Things a Big Sister Says

(upon her cousin arriving at the hospital to visit our newest family member, Faith made the introductions)
"This is Gabby... and this is my 'nola (granola) bar."

Faith to me: "Do you have a new baby in your tummy?"

(in reference to Gabby being a newborn)
Me: "Faith, do you remember when you were this little?"
Faith: "And I ate your boob?"
(Let's just say there's lots of nursing going on in our house right now.)

(while changing one of Gabby's diapers)
Faith: "Her butt is yellow!"
(during the same diaper)
Faith: (moving away from Gabby) "My sister is stinky."

And now for some random Faithisms...

Me: "Faith, you are so brave!
Faith: "I am NOT Brave (the movie character).

Me: "Faith, what are your favorite things?"
Faith: "Cupcakes, rainbows and Oreos, too...and you."
(For the record, I have no problem ranking behind Oreos...they're that good."

Me: "Go wake up dad and tell him 'Happy Tuesday.'"
Faith: (runs into our bedroom and gets in Rob's face) "TUESDAY!"

(after I told her I wouldn't read another book during bedtime)
Faith: "I want a new mommy."
(ouch!)

Rob: "Faith, finish your green beans or no dessert."
Faith: "Ohhh, what's for dessert?"

(playing with her toys)
Faith: "The mad queen took Ariel! (evil laugh)

(Faith has a new tactic when she gets in trouble of trying to distract from the point)
Me: "FAITH! NO!" after she tried to do an underdoggie with Gabby's swing -thankfully Gabby was not in the swing at the time.
Faith: "There's a bug on the ceiling."

Rob: FAITH! OW!
Faith: "I have a pink and purple puppy dog."

Faith: (after every performance in our living room)
"Clap for the beautiful girl."

(and my personal favorite)
"I like my fam- u- lee!"

She's 3

Is there a better age than 3? From a parent's perspective, I don't think so.

Every morning when she wakes up, Faith runs into the living room full speed and asks me, "Is it "a-wake-up time yet?" Then it's time for a "cartoonie" and a "nola bar." When that's over, she wants nothing more than for me to "talk to her" which means take two of her random figurines (anything from My Little Ponies to Care Bears) and create a dialogue back and forth between them. She still calls me mommy, rather than mom, and needs my help brushing her teeth and putting on her shoes ("Is this the right foot, mommy?"). She (gulp) reaches for my hand everywhere we go and I happily oblige. When Rob and I plan on going somewhere, she always asks "Can I come too?" as if we weren't going to bring her. No matter if we spend 5 minutes preparing dinner or 50, she usually proclaims it "delicious" even if she eats one bite. Her imagination is so incredible she makes up words like Crary for her elephant her aunt and uncle bought her at the circus and Scootie Goggles for the play car her aunties got her last Christmas. She is still perfecting the art of running and trips over her own feet daily, only to stand up and proclaim "I'm OK!" When she plays in her room by herself and we start to worry when we don't hear anything for awhile and yell "Faith?" she responds with, "doing good." When we go on walks she asks if she can "go meet 'dem" so we're finally getting to know our neighbors thanks to a toddler. The girl is just FULL of personality.

Not one person she's met hasn't been charmed by her friendly, outgoing nature....probably because she's so quick to strike up a conversation, even if it begins with, "Who's your boyfriend?" (doesn't everyone have one?) "Whatchu got in your nose?" (a nose ring) or "This is my puppydog, Howie. He got a haircut." (about a month ago, but whatever).

It's hard to capture everything about Faith in one blog post, but I wanted to try because I simply love this age and don't know that Faith will remember any of it. She's potty trained, eats table food and can communicate when she doesn't feel good, but she's still innocent, tires out by 8 p.m. and thinks mom and dad know can solve all her problems.

So how do I feel about her getting another year older? Of course time seems to have passed by all too quickly, but when I look and listen to her, I feel she's ready to be 3. Sure, I'd love to hit pause and have her need me forever, but just like TV on DVD when you can't wait to pop in the next disc, I can't wait to watch what happens next. My little lady is ready for the next steps of toddlerhood (I refuse to call her a preschooler): swim lessons without mom by her side, getting dressed all by herself and making new friends at daycare.

It's awesomely heartbreaking to watch a kid grow up. But it is my pleasure. I found my advice book from Faith's baby shower the other day. On one of the 3x5 index cards, one of my wise aunts wrote that being a parent would be my greatest accomplishment. Because I contemplate mortality more than the average person should, I think about this a lot. How who Faith is and how that is a reflection of me and of course, her dad. And how I'm proud of that. And how I realize it's not just us, her parents, but all the wonderful people she's surrounded by each and every day.

And if you're reading this and lucky enough to play a part in her life --no matter how large or small --thank you. Thank you for shaping who she is today. Everything from her sweet tooth and sense of adventure to her love for cats (and a hatred for bugs) and a very feminine fashion sense (this certainly did not come from me) it came from somewhere. From her lack of shyness (OK, this might have come from me) and a love for performing in front of people (her Dad is quite the rockstar here at home), to her enjoyment of reading books and making music, I am proud of who she is becoming.Though Rob and I play a major role in her development, we are by no means the only people who contribute to her beautiful personality.

And to Faith, thank you for being you -- the life of the party!

Gabby's birth story: Part III

Have you ever been told that it would only be 15 minutes before your table was ready and it turns out to be closer to 45 minutes to an hour? Yeah, that's what happened to me once I was "complete." Just substitute doctor for table.

Because of a scheduled c-section, I was forced to wait before being allowed to push. Rob's hands took to the brunt of my frustration and pain as I squeezed with every contraction. Finally, the doctors arrived. They told me to try a practice push before they called my OB over from the clinic. Two seconds into my practice push they dialed up Dr. Carlson. Not knowing the urgency, she later told me she lolly-gagged over (good thing she waited until after Gabby was out to relay that news). Once she arrived and I was allowed to push, things happened fairly fast. I could definitely feel the pain more this time and it took slightly longer, but after only 15-20 minutes, Gabby Grace entered the world, SCREAMING AND CRYING!

Allow me to pause momentarily and recall that when Faith Janna was born, we didn't know what to expect. She came out with the cord wrapped around her neck AND body, tightly. They basically unwound her and whisked her away and we thought that's how it was supposed to be. Once she pinked up, we got to hold her and so did our family members who'd been standing by in the waiting room.

But with Gabby, things were so much different and, in a word, better. They placed her on my chest right away and cleaned her up right there. Rob even got to cut the cord this time. She opened her pretty little peepers and just stared up at me. I asked if I should try to breastfeed and the nurse said that I didn't need to right away. I know there are different schools of thought on this, but I was relieved to not be pressured into nursing so soon. I just got to hold and enjoy my baby, Rob's and my beautiful creation, and just "be" from 9:43 when she was born for two whole hours. No family was standing by in the waiting room, so there was no rush at all. I love my family and am so grateful they later came to visit, but that two hours was absolutely glorious.

We took a picture with Gabby and I could've cared less how terrible I looked. After less than 5 hours of sleep the previous two nights and giving birth, I was just happy my baby girl was here with us. Hopefully you can see the joy in my face that I felt in my heart!

I did feel bad that Rob didn't get to hold her during that time, but after she peed on me because the nurses forgot to put a diaper on her after they weighed her (7 pounds, 8 ounces) I don't think he minded.

Besides, he was too busy calling and texting everyone. And crying. That's right, every time my husband would go to tell a family member our daughter's name, he would get choked up and couldn't get the words "Gabrielle Grace" out of his mouth.  It was so sweet. We had a difficult time coming to an agreement on a name, but Gabrielle/Gabby was one of the originals that we kept coming back to. I was completely sold on it, but Rob was a little hesitant -- naming a child is a big job. But seeing him so smitten by a little girl and her beautiful name on the day of her birth solidified that we made the right choice.

After I hogged her, I passed her off to Rob who cradled his second born in his arms. She was perfectly content against her daddy's chest while mom scarfed down her traditional helping of post-partum pancakes and the visitors started to roll in.

Later, Miss Gabby was given her first bath. That sentence makes it sound like a present but it was far from it. She let us know her lungs were working at full capacity but calmed down quickly afterwards.

I don't like to brag -- oh, who I am kidding, when it comes to my children, I absolutely do, but the nurses were all saying what a great baby she was in just the little time they'd spent with her. We couldn't agree more. She was finally here and all was right with the world. Welcome, Gabrielle Grace, to the family.