Pool Time

Kelly had an inservice last week so I decided to venture off to the pool with the girls. It's only my second outing with both of them, but I survived. My first was to the library and Emma fussed through most of story time. Yes, I know I'm very spoiled having Kelly home as well. We usually take turns taking Hannah places while the other stays home with Emma. Anyway, back to my pool story. Emma was a bit fussy at first, but once I fed her she fell asleep. I just kept her in the water to keep her cool. I was so upset because I forgot my camera. We went back to the pool two days later just to take a few pictures. This time she really didn't like it. She cried the whole time she was in the water. Once I laid her down on the towel, she fell asleep. The pool is definitely not one of her favorite places to go. Maybe next year!

Hannah's Big Splash

Hannah been taking swimming lessons for a week. After her first lesson she was able to swim across the pool. All she needed was a little self confidence. Her swim instructor is fantastic. I am so thrilled at all that Hannah has learned. She jumped off the diving board and is more confident in the water. She watched her cousin Mia do flips in pool last week. My fearless girl, tried it and was able to do three flips in a row. Hannah has truly come a long way. We are so proud of her!

Our New Addition to the Family

I can't believe it's been 9 weeks since Emma Marie was born. She arrived on April 15, 2009. Everything happened so quickly. I was scheduled to be induced on the 17th so I wasn't quite ready. I wasn't expecting her to come early. I started spotting and my friend made me call the doctor. She asked me to come in for a check up but I was hesitant since I hadn't completed all my paperwork at school. Finally the nurse said I needed to come in right away instead of waiting a couple of hours like I had requested. My sister Blanca, happen to be in the office because she was going to make copies. God works in mysterious ways. She ended up driving me to the hospital. The doctor said we could go ahead and have the baby since I had already started my contractions. I was so excited yet I also wanted to wait a couple of more days. I kept trying to call Kelly to see what he wanted me to do. Unfortunately, he didn't have his phone nearby so he didn't get my messages. So I finally decided to go for it in hopes that I would soon reach him. I even called him at work but they couldn't locate him. Finally my sister decided to drive over to Lewisville High and tell him I was going to have the baby today! We reached him on time and he arrived before any of the fun started. Actually the c-section was rough. The spinal block injection hurt and I had to get extra medication for nausea. I threw up a few times. I could tell there was a lot of tugging going on but my focus was on the worried doctor. She called for assistance with an unsteady voice. I knew something was not right but she never said anything about it. Finally she pulled Emma out. Kelly brought her by my side to see her but I felt so dizzy I only saw her for a few seconds before they took her out. As I went to the recovery room, Emma was moved into the NICU because she had water in her lungs. I felt horrible physically and emotionally. I wasn't even on the same floor as my baby. With all my medications, I wasn't able to go see her until the next day. I cried the first time I saw her. The nurse tried to comfort me by saying it was very common thing, but it wasn't common to me. It broke my heart to see her connected to all those machines. She had several tubes to keep her stable. I was ecstatic to finally hold her on the third day. All this time, I had been pumping but I hadn't nursed her until the fourth day in the NICU. I hoped that being fed by a tube and a bottle wouldn't confuse the poor girl. It actually didn't. She did great when I first nursed her. It was the few feedings after that made me seek out the lactation consultant. She was a great help and now all is well. Emma can nurse and drink out of a bottle without any problems. Anyway, the doctor kept me around until Sunday just so I could be near Emma. By then, the nurses weren't really tending to me since they knew I was only there for the baby. It was so anti-climatic leaving the hospital without a baby. I didn't want to leave without her but I did have to go spend some time with Hannah. She was so worried about Emma especially since she wasn't able to go in and see her. She knew something was wrong but wasn't sure how to handle it. I could tell she was very worried about Emma and me. Fortunately Emma came home the following day. We were so happy to bring her home. Hannah was also overjoyed to have her sister home. Life has been so perfect with her home. She is such a good baby. She just fusses when she's hungry or wet. Nothing major. Our sleepless nights are also over. Emma started sleeping through the night last week. She loves her swing. It has a mirror and a mobile with little birdies. She stares, laughs and giggles as the birds rotate. My favorite thing to do is hold her close to my chest and let her snuggle in tight like a little ball as she sleeps. Her warmth brings so much love and happiness to my heart. We all love her so much. Hannah is such an amazing big sister. She loves to help with everything, even taking the diapers to the trash! She often asks to hold her. I'm glad that she has been so good to her. Of course, she does have her moments of jealousy but not too often. At first, she was a bit extreme and thought we were going to get rid of her when she made a bad choice but we had to do a lot of comforting before we finally convinced her that she would always be a part of family. She even asked Bessie, my mother-in-law, if we had enough love for her since parents can only love one child. My heart broke. I couldn't believe that she feared that we would stop loving her. My Hannah has been the joy of my life the past 5 years, I continually pray that she knows how much we love her. By the way, my mother-in-law stayed with us for 6 weeks. Everyone thought I was crazy, but I loved having her here. She was so good with Emma. I learned so much from her. I'm grateful that she came to help us out. She definitely kept me sane. Now, Kelly and I are off for the summer and enjoying each day with Hannah and Emma. From changing diapers to playing Uno, our days are filled with simple pleasures brought to us by our girls.

Spring Break

This week we've tried to entertain Hannah, get Emma's room ready for her arrival which entitles decluttering our whole house to find space for all the things we had in her room, and rest! We've manage to spend time with Hannah and get a lot accomplished around the house. On Monday we went to Gatti Town, Tuesday and Wednesday we took Hannah to the park. We've also gone to the movies twice. Hannah's had a great time hanging out with her cousins. She absolutely loves to be around other children. Kelly and I have also cleaned out tubs, made a trip to CCA, painted Emma's room and gotten rid of unwanted furniture. We've managed to get a couples of naps in but Hannah definitely keeps us on our toes. She never stops. I don't know where she finds the energy.

As for my pregnancy, it's been going well. I will be 35 weeks tomorrow!!! I been so sluggish and slow. It takes me twice as long to get anything done. I feel great in the mornings but by 5 or 6pm I'm quickly reminded that being pregnant is just not my thing. I enjoy feeling her move but I don't like being so uncomfortable. I haven't decided whether I am going to schedule my c-section or try and do a v-back. I really want to wait and try and do v-back but the selfish part of me is saying to schedule the c-section because I don't think she will come any earlier than her due date. I will not give in to my selfishness, though. I am going to talk to the doctor on Monday and unless she sees any complications, I will wait. I know the recovery will be so much better if I hold off on the c-section. Decisions, decisions, decisions. Why can't it be like high school and just worry about what outfit to wear? ha,ha.

Our 8th Anniversary

March is flying by quickly. On the 3rd, Kelly and I celebrated our 8th anniversary. We broke the normal tradition of saving the top of the cake for our first anniversary instead we formed our own tradition. The first year Kelly bought me a the top of my wedding cake to try and stick to tradition. It was cute. Then the following year I bought him a smaller version of his groom's cake. We have managed to keep that up year after year. It was my turn this year. You can clearly see that Hannah has added her own touch to our tradition. She loves to sing and blow out candles for every occasion.

Busy Week

We kicked off soccer season with a cold blast. I thought Hannah wouldn't want to play but she went out there and played her game. She absolutely loves soccer. However, she was a bit upset that she only scored one goal.

This past week flew by so quickly. On Monday night we realized that it was President's Day and rushed out to find Hannah new furniture for her room. We went all over the place. Hannah kept saying, "We're never going to find furniture for me." So hopeless. I finally convinced Kelly to take me to Bassett's and of course I fell in love with the first bedroom set I saw. With only 10 minutes until closing, we managed to make a quick decision and take advantage of their sale prices. Although it took up more space than I expected in Hannah's room, she didn't seem to mind. She rushed to switch her clothes to her big girl furniture. It was too cute!

30 Weeks

30 weeks should be full term for a pregnancy. I have enjoyed the past 7 months but this week really beat me down. I felt tired at work and not very eager to exercise. I could actually feel my skin stretching, ouch! I'm also convinced that Emma is part eel because I feel shocks throughout the day that make me jerk. I would much rather take a kick than a shock anytime. However, I am grateful that I could still make it through work. My back is starting to ache more frequently but it's something Kelly can fix right away. I'm ready for Emma to arrive. I'm excited to spend time with her and Hannah without worrying about work responsibilities. Just 9 more weeks. I am sure they will fly by quickly. Yesterday Kelly took down all the tubs down from the attic while I was at our Primary activity. I asked him to get all the 0-3 tubs down. I was surprised at how much stuff I had up there because there were boxes everywhere. He said, "I didn't get the 2T boxes down because there were too many." I questioned, "Why would I need the 2T boxes down anyway?" Then he responded, "You said to get all the 0-3 tubs down." He thought 0-3 years, and I meant 0-3 months! That really made my day. It was just too funny! As for Hannah, I think she's having side effects from the pregnancy also. She can be so happy one minute and throwing a temper tantrum the next. She is usually so sweet and helpful but when you catch her in a bad mode, watch out. She has no control of the things that come out of her mouth. We've tried talking to her, time out, spanking her but nothing has really helped. We continue to pray for guidance and hopefully find a way to ease her anger.
Valentine's came and went. I wasn't in the mood to celebrate but it turned out to be a nice day anyway. Kelly bought me a couple things I needed. We went to my cousin's house for a party so it was nice to see my extended family.