Catching Up

Life is full.  In just about every sense of the word!

For many weeks, obviously, I’ve had just enough energy and motivation at the end of the day to put both kids in bed, throw a load of laundry in the washer, straighten up the living room, lock the front door, and maybe change into my pajamas before falling into bed.  Maybe.

Advent is supposed to be a season when one has freedom to step back, reflect, spend time waiting, and enjoy the quiet.  Kind of like the time of day just before the sun rises.  Calm, peaceful, not yet fast-paced.  Since I’ve been in church music full-time, that’s not been my experience with Advent.  With Christmas coming, there are a truckload of details to cover.  Extra services to plan, extra people to engage in ministry, extra rehearsals to lead, and no extra time to sit & enjoy the quiet.

If you know me at all, you know that I am most often running a few minutes behind.  I’m not necessarily late.  I’m just behind the schedule I’ve set for myself.

[Sometimes I am late.  I think my mom knows that when I say I'll meet her around 12:30, I'll probably arrive around 12:45.]

[Ok...I have a feeling that Ryan would probably encourage me to change 'sometimes' to 'most times.'  I think he's probably right.]

I don’t often find myself with a big block of time to enjoy the quiet.  So I really soak up the few minutes here and there that I am forced to be still.  Like staff devotions before our weekly meeting.  Or sitting at the kitchen table while Benjamin (World’s Slowest Eater) finishes his meal.  Or holding Annie’s hand while she calms down before drifting to sleep.  Or at 11:30pm after I’ve finished cleaning the living room and kitchen, and I lean against the countertop to enjoy some popcorn and M&Ms.  Or listening to a song that Ryan wants me to hear as we drive somewhere.

Tonight the pizza and cheese bread is still on the counter.  Clothes need to be folded.  And I thought I’d take the time to churn out a new post.

[UPDATE: Life sure is full...we had pizza on Friday night, when I wrote the majority of this post.  It's now Sunday night as I finish it!  Don't worry - the pizza and cheese bread aren't still on the counter tonight.  I needed some room for the M&M cookies to cool!]

I’ve said it before… this blog is my virtual baby book for Benjamin – and now Annie.  It’s here that I record how they grow, what they learn, and who they’re becoming.  So if that’s true, I’ve gotta give some updates!! 

Annie…

is growing so fast.  Holy cow.  She’s 2.5 months already!  A few weeks ago she had her 2-month well baby check up; she was right around the 70th percentile for all her measurements.  She weighed 11.5 pounds, and I’d guess that she’s around 12 now.  She went through a few days of almost solid sleep and has started to fill out some of her 3-6 month outfits.

In the morning, I’ll typically have to wake her up to get her dressed and fed and ready to go.  Once she finally opens her eyes, she gives me a gigantic smile.  I’m talking humongous.  It’s almost as if she’s communicating, “Oh – my – goodness – gracious – I – can’t – believe – it’s – you – Mom!!!!!!!!!!”  It’s so wonderful … I can’t even describe it.  She’s really a happy baby.

She will hang out pretty much anywhere and sometimes she’ll fall asleep while waiting for me to finish some housework.  A week ago, I was folding clothes and switching clothes from washer to dryer and putting a new load in the washer; Annie was in the doorway to the laundry room laying on the carpet.  After a few minutes, I looked down and she was out.  Asleep.  Tonight, I’d put her in pajamas and buckled her to the changing table pad while I emptied the diaper pail and -surprise, surprise- started a load of laundry.  When I walked back in the kids’ bathroom (where her changing table is) … totally zonked.  Down for the count.  So cute. 

And here.  She’d just gotten her shots, I’d fed her, and then I bundled her up to go home.  Zzzzzzz…

"I love Dr. O. this much!"

Annie is starting to twist and turn.  Though she’s not figured out the rolling over part, she’s starting to kick her legs over.  That means I can’t just leave her on my desk anymore while I run to the copy machine.  She still spends one day a week at work with me and she’s great company.  Some days she’ll sleep the entire time, or wake up around noon to eat and play for 15-20 minutes before napping again.  If she gets a little fussy, I’ll lay her across my desk while I work & she’ll fall asleep.  But no more of the ‘don’t worry, she can’t roll over yet’ thinking!   Yikes – or else we might have a tumble on our hands.

Annie, aka "PaperWeight"

Funny how, with the second child, I am not in tune with the milestone calendar.  Not at all.  With Benjamin, I had “What To Expect the First Year” right next to the rocking chair.  I know I still have it, but I’m afraid it’s buried in a moving box in the garage.  Rolling over?  Laughing?  Sitting up?  I have no clue when these things should be happening.

Annie is so responsive to touch.  I mentioned this earlier… when it’s time for her to go to sleep, she’ll often fight it unless someone is holding her hand.  She takes a pacifier once in a while, normally just as she falls asleep; but even with the pacifier, Annie loves to cuddle close & hold your hand.  It calms her right down.  I’m talking within seconds.   In the last week or so Annie has been cooing quite a bit, making all sorts of cute sounds like oo-ing and gurgling.  She is drawn to her big brother and whenever he’s in the room, she watches him.  I can tell her vision is improving, as she can recognize our faces from a distance.

She’s gone to see Santa (although she just slept in her stroller while Benjamin talked to Santa on her behalf), has a stocking marked with the letter ‘A,’ and has her Christmas outfit all ready to go.  What a blessed Christmas we’ll have this year. 

Benjamin…

Is a riot.  He is a hoot!  His language and vocabulary are stinking amazing some days.  I’m especially enjoying this particular season as we approach Christmas.  We have such in-depth conversations about Santa Claus and Christmas.  Benjamin is really interested in singing lately.  He knows all the words to Jingle Bells and will imitate the melody and rhythm of the song, though not totally on pitch.  (“Take Me Out to the Ballgame” is really fun to sing now, since he’s starting to match my pitch as I sing along with him.)  He also sings Frosty the Snowman and Santa Claus is Comin to Town.  He loves the songs from Pete’s Dragon, and his new favorite movie musical is The Wizard of Oz.

The Wizard of Oz.  This could be a post of its own.  (And it probably should have been!)  We went to see a high school production in mid-November with my parents.  The night before we saw the show, I told Benjamin the story before bedtime.  The next day, we talked a bit about the story as we drove down to West Union.  By the time we got to my parents’ house, Benjamin could retell most of the story by himself.  The way he comprehends and remembers stories and songs is remarkable.  During the show, B sat on Grandpa Don’s lap the entire time and was engrossed in the musical.  As soon as Dorothy met the Scarecrow, Benjamin asked, “Where’s da Tin Man?  Where’s da Wion?”  He sings parts of the songs now, and if we’re in a building or mall that has a different colored carpet or tile in a hallway, he’ll tell me that we’re “fowowing da yellow brick road.”  You know the part in the movie where the four friends march down the road and they move their arms up and down?  I’ve seen him doing that a couple of times…in the grocery store, at the church, in our living room.  We’re no longer surprised when, after being asked what he’d like for a meal, he answers with edible items followed by: “…and I need some courage.”  Benjamin loves, loves, loves this movie.

He’s just started to sing “If I Were King of the Forest.”  That is hilarious!

After seeing the stage production we had the chance to meet the characters afterwards.  Benjamin shook hands with the Lion and the Tin Man and a Munchkin.  He wanted to see Dorothy, but she was standing too close to the Wicked Witch.  Needless to say, we stayed away.  Even now – out of the blue – Benjamin will remark, “I don’t wike da Bad Witch.  I wike da Good Witch.  Her name’s Gwinda.  From da Norf Pole.”

Potty training is still a work in progress.  That’s all I have to say about that.

Benjamin now counts objects correctly.  He’ll be right on the dot if there are 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 objects.  When there are more than six, he just keeps counting and counting.  He’s beginning to distinguish his ‘-teen’ numbers, rather than saying ‘thirteen’ over and over.  Which is pronounced ’surpteem,’ by the way.  Benjamin has begun to use his hand when he counts, although the coordination is still getting there.  Three is kinda tricky, and four is kinda skipped.  But he’s got 1, 2, and 5 down pat!

A new ritual, of sorts, has taken shape over the last few weeks.  Benjamin collected a load of candy on Halloween.  We keep it in his Halloween basket on top of the fridge.  Each day, as I pull in our driveway after work and daycare I hear this: “I think I would wike a piece of candy of my Hawoween baskwet.”  Our little stinker loves candy so much that he’s been caught pulling a chair over to the counter, climbing on top of the counter in order to reach on top of the fridge (moving a big cereal box, mind you) to get to his Hawoween baskwet.  He also did the chair–>counter trick when we kept the vitamins on the bottom shelf.  Mommy and Daddy now keep the vitamins on the top shelf, way in the back, after I discovered him eating his gummy vitamins out of the bottle.  So much for child-proof lids.

A few days ago we were brushing our teeth before bedtime.  He likes to look inside my mouth because I look inside his to see if new teeth are poking through.  (He still needs some top molars.)  “Mom!  You have corn teeth!”  After a quick peek for myself, I acknowledged that I do indeed have corn teeth.  I never noticed that molars kinda look like corn.  Leave it to an observant two-and-a-half year old!

Benjamin had the chance to meet Santa Clause at the mall on Friday.  It was completely different than last year’s experience, let me tell ya!  Perhaps I’ll save the details for another post this week, and hopefully I can scan our Santa picture to share here.  B was SO excited to see Santa that he wouldn’t even wait until Daddy joined us later that afternoon.  (Sorry, Dad.)

Ok – time to publish!  Hopefully some wonderful pictures will be shared this week, if I get my act together.  Our family had our very first photo shoot on Saturday, and I’ll share all the details (and pics) very soon!  It was awesome – so much fun. 

Good night!

October Pix

Disclaimer: although I’ve located my camera, my camera cord is still MIA.  Please enjoy the following photos, courtesy of my iPhone. 

Not too bad for a phone camera, eh?

 

 

Bathtime: the cure for all fussy fits

Big brother, little sister. Awwww.

Exploring the bear cave at REI!

c'mon Annie, work with us...

Doing what she does best.

Passing out Halloween candy with Mom...to our *one* trick-or-treater. We had a lot of leftover candy.

Really, Mom? Really? Did you hafta?

Our little girl - seven weeks old already!

I tried to upload a picture of Benjamin’s spooky ghost costume on Halloween, but the file isn’t being recognized.  I’ll have to get some more pictures off my camera this week… Benjamin went trick-or-treating in full costume, including hair and makeup!  He was so excited to get ready.  We managed to get his entire face painted white, and Ryan did a great job with his spooky black eyes.  B wasn’t so sure about all the hair stuff at first, but he really liked to see the finished product; luckily his hair is long & thick and it made a great finishing touch to his ghost look this year!  Halloween was always so much fun at the Kamaus house, with lots of makeup and creative touches, and few store-bought costumes (I think – right, Mom?).  I hope we can make those same memories for Ben and Annie! 

My husband is awesome.

B and I just found out via Twitter that Daddy won Best Overall Costume at the agency Halloween party!

 

Completely awesome.  Can’t wait to show you all his costume! 

Did you miss us?

Whoa… sorry for disappearing for a while.  It’s been a full and lovely couple of weeks.  I had hoped to blog more often – you know, since I’m sure you’re all waiting patiently for some more glimpses of the new wee one.  But it just didn’t happen.

I’ll try to get you all up-to-date.

 

Benjamin Buckwheat

Whenever someone asks his name, that is what he’ll tell them.  He won’t use his last name – or even his middle name – but the nickname from Grandpa Don.  Benjamin Buckwheat is a growin’ boy.  Man – he seems absolutely huge compared to the little one sleeping on my chest right now.  Benjamin is officially between 2 and 3, and I remember that this time last year was HARD.  Difficult.  Exhausting.  I read something that said the ‘halves’ are the hardest age.  Something about growing.  The brain?  The bones?  I don’t know.  So far, this fall hasn’t brought the terrible sleeping patterns (as in: waking up multiple times in the middle of the night and crying) that made last fall infamous in our house.

The reason?

Benjamin just doesn’t want to sleep.  Showing his stubborn side, he will fight and fight bedtime until his body waves the white flag.  I think it knows that it needs every minute of sleep it can get before morning.  This week, we’ve been purposely moving our bedtime routine much, much earlier.  Bath right after supper, then teeth-brushing, then storytime, then into bed.  He still runs out of his room a number of times.  We’ll still look up the stairs and find the light on in the loft (his toy room).  But we’re getting there.  And at least Benjamin is finally dozing off around 9:30pm, rather than 11:15pm.

I’m not kidding.  The clock said 11:15 on … when was it? … Saturday?  Sunday?  One of those days.

Benjamin has started singing.  He’s always  loved music, but hadn’t really sung anything until a few weeks ago.  He likes to sing “Brazzle Dazzle Day” from Pete’s Dragon and “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”  He’ll also sing Happy Birthday.  October is Mom’s birthday, Dad’s birthday, and Grandma Ardath’s birthday.  Adding a few birthdays of co-workers and friends, we’ve celebrated a lot of birthdays.  Benjamin sang Happy Birthday to Annie yesterday.  It was very sweet.

B has an ear-piercing scream.  Luckily he doesn’t use it that much – but unfortunately it’s most often used in the bathroom.  Where there is no carpet to soak up the reverberation.  Let’s just say this:  OUCH.

Speaking of bathroom, he is in Size 6 diapers.  This means tha he must become potty-trained or stop growing.  Either/or.  Because there are no Size 7s.  He doesn’t have a phobia of the toilet – he’ll sit on it when we ask him to sit there.  He’ll even go most of the time.  He’s excited when it works.  He just doesn’t have any interest at all in figuring out when he needs to pee.  We’ve started a potty chart and we’re hoping it’ll help.  Perhaps some incentive is what he needs.  He has cool underwear to look at – and it will be nice when he wants to start wearing them.

Benjamin is such a sweet, sweet boy.  He is a great helper.  Even if he’s playing with a toy or doing some project, if we ask him to help us he’ll stop what he’s doing (most of the time) and help.  He talks to Annie when she’s crying, saying: “It’s OK, Annie.  It’s OK.  It’s just fine.”  He also lets us know when the baby is crying – but he’ll do it by asking a question.  Instead of, “Annie’s cryin’, Mom,” he’ll say: “Is Annie cryin’, Mom?” when it’s very evident that yes, she is cryin’.  Wailin’, even.

We took a stroll to the park this week when the sun showed up (finally!).  Benjamin rode his little red trike ALL the way to the park & back.  The trip home was much slower … probably due to the fact that we’d gone to the park since B hadn’t taken a nap.  Rather than fighting him or forcing him, I decided to wear him out.  B would pause along the way back home: “I’m just tired, Mom.”  Mission accomplished.    It was our first walk outside with the baby.  It’s just been too cold and windy and rainy.  Let me tell you, it felt so good to get out of the house and walk around (somewhere other than a mall!).

Two and a half weeks ago, Benjamin was sick.  He was sick for about a week.  We’re the type of family that doesn’t go to the doctor too often…we figure that things will just run their course.  I didn’t take B to the doctor, though I thought about it more than once.  After he was finally well I started to feel bombarded with news about H1N1.  It was on the TV, in the newspaper, not to mention all of Facebook seemed to be sick.  Benjamin was well, but I wonder if he’d come down with a mild case of the flu during that week.  He had many of the symptoms – even throwing up one morning all over the living room.  [Sidenote: that was gross.]  Ryan will tell you that now I’m a little freaked by this whole H1N1 thing, mostly because we have an infant in our house now.  We invested in a good thermometer, and for the time being I’ve given up my motto of it’ll-all-just-work-itself-out-in-a-couple-days regarding sickness.  We’re all healthy now, so I’m praying it stays that way.

 

Benjamin makes us laugh every single day.  Two nights ago I clipped his nails in the bathroom before he hopped in the tub…

Wow, Benjamin.  Your fingernails are SO dirty.

[leaning forward, whispering to me] “Yes.  It’s because I eat so much, Mom.”

 

We carved our pumpkin the other night.  Benjamin had picked a pumpkin with Grandpa Tim, and it was finally time to make a Jack-O-Lantern.  We had talked about this for quite awhile and Benjamin knew what was going to happen.  He didn’t know, however, what the inside of a pumpkin would look like.  He knew that there was ooey-gooey stuff inside.

And he is definitely his mother’s child because he didn’t want to touch that ooey-gooey stuff.  Not a bit.

He helped Dad punch the carver into the pumpkin face and B got to remove the eyes and nose and mouth.  Mommy got to scoop out (and clean up) all the ooey-gooey stuff while the boys watched.  Pictures were taken.  The ooey-gooey stuff may or may not have been held over B’s head while he said, “No, Mommy!  No!”  It was a lovely evening. 

 

Annie Baby

Annie will be six weeks old this Saturday!  Now that is hard for me to believe.  Even more hard to believe?  That I return to work on Monday.  More on that later.

Annie is a doll.  An absolute doll.

Her current favorites?  Sleeping, eating, looking at lights, watching faces around her, baths, crying like a woodland creature, making silly faces, farting, burping like a champ, getting her diaper changed, and her yellow flannel swaddle-me.

Annie spoils me with her sleeping habits at night.  After a very fussy period from about 8:30-10:30pm, she’ll go down for the night.  Perhaps she’ll wake up around 2:30am to eat, but then she’ll go right back to sleep and wake up around 7am.  Then it’s back to sleep after she eats.  She’s a great sleeper during the day if we’re out and about.  If we stay home, though, she’ll be alert more of the morning.

She has grown a lot, but I couldn’t tell you how much.  Because our scale is packed away somewhere in some moving box.  She’ll go back to the doctor for her two-month checkup in mid-November.  Until then, it’s just a guessing game!  Her newborn clothes no longer fit and she’s solidly in 3-month outfits now.  She’s got many-a-cute-dress that I can’t wait to put on her, complete with nice warm leggings.  It will be wonderful to introduce her to the church family once I return to work.

Her favorite time of the day seems to be bathtime.  She loves her bathtub.  In fact, I don’t think she’s squealed once during a bath yet!  The kids’ bathroom gets nice and steamy during bathtime, and the lights are bright.  Annie – like most babies – is fascinated by lights.

She doesn’t cry all that often.  However.  When she wails, it is the saddest sound you may ever hear.  She sounds like a woodland creature – and when I find some sound bytes of woodland creatures I’ll let you know which exact one it is.  I remember that cry from the moment she was born.  You know, I can’t even describe it.  Maybe we’ll just have to get it on video so you can experience it for yourself.

Annie will often purse her lips together or make an “O” with her mouth.  Her eyebrows are perhaps the most expressive part of her face right now … she’ll raise them up, furrow them, inch one up to be inquisitive, and even somehow make them droop after she’s been crying.  She has a precious face.  Tiny ears, delicate eyes, round lips (thank you, Daddy), and a wonderful color.

Bodily functions are working properly.  This girl can burp and fart and poop with the best of them.

Annie has a little flannel swaddle-me wrap that I’ve been using at night.  Boy, that calms her down towards the end of her fussy time.  When she can’t flail her arms she’ll settle down pretty quickly.  It also helps that her moving arms and grabby fingers can’t pop the pacifier out of her mouth by accident.

 

Ryan

…is a Planner!!!  He was offered a full-time position at the advertising agency downtown in the Big City where he has been interning since June.  Yay, Daddy!!!!  We had hoped and hoped and hoped and prayed and prayed that his internship would end with a job offer and it did.  Ryan has been working so very hard for these past five months; I know he is beyond excited to be a planner at this agency.  If you’re curious to know what an Account Planner does, you can read about it here.  The planner is the expert at working with information and getting it used.  When Ryan first learned about this field, this is what he sent to me to read.  He loves what he does, and I love hearing about it.  And I love going to places to take his little surveys about brands and products.

Today was the agency’s Halloween party.  Ryan’s costume was rockin’ – and I’ll post a picture of it later on.  Creative, homemade, and awesome.  Who you gonna call?

 

Katie

…returns to work on Monday!   I feel bittersweet about that.  I’m excited to get back to work and regain some sort of a schedule.  Being home with both kiddos is wonderful and exhausting, and I’m thankful for the intellectual and creative outlet that work gives me.  I will miss the sleeping in, though.  And the staying up late at night because I don’t have to turn on my brain for hard thinking in the morning.  Yep.  I’ll miss that.

And I’ll miss afternoon TV on TLC.  I love the Duggar family.

It’s an exciting return for me, however, because I’m returning in a new and expanded role.  I’ll be working at the church as the Director of Worship and Music Ministries.  My first week back will include conversations about what my role means for me and the ministries at the church.  But I do know that my expanded role will include the creative work of planning the worship life of the congregation, and I’m very excited about that.  I’ve had a bit of a break in terms of worship planning, and that break has been very good.  I’m looking forward to jumping back in now.  I’ll be working with absolutely excellent partners at the church, and I feel blessed.  Not to mention that the new job makes me eligible for providing benefits for our family – and for that we are extremely grateful.

I also gladly accepted the offer of a new office with a window.  Yesssssssss.

I returned to choir rehearsals after just four weeks away, and I have been blown away at how much they’ve learned and grown during my maternity leave.  My friend and colleague, Miss Colleen, has done such an excellent job with the kids!  We sing later next month during a church-wide celebration Sunday…and what a blessing to have these 60 children offer their voices on that special day.

I love my job.

Too bad I can’t go to work in my sweatpants… guess I’m gonna have to find a pair of pants that fit! 

 

In other news, Ryan found my camera.  It was hiding.  The posts of the kids since Annie’s birth were taken on my cell phone.  I’m glad to have an actual camera around again.  Ha!

And now I need to eat lunch.  At 2:30pm.

 

 

 

Look for pictures later this week.  Until then… much love to you all!

 

 

Pickles, Sleep, and Pictures

Both kids are napping and I’m finishing lunch – so I thought I’d give you all a quick update on life with toddler + baby.  Ryan made a fantastically delicious meal last night…chicken parmesan, garlic cheese bread, and sauteed mushrooms.  And he was thoughtful to leave the leftovers for us to eat today!  Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.  The last few days, Annika and I have been taking a nap together right around 5:30pm, so Dad and Benjamin have been cooking supper for us.  Thank you, honey – the leftovers taste wonderful, too.

We went home from the hospital on Monday, right around lunchtime.  Annie and I had gotten cleared to leave by my OB and her pediatrician by 10am and I had packed up most of our things the previous night.  But…we still hadn’t picked out Annie’s middle name and we needed it for her birth certificate information.  After talking another 45 minutes about a few names we’d liked, we decided on Rae.  Both kids have family names – Benjamin’s middle name is Fredrek, which is my Grandma Erma’s maiden name (with a different spelling).  Annika’s middle name is Rae, which is Ryan’s middle name (Ray).  Benjamin will keep the Houts name, obviously, so we thought Annie needed a name from her dad’s side since she’ll likely lose Houts when she gets married.  Benjamin’s first name is a family name on my mom’s side – and I’m not sure whether it’s on Ryan’s side as well, although I’d bet it is…somewhere down the line!  I’ve always liked the name Annie and after we discovered the name Annika, we stopped talking about other possibilities.  My middle name is Ann, so our daughter has both of our middle names.

We like to know the meaning of the names, too, and try to pick names that are meaningful.  For example – Annika means “grace, favor.”  We’re fairly certain that either Benjamin or Fredrek means “pickle.”  Honestly, Benjamin could eat pickles for every meal of every day and not get sick of them.  Here he is at the Minnesota State Fair – he ate this entire thing:

I got a pickle, I got a pickle, I got a pickle - hey, hey, hey, hey!

So although we were really comfy in the hospital…

good & swaddled

…and enjoyed our time there with the wonderful doctors and friendly nurses (who kept bringing Mommy her toast with butter and jam at all hours of the day and night) and slept soooooo well in our hospital room…

cuddling with Mom

…it was time to go home.

All ready!

Good thing that Benjamin was there to help…  (notice the cool big brother watch he’s sporting on his wrist!)

Cheese!

…and to make funny faces when necessary…

"Wike dis....oooooooo!"

…but it was too bad that he forgot to bring his green camera to record the moment…

"Smile, Mom!"

Baby Annie sleeps well at home, too…

Zzzzzzzzzzzzz

…and big brother Benjamin is smiley and goofy as always.

“]

yes, we still have a few moving boxes yet to put away [sigh

Bathtime was fun this morning…

"Take my picture, Mom!"

…and Annie discovered her reflection in the mirror…

The first of many mornings in front of the mirror, I suppose.

…and Benjamin decided to empty the little pink wash bucket by himself.

He almost made it into the sink.

Most of it went on the floor, though.

He learned that it’s best to let Mom empty that bucket.  (This is a “before” pic.)

Ben: "This water is warm, Mom!" Annie: "No pictures, please."

So that’s life at our house!  The nurse visited our place this noon and checked baby Annie.  She has gained all her birthweight back, plus 2 oz – so that’s awesome.  Her temp is great and she is just the slightest bit jaundiced, but nothing to be concerned about at all.  This is day 5, anyway, and jaundice usually peaks between days 3-5.  I was most worried about the jaundice because of her positive Coombs test and it was good to know that everything is looking good.  The nurse couldn’t stop saying what a beautiful baby she was…and of course, that’s wonderful for Mom to hear. 

She also commented on what a smart and assertive boy Benjamin is.  (Another proud moment for Mom.)   When he’d run into the living room to do whatever, the nurse told me that he listens extremely well for having a new sibling.  She notices that older siblings often rebel by ignoring Mom or refusing to help.  “He’s such a good helper, always doing what he’s asked to do – and with a smile on his face, too!”  Benjamin has been a terrific big brother so far.  When he comes home from daycare or from a trip with Dad, he’ll run into the house and ask, “Mom!  Where’s Annie??”  He has adjusted remarkably well to having Annie in the house.  We’ve tried to keep things as normal as possible.  I think he understands that when I’m feeding Annie, I can’t get up to do other things.  Last night, while he was playing at his table with playdough, he noticed that I’d finished feeding her.  As soon as I’d finished, he asked, “Mom, tan you put Annie down?  Tan you tome here and hewp me make a fwower (flower)?”  We are so very thankful for our big boy!

Annie is such a mellow baby!  She sleeps a LOT and when she’s awake and alert she’s content to sit in the boppy and look around the room.  She loves to look at faces and is mesmorized by the lamp on our bed frame.  What a special, beautiful little girl!  A friend of mine stopped by to visit yesterday, and she is convinced that Annie is so mellow and relaxed because of all the singing I did while she was in utero.  Who knows – maybe there’s a correlation somewhere!

Well…I’m going to throw a batch of banana bread together while the kids are still resting.  I’m continuing to feel good – Annie is giving me good rest at night, and Benjamin has slept the entire night since we brought her home.  Ryan is back to work today, and though I know he was grateful for a few days of “rest,” he was looking forward to getting back.  CONGRATULATIONS to him…he graduated from Miami Ad School two weeks ago, and Benjamin and I got to go to the graduation reception…

standing up with his class of fellow account planners, receiving their dog tags

Way to go, Dad!

All for now!

Welcome, Baby Annie!

INTRODUCING…

Annika Rae Houts

Born at 5:24am :: September 19, 2009

7 lbs 7 oz :: 20 1/4 inches

What a wonderful weekend!  Beautiful baby Annie arrived right on time – her due date was, indeed, 9-19-09 & she was punctual.  (She gets that from her dad.)  For those of you who like the details of labor and delivery and postpartum, this post is for you.

I’d been having contractions since last Sunday evening (9/13), and after my doctor tried to strip some membranes on Thursday morning (I was just dilated to 1cm at that point) the contractions became more noticeable.  Friday morning, around 8:30, I started to time them.  They stayed between 5-8 minutes apart, but they were strong enough that I needed to keep moving through them.  Luckily I hadn’t planned on working that day.  Benjamin and I spent the morning at home, eating Pillsbury cinnamon rolls & bananas for breakfast and packing his overnight bag.  We went to the church around noon so I could finish up the last of my to-do list and came home around 1:30.  He didn’t go down for his nap until close to 3:30 … maybe he knew something wasn’t quite normal.  Ryan and I had been texting and talking throughout the day, and we’d decided that we wouldn’t go to Braden and Rebecca’s wedding that evening.  We were bummed – we were really looking forward to seeing old friends and celebrating with Braden & Rebecca at their very cool wedding and reception!  Ryan was able to keep tabs on the event through twitter updates and twitpics…so thanks to everyone who was posting about the wedding!

By 8:00pm, I knew it was about time to head to the hospital.  We drove to my cousin Susie’s house, where Benjamin would spend the night.  Thanks, Susie and Chris, for taking care of him!  We’d explained to Benjamin that when it was time for Baby Annie to come out of Mommy’s tummy, he would get to go to Brianna’s house.  Mommy and Daddy would go to the hospital so the doctors could help get the baby out, and then Daddy would come back to get him when Annie was here.  It seemed like he understood the chain of events and he didn’t have any problems when we were ready to leave.  After we made sure B was ok for the night, Ryan and I drove to the hospital.  We were both calm – excited of course, but really pretty calm.  When we got to the family birth place at the hospital and checked in, I sensed that the nurses didn’t think I was in labor.  To be quite honest, I was hoping they wouldn’t send us home to wait longer.  I really didn’t want to miss my window of opportunity to get an epidural…so even though my contractions were still 3-5 minutes apart and not too terribly, horribly painful (I could still talk through them) I thought, better too early than too late!  Luckily the floor wasn’t busy at all and we got settled in our room right away.

The contractions I’d been having hadn’t been doing too much, because I was still at 1cm when the nurse checked me.  Pretty soon they started intensifying and they ordered the epidural.  Hallelujah!  (I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m a wimp.)  By 11:30, the anesthesiologist was finished.  He must have had some difficulty, because it took a lot longer than I remember with Benjamin.  And it hurt a lot more.  And I have two holes in my back.  For the next 3 hours, I had no pain with contractions…but my legs and feet and butt were tingling.  I was so unbelievably uncomfortable and restless; there was no amount of massaging or trying to move my legs that would get rid of the icky feeling.  You know when your foot falls asleep?  That’s what it felt like for a solid 3 hours.  I didn’t complain, because I knew I’d much rather experience that feeling than the actual contractions.  I was just wishing that I could rest while my body did its work.  Ryan slept on the hard pull-out recliner thing and my body finally relaxed around 2:30 and I could sleep.  The nurse had started some pitocin to help speed things up; after she started the med, my body started to do its own thing & so she turned the pitocin down.  I went to 7cm quickly, and by 4:15 I was fully dilated and ready to go.  I started to push around 4:45am, and we met baby Annie 40 minutes later!

She gave us a hearty cry right away and she got to rest on my tummy for a good five minutes after the delivery.  That was really special for me; when Benjamin was born, the doctor put him on my tummy but it was only for a glance before they whisked him away to get cleaned up.  After a few good cries, Annie showed her mellow personality and looked up at us with her big, dark eyes.  I remember thinking how beautiful she looked with her chubby cheeks, lean body, and head full of dark black hair.  When the nurses picked her up, we found out that she was over a pound lighter than her big brother (he weighed 8 lbs, 13 oz) at 7 lbs, 7 oz.  Her little head didn’t get squished at all – quite unlike her brother.    Annie was hungry right away and took to nursing really easily.

I’d wondered how my body would recover from the epidural this time around.  With Benjamin’s delivery, my lower half stayed numb for a good 9-10 hours following delivery.  I was glad that my body recovered much quicker with this delivery.  I was able to move around by 8:30 or 9:00am – just 3 hours after delivering Annie.  During labor and delivery, I had more sensation with this epidural too … I didn’t feel any pain, but it was easier to push when a contraction was coming.  Overall, recovery has been a pleasant surprise with this baby.  My body really feels great, all things considered!  I’m sure it helped that Annie is a smaller baby; the doctor didn’t have to do much repair at all, he told me.  My back is pretty sore, still, either from the epidural or from the delivery.  My tummy is a little tender, but I really don’t have much soreness anywhere.

Annie loves to cuddle!  Ryan had gone home to spend the night with Benjamin on Saturday and Sunday; so although I was looking forward to the time alone, I was nervous about how the nights would go…alone.  On Saturday night Annie slept for some good 2-3 hour stretches; I was restless and ended up watching tv here and there, reading blogs, dozing off.  Sunday night she gave me a real treat: she slept from 11:30pm until 5:00am.  She slept beside me in my hospital bed; like I said, she seems to prefer to be close to someone rather than alone in her bassinet.  It was wonderful to sleep for a solid five hours; I woke her up at 5am to feed her since I knew the lab people were coming at 6am to prick her heel.  When Annie’s bloodwork came back after she was born, we found out that she is more susceptible to jaundice based on her Coombs test results.  Her bilirubin level was checked after the doctor saw her bloodwork result, and luckily the bilirubin number was nice and low.  Before we left home today, they had elevated a bit; so we’ll need to keep an eye on her color.

Benjamin was so excited to meet his baby sister.  He calls her “Annie Baby.”

He likes to get up close for a good look, and often smiles or giggles, saying “Awww, she’s so cute!”  He likes to kiss her forehead and tickle her feet.  When she cries – which luckily isn’t too often right now (since she sleeps so much), he’ll say – “Mommy!  Feed her pwease!” or “It’s ok, Annie baby.”

When we were checking out at the birth center desk this noon, Benjamin was waiting patiently and he started to read the letters that were mounted on the front of the nurses’ station counter: THE FAMILY BIRTH PLACE or something like that.  He started to point at each letter, and we were amazed:

“T, H, E,

F, K (he always says ‘k’ in place of ‘a’ for some reason), M for mom, L (he doesn’t differentiate ‘i’ and ‘l’ yet), L, Y for Super Why (that’s a show on PBS),

B for Ben, L, R for Grandma Ardath (ha – I laughed out loud at that one!), T, H,

P…”

Impressive.  I had no idea he could recognize all those letters!

So – I’ll leave you with our new family photo!  Thank you for all your prayers and good thoughts…we are blessed!

One-tenth

The doctor’s appointment went well…baby is sounding happy with a heartbeat in the 130-140’s.  I’m measuring at 39 weeks, and it seems that I’m dilated to 1cm.  So we’re one-tenth of the way there.

Looks like we’ll get to go to the wedding tomorrow night!

Today I didn’t go to the church at all.  It’s been a couple weeks since I’ve had a complete day away from work, so it was really nice.  And it felt a bit odd.  Benjamin and I spent the morning at the doctor’s office; after my appointment, we stopped by his pediatric clinic so I could reschedule the flu shot appointment I totally spaced off last Tuesday night.  “Would you like to just do the flu shot now?“  How convenient!  So we did.  Benjamin sat on my lap and jumped when the needle went into his arm, but the nurse swiftly drew his attention to the bright yellow bandaid and I quickly mentioned the prize bucket.  No tears, no screams, no nothin’.  Except:

“A prize?  What kind of prize?” he asked.

“Whatever prize you want to pick,” I answered.

Of all the prizes – little plastic animals, army guys, squeaky fish, notepads – Benjamin’s attention went to a pair of yellow star-shaped sunglasses.  Which were obviously for girls.  I managed to convince him to choose a miniature green camera, and he’s been taking pictures all day.  It’s the tiniest camera I’ve ever seen, but it has a button that clicks and that’s all you really need.  I now have about 80 imaginary pictures of myself:

“Smiiile, Mom!”  [click]  “Awww…it’s a pretty picture of you!”  [B hands the pic to me]

And another 30 pictures have been “hung” by Daddy’s computer at home.

Benjamin helped me bake brownies today, and he got to lick the spatula for the first time ever.  You’d have thought that I’d given him the world.  “I tan wick it?!  Da brownie??”  And now we have a supply of brownies in the freezer.  Delicious!  I usually bake the brownies in muffin cups so that I can freeze the individual portions.  And if the brownies turn out on the done side, the coldness masks the slightly burnt taste.

We opened the crib soother toy that Benjamin picked out for the baby (“to help da baby sweep…I tan press the buttons for her.”) but the straps don’t really fit on the crib.  So we’ll see whether we keep it or exchange it for another model.  I’m excited for our sweet swing and diaper bag to arrive in the mail these next couple days – thanks, Grandma Marilyn!!  My co-workers at church threw a surprise baby shower for me last week, and so all those clothes — literally, a mountain of them! and all cute, cute, cute! — are washed and in drawers.  Hopefully we’ll manage to hang up the shelving in our laundry room this weekend so I can get the piles of towels and sheets and blankets out of the hallway.  It’s been such a hassle to fit my big belly into the laundry room around the piles lately – not to mention that sometimes it seems impossible to bend down and pick anything up off the floor.

If you spend any amount of time in our house, you’ll notice that Benjamin often carries around a black drumstick with him.  It’s his magic wand.  After reading the book Cinderella, Benjamin has been intrigued with magic.  At first, he carried around a yellow colored pencil.  Luckily we were able to substitute the sharp magic wand with a less dangerous model – the plastic drumstick.  Benjamin loves changing items around the house into something different.

“Bawwww-bee … BOO!”  (That’s short for ‘bibbidy bobbidy boo.’)  He likes to change my clothes into a beautiful white dress so that I can go to the palace.  He’s learned the words ‘beautiful’ and ‘delicious’ and ‘wonderful,’ and I always crack up a little bit when I hear him use those words.

Well, that’s it for tonight … good night!

Soon?

I’ve made it through another week of children’s choir rehearsals without going into active labor.  That’s a good thing.

There are 66 children in the choirs this year, which is awesome and incredible!  It’s a 264% increase from last year and I’m thrilled.  There are 37 little ones in the K-2 choir, and 29 students in the 3-4 grade choir.

Excellent parental support + well-behaved and enthusiastic kids (for the most part) + some really cool choir repertoire = a great start to the year!

Being 39 weeks, 5 days pregnant … well, let’s just say that I tire easily.  I’m looking forward to going back to choir rehearsals with some air support.  It’ll be nice to be able to hop and jump with the kids during singing games, not to mention getting up and down from the floor without almost falling over.

And then there’s the little kindergartener who randomly walks up to me in the middle of rehearsal to touch my tummy.  Yup…it’ll be nice not to deal with that any more.

Ha!

I’ve been experiencing contractions since Sunday evening.  We’ll see what the doctor says tomorrow morning…it’s my last appointment before baby is due to arrive.  I actually hope that baby stays put for a few more days, because we have a sweet wedding to attend on Friday night.  I’d hate to miss it … especially since Benjamin loves wedding dances so much.

We will do our best to post soon after baby girl is here!  But until then…post your Name Guess in the comments.  Who knows – maybe we’ll change our mind when we see what you suggest!

Good night!

We’re not friends. We’re pirates.

Welcome to the home stretch.

Baby Houts is almost here!  And I’m almost ready.  We have the blankets (dozens and dozens), a package or two of diapers to start us off, and a surprising number of clothes.  The borrowed bassinet is in our room, the car seat is ready to be installed in my car, and we’re pretty sure we know where the maternity ward is in the hospital.

These last couple weeks have been a whirlwind, to say the least.  I’ve been working and working and working to finish up plans for worship services and choir rehearsals so that I can enjoy some true time away from the office once the baby arrives.  But…two weeks ago, the other music/worship staff person resigned.  Now my days are [a bit] more full, working extra hours to make sure everything else regarding music and worship is set to go for the fall.  I’m also praying fervently that I don’t go into labor this week, because I’m now covering one of his weddings… this coming Saturday.  I’m glad that I can step in where I’m needed.  And I enjoy the work, the planning, and the creating.

But I’m looking forward to a break.

Ryan is almost finished with his classes, and he’ll present his final project and portfolio this week.  He has worked so very hard these last three months.  I think he’s ready for a break from an exhausting schedule, too.

Not that we’re considering a newborn “a break.”  But I’m ready for more time together as a family, less running around, and sitting on the couch without papers and a laptop in front of me.  I think my body is ready to be done being pregnant.  I’m ready for my clothes to fit again.  I’m ready to eat more meals together.  And I’m ready to meet this little one!

Benjamin is napping right now. We think he’s growing, because he takes loooooooong naps and cleans his plate at every meal.  Most nights, he’ll sleep all night long.  He is so excited to meet his baby sister, and lately he’s been carrying a wadded up blanket around, pausing to sway and “rock the baby.”  He’ll feed the imaginary baby a bottle, get her some toys to play with, and offer a kiss when the baby cries.  His imaginary play is so entertaining…and it really comes in handy when Mommy is too tired to get an actual toy.  We hand each other imaginary things and do lots of pretending at our house.

It will be wonderful and interesting and challenging to see how Benjamin begins to embrace the reality of a baby sister.  I know he’ll be a great helper and a fantastic big brother, but I’m not disillusioned in thinking that everything will be easy-peasey.  Benjamin craves physical touch and eye contact.  There are times when a sharp tone of voice will hurt him in a very obvious way.  He doesn’t throw tantrums, but when he’s frustrated he lets you know!  We’ve found the best way to snap him out of it is to physically hold him while we calmly & quickly explain the situation to him, and then distract him with something else.  So it will be a learning process for all of us as we become a family of four.

Of course we’re partial – but Benjamin is just so smart!  I had to visit a local music store to pick up the choral music order (one of those extra responsibilities), and Benjamin was with me.  On the way there, this was our conversation:

We’re going to the music store, Ben.  Mommy has to get some music.

And we tan see intruments!

Yes, there will be lots of instruments there.

Yes!  Trombones, and tubas, and trumpets, and French horns, and pianos, and fwutes, and twarinets, and saxophones, and drums, and guitars, and microphones!

Wow, you’re right!  Maybe we can even find something special to get for you.

Yes, a trombone!  And we tan get a tuba for you, Mom!

[And later, as we drove home and passed some road construction on the interstate...]

Whoa, Benjamin – do you see all those diggers out your window?

Yes, I see dem!  I see a digger, and two diggers, and five diggers!  And a drump truck!  And a crane!  A BIG crane.  And a skid woader.  And a forkwift!

Could you tell what kind of diggers and trucks they were?

Ummm…articuwrating (articulating) drump truck, and bottom-dump dump truck, and excavator digger, and endwoader digger!

[And later still, at suppertime...]

Mmmm…dis is yummy!  Tank you, Mom.

You’re welcome, Ben.  I’m so happy you like your food.

I’m so happy to eat it, Mom.  Wook!  I drink it, drink it, drink it aww up!

Super job!

And I eat it, eat it, eat it aww up!

Wow!  Where did all your food go?

I put it in my tummy, and it’s for my body.  And my muscles.  I have BIG muscles, Mom.

[And as we walk up the stairs to go to bed...]

(grabbing hands) I will hold your hand, Mom.  We are friends!  No, we’re not friends.  We’re pirates!

So – our little pirate is up from his nap, and it’s time to play. Many people have asked what we need for the new baby.  The last few days I’ve had fun registering for baby stuff at target.com – so if you’re wondering what our family might be able to use once the baby is here, our registry will give you some ideas.  There’s a big baby sale this week, so it was hard to just register and not put things in my shopping cart.  You can check out our registry here.

Go Ahead – Stick Your Butt Out

I had one of my final doctor’s appointments today.  We’re down to counting on one hand…five more scheduled appointments until D-day!  (and one of those five is actually after the due date, just in case.)  Baby Houts is sounding “perfect and happy,” according to the doctor, with a strong heartbeat in the 140s.  She’s twirling and kicking and stretching at the moment, throwing in a hiccup now and then.  For the past three months, I’d been consistently measuring about a week and a half small; now it seems she’s had a growth spurt.

Either that, or she was sticking her butt in the air.

Now, we’re measuring right on the button – 35 weeks.  I’m feeling good for the most part – just more tired with each day, and a bit more overwhelmed at what needs to be done before baby comes.  I’ve got a full plate at work, with some added worship responsibilities this fall; planning for my time away from work is a big task.  Today I put in a 12.5-hour day, and it felt like I barely scratched the surface of my T0 Do list.  Hopefully, the big-picture planning I finished today (it was for the two children’s choirs I’ll be leading, come September)  will allow me to crank out the week-by-week rehearsal plans fairly quickly.

My body reminds me to take regular breaks, and my wonderful Camelbak water bottle (in Berry) and Hot Tamales kept me company tonight.

My mom made a surprise trip to bring up a dresser for the kids’ room a week ago.  We spent that weekend washing baby clothes, unpacking baby toys and supplies that had been stored, and eating Culver’s custard.  Thanks, Mom!!  The white dresser got eight replacement knobs, which I painted bright red, lime green, plum purple, and orangey orange.  The kids’ room is coming together gradually.  I’ve been adding pops of color here and there … what fun!  An orange lamp here, a red/lime/purple mirror there.  Once it’s all complete, I’ll post some pictures.  Benjamin’s “side” has some bright homemade artwork in blue, lime, yellow, and red; baby girl’s “side” will have art in lime, red, purple, and orange.

The last project I hope to finish before the baby arrives is to hang their names above the beds, wooden letters attached to a painted canvas.  It’s fun to be crafty.

In other news, congrats to Ryan!  A few days before his internship was scheduled to end, he was asked to continue his work at the advertising firm downtown for the next couple of months.  Yahoo!  We are hopeful that this leads to a permanent position; he really loves doing what he does, and this agency seems to be a really great fit.

He also found out that he won’t need to be traveling in mid-September, the week the baby is due.  Ryan will be able to make that trip any time this year, and we are thankful!  That’s one less detail to worry about when it comes to labor and delivery.

And now, it’s off to bed.  Good night.