Three Weeks Old

Our littlest girl turned three weeks old this past Thursday!  Her stats from her two week appointment: weight 7 pounds 5 ounces, 20 inches tall, and head circumference 35.5cm. (Percentiles are:19%,38% and 40%, respectively.)

In her third week of life, she also knocked out her first photo shoot with my girlfriend, Stacy.  Here are a few photos from our "sneak peak"...

Hannah's First Bath!

On The Job Training

I am trying to catch up on blog posts during Hannah's middle-of the night feedings.  The only trouble is it takes way longer to type one handed and to form coherent thought at such hours.  But, I know that these are the times that I will want to re-live through journaling as the specific details fade from my memory.  So, here goes...

My job description has permanently been altered from mommy of one to mommy of two (or rather mommy of four since our furbabies are so very high maintenance.)  Come last Monday, Nick's first day back at work, I was thrown into advanced mommy boot camp.  In spite of my experience with long hours in understaffed conditions, I still had a whopping case of first-day jitters.

Fortunately, I chose to go back to sleep after Hannah's early morning feeding rather than hit the shower before clocking in for day one; which was a wise choice in hindsight because, between Hannah, Molly, Darla and Emmy I handled more bodily waste in the first half hour after Nick departed for the day than I care to remember.  It was clearly a coordinated effort.  Once everyone (and everything) was cleaned up, I decided to restart our day with some fun in the playroom.  It was there that I found myself to be Emmy, Molly and Darla's chosen target in their high-speed game of keep-away.  Emmy swooped in, while I was most vulnerable, nursing Hannah, and confiscated my fancy new nursing accessories to use them to "clean" her toys (and her face.)  My stern commands, from my helpless seat, to "bring them back to Mama," only fueled her game and exacerbated her case of the giggles.  The dogs were hot on her trail and proceeded to play tug-of-war with them as soon as they hit the ground.  At that moment, I decided to throw our daytime TV ban out the window and induce Emmy into a daze via her beloved Caillou when nursing Hannah; seeing as how she has quickly learned that she can get away with murder so long as I am feeding her baby sister.  It was one of those days that I was stalking the clock waiting for Nick to walk in the door.  He couldn't get home soon enough.

Fortunately, Emmy had Mom's Day Out on Tuesday.  Unfortunately, not all good things come easily.  It is remarkable how much has to be done last minute when leaving the house with a toddler and a newborn: Re-stock the diaper bag, feed the baby, secure the newborn in carseat, chase down the two year old to put shoes on, replace socks and shoes once they have been removed in favor of dress-up footware, do and re-do big sister's hair after she puts her swim diaper "hat" onto her head, convince the toddler it's not time for sidewalk chalk when attempting to get into the car, dissipate unavoidable tantrum that follows, pack and repack the two year old's lunch bag after she selects a snack to consume in the car, wrestle toddler into carseat and wait patiently while she snaps herself in, etc.) After beginning preparations to leave the house more than two hours before "school" started, we still showed up twenty minutes late; and part of Hannah's next meal had soaked through my shirt.  My girlfriends (Emmy's teachers) sensed my bewilderment and gave me the pep talk I needed; reassuring me that every day from here on out will get easier than the one before it as I determine and employ my new bag of tricks.

The rest of the week did get progressively better, but not without plenty of hiccups along the way.  Of course, I haven't even ventured out on errands by myself with both girls yet.  That's going to require a whole other bag of tricks.  For now, I am grateful to my pregnant self for stocking the house for Armageddon, which will buy me a little more time to dream up that game plan and get brave enough to go for it.

My Prize

Knowing that my family would be descending upon our home this past weekend was the carrot I needed to get through my first week flying solo.  All of the sleep deprivation and tantrums that I powered through were well worth my big prize.  I recall now why I relished in my sick days growing up, because there is nothing quite like getting loved on by Mom and Dad; and Kris (and her kiddos) just make everything so much more fun.

Within half an hour on Saturday evening, we multiplied from our little family of four to five adults and five children (and two very noisy dogs.)  To say that our humble abode was busting at the seams would be putting it mildly.  In all of the madness, though, was so much love.  It sometimes feels as though it takes divine intervention to get so many of us in the same place at once (we were still missing Jamie and JP :(); how I wish it didn't have to be that way.

We kept the agenda simple on Sunday with church and lots of playtime at home.  Mom and Dad dove in, head first, to their one full day spent with their five grandbabies.   They played a hilarious game of hide and seek, Dad and Andy built a wooden toy car together, Mom and the kids made some play dough and did a jello science experiment for snack.  While Mom prepared a feast for dinner, the rest of us got a kick out of watching the kiddos play together; they are pretty much like a litter of puppy dogs, climbing all over one another, and giggling non-stop.  They will do nearly anything to get a rise out of eachother.  Kris and I couldn't help but chuckle when we later found ourselves attempting to discipline the older three, while simultaneously nursing our younger two.  Andy, Claire and Emmy took full advantage of our immobility; each time one was sent to time out (or "tie-me-out" as Emmy calls it), the other two would promptly join them in solidarity.  So, they just continued their play, sitting side-by-side in tie-me-out, and there was very little we could do about it.  Stinkers.

After Kris and the kids left Monday morning, Mom and Dad got to work stocking my pantry and fridge, preparing all of our meals, repairing and cleaning my house, and covering Emmy duty.  What an incredible gift it was not only to have their wonderful company, and my load decreased to little more than feeding and cuddling Hannah, but to be set up for success as I work towards proficiency at juggling the needs of my newly expanded family.  I am so grateful; and missing them terribly already.

Jacob Ryan, nearly 4 months old, Hannah, two and a half weeks old.  Hannah has some catching up to do!

Five little monkeys sitting on the couch!

They were not pleased to have their play time interrupted for a picture.

Mimi and Papa reading bedtime stories!

Enjoying the (almost) 60 degree winter weather!

Mimi cooking play dough with Andy, Claire and Emmy.

Emmy might be a politician some day because she LOVES to kiss the babies.  Poor Jacob's startle reflex was tested with her show of affection.

Jacob paying it forward'.

Jacob and Hannah breaking in our new play mat from Aunt Clare and Uncle Harry!

One of several photos that I stole from Kris' camera.  She's a far better photographer than me. :)

Is that a smile?!?!

Emmy, the baby kisser, back at work!

Papa "colorin' pitures" with the girls.

This broke my heart: Emmy climbed into Kris' car and sat on the seat between Andy and Clairey's carseats as they prepared to leave.  She, tearfully, surrendered after we bribed her with a treat.  Saying goodbye just keeps getting harder and harder on all of us, big and small. :(

A place that I, too, have found great comfort over the years...Leaning on Papa.

6 days old

I had hoped to have a blog post written to honor Hannah's 6th day of life, in that from here on out her age will be quantified in weeks, then months, then years. Unfortunately, I only got so far as the title before my short deadline. I don't want any more time to go by undocumented, so I'm committed to writing about it by typing one-handed, while my precious angel baby sleeps on my chest.

We have fallen hard for our sweet Hannah. Hook, line and sinker. It would be hard not to when staring at her delicate little face. She is an incredible sleeper, with the exception of one 930pm-500am bender on night #4. I had flashbacks from Emmy's first weeks, and got scared for a moment that Hannah was Emmy's infant twin. The last few nights have given me great relief that Hannah has picked up our night time routine a little more quickly than big sis. She's adopted an every four hour feeding schedule over night, thank the Lord! Hannah has a high-pitched girly cry that she only really lets out if she's in need of a new diaper or a meal (with the exception of night #4 when there was no workable solution to her issue.) While some academics might attribute "happy-looking" facial contortions to gas, I prefer to think of them as smiles, of which she's shared a few. :) She's still a bit jaundiced, but after the second check-up with her pediatrician, we know that all that bilirubin is on it's way out. We also know that she lost just 4 ounces from her birth weight before she started regaining. As of Tuesday, she was back up to 7 pounds. :) Small victories such as that are so appreciated by a nursing mama.

Emmy can't get enough of her baby sister and is always ready with a kiss. In between kisses, she has spent lots of quality time with Daddy, Poppy and Grammy. They braved the cold at the park, toured the Nashville Zoo, and explored the "Kids & Play" gym. She even got to go on a shopping spree at Toys R Us! Lucky Girl came home and practiced riding her new tricycle in the living room (out of respect for our furniture and walls, it now lives in the garage :-P)! She is soaking up all of the attention and keeps chanting our made up song "I love you, yes I do, I love you, I DO I DO!"

With Emmy being so well cared for, I have had some quiet time to cherish Hannah's first few days of life; and to work at getting us in sync with feedings. I was successful in evading the worst pain of childbirth with my trusty epidural, but it's come in a different form through nursing. I had hoped that being an "experienced mom" might spare me from the pain I had with Emmy, but no such luck. Like her sister, Hannah has chewed me up and spit me out. I will prevail, though, and have formulated a new game plan that seems to be working so far: pain medication. I have no idea why I didn't medicate myself with Emmy, but taking Tylenol around the clock has taken the edge off, and for that I am so grateful. It's also helping with some of the discomfort from my insides returning to their rightful size and location. It's all a very small price to pay, though, for having the honor of assisting God in the miracle known as Hannah Horn.

I should mention that we had some last minute name negotiations behind closed hospital doors. Nick preferred Hannah's middle name to be pronounced "Mad-e-LYNN" over "Mad-e-LINE." I was open-minded, and frankly, grateful that he wasn't pushing for one of the characters' names from the movie Underworld. I did want to stick with the traditional french spelling of the name, though, which is where Nick compromised (since he's not a fan of the French or anything that has to do with them.) So, her birth certificate reads:

HANNAH MADELEINE HORN

Hannah, 4 days old.

Emmy, 6 days old. 

Their little facial similarities outweigh their differences at this point. Love them! :)

Photos Nick stole from Grammy's fancy new camera!

Christmas/New Year's Letter 2011

January 2012

To our dear family and friends,

We hope that this note finds you enjoying the start of a wonderful new year!  With the impending January birth of the littlest non-canine Horn, it was our hope to break the mold with a Valentine/birth announcement mailer as opposed to the traditional Christmas card!  Truthfully, we hope you to know that you all remain on our minds and in our prayers throughout the whole year, not just during the holiday season.

This year has been full of excitement, beginning in March with Nick’s return home from his yearlong deployment to Afghanistan!   It was such a welcome end to our most difficult deployment yet.  Three months later, he relinquished his company command and returned to the Special Operations Aviation Regiment.  Being that he was recently promoted to Major, he earned himself a desk jockey job.  While he doesn’t love being out of the action, I must say Emmy and I love having him in his seat at the dinner table each night.  With just five months left of his military commitment, he is attempting to determine what his next career move will be, military or civilian.  Decisions, decisions, decisions!

Nick and his company’s return from Afghanistan enabled me to channel my former prom planning days with a giant (adult’s only) welcome home cocktail party in downtown Nashville.  We just had so much to celebrate, which made the time commitment and last minute mega-fundraising ventures all worth it.   Curiously, there has been a baby boom among the families in our former company, not to exclude our own, just nine short months later.  We found out on Mother’s Day that I would be a mommy of two, which was, without doubt, the greatest gift I could have been given.  Stay-at-home-mommyhood has been a rewarding, challenging and truly humbling career, and I am so grateful that it sits on my resume.   

Our 2-year-old whirling dervish, also known as Emmy, has provided us with an endless amount of entertainment.  She and Nick didn’t miss a beat after the deployment; she even saved her walking milestone so that he could be there to witness it.  Much to Nick’s chagrin, she is all girl and has a great affinity for dress-up accessories, taking care of her babies, and reading the “Fancy Nancy” children’s book series.  Emmy is living up to her age, as she has mastered asking for and granting herself permission for whatever wily antic she dreams up all in the same breath.  She has an energy level comparable to that of a super-athlete and a sense of humor of the same magnitude.   To say that we are smitten with our big girl is an understatement.

God apparently felt as though the estrogen level in our home was lacking (despite our two female dogs, Molly and Darla, Emmy and myself,) so He blessed us with another baby girl!  I reminded Nick that God gives us what we need, which, surprisingly, didn’t offer him any consolation to being so grossly outnumbered.  Hannah Madeleine Horn was born on January 12, 2012, at 9:33PM.  She weighed in at 7 pounds, 2 ounces and measured 19 inches tall.  She has the sweetest demeanor, offering few cries and many cuddles.   In her wakeful periods, it’s hard not to get lost looking into her eyes.  She is a true example of God’s work at it’s finest. 

Wishing you and your family a blessed 2012!  Cheers!

With Love,

Nick, Ali, Emmy, Hannah, Molly & Darla Horn