SKILLET!!

Totally shifting gears from the baby news of late, last night Cara let me pursue one of my passions--catching a rock concert. Skillet, one of my all-time favorite bands, played the Mid-State Fair, and what a show it was. It began with a lone violinist coming on stage and soloing, eventually working his way into a familiar Skillet melody--"Comatose"--as smoke filled the stage. The drummer then appeared and proceeded to beat the heck out of the drums, followed by the rest of the band emerging and kicking it into full tilt simultaneously. I'm such a sucker for rock concerts, and it's possible I'm getting too old for the style of music I love...oh well. I just love the passion and the depth of lyrics, not to mention the blistering guitar and drum solos. Certainly at the end of the night, my soul was refreshed even though my neck was killing me.



I also need to mention that Cara was amazing to let me go. Apparently right after I left, while Cara was trying to bathe Sadie, Bekah decided to dump out an entire bag of Fishy crackers on the carpet and stomp victoriously and defiantly all over them. We're still trying to figure out how people with more than two kids do it.

Freedom!

I went to see my OB yesterday for a post c-section visit. I haven't been able to lift anything heavier than Sadie (including Bekah), drive or do anything to strenuous for two weeks. Since Keith went back to work this week we've been stuck in the house all day although I've had friends help me with Bekah in the mornings...taking her to the park to get her some outside time. Needless to say I was ready to get some freedom back.
My dr. gave me the OK to do almost anything I want.....I can pick up Bekah (yay!-I miss being close to her), drive, exercise.....I'm so excited to start getting into a routine. I can't wait to be able to take the girls to the park, or to Pet Smart so Bekah can look at the fishies. Or there's trips to Mom's house or driving the girls to see my little sister in Pismo. I'm so glad I can pick Bekah up now when she cries. I really can't wait to start being a little more active! Even with the lack of sleep I'm looking forward to spending time with my girls...outside of the house! Now I just have to decide how to use my new found freedom! Any suggestions?

Funny Daddy!!!

So....Sadie has a tendency to be awake for a few hours in the early morning hours and last night I asked Keith to take her from about 5am-6am since I was so exhausted from all the feedings throughout the night and she had been crying since 3:50am. He was pretty groggy but totally willing to help especially since I've been letting him sleep all night long since going back to work (I'm such a nice wife :). Anyways....when I woke Sadie up for a feeding later that morning I noticed that she was all wet. My first thought was dang-it!...she peed through her diaper and now I have to give her a bath. I went to change her before nursing and to my surprise she hadn't peed through her diaper because she wasn't wearing one!!!! Keith had changed her but forgot to finish the job :). It actually made me laugh. I guess he's a little tired of changing diapers :).

Growing up

Bekah has discovered that our Corolla is a playhouse. She pretends to drive, tries to buckle her carseat straps, and just enjoys climbing around. Upon seeing me grab the keys on the way out the front door, she finds a way to stand right in my way, reach her desperate little hands up to me and say "Keys?!" She's our little teenager, the car keys her ticket to fun. It makes me laugh, for now.

It's also been fun watching Bekah grow into her big sis role, something she's doing nicely. Tonight she heard Sadie wake up crying in the other room, and she took off running down the hall to rescue her "baby". After Sadie nurses , Bekah helps pat her on the back. Our favorite is when Bekah climbs up on the rocking chair, carefully places a blanket on her lap, and holds out her arms wanting to hold the baby. We smile to ourselves, amazed as we watch our little 20 month old become nurturing big sis.

Oh, and Sadie is adorable. She has Cara's coloring and my temperament, so far. I love it when she lifts her head on her own and peers up at me, and of course my heart melts when she snuggles up and falls asleep on me. She does, however, have this strange need to be awake from about 2-4 am. Every night. Parenting rocks.

Our 3 month old newborn

When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world...John 16:21

All is now quiet, such a strange and wonderful lull in our apartment, with Sadie and Cara both fast asleep. We just arrived home last night about 6:30 and had a great night with Sadie. She has been eating well about every 3-4 hours and has been sleeping soundly, much better than Bekah did initially, with the exception of one gas episode that kept Cara up for a while. And she's just so darn cute!! I can't go too long without having to go peek in on her chubby cheeks. Even though she's nearly 10 lbs, she still feels so small and soft. We think she looks a ton like Bekah--so much so that we keep on calling her Bekah on accident. We feel kinda bad.

As for Cara, she is somewhat tired and sore, but overall good just as long as she takes enough Vicodin. She is suddenly so much lighter and able to sleep more comfortably, and it is great seeing her improve hour by hour. If anything I just have to keep her from taking on too much! She actually was able to experience labor pains Thursday morning right before we were leaving for the hospital for our scheduled c-section. Right before she went into surgery she was having contractions 3 minutes apart. But there was no way Sadie could have been born naturally since her head was 15 cm around, but at least we know she was finally ready. Anyways, Cara was awake for the whole thing and was able to hold Sadie right after she was born, with Sadie almost attempting to nurse right in the operating room. After that we enjoyed seeing so many family and friends, and the nursing staff at French was phenomenal. Anyways, we are so happy that everything went smoothly and we are thrilled to be home, now a family of four!! Now I'm really outnumbered. Bekah has been having a ball with Grammie Jan (Cara's Mom)--eating popsicles, running through the sprinkler, and hopefully (maybe) missing Cara and I just a little. We'll get her back tonight so she will hopefully handle having Sadie home well. If Bekah's hospital visits are any indication, she's going to be the best big sis.

Our Sadie Joan

Just wanted to quickly post some pics of our new daughter, Sadie Joan. First of all, both her and Cara did fabulously and are recovering quicker than expected. Sadie was born by c-section at 9:59a yesterday (7/10), 10 lbs 3 oz and 21 1/2 inches long. Cara and I are so blessed! More to come later, but for now enjoy this intro to our little girl.

Starting to Freak!

I'm sitting at my dinning room table this morning, drinking the one cup of coffee I'm allowed each day, listening to one of Bekah's favorite movies...Charlotte's Web and I started thinking...and then I started freaking out........

I only have 3 days left until I'm a mommy of 2 little girls! How is the world am I going to do it? A busy 20month old and a newborn????? I want to cry at the thought. How do you love the second one as much as you love the first? How do you make time for both plus your husband.....and maybe yourself? How do you lose all the baby weight again? I've been so busy with life and work throughout this whole pregnancy I haven't allowed myself to really think about all the details of brining home this new baby and how we are all going to survive....I'd just keep thinking..."she can't be as hard as Bekah was...right?" What if she is? I know every young mom has felt these emotions at one point...I guess I just need these prego. hormones to go away so maybe life won't seem as overwhelming...and I won't be so emotional...I hate feeling like I'm about to cry!

At least my sis Katie is on her way to SLO right now to hang out and help me for the week and our little sis Kacey who just had her firstborn last Thursday....little Gavin....he's so cute and so small...only 6lbs 15oz. I'm so thankful for my sisters...all 4 of them are a blessing to me!!!

So....thanks for listening to me this morning - maybe I'll try to post again before Thursday!

9 Days and Counting

The latest on Cara:
To summarize, Cara is incredibly uncomfortable. Really, uncomfortable is not strong enough a word. Every move is accompanied by a groan or gasp, and at the end of every day, her feet and back flat out kill her to the point where she can't even walk. Most of the time I look at her and consider it a miracle that she can still stand. And to top it all off, her doctor teased her by comparing her to Santa Claus, citing the way her belly shakes when she laughs. She didn't deck him, just in case you were wondering...she just laughed harder. Last week, we found out that the baby is currently, with two weeks still remaining, 9 lbs 5 oz!!! By the 10th, her c-section day, the baby will probably weigh well over 10 lbs. So keep praying that she continues to endure and that the baby decides to maybe come out earlier. Gravity do your thing!!

And thanks for all your encouraging words and prayers...we don't know what we'd do without the help of our family and friends!! We are counting our many blessings. Cara can still move around, and her maternity leave officially starts today. She's also totally looking forward to getting back on Weight Watchers, something I have mixed feelings about. Bekah, we think, is beginning to realize some of what will happen, often touching Cara's tummy and saying "baby!"--we can't wait to see how Bekah fills her role as big sis. We are also incredibly thankful that our baby seems to be very healthy. Cara and I can't wait to her in our arms next Thursday, that indescribable moment where discomfort no longer matters.

On another note, Cara's youngest sister Kacey is due to have her baby this Thursday, and Cara and I are so happy to become first-time Aunt and Uncle to their little boy.