Naiya is 4 Months 10.04.09

Ryan and I thought we had it easy with Alexia, but Naiya is an even more laid back and smiley baby. I am always amazed at how long she will wait before I get a chance to feed her, since I’m often tied up with Alexia or something else around the house. This is how I find her every time I get her up from her nap (propped up on her elbows, smiling at me through the crib bars):

I have to admit she spends much of the day in her Bumbo. She loves our faces up close to hers, she just smiles away. Ryan got her to laugh for the first time this last month by bringing her in for kisses over and over. It was so fun to hear that big of a laugh come out of her little body. Naiya (and I) also caught the second cold of her life. I just hate watching her be so sick. But even after hacking up a lung and blowing snot bubbles, she would flash us a huge grin. For the first time Naiya rolled over (stomach to back). Unfortunately, she decided to practice this in the middle of the night, so I was up rescuing our little turtle on its back. She hasn’t done it since though.

Besides the week I had to get my appendix out and recover, Naiya has been sleeping through the night for eight hour stretches. I’ve been trying to be diligent to make a routine of the following feeding schedule, which I feel has been helpful in her sleeping through the night:

• whenever she first wakes up (I let her decide this so I can have more time to sleep or have quiet time to myself)
• 9am
• noon
• 3pm
• 5pm
• 7pm
• anywhere between 9-10pm

I’m realizing Naiya had a lot of “firsts” this last month, because to add to the list, she had formula for the first time (while I was in the hospital). It’s actually been kind of nice though, because when I leave her with Ryan or his mom I don’t have to worry about pumping. Formula is oh-so convenient, yet oh-so expensive. Even Alexia got in on the fun:

Her four month well visit stats are:

Weight: 14 lbs. (55th %)

Length: 25 in. (75th %)

Head Circumference: 41 cm. (50th %)

She is wearing 3-6 months clothing. She is wearing size 3 diaper, although she has recently been blowing out of them. But I refuse to put her in a bigger diaper than Alexia. Our current nickname for her is Nai-Nai.

Here’s her trademark position in the Bumbo (hands clasped, feet turned in):

It’s still so funny to me how little hair she has. No bows yet for Naiya, and Ryan just isn’t a fan of those cute headbands that I could go broke on at etsy. Her hair is sort of fuzzy, reminds me of baby duck feathers. And this girl’s got some rolls! Who knew you could have fat rolls even on your achilles tendon? Most of her rolls are on her upper thigh, making diaper cleaning real fun. Here’s a shot of those chubby legs:

Naiya has followed her older sister’s lead in the spit up department too. All day long I’m changing outfits, I should probably just put a bib on her.

I’m really looking forward to her personality coming out even more over the next couple of months. Our little Nai-Nai Papay-pay is growing up so fast!

I. Hate. Bugs.

Somebody puh-lease tell me why God created insects! I know that they’re part of the food chain and without them it would be disrupted (blah, blah, blah). Isn’t there another creature less annoying that could have played the part? If there is anything that puts my OCD into high gear, it’s bugs inside my house. Speaking of which (and what sparked this post), there is currently a fly on steroids buzzing around and I cannot for the life of me get it to stop flying in order to kill it. I believe having insects constantly buzzing around my head and landing on me every so often would be a form of torture for me. We also have fruit flies that came in via corn that I have not yet had a chance to tackle because of my appendix and all. I am just not up to the mission of running around clapping fruit flies into obliteration yet.

One of the things I am most excited about Fall, in regards to bugs, is saying goodbye to my #1 Summer enemy: The Mosquito. I am definitely one of those people that will have 50 bites before anyone else even gets one (and that’s evenwith bug spray). On top of that, each bite turns into a big, red welt. There are often summer evenings where it is a huge sacrifice for me (actually, I am the sacrifice) to eat outside to bless my tropical-blood-in-his-veins husband. (Humidity and mosquitos were no strangers to the island in the Philippines that he grew up on.)I think the reason I feel compelled to turn into a bug-slayer when they’re in my home, is because they make me feel like we’re living in filth. (I do not judge when I’m in other peoples’ homes). To this day, Ryan has saved a voicemail from a couple years ago (pre-babies) where I am begging for him to hurry home because “there are like, a million flies in our dining room.” We laugh hysterically about that day, and he plays that message every so often, but I still remember that day vividly. I have no idea where all those flies came from in that short amount of time, especially since I’m a nazi when it comes to closing the door when someone goes outside (even if they’re coming right back in). But that day I went on a rampage and killed more flies than ever before. Strangely, they were gone by the time Ryan came home. He thinks I made the whole thing up (I can certainly be dramatic, but I would like to think I don’t go out of my way to create the drama). But my sweet, loving husband recently purchased one of my favorite household items at the current time: a flyswatter. Why we haven’t had one up until now, I don’t know. A whole $0.99. I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to the inventor of the flyswatter. I heart you.

My bug-phobia (if I can even call it that, because I’m not afraid of them, I just HATE them) has started to rub off on Alexia. I noticed recently that she will swat at a fly if it gets in her line of vision and then look at me with a smile. (Alexia, this is not a game, we’re at war!). Ryan has on many occasions had to reprimand me for overreacting over a bee swarming around me or the girls. I’ve been known to knock dishes off the table in an attempt to escape a wasp’s path. And Alexia has been yanked out of her highchair and pulled inside until I see the killer bee fly away from our deck.

I have lost track of the ‘roid fly, I’m going to be so annoyed if I hear it flying around while in bed. Wish me luck with my next venture: to rid our home of fruit flies once and for all. (Or at least until next summer.)

Hello ER. Goodbye Appendix.

It all started Friday evening while Ryan, his brother, Ty, and I were enjoying a fabulous surf-and-turf meal on our deck. I had an annoying stomach pain in my upper abdomen that finally led me to excuse myself from dinner to go lay down. I thought it was because just before dinner I scarfed down a bowl of cereal and a small plate of leftover eggs and sausage. By the time Ty left to go home, I had already retired to our bedroom and taken a couple Tums, but still felt nauseous. I spent the whole night until around 10am getting sick and the only thought that kept coming to my mind was, “I can’t seriously be pregnant again.”

In an attempt to get something (anything!) in my stomach, Ryan picked up some popsicles. But I could hardly get past one lick of that stupid popsicle, because it reminded me way too much of the past two years of entering into a pregnancy nightmare. I decided to try to go back to sleep instead. Around noon, my stomach started cramping and I was having sharp, shooting pains in my lower right abdomen. Unfortunately, while I was resting, Ryan thought it would be a good time to take Alexia on a bike ride to his parents’ house (without his phone). So I was bent over, hobbling around the house trying to call out his name in between the stomach cramps. Once he was home, I told him we needed to go to the hospitalpronto. The pain wasn’t excruciating, but I knew something was definitely wrong. And if I learned anything from my own personal child labor experiences….the longer you wait at home, the more pain you will have to endure without drugs. So away we went, leaving both the girls with poor Ty all by himself (his wife, Jenna, was away for the weekend and Ryan’s mom was unreachable).Something to know about me is that I enjoy being in the hospital. Not that I would go out of my way to be admitted, but I don’t mind being taken care of while I’m there. It’s always instant relief too. Once the drugs are pumping into that IV, it’s time to sit back and cut some z’s. However, getting the IV into my so-called “tiny, rolling veins” is always an obstacle. Three nurses, four pricks, and two blown veins later, an IV technician was called in to do the job once and for all (thank goodness, because I felt myself going into nervous-breakdown mode). The tech used an ultrasound machine to find a vein and with one try, the IV was finally in. Blood was drawn, saline was attached, pain and nausea medicines were flowing. From there, I was able to proceed with getting a CT scan to find out the condition of my appendix.

This was the first time I had ever had a CT scan, and it proved to be quite humorous. An older nurse introduced herself, I signed papers, and she told me I would hear instructions through a microphone of what to do, and she left the room. I slowly was moved into this donut-like machine, and was caught off-guard when an Austin Powers-like voice told me to take a deep breath in. I could hardly keep myself from laughing at the male British voice giving me instructions! What happened to the lady nurse? I could picture them sitting on the other side of a glass wall, watching me while sipping their Earl Grey tea, and a tiny British gentleman leaning into the tiny microphone with hands clasped in his gray suit with a bowtie. Anyway, by the end of the evening I went to the OR, they removed my appendix (which was gangrenous, but not ruptured) and I spent the night by myself (Ryan went home to be with the girls) and was discharged the next morning.

I was back at home by 10:30 Sunday morning. It is so random to me that you can have stomach surgery and be back home the very next day. When else can you respond to the question, “So what did you do this weekend?”….”Oh, I just had stomach surgery on Saturday, but Sunday I just took it easy and hung out with the family.” The one good thing about the terrible timing (I mean seriously, I just birthed a child three months ago) is that the pain was nothing compared to child labor. So it is strangely a blessing that enough time hasn’t passed by to where I’ve forgotten that pain (I apologize for that comment to those of you about to deliver your new little ones!). While I was away, Naiya had her first taste of formula (she went through all my precious frozen milk supply). Fortunately, it has given me confidence to leave her for longer periods of time.

I feel much better today, and will attempt to remove my bandage and not make myself sick by doing so. The pain is subsiding, I’m getting back into our normal nursing routine, and I just can’t wait to get back to normal to finally enjoy Fall for the first time in three years!

All Dolled Up

Are we serious here? I mean, I might as well have rolled out a red carpet with this shot. Poor girl…all dressed up and no where to go.

Alexia has recently taken a liking to this purse (from my wedding day) and bracelet she found. They both have become part of the daily cycle of toys she plays with. She knows to put the purse on her shoulder and bracelet on her arm. The other day, Ryan gave her a pocket bible to store in her purse and this has become part of the “dress up game”.

I have to say that it’s looking good so far for my hopes of having future shopping/bonding trips with my daughter(s).

Alexia is 16 Months 09.22.09

Staging Alexia on the retaining wall proved to me her cautious nature. She had a strange, concentrated look on her face as I shot pictures of her. It wasn’t until I saw her slightly lose her balance and try with all of her might to remain as still as possible, to keep from falling. (I know, I would have felt terrible if she actually fell, but I NEEDED her 16 month photo!) Needless to say, this is the closest thing I got to a smile from her. However, today she has been extraordinarily giggley. It’s funny to see her actually playing games with me now. She started growling and coming up to me real slow, just as I do to her, playing the “Tickle Monster”. I still remember my dad chasing my cousin, Jason, and I around our little condo playing the same game.

Alexia has started to say, “No!” and point to things we have taught her not to touch (i.e. dirty diaper wastebasket, books on OUR bookshelf, the toilet). She has learned to say “Dog” followed by “Woof, Woof”. Although every other living creature is also a dog. I pulled out a dusty, deflated soccer ball and we had our first mother-daughter training session. I was surprised that she can actually kick the ball.

As summer dwindles down, Alexia is taking full advantage of the last fruits of our garden. She has become quite the pepper picker. I have no idea how she learned to do this, but her routine is to search through the pepper plant (pushing leaves and branches aside to find the perfect pepper, I assume), then she plucks the pepper off, strips the extra leaves off, pulls off the remaining stem on the pepper, and then takes a bite out of the pepper. Then on to the next one…

For indoor playtime, throughout the day I can find her flipping through some of her books by herself. Recently, she has wanted to crawl into my lap and look at her books. I love the affection! The greatest thing is if I’m already holding Naiya in my lap and Alexia crawls onto the other leg and there I am cradling both my girls at the same time. Alexia often lands a huge kiss on Naiya head, complete with sound effects, “Mmmmmmm…..”.

She is still taking two naps a day and sleeping 12 hours at night. We have learned (thanks to Ryan) that if we are out past her bedtime, when we get home she needs time to unwind and get settled into being at home before putting her down. I never would have thought a BABY needs that sort of thing, but it’s worked! After fifteen minutes of playing, she goes right to bed (when we rushed her to bed, she would be abnormally hysterical). She has moved up to Size 4 diapers (goodbye convenient diaper packing with both the girls wearing size 3). She is wearing 12-18 months clothing (I accidentally found out she can still squeeze into 3-6 month pants that look like really cute capris). She cannot keep her bows in her hair for longer than an hour, they always end up in her mouth all mangled and slobbery. She is making me laugh more than ever as her personality comes to life, which is comforting because I have this fear that I’m going to be severely depressed when she’s not a baby anymore. It’s hard to believe by this time next year, we will have Baby Naiya doing all the same things.

Summer Fun With Cousins

My sister-in-law, Tanya, and I took advantage of free babysitting from one another in the last couple summer months in order to run errands kids-free. It’s amazing how much more capable I feel now with two of my own, that adding a couple more isn’t a big deal! Especially since Sterling and Alexia are able to play with each other and the two littlest ones sleep most of the time. The best part about it was feeling like the cousins were growing up with one another, and getting to spend time w/ my sweet nephews.

Click here for more Summer Fun With Cousins photos.

Family Staycation

(Click for more Staycation photos.)

We spent this last weekend with Ryan’s family to spend every last minute possible with his sister, Tanya, and her husband, Tim, and their two boys (Sterling and Thorin) before their departure to Kurdistan on Sunday afternoon. So our “stay-cation” took place at our house and began Friday evening with fine dining at Chart House (without the kids) and ended with a three car caravan to the airport to drop the Mewmaws off and say our heart-wrenching goodbyes at the security gate. We came to the conclusion that the airport is a highly emotional place. The upstairs (departures) is full of sad, goodbye tears and the downstairs (arrivals) is full of happy, so-good-to-see-you tears. Unfortunately, we were upstairs. Unlike my MK (missionary kid) husband, I haven’t had to deal with too many goodbyes that hurt so much. And I swear once kiddos enter the picture, it’s a whole new ballgame of emotions! The next time we will see the Mewmaws again will be June of 2010. It is so strange (and sad) to me that we will have to re-introduce our kids to one another. But I know it will be a sweet reunion and I can’t wait to see those two boys interact with our two girls, all as toddlers by then.

So our last few days with the Mewmaws (no, not the Newmans or the Newhaws) was full of good food, card games and Beersbie (minus the beer).

We had the last of our family pictures until next summer.

There was a wrestling injury, some R&R at our neighbor’s pool (they let our family have the pool all to ourselves!).

There was a lot of packing, minimal sleep, more packing, and we concluded our time at our house praying for Tim and Tanya and the boys. Oh yeah, and lots of tears and lots of hugging on Sunday. Okay, and some more tears for me the day after too. But memories were made and we were all blessed by the Grossman-Mewmaw Stay-cation 2009. It was a perfect way to say farewell.

We miss and love you T&T, Sterling and Thorin!!!

3 Months Comparison

Alexia 3 months:

Naiya 3 months:

Naiya is 3 Months Old 09.04.09

Coming to the three-month mark has been so much fun. Sleeping through the night? Check. On a scheduled routine? Check. Finally interacting with us? Check.

It has taken me until now to really “feel” connected to Naiya and feel like she is my own. Fortunately, I was forewarned this might be the case by other moms’ experiences with having their second child. I think mostly because I wanted so badly to be able to interact with Naiya, and up until this point, I’ve had to constantly meet her needs without any kind of return of affection. But alas, she is smiling and cooing!

I’m amazed at how different her and Alexia have looked from the get-go. Naiya’s eyes are much more almond-shaped (I’ve had people tell me she looks more asian than I do), but the shape of her head is more Ryan’s side (long and narrow). A couple people (Ryan included) think she looks a bit like Tanya (Ryan’s sister) did when she was a baby. I had a bright idea of putting Naiya in the same outfit as Alexia for each month birthday, to put a creative twist on their comparison photos. However, I had to nix that idea when I found out there’s no way Naiya was fitting in the same outfit Alexia was wearing at her three-month birthday. Alexia was still wearing NB, and Naiya is comfortably fitting in 0-3 months and some 3-6 months.

My dirty little secret about Naiya is that she sleeps on her stomach. In the first couple weeks of her life, she seemed to be able to sleep longer on her belly, so I stuck with it. Probably because she could find her thumb more easily to soothe herself. She gained head control much faster than Alexia (who slept on her back), but the down side to belly sleeping is Naiya usually cries every time she is in her carseat or stroller. I’ve tried slipping in a pacifier for long car rides, but she’s over that (it worked for the first month of her life). Just yesterday, while on a walk with my friend Heather, I discovered if I put Naiya in the double stroller on her stomach (strapped in backwards), she goes right to sleep! Other than getting a dirty look from my pediatrician, I’m fine with having her sleep on her stomach.

I’m really looking forward to putting Naiya’s chubby-self in some cute Fall outfits! There is a pair of brown corduroy pants (compliments of Mr. and Mrs. Parsons) that are waiting for the weather to turn a little more chilly.

Alexia is 15 Months 08.22.09

With Alexia turning 15 months old, has come proficiency with walking, more independence and temper tantrums. I love watching her cruise around with her own agenda in a room full of people. The downside to that is her frustration with me when she wants me to do something with her, but I cannot understand what that is exactly. Her temper tantrums consist of her collapsing onto the floor, putting her head between her legs and crying. It’s actually quite sad, and sometimes I have to laugh because of the communication barrier. I find myself saying over and over, “Alexia, please be patient with me and show me what you want.”

She has started this new thing where she grabs my finger and wants me to walk with her to her next desired destination. Gone are the days where I can do what I want and have her play by herself. Fortunately, Naiya is quickly becoming a source of entertainment for Alexia. I discovered (by process of elimination) that she likes to go with me to get Naiya up from her naps and have me put her in the crib with Naiya. I thought it was because she just wanted to be in the crib, but when I picked Naiya up to feed her, Alexia started crying and kept pointing to the mattress insinuating she wanted Naiya next to her. So now I usually let the two of them lay on each other for a couple minutes before crashing Alexia’s party to feed Naiya. The other day I wanted to create a photo opportunity, so I put Naiya on Alexia’s chest while they were in the crib together, and Alexia smiled ear-to-ear and repeatedly gave Naiya hugs and kisses. Love it!

Gonna Have Our Hands Full

Alexia 14 months:

Naiya 2 months:

2 Months Comparison

Alexia:

Naiya:

Alexia's First Haircut. I Don't Wanna Talk About It

It all started a couple weeks ago. Two days in a row Alexia woke up from each nap with fistfuls of hair. I’m talking fistfuls. After hearing her cry out during one of her naps, I found her psychotically pulling at the hair falling over her eyes. So sad, yet creepy. So that very night I impulsively decided I was going to cut her bangs. Unfortunately, Ryan was on the phone and had no idea what I was up to, because maybe he could have talked some sense into me. I sat Alexia on the kitchen floor and let her go at it with my purse. I quickly took the scissors and attempted to cut her side-sweeping bangs. Why is it that you always go overboard and cut that last chunk waaaay too much? As I was staring at the small curl in the palm of my hand (Alexia still rifling through my purse), Ryan walked in and gave me the saddest look, making me finally snap back to reality and realize what I had just done. I have been an avid bang-hater for girls (sorry if your girl has bangs). And I had just given my daughter bangs. I also simultaneously made her look like a toddler more than ever! I honestly didn’t want to talk about it for a couple days. I made sure her hair was up in a ponytail or a barrette at all times so no one else would notice, because I really just didn’t want to talk about it. How is it possible to feel guilty over a haircut?! It’s like I singlehandedly took away some of her cuteness. Sigh.

Okay, enough with the drama though. The new haircut is growing on me. Or maybe I’m convincing myself it was “practical” and “necessary” as our daughter was inflicting pain on herself in order to get the hair out of her eyes. So here are the before and after shots of the new ‘do.

Before:

After:

A Daddy's Girl

Alexia is a daddy’s girl through and through. If Ryan is home, his attention must be on her at all times. If he dares to go out of the room, she takes off in a speed crawl after him crying the whole way. There have been many instances where I am ready and willing to hold her or play with her until he gets back, but she keeps right on going – crawling past me – crying for Daddy. Low and behold, one of her few first words included “Dada”. She literally follows him around wherever he goes, so much so that we call her his “sidekick”. Although, she's more like his shadow. If she could be permanently attached to Ryan, she would.

Here they are gardening together (Ryan has the green thumb in our family):

So for Father’s Day, I gave Ryan a baby bike seat so the two of them can have some quality time together.

And here she is crying, because she wants Ryan to hold her:

It’s funny, there haven’t been any jealousy issues with me taking care of Naiya, instead the battle is for Daddy’s attention.

Our Green Baby

This sticker came off of a gift for Naiya (Alexia is actually sporting the gift: pj bottoms) - 100% Organic. This reminds me of something I did when I was a little girl...I stuck a Chiquita banana sticker on my forehead and earned the nickname "Banana Head" which I am still referred to as by my aunt, uncle and cousin.

Day at the Beach

The girls and I have spent a few afternoons hanging out at the beach outside Ty and Jenna’s place down the road from us. It has been surprisingly relaxing, even with both the girls. Alexia is good about staying on the beach towels, but we have to keep an eye on her in order to avoid her eating handfuls of sand.

As a side note, I love to tell the story about the contrast of her and her cousin Sterling in regards to sand (dirt, etc.). While Sterling was walking around waving his sandy hands saying “ew!”, begging his mom (Tanya) to wipe them off, I look over at my little girl just in time to see her staring at the sand covering her hand, and then licking the sand right off her palm.

This particular day shown in the pictures, Alexia stood on her own for the first time. Auntie Jenna was feeding her pickles and Alexia didn’t even realize she was performing the next milestone until we started screaming “Yaaaaaay!!” and clapping our hands. She then continued to perform for us about 20 times in a row, every time saying “Yaaaay!” at herself and smiling back at us. She has since then stood on her own at her own leisure, but has no desire to walk yet. Meanwhile, I’m enjoying my ability to keep up with her for now.

Obsession With Ice

So it is nearly impossible to enjoy a nice, cold drink of ice water around Alexia because of her obsession with ice. I have actually recently switched to drinking water withOUT ice in order to avoid her choking-prone habit. There are exceptions to where I will let her indulge herself, like when we’re with family and her cousin Sterling is all but submerging himself into the ice cooler. But for the most part, the anxiety I get while watching her eat (and sometimes choke on) ice is not worth it. I must say that if I could get over my fear of her choking, ice could be a great alternative to a babysitter. Given the opportunity, Alexia would quietly feed herself ice for hours on end (I’m really not kidding) as you can see in these pictures, where she sucked on a huge block of ice until her cheeks were on the verge of frostbite and fingers purple.

Look Who's Walking

Look Who's Talking

One Month Old Comparison

Alexia 1 Month:

Naiya 1 month:

Maybe She's Not So Bad After All

Reasons Alexia is learning to love her baby sister:

1. She can store and eat Cheerios off Naiya at her leisure
2. The infant car seat has made a comeback and is now a jungle gym
3. Giving Naiya kisses earns major brownie points with Mom & Dad
4. There are even more fuzzy blankies around the house now
5. The nostalgia of the “pacie” (pacifier) has led to secret sucking sessions when Mom isn’t looking
6. Alexia gets even more of Daddy’s attention since Mama has to take care of Naiya

Happy 1st Birthday Alexia! 05.22.09

Click for more photos from Alexia's 1st Birthday Party

Happy Father's Day Daddy!

Us girls snuck in this picture and used it to make a card for Ryan. Two girls by the second Father’s Day, that deserves a celebration.

Yes, Alexia...She's Staying

So in response to your question, “How is Alexia handling the new transition?”. This picture was taken shortly after Daddy had to put Baby Naiya on the cold, hard ground in order to accommodate Alexia’s jealous tears.

“Dear Alexia: We PROMISE there will be enough love to go around. Love, Mommy & Daddy”

It's A(nother) Girl!

Click for more photos from Naiya's Birth

Naiya May joined us 14 days early on Thursday, June 4th at 7:45 a.m. She weighed 7.6 pounds and was 20 inches long.

This time around, I switched to a midwife center late in my third trimester. The midwife on-call was Dona, a friend of our family since having delivered both Tanya’s (Ryan’s sister) boys, and she goes to our church. She was fabulous and made me so thankful for the last minute switch from OB to midwife. She was in the room throughout my whole labor (also keeping Ryan company while I slept through the end of my labor), and allowed Ryan to “catch” the baby, announce to me “it’s a girl” and cut the umbilical cord.

Naiya spent her first day being called “Baby Girl Grossman” as Ryan and I balked on the name we had agreed on a couple weeks earlier. Ryan actually was online searching for baby names while timing my contractions that morning at 2:30 a.m. And during my labor (while I was medicated and resting) I heard him going over names with Dona, trying to get her opinion. Alas, we settled on Naiya, a name conjured up from Ryan liking the name Maya, and my hearing and liking the name Anaiya while overhearing a mom calling her daughter’s name at the grocery store. And May is Ryan’s grandmother’s (on his dad’s side) middle name. Our newest baby girl is now lovingly referred to as “Naiya Papaya”.

Now you see the belly...Now you won't!

HALLELUJAH!!!!!! Who knew one of the first things I would be excited about in the labor and delivery room is that I’M NOT PREGNANT ANYMORE! Yes, I was thankful for a healthy baby girl, for a 6 hour labor, for only 20 minutes of pushing, but after being pregnant for two straight years I would have jumped up and done a little dance had the epidural not turned my legs into jelly. Reality check that it’s time to get on some kind (any kind!) of contraceptive:

Doctor: “Mrs. Grossman, when was your last menstrual period?”

Shan: “Um, August 2007.”

Guess Who's Back

Okay, back by popular demand (no, not really), I have decided to take another stab at the blog world. Funny how a year goes by and I try again. What is this, the 5th time now? I think it’s because I’ve realized my time is limited now with two little girls under 13 months, and my ability to keep in touch and update those we love is even less than it was before! But there is so much I want to share about our transition to a family of four, so here I am again. Enjoy.