The New Addition

Claire Noel Barney

Last Sunday, our little Claire was born, and what an experience it was! We had chosen to do a home birth, but kept it on the down low for many reasons. What a great decision it was. It was the perfect birthing experience for me and Rhett.

Sunday morning, at about 8:30, I woke up--tossing and turning. There was so much pressure going on that I thought maybe a bath would help relieve some of the gravitational pull on my belly. While in the bathtub, I had quite a large contraction, and realized the water was not helping at all. I also knew that I really wasn't going to make it through the day being this uncomfortable, so I decided to ask Rhett for a blessing. Rhett had camped out on the couch in the night because I was rolling all over the bed so much. I woke him up, and he gave me a blessing, which helped me relax a bit, but also sent me into some consistent contractions every 5-8 minutes. Rhett would record every time I stopped what I was doing to brace myself for the contraction. After about eighteen contractions in one hour, we called Margaret, the midwife and notified her of my status. She asked if I was ready for her to come, but I didn't want her to arrive and then sit around for hours and hours waiting to deliver the baby. So I told her I would call back when I felt like I needed her there.

In between contractions, I was giving Rhett orders--"We need to prepare the bed! We didn't make any ice packs!" etc. Poor guy was running around trying to get Summer ready for church, trying to tidy up the place, and trying to get everything prepared for me to give birth. (We were to put down clean sheets on our bed, then a shower curtain to protect the clean sheets, then another set of clean sheets on top, so I wouldn't be just laying on a shower curtain.) And checking and recording the time every three minutes I had a contraction. He was great.

At 10:20, we called Rachel Green and Heather Harris--hoping to get a hold of someone to watch Summer for us. The contractions were so intense now that they brought me to my knees every time, and Summer was beginning to worry about me. Heather was at choir practice, but Rachel was available, so she came and picked Summer up. Rhett had her all ready for church, with the diaper bag packed and a handful of snacks to keep her occupied throughout the day.

At 10:30ish, I called Margaret and she headed on her way over. Once again, every contraction was bringing me to my knees, but I found that if I knelt next to the couch, propping my elbows on the cushions, swaying my hips back and forth, it would help ease the pain. And then, since I was in the praying position, I would offer up a few prayers while I was at it. It was perfect. :)

Rhett was great, and by the time Margaret arrived, everything was almost ready, and I moved onto the bed in my hands and knees position to sway through the rest of the contractions. I held Rhett's hand through it all, which really helped me.

At 11:45, Margaret's assistant arrived, and only about twenty minutes later, the contractions subsided and I felt the baby moving through me to make her way out. It was amazing. There was a lot of pressure, but no more intense contractions. Her head crowned quite a few times, just to help stretch the skin out before she finally got her head through. At that point, I knelt upward and she slid right out. Rhett caught her and brought her up to me, and I just held her in my arms on the bed. There she was, in my arms, and I felt great! I couldn't believe how well I felt. I held her for a few more minutes, and then I cut the umbilical cord. (Is that cool or what?) The assistant cleaned everything up while Margaret checked the baby's health. Her hands and feet were a little purple, so to make sure she was getting enough oxygen, we put an oxygen tube up by her face. Claire held on to the tube, even though she didn't like it blowing in her face, and we thought it was cute so we took a picture.

Here's dad with Claire.

I tore just a little bit, but Margaret stitched me right up (which was more uncomfortable than giving birth!). And I've healed just fine.

The Green's brought Summer home to us at about 6 o'clock that night. Boy were we excited to see her reaction. She crawled up onto the bed next to me and just smiled at everyone with such delight and excitement in her eyes.

And ever since then, she can't get enough of Claire. She gives her multiple kisses a day, and the moment she wakes up in the morning or from a nap, she says, "Bebe! Bebe!" until she gets to see Claire. A few days ago, Rhett and Summer ran to Walmart, and Rhett said she was saying, "Bebe!" all the way home. She's already tried sharing some Gatorade with Claire, stuck her baby bottle up Claire's nose, put a tissue in Claire's ear to clean it out, and pushed her in her baby doll stroller. We're thinking Claire is going to grow up being one tough cookie!




Claire and Summer's feet.
One of the best parts about the home birth was getting to sleep in my own bed that night, with Rhett next to me. He has been such a great help all week--helping keep Summer entertained, keeping us fed, and changing Claire's diapers for me. He is such a great dad and husband. Us girls are lucky to have him. My mom has also been a huge help--flying in Sunday night to spend the week with us. Mostly she has taken on the Summer-challenge of keeping her entertained while I rest up and Rhett takes care of me. I don't know how we would have done it without her being patient enought to watch Air Buddies a million times with Summer. She has been great. Thank you!

Updates

A few updates . . .

1. Summer's vocabulary now consists of "da," "hoTT," "bebe," "meow," "owpsie" (for "owie"), "num num" (for "yummy"), "nana" (for banana), and some form of marshmallow I can't even try spelling.

2. Rhett has one more final--on Saturday, and then he is done until January. None of us around here can wait!

3. Baby sister is squirming and stretching along with lots of braxton hicks, but nothing other than that. We think she's waiting until after Saturday to make her big debut so she can get ALL of dad's attention. (Little does she know she has a mom and a big sister to compete with!)

4. There is no snow here yet, but the temperature is FREEZING!

5. Summer finally has eight teeth, and now she is cutting her molars.

6. Rhett got a new calling in the ward. He is no longer the Elder's quorom teacher (well, when they release him), and he is now the Deacon's advisor/teacher.

7. I have found a new love--Honey Crisp Apples. For years I have been eating Gala apples, but thanks to Cherie and a night of book club, I have now found something even better--Honey Crisp. They have met my cravings ever since I finished off our year supply of garden carrots in three months, and I ate all of my mom's home-made frozen fruit cocktail in one week. I'm eating two, three, sometimes four Honey Crisp a day. Rhett's warning it will give me diarrhea, but I just can't stop!

8. And the video of Summer shaving . . . she didn't do it as well this time, and as always, got distracted with the camera, but this is the best we could do.

Wanna be like dad . . .

Two cute things today--

1) Summer found one of Rhett's hearing aid batteries (one that had mysteriously disappeared, according to Rhett), and do you know what she did with it? Nope, not in her mouth . . . in her ear. She put it in her ear. I was watching her carefully, and suddenly, she reached up to put it in my ear too. What a character.

2) In the bath tonight, she was pointing to Rhett's razor. So Rhett removed the blade and handed it to her. She knew it could vibrate so she gave it back for him to turn it on. He did, then she dipped it in her bath water and started running it across her face in shaving motions. She would dip it every couple of strokes. We thought it was hilarious. We'll do it again tomorrow to see if we can get some pictures.

Hot!

Saturday and Sunday Evening Activities

Over the summer, the tickets for Broadway's The Lion King went on sale. We jumped at the opportunity to go (purchasing the cheapest tickets possible--ending up on the very last row in the balcony). The production was last night, and boy, it was incredible. Because the INB Performing Arts Center is not very large, our back row seats were actually perfect (except for Rhett who got to sit behind the lady with the spiky hair). The production was incredible, and so many times, I had to remind myself that the animals were actual people in costumes. The hyenas were amazing, the giraffes--unbelievable, and everything else was just as great. It was one of the best Broadway shows we have ever seen. And thanks to our great friends, the Swansons, we were able to enjoy the evening without chasing a little one up and down the isles or stairs or hallways. We didn't worry one bit when we left her with them, to put her to bed and to chill at our place till we got home. Thanks so much Liz and Brian!

The Crew:

And today, our Sunday evening activity before bedtime was coloring. Summer crawled up on the table (which for some reason, we actually allowed this time), sprawled out, and started scribbling away.

It was so fun watching her get into different positions to do different scribbles. Here she is, trying to be like Heather, and tracing her hand. (Today in RS, she sat on Heather's lap while Heather traced her hand, then she traced Heather's. She just loves Heather--and has even said her name a few times!
And I don't know what she's conniving in this picture, but I'm sure it's naughty!

4 Weeks = 2 Weeks

I've come to a serious realization.

This baby is due in FOUR WEEKS . . . which means that if history repeats itself, then she's here in TWO WEEKS.

Does that get anyone else's heart racing, besides mine?

The moment you've all been waiting for . . .

Here are the Halloween pictures. Costumes were so good this year that I wish I had normal pictures of everyone so you could see how well they pulled off their costumes. I've linked a few blogs so you can see what they actually look like.

The Greens--dressed as redneck trailer-trash (click here to see their blog)
The Swansons--dressed as H1N1 (they won the scariest award)
The Harris'--the inevitable couple (click here to go to their blog)
The Days--Night at the Museum characters
And finally, the Superhero Barneys--
I just have to say Rhett is amazing at pulling costumes together. Last year, it was Goodwill and a needle and thread where he used his magic. This year, we couldn't even afford Goodwill, so we went through our closets and put together these getups--which was about 30 minutes before the party started. I'm proud to say we didn't spend a penny for these awesome babies!

We had a great time at the Massey's party. Greg and Julie did a great job putting it together. Thanks you guys!

(By the way, the little object next to the B on my costume is a superscript 2, in case you can't read it.)

In the mean time . . . (Part II)

As we anxiously await the awesome Halloween pictures, I thought I'd post one of my favorite poems. I read it in my English Literature class, my freshman year at college. I loved it so much that when my mom came up for the weekend, I had her read it too. There we were, sitting at some booth at Fong's Chinese Restaurant, and I opened my Lit book and had her read it. She started crying, and of course, I started crying too. (I'm almost crying now as I think about it! Darn pregnancy hormones!)

To a Daughter Leaving Home

When I taught you
at eight to ride
a bicycle, loping along
beside you
as you wobbled away
on two round wheels,
my own mouth rounding
in surprise when you pulled
ahead down the curved
path of the park,
I kept waiting
for the thud
of your crash as I
sprinted to catch up,
while you grew
smaller, more breakable
with distance,
pumping, pumping
for your life, screaming
with laughter,
the hair flapping
behind you like a
handkerchief waving
goodbye.

Linda Pastan

In the mean time . . .

So when I say this little one inside is active, I really mean it. It's like this almost all the time. (Sorry about the lighting. Hope you can see it okay!)

Post-Halloween Posts

In my few moments of shoveling bites of my lunch in while Summer sleeps, I've checked a few blogs and realize we are a bit behind--we haven't posted our Halloween pictures. We will, and believe me, it will be well worth the wait. I just have to wait a few days before the big moment of uploading the Spokane clan's pictures. This year was killer on the costumes--EVERYONE'S! So keep checking back!

Some More Updates

We are all doing well. Dad is getting ready for his final paper in Legal Research and Writing, while Mom has been booking like crazy for the upcoming craft fair. Baby sister is rolling and kicking and constantly moving. "A good sign," the doctors say, but it sure can make Mom uncomfortable sometimes. And Summer . . . well, she just keeps going and going. One of her favorite things to do is just run around in circles (especially when there's an object in the middle of the floor, like a pillow that she can run around). She will do this for minutes straight, then sometimes tumble over from dizziness. We all laugh.

And now that she has perfected the "uh oh" phrase, Summer is also attempting a few new words. She says "baby" (an important one!) quite well, and humors us in trying to say "marshmallow" (another vital one!).

Sunday evening, we decided it was time to carve our pumpkins. Summer had her spoon ready to dig out the seeds,
but later decided to just use her hands like Dad.


At one point, she didn't want to touch the pumpkin's "innards" so she picked up the bowl and held it for Rhett.
It was a lot of fun to do this together. And the finished product turned out amazing! Great job Dad! It looks just like her! (We'll forgo posting my carved pumpkin. It met a sad fate of an inexperienced carver.)

PS--Don't know why the pumpkin didn't turn orange, but it helps the silhouette stand out a lot better, eh?

Some Updates

After browsing for months for a new vehicle that would accommodate the soon-to-be four of us, we found the perfect rig: A 2005 Hyundai Tucson. We love it. At first, I was nervous to drive something so big (big compared to the little Nissan and my some-what little Alero), but after the first drive, I haven't regretted the buy. It is so much fun to drive, plus, and this is the best part . . . I don't have to bend over anymore to put Summer in her carseat! That was getting to be quite a chore with my growing belly.

The quick story is that we had been looking for something like this since we returned home from Brazil. We test drove a few that were overpriced and had been smoked in, and when we found this one which had been owned by a single woman (1) without kids, (2) who didn't smoke, (3) who was trying to get rid of it because her brother had given her another vehicle, we thought it was perfect. The price was amazingly low (because she really wasn't in it for the money), and it was in great condition. It's also four-wheel drive, so winter--bring on the snow! We're ready!


And this deadly trap was set by Summer. She loves finding our kabob sticks in the kitchen drawer, and she loves even more the art of sticking them in the fan. I let her do it until she gets bored with it, then take them out so there are no catastrophes. But she will seriously sit there for thirty minutes just threading them through.


One night, I was sitting on the couch, doing whatever, and all of the sudden, Dad and Summer got really quiet. The next thing I knew, Summer came running out of her room looking like this. Of course, she did have a smile on her face. I don't know why she didn't smile for the camera. But she loves it when Dad dresses her up in the random things found around the house. She has so much fun with him!

Finally, I thought I'd mention that I'm starting another blog to post pictures of the journals and books I make. A few people have shown interest in seeing how they turn out, so I decided to create a blog for it. It can be found under the "Favorite Sites" list on the side bar, or you can just get there by clicking here.

Pigtails, A Surprise Party, and . . . a boy???

The big day came that we had to try out pigtails in Summer's hair. It turned out so cute! But of course, she wasn't a fan of me putting them in. Now, she'll just sit on my lap while I do it, but she cries and cries until it's over. Summer's pigtails:

This year for Rhett's birthday, I planned (and stressed!) a surprise party for Rhett. I really wanted it to be a surprise, so I had to work to keep it a secret. I was so excited about it and it was constantly on my mind that it was hard not to mention anything to him about it.

Some of the surprises at this surprise party:
Andrew and Maria came (his brother and sister-in-law in Tacoma)
I made Brazilian pudding and chocolates
There were almost 30 people there
Julie Massey made an amazingly beautiful and amazingly delicious cake (rare for two in one!)
We all put together a book for him (one page from each family)

Here are some photos and clips of the event:

The whole group (Thanks for taking the picture Marissa!)
Rhett and his book from everyone
Rhett blowing out the "candle" and his awesome cake (I wish we would have taken a picture of the slices--they were checkered with chocolate and vanilla cake, with strawberries in the middle!) (I had TWO!)
And the film of his reaction. It was a little chilly and we didn't have Summer's jacket, so he was carrying her wrapped up in his.


Thanks everyone for helping me make this a great surprise and a great party!

Finally, I went to Walmart to get Summer some new pj's that fit her, and all they had were boy colors. So, now every morning when I go in to get her from her crib, I think, "Where did this little boy come from?"

Here is a clip in her new jammies with dad tickling her.

Some Clips

A few mornings ago, Summer had pancakes for breakfast. When she was done with plain pancakes with butter, I put a little raspberry jam on the leftovers to get her to eat a little more. This was the result:

Tonight, Rhett was making dinner and pulled up some Pearl Jam music on the internet. Summer totally rocked out. She loved it. She did this for--seriously--the ENTIRE song. I was afraid she'd get dizzy and fall off the chair, but she never did!

And for an evening activity, mom and dad played paper football across the table. Summer thought it was so funny to watch the "football" slide back and forth.

A Toe, A Hat, A Ponytail

Summer loves (now loved) playing with the cans in our bottom cupboard. She would pull them out, stack them, then put them back in. Sometimes we'd find a chili con carne can in our bedroom, a green bean can under our bed, or a cream of chicken soup rolling around in her room. But just last week, she dropped one on her toe. It bled a little, and we bandaged it up as best we could. It just skiffed off a little edge of her big toe--nothing too serious--and it's healing just fine.


Along with playing dress-up, Summer loves pulling all her clothes out of her dresser or the laundry baskets. Here's her "chef" hat, (the bottoms to a dress), that dad put on her head, and here's her "But mom, it's okay if I play with the clothes! I'll put them back!" expression.
And for the first time, we tried out a ponytail hairstyle. Heather was actually the successful one in getting it in. If it were just a little bit more to the side of her head, we could call it the eighties side ponytail, and we could call Summer "Deb" (from Napoleon Dynamite).

Twenty-Six Point Five

That's how many weeks I am now. And with trying to keep up with Summer, I've slacked on announcing across the blog-sphere that she's getting a new little Sister in December. This was definitely more of a surprise than Summer was, but we're excited to get to meet her soon. No names yet, but there is a lot of kicking and rolling going on. Yesterday, when I was holding Summer, Little Sister whacked Summer right in the leg. I thought, "Oh great! They're fighting already!"

Last night, Summer sat at the piano for almost a half hour just "practicing." That's the longest amount of time she's ever played for. She would stand up and turn some pages, then sit back down and play some more. Sure makes mom proud!
A little piece of her composition . . . (I tried to zoom in and get some of her curls in the back, but I don't know how well you can see it.)

The Latest Fun around Here

Last night, Dad took Summer for an airplane ride . . .

Then Dad geared her up to drive herself . . .
Crash landing . . .
Summer loves to be wrapped up tight. Here, Dad tied the sleeves of his shirt around her. She just walked all over the apartment like this laughing.And here she is, wrapped up again and loving it.

I'm not sure if this was Summer-jawea or Kung Fu Summer . . .
Dad sure loves dressing Summer up. And she loves it too!
And with so much dressing up going on, Summer feels like she needs to do it herself now. This is a picture of how she put her own shirt on (with already a shirt on underneath). I was surprised as I watched her pull the shirt over her head, then try to get her arm through the arm hole. However, she missed the sleeve and her hand came shooting up through the neck hole. She thought it was perfect and wore it for half the day. She was so proud.
And her latest favorite thing to do it talk on the phone, or anything that could possibly be used as a phone. She's used all our cell phones (our two new ones and Rhett's old one), the home phone, keys, paper, stuffed animals, remote controls, a big bowl (that was the size of her head), and now measuring cups to call who knows who! But she holds it there, cocks her head a little, then walks all over the apartment talking like crazy--but not just any jibberish. It's down-to-business talk: she lowers her voice and makes short little noises like "Yes" and "No's" that she hears from mom and dad. It's so funny.

Signing Summer

When Summer was about five months old, I was super dedicated to signing to her every day, asking her if she wanted "water," or "more," or if she was "all done." She never seemed to really respond with her hands, and so I gave up. (I know, I know, I jumped the gun at five months. That's way too young for her to expect her to respond.)

So the drive to teach her sign language fizzled. But recently, the whining is becoming a little too much, and I think, "If she could communicate with her hands what she wants, then the whining should subside." So we picked it up again. And she is responding now. Of course, the signs aren't perfect, but at least she's doing them!

Summer signing "all done." "All done" is signed by flipping your hands over and out, as if you were brushing crumbs from your shirt after a meal. Summer just shakes her hands in the air.



Summer signing "more." "More" is signed by making "O's" with both hands, and then slightly flattening them. Then you tap the fingertips and thumb together with the fingertips and thumb of the other hand. Summer just uses her pointer finger and points to her left palm.




And I don't really know if the whining is subsiding or not. We'll keep you posted on that!

Cherry Pickin'

We headed up to Greenbluff this afternoon to do some cherry and raspberry picking. Here's Summer with her bucket, ready to go.
And me picking the cherries.
Here's dad helping Summer pick the cherries. She just picked them to eat them, though. She loved it.
Our day's labors (okay, well, not the whole day, just the half hour we could stand being in the sun!).

A Nose is a Nose . . . and Summer Knows!

Fourth of July, Summer's Birthday, and Tacoma

We headed down to Idaho for the Fourth of July weekend to celebrate Summer's first birthday with the family. Summer got a lot of fun things for her birthday--and this new hat was one of them. Thanks Grandpa Barney!

Here's Summer with her birthday cake and cupcakes. The pink and yellow cupcakes were for the family--and they were delicious! Thanks Aunt Kate for making them. And the big chocolate one was for Summer to dig into. The party went a little longer than expected (too many great presents!), and people had other obligations, so she didn't get to enjoy it . . . that day. But we all chowed down on it for the eight hour drive back to Spokane the next day. It was a banana cake with chocolate frosting (tasted just like banana bread), and it was so yummy.
At one point in the drive home, we realized Summer had fallen asleep. I peeked into the back and saw this. Too funny! Had to get a picture. And the one tooth makes her look so goofy!
This is a cute picture of Dad and Summer, just after her bath. Boy does she love him.
Summer sporting her shades with another new birthday hat. Despite the tears the first time we tried it on her, she does like it, and she actually tries to put it on herself now. Thanks Aunt Ang!
Just this last weekend, we headed over to Tacoma to enjoy a fun picnic with Andrew and Maria. This was their gift to Summer for her birthday--a teepee that they had made! It was awesome, and Summer loved it. She would crawl in it, crawl out of it, walk around it, then poke her head in it and just smile the whole time. It was a lot of fun.
It was fun watching Summer interact with the kids at the picnic we had on Saturday. This is Jackie and Dallin's youngest boy. They had a fun time chasing each other, poking each other with sticks, and sharing rocks.
And, to all of our surprise, Summer's favorite person now is Uncle Andrew. Multiple times over the weekend, she would just walk up to him and give him a hug. (I think Rhett actually got a little jealous.) But it was so cute. She'd hug his neck if he was sitting on the floor, or she'd hug his leg if he was standing. And then she'd reach her arms up for him to hold her.
We had such a fun time in Tacoma--some beautiful weather, delicious food, good talks, and fun laughs. We're sad that it ended so soon, but can't wait to get together again!