Glen Matthew

On Tuesday, December 27th I got the information that if nothing had happened by December 30th (and there was room for me) I could be induced and have my baby that day (or soon after).

December 29th Mike, Amy, Austin, and Adam came to Roanoke to take care of Grace just in case we were able to be admitted.  Matt, Amy and I did not get much sleep at all since we had to be awake at 4am to call the hospital.  We woke early and called the hospital and they told us that the floor was full and they would call us if there was room, otherwise we needed to call my doctor and see when the next date would be.

They called at about 7:30 and asked me "Mrs. Daniels, would you like to have a baby today?"  I said "Yes!"  They told me to come in right away, and we were on the road within 5 minutes :)

The doctor broke my water, and at about 11:00am they started my Pitocin.  By 4:14 we had a baby!

 Hello Glen Matthew

We have waited for you for a long time 

 You have the sweetest little legs

 And the smallest little feet

 Though your sister seems to be more interested in her soda...

 She really does love you!

 She likes to touch your head and feet

 A happy family of four

Sweet kisses.  A great way to end a long post.

Welcome!

Matt and Lana are proud to announce the arrival of Glen Matthew.

He is 21 inches long and is 8 lbs 13oz.

It's Hopefully The Last!

This is Amy, making a post for Lana.

There has been a request or two for a belly pic of Lana.  I took it upon myself to take some pictures and get a post done.

 

Lana is 39 1/2 weeks in this picture, and feeling VERY done!

I took another picture that was cute...

although she did kiss her brother, in the picture it looks like she bit the belly, it really was a kiss.

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

The Good:

On Wednesday our church held a Christmas coffeehouse.  Matt played with the church's praise band, there was the traditional singing of the Christmas carols.  Grace ran around and played (and ate much sugar).  Once we were getting ready to leave and starting to pack up, Grace discovered the rug that had toys for the kids to play with.  There were puzzles and pipe cleaners with pony beads.  She was instantly drawn to the colorful beads and with a little help from a sweet child in our neighborhood (she tied off the end so the beads would not slip off) Grace strung up a whole pipe cleaner with beads all by herself.

I was very amazed.  I did not think that she had the attention or the fine motor skill to do that kind of work.  I guess I was wrong, and I guess I need to get some beads for our house since she still seems to love putting them on and taking them off (we took her string of beads home and she has continued to play with them each day).

    
 The Bad:
On Friday morning Grace was playing in the house and I was trying to start to wash dishes.  Before long all I heard was a frantic cry.  Grace was standing by a chair with her back toward me.  So I scooped her up and tried to cuddle and comfort her as much as I could.  I did not know what was going on at this moment but I thought it best to get her calm before assessing the situation.  When she would not calm down any after about 30 seconds to minute of cuddling I decided that something was really wrong so I pulled her away from my shoulder and looked at her face.

At this moment my breath was taken from me, because all I could see was blood streaming down her face from area around both her eyes.  So I ran to grab a tissue and start blotting at the blood to see where the injury was.  I breathed a bit easier when I realized that she had two cuts under her eyes and that her eyes were not the injured objects.  But the cuts did not look nice at all.

Frantically I called Matt at work and asked him what I should do.  I took a picture with my cell phone and sent it to him e-mail so that he could help me while knowing a bit more about the situation.  He agreed that we should see a doctor.  So he called the pediatrician and got us an appointment at 2 pm, or if we could leave right now they could see us right away.  I left the lights on at the house, I grabbed her shoes (I did not even put them on her feet), I flew out of the house as fast as I could.

We got to the office and they saw us right away.

 

This is the picture that I sent Matt while at work.  Not pretty (and it does not help that she was in middle of a blink when I took the picture).  So Matt got the picture and put it up on his computer screen to look at it.  A man who sits near Matt saw the picture and heard some of the  phone calls and asked what was going on.  Matt explained that Grace had an accident.  His co-worker responded "And why are you still here?"

Matt thought about it and agreed.  He got to the pediatrician's office just as we were starting to meet with the nurse practitioner.  It was so good to see him, and have him help me with caring for Grace at that time.

The Ugly:

So the nurse practitioner glued Grace's cuts shut.  Yes, glue.  On some injuries they still do stitches or staples, but on a lot of injuries that are not too bad (but bad enough) they use a special kind of super glue that is made for this.  She said that we should wait a week till the glue comes off then start putting on some non scaring cream (though she does not think that it will scar much anyway, but with the location we should not take our chances).

So now we have a beautiful little girl who looks like she is practicing to be a football player.  And many bruises to look forward to.  All of her Christmas pictures, 2 year old pictures, and new family of 4 pictures are going to show the events of this day.

However, when I look at her and all of her glued, scabbed mess I am so thankful to God that the injuries were as minor as they were.

Dr. Appointment

Went to see the doctor for my regular check up regarding Glen.

This is the start of my one week visits (the end is near!)

All is good.  He is measuring well.  Heart beat is good.  He is very active.

I also got checked by the doctor this morning and found out that I am 1cm dilated.  I realize that this does not matter much since some women walk around for weeks being partially dilated.  But it makes me happy to know that my body is moving in the right direction for me to have this baby in my arms.  Also it makes me very happy that I am farther along (in this regard) than I was when I went into the hospital to deliver Grace.

Now the waiting game continues...I just hope that Glen makes his move soon.

Christmas Happenings

Also known as...Keep Lana's Mind Off Of This Pregnancy

I am so ready to have this baby.  And I think that I am starting to convince this baby that it might be time to come soon (well, we will have to see how my convincing skills are with an unborn child).

But so that I do not dwell on this topic, Matt and I have been keeping busy with our usual Christmas happenings.

 First we went to the wagon and tricycle gathering.  GE purchases many, many, many wagons and tricycles for the Salvation Army to give out to the needy children of the area.  However, they need to be assembled.  So they order pizza and invite all workers and families to come and put together these items.  I did not get much assembly done, but Grace made sure that each tricycle and wagon were comfy to sit on and ride in.  I guess you could call her the quality tester :)

 Two days later we went to our second usual Christmas event which is simply called Christmas Boxes.

GE takes donations for the Christmas Food Basket event, and use the proceeds to purchase bulk goods from the local food pantry.  Sometimes, other interesting items are purchased.  One year, for whatever reason, the food pantry had a pallet full of electric razors.  "Sure, we'll use 'em".  All of these purchases are brought to a warehouse, where GE volunteers and their families package everything up in large boxes.  They used to be baskets, but people got too generous for the contents to fit.  Each of these boxes usually end up weighing in at about 60 pounds, and delivered to local people in need.

The official count was 502 boxes filled that morning.  Grace loved riding the cart (and the boxes) through the packing area where people were placing items in the boxes.  She also met a very nice lady named Miss Julie who carried her and helped Matt push the cart to where it needed to go.  Later in the process, Grace would climb around the top of the boxes, pushing the lids closed, and holding them shut for the tape.  She had a blast.

I was wondering how these events would work with an active and determined two year old, but being enticed (bribed) with the idea of wagon rides, throwing away trash from the wagon/tricycle assembly, and donuts, does amazing things and Grace was very good through most of the events.

Caroling With The Bells

Last night Matt and I did our first of many Christmas type items (that are planned and put on the calendar mainly to keep my mind off of this pregnancy).

We went caroling with our handbell choir.  There was no singing done, but many carols were rung.  We went to one of the local hospitals and played on their oncology, labor and delivery, pediatric floors, and also the lobby of the hospital.  Many nurses, doctors, patients, and family members came into the hallways to hear and see our caroling.  One person even Skyped us, I am guessing it was to a patient that was stuck in bed.

Many people thanked us and told us how wonderful it sounded.  I was just happy to be there and to see smiles on their faces.  Toward the end of our journey it was getting kind of rough for me to help with all of the setting up, tearing down, moving from floor to floor, etc.  But all in all, I am glad that we did it and I look forward to doing it again in future years.

Fun At Mamaw and Papaw's Part 4

One of the last days that we spent at my mom and dad's (during our extended stay recently), mom decided that she needed to bake bread.  During that time, Grace also decided that she needed to bake bread.  Mom was a good sport with this.

 Grace got her own bowl full of dough to mix together.

 Then it was time to mix mom's and Grace's dough together.

 After a little bit of time, the dough was ready to be kneaded after the first rise.

 You must always remember to smack the dough (to get out the air bubbles, but hey...it is also just fun!)

 Then Grace got her own special dough to play with.  And a rolling pin too!

 After her nap, she woke to see what she had made earlier.  A large square flat loaf of bread.

It passed the taste test!

YUM!!!

Like Father, Like Daughter

The love of Legos of all shapes and sizes!

These very large legos have been at my parent's house for quite awhile.  But recently the grandkids have discovered them again and Grace thinks that they are just the best thing ever.  And she puts her whole self in trying to move and stack them (and she almost always succeeds!)

 Today, with some help, she built a little fort.  We played "Three Little Pigs" and knocked down the fort a few times because the wolf "blew" it down.

With a little help, she also built a chair, just her size and once again perfect for knocking down when she was done with it.

This is a toy that Matt loves.  First, it is legos(ish).  Second, they can be transformed to almost anything.

She is loving them.

Fun At Mamaw and Papaw's Part 3

Grace likes chocolate

Mom and dad keep some of their more prized snacks (chocolate) away from the grandkids in a dresser that is located by dad's chair.  We were busy in the house and Grace was very quiet.  When we found her we realized that she had gotten into mom and dad's stash of chocolate.  When this was discovered, mom pretty much laughed then asked for a camera for a photo of this action.

Fun At Mamaw and Papaw's Part 2

"Mom, Grace has some markers and is in the living room with them"

"That is OK"

"Mom, Grace has a pen and is marking up things in the house"

"That is OK"

"Mom, Grace is decorating your yard stick with a pen"

"That is OK.  And she is doing so well drawing on it.  I will sign her name and age to it so that I will know when she did it."

Let me tell you, if I were to do that when I was young...it would not have been the same reaction.

But I must say, she did do a very good job staying on the narrow stick and decorating the whole thing.

Dr. Appointment

First, some pictures of pretty flowers that we have at home.  Matt, your plants are beautiful!

Went to the OBGYN today and all is well with Glen.  Measurement is good, heart beat is good, all is well.  Funny thing is that for the second appointment I have lost weight rather than gained.  Typically women gain weight at this point in their pregnancy but I have been losing.  However, since my drastic change in my diet due to gestation diabetes the nurse and the doctor say that this is normal.

Amy claims that I am going to weigh less after delivering Glen then I  weighed before I got pregnant with him.  I think that if this keeps up, she just might be right.

Fall In Roanoke

I must say that Matt and I might just live in one of the most beautiful places during the fall.  We have a mountain in our backyard, and a mountain ridge out the front.  So when the leaves change we are surrounded by gorgeous color.  

However, this year I think that the most beautiful sight that we have is the maple in our front yard!

When the light hits it just right it looks like a flaming, red fire.  It is just spectacular!

 It is still one of Grace's favorite places to play.

"I just want to swing!"

 "Almost"

 "Swing, swing, swing :)"

 "And guess what else?  I am now tall enough to pick the leaves off of the low branches!  I pick them off, throw them in the air, and watch them fall.  The fun never ends."

I love fall, but I am glad that it is soon going to be winter.  For winter means closer to the time of Glen's arrival...

Fun At Mamaw and Papaw's

It has been said that grandchildren are treated differently than the children.  It is also said that grandchildren are able to get away with a lot more than the parents were as children.

This is the first of many upcoming posts that will chronicle that exact fact.  The difference of the treatment of Grace vs. what I would have been able to get away with as a child :)

Fun At Mamaw and Papaw's #1

Grace Likes To Do Dishes...

Starting Over...Again

About two months ago we got Grace used to her toddler bed.  Involved was many nights of sleeping in the bed with her, sitting by the bed while she fell asleep and comforting her when she woke up.  It was a trying time but worth it in the end.

This past weekend we were in Harrisonburg visiting family.  My parents had a crib that Grace had slept in since she was about 6 months old.  We had been having no trouble of her sleeping in the crib in the past, even when she was sleeping in the toddler bed at our house.  Well, this time we put her in the crib and she screamed and screamed and would not sleep.  Matt, mom, and I all took turns with her during the night because she would NOT got into the crib.  Though I was not sure that was the only reason that she was throwing such a fit, we decided to take down the crib and see if it would help.

She did not like having the mattress on the floor during her nap, but that night she slept well.  Yes, I did have to lay down with her.  Then she napped the next day (once again with me next to her till she fell asleep).  And she slept well the following night (I slept some of the night on the floor next to her).

I feel like I am training her again on how to sleep in a toddler bed.  But I think we are making slow progress.  And if she can get used to it, it will make our trips up north just a bit nicer for all involved.

Second Try Is A Charm?

I had a OBGYN appointment today and all was going well in the morning.  We were all fed, dressed, happy and ready to go on time.  Then I got to the car and all I got was a click, click, click.

I called Matt frantically telling him that the car would not start.  I put the phone on speaker and let him listen to the click, click, click.  He told me that it sounded like the battery :(  I was starting to be late for the appointment at this moment and I was not happy that my car would not start, and life was just not looking good for me.  He offered to drive home and pick me up or at least take care of me, and I jumped at the offer.

I then went to my neighbor's house and he came over to see what was wrong with the car.  He agreed that it was the battery.  He drove his car over and tried to jump it three times.  It still did not work, but I was glad that he tried to help me.

I called the doctor's office and told them that I would not make my appointment and had it rescheduled for almost three hours later.

Matt (my knight in a silver armored car) drove up and he DID get my car jumped.  He took the car to an auto shop and got the battery changed.  The man at the battery shop even told Matt that there was still enough charge in the battery that we should run it a bit longer.  Matt did not bat an eyelash, he said that he wanted a new battery to make his pregnant, emotional wife happy :)

We did get to the appointment on the second try.  All is well with my blood sugars.  All is well with Glen.

Life is good and I should be able to start my car in the future!

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from our little lion...

RAWR!

Oh How A Child Makes You Worry...

Yesterday Grace was playing like usual and before I knew it she took a face plant right into the edge of a chair.  Screaming ensued.  I quickly gathered her up and tried to console her so that I could assess the damage.  I could not see much wrong until I noticed the large amounts of blood coming from her mouth.

Now this is a great fear of mine...any mouth wound.

I got the bleeding down a little, and started to play with her teeth to see if any were wiggly.  None felt looser than the others so I thought her teeth might be ok.  But the bleeding would not stop, it just slowed greatly.  I blotted it, I gave her milk and water to drink (that were very cold), I kept her calm, I could not think of anything else to do so when I exhausted all of my ideas and it was already a half an hour after her nap time, I put her down for nap.

She woke up happy but her bed showed signs that her mouth did not stop bleeding :(  So I started the frantic calling that a mother does when she does not know what else to do.  I called Matt, he did his best but he could not do much from work.  I ran to the neighbors and asked advice.  I called the pediatrician that she goes to and talked to a nurse.  The consensus was that if the tooth was not loose (which it was not) then it was just damage to the gum which would heal quickly (not quick enough for me).  The nurse said that if the bleeding did not stop by the next day that we should go to the dentist.

That night I worried, but I could not do anything.  I fed Grace applesauce and anything else that was soft that would not harm her mouth any more.  We did A LOT of cuddling (I do not know if it was for my benefit or hers).  And she had a normal night.

She woke this morning.  No bleeding.  She ate well and even begged for graham crackers and ate them well.  Her gum does not look the best, but it looks better than yesterday.  Her tooth is still not loose :)  Her tooth is still the same as all the others (so it did not shift or die or anything obvious, at least not yet).  I think that she just hurt her gum, but oh the worries of a mother.

She is happy as can be, and I am slowly recovering.

Pregnancy Picture

While driving home from Walmart today I came to the realization that I have not even thought about doing weekly pregnancy pics like I did with Grace.  With Grace we took pictures every two weeks or so...I have not even taken one with Glen yet and I am almost 30 weeks!

This pregnancy has flown by, and my lovely (almost) 2 year old has kept me from dwelling on the pregnancy like I did with her.

Without further ado...here is the lovely picture.

Not much longer...

Thankful

This morning I woke up thinking how thankful I am for GE.

First of all with everything going on recently in the US, I am very thankful that Matt has a job.

But in addition to that with all of my prenatal and recently my gestational diabetes testing and education classes I am thankful that Matt has something called FWA (flexible work arrangement).  This means that he can go in an hour early or work an hour longer and use an hour during the day for the appointments.

I am also thankful for Matt having so much personal business time.  This is time that is built into his hours that is to be used for doctors appointments or whatever is needed at the time (if he uses an hour then the hour is given back to him in one year, so it is a constant amount that is coming and going, but Matt has been known not to use much of it in the past).

This one is going to sound strange but I am thankful for the turnover in staff in the past few years.  About two years after Matt began working at GE many of our friends/his co-workers left in droves.  That was not fun, but it allowed for a great situation for us.  Let me explain...Those that left were all of the single, or very newly married individuals.  So now most of what is left is all of the family men/women who have wife/husband and kids at home.  When Matt tells them about an appointment that I have, or how we are sick, etc, his boss or whoever he is working on a project with at the time tells him that unless he has a meeting that he HAS to be at, or a project that he HAS to be on site for (which is rare) they tell him to go and take care of family.  They understand little ones, they understand the importance of family.  I have especially heard of this coming from his manager who, as long as he is told ahead of time, does not mind Matt working from home or using FWA.  I have baked this man a cake for my gratitude in all of this.

I am thankful for GE and how understanding they are....

I am not thankful that they are sending him out to Kuwait during my last trimester :(
But we will survive!

The Move Has Been Made....

To Grace's big girl bedroom.  Welcome to her room, I will give you a quick tour around.

First you will notice that there is no question at all about who's room it is.  If you look above the door there is her Grace sign that was made by her uncle for her nursery.

 

To the left of the door you will find a reading corner.  Complete with books, bookends that Matt picked out for her, stuffed animals, and a picture of her and her cousin Ellie reading books.

 To the right of the door you will see Grace's dresser, shoe rack, and vanity which is now her play table.  Grace loves to just sit in front of it and stare at herself in the mirror.

 To the right of the window we have  Grace's bed, complete with 3 stuffed animals, pillow, and two very special blankets.  With such a wonderful bed as this it makes me wonder why she chose to spend her nap time today on the couch in her room...?

And this is the couch that Grace decided was worthy of her nap time today.  Matt asked to have a sitting area in Grace's room so that we can read books to her.  We already have a glider rocker in the nursery for the new baby, so we decided to move the couch from the nursery into Grace's room.  It fits well, and she has loved having it in her room (it has gotten more use in this room than it ever did in the nursery already).

I believe that this room will always be a work in progress, much like the rest of the house is.  But, it is a very nice room already and Grace seems to enjoy it.  When she walks in the room or is playing in the room you usually can hear her saying "guys" which in Grace speak means "butterflies."  She loves pointing them out and touching them.

She is beginning to be such a big girl.

Just A Swinging

We have a maple tree in our front yard.  We have always loved that tree.  Grace recently discovered the lowest branch on the tree is just the right height for her.  Every day when we go out to the front yard she makes sure that she spends a little time hanging and swinging from the lowest branch.

What will this girl think of next?

New Header

Quiz....

Can you find Grace in all of the doll babies?  Who am I kidding, she is a doll baby herself :)

Dr. Appointment

I had a Dr. appointment today for Glen.  He is doing just fine.  Measurements are good, weight is good, heart beat is good.

I had to do the glucose drink today to test for gestational diabetes.  I failed the test.  So I have to go in on Tuesday of next week and do a longer and more in depth test.  I had to do the same thing when I was pregnant with Grace, but I am still not looking forward to it.  I also hate the idea that I might be gestational diabetic, but this is a minor problem for pregnancy and we will learn how to work with/deal with it if that is the case.

But on the up side, I am close enough to the end of my pregnancy that I am starting to see the doctor every two weeks!

Pumpkin Patch

Matt and I decided that this year might be fun to start a family tradition.  In the last month or so he had been talking a lot about a pumpkin patch that his family visited in North Carolina.  I had been hearing a lot about a local pumpkin patch called Layman Family Farms, but I wondered if it would hold up to Matt's expectations.

 

We got there about 2:00 on a Saturday and as a surprise to us, it was not very crowded.

 

We paid our admission, got our wrist bands, grabbed a map of the corn maze and headed out.  We decided to try the corn maze as our first activity.

Following our fearless leader, we headed into the deep jungle of corn....

 

But our leader got sidetracked many, many times.  Quite often she found parts of the ground that needed to be swept or cleaned.  Or she would find large dirt clods that needed to be carried from one location to another.

 So every once in awhile she had to have a guiding hand from her daddy to help her along in the maze.

 

Next we discovered the corn crib.  It was like a huge sandbox but instead of sand there was corn kernels to play with.  It took a bit for Grace to get up the courage to go in and play, but once she got in there we could not get her out (and we were finding corn kernels in the most interesting of places for the next few hours).

 

Then up the hill to the cow train.  Grace did not want to ride this alone so Matt was nice enough to fold himself in half and stuff himself into one of the cow train cars for a ride around the field.  Once she got to ride on her daddy's lap she was as happy as a lark.

 

We could not leave the cow train station without riding on the tire horse swing.  These were so cool, and they were each made out of one complete tire.  Grace fit in the seat very well and had wonderful hand holds with the ears.  She enjoys all swings but this one she could do on her own.

Finally it was off to do what we came here for.  A hayride to find the perfect pumpkin.

Mommy, I want this one!

We did not get the bumpy, mutated one.  We got a nice, "normal" pumpkin.  Grace seemed just fine with it.  She had to hold it on her lap on the hayride back to the barn.

Oh, I forgot one thing that Matt did that we did not get pictures of.  He had the chance to shoot two pumpkins out of a pumpkin cannon.  He tells me that they explode very nicely.

Finally it was time to go. Matt stated that the pumpkin patch was not exactly what he remembered, but it was a good place and fun to go to.  I do feel that we have started a new family tradition.