Monday, August 30, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Demolition
I should have put these photos in chronological order but don't feel like fixing it. We spent several Saturdays ago watching the demolition of a house on Mark and Carol's property. Over the years the house became very run down and when the old woman who lived there had to move out, the only thing they could do was knock it down. That woman had lived there for MANY years with her husband so it's sad to think that so many wonderful memories were made in that house and this is what it came to. But in any case, it did make for an entertaining Saturday morning!
Check out What Carol Brought Us
She was hoping Darrin could identify it. That is Darrin's shoe. He's pretty certain it's a Michigan Rattler. Any other opinions?
A Day at the Museum
This past Friday we visited the Kalamazoo Valley Museum. They have a children's floor and free general admission so we've been wanting to try it all summer. We're glad we did!
This is what Eliza did the whole time.
Friday, August 20, 2010
It's no wonder people called her Phyllis
I remember when this picture was taken like it was yesterday. Darrin got Annabelle up from her nap and I could hear him laughing. Her hair was usually crazy but this took crazy to a whole new level :)
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
The Arrival of Miss Eliza Arrin
Our sweet Eliza girl has been with us for 10 days now. She is the perfect addition to our family. We can't imagine having anyone but her!! Not knowing her gender was fun but when she arrived it was like we knew all along it was her we were waiting for. I was more excited to see her face and to get to know her personality than I was to find out her gender.
My calendar due date was July 29 and my ultrasound due date was August 3. Once both of those dates had passed, every day there after just seemed to be the same day repeating itself as we waited for her to arrive. Here is what I remember of the days just prior to her arrival.
I had an appointment with my OB on Tuesday the 3rd. I had made no progress since week 35 that would suggest I would be going into labor anytime soon. Since I was post dates, my OB sent me to the hospital after my appointment for an ultra sound. Everything came out looking perfect. There was no reason for immediate induction. Dr. Clark then scheduled a non stress test for Saturday the 7th. He also instructed me to have my bags packed. Darrin and his family were going to be running in Colon's 5k fundraiser that day so after much deliberation I had that appointment rescheduled for Friday the 6th and had an induction scheduled for Sunday the 8th. We dropped Bennett and Annabelle off at Carol's house and arrived just a little early to our 1:00 non stress test appointment. I laid in bed for an hour and clicked the button every time I felt a movement, and every time I did, I heard our baby's heart rate accelerate so I knew everything was perfect with this test as well. During that hour I felt maybe 3 fairly minor contractions but they weren't showing up as anything significant on the monitor and they weren't any more painful than the ones I had had off and on for the last couple of weeks. They sent us home, happy with the results, but with the instructions to come back Sunday morning at 8:00 am. On the way home we got a coffee toffee twisted frosty from Wendy's and went to pick up the kids. We hung around Carol's for a bit. The kids took a horseback ride and we went to the neighbors to see their baby bunnies. Since it was Magic Week, there were a lot of garage sales around town so we stopped at a few. I was still feeling fine and hadn't felt any more contractions. Darrin and I had talked about going to the fireworks that night but the kids were exhausted so we decided to put them to bed early. At 8:30 I called and asked Jenny if she'd like to walk. She, Taylie and I walked our normal route and again I had maybe 3 contractions. Once home, I laid on the couch watching TV with Darrin. Around 11:00, just as we were getting ready to head up for bed I started to feel uncomfortable but I couldn't put my finger on what was making me uncomfortable. I wanted help off the couch but yet getting off the couch was uncomfortable too. I finally got up, went to the bathroom and headed up to bed. I had a more significant contraction while laying in bed then had to come back down to use the bathroom again. Once in bed again I had another contraction that woke me up (from a not very deep sleep). I asked Darrin to check the time (because without my contacts in I can't see the clock). It was 12:00 something and when I, a few minutes later, had another I asked him to check the time again but he had fallen back to sleep and couldn't remember what the first time was. I decided to get up because I was too uncomfortable to sleep anyway and I had a feeling I would be heading to the hospital soon. I decided to call Carol (our good friend and also the nurse practitioner at my OB office). She came over around 1:30 am and said it was a very good time to go to the hospital so she stayed with our kids. I was determined to have this delivery be the least painful of my deliveries so the minute I walked onto the OB floor I requested an epidural. I had a pitocin induction with Bennett and Annabelle and fairly long labors and wasn't really coherent enough to ask for the anesthesiologist until I was ready to push. So for them at least I didn't feel that part of delivery but I did feel every back to back contraction until then. I wanted this time to be different and boy was it. When I got to the hospital I was 4 to 5 centimeters dilated and had an epidural (that worked very well) shortly after arriving. It was WONDERFUL! I dozed off and on the rest of the night. I eventually needed some pitocin because my contractions were spaced too far apart. At 6:00 Darrin called his family, who would be leaving for our house to run the race, to let them know we were at the hospital. I also called my dad before he left for work. I had called my mom after Carol arrived at our house to let her know she needed to come and watch the kids. She and Jeff relieved Carol of kid duty at 7:00 am. At 8:00 am Dr. Clark came and broke my water. And at 9:55 am Darrin was able to tell me we had an Eliza Arrin. We were so thrilled! We called Bennett and Annabelle first to tell them they had a sister. Our hospital visitors included Bennett and Annabelle, my mom and Jeff, Darrin's parents, and Jenny. My dad and Sue and brother Curt arrived at our house shortly after we arrived home the next day, just a little more than 12 hours after Eliza made her grand entrance. And now all the craziness has died down and we are able to just enjoy being a family of 5. It's amazing and we wouldn't have it any other way. We love her SO much!! We are so glad you are in our family Eliza Arrin!!!!
My calendar due date was July 29 and my ultrasound due date was August 3. Once both of those dates had passed, every day there after just seemed to be the same day repeating itself as we waited for her to arrive. Here is what I remember of the days just prior to her arrival.
I had an appointment with my OB on Tuesday the 3rd. I had made no progress since week 35 that would suggest I would be going into labor anytime soon. Since I was post dates, my OB sent me to the hospital after my appointment for an ultra sound. Everything came out looking perfect. There was no reason for immediate induction. Dr. Clark then scheduled a non stress test for Saturday the 7th. He also instructed me to have my bags packed. Darrin and his family were going to be running in Colon's 5k fundraiser that day so after much deliberation I had that appointment rescheduled for Friday the 6th and had an induction scheduled for Sunday the 8th. We dropped Bennett and Annabelle off at Carol's house and arrived just a little early to our 1:00 non stress test appointment. I laid in bed for an hour and clicked the button every time I felt a movement, and every time I did, I heard our baby's heart rate accelerate so I knew everything was perfect with this test as well. During that hour I felt maybe 3 fairly minor contractions but they weren't showing up as anything significant on the monitor and they weren't any more painful than the ones I had had off and on for the last couple of weeks. They sent us home, happy with the results, but with the instructions to come back Sunday morning at 8:00 am. On the way home we got a coffee toffee twisted frosty from Wendy's and went to pick up the kids. We hung around Carol's for a bit. The kids took a horseback ride and we went to the neighbors to see their baby bunnies. Since it was Magic Week, there were a lot of garage sales around town so we stopped at a few. I was still feeling fine and hadn't felt any more contractions. Darrin and I had talked about going to the fireworks that night but the kids were exhausted so we decided to put them to bed early. At 8:30 I called and asked Jenny if she'd like to walk. She, Taylie and I walked our normal route and again I had maybe 3 contractions. Once home, I laid on the couch watching TV with Darrin. Around 11:00, just as we were getting ready to head up for bed I started to feel uncomfortable but I couldn't put my finger on what was making me uncomfortable. I wanted help off the couch but yet getting off the couch was uncomfortable too. I finally got up, went to the bathroom and headed up to bed. I had a more significant contraction while laying in bed then had to come back down to use the bathroom again. Once in bed again I had another contraction that woke me up (from a not very deep sleep). I asked Darrin to check the time (because without my contacts in I can't see the clock). It was 12:00 something and when I, a few minutes later, had another I asked him to check the time again but he had fallen back to sleep and couldn't remember what the first time was. I decided to get up because I was too uncomfortable to sleep anyway and I had a feeling I would be heading to the hospital soon. I decided to call Carol (our good friend and also the nurse practitioner at my OB office). She came over around 1:30 am and said it was a very good time to go to the hospital so she stayed with our kids. I was determined to have this delivery be the least painful of my deliveries so the minute I walked onto the OB floor I requested an epidural. I had a pitocin induction with Bennett and Annabelle and fairly long labors and wasn't really coherent enough to ask for the anesthesiologist until I was ready to push. So for them at least I didn't feel that part of delivery but I did feel every back to back contraction until then. I wanted this time to be different and boy was it. When I got to the hospital I was 4 to 5 centimeters dilated and had an epidural (that worked very well) shortly after arriving. It was WONDERFUL! I dozed off and on the rest of the night. I eventually needed some pitocin because my contractions were spaced too far apart. At 6:00 Darrin called his family, who would be leaving for our house to run the race, to let them know we were at the hospital. I also called my dad before he left for work. I had called my mom after Carol arrived at our house to let her know she needed to come and watch the kids. She and Jeff relieved Carol of kid duty at 7:00 am. At 8:00 am Dr. Clark came and broke my water. And at 9:55 am Darrin was able to tell me we had an Eliza Arrin. We were so thrilled! We called Bennett and Annabelle first to tell them they had a sister. Our hospital visitors included Bennett and Annabelle, my mom and Jeff, Darrin's parents, and Jenny. My dad and Sue and brother Curt arrived at our house shortly after we arrived home the next day, just a little more than 12 hours after Eliza made her grand entrance. And now all the craziness has died down and we are able to just enjoy being a family of 5. It's amazing and we wouldn't have it any other way. We love her SO much!! We are so glad you are in our family Eliza Arrin!!!!
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Introducing Eliza Arrin
Born Saturday, August 7, 2010 at 9:55 am
She weighed 7 pounds 3 ounces and was 20 and 1/2 inches long.
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