Never a Dull Moment

As you certainly know by now, my brother Dan's team won the Stanley Cup playoffs this year. What you might not know is that for the NHL championship, each member of the team and staff is allowed a day with the Cup - in whatever location s/he chooses. As a result, Dan will have the Cup in GH for a day next week. And as you must also certainly know by now, we couldn't possibly miss it. And so, two days ago we set off on an adventure. 2 young girls, 2 older ones, many different airplanes and airlines. The youngest and the oldest traveling together (Grandma and Anna), and the middle ones together - the latter on a much longer flight plan, more airplanes and more hassle. We all made it.
Yesterday we had a fun filled day of visits from cousins, aunts and uncle Dan! How exciting for Kate. She kept telling me, "these are my cousins!" She even warmed up to Uncle Dan enough to say, "Go Penguins!" - and she let him pick her up. Major progress.
Today we've been on our own for the first morning since Anna's arrival. Wow. First of all, THANK YOU, NANNY for all of your help over the last two weeks. I've been doing nothing, and she's been doing everything. I now realize that. Second of all, this is hard! I'm trying to get out of the door this morning and am finding that with the diapers and the baths and the breakfasts and the bottles and the car seats and the getting dressed and making sure we leave the house with everything we need,... it is hard. Oh - and nevermind the fact that I didn't get a shower or food. I mean, seriously, who am I in this big picture? And afterall, I did have a sip of coffee. And what's a little sleep in my eyes and a grumbling stomach when there is a beach to hit?!?
Adios!

Compare and Contrast

A few of you have asked if I've compared first photos of the girls. Around here #1 and #2 claim #4 and #5 are twins. Now I'm taking a real look for the first time. Pictures 1 and 2 are truely first photos (as you can see, Anna took more of a beating than Kate did - thank you, Kate). Pictures 3 and 4 are both from their first days at home. From what I can tell, aside from the lack of white hair, Anna is her big sister's twin. You be the judge...
KATE:

ANNA:

KATE:

ANNA:

Homeward Bound

A New Team Gootch Member

Anna Mathea (aka, #5) arrived at 7:58pm on July 16, 2009. She weighed in at 8 pounds, 12 ounces and is 21 inches long. Shockingly (to #2 and me), she has brown hair and dark eyes (however - a hint of blue does exisit). I was expecting another litle Kate, but Anna had something else in mind. And it is just fine with me. She is an absolute delight. Welcome, #5. We love you very much.

Here We Go!

I look at this photo with dismay at my girth, but I know that the fact is I am simply a vessel bringing my new baby girl into this world. What an honor I have. At the moment this photo was taken I am filled with excitment, nerves and anticipation, as we are walking out the door to get to the hospital for my induction. A long day is ahead of me, and as much as I want to not be pregnant anymore, it is hard to fathom the process of obtaining that goal.
And so here we go!

3 days and counting, or maybe 1, 2, or 4

We're getting very close. I finally packed last night, thinking that my opportunities to do so are now very limited (like, maybe I was going then). I even timed a couple of contractions last night - with no luck. With such a short time to go, I anticipate that I won't be posting much of anything until after today; however, expect a couple of pictures of Kate. I feel like I'll need to be able to remember her exactly as she is today, in order that I don't forget these fanastic days of her suddenly being a big girl before her (our) world gets rocked by a new baby sister. I can't wait to meet Anna, but admittedly am aprehensive. With Kate I was aprehensive of labor and delivery, of bringing home a baby, of knowing what to do, of not screwing it up. This time I'm so focused on being the mom I became over the last 2 1/2 years that I can't help but to have changed aprehension regarding Kate and where she'll be during my labor and delivery, how she'll react to the hospital and a new baby, and of course to Anna's homecoming - and home staying.

So, as they say, one step at a time, and first off that means going into labor, or hurring up and waiting...

Closer

Last night I counted the days (11) until I'm scheduled for induction. That's not a lot of days, but it seems like a lifetime right now. This said, I have been concerned about Kate and her ability not only to grasp what's quickly coming our way, but to accept it.

Yesterday we were brushing our teeth at my sink. She pointed to the 4th hole in the toothbrush holder and said, "this is for baby Anna's toothbrush."

I don't know why that seems like such a big deal to me, but between potty training, trips to the pool, getting organized and sprucing things up around here, I didn't think she was paying attention to my giant belly and all of the baby talk. Seems as if I underestimated her. Good for her. She's already leaps and bounds ahead of me. As it should be.

Happy Independence Day, 2009

We kept it low key for the 4th of July this year and generally just enjoyed the day together (me hoping that I'd go into labor at any moment; however, that didn't turn out). Our neighbors; on the other hand, decided to go all out and throw a big shindig. They put adorable invites with red, white and blue ribbon and a firework attached to each in all of our mailboxes and pulled their chairs and grills out to the front of the houses. We joined them for the festivities, and the late night fireworks; although Kate only participated in the daylight activities - to include holding her first sparkler and throwing those snapping things on the street with all of the big kids. She also saw some some cool, colored smoke bombs and told me, "that's a lot of smokin, Mama!" She probably didn't go to bed until about 10pm, but had a great time celebrating with her BFF Joey and the big kids of the hood.

Training - the Final Frontier

The final frontier before the baby comes, at least. I don't want to post a lot of details regarding potty's and all that, but I will say that the first day she decided she would go by herself, in the appropriate location, was one of the happiest days of my life. Back in December my mom made efforts at training her while Brad and I were in Mexico; to no avail. While Kate and I were home in May, Nanny tried again; and was met with unbelievably strong resistance. It was clear - even back in December - that she knew what she was supposed to do, and she didn't much care for a mess in her diaper, but the resistance was ridiculous, confusing and horribly frustrating. The other day, in between diaper changes, she marched into the rest room, closed the door, and moments later came running out hollering for me to come see. Sure enough - no prodding or begging from me! As suspected, she did it when SHE decided SHE was ready, no sooner, no later. I'm proud of her and she's been doing a great job. We have our accidents of course, but all in all it is a proud moment in our short time together. And now, Anna can come. After all, what will I do with myself if I don't have to buy diapers?

3 weeks and 4 days...

but who's counting? 3 weeks and 4 days until my due date. The way I'm feeling would indicate to any reasonable human being that I will deliver before that date; however, I would have sworn that same thing last time and I was induced 7 days AFTER my due date. That said, I really do feel differently this time. I was never so uncomfortable and in pain as I am now. I can't imagine this will last another 3 weeks and 4 days.

And so, we decided to go camping this weekend. Not cabin camping, not RV camping, but tent camping. Needless to say, I didn't sleep well (although I DID have a little elf crawling on top of me and my belly in the middle of the night) and I probably wasn't of much help to Brad with set up, take down, and watching Kate in between. But Kate had the time of her life and absolutely loved the tent and her new sleeping bag, as well as her first fishing adventure with Daddy. Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

Can you spot the little elf peaking out of the tent window?

Yesterday we found a bounce house at a nearby neighborhood party. This face says it all.

Rainy Days and Monday's

Kate asked me during a downpour this morning if we could go play in the rain. As you can see here, she requested her umbrella, rain coat and rain boots for the outing. When we saw a worm she asked, "what's that?!?" Then quickly, "let's go, Mommy. Bye worm!"

Budding Penguins Fan...

Life Changes

I just realized that I have been out of touch regarding the blog. After our return home it took me a few days to get settled - with getting back in touch with my doctor, visiting a physical therapist for my back pain, sending Brad off on a 10 day trip full of fun and .22 work, and making the insane decision to jet off to Pittsburgh for Game 6 (and pawn Kate off on Phee and Peter!). Oh my. FYI - I am 8 months pregnant, so needless to say it was quite an effort to get myself across the country. But alas - well worth it! What an experience to see Dan in his element (well, at least his element since 2/15/09), as well as Mary Beth and Bryan, and a WIN in Game 6. It was fantastic. Dan has always been an incredible person to me, but it was insane to see his local fame in Pittsburgh. And of course, Lauda and her friend (my friend, too) Kat came along for the ride. And Nanny, Grizz, Phatty, Kase, Mal, Josh, Gary and Gracer, too. Oh my.
And then, last night Kate and I went to Phee and Peter's to watch Game 7. I knew the result would either be devastation or euphoria. I can't describe to you how the outcome has made me feel - and the chance to see my brother raise the Stanley Cup above his head. I go from cheering to silent reflection to bawling my eyes out. It is incredible.
And I can't wait to see that Cup in person! That "giant cup" as Kate says. Yes, Kate, a giant cup. Oh my.

A Day at the Beach

Actually it was just an hour, but incredibly exciting for Kate and rewarding for me to see her experience her first encounter with Lake Michigan. Grace came with us and showed Kate the ropes - sand castles, muddy sand pools to sink your feet in, blowing sand and toes dipped in freezing cold lake. I thought I would have a hard time dragging her away when it was time, but instead she said, "Wanna get an ice cream cone, Mommy?" and off we headed for the Dairy Treat. At one point this afternoon she had sandy feet, an ice cream cone in one hand and a Pronto Pup in the other. Life is good in Grand Haven!

In honor of the day, we dropped off flowers to the grave site of Grandpa and Grandma Oole on Friday. It was nice to see Grandma's name - Anna - printed on the stone, born exactly 100 years prior to our new little Anna soon to arrive. How happy she would be to have another Anna around, and it is always nice to have a reason to remember Grandma and Grandpa Oole. Happy Memorial Day to all!

Michigan Visit Part III

Last week we wrapped up our time house/kid sitting at Grandpa Grizz and Aunt Phatty's house and I took a few days to visit Lauda in Chicago. While we were in GR Kate attended more softball games than she had ever thought about. The great part was that she used her new hockey game cheering skills for her big cousins AND there were other little kids at the games. This little girl became Kate's friend. I know this because Kate walked up to me and said, "This is my friend."

After I snuck away to the train station during the wee hours of the morning, Grandma took Kate to the zoo. I received a call about the time I arrived in Chicago with news that at that very moment Kate was riding a camel. Here is the proof. I hate that I missed this...

Part II - Visiting the Oldest Cousins

We've now moved on to house-sitting and hanging out with Kase and Mal in GR. They treated us to a lovely Mother's Day brunch at their country club and we've been attending a couple of softball games, much to Kate's delight. She's learning a lot about being a big kid (last night she watched Mal paint her toe nails from about 2 inches away with great curiosity), but she has started asking to go "home". I don't know if she means back to Grandma's, or back to Boise, but needless to say, hanging out with the big kids is fun. Oh - and watching Uncle Dan's hockey team in the fight for the Stanley Cup has been super fun with them, too. Lots of cheering, jeering, and inappropriate behavior ensues. I love it.

Grand Times at Grandma's House

We've been keeping busy with cousins and soccer games and Penguins hockey games. We're having a great time and Anna has been growing by the minute. Here's a quick look at our first week here.

Goodbye Cabin!

We said goodbye to the cabin this weekend. Hard to believe it's been six months, however; it does coincide with the start of my pregnancy, so I guess it does make sense. We packed it up this weekend - shocking to us how much we packed in over the course of our time there. It was a great experience, and it was fun to think about how much both Kate and Ben changed during our time there. Ben started off as a baby that laid on a blanket in the middle of the room or chilled in his bouncy seat. Now he pulls himself up, feeds himself and cruses around the furniture. Kate started off getting into everything and being naughty at every turn. Now she has conversations, plays pretend for hours at a time, watches videos on her own up in the loft and is talking about the potty. Good times were had by all. Thanks to the Bausch's who included us in this great adventure!

"Thank You, Easter Bunny!"

This Easter was a lot different than last year's celebration. If you look back at that entry you'll see that when Kate saw the Easter eggs in the yard she didn't give a hoot. This year the Easter Bunny visited us in the night (he managed to find us at the cabin!) and we participated in an Easter egg hunt on the bunny hill at Brundage Mountain (http://www.brundage.com/13/easter-in-the-mountains/ for photos, as I didn't take any) where Kate appeared to have the time of her life. As we ran down the hill she looked up at me and said, "LOOK AT MEEEE!" Because we were one of the youngest participants, and not on skis, there weren't many eggs for the taking - but Kate didn't care. 3 eggs total, a little candy and some great fun in the sunshine. Thank you to Daddy who insisted we attend!!

A Glimpse

Today we had another ultrasound to check in on a couple of potential issues. The report is great - Anna is doing wonderfully and I, of course, appreciate any opportunity to catch a glimpse of her. Here is her adorable profile; a replica of Kate's ultrasound photos.