typical boy stuff

Last night at bedtime, I was giving Simon a shower of kisses all over his face and he protested, "STOP it MOM!" I stopped and asked, "Why Simon?" He responded playfully, "Because I'll throw up on you!" Of course. But then he asked me for another round of kisses. Boys.

adjusting to life with Josie + when i grow up + hard head

It's been nearly two weeks since Josie was born. We're getting into a pretty good rhythm, though it's hard to say what "real life" looks like yet since Josie is still in a newborn sleepy state. She literally has only been alert for a few hours total in her first two weeks of life outside the womb. She nurses well every 1-1/2 to 2 hours (or every 2-3 hours in the night) and promptly drifts back off to dreamland. Bryan took a few days off work to stay home with us and it has helped us all to be together again to get acclimated to the new pace of life. The older two are adjusting great. Ella has insisted on being my little helper around the house, making her own bed and dusting every surface. She seems as if she has grown up considerably in the last few weeks. She loves her sister and says things like, "Hello, sweetheart!" and kisses her on the forehead. Simon seems completely adjusted to her arrival and not at all threatened by her new status as "the baby." He's quite happy to be her older brother and checks on her and asks about her when he doesn't see her in the same room. His only complaint is that my belly is no longer a good pillow. Before her birth, he loved to snuggle up next to my belly at bedtime and sing songs together. Now he seems to miss his special resting spot.

Fortunately, with Josie's sleepy schedule, I've still been able to help out with the bedtime routine for the older kids. I love this time since it usually makes for the most interesting and intimate conversations with them. Last night, I asked Ella some questions in the darkness of her room.

Me: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Ella: A ballerina princess with makeup.
Me: Oh! That sounds lovely!
Ella: But MOM! What if I forget?
Me: What do you mean Ella? Why would you forget?
Ella: What if I grow up and then I don't remember anymore?

I didn't have the heart to tell her that being a princess isn't really a vocation you can get a degree for...but I suppose that lesson just teaches itself. In the meantime, she can aspire to be the prettiest ballerina princess ever and I won't ruin the dream with reality checks.

In further, less rosey news, I was playing rough with Simon this morning and, having missed being able to horseplay with my children while pregnant, I might have overdone it. I picked him up by his hands to swing him as he giggled with joy and aimed to toss him on his soft cushy bed. Instead, he bounced and knocked his noggin right on the wall behind him. To my horror, it made a dent in the plaster and he began crying! I rushed to comfort him and pulled him to my lap, kissing his face and checking to see if there was a bump. The kid must have hit the hardest part of his head just right on the wall because there was no evidence of injury or pain. As I cuddled with him and apologized profusely, he said, "I love you Momma." At which I nearly crumbled feeling like the worst mom in the whole world! Just one of those moments to keep me humble I suppose...

josephine is here

Well, it's four weeks before my due date but she decided she was ready to arrive! Josephine Rose Mowrey was born on Tuesday, January 12, 2010. It was the craziest event...I was completely unprepared and not expecting her to arrive so early. But these things can never really be predicted! Every baby comes into the world in a different way on a different schedule!

Josie's birth story is somewhat embarrassing. I woke up around 2 a.m. with some leakage that I thought was some bladder trouble (oh the joys of late pregnancy!) As soon as I stood up, my pants were soaked and I was alarmed thinking, "Wow, I have some serious trouble with my bladder!" Seriously. I was so far off the idea that I could be in labor that I immediately thought it made more sense that I wet myself. I got cleaned up and went back to bed with crazy thoughts going through my mind..."Was that my water that broke? Noway...it's too soon. I must be having bladder trouble since I haven't been good about my pregnancy exercises." I tried to go back to sleep but the nagging thought that my water might have broken kept me awake. I decided to get online to at least see what to look for. After reading a few facts about water breaking before labor even starts, I began to think this scenario was much more likely. I climbed back into bed and woke Bryan up. Then we called the doctor. He told me I should head to the hospital to find out for sure if the water had broken but that it was possible the baby kicked my bladder. (Some kick right?)

I lugged myself around the house trying to gather my thoughts about how to pack when my laundry was completely overflowing and I hadn't really prepared for an early delivery. We got it all together and loaded up in the car around 3:30 am in the freezing cold and frozen snow leaving Elijah at home with our sleeping kids. I still had no contractions and no further leaking so I began to wonder if this was the real deal or not. When we arrived at the hospital and had the test done to see if the fluid was amniotic, it was clear to the doctor on call that labor was imminent and it was, indeed, my membranes that had ruptured. They set us up in a labor and delivery room to rest and wait for labor to begin or my doctor to arrive in the morning.

I couldn't sleep. There was too much to think about! How long before contractions would begin? Would the baby be small or unhealthy or would there be any complications like I had experienced with my past births? I prayed and committed it all to God's control and tried to quiet my mind. I got a small amount of rest until the doctor came in to consult with me around 8:30 am. Labor still had not begun and he decided we should get it going with some pitocin. They started me on an IV around 9 am.

By 10:30 or so, labor was beginning to get increasingly intense. We had decided to use anesthesia this time since I have had so many problems with third stage labor and hemorhage in my last two deliveries. The nurse encouraged me to get the epidural before it got too advanced and I agreed, remembering how difficult it was to sit still during the sustained and difficult contractions when I labored with Simon. I got the epidural around 5 cm dialated and tried to rest for a bit. But within half an hour, I startled myself awake with pressure, feeling like it was time to push. Bryan called the nurse and, sure enough, I had progressed to a 9.5, nearly complete and Josie was ready to be born.

The doctor arrived shortly thereafter and we got ready to meet our baby. Only a few pushes, and she was here, safe and sound. There was no further bleeding or trouble and she arrived crying loudly and persistently, ruling out the fear of underdeveloped lungs. I got to snuggle with her for a long time before they did any evaluations or gave her a bath. She is small...6 pounds, 2 ounces...but she is very strong and healthy. I am so pleased and recovering really well. It has been such a blessing to bond with her without all the trouble of recovering from a tramatic experience. I am not in much pain or distress. Just hoping she begins to eat well and gain weight! I can't wait to get home and share her with Simon and Ella and reunite our family! We go home in the morning! Love you Jose.

bedtime moments

Last night's bedtime was eventful. Firstly, Ella read to ME. And this time, it wasn't just her trying to recollect the story or making her own story up to go along with the pictures, she actually READ to me. And she is doing really well with her reading! It is one of those things that seemed to happen overnight and she is enjoying it. I am too...it makes me proud to hear her putting sounds together so confidently.

In further bedtime news, after stories were read, Ella and I spent some time cozying up in her bed. She wanted me to tell her some stories from when I was a kid (she always likes these types of stories) so I came up with a few. The second memory/story I told her was something like this:

Every summer, I stayed with my Grandma Florence and because she worked so hard in her beauty shop, my cousin Katie and I had to come up with things to entertain ourselves. Grandma bought us a membership to the local swimming pool and we spent most afternoons swimming and sunbathing. Most of the time, we didn't take any money or snacks with us so by the time Grandma came to pick us up, we were famished from swimming and running around all afternoon. On one particular day, she collected us from the pool but had to go right back to work. When we got to the house, she had some hamburger cooking on the stove, crumbled up with onions like she was making spaghetti sauce. The smell was heavenly and Katie and I were STARVING! So, even though we knew this hamburger was meant to be part of the family meal, we devoured it just between the two of us. And then we proceeded to make root beer floats. When Grandma came back to the kitchen to finish preparing dinner, she discovered the meat was all gone. My grandpa was livid. Halfway through my root beer float, I set the glass down and declared that if I ate another bite, I would surely be sick. Frustrated by our gluttony and selfishness, he replied, "You served yourself all that food, you better finish it." I protested. "But I'll throw up if I eat any more!" He stood his ground. I finished the root beer float and then ran to the bathroom just in time to throw it all up! YUCK!

When I finished this story, Ella burst into tears! (What terrible judgment on my part to share such a memory!) She said, "Mommy, I wish I could have been there to tell him not to do that! He shouldn't have made you eat all that!" She was genuinely sad and disturbed and full of empathy for me. I tried to soften the blow by telling her I felt better afterward and that Grandpa was really a nice man, he just wanted to show me how selfish I had been. Somehow, I distracted her from the horrors of the story and we moved on. But I was left feeling moved by her care for me and compassion.

Ella truly does get sweeter every day and I love our times before bed when all is quiet and the light is dim. Our new baby will be here in a few weeks and we're all looking forward to meeting her and seeing her face and doting over her. But for now, I am relishing the times with the older two and know that in the next few months, our night times will look different. Every moment is precious and I am drinking them in now more than ever.

big little brother

Last night we had a birthday party for our dear friend Amie and had a few of her friends join us for dinner. Three of the friends who attended were the McPeak brothers (Joel, Ryan and Levi) who seem to bring out the wild and crazy side of our children. Ella and Simon look forward to seeing the McPeaks more than any little friend as they get some seriously rowdy play time with these guys. There's always chasing, wrestling, crazy faces and imaginative games. (I love the McPeaks' sense of fun and childlike-ness!) Early in the evening, Levi had put on a string of beads that Simon put up quite a fuss about. Simon became territorial about them and insisted Levi give them back to him so he could wear them. After dinner, the rough play ensued and Levi was wrestling with them on the living room floor. Just as he pretended he was going to bite Ella on her foot, Simon stepped in and protested, "HEY! NO! That's my SISTER!" Then he took off the beaded necklace and offered it to Levi. "Here. You can have this." Wow! It really blew my mind that, not only did he stick up for his sister, but he wanted to exchange a peace offering to ensure her safety. What a guy!

Joel and Levi McPeak