One Big Spider

It's that wonderful time of year when spiders seem to think that your home is their home.  We have had a few rather large ones lately but this one beats them all!

It was hard to catch this one!

And get it down from the ceiling!

I got him in the end... though a shoe just wouldn't do!

Posted By: Jonathan

3 weeks old

Yesterday marked Rebekah's 3 week birthday. I can't believe how much she has changed in one week. She is still a tiny baby... tried fitting her in size 1-2 diapers when we used up the last newborn one but they are still huge. She is still wearing newborn size clothes. Though she hasn't changed much in size her face is changing and she has more awake time and more expressions. She also likes to hold hands now, happy to grab a finger when it is offered. We do get some noise out of her but I am looking forward to when she starts to coo more. Mostly I just try to cherish every moment of this very short "new born" stage.

Rebekah is 2 weeks old!

It has been 2 wonderful weeks since our youngest daughter made her way into the world. It is hard to believe she is now 2 weeks old but at the same time it feels like she has been part of our family all along. She fits right in. It probably helps that she spends most of her time sleeping and it has been especially wonderful that she sleeps well through the night (most nights). We do treasure her awake time and sneaking in some cuddles while she is sleeping too! There is no shortage of pictures of our Rebekah... here are a few taken since we've been home from the hospital. You can't tell from the pictures but her eyes are blue, that may change over time but they aren't dark like David's were when he was born and in 2 weeks her dark hair has already gotten longer. We are enjoying the extra family time while Jonathan is on parental leave. We have been able to visit lots with family, get some extra things done around the house and just enjoy some quiet settling in time in between. And even though Rebekah is a good sleeper there have been a few long nights between her and her siblings so it has been nice for me to get some sleep in time and for Jonathan not to have to wake up at 4am to go to work.
Rebekah had her second check up on Monday and is continuing to do well. She gained 6 ounces in 1 week and weighed 2 ounces past her birth weight. We are working to get her birth announcements completed and sent out soon.

"Blitz"

This is the story of Rebekah's journey into the world. If you are not interested in the details read no further...

The last few weeks I have been playing a lot of "Dutch Blitz" ( a fast passed card game where you earn points for each card you put in the community piles and loose points for each card left in your pile when another player goes out and yells "Blitz"). It took me a while to make the connection but I soon realized that playing "Dutch Blitz" was a sure way of having Braxton Hicks (practise contractions). The first time this happened was at the end of June when we were on holidays at Shuswap Lake. I played a few games before going to bed and ended up having 3 hours of braxton hicks that night... strong enough that I was beginning to wonder if Jonathan was going to have to drive me to the nearest hospital. In July I noticed I would have these contractions while playing Dutch blitz and I soon made the connection (Reason #1 for the title of this post).
On Tuesday, July 31 I had a doctor's appointment and discovered I was 3-4 cm dialated. Later that day I ended up having 6 hours of contractions 1 minute long and 3 minutes apart. We were certainly thinking that might be the day our little "Summer" was going to come. As the evening went on rather then get stronger (which I was waiting for) the contractions dwindled to a full stop.
On Thursday, August 2nd I had another doctors appointment so see what sort of progress I made in the pre-labour I was having on Tuesday and sure enough I was a good 4cm and my cervix was getting ready for our little one to arrive. What my doctor said was because "Summer's" head wasn't coming down I was getting "stuck" in the first stage of labour... if her head came down I would have the added pressure I needed for the contractions to get stronger and my labour to progress. His recomendation was  to take 60ml of castor oil to help strengthen the contractions... to help move baby downward... to help my labour progress into the second stage.
I was pretty leery about taking castor oil because I am really a big baby when it comes to medications that taste bad (can't even bring myself to take cough syrup) and I just wasn't sure about "helping" my labour along but I really was not wanting to continue having contractions until baby decided to drop so I mixed the castor oil (the bottle I bought was 50 ml) with a glass of orange juice, plugged my nose and chugged it down (This was at 2:30pm on August 2nd). After drinking my special mix OJ all I could do was wait... so we sat down and played some more Dutch Blitz. By 4pm I was having regular contractions about 1 minute long and 3 minutes apart (same as 2 days earlier)... and I was wondering if labour would actually kick in or if I would be disappointed again. (Did you know there are free apps for timing contractions?.. so cool!) By 5:30pm we took a break for dinner and around 7pm I was feeling really discouraged that there would be no sign of baby "Summer" anytime soon. BUT Heidi made me walk. We walked up and down hills all around the neighbourhood for over 2 hours and my contractions got stronger and closer together (thank you Heidi)! By 9:30pm we were in a mad rush to make a few phone calls and head to the hospital. (Thankfully my sister was here to stay with the kids and they were already in bed at this point... thank you Mandy)!
In the car my contractions got more frequent and we drove very hopeful that this was the real deal. When we got to assessment my cervix hadn't dilated any more but they were quick to get my into a room and to have the gas near by (thankfully)!
It wasn't long before the gas wasn't enough for the pain and I was begging for an epidural. At this point I was 6cm dilated (about 11:30pm and Dr. Farmer broke my water, though I didn't notice), but it felt like 8-10! I really was worried I wouldn't be able to cope through transition. They convinced me to attempt having a shower to ease my pain but it was a good thing I hadn't stood up to make my way to the bathroom. I started having pain right below my c-section which was causing some concern. The next thing I knew I was pushing while I screamed "I'm pushing" and everyone in the room was telling me to pant (which I did, or at least attempted to do). Dr. Farmer got a glove on just in time to apply some counter pressure to the head and Rebekah was born! My shortest pushing time had been 25 minutes so I was quite surprised (as was everyone else). At that point we could have yelled "blitz!" Rebekah made it for an August 2nd Birthday with 5 minutes to spare.
In short I went from 4cm to Baby in less then 2 hours! Heidi was there with us an just managed to catch Rebekah's birth on video. Not my finest moment but I was thankful to be able to watch it since everything happened so fast. Despite her fast arrival she was healthy and I managed not to tare. One week later we are both continuing to do well. At the end it was my most intense labour but I am happy she arrived quickly. Mostly I am thankful she arrived safely and very happy to hold her in my arms! Another labour of love!

I Scream For Ice Cream!

Daddy's Double Chocolate, Chocolate Mint Chip Home-Made Ice Cream

You think she likes it?

Introducing Rebekah...

Rebekah Margaret Grace

Rebekah was born August 2nd... 5 minutes shy of midnight! She came rather quickly... wanting to make sure she made it in time for her Great-Great-Granny's Birthday (would have been 100th) & my cousin Chelsea's Birthday. She is named after her Oma... Margaret Neufeld and my Grandma Grace Tourangeau. She arrived at 38 weeks just like her two sisters before her and weighed 6 pounds 11 ounces. We stayed in the hospital until noon on Saturday. She has been doing very well. She has dark hair and we aren't sure about her eye colour yet... definitely some blue in there but not sure if it will change or not. It is possible her hair might also change as David's started out quite dark too but she seems to be the darkest one so far. Yesterday was our first full day as a family of 6 since David and Angeline had been away for the long weekend so we are still settling in. Jonathan is taking some time off to help ease the adjustment. I will be posting the story of her arrival soon... just havn't had much time to work on it yet.

Picnic Day

Yesterday I spent a good part of the day timing contractions. They were steady for over 6 hours but not progressing. Without completely giving my hopes up I was thinking Summer was on her way. I had a similar labour with Samara only we went to the hospital and they broke my water to encourage things to get going. After breaking my water my contractions stopped so then they didn't have much choice other then to put me on oxytocin (which is NOT fun)... rather then have a repeat I thought I would just wait it out and see if my body would kick into the second stage of labour on its own (but obviously it didn't).
That being said today needed to be a picnic day. I needed to get out of the house and get the kids out too. They went for a bike ride in the trails (we walked) and then played at the water-park and playground. And we had lunch. It was a nice morning for everyone... just thought I would share some pictures.

37 weeks- the hardest part

Waiting is the hardest part... and that's saying a lot knowing full well what my body has to accomplish to bring this Baby into the world.
We are 37 weeks today (which is considered full term). Summer could arrive at any moment or she could decide to take her sweet time. My body is definitely showing signs that it is preparing for labour to start but the varying range for  when those first true contractions will occur can be anywhere from hours to weeks.
This morning the minutes are passing by slowly. We have not been getting out of the house much because at this point it just requires too much effort (and way too many bathroom breaks).  As a result the kids and I all seem to have a bit of "cabin fever."
We are "ready" for the most part in the sense that our bags are packed and the car seat is installed. As always there is still lots to do. It would be ideal to be on top of the house work and there are several projects I would like to complete before I bring Summer home... I guess I just need to focus on those and keep my mind off the when and the how.
If we take a picture in the next few days we will add it to this post.

What's new...

 This is an all in one update with our newest family picture. It's a special family picture because we are all together with the white rose bush planted in Noah's memory at Grammy and Grandpa's house. It's also my latest pregnancy shot... taken just shy of 36 weeks.
Today we reach the 36 week point and Baby Summer is nearly 6 pounds, 18 1/2 inches tall. She is ready to be born though she will thrive a bit better if she stays in my womb for a few more weeks. I am comfortable for the most part, seeing my massage therapist weekly at this point which really helps. My only "complaint" at the moment is that I am quite tired but I haven't been very good about keeping an early bed time so I think it has more to do with that then our pregnancy. Once I am in bed I have been sleeping well.
As far as an update for the kids David is almost 50 lbs now, Angeline has made her way to 30 lbs and Samara is 21 lbs. David is looking forward to starting school again in September. Angeline is anxious to learn to write more letters and to do everything else her big brother does as well. Samara is talking more all the time. We are planning to buy a bunk bed for D & A on Monday and move them back into the same room. Samara has been sleeping well in her crib at night and it has gotten much easier to put her to bed.
Our outfits came from Auntie Lauren and Uncle Brent... Summer Olympics clothes from England.

Who dun it?

KIDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Needless to say the Iron didn't survive the experiment)

Jonathan - my money's on Angeline... some Angel ;)

Vacation Bible School

This past week David has been spending his mornings at Vacation Bible School (VBS). The girls enjoyed going to pick him up today, and participating in the singing. I LOVE the picture of Samara with her hand in the air. Wish I had a video of Angeline dancing too. Thank you to the many volunteers and also to Carolyne for driving David everyday. He had an amazing week and will spend the next few weeks leading VBS sessions for all of us. The coffee table turns into a stage (and as you can see from the second photo he has no fear of stages) and the Sky VBS CD will get played continually on the CD player... he will also continue to wear his VBS shirt everyday... I am going to have to wash it when he is sleeping. HE hasn't lined up his teddies for a sermon yet but it wouldn't surprise me! This is David's 3rd year in VBS and next year Angeline gets to go too... she is so excited!

Fun Morning at the Park

This morning we had a girls day at the park. I HAD to get some pictures of Angeline and Samara in their matching swimsuits. They didn't get too wet but they had fun splashing. Love the water park and the toddler park at Ryall... will have to go more often! After seeing the pictures David said he would like to go too... he is having a fun week at VBS.

Our Kindergarten Grad!

Saying fair well to Shuswap...

 4 generations of first born Neufeld men enjoying a bike ride along the Adams River

Yesterday we came home from our last week at Shuswap. Shuswap has been a summer vacation spot for Jonathan since he was a little boy. I have known Shuswap for the last 8 summers. David has spent every Birthday at Shuswap and thinks of it as another home. Needless to say we are sad to say good bye but we are happy to have so many fun memories there. I'm sure we will all love Tad Lake just as much or maybe even more as the years go by and we make new memories.
One of the special things about Shuswap is just being all together with Jonathan's family. This year we were there with his parents, brother and both sets of grandparents. The kids enjoy all the extra attention, games, food, and fun time spent in the outdoors. Thanks everyone for all the time you spent helping with the kids and making yummy meals.
Good bye Shuswap

David's 6th Birthday at Shuswap

 Waffles

 Love

 Presents

& Cake!

While we were at Shuswap we were able to celebrate David's 6th Birthday with Jonathan's family. David was spoiled with lots of presents and had a great time celebrating.