Elise Kristen

The Birth Story of Elise Kristen

I went in to the hospital on the morning of the 17th for round one of the induction process.   They were going to insert a gel to help dilate the cervix so that the next day the pitocin would have a greater chance of success.  When we got there they hooked me up to the monitors and I was having contractions & when the doctor checked me I was 2cm dilated.  So, given my history of going from 4cm-10cm in 4hrs or less the doctor was uncomfortable inserting the gel and sending me home as she figured that would be enough to bring on labor that night & we would end up rushing to the hospital.  SO, luckily it was a slow day and the doctor decided we could just start pitocin and the full induction right then.  

So, here's the run down:

~10:40am - pitocin started

~12:00pm - still 2 cm, tried to break my water but couldn't get it

~1:00pm - doctor comes in to inform me that if no progress is made by dinner time they will turn everything off and re-start in the morning, to which I respond....well.....lets just say not so great

~1:10pm - I inform the nurse that I am getting out of the bed, walking around (beside the bed of course because they have to keep me hooked up to all their machines) and also I would like the birthing ball to bounce on.  I bounce & let gravity help things out for a good 2 hours.

~3:30pm - doctor comes back in, checks me and I'm 3-4cm, tries to break water again and gets it.  YES! That means baby has to come that day & will be arriving soon :)

~4:00pm - I opt for the epidural, that takes a bit setting up and getting in so it slows things down just a bit, but the relief from the pain is oh so nice

~5:45pm - doctor checks me and I'm 6cm, they start setting up the room to get ready

~6:30pm - doctor checks because I tell her it's getting close, I'm 9cm so I breath through a bunch of contractions toward the end to let her just descend on her own before pushing

~6:53pm - Elise Kristen enters the world after a few good pushes with no killer pain thanks to modern medicine!

Elise - "God's promises" - we chose this name first because we liked it & then checked the meaning and really thought that was appropriate too.  Also, we wanted her first name to be non-biblical (since our 7 year old Emily noted that her name was the only one not in the bible after Sarah and Samuel were born), & we also really liked that her first name would begin with an E like her big sister.

Kristen - "Christ follower" - also chosen at first glance just because we liked the name & meaning.  Stewart's middle name is Christopher and my middle name is Christine, both mean 'Christ follower' so we liked that her middle name incorporated both of our middle names but was also her own. 

Born on Father's Day 2012

7lbs. 15oz.

19 1/2 inches long

Tutu's in the rain

 Yesterday I came home from running some errands to find myself caught in a downpour and the garage door unable to open.  Neither of which was occurring when I left the house.  I look into the back seat at my two youngest, one in a blue tutu and another in a button up shirt and no pants.  Sigh.  I had hustled them into the car not really concerned with what they were wearing because I knew they would never leave the car with the errands I had to do.  And since we park in the garage I wasn't concerned about jackets either since they wouldn't be hitting the outside air.  But now, the power is out and the garage door is not working so an outside dash up and around to the front of the house is the way we will have to go.  I put Sam on my hip and hop Sarah down to the ground and we made a dash to the front door in the pouring rain.   

If you could have just seen the people in the cars on our road grin while Sarah bounced up the walkway.  Sarah in all her glory, rain coming down, curls a bouncing, giggling, blue tutu & pink sunglasses on.  Yes, she is a Joy for sure, a moment I hope I remember for a long time. 

Sarah-style

 The Michael Jackson

 High heels and make-up

 Apple picking in style

It's 30 degrees outside and I still want to be a princess.......with boots.

A new school year

Last year at this time we were preparing to homeschool for kindergarten and this year we prepared to send Emily off to our local school for first grade.

As with last year we started the day with a nicely set table and a hearty breakfast.

Stewart stayed home from work in the morning to watch Emily get on the bus for the first time. 

That's Sarah and Sam pressed up against the back window watching for Emily if you can make that out.

Here comes the bus!

And there she goes!  We are so proud of you Emily!

Why Homeschool

As most of you know by now we have decided to home school our daughter Emily for kindergarten this year. While some received the news with enthusiasm and great words of encouragement there were still many others who were less than pleased to hear about our choice. It shouldn't have surprised me the opposition that we faced from some, and honestly it shouldn't have made me skip a beat, but it did. It's hard to watch others' negative reactions to a choice we made in the best interest of our daughter. I wrestled for a long time about even writing this post because I feel like I really don't need to explain my reasons to anyone. Family and friends who love us should understand we want what is best for our children and that should be enough. And that's just it. That's what finally convinced me to put this to paper.

~Why are we homeschooling?

~ The answer: beyond a shadow of a doubt we are convinced that this is the best choice for our daughter Emily this year. It's that simple.

Are there a whole bunch of reasons behind our big decision? Absolutely. But you know, none of those really matter. What does matter is that we have been entrusted a beautiful little life (three now to be exact!) and we believe we are making well informed decisions in the best interest of our children to allow them to grow to their fullest potential.

~Pictures of our classroom and our full first week coming on Friday~

Emily graduates

We started the morning off with fresh cut flowers from our garden and a nicely set table for breakfast.

I cooked one of Emily's favorite meals for breakfast : waffles, strawberries, cool whip and warmed syrup.

Then we got ready for the mother goose parade to end the 2010 year of preschool.

Emily and her friend Vienna have known each other since infancy and we've been blessed that they have her attended the same school for the last two years. What a special friend she has been to Emily. I hope they can continue their friendship over the years even though now they will be attending different schools!

Emily was Humpty Dumpty for the parade. I took on the task of making her costume, mainly because I needed some incentive to get myself sewing again! I bought a pattern for children's duck/pumpkin/lady bug costume and just used material to look like an egg.

This is Robin, the director of the preschool, she is AMAZING!

Hubby came from work and helped entertain Samuel with his watch and pen.

My dad and mom were both able to come out to watch the parade. Sorry mom, you didn't make the photo. And really....not a great shot of Sarah, but they can't all be poster worthy right?

The family shot (minus Sam). SO proud of our Emily. She is blossoming into a little lady and it is so wonderful to watch. So congratulations Emily on completing preschool. You have excelled in all that you have put your mind to and have brought such joy to us and to those around you. May you continue to grow in the Lord and continue to fill that growing mind up with all that you set out your heart to know. We love you!

Next on our journey we'll be taking on homeschooling for kindergarten. More of my thoughts on that coming in a later post.

Look who's movin'

I may have totally freaked out the other day when I came into the girls room expecting to find Sam where I left him and couldn't find him anywhere. He had scooted underneath Sarah's bed and was quite content.He's not moving forward yet, but he definitely gets to where he is going. He's really starting to develop his personality! We love it! And I think Sarah is loving it too.

Emily turns 5

On Monday our little Emily turned 5 years old! She's a fantastic big sister and a lover of all things to do with bugs and animals. Not much into princesses or barbies, but loves dinosaurs and digging in the dirt. She's thoughtful and cares deeply for all that are around her. You'd think just looking at her interests that she is a tomboy, but she's actually quite graceful, likes to be clean and neat, and is proper like a lady. She loves plants and is SO looking forward to starting our garden this year. She is intelligent, loves to read, draw pictures, cut, sew, play the piano, work on her math work, do science experiments, etc. Her favorite movie right now is the silly song movie by Veggie Tales. She's growing rapidly, one of the tallest in her class and her hair grown past her shoulder blades and is a beautiful light brown with little curls. We love you Emily, you are such a special blessing from the Lord!

For Emily's birthday this year we took her to the dinosaur museum, went to chuck e cheese with a friend, and had a family Thomas the tank engine birthday party. Emily got some great gifts and had a super time celebrating! Here's a peek into this past week:

Ants, her favorite exhibit.

Triceratops, her favorite dinosaur.

Vienna, her favorite friend.

Minnie Mouse pajamas and the card reading she's going to go on a date with

mom and dad to the dinosaur museum, her favorite gifts.

The family party.

Thomas the tank engine cake, my first attempt at making one on my own.

Our special birthday girl!

**UPDATED**

Still curious as to what that substance on Sam is?

Sarah, who had just recently been given a vitamin decided to chew it, keep the juices in her mouth, and spit-paint Samuel's head with it. Yes, I know it's gross, but ::sigh:: such is life with strong-willed toddler right now.

Remember this post? I walked out of the room for 5 minutes, no joke!, to talk with my friend and this is what I came back to:

No, it's not blood. Anyone want to take a guess as to what Sarah put on Samuel's head?

Breaker Breaker

When Sam was still in the play room I let Emily go in and get him a few mornings in a row while I finished getting breakfast ready and this is what I found:

THE Olympics

To kick off the winter Olympics this year we had an Olympic themed family night. Having themed family nights is definitely something I love to plan (see also here and here) and this one turned out to be a blast. I think it'll only get better as the kids age and can really take part in creating their own games. Anyway, just thought I'd share a peek into that night:

We started out by lighting the 'Olympic' flame, Emily got to do the honors.

And then Sarah wanted to help out as well.

Then we had the girls make posters to cheer the other on.

Then we had dinner. I made pretzels, pretzel wrapped hot dogs and fish sticks.

We even had a medal count.

Next we got into the games. We started things off with snow throwing, who could throw their snow ball the farthest.

You'll get a chance to participate soon enough Samuel! He was great and spent the whole time right there in his boppy with his favorite toys.

We wrestled.

Did sack races.

And blew popcorn across the table through a straw.

We also did the bean bag toss, balanced bean bags on our head, somersault rolls, and the 'luge' (we pushed the girls around in laundry baskets).

When we were all finished we tallied up the score and awarded the medals!

What a lot of fun and a great tradition we've started!