K's big hairy brother... :)

Beezer, who has been the center of our world, really has had an interesting adjustment time in the last few weeks. When I say he was stuck to me 24/7 for the last 8ish years, I'm not kidding. He's been our "baby boy" for a long time... :)
When we brought Katherine home, we let him greet her at the door after I came in to greet him and love on him. He knew something wasn't right, though...he wasn't at all "the same" with me when I walked in... He knew someting was different...
For the last 3ish weeks, he's had very little to do with me. He didn't follow me around or anything... He'd lay there and just look at me with his head on his paws... Doggie depression, without a doubt...
When we took K for her first doctor's appointment, we put her in her carseat to travel, and you could see Beezer's eyes light up. I know he was thinking, "OK...so they brought this thing in the house with this chair...if they're putting her in it again, maybe that means she's LEAVING!!!" How sad he was to see us return with her later... No such doggie luck for him... :)
In the last week, he's started to come around. He lays next to me now...and comes to sit next to me for a neck rub or for a head scratch. He's even decided that it's OK to sleep near me again...
He doesn't really bother Katherine...he will give her a sniff every once and a while, but generally, he just admires her from afar... :) This is a good thing; I was concerned about his reaction and interaction with K... So far, it's been great, but I still don't trust him...

I should probably give Beezer more credit than he gets... He is funny with Katherine... He follows me around with her and wants to always see what she's doing or what I'm doing with her. For example, on Thursday, K was back in our bedroom sleeping in her bouncie seat, and I ran to the kitchen to grab some water to drink. (Beezer comes with me; I never leave him alone with Katherine.) She started to cry, and Beezer immediately looks at me and communicates with his big, brown doggie eyes... When I didn't move quick enough, Beezer walked into Katherine's room to see if she was there. When he realized she wasn't, he stood at her doorway and looked at me in the kitchen. Then, when I didn't come to him, he walked into our bedroom to see if she was there...when he spotted her, he rotated his body and stared in my direction and wagged his tail a bit...as if he was trying to say, "Here she is!! I found her...can you please come and get her so she won't cry...?" When I got her out of her bouncie seat, he sat right at my feet and let out a big sigh...

And thus we learned two things...

~He must hate hearing her cry as much as I do...(Gosh, that rips my heart out...)

~K has a great big brother... :)

amazing... :)

It's been awhile since I've posted...sorry! I always have good intentions and never follow through because SOMEONE always diverts my attention... :) I wouldn't have it any other way, though... :)
We've been LOVING having this new little bundle of joy... I don't know how many people I've told, but if I would have known parenthood would be this wonderful, I would have done it a lot sooner! There are no words to use to convey my love for this child... :)
Ry was off the week of Nov. 3rd...which was great. We enjoyed being together as a family! :) We voted on the 4th, which was also my 32nd birthday! (WOW!) After having Katherine, there wasn't anything that I wanted/needed...she is the perfect gift! :)
We also visited my school one afternoon...so my wonderful teacher friends could meet Miss Katherine. :) I also visited my classroom briefly but was really taken back at how different my kids were. It was like they were muted or something...hard to explain. Their faces lit up, but they were scared to come up to see me or Katherine...I know having a sub has been difficult on them. Anyway, it was great to see everyone, and we'll need to go back soon... :)

Katherine had a Dr.'s appt. on the 3rd, as I mentioned before... It was a much better appointment (she cried almost the entire time for her first appointment), and she managed to make it very exciting. Well, she managed to poop all over the exam table when she had her temperature taken, which meant that the nurse had to clean off the table and Ry had to hold her while I was getting wipes from her bag. Well, Ry didn't pick her up with her blanket for "protection," and she managed to pee all over the front of Ry's shirt, on his jeans, and even on his sneakers. Fun times... :)

This week, K and I hung out "just the two of us" and had a great week. While we missed Ry, we did enjoy being together. Generally, K and I spend the day hanging out, eating (her more than me :)), going for a walk with the dogs, and catching a few TV shows at various points. :) When she naps, I usually eat lunch, take a shower, or do something around the house. At times, I do nap, too...but I've not been that tired during the day... :) I'm loving being here at home with her...it's amazing and wonderful! Oh, this week, we did go in to the high school to visit Ry on Monday...so his teacher friends could see her, too! :) She was a hit, of course! :)
And, Miss K officially hit the "3 week" mark... :) I can't believe it's been 3 weeks since I had her... Time is flying...

K had her FIRST real bath by us this week, too! :) Her belly button finally fell off on Sunday, so Tuesday was the "big day." She enjoyed her luxury tub...and liked that we ran a space heater for her to make the bathroom all warm and toasty! :) Then, she got to have another bath on Thursday...unplanned... :) We had a nice "explosive" diaper experience...but she came out of the tub clean and smelling beautifully!

I'm loving every single second of this "mom" stuff...and Katherine is really wonderful, amazing, inspiring... When I look at her, I just about lose it thinking about how amazing it is that she's here...and how incredible her life is...and how perfect she is... She's changed my perspective about nearly everything in so many ways...

I can't wait to see what the next week brings... I can't imagine it getting any better than it already is... I'm in love...again. :)

some new pictures :)

Click on the link below to see some pics of Katherine :)

http://picasaweb.google.com/winterobinspics/BabyK#

A few pictures...

K in the birthing room - the first time I got to hold her. :)


Our little angel

Well worth the wait...

It's been a long time since I've posted... :) I'm sorry... ;)

It's a girl!!!!

Katherine arrived on October 23rd. :) After 23 hours of labor and 3 1/2 hours of pushing, I can now say she was well worth the wait... :) I remain in awe...

Name significance...
First, we need to say it took us awhile to choose a name, officially. It wasn't until the lady came from the records dept. at the hospital that we finally picked... :) Let me just state one fact: It's hard being teachers and naming a child... :)
Katherine is just a name we liked... We like Katie or Kate, too, so we'll probably call her one of those names eventually. We didn't choose it for a particular reason... After thinking about it during my long nights at the hospital, I remembered that Katherine was also the name of my Nanny's mother. My Nanny, my father's mom, passed away in the early 90s, but her mother, Katheryn, is a mystery to us. She died when my Nanny and her siblings were very young, and they were all given up for adoption. No one has a lot of information about my great-grandmother... On my maternal side, Katherine is also a family name...
Elizabeth, her middle name, is also a family name. My mother's middle name is Elizabeth, my grandmother's first name is Elizabeth, and my middle name is a shortened version - Beth. I think the name Elizabeth goes back even farther, but I couldn't think of a better way to honor the most incredible women in my life... :)

We've been home for a little over a week now... :) Everything is going beautifully... I cannot complain about anything, really... Yes, I'd love a little more sleep, but just picking her up erases any sleepiness or anything that I may be feeling at that time. :)

She's nursing like a champ - she's gained about a pound since her weight check last week. :) Woo hooo! :) We got the "OK" to let her sleep as long as she'd like during the night so that we can start to establish a schedule/routine. :) This was music to my ears... There was a time right after we first got home when I have to admit that I was totally...incoherent with the feedings throughout the night! :) I would wake up to feed her but wouldn't remember what time, for how long she fed, etc. That was sort of funny as I was showing her pediatrician my "recording sheet" with question marks instead of true data... :) Now, I'm doing a little better with that... :) She tends to wake every 3ish hours, anyway... :)

Our families were here for the first week or so... :) When we got home from the hospital, my parents arrived a few hours later... My parents left and Ry's parents arrived 3 hours later... :) It is wonderful to have everyone here, yet I have to also admit that it's wonderful to be here as "just the three of us" now.

Katherine is a great baby... She's a good crier, but only when she's really tired, needs her diaper changed or is hungry. She's quite fond of her changing table area - we have lots of great conversations there. :) I love her little coos and baby talk... :) Ry and I are in total and complete love with this child... I stare in amazement as I take in the fact that she's "ours" and that we "made" her... She grew inside of me for several months...and that I was able to give birth to such an incredible human... And, equally so, it's scary to think how much we'll be doing and how much we'll devote to making sure Katherine grows and develops and becomes a person who is honorable and wonderful. We want her to be, simply put, her very best. :)

There is just so much to write, but I'll keep this post short. :) Birth story, various funny or interesting stories, pictures, etc. - they're all to come, I guess... :) When there is time... :)

We stand amazed and in awe of this life we've been entrusted with... We are in total and complete love... :)

The Waiting Game

Well, we've officially gone past the due date - 4 days past...and now we're playing a waiting game here at Chez Rakow. Poor Ry still has to go to work each day wondering if his cell phone will vibrate with a phone call from home saying something is happening. This waiting, of course, is after getting the surprised looks of his fellow teachers as he comes in to work at 8 AM, still baby-free... I'm sure he enjoys having "we want a baby!" being shouted in the halls! :) I still sleep a choppy 4 hours a night, maybe, if I'm lucky - and I can't fall asleep at a decent time... Then, the hips...I feel like a pig at a Hawaiian luau fire that has to be turned every hour... The hips just aren't happy any more... :)

I really thought that we'd have a baby by now...but I know it's not about my timing... Little R will get here when he/she is ready. :) I'm thinking that it was a little silly to start my leave from work on Oct. 13th... While being off has been restful and nice, right now, I just don't see the benefit of being at home, bored, each day... :) I know, I will cherish these days in a short time, but now...it seems unwise.

I'm becoming Suzie Homemaker... Last night, at midnight, I was cleaning the little burner "catchers" on the stove top...with the Brillo pad and all...seriously scrubbing...who cares that it was midnight??!! I am actually PLANNING meals for Ry for dinner...we don't have the usual, "What do you want to eat?" conversation like we did when we both were working. Tonight, after making dinner, I baked 20 muffins and 2 loaves of banana bread... Just call me Paula Deen... :) (Speaking of, I used her recipe...very tasty, I might add!) I do wash regularly, not just on the weekends...so our laundry baskets are rarely full! The dogs and I take a few walks a day saving the long one for the evening when Ry gets home... Now, if I could just bend and comfortably weed the gardens...and plant some pansies...I'd be set! :) I know I could totally be a stay at home mom and be content... :) But, the mortgage calls monthly...as do the other bills... :) And, well, you kind of have to have a KID to say you're a stay at home mom...unless you call me a mom to our hairy children, which I guess I am.... :)
Our human baby is still baking, apparently... :)
We have our LAST (hopefully) OBGYN appt. tomorrow afternoon... I don't know what all they will discuss...but I hope that dilation, effacement, and stations have changed... I don't really feel that much pressure or cramping, but I do feel it pretty regularly, so I will be interested to see if the pressure and cramping are doing anything "down south." They'll discuss induction, too...I'm sure... I'm shooting for Friday instead of Monday...or earlier, if they suggest it! :) We'll see... I'm not going in with a prescribed idea...I am not horribly uncomfortable...I just want to see this little person...and meet him/her... :) I walk by the baby's room here and just gaze in there thinking, "Will you ever have a baby in there?" Soon...I know...PATIENCE...I know... I'm being trained and prepared... :)
More tomorrow...after the doctor's appointment... :) :)

Words of Wisdom

In my "leisurely" passing of hours in a day (now that I'm not at work), I actually get the chance to catch Oprah... Today's show is on etiquette and how being rude can negatively effect our general health and well-being...
She had a great quote on... It just reminds us how much of an impact we have on the people we meet - strangers or friends - I thought it was too good not to share! :)

We never touch people so lightly that we do not leave a trace. ~Peggy Tabor Millin~

The Waiting Game... :)

Nothing earth-shattering to report from the land of waiting... :) hehe :)
I had my 39 and 3 day check yesterday... I was "almost" at 2 cm dilation...lost 4 lbs....and had a higher blood pressure. Since I am not experiencing any head aches, swelling, or change in vision, they attributed the higher blood pressure to the fact that maybe it is a sign that "things are starting to happen." Dr. Owens thought that maybe something could start in about 36 hours...but probably for sure by the weekend... If nothing happens, we're going back for another appointment on Tues. the 21st...and they probably won't think about inducing me until the 24th or the 27th... Let's hope that it will not come to that... :)
Little R is doing A LOT of moving these days... It's like having a karate class going on in my upper stomach... Hopefully he/she is trying to push his/her way down to make my water break or something! :) hehe :) Ry enjoys the free show that can be viewed through any t-shirt!
I think we'll go on a nice walk this evening...once it cools off a bit (nearly 90 here today!)...
I was very crampy and achy yesterday...not bad at all today...cleaned the bathroom, decided to make some jello salad, did a load of wash consisting mostly of baby blankets/clothes, walked the dogs...let's see what else I can do... :)
:)
I will keep everyone updated...when there is something to update... :)

Week 38+...No Changes :)

Hello All! :)
Well, there's nothing to report from the land of Oz here... :) Tuesday's appointment showed no progress...again, not a problem with this girl! :) hehe :) The heartbeat was in the 140s this time...which is normal...and that was about it! :) The exam wasn't too comfortable this time...but I survived... :) I was a little crampy for several hours...and was hoping and praying that nothing was getting started just yet... :) It all passed... :)

Had an interesting experience on Monday... I was walking the kids out to recess and wasn't paying attention to where I was walking (I was talking to the kids). Where the sidewalk meets the grass was just a little uneven...and well, I "became one" with the grass! :) hehe :) I went down...knees and hands...no belly flop... I have an ongoing issue with my ankle anyway - I broke it (unknowingly) back in college and hobbled around on it for awhile...messed up the muscles and stuff... So, of course, that's what sent me to meet the grass in such a non-graceful fashion... I had a nice big swollen lump on my ankle...still have it but I wrap my ankle and that takes care of support and whatnot for the day. Now it's lumpy and bruised... :) I skinned my other knee up pretty nicely and bruised it...hurt my elbow...it was a fun time... :) The kids all gasped... They asked if I was OK or hurt...to which I replied, "It's OK...I'm OK...the only thing that's really hurt is just my pride!" hehe :) How embarrassing!

My last day at work is tomorrow...until Jan. 5th, 2009. That sounds like a long time... :) I will have to go in for a few things, without a doubt...but it will be nice to be away for awhile while getting used to this new job I'll have...mother... Woah buddy...
I will miss my fellow 3rd grade teachers and the people I work with...I always hate not being able to see them regularly... When I think about it, it just makes me realize how wonderful and blessed I am to have a job where I really do love the people I work with... I will be visiting often... :)


On ANOTHER note...we have discovered a pretty serious issue with our plumbing... Our water bill has increased steadily for the last several months...but we thought it was mainly due to us doing more wash, etc. with the impending arrival of the baby, etc. It didn't make a lot of sense to me...but I just went on from there and paid the bill. THIS month, our bill is $80...which made me question what in the world is going on... Our bill has pretty much quadrupled... We did some troubleshooting and found that we have a leak in the line running to the house...underground... Our wonderful plumber came out and did some investigating... It looks like the water line probably runs under our driveway (sigh)...which is paved (sigh again...). We'll see what will come of this challenge... :) Of course, this month will be when we also get our new doors from Pella... *cha ching* I have faith it will all be OK... :) It's just another thing to have added to the many life experiences we're about to have... :)

:)

Well, I will wrap this up... :) I hope you are all doing well... :) I will be in touch as the time passes... :)
:)

Lack of progress...it's a good thing! :)

Hey all,
Had another appointment on Wed. afternoon... A scheduled simple ultrasound since I was measuring at 39+ weeks last week... They wanted to check the size of the baby and the fluid... :)
The ultrasound was fine...a little painful (they really press hard!) but it was good to see the Little R in there... We saw a lot of its face...pretty cute if you can call an ultrasound picture cute... :) It makes me really curious to see what he/she looks like! Something to look forward to...
Anyway, the ultrasound showed that everything was fine... The size of the baby is normal for 37+ weeks...so they kept the due date as Oct. 17th. The fluid was good, too...and they said Little R was probably around 6-7 pounds. Not bad... I was especially happy to confirm that he/she will NOT be gaining a huge amount of weight in the coming weeks. The doctor said that, at this stage, it may gain 1/4 of a pound a week... I can handle that... :) My quetion is...why was I measuring at 39+ weeks? The doc I saw on Wed. said he got a normal measurement...so I guess that meant 37 weeks? So, where did those 2 extra weeks come from last week? Is that just how fat my non-baby belly is in real life??? Dag...
The nice internal check showed that there is NO progress this week! :) YEAH!!! :) I sort of cheered and a big smile spread across my face when he told me that I was still 1 cm. dialated and 50% effaced... He was a little confused...I guess most people are begging to get it all over with at this point. Now, don't get me wrong, I am not super comfortable, sleep is difficult...and being on my feet all day in the classroom is really hard on me... BUT, the pure and honest truth is that I am not ready to give birth yet... I am ready here at home...and probably just fine mentally (I think)...but I just don't have everything finished with school yet.
I'm not sure how much a person is to do for a long-term subsitute...Mrs. S., the angel "copy Goddess" has been absolutely amazing with lending her hand and time to make copies for me... So, I have 3 copy paper boxes organized now... 3 units for Science, 3 units for Social Studies (not finished yet), and lots of other things for reading and math in the last box. Fabulous... However, I just don't know how to write up stuff... :) I got smart and did a calendar for Reading - I just put the stuff in each week, but I'm not sure it's as easy to do for all the other subjects - with exception of Spelling... Anyway...enough with that... I will do what I can and hope and pray that she can make sense of my wild notes. :) I also know that I have 6 AWESOME 3rd grade ladies who will step in and help in any way they can... :) AND, I remember every day that I will NOT fall off the edge of the Earth when this baby comes... I will still be able to communicate and stuff... :) So, maybe I am making a mountain out of a molehill...?
Either way, I'm going in this weekend to get the last bit of copying done...and I will be working on report cards... They go home on Oct. 9th. Thankfully, I've been smart and kept up with grading...so doing report cards won't be a tough thing to tackle. It's just another thing to add to the list of "to dos." It's just that the list keeps growing... :) And, another blessing...I've had parent/teacher conferences this week and will finish them up next week... I won't have to write lengthy comments on the report cards since I'm meeting with so many of the parents... :) I think a "Great job, and keep up the awesome work" is going to be adequate! :)
And, strangly enough, my feelings about leaving the kids are bittersweet. I am excited to be home...to meet the baby, etc., but I'm sad to know that I'm going to be leaving the classroom and my "kids." At the beginning of the year, I just kept thinking, "You can make it until October 10th...when you get there, it'll be great and you can leave..." But, now that I've met them, I feel connected to them and don't want to leave them for nearly 3 months! I mean, I don't want to come back early or anything...but I just will be so amazed and surprised at how much they will grow and change in the time that I'm not there. I know that may sound cheesy...but it's something that I think and feel. Again, I remind myself that I am not falling off of the Earth or anything... I can bring the baby in to meet the kids...and see them and stuff... But, I will be strangly sad to know that, next Friday, the kids are in another person's hands for 46 school days...and that they will be a little different when I come back! :) Strange..........
Well, I'm tired and want to head to bed...so I better wrap this up... My long rant and randomness needs to end... :) If you're not sleepy after reading this, then I'm better at my stream of consciousness than I thought... Sorry to bore and thanks for reading... :)
I'll keep you up to date...until then, keep smiling! :)
:)