Wednesday, December 5, 2012

A Baby. A Baptism. A Blessing.

If you know me, you know I'm a planner.  You might also know that for some unknown reason I have my babies early...at 35, 36 and 34 weeks.  So naturally, when I discovered my due date with my 4th baby fell on December 9th, I immediately expected and planned for an early November baby.  This is how I imagined things...A baby in early November...Ben's 8th birthday on the 14th of November...  Grandparents would come into town for Thanksgiving and also be here for Ben's baptism on the 25th... we could even throw a baby blessing in the mix while they were here.  So plans were set.  Tickets were purchased.

Nana (Jerry Behrmann) arrived first on November 10th (36 weeks).  I couldn't believe I made it this far!  What would it be like to actually have family in my home to watch the older kids when the baby arrived?  But slowly the days rolled on...with no baby!  We celebrated Ben's birthday on the 14th and did everything under the sun we could think of to prepare.  Jerry was a trooper!  Baptism programs made.  Cub scout uniform purchased.  Thanksgiving food and Christmas shopping done.  New entry way rug purchased.  Updated kitchen utensils.  Parent-teacher conferences done.  Hospital bags had been packed for at least a month (if not two).  Zofran refilled.  House cleaned (again and again).  Laundry done (again and again).  I even had a pedicure.  Once I hit 36 weeks, I prayed every night that if it was possible could she please come on time to make things work out (I made the kids do it to)!

Grandma and Grandpa Gillett arrived on Tuesday, November 20th (37+ weeks) just in time for Thanksgiving.  Still no baby.  Boo (Randy Behrmann) arrived on Thanksgiving day.  Still no baby.  We had a great meal, but I was grumpy!  Black Friday came.  David made us get out of the house....we ventured to Nick's fish house with the gang where Jacob devoured squid and shrimp (I was secretly proud).  Christmas decorations were set up.  I explained to Ben that if the baby happened to come on Saturday or Sunday that we would probably have to reschedule his baptism.  He told me not to worry....."he could still have it even if I was at the hospital.  Nana, Boo, Grandma and Grandpa were there and besides Daddy was all that really needed to be there!"  He was trying to be sweet, but it just added more pressure....he really wanted his baptism to happen as planned.

At this point, I was dreading Monday, the 26th....the day all 4 grandparents returned home (to Oklahoma and Utah) without seeing their grand baby.  I imagined my tears flowing as they pulled away.  I went to bed Friday night defeated.  I had given up hope, my plans had failed.  I woke up at about 0100 with horrible heartburn.  I got up and took some zantac.  I laid back down, looked at the clock and thought, "this is the last possible moment little girl."  Literally as the thought left my head my water broke.  I was stunned.  I woke up David.  The clock read 0126.  David ran downstairs to wake up my Mom and explained that we were headed to the hospital.  How convenient it was not to have to scramble to get someone to watch the kids!  We arrived at the hospital at about 0140.  David paged the answering service and told the on-call doctor we were on our way and warned her of my history of precipitous deliveries (as requested by my doctor).  We went through triage...I was dilated to a 5, IV fluids and IV antibiotics were started since I was Group B strep positive.  I was quickly moved to the delivery room and I even got an epidural in time!  The doctor still wasn't there and this baby was not going to wait any longer so the house doctor decided to deliver the baby at 0323 on Saturday, November 24th.  The nurses were so excited that Emily was born at 0323....exactly my parity (0 term, 3 preterm, 2 miscarriages & 3 living children) prior to her birth.  They told me I needed to play the lottery!  The on-call physician walked in while I was delivering the placenta, looked at David and said, "Oh, now I see why you paged me."  It all worked out for the better....I really liked the physician that ended up delivering the baby.

Emily was perfect.  Smaller than I had imagined.  6 pounds, 8.6 ounces and 19.5 inches long.  My biggest baby yet and my first "full term" baby at 37 weeks, 6 days.  Could we still make things work?  David told me to stop thinking about it and get some sleep and we'd figure it out when the doctors came around later that day.  I couldn't.  I imagined having to beg them to let us leave the hospital early (or leaving AMA) and trying to explain we had a baptism and 4 grandparents waiting.  I knew they'd think I was crazy.

The pediatrician came around noon on Saturday.  Before we could ask, he said:  "She's perfect.  When do you want to go home?"  I said, "As soon as possible."  He asked if Sunday morning was fine.  I was pleasantly surprised.  The OB agreed we were good to go Sunday morning as well.  David called the Bishop and asked if we could push the baptism back to Sunday evening instead of at 12:30.  Oh, and could we also bless the baby too?  He agreed and things were set.  We were discharged from the hospital.  I even had time to go home, shower and attempt to find an outfit to wear that didn't make me look 9 months pregnant still.  I failed.

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend.  Probably my best ever.  Emily was perfect.  The baptism was perfect.  The blessing was perfect.  Ben was on cloud 9 and so excited to share his day with his new sister.  I was immediately filled with gratitude.  The gratitude I should have had on Thanksgiving day, but didn't.  My prayers really had been heard....my patience was just tested a little!  Mom told me it was a good time to learn that you can't force your kids to do anything they don't want to do.  She said Emily just had her own way of surprising me.  Kristen Ebert told me during the waiting hours that Emily must be extra special....Heaven just didn't want to let her go.  I held on to those words!  It all happened in 40 hours and surprisingly enough, I wouldn't have had it any other way.

And here are the pictures from the day!  























       

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Ben is 8!


I can hardly believe that Ben is 8!  Where has the time gone?  Somehow overnight he turned from 

this


to this!  




Ben enjoyed his special day.  He opened up his cards before he went to school.  He was so excited about his $20 bill sent from Uncle Rob and Aunt Di (even more excited than the $50 check from Nana and Boo).  After school he opened up the rest of his presents before we headed off to Red Robin for dinner.  Perhaps his favorite gift of all was his handmade Harry Potter doll from Grandma Gillett.  It was a special request of his!  It was quite the task for her to pull off.....she would have been proud when Jacob yelled, "Harry Potter" the minute he saw it.  I made sure to take pictures and am determined to remember to share the story of his "doll request" for his 8th birthday at his wedding someday!      


After Red Robin we headed home for Ben's very first ice cream cake.  It was good!



After all the festivities were over, Ben told me I could now have the baby!  I'm still waiting.....  

It is truly a joy to have Ben in our home.  He is such a good brother and is adored by his little brother especially.  Here is one of my favorite pictures of the two of them...Ben and his little shadow.  Ben's math teacher summed up Ben's personality perfectly after only one week of school when she said, "Oh, Ben.  So sweet, kind, polite and oh so particular!"

Fall Soccer

Kate had a great time playing soccer this year.  She ran around the field (amidst the masses) with a permanent grin on her face.  Somehow she lucked out and got to be on the pink team.....every little girls dream!  



Ben was really fun to watch this year.  Things clicked and he was great at actually playing his position.  He is an aggressive player and never gives up.  As usual, David told me I yelled too much....I just can't help it!  His team did quite well, they made it all the way to the semi-final game in the tournament, but lost by one goal.  They were satisfied just to make it to the turf field under the lights.  



2012: The year of Harry Potter, the cheerleader and the frog.

Halloween went great this year.  Ben wanted to be Harry Potter (no surprise here).  He attempted to convince Kate to be Hermoine, but she told him she wasn't smart enough.  I was pleased when she decided on the cheerleading costume we already had.  And Jacob fit perfectly into our traditional frog costume....each of the kids have worn it now and I'll never get sick of it.  We started our celebrations with the ward Halloween chili dinner and trunk or treat.  I was soooooo glad when it was over....I was in charge!  Here are a couple pictures from the night.  




On Halloween, our neighborhood had a potluck dinner prior to trick or treating.  We have quite a group of kids in the neighborhood.  Everyone had a great time.  David definitely deserved an award for assisting Jacob the entire night while I watched from the street. 






 

Monday, October 8, 2012

Overdo Updates!

Judging by my complete lack of blogging skills over the past several months, you can guess how I feel when I am pregnant....not good!  Tonight, I am feeling the need to get updated on a few important happenings before this new baby comes!

Kate's 5th Birthday! 

Kate turned 5 on July 17th.  We celebrated her special day with a trip to Red Robin...her favorite place.  We were lucky to find Red there and even luckier to get a picture taken with him.



Among many special gifts, Kate received a handmade doll that looks just like her from her Grandma Gillett.  Kate especially loves the "I love you" stitched onto her doll's heart.


Kate requested a pool party and despite the rain on the original planned date, we managed to finally pull it off.  Kate shares a birthday month with her friend Addi Dalley so we joined forces and celebrated together.  Everyone had a good time!


Utah Bound!

During the first two weeks of August, we enjoyed time with family and friends in Utah.  We had a great reunion with our friends, the Eberts.  On our first Sunday there, as we walked into my sister Alison's church building Jacob started chanting, "Whoa, Whoa, Whoa" and squirmed out of my arms.  Since this was a new word for him, I was pretty puzzled.  Things quickly became clear as I watched him run down the hall towards Kristen (whose ward shares a chapel with Alison's ward).  He was so excited to see his 2nd mother!  The kids had a great time playing together again!

Michael, Courtney, David, Jason, Ben, Jacob, Kate, John
While we were in Utah, my sisters' Ruth and Alison ran the Provo Half Marathon with David and his brother Jae.  It was very hard for me to cheer from the sidelines this time around.  They all did a great job!  Thanks to Grandma Gillett for watching all 9 of our children (nothing new for her) while we spent the night in Provo!
Ruth, Alison, David, Jae

The kids loved the time we spent at the Gillett family reunion.  Cousins, Cousins and more Cousins! 
Cade, Zane, Madalyn, Ben, Harrison, Jayden, Kate
    
Kate, J.D., Jayden, Harrison, Ben, Samantha, Madalyn, Jacob
Despite all the fun at the reunion, the highlight would have to be the "Redneck water slide."  


David's 33rd Birthday!  

After returning home, we celebrated David's birthday with nothing less than a German chocolate cake! 
   

1st Day of School!  

The long awaited 1st day of school finally arrived!  Kate was so thrilled to go to school with Ben and ride the bus!  There was another Kindergartner at the bus stop in tears on the first day.  Kate looked at her like she was crazy! Kate boarded that bus with no hesitations and never looked back. 

Meet Your Teacher Day
Kate and Ms. Rahmaan 
Ben and Ms. Parks 
First Day

2nd Grade
Kindergarten
Kate's First Bus Ride
 Jacob loves to be big like Ben and Kate.  He is their perfect copy cat!





NFL Ravens' Game day!

On Thursday, September 27th, David took Ben to their first NFL football game!  David requested the tickets for his birthday gift last month.  Their seats were in the 8th row & the Ravens won.  They had a great time, despite the downpour of rain (they were both grateful I sent them with ponchos)!  Although it was a very late night for Ben, it was a night well spent with memories made.