Money Well Spent

I think it must have been about 8 years ago, before we had kids, that Troy and I decided to invest a whopping 40 dollars into an inflatable swimming pool. I guess we just wanted something somewhat substantial that we could cool off in on a hot summer evening. I was hoping it would last a year or two, but I'm happy to report that the thing is still going strong. I can't believe we still have it, actually. It serves us well year after year. Yesterday was our city's first day in the 100's and we were so happy to have that pool! We invited some friends over and the kids had an absolute ball. The water was kind of grey and very grassy by the time we emptied the pool last night, which is always a sign of a good time had by all. I have to post some pictures of my friend's boys because they are a trio of future heart breakers.

Stomper Updates

How cute is this picture? I'll tell you. It's very cute, in case you were wondering. I did feel like a bit of a sucker when I was writing out a check for the soccer pictures. After all, this little summer soccer league isn't especially glamorous or super competetive or anything. But it's Stomper's first soccer experience and he's loving it. I just had to have the pictures, and I'm so glad I did because this picture turned out 10 times better than his school picture. I just love it!

Stomper was playing around on pbskids.org the other day and I guess one of the games is a little cooking thing where you help find the ingredients for something. Stomper got so excited because at the end of the game you can print out the recipe for the food you made. He really wanted to make this recipe for tuna salad. It had these strange ingredients in it. Things like green pepper and tomato. Honey, you recognize that there are actual vegetables in this, right? Well, I'm no dummy. I didn't actually ask him that. I just got him the ingredients and we made it together and then, (you'll never believe this,) he ate it. Well, most of it. I love you, pbskids.org.

Totally Hosed

I am in so much trouble! What am I going to do? I'm going to need some help, that's all I can say. Especially in about 10 years.

What's all the fuss about, you ask? This is what. Yesterday morning Bitty had ballet class, and it overlapped her swimming lesson by about 5 minutes. I was trying to get her to wear the bottom half of her swimming suit under her ballet leotard so the change could happen really fast. She refused, and when I asked her why she said, "Because all the kids in my class will think I look funny." (Oh man! Already?) I tried to assure her that she wouldn't look funny at all, that her leotard would cover the suit bottom. Then, get this. She says, "But mom! It will make my bottom look big!"

Oh crap. She's three.

A Baby Blessed

As was noted on facebook, I was still working on Bundle's blessing dress at 11:00 the night before her big day. Luckily the dress had been mostly finished since before she was born. I just had to add a lining, ribbon and a button. The reason I was doing it at 11:00 at night was because I had spend the rest of the weekend getting ready for the lunch after church at Peter and Sheri's place. Thus the procrastination. I suppose I couldn't possibly have done it any sooner than this weekend, right?

So yes, on Sunday, July 5th, we had the opportunity to give Bundle a special baby blessing in church. I really missed having my parents there. I was so happy my brother Peter was there to represent both my Dad and other brother Adam in the blessing, both of whom are far away right now. Peter is a rock. Troy's family were almost all there, and I thank them for taking the time to make it to us from near and far to be there. It was a lovely meeting, and the time spent afterwords eating and talking and being with beloved friends and family was wonderful. Unfortunately, my sweet mother in law was ill and couldn't be there. You were missed, Carol.


I'm so grateful that Bundle is here, safe, sound and sweet. I feel like I've learned a lot about faith in the past couple of years. When I got pregnant with Matthew and then when he passed away, I felt like Heavenly Father put the floor under my feet before I could even take a step. Does that make sense? The spirit was around me and Troy and helping us before we even had the chance to ask. I knew of His love for me and my family without a doubt, so much so that I actually treasure the experience of losing Matthew. And then when I felt that it was time to try for one more baby I learned (again - it's a lesson to be learned over and over) that sometimes I'm asked to take a step ahead before I know if there's a floor there or not. Bundle's pregnancy was much harder than I expected it to be, as far as trusting that she would make it here to our family if she was supposed to. And there was nothing I could do to control that, just trust in my Heavenly Father and put my fears in His hands. And now here I am with this warm pink Bundle and I am just thrilled. Matthew was certainly on my mind more than usual on Sunday, and in a good way. I celebrate what he gave me as much as I celebrate what Bundle now brings. I'm very grateful.

The First Annual, The...Fourth Annual?

I hope everyone had a lovely Independence Day this year - we did. Frankly, at this point in my life I was just hoping for a low key day that made my kids happy but didn't require much out of me. I'm pathetic.

This year we had a first. It was the First Annual Neighborhood Pancake Breakfast, hosted by our church. I think a lot of other churches/neighborhoods host something like this on the 4th of July every year, but with Troy being in our ward's bishopric he was quite involved in the planning and carrying out of the breakfast. Sorry honey, it was a total success and I'm sure you'll be doing it again next year! It was a lot of work for a lot of people but I really thought it was fun and went really well. Face painting, a 5K, pancakes and sausage and fruit - how could it go wrong?

We also enjoyed the ongoing (third? fourth?) annual tradition of spending the afternoon and evening at the home of The Becky. It's so mellow there - the kids just play and Becky and I can sit and....just sit. That's all we want. Her hubby grills up some burgers and then we have a lovely 7 p.m. fireworks display. It's not dark yet, but we're not telling the kids that the fireworks look better at night. It's not worth staying up for. Okay, maybe someday it will be, but not yet! Other years we have come home and had front-yard fireworks with our next door neighbors, but their son is growing up and spent the holiday with a friend, so we missed out on that impromptu tradition this year. Also in other years we've climbed up in the attic and watched the fireworks at the stadium from our attic window, but they didn't have them there this year. Fine by me. It was a nice day without a ton of hoopla. Just enough for the kids to enjoy it, for sure. We'll have more hoopla-filled Independence Days in the future. And for a funny and sort of true history lesson on the 4th of July, check out The Misty's Blog. I enjoyed that quite a lot.

The Hairdo

Oh Bitty. I love this picture. She was plugging her ears because Troy was on the back porch using a very loud chop saw. But that's not why I took the photo. I took it because it was about five in the afternoon and she still had a hairdo. You may not consider this to be miraculous, but around here it is, for a couple of reasons. One is that she let me put something in her hair in the first place. Most mornings it's all I can do to get a brush through her hair, not to mention any sort of accessory such as a pony tail or clip. And she's got this kind of thin straggly hair that always manages to look quite unkempt. It's lovely, don't get me wrong, it's just that I'd love to keep it out of her face. That would have been a whole lot easier since her bangs finally grew out except that I, for the second time, caught her red-handed with scissors in hand and hair on the floor. This time it was her freshly grown-out bangs. But that's another story.

The second reason that a hairdo is miraculous is that on the days I do convince her to have a clip or something, it generally lasts about an hour. Tops. That is because she has this funny way of coping when she gets really distressed about something. If she gets sad or upset, the first thing she does is tear out whatever is in her hair. I can't tell you how many times I've walked into the living room to see her standing there, tears in her eyes, absolutely enraged and pulling out whatever rubber band I had put in there along with a few hairs and stating, "I am never going to ________ again!" What's really funny is that if it's a no-hairdo day, she'll shed her clothes. What is it about removing clothing and/or accessories that helps her express her extreme sorrow and anger? It's pretty funny. And also frustrating.

But yesterday she went the entire day with her cute little ponies! I love them. I love how she looks with her hair pulled back. I'm so glad I caught this photo because it all got ripped out about 10 minutes later.

Afloat

I am so happy to report that my nose is above the waterline. It has taken a dip under a time or two, but since I foresaw eyeballs only above the line, I'm feeling pretty good. Bundle is 4 weeks old today, and it feels like I've never been without her. What a good baby. She has been our easiest baby by miles. I don't know if it's because I have mellowed out a great deal since we brought home Stomper, who was 4 lbs. 12 oz., 6 weeks early and born in the winter, (I was a little tense!), or if I've learned so much about baby care that I'm just better at it, or if Bundle is just naturally calm and a good sleeper. I think it's a combination of all of the above. (Okay, I have to admit that both Troy and I are a little alarmed by how little of Bitty's infancy we remember.) I'm just grateful that I get to enjoy Bundle as much as I do. And I SWEAR she is smiling regularly now. Anyway, things are good. Of course I do have those days where I'm all excited because everyone is dressed, I managed to shower and eat breakfast, and the dishes have not piled up beyond the top of the sink when I suddenly realize around mid-afternoon that I never brushed my teeth. But hey, that's still accomplishing an awful lot, even if I may be emitting offensive odors.


In an unrelated story I do have to report a statement made by Bitty. We were at her ballet class when I saw her doing a little mining. We've been doing battle over her booger consumption, but perhaps being in her lovely ballet clothes changed her image of herself because she pulled out a big gooey one, looked at it, handed it to me and stated, "Mom, this one is too yucky to eat." Whereupon the woman behind me promptly started choking.

The Spontaneous Family Reunion

We are always so happy when any/all/some of my brother Adam's family comes to town. This time it was just his (very pregnant) wife Whitley and their two kids, S & L. I was certainly not expecting the invitation that Whit extended to us - she stopped by late one afternoon to meet Bundle (she's so darling with babies, she makes you feel like your baby is absolutely the most delicious baby on the planet) and for the kids to play a bit. Then she took Stomper with her to spend the night with them up at her parents' home/cabin in Woodland. Man, was that a treat. Stomper needed a break from me, I needed a break from dealing with three kids, and Bitty needed some special attention from her mom, so it worked out perfectly. Stomper was gone for an entire 24 hours and had a ball. Whit reported that they just played and played and played. Just what the doctor ordered! Thank you! I am so grateful that S. and Stomper have each other - with my side in the family having only two boy cousins, we're so lucky that they are near in age and love each other. I'm so sad they live far away. (Though it sure is fun to visit them!)

Then on Monday night my sister Margaret generously offered to bring me dinner. That was also the last day I'd have to see Whit and the kids so I invited them to stop by any time. Their only chance to do so was that evening, so they were in on the dinner plans. Sheri (Peter's wife) was also really hoping to see Adam's family, so I told her I'd call when I heard from Whitley. Suddenly we had a little family reunion going on! We of course missed my parents, both of my brothers, and only two of the grandkids were missing - two of Margaret's girls. We missed them! But we were lucky to have that many kids together. We took lots of pictures and realized that we were taking one of those shots that would be really fun to look back on some day when all these kids are big.


It was at Christmas time that we took a picture of the three pregnant ladies. We're down to two now! (And they're still way hotter than me!) These sisters-in-law are due pretty much on the same day, so we'll see what happens there. Fun, huh!



Almost all the grandkids! K & H, next time you'd better be there. MG (the biggest girl there) was The It girl - all the little ones were grappling for her attention. Literally. Luckily no one dished out a bloody nose or anything but it was close.


The Sisters, both original and additional, and all dearly beloved by me. I have to say, I'm one lucky lady. It's been especially fun to have Sheri near by again because we've been able to spend a lot of time together.

Well, I'm grateful for family. This weekend we'll get to see pretty much all of Troy's family for Bundle's blessing, and I'm looking forward to that too. Family is a good thing. This is making me excited for Christmas when we'll have two more little babes here plus hopefully all the people that were missing this day. And thanks to my sister for bringing enough food for this troop. Actually, I don't think the kids ate much. They were too busy playing ring around the rosie and whacking each other with the bow and arrows.






The happy hosts. Don't I have a cute husband?

Baby Update

What with all my commentary on the big kids, I haven't posted any pictures of Bundle for a while! She has been such a good baby so far. Still sleeping well at night, going between four and six hours at a stretch, nursing well, pooping enough, content to hang out in a bouncy seat a couple of times a day, and napping in her bed. It actually seems rather miraculous and I hope she keeps it up. I can't get enough of her. I just have to smell her sweet little neck and kiss her soft cheeks every time I touch her. Happy.

Here's her first real bath a few days ago:




Her siblings are nuts about her. Isn't that nice? Going from two to three kids has been much easier than going from one to two, but that may be partly because Bitty is approaching her 4th birthday this summer, whereas Stomper was coming up on his 3rd when Bitty was born. Doesn't matter. All I know is that I'm not freaking out nearly as badly as I had planned on. (Am I the only person who plans on freaking out?)



Now, I know every parent thinks this, but I swear our kid is already smiling. This cute picture of her looks like she's just a content happy baby. I just missed catching her giving a huge grin to her daddy. It's happened a couple of times now where Troy has been holding her, she's looking into his eyes, and when he says something she just breaks out into a big open mouthed grin. I know, books tell you it is just gas, but I don't believe them!

In The Game

Going into this post, there is something you need to know about me. I am a horrible person. There. Now that I've admitted that, is it okay for me to vent just a little? If not, you'd better quit reading right now.

Looking at these two cute pictures you can tell that I have one adorable daughter. Bitty has been nothing but darling since we brought Bundle home. I really expected her to have a much harder time than she has - I thought she'd be moody and emotional and tantrum-erific, but instead she's been warm and adoring and mostly cheerful. She is sleeping all night in her own bed, praise be. It's great. You may be wondering what the problem is.

Bitty no longer plays with any toys at all. I can get her to spend time on her bike on the back porch, which is great, but those times are breaks from her real passion. She spends all her time, from the moment she gets out of bed to the moment she gets back in it, playing pretend. That doesn't sound too bad except for the fact that in her game I play a major supporting roll. And there is a limited story line which she plays out over and over and over again all day long. I don't know what's going on for her that she needs to re-enact this scenario so much, but this is how it goes. (Also, she dictates out the entire game, including every word that she wants coming from my mouth.)

Bitty: In the game you're a nice lady and I'm a beautiful white kitty and when I meow you say, 'I head a meowing sound.' 'Meow!'
Me: I hear a meowing sound!
Bitty: Then you see a kitty shape coming towards you and you say, 'I hope that's a kitty!'
Me: I hope that's a kitty!
Bitty: Then I knock on your door and you open the door and you say, 'What a beautiful kitty!'
Me: What a beautiful kitty!
Bitty: And you find out that I live all alone and you live all alone too and you ask if I can come live with you...

You get the idea. The game is all about lonely people finding each other and then deciding to live together. Okay, it's not exactly the same every time. Sometimes she's "a sweet little girl" instead of a kitty. Either way, she names herself Matilda. Her script is about five to ten minutes long and the moment we reach the end of it she tells me that we're starting the game over. Nooooo! Actually, I can get her to keep the game going if I ask her to do things for me like get me a diaper or throw something away. But then she has a whole other script for that process and even though I have her script thouroughly memorized she still must dictate it to me. For the whole day. Seriously. She'll get out of bed and enter the living room with the cutest sweet smile on her face. I say good morning to her and she replies, "...and in the game you're a nice lady and you see a little kitty coming towards you..." You know you're in trouble when the first sentence that comes out of her mouth in the morning starts with "And." Like she is just continuing the sentence that she was in the middle of the night before when I tucked her in, turned off the light, walked out of her room and shut the door.

Oh forgive me. Honestly. I keep playing the game for one thing because she's so very sweet and cute about it and for another so I can interact with her as much as she wants even though I'm holding and bouncing and nursing and rocking a baby throughout the day. She needs that so I do it with a smile on my face. But on the blog, which she won't be able to read for several years, I will say...I'm about to lose my stinking mind!!!!!! Ahhhhh. Okay. I'm ready to go be in the game now.

Snaggletooth

Aren't those cute pictures? I think so, but I could be suffering from that parental abnormality of not being able to tell when your kid is kind of funny looking. Not that I think Stomper is actually funny looking, it's just that his mouth is a little...in transition right now. I am so enamored with Stomper's funny little mouth! This child is losing teeth faster than he can spit sunflower seeds. I don't think I lost my first tooth until first grade! And now the permanant teeth are coming in fast, and his tiny little mouth just doesn't quite have room for them, so it's a little snaggly in there. Plus, even though he lost his two front teeth with in a short time of each other, one grew in weeks ago and one just took its time. Frankly, when I look at his little cock-eyed grin I imagine one of those cartoons where the bad guy gets slammed in the face with an anvil or something and he sits there with a dazed look on his face while half of his teeth crumble out of his mouth before hitting the deck himself. I forsee braces.

Kinda Pathetic

Well, I hate to be a name caller. But I'm going to do it anyway. Somebody's pathetic!!!

Troy has spent the week driving to and from Orem every day for some training with his company's new thermal imaging camera. (It's very cool.) On Friday he noticed that at some point during the week someone had vandalized our jeep. When he said that to me over the phone I was shocked that he wasn't more upset. I was thinking keys along the paintwork or something like that. Turns out, it was a bumper sticker. A couple of years ago I went to a womens' football clinic up at the UofU with The Misty (yes, Misty, I believe you have earned the title,) and I got this very nice bumper sticker firmly declaring, "Go Utes!" Here's what the loser did:



Seriously? Ooooo! Now I feel really bad about our perfect season. Okay, I might be venturing into the realm of "being a poor sport." Just a little bit. But come on!

It Begins.

There has been a line in the sand ahead of me, and I knew I'd have to cross it sometime. It was unavoidable. Crossing it is not a bad thing, but I knew it would change my life forever. That line? Signing up Stomper and Bitty for extracurricular activities. For Stomper, soccer. For Bitty, ballet. They have both been begging and begging me for these classes for a very long time and I'm sorry to admit that I've been putting them off in any way I could. I just knew that once I opened that door we were in it forever. And I know that it's actually a good thing. Especially now that they've both started. It is so fun to see them be so excited about their activities, and so fun to see them participating.

Stomper started soccer on Saturday. I was nervous that he'd be the only kid who had never had five minutes of actual soccer play before. Okay, he and Troy have kicked a ball around in the back yard a little, but nothing to prepare him for running up and down the field with a pack of kids all aiming for the ball at once. There were a couple of kids there who obviously had plenty of experience, but also a bunch of kids with as little as he had. I was so proud of him for sticking with the game pretty much the whole time, for running along with the gang and even getting some really good kicks in. He even kicked the ball in the right direction. Luckily the game was a tie, so there wasn't a loss to start him off, although he didn't seem all too concerned about the score in the end. I'm really pleased.



And Bitty. She, like I said, has been begging me for ballet lessons for at least a year now. I held her off a little bit by having Santa deliver her a ballerina tutu and slippers for Christmas, but now that summer is here and we don't have much going on I thought it would be a good time to start a little class. What a kill. Fifteen little tutu-ed and pony-tailed 4 year old girls all on cloud nine, doing twirls and jumps and pointing their toes; all the good stuff. My heart just about exploded with happiness watching Bitty's look of total ecstasy as she followed every word uttered by her now beloved teacher. Fun.




It is totally worth it to have to get up and get everyone dressed and fed and haul a baby around and feed her in public and all that just to see my kids be happy and active. I totally love it. Of course, we'll see how we're doing in a few weeks. Perhaps the novelty will wear off, but I sure hope not. Sign me up as an official soccer mom!

Celebrating the First Week

Well, it's starting to happen. No matter what, you can't stop time from flying by. Already a whole week has gone by since we welcomed Bundle into our family. She's still tiny and sweet and small, but I know that stage will keep on slipping away. I do look forward to all that's ahead - the smiles, laughs, holding her head up, making more cute noises - those are wonderful things. But no matter how much you treasure any moment in your life, no matter how carefully you savor and enjoy it, you can't keep it. You can't hang on to it! It's kind of sad. Maybe in heaven we can have some of these times back. Having Bundle around has sent me back in time repeatedly to Bitty's arrival, so much so that I often call Bundle by Bitty's name. I have opened up the scrapbooks from both kids to try to remember more clearly their infancies. What tender times. I sure am loving and enjoying Tiny Bundle. I'll have to change her web name soon, I know.

So far things are going really well. I know that as babies get older they can get more fussy and maybe start sleeping less at night than they do right now. I'll cope with all of that when it comes and for now just enjoy the fact that I'm not nearly as sleep deprived as I expected to be - partly due to the fact that Bundle sleeps well at night, and partly due to the fact that I'm surrounded by terrific people who entertain my children while I catch a nap here and there. Thank you!

Other things I'm grateful for? The kids adore their sister, and Troy is the most wonderful husband ever. It's a little hard for daddies to have new babies around, I think. We've taken to calling Troy "Farm Boy" because he fetches so many things for me, and for that I'm grateful. He is willing to get me anything from a drink of water while I'm nursing to running to Babies-R-Us at 7:00 in the evening to get us a bouncy seat. (I had a little melt-down moment when I was feeling like I didn't have anyplace I could set Bundle down for a few minutes - she wasn't loving the car seat or bassinet - and he fetched me a bouncy seat that moment.) Thank you, Troy. And I'm now very grateful for said Bouncy Seat because it gives me 20 minute chunks of time in which I can shower, slick up the kitchen, get food for the kids or whatever. Thank you, bouncy seat, and thank you, Bundle, for sitting in it.



A couple of funnies from Bitty -

There has been much interest/questioning/discussion regarding nursing babies. Bitty, who is not a 'dolly' kind of girl, has taken to holding a dolly, carrying it around, putting it down for a nap, and changing its diaper. She has drawn the limit at nursing, however. She pulled up her shirt and started to pretend to feed her dolly when she paused with a look of deep thought on her face and said, "I think I'd rather give my dolly a bottle." A littler unnerving there, honey?

The other evening Troy was trying to get her to put something away and go to bed. I think it was a pencil or something sharp like that. She started running through the house and Troy hollered out, "No running! Just walking!" She stopped and said, "Uh, how about tiptoeing?" I guess that's a reasonable substitute. Heaven forbid you actually walk anywhere!

Over Already?

It just doesn't seem that long ago that I was taking Stomper in for his Kindergarten assessment and getting him all registered and set up for Kindergarten. And suddenly it's over! I have to say that we have simply adored Stomper's kindergarten teacher, Mrs. McDonald. She has been terrific and a really good match for our big boy. I've had so much fun watching him learn and grow, doing homework with him and especially helping him learn to read. I spent a lot of time in the classroom this year - something I probably won't be able to do again for a year or two - and that has been great. I feel rather devoted to Mrs. McDonald, and wish I could be in her class again! Maybe Bitty will get her as a teacher in another year. I hope she sticks around a little longer.



With Miss Alisha, the teacher's aide. She was great too.



The class singing a song on the last day.



Proud Mommy!

1 Night Down; 6,570 To Go

I think the first night home from the hospital is always the most daunting. I'm happy to report that not only did we make it safely home from the hospital but that we survived our first night. And I don't seem to be doing too much of that uncontrollable "I don't know why I'm crying!" thing. I hate that.

Troy and I actually convinced the hospital staff that we could walk home from the hospital - it is just across the street, and it seems ludicrous to have to drive. Troy brought our big stroller over with the connecting car seat. We packed up Bundle and headed out. Of course, that's when we realized that it was raining! Luckily the stroller has full coverage, so we were okay.

I was a little nervous about the night time. At the hospital, babies seem to sleep pretty well in their little plastic buckets, but I can never get them to sleep in a basinette. Besides, they seem to wake up right when you're ready to go to sleep. So last night, after Troy collapsed in a heap of exhaustion, Bundle and I snuggled, nursed and watched a video recommendation from a friend. If you have a new baby or are thinking of having a baby, you must watch this video. It's only like half an hour long, and I thought it had great new-baby advice. It's called "The Happiest Baby on the Block." I think it's actually a book, but there's a companion DVD - I just checked it out from the library and I'm excited to try a few things out. Thanks to watching the section on good swaddling, I think Bundle was a very happy bundle last night and we had pretty decent sleep. We'll see how tonight goes.

The kids are both darling as can be with their Bundle. Stomper loves holding and holding her. Bitty would prefer to just do things to her like get her dressed and trim her nails and give her her bink and on and on. Her comment today? "Mom! She's as cute as a pinkie!"

She Is Here!!!

You know, the whole time I was pregnant, I really tried to remind myself from time to time to enjoy the special parts of carrying a baby. Troy and I are not planning on any more kids, so I knew this was my last pregnancy. There really are some things to treasure about pregnancy, like having a belly that's supposed to be big, like feeling the kicking and squirming, like trying to imagine what your baby's face will look like. I am going to miss those things. But I'll tell you, they are paling in comparison to having our baby here at last. I'm already so nuts about her I can hardly stand it.

We have not yet named our new little bundle, so for now, I think I'll just call her Bundle! As I mentioned, I was scheduled to be induced yesterday morning, but the day before, I went in to see my midwife and we were able to get things going a little bit, so that on Tuesday night I started contracting. I was in some form of labor all night, though not advanced enough to go in to the hospital early. We still went in at our regularly scheduled time, but progressing in labor at the same time. Yay! No pitocin! Margy, my midwife, broke my water and off we went. I labored pretty intensly for three hours or so and then things started to feel a little out of control. The contractions were getting so much more intense, but getting farther and farther apart, so the delivery wasn't getting any closer. I think I started to panic a little bit and I had a hard time really relaxing. I finally chose to have an epidural, and I have to say, I don't think I've ever been so happy or so grateful for anything in my life before. I really did want to go med-free, and I'm not going to lie and say I'm not really proud that I did that with Bitty. But this time around, that epidural made for a really wonderful birth. Even now, as I think about yesterday morning I keep feeling a rush of gratitude that I was able to have that medicine. What's really funny was that as soon as the medicine was in, Margy gave me just a whiff of pitocin to get the contractions progressing, my whole body relaxed, and Bundle was ready to come within 30 minutes. I really feel like it was a good birth experience, and that's the most important thing for anyone, I'd say!

As soon as Bundle got here, Margy just slipped her right up onto my chest - one of the most incredible experiences I've had in my life. The nurses let me keep her there for quite a while, (a lot longer than I got to hold Bitty), before taking her to clean, measure, weigh and warm her. Then I got to feed her right away and we just enjoyed her for a few hours before her first bath and all that stuff. Bundle's hair is lighter than either of the other kids' was at birth, and she has these cute little curly tufts over her ears. Her litte face is so round and squashy and wonderful. I can't tell if she looks like either of the other kids, and certainly over the next few days and weeks we'll get a better idea of who this little gal is.

Bundle met her siblings around dinner time last night, and that was a very sweet experience too. Both Bitty and Stomper were so excited and sweet and instantly proclaimed their love for their sister the moment they laid eyes on her. I know there will be lots of ups and downs these next few weeks but I forsee both kids being very grown-up helpers and adoring older siblings. I loved sitting here in my bed with Bitty on my left, Stomper on my right, and Bundle being passed between all of us.

I'm feeling great, and am really relishing these couple of days spent in the hospital with Bundle. There is nothing like those first few days and I'm savoring every moment. I'm so grateful that Bundle got here safely, that she already feels like she's always been part of the family and that I have so many blessings that I couldn't begin to count them.

Uncle!

I am now one full week past my due date, much to the shock of myself and everyone else I know.

Yesterday, in one of our many efforts to get this baby on her way, Troy and I enjoyed some nice spicy Chinese food. (Didn't work.) The fortune that came with the after-dinner cookie was pretty great, though. It read: "A short stranger will soon enter your life with blessings to share." How's that for telling?

Well, we've decided that we are ready for this "short blessed stranger" to get here already. I feel like I'm kind of getting what I deserve in being so vocal about my desire to let babies come when they're going to come. I still feel that way, actually, but I also have noticed that I, not to mention my husband, am going crazy playing the waiting game. Eight days is long enough. So we're being induced in the morning. I did run over to meet with my midwife today and she said that things have progressed a lot since last week and hopefully getting me started won't take much. I'm hoping to avoid the big P (pitocin) but we'll see how it goes. And who knows, I may still go into labor tonight!

We'll post again soon, hopefully with pictures of a beautiful new baby girl. Frankly, I'm still feeling like I'm in denial that this is all actually happening. Someone's going to hand me a baby tomorrow and I'm going to wonder where on earth she came from. A baby? Who said anything about a baby? Well, ready or not, here she comes!