Fall Fun

Halloween 2009

Ally and Daddy carved a very neat jack-o-lantern


Ally & Makenna trick or treated at Grandma & Grandpa's house early in the day.


Makenna as a little pod.


Ally loves being a big sister.


The girls trick or treated with Mama, Great Mama, Nana & Papa Jack later.


The morning festivities made one little girl very very sleepy.


Before the real trick or treating, the kiddos posed for a quick pic.


The spiderweb was Ally's favorite decoration.


Ally loved being Ariel!!


Momma with her girls!!

Makenna’s Story

*The following story isn’t overly graphic but will reference a few birthing facts. If concerned, skip this post and look at cute baby picture below*

Since the beginning of October, I had been having a lot of intense contractions. There were several times that we thought it was really Kenna Time (as Ally called it) but it never panned out. Sunday October 11 was another of those delightful days. My favorite memory of that time is that Brad was determined to get the leaves in the backyard mulched with the riding mower before we headed to the hospital. Ally and I were sitting at the table in the kitchen having a quick dinner (between contractions that were every 2-3 minutes) and watched him zoom back and forth past the windows like he was in a time trial. Ally said “Momma he’s going really fast!” I spent that entire night pacing the house with Ally following me around and sometimes leading my path. Ultimately we ended up putting her to bed at 10:30p and I got a little sleep as everything started to ease up.

Monday October 12 was a tough day. I felt horribly uncomfortable. Makenna was pushing down hard and walking and sitting were both difficult. My weekly apt was scheduled for 3:30p that day. My mother in law Susie met Ally and I at dance class at 10:30a and didn’t feel comfortable leaving me alone for the rest of the day. It was pretty obvious that I wasn’t feeling well. We walked around the mall for a bit after dance until Ally melted down and had to leave to nap. Susie and Ally left and I did some more shopping. I found a cute Halloween costume for Makenna (pea pod!), a winter coat for Ally and Halloween presents for both girls.

I arrived at my appointment and Dr Kerlin, my OB, saw me in the waiting room and joked “You’re still pregnant?? I keep expecting to hear you’re at the hospital. What’s this girl waiting for?” I think I managed to half smile but it was tough. I was still having contractions but they were irregular and varied in intensity. The plan for that appointment was to strip my membranes which in some cases helps progress the labor process. So during my exam and that process she concluded that I was dilated to a 4 and 75% effaced. However, as she was checking she said “Um..where’s her head?” This may sound like an odd question but Makenna had been head down and engaged for several weeks. She was 0 or -1 station but now she wasn’t. Dr Kerlin asked me to follow her to the ultrasound room to check things out. Much to our surprise and frustration, kiddo had flipped completely over. Her head was near my ribs and her feet were down low, kicking away. Dr Kerlin looked at me and said “Okay well we’re going to have a baby today. I can’t send you home like this because you’re too far along and she could actually put her foot through your cervix. So I need you to head over to the hospital now. We need to do a C section.” I was stunned and caught off guard but willing to trust her judgement. I just wanted our little girl to be safe.

I walked out of the office and called Brad and tried to explain the situation as best I could. The OB office is connected to the hospital so I got my bag from the car and headed Labor & Delivery. I called my mom and Brad’s mom to explain what was going to happen.
Once I got checked into a room on the 5th floor and Brad arrived, Dr Kerlin came in to explain our options. Just the walk to the hospital had progressed my dilation to a 5. Another ultrasound confirmed that Makenna had an unstable lie, which means she was still flipping around like crazy in between my contractions. The nurses had a hard time getting the heart rate monitor on my tummy because she was all over the place and it kept losing her. Dr Kerlin gave us two options: she could try to physically turn the baby my manipulating my tummy which is called ECV or we could do a C section. The ultrasound showed that the ECV would be risky because of the placenta location and could result in an emergency C section. Ultimately Brad and I agreed on just having the C section. Everything got started right away.

It was about 6:30 by this point. My IV was in, anesthesiologist had been in to consult, labs had been done, our parents were all on their way or at the hospital, and Brad had changed into a very fashionable pair of scrubs.

Notice Brad's dress shoes. I think it was a good look for him.

Dr Kerlin came back in my room and said that everything was set. She also said that because Makenna was still unstable, she wanted to do things a little differently. Instead of having the anesthesiologist put in a spinal, which would provided just a short period of pain relief, she was ordering an epidural with a full dose. This would give me the pain meds I needed for the surgery but would also be long lasting enough that I would be okay to labor if by chance the baby turned. She said that she had seen one case where the epidural relaxed the uterus enough that the baby was able to turn head down. She knew that I really wanted to avoid the C section if possible. Her plan was to prep me for the C section, have the epidural put in, ultrasound to see if Makenna would turn and then proceed from there. If she was still unstable, the C section would happen. On the rare chance that Makenna turned head down, I would be brought back to my room to labor. All of the nurses and even the anesthesiologist were skeptical about Dr Kerlin’s plan and didn’t understand why she was even giving me a false hope that I was going to avoid surgery.

Brad wasn’t allowed to go back with me into the OR at first because they said many husbands faint during the epidural procedure. Instead the nurses brought him a small buffet of protein including peanut butter and a carton of milk. I was taken back to the OR around 7:30p. I had the epidural put in and went through all of the pre surgery information talks. Dr Kerlin and about 10 nurses and techs were in the OR with me as everything was getting started. Dr Kerlin did a quick ultrasound and said “Oh you’re kidding. She’s head down!” Everyone started to scramble. It was the most organized chaos I have ever been in. One nurse immediately put her hands on either side of my stomach to keep Makenna in place. I watched on the ultrasound as our little girl squirmed and kicked against the nurse’s pressure. Dr Kerlin moved quickly to break my water, which she hoped would pull Makenna down even more and help discourage her from flipping. I was so excited but knew we weren’t out of the woods yet. Everyone kept saying that she could still flip back. I asked the closest nurse to please go get Brad so he could be with me and she did. By the time he got back to the OR (very confused and in a rush), I was well medicated and ready to go back to my room to labor. Makenna had settled down and I was dilating quickly.
Brad and Dr Kerlin went out to the waiting room to tell our parents the news. They walked out and our parents were asking “How’s the baby?” and “Is everyone okay?” thinking that the procedure was over and they were bringing stats and good news. Brad said “You tell them” and Dr Kerlin replied “No you tell them” until our parents were just going crazy. They explained what had happened and told everyone they could come say hi to me if they wanted.

I was in my room getting settled back in feeling very drowsy and comfy. The medicine I had been given was enough to keep my comfortable during a surgery and was double the amount they usually give to women in a normal epidural. I couldn’t feel anything at all from my chest down. I looked at my legs as if they weren’t actually mine. It was a very strange sensation. All I wanted to do was take a nap, so I put on my Ipod and dozed off for a bit. When I woke up I could see the contraction monitor spiking with huge contractions every 2 minutes. It was very strange because I couldn’t feel anything but a light pressure.

I was feeling way too comfortable at this point. This is right before I started to push.

Brad and I watched tv for a little bit until Dr Kerlin came in the room to check on us. It was around 11:20p. She sat at the end of my bed and very calmly said “Okay I think it’s time to push.” It was all very relaxed and surreal. I couldn’t really feel how/where to push so it was a bit of a struggle but as things progressed I started to regain some feeling and things were moving along. Makenna Mae Swearingen was born at 11:55pm. She weighed 7lbs 5 oz and was 21.75 inches long.

Our parents came back to see us after about an hour. They saw Makenna and made sure we were okay.

Makenna warming up and saying hi to her grandparents.

They headed home to get some rest after a very long evening. Our nurse, Becky, gave Makenna her first bath which was not really her favorite thing. However, as soon as Becky started combing and washing her hair, Makenna settled down and was totally happy.

The next day, Ally came to the hospital with Brad's parents. She was so excited to meet Makenna. Brad interviewed her in the lobby and videotaped it. He asked her if she was excited to meet Makenna and how big she thought she was. Then they came into the room. Ally brought Makenna a cookie cake, a taggie doll and a very sweet card. She brought me a vase of red roses.

Makenna Mae

Our beautiful little Makenna Mae was born Monday October 12 at 11:55pm. She weighed 7lbs 5oz and is 21.75 in long. We have a very interesting birth story but I'll save that for a later post. For now, a few pictures.

Belly Progression #2

In keeping with tradition, we've been taking belly progression pictures. We're to picture 9 already!






Ally wanted to take her belly picture too.


12 weeks


16 weeks


20 weeks


33 weeks


37 weeks

Our Pink Princess

Our Daughters' Rooms!

I can finally say that both girls' rooms are what I had hoped they would be. It's been a lot of fun decorating for two little girls and each room has its own unique personality. Many thanks to everyone who helped paint and assemble the rooms and especially to Auntie Jill for her rock star help on the mural wall in Makenna's room.


Alyson's Room






Makenna's Room








And of course just a few cute pictures we took earlier..






And to end the post..a small story. Ally was playing with her white board today and said "Look I wrote Mommy." I was pretty surprised to look over and see MOM. She pointed to each letter and said "M O M spells Mommy." Had to take a picture..

Dance Class

Ally went to her first dance class on Monday and had a great time. The teacher was terrific and did a great job getting all the girls to participate (as much as could be expected for 2 year olds!) Ally stayed in the studio the whole time and followed directions pretty well. I was able to snap a few pictures from the door but if she saw me in the mirror she would stop paying attention and focus on me. So I tried to stay out of sight for the most part. Mark your calendars for 2010, her first dance recital will be June 5!






She was suppose to leap OVER the stuffed raccoon but she just kind of jumped on top of him.. We'll work on leaps later.

The Apple Store

To Ally, an apple orchard is called The Apple Store (minus the Macbooks and Ipods) and she is a big fan. We discovered Stuckeys in Sheridan and I'm so glad we did. We have gone twice in the last week and a half and will be going back with our playgroup next week. I enjoy the apple cider slushies and she can't help but sample the various types of apples. You have to be careful when picking apples with Ally because she'll often take a bite out of an apple before putting it in her bag. I suppose this is a way to make sure we're getting good fruit but it doesn't work well when you bring home sampled goods. Nonetheless, we had a great time on both trips. The first was during the week and was just Ally and I. The orchard was empty and the weather was perfect. The second trip was on Saturday with Brad and it still wasn't crowded. We couldn't help picking up some homemade caramels on our way out the door and next time we'll try out the locally made honey or the homemade jams as well.

Weekday with Mommy







Saturday with Daddy

Pear Picking

Much to my delight, we have a pear tree in our front yard. We weren't sure if they would be edible so we've been waiting for a few months to see what happens. Yesterday I tried one and it was delicious! They are pretty small but they're very sweet and tasty. Today we picked them because the bees were starting to take over and the raccoons were treating our front yard as an all you can eat buffet. Brad was in charge of picking, I examined and only kept the good ones and Ally put the keepers in a large bucket. Our first bunch weighed in at 70.5 lbs and a secondary container had 11.5 lbs for a gross weight of 82 lbs!! Tuesday Great Mama and Mama are coming to the house to help Ally and I freeze them. Yum!!

Dancing Queen!

Quick post - Today we signed Ally up for her first dance class!!! She is so excited and so am I. She starts in 2 weeks. It's a ballet/movement type class. She got to see her studio today and she ran right in and started dancing and spinning. She was fitted with the tiniest little ballet shoes I have ever seen. It's awesome. To celebrate the occasion she wore her pajamas that have a coordinating tutu around the house this evening and modeled her new shoes for daddy. We now have to find little leotards and tights! Did I mention I'm excited??

Indiana State Fair

Last night we took Ally to the Indiana State Fair for the first time. This was one of the things I was most excited about doing once we moved back to Indy because Missouri didn't really have fairs (small festivals sure..but nothing big.) So we braved the stormy forecast and head out.

Dinner started with Cheese Fries.
We had some delicious roasted corn.
More snacks please!!
It rained really hard for 10 min. & then we got a cool rainbow.
It stopped raining!!
Waiting outside the Dairy Barn for ice cream.
Pink Ice Cream!!
Bunny Petting (right beside the sign that says "No Fingers in the Cage"
Dancing on the midway to Beyonce.
Berry ride was okay at first..
Carousel with Ninny.
Her favorite part of the evening was duck picking.
She was very careful.
A rain soaked stuffed monkey was her duck picking prize.
A bit of rambunctious goat feeding.
The baby pig was hungry too.
I love the fair!!

Picnic

I'm a little slow in getting pictures uploaded but here are a couple neat ones from a picnic and play day at the park a few weeks ago..

Marion County Fair

The Marion County Fair was Ally's first Indiana fair. She really enjoyed most of it. There was an incident where she almost jumped out of a little roller coaster but luckily no one was harmed and we learned a valuable lesson. The rest of the evening was great fun!

Tumbling

Ally started tumbling at Spectrum Sports a few weeks ago and has really loved going. She is very tiny compared to everyone else in the gym and often gets attention because of it, which of course helps. Her last day of summer classes were last week and I had to take a couple pictures..


stretching out at the beginning


Ally can do a very nice front roll on her own.


climbing the rope ladder with a little help..


hanging like a monkey and then flipping over


backward barrel rolls (one of her favorites)

3d Ultrasound

We got to see our beautiful littlest girl yesterday at our 3d ultrasound. I think it's amazing that we are able to see such amazing images and watch her move around all these weeks before she is born. During the scan she sucked on her toes, put both hands and both feet over her face (not ideal for picture taking), chewed on her cord, yawned, stuck out her tongue and smiled. It was incredible.

July 3-5 Celebration!

Our 4th of July celebration spanned July 3-5 this year. It was Ally's first year of festivities because we never thought she'd really enjoy fireworks, fairs, etc. Her new found love of the Little Mermaid has brought up the topic of fireworks a lot recently because Ariel watches fireworks exploding over Prince Eric's boat. We've been talking the up a lot in hopes that she wouldn't panic.

July 3

Brad had the day off so we spent the morning playing at the park and hanging out. It was a relaxing day. In the evening we went to Carmelfest with Mike, Jen & Keira. The kiddos had lots of fun and we had some great food, including the best chocolate milkshake ever according to Jen. We tried to make it to the fireworks but the girls were getting restless. We came back to our house hoping to be able to see the show from here but the trees blocked our view. Ally and Keira did such a great job staying awake but it just didn't work out. Ally was very disappointed. We told her that she would see some fireworks tomorrow and she seemed okay with it.

Cool Creek Park










Carmelfest







July 4th

Saturday was Brad's dad's birthday so we spent a good chunk of the day with the Swearingens for a cookout and cake. We had hoped to take Ally to the fair but the unrelenting rain prevented any outdoor fun. We played inside and had a ton of great food so it all worked out okay. We had been talking fireworks up to Ally again all day but once again it didn't work out. Poor Ally.




















July 5

Sunday was another day to relax. Ally and I spent most of the day with my parents and Mama. We made some cookies and played with Ariel bubbles. Ally was in desperate need for a nap so we headed home. In the afternoon we went to a cookout with some neighborhood families and then came back to wait for the 3rd attempt at fireworks.



Ally has learned to pedal her tricycle! It isn't always easy but she's getting much better!





The evening ended with our last attempt at fireworks at Zionsville Lion's Park. They were scheduled to start at 10p and Ally was struggling to stay awake. She wanted to see fireworks though and we had been trying for days so we decided to try. We made it to the park and found a seat that was actually very close to where they shot the fireworks off. We explained that it would be loud but that Ally could just cover her ears if she wanted. So of course, she wouldn't take her hands off her ears. Once the show started, Brad and I helped out by covering her ears with our hands. About halfway through the show (following a very large pink firework sequence) the convo went as such:
Me: "Ally do you like the lights?"
*No answer*
Brad: "Umm..she's asleep.."
Me: "She's a what???"
We were sitting outside the the fence of a baseball field and they were shooting them off in the middle of the field. You could feel the booms as they exploded. It was amazing she was able to fall asleep. She woke up and saw most of the show though. As we left, we asked her if she liked the fireworks. She said she liked the pink ones but they were very noisy. Overall, I would call it a success.

Quick Pics

Today we woke up to find 3 very over ripe bananas on our counter. We decided to make some banana muffins as a tasty treat.





While the muffins were baking, Ally asked me to take her picture with Bubby so of course I had to go with it.

Father's Day

On Friday night David Letterman said that Mother's Day is in May because it's just a dry run for Father's Day. I'm not sure if that's true but we had a really great Daddy's day! We started the morning with a scavenger hunt that led Brad to the mailbox where he found a garage door opener.



Ally pushed the button and "TADA" he got his Daddy's Day surprise.



After we forced Brad to leave the garage, we had a great Father's Day cookout. Both families came and everyone had a great time.

















After everyone left, we all took a nice long nap. After that Brad needed to hook up the VCR (gasp!) because Ally is hooked on The Little Mermaid right now and always wants to watch it and we only have it on tape. Ally had to help with the electronics because she's very good at wires and such.



We also took another belly photo tonight (just a little behind schedule..) so check out the belly post too. We're over halfway through this pregnancy and getting really excited to meet our second little girl!!

Camping in TN

Brad & I went camping with some friends at Big South Fork in Tennessee last weekend. We had a great time! We took a ton of pictures but I'll just post a few here. It's a beautiful park and we would love to go back.








































"We have one piece of chicken left. What do we do with it??"

Big Girl Bed & the Princess Trike

We decided it was time let Ally sleep in her big girl bed so on Sunday morning we dismantled the crib and added two little bed rails. Voile! Big Girl Bed!! Immediately Ally was enthralled. She loved climbing in herself and wasted no time declaring that she was a big girl and the big sister.

Later in the day Brad decided it would be fun to get Ally a Big Wheel in honor of her new big girl status. So we trekked to Target and picked up a Princess Ariel tricycle. It plays music, talks, and blows bubbles. She couldn't stop staring at it. We got home and she and Brad put it together. It was looking great until she climbed on and we realized her legs are too short. What a let down! She still loves sitting on it though and playing with all the buttons and knobs. (The picture isn't great because our camera wasn't working right. Her expression is caused by me bugging her while she was busy playing, not by her lack of interest in the bike..)



Come night time, she was super excited to go to bed and even posed for a few pictures.





Great fun all around. She's doing great in her big bed and everything here is settling down. A bit more to unpack and we'll be all finished. Yeah for a couple months of normalcy!

It's a Girl!!

We went to the doctor today and found out that baby two is a girl! She looks healthy, has a heartbeat of 140 bpm and is already big for her age. Little one weighs about 9 oz which sounds pretty tiny until you hear that most babies weigh about 5 oz at 18 weeks. So we're continuing with our tradition of having large children. The doctor also said that we will definitely induce at 39 weeks if she isn't already here.

Brad and Ally were watching the ultrasound and we tried our best to explain what was going on. Ally kept saying that the tech was hurting the baby and she was very upset by it. She whined and whimpered a bit but thought it was neat when the tech took a picture of a tiny little baby foot. Little one was very active and the tech had some trouble getting the pics because of the kicking and flailing. She kept putting her hands up to her face and kicking her legs but we got several cute pictures.





Ally has been saying "Big sister" and "more pink" all afternoon. I think she may understand a little bit of what's happening. After dinner I was resting on the couch and Ally scrambled onto my lap ("yap" in her words) and hugged my tummy and said "hi sister." It was too stinkin cute. She frequently kisses and hugs my belly and even talks to the baby now. She's going to be a great big sister.

This pregnancy is going by so quickly. I can't believe we're halfway through already. Thanks to everyone for all the support and love. The house is terrific and we're really getting settled in. It feels really great to have a place of our own.

The New House (Part II)

We had our inspection of the new house today. During the 3.5 hour time span, I was able to wander around and take a few pictures. I really fell in love with the house even more today and can't wait to move in.

Notice the small rectangle beneath the desk in the kitchen.

It's a cat door into a small cleaning closet in the foyer.

Breakfast room off the kitchen.

Step down into the family room off the breakfast nook.

Standing in the family room and looking towards the kitchen.

Built ins with a wet bar in the family room.

Family room ceiling.

Deck and brick patio off the family room.

Hallway leading to the 4th bedroom and the garage.

Pantry!

4th bedroom which will be a toy room.

What will be the office which is off the dining room.

Office from the dining room.

Dining room.

Dining room ceiling.

Ally's room (pink carpet!)

The baby's room.

Hallway leading to the master bedroom.

Master bedroom

Brad's closet

Amanda's closet

Master bathroom

Stairs to the basement

Brad's rec room in the basement.

Storage in the basement that Ally can put her toys in.

Giant laundry room

Easter fun

Ally was a bit over emotional during the week preceding Easter and frequently melted down for no reason. I think she had a bit of a cold and she's really showing her 2 year old side recently. Overall, it was an enjoyable time, just a bit dramatic at times.

Egg Coloring

Ally took a picture of me getting things ready.

Again from her perspective.

"Ally give egg bath."

Momma picture.

The emotion and drama came out.

And then the whining started.

The dyed and decorated eggs in all their glory.

Egg Hunting (Part I)

We went to Nana & Papa Jack's church for some egg hunting on the Saturday before Easter.

Ally was unsure why there was an egg on the ground and what she was suppose to do with it.

Again..she's puzzled.

Keira came to help and Ally got a bit more into it.

Then someone told her there was candy in the eggs. Now we're talking.

Keira was very good at egg hunting. She's well practiced.

Ally got into the car and fell asleep immediately. Note the chicken nugget in her hand that has just one bite out of it.

Easter Morning

I don't think two year olds understand the Easter Bunny concept but we gave it a shot.

Ally is not a morning person at all. (Wonder where she gets that from??)

But the Easter Bunny brought her a Cookie Monster which she immediately fell in love with.




Easter Pictures





Ally loves her Cookie Monster.



Egg Hunt (II)


Ninny helped a lot.
Bailey loves egg hunting.


Egg Hunt (III)





Extra Easter Photos

A trip to the Children's Museum with Ninny!

Ninny (aka Aunt Kristin) was on spring break last week so we decided to go to the Children's Museum in Indianapolis. Ally had never been so we thought we'd give it a shot. A good portion of the museum is too old for her. However, the parts she could do entertained her for about 2 hours which is around her time max for doing almost anything so it all worked out. Her favorite parts were the carousel and the mirror maze. I think we'll be going back because there is still so much to see and do."Big Bear Momma. Big Bear!!"

It's important to put gloves on before feeding pretend bugs to birds cut out of wood..

a little unsure about the slide..

squirrel in a tree

To our surprise, Ally was able to use the hand petals and crank this little train down the track. Impressive upper body strength kiddo!

She's too young to ride the ponies that go up and down so we rode this creature. I'm not really sure what it is but she thought it was a horse.