laughs

Poor little guy... when he laughs too hard he gets the hiccups!  (Just like his mama, his sister, his grandpa, his aunt and 4 of his cousins!)  Oh, well... it doesn't look like they bother him too much.

June Moments

Here's a few highlights from our June...

My sister, Alenna, and her youngest children, Mikiah and Cora, came for a visit.

We went to the nearby Riverwinds Community Center for some free outdoor concerts on Friday nights.  Elijah was content to nap in my arms while we were there, but his big sister wanted to dance to the music!

We had some impromptu visits with my sister in law, Marney, and her son, Julian.  (I love that they are only 1/2 hour away and we can do this often!)  During one visit Audra and Julian climbed the tree in our backyard.

Our garden is growing a lot!  We got some zucchini (and then they got infested with bugs and we had to rip them out of the garden beds... sad day!), some peas, tomatoes and lots of cucumbers.  (The carrots, beans and cantaloupe are still growing.)

And of course, we read lots and lots of books with Audra.  One of her favorite things to do these days is read a book over and over until she has it memorized... and then she will "read" it to us!

Telling Stories

Elijah has become very talkative in the last week... especially when he's watching the fan.  He is quite content having a one-sided conversation with it!

Strawberry Festival

This past Saturday, Audra, Elijah and I went to Linvilla Orchards in Media, PA for a Strawberry Festival.  My good friend, Regina, and her son, Grant, met us there.  

There was so much for the kids to do!  Audra enjoyed all the climbing she was able to do in the playground area...

... and the slides...

... and especially the pony ride!  Just like last year when we went to the Raspberry Festival, Audra had no reservations about riding on a horse.  She held on tight and loved every minute of the ride!

Afterwards, while Elijah slept in the stroller, Regina took Audra and Grant on a little train ride.

If you look closely, you'll notice that Grant and Audra were holding hands during the ride.  Too cute!

It was a fun morning spent with friends!!

What We've Been Doing

The second half of May passed in a blur with many days spent outside as the weather got warm.  Some of the things we were busy doing include...

... going to the community pool on Memorial Day (as guests of our neighbors).  Audra loved being in the pool and stayed in for hours, despite the fact that her teeth were chattering.

... finding a small turtle (about the same length as Audra's foot) in our neighbors driveway.  Even though he would hide in his shell anytime we got close to him, watching him kept Audra entertained for almost 45 minutes.  She is definitely interested in all types of animals!

... buying some cloth diapers!  There are many reasons why I dislike the idea of disposable diapers (thousands of diapers into our landfills per each child, the chemicals that touch our children, thus seeping into their skin, to name the top reasons), but, I'll admit, I was a bit too lazy to check into cloth diapering Audra.  But I finally decided to make cloth diapering more of a priority.  I bought 12 used, but in excellent condition, off craigslist and have been slowing learning the ropes.  (I realize 12 diapers are going to get dirty very quickly, but I didn't want to spend tons of money on lots of cloth diapers until I was absolutely sure that this is for us.)

... getting lots of smiles from this growing little man!  We had almost 4 weeks of an almost-daily cranky baby, complete with hours of crying.  But it seems as though we've gotten over the worst of it, and Elijah is turning into a happy boy.  Especially when he's well rested and recently fed.

... taking walks at local places in the area.

... working in our vegetable garden beds.  This year David planted peas, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots and cantaloupe.

Hope you've had lots of time to get outside and enjoy the spring weather, too!

Tiny Smiles

Why is it that we always use singsong voices to talk to babies?  Oh, well... it works to get Elijah to smile!

Climbing Trees

This afternoon, without any prompting from David or me, Audra climbed up into the tree in our yard.  This is definitely my little girl! 

Dad, does it bring back memories of Alenna and I climbing trees at age 3?

Wiffle Ball

This girl has got some coordination skills!

Sibling Love

Audra continues to shower her brother with love whenever she has the opportunity!  Daily questions from Audra include "I hug him?", "I kiss him?", "I hold him a little bit?" and "I snuggle him?"  She also loves to sing to Elijah.

I'm cherishing these moments of sibling love!

The Birth of Elijah David

I'd been having Braxton-Hicks contractions since January, but around 7pm on the evening of April 2nd my contractions started to feel much more noticeable.  I had been mentally prepared for another back labor (posterior-turned baby), but because I could still feel the baby's back in the front of my belly the contractions didn't feel too painful.  In fact, I wasn't sure if I really was experiencing the beginning of labor so I downplayed the contractions to David's mother (who was spending the night at our house) and said goodnight to her around 11pm without telling her that the contractions were becoming more frequent.  Thankfully I was able to go to sleep, too.

At 2am on April 3rd, Audra woke up (needing to go potty) and while I was tending to her I felt a contraction that felt very real.  Less than 8 minutes later I had another contraction, and I knew I wouldn't be going back to sleep.  David woke up at this time also, but I told him to go back to sleep since I wasn't sure how long I would be in labor.  

By 5:30am contractions were coming about every 5 minutes so we called The Birth Center in Wilmington, DE.  After talking to Midwife Sarah we decided to head to The Birth Center before Route 95 filled up with rush hour traffic.  What a blessing that Mom Cundey was already at our house so we didn't have to worry about finding someone to watch Audra so early in the morning!!

We got to The Birth Center at 6:30am.  Midwife Sarah checked me and I found out that I was already 6cm dilated.  So Sarah started filling the tub in the water birth room and we got settled in.

Around 8am there was a switch in the on-call staff and Midwife Katie Mansur came in.  Katie grew up in Penfield, NY, which is next to the town that I called home.  She was the first midwife that I met when we started prenatal care at The Birth Center in September 2011, and we've had a lot to talk about since that first meeting.  She was also the midwife who was with us for 6 hours of my labor with in January 2012, though Dorinda was the midwife who actually caught Audra.  When she came in she said that she was excited that she'd actually get to catch this baby.  I was glad that she was there, too.  She is a wonderful midwife!  (But, then again, I can say that about all the midwives at The Birth Center!)

For the next 2 hours I labored mostly in the tub and the baby continued to stay in the optimal position.  In between contractions David and I talked and laughed with Katie.  I was having a good time with this labor, but I was getting anxious to meet our baby!  So around 10am, after 4 hours of no progress, I got out of the tub and Katie broke my water.  That intensified my contractions, but they still felt milder than the back pain I had during my labor with Audra.

I remember looking at the clock at 11:13am and pointing out that that was the time that Audra was born (in the same room!).  I still felt like I had a long way to go, so I was hoping that this baby would arrive before 2pm.

Around 11:30am I got back into the tub.  Contractions seemed to come one on top of another and required all of my attention.  I had many moments of internal doubt in myself during this time and was worried that I would be too tired to follow through with this!  I even told Katie "I don't want to do this anymore".  (I realized afterwards that this meant I was in the transition phase, but I definitely wasn't thinking clearly at the time.)  

Suddenly I had the urge to push... and 4 minutes later, at 12:07pm, our baby was born in the tub!  Midwife Katie and Nurse Peggy told me to reach down and grab hold of my child.  David had a clear view of the baby and announced "it's a boy!!" and, for a moment, I thought he was teasing me.  I had been almost certain that I was carrying another girl.  (I'm sure God's been laughing at my planning for another girl since last summer.  And I'm sure He knew that our family needed a boy, not another girl!)

I got out of the tub and sat on the bed, with David beaming with pride at his newest child.  He said, "Say hello, Elijah David" and Katie said that we pick good names.  A little while later we found out that Elijah weighed in at 8 pounds, 2.5 ounces and was measured at 20.5 inches.  

Gazing at our son.  Notice David's expression!  I think I was still in shock that we had a boy.

Sucking his index finger when he was only 1 1/2 hours old.

We stayed at The Birth Center for another 7 hours and arrived home at 7:30pm that evening.  When we walked in the back door Audra came running towards us saying "I'm 'cited!!!"  She wanted to shower Baby Eli with hugs and kisses from the first moment she saw him.  And Mom Cundey was delighted to meet him, also!

Welcome to our world, Elijah David!

Let's Go Fly a Kite

At the end of February, when Audra was sick, we let her watch some of the musical numbers in Mary Poppins.  Since that time "Let's Go Fly a Kite" has been one of her favorite songs!  She will sing it to herself many times during the day and almost always request that Daddy sing it to her before she goes to bed.

Happy Birthday Messages

A few months ago Audra received a video for her birthday from two very sweet boys.  (Thank you, Trey and Roman!!)  Ever since then, mostly due to watching the video over 20 times, Audra enjoys making her own video's for other people's birthdays.  Here's video's that she made for her cousin, Jake, and her Great Uncle Danny.

Inexpensive Entertainments

We have bought many toys for Audra over the last 2 years... and many other generous family/friends have done the same.  But it's the cheap toys (little animal figurines, buttons, bells and pipe cleaners!) that have held her attention a lot in the recent months.  Proof that expensive toys are not needed!

Preparing for Baby #2

We got out Audra's old infant carseat this past week, and our little QA girl checked to make sure it was safe for her and her baby doll.  Now we just need the real baby to fill that spot!

New Vehicle

After 7 months of knowing we are going to need a bigger vehicle, we finally made the decision to get rid of the Rav4 (a vehicle I've had for the past 7 1/2 years!) and purchase a Ford Explorer.  We're excited about our new ride!  And Audra is excited about it, too.  The first time she saw it she said, "ohhh... shiny!"  Now we have plenty of room for 2 carseats and Sophie.

36 Weeks

Comments I've received:

"Wow... any day now, right?"  (I actually started getting comments like this in January.  Then people give me wide-eyed stares when I tell them that the baby isn't due until April 7th!)

"Are you sure there's only 1 baby in there?"  (Answer: YES)

"You know, some babies get so big that they can't come out."  (Well, I've never heard of someone being permanently pregnant... so one way or another this baby is going to come out!  Besides, I have a short torso and I know Audra looked like she was a big baby when she was inside me, too.  I'm not worried.)

I've got 4 weeks until my due date, but if the baby wants to come a little early, that's fine with me!

More Winter Photos

Here's some more pictures of Audra enjoying the snow this winter!

Best Buddies

These two love hanging out together!  Notice in the picture below that Audra even decided to use her "Ba ba" (lamb from Aunt Jayne) to cover Sophie.

In this one Audra crawled under the coffee table to snuggle with Sophie before bedtime.

It's always a fun car ride when Sophie joins us!  Sometime Sophie will lay down with her head resting on the side of Audra's carseat.

Celebrating a 2-Year-Old!

Tomorrow (Jan. 28th) our little girl will be turning 2!  Oh, how the past couple years have flown.

This past weekend we celebrated by taking her to Sahara Sam's, a nearby indoor water park.  We enjoyed having Mom and Dad Cundey, Marney, Julian, (Big) Josh, Ave and (Tiny) Josh join us there. The water park had a great section for toddlers and Audra and Tiny Josh had a good time riding on the water slides and hanging in the swings.

Everyone except for Mom and I (she was helping me watch the little ones) enjoyed the water slides for the "big kids".  I hear that they were a lot of fun!  So I guess we'll have to come again when I'm able to ride on the slides.

After the water park closed we went to Marney's house for dinner together and Audra received some very nice toys and clothes!  It was a great afternoon spent with family!

Dancing Baby

Why I Love Living in the North, in Pictures

I love my younger brother, but I could never embrace the state of Florida as he has done over the last 8 years.  I would miss the change of seasons, and especially the winter snow, way too much!

Today was one of those beautiful winter days.  It was quite chilly, but with 3-4 layers on we all enjoyed almost an hour of fun outside.  And once again, Audra had a blast!  She didn't complain at all, despite the fact that her mittens fell off a few times and at least a half dozen times she also ended up with snow on her face.  She is definitely an outdoorsy girl!