Big Sister

Introducing...

It's a GIRL!! Elizabeth "Ellie" Marie Giere was born at 6:55 am Sunday, Aug. 27, 2006. She weighed a whopping 9 pounds, 12 ounces and was 20 inches long.

Long story short, my water broke at 5:15am, we got to the hospital around 6am, after begging for an epidural and realizing that it was too late to get one, I "decided" to push her out at 6:55! That's 1 hour and 40 minutes from start to finish! Not what I was expecting, but in the end, it was all worth it...

Everything has gone so well that we already came home this afternoon. Hannah LOVES her little sister and is already showering her with kisses.

She's a beauty and we couldn't be happier.

Proud Daddy


Another angel


Keeping warm


Ready for home

1 more week...for sure!

After the initial greetings at my appointment today, my doctor asked if Brian and I (he came along for this one, which was great!) if we'd like to be induced at any time. Apparently (and I'm not sure if all doctors do this), she is more than ok with inducing a patient if they have progressed enough and are only a week or so away from their due date. So, that includes me! Well, of course I got excited because I really would like to have this baby, but on the other hand, since she was putting the ball in our court, it made it harder to decide. She gave us the days in the next week that would work to schedule it and after hearing those and talking it over, we decided to schedule the induction for next Tuesday (Aug. 29th) at 8 am!! I am still about 4cm dilated and am progressing in the other ways that the body needs to prepare. That being said, this baby could very well come before the induction. I'll admit that it's nice to know that we will be him/her in 1 week or less...for sure. It's scary too...but really I'm totally thrilled and excited to deliver this baby. I feel positive about going into it naturally or by being induced. For those of you wondering, the induction would mean that the doctor would break my water and see if things then progressed on their own (which they should). If, after a few hours, there wasn't significant progress, they may start pitocin. Wow is all I can really say! I'm still going to have to be patient and that may be hard, but it's all good.... :o)

On to Hannah...this past weekend, we were joking around putting a ball in her shirt so she could pretend to have a "baby" in her tummy too. She was so cute! She would ask Brian and I if we wanted to "feel the baby move" and then put our hands on the ball. She'd look at us and ask, "Can you feel it?" imitating exactly what I do and say when she feels the baby.

Like Mother, Like Daughter


"Little Mommy"

"I'm a fish!"

While in the bath tub last night, Hannah declared that she was "a fish!" Hmmm...I wonder where she got that from? :o) She has been getting more and more crazy in the tub. Her latest is to lay on her back with her head almost covered in water. (Don't worry...I'm safety girl and am ALWAYS in the room with her.) She thinks it's even more funny to scream while her head is under...I'm sure it sounds funny to her. Here are a few pics from last night's adventure.

"Snake" and "Froggy" sighting

Hannah is doing great with potty training! She's been amazing! She's still working on going #2 on the potty and that's ok. Sunday afternoon I was able to get her on just in time for her to go...it had been a few days (as usual for her), so I know her tummy felt better immediately. After going, she looked down in the toilet and said, "It kind of looks like a snake." Too funny! Needless to say, I was very proud of her and so was she. :O) What a big girl!

Speaking of being a big girl, I asked her the other day as kind of a joke, "What will I do when you grow up?" She replied with all seriousness, "It's ok if I grow up Mom." I had to chuckle and then said, "Just don't do it too fast." I think it's already too late for that.

On Monday, Hannah and I visited with "Froggy" the character from a children's series of books written by Jonathan London. Froggy made a special appearance at the North Aurora Library and Hannah loved it! As you can see, she was not at all shy around him...in fact, she kept going up to him trying to give him "high-fives" and hugs. It was great.



I went to the doctor again yesterday and got pretty much the same report. Although, along with being almost 4cm, I am now 50% effaced. That's good news!!! The baby could still come at any time, but I'm guessing it will still be a couple of weeks. I'm ready, I'm excited, I'm nervous, I have the "going home" outfits picked out (one for a boy, one for a girl)...we're all set! Oh yeah, the heartrate was around 144.

2 Weeks to Go!!

pop art

Another cool "trick" that can be done on the Apple...Brian loves to play with this as much as Hannah does!

coming soon...

I went to the doctor yesterday and to my surprise, I am dialated 3-4 cm already!! Wow! That was certainly not what I expected to hear! Of course, as the dr. said, that doesn't mean I'm going into labor right away, but it still kind of freaked me out! I'm still at -2 station and the baby's head is for sure down, so that's good. :o)

The heartrate was in the 140's again...

All this to say that I decided on the way home that I better get my bag packed! ;o)

Here is a picture of the baby from our 20 week ultrasound. Obviously I'm a little late putting this up, but I'd thought I'd include it now. Better late than never, right? (it's from the 3-D ultrasound they did...can you see his/her little face in there?)

goofy girl

With our Apple computer we can take silly pictures in the "Photo Booth" program. Here are a few of our goofy little girl.





Ok, and one of our goofy family. :o)

still going

Hannah is still doing so well on the potty! She stayed overnight and Grandma and Grandpa Giere's this weekend and had a "minor" accident, but I'd still say she's doing great!

I know moving her into this next phase of life (going diaperless) is supposed to catapult her into "big-girlhood" and it's supposed to be this happy time, but to be honest, although I'm happy, I'm kind of sad too. I'm sad that she's not my little girl anymore. I've been thinking about this a lot w/ the new baby coming too. The time w/ just her and I will be no longer and that makes me a little sad. I know she's going to love having a brother or sister and I can't wait to meet this little one who's been rolling around inside me for the past 9 months, but I can't help but think about how things will never be the way they used to. It's like a lot changes in life...graduating from high school, college, getting a job, getting a new job, and another new job and another new job (oh wait, that's just me). Anyway, I'm sure every family/mom goes through this when adding a new member to the family...and now it's my time. I know that Hannah and I will survive and she'll always be my precious little angel.

big girl now...

So far, so good! Hannah is doing GREAT w/ the potty training! I even dared to venture out to Target w/ her yesterday and put a pull-up on her "just in case." Well, she still told me when she had to go! We were able to run to the front of the store and make it to the potty in time! I am so proud of her!

I'm trying to stay realistic and know that we may have some set backs, but so far, she's really picking up on it. Maybe this potty training thing isn't as hard as I thought it was going to be (thus, procrastinating like crazy). And now I'm thinking that even though it wouldn't have been a huge deal to have 2 in diapers, it will nice not to, too! :o)

UPDATE AT 10:30pm...Hannah made it all day w/out an accident!!! She is amazing! :o)

attempt #?

I decided that since it's going to be blazin' hot for the next few days and we'll be inside a lot, this might be a good time to "attempt" to potty train Hannah again. I've kind of lost count of how many days I've started the training only to get frustrated and/or impatient, so I stop. So far this morning, we're on her 4th pair of underwear...hmmm, am I doing something wrong? Actually, she's doing ok, a couple of the pairs were only a little wet. Please pray that I can be diligent and stick with this for the next few days, no matter how hard it is (or gets). I'd love any advice from those of you who have potty trained before...please post your comments! :o) Thanks!

Doctors, Doughnuts & Heat

Doctor - I had a doctor's appointment today and everything looks great. The baby is measuring "right on track" and the heart rate was in the 140's (a little higher than previous appointments when it was in the 130's). Hmmm, what does that mean? The doctor (not my usual doctor, but another one in the same practice) talked to me about labor and when to come in to the hospital (when the contractions are painful...not just annoying), etc. It made me excited to think that talking about these things means the big day is getting close, but I must admit, it kind of scares me too. She assured me (as my doctor has) that things should be much easier this time (i.e. I won't have to push for 2 1/2 hours like I did w/ Hannah). Thank goodness! Even though labor and delivery is going to happen no matter what, it's still scary since you just never really know how things are going to go.

Doughnuts - After the appointment I was kind of hungry, so Hannah and I splurged and stopped at a Krispy Kreme doughnut place. I haven't been in a Krispy Kreme in years (not since living in Indy w/ the girls) and that's a good thing. I walked up to the counter and right away the clerk gave me two "samples" of fresh, hot, glazed doughnuts! I hadn't even ordered yet! So, of course I felt like I still had to order something, even though two doughnuts was enough...so, I ordered two more (Hannah had to have a chocolate covered one. She's a chocoholic just like her Daddy). So, instead of eating one doughnut each, I had 2 1/2 doughnuts and H ate one. Why do they do that? Do they want me to gain more weight then I would only having one? Crazy! But, I will admit, they were delicious and a nice treat.

Heat - It's hot! Oh my word, is it hot! I feel bad, but all I want to do is sit inside in the A/C. I think Hannah realizes how hot it is too b/c she really hasn't been asking to play outside as much. And when we are out there, she doesn't fight me too much when I tell we have to go in....what a good girl. The doctor did warn me about being outside in this heat, so I guess I shouldn't feel too bad about it...it's all for the baby. ;o) I just feel like since it's summer, I should be outside as much as possible...not this year.

Since we're talking about the new baby coming, I thought I'd put a picture from when Hannah was born. It's amazing how they grow and change so quickly!



Remember that head of hair?! (that's Luke holding her)

Last day at the beach

Since I'm not "allowed" to travel after 36 weeks, this was our last weekend this summer up at my parent's house on Lake MI. Our friends Dan and Mar joined us for a beautiful weekend. Hannah, as usual, had a great time playing in the sand and water, especially with her cousins this afternoon. It's kind of sad that we won't get to go back this summer, but on the other hand, this also means that the time for meeting our new little one is drawing closer (which is a HAPPY thing).


Hannah and Mar


Giere Fam


Grandma Marge, Papa Gord and kids...oh what we go through to try to get a cute picture taken! :o)


One more attempt...a little better. :o)


Luke and Hannah


Just Chillin'


I have to comment on one more thing...We don't know the sex of the baby, but I love how complete strangers think they do. A woman I ran into at a stop on our way home this evening told me I was having a boy. Apparently I'm carrying "out in front," so that means it's a boy! Boy or Girl, we can't wait and it will be great! ;o)

Friends

I never thought Hannah would go through this phase, but she is...she has an imaginary friend. (not that there's anything wrong w/ it) Coo-kee is her friend. Sometimes Coo-kee is a boy, sometimes a girl. Sometimes Coo-kee is big, sometimes small. She doesn't talk to him/her that often, but every once in a while brings him/her out "to play." It's kind of cute, in a weird sort of way. :o)

Maybe this is a sign that I need to get her into more play groups or something. I don't know, I'm sure it's all normal, right?!

Matt & Stacey - I'm thinking of Calvin right now. :o)

Hannah-isms

I'm so bad about writing down the funny things Hannah says, so I decided to use this site to do just that. Hopefully this will help me be better b/c she is certainly saying things every day that I'll want to remember forever. :O)

The following happened on the 4th of July at Brian's parent's house. We were sitting around after dinner and Hannah was on Connie's (Grandma) lap facing her. She must have remembered a conversation she and I had several weeks ago about how God gave her the dimples on her cheeks and that they were very special. (at the time of our conversation, she asked if she could "take them off" to which I replied, "No, God gave you those.") So, remembering this, she randomly exclaimed to Grandma, "God poked holes in my cheeks!" After we all got over the shock of what she said, we just couldn't stop laughing!

Here's a pic from yesterday in the sweltering heat. Thank goodness for sprinklers, little pools, shade and watermelon! (air conditioning in the house is a true blessing too!)

Fun with cousins

I had to add one more today of a recent picture of the Johanik boys (from left: Derek, Peter and Jake) w/ Hannah. The 4th Johanik son was added to the family on June 6, 2006. Jeremiah Philip Johanik...he's so sweet. Here's one of Hannah and I admiring him a few hours after he was born.

4th of July in MI

I thought I'd post a few pictures from our recent vacation in MI. We always love spending time with Grandma Marge and Papa Gord on the beach! It's an added bonus when Uncle Matt, Aunt Stacey, Luke and Taylor stay over there too. Here are a few of my favorites from the last trip...Hannah LOVES "slimming and slashing" (in her terms) in Lake MI, especially with her cousins Luke and Taylor! Aren't the girls just too cute together?!


This is Hannah "diving" in Lake MI.


Say "Cheese!"


Best buds...


...and loving cousins!


Luke enjoying the hot sand!

6 more weeks

Prego at 33 1/2 weeks!

6 more weeks until baby #2 comes. I must admit that I'm looking forward to the big event happening sooner rather than later. Sleeping has become quite an issue...waking up every couple of hours to hip pain and having to use the bathroom...oh so fun. I'll try not to complain as I know that a lot of women have it worse than I do. I'm just being a baby about it.

Brian news...he's been training again for the Chicago Triathlon in late Aug. He's excited to compete again after taking a year off. Hopefully Hannah and I will be able to join him down in the city to cheer him on. It's questionable since the race is only a few days before my due date. I'm still debating if I should ask my doctor about it or if I should just go. hmmmm...


Here's a pic from the last time he did the tri in '04...8 month old Hannah loved cheering her Daddy on (and our friend Rob...way to go Rob!)!

First time for everything

I never thought I would be one of these "bloggers," I only liked to read what other people had to say, not write myself. Well, I figured this would be a great way to fill in family and friends about our life, our children and all the other fun stuff that comes our way. Hopefully I'll be good at this. It's worth a try. (picture is from this past March in Palm Springs, CA)