My New Model

It's funny, I always thought I blogged too much about Andrew because he was my baby and was the most cooperative when it came to picture taking. Now, of course, Natalee has taken Andrew's place, both online here and by being a great model for picture taking. This morning, after a quick bath, I arranged some blankets on the couch and had some decent day light, so I turned off the flash and tried to get some good "scrap-book-able" pictures of my gorgeous model! These are my favourites. (I was inspired by one of my scrapbooking magazines where a lady took a picture of her daughter on the same day of each month with the same stuffed animal to get a better idea of how much she grew and changed from month to month.)

First Group Shot

I finally got a chance to take a picture of all four children together...

Getting Adjusted

Andrew is thrilled that Natalee is also getting adjusted by Dr. Joel. Andrew's very selective as to the people he lets near him and pick him up, but Dr. Joel makes his list of approved people. He really enjoys going to the chiropractor to get adjusted.
Natalee's lying on her back on top of Daddy for her adjustments. There are no cracks or pops from her. Most of the adjustment is just Dr. Joel applying a little pressure to get the spine into it's correct position.

Weight Update: Natalee weighed in at 6 lbs. 5 oz. yesterday - a gain of nearly 1 ounce a day over the weekend!! Although she'll probably be short of her birthweight by the 2 week mark, it won't take her long at this pace to catch up! Way to eat, Natalee! Soon she'll be as chubby and round as her brothers were.

A Better Picture of the Ear?

Please read the previous post for an explanation of this ear picture. Just trying to give you a better idea of what I'm talking about. It's hardly visible, but this is the best my camera could do.

What is a Preauricular Pit?

I'm turning this beautiful, peaceful, perfect picture into a bit of a project. Now that I've scared everyone away by telling them this is MY online scrapbook, NOW I want your help!! Guess I'll have to learn to keep my inside thoughts inside a little more...might be easier after the hormones stop raging within me and I get a little more sleep...

Check out Natalee's ear. Just above it, towards her cheek, you should be able to see a tiny little dimple. A nurse in the hospital told me it's called an "ear sinus". I couldn't find that anywhere on the internet, but I eventually came upon "preauricular pit". It can indicate problems, mainly to do with the ear (possibly more ear infections) and sometimes also linked with kidney problems. The pediatrician looked at it and proclaimed it was "just a dimple". However, the second nurse who pointed it out to me has a son who has TWO ear sinuses and also some kidney problems associated with it. However, I'm not worried, not at this point anyway. I'm just wondering if anyone has seen this, and I'm especially interested to know of anyone in the Voth/Warkentin/Bergman/Plett families who have this. It is supposedly genetic, and yet I have never seen it before, that I have never been aware of anything like it. Please let me know if you know of anyone who has this, I'm quite curious about it. I would like to know how common it is and if it is within Natalee's genetic family line.

Our Two Babies

I know Andrew's not really a baby anymore, but Caleb and Joshua still consider him to be one. So here are our two babies sitting together on the rocking chair. People always ask how Andrew is since we brought Natalee home from the hospital. Andrew has been great! Sure, he has his 2 year old moments (ie. temper tantrums), but I can not say that I see him feeling pushed out of the way by the baby. It definitely helps that Mike is at home.

Andrew's been repeating more words lately, or at least trying to. When we ask him to say "Natalee", he says "Nani". It's very cute! He knows that "Nani" is the baby.

I feel like I owe some people an explanation with regards to my blogging. The reason I blog is because I don't have time to scrapbook. I take all these great pictures of my children (in my opinion) and I know I'll never get around to scrapbooking as I would like to, so I post it here, write what I want to say about it, publish it, and VOILA - it's like having an instant scrapbook page! So fast, so easy! So I'm sorry to disappoint those of you who think I just blog for YOU. No, it's not for you! It's for me! So some day, I can look back and re-live these memories with my young children and wish for it all over again! I think I'll have to re-name my blog, "Angela's Online Scrapbook..." or something like that.

Gaining Ground

Another weigh-in today. This time, GREAT news! Natalee gained 1 and a half ounces in less than 24 hours!! The experts want to see them gain a half ounce a day. This weight gain, which puts her up to 6 lbs. 2.5 oz., also brings her weight loss from her birthweight into the acceptable range. She initially lost 11.5%, now she's at 7% birthweight loss. I think this also will mean that she will soon start to act like a "normal" baby; so far, she has been extremely content, sleeping lots and hardly ever crying. Maybe she will continue to be very content, but I'm going to count on it!

First Bath & Weight Update

Natalee having her first bath. I can't say she enjoyed it, but she tolerated it. The worst part was after the bath when I lifted her out of the water onto the towel. And as I held her in her towels (all 3 of them to try to keep her from getting too chilled), she pooped!! Again! We had just cleaned her bum before the bath, and now she had pooped in the towel! So it was back in the tub again.

Weight Update: The midwife (He Hu - pronounced "He Who") was here for another weight check-in. The first reading indicated she had gained half an ounce since Tuesday. The experts like to see newborns gain at least a half ounce every day. So I spent 20 minutes feeding her, and managed to get her weight up by 60 grams. Fortunately, she is doing all she is supposed to, as far as the number of wet & dirty diapers she is making in a 24 hour period. This brings her weight to 6 lbs. 1 oz.

Around our house these days...

Andrew in the baby bassinet. He's such a smart cookie, he only climbs in when Natalee is NOT sleeping in her bassinet. He has not yet tried to get in with her. Hopefully he won't get any ideas to do that...
A close-up peek at Natalee.
Our sun-bathing beauty. Trying to get rid of that jaundice as fast as possible. Ten minutes in the sun every day should help to clear it up quickly, as well as get some good Vitamin D.
Happy 6th Birthday, Caleb! When I arrived at his birthday party on Saturday, straight from the hospital (Mike had dropped off the boys earlier at YFC where they played with Grandma while he came to get us), I told him that Natalee was his birthday present. He wasn't even upset by that! He was quite happy to have us at home finally!
Weighing in. Today, Natalee had another weight check. We know she's gaining, how much exactly, is not quite certain. This scale was in pounds/ounces and didn't give us the more accurate reading in grams. Her weight today was 6 pounds and a half ounce. Still a ways from her birthweight of 6 lbs. 11 oz., but she's GAINING, that's all that's important!!

Natalee's Three Big Brothers

Caleb, the very proud big brother!! A baby sister, just like he wanted!
Andrew likes the new baby too. He likes to say "baby baby baby" in a very high pitched voice.
Joshua...what to say about him and his baby sister? He calls Natalee "it" and "he" more than anything. I think he likes to take care of Andrew more, where as Caleb would rather help with Natalee.

Introducing Our Newest Family Member

Does the pink give it away? Here is our LITTLE GIRL!! Her name is Natalee Ann. She was born Wednesday, March 7 at 2:53 a.m. (3 weeks and one day ahead of her due date). She weighed 6 lbs. 11 oz. and measured 19.25 inches long. Things went smoothly the first couple of days - she latched on well, slept lots and was a "good" baby. However, on Friday morning, the weigh scale indicated she had dropped far too much weight (the acceptable level is 8% body weight, and she dropped 11.5%), but thanks to God and with much effort on my part (pumping and squirting milk into her mouth because she was too tired to eat), she seemed to "turn the corner" over night and was able to stop her weight loss. However, I will have lots of work over the next couple of weeks (probably until around her due date) trying to keep her well fed and well rested. The boys are so happy to welcome their baby sister home. I will try to post pictures of them with her as soon as I can.

Taking care of Andrew

This morning, Andrew hopped up onto the bathroom stool with Joshua and watched him wash his hands. Joshua tried to help Andrew wash & dry his hands too, and ended up drying his wet face too! It was a sweet moment, watching the bigger brother help the littlest brother!

Andrew was bored without his brother's at home the other morning, so he decided to play with Daddy's toque, mitts & neckwarmer. He likes to put on other people's stuff and run around in it - not the safest thing, as you can see!

Can you see baby?

I went in for a fetal assessment this morning. The picture above, just to the left of the "Hi Mom" is baby's hand.
On this picture, baby's side of the head is smushed up against the very top. The left side of his/her face is against the very top, and you can see the eye socket, nose, lips and nice round cheek. You can not see on these pictures, but Baby already has a nice head of hair, although it's probably thin and blond (just a guess!!). The nurse who did the fetal assessment guesses that baby already weighs about six and a half pounds. Now, if the baby were to go to term, 40 weeks, gaining the estimated average half pound per week...that makes for a VERY healthy sized baby!!

Scary Movie!!!

Caleb and Joshua cuddled up under the blanket after a romp outside, watching "Finding Nemo", which if you didn't know, is a scary movie!! At least, according to my boys! Caleb & Joshua always look so intense and worried when they watch anything - I wonder how seriously they take these things, how much they think is real, and what they know is just pretend. Andrew, fortunately, has absolutely no interest in anything on TV. And fortunately, Joshua didn't have any nightmares last night!

Caleb has now started talking to my belly, referring to the baby as "Emily Elizabeth." Joshua has chosen "Abigail" as a girl's name. It makes Caleb very upset that Joshua thinks the baby should be named Abigail - I'm not quite sure why; whether it's because he wants "Emily Elizabeth" so badly, or because he has a friend in school named Abigail. Andrew has just learned to say "baby", but I know he doesn't understand what "baby in Mommy's tummy" means. He will be in for a shock when he finds another baby has taken his spot as baby! I keep reminding Caleb & Joshua that we don't know if the baby is a boy or a girl, but they have convinced themselves it's a sister.

Singles Awareness Day

Yesterday, Andrew was sitting on top of Caleb's chest and making him laugh. Of course, by the time I got the camera out, the moment had passed and we couldn't convince him to get back on his big brother. It's so nice to hear little boys giggle like that! Joshua lay down on the floor too and tried to get Andrew to lie on top of him. Andrew wasn't sure what all the fuss was about.

So it's Valentine's Day...and as my friend also reminded me that it's singles awareness day, and then I thought, what about unromantic husband awareness day? Just another cold day here in Manitoba. Well, wherever you are, whenever you are reading this, hope you are keeping warm and enjoying the simple pleasure in life like running water, a warm bed to sleep in, food to eat, transportation, and hopefully you'll experience the joy of living in some way today!

Joshua joins the fun

Of course, when Joshua came home from school yesterday and saw what Caleb had made, he wanted to make his own bag. So yesterday morning, after Caleb was at school, Joshua stamped some school busses and hearts and smiley faces and I assembled his bag for him. He wanted his bag to be exactly the same as Caleb's (how flattering!) but I accidentally scored it the wrong way, so the shape is more square, which is actually the way the original pattern is intended to be.

Crafting with Caleb

I've had some fun doing some of the challenges on Splitcoast Stampers lately, and the latest Technique Lover's Challenge was to make a tote bag. After Caleb saw mine, he wanted to make his own (exactly like mine, though!!) He stamped the flower and heart in pink, and the rest I had to do. The boys love that ribbon so much! They want it on everything they make!
Andrew giving his puppy a hug. As soon as he saw I had the camera out to take pictures of my cards and stuff that I upload to my SCS gallery, he insists that I take a picture of him!

Definition of a boy

I found this on one of my favorite websites for Simple Scrapbooks Magazine. The creator's user name is COverton, just to give her the credit for this! I don't think she came up with the definition herself, but the project is hers. I thought it was cute! If you can't read it, it says "the definition of a boy - a noise with dirt on it."

Pictures of the boys

Andrew enjoyed his spaghetti the other day. He got it all over his hair and clothes. He had a bath after supper!
Caleb and Joshua were at the Dentist on Thursday. No cavities!! Caleb's showing his pink ball that he got after his turn in the chair. Joshua has one too, but it's not in this picture.
This is what 5:00 p.m. looks like most weekdays at our home (without the laundry piled on the couch - that only happens once a week, usually). The boys stand on the couch and look out the window, waiting for Daddy to come home!

Three Little Monkeys Sittin' on the Couch

Here are the 3 little monkeys sitting on the couch in their p.j.'s. There's hardly room for all 3 of them, but for the sake of the camera, they were happy to crowd in close. Actually, it wasn't my idea. The older two boys were watching something on T.V. and Andrew was "bugging" them. Fortunately, they all smiled when I asked them to! It's nice how much they all love each other.

For those of you who are opposed to seeing naked skin on this blog, don't scroll down any further. I had been promising the boys that when my tummy got bigger, they would be able to draw on it. So yesterday, one of those moments where they were done playing and starting to bug each other arose, so I asked if they would like to draw on Mommy's tummy!" Well, that was more exciting that saying, "Chicken fingers for supper!" and out came the washable markers. I can't tell you all of what they drew, but I do remember that Caleb did write his name twice and drew two navy t-shirts on either side of my tummy and a few pink hearts. Joshua did some of his name, but drew over it with different lines and dots. He was into drawing different colored pieces of "wood" on me. Caleb also draw a bad guy neat the top (brown) and Joshua drew a "girl seatbelt" on him (girl, because it was in "girl colors" - pink & purple).

One more story...I had told the boys about a week or so ago, as we were lounging in the living room, that after we had the baby, that Caleb and Joshua would have to take care of Andrew, because I would be busy with the baby. I said this because they are both good big brothers and often do help with Andrew, and also by putting words in his mouth, which is a whole other story. Well, Caleb didn't really like that suggestion and said that No, he was going to sit on the rocking chair and hold the new baby, and I could take care of Andrew! I hope he won't have issues with going to school after the baby is born.

And we've figured out that Andrew wants to name the baby "Cookie". Hopefully he's not thinking of eating him/her.

Belly Art:

Searching for the Perfect Name

Here are some pictures of Andrew searching for a baby name. Previously, I had mentioned that Caleb and Joshua were giving us their two cents worth on what we should name the baby. It wasn't long after that, I found Andrew carrying around some baby name books and paging through them. I thought it was pretty cute. By the way, he has not told us which names he thinks we should name our baby. Perhaps he has not found one he likes.

Andrew has made a complete recovery from surgery. His surgeon said that if anything were to happen (infection, problems with the wound closing), it would happen within the first week. However, Andrew did have an unpleasant experience yesterday. He tripped and fell on a toy metal dump truck and cut his upper and lower lips, which produced quite a bit of blood. He still had a little swelling today from that collision, but he felt fine, other than a mild cold. That's why his mouth is hanging open in these pictures - not from concentration, but just so he can breath!

New Obsessions

Every once in a while, each child develops a new obsession with something. Recently, Andrew has been focused on wearing my shoes. He tries to walk around the house in them, as you can see. He's quite proud of his accomplishment, which he should be, as my shoes are like skis on him!

Andrew is doing quite well. Yesterday, we tried to do without Tylenol, but I did end up giving him a half dose just before noon. If he wasn't so intent on climbing on and off of things and playing like a regular little boy, he would be fine. But he's having a hard time understanding the whole concept of "slowing down". So, a little pain relief yesterday was necessary. After that, he was happy to let me hold him and carry him up and down the stairs.

Today, he is doing well without pain relief. He has traveled up and down the stairs by himself and playing hard. He's had my shoes out and on, and has experimented with his own collection of slippers and shoes. And trying to keep up with Joshua keeps him busy!

Caleb's latest obsession would have to be with building a house. He has plans to build himself a house and a shed, and he talks often about what he will have in his house. He's especially concerned with having the right toys and food for Joshua and Andrew come over to play.

Joshua's been talking lately about what he will name HIS babies. Yesterday, he came up with "Andrew George", then maybe "Andrew Ryan", then maybe "Ryan George," then back to "Andrew Ryan" (his middle name being Ryan - not sure where the George comes from!). Joshua doesn't have a girl's name picked out. Caleb thinks a baby boy should be named Woody, and a baby girl should be named Emily Elizabeth. I think the other day Joshua had also chosen the name "Noah", but quickly went back to Andrew, his favourite name at this time!

Andrew Conquers Surgery

Andrew Pre-Op, in his cute little yellow & white striped hospital gown. Needless to say, his cuteness quickly won him many new Nurse friends!

We arrived at Children's Hospital at 6:30 a.m. and registered for Day Surgery. Andrew was all smiles. I was worried about him asking for juice and food to eat. It turns out I needn't have worried - there were so many toys to play with, he kept himself busy until it was time to go into the O.R.

The playroom on the Day Surgery ward had some pretty cool trucks to play with.

Here we are in the play/waiting room on the Surgery Ward. There were about six or seven ride-on toys for Andrew to test out, and he tested out almost all of them.

Here he is Post-Op. Surgery was scheduled for 7:45 a.m., and he was taken from my arms, screaming, at 8:00 a.m. We watched as he cried his way down the hallway in the nurses arms. At about 9:00 a.m. I spoke on the phone with the surgeon and she told me everything had gone well and had a few more instructions regarding his pain medication, bathing, and that sort of thing. About 15 minutes later, we got the call to go see him in the Recovery Room. We walked in to see him cuddled up in a nurse's arms, but as soon as he saw Mommy and Daddy, that's the only place he wanted to be.

So by 9:45 a.m. we were back up on the Day Surgery Ward. Andrew drank like a camel, ate home-made cookies (GUCK-EEE!!), and relaxed in Daddy's arms for nearly an hour. Then he was ready to test out his legs. He was a little unsteady, but was soon walking around, exploring, although he was quite upset by the IV stuck in his hand and the short leash it kept him on. Then all we had to do was wait for him to pee, and FINALLY, at around 12:30 p.m. the joyous event occured! There was great happiness as this meant the IV could come out of his little hand and we could finally go home! What a tough little guy!

Andrew Prepares for...

Here's sweet little Andrew. He had quite a day today. It started off quite innocently with the morning diaper change, which happened a little later than usual, because I've been feeling under the weather, and Andrew was enjoying his play time with his brothers so much. As I prepared to fasten his diaper in place, I noticed something strange on his lower abdomen. I looked again, noticing it looked quite swollen. I felt the area, and there was definitely a lump, and a lump that I could move around quite easily. It didn't bother or hurt him for me to touch it. However, me being the worry wart that I am, I decided to get this looked at as soon as possible, for my own peace of mind.

We got in to see the Pediatrician for 11:30 a.m. As the Doctor looked, poked, and prodded for several LONG minutes, I began to worry. The doctor looked concerned, I became more concerned. He said, "Wait here, I'll be back in a bit." When he came back, he announced that we were to go directly to Children's Hospital Emergency and he had already spoken with a surgeon there. They were expecting us. Before we go on, be assured, there is a happy ending to this day!

I was unable to reach Mike, so the boys and I took 2 buses to Children's Hospital (a grand adventure for them, not so much so for me, being nearly 7 months pregnant without a stroller!). We arrived at around 12:45 p.m. Fortunately, the weather has been so nice here that taking the bus and all the waiting involved wasn't as bad as it could have been. Also, I was happy to find some snacks in the diaper back, packed for pregnancy hunger attacks. Caleb and Joshua each enjoyed a small fruit snack for "lunch".

Eventually, we saw the surgeon, who poked and prodded as well. By now, I had heard the term "hernia" being used, and worse case scenario was that Andrew would have surgery that day and go home tomorrow. Not being able to convince the herniated part of his bowel to sneak back in, the surgeon ordered an x-ray, followed by an ultrasound. By this time, Mike had found us in one of the many waiting rooms we visited that day.

We went down for the ultrasound shortly after 3 p.m. and as we pulled back his diaper for the Ultrasound Technician, I was shocked to see the mass (as it was now known) had virtually disappeared!! Unfortunately, this did not eliminate the need for surgery, as his bowel can still pop through the hernia opening in his lower abdomen. But, for now, surgery was post-poned, and Andrew could resume eating and drinking (which he hadn't done properly since breakfast at 8:30 a.m.), and we could go home. We arrived home tired and relieved at 4:30 p.m.

Andrew's surgery is scheduled for Tuesday at 7:45 a.m. Fortunately, this is just day surgery, and a fairly routine surgery. The most common type of surgery in children is for appendix removal; hernia surgery is second. A small incision will be made and the hernia will be repaired. The surgeon did an excellent job explaining everything to us, and I understood it all at the time, but to repeat it all, would just be quite impossible with my tired brain!

So for those of you who read this before Tuesday morning, please remember Andrew in your prayers. We know he will do well as he has no other health problems. I think the biggest hurdle will be making it from 6 a.m. in the morning to after-surgery without drinking and eating! For a healthy 19-month old boy, that's going to be a hard lesson to learn! The surgeon assured us that his recovery should be easy and simple; he'll probably be back to normal by the next day.

In the mean time, we just need to keep an eye on him, checking him regularly at diaper changes, and watching to see if he's in any pain. If the bowel pops through again, we need to try to push it back in and hopefully avoid another trip to the ER, which could mean his surgery would be earlier if his bowel does not go back in.

I will be sure to post as soon as I can after his surgery, to let you know how he is doing.

I found a website that clearly explains HOW this type of hernia develops. It's the first kind of hernia, not the second. Here's the link:
http://www.hernia.org/paeds.html

Movie Night

Every once in a while, we have "movie night". Above, Joshua and Andrew prepare for the movie by cuddling together on the rocking chair.

At our house, movie night revolves heavily around the snacks...

Caleb seemed to enjoy the snacks a lot, while Joshua was totally engrossed in the movie.

Time to Play on Christmas Day

In recent years with the addition of children to our family and travelling and church, it seems that playing on Christmas Day, at least at our home, has become a lost art. Fortunately, this year Christmas fell on a Monday and we were able to spend a couple of hours playing at home with the new toys before we had to pack up and head off again. Here are Caleb and Joshua assembling their new Lego trucks. They required some help from Mom & Dad, but they really enjoyed the challenge!

Caleb and Joshua received a hockey table game from Grandpa & Grandma Voth. After we set it up, it seems that Auntie Lynne & Auntie Lorretta took over the game!! Actually, they were showing the boys how to manage all the men on the table - easier said than done! The boys were very impressed with their new toy!

The other pictures I took at G&G Voth's didn't turn out too well because of the flash. Hopefully next year....