Diana came home today. I picked her up at ten from the hospital, there were no issues. Everything went smoothly and before we knew it we were home. She slept soundly in the playpen, and my father dropped by for a while (we picked up Claire at the bus stop). Grandpa, Noni and Duke came for dinner, I cooked up the ribs and some hot dogs and hamburgers. All in all, a very nice introduction to the family for Tori.
This morning I made the kids pancakes for breakfast, then we were off to church. I showed off Victoria’s picture. After church we walked down to Harborfest. Claire wanted to try the rock climbing, but the operator was so slow (and I do mean slow — he just sat there rubbing his chin and sighing most of the time) that we stood in line for an hour with Avery slowly melting down.
Once on the ride Claire climbed about two thirds of the way up before looking to me to see if it was okay to stop. Of course it was, she did great for six. We went to the food lines which were equally as nasty, except for the hot dog line, so the kids had hot dogs, period. After that we made bead necklaces and Claire did some sand art. The kids were pretty tired, but it was a long walk to the car so I had to keep them moving.
Before going home we went to the hospital to visit mommy (and cocoa bean). Victoria was asleep in the room, but we had a good time visiting until Avery started to melt down again. We were going to have ice cream afterwards, but the cafeteria was closed. I finally brought the camera back to the hospital, so we should have more pictures once everyone gets home.
On the drive home it was raining, so it looks like we left Harborfest at the right time.
Claire had a play-date with Ava today, so Avery and I went out to pick up a blanket for Victoria. On our way to the hospital to see Diana he fell asleep, but woke up cheerful when we got there.
Diana called the nurse to have Victoria brought in and Avery held her for a moment. I fed her for the first time (well, Diana had fed her earlier) and she is one hungry little kid. I had to burp her after every half ounce, but that was about ten seconds of bottle. She polished off all two ounces and kept looking for more (no crying, though). She did cry a bit when I changed her diaper, but that was it.
She also spent the whole time looking around, especially at Avery. She’s going to adore her older brother.
Victoria Staten vonRoeschlaub, born 6/1/07 at 8:30 AM. 7lb 13oz.
Overall the most uneventful birth we’ve had. We went in, an hour and a half later Diana was wheeled into surgery, twenty minutes later the C-Section was complete and we had a very alert new baby girl. During the post-op cleanup we got to hold her and, aside from the initial shock, she didn’t cry at all. She did keep opening her eyes until, by the time she was taken off to neonatal care, she had both eyes open constantly and was looking around at everything.
In the picture her hand looks a bit purple, but that’s misleading since in reality it was very very purple. The doctors assured us that was normal.
Diana is now in the maternity ward and I am headed to sleep for a very needed nap.
Perhaps sensing the pending change in his life, Avery had a hard time sleeping last night. He was up a few times, once because something in his room was going to eat him, the last time for the more mundane problem of his nighttime sippy cup being out of water. Needless to say down at eleven up at four is not a happy night for me, but the constant interruptions just made things even more difficult.
Still no solid decision on a name.
Last night Avery had another bout of missing Cloud Blankey. He told Diana that he missed Cloud Blankey so much and maybe it went to Mars and he would never see it again. Diana and I set out on a mission to find Almost Cloud Blankey, which seems to have also gone missing.
I got a flashlight and searched under, over and behind Avery’s bed with no luck. I remembered the last time I saw Almost Cloud Blankey was in our bedroom, so I checked the closet, the bassinet and under Diana’s side of the bed. When I looked under my side of the bed, down by the foot I thought I found Almost Cloud Blankey, but when I pulled it out it turned out to be Cloud Blankey!
Diana and I presented it to him. At first he didn’t see what it was, but when he realized he had an enormous smile. He asked where it was and when I told him he said “That’s funny.”
Phew!
After being put to bed, Avery came back downstairs looking for Cloud Blanky. It had been missing last night too, but Avery didn’t notice. He noticed tonight, so we searched the house, then the car. I even looked in the garage and laundry room. No luck.
As the search progressed Avery became more and more weepy until he finally burst into tears. Cloud Blanky would miss him, he was sure of it. I called my parents, but they weren’t home so I couldn’t find if it was over there. All attempts to calm him failed, and finally we broke the cardinal rule: we let him into bed with us.
Even that was not enough, and he cried for half an hour before calming down enough to explain. He needed something furry and warm to keep his eyes closed in the morning. He accepted Almost Cloud Blanky (pretty much the same blanket, but predominantly white instead of being predominantly blue). He is still heartbroken, but he is calm enough to fall asleep, I think.
Some wisdom from Avery: Jesus came here because this was the real world and it was sad. Cloud Blanky loves Noni, but it will still miss him and want to be with him. When he is very sad, his boogers melt.
I just returned from California for a three day trip, missing Avery’s birthday by less than an hour thanks to repeated flight delays on Friday. Fortunately, Avery’s party was scheduled for Saturday, so I didn’t miss his birthday as he sees it. We had a good time, but there was a surprise this morning.
When Claire woke me, it was to invite me downstairs where she had prepared breakfast for the family all by herself. Eggo waffles and orange juice, but she also put out the syrup and honey, a few pieces of fruit, the plates, and even poured the juice into the glasses. I assume Diana gave her a hand with reaching the glasses, but she has been known to climb on her stool to do it.
It was worth getting up after only four hours sleep for. Claire knew it was hard for me to get up, since just before going to bed that night she told me “I’m going to let you sleep late, you know how? I am not going to make breakfast, for you.”
Thanks!
The kids and I went to Noni and Grandpa’s to assemble the new Jungle gym Avery got for his birthday. As Noni and I assembled, the kids turned on the hose and made a “pond”. After it was done, and the kids had played for a while, we went inside and cleaned up. I called Diana and told her we were coming home, then hunted for the kids, finding Claire upstairs watching TV.
As we were talking, Avery walked in and announced “I am naked.”
“Yes,” I said, “why are you naked?”
Avery contemplated this looking down to make sure. “Um, because I have no clothes on.”
Last night we went to the PRC gala. Last year Diana won a number of baskets, this year, for considerably less money, we won three. My mother also won a basket, which she is going to divvy up among her friends with us getting the biggest piece for Avery’s birthday.
Two of the baskets are for a baby boy. This isn’t as big a deal as you would think, since the only real hint they are for a boy is a dominance of blue, and no difference for the toys.