Baby V Has Arrived

Wednesday morning, September 19th dawned just as most mornings do when you are 9 months pregnant:  with an early trip to the restroom.  Only this time, my water was leaking and I knew it was today that our baby would be born.

The funny thing was that I was hoping that she would wait until the 19th or later so that I could deliver her at the new hospital (10 minutes away versus 30-50).  They opened the 19th at 8 am.

I packed my suitcase and we got the kids off to school, then headed over to the hospital

 I knew that a new hospital would still have glitches and hiccups, but it was definitely more than I expected.  There were people everywhere, trying to get everything going that first day.  It made doing everything slower than usual.  There were also nurses from many different hospitals.  They were all GREAT nurses when it came to patient care, but they all had a learning curve on the new systems and paperwork.

I have had my water break twice before (with K and J) and both experiences were somewhat similar.  This was different.  By 3 pm, I was contracting on my own and they had intensified, but they were still far apart (10 minutes or so).  And, by this point I was STARVING and tired.  They started Pitocin and the contractions did pick up.  :)

At the very end, I decided I was ready for an epidural.  I didn't know it was so close, but those last couple of contractions were so much better.  :)

She was born at 5:31 pm--the first baby ever born in the new hospital.  :)

 That night, my sister brought K, C, and J over to see their new sister.  They were so excited.  You can see C's face is just radiating.  They were all so excited!

 This is the first time I have had a baby while S and family live close.  I love my sister and I am sooooooo glad!

 K could hold her all day long.  I am grateful for the bond they already share.

Unfortunately and frustratingly for me, they kept me a second night at the hospital.  CK went home this time and brought the three kids up to see her and I and to eat dinner together.

 Here they are eating pizza together.  CK then went home and stayed with them overnight.

This is the next morning:  They told us we could go home right away in the morning.  Nope.  Darn new hospital again.  There are a lot of systems and bugs to work out and it took hours to discharge us.  I was so ready to get home!

 After we got home, she had her first home visitors, the W family.  These lovely girls/woman have been our friends for years.  It was appropriate that they were the first to visit at home.

 Yesterday, K also came over to see her.  She is another amazing woman that I have been friends with for years and years.  Again so appropriate that she was among the first to see V.

 This gorgeous quilt is what K gave her at my baby shower.  Wow!  She has such talent and this blanket is beautiful!!!

 Also yesterday, Grandma K flew in from Idaho.  This is the first time that V met her Grandma K.  We are all grateful that V got here before Grandma.  :)

This is my only gift for having Baby #1, a cute diaper cake.  A year's supply would have been better, but this was a great memento, too.

 This was V this morning, ready for church.  She looked so cute with a dress on.  :)

 Also, this is her first Cowboys game.  It was played this afternoon, but we won't watch it until later (the Sabbath day).  But, in honor of the occasion, I put a Cowboys onsie underneath her dress.  :)

And, another time with Grandma. :)

That will bring her up to day 4 of her life!  :)  She has almost been alive for 4 whole days---almost to the minute.  :)

Weekend away

We stay in hotels enough that we had earned a couple of free nights.  We didn't realize that they expired.  We had been kind of hoarding those nights for a weekend away with just CK and I, but the summer was crazy and we always had 1-4 kids and/or a vacation and....etc..  

We were then going to use them when we visit A, but an email came stating they expire at the end of this month.  YIKES!  We didn't want them to go to waste and we'd already paid for a non-refundable room for CK and A a few weeks ago.

So, we decided to take K, C, and J during our weekend with them and surprise them with a night away.  We had two nights, so we just used them on two rooms.  They were so excited.  :)  We didn't do much...we didn't even go far (I am supposed to be close to the hospital just in case)...but we enjoyed some relaxing time together.

Friday night, we checked in, K unpacked, and we loved the rooms.

 
 Then, we went out to dinner.  It was difficult to get a consensus, but finally everyone decided that they could find something yummy if we did breakfast.  Denny's was a couple miles away, so off we went.

 After dinner, we went back to the hotel, relaxed a little, then got ready to go swimming.  The hot tub was hot and the pool was cool.  I mostly just sat and watched and took pictures.  I tried sticking my legs in the hot tub, but even that was too much for my prego body.

 The kids all loved it, though.  For the most part, we were the only ones in the pool area and that was fun, too.

 

 

 C wanted me to get him jumping into the water.  It took a few tries to get the timing right, but we did it!

 The jump (above) and the splash (below).

 And...my belly.  My maternity swimsuit has definitely gotten great use this summer.  It is worth the money I spent (those swimsuits are expensive!).

 We got back and relaxed for a bit before bed.  The TV was on some, but the electronic devices (sigh) were really what they wanted to do.  CK and I watched football in the other room (Go Aggies!).

 Finally, and perhaps the highlight....breakfast.  The kids love hotel buffet breakfasts, so that was one of the two things on our criteria to find this hotel:  swimming pool and breakfast.  They ate and ate and loved it.  J's eyes were bigger than his stomach, but I think we all were happy and satisfied.  :)

After breakfast, we had to check out early, as two wonderful women that we have gotten to know were getting baptized that morning.  We wanted to be there to support them, so we left a little early.

All in all, though, it was a great and relaxing night and it is always nice to get away once in a while.  We get to stay frequently in hotels with A, since we stay there every time we visit, but our other three kids rarely get to so it was a huge treat.  We are blessed.

Baby Quilt and Baby Shower

I have some of the best friends ever.  With all the busyness of life and with me moving 10 miles away, there are many dear friends that I don't get to see or talk to very often.  With the changes in life as our kids grow up, none of us have the same time to devote to friendships and I miss that terribly.  I am not nearly as social as I have always been and I feel that I have fewer friends than I have ever enjoyed.

BUT....I am wrong!

First, Monday.  I go to quilting at a dear friend's home usually every week.  She is so gracious to open her home and to share her expertise.  I have quilts I started for three of the kids when the divorce was happening (3 years ago) that I am very close to finishing...but not quite yet.  I went Monday to quilting.  I not only love working on my project, I also love the association with the women that also go.

Monday, I was sitting there sewing and chatting with my good friends, including J who had driven over....and all of a sudden I hear, "Happy Baby to you.  Happy Baby to you...."  It took me a minute to recognize that they were singing for me!  G had made yummy cookies and served them with milk.  And, 5 of my closest friends, my sewing buddies, had worked together to sew a gorgeous quilt for me.  :)  I love that each square has their love and personalities within them.  :)  Thank you, G, T, J, A, and K!

Then, Tuesday was my baby shower.  I did not expect a baby shower.  As I mentioned above, I had been feeling like I didn't have any close friends any longer.  When S (my sister) and 3 of my dear friends mentioned that they were planning one, I was shocked.  I was even more shocked when Tuesday came and so many friends arrived.  I felt so loved and my little girl is loved, too!  :)  Because it was held during the day, I had numerous other friends unable to make it because of work.  I am blessed beyond measure.  I cherish the friendships and these women so much.  I was also worried that I wouldn't have enough blankets for her.  I really didn't have any.  Surprise again!  Blankets came...many handmade (Thanks K, M, M, and A) and many store bought- each one full of love.  I had super cute outfits, a handmade Halloween tutu outfit, and a bunch of handmade and crocheted burp clothes.  I also have some diapers and some bath supplies.  And, 3 of my friends contributed money to go towards the car seat/stroller combo.  S (my sister) and her family gave me a swing and a bassinet, both perfect for what we need.  WOW!  So loved!!

I did not take pictures, but many were taken.  Once I get them, I will add to this post....at least that is my plan!

Scout Crossover and Arrow of Light

Last night, C had his official crossover into boy scouts.  He has been an 11-year-old scout for two months, but the ceremony to go from cubs to boy scouts was held last night.

As I prepared to load pictures for that ceremony, I found some other pictures that I had not yet uploaded and talked about--including C's Arrow of Light ceremony from June.  Arrow of Light is one of the highest achievements that you can earn as a cub scout and is one of or the only one that you can take with you on your scout uniform.  I am proud of him for the extra work that it took for him to earn this arrow.  :)

So, here's the Arrow of Light Ceremony from June:

 I miss this woman so much...The cubmaster moved since this ceremony.  She is missed by all.

 

 

Now for the crossover ceremony last night.  He officially moved from being a cub (Webelo) to being a boy scout.  They did a great job with their welcome.  Brother N is great.  I hope he stays in charge for the entire time that C is a boy scout.  I am very impressed with him.

 Here he is crossing over, with the boy scouts waiting to receive him:

 Now they are putting on the new neckerchief, a symbol of his crossover.

 After they changed his neckerchief and bands, they had him take his parents across.  I can't believe that it is difficult to see my big belly....38 weeks pregnant!

I am soooooo proud of him and his desire and love of scouting.  I know that it will help him to mature into a responsible man.  I am grateful for him and his example to me.  I am so blessed.