a little family vacay

Ivy Kathleen Seymore joined our family  on Saturday, September 14, 2013 at  2:09 in the morning  weighing in at  7 pounds 12 ounces and 19 inches long
Ivy was born exactly on her "due date" (the day before our wedding anniversary)! I had been having contractions months before and still nothing was happening so I just went on thinking I was going to have her past 40 weeks. 
Friday the 13th, was just like any other day. We had just moved to an appt in Oceanside and we were barely getting through boxes to unpack. Chris was having his car shipped from Virginia and it was being delivered to our old location in Riverside that day (about an hour away from Oceanside). So I drove out there to sign off the paper work and pay the guy. To kill some time while we waited, my mom and I, and of course my active toddler duo, went shopping at a few of our favorite places then met up with my sister and her boyfriend for lunch. Time past when I finally heard back from the shipping company saying they are running behind and will be getting here tomorrow morning instead. So rather than driving to Oceanside that night and then back to Riverside again the next morning, I decided to spend the night at my mom's house then drive back home early the next morning. 
We spent the rest of the evening at my grandparents house when I started having some pain with my contractions. I wasn't having very many contractions but they were starting to feel different than the ones I had been previously having. Still so far apart, I wasn't going to get my hopes up and think that it was the night (because truthfully, I had been thinking every night was going to be the night for the past month). I went to the bathroom and noticed I was bleeding, not just spotting but actually bleeding. That was really unusual for me so we decided it would be best to go to the hospital and have things checked out. We got the kids together and dropped them off with my sister so that my mom could stay with me at the hospital. It was about 11 pm when we got to the labor and delivery. I sent Chris a text message about 15 minutes before telling him what was going on and that I would let him know if I think he should drive out from Oceanside (he was in the field the night before and was exhausted so I didn't want him to drive out so late at night if it was nothing serious). This whole time I was barely having any contractions and they were far apart without any pattern and the bleeding wasn't as bad any more so I was feeling kind of bad about setting off a "false alarm".  After filling out all the paper work and finally getting into a room the nurse comes in, asks me a ton of questions, checks the consistency and intensity of my contractions, and checks to see how dilated I am. Turns out I'm only ONE centimeter dilated, the baby is still really high and she says it doesn't even look like I'm having any contractions and apparently the bleeding is just from my cervix thinning and opening. Then Chris walks in the door and said he couldn't sleep so he drove out to be with me. The nurse said they couldn't admit me into the hospital unless I was at least 4 centimeters dilated. She suggested I walk around the hospital for an hour and see if I progressed at all. My mom went home now that Chris was with me and we were all thinking it was going to be a long night of labor...if it even was the real thing. 
As I was trying to get out of bed, I was having such intense pain I couldn't even stand. I've had two babies before and I've never felt this kind of pain before. It literally felt like my insides were going to fall out. None of my previous labor contractions felt like this so I had no idea what was going on. It was a little past midnight when I was finally able to get myself out of bed and start walking around with Chris. We talked and joked around a bit with more of those painful episodes. And like a light switch, I was no longer in a joking mood. With every contraction I thought I was going to die. I really thought my insides were all just going to come out. My contractions didn't have any kind of pattern to them, all I know is that they were long and very intense. I would hold on the Chris and just shake with pain. It got to the point where I just couldn't walk anymore and I all I wanted to do was rush to my bed to lay down. Now it was constant pain, no break in between contractions, and I was just holding onto Chris crying. I don't even remember how I got back into the room and back on the bed. I was greeted by another rude nurse with more rude remarks like "well you didn't get far" and "you're going to have to do better than that" referring to not walking for very long and thinking I'm just exaggerating my pain. Just 30 minutes ago I was only 1 centimeter dilated so I'm sure they thought I was exaggerating. Chris told her I wanted an epidural and she came back with, "we'll she's going to have to wait an hour because the doctor is busy with another patient." That was the worst thinking I'd be in this intense pain for another hour! She repeated herself and said, "you need to walk around more..." Chris told her to just check how far along I was so she did. Thats when she started believing that I was in a lot of pain and quickly admitted me and offered me some other pain medications.  I was ready to push! They told me that there wasn't a doctor available yet but I didn't care. I felt the urge and I was confident that I could deliever my own baby if I had to. Thankfully, the nurse seemed experienced and she didn't try to stop me. She just stood by my side letting me do my thing, and I really appreciated that.
With only a few contractions of pushing, my precious baby was born. The nurse laid her on my chest and I just felt so much joy and relief. The doctor walked in not much later and then I heard faint comments about how blue she was and Chris was asking why she wasn't crying. I didn't think too much of it at the time. Everything felt right to me and just so natural. I was at ease with my baby laying on my bare skin. She brings me so much joy. Words can't express the love I have for my beautiful little Ivy.

home sweet home {Riverside, CA - Canyon Crest}

...and a little 'life lately' update

  {home #4.5}   Riverside, California (Canyon Crest & Plaza area) (staying with grandma and grandpa James)   August - September 2013  

 

just for fun

I am now 38 weeks pregnant and I really didn't think I would even make it this far because I have been having contractions for such a long time! Every night I think, "this is the night..." but it hasn't been yet. As I'm laying on my mom's couch tonight, anxiously waiting for things to progress, I can't help but wonder what my little baby is going to look like.
I picture her with a lot dark, long hair. I've always imagined my kids being born with thick hair because my hair is incredibly thick... and part of me wants to see if that old wives tale is true; if you have heartburn durning pregnancy then that means your baby will be born with lots of hair. I'm pretty sure I had heartburn with my previous pregnancies but definitely not as bad as I have with this one. It is so intense! Sometimes it feels like a sharp pain in the middle of my chest. Both of my little ones weren't born with much hair, so we'll see if this one will be any different. It's really hard for me to picture facial features. I'm sure she'll look something like Lincoln and Ella but I wonder if she'll have Lincoln's fair skin or Ella's tan complexion; Lincoln's super thick dark hair or Ella's golden brown curls... Sometimes imagine her with Chris' bright green eyes, but both of our kids have my eyes so we'll see if my dominate trait wins again. For some reason I keep thinking, "what if she is actually a he!" I don't know if I think that because I've been hearing quite a few stories about women who delivered their baby expecting it to be one thing and it being born the opposite. Or maybe I keep thinking that because Chris really wanted a brother for Lincoln and we were so set on a boy name that we're bummed we won't get to use... I don't know... All I really care about is that our baby is born healthy! I also imagine her to be pretty small (healthy small), maybe in he high 6 pound or low 7 pound birth weight. My little Ella was 6 lbs. 2 oz. for the longest time and I loved how tiny she was (and still is) and I was able to carry her around in my sling for such a long time.
At my last appointment, a little over a week ago, I was dilated one centimeter. My next doctors appointment is early next week so we'll see how things are looking then. I'm pretty sure I'll be delivering at Riverside Medical because of our current living situation (that's where I was born)! I am really disappointed though because I really wanted to have an at home water birth, especially since this is going to be our last baby. (that's what we said the last time I was pregnant haha). At least I know a little better now that this is my third time around, so I'll be making some changes and requests while we're at the hospital. 
So back to the name game... I keep getting asked if the name we chose is for sure. I don't even know how to answer that. Yes, we like the name Ivy and I'm pretty sure we'll be using that name but It's not "for sure" until we sign her birth certificate. Chris and I are still open to other names and we still bounce them around here and  there. Some of our current toss ups are Mila. Cali and Nora(h) but the name Ivy seems to always be the top contender. I just don't like having the pressure of deciding on a name now, I'll decide once I've gotten to spend some time with her. 
In the mean time, I'm working really hard to enjoy these last couple of weeks of pregnancy, even though my aching body needs a little break! Only 2-ish more weeks to go!

home sweet home {Virginia Beach, VA - Dam Neck}

{home #4}   Virginia Beach, Virginia (Dam Neck)   May - August 2013 AIOC

Here is a little about our time living in Virginia Beach combined with a little "life lately" update of the past 3 months we spent there. We were not there long, but we managed to come out with some great memories. 

 We only lived in Virginia Beach for a little over 3 months and I can't believe how quickly it felt like home to us. Knowing that you're only going to be living somewhere for a very short period of time makes it difficult to want to open up to new people when you know you'll be out of each others lives in such a short time.

I love knowing that our church is the same all over the world! That is one place of people I know I can rely on. My first Sunday there, I went to my usual classes and the kids loved going to nursery. I tried to keep to myself, because after all, our stay there was so temporary. Towards the end of church I went into the bathroom and just cried. I cried because even though i didn't want to make friends, friendships were already being made. everyone was extremely welcoming and nice to me even though they knew I wouldn't be staying long, they genuinely wanted to get to know me and be my friend. We were invited to dinner a few times, to the water park, and to the zoo. I made some life long friends here and so did Chris. One of his friends lent us his car the whole time he was in training so that we could go out as a family whenever we had the chance and when he left VA, my friend from church lent us her car.

We loved our home there. even though most of our things stayed in storage and the walls weren't fully decorated, it still felt like home. It was so nice sleeping next to Chris again and seeing him play with the kids. Home really is wherever your family is. 

So here is what we've been up to for the past 3 months...

•walks to the beach •park days •searching for insects •splashing around in the pool •barbecuing •petting sting rays at the Aquarium •lots of baths •having dance parties in our pj's •observing animals at the zoo •buying slurpees often •dining out •making weekly trips to the commissary •and just enjoying our time together as a family

the latest

So...here is a little on what has been going on with us for the past, oh, 5ish months. And just for me to look back and remember the hard times we've over come. 

Ok so, as you may know, we left Stafford, VA and spend Christmas in California with our families. Chris was starting a new course in ground intelligence in Virginia Beach about 3.5 hours from Stafford. Since he wouldn't be making that long daily commute to Stafford each day, we decided that the kids and I would stay in Cali with family for 4 months until he finished his course. I thought things would be easier for me considering I had all my family around, but it wasn't. I tried to keep busy but I was so depressed and hated every day I spent apart from Chris. 

3 months into his course, he and 5 other marines in his class got reassigned to a new intelligence course, Air Intel. Chris was extremely discouraged about it especially since he had successfully completed the Infantry Officers Course right before that. This all meant that he would be in Virginia Beach for another 3 or 4 months finishing this class and more time apart from his family. We could not handle being apart any longer, so the kids and I flew out to VB in May to be with him. 

We got there in early May and stayed in his hotel room for about 2 or 3 days until our apartment was ready to move into. We are staying in a nice place in a good area, walking distance from the beach. I was happy to be doing my own thing again with my family the way we wanted to do things. I was in the middle of my second trimester and I was feeling great. 

Chris would leave for work around 5:30 am and would usually get home around 10 pm. He usually had to go into work on the weekends as well. So that meant it was just me taking care of the kids by myself, which really wasn't hard for me considering i was already used to being apart from him and doing things on my own...but my growing belly was making it harder for me to keep up. Oh, and did I mention I didn't have a car the whole time we were here in Virginia Beach. We walked to the park and beach a few times, but the hotter it got, and the bigger my belly got, the less we went anywhere and we ended up just finding ways to entertain each other at home...eventually I entered survival mode, just waiting for him to finish this class. 

About a month and a half into his course, we were given another surprise.... Our duty station changed from Okinawa, Japan to Camp Pendleton, CA and we could not be happier about the change. We were really looking forward to living in a new country, but nothing beats being close to family when you've got kids. All I could think of was my children having their grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins to play with and build a real relationship with them! And to add to that blessing, Chris was assigned a ground unit which is what he really wanted over and air unit. 

Chris graduated from AIOC on August 9th and our "plan" was to fly out to Cali on the 10th. Well as you know, you can never fully rely on you "plan" when you're in the military. So it is now August 19th (Monday) and the the packing people were supposed to come today but changed it to tomorrow without telling us. Then Wednesday the shipping people are coming to load all of our stuff to take to a storage unit in Pendleton. We'll stay in a hotel that night then hire a taxi to take us to the airport Thursday morning at 4:45. Thankfully we have family in Southern California because we have no idea where we're going to live. So once again our "plan" is to live at my mom's old house for hopefully less than a month while we look for a place to rent near Oceanside then find a home to buy in Temecula somewhere. Yep, that's 5 moves in one year alone! But I'd rather just skip the whole stressful buying a home step, and settle into a little place by the beach. I forgot to mention, I'll be having a baby right when we get to CA if I don't happen to deliver on the airplane! 

There it is, a little update on what's been going on with us... It's amazing that we've been able to make great friends and great memories in the short amount of time we've lived here, and I'll be sure to write another post about that later. 

the Latest on Ella {2 years}

An update on our little Ella-Bella:

• She is wearing mainly 18 month clothing and some 24 months and she just grew out of her size 4 shoes. 
• We've been cloth diapering her since about May and she loves picking out which color and pattern diaper she wants to wear. 
• She self weaned off of breast feeding at around 18 months old. I'm so happy she completely did it on her own!
• She's got 16 teeth in and we're just waiting for her back molars. 
• Her hair is still really short but absolutely beautiful. She has beautiful golden brown hair with the greatest curls all over. 
• She has been sleeping through the night for a while and even slept in until 8 am...then, something changed, and now she crawls into our bed around 6 am. Every night, and during naps, she goes to sleep with her baby, two large dolls her great grandma gave her, a cup of water, and her favorite "blanky" that her grandma Seymore made for her. (She really really has to sleep with all of that). 
• She now naps at the same time Lincoln does but they don't last as long as his do. 
• Ella loves a variety of food! Some of her favorites include broccoli (but only the florets), carrots, avocado, hummus, greek yogurt, cream cheese with bagels (not bagels with cream cheese), for that matter, she actually likes all kids of cheese! She loves eggs and almonds and all kids of fruit. 
• And she's a talker! She talks so much and so clearly! She's got the cutest little lisp. She is so loud and demanding and tends to do a scary monster voice often. she counts so well and sings her ABC's. 
• her favorite movie right now is Dumbo. She wants to watch it every single day. 
• She's such a daredevil! She climbs up onto everything and jumps from couch to couch to ottoman to couch. She loves the pool and beach and never wants to get out of the water. 
• Ella is such a mommy's helper! She helps me wipe down the table and windows. She helps pick up toys and always puts her dirty clothes in the hamper. 
• She is the biggest girly girl by nature! She loves her baby dolls and always sings to them and rocks them to sleep. She changes her clothes like three times a day and she always chooses the frilliest skirts and twirls around saying she's a princess. She's a great dancer too!
• She is so squishy! She gives the tightest hugs and longest kisses (they're now closed mouth kisses) and the latest, "mugga-mugga" aka Eskimo kisses!

I love Ella's spunky personality! She brings so much light into our lives.

PHOTO BOMB TIME!