Andrew joined the family (in gory detail)

When people would ask me when Andrew was due, I would respond, "I will be happy if we make it to Halloween!" We did it. The very next morning, as I was laying in bed, things were feeling a bit different. I would leak a little bit of fluid at a time and when I went to the bathroom, my mucus plug came out at 7am. I texted my friend Mindy and asked her if she would be available to watch the kids that day. My contractions started coming regularly 5 minutes apart. So, we headed out to the hospital and got there at 9. We got there and they checked to see if my waters had ruptured and they did. So, they checked me into a room. I didn't have a birth plan so when they asked me if I wanted an epidural I didn't know. I was planning on doing some hypno birthing preparations but the first day that I did it was the day that I went into the hospital for premature contractions... so I didn't want to try that again. I decided to just take it a contraction at a time. I sat on the ball and Ryan pushed on my lower back with all of his weight for counter pressure. I had the most amazing nurse that was there the whole time. Her name was Jodie. She was so positive and supportive and complimentary. I just loved her and wish I could have had her for all of my births. In between contractions I would ask Ryan if I should just get an epidural. He said that it was up to me. I just didn't know. I figured that I knew what it was like to do it naturally without medication- its hard but I survive. And the fear of the unknown and needles was enough for me to just keep going. I really love the miracle of giving birth. The feeling of a baby coming down and out.

Around 11:00 I was hungry and wanted to eat. They said that if I was going to have an epidural that they didn't want me to eat. I still didn't know, so I skipped it. Plus, there wasn't really any time to eat.

I looked at the clock at 12:00 and said to myself that I was going to have him at 1:30. He came at 1:56 (pretty close). They put me up on the table to push. It was slow and constant. With my other babies, they kind of shot out once the head was out. Not with Andrew. I had to continue to push his body out. The labor part of having a 4 lb baby compared to a 6 lb baby was the same. The only difference was the pushing was harder. I still didn't tear and the placenta came right out. Poor Ryan, I had a death grip on him the whole time. One time he needed his hand for something so I grabbed his cheek. That had to have been painful.

Once he was out they put him right on my chest and he was all blue and cone headed. He got pretty bruised on his forehead. He didn't breathe right away and he looked around wide eyed and mouth open for a breath but nothing happened. The nurse got scared and so did Ryan- so they took him away just for a minute until he started to breathe. The mid-wife said that it would have been fine- he just needed a minute to adjust. She knew best- but it was a bit scary. So, Jodie said that Andrew wanted to nurse. You could see him smacking his lips. We tried to get him to latch on and he didn't want anything to do with it. As soon as we stopped trying, he did it on his own. Very independent just like his brother.

The miracle of seeing your new baby is so awesome. And, I love seeing Ryan with tears in his eyes. He is such a good husband and father with such a big heart. We are so lucky to have him.

I immediately wanted to eat. I was so hungry. We ate a big meal and then headed to the recovery room. I was sad to say good bye to Jodie. She was seriously the best. I ate twice as much as I usually do for a couple of days until all of a sudden I finally got full. Giving birth is such a work out that I had to make up for the calories lost... plus making breast milk.

Andrew is such a mellow, good natured boy. The nurses that came in to do his tests were all so impressed that he barely whimpered. They say that other babies would cry like crazy... and I could hear them from the next room.

The hard part was finding a name for our baby. He didn't have a name until we were actually leaving the hospital. Other names that were close: Soren, Gordon, Adam

Andrew Kannas Funk. 11/1/2014 6lb 5oz 20 in.

Halloween

Ryan helped the kids carve pumpkins this year. I was feeling a bit large... especially since I went into labor the next morning. He always does such a great job anyways. 

 Zola didn't like getting dirty at all!

 Dennis cleaned out his own pumpkin this year! And he did a pretty good job at it too.

 Dennis was a glow in the dark skeleton! He loved it.

 And Zola was "woman woman" (wonder woman). Aren't they the cutest ever?

This is Zola just a couple of hours before trick or treating.. She was pretty sick. But, when I asked here there was no doubt that she wanted to go out. And, while we were out, I asked her if she wanted to go home- because it was really cold. She said no. That she wanted to stay outside.

Dennis was so excited he ran from house to house leaving Zola and I way behind in his dust.

fall- out of order

We are so proud of Dennis and his hard work in learning to read. The summer reading program at our public library gave prizes for reading 10 books for Dennis' age group. He finished that in a couple of days. We then started making our own goals. He started the summer with the goal of reading 50 books and got a couple of super soakers mid July for his reward. Then for the next 50 books he read he got to go to a mega playground called shoots and ladders with his cousin James. 

 Last winter Dennis didn't like skating at all. He was mad the whole time we were on the ice. But something happened and at preschool graduation he said that he wanted to be a hockey player when he grew up. And when hockey season came around he was so excited to get started.

it was so fun to watch him skate and have fun with it. He is really getting the hang of it and keeping his knees bent and getting some speed. I love everything about it. The smell of the rink really makes me feel at home. I seriously spend a lot of my life at the rink- either doing what Zola is doing or learning to skate myself. 

 Kristen was able to come and visit us! It was so much fun. We went to the apple orchard and road on a hay ride and found a ton of delicious apples.

 Zola got so spoiled with Kristen here. She would ask Kristen to hold her even just around the house. She got carried everywhere.

 more adventures with Kristen later....l

"baby in there?"

My cute kids in their car that they made with Grandma.

... and back to Kristen's visit. We went to the zoo.. and fed the goats. It was cold but so fun.

The goats only liked the green leaves that were soft. They weren't interested in the brown ones at all.

Dylan and Stephanie's wedding

We went up to the Itasca state park for my second cousin's wedding. It was beautiful and a little chilly. The trip was a little hard because Ryan couldn't come with us. He was in San Francisco at a conference... the poor guy. ;)

 The wedding was held on a boat on lake Itasca. So much fun. They had fun packs for the kids since there wouldn't be much for them to do. They had these wax sticks that my mom formed into some stylish glasses for the kids.

 Dylan and Stephanie lighting their candle. Dylan is my Dad's cousin David's son.

 These two are the best of friends... and they are super cool dudes. Yes, Dennis is wearing flip flops on a day where everyone is wearing their coat.

 We had our own dance party up on the top deck. What can I say? If there is music, we like to move our hips!

 Thankfully we had a tarp to block the wind... but Owen and Zola peaked under to feel the breeze. It was cold!

We shared a cabin with Randy and his family- surprisingly cheaper than a hotel. It was so beautiful and fun (minus the poopy pants without running water to clean up). The kids got to sleep on two pull out couches in the living room... well that's where they started but of course ended up in bed with me.  I LOVE northern Minnesota.

 Then we went to the head of the Mississippi river. It was my first time there.

 The gang of besties. Zola has a wild imagination. She was talking about catching a birdie that was going to fall from the tree the whole way down to the headwaters. It was very exciting for her.

 ... and ta-da! There is where the Mississippi starts. Right out of Lake Itasca.

It is so fun to watch Owen and Zola run around together. They play so well and understand each other more than we do. It is pretty funny how that works.

"The Mississippi's mighty and it starts in Minnesota, at a place that you can walk across with 5 steps down." - Indigo Girls