Claire: Fantastic Five

Five years ago this morning, I became the mother of a little girl.  My due date was September 11th but due to having had a C-section with Hudson (after a long day of labor), I was scheduled to have one with Claire as well and that was set for September 4th.  Obviously we didn't make it to that day.  This girl has always had plans of her own and the day she came into the world was no different.

If you want the details of her arrival, read on.  If not, scroll to the bottom of this post.

Here's how it went:

• I woke up the morning of my 37 week mark with a huge contraction a little bit before 5:00 a.m.
• Called the hospital after a few more contractions and the unintelligent younger nurse who answered the phone said that since I was a C-section patient and my contractions weren't time-able, I should rest and things should calm down (told later by a more experienced nurse that the girl should have had me get there immediately...she went to find out who I had talked to).
• As per instructions from the same nurse on a second phone call, we didn't leave for the hospital until contractions were 5 minutes apart.
• Had to drop off Hudson at the home of Max's brother on the way.
• Headed for the freeway to find it dead stopped (due to a Coke or Pepsi semi-trailer crash...do you locals remember that?  I do.).
• Took city roads until we could get on the freeway where it was moving along.  Hubby drove a wee bit over the speed limit as I was crying out and screaming a bit.  Okay...a lot over the speed limit and crying and screaming a lot.
• Arrived at the hospital with contractions 30-60 seconds apart.
• Got all set up and the nurse checked me...dilated to a 9, 100% effaced and somehow my water still hadn't broken.  It did so about 1 minute later.
• Begged for an epidural (every contraction felt like someone was hitting me in the lower back with a sledge hammer - now we know that it was that pesky tumor).
• An anesthesiologist came in the room within a few minutes and gave me the world's fastest epidural - put the needle in, gave me 2 shots and left.  No need to leave a line in since things were moving along.
• My doctor came in and said that we wouldn't be doing a C-section since 1) I was only at 37 weeks, 2) the baby was a girl and much smaller than her brother, and 3) I was so far progressed at my 36 week appointment (at a 3 and 60% the week before - apparently that doesn't happen for women who have only delivered by C-section).  I think he said, "We can do this."
• I didn't totally believe him.  I was kind of freaked out.
• Less than an hour after arriving at the hospital (45 minutes?) and 3 pushes later, my baby girl was born.
• Claire weighed only 7 lb 2 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long (I know that's probably big for being three weeks early and about average size...but she seemed tiny compared to her 8 lb 14 oz and 21 1/2 inch brother and was the only one out of the 10 babies that my mom, my sister, and I had that was under 8 lb).

Claire really gave us a run for our money that day and has done so on a regular basis since then.  She only does something when she decided she's going to and even then, everyone has to wait until she's good and ready.  Thankfully she doesn't usually make us wait long.  She looks a lot like me but with more of Max's coloring.  She was a very easy baby in a lot of ways but unlike her ultra-social older brother, she was extremely shy and quickly let us know who she would and would not go to.  She was and still is all girl with a love for all things pink, girly, soft, and/or sparkly.  At the same time, she's definitely our more adventurous child.  Sometimes we have to just close our eyes or turn our heads and hope she survives whatever she's doing...and she always does.  From the minute she was born, she had her daddy wrapped around her little finger approximately 500,000 times and that hasn't changed.  Not only does she look like me but she's a lot like me in terms of personality.  That's probably why she's SO good at pushing my buttons at times.  In spite of how crazy she makes me at times, I love her more than I know how to express.  I am so grateful to have Claire for my daughter.  It's hard to believe it's already been this long...

Happy 5th Birthday, Boo!

I'll try to post an official "5 Years Old" picture a little later today...

Anne Was Here!: Big BBQ

The day of my visit to the DMV and out trip to Thanksgiving Point was a very busy one, indeed.  That evening, we had a BBQ here at our house with my little family, Anne and her three kids, and each of our three brothers, their wives, and all of their children.  There were 25 of us in all and the only people missing from our family were my parents and Anne's husband.  What a bunch of party poopers!  We got over their absence, though, and had plenty of fun without them.

Dinner was easy for us...we did a pasta salad (made the night before), prepped the chicken, and made a big cooler of lemonade.  Everyone else brought veggies, fruit, and dessert.  Max was the grilling master and while he took care of business, we took several pictures of all of the grandkids together, the three brothers, the five sisters-in-law, and the five of us awesome siblings.  I do wish that the aforementioned absentees could have been here so that we could have taken pictures of everyone.

Pics of all the grandkids, the brothers, the sisters-in-law, the granddaughters, the grandsons, and the five siblings.

We don't always behave for the camera.

Best picture of the night...me and the BEST sister in the whole world.

After picture taking was done, the three brothers got up on the trampoline and the kids took turns being "bounced" high into the air.  A few of them were up over Matt's head at their peak...and he's 6'7" so they really got up there!  At the end of the pre-dinner fun, two of my sisters-in-law decided to let the guys have a go at them and unfortunately, my brother Dave's wife, Jeanette, ended up with what was diagnosed the next day as a nasty case of whiplash.  She could barely walk and was in a lot of pain.  Poor thing spent the evening laid out on our bed with her legs propped up on several pillows (my hubby is seriously a pro at this thanks to the many times he helped me when I was laid up with back problems).  We all helped take care of their baby girl (6 months old?), my sister fed Jeanette dinner since she couldn't sit up, and everyone went in and visited her off and on throughout the night.

In addition to just getting together for dinner, it happened to the birthday of Matt's middle child/daughter, Abby (she's the one in the bright green).  They brought very tasty red velvet mini cupcakes for the kids and red velvet cake from Costco for the adults. Yummy!!  It was great to combine an already fun get together with her big day.

Just over a week after this big BBQ, Dave and his family moved across the country to Connecticut so this was our last big hurrah for a while.  We're all planning on meeting up in Newport Coast, CA next summer but as my mom says, "Life is what happens while you're making plans."  I just hope that the whole family (and I mean everyone!) can be there next year.

Anne Was Here!: Thanksgiving Point Animal Farm

The same day that I had a really great experience at the DMV (no lie!), my sister and I packed up our kiddies and took them down to the Thanksgiving Point Animal Farm with our sister-in-law Heather and her kids.  We've both been there many time before but it's always enjoyable as we are all animal lovers.  We all got to see, pet, and hand-feed draught/draft horses, ponies and their darling little foals, baby goats, etc.  The younger kids each went on a pony ride (if you can call it that...it's done in a small covered corral with the ponies on a mechanical merry-go-round of sorts) as well.

Growing up, I always thought I wanted to own and live on a small ranch/farm someday.  Now I think it'd be awesome to have chickens and maybe a goat.  Otherwise, I think the constant cleaning of messes, feeding times, and smell would do me in.  I'm glad we don't live to far from this place so that I can get a good dose of farm animals now and then!