The thing about motherhood...

Here’s the thing about motherhood, you just don’t realize how much you’re going to enjoy it.
How much you’ll love them.
How much you’ll like them.
You don’t realize how necessary they are in your life.
The thing about motherhood is those yummy, creamy cheeks.
How could I go a day without munching on those cheeks?
It’s about breakfast messes.
It’s about calming a tantrum.
It’s about inflicting giggles.
It’s about rocking to sleep.
It’s about wiping noses, socking toesies, and combing bed-head hair.
It’s about loud conversations.
And conversations where no words are necessary at all.
It’s about the patter of little feet down the hallway.
It’s about snack time.
It’s about loading, and unloading, loading, and unloading.
It’s about peaceful naps.
It’s about missing the noise.
It’s about missing the quiet.
The thing about motherhood is not realizing how necessary it is to have little helping hands everywhere you go.
A potty companion.
A middle-of-the-night pal.
An errand-helper.
A professional stirrer.
A question asker.
A show demander.
An idea haver.
Motherhood is about snuggly, freshly bathed babies.
It’s about jammied bums.
It’s about kisses goodnight.
It’s about night-time giggles and night time wiggles.
It’s about a full heart, and drained patience.
It’s about grace.
It’s about love.
So. Much. Love.

Harper Leigh

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

12.13.12

2:41pm

7lbs.11oz

20"

Harper Leigh Bishoff

 December 13th was the day that finally came and changed our lives forever...and then there were 4.

The week before my actual due date (Dec.16th), I had a doctors appointment and to my disappointment I was still dilated to a 3 (same as the week prior), but Harper was still sitting pretty high and hadn't even dropped enough where having the doctor strip my membranes would do any good. I was a little discouraged because I had just been planning on getting her here a week early like I was able to do with Beckahm. So when I was told that wouldn't be happening I was pretty bummed out...I just wanted to meet our baby girl already! :) So instead of setting a date to have this baby we set another appointment for the following Tuesday, Dec. 11th to see how my progress was. I went in on Tuesday praying that something had changed...but this little girl was on her own time and obviously had other plans because she still hadn't dropped and I still....was at a 3... After finding this out the doctor asked me if I had thought about getting induced if she didn't want to come on her own. Secretly in my head I had been thinking about it for a while and of course wanted to get induced on 12.12.12, mostly for selfish reasons of not only wanting to meet her a little sooner, but to give her a pretty rad birthday date too. But I had been keeping this to myself as I just wanted her to decide to come on her own. Once he brought it up I decided to just say yeah lets do this...and hopefully tomorrow (tomorrow being 12.12.12). So the doctor went and made the call and not to anyone's surprise they were completely booked up for inductions for that day (turns out I'm not the only selfish thinker out there ;)) So I agreed on the soonest available time they had which was first thing Thursday morning. At this point I didn't care about the date anymore and just wanted to get this process started. I called my sister to let her know the plan and of course being the amazingly great support system, sister and aunt she packed her bags and was on her way. She got to the house Wednesday night so she could stay to help with Beckahm. We could not be more thankful for this girl! She is our life saver and B's best friend that's for sure!

So 5:30am rolled around and I answered my phone before the first ring finished. The lady on the other line answered with, "wow that was a quick answer, you must be ready to have a baby..." It was pretty funny. So I got David up, packed our things, kissed B goodbye and we were on our way. We were admitted into the exact same delivery room I had Beckahm in and had the same nurse, it was pretty crazy, but nice to have some familiarity while going through all of this. So I got ready and they started all of the prep, when they checked me I was still only at a 3 so we had a ways to go. The nurses kept asking me when I would like to receive my epidural and I kept answering with, "I'd like to hold off so it doesn't wear off this time because it did last time!" I told her I would really like to be to at least a 7 before thinking about an epidural and was okay with breathing through the contractions until then. The nurse checked me a couple more times then when I was at a 6 she finally said, "I really think you should get your epidural now and I will call the doc to break your water and things should go really fast by then, you'll be happy you chose to do it now..." So with all of the insisting I said okay and he came and went...My doctor is a pretty busy guy and was going from the clinic to hospital all morning so after he received the call to break my water he didn't actually get there for another 2 hours. The only disappointing thing about this really was that I had this epidural that I didn't actually need for those two hours and it was just two more hours that that wonderful epidural fluid was wasted. But he finally arrived and broke my water. By this time I had finished my second dose of penicillin, which I had to have for the GBS that I had. I didn't have this with Beckahm so it was all new to me. But supposedly after one dose you're supposed to be clear and good to deliver the baby without it causing any symptoms in the baby...the next post that will follow this will prove their 99.9% theory to be wrong for me, unfortunately. The dr. broke my water around 1pm and had said to plan on having a baby around 5 or 6. I had text my sister who was planning on dropping Beckahm off with my good friend Janel and her husband to watch him while she came to the hospital for the birth, and told her the time frame. But at 2 o'clock my nurse came in and said let's just check what's going on since your contractions are so strong you're feeling them through your epidural ( I knew it would wear off before the delivery...in my head thinking, "I told you so" lol) So she checked and said page the dr. were having a baby. At this point I'm freaking out because I was out of 'epidural love' and could feel everything. She looked up at me and said you're at a 9+ you can start pushing whenever you feel the need to. Of course I said, "No! My sister needs to get here and she thinks she doesn't need to come until 5!" So I told them I needed to get a hold of her and get her here before we started this process, they all just laughed and said I hope she's a quick driver. So I let her know and then got back to feeling all of this crazy pain. The nurse asked if I wanted the anesthesiologist to come administer a heavier second dose to try to numb me, but warned me that he may not get here in time. By this point I was already feeling it all anyways and just said let's do this. I started pushing around 2:10pm and this whole time in my head wondering how those women that choose to go all natural each time do it...WORST PAIN EVERRRR! It does make it easier knowing what you're going through the pain for, but it doesn't take it away...pushing through the contractions are what got me through that day without a doubt. My doctor finally arrived at 2:30 and said let's have this baby...remember, we're still waiting for Kristen. So the nurse tells him, "well we're kinda waiting for her sister to get here so can we hold off..." Funniest thing ever..so as I'm pushing, David's trying to help me and text her at the same time. Next I knew my doctor was saying, "she's posterior I need to try to turn her...." I had heard about this happening with other people, and hear their horror stories so at this point I'm freaking out inside thinking why the heck didn't you just ask for that second dose! So as my doctor is up in there trying to turn the baby I'm trying to hold it together telling myself it's a means to an end and thinking it can't feel any worse than actually feeling the birth in general. Finally Kristen shows up! So it's okay for the baby to come now, it was only right for her to wait for the person she was being named after to get there :). So while the doctor is trying to turn her he's saying, "she's going to come quick, I can't get her turned..and the nurses were prepping for anything that might happen with her being delivered face up. I felt that urge...and with everything I had, started to push. The "ring of fire" they all talk about...it's real...and oh man...that's all I'm going to say about that. I will be just fine if I never remember what that felt like! Once everyone was talking about her full head of black hair and seeing her cute little face it was easy peasy to finish pushing and get her here. So 11 minutes after starting full on pushing she arrived, the most beautiful little girl I've ever seen, perfect in every way. I felt so lucky that her being face up didn't cause any scares and she was fine to stay with me after the delivery. We were officially a family of 4 and couldn't be more excited about it. She was welcomed by her daddy and auntie and already so so loved. 

I'm so thankful for good family and friends that are there to help us when we need them. Janel made it possible for Kristen to be able to experience this with us again and we're so grateful for that! Kristen stayed with me afterwards and we had some delightful hospital food while we waited for David to pick Beckahm up from Janel's to come meet his new little sister. I was so excited to see his reaction to the babe and I couldn't be more happy when I saw him look at her for the first time. He loved her from the first moment he saw her..almost as much as the chocolate shake mom had :). But since then he has been such a good, loving big brother and is always by her side. He's especially good and putting her blankets on her and giving her a bink when she cries while rubbing her heading and saying "it's k babe"...translated..."it's okay baby"..cutest thing ever! I am so so thankful for the opportunity I have to be a mother and thank my lucky stars every day that I'm able to. I know so many people that have or are having a hard time conceiving a baby and it breaks my heart to think that it's so difficult for them. Like I say all of the time, it is by far the greatest feeling, blessing, miracle I have or will ever witness and I'm so lucky I get to call them mine. Welcome to this big crazy world Harper. You are already adored by so many! We love you baby girl!

B @ 18 Months!!!

Well, I did exactly what I said I wouldn't do and have been so caught up in life itself that I've neglected the blog...I don't care about that as much as neglecting to do updates for B each month because so so much has changed and is changing! So we are now at a year and a half?! So crazy! He is the smartest little thing I've ever laid eyes on--genius, if you will. :) Our lives are going to be changing dramatically in the next couple of weeks so I've been trying to take advantage of every free second I have away from work, to spend with this little man and just soak it all in. Some of new and favorite things as of late...

• He started walking just shortly after he turned 1 and is now a runner. He runs everywhere! Rarely do I catch him in a slow normal walk, no matter what.
• He's a ball full of energy! He just goes non-stop, always keeping me on my toes.
• He's wearing some 18 month clothes now, but already growing out of them so we will be moving to 24 month soon enough--definitely fitting into his size 6 shoes--hopefully he can stay in them for longer than the 3 weeks his size 5's lasted.
• We have officially got rid of the bottle and it was surprisingly easier than I had ever imagined (thank goodness).
• When he gets put in his crib for a nap it's usually used more as a trampoline for a good 15 minutes before he gives in and decides to lay down. I have decided to leave him in his crib rather than switching it to a toddler bed as of right now just because of how active he is. I'm not sure he'd ever sleep if he wasn't gated in by four sides haha.
• He is the biggest cuddler and will wrap both arms around my neck while we sit on the couch and watch cartoons every night before bed. 
• He has quite the arm on him and has gotten extremely good at throwing any food he's done with across the room! He thinks it's the funniest thing, even though I'm pretty good at hiding my laugh for the most part, I know he knows I laugh at it too--which definitely doesn't help the situation much.
• Some of his favorite foods include, cereal, noodles (shape spaghettios and ramen) PB and J's, Hot dogs and of course Gogurt. He's only a fan of milk if it's warm, loves any kind of juice and is NOT chocolate milks biggest fan, which surprised me. Every once in a while he gets a little sip of moms "pesi", but only once in a great while...
• He's quite the little talker and we have all sorts of conversations all day long--what they really mean, now that's another question LOL. Some of his words are-
• Dad, Mom, Sky(ky), Juice, Gogurt(Gog), Cereal (Seel), Belly, Go, Bye Bye, Night Night, Drink, Baby, Please, (always points in the toilet and says Peeeeee! (Thanks to the little Einsteins, he's constantly patting his lap and saying "pat, pat, pat", Teeth, Nose, Eye, Cheeks, Shoes, Keys, Bath, Dog, Ki Ki, Most of the animal sounds--and of course actions come along with those :), His very favorite words....No, No More, Ball, Ew Gross, bahahahahaha.
•  He knows so much and will do pretty much anything we ask him to--he's quite the little helper. He knows what it means when we say--Give me five/knuckles, put it in the trash, answer the phone, answer the door, turn off the tv, lets eat, time to take a bath, do you need your diaper changed, brush your teeth, time to go to bed, Where's the dog, cat etc, can point to anyone familiar like when I say where's your auntie...,put your toys away (love this one!)
• He still has his favorite blankie, and it's hard for him to sleep without it.
• He is still pretty impossible to take into a store or sit down at a restaurant or church for that matter because he's always wanting to be down running around causing mischief.
• He has10 teeth, 6 on top, 4 on bottom
• Hates getting his diaper changed first thing when he wakes up because he's ready to be up and running.
• Loves to take baths and would stay in there for hours if I'd let him.
• His favorite movies are Kung Fu Panda, The Little Einstein's, The Wiggle's, Special Agent Oso, and Imagination Movers.
• He loves to climb on any and everything
• Still has a ridiculous obsession with any type of ball
• Hates anything touching his feet--so no footsie pj's for him just gym shorts and a tee usually
• Loves his parents and teasing them all day long
• Smiles for the camera and shows me his teeth at least when I can't get a smile.
• Lover of babies and wants to always be loving and kissing on them.
• Loves to read me stories 
• Has to hand me every blanket and stuffed animal in his crib before he will let me pick him up out of his crib in the morning.
• Loves to try and sneak drinks of my pepsi when I'm not looking!

I love this little boy so much and am so excited for him to be the best big brother around. One thing I remember growing up was always feeling so safe knowing I had my big brother who was always there to protect me. He was my best friend through all of those childhood years and even helped me believe that my dad was really just santa's helper when I caught him putting our toys out for Christmas :). I can only hope that B and baby girl will be just as close as me and my brother are and they will have a relationship that is beyond wonderful. I know he will help teach her so much and will be the best example to her. She's going to be one lucky little girl to have such a fab older brother!

I've been trying to figure out how to add photos, but this thing keeps telling me I've used all of my space, so guess I'll have to post this without any pictures...bummer. If anyone knows how to help me fix this pleeeeeease let me know :)

A Vacay before there are 4!

This past weekend I decided to plan a little getaway for David, Beckahm and I to just go and play and have some time together with each other, all three of us together at the same time, because unfortunately for now, that rarely happens. David and I are both working full time right now, but have arranged our time schedules so that no matter what one of us is at home with Beckahm so he isn't constantly in daycare. As hard as it is sometimes to meet each other at the door to say hi and bye with a list of what needs to be done for Beckahm, and off to work we go, it's what puts both of our minds at ease right now. So this little vacation was much needed for all three of us I think :). I'm still a stressed out nut case when it comes to thinking about how Beckahm is going to react to a new baby joining our family, so in a way, it was something I wanted to be able to do with just him and have it be all about him. The whole weekend was and turned out to be a complete success! And of course on the plus side for B, we got to stay with his Auntie all weekend too which made it even better! On Saturday, Sept. 15th we got to play at Hogle Zoo all day which was the funnest thing ever. It was Beckahm's first time seeing most of these animals in real life and he could not get enough of it! I loved watching him point to all of the animals and make all of the animal noises. He could've stayed there all day if I would've let him. I think his favorites were a toss up between the monkeys and the giraffes. The next day we went to the Living Planet Aquarium and got to see all sorts of snakes, fish, penguins and sharks-- he definitely liked this part too, but not near as much as the zoo. Later on we got all of the family together and had some family pictures taken (this is a first for us haha) Then we met up at Buffalo Wild Wings had some dinner and headed back to Aunt Kristen's house. The next day we lounged around, watched lots of cartoons and even got a little shopping in too before we had to head back home. It was such a fun weekend and so great to be able to get together with all of the family--it most definitely does not happen enough!

He was obsessed with his Auntie's glasses...

Ready for a day at the zoo!

Meeting the fire fighter dog

Just watching the chickens peck around

Monkeys!!!

He was so intrigued by this huge gorilla!

Lovin it!

He's a juvenile gorilla haha

Not sure what to think about the nest

Taking advantage of the free grilled cheeses, his fav!

Making sure his auntie can see the polar bear

Just playin a little jungle music

Everyone at the zoo

He was loving all of this attention I can promise you that :)

The boys at the zoo

At the penguin exhibit in the Aquarium

Canoe anyone?

He was so loving this day and I was eating it all up!

He had a pretty good hold of my hair at this point and was attacking my face lol

Love my boys xoxo

Making sure his auntie got plenty of love too :)

Loving the giraffes!

Me and my beautiful sissy pants