Remembering Remington’s Birth Day

My sister gave birth to a baby boy (Remington) a little over a month ago. Some of you have asked me about her and her new baby, so here's the account of his birth.

Kenda was due to give birth around Cael's birthday in early May. The doctors were concerned that the baby's weight was lower than it should be and wanted to induce her a week earlier. She had pushed them off but finally scheduled it for Thursday. On Wednesday evening, I sent her a text thanking her for the rain gauge she had given me for my birthday (because the last one she had given me wasn't working anymore).

And then we spoke briefly on the phone about the labor pains she was having while at dinner at about 6. And then I didn't hear anything more from her or about her until 10 pm that night when I got a text from my mom that said "Did Nathan call?" . . . "The baby is here. Call us." 

And this is Kenda's account to Remington of what went on during those few, brief hours . . . .

Wednesday started out sunny and warm. Temperatures would climb to the upper 80s – a little warmer than usual for a Florida May. Dad was home, ready to take care of Hunter while I prepared to go to my doctor’s appointment. Dad had finished his last remodeling job just days before because he wanted to be able to get me to the hospital the next day for your birth. He and I took Hunter to his 18-month-old appointment in the morning. The doctor asked us when you were due. I replied, “Well, if he doesn’t come out tonight, he will be coming out tomorrow!”

With GrandBob just a few days after birth

The doctors had wanted to bring you into the world on Monday. But I had put off your birth because I wanted to wait until you showed signs you were ready to leave your comfortable spot in the womb. I went to the doctor’s appointment, and it was confirmed that you were still pretty comfortable. So the induction was set for the next day. We planned to get to the hospital by 6 in the morning, and the doctors would bring you into the world with some help.

Big brother Hunter with baby Remi

Grammy (Nate's Mom) had finished her job doing payroll the day before and was ready to take care of your big brother Hunter. We delivered him to her at 5:30 and headed off to have a nice, quiet dinner at one of my favorite eating places, Bonefish Grill. There were some indications you m
might be stirring but nothing that signaled you were insistent yet. All of a sudden, during the dinner, the light pain became stronger contractions. Dessert was no longer an option. All I wanted to do was get home and lie down. At 7:30 we headed home where I took a shower and went to bed. Dad started timing the contractions, which were supposed to be coming every five minutes, lasting one minute each, and for the duration of an hour.


I wasn’t the most pleasant at that time and informed Dad firmly that I wasn’t going to make it for an hour. “Throw it in the suitcase! We need to get to the hospital!” were my sentiments at that moment.
Dad was resisting, telling me that if we got there too soon, they would just send us back home. At 8:50, we were in the car headed to the hospital. Dad didn’t seem to be in any hurry, but we finally arrived at the emergency room. Dad ran in to get help to get me to the labor room. He told me later that when I was in the hallway, I was screaming, “Get me up there now! We’ve got to go!” because you were coming whether we were ready or not.


And, sure enough, you arrived soon after, 9:12 p.m. to be exact. Now that’s cutting it close. But that’s ok. We were thankful you came on your own rather than the doctor pushing you out.


You came so quickly that my recovery was quick as well. We were able to leave the hospital by Friday afternoon and start our family of four.

A love song

One of the things that I love about Seth is his sense of humor. The other day, I posted this on my Facebook status:

Random memory (as I listen to country songs on the radio -- don't judge): I once asked Seth why he never wrote a love song for me. He said, "Because nothing rhymes with 'Stacia'." ‪#‎acacia

Several friends offered their recommendations for words rhyming with "Stacia" . . . in case Seth wanted to write that song after all: aphasia, Valencia, facia.

My multi-talented SIL Ruth took it one step further and actually wrote a song on behalf of her brother in the country genre. It made me laugh and I thought I'd share it here, too.

Stacia, Stacia, oh mah, Stacia,
Ah jus’ wanna take this occasia
Ta sing y’a little song
 Cuz Ah cain’t help but praise ya!

Ain’t a never gonna take ya on a trip ta Asia,
But Ah can grill ya’ll a steak and feed ya focaccia.
Ah’d surely take the jolt if somebody tried ta taze ya
Even though it means Ah’ll get another abrasia.

Ah love the choice o’ yer life’s vocatia.
It don’t matter to me what yer boss pays ya.
Ah don’t care what the bathroom scale weighs ya,
All ya need ta know is that I gotta embrace ya.

As time goes by an the years start ta age ya,
If ya end up with rheumatism and hip dysplasia,
Even if ya grow some whiskers on yer facia,
Ain’t nuthin’ could convince me that Ah oughta replace ya!

While I'm on the topic of Ruth and her many talents, I thought I'd share these cute button puzzles she made for Kieran. I had mentioned a while ago that he was working on learning to button with some button boards but that I thought it would be good for him to practice on buttons of different sizes. Ruth immediately had the idea of making puzzles with buttons that he could practice with. And quick as a wink, she sewed up these two puzzles out of fabric scraps and buttons she had on hand for him to use.

He saw the dragon as an elephant. Can you?

He's enjoyed putting them together and taking them apart.

 I think she could start a business out of making custom button puzzles, don't you?

Getting a Little Closer

Seth is one of those guys who doesn't say much, unless you're on a topic that he feels passionately about and then you usually come away from the conversation saying, "Whoa -- I had no idea he had so much to say." I appreciate that he doesn't feel the need to say whatever pops into his head on a moment's notice (unlike, say, his wife) but is careful and deliberate in his speech. Yet, while he's content for us to sit quietly together on the couch in the evening each doing our own thing, I'm usually thinking of ways to encourage him to converse with me.

The other day, an article entitled "To Fall in Love with Anyone, Do This" popped up in my Facebook newsfeed. I was interested to find out the premise of the article, so I clicked on it and read it. And then I found the questions referenced in the article here. Seth and I have been happily married for over twelve years, so I wasn't looking to "fall in love with him all over again," but I thought it might make for good conversation for us to answer the questions together. He agreed to go through them with me, so we started with the first set last night and continued with the second set this evening. We'll finish the third set tomorrow evening.

I've learned a few new things about him (like how he thinks he's going to die -- question 4) and during the four-minute life recap (question 11), he got stuck on a story about how he and his siblings collected cans for years and then took 6 or 7 bags of cans to the recycling center, dumped them out, and realized that one of the bags was actually trash. His retelling of the story made me laugh. I also learned that if he knew I was going to die suddenly in a year (question 19), he would take out more life insurance on me. That did not make me laugh. His greatest accomplishment (question 15) will be beating his brother-in-law (who has won 100 straight games, mostly thanks to us) in a game of Scramble.

It was encouraging to give and hear five positive characteristics of each other (question 22) and I was challenged by his definition of friendship (question 20). Although there wasn't anything overtly spiritual about this group of questions, there were several that lead to further discussions in different areas.

And now on to find another set of questions for Saturday night . . . .

Revisiting the Sock Drawer

So, Seth has this thing about the socks I wear -- apparently, he doesn't like when I wear mismatched socks, socks that don't match the rest of what I'm wearing, inside-out socks, and socks that have holes in them. Picky, picky, I say. I think he needs to not be so judgmental. 

Socks are just one of those things that I forget to buy and so I continue to wear old socks, even though they may be holey. And sometimes, I just don't care if I reach into my sock drawer and pull out a mismatched pair, or a pair that bears no resemblance to any other color I'm wearing. I like to think I'm a free spirit when it comes to socks. . . . Or lazy. . . . But mostly a free spirit. 

Apparently, my mom shares the same opinion as Seth. After she visited with us over Thanksgiving, she bought stock in socks and gave me a bunch of pairs for Christmas because, "I noticed you were having sock troubles." And apparently, my sister also shares the same opinion as Seth because, as I opened the multitude of sock packages from my mom, Kenda said, "Oh, I guess it's a good thing I didn't get you socks, too. Because I was thinking that would make a good present for you." 

I think they all need to not be so judgmental and let me be a free sock spirit. 

After Christmas, Seth brought home my new socks and put them in my sock drawer. I thought he'd throw away the old ones in the process. But he didn't.

So today, since I had a few spare minutes, I went through my sock drawer and organized it. Something I haven't done since November 19, 2009. It seems like just yesterday.

After a few minutes (or so), I was left with this glorious view, which I quickly texted to Seth: "Happy now?" "Better," he said.

And I was left with these.

If I were the Pinterest fiend that some of you are (you know who you are), I would have turned this post into 101 Things You Can Do With Your Old Holey Socks That Your Husband Is Making You Throw Away. And I would have charts and printables and graphs and links to my Pinterest page with photos that you, too, could pin to your Sock Board. But I'm not. I can't even think of anything beyond "sock puppet" and since there are holes in most of these, I don't think even that would work in the upcycling department. 

And so, since "the poor didn't want these" (name that movie), instead of donating my worn-out and one-sock-wonders to Goodwill, I trashed them. And there was great rejoicing by Seth, my mom, and my sister. 

Thankful Thursday

Today, I am thankful for ear muffs that help this little boy get up close and personal to things that once made him cry. 

And I'm thankful for peanut butter milkshakes -- a snack that he enjoys. 

I'm thankful for grandparents who truly enjoy playing a game of memory with their grandchildren.

 

I'm thankful for video calling that lets us keep in touch with Seth while we're away.



And I'm thankful for this little photo-bomber who always wants to see the photo after he's bombed it.

What are you thankful for today?

Happy New Year!

We've been vacationing with my parents for a few weeks in Florida (Seth came for Christmas week but returned to continue working). 

We've had fun with cousin Hunter (my sister's son).

We took a family photo for the Christmas card that I may still send out.

We took a trip to Legoland. 

We've been to the beach a few times.

We went to Kennedy Space Center and got to touch a rock from the moon.

Kieran finally warmed up to the pump organ that my parents inherited.

And we even tried the Florida version of "ice" skating -- Cael loved it; Kieran didn't.

We've been busy. And I've been busy the past few months with various things -- which means that blogging falls by the wayside.

I asked my readers (my sister and my mom) if a. they missed the regular blogging and b. they thought I should commit to blog every day for the next year. They said yes to both (I wasn't expecting them to say anything else). (And, actually, my mom said, "Maybe you should just try for once a week.")

So, on their advice, I'll try to blog every day for the next year. Don't, however, consider this a new year's resolution. I've resolved not to resolve anything like that. Instead, consider this a "hey, this happens to be January 1 and I happen to be feeling like getting back into the blogging habit so let's see how this goes" resolution. Happy New Year!

The Adventures of the Little Hunter

Some of you know my sister and have asked about her new baby--here's an update from her about "Baby Hunter" (as the boys call him). 

There are few other things that capture his attention and calm this little Hunter like the outdoors. He sits in his bright blue Bumbo seat in the backyard contentedly. His face does not necessarily have a smile, but neither is he fussing to say that he wants to move. His big blue eyes examine the world around him. He watches his parents turning the compost and watering the garden. He’ll look up at the big tree towering over him. "Ahh, this is the life," he thinks to himself. He could sit out here all day. These days, as adventures go, you’ll find him enjoying stroller rides around the neighborhood, or sitting out by the main road watching the cars go by like he’s watching a tennis match.

Few other things capture and calm him like the outdoors, however the piano in his parents' living room should be noted. He is able to sit on the bench on his own for brief periods of time before the tilt becomes too much and he gives into gravity. He'll turn the pages of the music while Mom or Dad plays and hold down a key or two to add to the melody. Remarkably, he does not wildly bang at it.

This little Hunter must eat during the course of his day, and he does it six times. Two of those six include solid food - once in the middle of the morning and once as part of his bedtime routine. Fruits and vegetables are on the menu. Wheat is no longer offered as it causes the little Hunter to empty his stomach in an unceremonious way. Peas are still on the menu, though he wishes they were not. He tells his parents this wish without using words. His facial expressions, crying, spitting, or any combination of those clearly convey the message. Now that he has the hang of eating, he closely watches his parents eat. He will even open his mouth when his parents do, hoping food will come his way. It’s not only food that he wants to put in his mouth; these days everything goes in.

The adventures of this Hunter take us to his love for his dad. No one elicits a smile or a giggle from him like his father. When Dad arrives home at the end of the day, Hunter will stretch out his arms and lean towards Dad to be held by him.  

The adventures of this little Hunter end around 8:00 PM because there are few adventures in the night anymore. Since he turned five months, his nights have become more about sleeping and less about crying. We lay him down in his crib on his back, he slides his fingers into his mouth, rolls over, and falls to sleep. His parents rejoice!

Coming Soon: The next installment of Adventures with the Little Hunter is sure to include tales of the little Hunter that crawls!

Perseveration

A short while ago, we read a Little Critter book about going to the dentist with Kieran and Cael. One of the characters in the book was having braces put on its teeth. Since then, Kieran has become fixated on braces. I don't know why. 

When we were making cards for his cousin's birthday, he remembered that his cousin had braces (he'd last seen him at Thanksgiving) and wanted (me) to draw a picture of a boy with braces. 

One afternoon this past week, when we were visiting my parents in Florida over spring break, we went to a nearby aquarium. 

The boys enjoyed looking at the various sea creatures (the sharks were their favorite). 

And, in typical Kieran fashion, he enjoyed saying "hi!" to everyone we passed. Only, this time, his "hi" came with an ulterior motive. When he greeted a youngster, he waited for them to smile and respond so that he could see if they were wearing braces.  And if they were, he said, "Oh, s/he has braces!" For all to hear. 

Although we don't encourage Kieran's overfriendliness (a characteristic of those with Williams syndrome), I haven't quite figured out how to handle it in public places. I need to be more proactive in addressing it with him but, usually, it slips my mind to talk about it with him until we're in the middle of a public place and he's greeting everyone he sees.

This braces thing, though, took me by surprise the first few times and, when I took him for a potty break at the aquarium, we talked about how he can think things about braces but really shouldn't say anything about them because it's not polite. That didn't seem to help, however, because he continued to look for kids to talk to to see if they were wearing braces.

I think he was more interested in finding braces than he was in the amazing variety of sea animals we were looking at. 

Perseveration--fixating on one topic (in the past and even now, it's been weedwackers)--is another characteristic of individuals with Williams syndrome (and other disorders). And I haven't figured out an ideal way to deal with it--both with him and with others. Usually, I end up saying something, a bit apologetically, like, "He's been really interested in ____ lately and just wants to know if you have ___." Adults tend to be a bit more understanding, but this latest thing with braces and kids has me a bit more concerned. I know how sensitive some children are to their appearance with braces and don't want to them to think he's teasing them or highlighting something unpleasant about them--he really is just interested in the braces, quite apart from how they they look in them. 

Do I offer a word of explanation after he's said something? Is this something I need to address with him continually before going out in public anywhere? (Probably.) Do I need to put together a social story for him? I really don't know. But if you have any ideas, I'd love to hear your words of advice. 

In the meantime, we'll just be over here wondering if jellyfish wear braces . . . .

Memories of GTG

Day 7 -- a week already?  

Way back in December, the boys and I drove down to Florida to stay with my parents for a few weeks. Because it's warm there. After we arrived, my brother-in-law who lives there and his father drove our car back up to our place. Because deer camp out in our front yard and he likes to hunt.

In between hunts, Nate and his dad -- both handymen by trade -- built the Christmas present my parents gave me: a cabinet to contain and replace this mess. (Nate and his dad later drove back to Florida with Seth.)

When we returned to the Holler last week, Seth put the finishing touches on the cabinet, and last night we moved it from the barn into its new home.

And I spent the day organizing it (and realizing that we have WAY too many shoes).

In the process of  reorganizing other spaces, as well, since I could fit so much into the cabinet, I came across this gem.

And it brought back all the not-so-fond memories of why we don't need it anymore. Several years ago, we had a geothermal system installed. The installation took a looooong time--much longer than Geo-Thermal Guy had originally promised--and involved frozen water pipes (because he left the inlet water pipe uncovered for days. In December), broken "I'll be there tomorrow" promises, and water under the house (from when he didn't backfill the ditches for days during rain storms).

It wasn't fun at the time, but today I almost smiled when I pulled out this A/C cover and remembered those good old days.

Cleaning up

 Day 3

While we were vising my parents in Florida over the holidays, I decided it would be a good time to potty train Cael. We'd been talking about it with him since he turned two in May but he really wasn't interested in learning. Since most of my parents' house has tile floors, I figured that would be a better training surface than the carpets in our house and once we'd settled in, I took off his diaper, put him in underpants and let the training begin. He learned quickly (rewards of Reese's peanut butter cups helped) and got the hang of it within a day or so (apart from nighttime--but that will come eventually).

When we returned to real life at our house, I began to take stock of what would change now that we are basically a diaperless house. First up was the changing table.

Should I give it away or repurpose it? After a few Pinterest suggestions from my SIL Ruth, I decided on the latter. So I began to think about how to rearrange all the baskets of toys and books that we have scattered throughout the house and today I set about cleaning it all up and finding a place for everything in their room.

I started with their bookcase.

And by the time I was finished, I'd gathered all the homeless books scattered elsewhere and given them their own place on the shelves here (never mind the sheet covering the window -- I'm using that a blackout curtain until I remember to buy a real one). 

And then I moved on to sorting the rest of their toys, which looked something like this in our living room (thanks to my Two Philosophy that I've been implementing over the past year (since the below picture was taken), I didn't need to throw or giveaway a lot, just resort them).

Another exciting feature of being a diaperless household is that closet space that had previously stored diapers and wipes was now free to store other things. Like toys.

And I am so excited that my living room now looks like this. Virtually toy free. It's been five years since it looked like this. I'm beyond thrilled.

And by the time I was finished with all the moving and sorting, when I took the above photo out my kitchen window, the changing table that had started it all now looked like this (mural courtesy of my SIL Ruth -- which I blogged about the first time I did the "kitchen window" thing: here and here).

It was a good day.