Annabelle is here

Annabelle Nicole was born on Monday, weighing 6 lbs 11 oz, which was exactly what I guessed she would weigh. The Doctor was impressed.

Anne is so easy going that even I can handle it when she cries. Most of the time she doesn't even cry. She just makes cute little baby noises. (I still laugh when I think about the time right after Alli was born when Ty said, "Don't worry, you're going to be a great Mom when the kids are five and older...") Now that I have a five year old, I'm less sure, but I'll take what I can get.
After two emergency C-sections, Anne's was my first scheduled C-section birth, and let me tell you, it is a whole lot scarier. I think it was the adrenaline I missed because the whole experience was terrifying, and I don't remember that from before. Unfortunately, the adrenaline hit after the surgery was over and, instead of enjoying a morphine induced coma, I was wide awake at midnight, at 3:00 am, at 5:00 am... When the nurses came in to check my vitals, I was so excited to see them that I don't think I've ever been so chatty. Weird, but then again, don't discount the morphine.

The surgery was just plain uncomfortable. The wonderful anesthesiologist, Kelly Myers, who, coincidentally works with my Dad when someone wants a laser treatment, told me just what to expect and practically held my hand through the whole thing. Even still, when he explained that my brain wouldn't register deep breathing because my chest was numb, I wasn't prepared for an hour of near suffocation. And when he said, "Okay, this is going to make your heart race for a minute," what he meant was, "I think interrogationists use this to simulate heart attacks." I would totally talk.

On the upside, Dr. Myers bent the rules a bit and let my Mom come in with Ty. I heard one of the nurses was upset about it, but oh well. I was grateful for another hand to squeeze and for another set of eyes to watch that monitor saying I was getting 100% oxygen absorption. No, you are not suffocating, that little number on the screen said to me. Just relax.


Afterwards, I spent three more days in the hospital with the best nurses I've ever had. They were so nice to me and made my stay as comfortable as possible, even with staples in my stomach.

We're home now and so happy to have baby Anne in our family. I know she is going to bring us all joy in ways we can only guess.

Our Christmas Letter

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Happy Holidays all,

It’s time for decking the halls again: time to finally turn on those lights strung from our rooftops and pull out the Nativity— maybe set up a tree sometime before Rudolph comes to eat the magic reindeer food Alli threw on our lawn. It’s Christmas time! I’m ready to bake sugar cookies and wrap presents. There’s just one hitch: there’s this little baby girl named Anne, and she’s coming to our family right in the middle of it all.

On December 17^th Anne will interrupt the festivities with her birth, hopefully coming home just in time to celebrate another important birth one week later: our Savior’s. As we gaze upon the fresh newborn face of our little one, we will remember another pure countenance—one that also radiated peace and love in ways that continue to guide me through the hardships of this life. This experience is certainly a privilege—one I will remember fondly and hopefully never duplicate…

After two emergency c-sections, I’ll have this c-section on my own terms. I’m excited to reduce the mayhem associated with childbirth, even if it means another surgery. I just pick the day and the time, and my Dr. shows up. What could be better? Not walking on Christmas day will entail some creative planning, such as freezing sugar cookie dough and what not, but maybe that makes it all the more fun and stress-free. I just might change the way I approach the holidays forevermore.

This year has been one of possibility and pain, firsts and “let us never speak of this again,” moments. Through it all, we’ve had a lot of fun. For me, it was catering my first wedding, while for Ty it’s been climbing and running 15 miles at a time like it’s easy. Alli started piano this summer and Kindergarten in the fall, and she continues to surprise us with her brilliance. I continue to hear, “Everyone thinks their kid is smart, but yours really is.” I know. We don’t know where she gets it.

Alli played “Silent Night” on par with her 7 and 8 year old counterparts for her first piano recital. She continues to love Nancy Drew, and her biggest wish is becoming a super spy when she grows up. She carries around her little girl makeup in her “spy purse” that also contains a compass, flashlight, and pretend PDA device. She cracks me up.

Even though Maddie still doesn’t fit into 2T clothes, she acts grown, and her third birthday party this February is all she talks about. She wants a lunchbox so she can go to school like Alli. (This little tidbit of Kindergarten lore has been lost in translation somehow because Alli doesn’t take a lunchbox to school.)

She could be getting her faulty information late at night, since Alli and Maddie recently started sharing a room. It was such a meaningful experience for Maddie that she responded by losing the diapers. That’s right; she potty trained herself, and I couldn’t be happier. In the midst of all these big changes, Maddie still has a killer smile that could melt a rock, and the kind of laugh that teaches me true happiness.

With so many blessings this year, it’s hard not to feel grateful for family. We wish you all a wonderful Christmas season full of joy with your own families.

Potty Saga

A couple of weeks ago Maddie gave up her room for Anne. Until Ty can build a bunk bed, Maddie gets a toddler bed in the corner of Alli's room. I was worried that the arrangement would cause my girls distress, but so far they are loving it. Maddie is so excited to be a big "tid" in Alli's room, and Alli hasn't complained once about the intrusion. Hopefully we can rearrange everything soon so it will feel more like a shared room than a sharecropping. One obstacle down, I was consigned to the idea that potty training would have to wait until after the baby. After all, Alli was in diapers long into Maddie's first year of life. Alli was almost four, in fact, when she finally took the plunge.

When Alli was a toddler I was so worried about screwing up. I read everything out there on potty training. There were programs to follow: one day programs or one week plans. Alli had potty parties. She had candy bribes and charts. She eventually had expensive toys leering down at her from atop the refrigerator. In the end, she had some yelling, I'm sorry to say.

The last day I tried to potty train Alli, she wore her underwear all day long and held it until 8:00 at night. You wouldn't think such a big bladder could fit in such a small body, but we all share this trait. Anyway, I was beyond frustrated because she refused to sit on the potty before going to bed, and we both knew she needed to go. She broke me at that point, and I totally gave up.

A month later, she put on those princess panties on her own and hasn't looked back. She's never had an accident, and I've never had to find the bathroom in Target for her (she can hold it indefinitely).

With Maddie, I wasn't about to follow a program. In fact, I finally read a doctor quoted in Parenting who said it takes 6 months to fully potty train. To that man, I would like to say, "Thank you." Finally, some advice that makes sense to me. A few months ago I bought Maddie some undies and showed her the potty chair. She was totally excited about it all, but had no clue how to use them. She never had one success in all those months. One day she would wake up and ask for her underwear, and I didn't stop her. The next she wanted her diaper back, and I was okay with that too. In the meantime, I cleaned up the messes she made and never interfered with her wishes. Maddie sometimes went a month at a time without mentioning the underwear, while the potty chair became her favorite step stool and TV chair. I never even sat her on it. She didn't want to.

Then came success. Maddie asked for her underwear. She sat on the potty and used it, while I thought, so she does know what that thing is for. She continued using it all day long! I was so proud of her I was ready to bust. Seriously, the look on her face was so priceless. It was her own accomplishment, and this time Mom hadn't tried to steal the thunder. Man, I love that little girl.

Halloween

The girls had a lot of fun trick-or-treating this year. It was the usual bing bong, give me some candy kind of affair, and they came home an hour later with overflowing buckets. I always think it's funny to realize what it must be like for little kids on Halloween. "You mean, they're just

giving away candy for free? Everyone we know is giving it away?" They'll pretty much do anything to participate. Personally, it's not my favorite holiday. I don't like to dress up, and I don't like candy that much. I mean, I like it, but after about twenty pieces of misc fun size candy bars, I want to throw up. Then I go ahead and do it again a couple of hours later. I just can't hold my candy like I used to. I'm about ready to throw the rest away, to be quite honest. Don't tell Ty, or he'll have a fit.

Wedding Dinner

My friend Monique got married last week, and Ashley and I catered the wedding dinner... It was a lot of work but so much fun! Monique wanted to do something like Sweet Tomatoes with soups and a salad bar, so we came up with a menu based on that. I made corn chowder and minestrone for the soups and a blue cheese and strawberry prepared salad in addition to the 25 item salad bar.
I also made an artichoke dip and we served some pita chips and hummus along with fruit and bread. Ashley made all the bread, including two kinds of muffins, wheat bread, corn bread, artisan bread for the dips, and cookies. Of course, we had to have the cookies. Those cookie recipes are still at our website, by the way (www.theperfectchocolatechipcookie.com).
After refilling the punch, salad bar items, etc for 100 people, we started dishing up the apple crisp and ice cream... Then I carried them out on trays to everyone. Man was I tired. At the end of the day, I needed some recovery time, but I seriously don't think I've had so much fun in a long time. Thanks again to Monique for letting me be a part of her big day.

Kindergarten or Bust

Alli started Kindergarten last week, and I cried. I tried not to, but the moment I watched her walk away into her new classroom, I choked. I'm the one who's supposed to teach her new things and play with her! It was like turning her over to who knows what behind that door--something I'm not a part of, and that made me a little sad. But there's no going back now. She's got to start making her own way in the world, I guess. At least it's a small one for now. At least it's not her first date with some crummy boy. Man, milestones are harder than I anticipated...
I was surprised, actually, because Alli had a hard time going back to Kindergarten after all the anticipation and excitement for the past couple of years. Ever since she knew what Kindergarten was, it's been the Holy Grail of kid-hood. Already the legend has passed down to Maddie, and all I hear about now are "pat-packs" and her lunch box that she's going to have. Alli doesn't even have a lunch box yet, so I guess part of the lore has gotten lost in translation. This is the beloved back-pack, however, that Grandma Pat bought for Alli:
After a great day with her new teacher Mrs. Wright, Alli couldn't stop talking about school. She was thrilled... Until about two in the morning when she started throwing up. I didn't know if it was school-time jitters or the real deal, so I kept her home. When Monday finally arrived, Alli had decided that school was not for her. She cried and cried about it, and I didn't know what to do. Finally, I made her a promise. Go to school for the entire month of September, and if you still hate it, you can have school at home with Mom. (I'm thinking this sounds really lame, but it calmed her right down.) She's been going ever since, making lots of friends, doing her homework with zeal, and most importantly, not crying about it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for October.