Tomato drill

Anna had a tornado drill at school so we decided to continue with the severe weather theme for F.H.E. We practiced what we would do if a tornado was coming and we were at home. Eventually we would all end up in the bathroom downstairs but we tried out a couple different scenarios. One of them was as if we were all sleeping. Gordon made the siren sound and the girls jumped out of bed. Megan runs down the hall shouting, "Mommy, Mommy, a tomato is coming, a tomato is coming!" I was laughing so hard we had to do it a couple times just so I could hear Megan say it again. Kids are great for a little comic relief!

Big sister

Anna loves to hold Jacob any chance she can get.

Labor and Delivery

Okay, for the sake of posterity and those who are interested...Jacob's arrival. Jacob's original due date was March 14th. On the morning of Friday, February 27th, I was having some cramping and some early signs of labor. I took the girls to a playdate about 10am and when we came home, the contractions were more noticeable but nothing consistent. I wasn't ready to admit I was in labor yet. Then the harder contractions, the ones that stopped me where I was and I couldn't talk, started about 2:00. But they were still inconsistent, sometimes 10 minutes apart or farther. Gordon left work at 4pm, we took the girls to my friend's house, and then checked in to the hospital about 5 pm. I was dilated to a 6 by now and they wisely chose to admit me. The nurses tried, unsuccessfully and painfully, three times to start an IV. Finally, the anesthesiologist came in to do my epidural and put in an IV line. He was much better and things could get under way. The unsuccessful needle sticks hurt more than my epidural. After the epidural was in, the OB came in to break my water. Soon after that, I realized I could still feel my right leg but not my left. This was not good considering the contractions were coming harder and faster. I asked the nurse to call him back and he readjusted the epidural in my back. Finally some relief and then the contractions were only felt by a little pressure down low. After about 15-20 minutes the nurse checked me one last time. I was dilated to a 10 and 100% effaced. Showtime!! Everyone got set up quickly and a few good pushes later, Jacob made his debut at 8:16pm.

And baby makes five...two weeks early!

Jacob Gordon Shaw

8.1 lbs, 20 inches long

February 27, 8:16pm

F.H.E.

F.H.E. started out with a puppet show and ended with a dance-off.

For those of you who missed the live performance....

See Anna Read

We have a new reader in the house! Anna has recognized small words for a while but it is all coming together now and she loves to read. For most of us it is hard to imagine a time in our lives when we couldn't read. Anna is our firstborn so it is so fun to see her discover reading and make sense of it all. To think, all those alphabet letters make words that actually describe a person, or a place, or an experience. It is a whole new world and she feels so good about it! (Thanks for the book Carrie.)

On the merry-go-round

The girls and I enjoyed a visit from my Mom last week. She came on the train Sunday night and stayed until Wednesday morning. I picked her up after the girls had gone to bed so we enjoyed seeing their surprised faces when she came upstairs for breakfast the next morning. By chance, Gordon had to go out of town for a two day trip so I was really grateful for the extra help and the girls enjoyed having an in-house playmate. Monday was full of fun stuff. We went to the mall to ride the carousel and to do a little shopping. Anna wanted to ride on the top level of the carousel, so we did and the adults left feeling a little dizzy. We enjoyed a dinner of pizza at Costco and rounded it out with ice cream for dessert. Thanks for a fun time, Mom!