It's fun to have Grandma and Grandpa here!

 Ice Skating with Grandma at the Tivoli Eissporttalle

 Cora loves Grandma

The boys love Grandpa.....and his "widdow" shows on the "compooter"

Aaron (talking to Cora): "Here baby, you can soak your binky.  Here.  Soak it."

Me: "Thanks for telling me the baby fell sleep.   You are a good babysitter."
Aaron: "And I'm a good baby-sleeper guy."

Aaron: "Can we light the candle up?"
Katie: "Sure. Why?"
Aaron: "Because I want it to move, that's why."  (We have spinning candle holders)

Me: What do you like best about your baby?
Aaron: "Everyfing!  I like everyfing von my baby!  But not the spit von my baby.  I like the uver fings, but not the spit von the baby. The baby is not gonna spit this time."

Me:  What do you like best about your baby?
Timmy : "That baby does...um....does do da tongue out.  I like that the baby does de tongue out.  Like Steve does the tongue out and goes "lick lick."
Me:  Whose Steve?
Timmy: "Steve is from the chance of meatballs.  He captures every guy.  From the gummy bears, he captures every guy."

Me: "What was your favorite gift you got for your birthday?"
Timmy: "My train, and da planes plastics, and da Smurf Activity book."
Me: "Did you get anything else you liked?"
Timmy: "Yeah - it's someping von Leon, the dino-egg, where the dino comes out.  Dat was also my favorite present from my birthday.  From Leon is that.  From school is he.  I like him because he plays Polizei and dats what he likes."   "He goes to schule now, but I still know him.  I know what his face looks like, and what he likes.  I know that still of Leon."

The Brothers

Tonight I was making dinner and watching Cora at the same time.  After I got everything on the stove, I went to nurse her.  After I minute, I was worried the food might be boiling over, so I asked Timmy to look at the food and not touch it, but tell me how it looked.
He checked and came back and said excitedly "It's a little bit OK, but....it's SPLITTING out!"
Both pots were boiling over. :)

Timmy with his homemade Christmas "Plätzchen"

Aaron comes into the room the other day, playing something with Timmy, and says "Howy Cwaap!" and then "Oh my heck!"   Oh dear....mommy has taught you some distinct Utahn "swearing!"  My first instinct was to correct them, and offer them some more polite and educated sounding phrases to use..... but I was laughing so hard, I couldn't get there.  Plus, they got it from me, and I don't know if I can change my own habits so quickly...so...... I'll go with "I guess it could be worse" for now.

Hangin' with mama

Cora at 3 Weeks

Dressing up

 I've heard of blogs/websites dedicated to Kate Middleton's wardrobe.  Well, I won't start that here with Cora, but I have to  post some of these darling outfits!  OK - I admit it!  Dressing up a girl is a lot more fun than I expected!

We managed to attend church the last two Sundays, and these were her dresses.  Outfit #1 is a cute little purple cloud outfit from Veronica with a darling matching headband from Melissa.  

Outfit #2 is a darling little dress from cousin Bekah, matching headband handmade from Mikaela, and look at those little shoes from Christa!  Aren't they to die for?

She's a doll!

Dad was talking with the boys to Aunt Marilee via Skype.  When she saw Cora for the first time she said "Oh!  She is a doll!"
Aaron quickly answered very defensively "No she's NOT!!  She's not a doll!  She's our baby!"

Cora Jane

7 lbs. 6 oz (3440 g)

20 inches (51 cm)

Cora Jane's Birth Story: Katie's Perspective

In case you didn't understand that last post from Scott, here's the translation into "normal people" terms from Katie.   His description is probably better for the squeamish men-folk though.  If words such as "contraction" "pain" "blood" bother you, than stop now.  I'm serious.  This description is for my sisters and friends who have told me their amazon women birth stories.  (It's not meant to gross everyone else out.)

So, Saturday, I was 2 days past my due date (normal for me), and was asked to go into the hospital for a routine check to make sure that the baby was doing well with enough amniotic fluid, etc.   I dropped the boys at a birthday party at 2 pm, went into the hospital, had everything checked and picked them up at 4.  Everything fine.  No problems.   I was told that if she took longer than 5 more days, the hospital recommends being induced, but for the time being, everything looked good.

That night, the boys were in bed, and mom, dad, Scott and I decided to watch "The Host." Timothy pulled his normal "my tummy hurts" gig  to try to stay up watching Mormon Messages on Utube to fall asleep to.  (He's been doing that every night....so we're onto him.)   We got him down in our bed eventually. 

About half way through the movie, I noticed I was having some mild contractions that were painful (different than Braxton Hicks), but really far and few in between.  I figured it might just be from being examined a few hours before, but had some blood, so I called the hospital to ask about it.  They said that I could stay home, and to wait until any more contractions picked up for now.   So, Scott and I showered and packed up what we needed, and we all went to bed, not knowing if we'd be up again later or not.

Dad was betting on 5 am.  He was pretty close.  I started having contractions at 2 am.  We left for the hospital at 4 am, after having a little food and taking one last pregnancy photo.  The contractions were not close together, so we took our time.

 (4 am - on the way to the Uniklinik)

A little background on my expectations.

Timmy's birth - 24 hours of long, slow, painful labor.  No medication by choice.  Never want to repeat it, but was proud to have survived.

Aaron's birth - Labor started very distinctly at 4 am.  Strong, productive contractions immediately.   Epidural in and working by 8 am.  Lovely nap.  30 Minutes of pushing, and done.   Couldn't have gone better.  Only 4.5 hours of labor pains, first hour of which, wasn't even bad.

I was hoping for the latter experience again, but knew that this labor was not looking so promising from the get go.  The contractions were not close together at all, and would disappear when I laid down, but were unfortunately super-painful still in sitting/standing position.

When we arrived at the hospital, she did the normal CTG scan, which takes 30 Minutes.  I asked her to take my blood and get the tests going, because they warned me before that if the blood tests were not finished (takes about an hour) the anesthesiologist will not give you an epidural until they are.  

So, we got all that taken care of, and were anxious to see how the birth was progressing with dilation.  I was only dilated to a 2.  Bummer.  You might think "What a whimp!" but I can assure anyone who has not been in labor that your dilation has little to do with your pain level, energy level, or how long you've been laboring.

With Aaron, I was at a 6 at this point, and epidural on the way.  (Which had been sweet!)

Luckily things were not as gloomy as it had been with Timmy's labor where I was checked at only a 3 cm after going to the hospital.  After having labored already for 15 hours at home, and they wouldn't even let me into the hospital, I had wanted to break down.

This time, I hadn't been in labor that long, so I was ready to work to get the labor going.

I needed to work the labor up to a point where it was certain that the labor would progress before they could give me an epidural.   Although the contractions were super-painful and 2 minutes apart when I was standing or walking around, they got further apart when I would sit, and would stop mid-contraction the moment I laid down.  Since that was how I got through them with Aaron s birth (laying down with Scott giving my back counter pressure), I was not too happy to have to pick a new less-comfortable method, but you do what you have to do.

So, we had a system of walking, then stopping, sitting down for the contraction, Scott giving me counter-pressure on my back, and then again and again.  It was a lot less tolerable pain-wise than the other method, but I knew it wouldn't produce anything the other way, and wanted to "earn" my epidural.  We continued that way for 2 hours and then did another CTG (sitting up this time to keep the contractions going) and exam.  I was tired and it was not fun, but I was hopeful when she said I was dilated to a 5 and could then get an epidural.   But.....even though it had been over an hour, the blood test was actually not done, so I did end up having to wait, and continue walking and working through.

(Epidural in! Yay!)

At 9:10 the epidural was in and starting to work, only on the left side completely, and was still uncomfortable on the right, but WAY better than full strength.  So, I curled up for a nap.  Not surprisingly, the contractions pulled way back.  They were only about every 12 Minutes, but I was exhausted and slept between them.  The nurse came in and gave me some Oxitocin to get them going again.  Despite the epidural, I could feel the contractions on my right side and a lot of pressure with the baby moving down with each one.  (I couldn't feel that at all with Aarons.)

I was so grateful though that I had had a break to regain strength, and then was ready to work again.  I did everything the midwives said.  They turned down the meds and I got up on my hands and knees.  They had me move all around as much as I could.  I was fully dilated, but pushing was unproductive because she wasn't down far enough. 

The midwife was really good though at listening.  I told her that the positions she was suggesting weren't producing anything, but that on my side I felt a lot of pressure.  Each time I got on hands and knees or was seated the pressure and contractions stopped completely.  So, she said "OK - lets try on your side."   I moved on my left side (knee up in my right hand) did just one strong push and could feel the baby immediately move down and into the birth canal.  The midwife called for the doctor and said "The baby is coming."  4 more contractions (I was hardly even pushing, because they were telling me to slow it down) and she came out all-at-once.

(Immediately after birth with a big goose egg on her head)

She was so calm, not crying at all.  It was a really calm birth.  There were only 3 women in the room with us.  The doctor, the midwife and a nurse. 

(Minutes after the birth)

They immediately gave her to me and I held her for almost an hour before they took her from me to get her weight and stats.    That was very different from my other births.  I usually held them for a few minutes, and then they had to get a bunch of tests done.  I kept holding her wondering when they would grab her away, but they just kept working, delivering the placenta, etc.   After the hour, they took her for a few minutes, got her stats, wrapped her up and gave her back to me. 

(About an hour after the birth still in the delivery room)

They had us in an intermittent room right there in the Kreissaal (triage/delivery area), for another couple of hours where we just held her and took photos and I fed her more (she was rooting right after the delivery).  That is where we had time to prepare a quick SMS/email to the family and a few friends.  Then, we were led up to the recovery room on the 8th floor.

(In between delivery and recovery rooms)

We had a private room, which was great.  There is a shared bathroom right outside the room, but no one was in it for the first two nights, so it was very nice.  We opted for Scott to sleep at home, rather than pay for a "family room", which worked out nicely, because the nurses were really great to take her at night so I could sleep, and I think we'll both need our rest for when she comes home tomorrow.

The after-care was great.  Really nice nurses and no one coming in and waking me up to ask unnecessary questions (this was unfortunately the case at the U of M hospital with Aaron).  The photo lady woke us up, but the other staff and nurses have all let me sleep when they crack the door and see we are sleeping.  They have been really good at letting us recover and keeping testing and checks to a bare minimum. 

Plans Now
The nice thing about Germany is that you get to decide when you are ready to leave the hospital.  I decided that since the baby was born Sunday afternoon, that Wednesday would be a good time to leave, but if I wanted to, I could have chosen to stay a week, or I could have had a few tests done and have been released to go home only hours after the birth.

The other nice paid-for option is midwifery (Hebamme) care at home after the birth.  The insurance pays for it, and the midwife comes over every couple of days to your home, or every day if you need.... for....something like....8 appointments to check on you and the baby, answer questions, weigh the baby, help with nursing, etc.

I didn't realize that I should schedule one until just recently, so I called only 2 weeks ago and made an appointment with a Hebamme named Eva.  I feel SUPER fortunate that even though I didn't do a lot of research on chosing one, that she happens to be totally wonderful.  Amazingly, she also happened to be the midwife on duty at the Uniklinik Sunday night, so she delivered Cora.  

I met with her for the first time at our home for 2 hours on Tuesday afternoon.  We got to know each other and she took the time to find out all about our family and what our experience/needs are.  She only works part-time, so when we had the baby on Sunday, it was so nice that she knew exactly what I wanted and was the one to actually deliver the baby.  She'll come visit us this week and next at home.

Cora is doing great.  She's eating well, sleeping well, pooping....and all that good stuff. :)
We will be sure to post more pics soon, and are looking forward to taking her home tomorrow.
She is a really really sweet baby, and we love her already!

The Story of Mädchen Stapleton

So I have been once again chastised by my mom for lack of updates, so while KT and Mädchen are napping, I will write a bit about the story of her coming into being. 

-As a side note: Mädchen is not her first name.  I definitely understand the problems that would come if she had such a name: in Germany people would be confused because Mädchen just means "girl", and in America people would have no idea how to pronounce it.  Also we would be dooming her to an eternity of having to insert a special character when typing her name.  That would make writing emails that much more difficult.  We are not that mean.  Maybe I am, but "we" aren't.  The boss has some doubts on the current name of choice, so it will remain unpublished until some degree of certainty reigns or when German law dictates that a decision must be made.  We are currently allowed to remain in our state of uncertainty.  Hence Mädchen Stapleton.  But I digress...

So let me tell you a tale, a fascinating tale of love, jealousy, wonder, betrayal, heroes, heroines, and cookies.  A tale so intriguing that little children in forthcoming ages will beg their nurse-maidens to tell them the story one more time before they go to bed.  And they will.  And the children will ask for it one more time, but the nurse-maiden will know it is simply a stalling tactic, and she will refuse.  Then, mysteriously, the child will have a stomach ache, to be soothed only with the thick medicine of entertaining media.  The worn nurse-maiden will give in, and let the child fall asleep to YouTube videos.  The child will develop a habit, and need to be soothed by said videos every night.  Yes, this tale is that amazing.  It's either that amazing, or I just have nothing to do in this little hospital room with two slumbering females nearby.  I'll let you guess which one resembles reality. 

So we begin our tale on the 16th night of the month of November, two days after the date foretold by the magicians gazing at their black and white screens filled with smokey images they claim tell them the preordained time of the emergence of the newling.  Four weary adults lounged in a fold-out couch watching "The Host" after spending a weary day chasing children and restoring used baby furniture.  Suddenly there was a stirring in the belly of the one carrying the future Stapleton, she who was destined to be burdened by an annoying father for the rest of her (or his) life.  The stirring came in regular occurrences, with a mildness and frequency that hinted toward a possible event. 

After the conclusion of the cinematic diversion, the two would-be and already-were parents realized that they were wholly unprepared for an abdominal emptying.  They frantically scurried about packing suitcases and showering the days grime off of their weary bodies, preparing for a dramatic entrance into the house of healing.  When all was made ready, it was decided that the amplitude of the contractions was succeeding, and all retired to their beds for what they ignorantly thought was a good nights sleep.  They were wrong.  Dead wrong.  Dun dun dunnnnnnnnnn.

At the second morning hour, the waves of stomach tightening began.  The waves were still rather sparsely spaced, but of sufficient intensity to give the impression that something was, in all actuality, happening.  Preparations for the long journey were made, good-byes were exchanged, and tears were shed as the couple made their way in their silver steel steed to the fortress predetermined as the place of emergence. 

Upon arrival, they were hooked up to a myriad of cabled beasts, beeping and ticking threateningly all the while.  The keeper of the ward (aka Hebamme) laid out the preconditions for the release of the euphoric potions which are reputed as bringing their user into a state of bliss and eternal joy.  The brave mother was denied the potions, and forced to wander the grounds on a quest to coax the Stapleton-to-be to venture further to the light.  She began her arduous journey with her trusty hunch-backed sidekick limping eagerly at her side, who occasional fetched water from the well when she called for it, and gave the occasional back rub when it was deemed necessary.  They wandered to and fro through the pale halls of the abandoned ward, asking themselves how they could accomplish their seemingly hopeless quest.  Her powers ebbed and waned as the strength of the surges threatened to overtake her.  She returned to the ward with the white flag of peace, pleading for the ward to allow her to have just the slightest taste of the much-sought-after potion.  The request was granted, but the Sorceress administering the potion was nowhere to be found.  And so the surging continued, undampened by the potion which seemed so close, but so far away.

The brave keeper of the ward sent out a summons in all the land, seeking the elusive Sorceress to produce the magic potion.  Word reached the secluded Sorceress and she arrived, her gown a flapping coat of emerald.  She carefully administered the potion, knowing that too much of it could end in utter disaster.  After the first dose, the effects seemed to be confined to the southward-side, which only hinted at the ecstasy that could accompany a full dosage.  Finally, the concoction reached full power and the effects were enjoyed immensely.  It was decided that a slight respite would be required before the final push of the proverbial hill.

After an energy-regenerating slumber, the somberness of the impending war could be felt in the air: it was time.  The keeper of the ward called for reinforcements, and the ranks were filled with courageous young warrioresses whose battle-scars attested to their skill and experience in such epic battles.  With a war-cry ringing from their lips, the army surged forward for the first offensive.  The defenses were heavy, and the first attack bursted against the gates like a wave against an unmoving rock.  Patience and persistence would be needed to take the fort.  The offensive army tried every position and strategy commonly practiced in such warfare, with no success.  Finally, the general suggested a daring, radical maneuver which was considered too dangerous to try.  Desperate times call for desperate measures. 

The success of the new maneuver was instantaneous, and the prize was immediately presented to the victors.  To the chagrin of some of the inexperienced warriors, the prize was just a slimy, wrinkled helpless being.  They had fought so hard for 11 hours for that?  But the higher ranks assured them that the small helpless being would someday become a full-fledged Stapleton, wreaking havoc and waging her own wars across the land.  And that, is the story of Mädchen Stapleton.  Or is it just the beginning..........?

Baby Stats: Take 3

Mädchen Stapleton is here: 51 cm, 3440 g, 12:55 pm.  Not sure what that is in our crazy English units,  but you're already on the Internet,  so look it up!

Little Scribble

Little Scribble from last year I found:

As Aaron (age 3) does a downward dog over his train track, he says:

"I dus' make a tunnel for my choo-choo!  It's my tunnel."

Life as we know it.....

The winds of change are in the air.  I'm two weeks from my due date.  I am "nesting" right now.  Scott and I sanded, repaired and painted a second hand crib and changing table.  I've been washing all the baby linens, and taking tags off of the new clothes.  For some reason when I pulled the clothing out of the dryer this morning and saw these enormous handfuls of bright pink lint, it suddenly dawned on me, "Life as we know it is about to change."

The Morgan Epic Adventure!

The baby comes in just a few weeks, so I need to finish journaling the summer, or I won't ever finish! :)   Pardon the notes.  Just some things I want to remember.

Days 1-3 - Bacharach, Rhine Valley, St. Goar Tour, & Burg Eltz Tour (Fri/Sat).  Church in Aachen and a little walk around Laurensberg/Castle Park. (Sunday)

The Morgans visit this summer was "epic" for both Melissa and I.  When do you get 5 weeks of time out to be with your sister....ever?  Never!  This never happens!  But it did!   And I was super-proud of us for planning it and making it happen.    Had we had all the money and time and energy in the world, this might not be a big deal, but...we have 3 kids each (one of mine in the belly, but that is still a factor!) and live on different continents.  So, that is quite a feat!

We both spent so much time planning the trip all year, which was both really fun......and time sucking.  What we both realized was that when you have researched something in March, it's hard to remember in August what the details were. :)
Also, it's impossible to plan out perfectly what you will do with Rick Steve's, trip advisor, restaurants, and keeping in mind budget, kid-friendly activities, and the ever unpredictable weather.

So, we didn't go for "perfect," but we did do the best we could to make it do-able and enjoyable for the kids, within our budgets, and at the same time, see something of Europe and the area ourselves, fulfilling our interests in history, art, etc.  Along with the kids, we also had to be careful of my pregnancy (swelling and dehydration go together, for example), and Melissa's health.  She was on a very strict diet regimen, which on vacation was not possible to follow 100%.  So we had to go for "good enough" and not "perfect" on that too.

And I think we did a bang-up job of  a family-friendly vacation!   The kids had a great time together.  Luke was the oldest, and therefore the most patient with activities.  He did well reading his nook when things were slow.  I think the younger kids did well with getting out for 4-5 hours of fun and then hanging out in the apartment playing together for the afternoon.

Timmy and Aaron are in LOVE with Luke, Kinley and Seth.  Timmy was obsessed for a while about drawing, taping and reading his handmade nooks like the cousins.  He had a "French-a-lots" nook and an English nook and a German nook.

Before the cousins came, he was obsessed with making his "Theatre" which was just mostly scribbling pretend writing on a paper and taping it to the wall.   But after seeing the cousins making comics and reading their nooks, that became the new obsession.   I had to make him a binder for all his comics, nooks and Mcdonald's smurf papers. :)   He would know if some scrap of paper was missing!

I have to give my hat off to Adam, who after returning to work, sacrificed his family staying here for 3 weeks, and was home by himself.  Apparently he worked a ton and got lots of projects done.  Good job Adam!  Thanks for letting us enjoy your fam!

Scott was also a trooper and super supportive.  We made plans with the idea in mind that our boys would be in Kindergarten during the last few days, when we went to Paris.  When we realized they would be in summer vacation, we planned to all go together.  Scott realized close to the trip that it would be too stressful for all of us in Paris with 5 kids, and decided to keep his work time off and entertain our little ones at home. That ended up being for the best.  They were really too little to enjoy Paris, so thanks to Scott for that sacrifice.  It made our Paris trip more flexible.  We were able to stay out later ( You've got to see the Eifel Tower twinkle lights!) and be more mobile.

I had wished I kept a journal of all the funny moments!  It was amazing how many teeth came our on this trip for example.  The Morgan kids lost at least 6 teeth between the three of them, didn't they?  There were teeth coming out all over the place! :)

Aarons awake - guess this will have to do for a summary. :)

Day 3, 4 & 5 (Aachen & Monschau)

On Sunday, we attended church and had a recovery/planning day for the week.   We also visited the castle park, and gave the Morgans a little taste of Laurensberg.

Day 4 (monday) we spent in Aachen checking out the cathedral and downtown.  The kids especially enjoyed the Teddy and Co. Toy store.  It was crazy-hot, so we also spent quite a while playing in the fountain behind Elizianbrunnen.

 Hot Spring water on a hot day anyone??

The Teddy and Co. Slide

On Day 5, we headed to Monschau.  Very interesting weather!   It was super hot at first, and we stayed as much as possible in the shade.  Then we had a glorious hour at the park where the weather was cool and lovely.   Then it started to rain cats and dogs!  And it didn't let up!  The boys had to make a run for it to the cars, and were soaked in the first 10 seconds.  What an adventure!

Day 6 & 7 (Brugge)

Melissa and Adam took a little overnight trip to Brugge.  

The kids and I went to the gym on Wednesday, and then swimming.  On Thursday we had a park day and played at the house.  They seemed to enjoy a break from "touring."

Day 8 (Kletterwald)

This was the Morgan family's most favorite activity I believe.  Being strung up to obstacles up high in the trees!  And it wasn't hot!  The kids had a great time and did really well trying some tough obstacles.

Days 9, 10, 11 (Luxumbourg, Church and Maastricht)

Day 10 was forcasted as HOT!  But we decided to forge ahead, armed with lots of water bottles and battle the heat in Luxumbourg. 

We toured the Casemates one of the largest fortresses ever built.

Sadly, historically, they destroyed most of it in order to prove that they were not a threat.

  Now you can tour a portion, and even with the little part left, it is still impressive.

  

Sunday was a recovery day.  We went to church and laid low.

On Monday (Day 12) we toured the American Military Cemetary, and Maastricht.

 The kids enjoyed the cannons and the English tunnel tour.

The tunnel system under Maastricht is huge, and was dug over the course of two thousand years for mining.

Great history of how they have been used during war later.

Day 12 (Amsterdam)

Aaron affectionately refers to Amsterdam as AmsterHAM.  I love it!

We visited Amsterdam quickly with a boat tour, lunch and then with insane rain, and tired kids, decided to forgo any further museums and book it up to Edam for a little more relaxing evening.