Thanksgiving 2011

This year we spent Thanksgiving at my parents house. We haven't been to my families in the last seven years and boy did I miss my mom's cooking. Her stuffing and gravy is THE BEST (among other delicious dishes she makes). A quick snapshot of the afternoon's events:

Uncle Chris with a happy Aria.

The men folk.

One group shot with Connor, Zeke, Ryland, Christina, Zoey & me.

The precious boy, Luke, hiding behind a chair. I still got his picture :)

Little Hunter. He's the happiest guy around.

Baby girl giving knuckle bumps while sleeping. Got to keep it real at all time.

A Hero is Made

Luke wanted to be a superhero for Halloween this year. Back in April we got him two capes for his birthday, but he hasn't been interested in them until recently. So instead of going out and buying a costume (Spiderman was his preference) I thought I'd make Luke into his very own superhero.

My cricut is a handy machine. With freezer paper I made a plain white t-shirt into Luke's "super awesome"superhero shirt. Not too shabby.

True Love

Luke has a passion for cars. A few of these have to bathe with him, sit at the table during meals and even sleep with him. Most nights he has to gather his most "special" vehicles before he can get in bed and go to sleep. As I went to check on him before I head to bed to give him one last kiss I found his cars in their usual place, but also found something unusual. I still laugh as I look at this picture...why does Luke have a sock on his hand? I can only guess that he was polishing his cars. I may never find out.

The Unexpected - Labor Pains

Not quite as terrible as the last one, but still had an unexpected outcome. So here goes:
Tuesday (2 days overdue): I went to my doctor's appointment and my doc lovingly suggests he induce me the next evening since my blood levels are doing so well (my platelet counts were being monitored after they dropped back in May).
Wednesday (3 days overdue): Went in and started the cervix softening thingy that should start things up within 12 hours. My parents flew in from the 5 week vacation and I was so happy to have my mom there.
Thursday morning (4 days overdue): Things were not progressing as planned so they changed to a different type of cervix softener and by mid-morning I started having contractions. The nurse checked and I was to a 3 and said she could feel her little head. Now were were getting somewhere.
Thursday afternoon: They started me on pitocin to really get me moving and this is where time gets a little muddled. It was maybe around three or four when my water broke on it's own (weirdest sensation) and then the contractions immediately became super painful and were minutes apart. The nurse checked me again and I was to a 5 and then ran to find the anesthesiologist to get my epidural started cuz there was no way I was going to get to a 10 without it. I don't remember how long it took, but they were back and had the epidural in and I was good to go. Hooray! The nurse checked me again and found baby poo (there is a fancy term that I don't want to look up the spelling for) on her glove and realized this baby was no longer head down. She checked again and then got my doctor (who was the on-call doc that day - awesome he planned for me to come in so he could deliver me). He checked and found that little baby girl had turned and was breach. Since my water had broke already it's not so easy to turn them and my option was to have a c-section. What?! This baby turned and I didn't even notice?
The doctor talked to me and told me how everything was going to go and so did the anesthesiologist (everyone at Providence was super awesome). I don't think it was even 15 minutes that went by and I was wheeled into the operating room. I think there were 10 nurses in there, but I couldn't tell as I was laying on my back the whole time. There was a curtain up so Chris didn't pass out from all the the stuff going on...they make the husbands sit down anyway. The anesthesiologist pumped my epidural full of heavier drugs and little Aria was born at 6:02pm, 8 lbs 8 oz, 20 inches long. Practically perfect in every way.
Once I was stitched up I was wheeled into recovery where I got to hold little Aria for the first time. She was a doll. All my fears of ugly baby outcome were forgotten. After a few minutes my family members came in 2 at a time to see me and the baby. Luke came in with my dad and we told him this was his little sister that grew in mom's tummy. His first response, "Let me see the whole". I guess that's a reasonable question to a 3 year old because how else do baby's come out of mommy's tummy? We laughed and told him he'd have to wait because right now it has a big band-aid on it.
After recovery, I was transferred to another room and floor which was great since the room was bigger and the bed was softer. C-section patients have their own floor which I didn't realize. I did not miss my hold room because the beds are way too small for me and my feet hang off the end which is really uncomfortable.
I was released on Saturday evening and Chris had the whole following week off to help with my recovery.
Now, if my first delivery had been an easy recovery I'd choose that every time since you're up and back in action almost right away. C-section compared to my previous childbirth? I'd choose C-section again. This has been a lot easier...still lots of pain and discomfort, but I'm able to get around.
Luke is adjusting to his little sister. He has his sweet moments, but I dare not leave him alone with her. He hasn't wanted to help as much as I thought he would. One car ride to the doctor's office proved it. Aria was screaming and we were telling him to give her the binkie and he didn't want to. I'm hoping he comes around.

Aren't I Glamorous?

Right after Aria was born.

Me all glamorous again.

Ready Set

Our house is ready for the baby's arrival. I finished getting everything ready on Saturday. The garland Christina had made for my shower and I loved the bright colors so much that I wanted to hang them above the crib. The other wall looks a little bare, but I've got fun idea to pull off if I can before little Aria arrives, but I'm already 2 days overdue so we'll see.

It's the final countdown

We're a week away from the baby girl's arrival and it couldn't come any sooner. Last weeks appointment showed little progress so I know I won't be early. Bummer... I've still slotted myself one more week of work which needs to happen since those covering for me still need major help. I'm more nervous about things going well while I'm gone from work than I am going through labor again. Is that sad or what?

Since this is partly a journal I must document how I look at 39 weeks prego.

I believe I've hit the weight gain mark I had with Luke. The doctor predicts I'll have an 8 or 8 1/2 pounder this time. Not looking forward to giving birth to a larger child; Luke was only 7 lb 10 oz. With this pregnancy came the swollen ankles and feet. Even with our mild summer I can't seem to stop this crazy swelling. My doctor advised me to take off my wedding ring. I don't want to be one of the women he's had to cut a ring off of. The swelling gets pretty bad by the end of the day, but my feet and ankles are back to almost normal by morning.
I did become anemic and needed to do my iron infusion. I went in every Friday for four weeks and received the rust colored water. Got my energy back just in time to lose it with a newborn baby. At least I'll start our fully charged instead of already drained.

Big Boy Bed

Luke got a big boy bed a month or so ago. It was long overdue since he had outgrown the converted crib to toddler bed. He was coming to our room 3 or 4 times a night which was exhausting since he always came and woke me up. I told Chris that he was probably falling out and waking himself up. Poor guy. Now he's got room to roll around and sleeps all night without falling out. I am feeling less drained in the day now that I'm getting sleep without interruption. Luke really loves his new bed especially the area underneath where he can play. We have yet to make a fort...I can't sit on the ground that long these days, but we'll get to that fun feature of a raised bed.

I've converted the toddler bed back to a crib which is now all ready for the arrival of our little girl. My friend gave me the crib bedding from one of her daughters that is really cute so no extra expense went into that. Hooray! I've still got some things to do to the baby side of the room before I put pictures up. I hope she doesn't come early so I can still pull off some of my ideas.

2011 Graduate - Jacob Miller

Meet this year's family graduate, my nephew Jake Miller. He's the son of my older brother Rob and the last of his kids to graduate.

My brother lives in Gold Bar and we all headed up to a BBQ at his house before the graduation. Luke enjoyed letting their dog lick all the cheese from his Doritos before he ate them himself. I did not capture this moment, my mom did. I was seriously grossed out. I told Luke he could not feed the dog and then of course found him doing it again so I did witness the event. Ick!

I contently held cute little Hunter during the opening ceremony while Chris wrestled with Luke. Our family didn't get there early enough and so the grandstand was full and we had to stand. Without confinement of seats, Luke was hard to keep in one place.

Once all the students were seated and the national anthem was to be sung everyone looked to the flag down field and who did all eyes see? That's right...Chris and Luke stood ever so patriotic while we all laughed to ourselves. I'm sure we weren't the only ones snapping shots of this.

The graduate with his proud parents.
Sultan High School - Class of 2011

Jake with his sister, Erica, and Brother, Zeke.

Next family graduation...2013!

Grandapa Bill & Vancouver

A few weeks back we went down to Vancouver to visit Chris's dad.

We saw an old gristmill and they even still grind stuff for the tourists. We came home with cornmeal and pancake mix. Luke fell asleep before we got there and Chris just took different pictures of the mill and the river. I was surprised it was in such good condition.

Luke had fun playing football with his dad and his Grandpa. 3 generations of Walchli men right there.

We went on a walk at a nature trail. How the pregnant woman got stuck carrying the child I don't know.

Saw some big trees.

And a big slug. Boys gotta document this stuff you know.

It's a Girl!

And I was thinking we were going to have another boy. Chris told me he knew I was going to have a girl this time around. We are excited. Luke will tell me every now and then he's having a baby too. I think when he's full because his little tummy sticks out some. He's cute. He'll even say that the baby is gonna come out and talk to him. I'll say that it's not going to happen exactly like that, but he can talk to the baby (she's just not going to talk back yet).

Easter 2011 - Flashback to April

Easter will always fall close to Luke's birthday so the Easter bunny helps us out a bit and goes easy on the gifts. I couldn't get him to look at me...just his dad who was telling him to look at me.

Luke's favorite thing was the chocolate bunny. He enjoyed it before breakfast. Might as well get it over with.

The family Easter feast was a small one, but very delicious. Half of my family were in Utah attending a cousins wedding so it was my sister and her family, a brother-in-law (his family was on the Utah trip) and Chris, Luke and me. My sis, JaNeanne, cooked the delicious ham. I made potatoes and deviled the eggs we colored.

We had an Easter egg hunt for the kids (Luke, Zoey and Aidan). Easy hiding for Luke and hard to find ones for Zoey and Aidan since they are so little kids.

Birthday Fun - Flashback to April

Luke was so excited for his dinosaur birthday party. Although the weather wasn't that great, we still played a game outside. What do you play with kids ranging in age from 4 - 1 1/2? Duck-Duck-Goose of course! Parents had to help their younger ones...mine being one.

Gift opening was great. Chris was Luke's "big" helper and he even posed for me with Luke. Lightening McQueen is always a huge hit with this boy.

The delicious birthday cake Luke picked out which made the party theme. He was really excited to come and pick it up with me that morning at Costco.

You've got to make sure the gifts given are fun to play with. This rocket sure was.

The Boy is turning 3!

Luke is so excited about his birthday party. He can't stop talking about it and I hope my planning lives up to his expectation. I think he's most excited about the cake. He and I went to Costco and I let him pick it out all by himself. He went with the dinosaur. After cake selecting we went to Party City to check out the decorations with a dinosaur theme. Didn't find anything I liked, but I had an ingenious idea to use my Cricut and make my own as well as the invitations. I rented a cartridge from my fav scrapbook store, but I had so much fun with this one that I may actually buy one of my own. Here is a sneek peek of some of the things I've made.

I think these two are adorable!

Potty-Trianing

As a parent, one of the hardest challenges you face has got to be potty-training.
Sometime mid-January my Mom wanted to start this with Luke. I figured, why not, she's had loads of experience with raising six kids so training Luke would be a cinch for her. Nope, that wasn't the case. Unfortunately, I wasn't stressing the training at home so it wasn't working out very well for her. Sorry Mom!
With baby # 2 on the way and Luke nearing 3 I want to get him out of diapers. We all know it can be done so this past week Chris and I took matter into our own hands (mostly Chris since I work later than him). Since Sunday, Luke has had 4 accidents. I'm so proud of my boy! What are we doing that's working? A sticker chart and bribery. Once Luke has a success he picks out a sticker to add to his chart. Before we started, we purchased his prize so he knew what the reward would be for filling up his sticker chart. he sure is excited about get it. Weird thing is he's stopped having BM's during the day....not sure when at night it happens, but int the morning he sure has a loaded diaper. Next goal for Luke is to stay dry during naps and the releasing of hostages during the day (hope I'm not too graphic there).

Soup Goodness

Photo by The Pioneer Woman

I made chicken tortilla soup last sunday for dinner and it was sooooooooo delicious. I bumped into this blog/website for The Pioneer Woman and boy did she have some yummy looking recipes. I was in a soup mood when I found the site and thought the tortilla soup looked easy enough. I can tell you right now, it did not disappoint. I ate all the leftovers for lunch the following two days and it was just as tasty re-heated. I didn't add all the garnishes since I don't always keep red onion and avacados on hand, but it was fine without them. Anyway, if you try it, let me know what you thought? I'm definately adding this one to my well-loved recipes.

What happened to the sweetness?

This week has been awful. The majority of my time Monday - Friday is spent at work or commuting to and from and that's been fine. The small amount of time I spend at home during those days has not been very fun. My precious, sweet little boy has disappeared and been replaced with ... I hate to say it...the spawn of Satan. Usually, whey I get home from work, Luke runs up to me and gives me a big hug and tells me he missed me. This week there has been no hug or an "I missed you today". Instead, it's been replaced with an "oh, it's mom" and not even 10 minutes later the whine of ...I want...I want...I want begins while I'm trying to fix dinner and it's usually something he can't have. I'm the bad guy right off the bat and so he's mad at me the rest of the night. This week, Chris has taken vacation from work and been home. Luke went to daycare his usual 2 days, but other than that he's hung out with his dad and I think he's upset with me because I can't stay home with him all day too. Oh, how I wish those circumstances were different. I so want to be able to stay home and do mom things ...run errands...go on fun outings...have more than one day to do household chores. I really need to devote that day (Saturday) to playing with Luke. I hope next week when he's back to his normal routine I'll get my love-y little boy back because I miss him a lot. Tomorrow I think I'll make his favorite...pancakes for breakfast. That should start the weekend off right.

Things to Share

It's only made it's way back to me once so I think I've held in the secret pretty good. I've wanted to tell some friends in person, but the timing has been off so I'm sorry this isn't an "in person" news drop.

Baby Walchli II will be arriving in August.

This pregnancy took us totally by suprise. I went to the doctor for one thing and came out knowing something totally different. Here's the story:
I haven't been able to hear out of my left ear for a few months (an after-effect of a bad cold). After putting it off forever I decided to go see the doctor to have it checked out. She looked in my ears, asked a few questions and said I should make an appointment with an ENT since she couldn't see anything wrong with my ear. She did want to write up a presciption for a steriod and antibiotic so she asked if I was nursing or pregnant (I had Luke with me so I guess those are legit questions) and I said no. I was thinking to myself Luke is a little old to be nursing, but some mothers do still I've heard. Second, Chris and I had already had the talk the week before and he wanted to wait longer to have another child....like 2012. But, I rephrased my answer to..."Well, I don't think I'm pregnant. We aren't trying right now anyway." Next question from the doctor, "When was your last period?" (I know I'm getting graphic), and I proceeded to tell her it should have started the day before, but it has been a day late a time or two. To be on the safe side, she wanted to check. So, I took the prenancy test with the knowledge that it won't be positive and I'll get my drugs and maybe this ear thing will clear up finally. Yeah...I was so wrong. She comes back in with a smile and tells me that she won't be prescribing me anything today because the test was positive. WHAT?! Not expecting that answer. I'm in shock...I even started to cry and then the doctor starts tearing up and then she says, "Merry Christmas". After I pulled myself together, Luke and I left the doctors office with my ear still plugged. How could this be (I'm on the pill)? What am I going to tell Chris...will he be upset? What are we going to do with Luke and a new baby while I'm working? So many questions and what am I gonna do!
Chris wasn't upset when I told him. He was shocked just like me, but that's wore off and we couldn't be more excited. I did get myself a home pregnancy test just to make double-y sure. I guess, the Lord feels that we are ready and can handle this new addition to our family. We're just gonna roll with it. We'll cross the bridge of "what's gonna happen when I have to go back to work" when we get there. I know the Lord will bless us and everything will be alright. That's the thing that worries me the most, but I'm going to have faith and know that the Lord works in mysterious ways. I've got quite a ways to go and lots can happen.

P.S. I am at 10 weeks AND my ear unplugged by itself the week before last.

Christmas 2010 - Part 2

Sweetly borrowed my mom's camera that captured our little family's Christmas morning moments. Sorry, no pictures of me. I don't look so great when I first wake up.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care until they were filled with presents galore. I got a watch in mine.

Chris was helping Luke discover what Santa brought him in his stocking.

Chris holding up the calendar and movie Luke got. He loves his cars and he sure liked the pictures in the calendar.

We had bought this for Luke earlier in the year for Christmas and then he told Santa he wanted a train. We did by a Thomas set, however, when Chris and I tried to set it up Christmas eve it was missing a bunch of tracks so it was not the gift Santa brought. Luke didn't seem too disappointed with this because the truck is electronic. The next week we exchanged the Thomas set for a smaller one and he really loves it.

By mid-morning he was on quite the sugar high, but he sure enjoyed Christmas this year.

Christmas 2010 - Part 1

Christmas eve is spent at my parents house. The whole family comes over - all six kids with spouses and children. We were missing my older brother's wife, but the count was still 21. It's a houseful. Dad always makes clam chowder and prime rib. I think this year the clam chowder was the best he's ever made.

Pictures of the evening:

The youngest grandchildren : Hunter and Luke with Kairin and Connor (no, they aren't the oldest)

For something different and because all the grandkids are mostly older we did had a white elephant gift exchange. There were some really outrageous gifts. No one took a picture of mine, an authentic thingy for something I'm too embarassed to write about.

My dad's gift.

A fun feathery mask.

My adorable sisters.

Sometime during the evening I misplaced my camera so I didn't take get any the gift opening. I should have taken pictures of the name plaques I made for my brother and sisters before I wrapped them, but I did not. They turned out really awesome and I was so excited about them. I'll have a picture up of one of them next week so I have them for my posterity.

Before we left I borrowed my mom's camera for Christmas morning, but she took it home after they came over for dinner before I had a chance to download them to my computer. I did get a new camera for Christmas, but I don't want to post anything out of order. I'll have everything else up before the weekend is over.

Hope everyone had a wonder Christmas and a Happy New Year!