Baby Maddoc

Ok, so Maddoc is 10 weeks old, and he's finally making his first appearance on the family blog. Mom really needs to get in gear.

I went in to get induced on Friday morning, February 12th. I felt confident that everything would go quickly and smoothly. I was right, if you don't count the first 12 hours of labor. After that, everything went very quickly. My mom almost didn't get to see Maddoc being born because once things kicked in, they went very fast. It took 11 1/2 hours to dilate from a 1 1/2 to a four, and then only 1 1/2 hours to dilate from a 4 to a 7 and then 20 minutes from a 7 to a 10. The epidural wore off, but I handled it much better than I did when it wore off with Logan. No yelling or getting mad at anybody was involved. I had to work a little to get this one out, about 10 minutes of pushing. Not a lot, but more than the 1/2 a push that I had to do with Rowen. He was born at 10:59 pm on Friday, February 12th. He weighed 8lbs. 9oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long. I think he may have been longer, because at his 2 week checkup he measured 22 3/4 inches, and I double checked him at home and he really was that long. It seems like a lot to have grown in 2 weeks.

He cried for the first 45 minutes after he was born, then nursed for nearly an hour, then pretty much did nothing but sleep for the next 36 hours. He didn't lose very much weight, only about 5 oz., so nobody was worried that he wasn't eating. He kept spitting up, his tummy was full of bubbly gunky stuff, so he just wasn't hungry until he got that all out.

We didn't have a first name picked out when he was born, so he was Baby Brown for a day. He definitely seems like a Maddoc to me. The middle name was always going to be Aaron (or Erin if it had been a girl), so by Saturday, he was Maddoc Aaron Brown.

He's a really good sleeper, as long as he's being held. It's good and bad, having a baby that's clingy. He's so snuggly, and I love feeling him close to me. But it is frustrating when there are other things to do and he wakes up 2 minutes after I put him down, when I know he's ready for a good long nap. But he really is good, he hardly is fussy or cries. And he's very alert and loves to watch people walking all around. He loves to smile and is learning to giggle. Rowen and Logan love him very much. I couldn't ask for them to be any better with him than they are. And they are both such good helpers. They'll do anything for me if it has to do with Maddoc. And they don't complain at all. Our family is complete and it feels wonderful. The human heart is amazing. It just keeps growing and growing. I love my family so much.

September 2009

Here's what we did in September.

Legoland

Didn't mean to post this yet, I'll update it later.

August 2009

Here are some pictures from our trip to the Bay area, in August 2009.

Our trip to the Jelly Belly Factory. We went with the Cunninghams. There was a long line to get in, but it was an interesting tour and a fun afternoon. And who could pass up on the hats.



We were finally able to see the Golden Gate bridge. We had taken the kids the year before, and the entire bridge had been covered in fog so that you couldn't see it from the parking lot. Always a favorite San Francisco spot.



A rare photo of Steve and I. I can't remember if Logan or Rowen took the picture. We went down to check out the fort at the base of the bridge, and it was closed. Another time.



We walked out on the bridge for a while (I think we almost made it halfway), but it was a bit far for the kids. And it was very windy. But we took some pictures.


The kids wanted me to take pictures of them pretending to be homeless. They're sleeping on the bridge. Rowen was trying to be serious but kept laughing.


We went to a petrified forest. And found out the wood doesn't actually become petrified. The molecules of wood are slowly replaced by volcanic ash, molecule by molecule, so the tree changes from being a tree to a stone replica of a tree. Cool. The kids just liked making funny faces.



We went to Train Town in Sonoma, and the kids liked the little western town to play in. They had a good time.



We went to a geyser. It was about $10 a person to get in, and it was a small geyser with some weeds growing all around and some goats to feed through a fence. Definitely would recommend passing on this attraction to anyone in the Napa valley.



The Muir Woods were fabulous. So pretty. And the weather was perfect. And we got to go with friends, which made it twice the fun. All in all, it was a great vacation with friends and sightseeing.


Rowen and Maddie playing around on the bear statues at the Muir Woods.

July 2009

July was a really mellow month. We started working on Logan's new room, moving out all of the office furniture. But what would a July be without the Orange County Fair's Demolition Derby. We were all excited that it was on a Saturday this year instead of a Sunday. It was a lot of fun.

July Pictures

Here are some pictures from the demolition derby.



Madison Bailey and Logan

Lauren Stacy and Lance

Jenn and Steve
Logan and Ayden

Bailey Logan Ayden and Cayden
Cars lining up for introductions
Renton and Reeve being cool pre-teens

June 2009

In June 2009, Logan finished Kindergarten. He was sad that Mrs. Wilson wouldn't be his teacher anymore. I had to promise him that he could say hi and bye to her everyday all through first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth grade. Then he asked, what about the year after that? So I told him that Rowen would still go to Acacia, and that when we picked her up from school, he could say hi to her then. She's a great teacher and Logan does still like to say hi to her and tell her things about what he did in Mrs. Langford's class and such. Rowen is so excited to be in her class next year.

Logan turned 6 on June 15. We just had a few friends over for cupcakes, and Logan did have a small picnic party at the park with a some friends from Kindergarten. Considering it was supposed to be a year with no party, I at least tried to keep it really small. No fancy decorations, no costumes, just some supplies from the dollar store and some food from Costco. He had fun, I think. We'll probably do something similar this year, but with pizza instead of sandwiches. Maybe just after school one day at Acacia Park. He's excited that he gets to go to school on his birthday this year.

We went to the San Diego Wild Animal Park and the Discovery Science Center. Steve took a few days off work and went with us, so it was extra fun. Then Leslie came from Arizona for a great week. It was really nice to just hang out again and enjoy being friends. We went on the Orange County Great Park Balloon, which was a little bit scarier than I thought it would be. It's the largest tethered balloon in the country. We went at night and had to wait for about 1 1/2 hours, but with the Wilsons and Leslie with us, it was a lot of fun.

What a busy month!!

Oh yeah, and I found out I was pregnant.

June Pictures

Here are some pictures from June 2009.

Logan the goalie at the Discovery Science Center.

Rowen's turn as the goalie. She looked so cute and tiny in all the equipment. And she actually stopped a puck.
Logan like rolling the balls on the spinning wheel.
Rowen, our little monkey, climbing as usual. Not bad for a 3 1/2 year old.

The Wilsons and Bushmans over for Logan's and Ben's birthdays.


Here we all are after our ride on the Great Park Balloon.

Logan on the tire swing at the Huntington Beach Adventure Playground. We all had a great time, for a really low price. It was something that was fun and different.

Logan and Rowen pushing their rafts at the Adventure Playground. This was by far their favorite activity at the Playground.

Steve and the kids feeding the Lorakeets at the Wild Animal Park.

Jenn and the kids having a friendly ride on a rhino. Of course, Logan is sticking his tongue out in lieu of smiling.