Sister Love

Magnolia (17 months) and Kaleia (17 days)

Two Milestones

Kaleia now has a beautiful belly button.

And tonight, Magnolia went on the big girl potty, got to use toilet paper and flush all by herself for the first time.

I'm a Gardener! I Garden!

When Brian brought in this zucchini from my garden today I swelled with pride.

"That came from my garden," I thought. "I grew something! We need to celebrate! This deserves a blog post!

Then I remembered:

a) the only plant in our house that has survived 7 years of marriage has done so because Brian waters it. When he goes away, plants die.

b) my mom helped me plant my garden this spring. In fact, I'm pretty sure she planted that zucchini plant. I just told her where to put it.

c) my mom also did all the weeding in my garden because I was pregnant.

d) Brian watered the garden probably more than I did.

e) Brian "harvested" the zucchini in question.

And after I remembered these things I felt a little like Bob in What About Bob? You know the scene where he goes sailing. He's tied to the mast and can't possibly contribute anything to the process of moving a boat through water, yet he's ecstatic.

You and me Bob. I'm a gardener!

Kaleia Shalom - Week One Photos

We're hoping to do a little more blogging soon but in the mean time you can see lots of photos of Kaleia on our flickr page.

Also, you can see the hospital announcement here.

Enjoy!

Family Bonding

Big Sister gets her very own baby

Learning about Babies with Mama

Reading a new Belly Button book with Papa

Pretending to be Mama in the moving bed

Getting to know Papa

Snuggling with Mama after a long first day

The Rush Girls

Introducing...

Kaleia Shalom Rush

Born 10:21 p.m. via c-section

9 lbs. 8 oz.

approximately 21 in.

9 APGAR (super healthy!)

Baby 2 Update

I won't tell the whole story now but wanted to let everyone know our current situation. After proceeding surprisingly easily to 9 cm dilation, Shan got stuck there, for hours. She has now received an epidural and we are still hoping for a vaginal birth. If she doesn't dilate all the way within a few hours it will be C-section after all.

All your prayers and well-wishes have been and will continue to be much appreciated.

Change of Plans...

I guess she was ready. Shannon went into labor. We're headed to the hospital.

Ready or Not...

Here we come!

The c-section is scheduled for 9:30 am. Prayers are appreciated. More updates--and an introduction!--soon.

What ELSE happens when I go to bed?!

Brian and I woke Magnolia for the fireworks last night.

At first she was pretty dazed. We couldn't tell if it was from the colorful explosions or from being woken from a deep sleep.

Then she was torn between wonder and fear, as what sounded like bombs detonated all around her. She clutched Mona with both hands and snuggled close to Papa.

Brian and I stayed really positive pointing at each flowery shower and twinkle mist saying "Look," "Oh, Pretty," and "Boom." Eventually, she timidly started pointing along with us.

Warming up (or maybe waking up) a bit more she started clapping and smiling, clutching Mona a little less tightly.

Then, all of the sudden, she sat up and started scanning the horizon.

From that point on Magnolia had a lightning fast pointer finger, and whenever there was a lull she emphatically signed for "more." There were more than a few "boo(m)s" said too and our made-up sign for fireworks caught on very quickly.

When I went to get her out of her crib this morning after a good sleep-in she immediately started signing for fireworks and urgently pointing at her window. I took her to her window, but sadly had to explain that the fireworks were "all done." Later, that afternoon I told her it was time for her nap and she signed fireworks again, as if to tell me it was okay to wake her up for them. I think she may have the idea now that fireworks happen every time she goes to bed!

Happy 4th of July '09

To all our family and friends in the USA...Happy 4th of July!

Birth Class Brainiac

Do you remember being annoyed in high school by that funny guy that never seemed to pay attention but then would score the highest on the exam? Well, I married him.I knew he was smart but had never taken a class with him until our birth class with Magnolia. We didn't take a birth class this time since it hasn't been long since the last one. Instead, we've been going through our workbook reminding ourselves of each week's lesson. Each page has little reminders of what it was like to sit next to funny-guy-smarty-pants. Most weeks he would spend the first half of class designing his name tag. One class he didn't even finish before the end.

The rest of the time he spent adding notes and illustrations to our book. Here are a few of my favorites:

His additions have made going through the book this time more fun, and have actually helped us remember certain things. But the "annoying" part is that some weeks I will read ahead and then quiz him on the section and he remembers the material without the refresher! The teacher in me wonders if he is on to something...maybe more of our students should be doodling during lectures. Either way I hope our girls get his gift of information retention.

Happy Canada Day '09!

To all our Canadian family and friends...We hope you had a great holiday!

Where did the last year go???