May 2012

The rest of the month of June was busy too. We had a lot of fun with our downstairs neighbors this month. Dani loves, loves, loves having her cousins so close! One day when I was still trying to be on my feet and keep contractions going I took Dani, Samantha, Derrick and KayDee to the park in Paragonah. Dani absolutely loves being outside and playing and having big kids to play with took some of the stress off me which made it EVEN BETTER! : )

For Mother's Day Travis and I were invited by Mandy to go with her and Travis' parents to go to dinner and then to see The Avengers. Sara volunteered to watch Dani so that we could. It was a lot of fun. Travis' brother, Milt, and his wife, Roni, were there as well. It was the last date that Travis and I got before Charleene was born and the first time we had gone to a movie since we were married! It was REALLY good to get out!

We had a lot of visitors after Charleene was born. It was a lot of fun to see so much family and have good company around.

Sara took Dani to the pool with her kids. It was the first time that Dani had gone swimming in a big pool. Sara has been really good with helping her learn how to handle herself with so much water all around her. She has a great time! I'm excited to be able to go with her hopefully very soon!

May was also the first month that Dani started sleeping in her "big girl bed" and her new room. She loved it from day one! She hasn't fallen out, been too scared to sleep in there by herself. She always wants to play in her room and on her bed. I can't believe how big she is getting! She has started putting together small sentences and is so full of energy. She's a busy, busy bee learning all that she can. Just the other day we went through her numbers (1-10 - all scrambled up) and she knew all of them by sight except for 8! She had trouble with 6 but all the others she knew.

We are so so blessed to have two adorable little ones in our little family. I can't wait to see how they change as they continue to grow! : )

Charleene Ruth

 

She's here! Our beautiful daughter has finally arrived! Charleene Ruth was born May 17, 2012 at 9:27 AM. She was 7 lbs 6 oz, 20 in long. Charleene is a name that Travis and I both really love and it just fits her so well. Ruth is for my sweet paternal grandmother and is a part of Travis' mother's first name. After we had decided that Ruth was to be her middle name we found out that Ruth is also the middle name of Travis' paternal grandmother.

We did end up having to have her turned and 37 weeks. But she stayed head down. I can't believe that we waited around for so many weeks, wondering if the contractions were going to keep up and stick around this time. :-) Every time I went in for a check up I would be one more cm dilated and one step closer to preeclampsia. At 39 weeks my doctor recommended that I get induced to avoid my worsening condition. I was mostly concerned about going into labor and having the baby on the freeway. (At my last appointment I was measuring a 5). We set the date for the 17th at 7am. When we got there I measured at a 6! Thank goodness we went in because they started the pitocin at 7:45 and she was here not even 2 hrs later! 

Thank goodness for my sister-in-law Sara and Travis' mother for helping with Dani that day while we were in the hospital.

Travis went home the night after Charleene was born and brought Dani down with him the next day when he came to pick me and Charleene up and take us home. Dani was fascinated with Charleene from the first moment she saw her. I have been so nervous about how she would react and treat her new sister but she has been great! She asks to hold her and gives her kisses. She gets very concerned when Charleene starts to cry and the other morning she took of running for Travis' and my bedroom and came tearing back down the hallway with a binki in hand to give to her sister cause "she's sad, Mommy! She's sad!" Haha it was so so very sweet.

The first morning that we woke up and Charleene was here Dani came into our bedroom and looked in the bassinet and saw her there and was so excited that she was still here that she shouted, "It's a baby!" Travis and I quickly quieted her down and told her yes, yes the baby's still here and you have to be quiet because she is still sleeping. Dani responded by pointing her finger down into the bassinet and mouthing (very excitedly), "It's a baby!" I think we almost woke her up because WE were laughing too loud. It is very very sweet how much Dani pays attention to her.

Mostly we have been trying to adjust to a new schedule. Charleene has been a wonderful baby so far. By the time she was 5 days old she was down to only one feeding between 11pm and 7am. Getting sleep makes a big difference!! She is very calm, not very loud. During her awake hours she looks around and smiles. She almost always grins the second that Dani is holding her. She recognizes Mommy and Daddy's voices and looks around when she hears us and someone else is holding her. Her jaundice level was EXCEPTIONALLY low and everything else has been going well since we got home.

We are so grateful to all those in our ward and family that provided us with meals and other services during that first week that we were home. We hope you know how much we appreciated all of the phone calls, visits, food and laundry being taken out of my hands. ;-) Thank you, thank you so very much!