Four Kids

Home from the hospital and starting our life with four kids:

Of course, I'm really just pretending to be able to handle this by myself.

Truth is that my mom is here for a month and is basically taking care of everyone besides Elise:

She also takes care of Elise sometimes.

Pretty much I'm on vacation while Mom is here.

Jon gets two weeks paternity leave.

He used his first week to do all the projects around the house we've been putting off.

He's using his second week on an "as-needed" basis (for those long nights or early mornings).

This is the picture Seth had me send to his teacher, who let him show it to his class.

He adores Elise and wants to hold her all the time.

Catherine will occasionally ask to hold her sister.

She loves Elise's tiny clothes and insisted on a headband one day.

Two beautiful daughters

I was so worried about how Aaron would adjust to not being the baby.  Luckily he's had Grandma here to ease the transition.  He generally ignores Elise unless I'm nursing her or changing her diaper. Then she's very interesting and he has to be right there. Usually climbing on my head.

Practicing being soft with sister

Holding the baby is a great excuse to play lots of Plants vs. Zombies

Grandma keeps Aaron entertained with lots of trains:

...and lots of balls.

Other than electronics, those are his favorite activities:

Life is pretty good for this little cheeseball!

The Birthday Party

It's really fun to try to plan a birthday party not knowing if you'll have to postpone it due to baby's arrival. Elise was very cooperative about not arriving on Catherine's birthday--I guess it's only fair that she showed up the morning of Catherine's "party"! 

Luckily I had kept things very, very simple and just sent out an open invitation to join us at "the pumps" (indoor bounce house place). Jon was able to leave the hospital and take the big kids to jump with their friends while Elise and I got some rest. My mom was awesome and sent me pictures since I didn't get to be there to celebrate with Catherine.

The birthday girl in her birthday dress

Seth & Catherine

Aaron got some quality Daddy time.

Gratefully, Catherine had a great time and didn't seem to mind that I couldn't be there. Next year we can celebrate both our girls together!

Elise's Birth Story

Starting on Catherine's birthday (the 18th), I noticed contractions coming about every 30 minutes. Nothing painful, but not going away. I figured baby would be appearing soon, but was hoping for a little more time between her birthday and Catherine's.

I managed to sleep all through the night, but woke up with the contractions still going. We did the preschool/grocery run in the morning. By the time we got home, contractions were every 2-3 minutes, lasting about 45 seconds. Still not really painful, but noticeable even while moving.

Since baby was overdue (due date was the 17th), I was scheduled for a non-stress test that afternoon at 3:30 pm. Instead, I called the OB and was told to check into labor & delivery. They were so sure that with my fourth kid I would be ready to have the baby right after I arrived.

We left the kids with my mom and headed to the hospital. They got me all hooked up, saw that I was definitely having contractions, but that I was only dilated to 1-2 cm. I wasn't terribly surprised--the contractions weren't getting painful yet, and my body does not dilate quickly.

We got to walk for an hour to see if thing progressed. About 45 minutes into it, I had to start slowing down when contractions hit. I was really hoping for a big improvement, but I was still barely at 2 cm after walking. The doctor offered to hook me up and get things started, but we opted to go home, eat dinner, and let things happen as they would. It was really nice to spend the evening at home and to be able to put the kids to bed.

Definitely ready to head to the hospital

By 8:30 pm Jon insisted that I call back. And so we headed back in, got checked again. Lucky me, still at only 2-3 cm. But my OB said he was not sending me home, so they gave me the IV and moved me to a room. Baby was on her way!

From there it was, unfortunately, a rough night. Aaron's delivery was so nice--the epidural worked, labor was short (for me--only 7 hours), it was great. I went in expecting something similar. After all, shouldn't it get faster/easier with each delivery?

That was my problem--I was not mentally prepared. Not prepared for the epidural to fail (just like with Catherine, it worked on only my right half). Not prepared for the long, long labor (almost as long as Seth's). The poor anesthesiologist was in there three times trying to make it work for me (and he was the head of anesthesia, so it really bothered him that it wasn't working. Apparently I have a very interesting spine--the one comment I remember is "I would love to see an X-ray of this").

It was a long, long night. Every time the doctor would check me, I would pray to be at a 10. Nope. We went through every centimeter, slowly. And with back labor, of course. My OB tried stripping membranes (ouch) and breaking my water (more ouch). That really got the contractions going.

At around 4 am, my nurse got the anesthesiologist in there again. He was going to try to redo the epidural to see if a different position would work. I sat up and leaned over the pillow while he stabbed me in the spine. Repeatedly.

About halfway through, I needed to push. NEEDED. But he was still stabbing my back. Finally, he gave up and they called in the OB. One push later and she was here! This was the first time I've gotten the full, non-epidural experience of delivery. They are not kidding about the ring of fire--gratefully she arrived quickly!

Other than her initial cry after birth and while getting her lungs suctioned clean, she was just a mellow, alert girl. She shocked the nurses by actually enjoying her first bath rather than screaming at them. She was also a champion nurser right from the start.

Our first look at her confirmed that she was 100% our child. She was also Catherine's doppelganger, with a bit more hair, a narrower face and a not-squished nose. Maybe we should have stuck with the name "Catherine Again."

Jon held her for a while before deciding that she was going to be Elise Lori. Our alternate name was Amelia, but she was definitely an Elise. We knew her middle name would be Lori, after my aunt, as soon as we found out she was a girl.

She was a very calm, easy baby the entire hospital stay. She only cried when they gave her a shot or pricked her heel, and even then only for a moment. My mom stayed with us the second night, and I think we all managed to get a decent amount of sleep. Probably because the nurses let me keep Elise with me in bed instead of insisting she sleep in the bassinet (my kids don't like the bassinet).

We definitely wanted to be going home the next day. 24 hours in the hospital was more than enough. But, as usual, the hospital dragged their feet. We were hoping to be out by 10 am. When it was noon and we were still hanging around, Jon brought all the big kids with him to the hospital and started pestering people. Between the pestering and the room full of kids, we managed to get ourselves discharged pretty quickly.

It was so nice to be home. Elise is adored by her siblings (even Aaron came to love her after an awful first day--we think now he was getting sick). Now to see how we survive the newborn stage!

Elise Lori

Miss Elise Lori Blood arrived on February 20th, 2016 at 4:13 am (three days after her due date). She weighed in at 7 lbs. 3/4 oz. and was 20 inches long. She was born with quite a bit of brown hair that has a slight tint of red. Her eyes were very dark, but will probably end up blue. She looked uncannily like her big sister did at birth.

Sleeping hard

Elise was a good girl and waited until Grandma Cathy could be here to hang out with her big brothers and sister while Mom & Dad were at the hospital. 

My favorite pictures of Jon are the ones of him holding our new babies.

He's a very happy dad:

The nurses picked out this handmade rainbow hat just for Elise after her bath:

She LOVED her hospital bath.

The nurses were amazed--she didn't even think about crying.

Elise was visited by my good friends Bente & Melissa while we were in the hospital.

They brought us flowers and a balloon--so fun!

The big kids meet Elise for the first time.

Aaron was not impressed--he wanted to go swing at the park.

Catherine, on the other hand, cried when she had to leave and go to the park.

Lots of dark hair.

And some serious cowlicks.

My babies always have very imposing brows after birth.

She wanted nothing to do with swaddled legs.

She kept sticking her little feet straight out.

Tired Mom & baby.

Grateful the nurses didn't yell at me this time for sleeping with the baby.

Yawn

A smile...ish?

First outfit!

Also, hospital photographers are really obnoxious.

Tired girl, ready to go home.

Seth is the proudest, happiest big brother in the world.

Catherine is so excited to finally have a sister.

Four kids and Mom.

Everyone at the hospital thinks we're crazy.

Aaron examines his usurper

Poking baby sister in the eye.

Trying to take a nice family picture.

Definitely a lost cause:

Finally leaving the hospital!

Funny how much faster the nurses move when you bring all the siblings into the room...

With her beautiful flowers.

Welcome to the chaos, little one!

Catherine's Birthday Interview

1. What is your favorite color? "Blue. Dark blue. Because it's a girl color."
2. What is your favorite food? "Mandarin oranges. Because they are yummy and have juice in them."
3. Who's your best friend? "Baby Elise."
4. What is your favorite movie? "Garfield, because it's funny. I like the one where it says, 'Mamma Meany's Pizza Palace, ptooie!'"
5. What's your favorite toy? "My little doggie pet. And my cat. Their names are Sara. And one of them is Kitty."
6. What's your favorite game to play? "Red Light, Green Light."
7. What's your favorite snack? "The eggs. I like the two ones (meaning both kinds of chocolate Easter egg candies--Reeses and Cadbury)."
8. What's your favorite animal? "Cat. Because I got it from my baby sister (Elise gave her a stuffed animal cat when she was born)."
9. What do you want to be when you grow up? "I wanna be a doctor, an animal one. So I can fix cats."
10. What's your favorite song? "Rapunzel, I guess?" 
11. What's your favorite Primary song? "Follow the Prophet."
12. What's your favorite book? "My princess one (Princess Adventure Stories)."
13. Do you like school? "Yeah, so I can make things. I really want to make a snowman again."
14. Who are your friends at school? "There's Joey, Riley, Riley, and there's Torin. I like to play with Lorelei and Italy. But most I like to play with both."
15. Anything else? "On Christmas I want to get a new crown. I need ten crowns." Also, when it's summer I want to fly my kite. My real kite. When it's windy."

Catherine at Five

Oh, my Princess Sara the Catherine,

I am not ready for you to be five years old. Five isn't little kid anymore. Five is moving up to big kid territory. Five is going to kindergarten in the fall. I'm not sure I want to let you grow up.

You, on the other hand, are thrilled. You've begged to go to school with Seth since the first time we put him on the bus. You thrive at preschool--you love doing all the crafts, worksheets, and deskwork that your big brother detests. You must be my daughter after all!

You are so independent. I watch you on the playground after preschool choosing to do your own thing while your friends play together. You'll occasionally join in if they ask, but you prefer to pursue your own interests (usually involving climbing to the top of the tallest structure while wearing your beloved high heels). 

You love your brothers. You are generally happy to follow Seth's lead, but have become more opinionated about his dictates. Aaron adores you, and you are so good with him. He loves when you "run and run" with him. You are his best friend.

You also have your daddy wrapped around your finger. Almost every night you just "can't" finish your food unless Daddy "helps" you. And he always does. You also "can't" walk up the stairs to bed--Daddy has to carry you like a princess. He adores you.

You are so much fun to have around. I don't know what I'm going to do when you head off to school in the fall! I love you, Princess Boo. Happy birthday!

Catherine at Five:

*still a skinny mini: around 32 pounds, average height. Wearing 5T clothes, although the pants tend to fall off your waist. Thank heavens for leggings! Size 8.5-9 shoes (tiny feet).

*you HATE having your hair brushed. I force you to do it for preschool and church. You're getting a little more okay with wearing a ponytail, but still prefer to just let it all hang in your face ("Rapunzel", as you call it). 

*you love the (horrible) Garfield cartoons and will watch those over any princess options. I sense the influence of your big brother.

*vegetables are the bane of your existence. Almost every dinner ends in tears before you finally give in and try a bite of whatever vegetable we're eating that day. 

*you are my little snow bunny and would happily spend all day out in the snow if you could. Even if it's only 1/4 inch:

So proud of your pile of snow (you insisted I photograph it):

*you still say your Rs as Ws, which sometimes worries me, but mostly is adorable. One of your last "little kid" holdouts. 

*your best friend is Emma Olivera. You also love playing with all of Seth's friends, especially Gabe. You are not a fan of Talia, and were kind enough to inform her mother of that fact. Thank heaven we are good friends and could laugh about it!

*you love playing games with Dad. Your favorite is Red Light, Green Light (you beg for it every night), but you also love Uno and the trading game (a game Dad made up for you). 

*your Sunbeam teacher gave you a puppy dog stuffed animal for Christmas. You adore it and carried it everywhere for a month or two. Its name is Sara:

*you love your preschool and adore your teacher, Miss Crystal. I was so worried about sending you because you were such a homebody. I'm so grateful you have thrived there--it's been just what you needed. 

The heart you made me out of playdough at preschool

Getting to blow out the candles for your birthday

You and Miss Crystal

*Aaron is either driving you crazy or your best friend. I love when you play with him--there's nothing he loves more than "the Princess":

You made Aaron this pile of animals when he was sad one day:

Two little fishies:

*you are a device junkie like your big brother. You love playing Minecraft, especially when you and Seth can connect and play together.  You're currently saving your money to buy your own tablet. You also love Plants vs. Zombies, but prefer to watch Dad play instead of playing yourself. 

*you also love climbing, running and jumping. You love to jump on the trampoline, and you love walking to the neighborhood pond and throwing things in the water. You also ask constantly when you can do gymnastics again.

Climbing on the playground at preschool.

In dress shoes, no less.

*you love to help me in the kitchen, especially when there's sugar involved. You are very good at sampling the cookie dough or icing, even when told not to. You're also starting to be able to do things yourself, like ice cookies or cut a slice of bread.

Icing cookies for Miss Crystal.

Apparently Miss Crystal REALLY likes icing.

We love you so much, Princess Bug. I love watching you learn and grow--watching you figure out who you are. Happy birthday, Sara the Catherine!