Lydia makes us laugh

Things Lydia has said recently:

Surveying her hands after a meal, "My hands are almost clean Mom!" She is so proud of herself when she finishes a meal and her hands aren't covered in food. She thinks she doesn't need me to wipe her face and hands because they are clean in her mind! I end up telling her she is "almost" clean.
Now, everyone knows Pup is her #1. She has also really enjoyed her doll since Lauren arrived. Just this past week she has adopted a stuffed butterfly that Aunt Becky gave to Lauren and began calling it "my baby girl." I've reminded her that it is really a butterfly,but that she can take care of it like a baby doll. (She swaddles it, puts it in the swing, "soothes" it when she tells me the butterfly is crying etc.) Alright. She loves the song "The Wheels on the Bus." You have to sing it with her in a particular order or she interrupts to correct you. (The wheels are first, then the wipers, then the children, the driver...) I heard her in her room this week and she added a new verse. "The butterflies on the bus go 'wah wah wah'..."
At lunch while covering her eyes with two pieces of bread, "Look Mom. I'm Bartimaeus. My eyes are sick!" I laughed heartily and then asked her who made Bartimaeus' eyes well. "Zaccheus." =) We'll keep working on the Bible stories!

L&L

I'm working on a project that requires me to go through ALL of my pictures. I'm thankful that I organized my non digital pictures a few years ago. It has certainly made the task easier. I thought I'd post a few of my girls when they were near the same age.

Lydia, 4 months

Lauren, 4 months

Lydia, 4 months

Lauren, 3 months

Lydia, 4 months

Lauren, 4 months

Hodgepodge

This morning over breakfast I saw three deer walk into our backyard. If you've been to our house you know we live in a subdivision and our house doesn't back up to any woods. By the time I grabbed my camera and took the picture they were trotting into our neighbors' yard.
Also during breakfast Lydia and I noticed some leaves falling from the trees. She exclaimed, "Mom the birds are falling!" I explained that the wind was blowing some leaves off of the trees. A few minutes later after she had done a little processing she said, "The leaves are breakin' Mom."

Here is my littlest girl showing off her latest skill. She loves to grab her feet these days. She also now rolls from her back to her tummy. We knew she was really close and she actually did it last night. I think it was the first time.
She enjoys her bouncy seat but we frequently see her straining and trying her hardest to sit up! She does not want to be a "baby." We remember Lydia acting this same way.

Since this post is kind of random already, I'll list a few of my latest favorites.

1. Izze drinks. Have you tried one? They are so delicious. No refined sugar, no caffeine. Just fruit juice and sparkling water.
2. Baby Bee diaper ointment by Burt's Bees. The ingredients are all natural and gentle to their skin. No parabens or mineral oils here.
3. Pizza dough in the Publix bakery. We have started having homemade pizza night on Fridays. (If you can still call it homemade even though I buy the dough!) I am hooked on this and we haven't even wanted to order out for pizza in months.
4. The book "Teach Them Diligently" by Lou Priolo. Maybe I'll have a chance to do a little review sometime; it was a very worthwhile read.

Thanksgiving in Review

Although we feel a bit spoiled that we always get to "host" our family members, we are so happy they are willing to drive down to spend holiday time with us. This year, Patrick and Susan stayed at our house for the few days they were here.

Lydia beat Patrick fair and square at Memory.

Lydia bonded right away with Aunt Susie. She started calling her "Suze."

Ben's Uncle Carl and Aunt Rita usually join us either for Christmas or Thanksgiving and they are fun to spend time with. We say it every year, but Rita has the magic touch with the babies. My girls, who don't really cuddle, always seem to snuggle up in her arms and fall asleep!

We had the feast at my parents' house on Thursday. It was a large crowd of both family and friends.

All of the tables were decked out in silver, fine china and fresh flowers.

Where Patrick goes, a game will be played! He has introduced us to many games. He is a good sport and patiently explains the sometimes very complicated rules as many times as needed.

"Two matchin' girls"

I don't think Carl believed us when we explained that the big red ball gets daily use with Lauren!

I'm not feeling very verbose, so I hope you enjoyed the pictures!

my fashonista

Yesterday I began (and almost finished!) sorting through the girls' clothes. It is well past time for shorts and tanks and sleeveless onesies to make their way out of closets and into boxes! It was fun to revisit Lydia's clothes from two years ago and get them laundered and put into Lauren's room. I have also found that in that short period of time, some of my taste has changed! Oh well. I hope I don't feel this way every time Lauren moves up to Lydia's clothes =)

Lydia loved helping me sort. She also decided to redress herself using several interesting items from various piles. She is getting more independent by the week. Every day I hear, "I do it myself Mom." Just a few weeks ago she was saying, "Me do it!" so we have at least progressed closer to correct speech!

struggling with her socks

the end result: a summer skirt that finally fits, newborn hospital cap, pink socks andMom's slippers (or flippers, as she calls them)

Dinner

Last week I made Zucchini Moussaka for dinner. We had not had it in quite a while, and I'm not sure Lydia had ever eaten it. Of course she wanted towatch (and help) me make it earlier in the day. When dinner time came, she was sitting in her booster cheering when it came out of the oven. She kept saying "Yum!". This seemed unusual, but then she's two, so you just never know what they decide is funny or weird or YUM!
I put her portion on her plate to cool and after the prayer she dug right in. After a few bites, the reason for her previous anticipation became clear. She said, "It's not choc-wit Mom," as if I had been misleading her all day! She seemed to enjoy it despite the fact that it wasn't the yummy dessert she had been expecting. =) She likes Italian type foods and was even convinced that the sauteed onions were noodles.
The slices of zucchini were not as well liked. I had given her both a fork and a spoon for the meal so she could use whichever utensil was easiest. (We are battling with her about using utensils these days. The novelty has long since worn off and she just wants to get the food to her mouth with the most ease and speed!) Anyway she was spooning the food in with ease and picking out the zucchini slices and placing them carefully on her fork which was on the table beside her plate. I was quick to remind her that she was going to have to eat some of the zucchini too. Her response - "Dey're waitin' right on da fork for me, mom."

Fall

at Amicalola Falls

We had fun a few weeks ago on our outdoor expedition here. Liz posted about it so I won't rehash the details except to say I hope not to have a baby strapped on next time! Actually it wasn't so bad after the first 30 minutes...I kind of forgot about it.

Oh - and Lauren is sporting a brand new outfit in this pic. We had a diaper catastrophe of gigantic proportions! It was so bad that I had to go buy her something to wear for the rest of the day. (You'd think when I know we'll be gone the entire day I might learn to leave the house fully prepared for any situation...)

Last week was our family's first Fall Festival. Lydia has no idea what "Halloween" is or what it entails for some people. I did not even bring it up to Lydia until right before room time that day that anything out of the ordinary was in the works. So after I finished teaching that evening, we got the girls ready. The idea of spending much money on a costume is foreign to me. So whatever we can come up with for a few dollars -or free! - works for us. Thus, Lydia was a cat (ears compliments of Auntie Liz's stash) and Lauren was a cow -- a $3 hand-me-down from big sis. I gave Lydia some whiskers and a pink nose. She waited pretty patiently while I drew on her face and then when I told her to look in the mirror, all she could say was, "MOM!".

Lauren was great. This is how she spent her evening while we raced around with Lydia.

The church had quite a few of these giant inflatable play things. It was Lydia's first experience on them and she LOVED it! Every time we pass by the church now she says, "Mom - we go pway games?"

The happy trio of unlikely animal friends

It was a fun night and best of all - everything was free --hotdogs, popcorn and drinks -- cupcakes, balloons, pony rides, candy and games!

Prayers

Today a violin student of mine was playing in a competition in SC. Her mom called during lunch with a few specific prayer requests for her daughter as she was about to perform. So, Lydia and I prayed for the girl as we ate our lunch. I finished praying and we ate a few more bites then Lydia wanted to pray again for this girl. We folded our hands and prayed again...and again shortly thereafter.
After our prayers for this student, Lydia started requesting that we pray for some of my other students...and then for Mommy, and then Lauren and lastly Lydia. I was touched by some of her requests and the fact that she willingly put lunch on hold each time we stopped to pray for someone.
While she was still sitting at the table, she was unusually quiet as I rinsed our lunch dishes. I was wondering if she was thinking about our little prayer session. Then she asked very seriously, "Mom, we pway for Dora?" while looking at the cartoon character on her placemat. I had to try very hard not to laugh out loud!

The Story of Lauren's Birth

Is it possible to stay pregnant forever? Obviously not, but I wonder how long Lauren would have stayed in her cocoon had she not be "encouraged" to leave! My midwives gave me up to 10 days past my EDD to let labor occur naturally. Nothing doing. I know people thought I was nuts to wait that long for labor and I did get some comments like, "Why won't your midwife go ahead and induce you?"She probably would have done it sooner had I wanted that. As I did when preparing for Lydia's birth, I tried many things to bring on labor but without success. Lauren was cozy inside and had no intention of coming out! So when July 23rd came, we went to the hospital for an induction.
When we arrived we waited an hour in the waiting room for them to call us back. I remember flipping through magazines trying not to become irritated at the additional opportunity of the hospital to "time" my birth. (When I was finally taken to a room we realized that the shift change occurred at 11am and I surmised that we had been made to wait until that could take place.)The midwives Stephanie and Jill were on call until 6pm. Stephanie broke my water shortly after 11am and it had been previously agreed upon that I would be allowed to walk and to try to get some contractions going. After a couple of hours and little to no progress (I was 1.5 cm dilated and completely effaced) they put me on Pitocin. I struggled a little bit with this as I REALLY wanted this birth to be without Pit, but I lost that battle. I reminded myself that I had to keep a positive attitude regardless of the situation. To say I was disappointed is an understatement. Now I was facing loss of mobility as well as drug induced contractions. It was right about this time that dear Pat, our friend and doula, arrived to bring support and positive thinking! (She had been waiting at home until things started to happen.)
The pit drip was started at 2pm. After about 5 minutes of Pitocin, my contractions were immediately painful and intense. I began to despair a little because it had taken several hours of Pitocin during my labor with Lydia to get to that stage. I was wondering if I really was going to make it without the pain meds! I continued laboring in the rocking chair with my feet propped on the bed. Pat, Ben and my Mom were there. I tried a birthing ball for one contraction and it was awful!!! I couldn't wait to get back to the chair! At 4pm they checked me and I was at 6cm ( only 6 I remember thinking). I remember going to the bathroom after that and then casually mentioning after my next contraction in the chair that I felt like pushing during a contraction (and had) on the toilet. That got Stephanie and Jill's attention and they checked me again. I was nearly 10 cm and they gave me the green light for pushing! It was about 4:30 then. Things began to kick into high gear in the room as lights came on, gloves were snapped on and gowns donned by the midwives. I literally could NOT believe I had progressed from 6 to 9.5 cm in about 20 minutes. I kept thinking (and probably saying) "I can't believe it's time to push!". (The midwives were surprised too, I think, as we had chatted earlier in the day about how they wouldn't b e there for Lauren's birth. I remember hoping very much that Lauren would be born before my nurse's shift ended at 11pm!!)
When I had to move from my glider to the bed I climbed on top of the bed and was standing on it until the various IV cords and blankets were situated. I remember Pat laughing at this =) My left hand was hurting so much from the IV port that I could put no pressure on that hand without lots of pain. So standing was actually easier than trying to shift my huge body around on the bed one-handed!!-Well, I think I had5 or 6 contractions after that point and then Lauren was born. The cord was around her neck and one arm across her body with her hand near her cheek when her head came out. That felt really weird when Stephanie was maneuvering Lauren's arm around her head. I think perhaps the cord was cutting off some of Lauren's oxygen because I remember Stephanie looking at me after only about 3, maybe 4, contractions and saying, " You really need to get her out on this next one, okay?". I was shocked.What did she mean the next contraction? Was I really that close? Could it all really be going this much faster this time? Well, it really did. Lauren was born at 5:11 pm and they placed her on me right after she came out. It was incredible. She gave one little cry and then was quiet while I held her. We tried nursing a few minutes later and I will say that she had a powerful latch from the get go! Birth really is a miracle and there is nothing like that feeling I get after birth when I meet my baby for the first time.
After I was cleaned and stitched up (the tearing was not as bad this time, and really I think I might have escaped it altogether if the pushing stage had lasted a little longer) the nurse wheeled me to my room. Although Lauren's birth was so much "easier" than Lydia's, my hospital stay was certainly less pleasant. I guess I can leave those details out unless anyone is really curious.
Lauren - you finally arrived, safe and healthy and we are so excited about life as four. I love you little Lauren and I love being Mommy to you and Lydia. I pray for wisdom, patience, tenderness and peace every day as I seek to parent you as God would have me to do. May you love Jesus and cling to Him all your days. Love Mommy

Changes

Ben and I were reminiscing the other day and it came up that this fall is the first time in the nearly 5 years of our marriage that I am home every evening when Ben gets home. When we were first married, I was in the middle of pursuing my Masters degree. Concerts and rehearsals kept me out late in the evenings. When I wrapped that up, I began teaching for a music academy. I taught there three days a week and on my earliest evenings I arrived home by about 6 or so...the other days it was after 8pm. I even kept this somewhat crazy schedule for Lydia's first year. She took to it as well as I can imagine. She has always loved going bye-bye and she became quite close with the two women who kept her in the nursery. (In fact, the other day we were heading toward that area and going the same route we used to take every week and she suddenly said, "Mom, we're goin' to see Miss Carmen at the nursery?" I was stunned that she remembered our driving route and touched once again by the fact that she misses Miss Carmen and Miss Cindy and the kids she played with.) Anyway, I ended that crazy schedule and we are enjoying a more normalized evening routine. It has been good for us.
I took about 2 months off of gigging when Lauren was born and since I started back in September, our quartet has had a wedding, or two, every weekend. Actually last weekend was our first "free" weekend. We'll start back the first weekend in November and keep up the pace through Christmas. I enjoy gigging and have to thank Ben for sacrificing a large portion of his Saturdays to watch the girls and enable me to do this. (This reminds me of how I used to avoid using the word "gig" when I was first getting into this. I thought it sounded so stupid and I preferred to call it a "job." Obviously my peers rubbed off on me and now I use the term with the best of them!)

My baby is three months old today. It really wasn't that long ago that she was born but it wouldn't seem like our family without her. She is an active baby and likes to be held. This means Mommy wears the baby bjorn for a portion of every day. (I could benefit greatly from weekly visits to a masseuse and a chiropractor!) She is rolling over -from tummy to back - nearly every day. This accomplishment has translated into middle of the night feedings again because she wakes up distressed. She hates her carseat and loves her bouncy seat. She enjoys the little toys that hang off of that seat and she will just GRIN at the bird that is attached.

Lydia continues to make us laugh. She can be quite the little ham and after you laugh once she will continue doing whatever it was to try to keep you laughing. She is (finally) really enjoying being read to. She has always liked books, but never had the patience to hear the story. She likes her "special books" (the books I will not leave in her room). Favorite stories include "If You Give A Pig A Pancake," (and others in that series), Curious George, and Olivia. She has a great memory, but she is very stubborn and resists memorizing anything we think is profitable...i.e. short Bible verses, Children's Catechism etc. She likes to sing and I can finally recognize a melody in there somewhere. Too bad it is always the same melody --Come Thou Fount! She will put any words, including nonsense, to that tune. She loves her little sister and it is sweet to see Lauren's face light up when Lydia talks to her. Even though I am constantly reminding Lydia to be gentle, she still has occasional bursts of wildness that have resulted in near miss accidents. Last week I took something from the kitchen out to the fridge in the garage. I was out and back inside in under 5 seconds. When I looked over to the girls, Lydia had picked Lauren up (she was propped on the boppy on the couch) and was standing next to the couch holding her in a bear hug with a proud grin on her face. In the milisecond it to me to react, I ditched my first thought and instinct-- raising my voice - or saying anything at all -- and raced to her side to grab Lauren. To say my heart was pounding does not even describe how I felt!
That's all for now!

My Littlest Girl

Just a reminder that even when i don't have time to post here, there are pictures being added at my dropshots site.

www.dropshots.com/jenviolin

Name that tune...

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but Lydia uses the Consumer Reports Buying Guide as her hymnal/Bible. That is the book she runs for when we're having family worship or even during the day when she feels like singing. Last night she was flipping through it and here is the line she kept repeating,
"Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth" except it sounded more like "Pahdon for sin and a peace dat endoooowith".
Can you name that hymn?!

Quiz

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The Inland North
The West
The Northeast
Philadelphia
Boston
The South
North Central
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Lydia Sings

Today, to celebrate this wonderful weather, I took the girls to a local park. I did some walking on a path with one in the bjorn and the other in the stroller. When we made it to the playground area, Lydia hopped out of the stroller and made a bee-line for the equipment. She alternates between doing her own thing and copying what other kids are doing. She also can't resist a baby. Twice today she saw babies and went right up to them to say hi and pat their heads or hands. She has had the "be gentle" talk for weeks now, and both the mommy and grandma were very gracious about her attention to their little ones. Still, I realize some parents do not want another child right in the face of their baby. I had to coax her away each time.
Over lunch when we got home she was recounting the things she had done at the playground. There is some thing there that kids can spin around on and regarding it she said, " I spinning on dat. I be very busy!". (Busy is Lydia's word for dizzy.)
Before her downtime, I was reading from her new favorite story "We Help Mommy." (It is a classic Golden Book story by Eloise Wilkins.) There is a part where the little girl helps her mommy make something with dough and she has to roll and pat it. Lydia and I talked about how she has sometimes helped me make something in the kitchen. She looked at the book and then back to me and said, "Like pizza, Mom!". I was impressed she made that connection about rolling out dough since the picture was of a pie, I think. The very next thing out of her mouth was, "Auntie Liz can't have cheese". Wow! And she is right. The last time I made pizzas, Lydia was helping and I explained how we had to be careful to leave some of the pizza without any cheese because Auntie Liz can't eat cheese. She has a great memory. Little instances like this remind Ben and me that we need to encourage her in developing that memory -- as in memorizing short Bible verses or the questions/answers she is s l o w l y learning in the catechism.
A week or so ago she touched the wheel on the car tire right after we had gotten out. Of course it was very hot and she really hurt her fingers. After kissing her hand and wiping the tears I reminded her of the importance of obedience. (She had been told before not to touch the car tires.) I told her that sometimes when she did not obey mommy and daddy she could get hurt like this. It made an impression because she kept bringing up that instance all day and for many days afterwards. How I wish other things for which she is disciplined would remain so clear in her mind!
On a much more comical note, Lydia proclaimed during church last night (at a vocal level those sitting nearby could not have missed), "Mom! I'm poopin'!". Ahhh the joys of potty training.

Strong Girl

Lauren is really strong for such a young baby (I think). She has been able to hold up her head since birth and just continues to progress in this. She can bear her weight on both legs as long as someone keeps her steady. She likes to sit up in your lap and I just got the Bumbo back and she even enjoyed that for a time. Today I found her on her back in her crib. She had rolled over! I have discovered her like this several times, but this is the first time she managed this feat while in a calm state! Previously she was really upset and I think all the squirming sort of resulted in her rolling over. Oh - and this afternoon while in the crib, she squirmed out of her little pants! When I went to get her she was at one end of the crib and the pants were about a foot behind her little feet.

Yummy Sandwhich

You'll need:

deli sliced roast beef
avocado, sliced
red onion, sliced
lettuce
pita bread
cream cheese
prepared horseradish

I made these for a church reception last night but didn't get to try one. I had some left-over stuff so I made this for lunch. Really good!! I made a half sandwhich but it was so tasty that I made another half right away. =)
I mixed 8oz of cream cheese with 2 tablespoons of prepared horseradish. Obviously that makes quite a lot. I think you would get a similar taste using a spicy mustard if you don't want to go the other route. And I didn't have any more pita bread, so I just used regular bread and I toasted it.
I'll definitely make this again. It would be a really fast dinner and it was yummy and filling. (And I wouldn't have to turn on the oven!!!)

Life

is just flying by it seems. It is hard to believe we are halfway through the month of September. The weather is finally beginning to get a little cooler and I can't wait for real fall weather to arrive.

I'm continuing to adjust to being a mother to two. Having a toddler and an infant has definitely impacted our "on-the-go" lifestyle! Sometimes I miss getting out for fun activities, lunch with Daddy or even just spur of the moment errands. We'll get back to that point someday, but for now it is easier just to stay home! In the beginning I was really hesitant to go out with both girls, but I have done it and I survived =) Lydia doesn't like to ride in carts or strollers (although she does seem to like our new Sit-N-Stand fairly well) and Lauren hates being in her carseat --even riding in the car, forget the stroller! So the combination makes it somewhat less desirable to go out a lot and has made me really think more about consolidating errands. When we go out now we only have a certain length of time to get stuff done. (Besides the nursing schedule, I can only carry an infant strapped on for so long!) And forget browsing; I am armed with a list and on a mission!
Lauren is developing good night-time sleep habits. I am very thankful. This is definitely a blessing that my second child is sleeping so well. (I'm a little afraid to type this as if mentioning it might change the situation!) We really have done nothing differently to bring about this change. It is just another reminder that all children are unique in their personalities and dispositions and you can't really make any predictions. Uninterrupted sleep makes such a difference in my ability to function as mommy -- greater patience, gentleness, kindness, self-control (I guess I could just type out all of the fruits of the Spirit as that seems to be what I'm getting at!). With your first child you can sort of adapt your schedule to theirs. Not so with #2 and following! It is great to be able to wake up before both girls (and feel rested!) with time for a shower, clothes, quiet time and the beginnings of breakfast. I am also less prone to dawdle around when I know I only have a short time to get myself in gear and ready for the day.
I am striving to "play" more with Lydia while Lauren naps. It is tempting to use all of that time for household chores etc., but I'm trying to remind myself that she needs my focus and attention too. The house can wait, even if it is less convenient for me. Like me, she is used to the busy lifestyle that we had before Lauren came. It has been an adjustment for Lydia to realize we don't go "bye-bye" as much as we used to! Now that we're staying in more I do have more time just to play, and I'm enjoying that.
Lydia soaks up everything she sees and hears these days. She loves to mimic my conversations with others. I especially notice this when I am talking to Lauren. It is quite funny to hear my terms of endearment coming out of Lydia's mouth, especially if I am not in the room when she does it. I think I have already mentioned that Lydia likes to report on Lauren's every mood and behavior before I even have a chance to react. When she hears her little sister crying, Lydia rushes to her side bringing blankies, a paci if she can get her hands on it, and a lovey of some sort. Then she starts talking to her in her special high-pitched baby voice, "It's okay sweetie. Don't cry my sister. It's O-kay my gail (girl). It's O-kay." However, she is not always so sweet. Lauren usually cries in the car and most of the time Lydia just ignores her. But sometimes it really starts to bother her and Lydia tells me, "She needs you mom. You can hold her? Lauren's cryin'. She's sad mom! She needs her paci." etc. The other day we were leaving my parent's house and Lauren had already started crying in the driveway. As I was buckling Lydia in, she sort of huffed and said in a pitiful voice, "Noise Mom!".
I already mentioned Lauren's greatest achievement to date -- sleeping through the night!!! She is learning to interact a little more and it is so sweet when she smiles at us. Lauren has discovered her thumb and is sometimes able to soothe herself with it. Although we have paci's, she really doesn't like them too much. She has started making the little baby cooing sounds which are so sweet to hear. Her first few weeks were tough (for her and us), but things have settled down and she seems much more happy and content -- which makes the rest of us happy too. =)
I took Lauren for her follow-up ultrasound on Tuesday. The results came back today showing no change in the gallbladder. In other words, it still appears to have "sludge" in it. This is a little discouraging and slightly mystifying. She was on medicine for a month to help clear it out and it would seem that it didn't do its job. However, the reasons for the testing in the first place were the marks on her tummy and her extreme fussiness. Those marks are barely visible now and her demeanor is so much more peaceful. This is a blessing. For now we will proceed as normal. Our pediatrician may refer us to a GI specialist in the next month in case there is some treatment we need to pursue.
Well, it has taken me nearly a week to type this in the midst of life's happenings here. I will go ahead and post before I'm interrupted again!

Photos

We have so many pictures and it is impossible to put all or even a good many of them up on my blog. So I've decided to give dropshots a try - mostly for the sake of our out of town family who do not get to see the girls very often. http://www.dropshots.com/jenviolin

Password: bailey

If you have used a nursing bra that you really love (or one you hate!), please post!! I thought I was making an investment when I bought some after Lydia was born. Unfortunately, I'm not the same size this time! (Has anyone else experienced this?) My size is not available in stores so I am left to search/order/return online. This also means paying big bucks. Fun.

My Girls

Today it has just been "us girls" here at home. Since Lauren's birth there have been various people here helping with the girls. Ben's mom came for a visit and just left on Saturday. She was a great help- especially with entertaining and caring for Lydia these past couple of weeks. I know it was a luxury not to have to get Lydia up and fed in the mornings and to be able to catch an extra hour or so of sleep. Besides playing with Lydia and taking her to the playground or the pool, Kathy also taught Lydia plenty of "useless" (her words!) words and phrases.
Uh-oh Spaghetti-O's (this began at Christmas)
silly nilly patilly
zippydee doo da
rats!
crikey!
Let's go, Joe
oopsie doodles
exactly! (ezaklee)

Oh yes, and instead of calling Ben's mom Grandma or even Grandma Kathy, Lydia very quickly abandoned the "Gwamma" and just called her "Kaffee." In the afternoons when Lydia felt she'd "served enough time" in her bedroom, she would get down on the floor with her mouth pressed to the crack at the bottom of the door and begin calling, "Kaffee! I'm all done. Come get me! I want out!" (Naps are pretty much a thing of the past -although she happens to be taking one right now - but at least she can still spend time alone and plays up there for a couple of hours each day.)
For those who asked, Lauren's tests have all come back negative, so to my understanding all "serious" potential problems have been ruled out. She continues on the gall bladder medicine for at least another week and then will have an ultrasound to see if the medicine has been effective to clear out that "sludge."
I'm sort of afraid to say it for fear that it isn't true, but we think Lauren may be feeling somewhat better. She doesn't scream and cry as much as she did in those first few weeks. She also seems to be nursing much more contentedly - which was definitely a problem before (and sometimes still is). Another blessing is the couple of nights of good sleep we've had recently! She managed to go about 5-6 hours, wake up to nurse, and then immediately down for 3-4 hours more. These nights (3 so far and not consecutive) are wonderful and I feel SO much more rested in the morning. A more typical night would be 3 or maybe 4 hours between feedings. I sincerely hope she will learn to sleep longer at night sooner than her big sister who was closer to 8 months old before she was sleeping all night without waking. (Yes it was horrible and I hope we never repeat that again!)

And now for the pictures...

One week old

Pink cheeks and homegrown tomatoes from Auntie Liz's house

with Aunt Becky and Kate

Uncle Elias loves babies

Matching outfits

Lydia calls this dress her "ice-cream dress" as there are little ice cream cones on it. She has worn it a few times, but was thrilled to find out that "baby Wah-yen" has one to match!! Knowing my penchant for clothes, it is probably the first of many little matching outfits!

Update #2

We are very thankful to report that the pediatrician has received results from most of the blood tests, and, so far, they have all come back normal. We are still waiting to hear back on 2 of the tests that have not returned. The pediatrician called me on Tuesday about the tests and I have not heard back (and forgot to call before the office closed on Friday) about the other tests. I'm trying to think positively and take this as a good sign! The tests that came back were the more serious ones, so the ones we're still waiting on are "less serious."
For now, the plan remains to treat and monitor the gall-bladder issue. They'll perform another ultrasound next week to check on progress.
Lauren is still one very fussy baby. Fussy may not even be the right term. I am fairly certain she cries because she is hurting...not for other reasons. I am also starting to wonder if she is allergic to something I am eating. I may begin a food diary for a few days and write down her reactions. Then, perhaps, I will eliminate some things from my diet to see how it goes. The pediatrician said I don't need to do this at this point...but I feel like we're getting a bit desperate here!!! I'm willing to give most anything a try!

We thank God for his mercy, and you for your prayers.

Update on Lauren

A lot has been going on in our little household for the past week. Since quite a few of you live far away (and don't attend our church!) I thought I'd post a brief update on what we're going through with Lauren.
This Tuesday I took her back to the pediatrician because I just felt things were not all "okay." Lauren has had a lot of gas problems and is a pretty fussy baby -- but I know that is not abnormal for a newborn. She also has two largish light red marks on her tummy on either side of her belly button. There is a chance they are nothing more than birthmarks, but the doctor was concerned enough given the combination of things I mentioned, that she ordered first an x-ray and then an ultrasound after that.
Here is the church-wide email Ben sent out this week:

First, I'd like to thank everyone for your prayers, e-mails, and calls. We appreciate it very much and have confidence that God hears and answers the prayers of his people.

We spoke to the doctor this evening after she had reviewed the results of the ultrasound with the radiologist, and with a GI specialist from Scottish Rite. To make a long story short, it appears her gall-bladder has a build-up of "sludge". They're not sure if they're gallstones, or other matter, but that appears to be the main cause for concern based on the imaging procedures. Apparently, this is not terribly unusual in infants, but they would like to take some more blood tests in order to rule out liver problems or other GI issues. Also, they'll give her some medicine to try to clear out the buildup. In two weeks, they'll do another ultrasound to determine if any progress has been made. Assuming the blood tests come out okay, that'll probably be the extent of it. Otherwise, we may be referred to either a pediatric GI specialist, or to a pediatric surgeon (possibly for the removal of the gallbladder) - but that is mainly speculation at this time.
We are very grateful that it doesn't appear to be anything more acute at this time, but would still desire your prayers on her behalf that the blood tests would reveal nothing else wrong, and that the treatment would be effective.

Thursday I took her and she had blood drawn. I hope to know the results by the middle of next week. She also got a prescription for the medicine to help clear out her gallbladder. Apparently it can take at least a week to notice any kind of difference.
I know all our church family has been praying for us and we appreciate that so much. We know God has Lauren in His hands and we are trusting in Him.
I'll update when we know something new...

Pictures from the last week...

The two midwives, Jill and Stephanie, who helped deliver Lauren. When Stephanie broke my water at 11am none of us thought Lauren would arrive before their shift ended - at 6pm!

Apparently Lydia "chose" this gift for her little sis. Aunt Liz gave her a few options and this is what she picked. As she handed me the little gift bag she kept saying, " I want it...I want it!" Needless to say "little Pup" spends more time with Lydia than Lauren!

Heading home...couldn't come soon enough for Dad who was going stir-crazy!

Look how strong! She pushes up on me and tries to look at my face. Her little legs are also quite strong - but I knew that already from her late night gymnastics in the womb!

Lydia seems to be doing as well as we could hope in her new role as big sister. She loves to talk to Lauren whenever she notices that her eyes are open. She gives lots of kisses to Lauren and wants to hold her frequently. In those first couple of days, Lydia became distressed whenever Lauren was crying. Now when Lauren cries, Lydia will say "Baby Wah-yen's okay Mommy," since we had to remind her of that so many times!