blessing day

We blessed Ava on Sunday. She was a perfect angel and didn't cry once. It was so nice to have my whole family and Sarah and Rachel there. Last time we blessed a baby (Ian), it was a couple days after we found out J-P's dad had terminal cancer. Both Ian and J-P cried through the short (but sweet) blessing, and it was hard to hear what he was saying. This time around I had Ian on my lap and he cried through most of the blessing, so I only caught a few words. Luckily everyone could relay what was said. It was a special day. It has been a wonderful blessing to have this sweet little girl join our family. We love her so much.

p.s. we found a beautiful white dress at an antique store. then we brought it home and realized it was not white, but yellow. and too big. so we braved the post-Christmas craziness at the mall to find a white one that didn't clash with the blanket my mom knitted. and i stayed up the night before making yet another headband so ava would have something pretty to wear on her special day.

virtual cheer

...So I finished my cards early this year. They were ready to go in early December. I loaded them up with j-p to stamp and mail on his way to work and happily crossed off "cards" from my busy holiday to-do list.

A couple weeks later nobody mentioned receiving our card. I called my mom. She didn't get it. I texted my sister-in-law (who lives down the street). She didn't get it. I burst into J-P's office in a mad panic. "Something happened, nobody is getting our cards!", I said. He gave me a puzzled look and mentioned something about how it's a busy time for the USPS. "Um, it doesn't take two weeks for neighbors to receive our mail...it takes one day. Are you sure you put stamps?"

He looked at me with a guilty smile and said "Well, maybe I didn't mail them exactly when you thought I did." I took a REALLY deep breath and said, "ok, when did you mail them?" He flashed me an i'm-sorry-please-don't-kill-me smile and said "today". He explained that he went to the post office and they were really busy, so he left. And then he forgot. For two weeks.

So, here is the virtual version for those that don't receive it in time. I put the birth announcement on the back side to save a stamp. Merry Christmas from Chez Scoville!

follow-up

not pictured:
two suit clad, cranky/nap-deprived boys, two tired parents,
ava's cute red shoes...

joining the ranks

Tomorrow Ava will be joining the ranks of homemade-headband-wearing babies. She is almost two months old and I have never made her a headband. Is that borderline child abuse? She has been gifted headbands, but none of them have matched the outfits she fits into. Every Sunday I sit in church feeling a little guilty that my baby is the only girl baby with a bare head. It's a little embarrassing. The other babies have bracelets, blinged-out pacifiers, hair bows galore, and Ava has...well, a dress. I decided I couldn't let Christmas Sunday come and go without making some effort to accessorize her cute Christmas outfit. I only wish I would have thought about it earlier so I could have made one for myself. Merry Christmas Ava-lu!

vacillating

...So the jury is still out on the whole blog privatization thing. I have never really worried about going private because, to be honest, nobody reads my blog. Four people subscribe to my blog in google reader. One of them is me. I used to have a hit counter and it was rare for my blog traffic to reach double digits.

The other day I was writing a post and noticed that 3 people were following my blog. I recognized two of them. I was HORRIFIED to learn that the third was a perverted would-be child predator who likes "men" and "beautiful little boys"(if you are reading this shoo...stay away from my blog). I didn't sleep all night. I felt like the worst mom in the world for exposing my innocent little family to cyber creeps.

The next day I wanted to pack up and move to an undisclosed location, change my children's names, and hire a bodyguard. I did some more research and discovered that my blog stalker was a high school student in Ohio. How in the world did he find my blog? Seriously?

I'm just wondering how big of a deal having a public blog is. I really appreciate it when people keep their blogs public because I don't have time to check them and instead receive the feed through google reader. And there are certain members of my family that can barely figure out how to check my blog when it is public. I can't decide what to do. Thoughts?

p.s. i can't stop laughing and thinking of this post.

6 weeks

This sweet little lady is six weeks old. I took her with me to my check-up and the doctor didn't believe me that she was only seven pounds at birth. "She's at least double that now," he said. Eating is her favorite thing to do and she is always hungry. Takes after her mother.

p.s. i'm a little wigged out tonight by some things that have come to pass and am thinking i'll probably privatize the blog soon...if you want to keep reading drop me a line at chezscoville(at)yahoo(dot)com (or you can send it to my real email address), or leave a comment with your email address.

in the blink of an eye

In five years I have gone from being a twenty-something single living it up in L.A. to a thirty-something mother of three with a minivan living it up in the suburbs. It happened SO fast. Overnight. Needless to say, my life has changed. A lot.

I sleep a lot less than I used to. I have not had more than 1-2 hours of consecutive sleep since Ava was born. She is not a fan of sleeping. I also have not had a nap since she was born. And it's starting to catch up. Monday I was SO tired. And Ava was really fussy. I spent most of the day sitting on the couch...nursing and jiggling Ava with one arm, and browsing cyber monday deals/designing our Christmas card with the other. I stayed in my pajamas all day and served pillsbury cinnamon rolls for lunch (so gross, i'll never buy those again). I let the boys ransack the house and didn't clean a thing (except for the carton of eggs that Ian broke).

When J-P walked out of his office at the end of the day and saw the disastrous explosion of toddler debris, he said "um, what did you do all day?" I smiled and said "Nothing. This is what our house would look like if I didn't do anything all day long." I think it scared him. He took the baby from my tired arms and loaded everyone into the car to go to In 'n Out for dinner.

I have spent the last two days cleaning. It is safe to say that I will not be taking another vacation from my domestic duties anytime soon. The aftermath is too painful.

Hands Full

I have three children. Three. Did I mention the oldest is three? I have my hands full. Or so I'm told. I have only taken them out by myself once. To the mall. I didn't think it was a big deal. A lot of people go to the mall with three children. And then EVERY single person I made eye contact with said the exact same thing --"wow, you have your hands full". I heard it at least 37 times.

It caught me off guard. I mean, I have three children, not ten. And aside from Ian dumping a cup of water all over himself and Max begging to go buy a treat the whole time, they were fairly well behaved. It took all of my remaining energy to smile graciously to 37 strangers and say "yes, I do." I haven't taken the three of them out together since. Not because I can't handle the kids, but because I can't handle the onslaught of "you have your hands full" comments.

Today I had to get out. We went for a walk. I put the two boys in the stroller and the baby in the carrier. I didn't even make it one block before I ran into a pest control technician who stopped spraying, stared, and said "you sure have your hands full".

one month

My sweet little ava-lu is a month old. In the past month I have:

Slept very little. Kissed Ava's cheeks a gazillion times--they are perfectly pudgy. Packed away the newborn clothes (after three days), and many of the 0-3 month clothes. Seriously considered changing her name. Discovered the wonder that is the crock pot. Held Ava a lot. Burped her a lot. Nursed her a lot. Done more laundry than I ever thought possible.
Ava is a much different baby now. She rarely sleeps for more than 5-10 minutes at a time during the day, unless she is being held. She also prefers to be held while awake. Which makes it almost impossible to get anything done. She is very much a GIRL. So much more sensitive and dramatic than the boys. It's amazing to see the distinct gender differences that are present even from birth. She is starting to smile a little, and is very alert and curious.

eanie bean

Ian turned two last week. We went in for his two year check-up. It went fantastic. Sort of. Ian sat perfectly still, and followed all of the doctor's/nurse's instructions. The doctor kept making comments like "wow, if only all the children were this good for their check-ups", "what an easy-going kid", etc. Then he asked Ian a question. Ian stared at him blankly and gave no response.

doc: how is his talking?
me: oh, he talks really well. he was talking in sentences at 18 months.
doc: so, how many words can he say...at least 50?
me: oh, yeah. hundreds. he says everything. he talks almost as well as my three-year-old.

The doctor proceeded to ask Ian a slew of questions. He stared blankly. No answer. I prodded him to say something. And nothing. Not a peep. The doctor looked at me with a skeptic smile. I assured him again that he really does talk and we moved on with the exam. After he left the room Ian exploded into conversation--"that's a nice doctor mommy...he sat on that stool mommy...did he listen to my heart mommy?...are we at the doctor's mommy?..."
While he is a very talented talker, coordination is not his strong suit. Yet. He is pretty klutzy. And spills a lot. Yesterday he grabbed my piping hot cup of pero and spilled it all over himself. He came and found me, calmly pointed out the saturated spot on his pajamas and said "uh, I just got burned mommy." Today we had chicken soup for dinner. He made such a mess that I took his shirt off. But then he wanted seconds. He dripped everywhere. When he noticed a drop of soup sliding down his stomach, he looked at me confused and said "uh, mommy...my tummy is crying!"

Ian is hilarious. He is a peacemaker. He is easygoing. He is very affectionate. He eats everything I make and always asks for more. He sleeps great. In many ways he is the perfect child. In other ways he is very much a terrible two. He keeps us on our toes and makes us laugh. We are so glad he is part of our fam.

three weeks

I really wish I could freeze time. These three weeks have flown by. Ava is following the typical pattern of babies here at chez scoville and putting on about a pound a week. Maybe more. It was with a heavy heart that I packed up her newborn clothes and diapers. Now she doesn't have any room to grow in her three month clothes. I can barely squeeze her cute little feet into her footed sleepers. She has long, funny looking feet. She gets them from my side, an apparently dominant gene.
She is also losing her hair. Just like her brothers. Another cause for sadness. She is, however, the sweetest, cutest baby in the world. We love her to pieces. Ian is constantly saying "look at these cute little fingers, mommy...look at these cute little toes...look at..." and then yanks on the mentioned appendage until the baby screams in protest.

more pics HERE

two weeks

Ava is growing. Fast. Too fast. And her growth is causing a serious case of sadness. I wish I could freeze her in the teeny tiny newborn stage forever. At her 3 day appointment she weighed 6 lbs 15 oz. At her two week appointment she weighed in at 8 lbs 5 oz. She also grew a whole inch.
She slept for most of the first two weeks. Now she is spending much more time awake. And she found her lungs. They work great. She loves shopping, just like her mom. Well, she loves the motion of the car and shopping cart/stroller. Works out great for me.

super baby

I have the strongest baby on the planet. Yesterday I propped her up on my bed to take some pictures and she did this. No lie.

before

after

Not bad for two weeks.

movember

I abhor mustaches. I think facial hair in any form is gross, but the mustache is probably my least favorite. Perhaps that's why J-P didn't ask me if he could grow one. Normally I would pitch a HUGE fit (don't worry, i pitched a small one), but this appendage to his face has a purpose: raising cancer awareness. Sigh.

Luckily for me, all I ever see is his forehead anyway because he is always looking down at his iPhone. Here's to hoping November goes by quickly. Read about Movember HERE.

week one

Week one was WILD. We had our bags packed so we could check out of the hospital as soon as possible. The baby is required to stay 24 hours, and we didn't stay a second longer. J-P basically dropped us off at home and then drove to the airport to catch his red-eye for North Carolina.

It was a long week.

I got to do things that I have never done before, like change meconium diapers. The day or so after I got home from the hospital (it's all a blur), I got stung by a scorpion. On my birthday. I can officially say it was the WORST birthday ever. After spending time on the phone with poison control, I decided not to go to the ER (against my mother's wishes to rush me there). Instead, I laid on the couch in tears as the pain intensified for six hours. The pain/numbness SLOWLY subsided over the next 3-4 days. Between the scorpion fiasco (which left me unable to walk), 48 hours of no sleep, and toddler meltdowns, my mother and I were totally and completely frazzled. My dad flew in to rescue us, and arrived just in time.

Ava weathered week one like a champ. She is SO sweet. She rarely cries, nurses with gusto, and gives the sweetest hugs. She had a rough first few days coughing, gagging, and gurgling up the gulp of amniotic fluid that she inhaled on her way out, but is doing much better. She is growing FAST. Her cheeks are growing exponentially. I'm curious to see how much she has gained...we'll find out tomorrow at her two week appointment.

birth story

We woke up at 4:58, two minutes before we were supposed to be at the hospital. Whoops. I was dilated to a three and having strong contractions about 4-6 minutes apart when I got to the hospital. After explaining to the nurse that I am in painful false labor for the entire last month of my pregnancy, they gave me prostaglandin gel. Within seconds I was in hard labor. Very hard. I wanted to go get in the Japanese soaking tub, but I collapsed in pain after taking about three steps. I endured another couple hours of intense pain (including sciatic nerve pain which I had never before experienced) before giving in and getting an epidural.

Epidurals are the best invention ever. The combination of pitocin/having my water broken produces deadly pain. I'm pretty sure I would have died from pain if I didn't abandon my hopes of a natural birth during Max's delivery. Anyway, I was progressing at a couple of centimeters an hour. When I got to a six the doctor broke my water. Assuming that it would be another couple of hours, the doctor left, my nurse took her lunch break, and J-P went to the cafeteria to get lunch.

Fifteen minutes later a different nurse walked in because the baby's heart rate was dropping. As she started to put the oxygen mask on my face I told her that I was feeling a LOT of pressure. Then she checked me. I saw her eyes open wide with panic as she said "you're at a 10...DON"T PUSH!" I felt the urge to push so strongly (even through the epidural) that I couldn't stop. I started screaming and told the nurse that I couldn't stop. She turned my epidural all the way up and soon I felt nothing. Neither J-P nor the doctor answered their phones. J-P walked in as they were paging him. The doctor (luckily) decided to come check on me just in time. The page to come came through on his phone as he was sewing me up.

Upon first glance she looked just like Max, only white. Really white. Her vernix was very thick and everyone commented that she had to be more than a week early. Her apgar score was a 9.9, only because they "never give 10's".

Ava Lucia

arrived oct. 23
7 lbs 3 oz
20 3/4 inches

(see more pics HERE)

almost 39 weeks

At my appointment on Wednesday the doctor stripped my membranes before I told him that J-P was going out of town for a week, without much possibility of making it back in time for the birth (should it happen while he is gone). Stripped membranes, coupled with a baby dropped "as low as it can go", and being dilated to almost a 3 is, according to the doc, a recipe for going into labor at any second. He said that if J-P wanted to be there then we should induce before he leaves. I didn't have the heart to tell him that I never actually go into labor on my own, I just took him up on the offer.

So, today is my last day of being pregnant. I'm a little sad. I love being pregnant (aside from yucky medical compression nylons). I love little babies more though, so it's an easy trade. Wish me luck.

getting closer

I am 38 weeks and 2 days pregnant. At this point days count. This weekend we tried EVERYTHING to jump start labor (aside from castor oil and herbal potions). And it worked. I was up ALL night with painful, regular contractions. As the sun came up they got further apart...and finally they were far enough apart that I could fall asleep. And then they were gone.
Now I face the very real possibility of giving birth all alone. Not so excited about that. At all. J-P will be at Duke until my due date, so at this point all we can do is pray that this little lady doesn't make her debut until he gets back. And that she doesn't get too big in the interim.
J-P took me out to La Grande Orange on Friday since he won't be here for my birthday. I had been anticipating this date for months, as we never get the chance to go out. I spent extra time at the gym so as to be able to work up an appetite to eat whatever my little heart desired. As we stepped foot into the lovely little restaurant, the power simultaneously went out and my dreams of eating fig and prosciutto pizza were deflated.
The boys are doing great (if we don't factor in potty training, which still hasn't been accomplished). They are very helpful and sweet and respond pretty well to time-out threats. Ian sucks his thumb in his sleep (he has NEVER once sucked it while awake), and it's about to fall off. He has open sores/blisters from teeth marks and I have NO idea what to do remedy the situation. Any advice will be readily accepted. We also need some major help in the baby names department. I'm starting to worry that our impending arrival will be nameless. The names I like are SUPER popular and the non-conformist in me is preventing me from choosing a popular name. The problem: I don't like any unpopular names. So, we are at a standstill in the selection process. All advice and suggestions are eagerly accepted.

Happy Fall

We have been ushering in the fall season by making lots of soup. Even though it is still really hot outside. There is something about eating a meal of soup/salad/baked goods in the fall that makes me VERY happy. The other day I was chopping some vegetables for chicken tortilla soup and Ian started eating the raw vegetables as fast as I could chop them. He loves to stand on a stool and "help" me cook. By help I mean stir, sample, and narrate my efforts. "Mommy stirring, mommy cutting zuc..chi...ni, mommy putting apple (red pepper) in it..." He doesn't stop talking all day long, and says the cutest, funniest things.

Max has been building a lot. He spends a lot of time constructing towers, castles, and bridges with blocks and legos. He loves to order Ian around and teach him how to build. "No, that's not right Ian. Put it over here. Ok, that's good." Ian is a very willing apprentice. I love to watch them play together and spy on their little conversations. I don't want them to grow up. Aside from potty training, I love the stage they are in.

p.s. Here is a fantastic butternut squash soup recipe. It's the best one I've had, and I'm pretty sure I've tried them all. I use a few substitutions and it still turns out great.

Sweet Moments

I have been running around like a chicken with its head cut off lately. Both boys are in the destructive terrible two stage, and life is hard. Don't even bring up potty training. I have been doing it for a year and a half, with very little progress. The tears start to flow when I think about having three children in diapers, but at this point it seems inevitable. I have read every book and tried every tactic, but am still open to advice. I have been totally and completely humbled in this arena of parenting.

This morning while I was organizing things in my room, the boys snuggled up together on my bed and "read" some books they found on the floor. Max's stories were about trucks and animals, but Ian's went exactly like this: "Once upon a time...a little monkey...the end!" He repeated that phrase over and over for a good 10 minutes as he turned the pages of Emily Dickinson poetry and lounged on my bed. It was one of those sweet moments that reminded me that I love my job. There is nothing else I'd rather be doing and nowhere else I'd rather be than at home taking care of my little boys.

33 weeks

Tomorrow marks the end of week 33. I am still waiting for the last trimester burst of energy to kick in, but I am starting to lose hope. Pregnancy (post morning sickness) has never really slowed me down, and I can't figure out what is happening. I guess I am getting old. My nesting instinct is in full force. Nesting hits me differently than most. I get a STRONG urge to redecorate my whole house. When I was pregnant with Ian I sold all of our furniture and bought all new stuff. I even reupholstered a chair during my last month of pregnancy. I would love to re-do our entire house, but am constrained by lack of budget, lack of energy, and lack of time.

I did convince J-P to move his office into our walk-in closet (you are a saint honey!) so I could decorate a room for the baby. As if one project wasn't enough, I decided to completely re-do our Master bedroom. I guess I should say "do", because I haven't touched it since we moved in. Literally. I have been painting and moving things around all week. I also decided to add a project area so I would have some space to work on all the ideas I've been storing in my head. The boys have been dumping things out, breaking things, tangling themselves in my supplies, and "helping" me all the while. I'll post pics when I get it more put together.

Newport Beach

The boys and I tagged along on J-P's last business trip so we could visit family and go to the beach. It was a very quick trip, but lots of fun. Just what I needed to recharge and refresh myself before these last few weeks of pregnancy. We also went to Palm Springs where I relaxed on top of mountains of white pillows and down comforters with luxuriously high thread count. I LOVE fancy hotels, especially when I don't have to pay the bill. Hooray for vacation.

focusing on the positive

Motherhood has never been that hard for me. The last three years have been the happiest, least stressful years of my life. There have been lots of messes and not a lot of sleep, but no complaints. About life as a single mom, I am not quite as optimistic. It stinks. It is sucking every last drop of of my sanity. I have profound empathy for single mothers. Especially pregnant ones with two crazy toddler boys.

I barely survived this last week while J-P was away. I could write pages about all the naughty, terrible things the boys did...or about how I teetered on the edge of a nervous breakdown. But I don't even want to think about it. Instead, I want to document the positive. The cute things they've said lately (if I can remember them) and the special skills they are acquiring.

Ian is talking up a storm. He has been talking in sentences since he was 18 months old and always tries to say things to make me laugh. He dialogues the entire day. He doesn't stop talking until he surrenders to sleep and usually does about 5-10 minutes of talking with his eyes closed before he finally passes out. He knows his colors and can count to 10 on his own. The other day he even sang the catch phrase of a song he heard on the radio.

He loves to tease us, especially about his bowel movements. Last spring when his talking explosion started, he always joked around about poop. When I smelled something coming from his direction, I immediately asked "Ian, did you you poop?" To which he always responded with a very serious face, "no, Daddy pooped". Or, "no Max pooped". Then he started laughing hysterically. Every time. Other days he would come up to me and say (with a serious face) "pooped, mommy...check it". I would proceed to check his diaper, and at the very same moment I pulled it back and assessed the lack of stool he yelled out "Nope!" and started laughing hysterically again.

Speaking of bowel movements, he is also making them regularly on his potty. The other night he completed one, stood up and said "Did it mommy...pooped a lot!...five!", and he stuck out his hand for me to high five him. His other special skills include (but are not limited to): climbing out of the crib, climbing out of the shopping cart (even when strapped in tightly), climbing out of the stroller (even when tightly strapped in a 4-point harness), and climbing out of the high chair (even when strapped in tightly).

Max has the memory of an elephant. He remembers everything. Sometimes it scares me. When I take clothes out of storage that Max hasn't worn since he was a year old (he was much bigger than Ian) he throws a fit and says "hey, that's my shirt!" as he sees me putting his old shirt on Ian. He remembers names of people and stores that he hasn't seen or been to in months. A few months ago we bought him a train set on craigslist. A few days ago I found an extra box with some bridges and trains in it. When I gave them to Max he asked me where we got them. I told him we got them the day we drove to Phoenix and picked up his train set. He responded "oh yeah, we got them from Chris." Confused, I called J-P and asked him about it. He told me that the guy who posted the craigslist ad was named Chris and that he mentioned his name to me on the drive to pick up the trains.

Max is overcoming his fears and getting a little braver when it comes to swimming and getting close to animals. He is singing primary songs, rehearsing a few nursery rhymes, and expanding his talent of truck/vehicle identification. He always instructs Ian about the trucks and vehicles we see on our outings.

On a not-so-positive note, after his yearly check-up with the allergist we discovered that his peanut allergy has sky-rocketed. Not happy news. His dairy allergy has also gotten worse. He can have wheat now, which was much needed happy news after the blow about the peanut allergy. About 5 minutes before J-P walked in the door from his trip, Max took a bite of a cookie with walnuts in it. His whole body turned bright red and as soon as J-P walked in the door I handed Ian to him and whisked Max off to Urgent care. It was a horrible end to a horrible week and I barely kept it together.

I feel much better after a day of rest and relaxation. A big thanks to those that helped us out this last week. You are all life-savers. Check out the boys night out with aunt Sarah here.

Third Trimester

Today is the first day of my third trimester. I have not been very good at taking pictures, documenting my pregnancy, or blogging. As is evidenced by the picture, I am gaining PLENTY of weight. Too much, in fact. As a result I have gone off of ice cream snickers bars, but I am having terrible withdrawals. Hopefully I pass my glucose test this week.

The boys are happy to be home, but can't understand why I won't let them outside to play. Every day Max insists that "it's not too hot outside mommy, it's juuuuust right." When I respond with "110 degrees is not juuuuust right Max, it's too hot", he has a conniption. Summer days in Arizona are long. Especially for this pregnant, hot, exhausted mother. There is so much to do over the next few months, and I have zero energy for the first time in my life. Today I am writing lots of lists and hope to document my progress here. On the blog. That's right. First on my list is to keep a better record of our happenings. My brain is not an effective place to store my children's milestones and funny stories. Look for them here. Coming soon...

playing in pasco

We have been having a blast playing at grandmas house...not looking forward to heading back to the heat. More pics on flickr.

PNW

Dear Daddy,

We have been having a blast hiking, picking strawberries, playing at the beach, going for walks, riding tractors, and eating FRESH halibut. Grandpa made delicious strawberry jam and makes a fresh strawberry pie everyday. We loved riding the airplane and the big ferry to get to great-grandma's house. We were very good, but Ian cried a little on the plane so mommy sang him the "popcorn" song. Then the lady sitting next to us made mommy sing it 15 more times so she could learn it. We miss you and hope you are having fun riding your bike and watching the Tour de France.

Love,

Max and Ian

p.s. more pics on flickr