Sisters indeed

First... a comparison. Couldn't get a perfect picture, but the top one is Cadence at 2 weeks old, and the second one is Megan at 2 weeks old. There are distinct differences, but they are so similar in appearance it's almost eerie now that Megan's adjusted to this outside world and isn't so squishy looking.
And now a few pictures of the two sisters together. Cadence trying to play with her sister and Megan's less than thrilled response:
And Cadence's favorite thing to do whenever Megan's in reach, give her a kiss (which really looks more like she's taking a bit out of Megan's head and often leaves a drool spot, but whatever):

Nothing Important Update

We're coming to a close of the first week of my being home as a mother of two. I was blessed with help and have had a pretty easy week, when all is said and done. Dinners were provided by some lovely ladies in the ward. My sister-in-law stayed with us to help me as I recovered from the c-section (namely to help when Cadence became too much of a handful). And other family dropped by for frequent visits and to help out. Oddly enough, my apartment has been cleaner over the past week than it has been for awhile (a lot of that might have to do with no kitchen messes to have to clean up, lol).

Things are going smoothly, thus far. Cadence is handling the changes fairly well. She's been a bit fussier than usual lately, which can be a hassle when my lap is full feeding Megan (if Megan is sleeping, which is most of the time, I'll willingly lay her down to give my full attention to Cadence). But, I'm slowly mastering holding both of them at once if it's needed. Cadence gets so excited every time she realizes I'm holding Megan too. Sometimes, a little too excited. But, if you put Megan's head close to her and ask her to give Megan a kiss, she'll willingly lean forward and give Megan as many kisses as she can before you move Megan away. Actually, it looks more like she's taking bites out of Megan's head, but she means it to be a kiss, so it's too sweet.

Cadence is on the downside of a growth spurt, so she's a bit fussy and extra tired recently. But, we're hoping she's back to her chipper self by the end of the week. She had a bit of a hard time with bedtime the first few nights I was home, but seems to have done better in recent nights (being sleepy from the growth spurt might be why...). Unfortunately, she either is teething again or will be shortly. However, we're stocked up on baby Orajel and some children's Motrin, so we're prepared.... I hope.

Megan has finally gotten the morphine and codeine and knock-out juice that they gave me in the hospital out of her system and has been waking up more. She's still sleeping a ton, but she's spending more and more time alert as each day goes by. She was a bit jaundiced her first few days home, but in waking up more she's also eating more and has gotten past the worst of it thanks to lots of nursing. One battle we are losing is the dry skin battle, so lots of lotion. And, we're scouring every place we can think of for a dress small enough to fit her until she grows into newborn sized clothing (had to go buy a think of preemie onesies and sleeping gowns to get us through this first month or so).

So, yes, nothing important. We're surviving. Hopefully we'll have plenty of pictures and stories in the near future.

Soccer Mom In-Training -or- A Car to Grow With

I never thought I'd be a minivan owner before I was 25. Well, here I am. 24 years old and the new owner of an 8-passenger 2004 Chevy Venture minivan. Oh yes, James has had his fill of soccer-mom comments, even though he's the one that first saw the car and began questioning the car salesman. Still, I've got the blonde ponytail and I'll soon have the two kids that need to play soccer just so they're worn out enough for my sanity. I'm not a latte person, substitute a bottle of Dr Pepper. And now I've got the minivan to go with it. I think I need to get a visor hat thing to complete the picture, though...

And, as James also pointed out, our family shouldn't outgrow it any time soon. If our family manages to outgrow the car before the car dies... well, either the car lasted a really long time, or James and I had quints unexpectedly. Oh, but if anyone needs to move any time soon, we can't do furniture, but we can haul a bunch of boxes! Haha.

Stock photos, because I'm too lazy to go get our camera. Just pretend the gray exterior is white and you've basically got our new boat (and after driving sedans all my life, it does feel like a boat currently):

The overall view (oh, and that side door, totally remote controlled):

The front seat in all it's roomy glory:

The middle seat(s). Fits both car seats and can still fit a 3rd person comfortably. And that's not counting the back row that also fits 3 people:

Cady's 1st Birthday

Well, unfortunately, I missed the sappy, sentimental moments of walking into Cadence's bedroom Tuesday morning and lifting my first-time-1-year-old out of bed and snuggling her close. But, my thoughts were with her all day Tuesday. I missed her like crazy, and lived for word on how she was doing whenever James would come back from seeing her or call his sister to check up on her.

She had her 1-year check up (and shots, poor girl) on her birthday. No detailed stats to give, because James didn't think them important enough to remember. She's a few ounces shy of 20lbs and measuring in the 75th percentile for height (up to about the 40th for weight). She's apparently working on teeth #7 and #8 to pop through and we should be keeping an eye out for her first molars to come in soon. That should be fun!

Her birthday party was Sunday night. Well, really, it was a family dinner that had cakes made with her name on it and a few presents to give. James and I bought her a toy tool set after seeing how much she loved the toy kitchen. The tools came in a big plastic backpack. Her grandpa bought her one of the push toys that have the "popcorn" inspiration and make lots of noise when used right. And Nana got her some pants and a warm sweater to grow into.

After that, we delved into the cakes I'd had so much fun preparing. Neither were part of the original plan, but we had to deviate based on limited resources. So, I got creative and made an alternate design:

Cadence's smash cake was huge and I knew she wouldn't finish it. But, honestly, the point of a smash cake is to make a mess and take lots of pictures. Unfortunately, Cadence was very dainty about pick the frosting off with her mastered pincer grasp and we had to mess the cake up for her in the end. She did make a minor mess, at least, but was probably too full from her Nana's tasty lasagna to really dive in:

So... my baby's 1 year old (and 2 days). And she's not my baby anymore. Her hands are almost as big as her baby sister's head. I can't believe Cadence was ever that small... Actually, it makes me eager for the next few months to fly by so Megan can be almost as old. I have grown to love this little girl far more than I ever imagined I could. I doted on her when she was first born, kissed her red checks and wrinkled fingers (by the way, waterworks are in overdrive right now, I knew I'd get sniffly writing this). But now, I have a relationship with her. She plays games, and has quirks, and I absolutely, positively adore her just for being her, more than just being my baby. I love watching her personality grow and develop and shine through. I love watching her discover new things and decide what she loves and what she could care less about. I loved her a year ago and am now completely and whole heartedly devoted to her.

Now, time to go blow my nose and wash my face so James doesn't wake up and wonder what's wrong.

More on Megan (pictures, too)

We have successfully survived our first night in the Smith household as a family of four. With a few extra hands, I was able to put Cadence to bed as I always do, get a shower, and get into bed and actually sleep. Well, the sleep thing can be negotiated as to what the definition is. I got a series of decent-lengthened naps that adds up to about 6 hours total. The whole night is a blur of waking, feeding, burping, and sleeping. I can't even tell you the number of times I got up, but I do remember two serious feeding sessions, both of which included multiple up and downs given Megan's preference to snack.

Milk has come in gradually, so nursing is temporarily a bit of a hassle and a tad painful, but hopefully the worst of that is over by the end of the weekend. If I remember right it doesn't take too long for things to regulate... I hope I remember right...

Anyway, as to why I had an emergency c-section. I didn't want to go into too much detail, because, truth be told, I wasn't entirely sure what had gone on. But, I did a little google of what they did tell me and talked with an L&D nurse friend and finally got a clear picture of what happened:

Because my water broke so prematurely (3 1/2 weeks early), Megan hadn't had time to descend fully, so there was a bit of room between her and the exit, just enough room for part of the umbilical cord to be pulled into the birth canal by the force of the water gushing out. So when Megan's head did get into place, her head was pushed down against the cord with every contraction, cutting off her oxygen supply and everything else that cord delivered to her. It's not common. A freak occurrence, according to my L&D nurse friend who, in her three years of experience, only saw it happen twice. It had to be an emergency c-section once they knew what it was. If not acted upon immediately, a prolapsed cord is fatal to the baby, for obvious reasons. So, it seems we are lucky to have Megan. I'm doing pretty good at not thinking about the "what ifs" and am luckily too busy to dwell too much. For now, my only concern with her health is the minor tint of yellow to Megan's skin.

And I'm re-adjusting my relationship with Cadence. There's a tiny bit of guilt there, since from the moment I came home, she was suddenly different, suddenly bigger. I have to try hard to not get upset every time Cadence acts unhappy and remind myself she had these fits even before I was gone for 2 1/2 days and it is not her acting out to express being upset with me. We're going to blame a bit of hormones for that one. But, so long as she still prefers me rocking her to sleep, I think all will be well. She's still my happy little (well, not so little in comparison anymore!) girl and she still adores me, so I am content.

Oh, and a bit more good news: James's car loan was paid off entirely by insurance, except for the gap insurance, but the bank isn't expecting anything from us until that claim is processed. He went to the bank and asked about getting a second car loan and was basically given his original car loan pre-approved. So we have up to $12,000 to spend on a new (well, used, but new to us) car. We don't plan to spend the full $12,000, but having the pre-approved loans opens up so many doors and puts us in a place of power when it comes to negotiating. So... yay! We should have a car by the end of the weekend.

Quick Announcement: Megan's Here!!!

Details, pictures, and sappy comments will come later, but for now I wanted to update the blogging world:

Megan Ruth Smith arrived Monday morning, November 16th, 2009, the day before her big sister's 1st birthday, officially making me the mother of Irish twins (by all of one day, lol!)

She was born via emergency c-section at 5:40 in the morning at 36 weeks 4 days gestation. She weighed in at 6lbs, 1oz and 19.3 inches long. She was healthy enough to not have to be in NICU except for her first check-up (6 on her 1-minute APGAR, but 9's on the 5-minute and 10-minute), and spent our hospital recovery time in the room with me.

We're all at home and resting. I'm feeling very spoiled from my delivery with Cadence, now that I'm recovering from a c-section. Luckily, family is ready to help out. The biggest adjustment is going to be with Cadence, I think. She's already dismissed Megan as unimportant and will attempt to climb in my lap whether it's occupied or not.

Early Presents & Other Stuff

When Cadence's big Saturday family birthday celebration was canceled (postponed to a smaller one-sided family dinner Sunday night), James and I decided to go ahead and give her the toy kitchen early. James got to do his ta-da moment and carry it in the room for her to see, we just had a much, much smaller audience to enjoy her first reaction. She loves it, by the way. That first night, she and I played a game where I'd put a dish in one of the cupboards and close the door and she'd stubbornly re-open it and take it out, just as I got another one stashed away. James got batteries into the stove so if you push buttons it makes a bubbling sound and Cadence goes wild and runs towards the kitchen whenever she hears it. Which is funny, because right now one of James's computer games makes a similar sound and she perks up everytime he's playing it and she hears that sound. It looks bigger in the picture, but she's so tiny next to it and can barely reach the microwave, but she'll grow!

She also got a basket full of toy foods and dishes (not currently pictured) that is her new favorite thing. She spends a ton more time in her bedroom now, since I intend to keep those toys there, and every night I have to collect all the little food and dishes and put them back in the basket, then close the bedroom door so she won't go in and take them all out before bedtime.

It's not unusual to watch her wander out of her bedroom gnawing on the plastic fried chicken leg, or waving little pink spoons as she chases the cats. Taz almost always keeps her company while she's playing. Nor is it entirely unusual to peek in her room and find her on her belly under the crib talking to Taz.

Anyway, we're also weaning her off of bottles. WIC stops giving us formula this month, since she's a year old on Tuesday (expect another sappy post once Cadence and I get back from our required check-ups that morning). And I've gotten much better about getting her three solid meals a day, so she's down to only 3 bottles a day, one immediately upon waking, one right before bedtime, and one about midday. She loves food most, though. She knows what it means when I pull out one of her small plastic dishes and start messing with things around her high chair. She's an old pro at feeding herself now and is even starting to expirement with forks and spoons. She's not very good yet, but she gives it a few minutes of good attempts (with some success) before she tosses it aside and goes in with her hands. For this picture, she had burritos, or at least a version of it. Beans, meat, cheese and some tomatoes and pieces of a flour tortilla. Unfortunately, it was dinner time, when she starts to get a little sleepy and begins rubbing her eyes. And I believe she also smeared beans across the back of her head...

And, last but not least, both Cadence and I are dealing with a mild cold. I joke that it's a good thing I catch everything she gets because then I know exactly what her symptoms are. For example, I know she has a bit of a sore throat, runny nose, mild fever, and gets tired easily but isn't overtired. So, she's gotten lots of popsicles and I pick foods that are more soothing for a sore throat. Luckily, it's only mildly uncomfortable, nothing to really knock either of us over for too long. Cadence is sleeping just slightly more and has a constantly runny nose (which means a constantly dirty little face) and a stubborn determination that my hands will not go near her face during the day to clean it off. I've given up on keeping her blanket snot-free and decided to just toss it in a load of laundry as soon as the cold is gone. Until then, it'll just be icky (that is the technical term)!

November 9th

I checked the inscription on James's wedding ring. Today is the day. That is, today is the day we can say we've been married for 2 years. (I had to check, a few months ago in the temple, I quoted Cadence's birthday as our anniversary, then when I was told I was wrong, named the day of our reception instead... James just shook his head and told them the right date. Oops.)

Two years may not be the longest, yet, but we've had a good start. Two beautiful little girls (I've only seen alien looking ultrasound photos of Megan, but I'm sure she's as beautiful as her big sister) have been the best start we could ask for. We've had lots of ups and downs, but our relationship remains unshakeable thus far. In fact, even after two years, we can still proudly say we have never had an argument. We've disagreed, we've been upset with each other, and the like, but we have never argued, and that is something we hope to be able to say every year for the rest of our eternity together.

I am so blessed to have such a selfless, loving husband. If anyone needs something, he is instantly looking to see how he can provide it for them. He works so hard and goes to school and other than griping about poor sleep some mornings, doesn't complain about it.

It's funny how life works. When I met James, I was in a relationship, or at least getting ready to start a relationship. And while I didn't end things with the other guy for James, my interaction with James made me realize I wasn't happy with the other guy. It was still another month before James and I went on our first date (and our second in that same weekend), and an agonizing week of no contact after our first date before I got a 10pm phone call inviting me to join him around midnight for his lunch break on his night shift. A day at a mutual friend's wedding, apartment hunting for him two days later, and a hockey game the next night.

We never discussed getting married, to each other at least, only in the broad sense of "when I get married". But when he asked only three weeks later, it was the most natural thing in the world to say "yes". Not even planned. He felt the urge to ask, and I already knew what I was going to say when he did. 10 months later, we were married in the Los Angeles temple, and 2 years later, here we are!

(I'm not good at the sappier posts, this is the sappiest it'll get, just know my husband is amazing and I am so very grateful that we were put in each other's paths, and that he did choose me.)

Mommy's little ladybug

Okay, so it's not the world's best picture of her costume. I tried getting better, but all I ended up with was a white outline of a little girl in the costume thanks to the flash and the fact that both Cady's parents are white, white, white. (Though, James has a ton of freckles on his arm, so he looks darker). Cadence, by the way, does have the skin prone to freckles, she just hasn't been exposed to the sun enough to develop many. She does have a splash of very light freckles down the back of one of her calves, however, that she got shortly after our camping trip in July (bad idea... way too hot).

Please ignore the laundry in the background. I had just washed a load of Cadence's laundry and she had decided to help me sort through it before I put it away. Super helpful. She also likes to go through her drawers and pull out the things that aren't folded to her liking so I can refold them and put them away properly...

We went to 2 ward Halloween parties to show Cadence off, and at both she was fussy and cranky up until the time I was ready to sit down and relax, then she was wanting to walk everywhere. At our ward party, she must have walked up and down the field a dozen times. And at my mom's ward party, she walked across the gym at least twice as much. However, she did look 200% adorable toddling around in her tutu. And at Friday's party, she got tired of waiting for me to offer a hand whenever she fell over and mastered standing up entirely on her own right then and there. My mom and I watched her do it. One of those bittersweet moments (one of many yet to come, I'm sure). So proud, but at the same time...

Megan related things are going smoothly. I'll be 35 weeks this Thursday. Wow! I should really get my hospital bag packed. You'd think after my night in the hospital last week, I'd be packed the same day I was discharged. But I'm so not. Megan's clothes are still in a box in the closet, waiting for me to make a few alterations to the dresser before I unpack. And I still haven't rearranged the master bedroom to get the bassinet set up the way I'd like. I suppose the urgency hasn't set in yet. I need someone to kick me in the butt and get me going. For now, I'm going to go watch "The Nanny" reruns. Maybe I'll be motivated enough to back a hospital bag during commercial breaks?