She loves him

This video isn't very good, but it gives you of taste of how much Maudie is loving her little brother. She has a couple of pet names for him including Brudder ('brother' with a lisp), Baby Charlie, and Buddy. The verdict is still out on how much he likes her. One thing we know is that he does NOT like her singing. A few times she kneeled next to him to sing him a song and he smushed up his face and puckered his lip like he was going to cry. I'm trying to get that one on video- it's pretty hilarous. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact she's a milimeter from his ear and singing as loud as she can.



Last Friday after she got home from daycare, I had Charlie laying in his boppy on the couch. Maudie covered him completely with his blanket, took a few step away, covered her eyes and started counting. I didn't notice what she was doing until she took down her hands and said "ready or not, here I come!" She was playing hide-and-go-seek with him. It was adorable. She pretended to look in several other places including under the couch, in the closet and on the remote control. Daddy told her to look in his crib and when she left the room Chris picked him up and hid him under his arm. She came out of the room and pulled back the blanket he had been laying under and he was gone. Her jaw dropped and she had a perplexed look on her face. Confusion soon turned to panic until she found him on Daddy's lap. She still thinks he's a pretty sneaky player.

We've been busy...

Things have been pretty busy around here. Not only with the new addition to our family, but we've also taking advantage of summertime.
My mom spent the first week home with us inorder to help out while I was healing from the cesarean. Although I enjoyed the time with her here, it is nice to finally be back to 'us' and get life a little more back to normal. However, I do miss the home-cooked meals (that I don't have to make) and the fresh laundry done on a daily basis. Maudie's temper and stubborn behavior was in full bloom while Mom was here, but I can't blame her. She saw right through the fact that Grandma was trying to distract her from me and Charlie. Unfortunalty I think Mom went home with the impression that she wasn't well liked, when infact it was just Maudie being 2 and adjusting to a huge change in her life.
Maudie is doing much better now that the visitors have diminished. She takes such a vested interest in Charlie and does anything she can to make sure he's happy. The other night as we were sitting down to dinner Charlie started to fuss in his swing. She stood up in her chair and yelled "Oh no, Mom! He's crying! Feed Him!" On the feeding topic, I was afraid she was going to have a huge problem with me breast feeding Charlie. Infact the opposite is true. She is absolutely fine with it and sometimes wants to help by keeping a hand on his cheek. I'm waiting for her to try and breast feed her babies.
We are keeping her involved in lots of activities this summer to help expend some of her limitless energy. She started Gymnastics last weekend and absolutely loves it. It's just a half-hour class that is ment to develop fine motor skills and muscle control. Plus, she gets to meet lots of other kids her age which is great for her social skills. Swimming lessons starts next month.

Last weekend we actually ventured out the house for the first time. Chris' entire family met up and we went to the Milwaukee County Zoo for the day. It was the first time Maudie, Charlie and I had ever been there. The park was amazing I got the biggest thrill seeing Maudie react to all the new animals. Charlie could've cared less. The weather was blasted hot and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. One thing I enjoy the most about tourist attractions is people watching and the freaks were out on this particular weekend. There was 2 people in the entire park without a shirt on, one was Chris' 5 year old cousin who spilled 'Sponge Bob' ice cream on his shirt and this guy...... I caught up with him and his girlfriend in the Monkey exhibit and couldn't resist snapping a photo. I can't deside was is more disgusting, his calves or his girlfriend. I hope she enjoys his abnormally large viens pulsing throught his body because with all the steroids there cant be much of his penis left.
Today Chris and I took the kids to the Middleton pool. As most of you know Maudie is a water-baby and cant get enough of the water. We were all having a great time until some little kid pooped in the pool and they had to close. Thank God it wasn't my kid.

Introducing Charles Thomas Heideman

Please meet the newest love of my life.... Charles Thomas Heideman. He is a little over 2 weeks old now and already growing like a weed. He has been such a blessing and a joy. I am loving every minute with my handsome little man.
He came into this world at 2:19 pm on June 3, 2009 weighing 8lbs 7oz and measuring 20 inches long. I fell deeply in love with him the moment I saw his precious little face. He's a wonderful baby with a gentle temperament and a healthy appetite.
Perhaps his biggest fan is his sister, Maudie. She just can't get enough of him. If it was up to her, she'd spend hours holding him and kissing his little head. So far she is an outstanding big sister albeit she's giving her Mom and Dad a rough time.... however, it's nothing that we didn't expect.
I have so much to say but I'm finding it hard to wrap up my thoughts and feelings into words... for now I'll let some photos speak for themselves.

Raging hormones.... random thoughts

We're in the homestretch and it's doesn't appear as if Charlie is going to be making an early appearance. Tonight would be the perfect night for my water to break. Mom and Dad arrived this evening from MN, so we wouldn't have to wake Maudie and drop her off at Kristeen's house. Plus I would still get a story to tell Charlie every birthday that didn't start with: "Well, Dr. McHotty was scheduled at the hospital on June 3rd..."

As his birth approaches, I grow nostalgic about Maudie's birth and the first years of child rearing. Mandi posted some photos of Mavea's recent "firsts." Chris mentioned to her that although it's nice to savor the 'firsts' it's the lasts that you wish you could hold on to. One of my favorite children's books was given to Maudie from my Mom and it addresses this specific topic (Let Me Hold You Longer by Karen Kingsbury) Here is a snippet..

"Long ago you came to me, a miracle of firsts:
First smiles and teeth and baby steps,
a sunbeam on the burst.
But one day you will move away
and leave to me your past,
and I will be left thinking of
a lifetime of your lasts..
The last time when you ran to me,
still small enough to hold.
The last time that you said you'd marry
me when you grew old.
Precious, simple moments and
bright flashes from your past-
Would I have held on longer if
I'd known they were your last?"

Perhaps it's the hormones, or perhaps it's the fact that this is most likely my last pregnancy... I just want to stop a minute and enjoy the last precious moments just between Charlie and I before I share him with the rest of the world. Hmmm.

I'm almost finished with Charlies room now. I made a banner (some people call it a bunting) for over his crib, covered a lampshade, and made a pillow for the chair. I just need to find some frames for his prints and hang them. That probably won't happen until well after his birth.

Maudie's little whine sessions are more than I can handle these days. Her fits are like nails on a chalkboard to me. Therefore, she's been getting her "Nuk" a bit more than I'd like, but it keeps her quiet and happy. I'm beginning to think it's an addiction... what do you think?

Guess who wears the pants in the family

At one point over the weekend, Maudie and Daddy were playing with Maudie's musical drum. Maudie lost interest in the game and Daddy was silly and threw the drum down on the floor. This upset Maudie immensely. She took a moment, went to calm down with a drink of milk and marched back into the living room. There she stood in front of Chris with her hand on her hip and finger shaking in his face. In her most serious voice she yells "TIME OUT DAD!" Chris and I looked at each other trying not to laugh while Maudie led him to the stair (our time out spot). Daddy was in blatant violation of the 'treating toys with respect' rule and he had no choice but to sit in time out. Now, the standard time out penalty is usually 1-minute per year in age. That's 31 minutes for Daddy. After roughly a minute in time out Maudie explained to Daddy that we don't throw our toys and he needs to play gentle. She followed the lecture with the standard kiss and hug make up session.

Insert clever title here...

I'm beginning to think I need to sleep with a life preserver on at night. My drooling could put a St. Bernard to shame and my snoring could challenge that of a short-snouted pug. I wake up ever couple of hours with a puddle forming on my pillow (note to self, wash pillowcase). I'm not sure what is causing this... the lack of restful sleep, the swollen jowls, or the fact that I can only sleep in one position. If the drowning doesn't kill me, I may float away on the pool of sweat that accumulates around me. It doesn't help that it was in the 80's yesterday and I was not allowed to turn the air conditioner on yet (Chris thinks it's ridiculous to go from heat to AC, I think it's ridiculous to live like a cave man). The sweating phenomenon doesn't just happen at night. The other day while working in the lab, I had to get up from my bench and stand in the walk-in freezer (-20 degrees C) just to cool down. I didn't leave the freezer until images of the tongue/pole scene from "Christmas Story" flashed in my mind as I pressed my back against the frosty stainless-steel walls. Try to explain that one to your boss.

I had my last mandatory OB appointment before delivery today. Everything is fine, although I find it less then humorous that none of the medical professionals take an interest in my grocery list of complaints. If I have to hear, "that's just another joy of pregnancy" again, I'm going to take someone hostage. All kidding aside, we're both doing good. My blood pressure is spot on and his heart rate is perfect. At 37 weeks, I suspect he has already surpassed his sisters' birth weight. She was a tiny 5.5lbs when she arrived at 36.5 weeks. My fundal measurement today was 39cm... almost 2 weeks ahead of schedule. Not that it matters... I'm not going to be pushing him out. I'd much rather have a healthy, plump baby than another tiny peanut.

Speaking of the peanut, she's been going thru some phases that I would've rather avoided. First of all, she thinks that 1:30 AM is party time. Sorry kiddo... nothing good happens after midnight (at least not until college). Last night after 4 hours and 3 trips upstairs to her big-girl bed, I finally let her watch 'baby tv' (educational programs for toddlers) just so I could get a little sleep. I did manage to sleep until she tugged on my hair to ask me what that noise was... honey, those are the birds chirping because the SUN IS RISING!!

She has been pretty funny with the dogs lately. She pays them more attention now, smothers them with hugs and kisses, and attempts to play 'fetch' with them. I use the term 'fetch' loosely. It's more a game of 'steal the toy and run away' but he dogs seem to love it. And Maudie loves when they chase her. On the rare occasion that she does toss them the toy, she usually races them to fetch it up. Olive is pretty fast and can usually outpace her and blocks her out with a swift pivot action. This is where her second phase comes in.... whining. She whines for everything lately and it's driving me nuts! I guess most toddlers go thru this, but man! it can wear on my nerves. Just wait until she's 17, right?

I leave him alone for one night

So, I decided to take a 'girls night out' with my friend Kristeen last night. We were just going to dinner, a quick stop at Target, then back home. Well, dinner was awesome. We had finished the appetizer and were half-way thru the Asian Chicken Salad when my phone beeps with a picture message. This is what I get in my mailbox...

"Arts and Crafts Night with Daddy"