Daddy's girls

No, Amara wasn't asleep on dad, just wanting to "share," I'm pretty sure--

Though most parents get to hold their sleeping kiddos a lot, we are learning balance with the 2 yr. old running about.  We are using the "divide and conquer" method most of the time--one of us to one kid, and it works most of the time, but sometimes one of them needs one of us that can't be substituted!

I thought this was really sweet and quickly grabbed the camera (something else I'm trying to get better at) and got one shot anyway--mostly so we can prove there are peaceful moments :)

A few pics from the hospital

With all the craziness of the delivery on Thursday, we barely got any pics--so we caught up with the grandparents' help on Friday.

I think this was the first official "sister" photo we got--sure to not be the last!

Grandpa Young, getting to hold her while she's quiet :)

Gazing up at uncle Matt--I think coming by during work hours (in scrubs) surprised and confused the hospital staff sufficiently!

They seem to be giving each other a bit of a stare-down here...

Grandpa and Grandma Jim and Jackie, this is granddaughter #2 for them and grandchild overall number 6 for them, congrats!

All swaddled up with Grandma Young

And a very UNswaddled Amara--I think the two of them logged some miles running around the hospital after snacks and drinks, mostly to occupy Amara, who was done with the visit by this point!

Daddy time

The other night I had a haircut appointment that I'd already moved twice, that I just couldn't bring myself to cancel.  My hairdresser now only has evening appointments and I knew I'd be sticking Eric with both girls at bedtime (ugh) but he insisted I go.  I told him to text or call me if I needed to rush out of there--it's just up the road but still.



He was reading to Amara in bed and she fell asleep in his arm, while Cora was snoozing up on his shoulder, so cute.

He texted me this photo not half an hour after I'd left--apparently they took mercy on him and he enjoyed it much more than we thought could be possible.

I'm SO glad it went well--though, no more evening appointments until after maternity leave for me :)

Welcome baby sister

Cora Mahrea Young!...now here's the story...

Thursday i worked from home b/c my BP was up--Eric decided to also b/c I had maybe a half dozen contractions Wed. night, not enough to count or anything, just precautionary...so we got Chipotle for lunch, maybe a contraction lasting 20 seconds every other hour, but no biggie.

We lost power around 2:30...and I was dilly dallying waiting for power to come on and deciding whether or not to have mom bring Amara back here, w /no power.  Around 4, I started having contractions every 15 minutes, but short, not a minute like they tell you. At 4:15,(I know I was still on f/book and emailing... )

I finally decided to just take a quick shower, and sometime after 4:30 and before 5ish, contractions basically doubled up and all of a sudden were every 3 minutes. Literally. Eric called the hospital and they said, well, you can bring her in, just to have her checked--but by the time he was off the phone, i had to have him help me get dressed and we rushed out the door with my hair wet, etc.. mom brought Amara over and we literally said 'bye' in the driveway.

I was in astonishing pain the whole ride there, basically in contractions every 90 seconds lasting a minute for the 35 minute ride, I was swearing at Eric for laughing at me, telling him to drive faster, then pull over, then faster, then avoid bumps, it was comical if i didn't think I was dying!

I got to the ER entrance at 6:19 and they brought a gurney for me, I was taken into triage where they decided I was 8 cm already and it was too late for any epidural, IV, pain med, etc. and that " I was going to have this baby in a second anyway" so i got into a room, they took my clothes off while I'm yelling "oh God" and "help me" b/c I was SO scared and freaked out and shaking in so much pain, and she was born at 6:41. Perfectly fine (ornery) and big, and loud, etc.

Mom brought Amara up to the hospital--considering it happened all so fast, it was nice for Amara to meet baby sister (finally) and let her know what was going on.  She brought this adorable blue and orange snail for baby sister, which, I'm sure will be a long term favorite keepsake for all of us.  We kept it in her bed in the hospital room, and have it in the house now too.

When my OB came in on Friday--I was 'supposed to be induced then' she said "um...why were you only on the monitors 20 minutes? Is there a story there?
classic..

Ready for baby sister?

I asked Eric to write this post, one night after Amara going to bed...he'd asked her if she was ready for baby sister to come, and I guess she got really excited and started talking about all the things she was going to do with her...

This entry is well after-the-fact, but especially when I’m involved, better late than never, and we wanted it recorded … Shortly before Micki’s due date, as I was putting Amara to bed one night, I reminded her “you know, baby sister will be here soon.  You’re going to have so much fun.”  To which, the reply was much more detailed than I expected : “Yeah, it’s going to be greaaaat.  She can read books with me.  She can eat food with me.  She can play puzzles with me.  She can watch Tom & Jerry with me.  She can lay in bed with me and look up at moons-and-stars (her ladybug night light/star projector).  And, I will give her biiig hugs and kisses!”

 

super cute ;)

Grandpa's bday

Seems any excuse we have now to cook or bake brings out the equipment--both baking and the camera!

With Grandpa's b-day the day before my due date, we didn't want to take a chance in trying to go out, but we did plan on the traditional homemade pizza and cake (chocolate) for Grandpa.  Beanie wasted no time in getting all the ingredients for me and getting started--

We timed it so that it baked and cooled during naptime.  Amara woke from her nap ready to decorate!  First the icing, with a little help from dad--

Then the really important part, the sprinkles and candles, to make it really super special for Grandpa.

After our dinner and dessert, it was present time.  We got dad a hat with LED lighting on it, that he'd asked for, and Amara got him a big bag of his favorite mini-tootsie pops for his truck--an ongoing joke between them.  We had a great time, Amara loved playing hostess, and we know Grandpa really loved all his treats! 

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

Superbowl Sunday

Amara is becoming quite the sous chef in the kitchen...and what would the Superbowl be without snacks, right?  After naptime, Eric got down to the business of making his queso, guacamole, and pedro sandwiches.  It's a fine line of interest vs. disaster when it comes to cooking with Amara, but she was really into it and we did our best to give her jobs where she could succeed and the right tools to do so!

A favorite was tearing the velveeta chunks that Eric would pre-cut into smaller hunks for her. Perfect.  Then she helped him run the blender and pour the rotell in, started the microwave and voila, one recipe down!

Onto the guac--smashing the avacados with the masher proved successful!  Sometimes she likes the flavor and sometimes not, but Eric got her the perfect small round tortillas, so she had a buffet of grapes, tortilla's and dips to keep her occupied.

We talked about doing cookies--Eric was going to make ginger for me, and we decided to punt--lest it take TOO long, but we did have time to get the pedros done.  By that time, Amara had moved on, but Eric and I enjoyed making a few changes to a family favorite and loved the results.

I think the next holiday to tackle is a cheesecake for Grandpa's birthday (a tradition) unless baby sister shows up--we'll have to see!