And Then There was Keegan...

Here I am one week before Keegan made his grand appearance. This pregnancy was much different than I remember the others being. I was more tired, achey and onery. In the end it was all worth it because THIS is what I got:

Keegan C. Watson
November 6, 2010 10:32 am
6 pounds, 11 ounces
21 1/4 inches long

Dear Keegan,
Let me tell you just how you came into this world. 3 weeks before your due date I started to have a bit of high blood pressure. Since I got sick after Savvy was born, we were a little concerned about it. I had my appointment with my doctor on Friday the 5th. Dad and I had assumed that since my blood pressure was high, the doctor would recommend inducing labor. We had decided that we were ready for you to be born.

So I went to my appointment and ironically, my blood pressure ended up to be fine. Its always that way...you have a problem and you go to the doctor only to not have the problem anymore. Nevertheless, the midwife suggested that I go to the hospital anyway to have a non-stress test and a bio-physical profile.

I show up at the hospital and have the non-stress test and it was perfect. I talked with the midwife and she and I were thinking that I didn't need to have the BPP, that it wasn't really necessary. She wanted to call the Doctor to make sure that she was on the same page. The Doctor thought that since I was already there, I might as well have the test. So down I go to the ultrasound room. The ultrasound found that I was low on amniotic fluid. That changed everything. The doctor and the midwife then relayed to me that they wanted to induce me. So the result was the same but for different reasons.

I call Dad and he takes the kids to some friends house and heads to the hospital. I get admitted and at 6 pm I have Cervadil placed. I start contracting and as the night goes on, the contractions get stronger. Dad and I didn't get much sleep at all. When the midwife came to check on me at 6 am, I hadn't dialated enough. (I went from 1.5-3.5 in 12 hours) So since I was going to have to have a Pitocin drip, I was all about getting an epidural. By 8 am I had my IV started and the epidural was doing its job and I was ready for a nap!

After 2.5 hours of napping I woke up feeling like I had to go to the bathroom. I thought to myself that there was no way I could be ready. I call the midwife anyway and she comes to check me. Right off the bat she announces that you were crowning! She and the nurse start running around getting things ready. I give two good pushes and the nurse exclaims that your head was out. You had a bit of Meconium in your mouth so the midwife pretty much pulled you out and passed you to the pediatrician.

You didn't cry barely at all but you had this strange little moaning that you would do. The doctor said that was because you had a bit of the meconium in your airway that you were trying to work out but that it wasn't anything to worry about. You were perfect! It was the easiest delivery of all and I felt great afterward.

The kids all adore you and have from the very moment they met you. Finn is the proudest big brother ever and the girls just want to cuddle and mother you all day long. You have completed our family and we are so blessed to have you with us. You are a gift from our Heavenly Father and we thank him everyday for your arrival.

5 min old

One week old

First visit with Santa

2 months old

summer fun

Warren comes to visit!

While Warren was here, I was also in charge of taking care of my neighbors animals while they were away on vacation. 3 Guinea Hens, 4 chickens, 1 dog, 1 cat and one goat. Warren was kind enough to help me out with the feedings etc only one day he decided that it would be a good idea to let the goat out of her pen. We spent the next 25 min chasing the goat around the back yard without success. Who knew it was that hard to get a goat to follow orders? Finally, she ran into the chicken coop where we lasso-ed her and let her back to her pen. It was definitely an adventure!
We spent an entire day in DC and although it was so HOT (note the color of my face) it was a lot of fun. I got to enjoy the sites without hearing just how tired or hungry my kids were. It was also great to catch up with Warren and have a conversation that lasted more than 20 min.

Another day we went blueberry picking. Poor Warren came to visit MD during the hottest, most humid week of the summer. We got a load of fresh berries and for the most part, everyone was a good sport. Warren couldn't help but sport his Utah Jazz love even here in MD.

Here we are at dinner at Brian Boru's restaurant and Irish pub. Eric and I adore this place and their corned beef poppers. YUM!!
We all loved having Warren around and the kids especially did since he was their designated playmate for the week. He did get a good dose of Neelah and her screaming/crying fits so he knows the reality of what goes on in the Watson household. We miss you Warren!!

Our 7th Anniversary

To celebrate the 7 years of our marriage we booked a night at a downtown hotel. Eric made the reservation at the Marriot using his points he earned while living here in the hotel early last year. We get there and are checking in when the guy at the desk tells us that we don't have a reservation for that night, but that we had one for the previous Wednesday but it was canceled due to no-show. Eric botched the reservation.

So then we are on the phone to the Marriot people and they book us a room at another Marriot hotel about a mile away from where we were. Turns out, we ended up at The Mayflower, the hotel that hosts the Inagural Ball every year. It was old, ornate and seriously beautiful! We lucked out!

We spent the afternoon/evening strolling around Georgetown and going in and out of shops. We ate when we were hungry and went where we wanted. We had no agenda, no time-table, no plan. It was FABULOUS!! Just what we needed.

Easter 2010

This year for the first time we dyed eggs with the kids. I know, I am a bad parent for denying them this tradition for all these years. After Savvy decorated her egg with all manner of stickers, she dropped it on the floor. At that point, she started picking at the shell.

We are definately not professional egg decorators but for a rookie trial, we did our best. Neelah wouldn't keep her hands to herself and almost tipped over the bowls of dye too many times to count. It was a quick activity.

This year we were lucky enough to be invited over for an Easter Egg Hunt and picnic at our friends the Quinns house. They hid over 200 eggs for about 10 kids to find. It was the perfect day for a hunt.

I am not quite sure why Neelah his making that face. I never know with that girl. Savvy looks a bit like the Joker because of the ring of chocolate around her lips.

I adore this picture of Finn. What a great kid he is.

The kids had a great time and really enjoyed being with friends and eating lots of treats. It was the perfect to way to celebrate the secular version of the holiday! We brought home way too much candy though.

Finners!

One of Eric's work friends gave us Guitar Hero. We love free stuff! Eric had Finn pose this way.
Rock On!!

This is a terrible photo but it was the best that I could get out of Finn. He came to me this week, about an hour after he woke up and told me that his tooth had fallen out! I asked him where it was and he said he didn't know. I asked him when it fell out and he told me that it must have fallen out when he was sleeping. I thought for sure he had swallowed it in his sleep. We went to his bed and searched. We found it underneath the bed.

So then I wanted a picture of him with the tooth and getting him to open his eyes, even when the flash went off was "like pulling teeth!" As I was trying to get him to open his eyes, he dropped the tooth and it took me 20 min on my hands and knees searching the carpet to find it. By that time, the photo-op was over and this was all I got. Better than nothing...

We were lucky enough to get this hand-me-down hoop from a neighbor this weekend. Finn was practicing and I was shocked to watch him score two baskets from this distance!! Finn is growing up so fast and becoming a little man. He is embracing all different sports and is really into "practicing" to get better. He dribbles the ball around the house and has made it all the way to 9 dribbles!

Neelah's 3rd Birthday Party

Neelah has left the "Terrible Two's" at least technically. We had a small party for her this weekend. It wasn't too fancy since all her friends were out of town for the Easter holiday. The weather was perfect so we went outside to eat cake and open presents.

New Barbie Slippers!

When I asked Neelah who she wanted to invite to her birthday party, the first person she said was Megan. Megan is one of our favorite babysitters. The girls adore her.

This was the gift I was most excited to give her. I knew it would be a hit. She watches Finn play the Leapster and wishes she could play too. With this computer she can practice up on her letters, numbers and shapes. After just a few minuets, she exclaimed to me "I'M LEARNING!!" I love seeing her so excited about learning new things.

Bubbles in the Spring

Bubbles are a staple on warm Spring afternoons. They keep all the kids busy which is a blessed event around here. I kick back in a beach chair and sip on my Coke. It never lasts quite long enough.

Darling Savannah

Savvy is 22 months old now and has really been neglected when it comes to documenting her sweet life. Being the mom of 3 is proving to be much busier than I could have ever imagined. I practically posted everyday when Finn was this age.

Savvy LOVES books. She talks jibberish to herself and turns the pages. Any book that has animals will do the trick. She loves to drive past the horses, cows and donkeys that are on the way to and from our house. She will look out the window, gasp! and yell "DONK!!" (this means donkey)

Savvy sits with her ankles crossed almost constantly...very elegant and proper my girl is. She dances and sings throughout the day. She loves to be teased and tickled. She has no fear of strange people. Multiple times she has gone up to random "mom" at storytime and sat down right in her lap. Even when she looks across the room and sees that I am there and she is here, she doesn't seem to want to move. She will even go as far as pushing away random "mom's" own kids to defend her spot in the lap.

We don't go ANYWHERE without the "blank". (look familiar Amy?) I do have 2 other pieces of this same material that I substitute when the original gets washed but for the most part, this is GOLD to Savvy.

Cuddling is very important to Savvy. She loves being front and center and doesn't like to share a lap with anyone. Even Uncle Tyler will do. She spreads her love equally.

Although her first word was "mommy" she is definately a daddy's girl. It gets frustrating for Eric when she uses the word "mommy" when asking him for something. Apparently, "mommy" also means "please".

Neelah turns 3

Let me introduce you...this is Neelah. The other day as I was vaccuming, she comes out like this. She is ready and eager to help now that she has her own vaccume. There is no reason not to be fashionable while doing housework! This girl has so much attitude. I really can't explain just how much I love her. I also can't explain how difficult she can be.

Just tonight, at dinner, she repeated the same 3 questions at least 15 times each. She speaks so well that it is hard to understand why she can't ask a question once and have that be it. I forget that she is only 3 and 3 year olds repeat, repeat, repeat!

We are still working on the potty-training...hopefully she will decide to do it before next fall when she has to go to pre-school. Hopefully I won't be changing her diaper when she is 8. Hopefully we won't be broke by then because of all the money we spend diapering her darling little tushy. She will commit when she is ready, I have no doubt.

Something tells me that Neelah won't be too tall. She only has 1 1/2 inches on Savvy and they both are wearing 3T clothing. My kids don't have a chance of having flat bums.

Just this last month she grasped her colors and we are working on alphabet and counting past 20. She loves to read books and always sings herself to sleep. She drives Finn nuts with her constant singing along with the disney movies. For some reason it bugs him but I love that part of her. She is so tender with Savvy and they play so well together (as long as Finn isn't around to bug them).

I am so thankful to have her a part of our family. She dances her way into my heart each and every day. I love you Neelah!

Snowstorm of all SNOWSTORMS!

Today is gorgeous! Bright white snow glittering against a blue sky. Blinding. But we welcome it after the last week of snow. It started last Friday and aside from one afternoon of sun, snowed ever since. Yesterday we endured a record breaking blizzard here and I feel so blessed to say that we didn't loose power once!

The following pictures were taken during that first snowstorm that in total dumped 26inches on us. We took the kids out while Eric and Tyler were trying to keep up with the shoveling. (the operative word there is "trying") Savvy wouldn't step one foot in the snow, she just sat and watched while the others played. She was a little upset by the fact that she couldn't ride the trike in the snow.

Finn lost his boots in the snow at least 10 times.

The kids have a roomy snow cave to play in and a slide made from the 7 foot snow drift. Its a winter wonderland!