She's Here!

My water broke on Thursday so Andrew and I headed in to the hospital after we put Eleanor down to bed. We got there around 7:30 but we had to wait forever to be put in a triage room because it was so busy and since I wasn't in "labor" I wasn't really a priority. We finally got into a room around 8:30 and they checked to make sure it was really amniotic fluid that was leaking and sure enough it was! I was worried they would just send me home because it wasn't the real thing. They admitted us and we were finally put in a labor and delivery room around 9:30. I was still only 4 cm dilated so they had us walk around a little while to see if that would get my contractions going.

That didn't really work so they started some pitocin around 11, and then I got my epidural around midnight. The epidural seemed a lot more painful and uncomfortable this time around than with Eleanor, but I'm sure it was better than having contractions. After they were done putting in the epidural I was able to take a little cat nap. But then I woke up having a lot of pressure which I thought was just more contractions so I kept pushing the button to get more epidural juice. A nurse came in a little after that and asked how I was doing and I told her about the pain I was having that wouldn't go away so she checked me and said I was complete and ready to push. They had me do a couple of practice pushes and said, oh there's her head. I couldn't believe it! I pushed for almost two hours with Eleanor, so I thought I'd at least be in for an hour or so this time around. Not so much - after only about 8 minutes of pushing she was here!

Penelope Kate

August 13th @ 2:30 am

9 lb 4 0z and 21 3/4 inches

She weighed the same amount as Eleanor but was about an inch longer. I think they look a lot alike. Penelope's cheeks aren't as chubby but they have the same lips and chin. She is so sweet and has just done a lot of sleeping. I feel really great and can't believe it happened so quickly. I didn't tear at all and I don't even feel like I had a baby. I feel so blessed to have had such a smooth delivery and to have our healthy little baby here. I'm too lazy to post pictures to blogger and comment on each one, so here's a link to some pictures I uploaded yesterday, and I'm sure you can figure out a caption for each one :)

Penelope Kate is here!

Here are some pictures we took today on our first day home as a family of 4 :)

Eleanor was really excited about the baby at first, but this just about sums up how she feels about her now...

Aren't newborns just so precious?! We love our little Penelope!

Little Sister

I would love to say that Eleanor has a new little sister, but that's not the case yet. It's actually about my little sister :) She got here on Sunday night to help out when the baby gets here. She leaves on Sunday though so we're hoping the little one gets here before then! It's so fun to have my sister here-- I love having lots of sisters and I hope Eleanor will be best friends with her little sister because I know my sisters are my best friends!

On Monday night we took her up to see some church history sites in Kirtland. I think I've been 3 times, and every time I go I learn something new. It is really a special place to be. Here are some pics of our visit.

With my little sister Laura...

Probably our last family picture of just the three of us...

Outside the ashery...

Inside the ashery...

Laura took this picture of Eleanor and I just can't resist posting it because I think she looks so cute. Every morning she finds a necklace to put on, I have no idea where she gets it from because I never wear accessories.

Over the weekend we went to a rib cook off and train festival. Eleanor is slightly obsessed with trains.

SHe was loving "riding" this train.

So that's what we've been up to. My due date has come and gone, so we are still just waiting to meet our new baby. Our laptop got a virus over the weekend so hopefully the geek squad at best buy will have it fixed by the time the baby gets here so I'll be able to keep everyone posted :)

waiting

So this is kind of a nothing post. Certain family members want more pictures :) Unfortunately what you see here is all we've taken recently. So here goes....

I'll start with a really cute picture that I found from our trip to North Carolina that I never posted.

Eleanor in the bathtub (she is learning how to smile for the camera-kind of). And don't worry we don't use that spatula in our kitchen anymore, it melted and Eleanor decided it would be a fun bath toy.

Next up, I know you're all dying to see what I looked like at 37 weeks :) Sweat pants are the only thing that fit me right now (name that movie).

I'm now 38 weeks and I've been 3cm dilated since my last appointment at 37 weeks. Exciting to think it could be any day, but I guess I could just stay like that for another 3 weeks. Eleanor was almost a week late and 9 lb and 4 oz, so hopefully this one comes a little sooner and a little smaller! Now we just play the waiting game. The name we've picked out for her means patience, so hopefully I can learn a thing or two about patience as I wait for her arrival! I'm a pretty patient person when it comes to my interactions with other people, but I'm not very patient when it comes to things (like electronics, traffic, waiting for events, not knowing when things will happen, stuff like that). I'm hoping this little one will just be all around patient, I think that's a great trait to have! When do you think our baby girl will get here and will she be as big as Eleanor was??

Back to Eleanor...here she is on her first day of swim lessons. Doesn't she look excited??


To help kill some time while we wait for baby, we decided to put her in some swim lessons at the university rec center. One of us has to be in the water with her, but I don't really mind, it's nice to get a little physical activity and being in the water really makes me feel much lighter. My only other source of exercise comes from going up and down the stairs at our house to use the bathroom about 19 times a day. We don't have a bathroom on our main floor, just upstairs and in the basement, so that's been my justification of a work out for the past 9 months :)

And here's one more shot of Eleanor in the pool at her swim class. She hasn't necessarily learned how to swim, but I guess the goal is to make the kids feel more comfortable in the water. She's gotten pretty good at just floating around on a noodle. She also really likes to pick up rings from under the water.

Here's a video of Eleanor talking on the "phone". These days she turns just about anything into a phone and has a full conversation with whoever is on the other end. I tried to catch her doing it, but once she saw me she stopped. Notice her great fashion sense, too. She chose her bracelet and necklace all by herself for the day. And she even did her own hair.

She cleans up pretty cute, I think! We discovered a little nature center at playgroup this week and she was loving it.

So Emily, there you have it :) There are some pictures of what we've been up to lately.

Let's hope my next post has some pictures of a newborn!

oh what do you do in the summertime

We've been staying pretty busy this summer. Here's a rundown of what we've been up to. On Friday, June 25th Andrew's work had a party at the Akron Aero's baseball game. After the game there were fireworks, so we got our fill before the 4th of July.

Yes, this is my child, sippy cup in one hand, diet pepsi in the other.

Eleanor loved hanging out with her besties Katherine and Jared.

We celebrated Andrew's birthday the next day and went to Benihana's. If you haven't joined their birthday club, you really should. You get $30 off your meal during your birthday month. We went for Lunch. So we were both able to pig out for just the cost of my meal, about 8 bucks.

On Monday, the day after Andrew's bday we got together with some friends at the park for some cake and ice cream. This picture kind of looks like Andrew hijacked some kids birthday party because he's surrounded by all the little kids. :)


Eleanor has discovered trains, and she loves them. Andrew's parents sent us home with a bunch of Andrew's old toys, including some trains and train tracks. This has been Eleanor's go to toy ever since we got back from North Carolina which is fine with me because it has really kept her attention! This is a video of one of the first times we set it up. She's gotten much better at putting it together by herself (kind of) and moving the trains around.

Last weekend for 4th of July we went out to a little man made beach with some friends and then went to a BBQ afterward. Eleanor was too tired so we headed home before the fireworks. My camera died, so these are the only shots I got of the day.


Earlier this week we went up to the Cleveland Science center with some friends. It was a really fun place. They had a whole preschool area, which is where we spent the majority of our time. Eleanor really got a kick out of this contraption and loved putting the balls in and watching them roll all the way down.

She is just growing up so much and learning so much everyday!

I can't wait to see her be a big sister... Just about 4 weeks left (but who's counting??)

Beach Trip

We just got back from a trip to North Carolina to visit Andrew's parents. They live in Wilmington, which is on the coast, so they are close to a lot of different beaches. We visited three different beaches while we were there and we loved every minute of it! This post will probably just be pictures, I don't really have much to say except that we had a really great time, and it was so nice to relax and be spoiled by Andrew's parents.

Day 1 -- We went to Sunset beach. I was pretty sure Eleanor would like the beach, but that is an understatement...she LOVED the beach, everything about it!



Have I mentioned Eleanor loves carrying things around? Purses and buckets are right up her alley.

Here's a video of Eleanor playing in the water. I tried to get a video of when she was super excited about all the waves, but you know how it goes, when you want to get a picture or video of something in particular, it usually doesn't happen. But I still think it's pretty cute to watch her.


Day 2 -- We went to a blueberry festival. I didn't get many pictures, but basically we just walked around and looked at little booths of people selling crafts and your typical festival food. I think we picked the hottest day of the year to be outside...there were people sitting down everywhere trying to fix their heat exhaustion and dehydration. I had several people tell me to make sure and drink plenty of water and sit down, I thought that was pretty thoughtful of them to look out for the big pregnant lady.

Here's Eleanor cooling off by the misting fans.

We also went to the aquarium in Kure Beach. Eleanor was really mesmerized by the alligators.


Here's a video of Eleanor exploring...


And, like I said, it was really hot outside so here we are in all are sweaty glory! Luckily when we were done with the aquarium we headed down to Kure Beach to cool off. Since it was later in the day it wasn't crowded at all.


Day 4 -- We went and walked around downtown Wilmington and got some ice cream at a favorite local shop. I think I can safely say it was the best waffle cone I've ever had.

Eleanor really just wanted to get in the water.



Day 4 -- We went down to Myrtle Beach. We first went to a little strip mall kind of place on a boardwalk and walked around for a little bit and had lunch. Then we headed over to the Marriott. They let us use their pool because Andrew's dad has stayed there for business quite a few times. So we just hung out by the pool and pretended we were staying at a fancy resort for the day.

Here's a video of Eleanor swimming in the pool...


We flew there but drove a U-haul back to Ohio with a grand piano in it. Andrew's parents are moving and their new place doesn't have room for it, so we've inherited a grand piano. Exciting, huh? Eleanor did pretty good on the drive back. She was really excited to drive in the big truck and loved being able to sit next to me and Andrew. Some movers came this morning to unload the piano and set it up. It basically takes up the whole living room, but I'm excited to play it and Eleanor seems to be pretty soft with it. Maybe I can give her some simple lessons in a little while.

Anyway, we had a really fun trip and I'm so glad we were able to take a little trip before our new baby gets here. It was nice to have a distraction so I'm not just sitting around counting down the days. I've got a feeling that July is going to be a really long month! :)