My Favorite Christmas Tradition

Every Monday before Christmas my family would decorate sugar cookies. My Mom would make the dough and have it chilling for when my Dad would get home, she would then go sit on her own and be the official photographer (I always felt she missed out, but now am starting to see it was probably the only quiet time she got all season!) while we would cut out the sugar cookies, bake, wait for them to cool, frost and pile sprinkles and decorations on them. I love it, I love any form of sugar so I am sure that was part of it, but I loved that we spent time together, laughed and made memories. Even as a teenager I wouldn't have missed it and as adults we all insist that we decorate cookies when we arrive.

This year Hadley was old enough, so the other day we carried on the tradition. She loved it, and I am biased, but she couldn't have been any cuter!!

I love the absolute chaos of her cookies, she loved mixing sprinkles and making a mess and we all had a great time (yes, I am still in my jammies at 7pm, but I made cookies!!). I did find out after I made a full batch that Jamie doesn't like this particular recipe (there is almond extract in them) I guess over the years there were always other people eating the cookies at my parents so I never noticed! Since I am not going to hand Hadley multiple sugar cookies, looks like it will be up to me to make sure they all get eaten...life is very hard.

Elise Clara Teuscher

Jamie and my Mom took Hadley into London today so I have a few minutes while Elise is sleeping - one toddler is easy and one newborn is doable but it melts into chaos when you add the two, a very happy chaos but one that has limited my internet connection to the iPhone I can hold in one hand. Elise is an absolute doll and if you are on Facebook you have already seen these photos!

Having a scheduled c-section is 1000 times better than labor + a c -section. We headed into London at 4:30 am to make my 8 o'clock surgery. There were so many things that I didn't pay attention to when I had Hadley (from the time they came into the labor room and said I needed a c section and I had Hadley in my arms was 30 minutes) but luckily Jamie remembered quite a bit. He was great and let me know it was similar to what happened the first time. Elise was born at 9:01 am with a full head of dark hair and yelling at the world. They gave her to me right away (they don't bathe them the first day) and she managed to get her thumb into her mouth! She was gorgeous and perfect. She spent the first few days just eating and sleeping and is just a sweetheart. She was only a day old when she started giving us little smiles, normally during her sleep or while she was eating but I am still counting them!

The surgery went well, the food was good (scones and eclairs served at "tea") and we even had movies on demand in the room. They had me up and moving pretty quick but Jamie was able to stay (on the full pull out beds) and help through the nights (they didn't have a baby nursery like when I had Hadley and needed to get her out of the bassinet) because my mom was with Hadley. I couldn't ask for a smoother pregnancy, a healthier baby or a faster recovery, the only hiccup was the pain management - since I have a reaction to hydrocodone (vicodin) they drs decided to restrict everything in the codeine family even though I don't have problems with oxycodone, they just have different names for things so they wanted to be on the safe side. The backup drug was morphine, and after 2 days I realized it was what was making my skin feel like it had red ants crawling all over it...so we were left with one drug that they could give every 8 hours that was fast acting, wore off quickly and made me super loopy. Other than that they gave me the equivalent of 2 extra strength tylenol every 8 hours and when they sent me home only gave me a few pills of the strong drugs! Of all the things to not go smoothly I am glad that was the one thing, you eventually heal and don't need the pain meds. I have to say I am hoping any other children we have are born in the states though!

When you come home they send health visitors and midwives to check on you at 6 , 8 and 10 days. It is actually really nice to have the nurses come to you! Elise is super healthy and is my second so I was a little more prepared but it would have been amazing with my first.

It took us a few days in the hospital to decide on a name, I have liked Elise for the last few months but we always want to meet our kids before we give them a name. The one thing I figured I could count on was that my kids would be blondies - Jamie has dark hair now but started off blonde so even though all the other features were up for grabs I figured that would be one thing I could plan on. I was shocked to see my little girl with a full head of long, straight, dark hair! It threw me for a bit but Elise still fit her and we used her great great grandmothers name as her middle name, Clara. She also shares a birthday with Jamie's maternal Grandmother and her mother Clara and her 2nd (3rd? who knows) cousin, Jake, on my side so December 2nd is a pretty good day!

We brought her home on the 4th day and Hadley knew exactly what was in the carseat - a beebee!! She has two little dollies that she takes everywhere and loves and knew I had brought a live one home. We let her hold Elise with Jamie and she was just so excited! She has been great with her and loves coming over and petting her head and bringing coveted pacifiers to her. We have to make sure she is gentle but she only has needed a few reminders. My mom has been a lifesaver as I have recovered and am slowly figuring out how to manage two kids - Hadley has caught on that the time to get into things is when I sit down to feed Elise, she is no dummy! My mom has also kept us well fed, cleaned the house, makes sure I am eating, has dance parties with Hadley and holds baby while I sleep - she is a saint!! and I don't know how I would have survived without her! She heads back on Tuesday, just in time for Jamie to take some time off for Christmas and take his paternity the first week of January- we are being very well taken care of and have adored having Elise in our home!

Firstborn

I feel like I have had a lot of time to think, part of it is the insomnia that comes toward the end. I have been thinking about what I worried about before I had Hadley - to be honest I was terrified. I didn't consider myself very maternal, I loved sleep and really didn't know what to expect. I was worried I wouldn't be able to give enough to her, possibly resent her and both of us would be unhappy. I was not prepared at all for how easy it was to love the little person they placed into my arms. It was instant and she became my world. Thoughts of her needs naturally come before mine and she is part of me in a way that I cannot put into words. I love being home with her, we spend all day orbiting each other and she brings me so much joy. I guess after my first experience I am not worried about the same thing this time. I know I will love this little girl, I remember Hadley being a few months old and knowing that I wanted another child (not that instant) but that I loved being a Mom and wanted more. This time though, my thoughts have turned to how it will effect my firstborn. She is a snuggler, loves attention and is always touching or locating me in some way and I know it is going to be a bit of a shock when she has to share - and part of me doesn't want her to have to share!! I love being her everything, I love the time we have together and having her as a little girlfriend. As I try to make peace with the fact her world is about to change I keep thinking of my own family, I am the firstborn as well and how do I feel about my own family? I love having siblings and realized that they in part define me - without them I would have the title of Daughter, but never the title of Sister.

All three of us. One of us probably should have been helping out Amber on the side....

Jared, two years younger (almost exactly)

Pretty little sister Amber, 5 years younger

PS guys- I need more pictures of just us, this was the best I could find!?!

They helped shape me into who I am, my memories of childhood are filled with them and they are good memories. I am realizing that it isn't just Jamie and I expecting this baby, all of us are. This baby is being sent to our family, and a big part is Hadley. I know she will be a great big sister, I am not worried about her loving her sister, more just being sad I will not always be there...even though I know this is something she needs to learn and she will be a better person because of this new child entering our home. So we go in tomorrow morning and if all goes well we will leave a family of 4, and I couldn't be more excited for all of us.