My sister is a rockstar!

What a whirlwind of an evening.
Let me give the background of the day first and how we all ended up where we were. I came up to Waterloo this morning so that Ava and I could go to Brooke's doctor appointment with her and hear the baby's heartbeat. At the appointment, they scraped the membrane to hopefully move things along a little bit. Ava and I hung out at my parents' house most of the day helping them paint, while my sister went to work. Around 2, one of the gals drove her home from work, as her contractions were 3-5 minutes apart. After a Tylenol and a bath, Tyler and her went to the hospital. They walked around for an hour or so, but then were sent home. She was 4cm dialated at this point. No big deal...last time was a long haul before baby, and the nurses weren't too concerned. So...6:00ish Tyler went to sand volleyball, Grandma Myrt and I were going to drop Ava off at home, per Brooke's request and go to a Tupperware party. Brooke was in quite a bit of pain and couldn't understand why the nurses sent her home. I bathed Ava and got her ready for bed, as Brooke didn't really want to deal with her...she was a little cranky-Ava that is! During this time, Grandma and I decided that it wouldn't be such a great idea to leave Brooke. Her contractions were getting closer and more intense. Finally, Grandma pushed Brooke and I out of the house and said that Tyler can meet us up at the hospital. When Brooke called the nurses on the way to the hospital, they kept implying that she didn't need to come in yet...did you take a tylenol? did you take a bath? Both of which Brooke did in the 45 minutes Grandma and I were at her house. So, the time frame we know...at 7:25, we were still at the house deciding what to do. At 7:40, we were at the hospital. 7:35-Tyler got home and showered QUICK! 7:47-Tyler left the house and arrived at the hospital moments later
Now...if we had known what was to come in the next moments, we might have moved even faster. When Brooke and I got to the hospital, she was wobbling in, in between contractions. I offered to get a wheelchair, but she said she was fine. So we just stopped every-so-often for her to breathe through the contraction and for me to rub her back. We get there, and the nurses still aren't to concerned...until they check her that is...She was 9 cm dialated. That's right, my sister walked into the hospital at 9 cm! That's past an epidural. Brooke wasn't too happy about that!
Next thing you know...Tyler made it in time before we moved to the delivery suite. All the nurses were in there at one point trying to get the right carts in and everything ready, since this baby was clearly ready to come out. A whole flurry of activity...Tyler held one leg, I held the other. Some pushes and screams and my newest little neice entered the world at 8:07, within a half hour of us arriving at the hospital. Myka Marie...so precious! Don't quote me, but I think 7 lbs. 14 oz., 20" Pictures to come!

Birthday Activities to Come!

This year for my birthday (Thursday, January 22nd) we will be going out to eat at about 5:30/5:45ish. That will take place at the Applebee's in Cedar Rapids (right in front of Lindale Mall). Then we will go rollerskating for the Christian Skate Night at Super Skate on Northland Ave.(also right there near Lindale Mall) Anyone that wants to join us is welcome. Just leave me a comment to let me know which part you are joing us for so we can expect you! Join us for all or none...regardless, I'm sure it will be a great time, but the more the merrier!

Potty-training and A Tragic, but funny, event for Nina!

We are making progress. After a difficult beginning with the new puppy, we think that our she is finally learning how to go potty outside. And, she is even learning to go right away (major benefit during the frigid temps last week)! She has lots of fun playing out in the snow lately! Hopefully I can add some pictures of that soon. It's been fun to watch her do full body lunges forward as she tries to get herself above the snow.

We did have a minor tragedy this weekend though. Nina managed to get tangled in the bicycle flower pot I have sitting on the front porch. Well...as she tried to run away from it, it followed her with a clunkity-clunk-clunk. To make matters worse, I didn't have shoes on and I am trying to get the flower pot from her leash, except as I got closer, she would run further and then the flower pot would still be chasing her , only faster. Finally, I got the pot away from her, but she still refused to come near me. After getting Shawn's attention for him to take over, I was able to go in to warm my feet up and Nina was able to recover a bit.

She had visitors coming over to see her! So we were so nice, that she got a bath shortly after that whole incident. Thankfully, she seemed to enjoy the bath though!

Side note...we went to see Marley & Me last night. Boy was that ever a tear jerker! (especially for us with getting a new puppy)

a new little baby joins our family!

Ok...so this is our first blog and with it, we welcome a special little one into our family. It proves that I gave in. We got a puppy! So...here's the details. I traveled to Florida with my dad, two younger sisters, and grandma. On the return trip we stopped in Alabama to pick up a four footed Christmas present for Shawn. He has been begging and begging, or may I say whining for a dog for quite some time now, but I have been quite resistant. My mom offered us this little puppy. I figured that I might be more apt to fall in love with a puppy than a dog, and the sire is the one dog of mom's that I have enjoyed. She's 3 months old and comes from 2 dogs that my mom bred. She's an Israeli Canaan Dog, from the land of Canaan. Her name is Nina and she is our new little girl. We are still working on her registered name, but we will continue to call her Nina. So, we are now trying to figure out our new routine and are learning to adapt to a new little one in the house. Shawn is anxious to have her around to cuddle with, and I am excited to have a running partner when it gets a little nicer out. She is very sweet and playful, and extremely smart, but she also likes to chew on things. We will continue to keep you posted as we all grow and learn! The puppy is proof of the t-shirt that Shawn got me for Christmas (see picture below). I also added a picture of the girls and I at the Iowa game, where we had a great time while in Florida!