A Conversation

See all that white stuff in the picture. That was not there 5 hours ago. Five hours ago, at 4:something in the morning, when I was awake feeding Annaliese, there wasn't a speck of white stuff on our ground. The past week has been warm, with a bit of rain, and it took care of all the snow we'd had on the ground since the first week of December. But it's back. At least it's a March snow and won't stick around for three months!

While eating breakfast this morning, Darrin and Ian were discussing the snow. The conversation went something like this:

Darrin: So, Ian, are you going to help me shovel the snow?
Ian: No, it's too cold.
Darrin: That's not a problem. We'll just put hats, gloves, and your coat on.Ian: No, that's okay. It's cold out there. It's warm in here- so I just watch you from the window.
My excuse of being pregnant to get me out of shoveling isn't valid any more. Do you think I could borrow Ian's reasoning and just watch from the window, too?

Paparazzi Papa

Most of the great photos I've posted since Annaliese has been born have been taken by Darrin, unless he's in the picture, of course. He adores his kiddos and loves snapping photos of them. Good thing he does, because without them, I wouldn't have pictures to scrapbook- though it makes deciding which ones to use pretty difficult! He got a great one of Annaliese this morning that I just had to share:
And here's one from yesterday:

One Week Ago

Our lives changed when Annaliese joined our family one week ago. This week has gone by quickly. It's been pretty great, especially seeing how much Ian loves his little sister. I can't wait to see what the weeks ahead hold for us!

Ian playing cars with Annaliese and Daddy.
Ian using his road work cone as a party hat for Annaliese.

Ian showing off his "Big Brother" shirt

An Observation on Clothing

Yesterday we took Annaliese on her first outing. My sister is in town visiting, so we headed out for supper at Cheeseburger in Paradise, and followed that up by shopping at the Carter's outlet. Ian has a shirt from there that says, "Big Brother," and we needed to get the one that said, "Little Sister" for Annaliese.


Of course, I couldn't walk out of there with just that one outfit for her. It is a very different experience buying clothes for girls as opposed to boys. Girls' clothes have cute patterns on them: floral prints, polka-dots, hearts, plaid, gingham. Boys' clothes, meanwhile, are themed: zoo animals, construction equipment, sports paraphernalia, trains, etc.

I've decided I can only buy so many of the boy pattern-themed clothing before they all start looking the same and I get bored with my options. "Oh, guess I'll buy Ian another dinosaur shirt. Let's see, he already has three football shirts- does he need another?" I wonder if I'll think the same thing about buy clothes for Annaliese. For some reason, I'm thinking maybe not... My goal is just not to make her whole wardrobe pink, but it's all so cute!

We're Home

Our family is all home together now, and it feels wonderful. Ian is still as helpful as ever when Annaliese is crying, and when she's awake, he wants to play with her, but his attitude is starting to show, too- his need to show his independence and have the attention on himself instead of Annaliese.

Annaliese is such a different baby than Ian. Ian took to breastfeeding without any problems straight out of the womb. The lactation consultant and I were on a first-name basis at the hospital with Annaliese. She has what they termed a "disorganized suck" but we're working on it and it's getting better. Thank goodness Ian was such a good eater, because had this happened with him, I probably would have given up, as it was pretty discouraging in the beginning. But because of Ian, I know what it can be, and so we're working on it. She's come a long way in three days, though, and I'm sure we'll just keep getting better.

She's very different from her big brother in another way, too- she sleeps! She sleeps without any assistance from us, just closes her eyes and drifts off. With Ian, we had to put him in our bathroom with the fan running in his bouncer chair, or in front of the microwave with the vent running, and when he was awake, he was crying. Annaliese only cries when she's hungry. Again, though, I'm glad Ian was that way as our first born instead of having a baby with Annaliese's temperament, because we wouldn't know what the heck to do if we had had a mellow baby first and a colicky one second. We didn't know any different with Ian, that it could be easier than what it was, so we are only now with Annaliese realizing how crazy those beginning days with Ian were.

Our life in pictures these last two days (I couldn't narrow them down, so there's a lot):

Ian Meets Annaliese

If today was any indication, Ian is going to be a wonderful brother. He spent the night at Marlena and Noah's last night, and after he woke this morning, Marlena told him his baby sister had been born while he was asleep. She was telling him that when he saw her today, she would be very tiny, and in his serious, matter-of-fact voice, he added, "And she'll be beautiful." How right he is.

He was very shy when he first walked into the room, but after Darrin sat down in the chair with Annaliese, he joined them. His first task as the big brother was to shush everyone in the room. He felt it was very important we all be quiet. Which only lasted until he got comfortable in the room, then he was running around and playing in the fort he created like she wasn't even there.

If you look close, Ian is hiding in his fort to the left of chair Darrin is on.

He brought one of his baby toys from home for her to play with, and as soon as she woke up, he handed them to her. He didn't quite get that she can't yet hold them, but it was such a sweet thought.

He has sang her many, many rounds of "Rock-A-Bye Baby" and "On Top of Spaghetti." Every time she would cry while he was in the room, he'd break out into song to calm her down.

And he had the pleasure of being the first to read a book to her, "Goodnight Moon." Marlena and Noah gave it to her as her 'birth'day book, just like they did for Ian.

My parents made it into town today, too, so now Annaliese has met all her grandparents.

It's A Girl!

Annaliese Kay joined our family at 7:43 pm Monday, March 1, 2010. She was bigger than her brother, weighing in at 8 pounds 14 ounces and 21 inches long.

I had the pleasure of having my water break while at work yesterday morning. Luckily, I didn't have students in the room, as I was en route to get my next group. Even more luckily was the fact it was just a trickle at work and didn't decide to gush until I was four steps inside the hospital lobby. They brought over a wheel chair really fast after that happened.

The delivery was very fast compared to Ian. About 8 hours of actual hospital time before she arrived. I got an epidural about 2:00, they hooked me up to pitocin around 5:00, and within 2.5 hours I went from 3 cm to holding her in my arms.

I still can't believe we have a daughter. It's so weird saying "she" and "her".