Little Notes

This morning Blaine woke up early with Bella and Ez and I got to stay in bed until 9:00 with Cali, who has her days and nights completely turned around. When I woke up, there was this cute little post it note on my bedroom door from Bella telling me to wake up, along with a drawing of a teddy bear. I love how she is sounding words out on her own.

And then later in the morning, Bella was upstairs in her room with the door shut. When I went upstairs, I noticed this lovely little post it note on the outside of her door.

She is not even in kindergarden yet and she is already telling her Mom, Dad, and little brother that they can't come into her room. I can only imagine the notes that will be on the outside of her door when she is a teenager!

And this is the cute picture that Bella brought to Cali and I when we were still in the hospital. She sounded out how to spell Cali's name. Not bad for a pre-schooler.

Calista, 2 Weeks Old

Big Brother and Sisters with Bling

Ez is truly a sweet big brother. He can not stop kissing Cali's head and tickling her feet. He loves to go get her diapers, pacifiers, and blankets. He is always saying, "Baby, Baby". I'm glad that he is adjusting well.

My friend made Bella and Cali matching bracelets. Bella thought that was so super cool. She can't wait to wear matching clothes with her baby sister, too.

Ezra's New Do

Doesn't he look so cute and grown up?

Pics

Pretty girl.

"Hmmm, let me think about that..."

It's exhausting sleeping, eating, and pooping all day.

Bath time is a family event.

Sisters!

Pre-K

Bella started her first day of pre-kindergarden yesterday at a real school. Armed with her new Hello Kitty backpack and her best friend Sophie, she headed off to school with out even looking back. I am glad that she will now have something to occupy her days and that I will have 12 hours a week with only 2 kids at home.

Thank Goodness for Help!

Mom and Dad A were extremely helpful while they stayed with us for 10 days when Cali was born. Here are a few of the things that they did to make our transition and lives so much easier:
-Completely showered Bella and Ez with attention so that I could focus on myself and Cali
-Mom took care of the laundry, cooking, cleaning, and general house stuff.
-Dad helped Blaine with his huge list of honey-dos that had been accumulating during the school year. Within a few days I had 3 new ceiling fans, a new screen on our sliding glass door, the whining from the AC belt in our car is now quiet, our lawn mower is fixed, toys suddenly working with new batteries, and squeaking doors are now oiled and quiet.

Thank you Mom and Dad for all of your help! We are so grateful for your love and support! By the way, the kids miss you...we do, too!

Home Sweet Home

After 5 days in the hospital for Tirsa, and 4 days for Cali (I went in a day before she was born), I was ready, yet hesitant to come home. Because of the help of my in-laws and Blaine, being at home has been great. They have totally taken care of Ez, Bella, and the house while allowing me to care for myself and Cali. Every day I am feeling better and better and I am soooooo grateful to have had such great help.


Bella and Ez ADORE their little sister. Ez is constantly trying to touch her and we have to remind him to be soft. He is always saying, "Baby, baby" and "Hi baby". He brings me all of the baby things (blankets, pacifiers, diapers, etc) whether I actually need them or not. He has had a few extra tantrums here and there but because he has had so much extra attention from Grandma and Grandpa, we have had a relatively smooth transition so far.

Bella has hardly left mine and Cali's side since we've been home. She makes herself a little bed by Cali and hangs out looking at her and saying, "She is so cute." Since Bella has been near us constantly, she has also gotten a lesson in Womanhood/Motherhood 101. Modesty has been the least of my priorities as I have tried to master breastfeeding and Bella has been full of questions and observations as she has watched me feed Cali.

I see a resemblance... do you?

Tirsa at 2 days old

Cali at 7 days old


After years of everyone saying how much Bella and Ez look like Blaine, I might just have a mini me. What do you think?

Calista Tenna

On Monday, August 3rd, thinking I still had 2 and a half more weeks of pregnancy, the visit to the doctor revealed that I was low on fluids and that it would become too risky for the baby to wait much longer to deliver. We scheduled the induction for Wednesday, August 5th. Blaine and I were suddenly aware that we had one and a half days to prepare to bring a baby home and panic somewhat settled in. Luckily, Blaine's parents were able to drop everything and made it to our house Tuesday night.

Wednesday morning, Blaine and I arrived at the hospital at 6 am ready for the induction.


After 21 hours of slow progressing labor and a baby who was becoming more and more distressed, the doctor decided to perform a c-section. I was so not prepared for a c-section and it made me nervous. At 5:18 am on Thursday, August 6th, Calista Tenna made her appearance into this world. She had a rough start and it felt like forever before she started crying but she recovered quickly.

Blaine left with Cali to watch her get cleaned up and my sister, Tiffani, stayed with me and held my hand because I was shaking so bad and kept me distracted as the doctor finished with me.

Cali was 7 pounds and 7 ounces at birth...a little chunky monkey compared to Bella and Ez.

We are so blessed to have the children that we have. Bella is beyond thrilled about her little sister and Ez, although initially not very interested, is becoming more and more involved and excited each day. (More on the kids reactions in a future post).


What a cutie!

Cali has become jaundiced but she is being watched closely and is improving.

Recovering from an unexpected c-section has been a lot harder than I could have imagined but I've had lots of great support and help and I am well on my way.

We are happy, EXHAUSTED, and very grateful for our little family and our newest addition, Cali. We are so very blessed to have her.

Since I haven't been feeling too well lately,

I've given the kids more responsibility. Ez is now handling the finances.

DONE!!!

Blaine is finally done with his Masters degree! He is now a Family Nurse Practitioner. He has worked so hard over the past 3 years, working full time on the weekends and going to school and clinical rotations full time during the week. Although it has been a huge sacrifice for our family to not have him around very much, he did a great job at trying to be there for us as much as possible with his crazy schedule. Mostly what he gave up was sleep and personal recreation so that he could fit it all in and we are so grateful for how hard he has worked for our family. We know that it will all pay off in the end.

So what's next? He will keep working his regular job in the ER until he finds a job as an NP that fits what he wants to do and that has a schedule that is better for family life. His first year as an NP, he'll write all of his prescriptions under a doctor's license and then after a year, he'll be able to have his own prescription license and practice completely autonomously.

To celebrate, we had a very low key picnic dinner in the park with some family and friends. Blaine didn't even want to walk in the graduation ceremony...he just wanted to be done. For a graduation present, I gave him a Wii. The underlying message of the gift? Let's play!