Ringing in the New Year

Happy New Year!

Bring on the new year - we are ready for 2012.  I've never been big on new year resolutions in the past but decided to make a goal list for this year..... here are a few goals from the list

participate in my 365 - eat less, drink more (eh...water!) - run, run, run - more dates with my husband - more bedtime stories with the kids - advocate, advocate, advocate for individuals with disabilities - laugh more and stress less - try new recipes - stay connected with friends and family - post on this blog often from time to time

What are you doing in 2012?

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas From Our Family To Yours!

Seven Years Ago Today

Dear Nate,

Seven years ago today, after many days and nights of praying, God blessed us with our first child. The minute you entered the world, all 8lbs 14oz of you, we were madly in love and were the happiest first time parents in the universe. Over the last seven years you have grown from a feisty baby and toddler to a witty and charming boy. You have a curious mind and the biggest heart of anyone I know. You have a tall athletic frame (52 inches!) and are left handed….a future quarterback? Only time will tell.  As for now you play sports just for fun. At age 7 you have already “retired” from lacrosse after two seasons – your words, not ours. You play baseball, basketball and flag football. If playing Angry Birds was a sport you would be on the All Star Travel team. You entered and finished your first Triathlon last month. Although swimming put you behind in your heat and you encountered a crash on the bike course, you brushed yourself off and finished the race. You were mommy and daddy’s real champion that day.

Your favorite things are Legos© and Star Wars. The combination of the two – Lego© Star Wars Sets – has you occupied for hours upon hours. You also have a passion for saving the Earth. No matter where we are or what we are doing (riding bikes, walking Blue, dashing to the bus stop and such) you will take a few seconds to pick up trash and talk about how littering is bad for the Earth. Those moments make my heart swell with pride………… except for a few months ago when you picked up a dollar bill in the park that was smeared with dog poop. I suppose it’s nothing a little soap and hand sanitizer can’t fix.

Today is bittersweet. We are celebrating your 7th Birthday. It is also the day that mommy returns to work from maternity leave after having your sister a few months ago. In seven years, God has blessed your daddy and me with four beautiful children – two boys and two girls. As I leave the house today with a laptop and smartphone in one hand and a breast pump in the other to face work deadlines, early morning meetings, business lunches and occasional late night events, I know there is no other job that is bigger, more important, yet often challenging, than my role as a mother – the mother to you and your siblings. It is the most gratifying job I have ever had and ever will have. God made that possible when he blessed us seven years ago today.

Happy Birthday, Nate. May this year be full of growth, accomplishments and a lot of fun. We love you!

Avery Josephine Ray

Avery Josephine Ray

Miss Ava

July 7, 2011

11:05am

8 pounds 4 ounces and 20 inches

Little Princess to Proud Big Brothers, Nate and Matty, and Big Sister, Ellie

Birth Story:

Our induction was scheduled for Thursday, July 7, 2011 (7.7.11). I initially picked the day because my favorite doctor was scheduled at the hospital but also loved the cool birth date. Brian and I had dinner with the kids on Wednesday evening before leaving for the hospital. The 35 minute ride was peaceful and we shared funny stories and laughed like giddy teenagers. I’m pretty sure we were both thinking to ourselves “holy smokes we are about to have four kids!!”

We were checked into the hospital very quickly. Just like the ride over everything seemed so calm and peaceful. I had been having contractions on and off for a few weeks and was 2 cm dilated at my last appointment on Tuesday. The attendant checked me again once we were settled in our hospital room and I was at 3 cm. The on-call doctor wanted me to rest overnight and get the party started around 7:00am. I took the opportunity to put my own comfortable clothes back on – hospital gowns are the worst – and watch TV. Me in the very uncomfortable hospital bed and Brian on the equally uncomfortable hospital sofa. We dozed off before midnight and by 5:00am I was wide awake walking the halls looking for ice chips……ready to be a mommy of four!

At 7:00am a familiar face walked in the door, Nurse Rasmey followed by our favorite doctor. They were our team during Ellie’s birth. As it would turn out, the rest of the morning was similar to my labor with Ellie. Pitocin and antibiotics were started at 7:00am. Dr. S broke my water shortly thereafter. I started having contractions pretty quickly - 3 minutes apart lasting 1 minute. Our close friend, Sandra, came to the hospital to keep us company. She had graciously cleared her work calendar for the morning to be with us. Sometime before 10:00am I decided to get the epidural. I waited too long when I was in labor with Ellie and the Anesthesiologist was backed up and I almost missed getting it. I didn’t want the same thing to happen again and was glad he arrived a bit more timely. I could barely sit up when he was inserting the epidural and had a lot of pressure. The epidural went in fine and pain free fairly quickly. I was checked again and had progressed to 6cm. What seemed like minutes later I was pretty sure I was fully dilated. Dr. S came back at 10:40am and sure enough we had hit 10. Our feisty nurse, Rasmey, insisted we wait until 11:00am since I had only received four hours of antibiotics. Does 15 minutes matter especially when you are ready to push? Three rounds of pushing and four minutes later our baby girl arrived. We were immediately in love and couldn’t wait for her brothers and sister to meet her……

 

Growing Family

We are soon headed to the hospital and will be meeting our baby girl tomorrow. It’s a bit surreal….I am going to be a mommy of four kids! If someone would have told me seven years ago, while Brian and I were struggling with unviable pregnancies, that we would have four children, I never would have believed them. Our hearts ached for one child, and what has felt like an overnight journey, we are now blessed with four.


While I envision many years of chaos, sleepless nights and a few Griswold like vacations, we thank God for our blessings…all four of them…everyday!

Happy Fifth Birthday Matty

Five years ago today we welcomed our second son, Matthew Brian, into the world. I remember the days and weeks that followed wondering what it would be like when Matty turned five. It was hard at the time not to let my mind wander to the future. Where would Matty be at five?

Here is our boy at five……

The last five years have been busy for Matty and he has come so far.  He is a great little brother to Nate and plays the role of big brother to Ellie very well.  He has a lot of friends and is doing well in school.  Matty plays on a t-ball team and is leading an active social life.....

About a month ago I started having a little anxiety knowing that Matthew’s 5th Birthday was coming up. What is it about turning five? I got a little weepy several times over the last few days but today when he tiptoed into our room before sunrise and gently tapped my arm with a huge smile on his face and said “Hi, mommy”, my heart swelled with happiness and joy. This 36 pound, 39 inch five year old boy has taught me so many things in five years. He has opened my heart and mind to embrace differences as well as the true meaning of acceptance. He has led us down the road less traveled and we have taken the time to enjoy the scenery of our travels. He has taught me patience, how to live life to the fullest and the beauty of the human soul.

Happy Fifth Birthday, Matthew!

It's Been 5 Years

May 2, 2006 I was 33 weeks pregnant and admitted into the hospital for preterm labor.  What followed next was a flurry of activity....

Hospital Admissions

Bed rest

Tests, tests and more tests

Polyhydramnios

Weekly trips to the Perinatologist

Tests, tests and more tests

Visiting websites and blogs about Down syndrome "just because" (we did not have a prenatal diagnosis), crying my eyes out every day and telling no one about it

Meeting with the NICU team and surgeon "just in case they were needed"

Tests, tests and more tests

Making preparations for our baby to be baptized in the hospital immediately after birth

Praying

And today I am making preparations for Matthew's fifth birthday party.  It is hard to believe he will be 5 in a few weeks.  I just reserved a moon bounce for his party and wept when I hung up the phone.  Where does the time go?