"Little Elephan"

Of course we are all in love with our new sweetheart. She was three weeks early and very welcome. Gabe calls her "Little Elephan." (It can get confusing. He was asking me where the "Elephan diapers" were. I thought he was asking for his elephant diapers. We eventually understood one another. Julia has her sister's name down, but when we were watching Planet Earth she couldn't get over how funny it was to see the swimming "Evelants!")

Things are going very well. She sleeps all day is up half of the night! (Oh, the joys of newborn night-times. At least we get a lot of snuggling done during the day. There are few things sweeter than holding a tiny sleeping baby.) But really, she is a darling and healthy and well. As am I. The recovery of this pregnancy seems to be progressing faster than my last two. (Not that they were bad, but I am loving feeling great already. Just tired, of course.) Julia and Gabe love to hold her but don't love to wait until she's done nursing to do so. There's a lot of patience that will have to be learned around here!

So here are some pictures of Evelyn Paige in her first few days of life. We were extra surprised to see so much hair on a baby of ours. I think Julia expected her to come out with long, blonde curls. There may have been a little disappointment there. But we are loving her soft, dark hair.

After the pictures I will give a summary of her birth story. It began exactly like the other two, with my water breaking early on a Friday morning...

Gabe was so happy to see my big tummy gone. He hopped right up on my lap.

Fun shirts from Aunt Sarah

 My sister Cami took some of these pictures. Thanks, Cam!

So, back to that Friday morning. I guess my babies like to come on weekends. And that really works out well! As for the water breaking, this time we didn't rush to the hospital as we did with the others. I know there is a slight risk of infection, but I wasn't worried and wanted to give my body at least 12 hours to go into labor on its own. What a boring, frustrating morning! When after walking, doing housework, helping Julia work on her no-training-wheels endeavor, and walking some more with no contractions, we decided it was time to check in to the hospital. There we gave it another hour or two before getting a small dose of Pitocin. Once that was in my system, it didn't take long before the labor contractions were in full force. This time around I decided to go without the epidural. So I felt real labor contractions for the first time! (I think I felt one with Julia before getting the shot.) Although I could have been better prepared for the experience, I felt like I had enough confidence in my mind and body and its ability to birth this baby without the drugs. (Although I decided early on in the pregnancy to go natural, I kind of put off any kind of prep until the last minute. A friend recently loaned me her Hypnobirthing book - which I finished only a few hours before my water broke! Needless to say, I didn't quite get enough time to practice any relaxation techniques. Ha.)

Quite lucky for me, the labor and delivery lasted only about an hour and 45 minutes. I was on my hands and knees for a while during the contractions, then preferred to sit an a ball. The nurse mentioned that we should check my progress soon. But I knew it was already time. They said they'd call the doctor and I told them this baby may get here before him and I was not going to wait! But the doctor did arrive and within 15 intense minutes of some of most serious "pressure" I have ever felt in my life, this baby girl was born. Jonny was wonderful and supportive and I was so grateful to have him to hold on to when at one point I really didn't think I could do it. And, yes, I may just have screamed through the last two pushes. Then my baby was immediately on my chest where I held and nursed and hugged and kissed her for quite a while. What a relief. And what an experience. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I really loved being so aware and involved. With Gabe's birth I felt like I was floating, and nearly asleep when they told me to push. And then there he was. It was almost like I was a bystander. I think that's when I decided I'd have my next baby without the epidural. And this time I really did feel more a part of things, more in control of things. It was incredible. Seriously tough - definitely the most challenging thing I've ever done - but incredible.

Welcome to our family, darling little Evelyn. We love you more than words can say.

Evelyn Paige

This post is just a quick one to get a picture up, and will soon be replaced. But here are the details:

Born Friday 5/11/12 at 5:19pm
7lbs 11oz, 19in

Melody was an absolute rock star and is doing great. Here's a picture of the darling angel.

big belly in the big apple

 

A few weeks ago I went on a little "adventure" with my sisters and mom. (Julia calls a trip an "adventure." I would say this one, with my 33-week-tummy, truly qualifies!) I was hesitant to take the long flight to New York when it came down to it (thinking about the uncomfortable Braxton Hicks contractions, feet swelling from sitting so long, funny looks from people who think I may just go into labor on the plane, and those all-too-annoying and frequent bathroom visits), but I am so glad I didn't chicken out last minute. My sisters and mom are my best friends - so naturally this trip was exceptionally fun. Exhausting, but awesome.

Three of us UT sisters flew to NY early Wednesday morning. When we arrived at our hotel the two MD sisters and Mom were waiting for us and ready to party. We spent the next 24 hours in the city before taking a 4 hour bus ride to MD. After a few days of playing there with the silly triplets and Penny it was already time for us to fly back to UT. It was a whirl wind trip but we managed to fit in lots of city sight-seeing, a chick-flick at the theater, a visit to the Arboretum, an afternoon along the Chesapeake Bay, a visit to the Amish market, lots of delicious food, and general sisterly fun. Observe:

 

 Posing with the umbrellas we bought for the kids:

 

For obvious reasons, I was the photographer of this jumping picture.

Sitting on Lili.

One of my favorite parts of the trip: napping in Central Park.

Some biked while others napped.

Playing with Penny, Alex, Bennett, and Ruby at Sandy Point:

Easter Sunday

Oh, how many posts have I published that look something or exactly like this? I suppose these shots are much more realistic than if we had one of everyone smiling. Nonetheless, the holiday is documented - including a reluctantly posted yet traditional picture of my tummy at this stage. (This is the third Easter I have experienced 7+ months pregnant.)

  (Forget about a complete family picture.
This is as far as we got...) 

Happy Easter!

Lullabies by Julia (and "Crocodile" by Gabe)

The kids love to sing and Julia is often making up new songs - lately they are lullabies for baby Evelyn (due in 9.5 weeks). She has been concerned that Evelyn will need an original lullaby like she and Gabe have. (I usually come up with them during the first few weeks while I am up at night nursing a newborn and have little else to do! But Julia is helping me get a head start on this baby's song. I may just use some of her lyrics...)

This morning I was able to catch a Julia Original on video while she was in the tub. I will take the liberty of titling this one "Little Evelyn." And there are also a few encores on this video by Gabe: "Never Smile at a Crocodile" (twice) and the weekly Family Home Evening request (rather, demand) "Follow the Prophet."



After the bath (and while wearing my bathrobe) Julia had a few more lullabies to document. The following video contains four numbers that I will title "A Helpful Julia," "Crazy Gabey," "Mommy: The Cutest Lunch Lady," and "Daddy: My Only Love."


P.S. Family: her style reminds me a little of her Uncle Todd's, huh?

"On your markets..."

Just because I haven't been blogging doesn't mean things haven't been going on around here. I am SO happy to be out of the dregs of morning sickness and enjoying living life like a normal person. Well, I guess I am living as normally as I can with a basketball-sized bump under my shirt. (And yes, I am really only 24 weeks along.)

This strange (but welcome!) mild winter weather has us jumping on the tramp (not me, sillies) and playing at the park. It being so nice, I do wish I could be out there with all the runners I see. (I never really get to run through a pregnancy because I am sick at the beginning then don't feel like it would be good to start back up after 4 months off and that far along. Blah.) But you all have fun without me! Just don't brag too much about the races you are beginning to train for. I guess my upcoming labor could count as my half marathon this summer. Yeah, that will have to do. (I am, however, enjoying doing a daily Pilates workout from a great Prenatal Pilates DVD I bought. And I do a Yoga DVD once a week. It feels so good to be moving and stretching every morning. It can just be difficult to hold myself in down dog and focus on "the union of body and breath" while my kids are yelling at me from the basement. I do what I can.)

The kids are keeping me moving, sighing, cleaning, praying (for patience - yikes), and laughing. As usual they love to read so we often cuddle up with a stack of books. (Last night Gabe insisted we each take a turn reading the classic: The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear. Julia has had that one memorized for a while but I was surprised to hear Gabe recite it nearly word for word. I remember that book being one of the first I could "read" on my own too.) Some new favorite movies are The Wizard of Oz and Shirley Temple's Heidi. (Watched that one Sunday on Netflix. I can't believe they sit through the entire black-and-white movie. They just love "The Grandfather!")

They often break out into the Flight of the Concords song, "Brown Paper, White Paper" at the dinner table. Gabe loves "the sticky stuff" part. And after dinner nearly every day Jonny and the kids play and wrestle like lions - Scar, Simba, and Nala. (Someone always ends up crying from an accidental bump. So went the days of dog-piling on my dad too.) They have been playing a lot with Jonny's sister Rudi who is staying with us for a little while. They are always looking out the window in the morning to see if her car is parked in the front of if she has already left for work. "Rudi's car is here!" is often exclaimed.

I might as well share some of the funny ways the kids are saying things. Julia (who will be five in June and is too excited for kindergarten) says "usually" for "actually"- and that can come out pretty funny sometimes. ("Mom, I usually forgot my socks at Amber's house" or "I usually went potty before we left.") A paper cut is a "short cut." And when they are racing she says, "On your markets...set...go!" Then during the race, "I'm gonna beat you up." Lastly, she is really looking forward to "Ballenstime Day."

 Here she is looking a lot like Aunt Rudi:

Gabe (who will be 3 in May) loves to get "ta-yo-yo juice" (tomato juice) and "pink-a-butter" (peanut butter) out of the "fridger" (fridge, or refrigerator, I guess.)  He is crazy about the dinosaurs Santa gave him and the giant 24-piece ABC puzzle that he independently puts together every single day at least 3 times. He usually sings the Leapfrog ABC song or "Never Smile at a Crocodile" while puzzling. Last week he nonchalantly reported to Aunt Amber that "Scar is at work" (referring to Daddy, as mentioned earlier). He wants to learn to ride a "bike-cycle" and suddenly loves to sit on my lap - which isn't easy or comfortable for all three of us involved.

Other than that, Jonny is working hard and we are excited that his company just moved from their Orem building to a new one at Thanksgiving Point. I was released from being the Young Women President after three years, after which Jonny was immediately put to work with the Young Men! Julia and I are loving my two-day-a-week preschool class, through which Gabe still naps most days. And we are all really looking forward to meeting our baby girl in a few more months. Perhaps potty-training is in our near future. But we will wait a little longer to see just how ready Gabe and I am for that.

We love you, Daddio

Jonny's Dad, Jeffrey Rejholec, passed away on New Year's Eve. It was quite a shock and Jonny left for Durango as soon as we heard the news. It seems that Dad died in his sleep, probably from a heart attack. Alone in bed that night, thinking about Dad and Jonny and hearing all the fireworks outside, I couldn't sleep. So I wrote this post.

Julia adores her Grandpa. She loves that he calls her "Sweet Pea" and thinks it is so special that she has a nick-name. We recently spent Thanksgiving with Dad. Julia and Gabe climbed all over him - playing with him and giving him countless hugs and kisses. Gabe has been talking about "Urango!" and "Gampa's house!" since.

I'm not sure how to tell Julia.* But she will wonder why Jonny is gone tomorrow morning and why Grandpa and Rudi aren't coming as planned so I think I'd better let her know. This will be her first time dealing with death. How thankful I am she already has a basic understanding of the Plan of Salvation. She prayed on Christmas Eve about Jesus being born on Christmas and resurrected on Easter. And she's been asking me a lot of questions about what it means to die and what it meant when Jesus came alive again. She was crying a few weeks ago because she wanted to see Jesus. Her understanding is limited, but she knows we have a loving Heavenly Father and a Savior. So is mine, and so do I.

I loved Daddio. It felt easy to call him that after Jonny and I were married. He loved his kids. He was always talking about his kids to me. He worried about them and wanted the best for them. He told me stories of their childhoods and his. After Thanksgiving he and Rudi came up for a weekend so Rudi could interview for a job in Provo. He and I talked in the kitchen for a few hours while Gabe slept and Rudi played with Julia. He talked of a trip out East he was planning to take in the Spring. He was really looking forward to visiting his siblings and seeing his childhood home - Nayak, New York. He told me how different a world it was back then. You knew all your neighbors and they knew you. The world was small. He missed it.

And we will miss Dad. We'll miss his big hugs and his old jokes. We'll miss his Czech expressions. We'll miss his stories of being a cop. We'll miss seeing the renovations he'd been doing on the 100-year-old house. We'll miss his teasing that I call his son "Jonny" instead of "a good, strong name: Jon." We'll miss his sporadic singing and Donald Duck voice.We'll miss his phone calls and Christmas cards. And every Thanksgiving we'll still have a bowl of Sauerkraut on the table to go with the potato dumplings - even if I am the only one that eats it now that Dad is gone. (He was proud that I knew what was good. You better believe it.)

Goodbye, Daddio. We love you and know we will see you again before too long. Instead of driving through those nostalgic neighborhoods as planned, you're now being embraced by your mom and dad. I'd say that's a better deal anyway. Tell them we say hi. Can't wait to be with you all again soon.

  

  

 

 

*Julia took the news much better than I had expected (or feared). She doesn't understand that he is really gone yet, and that may hit a little harder when we go to his house and the funeral this weekend. But she has been very sweet to pray about Grandpa in her prayers and draw pictures of him. It will be a sad thing for her to grow up only having known her Grandpa for a few years. But those have been happy years for her. We will try to keep his memory alive for Julia and all of our kids in pictures and stories. Thankfully we have plenty of those.