Watching the Blue Angels... from the top of the Sears Tower

We often daytripped to Chicago, visiting the museums or zoo, and sometimes we would stay overnight, usually at the Embassy Suites.  We especially loved to do that in the winter - take a mini-vacation and swim the weekend away.

But this was a summer trip with the kids and grandparents.  Kent and I took Missi and Kathi up to the top of the Sears Tower, while the grandparents watched Lindsay down below.  While we were looking out over Chicago, we were surprised to see the Blue Angels rehearsing!  Sometimes they were at eye level, and sometimes actually below us.  It was an amazing sight.  When we finally went back down, Kent's folks said they though we weren't coming back, but they understood when we told them what was going on.

Canoeing and grandma's day with the little angels

During our family get-together in Missouri over Memorial Day, we decided to take Missi and Kathi canoeing, along with my cousin Nate and his wife Mendy.  My mom volunteered to watch Lindsay and their daughter Trisha, who was 6 weeks younger than Lindsay.

We went to Bennett Springs State Park, where the girls wanted to go every time we were in Missouri.  They loved to feed the fish at the trout hatchery.  So we headed out, rented a couple of canoes and had a great afternoon on the river.

Not wanting to take too much advantage of mom, we didn't stay out all day.  What did we come home to find?  The babies were playing quietly, and mom was vacuuming.... Vacuuming up all the dirt from the planter they had pulled over... you know, the one mom sat there watching them, saying 'they can't pull that planter off'.  Everyone/thing was fine - except the plant.  But it didn't stop mom from watching our kids many more times in the future.  She was great like that!

It wasn't me, really........

Who? Us? Cause trouble??

Food poisoning

The days quickly fell into a routine.  Up, sitter's, work, sitter's, home, dinner, play, bed.  Repeat.  Every other weekend with Missi and Kathi, and always church on Sundays and then dinner with Kent's folks.

When I went back to work, we splurged and hired a housecleaner for three hours a week.  Shirley came on Monday afternoons.  We always left the money for her on the table, but unless we were running late she was usually still there when we got home.

So we got home and Kent went out to mow the yard while Shirley and I visited and played with Lindsay.  After I few minutes Shirley left, and then I thought 'I don't feel so well'.  I put Lindsay in the playpen (yes, I know, I'm an evil person, using a playpen) and hurried to the bathroom, where I was violently sick.  From fine to "dying" - all in a matter of minutes.  I can't get to the door, so I'm pounding on the window, hoping Kent will hear me over the mower.

I continued to be sick all evening.  At some point, Missi and Kathi's (who had been with us over the weekend) mom called and said they were both extremely sick, to the point of broken blood vessels under their eyes from throwing up.  (And she's not happy with us.)

I finally made it upstairs to bed and actually slept.  Around 2:00, Kent got up and, feeling fine, went downstairs - and had to basically crawl back up.  He got sick that fast.  Knowing Lindsay was likely to wake at any time, and knowing neither one of us could care for her, he called his folks, who came out and got her.  They had to drive back out again a few hours later to take her to the babysitter's, then back again after work to get her and check on us.  And they repeated it all the next day, until we were better.

Turns out, we had all gotten food poisoning from a local restaurant over the weekend.  NEVER want to go through that again!  We were so thankful to have Kent's folks close enough, and willing, to help out.  And we got our chance, with a middle-of-the-night call years later, to help with a daughter/son-in-law/granddaughter in need (only they were 300+ miles away, but worth every mile!)

Back to work

What a dreaded day.  Maternity leave was over.  I hated going back, but I needed to get my three years in (to ensure rehire rights, if needed in the future).  At least my maternity time counted toward my three years (I was off over 5 months).  So we found a sitter, and headed back to the Arsenal.

I still enjoyed my work, but a lot of the projects and a couple of people, had changed and I felt out of place - when at work I was always thinking about home, and at home, I was thinking about work.  My focus was .... all out of focus.  It also brought other changes.  Our babysitter wouldn't use cloth diapers, so disposables took over (we used them overnight already - triple diapering didn't even work - so we only used a couple of cloths a day, and it took too long to get enough to launder properly.)  Also, nursing time got cut in half.  In March I got bronchitis, and the medicine finished off nursing altogether.

Lindsay was advanced in most things, but holding a bottle on her own wasn't one of them.  Or so we thought.  Whenever we'd try to have her hold it her poor little hands would just fall to her side.  I walked in to the babysitter's one day a little early, to discover her holding her bottle, looking all around, happy as could be.  And then she saw me... and her poor little hands fell to her side.  So yes, we have been played by that child for a very long time.

Merry Christmas!

Kent's project time was quickly drawing to a close, and it was time to start planning the trip from California to Missouri for Christmas.  Anyone who has driven I-40 in the winter  knows to check out the weather ahead of time, and that's what we did.  There was a storm system developing, and Kent didn't want to take any chances of getting stranded with a baby (he had been stuck in a snowstorm going across Wyoming once), so December 20 he put Lindsay and I on a plane to Kansas City, to be met by my parents.

So here I go - my first commercial flight - carrying a three-month old, a carseat, plus coats, blankets, and a fifty pound diaper bag.  Knowing there was a possibility of getting delayed in Denver, we had bought a couple cans of formula and I was loaded with plenty of diapers and extra clothes.  (Thank goodness for front-packs!  My mom said every picture she saw, her granddaughter was in that front-pack.)  Kent "should" only be three days behind us, so I didn't bother with another suitcase.

We left Orange County at 7:00 a.m., of course had to go from one end of Denver Int'l to the other to transfer flights (not totally, but it seemed that way), and got into Kansas City with no problems - other than it was 65 degrees when we left, and -18 degrees when we landed!  Dad and Mom were there waiting, and we went to my aunt's house for lunch and a visit before driving the four hours to Lebanon.  It was a long, but blessedly uneventful, trip.

Kent had some things to finish up in California and started driving east later that day (Tuesday).  He called that night to say he was in Flagstaff.  Wednesday night he called and said he was "a little past Amarillo", so I was quite surprised when he showed up the next morning.  He had actually been almost to Tulsa, and drove straight through.  And then slept a lot.

Christmas Eve was at my aunt's house.  Since she had three little grandchildren, she arranged for Santa to visit after dinner.  I'm not sure what my favorite picture is from that night - Lindsay with her great-grandmother, our four generation picture, or the one with my mom sitting on Santa's lap (but she was holding the baby!)

We didn't stay too long.  We wanted to get back to Christmas with Missi and Kathi and Kent's folks.  Traveling was slow, and we arrived home to a note from Kent's mom, saying they had waited at the house for awhile, but had given up and gone home and would see us the next day.  Oh, and we had mice.

So Kent scrubbed while I held the baby.  I don't do mice (or spiders, or snakes....)

Three months in California

Bright and early three generations headed from our little Illinois house to Missouri.  We were taking mom to Lebanon and Lindsay to meet her extended family, and then heading to California for three months.  

We spent two nights in Lebanon, showing off the new baby, and then headed west.  Our first stop was only an hour away, to visit with my grandma (now living with my uncle and aunt).  Of course, grandma was thrilled with her great-grandchild!  Our visit was too short, but we had miles to go, and knew there would be many frequent breaks along the way.

Lindsay was a fantastic little traveler.  We gave her lots breaks of course, and enjoyed a slower travel pace than our first trip cross-country.  We made a sidetrip to the Grand Canyon.  She wasn't impressed, but I was.  (She was much more interested in dinner.)

When we arrived in California, one of the girls in Kent's office offered to watch Lindsay so we could go out to dinner.  Wow, that was a long two hours!  Seems like we were away forever!  While I appreciated the gesture, I hated the separation!  And then, the little scoot was mad at us - wouldn't look at us all the rest of the evening!  We'd call her name, and she would deliberately turn her head away!  We knew we were in trouble from the start with that one. :)

Lindsay loved to watch the jacuzzi.  We would take her swing outside by the jacuzzi and she would fall asleep mesmerized by the bubbles.  During the day she liked to watch the TV (videos we made of her) and she would look all around trying to figure out where daddy was - she could hear his voice, but not find him.  As I would start supper, she'd sit by the window at the table and get so excited when daddy would come to the window on his way in!  

At three weeks, I left Lindsay on the bed to go get her a diaper.  When I came back, she was on her stomach... I guess I read the wrong baby books!  So no more leaving her unattended. :)   One night I fell asleep early.  When I awoke in the middle of the night, Lindsay was not in her bed!  Panicked, I started to wake Kent, when I saw her - sound asleep in her swing.  Kent had fallen asleep, too, and she had never been moved to bed.  

When Lindsay was four weeks old, we went to Disneyland.  That night, she slept through for the first time (either that, or we were both too tired to hear her wake up!)  We spend hours and hours at the beach, a weekend in San Diego to the zoo and into Tijuana, and went to San Jose to Kent's brother's for Thanksgiving.  Kent's mom flew out to join us, and watched Lindsay for an afternoon so we could go to San Francisco.  

While our time was amazing, and getting 3 months maternity leave was great, living in a hotel was getting a little old.  Even shy of three months, Lindsay was getting antsy in the same room every day.  But new adventures were on her horizon.  

.... and baby makes three (well, five, actually...)

Due date, August 15.  Doctor visit, September 16.  The doctor finally agrees to induce the next day.  Kent spends the evening cleaning the house (mom and dad are coming up) and after a restless night we headed to the hospital at 7:00 a.m.  Sixteen hours of pitocin later, Lindsay was born!  And I know why they don't warn you about back labor ahead of time.

Dads in the delivery room were still about a 50/50 split in our area when Lindsay was born.  We did the lamaze classes and Kent was a terrific coach.  "Rooming in" was the new trend, except dad wasn't allowed to stay over then.  So dad headed home about 2 in the morning, and was back early the next day.  It's amazing to me that when I was born my mom stayed in the hospital for ten days (no complications, just how it was), and barely was allowed any time each day with me.  I had full care of my daughter from the first, and now with my grandchildren I see how involved dads are allowed to be.

Missi and Kathi visited with the grandparents (couldn't come in my room, so we had to use the "visitor's room".)  Missi wanted to know why Lindsay was wearing a hat, and my dad told her it was to "keep her hair clean".  I think she believed him, but as she got to know him better, she learned about his teasing. :)

We headed home on Monday (19th) and arrived just before my dad had to leave, so he got to hold his first grandchild (yeah, only dads were allowed in the patient's room when baby was in there, and he had to scrub up.)  Mom stayed on with us to help, because in just another week we were heading to California.....                                                                                    

 - Dana

With a due date within 4 days of my birthday I was naturally hopeful that I would share that date with a son.  In hindsight that was really funny.  The 15th arrived and departed with no baby. The 19th came and went, then the following days, then the month of August.  Finally the doctor relented and agreed to induce.  It was always my understanding that the nesting function was a pink function.  Must have been a typo, eh?

Since I have the best in-laws in the world (and I am serious about that), I really didn't mind cleaning before their arrival.  So it was clean, sleep, gather the goody bag and leave for the hospital.

Regardless of the biased statements made above, I was a mediocre coach at best.  Remembering and encouraging the when and how of LaMaze breathing was spotty at best.  Nerves were intense.  My one redemption was that I could rub a back til my arms fell off.  Still, 16 hours is a long time to give a back rub.

Finally, the PUSH command was ordered, and I was excited and eager and anxious.  Then the most amazing thing happened.  A beautiful little girl appeared where the boy was supposed to be and in a nano second I had lost my heart to another female.  This was better than any plan I could have come up with.  I got to hold her and she was magnificent.  I didn't want to leave but I was exhausted and I knew there were others waiting to hear the news, so I relented.

Ten days later my two ladies and I were headed west, with Grandma to her house, and then Dana, Lindsay and I were off to California.  Early indoctrination into the travel mindset is essential.

 -- Kent