Last week Isabella insisted (and boy do I mean insisted) that she is getting married. "Right now!" she screamed several times one morning. It all started when she put on my engagement ring and wedding ring while I was in the shower. I always take them off to shower and then put them right back on after my shower. Well, this particular morning Isabella woke up and came to my room to dig through my jewelry box while I showered. No "good morning, Mom" or "hey there." She just went straight to the jewelry. Such a female! Anyway, Matt luckily discovered her new jewelry very quickly and took it from her. He explained to her that you only get those pieces when you get married. So she very logically insisted that she was getting married. I told her that when she was a lady she could get married. Well, according to her, she is already a lady. I explained that she was only 3 years old, and she told me that she was in fact not three years old but a lady. Gotta love that.
At least if she does elope soon, she will be showing her pearly whites in her wedding pictures! Isabella went to the dentist for the first time last week. She did awesome. She was so excited about going because she was ready to get her heart necklace like Abby got at her last visit. I don't think she gave a moment's thought to what the dentist's visit would be like. She was on a mission to get her very own heart necklace. I talked up the visit alot that week to prepare her for the cleaning. She was fine until we were called back to the room. A little boy about Abby's age was screaming hysterically. He was terrified. Well, that sent Isabella into fear. She grabbed my leg and wouldn't let go. So Mommy had to do some serious distraction duty as we tried to entertain her with everything they had on hand. We moved down a few chairs to separate ourselves, and thankfully he calmed down soon. She got to choose her own flavor of flouride. She chose bubble gum although she's never had bubble gum anything before. She also picked an Ariel toothbrush which she now uses every day. We promptly got rid of that babyish Little Einsteins toothbrush! Dr. Musgrove wanted her to also switch to the "spit" kind of toothpaste rather than the toddler kind that you don't have to spit out. She did so with great enthusiasm because guess who uses "spit" toothpaste? You've got it. Abby! Isabella did great with spitting. She's a natural!
And about that heart necklace. She grabbed a green alligator out of their toy chest instead of a necklace. I asked her if she really wanted an alligator since she'd been looking forward to this heart necklace for weeks. She then said, "Open the wrapper. I want to eat my alligator." She thought that the alligator was alligator candy (kind of like those gummy worms....thanks, Pawpaw Darrell and BB). So then she put it back after I explained two or three times that it was indeed NOT candy. Then she grabbed a snake. I thought....this is weird. When Dr. Musgrove shut the door, she asked him to open her candy snake. So round three of the treasure chest began. We did end up leaving with a heart necklace as originally planned, and she didn't try to eat it. Thank goodness! Isabella did go home with such enthusiasm as she showed Daddy her "beautiful teeth" and her bag full of dental goodies.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Ali Kate's a Smart Kiddo
Tonight I got the privilege of taking Ali Kate to Kindermusik in lieu of Isabella (who is currently at her Pawpaw Darrell's house). Ali Kate had a tremendously great time. She looked as if she had been in the class all semester. She participated in every activity to the best of her ability, and she followed Ms. Courtney's cues during class. She loved the dancing and movement, but her very favorite was the instrument time. She loved to shake her maracas with wild abandon, and she beat the egg shakers with great enthusiasm. This was her very first mommy and me type class, and we had a blast together. I think we may have to sign up for a class this fall on a weekend morning or while the girls are at preschool. It was awesome to have this hour with just Ali Kate.
Ali Kate's vocabulary is growing quickly too... Abby is constantly teaching her new words every day. She's begun to string words together and putting together 3-4 word phrases like "Move it, Abby" and "Wanna a sticka" (this last one she said at the end of class tonight). She's putting her thoughts into cohesive units, and it's incredible to watch her mind work. Ali Kate is also a very compliant child at this point in her life. That may totally change soon, but she loves to obey and please me every day. She follows simple commands such as "bring me your cup" or "get into your car seat." I'm amazed at how she so compliantly does these things. It was not that way with her big sisters!
Anyway, I wanted to remember how much fun we had tonight. I'm impressed with how my big girl is growing and learning every day!
Ali Kate's vocabulary is growing quickly too... Abby is constantly teaching her new words every day. She's begun to string words together and putting together 3-4 word phrases like "Move it, Abby" and "Wanna a sticka" (this last one she said at the end of class tonight). She's putting her thoughts into cohesive units, and it's incredible to watch her mind work. Ali Kate is also a very compliant child at this point in her life. That may totally change soon, but she loves to obey and please me every day. She follows simple commands such as "bring me your cup" or "get into your car seat." I'm amazed at how she so compliantly does these things. It was not that way with her big sisters!
Anyway, I wanted to remember how much fun we had tonight. I'm impressed with how my big girl is growing and learning every day!
Saturday, July 5, 2008
A Breath of Fresh Air
I only have a few minutes left in me...but I am stopping to jot down just a bit. We've been in our new house for six days now, and we've had our new baby boy for seven weeks now. Life has literally flown by in the Stine household since Grant's big arrival on May 16th! I will definitely journal about his grand appearance one day when I can really record all the details of that special day. Grant Dawson Stine arrived at 1:01 p.m. on May 16, 2008 weighing in at 9 lb. 4 oz. and measuring 21 inches long. Yes, a big boy indeed. He came into the world trying out his lungs, and they definitely worked! He still tries them out pretty frequently, especially during the night! I will definitely post more about his birth in the coming weeks. For now, let it suffice to say that I absolutely love my baby boy with all of my heart. He has won over my heart, and he did it instantly. I love to cuddle with him in my arms, and I could just eat him up! He's too adorable for words! He's really alert these days, and he just stares into your eyes with those huge blue baby eyes. His long, tiny fingers wrap around mine in the sweetest way you can imagine. He prefers his tummy to lying on his back which makes me a nervous wreck considering my children have always slept on their backs. We flip him once he gets good and asleep. Speaking of sleep, that's what I need to be doing right now. I took a few minutes to scour the internet looking for bedding and nursery ideas....and I thought I'd write a bit.
Good night!
Good night!
Thursday, May 15, 2008
She's on the move!
Ali Kate officially began walking two days ago, May 13th! Woo hoo! Way to go, girl. I am so excited for her that words can hardly express it. After months of therapy, she's really showing significant progress. She started standing unassisted last week which was a huge milestone in her therapy. Then two days ago she got on all fours and made herself stand up. She then took a couple of steps forward before falling. Well, she kept trying over and over again to repeat her walking. With lots of encouragement, we got her to try walking several times with the longest walk being eight steps. Abby and I cheered her on like professional cheerleaders. She was beaming from ear to ear! She was so proud of herself. Today in therapy Karen had her walking all over the house. Every time she would start to fall, Karen would balance her again. At one point, she went across the entire living room unassisted! I was thrilled.
Ali Kate is really exceeding everyone's expectations concerning walking. The neurologist said she's take another four or five months probably, and I think Karen expected it to be a little longer. She was shocked when I shared the news this morning. I knew it was coming, but even I thought she had several more weeks to go. Now we have to keep encouraging her so that she starts to prefer walking to scooting or crawling.
I'm just so thrilled that she made this milestone in a very reasonable timeframe for someone with her condition. She is actually just on the tail end of "normal," and that's awesome! Her other skills are zooming along as well. Today she said hot for the first time. We've added dozens of words the last couple of weeks including Elmo, light, fish, hat, eyes, more, and please among others. She's really making great associations and expressing her wants and desires clearly. It's awesome to watch how much she's developed in the last 5 or 6 weeks. We're proud of you, Ali Kate!
Ali Kate is really exceeding everyone's expectations concerning walking. The neurologist said she's take another four or five months probably, and I think Karen expected it to be a little longer. She was shocked when I shared the news this morning. I knew it was coming, but even I thought she had several more weeks to go. Now we have to keep encouraging her so that she starts to prefer walking to scooting or crawling.
I'm just so thrilled that she made this milestone in a very reasonable timeframe for someone with her condition. She is actually just on the tail end of "normal," and that's awesome! Her other skills are zooming along as well. Today she said hot for the first time. We've added dozens of words the last couple of weeks including Elmo, light, fish, hat, eyes, more, and please among others. She's really making great associations and expressing her wants and desires clearly. It's awesome to watch how much she's developed in the last 5 or 6 weeks. We're proud of you, Ali Kate!
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
How many more days?!?
Ok...so now we are down to 20 days before we meet little (or shall I say big) baby Grant? This week has been a flurry of pre-baby activity. Monday I went in for a BPP (biophysical profile) to check fluid levels, baby's growth, movement, etc. He didn't move at all until they put a buzzer on my tummy twice. It was a little weird. After being buzzed twice, he did move just a hair. Obviously Mr. Grant was in a good sleep and didn't want to be disturbed! Everything looked great. He is measuring about a week ahead, and he weighs 6 lb. 6 oz. so far. That means if we go another 20 days, he'll probably be a good 9 pounds like his big sis.
Monday night I was up until 3 a.m. with heavy contractions and intense uterine pressure. I really thought I was in the beginning stages of labor. I woke Matt up at 1:30 and told him that if it didn't stop by 3:30 we were going to the hospital. No matter what I did (lay down, sit up, walk around) the pain would not subside. I was miserable. I couldn't get comfortable at all. Then yesterday it all continued intermittently throughout the day. I had lots of strong contractions, back pain, and lower pressure. I went in at 3 to be checked, and nothing at all was happening. Dr. Sullivant actually seemed apologetic when he told me that I wasn't dilated at all. Let me just say that if all that pain didn't make anything happen, I don't want to know what pain is necessary to cause me to dilate. I really did feel like I remember feeling when I went into labor with Isabella. That's why I was convinced that this baby was beginning his arrival. But Grant obviously has other plans.
Anyway, I asked the doctor how I'm going to really know when I'm actually in labor (since I thought I was yesterday), and he said that there's no surefire way of knowing. He told me to come in as often as I felt like I needed to. That won't be happening. I pray my water breaks if I do go into labor before my scheduled date because it's so hard to decide what's true labor if yesterday's pain wasn't. Anyway, Dr. Peeler wants me to be checked and do a NST Friday, so we'll do that. Maybe he'll decide to take Grant the 13th. I'd be so grateful. Of course, if he needs to wait longer, we'll wait. We want him to be 100% healthy.
Today I feel pretty good. I took a Darvaset and Ambien last night to dull the pain and help me sleep. I slept until 8 this morning with only one night-time bathroom trip. I haven't slept like that in ages. I won't do this very often, but I needed the peaceful sleep. Matt took the entire night by himself. Thanks, honey! I've had some contractions today but not ones worth any attention. Just the usual ones.
Ok....so we've got 20 days left....we can do this! In a way, I'm so ready for him to be here. In another, I could wait forever because I know things are going to be hard for a while with four little ones. I also don't know what it will be like to know that I will never once again feel a baby in my belly. That's going to be a hard thing to accept because I love being pregnant (except these last few weeks!).
Monday night I was up until 3 a.m. with heavy contractions and intense uterine pressure. I really thought I was in the beginning stages of labor. I woke Matt up at 1:30 and told him that if it didn't stop by 3:30 we were going to the hospital. No matter what I did (lay down, sit up, walk around) the pain would not subside. I was miserable. I couldn't get comfortable at all. Then yesterday it all continued intermittently throughout the day. I had lots of strong contractions, back pain, and lower pressure. I went in at 3 to be checked, and nothing at all was happening. Dr. Sullivant actually seemed apologetic when he told me that I wasn't dilated at all. Let me just say that if all that pain didn't make anything happen, I don't want to know what pain is necessary to cause me to dilate. I really did feel like I remember feeling when I went into labor with Isabella. That's why I was convinced that this baby was beginning his arrival. But Grant obviously has other plans.
Anyway, I asked the doctor how I'm going to really know when I'm actually in labor (since I thought I was yesterday), and he said that there's no surefire way of knowing. He told me to come in as often as I felt like I needed to. That won't be happening. I pray my water breaks if I do go into labor before my scheduled date because it's so hard to decide what's true labor if yesterday's pain wasn't. Anyway, Dr. Peeler wants me to be checked and do a NST Friday, so we'll do that. Maybe he'll decide to take Grant the 13th. I'd be so grateful. Of course, if he needs to wait longer, we'll wait. We want him to be 100% healthy.
Today I feel pretty good. I took a Darvaset and Ambien last night to dull the pain and help me sleep. I slept until 8 this morning with only one night-time bathroom trip. I haven't slept like that in ages. I won't do this very often, but I needed the peaceful sleep. Matt took the entire night by himself. Thanks, honey! I've had some contractions today but not ones worth any attention. Just the usual ones.
Ok....so we've got 20 days left....we can do this! In a way, I'm so ready for him to be here. In another, I could wait forever because I know things are going to be hard for a while with four little ones. I also don't know what it will be like to know that I will never once again feel a baby in my belly. That's going to be a hard thing to accept because I love being pregnant (except these last few weeks!).
Thursday, April 24, 2008
The Countdown Continues
As I sit here with a bulging belly and intense pressure that only pregnant women understand, I am really counting down the days until Grant's arrival. I went to the doctor Monday, and we did another fetal monitor for about 15 minutes. I had regular contractions the entire time, but they were not painful ones at all. The doctor came in and said, "Oh, look at all that activity." I then told him that that activity was restful and mild compared to what I'd experienced all weekend. It's hard explaining these things to a man who has never actually had a contraction, much less four babies. When I'm moaning to Matt about intense pain (as I did at 4 a.m. this morning), I know he doesn't know if this episode is really worse than the last. I can't even begin to paint a picture of how this feels. This weekend I really thought we were going to have a baby. I was in that much pain despite literally laying on the couch or in the bed for three full days.
As of my appointment Monday, Dr. Peeler's plan is to deliver May 20th (which will be 38 weeks, 4 days) unless he finds a reason to move it up a week. We are doing a full ultrasound and biophysical profile Monday to see how large Grant is, what my fluid levels are like, etc. He said that we'll take him at 37 weeks, 4 days if there is any reason to move it up. He realizes that this has been a very difficult journey the past three weeks. So we'll take a peek at Grant Monday and maybe have a definite date down. I think Dr. Peeler is concerned about the risk of me going into labor since I've had 3 previous C-sections. With Isabella, I was already 5 cm when I got to the hospital. So we want to avoid that....but make sure that we don't take him too early. I want a big, healthy baby that can breathe totally on his own. So we'll only deliver on the 13th if we're sure that he's ready to come. That will be only 3 days earlier in the pregnancy than when we delivered Ali Kate....and two weeks later than I delivered Abby and Isabella. So I'm comfortable with either decision.
So as for right now, we have either 26 or 19 days left to go before we meet Grant Dawson Stine. I can't wait! We're really not ready...no bags packed or anything....but I want to meet him. I'm not sure how it'll feel to know that he's our last one and that my last day of pregnancy has come and gone. It'll be bittersweet for sure. I feel like God has given us a full house, and I thank Him for all four of my little blessings!
As of my appointment Monday, Dr. Peeler's plan is to deliver May 20th (which will be 38 weeks, 4 days) unless he finds a reason to move it up a week. We are doing a full ultrasound and biophysical profile Monday to see how large Grant is, what my fluid levels are like, etc. He said that we'll take him at 37 weeks, 4 days if there is any reason to move it up. He realizes that this has been a very difficult journey the past three weeks. So we'll take a peek at Grant Monday and maybe have a definite date down. I think Dr. Peeler is concerned about the risk of me going into labor since I've had 3 previous C-sections. With Isabella, I was already 5 cm when I got to the hospital. So we want to avoid that....but make sure that we don't take him too early. I want a big, healthy baby that can breathe totally on his own. So we'll only deliver on the 13th if we're sure that he's ready to come. That will be only 3 days earlier in the pregnancy than when we delivered Ali Kate....and two weeks later than I delivered Abby and Isabella. So I'm comfortable with either decision.
So as for right now, we have either 26 or 19 days left to go before we meet Grant Dawson Stine. I can't wait! We're really not ready...no bags packed or anything....but I want to meet him. I'm not sure how it'll feel to know that he's our last one and that my last day of pregnancy has come and gone. It'll be bittersweet for sure. I feel like God has given us a full house, and I thank Him for all four of my little blessings!
Talking up a storm
In a house full of women, one would guess that it's a little hard to get a word in oftentimes. Anyone who thinks that in our house would be right! Abby, Isabella, and I use up gallons of words a day. So that doesn't leave room for anyone else to add to the conversation. Well....
Ali Kate has decided in the last two weeks that she wants to get a word in edgewise. She has become a blossoming linguist over the last several days. In less than two weeks, she's added apple, head, Paw-paw, mouth, peez (please), moo, bear, bunny, book, Abby, Bella, and cup to her stash of words. I'm sure I'm forgetting at least a half dozen more words, but those are the first ones that come to mind. Oh yeah...she also says "ew" all the time (Thanks to Sandra Boynton's bunny who eats broccoli stew....you'll have to read the book to understand!). Anyway, we are at the point where we can identify objects in books and around the house (since we're still stuck here day after day), and she will pick up on new words after a try or two. She's really enthusiastic about learning them, and we cheer her on with lots of praise. That baby gets more "yays" in a day than I may have gotten in the last ten years! She just lights up when you cheer for her like that.
At dinner last week, Ali Kate was devouring our meal. I have no idea what we were eating (my mind is sapped by this pregnancy), but she obviously loved it. At one point, Abby looks at Ali Kate and says, "Ali, you're eating like a horse." Ali Kate so promptly and appropriately replied, "Neigh." We laughed until our bellies hurt! Her timing couldn't have been better.
Other than thinking that both cows and horses say neigh, she's really coming along with her animal sounds. She knows the sounds for cows, horses, dogs, cats, sheep, and monkeys. Her monkey sounds is the cutest by far. She loves to neigh though for no reason at all, so we have an in-house horse on our hands!
I'm loving this stage with Ali Kate. She just melts my heart every day. She loves to cruise on the couch to me (where I've been spending lots of time the past two weeks) and just cuddle against me. She pops that thumb into her mouth and sucks it while she cuddles. It's so adorable. She also just rests beside her baby brother (who takes up my entire lap) and snuggles. She's going to have a rough transition when Grant arrives. She is very good at being the baby, and I don't know if she's ready to relinquish that role quite yet. I'm not ready for her to...so I guess we'll just have two babies!
Ali Kate has decided in the last two weeks that she wants to get a word in edgewise. She has become a blossoming linguist over the last several days. In less than two weeks, she's added apple, head, Paw-paw, mouth, peez (please), moo, bear, bunny, book, Abby, Bella, and cup to her stash of words. I'm sure I'm forgetting at least a half dozen more words, but those are the first ones that come to mind. Oh yeah...she also says "ew" all the time (Thanks to Sandra Boynton's bunny who eats broccoli stew....you'll have to read the book to understand!). Anyway, we are at the point where we can identify objects in books and around the house (since we're still stuck here day after day), and she will pick up on new words after a try or two. She's really enthusiastic about learning them, and we cheer her on with lots of praise. That baby gets more "yays" in a day than I may have gotten in the last ten years! She just lights up when you cheer for her like that.
At dinner last week, Ali Kate was devouring our meal. I have no idea what we were eating (my mind is sapped by this pregnancy), but she obviously loved it. At one point, Abby looks at Ali Kate and says, "Ali, you're eating like a horse." Ali Kate so promptly and appropriately replied, "Neigh." We laughed until our bellies hurt! Her timing couldn't have been better.
Other than thinking that both cows and horses say neigh, she's really coming along with her animal sounds. She knows the sounds for cows, horses, dogs, cats, sheep, and monkeys. Her monkey sounds is the cutest by far. She loves to neigh though for no reason at all, so we have an in-house horse on our hands!
I'm loving this stage with Ali Kate. She just melts my heart every day. She loves to cruise on the couch to me (where I've been spending lots of time the past two weeks) and just cuddle against me. She pops that thumb into her mouth and sucks it while she cuddles. It's so adorable. She also just rests beside her baby brother (who takes up my entire lap) and snuggles. She's going to have a rough transition when Grant arrives. She is very good at being the baby, and I don't know if she's ready to relinquish that role quite yet. I'm not ready for her to...so I guess we'll just have two babies!
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