chun-beeks

Renee loves the Iowa Vaulting Fest!

2011-07-16T21:01:00.000-05:00

WEDDING DAY - just before the big event, continued...

2011-06-09T13:43:00.000-05:00

WEDDING DAY - just before the big event!

2011-06-09T13:39:00.000-05:00

Roadtrip to TX - lazybones

2011-06-09T13:31:00.000-05:00

Roadtrip to TX - Wedding dress rehearsal

2011-06-09T13:26:00.000-05:00

Crazy Hair!

2011-06-09T13:21:00.001-05:00

Roadtrip to TX - catching up with friends in OK

2011-06-09T13:18:00.000-05:00

Vacation to WA - My BFF Lori!

2011-06-09T13:12:00.000-05:00

Trip to Washington State - a visit to Great Grandma+Grandpa Dunn

2011-06-09T13:07:00.000-05:00

Vacation to Washington State - Pike's Place Market and Seattle Ferry

2011-06-09T13:01:00.000-05:00

Vacation to Washington State - Seattle Aquarium... continued

2011-06-09T12:52:00.000-05:00

Vacation to Washington State - Seattle Aquarium

2011-06-09T12:46:00.000-05:00

A day in the life of the Chun and the One

2011-06-09T12:37:00.000-05:00

Renee's Karate Tournament

2011-06-09T12:18:00.000-05:00

Renee's Preschool Concert

2011-04-28T20:28:00.001-05:00

sitting with her class before the concert

Mommy and Weedie chatting with friends

Renee's friends, Elliot and Rose

Shria, Rose, Genevieve, Renee, Zeke... her class starts to line up on stage.

waving "Hi!" to Daddy!

singing "I'm bringing home a baby dinosaur"

cutest choir kids ever!

lyrics: "and the Mom went AAAHH!"

April is Cesarean Awareness Month

2011-04-18T02:04:00.000-05:00

"ICAN supporters around the world observe April as Cesarean Awareness Month by wearing burgundy ribbons pinned upside down. The burgundy color symbolizes birth. The pinning of the ribbon upside down symbolizes the state of distress many pregnant women find themselves in when their right to choose the method of birth for their child is dismissed. The loop of the inverted ribbon represents a pregnant belly with the tails of the ribbon denoting arms outstretched in a cry for help."

In honor of Cesarean Awareness Month, I want to introduce you to an organization called ICAN, and tell you the brief story of why I started a local chapter, ICAN of Northeast Iowa, just one year ago.

ICAN is the International Cesarean Awareness Network, an all volunteer, non-profit organization that helps moms and babies affected by surgical birth. ICAN's mission is to improve maternal-child health by preventing unnecessary cesareans through education, providing support for cesarean recovery, and promoting Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC). When a cesarean is medically necessary, it can be a lifesaving technique for both mother and baby and worth the risks involved. ICAN provides education and support for families who are: recovering from cesarean surgery, who want to prevent an unnecessary c-section, or families who want to plan a VBAC or a family centered cesarean.

Why I started an ICAN chapter: My first baby was born via c-section:

Our first picture of baby Renee, Daddy got to hold her hand because Mommy was still in surgery.

Of course I wasn't planning on having a c-section, most families don't expect it for their first birth. But after 5 days of prodromal labor, lots of pitocin, epidural, artificial rupture of membranes~ my cervix "failed" to dialate beyond 8cm. I was told I had 2 more hours to "progress" or else I'd have a c-section, and I secretly was delighted when the time came and went and I was finally "delivered" of my baby girl.

Then it came time for recovery- whoa! Major abdominal surgery is NO FUN, and couple that with being a first time parent and caring for a newborn, talk about exhausting! My first frustration came when telling people about my birth, having to "explain" why I had a c-section. "Failure to progress" is the term from my medical records. My body failed me, there must be something wrong with my cervix, I couldn't dialate all the way. My second frustration came when (as many newly postpartum moms are want to do) I started working to try and get my "pre-baby" body back... but it HURT! Everything I did HURT! And my scar was painful for over a year! Physically that certainly slowed me down, but emotionally it was another reminder that I was broken.

Fast forward 2 years and I started to look ahead at preparing for a second pregnancy. I read and researched, and discovered there was something called VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean)- well thank goodness, because I never want to go through another c-section! And the more I read, the more I realized my cesarean was likely preventable. My baby was never in distress, and I was physically doing just fine- there was no immediate need for the c-section.

SO what went wrong? I only took the hospital's 1 day childbirth education class, to learn about the drugs the hospital offers, practice a couple of positions and take a tour of L+D. I was secretly scared to push out a baby, and was also at least a little freaked out listening to the woman in the room next to me scream during her contractions. I walked for a little while, but once I got my epidural, I was flat on my back. At first I was angry with the hospital- why didn't they do something different!!?? But then I realized, they weren't to blame. I was. I should have taken more time off work to take a natural childbirth education course with my husband, I should have hired professional labor support. But I didn't know any better- so I did the best I could.

When I became pregnant with baby#2, I immediately went to interview the local hospital midwives, but was told I'd have to choose an OB because of my prior c-section. The midwife recommended the OB in her office as being the most supportive of VBAC, so I setup prenatal care with her. Things seemed fine at first, although I was annoyed about having to "pee in a cup" at every visit (whereas the midwives do less testing). When I made comments about my labor plans, (like wanting to stay home as long as possible before arriving at the hospital) my OB just said "we'll talk more about that later on", and the conversation was dropped. But the big bombshell came at 35 weeks when my OB told me I HAD to go into labor BEFORE 40 weeks, otherwise I'd have to schedule another c-section. I. Freaked. Out.

I was already doing everything I could to make sure I wasn't going to have another c-section- I hired a doula, and I had taken Bradley Method Childbirth classes! I had even changed my diet and started exercising a lot more after being diagnosed with borderline gestational diabetes! But I knew I couldn't force my body to go into labor! Luckily I reached out to the online community and a blogger picked up my comment on her blog and turned it into an entire post! That in itself was a HUGE source of much needed support! In her post she also pointed me to an awesome series of posts (called "VBAC Scare Tactics") from another awesome blog (Birthing Beautiful Ideas) which was educational and EMPOWERING!

Long story short, I got my VBAC, at 41 weeks and 3 days. But I had to ditch my last 3 OB appointments to do it- WHICH I DO NOT RECOMMEND! About 2 months after baby John was born I realized that I didn't want other moms to go through what I did, all alone. I had learned about ICAN (and joined the ICAN email yahoo group), but there was only one chapter in my state, and it was 2 hours away from me, too far to drive to their support group meetings while pregnant. But ICAN embodied everything I wanted to bring to moms in my area: awareness about unnecessary cesareans, help with recovery from cesareans, and information about VBAC. So I started ICAN of Northeast Iowa. And later that same year, ICAN of Iowa City, and ICAN of Quad Cities also were created! We went from 1 chapter to 4 chapters in just one year! Now even more moms in Iowa will have access to cesarean education and support!

Q: Is ICAN "anti-C-section"?
A: NO! We're against unnecessary c-sections (of which there are MANY), but we absolutely recognize that a cesarean can sometimes be a life saving event for both mom and baby and worth the risks involved. The cesarean rate in the USA is 32.9% as of 2009, and even doctors have been concerned about the rising cesarean rate since it was just 15%!

Q: Aren't you just a bunch of "birth nazi's"?
A: ICAN wants women and families to exercise *true* informed consent. It's important to understand the full spectrum of risks and benefits to any procedure or intervention, and that means women have the right to informed refusal, too! How a women chooses to birth, where she chooses to birth, what kind of care provider she chooses, which procedures she consents to before during and after birth - are all HER choice!

Q: What gives you the right to talk about birth and c-sections? What are your credentials?
A: I'm a mom whose had both a c-section and a hard fought hospital VBAC. And I can read. I've read and understand the history of ACOG's change in recommendations on VBAC. I know that the risk of uterine rupture after 1 c-section is about the same as the risk of other obstetrical emergencies happening for a low risk first time mother (see quick facts #6). I've experienced first hand how having your first c-section can severely limit your future birthing options. I'm lucky enough to have personally met some of the most respected birth professionals in the United States and have read the published works of many more.

Having a c-section is not just "the other way to give birth". A healthy baby isn't all that matters, healthy moms matter, too.

Happy 5th Birthday to Renee!!!

2011-03-27T22:36:00.000-05:00

"Oh.my.gosh! I got EXACTLY what I wanted!"

Renee blows out her (trick) candles!

The birthday girl and her beautiful cake! She helped come up with the idea for this amazing creation! Thumbs-up to Daddy for making a homemade chocolate cake, homemade coconut ice cream and homemade chocolate frosting with fresh strawberries on top! SUPER YUM!

This is what a 5 year old CHUN looks like!

Little brother learned the word "cake!" tonight! (And loved every bite!)

It's springtime, and the air is nice!

2011-03-19T17:50:00.001-05:00

Now that the snow has all melted and the ground is dry, John's daily walk with Apollo has become a family affair, with Renee pursuing some quest or battling demons, and little John getting some opportunities to practice walking and running on various surfaces. Every time his little butt hits the ground, he looks to us with a "Did you see how the ground just moved?" look on his face. Then he gets right back up and starts chasing his sister around. He's gotten quite maneuverable in just the last week, so much so that he doesn't look very much like "baby" John anymore.

Renee helping her brother stay on the path

The motorcycle was being used to chase the demons!

Timeless fun with laundry baskets

2011-03-08T21:05:00.000-06:00

No matter how many new whatsamagadgets technology provides for our entertainment, the old standby, a laundry basket with a willing pusher/puller, still ranks up there with the all-time greats!

You know, if I think back to when I was a kid, I remember doing exactly the same thing with my sister... but it still makes me smile to see my *own* children pushing each other around in a laundry basket :)

Big helper!

2011-03-07T22:25:00.001-06:00

kitchen helper

So our big boy is learning how to climb- anything he can get to! Not only is the dishwasher no longer safe, but also the couch, and even the dog food storage container! Can't you just tell from the expression on his face- that sure is one proud little kid!

Which reminds me- since we haven't officially made the announcement, baby John is walking! And in the span of just 3 weeks, he is definitely walking more than he crawls! It's still the adorable, stiff legged walk of a baby, but so exciting!

Ok, fine, I know someone is going to point this out- you are right! He's not a baby anymore... he's 15months old! Where has the time gone?

And as long as we're doing updates, let me see if I can remember some of the words he's using right now: momma, daddy, sissy, uh-oh, dog, cracker, cookie, juice, hot, please, more, water, food, bottle, sock, hat, toy, car, potty, paper, leche, pretty, ball, necklace

Some More Catching Up

2011-03-03T19:20:00.000-06:00

Still going through media files and cataloging what we've got, and came up with this video on one of our phones. Love it!

This is usually Apollo's favorite kid activity, but unfortunately for him this was a "dry run" for the little guy! Maybe next time, doggy :-P

We're BAAAaaaack!

2011-02-27T20:11:00.002-06:00

A trip to south Texas and stern talkings-to by family members has helped us to remember and appreciate our duties to update this blog. So, this post will simply be pictures taken since our last post (in August!?), and a pledge to you, our dear readers and followers, that we will be devoting a minimum of 1 hour a week to our beloved chunbeeks.

So, without further ado, some pictures from the last 6 months.

August, 2010

Get any of that in your tummy, buddy?

Renee pedal pulling at John's work 35th Anniversary celebration

Renee running the bases after a Waterloo Bucks baseball game

Riverboat Days in Yankton

1st day of school

September, 2010

The river canoeing crew

Renee and Rose playing in the backyard

Go Big Red!!!

Renee learned to tie her shoes after only 2 lessons!

October, 2010

Renee's 1st karate tournament...SWEEP THE LEG!!!

Renee picnicking on a warm autumn day.

Baby John's 10 month picture

Kitty and Monster

November, 2010

Kids "helping" Daddy with his yardwork

What the!?...

December, 2010

Renee and Rose superhero masks

John's 1 year birthday - Before...

...and after

Another messy baby picture

Our family Christmas card picture

Abominable snow monster

Sledding with cousin Adriano behind Papa's truck in Yankton

January, 2011

Our New Thanksmas King's Day annual feast

Renee's 2nd karate tournament

Thanks for coming back! See you again soon!

Baby John - 8 month old!

2010-08-11T18:10:00.001-05:00

We interrupt the replay of family vacation photos to bring you the following announcement: Baby John is 8 months old!

Free-Pie-Wednesday at the Village Inn

2010-08-08T01:27:00.001-05:00

A special family treat, dinner at a restaurant! (And yay for giving Mommy a break from figuring out what to make for dinner that night!) In case you aren't lucky enough to have a Village Inn where you live, every Wednesday, no matter what you order, you get a free slice of fruit pie! Cup of coffee? AND pie! Grilled cheese sandwhich? AND pie! This was our first time taking advantage of this sweet treat, but I have a feeling it won't be our last... Our waitress was kind enough to take a family photo!

The kids were both pretty well behaved! Here you see the snuggly boy and his Daddy.

Daddy was kind enough to let us take turns holding the baby while we both ate dinner. Then we let baby John sit up in the bench all by himself! He was reaching out to grab the children's menu.

He got it!

And--- into his mouth it goes!

3 slices of peach pie, please! YUM YUM YUM!

Boys Weekend: Motorcycle trip to Minneapolis

2010-08-08T00:46:00.002-05:00

July was a month full of vacations- at least for Daddy! The weekend after we got home from our trip to Yankton, John went on a motorcycle trip with his brother Jeremy (Bear), and their buddy Jeremy (Schmotz) up to Minneapolis. There they visited more friends, and did manly things including fixing Bear's bike, and drinking LOTS of beer!

First things first! Before Bear and Schmotz even made it to our house to pick up John- we got a call from Bear asking if we could quickly research if it is safe to ride a motorcycle without the air filter. Turns out his air filter had "silently" fallen off -sure it's loud riding a motorcycle, but can you imagine not noticing part of your bike FALLING OFF? Well that's what happened-- so Bear and Schmotz are on the side of the freeway, on their cell phones, calling and trying to research. When Bear calls our house to ask, John is out walking the dog, so Mommy hops on the internet to do research. The prevailing answer I found is "don't ever ride your motorcycle without an air filter- you can ruin your engine and quickly"! BUT there are also comments about not riding on dirt roads- and the guys are on the freeway which shouldn't be nearly so dusty. So I decide to call a Harley dealership back in WA, since the time difference makes them 2 hours earlier than we are, and a live person is still available to talk with in the service department. Well their answer is: you can probably try to make an air filter, since this is an emergency, and hobble the bike to your destination. But stay off any dirt roads.

Armed with this new info, the guys luckily find a farm close by, and ask the owner for some scrap pieces to make an air filter, and they eventually arrive at our house, only a few hours later than expected. In the morning they call all the Harley dealerships close by and on the way to MN, to find a new filter- but none are in stock! SO the guys head out to the hardware store and jimmy-rig this fine invention:

But I digress- the guys enjoyed a late night Friday, chest thumping and drinking plenty of beer- and in the morning there was this box full of empty cans as evidence.

The morning of their trip from IA to MN- wait is that a beer for breakfast? No, no, don't worry, they ate Panera bagels and scones first-- THEN more beer!

Schmotz, gearing up with goggles, getting ready to ride.

The three amigos: Schmotz, John and Bear.

And away they go!

At this time we have no further pictures from their shenanigans in MN. There are rumors of baseball games, brewery tours and closing down bars, but all parties are innocent until proven guilty. What I can tell you is that the boys plan to make this a yearly excursion. This has been a pipe dream for many years, and what better excuse is there for a motorcycle trip than "boy's weekend". (A side note about Bear's air filter, he was able to order a new one over the phone and get it shipped out to MN- and was able to make the long ride home with peace of mind!)

Vacation in Yankton - so much fun!

2010-07-13T00:41:00.001-05:00

Who wants to go to The Dairy Dock for ice cream?

Renee: "ME!"

Uncle Tim: "Me!"

Daddy: "Me!"

Baby John: "Me!" (and also piled into the suburban: Mommy, Grammie, and Papa- who are not pictured!)

Taking a nap (thank goodness!)

The Fischer cousins in Yankton, SD at Grammie and Papa's house! (in the tree) Jackson and Gavin. (on the ground) Baby John, Sofia, Griffen, Melena, Renee

Big sister and baby brother love BIG HUGS!

My two little angels!

Aunt Debbie brought back some great gifts from her trip to New Orleans!

Mommy got an hour to herself while baby John was happily watching World Cup futbol!

His new favorite thing to do is BOUNCE!

Baby John loves his Aunt Debbie!

Vacation in Yankton - a day at the pool!

2010-07-13T00:16:00.000-05:00

Another hot day in Yankton- so we took advantage of the free kiddie pool!

Sometimes it's a little tough trying to take pictures of yourself... :)

Look at those cute swim trunks!

Momma and chubby baby, lounging by the pool...

Thank goodness for SPF 70! Renee had a blast in the pool!

More chunnin' out

I love this swim suit, or swim-shirt and swim-shorts! Makes applying sunscreen a lot less work!

Throwing the ball and catching it before the other kids could take it away...

Big grins- and look, no sunburn!

Vacation in Yankton- a day at the lake!

2010-07-12T23:52:00.003-05:00

What is the best way to beat the blistering heat in Yankton, SD? Go to the lake of course!

There were waterfights!

Daddy takes a quick break to say hi to Mommy and baby John back on the beach!

Jeremy tags John- (No, they never do grow up!)

Melena and Renee take over the water guns!

Uncle John sneaks up on Melena...

Baby John - 7 months old!

2010-07-12T23:38:00.003-05:00

Right after the 4th of July, our baby boy turned 7 months old!

We were spending the week in Yankton, SD, visiting his Grammie and Papa and we took these pictures in their back yard. I love the rustic wooden bench as the backdrop!

Normally we nickname him McGrumperton! But he was sure Mr. Smiley today!

It looks like he's reaching out and saying, "Hi, Momma!"

I love my handsome little guy!

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-28T02:18:00.000-05:00

We celebrated Father's Day all weekend, starting with a trip to our local airport on Saturday.

Scheduled a fun flight for Daddy, and Renee got to tag along!

Daddy had so much fun he's now taking regular flight lessons and working on getting his pilot's liscence!

Then we went golfing at the par 3 course. Renee now has her very own set of golf clubs (a perfect garage sale find earlier this month!), so she can practice right along with Daddy!

It was a boiling hot, humid afternoon, but luckily it wasn't raining! Baby John looks a little tired out from the heat.

Baby John enjoyed sitting up like a big kid in the stroller.

And this is what Renee made for her Daddy especially for Father's Day. No, we' aren't really sure what it is... but Daddy LOVED it!

Super Daddy!

2010-06-28T01:35:00.000-05:00

Every evening we take Apollo for a walk, and every time we head home, Renee wants to ride on Daddy's shoulders.

And Super Daddy can't say "No" to the Chun- so even though on this G'fer (which stands for go-for, as in "go for a walk") Daddy had already started out carrying baby John...

He carried both of his kiddos all the way home!

Introducing... The Adventures of Elbert!

2010-06-28T01:00:00.000-05:00

This...

is Elbert.

Elbert likes to do silly things to make you laugh.

In the picture above, he is wearing the hair bow from Renee's dance recital around his neck.

When Elbert talks, his nose gets smooshed in and he says: "Wah wah-wah, wah wah-wah, wah."

Now Elbert is swishing his tail.

Stay tuned for more Adventures of Elbert!

A New Chapter Begins

2010-06-19T01:22:00.000-05:00

The glue and stiches finally fell off!

He really enjoys sucking on his lower lip, now that he can!

And here's the big grin! Lookin' good!

Baby John 6 months old!

2010-06-19T00:48:00.000-05:00

Look at this sweet smile!

cute fuzzy hair!

Taking pictures of baby John is so much easier when he has his big sister to make him grin!

Apollo 1, Squirrel 0

2010-06-19T00:06:00.000-05:00

So, a few weeks ago, I found a dead squirrel in the backyard. Apollo finally caught up with his nemesis- well at least one of them!

It's hard to see in this picture, but Renee is sprinkling flowers over the dead squirrel. Of course the mommy in me was freaking out that she stay as far away from the dead animal as possible-- but I was also very touched by her innate concern for respecting the life that was.

As you can see, Apollo was feeling very happy about his accomplishment! Thank goodness he was not rolling in his dead squirrel!

Baby John's surgery

2010-05-20T01:21:00.001-05:00

So here is the story of baby John's cleft surgery. We left Monday evening around 6pm to drive to Iowa City and stayed at the Ronald McDonald House. This is a great place, like a hotel, with a super discounted rate for families with children getting taken care of at the hospital . There was no TV in the room, and they ask you to make your bed and clean the bathroom before you leave, but they also offer free meals for families and they are only 3 blocks from the hospital.

Wheeling baby John through the hospital the morning of his surgery around 6:30am.

This is the Day of Surgery admissions area- everyone who was having surgery that day came here to check in. The waiting area was full of people, adults and children, getting ready to go into surgery.

Then they moved us to a special area for pediatric patients awaiting surgery, we had our own little waiting room, where the nurse gave baby John the hospital gown to wear, and booties which he kept kicking off. They went through all the details of his health and the surgery, checking his blood pressure with the cuff on his leg, and checking his blood oxygen levels with the monitor on his toe.

Little guy got tired of waiting for his morning feeding, and luckily the nurses had a spare binky which baby John decided he liked alright. He couldn't hold it in his mouth b/c of the cleft so Mommy held it in place so he could take a little nap.

Sitting with Daddy before surgery

The wonderful anethesiologist, Mary, taking baby John off to surgery.

Notice the pen marks on his cheek- those are the initials of the resident doctor who was doing the surgery on baby John, "D.S." for Don.

Our last look at baby John as they took him away for surgery. We could hear him "talking" even as they went out of sight.

After baby John went into surgery, we were instructed to go to a special waiting area for families and friends. There was quite a line of people waiting to get checked into the waiting area. One woman keeps track of everyone waiting, which patient they are waiting for, and where they are sitting. When the doctors call up to the waiting area with updates, she lets us know how things are going, and there are little conference rooms close by, when the docs come up to talk with those waiting to explain how surgery went.

To pass the time we read, ate a little breakfast, got on the laptop, and prayed and prayed!

The waiting area was a large room made up a mini pods of chairs and tables.

Mommy and Daddy holding and hugging each other while waiting for our little boy!

This is the first glimpse we got of baby John- this is in the "recovery room".

He was all bundled up in blankets, and had two nurses looking over him. One let me take her place holding the tube of humidified air to keep the surgery site from getting too dry.

Then they let me hold him! Mommy sat in a wheelchair, holding John, and they hooked up his IV to the back of the wheelchair and took us to his own room.

Finally kissing my angel baby!

Daddy and baby John take a nap. You can see his arm braces, which keep him from touching the bolsters in his nose and the stitches in his mouth. The long tube is the humidified air. He's also hooked up to the IV with fluids, and to the blood oxygen monitor, and the blood pressure monitor. It was a chore just untangling all those cords to change his diaper!

A close up view of his new smile- your can see the three bolster in his nose and the stitches in his lip. The shiny surface is the glue over the stitches in his lip. The nose bolsters will be removed two weeks after surgery. The stitches in his lip will dissolve. His face is still a little swollen, and he napped a lot while in the hospital.

Yes he can still nurse! Nothing can stop him from eating! Our latch is different, but I'm so relieved to be able to nurse him! You can see the arm braces very well here, with the strap going across his back to keep them from sliding down and off his arms. We have to remove the arm braces at least every 4 hours to exercise and bend his arms at the wrist and elbow- so pretty much at each diaper change, we take off one arm brace at a time to let him flex his muscles!

Finally loaded in his carseat and getting ready to go home! Baby John was the second pediatric patient released today- Yay! My strong healthy boy! He has to sleep in his carseat for the next three weeks, while his arms braces are on, to keep him from rolling over onto his face, to protect the work they did on his nose and mouth. He has been such a trooper, lots of sleeping, and not too much complaining during all of this- we are so proud of him!

Dr. Canady - the main cleft doc - and the entire cleft team have done such a great job taking care of John! Thank you for your gift of healing!!

Baby John - 4 months old!

2010-05-07T00:48:00.004-05:00

My big guy is 4 months old! We caught his doing some tummy time! These 4 month old shots are pretty casual, but at least we caught them! The whole new baby craziness is still in full force- so I'm just glad we got these pics taken at all! Please don't look too closely to find the dog fur on the carpet!

My happy bunny!

Those chubby arms and chubby thighs are the best!

Look at that strong boy with his feet way up in the air!

I wonder what he's going to look like when he's older... somehow this pic really makes me see the future little John... big kid John... those sweet eyes and amazing smile!

Looking at his momma...

hee hee... don't mind the casual middle finger here...

I don't know why I just love this photo-- the lighting? (the subject!)

Shhhh....

Daddy and baby John taking a nap!

Guess who's 4 Years Old?

2010-05-07T00:24:00.003-05:00

I can't believe it's been 4 years already! My little girl is growing up- and I keep telling her to "STOP GROWING!", but of course she won't listen to her mom! Also, you should know, now that's she's 4- she apparently doesn't need to hold my hand while we cross the street... hmm, really? And there are a whole host of other things that are "because I'm 4" as Renee reminds me!

This year's birthday cake was a strawberry coconut cake, as requested by the birthday girl! She, by the way, has fabulous food creation suggestions- especially cake flavor combinations: cherry chocolate, oh I'll have to write down her other suggestions! In the past Renee requested her cake by COLOR, (as in the purple and blue cake we made for Daddy one year) but not anymore! Now it's all about the taste!

Getting ready to open her presents! I love that big grin!!

Working in her new preschool workbook- which she loves! Lots of puzzles to keep her busy!

Momma's great kitchen helper! She can set the table all by herself!

Perhaps the favorite birthday gift was the alphabet and number flashcards. But the best part was the "Scavenger Hunt" game she got to play with the number cards.
Mom: "ok, go find 8 drinking glasses"
Renee: "Eeeeeee!!" (and she runs around the house counting loudly...) "1...2....3.....4, 5..."
Renee: "Ok, Mom, now do the beds!"
Mom: "Ok, now find 4 beds"
Renee "Eeeeeee!!" (and she runs around the house counting loudly...) "1.......2....."

Feet - March 2010

2010-05-07T00:17:00.002-05:00

Baby brother and big sister, being silly pushing their feet against each other...

Tell me this isn't just adorable!

Look at that little toe pointing up!

Feb 17, 2010

2010-05-07T00:09:00.002-05:00

My baby boy is 2 1/2 months old here.... Gosh they grow so quickly!

This is when he USED to sit patiently in his chair :)

I love that little arm up in the air!

He was just beginning to reach for his toys!

Family Photos

2010-05-07T00:02:00.002-05:00

Oh my, it's been way too long since our last update! Due to some technical difficulties, and general mom-of-a-new-baby craziness... it's been over a month since my last post! Well, to make up for lost time, I'm going to do some photo essays to catch you all up!

Here are the family pictures we got taken at the very end of February. Baby John is 3 months old, and Renee is almost 4 years old in these pics!

Baby John, 3 months old!

Momma's angel baby! Look at that awesome smile!

Daddy and the CHUN!

Big sister and baby brother!

Our family!

Homemade Maple Syrup, and America...F@&k yeah!

2010-03-15T18:59:00.004-05:00

So, we were inspired by a trip last week to the Hartman Reserve for their annual Maple Syrup Festival and pancake feed to try our hand at the homemade maple syrup craft. So, John went off to the hardware store, spent about $5 for some "spouts" and some plastic tubing, and got down to business. This whole process has turned out to be so incredibly easy, and the rewards have been sweet! Homemade maple syrup with banana pancakes! We looked up "homemade maple syrup" on google and found a really informative web site:
http://www.mi-maplesyrup.com/Activities/activities_homemade.htm

There were some pretty good tips on there. Using that, and our brief experience out at the reserve last weekend, we set up our own rig. Here's how we did it:

You're going to need:
- A bucket for collecting sap. We used a 5 gallon bucket with a lid to keep rain/dust/bugs out.
- 1/2" spigot. We used a PVC insert coupling that fit tight into a 1/2" hole and connected with our tubing.
- Tube to connect your spout to your bucket.
- Hook to hang your bucket from the tree (if desired).
- large stock pot and large sauce pan for boiling down your sap into syrup.
- Candy thermometer.
- Canning jars.

As it says on the website, drill a hole about 4' up the tree with a 1/2" bit about 2 - 3" into the tree. Put your tap into the hole, connect your tubing to the tap, run it into your bucket and get ready, because soon you're going to have sap. We tapped our tree twice, and have been getting about 4 gallons of sap a day (fortunately we've got a refrigerator in the garage and a bunch of 1 gallon jugs to store our extra sap until we have a chance to cook it).

When you've got enough sap for a batch, I'd say about 3 to four gallons, pour it into your pot and turn up the heat. This process will take some time, so be patient. We fill our pot, let it boil down until there's room for more sap, and then add some more. Do this until all your sap has been added, or until your windows are too steamed over to see out of! Then you just let the moisture boil off. We stir occasionally, but since our sap has been protected by the tight fitting lid on our bucket, it's pretty clean, so there aren't a lot of floaties to skim off. When it boils down we transfer it over to a smaller pot so we can monitor the temperature more accurately with our candy thermometer. The site says to continue to heat the mixture until it is about 7 degrees above the boiling point of water, or about 220 degrees. We didn't filter our first batch out, but it didn't affect the taste, and whatever was suspended settled to the bottom of our jar.

From our tree, we get 2 cups of syrup from about 4 gallons of sap, or just enough to fill a standard size Ball jar.

So, there you go. Easy. Takes some time, yes, but it isn't really active time. You kinda get to put things on and do your own thing for a while. A labor of love, and you'll never have a fresher batch of syrup to serve with your breakfast pancakes!

Announcing ICAN of Northeast Iowa

2010-03-01T03:30:00.003-06:00

Most of you are aware of my journey from C-section, to VBAC. As a result of this amazing experience, which was both incredibly challenging and rewarding, I decided to start a local chapter of the International Cesarean Awareness Network. This is a non profit organization who's mission is to improve maternal-child health by preventing unnecessary cesareans through education, providing support for cesarean recovery, and promoting Vaginal Birth after Cesarean (VBAC). Essentially, I wanted to start a local chapter to help other families who have gone through some of the same experiences I've had- so we can share our experiences, pool our knowledge and learn from each other.

My local chapter is called ICAN of Northeast Iowa, and though we are based out of Cedar Falls, we also service Waterloo, Black Hawk County, and surrounding areas. I've been working for the past couple of weeks on setting up a website, and am also excited that we will be having our very first meeting in a couple of weeks!

This is an all volunteer organization, and something I am deeply passionate about! I'm looking forward to this new stage of my life!

Family Portrait!

2010-02-24T20:19:00.004-06:00

Renee came home from school today and pulled this picture out of her pre-school bag. We're so proud of her! The picture is "our family," with Daddy in the middle, Mommy and the left, and Renee on the right. She's also been doing great writing her name, as well as "MOM" and "DAD" on her chalk board.

Oh, and there was some SERIOUS chunnin' out with the computer video camera this afternoon. Enjoy!

Baby John 2 Months Old!

2010-02-14T12:24:00.006-06:00

We had such a fun time taking baby John's 2 month pictures! He was so sweet and cooperative! As you'll see, we even got some wonderful smiles, too!

Hanging out at home in January

2010-02-08T22:33:00.003-06:00

Our new fancy weather monitor. It says: -12F outside temperature, 37% humidity, 64F inside temperature, date January 9, time 7:20. The picture of the guy dressed in the hat and muffler sitting next to a snowman means that it's cold outside, but notice the sun next to his head, so it's also sunny outside.

Yup, it took us awhile to put the Christmas decorations away, but I had to giggle at Renee's silliness!

(Enough with the Christmas decor, take the wreath down already... seriously- it's still sitting there a month later.) But moving right along- isn't it so sweet seeing baby John with his Daddy!

Baby John 1 month pictures

2010-02-08T14:58:00.003-06:00

Well these are a little late in coming to you... yikes where does the time go! These are baby John's 1 month pictures! Notice the big bear, we'll be including the bear in his future pictures to use as a size comparison month by month.

He didn't really hold on to the toy keys, although I tried to see if he wanted to. Maybe when he gets a little older.

He was such a good boy during the photo shoot!

I can't believe how much bigger he looks in these photos compared to when he was born!

Sledding at the Lake in Yankton

2010-01-28T14:56:00.004-06:00

We pulled Renee and Sofia on sleds behind Papa Fischer's big suburban!

Of course Daddy had just as much fun as the kids!

Getting settled on the sled.

Big smiles!

Faster, faster!

Holding on tight!

It looks like Tiberius is about to plow into Renee.

All bundled up.

Walking out on the frozen lake.

Christmas 2009 in Yankton

2010-01-28T14:32:00.004-06:00

Some awesome stickers Renee got for Christmas!

Baby John watches his big sister!

Apollo enjoys spending time outside, despite the cold and snow.

From the road, looking at the front door of Grammie and Papa's house.

Looking out the front door at Grammie and Papa Fischer's house. We didn't get to exit the house through the front door for many days!

Our van is the vehicle on the left, guess it was a good thing we didn't have plans to leave right away!

SO much snow! This is looking out the front door.

Renee loves the easel she got for Christmas!

Check out these snow drifts!

Daddy playing with his new train set!

The artist takes a brief break from her work!

Videos!

2010-01-20T18:42:00.009-06:00

We caught baby John doing some tummy time!

Genesis Doula

2010-01-20T18:08:00.003-06:00

Our doulas, Miriam and Leilani came to visit when baby John was about 2 weeks old.

Miriam!

And Leilani!

We were so grateful for all their help! Today I wrote a testimonial for them! Every pregnant mom should be so lucky!

Renee's favorite jammies!

2010-01-20T17:36:00.001-06:00

Perfect for wiggling her buns! And of course for dancing, too!

More tubby pics!

2010-01-20T17:05:00.002-06:00

I love this baby towel, the hood is a puppy face with a cute red tongue sticking out!

Snuggly, sleepy kid!

And look, he still had his belly button stump attached! My little one!

Snow Day!

2010-01-20T15:39:00.005-06:00

Daddy and Renee had fun playing around!

But then they had to go outside!

Snowball fight!

And.... drop!

and afterwards... the reward is cookies! Look at those pink cheeks!!

Baby John's first tubby!

2010-01-20T15:27:00.002-06:00

He was mad at first, but once he got used to it, he calmed down very well!

I love how fuzzy his hair gets right after he gets out of the tubby!

My fuzzy bunny!

Look at the gorgeous red hair!

Daddy's little helper!

2010-01-19T09:58:00.001-06:00

Renee's stay-cation with Grammie and Papa!

2010-01-14T23:00:00.003-06:00

While Grammie and Papa stayed with us waiting for Baby john to arrive, Renee got in lots of fun!

Making cookies to take to the hospital for Mommy and Daddy! Blue and pink frosting, since we didn't know yet if it was a boy or a girl!

Renee's very first meal at McDonald's!

Window shopping at the Mall!

Off to the library!

And Renee loves helping Grammie in the kitchen making more yummy treats!

In the hospital and coming home pics

2010-01-14T22:34:00.003-06:00

We are walking in the door for the very first time, bringing baby John home! This is probably around 9:30pm Sunday night Dec 6! Just barely 24 hours after he was born! We're so happy!

Renee holds her little brother for the first time!

Already such a sweet and caring big sister!

Welcome to Holland

2010-01-14T21:52:00.003-06:00

Just wanted to share this perfect tidbit that I found today while browsing the interwebs. It does a great job of putting into words a parent's feelings about their child's disability. But first...

So far a few things stand out about my public interactions with people when they see baby John. Noone says "oh how cute!". It's either, "Oh that's a mad baby" when he's crying, or else "Oh that's a young one" since he's still obviously an infant. But almost noone comments about his cleft- except my fabulous veterinarian, who was very sensitive and friendly asking about it.

But this has been part of my education. All I knew about our little bundle of joy before he arrived was that this baby was going to teach me a lot. So far he has guided me to explore my spirituality, and now of course he is letting me experience what it's like when you are different from everyone else.

Not that I want to make his cleft a big deal, or tell every stranger I talk to that he can breastfeed like a champ! But all those "normal", "common" statements people make about babies, and the "normal", "common" pictures people share OF their babies with others... so far that's not what it's like for us.

Of course finding out that our baby has a cleft lip was a shock. But honestly I would not have wanted to know about it ahead of time. It would have done me no good, especially knowing me! I would have worried so much! Really, I still got everything I wanted! A natural vaginal birth, and I can breastfeed my baby! My baby is healthy and strong -what a gift! We're just on a new journey now, as a family!

Thank you Renee for loving your little brother so much! You are such a loving and caring child!

And thank you John Carl for teaching us so much and for being a part of our family! You have already brought important new friends into our lives- just because of you! Our amazing doulas. Our supportive birth community through the childbirth classes we took. And Miriam, our primary doula, introduced us to another family with a little boy who had a cleft lip and cleft palate surgery. We'll be getting together with them in a few weeks to talk about what it's like to have a child with a cleft. Just being able to reach out to others and talk about this, to get an idea of what will come- this will be a huge emotional boost for us! How wonderful to bring all these amazing people into our lives! What a powerful little boy we seem to have!

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting. After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland." "Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place. So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met. It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandt's. But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned." And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss. But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

Happy Birthday John Carl Fischer!

2009-12-09T08:23:00.012-06:00

The long awaited pictures of our little bundle of joy!

John Carl Fischer was born Saturday December 5, 2009 at 8:07pm. 9lbs 1.9oz, 20 inches long.

The following pictures give a brief story of the day of his birth!

Friday night my contractions started getting more regular and close together, between 5-10 min apart. I went out for my usual evening walk with John and we stopped by Serenity and Marlin's house to chat. Eventually we came home and went to bed. Saturday in the early morning hours my contractions continued and seemed to get stronger, but I tried to sleep through them. Then around 2:30am I felt a gush of fluid, which I thought might be my bag of waters breaking. John turned on the light and we found out actually I had bright red blood. Concerned, we called our doula for a suggestion- and when she came to our house at 3am she said we should call the hospital and probably just go on in to get checked, which we did.

From there the details get a little hazy for me, but I think I was 3cm dilated and 80-90% effaced when I was admitted, and my contractions stayed steady and strong, which was good. So we started walking to see what kind of progress we could make.

Before I continue I must give credit to my fantastic husband, John, and my absolutely amazing doula Miriam, and her partner doula Leilani who all came with me to the hospital and stayed to help manage my labor and the birth of our little boy! I could not have done it without the awesome support of each of them! I am so proud that I had a natural vaginal birth after my previous cesarean section! It was hard work, and totally worth it!

Also we were blessed with the best medical staff that day! My nurses and the doctor on call were each outstanding and supportive. Because of my previous c-section there are many standard practices the hospital informed me I'd be subjected to, but I didn't actually have to deal with most of it! I was told that I'd need to follow "textbook normal" labor progression including having my cervix dilate about 1cm each hour, or they would require some kind of intervention like pitocin, break my bag of waters, or eventually another c-section. I was told I'd have to have a Hep-loc, which gives the medical staff the ability to immediately hook me up to an IV if needed- but they never did that! They did have me hooked up to continuous electronic fetal monitoring, but I was lucky enough to be allowed to use their portable unit, which I could even wear while sitting in the bathtub or shower! And they did ask to break my bag of waters, but we put that off, and eventually my water broke on it's own anyhow.

My husband and doulas reminded me how to relax, what to visualize, and suggested many different positions and methods for managing my labor (many were ideas we learned in our Bradley Method birth class, plus many more were suggested by my doulas). They even let me take a little nap in the early part of the afternoon- and during that time the medical staff didn't bother us at all and let me get a little rest! The following pictures give you an idea of just some of the different things we did together leading up to little John's birth. All these pictures during labor and birth are courtesy of my doula Leilani, who so kindly took Daddy's camera to capture these priceless moments.

Here John and I are walking the halls of the birthing center. I went back and forth feeling cold and hot, so I had towel draped over my shoulders to keep me warm, but sometimes I took it off when I got overheated.

In the hallway while we walked, John could hold the portable electronic fetal monitor around his shoulders, which was connected by long wires to the straps and sensors on my belly. Here during a contraction, I lean into John's warm body to relax, and I'm holding onto the strap of the EFM. Usually I liked holding onto his shirt while leaning into him :)

My doula, Miriam, and I play "tug of war" with a rolled towel, while John puts pressure on my lower back with a warm heating pad.

One of my awesome nurses, Angie, is adjusting the straps on the Electronic Fetal Monitor (EFM) while John and Miriam stand close by with support.

John helps me relax while I'm leaning against the wall in the bathroom (I'm the one wearing the pink and blue EFM straps around my belly). They had the BEST tub in the bathroom, nice and deep with jets, too! I loved sitting in the tub, but didn't get to stay in it for very much of my labor because I got so relaxed it seemed to make my contractions slow and stall out. But it was a good break.

Among many different positions we tried, my doulas suggested hanging from this squatting bar which was attached to the end of my bed. It was a great way to open up -but I could feel it in my arms a day or two later :)

Back in the hallway, John puts pressure with a heating pad on my back, and Miriam reassures me and guides me through the contraction.

The OB on call, Dr. Kaaki, helps Daddy deliver our little baby while I push him out! Daddy got to say: "It's a boy!" Welcome John Carl!

We did it! While Mommy snuggles her little boy on her chest, Daddy and Mommy share an intimate moment.

One of our other amazing nurses, Tiffany, checks in on us. She told us that not only was she proud of us for achieving the natural childbirth we wanted, but even our little boy was equally amazing! She told us that his umbilical cord was very long (it was her job to measure it), had 2 knots in it, and was even wrapped around his neck when I pushed him out- but his heart rate stayed strong and steady the entire time (that's very unusual)! My big strong boy!

Here we get our first really good latch on!

Grammie and Papa Fischer have been staying with us taking care of Renee, and that night, they came over to visit after John Carl was born. Here Renee holds her little brother for the very first time. At first her reaction upon hearing that she had a baby brother was, "But I wanted it to be a girl!" A little bit later however, and every single day since then, she says "Oh Mom, isn't he so cute?"

Renee plays in Mommy's hospital bed. :)

Sunday night, just 24 hours after he was born, we prepare to go back home (really looking forward to our own bed!). This is the outfit he came home in.

Mommy snuggles her little angel boy.

One of the cute handmade hats they give the babies at the hospital.

Getting all bundled up in his carseat, with his warm hat, and a nice fleece carseat liner called a"bundle-me", like a wearable blanket. Perfect for these cold wintery days!

Our little angel boy was born with a cleft lip, and part of his gum is cleft, too, where his teeth will come in. His pallet however is totally intact, which is very good, so he doesn't have a cleft pallet. And because it is just his lip and gum that have the cleft, he is breastfeeding very well, too! We're planning to get a referral from our regular pediatrician to go see a cleft specialist down at a specialty hospital in Iowa City (suppossedly one of the best children's hospitals in the nation). We'll probably take him down there sometime next week, weather permitting, for them to get a look at him. However, surgery would not probably take place until around the time he is at least 3 months old. The pediatrician said that by the time he's 4 months old you won't be able to tell he had a cleft at all. But she did say that he will probably need a few different surgeries, as well as dental work. But in the end he could still probably even be a trumpet player if he wants to. :) We'll find out more details after we get to see the specialist in Iowa City and keep you all updated. For now he is doing just fine.

Back at home Sunday night, Apollo immediately took an interest in his newest family member! And by the way, notice little John's gorgeous red hair!

Little John gets his first kiss from Apollo! Welcome home!

Feeding time, again!

Monday morning, Renee snuck into our bed and got to hold her little brother! Just before this picture was taken, even Daddy and Apollo were all snuggled together as well- our first family snuggle with little John!

A very special thank you to Grammie and Papa Fischer, who left Monday morning to finally go back home to South Dakota before the big blizzard was expected to blow in on Tuesday (which it did). Grammie and Papa stayed with us for over 2 weeks, waiting and waiting ever so patiently for this little baby to arrive! Renee had the best time with her grandparents, watching movies, reading books, coloring, baking cookies, and being taken on fun outings to the library and even to preschool! Mommy and Daddy really appreciated the delicious meals and treats they cooked for us, and the general house keeping they took on as well! Your friendly company and boundless generosity was the most amazing gift, thank you, thank you, thank you! Plus we really enjoyed having you for Thanksgiving and Christmas tree hunting and everything else along the way!

What an amazing journey this has been! So many people have been brought together by this, and I have already learned so much through this process! I have been changed deeply, and am so excited to experience all that our little boy will continue to teach us! What a gift, we are so very thankful!

Christmas Tree Hunting!

2009-11-29T14:17:00.010-06:00

Well this year -again while we wait for baby#2 to arrive- we had the great debate: real tree or fake tree?

I know, you each have your own opinions. Well last year we bought a fake tree. It was fine, served it's purpose, was on sale, and of course we can use it again any time we want. But John and I both decided we kind of missed the thrill of the hunt! And really the SMELL of a real tree. Ahh... living in WA sure spoiled us, we only lived 5 minutes away from a tree farm back then!

But the good news: there are a few Christmas tree farms here in IA! They don't have exactly the same kinds of trees, but it's still fun hunting, and they smell wonderful! We chose a "fir", which look most like the "Douglas fir" kind we used to always choose when we lived back in WA. Here they don't charge by the foot, they charge by the kind of tree you choose, and of course the "fir" is most expensive- but it looks the best, so we did it.

The Christmas tree farm did not disappoint at all- and actually in some ways was even nicer than our experiences in WA! For starters the weather was amazing! Over 50 degrees, sunny and dry! That's unusual for IA, or WA. They let you cut your own tree-- which had me a little worried, but there are lots of helpers wandering the grounds, and as soon as we choose the best tree, someone showed up to help us cut it and carry it. Then they shake it- yes- literally they have a special machine to shake the tree- presumably to get all the loose needles and any other unwanted things out of the tree, they wrap it up, and even tie it on your car for you! Wow -now that's service!

PLUS they had a little "shack" you could go inside an buy pretty wreaths, or ornaments, eat free fresh baked cookies, sip hot cider, and even meet Santa! Outside, they had a nice big patio with a big fire pit and fire burning in it, and Christmas music playing. All the kids there that day enjoyed dancing and running around the patio, while eating their cookies!

We've found the perfect tree!

There's a better view of our tree before we cut it. Turns out it is the perfect height for our house, too!

John's helping hold the tree while a helper does the chopping.

Renee had a blast running all around!

It was hard to catch her holding still! Notice the bright sunshine, though- and no jacket at the end of November- wow!

These are the best pictures! Renee and Santa!

Happy Holidays!

More Thanksgiving pictures!

2009-11-29T13:50:00.003-06:00

Papa and Grammie are staying with us helping watch Renee for the arrival of baby#2. They've gotten some great pictures so far and I wanted to share those with everyone!

Marcellus is their little Corgy. Here he is taking his "rightful place" -yes on the newly vacuumed couch.

Thank goodness that's not my middle finger...

Grammie and John relaxing on the couch.

The spread! In the foreground we've got Serenity's amazing salad (you've got to try it sometime!), the superduper candied yams, mashed potatoes, dressing....

Notice the beautiful napkins! Grammie got those all set at each plate! Very festive! Oh yes, and more food, beet salad, green bean casserole, locally grown turkey, gravy... Notice I actually got Renee to agree to wear her smock over her pretty dress! We did manage to avoid most of the mess that way!

Serenity and Kelly!

Doesn't that pecan pie look like a picture out of Martha Stuart magazine? Gorgeous!

Thanksgiving in IA

2009-11-29T08:26:00.004-06:00

While waiting for baby#2 to arrive, we went ahead and celebrated Thanksgiving! It has been a long time since we hosted a holiday at our own house, and we had a wonderful time pulling out all our decorations while hosting Grammie and Papa Fischer and our good friends Serenity and Marlin.

Renee of course wanted to dress up in her "pretty dress"! Here she's being silly, while enjoying her sparkling apple cider.

Ready for the feast! From left to right, Kelly, Grammie, Renee, Papa, Marlin, Serenity, John.

You'd think the dogs had eaten as much as we had! They crashed out (on the freshly vacuumed couch) with Marlin and Papa after meal!

Another belly shot! After the work of the day was done, Daddy and Mommy strike a pose!

Prego Belly Pictures

2009-11-24T09:06:00.003-06:00

From the studio of John Fischer:

Wonderful Fall Fun!

2009-11-12T15:48:00.013-06:00

Just trying to catch you all up with some recent activities we've been enjoying.

In preparation for Halloween, Renee picked out her own little pumpkin at the farmer's market. The little artist prepares to paint her own pumpkin!

Here you are witnessing -sniff- -sniff- Renee's VERY FIRST PICTURE WITH A FACE! The big creature, with the big ears, is an elephant!! :)

I can't remember what this creature is... I believe it started as a spider, then with a nose and whiskers became a kitty cat. Although Renee now says it is a bat. :)

My amazing artist! Mommy and Daddy were so proud!! The pictures on the table were far more important than the painting of the pumpkin.

We went to a pumpkin patch and had a great time enjoying the beautiful weather while Renee played. The kids had a blast climbing on on tall piles of hay bales!

Here we are on the hay ride!

Momma (and belly) and Renee strike a pose in the corn maze!

Punky proudly displays her corn stalk.

Entering the corn maze. The sign off to the side says: respect the corn, stay on the path.

One of Renee's favorite things to do is collect things- usually pretty fall leaves, or walnuts, or acorns, or - bugs! Especially ladybugs!

Yummy snacks at the pumpkin patch- shnarfing a pumpkin cookie!

There were so many huge bounce houses! Daddy and Renee had a game where Renee would run up to the wall and Daddy would push her backwards, and she'd flop onto her back- so funny!

Hmm... look carefully at this old bus- looks like someone's been using it for target practice?

And so they have been! This thing actually launched pumpkins at the bus! YES, it was VERY loud!

Can you read the name on the firing machine: PUNKINATOR, and notice the stockpile of pumpkin ammunition!

Just love these freckles!

Renee wearing Mommy's glasses! Wow, she looks just like her Momma here!

Festive Fall colors!

Apollo's surgery

2009-11-12T13:50:00.003-06:00

Just a few days before Halloween, we took Apollo in for surgery. His "ACL" in his left rear knee had been torn repeatedly during his enthusiastic, yet clumsy attempts to catch squirrels and other small creatures. Often after a rough romping session he would walk home limping slightly. This had been getting better and worse and better again ever since Apollo was about 2 years old. Recently this summer, though, his limping had gotten much worse after off-leash romps, so we took him to the vet to get their opinion. Often dogs of Apollo's breed (golden retriever) and size develop hip dysplasia, which is what we initially suspected. But our vet said it looked more like a torn "ACL" (it's actually called something different in dogs). They did an x-ray to check his knee and both his hips, and confirmed yes it was just the torn ACL, and his hips are actually fine.

We took Apollo in for surgery first thing in the morning, and he stayed overnight and came home the next morning. Poor puppy, he whined the whole way home when we picked him up after his surgery. The good thing, though, is that he does seem to be recovering just fine. It's a slow process- made perhaps a little bit slower by the fact that Apollo kept chewing out his stiches -bad dog- but the vet says Apollo could be back to 75% by Thanksgiving and hopefully 90% recovered by Christmas. For now he's being limited to being on his leash whenever he's outside, but we've lengthened his daily walks from 10minutes a day to 20 minutes each day. He does put some weight on his foot now, though by the end of his walks he usually is limping again. But you'd be surprised how much he can still pull on his leash, yearning to go after a taunting squirrel, considering his surgery. And the goofy dog can balance on that leg when he needs to mark territory :)

This is the day he came home from the vet, you can see that he is touching his toe on the ground, but not putting weight on it. We brushed him for a long time, to help him relax after he came home.

A close up of his scar, it's a little tough to see the stitches, but maybe you can if you look closely.

Nursing Birth blog posts about my comment!

2009-10-22T08:56:00.002-05:00

Wow, what a boost of emotional support this morning to find out that one of my new favorite blogs, Nursing Birth, has made an entire post about a comment I left on her site! Nursing Birth is a blog written by a Labor and Delivery nurse who is very supportive of natural childbirth, and changing the culture of hospital birth. It's an excellent perspective from someone on the "inside" of the hospital birth scene. (Check out the link on the side bar of chun-beeks, under "our favorite blogs".)

Many of you are aware of our hopes and plans for a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) with baby#2 (due around Thanksgiving). I normally don't spill lots of personal details here on chun-beeks, but I thought you might be interested in reading Nursing Birth's post about my comment to give you a peek into some of the latest details: The Ol' Bait and Switch.

I have been getting fabulous emotional support from my Bradley Method birth class teacher, my amazing doula, and now this post on Nursing Birth is just the emotional boost I was hoping for!

Hugs to everyone!
-Kelly

Renee's first haircut and pierced ears!

2009-10-11T22:22:00.005-05:00

Well big changes for Renee last Friday! And some interesting adjustments for Mommy and Daddy, too! Mommy and Renee have been talking about getting Renee's hair cut for a few months now. We decided (Mom decided and Renee agreed) that maybe we could get Renee's hair cut short (but, no, NOT like Daddy's hair) and give her hair to other kids who need it! Locks of Love accepts donations of hair that are 10 inches or longer, and they make the hair into wigs for children suffering hair loss due to serious illness. Coincidentally a few weeks ago, a John Deere employee organized a group willing to donate their hair to Locks of Love in exchange for a free haircut. So the timing seemed right and we met them all for the appointment last Friday afternoon!

I should note that both Daddy and Mommy were a little nervous about doing this... for one reason, preschool pictures are coming up in less than a week! And this is Renee's first time to a hair salon. And this is her original baby hair! It has never been cut in the back (that's why it's so long after 3 1/2 years)! But we committed to the idea. And Mommy decided that after the haircut, if Renee still wanted to, she could get her ears pierced, too! Mommy figured the sparkling ears would be a nice compliment to the pretty new haircut! Renee has been asking about getting her ears pierced for quite awhile... and we talked about the fact that it would hurt, but sort of like a pinch and then the hurt would be all done. Depending on how Renee reacted to the haircut and any last minute nerves she might have about getting holes in her ears, we had a tentative plan in place, but the decision was always up to Renee.

These are the final moments of Renee's original baby hair.

The stylist is cutting off Renee's ponytail. Locks of Love likes to have the hair in ponytail form.

And there it is... or shall we say, was...

Renee was a very good girl, and got the hang of sitting still and looking in one direction for the stylist. The stylist said Renee was the best behaved little kid she's ever given a haircut to!

The stylist had a little booster (gray colored) she put across the arms of the big chair, and Renee sat on that so she'd be high enough for the stylist to work on her comfortably.

Getting her bangs trimmed, she's squinting while the stylist works close to her eyes.

A few final snips.... looking good!

Almost done! They stylist is just blowing it dry!

A first look at Renee's finished new haircut, and wow look at all that hair she used to have!

These are the three gals who donated their hair to Locks Of Love through John Deere. Notice, just one adult and 2 kids! On the Locks of Love website it actually mentions that most of the donations of hair they receive come from children!

After choosing which style of earring she wanted- regular sparkles, or flower shaped sparkles... Daddy finally helped decide: flower sparkles! Renee is exciting and waiting happily to get her ears pierced at Claire's!

This is the moment of truth...

And my tough kid! No tears at all! The gals asked her if it hurt, and she simply answered, "No".

Then the superstar got treated to one of her favorite things: a horse-y ride! What a night!

Fall Harvest Festival at the Arboretum

2009-10-03T19:21:00.009-05:00

Towards the end of September every year, the Arboretum hosts it's annual Fall Harvest Festival- a signature community event, with a scarecrow contest, corn maze, food vendors, shopping village and children's activities! This year, Kelly volunteered to be the Chair of the Children's Activities Committee- in charge of organizing all the children's events for this year's Fall Harvest Festival. It ended up being a little bit more work than one might expect- but we pulled it off, and it paid off! We had bounce houses, clowns, rock painting, a live bug display, bean bag toss, high school madrigal singers, duck game, paint splatter, petting zoo, juggler, caterpillar hoop house, Kindermusik performers, fishing game, Dance studio performers, and face painting! We promoted our local community by handing out free reusable shopping bags to the first 300 families (donated by local businesses), performances by local children's venues, and gave the kids coupons which were donated by local restaurants to hand out as prizes! The theme was Green Space, Your Place-- very fitting for the Arboretum and it's goal to be a community garden! The most amazing part of the whole operation: it's all run and organized by volunteers! Only 2 people at the Arboretum are paid staff- the rest of us just do it for love!

Arguably Renee's favorite activity at the Fall Harvest Festival: the petting zoo! And with cuddly baby animals like this little goat, it's easy to see why!

I heard that Renee spent 30 minutes just in the petting zoo -chasing, petting, feeding- non stop fun!

I think we missed getting a picture of Renee trying to give one of the animals a "bath" in a tub of drinking water for the animals!

Renee snuggles her Daddy and her *prize* -a piece of corn she picked in the corn maze!

Who doesn't love a corn maze?

Now it's a red-headed scarecrow!

Lots of yummy food! Grammie found a sticky delicious caramel apple! Apparently some of the crew sampled an uber-caramel-apple which was served on a plate with whipped cream and caramel! WOW!

More of the many activities Kelly organized for the Festival! One of my committee members made the bean bag game herself!

In the Children's Garden we have a track for model trains, and the local train hobby club came out to show off their "toys". What a treat for the kids and the "kids at heart"!

Here you can really see how big this train is!

They had a scarecrow "wedding" in the rose garden with a "Wizard of Arb" theme! Renee is holding hands with the Good Witch scarecrow!

Uncle Mike and Renee get an up close look at some of the scarecrows in the scarecrow contest!

Renee really wanted to go into the big bounce house, but the lines were way too long, so she helped herself to the little one instead!

This is my favorite picture from our recent Labor Day trip to Yankton, SD! Renee snuggles Grammie while showing off the fun helmet!

Random pictures from John's Camera Phone

2009-08-26T10:26:00.012-05:00

So recently, John and I got new cell phones. In that process John uploaded all the photos he'd had on his old phone onto the computer. These are pictures from the last 2 years, in no particular order, but that bring back memories, or at least make me laugh and smile!

Renee at the drinking fountain, probably March 2008.

Renee and Kelly lived for a little while at Aunt Katy's old house, here Renee is eating breakfast! March 2008.

The view from our old house, looking over the backyard and to the lake. Bittersweet, but fond farewell.

Kelly and Renee lived in a hotel for a while before settling into a house in IA. Why else would she be eating in bed...?

Kelly tried to catch a picture of Renee sleeping to send to Daddy... it's pretty dark, but that's a snuggle punk!

Out shopping, March 2008. Mommy thought this hat looked really cute, but everytime Daddy sees it, he says Renee looks like WT.

Mommy and Renee goofing around out front of the coffee shop in Gig Harbor, WA with Grannie Dunn and Aunt Katy. March 2008.

Looks like Mommy and Renee at the airport. Judging by Kelly's super short hair it was probably Dec 2007, picking up Julia at the airport for Christmas?

Aunt Julie snuggles Renee at Great Grandma Dunn's old house! Dec 2007.

Probably the same day, Dec 2007, at Great Grandma Dunn's house, with Popa, Harlan, Uncle Dave, Uncle Kenny.

Shopping with Daddy, December 2008 (Renee age 2.75 years old). Daddy's winter hat looks so cute on her!

Snuggled up in the car with Apollo in the backseat... road trip!

John acting very official back at his Navy office, wearing Gabe's "poopy suit" the outfit officers wear when they are underway on their submarine. Yes, Gabe is a little shorter than John. :)

Gabe at work... Hi Gabe!! John and Gabe were coworkers in the same office just before they both got out of the Navy. They did both leave the Navy by choice, as far as I know. None of their office antics had anything to do with it :)

Nice tubby bubble hat!!

Aww, hard to believe Renee used to be so little (sitting in a high chair?)! This is sometime in the Fall or Winter of 2007, Renee was just over 1 1/2 years old.

Summer 2009! Probably June? Cedar Falls, IA. Renee and Mommy by the Cedar River. Look at how small that belly is... That feels like a long time ago, Mommy's belly is getting much bigger now!

At most of our Cedar Falls community events there is a talented man who makes balloon sculptures for the kids- the flower hat is always a favorite! June 2009, Renee age 3.

My favorite picture from John's camera phone! We were walking home from the park, and John caught a shot of Renee in the light of the sunset. Pretty artistic for a cellphone picture! Summer 2008, Renee age 2.

Mommy and Renee playing in the park, Cedar Falls, IA, June 2008.

"Let's go fly a kite! Up to the highest height!" Spring 2009, Renee age 3.

April 2008 (age 2), Renee wears Grammie's sunglasses in the restaurant!

March 2008 shortly before we finished moving from WA to IA, Family Pancake House, Bremerton, WA lunch with Popa!

Aww... Aunt Katy sent this picture to John while Kelly and Renee were still in WA and John was in IA. Seeing this really made Daddy miss his little girl!

Apollo took the road trip with John and Jeremy when John was moving to IA. Such an easy travel companion, as long as he gets to come along, he's happy to hang out in the back seat.

Carl and Jeremy, hanging out late in Carl's parents' house. Feb 2008. I love the lighting in this picture, it almost looks like a shot from a movie, doesn't it?

Jeremy helped John drive his car across the country when John moved to IA. This was at a rest stop on the way, Feb 14, 2008.

Mommy and Renee, Jan 2008 (Renee almost 2 years old) on the ferry going to Seattle.

Mommy and Renee, Jan 2008, looking off the Bremerton-Seattle ferry.

Getting Ready for Preschool!

2009-08-25T20:15:00.002-05:00

Darn, I just realized I should have brought my camera with us tonight! Tonight was "New Parent Orientation" for Renee's preschool! The kids got to meet their teachers and play in the classroom while the parents were reminded that every article of clothing needs to have your child's name on it. Renee seems genuinely excited, as we pulled into the parking lot, she said "wow", then quietly whispered "I love this!" What a goofy kid! Mommy and Daddy are equally excited!

Renee will be going to a Montessori preschool, and it's actually just down the street from where we live, so it's very close! She'll be attending 3 days a week, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, from 8:30am - 11:30am. The first day of preschool is next Tuesday, Sept 1! Then on Wednesday night she starts dance lessons again! Next week will be very exciting for Renee! Wow my little girl is growing up!

Momma bear's grumpy day

2009-08-07T12:58:00.008-05:00

I asked Renee to feed Apollo this morning, and she filled his food bowl with food -and water- and carried it from the sink over to the kitchen table to ask me if that was enough food. I told Renee to be very careful carrying the bowl, and she made it about 2 steps back across the kitchen when she dropped the whole thing on the floor, making a huge mess of water and dog food.

As I was cleaning the mess, I slid like a baseball player on my side because of the slippery floor. To make matters even worse, I couldn't get back up again right away because all my muscles were so tense. I was furious, wet, and smelled like dog food. If I was a bear I would have let out a big growling roar!

As I laid in the muck on the floor, I took stock of my body, and everything seemed fine. No real pain- just tight, stiff muscles and the humiliating stink of dog food. Somehow smelling like dog food seems about as gross as smelling like urine! After a few minutes I had Renee find my cell phone so I could call John at work and ask for his help. Since we recently started our birth class, they had talked about mom calling dad at work during a contraction and having dad talk to mom over the phone to help her relax during the contraction. I just didn't want to be alone, and I hoped John could coach me over the phone to relax my body enough so I could sit up. John instructed me to have Renee bring me lots of towels to mop around my head, and then a large pillow for me to rest my head on and relax. And then after another couple of minutes I was able to sit up. A little scuff on my elbow, stiff muscles, and furious, but most importantly baby was just fine -still kicking!

As if that wasn't enough excitement, while Renee and I sat eating lunch this afternoon, my clumsy pregnant self knocked over a glass of water right into Renee's lap. I swear I knock over glasses of water at least a few times each week! Quickly mopping up the new water mess, I apologized to Renee for my clumsiness and making her wet, and I told her we're just having a grumpy day- Renee's big mess on the kitchen floor, then Mommy's mess all over Renee. (Renee has a great book called "Smudge's Grumpy Day"- so if we have a rough day we say we're having a "grumpy day").

Then Renee stopped crying and said "Yeah, you're a bad mom, and I'm a bad kid."

I burst out laughing :) Isn't that the truth! Only from the mouths of babes!