A Second Birth Story

So I have been having issues with my blog but I think I finally figured it out so now I have some major catching up to do!....

On March 8th I was scheduled to be induced. Of course the hospital was too full and was backed up on their inductions (which was the case last pregnancy as well!). I knew it probably would be a few more days before they would call me so I was feeling a little discouraged. With the crazy back pain I was having throughout the second half of my pregnancy I was more than ready to be done and to sleep in a normal bed again (instead of the recliner). Since eating Panda Express last time I was in labor seemed to help things along, Doug suggested we go out to eat there that night. I ordered the sweet fire beef and the kung pao chicken :) It did get me to start contracting so afterwards we walked around the parking lot for a few minutes. Then the contractions slowed down and eventually went away. We went home and went to bed/couch. At about 5 am I woke up and my stomach was killing me. I felt like I was having horrible cramps or something. I stood up to go to the bathroom, and as I did I felt a very small (but definitely there) gush. Went to the bathroom to find that my undies were a little wet and also, not to gross anyone out, but there was a bright red little clot thing. It kinda freaked me out so I called the L&D and told them what happened. They said to keep walking around and if I kept leaking then to come in. I did that and I kept leaking but hardly. I was having very tiny and irregular contractions but I had those all throughout my pregnancy so I didn't know if that meant anything or not. I wasn't sure what to think and maybe I was scared to get my hopes up that I was truly in labor. So finally at about 6am I woke Doug up and told him what was going on. We decided that since we weren't 100% sure I was even in labor and since it was so early, that I would drive myself to the hospital (I know, I know, everyone thinks this is so weird). But I wasn't really in any pain and felt totally capable. Plus the hospital is only 10 minutes away. So At around 6:30am I arrived at the hospital and had so ask someone where I go if I think I am in labor. They checked me a few minutes later and found that it was, in fact, my water that had broken. YAY! I seriously wasn't even nervous at this point. I just wanted to get this baby out of me and to meet our little girl. I called Doug and told him the good news and I also texted some family and friends to let them know I was in labor.They asked me at what point I would want the epidural and of course my first thought is "why wait?!" so they got the anesthesiologist to come in right away. I got the epi before Doug had even got there. When he arrived (in a panic, thinking that I was going to be far along and upset that it took him so long) I was completely and utterly relaxed for the first time in nine months! I told him "I haven't felt this good in SO long!". :)

Now, at the women's clinic I had been going to, they make you see almost all the doctors in their practice instead of sticking with your own the whole time (so lame!) and there was one that I had met that I really didn't like. He just kind of creeped me out and I didn't want him to deliver me! I found out the week before that he would be on call in the hospital on the 9th starting at 5pm so I was kind of freaked out that my labor would be slow and that he would be the one to deliver me. I wanted them to give me pitocin to speed things along (it was a little slow starting off) but they never needed to and I guess the docs know best :) By noon I was dilated to a 6, by 2pm I was at a 7, and a little after 3pm I started pushing. Kadence Elaine DeGraw made her debut at 3:25pm March 9th 2012. The process was smooth and thanks to drugs, painless! She came out screaming which was music to our ears. She weighed in at 7lbs 2oz and 20 inches long. She had dark eyes, a little bit of dark hair and long eyelashes.

Giving my mom the low-down

Beautiful baby Kadence right after she came into the world

The official weigh-in. 7lbs 1.8oz

Averi meeting her new baby sister for the first time.

Welcome home baby!

Averi was a little bit stand-offish with her at first. She loved Kadence and was always very interested and gentle with her but she definitely became jealous of the attention she got.

Apparently Averi thinks she should still get to use the baby swing :)

Ready to pop!

Two weeks ago I took Averi with me to the Blue and Gold banquet that I helped with. It turned out really well but my favorite part (aside from all the yummy food and cake) was this adorable picture of Averi. It was a cowboy theme as you can see and she actually wore the hat for the picture which I was shocked by.

 

 Here is my last belly shot before I have to deliver this beach ball! I am definitely ready to meet her and see how cute she is but I'm also excited just do be DONE with pregnancy (at least for now!). I am 3cm dilated and am supposed to be called in to be induced tomorrow night but they are currently running behind on inductions so I am hoping I go into labor on my own like I did with Averi. Who knows what will happen...I just hope I have a relatively smooth delivery and that baby Kadence is healthy and happy! We love her already :)

Averi is excited to meet the baby too. She says "Kadence" so cute. If I ask her what the baby's name is, she says "Kanence" and it just melts my heart! Averi LOVES babies and I think she will adjust pretty well to the new addition. I was watching her on the monitor before she fell asleep for her nap today. She had her baby doll and was asking her (in this sweet tiny voice) "Baby, you want fruit 'nacks? You want crackers, baby? Okay!" Then she sang wheels on the bus to her and they both drifted off to sleep. :) 

Another funny "supposed-to-be-asleep" moment: I had to go to a doc apt one morning and she was still in bed. I checked her on the monitor to see if she was still asleep. She was awake and just reading a book and counting the pictures in it. Then I heard her start to repeat to herself "Don't rip it...Don't rip it" Then she actually looked back into the monitor (it seemed) and said "Don't rip it!" a third time. I was laughing so hard. It was like she was trying so hard to resist the urge to rip the book. I never saw her rip it. However, after I had already gone, Doug got her out of bed and found the book along with several small pieces of paper ripped from the cover. The little stinker just couldn't resist the urge.

Mom and Dad visit!

My friend Poiette is super nice and threw me a baby shower a couple weeks ago. It was SO fun! I got to go to Olive Garden and have lunch with all my good friends and open tons of presents! What can be better than that?! :) What great friends I have. 

I am getting so excited for baby to come now that I am a little more prepared. Any day now would be great, baby!

 Doug and I were cleaning out the garage and getting down the rest of the baby stuff when Averi decided she wanted to be the baby still. She just climbed right into the baby car seat and got herself all buckled and ready to go :) What a nut.

 Doug's flag football league started up again recently so it had been fun to see them in action. Averi has a blast playing at the park while he plays. She could have played on this horse all night. She looked like she was going to rock the poor horse off it's hinges!

 My dad had a conference to go to in Vegas this week so we were SO glad to hear that they were going to drive the rest of the way down to Phoenix and see us beforehand! It was SOOOO fun having them around. Doug and my dad spent most of their time shooting and golfing and also fixed some household malfunctions (the patio fan, the bathroom fan, and a few baseboards). My mom and I hung out and played with Averi and of course went shopping!

Here is a pic of Averi having fun with Grandma ("Ga-ma") She didn't take any time at all warming up to either of them and had a blast doing all sorts of fun crafts with Grandma.

 Wouldn't ya know it, it was my week to teach preschool the week that they were here! It actually went really well, though, thanks to my sister Kristy for some genius ideas. I think Averi liked having it on her own turf this time. She took advantage by being a little extra bossy!

 My dad made this adorable horse tire swing for Averi and hung it up on the patio for us. It is so cute and of course Averi loves it!

 My dad's brother Vard and his wife Jan drove up from Yuma to spend some time with them since they were so close. It was great to see them again. Doug went golfing with the guys and me and the girls went out to lunch to Mimi's when I was done with preschool. Yum!

 Saturday night we all went out to dinner to Margaritaville at West Gate. Averi loved riding on Grandpa's shoulders from the car to the restaurant. The food was delicious and we had tons of fun (...minus a few meltdowns from Averi and bed time came and went).

I recently enrolled Averi in a gymnastics class that meets once a week. The first week she did pretty well and only refused to do a few things. The second week, unfortunately was a big step in the wrong direction! I think she was feeling stage fright with Dad, Grandma, and Grandpa all watching her. Plus the room was freezing! She only did a few things (like hang from this bar and kick the blocks over, and hang from the rings, and she walked on the balance beam a few times). Hopefully next week will be better. Either way, she sure looks cute!

 My mom and I took Averi shopping with us On Saturday. I was a little worried since I forgot to bring the stroller but Averi actually had tons of fun trying on shoes (as pictured) and sifting through clothes on the racks. We shopped for almost 4 hours and we didn't have any meltdowns or anything! It was awesome! :)

 We went into this really expensive kids store (just to look!) and Averi was having so much fun riding the dog statues outside the store that she didn't even come in.

 Another one of her favorites while shopping was throwing pennies into the fountain. Or as she says it: "wa-wa fall". I have noticed that she can actually say the word "water" but still chooses to say "wa-wa". Oh well, I think it's cute :)

We were sad to see my parents leave but lucky for me my mom is coming back in less than a month to help with the baby!

First day of Pre-school / Visit from Porters!

 

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Some friends and I have decided to take turns hosting  a preschool session once a week as of January. We have loved it so far and I think Averi has too. There are about 8 kids in the class and of course Averi is the only girl :(   Her first day was a little rough (for me probably more than her). Once she realized that I was leaving her at a house she had never been before she started to cry. It was so sad for me because she usually has no problem with things like that (after the first time anyway). By the time I actually left, though, she was fine and pretty content. While she was there I went and got her a very girlie Hello Kitty backpack so as not to get confused with all those Cars and Buzz Light Year backpacks! She also got a set of Eric Carle books and a sucker for being so brave :)

Here she is walking home from school. On the first day it was at a house just down the street. 

I was SO lucky that my sisters family had a wedding to go to in Mesa a couple weeks ago! They stayed  with us for 3 nights and there was never a dull moment. Averi loved getting re-acquainted with everyone and of course loved all the attention she got too :)

 While Jody, Brett, and Brooke were at the wedding festivities all day on Saturday, the rest of us kept busy by checking out some shops, playing Frisbee, eating out at Panda Express, and since they were so in love with Goodyear's most famous tourist attraction (or detraction?) the "giant baby" we had to pay it a visit :)

 This was probably Averi's favorite part of their visit... getting pulled around the house (and brought down the stairs after waking up) like a princess.

 

They brought TONS of awesome stuff for all of us which was just an added bonus to their company! Here we all are checking out some of the cool stuff they brought Averi. 

 

They even brought Sophie a new outfit which she loves! okay maybe she actually hates it but we sure loved watching her wear it! So funny!

Here are the CRAZIES after doing the polar bear plunge! They swam across the length of the pool in freezing cold water and the outside temp was prob in the forties...like I said, they are crazy! 

 Brooke and Brenna taught her how to play London Bridge. I seem to get a lot of shots of her almost naked. I guess she just looks cuter that way :)

One silly girl...

With one problem after another, we finally decided to just do away with our old comp and get a new one... hence the delay in blogging...

I just have to document some of the funny things that Averi has done or has been doing lately...

1. If she is struggling with something (no matter what it is) the problem is always that it's "too big!" ie: she is trying to blow a bubble but can't quite get it, she says "Oh, too big!" ; She trips over the computer  cord, she says "Oh, too big!" ; She can't get a clothing item on quite right and she says "Oh, too big!". The list could go on forever, really. At first I thought she knew what she was talking about. Like if she couldnt get her shoe on because it is getting too small and she would say "too big" I thought "well, I guess maybe her foot is too big". Anyways, after a while I realized she is thoroughly confused about the meaning of the phrase. The problem is that it is usually so funny that I dont want to correct her :)
2. I have been battling a cold for let's see... about two months now! (this baby is sucking out my entire immune system, I swear) Anyway, I have been hacking a lot and Averi has come to expect that when I cough, I usually run to the sink and spit. She ususally will say "it yucky spit?". Yes is it yucky. Well the other day I heard her cough (a tiny little cough) and say "I need spit!". Then she jogged over to the sink, got on her little stool, leaned over the sink and started making a hacking noise into the sink. Then she got back down and went back to what she was doing. Doug and I were laughing so hard. I can just picture her making a scene her first day of kindergarten hacking into the sink like she is a smoker or something.
3. This one is not so much funny as it is annoying... Averi has entered the dreaded phase of NOT wanting to get ready for bed in any of its forms. Generally she will not cooporate while getting jammies on so I end up having to literally tackle her and force her limbs in one by one, all the while she is kicking and screaming. It is so much fun :) Same goes for teeth brushing. She used to be so good at letting us do it but I guess she decided she wants to let her teeth rot because I literally have to tackle her down so she is on her back and sit on her with her arms constrained, and then with my left hand I hold her head while forcing the toothbrush into her tighly sealed mouth with my right. Not to mention the times where she is finally all dressed and ready for bed and then decides she needs to go potty again which means her onsie pajamas get to come off and I get to do the whole thing over again. Gotta love motherhood :)
4. Averi loves to (and usually insists on) open doors for me. She will run to the door before me, struggle a moment to turn the handle, then open it and run in and hold it open for me. Then she will say in a very welcoming voice "come IN!" as if I am a highly anticipated guest in her home.
5. Averi, despite being very gentle and quiet in nature, has a definite bossy side. She loves having Sophie to boss around and to yell at for no apparent reason. If Averi is in the bathroom, Sophie will usually wander over and wait outside the door (or peek her head in) and Averi will run to the door, peek her head out and say "No Sophie! Stay Sophie!" and then slam the door. Not sure what is so offensive about Sophie waiting outside the door but I guess it is to her. She also freaks out at her when Sophie goes outside without a leash. She will stand at the door and yell "C'mon Soph! Come!" while hitting her leg.

           Averi is in a pre-school group that meets once a week as of this year. There are 8 kids and she is the only girl! She is always really quiet in new situations like that until she becomes more familiar with the surroundings. The first day she reportedly didn't say one word the whole time. The next time she was vocal only because I was there helping, and the third time she went, apparently she didn't say anything except to say "No!" to some of the boys. Ha ha! I have also heard that she does this in the Moms Day Out group that she goes to. She may be shy but she is definately not one to be taken advantage of! Good girl ;)

A Very Merry Christmas!

The whole month of December was so much fun with Averi this year. She is old enough now to understand the excitement of Christmas and she gets pretty into it like Doug and I do. She loved:

-Looking at Christmas lights especially blow-up characters like Santa and Mickey. She would always say "oh so peety" and then "Bye bye Santa/Mickey!"

-Watching Christmas movies... especially movies that had Santa in them.

-Opening presents

-Making Christmas crafts (I would put them on the fridge and every day she would say "I make kissmiss tee!!", etc)

-Eating Christmas goodies. I would be worried if she didn't since both Doug and I can't seem to get enough!

-The Christmas tree. She would always walk into the room where it is and point and say "oh so peety!", or "peety lights!", or ""peety kissmiss tee!"

Avers watching Christmas movies with her baby

 Averi at the ward Christmas party. She preferred to sit by the tree next to Santa and she did so for 15 minutes :)

 I had to just plop her on Santa's lap without asking her but she didn't really fight it. A little nervous maybe?

Reading Christmas stories to her baby

 Making cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve

 She couldn't help but sample a few of them which later contributed to her crazy hyper second wind she got about twenty minutes later.

 Putting frosting on the cookies. She was actually able to do it herself which I was pretty impressed with.

Can you tell which one I didn't help her with?

 Reading Christmas storied on Christmas Eve

Christmas morning!!

 Averi was probably most excited for the candy in her stocking than anything else. Here she is (with her mouth full of chocolate) showing me the sucker that was in her stocking. She was VERY excited about it :) We finally had to hide all the candy so that she would open all the real gifts. haha!

 One of her trusty favorites...a new baby

 Averi always gets into my closet and wears my high heels around the house so Santa decided to just bring her a few of her own pairs. She insisted on wearing them to target the next day which didn't go over to well since she has to shuffle step the whole time she is wearing them. She ended up going barefoot most of the time.

Santa brought me a sewing machine which I am SOOO excited about!

 Averi showing Daddy her new farm set that she got from Grandma and Grandpa H

 The wreckage

 Averi exploring all her gifts of Christmas 2011