Life is great

I just wanted to stop in and let everyone know that life is great here in our neck of the woods. My lack of blogging does not mean that I have lack of things to blog about! We have had milestones reached, first (and second) ballet recitals, flash flooding that created crazy adventures, fancy nancy birthday party, fatherhood celebrated, goodbyes to dear friends, lighthouse climbed, Dewy turning nine, family visits, inches of golden curls chopped off and lots of 'firsts' for all three girls... really life is so grand right now, there isn't time left for me to sit in front of this computer, sorry to leave you out of the loop.

I will let you catch up on the last few weeks events with a sampling of pictures...Sorry I can't give you more but I have life to enjoy!

Karl's first fathers' day with THREE girls to help him realize how awesome he is as a dad

 Reese got Karl the shirt and shorts, and Brady got him the shoes. And no, I didn't pick them out, thye did 100%

 Daniel, my mom and I climbed the Pensacola light house... a reminder of how out of shape I am....177 steps

 Auntie Andi got lots of cuddles from her older two nieces. I believe she would of cuddled more with Elli but wasn't given the opportunity.

 My two ballerinas brought tears to my eyes, as Reese did her first recital and Brady did her second. But Reese wasn't the only one to hit the ballet stage for the first time, Karl joined the girls on stage for a Daddy Daughter dance.

 The day of recital and the next day we received over 20 inches of rain! Most streets were flooded, man hole covers were popped off and water was spewing out. Houses were destroyed. We got stuck on the other side of town and almost didn't make it to recital. But the next day Auntie Andi, washed all the stress away by puddle jumping.

 The girls got their first try at skating... needless to say, it was harder then the pictured it being. Brady said "I am tried of learning, I just want to do it"

Elli says she loves skating, because she gets Grandma time!

 No caption needed for this sweetness!

 After 2.5 weeks, Elli lost her umbilical cord stump. She is a much happier baby during bath time when she is immersed in the water.

 So when you are wondering where my updates are, just know I am busy soaking this up....

Happy 5th Birthday Brady!

So for some reason, this turning five thing is harder for me to grasp then any other year. I have a full blown kid now that is about to start full time school, that is hard for me to believe! I have a kid that can now climb trees! 

I have a kid that loves being a big sister so much she brings 'her baby' for show and tell!

I have a kid that can strike beautiful ballet poses!

I have a kid that loves to coupon!

But then sometimes I am reminded that she is still my baby girl, like when she innocently shrills at an incoming wave.

 Or when she needs a hug because she got scared. 

I love you, Brady! Happy 5th Birthday...My life is 10000000 times better with you in it!

Name that baby: Answers

Thanks to those who entertained me by leaving a comment!

I think Elliot favors Brady heavily. But Reese had such chubby cheeks as a newborn that it is hard for me to see past them ;)

 First up is my Brady BOO!

Second is my Elli Dew

And third is my Reesey Poo

There are some people that think all the girls look like me, but I see Karl in them too.

This picture is a couple months shy of being 31 years old. WHAT A BIG BABY!!!! But yes, Reese does favor me as a baby!

Sorry, this is the only baby picture I have of Karl, I wish I had one of him in the same sleeping pose... But I think is it still fun to compare. 

One more of the newest addition to the O family, Elliot. 

Name that baby

There has been some debate about whether Elli Dew favors Brady or Reese or she is unique in her own right. So I am going to post three pictures of the girls as newborns. See if you can tell which is which. I will give you the answers in a future post.

Elliot's Birth Story

This is a beautiful story, so I hope I do it justice as my little math mind tries to use words.

Starting around 34 weeks gestation, I started feeling 'off'. I was worried because this is similar to the way I felt the week before I was induced with Brady, diagnosed with Pre-eclampsia. . I kept going to Winn-Dixie to check my blood pressure (a key indication of Pre-eclampsia) but everything looked great. While I was overjoyed that I was healthy enough to continue to carry Elliot to full term, I could not imagine how I would carry her for another 7 weeks feeling like that. I was having my OB appts. every week by now and I kept asking about the way I was feeling and if he thought I was developing pre-eclampsia. Finally at my 36 week appointment, he said to me, "it is very unlikely that you will get pre-eclampsia again." Okay, good enough. I stopped my frequent trips to winn-dixie even though my swelling was OUT OF CONTROL!

Thursday May 24th, 2012, I woke up after a HORRIBLE attempt at a night's rest. Karl offered to bring the girls to school that morning and I headed off to my OB appt. I was 37 weeks 4 days pregnant. I, two days earlier, came at peace with the fact that I was really close to the end of the pregnancy and I could do this 3 more weeks. Thus, when I sat down in the office to get my vitals, I was somewhat blindsided by my elevated blood pressure. There was talk of running all the labs to see how bad off my 'mild pre-eclampsia' was. One of the labs usually run is a 24-hour urine collection. Then the doctor realized here we are on a Thursday before a holiday weekend (one of which he was traveling for) and the lab results would come in late friday (if that). Next thing I know the talk of running labs turned into inducing me. The OB predicted if we waited until Tuesday I would have been pretty bad off.

So on May 24th, 2012

-9:15 am Routine OB appt.
-9:45 am call Karl asking if he is ready to become a dad...again
-10:00 am walk to the hospital (conjoined buildings) to be induced in Labor and Delivery....told there is no room for me...HUH? The Labor and Delivery computer system was down for 24 hours and it was limiting their patient load capability.
-After a wait in Triage and being transferring to a Labor and Delivery room. I was officially induced around 1:00 pm. At that point, I was already 3 cm and 80% effaced.

-5:15 pm, went ahead and got a epidural (strongly recommended if you are doing a VBAC)
-5:30 pm only 4cm...HUH? this is going to be a long night!
-5:50 pm OB breaks my water
-6:50 pm 4cm...WHAT?
-9:00 pm 5cm....At this rate I will deliver in ten hours...UGH
-9:15 pm nurse positions me into the "fire hydrant" ...I will spare you the details...let you imagination run wild
-A few fetal heart rate drops during contractions ...more details later
-Karl enjoys watching his Giants beat the Miami Marlins 14-7 (the Marlins are 'local' so he was able to see them on TV). The game ends shortly before 10 pm.
-10:00 pm 10cm and ready to push... ARE YOU SURE? How did that happen?
-10:19 pm Elliot DeWees Orthner makes her entrance into the world!

This delivery was by far the best experience I had of the three. With Brady, I had heavy drugs in my system and did not enjoy much of the labor and the 24 hours to follow. With Reese, I was under general anesthesia so did not even experience that delivery. So many beautiful things happen with this delivery. First, and most important, Elliot went straight to my chest after birth. I will always cherish that special moment of having my baby immediately to hold. 

Also, I had a mirror in place so that I got to witness her entrance as I pushed. I know not everyone can appreciate this, but it was amazing to see the live birth of my own child. Again, an image that I will hold special and close to my heart forever. Lastly, after my placenta was delivered and Elli Dew had a hat and diaper, I was given about an hour of skin to skin time with her. Cuddles, breastfeeding and everything a new mother and baby could possibly need and desire.

Another interesting story from laboring was in that final hour when the nurse re-positioned me, within minutes Elli's heart rate dropped from 150's to 90! The nurse was in the room and said something like 'uh oh'. As she was standing up to readjust me, another nurse (one I have never seen) came running into my room. She noticed the drop on the monitor at the nurses station and immediately took action. I love that the nurses were on their game!

Even though I did have pre-eclampsia like I did with Brady, luckily it was caught sooner and I could be induced ASAP since I was already full term. With Brady they had to give her a few extra days of growing time thus I had to be put on a heavy drug, magnesuim sulfate. It is like the flu and being hungover at the same time, also the drug carries over into the baby making her lethargic too. The doctor said if they would have waited until after the holiday weekend I would have most likely had to be on this drug. I got to be a happy mom during labor and after delivery which made for a wonderful memorable experience. The epidural wore off quickly and I was up walking around within 5 hours after her birth.

Welcome to the world Elliot DeWees Orthner! Your family loves you beyond words already.

Baby Bump: 37 weeks

Can you believe it? 37 weeks, full term and your final baby bump post! Soon (hopefully very soon) there will be pictures of our beautiful third daughter gracing the front of this blog!

I definitely grew over the past four weeks... the ultrasound on Thursday predicted a 7 lb 4 oz baby....YIKES. If she grows the average half pound a week she will be about 9 pounds at 40 weeks. I guess I shouldn't complain since my mom deliver me pain med free at 9 lb 13 oz.

Reese and I took this picture specially for Kaddie... DeWees Smile!!!!

 Reese enjoyed sitting on my belly during the photo shoot!

Here is the pregnancy in review! I think it is almost as much fun to see my hair grow with my belly. I am getting so close to that much desired ponytail!

So our family has put in their final predictions on the impending birthday of Elli.

Brady: June 10 (she likes rules to be followed, so she is going with the due date)
Reese: June 2nd (Reese says because she has daddy daughter dance rehearsal)
Karl: May 29 (Go Harvick!)
Christy: thinks June 6 or wants May 25 (all about the math: 6+6=12 or 5-25, plus 5 and 25 are my favorite numbers )

So what is your vote? If it helps, I was 1cm dilated and 60% effaced last Thursday. The girls decided the person who decides the correct date gets a dollar...

Baby vs. Mommy

baby wins!!!!

I felt it was better this picture be out of focus so that you aren't too grossed out!

Kaddie Surprise

For those of you who don't know the story....

When I was pregnant with Brady I asked both sets of grandparents what they wanted to be called since we were having the first grandbaby on both sides. My father was the quickest to with an IMMEDIATE answer "caddy." I looked at him confused, he stated he was going to raise his grandkids to play golf, get a scholarship to be on Duke's Golf team and then play in the WPGA, and once they were in the tour he would be their caddy. 

Well about two years after Brady was born, Caddy asked Brady what Caddy started with, she immediately stated 'K' and ever since then he has been Kaddie.

Kaddie and Reese have a special bond. They have since Reese was about 9 months old. She was sick and crying no matter what I did. Then I was going to put her to bed and my dad went to kiss her good night and she reached out for him to hold her. He states that none of his three kids ever reached out for him (when they were in their mother's arms) so he was smitten ever since and Reese has not lost the mutual feeling!

Kaddie sent Reese left handed golf clubs today and they were a hit. Reese's response was "I am going to play golf, that's so cool!"

Enjoy these pictures from the trial run...

Now to move closer to Kaddie so he can help Reese read the lie of the grass ;)

Interview time again

Grandma asked for interviews and we want to keep Grandma happy!!!!

It's a HOOT!

 I thought I would share a few photos of the progress of Elli Dew's nursery. I am getting really excited as all these things are coming together. It isn't all the way together but I like what I see ;)

Here is the new crib and bedding. My mom graciously made me the personalized baby blanket and crib skirt! Thanks mom!

 Here is her name above her crib. I bought white letters from hobby lobby, glued on scrapbook paper and then covered them in modge podge. Gotta love that stuff!

Bookshelf borrowed from the playroom.

 I ordered this name plate from Etsy and I am eagerly waiting for it to show up in the mail. I will probably place it on the bookshelf above. 

 This is my new diaper bag, thank you Kim and Walt. Also on top is my flower "hooter hider" (oh how I love the pun for this post) that my mom made for me, thanks mom! I also love how they match for when I am out and about I will be a little fashionista!

 I also got more diapers from my mom in the mail today so I had to include those too! I love how cute Elli's bottom is going to be!

I am so excited and ready to have the beautiful baby for this nursery!

Wordless Wednesday: Too cute to be pooped on!