Father's Day 2009

This year, Father's Day fell on our anniversary (6th wedding), but with a newborn and a 3-year-old, although we had MUCH to celebrate, it wasn't all that romantic. ;-) We still had a great day!

MUCH to Mark's surprise, I surprised him with his first pedicure (hey, I hear men get them all the time ;-). He was quite apprehensive (he's very particular about WHAT he puts ON his feet and about WHO touches them!), but willing, nonetheless.

In honor of her father, Karina wore her "Don't blame me, that smell is coming from Daddy!" t-shirt. ;-) Seemed appropriate for the occasion!

He's a good sport, and when it was over, he said he liked the way his feet felt! I, personally, LOVE that massage chair and the "post-pedicure" feeling as well! He's probably not going to be too thrilled with me for putting this "not-so-manly" photo of him up. ;-)

Jaclyn (with whom we were also lucky enough to spend the day) gave Mark the t-shirt he's wearing, it's "Dad" in binary. He got a big kick out of it. :-) I wish I had gotten some shots of her that day...

Welcoming Rylee Home... Her First Week

We arrived home on a rainy Sunday afternoon (June 7th) with our newest addition! It was also raining when we brought Karina home... funny, since it doesn't rain in Utah a WHOLE lot. The angels must have been crying tears of joy! :-)

Rylee did really well on the way home (better than Karina did since she pretty much cried the whole way). I sat in the back with her, just to make sure. :-) I was so awe-struck.

Karina was SO excited! It was a hard and new experience for her to have both of her parents away for a weekend, and she had to wait for two whole "sleeps" for her new sister to come home. It's hard to be that patient when you're three!

Karina welcoming her sister home. :-)

Her first night at home. :-)

Here's a VERY happy big sister and proud papa!

It was SO great having my mom (Mormor) here for the blessed event!

Not quite sure what was on Karina's mind, but she hasn't shown one ounce of jealousy or upset about our new little one! :-)

Hello, World!

Baby Bird

Sweet little Rylee... Welcome to Chapter 1!

Welcoming Rylee Michelle!

My due date was June 12th (ironically, Karina's was October 12th), but Rylee was growing like a weed, so my doctor decided to induce me at 39 weeks. Good old gestational diabetes! I was hoping I'd go into labor on my own like I did with Karina, but no such luck. I guess Rylee and my body just weren't ready! I'll probably always wonder when her birth date would've been had modern medicine not chosen it for her. ;-)

I had some anxiety about being induced and having labor come on in full force, but my doula friend Debbie Doll helped me get my mind, body, and spirit "on the same page," so Rylee could make her entrance in energetic harmony.

We arrived at the hospital at 7:40 AM and I was started on a slow Pitocin drip. My doctor stopped by to say "hi," which thrilled and surprised me! We were very impressed by that. The morning went by slowly and was pretty uneventful. They increased the Pit. dose every half-hour, but Rylee's heart rate kept decelerating with every contraction as they began to kick in, so they had to decrease my dose and bring it back up a while later at which time she tolerated it better. My doctor came in around 2:00 and broke my water (I was 2 cm dilated)... which is when the "fun" really began! ;-)

This was me in labor before my epidural. The IV in my left hand did NOT feel good. I had this imaginary "do NOT enter" zone around it. I was told it would take about 10 minutes to get my epidural once I asked for it... Sadly, not the case. I had to wait 40 minutes, which were some of the LONGEST 40 minutes of my life! OUCH!

Ah... Heaven. After I received my epidural, I got to browse the menu! This was my FAVORITE part about this hospital. It was great (and I was hungry!)!

I went from 5 1/2 cm to 9 cm in one hour! I was amazed (and in a mild state of disbelief) that when they checked me ten minutes later, I was "complete"! 10 cm, fully effaced and ready to deliver my precious baby! My mind had trouble catching up to my body's pace. That Pitocin really works!

My nurse told me to push once to get Rylee's head to crown while we waited for my doctor. I did and was firmly instructed to STOP. Once my doctor arrived and gave me the green light, ONE PUSH, and she was out! I remember seeing her in the mirror, one push, head, one arm, then ta-da! "I'm here!" They placed her on my chest and BOY, did she cry! Much more and for much longer than Karina. :-( Poor baby. I was in awe and complete amazement at how quickly she came (I pushed for 1.5 hours with Karina). There she was! My 2nd miracle and OH SO LOVED and OH SO WANTED. I was so excited to finally meet her!

I don't think SHE was quite ready, either, but at 8 lbs., 7 ozs., I'd say my doctor made a good call. My epidural worked SO well, I didn't feel a thing (although I would've liked to have felt a little bit of her "exit" like I did with Karina).

Our perfect little expression of love...


What a proud papa...

I was so lucky that my mom was here from Connecticut this time! Mormor, meet Rylee Michelle.

Dad and two of his girls...

Mom and her girls...

My mom, her girl, and her girl's girl!

For the second time, I had the best labor team! In addition to Mark (who was WONDERFUL) of course, Debbie and Linda were incredible supporters and *very* helpful during this amazing experience! Such great friends.

Mark got this shot and it cracks us up! Karina fell instantly in love with her sister.

Jaclyn came to visit and had a slight cold, so played it safe with a surgical mask. :-)


Not ready to go home?

"So I'm going home with these people, huh?" ;-)