Kate

I finally have access to a computer and can download some pictures and post them!  I know many of you have been anxiously awaiting them and we appreciate all your well wishes and congratulations.  Well, we have a lot of pictures so far and I’m sure Dawn will do a much better job of writing about everything and putting up more pictures. Right now though, I’m sure most of you just want to see her.  So, without more delay, here she is …

I think she’s beautiful (but I’m biased). Dawn sure does make cute babies.  Everyone is doing great so far and hopefully Dawn will be able to come home soon.  Kate seems to be latching like a pro so that’s good.  Stay tuned, I’m sure more will follow .. as time permits.  We do have a newbornafter all!

Oh! One more thing. Noah visited Dawn and Kate for the first time today. Until he saw them, he was all “Where’s mommy!”, “Where’s Kate!”, “I wanna see mommy!”.  When he did get to see them, he gave mom a look and hug, stared briefly at Kate with a “who’s that?” look, then saw all the buttons in the room and it was all over. Too funny. We’ll see how that goes.

Katherine Claire (Kate) is here! Dawn and Kate are doing fine. Kate was born at 4:40PM weighing 8lbs and measuring 20″. She’s got a full head of black hair and is so beautiful. Pictures to follow.

I wanted to share the latest (and last?) update regarding the baby.  As most of you know she has become a bit of an over achiever in the weight department (measuring almost 9 pounds on Tuesday) and because of this we have a very small window in which to naturally welcome her into the world.  Unfortunately my body has no interest in moving things along and Kate continues to “just float around” (like an astronaut?) leaving us with very few options.

We have decided to check again on Monday morning to see if she’s changed her mind about joining us although our doctor isn’t hopeful.  If nothing has changed we have decided to have her via c-section that evening.  I cannot believe this is our last weekend as a family of three.  We certainly have it jam packed with fun things to do and some hard work.  For Walter and I we are taking one last night out to have dinner and a movie.  I expect this will be the last time we can have a date for a very long time.  On Saturday we’re getting everything in order to be sure we’re ready, with the generous help of some great family and friends.  We’re also going to make a huge pot of matzo ball soup to help this sick, sick house.  Everyone who lives here is ill and on antibiotics.  It couldn’t have happened at a worse time.  On Sunday we’re taking Noah to Disney on Ice.  Through the generosity of one of his classmate’s parents we are actually going to enjoy the show from Wayne Huzienga’s private box.  For those who don’t know, that’s the man who owns the building and several sports teams in our area.  I’m sure it will be quite a treat for us all! 

Then the real show begins on Monday.  I will try to update you once we’ve had the OB appointment and decide which route to go.  I have a feeling I will have a c-section but I’m still hoping for change.  Either way we will try to keep you up to date and share pictures once we have them. 

Until then I leave you with a nursery update.  Walter finally had an opportunity to put Kate’s monogram above her crib.  Here’s a photo of the final product.  You may also notice a change in the bedding.  As soon as Lindy saw it put together she called to inform me of my lack attention to sewing detail – the bumper was on inside out and backwards.  All is now right in the crib world.

And I also thought I’d share a laugh from this morning.  After eBaying all of Noah’s leftover clothes we had bins laying around the office.  He likes to play in them but this morning decided he could fit in one with the lid on (while supervised of course).  He reminded me of Kate all curled up in there.  I’m hoping she’s a bit smaller since I don’t think my uterus came with a 50 quart label like these great Rubbermaid containers but I couldn’t help but laugh.

Wouldn’t it be nice if giving birth was this easy? -

Well, I was able to go to Cinicinnati and attend our friend Jill’s wedding.  It was looking a little iffy between hurricane Ike and baby Kate, but luckily Ike missed us and Kake decided to hang in there a bit longer. 

I flew up on the 11th (Yikes! That day will never be the same.) and stayed the night with Dan and Diane.  I hadn’t seen them in like six years!  Wow time flies!  Their oldest child at that time was just over 1.  And now look at them!  They’ve grown so fast!

The day of the wedding was raining and overcast.  I didn’t get to see much/any of Cincinnati at all because of it.  Thankfully it did stop raining in the evening so it didn’t ruin the wedding.  It was hot and muggy though.  It reminded me of Florida.  Anyway, Jill was a beautiful bride and I was glad that I was able to make it.  Everyone was pretty disappointed that Dawn couldn’t come but unfortunately she was too far into the pregnancy.  Here are some pics (of course) …

The church …

The beautiful bride …

The reception …

And the happy couple …

I actually stayed at a hotel in Kentucky that night to make it easier to get to the airport the next day.  It turned out that Saturday was beautiful (in the morning anyway).  Here is a view of Cincinnati from the Kentucky side. (Click the picture to Zoomify – enlarge, zoom and pan)

And I’m not sure what it is with Cincy and pigs with wings …

It was a lucky thing that I flew out on Saturday because it turns out that Ike visited Ohio and the airport was shut down and over a million peeps lost power, including Dan and Diane! Sorry guys!

So as I mentioned below my uber-talented sister, Lindy, made Kate’s crib bedding and got it here in time for the surprise baby shower.  She almost came unglued when I had time to tell you about that and post photos but didn’t have a single one of the bedding on the crib.  So after much anticipation here it is – Kate’s bedding!!!!

And yes, I know I need a course in bow tying (anyone, anyone?) and I am also abundantly aware that the monogram is yet to find the wall.

The colors are off in this photo but it’s a more overall view.  On the glider you can see the blanket Lindy made for Kate.  Unfortunately those taggie people get their panties in a wad when someone else makes one of these so it was a one time deal but let me tell you, it’s fabulous and minky!

This is the best shot of the colors.  Aunt Lindy also made this pillow for Kate.  She made one when Noah was born too and he still sleeps on it.  Also, notice the piping on top of the bumper, she did an amazing job!

And here’s the rest of the nursery (again with color correction issues) -

So the bedding is gorgeous and fits great.  One of the ties is off on the front but Lindy will move it on her trip down in November when she comes to meet Kate.  To give you an idea of how challenging this was for her she’s never seen the crib and made everything off of a photo with a tape measure held up to the furnuiture.  She’s never done bedding before either so there were a lot of hurdles but it is absolutely incredible.  She’s also making window valances that match the crib skirt, which if you can’t tell from the position of the crib (at its highest setting) is a white box pleat skirt with a pink ribbon trim that matches the ties on the bumper.  Isn’t she amazing?  To see more of her work you can check out her website www.lilsugarpie.com.  She’ll be selling on Etsy soon too! 

Thank you Aunt Lindy!!!

This weekend I had a surprise baby shower!  Walter was out of town at our dear friend, Jill’s, wedding.  He had a great time, got to visit with some old friends and took some great photos so I could enjoy the trip as much as possible while being forced to stay home (I can’t fly at this point in my pregnancy).  He’ll blog about his adventures soon I’m sure.

Well it turns out it was a good thing he was gone because he’s a horrible liar (which I’m grateful for).  Noah and I were to join my girlfriend Rachel and her family and inlaws for lunch in Delray on Saturday.  By Friday night there were a few holes in her story and I started to get suspicious.  Walter wouldn’t budge but I knew he knew something.  And while I started to question the real motives behind lunch I certainly never expected what I was about to walk into.  In a very short time Rachel pulled together the most beautiful and fabulous baby shower I’ve ever been to.  It was very intimate so I didn’t get overwhelmed (anyone who knows me knows that I hate surprises), the food was incredible and the love was palpable.  I teared up the minute I walked through the door (damn pregnancy hormones) but I wasn’t choked up for long.  I had an incredible time and recieved so many generous gifts.  I think Kate is going to need a second closet for all of her loot!  Gifts were sent from friends and family who live out of state as well and it was so touching to know they cared enough to participate from so far away.  The out of town cards said things like “Surprise – I really hope you’re not upset!” which made me laugh.  I guess everyone knows how I feel about being ambushed.  But this wasn’t like that at all and I couldn’t have been more flattered, honored, or blown away by all the hard work and selflessness that went into honoring Kate.  I tear up just thinking about it. 

Anyway, one of my great and very talented friends, Virginia, took photos.  She’s incredible and has such a big heart.  Here are a few of her teaser photos.  I will share the rest when I recieve them.  If you’re looking for an amazing photographer (she specializes in maternity, babies and families) you should definitely hire her!  You can see her work at www.virginiahartman.com. 

Two other amazing friends did all of the flowers for the shower.  My colleagues and great pals Nanda and Eduardo of Petunia Flowers (www.petuniaflowers.com) generously contributed every last petal.  Aren’t they super sweet and incredibly talented?!

Onto the photos -

Here are Noah and I entering.  We never use the front door at the Friedman’s so something was definitely up.  When we walked in everyone yelled “Surprise!!!” and Noah tripped on the door jam and fell straight to the floor.  I’m going to have to teach him how to be suspicious!

Friends and Family -

We met the three ladies in the foreground (everyone except Robby’s mom in the back) and Rachel at our birthing class three years ago.  We all have two year olds and have become such a great support for each other.

My mom (on the right) and long time family friend Delora, mom’s best girlfriend.

Rachel (the hostess) and I.  Did I mention she is the same Rachel who painted Kate’s mural?  It’s such an honor to have such great friends!

My mom, sister, niece and I                                   My girlfriend Raven and I with Virginia’s hunk Nate

Katherine (my mother), Claire (Walter’s mother) and Katherine Claire (ok, and Noah and I)

Shower details -

I’ve wanted to make Kate a very whimsical paper crane mobile for her room but I haven’t had the time.  Rachel thought of everything!  Now Kate will have a paper crane mobile from everyone!  Each guest made a peace crane for her.  How sweet!

More fabulous flowers!

Virginia had to leave before we got to gifts.  I’m sure I’ll get a few photos from other people at some point.  While everything was so amazing I have to say I was most shocked to recieve Kate’s bedding at the shower.  My sister (who has been stringing me along for weeks) finished it and sent it for the shower.  I’ll post a picture of the made bed soon.  It’s beyond gorgeous!

LITERALLY!

This morning I took a tumble trying to bring Noah’s ride on tractor into the garage. Unfortunately I fell on my belly. I felt fine, the baby was moving and other than scraped up knees and being a little shook up, nothing was wrong. I debated for an hour before calling my doctor just to let him know. I had fallen a million times during my first pregnancy and they didn’t do anything but it was never on my belly (and I was also seeing a different doctor). Well, my doctor (who I felt horrible for bothering on the weekend) told me to go to L&D. Because I have a negative blood type there could be problems if my blood had somehow mixed with the placenta or baby’s. I was shocked, I never thought I would have to go to the ER, I even tried to talk my doctor out of it.

So I went and Walter and Noah went to our niece, Amy’s, baptism, which I felt bad about missing.  We haven’t seen her since just after her birth and now I was going to miss an opportunity again!  Well, they monitored me, did blood work, gave me an ultrasound (where they clocked the baby at just over EIGHT POUNDS), and monitored me some more. Other than some contractions and back pain, everything was fine. So 8 hours of sitting in L&D alone gave me plenty of time to rest and relax; my feet are remarkably unswollen! I saw some of the most beautiful babies and really got excited about meeting ours in the next few weeks. I see my doctor next week and he told me to be careful or he was going to get me a walker.

So the moral of the story is to be careful because losing your balance can ruin your Saturday!  Here are some photos from the baptism –  

My favorite, I think this is so beautiful!

The happy family -

It’s a gorgeous church!  This is also where Jaimie (our other niece and Amy’s older sister) was baptized.

Yesterday was a very big day in our house, filled with lots of joy and drama.  Over the weekend we had a few concerns regarding Kate and we weren’t sure what was going on.  I had spots in my vision, pain and pressure, contractions, chest pain and the little booger wasn’t moving.  We even tried to wake her up with a giant wedge of chocolate cake from New York Prime, where we celebrate my parents’ and our anniversary Monday night (and oh my is the food there amazing!).  Well, nothing.  She was going to be stubborn.  Because I was worried I went to my doctor’s office first thing Tuesday – no call, no appointment, just a big surprise me.  They were so great and accommodating.  They checked everything out and the good news is all seems to be well.  I also won myself an internal exam (my first this pregnancy) and we found out that while I am having contractions, absolutely nothing is happening because of them.  That’s good news for Kate and a message to me to get my patience in check.  We have an ultrasound tomorrow to make sure everything else looks good and in the meantime I have to count her kicks after every meal.  By the way, it took Fig Newtons, apple juice and belly jiggling to get her mad enough to move.  Apparently she’s lazy and out of space.

Later in the day our friend Rachel called.  When she saw Kate’s pink room and her birth announcement she was inspired to add some flair to our plain walls.  She’s an amazing artist and did a great job on her daughter’s room so we told her to go for it.  Robby, Rachel and Ayla came over so we could all eat dinner together and let the kids play while she got down to business.  I’m still amazed that she started and finished everything in one night. 

*Warning: we took a lot of photos last night!

The kids had a blast although they were both a little crabby.  We should have timed it but for the record it only takes a few seconds for two toddlers to wreck a living room!  And doesn’t he totally look like a dwarf doing the “Whistle While You Work” song?

After baths they went for a ride.  Robby calls this “Driving Miss Ayla”.

And then they talked us into cookies.  No one actually wanted the cookie though.  Ayla ate all the frosting off of hers, Noah picked every last sprinkle from his.

And Rachel painted away.  How she can freehand this and it all be the same scale is beyond me.  I got to help put a second coat on one corner.  She couldn’t believe how slow I was!  And yes, that’s paint on her chin.  LOL!  She did an amazing job!

After the white was all done she added a dark pink shadow and here’s the final product -

I’m not sure if you call it a mural, but the mural is only on one wall.  Kate’s monogram will go over her crib on another wall and the third will stay blank for photos or whatever (the fourth wall is a closet).  I’ll post more photos and room photos as we make progress.  I’ll also get some better photos with proper lighting, these were taken around 11pm and the colors seem to look different in every photo.

So my sister Lindy, who lives in Texas, is a great mom of two and has tons of baby experience; she does respiratory care in a NICU.  Being that she’s a veteran she has a ton of advice.  Because we’re first timers and often try things by the book we hear a lot of “I told you so” before actually following her advice.

Noah whines.  He does.  It’s so annoying, but asking him to stop only makes it worse.  Not giving in results in tears.  Every time.  Lindy has told me how to stop whining a hundred times.  When they start, bring them into their room and tell them not to come out until their done.  It worked like a charm for the kid she did this with and the one who she didn’t is still a whiner (at 12).  I tried it once when Noah was one-ish and you would have thought I slammed his foot in the door on the way out.  Oh was he mad!  And I think he stayed in there for maybe 1.3 seconds before running out and throwing himself on the tile floor.  She told me to keep trying but I thought – this will never work.  Well Saturday it did (and this was the only other time we tried this).  Twice Noah broke out in a completely unreasonable whining marathon, the second was filled with tears and screams.  Both times we told him he needed to go to his room until he could be nice.  Both times he stayed in there and threw his fit (the first time was a minute or two, the second probably five) and when he stopped he came out.  Granted, his shirt was wet with tears and his nose a little snotty but he was completely composed.  Very carefully I asked “are you ready to be nice?” and both times he said “YES!” and went on like nothing had ever happened.  I guess sometimes they just need to get it all out, but now it doesn’t have to be in front of me.  I can’t stand whining and while that may not win me the Mother Of The Year Award I’m no longer frustrated trying to figure out how to stop the whining and he can do it for as long as he wants. 

Thanks, Lindy!  As usual, you were right!

Noah loves trains.  Not like cultish Thomas The Train, train love, but real live trains.  He loves watching them go by, hearing the horn, and seeing the gates open and close.  Since we didn’t have much on our plate today (and no, we didn’t get the house in shape either) we decided to go on a train ride.  I remember when my mom took my sister, Nikki, and I to the Metro Zoo shortly after Tri-Rail started running and how much fun we had.  Walter (who has never been on Tri-Rail) and I decided to do something similar.  We took the train up to West Palm Beach and walked over to City Place (after realizing we’re too stupid to read a bus schedule and that City Place was RIGHT THERE).  We had lunch at Brewzzi’s, walked around a bit, played on the escalator and elevator (naturally!) and then took the train back home.  It was a great day!  We all collapsed for a nap when we got home but we had a lot of fun.  The bus ride will have to wait for another day (and another bath of Clorox with brillo pads).  Oh, and of course, we took the camera!

We had to wait for the train in Boca, it was running a bit behind.  Noah took the opportunity to check everything out at the station (thank God for Purell!).

He loves water fountains too.  He likes to push the knob and drink from it but has enough strength and coordination to only do one at a time.  So today, he got to wash his face.  He did eventually get some in his mouth!

This is how he reacted when we told him the train was late.  He just crouched down and stared down the tracks, pausing every once in awhile to hang his head in his hands or pop up to look for it.

And then finally it came!  I have no idea why we thought he might look at the camera!  By the way, do you think my belly has dropped?

He is a very serious rider!

And although we got the window covered in condensation he loved watching everything go by.