Weekend of weddings

After just 2 days back to the States, we packed up again for a weekend of weddings.  Neenah was our starting point as we celebrating the wedding of a dear friend Erin, to her husband Cory.  I had been almost a year since we had seen Erin and it was a great occasion to get together.  While there we also had the opportunity to visit with another friend, Annie, who became Aden's date.  Our favorite part of the reception was the photo booth.  Way too much fun as you can see below.

The next day we headed down to Eagle, Wisconsin for the wedding of Eric, a cousin on Jamie's side of the family, to his wife Katie.  The best part of this wedding was that we got to see so many family members all at once.  Everyone got to meet Avery and catch up with Aden.  Both kids did a great job despite the fact that both of them were still dealing with some jet lag. 

 

 Having fun!

 Dancing machine!

The last wedding reception was at a hotel with a water park at it.  So, we invited our friends the Verlees to come to the park with us.  They have a son, Asher, who is 4 and is a great playmate with Aden.  It took some time to get used to the noise at the park, but once they did, the boys were all over the park.  They had a great time together. 
 

 Katie and I with our babies

 Loving the water

 Aden's favorite part of the waterpark

Northern Ireland

Now that life has calmed down a bit, I'll catch everyone up on what has been going on these last two months.  We'll start with leaving Saudi.  Saudi will always have a special place in my heart and we really enjoyed our 4 years there.  We will miss our colleagues and friends who became our family.  We will also miss our students and the many opportunities that living abroad gave us.  

 Aden with his class and teachers

 Avery with her teachers and one classmate

The Dammam airport decided to give us a very typical good-bye.  We ended up waiting in the immigration line for what felt like forever (it was probably about an hour) as our line was continually stopped and Saudi nationals were allowed to skip in front.  Thank goodness we had the stroller and had forced Aden to sit in it because he promptly fell asleep which was good for everyone. 

Let the vacation begin!  We arrived in Dublin the next morning and met Jamie's parents, Brian and Wendy, at their hotel.  They were really excited to finally meet their granddaughter.  From there we drove up to Portstewart which is on the northern coast of Northern Ireland.  We had decided that with the kids, we would just stay in one place and do day trips.  This was the best decision we could have made and I would highly suggest it to anyone.  We had a fabulous house right on the coast and just a few minutes walk into town.  We found a few restaurants that we loved in town and just kept going back.  There was the traditional fish and chips, bangers and mash, steak and ale pie, but there were also some surprised such as Yorkshire pudding (fantastic!) and a salad with goat cheese that I ended up ordering twice because it was so good.  I would go back to Portstewart any time.  The people were friendly, food was fabulous, scenery was amazing, plus there are a lot of things to see and do within an hour drive. 

 On a walk that goes along the coast and right by our house.

 Portstewart!

 

Hanging out on the beach

While doing research for the trip, Brian and/or Jamie had found out that the neighboring town of Portrush was having a 5k beach run while we were there.  Of course, they had to join.  It was quite an experience as they were actually running in the sand, but the beautiful scenery made up for the difficulty.

 And off they go.....

The day trips we did included the Giant's Causeway, Bushmill's Distillery, Dunluce Castle, and the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge.  Aden and Avery did great jobs with all the driving and seeing everything.  Aden's favorite thing was all the cows.  Sorry, I can't find the pictures from the Giant's Causeway, but I'll post them when I do find them.  

 Cows!

 Our troop (minus Jamie the photographer)

 Dunluce Castle from afar

 Jamie and Aden getting ready to cross the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge.

I'll be honest, although Giant's Causeway is supposed to be the coolest attraction in the area, the rope bridge was my favorite.  It was a beautiful almost mile walk down to the bridge.  It was so interesting to think that the bridge was made originally by fisherman who wanted to fish off Sheep Island.  They were daring souls.  Everyone went over the bridge, including Aden and Avery!  I was a bit nervous about that, but it wasn't so bad and was over in just a matter of seconds.  Sheep Island is really just a big rock.  There wasn't much to do there besides take a few pictures and then turn around and head back.  However, just after we got to the island, a storm blew in that made the island pretty scary.  It was windy and rainy and I thought for sure they would shut the bridge down and we would be stuck.  The bridge did stay open and we did cross it in the rain which was a bit terrifying.  We then had the long walk back to the car.  Grandpa Brian was amazing and carried Aden the entire way back!  Avery was in her wrap which I then put a rain jacket over.  She ended up sleeping through the entire thing!  It was an adventure all right.

 Touring and tasting at Bushmill's Distillery

 Aden has had a variety of interesting diaper changes including the middle of a sheep field in Scotland, Sultan's palace grounds in Oman, and now we add to that the sidewalk at the Bushmill's Distillery.  The boy sure knows how to time it.

 Exploring Dunluce Castle

Hanging out at the castle

We really enjoyed our time in Portstewart.  The weather and scenery are such a vast contrast from Saudi that we really appreciated.  We did spend some time in Belfast on our way back to Dublin.  We took a few hours to check out the new Titanic museum which was very well done, but we didn't take pictures there.  Finally, we got back on a plane and headed to Wisconsin.... our final destination!

Baby Showers

This feels like a late post, but our last baby shower was not that long ago.  We have been very blessed with people who love our kids.  When our friends found out that we were pregnant, they asked right away if they could throw us a baby shower.  Then we found out we were having a girl which made the shower even more exciting because we would need girl items.

Beautiful (and tasty) cake

The first shower was before Avery was born.  Our friends Laura, Lindsey, Stephanie, Heather, and Cherie did an amazing job with a soup and salad luncheon shower.  It was perfect timing because the doctor had just told me that I needed to watch my sugar intake due to Avery's size.  We had a great time eating, opening presents, playing games, and just talking/laughing about parenting.  The ladies at the party were so generous.  Avery got a lot of clothes, hooded towels, blankets, and my favorites - bows for her hair and a gorgeous diaper bag.  One lady even got really creative and made me a "Mommy tool belt" full of all the things a mommy needs.  It was so sweet.

 All the ladies

The sweet hostesses

Our very thoughtful friend Laura had been taking a quilting class and decided that her first quilt would be for Avery.  We absolutely love it!  She put so much effort and time into making this gift for our precious baby girl.

 Laura, Avery, and the gorgeous quilt

Avery loves having some floor time on her quilt.

The second baby shower was hosted by some friends from school and took place after Avery was born.  This one had a different twist to it.  The big gift for Avery was an ABC book.  However it was not made yet.  Most of the party was spent making pages for the alphabet book.  The table was full of markers, stickers, pictures, and anything else you could want to create a letter page.  Each page was scanned and then the book was compiled online and shipped to Jamie's parent's house in the states.  I haven't seen the actual book yet, but looked at it online and it is so sweet.  It will be a reminder of our time in Saudi and amazing people we worked with.

 All the ladies!

Hanging our with Olivia

 Working on the ABC book.

Being creative

Avery: One Month

Our little girl is growing fast!  I can't believe that she has already surpassed the one month milestone. On May 4, she weighed in at 11.5 lbs and measured 23.8 inches.

 

We are loving adding little details, like her bows, to her outfits.   I knew that dressing a girl was going to be fun, but I didn't know it would be this much fun.  I put a lot more thought and effort into her outfits than I ever did with Aden.  Sorry Aden!

During our 1 month photo shoot, Aden decided that he wanted to get in on the action.  Unfortunately, this was the best picture I have of the two of them.  Avery was not happy with Aden taking her spotlight.

Avery is doing a great job sleeping and eating.  We are working on her staying awake for a bit after eating.  She's doing well if she can stay awake for 45 minutes to an hour which includes her eating. 

She loves lying on her play mat and just kicking her feet. The girl has a lot of energy at times!  She is learning to enjoy bath time more, but would much rather prefer to have a shower with either Jamie or myself.  She'll just snuggle up to my shoulder while the warm water runs down her back.

One thing that surprised us was her hair.  Not only was she born with a ton of it, but it is dark and curly.  After being bathed, it becomes a curly halo around her head.  I love it!

Aden has continued to enjoy having Avery around.  We've caught him being very sweet to her.  If she is ever crying, he knows and is very concerned.  He even tried to push Jamie out of a chair once because he wasn't going to help her fast enough.  He has also make the connection that putting her pacifier in her mouth can make her stop crying.  Especially when we are in the car, he will stick it back in her mouth and even hold it there for her to help her calm down.  We are so proud of what a wonderful big brother he is turning into.

 Unfortunately, Avery and I did come down with a cold when she was about 5 weeks old.  It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't fun either.  Stuffy noses, coughs, and just plain being tired meant a lot of sleeping and cuddle time.  During this time, I let her sleep where ever and whenever she wanted to.  Thank goodness we are completely healthy again and she is back to her normal self.

Jamie and I feel very blessed to have Avery as our daughter.  She has been an "easy" baby so far and we look forward to discovering more of her personality as she continues to grow.

Spring break with mom

The timing of Avery's birth couldn't have been planned better.  She was due on April 4th which was the first day of spring break.  She did come two days early, but our school gives two days of paternity leave.  This meant that Jamie and Aden would be home with Avery and I for the first two weeks of her life.  Perfect timing!  Another bonus was that my mom came during that time as well.

We spent a lot of spring break just hanging out at home, but did get out of the house a bit.  Most of our outdoor time was spent at the beach.  Aden loves the beach!  He loves the water, the sand, the shells, everything.  Avery wasn't too sure of the water.  Sometimes she thinks its okay, but other times she really doesn't like it.

 Nana and Aden playing in the sand

Our little beach babe!

 

Aden loves swimming in the ocean

One weekend, we went to Hofuf which is one of the world's largest oasis.  Pretty much, it is an old Saudi town that has a lot more foliage.  There are some really neat caves on the edge of town that Aden loved.  We also visited a camel market and watched the camels get loaded onto a truck.  Jamie, Aden and I had visited Hofuf before, but it was a neat experience for my mom plus Aden was too young to remember his first visit.  Thankfully we didn't go on our own.  Mark (school principal) and Gerd-Inger were our guides.  They are like grandparents to our kids.

picnic lunch

Playing in the caves!

Our whole group outside the caves

We really enjoyed having my mom around as we worked on acclimating to having two kids.  She did a lot of dishes during her time here and things just miraculously got cleaned during the day.  It was so nice to not have to worry about those little things.  Of course there was a lot of walks with Aden and snuggling with Avery.  Thanks mom for all your help, it was priceless!

 Posing at the camel market

 Aden getting friendly with some local boys

We miss you Nana!

Proud big brother

One aspect of having a second child that made me a bit nervous was how Aden would respond to it.  Before Avery was born, he started acting a bit clingy, especially to me (Tara).  However, once he met Avery, he was smitten.  He absolutely loves her!  He always wants her to be awake, and is often by her side when she is awake.  Every time she cries, he is very concerned and wants us to do something about it.  One thing we've done is give him jobs to do every once in a while.  He likes being helpful by getting a diaper or burp cloth and knows where all of Avery's things are. 

The day Avery came home

 

He is very aware of her feeding which has been amusing.  The other day he lifted up his shirt, stuck out his belly, pointed to his bellybutton and said "Avery eat!"  Jamie and I just laughed and explained to him that only mommy could feed Avery.

 He really loves to hold her

 

I'm very thankful that Aden has not shown any signs of being jealous and is usually very gentle with Avery.  He is such a good big brother to her. 

 

This is my favorite picture of them so far.

Avery Vera: The Birth Story

Avery is here!  After much anticipated waiting, our little girl has arrived.  Here is the story of the night she arrived:

It all started at 9:45 on April 1.  We had just gone to bed when I felt a snap.  At first I thought it was baby girl punching me, but something was different about it.  After a few minutes, I decided to just walk around and pack some snacks into our hospital bag.  It was then that I started to realize that something was different.  That snapping feeling was my water breaking, but I didn't have that gush of water that you see in the movies.  I also started to get some seriously painful contractions.  At this point, I decided that it was time to wake Jamie up and let him know what was going on.  We called our lovely neighbor, Patty, who had volunteered to stay with Aden when I went into labor, got everything in the car, and headed out.

Our little girl!  

(sorry it's sideways, but I'm done fighting the computer to try and fix it)

By 10:30, we were on the road to the hospital.  For those of you who don't know, we live 1 to 1 1/2 hours away from the hospital, depending on traffic.  My contractions were 5 minutes apart when we left the house and just under 3 minutes apart by the time we arrived at the hospital.  It was the most interesting car ride I've ever had. 

Exhausted, but she was worth it

The nurses were great.  They didn't care that I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt (putting on my abaya was not on my to-do list), they just grabbed a wheelchair and took me to an examination room.  Jamie came in about 5 minutes later to hear that I was 10 cm dilated.  I was really hoping for at least 6 cm, but was not expecting 10.  At that point I asked "So, are we having the baby here?"  and the answer was yes.  Avery was so excited to arrive, that she wasn't going to make it up a few stories to the Labor and Delivery section of the hospital.  We were having an ER baby!  We were told that babies are delivered about once a month in the ER, but the room was definitely not set up for delivering.  As I got into position to push, I asked for stir-ups to put my feet into.  The bed only had one, and it just held my leg up.  There was nothing for me to push on.  Jamie understand what I needed and ordered two nurses to hold onto my feet so that I could use them as leverage.  He did such a good job being my advocate the whole time! 

Proud Daddy!

After just a few contractions in the examination room, I was told that it was time to push.  It was at this time that I realized how wrong most tv/movie labor scenes are.  Yes, labor is painful but you can't scream and push at the same time.  According to Jamie, I did scream a few times and people down the hall could probably hear me, but it was so worth it.  After 3 pushes our little Avery was here.  She arrived at 12:02 on April 2nd weighing 9 lbs and was 21.25 inches long. 

 Our little sweet pea!

A huge thanks to our fantastic friends Laura, Heather, and the Youngs.  Laura and Heather stopped by our house to get our passports before coming to visit us in the hospital.  We needed the passports to get the report of birth from the hospital.  Heather also went to the airport late that night to pick up my mom since we were still in the hospital and made sure she was settled into the house.  We feel very blessed by your generosity ladies!  The Youngs also worked on some important paperwork for us and stayed overnight with Aden.  This was not an easy job since the first day he woke up at 4 am and wouldn't go back to sleep.  Thank you Nonny and and Poppy!

I'm on maternity leave for the next 7 weeks, so I'll be able to update more frequently that we have been.  Check back again soon to see how much she has grown!