Intentional Parenting, aka "Parenting Like You Mean It"

I'd just like to write a few thoughts I've had lately about parenting. I'm by no means an expert (only 20 months in!) so please take everything I say with a grain of salt!

Caitlin's entering the "girl" stage now and leaving all her baby ways behind. It's super fun to watch her discover new things and react so transparently to the world around her. In the last two days her vocabulary has gotten much "clearer" too and suddenly I'm understanding the words coming out of her little mouth-! What a milestone!

Of course there have been challenges along the way--I remember many of the nights when Grady and I would lie in bed just listening to her cry after putting her down at night, just so unsure about what to do for her long term best interest. And then there came needing to somehow communicate that although we understood her sign language requests, we still weren't going to say yes all the time (complicated message to get through to a one year old!). Most recently it's been issues like playing with or dropping food during mealtimes and coming when we call her or not touching what we say is off limits, etc--all first time obedience issues. It's getting more complicated but I'm so glad God has put the people and resources in our life to help guide us on a meaningful and effective path through it all.

It's on my heart to encourage all parents out there to be intentional in your role of bring up your children. This is my biggest struggle--it is SO much easier to stay sitting on the couch after telling Caitlin not to touch the Christmas tree--again--instead of actually getting up and moving her away--in effect, simply following through. Or being consistent in my instruction to not play with her full drink cup, no matter how long it takes her to behave that way. Or (my least personal favorite at the moment) actually taking her down to her crib for a few minutes of "isolation" (aka time out) when she's acting defiantly, even in little ways. It's lots of effort, but then seeing the little ways in which she does demonstrate self control and obedience already are such rewards for the hard work put in. Knowing that teaching her these things now (which she is totally capable of learning, even at such a young age!) will instill lifelong discipline and strength of character in her. There's no better payoff than knowing your child is growing up free to blossom into the person God intends for her to be because she is secure in her boundaries and in the instructional love of her parents. We love Caitlin too much to just "let her figure things out for herself," which seems like such a popular parenting attitude these days.

Of course we are only 20 months into things and have made many mistakes and are bound to continue--thank goodness for God's grace. And thank God for giving us such a wonderful gift in our daughter who is slowly but surely opening our eyes more to the intricacies of how God loves us. May you also intentionally guard and direct the children God has given you!

(And our efforts are already paying off--she fully cooperates when we put her to sleep both for naps and at night, and she's also (in general) learning how to accept our "no's" when she's asked for something--two huge blessings for our family!)

Seasonal Delights

I can't really say if it's a typical "nesting" behavior of certain pregnant women, but I'm sure enjoying baking in every form these last couple weeks. Let's see, so far I've successfully made:
*7 dozen whipped shortbread (last Tuesday)
*1 tray peanut butter marshmallow squares (Wednesday)
*6 dozen gingerbread crinkles (Thursday)
*2 more trays peanut butter marshmallow squares (Friday) --for an Xmas party last Saturday!
*6 dozen linzer cookies (today, see pictures)
*4 dozen dark chocolate orange truffles (today)
*3 dozen almond lace cookies (today)
And an added bonus is that 6 dozen of the whipped shortbread turned into 12 half dozens of multiple other baked varieties last Thursday after a cookie exchange! Yum yum yummmmy!

Still on my list:
*honeycomb toffee brittle
*traditional shortbread
*star and tree shaped sugar cookies
...with the potential of 3-4 dozen of my linzer cookies turning into more variety tomorrow evening if I decide to venture out in the arctic-wasteland aka Rochester, MN. The HIGH today was -4F (that's -20C for all you non-Americans!)

I do love the feeling of accomplishment after simply blending a few simple ingredients, setting the timer, and pulling out the finished beauties at the right moment. Not to mention how great it is to know that our nearby family's and friends' gifts are being taken care of more than a week before the big day! It feels nice to be on top of things for once.

I hope you're enjoying your own variety of baked goodies too!

Who Knew??

It'd be such a shame if only pregnant women who received this newsletter found out these interesting tidbits, so I just had to share! Woot Week 33!

how nice!

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....oh my....!
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good one.

Please Excuse...

...the mess that has become of my blog! And it's really nothing I can change--it seems that blogger has just lost my pictures (yayyyy.) Here's hoping they come back soon....

{insert frustration!}

Update (Dec 12th):
I've decided to re-upload the pictures for the latest ten posts and hope that somehow the others can be recovered eventually (when the guys in the "help group" finally--if ever--get to my plea and can fix it-!). Thanks everyone for your patience...

Baby Bump

pictures taken at 31 weeks

Come On In, Part Two

And as promised, here's the second half of our home tour! I do have a few disclaimers though:

• there is no photo of our bedroom because it never seems to be in a very presentable state, oops.
• the dining room table is far from picture perfect, I am in the middle of getting Christmas cards out!
• the boxes/bags of Christmas decorations are clearly seen in that picture. Please ignore. Thanks.
• I am so proud to tell people that all the furniture in Caitlin's room is second hand, acquired from friends or garage sales. And isn't that room painted so cute! It was like that when we bought the house.
• please note the clearer picture of the recently painted border, it's white not pink!

Ok, now you may enjoy. :)

Uh-Huh

Unfortunately, not too far from the truth...

Know the Feeling?

A Place to Call Home

Alas the much anticipated pictures are posted! Join me on a tour of the place we've been calling home for the last six months. (Note: I just painted Caitlin's future bedroom a couple of weeks ago and when Amy visited we "installed" the vinyl ladybugs.)
Pictures of the kitchen, Caitlin's room, our bedroom, and the dining room still to come!

In Her Own Time

Caitlin's personality has really began to bloom in the last week and it has been such a delight to clearly see her grow and change. She's blabbering on (in her own language) a good majority of the time and it's especially precious to overhear her playing and somehow narrating/conversing as she does. Just a couple nights ago in the middle of dinner she--out of the blue--said pointedly, "Nanananananownownownow....no!" to which she paired the head shake, which she had been doing for some time. So now she's figured that out, although thankfully it's not yet been directed at us parentes...I wonder how long that will last!

She randomly said, "Bye-bye" as she crawled away from me the other day, and as soon as she turned around I got a huge, "Hiiiiiiii!" She'll "repeat" (again, mostly in her own language--which actually reminds me of the early stages of learning German when nothing I said sounded remotely like it was supposed to no matter how hard I tried!) anything we ask her to say, she starts her own games of peek-a-boo by covering her face and then giggling hysterically until someone notices her and plays along, she absolutely loves being chased by Papa or anyone who starts by saying, "I'm gonna get youuuuuu!", and her favorite song is now "Itsy Bitsy Spider" which she also initiates by saying, "Dowwwwww!"' and moving her arms up and down like the rain (second stanza of the song). What are you going to surprise us with next, little girl?

And then there's the issue of walking, which has never been of huge concern (she was a late crawler too and it was so nice to be able to communicate boundaries to a 13 month old who understood what no meant!), but I remember six months ago thinking how obvious it would be that she would walk by my sister's wedding at the end of September because what flowergirl doesn't walk down the aisle?! Well ours didn't. In fact she was so crabby that day we were just lucky enough to have her sit quietly in the auditorium for the ceremony! By then she could have held two of the junior bridesmaids' hands and walked between them, but her stubborn mind was made up that she would NOT do it on her own! We'd ask her if she wanted to walk and just get the clear head shake in return. She wasn't going to do it until she was ready to!

And yesterday she was ready! She's been practicing standing up in the middle of the floor for three weeks now, but would always just plop back down and crawl to her destination after she got her fill of ooohs and aaahs from us. A few days ago she'd started taking two and three steps in a row but easily lose her interest when she'd fall to the floor, still resisting our encouragements with the clear head shake. But yesterday! No more head shakes and no more frustrated grunts if she fell, she would just get right back up and keep going! At 18 and a half months, Caitlin finally decided she wanted to be a walker!

As far as her stubborn streak goes though...let's just say I'm overjoyed when I think about how *fun* it's going to be as she gets older and it only becomes an increasing factor....!!

Things I Am Grateful For, #459

...people who speak my native language, English!

I just re-re-re-realized yesterday how absolutely wonderful it is (and how for granted I take it) to be surrounded by English speakers since being back from Germany these past ten months. To be able to enter a room full of strangers and converse freely with any of them. To join a mothers group and catch everything that is said, regardless of how fast or random the comments. Or easily reword my question when it's not understood the first time at the grocery store. I thoroughly enjoy the potential I have to engage in small talk with the Lowes employee as he guides me to the plywood aisle, or call a woman I haven't met in person to explain I've been assigned to bring her dinner on the Friday after her surgery and simply ask if her family has any preferences or allergies. Oh the glorious freedom and blessing of language not being a barrier anymore!

Roommate Revisited

We are so thrilled to have just had the chance to host my roommate/coworker from my time in Dresden! Amy visited this past weekend and we had a great time relaxing and catching up from the two and a half years we've been apart. So much has changed but yet there are so many great memories to reflect back on and laugh about. Memories like eating at the Cuban restaurant, walking through the Waldpark, encountering our landlord in his underwear (numerous times), remembering the view from our apartment, awesome self-portrait photo angles, hiking in the nearby "Saxony Swiss" area, and the like.

Looking through my old blog entries I wonder if Amy remembers our first and only attempt at flying a kite? Or the crazy atomic clock that went berserk for awhile there? Aaah and the time I pretty much made her pee her pants. Not to forget when she didn't ride across the tram tracks at a sharp enough angle (on her bike) and got her tire stuck! I think that time I almost peed my pants! Good times.

Our most notable thing we accomplished this weekend (note: we may or may not have pretty much lounged around the rest of the time) was applying 50+ vinyl ladybugs to the newly painted room-to-be-Caitlin's-bedroom. They look pretty snazzy! Unfortunately I haven't snapped a picture of it yet and it's too dark to get one right now. I hope to also get some pics of the other rooms of our house (something I've been meaning to do for awhile...) so I'll do that all soon and post them. Ooh the suspense!

Anyway, go to Amy's blog for awesome photos of the weekend--I pretty much slacked in the picture-taking department and have none to speak of myself. Hers are totally worth checking out though, she has some mad skills! Caitlin loved having an on-command-book-reader around too, not to mention that we noticed she can really bust a move when more than just crazy Mama "dances" around to Papa's German Club techno mixes. Amy is such an inspiration, even to the toddlers of the world! I think Amy has a new BFF for life.

Love you Amy, thanks for coming!

Cutest Lion on the Block

She wouldn't necessarily roar on cue, but she sure made up for it with her cuteness!

Collective Juices of Creativity

Here's our Jack-o-Lantern for this year, a combined effort of my carving out the cat, Grady "scraping" out the moon (to give it that lighter effect) and Caitlin holding and "smelling" (and us constantly reminding her not to eat!) the remnant pieces of pumpkin. And then we all sat back and said, "Oooh, aaah" at the finished product! A fun family evening had by all.

Aiming for Ames

The beautiful campus of Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa welcomed us last weekend as we visited Grady's Alma Mater for its Homecoming weekend. It was a gorgeous, sunny fall day last Saturday and we took advantage of it by spending a few hours walking around and hearing many stories of Grady's undergraduate time there. This year the university celebrates its 150th anniversary and the architecture truly reflects its glorious history (even reminding me a bit of Europe!). And of course, we hit the bookstore to get decked out in our own crimson and gold! Thanks to Grady's old roommate Aaron and his family for hosting us!

Picture descriptions:
1 - in front of the clock tower, aka "Campanile"
2 - pointing to one of his old dorm rooms (window under the "Godfrey" sign)
3 - Beardshear Hall, built in 1906
4 - Proud I-State papa and daughter

Mini Oktoberfest

Last Saturday Grady and I left Caitlin with Oma and Opa and took off for some together time. We drove two and a half hours westward to a little town called New Ulm, Minnesota, a sister city to Ulm in Germany. They were celebrating Oktoberfest, and we had to check it out!

Quaint and festive, we came upon the blockaded street where everything was taking place. A traditional old-style German band set the mood as we enjoyed the festivites (although we could have lived without the bees swarming around our food and drinks!). A beer for Grady, a root beer for Allison (would never have found that in Germany!), two bratwursts with kraut, and a short interaction with some German-speaking exchange students later, we hopped in the car to check out the town's most well-known attractions.

"Herman the German" is said to have single-handedly organized a kind of ambush on Roman soldiers in the north of Germany which ultimately started the shrinking of the Roman Empire's reign. Not bad! A huge statue of him stands upon a hilltop in New Ulm and we stopped by to see him for ourselves.

We then headed through a forest to Schell's Brewery, hoping to get in on one of the tours of the historical site. Who knew it would be so busy-! We didn't get in but had a nice walk around the grounds, surprised to see free-roaming peacocks to boot! Such a beautiful setting.

Our last stop before heading home was at a little restaurant where we met a couple locals and got to visit about their German roots and learn a bit more about the town. It was a great excursion, especially with all the beautiful fall colors as a backdrop!

Announcing...

I am very proud to share the big news that just today the company that Grady works for launched their public website! It is an exciting week for them as they unveil the product they've been secretly engineering and developing over these past months. Looks pretty spiffy to me!

click on image to view website

About Me

Facts about me... (tagged by Jill!)

1. Although I'm Canadian, I haven't lived there since 2001 so I don't really feel Canadian in the sense that I know anything about the politics or current events or recent foreign policy or anything. Some people, when they find out I'm from Canada, proceed to (attempt to) have meaningful discussions about the subtleties of Canadian government or the healthcare system or something. I'm like, "Sorry, I've lived my whole adult life not in Canada so I don't really know about all that-!"
2. I haven't had any weird food combination cravings in either pregnancy, gained a whopping 35lbs with Caitlin and thusfar only 6lb with this little guy-!!
   
3. Sometimes I don't do laundry for two weeks.
4. Heels really aren't my thing.
5. Since we've moved back from Germany I'd lost my sense of decorating (as in furniture arranging/picture hanging/general room organization, etc) until it started coming back to me last week.
   
6. Both Grady and I had dreamed (seperately, but on the same night) that this baby would be a girl before we found out it's a boy! (sorry son.)
7. In high school I had aspirations to be an astronaut, land on the moon and travel to Mars. My inspiration? The movie, "Apollo 13." (not the most reassuring film, to be sure...)

Feel free to add this challenge to your next post--I'm not going to tag anyone specific!

The Itsy Bitsy Spider...

...or not so itsy bitsy.

Ok ok, I guess in the grand scheme of things they both were in and of themselves pretty itsy. (It's not like I live in Australia where the spiders never die and so grow to the size of hubcaps or something, right Nat?? ;) ) But the effect they've had on my pulse suggests otherwise (or else I'm just a wuss, although I'd prefer not to explore that option).

So yesterday I was sitting calmly in my typical spot on the couch with my laptop on my lap doing something completely routine like checking email, when a grey-brownish spider just pounced on my right forearm. It happened so suddenly that my first thought was that it must be one of those orange-ish ladybugs since I saw one a couple days earlier in this general vicinity of the house. But no, I was wrong.

I've been trying to not be so wimpy around bugs in general lately, meaning that I'm not flipping out and obsessively trying to kill every one that I see in our house. There's been a little spider hanging out around the kitchen sink for the past few months and besides the occasional cobweb strung across the window I've barely even noticed it so I've decided to be cool with it and let it be. I've seen a spider in the laundry room (in the utility room in the basement where there are supposed to be bugs, right??) and the occasional dead beetle or centipede turns up along the baseboards in the basement too. Bugs are a fact of life and I'm trying to be very grown up about this issue!

Anyway, so I looked down at my arm yesterday and then noticed what it was and, well, yes, basically flipped out, quickly brushing it off and probably making some weird noise to boot. Spiders in the kitchen and laundry room are one thing, but I'd rather not have them paying me or anyone a surprise visit as I relax on the couch-! I slowly looked around for where it landed and couldn't find it for the longest time-! Finally, I saw it, not far from where I had been sitting on the couch, and for my own sanity and peace of mind I just squished him. Case closed.

Until today! I put Caitlin down for her morning nap, turned around to go back up the stairs and something caught my eye...AAH! Hanging right in the middle of where I would have walked, a spider, even a bit bigger than the one yesterday, was just doing it's thing. I could have walked RIGHT into it!! This was getting out of hand. I put my fears of that what if aside, promptly grabbed some toilet paper from the nearby bathroom, and came out to conquer it, only to discover it had climbed back up to the ceiling. Ok, here's my chance...(and may I note that this spider was a kind of grey-off white color, blending in almost perfectly with the ceiling/walls/carpet, and causing me to conclude it wasn't the same as the jumping spider as I had run into the day before. This must be just a normal spider, right? hmm...) so I doubled--even tripled--the small swatch of tissue (no need for spider guts on my hand), approached slowly and...

...at the last possible second the spider jumped away from where I aimed!--the sheer thought that it was on me sent me into some kind of get-off-me spider dance, accompanied by those odd sounds again (they must help somehow-!). I had dropped the tissue and began by frantically searching my person for any signs of Mr. Itsy Bitsy. None. And no sign of him on the ceiling, walls OR carpet. Not even on the tissue I finally got up the courage to pick up. So here I sit, back in my normal spot on the couch, creeped out that the spider is actually making a nest in my hair or planning another lovely visit for me when I return to get Caitlin in an hour. Or even worse yet, that it WAS on me until I sat down here and he took refuge somewhere in the couch only to eventually pull a repeat of yesterday when I least expect it. I think I'm having a meltdown!

And y'know the feeling of having walked through part of a cobweb...those stringy bits just slightly ticking your face or arm...yeah, I've been feeling that this whole time too, and chances are that spider is hanging on the end of it somewhere....AAH!

Perspective

“It’s extraordinary to me that the United States can find $700 billion to save Wall Street and the entire G8 can’t find $25 billion dollars to save 25,000 children who die every day from preventable diseases.” –Bono

A Day for Giving Thanks, usw*

It's upon us again! Although I have to say I think the timing of Canadian Thanksgiving makes much more sense than it's American counterpart, don't you think? Having the huge turkey dinner today, a) is a wonderful way to celebrate the beginnings of cooler weather and to welcome in fall, b) is far enough removed from Christmas that we can have exactly the same menu and not get tired of it, and c) is just generally spaced out better, giving more time to prepare for Christmas instead of rushing around taking down Thanksgiving decorations and putting up Christmas ones in time for December. Plus, in the northern regions American Thanksgiving falls right in the middle of winter and isn't it supposed to be more of a fall-like celebration? And one more thing: I think the further-apart timing lends less of an "after holiday letdown" in January to those north of the 49th, cause it hasn't been one huge holiday after another and then nothing. See, it makes much more sense! :)

I'm excited to host and prepare my first ever meal for tonight and so far I'm off to a good, non-stressful start. The pie and salad were my projects yesterday, so they're sitting in the fridge ready to be whipped out at a moment's notice. One more trip to the store today for a couple forgotten things and then sticking to my prep schedule (starting at 2:30pm)...pending no major disasters, we should be good to go by 7! We're having two other couples join us (see invitation above) and I'm really looking forward to getting to know them better. I'll take some pictures!

In other news, it never ceases to amaze me how much time it takes me to get back into the swing of things after returning from vacation (even if it wasn't a "vacation" per se-!). Today marks two weeks since we returned and I just last Wednesday finally made it to the grocery store so we could eat something not out of a box or can-! I do appreciate getting back into a routine though, especially with Caitlin who is on the edge of deciding if she's finally an only-one-nap-a-day kind of girl or not. Most days she still doesn't make it past 10am without a meltdown (unless we have a playdate or are out doing something fun...but in reality that's only like once a week!) and I'll gladly use the extra two hours of quiet time to accomplish my own important tasks (ie. blogging..haha!). But it is nice to be home, and we should also note that it actually did feel like we came "home" this time...not just to this place we're "living in." Progress!

Grady and I also took a trip on Saturday to partake in a mini Oktoberfest--I'll write about it and post pictures later on this week.

And one last thing: be sure to check out my sister Natalie's blog for awesome pictures of their honeymoon in Fiji!

*usw - "und so weiter" - the German way of saying/writing "etc"

Newlywed Wickhams

Success!
Natalie and Joel survived their wedding day (and the preceding week, I might add) and should be enjoying the warm sun somewhere in Fiji by now. It was a flashback to our wedding day/preceding week with travelers arriving from distant lands, all the coordinating that goes into all these out-of-town guests, not to mention just the typical last-minute wedding projects. Let's just say these last few days of being back home have been more of a vacation than our vacation was!Everything turned out just beautifully and I have to say I am a bit jealous of the gorgeous fall colors--I always dreamed of having a fall wedding but Natalie actually pulled it off. It was a cool, overcast day with the typical wedding hangups--getting started a bit late, the bride and groom having to rush off for pictures before enjoying their tea reception, the breeze that kept all the bridesmaids begging for the groomsmen's suit jackets in between outdoor pictures, the wrong order for the placecards at the head table, the constant glass clinging during dinner, etc. Nothing too major!We love you both and pray your arrival "home" to Melbourne in a few days goes smoothly and lends you a good start to settling into your new family life together!

It's About Time!

The time has finally come to once again pack a suitcase and fly northbound. The occasion? My sister Natalie will marry her Australian fiance of two and a half years, Joel Wickham!
So on this, the day before our departure to join them in their celebration, I post a tribute to them and their incredible long distance love story that has stood the test of time. I wish them success as they start their new life together far across the ocean in Melbourne. Here's to a life of commitment, joy, new experiences, and growing in the Lord through it all!

(I do have to mention how weird it is to have the actual wedding approaching so quickly--it's always been so far in the future that it seemed like it would never get here but now we're only two weeks away-! I'm so blessed to have these next couple of weeks to spend with Nat before she's "harder to come by" so to say. Australia's a bit farther than the typical hop, skip and a jump away-!)

And so I sign off until our return in a few weeks--bis dann!

A Little Squished Maybe?

Every week in this pregnancy e-newsletter I receive there's a picture of what the baby might look like now. This is 19 week-old baby...Ummm, is it as crazy looking to anyone else as it is to me??

I think the next 21 weeks are when the torso fills in a bit (since it seems to be non-existent here)... hang on in there little guy!

"It's a..."

The Story:

When the technician came to that part of the anatomy, she jokingly asked us, "Now looking at this picture, what would you guess you're having??" Let's just say it wasn't too subtle!

He moved around the whole time, making it hard for the tech to follow and measure the necessary organs, etc. After all was said and done we learned that he is right on track growth-wise and looking very good. Mama Allison is hoping he might settle down a bit as he keeps growing so that she doesn't suffer internal injury from all his energetic antics!

We are just thrilled to be adding testosterone to our family this time round--we'll soon be able to go head-to-head, girls against boys (but the girls will always win I'm sure ;).

A Peek Inside

Today we were blessed to get a glimpse of the new baby and it's just indescribable to be able to see such detail and really make it that much more real to us that another one is on the way! I was in awe as the technician pointed out every organ and body part (including the gender, which we will share with everyone soon!) but my favorite part was when she'd hold the "scope" (?) in one place so we could see the little one move around! Legs kicking, arms reaching, even mouth moving!! (I joked that Caitlin's, "Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba" is already being copied by the sibling!) What a miracle it all is and what a blessing to use technology to catch a glimpse of exactly what's going on in there!

Now that you've seen the pics do you want to take a stab at the gender? Leave us a comment!

Remembering My Labour Day on Labour Day

Well in honour of the holiday, I'll share a bit of my most literal labour story (as inspired by this blog).

How long was your labor?

Just under 16 hours.

How did you know you were in labor?

Kind of a sharp pang after having just gotten into bed at midnight prompted me to go to the bathroom to pee, only I couldn't hold in whatever was slowly dripping out--I stood up only to make a small puddle on the floor (I know I know, TMI!) and both Grady and I knelt down to smell if it smelled like "baby" (what they tell you amniotic fluid smells like)--which it kind of did--and we concluded my water had just broke. He promptly went to sleep for six hours (how nice that at least one of us could sleep-!) while my contractions started and I laboured at home throughout the night. My midwife arrived at 6:30am and around 8ish I decided it was time to go to the hospital, which we did.

Where did you deliver?

In Dresden, Germany at a hospital close to our apartment--so close in fact that when I was in active labour I had a contraction right before we loaded in the car and then just started another when I got out at the hospital. Not sad to have missed the contraction-in-the-car experience-!! Plus there was always the backup option of just walking to the hospital, and what woman wouldn't love to not have her husband worrying about parking when they get there?!? :)

Drugs?

Not of my choosing. Who knew after being fully dialated for two hours and not yet having given birth a slight panic would ensue in the surrounding medical professionals? (especially since the water had broken at the very beginning and poor Caitlin's head had been resting in my pelvis the whole time without that cushy water "pillow".) I was urged to start Pitocin because my contractions had kind of petered-out, to which I reluctantly agreed. And the irony is that after an otherwise drug-free (besides the Pitocin) labour my placenta didn't fully detach and I needed to be put completely under for them to perform a DNC. I couldn't even sit up for at least a day afterwards due to the dizziness caused by the strong medication wearing off-! (which equals peeing into a bedpan, having to have Caitlin handed to me and taken from me, etc etc...) Not the most dignified way to enter motherhood...

C-section?

Nope, thankfully.

Who delivered?

My midwife, Doreen, and a doc who stepped in at the very end. Midwives attend every birth in Germany and you either have one from the hospital (until she ends her shift when you'd get a new one) or in my case, a kind of "independent with contract" one who stays the whole time and also does prenatal/postpartum care. Anyway both Doreen and the doc insisted I lie on the bed but because of the excruciating, intensified (thanks to the Pitocin) contractions that radiated from my back, I just couldn't. They graciously sat on the floor behind me as I leaned on the bed (see, I used it) and ended up delivering on my hands and knees. Thank goodness they were so understanding about it!

I don't know that I've ever posted this picture before for obvious reasons (not-yet-cleaned-off Caitlin, my ridiculous expression--just to name a couple) but it just captures those first, magical moments together. Taken minutes after birth!

Naptime Wisdom

Sometimes I like to use my blanket as a pillow......but then I wake up with the blanket's imprint on my face.

Don't worry, it doesn't hurt (it's just a little embarrassing.)

You Know You've Also Been Wondering

Every Olympic swimming competition has Grady and me asking each other how the Olympic Record and/or World Record is consistently beat and in some cases even "smashed." We even speculated that the water wasn't as dense or something, allowing the swimmers to move through it with less resistance. I mean, the swimmers of old weren't horrible swimmers, although that's sure how it seems-! Anyway, in search of answers I came across this article. Who knew the swimsuits were so high tech? And that the water depth could have that much of an impact? But I still don't know if I'm convinced...

Who's Your King?

Do you have six minutes? They won't be wasted.

Message delivered by Dr. S.M. Lockridge

Marion, We Miss Your Mondays!

In honor of how we spent every Monday evening when we lived in Dresden, I made a "Marion-style" meal for us this past Sunday. We would meet at Marion's for our English Bible Study every week, and although throughout my three years people came and went, there was always the same certain "feel" about Monday nights. Open-faced sandwiches (being sure to butter them properly first) and whatever else happened to be around that made good munching food was served. I even topped if off with a cup of Rooibos tea! But it's just not quite the same and never will be. We miss you Marika, Randy, Amy, Lynnette, Bri, Steve, Sarah, Daniil, and Marion!!

Surrey Bikes

One of the best things we got to do while visiting Canada was rent surrey bikes in the town of Waterton. We pedaled around the town (sometimes at high speeds thanks to Natalie's power legs) for an hour and Caitlin contently sat in the front basket with the best view of any of us. We'll have to do this again!

Rip Roarin Fun

I realize this video may be crossing some socially appropriate lines but I'm going to take a chance and post in anyway. Enjoy!

My favorite line has to be, "Your son Rip is on line toot..." Priceless!

In Case We Didn't Have Enough Going on Already...