Rory is 2!

Rory turned 2.  It's a love hate thing with kids and growing up.  He's not my baby anymore.  He's a little boy.  He is so much fun.  He is so smart.  And he is so cute.  Everyone thinks he looks like his Daddy.  That's not a bad thing, but it's hard for me to tell because to me he looks uniquely like Rory.
Rory still doesn't talk much.  I can tell it won't be much longer until we're having conversations with him, though.  He recently started to say "I love you."  It melts my heart.  He wouldn't just say it at first.  We had to sing it to him and then he would sing it back.  So cute.  I also taught him to hold his fingers in the "I love you sign."  Now he says "love you" without any prompting.  He'll repeat almost anything we ask him to.  He's known the entire alphabet by sight and the sound each letter makes for a months and months now.  It's fun to watch him point out letters and tell me what they are.
He loves to copy his sisters.  It is hilarious to watch him play the Wii with them.  He does all the actions he sees his sisters or the characters on the screen doing.  He'll sing along whenever any of us are singing.  He loves to be outside.  He loves bubbles and balloons and peanut butter.  He regularly gets a spoon out of the drawer and peanut butter out of the pantry to bring to Dru or me.  He's usually loves to have his picture taken and will ham it up like no other, but lately he'll only cooperate if he sees his sisters do it first.  He's definitely got a love hate thing going on with them.  Haha.  Rory went through a biting phase while he was teething.  He doesn't anymore, unless his sisters push him a little too far.  Poor girls.  They get little Rory teeth marks pretty regularly.  You'd think they'd learn.  (Don't worry, Rory gets punished for it.)
Probably the sweetest thing about Rory is the love he has for little Arla.  The boy just can't get enough of her.  Almost every morning, the moment he hears Arla, he squeals in delight, "oooooh, DeeDee!" and runs to her.  DeeDee is his word for baby.  He'll call her "AhrLah" sometimes.  It's really funny to watch and listen to him say her name and Dalia's name.  He calls Dalia, "DahYuh," Mina is "NuhNuh."  Dru's mom came to visit recently and he called her "Pahpah."
He's getting over his extreme stranger danger, but can still be pretty hesitant with new people.  He doesn't go to nursery yet.  I either take him to Young Women's with me or Dru will take him into primary.  He's not too distracting yet.
He recently learned to jump off of the very last step in our living room.  Someone has to be watching before he'll actually jump though.  So if  you're not paying attention and he wants you watching, be prepared to have him scream your name repeatedly until you look and tell him you're watching.  Then he'll proudly jump and smile his charming little smile.
We love Rory so much.  He's perfect for our family.  I'm excited to see the young man he'll become.

Birth

1 Year

2 Years

He started copying Dru's stellar dance moves.

Welcome, Arla!

I had an appointment on Arla's due date, June 8.  It went well and everything was fine.  No worries or concerns.  But then my doctor wanted me to schedule an induction for exactly 7 days later.  Why?  Because apparently so many bad things will happen if your baby doesn't come out within those 7 days.  I told my doctor I didn't want to be induced and thought we were on the same page.  Later that day I received a call from the induction scheduler.  I had missed the call and the message said to call back later to schedule it.  But, an hour or 2 later, I received an email that my induction had been scheduled bright and early on June 15, exactly 7 days after my ESTIMATED due date.  I emailed my doctor to tell her I wouldn't show up for it.  She called me later to tell me all the dangers of having a post term baby.  I ended up being able to schedule a Non-Stress test instead for the 15th.  They pushed the induction to June 17.  Of course, Arla didn't come in that week and I worried and stressed at the thought of them making me be induced.  I had visions of them calling CPS or something for putting my baby in "danger."  Dru was able to come with me to the appointments and was able to help me explain that I did not want to be induced and why.  Everything was perfectly fine and normal during the tests and they even pushed the induction back until Friday, the 19th, but I had to come back for another Non-Stress test on the 17th.  They were so concerned that they wouldn't be able to fit me into their schedule.  Blah.  On June 16, I had Dru give me a blessing.  I was so stressed out and the doctors just made everything worse.  Instead of encouraging me and comforting me that things would be fine, they constantly warned me of all that could possibly go wrong.  I truly believe that a woman's body is capable of birthing a baby NATURALLY more often than what happens today.  I don't believe due dates are 100 % accurate.  Obviously they are not.  I know there are times when interventions are necessary and I am truly grateful for the technology.  But, my pregnancy had ZERO complications or any cause for concern at all.  I wanted to let this baby come on her own, when she was ready.  She and I could do it.
At NINE days "late" my water broke at 12:30 am, June 17.  I had just put myself to bed and gotten comfortable when I felt a pop just like I had felt with Rory.  Dru was at work so I called him before I got up to check things out.  I told him about the pop, but hadn't stood up yet to see if I was leaking.  We hung up, Dru headed home and I headed to the restroom.  It was a 10 foot walk, but I had to clean myself up and carry a towel around with me as I got the last minute things ready to take to the hospital.  I headed downstairs to talk to my mom and made another mess in her room.  Ha.  This pop was a lot lower than with Rory which I think contributed to the major gushing of water.  I changed clothes again and called the hospital.  They told me to come on in.  We got there around 2:00 am.  As I sat on a towel in a chair and checked in, there was another major gush.  I got changed into the hospital gear and settled into bed.  I let the nurses and doctor know I was going to attempt to go unmedicated.  Each of my babies have come much faster than the previous so I figured this one would continue the pattern.  I handled it fine with Rory having no meds.  The contractions had started shortly after my water broke and gradually intensified.   Less than 2 hours after arriving at the hospital I felt ready to push.  The nurse checked me and said I wasn't ready, but the act of pushing relieved some of the pain, so I pushed anyways.  Not as hard as if the baby were coming out, but just minutes later, I knew it was time.  They got the doctor in there and at 4:15 am, Arla was here.  My beautiful baby was here.  She was immediately placed on my chest and she peed all over me as the doctor stitched me up.  Every single one of my babies caused me to tear.  I delivered the placenta and they took Arla for a few minutes to measure her.  She was 9 pounds 3 ounces and 20 1/2 inches long of beautiful chubby perfection.  She was given back to me and she stayed with me for the rest of our stay in the hospital.  It was a huge difference from when I had Dalia in this hospital.

Later that morning, I told our nurse that we wanted to go home as soon as possible, preferably that afternoon.  She gave us a weird look, but said she'd help us out.  My doctor cleared me to go.  Arla's doctor was not so quick to let us go because they require newborns to have a PKU test done at 24 hours.  We wanted to leave well before the 24 hour mark.  But, I was able to schedule an appointment for the next morning with our regular pediatrician to have the test done there.  My friend Pei-Ying helped my mom and the kids get to the hospital to visit for a little while.  They were all instantly in love with Arla.  

Anything else that needed to be done was done and we were home before dinner time.  It was so nice to be home and not have to be bugged every hour at the hospital.

Overall, it was a great hospital experience.  Best of all, Arla came on her own.  I was able to go unmedicated again.  No interventions were needed.  Recovery has been quick and easy and we're all adjusting well.  Arla is so sweet and has proven to be a good baby so far.  She eats and sleeps well.  Her siblings just love her to pieces.  She fits in so perfectly.  Already, we can't imagine life without her.

Home Sweet Home