Happy Birthday Eva!!!

A year ago today, just after midnight, my water broke. I had been in labor for about 33 hours by then. I had been on bedrest since mid-July, four and a half months earlier. This was the fifth time I had gone into labor with this pregnancy (I think - we kind of lost count). I had been on massive doses of medication for the last three months as we attempted to control my contractions. I had spent five of the last eight days in the hospital. For the third time in 7 days, we drove to labor and delivery in the middle of the night (note - up until this pregnancy I had never had to wake up in the middle of the night or stay up all night to deliver a baby. We made up for lost time.).

We got to the hospital around 1am. Brittney and Beca met us there. I don't remember a whole lot. Thirty plus hours of labor will do that to you. I remember the nurse saying we were at 5 cms, but she didn't think it would be long before Eva made her appearance. I was in and out of it for the next couple of hours. The NICU was alerted as at that point I was only 35 wks along (and 6 days, which makes it sound better. We actually made it just one day shy of the point Jack was born.). We were told that we wouldn't be allowed to hold Eva when she was born and that she would be taken immediately to the NICU and kept there for a minimum of 4 hours, probably longer.

The doctor came in and checked and we were at 8cms. Eva's heart rate started dropping and then stayed down. Beca told me not to look at the monitor as she could tell I was getting worried. The room filled up with people really fast. Looking back on it, I'm pretty sure we were only a minute or two away from an emergency c-section. The doctor (who was my OB for both Beth and Jack as well) told me to push her out. A minute later, Eva was born. The cord was wrapped very tightly around her neck three times, explaining the drop in her heart rate.

The NICU team took over and we heard her first cry. She was doing well enough that they let Rob cut the cord. A few minutes later, they handed her to me. We didn't expect that as they had told us we wouldn't be able to hold her as they would take her directly to the NICU. Rob got to hold her for a minute too :) They let him go with her to the NICU. Beca stayed with me (I think we sent Brittney home as she'd been up at the hospital with us for the past two nights). Rob and Eva were back just a few minutes later. Rob said that as soon as they pricked Eva's heel for her blood test, it was obvious that her lungs were fully developed and that she had no problems using them :)

We made it. Our baby was perfect and healthy and absolutely beautiful :)

I can't believe it's already been a year, yet I can't imagine our family without Eva :) We have loved watching her personality manifest itself over the past year.  She is incredibly spunky, opinionated, and determined. She knows exactly what she wants. She is so incredibly sweet and has been giving "hugs" for months. When I whisper "I love you" in her ear, she whispers back at me. She is such a Daddy's girl and her face lights up when he walks into the room. She adores her brother and sisters and they adore her too.

She is a little monkey and climbs on, in, over, or up EVERYTHING. She even climbs while nursing and often does headstands on my lap. She does headstands randomly on the floor as well. Everything she finds must be taste-tested. She hates being strapped into her high chair or carseat, but is usually fine once she has food in front of her or is in the car. She walks everywhere on her little bowed legs, babbling and growling. She says "Mama" and "Da". She's said "Hi" once or twice but won't repeat it and has said "Ba" when Beth walks into the room a couple times. Her eyes are grey like Rob and Beth's and her hair is almost a strawberry blonde; the red in it is especially obvious in the sun. She just got her eighth tooth this week. She sleeps pretty well most nights now, but refuses to nap unless I'm holding her, and even then she only takes catnaps. If I lie down in bed with her, she'll sleep for hours, but you can guess how often we have time for me to do that :)

We are so lucky to have her! It was worth everything we went through to get her here :) We love you Eva Grace!!!

Sleeping on my lap the day we got home from the hospital, surrounded by toys Jack insisted she needed ~


 



The outfit next to her is size newborn ~



First bath ~



One of her first smiles caught on camera ~



Bouncing on Mommy's lap ~



Look out world! She's crawling! ~



Cruising along the bed ~





Eating a cupcake ~




 She figured out how to climb the slide ~



Swinging with Jack ~



Eva's personality in a nutshell ~

Making Turkeys and Other Photos

Meg cuddling with Cricket ~

The kids wanted to have a fire the other night, so they made one. They took a piece of white paper, colored it orange, and made it into a cone. They found a toy that lights up (with red lights) and put the cone on top so it glowed in the dark. They finished it off by gathering sticks from the yard and putting them at the base.

Meg and Beth ~

Making turkeys for the window ~

Even Eva joined in this year!

She loved the glue, but wasn't horribly keen on turning her paper into anything other than crinkled balls on the floor.

Kylie with her finished turkey ~

Jack shows off his turkey ~

Beth was pleased with hers ~

Megan displaying her finished product ~

All four turkeys - clockwise from top left - Megan, Kylie, Jack, and Beth ~

We gave Eva an ice cream cone of her own after dinner last night. She loved it of course :)

Jack found a comfy place to chow down on his cone ~

Did you know that ice cream cones can dissolve?

And if you're ever out of hair gel and need to make your mohawk stand straight up, dissolved ice cream cone can do it ~

Our garden was a bit of a flop this year. Texas had one of the worst droughts in TX history this summer. This is not helpful for growing gardens. We kind of gave up on ours. Around the middle of September, we discovered to our surprise that the formerly dead and dry garden had sprung to life apparently overnight! The cucumber and crookneck squash plants were gone, but the tomatoes, zucchini and bell peppers grew like weeds. We were so excited, planning all the things we could do with this produce. Then we had two very cold nights in a row and everything died. We salvaged a couple of baby zucchini, a few mishappen peppers, and about a billion green tomatoes. We also found one red tomato, which the kids were thrilled to discover had eyes and a mouth ~



Eva has figured out that she can climb. On everything. *sigh* Foreseeing lots of trips to the urgent care center in our future! She's so cute though! :)

The picture I got of Beth's black eye didn't quite catch the bruise. We tried again, but when she smiles, the shape of her cheekbone hides it ~

When she doesn't smile, you can see the bruise better, but then she looks like she's been beaten ~

Yearly Kiddo Updates

Per Kate's request :)

Megan - size 8 clothing, loves all things girly, favorite color is magenta, ears are pierced (but she can only wear sterling silver earrings), interested in cooking, art, music, sewing, bugs, dinosaurs, science, reading (especially Nancy Drew - she even dressed up like Nancy Drew for costume day at school), archeology, and most recently origami. Has now decided she is going to be a farmer when she graduates from high school and has taken to scoping out prospective sites not currently in use (such as medians on the highway) to build her farm on. Has drawn a picture of the barn/house, decided what animals she'll have, and planned out her daily schedule, which has her waking at 3am in order to get all her chores done before she leaves for college at 7am. She does not get that from me! Asks the oddest questions completely out of the blue. Reads encyclopedias. Loves to sing. Walks into our room at least once a day and announces "I just want to spend time with you".

Kylie - size 8 clothing, but does not like clothes with un-stretchy waists like jeans or clothes with seams on the inside that are "itchy" (which is pretty much every single gorgeous dress I want them to wear for holidays). Favorite color is still pink. Interested in cowgirls, soccer, princesses, and animals. Plans to be a zookeeper and soccer goalie and live on a farm with Megan. Favorite animal is still a pig as it's pink. Incredibly talented at computer games and although she can't sit still for anything else, she'll spend hours playing games on the computer if we let her. A definite tomboy, she and Jack wrestle and chase each other. Teases incessantly (she got that from Rob), but often throws herself into helping with chores or around the house. Not much phases her. Her pants fell down once in kindergarten and her response was "oh, by the way, my pants fell down. I probably shouldn't wear these ones again until I'm bigger" instead of being completely embarrassed as I would have been. Loves reading as well and loves singing. Her favorite song is "Ska8ter Boi" by Avril Lavigne. Loves practicing soccer with Rob and drinking pickle juice (with Beth).

Beth - size 6 (or 7) clothing, also does not like tight pants or itchy seams. Three months into the school year and she has worn a dress to school every single day. The few days we've had that were freezing, I managed to get her to wear leggings under the dress. Favorite color is purple (second favorite is blue). Interested in ballet, Dora and Hello Kitty. Has started reading simple books. She is going to be a mom when she grows up. Loves suduko puzzles (kid ones). Incredibly precise. Picks up how to do things instantly and gets mad at herself when she doesn't. Has two volumes - off and ON. Around everyone except us, she is usually off and is not swayed by social niceties. If she doesn't think something is funny, she won't laugh. When she is on, she never stops talking. Has decided (with Megan) that she and Megan are twins. Loves having her own space, but is always happy to share it with Eva. Loves slipping in under my arm when I'm sitting down somewhere.

Jack - size 4 (almost) clothing, favorite color yellow (second is red, which he sometimes calls yellow). Current interests include superheros, especially Captain America, Lightning McQueen, Toy Story, dinosaurs, cars, and robots (or transformers). Loves playing on the computer. Working on colors, shapes and letters with me. Carries the lid of a food storage container with us wherever he goes as it is his Captain America shield. Incredibly active, can literally bounce around a room. Bumps heads with Rob as they are so much alike. Teases incessantly just like Kylie. Loves sharing with Eva though and is thrilled to help out by carrying in groceries, telling me how to walk to school, or "change" a stop light from red to green by blowing on it or making noises at it. Randomly comes up and wraps his little arms around me, tells me he loves me, and gives me kisses.

Eva - size 12-18 month clothing (probably more 18 m if you're getting gifts). LOVES music and dances even when someone's singing without accompaniment. Loves anything that makes noise, especially if it's chewable. Loves to eat pencil erasers. Favorite foods are clementines (she can eat 3-4 at a time), broccoli, hot dogs, and any frozen dessert. Does not like blueberries or grapes. Walking everywhere. Has just learned that she can climb on anything and gives me several heart attacks a day. Knows exactly what she wants and alternates between wanting to play alone in the little kitchen, wanting to play in the middle of one of her sibling's game, and wanting me to hold her while standing up. Definitely a Momma's girl, although she loves Daddy too. Not a huge fan of anyone outside of the family (except for Miss Betsy) and is very vocal about it. Screams louder and longer than I thought someone that size could. Will definitely NEVER be overlooked, even as the 5th child. Grins and blows kisses when I ask for them and she feels like giving them. Randomly lays her head on our chests and rests it there for a second to give us hugs.

Texas Igloo

Megan has been making plans to build an igloo for quite a while now. I keep telling her that we don't really get enough snow here to do that, plus it warms up so quickly after cold spells that I doubt an igloo would stick around longer than a day or two, even if we got enough snow to build one. A friend posted this link ~ http://www.squidoo.com/milk-jug-igloo?utm_source=google&utm_medium=imgres&utm_campaign=framebuster ~ today on facebook and Megan is thrilled that she now has a way to build an igloo in Texas!



We're going to start collecting milk jugs apparently, although the one in the picture used over 400 milk jugs, so it may take us a while (we go through about 2 a week, meaning it will take us about 4 years). So if anyone has milk jugs they wouldn't mind donating, we'd appreciate it! :)