Merry Christmas!

Kate's 5th birthday

Kate's birthday celebration this year was a LITTLE early so we can have a PONY POOL PARTY! Her favorite show is My Little Pony, so we decked the party room with pink, purple, and pony figures of course.

 Here is Kate with some of her best buds...

And at home she got to open up even more gifts from mommy and daddy.

This has been a great year for Kate. She's grown to be such a loving big sister to Annabel, playing with her, and watching out for her.

And just this fall she started Kindergarten and soccer! It's been big changes for her (and me, quite honestly), and she's handled all of it in stride. 

We love you, Kate! Happy Birthday!

One year ago today...a birth story.

From my journal one year ago today:

Annabel Faith Snyder. 

Wow. I am still in shock and overwhelmed. I am in awe and my praise goes to you, o Lord. You sustained me when I could do it no longer. You gave me strength when I had none. Vision and endurance when I could not see the end. Thank you, Lord, God. For bringing me through it.

Let me just say, this is probably one of the hardest things, if not the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. And for the record, I don't want to give birth again! :) It's so hard!! 

4/30, 8 pm-ish I started feeling regular contractions. Earlier that morning the non stress test results were good, so even though I'm overdue, baby girl is doing fine! By 3 am the contractions were 5 to 6 minutes apart, lasting anywhere from 45-60 seconds. At 5 am I called my midwife and she told me to go into the hospital.  I had planned a water birth at St. Joseph's. But when we got there, the tub was not operational and all the newly renovated rooms in the birthing center were occupied! So...no water birth, no new room, and being far from my midwife's office were enough strikes to make us drive to Bromenn Medical Center (just another 10 minutes away). We arrived about 7:30am and I was in the birthing tub by about 8:15. I was 7cm dilated and smiling.  

The water felt GREAT. Then it got hot. Then I got tired from managing the contractions and keeping my head above the water. By about 10 am I was done with the tub and ready for a change of scenery. I wasn't smiling anymore, in pretty bad shape, and I told the nurse I would deliver in the room and not the tub! And by the way, I knew this nurse from Mom2Mom!

They checked me and I had just a little bit left to go to reach 10 cm. After some final excruciating contractions, Annabel arrived at 10:57 am. She was 7 lbs. 5 oz. and 20.5 inches long. She was...words cannot explain.

I have to admit, reading this entry today makes me laugh, especially the part about not wanting to go through childbirth again. That's because I said the EXACT same thing after Kate was born.

Her doctor's visit isn't until tomorrow, so I don't have any stats. But she is beginning to walk a few steps at a time (eight steps for grandma yesterday!). After her ear tubes were put in two months ago she has begun to sleep better too, but still wakes up about once each night. Craziest thing of all...she is STILL nursing. I never thought I would make it to a year especially since Ethan and Kate were done with me by about 9 months. This is an answer to prayer for me! I suppose my prayer now will be, "How do I wean her???"

Annabel, you have been such a joy and blessing to us. Happy Birthday, baby girl!

Ethan is 7 !

Seven years. I can't believe how quickly that time has passed.

In the past twenty minutes I have typed, erased, retyped, erased several sentences...it seems I can't even put into words how I feel, but yet I feel the need to record as much as I can. I have the worst memory, but everyday is filled with wonderful treasures...ones that I wish I would never forget.

Ethan is an amazing boy...smart, funny, high energy, imaginative, creative. He never ceases to amaze me with what he can make, whether it be out of Legos, or out of paper, scotch tape and markers.

Ethan can understand humor and jokes now...sometimes he and I laugh at life together.

He's tall (like his dad), and he stands just a few inches below my shoulder.

He's a responsible older brother and looks out for his two younger sisters. He keeps Kate in line (yikes), and makes sure baby Annabel doesn't eat anything she's not supposed to!

He likes to read and make things. He also keeps asking me for a Nintendo DS! In the meantime, he is wicked good at Rayman Jungle Run on my iPad.

Peanut butter and jelly, pepperoni pizza, and Oreo cookies are some of his favorite foods.

He is a creature of habit, like his dad. He gets a bit bent out of shape if we alter his routine.

He is vocal, like his mom. He expresses EVERYTHING with words.

I should mention that today is also Easter Sunday. For the past several weeks, Ethan has been talking about getting baptized on this day. What a cool thing! We've been careful to not jump the gun here (and no, he did not get baptized today), but the spiritual talks we've had have been inspiring. From a young age, he has asked questions about life and death ("what happens when we die?"). Star Wars has prompted discussions about good and evil (thank you, Anakin Skywalker). We can tell that he senses the tension between the two, and his desire to do what's right usually outweighs his desire to do what he wants to do (but not always). He has also shared with us that he has asked Jesus to "come into his heart."

Wow.

We are so blessed by Ethan. I can't wait to see what God has in store for him.

Happy Birthday, Ethan!

6 months

A half a year old already! Our little pumpkin is 26.75 inches tall and weighs 16 pounds. That puts her in the 85% for height and 50% for weight. "Long and lean" is what the doc called her.

In the past week she has started sleeping a LITTLE better, waking up twice at night. Doc gave us his "blessing" to officially let her cry it out in the middle of the night. "Expect 2-4 hours of crying," he said.

2-4 hours??? I don't know about this...

Her two bottom teeth came in, and she is eating like a champ...her menu has expanded to a bit of table food. She can feed herself a "mum mum" (a large rice cracker), and today I gave her itsy bitsy cooked chicken for the first time. We were all eating and she just seemed really interested in it, so out of curiosity I gave her some. And then some more :) All this in addition to her baby food puree of fruits and veggies.

She is also sitting up on her own, which really makes things fun, especially when Ethan and Kate are around. They love to play with her. She is also grabbing toys, rolling over very well and can see me from several feet away. I know this because I make funny faces at her and she laughs at me.

Annabel was excited to come with me to the voting booths this past election day. She even posed with her sticker...

Annabel at 5 Months

This little lady has caused a lot of trouble!!!

But she's cute, isn't she?

Shortly after her 4 month birthday, Annabel's night wakings became even more frequent...like almost every two hours. We tried sleep training (allowing her to cry it out), homeopathy, an extended bedtime routine...but nothing seemed to work to get her to stay asleep for longer periods. What made matters worse, was that she also began to roll over. While this developmental milestone was exciting, it also made it hard for her to learn to fall asleep at night because she would roll onto her tummy, and then get upset that she couldn't roll back!

After trying everything, we decided to start her on rice cereal. I had wanted to wait till she was 6 months old, but she was at least within the acceptable age range to begin solids. We are now about five weeks into it and she is sleeping better again. She still wakes up two or three times at night, but I'll take that over what we've been through the last month and a half.

Other good news...her spitting up has almost completely subsided. In combination with solid foods, I think this little girl will chunk up just nicely :)

Right now, she's about 16 pounds. She eats rice, carrots, sweet potatoes, squash and bananas. She goes to bed at about 7 pm, wakes up to nurse at midnight and four, and then is up for the day about 7:30 am. She is more interested in her toys now, and she has learned to "yell" ...loudly saying "AHHHH". She takes three naps everyday, somewhere around 9:30 AM, 1 PM and 4 PM. Unlike Ethan and Kate, she's not a very good napper, only napping for about 40 minutes at a time.

Four Years

It doesn't seem very long ago that Kate was learning to walk. Today she runs...fast and hard! Who knew that she would turn out to be such a spitfire! Definitely all girl with her emotional outbursts, unique "fashion sense", and love for anything sparkly, but surprisingly tomboyish as she runs, digs in the dirt and roars ferociously with wild eyes as she plays. Crazy girl. Lovable girl.

Some of her favorite things:

• tight pants
• pistachio nuts
• nail polish
• sucking her thumb (ugh, I know...)
• kettle brand salt and pepper chips
• brushing Barbie's hair
• headbands
• Dancing with the Stars

This picture was taken on her actual birthday, October 2nd. Look at how she stands...triumphant, proud, striking a pose. This is SO her! And in most things, she approaches them confidently, unabashedly, enthusiastically. She's game for just about anything (except for her 4 year old immunizations today. Let's just say it took three adults to hold her down and administer the shots). I have to say--and David would agree-- that although she looks more like his side of the family, she has a lot of my characteristics.

This could be a problem come junior high.

Happy Birthday, Kate the Great! We love you :)

Birthday Momma

The best part about turning 34? Having the family make my birthday cake.

Honestly, it was a rainy labor day weekend. Nothing for the kids to do, but mix, pour and bake a sweet treat! As with most things...it didn't turn out quite like they expected! No matter! It still tasted really good! And watching David trying to fix that cake gave me the biggest belly laughs I'd had in a long time...

Annabel at 4 Months

Annabel is now 14lbs, 25 inches long. We haven't settled into much of a schedule yet. Some things remain predictable...she usually  naps for only 45 minutes to an hour, gets tired and cranky after being awake for an hour to an hour and a half, both of which don't leave me much time to do much else other than hold her! It seems like things are going more slowly for her than they did with Ethan and Kate at this same age. She is also waking up two to three times at night, and usually needs help when going to sleep.

We just started Ferber with her. It's excruciating to hear her cry, but it's also hard that she won't go to sleep on her own. I'm the one who has to both feed her and put her to sleep. Not much fun! But she will only be a baby for a short while so I will cherish these moments--no matter how challenging, and no matter what time of day or night--while they last.

She has this cute little dimple on the right side of her face. And the kids officially call her Annabooboo :)

Labor Day 2012

Today we went to our favorite outdoor spot...Starved Rock State Park. We have had a ton of rain the past few days and we were hoping the waterfalls would be overflowing with water. Sadly, they were not. But that did not prevent us from enjoying the hike nonetheless.

I think one of my favorite memories of this summer would be the elusive jellybean bush we discovered today. David spotted one...

And the children enjoyed the fruits of his labor! It was a long hike, so lucky for us we found LOTS of jellybean bushes along the way. When Kate suggested we look for M&M bushes we told her that sadly, those weren't in season :) 

I think Annabel enjoyed the hike as much as I did...

And she got pretty worn out, just like I did!

Three months

It's August! This summer has flown by, and little Annabel is growing fast...For her three month birthday Annabel surprised us with a wonderful gift: her first full-fledged laugh. She still gets me up in the middle of the night, but on the whole her sleeping is getting much better.

I have no idea how much weighs now...but at her two month check up she 11 and a half pounds and 23 inches tall.

This is Annabel at 2 months:

Annabel at one month. This is when she began to coo and smile at us :)

The Arrival of Annabel Faith

It's been two months since Annabel's birth, and this is about as much as I can write right now! Well, to be honest, there isn't much writing. However, here are the few pictures we took at the hospital. I had planned a water birth, but after two hours in the tub, I decided I was done with the water and I wanted to get out!!! I'll post Annabel's birth story soon (it's kinda funny, actually).
 

The below photos are courtesy of Bella Baby Photography...

Ethan's 6th Birthday

It's hard to believe...6 years old! Ethan's birthday celebration had a lego theme to it this year, and we invited his friends over to have some lego building time.

It started with a little scavenger hunt of lego minifigures I cut out of paper and hid all over the back yard....the more you found, the more candy you got to take home!

 Then the boys spent a good deal of time building lego race cars. As part of Ethan's birthday gift, we bought him a lego set that included a variety of vehicles. Each of the boys drew a number, which corresponded to a car "kit" and instructions. Some cars were definitely harder than others!

Here are the boys outside with their cars...ready to race!

Our makeshift race track...

After a series of rounds and eliminations, we have a winner-- his old friend, Grant (in the middle), along with Ethan "H", the runner up! As the first place winner, Grant got to keep his car!

After the race, was snack time of course! I tried to stay with the lego theme with lego cheese and crackers, lego juice boxes, and square and circle shapes in general. Ethan loves donuts, so that was much easier than a lego cake!

I think they all had a great time. I certainly did!

Some video updates

Some highlights of what the kids have been doing this winter...

In the below clip, you can see Ethan just above the music stand, wearing a white shirt. This is his first choir concert :)

In this clip below, we see Ethan's progress at basketball. This was taken at his last game of the season. It's hard to believe that he couldn't even dribble a ball in October!



Lastly, here is Kate at her pre-ballet/pre-tap class. They are rehearsing for their end of the year recital. Kate's in the middle, the only girl NOT wearing any kind of a skirt. Why am I so anti-tutu??? Of course, you should see what their costume is going to be. Totally, offensively girly! Poofs, sequins and all! But hey, you're only 3 once :)

 

A letter to my little one...

Dearest baby girl,

I hope you do not fault me too much with how few pregnancy posts I have written about you. Truth be told, this may be my first, official one.

There were many reasons for this. It took a relatively long time (in our eyes) to conceive a third time, and after two miscarriages I learned not to get my hopes up. And when we finally heard the great news it took me close to four months to really allow myself to get excited.

And here we are, six months in, and I am indeed excited to meet you!

You move around a lot, which scares me, because we are hoping you are mild-mannered, easy, a good sleeper and eater. Your activity in utero makes me think perhaps you have quite a different personality. I wonder who you are and who you will be.

Your older brother and sister kiss you every day (on my tummy) and can't wait to meet you, help take care of you, and play with you.

Christmas 2011

To our friends and family near and far, Merry Christmas!

Here is how we spent most of our morning...and tonight we are exhausted from all the play! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9GRbQNRWSg&feature=youtu.be

Why God Doesn't Appear to Answer Prayer

Parenthood is chock full of God lessons.

Tonight, my five year old gave me a glimpse of what it must be like for God to hear me when I'm at my worst. My husband summarized the incident well on his latest Facebook post. He writes:

I'm sitting at the computer writing this...all of the following is being said by my defiant 5 year old son to me as I'm sitting 10 ft away with my arms open wide(literally) ready to receive him...

"Help me I'm hurting!"

"Ow!"

"I want you to come here!"

"Why isn't my daddy helping me?"

"Dad you are breaking my heart"

"Dad would you come here please?"

" Why isn't anyone helping me?"

" I'm tired!"

"I want daddy to come over here"

"Help myself!"

"This is the bad day ever!

"I never get my way!"

"What is wrong with my father...I want him to come here...I wish he could!"

"This is the worst day!"

"Do what I say!"

"I wish dad did what  I said!"

At no time did he direct his comments to me, but always to some "generic" dad...remember, I'm 10 ft away inviting him to come to me.

You see he didn't want me...my son wanted to feel better about himself and go on with his life...without asking for my forgiveness.  Before you say..."what an awful dad"...here's the back story.  10 minutes earlier Ethan had been very rude and disrespecful to me disobeying what I had asked him to do.  I told him he needed to say he was sorry to me for speaking to me like that...he refused.  I told him when he was ready, I would be waiting for his apology...then the above rant began.

There's a spiritual lesson here for all of us I think. We so often are unwilling to come to our Holy father for help because we really aren't willing to admit we need his help and his forgiveness. BTW, the more I invited him to come to me...the more defiant he became.  He who has ears to hear...

And the lesson for me, his mom? It's not enough that I cry out to God to change something in my life. God wants us to COME to him, SUBMIT to him, and in the brokenness of our lives admit that we are wrong. So The next time I become frustrated by God's seeming lack of response to my prayers, I'll stop and examine my heart. Chances are I will see some defiance and pride holding me back from my Father's arms.

My idea of comfort

I've been thinking about comfort lately. With the holiday season approaching and the upcoming preparation of a Thanksgiving meal, all my favorite comfort foods come to mind...mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, savory meats and appetizers. The comforting crackle of a fire...

But this past week, comfort came to me in another form...the sound of my baby's heartbeat.

I'm in my 17th week of pregnancy. Despite reaching the second trimester, there is still a bit of fear, worry and uncertainty. At every doctor's visit, as the nurse moves the doppler device over my tummy, those ten seconds seem like an eternity before I hear the reassuring rhythm of baby's heart. But then I always hear it...it beats strong, almost like baby is saying, "I'm here!" and I nearly cry with relief.

Thanksgiving is next week. I have much to be thankful for...

Bragging Rights

David and I got a neat email today from Ethan's kindergarten teacher. I just had to post it here for all of you to read for yourselves...check it out : 

I wanted to just share a fun Ethan story.  Yesterday, I had a website up on the smartboard and Ethan told the kids, “It says, Welcome to Your Library” and he was right!  Every day he is amazing me with the new things he can read.  I also assessed him again yesterday on the 61 kindergarten words.  He got 57/61!  When he finishes up the kindergarten list (which I am sure will be soon) I am going to start him on the first grade list.   I’ll send a copy to you when we get to that point.  I am so proud of him!

And we are proud, too! Amazed at far he's come along. We always knew he was good with words, knowing his letters and numbers at a very early age, but to see it all come together in a just a few months has got David and me beaming with pride!!!

Happy Halloween

Can you guess who Ethan and Kate are for Halloween this year?

I found Ethan's Anakin Skywalker costume at Goodwill and fashioned a leather-like vest to complete the look. I couldn't find anything for Kate, so I decided to try making her entire Princess Leia costume. I'm not completely proficient in garment making, and I hadn't really worked with knit fabrics, so this was a stretch for me (no pun intended)! Her hair was another issue. After several experiments I decided on a cap with "buns" attached to them. I am pretty happy with how it turned out!

We had a great evening of trick or treating in the neighborhood! And yesterday, we spent the afternoon carving pumpkins...

I think they came out great!

Ethan's Kindergarten class also had a Halloween parade and party at the end of school today. His goody bag contained vampire teeth, funny eye glasses and other trinkets. He had fun with the teeth :)

Here are the kids in his class!

Okay, now back to the candy....