish the last stinkin' 12 credits in electives I needed to get my B.S. in Ministry from Northwestern College. As of now, all class time is done and in less than a week all final papers are due and I will be ALL DONE!!! It has been a long time coming but I am so relieved. I hope it opens some doors for some job opportunities. I have some great ideas as far as what I would like to do with my degree and am just now starting to look around. I have to finish these papers first!
A week ago today my brother Paul had his first baby! Paul Christian Iverson Jr. (PJ) arrived on 8-2, making him and Liza exactly 6 months apart. He is unbelievably beautiful and I am looking forward to seeing these cousins grow up as friends. My dad will come in from WA next week to meet the new grandson and then Will, Liza and I will fly back with my dad so the kids can spend some time with Grandpa, Lala and Uncle Chris. It will be good to see my brother and spend some time with him. Flying with the kids should be interesting...stay tuned for pictures and stories. I am a little nervous about how Will is going to behave, but not so nervous about Liza. Hey, he's a good kid right? Piece of cake! I know Lynn has some things planned for us to do. I am hoping we head to the coast for a bit as well.
Before we leave next week we'll have Liza's 6 month and Will's 2 year baby wellness appts. I am interested in seeing how BIG Liza is on the charts and how small Will still is. Shots will be fun and I hope they don't have long side effects for the trip.
I'll post some pics with this post and more later after we get back.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Hosanna in the Highest!
Liza was baptized Sunday April 17th; Palm Sunday the beginning of Holy Week and the beginning of a journey to the cross. For those of us who know that Jesus is our Savior, Holy Week reminds us of the new covenant between God and his people in the crucifixion and resurrection of his son. For Liza, it is a dedication and oath that we as a community in Christ will raise her to look at the cross and know that Jesus is her Perfect Lamb and Gracious, Merciful and Mighty King. Sing Hosanna!
Like Will's baptism there were so many meaningful parts of her celebration. Her dress was not only made by her two grandmothers it was also made out of my wedding dress! It turned out just beautiful and I hope that it remains in our family for generations to come. The front panel is Hardanger which is a Scandinavian stitch work. Nancy worked on it for hours and hours. My mom made the dress that the panel was sewn into. Pictures don't do it justice, it really is amazing.
We also used the water from the Jordan River that I collected on my trip to Israel in 1998. I know that as Lutherans the water isn't significant; holy water is not used. It is the pure act of following Christ's command to be baptized with water. Using water from the same river where Christ himself was baptized by his cousin John, a place where I rededicated my own baptism and then used the same living water to baptize my children is very special.
Liza's Godparents are my brother Paul and Zach's sister Jessie. Jessie has a son, Alex who is 4 and Paul is expecting his first baby, a son, in August. They'll have a little girl to have a special bond with now too! Zach and I are so honored that they were a part of Liza's special day.
Despite the chilly April temps, the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day to celebrate Liza. We also combined Easter to celebrate as a family complete with ham, Stacey's green jello salad and of course an Easter Egg Hunt! Needless to say, combining the two celebrations made for a packed little farm house! Mommy was a bit crazy (and ok, I'll admit it, a little crabby) trying to get everything done to be ready for company. I think women put too much pressure on themselves and I am going to try to remember that for the next social event at the Swenson Farm...which I suppose is Will's 2nd birthday! We had so much fun celebrating Easter. Zach and Chad hid 210 eggs this year as we had about 16 kids old enough to hunt for them. Will was the youngest up to the teenage cousins. The yard is split into sections, little ones on one side of the yard, big kids on the other. Those poor "big kids" have to look high and low as Chad and Zach show no mercy! They all enjoy running around the yard looking for the pastel pretties no matter what goodies are hidden inside. Of course a day on the farm isn't complete until the tractor comes out. Zach hooked up the trailer, lined up the patio chairs and took the kids riding around. He didn't get too far before he ran out of gas (oops) and had to have Doug come and pull them home. My friend Erica, Will's godmother, her family and their friend and 2 CUTE daughters were here from Wales on vacation, staying in MN this week then heading to FL for the remainder of their trip. It was so nice that it worked out to have them home for the baptism. She is moving back to MN in July and I can't wait to be able to see them on a more regular basis...more reason to get together to scrapbook!
The kids (how fun to say that...the kids :) are both growing and developing right before my very eyes. Will is talking in sentences and chatters all of the time. He is working on his counting, letters, colors and opposites. We're getting there. His favorite thing about his day is story time with mom or dad. We could read and read all evening long and he couldn't be happier...unless of course we let him outside to play. He is finally getting outside at daycare, and just recently allowed in our yard. It has been so cold and muddy that it just wasn't an option. It has been a long winter and he is ready to stretch his legs. The farm is a brand new wonderland for him as last summer he was a brand new walker. His little legs can carry him much further now! He loves daycare and has no interest in going home when I come to get him at the end of the day. Bribing him to go see daddy does not work at all. "No Mommy. No Daddy. JULIE!!!" is what I get. It's more funny than sad because A. he is happy at daycare and B. I'm bigger than him and he can argue all he wants, but I'm winning!
Will turns 2 tomorrow and is headed into the terrible twos with hurricane forces behind him! Tantrums, WHINING and strong determination to do things his way is now common at our house. We take it in stride, and can even laugh at the tantrums, however, the whining which then slows down our already hectic daily routine can get on our nerves a bit. Patience and better time management on my end will allow him to become more independent...and allow me to understand what he is trying to communicate. I think it's pretty common for the parent to just step in and say "oh let me do it for you" but I am really trying to be aware of what he is trying to learn or accomplish. He's so dang smart and I don't want to squelch any growth in motor skills or mental development. The more I watch these early stages of growth the more I understand how important it is to be home with him. It makes me a little sad that I can't (like most people) give him 100% of my time to focus on his upbringing. And like most people, we just do the best we can. He is happy and healthy...and oh so clever, so that's all that matters right now.
Liza is cooing and smiling. She is so strong in the upper body and can hold her head up for quite some time. She hasn't started with too much tummy time but the time she does get, she doesn't seem to mind. She is 90% sleeping through the night. If we have a day (like her baptism) where we are out of our routine, she tends to be up once in the night. Fortunately she is fed and/or changed and goes right back to bed. Of course Zach is mostly in charge of night time care as I get to go to work in the morning. Monday, back to weekday routine, she slept through the night 9-5, had a bottle and went back to sleep. She is a really good baby, and so so pretty (says mama). Looks like her eyes might stay blue. So the boy has his mom's looks and the girl has her daddy's. Though I definitely see both of us in both of them. She hasn't been in for her 8 week check-up (bad mommy) so I am not sure what her weight, height etc is. She's already eating 6 ounces per bottle every 4 hours or so and is a really good eater. She loves watching Will and perks right up when she hears him. He is so sweet to her and wants to help by holding her bottle or giving her the nuk (or as he calls it the muker). It's fun to watch them start to bond.
On Friday we went on a "fun family night" down to Winona for a hotel/pool/hot tub night. This was a well deserved break after family portraits in the morning. Pictures to follow if any of them actually turned out. Will was not interested for 1 second - no make that .001 seconds! If his don't turn out, oh well...I am excited to see Liza's in her baptism gown.
We stopped for dinner at King's in Miesville on the way where their burgers have toppings like fried eggs and hot dogs, both of which were perched atop Zach's patty! On the way home we drove up the bluffs of Winona, stopped to see bald eagles in Wabasha (we only saw 1) and bought Liza her first piece of Solje jewelry in Red Wing; a necklace made in Norway. It was a fun getaway for us.
Easter was spent at Zach's aunt Phyllis and uncle Rich's house after church in Princeton. Phyllis prepares the kind of spread that makes you want to sit at the table all day long. Some holiday dinners you just sit down and plow through (leaving the cook who slaves all day with nothing but a mess) but it seemed sacrilegious to not sit and savor everything! Will went on his 3rd egg hunting excursion so he was an old pro at zeroing in on the plastic eggs. It was a beautiful day!
When I have pictures from my official photographer (thanks Erica) from the baptism, the portrait sitting and of course the upcoming 2nd birthday, I will post! Have a blessed Easter season! The tomb is empty...Hallelujah!!
Like Will's baptism there were so many meaningful parts of her celebration. Her dress was not only made by her two grandmothers it was also made out of my wedding dress! It turned out just beautiful and I hope that it remains in our family for generations to come. The front panel is Hardanger which is a Scandinavian stitch work. Nancy worked on it for hours and hours. My mom made the dress that the panel was sewn into. Pictures don't do it justice, it really is amazing.
We also used the water from the Jordan River that I collected on my trip to Israel in 1998. I know that as Lutherans the water isn't significant; holy water is not used. It is the pure act of following Christ's command to be baptized with water. Using water from the same river where Christ himself was baptized by his cousin John, a place where I rededicated my own baptism and then used the same living water to baptize my children is very special.
Liza's Godparents are my brother Paul and Zach's sister Jessie. Jessie has a son, Alex who is 4 and Paul is expecting his first baby, a son, in August. They'll have a little girl to have a special bond with now too! Zach and I are so honored that they were a part of Liza's special day.
Despite the chilly April temps, the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day to celebrate Liza. We also combined Easter to celebrate as a family complete with ham, Stacey's green jello salad and of course an Easter Egg Hunt! Needless to say, combining the two celebrations made for a packed little farm house! Mommy was a bit crazy (and ok, I'll admit it, a little crabby) trying to get everything done to be ready for company. I think women put too much pressure on themselves and I am going to try to remember that for the next social event at the Swenson Farm...which I suppose is Will's 2nd birthday! We had so much fun celebrating Easter. Zach and Chad hid 210 eggs this year as we had about 16 kids old enough to hunt for them. Will was the youngest up to the teenage cousins. The yard is split into sections, little ones on one side of the yard, big kids on the other. Those poor "big kids" have to look high and low as Chad and Zach show no mercy! They all enjoy running around the yard looking for the pastel pretties no matter what goodies are hidden inside. Of course a day on the farm isn't complete until the tractor comes out. Zach hooked up the trailer, lined up the patio chairs and took the kids riding around. He didn't get too far before he ran out of gas (oops) and had to have Doug come and pull them home. My friend Erica, Will's godmother, her family and their friend and 2 CUTE daughters were here from Wales on vacation, staying in MN this week then heading to FL for the remainder of their trip. It was so nice that it worked out to have them home for the baptism. She is moving back to MN in July and I can't wait to be able to see them on a more regular basis...more reason to get together to scrapbook!
The kids (how fun to say that...the kids :) are both growing and developing right before my very eyes. Will is talking in sentences and chatters all of the time. He is working on his counting, letters, colors and opposites. We're getting there. His favorite thing about his day is story time with mom or dad. We could read and read all evening long and he couldn't be happier...unless of course we let him outside to play. He is finally getting outside at daycare, and just recently allowed in our yard. It has been so cold and muddy that it just wasn't an option. It has been a long winter and he is ready to stretch his legs. The farm is a brand new wonderland for him as last summer he was a brand new walker. His little legs can carry him much further now! He loves daycare and has no interest in going home when I come to get him at the end of the day. Bribing him to go see daddy does not work at all. "No Mommy. No Daddy. JULIE!!!" is what I get. It's more funny than sad because A. he is happy at daycare and B. I'm bigger than him and he can argue all he wants, but I'm winning!
Will turns 2 tomorrow and is headed into the terrible twos with hurricane forces behind him! Tantrums, WHINING and strong determination to do things his way is now common at our house. We take it in stride, and can even laugh at the tantrums, however, the whining which then slows down our already hectic daily routine can get on our nerves a bit. Patience and better time management on my end will allow him to become more independent...and allow me to understand what he is trying to communicate. I think it's pretty common for the parent to just step in and say "oh let me do it for you" but I am really trying to be aware of what he is trying to learn or accomplish. He's so dang smart and I don't want to squelch any growth in motor skills or mental development. The more I watch these early stages of growth the more I understand how important it is to be home with him. It makes me a little sad that I can't (like most people) give him 100% of my time to focus on his upbringing. And like most people, we just do the best we can. He is happy and healthy...and oh so clever, so that's all that matters right now.
Liza is cooing and smiling. She is so strong in the upper body and can hold her head up for quite some time. She hasn't started with too much tummy time but the time she does get, she doesn't seem to mind. She is 90% sleeping through the night. If we have a day (like her baptism) where we are out of our routine, she tends to be up once in the night. Fortunately she is fed and/or changed and goes right back to bed. Of course Zach is mostly in charge of night time care as I get to go to work in the morning. Monday, back to weekday routine, she slept through the night 9-5, had a bottle and went back to sleep. She is a really good baby, and so so pretty (says mama). Looks like her eyes might stay blue. So the boy has his mom's looks and the girl has her daddy's. Though I definitely see both of us in both of them. She hasn't been in for her 8 week check-up (bad mommy) so I am not sure what her weight, height etc is. She's already eating 6 ounces per bottle every 4 hours or so and is a really good eater. She loves watching Will and perks right up when she hears him. He is so sweet to her and wants to help by holding her bottle or giving her the nuk (or as he calls it the muker). It's fun to watch them start to bond.
On Friday we went on a "fun family night" down to Winona for a hotel/pool/hot tub night. This was a well deserved break after family portraits in the morning. Pictures to follow if any of them actually turned out. Will was not interested for 1 second - no make that .001 seconds! If his don't turn out, oh well...I am excited to see Liza's in her baptism gown.
We stopped for dinner at King's in Miesville on the way where their burgers have toppings like fried eggs and hot dogs, both of which were perched atop Zach's patty! On the way home we drove up the bluffs of Winona, stopped to see bald eagles in Wabasha (we only saw 1) and bought Liza her first piece of Solje jewelry in Red Wing; a necklace made in Norway. It was a fun getaway for us.
Easter was spent at Zach's aunt Phyllis and uncle Rich's house after church in Princeton. Phyllis prepares the kind of spread that makes you want to sit at the table all day long. Some holiday dinners you just sit down and plow through (leaving the cook who slaves all day with nothing but a mess) but it seemed sacrilegious to not sit and savor everything! Will went on his 3rd egg hunting excursion so he was an old pro at zeroing in on the plastic eggs. It was a beautiful day!
When I have pictures from my official photographer (thanks Erica) from the baptism, the portrait sitting and of course the upcoming 2nd birthday, I will post! Have a blessed Easter season! The tomb is empty...Hallelujah!!
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Elizabeth Grace
Our beautiful baby is here! We are so pleased to share our new little girl with you, Zach and I are absolutely in love! Elizabeth was born on Wednesday Feb. 2, 2011 at 7:54 AM in Princeton, MN. She is 8 lbs 8.5oz and 20 inches long. A very average size baby, but compared to Will, she seemed HUGE at birth. She really is so small, and we are surprised that we forgot just how tiny and fragile newborns are. I want to share with you all of the details of Liza's delivery. I use this as a journal as much as a means to share with you, so please don't mind the boring attention to detail. As we got closer to baby's due date it was so interesting for me to go back through the blog posts about Will and his delivery. I hope one day this information will be fun for my children too.
Last week my doc gave me the go ahead to be induced if I wanted to be. Two reasons: 1. I had gestational diabetes and we knew she was a good size and 2. Will came so fast, we were a little worried that an unplanned delivery might happen in the back seat! So doc says she'll check me at 39 week appt and decide from there. Tuesday morning (2-1-11, 39 weeks 2 days) Zach, Will and I went to see the doc for the check up and to see if there was any progress. I was effaced but not dilated at all. I held my breath waiting to see if she would allow me to go in that night or not. I was hoping for the same kind of schedule that I had with Will; go in at night, cervix softening over night, induce with pitocin in the morning. She said, "well do you want to induce?" Yes please. Due to her schedule and the availability at the hospital she wanted me to go in at noon which sent me into a tiny panic as far as just having the day to be ready, take care of Will and spend some time internalizing the next days events i.e. labor/delivery, how it would change the dynamics of our family and all of those other things you need to think and/or worry about. We left the clinic with cell phones in hand, preparing for our day. The hospital called and bumped us to 1:30 (whew) due to a patient arriving in labor. We had lunch at home and packed the final items for our overnight bags and headed for Fairview Northland in Princeton. We brought Will with us and Nancy met us there in the evening to take Will back home and stay with him. He was so great at leaving us behind to go hang out with Grandma. I was surprised, but wouldn't you know he's such a big boy!? Maybe he was excited to show off the baby's new room :)
At around 4pm they started the cervix softener with the first of four doses I would get throughout the night. I knew I was having contractions as I had been having them irregularly but frequently the last few days before heading in. The second dose after 8pm brought on more contractions and by midnight they decided to hold off on the third dose, thinking labor perhaps would start on it's own. By 4 in the morning I was pretty uncomfortable. They gave me some drug (nubane or something?) to take the edge off of the contractions. It really helped and I thought maybe I would be able to get some sleep as so far that night I had none. The machine that was monitoring baby's heart beat and my contractions was so loud though, that I couldn't sleep. I called the nurse in at 4:30 to turn it all down (Zach is in the recliner next to me sound asleep) and she took care of everything. We were chatting a bit as she was taking care of things and "OH!" I said as I felt a pop and a whole lot of warm water fill my bed. "My water just broke this very second" I said. With half of the cervix softening medication and no pitocin started in my IV, I went in to labor on my own. At 5:00 AM I was in active labor and really wanting my epidural. I was prepared this time with the puke bag and at least didn't throw up all over myself like the last time. Lots of throwing up, but no cold sponge baths! The anesthesiologist was supposed to be there at 5:30 and of course was held up so they had to call in another guy from home. He showed up sometime after 6 in jeans and a sweatshirt with his baseball cap on backwards but all I cared about was the cart carrying the giant needle! He could have had nothing but a feather boa wrapped around his neck and I would not have cared! Phil the anesthesiologist (young and cute as can be by the way) had me prepped and feeling better by 6:30. Again, thinking this would be just like Will's delivery, both Zach and I thought maybe we would get some decent sleep and relax for a bit before the big show...not so much. Though the epidural made me numb, they only gave me the front-end dose that lasts about an hour or so because I delivered Will so quickly they figured for now it would be all I would need and that they could inject more later if needed (but highly unlikely). About 10 minutes after Phil left, I told the nurse that I could feel lots of painful pressure and that baby was on the move. I was fully dilated, cervix was non-existent and baby was coming...so much for the drugs. Everything at this point becomes a blur. I can tell you that I wanted to crawl right out of the top of my own skull to get away and that I didn't have time between contractions to think reasonably or pull myself back together. Dr. Roberts asked Phil to come back and give me another shot in my epidural, which I can honestly say I have no recollection of it working then or not. Zach held my hand and the doc and two nurses counted me through pushing and reminded me to push from down below, not with my face (reminders didn't help, again no rationalization going on here). The worst part was only about 10 minutes long and I had to keep reminding myself that I have it so much easier than these women who do this for hours on end. I could feel every inch of the baby coming. I could feel her crowning, her shoulders, everything. That part in hindsight, though painful is at least neat to have experienced physically. The second she was out I felt 8000 times better. Every inch of me was shaking from exhaustion but I could at least focus on her as she was lifted to my chest. As with Will, the first thing I noticed was her head and how much hair she had...and how black her hair was! She wasn't there long enough before she was picked up so Zach could cut the cord and they could clean her up. Everything happened so fast and I suppose she was dried off, wrapped up and handed back to us within 5 minutes. I was still being stitched up and cleaned up so Zach had her for the most part, but I was absolutely OK with that and enjoyed watching him start the bonding process.
We had a few hours to ourselves before Will came to meet his sister. We started making phone calls and had breakfast...I was starving! Grandma Nancy brought our boy up to visit. He was sweet and gentle with her, giving her kisses when prompted and he was curious about "Baby Zaza" as he calls her. Will pointed out Liza's ears, touched her nose and patted her hair. He spent about 3 minutes with her before he was ready to check out the buttons on mama's bed, light switches on the walls and the cords all over the floor. Busy boy. Grandma Renee came shortly after with a gorgeous bouquet of pink and purple flowers to meet the new girl. Around noon everyone packed up our stuff and moved us into our post delivery room while I stayed in the delivery room to move for the first time since the epidural was finally wearing off. I was numb from my armpits to my tippytoes until noon and hadn't been able to get out of bed. So with some help from the nurse I got out of bed and headed straight for the shower. Liza had to leave for the nursery for blood work, bath etc and we were so surprised at her super thick and super dark hair. It is exactly daddy's color and I wonder if it will stay that dark...or stay at all. Either way, she is just beautiful and her rosy complexion and dark blue eyes matched with her dark hair is a stunning combination. Both Zach and I think her eyes will probably turn brown like mine and Will's but it would be nice to have a blue eyed girl like her daddy.
We left Friday after having another night at the hospital to rest. Liza did go to the nursery both Wednesday night and Thursday night. Zach spent Thursday at home so he could get a good night sleep as well. Nancy took Will home with her for the weekend so we could settle at home with Liza and to rest up. It was a brilliant idea as I have been very tired and baby is up at night more than I'd like her to be. When we got home Friday afternoon, we had a lasagna , salad and bread sticks ready for us to prepare for supper along with some beautiful home made pink raspberry and chocolate heart shaped tarts for dessert and an egg bake ready for the oven for Saturday morning. Thanks Nancy! What an awesome surprise!
Friday night (just 3 hours after we got home from the hospital) we took Liza on her first outing. Zach dropped us off at the Princeton library while he ran to the grocery store and gas station. My Secret Stamper group was meeting to craft together and I just had to stop up and show off the newest member of SS! It was fun to surprise them since some of them didn't even know she was born yet! We stayed for about an hour; it was a nice little venture out. We've had some visitors at home and we have had lots of time to take naps and bond with baby. Tomorrow we have to take her to the doc as she's got a bit of jaundice. She seems like she's getting a little bit more yellow the last couple of days, so it will be good to have her bilirubin numbers checked. Will comes home on Tuesday and I miss him like crazy since I haven't spent anytime with him since we went in to the hospital last Tuesday. It will be nice to have him home to get to know Liza and have him get acclimated to having someone else take up some of mom and dad's attention as he is certainly used to getting all of it :)
We are looking forward to the next few weeks as Liza gets to meet more family and friends. She is named after my paternal grandmother Elizabeth Iverson, so it will be fun to introduce 'Betty' to 'Liza'. Liza's middle name, Grace is after both of our maternal, maternal great grandmothers. Zach's great grandmother was Lulu Grace Shapansky (McEvitt) and my great grandmother Lottie Grace Marsh (Rauk). Will was born on Lottie's birthday, so both of my kids share something with her. Elizabeth is Hebrew in origin and means 'God's promise, God is my oath' and Grace is Latin in origin and means 'favor; blessing' and is a virtue name referring to God's grace. I call her either Eliza or just Liza...but mostly we just call her baby girl :)
Hope you enjoy the pictures...there will certainly be more to come! We can't wait for you to meet her!
Last week my doc gave me the go ahead to be induced if I wanted to be. Two reasons: 1. I had gestational diabetes and we knew she was a good size and 2. Will came so fast, we were a little worried that an unplanned delivery might happen in the back seat! So doc says she'll check me at 39 week appt and decide from there. Tuesday morning (2-1-11, 39 weeks 2 days) Zach, Will and I went to see the doc for the check up and to see if there was any progress. I was effaced but not dilated at all. I held my breath waiting to see if she would allow me to go in that night or not. I was hoping for the same kind of schedule that I had with Will; go in at night, cervix softening over night, induce with pitocin in the morning. She said, "well do you want to induce?" Yes please. Due to her schedule and the availability at the hospital she wanted me to go in at noon which sent me into a tiny panic as far as just having the day to be ready, take care of Will and spend some time internalizing the next days events i.e. labor/delivery, how it would change the dynamics of our family and all of those other things you need to think and/or worry about. We left the clinic with cell phones in hand, preparing for our day. The hospital called and bumped us to 1:30 (whew) due to a patient arriving in labor. We had lunch at home and packed the final items for our overnight bags and headed for Fairview Northland in Princeton. We brought Will with us and Nancy met us there in the evening to take Will back home and stay with him. He was so great at leaving us behind to go hang out with Grandma. I was surprised, but wouldn't you know he's such a big boy!? Maybe he was excited to show off the baby's new room :)
At around 4pm they started the cervix softener with the first of four doses I would get throughout the night. I knew I was having contractions as I had been having them irregularly but frequently the last few days before heading in. The second dose after 8pm brought on more contractions and by midnight they decided to hold off on the third dose, thinking labor perhaps would start on it's own. By 4 in the morning I was pretty uncomfortable. They gave me some drug (nubane or something?) to take the edge off of the contractions. It really helped and I thought maybe I would be able to get some sleep as so far that night I had none. The machine that was monitoring baby's heart beat and my contractions was so loud though, that I couldn't sleep. I called the nurse in at 4:30 to turn it all down (Zach is in the recliner next to me sound asleep) and she took care of everything. We were chatting a bit as she was taking care of things and "OH!" I said as I felt a pop and a whole lot of warm water fill my bed. "My water just broke this very second" I said. With half of the cervix softening medication and no pitocin started in my IV, I went in to labor on my own. At 5:00 AM I was in active labor and really wanting my epidural. I was prepared this time with the puke bag and at least didn't throw up all over myself like the last time. Lots of throwing up, but no cold sponge baths! The anesthesiologist was supposed to be there at 5:30 and of course was held up so they had to call in another guy from home. He showed up sometime after 6 in jeans and a sweatshirt with his baseball cap on backwards but all I cared about was the cart carrying the giant needle! He could have had nothing but a feather boa wrapped around his neck and I would not have cared! Phil the anesthesiologist (young and cute as can be by the way) had me prepped and feeling better by 6:30. Again, thinking this would be just like Will's delivery, both Zach and I thought maybe we would get some decent sleep and relax for a bit before the big show...not so much. Though the epidural made me numb, they only gave me the front-end dose that lasts about an hour or so because I delivered Will so quickly they figured for now it would be all I would need and that they could inject more later if needed (but highly unlikely). About 10 minutes after Phil left, I told the nurse that I could feel lots of painful pressure and that baby was on the move. I was fully dilated, cervix was non-existent and baby was coming...so much for the drugs. Everything at this point becomes a blur. I can tell you that I wanted to crawl right out of the top of my own skull to get away and that I didn't have time between contractions to think reasonably or pull myself back together. Dr. Roberts asked Phil to come back and give me another shot in my epidural, which I can honestly say I have no recollection of it working then or not. Zach held my hand and the doc and two nurses counted me through pushing and reminded me to push from down below, not with my face (reminders didn't help, again no rationalization going on here). The worst part was only about 10 minutes long and I had to keep reminding myself that I have it so much easier than these women who do this for hours on end. I could feel every inch of the baby coming. I could feel her crowning, her shoulders, everything. That part in hindsight, though painful is at least neat to have experienced physically. The second she was out I felt 8000 times better. Every inch of me was shaking from exhaustion but I could at least focus on her as she was lifted to my chest. As with Will, the first thing I noticed was her head and how much hair she had...and how black her hair was! She wasn't there long enough before she was picked up so Zach could cut the cord and they could clean her up. Everything happened so fast and I suppose she was dried off, wrapped up and handed back to us within 5 minutes. I was still being stitched up and cleaned up so Zach had her for the most part, but I was absolutely OK with that and enjoyed watching him start the bonding process.
We had a few hours to ourselves before Will came to meet his sister. We started making phone calls and had breakfast...I was starving! Grandma Nancy brought our boy up to visit. He was sweet and gentle with her, giving her kisses when prompted and he was curious about "Baby Zaza" as he calls her. Will pointed out Liza's ears, touched her nose and patted her hair. He spent about 3 minutes with her before he was ready to check out the buttons on mama's bed, light switches on the walls and the cords all over the floor. Busy boy. Grandma Renee came shortly after with a gorgeous bouquet of pink and purple flowers to meet the new girl. Around noon everyone packed up our stuff and moved us into our post delivery room while I stayed in the delivery room to move for the first time since the epidural was finally wearing off. I was numb from my armpits to my tippytoes until noon and hadn't been able to get out of bed. So with some help from the nurse I got out of bed and headed straight for the shower. Liza had to leave for the nursery for blood work, bath etc and we were so surprised at her super thick and super dark hair. It is exactly daddy's color and I wonder if it will stay that dark...or stay at all. Either way, she is just beautiful and her rosy complexion and dark blue eyes matched with her dark hair is a stunning combination. Both Zach and I think her eyes will probably turn brown like mine and Will's but it would be nice to have a blue eyed girl like her daddy.
We left Friday after having another night at the hospital to rest. Liza did go to the nursery both Wednesday night and Thursday night. Zach spent Thursday at home so he could get a good night sleep as well. Nancy took Will home with her for the weekend so we could settle at home with Liza and to rest up. It was a brilliant idea as I have been very tired and baby is up at night more than I'd like her to be. When we got home Friday afternoon, we had a lasagna , salad and bread sticks ready for us to prepare for supper along with some beautiful home made pink raspberry and chocolate heart shaped tarts for dessert and an egg bake ready for the oven for Saturday morning. Thanks Nancy! What an awesome surprise!
Friday night (just 3 hours after we got home from the hospital) we took Liza on her first outing. Zach dropped us off at the Princeton library while he ran to the grocery store and gas station. My Secret Stamper group was meeting to craft together and I just had to stop up and show off the newest member of SS! It was fun to surprise them since some of them didn't even know she was born yet! We stayed for about an hour; it was a nice little venture out. We've had some visitors at home and we have had lots of time to take naps and bond with baby. Tomorrow we have to take her to the doc as she's got a bit of jaundice. She seems like she's getting a little bit more yellow the last couple of days, so it will be good to have her bilirubin numbers checked. Will comes home on Tuesday and I miss him like crazy since I haven't spent anytime with him since we went in to the hospital last Tuesday. It will be nice to have him home to get to know Liza and have him get acclimated to having someone else take up some of mom and dad's attention as he is certainly used to getting all of it :)
We are looking forward to the next few weeks as Liza gets to meet more family and friends. She is named after my paternal grandmother Elizabeth Iverson, so it will be fun to introduce 'Betty' to 'Liza'. Liza's middle name, Grace is after both of our maternal, maternal great grandmothers. Zach's great grandmother was Lulu Grace Shapansky (McEvitt) and my great grandmother Lottie Grace Marsh (Rauk). Will was born on Lottie's birthday, so both of my kids share something with her. Elizabeth is Hebrew in origin and means 'God's promise, God is my oath' and Grace is Latin in origin and means 'favor; blessing' and is a virtue name referring to God's grace. I call her either Eliza or just Liza...but mostly we just call her baby girl :)
Hope you enjoy the pictures...there will certainly be more to come! We can't wait for you to meet her!
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