So you wanna see what happens when...

 You tell your kid that they can keep their room however, but if it's messy the door must be closed.

Ummm, seriously?!? 

So much for new parenting techniques.

Anyone want a 9 yr old...we've got one for cheap.

Gigantic pilo of crap Stuff included.

Welcome to the World

The story of Aveline.

After a completely healthy pregnancy and a very loooooong and uncomfortable week past her estimated due date Aveline finally decided (not sure how accurate that is) to show her squishy face.

This is the first pregnancy in which I experienced some false labor episodes and more regular braxton-hicks contractions. Finally, I woke up on the 16th of November (Tuesday) around 8:30 with contractions that felt much stronger and more "real" than previously. I took a hot shower and got dressed then timed my contractions for about 2 hours. They were pretty consistent at 3-4 minutes apart lasting for around a minute and were getting stronger. I called in to my Dr's office and they told me to just go ahead and head to the hospital. Rob had already stayed home from school so we called mom and asked her to pick up Khi and dropped Tay off at the awesome Erica's house.

Wouldn't you know it. Got to the hospital around 11, got checked in, put in a room...and that's about it. Nothing. We sat and waited and waited and waited. It was determined that I was not in active labor, but since I was a week past the EDD the nurse said they would be keeping me. I was fairly bummed, but sent everyone else off for lunch...none for me even though no "active labor" was happening thank you very much. Rob and I spent some time walking around and around and around the halls of labor and delivery hoping to get things going again. I finally started having some contractions again in the late afternoon/early evening. When checked I was still only dilated to a 3.

Our good ol' Dr. B came around dinner time (it's all about the food when you can't have any isn't it?) to break my water. It was uncomfortable and apparently a bit of a waste. Everyone was prepared for this huge gush as I've always had a ton of fluid in past pregnancy's (part of the reason likely responsible for the scare with placenta in Tay's delivery), but nothing happened. Then Rob let everyone know that I had said I thought I might feel some leaking as we walked the halls earlier that day, but wasn't sure because I didn't usually walk around commando. ;)  I did feel a trickle though and apparently that had been my water breaking for the first time. They aren't lying when they say that each pregnancy and delivery is different...whomever "they" are. I did start to have some more regular contractions though, which was something.

Probably total TMI, but what's a l&d story without some TMI right? I didn't even know this was possible but after trying to break my water the good Dr. put some monitors inside me and stuck them to the baby's head. Weird right? Even weirder was feeling these wires "down there" wiggling around when I'd contract and/or the baby would move. So wrong...like the antennas of a scary large insect creeping out or something. Wasn't exaggerating TMI and so weird.

Around 8:30 I was really thinking about the whole epidural thing. Meaning those suckers were starting to hurt and I wanted one! I was still scared of the unknown, the big huge needle in my spine, etc. Then two men from church making their rounds stopped by and offered a blessing, which I gratefully accepted. I had already had one from my awesome hubby, but wasn't about to turn down an extra one as I was mentally trying to prepare myself for the big needle all while breathing through some really uncomfy contractions. I received an awesome blessing and as soon as they left I called the nurse in and let her know I was ready. She said I was officially in active labor and at a 4 and called the man with the needle. About 20 minutes later in rolls a seriously grumpy old man. Seriously. I was concerned to say the least. Rob saw my face and kinda chuckled. I decided and said aloud that if I was gonna let a strange man with a huge needle near my spine, I guess I preferred that he take it seriously. He didn't laugh.

Can I just say that I am so GRATEFUL that it went well. Bob, although very serious, also was very good about walking me through each step before he did it and explaining very well what I was about to feel. It did feel weird. There was a good 15-20 seconds of burning with the numbing shot and then a weird "popping" with the big needle. To me it felt like a sharp muscle twinge or something. Not great, but not at all what I'd been fearing. And then things began to tingle....

Oh Baby!!!

(Ready to go and gettting a little extra oxygen for a bit.)

What the heck had I been thinking doing things  naturally with no drugs in the past. Goodbye pain, hello heaven. :)  Man, to watch those contractions on the little monitor and feel NOTHING. Sigh. Bob is my hero. My very. serious. hero.

I got checked again and was at a 5-6.

An hour or so later the nurse let me know she talked to Dr. B and they were going to go ahead and give me a very small amount of pitocin in my IV to see if that would help things progress.

A short time later after watching some serious monster contractions make little mountain slopes on the printout piling up on the floor and pressing my little magic button every once in awhile...

I puked.

Yep. The joy. Oh the joy.

The good news was that according to my nurse this can happen when things are really progressing. Fortunately, Khi came walking in around this time, as he'd been taking a little nap out in the hallway because she checked me again, and I was at an 8!

She actually called the Dr to tell him to get ready and tried to explain once again what it may feel like when it was time as I was totally numb. Not even 15 minutes later I was like "hmmm" that felt different. The nurse happened to walk in right then and I let her know something felt different, but not sure if it was anything. She checks me right away and instantly says "oh yeah, that's hair...and a head" she grabs the phone and says "let's have a baby!" Dr. B came  rushing in and was putting his little shoe covers on as the nurse yelled "head!!" He told me to do a half push and stop and I hear him casually say "there's the cord" and see a flicking motion of his hand as he flicked it up and over her face from around her neck...another first for me. Then he told me to do a really big push and one more and she was out. That's when that crazy blurry moment hits that is so hard to explain or imagine unless you've been through it. I know I heard one cry and everyone was all happy and they brought her over and put her on me. I remember looking down and being totally shocked that she looked exactly like Tay and then being even more shocked by the size of her hands! Seriously they were HUGE.

 I was just holding her little hand and then before I knew what was going on she was snatched away and 4 nurses swooped in and were surrounding her across the room on the little heated/medical table.

Dr. B was all business as usual and then I slowly started to notice things. It's like looking back through honey. It was all happy, normal, you're going to get the placenta now? To...wait a minute...are they pumping air into the baby? Why isn't she crying anymore? Rob? Rob! What's going on, is she alright? Then I look at my mom. She had this look of absolute horror on her face. Yeah. Then I was worried. I asked her what was going on and why she had that look on her face. She turned to me and had the most ridiculous fake smile (sorry mom, but it's true) and was like it's fine, I'm just so happy. Yeah, okay. Bob's drugs aren't THAT good lady. Then I started asking more, but no one would answer me. Rob said it was fine, but the baby still wasn't crying and the 4 nurses were still around her and my mom had that horrible look on her face again. What the heck?!? I know some people would have benefited from everyone remaining calm and proceeding with business as usual, but I'm not one of them. I just need to know the truth and then I can deal with it, even if it means laying there helpless while delivering a placenta and getting one stitch (just one!)

Finally, my nurse came over and told me that the baby had stopped breathing and the nurses from the NICU had revived her. She assured me that she was fine, but that they'd have to take her to the NICU for a short time just as total protocol. It wasn't until my lactation appointment a few days later that I heard someone say that my "baby had coded." Ummm, that's medical lingo that is never good on Grey's! How scary is that?!? Not only did little Miss not want to come out, but she tried to go back!!! I know it's irrational but I still feel a twinge of apprehension with her, like I need to make sure she's okay and happy because she doesn't really want to be here. How messed up is that?

Rob did cut the umbilical cord in there somewhere...very significant for him as it was a first!
Then I got some food :)

and we spent some time getting to know our newest addition!

Did I mention that we finally found out what she weighed after her return from the NICU?

10lbs 8oz!!!

Yeah.

And she was born on Heather's birthday. November 17th. Very significant as my niece Morisa was born on MY birthday. I told her that it took me 17 years but I returned the favor. ;)

My cousin's little man also turned 1 that day, how cool is that?!?

Later that night, even though she'd nursed successfully a few times, she wasn't wanting to eat and the nurse checked her blood sugar only to discover it was low. Between the blood sugar, a little bit of jaundice, my having been Group B Strep positive, as well as RH- and little Ave a + blood type they decided she needed to go back and chill in the NICU. Bleh.

At first the Dr. had put her on no breastfeeding (???) and so the nurses spent the night force feeding her a bottle with formula and I worried about her being confused and not wanting to go back to nursing. I will say there are some AMAZING nurses in the NICU and a few that really (like REALLY) need to work on their bedside manner. I have always felt for parents whose little ones have to spend time in the NICU, but I can't imagine having to have them spend more time in there then the couple of days Ave did. Sad. Anyways, the poked the heck out of the poor little baby's heal. I did get to start nursing her the next day when I complained asked so nicely why exactly I couldn't nurse, so that was a bit happier. We ended up getting to not only get her out of the NICU, but to take her home (yay!) on Friday night. My dad had just flown in from the Ukraine an hour or so before we arrived, and my awesome mom was there with the kids cooking dinner. It was very nice to come home to dinner cooking and the house cleaned up...as well as some beautiful roses on the table (thanks dad!).

We had to go back to the hospital Saturday for her to get poked again and those came back great. The fact that the nurse had a cap issue with the little vial of blood, thus spilling it and having to poke sweet baby AGAIN wasn't so great. Cut to a week later when we have to take her in to get her levels checked...ie, poked AGAIN only to get a phone call a few days later that they didn't draw quite enough blood and could we please bring sweet baby in to re-draw.
ARE.YOU.FREAKING.SERIOUS?!?
Grrrrr.
That my friends was sweet baby Ave's arrival and subsequently poky first week or so story. Other than that she is a dream. Yep.
A. Dream. Baby.

Welcome to the world sweet babygirl Ave!!
So sorry about all the torture.

It's a Girl!

Aveline Ketola Chelan

Date: November 17, 2010

Time: 4:11 am

Weight: 10 lbs. 7.8 oz.

Length: 22 1/2 in.

It's a Girl!

This poor kid is being neglected already! I made some phone calls, texts, and posted it on facebook when we found out, but haven't posted. To be clear:

IT'S A GIRL!!!

We are all excited. Rob jokes that he can't put the stem on the apple and that he is destined to be surrounded by women. His sisters joked that he's a real ladies man. ;)  I wanted another little girl really bad from the beginning, not only to spread the clothes love that is Tayvin's wardrobe, but because I wanted her to get the experience of having a sister. I always wanted one and had to wait 'til I was all grown up to get some pretty amazing ones by way of sisters-n-law. I will admit that I had become convinced that it was actually a boy though and was totally in shock and thrown off for a few hours after discovering that my "feelings" were totally bogus. Woops. :) I do love bows and ruffles so more to come is just fine by me, I just hope that this baby is smaller or larger than Tayvin because all those clothes? Exact opposite seasons!

Robert hopes she isn't too cute. Or maybe he kinda does... he thinks if they are both going to be as cute as Tay that I'll finally let him get a gun!

QT

So. It's come up more than once the past couple of days and tonight while I was reading to Khi I put it to the test. I ended up chatting with my little man for an hour and it was delightful. I cringe to think of all the great little details I've been missing because I was in some "zone" or the other. All less important really, in the long run. He was completely beaming and although he swore he wasn't tired with a big grin on his cute face, he very obediently and sweetly got to bed. Now, I have to ask if all the major attitude that has been driving me nuts as of late is all due to my own neglect? I mean, I always stop and give him hugs every day, I always ask a few questions about his day. But there is definintely a difference when all eyes are on him with no other distractions at hand and I'm really genuinly listening and responding. Man, I L.O.V.E that kid. What a total nut/stud/sweetheart/goof/love of my life/grade A++ kid!

I LOVE YOU Mekhi and I hope you will always remember and really know that. I really hope that one day you will be all grown up and ready to start a family of your own and that when you first experience the great love that is the love for a child you will remember me and understand. I know you are amazing and can't wait to see what amazing things you will do! ~Mom

Craft time with Khi.

This is Mekhi's craft project we did together.

 It's to hang on his door and it was fun to do together!

We are LOVING this book/lecture!!!

A friend gave me a cassette tape copy of this lecture on dicipline back in the day and Robert and I have been listening to it lately...it's AWESOME!!! I had to share:

Dicipline: Kids are Worth It! by Barbara Coloroso
It's about teaching kids to like themselves, think for themselves, and understand that there is no problem they can't solve. It rings so true and we've tried a few of her suggestions with Mekhi and they've worked wonders!

I bought the book used on Amazon for 4$ (that includes shipping!) I also found the following link that lets you read a huge portion of it (sorry it looks so crazy). We are trying to figure out if we can get a copy on CD so we can burn it for any one who's interested. If you read it or whatnot let me know and let's compare notes!! :D

http://http//books.google.com/books?id=p-ln2rx0vrwC&dq=discipline+kids+are+worth+it&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=ivbOJxGdSX&sig=_OpxAIaz-TW_FBwUbFTZwkC2UAI&hl=en&ei=IzttSuWvGJLgtgPAzbHKDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6

Peek-a-Boo!

Birds & Bees

THE birds & the bees for a matter of fact. So, earlier tonight when I was saying goodnight to Mekhi he asked when we were having another baby. I said I wasn't sure. He kept prodding so I said that daddy and I would discuss it. His reply? "Does daddy have to have something to do with having a baby?" :D Okay. So, all my classes I've taken where this topic has come up have stressed that we should talk frankly with our children starting at an early age about sex. He was asking some seriously specific questions and I answered. The looks crossing his face were absolutely priceless! I wish I had the whole thing on video. LOL. At one point he asked, "but HOW does it get there?" in reference to the sperm reaching the egg. Yeah. I pretty much told him and then said how it's special and God made it work that way so you can make babies when you are sealed in the temple. His reply? "But HOW? If you don't tell me how will I know what to do when I'm married?" Seriously!! I said daddy would tell him when that time comes, but he wasn't having it. I got him onto puberty at this point. He was intrigued by the way. So his ending comments were to earnestly remind me that I needed to eat a lot of bananas to have a boy, but not too many because then I'd have a boy that looked like a banana. Hehe. Can't stop laughing! And no idea where he got the banana thing!

Maybe I don't really need to worry since he still insists that he doesn't understand why anyone would have to move out when they are older and that he is staying in our house with us FOREVER!!! To which Robert always quickly says "yeah right buddy, I don't think so." ;)

My thoughts...

Okay, politics aside for the most part to focus on both a historical and personal aspect to today's election for a moment:

I think it is awesome to have some diversity in the White House. I mean, there are numerous women President's in countries around the world. I just simply like that we now have some diversity.

I would really hope that regardless of how I did or didn't vote that people wouldn't assume I feel the way I do BECAUSE my family is black. I would never vote or not vote for anyone for anything because of their ethnicity. I think it sucks that some out there really believe that Obama won ONLY because he's black. Although that may say something about the progress of our country, unfortunately I'm sure there are still those that didn't vote for him for the same reason. Anyways, back to my personal thoughts...

Earlier today, out of the blue, my son Mekhi told me that he wishes he was white and not brown. This just about broke my heart. He didn't have a reason except to say that he thought it would just be better. I did my best to explain to him that God doesn't make mistakes and he is just who he is supposed to be and there is nothing "better" than who he is. So, tonight when I could tell him that the President of our whole country is brown just like him...well? Well, it felt REALLY GOOD!!! I'm glad that kids out there can now really believe they can be anything they want to be and if you don't think kids were thinking otherwise before now, you'd be wrong. For this I am glad.

My other point, which is also something I feel very strongly about is that we now have a duty to uphold and support and pledge allegience to our new President. Just like I didn't appreciate all the smack talk about Bush, I likewise will not appreciate any about Obama. The people have spoken and he is OUR President. I just hope that as a country we can unite and that Obama and his family will be blessed, and that he may be blessed by our Heavenly Father to make changes for the good and for all people.

That's my two cents.

Love ya all and good night!

P.S. - After I told Mekhi the news, he yelled "COOL!" and about 10 minutes later he said, "I guess I don't mind being brown too much. It's been pretty good so far." Gotta love him!