Sleep and exercise

We've made it through another week! Woo Hoo!!!

Nana and Papa were in town this week, came in Tuesday night and left this afternoon. Papa spent Thursday night in the cities entertaining clients at the Vikings game. He's a fabulous grandfather. "Father Goose" we call him. He's constant stimulation and makes me a bit tired to watch, but mostly I appreciate every second he is entertaining the girls.

Nana and I went for a run both Wednesday and Thursday. Mad props to DeEtte for getting back on the running trail again. It's hard to find time and it's exhausting, but the benefits are well worth it and we're glad you desire to be healthy adn stick around to see your grandbabies grow up.

Not only did I get to run three days in a row, but I snuck in two...count them, two...naps this week. Wednesday I caught a cat nap on the couch with Mia - Frosty was kind enough to document!

I also got in about an hour and a half this afternoon. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world!!!

Chris taught Ella how to count sheep last night. actually hijacked a little stuffed lamb from Mia's room to "jump" over her. He's awesome. Sadly, though it doesn't work when mom does it!

We're looking forward to the weekend and college football - GO 'SKERS!!!!!

Alligators abound

OK, so maybe they don't actually "abound" but there was, in fact, an alligator in our neighbor's driveway! A FREAKING ALLIGATOR! I live in Iowa for Pete's sake. The woman whose driveway it was in called 911 (she's a grandma and was a bit freaked out, besides, I'm not sure if Web. City actually has it's own animal control). Turns out it belonged to someone in the neighborhood. The turnout for the show was something to see....I'm pretty sure every kid in the neighborhood was there. They ended up tossing the recycle bin over the lost little guy (about 2-3 feet long) to hold it until we could figure out what to do with it. It was quite the spectacle. Believe the Discovery Channel when they say those creatures are fast....the thing raced right towards Addy as it tried to escape its captors. Addy wasn't budging, and was likely excited it was coming at her - she was dying to pet it - Thank God Jim was on the ball and snatched her up before it got to her.
The only thing we're wondering now is where the heck the newspaper was....that had to be the most newsworthy occurance in our quiet town in quite a while!

New Pics...

...and New Stories

I was cut off from cyberspace from Tuesday-Friday due to a bad modem. Ack. The good news is I was supposed to be off-line until sometime tomorrow morning, but my wonderful husband offered to take the modem to Fort Dodge to trade it in himself instead of waiting for the cable company to come to us...he's so sweet!

Giff and Betsy brought Bergen up to visit and meet Miss Mia this weekend. We had tons of fun, and the kids were great. They ate too much sugar and didn't get enough sleep, but they are great friends and had two great days. My house was pretty much a war zone for about 48 hours but it was worth it.

This is what happened when we left Giff alone with the kids! But the most fun seemed to be had by jumping on the air mattresses!

Mia had her first bottle this weekend - Betsy and I had gone for a walk and it seems Mia wasn't super excited mom wasn't here for a snack. Chris and Giff managed to get the milk out and ready, but couldn't find a bottle! Poor thing had to wait until we got back anyway, but still got her bottle. She did pretty well, ate a little over an ounce from the bottle...Ella was thrilled about it, and as you can see from the pictures was, as always, anxiuos to help!

I'm still running, and have managed to almost double my time since starting. I've also jumped up to two days in a row and one day off. It feels so great to be moving again. I was back mowing again this weekend - and crazy as it may seem while I was out there I thought to myself I'm ready to do it all again (Chris, thankfully is not....he makes sure I don't make super bad decisions). And scarry as it is, I actually thought to myself it wasn't that bad, and I think I could do the natural thing again...Chris assures me, it WAS that bad! :)

Turns out we've got some stellar neighbors. We live on a corner, and of the four houses we could call neighbors three are new since we moved in last October. The newest clan is a retired couple that just sold their farm. They rock. We've gotten fresh corn, cucumbers, onions and most recently a tub full of green beans, potatoes, a cantelope and more cucumbers. To top things off, I ran into the woman today at K-Mart while trying to buy flushable wipes for Ella....we chatted on our way out and mentioned they didn't have them so we'd run to Hy-Vee. We didn't run to Hy-Vee and it's a good thing cause she found them, bought them and brought them over to us! How sweet. This is the same woman whom I spotted running across our yard because it started raining and I had clothes on the line. Have I ever told you I love my little town?

We've got a busy few weeks ahead....mom and dad are coming Tuesday night and will be spending Wednesday with us, before dad ships off to the cities to do business (Mom will stay here until he comes back)...they officially head back on Friday. The next week Wednesday we're taking the fam to Lincoln for one month pics of Mia at Raders. We had planned to stay all weekend, but Chris was accepted into "THE" fantasy football league in Web. City (Yes there are more than one, he just happened to get an invite into the elite league - they think he's mister football here in central Iowa!), and his draft is Sunday so we'll be leaving Saturday night.

We're all ready for a new week - I love Mondays. I'm excited to see what's in store for us in the next seven days!

The Blanket Monster Attacked My House!!!

The Ministry of Music

I've decided if I could have any one talent that I don't have it would be musical. Specifically songwriting. I am continually amazed at songwriters' abilities to put into words what my heart so often feels. For today we'll talk about this one...

Mark Schultz; Broken and Beautiful:
It's beautiful
Beautiful
Come as you are
Surrender your heart
Broken and beautiful...
Cause there's nothing more beautiful to God
Than when his sons and daughters come
Broken

How amazing is it to me that there truly is nothing more fabulous to God than when we present ourselves to Him broken. Not prideful, not in strength, not whole...but broken. I've tried to come before Him whole, and I know for certain from the times that I've come before Him broken that His strength really is made perfect in our weakness....
Thank you to everyone who helped me see this, and to everyone who stood beside me when I thought it better to come whole. You are all why I am where I am today, why I can walk beside Jesus and know He loves me wholly as I am.

Just a few new pics to share. Not much else going on around here.

I survived my first full day alone with the girls. True to form after three nights of sleeping from 9-2 then 2-6 while dad was home to help out in the mornings, the morning he's gone she didn't go back to sleep after eating at 2 for a good hour plus, and was up three times after that before seven. Ah well.

They were both super good during the day. Ella can now sing her abc's start to finish - although she has a tendency to run lmnop into one noise, she skips "r" and misses "tuv" but other than that she's golden! We spent the afternoon at the park with all of our friends. After four days of rain it was nice to have a sunny afternoon.

Chris caught a grasshopper and a cricket for Ella almost four days ago...and they're still alive in her bug box. Good job dad!

Small Victories

The last few days have been a series of small victories for the Hansen family. First Miss Mia seems to have established a pseudo-schedule (which I am confident she will alter w/in the next five hours). This pseudo-schedule includes a meal around 9:30 p.m. and no more feedings until 2. So while it means I'm going to bed early I'm getting at least some sleep. Also...although she has been waking up to come see mom in the middle of the night, Ella finally slept in a bit this morning - first time since we brought Mia home!

I got to go for a run this morning...it was awesome. I was VERY slow and it was just over 3/4 of a mile, so not very far, but then the title of this post isn't Major Accomplishments now is it! :) I had expected to get a few hundred yards before I'd have to walk! I felt ridiculously out of shape, but I did manage to finish!

Today is the second day in a row I have showered! This may not seem like much, but on Wednesday my mom asked me if I was exhausted to which I confidently replied "Nah...I feel great!" It was only a few hours later and after 9:00 p.m. that I realized not only had I not showered, but I was still wearing the shorts I had worn all day Tuesday. Ouch. Turns out I was a little tired.

Most importantly, though, it would seem we have all successfully sustained life for a full week! Woo Hoo!

Chris is off today, and we're enjoying an afternoon of quiet. He managed to get Ella to nap and is planning on taking her to the pool when she wakes - which means another hour of peace and Mia bonding for mom!

These pics are from Frosty's camera...Enjoy!

A few new pictures of the girls!

The Things I Love

1. My husband....he's an increadible blessing - a spectacular father and caring husband. Last night when I laid Mia on the bed at 5:00 a.m. so I could pee in the middle of her early morning snack, he popped right up, held her in his arms and, when she crapped, never thought twice about getting up to change the diaper. Even though I was already up with her. And this afternoon when he wanted to take advantage of having a day off to take care of some personal items, he took Ella with him (again, sans prompting) so I could spend some time alone with Mia (and as it turns out, get some rest). He's not afraid to get on his hands and knees and play with his girls, fixes Ella's dinner, is in charge of bath EVERY night, and stares at his new baby girl like she's the most precious thing to ever enter his life. I just hope he's not angry with me for emmasculating him publicly! :)

2. My town...I'll admit I was a bit leary of moving to a town of less than 8,000....but we've undoubtedly found ourselves in a perfect place for this leg of our lives. We may not always live in a small town, but right now I love it. I love that before Mia was born we had more offers than we can count to take care of Ella when we needed to go to the hospital....and that when one of my friends needed to go out of town for familial reasons, her mother offered to help - even though I've only even met her three times. We live in a place where no one locks their doors, not because they don't feel they need to, but because one of their friends, or kids' friends may need something from their house and no one wants to shut out anyone else. When we leave Ella with a friend or babysitter it is not uncommon to have to "find" them when we get home because someone else's mom/dad/brother/etc. was willing to help out - and I know I can trust every single one of them. It is quite common for another family to show up at our door step and say "we're taking Ella to the park." I got a suprise phone call in the hospital offering congratulations from someone who "heard" we'd delivered. We had one visitor to see Mia before we got her in the house, another within about fifteen minutes, and in the last three days have had a bushel of corn, a bag of cucumbers and onions and a freshly baked apple pie delivered to our house. The doctors in this town make house calls if you need it, and freely give out their cell phone number. I love my little town.

3. That even though it would be nice to sleep a little, it's kind of nice that Ella got up at 7 and Mia slept until 9...Chris and I were able to spend the morning just chilling with Ella. I think it's good that she got some really personal attention from both of us together. After Mia did wake up, and we got her fed and...well...back to sleep, Ella and I went to the library. It was nice to have quality time with her - and since Chris took her for errands this afternoon we both got to see her alone today.

4. Middle of the night feedings...again, a little sleep would be nice, but she'll figure it out eventually, and for now, when it's dark and everyone else is asleep, I get to be with Mia. She's tiny and perfect....and she happens to be the loudest eater ever! :)

Mia had her first at-home bath tonight....Mia used half the sink, Ella the other. She was awesome, and CRASHED as soon as we got her dried and dressed. Ella continues to do awesome - and the novelty of having a little sister has yet to wear off. Mia's the first person she asks about when she wakes up, comes home, or has a toy to share. She may yet turn out to be a good helper...she ran upstairs to fetch a diaper for me today (the cookie monster kind) and likes to help clean Mia's belly-button (which, for the record, God is making better). The actual fetching of the diaper was not a full success, but when I found that it was because she had taken herself to the bathroom I wasn't so concerned about the diaper anymore! :) My attentions are not so much taken up by needing to keep Ella (or Mia for that matter) entertained and/or busy, but making sure Mia is safe! :) As much as she loves her, Ella tends to be a bull in a china closet.

Chris starts back to work tomorrow, which is a bit scarry for me, given that tomorrow will be my first morning alone with the both of them. My saving grace is that DeEtte is coming back to rescue me...hopefully before noon!!! :)

The Pictures!!!

First....the promised pictures from our "Pre-Mia" days...Keep in mind both of these are less than five hours before Mia was born!
Mia came home today - she's doing awesome! Ella is absolutely in love with her. She burst into the hospital room yesterday and cried "Baby Mia!!!" L spent the morning with us both yesterday and today and she was super good. She doted on Mia and even picked a special blanket to bring her today. I am at once glad to be home and missing the nurses! :) Our stay in the hospital was great. The nursing staff was awesome - I sent Chris home and Mia to the nursery again last night and slept. It was great. I can't say enough about the staff...many thanks to everyone at Birthways at Mary Greeley Medical Center in Ames.

About the pictures...Everything was happening so fast we didn't bring our bags into the hospital until well after Mia was born.

This is the picture I took at about 4 am. Friday morning - Miss Mia is just a little over five hours old. I was too wired to sleep....clearly the event was a bit more draining on her!

Spending some time with dad...

Papa was the first to arrive Friday morning....he got up at 4:45 am to leave Lincoln!

Meeting Nana

Grandpa and Granny made it before Mia was a full day old!

Ella couldn't WAIT to hold her!

The first picture of our newly assembled family of four!

We tried to let Mia have some time alone while we ate dinner, but L climbed down from the dinner table and into the crib! How freaking cute.

Mia Ann Hansen

Holy Crap!!! As patient as she was to wait to come out, Mia sure made a fast and furious entrance into the world! She was born Thursday August 9th at 10:40 p.m. weighing in at 9 pounds 2 ounces, and measuring 21 inches long - the same length, but a full pound more than big sister Ella was. She's nursing like a champ, has had a bath and is currently sawing logs in the nursery (mom is supposed to be sleeping but a mere 4 and a half hours after that delivery I have more adrenaline than a cat in a dog fight).

The story goes like this...At my noon appointment the nurse told me my "measurements" were the same as they had been for a few weeks, but baby was "very low" and that if I had contractions it was time to come in. Ella and I had lunch (burritos and quesadillas at the Flying Burrito in Ames) and headed back to town. I had called DeEtte to tell her I thought this weekend might be it and it was up to her if she wanted to come Thursday or wait until I had "more" information (yeah right, like we ever have "more" information). Thank God she decided to come then.

Ella did NOT nap, but was VERY good and we did puzzles, watched a movie and played calmly for a few hours before heading over to Delainey's Grandma's to play in the sprinkler. I went home to mow at about 5:15 and was done around 6:00 (yes, Chris has a picture of me mowing hours before Mia was born....if I were not sitting the family lounge at the hospital I would DEFINITELY post this picture!!!). Chris and Ella had gone for a walk and he came back with her slumped over asleep in her wagon (picture of this as well). Sometime around 6:00 Chris, Ella and I sat on our gliders in the front yard and chatted with the neighbor....contractions started to show up that were reasonably reliable. Chris made dinner for Ella while I sat down - apparantly at this point movement of any sort triggered a contraction. They were still a good 5-10 minutes apart, and I was dealing alright. Mom showed up at 8, and while she lotioned and comfied Ella and sat her down to watch a movie Chris and I took a walk trying to see if changing my activity would slow things down. Turns out I was probably far enough into labor that it was speeding things up.

I managed to read Ella a few stories (Jesus and John the Baptist, and Jesus and the storm) and kiss her goodnight. I IMMEDIATELY got in the bath which brought some relief for about 5 minutes....but contractions were getting stronger and coming FAST every 2 minutes or so. I told Chris in no uncertain terms we needed to think about leaving so he finished packing my bag, packed his and took a shower. The 40 minute drive to the hospital probably took 25...THANK GOD it did. We got checked in sometime after 10:15...I asked for an epidural darn near right away - before I had been in the hospital long enough to monitor the doc checked to see if I could get the epi and said "you're fully dialted, it's time to push." The nurse says I pushed for probably 3 minutes (I would have guessed at least 15 minutes).

It was awesome....I think I only yelled AT Chris twice....once to tell him that faster would be better in leaving the house and once at the hospital when we got there and he's asking me if I want this or that. But mostly I waited until pushing to be nuts. It has come to my attention that I may have said something along the lines of "push it back in....give me a shot." I remember thinking it just wasn't going to work and we were going to have to find another way to get her out. It worked. And Mia is awesome.

Ella will be up to see her baby sis tomorrow! I can't wait to see her. I'll get pics up asap - I'm off to love on my girl.

You're Joking Right?

What the heck does a pregnant woman need with a broken toilet handle? No worries, though, Shoppers Supply opens at 7:00 am and I had it replaced by 7:20 am. Before my husband was out of bed. Now if I could just figure out a way to take care of the short circuit my washing machine seems to have...

The bad news is I spent a decent portion of last night awake - first because at roughly 2am Ella decided my bed would be more comfy than hers. The good news is there were a few subsequent times thereafter because MAYBE we're creeping closer to actually having this baby. I have an appointment at noon today so we'll have to see what the doc. thinks.

I did end up taking the peanut to Fort Dodge yesterday (Starbucks....Yea!!!!) - we decided to go to the "zoo" there for a little goat feeding and outdoor activity. The goats got a good few handfulls of Cheerios before we walked down to see the deer. Deer that I didn't know existed but that Ella spotted ("Horsey!") as we pulled into the park - this zoo, is less a zoo and more of an enclosed animal area - half petting zoo on the weekends, half wildlife. And lo and behold when we got to the deer there was one buck (I have no clue about deer but this thing was bigger than the others and had antlers of some fashion) sleeping by a tree not a foot from the fence, and a few doe. One little doe walked right up to the fence and Ella got to feed it! How cool is that?!?! We'll definitely be doing that again soon. And next time I'll have to remember to take my camera.

Chris and I got to enjoy a nice dinner out alone last night thanks to our friends Jim and Heidi Tesdahl who offered to take Ella for dinner and bathtime. We got to relax together and have some good food - it was very much appreciated!

I'll keep you posted....hopefully sooner than later! :)
Happy Thursday to all (only seven more weeks till the Grey's Premiere!!!!)

Still Waiting

We're two days from the official due date, but about 5 weeks ago I somehow got it in my head that the 10th was a Wednesday (thus today), so I feel as if someone has added two days to my gestation, and that today should, in fact, be my due date. Alas, even if it were...

We hit the library yesterday morning and the lady in the children's area told me she honestly thought I was going to have the baby last week...

I take some consolation in the fact Mattie was just as stubbon, but I'm not having to deal with what Lins dealt with - it's a wonder Mattie didn't fall out.

Ella and I made cookies Monday afternoon...

and it turns out Jaime was right....Sugar makes you tired!!!

We haven't really decided what to do today, the coffee shop in town is closed cause they're on vacation (soon I'll post about how much I LOVE my little town), so we might have to make a trip into the Dodger for a Starbucks and maybe get Ella a new puzzle or book or something.

Hope those of you in Huskerville are remaining on dry ground - I'm hoping upon hope that the storm doesn't break up before it gets to us.

On a completely unrelated note, I find it repulsive that the "powers that be" surrounding the Utah Mine collapse, are actually arguing about what happened and whose fault it is...BEFORE they have made any progress rescuing the folks trapped inside the earth. Let's see if we can't get these people out and then fight about whose fault it is.

And Chris tells me he heard that the latest congressional approval rating came out and is the lowest ever....3%...with a margin of error of 3%. My disclaimer is I have NO CLUE where he heard this, he listens to podcasts of conservative talk radio and calls me hourly or so to tell me what he's heard. Disclaimer or not I think it's funny.

My First Time

This is officially my first time having or posting a blog. I figured it might just be a good way to let you all keep in touch with what's going on in my (and by "my" I mean "my kids'" lives). So if all works out I'll put up pictures and tell funny stories, all of which you can access on your own time as often as you wish.

You most likely know that at print time I still only have one kid at home....the other is content to reside in my belly. We're due in four days, but this one just might wait it out a few extra like Ella did.

The one kid I do have at home is currently refusing to nap - hosting what sounds like a party in her room - but at this point I've decided so long as she's leaving me alone, I'm happy with her....or maybe not (cue toilet flushing upstairs). Aye aye aye.

It appears my life has officially been hijacked by a toddler.