Pee pee in the pot-eh!

In one of the Look Who's Talking movies, Mikey finally uses the potty and John Travolta and Kirstie Alley sing "Pee pee in the pot-eh! Pee pee in the pot-eh!" Ok maybe you had to be there. BUT it is significant today because:

Thatcher went pee-pee in the potty!

Ben made me get a little potty for Thatcher a LONG time ago, I want to say around Thatcher's first birthday. It has been sitting in our bathroom next to our toilet, and Thatcher knows what it is but mostly plays with the bucket inside, using it as a hat. Ben has tried many many times in the past to get Thatcher to pee in it by sitting next to him for long stretches of time, reading him a book or something. But he has never actually peed in it.

Fast forward to today. (We have not mentioned his potty in a long time). I have been having a lot of pressure "down there" lately so I decided we would just hang out at home today so I could rest. I took off his pj's and put on a clean diaper (we have learned that he likes to take his diaper off if he does not have pants or a onesie on to stop him). I let him run around in his diaper, he took it off as usual but this time he pointed at the potty and said something in his jibber jabber language. So I put him on the potty and sat next to him for almost 20 minutes reading him a book while he drank some juice. Nothing. So we put the diaper back on and went about our day. Not too long after that he took off his diaper and asked for the potty again. This time I gave him some goldfish crackers to munch on while sitting there. Only a few minutes went by and he looked down at his penis so I looked too and I could see pee! I was so excited but I gave him a minute before getting him up. Sure enough, there was a lot of pee! I praised him over and over again.

This may have been a fluke, he may not do this again till next year for all I know. But I think it shows that he might be ready to really start trying this since he asked me to do it with no prompting. We shall see. If anything I have something to write in his baby book :) He is one smart cookie!

Not every day...

...can be a good day.

Today my heart is heavy. I feel attacked in the earthly and spiritual sense. This too shall pass, I know. I just wish it didn't have to be the way it is in the first place.

Cold Turkey

So a little over a week ago Thatcher hid both of his bottles on me. I decided that was as good a day as any to try and make the official switch over to sippy cups only. I am happy to report that Thatcher has done great and no longer uses bottles at all. At first I was worried that he wasn't drinking as much, but slowly as the week has gone on he has become a pro and sucks down all the liquids I give him. I personally miss the bottles. They were way more convenient, easier to clean, I knew he was getting hydrated, and they don't drip or leak AT ALL. But alas, they are put away until the baby needs them :)

Last night we decided to try our first family movie night. I bought Toy Story so we gave it a try. Thatcher sat inbetween Ben and I on the couch, and he watched EVERY SINGLE MINUTE of it! It was the cutest thing ever! He was so into it and kept pointing at the screen saying things. I think he might have been a little confused that his Woody doll was on the TV, but he loved it. The movie was over around 7pm, and normally he would have been heading to bed soon, but we (or I) decided it was the perfect fall night to run to Starbucks and get a Pumpkin Spice Latte. Thatcher was in his pjs and we went in instead of going through the drive through. Good thing we did because Ben knew the barista and we got all of our drinks for free.

To add to the sudden gorgeous fall weather, Amy Bagwell (darn cute preggo) is in town and it's Frankfort Fall Fest weekend, WOO-HOO! Ben dropped me off and picked me up at the Fest today so I could shop with Amy and her family, I lasted 4 hours :) But today was just a day to scope things out, the real shopping will commence tomorrow...

Dear Thatcher

Dear Thatcher,

I wanted to write you a letter to tell you how special our time together this summer has been. Before I even typed the second letter, I started crying my eyes out :) Don't worry, it's happy tears. I'm crying because I am overwhelmed with joy and love when I think about you, and when I think about all the special memories we have together as a family, and as mother and son. I make it a point to cherish every day we have together, just the two of us, because soon your baby sister will be joining us. I know you probably won't remember much of your life before the age of 3 or 4, so I wanted to journal it for you in a sense.

Last summer you weren't walking yet, and it was a nice cool mild summer. It never got too hot. This summer, not only can you walk but you can RUN, and you can especially outrun me because I am big and pregnant. And it has been HOT. We have done a lot together this summer, play dates with friends, the zoo, the children's museum, and the public pool. Some days we just hang out with each other at home too, playing outside, going for walks, or watching cartoons.

One of my favorite memories this summer has been taking you to Joliet Splash Station. That's where the picture above is taken. We would go at least once a week, tried for 2, and sometimes even got a third day in. I was very proud of myself for taking you there on my own, and I was very proud of you because you were always a good boy there for me. We would arrive, find a chair, put on sunscreen, and then you were off and running into the pool. You LOVED it and squealed with glee every time. We would spend about a half hour to 45 minutes in the pool, sometimes we would go in the lazy river, but then we would take a break to go eat. We usually shared a bosco stick or a soft pretzel. You loved dipping your food, whether it be in ketchup, cheese, or marinara sauce. I loved to watch you as you sat with me at the table eating, enjoying our sunny day together. Then after we ate we would dip in the pool for about another 20 minutes, then we would head home.

Thatcher I love you more than words can say, you are more than I ever could have dreamed of. Even though we have a new family member coming soon, you will always be my first baby, my first son and I promise to always make time for just me and you. I cannot wait to see you as a big brother; I know you will adore your sister and she will absolutely adore you. Protect her and love her always; she is your family.

Love and many blessings,
Mommy

My dream house.

Thatcher and I are sitting here on the computer waiting for the house appraiser to come. He gave us the window of 9:30 to 10:30. I'm really clueless as to how all of this works, but 5 years ago when we bought the house we took out two loans, and the one loan is coming due this year, September 1st. With the new baby coming and the loan coming due, we thought we'd give selling the house a shot. We only had two showings, and really the thought of packing up and moving 7-9 months pregnant or with a newborn is not too appealing to me. So we pulled the house off the market to refinance. Now the prayer is that it appraises high enough for us to be able to refinance. If not, we owe a lot of money very soon.

My dream house is one that allows me to have a place for my family that is safe, clean, and cozy, where we are all together. The house we have now provides all of that. Even as I sit here I am tearing up because of how blessed we are. This is our first home, where a lot of our blood sweat and tears went into making it a cozy place for our family. I really do love this house and I know I will cry a lot when we eventually move and leave it. People keep asking me "What are you going to do??" in regards to bringing another baby home without a bedroom just for that baby. Well hello, what would you do if you were in this situation? You would survive and make the best out of it. People throughout time have had a lot less space with a lot more kids than this. Our family will have no choice but to be close and spend a lot of time together :) We will list the house again in the spring, and see how things go. Waiting allows us to save more money, and I believe God has the right buyer and seller in mind for us in His timing. We are very blessed that we don't have a huge house to try and sell that has lost $100k in value. We have a very humble home that I really think we can break even on.
So, with all that being said, here are some things I would love in our next house (my "dream" house):
A fenced in backyard.
A breezeway (I grew up with one and just happened to have one now, it's weird to me when houses don't have them).
A basement? (Not sure about this one, we are fine without a basement now, and not having to worry about a basement flooding is kind of nice)
A master bedroom with a master bath (and if that bath could have 2 sinks that would be wonderful).
A master bedroom big enough so that our bed can be in the middle of it instead of one side pushed up against a wall, so we can both have a nightstand.
At least 2 other bedrooms for our children/guests.
A big beautiful kitchen and dining area. I love to have people over.
A nice open floor plan. Some houses are "big," but they are broken up so much they feel small.
A second bathroom.
I would prefer an older house with character instead of a cookie cutter house.
Garages aren't really a big deal to Ben and I, so one big enough for one car is fine.
A lovely safe neighborhood, like the one we live in now. We love this location.
WALK IN CLOSETS. LOTS OF CLOSETS. CLOSETS EVERYWHERE. (I really do miss having closet space).
A porch in front and/or a deck in back.

I think that about sums it up.
And FYI, the guy didn't come until just after 10:30. Way to push it mister.

It's a blessing to be busy.

As always in the Skwirut household, there is a lot going on and lately I've been feeling slightly overwhelmed. But I think a lot of that has to do with your run of the mill jam packed summer.

Ben's "staycation" was wonderful. I think I prefer staycations over vacations. You have all the comforts of home, and all the time to do fun things as a family in the area or just relax at home. We did so much over that week, let's see if I can remember most of it.

It started with my birthday weekend; my 28th birthday is now in my top 5 birthdays :)
That started with a visit from my mother in law with gifts, breakfast with friends and my Mom at my favorite breakfast restaurant (on my birthday and the next day with my dad and sister), Splash Station with friends, and Bubba Gumps on Navy Pier, just me and Ben. I got a lot of wonderful gifts, a Sony A330 DSLR camera from my boys (way to go Ben!!!) and from my Dad a gift card to American Girl Place to get the 2010 girl for Vada. That Sunday my Grandma cooked amazing pork chops for dinner and we had cake.

Other staycation activities:
Joliet Splash Station 3 times.
Out to eat a few times.
Brookfield Zoo.
Hanging out with family.
The mall.
A time or two of me getting to go do something by myself, like a hair appointment :)

And Ben got to come with to Thatcher's 18 month check up. Thatcher gained 2lbs in 3 months and grew 2 inches in 3 months. His height is now off the charts. And finally I didn't get asked "How tall is your husband?" because he was sitting right there!

I know I say this a lot, but Thatcher is developing by leaps and bounds every day. I feel really blessed to be home with him and get to witness it all. He says a few things more consistantly now, like "bye" "ut-oh" "ma" "okay" "ball" "yeah" and his all time favorite "all done." The other day I was in the breezeway on the phone and I hear "MA! MA! MA!" He was in the dog crate and wanted me to see lol. He is so stinking smart, he understands so much and you can just see the wheels turning in his head. He signs "please" like there's no tomorrow because he knows that usually gets him what he wants. I am so excited to see him interact with his little sister, I know he is going to adore her and be so helpful. He'll already go get a diaper and bring it to me when I ask him for it :)

Grandpa

I've been putting off posting about my Grandpa, mainly because I know it will make me cry to write it, but also because every time I click on my blog I get distracted by the song playing and Thatcher's picture ;)

I was beyond blessed to know all 4 of my grandparents growing up, and I was close with all of them. Kara and I would spend 2 weeks every summer down in Pekin, IL visiting my dad's parents and sister, besides seeing them here and there throughout the year (they passed away a few years ago and I still miss them terribly). We lived closer to my mom's parents so we got to see them more often. I was always in awe of what wonderful grandparents they were, never having known their own grandparents who stayed in Poland.

I can't ever remember my Grandpa raising his voice. Sometimes Grandma would raise her voice to him, but never to us grandkids. He was always so excited to see us, and loved his whole family so deeply. He was in WWII and we were fortunate enough to hear some stories from him, like how his front teeth were knocked out in hand to hand combat by the butt of a Japanese soldier's gun.

One of my favorite stories is how they were both out dancing one night at Polonia Grove, my Grandpa looked across the room and saw my Grandma, turned to his buddies and said "That's the girl I'm going to marry," without ever meeting her before. 6 months later he fulfilled that prediction and married my Grandma.

They were devout Catholics and loved God and prayed all the time. These last few months when he and Grandma were in and out of the hospital, I would pray with them every chance I got. One time when I went by myself to visit him in the hospital, I walked in the room, his eyes got real big and he said "What are you doing here?!" I said "Why do you think?" And very sheepishly he answered with a grin and a chuckle "To see me." Sigh.

No matter what gift you gave him for a holiday or his birthday, he acted like he had just opened the keys to a brand new car. Whether it was a tie, jar of cashews, or a toy slot machine. On his 75th birthday I photoshopped a picture of his head onto the body of a Chicago Bears player's body that was on the front page of the Chicago Tribune. He was tickled pink.

I am so thankful that Grandpa knew Thatcher and that Thatcher got to meet his Dzia Dzia. Kara brought Thatcher up to Grandpa's casket, and without a word or any nudging from anyone, Thatcher leaned over as if he wanted to kiss his Dzia Dzia. I will do my best to always share stories and pictures with my children Grandpa, so they will know you as if you are still here. Thank you for loving me so unconditionally and for being the best husband, father, grandpa and great grandpa I have ever met. A piece of my heart went to heaven when you left us.
Always yours, GiGi.

Just thought I'd share

We have a lot going on in our family since my darling Grandpa passed away Sunday, but I will blog about him later. I have two Ben stories that I thought I'd share because they make me smile/giggle.

Just the other night we were laying in bed about to fall asleep and he said "I can't imagine you not being pregnant right now. It feels so right that we are going to have another baby soon." It totally melted my heart and reminded me how blessed I am to have such an amazing husband that is so in love with his wife and children.

Then this past Saturday night, my mom was with my grandparents and she sent me a text, asking if I could go let her dogs out and bring the horses in from the creek back. Ben was on his way out the door anyway to go to Lowes so he said he'd do it. After a while I got a text then a call from him that made me pee my pants. When he went to open the gate for the way back where the horses were, first they charged at him to get out and that freaked him out. He backed up and his head hit a rope above the fence. He realized it was the electric fence, but since it did not shock him when his head hit, he thought it was off. So for some reason he wanted to make sure it was off, SO HE GRABBED IT WITH HIS HAND!! He said it felt like a hammer hit every inch of his body, his limbs went weak and he screamed like a girl. He is totally fine and was able to laugh about it right away. When I called my mom to tell her I was crying I was laughing so hard.

Never a dull moment with this man, and I love him for it.

My Girl.

This past Saturday, May 29th, we got our 20 week ultrasound done. Both of our dads got to come with, and I'm so glad they did, you could tell they enjoyed it so much. I initially did not want to find out the sex of the baby, but over time, Ben had me on board. With Thatcher, I just knew he was a boy the whole time even though we didn't find out. This time, all the old wives tales pointed to girl, but I still didn't really have a feeling either way. And of course since we wanted to find out, the baby would NOT open her legs for NOTHING.

During the ultrasound the tech said she saw some things that led her to be 90% sure it was a girl. It was sooo neat to see our fully formed baby. I still feel kind of small for being 20 weeks, so to see a long baby in there was crazy. The tech said she was right on track as far as my due date, give or take a day. Every time the tech went back to the baby's head, she was talking, constantly moving her little mouth! The tech was so nice and did everything she could to get the baby to open her legs without much success. But the very last shot she got made her sound more confident that it was a girl. I strained my eyes the entire time looking for a penis or testicles and never saw any, and that very last shot I saw 3 little white lines down there, something that's supposed to be a sign of a girl. So right as we left I asked the tech if she would still say 90% sure, and she said, "Oh no, I'd say 95% sure now." So that was kind of reassuring, but Ben and I are still hesitant to all out celebrate until we see it 100%. So, off to a 3D ultrasound in a couple of weeks :)

If this little miracle is in fact a girl, her name is Vada Marie. Vada is from the movie My Girl, one of my all time favorite movies. The main character Vada is so imaginative and adventurous; I just love her spirit. That is what I imagine my little girl will be like. Marie is my middle name, as well as the middle name of every girl on my mom's side; it's in honor of my Grandma Mary.
Once we have the 3D ultrasound and know for sure, you will see a slightly different post full of hysterical excitement ;)

In other news, Vada's(?) big brother Thatcher is growing leaps and bounds. He's still not saying many words, although he tries, but he is constitantly signing "more," "all done," and the newest that I taught him is "please." He even knows when to use it without prompting. He gives high 5's when asked, and when you ask him how old he is, he holds up one pointer finger. He understands SO much now, the list is too long to type out on here. He is one smart and incredibly handsome cookie. And I have yet to meet a child his age that is bigger than him. Shoot I think he's even taller than every 2 year old I have met so far.

And Happy Memorial Day to all that have served and will serve our country. I am extremely proud that one of those men is my husband :)

Pregnancy brain.

Pregnancy brain is a real disease. You are diagnosed with it the moment you become pregnant. 99% of pregnant women suffer daily from the affects of PB, and sadly there is no cure, because even when the woman gives birth, part of her brain leaves her body when the baby does.

That's an excerpt from some medical journal, I swear ;)

PB has claimed many moments in my life, recently I have forgotten important meetings and just things in general. But the best PB moment happened last night. It was late and I was headed to bed. I went to the kitchen to take my prenatal vitamin and to get Georgia her pain medication (from getting hit by a car this week).

You guessed it.

I took Georgia's pill on accident! It's NOTHING like my vitamin! The vitamin is a giant maroon horse pill, her pain pill is a tiny white pill, broken in half no less! The second I swallowed I realized what I did and freaked out. I called my mom and she said there was nothing to worry about. Georgia's pain pill is simliar to tylenol, and it's half a pill for a 15lb dog, so it would take about 10 full pills to make one regular dose for me. So I'm pretty sure that puts me in the clear.

PB-63
Dana-0

How tall is your husband?

This is the question I get asked at EVERY check-up for Thatcher. We went in for his 15 month check-up today (a few weeks late): Weight 26lbs 13oz = 75th percentile. Head 48.25 cm = 75th percentile. Height 33.5 in = 96th percentile. He is one tall healthy boy :)
His pediatrician asked me a bunch of questions today to see how he's doing developmentally. (By the way I LOVE his pediatrician, she's the bees knees). She said by now he should be saying 3-5 words pretty clearly and consistantly. I let her know he has said lots of words in the past, mama dada ball all done yeah out, but nothing consistant and lately he's been babbling like a mad man, holding conversations about who knows what :) She did not seem concerned at all, he checked off absolutely everything else on her list. She said it's around 18 months that the flood gates usually open and they are pretty good with 5-10 words.
The other day we were visiting my grandma in the nursing home, and I was sitting on her bed. Thatcher was standing on the bed behind me playing with my hair. It was like the Holy Spirit pinched his butt and he started speaking in tongues. It was HILARIOUS. We were cracking up.
Tonight was such a beautiful spring night. Ben had to work late so I grilled (somewhat successfully) turkey burgers for dinner. When he got home I sat on the picnic table and watched my husband and son play. They were strolling along the sidewalk and stopped to show each other their belly buttons, it was quite the sight to see and made my heart melt.

The little boy Caleb we were praying for went home to be with Jesus last week. We will always be praying for his mom and family. I never met him but he certainly touched my heart.

So far so good.

I had another prenatal appointment yesterday. Baby's heart rate is 152, I haven't gained any weight so far, and all my blood work and tests came back with flying colors. I did give myself quite the scare the other night, we got our doppler back from friends and I couldn't find the heart beat. Thankfully a good friend calmed me down and then I tried again on a full bladder and found it no problem. Serves me right I guess ;)

I still need to write about our Oprah experience, but I'd rather go take a nap with the windows open on this rainy day :)

Thatcher is 15 months now, my how time flies. He L.O.V.E.S. being outside. He would live outside if we let him. I need to get him a little fort and a water table to keep him occupied out there. Our yard isn't fenced in so he loves to take off and RUN for the street, of all places. He's so smart and vivacious, it's hard to believe there was every a time when he wasn't here.

Right now we are praying daily for a miracle for a little boy named Caleb. If you read this please join us. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/calebtokarski

Oh Oprah.

I'm soooo excited, for the 2nd time in my life I am going to the Oprah show! The first time I went was in 2006. I was browsing the internet at work as usual, and just happened upon last minute reservations for a live taping. I took my mom, Kara, and Ben's mom. It was a super cool experience, unfortunately it was about Al Gore and his global warming movie. Boooooring ;)
This time we get to see Steve Carell and Tina Fey, and we get to screen their movie before the taping! I'm excited that I get to experience an Oprah show one more time before she goes off the air, and I'm excited it's going to be a cool show this time. Plus a date day for me and Ben, woo-hoo! He's not super excited about being downtown super early but he's going to suck it up for me :)
Today Thatcher's friend Lincoln and his mom Julie came over for a play date. It was so nice because they interact so well together and we even got to spend some time outside enjoying the beautiful weather. Thatcher looooves playing outside, he'll even bring me his shoes when he hears "outside," or he'll go open the breezeway door. He's so smart :)
And then I made uncooked chicken for lunch, that was pretty awesome.

So a guy walks into a bar...

Actually I don't have a joke to tell, I just can't get over God's sense of humor. I am pregnant again and our little Squirt the 2nd is due October 14, 2010. Whoa. Still can't believe it!
I really struggled with when to start "trying" again. I didn't want back to back babies but I also didn't want them 4+ years apart (in case we struggled with infertility again). Ben was ready for 10 more kids the day Thatcher was born, and he made that very clear every day :) They will be 21 months apart, which isn't that bad, I was hoping for over 2 years but I'm not going to complain. I am super anxious, extremely excited, and just a touch scared. The ONLY thing that really scares me is trying to fit another human being into our tiny home. So, I'm hoping that my family and God will work on Ben's heart to agree to try and sell our home and find something a little bit bigger.

I've been nauseous all day every day and extremely tired, I don't remember being sick with Thatcher at all. And at my ultrasound last week, which was amazing by the way, the baby's heartbeat was 171. Do these signs point to girl? Who knows. I'm not banking on either one. Ben really wants to find out the sex this time, I'm hoping I can talk him out of it over the next few weeks. But I must admit it would be a little exciting to find out this time. We'll see.

Thatcher is doing well, he's had diarrhea the past few days that he caught from church, but his poor little tooshie finally seems to be doing better. Tonight he started something new, coming to Ben and I when we call him for a kiss, and giving us that kiss. MELTED MY HEART.

Thank you Jesus for our struggles and blessings, especially the blessings that come in baby form :)

Oh oh oh it's MAGIC

When I logged in I noticed this is my 20th post. Maybe I should buy myself something to celebrate ;)

Well so much has happened since Thatcher's 1st bday. It has been a loooong cooold winter with one sick virus after another. But the exciting thing is Thatcher and I had the opportunity to go to Florida to visit Sam and Amanda for a week while Ben was gone to Ohio for work. My gracious aunt let us use her timeshare for free and Sam and Amanda were the most wonderful hosts we could ask for. I asked my friend Tara to come along on the trip, and she brought Thatcher's buddy Carsten who is 10 days younger. I was so happy to have someone to travel with, and for Thatcher to have a buddy to play with while we were there, I think he would've gotten sick of me quick :) Thankfully he did wonderful on the flight there with the help of a row to ourselves and an open seat inbetween.
On the Tuesday that we were there Amanda took us to Magic Kingdom. The last and only time I was there was on a family trip when I was 16, and the magic was just as amazing this time. It was so fun being there with my son. We saw Cinderella's castle and got to ride the infamous Dumbo ride. *Please note: I would never pay to go to Disney for a 1 year old, this whole trip was free except the flight and groceries :)
We did lots of things throughout the week: shopping, eating out, fireworks at Magic Kingdom, playing at the park, and a quick dip in the pool to name a few. The weather was mild but beautiful. My favorite part had to be when Thatcher got his 1st pair of Mickey ears. Sadly I didn't realize how magical the moment was until Amanda posted the video she took of the moment later on. Thatcher just stared at the lady as she talked to him and then placed his ears on his head. He continued to stare at her as if he had to stand still as the magic went from the tip of his head to the tip of his toes, and once it went through him he quickly smiled and giggled and ran away. So precious. Overall a wonderful trip with great friends and great family to share it with.

Next item on hand: I have composed my letter to Oprah for help with our tiny house. I'm hoping she will send Nate to do a "small space makeover." I'm going to submit my letter online once a day, and once I take some pictures of the house, I want mail a letter and pictures 2-4 times a month. I've got to act quick to catch her before her show ends, wish me luck!

And a quick congratulations to our dear friends the Van Zees, their son Albear is officially home with them in Iowa after quite the journey in Haiti. Love you guys!

Shake it like a Polaroid picture.

I just have to say that there is not a day that goes by that I am not in awe of this little boy.
His birthday festivities turned out absolutely wonderful. He was sick leading up to his party but was healthy as a horse the day of and the following week. Now he's sick again, poor kid. He went his whole first year with barely anything and now he's got this congestion and diarrhea thing going on, breaks my heart.
Thatcher is a speed walker and has even done a little jog/run here and there, it's hilarious. He "talks" nonstop and it's so neat to see him understanding what certain words mean. We think he knows Mommy Daddy Georgia bath juice banana hot apple cheese kitty more and all done. And he has attempted to say all done, and the usual mama dada. He will also shake his head "no" when we do it to him. He climbs all over the place, loves to "help" with laundry, and is really into some of his toys right now, especially the mail box, and getting on and off his rocking horse and elephant all by himself. He gives the best hugs, unfortunately it's usually when he knows it's nap time and he's like a monkey clinging to me for dear life :) And get this-he stopped using his paci a couple weeks ago, when he was sick the first time. I think it was because he couldn't breathe while he had it in. He has not had it since or needed it, which I think is pretty sweet! Thatcher has started to insist on feeding himself too, whether it be with his hands or his baby fork or spoon. Ben's mom said he did the same thing when he turned a year. Like father like son.
I am SO excited to be able to just sit back, relax, and ENJOY his second year of life. It will be nice to have a break from things like 1st holidays and I think my picture/video taking will quiet down a bit. This summer I want to join the Channahon pool and go as much as possible, as well as the zoo. Just gotta get through this gross winter first.
Ben is doing well, still really enjoys his job a lot, that for which I am so grateful for. Except that it is going to take him away from us for 2 weeks in February :( I blogged about that last time he left for a week in July, so I know that this time I have to keep us really busy to make it go by as fast as possible.
My heart is breaking for the people of Haiti right now, especially the children. If someone called me up and said we need you to take a baby right now we totally would. In the mean time we're praying and doing what we can, giving money and I gave my blood :) I doubt that will go to Haiti but it will help someone somehow right?

P.S. Aldi rocks.

A Baby Story

Ben and I tried to get pregnant for a year off of birth control before my OB finally referred us to a specialist. The basic “problem” was that I do not ovulate regularly, and my cervix is off to the side instead of a “straight shot.“ The specialist explained that we would try 3 rounds of IUI, intrauterine insemination, and if that didn’t work, we would move on to Invitro. The struggle to get pregnant was a journey in itself, that for which I am forever grateful. It is a part of our story and I feel like I appreciate pregnancy and giving birth and I realize it is not something to take for granted. And it is a testimony to how God uses the people he created, doctors, and the medicines and procedures they’ve created, to perform miracles. On the 3rd and final IUI try, we got our positive pregnancy test, and with that, a new journey began.

A year ago we had family over for my sister’s birthday. I had cleaned like a mad woman the day before, and from the moment I woke up I felt “crampy” all day. By the evening the crampiness had progressed but I sort of ignored it because, well, the party must go on. Everyone left by 9pm but my mom stayed behind. She was sure that I was in labor, but I wasn’t convinced. She took our dog Georgia home and said she’d be waiting anxiously by the phone, and I laughed at her. I started to realize that these cramps were indeed labor, so I started timing them on an online contraction timer. Ben went to bed because it was a Sunday night and he had work the next day, and I assured him that I would take a shower and try to sleep and see how I felt in the morning. Around 11pm I took a shower and that’s when the contractions started to get a little harder. I got myself and a bag ready then went in the room and said, “Ben I think we need to go to the hospital.” I came back in the room 5 minutes later and he was still asleep, so this time I really had to shake him. He sprang up and off we went. By this time the contractions were a few minutes apart and getting to be pretty unbearable, which made for a fun car ride.

We got to Silver Cross Hospital around midnight and went in the ER entrance, they took one look at me and up to labor and delivery I went. Thankfully the doctor I was not too fond of was coming off on-call and my doctor was headed in; I was so relieved. The first doctor broke my water and said I was around 2cm. At some point my parents and sister arrived, as well as Ben’s parents. I gotta tell ya, the abdominal contractions were nothing like I had ever felt in my life, but that was nothing compared to what was to come. I got my epidural and I.was.in.heaven. I never again felt abdominal contractions. But after a few hours I started to feel pain again, and this pain was out of this world. If the abdominal contractions were a 10 out of 10, these were a 19. They were coming fast and hard and none of the drugs were touching the pain. This was all because the baby was coming out head first, but face up towards the ceiling instead of down towards the floor. When babies come this way, their heads ram into the pelvic bone, causing intense pain and rectal pressure. (We had learned all of this and much more at our Prepared Childbirth class, another thing I highly recommend and am so grateful for), At one point I really thought I was going to die. One nurse had the nerve to ask me repeatedly, “Why are you crying?” Finally I blurted out, “Listen, this is my first time, it hurts really bad, and I’m scared, why do you think I’m crying?!” She shut up after that.

By this point it was around 3pm and I still wasn’t progressing enough, at the last check the doctor mentioned a c-section as an option, but only if we wanted it, he did not push it on us in any way. So I said to myself and Ben, “The next time he checks on me, if I’ve finally made it past 7cm, even if it’s only 8cm, I will keep going, but if I still haven’t progressed past 7cm after all of this, we’re doing a c-section.” So here we are, the doctor checks and says, “Sorry, still at 7cm.” Through choked sobs of pain I begged for a c-section. He was very calm and talked us through everything, making sure it was what we wanted, then off to surgery it was. There was a huge team of people in the surgery room, and Ben was by my side. They finally gave me a drug that blocked out the rectal pressure, and he made the incision. But I swear, I felt him pulling my insides out of my body! He said “You may feel some pressure,” to which I said, “NO, I FEEL YOU PULLING STUFF OUT!” It took a few more shouts to get them to believe me, and before we knew it the baby was out. We waited for the big announcement, and finally he said, “It’s a boy!” Even though we “knew” in our hearts it was a boy all along, it was still so awesome to wait and hear it proclaimed as he entered the world. But then we heard our son cry for the first time, which instantly melted our hearts and we began crying. Then I saw the most amazing creature I have ever seen in my life pop his head from behind the surgery drape. I kissed my son and then…everything went black.

The next thing I know Ben and the baby were gone and they were just about done stitching me up. Thatcher had to go to the nursery because he had gotten some of my fever that I had. I had felt a cold come on a few days before and I had managed to keep it at bay, but labor brought out the fever in full force. Another reason I am so thankful for the c-section because Thatcher’s fever may have gotten much worse if he had stayed in there any longer. After 6 long hours I finally got to see and hold my son. It was the most surreal experience of my whole life. Here was this baby, that by the grace of God Ben and I had created, now sitting here in my arms looking at me as if he knows exactly who I am. Like he had heard me and loved me for 9 months and now was thinking, “There you are Mommy.” My heart grew 10 sizes that day and has not shrunk back down since. That is also the day I watched my incredible husband turn in to the most amazing, loving, caring, protecting father I have ever met.

Thatcher Benjamin Skwirut was born January 5, 2009 at 3:34pm. The heavens rejoiced and the world became a better place that day. This first year of my son’s life has been nothing short of amazing. He is healthy, strong, smart, funny and dashingly handsome. I don’t see how anyone could deny God while looking into his gorgeous blue-eyed face. We've also made it a whole year nursing, which I am very proud of. I never really saw myself as a nursing mom, but it is so incredible and such a bonding time for mom and baby. And now that Thatcher is starting his 2nd year of life, I'm so excited to just sit back and enjoy him to the fullest. There are now 2 things I know for sure in life: I was meant to love Jesus, and I was meant to be this little boy’s mommy.

2010

Yup, I'm too old for New Year's Eve :) Ben and I went bowling at the cutest little old bowling alley in Lockport, then we headed over to a friend's house for some games drinks and lots of food. My mom kept Thatcher for his first overnight so Ben and I went straight home and climbed in bed at 1am, and I slept till 10am, after Ben brought me breakfast in bed at 8am :)
But back to Christmas. It was so much fun and amazing this year, and yes a big part of that is because of Thatcher. I pick up stuff for him all the time, but it was so neat shopping for MY SON'S Christmas presents, it was such a nice feeling. And being that he is almost a year old, his first holidays were soooo much fun, he really enjoyed them, especially Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve at Ben's parents' house and my friend Annie was there too. We ate salmon, opened gifts, and Thatcher slept while we went to the Christmas Eve candlelight service at my church. Christmas morning my family of 3 opened gifts together then my mom and sister came over and we opened more gifts. THEN we went to my cousin's house for our big family Christmas which includes Santa. Thatcher was very aware of him and didn't cry, but he also didn't want to be Santa's friend. Then the next day we headed to my aunt's house in Tremont, IL and had Christmas with my dad, aunt and uncle. We were all very spoiled by our gifts from everyone this year. It was also a nice Christmas because our good friends Amy and Scottie were in town from Montana.
Now it's 2010, the year of my 10 year high school reunion, and in just a few short days, Thatcher's first birthday :( We are planning a fabulous party for him at Grandma and Grandpa Skwirut's house on Jan 9th. I think on his birthday I will post about his birth story, since I didn't start blogging till a little while after he was born. Funny how it's still fresh in my mind, like it was only yesterday. My heart grows 10 times bigger every time I think about the day Thatcher Benjamin Skwirut entired my life. Love you Bubba.