Week 1

Madeline is now 7 days old and is waking for longer periods of time and is still sleeping well in the night time. The past two nights I have only had to wake 2 times to feed her, which is the best sleep one could ask for with a newborn baby. She wakes up to eat and then it is back to bed. She still does not not do very much. Her days consist of eating, sleeping, diaper changes, and an occasional cry when a sibling does not give her the space that she is after. Madeline has had a few cross eyed moments, and likes to look at bright lights. Any time she goes outside she will fall into a deep sleep and is only awakened by coming inside and making her cold. There is something about the heat outside that just puts her right to sleep. She is a very good baby and barely cries, I am hoping that she will remain this easy and has her sister Kayla's love of sleep. The other kids are adjusting to Madeline and not been too upset by her arrival. Emily had a hard time trying to find her place now that she is not the baby and has to share her mom, but she is adjusting. She loves Madeline, and likes to kiss on her and give her hugs, but does not like to have to share the attention. She has "taken" Madeline from me and given her to my mom a few times. Kayla would sit on the sofa all day and just hold Madeline. She is really good with her and just sits there very patiently with her. She does not like to share the honor of holding Madeline with her brother or Emily, but I am sure that will change as the new-ness wears off. Nathan likes Madeline, but in true boy fashion, he has better things to be doing than holding a little baby. I think that half the time he asks to hold Madeline just to make Kayla mad.

You Decide...

I have been asked which one of the kids Madeline looks the most like, well, you decide!!

Nathan David

Kayla Rose

Emilly Clair

Madeline Grace

Home again, Home again...

When we arrived home from the hospital yesterday we were surprised with teh house decorated in pink balloons and streamers. It was so nice to come home to the happiness. After lunch it was time for Madeline and I to take a nap. After our 1.5 hour nap I thought I was going to loose it!! Nathan and Kayla did nothing but argue about who's turn it was to hold the baby and who asked first. This lasted all day and into bedtime. Kayla wanted to hold her ALL the time, she is not very good at sharing. Nathan has lost interest, there are too many other things he would rather be doing. He likes to give her kisses and hold her for a little bit, but would rather be playing some game or getting attention of his own. Emily likes to kiss the baby and wants to help with her, but is not interested in holding her. Emily makes sure that whenever anyone is holding the baby they have a pillow, even if you are standing up. They are all very sweet with her and are adjusting to the changes in the house. I am also adjusting to the changes in the house. Paul has been a great help and I know he is tired, but he keeps going and going getting things done and entertaining the kids. I could not have asked for a better husband.

meeting Madeline...

Today Nathan, Kayla, and Emily met Madeline for the first time. They were all very excited and brought birthday balloons for her and a bouquet of flowers for mom!! Nathan and Kayla could not get enough of holding her and Emily just wanted to kiss her, but not hold her!!

Madeline's Birthday

The day began with a call around 5:30AM to notify us that we should report to the hospital at 7:00AM to have the baby. I was voluntarily induced, mainly because the friends that were going to watch Nathan, Kayla, and Emily were leaving to go out of town on the 24th and we were nervous about not having help with the kids while I was in labor. We did not want for Paul to have to be in the waiting room while I delivered the baby by myself. After arrival at the hospital, I was prepared for childbirth~ IV started, monitors hooked up and left to lay in the bed until it was time to deliver the baby. As I lay there from 8:00AM until 2:00PM when I received the epidural, all I could think about was I MUCH rather preferred to have the baby naturally with no medicine, come to the hospital on my own time and when I am ready. I was miserable not being able to get up and walk around feeling like I was tied to the bed with IV's and monitors. After my epidural the pain disappeared, but I was left with the shivers that I could not get control of. I shook and I shook from 15 minutes after the epidural until about 6:00PM. I feel as though part of my shaking was from low sugar levels due to having been not allowed to eat from midnight Monday night. Madeline was born at 4:21PM and I was so happy to see her and hold her, but the joy was dampened by a feeling of sickness and just not feeling well. After Madeline was born I was allowed to have some 7-Up (which is the first thing was allowed to have since the previous day at midnight). I drank this far too fast because I knew this would help to calm my shivers, plus I was really thirsty. The nurse brought in my dinner tray and upon opening it I had to put the lid back on it and request something to throw up into. NO, the food was not that bad, the smell just caused me to vomit. Madeline was taken to the newborn nursery from 5:30PM until about 8:30PM for shots, vital signs and a bath. This was hard because I did not feel like I had seen her since I was feeling sick after her birth and then she was gone for 3 hours. While she was in the nursery Paul went to get some food from Taco Bell, and I made a few phone calls. I called my mom to let her know that we had the baby and all was well, however all I could do was cry. Sorry mom!! There was nothing wrong, I blame it on hormones. Paul left to come home to get Nathan, Kayla, and Emily to bed and to go to bed himself. Paul did great holding my hand and taking care of me. Thank You Paul!! Madeline stayed in the room with me from about 8:30PM until 10:30PM then she went to the nursery so I could sleep a little bit and was brought back into the room every 3 hours to eat. I think that was the best part about those two nights in the hospital, the fact that if I needed to there was always the nursery that I could send Madeline to so I could get a break!! It was an eventful day and I am happy to say it is all over!!!

Karen at 8:00AM

Welcome Baby Maddie!!

Dad and Madeline

Karen and Madeline Grace

The end to day 1....

We are proud to announce the arrrival of...

Baby GIRL Hellen, also known as Madeline Grace Hellen, she was born on July 22, 2008 at 4:21PM. Madeline weighed in at 7 pounds and 10 ounces and is 20.5 inches long. We are excited to get to know her better and look forward to introducing all of you to her.

...

Gone Fishing...

Sunday morning Paul wanted to take the kids to the pond about 15 minutes from here and do some fishing. So, we all loaded up in the van and headed off to sweat and be HOT in the Texas sun so the kids could fish. Paul got their fishing poles ready and Nathan threw his in first, 4 seconds after the line hit the water, Nathan had a bite. We all thought it was going to be a perch as that is the main thing we catch there. Well, when Nathan pulled it in, it was a catfish. Not a very big one, maybe 8 inches, but the biggest fish he had ever caught!! We continued to fish and catch more perch, until Nathan was reeling in his line and it was too heavy for him to pull it in. Upon closer inspection he had snagged a turtle. The turtle had gotten the hook caught in its flipper/foot and we were prepared to try to help the turtle out, but the hook came out before we could get it close enough for a picture of Nathan with his turtle. For the rest of the day Nathan was so excited about his turtle that his favorite phrase for the day was; "Dad, I caught a turtle!!"

Emily the Waterbug

Here is a little video of Emily playing with the hose last night and some picture of her and Kayla drinking the water out of the faucet. Emily just LOVES to play in the water I can promise you that we will go through at least 2 pairs of clothes everyday!!

Nesting or Not???

Today I awoke with Emily at 6:45, which I am kind of sad about as there were no swimming lessons today and I could have slept until 8:00AM. So we started the morning with cleaning the kitchen floor and finishing the laundry I started last night. Nathan was the next one awake and he was ready for breakfast. While Nathan and Emily ate their breakfast there was a loud sound of a chain saw. We look out the window and there are 2 men in the neighbor’s trees cutting and trimming them up. Kayla was soon down to see all of the excitement and then it was off to Nathan's room to watch them throw the tree limbs into the shredder. While the kids were entertained with all of this I cleaned the master bathroom and the kid’s bathroom upstairs. Then I jumped into the shower. We soon made our way out to the front yard where Nathan, Jake and JT had a water gun fight and Kayla and Emily painted the concrete with water. More of the water ended up on Emily than on the concrete, but they all had a good time and ended up wet. Finally it was lunch time so everyone went to their own homes for lunch. After lunch Nathan, Emily and Kayla played upstairs while I ironed Paul's work shirts, yes this took a little over and hour with a few interruptions from the kids. Emily took her nap and Kayla remained awake. Once the shirts were done it was time to finish cleaning the kitchen all countertops were cleaned the microwave, and outside of the refrigerator (it is stainless steel). Nathan had the neighborhood boys over and in between breaking up squabbles I managed to tidy up downstairs, play with Emily (Kayla like to play with the boys), finished washing all of the towels and water a few plants. Paul made it home and made it to the outside. After cleaning up fallen branches, pinecones and sweeping the back porch I drug the lawnmower to the back yard and started mowing. Paul said he would cut the grass, but would not argue with me if I wanted to do it. So, while he played with the kids and warmed up leftovers for dinner I was able to get 75% of the back yard done. After our dinner we cleaned up the kitchen and then it was time for me to finish the backyard. For those of you who do not know, it takes anywhere from 1.5 to 2 hours to mow our backyard. It was then time to water a few more flowers, Paul to play baseball with Nathan and Jake and for Kayla and Emily to play in the water. I do not know if you would call all of my housework nesting, or just getting the housework done? I do know that it is about to chime 10:00PM and I have finished my bowl of ice cream, so I will say goodnight for now and hope to post some at a later time.

Swimming Lessons week 1

This week Nathan and Kayla had swim lessons, they went Monday to Thursday from 8:45AM to 9:25AM. The first day Kayla cried from the time that the girl took her to the shower until about 10 minutes before we left. She was not crying, but would not do what her teacher, Sarah asked her, and so instead of jumping in the pool she was pulled into the pool. Each day she cried for a shorter and shorter period of time until it was Thursday and there were no tears. She did as she was asked and was even smiling while she practiced kicking her feet. Nathan on the other hand had no tears and was willing to try whatever the teacher asked of him. I think he is one of the better ones in his group, and no I am not just saying that because he is my son. He is a good swimmer and enjoys the water. As far as baby news there is not any just waiting for the baby to make his or her appearance. Hopefully next week before Thursday is when it will decide to show up. Our neighbor has volunteered to help with the kids but she leaves to visit family in Washington State on Thursday, so we will see. I am sure that all will work out!!

Happy 4th of July!!!

First we went to a bike parade for the kids. Everyone was suppose to decorate their bikes, strollers, wagons, or whatevers and meet at the pool at 10AM. The kids rode around the community lake and back to the pool. Then it was time for a Bar B Q and games in the pool. The lifeguards had arranged games for the kids to play and people in the neighborhood brought their grills to the pool area to grill up food. You were suppose to bring your own meat to cook, but then everyone brought side items to share. By 2PM everyone was tired and ready to go home for a rest. While the girls napped Nathan "watched" cartoons and by "watched " cartoons I mean he fell asleep in the chair. During this time of peace Paul worked to get things done around the house while I baked cookies. Emily the first to awake was assigned the duty of official taste tester fro the cookies. After trying 3 of the cookis she deemed them worthy for all to eat and enjoy.

At about 8:15Pm we loaded up in the car and headed off to downtown Tomball where we found a parking place in the Lowes parking lot and waited for the fireworks to begin. At about 9:15 they started and the kids sat and watched them. Nathan bored quickly and tried to play hide and seek with Paul while Emily burried her face in my shoulder waiting for it all to over. Occasionally, she would peek out to see what all of the noise was. Kayla found a place on daddy's lap where she watched with her fingers in her ears. She would say "that one had pretty colors"; every so often, just to let you know she was paying attention. All in all it was fun, I think we would rather do our own fireworks next year and play with the neighborhood kids, who were up and playing in the cul-de-sac at 10PM when we got home.

We wish everyone a happy 4th of July and hope you all had a great day, no matter where in the world you may be!!