Annie and Anna

We had an unexpected visit today with Anna's BFF (best friend forever) Annie.   Our friend Becky came in town for a visit and rather than having her come by both of our houses I decided to take Eli and Anna over to Annies house (honestly I was starting to get a little jealous that everyone had met Annie but ME!).     So while Annie's dad and Becky's husband entertained Eli (by the way Kenny he talked about going golfing with you the whole car ride home) the women fawned over the babies. 

For those of you that don't know, Julie (Annie's mom) and I have been the best of friends since we were 12.   When she shared with me back in March that she was 7 weeks pregnant, I couldn't believe that I too was 5 weeks pregnant.   We were even more excited to find out that we were both having GIRLS!!!   We both already had our GIRL names as well, and yes they were Annie and Anna and neither of cared/wanted to budge!  Then the month we had been waiting for arrived and we continued to share pregnancy symptoms and tried to guess when our little girls would arrive.  You can guess that Julie was pretty excited/surprised/frustrated when I called to tell her that I was in labor on HER DUE DATE (2 weeks early).   So she coaxed little Annie to arrive 2 days later.    Yes, we were in the hospital at the same time and no we were not able to see each other because of the timing of everything.   So today was our first time meeting her!!  We love you Annie and can't wait to get to know you/love on you even more in the future. 

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Good Night!

I will try to write/post more later, but had to post this PRECIOUS picture of our biggest blessings this year!   

In DUE time

Today we celebrate Anna's due date!!!   December 20th is a day that I have been looking forward to for 9 months because I knew that at around this time I would be holding my sweet little girl.   Well in typical fashion (based upon her behavior in the womb: flicking us off, never showing us her face, ect.) she decided to come 12 days earlier and we couldn't be happier!   Since she came early we were able to enjoy lots of things that we didn't think we would be able to...
1) Attending Eli's Christmas performance (in December 2009 photo album; go to link at the right...)
2) Eli was able to represent the family this weekend at his Aunt Kara's graduation
3) She was able to join her mom and dad Christmas shopping
4) Attending our neighbors Christmas party

Things we weren't able to enjoy since she came early...
1) A less stressful finals week
2) Todd taking off work to help Leah with managing 2 little ones! (he had a pretty important conference that he needed to attend, if I truly needed him he could have taken off...I think...)  He IS taking off this upcoming week and we are so excited!!   

Anna Davis, we love you and are so excited you are here!  We love your cheeks, your perky nose, your sweet disposition, your tolerance of your brother (so far), dressing you up (eventhough you HATE it), putting bows in your hair, rocking you to sleep and holding you in our arms.   We can't wait to see how the next seconds, minutes, hours, days, months and years bring us closer to the Lord because of YOU!  We are so thankful for you...

(by the way there are new pictures posted to our Shutterfly site in the December 2009 album...enjoy!)

While we were away...

...to read about life from Eli's (well his Grandma's) perspective, click HERE

My mom did several blogs on Eli's stay with them.   Thanks again Grandma and Grandpa!  I can see why he was asking to go to your house today : ) 

Whew!

Not as much time to blog once the reality of being home sets in!   Here are a few updates:

1) Eli has been home with us since Friday and is borderline obsessed with his little sister.   We are trying to teach him some boundaries with her...(like DON'T spit on her...)   He is still trying to figure everything out and he used a phrase that I NEVER thought he'd use.  When asked if he wanted to go and get pizza with his dad and Grandad he said, "no, I want to stay here."   I don't know what exactly to attribute that to, but we are trying to stick to as 'normal' of a routine as possible to help him with this transition.

2) Anna is getting more beautiful everyday...possibly every minute.   Every time I look at her I can't believe she's mine!!   She has the perkiest lil' nose and the most scrumptious cheeks : )  She has a very peaceful disposition and doesn't even flinch when her brother tackles....I mean hugs her.     We had our first Dr. check up this morning and she weighs 7lb. 6 oz...she's a healthy little eater!   We were worried about her yellowish skin (at the hospital she was just below the treatment level) so we headed back over to St. Johns to get her blood checked.  She is still RIGHT below the treatment levels for jaundice but with our history with Eli and both Todd and I having it as infants we went ahead and have her on a billi bed hoping that her levels go down soon.   We are going in for more blood work/Dr.'s check up on Monday so we'll keep you posted.   Know that she is still really happy and is a great eater!!   

3) Todd is officially DONE with his finals and done with school work until Jan. 11th...Praise God for the timing of her birth (minus the stress of her coming during finals week) At least we have a month of no school!  

4) I am doing drastically better (so far) with this transition compared to going from 0 to 1.   I can't put my finger on why, but I am so thankful for this...thanks for all your prayers!  

Oh, and pictures have been updated : )  

More Info on Anna (Possibly TMI)

This is for our more bored/interested friends and family members.  For those of you who just want pictures, click on the Shutterfly link to the right.  We will add more pictures as time allows.

Alright so here are some more of the details.  I will try to categorize them so those of you that don’t care/are grossed out by some of them can just skip that section : ) 

LABOR/DELIVERY:  I started having consistent contractions at 10:00pm on 12/7/09.    They were not very painful, but were lasting 1 minute and coming every 5 minutes.   After timing them for about 3 hours we decided we may need to start packing up and calling in the recruits!   Todd dad came and we arrived at the hospital at 2 am.   Even though my contractions were coming every 3 minutes they were doing NOTHING!  I was still only dilated at 1 cm after they monitored me for a couple hours.   They were starting to just call it a “Cranky Uterus” which really pi$$ed me off!   All that work for NOTHING?!!?   (granted they weren’t all that painful  I gave them a 4 on the scale of 1-10).   So they said I could either go home and see my Dr. at 8 the next morning or try to walk around to see if that did anything.   I was feeling really embarrassed and tired and knew that Todd had a final that night and was going on no sleep so if this was indeed nothing he was going to have a rough day.  So we decided to go home, get some sleep and see the DR. the next morning.  

We arrived home at 4 :30 am and fell right asleep for 1 hour until Eli woke up (yes you hear right, and yes that is completely normal in our house)  I stood up to get Eli and immediately felt shooting pain in my back so bad that I started crying (and I was REALLY tired so I am sure that added to it).  I laid down while Todd timed them and they were only 2 minutes apart and were lasting 1 1/2 minutes and I could hardly breathe through them.   I knew we couldn’t wait to see my Dr. at 8 and needed to head back to the hospital.   So in between contractions I slowly but surely made it to the car and up to the labor and delivery room (I couldn’t even walk they were so painful).   Once there we were quick to be checked in (since we were just there!)  and they seemed to take FOREVER to check and see that I was indeed in “active” labor this time.  I was screaming for the epidural already : )   Once they checked the sent me to labor and delivery and were great about ordering the epidural right away (I put my pain at a 9/10 this time!) .   We FINALLY received the epidural 10:30 am  (I had to have enough fluids in me, ect. ) 

Through the process of getting the epidural they told me that I have slight scoliosis so that is probably why it didn’t work correctly with Eli…I was a complicated one they said!   They spent some time on it this time to get it exactly right and it was SOOOOO worth it.   I honestly didn’t care if she took days to come once it was working I was so relaxed and comfortable.  I slept in and out all day!   Finally at about 3:00 they said I was complete but Anna’s head still wasn’t ready so they had me labor down for about an hour.   Then at 4:00 they brought everything in, and at 4:30 they had me start pushing.   She was sunny side up just like Eli but they were able to turn her while I pushed!   After only a couple of rounds of pushing they said I need to stop and wait for the DR!   She was basically pushing herself out at this point, and they were about to just take her out but then the Dr. showed up and laughed and said, “now that’s a crowning baby…”.   So of course after one push she was here at 5:06 pm!  

ANNA DAVIS IS HERE!: 

Anna came out crying which was music to her parents ears.   My first thought was “Oh!  She looks like Eli!”   Then after staring at her some more I thought “Oh!  She looks nothing like Eli!”   Todd thinks I’m crazy and says “she looks like a baby.”   But of course I am still analyzing who she looks like : ) 

She weighed in at 8lbs exactly and is 21 inches long.   For those of you that have been wondering, she was due on 12/20 so was 12 days early!!   The crazy fun fact is that I was 12 days early as well…must be a Davis thing (Davis is my middle name as well…)   For 12 days early she is VERY alert and very chubby : )  Her hair seems golden and she has those gray/blue eyes.  (Eli was brown and brown…)  

ELI MEETS ANNA:  

Unfortunately they whisked Anna away 5 minutes before Eli showed up with my parents.   He seemed a little freaked out by my blood pressure cuff (I told him it was an arm bracelet) but other than that was acting totally normal.  After a couple of games of hide and seek in the curtains, lots of chips and oreoes, they headed up to the nursery to catch a glimpse before they had to go home and put Eli to bed.   They held Anna up to the window so he could see her and he was able to touch her foot through the glass : )  We hope for a more formal introduction soon!  

LIFE THE NEXT DAY:

After only 1 hour of sleep the night before we obviously slept like…babies (newborn that is).   Anna is fairly peaceful, alert and a great eater!

Anna Davis Warren

...is here!  I just typed a long blog post and then the hospital logged me off : (   We NEED to go to bed so here is the important stuff:

12/8/09 5:06 pm
8 pounds, 21 inches

I will send more fun stuff/photos out tomorrow!  

Where are the pictures?!?

In case you haven't already noticed, on the RIGHT side of the page at the TOP there is a link to our new Shutterfly site.   Once you click on the link, you will need to enter "warren" as the password.   Currently there are October AND November pictures posted up there!   There are only 36 photos for November, I think that is a record low!   I am sure we will make up for it with our December pictures : ) I hope at some point to add some previous albums that were on our original site (we'll see if and when that happens).  One thing that is great about Shutterfly, is that if you click on the picture there is an option to the right to download it to your computer!!    Enjoy...

On the first Day of Christmas (or Advent...)

I am so excited for Christmas this year!  Not only are we bringing our own lil' miss Anna into the world, but we get to celebrate the birth of Jesus.   It feels so much more magical to me this year having both happen together, and to see the joy of Christmas through the eyes of a 2 1/2 year old.   Yes, he has experienced 2 Christmases already but to him EVERYTHING is new and exciting this year and he wants to know it ALL.   He is starting to put some pieces together (he knows Mary and Joseph, so if you come to our house with a turban on your head don't be alarmed if he calls you that!) but he is still a little confused about Jesus vs. Santa. 

At Central Presbyterian where we attend a Bible Study class together (me for the adults, him for the 2 year olds) there is a life size Jesus out the window that he loves to say "hi" and "bye" to when we leave.   So to now see Jesus as a baby is a little confusing : )  He also is seeing this Santa guy around a lot and he seems pretty jolly and cool as well.  So when at the store/at home putting up ornaments he calls Santa "Jesus" it's easy to see where he might get a little mixed up.  At least he sees Jesus as one fun dude, right?   (I wasn't going to get into the fact that he only lived to 33 and would never have a white beard, lived in a desert so would never need a red suit, and was Arabian so was def. not white!) 

To help clear some of the confusion we are using an AWESOME advent calendar that my Aunt Jane and Uncle Richard sent us.   For each day he gets to pick out a magnet piece to put on the manger scene to help complete the story.  I then hope to read a 2 year old version of the Christmas story to him every morning so that he can start making the connection.  I think this will help me keep things in perspective this season as well!  (my only hope is that he doesn't think Anna is baby Jesus...that damage would be hard to undo and hard to explain to strangers...) 

Another fun thing I hope to do over the next 25 days (apart from being in the hospital giving birth) is to download a FREE Christmas song a day to add to our collection.   You can celebrate in this way to by going to AMAZON and downloading the song to your computer.   (Today's is "Joy to the World" by Casting Crowns)   Another great freebie offered only today is a BEAUTIFUL rendition of "What Child is This" sung yesterday on Oprah by Andrea Bocelli and Mary J. Blige and "Silent Night" sung by Sugarland.   You can find those songs by clicking HERE.     

Hope your next 25 days are MAGICAL!!