We went to Disneyland 24 times on our annual passes! Twenty-four! That's just amazing! Especially since the passes are limited, we are blocked out on holidays, weekends and all summer.
Each and every trip to Disneyland was a complete success. We had so much fun! That place is magical, I truly believe in the Disney magic. How can I doubt it when my kids have such magical experiences? Gracie got to sing with the Dapper Dans, Libby skipped with Merida, Gracie was chosen to be a Padowan in the Jedi Training show - twice!, Libby made Mulan light up with happiness, Gracie played with Pluto, Henry was amazed in Cars Land, Charlie snuggled with Pooh and Ariel, Gracie fired a canon and shot a hole in the clouds. I could go on and on. They had the times of their lives. Lucky lucky kids! And I'm so lucky to have been a witness and a part of the most magical memories of their childhoods.
Our passes this year were a wonderful gift from "The Grandmas"(my mom and her mom). The girls always knew that the grandmas gave us the tickets and I appreciate that they always gave the grandmas credit for our fun days at Disneyland. It makes me feel like my children are feeling a connection to their grandmas even though we only get to see them in person a couple of times each year.
To end our year of Disneyland, we went three times in our last week. Tuesday, I took all three kids: Gracie, Libby and Charlie. Thursday, I only took Gracie. And on Friday, I took Gracie and Libby. What a week! We did everything we love the most and found some new things in our last week. It was awesome!
After each day at Disneyland, I suffer from a Disney hangover. I always need a day to recover. It's so odd, but I feel run down and exhausted, and just yucky in general after a day at the Happiest Place on Earth. I really had to take it easy to recover from three days in one week, but it was totally worth the hangover to end our year with so much magic. It was nothing that lots of caffeine and advil couldn't cure. Luckily, the kids needed a day of rest so it was easy enough to declare a lazy day. Nobody argued.
The only thing we didn't do that we would have loved, was to stay late and see the night time shows. It is hard to stay late because, well, it's late. We never did get to see the World of Color water fountain show, but we did see Goofy's daytime fountain orchestra show, which was amazing with all of the fountains and water dancing. I'm sure the World of Color show is the same thing, with a light show on top. We only saw the fireworks once, but that was the day I lost my purse and validated the fact that I should leave before I'm too tired to remember to keep my purse with me. Goodness! We did well and we only missed a few things by not staying late.
I think we'll go again in another decade or so. When the girls are teenagers and they want to try all the big stuff and reminisce about their childhoods spent on the resort. Plus, by then we should be able to stay in a hotel on the resort and catch the night time shows.
I think if we do everything and see it all, we wouldn't leave anything to anticipate in their teen years. Some of the best moments are those "first" moments. I'm happy to leave some things undone so we can enjoy more firsts some other day.
Right now, we don't want to renew. Aside from the astronomical pass prices, it's just harder to get there and spend a good amount of time at Disneyland. With both girls in school now, we don't have as much time to play. Plus, that level of happiness is exhausting.
Now, I just need to organize all of my photos and figure out how to arrange them in photo books. Chronologically? By land? A book of character photos? Hmmm...
Showing posts with label Grandma. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grandma. Show all posts
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Monday, November 12, 2012
The Gift of Magic
We're Disneyland pass holders again!
A year ago, November 22nd, 2011 to be exact, was our last trip to Disneyland. After that trip, our passes expired and we made the decision not to renew at the current prices. Walt Disney just wanted way too much for a little family of three to get in the gates. I really wanted to keep taking the girls to Disneyland, in the worst way! But, couldn't justify the expense. The worst part of that was disappointing Fenna. She still had several months left on her pass, but I figured she would go with friends a few times in the spring. I tried to go one last time with just her and I, but that proved to be nearly impossible and then my pass expired.
Libby was able to get into Disneyland and everywhere else because she was under the age of three, but once she turned three years old, it was time to start paying to get her in the gate too. Since she is small for her age, I was able to easily fib "she's almost three" for the two months after she actually turned three. She doesn't take up any extra seats on the big rides or cause anyone else to miss out on some fun, so I figured there wasn't much harm in saying she was still under age three. She still acted like a two year old!
So, it's been a year now since we've been to our favorite place. The girls have been saving their birthday and Christmas money in hopes of going to Disneyland again in a few years when they are much taller and can ride the bigger thrill rides. I told them we could get a hotel and stay for three or four days and make a good fun vacation out of it, but it won't be until they are at least 8 and 10 years old.
One Saturday morning, I was chit-chatting on the phone with my mom and she asked me how much Disneyland passes are now. I told her they raised the prices again and now they are a ridiculous amount. $269 each plus $129 for parking! And that is for the cheap pass that blocks you out on weekends and holidays. Later in the conversation she said she sent some mail and I should watch for it in my snail mail. I didn't think much of it since she is a good one for sending fun mail, and sometimes she sends newspaper articles or comic strips.
A few days later, I checked the mail and sure enough there was a card from Mom and Grandma. Inside was a BIG surprise! A check and a note of instructions for me. The money was to be used to buy Disneyland passes for me and the girls. I was also instructed to take Charlie and Henry for a day at Disneyland (since they are both under age 3 they don't need tickets), and to take lots of pictures. Amazing! I nearly had a heart attack from excitement! I wanted to scream and shout and show the girls, but I had to contain myself and make giving them the news a very special moment.
I called my mom to tell her that I got it and that I was blown away. I thanked her kindly and she informed me that it was my grandma's doing. Grandma insisted that the girls get to go back to Disneyland for more magic and fun. I will certainly take them!
I decided to tell the girls the next weekend, Veteran's Day weekend. I figured out that if I buy the tickets online, we would be blocked out over the weekend but if I buy them at the gate, we could go on any day and get in that day plus get our passes. I decided to take the girls on Sunday for our debut trip.
Now, how to tell the girls... This will be fun!
The Setup: On Saturday afternoon, I told the girls that their Grandma and Great-Grandma sent some special mail to our mailbox. Libby perked right up and said, "I wonder which Disney character she sent!" She knows that her grandmas like to send her nice cards and even the stamps have Disney characters on them. Gracie wanted to run right out and check the mail (I knew she would) and so we all went to the mailbox and found it empty. Awww, darn. Maybe tomorrow. The anticipation sets in.
Sunday morning, I went out and stuck three greeting cards in our mailbox. I made sure to put a Disney character sticker where the stamp would go and address each one as if it had arrived in the mail. I also loaded the van for our fun day.
As the kids woke up, I told them I was bored and wanted to go for an outing. Did they want to do the same? Where do you want to go? Libby said she wanted to play with friends and Gracie said she wanted to go to a museum. Good ideas! They went to get dressed and I packed a picnic lunch and some water bottles.
Libby came out of her room wearing a Princess Belle dress with tights. She was trying to decide between her cowgirl boots or her Doc McStuffin shoes (pink glitter Mary-Janes). Little does she know just how appropriate her outfit is today! Gracie decided to wear a Hello Kitty shirt, leggings and Hello Kitty shoes. Clean and matchy. Good!
The girls remembered that they wanted to check the mail again because it's a new day and they were waiting for mail from the Grandmas. Yes, by all means, go check the mail!
They were super excited to find a card for each of them and one for me too! We all opened our cards and read them outloud. Their eyes were huge with excitement! I told them it was true! The Grandmas sent us Disneyland passes! Let's go!
We hopped into the van and hit the road! They were super excited! Gracie had so much excited energy, but she was strapped down in the van so it all came out of her mouth. She couldn't stop talking and she was putting a lot of words out very quickly. Her brain must have been in hyper mode. Libby was speechless. Just big gasps and squeals. They loved the ride, trying to spot Disneyland from 30 miles away. "I think I see it!" So funny! Gotta admit, I was extra excited too!
One more year of Disneyland! We couldn't be happier! And we are going to make the most of these passes and see as much as we can and go as often as we can. We'll have lots of pictures and stories to tell the Grandmas. I'm so glad that the girls are old enough to understand that Disneyland passes are expensive and not everyone is so lucky. They understand and appreciate the fact that these are gifts from their Grandmas, and extraordinary gifts at that. It's nice to know we are humble enough to maintain our sense of who we are while we are being spoiled rotten.
Thank you so much, Grandmas! We love you even more than we love Disneyland! And that's a LOT!
A year ago, November 22nd, 2011 to be exact, was our last trip to Disneyland. After that trip, our passes expired and we made the decision not to renew at the current prices. Walt Disney just wanted way too much for a little family of three to get in the gates. I really wanted to keep taking the girls to Disneyland, in the worst way! But, couldn't justify the expense. The worst part of that was disappointing Fenna. She still had several months left on her pass, but I figured she would go with friends a few times in the spring. I tried to go one last time with just her and I, but that proved to be nearly impossible and then my pass expired.
Libby was able to get into Disneyland and everywhere else because she was under the age of three, but once she turned three years old, it was time to start paying to get her in the gate too. Since she is small for her age, I was able to easily fib "she's almost three" for the two months after she actually turned three. She doesn't take up any extra seats on the big rides or cause anyone else to miss out on some fun, so I figured there wasn't much harm in saying she was still under age three. She still acted like a two year old!
So, it's been a year now since we've been to our favorite place. The girls have been saving their birthday and Christmas money in hopes of going to Disneyland again in a few years when they are much taller and can ride the bigger thrill rides. I told them we could get a hotel and stay for three or four days and make a good fun vacation out of it, but it won't be until they are at least 8 and 10 years old.
One Saturday morning, I was chit-chatting on the phone with my mom and she asked me how much Disneyland passes are now. I told her they raised the prices again and now they are a ridiculous amount. $269 each plus $129 for parking! And that is for the cheap pass that blocks you out on weekends and holidays. Later in the conversation she said she sent some mail and I should watch for it in my snail mail. I didn't think much of it since she is a good one for sending fun mail, and sometimes she sends newspaper articles or comic strips.
A few days later, I checked the mail and sure enough there was a card from Mom and Grandma. Inside was a BIG surprise! A check and a note of instructions for me. The money was to be used to buy Disneyland passes for me and the girls. I was also instructed to take Charlie and Henry for a day at Disneyland (since they are both under age 3 they don't need tickets), and to take lots of pictures. Amazing! I nearly had a heart attack from excitement! I wanted to scream and shout and show the girls, but I had to contain myself and make giving them the news a very special moment.
I called my mom to tell her that I got it and that I was blown away. I thanked her kindly and she informed me that it was my grandma's doing. Grandma insisted that the girls get to go back to Disneyland for more magic and fun. I will certainly take them!
I decided to tell the girls the next weekend, Veteran's Day weekend. I figured out that if I buy the tickets online, we would be blocked out over the weekend but if I buy them at the gate, we could go on any day and get in that day plus get our passes. I decided to take the girls on Sunday for our debut trip.
Now, how to tell the girls... This will be fun!
The Setup: On Saturday afternoon, I told the girls that their Grandma and Great-Grandma sent some special mail to our mailbox. Libby perked right up and said, "I wonder which Disney character she sent!" She knows that her grandmas like to send her nice cards and even the stamps have Disney characters on them. Gracie wanted to run right out and check the mail (I knew she would) and so we all went to the mailbox and found it empty. Awww, darn. Maybe tomorrow. The anticipation sets in.
Sunday morning, I went out and stuck three greeting cards in our mailbox. I made sure to put a Disney character sticker where the stamp would go and address each one as if it had arrived in the mail. I also loaded the van for our fun day.
As the kids woke up, I told them I was bored and wanted to go for an outing. Did they want to do the same? Where do you want to go? Libby said she wanted to play with friends and Gracie said she wanted to go to a museum. Good ideas! They went to get dressed and I packed a picnic lunch and some water bottles.
Libby came out of her room wearing a Princess Belle dress with tights. She was trying to decide between her cowgirl boots or her Doc McStuffin shoes (pink glitter Mary-Janes). Little does she know just how appropriate her outfit is today! Gracie decided to wear a Hello Kitty shirt, leggings and Hello Kitty shoes. Clean and matchy. Good!
The girls remembered that they wanted to check the mail again because it's a new day and they were waiting for mail from the Grandmas. Yes, by all means, go check the mail!
They were super excited to find a card for each of them and one for me too! We all opened our cards and read them outloud. Their eyes were huge with excitement! I told them it was true! The Grandmas sent us Disneyland passes! Let's go!
We hopped into the van and hit the road! They were super excited! Gracie had so much excited energy, but she was strapped down in the van so it all came out of her mouth. She couldn't stop talking and she was putting a lot of words out very quickly. Her brain must have been in hyper mode. Libby was speechless. Just big gasps and squeals. They loved the ride, trying to spot Disneyland from 30 miles away. "I think I see it!" So funny! Gotta admit, I was extra excited too!
One more year of Disneyland! We couldn't be happier! And we are going to make the most of these passes and see as much as we can and go as often as we can. We'll have lots of pictures and stories to tell the Grandmas. I'm so glad that the girls are old enough to understand that Disneyland passes are expensive and not everyone is so lucky. They understand and appreciate the fact that these are gifts from their Grandmas, and extraordinary gifts at that. It's nice to know we are humble enough to maintain our sense of who we are while we are being spoiled rotten.
Thank you so much, Grandmas! We love you even more than we love Disneyland! And that's a LOT!
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Happy Birthday and Happy Mothers' Day
Happy Birthday to my grandma! A few days ago she turned 104 years old. She's amazing. She still lives independently on her ranch in Wyoming. She has a good life and I hope to be as healthy as she is when I'm 50.
104 years old is hard to comprehend. When my Grandma was born (in the same little town where she lives now), Teddy Roosevelt was President and the Ford Model T went on the market.
She shares a birth-year with Jimmy Stewart, Buddy Ebsen, Ian Fleming, Milton Berle, Max Grundig, Helene Boucher and a long list of other long gone famous favorites.
When my grandma was just 4 years old, the Titanic sank. Mother's Day was declared a national holiday, and the Girl Scouts was founded.
She was 12 years old when the 19th amendment passed and women were granted the right to vote. When she was 19 the first talking movie, The Jazz Singer, came out. A year later, Mickey Mouse's first movie "Steamboat Willie" was released.
1930 was the year she got married to my grandpa. Great guy and a lucky man. The rest is history as they say.
Happy Birthday to you, Grandma!
Happy Mothers' Day too! I am always so busy being a mom that I am not a very good daughter. I have Mother's Day cards sitting here but I didn't get them to the post office. I doubt they will arrive by yesterday if I haven't mailed them yet! My appreciation for my mom and my grandma is not lessened by my lack of postal skills.
My mom is amazing. I remember as a kid that she worked, and she worked a lot, but she was always home with us. Not sure how she managed that, but it is every mama's dream to balance it all and I feel like my mom did but I cannot for the life of me figure out how. After years and years of waiting tables she became a librarian. Now, she's a retired social butterfly.
We were always busy. My mom had more stuff for us to do than any teacher I ever had in school. We had projects and activities all the time. Mom had a special tablecloth; it was a plastic picnic cloth with Raggedy Ann and Andy printed on it. It was also covered in paint, glitter, glue, and all sorts of stains from our fun. You just knew it was going to be a good day when Mom got out the Raggedy Ann tablecloth!
My mom and my grandma are both widows now and they pal around together. They are always busy going places, meeting with friends, visiting, celebrating one thing after another, and planning more fun. We're all pretty excited to go visit again this summer. We'll celebrate birthdays, Mother's Day, and Christmas all at once on a non-holiday. Every day is a good one with my mom and grandma!
104 years old is hard to comprehend. When my Grandma was born (in the same little town where she lives now), Teddy Roosevelt was President and the Ford Model T went on the market.
She shares a birth-year with Jimmy Stewart, Buddy Ebsen, Ian Fleming, Milton Berle, Max Grundig, Helene Boucher and a long list of other long gone famous favorites.
When my grandma was just 4 years old, the Titanic sank. Mother's Day was declared a national holiday, and the Girl Scouts was founded.
She was 12 years old when the 19th amendment passed and women were granted the right to vote. When she was 19 the first talking movie, The Jazz Singer, came out. A year later, Mickey Mouse's first movie "Steamboat Willie" was released.
1930 was the year she got married to my grandpa. Great guy and a lucky man. The rest is history as they say.
Happy Birthday to you, Grandma!
Happy Mothers' Day too! I am always so busy being a mom that I am not a very good daughter. I have Mother's Day cards sitting here but I didn't get them to the post office. I doubt they will arrive by yesterday if I haven't mailed them yet! My appreciation for my mom and my grandma is not lessened by my lack of postal skills.
My mom is amazing. I remember as a kid that she worked, and she worked a lot, but she was always home with us. Not sure how she managed that, but it is every mama's dream to balance it all and I feel like my mom did but I cannot for the life of me figure out how. After years and years of waiting tables she became a librarian. Now, she's a retired social butterfly.
We were always busy. My mom had more stuff for us to do than any teacher I ever had in school. We had projects and activities all the time. Mom had a special tablecloth; it was a plastic picnic cloth with Raggedy Ann and Andy printed on it. It was also covered in paint, glitter, glue, and all sorts of stains from our fun. You just knew it was going to be a good day when Mom got out the Raggedy Ann tablecloth!
My mom and my grandma are both widows now and they pal around together. They are always busy going places, meeting with friends, visiting, celebrating one thing after another, and planning more fun. We're all pretty excited to go visit again this summer. We'll celebrate birthdays, Mother's Day, and Christmas all at once on a non-holiday. Every day is a good one with my mom and grandma!
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Meanwhile Back at the Ranch...
Years and years ago, my mom bought adorable Tshirts for the entire family. She got them at "The Merc" which no longer exists as a store; it is now an empty building. We all wore our ferret Tshirts and they've long been forgotten. This must have been 10 - 15 years ago, I don't even remember.
A few years ago, my mom sent me a Lucille's Cafe Tshirt to make a dress for the girls. I made one, but didn't have another shirt for a dress for the other kid. I promptly put the second shirt away where I wouldn't lose it and I can't recall where that special place is. Which means I never did turn it into a dress.
I figured I would look around and see if I could find that Lucille's Cafe shirt before we left for our spring break roadtrip. No such luck. But, in looking, I came across two ferret Tshirts! Now those would be really cute dresses!
I ran to Walmart to buy up some bandanas and use them as ruffles. See how the little ferrets are wearing bandanas? Well, the bandanas were too red, too bold, and too thin. I didn't think I liked them, but I might have to get them since we were running short on time. Lucky for me, I also found this cute print in the fabric section! It's a softer red and has a bandanaish print; it's called "Farmer Boy" and it's the perfect print to match the ferrets! Bold bandanas went back on the shelf. Done!
Most of the Tshirt dress was sewn in white thread, but the ruffle really needed to be done in red. I finished everything in white except the hem of the ruffles and then I prayed over the serger and the red thread and swore I'd be eternally grateful if the red thread would just go through and the machine would still work. It did! Wooo Hoooo!
I finished off the ruffles with a red rolled hem on the serger and the Tshirts were now little dresses. The little girls should find them quite comfortable and the Grandmas hopefully will notice. They turned out so cute! I'm happy with them and I promised the girls they could wear them while we were on vacation. I dubbed them the "Saturday dresses" and told the girls they had to wait until the day we go to Wyoming.
The day finally came when we were to go to Wyoming and Gracie changed her mind. She wanted to wear her new jeans I just bought for her the day before. There was no talking her into wearing her Saturday ferret dress. Sigh. Libby wanted to wear her dress, at least one kid will show off for me.
The little girls split up and arrived at Grandma's house at different times. Gracie arrived first and she had time to climb the hill and visit with the Grandmas for a few hours before Libby did. Libby was with me, and I stopped for a long lunch before going to the Grandma's. I met up with them at a restaurant and when we came in and said hello, they were all eating around a big table in the back. Libby took off her jacket and my mom leaped out of her chair and squealed. She loved that little dress! She tried to take Libby around the restaurant to show people she knew the Tshirt dress, but Libby didn't feel like modeling for strangers. The other people said they recognized the Tshirt and they all had a nice little moment remembering shopping in The Merc.
Libby was happy that Grandma liked her dress. I was thrilled that Grandma liked her dress! Libby wore it again on Sunday night and again for the trip home on Monday. Silly me, I thought she would wear it once. Gracie finally wore her dress on Monday and the Grandmas got to see both girls in their matching ferret Tshirt dresses. Now, that was cute!
Monday, May 16, 2011
Hank
Welcome, my little grandson, Henry Alan. He's just perfect!
My daughter went to the hospital to have this baby three times, three days in a row. The third time was the charm, they finally admitted her and put her in a labor and delivery room. Her husband called me to let me know and I scrambled to find a babysitter for my puking little girls.
Do you know how hard it is to find a babysitter for a couple of pukers? It wasn't happening and my husband was at work. He had to work at Saturday school and babysit the hundreds of middle schoolers in Saturday detention. Those darn kids! He was getting off work at noon, but he called at 12:40 and said he was just getting on the freeway and traffic was terrible. Ugh.
He got home at 1:20 and I hit the road at 1:40 and left him home with the sick little girls. Off I went to San Diego so I could pace the hallway or lobby and wait for word that baby Henry was born. I was hoping I could see him an hour or two after he was born and see my girl on her first day of being a new mommy. If not, well, she would at least know I was there if she needed any extra moral support. Her husband was there of course and she hired a doula (paid for by the Navy since her husband was deployed (but now he's back)).
I arrived at the hospital at 2:40. Traffic was easy! I managed to get in the gate at the Naval Hospital and found the parking structure. Then I had to find the right building and floor. That wasn't as easy. I walked all over the place! I finally found it and was directed to her room. And then I got really nervous. I didn't want to just barge in! I went and found a nurse to go in and check with Katie and Andrew and see if I could go in, ask if the baby was born already, and just give me a quick idea of what I was walking into.
All was well. Katie and Andrew were happy I came and they wanted me to come in. She was contracting but no baby yet. It was 3pm and they both looked great for being up all night and dealing with early labor for 2 days. Too great. My first thought was that this was going to take all night and maybe another day. She's just looking too wonderful.
She wanted me to stay, but I hid in the corner when the nurse was working on her and adjusting the baby's monitors and such. I told Katie and Andrew to just let me know when she wanted me to step out because I want to respect their family experience and not be in the way or whatever. All I got from Katie was a plea to stay and Andrew agreed. Ok, then. I'll stay as long as they can stand having me in the room. Andrew was alone with her mostly since the nurse was running from patient to patient, and the doctor and others would only show up at the last minute. The doula wasn't there and I didn't want to stir up anything so I didn't ask where she was. Best to just leave that story for later.
Poor Andrew had been rubbing Katie's back for hours on end. I took over and we took turns. Henry was "sunny side up" and giving Katie horrible back pain. He finally twirled around and gave her back a bit of relief. Andrew and I took turns wiping off her forehead with a damp washcloth, and telling her to breathe. She was really having big contractions so the nurse checked and said it was almost time for him to be born. Really? Already? Wow!
The doctor and a few more nurses came in and we all welcomed Henry into the world together. Katie did such a good job of having her first baby without any pain medications at all! Andrew was the proudest daddy I've ever seen aside from my own husband when our girls were born. The doctor and the nurses were full of praises for Katie for having a nearly 9 lb baby without an epidural.
I have to say, being present during a birth of a baby was an amazing experience. I've been present at 5 births before but never as a bystander. The first one, I was the baby and I don't remember it. The next four, I was the mama and I only remember bits and pieces thanks to the natural amnesia that helps a mother decide to have another one. This was a very special experience for me as well and I'm thrilled that Andrew and Katie shared their experience with me. Such a joy to be one of the first to say "Welcome to the world, Henry".
Henry weighed 8 pounds 15 ounces and he was 20.5 inches long. He was born at 5:30pm.
After an hour, the nurse had Katie get up to use the bathroom which was about three steps away. Katie took two steps and fainted. The nurse caught her and Andrew sprinted across the room and they sandwiched her to hold her upright so she didn't fall to the floor. The baby's nurse ran over to help so I stayed by Henry (why I thought he would roll off of his little table I don't know, he's not big enough to roll yet but I stayed by him to make sure and let the professionals tend to Katie). They moved as a group closer to the wall and the nurse reached in a cabinet and grabbed some smelling salts. As soon as she waved them under Katie's nose she came right to. She didn't know what happened and then she just kept apologizing.
They laid her back down and the room filled up with doctors and nurses, some hauling equipment on wheels. They put stickers all over her and did an EKG all the time she was apologizing and denying that anything was wrong with her. She said she faints sometimes but its not a big deal. I felt so bad that I didn't think of her fainting spells, I totally forgot! Plus, the same thing happened to me with two of my babies and one was Katie. How can I forget that and just let them let her up to walk?
The EKG came out ok, guess she wasn't having a heart problem. Her blood pressure was fine. They drew blood to check for other things and they brought her some brownies and juice to bump up her sugar. She earned herself an extended stay at the hospital too. Two nights instead of one for the girl who faints!
She is just fine now and should go home today. Here are pictures of Henry. I took a few and hoped I would get some good ones. Got home and found out that I took 169 photos! Haha! Off to a good start in my new job as Henry's Grandma!
Here is what you've been waiting for: Hank!
My daughter went to the hospital to have this baby three times, three days in a row. The third time was the charm, they finally admitted her and put her in a labor and delivery room. Her husband called me to let me know and I scrambled to find a babysitter for my puking little girls.
Do you know how hard it is to find a babysitter for a couple of pukers? It wasn't happening and my husband was at work. He had to work at Saturday school and babysit the hundreds of middle schoolers in Saturday detention. Those darn kids! He was getting off work at noon, but he called at 12:40 and said he was just getting on the freeway and traffic was terrible. Ugh.
He got home at 1:20 and I hit the road at 1:40 and left him home with the sick little girls. Off I went to San Diego so I could pace the hallway or lobby and wait for word that baby Henry was born. I was hoping I could see him an hour or two after he was born and see my girl on her first day of being a new mommy. If not, well, she would at least know I was there if she needed any extra moral support. Her husband was there of course and she hired a doula (paid for by the Navy since her husband was deployed (but now he's back)).
I arrived at the hospital at 2:40. Traffic was easy! I managed to get in the gate at the Naval Hospital and found the parking structure. Then I had to find the right building and floor. That wasn't as easy. I walked all over the place! I finally found it and was directed to her room. And then I got really nervous. I didn't want to just barge in! I went and found a nurse to go in and check with Katie and Andrew and see if I could go in, ask if the baby was born already, and just give me a quick idea of what I was walking into.
All was well. Katie and Andrew were happy I came and they wanted me to come in. She was contracting but no baby yet. It was 3pm and they both looked great for being up all night and dealing with early labor for 2 days. Too great. My first thought was that this was going to take all night and maybe another day. She's just looking too wonderful.
She wanted me to stay, but I hid in the corner when the nurse was working on her and adjusting the baby's monitors and such. I told Katie and Andrew to just let me know when she wanted me to step out because I want to respect their family experience and not be in the way or whatever. All I got from Katie was a plea to stay and Andrew agreed. Ok, then. I'll stay as long as they can stand having me in the room. Andrew was alone with her mostly since the nurse was running from patient to patient, and the doctor and others would only show up at the last minute. The doula wasn't there and I didn't want to stir up anything so I didn't ask where she was. Best to just leave that story for later.
Poor Andrew had been rubbing Katie's back for hours on end. I took over and we took turns. Henry was "sunny side up" and giving Katie horrible back pain. He finally twirled around and gave her back a bit of relief. Andrew and I took turns wiping off her forehead with a damp washcloth, and telling her to breathe. She was really having big contractions so the nurse checked and said it was almost time for him to be born. Really? Already? Wow!
The doctor and a few more nurses came in and we all welcomed Henry into the world together. Katie did such a good job of having her first baby without any pain medications at all! Andrew was the proudest daddy I've ever seen aside from my own husband when our girls were born. The doctor and the nurses were full of praises for Katie for having a nearly 9 lb baby without an epidural.
I have to say, being present during a birth of a baby was an amazing experience. I've been present at 5 births before but never as a bystander. The first one, I was the baby and I don't remember it. The next four, I was the mama and I only remember bits and pieces thanks to the natural amnesia that helps a mother decide to have another one. This was a very special experience for me as well and I'm thrilled that Andrew and Katie shared their experience with me. Such a joy to be one of the first to say "Welcome to the world, Henry".
Henry weighed 8 pounds 15 ounces and he was 20.5 inches long. He was born at 5:30pm.
After an hour, the nurse had Katie get up to use the bathroom which was about three steps away. Katie took two steps and fainted. The nurse caught her and Andrew sprinted across the room and they sandwiched her to hold her upright so she didn't fall to the floor. The baby's nurse ran over to help so I stayed by Henry (why I thought he would roll off of his little table I don't know, he's not big enough to roll yet but I stayed by him to make sure and let the professionals tend to Katie). They moved as a group closer to the wall and the nurse reached in a cabinet and grabbed some smelling salts. As soon as she waved them under Katie's nose she came right to. She didn't know what happened and then she just kept apologizing.
They laid her back down and the room filled up with doctors and nurses, some hauling equipment on wheels. They put stickers all over her and did an EKG all the time she was apologizing and denying that anything was wrong with her. She said she faints sometimes but its not a big deal. I felt so bad that I didn't think of her fainting spells, I totally forgot! Plus, the same thing happened to me with two of my babies and one was Katie. How can I forget that and just let them let her up to walk?
The EKG came out ok, guess she wasn't having a heart problem. Her blood pressure was fine. They drew blood to check for other things and they brought her some brownies and juice to bump up her sugar. She earned herself an extended stay at the hospital too. Two nights instead of one for the girl who faints!
She is just fine now and should go home today. Here are pictures of Henry. I took a few and hoped I would get some good ones. Got home and found out that I took 169 photos! Haha! Off to a good start in my new job as Henry's Grandma!
Here is what you've been waiting for: Hank!
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Grandma came to visit
My girls have two grandmas and one of them came to visit! They have my mom and my mom's mom. Grandma and Great Grandma. AKA The Grandmas. They're a pair, always together, just like Gracie and Libby. They do things together.
Grandma came without Great Grandma and really threw the girls for a loop. "Where's the other one Grandma?" "Where is the Gracie Grandma?" The whole idea of just one grandma was mind boggling! But we all managed just fine even though we sure missed having Great Grandma here too.
My mom flew in on Saturday just in time to go out for dinner and left on Monday morning. Quick Trip! We had a wedding reception to attend on Sunday. It was a lot of fun! My mom wrote about her trip on her blog, so I won't repeat the same story.
The girls sure enjoyed having Grandma here, even though it was a quick trip. They were very excited and sorry to see her go again so soon. She was instructed to bring Great Grandma Gracie with her next time and she said she would. We sent her on her way home with lots of hugs to tide her over until we see her again.
Grandma came without Great Grandma and really threw the girls for a loop. "Where's the other one Grandma?" "Where is the Gracie Grandma?" The whole idea of just one grandma was mind boggling! But we all managed just fine even though we sure missed having Great Grandma here too.
My mom flew in on Saturday just in time to go out for dinner and left on Monday morning. Quick Trip! We had a wedding reception to attend on Sunday. It was a lot of fun! My mom wrote about her trip on her blog, so I won't repeat the same story.
The girls sure enjoyed having Grandma here, even though it was a quick trip. They were very excited and sorry to see her go again so soon. She was instructed to bring Great Grandma Gracie with her next time and she said she would. We sent her on her way home with lots of hugs to tide her over until we see her again.
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