Sterling's Second Birthday Oct. 12, 2009

Happy late 2nd birthday to my only son, Sterling! We had Sterling's birthday celebration late due to the birth of Moriah, and we also waited until my mom came down to visit us. My mom made Sterling a monkey cake and he loved it! As most of you know, Sterling has a stuffed monkey that he cannot live without. He will ask for it by saying, "Oohh, Oohh, Aww, Aww." So cute. (That is a monkey sound for those of you who do not know!) Anyway--thank you for the gifts from the Grandparents, Aunts, and Uncles. My little man is getting too big!

Pictures of Moriah

8 lbs 3ozs

Lots of hair!

Gald it is over!

Me and my girls! Sterling didn't want his picture taken...

The Arrival of Moriah Grace

I am going to start with my check up on October 5th, 2009. I went to my 39th week check-up and was quite discouraged when I was waiting to be seen by my doctor. I was expecting to hear that I was not progressing. I didn't feel like that baby was settling into position like my other births. So, when I was examined, I was surprised to hear that I was dilated to 3 cm. The doctor said that he expected me to go into labor with the next day or two. I was pleasantly surprised!
Well, that night I was up all night with 'flu' like symptoms. However, I still didn't have any contractions. All day on the 6th I was miserable. Lily and Isabel were so helpful! They took care of Sterling and Ava for me. I basically packed a couple more things in my hospital bag and spent most of the day in bed. I also took a very long soak in the tub hoping I would feel better. I had a lot of abdominal pain, but nothing that felt like 'classic' contractions. Throughout the day I would call Josh and I expressed that I thought I would have the baby that day, but was concerned by the lack of strong contractions. Josh had a brief to give in the evening and he was trying to prepare it and give it to his boss to present so he could come home.
At 4 PM I knew needed him to come home. I called up to his work and I couldn't get a hold of him. I talked to some random solider who answered the phone. I asked if Josh was still there and he didn't know. I told him he needed to find out where he was because I needed him. So, he found Josh's boss and his boss had said that he was on his way home.
At 4:30 my contractions were hard and 3-5 minutes apart. Josh was still not home and it is only a 30 minute drive. I was getting worried. At 4:45 Josh came in the door. There was a car accident and it was slow going on the way home.
Now, we just needed to have one of my friends come over and stay with the other four kidos. I had three friends lined up. I called my neighbor, and she was stuck in traffic due to a PARADE in town! I called my second friend and only got her voice mail. I tried my third friend and only got her voice mail as well. So, I was FREAKING out! I send Lily down the street to see if my other neighbor was home, but she was not. I just picked up the phone to call my Pastor's wife when the phone rang and my friend Tina was on her way. Thank goodness! We left before she arrived because Lily can watch her sibling, but not for an extended period of time.
So as we were going through town--there was the parade kicking off the county fair. We knew it was going to be in town and we tried to take a 'short-cut' around it, but it was still stop and go. So a normal trip to the hospital would be 10 minutes--it turned out to be 30 minutes. Breathe, right?
When we got there I was checked in and found out I was only dilated to a 4!! I was so un-happy with that number! I was not officially a labor and delivery patient at that time. The nurse said they would monitor me for an hour and then officially check me in. The nurse was named Jackie and she remembered me from when I gave birth to Sterling. She was happy that I was a natural birth. She said she loves the women who go natural.
So, after an hour passed I was dilated to a 7!!! Yippie! My body knows how to move it! (0: In another 30 minutes I was a 10 and was ready to push! I waited as long as I could. From past experience--I know that the longer I wait to push the less pushing I would have to do. So, the doctor came in. (She had been at the fair and was on her way to Walmart when the nurses told her I was fast one and she needed to fore go Walmart.) She came in and checked me and told me that the baby was at a -2 station. NOT good! I knew I wasn't feeling right. I had been saying for days that I didn't feel that the baby was settling into my pelvis. She was also face up. Not good. However, when she broke my water Moriah turned face down and I was ready to go. Two and a half pushes later---Moriah Grace made her much anticipated debut! Love at first sight. As she came out---Josh said----I WAS WRONG! So instantly I knew we had another girl. The doctor actually almost fumbled her. I didn't stop pushing once her head came out, and I don't think she was ready for me to do that. (the doctor was awesome--Dr. Jennifer McCann---she is the sister of the doctor that delivered Sterling--small towns--gotta love em) So, Josh cut the cord and we had our precious girl. 7:23pm October the 6th 2009

Prenatal Week 38 Check-Up

Today I had my 38th week check-up. It went better than the 36th week check. I still need to keep off of my feet, drink the H2O, and no salt. However, my blood pressure was okay . Unfortunately, I am not dilated or effaced. The doctor reassured my that since this is my 5th pregnancy, it doesn't matter. He said I will just 'go.' He said that if it was my first he'd say I'd still have two weeks left. That was some good news. However, I just want to be done and have the baby here.

Prenatal 36 week check-up

Okay, so I had a bad prenatal check-up today. I went in thinking every thing was fine except for a little swelling. Well, my weight jumped up 5 pounds, my blood pressure was high, and I was swollen. SO, my Doc told me----NO salt, drink a GALLON of H2o every day, put my feet up for 6-8 HOURS a day, and at night. Uh, does the sentence-I-Have-four-children-at-home-who-are-home schooled-mean anything? This is going to be a challenge since I live 1,300+/- miles from any family. He said if I don't do this he expects me to have pre-eclampsia by next week. Lovely.

Ava-isms

Well, Ava is at is again. She always has something funny or cute to say. A few weeks ago, Ava was looking closely at my skin. She saw the beautiful stretch marks I have acquired through five pregnancies and she said, "Mommy!! You are stripped!." Yes, in the eyes of a four year old I have stripes. Last night as we were sitting in church, Ava reaches over and starts to stroke my stomach. She looks up with her big blue eyes and says, "Mommy, I am petting the baby."

Can we change the subject, Mom?

We are in the process of potty training Sterling. I have been letting him just be in cloth training pants. When I was in the kitchen making dinner, Sterling comes out and says, "Dry." I look at his pants and it is obvious that he is wet and not dry. I say,"Sterling! You are wet. Where are your pee-pees supposed to go? In the potty, Sterling. You need to go pee in your potty." He looks up at me and says, "Hug." Then he wraps his little arms around my leg. Either he was sorry for wetting his pants, or he wanted me to change the subject to something nicer--like hugs!

Vacation to MN 2009

Grandma May with the kids

Biking with family

Sterling loves to swing

Josh, Azalea, and Michael

Shawn and Henry

Dan and Jack

Gabe and Caleb

Lily 10

Ava 4

Isabel 7

Sterling 21 months

My parent's 40th SURPRISE Anniversary party!

Lily, Ava, and cousin Elijah hanging out...

Caleb and my dad

Cheesy little smile from Sterling

Great Grandpa and Grandma Enga with the kids

Michael and Azalea

Michael and Naomi

Lily, Ava, and Isabel "fishing"

Shannon, Tolo, and Bela

Jonah, Jen, and Logan on the pontoon

Reno lake in the canoe...

Sterling resting with Dad after a long day in the car...

How many kids can you put in one hotel room before you get kicked out?

Well, we have been back home for nearly a week, and we miss all our family in MN so much! We had such a great time. We had fun swimming and fishing in Grandma and Papa Ron's lake. We had fun taming the wild kittens and swimming at Pelican beach with Grandma and Papa Barry. It was great to see the new nieces and nephews we hadn't met before. We had Henry, Logan, Tolo, and Naomi to meet. They were all very special. We miss you all!

Baby #5 Ultrasound 26 weeks

On Monday I had an ultrasound. Everything looks good according to my doctor. Josh was able to come with for the first time. Every other time that I have had an ultrasound, Josh had been unable to come due to work constraints. It was fun to watch him see the baby. The baby was active during the procedure. We saw the baby moving his/her arm up to his/her face and he/she started to suck their thumb. It was so fun! We, once again, chose not to find out the gender of our baby. We only have 3+/- months till the arrival of this little one. Baby May #5....

Fourth of July Weekend

We had a VERY busy Fourth of July weekend. It started out with Ava running a high temperature. Her temperature was between 103-104. That is normal when Ava has a fever--she tends to run hot. Well, I was going about my business cleaning out her dresser, and was hoping she'd feel better after some Motrin. However, she kept looking sicker. Josh decided to take her up to the ER. I told him to go ahead, but I was busy and was going to continue with my chores. I wanted to finish up so I'd feel good about going to the fireworks in the evening. Well, about three hours later, Josh calls me from the ER and said our pediatrician (thankfully he was in the ER that day----I really like him) wanted to admit her to the hospital overnight. I was shocked and I felt real bad that I hadn't taken her up there myself. It was Josh's first time to take any of our kids to the Er. I usually am the one who does all the doctor stuff. Well after a lot of needle pokes and peeing in cups, Ava had a severe UTI. They hooked her up to an IV with antibiotics. Around 6:30 that evening I changed shifts with Josh. (They had gone up to the ER at 11am) When I arrived she looked terrible! It was so sad to see her as white as the sheets she was lying on. I spent the night on an awful fold out chair. It is hard enough for me to be comfortable in my own bed with this pregnancy--let alone on that awful "bed." We were not discharged until the night of the 5th around 10pm. Ava was so sad that she missed the fireworks. She kept saying, "I want to go home now." Also, every time a nurse would come into the room she would say, "What are you going to do to me?" She wanted to know if she would be getting any more "pokes."

On Monday Sterling also had some X-rays of his ankle/foot. He is still limping after 10 days. I am still waiting to hear the final verdict on what needs to be done for him. He still will cry if he bears too much weight on his foot. I am starting to get upset with the nurse who is SUPPOSED to call me back. I have called up to the clinic four times and I still haven't been able to talk with the nurse.

Sterling's Sprained Ankle

Sterling sprained his ankle on Sunday. While we were in church service, our number for the nursery came up. So, I went back to see what was up. My friend, Paula, was rocking a very vocal Sterling. He had slipped on a thin paper back book and had fallen just right---or I should say just wrong. Anyway, his little ankle was swollen, and he couldn't place any weight on it. It was so sad. On Monday he wouldn't crawl. I guess he was too good to crawl, but he had to be carried everywhere he wanted to go. On Tuesday he decided that crawling would be better than being parked on the couch all day. Finally, on Wednesday he could put a little bit of weight on his ankle and was limping around. He was a pitiful sight. He had his ankle in an Ace bandage and looked like he had been hobbled. He is still limping today, but it appears to be healing well.

Deep Thoughts by Ava

"Sometimes boogers make my nose hurt," Ava-age 4.

Lily's 10th Birthday

Today Lily is ten years old. It seems incredible that ten years ago she came into our lives. She is a very precious girl. I am afraid that she will become taller than me within the next two years. She is now 4' 6.75". Anyways, she had a nice quiet time with the family today. I make her a horse cake. She had her favorite meal, fettuccine alfredo, and she opened her presents. Thank you to all the family who sent cards and gifts. Happy Birthday, Lily! We love you.

Joys of Living in the Deep South

I have had a couple of friends complaining about ants in their homes. I wish that was the worst of it for us. Nearly every time Josh mows the lawn he ends up killing a snake. Yuck! I also have been killing Black Widow spiders in the garage. One was in Sterling's jogging stroller! I was freaked out. The spider also had a wonderful egg sack along with her. GROSS!

San Antonio May 2009 pictures

San Antonio May 2009

Pure excitement!

Steaks Anyone?

Well, we once again went to San Antonio this last week. Josh had another class, and we came along for the fun of it! Since I home school, our schedule is flexible! (Yet, another wonderful benefit!) While Josh was at class, we swam most of the time. I was so exhausted. It was quite the feat of keeping track of all four kids with only one set of eyes. Lily and Bel swam all over. Ava thought she was invincible with her arm floaties. She would jump in the pool and loved every minute of it. Sterling was in a life jacket and at first he couldn't keep upright. The jacket kept trying to put him on his back. He did not like that! He then would roll over and get a face full of water. On our second trip down to the pool he got the hang of staying upright. He was so cute. When he paddled through the water he looked like he was peddling a bike.

The last day we were in San Antonio, we went on a drive through an animal safari. It was lots of fun. I had Sterling in my lap. I had all I could do to keep him from going out the window after the animals. On our way into the park the people there told us not to pet the animals because they are wild, but Sterling had his had right in the mouth of a mountain goat. We we able to throw food to them and Sterling thought he could place the food in the goats mouth. Half way though the safari, the sky broke loose and it rain very hard. So some of the larger game pictures didn't turn out. There were rhinos, giraffes, Wilda beasts, all kinds of deer, antelope, mountain goats, gazelles, long horned steer, buffalo, and lots of other neat creatures.

Oh, yes, once again we became sick on this vacation. We all came down with a nasty respiratory virus. It never fails!

For the Love of Care Bears!

Ava has a big plush Care Bear that Sterling has confiscated. He loves to lay on top of the bear and kiss (or bite-whatever you want to call it) it's face. He needs to have it in his crib at nap and bed time. Now that makes his has-to-have-friends two now. He has a stuffed chip that he cannot do without, and now he has the bear. He will get in his bed and say, "OO-OO-AH-Ah" (for the chimp) Then he will say, "BEAR PEAZE!" (to be interpreted bear please) It is true love!

My Garden

The fruits of my labor.....When I was growing up (and to this day) my mom ALWAYS had a wonderful vegetable garden. This year I finally have my own. It is so rewarding! I just finished picking my lettuce and spinach. It is so nice to go outside and grab dinner. I have watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumbers, squash, green beans, peas, tomatoes, and broccoli. It is a lot of work, but I am completely enjoying have this garden.

Conversation with Bel

Isabel was deep in thought the other day. She started talking about where all of us had been born. She said, "You and Daddy were born in Minnesota. Lily was born in Texas, I was born in California, and Sterling was born in Louisiana. Mom, Ava was born in Korea, right?" I replied that she indeed was born in Korea. Then Bel said, "But Mom, if she was born in Korea, why doesn't she look like a Korean?"

San Antonio Trip April 2009

Hippos!

I don't feel good!

Zoo

Ava with the map at the Botanical Garden.

Well, we had an adventure in San Antonio. Josh had a class he needed to take there, and the kids I came along for a semi-vacation. We had a lot of fun and frustration.

The frustrating part was that Sterling became sick. We arrived on Saturday, and by Saturday night he was running a 103+ temp. At first we just medicated him and went on with the trip hoping it was a fluke and he would bounce back quickly. Unfortunately, he didn't bounce back. So, around 36 hours later of a high fever and him being lethargic, I ended up taking him to the ER while Josh was at his class. I had a run around with our insurance being that we were out of state. I sure hope the 411 I received was accurate and that we aren't stuck with a huge bill. Anyways, I took Sterling to the Northeast Baptist Hospital. The hospital and the staff were FABULOUS!!! I have never been in such a beautiful hospital with such caring and attentive doctors and nurses. That was great. Anyways, Sterling had chest x-rays, blood work, and an IV. His ears were clear, his throat was fine, and his x-rays were normal. His blood work, though, showed very high white blood cell count. So, the doctor treated him for some unknown infection. He received IV antibiotics, and we had to come back the next day for two more shots of antibiotics, and on top of that he is on an oral antibiotic for the next ten days. Yikes! My poor baby is lit up with drugs. I am a little concerned about this since this is the second time in 2 months he has had an unknown infection with a high white cell count. Hopefully, this is only a freak coincidence.

Okay, on to the good things. We went to a botanical garden, the river walk, the Alamo, outlet malls, and the zoo. We had a great time. We walked the kids till they dropped. (I felt like dropping too) At the botanical gardens, Ava was a hoot. She has a fear of public restrooms. (Who doesn't) She will not go potty unless I force her and convince her that the toilet won't flush too loudly. Sometimes, I have to spank her so she will go potty. She will hold it for hours hoping to make it home first. So, when we went to the garden we received a map of all the displays. Ava proudly held it and proceeded to pick out all the bathrooms on the route. She kept telling us where we needed to turn to go to a bathroom. As we were walking she held my hand and said, "Mom, I like white toilets. I like black toilets too, but I don't like purple toilets. They are yucky." Such deep thoughts for a four year old. Every bathroom at the botanical garden was inspected by Ava. We would have to let her go in and decide if it was worthy of her pee. Sometimes they passed her inspections, and other times she would announce that they were icky. So if your are ever in San Antonio and are visiting the beautiful botanical gardens; let Ava know so she can direct you to the good bathrooms that aren't icky.

The zoo was Isabel's favorite place. Can you guess why? They had hippopotamuses! They are her obsession! They were new since we had been there last time. They were rather impressive. They were in water and you could view them in their little underwater display. They looked like huge boulders. Every now and they they would put their noses out of the water to take a breath of air. They were very cool. It didn't matter what other animal were at the zoo. As soon as Bel saw the hippos, her life was complete.

Lily, poor Lily. Her favorite part was swimming at the hotel. It was unfortunate that Sterling became sick because her swimming time was cut short. It did teach her that we have to make sacrifices for people we love. She learned that even vacations have to be arranged for sick family members. With that said, we did make to to the pool three times. Not too bad...