The REAL new member of our family

When you read the title of that last post, you may have thought, "finally, we're going to hear something about Ellen!"  Maybe you even thought you'd seem some cute baby pictures of this now 9 month old child that hasn't been mentioned on the blog yet.  I know that's what I thought when I first read Will's last post!

Obviously we've been slacking a bit on the writing over the last year, but I know Ellen deserves some air time here.  We've definitely fallen into the pattern of "second time" parents -- taking a few less pictures and worrying a little less (well, at least Will is...I still do my fair share of analyzing and worrying).  There have been no spreadsheets tracking dirty diapers, sleep, or routines this time around.  Nursing was easier; sleepless nights were harder (having a toddler running around made it a little more difficult for those midday naps or sleeping in) -- and we're already far enough beyond those phases that I can reminisce about them fondly.

As I was sitting down to write this, I went back to read Anna's birth announcement here.  It's amazing how different the birth experiences were for our two girls.  Anna was born 11 days late after a scheduled induction; Ellen was born on her due date just minutes after we arrived at the hospital on a gurney in the ER...the craziness of that night/morning still makes me shake my head....

Looking back on it, I can see I was in labor all weekend.  I was having reasonably consistent contractions Saturday evening and night, but with our weekend activities, didn't really notice them too much on Sunday.  I went to the grocery store, made Halloween cookies with Anna, we carved our pumpkin....although it was the day before Ellen's Halloween due date, I figured I'd have these "minor" contractions for several more days, thinking she would definitely be born late again.

My contractions got stronger again Sunday night, but never met the "5-1-1" criteria to actually go to the hospital.  Ever the rule follower, and not wanting to go to the hospital only to be sent home, I stuck it out through the night.  Until just before 5am when they were finally so strong I was gripping Will's hand in pain and realized we needed to go to the hospital.  Will ran next door to get the neighbor, who we had just lined up the day before to watch Anna for this (lucky we even did that).  They spent sometime installing Anna's carseat in her car, I showed her what Anna would want/need for breakfast...I made one last pitstop until Will literally pulled me off the toilet and said we were going (lucky he did that also -- more signs of very active/late labor that didn't even occur to me in the moment).  Finally, our neighbor shoo'ed us out the door and I finally realized this was serious.

The memories of that car ride are surprisingly vivid for me...Will ran one red light.  He took one wrong exit off the highway, which then meant a left turn over a median.  And I remember very CALMLY asking him when he pulled out his iPhone to check a map what he was doing, did he know where he was going? (I thought for sure he was taking an alternate route I didn't know, but that wasn't really the case).  After quite a "detour", during which my water broke, and I insisted on the windows being down in the 35 degree weather, we finally arrived at the hospital.  I sat in the car while Will tried to wrangle a wheelchair and tried to pull me into it -- I say "pull" because at that point, Ellen's head was already born, and I couldn't really stand up.  A woman reporting for work ran over and thankfully took control of the situation -- calling for a gurney and help.  People finally realized what was happening and that I wasn't just an overly excited pregnant woman in early labor.  My second "push", and Ellen was born.  On the gurney, in the hallway of the ER.

I think Will took this picture before the nurses from L&D even got to us.

Ellen Rachel Hinshaw, approx 5:47am, October 31, 2011

The time listed on Ellen's birth certificate was the time the ER staff called L&D to alert them of the situation.

For two serious "planners", I think this was quite the wake up call.  I'm pretty sure Ellen is going to keep us on our toes

A New Member of the Family

There seems to be a new addition to our family. I’m not sure exactly when she arrived; we noticed her about 3 weeks ago. I don’t know how long she’ll stay either. As long as she doesn’t cause any problems, she’s really a pretty easy house guest. Well, except when I don’t see her and accidently step on her. Her name is Ditta. I’m told she’s four years old. Her favorite restaurant is Chick-Fil-A but her favorite food is cheeseburgers. That piece doesn’t make sense to me, but these are the facts as reported by Anna. Ditta sleeps in the “other bed” in Anna’s room,” the one by the dresser.” If you’ve never been in Anna’s room, there is no “other bed by the dresser.” But, that’s really no important. Ditta can sleep there anyway. After all, Ditta IS imaginary.


About three weeks ago, Anna started mumbling to someone. When we asked who she was talking to, Anna replied, “Ditta!” “Who,” we asked. “DITTA!” “Ditta?” “Yes. DITTA!!” Since our initial encounter with Ditta, we’ve seen Anna feed Ditta. We’ve seen Anna read to Ditta. We’ve seen Anna tuck Ditta in for a nap. We’ve been asked not to sit in certain chairs at certain times because Ditta wants to sit there. We even saw Anna use a chip clip to trim Ditta’s toe nails. (Granted, I had just trimmed Anna & Ellen’s toe nails.) Anna moved slowly along the bench on the deck, opening & closing a chip clip, chanting “clippy-clippy-clippy.” “What are you doing, Anna?” “Trimming Ditta’s toenails,” she answered ever so matter-of-factly. “OH,” I said.

Ditta comes and goes. I didn’t hear about Ditta for a couple of days & thought maybe she’d gone. (Where do imaginary friends go anyway when they’re not around?) But then, I found Anna sitting on the stairs by the front door. She said that she was waiting for Ditta to pick her up. She said they were going to the grocery store & she asked if I needed anything. Makes sense. If Ditta’s going to be hanging around, the least she can do is pick up a few groceries.

Onion!

So many of Anna's adventures involve food. It's likely mine & Traci's influence - so many of our own "adventures" are about food too - generally trying new things - the masterpiece recipe that flops or the great, new 15 minute meal discovery for weeknights.

Where food and Anna are concerned, we've left the chicken nuggets and fish sticks to school. Yeah, we shovel the ocassional nugget or peanutbutter sandwich in front of her. But, for the most part she eats what we eat. It's not exotic, but I would guess that it's atleast closer to exotic than average. Last night we had baked sweet onions stuffed with a ground lamb & spinach mixture. I thought they were a flop but Anna loved them. The irony is that Anna professes to not like onion. "I don't like onion" is the standard response for buying an onion in the store, chopping an onion, or finding even the tiniest minced onion in a dish. "I don't like onion." "I know, Anna. You don't like onion." It's a common, dinnertime conversation. I was fully prepared for her to hate last night's dish and loaded her plate with mashed potatoes to fill her up.

Earlier in the evening we had been reading the spanish translation of an Eric Carle board book. So, when Anna pointed at the baked onion and said "What is that is?" I thought quickly and said, "It's cebolla. It tastes sweet. Try it." Anna said, "ce-boy-da? It's sweet?" She popped it in her mouth & shouted, "I like it!" Traci & I exchanged a glance, thinking that we had pulled a fast one. We all continued to eat, talking idly about this and that, trying to get Anna to slow down on the cebolla and try some meat. About three quarters of the way through her delicious new discovery, she stopped. By now, we had forgotten about having pulled a fast one. Anna dropped her fork, looked up dramatically, and shouted, "Onion! It's onion! This is onion!" We all three laughed. Ellen joined in, laughing at us laughing, and Anna quietly said, "I like onion."

I Luv Coins!

Six months since the last blog post. So much has happened. Waiting on baby number two (affectionately referred to as "Deuce"), bought a house, moved to the 'burbs, & watched as Anna grows into a full-fledged kid. Last week I made a list. She knows 210 words. She's learning manners; she says "tank you", "pease", & "scuse me". She also is quick to tell her old Dad when he should be saying "tank you", "pease" & "scuse me" too. She's learned to dress herself and likes to "change clothes" in the evening when she gets home. Anna loves to hang out in the kitchen, pulling out pots & spoons while Traci & I are cooking. I think she's going to find her specialty to be Italian foods. Whenver she pulls out a pot & spoon, she'll bang the spoon around, declaring, "I cook noodles!"

Anna loves noodles. But, her current favorites are blueberries, olives & today Anna announced, "I love coins". ("Coins" is what it phonetically sounds like when Anna says "corns".) Yesterday, we brought home 5 dozen ears of corn for the freezer. Anna helped to shuck, saying "it's too heavy" when she couldn't pull off a husk. She pulled husks, cleaned off silk, & sneaked nibbles of raw corn when she thought no one was looking. At the end of the day we took the last three cobs from the pot, buttered them up & headed out to the deck to taste the best part of late summer in the Midwest. A few bites in, Anna looked up with the biggest smile & proclaimed, "I love coins!"

All Smiles

This week Anna learned to smile on command. We're not quite sure how she learned - we didn't teach her. But she did. So now, all day long, we're having fun pointing to her & saying, "Hey Anna! Smile!" Tonight, she pointed at me & said," 'mile". Of course, I did. How could I have not.




Hey Anna! SMILE! (That's mom's hat on Anna. It's a favorite make-shift toy.)

A Second Lesson in Anna-ese

New words seem to come every day. I find myself constantly surprised & looking at Traci, saying, "did she really just say that?" I promise not to post Anna's new words every week, but a few others came to mind & a few new ones rolled off her lips.

A Second Lesson in Anna-ese

up = up - this week "up" also means "up" as in pick me up
bané = banana
ome = home
chicka-chicka-chicka = chicken
heh = head
eye = eyes
no = nose
muh = mouth
ear = ears
chee = cheek
koat = coat (but, in Anna-ese I'm certain it's spelt with a 'k'. It's such a hard, sharp sound you could cut yourself on it.)

This evening in the car Anna was singing to herself. We weren't quite sure what she was singing. At one point I thought it was the ABC's because I thought I recognized a letter. Mostly it was just rhythmic jibber-jabber. Then, out of nowhere, clear as day came "RowRowRow". DID SHE REALLY JUST SAY THAT?

A Lesson in Anna-ese

Anna has become a real chatterbox. She's constantly trying to communicate with us & is always pointing out & identifying things she knows. Her words aren't always immediately understandable. Though, Traci & I pretty much have them down. While there are a few cognates (says the foreign language nerd), anyone else who might be around Anna would likely find a lesson in Anna-ese helpful.



A first lesson in Anna-ese

ba = ball

ba = blanket

baby = baby

bee-bee = beep-beep

boot = boot

bye = bye

ca = car (as in, the "ca" says "bee-bee")

'cado = avocado (a favorite food)

cheessssssse = cheese (lots of emphasis on the esses)

da = dad

da = dog

da = diaper

da = done

da = down (The context clues when using "da" are critical.)

kee-ka = kitty kat

ma = mama

no = no

No!No!No! = No thank you . I'd rather not.

NOOOOOOOOO! = HELL NO! Are you crazy?!? Get that broccoli away from me!

pea = pea (another favorite food)

poo = poo (as in, there's a "poo" in my "da")

poo = Pooh (as in, "Winnie the")

'poon = spoon

sssslthsl = slipper (watch out for the spit when she says this one)

up = load up (only used when eating. As in, help me "up" (load up) my 'poon.)

vee = Eve (our dog)

VEE! = EVE!! (mostly reserved for when "vee" is laying on her "ba")

vee-vee = Evie (more affection than just "vee". Usually accompanied by petting.)