welcome jenna to the family

After many delays before my surgery, the actual procedure performed by Dr. Yadav, my OB/GYN, went smoothly. Jenna had some minor troubles expelling all of the fluid in her lungs, but that issue was soon resolved.

Immediately following the surgery, while still in the post-op room, Jenna was showing signs of hunger and popped onto my breast without hesitation. This was a bit unexpected since Tyler needed more help to really latch well the first few times.

Eventually Tyler and Oma were able to join us in the post-op room as well, but Jenna had already gone for her bath and checkup. Tyler didn't seem overwhelmed by the equipment or potentially scary location. He asked to see Mommy's boo boo (an IV in my hand) and otherwise enjoyed checking out the new place. He got really excited to see Jenna through the glass of the baby nursery while on our way to our room.

happy birthday jenna!

After several delays and an anesthesiologist who mistook me for a pin cushion, we finally got the show on the road and Miss Jenna Marie Campbell joined us at 3:28 pm. She weighed 7 pounds, 7.8 ounces and measured 19.5 inches.

She looks very similar to the way Tyler did but she is much smaller, blonde and has very long slender fingers and toes. Her ears are also much more petite and her mouth and chin look similar to mine as a baby.

She's been a great breastfeeder from the start and has such a sweet and pensive personality. Oh, and at delivery we discovered she was head down. Figures! We didn't check prior to surgery.

one day to go

Jenna is scheduled to arrive tomorrow. I can hardly believe the time has come. The entire family is excited. Tyler says, "I so ess-cited! Mommy, clap your hands!" I'm both excited and a tad nervous to see how he will respond to seeing Mommy in the hospital and having a new sibling. To ensure that he is not overshadowed by the attention going to his baby sister, he will soon receive a bike as a big brother gift!

2 1/2 already

What a big boy! At 2 and a half years, Tyler is full of stories; he's a comedian; he's a good helper; and he's a curious and happy boy. He loves to help put the groceries away and he scoops up the plastic bags and rushes them into the hall closet organizer. He'll rush back and yell, "I did it!"

39 weeks, 1 day

Four days until D-day!

mother's day

This was a really special Mother's Day. In addition to Jenna's upcoming arrival (less than a week away), Tyler understood the holiday and gave me lots of hugs. He and Daddy also came up with some great surprises. Not only did I get a pretty birthstone necklace, but Tyler picked out a frame for me, with Daddy's assistance, and painted it all by himself. Love it!

silly Tyler

This is Tyler helping me organize Jenna's room and taking a closer look at a few items from his past.

sprinkle

My friends threw me a "surprise" shower (a.k.a. a sprinkle for a second child) today. What a treat! Good food, good times and good friends. Thank you so much to all of my friends for helping me celebrate Jenna's near arrival.

cool dude

Look mommy, I have your sunglasses!

montana grizzlies

Alex returned from visiting the Univ. of Montana for work. He said everyone there was SO friendly and his rapport with his potential clients was so positive that upon returning from a break, a gentleman gave Alex a toy bear for Tyler! Can you imagine, how absolutely thoughtful?!!

sorry jenna

There have been a few times when Tyler gets overly excited and accidentally kicks my belly. I've paused and told him that he cannot kick my belly and without skipping a beat he says, "Sorry Jenna!"

smanuth

My dad always used the word "smanuth" to indicate a spill. It may be one of several Welsh words he used - but regardless it became ingrained in my vocabulary. I was so proud at dinner when Tyler spilled some applesauce and pointed it out with a clear, "smanuth!" So cute!

set a date

Baby Jenna has adjusted herself into a breech position again after weeks head down (an amazing feat since I'm over 38 weeks and there can't be a lot of room in there). I didn't feel her rotate this time, so she must have done it in my sleep. But I did notice that between this weekend and Monday morning, the kicks moved south.

So we scheduled a cesarean section for Friday, May 15 at Howard County General Hospital! After scheduling it, I found out that my grandmother's birthday was May 14 (Jenna's middle name, Marie, came from her). Happy coincidence.

more room prep

I spent some time this weekend painting and organizing details for Jenna's room. The vine artwork was a design from some wallpaper that was in the background of a photo in a magazine. I recreated it and then added a big J in the center just above her bed. And the bears are back from Tyler's nursery!

may day

The beginning of May was marked by the downpour of cherry blossoms from our frontyard tree. Each year Jenna's birthday will be ushered in by the pink flowers - a nice way to celebrate our baby girl! (until they are tracked into the house and turn brown)

potty try

Tyler sat on the potty at daycare today and waited for a pending poop. He commentated, "Not coming... not coming." So no luck on pooping on the pot, but I was amazed he even tried it since he rarely shows any interest in potty activities. Ms. Debbie agreed he wasn't quite ready for potty training which I am not even entertaining the idea of until we are set with our new routine with a new baby in the house.

hitting no no

While huddled with his playmates at daycare waiting for the mommies and daddies, Tyler hit his buddy. According to Ms. Debbie, Tyler's most feared punishment is being separated from his buddies. So when I arrived he was seated on the other side of Ms. Debbie and his eyes were red and still welling with tears. Thankfully, Tyler is very good about apologizing and has not continued the bad practice!

filling daddy's shoes (uh, shirt)

Alex bought some new shirts and Tyler was so pleased to model them! Maybe a tad big.

drink my finger

Sometimes moms just gotta use what they have on hand to solve some of the most simple, but sticky, situations. In a bind I've sucked on Tyler's fingers to rid them of stickiness when we didn't have a sink or wipes nearby.

This evening I gave Tyler a lollipop for dessert. When finished I was inspecting his fingers to make sure the sugary concoction remained in his mouth rather than on his hands. I'm sure referencing the finger-licking practice, Tyler offered his finger and said, "Drink it!" Better than "pull my finger," right?

creative truck

Tyler has a MegaBloks dump truck that he was pushing around. At a certain point he opened his MegaBlok bag and pulled out a red block and affixed it to the top of the dump truck. Then he pointed out to me that his dump truck was now a FIRE TRUCK and fire truck noises ensued!

sing song

Tyler loves to sing songs. Recently he has started with "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," "Happy Birthday," and "Turn Around." Not sure where he got that last one!

bunny borrower

A colleague at work gave me an adorable pink bunny for Jenna. I asked Tyler to care for it until Jenna arrives. He kept hugging the bunny and saying, "Oh, bunny!"

daddy go to mommy

We always encourage Tyler to be affectionate but he seems to be a natural love bug all on his own. He showers Mommy and Daddy with hugs and kisses, he has his "baby" cars and stuffed animals kiss "the mommies," and he shares loving with the sweetest "ohh Mommy," or "ohh Daddy."

Lots of times we have family hugs. And as if Alex and I needed any help, recently after we went in to get Tyler up to start his day and gave him kisses and hugs, he pushed Daddy toward me and said, "Daddy go to Mommy," inferring Daddy needed to hug me too.

happy easter

I'm not sure if he liked the candy or car better!

first movie at the theater

Tyler's attention span has expanded and he has been able to sit still to watch nearly an entire movie recently. So we decided to bite the bullet and take him to see Monsters vs. Aliens. He was very excited by the theater and was treated to a pretzel and Reese's pieces. He was too small to sit in the seat by himself (he was not heavy enough to keep the bottom of the seat from folding up), but he was happy to join the laps of Mommy and Daddy. And twice during the movie he wanted to hop down and dance. And in true Mommy fashion, he dozed off toward the end only missing the last ten or fifteen minutes.

sticks and slides

Tyler loves to walk Daisy because he knows that almost always entails a trip to the playground on the bike path just beyond our property. Lately Tyler has shown a big interest in sticks. He likes to dig holes and use them as props in imaginary games (they become hot dogs, etc.).

cheese!

Tyler was having a particularly great morning and was thrilled with his "baby newts." Do you like his cheese face? (that is the last image where he makes a funny face as he exclaims, "CHEESE!" just prior to the photograph being taken).

justin and zach

Tyler really enjoyed having his Florida cousins come for a nearly week-long visit. He had a great time running around with "Zachy" and often asked Justin to "come with me" while curling his fingers up in a follow me motion. Each morning he'd ask, "Where did Justin/Zach go?" and I'd have to assure him that the boys were still here and just sleeping. Tyler also loved trying on Zach's soccer flip flops.



And the oversized sweatshirts on the cousins, you ask? They forgot that Maryland is not Florida, didn't pack accordingly so they spent the week in Alex's sweatshirts!

34 weeks, 3 days

Jenna is situated much more like a ball in my belly, whereas Tyler was a little more spread left to right. Thankfully I've had little back pain since I started taking some precautions a couple of months ago. But I have started to get a little tired some evenings late in pregnancy which I didn't have with Tyler. Guess it is flip flopped since I was exhausted in early pregnancy with Tyler and not so with Jenna.

34 weeks

We are back at the doctor for another checkup. We got another peek at Jenna with new sonogram images. She has flipped and is now head down. We were also able to see her give us a big yawn while we were looking at the profile view. It is so amazing to see those little details and cute baby qualities prior to her arrival.

Columbia egg hunt

We took advantage of a free egg hunt for Columbia residents. There was a four-egg limit per child, so Tyler's hunt ended in about a minute and a half. But thankfully there was a great jungle gym with several slides. Tyler loved it despite the windy and chilly day.

baking cookies

A lesson for all bakers with small children: check that you have all the ingredients prior to promising your two-year-old that you will bake cookies! No eggs!? An unintentional April Fool's joke on myself. Not knowing my new neighbors' phone numbers and not interested in loading Tyler up in the car for a trip to the grocery store, Tyler and I walked to a neighbor's house (did I mention it was raining?) and borrowed an egg. Saved! We were successful at producing yummy cookies with minimal contamination from Tyler!

boo boos and smiles

Tyler was running too fast and fell on the sidewalk. Of course he skins his knee in the one place that was exposed because of the hole in his jeans. When we got home I cleaned it and put some medicine on with a bandage. I told him that he'd feel better by tomorrow morning.

The next morning he was very interested to see his wound and he declared, "I feel better Mommy!"

no tear driving

Tyler LIVES to pretend to drive real cars. Upon occasion we let him sit in the driver seat of our cars while in the garage and let him play. He tries to move the steering wheel back and forth, turns on the flashers and presses all the buttons despite them all being off!

Unfortunately, this fun play doesn't usually end well. He never wants to stop and bursts into tears when play time is over. This time he asked to only drive for a couple of minutes which caught my attention. I decided to give it a try and talked to him beforehand about the time limit. Amazingly, it worked! When it was time to go inside, he hopped out and said bye bye to the car. This was a big moment for us!!

heaven

We got together with my high school friends and our kids for some weekend fun at a kids playcenter. This was SO fun for Tyler and Dad especially got a good workout trying to keep up with Tyler as he sprinted from station to station. Of particular interest to Tyler was a real fire engine, the ball pit and a music station.

It was also great to catch up with my friends despite the many distractions of kids running all over the place. Baby Max who was born in February was a nice preview to the new addition headed our way. I'm still in denial that a baby will be here soon!

imaginary play

Tyler had developed a new type of play: imaginary! He makes little scenarios for his cars and then has them talk to each other doing voices for each. His stuffed animals play the same games. And he also makes lots of imaginary food. We pretend to eat what he "cooks" and sticks and dominos magically become phones.

another Grampy sighting

Alex took Tyler to Laurel Mill Playhouse where Alex has directed several shows. As they drove toward the theater Tyler started to yell that he could see Grampy and Grampy is happy.

baby newts

Tyler, like Mommy, calls smaller items, "baby" items. An extra small button is a "baby button."

Recently we found that Tyler liked fig newtons. So when Daddy got Tyler some small packages of mini fig newtons, Tyler started to call them "baby newts."

penis (part two)

While lying down on the changing table during a diaper change, Tyler exclaimed to Daddy, "I want to see it! I want to see it!" Alex realized Tyler was referring to the new found penis. Alex helped Tyler bend up so he could investigate. Then Tyler said, "Ohh, I like it Daddy!"

32 weeks

This image is for all those who have been harassing me to post belly pictures. :) Any flattering sucking in won't help at this point!

box fun

Who needs toys when you can have an empty box?!

outer space

After lunch Tyler climbed under the kitchen table to play. He was making noises and holding his cars up in the air. We asked what he was doing and without hesitating he said, "I'm in the Milky Way!" Then he continued to zoom his cars through "space."

penis (part one)

Tyler saw Daddy going the bathroom and asked, "What's that?" Daddy explained that it was a penis and that Tyler had one too. "Oh," he responded.

meeting Chase

Tyler has a new buddy, Chase, who was born Feb. 5. Isn't he so cute? This was Chase's first interaction with another little one and an opportunity for the moms and dads to see how Tyler was going to react to the new baby. It was somewhat anticlimactic since Tyler didn't seem to get overly excited about the baby. Even when Tyler's Mommy held Chase! It will interesting to see how he responds to Jenna -- especially when he realizes that she is staying!

almost 32 weeks

At my checkup today we got to see Jenna. The doctor wanted to check her position. She's breech right now (just like Tyler was)! But the doctor still says it is early and she could move many times over before birth.

Maddy

First there was Bennifer, then there was Brangelina. Now there is Maddy: Tyler's term for Mommy and Daddy.

pregnant mom

Adults ask me how I'm feeling. Alex refuses to let me carry anything remotely bulky or heavy. But Tyler doesn't seem concerned with the my physical limitations. We headed to the playground today to enjoy the first really warm day in recent weeks. Once there he couldn't understand why I didn't want to crawl into the "tunnel" (under the playground equipment) with him. He can run underneath upright and can't fathom why I am leery of crouching over while carrying an 8-month pregnant small volleyball shaped stomach around with me. But he did talk me into going down the slide a handful of times. That must of looked ridiculous to passersby! But we had a good time and then jogged home. (Tyler doesn't really walk anywhere. Everything is high speed!) Later in the evening I noticed that my ankles were a bit puffy - poor pregnant mom.

debate

Rolling up behind my daycare provider's truck as we arrived, Tyler started pointing and kept saying something that sounded at first like truck. I said oh yes that is Debbie's truck. He corrected me no duck, duck! Baffled for a few moments I told him I didn't know to what he was referring. Then he clarified that ON Debbie's truck window were some ducks. Huh? Taking a closer look I saw some mini Maryland Terps on a sticker in her back window. I corrected him and said they were turtles. "No mommy, ducks!" We debated back and forth a few times when we decided it was best to take a closer look to settle the argument. Sure enough mommy was right. And somehow turtles are much more exciting than ducks and Tyler was sure to let Ms. Debbie know that she had TURTLES on her back window!

who's coming?

Preparing Tyler for the weekend when Aunt Joy was going to come to babysit, I asked him "Who's coming this weekend?" Tyler smiled and yelled, "Jenna!" 9 more weeks and he will be right!

mister independent

Tyler's new thing is to help us do any and everything. Correction: Tyler's new thing is to take control of a task no matter how difficult. Two weeks ago he wanted to hang the curtains in Jenna's room. I told him that he could help daddy and me, but that wasn't cutting it. He said, "No mommy and daddy. Me do it!" ME DO IT is now more recognized in our house than the famous Nike slogan. He also wants to sweep the floor with a full-size broom, feed himself with a spoon, get his own tissue, take off his own shoes, and turn on and off all lights. Mister independent.

And with all of these big boy activities and observations of adults come many questions: "What's dat?, What's da matta?, Why cuz?"

your turn

Tyler is big into sharing. He likes to share a granola bar with me but he quarterbacks the entire event. "Your turn! My turn! You go! Me now!"

jenna's room in progress

We did the bulk of the work setting up Jenna's room this past weekend. We painted a third coat of pink when I didn't like the original hue. We cut the paint in half with white and did a final layer that finally satisfied me. (Thanks to Alex for not even groaning about the extra work.) We were able to keep the same bumper and bed skirt from Tyler's nursery - just added new sheets to the mix. Also added new curtains and a new toy storage. Now I just have to create all the artwork for the walls and shift the last of Tyler's clothes to his room. See photos of her room still in progress:



After his bath, Tyler uses what will soon be Jenna's changing table.

showman

Like father, like son.

missing Grampy

A kids magazine about baby animals showed up in our mailbox. Apparently, Grampy had ordered a subscription to the magazine as part of Tyler's Christmas gift and the first issue just arrived. I told Tyler that he had a present from Grampy and Tyler started to clap and cheer, "Grampy, Grampy, Grampy! Grampy coming?" Ouch. Then for the next two days he identified everyone in photos as Grampy even when there was absolutely no resemblance. So we spent some time looking at photos and video of Grampy and that seemed to ease his mind.

Week 29

Well into my 7th month of pregnancy, Baby Jenna moves and kicks a LOT! Tyler didn't seem to move quite as much, but he also delivered karate-chop-like blows whereas Jenna is more gentle. I've been blessed with another kind pregnancy. No sickness again. Back pain earlier and more intense than the last time, but I've so far escaped the swollen ankles that I had previously. I also had a bigger problem with breakouts just below each side of my mouth, but thankfully that has finally started to subside.

Yesterday during my last monthly doctor's appointment, I took a test. Thankfully, once again I tested negative for gestational diabetes. My upcoming appointments will be every 2-3 weeks until they adjust to weekly during the final month. It will be here before I know it!

snow day!

We've had a well below average accumulation of snow this season. That means a shortage of sledding or snowman-making opportunities. But today was different and our family took full advantage; we had over 6 inches of snow! Just enough to come up to Tyler's knees and allow Daisy to burrow underneath. "Snow, daddy! Look Mommy, snow!" Tyler would exclaim with glee.

bra wear

My little boy is so silly. Tonight after I changed into my PJs Tyler came behind me and picked up my bra from the chair and put it on his head. I immediately giggled. Seeing my amusement, Tyler started to giggle and then put the bra across his chest to outdo himself. He is such a ham!

fun attitude

For a few weeks Tyler has been quick to cry or whine and super clingy which is uncharacteristic of him. The change was so dramatic that my daycare provider noticed and discussed it with me. We attributed it to the upheaval of a kitchen remodel and the family stress he absorbed due to the passing of his grampy. And then again it crossed my mind that this was "the terrible twos!" But I'm thankful to say that our little boy has regained his fabulous attitude and has been beamingly happy this week. The difference is remarkable!

big jump

On Tyler's 2nd birthday his buddy and he pretended to jump down a step over and over. They would swing their arms and look like a jump was immenant, but ultimately just stepped down. This evening, Tyler took a big leap off of the fireplace: a real jump!

good sharer

Tyler and I split a rice krispies treat for dessert. You would think I would have to fight for each bite, but he systematically offered me a bite and said, "Your turn!" after each bite of his own. What a gentleman!

growth spurt

It seems like overnight Tyler has outgrown everything! Tyler has a couple pairs of size 7.5 shoes that just don't fit anymore. One day they seemed fine and the next I was cramming them on him. I finally broke down and let him wear his size 9 shoes that I figured he'd use in the fall! His pants are approaching highwater status despite having room to spare in the waist. And we can tell he's shot up what seems like an inch recently, so much so that others are noticing too.

unka hugh

Uncle Hugh has been staying with us for the past two weeks working on our kitchen. Tyler has taken a interest in all the tools Hugh uses and exactly what Hugh is doing. This morning at breakfast he must have called to him dozens of times, "Unka Hugh, Unka Hugh (at this point you must acknowledge Tyler or he continues forever), What ya doing?" "What's that?" "Unka Hugh, what's this?" Uncle Hugh must have been very thankful that Tyler was soon off to daycare.

Donalds

While our kitchen has been in the midst of the remodeling process (check out photos on Alex's blog: www.travelsofalex.blogspot.com), we've been eating out nearly every night. This night I planned to eat leftovers but Tyler had other ideas. As I strapped him in his carseat after picking him up from daycare, unprompted he blurted out "I want to go to Donalds!" This was the first time he had selected a restaurant so I was a bit stunned and answered with, "You want to eat at McDonalds?" Without hesitation he said, "Yes! And I want chicken and fries and chocolate milk." I couldn't say no to that although he changed his mind and selected apples rather than fries. Then he talked to Daddy on the cell on our way to McDonalds and was so proud of himself he repeated his entire order to Daddy and then continued chatting about the roads, bridges, tunnels (under the bridges) and trucks that he saw along the way.

look mom! I'm drivin'!

Tyler's favorite pastime: sitting in the driver's seat pretending to cruise down the road!

swirl find

Tyler and I love to look through his books that have items shown at the left and then we have to find the item in a complicated scene at right. While Tyler searches for the item, he has started to swirl his pointer finger around in an exaggerated circle above the page until he spots the item. Then his finger swoops down and lands on the item.

classmate

The buzz in Washington was all about where Malia and Sasha were going to go to school. The young girls in the area wanted to be classmates with the first family siblings. But Tyler is one up on all of them. When Uncle Hugh asked who went to daycare with him, Tyler responded with a few kids' names and then listed, "Obama."

happy

Tyler and I sat in my bed this morning avoiding the start of a new day. At one point Tyler started clapping his hands together saying, "Happy, happy, happy!" I asked if Tyler was happy and he immediately responded, "No, Grampy is happy." Eerie.

bye bye grampy

Tyler's Grampy lost his battle with pancreatic cancer today. Thankfully Tyler is blissfully unaware of the loss. He keeps looking at Mommy and saying, "K Mommy?" because he knows something is wrong. I tell him that it is ok and that I'm just very sad. He responds with, "Why cuz?" I tell him that Grampy went to Heaven and Mommy is very sad because she will miss him very much. Tyler gives me kisses to make me feel better.

yes sir

Tyler has begun to respond to us sometimes with a "yes sir!" Since we didn't teach him this we found it particularly amusing. Turns out Ms. Debbie responds to them in that manner and Tyler has just picked it up.

daddy at a distance

Alex headed to Illinois and then PA for business trips this week. That meant Tyler and Mommy were on their own to care for Daisy. Alex called to check in on us.

During Tyler's conversation with Alex, I put the cell phone on speaker. Tyler told Alex about some good news and Alex said how great the news was and then added, "High five!" To my amusement Tyler, holding the phone in one hand, used his other hand to slap a high five on the face of the phone.

Then as his talk with Daddy continued he put the phone on the floor. He began to sort through his basket of toys while talking. When he found his toy phone that has dead batteries, he told Alex how it was broken. Alex asked what was broken. Tyler said his phone was broken, then as if Alex could peer through the receiver Tyler held the toy up to the cell phone and said, "See!"