Bowling

Thursday we went to dollar bowling with the kiddos.  The girls loved it...

Henry's foot, Parker's foot.

Henry at the bowling alley.

Little man had his two week appointment yesterday.  He was 8 lbs 1 oz and 20 inches long.

Grandma went home yesterday to Grandpa... thank goodness we are going to see her in a few short weeks!  Thanks for all you do Mom, you make all the difference!

Dally's favorite thing to do, she kisses him every two minutes when he is within her reach.

HappyBirthday!

They are ridiculously obsessed with the dogs next door.

My birthday was awesome this year.  We went shopping at the exchange and the commissary, I took a nap in the afternoon (while Park and Grandma made my cake), then had dinner out with my husband (and Henry), and then cake and presents with the girls.  

Thank you to everyone who sent presents, cards, or just wished me a happy birthday!

Then Saturday night Hank and I went out (again!) to the movies and my mom took the girls to the park.  Thanks mom!!!

Dally helping to stir the pancakes.

Henry

This little man is ridiculously sweet and snuggly.

His first bath. Sorry buddy, but your going to have to suffer through a pink tub.  He liked his bath though he never did open his eyes, ha. 

I haven't taken the time to write down his birth story and want to do it before I forget.  If you're not interested- feel free to skip over this part. 

His entire pregnancy seemed to be more layed back then the previous two.  I had Dally and was worried about how hard it was going to be with the two of them close in age so I wasn't overly anxious for him to arrive, and the pregnancy as a whole was just easier- I was less sick, less uncomfortable, and had lots of energy (until the end when my lower legs and feet became ridiculously swollen).  As we got closer to his due date I remained pretty calm, my mom was on her way and Hank needed to make it to his students graduation so when the Dr asked me if I wanted my membranes stripped at my 38 week appointment she seemed to be taken aback by my refusal and the fact that I didn't even want her to check to see if I was dilated.  She acted as if every pregnant lady was in a rush to have their babies.  I thought it would be irresponsible of me to try and start labor the day before graduation and 5 days before my mom got here.  That was Monday.  On Tuesday Dally and I went and watched Hank's students graduate, grateful that the boy had waited and that Hank was now free for whenever his son made his appearance.  On Wednesday I had light irregular contractions but nothing too exciting.  On Thursday Hank was off so we decided to take the girls to Legoland for one last hurrah.  The baby had dropped overnight so I actually felt pretty good and enjoyed the day without contractions or much discomfort.  Friday I felt crampy in the morning, like my period was going to start, but no contractions.  We ran some errands and I spent the rest of the afternoon/evening working on a quilt for a friend.  Finally Hank and I went to bed around 1030 and as soon as I lay down I started feeling light contractions.  I told Hank just as I drifted off to sleep.  At 2am I woke and realized my water had broken.  I told Hank, changed my clothes, texted my parents (it was 5am their time and my mom was at the airport) and tried to go back to sleep but the contractions started coming more strongly.  At 330am my contractions were 3-4 minutes apart and pretty strong.  We called my neighbor Aimee who picked up on the second ring and ran right over, then headed down the hill to the hospital.  The night Dally was born labor and delivery was slammed and it took a long time to get into a room and get care.  This time there was very little going on so we got in a room, got the IV started, was checked (I was 3 cm around 5am), had the epidural started, and were relaxing by change of shift.  The night nurse calculated how long it normally takes to progress and told me I would probably deliver around one in the afternoon and that my mom should be able to make it.  Hank went home to check on the girls and Aimee and make sure she had everything she needed for them.  The night OB came and checked me right before she left and told me I was at 6cm.  It looked like Henry would be here before my mom's flight came in at 1030. When they first placed the epidural I could still feel the contractions, the epidural just took the edge off.  By 7 or 730 I could no longer feel the contractions, and had been dozing when the OB drs came in and told me it was time to push.  From start to finish I pushed for 11 minutes (a total of 6 times), before he was born at 0835.  The doctors laughed because he came out yelling, he didn't wait or need any help.  Instead of going to a warmer they placed him on my chest and did everything they needed to do while he was there.  He was cleaned up and started nursing (he, like his sisters, had no problem figuring that out).  Daddy made sure we were ok and then left around 915 to go get the girls and go pick up Grandma at the airport.  While he was gone Henry got his first bath and was weighed (7 lbs) and measured (18 3/4 inches), they removed most of the lines and monitors from me, and we were moved to the postpartum floor.  We had just gotten settled when Hank, my mom, and the girls showed up.  We knew Park would love him but we weren't sure how Dally was going to do.  Amazingly she loved him from the start.  She was interested in holding him and was very gentle.  We couldn't have asked for a better start.  

Sprinkler + Mud

This is what Parker and Dally did yesterday... totally content to throw/dig dirt and play in the sprinkler.

Week One

Week one has been busy.  Thank goodness for Grandma or else I'd be a crazy momma running on very little sleep.  One of the best surprises from this week has been how well Dally is doing with Henry.  I expected serious jealousy issues but it has been the opposite, she really loves him.  She runs into our room every morning looking for him, and is careful and gentle around him.

Park likes to hold him every once in a while, and will sit with him and just hang out while he's awake.

His Daddy adores him, of course.

Dally was licking the peanut butter out of her bowl, ha.

The new neighbors have two pugs that the girls love going out to play with (they also have a 14 and a 13 year old girls- yay for babysitters!!!!).