A bit more of Sydney

Me and Sydney just minutes after her birth.  So happy she's here!!

Sydney with her Daddy

I'm so glad the delivery is over.  I was induced this time--it was an elective inducement because since Hayden came so fast, I wanted to make sure we made it to the hospital this time. (We did make it to the hospital with Hayden, but it was a little too close for comfort.)  I think I wouldn't choose to be induced again.  It was really stressful for me to actually know when I would have this baby, and knowingly walk into what I knew was coming.  I think for me, it's better to just be thrown into it.  I will say, however, that this "pre-delivery-drive-to-the-hospital" was the most pleasant of all since I wasn't contracting and wondering if the baby might just come in the car.  We just drove there early in the morning, no traffic, kids at home with a friend, and the only thing to worry me were my own anxieties.

After about four hours during which I was receiving the needed antibiotics, and they started me on pitocin, they broke my water, and then things went more quickly.  Sydney came a couple hours after that.  No epidural for me this time--not a big fan since I got spinal headaches after Sean's birth.  I  did receive something through my IV, which wasn't helpful at all.  I could feel everything, but they just made me louder.  Like I was drunk or something.  kind of embarrassing. So next time, I've decided I'm just going for it completely natural.  It'll be my best birth ever, I can feel it.  And it won't be for a good few years, so don't get too excited.

This is one of my favorite things--a new baby sleeping on my chest.

This little girl is VERY LOVED.  She never has lack of people to hold her.  The first few days, I felt like all we did was pass little Sydney from one sibling to the next to the next.  They would line up on the couch and each want a turn.  On Sunday when the family came home from church, I heard the garage door open, and in less than a minute, all of the kids had run upstairs as fast as they could line up for their "Sydney turn."  Hayden frequently plops himself down on the nearest chair and says, "I need to have a hold him."  (We're still working on the feminine pronoun for Sydney.)

I'm so lucky that my mother is able to come help out when we have a new baby.  She's the best ever!  She made delicious meals, did my laundry, made sure I got naps, took the kids to the park, and to see Toy Story 3, and helped me get moving on some bedspreads for the boys' room that I've been meaning to make for about five years now!  (I will post pictures when they are done--I'm getting very close!)

My angel mother with our newest angel.

Sydney's first photo shoot:

My sister Jenny made the darling quilt and did the applique on the onesie.  Aren't they perfect?

 I'm SO grateful for these five little Garietys.

Baby Sydney is here!

I just wanted to post a quick blog to let everyone know that Sydney Hazel Gariety was born this afternoon.  She is 7 lbs. 7 oz and 19 1/4 inches long.  Both Sharee and Sydney are doing great!  Thank you all for your love and prayers.

Arthur

CMT 2010-Welcome to the Jungle!

Children's Music Theater 2010

Originally, it wasn't going to happen this year because I figured I'd be too tired and cranky to direct a children's musical 9 months pregnant.  My kids kept asking me what play we were going to do this summer, and I told them, we are having a CMT break because I'm having a baby instead.  

But my friend Sarah and I sort-of convinced each other to do it together.  I like the way she put it: that she's not sure who talked who into what, but somehow or other, it was back on, with Sarah in charge and me helping out.  She handled all of the logistics (that was so huge!) and I mostly just directed the rehearsals.

As it turns out, I'm so glad we went ahead and did it, firstly because Daphne mentioned more than a few times in her prayers that she was grateful that "Sister Esplin (Sarah) was doing a play this summer," and secondly, it was a wonderful distraction for me in what is usually the longest month of pregnancy.  

This year we did an assortment of three Aesop Fables: The Tortoise and the Hare, The Fox and the Grapes, and The Mouse and the Lion.  The first two were short, and each had one song that helped illustrate the moral of the story, and the the Lion and the Mouse was the main event--a mini-musical called "Welcome to the Jungle."

I don't have the best pictures, as my camera leaves much to be desired, so I'll post some better ones when I get the pictures from our wonderful photographer (my friend, Erin of course!)  But here are a few to give you the gist.  

For the first two weeks, we rehearse at my house in our big room.  We push all the couches to the sides of the room, and squeeze all the kids in there.  This year's total was 47 kids (including mine and Sarah's.)    We had 11 kids in Jr. CMT (kindergartners & 1st graders) and the rest were in Sr. CMT (2nd-5th).  

My favorite picture of rehearsals was accidentally deleted by Hayden.  It was a picture of him, Sean, and Sarah's little Ellie, who chummed around together most rehearsals.  One of our final rehearsals, they came inside, pulled up some chairs for themselves, and watched the kids singing and dancing.  They were even singing along at some parts.  It was so cute.  But Hayden kept wanting to see that picture on the camera over and over, and at some point, he must have deleted it because when I downloaded the pictures to the computer, it wasn't there.  :(

Here's a run-down of Week Three/Production Week:  Tuesday was the last rehearsal at my house--we practiced for the first time with both Jr. CMT and Sr. CMT (and they were very crowded but for the most part were very patient with each other and I don't think very many toes got stepped on.)  Then we ended with a pizza party.   I think everyone had a fun time just hanging out together.  

Wednesday was a performance/dress rehearsal at the Bear Canyon Estates Retirement Home.  (Pictures coming soon.)

Thursday and Friday were the dress rehearsals at the church where we performed. 

And Saturday afternoon was the big performance:

One of the coolest parts of this year's play was the make-up. We did three Aesop's Fables, so to simplify costumes, rather than try to have everyone come up with their own animal costumes, we just did cast t-shirts, and all the kids got their faces painted for the performance.  The main characters also had ears, to help identify them.

So we assembled an army of face painting parents who got the kids all ready for the performance.  We had monkeys, lions, hippos, giraffes, zebras, cheetas, and elephants.  Plus a few special ones (like a mouse, a tortoise, a hare, and a fox.)   Here is Daphne getting her cheetah face.

And Dallin being transformed into a Zebra.

Below is the amazing mom who coordinated the Make-up effort.  She and her husband were on Broadway together and one of the shows they did was Cats.  (Lots of face make-up in that show!)  So it was awesome that they were willing to help us out in being our Make-up Specialists.

Just a cool shot of four of the parents painting faces.  

I can't believe how talented these people are!

Dallin & Daphne all ready for the performance.

  

Here we are after the performance in front of one of the awesome banners Sarah made.  I don't have pictures of the performance yet--(again, coming soon,) but the kids did great and had such a fun time!  Daphne was so sad at the end of the day when I had to clean her face off.  She was begging and begging for me to leave it on, (maybe she thought she'd be a cheetah at church the next day?) and made me promise that I would let her get her face painted again soon.

Empty Fridge & "Cindy" Bellies

Summer has been really busy so far, which is why I've been slacking on updating.  Sydney hasn't arrived yet.  She's due July 2nd so I've got less than 2 weeks until then.  I've never made it to my due date, so I don't know what I'm going to do if we get to July 2nd and she's still not here.  Maybe I'll start jumping on the trampoline with the kids.

This picture makes me laugh.  Hayden put this ball under his shirt and wore it there for about half and hour.  He said it was his baby Cindy.  He was climbing up on the counters with it and everything.  It was pretty cumbersome (boy, can I relate) but he didn't take it out!  Anyway, just had to snap a picture of our matching "Cindy" bellies.  

The thing keeping me the most busy these last few weeks has been CMT (Children's Music Theater) which I will post about soon.   The rehearsals were at my house and I was directing them with my friend Sarah.  Sean and Hayden for the most part, were just really good at entertaining themselves during the 3- hour-long rehearsals.  But occasionally they did something naughty like flood my bathroom, dump out every single bin of toys in the playroom, or overturn baskets full of newly folded laundry.  One day at the end of a rehearsal, I went out to my fridge in the garage to get some watermelon and found it completely empty.  

I looked around the garage for a bit, and then thought to look in the car.  Lo and behold, there was all the food.  It was still relatively cold, so I was just glad that I found it soon after they moved it, and not the next day or something.

Cub Scout Day Camp

Last week, Dallin went to his first Cub Scout Day Camp.  He had a BLAST!  The theme was Wild West Adventures, and they had lots of great activites for the kids.  

Swimmin' Hole

The water was FREEZING and this particular day "The Deputies" were first up at the swimming hole.  I'm proud to say that they screamed less than all the other groups.

Blacksmith Shop

The circle of wood they sawed off -- it was actually REALLY hard!

Chuck Wagon (where they learn about good health and make some healthy snacks to eat.)

O.K. Corrale

They also had Varmint Shooting (beebee guns,) and Bows and Arrows where Dallin got himself a bullseye! and No Cussin'  which was manners and values like honesty.  I think that was probably his least favorite.  :)  But he learned some stuff because he's been correcting my manners ever since.  Never knew my manners were so lacking.

So since there were only two little guys from our pack who went to Day Camp, I got to go up and help for one of the days, which would have been much more effective if I hadn't brought all the siblings.  Next time, I'll find someone to watch them here, because they did not stay in the "Tot Lot."  Daphne was good to stay put, but Sean and Hayden kept escaping, so I ended up with the three of them tagging along from station to station.  They did some really cute crafts in the Tot Lot and got those awesome straw hats too.    Unfortunately, straw hats and crafts are only interesting to Hayden for about 3 minutes.

We found this awesome ladybug plant that was covered in hundreds of ladybugs.  This bush kept us occupied during lunch for a nice long time.

And the best part was that since "The Deputies" was a relatively small group, Sean and Daphne each got a turn to ride a horse in the O.K. Corrale, and they thought that was the coolest thing ever.

We came home tired and dusty, but it was a good day.  

And Dallin can't wait for next year's Cub Scout Day Camp.

Some Randomness

1.  4 weeks left.

This picture was actually taken a couple of weeks ago, so my tummy is sticking out even more, if you can imagine it.  I'm feeling just about ready to be done.  I do think that the last month with all its discomforts is necessary because up until a couple of weeks ago, I was feeling really anxious about the upcoming delivery.  The last month of pregnancy, I think, is a tender mercy of the Lord to prepare you to do ANYTHING it takes to get that baby here.  bring. it. on.

2.  The cradle is up.

Arthur brought out the cradle from the closet, dusted it off, and assembled it the other day.  The kids were all really excited about it.  Hayden kept saying, "That Baby Cindy's bed!"  He carefully put one of my pillows in it and told me to get in.  (He knows that baby "Cindy" is in my tummy, so how else would she be able to take a nap in that cradle?)

Since I needed my pillow, Sean outfitted the cradle with some other stuff in preparation for his new baby sister.  

Just for the record, we did finally decide on a name.  This is the first time that we've decided on a name this far in advance.  Since we've never found out the gender in advance, we usually we go to the hospital with a couple of names to choose from depending on if it's a brother or a sister.

I don't think we would have a name even now, except that Arthur has a conference on the East Coast the week before I'm due, and I told him that if I have to deliver this baby without him, I will name this baby whatever I want!  Clearly, he had some strong opinions about some of my name options, because soon after we had that conversation, we came to an agreement on a name.  It's actually not Cindy--but that's pretty close.  We are naming this little girl Sydney Hazel.  And since Sydney is hard for a 2-year-old to say, Hayden calls her "Cindy."

3. Here's to some great ski memories

Arthur has been busy with all kinds of projects lately.  One of them was cleaning the garage, which included finally putting away all the ski/snow equipment.  So we washed all the snow pants and ski parkas, and I found all of these ski tags on the dryer.  Just had to document it as a testament of the great ski season our family enjoyed this past season.  

4.  Time out

For this story to make sense, I need to preface it with a couple of things.  First: Hayden's word for vitamin is "spiderman."  Second: Sitting on the washer or dryer in the boring laundry room is our time-out spot.  Well, just the other day, I discovered an oddity in the laundry room.  If you look close at this picture, you will see something that doesn't belong on the washer.

It's Hayden's gummy bear vitamin.  He put it on time-out during breakfast, and when I went to do some laundry later that morning, he was still sitting there good as gold and not making a peep on his time-out. It made me smile.  Hayden thinks it's funny too.  He saw this picture and laughed, "Spiderman sit on the dryer!"