alive & well enough

dueling strollers

Sorry, I mean to blog sooner but I have had a baby attached to my bosom! My former sport boobs now sustain life and will soon be mere deflated balloons. The circle of life. However, I must be doing it right as little sister was up to 8lbs and 1 ounce from 6lbs 8 ounces just two weeks ago. The nurse re-weighed her 3 times because it was such a big jump. Go me!

chubba wubba

Gramsie Hol was here all last week to help out, which was so great! We didn't have the energy to actually do anything other be home. The hardest part is that is both girls have such opposite needs. One wants to play "rotten egg", eat bananas like corn-on-the-cob, and read Disney stories constantly while the other is pooping Gray Poupon, baa-ing like a lamb, and foosing. Both need help dressing, eating, and going potty/changing. Don't get me started on the effort required to leave the house. I know, it's called being a mom. Good thing I love them both so!

boom boom bunnies

On Friday we met our birth father, Paul, at at Mall of America before his flight to Alaska where he just moved to be with an old flame he reconnected with three weeks ago on Facebook. Crazy, huh? Adoption has been coming up so much recently due to me giving birth. My health care providers always ask about how thing were with "my first pregnancy?" and I have to remind this was my one and only while odd relatives make comments about our adopted daughter versus our biological one. I wish we didn't have to face the reality that we are not Nori's biological parents, only because we love her so intensely. The truth is there is no difference between our love for our children, the only difference is how they came us (one made me fat while the other stressed me out with uncertainty). Norelle and Henley are my beloved daughters and true sisters both of whom are stuck with me til kingdom come.

dance party with the Scream Catchers

In other news, we saw most of my family again this weekend at Abby's graduation party. Abby is going to Winona State in the fall where she is major is Elementary Education with a minor in Bloedows doughnut making. Ellen and Liz stopped by for visit after Ellen's move into the hood and we ate Jimmy John's. We continue to be antisocially home bound avoiding friends and commitments as much as possible. Blame Henny!

celebrating diversity

Today we celebrated our first PRIDE parade downtown Minneapolis with Ellen, Mallory & cousin Dominic. It was a blast and Nori made a better haul of candy, necklaces, stickers, sponges, and yes, one sex shop coupon than at the Steamboats days parade. Next year when we are less comatose, we will have to make it over the festival in Loring Park.

social justice wannabes

Not again! We have more water damage in the ceiling, walls and wood floor of our house, presumably due to a roof leak. So, on Monday we welcome back the big, loud, annoying dryers and prepare for a total bathroom demo. Hoping this is going to be covered by insurance...like a good neighbor, State Farm better be there!

bubble blowing

On the medical front, senior citizens in nursing homes complain less than I do. My back is still bothering me, but I am hoping the synergy of chiropractic care, acupuncture, physical therapy, OTC pain killers, and whining can bring me around. I am honestly longing to work out but right now I would settle for being able to walk to the dog. Sigh....someday. My dad has completed 4 round of chemo with 2 more to go. Overall, he has few side effects, only a couple bouts of nausea and some fatigue. If all goes well, he is may be able to have surgery at the end of July giving him a month of recovery before Casey's wedding. Finally, Jake has "Angy Birds Thumb" as I have traced his nagging wrist injury to excessive iPhone usage. Oh, modern ailments.

I'm out.

remember me?

deliriously tired but smiling

Where to begin? Life has changed and I am trying to keep up! The past two work weeks I have been on my own with the girls trying to figure out how to do things like play "hockey golf" on the floor (you know, the game with two straws and a heart decal as puck/ball) while simultaneously breastfeeding a newborn. The days are equal parts joy and pain. I think I will look back upon on this as a time of major adjustment. Keeping my girls alive, fed, and loved is all I can manage right now, forget real meals, showers, and cleaning house. Survival mode! Overall, we are doing really well but it is a daunting effort. Hopefully, I will get the hang of it and a lazy day at home will soon feel less like an Iron Man. That said, I do love being a mom and the hard work is so worth it!

pink ladies

aren't they cute together?

We have been to three graduation parties, the library, the doctor, a playdate, on numerous Target runs and this weekend we took a road trip to Winona for the Steamboat Days parade. Pretty good, huh? This week Nori starts her Tumble Bees class & Me Gusta Espanol classes and my mom is coming to help out. Coming up we have a Twins game and then a trip to the cabin so I better pace myself.

sleepy head

Henley is eating and sleeping well for a newborn. She will sometimes go 3 hours in between feedings which is more than I can say for myself. Nori has been very patient and calm in the midst of all this change and I am so proud of her. How did I end up with two perfect girls? I am so lucky to have them! They are lucky to have me too, I remind them of this fact often.

Family's 1st parade

Finally, Happy Father's Day to all the dads in our life. We love and appreciate you all!

Jake
Grandpa Steve

Papa Bill

Papa Michael

Girl's best friend

Henley & Dorothy 2011

Nori & Dorothy 2008

Family of Four

first walk

This has been the fastest week of my entire life! Jake goes back to work on Monday which makes me want to cry, only because we have so enjoyed having all this family time! Do you ever wish you could just freeze time because if I could I would freeze it now: new baby, husband home, summer weather, and three months off!

sisters

We are adjusting to our addition. Mainly we change diapers, make meals, wash dishes, do laundry, nurse, and repeat. Luckily, we have had lots of help in the form of delivered meals from family & friends and babysitting courtesy of our summer babysitter, Becca, who comes three mornings a week to play with our first born. So far, so good!

snuggle bug

Our first few nights at home were really rough with our baby awake ALL night crying and nursing. In hindsight, I wish I would have given her a tiny bottle of formula to tide her over as it took a while for the good stuff to come in, but now we are nursing well and she is no longer starving. Breastfeeding is not easy although it is easier than I expected. She has been sleeping much better, only waking to eat and for short periods to look around. Laying on her back in the pack-n-play is not her cup of tea so she sleeps in her car seat at night. Sure, I worry about her being outside in the car all by herself, but don't worry, I lock the doors. At her check-up we learned she has lost 12 ounces weighing in at 5 lbs 8 oz, only ranking in 3% for height and weight. Guess we make 'em small.

Things you should know about Henley:

• every diaper is a poopy diaper
• she has tear shaped birthmark on her tush
• she loves to cuddle, sleeping great when snuggled
• Nori has lovingly nicknamed her Baby Foosie (which evolved from baby fussy)
  

I made this!

I made this, too!

one lump or two?

"MY baby is a stinkbug" is the first thing Nori tells all of our visitors. Other quotable quotes include her telling Henley" I am so glad you are here", "I love MY baby sister so much", "where is MY baby?" and "what is MY baby doing?". Obviously. Nori is amazingly loving and she has become more independent that I ever expected! She has been keeping occupied playing tea party and killing ants. Her listening skills have been on the decline like when she ran away in the Costco parking lot, so we are implementing a new sticker chart to try reinforce her for good listening. Oh child!

she was looking for Charlotte and Wilbur

Our first official family outing was to Grand Old Day today. Nori got a a tattoo that says READ, we listened to a fun children's band, fed the farm animals, and shared a iced lemonade. Next year I plan to go shirtless to show off my rad tattoos. Note to self: get tattoos.

Foosie

There is no free time around here so this blog is going to suffer. Feel free to start at the beginning if you are desperate for reading material and let me know when you get caught up.

One week ago at this time

labor

Her birth story...

I can not believe this is actually happening...

Admit it, you want to hear all the gory details, so here you go. I woke up with contractions at 3:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 26th, but I was able to sleep in between them. At 5:30a.m. I got up to do my prenatal yoga DVD and shower, wondering if today was the day? Jake stayed home from work to be with me, and we dropped Norelle off with treats for her last day at Tammy's house. I took a short nap and woke up to find I was bleeding so the midwives asked me to come in to Labor & Delivery to be checked. They monitored the baby and declared me officially in labor, dilated to 3 cm at 1:00 p.m. The midwife on duty, Lisa, said I could stay, but I opted to go home for a few hours to get organized, call our parents, and labor at home. Jake & I ate lunch, did laundry, and walked around the neighborhood through contractions. By the time our parents arrived, I was having some painful contractions about every 8-10 minutes which increased to 5 minutes after walking. At 7:30 p.m. we decided to go back to hospital where I was checked and found to be only at 4 cm. I took a bath and walked laps up and down the short hospital corridor. Jake suggested we pretend we were walking a 5K to raise money for charity (we chose pancreatic cancer research) and every lap raised a penny. We would stop every few minutes for a contraction which were getting more and more intense. Finally, after 20 hours of labor, I reached 5 cm at 11:00 p.m. and when the midwife vigorously stripped my membranes, the real PAIN began. It was only minutes later I was begging for an epidural which slowly got started and in place by midnight. My legs and bottom were completely numb which was both a relief and scary at the same time as I could not even turn over in bed by myself. We tried to rest from 2-5 a.m., but I was too hot, thirsty, and anxious to sleep. At 2:00 a.m. they started some pitocin to keep the contractions steady, at 3:00 a.m. our moms arrived, and at 3:30 a.m. I felt mounting pressure, while a bag of Jiffy Pop exploded between my legs which was my water breaking. Lisa came into the room and turned on the lights to check me at 5:00 a.m. declaring it was time to push which I was not ready for. I started shaking & shivering uncontrollably and was very scared. Jake held my heavy left leg encouraging me, while my mom was at the foot of the bed and Liz was helping near my head. After less that 40 minutes of painless pushing, Henley easily popped out into the world Friday May 27th at 5:52 a.m., almost 27 hours after labor began. She did not cry, only squeaked and squawked, as I held her learning to breastfeed. She looks like her daddy, and I can not believe how immediately we fell in love with her. It was so special to share this experience with Jake and see the joy of Norelle becoming a big sister! All of our family members visited us in the hospital, including my dad just before starting his first round of chemo. We are enjoying our family time, and I am feeling very sentimental about our little family! Must be the hormones, but I would not rule out doing it all again. Thank you to all of our family, friends, neighbors and church community for the babysitting, meals, cleaning, gifts, support and love!

Henley is here!