Sunday Funday!

We actually made it to church today! I've been wanting to go for a long time and we actually got out of the house in time today. We went to First Baptist in Henderson. Everyone was extremely friendly and Sasha already knew a lot of people b/c they are his patients. Our SS teacher, Rusty Phoenix, vollunteered in Kallen's class during the sermon. When we went to pick Kallen up, he told us that Kallen tried to take off his name tag but he said "Leave that on so we'll know your name." Kallen responded by saying, "But it's okay, I already know my name!"

Reasons I love my husband... qualities that stand out to me that I want to remember. I'll probably continue this kind of post in the future, but for now, I'm one handed (baby in the other) and can't type like normal. So today, #1-He cuts the kids' fingernails b/c he's better at it than me. #2- He's still kid-at-heart enough to actually climb through the play structure at McDonald's with Kallen. Kallen had a blast with his big-kid buddy named Dad!

We went to the SciPort museum today in Shreveport, LA

We bought this museum membership earlier this summer but today was only our second time to go to SciPort in Shreveport. It's only about an hour from my mom's house and I guess an hour and a half from ours. Kallen was a hoot! During the science experiment demonstrations, he was adorable loudly saying "pick me, pick me!" each time the guy asked for vollunteers. One time he even go so excited he ran up to the stage area saying this but the guy had just picked someone by that time. If he thought the experiment was going to be loud, he put his hands over his ears, which only left him talking louder. He was saying cute things like "Look Mom, he has fire!" He was definitely one of the youngest kids in the audience which just made him seem that much cuter.

Tonight before he fell asleep, Kallen and I played "favorites" where he tells me his favorite part of the day and I tell him mine. I told him that my favorite part of the museum was the baby alligators. He said that his favorite part was wearing the hard hat to build me my princess castle (the two story playhouse in the hands-on play area.) For a long time now, Kallen has told me that I am the princess and he's going to build me a castle. Then he usually follows by telling me everything that he's going to put in my castle for me. He's so thoughtful and creative.

My favorite Kolya moment for the day took place in the ladies' restoom at SciPort. I stood in front of the hand blow dryer while wearing Kolya on my chest (in my new Loveyduds baby wrap) pushing the button over and over while doing my friend Monica's baby shushing two step dance in an attempt to get Kolya to stop crying. As soon as I pushed the blow dryer button she instantly hushed...and the hush lasted only until the blow dryer stopped. So, she cried only in the short moments between the thing going off and my hand hitting the button again. After about 15 minutes of this, she finally relaxed enough to stay quiet. Thank goodness no one was in the RR with me to witness all of this. They would have realized how desperate I was to make her hush. You see, we're attempting the "no nipple confusion" regiment of no bottles (even with breastmilk in them) and no pacifiers. Kolya had been changed and fed until her heart's content and the only logical reason for her crying was because she woke up in her stroller vs. my arms. Once she got herself all worked up and I got her into the baby wrap, a paci could have really come in handy...but now I know that when paci is not an option, hand blow dryers in the ladies' room work wonders!

Adjusting

Well, adjusting from one "baby" to two is harder than I thought, I have to admit. Kallen has really done an awesome job at being a big brother. He's nothing but sweet to Kolya. He did tell me that he wanted me to put her back in my tummy though. When I asked him why, he said, "So she can still kick me!" That's a much better answer than the one I was expecting.

Kolya seems to be an incredibly easy baby. She sleeps so well at night that I actually got mastitis (plugged ducts in the breast that lead to fever and flu-like symptoms) because she wasn't waking up in the middle of the night to nurse. I guess there's no win-win situation in the sleep department. After the first few weeks of breastfeeding though, Kolya and I have learned together and figured out how to make this thing happen. I really want my breastfeeding attempt with Kolya to be successful since I was never fully confident with Kallen and he eventually weened himself at 6 months. Kolya only seems to cry if she's hungry or wants her diaper changed. Otherwise, she sleeps a lot or is wide-eyed taking in her surroundings. She's already started to smile at us. Three days in a row now she's looked me straight in the eyes and gave me a huge smile. She's such a pretty girl!

Our sleep schedule is horribly messed up! Kallen's bed time has changed from 10:00PM to midnight and not much seems to get him back on schedule. He's also waking up at 5:00AM every morning and coming to our room fussing. Some nights, he wakes more than once. Before Kolya was born, he was fairly easy to get to sleep and he slept the whole night in his own bed. Kolya sleeps well, but sometimes she doesn't go to sleep until 1:00 or 2:00AM. If you figure I'm going to bed at 2:00, dealing with Kallen's night waking once or twice each night and then nursing Kolya when she wakes up around 7:00 or 8:00, I'm getting some pretty chopped up sleep. I've ended up sticking Kallen in my bed in the mornings and turning the TV to Noggin so I can go back to sleep for a few hours. My poor child has fed himself breakfast and even gotten himself dressed several times in the past few weeks because I'm literally too wiped out to do it. I'm trying hard to drag myself out of bed in the mornings and get going for the day. It seems to help me if I plan an outing for Kallen to get us motivated to get up and dressed. Unfortunately, this means daily trips to Tyler or Longview since I haven't found anything fun for Kallen to do in Henderson other than play with our 3-yr-old next door neighbor. Our main day trips include: Pump It Up Jr. in Longview followed by Chick-fil-A for lunch and then playing in the play area or going to Tyler to play at the McDonald's on Broadway with the cool, indoor play area followed by an afternoon at the Discovery Science Place. We've actually been to DSP two days in a row this week. I'm still on the hunt for fun kid things for Kallen to do. I've called some local churches about part-time childcare for the fall just so that Kallen can keep on socializing and understanding school procedures and routines. He's told me twice this week that he misses his friends at Nana's Playhouse (his school in Beckville by the school where I taught.) I'd also love to find some kind of soccer, karate, gymnastics, etc. class to get him into just so he can have something to look forward to learning each week.

I keep saying "once we get back into a routine, I'm going to..." well, this list is getting long so let me sum it up:
Once we get into a routine, I'm going to...
1- work with Kallen at home on some type of school-like workbook/activities
2- help Sasha in the clinic
3- find more friends in Henderson
4- join some local organizations to meet more people in Henderson

Highest on my priority list right now is to start going to church in Henderson. I told my whole family that we were going to go this past Sunday, but then after a night of very few hours of sleep, I was the one who was perfectly content to sleep in come Sunday morning. Once these kids get on some kind of schedule, I'm sure I'll be able to muster up the energy to get us going in the mornings. I have to find that energy soon. And in saying that, let me add that with our move to Henderson, we've given up coffee and sodas and started buying as much organic food as possible. What a horrible time to give up caffeine!

Cute Kallen Quotes from Kolya's Birth

Upon seeing the long umbilical cord when Kolya was first born, he said "Wow, she has a really long penis!"

When we were talking about how Kolya can't talk or play yet, we asked Kallen what he wants to teach his little sister. We said, "You could teach her to crawl or play with toys." He replied, "No, I think I just want to teach her to mow the grass." Sasha said, "Now that's a boy after my own heart!"

Kolya’s Birth Story

After a long day of moving boxes and getting our new house more organized, my water broke at 1:30 A.M. on July 11th. Sasha and I hadn't gone to bed yet and ended up spending the rest of the night monitoring my contractions that were about 5 minutes apart throughout the night. We didn't call anyone at first since I really wasn't sure that my water had broken, and at first didn't believe that the contractions were real ones. They got steadier and stronger throughout the night and I finally called our midwife Thalia and my mom at about 6:00 A.M. Since we've already settled into our new house pretty comfortably, Sasha and I have felt more and more led to have a home birth instead of going to the birth center. So, our midwives Thalia and Diane and my mom, Steve, Sara, and Memaw arrived at our house within a few hours of me calling them. I labored quietly in my room for most of the morning with no IV's or pain medicines and moved to the tub around noon for the water birth. Kolya was born at 12:34 P.M. on 7-11-09 in the most natural way possible! She was surrounded by people who love her. Even big brother Kallen witnessed her birth. I expected her to weigh more than Kallen did (he was 6 lbs, 8 oz), but had no idea that she'd be one ounce shy of 9 pounds! She weighs 8 lbs, 15 oz and is 21 inches long. She's beautiful and has a full head of dark hair! Mama, Sara, and Sasha are doing a great job managing the house and taking care of Kallen for me since I've been instructed to stay in bed to heal for a few days. We are all enjoying every minute that goes by with our new baby girl.

Cute Things Kallen Has Said Recently

This week, I've been trying to finish up all of the sewing projects that I've started for Kolya...well, at least the ones that involve her bedroom. Since my sewing machine is at Memaw's for lack of space here, I've spent several days there this week. One morning this week as Kallen and I were driving out to Memaw's house, I heard Kallen talking in the back seat. I said "What is it baby?" not sure if he was talking to me or just into his imaginative play that he's just started getting into. He said, "Mama, I wasn't talking to you! My foot was talking to his brother (the other foot)!" He's so creative right now. I love to see things from his perspective.

Also this week, Kallen went into Mama's house in his pajamas to tell Mamady and Papa goodnight, which has become his ritual. Mama said "Oh Kallen, your hair smells like lemons. Did you get new shampoo?" Kallen turned around and held out the back of his pajama pants and said, "Smell my butt Mamady. It smells like lemons too!" So innocent!

Today, while I was packing for the big move and cleaning as I went, Kallen watched several of the Power Ranger episodes we have on DVR. On most of them, there were commercials for the new Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs movie. Every time he saw that commercial, he said, "Mama, I want to take you to see that movie." It was like he was asking me out on a date. Since I realize that I only have a few short days left with him as an only child, I took him up on his offer. We went to get Kallen's hair cut so he could be all spiffed up for our date. I told him how handsome he looked. And between his haircut and the fact that I let him wear a belt today, he thought he was a big man. It's cute to see how 'big' he acts until I realize that he really is getting big. Three and a half years ago, he was the baby stretching out in my tummy. He was the one I anticipated and prepared for. Now, he is big. He's so mature about being a big brother already. He seemed to already know and understand everything that I thought I needed to prepare him for about getting a baby sister. He kisses my tummy daily, talks to Kolya, and asks "Mom, what time is our baby coming out?" on a daily basis. Even though my mom and I have both told Kallen he can pick out a new blanket (a "kish" as we say in our household) for Kolya, Kallen refuses. He says, "We don't need to buy a kish for her. I have an old kish and a new kish. (*New kish was purchased when I thought silly puddy had permanently ruined old kish.) I want to share with my sister. I'll just give her my new kish and I'll keep my old kish, that way, we can match." Both 'kishes' are light green, but Kallen rarely uses new kish. Old kish has been around since before he was born. It's his favorite and always will be even though he does like to have new kish on his bed too. I'm proud of my boy for wanting to share with his sister already...and we haven't even discussed sharing things with her yet really.

Well, today I'm 38 weeks pregnant. Last night I spent from midnight until about 3:00AM, having strong, but unsteady Braxton Hicks contractions. It kind of made me realize how soon this baby is coming. I mean, I had already started packing my bag and all, but it was kind of a "Hmm, I'm not sure what all I'll really need so I'll finish packing later" kind of job. So, today, I got pretty thorough. I think I'm all set and ready to go if the situation presents itself for real. We are supposed to move in 3 days so I would like to get moved and have some time in the new house to unpack before Kolya is born, but I realize, things may not happen the way I'd like for them to. It's all God's timing, not mine. She'll come on the exact day that he planned for her to. Until then, I'm frantically trying to get prepared. You can't imagine how hard all this "nesting" stuff is when you aren't even living in the nest yet! It's driving me bananas!

How we chose the name Kolya Mattilee...

KOLYA is pronounced like the boy's name Cole (which happens to be my cousin's name) plus "ya" at the end. It's the Czechoslovakian/Russian nickname for the boy's name Nickolai. It's European enough to tie into Sasha's Serbian roots and yet it's girly enough to work for an American girl. Plus, it starts with a K and has two syllables which were my criteria in the name picking debacle. I wanted two syllables because everyone else in our family has two syllables and I like that our kids will have the same first and last initial. Sasha and I first saw this name when I took my first trip to Chicago to meet his family. We went to a movie store and saw the title Kolya on the cover of a movie about a little boy who goes to live with this old man. Even then, before we were even serious about marriage, we said "one day if we get married, that would make a cute name for a baby girl."

MATTILEE is my grandmother's first and middle name smooshed together. Her name is Mattie Lee Stillwell, but her siblings and my Popaw have always called her Mattie Lee...only in their Southern way of saying it, they smooshed it together to sound the very same as Mattilee. I can't be prouder to name my baby girl after such an amazingly strong and caring woman.

Just for the record...
Kallen's full name is KALLEN LAZO KECMAN. We just liked his first name when we found it in a book. Even then, I wanted a two-syllable first name that started with a "K." LAZO is Sasha's dad's name. I never met Sasha's dad because he died when Sasha was in undergrad.

If we were going to have a boy this time, or if we ever have another boy, his name will be something along the lines of KARTER LANGDON KECMAN. He'll have the same initials as Kallen. KARTER is still in question. I like it, but think it's a little plain. Plus, I don't like taking a common name and changing the spelling. LANGDON is my Memaw's brother Willard's middle name. He died when he was about 20, so I never got to meet him, but I've always heard great things about him.