Thursday, August 27, 2009

Welcome home Daniel!

GrumpyFace We have long awaited the chance to post about our newest addition and now that we are home we’d love to introduce him to you and tell him how he arrived…(this is my journal too so if you don’t want the long version scroll down to the photos ;))

About three weeks ago my RNP told me that he’d be here any day so I started mentally preparing but then he didn’t come…and he didn’t come…and my due date passed and he still wasn’t here. Monday, August 24th came and I had another appointment with my doctor—not too much change in the last three weeks but still “ready” as soon as the contractions arrived. Monday night while saying his prayers Sammy, who has been quite anxious for his arrival, prayed that “our new baby brother would come tomorrow” which he hadn’t done previously and I wondered if it could be…

Later that night I had a contraction about midnight and went back to sleep and another one or two and then about 4:30 when I had one and then another 7 minutes later I figured out what was going on. I finally called the hospital after an hour but they told me to wait another hour until the contractions were 4 or 5 minutes apart instead of 7. I told them that I lived thirty minutes away and that my last delivery was pretty quick and she finally gave me the okay to come in (thank goodness!) We called our friend Ed and he brought his daughter Jennilee over and they stayed with our sleeping boys. Auntie Sarah would come over later to get them. We jumped in the car and arrived there about 6:30.

(Warning…descriptive labor details if youIMG_0673 keep reading…now that you’ve been told, I’ll continue) Upon arriving at the hospital they put me in an exam room, started my paperwork and were taking their time until the midwife examined me and laughingly said, “do you always like to play it dangerous and arrive at the hospital at a 8 or a 9?” That was about 7:30 or so and they moved me into a room and kept working on the paperwork and said he’d be here within the hour. The contractions were starting to get a bit stronger but I figured why get an epidural if it was going to be under an hour—it couldn’t be that bad, right? My sister Cathy had arrived and was reminding me to breathe while Thad held my hand and fanned me during the big contractions. The doctor came in about 7:45 or 7:50 and asked if I wanted to push. Startled I said sure so she got me ready and then said go for it. Now for the crazy pIMG_0675art. My water still hadn’t broken so she said she might have to go in and break it but with the first big push (ouch!) out came the water bag and Cathy and Thad said it looked like a water balloon as it burst on the way out – I thought it felt like the baby’s head it was so round! A few more pushes and then his head popped out, Thad got to grab him then they told me to stop pushing (ha! That is hard to do at this point) because the cord was around his neck, they untangled him and I pushed again and he was out and Thad placed him on my tummy. Thad got to cut the cord and wa-lah, he arrived at 8:03 am. He was a whopping 9 lbs 4.9 oz (but you could have fooled us) and a lengthy 22 inches!

We had lots of visitors (before he had a name) IMG_0542and just before we went home the next morning it was official—Daniel Driggs Marcroft. We had been thinking about Daniel as one of the top choices for a while but couldn’t think of a middle name that we liked and that meant something to us. Sammy, who looked like a grumpy old man when he was born, fit the bill to be named after Daddy and Great Grandpa Clifford and Samuel the Prophet. Nathan we just knew his name was supposed to be Nathanael James when we heard it. Nathanael the Apostle from the New Testament and James after Grandpa Marcroft. So this little Daniel needed the same thing! Daniel (think Daniel in the Lion’s Den) was a good start but my Dad made us promise NOT to use his first or middle names since he “had to suffer” and didn’t want our boys to do the same so we finally figured Driggs wouldn’t be embarrassing but would have great significance!

IMG_0871We were discharged as early as they would let us go the next day. It was a great labor/delivery and I feel great! My body really doesn’t feel like I just went through labor 48 hours ago (hooray!) and the baby is doing very well! I hope that if we have more kids it will be the same (quick labor and quick recovery!) :-)


Welcome to the family Daniel Driggs Marcroft. We love you! :)

Family

And here are a two more pictures of the big brothers Sammy and Nathan that I had to share because they’re too cute! :)

Sammy had the biggest grin when he came in to the hospital and has barely wiped it off of his face since. He loves him bunches and even threw a fit the first night because I wouldn’t let Daniel sleep in his room!

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Nathan was quite unsure of him at first when he arrived at the hospital but quickly determined that he wanted to hold him and hug him too. Now I just have to watch him because he thinks that he’s big enough to do both of those things (and he’s strong enough to pull it off!)

P.S. He is definitely ours if you couldn’t tell already…but we’re IMG_1580wondering if yet again we passed on the red hair gene that we didn’t know that we had…we’ll have to see as it fills in. He got my birthmarks too (but they should lighten just like Sammy’s did) and he turns red when he screams too! I think that we might have gotten lucky again with the blue-eyed gene as well! It will be fun to see the three of them as they get bigger.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

My little Sunbeam Sammy :D

I got a wonderful email from Sammy's Sunday school teacher today and I had to share/document it. It made me feel good inside to know that he's listening at church (and at home) and getting so big!

Here is the letter from Kathryn:

Wanted to share this because it made me happy.

Sometimes as a Sunbeam teacher you wonder if you are even getting the main point of the lessons across to these squirmy little ones. Today Sammy showed that yes indeed we do manage to help them learn something each week.

First I have to share that the lesson two weeks ago was on saying I'm sorry if you've hurt someone's feelings or whatever. Then last week the lesson was on forgiving others.

So today...some of the kids kept getting up and down and I've had to remind them to please sit back down in their chairs. Accidentally, Laura bumped into ALina who came over to tell me that Laura hurt her. Before I could say a word in regards to the situation, Sammy pipes up with this:

Alina, I saw it was an accident. But Laura you still need to say I'm sorry. (Laura says "I'm sorry") And Alina you need to say you forgive her. (Alina says "I forgive you Laura.") Okay now we can go back to our lesson."

Sister Woods gave those two lessons. She's going to love hearing how Sammy remembered them and put them to good use and in class no less!

Friday, August 21, 2009

Does cooking count as nesting??

So since I don't have a newborn to take care of (yet!) I've been trying some of the millions of recipes that I print out from the cooking blogs that I follow. One BlogHer that I recently found is Jenny at Picky Palate. Her dishes look oh-so-appetizing to this pregnant lady! Here are two that I tried this week that I really liked.

Chipotle Chicken, Black Bean and Corn Mini Quesadillas
We had these for lunch today and they were soooo delicious! Thaddeus said at the beginning, "wow, these taste like we're at a Mexican restaurant" and then later, "I like these even better than Chipotle burritos!" They were a tad bit spicy for the kids (even only using 1 chipotle adobo pepper) so I think that I'll serve theirs up next time before I mix in the chopped up pepper!) I used part of a rotisserie chicken from Costco so it was pretty easy too! I think that next time instead of cutting circles out of the tortillas I'll just quarter them (faster and less waste) even though they won't be as circly and pretty! They really hit the spot!

Cheesy Baked Mexi-Rigatoni
I made this for lunch yesterday (it's easier to cook when Nate's asleep!) Even Sammy (who tells me that he DOESN'T like noodles) ate this up. Again, it's a little bit spicy but not bad. It's really cheesy and Thad liked it too (although not as much as he LOVED the mini quesadillas). It made a really full 9x13" pan so I might cut it in half next time since I ended up freezing about half (I put it into little Tupperware containers to take to work!)

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Not here yet…

P1070308I have four days until my “official” due date and this is my official “no baby has arrived yet” announcement! It is funny how different each pregnancy has been.

With Sammy I had a pretty normal  pregnancy at the beginning with morning sickness at night, craved root beer floats, and slept through the night until giving birth a week late. They stripped my membranes (can you say OUCH—that hurt more than the contractions at the beginning), Smamy_skinnyhI was in labor all day long (effectively missing the big Mayfair vs. Cerritos volleyball game that I should have been coaching) and then he finally arrived at 3 am. He was a skinny 7 lb 8 oz and I know for most that is a big kid but you should have seen his long skinny arms and flaps of skin that were in need of some good baby fat!

With Nathan I guess the pregnancy was similar to Sam’s different  cravings (nothing funky but nothing that  I even remember) but really bad, sharp pain heartburn! He arrived happily on his due date--a nice, plump 9 lbs 4 oz. One big difference was the Braxton hicks and pre-labor contractions with Nate; I wasn’t sure* if I was in labor or not so I finished working (it was a Friday) and finally decided around 5:30 that I was in labor and had Nathanael by 9:30 pm. (*When I called to see if I was in labor the nurse on the phone kept telling me, “If you’re talking to me then obviously you’re NOT having contractions – go figure!) Nathan_newborn3

This one I have been pretty normal but still throwing up from time to time (yuck) mostly from a nasty heartburn that burns and then makes me vomit! :( I craved El Pollo Loco (cheap and easy, close by my house and the drive thru is open till midnight!) Forget sleeping through the night--I'm up all the time to pee, because I’m in pain or just uncomfy! And the worst part has been the anxiety (about his arrival!) About two weeks ago I saw my RNP and she said something like, “ohhh, I hope you’re ready! This guy is coming soon!” I left super nervous and made sure that the bags were in the car and started mentally preparing since my body was already preparing itself and it looked like he was going to come early but then my body just stopped! He’s definitely dropped and the rest of my body is ready just no contractions!

I don’t want to induce (unless he’s in danger) in case he’s like Sammy and still needs more time to “cook”. But I have never been so mentally ready for him to come! Ugh. Oh well. He’ll come in his due time, right? Either way I’ll be happy to hold him, love him and excited to see what big brothers think of him. I don’t especially look forward to the sleepless nights, endless diapers and feeding, and feeling stuck at home but who does?! ;) Nathan_bigBroSammy

We wonder what he’ll look like--will he be fair and strawberry blonde with blue eyes like big brother Sam or a darker blonde like Nate? Or will he have big brown eyes ? I’m convinced that my first girl will have brown eyes like me and be sad but that my boys will have blue eyes! What will his name be this time? Will we know the instant that we hear it like we did the last time or will it take a little bit of time like Sammy? So many questions…Until then we’ll anxiously await his arrival!

Friday, August 7, 2009

Wet and Wild Summer Fun

SummerFun_Aug2009_MayfairPark_ 035All kids love water, right? And it’s hot, right? Well we’ve been doing a bit of playing in the water (although I live in Southern California and haven’t taken the boys to the beach since…heck, I don’t remember the last time! I think that it was a spring bonfire?) Oh well. Here are a few cute pictures of those lovable boys of mine.

 

 

My sister Cathy called and invited us over to Grandma’s house to play on Lizzie’s slip ‘n’ slide. Jared was really the only one who understood the concept of running, jumping, slipping and sliding but they all had fun.SummerFun_Grandma'sHouse_Aug2009_SlipNSlide_ 004

Sammy tried to do it but needed a bit of help! 

 

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Nate would just lay down and yell “help me please!” until someone would come over and pull him down the slide!

 

Today we went to Mayfair Park and played in their wading pool with some friends from church and with the Fongs. It has some nice shade for the moms to sit down in and lots of water for the kiddos!

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Me and my boys!SummerFun_Aug2009_MayfairPark_ 052

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Here is a picture of our cousins the Fongs…SummerFun_Aug2009_MayfairPark_ 048

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