February 2014

Ev loves (loves) bacon.  Tag was making breakfast this morning and as Ev was running up the stairs she caught a whiff and stopped dead in her tracks, exclaiming "Mmmmmm that smells amazing!! I want some bacon poppa!"  She's quite a pretty little carnivore.

Emerson is so fun to watch.  His busy little hands are getting more accurate and sure every day.  He reaches for things all the time now -- makes things a bit more complicated. We went to the library today and he wouldn't stop grabbing at the pages as I sat with him on my lap reading to Evelyn. Glad he likes books.  We'll have to get him one that he can actually wrangle.

He does this funny little chirpy whine now when he gets sleepy.  It's new.  Made me laugh earlier today, which made him grin and giggle.  Such a happy boy.  Even when he's sleepy.  I'm so in love with this little man.  He's a charmer and a half.

My mini-me with me for a coffee stop ("warm cocoa" for her)

Oma has been our saving grace these past few weeks, since I've gone back to work.  She arrives early each morning after I leave for work, and watches over Emerson all day until I return home in the early evening.  It's a long day for her...but I couldn't imagine a more wonderful scenario for our little E man.  She dotes over him like only an Oma can.  And she helps so much at the house, doing laundry, cooking amazing meals -- it's incredible.  She has several more weeks with us - after which I imagine we won't see her for a while since she'll be so sick of our house (!).  But this is hopefully a very special time for her, getting to make memories with her only grandson at such a tender baby age.

February 2014 - Family of Four

We're feeling pretty great as a family of four.

Evelyn is really starting to relax into her role as big sister.  Emerson loves watching her -- his eyes track her movements when he can spot her in his sights.  And she never fails to make him giggle.

We are ready for spring -- suffering a bit of cabin fever with all this cold. It's a tougher winter than we've been accustomed to.  Took a nice walk today in the cold though, with both kids in strollers and the two bouviers.  Ev refused to wear her coat/hat so we packed them into a stroller to have them ready for when she realized that we weren't lying about the chilly wind.  She is so stubborn, she "showed us" and opted to run along in front of us for quite a ways -- no coat, no hat (yeah, bad parenting probably).  She has pretty amazing stamina actually.  By the end, she was huddled in her stroller, hoodie pulled up over her head with Tag's hat on, coat wrapped around her, whimpering about the cold. Stubborn goat.

A walk to Starbux is rewarded with a treat.

Emerson loves stroller rides.  Never complains when I pull him into a thick snowsuit and zipper him in.  Even when you pull a hat onto his head and strap him into the stroller, he's relaxed and content. He's usually asleep after 5 or 10 minutes into the walk.

Winter Olympics are on (Sochi) and Ev has been intrigued by the figure skaters.  She's quite the critic, actually.  "I don't like her hair.  Or her dress."
"What about her ice dancing?"
"No."
"Do you like her jumps?"
"No."
"Hmm.  How about her spins?"
"Yes. I like the twirling."

When the male skaters come on, she's curious about why they wear glittery outfits.  "Is that a boy or a girl mamma?"
"That's a boy."
"Well then why is he wearing sparkles?"

November 2013

Playing in the leaves with Oma !!

Look who we met at the playground!

Miss Evelyn has enjoyed being the recipient of "big sister" gifts.  We continue to receive amazingly generous gifts from friends and family for the baby, and they always sneak in a special something for Evelyn.  When her friends Haidyn and Ashtyn welcomed a baby brother in early October, I took Evelyn to the store to pick out "congratulations!" bags for them -- she had so much fun selecting little gifts and treats. When her own baby brother arrived, Evelyn was expectant when she arrived at the hospital.  "Where's my congratulations bag?!" she demanded.  Well I'm happy to report that she has been overly spoiled by all the thoughtful friends and family members who sent her a special big sister treat. And she loves opening all of Emerson's gifts for him -- "He doesn't even know what a present is!" she explains as she rips the wrapping off.

A friend invited us to a Santa breakfast event at a local church. Evelyn has been shy about meeting Santa in past years.  I wasn't sure how this year would go.  We were enjoying our breakfast when Ev started pinging me about getting in line to see the Santa, who was up on the stage at the front of the room.  I told her we'd wait until we finished eating.  She got impatient and begged me to let her go stand in line. Curious, I said, "sure" and watched her prance over to the end of the line of families - all by herself.  She stood there, patiently waiting, until she got to the front of the line.  Before I knew it, she jumped up onto the stage and crawled onto Santa's lap.  I had to run over and give our info to the photographer.  Ev was happily chatting with Santa, posed for the photo with a huge toothy smile on her face, then gave him a big bear hug and hopped off his lap, accepted her candy cane (she LOVES candy canes) waving goodbye as she exited stage right.  The candy canes became part of her new invention:  peppermint milk (drink milk through a straw with a candy cane in your mouth). What a hoot.

kisses kisses kisses

innovation: peppermint milk

super cute Piggy Paint and decals from Aunt Claudia

Tag flew up to Chicago for a family wedding (Tyler got married!), arm cast and all, so I was on my own with the baby and Evey for a long weekend.  Thank goodness for play dates.  Ev had a good time with her buddy Skye one afternoon, and our friends the Feinstones were happy to have Ev visit for a bit, which really helped me out.  She's a bit of a bear with her baby brother...I feel like a defensive guard trying to keep everybody happy.  Exhausting. I'm ready for her to just relax about it already.

There was a critical workshop at my office that I wanted to show my support for, so I packed up little man for a day on the job.  It's not every workplace that would welcome an infant -- but mine was so thrilled to have Emerson there that they fought over who got to hold him (!).  He was a dreamboat, sleeping soundly through much of the day, waking only when he was hungry.  Wish I could just take him with me when I go back to work.  Dreading having to leave him at home while I spend 10+ hours a day away from him...

Emerson at the front of the room during a breakout session

Tag flew to Boston for a work thing so I had yet another weekend on my own (good practice).  That's when the heat decided to go out.  My parents were out of town, so I called our friend Tim (HVAC pro) and he walked me through the checks to see what the problem might be.  I had to leave Emerson in his bouncy seat in the room off the attic (didn't want to take him into the cold cold attic or anywhere near the broken furnace), and I locked Ev out of the room to keep her from mangling him (you can imagine how she felt about that).  So I had a cold house (62 degrees), a crying infant, a screaming 4 year old, and I'm trying to figure out how to trouble shoot a darn furnace over the phone. Wasn't pretty.

The beauty of playdates
Skye, Ev and Chloe burned up an afternoon with happy painting

Life with a new baby

Life for Evelyn as a newborn was quiet and simple. We rarely left the house except to see the doctor and to buy groceries. Emerson's life has been full of activity and outings from his first week on the planet.  He's been carted around - in a car seat, a sling, an ergo carrier - to parties, to a farm (!), trick-or-treating...keeping up with an active 4 year old means there's never a dull moment!

Tag had elbow surgery shortly after Emerson's arrival, which has made things more complicated as well. He's been in a lot of pain, and his elbow is stuck in a cast, so he's a bit handicapped for now.  We're doing our best to manage.  It feels like a lot...  

Emerson is the sweetest thing you can imagine.  Very patient.  Very calm.  He seems very laid-back.  And our dear, amazing Evelyn...  Well, she is balancing things out by heightening her energy levels.  

I wasn't sure how Ev would respond to having a real baby in the house.  I think it's disconcerting for her on many levels.  While she loves the fact that there is a baby (she floods him with kisses and wants to hug and squeeze the dickens out of him) she seems manic about everything and is likely nervous about how this impacts her role or position in the family.  We're trying to be patient and inviting, but I'm still physically recovering from the delivery and trying to establish regular breastfeeding while getting up several times a night to feed/diaper an infant, and Tag is locked up in a painful cast...so I feel for her and can see that this will be a struggle for all of us. Thank goodness for Oma who is helping out and also devoting special attention to Evelyn (Ev loves sleep-overs at Oma and Opa's house, where she is almost literally the center of the universe - they really dote on her, which is super fabulous).

Still loves baths - plays happily with a simple cup, bowl and spoon.
And some Mr. Bubble.

sleeping angel

spending some time with Poppa "at the office"

Halloween pumpkin carving

Ev (aka Minnie Mouse) took the baby out Trick-or-Treating with Oma and Opa

Birthday party for friend Chloe at a farm...baby in tow 

Elbow surgery victim.  Ugh.

Smitten

The hospital nurses took good care of us.  They left us alone for the most part, unless we needed something.  I kept the baby in the room with me most of the night, when they weren't testing him for something or doing some other procedure. Couldn't stand the thought of him all alone in a nursery where I couldn't see him.  He was supposed to sleep in his plastic bassinet that they rolled in and out of our room, but the 2 feet between his cradle and my hospital bed seemed so distant that I pulled him into the bed with me, bundled tightly in his blanket, and slept with him cradled in my arm.

The bassinet where he slept for brief moments when he wasn't being held (!)

Getting to know each other

Tag was the one who kept us on task and kept bringing me back to the subject of naming. "We have to decide on a name - let's focus on that right now." We wanted to include my father's name, so we finally settled on what felt like a fitting name for our gentle, thoughtful little man:  Emerson John Graham.  Afterward, when we looked it up on the internet, exploring Ralph Waldo Emerson's legacy, we confirmed that it seemed a perfect fit.

Our final day in the hospital - clear to go home 

He had a few visitors at the hospital:  Evelyn of course, Oma and Opa, and also the Sullivan's (Franklin, Darcy, Lilly and Jackson) just before they drove to the airport to leave for Switzerland (!). I'm so grateful that they got to see the baby before they left.

"Can I hold him?! Can I hold him?! I wanna Hold Him!"

October 24th - Birth Day !!!

He finally arrived !!

I had the "one week late" doctor visit and my doctor and Tag both convinced me that to wait any longer would only increase risks.  No benefit to waiting any longer, so I agreed to the scheduled induction for Thursday morning, Oct 24th.

Wednesday afternoon I picked up Ev from school and chatted for a moment with one of the teacher aides.  Naturally, she told me a horror story about an induced birth.  Great.  Yes, I know pittocin contractions are fierce. Yes, I know induced labor can mean a long and intense birth... When I got home, Tag and I took the dogs around the lake (walking walking walking, trying to get this labor to kick off) and poor Tag tried to console me and give me courage. The morning ahead loomed fuzzy and unreal. I prayed that it would go smoothly.

Somehow, I was able to settle in to sleep that night, Oma tucked in upstairs to care for Evelyn the next day. My alarm was set for 4am to give me time to get ready and arrive at the hospital by 5am for our appointment. I woke in the middle of the night to some subtle back aching... A quick glance at the clock told me it was 12:57am. I wasn't sure what to make of it...but it seemed to me that the ache was getting deeper and stronger...Was I imagining it? Was I creating this? Or was it real?! I lay very still, breathing evenly, observing the sensations, and slowly but surely I came to understand that this was REAL and I was SO EXCITED!  I thought if I could just hold on and keep it going, that they would agree not to induce me when we arrived at the hospital.

Tag stirred at one point and asked if I was okay.  I grinned at him like an idiot and whispered, "I'm in labor!"  He laughed and said "No way" and then started timing the start-stop ("5 minutes apart...that doesn't seem right..."). I was calm and still, but was having a total party on the inside - soooo incredibly relieved to be in real labor, all by myself. Tag fell back asleep (!!) and I breathed evenly through the next couple hours until I got up at 4am and took a shower.  Wow.  That really got things going, and the contractions forced me to stop with each wave and just focus on breathing. I had to wake Tag up at 4:45 (!!) and told him we needed to get going. He messed around, letting the dogs out and stuff and at that point I was having trouble even standing upright so I essentially told him to kick it into high gear because We Needed To Go. NOW.

In the car, the contractions tightened their grip on me. That's when Tag understood that this baby was coming.  Like, now. Thank God it was early and there was no traffic.  It was still dark when we pulled up to the hospital entrance (damn those speed bumps !!).  As I shuffled and moaned my way across the lobby, Tag and the security guy tried to offer me a wheel chair but the thought of stopping or sitting was impossible somehow so I grunted a "no" and headed for the elevators.

When we got to the delivery floor and reached the reception desk I hissed to the woman behind the glass, "we're here for a 5am induction, but we don't need it." She had me sign in (hold a pen how?) and asked me to be seated until they were ready for me - Tag rushed off to park the vehicle - so I labored (rather loudly) in the waiting room, in front of a young pregnant woman and who looked to be her mother (must have scared the wits out of her). The nurses finally came to get me (maybe it was only 2 minutes -- it felt like forever) and took me to a delivery room, got me dressed and then checked my progress.  The pace and energy in the room room suddenly rocketed.  Apparently I was fully dilated and this baby was knocking on the door.  They rushed to get an IV in my hand and called my doc. Tag was back by then and he became my pillar and my focal point.  Specifically, his hand, as I put all of my focus and strength into gripping that hand through the contractions.  When the doctor arrived he broke my water, they told me to push, and by 6:16am we had a brand new baby boy!  Tadaaa!!  It Was Awesome.  I thought, "this is how it's supposed to happen."  And our baby boy was so beautiful, so perfect, so flawless.  Incredible. We are overwhelmed with blessings.

8 lbs 5 oz, 21 inches long, and healthy healthy healthy

Tag didn't even get a chance to have a cup of coffee before our baby arrived - HA !

Evelyn was eager to meet her baby brother - at long last !

October 2013 -- Still Waiting...

Okay, I'm over it.  Due date came and went....Nothing. I was sure that this baby would come early.  That I wouldn't have to worry about being overdue. Ha.  The joke is on me.

My doctor says we'll give it one week and then we have to induce.  This thought terrifies me because I do not want to use any drugs for the birth. And the rate for c-section with inductions is pretty high. Although my doctor assures me that his section rate is the lowest in the region (which is, of course, why I chose him). I remain very anxious.

I've been walking at night under the moon, willing labor to start -- I'm lucky it's a beautiful, full moon -- hoping that will kick start things somehow.

Still considering names...
we'll have to meet this guy before we pick one that suits him

...tick tock...tick tock...

I wasn't anticipating that I'd attend the Merck Tech Conference this year, seeing as it was held on the 17th.  Well sure enough, I was there.  Which was pretty fabulous actually because, to my shock and amazement, I was awarded the Merck Consumer Care 2013 Scientific Achievement Award (!!!). Had my photo taken with our President Bridgette Heller and CSO John O'Mullane, swollen belly and all. What a trip.