Recovery Week

Sleep, rest, strawberry shortcake...no better way to recover from giving birth and feeding a new baby. And just so you know, Finnegan doesn't sleep in the bed with us. That was just after breakfast. 

Finnegan's Homecoming

This boy loves to be swaddled.

We decided to go home after being in the hospital for 24 hours. Apparently the night Finnegan was born, Madie told Grammie "I'm sad because Dad's not home." Way to twist the dagger Madie! We were home the next day.

A lot of people have asked how Madie has reacted to Finnegan's arrival. It has been very positive so far. She has been taking such good care of her dollies for the past few months, and she kind of looks at Finnegan as another dolly. She shoves the pacifier in his mouth, gives him kisses, and rubs her cheeks on his face (this means he is in her inner circle already). It has also helped having Mallory's two younger siblings and mother here to give her tons of attention. Time will tell what she really thinks of Finn.

Exhibit A.

Finnegan is ready to go!

Mallory did such an amazing job with the delivery. She went without an epidural again, which deserves a trophy (and much more) in my book. She literally pushed three times and he was OUT! Not having the epidural has definitely helped her recover much quicker. We made a Costco run on Wednesday and went to the Farmers' Market on Thursday. Gives you an idea about how well it's going.

Heading out to the car.

Grammie holding Finn. He falls asleep really fast when Grammie is rocking him.

Finnegan Arthur Watkins

Low hanging baby. All checked in at Valley Care in Pleasanton.

Big upgrade in comparison with Madison in Rexburg. I got my own sleeping nook!

Finnegan was born on June 11th 2012, at 4:47 pm. He weighs 7 lbs 14 oz and was 20 inches long.

Dark hair, two dimples and a clef chin.

Madie was so excited to hold Finn. Every time we gave someone a turn to hold him, Madie would want him back and insist he stay with her. She was rubbing her cheek on him (ultimate sign of affection) and kissing him.

MariLou and Eden holding Finn.

Madie kept pointing out his little nose and wanted to put a pacifier in his mouth really bad.

One happy family!

Highlights of Today

Hearing Mike tell a hilarious stinky-kid story from 5th grade during our morning walk.

Hearing Madie bless "our cheese" at lunch--of which there was none.

Having Mike pick me up and carry me to my bed after seeing how uncomfortable I was trying to nap on the couch with less than a cushion to myself.

Having Mike come in and wake me up by rubbing my feet.

Grocery shopping with Mike along--not that it never happens--I just always appreciate having another adult there when I go.

When Mike and I convinced each other of the necessity of buying Ghirardelli's double chocolate brownie mix. Then subsequently buying it.

Watching Madie multi-task by holding her sippy cup in her teeth and taking swigs from it as needed while she carted around both dollies in one hand and picked books out to read with the other, until she finally tripped over her sweater and I suggested she just put the dollies down.

Hearing Madie say her evening prayer (this is always a highlight). Tonight it included that "Madie sleeps well" (said in the third person).

Sucking a black licorice honey stick we picked up at the farmer's market a couple weeks ago. It was delightful.

Late Night with Madie Fi

Madie's got a bit of a cough, caused certainly by a post-nasal drip. It took her until 9:15 to fall asleep, so when I went in to check on her before we went to bed at 10, I felt horribly torn: do I wake her now and take her potty or hope she'll make it through? Mike said he gave her a bunch of water before bed and she didn't use the bathroom after, so I did get her up. Then I rubbed some lemon and lavender on her chest and we headed to bed.

I didn't stay in bed long because my other child wouldn't settle down--let's just say I think I'm going to be in for a 10 pm feeding--so I got up, ate some toast, then went in to check on Madie. She'd been back down for about 20 or 30 minutes and I hadn't heard a peep--including a cough I might add--so I assumed she was asleep. Nope! She sat right up and greeted me as I sat on the top of her toy box by her bed.

Madie: "I'm awake."
Me: "Yes, I see that. Why, honey? I thought you were tired."
Madie: "No, I'm not tired anymore. I'm a little bit awake."
Me: "Well, yeah, I know. But ya know, hon, you're sick, and you really need your sleep. You don't think you can lie down and go back to sleep?"
Madie: "No. I want to come out. Why were you making lunch?" She was going off of hearing me warm water in the microwave for tea.
Me: "I didn't have lunch, I just had some tea." I didn't mention the bread...
Madie: Leans over and climbs onto my lap.
Me: "Do you want a song?"
Madie: "The Mumma song." ("Baby Mine" from Dumbo, which she has recently taken to watching.)

I sang the song, then a couple others. Throughout them all, she is nuzzling me. This is her ultimate sign of affection: she rubs her face all over mine and kisses me. (It makes singing very difficult.) Finally I told her it was time to go back down.

Madie: Whispering "I'm not done with your arms." I couldn't help but laugh!
Me: "Oh? Well, I'm sorry but you really need your sleep, and so do I, so I think my arms are done."

She did go down a couple minutes later and has slept well the rest of the night. She's such a sweetie. I'm excited for her to be a big sister, and I know she's excited too. Now that we've moved all of Finnegan's clothes, bed, and even a little rattle into the nursery, I think she's starting to understand it more. She sees that whoever this Finnegan is, he uses a lot of the same things she does and has an actual place. She's been practicing like crazy on her dollies. She diapers them (fairly well, I must say), rocks them, puts them to bed in the bassinet and closes the door, telling me to "shhh, because Dolly is sleeping." If we're in the car (without Kaleb), and a dolly is tagging along, she insists I put her in the other carseat. She's very responsible about all of this, and I'm sure will continue to be so--at least until Finn is big enough to start taking things of "hers." Hopefully it will help that I started months ago to declare pretty close to everything in the house as mine in an effort to get her to relax about Kaleb using some of the toys. Madie owns very, very few things in this home, as does, according to her, Dad. They can be paupers together, I guess. 

The Madie Diaries

Swimming:
The days have been warming up a bit more, making the pool a more desirable activity. Mal and I have decided not to enroll Madie into swim lessons until the fall, when things start cooling down a bit. Our main goal this summer is to just get her excited about going in the pool, build her confidence in the water, and make her somewhat independent (enter water-wings). We go just about every day after I get home from work. She is almost to the point to where I can let her go, but she doesn't quite want to let go of me. Pretty good for a weeks work. She isn't the type that will jump two feet in. She is definitely a 'baby steps' type of person. I think it's helped that we bought her some pink goggles, pink water-wings, and a couple of new swim suits. She's styling. That's the most important thing, right?

Dolly:
Madie is always thinking about brown and yellow dolly (named by their hair color). Lately, we have been getting a lot of things put together for Finnegan's arrival, and every time she sees a baby car seat, baby bouncer or a pacifier (today's examples), she immediately assumes they are for her dolly's. "Can I use that pacifer for dolly?" as she intently blinks up at us. She is always looking out for their well-being. It's cute.

Commando-eering:
Lately, Madie has refused wearing any panties to bed. Why? We will never know. It's just another one of her odd but funny requests that we play along with. 

Anatomy According to Madie:
I have been naming all of Madies tickle spots after random food items. Her neck, for example, is known as 'cottage cheese'. Her stomach is known as 'tripe' and her calves are 'corn on the cob'. Its really fun to hear her say "No! Don't eat my cottage cheese!"

The Past Little While

I was about to write up another pictureless post when I noticed I had a couple already in a row. If you're not in my family, perhaps you are more interested in my thoughts on some subjects than you are in seeing pictures of Madeleine--perhaps. If you are in my family, you're laughing at me right now for even thinking such a ludicrous thought. So, here are some pictures of what we've been up to the last few weeks.

A couple of weeks ago for family home evening we walked to a nearby park. The evening was cool and the park shady, which after a few hot days was refreshing.

Dada eats Madie's "corn-on-the-cob." 

A most unflattering picture of me heavy with child, but Madie pushing me was just too cute so I'm putting it up anyway.

At the top of a little knoll we spotted a bunny. It was just sitting there in the grass getting a snack. It stayed for some time--in fact, it outlasted Madie's attention span, which, if you've ever heard her throw a tantrum, is remarkably long.

The past couple of weeks prior to this last one were scorchers. So I emailed some friends one morning to let them know we were heading to the splash park. It was the perfect day for it--hot but not so bad the kids couldn't be in the sun for more than 15 minutes.

Madie had such a blast playing with the cups Jessica brought. One thing she loves most about shooting jets of water is how fun it is to hang her bum over one and let it soak her. Then she runs over to me every time to inform me that her "bum is very wet!"

A couple Saturdays ago--since Mike was out of school for a couple weeks--we went to the zoo as a family. I don't think we've done that since last year. Madie and I have been with friends and visiting family members while Mike's been at work, but we've have been just the three of us in a long time.  

An old--I mean old--tortoise. The keeper said he's about 120 years old and could live another 30 to 80 years.

 It was a great day for the zoo because all the animals were out and very active. I don't think we saw one enclosure that didn't have a visible occupant--we even spotted a lion off under a tree. It was awesome! He was roaring very loudly over and over--I don't know what was up, he was just lying under a tree--but it was cool!

Madie and I watching the tortoises.

 I always think it's funny to watch Madie observe a variety of animals over a short period of time. Unlike most young children--or even adults--she's far more interested in things like reptiles and fish than she is in the more popular things like otters and elephants. I think the only animal that beats them out are giraffes--she loves the giraffes.

Madie lookin' too cool in her shades. This girl has a serious celeb stare.