Friends

Only 2.5 and Alex already loves to have friends over. They are able to play so much better than mom can and are a welcome change. Here are just a bunch of cute pictures with Alex and a few of her friends.

I love how even in wings Jonah still looks like Heman!!

On their way to see the Animal show in 3-D.

Good Ole' Backyard playin.

As with any get together there is bound to be a little of this...

but then hopefully ends with this.

To good friends!

Big Sister

Alex loves Nora. That is really all this post is about. It is something I am immensely grateful for and is also one of the cutest things I have ever seen. As cuteness is in the eye of the beholder, and this beholder happens to be their doting mother, I may have over done it. My apologies in advance. Prepare for my version of cuteness.

Reading stories

Alex has no respect for personal space. If she is not within a 1/2 inch of Nora's face it is not close enough. I assume the underlying philosophy to be that Alex thinks that she must be physically close to Nora's eyes so that she might better view her antics and therefore fully appreciate their awesomeness.

I put this in because I thought it was funny that we caught the entire progression.

Alex attempts to make Nora laugh by simply laughing in her face. Brilliant. Also, apparently making some strange cooing bird call and saying "Ooooooooooh sweetheart" is supposed to make her feel better when she is sad. All of which must be done while essentially touching noses or it loses all effectiveness.

Nora did not accept Alex's offering of a pink Easter egg as sufficient entertainment or soothing replacement of her binky. Hard to understand why, but everyone has got to have one of these pictures.

For now Nora is just trying to survive her sister's loving attentions. What a wonderful problem to have.

Potty Training

It was time. Looking back, I would not recommend doing this with a one month old baby. I believe "duh" is in order, but you live and learn. We had the doll, we read the book, and we bought the panties. I was fully stocked with cleaning supplies and towels, but nothing could have prepared me for the emotional and physical marathon the "Big Day" would be. I think they recommend throwing the diapers away not for the visual benefit of the child but more for the sleep deprived mother to have no other option when she is cleaning up accident #7 off of the already soaked carpet. In all fairness the book did try to prepare you for the days events and mentioned that patience would be necessary. However, it also painted a magical picture of how this was to be a wonderful growing experience where you and your toddler would make memories filled with goody gumdrops and tiny fairies that you would cherish forever. This is false advertising.

Our trip down lollipop lane was a bit more rocky. After a full day of practice, attempting to exercise patience, and a full 2 Liter of apple juice (most of which ended up on my carpet in a slightly different color) we had success. I nearly cried, and Alex's smile couldn't have been bigger. She was so proud of herself. Once she finally figured out what it was she was supposed to do she has rarely had an accident since. And now I have an even bigger reason to buy new carpet.

In the end, yes it was a miserable day, but it was only one miserable day. I do need to count my lucky stars and give credit to a smart and obedient girl who is a fast learner. Kudos Alex. I don't have any pictures of this segment due to other more pressing matters at the time, but let's be honest that is not something you want to see anyway.

What you do want to see is the happily ever after. As a reward for learning to go on the potty, Alex got a new animal. We took a train ride, which Alex has been wanting to do for a long time, to make it extra special. And truly we could have stopped there, judging by the sheer joy on her face. We gladly welcomed Baa Baa (this is in addition to the Hop Hop we already have - our creativity knows no bounds) to the family as well as many diaper and accident free days in the future.

Fortress of Solitude

To some degree I had anticipated that things would be busier with the addition of another child, but I failed to anticipate that this increased busyness would also require increased mental and emotional capacities, of which I fear I am in short supply. I go about my day being pulled in multiple directions and trying to decide which of the many demands is currently the most important and trying to combine as many as possible into a single moment. For someone who is terrible at multi-tasking this is exhausting. However, I am proud to announce that the other day I was simultaneously feeding both of my children and myself, watching Bambi, sorting the mail, and texting my mom. So, I am getting used to the new found chaos, however, a quiet moment is still a much needed necessity. I figure if Superman (a man who can fly, move at the speed of light, shoot lasers out of his eyes, and look stunning in tights - any of which I would find extremely useful) needs a break, then I don't feel to bad about taking one myself. But with time alone in short supply, and lacking the ability to fly to the north pole at a moments notice, I have had to settle for my Shower. It must be timed while this

is occurring, but then for 10 sometimes 15 minutes I am granted a brief reprise. I haven't heard any spooky voices giving me advice yet, but it still seems to do the trick. I leave feeling refreshed and ready to jump back into the fray. Sweet momentary solitude paired perfectly with my Blessed Chaos.

Angels

Angel #1

My anesthesiologist. My previous experience in this area was a complete disaster and resulted in my almost coming out of anesthesia on the operating table. Unpleasant. It had been done by a resident and both Lance and I vowed never to let that happen again. Needless to say I was a bit apprehensive going in to the procedure for the second time, so when the anesthesiologist said he was a resident we truly intended to politely decline and ask for the attending, but to our mutual amazement we both hesitated. Maybe it was his calming Southern drawl or the way he held his clipboard, but he put off a good vibe. I told him as much and though still terrified I agreed to let him do the procedure. With the knowledge of my history and one look at the fear in my eyes he promised me a pain free spinal block with the added bonus of not being paralyzed afterward. He even went to bat for us with the attending to make sure that Lance could be present while they put in the block, which I guess is not normally done. (And might I add, why the blankety blank not?!!! When they are going to be inserting a needle into your SPINE a pillow is of little comfort when compared to a husband!)

Long story short, he delivered. Well not the baby, but the promise he made. I didn't feel a thing while they put in the spinal block (the words "I'm done" were like a warm ray of sunshine), I was numb within minutes (which he made sure to check before I was sliced open this time), and stayed that way through the surgery (Pleasant). He even laughed at my nervous lame jokes about eating Crown Burger later and making sure they put everything back where it belonged (okay maybe the jokes were hilarious). He really did a phenomenal job and provided a calm and controlled atmosphere in which all other doctors and nurses were able to work and which allowed me to be able to enjoy the arrival of my baby girl, for which I can not be more grateful. To all other residents, may I say, confidence restored.

Angel #2

My mom. The wonder woman who comes bearing food, toys, and hand sanitizer to make the transition from one baby girl to two as easy as possible. Here is to my mom who did my dishes, washed my laundry, cleaned my bathrooms, and spoiled my Alex so that I could recover and focus on my new little one. What would we do without moms!!!

Angel #3

All those who came to my rescue on a particularly scary evening. We had a health scare with Nora one evening around 9 o'clock. All our research had said this was a fairly common occurrence, but we called our pediatrician's office just to make sure and instead of being reassurred we were told to go immediately to Primary Children's hospital. They didn't even want to see us in their office first, saying they were not equipped to handle this kind of problem. Obviously now panicked but not knowing what to believe, and wanting to spare Nora a midnight trip to the hospital where she might be exposed to something worse than what she already had, we started calling everyone we knew in the medical profession to try to get a second opinion. We were told over and over again that this was normal and not to worry and that no trip to Primary Children's was necessary and that our pediatrician's office was probably busy and just trying to cover their bases since she was so young. So we decided to wait and watch, and sure enough her two week appointment confirmed that this was a common and normal occurrence and was nothing to worry about.

Special thanks to Dr. Darren, my aunt Karen, her daughter JaNae, and my awesome cousin Brianne who is one of those fantastic nurses who work in the nursery and take care of your baby while you're in the hospital. She truly talked me off the ledge and even went through her old nursing books and found the exact name and description of what was happening. For going above and beyond the call of duty, Brianne you rock!!! It goes without saying, but thank you also to a wonderful husband who can keep a level head, find the logical solution, and comfort and reassure an emotional and panicked wife.

And if we truly were just dismissed by our pediatrician's office because of the lateness or busyness of the hour I say Grrrrrrrrrr to that individual. Primary Children's is not like Denny's where it's fun to go in the middle of the night.

I know this isn't everyone. There have been so many who have helped us, including all our wonderful neighbors in our adequately named ward. So, in short, thank you to all the Angels who have helped us welcome our newest one.

A L E X

Sisters side by side

Special Delivery

My wonderfully talented photographer friend, "Auntie Tone", took some amazing images for us. More to come.