Upping the Auntie

I've been promoted as an aunt.  Jessica and Janna had another baby over a month ago.  I'm a little overdue for blogging about the big event.  Oops.

This time was extra special for me because I got to be there in the room as Carson James entered the world.  You see, back in April, Janna had to have surgery on her back...twice.  And recovery wasn't going so hot at first.  Add to that her regular surgical restrictions of no lifting, no bending, no twisting, no driving...well, they were nervous she wouldn't be able to be much of a labor coach.  Enter: Kwiti.  I volunteered to help as they wanted and promised to not be annoying. 

But then Jessica didn't have the baby early.  And Janna started getting much much better.  And then Jessica still didn't go into labor.  So it seemed like when the time came, Janna would be able to function just fine as a labor coach and maybe they'd just need a little help holding up a leg when it was time for Jess to push.  My mom's job was going to be to stay with Caise up at Jessica and Janna's house and our plan was revised to me planning to meet up with the J's towards the end of labor to help out with the pushing stuff.

Their due date came and went.  Jessica was already on maternity leave from school and they were trying everything that worked with Caise and anything else they'd heard might work to bring on labor: walking, stairs, spicy food, pineapple, bouncing on an exercise ball, short stretches with the breast pump, eggplant parmesan.... You name it, they tried it.

With Caise, Jessica's water broke the night she was 3 days overdue, then the contractions came, then Caise came the next day.  With this baby, she kept having lots and lots of contractions but had a hard time trying to decide, "Is this it???? Is it time??"  So, on the day of Monday, May 21st, she was 4 days overdue and it sounds like they'd been out trying a bunch more walking and perhaps her water broke a bit. She reported some "show" after their walk as well but still wasn't entirely convinced they should head to the hospital.  It was a school day so Moosie was teaching and after her day was over she was going to head up to their house to stay with Caise so Jessica and Janna could head down to L&D to get checked out.

Finally a bit after 5 p.m. I got a text saying they were on their way and a little after 6:00 she reported they were in triage.  She reported they hadn't checked her cervix but the baby looked good on the monitor and she was [painfully] contracting away.  Closer to 7:30 she texted that the fluid leaking after their walking was indeed amniotic fluid...but it took 3 tests to figure that out and they still hadn't checked her cervix but that "it looked pretty closed" when they were in there with the speculum checking for fluid.  She was still in triage.  Sometime around 9, I'd say, I was settling in to watch The Bachelorette with Jason when I talked to Jessica on the phone.  She already had an epidural and I forget how dilated she said she was but I said, "I'm on my way!" and got ready to leave pretty quickly.

In the car I called Janna to ask if she'd eaten dinner and if I could bring her something, I was taking sandwich orders from her when I heard my phone signal that I'd just gotten a text.  I ignored it as I was already on the phone with Janna and trying to merge onto the highway.  It was 9:32 p.m.  I hung up with Janna and looked at the text.  It was from Jessica saying, "10!!!"  What?!?!  I was on the phone with Janna but apparently the two of them weren't communicating that part at the time!  Screw the sandwich!  I headed straight for downtown so nervous I wouldn't make it.  Suddenly things were moving so very fast!

I called my mom on the way downtown to distract me from the fact that I had a bit of a drive and there was nothing I could do about it but then I got a little turned around and had to hang up so I could use my phone to look at a map.  I rushed into the hospital and rushed upstairs.  She was in the exact same room that Caise was born in!  I told the desk I was there for her and they were like, "No, you can't go in, she's pushing..." and I was like, "I KNOW!  I'm supposed to be in there for that!!!" so they let me go.  I walked in and could already see hair on the baby's head!  Janna looked like she was doing just fine with the leg she had but she had me take her spot anyway.  Jessica was a champion pusher.  I was impressed!  I was trying to be unobtrusive and not make them regret that they'd let me be in the room for the birth so I just tried to stay quiet and let them count out her pushes and what not but I remember I tried to say some encouraging things just because she really was doing so darn well.  I was in place for all of maybe 2 contractions before baby's head was coming out.  But Jessica had her eyes closed tight doing her pushing as best she could and no one was telling her what was up.  I remember my own births with the curtain being up so I can't see my cut open belly but I appreciated when someone would let me know..."the head is out" and no one was saying that sort of thing to Jessica.  So I was all, "The head is out, now it's the shoulders..." and then, "Look down! Look down!" so she'd make sure to see her little one sliding into the world for herself.  To be able to witness the moment when the baby is still a part of you, parts of it are still in your body and then miraculously you're two separate beings all of a sudden after 9 months of being one.  That moment.  10:03 for Carson. It gets me every time.  And I've seen bunches of births. 

Janna leaned over for a closer look and then announced, "It's a boy!" and I tried to back up out of the way and not be all annoying but eventually volunteered to take some pictures.  Most of the early ones I took were on Jessica's phone but then I took my own camera out...


Jessica got to hold him a good long time. I think it was a little hard for her to see his face but she sure got some nice snuggles. They didn't take him away for weighing or warming or inspecting or anything for a nice long while.  It distracted her from the delivery of the placenta and the stitches she needed.  I remember she'd asked to see the placenta.  Such an amazing organ that your body suddenly grows to do the job and then doesn't need anymore.  Amazing, but gross according to Jessica's face:
 

At that point, Janna's mom surprised everyone by walking into the room. They hadn't yet sent any, "He's here!" texts or calls and Janna was like, "How did you know???" but Judie gathered from talking to Janna earlier that it would be soon so she came on down. And was very excited to hear about her newest grandson:


Like Gramoo, Judie now has 4 grandsons and just 1 grandaughter...but Judie will be getting grandaughter #2 this fall and Gramoo will not.  Suddenly it was time to make sure Gramoo knew too so Jessica gave her a call:


I ran downstairs to get Janna some food and brought it back up. Then they brought in a voucher for the cafeteria for Jessica. Because it was so late, the room service they'd normally have wasn't going to come till morning. So I headed down to get some food for Jessica as well. You know what she wanted? Coke. And Fritos. Ha! I also brought a fruit cup but was like, "Seriously??? That's it?" Whatevs.
 
While I was off doing food things, Carson began nursing. Really well. A champ from the start. When they finally unlatched him to check him out he made this little face:


And then they took him over to the warmer to check out that all his parts were where they should be and nothing was there that shouldn't. And he got his shots and eye meds.


And weighed.


He was 8 pounds exactly. Caise was 8 pounds 4 ounces, if you were wondering.

Then they gave him his little sponge bath. No babies ever like that part.


And then they put an end to the innocence of wearing nothing but your birthday suit and he got his first little diaper:


He got his little hairs washed:


And finally Janna got a chance to hold her new little boy:


See her back brace thingie? But luckily at just 8 pounds, Carson was under the 10 pound lifting limit. :)


Caise had no idea he'd become a big brother while he was sleeping. He's the only one missing from this family portrait:


I got to hold my new Neph2 for a bit but the pictures are on Jessica's phone. I hung out until they moved Jessica over to her postpartum room. They had a really heavy bag that Janna shouldn't have carried in in the first place so they had Jessica hold Carson and I held the bag:


I helped them get a bit settled:


And then I took off for home. I was able to get a decent night's sleep once I calmed down. I was still excited so I didn't head to bed right away.

After school the next day I took the kids down to meet their newest little cousin. Dalton was surprised to hear it was a boy. He thought it would be a girl. And, Autumn kept forgetting his name and would call him "Cart"...but she got it eventually. :)



So excited!




She'd never held a baby before:


Aunt Kwiti's turn again!


The little going home outfits they had on hand. Awwww.


And then we had to leave because Easton was being insanely hyper and probably disturbing all the tired new parents on the whole floor. Rascal. Poor Dalton didn't want to leave. He loves babies. Good thing we've got another one in the family! 

Welcome to the world, Baby Carson!  We're glad you're here!

End of Year Festivities

So as the school year wound down for the boys, they both had their Field Days at school.  Easton's was first.  It was postponed from its initial date because it was so darn cold.  It was much better on the Monday they ended up having it:






Then Mrs. H came over and asked me if I had many pictures from her class from the year. I told her I had a few but they'd mostly be of Easton and his friends. She said that was fine and then said another mom told her I was good with the camera and computers and stuff (huh?) and would I pretty please help her out by making montages for all her students as an end-of-year gift?! Not the same montage for all the kids but each kid's was different with their own pics plus some "classroom" pics. Ack! And to kick it off, she needed me to take a bunch of photos of all the kids at Field Day to make sure she had enough for the montages. Lovely. What did I get myself into?

So, I guess to feel like she was then helping me with my new tasks, she held Autumn for a few mintues:




But Mrs. H then moved on and Easton took over:


Not really. It was while Dalton was at school and Easton loved having his cute little sister to show off and wanted her to be able to participate as well. He got the girls running the station to let Miss Miss run the obstacle course after all the 1-2 graders had their turn.


My friend "R" who is "Z"'s mom also kept Autumn entertained for a bit with her soon-to-be-kindergartener "A". They shared a Gogurt with my little miss as well:

Then I had to rush off and pick up Dalton and Em from school so I couldn't stay. But I got the pics we needed.

Dalton had his Field Day the Friday of that same week:










I thought these two would be the first ones "out" of this bean bag toss game (Dalton can be a bit spazzy at those kinds of things) but they were actually the last ones standing!



On Wednesday of that same busy week, Dalton's class had an art show. They'd studied various artists throughout the year and had a showcase of their works so Autumn and I went to check it out.

This is Dalton's version of a "Monet" with green lilypads done in soft watercolors:


This is his still life. I wish she had posted a picture of what they were looking at to do their drawings because none of the kids' looked very recognizable.


This is Dalton's "Melting Clock" a la Salvador Dali--the crazy dude who painted what he saw in his dreams from aliens sending him signals through his moustache. Weirdo.


This is Dalton's Michelangelo. They tried doing their art like Michelangelo did the Sistine Chapel so they taped their papers under a table and laid down on their backs...but they used markers. Not paints. They also did bible stories for their Michelangelos like he did for the chapel in Rome. So Dalton's is of Jesus and Zaccheus. See the short dude in the tree?


And finally, we have Dalton's daVinci. They had to pose for and draw a partner. Of course, Dalton and Emery chose one another:


However, apparently Em was none-too-pleased with Dalton's depiction of her nose and "told" on him to their teacher that "Dalton made me look like a pig!!!" :) I asked Dalton about it and he said, "Yeah, she was a little mad but she still played with me."


My poor little artiste!

This past Monday, the 21st, was Dalton's very last day of Pre-K:


It was a little sad picking him up from his last day, especially because we won't see a lot of those friends anymore and I always enjoyed chatting with them in the halls at pick up time. Dalton and Emery had no emotion over it at all. :)


Baby Autumn was born on Easton's first day of Pre-K. And now baby cousin Carson was born on Dalton's last day of Pre-K:




The day after their last day, the Pre-Kers had their continuation ceremony. Dalton was looking sharp:


He's just so cute and excited as I left him with his classmates before I went to find a seat in the chapel:


They lined up in order of height so my little shorty was, like, 3rd from the end:


They posed with their teacher on the way in. We're sad she's retired now and Autumn won't have her like the boys did.


They sang a cute little song about living up to God's plans for them:


I couldn't figure out the order in which they were calling the kids for their certificates so I missed pictures or video of Dalton getting his. But here he is walking out with it, if that counts:


My little kindergartner:


We had cookies and punch at their reception:




And Dalton posed with the assistant teacher who will now be the main teacher, Mrs. L:


We threw in a couple of family shots for good measure:


I hate how gigantic I look in this one:


The next day, Wednesday, D's school had a picnic for the younger grades. In years past it has been a zoo day but no one had their act together in time this year so we checked it to the park. It was still fun, but not a great turn out.


But as I was pushing Autumn, Dalton, Emery and Cooper for a long time on the swings, Dalton still declared it the "second best day ever!"


Autumn and Coop:


Finally Friday rolled around which was Easton's last day of 1st grade!


His school does a continuation ceremony for everyone, which I actually rather like. Apparently, even with his "S" last name, Easton is still last alphabetically in his class of 21. So I do have video of him being called for his certificate but I won't post it. It's really not that exciting. :)

After the ceremony, we headed to his classroom for a final class party which was luau themed. I made the cupcakes. All 48 of them.


Poor Jason wasn't even going to come to the party so he could get to work after the continuation ceremony but decided to stop by. However, I put him to work when Mrs. H realized that 4 of the kids have two families and would therefore need two copies of the montages I made. So Jason had to transfer and copy all of those which took a lot longer than you'd think:


Easton and his best friend "K":


His other good pal (who I personally prefer) "Z":


Easton with Mrs. H:
 

He should technically be in her class again for 2nd grade but we'll see. Easton and K are not the best mix and those two have to be separated quite a bit. If they decide it's too much to keep them in the same homeroom together, I fear that Easton will be the one that has to leave. :( We'll see in August, I guess. However, after I made all her montages, she should keep me and E if she's not keeping both! Ha!

One reason Mrs. H couldn't tackle her montage idea was that she'd also planned a bunch of other things for the kids like bookmarks and a laminated poem with their little picture and then she made each kid their own word clouds which were super cool, even if a few of the attributes from the various classmates contradict themselves (quiet/talkative, crazy/normal). And "small" isn't always considered a positive attribute when you're 7, no matter how true it may be. :)

The mom in charge of the luau had to get back to work so I volunteered to clean up and K's mom helped me. Our children tore apart the reading corner with their crazy games while we cleaned but it wasn't too bad. Z's mom stuck around as well and then we all headed to the park to let the kids work out some of their excess energy and sugar from the party:

"Z" and "K" really aren't friends with one another despite being in the same homeroom the last two years. But they're both friends with Easton so they had an okay time together...a few issues like Z only wanted to play Zombies and the other boys didn't. Z loves animals and nature so Easton had the idea to play "zoo" but even that compromise wasn't good enough but whatcha gonna do??? Three really can be a crowd and it's probably best if we see those families separately. Which we have standing playdates already set up with Z's family for the summer. K's parents both work so it's harder to get together with them...plus while I love their family, K is not the nicest to Easton a lot of the time. He's great when his parents or I am around, but I hear stories from Easton and from other parents that it is not the healthiest of relationships and I wish Easton didn't cling to K quite so much. But I am glad he's made so many friends at this new school. We are looking forward to next year already with both the boys in the same building and everything!


Here's to summer!!!!