Labor Day Weekend 2010

Does it really get any better than "Pa" pulling you around on....well, whatever that thing is that Pa is pulling? Oh yes it does......

Hanging out with cousin Cal and Gretchen!

It was so nice to get out of the Phoenix heat and go to Grandma and Grandpa's! Rowan and Cal had a great time playing in the "crick" that was flowing more than I have ever seen. It was so green, it's hard to believe we were in the desert.

Rowan's 2nd Birthday

Happy Birthday Rowan!!!!! Our sweet boy has turned 2!!!!

Here is a quick recap of your big day: all of your friends came to see you....Brayden, Ethan, Tre, Maddie, Ryan, Audrey, Izzie, Tatum, Ellison, and cousins Teige and Tenae. Miss Jill made delicious cupcakes, which you told me were your favorite thing about your day! We had a Train theme going on the invites, cupcakes, and decor....but it was more of a "cool off" party. August in Phoenix is in the 100 degrees, so we had a kiddie pool, slip n slide, and lots of cold drinks! For your present from Mommy and Daddy we transformed 2 rooms in the house for you. First you got a big boy bed and we set up the living room as a playroom, complete with a new kitchen/grill and tent.

So in birthday tradition I must also write directly to my sweet boy..........

Dear Rowan,
You are our sweet, sweet boy and man has your personality blossomed this past year. It amazes me how much you have changed in such a short amount of time, and yet it seems like so long ago that you were just our little a "skootcher." This past year (2009-2010) you learned how to walk, talk, and became a big brother!!! You started walking in October 2009, so you were about 14 months old. Once you figured it out there was no stopping you. Let the bonks and bruises begin!!! It seems like for the past year you have constantly had some wound going (not because me and Daddy are neglectful) because you are on the move and won't let anything get in your way! Although you are very sweet, you are ALL boy. You got your first black eye in February 2010. It was pretty devastating for Mommy. Daddy had made some storage boxes for the family room and the intention was to upholster them, but that project kept getting pushed back. One night you were goofing off and fell right into the corner and hit your check bone just below your eye. It started bleeding and you cried really hard for a few minutes. The bleeding stopped within a minute or two, so I decided a hospital trip was not necessary (Daddy was in Tucson). Your whole eye got black and blue and to this day the scar is still there. It was then that I realized that you had a wild side that I would have to watch closely!!
You now have a few chores around the house....you feed Ramsey and we have clean up time at night before bed. You have become a tiny bit obsessed with Thomas the Train. You still love Elmo, waffles for breakfast, and Jeeps. You are learning how to swim and go to bed at night on your own in your new bed. You love going to church, running fast, and playing cook in the kitchen. You love going to Nonna's and going on bike rides to the park or to Sprouts to get supplies for muffins. You started putting 2 words together in May and now can almost say full sentences, you're vocabulary is huge. When Mommy is cutting food you say "careful Mommy" in the sweetest little voice ever. You even like to feed your stuffed animals just how Mommy feeds Lia-breastfeeding. You are sweet and sour with Lia depending on your mood, but mostly sweet. When ever I tell you we are going somewhere you say "and Lia too, and Mommy too, and Daddy too." Despite the recession we did manage to take a trip on an airplane to Colorado for the 4th of July this summer and you loved it. You talked about it for weeks after we got back. Your memory is amazing....sometimes you bring up things that happened 6 months ago, which blows me away.
Rowan, this year has been so much fun with you and it makes my heart smile to watch you grow! While I was pregnant with Lia, I would soak up the days playing in the backyard with you knowing that it would be our last bit of time together when it was just you and me. We have such a special bond and I know it will always be there. You are so smart and cute and funny...at 2....so I can only imagine how awesome you will be in the years to come. Daddy and I love you so much and cannot wait to see what Blessings God pours down on you and our family this year. We love you Bunky boo aka boo aka boo chops.

My "Baby" is turning 2

There will be no pictures in this post...why, you ask? It's twofold really, first my Acer laptop got a virus and I cannot access any of my pictures right now and second I wish only to express this night in words.

I have just laid my first born down to sleep in his crib for the last time. I cannot quite figure out why this is such an emotional thing for me, but I definitely had to hide my tears from Rowan as I cried while rocking him tonight. Maybe it is because I know my boy is growing and as each day passes he needs me less and less. Ok, so maybe at this point that statement is a little premature since I know full well he still needs me a whole bunch, but he absolutely has all these new words that showcase his growing independence......"Mommy, watch", "mine", "own" (when he wants his own of something), "get it" (when he wants to get something himself without any help), and "Rowan do it".

How have these first 2 years gone by so fast. I had been warned that this would happen but in the midst of changing diapers, nursing, sleep training, and playing I didn't think 2 years would produce such a smart, funny, and Big Boy...in such a short amount of time. Tonight I shed my Motherly tears and wondered if it will get any easier as he continues to grow up. I fear I already know the answer to that. I stared at the 3 paintings I painted as I anxiously awaited his arrival, and cried as I thought about taking them down tomorrow and replacing them with truck and train and big boy pictures. I stared at him as I laid him down and all I could think about was how tiny he used to be. When I was pregnant I would just sit in his room and look around wondering what the room would be like with him in it. Tonight I held him close and sang our usual songs....Silent Night, O Come all ye faithful, Rowans song, Jesus Loves me, and Come thou Fount. As I rocked and sang, I prayed for my little "big" boy.

Tomorrow we will move the crib into Lia's nursery and move Rowan's new trundle bed into its place, along with the "new" furniture. Poppa has been helping out with all the painting. Scratch that....he did ALL the painting including repainting the nursery after I originally choose an awful shade of Pepto Bismol pink. The new, light color required 2 coats to cover. The first set of dressers Theo made for us (out of scraps from Ken's shop), have a shiny new coat of white paint on them and may someday head off to collage with Rowan. Thanks Poppa for all your help!

Good night Rowan, sweet dreams....tomorrow will bring many new exciting things!

4th of July in Colorado

A big Thank you to our gracious hosts, Mike and Chris, in Littleton Colorado. We enjoyed a long weekend that I will go ahead and dub "pure Americana." Our flight there was nice and uneventful, except the 40 minute delay, which was made up in flight and only put us in 20 minutes late. The flight was not quite full, so we got a whole row to ourselves and Rowan got his own seat. He was good for the most part, just up and down a lot from seat to floor. Lia slept the whole time! This picture is our arrival in Denver. We had so much stuff, thank goodness for those carts.
Rowan and Claire were instant buddies!
Our first day there we went and saw Red Rocks. It was so beautiful! This was the ice cream session after the sightseeing!
It just ain't 4th of July without Sparklers!!!
All the kids looked so cute in their Red, White, Blue!!



We went to a neighborhood party and watch some homemade fireworks!! Sounds dangerous, but the guy is an electrical engineer and does it every year, so we felt somewhat confident he knew what he was doing!!!
On our last day, we went to a lake and frolicked in the sand!

........until next time

Summer Ramblings

Summer has officially begun, it's inching up towards 100 degrees and is no longer safe to be outside unless there is a pool involved! We enjoyed a fun BBQ at Nonna and Poppa's on Memorial Day. The festivities started at the pool where we all cooled off and had fun splishing and splashing. Rowan has become quite obsessed with his older cousin Teige and had a great time following him around. Rowan likes the water, but is a little bit timid around it, which I am thankful for as he has not yet shown any signs of fearlessness.....none-the-less either Theo or I have our eyes on him at all times just in case he decides to get brave and jump in. Swimming lessons start soon! He is also talking a bunch and starting to put 2 words together (lock door, elmo crying). He loves to pretend his monkey or elmo is his baby and he pretends he hears them crying in the other room and has to go get them, which does and holds them over his shoulder like a baby. And here is something funny, yet breaks my heart at times....if he cries when we put him down for bed he now yells out "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy...Daddy, Daddy, Daddy...Elmo, Elmo, Elmo...Ree roo, Ree roo, Ree roo..." He sounds so sad but it is also a little funny too!

Lia is great! She is really starting to "wake up" out of the fourth trimester of newborness. While she still sleeps a ton (probably 18-20 hrs a day), when she is awake she is much more alert and observant. She has even found her thumb a few times and sucked it! She is also starting to coo a little bit which makes my heart smile:). Her neck is getting stronger and we keep working on it during tummy time as you see in the pics above. Her demeaner is so sweet and mild, yet she often has this very serious look of contemplation on her face. This leads me to believe she will be studious and inquisitive rather than goofy and silly as a child, but only time will tell.

We have fallen into a nice routine of lazy mornings, long breakfasts and iced coffee (Mom only!!) which then lead into swimming in the backyard kiddie pool or heading out and meeting up with friends for play dates. Then its lunchtime and nap time. We play inside in the afternoons as it's getting too hot to be outside. We are working on Rowans alphabet and Lia's tummy time and excersizes, and we spend time cooking and of course "clean up time" which Rowan is now a proud participant of!

The random picture of Theo and I on the top is of our date night celebrating our 8th Anniversary. We went ice skating (yes ice skating in the desert....in doors!) and out to dinner.

.........until next time

Lia Grace Chamberlain

God delivered an Angel to Theo and I March 31, 2010.....here is our sweet baby girl's birth story....

It all starts with Rowan having the flu. The poor guy has not been sick since he had RSV when he was 4 months old. Wednesday March 31 I woke up and had caught this bug that Rowan had....stomach flu. I called my Mom, barely able to get out of bed I knew I could not care for him and myself in this condition, so she came over and took him down to her house for the day. He was still quite ill and while I felt horrible sending him away while he was sick, I was feeling so bad myself, that I had to call for help. The day consisted of lots of sleep interrupted only by frequent trips to the bathroom (I will spare you the details). Around Noon I began to notice that every time I got up to go to the bathroom I was having a contraction, but they weren't painful just there. I thought to myself and prayed, "please don't let me go into labor while I have the flu." I was feeling so sick I just could not imagine having to give birth in this condition. I slept most of the afternoon and didn't think too much about the contractions.

Around 5:30 my Mom, Rowan and Theo all came home. I woke up and was chatting with Mom as I laid in bed and began to really notice the contractions a lot more. As Mom was getting ready to leave, she stopped and said, "why don't we time these contractions before I go." We scrambled around to find something with a second hand on it to time them. We eventually used the timer on my ipod. The contractions were 4 minutes apart and lasting about 15-20 seconds!!! As we sat there timing them they literally began to get more and more intense. At 6:30 I looked at Theo and said "it is time!" This was 9 days before her due date, so of course I didn't have anything ready to go. Theo and I scrambled around packing up bags and trying to remember everything we wanted to bring. Mom was helping, but I am sure chuckling at our procrastination inside. Mom took Rowan back to her house, poor guy still feeling sick and wanting is Mommy.

We were admitted to Triage at 7:30pm. At this point my contractions were so painful I was screaming involuntarily as each one came. It was so different from when I had Rowan, it almost felt as if I had not done this before. The labor and delivery nurse came in to take me back to my room and the first thing she said to me was "so, should I go ahead and call the anesthesiologist and get the epidural ordered?" I replied immediately, "YES!" She must have heard me screaming for the past 30 minutes.

As they got me settled into my room, the anathesiologist arrived and gave me the epidural. AHHHH sweet relief. I make no apologies for advocating the epidural, I love it. More power to women who can go without drugs, but for me I see not point. I spent the next 2 hours relaxing and sleeping. We had brought in the ihome and '50 Lounge Songs' played and lulled me as I prepared for the birth.

At 11PM I was dilated to 10cm and they called Dr. Bullaro. I begged them to ask her to hurry as I desperately wanted to have Lia before midnight. I did not want her to be an April Fools baby. Dr. Bullaro did make it quickly and our sweet little "sunflower" was born at 11:53pm after only 3 pushes. She was exactly 8lbs and 20" long.

She was so Beautiful!

I could see instantly, by the almond shape of her eyes that the prenatal Down Syndrome diagnosis we received at 20 weeks pregnant was true. I did not cry. I stared intently at her, unable to take my eyes off of her, thinking only how beautiful she was. I had an amazing sense of peace about me and thanked God for this beautiful little girl. I knew from the moment I saw her that she was a pure blessing.

As the Dr. and nurses checked her out, I prayed intently that she was as healthy as she could possibly be....this was the same prayer I prayed during my pregnancy. While I did also continually pray for a miracle during my pregnancy, deep inside I just knew that the diagnosis was correct. Soon enough I heard the words 8 and 9 for her Apgar test...this brought me great joy. I knew we had a few more hurdles.....the echo, feeding, and hearing tests, so I didn't let myself get too excited. When I fed her for the first time and she was able to feed, albeit for a very short time, I just knew she was very healthy. That first night together with Lia and Theo was so peaceful.

The next day was filled with visitors: Grandma and Grandpa, Nonna and Poppa, Rowan (only for a minute as he was still a bit under the weather), Sarita and Bre. I must mention here that Rowan completely ignored Lia. He wanted me, understandably as he had been sick and without his Mommy. I was quite sore and on lots of pain meds so this day is actually quite fuzzy in my memory. I was moved at some point to the postpartum room. I remember it was at a point in the day where no one was there with me and the nurse and I had a heck of a time moving all the stuff. I was able to walk on my own though. We put all the "stuff" in the wheel chair and I pushed Lia in her bassinet.

Thursday was a bit of a challenge with the feeding. I was already getting so sore and she went a long stretch without eating at which time we had to give her some formula. She did take the bottle well and we did supplement with formula for the next 2 days. That night as I laid with her in my arms, no one else there but Lia and I, I began to cry. I cried once again for all the fears I had about this precious baby's life and all the unknowns we would be facing as a family. It felt good to cry with her in my arms. I finally had a beautiful little girl to comfort me as I suddenly became the baby and she the nurturer. I held her tight as I cried and whispered sweetness to her as I promised her I would always take care of her and love her.

I must pause here with the narrative and Thank you Theo for being so strong for me through this process. You have always been my rock and you always know what to say to make it all better. I will never forget how your spiritual gift of optimism and faith got us through those first couple days when we found out about the diagnosis. Even as we laid in bed and googled Down Syndrome on your phone and read all the awful things that can go along with it, you still managed to remind me that this is all Gods plan and for His glory, and that it is a blessing that He chose us to be parents to such a special little girl. I will carry your reminder with me forever as I know it is the truth.....Thank you!!!! I cannot imagine going through life with anyone but you. I Love You!

Friday morning the nurse took Lia for her echo test. It blows my mind now and I cannot remember why I didn't go with her. I know I was exhausted and on some heavy pain meds, but as I write this I cannot believe I didn't go! Most of that day is again quite fuzzy. I do remember quite distinctly taking a long shower and actually putting on some makeup, I was tired of looking and feeling like such a frump! I was able to get that awesome hospital pump and man that thing really does work great. My milk wasn't in yet, but it was getting thinner and thinner each time I pumped. At about 4ish, The and I were there and the nurse came in and gave us notice that we could go home!!!! We were both so happy. Theo began taking our things to the car. I decided we should stay for a few minutes more so I could use the "super pump" one last time, but I needed something to eat first. I wanted to get out of the room, so I decided I would walk down to the cafeteria to pick up a snack. I couldn't figure out how to get to the cafe so I walked over to the nurses station to ask for directions........

As I walked up my nurse, Marci, is on the phone and holding her finger up for me to wait. She proceeded to hand me the phone. It was the Pediatrician. I was informed that Lia needed to go to the NICU for 2 days. The echo came back and showed that a blood vessel that normally closes within 24 hrs had not and that there was a small hole that needed to be monitored. What the? Are you kidding me? Theo already had the bags in the car. We were supposed to be taking our baby home right now. I was so upset and scared. We finally came to terms with it and left Lia in the NICU about 2 hours later. We arrived home to a BBQ dinner my Dad had cooked. Theo had gotten a really big "It's a girl" balloon and I soon as I saw it as we pulled up I began to cry. What was meant to be a joyful celebration turned into a rushed and somber dinner. All I wanted to do was go to sleep.....which I did. I knew I needed rest and that Lia was in good hands in the NICU so I slept until 4 AM and then got up and went to see her. To my excitement she was doing great. All her vitals were steady and she was well. I stayed there with her all day (while Theo took Rowan to Urgent Care...he was still quite sick, not eating or drinking much). Just when Theo arrived at the hospital, we got word from the Pediatrician that because Lia was doing so well we could take her home. Sunday was Easter and a follow up echo wouldn't be able to be done until Monday, which we could take her to ourselves. Yes!!! Good News!!! We packed her up and brought our little "sunflower" home!

......more to come in a later post about the days that followed. It took me 6 weeks to find the time and courage to write this post, it feels great to have it done. Lia has been sitting here with me as I wrote it.

AZ Winters and Backyard Fun

Ahhhh yes, this is why we live here......Sunny and 75 degrees almost everyday this time of year. Someone remind me of this when I ask why on earth we live here come July and August. Now that I am 3 weeks away from having our daughter, I am loving our backyard and so thankful for this little piece of heaven out my back door. Ok, not even close to Heaven, but none-the-less a great little escape for Rowan and I. With very little energy to get Rowan ready, get him strapped in and out of the car, and go to parks only to have to watch him like a hawk and chase him around.....our backyard has become a saving grace. Rowan loves to play out there and I can, for the most part, just sit and relax under the "chilada" and watch. A couple days a week we have some of Rowan's little buddies over to play too. It is so cute to watch the little boys and girls playing and starting to interact with each other.

Rowan helped Daddy brew some beer on Saturday! It had been so long since Theo had brewed and he officially noted Rowan as his "Assistant" in his log book. Rowan was super curious at the brew set up and all that Daddy was busy doing. The brew will be Kolsch and will be ready in about a month. Mommy is looking forward to sampling!!! Rowan also got a new lawn mower which he is obsessed with. He is still a little afraid of Daddy's mower when he starts it up though, so he's not quite ready to follow Theo around while Theo cuts the grass. Interestingly, Theo may be borrowing Rowan's mower because in the middle of cutting the grass Sunday the mower gave up and won't start.
Until next time......