Aliah's Birthday Fun

Well we finally had a birthday party for Aliah. It was full of fun and BUGS. Here are some highlights.
Antenna making.

A Bug Stomp.

Pin the Stinger on the Bee.
Dirt cups for dessert.

And last but not least Swat the Fly. (This video is really lame, but I couldn't get the good one to upload. You can get that we're hitting a pinata though. At least I hope so.)

Thanks to everyone who came, and thanks for all of the amazing presents. Aliah was definitely spoiled. She got lots of clothes and toys and books, a bike AND a scooter! She has plenty of new things to share, so everyone come over and play! We'd LOVE to see you!

A Big BUG Birthday Bash!

2 Weeks of being a Mom of TWO!

Here are the latest and greatest pictures of Inara. She probably doesn't look any different to you, but I think she's already getting huge.

We didn't have nearly as busy of a week but it was still lots of fun. We did have Aliah's birthday. Here's Inara at Chuck E Cheese's.

She didn't like it much, but at least she looked cute. (Can you believe how huge that flower on her head is? It might eat her alive, I'm not sure.)

She spends most of her time sleeping. I think she's so gorgeous!

What a fun two weeks it's been. The biggest challenge I've run into so far with having two kids is who to put in the car first. Do I let my toddler run around the parking lot while I get the baby in, or do I leave the baby sitting in the parking lot while I get my toddler in? It's hard to say. I'll just take Spencer everywhere so I don't have to worry about it!

Happy Birthday Aliah!

I'm 2!!!

We had such a fun time for Aliah's birthday. It was just full of fun activities. We started by having mac and cheese at Max n' Cheese this kids food restaurant. (No one bother going, it's lame, but we had never been there.)
But the play area was fun.

We had big plans to go to the Children's Museum at the Gateway, but it closed before we could make it. So as a sorry alternative we went to Chuck E Cheese's.

Aliah rode this car 3 or 4 times. But she really didn't care about any of the games. She's still too young maybe. So we cashed in her tickets and she got a sucker and this pink hair extention.

We tried to get a nice family picture, but this is how it turned out. I think it's perfect though. Very realistic.

We didn't stay long because it was clear that Aliah didn't care much about being there, so we went to the park instead. She had such a good time. I have got to remember that kids don't care about fancy things, they just want to run around and have fun.

On the way home Aliah was so happy. She even sang Happy Birthday to herself.

She's the greatest! I'm so proud of how well she's growing up and how smart she is, and how beautiful and friendly she is. She's such a performer. It's so fun to see her grow and learn. She brings me just an unbelievable about of joy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
to my big little girl!

One Week

We had a great first week of Inara's life! Here are some highlights. (And a lowlight.)

We thought we'd start her out right by teaching her the importance of a healthy glow, so we got this baby tanning bed for her!

Her bilirubin levels were high so she's been in here all week. They're on their way down, but we haven't yet been given the okay to take her out. At least she looks peaceful.


Inara also learned to suck her thumb already. She's still a bit clumsy with it, but I'm sure she'll figure it out soon. Aliah got the hang of it by three months and has slept through the night ever since. Lets all keep our fingers crossed that Inara will do as well!


Our first outing (except for to the hospital for tests) was for fireworks on the 24th. And the next day we all went to the park to get outside finally. (The picture is all fuzzy, but the flowers are still beautiful!)


Happy one week Inara!

Introducing...

Inara Mary Behrend

Born: Jul 18, 2008

Birth Time: 10:18 am

Weight: 7 lbs 6 oz

Length: 20 inches

We are so excited to welcome little Inara (In- ah- rah) into our family! Already we feel so blessed to have such a sweet and happy little angel.

Labor and Delivery:

It seems she was in quite some hurry to get here. I felt my first contraction about 5:40 am but stayed in bed waiting them out. They were ten minutes apart and never got any closer together, just more intense. So at 9:00 when Spencer got up to get ready for school I asked him to call the hospital to see if they might take me and give me some pain medicine. As soon as I got up out of bed the contractions jumped on top of each other. We got to the hospital and the nurse took us in to check and see how far dilated I was. Spencer helped me into the hospital gown and the nurse asked me to lay back on the bed. As I was doing so I screamed (literally!) "She coming right now!" Spencer looked and goes, "Oh ya, she really is." in a very calm almost surprised voice. The nurse had him hit the panic button and about six more nurses came rushing in. I panicked! I stared at Spencer and kept saying over and over, "I don't have any drugs! I don't have any drugs!" (I'm the epidural's #1 fan!) Two more contractions and out popped Inara. I never even pushed. I don't remember anything put screaming and shaking like there was an earthquake. Next thing I knew they were asking Spencer to cut the cord and saying "Time of birth 10:18" 8 minutes we had been at the hospital.

What an adventure! Apparently word got around fast because when I was walking to the recovery room three different nurses said, "oh are you the 10 minute girl?" And the other new dad that Spencer saw in the nursery asked if it was his wife!

Hospital Stay and Going Home:
Hospitals are really no fun, but I love being waited on so I always try and stay as long as they'll let me. We had a ton of visitors! So many that two different nurses commented on it. It was so fun. This is our first family photo.

The proud big sister. (Isn't she gorgeous!)

Leaving the hospital was a nightmare. (They thought there was a teeny tiny chance that something might maybe possibly be wrong (they sound sure huh?!)) We thought we got to leave at 11:00 so I got up and packed in the very early morning. The nurse then told me my discharge time was 2:00 so we kept on waiting. Aliah found ways to keep herself busy.

Finally at 3:00 after two pages and a phone call to the doctor at home with no response we had the nurse call the on call doctor to give us permission to leave. Back at home Spencer's family came and cleaned up my kitchen and bathroom (Thanks so much guys! You're awesome!) and brought over the cradle Spencer had made me.

Isn't it amazing! Spencer's mom and my sister made the bedding for it.

Next Time:

I've decided to have my baby at home next time. I figure, clearly I don't have any trouble having babies, doctors don't do anything a nurse can't do, (Thanks again to the awesome nurses who delivered Inara! Go Amy and Kristy! I hope you think it's a good story to tell!) and I know you can still have an epidural at home. This way I can ask for the drugs when I feel ready not when someone says I am, and I don't have to bother with pushy nurses that Spencer has to tell to back off. As for natural birth, it's just not for me. And let me make sure and get it out there that the tale of the pain not getting worse after you've dilated to an 8 is a flat out lie! It's some totally made up thing that they've been telling us all our life to try and trick us into natural birthing. The pain gets a lots worse, but it changes totally. Its a good pain, honestly it feels good! It's like working out, or getting a message. It hurts, but in a good way. Looking back at it I'm incredibly proud of myself though! And you know something funny, it's an unbelievably satisfying feeling. I can now say I've had a natural birth. I don't know why I think that's so cool, but I fell like I want to make a list just so I can check that one off. That's how excited I am about it. I think I would actually encourage my friends to do it. Just once! If you were mentally prepared for it, instead of panicky like me, it would be great. You truly feel like you can do anything afterward. If you can have a natural birth you can take on anything life hands you. It's a strange yet wonderful euphoria.

So welcome, welcome little Inara into this crazy world!

Grilling

Spencer and I want a grill really bad. So tonight when we were longing for one again Spencer just went to work. I'm so impressed with what he came up with. Our stakes were delicious! Cooked over a wood fire until perfectly rare. Yum!