MJ & Lil G: November

I will need to change the monthly postings from featuring only Madeleine's tidings, because, as everybody knows, Madeleine welcomed her little sister Gracen November this month. Here is another quick review of a very packed month!

Madeleine turned 17 months on the 2nd- here is her monthly shot. I told her to smile and this is the face I got:

Ha ha! We then tried it again:

Madeleine started to explore putting words together, it was during a little playtime outside that she started saying "Go, bah-bah. Go!" The video is adorable, but I can't figure out how to load them into blogger. Anyways, as she was riding her little car we got from Grand-aunt Caryn, she was telling herself to go. Kids are so cute.

I really have to give Tim another round of kudos. After pretty much forgetting about taking pictures in the meadow, Tim loaded us all up in the car and we were able to get some. The weather had been spotty, but once the sun came out, we were able to nab some silohouettes.

Tim does a camera check by tossing Hop in the air. I love Madeleine's expressive hands and Hops' perfect side-shot.

Next, he tosses Madeleine. This is actually one of the last toss shots. Not only was she screaming in delight, but he gave a final big toss while I snapped pictures. Throwing a 27 lb baby is not easy, but she loved it, and we got a fun shot. Please don't report us to CPS, we are very safe with our babies =)

Tim found an old box out in the meadow and we used it to get better positioning in the fading sunlight.

Madeleine and I chat and play while Tim snaps away:

If you are clever, you'll notice this picture was taken before the previous ones, notice where the sun is behind me. I love this one of me and my girls.

40 weeks & 1 day:

Madeleine was again treated to a Daddy-Daughter date at the WAP. I am pretty sure it was this trip that allowed me to stay home all day and read and nap. I was "overdue" and ready to deliver, so Tim -having taken time off for Grace- blessed me by taking Mads all day and I almost finished my book club read, I Love Yous are for White People by Lac Su.

Here our brave little girl practically gives the deer her hand as a treat:

deer delight!:

I love this deer's tender sniff:

On November 11, our 3 year anniversary, we were scheduled to take a non-stress test at the Kaiser in San Marcos- to make sure baby was alright. Of course, I was resistant, but Tim tried to make it fun and organized a dinner with the Kalberg's (who were due two weeks after us) and we took in the sunset from a hill in San Elijo:

Happiest 3 years my love:

That night we ate with our friends and looked forward to having our little girl. We didn't know it, but she would come only two days later. You can read about Gracen's birth here.

After Gracen was born, Madeleine continued to explore lots of fun and new items in our house.

She found my headlamp:

was given bubble bath by her Dada:

and enjoyed wearing my Hello Kitty beanie:

Gracen had some visitors including her Great-Grammy, Grand Aunt Sally, Grand Uncle Chris and cousin Katie. Gracen is my Grammy's fourth great-grandchild.

What would my cousin be to Gracen? Her second cousin? Her cousin, once-removed?

Madeleine likes her little sister. She doesn't adore her, but she does ask about her, is concerned when she's crying and likes to show her toys and things. She calls her "bah-bah Dace" for baby Grace.

A few days after Gracen was born, we took our dogs out for a run at "the ranch". We now frequent the abandoned Roripaugh Ranch development by the Temecula Blueberry Farm because of the frequent coyote sightings we've had at "the meadow". Tim took his camera to snap some sunset shots again. Here Madeleine gives him her "goofy-face". We tell her to give us her goofy-face to get a smile. However, after getting a play camera from her Grammi and Papa for Christmas, she is understanding the concept of "cheese".

Gracen sleeps while we take a walk on the ranch:

M & M:

Tim & his girls- the adoration is mutual. This is the photo my brother-in-love, Keith, gave me as a Christmas gift. It looks wonderful in the frame he made for me:

Gracen gets her first bath at home. She liked it :)

My youngest brother, Alex, pays a visit to meet Gracen. He loves our girls very much.

"two, two"

After settling a new baby in, it was time to celebrate Thanksgiving and my birthday, which just so happened to fall on the holiday. Dinner at my parents was wonderful and they invited Tim's sisters too. My in-laws were in Texas visiting Tim's father's parents. My girlfriends Meredith and Elizabeth stopped in to meet Gracen and say Happy Birthday. Meredith just had a baby about a month before me, so here we are nursing our little girls:

Katie & my mom

My mom's sister, Sally and her husband Chris:

Kim & Lori's kids (some of them)

After all the celebrating (our family has 7 birthdays in November & our anniversary is in there too-plus Thanksgiving) we settled into the coming on of December. Good thing Tim had an entire month off to help with our new little one. He is such a blessing when it comes to the girls. I love that he values being around them, especially while we are adjusting to each new one. I love the fact that he gets to grow his beard out. I get sad the day before he goes back to work and has to shave it all off. Oh well, a small price to pay for a wonderful job.

Thank you Tim, for being a supportive husband who protects and adores his girls.

♥ Love, Lauren

Madeleine's sixteenth month: October

During October, Madeleine turned up a whole level of absolute cuteness. She was more interested in pretend play, being watched as she acted cute, and generally testing out how endearing she could make herself. She learned about herself as she was exploring the fluid concept of "self". She would look in the mirror at new outfits, bows, pigtails and gained a new sense of personal appearance.

She had Nani tie a towel around her quite a few times and ran around the house enjoying the toga:

On a whim, I put a pair of shorts on her head, and she was delighted!

Another day, I was looking for a piece of jewelry and she went to town be-dazzling herself with rings on her toes and watches on her legs. She even asked me to put a few pigtails in her hair. She still continues to put her bracelets and necklaces on herself, I don't make her do it, she just likes wearing trendy bendy bracelets and bows and the like. I love that she looks like some anime puck princess in this photo:

Of course, as a mother, who loves cute clothes on little girls, I can't say I don't encourage her at all, and when she's all dolled up, I can't help but enjoy it too.

The weather in October went from sunny days to rainy days to sunny days again, and I think on one particular cold night we had a fire. Again, Madeleine is gaining that sense of pretend by making her animals kiss each other and hop up and down and more animal appropriate actions. This will translate into mothering her babies into December (but that is another post!).

During this month, Madeleine and Tim took their first trip to the WAP (Wild Animal Park- and you better enjoy it before it becomes the San Diego Zoo Safari Park).

Here is the obligatory sign picture that Tim created as a tradition for our family.

I wasn't there, but I am sure he is asking her where the animal is that made the egg in which she is sitting. This is her gesture whenever we ask her when something is, or she has put an object down and we ask her to retrieve it.

She loves ducks, and I know she had a wonderful time with her Dada on their rainy day trip to the WAP.

The next day, we needed to all get out of the house for a little bit. We went to the park around the corner from our house. Of course, she is growing so quickly that I am trying to get her into her cuper cute clothes that I bought on clearance last year when she was just 6 months old. Here she is being playfully cute in a faux-fur lined half sweater from Gymboree. She is adorable!

Once the sun came out, Tim took Mads to the park. He was so helpful in allowing me some downtime during the last month of the pregnancy. I was very tired and he would take Mads out on a daddy-daughter date to help me out. Here he snapped an awesome shot of her reading Poky Little Puppy's First Christmas and gesturing to the park in anticipation.

Once at the park, she was a good little monkey, and always very curious ♥

Near the end of October, we celebrated Grammi Cindy's birthday at the Trask home.

Grammi loves having all her grandkids, plus a niece and nephew hanging out on her lap.

Another trip to the WAP with Dada where Madeleine loved feeding the deer. In this picture you can make out that she is mimicking the deer licking. Her tongue is out- so cute!

Thank the Lord for gentle deer. Here Madeleine is trying to snuggle one.

IN late October, we went to Bates Nut Farm with the Fish family. I had never been, that I could remember, and was shocked to see a packed parking lot and hundreds of people there to pick their pumpkin. We enjoyed all the amenities of the large farm including a hay ride, bounce house and a huge pumpkin patch of gourd-geous pumpkins (i couldn't resist!)

Here MJ lets us know that it's cold outside at the patch:

sweet little pumpkin-head princess:

She was gleeful in feeding the goats. She fearlessly allowed them to eat toasted Os out of her hand.

Paisley & Madeleine share a flower and a sweet moment:

I look like I swallowed a pumpkin; thankfully these large gourds made for a good seat for a tired Mama (38 weeks):

beautiful girl:

Lainey loved Madeleine's pigtails and just kept touching her head. She wanted to hug and fawn all over Mads. Since Madeleine was an only child, she didn't really know how to respond immediately. It was only a few hugs later that she was smiling and conceptualized the idea that just because adults honor her personal bubble, doesn't mean other kids will do the same. Lainey's love was very tender and fun to watch; Madeleine learned quickly to appreciate the affection.

the lovely Fish family:

"kiss-a-pumpkin"

We bought our own pumpkins at Winco and carved two. Tim, who had never carved a pumpkin before, did one and I did the other. Madeleine helped now and then.

Tim worked Halloween, so my parents came over to help me out. My dad passed out candy and my mom went with me and Madeleine trick-or-treating. Madeleine was a pink cat this year. This was the first time in many years that I did not dress up, but I couldn't really pull a costume together that would acomodate a 39 week belly.

The hot weather returned and a week after we carved our pumpkins, they were shriveled heaps from the sun.

That was our fun and busy October!

Love, Lauren

New Year, New Me?

Madeleine's fifteenth month: September

Most of September was covered in the Lake Powell and Denver posts. The only other thing left to report is that Tim bought Madeleine her first Hot Wheel, passing on, from father to daughter, the deep appreciation for all things fast and shiny.

Love, Lauren ♥

30 Before 30: the results =)

Those items that are crossed off are those that I accomplished.

If I posted a blog about the item, you can read it by clicking the link.

The ones in red are those at which I failed miserably.

Those in pink were attempted, but for some reason did not work out and you can read why below the item ♥

Love, Lauren

1. Take Madeleine to the Zoo
2. Get a new haircut.
3. Re-pierce my rook & maybe finish with an industrial
4. Go with Tim to the Getty Museum -I really did not actually want to do this one, but feeling obligated, I looked for a virtual tour online. With little success, I realized that my art museum days aren't as important to me as they were in college (and even then they weren't absolute!)
5. Go to Huntington Library -Once I realized the above about the Getty, the Huntington Library went the same way too.
6. Decorate nursery to include Peanut
7. Go to a national park
8. Run a 5K race
9. Paint the bathrooms-Not sure what to do, I did say bathrooms, plural, but I actually did paint our master bath. So, this one is kinda done. I also have the paint for the second bath ready.
10. Re-finish/paint our hand-me down tables
11. Re-finish/paint our Adirondack chairs-again, not sure what to count for this one, I did re-sand the chairs, but I kept them unstained/painted because I tried to sell them at a garage sale and I thought they would go faster if the buyer could choose the color for themselves. Seems people want a finished project, for my chairs did not sell, even though they are handmade and I was only asking $25 each. These are hand-made wood chairs that would easily cost $75-100 from a garden center. Maybe I will just paint them turquoise, tighten up the loose screws and try a re-sell.
12. Play a song on my guitar- I got my guitar out, learned to tune it, and praticed chords for a week. Learning takes a lot of time, which I have very little of.
13. Spend a night away with Tim
14. Sew a dress for Madeleine
15. Find a “good” mascara
16. Enjoy a piece of mudpie with Christina
17. Organize the linen cave
18. Learn the Abondigas soup recipe
19. Enjoy karaoke night with friends
20. Buy awesome maternity jeans
21. Go to a Chargers game-Tim and I decided that even off-season tickets were out of our budget and one of the only games we could make it to was when they played the Raiders...um, no.
22. Enjoy my backyard during the summer
23. Have another baby
24. Enjoy a girl’s day out at the wineries-I did have a day planned, but everyone had to back out unexpectedly and child care was a little issue for me. I have this date planned in March and am sending an e-mail to my girlfriends to determine our exact date.
25. Start a scrapbook for Madeleine
26. Start a scrapbook for Peanut-Since I started one for Mads, and the books will be the same for the first few pages, I essentially did one for Gracen too.
27. Drink at least 64 oz of water a day
28. Organize a summer book club
29. Have a scrapbook night with my mom
30. Have a fabulous 30^th birthday

30 Before 30: # 23 Have Another Baby

I must say, this is a sizable task to mark off my 30 Before 30 list, but what a joy to finally have our baby here! In the interest of time (which is scarce these days) I will post mostly pictures and try to keep the birth story short. You can read about Madeleine's birth here, but I was very nervous that Gracen's labor would be like Mads'. So when I went into "true" (read: working) labor on November 12th around 6pm, I didn't get too excited. We did call our moms to let them know, because they were going to be at the delivery and Madeleine would need child care from my aunt and cousin. At around 6pm, we were feeding Mads and getting her ready for bed. I had to stop and sway and rotate my hips to work through contractions, which were about 7 minutes apart. Tim and I sat down to eat and watch a movie, but I couldn't really concentrate on the movie and I didn't really want to eat. I was very nervous when labor slowed around 10pm, right as we went to bed. I was nervous that we would labor all night and still not deliver for a few days. Even though I was able to sleep, I could feel a persistent achiness and dull fire in the entire top of my thighs. It felt like really bad menstrual crampiness, it was a time of rest, but not truly restful. Around 2am, I started having working contractions again. I could not sleep and was starting to get restless. I labored all morning with contractions getting closer to 5 minutes around 8am. At that time, we called my mom to come over and take care of Mads, helping to feed her and play with her. I was starting to become a concern for her, so we wanted my mom there to take her to Nani's house in case she was scared. At this point I was "singing" through every contraction. It was more like a long "ooooooooooooooooooooooohhh oooooooooooh" and Madeleine kept inquiring "Mama?" "Mama?" from the other room. Tim told her I was singing and she would come in periodically to point at my birth ball, saying "ball". I would tell her I loved her and my mom read to her and played in the play room since I really didn't want her with me during transition. Tim was, of course, my perfect labor partner and always by my side. He helped keep me hydrated and timed my contractions and made sure we were all packed and ready to go. He didn't want us to get to the hospital too soon, but he also didn't want to deliver on the side of the 15 South; he timed our departure perfectly. I was alternatively sitting on my birth ball rotating my hips and standing up with my arms on the dresser rotating. I think I got the idea to rock and roll my hips from a belly dancing woman who said she danced right through her labor. I was very tired right before we left, so I laid down to rest on the bed, but my contractions slowed, so I got back up on my birth ball. This time, I noticed that I found stronger "rituals" to help me through labor. (BTW- the best book on delivery we have read is Penny Simkin's The Birth Partner, she talks about rituals). One thing I did with Gracen was to moan through the contraction. Somewhat embarrassing and, I am sure, annoying for those hearing, but it helped me. I also started briskly rubbing my hand on something as I worked through a contraction. When I laid down, it was my pillow; in the car ride, it was my knee; in the hospital, it was the bed. I used the fingers of my bladed hand to create a warm friction as I rubbed quickly and it seemed to help me focus through the contraction. Something about the vigorous movement helped me as contractions got intense.

Here we are, working through labor around 9am; I am on my birth ball =)

I'm not going to lie, the car ride was horrible. I was into transition and was also experiencing carpolpedal spasms in my hands and face. I could not relax my hands and they were in this frankensteinesque position, nor could I relax my face, so it was in a permanent "O" shape. The car ride down was the fastest one I have ever had with Tim. He is a very good driver, very conscience of everything and extra safe. I was never scared, but I'm very glad he has code 3 driving practice. Right around Gopher Canyon Rd. I told him I thought I needed to push and we started going even faster. What I noticed during these intense transitional contractions was if I pushed, just a little- more like just flexed my abdominal muscles, it actually helped take an edge off the intensity. I know you're not supposed to push until you're at 10cm, but these small "pressures" that I elicited on the uterus really helped me work through the contractions; they were now 3 minutes apart. Thanks to Tim's connections at Palomar, we were greeted by a sweet tech who wheeled me in a wheelchair into L&D. I don't remember too much of that ride! Once we got to our room, there were like 5 nurses who made me sign paperwork and stripped me down, threw a hospital gown on me and checked my cervix. I was so happy when they said I was at 8 cm. I was still nervous that we would get down there and I would be at 5- just knowing the worst was still to come! But no, I was an 8 and that was a relief. Because I was so far along, they didn't draw blood, nor did they force an IV. Although they didn't look at our birth plan until after delivery, I did have to suffer through a fetal heart monitor for a while. At least I could stand up and be mobile, and I was concentrating too much to worry about it. By the time we were all checked in and it was just Tim and me in the room, it was about 10am. I wanted to walk around a little bit and dance with Tim. Contractions slowed again and I became nervous that labor would stop. Thankfully, I remembered that sometimes, after transition, the good Lord gives us women a "rest period" before the pushing phase. I just enjoyed being able to sway with my husband, there were a few contractions until about 10:40ish. There was still an enormous amount of pressure and as we were dancing, I told Tim that I felt like I needed to push, which I did and my water broke all over our feet. It was surprising and felt wonderful for me (not so much for Tim). At that point in time, I NEEDED to lay down. Contractions were now coming fast and the doctor came in about 5 minutes. He checked me and said to push when I was ready. I liked the doctor because he helped me deliver. With my midwife, it was all on me, but Dr. Chavez helped me to let the contraction build and then bear down. With my midwife, I didn't know what to do and didn't really get a lot of input. Dr. Chavez also really helped make an opening for Gracen in stretching me out while I pushed, I just felt like things were going really well. I kinda lost it at the end, I had been very kind and thanking all the nurses and techs even though I was deep into labor, but right at the delivery, I was unable to keep it together. At this point, Tim's mom was over my right shoulder,Tim was right at my right ear, a nurse was to his right, the doctor was in front of me, another nurse was to the left, and my mom was at my left side. Everyone was really encouraging me and saying "push" and "you're almost there" and I felt frustrated because I was trying my best to push. I also felt like people were yelling at me and I was starting to feel overwhelmed, so when everyone was urging me, I just shouted "STOP IT!!!" after the second push. Tim knew what was happening and started whispering in my ear. During the third push, I blacked out for a second. I opened my eyes and heard everyone urging me to push again and I looked up and said "I just disappeared, I went somewhere" I was out for like a half second, but I felt like I could have been gone a half hour. I awoke to find I wasn't doing anything effective anymore, so I waited for the fourth push and as the doctor said "Go, go, the baby's crowning, it's crowning" I pushed with all my strength and delivered Gracen.

Here you can see my facial spasm posture as Tim helps me through a contraction:

Our beautiful family photo, we have almost the exact one of Madeleine too, complete with tearful Dada.

I know this may sound bizarre, but it's true: when they gave me Gracen, I really didn't mind getting all smeared up with blood. I had blood all over my face from her head and although it may be visceral, I kinda liked the warmth of it as I held my newborn child. I didn't want anyone else to touch her, even though she was a little blue and needed to be rubbed. Once I saw that she wasn't as pink and crying as she should be, I started to rub her and get her skin-to-skin as quickly as possible. I also breastfed her within the first 15 minutes or so, after getting stitched up (probably the worst part of it all). Thankfully, Tim detoured the nurse from giving me a shot of pitocin after delivery. I guess they do it to help the uterus contract? Sheesh, so many interventions to dodge at the hospital...Tim really helped keep the birth natural by insisting our birth plan be followed for post-delivery, driving me down to deliver just in time and encouraging me in our desire for natural delivery. It's hard for me, but sometimes harder for him to watch me, feeling somewhat helpless as his wife is in pain. The fact that he stays strong and sober-minded even through the intensity of delivery attests to his love for me, wanting to be a rock upon which I can break.

Tim helps give Grace her first bath and clothes her:

our newest princess: Gracen November

born November 13th at 11:05am weighing 8lbs. 11oz and measuring 21 in.

We chose Grace a long time ago. Madeleine was almost a Grace. But I wanted a formalized name, a two-syllable name. We already had a Madeleine, so Gracelyn was out. Graceland was just a little too honkey-tonk and I couldn't get behind Graciela. I don't know how I thought of it, but I just added an 'n' to Grace. I then googled the name and it came up as the style name for a J. Crew bridesmaid dress. I figured it was, therefore, obscure enough to be fashionable, but classic enough to match her sister's old-fashioned name as well. We call her Gracen, Grace or Gracie depending on our preference.

Big sister Madeleine has handled the adaptation beautifully. She loves "ba-ba" and shares her stuffed animals. She is gentle and tender with her pats and kisses. I don't know why I worried, for she has the sweetest little heart and loveliest disposition.

A family of four!

sweet baby, who looks a lot like her sister's baby pictures:

MJ shares "Soulja" monkey with baby Grace:

ooey-gooey goodness:

the love of my life and our baby:

Tim found this shirt at a thrift store as a high-schooler; it reads "Any man can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a daddy"- so true =)

We are blessed beyond measure, and I really have to praise God for our healthy baby. She is awesome. We are very happy with the gift God gave us in precious little Grace.

Love, Lauren