Sponge baths and water torture

It was bathtime tonight. The girls hopped into the tub and Graham got his first sponge bath. He should be cleared this week for a regular bath, in the meantime we were tiring of smelling his stinkiness. Not able to stay awake (until the wee hours of night) I got him ready for bath while he snoozed on the counter next to the sink. Then I put a warm wash cloth over his chest so he wouldn't get too cold and started on his feet. No crying, in fact I think he sort of liked it- just another Jefferies water baby.

drowsy after bath and lotion massage.

Nakedness= fun time for Harper

Give this kid some secrets to keep. She is undeterred by water torture. In fact, she wants to be under the water. She is missing the pool, needless to say.

Variety is the spice of life

Grandpa gave Lucy $10 for her birthday to go on a shopping spree at her favorite store- the Variety Store. What we ended up with was a hodgepodge of items- 15 in total. They included penny candy, a rubber bat (the Halloween kind, not the baseball kind), a Halloween pencil, a wind up lion toy, a lion finger puppet, two cookie cutters, a bag of sequins, a little ninja figure, a glittered spider ring and so on. She had so much fun trying on Halloween masks, choosing her items, paying for them and showing them off when we got home. She took her own shopping bag with her "to save the planet" and carried her own money in her own pocket. That $10 was on fire in her pocket and she kept taking it out to make sure it was still there and to remind me that she had it. Then when it was time to pay she whipped that money out before even the first item had been rung up. All in all, a successful shopping spree that indeed provided a variety of fun!

Harper in boots

Harper has been carrying around Graham's burp cloths. She likes to pretend to clean with them and she likes to wrap them around her shoulders like a shawl and walk around the house being "pretty", in her own words. She also likes to toss them over her head and play peek-a-boo with it on her head. One small lesson she learned: you should not toss a burp cloth on your head, turn blindly in the opposite direction and run. There is often a wall there and you will hit it. Hard. Unfortunately, this lesson came a bit late and that explains one of the bruises on her head. But only one. The other bruises are attributed to about 6 other falls, wall mishaps, floor meetings and crib railing greetings, or tantrums.

These were taken one day while I was passed out with Graham on the couch. I found them on the camera and enjoyed them so I thought everybody else might, too. Harper loves wearing other people's shoes, putting on shoes on other people's feet, taking off shoes, carrying shoes around, etc. She also loves toes and if yours are propped up at all, she will often walk by and grab them. Boots must have seemed like hitting the jackpot!

Lucy's first day as a Monkey!

The day before Graham was born I was able to see Lucy off for her first day at school as a Monkey! Taylor graciously helped out by going to school with Lu and doing one of my co-ops. Lu was so excited to be "moving upstairs" to the big kid room, or pre-K. She has made the adjustment effortlessly although her teacher is still saying that she is very quiet. Hopefully that will come to a halt soon and she will show off her true personality- chatty, funny and vibrant.

She is doing great with the school work and loves the routine of getting ready for school and choosing her lunch for the next day. The first day at school around here also means that Lucy celebrates her birthday the first day of school every year. This year she chose to wear her birthday t-shirt, she took rice crispy treats for her class mates and was honored with a birthday crown from her teacher, Miss Susan. Not a bad way to start the school year!

Next week, her first field trip so stay tuned...

Graham at one week

Graham is beefing up. He is past his birthweight, easily. He eats. And eats. And eats. Then he sleeps. He finally took some time to wake up for us this evening and was awake for a few hours. This gave him the opportunity to witness our first dance party in the house. The girls danced and giggled their way through their favorite dance party song- "Apache" by Sugarhill Gang. Any song that says "jump on it" over and over again is a big hit with them. He sat in his swing and probably thought that he had landed in the land of crazy people.

Other than that, not much to report. He is sleeping for more than 4-5 hours at a time at night so I am only having to get up twice with him. He is as soft as a little teddy bear, loves to cuddle, loves to suck on his fingers and prefers to rest on a chest rather than sit out facing the world. There will be plenty of time to see the world, right now we love to indulge him in his cuddle time.

Graham Woodrow

He has been called "Teddy Graham", "Candy Graham", "Graham-a-lam-a-ding-dong", "Graham Bam Thank you Mam", but Lucy just calls him "Baby Graham".

Graham Woodrow Jefferies has arrived, 5 days early. Here's the scoop:

I awoke at 3:49am on Wed morning with a contraction. I waited for the next one, they were painful, 12 minutes apart. I knew he was on his way, but I thought I might be able to buy a bit more sleep. 10 minutes later, my water broke, we called the doc, they said to get to the hospital. Taylor is awakened, the girls are kissed goodbye and we are out the door. (Sidenote, I scared Ian and Taylor to death when I walked out of the house and screamed. I had stepped on a slug and it had exploded all over my legs. I might be in labor, but that is still scream-worthy!)

At 5:30am, we get to the hospital and I am checked- just 3 cm dilated- no more than a month before! I put on my brave face and they start an iv- I only slightly hyperventilated. I stayed on it for 10 minutes and we were off and walking to get the baby moving. That lasted until 9:30am. At that point I told them that I wanted to take a shower. The nurse said she thought that the baby was facing the wrong direction and told me a stretch to try while I was in the shower. I was 4cm dilated so the idea was that the baby would turn over and that would get things going. I hit the shower, was in there for about 30 minutes. As I got out I had a contraction that was incredibly painful. Moments later I had another and told Ian that I needed to push. He signaled to the nurse. She wanted to get me checked out. I told Ian that if it wasn't time to push, then I was giving in and asking for drugs because it was too painful and I was out of energy. Within about 5 minutes I was standing next to the bed and pushing. I was having a hard time getting onto the actual bed and the hospital staff started a bit of a panic thinking that I was going to have the baby standing, and he would fall to the floor. I eventually make it onto the bed, I looked at the clock and it was shortly after 10am. I decided that I wanted the baby out by 10:20am and was going to make that happen. With that goal in mind, the pain was bearable-until I pushed his head out and thought I was finished and they told me that I still had several more pushes to go. I remember the 10:20 mark and gave it my all. At 10:16 he was out and laying on my stomach. Ian clipped the cord and there our little boy was, or not so little boy. He was more than a pound heavier than either Lucy or Harper! He weighed 7 lbs, 10 oz and was 20 inches long. His face was a bit bruised since he came out so fast but other than that, he was perfect!

The midwife who delivered him offered her congratulations and was off to deliver another baby. There was a line of laboring moms on the floor so we were moved pretty quickly to our recovery room and that was that. Not only did we suddenly have our third child in our arms, but Ian and I hadn't even had time to realize what all had just happened. Burgers and fries were in order, as was a nap. We enjoyed all of the above and Ian was off to give the news to the girls and to get them ready to visit their new baby brother.

The girls arrived with Aunt Taylor and Ian at dinner. Lucy was so excited. She wanted to hold him, sing to him and know all about him and to make sure I was ok. Harper was excited about seeing a baby and about running through the privacy curtain that hung in the room. She was also excited to see me, and I have to say I was pretty excited to see both her and Lucy.

The next day was quiet and the girls visited again. They were a bit less thrilled to be at the hospital this time, and I have to say I was tiring of being there as well. (Second side note- the hospital was a bit overwhelmed with ob patients and the nurses kept trying to get me to go home less than 24 hours after I had Graham. I may not have had a complicated labor or delivery, but I was bruised from head to toe, tired and not ready to go. I knew I had the right to stay a second night and I insisted on staying. When else am I going to have meals delivered, a nurse to watch my newborn and a snack cart that arrives at 10pm every night with cookies and juice?)

Friday morning I pack Graham and myself up, Ian arrives and we head home to greet the girls. Lucy is again so excited to see Graham, Harper was excited to see me (and not so sure about the baby) and we begin life at home with a newborn. All is going well. We had a rough night last night with Graham up most of the night and doing a lot of crying which eventually woke Harper and Lucy. Sat was better, he is sleeping more peacefully, getting the hang of eating and isn't so upset about diaper changes. He had a doc appointment today and is doing great and is already gaining weight again.

Lucy is relishing her role as big sister and "momma nurse". She is eager to help, and wants to take care of me. She even came over and covered me up in a blanket when I had fallen asleep on the couch.

Harper is getting used to seeing the baby and hearing the crying. She needs a bit more attention, but who doesn't want more cuddles with Harper?

Graham wore his first UK blue today- not a day too soon- and the Cats beat the Cardinals in his first UK/UL football game. He has discovered his thumb and looks like he will follow Harper's thumbsucking ways.

Taylor escaped this afternoon and won't return until tomorrow. She needs a break and we owe it to her. Hope she is having fun out in the city tonight!

3 days in this world and such a story to tell already! Ian and I look forward to exploring the world through a little boys eyes and to see the relationships he will develop with both Lucy and Harper. So call him what you may, be it "Graham Cracker" or "Little Woody", we are just happy to call him part of our family.

Not for me this time!

We went to the doctor today, but this time I was sidelined and the girls took center stage. We were there for nearly 2 hours in a very hot room, no food allowed and a Harper monkey that could not sit still. Here is how it went:
-Nurse takes Lucy for weigh in- she is still just under 30 pounds. She had her eyes checked, her hearing checked, etc, etc. She is perfect (or "practically perfect in every way", as Mary Poppins, and Lucy say).
-Nurse tries to take Harper for her weigh in. Harper takes off running and giggling. The games have begun. Finally, after some tackling, she weighs in at 18 pounds. A peanut, as we all knew.
-Doc comes in to take a look at both girls. Harper runs around the examining room, yelling to "get down" or "hold you" or "sit down" every 30 seconds. At least the doc is impressed with her use of phrases. Lucy goes through her routine, showing off, writing her name, telling of her many adventures. Lucy then gets up on the exam table because she wants to help with Harper. This actually works and Harper sits still for at least 3 minutes. Miraculous.
-For no known reason, Harper begins throwing tantrum that will last for the next 20 minutes or so.
-We sit. And sit. And sit. We get hot, very hot. I am out of toys. I open the door to cool things off a bit and to hopefully remind them that we have been there for quite a while.
-The nurse arrives to give me a flu shot, then Lucy, then Harper. Lucy argues that she wants to go first. With a very brave attitude she accepts a Flumist in the nose, and 4 shots. Watery eyes, but no real tears and she is ready for her rewards- 2 stickers and a homemade milkshake when we get home. I accept my flu shot, almost as courageously. Harper is next. She lays down on the exam table and says "night night" and pretends to go to sleep. She is "awakened" with a jab in the leg, followed by two more shots. She cries, but only for a minute. We pack up hurriedly to get the heck out of there.
-I begin having Braxton Hicks contractions and it takes me a bit longer to fill out paperwork then the girls appreciate, still they are fairly good at the counter...until...
-A crusty little boys walks up, takes the sticker box out of Lucy's hand, handles everything in the area with his grubby hands, keeps touching Harper and telling her that she is "bad" and keeps grabbing my hand to tell me random bits of information that I could care less about because I am in the middle of a contraction and just trying to get out of the office. As we are leaving, his dad says, "No, you can't go play in the waiting room, you are too contagious and you will get your germs on everything". I guess we didn't count in his father's precautionary tale.
- We leave hoping that the antibacterial I just doused the girls in will kill anything that kid had just passed onto us and know that we will have to return in just a few days to that dreaded office, this time with Baby Boy Jefferies in tow. For now, it is time for vanilla milkshakes with extra whipped cream and cherries on top. We all have earned it.

Birthday Bookends: Campout and Fish Shopping

Lucy's two requests from us for her birthday were a campout in the backyard and a pet fish. One came a week before her birthday and the other the day after.

Last Saturday she invited Ronin over for a campout. They ate grilled hotdogs, roasted marshmallows for s'mores, chose stuffed animals to join them out in the tent, took a moonlit walk around the block, popped popcorn, listened to stories under the stars and finally turned in around 9:30pm with a few giggles and some snickering. The surprise? That they actually stayed outside sleeping in the tent until 7am. No nighttime wakenings. Ian slept between them and reported no bumps in the night. They were so happy the next morning and Lucy has already begun requesting the next campout for this fall.

The end to her birthday was a trip we took to the pet store today. She has been wanting a pet fish like "Charlie, Aunt Lauren's fish". It was quite an outting. Both girls loved seeing the mice and the birds, the cats and the ferrets and choosing everything we needed for the new Betta that Lucy had chosen. He is a King Betta, dark blue in color and his name is "Charlie" (yes, the same name as Lauren's fish). She chose red rocks and a little plant for his bowl. She has loved watching him swim and is more than eager to feed him.

Great birthday week and weekend and we look forward to a great year of Lucy being the best 4 she can be!