Thanks Nana!

Yesterday Audrey received a package in the mail from Ryan's family. The girls were extremely excited to open it up and of course unwrap the presents for Audrey since she needed help. It was good practice for Leia since her b-day is less than a week away. I thought it would be nice to take some pics for Nana since she is so far away but maybe this would make us seem a little bit closer.

Audrey with all of her gifts.

I let the older two girls alternate on opening presents, Leia first...

...then Ella.

What everything looked like from afar. PS Nana, the piggy was a hit. Hopefully the girls will be able to part with it when Audrey is a little older and can play with it on her own.

Leia had to try on the hair accessory...

... then Audrey rocked it out.

And lastly, what Leia looks like when "yelling" at me. Oh how I wish my kids would just talk at a normal volume.

perfect day

Ryan has been working crazy, long days at work so when he came home today he just wanted to do something relaxing. Ha! I actually did laugh at him and basically told him he might need to find a new family if he wanted something relaxing because our kids are pretty crazy. However, I did suggest going to the river since we were not able to go a couple days ago.

Everyone had a great time. It was warm but since it was shady and there was a cool breeze, it became just what Ryan needed.

Jonathan is already searching for rocks and found a few to take home.

The rocks were a bit slippery and this shot was taken as Ella slipped. Tons of baby fish were swimming around and Ryan caught one for the kids to look at. Ryan also retaught Jonathan how to skip stones. PA is gorgeous this time of year!

Audrey kicked back in the car seat for a while and then we chilled out sitting on a rock watching everyone else enjoy playing in the river. It was such a beautiful day.

outings

Last Monday night I hit my six week mark, something I thought would never come. But it did come and I was finally able to take the kids out and go places. On Tuesday we went blueberry picking. Jonathan was not too excited but once we got there he enjoyed finding the perfect berries and also looking for rocks. Leia was beyond thrilled to just get out, not be confined to a stroller, and be able to join the "big" kids at picking berries. The day was rather warm and at one point Jonathan and Ella were dumping cups filled with cold water down each other's backs. It was rather entertaining to watch, especially since Ella didn't aim too well when getting Jonathan wet.

On Thursday we went to the zoo. We had a great time, everything went well until the very end we had a stroller accident but no one was hurt. Right as I was loading the car to leave, a few drops of rain hit the wind shield so I decided to call off going to the river in search for rocks... Jonathan's request. At the zoo, the kids kept stopping at the paintings of the animals and wanted me to take a picture.

Otters

Kangaroos

Camel, camel rider and a girly girl that had to be in the picture.

A silly two headed penguin.

Jonathan update

I meant to do an update about him before Audrey was born but it didn't happen. Any who, at the end of the school year some exciting things happened:

He made a volcano for school. After some debate on what lava looks like and then showing him pictures online, he finally understood I might actually know what I'm talking about... not to mention I did see actual volcanoes as  teenager when I went to Hawaii on a family vacation. He did everything himself even though it took him days to finish the project. He made it big enough to fit a 2 liter bottle of red Mountain Dew and made the explosion using Mentos.

He performed in his first band recorder recital. We were all able to attend and one of the girls thought the dragon song was pretty scary. Next year he will be playing the trumpet, his first choice, and is super excited. I am wondering how everything will work out with a baby in the house.

What I don't have pics of is his Cub Scout stuff... probably because I was not there when he received his Wolf badge... super exciting. He is now working on the Bear badge. He went to Cub Scout camp this summer and had a blast. He loved archery and on the 4th day of camp got 6 bulls eyes. By the end of the week he seemed a little less boyish and a little more manly.

He also went to Science camp during the second week of summer and enjoyed it as well. I asked him if he learned anything new and he responded with learning about reverse engineering. This was his second year going to Science camp and I am rather sad it will be his last.

Check up

Audrey had her 1 month check up on the 18th. Luckily Ryan was home so I could just take her and not the whole gang... which would have been extremely hard since I still can't pick up anything heavier than her. Anyway, the doctor said she looked perfect and healthy. Yay!!! Her stats are...

Height- 22"
Weight- 9 lbs. 9 oz.
HC- 14"

Girly girl is growing great and I won't be surprised if she gets to 12 lbs. on her next visit.

1 month down

So much has happened in a month... heck her first week was pretty eventful and kept us on our toes. Audrey spent the first 6 days of her life in the NICU and once she got the OK to leave has been home ever since. I must say it felt good to have her home and be able to snuggle her without any medical person there... other than Ryan of course.

She loves to eat and goes through what I call eating frenzies, which Leia also went through as a baby. Basically she will eat every hour to half hour for about 5 to 7 hours straight and then finally fall asleep for 3-4 hours. Crazy. It makes it challenging to get anything done during that time and lately the frenzies have started a little before I start preparing dinner which has made dinner time and bedtime challenging.

With all the eating I have watched her fingers and face slowly plump up. Many diaper changes have also occurred. Audrey definitely does not like a wet diaper.

Things she has done the past month are...
smiled at me on Father's day
the following day she let out a little laugh
she has started to coo
likes looking at the picture of me and Jonathan that is right next to her crib
the fan in my room is her best friend
burps like her mommy

Audrey's Arrival

Audrey Alexandria Southworth
June 13, 2011
    11:02pm

7lbs. 7 oz., 19-1/2 inches long

Audrey's birth was a lot more eventful and crazy than we would have liked. She was born via an emergency c-section. The best way I can describe my memory of the event is that I feel like I saw the trailer to a movie while Ryan saw the movie. I only remember images and short "clips" of what went down... this part of what I remember: I had a pretty significant contraction, the resident doctor on call came in to see how dilated I was and then proceeded to check the baby's heart rate since it was not coming up on the monitor. When she pulled her hand out,  bright red blood covered her glove. I looked over at Ryan and his face looked blank, then some other people came into the room. I looked over at Ryan a second time and he was putting scrubs on. Then I was wheeled into the operation room, which was right across the hall, and Ryan was told to wait a few minutes while things were set up. I was told they would tell me later what was going on.

 Once I heard that I just laid there,letting everyone do their job. Eventually Ryan came into the room because I remember looking over and seeing his face.The whole process of Audrey's birth took 6 minutes and the actual c-section from when the blade touched my skin to when Audrey's was born took 1 minute. It was the second fastest c-sections the doctor performed but the scariest. I lost 1/3 of my blood in a matter of  minutes. If this would have happened outside of the hospital, I would have died and probably Audrey as well. I don't want to go into detail, but I know the Lord blessed us with the best possible circumstances/ outcome during a traumatic experience.

Once Audrey was born she let out one cry and they began the process of sucking out all the blood she had swallowed. She also had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck and body. It took awhile to hear a second cry but I heard it. Then I saw her for a few seconds before she was whisked away to the NICU.  I don't know the details of her first 24 hours in the NICU. That info has to come from Ryan.

As for me, I was still being put back together and listened to the doctor count... I think he was counting my stitches. He also told everyone pizza was on him but then they realized it was too late to order pizza so everyone was getting a milkshake for a job well done. Everyone in that room is amazing and I am so grateful for each one of them doing their job fast and correctly so Audrey and I could live to see another day.

Audrey didn't like the nasal tube and would frequently pull it out. She also played with the IV so her hand had to be wrapped up to prevent any further naughtiness.

She had a hard time regulating her breathing and body temperature so she was stripped down to a diaper and put under a heat lamp. I think she was the biggest baby in the NICU but the smallest baby I gave birth to. It was very exciting when she was finally off of everything and could regulate breathing and body temp. herself. The day I walked in there and saw her dressed and swaddled was extremely exciting.

Audrey means noble strength and this little girl has already lived up to her name. We love her so much and are grateful her life was spared.

Didn't make the cut.

Off and on I have been taking pictures of Audrey hoping to get just one good pic so I could send out her birth announcement. Audrey has huge eyes that pretty much always looks like a deer caught in the headlights. It has made getting a decent pic tricky. Eventually I got "the" picture but  always smile at some of the pics that did not make the cut. Here are a few of them.

OK, I love this picture. It belongs on a humerus b-day card. Every time I see it, I smile. However, if I used it on the announcement I imagined people saying; " Oh your baby is... ummm... well... congrats."  So, it didn't make the cut either.

Random Audrey Pictures

The girls admiring their new baby sister.

The normal pics you would take at the hospital did not happen this time around but we were able to get a picture of the proud daddy at home with his newest little girl.

Up close chubby cheek picture of Audrey.

In this pic you can see her lovely dark hair and just how tiny she really is... normal baby size but tiny compared to the size of the other girls.

Her actress pose.

This is the most accurate picture of what I see everyday. Wide eyes trying to focus so she can get a glimpse of the world around her, slightly crooked nose that reminds me how much she looks liker her daddy... along with the almost double chin, and her cute chubby cheeks that are waiting to be kissed over and over again.
 

Audrey's First Bath

OK, Ok this was not Audrey's first bath. She had a sponge bath at the hospital from one of the nurses. Since at home, her umbilical cord fell off so we were able to give her a real bath. When I told the girls they could help, excitement filled the air. Paparazzi daddy was able to get a good amount of pictures in while the event took place.

Ella had foot/ leg duty to ensure everything was Kosher even though a few times she tried to sneak in and do some baby washing near Audrey's face. Ella was a good helper and seemed to enjoy helping out. My dad even came upstairs to witness the event.

After all the cleaning was done Ella took off and Leia was quick to step in. Leia was able to help rinse off the soap and was a bit disappointed when the bath ended. Need not worry little one, there are many more baths in Audrey's future.