Elizabeth Grace Little - The Story of her Birth

This will be the highlights because I need to go to sleep, but I can't believe how good this is! Things are going so well I can't believe it. This whole thing has been amazing - gentle and serene just as God promised. I feel incredible. Ellie is doing great. Kate is doing great. Brett and I are a great team. So, so good. Let me run down how the story of Ellie's birth:

Monday at my doctor's appointment, Dr. Allen said we would have a "discussion about induction." When we got there, the discussion went like this, "Show up at the hospital tomorrow at 7:30am." Good talk, doc. It was exactly what I wanted though, because I had told Alli that day that I didn't want to have to make a decision about induction, and I didn't have to - he's the expert, we trust him, and he decided. He said we were playing with fire at 40 1/2 weeks so she needed to come now. Great, sold.

Brett and I were all packed up and ready to go. It was nice to get to be so prepared. My parents came in town that night, and the next morning Kate was so excited to see them. Brett's parents came down that afternoon, so Kate was all set for an awesome day.

The labor basically went exactly as Dr. Allen said it would. They gave me pitocin at 9am. I got an epidural at 12:30pm - he said I could have it "whenever my little heart desired", and with contractions every 2 mins, that felt like the right time. Funny side note - we were watching movies, "The Proposal" and then "Alice in Wonderland", and it was during Lewis Carroll's story with Tim Burton's interpretation that I felt the need for drugs...go figure :) They broke my water at 1pm, and then we had a little bit of unwanted excitement. The cord was around Ellie's neck and when my water broke, she slid down and her heart rate got really low for about 12 minutes. Stressful, but they got it back up again and took me off the pitocin to get her back up to normal. I felt good the whole time, although the nurses said with a younger doctor it would have been c-section, which was the same thing that happened with Kate. Luckily Dr. Allen is patient. I was a little bummed at this point thinking the labor would now last a long time, but at 3pm I was ready to go. They said, "Don't laugh until the Dr. gets here or the baby will come out." Uhhh, okay. I didn't believe it, but 4 mins after Dr. Allen got there, Ellie was born.

This time, I watched the birth, and it absolutely floored me. I think part of me still wasn't convinced there was actually a baby inside me. And then when Dr. Allen handed (well sort of threw her) to me, I was absolutely overwhelmed. In that instant, I was overcome by how much I loved her. I had just met her, and I loved her as much as I love Kate and Brett. I guess in advance I thought somehow I'd have to share the love I already have with her, not that it would be an all new capacity and amount. Love works in different currency. I can't get enough of her.

It is incredible how good I feel. I feel like I had a great experience with Kate, and with Ellie it's 10X easier. I guess pushing for 4 mins versus 2 hours helps a bunch. Being scheduled made us so much more well rested, so that is great. I was worried I wouldn't remember anything about having a newborn, but it's coming back to us really well. Overall, just so, so good.

Kate couldn't be more excited. She came into the delivery room after Ellie was born and was so sweet. She ran in, wanted to hold her and give her hugs, she had bought her a little Grover present. She is such an amazing big sister, it makes me cry.

Our parents were such a wonderful help. It means so much to have that kind of support and love from them. THANK YOU GUYS! We also have such wonderful friends who've been visiting and calling. The whole thing feels easier with that circle of support.

I have to admit I'm still just a bit nervous about having enough energy to do it. I'm trying to surrender my control and nervousness about sleep and trust that God will carry me and sustain me. In the hospital my daily Bible verse on my blackberry was Isaiah 46, and vs. 3-4 says "Listen...you whom I have upheld since you were conceived, and have carried since your birth. Even to your old age and gray hairs
I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I will rescue you."
I trust that and I'm trying to remember it so I don't get scared.

Ellie is a wonderful baby. Things I already know about her - she is gentle, peaceful, feminine, delicate, loving, joyful, kind, and patient. She's eating really well and sleeping well too. She's been amazingly alert right from the start - looking at us with these big, dark & deep blue eyes. She smiled last night while she was sleeping and it was so beautiful. She's a real treasure.

So overall, the best experience we could have envisioned and hoped for. Welcome to the world Elizabeth Grace Little! We love you soooooooo!!!!

A feat of bravery!

I'm so proud of Kate! Today at Coney she went down this big slide! Brett took her to the top and she definitely had a moment of hesitation, but then brave Kate went shooting down the slide. I was at the bottom to catch her, but she had to shoot under water for a few seconds. And the best part was, she loved it! She wanted to do it again. It was great. By nature, Kate definitely likes to think things through and understand how they'll go before she jumps right in, so this was a big deal for her.

She was a champ today at the pool - she also did a great job floating, both with and without us. With her little arm floats on, she'll go out by herself and sing her little song she learned in swimming lessons, "I'm a little pancake on my back, I'm a little pancake nice and flat." (to the tune of I'm a little teapot.) She HATED floating before the lessons, so just that alone was probably worth the $100.

Maybe her biggest accomplishment of all was an amazing display of patience - definitely not a strong suit for Kate. She was dying to get in the water but Brett and I were still getting ready to go in, so she asked if she could sit on the ramp and wait for us. It was a great test, and she sat there patiently for one, maybe even two minutes. That's HUGE for her! All in all, such a big day. So sad to think that all winter long she'll forget most of this!

What Kate's talking about these days

Kate is so much fun these days. I love being with her. Here are a few snip-its of the kinds of things we talk about during the day:


Kate - "I was in Mommy's belly when I was an itty bitty. Then God told me it was time for me to come out."


Kate - "Can I play with this?"
Me - "Daddy said you're not allowed to play with it."
Kate - "But Daddy's not here."
Me - "Wow...you still have to listen even though he's not here."


Me - "You have an umbrella just like this one in this book."
Kate - "Well, it's similar Mommy, but mine has more colors."
Me - "Uhh, you're right. I stand corrected."


Me - "Do you want a glass of water?"
Kate - "Yes. Can I please have a pink cup to match my pink shirt?"


Kate - "When Ellie gets here I'm going to huggle her, huggle her, huggle her!"


Kate - "Daddy, is that your cup on my furniture?"
Brett - "Yes, Kate, that's mine."
Kate (laughing) - "Silly, Daddy, that's not where we put cups!"
(Note to readers - I swear we're not trying to raise a neat freak. We don't talk about it, but actions speak loudly apparently.)


Kate - "Can I please get Ellie out of your belly?"
Me - "God says when it's time for her to come out."
Kate - "I'll just get her out for a little bit. Then we can put her back. I want to hug her!"


Kate (singing to my belly) - "I'm your big sister and I love you! I love you! I love you!"

Another shot of summer fun - Luke and Kate chillin in the pool

Quack Quack

Another day of fun while waiting for Ellie :) Today we went on the Cincinnati Duck Tour with the Russells - Kelly, Mac, Bode & Chaney. We loved it. It's a boat and a bus that looks like a duck. I learned some good new facts about Cincinnati, like the original state of the Ohio River is 20ft X 5ft (which was how it was during the Civil War when it served as the Mason-Dixon line) and that P&G started making soap because there was so much lard left over from the pigs being slaughtered here in "Pork-opolis." I always love being on the water, although today at 100 degrees it felt HOT.

Although there are still a few hours left in the day, it's looking promising that Ellie will not be born on Friday the 13th, which I'm very happy about. Not that I believe in all that junk, but who wants to have their birthday on a day given over to the occult. Any other day from now forward feels good. I'm starting to think we're going to have to go in and get her. She seems a little too comfortable in there. I'm still fine, but looking in the mirror I can definitely tell she's getting big. If it's not before then, I have an appointment on Monday with my doctor to discuss induction, which I am very fine with. So, we shall see!!!

Let's get this straight -

Boy is this a good one... Today Kate and I went to the Museum Center with Tara, Hyland and Lydia. We had an awesome time. Kate LOVES being with the girls. Very fun. Anyways, Kate and I were walking out to the car, just the two of us, and here was our conversation:

Kate - "I'm going to get in my car seat by myself."

Me - "Because it's so hot, I'm going to put you in your seat so you don't get burned."

Kate (repeating herself, but this time with a kick) - "I'm going to get in my car seat by myself because I'M IN CHARGE."

FULL STOP ON THE SIDEWALK.

Me (calmly but clearly) - "No Kate, that's absolutely incorrect. You are not in charge. Mommy and Daddy are in charge."

Kate - "But I want to be in charge."

Me - "I totally understand that, but it doesn't work that way. God put Mommy and Daddy in charge of you. You don't get to be in charge."

At this, she starts sobbing. I took that as a positive sign, like she got what I was saying, but of course was not happy with it. I'm a betting woman, and I'd put down cash that this is an issue we'll come back to...learning to submit to authority is not easy, Kate, you are correct.

Cute girls at the museum :)

Gentle

Yesterday, when I was thinking about when Ellie would come (which I do quite often these days :), I felt like God said to me that the process of her birth and everything around it would be gentle. This past week was the first week I really felt like she could come, and it felt so relaxing, almost boring at times. It was nice to just have rest.

Gentleness is a strong contrast to Kate's birth - she came almost a month before we expected, my water broke at Babies R Us while buying everything including diapers. I'd describe her birth as dramatic, exciting, and energetic. Those are all words I'd use to describe Kate's personality as well.

I've felt like Ellie's birth would be gentle and serene, so expecting the pattern to hold true, I will look for those things both in her birth and personality. Delightful :)

Honestly, for me, while I'm really excited for Ellie to arrive, I'm not restless about it but instead pretty patient. She will come when the time is right; I feel good about that. I'm not overly uncomfortable, so we're just excitedly awaiting. Kate on the other hand seems very ready. She keeps digging in to understand if she can't take her out, when God is planning on it. It's very sweet.

And so we wait. At the swimming pool :)

Making Improvements - Part 2

As I said in the first "Making Improvements" post, home projects are not for the faint at heart. The second big project of the summer, which actually started as the first project but is currently still in progress 2 1/2 months later, is painting the exterior of our house. The background on this project is, I've always hated the way our house looks from the outside; I wouldn't have come to look at it if our realtor and friend Steve hadn't insisted that we see it. He was right - I love our street and I love the inside of our house; but I've never liked the outside. It lacks any charm or character; one person said correctly, "It kind of looks like the back of a house." A few months ago, I had a vision for how I wanted it to look and I got really excited about it. But bringing that vision to life has been a chore to say the least.

The major part of the vision was removing the white paint from the bricks in the front. Sounds easy enough, but wow, it hasn't been. I talked to tons of people and no one would even give me a quote to do the work. No one, except Timmy. I found this hilarious guy Tim would said, "Sure, I can do it." And he did, but I thought it might kill him. Tim is awesome - he's the most perseverent guy I've ever met. To get this paint off, he has tried everything under the sun, twice. He explored chemicals, blow torches, sand blasting, power washing, scraping and more. And he refused to give up, even though I'm sure he wanted to. Even more, he always was in good spirits about it, determined to find a solution. Eventually, he found a way with special products and a method he developed to get this paint off. And let me tell you, I think it looks beautiful! I'm not going to put up a picture until it's done, but we have several people stop in front of our house daily to say how much they like it. It is a dramatic change, and I'm so happy with it.

But as I mentioned, this type of thing is not for the faint of heart. As if 2 1/2 months of trying to get the project complete weren't enough, there is another issue. After the process was complete, I started to consider that we could have an issue with lead paint because our house is from 1956. The internet had my mind spinning, so this morning I took paint samples to the health department to be screened and Kate to the doctor for a blood test to ensure we are okay. The lead division at the health dept screened the samples for me immediately and while it's not totally conclusive, the 10 samples I took them (yes, I'm thorough :) all came up lead free. We'll hear about Kate's results next week, but I'm sure she'll be fine.

Again I say, this type of thing is not as easy as you think it should be. Who would have thought that repainting our house would take 3 months and involve city departments and doctors. The bright side is, I have a terrible memory so in time I will forget the pain of this and just enjoy the beauty of the improvements. And then, when enough time has passed, probably start a new project.


Just another "before" shot...when the giant new house was built and happened to be almost the same color as our "little" house, that was the final straw in my aggressive work to get this project rolling. Pics coming soon - as a tease, last night Rob Seddon come over to our house, as he has many times before, and starting driving by our place because he didn't recognize it!! :)

Shepherding a Child's Heart

I just read this book, and I highly recommend it. I don't agree with everything, but overall I really found it helpful. It's a book about raising kids. The main point is, you can't get stuck on changing behavior but instead you should look deeper into what is happening in the child's heart that is causing the behavior. It really impacts a lot when you can assess what is driving the behavior, have a conversation with the child about it, and then work to correct that heart issue.

Other things I found helpful -
1) Obedience should come without waiting, whining, or warnings (my summary.) Disobedience is an issue between the child and God because my authority represents God's authority. I felt convicted about not trying to control Kate's behavior but rather to focus on understanding her heart and temptations to correct her and restore her to blessings. Obedience rescues them and pulls them into safety - "Honor your parents that it may go well with you and you may enjoy long life, the first commandment with a promise." Proverbs 19:18 says, "Discipline a child for in that there is hope, do not be a willing party to his death."
2) Another main point is that shepherding is about leading a child on a path of discovery of himself and the world. I loved the book's description that the main goal of parenting is setting the child up to know and love God, and that all you need to do is present the good news of Jesus and expect that they will be drawn to its attractiveness. Discipline itself sets them up to receive - we are all sinners in need of a savior. It also talked about striving for your kids in prayer - excellent.
3) Having clear goals for your kids - Primary focus is on knowing your child so you can develop a plan to draw out their strengths and address their weaknesses.
4) Children must see their inability to do what God requires without God's help and strength. Correction must hold to God's standard of righteousness which then turns them to the cross and God's grace. Appeal to their conscience so they indict themselves. Bring them to a sober assessment of themselves as sinners, then the mercy of God who sacrificed Jesus for them. Here we teach them that God is their only hope, not themselves.

There's a ton more, but those are my highlights. And it reads super fast - I had to stretch it to 3 days to let it sink in. It's got some good stuff.


And here's a pic of my two favorite cuties :)

Preschool

An update on our choice - Hyde Park Redeemer is our favorite. It is not the biggest or most popular choice, but it felt most consistent with our family. Things there felt more ordered, less chaotic (as preschools go, of course.) The space is big and new, the teachers are very experienced, there is an order and schedule to each day; it just felt right.

The drawback - at 2 years old it's only 2 days a week from 9-11:30. I then realized another objective of preschool - giving me time with Ellie, which this doesn't do much of. So, Kate will go to Redeemer on Mon & Tues, but then also to Goddard on Wed & Thurs. Goddard was my second choice. Not as good as Redeemer - the teachers, while degreed, are not as experienced, and the classes are bigger, still good ratios but just more kids and therefore more chaos. But they have a good and probably more academic and well-rounded environment. It's pricey, so we'll do it for a while and see how it goes.

The thing I'm most nervous about is Kate getting sick, and then Ellie getting sick (and probably the rest of us too.) I don't know that there is any way around it; I pray we don't have a year of sickness. But I know Kate will love it so that's no reason to keep her in a bubble at home.

I think she's really going to love it, so I'm super excited for her. Especially with Ellie here, I think it will be so good for her to have her own new, special thing. What fun!

KML Consulting

Did you know I started my own company? It's funny - I've never had a desire to be an entrepreneur (actually, I just had to look up the spelling of the word.) It just kind of happened, but it's been fantastic.

Here's the short story - I quit P&G, took 2 years off, then went to work at a small consulting company. It was good, I was basically doing the same work I did at P&G but it was less intense and less work at 4 days and then 3 days a week. But after a year, I realized that by consulting back to P&G, it was really hard to be truly part time. So, I thought, what if I just did this on my own so I have more control over how much I'm working. And that's what I've done. It's been great so far. I've been working primarily with the consulting company I used to work for doing projects for P&G as a subcontractor. It's really fantastic. When I have a project I work a bunch, and when I don't, I don't work at all. Feels like a more realistic way to get balance. So far, so good. I'm not going to do anything for a few months, and then will probably be back at it in the winter at the same pace.

What is it I do? Excellent question that I can't really answer very well. Ironically, I've always had this problem. As an Industrial & Systems Engineer, people would say, "What do you do?" and I couldn't really answer. As a Brand Manager at P&G, people would say, "What do you do?" and I couldn't really answer. Now it's probably of the most importance because I want people to hire me, and I still can't articulate it all that clearly. Here's my best answer - I do the same types of things I did at P&G (but admittedly, that doesn't help since I can't exactly describe what I did there.) When pressed I say my current focus is on helping companies develop new product and commercial ideas. If they need a $1 Billion idea they need a plan to get there, and I work with them to develop a plan to come up with the next big idea. I understand their goals and objectives and develop workshops to help their team think differently to think of a great idea. Clear as mud, eh.

As for my company, I've done very little develop it thus far. I chose the name because I wanted it to sound strategic not executional - so "KML Consulting" vs. a "Bang! Splash! Whiz!" type of deal. I'm not totally married to KML Consulting, but it works for now. I need a logo - maybe I can find someone to draw something up (lemme know if you're interested!) Brett is my partner, so that's fun since we've always wanted to be in business together (although at this point, his "contributions" have been purely for tax advantage.)

I've never really been one to have a "master plan", which is maybe how I ended up here. I never expected I'd be doing this, and I love it. You just never know...Here are a few shots from my recent work trips to Singapore and Brussels:


Singapore was like Hawaii in beauty. Absolutely gorgeous public park at the National Orchid forest which had hundreds of varieties of Orchids. Amazing. Too far though - 26 hours of flying, and I couldn't sleep as much since I was pregnant and had to walk around. It was a little weird though - there are so many rules, like no drugs or they kill you, that it felt a little bizarre and false. Too clean (you aren't allowed to chew gum.) Sort of pleasantville-ish.

This was my CRAZY fish pedicure in Singapore - absolutely nutty! You're supposed to let the fish eat off your dead skin for 45 mins; I couldn't last 5 mins! The lady said, "You are giggling like a small child!" Yes, because fish are eating my feet!!


The streets of Brussels - me acting like a tourist. It was actually a delightful European city with all the cafes and shopping you'd expect. Surprisingly nice.

Making Improvements

We've been making a lot of improvements to our house lately. First let me say, improvements are not for the faint at heart. They take an amazing amount of effort. And that's even when you are hiring people to do the work. I've always been amazed at how difficult it is to find workers. Not even superb workers, just people willing to show up and do work. The Bible is right, the workers are few...It's a task just getting people to call you back to come give you an estimate to do work. But after quite a bit of effort and diligence, we've found people to come out. It always takes longer than expected, it's always more expensive, and there are always problems. But if you can make anything happen, I call it a victory.

Our major victory of the summer was adding a bedroom to our basement. This was huge. With Ellie moving into the nursery and Kate moving into what was the guest room, our 3 bedroom house no longer had a space to accommodate any visitors easily. At the great suggestion of friends, we realized that the space next to our basement family room would be a perfect place for a guest room. So, the previously unfinished space has become a bedroom. And for our house, it's a great location for guests because it's more separate and private. Also, we think we now technically go from 3 bedrooms to 4 since we have walkout access and 2 points of exit, so that's a huge improvement to our space. We are very pleased with the result. Doug Kraus did the work and he far exceeded our expectations. It turned out much better than we could have envisioned. We are very happy with the results - see below (or come over for a stay :)




We've got one more project in the works. Here's a little preview. I doubt it will be completed before Ellie gets here, but hopefully before the end of summer. The exterior of our house is going to look much different soon...

Feeling hot, hot, hot - NOT

This may be the most no brainer, no insight thing I've ever written about, but it's interesting to me so here goes. Yesterday one of our friends stopped by our house and we were outside. When I go outside our house in the summer, I usually wear pants and my hooded sweatshirt. Why? Because I hate mosquitoes, and they are always attracted to me. So, despite the 90 degree weather, not to mention my pregnant belly, that's what I think would be best to wear. And that's my standby outfit when I go outside to play with Kate or take a walk. To me, it's much better to be a little warmer than to get bit by mosquitoes. I also hate the feeling of Off, the other obvious solution; once I put it on I must take a shower afterwards, and that doesn't always fit in my schedule. So, there I am in a hoodie in August.

And here's the no brainer that just hit me - every human must process temperature very differently. I think our friend thought I was NUTS being dressed the way I was. But here's the thing - heat doesn't bother me. Sure, I may sweat, but who cares. I think it feels good to be hot. Now what I hate on the other hand, is being cold. It physically hurts me to be cold. Like sitting at a football game in November - it gets painful. Maybe it's the Lebanese blood. Brett has also observed that my mom and I drink enough water to hydrate most camels preparing for desert conditions, so that could also be connected.

Now this conclusion is my own - I think more people are bothered by heat than cold. I'm making this judgment based on how often I get comments on how terrible it must be to be pregnant in August because of the heat. Everyone talks about it, and it's really not of concern to me.

One other update for today - I've been thinking that today or tomorrow is the "big day." We'll see, because the clock is ticking...I may be wrong. Although there is still a little time...I also felt last week that the word around Ellie's birth would be "serenity", which is defined as "calm, tranquil, peaceful, composed." Those all sound good, eh.

(Oh, and in case you're curious, we've got a project brewing on the house...more to come soon!)

Buddies are a gift

We've had some great buddy time lately! Here are a few pics with friends:

Cana and Kate enjoying some quality pool time!


Nolan and Kate having a fun dinner at Panera - cheesin' it up :)


The Girls, Alli, Zoe, Kate, & me, at Coney. Definitely the highlight of not working is days at the pool!


We are so lucky to have such great buddies!